Ranger Encounter

"Will she be alright?"

"Of course, she should be"

"But why isn't she waking up?"

"Don't ask silly questions, Chase!"

Almost a minute after, a sudden beam of light rushed into my fuzzy mind causing me to stir awake. My brain however was in no mood to wake up judging by how it throbbed and squeezed itself inside my skill. A low groan escaped my lips when my heart pumped blood hard and fast, lowkey hurting every nerve and sinew of my body.

I opened my eyes slowly. There were two figures in front of me but it was all in a blur. However, I could say they were gaping at me. The outlines of the unknown faces resembling someone I know very well.

"She is up," I heard a female voice.

My vision became clear after a couple of seconds and here I was in a sturdy white square-shaped room. There were only one window and the sunlight was zooming into the room through its clear glass pane. At one side of the room, many types of machines and pieces of equipment were placed. Also, there was this odd scent of flowers, and turning my head to the right I found the culprit as a fresh Lilly vase kept on a table filled with medicines. Somehow the atmosphere made me feel safe and warm immediately though the reason remained unknown.

I tried to sit up but it became a futile attempt when I fell back to the soft bed. Some sort of cold and calm hand touched my wrist, probably to check my pulse, then dropped it carefully.

"She is fine. More than fine," the same female voice from earlier said.

That's when I saw her. With mild brown hair pulled up in a ponytail, a tall, skinny woman with a notepad in her thin hand, wearing a shabby navy blue coat which emitted her confidence perfectly.

"Welcome to the world of power rangers!" she beamed clutching her notepad.

"What?" I croaked out surprised by my own weak voice.

"Yes, you don't know. Well, I am-"

"Ms. Morgan?" I asked surprised and alarmed.

"How do you know my name?" she asked squinting her perfect wholesome eyebrows.

"I am a fan of yours," I said with wide eyes.

"How do you-" she narrowed her eyes.

"Where are the others? The rangers?" I asked looking around still wide-eyed.

"Oh! Here comes one. This's-" she was cut off yet again by my excited form.

"Chase, the black ranger. All-time skateboard champion!" I finished it for her.

"Thanks," Chase replied with a broad smile and turned to Ms. Morgan, "See? She addressed me as a skateboard champion," he puffed out his chest.

Just like on the television, he was really handsome with black beady eyes, lavender lips, and dark brown hair along with his black clothes also not to forget the headphones around his neck giving off that 'cool guy' vibe.

"I am a big fan of yours," I tried to stand up again and finally succeeded with the help of Ms. Morgan, "The way you fight off the aliens ate just awesome!". My mind was fangirling so much that I was having a hard time suppressing my squeals.

"Oh yeah?!" Chase was high up in the sky right now with all the praise I'm giving. But suddenly he furrowed his eyebrows and moved his head back, " But, how do you know all that? You just woke up!"

"I used to see your program," I said, "Power Rangers Dino Charge! Is it actually real then? D o you have energems?" my eyes twinkled with curiosity while both of them looked at me amused.

"Oh well," Chase stated with a little disappointment evident in his voice, "It didn't go so well. People had complaints about saying it's not real or special enough and that it didn't reach the standards of other power ranger programs which was actually fiction. We are real but were neglected. People forgot about us" he dropped his head.

"No, it wasn't," I protested shaking my head immediately, "My sisters and I used to rush towards the television just to see you guys."

"Really?" he raised his head a little uncertain.

"Really!," I nodded with an encouraging smile, "My sisters were great fans of yours and would love to see-" my expression fell.

"Uh, Ananya," interrupted me before I could go deeper into my dismal thoughts,"Don't you want to see Karthik? I thought you would ask about him right when you woke up"

"Oh yes, " a smile made way to my lips, "Where is he?"

"He is in the cafe"

"You mean the Dino Cafe?" I asked bouncing on my leg a little.

"Yes!" Chase smiled at me, "You know all about us, don't you?"

I smiled sheepishly.

The place was just like I imagined it to be with a touch of vintage designs and wooden tastes. It was warm and cozy inside considering the sun had already went down into the sea. The cold breeze from the sea rushed through every window I passed while making my way into the cafe followed by the sounds of clicking heels of Ms. Morgan and suppressed whistles of Chase. They lead me through a hallway filled with rock structures and designs that looked random yet aesthetic, a few plant pots lined up the aisles.

Finally, we reached the opening into the cafe, the mouth of a dinosaur. I was fascinated by the details and couldn't believe I was actually here. That's when I realized I'm in New Zealand, miles away from my country. The questions that are yet to be answered lingered in my mind. Of course, they saved us using a helicopter but how did they know we were there? Guess I had to find out.

"Hey, guys! Line up!" Ms. Morgan announced.

Everyone's eyes rested on me while I gaped at them. The inside looked the same and all of them were doing their own works. Every single detail was precise and perfect, right out the television. Nevertheless, they jogged up to us and stood in a line, small smiled adorning their faces while some with curiosity. I was so delighted seeing them up close that I could barely breathe. It was unexplainable how much I wanted to meet them when I was small.

"This's Ananya like you already know," she gestured to me, "Ananya?"

"Yeah, I already know who they are" I beamed taking in every single one of them.

"Then tell us who is who" she crossed her arms over her chest.

I turned to look directly at the red-dressed dark-haired guy, "This's Tyler, the red ranger," my gaze then went to the girl with a pink jacket and straight back hair, "Shelby, the pink ranger," the guy with a green cap and small eyes, "Riley, the green ranger," my eyes took in the excited form of the guy with messy hair up to his shoulders and his muscle packed biceps, "Koda, blue ranger, " and finally resting on the guy with a white button-up shirt with black pants, "and Ivan, the gold ranger"

The rangers looked at each other amused and a little surprised.

"She knows all of this because of the program, " explained Chase to the bewildered rangers, "Trust me she knows even more," he turned to me, "Don't you?"

"Yes," I nodded, "Starting from your hobbies to your fighting technics. I'm a big fan of you guys. It's so nice to meet you in person," I smiled content.

"Oh please don't use formalities," Shelby said waving her hands at me, "Just treat us like your friends. After all, you're going to live with us from now on,"

I blinked my eyes at the news.

"Yes, welcome to the Dino Museum!" Koda clapped like a kid with a wide smile.

"Thank you," I smiled back.

That's when I heard footsteps and I abruptly turned around to meet with the smiling figure of Karthik. He looked different, but a good difference though with his eyes showing a little more brightness than usual. He looked healthy and wholesome compared to the person on the island. The sea breeze passed through his hair tousling a little to drop down on his eyes.

He hurried towards me with the same smile and stood in front of me.

"Ananya, " he seems really joyful, "Glad to see you again"

I didn't answer but nodded with a smile.

I was wondering how I was going o stay in that world knowing only Karthik. Of course, I knew the people around me then but Karthik was the only one from my home, at least that's what I can say. He was my classmate, yeah and we spend almost a month in the island together but still, I felt uneasy around him.

"Karthik," Ms. Morgan interrupted the silence between us, "She only just woke up and has not regained full energy. Can you show her to your room?"

"Yes, come with me Ananya" he gestured to follow him.

I bid momentary goodbyes with rangers and followed the man who walked ahead silently.

We passed through another hallway that had doors at both sides that looked somewhat ancient judging by the glass jars filled with fireflies placed in the middle of the ceiling and the portraits of Greek Gods hung on the wall. I know about them a lot because I get really curious about ancient mythologies and have this undying intrigue towards greek mythology which was really hard for me to comprehend. I traced their names at the bottom of the portraits. Every portrait was different in its own ways, special symbols were imprinted on each of them which I could decipher at all.

Karthik stopped at a particular door at the very end of the hallway and turned to me with a smile. He opened it and gestured for me to step inside. I curiously did and it was not what I expected it to be.

The room was very spacious with two beds, two study desks, shelves, and everything. See breeze directly hit your face coming from the balcony facing the sea in the middle making the curtains fly in the air. Apparently, the room was halved, one side painted with green and the other with plain grey. Weird enough, the green-sided part looked like a mini forest. Green plants were aligned along the foot of the bed, lots of small plants placed on the shelf and near the balcony. Somehow I understood it was Karthik's space but I didn't understand frim where he got the plant dilemma.

I glanced to my right to see him watching me. Numerous questions passed through my head and it thrived for it to release itself. Finally, I decided to ask a simple one.

"Why are portraits of greek gods hung on the hallway?"

He looked at me bewildered.

"You know about them?"

"Yeah...?" I squinted my eyes.

"I am not answerable to you" he turned away and walked off towards the green space.

"But-"

"Ms. Morgan will clear all your doubts in the morning, Ananya," he said sitting on his bed, "Now, sleep. Also, everything green in this room is mine. Yours is grey"

"Since when did you become green obsessed?" I raised a judging eyebrow.

"Since I reached here" he mumbled while getting under his covers.

"So, we are in New Zealand now?" I asked silently walking towards the grey bed.

"Yeah" I heard him.

"And we have to stay in the same room?" I turned to him to study his reaction.

"I guess so," he sighed finally laying down over his bed closing his eyes, "And no more questions"

I sighed a little frustrated knowing he won't say anything more. I couldn't believe what I was going to say with him in the same room sharing things. What are we? Roommates? I seriously thought I didn't have to face him after I escape that hell of an island and now things will be awkward.

I didn't even know what was waiting for me.