Ren stepped from the warm spring waters and looked up at the sky. So I live in the famous Zential Springs… He thought. The sky was blurred by the steam flowing up, quickly to be cooled in the winter air. I wonder if the drawings of the creatures on the rocks are true… he thought again while putting his clothes and boots back on. Ren put on a jacket and walked out of the warm area and into a patch of snow. He walked toward a rock wall and put his hand on a drawing of a hideous creature. The bat wings, ram horns, two tails: feathers and wolf, reptile front legs and hind legs until the bird like feet. Ren looked at the other odd creatures. There were thousands of them.


The village he lived in said they were gods of the past, but were powerless now. He turned and began to walk down the path toward his home. The path widened and thinned a lot, never seeing the neatness of a city’s concrete road. The roads in the city used to be teeming with cars until a law was passed to stop making the cars. After a few years, horses and ostriches became the main form of transport. There were still planes out there, the government still kept some war weapons just in case of an emergency. Technology in the village that Ren now entered was at its prime. He entered his house and picked up a see-through screen and started looking for a good song to listen to as he brought out his expensive earphones. Skull Skill Candy was on the top of them, the newest brand of skull candy which amazingly stayed up for longer than Microsoft.


Ren was tackled by his partially robot dog, a product of his dad, and he heard a snap. The dog froze and fell over and Ren looked down at his music player and saw it, with his expensive headphones were about to explode. He grabbed the dog and jumped to the side as a loud BANG sounded. Ren felt his dog relax again and looked at where a patch of the carpet was now aflame. He jumped up and jumped on the fire, but he was too slow as he was hit by the automatic fire extinguisher. Ren stood still as his dad came up the stairs and looked at the blob of white foam where his son stood.


“Hey dad…” Ren said while trying not to get foam in his mouth.


“Ren,” his dad replied. “What happened this time?” He pressed a button and the foam was sucked off of Ren.


“The dog jumped on me and the music player exploded…” Red said while taking his wet jacket off. “I’m going to go get cleaned up.” Ren walked over to a wall and through it. He went up the stairs and went into the bathroom to clean up.


Ren came out of the bathroom in a new set of clothes and went across the hall and into his room. He sat down onto his bed and heard the dog coming up the stairs. Ren stood up and
closed the door before the dog could get to it. He walked over to his desk and sat in the chair that was pushed into it.


Ren began drawing the hideous creature he looked at earlier. He completed it by guessing the coloration of the creature. He made the wings jet black and the skin a beige color. He made the feet darker beige and gave the tail feathers a grey. Ren finished the coloring by coloring the tail reddish brown and the eyes red.


The picture was tacked onto the wall next to a map of the Zential Springs. Tomorrow he was planning to explore the caves where hidden treasures and tales were said to be. He glanced out of the window next to his bed. It’s getting close to dinner time… he thought. He supported his thought by looking up at the clock about his desk. 8:40, a bit late for dinner… Ren thought again.


Ren stood up and opened his door. His dog must have gone back downstairs, for it was not by his door. He made his way down the stairs and back through the wall. His mom was cooking in the kitchen and his dad was most likely in his laboratory. Ren walked into the kitchen and leaned against the counter.


“Hi, mom,” he said. His mom just kept cooking.


“Hi Honey,” she said while stirring the spicy smelling meal. “Want to taste?” She held up a spoonful of what looked like chili.


“Sure.” Ren replied and tasted the chili. The chili didn’t taste as spicy as it smelled and it had cheese mixed in. “It’s really good mom.”


“Thank you,” she said. “Can you call your father? It is about done.”


Ren nodded and exited the kitchen. He walked over to an intercom and pressed the button. “Dad, its dinner time. Mom made chili.”


“…I’ll be up in a moment,” his dad’s voice cracked through the intercom after a moment.


Ren walked back into the kitchen and sat down at the round table near the counter. He jumped slightly as his dad miraculously appeared in the chair next to him. Ren’s mom set a pot down on the table and three bowls. She put spoons down and then settled down next to Ren’s dad. They served themselves chili and began to eat.


“So, how were the springs, Ren?” his mom asked. “I think I’ll go in a couple days. It’ll be nice to go on a family trip down there sometime.”


“The springs were as nice as ever.” Ren replied and took a bite of chili. They ate in silence for a few minutes before someone spoke again.


“I’ve been working on an improvement in technology,” his dad said. “As you can see, I got up here much easier. If I needed to, I could go back down.”


“Just be careful, Hun.” Ren’s mom said. “We don’t want you to mess up anything else.” She pointed toward where the dog lay.


Ren finished his bowl of chili and excused himself from the table. He rinsed his bowl out and exited the kitchen. Ren walked up to his room and changed into his pajamas. He fell asleep in his bed and dreamed of what may happen in the morning.


Ren woke and dressed into his everyday clothes. He slipped on his jacket and his boots. Ren made his way out of the house and walked across the snow toward the springs. Ren looked up at the looming peaks that hid the cave. He brought his gaze upon the faint drawings of the creatures and walked toward them.


The drawings were surrounding the mouth of the cave, and looked like they were drawn moving toward the center of the cave, Ren had not noticed this before. He stood at the entrance of the cave, staring into its dark abyss. Ren thought he heard a dog within the cave, but decided it was just his mind playing with him. He entered the cave slowly and took a flashlight out of his bag.


The light struck several more of the drawings, all facing towards the darkness of the cave. The creatures seemed to be walking alongside him as he walked deeper into the cave. Ren felt the ground below him slope downwards and he thought he saw a faint glow. Something knocked Ren over and made him lose consciousness when his head hit a rock.

Ren woke and felt water moving around him, he felt his hair moving in the water and fish nibbling at his ears. He sat up and looked around him, his limbs were numb and he felt like he was being watched. Ren looked down at his arms and felt a bell ring inside him. T-talons? What… happened to me? He felt like fainting, but nothing happened. He just sat there examining his change. His body was now lion-like, except for his tail and his talons where his hands once were. His tail was like a bird of paradise’s tail; the feathers were long and fanned out in several directions.


Ren hopped up to his hind legs and felt them collapse under his weight. He sat like a begging dog for a moment or two and let his front legs go to the ground. Ren rose to all four legs and wobbled for a moment. His tail made his lower end heavier than the front. He walked forward and stopped to look behind him. The feeling of being watched grew stronger.


A wolf with what looked like insect wings ran and fluttered over in a gliding lope. “Are you here from Zential Springs, young beast?” he asked Ren when it landed nearby. “Oh wait, what am I thinking? We are at Zential Springs aren’t we?” The wolf looked around in wonder. His companion, a rabbit with enormous ears walked forward, her eyes were a icy blue.


“Glunt, we are in Zential Springs,” she said. “Don’t you see the springs? And oh! There is the Zential spring’s town right over there! We’ve made it!” She gave a little twirl and a hop.


“Noi, you shan’t get so excited.” Glunt said while fluttering his wings slightly. “We are just here to be at the meeting. Anyways,” he said while turning toward Ren. “What would be your name, young beast?”


“Ren.” Ren replied. “What’s this about a meeting...? And…” He stopped when he heard someone approaching from behind him. The large shape of a wolverine that also looked a bit like a rhino approached wearing a native chief’s war hat.


“Noi and Glunt,” he said while staring past a horn. “You are at your first meeting, Welcome.” The large beast tilted his head slightly toward Ren and then shuddered. “The… The eyes of…” He clears his throat. “Young beast, what is your name? I am Roonarc.”


“Hello Roonarc,” Ren said. “My name is Ren.” He shied slightly away from Roonarc’s large horns.


“You go toward the village.” Roonarc said. “You have no business in this conversation.” Ren turned and ran toward the village. He didn’t see any buildings as he came along the dusty trail. A reptile with feathers and a wolf tail popped out of a large rock and stared at him. Ren was slowly noticing other creatures… all of which he saw of the walls of the cave! He had somehow gone back in time. Ren’s realization stopped him in his tracks.