Phantastic

Phant-astic

Shock was in for a shock when he was finally let out of quarantine. The bright light shone into his eye. He hadn’t seen the sun before. Jamma was too colorful. In his hometown, such colors wouldn’t  be accepted. The hay roofs of the dens poked out above the trees. He rubbed his eye as a wave of surprise came over him. He was free, free for the first time in his life. He turned around to find a frightening experience. Everything too far away was blurry, but he saw clearly a strange statue in the form of a blue heron. Shock nervously chirruped, it seemed as if the statue was watching him. A brave, young tiger came into his line of vision. His roars were distorted, his movements leaving blurred lines behind them. He shook his paws and tramped the ground as an effort to scare Shock away.

“I’m Shock.” He muttered. “From the ‘All Species Peace Society’?” The tiger looked at him solemnly.

“Sorry about that sir. Didn’t mean to hurt ya. I’m Troy.” Shock couldn’t have cared less about this jammer’s title. However, this aroused a question on how he earned such a name. “Who named you, young jammer? How did you get such an honor?” Shock asked.

Troy chuckled at such a question. “My parents, silly! Didn’t your parents name you?” This response went to Shock’s head. “No…” he breathed. “I…I don’t know who did!” Shock started pacing. He thought back as far as he could remember. A rapid flashback appeared in his mind, his first day in prison.

“ Number 145,” said a penguin. “Fair health, captured without a fight, well covered for. He will be one of the chosen. Shock, he will be called.” At the time, Shock had just become fluent in the jammer language. He took this of much significance. “The chosen…” he mouthed.

“Hello?”  Troy shook him out of his flashback. As Shock came to a sudden realization that Troy was still there, Shock’s black, gooey covering turned pale. “It’s getting late.” Troy explained. “Mom wants me to come home now. Bye Shock!” Troy said.

“My house is that way, too.” Shock replied. “I’ll follow you there.” And so, the two set off down the road. Not long after, Shock spotted his house. He waved goodbye to Troy and stepped in.

That night, he pondered his origins. Not being able to sleep, like other jammers, he stared at the bathroom mirror, thinking, “''I am a phantom. I am a phantom. But at the same time, I’m not.''” He paused, feeling a cool wind blow from the open window.

The next morning, he got up early and jogged to take a closer look at the statue. Its head was swept into a majestic bow, and tears filled her eyes. A plaque underneath read: “Mira, one of many who fought for us.” He walked back to his house and entered the door, picking up the newspaper on his way. Settling down in his “Armschair”, he rested there, and started reading the Jamma Journal. Not many phantoms were able to read Jamaa’s language, but he was able to read it without a struggle. The front cover read:

''“Proto-phantoms are being sold at the diamond shop. Get yours now for 3 diamonds apiece.”'' The image was rather sad looking, and even though they appeared to be smiling, their body language seemed stressed and uptight. He turned the page to find an article about the A.S.P.S. However, it didn’t look like it was written in the normal Jamma language. It didn’t look like it belonged in the newspaper either. The page looked yellow, and instead of being printed on a press, like the other news, it appeared hand-written in an ink pen. He quickly recognized it a phantom language. He squinted, recovering his memories of the dialect. It read:

 

“ The All Species Peace Society have released  phantoms into every region of Jamma excluding Balloosh, Appondale, Coral canyons, and the lost temple of Zios as an effort to preserve these lands.

''Kimbara Outback- #211, Flash. ''

''Crystal Sands- #155, Lightning. ''

Sarepia Forest- #201, Storm.

Mt Shiveer- #199, Paralysis.

Jamma Township -#145, Shock, #404, Name unknown.

-Copied from a different news article.

''Shock, I know that you live here. Destroy this message as soon as it is read. The A.S.P.S is concerned about the phantoms getting loose. They are pondering to destroy us. ''

''You must help me in warning the others of this. If you take this quest, meet me near the stream in Jamma township tomorrow. It should be to the left of the Mira statue.''

-#404”

Shock stared at this message for a while. He examined the sheet of paper and set it in the fireplace, just as it was asked. With nothing better to do, he relaxed in his home.

Then, he decided to see if Troy was in the township. And sure enough, he was. Troy was having fun with a wolf and a bunny, playing at the docks. How he wished to join them. Shock only sat at the fountain, listening to their conversations. At first, they spoke of a “summer carnival” and of how many tickets they were going to earn.

“So,” said the bunny, “What’s your favorite game?”

“Candy Catch!” exclaimed the wolf.

“Mine’s definitely dunk the phantom.” The bunny said proudly.

Shock wasn’t pleased by the sound of that.

“Troy? What’s your favorite game?” the rabbit asked.

Shock then realized why Troy was so hesitant. He had caught sight of Shock.

“My favorite game...” he stuttered, “Is…”

Shock held his breath. The other animals listened intently.

“…Whack-a-phantom” he finished.

Shock fell into the fountain. Troy’s friends looked back, cackling, but Troy only stared straight ahead and ran off to find someone to help, knowing that he had offended Shock.

Shortly after, Shock was sputtering water. He was inflated like a balloon; the hospital workers were pumping oxygen into his mouth. Shock pulled off the breathing mask. “I don’t breathe that way.” he whispered. “We absorb air through our skin.” The workers at Gabby’s Animal Hospital listened, they sat him down on the floor and let him recover.

“145,” the doctor said. “You usually go by Shock, correct?” Shock nodded, rising to his feet.

“What caused you to fall into the fountain? Have you had any recent injuries?” the doctor queried.

“No, sir,” Shock responded. “I… I was just surprised, sir.”

“Hmmmm… Well, just be careful. Try to avoid water.” The doctor finished. Shock rested, charging his electrons. “How long was I here?” he finally asked.

“An entire day, as of now. Please leave soon, you’re kind of scaring our patients.”

Shock  then took note of all the animals huddling together on the opposite side of the room. Embarrassed, he exited. He heard all the animals inside comically taking a sigh of relief.

“You were kicked out, too?” came a voice from behind him.

Shock looked over to find another phantom. “Yup. Even if they call it a ‘peace society’, we’re still given the cold shoulder. “

“Flash.” Said the phantom, introducing himself.

“I’m Shock.” he replied. “Could you show me the way to Jamma Township? he asked. Flash pointed his limbs to a sign depicting Jam Mart clothing.

“Right over there.” he said. “I might as well come with you. It’s not like any-thing exiting happens here anyway.”

Shock and Flash walked into the sun of Jamma Township. They came to the Mira statue. Shock took a sharp left, cutting into the forest. Flash hesitantly followed.

“Shock? Why are we coming here?” Flash piped up.

“I’m not entirely sure.” Shock said, holding up a branch to let Flash pass. “But I’d rather not tell you. They never said to bring guests.” Before Flash could ask who this person was, they met another phantom seated on a log.

“Well, it’s about time you arrived.” The phantom said indifferently. His expression was cold and disapproving, even for a phantom. 404 peered quite coldly to Flash. “Oh, and you brought a guest.” He muttered. “I suppose we will need all the help we can get. You have put the mission on a jumpstart.”

Now of course, Flash was lost. He had stayed silent for a time, pondering the situation. “So...?” he queried. “What is going on?”

404 sighed, exasperated. “Is this what you get for saving them?” he thought. “Okay…” he explained things slowly, as if talking to a little kid. “We are going to save the other phantoms because the All Species  Peace Society is going to hurt us. Need me to clarify?”

Flash and Shock exchanged glances. Before they could say anything, 404 started again.

“We……”

“Ok! We get it!” Shock exclaimed irately.

“We haven’t a moment to lose.” 404 said clearing a few bushes. He stepped out to find a cold clearing. “Here is our destination.” He called. Mt Shiveer, in all its majesty, stood like a wall before them. Without saying a word, 404 peered up the mountainous terrain. A small hint of pleasure creeped up his face as he let the breeze blow against his cheek. The wind ran through the grasses, creating streams  He was suddenly alarmed. “I’ll be right back.” 404 said, dodging behind a tree. Shock caught a glance of him pulling an object out of his satchel. He returned, a relieved expression on his face. “All accounted for.” He said shakily. Noting the concerned expressions on their faces, he pulled himself together. “I’m fine. Really, I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”

Shock, 404 and Flash settled off up the mountain. 404 wasn’t all an “older sibling who looks down on everyone”. Occasionally he would help Flash up a steeper cliff. But as for Shock, 404 would only stare menacingly at him. “Come on! You’re making us late.” Shock scoffed. They kept trekking up the mountainside, resting for a time in a tiny crevasse high off the ground. Shock thought he could see the Mira statue from there. He smiled, knowing that, perhaps, he would gain something more than safety.

Finally, they reached the peak. Winter animals laughed, playing in the snow. Penguins hopped on the forbidden ice pond. Arctic wolves raced each-other down the rocks, and regular wolves howled in the distance. Shock thought he saw 404 tensing up, but then again, it could have been his imagination.

But whatever the case, Shock felt that 404 was hiding something. Even if 404 had sent a letter to him personally, he still acted nervous. Before he had the chance to ponder what,  they were settling off to find Paralysis.

It wasn’t long before they saw her. She was settled on a tall peak, looking at the band of phantom blobs even as they arrived. Although not known by the others, Paralysis had the power to hear things from miles away.

“Seriously, I could see you from a mile off.” She called. “What do you want from me? Whatever it is, remind me when I care.”

“Paralysis, this is important. We need you to help us find all the phantoms.” Flash responded.

“Why?” she responded, not interested.

“404, could you explain? 404?” Flash turned to the place where 404 had previously been standing. He had disappeared, and Shock with him.

“Guys?”

But Shock didn’t hear, and neither did 404. Shock was to busy trying to figure out what was going on. Peering silently at 404, he watched him slide a certain ointment into his skin. 404 turned around to meet Shock’s eyes. He was quite embarrassed, squirming into a small shape.

“Okay. I’ll tell you what’s going on.” He said. “Please, don’t tell them.”

Shock, at that moment, felt a little pity for him. It was true that he wouldn’t have made it this far without him. He stared into 404’s unchanging eye, and though there was always a hint of determination, his eye looked a little sad as well, and even a little ashamed. But Shock felt a feeling beyond his comprehension, a feeling that he thought only jammers felt. He felt… forgiveness.

Then, he said the words that he could have never dreamed of saying:

“I… I’m sorry if I’ve caused you any trouble.”

“I beg your pardon?” responded 404, pleasantly surprised.

“I suppose you don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to.”

404 sighed. “You’ll hear it anyway, so I might as well tell you. I was a phantom test experiment, and the result was that I had to cover myself in goo or… things get a little strange.”

Shock and 404 stared out into the regions of Jamma, seeing each one in its beauty. It wasn’t the hive, but perhaps Jamma would one day be called his home. They sat in silence, seeming to forget everything in their wake. They didn’t care about their mission, or their companions. They didn’t notice that they had a job to do. They saw no jammers or phantoms, but only people, people of beauty, people that got along.

If only that could be true.

“Quit the sappy!” Paralysis yapped. “We have a mission! I’m joining you guys, so don’t make me change my mind.” Not wanting to hesitate further, they took the cave path to Crystal Sands.

Have you ever seen a marching band? Have you heard the pounding of their feet in perfect synchronization? Such was the storm of phantoms. Shock, Flash, and Paralysis were often rejected, and 404 even more so. But Crystal Sands, usually filled with jammers, was deserted, and only the last were fleeing. Shock thought he had seen Troy running with his wolf and rabbit friends. Shock looked down in dismay.

“Congratulations.” Came a voice from above.

The phantoms found Lightning just as easily as they had Paralysis. Lightning slid down the water slide, landing near the shore.

“What brings you here?” he asked. By this point, they were all tired of explaining, as I am of storytelling. So, I’ll just skip to near the end. They had found Storm and were forming the portal to the fortress, when Troy, of all jammers, found them.

“I heard that you were leaving.” Troy said. A few questioning glances encouraged Troy to explain.

“Shock,” Troy stammered. “My mother works for the peace society. They were going to search the houses tonight. I just wanted you to know that you needed to hurry. Be careful out there, I know they will come searching for you. For what reason, I’m not sure. Just run.”

Shock nodded, waving goodbye.

“So…” Shock said to the fellow phantoms. “We all know what to do?” They nodded. Using their tentacles to form the hive portal, they stood in a circle. The ground beneath them opened, viewing the deep, watery portal of the phantom fortress.

“It’s almost strong enough!” Shock called. He was correct, and the portal was opening on every side. Except for one. One of the phantoms standing there didn’t have the ability to form the portal. In fact, one of them wasn’t a phantom at all. 404 only stood there, an uncomfortable expression displayed on his face. 404’s black, gooey covering now turned blue-grey, his limbs to paws. His one eye turned to two, and his face rounded into a long snout. He was a wolf, but not just any. Shocked, the phantoms broke their concentration. Now, only a small portion of the portal remained.

“I’m…” Greely started.

But the phantoms only stared, shocked that an Alpha would be leading their journey. There was a long period of silence.

“Go.” Shock whispered. “Just leave.”

And leave he did. He had begun walking away when he heard the snapping of twigs behind him.

“Greely.” The voice said.

“Gilbert, just because you are slightly older than me doesn’t mean you…”

Sir Gilbert had put his paws in Greely’s mouth. “This isn’t a lecture. I am pleased with you.” He whispered. Greely peered at not only Sir Gilbert, but Lisa and Peck as well. “Perhaps, by making peace with phantoms, we may end these dangers and possibly turn Jamma into a better place. Phantoms may stay here. We will deal with this.

And they did. The “peace association” was disbanded, and the phantoms could leave Jamma at their own will. After a short ceremony, Storm, Paralysis, Flash and Lightning had returned to the phantom fortress. But Shock, however, had other plans.

So, if you ever see a phantom lurking about Jamma, Say hi to him for me. And perhaps, ask him about that fateful day. If I know Shock, he will tell you that it was the best day of his life.

But the story isn’t over yet. Shock had entitled a… certain Jammer to tell his story. Remember the rabbit, Troy’s friend? Her name was Princess, also known as:

Aeiou45355

Jam on.