Will ran out of his house and slammed the rickety door. He had just gone through a long intense argument with his father, all over an old pile of wood. Will wanted to make a fort with his friends to hang out in, but his father was insistent on saving it for "later". "We never use it!" Will yelled before running out the door of his house. It may seem crazy that an argument so insignificant would lead to such a reaction, but because of the growing tension between Will and his father, this was a common occurrence. Will turned left into the woods from his cabin-house. His house was at the top of a circle of other cabin-like buildings, most of them were houses, but there was also a shop, school, and meeting house. The meeting house was a building much larger and nicer looking than the other huts in the circle. It was rectangular shaped and the long end reached into a cleared portion of the woods. The building was used for town meetings, events, and dinner for when the whole town ate together each week.
As Will began to head into the woods surrounding the village, to the spot where his friends usually met, a large red hand covered his mouth, while two others grabbed his arms. Before he realized what was happening, Will kicked out in anger at the thing behind him, connecting with its stomach. Soon, he felt a fourth hand hit his back, hard, and he realized that it was a monster from The Organization, which were red humanoid figures, with six arms. Others would soon gather up his friends and the other children, and take them to the meeting house for the Inspection Ceremony. The Ceremony, which happened randomly so the people in the settlements wouldn't hide their children that they knew had the ability, was where each child up to 16 was tested for the ability to create "imaginary friends", they used to be called.
Will soon entered the meeting house, which was filled with long tables, put short side to short side so 4 rows could reach end to end. At the far end of the building was a stage, usually used for performances and speeches, but today the ceremony was taking place. A short line of about 30 kids led to three chairs facing boards with pictures being projected onto it, each with kids sitting in them and with men dressed up like doctors examining them. Will was relieved to see his friends at the end of the line, waiting for their turn. After the monster holding him let him go at the line, Will cut in front of his friends, partly to show his superiority and partly to be funny, “Hey guys!” he exclaimed cheerily and soon joined the conversation. Finally, Will was lead up to a chair by another monster; he sat down and put on a bored expression. “A monster has never popped out of my head before, and I am sure it certainly won’t now,” he thought to himself as the man who had been examining the kids who had previously sat in Will’s chair.
“Okay,” the man began, talking to Will in an annoyingly monotone voice, “I am going to hold this metal device up to your head and show you a picture coming from this projector”. Will snorted when the man finished, he had been through this process plenty of times and he didn’t like that the man treated him like it was his first. The man did as he had said and put a long, shiny device that looked like a pen on the boy’s temple, then he pressed a button on a projector and a picture of a blue thing that looked like a hill with eyes appeared on the board. The man spoke again, “Now, I want you to look at this picture and think about it as much as you can, let it be natural”. Will did what the man said, and soon the devices began to hum, nothing that hadn’t happened before. Once Will thought he would be done, the device began to beep, that wasn’t normal.
“What’s going on,” Will said before he could stop himself. Soon, two of the monsters came towards him and grabbed him; they then carried him towards the entrance of the building. “Wait, wait, please,” Will cried as he was dragged towards the door. He tried to kick and lash out at the things carrying him, but he stopped as soon as their gripped tightened and he stopped, fearing his arms were going to be broken. Soon, he was taken out side, blind folded, and thrown onto some sort of metal surface, he was then stood up and he could feel himself being searched. “Sit,” a rough voice said and he obeyed fearing what would happen if he didn’t. He soon began to cry, he couldn’t help it, after his emotions spiked in his argument with his father and his latest ordeal. All he could do now was cry and wait.
As Will began to head into the woods surrounding the village, to the spot where his friends usually met, a large red hand covered his mouth, while two others grabbed his arms. Before he realized what was happening, Will kicked out in anger at the thing behind him, connecting with its stomach. Soon, he felt a fourth hand hit his back, hard, and he realized that it was a monster from The Organization, which were red humanoid figures, with six arms. Others would soon gather up his friends and the other children, and take them to the meeting house for the Inspection Ceremony. The Ceremony, which happened randomly so the people in the settlements wouldn't hide their children that they knew had the ability, was where each child up to 16 was tested for the ability to create "imaginary friends", they used to be called.
Will soon entered the meeting house, which was filled with long tables, put short side to short side so 4 rows could reach end to end. At the far end of the building was a stage, usually used for performances and speeches, but today the ceremony was taking place. A short line of about 30 kids led to three chairs facing boards with pictures being projected onto it, each with kids sitting in them and with men dressed up like doctors examining them. Will was relieved to see his friends at the end of the line, waiting for their turn. After the monster holding him let him go at the line, Will cut in front of his friends, partly to show his superiority and partly to be funny, “Hey guys!” he exclaimed cheerily and soon joined the conversation. Finally, Will was lead up to a chair by another monster; he sat down and put on a bored expression. “A monster has never popped out of my head before, and I am sure it certainly won’t now,” he thought to himself as the man who had been examining the kids who had previously sat in Will’s chair.
“Okay,” the man began, talking to Will in an annoyingly monotone voice, “I am going to hold this metal device up to your head and show you a picture coming from this projector”. Will snorted when the man finished, he had been through this process plenty of times and he didn’t like that the man treated him like it was his first. The man did as he had said and put a long, shiny device that looked like a pen on the boy’s temple, then he pressed a button on a projector and a picture of a blue thing that looked like a hill with eyes appeared on the board. The man spoke again, “Now, I want you to look at this picture and think about it as much as you can, let it be natural”. Will did what the man said, and soon the devices began to hum, nothing that hadn’t happened before. Once Will thought he would be done, the device began to beep, that wasn’t normal.
“What’s going on,” Will said before he could stop himself. Soon, two of the monsters came towards him and grabbed him; they then carried him towards the entrance of the building. “Wait, wait, please,” Will cried as he was dragged towards the door. He tried to kick and lash out at the things carrying him, but he stopped as soon as their gripped tightened and he stopped, fearing his arms were going to be broken. Soon, he was taken out side, blind folded, and thrown onto some sort of metal surface, he was then stood up and he could feel himself being searched. “Sit,” a rough voice said and he obeyed fearing what would happen if he didn’t. He soon began to cry, he couldn’t help it, after his emotions spiked in his argument with his father and his latest ordeal. All he could do now was cry and wait.
