Connecting The Bridge
It's finally happened. Summer has sunk in and Claude could feel full relaxation. Sitting in the middle of a pool, drinking lemonade, with just enough clouds to keep the heat off. "How could this get much better?" Claude said to himself. Then a woman started swimming towards him, holding a plate with a new glass of lemonade, taking the empty one from him.
"Would you like anything else Claude?" The women said floating.
"No thank you. That'll be all" Claude said, waving his hand to let the women leave. Then she did. The boy sighed in relief folding his hands behind his head. Then his eye's shot open, hearing someone yell. To his surprise there was a beautiful girl at the other end of the pool. Shade, her long dark brown hair, going to then bottom of her ribs. It shined in the sun set. But not enough to hide the smile Claude enjoyed so much to see. She looked great like she always does, her blue eye's sparkling. Then his hearing returned and he could hear her again, screaming his name. With a big smile of joy he dived into the deep water swimming towards her. She jumped in as well going as fast as she can, then they met. "You look great Shade." Claude said. She smiled.
"Oh Claude just to make my summer, please, kiss me." She blushed.
Then Claude smiled. "That's all I've ever wanted." Then they leaned toward each other eye's closed. Then Claude her say his voice gently.
"Claude,Claude. Claude!" It turned harsh. Then he opened his eye's to see his teacher. "What have I told you about sleeping in class? Just because it's the last day of school doesn't mean you can already start to sleep in and dream about girls."
Feeling embarrassed, Claude titled his head to where no one can see him blush. Wishing the day would end already. Then as if on cue, the last bell rang. Letting the eighth graders go free, screaming saying there goodbye's or see you later. Then Claude was walking home with his best friend, Sintrus. Or as he call's him, Citrus. Sure he didn't like it but Claude was the only one who called him that so he was okay with it. They lived a few blocks away from each other so they hung out alot.
"So wanna hang out? My parent's won't mind." He suggested.
"I want to but my aunt and uncle are coming over later. And my mom wants me there. Sorry."
"Oh it's okay I understand." He then looked down in disappointment. Claude really wanted to visit, and he felt bad for him. Claude was Sintrus's only friend so he was really sad. Yea he talked to other people every now and then but Claude was the only one that would consider him a friend.
"Look tomorrow is Shade's birthday. She said I can come and invite anyone I wanted. She was gonna ask you but you never stopped to talk she said so she asked me to tell you." Claude really wanted to be more with Shade but he knew he couldn't dis his friend like that. He was shy so he didn't know how to make friends. The only reason why him and Claude were friend's was only because Claude stood up for him. He was being picked on but then he stepped in. He didn't fight them or anything, no in fact, He gave them what they wanted. Lunch, Claude never ate much any way's but he learned he needed when it was time for lunch. He sat there telling his friend's he didn't need anything. Convinced they let him be, but Claude was hungry. Then Sintrus came over and handed him half of his lunch as a thank you. They became real close, practically brother's.
"Okay sound's good." they then stopped in front of Sintrus's house. "Alright here's my stop. See ya."
"Later." They said as the walked different direction's.
Claude walked up to his house, a small building. It had a white sun porch, but the rest was brick's. It looked like the kind of house a little kid would draw in a family drawing. It was a cozy place to live. "I'm home!" Claude shouted to the house.
"So how's it feel?" Not making a complete sentence but Claude understood weird.
"Good, now if you excuse me." He then jumped onto the couch in the living room. Being silence and his face stuffed into the corner, meaning it's dark, he slowly fell asleep.
After closing his eye's, with no sense of time, Claude opens his eye's to a dark cave. feeling fully awake he stands up. Doing a complete look around, Claude find himself in an unfamiliar area. "This doesn't look like my house." Claude said. Then noticing an exit in the cave he walks towards it slowly. It was a little shorter then him so he crouched and looked out from one side to the other. Seeing nothing but boulders, that shined bright blue. Claude slowly walked to the one in front of the cave and ran his fingers across it, throwing dust into the air. then the rock sparkled even more.
Diamond's.
Claude had discovered what looked like a boulder full of diamond's. He found one on the side popping out, enough so he could grasp it. He put a tight grip on it with both hands. Pulling as hard as he could. Then with no succession he got at an angle and kicked it, then it broke off. Picking up the shining rock he felt some thing flowing through his body. But not blood, this didn't even feel like anything normal flowing through him. "What kind of diamond is this?" Claude asked himself.
"That's a Gemn. And it's something you shouldn't be messing with." A male voice said behind Claude. As he turned around to see a kid, maybe fourteen or fifteen years old, standing on a boulder many feet away from him. He had his arms folded, but you could see a brown cloth wrapped around his arm. then the same form of material over his head, but this one had some symbol on it. It's something Claude had never seen before.In a stare, The male blew some of his dark blue hair out of his eye. Then he jumped from the boulder all the way to in front of Claude. Claude's pupils shrunk from shock.
"How did you do that?" Claude said with a confused yet stunned look on his face.
"I have year's of experienced training. I can jump all the way there, and farther, without breaking a sweat. But it's not just jumping that I have high skills in." Then in a mere second, he was gone. "Sometimes things aren't the same as they appear." His voice came from behind.
Claude did a quick turn around and saw him on top of the boulder. "Who are you? And how did you move so fast?" Claude asked.
"My name is Sparrow. And like I said, I've had training." He then disappeared from the rock. "Now, give me the Gemn." He said standing behind Claude with his hand out.
"Why should I? I found it."
"Because if you don't you'll be in grave danger." He said with what sounded like threat in his voice.
Claude got angry turned around and ran away. He kept pushing his feet hoping to get away. He then dived behind a boulder and took a breath. When he looked around the corner, Sparrow was gone, and so was the boulders, and the cave. He couldn't have run that far that fast could he? No, that's impossible. Maybe he just didn't notice how much he had been running. Yea, that had to be it. He then sat down and took a deep breath.
"Takes the wind out of ya don't it?" A voice from above was heard. Claude jumped to his surprise, Sparrow was laying on top of the boulder. "I must say I wasn't expecting you to run. Well, I was but not so fast. Maybe I should take you to the village. We always could use another miner."
Claude grid his teeth at what sounded like an insult, and slid the Gemn into his pocket. " I'm just a four-teen year old kid. I don't mine, especially when someone tells me too."
"Look, then just give me the Gemn and you can go." Sparrow said, hiding the lie from his voice.
Claude didn't like this guy, so he lied. "I dropped it while running, I don't know where it is." He closed his eye's to look sad.
"Oh well that's too bad. I guess you'll just have to come with me." He said with anger in his voice. Then in a flash he had a hold of Claude's arm. "Come with me, or you'll die out here alone." Claude couldn't tell if that was a threat or advice. Either way, he was thrown over Sparrow's shoulder, and he bursted into a run. In matter's of minute's the arrived in a village. There were fires and tent's everywhere. When you looked down an opening you couldn't see the end of the village. After a while,Sparrow pushed Claude into the largest tent in the center of the village.
"Who may this be, Sparrow? He doesn't look like any of the Tribal men in our village. And yet were the only village on this planet." An old man said.
"I do not know who this boy is, elder. I found him and brought him here, seeking advice. Shall we put him with the other miner's?" He asked the old man.
"Hm. No he looks too young to be a miner. Until we find something to do with him, please find him a tent and give him some clothing that shall fit our tribe. We shall accept him."
"But Elder, this boy isn't one of us. I found him in a cave and-" Sparrow was cut off with the Elder raising his hand. Then Sparrow walked out.
"He will be back shortly once he find you a spot." Then Claude's stomach growled. The Elder chuckled. "You must be hungry, I hear it was a long walk where you came from. You should get some food. Our gatherers found a wide spread of food enough for our tribe and more. I shall have my assistant Juniper will take you to the food bar." He clapped his hand's and a girl the same age as Claude stepped out. With brown hair flipping so it went over her right eye and came over her shoulder and down the front.
"Who is this elder, a new Tribal?" she asked with a confused smile on her face.
"For now. Excuse me son but one was your name again?"
"You never asked the first time. My name's Claude."
"Well Claude we welcome you to stay apart of our tribe for as long as you wish."
"I appreciate that." Claude said with a smile.
"Come on, I wanna show you around." She then grabbed his arm and carried him away. Then they walked until they came to a long line of food's on a rock made table. "This is all the fruit we have on the Center sector of the village. It's all fruit and none of it will cause any sicknesses so don't be afraid to try it." She then put some of the food onto a metal tray, and walked out, dropping two pieces of silver into a slot. Then they sat next to a boulder.
"Thanks' for helping me around here. I'm new to this whole, well, the hole thing."
Then after swallowing what looked like a Pear but was not, she gave Claude a nasty look. "Look here, just because the Elder accepts you doesn't mean everyone else will. I know I won't."
"Well that was mean. You were nice a minute ago."
"Only in front of the Elder, he thinks I'm nice to everyone, which I normally am unless an outsider is allowed in. I don't know why Sparrow decided to bring you here but it was a bad idea."
"Ouch. well if it makes you feel better I'm not even from here."
"Yea I know, you're not part of this tribe." she didn't get it.
"No I mean I'm not even from this planet. I fell asleep in my house and woke up in a cave somewhere out of this village."
"Yea right, and I'm supposed to believe that."
"No but it's the truth."
"Another reason why I don't trust outsider's. They lie, about alot of thing's."
Then without warning Sparrow was next to Juniper. "On a date with the new Tribal I see." He said grinning at her.
"Shut up Sparrow. Elder told me to feed him and I did. Did you get his tent up yet?" It sounded like she was trying to ignore the subject.
"What's the rush, it's not like we have thing's to do, places to be." He was still grinning.
Juniper then pulled out her map." Okay where is it in the village?" She asked.
"You have this whole village mapped? That must've took a long time to do." Claude said shocked.
"No we were originally a small village, we add more tent's to the map as they come." He then drew a mark on Junipers map. "That's his spot."
"Good, that's close. I can't wait to get rid of him."
"Fine."
"Eesh, your harsh on new people."
"What ever. Sparrow get him there, i'm sick of this today."
"Can do, come on kid." then he led Claude until they reached a short tent with a watering hole, a bed, and new clothes on the bed. "This is your sleeping clothes. Not the comfiest thing in the world but there easy to sleep in."
"Alright thanks dude."
"Dude? What's a dude?" He was confused.
"Never mind. Well ill be goin' to bed."
Sparrow gave him a nod and left. Then Claude changed clothes and laid on the sheet's with what seemed like hay under a blanket. And it was. Claude pulled out the Gemn and examined it.
"What's so special about this thing?" He asked himself. Placing it in his hand in the hay he slowly fell asleep.
"Claudius wake up!" His mom shouted forcing his eye's open.
"Mom you know I hate being called that name."
"I don't care your aunt and uncle will be here any minute and I want you awake."
"Alright, fine."Then she walked out. As she did Claud raised his arms in the air and took a long yawn. when he felt something in his hand he looked. and in his hand, was the Gemn.
