"Ha, your face is priceless kid!" Oswald was back to his usual self. I slowly open my eyes and see him standing below me with a smile. He than throws his hand in the air and brings it to my face. "Thumbs up, you passed!" I step back choking on the sudden intense pain. "You mean this was all a test... you.. bastard!" I yell coughing up blood.
"Sorry for giving ya the spooks kid, I had to see how you would handle an unexpected situation. Outter World is not all sunshine and adventure. The things you could encounter there are pretty serious stuff. There are people worse than me, who rather grind ya, find ya and throw ya in the blender before they ask questions. I needed to see if you had the heart to stay and fight, and if you had the strength to take a punch. In Outter World were going to be taking punches like that daily. Your going to have to be ready."
Oswald puts his hand up. In his palm I saw a green gummy like substance. "Here, swallow that." He hands me the gummy and I look at him in suspicion. "Dont worry its safe, I need you to change things in Outter World, why would I kill ya now." I look at him than look back at the substance, than I toss it in my mouth and swallowed while it trickled down my throat. Immediately afterwards I felt like I was reborn with twice as much strength than I had before.
"How do you feel." "I feel amazing! Like I could take on anyone." "Alright, alright don't get ahead of yourself kid." Oswald than brings out his box out of nowhere and mutters,"lupis abraham". Suddenly a stream of red light beams out of the box shooting toward the ground. A Briefcase, except a different one was there this time.
This one was black without chains but it was a lot smaller than its counterpart. Oswald than opens the briefcase and reaches in. Again his hand going deeper than a normal briefcase would allow. After a few minutes Oswalds eyes opens wide. "Got it". He pulls out some bluish ripped jeans, a biker jacket and some black boots. "Here, put this on." He tosses me the clothes and shews me away to dress up.
I have so many questions. Like who is the old man really, and where did he come from, why is he so fixated on me getting to Outter World. Whatever his motives, I will find out eventually, soon, when I get to Outter World.
Alright kid, ya ready!" "Yeah." I walk up to Oswald ready to get going. I look toward the sky and think about Fiona, wondering what she would have been doing up there at the moment.
"Okay kid, this is the plan. First we need to meet an old friend of mine, trust me you'll love the girl. Next we gotta prepare you for the entrance exam to Outter World. Lastly, once you pass the test, I can get me a nice Boston Cream Latte on our safe, secure and protected trip to Outter World."
"Wait, there's an entrance exam to get into Outter World?" I say scratching my head. "Kid, having the box is one thing, but being a dumbass in a room filled with smart asses doesn't bode well for publicity. Outter World is filled with scholars and geniuses, the box proves you are worthy, not intelligent. The least that box can do for you is allow you to pass as average and lower your chances of being laughed at.
I sigh uneasily. "Fine, can we just get this over with." "You first." Oswald directs me to the trucks. "Where did the workers go?" "Kid, stop asking question and get in the truck." Oswald pushes me inside and slams the door.
...
Oswald hops out the car and gestures me to come out. "Here we are." Oswald says stretching with both arms in the air. In front of us stood a huge mysterious mansion with at least 50 windows. I twist my waist until I could see behind me. I was sleeping the entire ride so I didn't notice the gate that said CSS in gold letters plastered in the front.
The complex was surrounded by bushes and fountains and all I could hear in the distance was crickets and brussels from the wind. Other than that it was extremely quiet. "Oswald. Halloween isn't until another four months, why are we in front of a haunted house?" "Relax kid there's something I wanna show you."
Oswald and I proceeded to the entrance. The entrance had the same abbreviation the gate had tattered on it. The doors are brown and stood 10 feet tall. They both had gold brasses lined up next to each other. Oswald grabs the handle and knocks in a pattern I have never heard before.. After a short moment one of the door knobs crocks and turns, and the right door slowly opens.
Standing before us was a maid, but not an ordinary maid. The maid had a Empty shade where her right eye should have been. Bolts and screws replaced joints and she looked as if she lost a part of herself.
She wore a white ribbon in her black short hair and had bangs that rested just above her eyes. She straightened her apron than held down her dress and bowed. "Welcome Ossy, how may I be of service to you this lovely evening?" "Whats up Izabel, your looking lively as ever!" Oswald says happily.
"I appreciate your flattery my love." Izabel looks towards me, I lose my composure when I realize what was going on. "I am terribly sorry. Who is your companion, I don't think i've seen this one before. "Oh that runt? He's here to see Charlotte, do you know where she might be." Oswald peeks into the mansion and glances at the windows.
"Not a clue. If you want you can search for the young master herself." The maid steps aside and leads us into the building. The building was ever expanding as you couldn't see the end of it with the naked eye. Chandeliers hang in rows and tables were lined up in a fitting manner.
"Wow, this place is huge!" I listen to my voice echo endlessly, bouncing around in the halls. "Keep it together kid, we didn't come here to sight see." All of the sudden a shadow sways in the hall in front of me. "Charlotte, is that you?" I say hesitantly. I continue into the hall in search for answers.
The hall was bright and the walls were decorated in medieval designs. Pictures with faces filled the hollow corridors. I come across a portrait with a peculiar looking women with a cane and an eye patch covering her left eye. She had unique purple hair and wore an angry frown. searching, my eyes caught writing at the bottom corner of the portrait.
"Catalyna. I wonder if she's related to Charlotte," I say to myself. I turn and continue down the never ending hall. After walking for what seemed like hours I make it to the end and directly ahead a room lies.
The door was half way open, loud hard rock was booming from within the room. I slowly pull the knob back and peep to see what or who was playing the music. There I see a short little purple haired girl playing Guitar Rock on a flat screen tv.
"Hi! Im Charlotte!"