Polaris

by Beth Bowland

  “Hey!” shouted the small fisherman in the painting. “Take it easy before you cause me to sink.”

  Aaron quickly removed his hand. The cord between the two fish glowed slightly, and he slowly moved his hand to touch it. The cord and the fish fell into the water and immediately the fish swam in opposite directions, stretching out the cord that had them bound.

  Aaron gently plucked it out of the water. “Got it,” he whispered. He hurried back to Max. “I’ve got it.” He waved the object around.

  Max showed his toothless grin, and Nakal frowned. This one here is a frisky little thing. I don’t know how much longer I can hold him. You better go.”

  Aaron nodded then sighed. “I’m not sure how to get back out.” His eyes frantically searched the room until he noticed the small symbol from the meteor. “I’ve got it figured out. Thanks for your help, Max. I owe you.”

  Aaron waved goodbye to his friend before he disappeared inside the wall. He was once again standing within the small shack near the paper mill. A flicker of light appeared in front of him before the board came into sight. A check mark appeared under his name. Nakal—1 Aaron—1

  Chapter 9

  Aaron left the shack and headed back to where he’d left the truck. Unsure of what he would next encounter, he was happy to have at least tied up the game. He stopped in his tracks when he realized the truck was missing.

  He ran to the spot where the truck had been parked and looked at the ground for any clue as to who may have taken it. He sat on the ground and sulked. “Now what?” he mumbled.

  He felt them before he saw them. The ominous thump had returned. He scrambled to his feet and ran to the mill. He tried the doors on the side of the building and tried to open several of the windows from the outside. None worked. The thumping sounds came nearer.

  He looked up and saw a partially open window and determined the quickest way to reach it was by climbing up on the piles of logs that lay against the building. He climbed the logs and reached for the window, but he was still a few inches too short. He looked down on the log he stood on and wiggled around to make sure it was sturdy. He lifted his arms and hopped up, catching the edge of the windowsill just as the pile of logs collapsed. Bracing his feet against the wall, he pulled himself up and through the window.

  He landed on a shelf that held large rolls of paper. Although he no longer could hear the thumping sound, he felt strongly that Nakal was near. He climbed down from the shelf and had a look around the paper mill. His second grade class had gone on a tour of the mill, complete with a hardhat and goggles. Parker convinced him to sneak away from the group to get a closer look at a machine that seemed to maul anything that came near it. After they were discovered, they were both forced to hold the teacher’s hands for the remainder of their time within the mill.

  Although he’d only been inside the mill a few times, Aaron navigated easily through the heavy equipment. He’d even remembered some of the machines and their roles. He wondered if the mauling machine was still in the back and if another object for the game was located within the mill, since Nakal and his annihilators were still in the area.

  Aaron’s senses were on high alert, and he expected Nakal to pop out at him at any moment. There was still a fair amount of sunlight shining through the windows of the mill, but there were a lot of spooky shadows. He followed the path of the wall, carefully checking for anything out of the ordinary.

  “Psst,” came a voice. “It’s me, Aaron. I’m back behind the machine you’re standing near.”

  “Mr. Kessler?” Aaron whispered as he made his way around the machine. “What are you doing here?” he asked, although he was relieved to see Mr. Kessler.

  “You’re doing well, Aaron,” Mr. Kessler said. “The game is now tied.”

  “Were you in the room?” Aaron asked. “Did you see what happened?”

  Mr. Kessler shook his head. “No, I’ve just arrived.”

  “Well, I have a feeling that there is another object somewhere around here.”

  Mr. Kessler’s eyebrows rose. “What makes you think that?”

  Aaron shrugged. “I dunno, just makes sense to think that, since Nakal is still creeping around here somewhere. Have you seen him?”

  “No, I have not,” Mr. Kessler answered. “However, I don’t think the object you are looking for is here. I think it’s on the outside near the stream, if you go south.”

  “How do you know that?”

  Mr. Kessler winked. “Oh, I have my ways of finding out things. I will walk with you.”

  Aaron brushed the dust from his clothes. “Okay, let’s go.”

  Aaron followed Mr. Kessler out of the mill through a small delivery door. The truck was still missing, and there was nothing out of the ordinary as he scanned the area. They walked for a few moments until they reached the stream. Mr. Kessler led him to a lush deep embankment where the water flowed swiftly.

  Mr. Kessler pointed with his cane. “I saw something along this area.”

  Aaron scanned the embankment, looking for anything unusual.

  “I think I may know of a way to help you,” Mr. Kessler said.

  Aaron slid down part of the slippery embankment before going into a seated position and scooting himself closer to the water.

  “I don’t know about that,” Aaron answered as he thought back to the warning that had been given to him earlier. “You told me, when we first met, that you were unable to help me, that you had to follow the rules. What’s changed?” he asked as he looked back at Mr. Kessler.

  “Well, we all know rules were meant to be broken,” Mr. Kessler answered.

  Aaron’s attention was diverted to the stream. Someone was laughing, and it reminded him of hyenas. He turned to ask Mr. Kessler if he heard them when he saw Mr. Kessler’s eyes. They sparkled amber as he smiled.

  Before Aaron had a chance to pull himself back up, he felt several pairs of hands grab his feet and legs and begin pulling him into the water. He desperately tried to grab anything to prevent himself from being pulled into the rapids. The wicked laughter got louder. He turned to look at his assailants and discovered they were little hairless monkey-type creatures. He counted at least five of them. He used his feet to kick at them to try and free himself from their grasp. They hissed at him, but he managed to free himself far enough to pull himself up onto the embankment.

  “Mr. Kessler, help me, please!” Aaron yelled as his feet continued to slide on the embankment.

  Mr. Kessler stared down at him. “I will help you, but you must do something for me. It’s a way to put an end to all of this, and quickly.”

  The creatures grabbed Aaron once again, and he kicked back at them frantically.

  Aaron’s heart raced as he continued to fight back. His eyes stung from the beads of sweat trickling into them. “You said not to trust you!” he yelled.

  “Very well,” Mr. Kessler said as he turned to leave. “But not everyone is who they claim themselves to be. Just ask your beautiful and debonair hosts.”

  “What do you mean?” Aaron’s voice screeched out. “Come back.”

  Mr. Kessler stopped, turned around, and nodded at the creatures. “They’re relentless little boogers, and they have ravenous appetites for little boys. It’s your choice. Either way you will lose, but let’s just say one choice won’t be quite so painful.”

  “No!” Aaron yelled out, but this time he managed to hold on to a tree root with one arm while he reached inside his shirt and pulled out the necklace. He held the charm in his hand and thought on the falcons. Within mere seconds, he heard screeching and looked up to see the falcons in V formation, rapidly descending. One with a tiny gold medallion led the charge. Zimmare. The falcons pecked and tore at the small animals with their talons. The creatures knocked several of the falcons into the water, but Zimmare continued the onslaught, until the creatures loosened their grip enough for Aaron to wiggle from their grasp.

  Aaron quickly scrambled u
p the embankment just in time to see Mr. Kessler leaning on his cane, hobbling quickly back toward the mill.

  “Hey,” Aaron called out.

  Mr. Kessler briefly turned around and grinned. His eyes glowed.

  Aaron chased him back into the mill, but he was nowhere to be found. As he ran through the mill looking for anything that caught his eye, he thought he saw Mr. Kessler go around the corner. He followed. Near one of the huge concrete pits where the pulp was mixed, silver light shone.

  Aaron slowly approached it and peered inside. A constant flicker of silver light shone from the bottom. Aaron continued to stare into the light as the area around him dimmed, and he felt his eyelids getting heavier. He tried to stop himself from leaning toward the opening, but the light seemed to draw him, and he felt helpless as he fell over into the pit.

  He landed in mushy pile of pulp. As he paddled his way to the side of the wall, he continued to sink. His eyes searched for a way out.

  Mr. Kessler appeared above at the opening.

  “Help me!” Aaron yelled.

  “Of course,” Mr. Kessler answered as he reached over and pulled a lever.

  A liquid substance poured quickly into the pit. Aaron struggled to find a way out as the water reached up beneath his chin and continued to rise. His sneaker touched something hard. He kicked at it and felt something turn. He kicked once again and felt a pull beneath him as the water that surrounded him lowered. He continued to kick at the valve until the hatch opened and he was pulled down inside the pipes flowing with the water through several connectors.

  Aaron gasped as he tried to take in as much air as he could before he was pulled beneath the water. Ahead he saw two openings. The one on the right glowed. He shifted his body as he neared so the current would take him to the right. Once inside the tunnel, he saw a light glowing near the end. He was pulled beneath the water again, and he quickly gulped for air before he was immersed. A few seconds later he found himself floating in a shallow pond. He stood and waded his way out before collapsing against a tree.

  In the distance he heard music and got up to follow where the sound came from. As he neared a clearing, he saw a dim light in the distance.

  “A closed-down carnival?” Aaron whispered to himself, as he wrung out different parts of his shirt. “There are no carnivals this time of year in Bixie. Where am I?”

  Aaron stopped at the entrance and looked for the ticket booth. There was none, only a sign that read, “Your adventure begins with your first step.” When he looked down, he saw a red line. He heard children laughing in the distance.

  He placed one foot over the line and looked around the area. He brought his other foot across. When his foot crossed over the line, the amusement park lit up with lights and the rides seemed to start up on their own.

  Aaron slowly moved forward, looking for whoever had turned on everything.

  “Excuse me, young man,” a voice said from behind him.

  Aaron turned to find a clown standing inside a booth that read “tickets”. “Where did that come from?” Aaron asked. He silently questioned if he’d somehow missed it when he entered. Although he knew that he had not.

  Aaron approached the clown. “Um, I guess I somehow missed you on the way in.” He looked the clown in the eyes. No amber sparks.

  “No problem, young man,” the clown said. “Most do.” He smiled.

  “How much are the tickets?” Aaron asked.

  “They’re free,” answered the clown.

  “Okay, thanks,” Aaron said as he turned and walked away.

  “Excuse me, young man,” the clown yelled.

  Aaron stopped and returned to the booth.

  The clown squeaked a horn in Aaron’s face and tossed confetti. “You didn’t get your ticket.”

  Aaron’s eyebrows cinched together. “But you said it was free.”

  “Yes, it is free, but you still need a ticket,” the clown said. He wiggled his massive ears and clapped his hands together above his head before bringing them down and stretching them toward Aaron.

  Aaron’s eyes went to the clown’s hands, back to the clown’s eyes, then back to his hands again. The clown opened up his hands and in them was a bright orange ticket.

  Aaron retrieved the ticket. “Thank you.”

  The clown curtsied and then vanished.

  “What?” Aaron looked over and behind the counter. The clown was gone.

  He looked down at his ticket and read the words out loud.

  Experience the thrilling excitement

  of the one-of-a-kind carousel!

  Close the hundredth eye of Argus

  and watch life abound.

  “My clue?” Aaron said out loud to no one. He continued to roam around, passing by several rides that were in full motion, but seeing no other people. He walked past a corndog stand. The delicious smell caused his stomach to grumble and ache.

  “The clown said it was free, so I’m sure he meant the food, too.” Aaron quickly glanced around before grabbing one of the corndogs from the stand and slathering it with mustard. He bit into it. “Mmm … so good.” He wiped his mouth on his sleeve and continued his search for the carousel.

  Once he passed the bumper cars, which mysteriously moved around unmanned bumping into themselves, he saw the glowing golden lights of the carousel directly in front of him. The large carousel, covered in thousands of twinkling lights, stood majestically as a centerpiece for the park. The slowly rotating circular platform held throne-like seats for riders, along with galloping horses, tigers, giraffes, and zebras. Floor-to-ceiling mirrors covered the inner walls, and rustic wood planks covered the floor.

  Aaron took the final bite of the corndog and tossed the stick into a nearby trashcan. He then retrieved the orange ticket from his pocket and read it once again.

  Experience the thrilling excitement

  of the one-of-a-kind carousel!

  Close the hundredth eye of Argus

  and watch life abound.

  He thought for a moment and remembered his English teacher discussing Argus during Greek Mythology week. Argus was killed by Hermes and afterward Hera transferred his one hundred eyes to the tail feathers of a peacock.

  Aaron turned his attention back to the carousel and walked around it in the opposite direction of which it turned. His eyes zeroed in on a large feathered bird positioned next to the lion.

  “Nah, that’s not a peacock. It’s an ostrich,” he whispered to himself.

  He moved closer to the carousel and noticed another large feathered animal coming around the bend.

  “There it is,” Aaron said as he climbed up onto the platform and made his way over to the peacock.

  It was large and emerald green with twinkling blue spots covering its massive wingspan. When Aaron reached the peacock, he realized the spots were not twinkling lights. They were blinking eyes.

  Aaron looked at the dozens of eyes staring back at him. “I need to close the one hundredth eye, but which one is it?” He reached toward one of the eyes as it stared intently at him, the pupil following his hand.

  “Eww, stop looking at me,” he murmured as he took his index finger and gently closed the eye. He quickly looked around for anything odd. Nothing.

  He continued closing each of the eyes, until he reached the final one. “This has to be it.” Just as he reached up to flip the final lid closed, he saw a quick movement from the corner of his eye and smelled the odd burnt odor.

  “Nakal,” Aaron yelled out as he turned to scan the area. “I know you’re here. I can smell you!”

  Aaron turned around and closed the final eye that glowed, rapidly gyrated, and shifted around. A popping sound was heard as the eye fell from the socket. Aaron watched it hit the platform. As he reached for it, the platform suddenly stopped, causing Aaron to fall backwards. The eye rolled out of his reach.

  He quickly crawled toward it, but the platform tilted upward at an angle that caused him to slid
e in the opposite direction. He reached out and caught the giraffe by the leg, but quickly let go when the giraffe came to life and looked down at him. Aaron stared wide-eyed at the giraffe and came to an abrupt stop by sliding into one of the seated chairs. While Aaron looked for the eye, all of the animals on the platform slowly moved, as if stretching after a long nap.

  The platform tilted upward and in the opposite direction. As Aaron rose higher, he looked down and saw Nakal standing at the edge of the platform, rotating it around as the eyeball rolled back and forth, hitting different objects like a pinball machine.

  Aaron rolled over to a seated position and allowed his body to slide down toward Nakal. He kept his eye on the glowing eyeball, careful to maneuver around the now shifting feet of the animals. Just as he neared, Nakal reached up, grabbed the eyeball, and held it up for Aaron to see before shoving it into his pocket.

  A flicker of light appeared in front of him before the board came into view. A check mark appeared under Nakal’s name. Nakal—2 Aaron—1

  Aaron frowned.

  “You snooze, you lose,” Nakal said as amber sparks shot from his eyes. “You’re not going to win. This world took my family from me. Now, I’m going to take yours, but don’t worry, I will take great care of your family.”

  “What do you mean?” Aaron yelled. “We don’t know your family. We only tried to help you.”

  Nakal placed his hands under the platform and shook it quickly back and forth. The animals were now fully alive and startled from the sudden movements. The tiger growled.

  “Wake up!” Nakal yelled. “I’ve brought you a snack,” he said to the animals before giving the platform one final jarring shake.

  Nakal looked at Aaron. “One word of advice. This would be a good time to run!” he said before he vanished into the ground.

  Chapter 10

  Aaron scrambled to his feet and ran as fast as he could through the amusement park. The animals teeter-tottered on their stiff legs behind him. Aaron stopped at the entrance to gauge how far away his pursuers were and saw them galloping a little more smoothly on legs that did not seem as stiff.