The Watchmaker's Gift

by Charles Zitta

  “If you can distract that overgrown lizard for just a second, I may be able to grab the crystal.”

  “That sounds like a wonderful plan,” Frank replied.

  “Very well, old chap, you get her to look up, and I’ll take care of the rest.

  “On my waaaaaay, the hawk said, as he tailed off—soaring at tremendous speeds, just beyond the reach of the dragon’s deadly jaws.

  SNAP. SNAP-SNAP. Elontra tried multiple time to snare the crafty hawk, as he swiftly flew by her again and again.

  On the forth pass, Frank circled round and round, just above the dragon’s head.

  Elontra snarled, as she looked upward and said, “Come here you pesky bird, I need a snack.” SNAP. SNAP-SNAP. The dragon tried again and again to snare the hawk.

  A sparkling, silver blur rose up from below, shooting past the dragon’s neck.

  Elontra paused as if something was wrong. “What…what was that? Something seems amiss,” she growled, continuing to fly along. Instinctively, the wicked dragon pulled up into a holding position in the sky. Looking downward with her black, pearly eyes, she reached for the crystal around her neck with her large front claws. Again and again, she felt for the crystal. But to her misfortune, the necklace holding the crystal was no longer there. Elontra’s dark eyes turned fiery red, she screamed with rage—letting out a stream of fire so enormous, and for so long, that it filled the entire sky around the island.

  “We have it,” Alexios said, as he slowed down from supersonic speed, landing next to the hawk in an isolated tree on the mountainside. The owl raised his left wing, showing Frank the green crystal tucked away in his feathery pocket.

  “Well, we’re half way there,” Frank replied.

  “The boy?”

  “Yes. I sent him after the coachman to rescue his brother,” Frank replied with a concerned look.

  “You go help the boy, I’ll gather up Ben and the others.”

  Just before the hawk and owl parted ways, a large, horrifying series of screams rained down from the sky, catching their attention.

  NO. NO. NOOOOOOOOOOOO! Elontra had used so much energy to fill the sky with fire that she lost her power as a dragon. The evil Dark Thorn shedded her scales, transforming back into her hideous, human form, as she plummeted and slammed into the surrounding woods—leaving her unconscious.

  Featherwink unleashed a large, gelatinous bubble, protecting Midnight and Ben from Flamario, the silver fox, and a few island goons, while he and Raphael’s cats focused on Bella Bark and Captain Fibs’ toady trolls.

  “What happened to those big ugly trolls anyway?” Ticky, the snow leopard, asked.

  “No idea,” Featherwink replied.

  “They probably ran into the woods to hide, once they saw what Frank and the snow fairy did to their precious Dark Thorn Dragons,” the white tiger said.

  “Nobody is running anywhere,” Bella Bark declared. She took her staff and thrust it towards the white tiger, turning the fierce cat into a harmless plush animal.

  The witch cackled.

  Angered by her laughter, the snow leopard charged Bella head-on. The agile leopard leapt into the air, claws out.

  Bella dodged the big cat’s attack—she reached out with her staff, touching the pouncing leopard in the chest, which turned him into a harmless plush animal, just like his sister.

  Midnight roared. “Enough.” The mighty jaguar crouched down, green eyes glowing, as he flicked his magical tail at Bella. A stream of green light flew towards the witch.

  Bella deflected the jaguars attack, sending it back towards Ben.

  SHAPOW!

  Ben dove out of the way.

  The witch laughed even louder. “Really, is this all you can—”

  ZZZING!

  “Uhhhh…ahhhhh…what…what’s happening to—”

  SWOOOSH—KAPOW!

  Bella was instantly crystalized by the snow fairy, then shattered into a thousand pieces from a blow by the supersonic owl, who flew right through her.

  Charlie and Oteza found themselves in a giant stall filled with hay and a hundred noisy mules.

  “Someone is coming. Quick, find a place to hide near the door, so we can slip out unnoticed,” Oteza whispered.

  The sound of footsteps grew louder. A soft glowing light pushed through the cracks of the doorway. There was jingling of keys, a click, then the door swung open.

  A short, well-rounded man marched into the room. He was scruffy, dirty—dressed in tattered clothes, stained from years of neglect and lack of soap. He smelled. Even worse than the mules.

  Charlie’s nose crunched up, as he struggled to remain quiet.

  The man marched towards the center of the room. “Alright, who will it be today,” he announced, then snorted and spat onto the dirt floor.

  “Now Charlie,” the ostrich whispered.

  The boy quietly slipped out the doorway, sprinting down the long and winding, torch-lit tunnel. Left, right, left, right and right again. For several minutes he continued on—at each bend wondering, would they be confronted by the enemy.

  “I sense an ending soon,” Oteza said, as the boy continued on down the tunnel. “Yes, two…maybe three more bends in the pathway and we’ll be there.

  The ostrich stick was right. After the third turn, the narrow tunnel opened up into a vast cavern filled with enormous stacks of gold coins, chalices, crowns, treasure chests and more. And planted throughout the stacks were hundreds of children that had been turned into gold statues—young, old and in between.

  Charlie and Oteza had found the hidden mine of the coachman.

  They both paused and stared, terrified by what they were seeing.

  “Just a couple handfuls would probably be enough for our family to live off for the rest of our lives,” Charlie said, his mind overtaken by what laid before him.

  “We’re here for your brother, not the gold,” Oteza sternly reminded the boy.

  Oteza’s question refocused the boy. “Right. Sorry. Where…where do you think they took him?”

  “They’re here. We just have to find them.” The ostrich stick scanned the area with her eyes.

  They walked past and around mound after mound of gold coins and other riches—all the while, checking the statues to see if any resembled Michael. Fortunately, none had.

  Flamario and the fox unexpectedly turned their attention away from the battle and retreated towards the mountain.

  “Something strange is going on,” Neve said. Observing the actions of the shadow villains.

  “The glacier,” Alexios said.

  “It’s melted,” Neve added. “Come-come,” she said, motioning to the owl and Midnight, “everyone huddle together. I will send you back to the watchmaker’s workshop. The crystal should be safe there, while Feaherwink and I help Frank find the boys.”

  Midnight returned to his normal, cat form.

  Ben grabbed the two plush animals in his arms. “All set,” he said.

  Midnight, Alexios, Ben and the others all gathered close together. Neve waved her wand and cast a magic spell upon the group. There was a flash of sparkling snowflakes. They were gone.

  “Come, Featherwink. We need to go find Frank.”

  Neve and Featherwink flew off into the mountain.

  “So, who are your lovely friends?” Michael asked in a sarcastic tone. Two smelly goons were tying him to a large, golden pole with aztec graphics populating its surface.

  “Just a few of my helpers,” the coachman replied.

  “So like, they help you steal all the innocent children from the village to bring here and turn into gold statues?”

  The coachman did not flinch. “Mules as well, my boy. You see, unlike you, some of the children from the village actually make good workers.” He removed the golden rod from underneath his long coat. Gently flicking his wrist, the whip magically grew six to eight feet out from the rod’s end.

  The sight of the whip put Michael in a panic, but he tried his best to look calm on the outside.
Attempting to distract the coachman, the clever boy kept the conversation going, as the two island goons stepped away from the pole and returned to their leader’s side.

  “How do you get all the kids here anyway?”

  “Rides, candy, money, and games, boy. Rides, candy, money and games.”

  “It’s quite the operation, if I do say so myself,” the boy replied—feeding the shadow villain’s ego to make him talk more.

  “The rides attract the little boogers to the island, then I load ‘em up on sugar, throw some money at ‘em, then lead them into my arcade. And once they’ve had their fare share of mischief…they can’t help but turn into worker mules. Mules I sell for money, HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!”

  “But what if they don’t turn?” The boy asked—terrified by Jollysnaps’ greedy expression.

  “Well, that’s the best part, boy. If a kid don’t turn into a mule, I take misses snaps here, and CRACK! Turn ‘em into a nice shiny statue made of gold. HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!”

  Michael’s heart fell to his stomach, as he broke into a sweat.

  “Free my brother. Now,” Charlie said, stepping out of the shadows—his expression, calm and focused.

  The coachman snapped his head around. “And what. If. I. Don’t,” he said with a sinister smile.

  “That’s your choice,” Charlie replied. He crouched down into attack position—Oteza firmly held in his right hand. “But I promise you, you’re not going to like it.”

  “Go get ‘em,” Oteza said.

  The boy sprung high into the air, flipping and twirling, then pulling out into a karate-like kicking position, he descended upon the coachman’s goons—knocking them thirty feet back into a wall. “Two down, one to go.”

  ZAPOW!

  A bolt of lighting struck the ground, just a foot away from where

  Charlie stood.

  The boy froze, then took a step back. He turned quickly towards the source of the attack.

  High above, at the far end of the coachman’s large whipping chamber, was a stairway. The only way in or out of the chamber. At the top of the stairway stood Elontra and Senkrad. And right behind them, Flamario, the silver fox, Captain Fibs and his two toady trolls.

  There was clearly no easy way for Charlie and his brother to exit the room.

  “Carry on, Jolly,” Elontra said to the coachman.

  Mr. Jollysnaps gave Charlie a look, then turned towards his brother, rearing back with his whip hand.

  “Nooooooo!” Charlie screamed. He charged the coachman.

  ZAAAAP!

  The advancing boy was rudely thrown backwards into the wall. Held by a forcefield against his will.

  The coachman cast the whip forward. CRACK! Striking Michael squarely in the chest.

  A golden coat grew out from the striking point of the whip, covering the young boys body, it quickly moved upwards towards his face. The boy screamed out his brother’s name, “Charlie, hel—”

  Michael had been turned to solid gold.

  “Ahhhhhh, NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Charlie shouted, overcome with emotion.

  “Calm down, boy. There is nothing you can do now,” Senkrad calmly said.

  Senkrad’s comment made Charlie grow even angrier inside, fueling the energy he received from Oteza. His body began to glow bright green, yellow, then white.

  KAPOW!

  Elontra’s forcefield was obliterated. The boy was free and more powerful than ever, as he lifted Oteza high above his head.

  “I am no longer a walking stick. Consider me your whomping stick,” Oteza said to the boy. “Lets set things right.”

  Charlie gazed upon his enemies—his eyes, ablaze with fiery beams, burned bright yellow. Oteza was in his right hand, and a holographic light shield, projected from the magic watch, was in his left.

  A sudden whirlwind of snow appeared then descended from the chamber ceiling—exploding into a brilliant display of flashing lights. As the lights receded, the friendly figures of Frank, Neve and Featherwink appeared.

  “Frank, look what they’ve done to Michael,” Charlie said.

  “There may be time to reverse it,” Frank replied, “but we have to act quickly.”

  “Not if we have anything to say about it,” Elontra replied.

  From the top of the stairway the fire breather leaped down and landed with a gigantic THUD on the main floor of the chamber.

  The toady trolls, Duke and Grim followed suite.

  “Time to heat this place up, Flamario said. He took in a deep breath, inhaling flames from his torch.

  Anticipating the gigantic man’s actions, Charlie took off running and exploded into the air towards the fire breather and trolls—his left leg fully extended in a kicking position.

  The silver fox countered the boy’s move—taking off in a full sprint, he leaped off the balcony, which surrounded the chamber floor, with intentions to blind side Charlie in mid-air.

  Featherwink spotted the sly fox just as he leaped into the air. The tiny frog shot off like a bullet, heading straight for the shadow villain. Crossing the fox’s path at its apex, Featherwink zapped the fox with a spell, sending him back to the woods where he belonged.

  “So much for him,” the frog declared.

  Charlie’s left foot caught Flamario squarely in the jaw, just as he unleashed the flames from his mouth intended for Frank and the snow fairy. The stream of fire swung wide of the Patrons, nearly scorching the coachman, who jumped out of the way.

  “Get ‘em boys,” Captain Fibs hollered to his trolls.

  Duke and Grim dove for the boy, one from each side. Grim managed to grab hold of Charlie’s left arm, while Duke nabbed his right leg.

  “What do ya say we tear ‘em apart, Grimsly?”

  “Sorry fellas, not going to happen,” Oteza replied.

  “What is that? A talk’n stick?” Grim said with a chuckle.

  Charlie rapidly twirled Oteza like a baton with his free hand, smacking Grim in the side of the head—sending the troll flying into an empty holding cell, where he hit the wall so hard, the door slammed closed—locking the unconscious beast in.

  “One troll down,” Charlie proclaimed.

  “Why you little twit,” Duke said with an angry voice. He tightened his grip on the boy’s leg, then spun him in circles above his head. Unfortunately, he forgot about Charlie’s other leg.

  As he brought the boy around for a fifth pass, the chosen outsider managed to swing his left leg around, making solid contact with Duke’s backside. The sudden jolt forced the troll to let go of the boy. He flew towards another holding cell on the opposite side of the chamber from Grim. Duke skidded in to the cell face first. CRASH! The snow fairy waved her wand, slamming and locking the cell door behind him.

  “That takes care of the trolls,” Neve said, shooting Charlie a wink.

  “This is where you end,” Elontra stated. She hurled a series of fiery balls towards Frank.

  Simultaneously, the coachman wrapped his golden whip around Neve, as Senkrad managed to pin Featherwink to the floor with a spell, allowing Flamario the opportunity to pounce upon the tiny frog and squash him like jelly.

  But they had forgotten about Charlie. The young boy sprinted towards Frank, leaped into the air, landed with a summersault just in front of his friend, then held up his light shield—deflecting Elontra’s fiery attack back in her direction.

  The evil Dark Thorn dove out of the way.

  POW, POW-POW, POW! The fireballs struck the corner of the entryway, collapsing the walls and sealing off the exit.

  Frank seized the moment, swirling his arms around in waxing motions. The charm around his neck grew incredibly bright, sending a powerful beam of energy through his body and out of his open hands towards Elontra, who at the moment, was laying on the ground.

  The radiant beams from Frank’s hands quickly surrounded the Dark Thorn, wrapping themselves around her body.

  The wise Patron pulled back with his hands. The beams tightened their grip on Elontra, as she let out screams
of frustration, anger and pain.

  “You. You’ll pay for this, Patron,” she said in a blood curdling tone.

  Frank’s body radiated even more, as did the beams—intensifying their strength. He thrust his hands towards a set of shackles on the wall—Elontra went flying through the air, then slammed against the wall. The illuminated shackles snapped around her wrists, ankles and neck.

  “Ahhhhh! “ The Dark Thorn screamed in anger, she knew she had been beaten.

  “Free her or I’ll turn your little ice princess into gold,” Jollysnaps demanded. His golden whip, growing tighter around Neve’s body.

  “Meanwhile, Senkrad had managed to pin Charlie next to the frog on the chamber floor. Both helplessly awaited their fate, as Flamario prepared to dive off the balcony and crush them.

  Not having time to save all his friends at once, Frank called to Charlie, “The watch can still hear you. Go back and save your brother.”

  “That is a brilliant idea, go young man,” Featherwink whispered.

  “I agree with the frog,” Oteza added.

  Charlie struggled, barely able to push the button—activating the watch of WONDER. “Take me back to Michael,” he pleaded. The watch glowed, as the hands spun faster and faster. They snapped into place. SHOOP! The boy vanished.

  Mr. Jollysnaps reared back with his whip hand.

  SIZZLE-SIZZLE-CRACKETY-CRACK-POW! Charlie suddenly appeared next to his brother—about to be struck by the coachman’s whip and turned to gold.

  “Throw me,” Oteza commanded.

  Charlied turned towards Jollysnaps, and in one fluid motion, cast the magic ostrich stick towards the gold-loving shadow villain. Oteza flew straight and true, striking the evil coachman’s whip hand.

  “Noooooo!” Jollysnaps yelled.

  The whip flew out of his hand and into a giant boiling kettle of gold, far away from where he stood.

  The pot bubbled, popped, then spat out golden sparks. The whip was destroyed.

  Quickly, Charlie used his light shield to cut the bands tied around his brother’s wrists.

  “Where did you come from?” Michael asked, happy to see his big brother.

  “Never mind. Let’s go.” Charlie darted past the devastated coachman, picked up Oteza, sprinted back to Michael, then returned them to present time.