Chapter 2 The bus ride to monster prison was something rather unpleasant.

The roads we took were bumpy and jolting, the bus driver claimed it was the best shortcut into the city. The school had only been able to hire three buses all o f which were small and crammed. It was shocking that everyone was able to fit in to the buses. Having five classes all of them having less than 20 students, the ride was crowded. Penny and I had rushed into the bus the moment it arrived, ignoring the teachers when they told us to form into a line. We took seats at the back and crossed ou r legs, so people that were standing wouldnt bump into our legs. The chatter on t he bus was loud, everyone seemed to have a hard time being quiet. I looked at the scenery as it passed by slowly, noting to myself the bus driver was going slower than the actual speed limit. No one wanted to be caught by stre et officer, they were known for their bad tempers. It was no surprise though, wo rking under the muggy sun was something everyone despised about Ground 002. The scenerys changed from fields and trees from my home and turned into the light s and houses of the city. It was always exciting entering the city, the city was completely different from the rest of Ground 002. The north side of Ground 002, where I live, is filled w ith farms and fields. On special occasions my mother would take my brother and I into the city. Penny and I sat in comfortable silence, as we both looked at our peers making id iots out of themselves. I noticed, one of the boys from another class. Elliot Jenkins Ever since I started high school, he seemed to be the only boy to me that stood out. We were complete opposites in every single way possible, he was a lot like Penny. Yet to me he was the only one I seemed to like. I know it may sound chees y and all, but whenever I went out with another boy. I could only think of him. His face was somehow imprinted into my mind. No matter how hard I tried to rid t hese thought of him and I as a couple, they never disappeared. He was a really good looking guy, I mean that was very obvious. He had to have had the silkiest looking brown hair I had ever seen, the effort h e must put into it would extend to a womans effort. And those eyes, they were an incredible baby blue. Those eyes always seemed to shine, the moment he entered a room everyone somehow became happy. I caught myself ogling like some obsessed fan, which I suppose in a way I was. I f I could I would have asked him out already, but he had a girlfriend. Amanda Taylor She was your typical cheerleader, well our school didnt even have a sport team bu t we had a cheerleading club which she was in charge of. She had short curly blo nde hair that shined like the sun, and sun kissed skin with brown eyes. Amanda was the type of girl, that if you messed with her man, shed scratch your e yes out. So I tried to be the person my mother raised me to be, even though my h eart told me otherwise, I told myself to try and move on. Yeah, and Ive been trying to move on for the past year now. I sighed as I rubbed my eyes as the bus came to an abrupt stop, awakening me fro m my thoughts. I turned to Penny and saw her look at me as well. We both smiled, glad to be here at last. The rest of the people in our bus seemed to have the same thoughts as they cheer ed in unison MONSTER MO-MONSTER PRISON. I couldnt help but chuckle at their chant, as the teachers once again tried to gain some control. Penny giggled and stood u p from our cramped position and stretched. A few boys turned their heads to get a look at Pennys exposed belly button, which we had both gotten ours pierced together. It was no lie that Penny was a good l ooking girl. Although she denied it, everyone knew it, she was crowned beauty of the year several times. Much to Amandas disgust. She had light strawberry red hair that reached just below her bust line, and fre ckles dominated her pale face. Her eyes had to be her best feature, they were a gorgeous pale blue. Boys would flaunt their muscles whenever she walked past. Bu t being the independent feisty queen she has always been, she ignored them. But

annoyingly the boys never took a hint. To me, I had always thought that Penny and Elliot would be perfect together. As much as I liked Elliot, I knew it was true. The way they acted was somewhat iden tical, and many times I had watched them pass each other by. And somewhat hoped that they wouldnt fall for each other when they saw the other. But they still had nt showed any sign of even acknowledging each other. Penny knew me enough, that even though she didnt tell me she knew I liked Elliot. Yet Penny never showed any sign of having the same obvious love I have for Elli ot. At last the smelly bus driver opened the doors and students flew out like the wi nd. Penny and I rushing behind them all. I leaped out of the bus, ungracefully a nd landed onto the hard concrete. I looked up from the ground with one of my rar e big grins and saw the place I had been looking forward to for the past 3 weeks . Monster Prison. I was somewhat shocked as I took a gander at the spooky looking prison. It didnt look much like what it did on television when the plastic news reporter shivered in front of it. It was creepy, most definitely, already I could see several buf f looking guards around the entire perimeter. Clearly they didnt want anyone prohibited getting in or out. The gates were tall and could only be opened by the scary macho gate keeper who glared at us as we walked toward him. The walls were the strongest type of brick known to Ground 002 and traps could easily be seen on the walls. Well at least to me the-amazing-detecting-booby-trapper. If a nave monster made its way to the wa ll and accidently touched the wrong brick the wall would crumble to pieces and e asily alert everyone someone was escaping. But there are plenty of smart monster s out there; some I hear even have it as a gift. One of those monsters could sne ak past the guards and over the walls and into our not so protected lands. Surel y a monster who had been locked away would want revenge on the species that had sent him there. I felt a small shiver run down my spine as I grasped Pennys upper arm as she too grabbed onto me. It was only normal for citizens to fear this place and the things inside it. We both held tightly onto each other as we approached the not so happy looking g ate keeper. He leered at us, immediately not trusting this too large group of no isy kids. Mrs Keenly, usually gentle to people leered right back at him. I looke d at her slightly shocked but understood immediately. Adults were never too trusting not like us younger people, everyone talked about how their parents would always move onto the other side of the path when they s aw a man in the blue and black Ground 002 solider uniforms. Just because they ob eyed them, didnt mean they trusted them. Soldiers werent trusted just like the mon sters; many who were married to them would always later divorce or even some com mitted suicide. Soldiers in my opinion suffer from many inner and outer wounds. All soldiers bec ome soldiers because of their blood line, if your father was a soldier you would most likely end up as one too. And if your mother was a lawyer, well you would end up as one too. If you didnt want this though, this would be taken to the high orders court. There you would face a trial, and if the high order saw you worth y of having a choice you were free to choose your career in life. But this was rare. Soldiers suffered from criticism and the horror of war, in my opinion like many other things in Ground 002. They were judged by their title. The high order was known as merciless and cruel with the law, they kept everything in place and the m being the ones who started the war were the ones many hated. But others worshi pped. The high order was full of power that no one could over throw their decisi on. There was a high order in every Ground, Ground 004 had a King and Queen too. Many hoped for other grounds to do the same, having more people to decide the f ate of their lands. There were nobles too, those who were far beneath the high order but the closest too them. They were all told to be snobby and immature, they shoved their money into a person face and made them squirm for it. They werent the nicest people in

the world, yet not as bad as the high order. The soldiers were next in line, they were the ones who fought for our country ye t no one showed them the respect I believe they deserved. Yet no matter what, it was known soldiers were still cruel, they fought even when there was no reason. They liked making a cruel impression and glared at anyone who as so much looked at them the wrong way. After the soldiers were the commoners, commoners were just that commoners. Common ers couldnt move into the city, if you were lucky enough to win the lottery and g ain more money you would then have the money to buy a house in the city. Commone rs didnt have houses they had flats, units and little apartments, like my family lived in a flat, but many others werent so lucky. Commoners were treated like dir t on someones shoe, pretty much you had no respect but from the ones like you. Un lucky last was the ones at the bottom of the food chain. The Black Zone citizens. The Black Zone, the place where another ground blew it up, it was a horrible pla ce to be living right now. The food there was practically non-existent, everythi ng was crisped and black. This is how it got its name. In the old days people wh o didnt desire to follow the high order where sent to another ground on a tiny bo at or were sent to prison much like the monsters are now. But now days, if you w anted out, your best option was the Black Zone. Anyone who wanted to stay was we lcomed with open arms. A place for all outcasts to go too. Shiloh! Yet again I was brought out from my thoughts by the fuming Penny Henderson. I lo oked at her with a small cheeky smile as she complained that yet again I was los t in my own little world. I hadnt even realised that the intimidating gate keeper had stepped aside and opened the gate to our noisy classes. The gate creaked an d groaned loudly, clearly aged yet strong enough to keep unwanted things in and out. I almost laughed as our students taunted the gate keeper with salutes and b ows as the gate keeper gritted his teeth. I found myself following a long unusually and saluted at the fuming gate keeper and gave him a little wink too. He glared at me and none too professionally gave me the bird. Penny beside me poked her tongue at him and giggled. Besides my no rmal morals I too giggled but looked at him apologetically anyway, but he had al ready turned back toward his post and pressed the red button that closed the cre aky old gate. Officially locking us inside, where a prison full of not so happy monsters waited.