The flames are as hot as usual. The patrols are the same as every other day. There is nothing else to it. Just me sitting in a cage with my broken legs. Sitting there with my dull eyes and my head against the bars. Swinging back and forth over the fire. Nothing to eat and nothing to drink but somehow the cage keeps me alive. It doesn't keep me anywhere near healthy but it just barely keeps me going.

First came this centaur looking guy that looked underfed. The next two people that came were a black bug pony and a child. When they came in I didn't pay any attention. They tried to talk to me at first, but then they just ignored me. They glanced at me once in awhile and even asked some guards about me. But no one in this time knows who or what I am .

Through my haze I could hear the three talking to each other. They mentioned an escape plan, but before I could register what they were saying they started argue. But I realized that this was my chance. To tell my stories to the people again. My mind was still lost and I couldn't say anything. I couldn't even move. There was only the stories in my mind. Other thoughts halted long ago.

The little girl went on a tangent about a school. I started to drift again, but willed myself to concentrate. This is my chance to finally leave this cage. To tell my stories. But my broken mind wouldn't let me fix it fast enough and I drift. Suddenly I am awake and at attention from my realization. These three are people too, so I did what came natural to me. They all turned to me with surprise written all over there faces.

"There's a man in the woods.
What a spectacle.
Before the stories started, this school was still respectable.

My students used to skip down the hill to the honeysuckle
Pluck a couple,
And collect their nectar till they picked their fill.

Except one obnoxious kid, Sid.

Who just watched them eat the flowers
While he seethed and scowled
Cause he couldn't bear to share his sweet treats through out our recess hour.

I remember Sid saying:
"There's a man in the woods!"

That's how the rumors began.
Of course, Sid had spotted him first.

The poor kids. He got ‘em immersed in his spiel
About a serial killer whose gun barrel glint hint said peril.

A visit to the nurse, or worse, a hearse,
Waiting just beyond the dale (Dell).

The children saw him everywhere.
"Look! Over there!"
"That man had Batman ears! We - we swear!"
"And crazy yellow eyes!"
"We saw something rusty! His shotgun? It must be!"
"I saw a lady’s severed thigh!"

Trust me,
Every word I heard was absurd.

Yet each day, Sid would stray down
Way past the playground.

Who else was brave enough to save us from the killer’s next plot?

The rest of the lot would stop back at the black top,
Sure that any closer they were bound to be found
Deep in the woods, left to rot.

I pleaded for the kids to think,
And learn to be mature,
But after a few more rumors doomed my attempts to prove
The school was secure:
Their fear was undeterred.
And when the buses drove them all home,
The parents finally heard.
Everything just blew up.
I received a wall
Of emails and calls
Full of shrieks, wails, and all,
From terrified families
Who’d heard word of the murderer,
And didn’t like my lack of action at all.

What was I supposed to do? Comb the whole forest?
Yeah, right. Would you?
That means I didn’t care? That’s not fair!
The stories that worried you weren’t true.

Of course I would feel regret,
Had there been a real threat
And I ignored it,
And some poor kid got kidnapped
While the kids were napping.

But you couldn’t admit that your
Good little kid
Would formulate a fib
So you ignored what I said.

Your little angels could never cook up such incredible creations?
"An overactive imagination, maybe, but my kid could never lie!"
How dare I.
Accuse a child of being dishonest?
Just monstrous!
The parents were displeased,
And when the PTA took action,
they dismissed me from the classroom.
Like THEY knew what was best for their kids!

Do you know how difficult it is to get a job
When a bitter mom
Slanders your rep
With child neglect
From the outset?

NOW who’s in control of your classes?!

Single file lines!
Single file lines.
Little vile swine,
A killer by the pines,

Really? Are you blind?
Will you find your spines?
Sid. A child decides
To fill our minds with lies
And the next you see
Is people treating me
Like I’ve committed crimes.

I WAS IN MY PRIME!

Those kids were lucky to have me.

Do you see what you did?!

But I can play along.
I can be good.

Do you hear that, Sid?

There’s a man in the woods

Sadly after that I dozed off again. The effort was exhausting. But at least I brought my story to life like old times and that felt good. My captors can't cancel my powers because they don't know how they work. They had learned that if I'm alone I won't tell my stories but what they don't realize is others must hear hear my stories for them to come to life. That kid deserved it and the teacher will stay like that until the story had been forgotten.

When my mind had rested enough to function again I woke up to see if it was too late. To my surprise I realized that I was out of my cage. I was being carried by the the bug and they were running to the exit. Once we got out we ran while the two adults yelled at each other. The kid was on the guys shoulders just looking at me.

Once we were far enough from the prison, we stopped to catch our breath. The adults were still yelling but the child walked over to me and examined me up and down as I did the same to her. While I was listening to the argument I learned there names. The argumenties names were Chrysalis and Tirek while the kid was Cozy Glow.

This is nice. The air and the fresh grass. It has been so long. But I'm still so broken. I need to shutdown again so my mind can heal.