Who Are You
I felt an electricity along the back of my neck. The hairs started to rise. My senses went on high alert. Time seemed to slow. The sprawling theme park became dark and abandoned. The rides no longer existed. Large orange and blue cubes stood in their place. The cubes looked faded like they hadn’t been used in years. The statue of Roger Roo became solid; its head missing and inanimate waving arm broken. The vehicles laid turned over; the train’s windows were broken. Then everything was back to normal. I shook off a shiver.
A moment later, the door to my hotel room opened. My friends entered with cheerful greetings.
The first to enter were two boys about my age, 16. They dressed the same and looked similar but where not twins, or siblings. The two were friends since birth and almost seemed to share a brain. I remember someone once calling them “soul twins.” Their names were Nathan and Sabastian, though sometimes I can’t remember which is which.
Next was Jordan, a science geek. He was never happier than when he had a problem to solve. Although, he could become too obsessive over finding an answer. I remembered one time he didn’t bathe for a month while he tried to figure out some mathematical proof. He wasn’t invited anywhere until he agreed to shower. He also had a quick temper; he could suddenly burst into a fit of rage. I think one of my friends said he suffered from some multiple personality disorder.
Aurore entered next. She had hair as dark as a moonless night. Her lips were as red as blood, and her skin was as pale as a full moon. She moved with a ghostly grace, as if unaffected by gravity.
Ethan and his girlfriend, Emma, arrived next. He looked like he belonged in a storybook. He was tall and lean, but not too tall or lean. He had muscles but not enough to make anyone feel less around him. His teeth and hair were always perfect. It looked like a Greek god.
Like Ethan, Emma was abnormally attractive. Even though she radiated beauty, her green hair moved oddly like it had a life of its own. Rough patches dotted her skin like she needed moisturizer. Her eyes, however, were captivating.
After Emma gave us each a warm, yet regal head nod, Gabriel entered. He wore a straw hat, vest, shorts, and flip flops. A piece of straw hung from his mouth. He always looked like he was on permanent vacation. His skin rippled at random times like a nervous twitch or like he was trying to hold his appearance. His expression was kind and welcoming, but the small turn of his mouth and his eyes told of mischievous plots.
Alexander entered next. He was a lean teen with a robotic eye, robotic leg, and robotic arm that could change shape. He weirdly reminded me of a pirate. He had white and black hair; his human eye was bright blue while the robotic one was a dark, menacing red.
Then came Grace. Her beauty could make your heart stop. With her long hair, full lips, and rosy cheeks, she could make anyone fall in love with her. However, it was her eyes that stopped any advance. They were harsh and unforgiving. Though she had the beauty that would make a unicorn come out of hiding, her eyes told of duty and unresolved anger.
The last to enter made my heart race and my brow sweat. I took a nervous step backwards. Why do I feel the need to run from a friend? He entered slowly, ducking under the doorway. He stood at 6 feet 8 inches and looked like a humanoid owl. He looked swift and powerful with white feathers with gold markings. His wings curled around him like a cloak. His black eyes seemed to read your soul.
“Hello, Joe,” he said in a soft, yet mechanical voice. It reminded me of someone trying to speak through a translator or a text-to-speech computer but more advanced.
“Hi, Henry,” I said, after a gulp.
The rest of us were in our mid-teens, but Henry was older. Sometimes it seemed like he was older than the planet.
Henry stood over me, looking down. I stood still staring up at him. Suddenly, I was in a dark room. A single light shined on me. I saw pods filled with a liquid lined against the walls. People were in those pods. I heard bubbling and something like sand falling through an hourglass.
Then I was back in the hotel room. My legs felt like they were about to give out. I stumbled some and grabbed my head. When I looked at the gathering of people in the room I said, “Who are you?”
“We’re your friends?” said Nathan, maybe Sabastian.
“No,” I said. “My friends are Sally and Danny and Brain. I’ve never seen you before.”
“Yes, you have,” Henry said. “We’ve been friends for a very long time.”
My head hurt. It buzzed. It felt like it does after taking some allergy medicine. I wanted to go to sleep. Sleep called to me.
“You’re right,” I said. I scoffed. “How silly. I must need more sleep.”
“Yeah,” said Ethan. “Sleep is important.”
“But,” said Gabriel, “we are also here to have fun.”
I nodded. “Right. What should we do first?”
“The rides,” they said as one. “We must ride all the rides.”
Joe Rover 