The ground was wet and I no longer wanted to be a bush. My
heart was beating fast; I thought I was going to throw-up. Briliam passed over me like he had never known I existed. He wore a red cloak with a hood that never showed his face. He was as scary as an axe murderer. His hands were white, bony, and his finger nails were unkempt. He turned his back towards me as if he was an old man grasping his cane.
“I can taste your fear so don’t think you got away this time,” Briliam said as he hit his cane against the ground and turned towards the door.
As soon as he hit his cane against the ground, I was back with the group. No one noticed me as I popped into existence of the group of Tumdits.
Tumdits are an endangered species that can transform into anything and they never have to eat, drink, sleep, or go to the bathroom. We had been trapped in Briliam's basement forever. It’s kind of like a game; before you start trying to get out of his house you get to pick one person or thing to transform into at anytime during your journey to the surface. I know you’re thinking that it’s only a basement, but this isn’t an ordinary basement. This is a bigger basement then the state of Vermont with only one way out and one guy that patrols it. Somehow, he always finds you.
The Tumdits have been there for thousands of years. The legend says that Briliam was our king and too over protective from the humans and other civilizations. In the result, he lot us up for good and we’ve been down here ever since.
“So, how far did you get, Steve?” Danny said.
Danny was my best friend. He had short dirty blond curly hair and thick and almost black eyebrows. He also had dark circles around his colorful eyes that go light brown, green, blue, and then green again, from the pupil out.
“I remember seeing a jungle,” I replied.
“You went that long without being caught?” Danny said in amazement.
“I wonder what it’s like on the surface with the humans” I said as I walked away.
I walked out of the base into the transformation selection room, and into the booth. The room was all white, and the only thing in it was the booth. I swiftly swept my card into the booth and on the screen it said “loading” then said “Steven Pane accepted”. Then there was a box where I could type what I wanted to transform into. After thinking of past trips, I chose a cheetah for speed. The screen said “accepted” and I walked out of the room into Briliam’s zone. After looking down both directions that I could have gone, I transformed into a cheetah, and darted right. I took another right, and there was Briliam.
“Too easy, I hold all the power,” Briliam said in a crisp voice.
He slapped his cane on the ground, and I was back at the beginning. I don’t get it there is only one way out and he knows it. I think he knows where we are at all times too, because it’s almost impossible to win. Too easy, I hold all the power; it just keeps racing through my head.
“Might as well give up,” I said to Danny “Only one person has gotten in out over 500 years.”
“I wish he was here to tell us how he got up,” Danny sighed.
I decided to try once more time before I gave up. I walked into the white room, and swept my card into the booth and thought. All I could think about was Briliam having the power not me. Then it occurred to me and I typed it in.
When I got to Briliam’s Zone, I turned into Briliam and smiled. When I transformed I had an ultimate sense of where I was and where everyone else was. I had like radar in my head and I saw Danny. I chased down Danny’s signal, and when I got there he was a dog.
“No, please I got this far please,” Danny pleaded in the sight of me.
“Danny, it’s me, we have to get out of here before he comes,” I said as I transformed into myself again.
“Great idea,” Danny said with his mouth wide open.
“There’s no time,” I said in a panicked voice
I turned back into Briliam and grabbed Danny. I followed the sense and it got me far, but yet again, I took a right and there was Briliam. Confused at first, he backed up. I know just what to do I pounded my cane against the ground and away he went. I finally reached the end within a couple minutes. It was a ladder leading up to a man hole. I climbed out, and I was in the middle of a street. I was back in the form of a Tumdit, but I couldn’t transform. I had a strange pain in my side.
“Hunger,” I said in amazement.
“I think we’re, humans,” Danny whispered