Festival of Shadows Read online

  He’s crazy, completely crazy. And he’s three times my size.

  Cutter grew tired of his revelry and growled. The statue morphed into a huge scythe, and he threw it ahead of him, where it mowed down several trees and returned to him like a boomerang. He caught it and then slashed another tree in half, laughing as it fell.

  “I should be more conservative. I’ll eliminate half the forest at this rate. And then where will I hide and wait for unsuspecting toys so that I can slice them into atoms?”

  Cutter pivoted and stomped in Theo’s direction. Startled, Theo stepped backward and stepped on a twig.

  Cutter stopped. “Who’s there?”

  Theo stumbled from behind the tree, his legs shaking. “G-give me the Whatsamadoozle.”

  “The what?”

  “In your hand. Surrender it, and I will spare you.” Theo drew his broken sword.

  “You call that piece of timber a sword?” Cutter asked, laughing demonically. He morphed the Whatsamadoozle into a gigantic sword that he could hardly wield. “This is a sword.” He raised it as if to strike, but then lowered it and morphed it into a golden mallet again. “Let’s try this Whatsamathingamajiggybob—on you.”

  Cutter smacked Theo with the mallet, sending him flying into the air. As Theo fell into another section of the forest, Cutter’s voice echoed through the trees: “If I see you again, it will be the end of you, bear.”

  Theo crawled out of a bush, shaking sticks and branches from his fur.

  “This is getting old,” he said, rubbing his head. He looked in the direction where he thought Cutter had been, but there was only darkness. Through a hole in the trees, he saw the moon in the sky and guessed that he had entered the forest from the west. From the position of the moon, Cutter had probably launched him north—but it was just a guess, and it could have easily been wrong.

  Suddenly, the trees around him lumbered awake and stood up on their roots. They groaned and began walking all around him, forcing him to jump out of the way before they stepped on him. After a minute, they stopped, sat on their roots, and laughed with their wooden, sinewy laughter.

  Theo glanced around, but he was even less sure of his bearings now.

  I need to pick a direction.

  ~ North.

  ~ South.

  ~ East.

  ~ West.

  SORRY!

  You didn’t make a selection. Go back to the previous page. Otherwise, you may get lost.

  Theo kept trudging in the direction that he chose, but he didn’t see a golden glow. He was just about to despair when the trees stood up again and moved around. A tree moved in front of him, and a vine dangled from its backside; he realized that he could climb up the tree and get a view of the canopy if he was fast enough.

  ~ He grabbed the vine.

  ~ He stayed still and focused ahead.

  SORRY!

  You didn’t make a selection. Go back to the previous page. Otherwise, you may get lost.

  He clambered up the bark as the tree tried to shake him off. He reached the top and got a clear view of the expansive forest. There was a golden glow coming from what he thought was the southeast corner of the forest.

  “Southeast it is.”

  He dropped down from the tree, and all of a sudden, he felt himself sinking into the ground; the trees sank with him, and then he felt as if his head was where his legs were, and there he was again, standing in the forest, but everything seemed backwards, like the forest was a mirror’s image of itself.

  “I hate this place.”

  ~ Southwest.

  ~ Northeast.

  ~ Northwest.

  ~ Southeast.

  SORRY!

  You didn’t make a selection. Go back to the previous page. Otherwise, you may get lost.

  Theo kept walking, but he couldn’t see the golden glow.

  “I hope I didn’t pick the wrong direction.” He tried to remember the layout of the forest.

  The trees shuffled again; everything reversed itself, back to the way it was before.

  “I get it. The forest reversed itself, so I should have gone the opposite direction. Now, it reversed itself again, so . . .”

  ~ Northeast

  ~ North

  ~ West

  ~ Southeast

  ~ Southwest

  ~ South

  ~ East

  ~ Northwest

  SORRY!

  You didn’t make a selection. Go back to the previous page. Otherwise, you may get lost.

  “I won’t be fooled,” Theo said.

  As he ran, he heard a cry.

  “Help me!”

  In the distance, a toy raccoon darted frantically among the trees.

  A tree grinned evilly, and prepared to step on the raccoon with its snake-like roots.

  ~ Theo decided to rescue the raccoon.

  ~ He kept running southeast.

  SORRY!

  You didn’t make a selection. Go back to the previous page. Otherwise, you may get lost.

  Theo stumbled through the undergrowth. “Take my hand,” he said.

  The raccoon’s eyes glowed orange and then it laughed.

  “Praise Stratus!” it cried, disappearing into a wisp of smoke.

  A tree smacked Theo with a branch, and he lost his bearing. The trees blurred, and everything reversed itself again.

  “Crap.”

  ~ Northeast

  ~ North

  ~ West

  ~ Southeast

  ~ Southwest

  ~ South

  ~ East

  ~ Northwest

  SORRY!

  You didn’t make a selection. Go back to the previous page. Otherwise, you may get lost.

  He ran, but he felt as if he were running in circles.

  “I lost my way.”

  He didn’t give up; he kept running, and after what seemed like forever, he saw a golden glow through the trees, growing closer and closer.

  ~ Continue.

  SORRY!

  You didn’t make a selection. Go back to the previous page. Otherwise, you may get lost.

  Soon, he saw a golden glow through the trees, growing closer and closer.

  ~ Continue.

  SORRY!

  You didn’t make a selection. Go back to the previous page. Otherwise, you may get lost.

  Sorry, but I have to rescue Grant.

  Theo kept running and didn’t look back. The ground shook and he heard the toy’s scream cut away. He shook his head but remembered why he was doing all of this in the first place.

  Soon, he saw a golden glow through the trees, growing closer and closer.

  ~ Continue.

  SORRY!

  You didn’t make a selection. Go back to the previous page. Otherwise, you may get lost.

  Theo ran and ran but he could not see the golden glow. He kept trying to remember the layout of the forest.

  He realized that he had never changed direction! He took off to the southeast, and soon he saw the golden glow through the trees, though he wished that he had figured out his bearings sooner.

  ~ Continue.

  SORRY!

  You didn’t make a selection. Go back to the previous page. Otherwise, you may get lost.

  “You can’t fool me,” Theo said. He ran faster this time and hoped that the trees wouldn’t pick up again; soon, he saw the golden glow of the Whatsamadoozle through the forest, growing closer and closer.

  ~ Continue.

  SORRY!

  You didn’t make a selection. Go back to the previous page. Otherwise, you may get lost.

  A tree threatened to step on Theo, and he rolled out of the way. When he looked up again, he couldn’t be sure if he lost his bearing or not, though it seemed like a safe bet to keep going.

  ~ West

  ~ North

  ~ East

  ~ South

  SORRY!

  You didn’t make a selection. Go back to the previous page. Otherwise, you may get lost.

  Theo st
arted again, and after what seemed like forever, he saw the golden glow through the branches.

  ~ Continue.

  SORRY!

  You didn’t make a selection. Go back to the previous page. Otherwise, you may get lost.

  Theo ran and ran, but he could not see the golden glow. He kept trying to remember the layout of the forest in his mind, but he couldn’t. After what seemed like hours, he saw the golden glow through the trees, though he wished that he had figured out his bearings sooner.

  ~ Continue.

  SORRY!

  You didn’t make a selection. Go back to the previous page. Otherwise, you may get lost.

  He saw a golden glow through the trees. He edged southeast and knew that this was the right direction. As the glow grew closer, the trees rearranged themselves again. Theo stood still and focused ahead, but a tree grabbed him and flung him high into the air. He broke through the canopy, sailed high, and as he fell, he saw the golden glow of the Whatsamadoozle in the southeast corner of the forest. He broke through the canopy, and an angry tree grabbed him, flung him west, then another tree flung him north, then another tree whirled him around and launched him southeast. When he landed, Theo felt himself sinking into the ground; the trees sank with him, and then he felt as if his head was where his legs were, and there he was again, standing in the forest, but everything seemed backwards, like he was in a mirror’s image of the forest.

  “Ugh.”

  ~ Northwest.

  ~ Southwest.

  ~ Southeast.

  ~ Northeast.

  SORRY!

  You didn’t make a selection. Go back to the previous page. Otherwise, you may get lost.

  Theo ran until he could see the golden glow between the trees. Suddenly, the trees moved again and formed a wall, preventing him from going farther. He sank into the ground again, and the forest reversed itself.

  “If I can’t go northwest, I’ll have to go around.”

  ~ Southwest.

  ~ Northeast.

  ~ Northwest.

  ~ Southeast.

  SORRY!

  You didn’t make a selection. Go back to the previous page. Otherwise, you may get lost.

  He ran until he could see the golden glow between the trees.

  “That was faster than I thought.”

  ~ Continue.

  SORRY!

  You didn’t make a selection. Go back to the previous page. Otherwise, you may get lost.

  The trees laughed as Theo ran, and the laughing grew louder the deeper he ran.

  “They tricked me. I’m going too far off course.” He pivoted, but the trees moved again. A tree picked him up, threw him to the east and then slammed him on the ground. He sank into the ground and everything reversed itself. Another tree grabbed him and sailed him southeast, and then another launched him southwest. Everything reversed itself again, and he landed on the ground facing north.

  “This is getting old.”

  ~ Northeast

  ~ North

  ~ West

  ~ Southeast

  ~ Southwest

  ~ South

  ~ East

  ~ Northwest

  SORRY!

  You didn’t make a selection. Go back to the previous page. Otherwise, you may get lost.

  Theo kept running, and soon, he saw a golden glow through the trees, growing closer and closer.

  ~ Continue.

  SORRY!

  You didn’t make a selection. Go back to the previous page. Otherwise, you may get lost.

  Theo kept running, and soon, he saw a golden glow through the trees, growing closer and closer. He wished that he would have gathered his bearings sooner.

  ~ Continue.

  SORRY!

  You didn’t make a selection. Go back to the previous page. Otherwise, you may get lost.

  He kept running but he didn’t see the golden glow. The trees picked up and moved around him until he lost his bearings.

  “Let’s try this again.”

  ~ Northeast

  ~ North

  ~ West

  ~ Southeast

  ~ Southwest

  ~ South

  ~ East

  ~ Northwest

  SORRY!

  You didn’t make a selection. Go back to the previous page. Otherwise, you may get lost.

  An angry tree picked up its roots and plopped down in front of Theo.

  “Out of my way,” Theo said, juking to the right.

  The tree darted to the right. Theo broke to the left, but the tree did the same thing and smirked at him.

  ~ Theo changed direction.

  ~ He climbed the tree.

  SORRY!

  You didn’t make a selection. Go back to the previous page. Otherwise, you may get lost.

  “I told you to get out of my way,” Theo said as he scurried up the tree’s side.

  The tree groaned and swiped, but Theo dodged him and climbed into the tree’s crown. He pulled out its branches, one by one, and he threw them down in front of the tree’s eyes.

  The tree grabbed at Theo, but he avoided its wiry branches.

  “I’m not going to tell you again,” Theo said. He jumped down the other side of the tree and started running. The tree bent over, trying to fix its crown of black leaves.

  The golden glow appeared through the trees, growing closer and closer.

  ~ Continue.

  SORRY!

  You didn’t make a selection. Go back to the previous page. Otherwise, you may get lost.

  Theo sank into the ground and everything reversed itself again. He ran, but then a tree grabbed him. He pulled himself loose from its grip, but when he landed, he sank into the ground and everything reversed itself again. He kept running but he found himself in front of the angry tree again. It laughed at him.

  ~ Theo changed direction again.

  ~ He climbed the tree.

  SORRY!

  You didn’t make a selection. Go back to the previous page. Otherwise, you may get lost.

  “I told you to get out of my way,” Theo said as he scurried up the tree’s side.

  The tree groaned and swiped, but Theo dodged him and climbed into the tree’s crown. He began pulling out its branches, one by one, and he threw them down in front of the tree’s eyes.

  The tree grabbed at Theo, but he avoided its wiry branches.

  “I’m not going to tell you again,” Theo said. He jumped down on the other side of the tree and started running. The tree bent over, trying to fix its crown of black leaves.

  The golden glow appeared through the trees, growing closer and closer.