Peter Carrot-top

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Peter Carrot-top Page 18

by Yolanda Jackson


  Chapter 18

  On the way home

  Meanwhile up in the sky, Jane, Samantha, and David,

  along with the other crewmembers were on their way back to

  the mainland of Baja. Many of them had smiles on their

  faces to be finally going home, and many had frowns for all

  that they had gone through and all the people that they had

  lost. Especially Jane, she hardly ate or said a word; she

  kept looking out of a window to see if a miracle would

  bring Sam back to her. Once the mainland came into view,

  people clapped. Some were crying, and others had no

  expression or emotions at all; they were happy to see all

  that they had missed, but there were still signs of a

  disaster. The cure of the white rhino plant was just taking

  effect; some trees were still down, some lay lifeless on

  the floor, while others let out a moaning sound.

  The cobblestone streets were cracked and bricks were

  broken; stores and courtyards were totally destroyed. There

  were many animals lying lifeless on the floor, on top of

  houses, and all over the place. There were signs of a

  struggle, but the good news was that people were still

  alive.

  Outside there were people cleaning and putting their

  lives back together. The entire community pulled together

  and helped one another. Then from a distance in the air,

  Jane recognized Peter and his friends outside, helping

  clean up all of the debris. Peter made large holes to

  swallowed up all of the debris; while beside him was his

  genie Merseft, who was magically making shops and food

  parlors back the way they were.

  Jamyra froze all the dying trees to preserved them

  until the cure hit their roots, while Robert helped by

  stretching his body to be in more than one place at a time.

  The remaining friends cleaned, raked, and helped their

  neighbors.

  Mr. Stewart was in the public square telling reporters

  how he appreciated the gifted children using their powers

  to help Baja. Even though he was playing it calm, he knew

  that Baja's existence was at stake.

  He became nervous when a reporter asked him, "Through

  my secret sources, I hear that Baja is under attack."

  Mr. Stewart denied everything, but then the angry

  citizens demanded an answer. A riot started, and Mr.

  Stewart was ushered away by the royal guards.

  "No further questions!" shouted one of the guards.

  Every citizen knew that Mr. Stewart was lying, and

  they came together secretly to start their own army. If a

  war was coming to Baja, they wanted to be ready. Little did

  they know that a war was already on the way.

  Jane told David to lower the vessel when she saw her

  son. Before the vessel could even touch the ground

  completely, Jane was rushing out. She called out to Peter

  frantically. The crowd was surprised to see a vessel of

  this kind in their sky.

  "It's Jane Carrot-Top," one of the bystanders said.

  When Peter heard his mother's voice he followed the

  sound until he found her. When they saw each other, it was

  the sweetest reunion; they hugged and kissed. Jane did not

  want to let go, and the crowd cheered.

  Jane ran up to the reporter and gave a full report;

  she talked about the war that was coming, and that the

  wizards of the Ambassador Forest were building the

  strongest army possible to attack Baja. They wanted to take

  the place of the elders! Jane went on to name all the

  wizards, not leaving out Patric's brother Mirus. Jane told

  the people not to trust Mr. Stewart; that for some reason,

  she thought he was involved, and how Mr. Stewart left them

  to die in the forest. Before Jane could finish the press

  conference, the story was printed and shipped out the door.

  Every newspaper boy and girls were on their bikes

  delivering newspapers to all the homes in Baja, and

  messages were even sent through the air by talking birds to

  the far reaches of Baja. David tried to hush Jane up, but

  it was no use; she was angry that she had lost her husband

  and was sent on a deadly mission by the caretaker of Baja.

  Peter was glad to see all of his parent's family and

  friends, but he was especially glad to see his grandpa.

  When Peter asked for his father, no one wanted to give an

  answer. Tears came to Jane's eye, and his grandfather just

  turned his head up to the sky. David broke the news to

  Peter that his father had died, that the wizards of the

  forest captured him and put an evil spell on him.

  Peter cried out, sending chills up the spines of many

  onlookers. He ran through the vessel, searching and

  screaming for his father, but Sam was nowhere to be found.

  Peter became angry and ran off. Jane followed him, but she

  was stopped by David; he let her know that Peter needed

  time to grieve, and to let his friends take care of him.

  Clara, Nicholas, Ben, Zack, Robert and Millie went to see

  Peter.

  Meanwhile, there was no time for rest; David had to

  get the people ready for war, whether they were fighters or

  not. He had already lost most of his best fighters in the

  forest; so the only ones left were the royal guards and the

  citizens of Baja. David let everyone knew that no matter

  their background, powers or no powers, their help would be

  required. David let the citizens know that this was not a

  time to be afraid; they had to fight and preserve Baja for

  the generations to come.

  There was whispering throughout the crowd; many of the

  people were afraid, most had never fought in their lives,

  and many of them made up the population without powers. The

  crowd became silent, but David kept on encouraging them to

  step forward and fight for their land. After a few minutes

  of silent, one by one, they started stepping forward; men,

  women and children, all would play a role in saving Baja.

  Once David saw this, he smiled with pride; the

  fighting citizens had stepped forward. He was never prouder

  to be a Bajaian, and congratulated everyone for taking a

  risk. But there was no time to waste; David ordered

  everyone to head home and build the finest weapons they

  knew how to, or make anything that would help the fighters,

  whether it be medicine, food, water, or any necessities.

  The citizens sprang into action.

  Meanwhile, Peter's friends consoled him. Clara tried

  to make her green saliva bugs into a funny face get him to

  smile, but Peter was not in the mood. Robert even twisted

  his body into a balloon, but Peter just pushed him aside.

  Then Zack came up with an idea that intrigued Peter.

  "Let's go and find your father," said Zack.

  "That's crazy," said Clara.

  Peter loved the idea and told everyone that he must

  go, and those who were coming were welcome, and those who

  were afraid could stay. They were all afraid, but because

  Peter was their friend they went along with him to help

  protect him. They all made a pact
, eleven of the children

  put their differences aside and went along to help Peter.

  There was Clara, Millie, Robert, Zack, Ben, Nicholas,

  Jamyra, Steve, Michael, Sam, and Peter. The children were

  their own little army. They put their fears aside, and

  planned how to get to the Ambassador Forest. Before they

  left, they had to go home and sneak out. Peter told each of

  his friends to make sure to pack light, and only the

  important stuff; to bring a lot of food and water, and most

  of all, not to mention anything to anyone or act strange

  around their parents. Peter told his friends that they

  would meet behind the ice cream shop in town.

  Later that day, all the children went home and did

  their chores, ate dinner with their family, and turned in

  to bed early. Once all the good night kisses were done, one

  by one, the children snuck out their bedroom windows.

  Nicholas was the only one who almost got caught, because he

  was making such a racket coming out of the window.

  But each child made it on time. Little did they know

  that there was someone in the bushes watching them. Seeing

  that Peter and his family were so popular, eyes were always

  on them. But the children did not notice whatever was in

  the shrubs watching them. They were in too much of a hurry

  to meet at the secret spot.

  Once there and everyone was accounted for, they came

  together on how to get to the forest; it was far away. Zack

  brought up the time clock at school, but school was too far

  and it was heavily guarded. But then Peter commanded

  Merseft to make a fast moving vessel to carry them. Merseft

  tried to talk Peter out of doing such nonsense, but was not

  successful. Peter had already made up his mind that he was

  helping his father, no matter what. As Peter flipped

  through the great big book that held Merseft and all of his

  spells, he came across one for the spell of flight.

  "This is it!" shouted Peter.

  Peter pointed at the only object he could find in a

  hurry, which was a huge garbage dumpster, and recited a

  spell to turn it into a flying object.

  "Spell of flight I call to thee, take me to the skies

  and above the trees; high and low I would go, make this

  dumpster a vessel boat," repeated Peter.

  There was a glow in the air, and all eleven children

  watched as the spell took place. The garbage dumpster bent

  and twisted; the sound of crushing metal hurt their ears,

  but when it was done, low and behold there was the most

  magnificent vessel made of gold. It was made for royalty,

  and was so beautiful the children had to touch it to see if

  it was for real, and real it was.

  The vessel glowed with the symbols of Baja; the power

  turned on inside, and it was equipped with a 3D image

  driver. The children ran on board, this was the coolest

  thing that they had ever seen. The vessel was made of the

  finest material; there were leather seats and soft rugs.

  There was enough food to feed an army; the vessel was

  stacked from floor to ceiling with the children's favorite

  snacks.

  The outside of the vessel was more like a cube that

  had wings that lifted from the sides. In the shrubs, hiding

  was an on looker. For a minute, Clara thought that she saw

  something in the shrubs, but when she did a double take, it

  was long gone.

  "Maybe I'm seeing things," said Clara to herself.

  But she was not seeing things; there was something out

  there lurking in the bushes, watching everything they did.

  But the children were too excited about being on their own

  vessel. Each of the children ran through the huge

  structure, exploring their new home; they had not yet come

  to grips with the fact that they were going to the most

  dangerous part of Baja, and they were mere children with no

  adult supervision.

  The children ate their candy worms and cotton popcorn.

  Peter loved the cotton popcorn as it popped its kernels and

  turned into cotton popcorn. This was the greatest trip of

  their lives. Clara and Steve played around with each other;

  Clara spit her green saliva bugs at him, while Steve

  smashed them against the walls. Then Steve took one of his

  special shoes and let his feet grow, and then the toe jam

  came out.

  It stank up the entire vessel, everyone ran for cover

  until the odor dissipated out of the vessel. Nevertheless,

  it was time to go. The 3D captain of the vessel ordered

  everyone to take a seat, and when the children did; their

  seatbelts immediately strapped them in tight. With a quick

  startup, the vessel took off; the children looked out the

  window to see their town. Peter pointed at his house while

  the other kids did the same. Peter unlocked his seatbelt

  and went up to see the 3D captain. He was see-through; it

  was a clear imaginary image, and it was well dressed in a

  detail fashion. He was also proper and polite.

  "Where too?" asked the captain.

  At first Peter could not give an answer, but then he

  said, "To the Ambassador Forest."

  "Right away," said the captain.

  Peter and his friends were so intrigued with how real

  the captain looked, and it was hard to wrap their minds

  around the fact that he was just a programmed image. As the

  children headed toward the Ambassador Forest, Peter

  reflected on what he was about to do. There had never been

  a child sent to the Ambassador Forest; in fact, adults

  never went there unless they were ordered by the elders or

  the caretakers of Baja!

  But Peter did not let his friends know that he was

  afraid and that he had no idea of where to find his father.

  So, Peter looked out of the window and prayed to the Father

  above to help him find his father. Once out of the mainland

  of Baja, the children were seeing things that they had

  never seen before, only what they had heard the adults talk

  about.

  There were six moons, all different colors; there were

  huge flying birds and animals in the skies. The children

  pointed and were awed at what they saw; it was like being

  on a field trip to an old museum. Peter and his friends

  were now seeing the things that his parents had seen, and

  it was a beautiful sight.

  After a long night of sightseeing, the children took a

  nap, but Peter stayed awake, gazing at the stars and the

  moon in the sky. He hoped he had made the right choice.

  Soon, Peter drifted off in a deep sleep. He dreamt of his

  father, finding his lifeless body in the Ambassador Forest.

  Over Sam stood Mr. Stewart, who was beating Sam to death

  with some type of weapon. Peter screamed out to Mr. Stewart

  to leave his father alone, but little did he realize that

  the dream was now reality. Everyone on the vessel could

  hear him scream. Clara quickly shook Peter to wake him up.

  "You are having a bad dream," said Clara.

  Peter was filled with emotions; he was also dripping

/>   in sweat. Sam quickly ran and got Peter a glass of water.

  From that moment on, everyone vowed to stick together no

  matter how scared they got. Once everyone agreed, all the

  children suddenly went back to sleep; they were sleeping

  like new born babies. Peter left Merseft in charge as they

  slept. Merseft duties were to watch over them, and if he

  saw anything strange, to wake them up immediately.

  Merseft took his job seriously and patrolled the

  vessel up and down, keeping a close eye out, looking for

  anything suspicious. But oh how the world of Baja had so

  many things that no one had ever seen. Merseft, a genie,

  who could make anything appear, was also surprised to see

  the other lands of Baja. He too glanced out of the window

  every now and then, gazing upon the heavens.

  "What a beautiful sight," Merseft mumbled.

  Suddenly the vessel gave a little jerk, and it sounded

  like scratching was going on. The children were immediately

  awakened by Merseft, and the captain went to see what it

  was. By him being 3D, the image generator could move him

  anywhere in and out of the vessel. Soon the captain

  announced that there was an intruder and the hatch was

  opening. Clara was ready with her green saliva bugs to

  attack whatever it was.

  The hatch opened slowly, and the children were ready

  to attack, when a voice shouted out, "It's me!"

  It was none other than Larry Stewart.

  "What are you doing here?" said Clara.

  Larry told them that Jamyra invited him. Clara was

  upset and threw a pillow at Jamyra, telling her she

  couldn't keep a secret if it was to save her life. No one

  wanted Larry there, not even his friends; Larry was just an

  inconvenience.

  "Who else did you tell?" said Peter to Jamyra.

  "I told no one else, I swear," said Jamyra.

  Everyone was upset with Jamyra, but they could not

  waste time now. Peter was more concerned with Larry, not

  with the fact that he did not have any special powers, but

  that he was easily persuaded and could flip on them at any

  time. Jamyra apologized over and over again, but no one

  wanted to hear it. Clara then fixed her mouth to send a

  large green saliva bug, and burst it all over Jamyra.

  Green slime was everywhere! Jamyra was not happy and

  was very scornful of Clara's green bugs. She screamed and

  ran to the restroom to wash off. Everyone laughed, but the

  laughter was cut short as Larry found himself a seat on the

  vessel. Nevertheless, Peter set down some ground rules for

  Larry. He wanted Larry to know that he was now on their

  team, and reminded Larry that his father was a part of the

  seven wizards and he must not switch sides.

  "Whatever," said Larry as he sat with his hands

  folded, and his legs crossed.

  Peter did not like this sign, and made Larry promise

  that he would not switch sides. Everyone stood over Larry

  waiting for his answer, being the bully that Larry was and

  wanting attention, he took a while before he answered.

  Finally he said, "Okay, I'll stay neutral."

  Everyone accepted his word, but Peter secretly

  reminded everyone to keep a close eye on him. Larry went

  through the vessel, rambling for food while the others just

  sat back and watched every move he made.

  Peter got the team together to make a plan on how to

  save his father. All of the children brought their special

  gifts that they got in school. Peter had his box of small

  fighters, and the others had their special gifts. Soon the

  captain announced that the Ambassador Forest was six more

  hours away, and lights would be going out on the vessel to

  conserve energy; everyone was ordered to get a good night's

  rest because tomorrow would be a long day.

  As everyone slept, the time clicked by until morning

  came. The sun was shinny brightly, and the children were

  awakened by a huge white bird. It had a large red beak,

  huge dark eyes, it carried the magical symbols of Baja in a

  straight line down its back, and it was staring in their

  window, admiring the children. Everyone was startled for a

  minute, and then realized that it was just a huge harmless

  peacock.

  The captain announced that they had arrived in the

  Ambassador Forest. To the children's eyes, it was a

  beautiful place, one with ancient temples, golden sands,

  huge rocks and waterfalls; it was like stepping into a

  fantasy land. Huge stone temples guarded the opposite sides

  of the forest. Life there was also coming back to normal;

  Peter saw his mother's work in affect. Trees came to life

  right before their eyes, plants sprouted up everywhere, and

  vines crisscrossed the golden sands like snakes.

  The vessel quietly landed, making sure not to cause

  any disturbance. Peter asked Merseft to cover the vessel

  with vegetation to hide it from prying eyes. Merseft

  quickly stumbled through his book of spells, first

  accidentally covering the vessel with a pink blanket, then

  finally getting it right and covered it with vegetation.

  "Oh, you silly genie," said Peter as he laughed at

  Merseft.

  First the children got something to eat; hot banana

  pancakes were made for them with blue syrup.

  "Those were was the best pancakes and crackling eggs I

  have ever had," said Steve.

  Suddenly someone asked, "Where is Larry?"

  Peter called out for Larry, but there was no answer;

  he was nowhere to be found. Then the captain mentioned that

  Larry had left the vessel. The children ran to the window

  and saw Larry running across the desert floor. Peter was

  furious that Larry had lied and did not keep his promise.

  At the same time, everyone gave Jamyra a mean look. They

  were upset that she'd told Larry of all people.

  "Well, I could have told the reporter for some cash,

  but instead I told Larry. You all should thank me," said

  Jamyra.

  Needless to say, no one wanted to thank her; the mean

  looks remained on their faces until Peter asked Jamyra to

  freeze Larry so that he could be caught and tied up until

  they came back from saving his father. Jamyra was

  reluctant, but since everyone was upset with her, she

  agreed to freeze him.

  Jamyra's hair blew in the wind, her eyes turned pure

  white, a cold chill came upon the vessel, and Jamyra

  stretched out her hands and pointed in the direction that

  Larry was running. She sent a freeze bolt at him. At first

  Larry dodged some of her ice bolts, but on the third try

  she got him. Larry froze from his feet to his head. As he

  was freezing, begged Jamyra to let him go, that he was

  going to tell his uncle. Even though Jamyra wanted to let

  him go, she knew that it was not the right time and that

  Larry had made them distrust him.

  Before Larry got totally froze he shouted, "I just

  wanted to see my real father!"

  But before anyone could change their minds, the ice


  had taken over. Everyone hauled together to lift Larry's

  ice cold body back into the vessel. Now that he was safely

  tucked away, it relieved most of the worries of the

  children; they did not have Larry's attitude to deal with

  anymore.

  The captain reminded the children that they had to

  leave, that night fell quickly here, and Merseft reminded

  Peter that the spells in the book only lasted three days.

  Peter and his friends were under more pressure; they all

  quickly bailed out of the vessel, one behind the other.

  With an old hand-drawn map of the forest, Robert instructed

  the team on where to go.

  Meanwhile the forest was coming alive; huge plants

  were popping out of the desert floor, and as they burst

  into the air they sprayed out seeds that in a few seconds

  grew more plants. This was amazing to the children, to see

  plants and flowers pop out of the ground and grow before

  their eyes. But this was no time for sightseeing. Robert

  was the guide and the one with the map, and he was moving

  really fast.

  Peter reminded everyone to stick together and not to

  lose sight of what they were there for. Just as he said

  that, they came upon the most beautiful blue polar bears.

  They were large, but docile; in their mouths the mother and

  father had their cubs, carrying them along the golden

  desert. The polar bears were harmless and never made a move

  toward the children, as long as they stood clear away.

  "Oh! They are so cute and fuzzy," said Millie.

  As the children walked along, they could feel the

  ground beneath them sinking.

  "Move quickly, this is black tar," said Robert.

  The children ran as the black tar tried to get ahold

  of them. The black tar had hands that were web-like; it

  tried to grip and grab at the children, but they ran,

  jumping through and over the tar. But the black tar was not

  giving up; it swarmed its way toward the children like a

  snake on its belly. Screams of fear filled the air.

  The black tar grabbed Millie by the legs and pulled

  her under. Robert quickly made his body into a beanpole so

  she could hold on while Peter created huge holes to devour

  the black tar. Peter's hair spiked and his freckles turned

  even more orange. Suddenly he created a huge hole that

  swallowed up the black tar.

  The children cheered, "We did it!"

  Indeed they had, they had defeated a forest monster

  that only the legends had talked about the way it swallowed

  men whole, or the way many armies had succumbed to its

  powers.

  "We must move fast," said Robert.

  Millie thanked Robert and Peter for saving her, but to

  them this was what friends did for each other. The children

  headed toward an open field when they heard the thumping of

  hooves. It was the black Ryders coming; they could smell

  visitors a mile away.

  One of the Ryders pointed toward the moving bushes in

  the forest; it was where Peter and his friends were

  standing. The black Ryders came running through the field

  like wild horsemen; Peter and his friends panicked and they

  ran in different directions, jumping and falling over rocks

  and debris. The black Ryders did not let up either; they

  kept on coming and coming until they caught up with the

  children. All the kids were running by each other,

  screaming and could not seem to get it together; until

  Jamyra decided to freeze the black Ryders.

  She twirled her hands until them became frozen and

  cold-looking, and then she sprayed out a bash of cold air

  onto the Ryders until they were frozen solid. Everyone was

  still afraid because they could still see the Ryders eyes

  moving. Jamyra wanted to touch them but Peter pulled her

  hands back quickly.

  "Are you crazy? We know nothing about them," said

  Peter to Jamyra.

  "Quickly, we must move," said Robert.

  The children went down a passage way heading to the

  golden temple that was on the map that Robert was reading

  from.

  "Maybe your dad is in there," said Clara.

  Peter just shrugged his shoulders and was unemotional

  about it; as if he did not know if he could really save his

  father. Still, he was willing to give it one last try. As

  the children headed toward the golden temple, huge statues

  of Indian chiefs guarded the temple gates. The statues were

  alive with color; the red, white, blues and greens of the

  feathers on the Indian statues' headdresses were bright and

  vibrant, as if they were just put there days ago.

  Everything around the temple was adorned in the most

  beautiful colors one could imagine. Things seemed to be

  going as well as possible, until the Indians moved! At

  first the children were not sure of what they'd heard, and

  were afraid to look around. Suddenly the footsteps became

  louder and louder.

  Peter turned around and saw the Indians coming from

  the back, front, and sides of him and his friends. The

  children were full of fear; they did not know what to do.

  Jamyra began screaming of course, and Robert, with his

  slender body, hid behind one of the tree branches. The

  Indian statues came closer and closer, until Peter finally

  decided to tell the others to calm down so he could speak

  to the statues.

  "We come in peace; we are from the mainland of Baja.

  Please, we ask for your help."

  But nothing Peter said was working, the statutes came

  closer and closer with their thunderous footsteps. They

  weighted so much that every time they came closer, the

  ground would seem to sink in. When Peter noticed that

  nothing he did or said was working, he decided to make

  giant holes to sink the huge giant statues. Peter's orange

  hair stuck up into the air and became brighter. His hands

  formed an orange glow that then created the holes; one by

  one the massive Indian statues fell through the holes.

  They were sinking faster than Peter could make the

  holes; the giant statues went down moaning and groaning.

  Then the dirt from the ground covered the giants from head

  to toe, leaving nothing more than their heads poking up

  above the dirt.

  "We must hurry," said Zack.

  All of the children hurried along, they ran through

  the temple gates, and suddenly they were approached by a

  very tall Indian ball thrower. The Indian was a very tall

  man who wore a turban on his head. His arms stretched out

  for miles, and so did his legs; his skin was dark and ashy.

  He wore no shirt and on his chest were the symbols of Baja

  that glowed and flickered at a more rapid pace than other,

  normal codes. The Indian only wore a white cloth around his

  waist area. In his hands he held big crystal balls that

  turned into fire balls, and he threw them at whoever he

  pleased.

  The Indian ball thrower sat on a spinning disc that

  allowed him to move forward, backward, and side to side. He

>   had no eyes, nothing sat in his eye sockets except for two

  golden eggs. The ball thrower sat in the middle of the

  temple grounds and protected its entrance.

  Millie quickly became invisible and ran toward the

  temple doors to sit and wait on her friends; then Steve

  took off his shoes and his feet grew huge and hair. He let

  off an odor that was so stinky that the ball thrower

  coughed and cover his nose. All the children covered their

  noses and mouths.

  "Steve, you jerk, tell us when you're going to do

  that," said Michael.

  The ball thrower threw the balls of fire at the

  children who ran and hid from the flames coming through the

  air. Michael pulled out his wing of armor from his

  backpack, put it on, and his own wings became powerful. He

  flew above the ball thrower, but not for long. The ball

  thrower threw fire balls at Michael. He taunted the ball

  thrower and flew in front of his face faster and faster.

  The thrower was not happy and threw even more balls of

  fire. Trees and shrubs were burning everywhere; there were

  small patches of fire all over the temple floor, burning

  uncontrollably. Then Steve put on his shoe wings that were

  given to him in the school trip and flew Michael over the

  ball thrower's head. They distracted the ball thrower as

  they signaled to the others to try and cross.

  But the ball thrower had another trick up its sleeve.

  From behind his back, four more hands came out, like an

  octopus. They dangled in the air, and each hand held more

  balls of fire.

  "Oh! No, not more hands," said Jamyra.

  Sam blew himself up into a big ball of farts; he

  sucked in the fresh air, and then let out a fart ball of

  slime all over the ball thrower. He was not happy with this

  little stunt, and ran after Sam. But Sam also brought his

  gift, which was a gum that turned into slime. Sam chewed

  and chewed until he could not chew anymore. He spit out the

  gum, and it turned into a ball of slime right under the

  ball thrower's feet.

  He got up off of his floating disc and tried to chase

  Sam, but because the gum was made of slime, the thrower

  stumbled and fell. He could not catch himself; the slime

  was so slippery that the ball thrower went sliding into the

  walls of the temple. This made the ball thrower very angry,

  and he got back on his disc and hovered over the children.

  Peter could not make a hole that would suck the thrower up

  because it would not stop moving.

  The ball thrower laughed, "Ha, ha, ha, you silly

  brats."

  Zack blew snot out of his nose, and turned it into a

  huge giant that would fight the ball thrower. But the ball

  thrower was not impressed. So Zack blew and blew until the

  snot was a few feet higher, and then the snot giant formed,

  and went after the ball thrower.

  The ball thrower threw fire through the snot bugger,

  and all it did was melt the mucus. The giant snot formed

  again and again as the ball thrower fired more fire balls

  its way. Then, at the last minute, Zack ran to freedom, and

  then had the snot splatter all over the ball thrower. He

  screamed aloud until the walls of the temple shook.

  Then Clara and Nicholas came as a pair. As Nicholas

  roared at the ball thrower, Clara formed spit and saliva of

  green mucus bugs that swarmed and attacked the ball

  thrower. Nicholas' roaring talent was so loud and

  thunderous that it caused an earthquake. Clara pulled out

  her golden sword that shot fire dragons. The fire dragons

  attacked the ball thrower.

  As they fought, Peter, Ben, and Robert were able to

  get to safety. The two creatures fought until the fire

  dragons destroyed the ball thrower; it disappeared into

  thin air. The only thing left was all eight fire balls. No

  one dared to touch them because they did not know if

  something else was forming.

  The children ran inside the temple and, oh it was such

  a beautiful sight! Inside were three small pyramid temples

  that were different colors of gold, from red to blue to

  green. Everything in the temple was made of gold or gold

  bars. The walls were even perfect, and the grounds were

  well manicured. The children walked the grounds with

  caution; there were magical symbols everywhere.

  Inside the temple there was blue electric water that,

  if you drank it, it would shock you. On the temple walls

  were drawings of the elders, which where all defaced. No

  one could tell or see who they were, but since Millie was a

  code breaker they had her try and see if there were any

  clues on how to get to the heart of the Ambassador Forest.

  As she read, a big blast of firepower came through the

  grounds, the tiles and bricks of the temple cracked.

  "Hurry, Millie, is there anything?" said Peter.

  Millie quickly glided her hands over the

  hieroglyphics, but was sad to report that there was not

  much there for her to read. Peter and the others were

  disappointed, but they had to go. For some reason, a sea of

  lava was headed their way. Millie quickly put on her

  magical shades and looked through them. Since the shades

  could see through anything, Millie saw a small opening in

  the wall of the first temple, and led the others to it;

  running as the sea of lava approached closer and closer,

  missing the children by mere inches.

  All of the children quickly ran through the opening,

  and were now in temple number one. Inside, the temple was

  very dark and none of the children could see each other;

  they were going by touch, and felt the walls and each other

  to stay close together.

  Clara lit her magical dragon sword. The fire formed a

  dragon and it filled the entire temple with light; it was

  an amazing sight. There were rows and rows of mummies in a

  straight line; many of the children were scared, but

  Michael was so cocky that he flew over to get a better

  look. Millie decided to play a trick on him, and

  disappeared and hid by a mummy. When Michael passed by,

  she'd make the mummy move; and that's exactly what happened.

  The mummy moved, and Michael went running back; all

  the children laughed and teased him. He blushed, but knew

  he deserved it, and it was his own fault. As the light got

  brighter, the temple was filled, level by level with dead

  mummy corpses, and there were one hundred levels of

  mummies. On the very last level there was a mummy in a

  chair. For a minute, Peter thought it moved, but as he

  rubbed his eyes back into focus, he decided that maybe he

  was seeing things.

  The temple walls also had the drawings of the elders

  defaced, but on one of the walls it showed a picture of a

  small baby with orange hair being held by the elders facing

  the heavens, and a star pointing at the earth.

  "Peter, that looked just like you," said Clara.

  Peter quickly denied it, and turned away, but Millie

  dec
iphered some of the codes and came up with a name:

  "Peter of Earth". The children knew then that the elders

  and their prophecy was real, and it was coming to pass.

  Peter was a little stunned, but quickly regained his

  composer.

  "We must protect you," said Clara to Peter.

  "Yeah, Peter, you are Baja's only hope," said Millie.

  For the first time, Peter really accepted who he was

  and what was his plan in life. For the first time, he went

  back in his mind and saw how he was made to be the person

  that he was. Peter thought of how he stood up to bullies,

  how he remained who he was, despite what others thought;

  how he obeyed and respected his parents and the elders of

  his community. Peter realized that he was being trained for

  the job that was now ahead.

  Clara shook Peter out of his daydream because the

  mummies seemed to be moving. One by one, the mummies

  marched and marched, as if they were marching to the beat

  of some drummers. The children had nowhere to go but up. As

  the mummies marched and grabbed after the children, those

  that could fly, flew, and those that had special abilities

  that could be used, used them.

  Peter opened up holes in the ground, his orange hair

  stuck up in a frenzy, and his hands turned orange. Out of

  his hands, a blast formed a series of holes that gulped the

  mummies down, one by one. The mummies came alive, and they

  were scary and ugly, with their teeth half falling out of

  their mouths. Their jaw bones were falling off, their bones

  were so brittle that some of them broke and crumbled to the

  ground.

  The mummies hooked the children by using their old

  wrapped up white cloths. Robert slid by the mummies because

  he was so skinny that they hardly noticed him. Clara used

  her fire dragon sword to burn up the mummies; Ben pulled

  out his magical cape and flew over them. They tried to pull

  him down, but Ben got away.

  One by one, the children made it to the top. Jamyra

  turned the mummies into ice, but the temple was so hot that

  it melted the ice. At the top of the 100th level, there was

  a twelve-headed clown. Each head spun around like the hands

  on a watch, and each face had a different expression. In

  the clown's hands, he held a big wooden hammer that had to

  weight about one hundred pounds. The clown wore a big white

  clown outfit with red fluffy buttons that came down the

  front. Its faces were made up with makeup so there was no

  way of telling what was really underneath it all.

  It grinned an evil grin, and chased the children.

  Millie disappeared because she was afraid; Michael flew

  into the air and kicked the clown with his feet, but it did

  no good. Clara sent her green saliva bugs at the twelve

  heads, but it only lasted for a few seconds before the

  clown was chasing them again. Behind the clown stood a

  small golden door that had rubies and gems embedded in it.

  The door was glowing and a banging was coming from it.

  "We must make it to the door!" said Peter to the

  others.

  One by one, they tried to make it up to the top, but

  the clown had super fast speed. It zipped from one end of

  the level to the other, knocking some of the children back

  down to the floor while others tried to climb up. But they

  were getting pulled back down by the mummies; there were so

  many mummies, and the temple was so crowed that the air was

  getting thick.

  Steve once again took off his shoes and let his hairy

  feet grow, and then let off the stinkiest toe jams. The

  mummies coughed, and many ran out of the temple. Steve

  laughed, but the other children were getting choked and

  turning green from Steve's toe jams.

  "Oh, Steve, I told you to warn us," said Clara.

  Steve just laughed and stood on the ledge, and

  twinkled his toes as the mummies ran out of the temple.

  When the smell wore off, they came back in, trying to stop

  the children from going through the golden door. Millie

  made it over to it because she was invisible, and began

  trying to pry open the door. As her friends battled the

  gigantic clown, Millie deciphered the codes on the door and

  touched them in the ordered she felt they went in. She

  pressed star, blue moon, horseshoe, birds, and some other

  mystical symbol.

  At first, nothing happened; then the banging and

  pushing on the door ceased, and then the glow went away.

  Millie did not know what she'd done; she thought maybe

  she'd done it wrong. But, it was not wrong; suddenly the

  magical door flew open and a burst of red and yellow light

  blasted through the room. The wind was so strong that it

  blew the children and the mummies away.

  Out of the door flew millions of tiny fuzzy critters;

  they were soft fuzz balls that were in multi colors, light

  enough to float through the air with just a blow of air.

  Two big boggle-eyes sat on the top of their heads, and they

  had skinny arms and legs like a spider. They made a funny

  noise that was a little irritating to the children, but

  this was such a great sight to see, no one did much

  complaining. The fuzz balls ran through, pushing everything

  out of their way, leaving the path open for the children to

  enter, but they still had to deal with the giant clown.

  The giant clown zipped back and forth like a lightning

  bolt. Neither Peter nor his friends could keep up with the

  giant because of his speed. So, the only thing they thought

  could slow him down was some of Sam's green slime gum. Sam

  chewed and chewed until the slime oozed out of the corners

  of his mouth; then he knew that it was ready. He spit out

  the oozing slime gum onto the ledge where the clown was

  zipping and making faces at the children.

  During the next pass, the clown stepped in the slime

  gum and went sliding down the levels. Peter and his friends

  cheered loudly; they quickly climbed to the top of the

  level, while the giant clown went tumbling down over the

  mummies that were chasing Peter and his friends.

  Once at the top, the children looked down to see the

  crowd of mummies coming back up. Clara pulled out her

  golden fire dragon sword and commanded it to burn down the

  levels. The dragon became a ball of fire and began burning

  the levels, spewing fire from its mouth. After the levels

  were on fire and burning, Clara put her magical sword away,

  and out the magical door they went. Everything was so

  bright and colorful; it was as the children were sliding

  down a rainbow.

  "Weeeeeee" they shouted.

  The only thing the children could see was the multi

  colors; that's why the fuzzy critters were so colorful.

  When Peter and his friends landed at the end of the rainbow

  slide, it led them to a door that led them to the outside

  of the second temple. Outside, the children noticed that

  they were all multi colored, just like the critters they

  sa
w in the first temple. Their skins had change to many

  colors of the rainbow.

  "Oh! Great, my hair is a mess," said Jamyra.

  "Whatever, let's go," said Robert.

  The children were afraid to go to the other temple,

  not knowing what they would have to face. So they all got

  ready, stood in a line, got their powers ready, and burst

  through the second temple's gates. They were now inside the

  second temple walls; it was purple and gold, it glittered

  in the sun, and every time an animal passed by the temple

  door codes of Baja would pop up everywhere.

  Peter realized that they were even made up of codes;

  their bodies had turned into codes, each child had

  different codes on them. Millie tried to read each of her

  friends' codes before they disappeared, but it was too

  late; there was not much to tell in that short period of

  time. As the children walked through the second temple, it

  was filled with huge flowers, vines and vegetation. Up in

  the air, huge grasshoppers flew by and dropped poop on the

  children.

  "That was gross!" shouted Peter at the grasshopper.

  A grasshopper swooped down and picked up a few of the

  children and threw them on its back; then another came and

  scooped up some more of the children and threw them on its

  back.

  "I think we are dinner," said Millie.

  "I hope not," said Clara.

  The grasshoppers made a sudden landing inside the main

  walls of the second temple. As water plants sprayed bubbles

  of water in the air at the grasshoppers, the water plants

  caused the grasshoppers to lose their food. Peter and his

  friends ran away as they were dropped to the floor by the

  grasshoppers.

  Once in the main hall, there was an eerie silence. It

  was as if something was coming. The children stayed alert

  and kept watch; when suddenly a huge spider, red in color,

  with a silver stripe down its back, sprayed webbing from

  its mouth, trapping some of the children. The first to be

  caught were Peter, Jamyra, Clara, Robert and Zack.

  The spider spewed its webbing, and all of the children

  were caught in its web. The spider twirled the children in

  more webbing to keep them from escaping, and then it went

  after the remaining children. Michael's powerful wings and

  Steve's magical flying shoes helped them to bypass the

  spider. It sprayed webbing all over the temple walls, all

  over the vegetation, and barely missed the children.

  Millie became invisible and headed toward the web to

  free her friends; while Steve, Nicholas, and Michael kept

  the spider busy. Millie was afraid to climb the web, but

  Peter encouraged her to get through it. Step by step, he

  gave Millie the confidence to believe in herself so she

  could climb the web. It was huge, and hundreds of feet up.

  There were skeletons of men who had tried to cross before;

  now they were nothing more than bones.

  Peter told Millie to free Clara first, seeing that she

  had a sword that could burn through anything. Once Millie

  found Clara, she was about to cut her loose, until she got

  a strange feeling. It was the spider behind her, but it

  could not see Millie, only sense her presence. When Millie

  turned around, she screamed so loudly that the spider

  heard, and tried to catch the invisible sound.

  "Hurry and free Clara, Millie," said Peter.

  Millie quickly ran to where Clara was, and began

  pulling the thick webbing off of her, layer by layer; until

  Clara's hands were free. She reached in her pouch, and

  pulled out the sword, calling upon the dragon of fire. Out

  burst the dragon, roaring and burning the spider's web.

  The other children were distracting the spider while

  the dragon, Clara and Millie used their magic to free their

  friends. Steve took off his shoes and let his feet grow to

  produce toe jams, but that did not bother the spider.

  Nicholas roared until the spider's ears hurt; it fell on

  the floor in pain.

  After Clara was free, she formed her saliva bugs, and

  they came out in a swarm and attacked the spider. Yet, that

  was not doing the job either; until Peter opened up a hole

  and let it swallow the spider. There was nothing left of

  the spider, only a hole into another dimension.

  "Peter! We have to teach you how to close those

  holes," said Clara.

  That was one of Peter's faults; he could open a hole,

  but could not close it. And many times his holes opened to

  unknown worlds. But, now was not the time; the children had

  to hurry and find Peter's father before the spell wore off.

  After defeating the spider, a huge wooden door rose

  up. There was nothing on the other side. It was eerily

  similar to this side, so the children prepared for a war

  again. As they cautiously walked through the opening, there

  was nothing more than some statues that had spider webbing

  all over them.

  "There must be more spiders," said Peter.

  As the children walked and walked, it seemed as if

  they were ending right back where they started.

  "It's a reverser," said Robert.

  A reverser was a force field that sent you back to

  where you started, but the children could not see it. Every

  time they started to walk toward the opening, the reverser

  pushed them back. Peter had the idea to split up and try

  running. As they did so, they were all reversed and sent

  back to start! This was proving to be a real challenge; and

  the children had to rest for a while.

  As Clara played around with her saliva flies, she

  noticed that they would reverse back to her, which was

  pretty cool. Now she had an idea to use the flies to guide

  them. She sent the flies out, and they wove their way

  through the reversal and made it to the other side. Animals

  have more instincts than Clara and her friends.

  As the children followed Clara's saliva flies, they

  passed through the reverser. Once they got through it, they

  looked back and saw that the reverser was nothing more than

  some type of mystical pathway. Its reflection could only be

  seen from one side; the reverser was nothing more than a

  door made of some liquid that is invisible on one side and

  visible on the other.

  Nevertheless, Peter and his friends were on a mission;

  they were now prepared to handle anything. And just as they

  thought, the second temple was easier; the other side of

  the reverser led them into a big area with nothing more

  than sand, a few large dunes, and mountains. This did not

  look good for the children, but from miles away they could

  see the door to the other side; it glittered and glowed in

  the sun's rays.

  "We must get to that door," said Peter.

  "It is not going to be easy," said Clara.

  The children took off running through the desert,

  kicking up dust and sand everywhere, and from the depths of

  the sand a sand octopus rose up! It had at least a couple

  hu
ndred tentacles, a massive head and deep black eyes, and

  its body was covered in yellow and red fur. The children

  had never seen a sand octopus before; this was a creature

  that they only knew to be a fantasy.

  Suddenly the creature attacked, tentacles came from

  every direction, grabbing every child and throwing them up

  into the air. Screams filled the air, and the children

  fought and hit the huge monster, but this did little or no

  damage. Since the creature was oversized and could not feel

  their little hits, one by one the children danced through

  the air on the octopus' tentacles; it was like riding a

  rollercoaster with screams filling the air.

  Millie tried to disappear, but was still in the grip

  of the creature. Peter tried to create holes, but they did

  not work here because the creature was already from the

  deepest depths. Zack sent out his snot buggers and covered

  the octopus' eyes with green slime. It worked for a little

  while, but failed because the creature's eyes were so huge

  that it took a lot of snot and buggers to glop up the eyes.

  Sam made fart balls that were disgusting, not only did they

  smell, but when they burst, they left slime all over the

  place. Luckily it was mostly on the creature and not on his

  friends.

  The octopus let some of the children loose, due to the

  nasty slime on its face and the smell. Once Millie was

  free, she ran toward the magical door ahead and turned

  invisible. Steve and Michael carried Peter and Jamyra,

  because they were the only two that could take flight. Sam

  chewed some of his gum, and threw it on the desert floor

  where it turned into slime. The remaining children slid on

  it toward the magical door.

  Once the octopus removed the slime from its eyes, it

  noticed that the children were getting away, and chased

  after them. And oh, what a chase it was. The octopus dove

  in and out of the sand, kicking dirt and dust into the air,

  and every once in a while it brought up a treasure chest or

  two. But no treasure chest could keep the children away

  from the magic door.

  As they slid on the slime gum, they could hear their

  friends telling them to run. Millie was still working on

  the codes of the door, trying everything to get it open.

  Once she had cracked the codes, the door produced many more

  magical doors, all with numbers on them. The children had

  to choose one. Millie picked door number eleven. Peter and

  the others waited for their remaining friends to get away

  from the octopus, but it made waves of sand that sent the

  children riding high through the air, as if they were

  surfing.

  "We're almost there!" said Clara.

  As the huge tidal wave of sand came closer to the

  magical door, each remaining child jumped off and into the

  pathway to the magical door. Once in there, everyone rushed

  through the door and shut it tight as the creature was only

  inches away from catching them. Peter and the other

  children took a deep sigh of relief, as they made it

  through another temple.

 

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