by Travis Flynn
Chapter 12
All four pixies surveyed their surroundings. They were stuck on a very small island that was little more than a sandy coast with a few palm trees, no supplies, no shelter, and no hope of rescue. Aside from the clothes they had on, and what Pudding had brought along in the leather satchel, they had nothing. For Nemesis, this was enough reason to simply drop on the sand, and bury her face in her hands. Jinx laughed when he saw her plop down in desperation. Fidget walked over to Pudding, who was watching the spot where the jet had gone down.
“I still believe in you,” he said.
Pudding smiled sadly. “I knocked down a lighthouse, sank an island, and stranded us about eight thousand years in the past.”
“It was an adventure though!” said Jinx.
“Yeah,” chimed Fidget.
“I changed the entire course of history! No one can settle on that island now because it no longer exists.”
“Please,” said Jinx, trying to make Pudding feel better. “What was that place even called?”
“Atlantis.”
“Atlantis? Pfft, who’ll remember it? Do you think, thousands of years from now, anyone will ever wonder, or care what happened to a tiny little island called Atlantis? Not a chance!”
“Yeah, so don’t worry, Pudding,” added Fidget.
“Don’t worry!” shouted Nemesis. She sat up on the beach and glared at Fidget. “I don’t know why we would worry,” she said in her most sarcastic voice, “we’re only fifteen miles from a dragon infested Lumina. If they don’t eat us, you can bet fatty here will after a couple days of starvation.” Nemesis stood up and tromped off to the other side of the island, which was only about twenty feet away.
“She’s right,” admitted Jinx, “we’re going to starve to death. In a few days anyway.”
“Do you have any idea how slow those few days are going to go, with her complaining the whole time?” said Fidget.
“That’s it!” yelled Pudding, jubilantly. She walked right up to Fidget and kissed him on the cheek. “You’re a genius!”
Fidget turned a rare shade of scarlet before babbling, “I – wa – if I – just. Huh?” He then laughed nervously.
“The time crystal is broken, but not completely. I wouldn’t want to use it to travel through time again, but I think I can still make it stop time, at least on this island. Do you see? I can freeze this island in time. We know from history that pixies will be the first people to settle in this area, several thousand years from now. I’ll set the crystal to turn off as soon as one of them approaches. That way we can get rescued, get our hands on a temporal crystal that still works, and get back to the time period in which we belong.”
“Yes!” shouted Jinx. He then began dancing around joyously. Nemesis, who had heard him shout, came over, hoping for good news. When she heard the plan, she simply shrugged, thinking that she could have come up with something better if they had only given her a few minutes.
Pudding also decided to cast a beckoning spell over the general region. That way, no one would be able to resist coming to the island if they happened to sail anywhere within a mile of it. She then grabbed the glassy time crystal and cast a spell over it.
After a few moments, she said, “Okay, the spell is ready. It will reactivate normal time flow on this island as soon as someone else steps foot on the coastline. The farther you are from it, the sooner it will freeze you, as the field starts outward and works its way in, slowly.”
Nemesis instantly walked to the very edge of the island. “Then I want to be over here, so I can be frozen immediately.” She then continued under her breath, “I don’t want this to last any longer than it has too.” Everyone else stayed close to the time crystal.
“Anyone have anything to say?” asked Jinx.
“Not to the likes of you!” said Nemesis, folding her arms. Everyone ignored her, as always.
“Um, see ya guys in a few thousand years,” said Jinx with a laugh.
“Yeah, what he said,” was Fidget’s only reply.
“Okay, good luck everyone!” said Pudding.
Pudding set the sphere down in the sand, and waved her hand over it. It began to glow with a bright emerald light. A smile spread across Jinx’s face as he quickly dashed over to Nemesis, planting on her lips the biggest, sloppiest kiss that he could manage.
Nemesis coiled her hand into a fist that was fast making its way toward the pixie now kissing her, but she froze suddenly as a dull green energy field passed over her and Jinx, freezing them in place. It then slowly made its way toward Pudding and Fidget.
Fidget watched the field draw closer and closer. “What now?” he asked, turning toward Pudding, looking into those deep violet eyes.
“Now,” said Pudding, taking him by the hand and giving him a reassuringly bright smile, “Now … we wait.”
End of Book One
The Adventure Continues In
A Pixie Called Pudding:
The Siren’s Song
About Travis Flynn
I grew up in Sioux City, Iowa and continue to live there to this day. I obtained a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Briar Cliff University in 2008 and a master’s degree in Management Information Systems from Bellevue University in 2010.
When I’m not writing, I’m a fan of biking, skiing (when I’m not in Iowa, anyway), and have been known to love sci-fi television and video games a bit too much.
To anyone who has read any of my stories, you have my sincerest thanks. I appreciate that you took time out of your day (and perhaps money out of your wallet) to spend with me and the odd people that I dream up. Thanks again, and stay tuned for more!
For more information about me and a list of available titles, please check out
https://www.flynnpublishing.com
