The Storm Cupboard

On the first morning of winter break, rain rattled the windows of the Bell family's house in Maple Junction. Owen Bell, twelve, had promised his mother he would watch his brother and sister until she returned from the library at four. He had been in charge for exactly twenty minutes, and already he wanted a vacation from his vacation.

“Can we build a fort?” asked Theo, who was nine.

“We built one yesterday,” Owen said without looking up from his game.

“That was a spaceship. Today it could be a castle.”

Mira, eleven, appeared in the doorway with a stack of board games. “Or we could do something that doesn't end with couch cushions in the kitchen.”

“Theo can play with his blocks,” Owen said.

Theo stared at the floor. He wasn't a baby. He could solve a three-layer puzzle cube faster than either of them. But his brother still acted as if he needed help tying his shoes.

A long rumble shook the house. The lights flickered once, twice, then went out. Owen's game screen became a black mirror.

“Great,” he said.

Mira went to the window. The clouds had turned a strange blue-gray. Across the yard, the old maple tree leaned in the wind.

Another rumble came, though no lightning flashed. From the hallway beneath the stairs came a sound like a spoon tapping a glass.

Ping.

Theo looked up. “Did you hear that?”

“Pipes,” Owen said. But he sounded uncertain.

Ping. Ping.

The noise came from the narrow cupboard where their mother kept boots, umbrellas, and the boxes no one ever unpacked. Theo opened its door. A pale line shone beneath the back wall, where solid wood should have been.

“Guys?” he called.

Owen arrived first. “Don't touch anything.”

“I'm not.”

Theo knelt to examine the glow. On the floor lay a blue-striped sock he had never seen before. A tiny brass star was stitched into its heel.

Mira crouched beside him. “That wasn't here yesterday.”

Outside, thunder cracked. The cupboard wall folded inward like paper. Beyond it stretched a meadow of blue grass beneath a green sky.

For one breath, all three children stood still.

Then a raccoon wearing a patched red vest darted through the opening, seized the blue-striped sock, and raced back into the meadow.

“Hey!”

Theo shouted. “That belongs here!”

He ran after the raccoon before Owen could catch his coat. The wall began to close.

“Theo!”

Mira cried.

Owen reached for the gap, but his fingers struck plain wood. The meadow was gone. The cupboard smelled of wet boots again.

Owen put a hand against the wall. His little brother had vanished, and the last thing Owen had said to him was that he should play with blocks.

Stranger in Sootmarket

The storm had a sound of its own on the other side of the cupboard: not thunder exactly, but a low note that seemed to hum inside Theo's teeth. He landed on both hands in a field of blue grass, and for a moment he could do nothing but breathe. Cold rain had followed him through the opening. It darkened his sleeves and made his fingers clumsy.

He turned toward the place where the door should have been. A narrow silver seam hung between two standing stones. Beyond it, he glimpsed Owen's hand, reaching. Then the seam drew together. The stones remained, ordinary and silent, and his brother was gone.

“Owen?”

Theo called. His voice sounded much smaller than it did at home. “Mira?”

Only the grass answered, brushing in the wind.

He was nine. He could solve riddles faster than Owen and find lost things in places no one else thought to search. Yet none of those talents told him how to open a wall between worlds. For the first time, he wished he had listened when Owen told him to stay beside the cupboard.

A movement beyond the stones caught his eye. The raccoon in the red vest was hurrying along a path with the blue-striped sock tucked under one arm. Theo had almost forgotten the sock. Now its little brass star flashed in the dim light, a bright reminder that he had not imagined any of this.

“Please!” he shouted. “I don't want the sock. I want to go home.”

The raccoon looked back. For the briefest instant, surprise crossed his face. Then he ran.

Theo followed because standing alone seemed worse. The meadow dropped toward a valley where a settlement leaned against the hills. Its roofs were patched with tin and slate. Smoke rose through holes in the chimneys, gathering beneath a cloud that never moved. Farther north, beyond black ridges, stood a white mountain shaped like the teeth of a crown.

The air grew colder when Theo looked toward it. Across the valley a bell rang three times, though he could see no tower.

At the edge of the town, eight pillars marked the road. Stone creatures crouched on their tops with folded wings and open mouths. The raccoon slipped between the pillars. Theo paused to read the crooked sign hanging below them: SOOTMARKET. BARTER FAIR. KEEP WHAT YOU CAN CARRY.

“You shouldn't come this way,” said a voice above him.

Theo looked up. The raccoon was perched on the first pillar, his tail curled around the stone. He was close enough for Theo to see a small tear in the sleeve of his vest.

“You can talk,” Theo whispered.

“I can also hear,” the raccoon replied. “Both are useful. You ought to try listening.”

“Then tell me how to get back through the door.”

The raccoon's whiskers twitched. “Doors open for a reason. They close for one, too.”

“That isn't an answer.”

“No,” said the raccoon. “It isn't.”

One of the stone creatures above them stirred. Powdered grit fell from its wing. The raccoon's expression changed at once.

“Run,” he said.

Theo did. Something scraped against stone behind him, followed by a sound like claws dragged across a roof. He did not turn to see whether the thing had awakened. He ran until the pillars lay behind him and the narrow streets of Sootmarket swallowed the road.

The town smelled of coal smoke, hot bread, and rainwater trapped in iron gutters. Shops had been built from whatever their owners could find: discarded wheels, hammered copper, old doors with their painted names still showing. Foxes in long coats traded glass beads for bundles of herbs. Raccoons carried baskets of buttons, keys, and silver spoons. A badger measured a length of blue cloth against a wooden ruler.

Theo stopped beside a stall piled with mismatched shoes. Every face turned toward him. A fox dropped her coin. Two small raccoons disappeared beneath a cart.

He had never before been the strangest person in a room. Here he was the strangest person in an entire city.

“I'm looking for a way home,” he told the fox. She pulled her shawl tight and walked away.

He spotted the red vest crossing a crowded square and hurried after it. The crowd closed around him. A lantern swung close to his cheek. Someone shouted that he had stepped on a basket. As Theo tried to apologize, he tripped over a coil of rope and fell to his knees.

The raccoon stopped beyond the crowd. The sock slipped from his arm. Theo saw the brass star catch the lantern light, then vanish under a boot.

“That's enough,” said a deep voice.

An old fox stood at the head of the square, flanked by guards in patched leather. His silver-tipped cane struck the cobbles once. The market fell quiet.

“A human child,” the fox said. His eyes narrowed, not with wonder but with calculation. “A rare visitor indeed.”

Theo rose slowly. “I didn't mean to cause trouble. I just need to find my brother and sister.”

“Then perhaps they will come looking for you.”

The old fox smiled. “And perhaps someone will pay well to see what we have found.”

Two guards stepped forward. Theo backed away, but the people behind him did not move. A net fell over his shoulders. He fought the knots for a moment, frightened by the thought of being taken somewhere no one knew his name. Then he went still. Struggling would only tighten the cords.

They locked him inside a barred wagon near the center of the square. A faded canvas covered its roof and sides. He heard a crowd gathering outside, eager to see him, but when he called for help the voices only rose in excitement.

Theo sat with his knees against his chest. Owen would have known what to do, he thought. Mira would have counted the guards and noticed which lock had the weakest pin. He had always wanted a chance to prove he could manage on his own. Now he would have given anything for them to tell him what to do.

He took one breath, then another. He counted the footsteps beyond the canvas. Three guards passed every few minutes. One limped. Another wore keys that chimed with each step. The third stopped beside the wagon to eat.

From somewhere in the square came the old fox's voice: “Keep him hidden. If the queen's watchers ask questions, we have seen nothing.”

A shiver went through Theo. “What queen?” he called.

The guard eating outside leaned closer. “Queen Vesper,” he said, so softly Theo almost missed it. “She keeps her palace beyond the frost line. Nothing warm enters that place and comes out unchanged.”

At the northern edge of the valley, a cloud lifted from the white mountain. Theo glimpsed a palace of pale spires, each one reflecting a cold blue light. He looked away, but the image stayed with him.

He was afraid. Admitting that to himself did not make him weaker. It made the next choice clearer.

Theo began to study the knot that held the wagon door closed.

The raccoon entered his house with his head down. Around the corner his mother came out. “Pip, where have you been?”

Pip paused and lifted his head. “Nowhere ma, I just was out at the flats.”

Pip’s mother walked over to him. “At the flats? You’d better not had been going to that secret world getting socks again!”

Pip had a guilty look on his face, “N,o…I was just going to…” Before he could finish his mother interrupted “If I find out that you went to that forbidden world again, you’ll wish you were never born.”

Pip tried to defend himself. “But Ma.”

With her hands on her hips she looked at Pip. “Don’t you ‘But Ma’ me. You know if Queen Vesper finds out she’ll turn you to…to…ice!”

Pip could see the fear in his mother’s eyes. “You don’t have to worry about that ma, I’m the best thief there is.”

Pip's mother dropped her head. “That’s what your father used to say until…” Pip, with his chest poked out and head held up high, looked his mother in the face. “You don’t have to worry Ma, Queen Vesper will never get me.”

Night had come and Theo was tied up in his cage. They had decided to put a tarp over his cage so no one could get a free look at him. Theo noticed he couldn’t be seen by anyone outside and would use that to his advantage. First, Theo needed to know if anyone was outside guarding the cage. He tried to listen but couldn’t tell if the noises he heard were from someone close or walking by. “Alright, let’s see if this works,” he thought. Theo called out, “Hey, can I get some food? I’m starving.”

The guard shuffled his feet, and Theo heard where he was standing. “I know you’re out there. I can hear you. Can I get some food? I’m starving.”

Theo really was hungry but was using that as a distraction to get free.

The guard walked away, and Theo quickly sprung into action. From being tied up before by Owen and being in the boy scouts, Theo knew exactly how to untie a knot. He quickly started to work on the knots without knowing how long he had before the guards would be back. The first thing he did was get his hands from behind his body. He rolled to his side and eased his arms underneath him. “Hurry up Theo. You don’t have too much time,” he said to himself. With his arms now in front of him, he started to work on the knots. “Here goes nothing,” he whispered. It took Theo a few minutes to get free. “Ok now what,” he thought. Theo started to ponder. He didn’t plan much further than that. Then like a lion that hears something leering in the bushes he froze. Theo had heard the footsteps of the guard coming back. Panicking he started to look around; he knew he only had a few seconds until the guard and he would be face to face. Quickly he grabbed the rope and put in his hands. Not knowing what to do next he put his arms behind his back and sat down.

The guard pulled the tarp down and looked at Theo, “I hope you like muffins and mushroom soup.”

Theo almost gagged at the thought of eating mushroom soup, “Yes, I love it.”

The guard grunted and unlocked the door. Theo’s heart started to beat faster and faster every second. He began to sweat profusely. His mind was racing a mile a minute. “What am I going to do?” he thought, as the guard opened the door. The guard took one step into the cage. Theo’s instinct took over, his mind went blank and he just reacted. Theo swung his arms from behind him catching the guard as he was bending down. Theo managed to knock the guard out with one blow. He quickly tied the guard up and gagged him with the muffin and some rope. Looking around to make sure no one saw anything, Theo swiftly put the tarp over the cage and disappeared into the night.

Being on the run Theo knew he had to lay low. He quickly fled the scene and started his way back into the city. “What have I got myself into?” he mumbled. He noticed a dark alley and decided to go there to rest. Theo found an area with a few boxes and crawled inside. While he was on the ground Theo noticed something walk by the alley. That had caught Theo’s interest. Slowly he rose to his feet and walked to the end of the alley. He looked in the direction that the creature had walked but saw nothing. Next he looked in the opposite direction an also saw nothing. “Where in the world did it go?”

His face frowned up and he turned around. Theo almost jumped out his skin as he began to scream. There was a creature with a head of a human, the body of a lion, wings of an eagle, and a tail of a dragon. The creature placed its hand over Theo’s mouth. “Be quiet. They’ll find us if you keep screaming. If I take my hand from your mouth, will you promise to keep quiet?”

Theo shook his head yes, and the creature took its hand away from Theo’s mouth.

The Path Through Whisperwood

Stunned, Theo looked at the creature. “Wha-what are you?”

The creature’s eyes began to glow and Theo jumped back. The creatures eyes turned back normal and looked Theo in the eyes. “I am a sphinx. My name is Sable. What’s your name?”

Gathering himself, he answered, “My name is Theo.”

Sable looked at Theo. “What brings you here?”

Theo started to look at the ground. “I was following a raccoon that stole one of my brother’s socks.”

Sable raised her eyebrow. “Ah I see. You’re here chasing a thief.”

“Yep, I wish I knew where he was so I could get my brother’s sock back.”

Rubbing her face Sable looked around. “I may be able to help you.”

Excited Theo’s face light up, “how so?”

Moving close to Theo, Sable began to whisper, “I think I know where your little thief is headed to.”

“Tell me, I need to get my brother’s sock back so I can go back home.”

Laughing Sable walked around Theo. “What’s in it for me?” she asked slyly. “Well I’m not sure, what do you want?”

Theo asked confused. Sable had noticed that they were coming to look for Theo “I’ll tell you later what I want, but for now you need to leave. The raccoon you’re looking for is heading for Whisperwood. Keep going east and you can’t miss it.”

Theo turned to Sable. “Thank you, I won’t forget this.”

Theo headed east. Then he stopped and looked over his shoulder. When he turned around Sable was gone, “Wow she’s quick. Now I have to find that raccoon.”

Pip had left out the house in the middle of the night. “I need a couple more socks so I can get us out of this stinking city.”

Feeling sorry for getting Theo imprisoned Pip decided to go and see how he was doing first. On his way to the marketplace, Pip had noticed a huge commotion. He walked up to his friend and tapped her on the shoulder. “What’s going on Tansy?”

Tansy was startled from being tapped on the shoulder. “Oh it’s you…you scared me. I thought you were the human.”

Pip’s face turned confused. “What are you talking about?”

Looking back at Pip, Tansy shook her head. “You didn’t know, the human escaped. Not only that- he attacked the guard and tried to kill him.”

Pip was in awe. He couldn’t believe that the kid tried to kill the guard. Pip started to walk away then Tansy called out, “Hey, where are you headed?”

“To Whisperwood. I traded a sock for a map to treasure buried in there.”

Tansy looked at Pip. “Oh no Pip. I know you want out of Sootmarket but there’s another way. Whisperwood is too dangerous to go in, especially alone at night.”

Pip stopped, “Tansy you’re my best friend, so when I make it back I’m going to take you out of Sootmarket with me. I’ll come get you when I return.”

Tansy placed her paw on her face. “Oh Pip please be careful,” she said as a tear formed in her eye. Tansy had also noticed a sphinx watching from a distance. “Why is that sphinx here? Whenever a sphinx is around its always bad news.”

Walking out the city Theo noticed something in the distance. The figure was heading in the direction of Whisperwood. Squinting his eyes Theo couldn’t believe what he had seen. It was the raccoon. A smirk came over his face as he slowly started to follow the raccoon. “have to be careful not to let him see me,” he whispered.

As Pip was walking towards the woods he noticed that something didn’t seem right. An uneasy feeling came into his gut. “Something is going on. I think I’m being followed.”

Pip began to walk faster towards the woods. “I better hurry,” he thought.

Theo was stealthily following Pip. There was a patch of twigs that Pip had walked through intentionally to see if he was being followed. Not knowing, Theo followed Pip right into the patch of twigs. Pip heard the extra set of footprints snapping the twigs. “Just like I thought. I am being followed,” he whispered. With haste, Pip took off running towards the woods in fear. Hot in pursuit, Theo followed with his eyes wide open. With fear in his heart Pip ran straight towards the woods. Then his curiosity kicked in and he looked back over his shoulder. His face almost turned to stone. In the heat of the moment when he turned around he noticed Theo. But when he noticed Theo, his mind got the best of him. Theo had looked like he had been foaming at the mouth and had a killer look on his face. Pip was now frightened and believed what Tansy had told him about Theo being a cold-hearted killer.

Theo was tired and was out of breath from chasing the raccoon. He knew that he couldn’t give him too much space, or he might get left behind again. From being tired and thirsty,his lips had turned white. Seeing that he was so close he had a smirk on his face.

Pip was entering the forest at full speed ahead. He knew that if he was going to survive he needed to elude the killer that was hot on his tail. Theo had gathered a burst of energy and shot up behind Pip. Reaching out he managed to grab on Pip’s fur. A chill came down the spine of Pip as he felt his life may be coming to an end. “Get away from me freak,” Pip shouted. “Not until you give me back that sock,” Theo replied. Pip’s adrenaline kicked in, and he darted up the first tree he came across. At the bottom of the tree Theo was exhausted. He was bent over panting like a dog. Meanwhile Pip was at the top of the tree looking down at Theo. “You thought you were going to kill me didn’t you? You probably planned on eating me too!”

Pip shouted in disgust. Theo caught his breath the looked up at Pip, “Are you crazy? Eat you? Kill you? What do you take me for?”

Pip started to move around in the tree. “Oh you’re good, but I know all about what you tried to do in Sootmarket.”

Theo threw up his hands. “What are you talking about, they tried to kill me! How do I know you weren’t part of it?”

Pip was about to respond when he heard a noise come from the east.

Quickly he looked knowing that anything is possible in Whisperwood. At first glance he didn’t see anything. Theo had noticed that Pip was distracted and started to try and climb the tree. “I know something is out there, but where is it. Or better yet what is it?”

Pip began to focus in and scanned the area slowly looking for anything out of the ordinary. Theo was grinning to himself as he slowly was making his way up the tree. “You’re mine raccoon when I get you,” Theo whispered to himself. Pip looked down to see where Theo was at and noticed he was halfway up the tree. “Great, that’s all I need right now is for the psycho to follow me up the tree.”

As Pip slowly glanced at Theo out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a huge rock coming at full speed ahead. Pip ducked in the nick of time, barely being hit. “What in the heck?”

Before he could finish his sentence he saw two more rocks coming his way.

With branches and leaves in his way, Theo was unable to see the rocks being thrown at Pip. All he knew was that he was coming closer to sneaking up on the raccoon that got him into all of this. The higher he got the more the branches began to spread out. This was a problem because it was making it that much harder to climb.

Pip was dodging rocks being thrown at him left and right. He was starting to become out of breath and still couldn’t figure out who was throwing and where the rocks were coming from. All of a sudden they stopped. Pip began to scan the forest to see who or what was attempting to knock him out the tree. Then he finally spotted something, “oh you’re good” he whispered. Pip had noticed a faun which looked like a small tree, “It must’ve drunk out of the magical spring to take the form of a tree.”

He then began to scan and see if there were anymore fauns leering around. To his surprise he found three more that had also looked like small trees and bushes. “They must be trying to get me to leave, but I have an idea to draw their attention off me” he said to himself.

Pip looked to his left then to his right and like a dash of lighting took off. He jumped to the next tree and just as soon as he did the fauns started to unleash another round of rocks at him. “Good, they are following me just like I want them too.”

Like a mad animal, Pip darted and dashed round and round through the trees. Meanwhile Theo was still trying to figure out how he could make it up the tree.

“Stupid branches, how in the world am I going to ever catch that raccoon if I can’t even get to the top of this tree?” he said out loud. Theo had turned around and sat down on the tree branch in frustration with his head down. Angrily he began to rub his head with his eyes closed. “Think Theo, think.”

Nothing was coming to him. He began to wonder about his sister and brother and if they even noticed he was missing. “What should I do?” he said as he slid his head back against the tree. Then it came to him as he opened his eyes to a surprise.

Pip had managed to dodge the numerous amounts of rocks being heaved at him. But even with his quickness they were coming very close, and now he was starting to feel his tank approaching empty. “It’s now or never,” he said as he went down one level in the tree and started to double back. As he did that, a rock had managed to ricochet off a tree and hit him. The blow wasn’t enough to knock Pip completely off his feet, but it did manage to knock him slightly off course. Pip was forced to jump to an adjacent tree branch, leading him off his path. He was now two trees away from the one he originally was on. His goal was to reach the original tree, and he had made an easy path to do so. Now that he was knocked off course he had to take the longer more dangerous route. The jump from the tree he was on to the original tree was too great, and the tree that was next wasn’t an easy jump either. But Pip knew that if he wanted his plan to work he needed to make it back to the original tree.

A faun to the left launched a rock simultaneously as the one to his right. Pip, being a quick thinker, took off at full speed and jumped towards the original tree. Leaping through the air, Pip glided towards the first rock. As the first rock approached him he prepared himself for the impact. Pip had planned to use the rock as an in air stepping stone to reach his main objective. The first rock was a success and Pip bounced off it and glided towards the second. From the second rock Pip propelled himself towards the original tree. In the air Pip had started to lose hang time and found himself falling a little short. Reaching out for his life he was able to stick his claws in the tree to keep from falling to his death on the forest floor. With the little energy he had left, he pulled himself up and began to dash up the tree. He stopped on a tree branch and stuck his tongue out at the fauns.

As Theo opened his eyes he noticed that Pip was standing in front of him sticking his tongue out. He couldn’t believe what was happening right before his eyes. He rubbed them to make sure he wasn’t daydreaming. But it was true the raccoon was right at his fingertips. Theo reached out to grab him from behind when he noticed the raccoon turned around and was now facing him. “Hey!”

Theo shouted out. “Good luck,” Pip said, then took off up the tree. Theo turned his head to watch Pip fly up the tree and leap to another and disappear into the forest.

“Awe man, I just had him now he’s gone,” he said in frustration. As Theo went to turn around, he was hit in the arm by a rock. That blow knocked him off balance and scared him at the same time. Now he was fighting to keep from falling off the branch. “Oh no,” he said as he swung his arms around through the air. Trying not to fall Theo jerked his body back and forth. As he did that he lost his footing and began to plummet.

Theo fell through the branches bouncing off each one differently. He was twisted and turned like a plastic bag in a gust of wind. The branches were breaking Theo’s fall even though they were hurting him. When he hit the ground he did not die but was knocked unconscious for a brief minute.

Woozy, Theo woke up in a daze. His vision was blurry and he could hear people talking. “Cool we got him.”

“Do you think he’s dead?”

“I don’t know but I’m going to find out.”

As he opened his eyes he could see what appeared to be four trees standing over him. Theo began to blink to get a more clear view. With every blink he became more in tune with his surroundings. To his surprise he noticed that these tree-like figures were different. Right in front of his eyes the four creatures were transforming from tree and bush-like states to what appeared to be half man, half goat creatures. Scared, Theo gasped, “What in the world are you?” he asked. One of the fauns approached Theo and stood over him, “I’m Brutus, and this is my crew. Now who are you, and what are you doing in my woods?”

Theo started to hyperventilate as he was being surrounded by the four creatures. Taking a huge gasp, Theo spoke, “My name is Theo, and I was following that raccoon to get my brother’s sock back. If it’s not too much trouble, do you think you all can help me find him?”

Brutus and the other three fauns looked at each other and started to laugh.

Pip was running through the trees and started to slow down. He remembered that when he first had a run in with Theo that he didn’t try to hurt or kill him. Then he began to feel bad, “I need to go back and help that human before something bad happens to him. Pip turned around and started to make his way back towards Theo.

Meanwhile, Brutus and his crew started to think of what they wanted to do with Theo. They took a few steps back and huddled up in a circle. “Why don’t we turn him in to the queen and get a reward Brutus?” one faun said. Brutus started to rub his face, “That’s a good idea. We can probably get ten pairs of socks for him.”

While the fauns were talking, Theo was listening in and didn’t like what he was hearing. He began to think to himself of how he was going to escape. Pip arrived and also listened in on their conversation. “Oh no…not that, anything but the queen. She will crystallize him for sure,” Pip began to think quickly.

Theo started to look around to see if he could find anything to draw a diversion for him to escape. While looking around, he was hit in the head by an acorn. Theo quickly grabbed his head and looked up to see where the acorn came from. Shockingly he found Pip up in a tree with his paw over his mouth, motioning him to be quiet. Theo shook his head, letting him know that he understood his signal. Shortly after Brutus and his crew started to turn around to look at Theo. Brutus looked at Theo, “Hey you, we’re going to take a trip so get ready to walk with us.”

Brutus started to make his way over towards Theo when out of nowhere a rock hit Brutus in the head. The rock was thrown with enough force that it knocked him off his feet. The other three fauns started to look up in the trees in the direction from which the rock was thrown. Then another faun was hit by a rock from another direction. Theo was watching, waiting for one more faun to get knocked down before he made his move. Not even two seconds later the third faun was knocked on his back. Without hesitation Theo took off running in the opposite direction, heading deeper into the woods. Pip noticed Theo had taken off and hit the last faun with a rock, “I hope he’s ok. These woods can be dangerous.”

Running through the woods Theo didn’t bother to look back. Tree branches and twigs were smacking him in his face as he continued into the woods. The trees began to become denser as he pushed his way forward running full speed ahead. Panicking his foot got tangled in a shrub, and he began to stumble. As Theo fell forward he noticed that the ground started to slant downward. He fell down a small hill. There were numerous cuts and bruises on his arms and legs. There also were welts on his face from the twigs and branches. Theo just sat there in pain looking at his bruises.

The Cave of Silk

As Theo went to get up his hand slipped on a white rock. “Ah, I need to be more careful,” he said as he took a closer look. The rock wasn’t a rock but a skull. Now frightened Theo started to carefully observe his surroundings. There were a large number of skeletons around and Theo couldn’t believe his eyes. First, Theo looked to see if he could climb back up the hill but noticed it was covered with a white cotton material. He went to touch it and found it was very sticky. Now that going up the hill wasn’t an option he started to investigate another way out.

The ground dipped under Theo's feet, and the hollow ahead smelled of wet stone and something sweet that had gone rotten. He stopped at the mouth of the cave. Pale threads stretched from one wall to the other, so fine they disappeared when he looked straight at them. A drop of water touched his neck. He reached up and found a strand clinging to his fingers. It did not break when he pulled. For a terrible moment he could imagine the whole cave drawing tight around him. He remembered the way Mira tested a puzzle before touching its pieces: look first, move second. He pressed a pebble into the web. The nearest strands trembled. Deep in the darkness, something trembled back.

Glancing around Theo noticed he was in some sort of hole. To his left and right were both steep slopes with the white cotton material. But straight ahead was what appeared to be a cave. The cave was dark and didn’t look too inviting, so that was going to be his last option. Not having a clue what to do Theo took a seat on the ground. He began to rub his head to figure out how he was going to get himself out this jam. As Theo was rubbing his head he noticed a strange noise coming from the cave. His eyes opened wide as his heart jumped around in his chest.

That’s when Theo noticed a set of eyes. They were high in the cave and appeared to be glowing red. Now, he really began to sweat. There were more red glowing eyes around the huge two he noticed at first. In a moment’s notice, a huge black spider came out the cave. It had fangs that could crush a boulder and began to raise its front legs. Theo started to back up. The spider shot out a long strand of silk web. Theo ducked and managed not to get caught. The spider quickly shot out more webs, but not at Theo.

Theo didn’t take his eyes off the spider. He knew that if he did he was a goner. The spider started to circle around and continued to shoot webbing around. The spider, all of a sudden stopped shooting web, but started to walk towards Theo. Stepping backwards Theo began to think. Before he could come up with a plan he felt something. “What in the world?” he said as he had backed into a huge spider web.

The spider had been distracting Theo all while making its web to catch him. Theo tried to free himself, “Oh no, this can’t be happening!”

The more he would move the more trapped he would become. It was too late. Theo had no way out. The spider began to walk towards Theo with its fangs wide open.

“I may never get out of here. It’ll take a miracle for me to get out of this,” Theo said closing his eyes. The spider walked within two feet of Theo, and he could feel it’s presence. The spider shrieked close to Theo’s face. Turning his head to the side he let out a gasp of air. Inhaling slowly he thought to himself this is going to be my last breath.

The red eyes did not blink. Theo could hear the scrape of the creature's feet on stone and, beneath that, the small quick beating of his own heart. He tried to shift his weight without pulling on the silk. One shoe came loose with a sticky sound, but the other remained fast. The spider tilted its enormous head, as though listening to him think. A warm glow appeared high in the cave. Theo could not yet tell whether it meant rescue or a second danger, and that uncertainty was almost worse than the web.

Peeking, Theo noticed out of nowhere a ball of fire in the sky. Surprisingly the ball of fire looked as if it was headed right towards him. The spider also noticed the fireball and paused. At the same time another huge object appeared at the top of the hole. Squinting, Theo noticed it was an oversized cobra. His eyes widened and his mouth fell open, “That can’t be…oh my gosh it is.”

The snake slithered down the hill and into the hole. The spider let out a shriek towards the cobra and put its front two legs up. The cobra spread its hood as it coiled up and opened its mouth.

While this was happening, the fireball continued to speed towards the hole. As it got closer, Theo noticed that it wasn’t a fireball, but some sort of bird on fire. Nonetheless, it still was flying directly at him.

The cobra, with its mouth open, spit venom out its fang towards the spider. It landed on the spider causing it to let out a shriek. The venom had burned through the spider’s exoskeleton. Counteracting the venom the spider spewed a heap of web towards the snake. The cobra was stuck in position. Quickly the spider ran up and planted its fangs into the snake. Releasing a neurotoxin the snake became stunned. From the venom the spider was also paralyzed. With its last ounce of energy the snake shot out venom on the spider’s front two legs. It was a direct hit and caused the spiders legs to fall off. Shrieking, the spider crawled towards the cobra to bite in again to release a digestive enzyme to start to work on the cobra’s muscles.

Watching, Theo was relieved to see the spider was injured and the snake down. This gave him hope that he could survive. “Now all I need to do is figure out how to get free,” he said as he began to squirm rigorously. Barreling towards him the firebird came and flew right by Theo. Theo closed his eyes thinking he was going to get hit. Feeling the gust of air breezing by he opened his eyes and noticed he left arm was free. The firebird had burned a hole through the web. Circling around, Theo watched the firebird as he tried to get his other arm free. Like a flash of light the firebird flew by again this time freeing Theo’s other arm. With both of his hands free Theo began to free himself from the web. The spider noticed Theo was free and began to make its way toward him.

Racing to find a way out, Theo began to twitch. The firebird flew by once more, but this time flying up the hill. The firebird had made a path for Theo to climb up to escape. Like a a race Theo was on all cylinders. He ran up the hill faster than he’d ever run before. Fearing that something might be behind him he kept running and didn’t look back.

Branches were hitting his face as he ran through the woods. He put his arms up to shield some of the impact but still ended up with leaves and twigs in his mouth. Theo had come to a small open area and was out of energy. Panting, he knelt down on the ground. With his head hung from fatigue he started to chuckle. “I bet nobody will ever believe what happened to me today!”

Then he heard a noise coming from above. His pupils enlarged as he looked up. It was the firebird from earlier.

“You need to leave here. You’re not safe,” the firebird said. “What are you talking about…and wait a minute…you can talk too?”

“Just hurry up and leave. There’s not much time,” the firebird said and flew off. Theo watched not knowing what to think. He hopped to his feet, but it was too late.

Out of nowhere another huge cobra slithered up…

Just…