We have to be brave to impress Mia.
“We can do this,” I whisper to Harley, who is shaking so much that I think he might have turned into a washing machine.
Slowly, we creep into the shadows of the dark forest.
This is definitely the scariest place I have ever been. It is dark, cold, and full of stuff I can’t see. I have no idea what is in front of us. Witches? Or scarecrows? Or television reporters?
I try to be brave, but it is hard when you’re full of fear.
“Jack?” I call out quietly. “Jack? Are you in here? Are you ok? Do you need our help?”
“Shhh…” Harley says. “You don’t want to wake up whatever is in the Evil Forest. Be quiet, Charlie. Keep your voice down.”
The wind howls past my ears, and I feel a cold shiver up my spine. The air in the forest is damp, and the smell is terrifying. The flashlight is shaking in my hands.
This is disturbing.
After a few minutes trekking through the darkness, I can’t see any sign of Jack the Jock, or the Camp Leader.
Looking behind us, I can’t see the school camp either. It is so pitch black in this forest.
But then…
I think I hear a soft scream ahead of us...
I see a pair of eyes looking at me, but when I shine my flashlight at it, it disappears.
Ahhh…
I’m sure I feel two hairy spiders run over my legs.
And they feel like big spiders…
I don’t want to walk into the forest any further… but I have to be brave if I want to impress Mia. I have to find Jack the Jock.
The branches of the trees reach out to us like long arms, and I’m sure this place is haunted.
Oh no…
My heart is beating so fast.
The deeper into the forest we walk, the darker it becomes. I have never been scared of the dark, but right now, it terrifies me…
I shine my flashlight ahead, and we see the soccer ball stuck in a tree.
“There. There’s the ball. Let’s get out of here now,” Harley whispers. “It’s time for us to go home.”
“No, we can’t go yet,” I whisper. “We have to find Jack the Jock. That is the only way that Mia will be impressed by our bravery. We can’t walk out of this forest without him. I’m sure he is around here somewhere. He can’t be far away.”
Gently, we continue to step forward, but the further we walk, the tighter Harley grips my backpack.
“Charlie,” Harley whispers. “What’s that chattering noise?”
I turn around and shine the flashlight into Harley’s face, “It’s your teeth chattering.”
“Oh,” Harley says as he holds his chin to stop his mouth from shaking.
CRUNCH!
We hear another noise ahead of us…
A loud, crunching noise.
A very scary, loud, crunching noise…
Oh no…
What is it?
Chapter 4
Deep into the Evil Forest
Everything stops when we hear the noise.
My heart is beating so hard!
I grip the flashlight super tight as I look for anything moving in the Evil Forest. But it is so dark that I can’t see anything!
What is ahead of us?
I swing the flashlight around the forest looking for any sign of movement. But I can’t find anything!
Aghh!
I hold my breath as I wait for something to happen…
CRUNCH!
We hear another noise…
CRUNCH!
It’s getting louder!
CRUNCH!
The noise is coming straight towards us – and we can’t see anything!
It is too dark!
Aghh!!
What is it? What is coming for us?!
“Quick, hide,” I grab Harley and pull him behind a rock.
CRUNCH!
The crunching noise is so close to us!!
What is the noise?!
What is in the forest?!
What?
It’s the Camp Leader.
He sprints past us as fast as he can!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone run as fast as he is. He could probably break a world record right now.
“Run for your lives!” he yells to us. “Run for your lives! Save yourself!”
And he doesn’t stop.
He just keeps running.
Right past us, and back out of the Evil Forest.
“Maybe we should listen to him?” Harley says. “He is the Camp Leader. If he says that we should run for our lives, maybe we should do what we’re told? Maybe we should run for our lives straight back out of here? That would be the smart thing to do.”
“No, Harley,” I shake my head. “We haven’t finished our mission.”
“I thought you would say that,” Harley sighs.
“We still have to find Jack the Jock. We know that we are heading in the right direction, because this is the way that the Camp Leader came from. We have to keep going through the Evil Forest. We cannot let anything stop us until we locate Jack the Jock. We must be brave.”
“Are you sure?” Harley quivers. “Maybe we can just leave him in here? You know, Jack the Jock is very strong. He probably isn’t even in trouble. He is probably in the Evil Forest doing push-ups. He does get distracted very easily.”
“We have to keep going, Harley. We have to complete our mission.”
I stand up from behind the rock, and Harley keeps cowering behind me.
Lightly, we edge forward through the Evil Forest, stepping over tree roots, rocks, and massive spiders.
“Look!” Harley says. “There’s light ahead. That must be the end of the Evil Forest.”
We spot sunlight through the trees, and head towards it. As we walk, the light gets brighter and brighter.
And then the Evil Forest stops.
It just finishes.
As we look around, we realize that it is a large clearing in an oval shape, but it is surrounded by the Evil Forest on all sides. It is a strange clearing, almost like a purposefully built grass field has been placed in the middle of the really dark forest. Very strange.
“See,” I say to Harley. “There is nothing to be afraid of. We’re in the middle of the Evil Forest and nothing happened to us. There is nothing to be afraid of at all. All those scary stories were just stories. We are standing here, and we are safe.”
“Look! There’s Jack the Jock,” Harley yells. “Yay! We’ve finished our mission! Everyone will be so proud of us!”
Jack the Jock is lying on the grass, in the middle of the clearing.
“Jack? Jack the Jock?” I call out, but there is no response.
He looks dazed, but he is alive.
“What happened to him?” Harley asks. “Is he hurt? Or is he just having a sleep?”
“I don’t know, but he looks like he has been knocked out,” I say. “He’s not responding to us. He might be injured.”
“I’ll go and see,” Harley starts to run towards him. “Jack?! Are you ok?”
“Wait,” I stop Harley from going any further.
“Why? Jack the Jock needs our help. That’s what we came here for,” Harley looks at me, confused.
“I know. But let’s check this out before we go any further, Harley. I have a really bad feeling about this…”
Chapter 5
Saving Jack the Jock
“Jack?” Harley calls out again. “Jack? Can you hear me? It’s Harley! Jack?”
Harley is shouting as loud as he can, but Jack the Jock doesn’t move.
Standing at the edge of the clearing, we continue to call out to him, but there is no response.
“He looks like he has been hit by something,” I say. “I think he is knocked out.”
“I can’t see anything there,” Harley says. “Whatever hit him must have left already. I think we’re fine to walk over there. I don’t think we are in any danger. Everything looks fine.”
<
br /> “I don’t think so, Harley. Something about this seems really odd. Don’t you think it’s bizarre that the Camp Leader came running past us really scared only moments ago, and now we find Jack the Jock knocked out cold in the middle of a large grass clearing?”
“Nope,” Harley ignores me and starts walking towards the middle of the clearing. “Not at all.”
“Harley, wait…”
But Harley keeps walking.
And then…
WHACK!
Harley is hit by something, and he goes flying!
When he lands, he is knocked out cold, lying next to Jack the Jock.
But I can’t see anything there!
What hit him?
I stare into the clearing, but I can’t see what hit Harley!
There is nothing there!
What is going on?!
“Hello?” I call out.
But there is no response. Something hit Harley, but I don’t know what it was.
“Hello? Is anybody there?” I call out again.
Still, there is no response.
“If you are hiding, then I promise I will be really, really nice to you if you show me who you are,” I say. “Please come out.”
I wait a few more moments, but there is still no response.
What is out there?!
What hit Harley?
There is only one way that I am going to find out – I am going to have to go out there myself!
Yep. That’s a great idea. Totally the best idea…
Except I don’t want to go out there! It’s too dangerous!
But it’s the only way I can find out what happened to my friend!
Slowly, I creep one foot forward into the grass clearing…
Nothing.
Then I creep the next foot forward…
Still nothing.
Another step…
No reaction.
Another step…
Still nothing!
Ok. Maybe there isn’t anything out here. Maybe Jack the Jock and Harley both tripped over in exactly the same spot. Maybe there is nothing to worry about at all.
I begin to walk forward at a normal pace, looking all around me.
But just as I get close to Harley, I feel a whoosh of air!
I swing around!
There is nothing there!
I feel another swoosh of air!
Where is it coming from?!
Then…
THUMP!
I am hit across the back, and I go flying into the edge of the clearing!
Luckily, it doesn’t hurt too much, but I have no idea what hit me!
Slowly, I get back to my feet, watching the ground around me.
What is out here? What hit me?
“Hello,” I say again. “I come in peace. I don’t want to hurt anyone. If you promise not to hurt me again, then I will leave you alone and-”
SMACK!
I am hit again!
Agh!
This time the invisible force whacks me in the stomach. It sends me flying across the field, back to where my backpack is.
What is hitting me?!
I stare at the clearing, but I still can’t see anything…
And then it occurs to me.
Something invisible must be out there!
Something invisible must have hit Jack the Jock and Harley!
But how am I going to defeat an invisible opponent? I can’t do that. The only way I can beat something is if I can see it. There is no way I can battle an invisible opponent. I need something to help me see the invisible opposition…
Of course!
My Invisible Detector Helmet!
I pull open my backpack and put on my Invisible Detector Helmet…
Oh no…
This is not good…
Chapter 6
A Giant Problem…
With my Invisible Detector Helmet on, I can see everything - but I’m not sure I want to see it!
Standing in front of me are four of the biggest, ugliest, meanest looking giants I have ever seen! Not that I’ve seen a lot of giants.
They must have hit Jack the Jock and Harley! They also must be the reason why the Evil Forest is so scary! They live in there!
The longer I stare at them, the meaner they look. They all have nasty teeth, scary expressions, and terrifying eyes.
And did I mention that they are huge and invisible!
Agh!!
What am I going to do?!
As I stare at the giants in shock, one of the giants spots me.
He doesn’t look like he is in the mood for sitting down and having a long chat about pop music with a can of soda.
Nope.
He actually looks like he is in the mood to eat me for dinner.
“Yummy,” one of the giants say. “Yummy.”
The other giants look to where he is pointing – at me!
“Yummy,” says another giant. “Yummy.”
“Yummy,” the third one says.
Giants don’t have a very large vocabulary.
I don’t know what to do! How can I defeat four giant monsters?! I need time to think, but they look really hungry!
“Hey giants,” I say, trying to buy some time to think of an escape plan. “Do you want to hear a giant joke?”
They don’t respond.
“What’s higher than a giant?”
No answer.
“A giant’s hat!” I laugh.
Still no response.
“Did you hear about the giant who sneezed?” I continue. “It was all over town…”
The giants don’t laugh. Clearly, they don’t have a giant sense of humor.
“Yummy,” the tallest giant says. “Yummy.”
“Yummy,” says another one. “Yummy.”
Oh man. I think they have one thing on their mind – eating me!
Maybe I shouldn’t have used ketchup instead of soap when I had a shower this morning.
Oops.
Time for Plan B…
RUN!
As I run under the giant’s legs, I realize how tall he is.
Not basketball player tall like Leaping Larry Leggings in the sixth grade – no, these giants are more Statue of Liberty sort-of-tall.
I can’t defeat four giants this tall!
I can’t even reach their kneecaps!
I’m doomed!
Why did I even go into the Evil Forest in the first place?!
Oh man!
One of the giants tries to reach down and grab me – but the giants are mega slow! I dodge his hand easily, and then run around the back of the next giant.
Another hand swings down – and I dodge it again!
If they catch me, I am toast! They will eat me in one gulp!
They might be super slow, but how am I going to defeat them?
There was nothing about defeating invisible giants in the ‘Super Spy Handbook.’ There was a chapter on how to defeat wild teddy bears, another chapter on battling crazy cars, and one on how to capture a rogue tea cup – but nothing about how to defeat outrageous giants!
“Uh?” Harley starts to wake up as I run around the clearing. “What’s happening?”
“Giants!” I shout, as I dodge another hand.
“Giants?” Harley asks. “I can’t see any giants. What are you talking about, Charlie?”
Of course, Harley can’t see the giants! They are invisible!
“There are four invisible giants running around the clearing!” I shout as I try to run away from them. “That’s what hit you! And that’s what is making the Evil Forest so evil - invisible giants!”
“You’ve really lost it now, Charlie,” Harley says as he begins to stand up. “Invisible giants? Really? I thought it was bad when you were talking to your invisible friend in 1st grade, especially when you demanded that he had to have a seat in the classroom. Everyone thought you were crazy.”
“No, Charlie! This is real! And they aren’t friendly giants! They want to eat us!”
“You are crazy, Charlie,” Harley shakes his head and stands up. “I’m going back to camp.”
“No!” I try to warn Harley. “Stay down!”
“And I’m taking Jack the Jock with me and-”
“Watch out!” I shout to Harley.
But…
WHACK!
He is hit again by another giant!
Again, he goes flying across the field!
Poor Harley. He is going to have a very sore head when he wakes up.
I see another hand reach down to grab me, but this time, I jump on the hand, run up the giant’s arm, and line him up for the biggest kick I have ever done!
And…
SLAM!
Yes!
I have kicked the giant in the face with all my power!
But…
Oh no.
The giant doesn’t move. He didn’t even feel it! I tried to kick him with all my strength, but he didn’t even notice my kick!
It did nothing to him!
What am I going to do now?!
I can’t beat them!
I race over to my backpack to grab my phone so that I can call my Super Spy Dad. He will know what to do. He will know how to defeat four invisible giants in the middle of the Evil Forest.
Frantically, I search through my backpack, looking for my phone… but then I realize that we weren’t allowed to bring our phones to camp!
Agh!
I have no hope!
Diary of a Super Spy: A Giant Problem! Page 2