A Long Quest

Prologue

Since the events of Kyle's dream encounter with Henry, an entire year has passed. Well, not a year in a literal sense. If we were to actually apply that sense in this particular situation, it would actually be more than that. One year, seven months and twenty-seven days, to be exact. And with Kyle's Dream Encounter happening on March 17, 1996, the present date would be November 13, 1997. For those who want to be real precise, that would be a Thursday. Now, where was I? We really need to be getting back to the story. Precision, dates and all that nonsense can wait for now.

One year passed. During that time, Henry schemed and plotted in the underground caverns beneath the Meridian Elementary Brick Building. We know it better as The Brick Building, where Kyle experienced his first ever encounter with Henry.

During that one year of absence, Henry has been quite busy. Henry plotted, pacing here and there around the caverns. But despite his plotting, all he could envision was failure. Every plot that he has ever devised against Kyle has failed. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. At this, he gave his occasional grunts and growls and uttered a few vile words that I dare not repeat.

"That idiot!" Henry growled. "Every single time...."

Henry, not being the type who gets out very often, emerged on the school lawn near The Brick Building. The sky was a little overcast with a gentle autumn breeze. Swarms of dead leaves rose and fell with the faint blowing of tufts of grass. It was a sea of autumn, and Henry was right in the thick of it.

Henry clandestinely roamed the playground, frantically searching for Kyle. With it being recess, it was the perfect opportunity for Henry to find Kyle. He searched everywhere, but Kyle was not to be found. This was not making sense. A multitude of questions filled Henry's mind. Is Kyle even at school today? Is Kyle sick? Did he catch a cold? The more Henry thought of these questions, the more it bothered him.

Henry returned to The Brick Building and it hit him. After that, it didn't take him very long to realize that Kyle doesn't attend Meridian Elementary anymore.

"That's right! He attends Meridian Junior High now...." he muttered.

And so it was settled. That very same day, Henry left The Brick Building and made his home at Meridian Junior High. There was a brick building there, so he entered it and began creating tunnels.

Henry used spell after spell, recreating the same tunnels as his previous abode. After settling in for a little while (and goblins don't take very long to settle in a new place), Henry pulled out a mysterious box. It looked like some kind of transmitter.

"It's ready." Henry snickered. "After many tireless weeks, it's finally ready. A radio capable of transmitting signals into the farthest reaches of space! There's no telling who I will contact. Whoever it is, it better help me in my plot against that kid...."

Henry sighed with exhaustion. His face was disheveled; his body replete with wrinkles. Thin and frail, his form reflected a weary countenance, which he wore quite well. I forgot most of my spells, he complained to himself. Surely there is a more powerful force out there that can help me out....

Henry turned on the radio, and waited. Frequency after frequency, the crackling of static was the only noise that he heard. No other voices could be heard. Not even the faintest sound of one.

After what seemed like a couple hours, Henry began to lose his patience. "Stupid radio!" he screamed, bashing the radio with his right fist.

Henry frantically rolled the dial back and forth. The sound was no different. It was the same garbled static; a series of electromagnetic waves sent into the seemingly endless vacuum of space. He then pounded the dials with alternating blows and began kicking the radio. "Doesn't this stupid radio even work?!" he shrieked.