Chapter 2

Gina tried to open her eyelids, but they weighted like a ton. When she had done so, she then tried to lift up her head, trying to see something she could make up. However, even the littlest motion she tried to do was drowning her energy. She felt exhausted; like beaten up after a really long run. Only she didn’t remember why…

Her memories came back in flashes. Her date. The pitch-black road. Her cell phone. Li.

LI.

With an amazing effort, Gina struggled to maintain her consciousness. She was still sitting in Michael’s car. She glanced to her left and saw Michael; head on the stirring wheel, but unhurt. Judging from his regular breathing, he was sleeping. Everything looked normal – except for the previously non-existent desert outside!

Gina gaped. A desert? She didn’t remember her birth-town having any desert! But it was real; the wind was blowing gently, brushing Michael’s BMW, tainting its shiny, black paint.

A voice at the back of her head reminded her of something: Li!

Gina immediately turned her head and sighed in relief as she saw her old, Mazda car. She opened the door and got out of the car – an action she quickly regretted. Her two-inch heels sank deep into the sand. It was a hard task to get to her car, but luckily, she was wearing boots, so no sands actually got into her feet.

Halfway to her car, she heard a strange noise; half gurgling half rattling. It came from below her. She looked down and screamed her lungs out as she saw a rotten hand, squirming from inside the sand, trying to get out.

Her breaths caught in her throat as she broke into a hefty sprint to her car; whilst more rotten hands showed up from under the sand. She felt safe the moment she slammed her car door shut behind her. Li was on the driver’s seat, strapped to the chair by the seatbelt. Like Michael, he too was sleeping.

“Li! Wake up, Li. Li!” Gina shook him and cried out his name. She was sobbing terribly, trembling from head to foot. Li was awake instantly. He didn’t seem to have any trouble opening up his eyes like Gina did earlier.

From the window, Gina could see the rotten hands she saw earlier, had turned to a monster – rotten human-like corpse with teeth like insect’s.

“Oh God, Li…” she whispered and pure fear. “Where are we?”

Li was not pleased to see strange creature the moment he woke up. He still felt sluggish, but feeling more normal by the second. Seeing the creatures around him and the suspicious desert, he couldn’t think of an answer to Gina’s question.

One thing for sure: They needed to get out of there!

Li fumbled with the keys and tried to start the engine, but no use, as the muffler was filled with sand. The faithful Mazda gave a husky cough, and died.

“We need to get to Michael’s car. His muffler isn’t filled with sand,” Li said, noticing the visible muffler from Michael’s BMW in front of him, also cursing his own idea. It was bad, but it was the only one he could think of.

“How in the hell do we get out of this car? Those monsters!” Gina shrieked, hysterical. Her eyes were wet in tears.

Li held Gina’s hands, clapping them in his own. “Gina, listen to me. Gina!” he continued when he got her full attention. “Now is not the time to be panic. We need to survive this, and we can. Look carefully outside. Those creatures only move every few seconds, as if held by something. We can outrun them. We can.”

Gina nodded vigorously, trying to sink in what Li had just said. He was right; it was not the time to be panic. They needed to be brave and survive – whatever happened to them.

“On the count of three, open the car door and run towards Michael’s car. We should try to get in from the backseat as it is nearer to our reach,” Li said briefly. Gina nodded. “Ready? One, two, THREE!”

Both Gina and Li opened the car doors in a flash. They sprinted as fast as they could, rather jumping than running because of the deep sand.

Li could feel slimy hands run on his legs as he was wearing a pair of sneakers and khakis. He felt disgusted and more determined to reach his destination faster.

The two of them reached out to the handle and pulled. A second later, they were inside. Li didn’t waste any moment to catch his breath; he immediately moved to the front seats. He moved Michael’s body to the passenger’s seat with no real difficulty and turned the starter key.

The engine started off smoothly, thank God. Not waiting for any strange creatures to come any nearer, Li kicked the accelerator, and the engine roared as the car moved forward with a terrifying jump.

“Shit!” Li cursed, realizing he just made the worst decision of his life. The engine soon died down and Li banged his fist to the stirring wheel, accidentally sounding the horn. Li bit his lip as tears started to roll down his cheek. He had failed… he had failed to protect Gina… And now all of them were going to die, without knowing anything; where they were, how they got there… Li whispered another curse, desperate to find a way to stay alive.

Gina touched Li’s shoulder gently; she too, was crying. Not because of her fear anymore, but because of Li. His hurt expression scarred her heart. Both knew their lives could end that very minute.

“Thanks, Li, for all that you’ve done for me – “

“Shut up!” Li shouted. “We’re not going to die! We’re not! Don’t you dare say any last words! I won’t hear it!”

Gina was taken aback, but nodded, trying her best to stifle her sobs.

Michael was still unconscious as the monsters started to approach the vehicle. The view from the window soon was blocked by hundreds of them, banging on the window, rotten fists met with steel.

Li decided that they should wake Michael up. He needed to know, too. He shook him and the golden-haired boy opened his eyes. He yawned, and screamed in shock when he saw what was happening outside his brand new car.

“ARGGH! W-What are they?! Start the engine, idiot! We can crash them all! We’re in a BMW, for God’s sake!” he was hysterical.

Li slapped him to wake him up. “We tried to start the engine, bur your BMW can’t go with sand in its engine and muffler!”

“You broke my car, didn’t you?! You broke it! Now it won’t start! Do you know how expensive it is?!”

“I don’t give a damn care about the price, darn it! Just shut up so I can think of an idea!”

“It’s obvious that your last idea, whatever that was, didn’t work! Why should I trust you again?!”

Gina couldn’t stand the boys in front of her arguing. She shook the tears in her eyes and screamed, “Stop it, you two! Stop it!”

Both of the guys stopped – but not because of Gina’s scream; they stopped because one of the monsters finally managed to break a window.

Li’s side of the window.

The monsters quickly enlarge the hole and with seconds, their arms could reach inside. They wrapped their arms around Li’s sleek torso, trying to pull him out of the car.

“Damn it! Let me go, you evil bastards!” Li cursed, kicking blindly as hard as he could. He was panic now, who knew what will happen to him if the monsters manage to get him outside?

“No!” Gina cried. “No! Li!” She tied her arms with Li’s, tears streaming down her face. “Li! No! NOOOOO!”

A flash of white light, and then all went black.

Li’s head was spinning painfully when he tried to open his eyes, moments later. Is this heaven? He thought with a feeling of cramped stomach. Suddenly feeling a sharp pain on his temples, he concluded he wasn’t anywhere near heaven.

Unlike Gina who had to wait moments before her memory could come back to her after a long sleep, Li’s memories stayed there, undisturbed. He finally opened an eye, only a slit, for precaution – incase he was in the hiding-out of the horrific monsters earlier, ready to be eaten alive or boiled, or other possibilities he daren’t think.

As a matter of fact, his precautions were not needed. When he smelled fresh mint and lemon, he immediately felt their soothing effects on him.

It was another thing when he felt he was naked.

And wet.

Fear really does knock out one’s senses for a while.

Fully opening his eyes now, Li realized that he was in a bathtub, in a luxurious, vast, white-colored bathroom. There were mint leaves on the water, on top of the thick bubble (thank God for the bubbles) and the lemon scent, maybe it came from the soap.

All in all, he felt pretty relaxed. He was relieved, too, seeing his two legs were still intact and in perfect condition despite what just happened. Now he wondered, what happened to Gina and Michael?

He didn’t need long to find out. A second later, Gina herself stormed into the bathroom. Both instantly screamed; one covered her eye, the other dived down until all was visible was his head.

“H-How come you’re still taking a bath?” Gina stammered, embarrassed of what she had just done.

Li looked around, trying to find a robe. He was uncomfortable in this situation; feeling especially defenseless with nothing on. “I just woke up,” Li mumbled. If only Gina had opened her eyes, she could’ve seen that Li’s face was as red as her dress.

She was wearing a red, silk dress, now that Li managed to control his nerves. Her hair was tied up to her right like usual too. The dress had puffy sleeves, just like the ones little girls usually wear. However, it looked good on Gina. Actually, now that he thought of it, everything looks good on Gina.

Li made a splashing noise as he shook his head to get rid of the ridiculous thought he started having.

Gina made her way to the door. Just as she was about to exit, she said, “I’ll be waiting outside. The… maids have prepared your clothing in your bedroom, the other side of this door. Hurry up!” With that, she fled.

Once Gina was gone, Li quickly rose from his comfortable position and put on a white, fluffy robe he spotted earlier.

As he was drying his hair with his towel, he had questions in his brilliant mind: How did they end up here? What’s this place? Judging from the luxurious bathroom and the first-class bath, they might be in a palace or something. Everything has a possibility for him now, after what happened in the desert.

“Well, at least this place is a lot better than the desert…” he murmured to himself, opening his bathroom door to his so-called bedroom.

Once again, he gaped. His bedroom here is two times his house back home! He knew his house was tiny (but darn comfy!) but a bedroom this big is simply a waste of good space. There is an apparent double-king-sized bed in the middle of the bedroom with four golden pillars on each four corners, drapes connecting one another.

A desk stood in front of a large window with elegant white curtain. It was mahogany; expensive but worth the price. Then a wardrobe to its right – too big for Li’s taste. He only had medium sized credenza back home; no boys need too many clothes. He opened in, in hope of finding decent clothing for him to wear.

Out of the blue, somebody cleared her throat. “Ehm, ehm!”

Li gasped in surprised and turned around, his black eyes met with brown ones.

She was wearing a maid’s uniform, and there was something weird about her. Li’s eyes nearly popped out of his head when he realized two pointy ears, almost hidden behind the woman’s short, ash-blonde hair.

“E-E-Elves?!” he shrieked, backing away until he felt the mahogany desk pressed against his back.

The maid bowed, “We are called Gathdyr. I do not know what creature you were speaking of, sir. I am your personal guide. I will guide you in The Palace of Gathdyr. My name is Kirja.”

“A-ah, thank you, e-er, Kirja.”

“Mind if I show you the kind of clothing you wear during dinner?” she said professionally, one hand pointing to a set of clothing already prepared for him.

“Please,” Li replied, somehow affected by the guide’s politeness.

“Dinner starts at Neubis every night – “

Before the maid finished her sentence, Li cut her off, “Wait – Neubis? What’s Neubis?”

The maid pointed a large grandfather clock near the bathroom door Li didn’t notice earlier. The shape resembled a normal grandfather clock, but the numbers were replaced with words. There were twelve, like his normal clock. On the position of number one was Sein, two was Weiz, three was Idre, and from four to twelve: Ievr, Nuf, Hsec, Neubis (so ‘Neubis is apparently seven o’clock), Acht, Nen, Nehz, Lfe, Folz. At the moment, the needle pointed to Hsec, in spite of the blazing sun outside. Apparently there is a difference between morning and night in this place and the usual time he used to having back home.

Very confusing, but he figured he’d get used to it as he had memorized them all.

“During dinner,” Kirja started again, “You must not wear black – “, she gave a critical look on Li’s black hair and black eyes, “ – or grey, or purple, or lime. Any other color is fine by the king.”

Li raised both his eyebrows at how strange it sounded to him, but let the maid continued.

“You will meet the king in tonight’s dinner, a rare occasion, thus very special. I suggest you behave like a gentleman.”

“I’d better get dressed, then,” he smiled to Kirja, who bowed and simply left the room for him to change.

A Gathdyr guide was waiting outside Li’s room, Gina noted. “Excuse me, Kirja. Is Li done yet?” Gina asked politely.

The guide bowed. “Mr. Lihuan is not finished yet, Miss Shenbor. I left for him to change.”

Just as she finished saying it, the door swung open, revealing Li. He wore light blue, long-sleeved shirt with ruffles on his wrists and neck, a pair of smoothly-ironed white trousers, and matching cream canvas shoes. His hair was not spiked like usual, but pulled back. His pigtail was still there, though, tied as usual.

He looked rather handsome and classy in that outfit; ones that Gina actually helped to choose.

Another Gathdyr showed up. His name was Wadd and he was Gina’s personal guide.

Wadd and Kirja chorused, “Let us lead you to the Small Flower Park, where we are having dinner for tonight.” They led the way for Li and Gina, who only looked at each other smiled in relief – both knowing each other’s thoughts without having to put out a word.

Small Flower Park truly lives out its name. There were tiny flowers everywhere – miniature rose, hydrangea, and other flowers Gina didn’t recognize. The smell was fresh, half like pine, half like something she couldn’t describe. It looked even more beautiful under the morning (or afternoon) sunlight.

A rather small, circular table was there, perfectly prepared by a series of butler and maids – all had pointy ears instead of normal ones.

Wadd and Kirja pulled out two side-to-side chairs for Gina and Li to sit on. They sat and thanked their guides, who immediately joined the row of maids and butlers.

A mist suddenly enveloped a chair at the table. Then, a strange creature, about four inches tall, appeared out of from the mist, followed soon after by a large-build man. He had a crown mad of silver and rows of colorful stones on his head, so he must be the king.

The king’s hair was long, shiny gold, and his eyes were clear green. He looked young, but bared thin scars on his face and neck. He too, had two pointy ears, with earrings of jade hanging on each one.

“I am the king of Gathdyr, a race you might know more as ‘elves’ from your world. My name is Vizseck.” he started with a warm smile. “I know the two of you must be confused. I will explain now, so you can eat with peace later once your curiosity satisfied. If you have any questions, just ask. I am your friend, not your master nor your slave.”

Gina and Li nodded, amazed by King Vizseck’s radiating serenity.

“You are now in a place called Gathdyr Palace in the nation of Gathdyr, inhabited by Gathdyr people, in Faerie Land. Simple to remember, no?” he paused. When Gina and Li nodded, he continued, “We found you near the Gathdyr Nation south border – Saa Desert. You are lucky to have survived the attack of Saa creatures; we could see evident marks scrapped on your… strange machines.”

Li added, “Those strange machines are called cars. You must have found Michael, too. Where is he?”

As if oblivious of Li’s question, King Vizseck continued, “The Saa Desert is full of Saa creatures, thus the place’s name. Nobody usually goes there, unless they are trained Faerers or Warrions. But last night we had a couple of Faerers in search for more Faeries in the Saa Desert. That is how we found you.”

“Faerers? What are they?” Gina asked.

“You see this?” King Vizseck waved his hand and a creature they saw earlier appeared from behind his back. “He is Leen, my born Faery. I live and die with him.”

Leen, a Faery, is a creature about four inches tall with shining greenish light around him. He is slim and has pointy ears like his master. His eyes are empty, but no doubt they can see. He also has bird-like wings.

“Not every Gathdyr is born with one; the ones who are will have to pursue their future as a Faerer. Other than the main job of defending the Gathdyr Nation, Faerer collects Faeries from all over Faerie Land. Faery can be collected and abandoned. Doing so is pretty simple, finding one is full of challenge. All Faerers have one objection: to find the strongest Faery in all of the Faerie Land, known as the Faery of Light.”

He then sighed. “One of you is born with the Faery of Light.”

Gina and Li stared at each other, even more confused than before.

“You must be surprised because none of you are Gathdyrs. But a Gathdyr blood runs in your vein. Which one of you, I have not found out.”

“So,” Gina said, “What do we do?”

“Ah, I haven’t got there yet. To be truthful, we were the ones who summoned you. We asked for the bearer of the Faery of Light to come to our world and make it better. But the power of Faery of Light was too enormous for Leen’s strength. We thought our spell failed but it only missed. Our sincerest apologies.

“Now you see, Faeries are not just beautiful like this,” he pointed at Leen, “Some of them are hideous and evil. Their numbers have recently risen quite drastically. I fear something mournful is going on outside of my reach. That is my reason of summoning the bearer of Faery of Light.”

Gina and Li began to understand.

“I see. How do we find out who the bearer of Faery of Light is?” Li asked.

King Vizseck suddenly chuckled. “It is very simple.” He gestured to their concealed plates. “Open them.”

They did as they were told. There was a colorful bead just the size of a peanut on each of their plates.

“Eat them. They’re not poisonous, but they will surely tell which one of you bears the Faery of Light.”

The bead looked just like candy, so Gina and Li swallowed it easily with one gulp. It tasted like an ordinary nut, only crispier.

‘My, my, my, my! My favorite Jegor nut! It’s been ages since I’ve eaten this! Do you have more?’ a voice suddenly rang inside Gina’s head. It was a voice of a female’s.

What’s going on?, Gina thought. "Jegor nut?" she said out loud.

She suddenly felt a tickle on her neck. “Aw, it tickles!” she giggled uncontrollably.

King Vizseck smiled at Gina. “Jegor nut is the rarest nut ever existed in the Faerie Land. It is troublesome to get one, but the Faery of Light is known to love it very much. You must be the bearer of Faery of Light, Miss Regina Shenbor.”

“What?” Gina was giggling, but still heard King Vizseck’s last sentence.

Another creature similar to Leen flew out from Gina’s back of the neck. That was when the tickling stopped. Unlike Leen who has greenish light shining around him, this has brilliant white one.

“Nice to meet you, my born master,” the creature bowed her pretty head towards Gina. “My name is Rebsha, also known as the Faery of Light.”

Gina’s head spun. She, the bearer of the strongest Faery? How could she believe all that? Maybe it was a coincidence that her guess about Jegor nut was right… but what about the voice inside her head? And the strange creature standing in mid-air before her?

“I need time to digest this information,” Gina said hastily, and ran back towards her bedroom. Wadd bowed deeply to the king and followed right after. Rebsha too, was instantly gone.

Li cleared his throat, “I apologize, King Vizseck. I hope you understand that the information you just gave her might be too much for her to handle at the time.”

The king nodded, “It is understandable. As for you… I will send you back to your world.”

Li immediately rose to his feet. “What! I won’t come back without Gina!”

“You are not a Gathdyr and no Gathdyr blood runs in your veins. You won’t stay alive long in this world; our atmosphere… it is different. I apologies, you were brought here by mere accident. We’ll send you back, just like the other boy with golden hair. Then, you will forget about Gina and all of our conversation here.”

Li slammed his fists on the table – causing the butlers and maids to stir, “So that’s what happened to Michael! I won’t come back! I’ll die if I have to!” He looked directly into the king’s green eyes, which now were cold. “Gina needs me, and that’s that!”

“You do not have to worry about that. I will make sure she will not remember you. This way is better; you should wait for her in your own world. You should stay alive for her sake!”

“Are you nuts?!”

The king’s eyes were solemn. “Leen here is a Faery of Teleportation. Just give me a second to summon my power…” he then closed his eyes and murmured words Li couldn’t make out.

Li ran from the king to escape his abominable power. When a strange mist suddenly appeared in front of him, tears were in his eyes, knowing that perhaps this would be the last time he’d ever remember the name of Gina.

“No, don’t let her go away from me again…” Li cried; knees on the soft grass. "Damn it."

To be continued.