Festival of Shadows Page 3

  I have to save Grant. Fight bravely, James.

  Darkness swallowed him.

  ~ Continue.

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  The ogre tumbled as the rug slipped from beneath him, and his club fell into the portal.

  “Now that you’re disabled,” Theo said, grabbing a nearby dart gun, “it’s time to end this.”

  ~ He shot at the ogre relentlessly.

  ~ He approached with his finger on the trigger.

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  The ogre roared as the rubber darts bounced off his skin, and he crawled into the portal to avoid them.

  Theo threw the gun aside and drew his sword. “Now it’s time to find Stratus.”

  “Well done, Theo,” Topperson said. “But that ogre is just a hint of what you will encounter in the Stratusphere.”

  “I’m ready,” Theo said. “Stratus will never forget this day—the day he is defeated by me, an Ursabrand!

  He jumped into the portal.

  ~ Continue.

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  “Go back and give Stratus a message,” Theo said.

  The ogre listened.

  “Tell him that he will be sorry. He stole from me once, but I won’t let him do it again.” Theo edged closer. “Now go.”

  The ogre laughed. “You . . . tell . . . him . . .” He ogre sprang forward, grabbed Theo, and pulled him into the portal.

  Theo screamed as the darkness swallowed him. The ogre dissolved, but his laughter lingered before fading into the shadows.

  He felt as if he were swimming in molasses as the darkness swirled around him.

  ~ Continue.

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  CHAPTER 2

  Smoke Between the Eyes

  Shadows formed into a vortex around Theo, and he zoomed headfirst through them until he crashed onto an invisible floor. The impact sent a purple shockwave in all directions, causing scary shapes and odd-looking buildings to spring up before the darkness swallowed them again.

  He yelled for Grant, but his voice lost its way.

  Believing that he saw Grant’s silhouette ahead, Theo pulled himself up into a half-run, half-crawl.

  “Grant . . .”

  But the shadows suffocated him. He fell on his back, shaking as several versions of Grant’s face circled him. They were happy, mad, sad, crying.

  “Save me!”

  “I hate you!”

  “I’m scared . . .”

  “You’re a useless teddy bear.”

  He reached for the faces, but they dissolved at his touch until there was one left—a scowling, angry face.

  “I don’t need you anymore,” Grant said.

  “Yes, you do—”

  “No. I’m a man.”

  “But I’m your best buddy,” Theo said.

  “No! You never were.”

  “Stratus has poisoned you.”

  “No,” Grant said, frowning. “You’ve poisoned me. I hope you die.”

  The face exploded and Theo screamed. It had to be an illusion; he couldn’t accept that Grant was gone.

  The shadows grew thicker, and it was getting harder to breathe.

  “Stratus,” he said, gasping, “Show yourself, so that I may vanquish you from existence.”

  Silence.

  “I’m an Ursabrand!” Theo cried, and his words faded on their way to nowhere. “You can’t defeat me!”

  Stratus rumbled out of the darkness. He appeared small at first, but soon he towered several stories above Theo. His head was wispy, made of shifting shadows, and his two red eyes glared. He sneered at Theo and let out a booming laugh. His torso was a wall of shadow and fog; where there should have been feet, only darkness swirled. In one hand he clutched Grant by the waist. The boy was asleep. Stratus grabbed Theo by the neck with the other hand, and squeezed hard.

  Theo tried to pry himself free, but he couldn’t. The grip crushed him; he had never felt anything so strong. Stratus’s laughter grew louder, and Theo’s vision grew dimmer.

  I’m sorry, Grant. I failed you.

  Theo took a final breath and gave in to Stratus. He drifted away into deeper darkness where nothing mattered. He felt light and free. He closed his eyes, thinking of Grant and their playtimes together.

  He heard a voice, but it was muffled and sounded like it was underwater. Then a flash cut through the darkness, followed seconds later by an explosion.

  Stratus let go. Feeling gushed back into Theo’s body, and all of his memories surged across his vision like the screen of a mad kaleidoscope.

  “Wake up!” cried the strange voice. It grew louder and deeper. Feminine. Theo ignored it and tried to remember Grant’s face.

  The darkness that had become so familiar to him condensed itself into one black eye, and he saw a purple face staring down at him—a round, furry face with a mouth that kept screaming: “Wake up, wake up, wake up—”

  Theo shot up and sucked in air, and the purple bear smacked him on the back.

  “Keep breathing,” she said. “Don’t think. Just breathe. You’ve got to get the nightmares out. There!” Her voice was deep and throaty, and she looked just like him. Almost.

  When Theo exhaled again, he saw that he was in a field of dead grass, withered and brown. The calm night sky above was starry and navy blue, and the moon, an enormous yellow crescent, glowed from behind a cloud. The air was desolate and had a tinge of sadness that he couldn’t comprehend. It scared him.

  The purple bear hovered above him—literally. She had one eye and a peeling X of white tape where the other eye had been. Her entire left arm was wrapped in bandages that looked ratty, as if they had been there for a long time.

  “That was close. Stratus almost had you.”

  Theo keeled over, unable to speak.

  “What are you doing traveling through the Stratusphere alone?” she asked, floating around him as she spoke. “Are you from the other side? You must be. You look so clean and fresh, how I used to look. I was so beautiful once, too. So plushy.” She laughed to herself and sighed. “And look at me now.”

  “Shut up,” Theo said finally, exhaling. “You ruined it. I could have defeated him.”

  “He almost killed you!”

  Theo leaped up and shook her. “Tell me where Stratus is!”

  She tried to hover away, but Theo held tight. “Quit flying around and tell me where Stratus is, or I’ll—”

  “You’ll what?”

  Theo drew his wooden sword. It was broken from his encounter with Stratus, but he raised it anyway and threatened to stab. “This is your last chance—”

  The purple bear yelled, and blue energy formed on the tips of her paws. She zapped Theo with a ball of blue light that sent him halfway across the field. His sword fell into the grass, and his wooden shield flew up out of his hands and conked him on the head.

  “Ow . . .”

  “That’s what you get. If you try that again, I’ll fire another dream blast at you. I saved your life, you know.”

  “Thanks for nothing,” Theo said, rubbing his head. “Make yourself truly useful and tell me where I can find Grant.”

  The purple bear dropped her hands and the energy on her fingertips faded. “So stubborn and headstrong. We’re definitely related.”

  “We couldn’t possibly be related.”

  “You’re an Ursabrand, like me. I’m Lucinda,” she said, offering Theo her paw.

  He stared at her bandaged arm and scoffed. “Some Ursabrand you are.”

  “If you only knew. I’ve been here for so long, I’ve forgotten what it’s like on the other side.” She suddenly looked very nervous. “Oh no. You’
re here because Stratus has your owner.”

  Theo nodded.

  “It happened to me, too,” Lucinda said. “My owner was playing, and then the next thing I knew, Stratus snatched her, and I followed her here.”

  “Where is your owner?”

  Lucinda hung her head. “It doesn’t matter now. But you should have come sooner.”

  “I was preoccupied with an ogre.”

  She pointed to a clock tower that rose from a huge castle on the horizon. The castle was very far away, yet it seemed to dominate the sky. It had several spires and was made of dull gray stones. “Twelve hours until sunrise.”

  “And?”

  “If you don’t rescue your owner by then, you’ll end up like me—trapped.”

  Theo felt queasy. He was stuck in this strange place with this strange bear, and now she had told him that he had a limited amount of time to rescue Grant. It was too much. Fear sank into his legs and shook them, but he tried not to show it.

  The sound of wheels in the distance distracted Theo from his thoughts. He turned to see a covered wagon approaching, pulled by toy horses with matted manes and lame legs. A strongman with big, shiny muscles, a black-and-white-striped shirt, and painted-on muttonchops drove the wagon; other strange-looking, maimed toys hung out from the sides, staring at Theo.

  “Lucinda,” the strongman said with a lilting German accent, “you all right?”

  Lucinda smiled and waved to the caravan. “I rescued him.”

  The wagon came to a stop, and the toys surrounded Theo and Lucinda. The strongman, who kept flexing his muscles as if his inner gears were malfunctioning, stood grinning at Theo. He was joined by a cowgirl wearing jeans, a red button-up shirt, a yellow cowboy hat, and a winsome smile that seemed as if she didn’t care about her appearance, despite the gash across her face. Next to her, a white, wobbly, robotic dachshund with one blue eye and one red eye panted. His tail clicked as he wagged it. Slowly, other broken toys with interesting faces and injuries joined them.

  “A new visitor,” Heinrich the strongman said. He bent forward and flexed his biceps for Theo. “How do you like my rippling muscles?”

  The cowgirl twirled a lasso in the air and yelled, “Yippie ki-yay! I’m Bethany.”

  The robotic dog barked and said in a stilted electronic voice, “My name is Shaggy. I am pleased to make your acquaintance.”

  The toys did tricks in front of Theo and tried to get his attention; it was information overload.

  Theo stepped backward and then fell down, hard. He wanted to get away.

  Lucinda hovered around the group and clapped her hands together; a sonic boom silenced everyone.

  “Stop! You’re going to scare him more than he is already.”

  Theo stumbled to his feet. “I’m not scared.”

  “Of course you are,” Lucinda said.

  Heinrich raised his hand. “Yes, I’ve been here for an eternity, and I want to pee my pants every day.”

  “Nobody lives in the Stratusphere who ain’t scared,” Bethany said.

  “Indeed. Nothing here is what it seems,” Shaggy said. His red eye pulsed violently. “Stratus watches everyone. He is omnipresent. Those who bow down to him are bestowed favors. Those who resist him suffer a fate worse than death. Like us. We are forced to wander the countryside in constant fear.”

  “I am Theodorus Ursabrand,” Theo said, puffing out his chest. “I am descended from a long line of courageous bears for whom nothing is too scary, for whom no monster is too strong. I have—”

  “—taken an oath to defend my owner, even if it means sacrificing my life,” Lucinda interrupted. “Yeah, yeah. I can recite the whole oath, too. If you’re such a successful Ursabrand, then why are you here?”

  “I was talking before you butted in.” Theo looked at the other toys and said, “I will face Stratus, defeat him, and free all of you from this forsaken land.”

  Lucinda fell out of the air, laughing. “You can’t save us. We’re condemned.”

  “You are condemned because your mind is weak. But I wasn’t talking to you. Any real Ursabrand would have destroyed Stratus by now.”

  The other toys whispered among themselves.

  “He is very brave,” Heinrich said.

  “Yeah, maybe he can save us,” Shaggy said.

  “But what about the festival?” Bethany asked. “We’ve got to put on the festival.”

  “Tell me where to find Stratus,” Theo said.

  Heinrich pointed to the castle. “But you’ll never get in. If you try to step through the front gate, you’ll be turned into teddy bear sausage. You should stay for our festival. Yes, that’s much better! Don’t worry yourself about that castle. No, don’t do that!”

  “I don’t care about your stupid festival.”

  “We might be willing to help you,” Lucinda said. “That is, if you were willing to help us.”

  “Why would I help an Ursabrand imposter like you?”

  “Because I can get you into the castle.”

  Theo stomped toward Lucinda. “Then tell me how.”

  “I saved your life. You owe me.”

  “Yes, you owe her,” Heinrich said. “Uh-huh, yes you do!”

  “Besides,” Lucinda said, “My plan involves using some things that we don’t currently have. We could use some help, couldn’t we, everyone?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh god, yes!”

  “Yesiree!”

  Heinrich bear-hugged Theo. “My brave little bear. You’re going to help us make the festival a success!”

  Theo sighed, but he knew this place was dangerous. It would be suicide to storm the castle now.

  These toys are weird, but maybe they can help.

  “What do you want me to do?” he asked.

  “Get to know us and we’ll tell you,” Lucinda said. She pointed at the clock tower. “There are twelve hours until sunrise. It seems like a lot of time, but it’s not, really. Still, I’m confident that we can finish everything by then, but it’ll depend on you, Theo.”

  She hovered away. “Since you’re so brave and strong, it shouldn’t be a problem for you. Heinrich will tell you what to do.”

  Theo frowned at her.

  THE CLOCK

  ~ Theo has until sunrise to rescue Grant.

  ~ Every decision Theo makes from now on will either positively or negatively affect the clock.

  ~ The story will end at sunrise, whether Theo rescues Grant or not.

  ~ Choose wisely. Some decisions may have unexpected consequences . . .

  Theo approached Heinrich, and the strongman clapped with glee.

  “I’ve lost my Whatsamadoozle,” Heinrich said. “I, the mighty Heinrich, am nothing without it.”

  “What’s a Whatsamadoozle?”

  Heinrich looked offended. “What isn’t a Whatsamadoozle?”

  “Why don’t you go and find it?”

  “I must protect the caravan,” he said. “If those rival toys come, I will give them ouchies. But you’re a supple little teddy bear. Maybe you can find it for me.”

  Theo rolled his eyes. “Where is it?”

  Heinrich pointed to a dark forest in the distance. “We just came through the Evil Woods. It must have fallen off the wagon while we were there.”

  “Fine. I’ll help you find your whatsamathingy.”

  “It’s a Whatsamadoozle, you silly bear. Oh, you’re a miracle dressed in fur! It will be the easiest quest ever. Just look for the golden glow and you will find it. You’ll be back in ten minutes.”

  Heinrich lifted Theo into the air, aimed him at the Evil Woods, and he launched him into the air with the force of a cannon. Theo shielded his hands in front of his face as he arced into the air and crashed through the trees.

  CHAPTER COMPLETE!

  ~ Continue.

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  CHAPTER 3

  Quest for the Whatsamadoozl
e

  The Evil Woods were covered in shadows, and Theo could hardly see. The trees were black; their wiry branches blocking most of the moonlight. Even though they looked dead, they seemed alive.

  Theo heard strange rustlings everywhere, as if something were waiting in the darkness to reach out and grab him. There was no path, so he had to climb, duck, and swing his way through the undergrowth.

  After a while, he saw a golden glow in the distance.

  This quest was easier than I thought.

  He ran toward the glow, but it seemed to bounce away the closer he got. Eventually, he caught up with it, and discovered that the glow was coming from a huge golden mallet being dragged across the ground by a purple pterodactyl with serrated teeth, sharp wings, and bony feet. The mallet made a thrashing sound as it passed over the dead grass, and every stomp from the pterodactyl shook the ground.

  Theo ducked behind a nearby tree, his heart thumping.

  “Yes,” the dinosaur said in his raspy voice, admiring the mallet. “what a remarkable find. Stratus will be pleased.”

  He tossed the mallet into the air, where it flashed and became a golden trophy. Grabbing the trophy by the handles, the dinosaur blushed and acted like he was on stage receiving it. “No, Your Grace, I can’t accept this marvelous trophy. I’m a simple toy. So simple! I just want your love and affection. I don’t want money, I don’t want gifts.”

  The trophy materialized into a statue of the dinosaur, with a grin even uglier than in real life. “All I want is a statue of myself in your courtyard to show all these pathetic toys in this dimension that I, Cutter, am your most faithful servant. Yes, I will serve you until the end of my days . . .”