Praises for
E.G. CARTER’S
CARLOUSIA
The Passing of the Guard
Mrs. Donna Love’s class of advanced creative writing students…
Dillon M. writes… "I enjoyed this book greatly. I liked this book because the author kept straight to the point and did not allow for any disruptions. Secondly, this book came close to home. Carlousia allowed me to imagine how I wanted my early childhood summers to be."
Rachel M. writes… "The plot is creative. It is not like all other fantasy books; I especially love how the bracelet is the key to Carlousia. I also love how there are so many twists and turns. Eddie finds out something new in every chapter, and the plot is never boring."
Max G. writes… "What I liked about the book is that there are strong relationships. The three boys had strong faith in each other and could keep secrets among each other very well. They had great adventures with each other and they each had different personalities."
Alex S. writes… "As I read this book, I enjoyed adventures, especially the concept of the magical ark. I also enjoyed the other magical powers that came with going to the new world. The setting was a great choice because it relates to many boys and it opens their imaginations."
Anna A. writes… "One of my favorite things about the book was the character Wahhaha. I enjoyed the unique ways in which he helped and led Eddie and his sense of humor. I also loved the creative ways the author made Carlousia unlike any other world with the Solphins, arks, etc. I also enjoyed the descriptiveness on the valley of the snakes."
CARLOUSIA
The Passing of the Guard
by
E. G. CARTER
Illustrations by Alessandro Vene
iUniverse, Inc.
Bloomington
Carlousia
The Passing of the Guard
Copyright © 2011 E. G. Carter
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Carlousia books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:
Carlousia, LLC
PO BOX 123
Braselton, GA 30517
www.Carlousia.com
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any Web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
ISBN: 978-1-4620-5528-9 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4620-5529-6 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-4620-5530-2 (e)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2011917538
Printed in the United States of America
iUniverse rev. date: 11/11/2011
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This book is dedicated to the strongest person that I know, and my biggest hero on the face of this beautiful planet…my wife Liz Carter. I could never be the man I am today, without you in my life…I love you with all my heart!
The Author’s note
Never give up on your dreams! It doesn’t matter how old you are, what people have said you can or cannot do, or how people see you…never, and I mean never, give up on your dreams! If I would have listened to many people in my adult life, I would never have accomplished this dream, and you wouldn’t have the opportunity, to go on a wonderful adventure. Surround yourself with people that believe in you, and you too, will believe in yourself.
I was not born or taught to write books, or for that matter, to write anything. I’ve always been an incredible story teller, but to put words on a piece of paper, was a daunting task for me, and something I avoided as much as possible, because when I did, it did not go well, and many told me to stick with what came easy, talking…not writing!
It was my first year of college, at Lees McRae in North Carolina, that I learned that I had a learning disability, dyslexia. As I grew up, I excelled in science, history, and math, but I struggled miserably with English, literature and spelling. I was blessed with a wonderful teacher, in college, Mrs. Smith, who realized I wasn’t necessarily lopsided; I had dyslexia, and simply had not learned how to overcome this disability.
Thank you Mrs. Smith, for taking the time to teach me to learn in a different way than I had been taught during secondary school and for believing I could do more. Without Mrs. Smith’s patience and encouragement, I would never have taken the steps to enter a new career, much later in my life, and had the ability to see it through.
Contents
Prologue
CHAPTER 1 Drayton Woods
CHAPTER 2 Adam Caskitt
CHAPTER 3 The Tree House
CHAPTER 4 Passing of the Guard
CHAPTER 5 The Bracelet
CHAPTER 6 The First Visit
CHAPTER 7 Understanding Carlousia
CHAPTER 8 Caught by Sara Ellen
CHAPTER 9 Checking in
CHAPTER 10 Returning to Carlousia
CHAPTER 11 A Solphin
CHAPTER 12 Ackari City
CHAPTER 13 The Ark
CHAPTER 14 Facing His Friends
CHAPTER 15 Mr. Caskitt Sees the Bracelet
CHAPTER 16 Figuring Out the Time
CHAPTER 17 Riding the Swollen Peachtree Creek
CHAPTER 18 Forced into Carlousia
CHAPTER 19 Unexpected Guests
CHAPTER 20 A Second Guardian
CHAPTER 21 Scotty Rides a Solphin
CHAPTER 22 The Ormoks
CHAPTER 23 Dan Gives In
CHAPTER 24 Three Guardians
CHAPTER 25 Dan Becomes a Guardian
CHAPTER 26 The Journey Begins
CHAPTER 27 The Valley of the Snakes
CHAPTER 28 It’s Too Easy
CHAPTER 29 Forced into the Cave
CHAPTER 30 The Grid
CHAPTER 31 The Cavern
CHAPTER 32 Learning About the Torp
CHAPTER 33 Scotty Must Get Home
CHAPTER 34 Secrets
CHAPTER 35 The Undrens
CHAPTER 36 Finalizing the plan
CHAPTER 37 The Rescue
Acknowledgments
Prologue
There comes a time in every persons life, when they are expected to start acting like a young adult. That special age mark is around 16 years old. Like it or not, parents expect a 16 year old to put most, not all, but most of their childish things away, and to start acting like an adult. It’s only two short years from being 18 years old, when the world expects you, to act like an adult. 16, is a special age that young kids think about becoming and older people think about going back to.
As Eddie sat on the floor, at his grandfather’s feet, he was doing one of his most favorite things in the world…listening to his grandfather tell another adventure story about the people of Carlousia. He loved the way his grandfather’s voice sounded, when he told stories about the people of Carlousia, and how he helped them fight evil. But on this day, Eddie’s mind wandered, when he once again heard about the magical age of the Guardian, when he entered Carlousia.
‘Pop always starts off these stories saying that every time he goes back to Carlousia he turns 16 years old. Eddie said to himself, day dreaming, as his eyes left his grandfather and settled on a small bug crawling under his grandfather’s rocking chair. The bug bumped into the rocker leg of the chair, like it didn’t even see the huge wooden wall that suddenly appeared in front of him, staggered back, got control, and climbed over the rocker leg to the other side. I wonder what’s so great about being 16?
Eddie’s eyes followed the bug as his thoughts traveled through his mind, Well Dad did just buy that new Camaro SS and when I turn 16, the first thing I’m doing, is driving it up to the school so that all my friends will think I’m the coolest…
Eddie was suddenly snapped out of his daydream, by his grandfather’s booming voice, “Eddie!” he said. “Are you paying attention?”
“Oh…uh, uh, yea,” Eddie responded as he locked eyes with his grandfather, “I was just thinking how cool it would be to be 16.”
“Well…good,” Pop said, as a big satisfying grin climbed up his face, followed by a slight head nod, “because this story is about when I was 25 years old here in Drayton Woods and I still turned 16 when I went back to Carlousia, but…” he paused the story, extending his index finger straight up in the air, and as he scanned Eddie’s face, letting the tension build, he said with wide eyes, “I almost got killed!”
CHAPTER 1
Drayton Woods
“WHO’S THE HOT CHICK?”
On his last armload delivery into the house, Eddie noticed a small group of kids standing in the front yard of the large, red, house next door. They were watching the Caskitt’s move in, and just as Eddie walked by, the largest boy of the group blurted this question out.
“You talk’in to me?” Eddie asked, changing his direction and making his way towards the kids. Eddie looked back over his shoulder, to make sure his Dad had not seen him exit the yard. He was looking for any excuse to stop working on this beautiful, bright summer day. And just maybe, he could sneak away and jump in that cool-looking neighborhood pool, down the street, his Dad had shown him!
“Who else is mov’in in?” the largest boy asked, like he was talking to someone stupid. “Duh!”
“What hot chick?” Eddie asked confused, walking up to the group.
“That one, Dorko, the one moving in with you.”
The same boy said with a wrinkled face, as if he smelled something bad, pointing at a girl coming out of the front door of Eddie’s house.
Following the boy’s extended arm, down to his pointed finger, Eddie realized in shock, who he was taking about. “That’s not a hot chick,” Eddie said with disgust, “that’s my sister, Sheryl…YUCK!” Eddie finished, snapping back around to the group.
The younger boy quickly interrupted, “Don’t mind him. He always says dumb things like that.”
“I’ll dumb things you later, Dan,” the older boy mumbled, as he walked off in the direction of Sheryl.
“Hey there, need some help?” the older boy called, his demeanor changed to drippy sweetness.
“Don’t mind him,” a boy that looked to be Eddie’s age said, with a hand wave. “I’m Dan, and the big goofy bully is my older brother Huck.”
“Hey, I’m Eddie and that’s my older sister Sheryl,” Eddie said, pointing to his sister who was now giggling at Huck as he insisted on carrying her next box into the house for her.
“And I’m Sara Ellen,” a pretty girl said, jumping in the middle between Dan and Eddie with a huge smile on her face.
Eddie noticed Sara Ellen’s bubbly personality right away. He liked that. She wore her long blond hair in a ponytail, a style that accentuated her high cheekbones, and the many freckles that dotted her face.
“Welcome to Drayton Woods,” she continued, “let me tell you allllll about it,” and took a deep breath. “We have lots to do here…”
Dan rolled his eyes.
“Jeez, come on, I can show you around a little bit and just maybe, we can do it without Miss Busy Body, my little sister.”
Dan reached over and grabbed Eddie’s shoulder, turned him away from Sara Ellen, and to more interesting things. Eddie glanced back just in time to see Sara Ellen stomp her foot with frustration, fold her arms, and let out a little huff.
Drayton Woods
“Welcome to the neighborhood, Eddie! This is my yard and tree fort. You’re welcome to use it anytime you want,” Dan offered. “Do you have time for a quick tour?”
Eddie smiled; this was just what he was looking for. He had worried about making new friends, but Dan seemed to be a good guy, and Eddie liked him right away.
“Sure, I was getting bored with moving boxes. I’m sure my parents won’t mind, now that they’ve got your older brother to help.”
“Okay, so you know the coolest thing about our houses, right?” Dan blurted out in excitement, his blue eyes shining. “Our houses are the only ones that back up to the open field between our neighborhood and Peachtree Creek,” he finished, beaming with pride.
As they turned the corner, Eddie spied an open field of yellow, red, blue, and purple wild flowers, that continued pass the horizon as far as he could see. He turned and glanced back at his house, noticing a solid line of enormous oak trees that appeared to reach the sky. They lined the back of his house and then continued down the back of the Perry’s house. Just beyond the trees was a large patch of bamboo shooting out of the ground. The bamboo started at the tip of his side yard and created a visual boundary all the way to the creek.
“Wow!” Eddie exclaimed, overwhelmed with the scenery, while he continued to take in the field. “Why didn’t they build houses back here?”
“Because when it rains really hard, Peachtree Creek floods the place,” Dan said. “You should see how big the creek gets, and when it does, it’s like a raging river. But when it dries up we play softball, football, you name it out here, and it’s in our backyards!”
Eddie was filled with relief. The worries of moving into a new neighborhood, making new friends, and starting a new school at the end of summer, had been weighing on him pretty hard. Within the few minutes that he had spent with Dan, Eddie realized that the adventurous summer he was hoping for, might just happen after all. And maybe all these new things would help ease the pain of having his grandfather in the hospital.
“See over there, across the field?” Dan said while pointing. “That’s the bridge that leads to the pool and this is our backyards. We can explore and find all kinds of things. There’s the creek that runs next to my house,” Dan said, tugging Eddie around to the other side. “And it runs down through the far end of the field, you see, next to the parking lot for the pool, and into Peachtree Creek below the bridge.”
“That’s cool,” Eddie said, caught up in the excitement, appreciating how lucky they were.
Dan and Eddie crossed the street that ran next to Dan’s house, and walked down into the smaller feeder creek that Dan had shown him. They hiked their way along the bank of the creek and towards the main road. Up ahead was a big, silver, drainpipe that ran under the main road, delivering water to this side of the small creek.
“Wow, this is a big drain pipe,” Eddie said, looking into the pipe. He’d never seen anything like it, not where he was from.
“Yea, it’s at least eight feet tall all the way through,” Dan boasted, as if he were the one who had actually installed the pipe. “That’s why I wanted to show it to you. This is one of my cool places I like to explore.”
Eddie was following Dan up the three-foot slope to enter the pipe, when they were startled by a loud growl, which seemed part human, and part animal.
Stunned for a moment, Eddie snapped his head around as Dan yelled, “Darn it, Scotty!”
An athletically built kid stood behind them laughing while holding his stomach…Eddie let out a sigh of relief.
“This is the wild Scotty Banes,” Dan said, as the red from anger, drained out of his face, “the craziest friend I have.” Dan pointed to Eddie with his thumb. “Scotty, meet Eddie. He just moved in next door.”
Scotty jumped up and shook Eddie’s hand, very fast, and furious.
“Good to meet you. Scotty Banes here, and don’t believe everything Dan says about me. I am not the craziest friend he has. I’m just the most fun!” And with that, he let out another big, hearty laugh.
Scotty told Eddie that he lived in a big white house, on the opposite side of the creek from Dan. The back of his house faced the creek, and his driveway came out right next to the drainpipe on the main road.
Dan shook his finger at Scotty.
“You’ll always have fun when Scotty’s around, but most of the time that means we’re in trouble with our parents. Hey, I was just showing Eddie around, you wanna come?”
“Sure.” Scotty replied.
The boys climbed out of the pipe and headed down the small feeder creek, towards the larger Peachtree Creek. As Eddie hopped down, he noticed a smoky mist, hovering along the small stream of water trickling down the pipe. He got a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, the mist looked as if it were coming from the side of the tunnel, and Eddie had a weird sense that he’d seen this mist before. He glanced over his shoulder again, and the fog moved around him. Odd, he thought, very odd.
When he lagged behind, Dan and Scotty stopped and looked back at Eddie.
“Are you coming?” Dan asked.
“Yea, yea, sure,” he said, jumping off the ledge, and down to the bank.
“You okay?” Scotty asked. “You look like you just saw a ghost.”
Eddie shuddered, from the creepy feeling that made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. “Yea, I’m okay,” he said uneasy. “I thought I saw something back there. I’m probably still jumpy after you scared Dan and me half to death.”
Scotty gave him the thumbs up.
“I’m pretty good at that!”
As they made their way further down the creek, Dan continued telling stories of their past adventures, like riding down the swollen creek, or when they dammed the creek and accidentally flooded everyone’s backyards.
Eddie knew his eyes, had to be as big as silver dollars, as he excitedly took everything in. He shook off the creepy feeling the mist had given him, as Dan’s stories got brighter. He couldn’t let something like that damper the excitement of seeing the new neighborhood, and now that Eddie had met Scotty, he was sure this was going to be the best summer, ever.
CHAPTER 2
Adam Caskitt
“CAN ANYONE BUT ME hear the phone?” Eddie’s father asked, annoyed, pulling his head out of a large moving box. “Get that, somebody. I’m stuck back here behind the boxes.”
“I can’t find it, Dad,” Sheryl said, wildly tossing clothes around, trying to find the ringing sound.
“It’s right there, dear, under that one,” Shirley Caskitt said, after putting down an armload of books, and pointing to a pile of flannel clothing.
Why am I always the one helping? Where’s the little pest when there is work to do? Sheryl thought, as she dug through the pile, at the direction of her Mom, and grabbed the phone.
“Hello…no, this is Sheryl. One moment please.” She pulled herself up from the floor, and worked herself around several boxes, to hand the phone to her father. “It’s for you.”
“Gene Caskitt,” he said, holding the phone with his neck, trying not to drop the papers that were under his arm, along with the papers that were still in his hands. “Yes….” Mr. Caskitt facial expressions changed to concern, and he slowly dropped his arms holding the papers, letting them flutter to the ground…the papers were suddenly not important anymore.
“Okay, we’ll be up there as soon as we can.” Mr. Caskitt grabbed the phone with one hand as he rubbed the back of his neck with his other. “Yes, I understand, thank you.” Mr. Caskitt looked for a place to sit down, while he turned and hung up the phone.
Mrs. Caskitt put down the books and asked, “What is it?”
“It’s Pop,” he whispered, as his gaze went from the phone to the floor, and in one motion he sat down on the box next to the phone. “He’s getting weaker, and the hospital doesn’t know how much longer he’ll last. They thought it would be best, if we got up there soon…to say our goodbyes.”
“Oh, Gene, I’m sorry,” Mrs. Caskitt said, as she placed a comforting hand, on her husband’s shoulder.
“Where’s Eddie? This is going to hit him pretty hard,” Mr. Caskitt asked in almost a whisper.
Sheryl suddenly felt bad about her last thoughts.
“I saw him go and talk to the kids next door. I’ll go look for him Dad,” she volunteered.
Mr. Caskitt felt a wave of sadness overwhelm him, he found himself reflecting back, to the last time the family was together, and that visit didn’t end well.
Adam Caskitt, or “Pop”, as the family called him, was Gene Caskitt’s 84-year-old father. He was always full of stories about some far away land. At times, maybe when he was drinking a bit, he would talk as if he had actually been to the places he talked about. The kids would gather around his feet to listen to his stories, and would hang on every word, as he proceeded to “spin yarn,” as they would say.
Mr. Caskitt would typically interrupt his stories to say, “Pop, do me a favor, every once in a while let the kids know that you’re just teasing them, and, that these ridiculous stories are made up, just for fun.”
Pop would always respond, “Oh, yea Gene, I’m sorry. Kids, these stories are just for entertainment, isn’t that right?” Then he would promptly look at the children, give them a big wink, and they would all scream, YES, and beg him to tell more.
Mr. Caskitt would watch Eddie, listening intently to his grandfather, and see that he hung on every word. Eddie would often listen to these stories and would wait until his father was tucking him in bed, to ask questions. It was only a few months ago, that the family had all stayed together, across town at Pop’s farmhouse, and, on this occasion he decided to ask his dad to explain a few things in Pop’s stories.
“Dad?” Eddie asked, as he pulled the covers up to his chin.
“Yes, son?” Mr. Caskitt responded, helping Eddie get comfortable.
“Pop said that there is a land, that’s parallel to ours. What does that mean?”
“Pop is an old man, Eddie,” he said, leaning down closer, “and sometimes, old men stretch the truth, and make up stories. They spin yarn, to make themselves be someone, they wanted to be.”
“But you didn’t answer me, Dad,” Eddie challenged.
Mr. Caskitt shook his head, frustrated, and let out a big sigh.
“Pop used to tell me those crazy stories too, they’re not real,” he whispered, “they used to scare me and I’d even had nightmares. Does this happen to you, Eddie?”
“No, not at all Dad,” Eddie replied, with a big grin on his face, “I love’em!”
“Okay, well, try and get some sleep,” his dad said with a yawn.
“Dad, you still didn’t answer my question,” Eddie pleaded, reaching out for answers from his dad. “What does it mean when someone says, there’s a land parallel to ours?”
Mr. Caskitt held his son’s hand for a minute, searching for the correct words, but couldn’t find them. So he said, what every parent says, when they don’t want to explain something, “It means that you need to go to sleep and don’t need to worry about imaginary worlds. Goodnight son.” He turned off the light and ended the conversation, with a gently closed door.
Now Mr. Caskitt reflected back on that night, as he changed his clothes for the hospital visit. His heart was heavy, as he remembered the last conversation he had with his father, before Pop was admitted to the hospital, regarding Eddie’s latest questions.
“Pop, you need to lighten up on the stories with the parallel worlds and all,” Mr. Caskitt said, irritated and with a furled brow. “Eddie’s going to have nightmares, and Shirley and I are the ones that are going to be up in the middle of the night with him, not you.”
“He won’t have nightmares, Gene, he understands,” Pop responded, as he looked away from his son with a knowing grin, lowering himself down in his den chair.
“I did when you told me all that garbage, and I didn’t like it.”
“Well…he’s not you, is he Gene?” Pop argued, with a flippant wave of his hand. “He’s his own person,” Pop finished this last statement, with a quick snap of his head, to make eye contact with his son, “he’s Eddie!”
“He’s not me?” Mr. Caskitt replied, getting angrier and pointing at his own chest. “I know my own kid, and I am telling you to stop filling his head, with your wild stories.” Mr. Caskitt punctuated his points, by now pointing his index finger, at his father.
“Why, Gene,” Pop asked, not losing eye contact with his son, “because you never wanted to believe?” Pop let a sly grin climb his face, “because you had nightmares, and the one chance you had to go--”
“Don’t say it Pop! It’s not true!” Mr. Caskitt threw his arms over his head, in frustration, “these places,” Mr. Caskitt turned from his father and pointed his index finger at the wall, as he began to pace, “or this place, doesn’t exist!” He quickly spun back to his father, as the anger built, and said, “You were just a normal kid, Pop,” now pointing the same finger, at his father again, “you didn’t travel and help save another world.” Just as these last words, left his mouth, Mr. Caskitt remembered the nights filled with fear, after hearing his father’s wild stories. One night in particular, always stuck out in his mind, and Mr. Caskitt asked himself, Was it just a dream? It was so real…I don’t want this for my son.
“Oh, I didn’t travel to another world, huh?” Pop said sitting up straight, with a defiant look on his face. “You don’t get it!”
Mr. Caskitt ran both of his hands through his hair in frustration, let out a long sigh, trying to calm himself down, as he said, “I get more than you know.” He shook his head and placed both his hands on his hips. “I remember the times that you would just disappear for days, when I was a kid. Mom told me you were working to provide for us, so why make up wild stories of another world, instead of just telling the truth about work, like every other parent?” Pop just stared at the wall across the room. “It was okay to work Pop, hard work is nothing to be ashamed of, you should be proud.” He admired his father for taking care of them, and he wanted him to know it. He just didn’t want Eddie to be freaked out about the stories.
Pop continued his stare, at the wall just above the cupboard.
“You just don’t get it, Gene, because you refused to go.” Pop had had almost enough of this conversation, he let out a huff, stood up, and went to the refrigerator, grabbed a bottle of milk, poured himself a full glass, and said, “I went to places, and I made a difference, and if you would’ve gone--”
Mr. Caskitt interrupted his father again.
“How many times do we have to have this conversation?” he asked. “Maybe I don’t understand, but do I have to have, THIS conversation,” Mr. Caskitt now pointed his finger at the ground, at his father’s feet, as he leaned his chin in closer to his father, “over and over, again?” The silence hung in the room for a moment, as Pop stared at the bottom of his empty milk glass, before Mr. Caskitt finished with, “Just do me a favor and lighten up on Eddie.”
“Lighten up on Eddie,” Pop said, in a high pitched mocking voice, as he made his way around his son, and set his glass on the counter, “lighten up on Eddie, lighten up on Eddie,” he kept mocking, over and over again, as he walked down the hall, to his room, with his voice getting fainter and fainter. The next morning, Pop was up and gone, before anyone else was awake. These were the last words that Mr. Caskitt and Pop had said to each other, later that week Pop collapsed, and was taken to the hospital, where he now laid.
Mr. Caskitt made his way down stairs and asked, “Did anyone find Eddie?”
CHAPTER 3
The Tree House
EDDIE FOLLOWED DAN and Scotty, down the path away from the drainpipe, to a point where a well-traveled trail crossed the creek, winding through the tall bamboo. The dense foliage on either side made it difficult to see where it led.
“Welcome to the jungle,” proclaimed Scotty, “just around the corner you’ll see wild boars and…”
“So, where are we going?” Eddie interrupted.
Dan shook his head at Scotty’s antics, as he led the group.
“Keep your pants on, new boy,” Scotty said, out of the corner of his mouth, trying to sound scary, “we’re not taking you out, to be lost in the woods…like we did the other kid.”
“Knock it off, Scotty!” Dan said, as he looked at Eddie over his shoulder. “Eddie, we’re going to a tree house that Scotty and I built last year. It’s pretty cool. It’s in the middle fork of a huge oak tree.”
The boys rounded a corner in the trail, and came upon a vast, open grassland, with one huge oak tree in the center. It was as if the field had been cut away, just to reveal the tree. The foliage surrounding it was ankle high, yet perfectly manicured. The tree house was 30 feet off the ground, and sat exactly where Dan said it would be…in the middle of the largest branches, where the tree forked. The four branches came through the tree house, on each of the four walls, about three feet from the floor.
Eddie’s eyes were wide, as his thoughts raced. The tree looked as if it had started to grow inside the little house, and then as it grew, it picked the house up off the ground.
Standing beneath the tree, Eddie stared upwards…something was wrong, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
“Wow, this is an awesome tree house,” Eddie said, as the boys stood with their necks cocked upwards. The stairs were missing, or maybe they had a rope or ladder, he thought.
“You think he is going to get it?” Scotty asked, still pretending to stare skyward.
“Give him a minute,” stated Dan, looking in the same direction, with one eye on Eddie.
As the boys stood there, like three baby birds in a nest awaiting a worm, Eddie gained confidence and asked, “So where’re the stairs?”
“I told you he would get it!” said Dan, snapping his head over to Scotty.
“I was starting to get worried about you, Eddie,” Scotty said, and let out a huge, gut laugh.
“Okay, so how do we get into the tree house?” Eddie asked, pointing up the tree, truly entertained by the test that he just passed.
“This is the coolest part!” Dan exclaimed, as he walked to the other side of the tree, and got down on his knees. He picked up a combination lock that was hooked to the base of the tree, and entered the combination. He then grabbed, what looked like the bark of the tree in the shape of a handle, and pulled it toward himself.
“What the…?” Eddie asked, as he bent over Dan’s shoulder to get a closer look.
“This is another one of Dan’s inventions, Eddie, hang around with us long enough, and you’ll learn that Dan loves to fix and invent things. Sometimes things get blown up,” Scotty shrugged his shoulders like no big deal, “and sometimes things work well.” Scotty then spread all of his fingers out, very wide in Eddie’s face, and said, “But at least he has all his fingers.” Using a little southern slang, so that the word “finger” came out of his mouth like…“fean-gars”.
“Not funny, Scotty,” Dan mumbled as he worked. “You know I don’t like it, when you make fun of me.”
“Sorry, Dan,” Scotty said, leaning in while winking at Eddie.
Dan pulled the handle with both hands and then gave it a twist. All of a sudden, the front of the tree, where the steps should have been, pushed outward, and twisted into place with the same motion that Dan was making. The steps snapped into place as Dan locked the handle.
Eddie moved in for a closer look, and could see that the bark was attached to each step, in order to camouflage them into the tree.
“How cool is that?” Dan proudly boasted.
Eddie looked up, and then down the tree, he could not believe what he was seeing.
“Too, cool!” Eddie almost shouted.
Trying to push Dan’s buttons, Scotty announced, “You should’ve seen how long it took, for him to get it perfect!” Scotty made his way up the first rung, and then leaned back down, to get right in Eddie’s face, as he whispered, “I thought he’d never get it done,” and then continued up the tree.
“I did this, so no one else would be able to climb into our tree house…Mr. Smarty Pants,” Dan yelled up at Scotty, defending his invention.
Scotty let out a little snicker and said, “Whatever!” as he continued his assent up the tree. He loved picking at Dan.
Dan shook his head, and let out a sigh, while he watched Scotty climb.
“I’ll give you the combo later,” Dan calmly offered to Eddie.
The three boys climbed the stairs and entered the tree house through the trap door in the floor. Eddie looked around the room and saw a table with four chairs, a cooler for storing drinks on ice, and a battery powered TV/DVD on a milk crate. On the floor was a bucket full of tools, a slingshot, and an umbrella stand, with guns stacked in them.
“Great tree house, guys! What are the guns for?” Eddie asked, noticing the stash of weapons.
“In case some evil kids try to attack us,” Scotty said, grabbing one, and pointing it out the window.
“Yea, these are BB guns, in case we need to protect ourselves,” Dan said, as he scouted out the window.
Eddie walked around the tree protruding out of the floor in the center of the house, letting his hand glide across the bark lazily behind him, when he noticed an odd mist rising between the floorboards, from one side of the tree. He stopped to investigate, but was quickly distracted by the rope swing, hanging out on the small porch. Eddie loved rope swings! This one was on a two-foot landing, along the side of the tree house.
“Hey, guys a rope swing!”
Dan and Scotty quickly looked at each other, and Scotty got a big grin on his face, as he joined Eddie on the landing.
“No, my friend, that’s the emergency exit!” Scotty proudly stated. “It’s a little something that I created,” he said pointing at his chest. “You see it takes you down a 15-foot drop,” he paused and pointed to another tree, 30 feet from the tree house, “and see that other rope hanging on that tree?”
Eddie leaned his head in towards Scotty, and followed his arm out to his extended finger.
“Yea.”
“You land your foot on that board, just below the hook, grab the other rope, and swing down to the creek…” Scotty exclaimed, with wide eyes and excitement, finishing his statement looking right at Eddie, “E…MER…GEN…CY, EXIT! And it’s a gas!”
“He loves this kind of stuff, Eddie,” said Dan, awkwardly looking at his feet, “like I said before, it’s never boring when Scotty’s around.”
Eddie looked from Scotty, who was as excited as a kid with a new toy, to his new friend Dan, who was red faced and embarrassed, looking at the floor.
“Is something wrong?” Eddie asked Dan.
Scotty jumped in, moving his head forward and backwards, like a hen walking.
“He’s a C-H-I-C-K-E-N and has never had the nerve to do it, that’s what’s wrong.”
“I’d do it, if I had to,” Dan said, not looking up from the floor. “I just don’t see the reason to do it, if there’s not an emergency, that’s all.”
“Well,” Scotty stated puffing his chest out, “I take it on the way home every time, just because it’s fun.” Making the situation harder for Dan. “Do you want to try it, Eddie?” he challenged.
Dan snapped his gaze off the floor.
“Don’t feel like you have to, Eddie. He’s just showing off, because no one else is stupid enough to do it,” Dan said, now staring at Scotty.
“I’ll do it,” Eddie said, not taking his eyes off Scotty, “if you show me how first.”
Scotty’s mouth dropped open.
“What?” Dan asked in disbelief.
“I said, I’ll do it, if Scotty shows me how first.”
“Eddie, look man, you don’t have to do this,” Dan pleaded, stepping in between Eddie and Scotty, putting both hands on Eddie’s chest, hopefully trying to stop him from killing himself. “You do realize how high up we are, and that board on that tree over there, is as high as we are?”
“Yep,” Eddie said, not taking his eyes off Scotty, over Dan’s shoulder.
“Then let’s fly,” Scotty said, pushing Dan away. “I knew I liked you, Eddie!” he said, as he put his arm over Eddie’s shoulders, and slapped him on the back.
Dan backed away in a huff.
“I am not helping either one of you, when y’all fall and break your backs!” Crossing both his arms, across his chest, to make his point.
With a look of sheer defiance, Scotty took the rope swing off its hook, which was secured to one of the largest branches coming through the tree house. He put both hands together on the rope, just above his head, and took two steps back, extending his arms. He paused for a moment to take a deep breath, filling both his lungs with air, as he jumped straight up, into a crouched position on the rope. Scotty hung there, for just a second, before gravity took over, and pulled him towards the ground. Leaving the tree house, his toes just missed the edge of the platform…Scotty had timed everything perfectly, it wasn’t his first time. He gained momentum as he sailed towards the ground, extending his legs like Tarzan on a vine, just as the rope started to groan under his weight. The rope tightened at the bottom of the pendulum swing, and Scotty started his climb up the other side of the swings arc. Just as he started to lose speed and stall, Scotty swung his legs up above his head, and perfectly placed his left foot, onto the other tree’s board, using his momentum to help him stand. Balancing now, he let go of the first rope, and grabbed the second one off of its hook. He slowly shifted his weight over the end of the board, and like a domino falling, he was once again soaring towards the ground.
Just then a loud thud sounded off next to Eddie’s head. He turned towards the noise and saw a smaller, lead rope, was tied ten feet above the spot Scotty had held. The rope extended back to the side of the tree house, where a knot had stopped the swinging rope from going any further.
Dan saw that Eddie was looking at the knot.
“It’s so we can pull it back after someone swings. A little something I added for Scotty.”
Eddie arched both his eyebrows and thought, Huh? These guys think of everything!
Scotty continued his swing, reaching the bottom of that swing arc, at the bank of the creek, and jumped off, with only a three-foot drop, landing securely on both feet.
A second thud on the other side of Eddie sounded off.
“The second pull rope, right?” Eddie said to Dan, not taking his eyes off Scotty.
“You catch on fast,” Dan said sarcastically, all the while keeping his gaze on Scotty.
“That…was the best…flight…ever!” Scotty said, throwing his arms over his head, letting out a primordial scream.
“He always says that,” Dan commented, shaking his head. “I think he does it, just because he lived through it.”
Scotty spun around to Eddie and Dan.
“Okay big man!” raising his arm and pointing his index finger at Eddie. “That’s how it’s done and it’s your turn!”
Dan reached out and pulled the lead rope, retrieving the first rope swing.
“Eddie, you really don’t have to do this. You don’t have anything to prove,” Dan said, in a pleading way. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Dan, everything will be okay. I think I got this,” Eddie said confidently, pulling on the other lead rope.
Dan reluctantly held the rope swing, waiting for Eddie.
Eddie pulled the second rope swing in and secured it on the hook above the board across the way. He then moved over and took the rope from Dan, pulling it all the way back, placing his hands where he saw Scotty put his, and then turned to Dan.
“Okay man, if you splat on the ground, I really will come and help you, I was just kidding. PLEASE, just don’t kill yourself. The last thing I need, is for this to be the first conversation, I have with your father,” Dan said, as he looked down at Scotty, who was waving his arms at them, with the ‘come on down’ signal.
“You know, I’m really going to like living here,” Eddie said with a slight laugh, jumping straight up in the air, and pulling his feet up for the flight.
Eddie’s heart sank. He didn’t make it past the end of the platform like Scotty did; instead he nicked the edge with his left toe, and started a slow, counter clockwise, spin towards the ground. At the bottom of his swing, he was on a half turn, soaring up the other side of the swing arc, backwards, towards the landing board. As he climbed, he knew he was in trouble, so with great effort, he flung his legs sideways, trying to complete a full twist, just catching his sneaker on the front edge of the board. He quickly grabbed the second rope with his right hand, to keep from falling completely off the tree, as he let go of the first rope swing with is left. In his haste to correct his swing position, he found himself horizontal to the ground, instead of upright like Scotty. His only choice was to push off sideways, making a sideways arc downward. This placed him a good ten feet to the far right, of where Scotty had landed safely. Scotty tried to jump up and grab Eddie’s legs, as he sailed by, but Eddie was moving way too high and fast.
“Let go before you hit the trees!” Scotty screamed, trying to help his friend.
Eddie did as he was told, his hands left the rope, and just as they did, he seemed to hang face up in midair, but once gravity took control he promptly landed on his back, in the middle of the creek.
Scotty jumped down the bank and into the creek, grabbed Eddie, and pulled him to the bank. Eddie had the wind knocked out of him and was trying to catch his breath.
“Eddie, are you all right?” Scotty asked.
He could hear Dan climbing down the tree house, repeating over and over again, “I knew it, I knew it, I knew it, I tried to tell both of you, that I knew this would happen, but nooooooooo ‘let’s fly,’ they said.”
“I…can’t…breathe…uff, uff, uff,” Eddie said in a panic.
“Is anything broken?” asked Scotty.
“I…uff, uff, uff…can’t breathe…”
“That’s not what I asked you, Eddie. Shake your head yes or no. Did you break anything?”
Eddie shook his head no.
“Good!” Scotty said, breaking out into a huge, gut laugh. “You should’ve seen your face! I’ll never forget this as long as I live!”
“Uff…uff…uff,” was all that came out of Eddie.
“I knew it, I knew it,” got louder as Dan approached.
“Oh, he’s all right Dan. He just got the wind knocked out of him!” Scotty said, patting Eddie on the back.
“Well, he better be okay, ‘cause I already told him, I’m not talking to his parents about it,” Dan exclaimed, standing over the both of them, “and for that matter, it’s your fault…you’re the one who goaded him.”
Eddie’s breathing started to return to normal.
“Well,” said Scotty, smacking Eddie on his back, “I’ve got someone to fly with now.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea!” interjected Dan.
“I’m okay, Dan,” Eddie reassured him, after he sat up. “It was awesome until the end.”
A faint whistle could be heard in the distance. Dan and Scotty suddenly got a puzzled looked on their faces.
“That would be our family whistle, which means I need to go,” Eddie said, as he stood up and brushed himself off.
“Okay,” said Dan, pointing his thumb over his shoulder, “let’s go pop the stairs back into the tree, and I’ll show you a shortcut home.”
“I’m going back up the creek this way,” Scotty said, pointing up the creek, “it’s closer for me.”
“Okay, see ya later Scotty,” said Dan.
“Hey, Eddie, I am glad you didn’t get hurt. Welcome to Drayton Woods,” Scotty said, heading home.
“Thanks, man,” replied Eddie, as he left with Dan.
CHAPTER 4
Passing of the Guard
EDDIE BURST THROUGH the front door into his house.
“Hey, I’m home,” he said, as he strode through the foyer, slamming the door behind him. “Where’s everybody?”
“We’re in the den, Eddie,” Mrs. Caskitt responded.
“Why did I have to come home? It’s not even dark yet.”
Eddie entered the den and realized something was terribly wrong. Sheryl, his mom, and his dad, were rushing about, getting ready to leave.
Eddie surveyed the room. “Hey, what’s wrong? Everybody looks sad.”
“It’s Pop, the hospital called,” Mr. Caskitt responded, as he rubbed the back of his neck.
“Yea, he’s getting better, right?” Eddie said, looking from his dad to his mom.
Mr. Caskitt reached out and put his hand on Eddie’s head.
“No, he’s not. The hospital called to say that if we wanted to say goodbye, we needed to get up there as soon as possible.”
Tears filled Eddie’s eyes.
“You told me he was tired and that the hospital was going to fix him,” Eddie looked at his mom for reassurance, “and you said, everything would be okay.”
Mrs. Caskitt took in a big deep breath and said, “I know we said that Eddie, your father and I know how much you love Pop. You and he have a special relationship, but it’s not like the last time he went to the hospital. His body is just too tired to recover.”
Eddie bowed his head and quietly sobbed. In his mind, he knew this day would eventually come. He finally got the strength to say, “I know”, and walked off to his room.
Eddie changed his clothes hurriedly. He worried about not seeing Pop again, and struggled with the emotions that he was now feeling. He was not only losing his grandfather, but he was losing a close friend. Eddie had so many questions for Pop.
Once Eddie and his family entered the hospital, they made their way toward Pop’s room.
“Dad, why is this happening to Pop now?” Eddie asked, as they walked down the hall.
Mr. Caskitt stopped, turned to Eddie, and put his hands on his son’s shoulders.
“Pop’s an old man, he’s 84 years old, and lived a full life, Eddie. You have to understand, he had a hard life, he worked from the time he was your age until he retired. It was a struggle for everyone, when Pop was a kid. They had to even ask the children to pitch in, to make money.”
Eddie listened to his father intently.
“Pop’s pretty lucky to have lived this long. So let’s be strong, go in, and make our peace with him,” said Mr. Caskitt.
“Dad,” Eddie said intently, while looking at his father for some kind of hope, “can’t Pop get help from any of the people that he talks about from that other world?”
Mr. Caskitt stood up straight, looked at his wife, then back to Eddie, and with a heavy sigh, said, “Eddie, those stories were just made up…how many times do we have to go over this?”
Mrs. Caskitt interrupted and squatted down to be eye level with Eddie.
“Dear, I know you’re searching your brain for anything that could help Pop, but no one really can…he’s just old, and his body is giving out.” She then gave her husband, one of those looks, which clearly said, Not now.
They found Pop’s room and entered quietly, Eddie was the last to enter the room. He had to force himself to look at his grandfather, hooked up and helpless, in the last moments of his life. Suddenly a strong feeling crept over Eddie…he wanted to be alone with Pop, one more time.
“Dad, can I have a few minutes alone with Pop?” Eddie asked with sad eyes.
Mr. Caskitt walked towards the door, and gestured for the others to follow.
“Sure, we’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Eddie stood over his grandfather and Pop started to stir.
Eddie looked up, with hope, and then noticed a small breeze on the back of his neck. Several more minutes passed, before Pop moved his head again, and then opened his eyes. He saw Eddie and gave him a very tired smile.
“Hey, Pop,” Eddie said.
Pop cleared his throat and said, in a raspy voice, “Oh, Eddie, I’m so glad that you’re here, there’s something that I’ve been meaning to tell you, and I was afraid that I would never have the chance.”
“What is it, Pop?” Eddie moved closer to Pop’s head, so that he could hear him better.
“You know the stories that I’ve been telling you all your life, the ones about the other world?” Pop said, in a whisper, looking around the room.
“Yes Pop, I do, and I love them. They never scared me,” Eddie said tearing up, and realizing Pop was searching for something in the room. “Pop, I’m right here.”
Pop shook his head a little.
“I’m not worried about that…I need you to do something for me.”
“What is it Pop, I’ll do anything,” Eddie offered, as a tear ran down his cheek.
He tried to stay focused, but felt the strange breeze rush past his head again. Eddie looked in the direction that Pop was looking, and thought he saw something flash by, but quickly re-focused back on Pop.
“I need you to go to my barn,” Pop paused and swallowed hard, “there’s something that I’ve left there for you.”
Pop closed his eyes as he struggled to talk.
“It’s hidden very well, but I’m sure you can find it, because I know…you’re the one.”
Pop took a deep breath and swallowed again.
“I don’t have enough strength to tell you where…just follow the signs that I’ve left for you.”
Pop let out a deep breath and took in several struggling breaths.
“I’m the one?” Eddie asked confused. “What is it, Pop?” Eddie pleaded.
“It’s your responsibility and your lineage,” Pop barely got out.
“My what?” Eddie asked, now sitting up straight, not believing what he had just heard.
Pop looked up at Eddie, and with a slight smile on his face, stared directly into his eyes and said, “Son, the stories I’ve told you are true, and now it is your turn to help protect them. Please be very careful, and tell Torgy I did the best that I could…Eddie, they need you.”
Pop looked past Eddie.
“Help him, he’ll need you.”
Eddie looked behind him and then back to Pop.
“Pop, help who? Who’s Torgy? They need who?” Eddie reached out for Pop’s arm. “Wait!...I don’t understand!”
Eddie was now certain, he felt a breeze on the back of his neck this time, and he started to panic.
Pop was looking past Eddie again and with a sound almost like a soft laugh he said, “Wahhaha, help him, he’s yours to protect.”
Eddie looked around the room confused, but was not able to see who, or what, Wahhaha was. The strange breeze crossed Eddie’s cheek and then he swore he saw the sheet move across Pop’s chest. At that moment a peaceful look came over his grandfather’s face, as he closed his eyes, and let out a long last breath.
Eddie grabbed Pop’s hand and held it tight, with tears streaming down his face he said, “Pop, I don’t understand…but, I’ll do whatever you ask, and I’ll always make you proud.”
What Eddie couldn’t see, was that the strange breeze, was actually Wahhaha. Wahhaha gave Adam, a last hug goodbye on his chest, and he now hovered in the corner of the room invisible to Eddie. He too was very sad, as he watched his long time friend, and companion, take his last few breaths. Pop had made it very clear what Wahhaha needed to do now, and his focus quickly changed to the young boy at Adam’s side. Wahhaha now had a new assignment; Eddie was the one he had to guard now, as instructed by Pop’s last words. He jumped onto the boy’s shoulder, and hugged his neck, letting his breath blow softly on Eddie’s neck, in an attempt to help calm him down. As he did so, Eddie’s sadness and fear started to melt away, and Wahhaha knew Eddie would find his way, just as Adam had asked.
Oddly, Eddie was no longer scared or really that sad. As he looked at Pop, he knew his grandfather was gone, and there was nothing he could do about it. He realized at that moment, Pop had waited to talk to him, because he needed to pass along important information to Eddie. But what was it? What did Pop mean? All Eddie knew right now, at this very moment, were two things…whatever ‘it’ was…it was very important to Pop, and he had to get it from Pop’s barn.
With Wahhaha watching, Eddie stood up from his grandfather’s bed, wiped away his last tear and said, “The only thing I’m sure of right now is…I’m not going to let you down Pop.”
CHAPTER 5
The Bracelet