Time together by Pent Ghelsburg
Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are purely fictional. Any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. They are the original and rightful intellectual property of their creators. I use them with permission and respect. This work involves underaged characters. You have been warned.
A time comes in every person’s life when hobbies become paramount in one’s free time. As most know, free time is fleeting when one gets older. Even in youth, free time can often come in short supply. For children often do not recognize, what they think is busy work, may grow into something entirely else for them. However, it is the times when they can explore their interests that they develop the most.
Pent was a young fox cub who lived on the outskirts of Montreal. A boy of 12, the arctic fox hadn’t traveled very far except on the rare occasion his scout troop went to the states for an excursion. His family lived removed from the city itself, making city life a little more bearable for the family of three. Pent lived with his younger brother and the foster mother who had been taking care of the two boys since their extraction from their biological parent's home.
Pent and his brother, Samaliel, had lived at the small home for a few years now and his brother was too young to remember much of their biological family. Pent was a student at the local junior high. An academically studious boy who was entirely enthralled by the idea of learning. Every chance that the young boy got to learn something new, he jumped at it. He was always at the top of his class and studied until his mind was content that he had mastered whatever content was in front of him.
His true love was Science. A subject that scared away many of his friends. Pent loved the idea of a challenge and experimentation was something that intrigued him even further. Whenever he was allowed, he spent extra time in the school labs creating whatever variety of things the school would let him. On a few occasions, his nature led to some rather unpredictive results which he always recorded in an electronic journal he kept on a flash drive.
The school labs were often managed by high school students who were looking for service hours. Very rarely was the room monitored by an adult who took interest in the subject or someone that cared about safety. More often than not Pent was allowed to function entirely independently and this fostered not only his curiosity but his willingness to try new things. So far it hadn’t backfired except on the one occasion he triggered a small fire, which he easily put out.
The school staff who did, on occasion, pop in had grown used to seeing the young fox there. The boy was always wearing safety goggles and lab coats so his constant presence there didn’t alarm any of them. Since he was the only one there regularly, the visits had become less and less frequent. Pent had no companions who shared his love of the subject. In the rare situation where one stopped in, they quickly left out of their lack of interest. Pent’s hyper-focus often forgets about showing his friends the rope, leaving them out of the loop.
The school had a small lab with sparse equipment. A dozen or so microscopes, a single telescope, a few Bunsen burners, and various containers to keep the ingredients they had in supply. More often than not the Science teachers had to pay out of their pocket for supplies as the place never kept things on hand. The one thing that the lab had that was well taken care of was a so-called “Lab rat”, though the thing was most certainly a mouse.
Pent had more or less become an auxiliary caretaker of the rodent. He had noticed rather early on that the mouse never really had its cage cleaned or its needs provided for. So while he wasn’t allowed to take the thing home, he took care of it whenever he was at the lab itself. Pent was responsible for his age so the rodent often allowed him to pick it up when it bit just about everyone else.
It had been a long week and Pent had been working on a school project at the lab. He had gone to the lab just about every day after school and had been focusing entirely on a hydrogen-injected robot. The school had no robotics department, so every part he had to request from his teacher who ordered occasionally ordered stuff for the boy when he requested it. Since it was a school project, Pent’s request could not be denied and much of the school's project budget for that quarter would be spent on his materials alone.
Fortunately for the school, none of his classmates or peered cared as much about it as he did so they didn’t even surpass the budget despite Pent’s large order. It took a few weeks for the materials to come in but once they did, the young fox was notified by his instructor. Pent wasted no time in collecting his box once school was over. The thing was big but not too large for him to handle and he struggled to see over it once he picked it up in his arms. Pent had to crane his head to the side of the box to maintain vision but still managed to make it to the lab.
As was with every day, he arrived with no one else in the lab. The helpers who came from the high school usually didn’t show until later. Pent was able to push his way through the door, using the box as leverage as he made his way in. The fox set the box down on one of the long wooden tables situated around the room. He looked over to the corner where the mice cage was situated. The small rodent eyed him intently, seeming like it wanted something.
Pent reached into one of the back pockets of his bag and pulled out a small treat that he had brought for the creature. He stashed the treat quickly inside before returning to the box. He began tearing away at the thing, stripping away the tape that sealed the box. Once it was open, he brought over a stepping stool so he could see into the box. On the table, the box was too large for him to see into.
Pent stepped onto the stool and looked into the box. Various metal parts were strewn across the inside of the box, with very little packing material separating it again. He tipped the box over, realizing there wasn’t as much inside, to get the stuff on the desk before him. The metal clanged and rattled against each other as he emptied some of the boxes onto the table underneath it. He started to examine the parts as they settled, wondering where he should start since there didn’t appear to be any directions.
Pent overheard some scratching and looked into the box to see where the sound was coming from. Everything appeared to have settled and the scratching was continuing to persist. Pent looked behind him over back towards where the rodent was. He saw the white mouse clawing at the side of the cage. He walked over it and kneeled a bit so he was eye level with it.
“What’s the wrong little guy? Still hungry?” He asked, knowing full well it wouldn’t respond.
The critter stopped clawing at the cage for second seeming somewhat settled by the presence of Pent. The fox stood up to an erect state, pulling over his stepping stool so he could take off the top. Once he stepped on top of it, he pried off the top of the cage. The smell of the rodent's bedding and the rodent itself was much more potent now that the lid was off. However, it was by no means a terrible smell.
Pent reached into the cage to touch the small creature. The thing was still lodging itself against the side of the cage. The fox placed his hand flat on the bottom of the cage, cupping it and moving it closer to the mouse to invite him to come to the boy. The small white mouse pried itself away from the glass, staring at the cub's hand for a second. The critter approached slowly and Pent remained as still as possible as he knew the creature could be easily spooked.
It took the mouse a moment to brave itself to lift its body onto the boy's hand. Pent brought the creature closer to his body and held it near his chest. Slowly he pets the thing with one of his fingers, treading it carefully so he didn’t poke it with his claw. He set it back down in its cage, seeming a bit more relaxed now than before. He smiled at it and returned to the table where had poured out the materials in the box.
Looking at the pieces of metal scattered on the table, he wondered how he would assemble them. Some of them were straight slabs, others were rails, but none of them stood out against each other. He began sifting through it all, trying to make sense of some form of organization. As he was going through it, he was careful to not rub his paw pads against the sides of it as some of them looked rather sharp.
Pent continued rifling through them, placing them wherever he could to make some space to work. After he worked through it all, he noticed a small battery near the bottom. Looking at the thing, he assumed it was what he needed to use to power it. He picked it up, the small power cell was ice cold and gave off no signs of electrical life. He took one of his fingers and pricked the electrode at the top of it but even that gave no feedback.
He brought his other finger underneath it to see if any form of charge was running through it and still the thing gave no evidence of activity. Pent figured he needed to give it a little juice so he came up with an idea to power it up. The fox looked over towards the door, seeing if the high schooler had arrived yet. It seemed he was still alone so Pent walked up to the teacher's desk and began going through it. He felt awkward about doing it but he needed something to recharge the other battery or it wouldn’t work.
Eventually, he found a small battery in the back He pulled it out of the drawer and quickly closed it before walking away from the desk. He returned to his workstation and located the wiring that was supposed to be used to connect the small battery the set came with. He hooked up the connectors to the battery with no power before doing it to the one that had juice. Once everything was wired up, he looked around for the voltage meter the class kept around for such uses.
He returned to the table and hooked it up on the dead battery to watch the readings. The readings waved between no energy and very little but showed some promise as to the transfer. All of a sudden the energy began to spike rather rapidly. Pent found it strange that such a thing was possible with such a little source from the other side. He continued watching it for a few moments as the pointing arrow wavered rather erratically. The fox remained focused on it for a few minutes until the waving had settled on what he considered to be a better state of charge.
When Pent tried removing the connections he was shocked ever so slightly. The buzz of the flow of electricity made the fur near his hands stand up on end, but it wasn’t enough to hurt him. The cub returned the voltage meter to where he got it from and made his way back to the table. Still, his hand felt a little bit odd, so he tried to shake the feeling off. Of course, it did nothing so the fox decided he would just ignore it.
Pent returned to working at the table. Now that the battery was taken care of, he began to focus on assembly. Starting with the bigger parts was simple enough as he maneuvered them around, using the desk to position them in a way that made sense. Still, other than intuition he had no direction in the matter and so it felt like he wasn’t making progress. Eventually, he turned to the computer to see if he could find any directions online.
Sure enough, he found some guides made by various people who had tinkered with the same thing he was working on. Now that he had instructions, he felt like he could blaze through the project in no time.
“Go ahead and clean up, it’s time to close out the day.” The high schooler who had come in announced.
Pent felt like it hadn’t even been that long but looked at his watch. The lab only stayed open for an hour after school ended and it looked like it was the case. The fox took hold of the parts and moved them into a storage bin that they kept around for anyone that didn’t want to take a project home. The parts were much too large to fit into the plastic bin so the fox had to rely on some of the parts sticking outward.
By the time Pent finished putting his parts away, he saw that the high school was staring at him.
“Come on, kid. It’s already late and I want to go home.” The impatient teen announced with her arms crossed defensively.
Pent rolled his eyes but said nothing. He knew better not to annoy the aides or they might complain and he wouldn’t be allowed back in after school. The fox grabbed his bag and examined his hand once more. The strange sensation had gone but he wanted to make sure he hadn’t injured himself from carrying around the metal parts. The older teen came over to him as he stopped to do this and pushed him out of the room and locked it.
She wasted no time in bulleting down the halls after she kicked him out of the room. Pent led his way down the halls and noticed that he was being watched by one of the maintenance crew. The old raccoon was a normal sight in the school around the day but the way he was looking at Pent, made him feel a bit off. The boy picked up his pace and made his way out of the school. The sun was starting to go down but there was still enough light that he didn’t have to worry about making his way home. The fox headed over towards the bike rack and unlocked his wheels from the chain that he had fastened to it earlier.
The boy mounted the bike and began pedaling his way home. It was a breezy fall afternoon and the rush of chilly air against his fur made it feel more comfortable than it had months earlier. He began pedaling and pushed off from the school to his house. The distance to his home wasn’t far from the school, but it still took some time for him to run the gauntlet. Pent kept to the alleys to avoid much of the traffic in an extra effort to stay safe.
As was usual at this time of day, there wasn’t much foot or bike traffic in the alleys. Pent just had to be mindful of cats or younger cubs who might be playing in the alley. He had never run into anyone but this was only because he was constantly paying attention. By the time he arrived home, he found that the usual car was already in the parking area. The lights of the street were beginning to come on so he knew he had to get in or be yelled at it by his guardian.
Pent lived with his younger brother and foster mother. His biological parents had been removed from the equation by the state and only the older boy could recall much about them. Samaliel, on the other hand, had no memory of them at all. Pent locked his bike up by the garage door and made his way inside. The boy unlocked and opened the door. It wasn’t long before Samaliel came bursting out of their shared room and latched onto the bigger cub.
“Hi, Pent!” The younger boy was rather fond of his older brother and Pent did what he could to appease the other cub when he wanted attention.
Pent kneeled to be eye to eye with his brother. “Hiya, how was school?”
“Good. We did some hard math today. Can you help me?” Samaliel asked with his tail visibly wagging behind him.
Pent nodded and returned the hug. “Sure, let’s get it done before dinner.”
Samaliel rushed his way down the hall back towards their room, the cub already dressed down from his uniform and in a more comfortable pajama set that had been handed down from Pent. The older fox took his shoes off at the door and checked in on their foster mother.
“Got everything handled or do you need help?” Pent still had trouble accepting calling her “Mom”
The woman looked back at him. “I’m alright. You can go help your brother.”
Pent smiled and headed down the hall to their shared room. It was a small bedroom but large enough to accommodate them. A single bunk bed was situated in the corner. Pent always took the bottom while his brother preferred the top. Arriving into the room the older fox already saw his brother was already at the table looking at his math book.
“Show me how to do this…this book is stupid,” Samaliel whined as he shut the cover with a muffled thud.
Pent walked over and re-opened the book. “I need to see what it is that you’re working on.”
Samaliel pointed multiple times, not focused on anything specific. It was apparent the whole thing had baffled him. The older fox began to run through the motions of showing the process of the equations, one by one, on a paper in front of them. The younger boy watched with interest as his brother worked through the problems without an issue. Of course, Pent stopped just short of answering them, except for one, as he wanted his brother to work through them.
It took some time but eventually, Samaliel got the hang of it.
“Time for dinner, boys.” The familiar beckoning of their foster mother called from down the hall.
Samaliel was the first to burst outward as he was rather eager to be done with his homework. Pent picked himself up more slowly and eased down the hall. The boy's foster mother had made them their meal but never actually bothered to sit down with them as it made her feel awkward since she had never formally adopted them. As such the two brothers ate dinner by themselves with the woman going to do her own thing.
Pent was a vegetarian despite his species preferring a more meat-based diet. Samaliel wasn’t nearly as pick as food but often tried to copy his brother, despite the somewhat bland taste at times. The older fox was pretty hungry so he worked through the meal pretty quickly, having to wait for his brother to finish. It was Pent’s responsibility to clean up, so he had to wait around regardless of waiting around for his brother to finish or not.
Samaliel didn’t take much longer as the meal wasn’t very big since their foster mother often skimped out on unnecessary things.
“Still hungry?” The older fox asked making sure his brother didn’t want anything else.
Samaliel looked up from his plate. “Desert?”
Pent knew that sweets came sparingly in the house. Their foster mother only kept them hidden for herself, giving the bare minimum to the two boys. The white fox got up from his chair and poked his head out of the kitchen. He saw the woman was watching television so he knew he could probably get away with taking one for Samaliel. The older boy returned to the kitchen and got a stool that was kept in the kitchen for the smaller boy.
He moved it over to the cabinet where he believed the sweets were kept and opened the cupboard. Pent looked inside of it. Most of what he saw was dry goods like rice and cereal. As he kept browsing through it, his brother slowly crept up behind him to see what he could find. The older boy continued rifling through the cabinet, not seeing much of anything. Eventually, he had to climb up on the counter, using his knees for stability.
Pent shuffled through the top shelf now that he could reach it. He couldn’t see up there and had to take out each thing he touched individually. Eventually, he pulled out a small bag of fruit hard candies and brought it down to his level. The older fox sat down and opened up the package before delivering a few individually wrapped treats to his brother. He took only a single one for himself before returning the package to the shelf where it came from.
“What are you two doing?” The boy's foster mother had heard some of the ruckuses and came in to investigate.
Samaliel was still holding one of the treats in his hand and quickly hid the thing behind his back.
Pent hopped off the counter before responding calmly. “Looking for paper towels.”
“You know where they are…why are you looking up there?” She crossed her arms as she knew something had to be amiss.
The white fox headed over to where the pantry was and opened it. “See?”
Sure enough, inside there was only a single roll of paper towels and it was almost empty.
“And…you didn’t think that was enough?” She looked at the table. “You haven’t even started cleaning yet. Get to it…”
Pent rolled his eyes and fetched the roll as she exited the kitchen once more.
“That was close…” Samaliel said as he fetched the remaining packaged treat from behind him’
The older fox shrugged and ate his treat. Samaliel retreated to their room once Pent had begun cleaning the kitchen. Pent knew he couldn’t risk incurring her wrath and so he went about his usual chores. He even had to clean the woman’s dishes which had already been left in the sink for him. The house had no washing machine so they had to be done by hand, which Pent had grown used to despite being familiar with the use of a machine.
Once everything was washed, he dried it all. Of course, he ran out of paper towels. The boy couldn’t help but laugh at how his white lie had come to fruition. The kit decided to just leave the rest of it to dry in the plastic rack that had been set up near the sink. Now that Pent was done, he made his return to his room. He saw Samaliel sitting on the bed, seeming to wait for him. He had to assume something was up since normally the younger boy would spend his free time gaming.
“Let’s play superheroes!” Samaliel said before standing up on the bed to give his best superhero pose.
Pent shrugged as he wasn’t about to turn down the younger boy's request, holding up his arm in a similar fashion to Samaliel. The grey and black fox hopped off the bed and made his way to the small dresser drawer on the side of the room where both of them kept their clothing. The younger fox wasted no time in stripping down his clothing to just his underwear. The sight of the younger boy in his skivvies didn’t bother Pent as he’d seen it many times before.
Samaliel gave his best superhero pose once again. “Your turn, big bro.”
Pent wasn’t about to strip down to his underwear but he had another idea he thought the younger boy would like. He went over to the same area where his brother was and moved him to the side so he could rifle through it. A few years ago he had dressed up as Goku from dragon ball z and wondered if the outfit still fit him. It took him a few moments to find it but he couldn’t help but feel a bit nostalgic once he did.
He pulled the costume out of the drawer and held it up. It was a 2 piece orange outfit that was designed to look like a martial arts uniform from the far east. Pent recalled the thing being quite loose when he wore it last but that was at least a year ago.
“Come on…” Samaliel said as he stamped his paws down on the floor, clearly losing patience.
Pent huffed and undressed before attempting to put on the costume. Despite the thing being made to be loose, it was a bit tight for him. Even still it fit well enough for him to go through the motions with his brother. He signaled that he was ready to Samaliel who immediately began running around the room, pretending to fly.
“Super Fox…away!” The younger boy proudly announced.
Pent gave off his best imitation of Goku’s signature Kamehameha. Samaliel shrugged off the make-believe beam and continued to stream across the room.
“Monster!” The smaller cub pointed to a window where a bird had perched and was sipping on some rainwater.
The older boy noticed the little bird and was immediately afraid that Samaliel would injure it. Before Pent could stop him in his tracks the smaller cub had bolted over to the window. The bird wasted no time flying away. Pent felt a sense of relief as the small critter scurried off.
“Huzzah, the day is saved!” Samaliel announced while puffing out his chest proudly.
Pent shrugged and decided to play along. “Oh, yes. You felled a most terrible beast.”
Samaliel started running around the room again before jumping up and down. It wasn’t long before the two’s foster mother came storming into the room.
“Stop that jumping, this instant!” She yelled loudly trying to sound authoritative.
Samaliel hated to get in trouble and stopped.
“And…put on some clothes…both of you.” She slammed the door behind her, leaving them once again.
Pent rolled his eyes at her and frowned. He watched as Samaliel hung his head low.
“Don’t worry…I have an idea. Put on your pajamas and we’ll get even with her tonight.” Pent went back to the wardrobe.
The older fox fought to get the clothing off, deciding that he’d give it to Samaliel if he wanted it. Pent put the younger boy in bed once he changed before going to bathe himself. It had been a long day and he was tired, but there was one more thing he wanted to do before he slept for the night. By the time had finished cleaning up and redressing himself, Pent saw that Samaliel had already crawled into the top bunk.
“Did you want to come with me?” Pent asked, unsure if the younger boy had fallen asleep.
No answer was given, so Pent knew he was on his own. Still, he wasn’t about to let the foster mother’s treachery go unpunished. The fox put on some socks so his claws wouldn’t make noise and slowly headed out the bedroom door. The lights in the hallway had already been turned off so Pent had to rely on the natural lighting provided by the moonlight that made its way into the small home.
The boy made his way into the kitchen. As he entered it, Pent had to keep his arm extended to prevent himself from walking into anything and making noise. The fox was extra careful and managed to make it to the fridge unscathed. Slowly he opened the fridge door, which caused some of the glassware on the shelf to rattle. Pent looked behind him to see if the woman was checking in on him. Sure enough, he was still alone.
The cub reached in and grabbed the canister of whip cream. The boy knew she always packed her lunch in the morning, despite never doing the two boys. Pent looked around for her lunch box, spotting it on top of the fridge. Pent closed the fridge door once again and tried reaching the small satchel. However, the bag was pushed too far back for him to reach. The fox went back to where he had stored the step stool from earlier and picked it up before placing it right in front of the fridge.
Pent could now reach the nylon lunch bag and pulled it out to his level. He opened the thing and stuck the nozzle of the whip cream dispenser into the bag before squirting it inside. The sound of hissing air rang through the poorly acoustic room. The thing stopped squeezing out the white fizz before Pent stopped pressing it. Looking inside he saw a thin layer of the topping He figured it was enough before stashing the bag on top of the fridge.
He threw away what was left of the container and moved his stepping stool back to where it came from. Pent looked at the small nylon bag and smirked at his deed before heading back down the hall towards his room. At least Samaliel would get to see her reaction in the morning, he thought to himself. Once back in the room he got ready for bed. It had been a long day and he was eager to get back to sleep.
He checked on Samaliel once more, popping his head over the upper bunk. The younger boy was already fast asleep, but Pent kissed his forehead anyways. The older boy retreated down to his bunk and pulled the sheets up. Pent stared at the underside of the bed for some time. He wondered how upset the woman would be but remembered how upset Samaliel was. This sealed it…he needed to find a solution to their problem.
Pent contemplated his options for some time, of course, he didn’t know any realistic solution to the problem. All he knew was that he wasn’t happy with the situation. He tossed and turned for a bit, eventually settling on looking out the window on the side of his bed. He stared into the sky and watched the stars and moon sparkle back at him. It took some time before sleep finally took him and he fell into slumber.
As the young fox slept, his mind wandered as it often did. Even when he slept, his mind was rarely at rest. Pent found himself soon in the dream world where he was somewhere that he didn’t fully recognize. A small home amid a green field with flowers speckling through in various colors. Pent looked down himself and realized he was in normal clothes. He began to walk forward through the grassy fields.
Pent suddenly overheard some laughter coming from the distance. He looked around to see if he could notice where it was coming from yet saw nothing. The cub continued walking, yet the small house in the distance seemed to remain the same ways away. The fox did not waiver and continued walking still, allowing his hands to graze against the grass and foliage which seemed to be rather unkempt.
The cub looked up again to see if he was making any progress. The house still seemed to be just as far, causing Pent to hesitate and think to himself. The laughter was louder now, so Pent looked around again. He felt as if he was being mocked and yet he didn’t let it bother him. The boy hunched down on his feet and allowed himself to be submerged by the long grasses in front of him. Their grass was moving and yet he felt no breeze, it was odd to be sure.
He thought to himself for a second, positing what to do next. The laughter was growing louder, even among being surrounded by the rattling of long stems of grass. Pent picked himself up and stood once again, looking back into the fields in front of him. The fox noticed that there was a small parting in the grass a short way from where he was. The boy felt compelled to discover what was going on and began walking once more.
Pent watched as the disturbance in the grass got closer to him. It made him feel a bit excited as he felt he was making progress again. Within moments he felt a grabbing sensation around his upper body. Looking down he saw what he thought was Samaliel. Pent yet see his face but the fur pattern on the smaller cub very much resembled his brothers. The bigger boy reaches out and pats the other cub's head, ruffling his fur.
The older boy moved his other hand under the smaller cub's chin before tiltingSama’s head up so he could see his eyes and face. The younger fox had a huge smile gleaming across him, making Pent feel rather content at the moment. Pent tried picking up the boy from under his arms, seeming to have no difficulty in doing so. The older fox hadn’t been able to do this and had always fantasized about it. Pent spun around in place, rotating the other boy around him as Samaliel laughed and giggled.
Before long he felt dizzy and had to let the other cub down. Samaliel tugged on his shirt but said nothing, gesturing for him to follow the younger cub. Pent felt himself being tugged along rather easily. Not that he was putting up much of a fight but Samaliel seemed to be able to handle his larger size without much of an issue. It made him feel very much like one of those rag dolls that had very little mass to them.
Pent looked before him and the house he recalled being far away was now right in front of him. It seemed to resemble the one he knew as his current residence, except that nothing was around it. The home was entirely isolated. As he was standing there, Samaliel tugged on him once more to get his attention. Pent returned his focus in front of him, not seeming bothered by the fact his brother seemed to have no issue controlling his person.
Inside was very reminiscent of what he remembered. A single couch and small tv lay opposite one another in the living room. Samaliel tugged on him again, dragging Pent down into their room. The smaller cub finally let go once they were inside. The room was much larger, with two individual beds on each side of the room. Pent saw very little of the humble abode in which he had become accustomed, instead finding a huge entertainment center tucked away in the corner.
Samaliel held up a small game controller, one which Pent had never seen before. Pent approached carefully and took the thing from his brother's paw. He looked at the screen and it was already lit up with some colorful game that the older boy didn’t recognize. The smaller fox sat on the floor and patted the spot next to him. Pent wasn’t about to turn him down and joined him without hesitation.
The game started up before long. The title screen read nothing more than “Getting Even” a name that didn’t ring any bells. On the main menu itself, there was only a single selection indicating to start the game. Samaliel navigated to it with a cursor on the screen, which seemed even odder to Pent considering that there were no other choices. Still, it wasn’t alarming enough to cause him any real concern.
When the on-screen menu finally changed, Pent noticed two very familiar avatars. A white fox and a salt and pepper one. Had they not been feral, the older boy may have thought it to be themselves. Pent didn’t ask any questions, pretending to play along with his brother. The button scheme was easy enough to figure out and the older boy had played enough games with his brother that he didn’t have to ask any questions.
Each fox had its abilities that Pent quickly got accustomed to. As they went through the challenges on screen they were often gifted simple trinkets one could find around the house. From simple foam dart guns to actual furniture. The game was simple and had a very little challenge as they navigated through the first level with ease. When a boss showed up, it was again a familiar sight.
It resembled the boy's foster mother who now appeared as a crusty and haggard old wolf in rather beat-up clothing.
“Super Baddy!” The screen chirped loudly with flashing red lights and a warning sign is shown to indicate it was a dangerous encounter.
Samaliel made no hesitation and entered the fray immediately, chomping down on the neon yellow plastic bat his character had been carrying. The feral fox on screen was swiped away with ease by the boss monster who roared maniacally, causing the screen speaker to crack and chirp as it struggled to maintain the sound's high pitch. She roared heavily, making the speaker struggle even more.
Pent sent his character to rescue the other fox who had not yet been defeated. The dastardly beast before them rushed before him, bellowing once more. Now the sound of the monster's beck and call was causing the walls to rumble and shake. The screen took the first-person view of Pent’s character. He could see the monster looking him on with ill intent, yet Pent felt no fear. He felt only a sense of duty to rush forward and rescue the virtual version of his brother.
The feral fox on-screen grabbed the nearest thing to its snout, nothing more than a broken stick. Yet Pent felt confident he could distract the fell beast with proper planning. The old crone lunged forward, its paws taking on more shadowy silhouettes that extended from the visage of the figure. The white fox threw the stick as far as his snout would take it, snapping the branch with ease.
The wolf seemed to loom even larger as it looked down at the kit. Pent continued to stand his ground, knowing full well it was just a game. The creature before him took on a darker state, losing its fur for a figureless façade of shadows. Slithering back and forth without a form, it soon dissipated into a pool of black. The pool of black remained in place for a moment before slinking forward.
It wasn’t long before the thing lurched forward. Pent saw that this was his moment to act. It was either he rescued the other boy or it would be game over. He leaped forward with his character and bounded into the sky, being careful to avoid the watchful gaze of the specter. The creature bellowed out loudly as the walls on the outside of the screen shook once again. Pent leaned toward the screen, clearly entranced by the game.
His little fox on the screen continued to scamper around in circles, the signs of the other fox having now disappeared. Pent looked to his side to see that Samaliel too had vanished. The moment he hesitated the black pool of slime had grabbed the feet of his character and was consuming them. Pent jammed the controller joystick a few times and yet the character remained motionless, clearly having been defeated by the boss.
Just as the fox on screen was consumed, the picture took on a darker hue. No longer was there any color on the screen, instead replaced by black and white. The black seemed to fume from the glass with smoke exuding from the screen. Pent tried to back away from the screen and yet his body seemed to not respond to his actions. Instead, the smoke extended forward, even further causing him to cough.
The moment he did, he finally awoke from the nightmare. His whole body was warm from the experience and his heart beat faster than it normally did during sleep time. Pent peered overheard to check on Samaliel who was still sleeping soundly. Telling himself a few times that it had been a dream, he crept into the bathroom to wash his face. He was glad the whole ordeal was over despite it interrupting his slumber.
Pent paced in the room in circles for a few moments, pondering to himself about the dream. It didn’t take long for him to convince himself to return to bed. He slunk back under the sheets and peered outside to the stars. The skies always calmed him, no matter the circumstance, and tonight was no different. It took a while before his mind could rest again. Tossing and turning a bit before finally allowing slumber to take him.
It had been a long day, even longer now the interruption of sleep had occurred. He remained at rest for the remainder of the night without any further disruption. Instead dreaming of things his mind preferred, of the robot at school and how it would work without issue. His mind crafting a huge hulking thing and earning him the first prize that his perfectionist mind had hoped for….
