The look of the forest was in stark contrast to Action Alley. In front of Tess were tall, dark trees; tall enough that she couldn’t see the highest branches. Tess glanced ahead to check the path she had to travel only to notice that it disappeared a few steps into the forest. All she could see in the distance were small blue images. Tess was scared and frustrated.
Tess’ cell phone rang. It was the dolls. Wendy spoke to her. “Tess, listen to me closely. We can see what you see and will give you directions through your cell phone. Ensure that you cover the phone with your hand to prevent its light from showing. The blue lights react to noise and light, so you’ll also have to be really quiet.”
Into the forest Tess crept, slowly and reluctantly. The dolls gave her great directions which helped Tess gain confidence and move along pretty fast. Crack, crinkle, snap! Tess froze in fear. She had stepped on a dry twig. Its snap echoed throughout the entire forest. The sound of a whirling hiss grew and the next thing Tess saw was a buzz of blue lights headed in her direction. “Run!” said the dolls.
Tess started to run as fast as she could. She dropped her bat and forgot to close her cell phone. The light from the cell phone helped the blue lights zero in on Tess’ location. They sped up and grew in numbers and then Tess slipped and fell to the ground. The blue lights immediately covered her entire body. She lost her glow and the blue lights began to smother the nine year old.
Good thing for Tess that the dolls contacted Garrett Rangoe. He was Tram’s half brother, was a good guy, and wanted to get even with Tram. In milliseconds, he was in the Special Blue Light Forest. Garrett was more powerful than anyone in Vensalia other than Tram. He was
dressed in a bright orange jumpsuit emboldened with the letters GR on his chest. He saw the mound of blue lights covering Tess and whisked them off of her with the mere movement of his hands.
Tess was unconscious, so Garrett flew them out of the forest and into a clearing where he lay the little girl down. He put his hand on Tess’ face and she began to wake up.
“Daddy, how did you get here?” asked Tess.
Garrett smiled at her. “You got me mixed up with somebuddy else little lady. I’m Garrett Rangoe, but you can call me Gee-arr!”
“Thank you for saving me. I couldn’t breathe. You look like my father.” Tess continued to gather her senses. “We have to save the Alpha Twins.”
“I know about yer troubles. I’ll help you save those little whippersnappers.” He pointed to his left. “That thurr is Backdoor Mountain.”
The ground beneath them started to shake violently and the sky became pitch black. Tess looked to Garett and asked, “what is happening Mr. Garett?”
“It’s Tram,” he said.
Tram Mercantile and his mass army appeared before them. The Alpha Twins were in tow. Tram was a beastly sight, and all of his soldiers were smaller versions of their leader. His body was covered with perfectly angled knife blades. The looks of an evil tyrant, his eyes were blood red bulbs. His voice was a gruff series of echoes. “Howww dareee youu showw yourrr faceee innn myyy, domainnn?” He pointed to the Alpha Twins. “Isss thisss whattt youu wanttt?”
“Pleasure to see you bro. Bout time you showed up. I’m here to help this little lady and to put y’all out of business.”
Tram signaled to his army and immobilized Garrett. Tram’s foot soldiers grabbed Garrett and began to pull him apart.
“Stop,” cried Tess. “Please don’t hurt Mr. Garrett. He saved my life.” Tess remembered the iPOD and she turned it on. Immediately all of the mass army soldiers covered their ears, fell to their knees and started to wail in pain.
Garrett looked up and started to smile. “Looks like she bout got ya brother.”
Tram was incredulous. He turned to Tess and used his powers to remove the iPOD from her hands.
He grabbed it out of mid air and looked at it. “Whattt isss thisss?” Tram’s eyes turned off and his blades closed into his body. He fell to his knees and looked at Tess. “Whyyy, whyyy,” he said. Tram fell completely to the ground motionless.
“What happened to him?” asked Tess. “I didn’t want to hurt him.”
“Little lady, he hurt himself. He forgot the golden rule of Vensailia. He touched a device from the real world with his bare hands.”
The entire mass army stopped their wailing and stood up. They were individuals again, dolls and toys of all types. The Alpha Twins were also free. The former mass army soldiers thanked Tess for freeing them and handed over the Alpha Twins. Garrett put his hands on Tess and the Alpha Twins and snapped his fingers. They were instantly transported back to the village with Wendy, Bianca, and Diva.
“Thank you, Garrett, I knew you’d come through,” said Wendy. Bianca and Diva also greeted Garrett with hugs and kisses.
“No problem y’all.” Garrett said goodbye to Tess and flew away.
“Tess, we’re proud of you too. We knew you could do it.”
“I had my doubts, but I’m glad you’re okay,” said Bianca.
“I’m so happy, I could cry,” said Diva.
Wendy, Bianca, and Diva put their necklaces together and instructed Tess to lie down on the little sofa. They said their goodbyes, as did Tess. Tess and Diva both cried.
“Hey little lady, time to wake up,” said Bill.
Tess thought that Garrett was calling her until she opened her eyes. She was home, in her own room. She ran to embrace her daddy.
“I guess you had a good nights sleep,” said Bill.
“Sure did daddy.” Tess smiled and looked over her shoulders to see her Wendy, Bianca, and Diva dolls. To Tess’ surprise, each doll gave her a wink.
Saturday Night Adventure Page 2