The Right Path

Chapter 2

                                                             Greed

   He awoke suddenly, his face cold and wet. Greed sat up and looked at where he was. "Where am I? Why am I here?"
   Greed looked around him. He was in a small cave. When he looked to the left, Greed saw a man. He was dressed in a gray vest, white shirt, gray hat, and black and gray pants. And he looked just like Greed.
   He tried to get up but fell. He was shaking and shivering. "What's wrong with me?"
   The man offered to help him up and took Greed to his wagon.
   He was still shaking and he started to feel dizzy. The man gave Greed some water and introduced himself.
   "I'm Once, by the way."
   Greed just stared at his hand, to tired to shake it. He introduced himself and continued to drink the water.
   Then Once said, "Right, okay. Well, you're welcome to just stay in the wagon. Unless you have somewhere to be."
   Greed finished the water and shivered. "No. I'll go with you."
   So, Once sat in his seat and they set off. Greed just sat there, shaking.
   Suddenly, his memories came back to him. As if a wave washed over him gently, he remembered everything.

   Greed sat in a throne made of emerald. Money surrounded him: dollars, coins, gold. Everything you could think of that counted as money.
   He was still wearing his green suit, hat, and gloves. But then the doors to his throne room burst open and a crowd of people came swarming in. They were shouting at him, demanding him for money. Money that they didn't have.
   But he didn't give them anything. "I'm not giving you greedy people my money. You won't use it for anything that's worth my time. Go away." he shouted for everyone to hear.
   But they still protested. The crowd grabbed him by the legs and pulled him down from his seat. Several people threw him against the wall, which knocked his hat off his head.
   Two individuals grabbed him by the shoulders and pinned him to the wall. He started to get scared. "What are you imbeciles going to possibly do to me? I'm not frightened of you." he lied.
   Then one of the men holding him against the wall elbowed him in the face, giving Greed a bruise next to his eye. They let go of him and Greed fell to the ground, holding the left side of his face.
   One person grabbed him by the arm and lifted him up. They shoved out of the room and into the cold weather. It was snowing and it was windy.
   "Goodbye, Greed!" the crowd shouted. They threw his hat towards him and they shut the door. The lock clicked. Greed ran over to the gigantic doors and pounded on them.
   "No! Let me in! Please! I'll give you anything! Just let me in!" he pleaded. But the doors never opened. For days, he walked in the cold with nothing but the clothes he had and a few gold coins in his pocket. Greed was hungry, thirsty, and freezing.
   After those few days, the blizzard stopped. He had no idea where he was. The only thing he knew was that he was a long way from home.
   Greed did eventually find water and food but it wasn't enough to survive on for even a week.
   Then he found a cave. A small cave, but a cave nonetheless. Greed took shelter in there with the little food and water he had. A couple months passed and Greed knew he wasn't going to make it much longer. But he kept going.
   One very hot day, all the water was dried up. Greed searched for it but didn't find any. He started to feel dizzy and nauseous. He was dehydrated. Greed starting seeing spots. Then he passed out. And there he lay until the very next day. Because the very next day, the Once-ler found him.