Hello

The Third and Final Scare

Surprisingly, I wake up again. Also, when I open my eyes I can't see anything, so I am under the impression that I am either, blind, or it is pitch black. 

"Hello?" I squeak. No response. I might be deaf, too. Something shuffles to my right and I am relieved to find that I am neither deaf nor blind. 

"Austin?" I ask, something that you could call relief building up inside me.

"No."

"Who?" I don't recognize this voice, but I do know that it is the voice belonging to a someone that is very old. The shuffles get closer and more light is beginning to shine as my head clears.

"Grandma," is the response I get. That triggers something in my mind. Lifting my head, all of my vision comes back and I see fuzzy purple slippers. Looking up more, I see a matching robe and a face that resembles about as close as you can get to a raisin. Very old. Very wrinkly.  Her hair is surprisingly brown, though. Brilliant blue eyes are mostly hidden beneath sagging eye sockets. 

"G. Matten PayPay?" I ask. 

"I'd prefer grandma, but yes," she says. Standing there in silence for a minute, it seems as though she is thinking very hard. After a minute or two, I open my mouth to say something but close it again because grandma is speaking up. 

"Three indeed." She gives me a slight smile and begins to shuffle away. It was when she turned around that I notice she isn't a clown. Was Ben lying? No, I've seen too much for that to be a lie. Then why would she be here?

"Wait, grandma! Can I ask you something?" I call. She turns around and says two words, "me, too." Walking away, she winks and suddenly, I know what she means. There are three Pure Bloods in this jungle. Preston, me, and G. Matten PayPay. When I try to walk forward, I just run into another invisible wall but I don't even care. 

"Three Pure Bloods," I whisper. And that just sets off an alarm in my head screaming, crying out for someone or something to come and help us all. Or even give me the strength to do it, because I know that if I don't do something, nothing is going to happen to us and we'll just sit here until we die. That's not going happen on my watch. That also gives me determination to not let anyone down ever again. Not Ellie. Not Austin. No one. Now or never, Sage Kennedy, now or never. 

After a few minutes of sitting there, dazed, I finally get up and feel around for invisible walls. Once I am satisfied that there are no more invisible walls, I begin to explore a bit. The jungle seems to be endless. I hear a sound that I have never heard before, but as I turn in slow circles I find nothing. As I step forward again, I run into another invisible wall. Turning around, I find another. And another. And yet another. 

They've got me trapped again, I think. I hear that unfamiliar sound again and this time I spot its source. There are more than one. Blue lizard-like creatures start crawling up the invisible walls. Heh, I think. At least all they can do is scare me. Then I realize one, they are all heading toward the top without any hesitation and two that they have started to growl like dogs. Uh, oh. The lizards start falling through the top of the box surrounding me. My first reaction is to start banging on the wall. No one's getting away with my blood today. 

"Help!" I yell. "Grandma! Preston! Anybody." Tears start falling down my face as more and more lizards are falling through the top and landing on my head and feet. A burning sensation rises at my feet. I look down and notice that the lizards are exploding into thin air. Strange foul smells reach my nose. When my mind starts fogging up again and my cuts start killing me again, I know that it's poison.  Telling myself I have to get out of this crazy jungle alive, I start banging on the glass harder. When I go to punch it really hard, it vanishes and I fall face-first into a giant pile of blue lizards. For a second it seems as though the entire world has come to a stop. That second ends quite fast when the pile of lizards and the ones around me all explode.