Fantasy ƬѲ ƬЄΔƆĦ ƬĦЄ ƧЄΔ

[Ki-Mono]

​

Hello, and welcome to the story of Marie-Anna Thompson. A young, aspiring teacher with big dreams, still left uncrushed by this man-ruled country. On this particular day, Marie-Anna received both the best and worst news of her life, news that will change everything she knows about all she's ever learned.

It was a brisk spring morning; Marie-Anna was on her front porch, reading a new book she had recently bought. She was rather engrossed in it as she held it close to her face, barely even noticing the mailman as he was walking up to her white picket fence. As she got up to greet him, they both exchanged the usual formalities: "oh hello", "nice weather we're having", "how have you been?" His name was Henry, and he was a tall, charming young boy with auburn hair. This was probably his first job; so, she always did her best to make him feel welcome. Marie-Anna wanting to further the conversation, basically pulled the man by the sleeves, to keep him from his route. When one of the letters in her other arm, caught her attention. She slowly released her grip on the man, never looking up from the letter, only giving a faint wave as he left.
She held the letter in her hand for just a second, looking at the official stamps and fine handwriting on the outer casing. Unable to contain herself any longer, she ripped open the letter while letting out a squeal she hoped her neighbors did not hear. She held the paper an inch from her face as she read:

"Dear Ms. Marie-Anna Thompson,

We are pleased to inform you that your request for your own school has been accepted. If you choose to accept this offer, you will begin teaching at Kame School for Young Girls, in Kailua-Kona, HI, August 5th, 1912.
We cannot wait to here back from you. We will send you more details if the offer is accepted. We would like to inform you that children of color will be attending this school. If that is unsatisfactory, please respond promptly.

- Charles Morgan
Director of the School Board
Kame School for Young Girls"

A breeze rippling her dress was the only thing that could be seen moving as Marie-Anna froze in place. "H-Hawaii?"

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You of course could not decline the offer! You've waited so long for this day! But what will you do so far from home, away from friends and family? And of course there was the matter of how to get there! You do not have enough money for a fancy cruise line.

How should you get to Hawaii?:
>An old cargo ship with a bunch of rowdy men
>An experimental airplane that is guaranteed to not go down over sea
>A raft she makes herself, because how hard could it be to make a raft?

P.S. please let me know if I get anything historically inaccurate. This is a fantasy story, so I won't be trying to make it perfect, however I don't know much about history and am quite a perfectionist.

 

[Fable]

>An experimental airplane that is guaranteed to not go down over sea

 

[Ki-Mono]

​

Finally the day came, and here we find Marie-Anna Thompson was running around her house like a mad woman; arms full of this, that, and the other thing. "Oh geez! I'm not forgetting something am I?" Does the plane even have enough room for all these suitcases? She contemplated these things as she shoved some pots and pans into an already over-flowing case sitting on her bed. Will there be time for gardening? Maybe I should pack my spade? She thought as she bounced up and down on said suitcase, attempting to close it. After what felt like forever, a click could be heard on the final piece of luggage as it locked shut.

Tripping down the stairs of her porch and dropping a couple of things along the way on her dirt sidewalk, Marie-Anna finally made it to an automobile of a friend that had come to give her a ride. Flustered in her haste, she knew she would be late if they did not leave right away! As the car pulled off, Marie-Anna's house with the "for sale" sign in front grew smaller and smaller. The small town turned into a wooded trail that soon opened up into wide fields by the sea.

Then, she saw him, her pilot and dear friend, Frank Conners. He was an engineer taught by his father and his father's father. When he heard that Marie-Anna needed a way to Hawaii, he was ecstatic to show her his secret pet project. At first she was terrified, If man was meant to fly, why wasn't he born with wings? She kept herself up many nights thinking these thoughts. However, after spending much time with Frank in his little shed, and helping him on some finishing touches in her spare time, she grew to like the plane. He even let her name the vessel, which she called Manu; Hawaiian for bird she had read. Their test flights were like a dream. She had never felt so alive.

Months of planning and work had prepared them for this moment. Strapping their things in a small compartment (sadly, having to leave some items behind), they were finally ready. After manually winding the propeller, the two of them were ready for a flight that no one had dared before!
"Here we go!"

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A couple hours into the flight, and the awe and wonder seemed to wear off. Your hairs a mess, you've given up swiping the bugs off your goggles, and there is nothing to look at but ocean.

What should you do to help pass the time on this long journey?
> Offer to fly for awhile. Frank is probably getting tired.
> Take a nice nap. That is a sure-fire way to pass the most time!
> Do a maintenance check. It's risky, but needs to be done.

P.S. The plane style is totally made up

 

[Fable]

> Offer to fly for awhile. Frank is probably getting tired.

 

[Epiphany]

> Offer to fly for awhile. Frank is probably getting tired.

 

[Ki-Mono]

​

The wind was pounding, and the motor fan was quite loud. Marie-Anna had to yell the following words in hopes of having them be heard, "Would you like me to take over for a bit?!"
"What?!"
"WOULD YOU LIKE ME- Oh, never mind..." She gave up half way and decided to instead just forcibly move her way over, hoping Frank would get the hint. Whether he understood, or was just too afraid to object, the woman was able to take control of the plane while her friend decided resting his eyes might be nice.
Her hands moved slowly, remembering back to the days when they worked so hard to build this craft. Glancing from one wing to the other, everything looked in order. Visions flashed before her eyes as she relived "sewing" every tendon in place. Frank was so kind to open his time and tools to her, but most importantly, his mind. Leaving behind his life was obviously not just for her, he himself wanted this adventure. However, she couldn't help, but be touched. Even to let her work on it with him surprised her. A woman? Working with tools in some man's shed? Unheard of around her town. There were whispers on the street of other things that could have been going on, but she and Frank were just friends, and thought the rumors were funny. After all, her life was just beginning! Why bring a man into the mix?

As her daydreams continued of her future life in Hawaii, she hardly noticed the clouds beginning to form. It happened so suddenly, and without warning. For a second, she thought she was just going crazy. Or maybe going blind. But nope. Once the wind picked up and the first drops hit her face, she knew it was real, and it looked bad.
"UM, FRANK!!" she yelled, giving some not-so-gentle taps to his head. "THERE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE RAIN, RIGHT?"

The rest of what happened was kind of a blur. Seconds afterwards, heaven's flood gates opened, and the tiny plane was being pelted by the heavy storm. Marie-Anna gripped the steering rod with fists so tight she could hardly feel them. Basically, trying to will the plane to stay steady by sure might alone.
After almost drowning, Frank was fully awake. The poor boy seemed like his mind couldn't even process what was happening, but simply went on a panicked auto-drive. His face was of terror, but his body moved like he was unfazed. Before she knew it, the crazy fool was hanging on for dear life on one of the plan wings! She nearly died of a heart-attack right then and there, not even caring that he was trying to keep the entire thing from snapping in two!

However, it was no use. Bit by bit, the plane was being ripped to shreds, no matter what Frank did to hold it together. He simply couldn't work fast enough and stay alive at the same time. Marie-Anna wasn't even fully aware the plane was heading down. Everything was pitch black, illuminated only when lightning stuck; all too close for comfort.
She scrambled to do all that she could to keep the plane in the air, not even knowing if Frank was still holding on. She dare not think about that. However, she couldn't take not knowing any longer and turned her head to check-

Her entire body felt like it was being crushed by a sudden weight that could only be the plane collapsing in on itself as it hit something... hard.

. . . . . .

How long she was out, she did not know. Her eyes were blinded by a bright light. Was it the sun? Was it heaven? As she tried to move, her entire body protested. She was most definitely bleeding... "Frank..?" she barely mumbled before attempting to move once again.

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Barely alive, and unaware of what's going on, what is your first instinct?
> Try to determine our wounds, and see if we can mend them before getting worse.
> Look to see if Frank is with us. Is he alright? Is he alive? He probably needs our help.
> Call out for help. Someone must be near by. Is there a house in the distance?

 

[Epiphany]

> Look to see if Frank is with us. Is he alright? Is he alive? He probably needs our help.

 

[Fable]

> Try to determine our wounds, and see if we can mend them before getting worse.

 

[Life.]

> Look to see if Frank is with us. Is he alright? Is he alive? He probably needs our help.

 

[Ki-Mono]

​

Her vision was going fuzzy, and she felt herself start to drift off. Right before darkness overtook her, a thought suddenly hit her, "FRANK!" Her body tried to bolt up with the thought, but a pang of pain had her slowly sinking back down. "No, no, no! I have to find him! He'd do the same for me!" She sat still for a few moments, gathering her strength. This was gonna hurt. She grabbed both sides of the crushed seating compartment, and heaved.
Everything inside of her screamed to stop, but she didn't. Soon, she was sitting on the outer rim. She decided to rest a second, and catch her breath. Holding her side, she took the opportunity to take in her surroundings. They crash landed on some kind of beach; however, she could not tell if it was a Hawaiian beach. She guessed probably not. Surely they hadn't been flying long enough to already be there. Tropical trees densely lined where the beach ended, and there was some kind of structure in the distance. However, her foggy gaze could not make it out from here.
Getting back to the task at hand, she began to slowly, oh so slowly, slide down the side of the plane. Hitting the soft sand felt more like getting kicked by a stallion. Sinking to her knees, her dress now soaked, she turned her gaze to the sea. "Frank..!" she belted out as loud as she could. Her voice seemed to die out with the waves.
The water was quite rocky, some rocks towering high above the trees nearby. She was lucky to be alive. However, she feared that Frank may not have had Lady Luck shining on him as well. Her feet and vision seemed to grow more unstable as she circled the plane, and continued to call out over the ocean.
There was no sign of Frank. Not on the plane, nor in the water. And the blood appeared to be only hers. Wait... blood? Looking down, she noticed a big gash in her side. "When did that happen..?" she mumbled. Her mind seeming to forget what had just transpired.
She continued to walk the beach line, calling out Frank's name, quieter and quieter every time. Until she eventually tripped, and did not have the energy to get back up.
She vaguely remembered her ankles being pulled further into the water, or something strong fighting over her, pulling her back onto land.

Distorted images danced in her vision, as she snuggled under her blanket. They were mainly unfamiliar memories of helping Frank build the plane, and flying it over the ocean. The part where whales danced alongside the plane didn't seem so weird in the moment. However, soon the whales started to bulge and expand. Water poured from their eyes, weighing down the tiny plane. Panic filled her mind, and she turned to Frank, but found he was no longer there. The plane was going down fast, lighting everywhere, she couldn't see!
Her eyes flew open, body tense and sweaty. "It was all a dream.." she thought. She was tired, and wanted to go back to sleep; however, a pain in her side kept her from rolling over. As realization slowly sank in, her vision also seemed to be adjusting to the bright light in the room.
It hit her all at once: this was not her bed, her walls were not made of dirt, those shrunken heads were definitely not hers, and the figure that just appeared at the doorway did not look human!

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Well, this isn't looking good. You couldn't find Frank and it appears you may have been kidnapped!

What will you do?
> Pretend to still be asleep. Buy yourself some time and figure out whats going on.
> Try to converse with the creature. If it wanted to hurt you, it surely would have already, right?
> Grab that nice looking club hanging on the wall. If you're gonna die today, might as well go out fighting!

 

[Life.]

> Pretend to still be asleep. Buy yourself some time and figure out what's going on.

 

[official clown business]

> Pretend to still be asleep. Buy yourself some time and figure out what's going on.

 

[Fable]

> Try to converse with the creature. If it wanted to hurt you, it surely would have already, right?

 

[Ki-Mono]

​

The realization that she was not alone sent a bolt of fear through her body. She suddenly felt wide awake, but her fight-or-flight instinct kicked in; only to find out she didn't seem to have one as her body seemed to freeze in place. As the figure lumbered its way in, she shut her eyes tight, trying to ease her rigid body. She slowed her breath thinking of nothing else to do, but pretend to be asleep and buy herself some more time. The only downside to this was that she could not see anything, and only had to pray the creature was not picking up a knife as she just lay here, unable to move out of fear.
The beast's feet thumped closer and closer, and her heart sank as she realized how unusually large the footsteps sounded. She wanted to open her eyes, but she dared not. A foul-smelling heat pressed against her face as she sensed the creature's face right next to hers. She tried not to scrunch her nose, nudge away, or flat-out throw a punch. The moment seemed to last forever when it was actually just a fleeting sniff.
A horrendous screech filled the hut as wood was heavily drug along wood. She knew she had visibly flinched. A sweat was beginning to break out all over her body as she prayed to God that this monster had not seen it. The sound soon stopped, followed by a dull thud.
All was still and quiet for a bit. She knew it was still there, but the sudden silence begged her to open her eyes. She peered out between her eyelids keeping them slit so closely she hoped they would pass as still shut. Through her eye lashes, she only made out shadows against light, and saw the creature had sat itself on some kind of stool. It appeared to be looking at something on a makeshift table nearby. She quickly shut her eyes tight once again as the monster turned its head back her way, reaching for her. She braced for the worst, but instead got a soft, very large hand resting on her forehead. Why? Her mind was spinning far too fast to make a guess. It lingered only a short while before pulling away, followed by a small grunt from said beast.
Just as her heart felt as though it'd burst from her chest, the giant did the worst possible thing: lifted a bit of the blanket up to get to her legs. There was something strange about a blanket, and how it made you feel safe, even if you weren't; so, to have part of it lifted away just made her want to cry. As her mind swirled with terrible imaginings, she barely paid attention to what was going on. When her mind snapped back, she felt those large hands gingerly wrapping something around her legs. The more she thought about it, her legs did hurt. Was it bandaging her? Why?...
They went on in silence like this for a while. It wrapping her stinging legs as her face was now bunched into the blanket. She finally was giving herself a little, silent cry. She had no idea if she was doing a good job at pretending to be asleep at this point, but if the creature had noticed, it paid her no mind.

Sounds were heard from outside, sounds that could only have been more of these dreaded creatures. Her company left when it heard its friends, and she was left alone with her emotions.
The commotion outside died down, and she had to will herself not to fall asleep. She knew this may be her only chance to escape! Heaving herself up, the way down from the bed was a lot further then she expected, landing with a not so quiet thud. Freezing in place and holding her breath, she waited to see if anyone had heard. When no one came to check on her, she tentatively made her way to the opening of the hut. Peering out, it seemed to be mid-afternoon. There were a couple more sloppy made huts around, but most of the place was covered in what she could only describe as toys: dolls, balls, wooden-looking swords. Are there children that live here? she pondered, tip-toeing out of the shelter. Only then she noticed just how many scratches were on her legs. She thought it a strange plane crash wound, but tried to focus her mind back at the task at hand. The forest brush was thick around the area. Hammocks hung from trees, as well as many beads and other trinkets. She desperately tried not to knock any of them as she wiggled her way past. The camp seemed abandoned at the moment; however, she honestly didn't know where to go if she left.
Climbing a low palm tree to get a better view, she weighed her options...

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Getting your barrings, you make a decision on where to go:
> Head towards the temple in the distance that you saw earlier. It seems closer now, and surely someone must tend to it.
> Head back to the beach. You want to see if you can flag a ship down, or at the very least, try to find Frank again.
> Stay here. You're lost and alone, and these beasts have not brought any harm yet. Maybe they will help you when they return.[/FONT]

 

[official clown business]

> Head towards the temple in the distance that you saw earlier. It seems closer now, and surely someone must tend to it.

 

[Fable]

Head back to the beach. You want to see if you can flag a ship down, or at the very least, try to find Frank again.

 

[Life.]

> Head towards the temple in the distance that you saw earlier. It seems closer now, and surely someone must tend to it.

 

[Ki-Mono]

​

In the distance, she saw that temple again. The one she had spotted earlier, right after the wreck. It seemed closer now than before, but still far. The temple looked as though it was not in ruin, so she knew someone of power or intelligence must tend to it. Her only hope was that they were merciful and had a way for her to get to Hawaii, or at least back home.
A light breeze blew through her hair, snapping her out of her thoughts. She breathed in deeply. "I'm alive, even if for just a bit, I lived," she thought to herself, gazing at the sky. This island was beautiful, and she might as well appreciate it while she still had breath in her lungs. Descending the tree, the pain in her side became very apparent. Her climb down was much slower than the one up, and she knew it must be due to the adrenaline wearing off.
As her feet hit wet leaves, she made her way leisurely. She did not want to overwork herself, plus she wanted to look where she stepped. Spiders and snakes were surely to be hanging around under every leaf.

As she carried on, getting thorns and who-knows-what in her feet, she started to notice this island was a lot stranger than what Hawaii was described as. The flowers were almost half her size and had a glowing effect to them; the birds were more colorful than any she'd ever seen before, and there was just an eerie calm and quiet to it all. She felt as if the island itself was moving or alive, but she didn't understand why. She felt very dizzy, and would have most definitely lost her way if the temple didn't tower so high. Walking as if in a trance, she tried to stay aware of all the eyes that seemed to be on her. Animals peered at her, animals she had never seen before. Ones that reminded her of one thing, but were slightly different. More knowing. As she locked eyes with a horse-like creature, she picked up the pace. Kept only on earth by the pain in her body.

The land seemed to shift around her, and soon the ground was soggy. The trees towered above and perfectly round pools of water surrounded them. Her feet began to bleed slightly as she had to walk along the bark-covered tree roots in order not to fall in one of these seemingly bottomless pits. It wasn't long until she climbed them on all fours, bringing her progress to a literal crawl. The world grew quiet as she concentrated with the buzz of birds and insects becoming nothing more than background noise.
"Oh, thank goodness," she breathed as solid ground, once again, came into view. Perching on a root, ready to make a leap for the land... a loud splash sounded behind her, startling her as she fell into the icy water below.
A panic instantly swelled inside her as her body desperately tried to make it to shore. She had no idea what that sound was, and the thought of being eaten by a sea monster gave her brand new energy. Soon her hands met grass and she dug her nails into the soil as she heaved her way up and away from the water. Looking back, a sly shadow lingered for only a moment before descending down into the pool. Fumbling to a deemed "safe distance", she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. "Oh my God, I'm going to die on this island," she cursed her frustrations.

"ᏕᏬ ᏦᏗᏝᏗ ᎩᏇᎥᏁ?"

She froze. That was a voice. Was she close to her destination? Glancing over, the Temple was in full view.
The voice was cool and sly, holding onto certain sounds longer then needed, but sounded confused and startled.

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What's your next move?
> Retreat back the way you came. Maybe the village was safer.
> Stay to try and to figure out who spoke. Perhaps they are friendly.
> Sneak over to the temple without being seen. You want to know what you're getting into.

(Sorry if things are edited strangely this time around. My editor did it through email this time and formatted it different then I'm used to)

 

[Epiphany]

> Stay hidden and try to spy on who spoke
We have no idea what the speaker is saying so actually talking to them's not likely to help us much. That said, they might be a native from the village that saved us? Observation may yield useful information that we'd miss if we just head for the temple straight away.

 

[Ki-Mono]

> Stay hidden and try to spy on who spoke
We have no idea what the speaker is saying so actually talking to them's not likely to help us much. That said, they might be a native from the village that saved us? Observation may yield useful information that we'd miss if we just head for the temple straight away.

I added some descriptive words to the voice in order to help with that, and also tweaked the options themselves. I had a hard time deciding how to end this chapter and what choices to make. I see now they were pretty poor. I'll do better next time! Thank you for your constructive criticism; it really does help!

 

[Fable]

> Sneak over to the temple without being seen

 

[Epiphany]

Yeah, with an indistinct speaker who we can't understand plus being followed, there's no way I'd suggest going back the way we came and staying to figure out who spoke isn't likely to be useful since we can't understand them.

I'll second Fyuri's motion.

 

[official clown business]

> Sneak over to the temple without being seen. You want to know what you're getting into.
Hello, hello, hello, I see we're still around. I think it's time to do a little snopping.

 

[Ki-Mono]

We're still alive and are heading to the temple! Going to start writing right now!

 

[Aj5931]

> Stay to try and to figure out who spoke