Legends: The Folklore Trilogy Book 2

Chapter 5- Where My World is Changed

The ship came up to a dock and slowed to a stop. We all filed out slowly from a rather primitive gangplank that, I don't mind saying, made me feel very unsafe.

"Oh, Ravi, would you hold this for me for a second?" Dr. Smith said, shoving something into my hand and hurrying off. I looked at it. It was a little scroll of paper with a quill attached. I shrugged and pocketed it.

The fog had all but disappeared, leaving only a few wisps in the air. The entire island had a very drab look to it, an almost depressing air. I tried not to think about how I would be living here for who-knows how long.

Dr. Smith came off the boat and breathed in deeply through his nose. "Ah, how I've missed this place," he said fondly.

"It looks like an asylum," Liam said bluntly.

"That's because it is," a voice replied from the back of the group. We turned to look. It was Mason, the sulky kid. He had a dark look in his eyes. The truth of his words sank in. It looked like an asylum because it was. Because we were insane.

A boy with curly brown hair--Harrison, I think, the sheepy guy--shivered.

The castle-looking structure still look dreary as ever--but now held a certain eeriness to it, a certain chill.

Then laughter broke through the silence. We whirled around. It was Dr. Smith, doubled over, laughing his face off. "I suppose," he gasped, "it does look a tad dreary."

"Understatement of the year," a boy behind me muttered...Alex?

"Well then," Dr. Smith said, wiping the tears from his eyes gleefully, "shall we go inside?"

No one responded, but he started walking that way anyways. We followed warily.

"I have a theory," Spencer (the nerd boy) said.

"Pray tell," Deynan said dryly.

"I believe we are being captured by the government to use for experimentation," he said matter-of-factly.

I looked up at the creepy facility and could suddenly imagine all-too-well someone being experimented on in there.

"Wow," Liam said, "I suppose the government caused us to faint five times and see crazy images and be insane, too."

Spencer frowned and pushed his glasses up on his nose. "I'm still working on that part."

"Well I also have a theory," Xavier said, mocking Spencer by pretending to push imaginary glasses up on his nose. "I believe we're all MUTANTS that the government wants to destroy, so we have to hide here."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," I protested suddenly.

"Don't shoot down ideas unless you've got a better one," Isaac whispered in my ear. "People get mad."

Sure enough, Xavier turned to me, smirking. "Oh yeah? Why isn't it possible? Give me ONE REASON. Or a better theory."

I fought the urge to look away. "I just have a hard time believing any people as weird as this crowd are mutants."

"That's kind of the point," he replied, with a cocked eyebrow. "I bet I'm right too. Hey Dr. Smith!" he called out suddenly. "Are we all mutants that the government wants to destroy and we're hiding here?"

"You're closer than you might imagine, Xavier," Dr. Smith replied, turning his head over his shoulder, but continuing to walk. "The question is, which government?" He had an amused air to his voice.

There was silence. Then Liam spoke. "What do the Soviets want with us?" he cried dramatically. Several boys laughed lightly. I rolled my eyes, neglecting to tell him that the Soviet Union collapsed a while ago. He probably knew, but if he didn't, it just confirmed my theory that half the people here were idiots.