บท 1: Unknown Place

Sitting in a classroom were ten students receiving detention. Whether it was from being late, fighting, or even disrupting class lessons; all of the students there deserved to be disciplined.

Next to the far side of the wall, by the window view, was a young boy that was 15 years old. The clothes he wore was a simple blue T-shirt and a pair of black pants. With closer inspection, he had an elbow on the desk while his head rested in his hand.

Key Stroke glanced at his best friend Black Bourne, before turning his eyes out the window. He was going to be late arriving home again. And seeing with his mother working late hours, he would need to buy groceries before even having the chance to make something to eat.

The only thing he was thankful for was that the school didn't make a big deal out of the situation and call his mother at work. Just getting an earful was only one of the minor problems that could have come his way.

Taking notice that the time had passed 6 o'clock, Key Stroke was the first student in the room to stand up. "Alright, see you troublemakers tomorrow at the same time." He said, giving a small chuckle that they would be spending two more days in detention after school hours.

"That's not funny Key Stroke! It's your fault we are here wasting our time away! You're not even ashamed for the incident you caused earlier!" A young girl that was 16 years old and a sophomore in high school complained.

"Cut him some slack Skyla Betts. Things got out of hand before we could fix them." Black Bourne defended his friend. "That's easy for you to say because you like being roped along in his messes!" She continued to complain.

"Childish! Stroke what happened earlier isn't the end of it. If I see you outside of school, I will kill you." Donn Kell coldly said. Except for the first word he spoke, the other words were said remarkably calm. It was to the point; everyone could tell he was serious.

Not waiting for the others to comment as their faces grew pale from his words, Donn Kell made his way to the classroom door with his hands in his pockets. The only ones not to have pale faces were Key Stroke and Black Bourne.

Instead, Key Stroke had an indifferent expression while Black Bourne's face was cold as his hand formed a fist and shook slightly. With a small shake of the head in a negative manner from Key Stroke, Black Bourne's tensed body relaxed.

Just when Donn Kell grabbed the door handle, the classroom gave a mighty shudder, before it started trembling. The noise and motions were signs as if there was an earthquake right under the school.

The shaking was so intense that it knocked most of the students to the floor. "Ar..are we going to di...die?" A heavy set and timid student asked. "I...I'm to..to youn..." He never finished his last words.

Glass from the school windows shattered as the trembling grew in intensity. The shattered glass window then flew out toward the fallen students. It was also the broken glass fragments that made their way to the scared student, ending his panic permanently.

"Aaahhh...!!" One of the only two girls serving detention screamed. Noises soon followed the scream as half of the students emptied their lunch, right then and there.

Surprisingly, Key Stroke, Black Bourne, Donn Kell, and a quiet young man that appeared to be older than 18 years old, retained their composure after witnessing such a scene in real life. If one didn't know them well enough, they would question their upbringing.

It wasn't by any means natural to keep calm after seeing a fellow student they grew up with die. "This quivering isn't right. The signs of an earthquake are different than this." Key Stroke stated.

In the past, when he had gone on his first day of middle school, an earthquake had hit the school, sinking most of the building underground and leaving him safe and sound because he was late.

There were even news reporters asking random and hard questions. Only the support from his mother and the reassuring look on her face, let him get through his first experience of an imminent death.

Compare to the past; the shaking had an extra force to it. It was a force as if the very ground was moving at insane speeds and the pressure from it was pulling their bodies toward the floor.

An earthquake was different in that, it was like the land on earth would shake you off it, and you would then fall to your death. He didn't get that feeling with the current trembling motions.

Wanting to verify the situation thoroughly, Key Stroke looked outside. The moment he did, the trembling stopped abruptly with dirt flying inside the classroom. "Cough...cough.. everyone! We need to head outside. If the building suddenly decides to collapse, we will get buried here with him." Key Stroke reminded.

As for the 'him' Key Stroke was referring too, nobody was foolish enough not to understand. With shaky steps and small cries, everybody eventually made it from the school building. Strong relief filled the majority of the students as fresh air assaulted their lungs.

It was completely different from the smothering feeling inside the school, as if what they were breathing was dirt and dust instead of oxygen. So it was not wrong for them to miss the complete change in their location.

Not even the school being empty was a strange sign. Of course, these actions were reasonable since it passed the school hours, before the change. "I have never been happier than today to stand on the ground." A 17-year-old boy cried in enjoyment as he bent down to kiss the ground.

Experiencing a death call was frightening, especially for young teenagers. With their emotions always at an all-time high during these years of their growing period, they would easily be swayed by them.

"Look around you fools! Can you not even grasp your own situation when its plain in sight? No wonder the fatso died. It must be nice, being born in greenhouses." Donn Kell spoke coldly. His current voice was even colder than his usual voice.

The look in his eyes compared to before was ruthless. It was like a beast having been restrained for a long time, had finally broken the cage that imprisoned it. And all it wanted, was death and murder.

Key Stroke stopped Black Bourne from stepping forward again as he took a step forward instead. An action, that seemed to shield the others from Donn Kell's notice. "Donn Kell, now isn't the time to be fighting one another. As you said, look around."

When the others heard the same words repeated, they too, soon noticed the vast changes in the landscape. Boundless rows of dirt stretched out as far as the eye could see. In between the soil on the ground, lavish green things sprouted out.

It was so high and tall; it looked to touch the sky. If the students were to place a name on the green stuff, it would appear to be colossal grass. Or it was more accurate to say; they were smaller than the grass itself.

Standing in disbelief at the sight that greeted them, a loud creak sound was heard, resembling a cricket's chirp. "No! I refuse to believe this is real! I'm just having a bad dream. Yeah, a nightmare sounds logical!" A young man giggled uncontrollably.

Before the boy could snap out of his delusion, the dirt caved in as a bug twice the size of them landed in front of the small group of students. "Wai..wait! Isn't that a giant cricket?"