Reboot: a Short Story

V

Magnus climbed the stairs holding his lantern high in front of him. He pushed the wardrobe wood door at the top of the staircase open and looked through it. It was night now, or he thought it was night. It was pitch black except for the light of his lantern.

Magnus took a step forward into the darkness, he was in some sort of cave, he recognized the stones on the floor to be made of the same white material as in the downstairs. The cave was a light orange, it reminded Magnus of a mango. It seemed as if the walls of the cave were once lined with the white material, perhaps this was once another room, in some time. Magnus continued forwards, Fur and the cub close at his heels. The small domed room lead to another, his suspicions of the walls once being covered with the white material were reassured as in the middle of the room there were the splintered remains of a table crushed by a massive chunk of the white material. 

Magnus shivered, it was extremely cold. He hadn't noticed it before with the darkness but to his right was what he assumed to be the exit to the cave. Magnus walked towards it holding his lantern high above his head. A cold wind brushed up against him. Magnus looked back at the entrance of the cave looking back, only to discover that it wasn't a cave at all, it was a massive tree. He gasped as he looked up, its tall trunk disappearing into the sky.

Fur whimpered and brushed up against Magnus' leg. Something was wrong, Magnus kept looking up at the tree, then it occurred to him. Where was the moon and stars? It was as if somebody had taken a big blanket and draped it over the world. This upset Magnus, hadn't the sun been setting not long ago? Now that he thought about it, time had gone by in an odd manner that day.. Magnus pulled out the watch from his pocket and popped open the lid and stared at the clock in disbelief. The clock was moving backwards, then forwards, then backwards at speeds no properly working clock should move in. He closed it tightly and shoved it back into his pocket. Magnus was deeply disturbed by this. He tried to distract himself by thinking about the task at hand. Magnus tied the lantern to his belt and walked to the right keeping his right hand on the tree.

 Despite the fact that Magnus was looking down just in case there was another cliff he managed to get his good foot caught under a root. Magnus yelped and fell forwards onto the soft grassy forest floor. Magnus grabbed his walking stick, stood up, and brushed off his jacket. He was determined to find the amulet and decided not to linger on the fact of how stupidly clumsy he was. He continued forwards again and looked up at the tree and mumbled "This tree has to be massive..."

Despite the fact that Magnus was looking down just in case there was another cliff he managed to get his good foot caught under a root. Magnus yelped and fell forwards onto the soft grassy forest floor. Magnus grabbed his walking stick, stood up, and brushed off his jacket. He was determined to find the amulet and decided not to linger on the fact of how stupidly clumsy he was. He continued forwards again and looked up at the tree and mumbled "This tree has to b-" Magnus froze in place. Hadn't he just said that? He couldn't have, he was just over thinking it. He continued forwards.

  Despite the fact that Magnus was looking down just in case there was another cliff he managed to get his good foot caught under a root. Magnus yelped and fell forwards onto the soft grassy forest floor. Magnus grabbed his walking stick, stood up, and brushed off his jacket. He was determined to find the amulet and decided not to linger on the fact of how stupidly clumsy he was. He continued forwards again and looked up at the tree and mumbled "This tree has to b-" Magnus froze in place. Hadn't he just said that? He couldn't have, he was just over thinking it. Or maybe he wasn't...? He shook his head and dismissed the thought and continued forward.

Despite the fact that Magnus was looking down just in case there was another cliff he managed to get his good foot caught under a root. Magnus yelped and fell forwards onto the soft grassy forest floor. Magnus grabbed his walking stick, stood up, and brushed off his jacket. He was determined to find the amulet and decided not to linger on the fact of how stupidly clumsy he was. He continued forwards again and looked up at the tree and mumbled "This tree has to b-" Magnus froze in place. Hadn't he just said that? He couldn't have, he was just over thinking it. Or maybe he wasn't...? He shook his head and dismissed the thought and continued forward, but before he could get anywhere he felt something tug at his leg. He looked down, a new creature, was tugging on his pant leg desperately. Magnus glared at the creature. "I have to find something, leave me alone.." The creature looked up at him, its green eyes looking deep into his soul. The creature then continued to tug. "Just leave me alone, please" Magnus asked the creature. The creature let go and looked at him before striding gracefully into the light of the lantern. He could see the creature more clearly now, then he realized what the creature was. It was the house cat from the night before It was wrapped in bloody bandages but it looked as if it was doing quite well. "W-Whats wrong?" Magnus said crouching down beside the cat. The cat lifted its neck as if to show Magnus something, he looked. Around the cat's neck was the amulet but there was a crack running down the middle. Magnus blinked before taking it off the cat's neck. "Y-You found it..." He was astonished. "Come on, lets go back.." With his goal complete Magnus made his way back to the entrance of the tree.