The Hellandback Kids: Be Careful What You Wish For

by LL Helland

  Chris replied, “How would I contact the fish?”

  Chris’s head filled with plans to have the Bundlebobs help him. One of the giant Bundlebobs could scare that dog that always chased him home, or perhaps one of the smarter Bundlebobs could help him with his homework.

  The king said, “Chris, you can’t abuse your power. You can only call on the fish in a life-or-death situation.”

  Chris did not think it sounded as cool as he originally thought, but he might need help one day, so why turn down this opportunity? Kind of like a magic genie—with gills. Chris sighed. “So how would I get in contact with the fish?”

  “All you have to do is rub your big toe and say, ‘I need the fish of hope.’”

  Chris started laughing. “You must be kidding, right?”

  The king glared at Chris. “No, I’m very serious. Do you wish to become one of the few chosen ones, or will you decline my offer?”

  Chris decided he had to join their club of fish people, if only to avoid hurting the king’s feelings. It was not likely that anyone would ever call on him to come save any of the Bundlebobs again.

  Chris sat down so he could be closer to the king’s eye level and said, “I would consider it an honor to be in your elite club.”

  As he spoke, the king took his unusual stick and touched the sole of Chris’s right cleat, where his big toe was. Chris jumped. His toe tingled, so he quickly removed his shoe and looked at it. A picture of a fish adorned the bottom of his big toe, just like the one on the giant Bundlebob’s toe. Chris thought it looked like a tattoo. He rubbed his thumb across the marking to see if it would come off.

  The king saw his attempt. “Chris, you can never remove that marking. It now forms a part of your being. The Bundlebobs will always come to your rescue, so don’t hesitate to call on them.”

  Chris could only think about how his mother would kill him for having a tattoo. The king returned to his vehicle and traveled halfway to the horizon before Chris looked up from his daze.

  Tompack said, “Chris, it’s time for us to take you back to the ice wall. This time, one of the giants will transport you.”

  Chris looked at Tompack. “I’m not going to freeze again, am I?”

  Tompack reassured him, “No, this time you are going back to your great-grandmother’s house in Scotland.”

  Thomas tried to drag Chris’s lacrosse bag out of the laboratory. Chris ran over to get his bag and started putting on all the clothes he had.

  “Chris, you don’t need to do that. The giant will take good care of you. You are fish brothers now. He’ll not let you freeze or drown. If he has to, he will even give up his life for you.”

  Chris said, “Cool.”

  Thomas stayed close to Chris. He wanted to be back in Boston, well fed and rested in his warm cage.

  Before long, they reached the ice wall. Bihydrant worried that the giant would abandon them again on the wrong side of the wall, but he didn’t.

  On his first visit, Chris remembered the ice wall had seemed to reach the sky, but the giant reached his arm over and put Chris on the snow. Quill and the others stayed on the giant Bundlebob’s palm, but Quill broke off one of his toenails and threw it to Chris.

  “Just a little snack to eat on your journey.”

  Chris didn’t refuse this time. He put the toenail in his lacrosse bag. The giant pointed to Chris’s right foot in farewell, and then they were gone.

  Thomas and Chris now stood alone on the other side of the ice wall. Chris thought he had gone back in time to the exact same place he had started in, days earlier. Thomas was with him now, but it did not take long for the winds to pick up and the snow to be blinding. He unzipped his lacrosse bag and told Thomas to get in. Then he hung on to the bag.

  The force of the wind slammed him against the ice wall. Chris hit his head and wished that he had worn his helmet. He could feel himself traveling through a tunnel, but not a dark tunnel. The passageway seemed bright white, maybe a snow tunnel of some type, and it was beginning to get cold. Just as the coolness on his skin turned uncomfortable, everything stopped.

  He opened his eyes to find himself on the cold steel OR table in Great-Grandmother’s home.

  CHAPTER 39

  Brittany bent down and kissed Abigail’s forehead. Abigail said weakly, “I don’t know how you did it, Brittany, but I appreciate you saving my life.”

  As Brittany said her good-byes, she stepped out into the hallway. She stepped on something. It felt like a small stone. She went down and hit the floor. As her head hit the ground, she saw a bright light, and then everything went dark.

  As she sluggishly came to, she knew exactly where she was the moment she could focus on the room. She had returned to her great-grandmother’s house in Scotland. Brittany hoped Abigail had lived, but she just didn’t know. She got out of bed and looked at the mural on the wall. It didn’t frighten her as much now. The little boy chasing the chicken was her friend Chad, and, although the mural turned dark and dismal in the middle, the end focused on recovering.

  There wiping the dirt from her forehead was Abigail. She was toward the end of the mural, and although things still looked filthy, the sun was shining, and Abigail looked somewhat better. She had color in her face and had put on just a slight bit of weight. Brittany felt stronger knowing that, despite overwhelming and horrendous events, eventually things tried to right themselves.

  Since Brittany had her own bathroom in her room, she packed quickly, then took an even quicker shower. She put on a pair of jeans and a fitted T-shirt. By the sink, she found a small bag tied closed. She undid the knot and saw the brightly colored stones. It did not take her long to tuck those in her bag.

  Then she ran down to the kitchen. She was hungry, and something smelled delicious. Brittany saw what she thought was a cousin to the Bundlebobs making breakfast and gave them all a hug. Then she sat down to a feast.

  Jon had tumbled down a long and lonely elevator shaft until he came to a soft landing. Jon had landed on his Murphy bed at his great-grandmother’s house. Though a cat lay comfortably on his bed, he was not sneezing. He did not know if he was no longer allergic to cats or just not this particular one. Jon petted the cat, making it purr. He had never been able to touch a cat before!

  Eventually the cat jumped off the bed and scratched at something on the floor. Papers still covered every inch of the room. Jon looked to see what the cat had found. It was sharpening its claws on some thick brown paper. Jon petted the cat, then picked up the brown paper. When he turned it over, he saw the plans for the Sporbit. The room held no backstabbers, butt-kissers, sharks, or two-faced people—just him, the cat, and the plans.

  Jon was still wondering about the giant backstabber that his odd great-grandfather was dragging to the basement. He kept calling him Eanrik, Jon thought.

  Jon could hear his great-grandmother’s voice, sounding soft and far away. “Time to get up, your ride will be here within the hour to take you to the airport.”

  He found his luggage by the door and quickly changed into street clothes, putting the Sporbit plans in his suitcase with his suit. As he left to go find a bathroom and brush his teeth, the cat ambled out of his room and down the hall.

  Chris got up next. Thomas had wandered out into the hallway and met up with the cat coming from Jon’s room. The cat hissed at Thomas and chased him back into the OR, where he ran over to the steel table and back into Chris’s lacrosse bag. Thomas stayed in the bag, but Chris jumped off the steel table and got ready. He headed for the kitchen as fast as humanly possible. In the kitchen, he found his great-grandmother and a big surprise.

  Granmama said, “Chris, I believe you know Tompack, Bihydrant, Kaver, and Quill. I don’t know how I could keep this place up without their help.”

  Chris looked closely at the Bundlebobs. Why didn’t I see it before? he thought. The Bundlebobs must have been the “small children” that he and his siblings had seen darting around the house when their great-grandmother had fir
st shown them their rooms.

  When her great-grandmother’s voice called her to come down for breakfast, Trisha’s head was resting on something deliciously soft. She sat up in the coffin and looked around the room. The wedding dress was no longer in the corner, but Mrs. Toddles was in her portrait, with Advarika on her lap. He had not been in the picture before, and Trisha noticed the woman’s brooch was now gone.

  She wanted a picture of Advarika, so she dug through her belongings and got her cell phone out. But she could not take the picture—her phone was not charged. How long had she been asleep? She looked around for the wax manikins, but they were no longer there. She saw a small grease spot where each of the wax statues had stood, but nothing else.

  Trisha had a cheap disposable camera in her bag as a backup, so she opened the package and snapped a picture. The room turned bright green, then went dark. Only a faint glow from the portrait enabled Trisha to see her belongings. She quickly got her things together and went downstairs.

  As Trisha entered the kitchen, Tompack said, “Let me introduce myself. My name is Tompack, and I’m a Bundlebob.” He introduced the other three, then guided Trisha to her chair.

  Trisha said, “I know Bihydrant, and I’m pleased to meet the rest of you.”

  Chris chimed in. “You see, Trisha, you would have known the Bundlebobs, but for some reason, Thomas got sidetracked or something, and you never made it to Professor Mend’s laboratory.”

  “Never made it where?” Trisha asked.

  Thomas was trying to get out of the lacrosse bag, but the zipper was stuck. Chris bent down and opened the bag. Thomas popped out and said, “Now, in my defense, I had a lot going on. Besides, I got some faulty information from one of my distant relatives.” Then Thomas smelled the food and did not say another word.

  Trisha looked at all the wonderful food.

  Bihydrant asked Chris, “Would you like some yellow jam on your toast?”

  Chris grabbed his toast. “No, I’ll just eat it plain and dry.”

  Jon said, “Chris, why are you so jumpy? It’s just honey.” Jon squeezed the honey bottle, pouring golden yellow syrup until it dripped down the sides of his toast. Chris almost got sick.

  Granmama said, “Let’s finish up. I’ve called for a car to take you to the airport. I drive very slowly, and you might miss your flight.”

  Brittany said, “What day is this? I don’t remember how many days have gone by.”

  Granmama smiled. “Brittany, the days just flew by with never a dull moment. You can come back next summer, or maybe even at Christmastime.”

  Chris said, “Where’s the odd old man?”

  “I’m afraid your great-grandfather had a lot of things to clean up. He told me he’d see you all at Christmas. That is, if you want to come for another visit?”

  Trisha said, “I’d like to come back. I learned a lot about myself, but it was a bit intense.” She pointed to her siblings. “Maybe we could do something together next time.”

  Great-Grandmother winked at Trisha. “Wonderful idea, Trisha.” I’ll be able to keep track of all of them at the same time, she thought.

  Chris said, “Ditto to that. I think I’m changing my attitude toward the heat, though. Maybe I’ll go to Texas for lacrosse camp.”

  Brittany said, “I need to reevaluate my future and working with highly dangerous viruses. I may leave that up to some other scientists. I don’t mind the viruses; it’s the sick and dying I wouldn’t want to work with. You know, Great-Grandmother, for every disease, there are people who actually get the illness, and more than likely, they die right along with the viruses.”

  Great-Grandmother just nodded. “And Jon, did you learn anything?”

  “Granmama, I’m not sure if I learned anything.”

  Great-Grandmother said, “Jon, you didn’t learn anything?”

  “Well, I still want to be wealthy, but I don’t want to work for anyone else. I want to be my own boss.”

  Jon heard a noise. It sounded like metal scraping against a wall. Jon pointed to the basement door. “Granmama is there something down there?”

  “I don’t think so. Would you like to take a quick look before you go home?”

  “No! I’m fine. Just wondering. Chris can go down there next time we visit. Dad says he’s great with raccoons and things.”

  Chris said, “Jon, I’m not looking in any basement. I can’t even stand our basement, and I don’t plan on fighting any rabid raccoons. Granmama, where’s our ride?”

  Without waiting for an answer, Chris changed the subject. “Trisha, can Thomas travel in your carrying case after we pass the X-ray machine?”

  Trisha had never really liked Thomas when he lived with them, but she knew how sad Chris was when he thought Thomas had died. She could not see why Thomas should not ride in her case—besides the fact that he would get her stuff all dirty. But she would have to wash everything when she got home anyway.

  Trisha opened her carry-on, put a few muffins and an apple in it, and rearranged her socks so Thomas would have a nice place to rest. The minute Trisha put her small bag on the floor, one of the Bundlebobs whisked it away.

  Chris leaned over to Thomas. “Once everything is clear, you can ride in style in Trisha’s overnight bag, but until then, keep a low profile.”

  Chris’s hands were still a bit stiff from being frozen, and he looked at them. Then he remembered the fish tattoo on his toe. Did it really exist? He pulled his shoe and sock off, and sure enough, it did exist. Thoughts overwhelmed his mind. His siblings seemed to feel the same.

  No one heard Granmama ask any more questions. They were too involved in trying to make sense out of the past week.

  Granmama said, “Well! There’s your lift.” The luggage was already outside the front door. Granmama gave each of the children a bear hug, almost as if she did not want to let go. They had all grown up so much in just a few days. Finally the children grabbed their luggage and walked toward the car.

  Granmama said, “Brittany, don’t forget your bag of stones.” Brittany took the small bag her great-grandmother gave her and put it in the pocket of her jeans, wiping a tear from her eye.

  Trisha had trouble with the handle on her luggage. Holding it made her sore wrist hurt. Jon could see she was having trouble and took her luggage. No one yelled for shotgun, fought, or pushed. When they had stowed the luggage in the trunk, Jon sat in the front seat; then Brittany slid across the back seat and helped Trisha in. Trisha was still rubbing her wrist.

  Before Chris got in, Granmama yelled, “Chris!”

  As he looked up, she fired a snowball right at his head. He quickly put his lacrosse stick up and caught the ball of ice. He was surprised that his great-grandmother could throw so fast.

  She yelled, “Nice catch!”

  The bits of snow hit the ground and vanished, not even leaving a trace of water. Had the snowball really been there?

  A week before their visit to Scotland, that would have seemed very strange, but today seemed normal. They all waved to their granmama and hoped they could come back to visit. They had never had an adventure like this before.

  Great-Grandmother waved and then turned as she heard Alastair yell, “Granmama, I need your help!” Great-Grandmother looked down the hallway and could see the Bundlebobs and Alastair trying to get Eanrik back to the basement. Granmama ran down the hallway to help put the beast into the basement, where it belonged.

  CHAPTER 40

  They all missed their great-grandmother before they even got to the airport.

  Jon helped Trisha with her luggage, and Chris carried Thomas inside his windbreaker. As Thomas jumped out of Chris’s jacket and ran by the guard’s feet, the dog stationed by the X-ray machine lunged at him. The guard thought the dog had detected something on the teens or their luggage. After a thorough check of everything, the guard let them go. He had found nothing illegal, except some smashed muffins and an apple in Trisha’s carry-on.

  “Sorry, miss, no fruit.” The
guard threw away the apple, and Thomas jumped into his accommodations just as Trisha closed her case.

  They all slept on the long flight home. It seemed like no time had passed at all when the stewardess tapped Brittany on the shoulder. “We’re back in Boston. You all slept for the entire flight.”

  As the Hellandbacks left the gate, they saw their parents waiting for them. Their mom jumped up and down, waving her arms. She would never admit it, but she was bored and lonely when they were gone.

  On the ride home, their mom said, “You all must be tired—you’re so quiet.”

  Patrick smiled to himself. “I think their brains are full of questions and ideas.”

  None of them knew how to explain their adventure to the others, so they just said nothing. They did not really know if any of it had been real or not.

  Mom saw Trisha rubbing her wrist. “Trisha, did you hurt your wrist?” She did not wait for an answer. “I’ll wrap it at home and give you an aspirin.”

  After some quiet goodnights, all the Hellandback kids went right to their rooms without talking. They got ready for bed while their mom got them a light snack.

  In the kitchen, Anna said, “I think they may be sick, but none of them have a fever.”

  Patrick watched as she wrapped Trisha’s wrist, and gave her a glass of water with some aspirin.

  He only said, “They are fine. It’s nothing a good day or two of sleep won’t cure. I was the same way as a boy. I would collapse of exhaustion after long trips.”

  Chris ran to his room with Trisha’s carry-on. He dug through his closet and brought out Thomas’s old cage. He put one of his old shirts in the bottom; he would go for some shavings tomorrow. Thomas had not eaten any of the muffins, so he must have been tired. Chris always thought Thomas liked eating better than anything else in the world. Chris put the muffin crumbs into the cage. And this time he left the cage open, so Thomas could have free range of the entire house.

  Mom tucked Brittany and Trisha into bed, picking up Brittany’s jeans as she did. A small bag fell out of one of the one of the pockets. This was the bag that Brittany had gotten from a small boy at the hospital for reading to him. She put the bag of stones on Brittany’s dresser, then went to Chris’s room.