The Fossegrimen Folly

by Michael Almich

  The only other option would be to bring it home with him. If he did that, he could hide it until next summer. It would be out of sight and out of mind, like his mom always said. He reasoned that the whole uproar would blow over by next summer. Maybe then he could even return it. Maybe he could just sneak to the edge of the fairy world and throw it through? Maybe he could do that right now? Of course, how would he get there without Gust following him? He decided he would have to think more about that, but worst case scenario, he would just take it with him.

  His decision made him feel better. By next summer, things would settle down and Gust wouldn't need to shadow him. Besides, he wouldn't be using the treasure. He could already see through the Glamour. Why would he need to use it? He certainly wouldn't tell anyone about it. Whatever forces were gathering, like Tom T had said, they could wait until next summer. He would keep it safe and sound at the old farmhouse if he had to.

  With that settled, Shy felt better. He even decided to leave the cabin and take a walk. He ended up at the Hive. No one was around, so he walked over to the zip line. He thought back to that first evening at camp that he had flown through the trees on the line. Smiling he grabbed a bar and jumped on for a quick flight down to the Lodge. After landing, he waited. He hadn't ever actually seen the Sylphon that Tad had said carried the bars back up to the Hive. He stared at the zip line bar he had dropped onto the ground near the big pine. As it began to rise from the ground, Shy felt the now familiar snap of his vision as he pushed through the Glamour.

  There rising into the air was a beautiful girl, that looked about his age. She had fine wings that sprouted from between her shoulder blades. She gave off a faint glow, and Shy could now hear a tinkling laugh, very similar to what he had heard from around the fire the night at the waterfall. She stared at Shy as she heaved the bar into the air. Giving him a smile that rivaled the twinkling of the stars on a clear night, she continued to rise and turned back toward the Hive. Shy stood transfixed, even after she disappeared from view amongst the pine canopy.

  Voices off behind him broke the spell and brought him back to reality. Shy realized that he had left the cabins without letting anyone know. The voices sounded human, like kids, but he wasn't about to risk it. He hurried off to the Lodge. When he got there, he was scolded by Gust, who, of course, spotted him instantly. After taking his verbal lashing, they agreed he could hang out in the game room while Gust finished a few chores.

  Shy walked into the game room, happily discovering that Ralph, Daniel, Henry, and Sam were hanging out with several of the Lake girls and there were orange sodas being passed all around. When Shy walked in, they greeted him heartily and Daniel ran to the fridge and got Shy a soda. Claire, Portia, Penelope and Kennedi all gave him hugs. He felt himself turning red and quickly turned to the boys.

  "Hey Shy! Missed you around!" Ralph gave him a fist bump.

  "Big night tonight." Henry cut right to the chase.

  "What do you mean?" Shy asked.

  "It's your last practice, right?"

  "Yeah, but he'll be with, I'm sure," he said as he nodded toward Gust in the next room. "Nothing's gonna happen."

  Then Shy looked at the girls and was embarrassed again.

  Claire stepped up next to him again and said, "The guys told us everything Shy. We know about the treasure, and the way you can see through the Glamour… and everything."

  Portia also sneaked next to him and said, "Yeah, we think it's pretty cool Shy."

  Kennedi and bossy Penelope nodded their agreement.

  Shy smiled. He now had even more support from friends. He wanted to tell them all about his dilemma, about what he should do with the box, but Daniel came back from the fridge and interrupted.

  "You might have been sleeping the rest of the summer away," Daniel said, as he gave Shy the icy orange soda, "but we have been planning."

  "Oh no," was all Shy could say, and the girls laughed.

  Ralph was also laughing. "Guess where Sam and Finn are?"

  Quickly the boys filled Shy in on Sawyer and Finn's exploits over the past week while Shy had secluded himself. It seemed that the two boys had become a two man army, carrying out practical joke after practical joke against the Cave cabin boys. Water balloons, leaky cups, and strings across the path to trip the other boys. Shy wasn't too surprised. Sawyer and Finn, although always joking around, had minds that were tailor made for this kind of secret war. What did surprise him, though, was what Daniel told him next.

  It seemed that several of the Lake cabin girls had been helping. They had several run-ins of their own with the bullies, and after initially enlisting Sawyer and Finn's help, they eventually had become full-fledged partners in crime. At this part of the story, Kennedi and Penelope both giggled. Kennedi innocently began to run her hands through her long straight hair, and Penelope giggled and then whistled innocently while pretending to look out the windows.

  "So, what are your plans for tonight?" Shy asked after digesting all that Daniel had told him and smiling at the two girls.

  "We are gonna protect you!" Henry said proudly.

  Shy looked at him and then back at Daniel with raised eyebrows.

  "What?" Daniel asked with a smile. "We protect our friends. We are gonna all be out tonight. I'll be with you, but the guys will all be out "

  "Plus some of the Lake cabin hotties!" Henry interrupted and moved his bushy eyebrows up and down.

  They all laughed

  Shy gave a quick glance at Portia. She caught his glance and smiled openly, and he could feel his face turning red. He thought back to the Fourth of July, when they had visited the Lake cabins. He hadn't really noticed any special attention from the tall, wavy haired girl then. Thinking back to the day after they found the box, though, Shy thought he remembered her waving at him at breakfast, and there had been other instances, he thought. While the others talked about where everyone would be hiding that evening, Shy sneaked more looks at Portia. Yep, he thought to himself, she's definitely pretty. He felt himself getting warm inside, and those stomach butterflies were back again.

  ***

  The practice began that evening the same way as the previous two, with one exception. As Daniel and Shy strode away from the Lodge, Gust was hot on their heels. He claimed he was not going to interfere in the geo-caching, he would only step in if anything unusual took place. The two Cave cabin boys participating in the practice snickered at Shy, and he heard some comments about babysitters, but he let it go.

  Shy had found out that they had nine other campers hidden in various spots around the camp. Besides the other five Forest cabin boys, Claire, Portia, Kennedi, and Penelope from the Forest cabins were helping.

  The sun was going down, and Shy and Daniel's first set of coordinates took them west towards the camp entrance. They approached the long rope bridge that spanned the mist shrouded river gorge below. Shy thought he could hear the screeching, wailing laughter that they had heard previously several times. Instantly he was on the alert. The last time they had heard this, they were attacked on the bridge by some kind of invisible flying monster. Shy could see the recognition in Daniel's face also. He looked back to see the reassuring Gust several yards behind them. The old man was seemingly paying no attention. Shy remembered too that Claire was posted close by. He looked around for her, but could see no sign.

  The coordinates took them directly to the near side of the bridge, close to where it was secured by iron posts that were driven deep into the stone walls of the river gorge. As the two were huddled around their map and GPS unit, the same cry arose again from the wide river gorge. They both subconsciously moved several steps away from the bridge. Gust was watching them with brows furrowed.

  Time seemed to slow for Shy, and he felt the air pressure shift from behind him. Both he and Daniel began to turn, and as they did Shy saw Gust spring forward. It was all too late. Shy felt claws grab him by his shoulders. They closed and tightened, piercing his flesh. Shy screamed and grabbed at what had gripped hi
m. He felt giant wings beating, and Daniel was knocked sideways. He slipped at the edge of the gorge, and wildly reached for the rope bridge. Shy felt himself begin to lift off the ground. Gust had almost reached him, but turned and dove to grab a slipping Daniel. Shy looked down at his chest and shoulders, and his vision snapped quickly this time. He could now see that huge talons were gripping his shoulders. Just like that, in a breath, he was up in the air.

  Still screaming, Shy craned his neck to look above him. The beast that had grabbed him flapped huge leathery wings, while the body was covered in thick scales. With each beat of those wings they lifted farther off the ground, and the creature's talons would squeeze his shoulders.

  Shy now stopped screaming, but the pain from the talons made him wince. He tried but could not budge the grip. He tried to twist, to get another good glimpse of the beast, but now could only see a scissor-like beak above him. He watched as it screamed the blood curdling warble he had become so familiar with. Shy's hands left the talons and covered his ears.

  They were now almost above the treetops. Shy felt a change in the way the beast flapped, and they began to fly south. Shy didn't know what to do. He was helpless. The iron grip on his shoulders had not lessened. It would not be long before they were well beyond the borders of the camp. If he had a knife he could stab or cut the talons. Quickly his hands searched his pockets. Nothing. There was nothing to use as a weapon. He looked at the scaly talons again, and rubbed his finger on a scale…. Something happened! It almost felt like…. He tried it again. Sure enough, the grip lessened, and then retightened when he stopped. He almost cried out from the shock of pain when the beast renewed his grip. Quickly he moved both hands to the talons and began to lightly sweep his fingers across. The beast moved both talons and then retightened again!

  A thought popped into Shy's brain. This thing was ticklish! Shy looked down. He was above the Cave cabins…. Way above! He was determined that if he was going to die, it wouldn't be as dinner for some prehistoric looking beast. He brought up both hands, and just as they swept over a stand of the biggest pines, he began to lightly tickle. Instantly the left claw, then the right twitched. He continued and pushed up the back of the talon farther.

  Both clawed talons released at the same time, and the beast gave off a massive wail. Shy dropped so fast that his shirt was pushed up over his head by the rush of air. He was not able to get the shirt down before he hit the trees. He tumbled from one pine to the other like a cartoon character bouncing off awnings of buildings. He was blinded by his shirt, and although the pine boughs softened the initial blows, he eventually fell through to the bare branches underneath. He hadn't realized that he was screaming until after he impacted the ground with a blow that knocked the wind out of him.

  Shy felt like he might have died. Slowly he turned over from his stomach to his knees, and gasped for breath. He squeezed his eyes closed to ward off the pain, and tried to focus on taking in little sips of air.

  It wasn't until he heard the dreaded voice, and opened his eyes that he realized a pair of shoes were almost touching his nose. He cringed as he heard Crutch say, "Look at the pansy that tried to spy on us from the trees, and fell out."

  At this point, the only defense he could muster was a creaky, "Crutch… don't…"

  "Oh, is the little baby hurt?" Crutch continued in mock sympathy as he used his foot to push Shy over. Shy realized there were other boys gathered around him also. "We can't let this go, you know. You have caused me trouble this whole summer, and now it's payback time."

  Although Shy had caught his breath by now, he was too frightened and alone to do anything. His mom had told him once to always cover his head in a tornado, and that was all he could think of. He covered his head with his arms and hands, waiting for the inevitable blows to fall.

  Then, he heard a thump, and reopened his eyes. Crutch was lying glassy eyed right in front of Shy. Shy looked up. There was Portia, with a thick limb in her hand, and she was brandishing it at the other boys. She was by herself. Shy had never been so happy to see a girl in his life!

  He tried to stand as she screamed at the Cave boys, "You better run… NOW! Gust is on his way."

  They slowly backed away, and then eventually turned and ran.

  Shy smiled weakly at the tall girl. "Thanks."

  She simply smiled back.

  Shy nodded at Crutch. "What do we do with him?"

  "Who cares. Leave him. Oh my God, you're bleeding!" She pointed at the front of his shoulders as she walked over to him. He couldn't help but notice how the ringlets of her hair bounced on her shoulders as she rushed over.

  He forced himself to look down at his white Minnesota Twins t- shirt. It looked pretty gruesome. Blood had run in rivulets down the front. His shoulders didn't really hurt that badly now. He didn't really hurt too much in general, but it sure looked bad.

  "C'mon, let's walk. Can you walk?"

  He nodded and flushed when she put his arm around her neck. They started up the river gorge path. It wasn't long before they heard running feet, and yelling.

  "SHY! SHYYYyyyyyy!"

  It alternated between Claire's voice and Daniel's.

  Portia stopped, and cupped her hands to her mouth, "Over here!"

  The first one there, however, weren't the kids. It was Gust. He dropped to his knees in front of Shy with none of the usual macho expressions.

  "You OK kid?" He pulled Shy's blood soaked T-shirt collar back and inspected the obvious wounds. Satisfied that he would live, he moved on to check for broken bones. Shy cringed as he pushed on his thigh, but otherwise he didn't feel much.

  "I think you are in a little bit of shock," Gust said. "You'll be sore tomorrow, but it doesn't feel like anything is broken." Gust sat back on his haunches and took a deep breath and let out a long sigh.

  "I hit that jerk Crutch with a branch. He's laying on the path back there," Portia pointed back the way they had come.

  Gust looked at her in disbelief.

  "Well, he was gonna kick Shy while he was laying there!" She said defensively. "He said it was time for payback. He had a bunch of his stupid friends there with him too."

  Gust stood up. "I will want to talk to you." He pointed at Shy. "Can you all bring him back to the Lodge?" He asked the other three. When they indicated that they would, he said, "I need to go clean up your mess down here, I guess." With that, he frowned at Portia, who gave him her most innocent smile, and quickly turned and jogged down the path towards Crutch.

  "What was it? How did you get free?" Daniel asked.

  "Why were you in the trees?" Portia added.

  "I didn't really get a good look at that thing," Shy answered Daniel's question. "I saw scaly talons that grabbed my shoulders. Oh, and the beak… the beak was bizarre. It opened sideways! That was all I could see. There wasn't much time."

  Portia was obviously lost, so Shy explained more for her benefit, as they walked.

  "Some kind of a huge flying monster picked me up and was carrying me away." He said, trying to sound like it was no big deal. Portia looked at Shy with a face that bordered on disbelief.

  "How did you get away? Did it put you down?" Daniel asked again.

  "No, I tickled it." Shy said. He looked at the three friends, and could see the disbelief in their eyes. "Really… I did."

  He spent the rest of the walk back to the Lodge explaining what had happened.

  Chapter Thirteen:

  "The recipe is power."

  The girls and Daniel loitered outside the Lodge, while Shy was interrogated by Clancy, Gust, and the counselors. The Cave cabin counselor soon left to check on Crutch. Gust had brought him back to his cabins and gotten him settled, after determining he would be fine. Eventually, after what seemed like hours of retelling the story, and getting checked over yet again by Clancy, Shy was allowed to head back to the Forest cabins, accompanied by Tad. As Shy stepped out the back door of the lodge, onto the picnic grounds that were dimly lit by a light on the back of the lodge, he
was immediately accosted by Claire. She scolded Shy to the point that Tad, smiling heartily, had to finally step in. Shy, while he pretended to listen to Claire, kept sneaking glances at Portia. It seemed like, more often than not, she was also looking at him.

  After Tad sent the girls off to their cabins, he stepped back in to find Meg, and the multi colored hair was soon bobbing off in that direction, hot on their trail.

  "I hope they don't get in trouble for helping us," Daniel said.

  "They won't," Tad replied as he stepped back out with the boys. "Now, the real question is…. Where are the rest of 'us'?"

  Daniel made a gesture that implied he didn't know what Tad was talking about.

  "Oh, don't give me that." Tad smiled. "I know you guys by now. You," and he pointed to Daniel, "plan out everything. Where are the rest of the guys? So we can gather them all up and get back to the cabins."

  "I think they were planning on heading back in a couple hours if nothing happened. Most of them were on the river gorge path." Daniel finally said after some hesitation. "Here…" He pulls out a crudely drawn map, with names placed throughout.

  Tad looks at the map, and then, shaking his head with a smile he said, "Wait here… I'll be right back." He headed back into the lodge, yet again, and returned without the map.

  "All right. Let's go." Tad said as he shooed them up the hillside toward their cabins.

  ***

  The next several days Shy rested his bruises. On the third, he was going to attempt running with Daniel again after breakfast. On that morning, he rose from his hammock, feeling good. He stretched and then checked the box, which he now kept hidden in his pillow case. He had not even seen Tom T since the day the nisse had warned him. He resolved to bring back a treat from breakfast and try to find him before the run. He had more questions for the creature. The other boys still hadn't mentioned the treasure, or the box. It weighed heavily on Shy's mind, however, and the end of camp was fast approaching. He was happy with his decision to take the box home if he had to, but after the incident with the flying creature the other night, he was worried that he might not make it home. Maybe he could talk to Tad about it? The counselor was dressing on the other side of the Raven.