Con aka Samwise: The sign showed what was wrong with our society. It was plastered on the men’s bathroom walls. I wondered if the girl’s side had similar graffiti, but I wasn’t about to go check.
It was a rather ancient poster, from some by-gone age in which its motto might actually had been carried out, in the physical realm if not in the mental.
It bore this inscription: Respect your elders.
But the “re” were overwritten with an “su.”
Much more accurate.
Not that they haven’t given us reasons to suspect them.
Birth control.
Child abuse.
Human experimentation.
One day we will turn into elders.
Would we want the respect that we never gave?
I didn’t figure I would.
I ripped the poster down, and slid it into the trash can. Just because it so accurately represented what was wrong with the world didn’t mean we need it to be shoved in our faces.
And behind it, was a cavity. And inside it was a security camera.
I yanked it out, and tossed it into the trash can as well.
Maria #1 aka Pippin: As they stole around the corner and came into the hall of the school, Sal gestured toward a beat-up poster on the wall. “Looks like someone agrees with you,” she said.
I studied the poster. “That’s not funny.”
She skipped farther down the linoleum floor. “Never said it was.”
Either this school was deserted or its legality was seriously questionable. Nowadays, no one openly doubted the words of the Elder and managed to stay out of prison. Which made me chide myself once again for entertaining illegal thoughts.
“Come on, slowpoke. We don’t have all day.” Sal was rounding the next corner. Her footsteps were so quiet I hadn’t noticed she had been moving. I hurried to catch up to her.
“But, Sal,” I said when I was next to her, out of breath. “What if the Elder was right and I really am the Chosen One?”
“Then we would get out of this alive. Really, Fletcher, you worry too much.”
I didn’t consider it too much, when the fate of the nation rested in my hands. My incompetent hands.
What I wouldn’t give to shove that burden onto my sister…
“Wait. What if we didn’t tell the Elder, and just…pretended it was me?”
She scoffed. “That would never work. You underestimate the prying curiosity of news reporters.”
I thrust my hands into my pockets. “At least I wouldn’t get death threats that way,” I mumbled.
Luke aka Merry: The sign should have read: “Respect your elders”, but the vandalizers painted over S-U over the R and E, making it read: “Suspect your elders”. Clearly the mayor’s “Iron Fist” policy would not let this stand, but when it your brother…your in a very, very difficult spot.
“John, really? You had to stoop that low?”
I snapped a picture of the wall and texted it to my brother with the message: “What did you do? And why?”
I walked away from the site, and waited for a response. I waited for a half hour without a response, then just made my way home and planning to deal with this tomorrow.
It was a rather ancient poster, from some by-gone age in which its motto might actually had been carried out, in the physical realm if not in the mental.
It bore this inscription: Respect your elders.
But the “re” were overwritten with an “su.”
Much more accurate.
Not that they haven’t given us reasons to suspect them.
Birth control.
Child abuse.
Human experimentation.
One day we will turn into elders.
Would we want the respect that we never gave?
I didn’t figure I would.
I ripped the poster down, and slid it into the trash can. Just because it so accurately represented what was wrong with the world didn’t mean we need it to be shoved in our faces.
And behind it, was a cavity. And inside it was a security camera.
I yanked it out, and tossed it into the trash can as well.
Maria #1 aka Pippin: As they stole around the corner and came into the hall of the school, Sal gestured toward a beat-up poster on the wall. “Looks like someone agrees with you,” she said.
I studied the poster. “That’s not funny.”
She skipped farther down the linoleum floor. “Never said it was.”
Either this school was deserted or its legality was seriously questionable. Nowadays, no one openly doubted the words of the Elder and managed to stay out of prison. Which made me chide myself once again for entertaining illegal thoughts.
“Come on, slowpoke. We don’t have all day.” Sal was rounding the next corner. Her footsteps were so quiet I hadn’t noticed she had been moving. I hurried to catch up to her.
“But, Sal,” I said when I was next to her, out of breath. “What if the Elder was right and I really am the Chosen One?”
“Then we would get out of this alive. Really, Fletcher, you worry too much.”
I didn’t consider it too much, when the fate of the nation rested in my hands. My incompetent hands.
What I wouldn’t give to shove that burden onto my sister…
“Wait. What if we didn’t tell the Elder, and just…pretended it was me?”
She scoffed. “That would never work. You underestimate the prying curiosity of news reporters.”
I thrust my hands into my pockets. “At least I wouldn’t get death threats that way,” I mumbled.
Luke aka Merry: The sign should have read: “Respect your elders”, but the vandalizers painted over S-U over the R and E, making it read: “Suspect your elders”. Clearly the mayor’s “Iron Fist” policy would not let this stand, but when it your brother…your in a very, very difficult spot.
“John, really? You had to stoop that low?”
I snapped a picture of the wall and texted it to my brother with the message: “What did you do? And why?”
I walked away from the site, and waited for a response. I waited for a half hour without a response, then just made my way home and planning to deal with this tomorrow.
Tiana aka Bofur: Heather walked through the library trying to find a book to read. She had already made it through The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings… twice. Now she wanted something new. So she decided she would get reacquainted with her childhood friend Nancy Drew.
She found the mystery section and walked down the aisle brushing her fingers along the worn spines of the books as she went.
When she spotted a title that looked interesting she pulled it out, along with the one next to it, and… the one next to that as well. Heather noticed that the books on the other side of the shelf were gone too.
“Heather,” A face appeared in the hole.
She screamed and dropped the books she had been holding. “What are you doing here, Cole?” She glared at him.
“I’m in trouble.” Cole said.
“Oh so you disappear for three years, come back, scare the living daylights out of me and say you are in trouble, what does that have to do with me?”
“I need your help.”
She scoffed. “And if I refuse to help you?”
“I’ll die.”
Clarissa aka Bifur: Ruefully I walked down the aisles of shelves…aimlessly glancing at titles. No one could understand the difficulty it was to find a satisfying book, yet be able to write a three page report about the content. I was nearing the end of an aisle when a title caught my eye. “You’re One Step Away”. “From what!?” I thought. Didn’t anyone understand the agony of cliffhangers? How bothersome and annoying they are?! The title compelled me to reach towards the book. I let my fingers rest on the spine for a moment, imagining what the author could possibly be talking about. Death, adventure, pain, excitement? Pushing the thoughts away, I gripped the book and pulled it off the shelf. An audible gasp answered my action. I looked up startled. A girl, quite possibly the same age as I stared back at me, examining my features. “I know you.” She said slowly. “I’ve never seen you in my life!” I shot back. She shook her head, “Not face to face, but in a dream…” I felt her eyes prying at me, hoping to make a connection with me. I shuddered and ducked my head down and started walking away. “Wait!” She called. “Don’t you want to know what happened in my dream?” I faced her, my fingers trembling. “Yes, yes I do…but I can’t.” Her inquisitive expression burned into my memory, I fled the library. Racing past the aged buildings in my town, I knew that that girl had not been there by coincidence.
Con aka Samwise: The book I was looking for was gone.
I sighed. My whole week had been like this. If it was pizza day at school, and I was looking forward to it, we had box lunches that day instead. Or if I decided I wanted to sit with this person at class that day, they were sick.
And now the library book I had been preparing to curl up with and try and forget the world with was out. No “Lord of the Rings” today.
I glanced at the empty spot resentfully.
And then I noticed that I could see all the way through. A book was missing from the exact opposite slot as well.
Coincidence?
I think not.
I walked around other side of the book shelf. It looked much the same from this side. What else was I expecting? Something Narniash, I guess. Invisible books or something.
Then I noticed that there were there was an empty slot just below this one. I glanced through it. All the way through. Odd.
And the shelf below that was also missing books.
And the final one below that was entirely cleared out.
Forming an “L.”
Coincidence?
I think not.
I glanced further along the shelf. More books gone! I deciphered an “O.” There was a message in the books!
I found another “L” next to that. I searched the next shelves. Nothing.
The shelves behind.
Nothing.
I frowned. “LOL” didn’t spell anything.
And then I realized that it did.
I walked home in a miserable blue funk, feeling stupid and mildly resentful.
Maria #1 aka Pippin: That awful song by Justin Bieber was playing on the radio. I was in too crummy of a mood to come to terms with the fact that some people liked it. I walked down the aisle, my head sideways reading the titles on the book bindings. I would’ve bet someone ten dollars they wouldn’t have what I was looking for.
There was a gap in the books on the shelf, and through it I made eye contact with a teenage girl. I couldn’t think of anything more sociable to do than stare at her.
“You look familiar,” she said in a twangy Midwestern accent.
I blinked. “I do?” She certainly didn’t look familiar.
“Yeah, I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere…” She nodded. “That’s right, you were in the newspaper, weren’t you?”
“Uh, I don’t know.” I returned to my book search.
“Didn’t you solve that murder case the police dropped?”
Clearly she refused to respect the purpose of my being in this book store.
“Sure did,” I said.
“Everyone said that case was unsolvable.”
“So are most things, unless you use your brain.”
“Normal kids don’t talk like that. You must be, what, eleven?”
“Twelve in two months.”
“How are you that smart?”
“I notice things. Like that you’re sad about something.”
Maybe that would get her to leave me alone.
She sighed. “I’m not sad. Just…disappointed.”
“Same thing.”
I hummed something that clashed with the radio and speed-walked to a different section of the store.
Note to self: never be a local celebrity and an introvert at the same time.
Luke aka Merry: “How on earth does a simple trip to the library, seeking a single book, make you go to three different libraries for the same day?”
“All I want to read is a book on the Greek Classics, either it’s checked out or they never heard of the book”
“I even searched through an entire section looking for it!”
By midday, I gave up my search and just headed home empty handed.
Sabrina aka Legolas: I let my fingers slide over the spines of the books, loving the feel of the leather against my skin. I liked to look at the covers and think of all the friends I had between the covers of the books I touched. A smile touched my lips as I remembered the scenes that made me laugh, the scenes that made me cry, the scenes that made me feel like I wasn’t alone.
Halting my ruminating walk, I reached up and took a book off the metal library shelf. I flipped it open and thumbed the pages by in a whoosh of the musty old paper aroma that was so dear to me. I let the pages fall open and I slid my finger down the word-filled page. I could hear the familiar words of the characters in my head, the snarky, sarcastic comments of the main character to his captors, right before the pummeled him with their fists in their anger. The sounds of the blows sounded so real and seemed to echo off the library walls.
That’s when I realized... the sounds were real.
I lifted my head and glanced around, my eyebrows knit together in confusion. I reached to put the book back on the shelf so I could further investigate, when my eye caught movement in the hole left by the vacated book.
As I stepped closer to the hole, I could see only a sliver of the reading nook on the other side of the shelf. All that was visible was the back of a tall man in a dark grey suit.
Pursing my lips together, I cautiously pulled another book off the shelf... then another... widening the porthole until I could see there were two broad shouldered men. I saw the source of the sounds I had heard: a young man who was the object of their dull blows.
She found the mystery section and walked down the aisle brushing her fingers along the worn spines of the books as she went.
When she spotted a title that looked interesting she pulled it out, along with the one next to it, and… the one next to that as well. Heather noticed that the books on the other side of the shelf were gone too.
“Heather,” A face appeared in the hole.
She screamed and dropped the books she had been holding. “What are you doing here, Cole?” She glared at him.
“I’m in trouble.” Cole said.
“Oh so you disappear for three years, come back, scare the living daylights out of me and say you are in trouble, what does that have to do with me?”
“I need your help.”
She scoffed. “And if I refuse to help you?”
“I’ll die.”
Clarissa aka Bifur: Ruefully I walked down the aisles of shelves…aimlessly glancing at titles. No one could understand the difficulty it was to find a satisfying book, yet be able to write a three page report about the content. I was nearing the end of an aisle when a title caught my eye. “You’re One Step Away”. “From what!?” I thought. Didn’t anyone understand the agony of cliffhangers? How bothersome and annoying they are?! The title compelled me to reach towards the book. I let my fingers rest on the spine for a moment, imagining what the author could possibly be talking about. Death, adventure, pain, excitement? Pushing the thoughts away, I gripped the book and pulled it off the shelf. An audible gasp answered my action. I looked up startled. A girl, quite possibly the same age as I stared back at me, examining my features. “I know you.” She said slowly. “I’ve never seen you in my life!” I shot back. She shook her head, “Not face to face, but in a dream…” I felt her eyes prying at me, hoping to make a connection with me. I shuddered and ducked my head down and started walking away. “Wait!” She called. “Don’t you want to know what happened in my dream?” I faced her, my fingers trembling. “Yes, yes I do…but I can’t.” Her inquisitive expression burned into my memory, I fled the library. Racing past the aged buildings in my town, I knew that that girl had not been there by coincidence.
Con aka Samwise: The book I was looking for was gone.
I sighed. My whole week had been like this. If it was pizza day at school, and I was looking forward to it, we had box lunches that day instead. Or if I decided I wanted to sit with this person at class that day, they were sick.
And now the library book I had been preparing to curl up with and try and forget the world with was out. No “Lord of the Rings” today.
I glanced at the empty spot resentfully.
And then I noticed that I could see all the way through. A book was missing from the exact opposite slot as well.
Coincidence?
I think not.
I walked around other side of the book shelf. It looked much the same from this side. What else was I expecting? Something Narniash, I guess. Invisible books or something.
Then I noticed that there were there was an empty slot just below this one. I glanced through it. All the way through. Odd.
And the shelf below that was also missing books.
And the final one below that was entirely cleared out.
Forming an “L.”
Coincidence?
I think not.
I glanced further along the shelf. More books gone! I deciphered an “O.” There was a message in the books!
I found another “L” next to that. I searched the next shelves. Nothing.
The shelves behind.
Nothing.
I frowned. “LOL” didn’t spell anything.
And then I realized that it did.
I walked home in a miserable blue funk, feeling stupid and mildly resentful.
Maria #1 aka Pippin: That awful song by Justin Bieber was playing on the radio. I was in too crummy of a mood to come to terms with the fact that some people liked it. I walked down the aisle, my head sideways reading the titles on the book bindings. I would’ve bet someone ten dollars they wouldn’t have what I was looking for.
There was a gap in the books on the shelf, and through it I made eye contact with a teenage girl. I couldn’t think of anything more sociable to do than stare at her.
“You look familiar,” she said in a twangy Midwestern accent.
I blinked. “I do?” She certainly didn’t look familiar.
“Yeah, I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere…” She nodded. “That’s right, you were in the newspaper, weren’t you?”
“Uh, I don’t know.” I returned to my book search.
“Didn’t you solve that murder case the police dropped?”
Clearly she refused to respect the purpose of my being in this book store.
“Sure did,” I said.
“Everyone said that case was unsolvable.”
“So are most things, unless you use your brain.”
“Normal kids don’t talk like that. You must be, what, eleven?”
“Twelve in two months.”
“How are you that smart?”
“I notice things. Like that you’re sad about something.”
Maybe that would get her to leave me alone.
She sighed. “I’m not sad. Just…disappointed.”
“Same thing.”
I hummed something that clashed with the radio and speed-walked to a different section of the store.
Note to self: never be a local celebrity and an introvert at the same time.
Luke aka Merry: “How on earth does a simple trip to the library, seeking a single book, make you go to three different libraries for the same day?”
“All I want to read is a book on the Greek Classics, either it’s checked out or they never heard of the book”
“I even searched through an entire section looking for it!”
By midday, I gave up my search and just headed home empty handed.
Sabrina aka Legolas: I let my fingers slide over the spines of the books, loving the feel of the leather against my skin. I liked to look at the covers and think of all the friends I had between the covers of the books I touched. A smile touched my lips as I remembered the scenes that made me laugh, the scenes that made me cry, the scenes that made me feel like I wasn’t alone.
Halting my ruminating walk, I reached up and took a book off the metal library shelf. I flipped it open and thumbed the pages by in a whoosh of the musty old paper aroma that was so dear to me. I let the pages fall open and I slid my finger down the word-filled page. I could hear the familiar words of the characters in my head, the snarky, sarcastic comments of the main character to his captors, right before the pummeled him with their fists in their anger. The sounds of the blows sounded so real and seemed to echo off the library walls.
That’s when I realized... the sounds were real.
I lifted my head and glanced around, my eyebrows knit together in confusion. I reached to put the book back on the shelf so I could further investigate, when my eye caught movement in the hole left by the vacated book.
As I stepped closer to the hole, I could see only a sliver of the reading nook on the other side of the shelf. All that was visible was the back of a tall man in a dark grey suit.
Pursing my lips together, I cautiously pulled another book off the shelf... then another... widening the porthole until I could see there were two broad shouldered men. I saw the source of the sounds I had heard: a young man who was the object of their dull blows.
Luke aka Merry: The burrow looked very ominous not acknowledging the fact the entrance was larger than an average human. But my curiosity got the better of me, and the phrase, “you know who curiosity killed?” Did not come to mind. I entered the burrow, by the way I would regret this decision later. I flicked on my flashlight and walked down the narrow and dark tunnel of excavated dirt. I repeatedly thought of, “who excavated this and why?” Which made me sound like a scientist, archaeologist or something like that.
Clarissa aka Bifur: As I ran, I wondered if the girl would come after me, track me down, and expose me. My heart pounded faster at the thought, and I thought I could hear the short slapping of footsteps, as though someone were chasing me. My pace quickened and I dared not look back. Where could I go? I thought I would be safe in bumbling broken down town, but even hear my secret was not safe. I turned onto a gravel path, unsure of what would come before me. The footsteps intensified and my mind started whispering “They’re coming” over and over. Soon the whisper became louder, and louder, until it was screaming. I collapsed in agony. The noise engulfed me and suffocated my brain. I curled up into a ball, rubbing my head and praying for the noise to stop. And then it did stop. Cautiously I opened my eyes and looked around. No one was there, no footsteps, no voices. I got up and brushed the dirt and gravel off my clothes. Slowly I walked into the forest that lay ahead of me. A bush in front of me started to move, and like a scared rabbit, I dashed behind a tree-and then fell through a hole. The darkness engulfed me and I thrashed about, hoping to end the fall. Suddenly, my foot ran into the ground and twisted beneath my weight. I cried out in pain and fell to my knees. When the pain had subsided a bit, I looked up and saw a dim light. Rubbing my ankle, I decided to crawl over to the light. As I neared the light, I could see some rocks and tufts of grass.
Tiana aka Bofur: Heather tapped her foot on the leaf covered ground as she leaned against the cave wall, glaring at Cole.
He glanced up at her. “What?”
“I am still waiting for an explanation,” She huffed.
“Explanation for what?” Cole said dropping his gaze.
Her glare deepened. “After three years of nothing you show up at the library, say you are going to die if I don’t help you, then you grab my hand, pull me out of the library, out of town, into a tunnel and now we are in this cave, explain why. Now.”
Cole sighed. “Alright, when I said that I was going to die without you… that wasn’t exactly true…”
“What?!” She started to moving towards him to give him a nice hard punch in his lying mouth.
“Wait, wait, wait!” He held up his hands and cowered. “I am going to get killed if I don’t…”
“Don’t what?” Heather growled.
Cole swallowed, then he sighed and reached under his coat. He pulled out a gun and pointed it at her. “If I don’t take you to him.”
Heather blinked. “Him who…?”
“Your Uncle.”
Con aka Samwise: The soft loam beneath my bare feet. The musky smell of the cave. I barely had to duck my head barreling into it.
And no, I’m not a hobbit. I’m just short. And trust me, if I ate as much as they did, I would be nowhere as fit-looking as they are.
I do smoke a pipe, though, when my parents aren’t looking.
I also have a tattoo.
It’s those little bits of rebellion that keep me alive.
Being part of the Northern England gentry is stifling. Suits are straightjackets for civilians. Ties are socially correct nooses. Dress shoes are ankle chains.
And the big mansions are prisons. The butlers are guards. Their inhabitants are criminals. They just hide it well.
So I seek refuge up in this cave. Unbutton my shirt, and finally breathe. I grabbed a ball cap off the wall and slipped it onto my head. This was the only place I was allowed to wear one. Showed disloyalty to the crown to wear an American-made product.
Yet we gave our kids toys made in China.
I still had my suspicions about that. Was China dumbing down our culture through the taste of their plastic teething rings?
It sure seemed like it.
Then I noticed I wasn’t alone. Somebody was watching me out of the very back. I could feel her eyes upon me.
“Hello.” I said, trying to peer at her, and at the same time not stare. I was a bit self-conscious now. I felt like buttoning back up my shirt and hiding my cap. People do that to me. Constrict me into my own little politically and socially correct bubble.
“Yo.” She said.
Not the usual greeting you got.
“Uh…hello?” I repeated. Man, my socially correct bubble made me sound stupid.
She moved out of the dark corner she had been inhabiting, revealing a few more details. She was dressed in torn hoodie. And her hair had pink highlights. She was also rather short. “Whatchya doing out har, mah dear sir.”
“Uh…” I didn’t know if I should reveal myself. “Just…breathing.”
“I understand. Not really, but I’ll pretend I do, that way I’m not socially awkward.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Am I on your land?”
“Not sure.” I really hadn’t thought about this before. Anyways, it wasn’t technically mine. It would be when my parents died, but knowing them, they’d survive till they were ninety just to spite me.
“Goodie. I’m gonna take a nap in the back. Keep guard, will ya? Anybody comes lookin’ for a girl with green highlights and shades, tell ‘em ya ain’t see her. Oh, and that this is yar land, and they’re trespassing.” She disappeared into the back.
I just blinked.
“G’night. Don’t let ‘em get me.”
I blinked again.
Maria #1 aka Pippin: I was tired of waking up in a different place every morning. Tired of riding the same mule all day, every day. Tired of eating the same food every day. Tired of talking to the same people. Most of all, I was tired of being the one they all depended on. Quests weren’t anywhere near as exciting as they sounded.
Rhynd was sitting up on his pallet next to mine and lighting his pipe. “Morning, kid.”
He only addressed me as “kid.”
I stood. Before scrambling out of the cave, I turned back to him. “Do you miss Zorah?”
He nodded without looking at me. “Wish I could’ve been there for the birth of our child.”
I glanced outside, where Lam was adding a log to the fire. He wheezed and coughed in the smoke. The Elder was sitting in the distance, meditating. And Sal, as usual, was nowhere to be seen.
“Rhynd,” I said, “do you think we’ll ever get home again?”
He let out a mirthless chuckle. “I know I will. Whether you will, remains to be seen.”
That was comforting.
Lam was also in a pensive mood. As he handed me my breakfast, he looked up at the cloudless sky. “Isn’t it odd to think that we’re looking at the same sky they are back home?”
I nodded, not knowing what to say.
Only Sal, when she showed up, was normal. She stole the rest of my food and used my clean shirt as a headscarf.
When I protested, she smirked. “Perk up, Destiny Boy. Can’t save the nation with a frown on that freckled little face of yours.”
At home we hadn’t had to spend all our time together. I missed it even more.
Sabrina aka Legolas: I was trying to figure out what to do. What did one do when there was a young man about your own age being beat up in the same library as you? Not exactly an everyday occurrence, and my extensive knowledge of book plots and outcomes didn’t help in my deliberating either.
I was about to go find the librarian, when an arm snaked around my neck. A rough hand clamped over my mouth cutting off my scream.
The strong arm jostled me to the end of the book shelf and thrust me into the reading nook floor.
I gasped as the man in the dark grey suit whirled around, his fist bloodied and aimed at me. He scowled at me, his dark eyes seemed to burn with live flame, buried beneath black brows. “What’s she doing here?” he groused.
“Caught her staring,” my captor grunted.
The tall man was blocking my view of the young man. As I studied the tall man in the dark grey suit and watched his eyes, I discovered that his eyes were solid black, with no iris at all. And there actually were flames in them. I started to tremble.
“We were only instructed to bring one back,” flame-eyes snarled.
My captor jerked me to my feet. “We can’t leave her here. She’s seen us.”
“We don’t have a choice. Put her through.”
My captor opened a book with the toe of his shoe, on which was an illustration of an underground burrow. Before I knew what was happening, he threw me into the picture.
Clarissa aka Bifur: As I ran, I wondered if the girl would come after me, track me down, and expose me. My heart pounded faster at the thought, and I thought I could hear the short slapping of footsteps, as though someone were chasing me. My pace quickened and I dared not look back. Where could I go? I thought I would be safe in bumbling broken down town, but even hear my secret was not safe. I turned onto a gravel path, unsure of what would come before me. The footsteps intensified and my mind started whispering “They’re coming” over and over. Soon the whisper became louder, and louder, until it was screaming. I collapsed in agony. The noise engulfed me and suffocated my brain. I curled up into a ball, rubbing my head and praying for the noise to stop. And then it did stop. Cautiously I opened my eyes and looked around. No one was there, no footsteps, no voices. I got up and brushed the dirt and gravel off my clothes. Slowly I walked into the forest that lay ahead of me. A bush in front of me started to move, and like a scared rabbit, I dashed behind a tree-and then fell through a hole. The darkness engulfed me and I thrashed about, hoping to end the fall. Suddenly, my foot ran into the ground and twisted beneath my weight. I cried out in pain and fell to my knees. When the pain had subsided a bit, I looked up and saw a dim light. Rubbing my ankle, I decided to crawl over to the light. As I neared the light, I could see some rocks and tufts of grass.
Tiana aka Bofur: Heather tapped her foot on the leaf covered ground as she leaned against the cave wall, glaring at Cole.
He glanced up at her. “What?”
“I am still waiting for an explanation,” She huffed.
“Explanation for what?” Cole said dropping his gaze.
Her glare deepened. “After three years of nothing you show up at the library, say you are going to die if I don’t help you, then you grab my hand, pull me out of the library, out of town, into a tunnel and now we are in this cave, explain why. Now.”
Cole sighed. “Alright, when I said that I was going to die without you… that wasn’t exactly true…”
“What?!” She started to moving towards him to give him a nice hard punch in his lying mouth.
“Wait, wait, wait!” He held up his hands and cowered. “I am going to get killed if I don’t…”
“Don’t what?” Heather growled.
Cole swallowed, then he sighed and reached under his coat. He pulled out a gun and pointed it at her. “If I don’t take you to him.”
Heather blinked. “Him who…?”
“Your Uncle.”
Con aka Samwise: The soft loam beneath my bare feet. The musky smell of the cave. I barely had to duck my head barreling into it.
And no, I’m not a hobbit. I’m just short. And trust me, if I ate as much as they did, I would be nowhere as fit-looking as they are.
I do smoke a pipe, though, when my parents aren’t looking.
I also have a tattoo.
It’s those little bits of rebellion that keep me alive.
Being part of the Northern England gentry is stifling. Suits are straightjackets for civilians. Ties are socially correct nooses. Dress shoes are ankle chains.
And the big mansions are prisons. The butlers are guards. Their inhabitants are criminals. They just hide it well.
So I seek refuge up in this cave. Unbutton my shirt, and finally breathe. I grabbed a ball cap off the wall and slipped it onto my head. This was the only place I was allowed to wear one. Showed disloyalty to the crown to wear an American-made product.
Yet we gave our kids toys made in China.
I still had my suspicions about that. Was China dumbing down our culture through the taste of their plastic teething rings?
It sure seemed like it.
Then I noticed I wasn’t alone. Somebody was watching me out of the very back. I could feel her eyes upon me.
“Hello.” I said, trying to peer at her, and at the same time not stare. I was a bit self-conscious now. I felt like buttoning back up my shirt and hiding my cap. People do that to me. Constrict me into my own little politically and socially correct bubble.
“Yo.” She said.
Not the usual greeting you got.
“Uh…hello?” I repeated. Man, my socially correct bubble made me sound stupid.
She moved out of the dark corner she had been inhabiting, revealing a few more details. She was dressed in torn hoodie. And her hair had pink highlights. She was also rather short. “Whatchya doing out har, mah dear sir.”
“Uh…” I didn’t know if I should reveal myself. “Just…breathing.”
“I understand. Not really, but I’ll pretend I do, that way I’m not socially awkward.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Am I on your land?”
“Not sure.” I really hadn’t thought about this before. Anyways, it wasn’t technically mine. It would be when my parents died, but knowing them, they’d survive till they were ninety just to spite me.
“Goodie. I’m gonna take a nap in the back. Keep guard, will ya? Anybody comes lookin’ for a girl with green highlights and shades, tell ‘em ya ain’t see her. Oh, and that this is yar land, and they’re trespassing.” She disappeared into the back.
I just blinked.
“G’night. Don’t let ‘em get me.”
I blinked again.
Maria #1 aka Pippin: I was tired of waking up in a different place every morning. Tired of riding the same mule all day, every day. Tired of eating the same food every day. Tired of talking to the same people. Most of all, I was tired of being the one they all depended on. Quests weren’t anywhere near as exciting as they sounded.
Rhynd was sitting up on his pallet next to mine and lighting his pipe. “Morning, kid.”
He only addressed me as “kid.”
I stood. Before scrambling out of the cave, I turned back to him. “Do you miss Zorah?”
He nodded without looking at me. “Wish I could’ve been there for the birth of our child.”
I glanced outside, where Lam was adding a log to the fire. He wheezed and coughed in the smoke. The Elder was sitting in the distance, meditating. And Sal, as usual, was nowhere to be seen.
“Rhynd,” I said, “do you think we’ll ever get home again?”
He let out a mirthless chuckle. “I know I will. Whether you will, remains to be seen.”
That was comforting.
Lam was also in a pensive mood. As he handed me my breakfast, he looked up at the cloudless sky. “Isn’t it odd to think that we’re looking at the same sky they are back home?”
I nodded, not knowing what to say.
Only Sal, when she showed up, was normal. She stole the rest of my food and used my clean shirt as a headscarf.
When I protested, she smirked. “Perk up, Destiny Boy. Can’t save the nation with a frown on that freckled little face of yours.”
At home we hadn’t had to spend all our time together. I missed it even more.
Sabrina aka Legolas: I was trying to figure out what to do. What did one do when there was a young man about your own age being beat up in the same library as you? Not exactly an everyday occurrence, and my extensive knowledge of book plots and outcomes didn’t help in my deliberating either.
I was about to go find the librarian, when an arm snaked around my neck. A rough hand clamped over my mouth cutting off my scream.
The strong arm jostled me to the end of the book shelf and thrust me into the reading nook floor.
I gasped as the man in the dark grey suit whirled around, his fist bloodied and aimed at me. He scowled at me, his dark eyes seemed to burn with live flame, buried beneath black brows. “What’s she doing here?” he groused.
“Caught her staring,” my captor grunted.
The tall man was blocking my view of the young man. As I studied the tall man in the dark grey suit and watched his eyes, I discovered that his eyes were solid black, with no iris at all. And there actually were flames in them. I started to tremble.
“We were only instructed to bring one back,” flame-eyes snarled.
My captor jerked me to my feet. “We can’t leave her here. She’s seen us.”
“We don’t have a choice. Put her through.”
My captor opened a book with the toe of his shoe, on which was an illustration of an underground burrow. Before I knew what was happening, he threw me into the picture.
Maria #1 aka Pippin: Normally Helena loved parties. But then again, she had never been forced to attend a party while in mourning. She had already received several judgmental looks from grand ladies, who eyed her black dress and sniffed. They probably thought it was a political statement of some kind. If only they knew.
But no one here would ever know. And she had to pretend she was hiding nothing.
She edged toward the table of refreshments. Skipping so many meals in the past few days hadn’t been a good idea. She took a plate from one of the servants and surveyed the spread.
“Hey, princess Helena!”
She wheeled round. Who here knew her well enough to address her like that?
“Enjoying the evening, are we, your highness?” Sir Oswald lumbered toward her, sloshing his champagne glass.
She gave him a cold curtsey. “I am a little out of spirits tonight, sir, but it is a lovely party.”
“Lovely” was code for the last thing she wanted to be experiencing at this moment.
“Lovely indeed,” Sir Oswald said. “Say, your highness, have you been introduced to the son of the Earl of Gilpeth? He’s that handsome one in the corner—with the red mustache. A gallant young man, is he not?”
Sir Oswald grabbed her arm. “Come, I’ll introduce you—“
Helena wrenched her arm away. “Let me alone. I’m looking for a piece of cheese, not a husband.” She swallowed. The guests in her immediate vicinity were staring at her. “Thank you, Sir Oswald,” she finished.
Sir Oswald, far from being offended, chuckled and waddled toward a cluster of his elitist cronies.
Helena collected her food and escaped to eat in the dark atrium.
Tiana aka Bofur: Dak wandered into Kody’s house and called his name.
No answer.
Dak thought he heard voices from deeper inside, so he kicked off his shoes, knowing Kody’s Mom’s thing about dirt in the house, and started looking for Kody.
He was almost to the end of the hallway when he heard Kody’s voice from behind a door.
Dak’s brow furrowed as he leaned closer to listen.
“Let me alone!” Kody was saying in a high pitched voice. “I’m looking for a piece of cheese, not a husband!”
Dak opened the door. “Kody, what are you doing?”
His friend jumped and spun around. “Shh!” Kody hissed.
“What?” Dak whispered.
Kody slowly turned back around and pointed to his little sister curled up in bed.
Clarissa aka Bifur: I can feel their eyes on me. Looking at me, judging me, perhaps even taking pictures. I groaned inwardly, “When will it ever end!?” I can’t walk around without feeling like a cornered animal, waiting to be caught and killed. Eyes have weight, and when multiple people are staring at you, you can definitely feel it. The weight was almost staggering, yet it was a slight comfort to know that I wasn’t invisible to people. Every now and then I could hear a whisper, most likely about something completely unrelated to me, but yet I felt it was about me. Angrily, I whipped around and glared at every man in the store. Almost simultaneously they all blinked. “Why, may I ask, is everyone so intent on staring at me!?” I knew I was creating a scene, but now that I had started, I couldn’t stop. “Let me alone!” I shouted, fed up with the uncomfortable feelings. “I’m looking for a piece of cheese-NOT a husband!” I kept glaring at them, but my glare lessened when I heard a high pitched giggle. A man standing a few feet away from me snorted. Soon everyone was laughing. I didn’t understand and my glare turned into a confused expression. “I don’t get it.” I said, nearly shouting to be heard. A large man stood up on a table and got everyone to settle down. “Sorry to disappoint you Val, but we aren’t looking for a wife.” As I looked at them, I couldn’t contain a smirk. Soon I was laughing with them.
Con aka Samwise: I woke her up in a half hour. I hadn’t signed up for this. I had no idea how big the guys after her were going to be, but my grasp of hand-to-hand combat was minimal. And it mostly involved how to lose.
“Hey, I’m done guarding.”
“Yar shift isn’t up for ‘nother two hours.” She grumbled.
“It’s over now.” I persisted, planting my feet and glaring stubbornly down at her.
“So, what? You want to take a nap now while I guard?” She grumbled, rolling to her feet surprisingly agile for just having laid on rocky ground for thirty minutes.
“No.”
“Good grievers, why couldn’t I get more sleep, pal?” She rubbed her eyes and headed for her pack, which I had noticed during my vigil.
“I didn’t feel safe. I don’t know how to fight, if it got down to that.”
“Bluff.” She said. “Key of da game, brothar.”
“I don’t know how to.”
She turned to me. “I believe ya, purty boy. I believe ya.” She ruffled around her bag.
“What are you looking for?”
“Most definitely not ya. Cheese, maybe. Not a husband, that’s for positive.”
I backed off. How did me asking her what she was searching for count as a proposal?
“Hm…fresh out of cheese. Got any food at yar place?” She zipped her bag back up, and slung it over her shoulder business-like.
“Definitely…” The fridge was never empty. It was always full of stuff I didn’t feel like eating.
“In that case, I am looking for a husband. We’re dating. I’m cute, ya are entranced with meh. If yar parents ask, we’ve been going out on da sly for months, and I know all their dirty secrets.”
“I don’t even know all them!” I protested.
She turned and looked me levelly in the eye. “I’m smarter than ya.”
I didn’t argue.
“I need a place ta sleep as well, got a spare bedroom?”
“Four…”
She whistled. “Wowee, where am I? Northern England?”
“Yeah.”
She blinked. “I thought I was in Switzerland.” She muttered some unpleasant expressions beneath her breath. “Durned pilot. Knew he was a rotter. I ask for the Swish, to get more cheese, ya see, and I wind up in England. Do ya even have cheese over har?”
“Yes…”
“How ‘bout casinos? Got any of them?”
“Yes. We also have prisons.”
“Ah, I’m feeling a drift.” She grinned at me, and punched me lightly on the arm. For some odd reason, I didn’t really care. This was all shaping up to be a royal adventure.
And pretending to be her boyfriend would be amusing. The parents would quite possibly lose their minds. Which wouldn’t bother me all that much.
“So, you’re rich?”
“Yes.” I said flatly. “Grossly so.”
“Can I borrow yar bank numbers?”
“No.” I said, just as flatly.
“How ‘bout a twenty?”
“We don’t do things by twenties. We do them by pounds.”
“Och, that’s confusing.” She said. “Ya peeps are weird. By the way, caps are meant to be worn backwards.”
I flipped around backwards.
“Ah, there ya go. Now yar a regular ol’ punk.”
“Is being a punk a good thing?”
“Eh, probably not.”
I turned my cap back around.
Sabrina aka Legolas: “I got nottin’ lads,” a voice said. “No cheese here.”
Another voice gurgled. “I weren’t lookin’ fer cheese ta start with.”
There was an audible female groan. “Let me alone! I’m looking for a piece of cheese—not a husband.”
I scrunched my nose up.
I’d had weird dreams before, but this one took first prize.
I tried to wake up, but fell back. I pressed my hands against my temples, trying to stop the ache throbbing in my head.
“Lads!” the first voice ejaculated. “Sumthin’s come through the portale!”
The gurgle responded, “Them dern Elixir’s iz always sendin’ junk thru our portale.”
The female groaned again, louder this time. “For the last, flip-floppin’ time, it is not a ‘portale,’ it’s a por-tal.”
There was the sound of shuffling feet.
I opened my eyes. My vision was bleary, but as it cleared, I saw three chubby faces with cheeks like ripe cherries and glittering eyes that sparkled like emeralds. The closest face had the longest nose I had ever seen and it was sticking right in my face.
“It’s a girl!” long-nose said.
“Duh,” the female voice said, tossing her purple hair and slapping her eyes closed in annoyance. Her eyelashes were so dark and thick they seemed to take up the majority of her face.
I scooted back away from them. As I took in their full figures, I saw that they were only two feet tall and had massive feet. “Uhm... what are you?”
Long-nose laughed. “Why! We’re trolls, lassie!”
I blinked.
Boy was I lost.
But no one here would ever know. And she had to pretend she was hiding nothing.
She edged toward the table of refreshments. Skipping so many meals in the past few days hadn’t been a good idea. She took a plate from one of the servants and surveyed the spread.
“Hey, princess Helena!”
She wheeled round. Who here knew her well enough to address her like that?
“Enjoying the evening, are we, your highness?” Sir Oswald lumbered toward her, sloshing his champagne glass.
She gave him a cold curtsey. “I am a little out of spirits tonight, sir, but it is a lovely party.”
“Lovely” was code for the last thing she wanted to be experiencing at this moment.
“Lovely indeed,” Sir Oswald said. “Say, your highness, have you been introduced to the son of the Earl of Gilpeth? He’s that handsome one in the corner—with the red mustache. A gallant young man, is he not?”
Sir Oswald grabbed her arm. “Come, I’ll introduce you—“
Helena wrenched her arm away. “Let me alone. I’m looking for a piece of cheese, not a husband.” She swallowed. The guests in her immediate vicinity were staring at her. “Thank you, Sir Oswald,” she finished.
Sir Oswald, far from being offended, chuckled and waddled toward a cluster of his elitist cronies.
Helena collected her food and escaped to eat in the dark atrium.
Tiana aka Bofur: Dak wandered into Kody’s house and called his name.
No answer.
Dak thought he heard voices from deeper inside, so he kicked off his shoes, knowing Kody’s Mom’s thing about dirt in the house, and started looking for Kody.
He was almost to the end of the hallway when he heard Kody’s voice from behind a door.
Dak’s brow furrowed as he leaned closer to listen.
“Let me alone!” Kody was saying in a high pitched voice. “I’m looking for a piece of cheese, not a husband!”
Dak opened the door. “Kody, what are you doing?”
His friend jumped and spun around. “Shh!” Kody hissed.
“What?” Dak whispered.
Kody slowly turned back around and pointed to his little sister curled up in bed.
Clarissa aka Bifur: I can feel their eyes on me. Looking at me, judging me, perhaps even taking pictures. I groaned inwardly, “When will it ever end!?” I can’t walk around without feeling like a cornered animal, waiting to be caught and killed. Eyes have weight, and when multiple people are staring at you, you can definitely feel it. The weight was almost staggering, yet it was a slight comfort to know that I wasn’t invisible to people. Every now and then I could hear a whisper, most likely about something completely unrelated to me, but yet I felt it was about me. Angrily, I whipped around and glared at every man in the store. Almost simultaneously they all blinked. “Why, may I ask, is everyone so intent on staring at me!?” I knew I was creating a scene, but now that I had started, I couldn’t stop. “Let me alone!” I shouted, fed up with the uncomfortable feelings. “I’m looking for a piece of cheese-NOT a husband!” I kept glaring at them, but my glare lessened when I heard a high pitched giggle. A man standing a few feet away from me snorted. Soon everyone was laughing. I didn’t understand and my glare turned into a confused expression. “I don’t get it.” I said, nearly shouting to be heard. A large man stood up on a table and got everyone to settle down. “Sorry to disappoint you Val, but we aren’t looking for a wife.” As I looked at them, I couldn’t contain a smirk. Soon I was laughing with them.
Con aka Samwise: I woke her up in a half hour. I hadn’t signed up for this. I had no idea how big the guys after her were going to be, but my grasp of hand-to-hand combat was minimal. And it mostly involved how to lose.
“Hey, I’m done guarding.”
“Yar shift isn’t up for ‘nother two hours.” She grumbled.
“It’s over now.” I persisted, planting my feet and glaring stubbornly down at her.
“So, what? You want to take a nap now while I guard?” She grumbled, rolling to her feet surprisingly agile for just having laid on rocky ground for thirty minutes.
“No.”
“Good grievers, why couldn’t I get more sleep, pal?” She rubbed her eyes and headed for her pack, which I had noticed during my vigil.
“I didn’t feel safe. I don’t know how to fight, if it got down to that.”
“Bluff.” She said. “Key of da game, brothar.”
“I don’t know how to.”
She turned to me. “I believe ya, purty boy. I believe ya.” She ruffled around her bag.
“What are you looking for?”
“Most definitely not ya. Cheese, maybe. Not a husband, that’s for positive.”
I backed off. How did me asking her what she was searching for count as a proposal?
“Hm…fresh out of cheese. Got any food at yar place?” She zipped her bag back up, and slung it over her shoulder business-like.
“Definitely…” The fridge was never empty. It was always full of stuff I didn’t feel like eating.
“In that case, I am looking for a husband. We’re dating. I’m cute, ya are entranced with meh. If yar parents ask, we’ve been going out on da sly for months, and I know all their dirty secrets.”
“I don’t even know all them!” I protested.
She turned and looked me levelly in the eye. “I’m smarter than ya.”
I didn’t argue.
“I need a place ta sleep as well, got a spare bedroom?”
“Four…”
She whistled. “Wowee, where am I? Northern England?”
“Yeah.”
She blinked. “I thought I was in Switzerland.” She muttered some unpleasant expressions beneath her breath. “Durned pilot. Knew he was a rotter. I ask for the Swish, to get more cheese, ya see, and I wind up in England. Do ya even have cheese over har?”
“Yes…”
“How ‘bout casinos? Got any of them?”
“Yes. We also have prisons.”
“Ah, I’m feeling a drift.” She grinned at me, and punched me lightly on the arm. For some odd reason, I didn’t really care. This was all shaping up to be a royal adventure.
And pretending to be her boyfriend would be amusing. The parents would quite possibly lose their minds. Which wouldn’t bother me all that much.
“So, you’re rich?”
“Yes.” I said flatly. “Grossly so.”
“Can I borrow yar bank numbers?”
“No.” I said, just as flatly.
“How ‘bout a twenty?”
“We don’t do things by twenties. We do them by pounds.”
“Och, that’s confusing.” She said. “Ya peeps are weird. By the way, caps are meant to be worn backwards.”
I flipped around backwards.
“Ah, there ya go. Now yar a regular ol’ punk.”
“Is being a punk a good thing?”
“Eh, probably not.”
I turned my cap back around.
Sabrina aka Legolas: “I got nottin’ lads,” a voice said. “No cheese here.”
Another voice gurgled. “I weren’t lookin’ fer cheese ta start with.”
There was an audible female groan. “Let me alone! I’m looking for a piece of cheese—not a husband.”
I scrunched my nose up.
I’d had weird dreams before, but this one took first prize.
I tried to wake up, but fell back. I pressed my hands against my temples, trying to stop the ache throbbing in my head.
“Lads!” the first voice ejaculated. “Sumthin’s come through the portale!”
The gurgle responded, “Them dern Elixir’s iz always sendin’ junk thru our portale.”
The female groaned again, louder this time. “For the last, flip-floppin’ time, it is not a ‘portale,’ it’s a por-tal.”
There was the sound of shuffling feet.
I opened my eyes. My vision was bleary, but as it cleared, I saw three chubby faces with cheeks like ripe cherries and glittering eyes that sparkled like emeralds. The closest face had the longest nose I had ever seen and it was sticking right in my face.
“It’s a girl!” long-nose said.
“Duh,” the female voice said, tossing her purple hair and slapping her eyes closed in annoyance. Her eyelashes were so dark and thick they seemed to take up the majority of her face.
I scooted back away from them. As I took in their full figures, I saw that they were only two feet tall and had massive feet. “Uhm... what are you?”
Long-nose laughed. “Why! We’re trolls, lassie!”
I blinked.
Boy was I lost.
Sabrina aka Legolas: “Okaaaay...” I said slowly. “Maybe a better question would be, where am I?”
Long-nose laughed. “You’re in Delanian, lassie! Where’d ya think yar were?”
“A library.” I turned around and tried to see if I could climb back through the ‘portale’ to the reading nook. I met a solid dirt wall.
Gurgle wrinkled his bulbous nose. “Dem Elixirs’ ‘ave got a leebary in dere castell.”
I tried to stand up but hit my head on the low ceiling of the burrow. Chunks of dirt sputtered into my face and hair. A spat a clump of dirt and plant roots out of my mouth. “Would the library happen to have magic books in it that open portals back to my world?”
“I ain’t got ta clue what creezy world yer from, lassie,” long-nose said. “But yas, they haz portal books.”
“Can you take me there? I need to get back. There was a boy, and these men were beating him up.”
Long-nose-the-troll nodded, his shock of white hair beneath his bright red cap bobbing. “Yas, yas, lassie. We can take yar thare.”
The three trolls turned and waddled out of the burrow. I crawled on my hands and knees after them.
The burrow opened out onto a shining lake of black, shining waters that reflected the glowing purple and blue lights of the stars twinkling overhead in constellations I had never seen before. There were drooping willow-like trees along the shore, and across the water was an enormous, dark castle. Its twisting spires shot like lightning bolts into the sky, and red lights, like flames, glowed from its pointed windows.
I gulped. “Let me guess, that’s the Elixir’s castle?”
Lashes nodded solemnly.
Tiana aka Bofur: “I don’t do boats.” Nikoli groused.
Meka rolled her eyes. “A boat is the only way to get across, unless of course you want to swim.”
“I don’t swim either,”
“Well then see you on the other side in a month,” She started shoving the boat into the water then looked over her shoulder. “Unless you don’t walk either,”
Nikoli eyed the boat, then looked at the shore surrounding the massive body of water.
Meka sighed. “Are you getting in… or walking?”
He glared at her, then at the boat, then back at her.
“You won’t tip it over?”
She crossed her arms and smirked. “Not unless you give me a reason to.”
“What’s reason to?” Nikoli asked staling.
“Get in the boat or I will.” She pointed to the vessel.
He jumped and scrambled in.
Meka shoved the boat into the water and jumped in. “See is that so bad?”
Nikoli looked warily down at the water. “Yes.”
Clarissa aka Bifur: “Greaaat…” I thought. “Not only am I lost, I’m wet, cold, hungry, and alone.” I shivered under my thin damp coat and soaked pants. It was of course my luck that Sara wouldn’t be where she said she would be. I had sat here on this island for over an hour, and when it had begun to get dark, I had searched for some food, only to come back empty-handed and without my boat. Not to say I didn’t try to get it back. Nope…I was an idiot and ran into the water, splashing like a maniac to retrieve nothing. A branch snapped behind me and whipped around. “Boo?” Sara asked. “Finally.” I muttered under my breath. “Where were you!? You said you would be here two hours ago and now it is dark, I don’t have a boat, and I am starving!” I yelled. Sara cowered a little, and then shyly drew in the sand with her toe. “Conner promised I could leave when I asked him…but then he left without telling me, so I had to walk. Instantly I regretted my words and gave Sara a hug. “I’m sorry, I just thought you forgot.” I explained apologetically. “No biggie,” She answered, “now can we find the treasure!?” Sara’s eyes glittered in the moonlight. I nodded and she grinned. I got up, picking my duffle bag off the ground and let her small fingers close against mine.
Con aka Samwise: She eyed the canoe. “Yar bloomin’ crickin’ flippin’ drippin’ jokin’ meh, deary.”
Yep. We were still masquerading as dating. It had been like this all weekend long. And I was having the time of my life.
My mother was actually in the hospital right now with a heart attack.
I think Fwick had something to do with that.
“I thought we should go for a float, you know, to keep our disguise up.”
“I forgot my parasol, honey.” She spat an impressively long distance, making me wonder if she was chewing tobacco. “No go.”
“Yes go.” I said, suddenly serious. “This will be a good time to talk more seriously.”
Her eyes widened. “Security check. Arms out. No questions.”
I did as ordered. Her voice had commanded it, and I had fast learned to listen when it took on that tone.
She patted me down, especially searching my pockets. “Okay, you’re clean. We can go.”
“What were you looking for?” I asked, tugging the boat towards the shore.
“A ring.”
Wow, she was a bit presumptuous on her own charms. And at the same time, I almost wished I had brought one along. It’d probably send my mother to the grave. Oh well.
“Let’s go floatin’, you bloater.” She said, slapping her arms against her side. “Did ya notice? That almost rhymed.”
“Yes, I did.”
“I’m slick with da poetry.” She hopped in the boat, then glanced at me straining still to shove the craft into the water. “Put yar back into it, purty boy.”
I backed up, and kicked it hard. It skidded the last three feet into the water, and almost tumbling her out.
“Easy there, pal!” She popped back up, rubbing her head.
I grabbed a paddle, and leapt aboard. I took us out to the center, and then turned to face her. “What’s going on? What did I get myself into with this? Who are you?”
“Fwick.” She said, shifting uncomfortably. “That’s my name. I told you.”
“What was the one before that?”
“Babe.”
“Before that?”
“Dusky.”
“Before that?”
“Uh…Jerry.” She winced. “That was a bad week.”
“I can imagine.”
“Yeah, men’s restrooms are nasty.” She spat again.
My eyes opened up a bit wider. She was a scandalous being, that was for sure. Maybe I should be laying inside a hospital room with a heart attack, not my mother.
“So, are there piranha in there?” She peered at the water.
“We stock it with catfish.”
“Catfish?” She raised an eyebrow. “Since when can you crossbreed mammals and reptiles?”
Long-nose laughed. “You’re in Delanian, lassie! Where’d ya think yar were?”
“A library.” I turned around and tried to see if I could climb back through the ‘portale’ to the reading nook. I met a solid dirt wall.
Gurgle wrinkled his bulbous nose. “Dem Elixirs’ ‘ave got a leebary in dere castell.”
I tried to stand up but hit my head on the low ceiling of the burrow. Chunks of dirt sputtered into my face and hair. A spat a clump of dirt and plant roots out of my mouth. “Would the library happen to have magic books in it that open portals back to my world?”
“I ain’t got ta clue what creezy world yer from, lassie,” long-nose said. “But yas, they haz portal books.”
“Can you take me there? I need to get back. There was a boy, and these men were beating him up.”
Long-nose-the-troll nodded, his shock of white hair beneath his bright red cap bobbing. “Yas, yas, lassie. We can take yar thare.”
The three trolls turned and waddled out of the burrow. I crawled on my hands and knees after them.
The burrow opened out onto a shining lake of black, shining waters that reflected the glowing purple and blue lights of the stars twinkling overhead in constellations I had never seen before. There were drooping willow-like trees along the shore, and across the water was an enormous, dark castle. Its twisting spires shot like lightning bolts into the sky, and red lights, like flames, glowed from its pointed windows.
I gulped. “Let me guess, that’s the Elixir’s castle?”
Lashes nodded solemnly.
Tiana aka Bofur: “I don’t do boats.” Nikoli groused.
Meka rolled her eyes. “A boat is the only way to get across, unless of course you want to swim.”
“I don’t swim either,”
“Well then see you on the other side in a month,” She started shoving the boat into the water then looked over her shoulder. “Unless you don’t walk either,”
Nikoli eyed the boat, then looked at the shore surrounding the massive body of water.
Meka sighed. “Are you getting in… or walking?”
He glared at her, then at the boat, then back at her.
“You won’t tip it over?”
She crossed her arms and smirked. “Not unless you give me a reason to.”
“What’s reason to?” Nikoli asked staling.
“Get in the boat or I will.” She pointed to the vessel.
He jumped and scrambled in.
Meka shoved the boat into the water and jumped in. “See is that so bad?”
Nikoli looked warily down at the water. “Yes.”
Clarissa aka Bifur: “Greaaat…” I thought. “Not only am I lost, I’m wet, cold, hungry, and alone.” I shivered under my thin damp coat and soaked pants. It was of course my luck that Sara wouldn’t be where she said she would be. I had sat here on this island for over an hour, and when it had begun to get dark, I had searched for some food, only to come back empty-handed and without my boat. Not to say I didn’t try to get it back. Nope…I was an idiot and ran into the water, splashing like a maniac to retrieve nothing. A branch snapped behind me and whipped around. “Boo?” Sara asked. “Finally.” I muttered under my breath. “Where were you!? You said you would be here two hours ago and now it is dark, I don’t have a boat, and I am starving!” I yelled. Sara cowered a little, and then shyly drew in the sand with her toe. “Conner promised I could leave when I asked him…but then he left without telling me, so I had to walk. Instantly I regretted my words and gave Sara a hug. “I’m sorry, I just thought you forgot.” I explained apologetically. “No biggie,” She answered, “now can we find the treasure!?” Sara’s eyes glittered in the moonlight. I nodded and she grinned. I got up, picking my duffle bag off the ground and let her small fingers close against mine.
Con aka Samwise: She eyed the canoe. “Yar bloomin’ crickin’ flippin’ drippin’ jokin’ meh, deary.”
Yep. We were still masquerading as dating. It had been like this all weekend long. And I was having the time of my life.
My mother was actually in the hospital right now with a heart attack.
I think Fwick had something to do with that.
“I thought we should go for a float, you know, to keep our disguise up.”
“I forgot my parasol, honey.” She spat an impressively long distance, making me wonder if she was chewing tobacco. “No go.”
“Yes go.” I said, suddenly serious. “This will be a good time to talk more seriously.”
Her eyes widened. “Security check. Arms out. No questions.”
I did as ordered. Her voice had commanded it, and I had fast learned to listen when it took on that tone.
She patted me down, especially searching my pockets. “Okay, you’re clean. We can go.”
“What were you looking for?” I asked, tugging the boat towards the shore.
“A ring.”
Wow, she was a bit presumptuous on her own charms. And at the same time, I almost wished I had brought one along. It’d probably send my mother to the grave. Oh well.
“Let’s go floatin’, you bloater.” She said, slapping her arms against her side. “Did ya notice? That almost rhymed.”
“Yes, I did.”
“I’m slick with da poetry.” She hopped in the boat, then glanced at me straining still to shove the craft into the water. “Put yar back into it, purty boy.”
I backed up, and kicked it hard. It skidded the last three feet into the water, and almost tumbling her out.
“Easy there, pal!” She popped back up, rubbing her head.
I grabbed a paddle, and leapt aboard. I took us out to the center, and then turned to face her. “What’s going on? What did I get myself into with this? Who are you?”
“Fwick.” She said, shifting uncomfortably. “That’s my name. I told you.”
“What was the one before that?”
“Babe.”
“Before that?”
“Dusky.”
“Before that?”
“Uh…Jerry.” She winced. “That was a bad week.”
“I can imagine.”
“Yeah, men’s restrooms are nasty.” She spat again.
My eyes opened up a bit wider. She was a scandalous being, that was for sure. Maybe I should be laying inside a hospital room with a heart attack, not my mother.
“So, are there piranha in there?” She peered at the water.
“We stock it with catfish.”
“Catfish?” She raised an eyebrow. “Since when can you crossbreed mammals and reptiles?”
Sabrina aka Legolas: The trolls all clamored into a rickety boat and beckoned for me to come as well. It looked like it would sink if I got in. But I did anyway, hoping it wouldn’t decide it wanted to be a submarine today.
Surprisingly, we stayed afloat, and long-nose briskly rowed across the rippling waters the slapped against the side of the boat.
We hit the opposite shore within fifteen minutes. We all climbed out of the boat and looked up at the ominous castle.
“How do we get in?” I asked. “And where’s the library?”
Long-nose cocked his head. “I dun’t know, and I dun’t know.”
Lashes rolled her eyes. “You two iduts go start a small fire over thare.” She gestured with a bob of her head. “While the guards are distracted, what’s-her-face and I will git into the castle and find her magic booko.”
Gurgle clapped his hands and bounced up and down on his toes. “Goodie! Goodie!” He spun on his heel and dashed off waddling as fast as he could go.
“Oi! Woiat fo’ my, lad!” Long-nose jumped into the air and took off after Gurgle.
Lashes gestured to a bush and we both ducked behind it. Five minutes later an inferno erupted.
Long-nose and Gurgle dashed up to us. Lashes screeched at them, “Small fire, you flippidy iduts! I said to set a small fire! This ain’t small!”
Long-nose shrugged. “What kind of deeversion would a small fire be?”
Con aka Samwise: I had one simple task. Set fire to the mansion I had lived inside all my life. All my heritage. All I would inherit once my parents finally passed away. Millions of dollars. And Fwick wanted me to burn it.
And here I was, priming a flamethrower.
I had found one in the garage.
I had already doused this side of the house in gasoline, by pouring it out the third story window. And then I had doused the roof. And the garage. And even shoved a hay bail in the front door.
I flipped a switch, then cranked the flames up. The house lit with a whoosh, the heat practically throwing me back.
And I laughed like a maniac. I had wanted to do this for ages! There went all the bad memories! There went the restrictive suits! There went my video game console. I frowned at that one.
Fwick appeared at my shoulder, dashing up waving her arms wildly. “Small fire, pal! I said to set a small fire!”
“Done.” I said proudly, gesturing.
She glared, still flopping her arms around wildly. “This is not small!”
I shrugged. “Should’ve been more specific!”
“Well, now we really gotta go.” She stopped flopping her arms. “They’re going to blame this on me.”
“It is kind of your fault…”
“I only wanted to burn it a little. Ya are da one who torched it.” She started off. “I’ve got a getaway vehicle.”
I saw it parked on the road. Oh no. “Where’d you get that?” Ferrari’s were not an easy to come-by item.
“Uh…parking lot. Just outside the casino. I won it.”
“I told you not to go in there.” I glared at her. Deliberate disobedience.
“I didn’t!” She automatically protested. “I just gambled on the front doorstep.”
“And I’m George Washington.”
She paused, and held up a hand. “Say…ain’t he dead?”
“Yes.”
She whacked me on the side of the head. “Don’t lie, kid. Impolite, bad form, rotter move.”
I just stood there, flabbergasted.
She hopped in the driver side.
Uh-oh. Her driving a vehicle with me inside it seemed awfully like death on wheels.
I pulled her door open.
“Already in har, pal. Your doors over thar.” She made a circle with her hands. “I know, it’s confusing, the driver side being on the wrong side and all. You British are weird little fellers.”
“I want to drive.”
“Uh, no.”
“Why not?”
“In case we get pulled over.”
“What are you going to do that I wouldn’t?”
“Drive faster.” She gunned the engine. “Get in.”
Clarissa aka Bifur: The pile of logs that had once stood before had turned into a blazing, roaring fire. As I turned and ran, I shouted to my partner in crime, “Small fire! I said to set a small fire! This is not small!” Myria only grinned and ran past me. I could not help but smile a little myself, because this time, we were actually successful. In the distance I could hear sirens wailing and people shouting. Chaos, what a beautiful sight and sound. I followed Myria into a small cave and helped her pile rocks in front of the opening. Once it had been covered, I slid down on the rock wall and sat on the floor of the cave. “We actually did it this time Cassie!” Myria whisper-shouted gleefully. I nodded, letting the thrill of victory engulf me. Suddenly the make shift rock wall shook and started to crumble. Myria and I glanced at each other in panic. We had never explored the cave, yet going further in seemed like our only option. I grabbed a small flashlight from my bag and began the dangerous quest of exploring the cave. Rocks tumbled down behind us and I heard a male voice call out, “The arsonists! They’re here!”
Tiana aka Bofur: Jason sat in a huff across from Keenan.
Keenan glanced up at him. “Don’t look at me like that, you are the one who wanted to run away.
Jason said nothing.
Keenan stood. “You get a small fire going, I’m going to go see if I can find some food.” He headed off into the trees.
Jason glared at his back, then a dark smile crossed his face.
Keenan whistled on his way back to their camp. He thought this running away business wasn’t going so bad, he had found some food, Jason would have a fire going, they would spend the night under the stars. He smiled.
When he came to the clearing where Jason was supposed to be making a small fire his smile dropped, and so did the food he was carrying.
“Jason what are you doing?!” Keenan screeched. “Small fire! I said small fire! This is not small!”
He stared speechless at the growing blaze, not sure what to do.
“Well if you’re so smart, put it out.” Jason said walking up to him.
Keenan blinked. “This is a job for the fire department! Not a teenager!”
Surprisingly, we stayed afloat, and long-nose briskly rowed across the rippling waters the slapped against the side of the boat.
We hit the opposite shore within fifteen minutes. We all climbed out of the boat and looked up at the ominous castle.
“How do we get in?” I asked. “And where’s the library?”
Long-nose cocked his head. “I dun’t know, and I dun’t know.”
Lashes rolled her eyes. “You two iduts go start a small fire over thare.” She gestured with a bob of her head. “While the guards are distracted, what’s-her-face and I will git into the castle and find her magic booko.”
Gurgle clapped his hands and bounced up and down on his toes. “Goodie! Goodie!” He spun on his heel and dashed off waddling as fast as he could go.
“Oi! Woiat fo’ my, lad!” Long-nose jumped into the air and took off after Gurgle.
Lashes gestured to a bush and we both ducked behind it. Five minutes later an inferno erupted.
Long-nose and Gurgle dashed up to us. Lashes screeched at them, “Small fire, you flippidy iduts! I said to set a small fire! This ain’t small!”
Long-nose shrugged. “What kind of deeversion would a small fire be?”
Con aka Samwise: I had one simple task. Set fire to the mansion I had lived inside all my life. All my heritage. All I would inherit once my parents finally passed away. Millions of dollars. And Fwick wanted me to burn it.
And here I was, priming a flamethrower.
I had found one in the garage.
I had already doused this side of the house in gasoline, by pouring it out the third story window. And then I had doused the roof. And the garage. And even shoved a hay bail in the front door.
I flipped a switch, then cranked the flames up. The house lit with a whoosh, the heat practically throwing me back.
And I laughed like a maniac. I had wanted to do this for ages! There went all the bad memories! There went the restrictive suits! There went my video game console. I frowned at that one.
Fwick appeared at my shoulder, dashing up waving her arms wildly. “Small fire, pal! I said to set a small fire!”
“Done.” I said proudly, gesturing.
She glared, still flopping her arms around wildly. “This is not small!”
I shrugged. “Should’ve been more specific!”
“Well, now we really gotta go.” She stopped flopping her arms. “They’re going to blame this on me.”
“It is kind of your fault…”
“I only wanted to burn it a little. Ya are da one who torched it.” She started off. “I’ve got a getaway vehicle.”
I saw it parked on the road. Oh no. “Where’d you get that?” Ferrari’s were not an easy to come-by item.
“Uh…parking lot. Just outside the casino. I won it.”
“I told you not to go in there.” I glared at her. Deliberate disobedience.
“I didn’t!” She automatically protested. “I just gambled on the front doorstep.”
“And I’m George Washington.”
She paused, and held up a hand. “Say…ain’t he dead?”
“Yes.”
She whacked me on the side of the head. “Don’t lie, kid. Impolite, bad form, rotter move.”
I just stood there, flabbergasted.
She hopped in the driver side.
Uh-oh. Her driving a vehicle with me inside it seemed awfully like death on wheels.
I pulled her door open.
“Already in har, pal. Your doors over thar.” She made a circle with her hands. “I know, it’s confusing, the driver side being on the wrong side and all. You British are weird little fellers.”
“I want to drive.”
“Uh, no.”
“Why not?”
“In case we get pulled over.”
“What are you going to do that I wouldn’t?”
“Drive faster.” She gunned the engine. “Get in.”
Clarissa aka Bifur: The pile of logs that had once stood before had turned into a blazing, roaring fire. As I turned and ran, I shouted to my partner in crime, “Small fire! I said to set a small fire! This is not small!” Myria only grinned and ran past me. I could not help but smile a little myself, because this time, we were actually successful. In the distance I could hear sirens wailing and people shouting. Chaos, what a beautiful sight and sound. I followed Myria into a small cave and helped her pile rocks in front of the opening. Once it had been covered, I slid down on the rock wall and sat on the floor of the cave. “We actually did it this time Cassie!” Myria whisper-shouted gleefully. I nodded, letting the thrill of victory engulf me. Suddenly the make shift rock wall shook and started to crumble. Myria and I glanced at each other in panic. We had never explored the cave, yet going further in seemed like our only option. I grabbed a small flashlight from my bag and began the dangerous quest of exploring the cave. Rocks tumbled down behind us and I heard a male voice call out, “The arsonists! They’re here!”
Tiana aka Bofur: Jason sat in a huff across from Keenan.
Keenan glanced up at him. “Don’t look at me like that, you are the one who wanted to run away.
Jason said nothing.
Keenan stood. “You get a small fire going, I’m going to go see if I can find some food.” He headed off into the trees.
Jason glared at his back, then a dark smile crossed his face.
Keenan whistled on his way back to their camp. He thought this running away business wasn’t going so bad, he had found some food, Jason would have a fire going, they would spend the night under the stars. He smiled.
When he came to the clearing where Jason was supposed to be making a small fire his smile dropped, and so did the food he was carrying.
“Jason what are you doing?!” Keenan screeched. “Small fire! I said small fire! This is not small!”
He stared speechless at the growing blaze, not sure what to do.
“Well if you’re so smart, put it out.” Jason said walking up to him.
Keenan blinked. “This is a job for the fire department! Not a teenager!”