12 What To Do Part 2

I landed, completely without grace and unladylike, in the middle of what looked like a large forest. I landed flat on my back. Or should I say flat on my backpack. And that was not comfortable at all. The books were poking me and jabbing me in uncomfortable places and positions. And I am pretty sure that there was a pencil that was threatening to impale me. If it wasn't for the thick fabric of the backpack along with my dark jacket, the button up shirt, and the tank top that I was wearing, it might have actually hurt me. And, in all honesty, I was pretty sure that it had made it through at least a few of those layers.

"Son of a fucking bitch." I swore as I rolled to the side so that I was no longer laying on my backpack. I was pretty sure that I would have some nasty bruises sometime later today. "That fucking hurt." I knew that there was no one here to hear me, but I still said it anyway. "Where the hell am I? What story did that Keeper of the Tales drop me in first? What do I need to do? Where am I supposed to go?"

"You sure ask a lot of questions." I heard that voice again. It spoke to me like it was inside of my head, and it pissed me off. Maybe it was because I was a little scared, I don't know. I just know that hearing that voice made me mad.

"Well, how exactly do you think that I need to be reacting right now? I mean, I have just been dropped into a random story by a magical book. I don't know where I am, what I am supposed to do, or even what character I am. I don't know if the people here will know what character I am. I don't know how the other characters will respond to me. I don't know if they will think that I am an impostor. I don't know how I am supposed to act, how I am supposed to respond to these people. I don't know any of that and you have the audacity to tell me that I ask a lot of questions."

"Yes, I do understand that you are, in all sense, lost in this world. However, fear not Alex. You will make it out if you just follow the rules." The keeper spoke up again, this time in a voice that was so filled with cheer that you would think that they were having fun.

"I am glad that you are having fun here." I snapped at the voice and got to my feet as fast as I could. I didn't know where I was, but I wasn't going to stay here where the voice was. I needed to find my way out of this forest.

I stomped off through the trees. I was looking for anything that would point me in the direction of some sort of civilization. Though knowing how fairy tales usually went, I was only likely to find some old ass back water town that had absolutely no modern amenities whatsoever. This was going to be pure hell for me.

At least the scenery was nice. The peace of the trees that I was walking through was something that I would never find back home. I would never be able to walk anywhere near my house with the amount of quiet following me.

It wasn't all quiet though. I could hear the birds chirping, I could hear frogs, crickets, and other animals in the forest. However, I couldn't hear a single car horn honking, there were no sirens in the distance, there were no tires screeching or anything like that. And the freshness of the air. Who knew that the air could smell so good? This was amazing.

I let some of my anger subside as I was walking and I realized that I hadn't seen anything that would lead me out of here. I wasn't anywhere closer to finding out what story I was in or what I was supposed to do. This was not good. Where was I even going?

I was beginning to lose hope, just a little bit. I mean, I was trapped in a book, how was I supposed to get out of here? Yeah, OK, finish the stories. How am I supposed to finish the stories? I didn't know what to do. And I needed to figure it all out. I was at a total loss right now.

Completely against my better judgement, I had sunk to the forest floor and hugged my legs to my chest. I was just sitting there at a loss for what I was going to do next. There didn't seem to be a way out of here. I was lost in this forest that was never going to end. And I was never going to get out of this fucking book. This was going to be my life now.

"If you stop being so angry and pessimistic, then perhaps you will allow me to do my job and help you." The Keeper spoke up again. It was like they were going to follow me everywhere I went.

"Help me how? When I asked questions earlier you didn't answer them. Why should I bother to listen now?" I was angry and I was taking it out on the Keeper. And I thought that was a pretty good thing too, since they were the one that trapped me in here in the first place. They didn't deserve my niceties.

"I didn't say that I was not going to answer them. I just said that you ask a lot of questions. You are way too quick to anger. And you need to let that pessimism go. If you let it rule you, then you will never be happy." The Keeper acted like they knew everything about me. Well, I would show them.

"I am happy." I snapped at the Keeper. "You think you know me? You think I am not happy with my life?"

"I know you are content with your life. But you are always alone when you are not at home. You have no friends outside of your father's business. You have no love interests. You have no romance in your life. And if someone were to even be interested in you, you wouldn't know it because you are so closed off from everyone else. So yes, Alex, I know you and I know that you are not as happy as you pretend to be. You long for something without knowing what it truly is. And because you don't know what it is, you are lost in the world that you call home. I may be a keeper inside this book, but that doesn't stop me from being a watcher in yours. I watch the people around me. I watch the lives that they lead. I watch the actions that they take. And I use it all for my tales that are buried within my pages. I use it to better myself and to better those that come to keep me company."

"You mean the people that you kidnap." I snapped at the book.

"You can see it like that, but I know that I am just trying to help you. If you finish all of the tales and feel like you have not learned something or bettered yourself in some way, then I will promise to never take another soul within my pages."

"What good does that do me?" The Keeper's promise meant nothing to me. I would have already suffered.

"Well, I can do what I can to alter your reality. I will help you to get the money to finish your car. I will make it so that your father's garage never goes out of business. I will do all that I can, and it will all be for you, Alex."

"Hmm." This was a little more appealing to me. If I could secure what she was promising me, then I would never have to worry about Dad ever again. He would be good for the rest of his life, and I could be free to write wherever the stories took me. "Alright, I will take the deal. When I finish your stories and have not changed at all, then you will do all that you promised."

"If you finish them without learning something that is. Then yes, I will fulfill my promises." That was good enough for me.