It was dark when I came to. I don't know what I expected to see, maybe the roof of the hospital? Maybe even the small, damp alleyway. Instead, I saw a white sky. Usually, skies are light blue, right? But even the lazy, drifting clouds up high weren't white. They were blue. Sky blue to be exact. This place definitely wasn't Orikumo. I sat up from the small patch of... Green grass. At least the grass was, and still is, green. The trees however, were a different story. The trunks were a deep brown, almost black. The leaves were white, tinted green slightly. I was in a forest of those trees, as far as I can tell. I scaled a decent sized tree for obvious reasons that I can't be bothered explain. It looked like a giant snow globe, except with no snow. What I'm saying is, I was in a dome-like world. But, the world probably went farther than that. Why? Because, I could see trees beyond the dome. The dome didn't look like it was made out of glass, nor plastic. Probably not even a material that we know today. How will I get back to Orikumo? I collected my thoughts, and slid down the tree carefully. After all, the sky is white here. Who knows what other crazy things are in this world? I heard the sound of water. That was a good sign, because of a good reason that I still can't be bothered to explain. Search it up on Google after this if you really want to know. I can't because I don't think I'll have wifi here. And yes, my world has everything your worlds probably have. Maybe even more. It still looks like a big city from a movie like Transformers or whatever. But back to the story, we're getting off topic. I looked around for a stream. Thankfully, there was one nearby. The water was clear, a good sign. This place isn't polluted. That's an upside, at least. Actually... How did I get here in the first place? It's hard to remember, maybe it's because I was banged around a lot with that earth serpent or whatever. I feel like I'm forgetting something. Oh well. There was a cave entrance in the side of a mountain. Not the little-teensy-cave-mouth that is at the top and stuff, but the kind that looks as if the earth serpent bit into the side of the mountain. One whole side was missing, with a huge tunnel leading inside. It didn't look too far off from where I was. I headed for the mountain. As I traveled, I picked up anything that could've looked useful, like some plants that could be used for herbs, or a strange rock that felt like obsidian, but was crystal clear. It was bended crazily when I tried to break it. Maybe it was some sort of rubber stone. Soon enough, the mountain was looming over me. I felt small and insignificant under it's shadow. It was suffocating. I hurried towards the entrance of the giant cave. I listened carefully, in case there was something dangerous in there. All I heard was the sound of water. It wasn't like the stream at all. More like the dripping of water that happened when you turn off a leaky tap. I quickly ran in. Outside the mountain, it looked huge and sinister. But the inside was a different story. The whole thing was hollowed out naturally by water, with stalactites and stalagmites that broke through the ground and ceiling. It was lit up by crystals of different kinds. This is the kind of thing that you'll see in movies or games, but it was the first time that I'd seen it with my own eyes. In the middle, there was a shallow basin of water with a fairly large stalagmite pointing up from it. The top was rounded and so was the brim. The funny thing was that the volcano was still warm down inside here. It's probably dormant. "Now what...?" I asked myself softly. I don't know why I was talking quietly. Maybe it was because I always talked like that. I've changed since then anyway. Somehow... I felt a bit of nostalgia. Maybe it's because I'm in this place... I looked around for anything useful but there weren't too many items. I took a glowing cave rock from the stone. Surprisingly, they break away pretty easily. As a bonus, they kept glowing, even after taking them off from the rock. I found a bottle lying somewhere on the ground. Not the glass milk bottle things, or the jar kinds, but more like a drink bottle. Made out of plastic. How the heck did that get here? At least I got something to hold water in. I took the bottle and gave it a nice wash. Then I filled it with the water from the basin. It took around 2 hours to explore the cave properly. I rested for the night. When the sky was light grey (I suppose that means that it's around 6:00?), I left the cave. As soon as I left the mountain, I smelled smoke. Smoke usually isn't a good sign, here between the trees. But, as you might've guessed, *sigh* the smoke was small and controlled. I didn't think that I would've met people this, um, quickly... I thought that this place was desolate. Guess I was wrong. When I headed towards the smoke though, I saw something in the air. It kinda stood out from the white sky because it was red... I think? It was attacking some sort of fracture on the dome capping this place. I stopped and stared. It was a little hard to see, because it was a long way away. Every time it struck the surface of the dome, the whole thing shook. Once, then twice, then a third time the thing attacked the dome. The fracture grew into a small hole. Don't tell me... Is it planning on making a path through the dome? Actually, it was obvious, but I wanted to point it out, because I can. The um, decayed giant bird thingy wiggled it's way into the dome and started flying towards the ground. It crash landed and skidded into a tree. It didn't look too scary now. It shook it's head a few times and launched itself from the tree, into the air. Suddenly, it dove down, into the trees, and flew back up. Actually, it flew into the place where the smoke came from. Looks like it's carrying something in it's beak. Maybe a small animal of sorts? Oh well. I ignored the bird and continued walking towards the smoke. When I was a few paces from the source of the smoke, voices broke out in a loud argument. Seems like I can understand them. At least they didn't speak a different language from me. I peeked out from behind a tree (best hiding spot ever). Excuse me for eavesdropping okay? They... The people who were arguing... Well, some of them looked like people, I guess... I listened to their, *cough* interesting conversation. "... Why the hell didn't you keep an eye on them?! I thought I told you for the sixteenth time! How many times must I repeat myself?!" It was the bigger sister who was talking. I guess it's the bigger sister... The brother (I guess) mumbled a reply. "And NOW look at us!! Ari's being carried off and we can do nothing about it! And it's all YOUR fault!" Whoa. She mad. Maybe I should help... Nah. Instead, I walked off, heading in the direction of the dead reanimated bird crow thing. It's in the air though, so I pick up a sharp, but heavy stone. After a few heaves, I managed to lift it up. I tossed it up and it hit it's claws. Meaning that it released... Ari or-whatever-her/his-name-is. From here, I could still hear the two arguing. They won't be much help in this situation. Suddenly, their words stop. They must've noticed. I gently caught the kid (who was falling while screaming...this is why I don't like children). I heard the two running this way, calling out Ari's name. But, the decayed zombie birdie thingy was still in the air. *sigh* It's another battle, isn't it? I gave the older sister Ari to hold on to. She said "Hey, wai-" I interrupted her by turning around and facing the undead birdie thingy(that's what I'm going to call it from now on. Or something like that). I looked into the sky until I saw the fractured hole in the dome... It was auto repairing itself. Technology or something is really advanced, I guess. I faced the dead reanimated bird crow dead thing and prepared for battle. I don't really like describing battles, because I'm a horrible describer or something. It's just too much of a bother. I'll probably tell you a battle in the future, but for now, I'll just keep it simple. It was hard, but I eventually won. I ended up having to break a wing or two to keep it down. I tossed it into the dome thing and surprisingly, it went back without resistance. I mean the dome. It didn't resist. Weird, considering the effort taken to get INTO the dome. Maybe it's one-way. I walked towards the smooth wall and ran a hand over it. It...feels smooth when I put my hand there but rough when I move my hand. Hmm... "Hey." I think that was the brother. "Hey!" He said it a little louder. I faced them. "What?" I said. The two siblings looked at each other. The brother stared at the ground. The sister determinedly looked straight at my eyes. We had a little staring contest until she sighed in frustration and turned away. "Well?" I asked. "Well what?" said the brother. "What do you expect me to do now? Let me go on my way." I say. The sister shook her head. "Why?" I asked. "We can't let you go... It doesn't feel right without thanking you properly." She said. I sighed. "This isn't that type of story, I don't need your thanks." I said, turned and walked away. They stared silently. At least they left me in peace. I have a feeling that I'll see them soon again. *sigh*...