After the rain had stopped, I continued the search for my friends.
I was hoping the town would have found something by now. But, unlucky enough as I was to be struck by lightening, the town didn’t have much luck either.
I don’t mean that they were struck by lightening too, I mean they hadn’t found any of my friends yet.
I kept searching by myself of course.
Though Jack stayed with me so I didn’t get lost.
He helped me as we both searched through the abandoned cemetery.
‘Before you got hit by lightening, unlucky as that was, you were talking about your city, weren’t you?’
‘You were trying to get me to talk about New York and why it isn’t as peaceful as it once was. And I don’t want to talk about it. It leads onto how I died, and I don’t want to tell that to anyone.’
‘How you DIED? But you alive.’ Jack puzzled.
‘Death is how me and my friends parted from our world. But we weren’t supposed to die. That’s why were still alive in a world of death, and that’s also why we have any hope of getting home.’
I looked behind a tomb stone as I continued talking.
‘And we’re all from different Earths in different dimensions too. For example, I’m from New York in the year two-thousand and sixty-six. And Annie is from the seventeen hundreds and she’s a pirate. And Sarmoo is from the year two-thousand and four and he’s from Kenya. So you see, we’re from all over the world and all over time.’
I then sighed as I continued my slow search.
‘But if I can’t find my friends then the hope of any of us getting back home is gone.’
‘Hey, we’ll find them. After all, with Oogie Boogie out of the way for good there’s no danger here. Even until we do find them, your friend are safe. I guarantee it.’
(Little did he know)
…
‘How are we gonna look for a human kid in the first place?’ Said Lock.
‘Yeah, we don’t even know what they look like.’ Said Barrel.
‘Well, Sandy Clause was a human, wasn’t he? Maybe they’ll look like him.’ Thought Shock.
‘Sandy was an old man! We’re looking for a kid!’ Said Lock.
‘Then maybe they’ll look like us?’ Suggested Barrel.
‘What? Are you kidding? Were bad and dead! These human kids are alive!’ Said Lock.
‘I know that!’ Barrel argued back.
‘You wouldn’t know your own name if we didn’t call it you every five minuets.’
‘Yes, I would!’
‘No, you wouldn’t!’
‘I’m not THAT dumb!’
‘Oh yeah!!!’
Both Lock and Barrel began fighting.
‘Oh, brother! The things I put up with!’ Shock grumbled at Lock and Barrel’s squabbling.
Lock kicked Barrel away as Barrel rolled down the steep banking.
Shock continued to grumble at them both.
‘Who I’ve gotta work with. What I’ve gotta put up with. Useless, stupid, little…whoa…’
Shock then came across something so fascinating, she stopped in mid-sentence.
Buried in all the rubble and broken tombstones that she’d tossed aside was a glowing light.
An orb, glowing blue and white, shone in her presents.
‘Cool…’ She sighed as she grabbed hold of the orb.
‘Hey, Shock!’ Lock called out.
‘Hey, guys!’ She called back. ‘Look what I’ve found.’
‘Look what WE’VE found.’ They both said at the same time.
‘I found a heart!’ Cried Shock.
‘Oh yeah, well I found a human kid!’
The three of them crowded round the sight.
The sight of what appeared to be a little girl, dressed in red.
‘Let’s get her!’
‘Let’s take her!’
‘Let’s take her to Oogie…’
‘Hold it right there!’
Me and Jack both heard them from the other side of the fence.
I immediately saw the three of them gathered round someone I knew.
‘Annie!’
I ran up to her.
She was unconscious on the ground, just how I was found.
I grabbed hold of her underneath the arms and began to pull her off the ground.
Thwack! ‘ouch!’
Someone hit me on the back of my head.
Annie was dragged out of my grip while I was knocked back.
‘Your not spoiling our fun this time!’ Said Lock.
‘Yeah, this kid’s coming with us!’ Said Barrel.
But the three of them then bumped into something behind them. Jack.
‘Your not getting away with this!’ He said as he stopped them in their path.
But these three brats thought other wise as they draw weapons. (Which was a toilet plunger, a broom stick, and a badger trap).
‘I don’t usually give mercy!’ I said.
‘But I’m gonna give you a chance to give up, or I’ll deafen you all!’
The three of them fell about laughing.
‘Ooh! You’ll “deafen me”! Ha, ha!’ Lock chuckled as he mocked.
I took their mocking and mimicking remarks as a no.
‘Jack!’ I called out. ‘You may want to cover your ears…’
I stood back firm on the ground. I have a power, and it’s not just for making music, ‘cause I’ve got no maximum volume level!
Using a sonic bubble, I created the loudest, screeching music I could think of making.
Lock, Shock and Barrel all fell over, covering their ears and screaming something like…
‘Shut up!’
‘Make it stop!’
‘Shut it off!’
Actually, I had stopped. Jack already had got Annie and both of us were walking away.
‘H…hey!’ Lock called out in his dizziness.
‘Come back here! You wanna piece of meeeee?!’ He fell over.
‘My ears are ringing.’ Moaned Barrel.
‘What?’ Called Shock.
‘My ears are ringing!’
‘What!?!’ Both Lock and Shock said at the same time.
I guess the threat I made was something to fear after all…
(Ha, ha!)…
We took Annie to the lab so the Doctor could examine her and make sure she wasn’t hurt.
‘Well, she’s unconscious, just as we found you.’
‘Well that’s no problem.’ Said Jack. ‘All we have to do it put her heart back.’
‘But where IS her heart?’ I said.
‘Well, I found yours right next to you. I bet it’s right where we found Annie.’
‘You know what I think?’ Said the Doctor ‘I think those three took it!’
‘Of course!’ Said Jack. ‘Why didn’t I think of that sooner!’
‘We’ve gotta go right now!’ I ran for the door.
‘Wait!’ Said Jack, as a hand came on my shoulder. ‘You don’t even know where to go.’
‘Then you’ll have to come with me! You know the way to the tree house Mansion.’
I raced off down the ramp and out of the front door with Jack following closely behind.
I stopped when I got about five foot out of the door and was a little lost for direction.
‘This way!’ Jack ran on.
I followed him as fast as I could. (But Jack’s about eight foot tall. I’m only just five. I’m not as fast as him)!
I followed him straight through the gates, past Spiral hill, through one more gate and into the abandoned cemetery.
From there, we saw a bridge going over the stream that lead to the Mansion.
I looked out and saw the open window that still had the cable running through it. The light was on and we could hear the mischievous laughing of three kids.
‘You know the only problem with this, if one of these kids found the heart then they’ve gotta put it back.’
‘How are we going to get them to come with us?’ Said Jack.
‘Easy, they tried to kidnap Annie, let’s see how they like it when someone kidnap’s them!’
I ran across the bridge and up to the old crow’s cage.
The chain from the top ran all the way to the floor of the east wing.
I grabbed hold of the chain and began climbing up.
‘You as agile as me?’ I called to Jack. ‘Follow my lead.’
I climbed up the chain. Pulling myself up bit by bit.
I climbed and climbed all the way to the top until after a minute I reached the underneath of the tower floor.
I burst through the trapdoor and into the tower.
‘Alright, Which one of you…’
But the room was empty.
‘Didn’t think to use the stairs, did you?’ Said a voice from behind me.
Jack was already in the room and had already caught the three of them.
‘How…?’
‘They knew you were coming. You were the perfect distraction. I took another way in and got the jump on them.’
Again, Jack had out smarted me.
I stared at Lock, Shock and Barrel, all shivering with fright from when Jack unexpectedly scared the three of them.
‘Where’s the heart?’ Jack questioned them. ‘I’ll scare the living daylight out of you if you don’t tell me.’
‘And I’ll make your ears ring until December!’
‘I don’t know what your talking about.’ Said Lock.
‘We don’t have any hearts.’ Said Shock.
‘Shock’s got it!’
‘Barrel!!!’ Both Lock and Shock said together.
Jack picked up Shock from the ground.
‘Hey! Put me down! I’m not giving it back!’ She screamed.
‘You don’t need to.’ Said Jack.
Shock struggled and squirmed.
I grabbed the trick-or-treat bag from the walking bath tub and held it underneath Shock.
‘No! No! No! No!’ She shrieked.
‘Let her go!!!’
Thwack! Lock smacked Jack On the head with the wooden pole, (from the toiled plunger).
Jack lost his grip of Shock and she fell into the bag.
I quickly tied it up but then…
‘Ouch!’
Barrel got me with some sling shot ammo.
Lock and Barrel were fighting back.
‘Get me outa this thing!’ Shock screamed from inside the bag.
Barrel kept firing.
Lock began rummaging though a scary looking toy box.
He brought out what looked like a toy cannon.
‘Ha, ha! Catch THIS!’ He said as he was about to fire the cannon.
Bang!!!
‘Emma, look out!’ Jack grabbed hold of my hand and pulled me out of the way.
The cannon fire blasted through the wooden wall of the evil playroom.
‘Nice try!’ I said.
‘My turn!’
I grasped my hands together and then unleashed a mild form of one of my most powerful attacks.
I created a glowing sphere, quiet music with a wicked beat came from the sphere and it flashed brighter on every beat.
‘Listen up!’ I said as I threw the floating ball into the centre of the room.
‘That sonic bomb is gonna get bigger, and that music’s gonna get louder! It’s gonna get bigger and bigger until it blows! And it’s gonna take the whole tree house Mansion down with it!!!’ I urged towards the bag containing the screaming Shock that Lock and Barrel were guarding.
‘But there’s still time. You can give up your little friend and I’ll shut this bomb down. Either that, or you can wait until it blows up! Then I’m still gonna take your little friend! Either way, that heart and the one who found it is coming with me!’
Lock and Barrel glanced towards the sonic bomb floating in the middle of the room.
A few seconds passed, and then, they both move away from the bag.
Jack retrieved the sacked and the screaming Shock from the safety of her friends.
‘You traitors! You back stabbers! You betraying little worms!!!’ Shock screamed at Lock and Barrel.
I deactivated the bomb and made it disappear in my hands.
‘Let me out!’ Shock continued to shriek. ‘You’re not taking ME! Let me out!!!’
‘Quite the contrary.’ Said Jack as he left the room.
I followed straight behind him.
I wondered if we were ever going to make Shock do as she was told?
For a kid as bad as her, it seemed like it was going to be impossible.
