On Animal Jam, many people report new animals, rares and adventures. Well, not too long ago, I found something a bit... bizarre. It all started on a Sunday night, an hour before midnight.
On that Sunday, I was excited about something I couldn't exactly remember, but I think it was about an update arriving that week. I stayed up all night, hoping to see this new animal or item or adventure, but nothing happened. I refreshed the page with a sigh. To my dismay, the wi-fi was acting very weird. It kept switching between my router and this other one called "UNSEEN". I shut down my computer and turned it back on again, but when I got to my desktop, the wallpaper was a solid black with the words written in radioactive green "WHISPERING SHADOWS".
I was unnerved by this, as I didn't know what could possible change my desktop's wallpaper like that. Trying to push my fear aside, I opened up Google Chrome, only to find it had the same words on the little bar with the tabs. "Huh... a virus maybe?" I mumbled to myself, but the computer was fast and didn't have anything I didn't download there. I typed in the web address for Animal Jam sluggishly. I logged on and saw I wasn't my panda this time, but a wolf-like creature. It looked like a jackal, so I think it was one. I clicked the Jamaa Journal icon and it was empty. The pages looked tattered and worn down from years and years of exposure to water and sunlight.
There was faint text on the pages, saying this: "A new, mysterious animal has arrived in Jamaa! If you see them bouncing around, why not give them a friendly hello?". I exited the Jamaa Journal and studied the jackal closely. It had female eyes and it had the golden-brown fur, similar to a golden jackal. I tried putting some items on it, but the only items I was allowed to put on it were a sword and a leaf necklace. I couldn't change the colors of the fur or put any patterns on it, but I could change the eye color. I made her eyes green, just like mine. I checked the name, but instead of a generated name, it was simply named Skye. "Wait, is this thing supposed to be me?" I thought to myself. None of my friends were online, not even Wolfy or Hunter or Endy.
I got bored and went to the adventure base camp. There was only one portal available, the rest were broken. I looked at the water in shock, as it was polluted with blood and some entrails of other animals. The only portal I could pick was simply called Whispering Shadows, just like the text on my screen. I gulped in fear, but tried to hide it. I went in the portal and was greeted with Liza, who looked as if someone beat her senseless. She told me something like this: "Skye! Thank Mira you're here! You see, I may have to end my help here, as a new, DANGEROUS presence is lingering here. You're the only one who can stop it! Please... I don't have much time....". I almost cried, seeing as Liza fell to the ground, huddling around a pile of bones. I noticed that her tears weren't normal tears or blood, but something like black sludge.
I walked on, noticing many dead jammers laying on the ground. Most of these were those wolves who role played as Warrior Cats. Some were bunnies and deer, others were eagles and crocodiles. I held back a shriek as I sworn I could hear a loud, distorted snarl in the distance. I walked away from the desktop computer and turned on all the lights in my house. I got back to the computer, but saw other dead jammers piling up on the ground. One was another jackal simply named Xavier. Xavier rasped out, "It's good to see another jackal here... we're all going to die. Run before he gets you...". I walked on a rocky path, noticing all the dead jammers on the sides of the path. I kept walking forward until I heard something whisper. I was instantly teleported to a new place; a broken down factory.
This factory had an unsettling, ambient music in the background. The aura was unspeakably depressing and empty, just like the broken place. Mildew crept on the bricks. Ivy twined around the pipes and machinery. Blood stained the walls and the floor like watercolors on paper. I looked around and saw Graham, standing in a corner. "Well, someone to help save them all? Oh, wait... you're Skye! You're the one who was prophesied my Mira to help stop this!", the monkey alpha said cheerfully. He went on to describe what this is and that "he" Xavier said. It was interesting, so I took some notes down via Microsoft Word. After Graham finished his speech, he teleported away, leaving me to explore the broken down factory.
My jackal, Skye, held her sword in her mouth. Phantoms started drawing near me, but I had no boomseeds and there were no chomper plants nearby. My jackal slashed her swords at the phantoms, instantly killing them. I let out a sigh of relief as she killed them one by one. We made it to the middle of the factory, where the ambient music stopped. I heard metal grinding against rust, nails scraping a blackboard and loud wailing. I steered my jackal over to where the sound came from.
I blacked out for a minute, but returned to reality at what I saw. It was a shadow of Animal Jam's fox alpha, Amelia, standing close by. "Welcome, dear jackal. I think you've wandered too far" The alpha said coldly. She pressed a button and my jackal was instantly shocked with high voltage. She convulsed on the ground, crying out in pain. I couldn't help but cry myself, but held back the tears. After 30 seconds, it all stopped. Amelia was pushed to the ground by an invisible force. There were cages on the ground, holding Animal Jam's unreleased animals inside of them. They looked in horrible condition, almost being eaten alive by their own deprivation of food, water, warmth and sunlight.
My jackal froze in terror. She yelped out, "Listen, you greedy bastard of an alpha! You shouldn't be killing these just because they're younger and prettier than you are!". I was wondering if I heard this, but I guess it did happen. Amelia stood up, foaming from the lips. She grew a pair of spiked antlers on her head, two pairs of strong, leathery wings and fangs larger than any household knife. "You pathetic mortal! You will pay for your disrespects!", the alpha screeched out.
The screen flashed red, and Skye was shown there, fighting the Alpha to the death. I told my jackal, "Your sword! Use your sword!". She nodded at me and swung her blade at the Alpha's newfound antlers. Blood trickled down Amelia's head, but she growled louder. Skye took of her leaf necklace and shoved it into the fox's mouth. Amelia stopped her snarling, gnashing and moving, but simply stood in shock. The wings, horns, fangs and shadow seemed to slink off of her. "Oh.. oh no...", my jackal said as the shadow inched toward her. The cages were broken, the animals looked perfect. Amelia turned and looked at the shadow and paused. "I'm... I'm sorry!" Amelia cried and nuzzled my jackal. I felt her warmth against my neck, I felt safe. My lights blew out and I heard a loud snarl in the hallway. I cried in terror, hoping it would go away. Then, something weird happened. My room glowed a vibrant, bright blue. I saw the figures of the Alphas standing there, each one in their shining glory. A mystical blue flare lit up each and every shadow, killing them. I looked back at my screen, they were there, too. I think I was hallucinating because after the snarl, the lights turned on. I guess staying up very late gives you delusions...
Well, on my screen, the Alphas were running away, my jackal followed them. We reached a sunlit patch of grass, away from the disturbing sights of dead bodies. Though, Liza had scars on her, just like where her wounds were in the beginning. My jackal nudged Liza, and the adventure ended. The game restarted, but when I went back on at 7:00 A.M on Monday, my jackal was gone! But she left a Jam-A-Gram for me, thanking me for my bravery and gifted an item: a Bloodstained Sword.
My computer returned to normal as well. No trace of this ever happened. I guess it's good.. but I still have the notes I took on there. And that wi-fi signal called UNSEEN can still be registered on my computer. I had a nightmare about this a few times, but in the end, I assume one thing you should never do is stay up late and NEVER EVER do the adventures around midnight.
