Stuck In A Screen

I was thinking of running away from my home. Fights with my mom every day, no one my age to talk to nearby, and nothing to do here except mope around all day and play video games (which by the way are great). Ever since my dad died, life for me was a living hell. Dad’s death affected Mom a great deal, as she had to work more to earn money for everyone so she worked overtime and had multiple jobs. She started drinking, smoking, behaving rudely to us, and basically became an awful mother. Even though she did this, she was still our mother and paid for our bare necessities. She worked hard so that we had a great life.

 

Today we had our biggest fight (it involved screaming, throwing things on the floor, and threatening to beat me). I was so downcast I practically dragged myself back to my room.

 

Once I was in my room I cleaned up and lay down on my bed for a while. I had nothing better to do except play video games (schools were shut for Easter). So I picked up my switch and started playing Scourge of the Giants. It’s an awesome game where we have to find a thing with clues and figure out how to kill the giant with it. I am on level 378 which isn’t that crazy, considering my friends from school are in the range of 900-1000 in some games. All they do is play games, all day! But I, unlike them, have a life. Sure, I play video games once in a while, but, I am also a creator. I create digital art, which helps me get a few extra dollars. It's my own freelance job, and trust me, it has helped, a lot.

 

A few minutes passed, and suddenly I heard a shuffling sound coming from behind me. I turned to see what was the source of the noise and almost got a heart attack. It was a monster! But then I looked closely and figured I was being paranoid, it wasn’t a monster. It was someone much worse. My brat of a sister, Lilia, was standing at my door.  She said, “Ha ha, got you.” 

I said sarcastically, “Geez, so scary.” And rolled my eyes.  “Whatever, help me with homework.” I opened my mouth to ask which homework but she added “holiday” before I got the chance.

 

But before I could reject her, the lights went off. I asked my sister whether this was her idea of a practical joke, and she said no. Suddenly my game screen went black and started vibrating. Surprised, I dropped it. When we were standing over it, it released a bright blinding light. We watched astonished as the light started taking the shape of a cone and getting bigger and bigger so much as to engulf us. We started spinning round and round the room and after a while, stopped. Something hit my head and I passed out.

When I gained consciousness, I thought my eyes were still closed, as everything was pitch black around me. I figured I was on a barren piece of land, as when I felt around I could only find dirt and a few tufts of grass. I could hear water lapping so I figured there was a stream nearby. And the place smelt wonderful, like fresh flowers. And I could also feel a hot and cool breeze at the same time! And my hair was going crazy curly with all that humidity. It was pretty weird. Like all the climates and regions of the world all in one place. After a while, I realized what just happened and completely freaked out. Where are we? How are we here? What the heck was with that tornado? And where the heck is Lilia? I had no idea who or what might be around me, so I did not shout out for my sister. Instead, I roamed around on the ground on all fours, till I found a hand. The beaded bracelet with a rainbow charm on it told me that it was my sister. After I touched her she stirred and after a while sat up.

 “Who turned off the lights?” She exclaimed.

 I looked at her like she was an idiot for saying it out loud ( she did not see that of course ), but before I could give a sassy comeback I heard a noise behind me and shushed her.

 “I didn’t even say anything,” she said and I almost gave her a nice, tight slap.

 She must have heard the noise too because after that remark she kept quiet. It was a squelching sound. I turned towards the sound and Lilia grabbed my arm. I could tell she was afraid. She was only 11 years old, while I was 14. We waited for the worst to happen (like monsters and stuff you know) but only heard a voice. It was a boy’s voice, a voice I could recognize anywhere. It was Askelynthis. The introducer in -“Welcome to the Scourge of the Giants,” He said. (Yeah you got the answer). And the lights went on around us. It was a pulchritudinous sight. And my mouth dropped in amazement. Everywhere I looked it was different. Seas, mountains, forest, desert, valley of flowers, grasslands, mud lands, ice land, every region you could imagine, I could see with the turn of my head. 

“But……you’re……….Askelynthis…….from the game……how……we here………you……what?” I struggled to form a sentence.

“Yes, yes. It is I, Askelynthis. The introducer to The Scourge of the Giants. You might be wondering why you are here.” He continued after looking at our confounded faces. “You both have a very important challenge. You have to find the bane of the most dangerous giant yet. Brigmo.” He said the last word with emphasis. “Don’t get fooled by his name or appearance or even his accent. Trust me, looks human, from a distance. And talks in a funny Southern accent. But he is huge and mean. Oh isn’t he mean. As mean as a junkyard dog. You will think

he is friendly, but that is just an act. He will stab you in the back when you are least expecting it.” He ended his speech and took a long breath.

“OK hold up.” Said my sister “You are in a conflict, with a big, mean, giant who is the worst one here, and you want me, and this flabby bod to fight him. Why would we do this? Also who is this Elin and what do we have to ask her?” She said all that in one breath.

“Oh my god Lilia. That’s his name Ask-El-Yn-Thiss. Also, Asky what will happen

if we don't do this? And why were we chosen for this job?” I asked.

“Bad nickname, don’t ever call me that again. Good question. If you don’t do

it, it will mean a few things actually

Crashing of this game,

Hacking and crashing of all the other games worldwide,

Hacking of all the devices worldwide,

And the Possibility of giants entering your world. And you were chosen because you are very smart Michael and Lilia. We have heard you fight. You accidentally left the mic on once. And she is very cunning and a master planner, which is exactly what we need for this mission. You see, Brigmo fights with his wits, not his strength. And we need people like you to defeat him.” he replied

“Well I’m not doing it,” said Lilia.

“Fine, how would you like to stay here for the rest of your life. And I will switch off the lights.” Challenged Asky

“Ugh. Fine, fine we’ll do it.” Said she defeated.

“Great. You can freshen up at my house.” He waved his hand and a house magically appeared in front of us. “You will be informed about your first clue. Get ready for your quest and Happy Gaming!” After saying this he flew away, disintegrating into pixels and going away with the wind like dandelions. We didn’t say a word as we walked to Asky’s house, because we were too shocked to say anything. It was a simple futuristic house, well-ventilated, with a few bedrooms, all with private bathrooms. We saw a screen hovering in mid-air which told us directions to our rooms. I laid down on my bed for a while thinking about my mom and what she must be thinking, and got up after some time to change into clothes I found on the bed. There was also some gear similar to what is present in the inventory in the game. Smart glasses, magnifying glasses, walkie-talkies,

etc.

Then we met up in the lobby and went to the dining area to have a quick bite. We found two bags labeled Lilia and Michael, filled with extra stuff for our quest. We ate a few cheese and corn sandwiches with orange juice and headed out to the living room. There we found the hovering monitor thingy and it told us to

read the clue on the screen. It told us that the first thing is in this house.

I have arms but no hands

I have a bridge but I

don’t go over water

I have rims but I’m not a car

What am I?

We wondered for a while. Then I took a glance at my sister’s face. She was wearing smart glasses. Then it came to me. I looked at my sister and pointed to her glasses. She gasped and looked excited. We rushed around the

house to find glasses. We wandered for a while till we found a door just ajar and entered. And behold our eyes we found two upside-down glasses, just not of the type we thought. They were huge drinking glasses. And under them was the next clue. It read

A house of wood in a

Hidden place built

Without nails or glue.

High above the earthen

Ground it holds pale

Gems of blue.

This one took a little more time. As it said hidden place, we went outside to investigate. We looked up in the sky and wondered what it might be. It was probably time because birds were chirping. This time it was my sister who got the answer. She ran out into the forest without even waiting for me. Rude. Anyway. I thought about how would we find a single nest in a who knows how big forest but it was pretty apparent. We reached a clearing in the dense woods and saw a humongous tree. It had lots of nests, but there was a hollow in the tree. And

this was the nest, the special nest we were looking for, and sure enough, we found another riddle inscribed on the walls of the nest.

 

I speak without a mouth

And hear without ears

I have no body but

I come alive with wind

What am I?

 

Ok, this riddle was hard. It left us stumped. So we decided to take a rest. We had no idea what time it was but guessed it was nighttime. So we returned to Askelynthis’ house and had our dinner. Then before going to bed, I brushed my teeth and talked to myself while brushing. I was getting irritated by the echo of my words and cried,

“Stupid echo. Can you not shut up for a second.”

And then it hit me. That was the answer, Echo. I ran to my sister’s room. Knocked and entered and excitedly told her that I found the answer. She was exhilarated but said that we should get a good night’s sleep for our test

tomorrow. I agreed. Today was exhausting. I went to my bedroom and retired to sleep without dreams.

I woke up the next day refreshed and a bit squeamish. Today was the big day after all. When I reached the dining area I found my sister already ready and digging into her pancake. I grabbed a bit of maple syrup and started eating. After we were done, we got ready and headed for the mountain valleys. We figured that was where the echo must be. When we reached there I saw a cliff and stood next to it. My sister followed my

lead and stood beside me. But unlike me, she started yelling into the ravine, calling out to Brigmo. I did the same. And then we felt the ground shake under us. He had arrived. Brigmo.

There’s no use describing him as he was constantly changing appearances, but he had his long, red nose on every face. Asky was right, he did look human, just a very big one. He started talking, “Ello friends. Ahh e started sendin’ kids ta me. Whateva. I’m sure ya already know ma name. Brigmo, Brigmo Glibbion. Kids, I am here to test y’all today. I know Askelynthis says I am bad, but I ain’t tha worst. I’ll just ask y’all some questions, and if you answer all of ‘me correctly you’re free ta go. And as a bonus, I will stop plotting ma evil plan. I’m tired y’all,

I need a rest. But if ya don’t, we’ll then I am always up for food.” He said, an evil grin appearing on his face.

“Ok, so first up, riddle number uno

What comes once in a minute

Twice in a moment

But never in a thousand years.”

 

He gave us some time to think, but this was easy enough for my sister to solve and she answered, “The letter M.” Brigmo was frustrated. He asked the second one.

 

“ Three different doctors claim that Paul is their brother

 But Paul says that he has no brothers. Who is lying?”

 

This time I applied my brain a bit more and thought of all the possibilities. Then I figured that doctor is a common noun and the doctors could be female. I answered, “ No one is lying. The doctors are female.”

And Brigmo flew into a rage. He asked us more riddles and we answered them all. He got so enraged that he went to the edge of the cliff huffing and puffing, like a child throwing a tantrum, and jumped up and down and started kicking everything with his back to us. It was too late when he realized what he had done. He slid down the mountains with the rocks, but I don’t know if he died or not, because we didn’t stay long enough to find out. We ran back to the house of Askelynthis so quickly that you’d think we were on fire. We found him sitting on the couch, eager to ask about our adventures. It was about 5 p.m. at that time, and we told him our tale for about three hours. He asked us to get a night’s sleep and that he would transport us back home the next day. Before going to sleep, I asked him what should I answer to my mother once I got home. And he told me not to worry, as when we get home, my mum will get her last two day’s memories wiped, so she won’t remember we were not home. Okay so everything was sorted, Brigmo was probably dead, we had the adventure of our lifetime, and saved the world from crisis. So I think it is time to say goodbye,

So,

Bye-bye. Happy gaming!

 

The end