Colors of the trees past bye in fast motion, dirt blew up in the air, and shouts of nearby villagers filled the surroundings as Mary Lue ran to the bakery and jumped onto the small feather bed. Tears filled her eyes as she cried.
Chapter 5
Path of Wind
“I am sh-sh-shaking so h-h-hard my pants are falling’ off!” shouted Sid from behind a large gray rock. “None, I s-s-say none, of these rocks bl-bl-block the wind from t-t-touching me!”
“Well keep your pants up and keep walking, were barely halfway up this stupid mountain.” Jeff tried to yell over the wind. “Didn’t Ryan tell you to get a THICK jacket, not a THIN jacket, a THICK jacket!” Jeff continued.
“Guys quit fighting over a jacket, as Jeff said we are barely half way up the mountain and if we continue like this who knows what trouble we’re going to get into, and please Sid get out from behind that ginormous rock.” Ryan insisted
“F-fine!” Ted said in a shaky voice with a hint of sassy in it.
For the rest of trip Sid and Jeff kept giving each other dirty looks making Todd snicker every time as if he had something to do with it.
“Um, Sid your pants are sinking in poo!” Yelled Todd
A look of disgust jumped on Sid’s face as he looked down at the slushy brown goop that was swallowing his black sweat pants.
“It’s not poo it’s fudge, that means we are at the top, look theirs the cave, I’ll go you guy help Sid out and DON’T step in the fudge,” Cried Ryan
“How do we get him out,” asked Todd
“Well since it’s the Mountain of Fudgy sundaes you eat him out,”
“Um, look out Sid were going to eat you out,”
A look of delight happiness spread upon Todd’s and Ted’s face as they look at the fudge.
“You’re kidding, right, please be kidding!” Sid whimpered
“Nope not at all.” chuckled Ryan
“Oh, no, hurry up and do it now or I will kill all of you!”
“Well I better get going if we want to get home on time.”
Ryan ran up the rest of the Mountain avoiding puddles of brown fudge until he reached a large rocky cave. He peered in side to see a huddled figure in the corner.
“Excuse me, not to disturb or anything but, I need to speak to Big Mac!”
“What do you want from me,” a deep voice echoed from the cave.
Hairs on the back of Ryan’s neck stood up as if someone was behind him. He looked around but only gray stones scattered the mountain floor.
“The king, he killed S-so many lives, all tried to take his crown. I don’t know why but I think the crown may be the source of evil power!”
“What do you want me to do, try and take the crown?”
“Well actually yes, we tried and tried but he gets even powerful each day, and don’t forget how many new guards he gets, and their armor is a hard as stone, if you know what I mean.”
“I will accept the task for a prize, if I get the crown and hide it in into a spot unknown to ALL mankind, I accept this challenge, but don’t come running to me if I kill anyone on the way!”
“Fine, as long as you do what you are telling me and, as long as you walk on the yellow brick road in the village none are to be killed.”
“Well then I better get my beauty sleep so I have enough energy, so bye gone.”
“Of course”
Ryan ran down the mountain until he saw Sid climbing out of the hole. Todd and Ted had chocolate fudge covering their faces and clothes, some even dripping down their shirt.
“We better get a move on if we want to the village before Big Mac.” Ryan stated
Shacking and shivering they walked down the mountain when suddenly they heard cheers.
Then people got into sight.
“You made it, you did it, and it barely took a day.” The Kala shouted.
“I’m going to call Mary Lue to tell her the WONDERFUL news!” she squeaked.
She ran to the bakery and knocked on the door when she heard, “Leave me alone I don’t want a visitor,”
“But, Ryan is back and he asked Big Mac and he said that he was going to follow the yellow brick road!”
“That’s the road that goes to the king’s castle, right.” Mary sniffed
“Yeah and Big Mac is going to stop the king from killing anymore people or children!”
Creaking of the door blasted the steps of the bakery as a red, puffy, wet face poked out of the doorway.
“Really?”
“Yeah, Ryan is in Town Center with Todd, Ted, and (He he) Sid!”
Mary ran out of the bakery like a rocket and into the town square leaving Kala at the steps.
“Well um… at least she’s happy now.” Chuckled Kala as she raced to the Town Center.
“I talked to him, and he said yes, he’s going to steal the king’s source of power, and can someone take the boys for a cleanup, because I mean look at them.” Ryan hollered
Heads turned to Sid, Todd, and Ted as snickers ran through the crowd. They were covered in brown goop (and Sid was pants less)! 3 women in light blue rags, ran to the boys rapped them in fuzzy white towels, and dragged them into a giant white cabin.
“Mary Lue you made it, sorry about this morning, I didn’t mean to “insult” you but anyway and how about we make a basket for Big Mac filled with tasty treats, and don’t forget to make a place for the crown he asked that he keeps it away from the King’s grasp.” Ryan told the crowd.
“Wait your giving the crown to him!” Mary Lue shouted with a hint of surprisement in her voice.
“Yeah he said he was going to take the crown to a place unknown to mankind!”
“But what if he gains the power from the crown and uses it against us?”
“Then we will have to deal with him.”
“Well, fine, but I warned you.”
“So let’s start getting the basket ready and don’t forget to make it large because I heard he’s 4 times larger than the castle!”
“So how large of a basket?”
“How about, um, the sizes of three Sid’s.”
A small head that resembled Sid’s poked out of the large log cabin that the boys were changing.
“I heard that you know, I am not short!” he screamed
“I said that because you are tall not short.” Ryan replied surprisingly calm
“Oh Whatever, I need to get changed anyway, but I am not short.”
“Ok, ok you’re not short; anyway let’s start getting to work on the basket.”
People rushed away into their stores to look for anything useful for the basket.
“Ryan may I speak to you privately?” Mary Lue asked her husband
“Ok what’s going on?”
“Um… about the king and his power I don’t really understand
“I have many clues about the king and his power but I only believed it when Ted told me what happened.”
Ryan explained to Mary Lue about what happened at the castle with the guards, the rope, and how the guards reproduced by the day.
“I don’t get it; his father was the kindest of all mankind, I can’t believe that Set would ever by his son!”
Ryan shivered at the name Set as goose-bumps crawled across his arms.
“Don’t say his name you know it is bad luck, anyway many say that the murder of The Kings father turned his heart into a black hole with nothing but grieve.”
“Sorry, sorry so a heart filled with grieve, but now we have the question where did the king get his crown from?”
“That is a mystery to all of us.”
“Well thank you for the summary of the power of the king’s crown but, we really should get going on the basket.”
“You’re welcome so, um, bye.”
“Bye”
Chapter 6
The Night to wait for
Standing in the middle of Town Square was a ginormous basket. The sun shown making its 10 foot tall shadow run down the village. Wooden trees were rapped int
o a small basket form. Inside their was everything from fresh pastries, gallons of cold cow milk, and even a pair of super large underwear. In the middle of the pile of goodies was another wooden basket. It held velvet pillows large enough to let the King’s crown to sit in the middle. Everyone who had worked day and night to create the basket stared at it happy with their creation. Many were sitting down on steps waiting for any sign of Big Mac. That’s when they saw him, a giant 20 foot tall gorilla walked into town following the yellow brick road. That wasn’t all he was a plum purple color wearing a lime green T-shirt. It left everyone’s mouth hanging open with eyes bulging out of their heads.
Ryan opened and closed his mouth but nothing came out.
“So is the basket for me?” Big Mac questioned
“Um… yeah but first you have to get the crown to get the basket.” Ryan hollered head staring up into Big Mac’s eyes
“Ryan is that your name, anyway I will take you with me so you see that I accomplish to take Set’s crown.”
The crowd of presents shivered hearing The King’s name.
“Please don’t say his real name, it is bad luck to our village, but I will go with you I would like to see your strategy in case something else where to happen similar to now!”
“Very well hope on”
The gorilla’s plum colored hand reached down and touched the floor. Ryan tried his best to climb over Big Mac’s giant fingers and decided to sit in his palm, he griped tightly to the palm as Big Mac threw Ryan into his head fur. The smell made Ryan’s nostrils burn. The stench was so bad that Ryan thought he could see the smell. Hair was shaven off in odd places of Mac’s scalp showing a odd pale color.
“You ready?” a deep voice grumbled
“Um I guess so.”
Big Mac’s walked so fast it made Ryan feel as if he was flying. Ryan jumped up and down with hair and wind blowing in his face
“Here we are The King’s castle. I will drop you off in the back of the castle while I get the crown, I don’t know why but I have a feeling Set’s going to run through here!” Big Mac cheered happily
Ryan pushed himself off Big Mac’s head and landed on his back with a large thud. He groaned as the pain seeped through his tense body. His hands began to numb as he pulled himself into the mossy bushes of the king’s garden. Thrones were waiting for him stabbing whenever the wind blew. Ryan kept on shifting his position since rocks were poking into his stomach. Big Mac ran to the castle and stepped over the coffee colored moat.
“I wonder if the moat acutely has coffee in it, why am I thinking of that it’s probably just poop from the royalty that they placed there for the alligators to eat .” thought Ryan
Big Mac looked around in the castle sticking his hand in windows every few moments frowning when not finding the crown.
“Wonder why there are not any guards trying to stop him from achieving the crown?”
That’s when Big Mac smiled and stuck his hand in the castle again. This time his hand came out with a small object that shimmered when Mac held it up to the sun. Waiting for Big Mac to come back for him Ryan stared at the giant gorilla that walked away from him even the castle.
“He just playing a trick on me or he’s going to go through the tree’s so that the guards don’t see him. Wait he didn’t bother hiding in the beginning so why bother now? Oh yeah it’s for me to see the king come by. What if he doesn’t run through here? What if I have to walk home? Ryan STOP WORRYING! “Ryan thought
He sat there still thinking about having to walk home when he saw the king. He was running through the doors of the castle screaming words that where unknown to Ryan. Ryan listened closely to catch words like “Big Gorilla” and “My beautiful crown, my source of life”. Seconds later the king fell to the ground and stared at the bush Ryan was laying in. The King’s eyes rolled to the back of his head.
“If they take you, you will take my place and you will rule this disreputable kingdom.” A hoarse voice screeched through the mouth of The King.
The King’s eyes came back to its socket as a scream rang through the garden. He froze as a liquid poured out of his body. It took Ryan minutes to discover that it was The King’s skin that was melting. A puddle of peachy color was sucked up from the lime green grass. The clothes from the King were carried away from a sudden breeze. Ryan got to his feet and to find the smell of cinnamon. A warm breeze blew through the trees making leaves blow in a circular motion around Ryan. After each spin of the leaves dozens of honey colored sparkles appeared. Ryan had a feeling that he had to close his eyes and he did so. When he opened his eyes he was in Town Square. Many people of the village were staring at him, mouth hanging open. Sid’s eyes were bluding out of his head.
“You, you, you just appeared out of now where and, and where did you get your clothes, they’re made for a KING!!” Sid shouted
Ryan had not noticed what he was wearing. He was looked down to find a shock. He was wearing a maroon shirt with an emerald green cape. His shoes were black and shiny with a ruby on the sides. He touched his head and took off what was on it. A crown of sterling silver had so many jewels that many where unknown to Ryan. Mary Lue pushed her way out of the crowd and into Ryan.
“So did you kill him” she whispered
“Yeah he’s not getting close to our village now”
A look of delight seeped on to her face.
“HE DID IT, HE DID IT!” Mary Lue yelled
Kala walked to Ryan and signaled him to bend down.
“You shall be our new king, your son would have been very proud.” She whispered
A pain swelled up in Ryan. A small tear ran down his cheek and exploded on the floor.
Kala grabbed a nearby box and stood on it. Her voice wasn’t small and meak it was strong and loud.
“Whoever who would not like Ryan to become the new king step forward or hold your peace! If you wish for him TO be king lets cheer him on to royalty and wish for his family to agree.”
No one stepped forward but started screaming, “All hail our new family of royalty.”
They stepped down to their knees and bowed repeatedly. Kala stepped down from the box with a pleasing smile and joined the crowd.
“Ok I get it you would like me to be your king but I already have 3 rules.” Ryan yelled
The crowd gasped and started mumbling.
“ The first, no one is to call me the King please still call me Ryan or King Ryan, second please don’t do that motion it makes me feel greedy , and third if you ever need a pay raise just come to me and I will pay you.” King Ryan continued
The crowd cheered.
“Um… Can someone help me pack so I can move to the castle and it is not a command, I can do it myself if no one would like to?”
Everyone ran into Ryan’s bakery and minutes later came out with all of his things neatly in his suitcase.
“Thanks, I’ll go get my wife so we can start walking to the castle.”
Seconds later a golden carriage arrived. Ryan’s wife stuck her head out and smiled.
“Come in honey we need to go to our new home!” Mary Lue shrieked
Ryan reached down to grab his bag but a butler ran out of the carriage and got the bag himself. Ryan walked into the carriage. The inside of the carriage was even better than the outside. Inside there were seats of velvet cushion and in the middle was a fountain that was spitting out tasty treats.
“Oh don’t worry, the butler already explained the fountain to me, you think of what you want and then it squirts it out. Cool right!” Mary Lue grinned.
Ryan closed his eyes and started to think of a large fish with oregano sprinkled on top. His mouth watered just thinking about it! A smell of salt water filled the carriage. Ryan opened his eyes to find a small silver plate with a large orange fish with leafy oregano on it. He grabbed the fish and a fork that was next to him and started to eat. I warm feeling spread over him as the fish salted his mouth. Ryan never tasted anything like it; this was a dish that only a
professional could make.
“Fis is vood” Ryan sputtered
“Well you better get used to it we will be eating like this for the rest of our lives!” Mary Lue squealed
The fountain splashed water around the carriage making the only noise since the conversation die
Seconds later Mary Lue and Ryan gasped. Outside the carriage the castle drew nearer it seemed pleasant and inviting in the glistening sunlight. The pearly marbled reflect off images as if it was water. The wooden doors of the castle groaned as it opened. The butler walked into the carriage even though it was still in motion.
“We are now arriving at the castle please keep all body parts inside the carriage at ALL times, because it seems the old king had a problem doing THAT!” the butler announced
“And what is the name of my …um, royal servant.” Ryan smiled
“Jack, my royal highness.”
“Well Jack, thank you for taking good care of this carriage it is spectacular.”
“Look, honey, we parked.” Mary Lue gasped
The door opened extremely slowly as screams of delight filled the air.
No one lived long enough to tell the rest of the story but, if you want to see more of Ana Nickel look for my book “Life of a Mean Girl” in a few months.
To read more, be sure to check out my blog at: https://thesnoopyfamily.blogspot.com
Ghost Dog
My dog died. My dog died. My dog died.
I can barely say it in my head. I don’t want to even think about it. But I have to because I need to help people who have lost something important to them.
Rosy was her name. Want to know why? Whenever she was happy her eyes would be as pretty as roses.
Do you think it’s stupid? If you do, shut it.
When I found out that she had died, my stepmom said, “Now honey, it’s the circle of life. And besides, she died of old age.”
What I said back was not very nice.
You may think I am a little brat. But that dog was the only thing I had left of my mom.
What happened to my mom? You may be thinking, well get that out of your mind because that’s a different story and I really don’t want to talk about it.
When Rosy died, I was so crushed I cried for a month at least, and as you can see I’m not over it. The reason she was so important to me was that she was a protector of all the bad things in the world that would try to hurt me.
You think it may be stupid, but my house is haunted. Do you not believe me? Well come to my house and see for yourself.