Chapter 11
Off to War - Part 1
Meanwhile, as Peter was in school, his parents and
other family members were going to war to save Baja from
the hands of Marcus Carrot-Top. Sam was very unhappy at his
brother and the fact that he had ruined his family name for
years. Yet, deep down inside, Sam truly loved his brother
and he was torn between fighting for Baja and fighting his
brother. Nevertheless, Sam had to make a huge decision on
how he was going to handle the war and the conflict with
his brother.
He got the crew up and ready as soon as Peter left for
school. Red Fox and Samantha came up with great plans on
how they would attack the wizards in the forest. Meanwhile
Sam's father David was building weapon upon weapon, until
he got them right. Jane was still practicing her skills to
create a deadly plant, if she needed to rely on it. She
took out an old jewelry box that was given to her many
years ago. It was golden on the outside, engraved with
pictures of a large green plant. The colors on the box were
so vibrant; it did not even look old. As Jane opened the
box, a small beam of light caught her eyes. There was a
tiny blue seed the size of a quarter, and it began to hop
and jump all over the inside of the box, which was
protected by a red velvet cloth.
Jane remembered receiving this box when she was a
little girl, after the entire world of Baja had discovered
her talents for planting. She was told only to use this
blue seed in the event of life or death, and to always
protect it and to never let it get in the wrong hands. Even
when Jane was on earth, she never let the seed out of her
sight. Wherever she went, so did the blue seed, which was
called the seed of great destruction.
Jane held the seed up to her eye sight and saw its
great beauty. There was no other seed like it throughout
the galaxy, and what Jane held in her hands was very
powerful. She put the seed in a pouch that was hooked onto
her belt. Jane had now made and gotten all the plants and
formulas that she would need on the battlegrounds, and then
it was time to go.
The Carrot-Tops and their families said a prayer to
the Lord to guide them and keep them safe through their
journey, and then the five of them were on their way, along
with Oscar the cat.
Dorothy stayed home to wait for Peter when he arrived
from school. She kissed her son and husband goodbye and a
look of worry began to fill her face. Sam let his mother
know that everything would be okay, and if something were
to go wrong that she and Peter would have everything they'd
need for the rest of their lives. By this time, the tears
were falling and Sam began to wipe them from his mother's
eyes, letting her know that everything would be okay. To
get her mind off of things, she should head down to the toy
store and start making toys since Christmas was coming.
Dorothy agreed to this and took off.
At this point, there was no turning back; everyone in
the group had a huge task ahead of them. First, there were
only five of them and they were going to face seven
powerful wizards and the unknown Ambassador Forest. Sam
wished that at this time he had more men, and as they were
leaving the house a huge shadow covered up the sun. At
first, Sam and his family thought that they were under
attack, but it was far from the truth.
Up in the air was a large golden balloon, but not just
any balloon, one made by the hands of Sam's father. It had
the Baja codes and symbols that glowed up and down its
sides. The balloon was made more like a floating capsule
that hovered in the air; it was equipped with powerful
rockets and jet propellers. The balloon was large, but yet
so quiet in the air, it was as if the balloon had some type
of stealth abilities.
"What is this?" asked Sam to his father.
"Just a little gift I cooked up," said David.
Sam and his family stared at the beauty of the jet for
a while; it was large and magnificent. It was built to hold
at least one thousand men. David explained to his son that
many years ago, before Sam was kicked out of Baja, he
developed and built many secret weapons because in a dream
he was told that he would be the supplier of the war. At
first, David admitted that he did not know what this dream
meant, but one of the elders came to him in the dream
telling him that destruction was coming and Baja needed to
be protected from its enemies.
So, many years later, David had developed many secret
weapons and hid them in a tunnel under the mansion. This
was the first time that he had even told Sam about all of
his works and the hiding place in Baja. David explained to
his son that everything happens for a reason, and that the
elders would be protecting them all through the war. Sam
nodded his head in agreement, and began to accept the fact
that he must now be ready to fight for Baja and the Carrot-
Top's name.
David then made a big surprise move and called
Samantha Grey to come and take the keys to start the large
vessel. Samantha couldn't believe that David was entrusting
her to drive it, but what he was teaching his son was how a
real leader builds faith in his soldiers. David was now
letting Sam know what it takes to be a leader in the war
ahead and showing Sam to trust his people to achieve a
satisfactory result.
A white light came down as Sam pressed a button to
release the winging stairs. Everyone began to load the
vessel, when suddenly there was the sound of the loud
marching of footsteps and men chanting as if they were
going to war. Sam and his teammates stood ready to fight.
As the gates opened, there were at least a few hundred
men, all dressed in armor and fighting gear. Oscar began to
growl and salivated, letting the intruders know that he was
ready and willing to fight to keep his family safe. As the
men came in, they immediately saw that the Carrot-Tops were
ready for war. But, they were not there to start a war, but
to help them fight it.
These men were David's friends when they were all
slaves in the underground, but many of them had turned
their back on David and Sam. David had sent out one last
plea, and asked the men to join him in the war to save
Baja. At first, there was no answer; so David thought that
the men were still angry and did not want to help save
Baja. After all, Baja had made them slaves; now the same
men and women that were slaves were fighting for the world
that once enslaved and mistreat them.
David was very surprised to see all of his old friends
again; it was like going back in time. David told Oscar to
settle down and let the big cat know that these were their
allies. David went toward the line and hugged a huge guy;
his arms were muscular and solidly built. His head was
bald, and his skin was very dark. He had big white teeth
that had fangs out the sides. His hazel eyes made him so
breathtaking; he was humongous, and the size of his hands
could crush a person to death. Around his neck he was
adorned in golden jewelry. The only thing he carried was a
bow and arrow; the arrows were sharp and long, hanging out
of the protected bag. The arrows and the bow glowed with
the symbols of Baja, and his name was Boweloft.
David introduced Boweloft to his family, and then all
the rest of the soldiers came marching in. Boweloft
explained to David that he was angry at the way Baja had
enslaved him like a dog, but found it in his heart to
forgive and to come back and help his friend. David was
very pleased, and gave Boweloft another big hug.
Boweloft had also convinced the eight hundred women
and men to come too, but he was sad to tell David that two
hundred of the remaining men and women went to fight on the
side of the wizards. David was not surprised, and he
already knew the ones who would betray him. But, somewhere
in his heart, David was hoping that there would have been a
little mercy on their part, and they would have stuck with
him through thick and thin. Yet, David was happy to see
Boweloft, a man who was an honest leader and a fighter.
Oscar went around sniffing the entire army so that he
would be able to track anyone by their scent. The next
thing that happened was that the mass of people began to
load the vessel one by one.
"Now this is an army," said David to Sam.
"But, father, how many of these men can we truly
trust?" said Sam.
"None, you will just have to watch them and take a
chance," said David.
Sam felt as if his job of leader had just gotten a lot
harder; he now had eight hundred men and women that he did
not know fighting in his army, and he didn't feel as if he
could trust any of them. That these were the same friends
who had once betray his family filled him with dread, but
David let his son know that, in life, there must be a give
and take. At this point, they needed all the help they
could get, because without these fighters there would be no
way that they could take down the wizards and their evil
supporters.
Sam agreed with his father, and boarded the vessel
with the other fighters. The fighters were from all over
the four corners of Baja; many of them made or brought
their own weapons, and unlike Sam, many of them already
knew what to expect. There were knifes, bows and arrows,
swords, shields, and every type of weapon imaginable. The
crew was ready for a war.
What David did not tell Sam was that he had promised
all who joined his army millions of the Carrot-Top fortune.
If Sam had known this, he never would have agreed, but
David knew that he had to somehow get the attention of
Boweloft, since he was the leader and the voice of the
underground people. The strategy was very successful.
David knew what it would take to bring out the help
that he wanted, but at this time, Sam was too immature in
the game of war and did not need to know everything. The
hundreds of men and women joining the fight for Baja had
all pitched in and load the vessel. One by one, they began
to load food, weapons, camping equipment, and all the
necessary items that they would need.
Finally, the vessel was loaded; Samantha started the
engine and ordered everyone aboard. This was the last call,
as the engine started and flames shot from its pipes. Sam
gazed upon his home that he was leaving behind a second
time, but this time would be different; he was going to
prove that his family was innocent for once and for all.
Sam now had the look of a warrior in his eyes; he was ready
to fight, and there was nothing that would stop him.
Meanwhile, up in front, Samantha was getting a crash
course in air training. This was a model vessel that she
had never seen before, and David was teaching her how his
machine worked.
"You are a brilliant man," said Samantha.
David just smiled at the compliment and continued
showing her how the vessel worked. It had the fanciest
gadgets, like a talking face to guide her as a second
pilot, and screens that the pilot could see everything that
was going on way in the back of the vessel. The inside was
inscribed with hieroglyphics and other codes of Baja, which
no one knew what they meant. The only people that could
interpret new or old codes were the elders, and they were
in hibernation.
Codes of Baja were on everything the average citizens
buy, from clothing to fabrics, to food. So when David
bought all of his materials, the codes were already
embedded into the materials of the vessel, and many other
things that he made. All of the fighters on the vessel were
complimenting the creator; they had never seen anything
like this before and were going through it like miners on a
search for gold.
"Relax and eat," said Sam.
There was plenty of food to feed the army for days.
The soldiers ate and ate until they began to settle down
and take a nap. There were songs and music playing in the
background as the vessel went up in the air, and they were
on their way to the Ambassador Forest.
Jane was very nervous that some of the men on the
plane were not as trustworthy as her father-in-law might
like to think. So, she shared this distress with her
husband; and while the soldiers were asleep, Jane and Sam
called a meeting. They all voiced their concerns to David,
and he assured his family that there would be nothing to
worry about, that these were good people.
Yet, these were also the people that turned their
backs on the Carrot-Top family when they were exiled from
Baja. This was the concern of Jane and Sam, but David
brushed it off and once again assured his family that he
had it under control. However, there was, at times, a look
of worry in David's eye. But, this was a chance that they
had to take if they wanted to win the war. David was a
fighter and a leader, and he saw this situation through the
eyes of a leader.
"Sometimes you have to make deals with the devil,"
said David to his family.
After the brief meeting, everyone went to take a long
rest; the Ambassador Forest was miles and miles away.
Everyone needed to be well-rested and ready to fight in the
morning. Yet, there were a few restless bodies walking
through the vessel. Many of them were second guessing
themselves and wondering if this war was really worth the
risk of losing it all.
When David saw this he gathered up the team and talked
about the good times, which he promised would come back
again. After a few drinks of wine and a stomach we
ll
filled, the vessel of men and women began to shout again,
and their spirits were high to go to war. As Samantha drove
the vessel toward the map coordinates, the passengers
looked out of the window and stared out on a world they
were sworn to protect.
From above, Baja was a mystical place, the long silver
and golden vines that reached out to the heavens, courtesy
of Jane Carrot-Top. Baja was mystical upon itself, the only
place in the galaxy where ghosts could stay alive and make
a good life, until they were called to the next level to
reach the kingdom of the Creator. The skies began to burst
with rainbows that, every once in a while, would attached
themselves to a cloud or two.
The sun shone brightly in the afternoon skies, and
large dragons flew through the air at the speed of light;
gracing the fighters with their wonders. These dragons were
called onox's, and they were the protectors of the skies
over Baja and beyond. They were also very playful. Many of
them came close to the vessel, teasing the passengers to
play with them. Sam threw a turkey bone out of the window
and watched the dragons chase after it.
Too bad he left out Oscar, because Oscar had become
very jealous and wanted his fair share of the human food.
So Sam gave in and gave Oscar a big hug and a large turkey
bone that he delightfully went into the corner of the room
and ate to his enjoyment. But, not too far in the sky,
Samantha noticed a hooded dark creature approaching.
Somehow, Sam and Jane had seen this hooded creature or had
heard about it, but neither she nor Sam could put their
thoughts together.
The creature came playing through the skies on large
bats with long white fangs; there must have been a dozen or
so of these hideous creatures. Samantha dove the vessel,
ducking and dodging the hooded creature. She watched and
watched, but was not afraid; somehow she knew that this
thing was nothing more than a big bluff.
But others on the ship took the threat very seriously
and started to unpack their weapons. The hooded mask man
came close to the vessel. No face, eyes or features could
be seen, just the eeriness of a ghostly visitor. He ordered
the vessel to turn around and not enter the Ambassador
Forest. But on a large speaker, Sam told the hooded mask
man that they were getting into the forest one way or
another.
The masked man was not too happy and demanded the
vessel once again turn around, but Samantha never complied,
and drove the vessel ever faster. Behind the vessel, the
hooded mask man kept up and began to throw some type of sun
rays at the vessel. It was built strong and could withstand
the abuse for a little while.
Meanwhile, the men on the vessel began to take out
their bows and arrows, and began to shoot at the nasty bats
that were flying and bumping into the vessel causing
mayhem. These creatures were huge and powerful; they
possessed the strength and ability to move through the air
twice as fast as their size might make someone thing they
could.
The fighters on board kept shooting powerful golden
arrows at the beasts. Boweloft was at the head of the pack,
ordering their fire and every move. Jane began to command
her plants to come out of the earth and attack, and so the
plants did. They came out with long stems and vines,
reaching up to the skies, ready to eat anything in sight,
and the big bats were just the right serving. As the bats
flew around, bumping and biting the sides of the vessel,
Jane's plants came out of the ground like a swarm of bees.
These plants were huge and grungy looking; fangs came out
of the sides of their petals. They were carnivores, and
they wanted all the meat they could find. Because they hid
deep below the surface, they had a dusty old color to them;
their leaves were dark gray instead of green, and once
summoned, these plants destroyed everything in sight.
"Attack!" shouted Jane.
As the plants started eating the large bats, one by
one, the plants ran their vines up the sides of the bats
and snagged them like fish on a fisherman's hook. The
plants sucked and drank the blood of the bats, and chewed
up their bones.
Meanwhile, the hooded mask man kept on ordering more
bats to attack, but instead of attacking, the bats were
outnumbered by the plants that Jane had summoned. One by
one, the plants ripped out the hearts and flesh of the bats
and munched on their bones. The hooded mask figure flew off
on his one remaining bat and shouted, "Stay out of the
Ambassador Forest!"
Into the clouds he went, leaving behind the stink of
old bat carcasses. All the fighters in the vessel began to
cheer and were encouraged by David to keep on fighting. He
was a man of words and leadership. Sam admired his father
very much and wanted to be just like him; so Sam began to
study David to see how to lead an army like he once had.
By the latter part of the day, David had all those who
were second guessing themselves filled with pride and joy
to be a fighter for their world. The men and women on board
were now much more confident that they were doing the right
thing. The cheering and eating went on for hours as David
and Red Fox went out to walk the vessel to inspect the
damage. It was damaged very badly and was leaking vital
fuel that they needed.
The Ambassador Forest was miles away; and to make
matters worst, they were soon over the Azul Sea, the most
dangerous sea in the universe. It was created by the elders
a long, long time ago; to protect the entrance of Baja and
its surrounding moons, just like the Ambassador Forest. The
Azul Sea was rarely traveled, and those who had dared to
take it never returned. Red Fox told David that he had to
tell the crew that they all had to abandon the ship and
force land on the Azul Sea.
David told Red Fox not to get the fighters down, that
they had just won a victory over evil. Red Fox insisted
that they needed to know, but because David was the
captain, he commanded Red Fox to keep quiet until the time
was right. So, reluctantly, Red Fox said nothing to the
crew, but was very disappointed that he was forced to keep
a secret that he did not want to.
Inside the vessel, David called the main crew, which
was Sam, Samantha, Red Fox, Boweloft and Jane, together.
David explained to them what had happened and ordered them
not to tell the rest of the crew for the simple fact that
he did not want hysteria to breakout and the crew start to
second guessing themselves. The team agreed not to say
anything until the time was right.
Suddenly, in the pilot pit, the screen on the
dashboard began to blink with the word: "emergency". It
showed that the fuel level was almost gone; then it was
time to tell the fighters that they would soon have to land
in the Azul Sea. David took a deep breath and got the
crew's attention. Sam reluctantly held back the seriousness
of the situation, fearing that he would lose all of his
fighters. But David went on and told the crew that the bats
had destroy the fuel tanks and the vessel would have to
make an emergency landing, in the sea of the Azul.
"Sea of the Azul? Are you crazy?" shouted one fighter.
This got the attention of the other fighters and fear
began to set in, and soon everyone wanted to back out of
the mission. For this, they were chastised by Boweloft and
the others. There were pep talks and great war stories; but
most of the crew was afraid to go on.
So finally, Sam offered to let them leave and take the
emergency ship back home before it was too late. Most of
the men got up and began to run toward the emergency exit,
until they heard Boweloft scream.
"You cowards, never in your life have you stood for
something; now is the time."
This got everyone's attention, and the crowd stopped
running and began to turn around. They apologized, and took
their places on the vessel; most of the fighters were
embarrassed that they acted that way, and apologized over
and over again. Sam and his family accepted their
apologies, and gave them all the support they needed.
The vessel had become very quiet; everyone was on edge
and nervous, most of the fighters were very young and had
never been part of a war. Most of these men and women came
out of the slave camp that David and Dorothy were in; so
they had good reason to be afraid and nervous.
Soon after that, all the lights in the vessel began to
blow out, one by one; the power was failing and the vessel
was going down slowly. The crew was told to jump out into
the Azul Sea. No one wanted to jump first; the water from
above was a thick black slush, and the waves were very
powerful. There were dragons and many beast-like creatures
swimming in the water; some of them were mystifying and
strange looking.
There were the beaver sharks, the first known sharks
to have fur on them and the size of an average horse and
carriage. They swam in packs, and were always ready to eat.
Then there were the flying fish; they were the size of a
tuna, but they had beautiful butterfly wings and red and
white skin. They flew into the air for about a minute and
sprayed green algae all over the sea to catch food in the
thick slim. Although these creatures were beautiful, they
were very deadly; one intake of the algae and a person
would decay in seconds. The Azul Sea was filled with many
unknown creatures and species that many in Baja had never
seen or knew that they existed.
Then Sam remembered that when he led his army in Baja
the first time, he had a friend that used to sail the Azul
Sea. He thought his friend was nothing more than a
storyteller; until one day he brought back the head of an
Azul dragon. From that day forward, Sam always believed
everything this woman said, and they became good friends.
She promised Sam that she would be sailing the Azul
Sea all of her life, and that if he ever needed her, to
send out an SOS, and she would rescue him. Sam never
thought that he would ever need this woman, and that he
would never travel to the Azul Sea, because it was
forbidden by the elders. But this friend of Sam's was a
daredevil, and she wanted to explore the ins and outs of
Baja.
Sam and Samantha used the last bit of energy from the
ship to send for help. They sent out the magical codes that
Sam had kept in his memory for many years. The SOS went out
across the Azul Sea like a rainbow of musical notes; the
codes were sophisticated and complicated; only a man or
woman with Sam's knowledge could ever decipher them, and
know how to send and receive these secret messages.
The codes told a story across the late afternoon
skies; they had everything in the message, from the number
of people on the vessel to their destination, and the
coordinates of the vessel. The code was so beautiful to
watch, like a symphony in the skies; as the codes went to
their destination they lit up the skies and showed the Azul
Sea for what it was; fish attacking fish, and huge never
before seen mammals tearing each other apart. Their way of
survival was kill or be killed.
Yet, while the Azul was very dangerous, it was also so
beautiful. The crew sat and looked out the windows until
the last light shut off, and then the vessel got very
quiet. The sea became violent, throwing the vessel back and
forth. Sam was gambling on the chance that his friend,
after all these years, was still sailing the Azul Sea.
David told his son that no one makes it out of the Azul Sea
and tells about it.
"Maybe the guy was lying," said Red Fox.
But Sam did not want to think that he had believed a
lie for all of these years. As the skies got darker and
there was still no word; Sam was ready to give up. He knew
there was no way for the entire crew to be saved; so all
the boats should go to the women and young men of Baja.
Perhaps, if they survived, they would be the next
generation of survivors and caretakers of Baja.
Sam and his family had to come up with a plan B and
some way to save Baja; even if it meant only one person
survived to tell the story. And, just as Sam and his father
were going over plan B, there was a big gush of water into
the ship. The ship was being invaded by a blood sucking
octopus! The creature was covered in blue fur, and the
black slush of the Azul Sea was all over its body. The eye
on this creature alone was the size of two carriage wheels;
the tentacles were long and sharp, its body wiggled and
moved as if the ocean was inside of it, and when the
creature opened its mouth, inside was forty rows of sharp
teeth. There were hairs and bones stuck in the teeth.
Sam immediately used his mental strength to push the
creature into the air and away from the vessel, but it was
so heavy that he couldn't move it out of the way. As time
went on, the creature continued punching holes in the
vessel with its twelve tentacles. Water began to fill the
huge vessel very quickly; everyone began to scream and
panic. Samantha came forward from the pilot pit and began
to do martial arts on the monster, but it just took one of
its sharp tentacles and hung Samantha by her clothing to
the vessel's wall. The tentacle was so sharp and powerful
that Samantha had a hard time freeing herself.
Jane had no plants to control, and the only plant seed
she had was in the baggage area. So, while the animal was
fighting with the other crewmembers, Jane ran to the
baggage area, through the thick slush, and got the golden
box with the magical seed. But then, a violent shake of the
vessel from the huge creature made Jane accidentally drop
the box. She watched as the box slipped out of her hands
and into the ocean. She tried to catch it, but the Azul Sea
had claimed it. The loss and sadness filled Jane's eyes;
she'd had that seed from the time she was a little girl,
and now it was lost in one flick of the wrist.
Meanwhile, David and Sam began to cut away at the
creature's long tentacles. It began to scream a piercing
sound when its limbs were being cut off. Boweloft ordered
his men to shoot as many arrows and weapons into the
creature as possible. Each crewmember began to fight with
all their might and abilities, but this octopus was not a
quitter either. It put up a fierce fight, and was not
letting the vessel go.
The fighters aimed for the creature's eyes and
tentacles; they were looking for anything that they could
either puncture or cut off, but the creature, with its
twelve arms, made it impossible for the crew to succeed. As
the crewmembers were being swallowed up into the ocean one
by one, there was a beacon of light from the north. The
ship made a large horn-like noise to alert the distressed
that help was just a few feet away. Suddenly, the rescue
ship set off a large bright flare into the evening skies
that lit up the air for miles to see.
"Help is here!" shouted a fighter.
Sam was happy; his friend had finally pulled through.
From out of the rescue ship crawled mongolores, which were
sea monkeys that carried flesh-eaters in their fur coats.
They were cute cuddly creatures, but they could never be
kept as pets because of the dangerous flesh-eaters that
they harvested from their coats.
One by one, the mongolores crawled onto the huge
octopus and sprayed the flesh-eaters onto the skin of the
creature; within seconds, the octopus began to turn the
vessel loose. The flesh-eaters used their powerful claws to
embed themselves in the octopus' body, eating and sucking
everything in sight. The octopus began to shake violently
as it was slowly dying and screaming from all the pain that
it was in. The flesh-eaters were the size of a one pound
dog, but by the time they finished eating, they could grow
to the size of an elephant.
Out of the mist and the evening sun came a long wooden
pirate ship, made from the finest wood, gold and steel.
There were at least three hundred crewmembers on board; the
flag of Baja waved up high in the air, and the sign of hope
came upon the remaining fighters' faces. The ship was at
least a hundred feet long; the naked eye could not see its
tail end. This ship was built for adventures and dangerous
situations.
One by one, the crewmembers of the pirate ship came
aboard and began to rescue Sam and his team. Just in time,
before David's war vessel went down. The men from the
pirate ship were rough-looking; they never cracked a smile
or showed concern on their faces. They did their jobs and
went about their daily duties.
Once on the pirate ship, a long slender beautiful
woman with jet black hair that blew in the wind, black
leather clothes and boots that were tight to the skin came
forward. She watched over the rescue operation, and waited
until Sam and his crew were all on board; beat up and
tired, Sam hardly recognized his friend.
"Bella, is that you?" said Sam.
"Sam Carrot-Top," shouted Bella as the two hugged and
gave a friendly kiss.
"Everyone, this is Bella," said Sam.
"You didn't tell me Bella was a girl, or looked so
beautiful," said David, as Sam blush with embarrassment.
"You didn't tell me either," said Jane.
She got a bit jealous from the moment she laid eyes on
Bella! She looked Bella up and down and saw how beautiful
she was, and went for a walk along the ship.
Bella was one of the toughest women known on the Azul
Sea. Most people counted her stories as myths and fairy
tales, but Sam was the only friend that truly believed in
her. Bella and Sam were friends from primary school, and
they both died on the way to school when they were a part
of the world of the living. In real life, they were best
friends, and even in death as ghosts, they stayed best
friends.
Baja was a place where only the dead have a second
chance at living, if their lives were cut short; and from
that day forward, Bella had always wanted to be an
explorer. When she was fourteen, she sailed one of the
oldest and toughest seas on the seven moons. This gave
Bella instant fame and fortune. The crew was shocked to see
a woman sailing the waters of the Azul Sea, and living to
tell about it.
Meanwhile, on the deck of the ship, Sam was explaining
to a jealous Jane that Bella and he were best friends in
another world, before he even met Jane. Jane had stopped
crying and put her jealousy aside, and headed back to the
front of the ship where the crewmembers were listening to
Bella. She told her story as to why she had only one eye,
and about the golden patch that covered it. But first, the
crew looked for any surviving members. Unfortunately, none
were found. Their bodies decayed once they swallowed the
toxic waters. Sam was very sad and wanted this war to end
peacefully, without anyone losing their lives.
Bella gave him a pep talk and said, "My heart ached
when I heard that you got exiled from Baja."
She wiped Sam's face as Jane looked on. Sam quickly
noticed the intense look in Jane's eyes, and introduced
Bella formally to his wife. Bella was a strong, confident
woman and let Jane know that Sam was never interested in
girls like her; that Sam liked girls like Jane.
"So see, you have nothing to worry about, Sam is a
good man," said Bella to Jane.
Jane let down her guard and finally gave Bella a warm
welcome and gratitude for saving them. Bella then sent her
men out to do a search and rescue of anything that was
worth finding and salvaging. At this time, the crewmembers
of Sam's ship were given hot baths, food and a warm and
comfy place to lay their tired bones.
The pirate ship had everything on it, from a huge
gallery to a large kitchen; there were offices and wine
rooms. The ship had at least three thousand rooms and an
entertainment area. No one could believe the size of this
ship, and how fast it moved through the waters.
Because David was also a maker of things, he fell in
love with Bella's ship right away, and wanted to reproduce
one when he got home. But Bella would not give him the blue
prints; she considered them personal and valuable. She also
let David know that the ship was a ghost ship that could
disappear and reappear in minutes, and all the work and new
technology came from a secret source that she would not
give out. David began to offer Bella thousands of dollars
if she would say the maker's name, but she was very wealthy
herself and did not need his money.
Yet, she played along with David, and said she would
consider his offer. But deep down, Bella was an
originalist; she wanted to be the only one with something,
and this made her come across as snobbish; but she had her
reason for this. Because of her secret nature, Sam loved
this about Bella; he loved the confidence that his friend
had.
But Jane wanted to leave this ship as soon as possible
and asked how long it would be before they got to the
Ambassador Forest. Bella became very interested and loved
the adventure; for many years she had been trying to get
into the forest, but it was always guarded and locked. No
one ever came in or out.
Bella filled Sam and his crew in on what she had seen
for many years going on in the Ambassador Forest. She spoke
of lights and the cries of demons coming out of the earth;
of how the earth shoke violently at night, and the strange
creatures that came and went from it.
So, all night long, Bella told stories around the
gallery kitchen as the crew ate and feasted on the finest
meals. While Bella told the story, Jane walked off and back
up to the front of the ship. Samantha followed and began to
comfort Jane; she let Jane know that all there was between
Sam and Bella was close friendship, and that Jane had
nothing to be jealous about.
Yet, how could she not be jealous? Bella was a
beautiful young lady; just gazing upon her beauty would
make anyone fall in love with her. Even though Jane took
Samantha's words into consideration, she could not get over
the fact that her husband never mentioned Bella's name, not
one time. Sam had told stories about the Azul Sea, but
never mentioned Bella, and now Jane knew why; because Bella
was a girl, and Sam knew that Jane would ultimately become
jealous.
But after a breath of fresh air, Samantha and Jane
went back down in the belly of the ship where all kinds of
stories were being told by Bella. She had already become
popular with the crew; she was like one of the guys. Sam
was also sitting there, listening and gazing at Bella. Jane
went over and pulled him by his shirt collar, and asked him
to stop the love gazing at Bella. Sam gently kissed Jane on
the lips, and pushed her aside as he went back and listened
to Bella's stories.
Jane ran off to a room that was set up for her, and
lay on the bed, crying and weeping. David then pulled his
son aside and gave him a lesson in how to tend to a woman
who sincerely loved him. David let Sam know that his wife
loved him and was afraid, and he needed to go in and talk
to her. Sam did so, but he told his father that there
wasn't anything going on between Bella and him. They were
just friends who had been away from each other for a long
time, and now it was time for them to catch up on old
times. David just shook his head and pointed Sam in the
direction of his wife.
Sam gently knocked on the door and comforted his wife,
letting her know that he would always love her, and that
Bella was just a friend who happened to be a woman. Jane
accepted this and went off to sleep in her husband's arms.
The sun had finally set, and the Azul Sea was nothing
more than darkness. The feasting and storytelling was over,
and the crew turned in for the night. Bella then set course
to the Ambassador Forest, and left the ship in the hands of
her crew. While everyone was asleep, Boweloft searched the
ship over and over again. It had secret tunnels that seemed
to never end; pictures that were not pictures at all, but
were watchers over the ship. Boweloft watched as the eyes
on the pictures followed his every move; and then there
were the secret closets that strange cries came from. Yet,
Boweloft could not see who was making those cries.
He stepped into the closet and suddenly sank to the
bottom; the floor of the closet was made of sand, one wrong
step and it would swallow you up. Boweloft went down,
screaming and trying to cling to the wood panel with his
fingernails, but he had no luck. He began to fall faster
and faster, down the deep hole that led to nowhere.
Boweloft could see the grains of sand as they passed by him.
The sand began to cover his entire body and wrapped
itself around him. Boweloft fought and fought with all his
might, but there was no way of getting out of this trap; it
was as if the sand was alive. Finally, Boweloft landed at
the bottom pit, were a strange little boy was crying in the
corner. He looked as if he was starving and had not eaten
for days. The boy was chained to the walls and had on a
rusty cloth garment.
Boweloft called out to the young boy in the darkness,
but he never turned around; so Boweloft called out again,
asking him to say something, but the child never did. All
he did was shake violently in the corner of the pit, and
let out these piercing cries of help. The screams were so
excruciating that they made Boweloft's ears bleed!
The sand at the bottom of the ship was thin and hard
to walk through; what little light was left in the oil
lamps showed glimpses of the boy's face, and it was not a
pretty sight. This boy had bat wings, black eyes, long
black, matted hair that was in much disarray. He let out a
loud cry, and launched himself at Boweloft, but he quickly
pushed the boy out of his way.
"What kind of creature are you?" asked Boweloft.
"I am the sixth wizard; I can make all of your dreams
come true," said the boy.
"You can't be," said Boweloft.
"But I am, my name is Hoyle," said the boy.
He went on to tell Boweloft that he was Hoyle the
Magnificent Card Thrower. His wizard skills in card
throwing were the best around; no one was a match for his
powers, until he was captured by the Huntress Bella of the
Azul Sea.
Boweloft did not believe Hoyle and asked him, if he
was so great, how come he was captured by Bella. Hoyle went
on to explain that he was the wizard that the world was
talking about, the wizard who got sick and the only way
that he could be saved was to get the rhino plant from the
Azul Sea. While he was seeking the plant on his own, he was
captured by Bella and her savage crew.
Then Hoyle began to snarl and bark; showing his
disgust with Bella and all the citizens of Baja. He had
nothing good to say about Baja, and Boweloft could relate
to this, because he was once a prisoner of Baja and had
seen firsthand how cruel Baja had become. Hoyle went on to
pick Boweloft's brain, and asked who he was here with. Not
thinking, Boweloft told the story of the Carrot-Top's and
how they had returned to Baja to save it from destruction.
The creature began to laugh a wicked laugh, telling
Boweloft that it was too late, and that no one could save
Baja; the elders had been sleeping too long to ever be
awakened. Boweloft's eyes began to grow with concern and he
began to second guess himself as to why he was there. The
creature was playing and messing with Boweloft's mind;
that's why Hoyle was stuck in the sand pit where he could
never use his mind powers to do wrong.
Boweloft was in the middle of the greatest escape in
Baja history. Hoyle got control of Boweloft's mind and
summoned him to release him immediately. Boweloft had now
become a zombie, and began to move in the direction of the
creature. Once Hoyle saw that Boweloft was in his sight, he
dragged Boweloft closer to him and began to drink his blood
to regain his strength.
After sucking Boweloft dry of blood, the creature's
bones and flesh began to grow strong again. His flesh began
to heal, the color in his skin came back, and his bat wings
were no longer old and tattered. Hoyle began to grow
stronger and stronger; he was no longer feeble and weak, he
was strong again. He looked over the lifeless body of
Boweloft; a once strong warrior had become victim to the
card thrower.
Hoyle began to laugh and jerk with pride; he was once
again set free. He had cheated death again to become one of
the most powerful wizards to overthrow Baja. An evil wicked
laughter filled the belly of the ship, and roaring sounds
went through the walls, awakening every member of the ship.
Candles were lit, bows and arrows were taken out of their
protective sheaves; the remaining warriors were ready for
war.
They all jumped out of bed and headed to the deck of
the ship, but when they arrived, they saw nothing but the
night skies. But deep down below, through a ship's window,
they saw a strange creature dragging Boweloft's body like a
rag doll across the wooden floor of the ship. The crew
began to point and whisper.
One man shouted, "It's Hoyle the Card Thrower of the
seven wizards!"
All the crewmembers were surprised and became afraid
of the creature. Suddenly Bella jumped from her cabin to
the upper deck, ready to fight the creature. Sam, Jane, Red
Fox, and Samantha joined in the fight. Meanwhile, they
began to question Bella on why she had one of the seven
wizards on her ship, and what was she hiding?
But there was no time for small talk; Sam and his
friends began to battle the creature. Suddenly Hoyle jumped
from the belly of the ship to the deck, breaking the wooden
floors and boards. He had grown, he was not the weak little
boy wizard anymore; Boweloft's blood had enough nutrients
to fatten him up. Hoyle began to mumble and roar at Bella,
showing the disgust and disappointment he had with her.
Saliva began to spray from his mouth.
The corners of his eyes and mouth began to form a
white texture that hung down like sap; his cry was that of
a bleeding sound that pierced the eardrum. His face began
to pull back to his head; no one on the ship had ever seen
anything like this, how could a little wizard boy become a
humongous creature? Hoyle summoned forth his magical cards
by reciting a secret spell of the wizards.
"Hummm, chanting."
Through the thick night skies came a ball of light no
bigger than a human thumb. The light came over the ship and
burst into an explosion, knocking the crew off their feet.
Out of the light came a deck of golden cards.
Sam began to mumble to himself, "I've seen those cards
before, on the train to Baja."
Hoyle began to throw his cards; he had them turning
into swords, diggers, knives and balls of fire that chased
the crewmembers. Bella was the first one brave enough to
stand up to Hoyle's weapons. She began to fight the fire
balls with her shield and swords; and Sam began to try and
move the creature with his mind powers. Meanwhile, the
other crewmembers began to fight and attack the creature.
Samantha began to fly through the air using her
ancient karate skills, kicking and punching with the power
of ten men. Red Fox began to attack the creature with his
fighting skills as he avoided getting killed by Hoyle's
sharp knives that were coming straight at him.
Hoyle had created a circle of weapons that were
wearing the crew out; the weapons were coming non-stop as
the crew tried to deflect the attacks. Jane then summoned
her plants, but none came; she had no plants in the Azul
Sea that were under her command, and she had lost her
magical seed. Just as Jane was disappointed in herself, a
quick dagger came at her heart, and Bella stepped in the
way, blocking the dagger with her shield.
"That was a close call," said Bella.
She pushed Jane to the safe area as she worked on the
monster's lower body. The more Hoyle came under attack, the
more cards he threw out. But in a deck of fifty-two, he was
coming up short, because the crew was killing all of his
weapons. Each card that Hoyle threw out was either
eliminated in a thick black smoke by Bella, Red Fox or
Samantha.
Hoyle was running out of cards; the crew was aware of
how to beat him, and one by one they began to attack his
cards. So every time Hoyle threw out a card, the crew would
attack the card instead of him. By doing this, it caused
Hoyle to get weaker, and as a last resort, he threw out
twelve cards of queens, kings and jokers. The symbols
popped off of the cards like a magical book. They were all
dressed in their card attire; the queens and their gilded
gowns and crowns, the joker in his outfit, the kings with
their crown and capes, and they were each from a different
suit. Whether it was a club, hearts, spades or diamonds;
the cards attacked the crew.
One by one, the cards began to fight the crew; these
cards were very powerful, they came equipped with powers of
fighting and battle knowledge, and this was when the crew
needed all the help they could get. Bella shouted to her
crew to fight, and keep fighting no matter what. The crew
grew enough courage and strength to continue fighting the
creature, but Hoyle was also strong and powerful.
He divided and conquered; as the crew was fighting his
cards, he began to join in. So now there was a much bigger
problem; from all the fighting and the war going on, the
ship began to sink from the holes and damage. Yet the
fighting continued, and the crew defeated the cards, and
then turned against Hoyle.
But it was too late, Hoyle had flown away with the
bones and decomposed body of Boweloft in the mid morning
sky. Sam and Red Fox began to shoot arrows at Hoyle as he
flew away, but it did no good, he was long gone with their
friend.
"We must hurry and leave, the ship is sink
ing," said
Jane.
But, there was nowhere to go; the sea of Azul was
dangerous to swim in and the creatures of the ocean were
waiting for an appetizer. Bella summoned her captain of the
ship.
"Mario, get us to port quickly," shouted Bella.
Mario answered, "Yes! Ma captain," as he ran down to
the ship's control room and pressed a magical button.
The button gave the ship the ability to speed through
the water ten times its normal speed. Suddenly huge
propellers came out of the sides of the ship, and tiny
monkeys began to put up new sails; running back and forth
over the ship to get the sails up and in place. Then wings
came out of the sides like those of an eagle spreading its
long wings for miles.
Suddenly a blast came, and the ship shot through the
water like a rocket, blasting through everything in sight.
The crew had a short amount of time to get to the
Ambassador Forest before the ship sank. Bella and the crew
held on tight as they rode through the rough seas and up
and over very large waves. Dead fish dropped onto the decks
of the ship from the blast and firepower of the ship's
engines.
"Faster!" shouted Bella to her captain, Mario.
But the ship was going as fast as it could, any more
pressure and it would split into pieces, leaving the crew
stranded in the Azul Sea. From the look of the creatures
that called the Azul Sea home, this would not be a good
idea.
For a few hours, the ship held up, and just as the
crew was almost there, the ship suddenly stopped. Mario ran
up to the deck and let Bella and her crew know that the
ship could no longer take the strain, and they would have
to get off here. The crew was a mere twenty feet from land,
and they had no way of getting there because the Azul Sea
was still there.
Bella tested the waters, and let the crew know that it
was not safe to enter. One fighter who was upset by the
death of Boweloft demanded that he go and find help, but he
was quickly stopped by Bella.
"Old man, are you dumb beyond your years? This sea
will kill you in seconds."
But the man shrugged Bella off, and began to tell of
the story of his friend Boweloft who was savagely eaten by
a big bat creature. To honor his friend, he would save the
crew. The old man jumped in the water. The minute his feet
hit the thick black waters of the Azul Sea, he was eaten!
"You fool," shouted Bella.
She explained to the rest of the crew that she did not
want any more heroes; the sea consisted of tiny creatures
that feasted on the bodies of mammals, the human variety.
Each crewmember got the point as they watched their friend
being swallowed up by the Azul Sea. Many tried to help the
man, but it was too late, he was gone for good; his
stubbornness and arrogance caused him to lose his life, and
Bella had no sympathy for him.
The looks on the crewmembers' faces was one of sorrow
and defeat; until David came in and began to revive the
crowd, telling them that they had a reason to be sad, and
to take that sadness and turn it into joy, one of revenge
for their friends' lives. The crew began to cheer and shout
until they could do no more.
"Father, you have a way with words," said Sam, as he
patted his father on the back.
But there was still no way off of the ship; until Jane
saw a vine on the land. She helped grow the vines and
tresses of the forest, Jane summoned the vines to come
forth and build a bridge. At first the crew thought that
Jane had lost her mind and was suffering from some type of
hysteria, but suddenly the ground shook and the vines began
to do a snake dance from the shore. They called out to
their creator Jane; this was there mother, the one who
started their lives, the girl with the magical green thumb.
Bella ordered one of her monkeys to fetch her
binoculars. As the monkey came running back, Bella quickly
looked into the ends and saw that the vines were building a
bridge for them to cross.
"It is really happening," said Bella as she passed the
binoculars to Sam.
And so it was; the vines began to build a bridge for
their master, a mother they had not seen in years had come
back to them. The vines crawled on their belly like snakes,
did twists and turns in the air to step up and support
their weaving together. The vines kept building until there
was a bridge that led from shore to Bella's ship.
"Good job, honey," said Sam, as he kissed Jane on the
cheek.
For once, Jane was glad to see that Sam had
acknowledged her in front of Bella, and it was Jane's time
to be in the spotlight instead of his good friend Bella.
Bella smiled and enjoyed the couple as they made up.
Everyone ran for the bridge made by the vines. Jane kissed
the vines and told them thanks, that one day she would come
and spend time with them. The vines let off a gentle cry to
let her know that they understood and would wait for her
return.
Across the bridge they went as Bella left a few of her
crew to fix the ship. The members of the crew took every
weapon that they could find, and every supply that they
could use. They were now on unknown territory. But, before
Jane could get very far, a crewmember shouted.
"Jane, we found your box!"
Before Jane could answer, she saw the glitter and the
shine from the box. She ran back, pushing through the crowd
of fighters to get to her box. She was happy to again touch
the special box that she had thought was lost forever.
The crew settled on the shores of the Azul Sea,
speculating on where to go next. They got something to eat
and relaxed on the shores, until it was fully daylight. As
daybreak came, and the men who stood guard woke everyone up
from a long awaited nap, the crew stared at the forest.
It was the most beautiful thing that anyone could look
upon. There were streams made of silver mercury; trees and
plants that bore all kinds of fruits, big fruits, small
fruits, yellow, orange and red fruits, even blue fruits.
The area gave off a pleasant smell of blueberries. There
were giant earthworms that Bella killed for supper; she
threw her dagger, it landed in the creature's heart. Then
she gutted the creature and wrapped the pieces up in leaves
for dinner.
Some of the crew were a little disgusted with Bella's
wild adventurous side, but they admired her bravery and
courage. There were mountain tops that snowed, and big
snowballs and avalanches would fall down, but by the time
they hit the bottom, they would be melted by the hot sun.
The Ambassador Forest was under lock and key; there was a
huge statue with a golden dial around its neck. The statue
was about forty feet tall, made of stone, and dressed in
African tribal
colors, with a huge stone book in its right
hand, and the outline of the sun on its head.
The forest was guarded by some type of force field,
and there was no way in. They could see through the force
field, but getting in was another story. Oscar walked up to
the force field, and suddenly it sucked him in!
"My cat," said Jane.
"Oh, he's okay," said Bella.
Oscar licked his paws and face, and waited for his
master, but Jane and her crew could not get in. That was
because Oscar was an animal of Baja and not human. The
forest was made for animals, so they were the only ones who
could come and go. To test their theory, Jane ordered Oscar
to come out, and without a problem, he came bursting out of
the force field bubble. As the crew got closer, the giant
statute began to move and talk.
"Who dares enter into the forest of the holy center of
Baja?"
"It is I, Sam Carrot-Top, the protector and savior of
Baja," said Sam.
But the statute said nothing else, and then a code
appeared in the heavens; if Sam and his crew could figure
out the code, they would be able to enter. The codes were
place in the heavens with the clouds and birds, which made
it harder to determine the answer to the puzzle. But Bella
had no problem figuring out the secret codes. With a few
minutes of adding and deleting, she came up with the answer.
"Through one secret and two lies, lies the key that
will untie. Knock three times on the sun dial and the
heavenly gates will open wide," said Bella.
"Great job, Bella," said David as he took a stone and
hit the dial three times.
At first, nothing happened; then out of the blue the
dial began to turn slowly, then faster and faster until
sand covered the crew from head to toe. No one could move
an inch, and then the sand turned into a sand storm, taking
the crew and all its members into a spiral turn. Everything
seemed to be spinning out of control, and then the crew was
dropped in the middle of the forest.
One by one, they fell from the sky, leaving Oscar as
the last to enter. Because he was a cat, he landed on his
feet, but the others fell flat on their backs, crying out
from the bumps and bruises. The crew looked around and was
astonished that they were in the middle of the Ambassador
Forest.
Everything was silent, too silent, unlike the
shoreline, in the center of the forest was dead, lifeless.
Dead birds and animals filled the ground; plants began to
die, as if they had not been watered in years. Jane ran
over to a big oak tree and began to grow it again with her
magical green thumb. She watched as the tree went from old
and dying to young and with green leaves. The tree began to
cry out and tell Jane of an unlikely visitor of the forest
who had come and destroyed everything, who had made
everything dark again.
Jane and Sam looked at each other and mumbled
together, "Marcus."
The tree began to crawl away with one look at Bella.
"Wait," said Jane as the tree slithered away like a
snake in the ground. "One look at you, and he ran."
Jane began to question Bella and her ties to the
forest, but Sam stood up for Bella and noted to Jane that
she had saved her life. Jane then pulled David, Samantha,
Sam, and Red Fox aside. She voiced her feelings on Bella,
and that something was wrong; how could she guess the
answer to the secret gates so quickly? And why was she here
anyway? One of the questions was: was Sam too close to
Bella to see that maybe she could be a spy? He defended her
to Jane, but Jane was not buying her phony act and told
Samantha to keep an eye on her.
David had also become suspicious of Bella, but his son
was too involved with Bella to see that she could possibly
be an enemy. Jane had nothing more to say to Bella as they
went through the forest. The crew could feel an eerie
feeling of someone or something watching them, and they
kept their guard up as they walked through the forest and
saw all the destruction.
Suddenly the ground began to shake and the leaves and
branches from the dead trees and vines gathered up and
formed a huge monster that attacked the crew! Oscar began
to pull at its braches, but it kicked Oscar off of it, and
made its way over to the hundreds of fighters in its path.
One by one the tree creature began to bellow its way
through the crowd of fighters, who were chopping at the
roots of the tree creature. But the branches and roots on
the creature were so strong that it bent most of the
fighters' swords.
"Order your vines to stop," said Sam to Jane.
Jane put her anger aside and commanded the vines to
stop. For a minute, it seemed to work, and then the trees
began to die off and turn evil once more.
"I order you to stop," said Jane.
But the tree creature continued pummeling through the
crowd of fighters, kicking and throwing them into the air
and out of the force field. David watched as Bella
pretended to help, but she wasn't really fighting the
creature at all. She was instead controlling the creature
with a small golden disc. David kept Bella in his sights as
he went and helped the others.
Jane then tried to summon the other trees in the
forest that were alive and had not succumbed to the evil of
the forest. All the trees that remained came crawling
through the forest like and army of ants. One by one, the
trees Jane summoned came and formed one big tree to fight
the evil one. Her trees were filled with colors of bright
origins; the trees formed up to look like a giant with
stone armor, helmet and shield.
The two giant trees began to fight, good verses evil;
as they fought, this gave the army time to chop and cut at
the evil tree's limbs. One by one the old, rotten limbs
fell off, but they kept growing back, and this made the
team have to work even harder on chopping down the limbs of
the evil tree. The army had to duck and hide as huge tree
limbs were falling from the air. Jane's tree was beating
and winning against the evil tree. She popped open her
magic box with the bean seed and threw it into the air. The
seed did a spin and a twirl and exploded with a blast.
Rainbow colors flew into the skies; everyone stopped and
looked for a minute, but nothing happen.
"Please tell me that that is not all that bean seed
does," said Sam.
But Jane had no idea what the seed really did; she had
never used it before, and this would be her first time ever
using it. Jane was very disappointed when nothing happened;
the seed just fell to the ground and sprouted a little
plant. Bella gave off a wicked smile, and the evil tree
monster began to laugh as it bent down and put its big face
against Jane's face.
"Oh, what a cute little
seed," said the evil monster
as it got back into the fight with the vines Jane had
created.
But that little plant began to grow very quickly, and
it attached itself to Jane, crawling up her legs like a
green snake. The plant then turned black, crawled itself to
Jane's arm and attached itself from her elbow to her
fingers. It was now under her control; the plant began to
form into anything, from a huge hammer that smashed the
toes of the evil rooted tree to a plant that spit fire and
set the roots of the evil tree ablaze.
The plant turned into a huge fist and began punching
and hitting the tree to the ground. Jane had become a super
hero; the fighters stared at her, they were amazed to see
what a little plant could do. This little plant was very
powerful and helpful in the fight. Once the evil rooted
tree was on fire and fell to the ground, the army of
fighters began to hover over it, cutting off its roots one
by one, until they hit the main core and chopped it off.
The tree died instantly, and once again the forest became
quiet.
Jane then summoned her good vines and trees to go
forth and nourish the other trees of the forest since a war
was coming, and they would be needed to defend Baja in the
fight of its life. Jane's healthy trees went forth like
race horses running through the forest, letting the weak
and dead trees suck on their barks and leaves, bringing
most of them back to life. Everyone could see that the
forest was getting brighter again; animals started to come
back to life. The forest was awakening from its sleep of
darkness.
While Jane was being congratulated by her army of
friends, Bella slipped away into the cover of the trees and
shrubs. Sam searched high and low for Bella, but she was
nowhere to be found. Bella was gone; she had disappeared
into thin air. David and Samantha got the army together and
told them that they had a spy, and her name was Bella. When
she was caught, she had to immediately be killed, upon the
orders of the elders of Baja.
Sam looked on in surprise as his father had turned on
his friend. But David went to his son and explained that he
saw Bella controlling the tree creature with a golden disc.
Bella knew the secret of the gates because she had been
here before. David went on to tell his son that not
everyone was his friend.
"But Bella was like a true friend, I can't believe she
would do this to me," said Sam.
"Well, believe it," said Jane as she shouted at Sam
for not trusting her, but instead trusting Bella. "I tried
to tell you that something was fishy about her, and yet you
countered that I was being jealous!"
Jane walked away from Sam; he hung his head low and
stood by a shrub for a minute to think. He then put the
pieces of the puzzle together and came running back to tell
the crowd, but no one was ready to hear what he had to say.
He had to apologize not only to them, but to Jane. So he
did; he apologized to the entire crew and to his wife. Jane
forgave him, but was reserved in what she said, to make
everyone think that she was all right inside. But Jane was
truly upset and disappointed with Sam, and he knew this,
but he wanted the both of them to play it off until
everything was settled and then they could deal with it.
Sam went on to say, "The guardian of the gates was
telling me that I needed to be careful, that my enemy was
right under my nose."
Peter Carrot-top Page 11
