There is no friend as
loyal as a book

Life started very normally for John Eddwarton. He seemed like an ordinary boy in a regular family. He was raised by two seemingly very typical parents working and living very typi-cal jobs and lives of their own.

“I never realized how good you actually were with a sword!” cried John as he stood up.
“Not something people really utilize anymore, but it’s good to master many crafts. I can use every weapon in this room, and you should practice for yourself when you find the time.

“What smart questions,” responded the guide. “Yes, it does indeed affect gravity. Without that, our survival here would be impos-sible, as the gravity this close to the core would crush us all flat. It is actually quite a clever creation, which only melts when subjected to extreme cold rather than heat.

John’s guilt only skyrocketed as the community gathered, and the judges walked forward, followed by a terrified and utterly confused Penny. “Mom!” she screamed as she saw June. “What’s going on?!”

“Correct! I’m sure my mom has heard of at least one person who’s gone down in history for leaving the resistance for a love interest, now that I think of it. But, yeah, all of this was man-made. It’s probably why we have some of the best plumb-ing ever!”

“It was an accident!” cried John. “How was I supposed to know what it would mean to escape the void a black hole sent me to? If I had known it was more than a dream, I would have never even gone near a black hole!”

“Yeah, but they don’t actually taste good. More like biting into a wax replica of fruit.”
“Sad. Looks can definitely be deceiving,” said John. There were more albino plants here, miraculously thriving. Some seemed to glow from the stems, a pale ghostly white.

John looked down, suddenly realizing he was handing back the robes in exchange for the drive. When had he changed clothes again? This place was so strange. Turning, his head spinning a little, he thanked the host, who walked him out. As he entered the large hangar, Cqel was coming out of a door on the other side of the same wall, and they were led to the large hangar doors at the front.

The time passed quickly for John. Every day felt like a blur of nearly the same things. He spent a lot of his time with Edmond and Ezma, but well over half of that was spent shredding down the slopes of Rockwood Mountain. Every night he did his best to astral project again, but at best he had a fleeting flying dream.

John grabbed a plate and utensils from the kitchen, and quickly returned to the table where he served himself a plate of the chicken Caesar salad. He’d technically only woken up a couple hours earlier, but John was exhausted, and couldn’t stop yawn-ing while he ate. Once he finally finished his meal, and fin-ished convincing his family that he wouldn’t be disappearing like that ever again, John went upstairs and took a nice long shower. After the water ran cold, John finally got out, changing into his comfiest pair of pajamas, and crawling into his bed.