The Sphere of Parmile - ch 2

The Sphere of Parmile </u>
Chapter Two: An Unexpected Rescue </u>
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          The warmth of the sun and the soft breeze of the wind felt magnificent on his skin. He inhaled the delightful scent of the flowers his mother had grown over the summer. He hoped the calmness of this peaceful day would never fade. It was uncommon for him to sit outside and listen to his own thoughts. His mother had argued with him to stop wasting his time inside and enjoy the day while the amount of customers was small.

          Now that he’d graduated from the Interstellar Academy he was anxious to see what adventures laid ahead of him. So far, nothing exciting had leaped in front of his path. Life was slowly fading away into nothing. If only something new would happen.

          In the meantime, he would have to wait; much to his dismay. Wait and hope that an exciting adventure would find it’s way to him. He leaned back against the wall relaxed, closed his eyes, and sighed. Today was a beautiful, peaceful day, and nothing could ruin it...

          “Hey Jimmy!”

          Except for that...

          Jim opened his eyes to find his old pal, B.E.N looking down at him. The cheerful smile on his face made Jim curious. The merry look B.E.N was giving him reminded him of a five-year-old that desperately wanted to yell out the secret he was hiding. Jim smirked at B.E.N, “What is it, B.E.N.?”

          “You’ll never guess what I just found!” B.E.N. was nearly shaking from excitement.

          “What?”

          “Your old solar surfer!”

          Jim’s jaw nearly dropped. Solar surfing... it had been awhile since he last felt the joy of gliding through the air. When he’d returned from his journey to Treasure Planet, he began building a new surfer and put his old one aside. He’d gotten into trouble many times with that old surfer. There were many scars carved into that old piece of metal. Many memories...

          “So what do ya say we take it out for a ride?” B.E.N. questioned Jim.

          “All right,” Jim smiled. Maybe this day would get better.

          After numerous attempts to pull the old board out of the pile of junk, they held the board before them and examined it. The commotion had caused many of the customers to curiously peep out of the window. Morph swiftly flew out to assist them without any hesitation. He chirped merrily and whirled around Jim’s head excitedly. He always knew when something exhilarating was about to occur.

          Jim tried to ignore the cherry, pink blob, and studied his board closely. He was astonished to find the board was still in magnificent condition, despite how roughly he treated it. A brief ride wouldn’t get him into a great deal of trouble. All he had to do was stay within the Benbow area and not trespass onto anyone’s property.

          “So, we gonna take it for a spin, Jimmy?” B.E.N was still eager to witness Jim’s solar surfing skills.

          “You bet.”

          Within minutes the small group had wandered from the Benbow Inn and into a clear area. Jim set the board on the ground and positioned his feet firmly on the board. B.E.N clapped his hands together, jumped up and down, and shouted, “This is so exciting!”

          Morph slid into the pocket of Jim’s pants and poked his head out with a merry smile. Jim patted his pocket; “You can come to, Morph,”

          B.E.N took a step back as Jim and Morph shot off the cliff and into the air. Jim yelled out in excitement as his hair flew back and he glided through the air. Morph chirped and laughed in his high, squeaky voice. There was something so wonderful about this free feeling.

          Now hundreds of feet from the ground, Jim arched his arms up like wings and fell backwards. After flipping backwards several times he twisted his body, grabbed one side of his board and spun in a circle. Once he was about forty feet from the ground he shot forward again with a great shout.

          This brought back countless old memories. His mind fell back to four years ago. He remembered the last time he’d used a solar surfer, back when he was fifteen. That was the last time he’d gotten into trouble with the authorities. He could still visualize the horrified expression on his mother’s face when they brought him home. She was always upset at him for his behavior, but that day felt like the worst.

          It was later that night, while he was eavesdropping on his mother and Doctor Doppler’s conversation that a ship crashed near the Benbow Inn. Jim quickly assisted Billy Bones out of his ship and into the Inn where a shocked Sarah and Delbert stood. He was given a sphere that would change his life in many ways.

          The gold sphere had lead Jim on an adventure where he met Silver, a cyborg pirate. Silver had explained to Jim that he would do great things in the future and rattle the stars. A warm smile spread across Jim’s face as he remembered the old cyborg that believed in him; but a loud explosion interrupted his thoughts.

          Falling from the sky at a fast pace was a small, fish-like ship. Orange and red flames waved wildly leaving a trail of thick smoke behind. The ship turned on its side just as it crashed into the soil and slid several feet. Horrified, Jim decided to investigate; hopefully someone was still alive.

          He spun his board around and headed in the direction the ship had crash-landed. As he approached the ship, he noticed that pieces of the ship had flung off during impact. He set his board aside and slowly moved toward the ship; Morph close behind. They noticed that part of the ship was dangling over the cliff, making it even more difficult to enter.

          With the help of Morph, Jim managed to find the broken door. He gave it a good tap and watched it fall before him. He and Morph gave each other glances and cautiously entered the ship. The inside was a disaster. Wires hung, sparks flew, doors hung open, and the most of the ship was surrounded with smoke. Jim covered his mouth with his arm, coughing as he inhaled. He moved wires around and yelled, “Hello? Is any one in here?”

          Jim jostled his way through the wires and to the front of the ship. The controls were smashed and broken with a few wires and buttons poking out. Jim’s eyes started to wander from the controls to the seat ahead of him. He noticed the limp arm dangling over the armrest.

          After blinking several times he carefully moved toward the arm. He slowly leaned over the chair to discover a young woman. Her appearance was that of a young woman, no older than Jim was. Long brown hair dangled over her light skinned face. She wore a black jacket with her sleeves rolled to her elbows. Underneath of her jacket was a white, short sleeved shirt with a blue bodice. She also had green pants with black boots.  

          It wasn’t until he strolled nearer that he observed the large bump on the left side of her forehead. He assumed she hit her head on the controls during the impact. Her jaw was slightly hanging open. A small moan followed by a twitch caused Jim to presume she was still alive. However, Morph paid little attention to Jim or the unconscious girl.

          He was much more fascinated with the shiny buttons, rather than the harmed girl. Barely able to contain his enthusiasm, the little shape shifter morphed into a hand with a pointing index finger. The finger swiftly made contact with the button and pushed it inward.

          “The ship will destruct in 30 seconds,” A voice echoed.

          “What did you do?” Jim raised an eyebrow and gave Morph a suspicious look, whom was chirping and laughing hysterically. With only a few seconds left, Jim felt it was useless to question Morph. Lifting the young woman up he held her in his arms and sped through the exit of the ship.

          “Ten, nine, eight, seven,” In a speedy movement, Jim and Morph raced out of the ship seconds before the explosion. They were flung forward from the vast wind and hit the ground with a thud. Jim roofed his head with his arm as tiny pieces of the ship soared over their heads.

          As the last piece flew, Jim turned to look at the ruins of the ship. Flames danced over the broken parts of the ship and a cool wind softly blew the smoke. The ship was completely destroyed. Whoever this girl was, she wasn’t going anywhere too soon.

***

          “Give it back!”

          “No! I saw it first!”

          “So! I grabbed it first!”

          Tugging the blue bear, the two toddlers wrangle yelling at each other in harsh tones. The red haired feline had snatched the toy before her canine brother could. The two siblings bickered like this constantly. The girl loved nothing more than torturing and teasing her brother to the point that she could make him cry. It made her feel as though she had a great deal of power over her three siblings.

          “Anabelle! Dominic! How many times must I repeat myself?” Their father, whom Dominic had a striking resemblance to, bent down to their level and took the teddy bear, “Share your toys,”

          “Yes dad,” Anabelle and Dominic sighed together.

          Their father put the bear down and sauntered away. Anabelle picked it up and looked at the bear that she grasped in her hands. Admitting defeat, she put the bear in front of her brother, “Take it,”

          Without so much as a thank you, Dominic snatched the bear and pulled it close to him with a victorious smile on his face. Anabelle felt incredibly stupid, she wouldn't lose the battle so easily. Quickly thinking, she glanced around the room until she spotted a toy pirate ship. She knew how much her brother enjoyed playing with miniature pirate ships and decided this was how she would win the war.

          “But, I get this one!” Dominic looked over to see Anabelle playing with his brand new ship.

          “But that’s mine!”

          “So, you took my bear,” Anabelle didn’t even so much as take one glance at her brother.

          How dare she treat him like this! It wasn’t that Dominic hated his sister, she just wasn’t his favorite sibling to be around. He felt like a weakly when she was near. Her strength and wits over powered him and left him in the pits of shame and defeat. Not this time, he would have his revenge... when he would eventually think of a plan...

          “But- but that’s my favorite toy!”

          “And as I said before, that is my bear,” Her voice stern and calm, “I’ll tell you what, let’s make a deal. You return my bear and I give you your truck,”

          Anabelle’s words astonished Dominic. For such a young girl, her use of words were brilliant. He’d overheard his parents speaking about Anabelle’s abnormally high intelligent. Apparently, she’d picked up her love of books from their father and learned most of her words from the books she read. She’d also inherited their mother’s wits and sense of humor using harsh words. In a way, Dominic envied his sister. He was only blessed with their father’s looks and clumsiness.

          “I donno...” Dominic didn’t want to give up the bear so easily, but it didn’t want his sister to demolish his favorite truck.

          “Well, if that’s the way you feel,” Anabelle raised a hand and extended one long claw. Dominic knew exactly what she was trying to do. She was trying to threaten him into giving her the bear. Well it wouldn’t work! He wouldn’t admit defeat so effortlessly! Then again, he knew Anabelle well, but not that well. He’d always given in by now, so he wasn’t too sure as how bold his sister was. Perhaps she really would damage his toy just to have her way; “You’ve got three seconds,”

          She wouldn't... She would be in loads of trouble if she did!

          “One...”

          He wasn’t going to fall for it! Not this time! Never again!

          “Two...”

          She wouldn’t dare... would she?

          “Three!”

          “All right, all right! Deal!” Dominic tossed the bear at his sister. He wasn’t going to take the chance of Anabelle actually destroying his favorite toy.

          “I knew you’d see it my way,” Anabelle smiled as she embraced her bear.

          Dilbert sighed, “All those two ever do is argue!”

          “Don’t worry, Dilbert, they’ll grow out of it someday,” Sarah chuckled, “I remember Jim at that age,”

          “Speaking of Jim, where did he wander off to? Wasn’t he helping you earlier today?”

          “Yes, he was, but I told him to take a brake... which was quite a while ago...” Sarah was starting to grow worried. She’d let Jim leave over an hour ago. Where could he have possibly gone? Better yet, what was he up to?

          “Hm, I do recall seeing Jim and that mechanical friend of his dragging a giant metal board that resembled Jim’s old solar surfer. You know, the one he built after our trip?” Dilbert thought about what he said for a moment. He wondered if it was really necessary to mention Jim’s solar surfer.

          “Oh no,” Sarah put a hand to her forehead as her heart skipped a beat, “You don’t think he’s gotten into any trouble, do you?”

          “Who? Jim? No! Of course not!” Dilbert was starting to rue ever mentioning what he’d said before. How did he always get himself into these situations? Feeling it was his duty to comfort Sarah, he put a hand on her shoulder and calmly spoke, “Don’t worry, Sarah. Jim’s a smart lad. I’m sure he’s just having a merry old time!”

          Sarah smiled warmly, “You’re right, Dilbert. Jim’s not the boy he used to be,” Sarah wiped a tear that was forming in her eye, “he’s changed.” She sighed with a great deal of relief, “My little boy has grown up... and he won’t be begging me for pets any more,”

          Suddenly the Inn door swiftly swung open and hit the wall with a bang. Jim stood there breathing heavily with beads of sweating forming on his skin. Morph floated above him and B.E.N. stood in the back dragging Jim’s board. The unconscious girl’s arm was dangling over Jim’s shoulders. As small as the woman was, the lengthy walk and the weight of the girl over Jim caused him to grow exhausted.

          “Ahem! Well, it appears Jim has found a new category of things to bring home,” Dilbert coughed.

          “Oh, Jim! Not again!” Sarah was aghast at the sight and rushed forward.

          “Don’t worry, mom,” Jim assured his mother, “It’s not what it looks like,”

          “Good heavens! What’s happened to her? Is she all right?” Dilbert questioned.

          “Yeah, I think so,” Jim removed the girl’s arm from his shoulders and laid her against the door, “She’s got a nasty bump on her forehead, but other than the fact that she’d unconscious, I think she’s okay,”

          “What should we do with her?” Sarah looked at Dilbert.

          “Bring her upstairs and lay her down on one of the beds. I’ll find the doctor and send him over straight away!” Dilbert grabbed his coat and headed out the door, “Sarah, could you watch the children while I’m gone?”

          “Yes, Dilbert. Now hurry!”

          “Of course,”

          While Jim and B.E.N took the girl up stairs, Sarah and Morph tried to calm a crying Annette. The adorable, little, blonde feline whined and hesitated to speak as her watery tears rolled down her pink cheeks. Annette had the softest heart and could have it easily broken just by someone walking away from her. Sarah picked her up and rocked her back and forth.

          “W-w-w-why did daddy l-l-leave us?” Annette sniffled.

          “Oh, there, there, Annette,” Sarah hushed the child, “He’ll be back soon,”

          “Yeah, he wouldn’t leave us!” Abigail turned to Sarah with worried eyes, “Would he?”

          “Of course not,”

          “Pft, babies,” Anabelle snorted at her sisters. She found it greatly annoying for them to cry and whine over such questions. Dominic, however, had no worries. He knew his father well, and knew he’d never leave them.

          But there was still the girl... the mysterious girl that Jim had rescued from the burning ship. What had caused her ship to crash? And what was her business on Montressor?

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Next Chapter...
Chapter Three: Vanished
www.deviantart.com/deviation/1…