Animals

Chapter 3

Lachlan yawned out of boredom, and also partially due to being woken so early. They had all been brought to a separate room to learn history. If there is anything he does remember, it's learning about this. "After all the countries fell, there was chaos, but one man stood up for everyone and made seven different, new lands. His name was..." "This is so boring." Lachlan whispered to Rob. He nodded, not looking from the bright screen that played the old black and white documentary. "He became the leader of Minecraftia, the largest of the Territories." The screen showed this man up there, waving to crowd, smiling. But that's all you could see. You couldn't see his face.
     Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dr. Davis take down some more notes, and then exit the room in a rush as usual. "He must have drank all of his refill." Vik whispered. Rob laughed softly, even though he wasn't there to understand the "refill" part.
  The film went into detail about how the seven lands continuously bickered and fought with each other. It explained how they went into war three times, and how Minecraftia was always the good guy. It told of the downfall of Nievia, the coldest biome. How the place split into two sides, and eventually fell. That was really all it mentioned about Nievia, the rest was Minecraftia's achievements. How many wars and battles the Territory has won. How many leaders it's had. The rest was just a blur, but the thought of Nievia stayed in his mind. Why did they only mention it very briefly? You'd think the downfall of a populated civilization would be something the documentary would mention. But it never did.
  The video dragged on. It wasn't very interesting, and it wasn't likely that they would have to take a quiz on it. Dr. Davis walked back into the room, this time clipboard was in his hand. His timing was almost perfect, like they had planned it. The film had ended, and the lights flickered back on.

  Then they were taken back to the familiar cell, and it's boring, gray walls seemed less welcoming than ever before. It was drafty. Warm air drifted into the lonely room. Jackie closed the door behind them as they stepped back into the damp prison. His mind drifted back to Nievia. What happened to it? Where did it go? What's there now? He wanted to ask someone. But who would know?
  "Hey Rob?" Lachlan asked. "Yeah?" He answered instantly. "Do you ever wonder about.... Nievia?" Rob just shook his head. "But I do know some things about it... not too much, though. I overheard a guard talking at night. I think his name was Aron. Anyways, Nievia was a large, successful place, despite the cold. People were happy. But then, the place fell in ruin. A rebellion swept through the entire territory. People turned hateful and desperate. And then, one day, there was a bomb..." he suddenly stopped. "How long ago was this?" Lachlan asked from his usual spot on the wall. Rob shrugged. "I don't know. I only know what I heard." He frowned. "Sorry." "It's alright. You don't have to apologize."
    Right then and there he remembered Vik, who probably felt left out. But when he glanced in his direction, in the corner to the left of the bars, he seemed to be in his own little world. And that's where Lachlan wanted to be too. In in his own little world. But he couldn't stop thinking... "You know, you guys have been handling this entire situation very well..." A charming voice said from outside the caged off room. No, it was surprisingly charming. It was James. He laughed, as usual, standing outside the bars that separated the cell from the rest of the building. He had a comfy smirk on his face. "I mean, all this happens to you and you're so calm? Aren't you a little bit scared...?" He asked, his voice curious and mocking. No one answered his question. "You're not?! I guess someone will have to fix that!" He chimed, sounding happy as ever. Lachlan looked away, and tucked his knees into his chest, feeling submissive... surprisingly. "You don't have your mommy to cry to anymore, or your daddy to protect you. Don't you realize that?"
   "Jamie!" Another voice called sternly. "How many times have I told you not to pester the animals?" Jackie. "What? It's not gonna do much." Jamie argued. Jackie frowned, now in sight. "Ever heard of depression? The pitiful things already had enough of it." He muttered, adjusting his lime-green and black striped beanie. Go Jackie. Lachlan thought with some enthusiasm. Jackie scowled, than folded his arms. "It's not your shift, asshole." Jamie grumbled. "So get lost." Jackie stiffened, and took a deep breath. But he didn't yell. "Well talk about this later. If I catch you again, I'm reporting you to the boss." Jackie seemed calm.
   Jamie just laughed. "Who said you have any authority over me? Your rank is no higher." "But I can still report you." Jamie opened his mouth to object, but closed it as he realized Jackie was walking away.  There was a silence that swept through the place, which felt awkward for the three teens, and probably for Jamie, too. Then Jamie smiled again, and turned to face them. Jackie must have left. "So you were talking about Nievia?" He asked with his classic smirk. "You heard that?!" Rob blurted out, much to his own surprise given by the look on his face. Jamie shook his head, smiling for real this time. "Nothing goes unheard around here. Well, that's not entirely true, since you exist." Lachlan wondered what he meant by that. Were there secrets being kept from them?
    "Why in Minecraftia do you want to learn about Nievia? The place doesn't exist anymore!" He laughed some more. "I just want to know what happened." Lachlan murmured, wrapping his tail around his legs for extra support, like it would protect him. "What happened?" Jamie's eyes suddenly lit up. "I'll tell you what happened. We happened." He paused, suddenly realizing something... "Oh, why the hell am I talking to you? You're just a bunch of animals." He turned and sat in a small desk outside the cell. Was it always there?