Protector of Lost Children

| CHAPTER II |

Hello, Readers! I hope you are enjoying this story so far! If you are, please vote and comment! If you enjoy my books, please follow!

~CSP2708~

| Chapter 2 || Panic Attack at the Pole |

Only when my feet touched a solid surface did I open my eyes. Not when Jack said we were inside. Not when Jack said I could let go. Not when Jack said I was safe. No. I only opened my eyes when he gently set me down and let me go, allowing my bare feet to touch the cold wooden floor.

I was met with the most amazing view. The entire place was huge and all made of wood. The floor was polished and covered in designs. The columns that lined the building were carved gracefully. Curtains of red and green hung everywhere. The place basically screamed, 'Merry Christmas'!

I spun in a full circle and let a smile fall upon my lips as I took in the view. At the one hundred eighty mark, I gasped.

A huge globe made of overlapping blue metal plates was precariously balanced on a tall wooden pillar in the center of an open area. Across the globe, which had each of the continents, small golden dots glowed, some blinking out, some blinking in, but always maintaining the same amount of lights.

"Pretty cool, is it not?" a voice asked from behind me.

I turned quickly, backing away as I saw the large man in red. I knew exactly who he was, and let's just say that he was way different than I imagined him. His Russian accent was most prominent. Looking really close, I could see cookie crumbs in his thick white beard and over the front of his red dungarees.

"Oh! North, this is Lupa. Lupa, meet North, or, as the children call him-"

"Santa Claus." I finished for him.

He scratched the back of his head as I met his eyes. "Uh... yeah."

"Nice to meet you," North said cheerfully. He held out his large fleshy hand out for me to shake.

I gingerly stepped away, eyeing his hand like a cornered animal. I didn't really want to shake it because I knew that the only thing I'd be able to think about was how big it was compared to mine. I didn't want to frighten my wolf spirit. She had to always be the alpha.

Seeing my obvious hesitation, Jack decided to speak, "Uh, North. There's something you need to hear."

I sent him a grateful look. I didn't know how much longer I could bear the silence. North nodded, turning away from me as Jack lead him towards the control panel in front of the globe.

The panel had plenty of strange buttons and levers on it, and a few lights that were blinking and flashing, so I decided it was best to stay away from it.

I loitered around the fireplace, enjoying the comforting warmth when suddenly, I heard a loud clang! Spinning around abruptly, I saw that North had turned one of the levers. Almost immediately, bright lights shone up over the globe, as if running and escaping out through the windows of the skylights. I stared in awe. Aurora Borealis. The Northern Lights.

I closed my mouth. I guess that solves the mystery as to where those come from. I looked over at Jack. He and North seemed to be waiting for something to happen.

Tilting my head in confusion, I studied them. I made a note of the tensing and relaxing of their shoulders, their awkward stances, and the subtle flailing of their arms like they didn't know what to do with themselves.

I was about to step over and ask the question, 'what's wrong?' but before I could, we got company. A giant plane flew in through the window.

I jerked backward as it nearly hit me. I wasn't hit, but I was sprayed with a mysterious golden substance. Sand? I ground in between my fingers. That's weird. The plane was made of golden sand. I twisted around, focusing on the plane. There was a little man piloting it. My eyes widened. The Sandman! The plane came around to me again, but this time, I didn't need to jump back, because it disintegrated, and the Sandman floated down to land gently on the polished wooden floor.