A Little Luck

Todd and O'Neil watched the boat explosion with different reactions. Todd was quiet and beside himself while O'Neil was aglow. O'Neil turned to Todd with a cruel grin. He held out the shiny, silver gun. "You know what that means?" "No. She could still be alive." Todd pleads. O'Neil shakes his head. "Not a chance." O'Neil aims the gun at Todd's face. "She's gone just like you. Now say your prayers." Todd nervously leans his head back. A second later he hears a loud crack. His chair leg snapped in half, causing him to fall backwards. Todd kicked O'Neil in the stomach as he was going down, making O'Neil accidentally shoot the lights out. Todd struggled in the dark to set himself free. He could hear O'Neil getting to his feet, and knew he didn't have much time. He freed one arm and grabbed the broken chair leg. He then waited in silence, listening carefully to O'Neil's footsteps. When he felt O'Neil was close enough, he swung as hard as he could. Whack! He hit O'Neil in the back of the knees, causing him to topple over. Todd wasted no more time. He wormed out of the chair. After that he snagged my cape that had bound him. He exited the room down the long and winding hallway, running as fast as he could.

New Land

The blast from the explosion pushed Olivia further down. She was able to fight her way to the surface, but violent waves threw her back. It was a struggle to stay afloat. Fortunately, the sea gave up tossing her around. She was then washed up on a beach. This was not, however, the island that she came to know and loathe. It was a different land. Much smaller. She could easily see from one end to the other of this island. Olivia sat up straight. She was still somehow clutching the diary in her right hand.  Curious as ever to find out who the book belonged to she threw it open, but it was impossible to read. The ink was running off the pages. Frustrated, Olivia tossed the book to the side. Even though  the book was closed the ink continued to run. It dripped out of pages and formed a black river that curved and turned into a black pool that collected at Olivia's feet. Olivia looked down into the thick, ink puddle to see two white, beady eyes. The head of a crow then emerged from the ink puddle followed by the rest of its body. Olivia tried to make the best of this bizarre situation. "Hello, little crow." She said to her new friend, but then another came out of the ink puddle. "Oh, there's another- "  Another crow came out of the ink puddle before she could finish her sentence, followed by more and more crows. Eventually the ink puddle was completely gone and she had a murder of crows before her. "My, my." The crows squawked and shrieked. It was a horrible sound. Olivia didn't like it one bit. She covered her ears, but they somehow squawked louder. Olivia got up to walk away. The crows encircled her. She shielded her face and attempted to bat them away, but they were too fast. They each grabbed a bit of her clothing with their beaks. Olivia kicked and screamed as they carried her off. The crows flew her  a mile away to the other side of the island. They placed her carefully on the sand. Olivia couldn't see where she was at fist because all the crows were obstructing her vision. When the crows finally settled, Olivia could see that she was standing face to face with the scarecrow know as Madam. But the strangest thing was that it had the Purple Haired Woman's face.

Hidden Temple

I was on the bridge, high above the Earth when I heard the bomb go off. The vibrations from the explosion caused the bridge to sway. Freddy and and Norm were able to keep their footing, but I lost my balance. I toppled over, landing flat on my face. Thankfully, Freddy and Norm helped me back up. "What was that?!" I shouted. "Sounded like an explosive of some sort." Norm replies. "You think she's ok?" I ask. "Yeah, I'm sure." Norm says casually. "I'm going back." "No you're not." "Yes, I am." Norm sighs and gives Freddy a look. The two of them get on either sides of me. They then drag me to the end of the bridge. "I'm going back!" I insist. "You can, but you won't get your wallet." Norm says. "You think my wallet is more important?" "Depends. What did you have in there?" Norm asks. "Nothing that's not replaceable." Norm shrugs. "You can go, but your wallet is only a few feet away." "Really?" I ask, doubtfully. "Really." I reluctantly follow them. We climb up three feet of branches to a semi raised plateau on thick branch. We walk a shot distance down the plateau. There I see my wallet at the bottom of a set of wooden stairs that lead to a small temple. The temple has a raised roof and three Griffins made out of stone that appear to be guarding it. Two Griffins are at the top of the stairs on either side of a huge oak door, and one sits on the roof. I grab my wallet and place it in my pocket. I whistle at the sight before me. I knew then that it would be almost foolish not to venture inside.

Unlikely Warning

Olivia stayed behind in the fishing boat. Curiosity outweighed anything else. She wanted to know who this mysterious person was. On the hammock she found an old, leather bound book. The pages yellowed with time. Olivia cracked open the book. A few of the pages disintegrated, but the rest remained intact. It appeared to be written with a quill pen by someone with bad handwriting. Olivia squinted her eyes to read the chicken scratches, but the crackling of the antique radio disturbed her concentration. "Hello, old friend." It was Sgt. Rogers' voice. "I came to give you fair warning. All eyes are on you. In fact we even have eyes in the sky." At that moment Olivia could hear the blades of the helicopter directly overhead. "If I were you I'd get out right now." Olivia clasps the book shut. "You can choose not to believe me,but I wouldn't." Sgt. Rodgers continues. Olivia clutches the book in her right hand and heads for the exit. She holds her breath, diving deep underwater so as not to be seen by the helicopter.She swims so far underwater that she almost touches the floor. High above ground in the helicopter, the pilot, Eagle Eyes awaits his orders. "Eagle Eyes, I want you to strike now!" Sgt. Rodgers commanded over his radio. The pilot pressed a big, red button. Half a second later a bomb fell out of the helicopter. It landed square on the fishing boat causing a gigantic orange explosion that hurled flaming debris across the sea.

Planning Her Demise

Jones was tied to a tree and his mouth was taped shut. He saw Sgt. Rodgers and a few of her soldiers on the rocks looking out to sea. He had no idea what they were up to, but he knew it was no good. He tried to yell for help, but the only one who heard his muffled screams was Sgt. Rodgers.  She turned and marched to him. With a sinister smile, she yanked the tape off his mouth. "I suppose you're wondering what we were talking about." She says. "You know I am." Sgt. Rodgers nods. "You see, we were wondering if she would see us." "And the verdict is?" "Well, we used high powered binoculars, and we could still barely make out any detail of the boat. It appears she is much further than we realized." "She is." Jones replies. "That's good because it means she can't see us. However, it would still be difficult to sneak up on her. She would probably hear us as soon as we got anywhere remotely close. I guess I could cut back on my manpower for this particular mission." "Or you could not try to kill her." Jones blurts. Sgt. Rodgers chuckles. "Why are you doing this?" He asks. Sgt. Rodgers firmly places the tape back on his mouth. "There is one more option." She says out loud. Sgt. Rodgers clicks on her walkie talkie and holds it up to her mouth. "Eagle Eyes, when I say so I want you to drop the bomb."

Saving the Goat

Saving the mysterious goat was no light task. It was painfully exhausting for Jones. Thankfully, the waters were kinder to Jones on the way back to the shore. Jones let the goat swim by itself once they were only feet away from the rocks. The goat paddled to the shore as if nothing had happened. Jones collapsed as soon as he got to the rocks. He had done a good thing and now he knew he could rest. "Nicely done, private." Jones craned his neck to see Sgt. Rodgers standing over him. "You led us right to her." Sgt. Rodgers continues. Jones, in shock, searches for words. "Don't worry. For this I will let you live. But you haven't earned my trust yet. Take him away." Two nearby soldiers lift Jones off the rocks and carry him away.

Persuade Me

"Are you kidding me? I'm not climbing a tree." I shout in frustration to Norm. "But it's a way out." "No, it isn't. It's a way up." "Yes a way up, and a way out." He replies. I shake my head and start to walk away. "No, don't go." "I have to. Olivia is over there." "I know, but she'll be fine." He says as a matter of fact. "An army is after her." I remind. "Yes, and she will be fine. You need to leave." "I'm not going up the tree." "Then you leave me no choice." Norm scurries behind me. He quickly takes my wallet. Before I can even attempt to snag it back he throws it with all his might so that it lands near the top of the tallest tree house. "Now you have to climb." He says with a grin. I did the only thing I could think of at the time. I pushed him down. I know it doesn't solve anything, and PETA will probably be on me about it, but it sure as hell felt good. Besides he was fine.