"I-I don't understand!" Ruby's voice sounded small and faint. Ivy tore her gaze away from her work and looked up. "We all have to work together to build, but we can't touch each other’s poles. How does that even work?"
"I think that we're allowed to connect the poles together. It just sounds like Mary doesn't want the dolls to take each other's poles. Yeah, see, we can connect them like this," Ivy said as Mia connected one of her own poles to the tiny structure that Ivy was building. There was a look of deep focus on Mia's face too. She kept glancing from her work to the building and back again. Ivy was simply using the building as a rough reference. There was no way for them to recreate it exactly.
She just wanted to have a basic structure in place. For once Ivy was thankful that there were millions and millions of dolls in the city. Building this was going to take all day and the more dolls there were to help, the better. It was very quiet work. Blossom made her way over to Ivy in silence and helped her build. Then another doll came over and did the same. Nobody spoke to each other, except to ask a simple question like "can I put this here?"
Ivy had gotten so used to hearing shouts and screams every day that this felt kind of jarring. In all honesty, she didn't like the stillness. It only made her feel more uneasy. What was Mary doing? What plans did she have for them today? Ivy could tell from the expression on Blossom's face that she was thinking the same thing. Just be prepared. That was all that she had to do. Ivy had to stay alert, but she also had to focus on her work right now. The good thing was that Ruby was here. If she or Mia got hurt, Ruby could always fix them.
"Do you hear that?" Blossom whispered. Her voice was soft and nervous. Ivy strained her ears but heard nothing.
"No. What does it sound like?"
"A low humming kind of sound. It sounds electrical. I-it's growing louder and louder," Blossom said.
"Can you tell where it's coming from, Blossom?"
"It sounds as if it's coming from the ground. There it is again. It really is getting louder. Can you hear it now, Ivy?" But Ivy wasn't listening for the humming anymore. Something else had caught her attention. At first, she thought that her eyes were just playing tricks on her. Then she thought that it was just the sunlight reflecting off of the glass. It was a bright bluish green flashing light. She could see it flickering way up above. As Ivy watched it became brighter and brighter and grew closer and closer.
"Look!" she called out, pointing. Several of the dolls followed her gaze. Worried, confused whispers spread across the crowd. Then Ivy felt a strange tingling sensation in her hands. She looked down and gasped. The pole she was holding was also glowing with that bright green light. Without any hesitation, she dropped the pole and yanked Mia away from the structure they had been building together. "Everyone, get back!" she yelled. With a sharp cry, Ruby stumbled away from the project. There was a bright flash, and then a thousand sharp screams rose up from the dolls.
Ivy ducked down and pulled Mia into an embrace, shielding the child. Shards of glass flew through the air all around Ivy. What was happening? What had Mary done? The bright light faded, and the dolls began to look around. Several dolls who only a moment ago had been happily building alongside Ivy, now lay in pieces on the ground all around her. Alright, don't touch the poles when they start glowing. If you do, magic shocks will shatter you. So that was today's game. It seemed simple enough. A soft sigh escaped Ruby.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
"T-this is so, so awful," Ruby breathed. Of course it was. Hadn't Ruby learned to expect this by now?
"Ivy! You're hurt!" Mia burst out. Ivy looked down at her hand. Indeed, she was. Two of her fingers had been shattered. But she had been too stunned to notice the pain. Her stats appeared in front of her and Ivy could see her health slipping away. Before Ivy could even ask, Ruby stepped forward and took her hand. Ivy watched as Ruby carefully sealed up every single crack. Her stats appeared once again.
Level
5
Xp
48
Strength
30/100
Health
190/250
Stamina
200/250
Skills/Powers
Forti Spell