7 HOURS

What lengths will a paranoid king go to in order to protect himself?

7 HOURS

Coraline Fuentes lived in a complicated world. This magical world consisted of three very large islands, each with its own king or queen. The land of Odea, was ruled by King Olaf. The land of Irria was ruled by Queen Maegan. And finally, the land of Ulgea, Coraline's home, was ruled by King Jax. Jax was possibly the worst choice of king. He was so terribly paranoid that someone would overthrow him or even try to kill him, that he drugged Ulgea's water supply with a sort of “Behavior Chemical”. Anyone who drank the water there was then unable to misbehave in anyway, violent or otherwise. Not many people knew about this, including most of Coraline's family and friends. Coraline was one of the few people who did know. The only known way to avoid this fate was to have water imported from Odea or Irria. Coraline, without her parents knowing, did this with the help of her friend Odessa, who was also against the drugged water.

Coraline sat in biology as her teacher, Ms. Hart, passed out books. This book was about seven and a half inches long, seven and a half inches wide, and an inch thick. It was bound in lemon-lime leather and looked almost new. The cover had a large illustration of a dragon with light blue eyes, pastel orange scales, a dark pink back ridge and feathered wings. Across this dragon were the bold words “A HISTORY OF MYSTICAL CREATURES”.

“Now,” Ms. Hart began “who can tell me what type of dragon this is?” Leaf Larsen's hand shot up.

“It's a Bell Honey, Ms. Hart. They're the only kind with light blue eyes.” Leaf answered. Coraline held her book close to her face and saw that the dragon did in fact have blue eyes.

“Very good, Leaf. Can anyone tell me what the Bell Honey's diet consists of?” Ms. Hart asked. Elenor Trabb was the one to raise her hand this time.

“Don't they eat people, Ms. Hart?” Elenor asked.

“They do indeed, Elenor. Does anyone know where this man-eating beast lives?” Ms. Hart questioned. Leaf raised his hand again.

“My cousin swore he saw one down in a cave by the ocean, he did. Ran home pretty quick, too.” Leaf told. The class giggled.

“He was right to, Leaf. He may very well have seen one. It is very well known that Bell Honey's take shelter near the ocean.” Ms. Hart taught.

At the end of the day, all of the students mounted their beasts, whatever they may be, and rode or flew home. Coraline climbed up on her unicorn, Feather, and rode home.

When they got home, Coraline put Feather in her stall beside Ploog, her little sister's unicorn. Besides, their markings, the two unicorns looked completely different. Feather had orange eyes, and an aqua-marine coat with a matching straight mane. Ploog on the other hand had dusty red eyes, a lemon-yellow coat, and a straight bright orange mane. Their markings were quite similar, though. Feather had a full moon surrounded by stars near her tail, while Ploog had a crescent moon surrounded by stars in the same spot.

“Coraline,” Ploog whinnied. “Is Whisper ever coming back?”

“Yeah. Some day.” Coraline lied. She wasn't, though. Coraline's little sister, Whisper, had been murdered in her bedroom when she was only 12 years old. No one had told Ploog, though. She was such a young unicorn. They didn't know if she could handle it. Coraline still took care of Ploog, though. Coraline walked inside where her father, Bernice, sat vacantly in the kitchen. He hadn't spoken to anyone since Whisper died. It was traumatizing enough for him when Altha, Coraline's mother and Bernice's wife had disappeared. When Whisper died, he broke. Coraline had always explained it to herself that, if you were to see through his eyes, you would only see white. No people. No house. No sky or ground. Just white. That was why he never reacted to anything. It was like he was permanently sleepwalking.

Coraline walked into her bedroom, not acknowledging her father, because she knew he wouldn't acknowledge her. She sat on her bed where her cat, Yuddie, lay stretched. When she sat down, he woke up and squinted at her. He was a small cat, who never quite grew out of the kitten stage of his life. Coraline reached forward and pet his white fur. “Hi, Yuddie.” Coraline whispered, scratching under his chin. Suddenly Coraline's moth landed on Yuddie's side, but the lazy cat hardly noticed. Coraline held out her finger toward the moth and it crawled on her finger. “You too, Bluck.” Coraline said to the jealous moth. Bluck was a large, cream colored moth with the ability to heal injuries, which was part of the reason that Coraline owned him. She perched on Coraline's finger and fluttered her wings softly and Coraline smiled at her.

A few days later, Coraline sat in the park. It was a hot day, so Coraline wore a flashy dark blue dress and sneakers. She sat innocently enough on a bench, surveying her surroundings and fanning herself with a pink lace hand fan.

Suddenly, a very unwelcome man walked up to Coraline and stood before her. King Jax had, for some reason, hunted Coraline down and found her. She turned her eyes to this ever so hated man.

“What?” Coraline asked, continuing to fan herself.

“Not the best way to address your king.” Jax pointed out.

“Do I look like I care?” Coraline asked slowly, refusing to look at the king.

“Not entirely.” Jax agreed. “Coraline, I'd like it if we could talk in private. Might I suggest my own house?”

“I don't have much of a choice here do I?” Coraline assumed.

“Not exactly.” Jax affirmed. Coraline groaned as she stood up and was led by King Jax to a medium sized house. She didn't think such an evil man could live in such an innocent looking house. When they got inside, it was surprisingly bright, much like the colors of a garden. Jax motioned to two yellow cushioned chairs in his living room. Coraline sat in one, while Jax poured a drink in the kitchen. He came back sat down in the chair across from her, setting the clear glass cup on the table between them. “Coraline, you and I both know that you know about the water here. And you, being the troublemaker you are, had to go and rebel against it. It's for a good cause, I promise.” Jax said.

“What are you saying?” Coraline interrupted . Jax pointed to the clear glass filled with clear liquid.

“Drink it.” King Jax commanded. Coraline eyed the glass suspiciously. She knew it was the drugged water.

“No.” Coraline declined. Jax shifted a bit.

“See...Coraline...the funny thing is...” Jax said. Suddenly, he took a gun out of his jacket and pointed it at Coraline. “You don't have much of a choice.” Coraline stared at him in shock for a minute. Finally, she grabbed the cup, not taking her eyes off of King Jax, and poured the water down her throat. She slammed the cup down on the table and Jax put the gun down.

“There. I drank your drug water. Can I go now?” Coraline demanded.

“Oh, that wasn't the Behavior Chemical.” Jax admitted.

“What?” Coraline asked in fear.

“No, I know your type, Coraline. That stuff doesn't last forever, and once it wore off, you'd be back to rebelling against it. I needed a more...permanent solution.” King Jax explained. It wasn't water in the cup. It was poison. Every childish whim in Coraline told her to yell at Jax that she wasn't the only one, but she didn't, for the safety of her friends. He looked at his watch. “I'd say you have about 7 hours left before you join your little Whisper.”

“You b*****d.” Coraline muttered under her breath.

“There's your proof that it wasn't the chemical.” Jax grinned. Coraline sat still for a moment in disbelief before flying out of that house. Where was she going to go, though? Her dad wouldn't even notice her. Nobody ever committed crimes, so Ulgea didn't have a police system. The only thing left was her friends. Coraline looked around at her surroundings before deciding that Hyssop, her fairy friend, was the closest person. She ran as fast as she could to Hyssop's house. When she got there, she frantically beat on the door until Hyssop finally opened it.

“Coraline, are you okay?” Hyssop asked concernedly. Hyssop looked at Coraline with big amber eyes. She was pale, and her short dark gray hair stuck out in certain places. Coraline forced herself inside.

“He poisoned me. Jax poisoned me. I don't know what to do.” Coraline collapsed onto a couch in Hyssop's living room. Hyssop stood in shock with the door still open until she finally spoke.

“We...we should make sure he wasn't just bluffing, first. I'll go get my things.” Hyssop said slowly, fluttering into the kitchen. Coraline leaned into the back of the couch with her eyes closed until Hyssop came back with a range of medical supplies. She picked up a small, thin flashlight and knelt on the couch by Coraline. “Here, look at me.” Hyssop directed. Coraline opened her eyes wide and looked at Hyssop. She shined the flashlight into her eyes and Coraline squinted in the bright light. Hyssop took the light away and frowned at Coraline.

“What?” Coraline asked fearfully.

“Your pupils are a bit dilated. That's not usually a good sign.” Hyssop muttered. She picked up a stethoscope next and put it on. She held the end to Coraline's heart and her face became grave. “Your heartbeat is fast, too.” Hyssop frowned at Coraline for a minute before throwing her arms around her. “I'm sorry. I don't think there's anything I can do.” Hyssop breathed, trying not to cry.

“There's no...magic spell you could do to stop it?” Coraline suggested.

“No, my magic heals injuries, not poisons.” Hyssop informed. Suddenly, two more of Coraline's friends, Hildur and Cora, burst in.

“Coraline!” Hildur cried, running to her and hugging her. Coraline looked at Hyssop questioningly.

“I called them.” Hyssop admitted.

“How much time do we have?” Hildur asked. Coraline checked her watch.

“6 hours and 20 minutes.” Coraline answered gravely.

“What are we gonna do?” Hildur asked.

“Not much we can do.” Hyssop answered.

“I'm going to kill Jax.” Coraline answered.

“You can't.” Hildur pointed out.

“Why not?” Coraline asked.

“He was so paranoid that someone was going to come after him, he had something put in his heart that automatically heals any injury he gets.” Hildur informed.

“Well, then we take it out!” Coraline said. Everyone looked at Coraline uneasily.

“I...guess that is an option.” Hildur agreed uneasily.

“Alright. Let's go.” Coraline said, getting up and walking outside.

They all ran to King Jax's house together. When they got there, Coraline slammed the door open. There didn't seem to be anyone in the living room, at least. The girls split up and searched rooms. When they came back in the living room, none of them had found King Jax.

“He's running!” Coraline realized. She muttered a curse under her breath and kicked a small coffee table over.

“Where would he go?” Hildur asked.

“Anywhere. It's his island.” Coraline answered. Hyssop curiously fluttered into the kitchen while Coraline paced the living room. She spotted the glass that she drank the poison from and threw it against the wall. Hyssop came back with an empty bottle of alcohol.

“Looks like Jax ran out of liquor.” Hyssop noticed, holding up the bottle.

“You think he's at the bar?” Hildur asked.

“I think it's a likely place.” Hyssop answered.

“Is it really worth it, though? It takes about three hours to get there, and then what if he isn't there?” Hildur pointed out.

“We can ride there. It'll be faster.” Coraline suggested.

The four girls ran back to Coraline's house and climbed up on Ploog and Feather and rode quickly to the bar, Coraline becoming weaker all the while. Even with the unicorns, it still took the girls about 2 hours to get there, only leaving Coraline 2 hours and 55 minutes left. They finally arrived at the bar and burst inside and ran to the barkeep.

“Hey! Have you seen King Jax?” Coraline demanded.

“Oh, yeah. He left a little while ago, sorry.” the barkeep answered. In disappointment, Coraline and her friends walked out of the bar.

“That's it. That was our last chance.” Coraline sighed. Hyssop threw herself at Coraline and hugged her, crying. Then Hildur joined in. Then Cora. The four rebels stood outside the bar, embracing each other, crying, because they knew they would soon become three. Grudgingly, they all mounted their unicorns again and rode slowly down the road.

It was after about 50 minutes of slow riding that a man stumbled out, drunk, into the road in front of the girls.

“Is that Jax?” Hildur asked.

“You dumb drunk.” Coraline laughed, sliding off of Feather's back. She cried out when her feet hit the ground. Her bones had become brittle and weak.

“Careful!” Hyssop hissed. Hildur pulled a knife out of a pack strapped to Feather's side.

“Coraline!” Hildur called, handing her the knife. Coraline took it and gingerly hobbled towards King Jax, looking a bit drunk herself.

“Ohohoh! It's the little rebel and her friends! Hey, I thought you'd be gone by now.” Jax slurred.

“Yeah, time sure flies when your getting wasted, huh?” Coraline taunted.

Suddenly, she plunged the sharp knife into his heart and the wound started to heal almost at once, until she began twisting the knife. King Jax screamed in pain as black ink spurted from his chest and onto Coraline's face. She continued to twist and stab until Jax's screams stopped and he fell limp against the street of the pavement. “The King is dead.” Coraline announced, turning to face her friends. They all grinned as she walked back to them and climbed back on Feather.

After another two hours of slow riding, as to not hurt the delicate Coraline, they finally reached Coraline's house. They all slid off their unicorns and began walking in. They all walked past Coraline's dad who seemed not to have moved the entire time and into Coraline's bedroom. They all set her gently on her bed and stood beside her, crying silently.

Bluck fluttered onto Coraline's stomach and began glowing a soft green. Coraline giggled weakly.

“It's no good this time, Bluck. I'm not hurt.” Coraline whispered. Bluck stopped glowing hesitantly and almost sadly it seemed.

“How much time?” Coraline asked. Hyssop checked her watch.

“Two minutes.” Hyssop answered.

“How do you feel?” Hildur asked.

“Tired.” Coraline answered.

“Close your eyes. We'll be right here.” Hyssop assured. So Coraline did. She looked at her friends one last time, closed her eyes and fell asleep. Though this time, she wouldn't wake up.

EPILOGUE

Hyssop, Hildur and Cora sat before Coraline's grave and drank non-drugged water from their own island. A new king had been chosen and he was nowhere near as paranoid as Jax. People were free to drink Ulgea's water without worrying about any mind-control serum or anything like that. People were happy. Cora raised her class in cheers.

“To Coraline Fuentes. The girl who took down Jax.” Cora smiled.

“To Coraline!” Hildur and Hyssop cheered, clinking glasses. They all happily drank their clean water, and at Coraline's grave they even left a glass for her.