The Hole in the Attic

     Kyle groaned. He was used to this kind of behavior from his friend. Nearly every day she dragged him over to her house, promising some outlandish things had happened. No, seriously: last week Treg had told him that she saw Hannah the Usul in her kitchen. Fortunately, he knew how to handle this.

     "What did you see this time, Treg?" He asked.

     "A gigantic hole in the middle of my attic!!!" Treg exclaimed.

     Her smile faded when Kyle simply rolled his eyes at the news.

     Oh great, she thought. Now I have to convince him.

     "I'm serious this time!" she told him. "I went inside and everything!"

     Kyle rolled his eyes yet again and replied, "Yeah, just like the time when you thought you saw a robot army of Bruces outside your house?"

     "I'm sorry," Treg growled. "I didn't know it was the annual robot convention!"

     Her friend sighed, made a tsk-tsk noise, placed a paw on her shoulder, and began to talk some sense into her.

     "Treg, let me tell you this slowly: There. Is. No. Way. That. Happened."

     "Kyle!" Treg screamed. "You know PERFECTLY WELL that I wouldn't make something like this up! Now follow me before I feed you to rabid Kadoaties."

     Kyle kept his mouth shut after that.

     Eventually, Treg led Kyle to a set of old, wooden stairs. The Usul smiled to herself.

     "Follow me."

     Kyle groaned. Apparently Treg wanted to play her little "Giant Hole" game up there. The LAST thing he wanted to do was play, but he decided to play along and walk upstairs behind her.

     With each creaking step up the path, Kyle's level of worry increased a little. What lay ahead up there? Spyders? Zomutts? GULP... his MOM?? By the time they entered the room, sweat beaded across the Ogrin's head, and his heart pounded as fast as his thoughts were racing.

     But that's when he saw that in front of him was...

     "Your attic," he wondered aloud. "Why am I in your attic?"

     "This is where I found the giant hole, silly!" Treg replied, searching through the multitude of boxes that scattered across the dusty, old floor.

     Kyle groaned. Of course that was the reason.

     He was almost positive Treg was making this up. Well, she wasn’t making up the whole game involving faeries... Kyle looked down at the necklace he received the week before. It still glowed as bright a white as it had then. Maybe she is telling the truth...

     No, he told himself. That was purely a coincidence!

     "How on Neopia did you come up with THIS charade?" he asked her, as he eyed her scrambling through the items in a box marked 'Baubles and Knick-knacks.'

     Treg pulled out a Wooden Yoyo from the mess, and told him: "Okay, fine! I'll explain what had happened."

     "It all started this morning around 9 o'clock..."

     ---

     Boredom washed over me, as usual, as I wasted away at the breakfast table. Even with a delicious and slightly-nutritious bowl of Neocrunch Cereal lying before me, I didn't feel hungry. And I should've; I usually love eating food products that are 90% sugar.

     Anyway, realizing I wasn't touching the soggy breakfast, I asked my mother if I could be excused.

     "Sure," she mumbled for an answer, not even bothering to look up from her copy of The Neopian Times.

     As usual, I took that as a go for it. I hopped out of my seat and exited the Kitchen, strolling down the hallways nonchalantly. I was looking for something to do. Try and search for a magical artifact...? No, I did that last week. Maybe try and meet a famous Neopian? Oh, not after the LAST time I encountered Jeran and Lisha! Hmmm... then what should I do?

     Suddenly, up over my head I heard a ruckus. I looked up, and saw the stairs leading to the attic shudder and quake. What's going on? I had to find out.

     So, without a moment to spare, I zoomed up the old staircase, excitement building within me...

     ---

     "'I heard a ruckus?'" Kyle taunted. "Who says THAT anymore?"

     Treg growled deep in her throat. "The same person that asked how I came up with this 'Charade,' perhaps? Now let me finish the story!"

     ---

     When I walked into the attic, it appeared that nothing was wrong. Same old dusty floor, same old dusty boxes, same old cobwebbed ceiling... nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

     "It must have been nothing..." I pouted, as I turned to run back down the stairs.

     Or, at least, I was going to do that, when...

     BANG! BANG!

     There was that noise again! This time I saw a box, way in the back of the attic, move slightly. I wondered, is that where the noise is coming from? There was only one way to find out. I ran over to the box.

     The first thing I saw different about this box was how clean it was. It was the only one in the entire attic without a single speck of dust atop it. Secondly, printed on the side of it, was a little picture of a Lemon Jelly. Hmmm... maybe if I touch it...

     Suddenly, the very second I laid a black paw onto the picture, a HUGE rumble erupted beneath my feet. My heart pounding, I grabbed hold of the nearest box and didn't dare let go. But, looking over beside me, I gasped. The box with the Jelly picture seemed to expand, growing larger and flatter until it was spread out across the section of the floor.

     Just then, it began to cave in. Gasping, I stepped backwards, watching in amazement as the box transformed itself into a gaping hole.

     Peering into the crater, I realized I had to make an important choice: Should I get mom and tell her that there's a giant hole in our attic, or explore it.

     It only took my five seconds to choose. Explore it!

     Smiling, I jumped into the hole, ready to face anything down there that was waiting for me.

     ---

     "Really, a giant hole formed from a BOX?" Kyle said, obviously dismissing what Treg had just told him.

     "Yes!" Treg exclaimed.

     "And you really jumped into it?"

     It was then that Treg's face fell. She blushed slightly. "Well, no, not really. I invited you over to show you it instead of jumping in."

     Kyle groaned. Did Treg HONESTLY THINK that he'd be gullible enough to play her little game? Apparently she wasn't aware of how intelligent he actually was.

     "And what made you think that I'd actually want to come with you?"

     "Because," the Usul shouted. "You always try and think logically, and other things that will get you nowhere in life! I wanted you to come with me, so you'd see that the best things in life are what we can't explain!"

     Kyle opened his mouth to protest, but before he could, Treg grabbed him by the paw and dragged him towards the back of the attic. There, in front of him, was a gigantic hole, just like what his friend had told him.

     "Now come on," Treg told him. "We have a crater to explore."

     And, before Kyle could comment, she shoved him down into the hole, and jumped in behind him.

     Kyle screamed as he continued to fall. Wind smacked against his face, causing his eyes to water. He wasn't sure when he would reach the bottom, but he knew that when he did, well... SPLAT! So he closed his eyes, and awaited his peril.

     Boing!

     When he finally re-opened his eyes, he saw that instead of a cold, hard ground, jelly surrounded him. He flopped up and down on the soft surface, until finally the Ogrin lay face-flat atop the gelatin.

     "I'm alive!" he said. "But how...?"

     "LOOK OUT!!!"

     Suddenly, Treg came bounding down, and landed right on top of Kyle! Smiling, she brushed herself off, and stood on top of the jelly ground, not even noticing her best friend, who was moaning in pain.

     "Ergh," he grunted. "Where are we?"

     Treg opened her mouth to answer, but the longer she stared at the views before her, the less of an answer she had. The jelly ground wasn't the only odd thing about this place. About a mile away stood a city, a huge city with skyscrapers and buildings. Each building was a different colour, and almost looked as if it were made of... GASP!

     The Usul whipped her head around to face Kyle, who peeled himself off of the ground bitterly.

     "Kyle," Treg said, looking at the city of Jelly World ahead of them. "I think I know where we are."

     ---

     "Well," Kyle asked Treg, crossing his arms in irritation. "Where are we, then?"

     Treg laughed nervously. "Oh, um... just, you know, uh... Jelly World?"

     "JELLY WORLD!?"

     "I-I'm sorry..."

     She had never seen her friend so angry before. His face turned so bright red that you'd easily mistake it for an oddly-shaped tomato. His paws were clenched into fist so tightly his knuckles turned white. His eyes looked as if they were ignited in flames, and he growled deep in his throat.

     "Oh, THAT'S IT!!!"

     Treg screamed and bolted down the jelly road, as Kyle ran angrily after her. She continued to try and apologize, but the Ogrin didn't listen. No, he was too preoccupied in trying to obliterate her.

     Her heart pounded in her ears as she ran. She didn't dare slow down. She couldn't; Kyle would catch her if she did. And, well... you see what problem would arise if THAT happened.

     Suddenly, she ran right smack into a gigantic, red jelly pile.

     Treg stumbled back in surprise. The jelly creature did, too. Just as Treg's vision spun back into view, she saw a pair of jelly-coated Firebolas held so close to her face that her eyes crossed.

     The jelly creature trembled as he spoke, "W-what are you doing here? No outsiders have ever crossed the border!"

     Kyle stared at the creature in confusion. At first glance, the red blobby figure appeared to be a Wocky, but as you continue to stare at him, he also looked like a Usul, or maybe a Blumaroo... a Wocksulroo, perhaps?

     "Excuse me," Treg asked politely, "But... what on NEOPIA are you talking about?"

     "You entered through the border, didn't you?"

     "No," Treg answered. "Just some box with a jelly printed on it..."

     "THAT IS THE BORDER!!!"

     The skunk Usul whipped her head around to face where they had just entered from. Suddenly, she noticed a tube. A gigantic, futuristic metal tube with a picture of a jelly on it, identical to the one on the box back at home. She gasped.

     "So this is..." She glanced at the tube again, and returned her gaze towards the jelly creature. "...the famous Jelly World?"

     "Yep!" the creature replied. "Where ELSE do you think Jelly pets come from??"

     "I knew they came from here..." Treg mumbled.

     Once again, Kyle felt he was the only one here that still had a brain. He had to slap some sense into these goons.

     "THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS JELLY WORLD!!!"

     Suddenly, the Jelly creature's eyes seemed to glow red. I mean even more red than they were to begin with! Kyle swore he saw fire erupting inside of the creature.

     "Then where do you think we ARE, Ogrin??" he said sternly.

     Suddenly, a sinister grin erupted from the corners of his mouth. He glared at Treg evilly.

     "Well, you'll only have five more minutes before your transformation."

     "My WHAT???" Treg questioned.

     Suddenly, Kyle gasped. His eyes were blown wide in fear, his finger trembling as he pointed towards Treg's feet.

     What...?

     She looked down at her feet, and gasped. Instead of black, furry paws, they were now bright orange and gelatinous. She gave Kyle a desperate look, as the creature laughed.

     "In five minutes, you'll be one of us."

     ---

     Kyle couldn't believe it. He couldn't just watch Treg be reduced to some pile of Pear Jelly before his eyes!! He balled his hands into fists and glared at the Jelly Creature.

     "Change her back!!" he practically screamed at him.

     The creature grinned evilly. "Nope."

     "You HAVE to!"

     "Guys..." Treg said, watching in horror as her body turned orange and transparent, "Girl being turned into a gelatinous mass here!"

     The creature glared at Kyle, and his red eyes seemed to pierce through his heart. His heart leaped in response.

     “I CAN’T change her back! This happens to everyone who stays here too long!”

     Kyle couldn’t control the anger that boiled inside him. He screamed at the jelly creature, tears streaming angrily down his face.

     “YOU LIAR!” he cried.

     Treg’s face was now softening and changing colour. The longer she looked at Kyle, the more she began to hate him. He was an outsider! He didn’t belong here! Finally, as the tips of her ears turned to Jelly, the last thing she remembered was Kyle, gaping and gripping the amulet around his neck tightly.

     Just then, she tackled the Ogrin. Her jelly fists clawed into his shirt, and Kyle winced silently in pain. He looked up at the jelly creature, who smiled and clapped for his new minion.

     “I told you she’d be one of us,” he told him, grinning with that evil grin of his.

     Blocking another tackle, Kyle almost wanted to burst into tears. Almost, but he wasn’t a girl. Unlike them, he couldn’t cry. That would be too unmanly.

     But he still was angry. Treg suspended him by his shirt up in the air, growling and sneering at his presence. Of course, he SHOULD have been embarrassed that a girl could easily destroy him, he hid it well.

     “How could you?” Kyle yelled at his ‘friend.’ “I thought we were friends, Treg!”

     For a split second, he saw Treg’s face soften a bit, as if recalling a memory. But quickly it returned to its angered position. She lowered him, just enough to whisper into his ear, “I’d never be friends with an outsider.”

     And, before Kyle could even reply in angry-mob style, Treg threw him across the field in anger.

     The city of Jelly World flashed before his eyes as Kyle soared through the sky. You’d think he’d be angry at Treg, for betraying him like that; or maybe towards the jelly creature, and his... Wocksulroo-ness. But he wasn’t angry towards either.

     His only thought: AAAAAAHHHHGGGG!!!!!!!

     Suddenly, he saw a speck of green on the ground that was one hundred feet below him. It grew larger and larger, and then he realized that it wasn’t a speck at all. In fact, it was the mostly-eaten Giant Green Jelly, and he was hurling at top speed towards it!

     “Seriously,” he yelled to no one in particular. “THIS is how it ends???”

     Suddenly, he heard a noise echo through the land. Beep, beep...

     The noise grew louder as the jelly drew near. BEEP! He saw a quick flash of his bedroom, then the green jelly again. BEEP! BEEP! This time Kyle saw his ceiling, too, and the ceiling fan turning slowly around and around. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

     Suddenly, his eyes opened. His bedroom came into full view in his eyes. He smiled. No jelly in sight.

     “Must’ve just been a dream!” He exclaimed the greatest words known to Neopians.

     Right then a knock erupted from his door. A soft rapping that Kyle immediately recognized as his owner’s.

     “Come in!” he cried joyously.

     The short, blonde-haired girl strutted in, a smile of satisfaction across her face. Her purple sweatjacket may have clashed with her denim skirt and yellow leggings and blue converses, but still she was happy. Her hands were behind her back, as if she were hiding an awesome gift just waiting to be opened.

     “Hey, Louisa!” Kyle smiled. “What’s for breakfast?”

     His owner blushed slightly before answering. She brought her hands forward, and Kyle’s eyes busted open in fear. In her hands she was holding a Whole Blunella Jelly.

     “Jelly,” she told him.

     Kyle laughed slightly, then screamed and ran out of his room. Louisa shrugged and closed the door behind him.

The End