• So there I was, drooling on my laptop, suffering from a Chinese food induced coma, when suddenly, there was a loud bang and following it, horrible, loud cracking noises.

    Followed by an even louder and ground shaking thud.


    The thud snapped me from my coma and I instinctively ran outside to see where it came from. It may not be an appropriate instinct, but you have no right to judge me.


    Anyway, I looked around for the source of all the loud and annoying noises when I noticed the large tree outside my house had fallen into the road. The about three and a half story tree.

    The tree that was now in the middle of a very busy highway. Which was... oddly enough, empty.


    “Something be fisheh hee-yuh.” I thought and ran to the tree to climb all over the roots of it. Not caring whether or not there were people coming outside to look at the tree and calling most likely the fire department. Or police to tell them that there was a mashugana crawling all over a fallen tree like a perverted nature-necrophiliac.

    With my climbing and scurrying in the root system, I came across many fascinating things, ranging from strange bugs and maggot things, a few mice, a weird dead thing-ma-bob covered in bugs and viney things, and some shiny stuff. I poked a few of the bugs with sticks and observed their behaviour but stopped when the maggots tried to eat my toes and stared at the dead thing-ma-bob, trying to decipher what the hell it was.

    Soon though, I became bored and climbed closer to the tree and deeper. I found a strange chain bracelet with a dirt and clay covered gem on it. Satisfied with my findings, I grabbed it and ran into the house and to the bathroom to clean it.

    Closing the drain in the sink, I turned on the warm and cool water, trying to get the perfect temperature for a possibly fragile piece of old jewelery. After filling it quarter full, I dropped it in and giggled when it splashed. I ran over to the toothbrushes and picked out one of the old ones to scrub my treasure with.

    … That sounded slightly... odd, let me rephrase.

    Picked out one of the old ones to clean my.. no, this isn't working. Never mind. Just stick with the first one.


    Anyway!

    I started scrubbin' the dirty thing gentle-like and noticed the gem was the most beautiful stone I've ever seen. Yeah, that's right. Azurite.

    Now, considering that it is my favourite stone, one can assume I was pretty psyched. So, I proceeded with squealing and jumping around the bathroom, only to have my foot go through the floor. My celebration ended quickly and panic took its place.

    What if there was a rabid raccoon waiting to eat my toes just as that maggot did?


    What if there was an entire colony of animals and insects after my feet and that's where they were hiding?


    In my floor boards... under my house.


    Having these disturbing thoughts go through my head, I screamed the high pitched girly scream girls do and yanked it out of the floor. I earned a splinter in the process but I didn't notice until after I had moved something heavy over the hole. After staring at the spot and examining my foot, I turned back to my find and finished cleaning it. It took half an hour to clean the entire thing and I looked at it happily.

    And I named it.

    Shouting it to the sky/ceiling.

    And stopped when my mom kindly told me to shut the hell up.


    Cackling I ran to my room to take pictures of it. Why? I wanted to gloat. I have gloating rights when it comes to shiny things found in dirt. And conquering toe obsessed animals.

    I set up small places to make it look pretty and professional. Even put in some props. At one point, I set the thing on fire completely on accident and noticed nothing happened. So I then set it on fire on purpose. And took pictures. They. Were. Gorgeous. I blew out the fire on it and turned to my computer to upload my pictures and while I was deleting ones I didn't like, I heard a shattering noise come from behind me, startled and worried, I turned quickly.

    Only to see...

    That my precious azurite...

    Had broken.


    Overcome with grief, I dropped everything to go and mourn it. Tears formed in my eyes and I picked it up to stare at it's broken beauty. A large crack, straight down the middle. Some small shards missing too.

    I couldn't fix it.


    A lugubrious cloud loomed over me as I set it down gently and went about uploading the pictures. Afterward, I slowly typed the sad story of my findings on my few journal sharing websites.

    I sighed and stared at my computer for a bit before deciding to crawl onto my make shift bed made of blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals. I sighed again and closed my eyes to go to sleep. I was far too depressed to stay awake.


    Almost immediately after I closed my eyes and started to drift into sleep, I heard a chuckle. A man chuckle. A sexy, hoarse man-chuckle. But I was still scared to hell in back so I sat up and screamed.

    There was an over six foot man in my room.


    I went to scream for help, but he knocked me out. He moved inhumanly quick...