 
Look Up

By A.S. Morrison

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2015 A.S. Morrison
Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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#  Table of Contents
# Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

#  Chapter 1

Thaddeus Minnow was a very curious child. He was of strong mind and was the smartest kid in his class, at least that's what his parents told him. He lacked the physical strength of some of the boys, but he could grow into that later.

His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Minnow, were both teachers at the local college. They made sure young Thaddeus stayed up to date on his assignments—the ones from school and the ones they assigned themselves.

Thaddeus used to hate all the assignments, but when several kids around the neighborhood started picking on him he grew to like staying in all day and learning. He was often told that he would be their boss one day and they would have to work for him. That day couldn't come soon enough.

The Minnow family lived in a slender house deep in a neighborhood filled with slender houses. They all looked almost the same. Some had brown shutters and some had yellow, but that was the extent of their differences.

It was a very pleasant summer morning when the Minnow's left their slender house to drive to the meadow. Thaddeus sat in the back seat reading the book his parents had assigned him for the first part of the summer.

"How's the reading coming?" Mr. Minnow asked as the car came to a stop at a traffic light.

"It's good." Thaddeus replied. He wasn't really reading. He was staring at the pages and taking quick glances out the window.

"I remember when I read that book." Mr. Minnow said. "Changed my life."

"Really?" Thaddeus said, not really paying attention.

"Sure did."

A few minutes later the car turned onto a road that ran through the woods. They came to a stop in a parking lot and got out. Thaddeus followed his parents onto a little path between the trees.

The Minnow's went on family walks once a week. It broke the monotony of lessons and grading. Thaddeus enjoyed these excursions and secretly wished they happened more often. As much as he liked learning he liked going on mini adventures outside even more. Every time he walked amongst the trees he imagined that he was in a world completely separate from his own. Housing developments crushed in on all sides, but for those brief minutes in the center of the woods civilization was all but forgotten about.

The sun wasn't as bright and the air a little cooler on the dirt path through the trees. Mr. Minnow quizzed Thaddeus on all the bird calls they heard. Mrs. Minnow asked Thaddeus to name all the types of trees they would encounter.

The boy ran ahead when he got the chance and snuck around the edge of the brush looking for animals. He found a large toad sitting on the edge of the path, a few squirrels running up and down trees, and even the end of a snake (or perhaps the tail of a lizard) slithering under a bush. He also saw many birds fluttering in the canopy above. They were singing their songs and gave the whole woods a very pleasant feel.

The dirt path ended and a wooden walkway began, curving off into the tall grass that replaced the trees. Thaddeus waited for his parents to catch up. They talked about this and that and didn't seem at all to have the wonder that he always felt after his mind was swallowed by nature.

"Ah, we've come to the good part already." Mrs. Minnow said.

"Yeah, come on." Thaddeus pulled his mother's arm in hopes she would go faster.

They started onto the wooden walkway and followed the curve around through the tall grass. The grass went off to the sides and they were now walking through a very pretty meadow. The walkway was several inches above the water. Little green plants poked up through the water every now and then. Cattails stood in clumps and swayed in the light breeze.

Thaddeus walked quickly, looking into the water at all times so he wouldn't miss any animals. There were little fish and snails and maybe even a few tadpoles, though they might have just been fish. He saw a turtle and watched as it poked its head above the water and dove down again. Some of the turtles were small and some were very big. They clumped together on branches that lay half in the water.

"Did you see that one?" Thaddeus called out whenever he saw a turtle. "Oh look, there's another one."

"Thaddeus come here." His mother said. "Be very quiet, do you see that?"

She pointed over to the edge of the meadow where the tall grass began again. A young deer was standing there, poking its head into the grass.

"Wow, it's so close." Thaddeus whispered.

"Let's leave it alone, we don't want to scare it off." Mrs. Minnow advised.

They came to a part of the walkway that was raised higher than the rest. Signs showed the types of animals that might be found. There was a viewing tower out that way. They climbed up and could see all the way to the other end of the meadow, some three hundred yards away. The Minnow's sat on a bench on top of the tower and relaxed while the world turned below them. It got late very suddenly and it was time to leave.

Thaddeus wished they could stay for the rest of the day, even longer if it was possible. His parents led the way back down. They walked along the walkway until the forest began again. The dirt trail returned.

The boy kept behind his parents this time. He looked all around hoping to find more animals hidden away out of sight. The meadow always had more animals than the woods.

"Can we come back tomorrow?" Thaddeus asked his parents when he noticed that they were quickly coming to the end of their walk. Houses could be seen through the trees in the distance. The thought of civilization made Thaddeus want to run back and hide amongst the trees.

"Not tomorrow, but maybe next week." His father said.

"Are you sure we can't come back?" Thaddeus asked hopefully.

"No, no, we can't have too much of a good thing now can we? Our walks are once a week. That way we don't get tired of them and yet still look forward to them."

Thaddeus bowed his head and walked on. He looked up a minute later and saw that there was a much smaller path going off to the right. A sign stood a little ways in that direction. He glanced up at his parents to see that they were walking on ahead and talking, and then he ran over to the sign to see what it said.

Unofficial path, continue with caution

Another path? He had never seen that before. He looked back to see that his parents were still walking away. They had yet to turn around. Thaddeus made up his mind and decided take a quick jog down the new path just to see where it went. It would probably connect with the main path up ahead somewhere. It might even get him ahead of his parents. He walked very slowly until he thought his parents wouldn't hear him, and then ran. Instead of curving to the left and connecting with the main path like he imagined, it kept going straight. Surely it would run into the houses if it continued like that.

He stopped when he saw that the little path was gone and he was running through bushes and over dead leaves. Thaddeus looked back but could no longer see the path at all. It didn't seem like he had run that far. Surely it was around somewhere. He started back the way he came.

Up in the sky the colors began to change. The bright blue of midday seeped out and was replaced by gray. That too began to change. Very quickly the gray began to darken. Thaddeus suddenly realized this and looked up. It was growing dark. Night was approaching. But that can't be right; his watch showed that it was only two in the afternoon. Within only a minute the sky had completed its turn from midday to midnight. The birds stopped chirping. Crickets and other insects took their place.

Thaddeus breathed very hard. He searched for some type of explanation. The day doesn't just end whenever it wants to. That's impossible. He drew himself in and held his arms tightly by his chest. His feet made small and careful steps through the dead leaves that crunched loudly with every footfall. He wanted to call out to his parents; surely they were frightened as well.

This wasn't the fun type of night with storytelling and marshmallows, this was much different. This was one of those horrible nights with spooky sounds and penetrating darkness that never seems to let up no matter where you look. Thaddeus hated those nights, and he hated this one even more for being so sudden and unexplained.

It was very hard to see in the new darkness. Thaddeus held out his wrist that was wearing his watch and lit the screen. The light was bright in such a bleak blackness. It showed him the way, but only a few steps ahead. It flickered greatly; his hands were shaking so much he couldn't keep a hold of the button.

He started back to where he thought the path would be. The light from his watch lit the ground but it never found the path. It must be around somewhere. He quietly called to his parents. There was no answer.

Leaves crunched nearby. Thaddeus took his hand from his watch and the light disappeared. He listened closely to hear more. Very quietly leaves were pressed down only a few feet away. He didn't dare move. This wasn't his parents, he could tell. They would be running and calling to him. This was something else. The sound continued, slowly getting farther away. Someone, or something, was trying to walk away from him. After a few seconds it crashed away through the woods. It was probably just an animal, but it scared Thaddeus badly.

As quietly as he could, which wasn't very quiet, he began again to where he thought the path might be. He was still too scared to call out again for fear there really was someone up to no good out there with him.

Young Thaddeus walked on for a long time, never finding any trace of the path or his parents. He only let his watch stay lit for a second or two at a time, whatever it took to see that he wasn't about to hit a tree. It was beginning to seem hopeless and he wished he never strayed away from his parents. If only he could reach them. They would know what to do. He listened hard for any sign of them calling to him but none came. They couldn't be too far away.

Up ahead he noticed a small light. It appeared suddenly, it wasn't there a few seconds before. He watched it to see what it would do. It never moved, it must be attached to something. It flickered like a flame. He started towards it.

# Chapter 2

It was a candle. When he got closer he could tell that it was sitting in a window. It was so dark that it looked like the window was floating in nothingness. The rest of the house was still invisible. And then another light appeared around the side of the house. This one was much brighter and lit the woods very well. Thaddeus went over to it, knowing to stay several yards away. This must have been the front of the house. The light was coming from a flame perched atop a long stick in the ground.

This little home was unlike any house the boy had ever seen. It was made of wood that looked wet and moldy, like the underside of a fallen tree after a storm. Bugs crawled over it and burrowed into it. Instead of a door there was just a large hole where a door might have gone. The edges were rough and looked chewed in places. Thaddeus shivered at the sight.

He knocked quickly on the soft dark wood. There was no answer. He snuck real close to the entrance and called out a friendly hello. Still no answer. He took a step inside. Surely whoever lived there didn't mind guests or they wouldn't have such a huge hole in their home. The light from the flame outside lit half of the little home very well. The other half remained dark.

The half he could see looked old and forgotten about. The floor was the same dark wet wood as the walls. A table set under the window with the candle. A lone chair was next to the table. There was nothing else on that side of the room.

Thaddeus tried to make out what was in the dark half of the room. He called out again but there was still no answer. He went over to the window and looked out at what little part of the woods he could see.

This was probably the home of someone who worked for the park. No one else would have permission to live in the park, unless whoever lived there did not have permission. The idea frightened Thaddeus a little bit and he went back to the door.

A voice appeared from the dark half of the room.

"What peculiar fate is this to bring a little child into my home?"

Thaddeus froze. This voice was old and weary, that of a woman. It had a texture to it that made him shudder.

"I'm sorry." He began. "I didn't mean to come in. I saw the light."

"Did you? You must have been very close to see it."

"I got lost."

"You would have to be." The voice said accusingly. "No one ever comes to these woods at night. And no one ever finds my home, day or night."

"I'm sorry." Thaddeus repeated. "Can you show me to the main path?" He looked over to that side of the little house over but could not find where the voice was coming from.

"A path, in these woods? There is no path. No one ever comes out here."

"The path to the parking lot." Thaddeus said. He was trembling all over and thought he might just have better luck on his own.

"A parking lot? In the middle of the woods? Whatever are you talking about? There is no parking lot and there certainly isn't a path."

Thaddeus began to wonder if he accidentally ended up on someone's private property. "Isn't this the park still?" He asked, his voice shaking.

"I certainly don't have any idea what you mean by all that. You are a very confused child, aren't you? And not very smart as well."

"I am smart." Thaddeus snapped. "I got lost, I told you. I'm looking for my parents."

"Oh," the voice sounded amused, "lost from your parents. That is bad news. Maybe I shall help you."

Thaddeus heard a shuffling from the dark half of the house and backed up to the wall. "I should probably go now." He said.

Something was stirring in the dark. An old woman stepped out of the darkness and into the light. She had long frizzled hair and wore a long dreary gray dress with colorful patches here and there. Thaddeus gasped when he saw her. She looked normal enough, but something was off ever so slightly in her face. He couldn't place it. It was so subtle that he could not tell what it was. It gave the woman a somewhat displeasing appearance.

"Won't you let me help you?" She asked.

"No thanks, I should go now."

"Nonsense, you just arrived. Stay a little while."

"I really should be going." Thaddeus went to the hole where a door should have been.

"What would a child like you be doing out at this hour, anyway?"

He stopped and looked back. "Why did it get so dark so fast?"

"So fast? It's been dark for hours."

Thaddeus shook his head and held up his watch. "It's only two-something in the afternoon. It shouldn't be dark for a while."

"Two in the afternoon? Dear child, it's much closer to two-something at night."

"No," Thaddeus said slowly, growing even more frightened. "It's the afternoon. The sun was just up." The woman shook her head pityingly. "No," Thaddeus said angrily. "I was walking with my parents in the afternoon. It's walk day. We took a walk in the park with the woods and the meadow. I saw turtles and birds and took the path I shouldn't have. I shouldn't have done that. I wish they were here right now."

The woman smiled in a very mysterious way. "You really were in a park just now? It really was daylight?"

"Yes." Thaddeus said, tears forming in his eyes. "I really wish I stayed with them."

The woman looked off into space and smiled. "You should stay here tonight. Yes, I'll help you find your parents in the morning. But for now you will stay here."

"No," Thaddeus said, starting to cry. "I need to go. They're out there looking for me. I need to find them."

"Find them? They aren't looking for you. Why should they? They were trying so hard to be rid of you."

"They're looking for me." Thaddeus said, more as confirmation to himself than answering her.

"No dearest, they couldn't care less about you."

"That's not true." Thaddeus cried. "Why are you saying that?"

"Because it's true and you know it's true." She sounded so sure of herself.

"No . . . no . . . no." He sobbed.

The old woman ran over to the boy and grabbed his arm. "You will stay here tonight."

"Stop, let me go." Thaddeus screeched, falling to the ground. "I need to get to them."

"No," She said angrily, her voice grew deep and contorted. She pulled him across the floor toward the dark side of the room "You will stay here until they come for you, which they won't."

With sudden great force Thaddeus pulled his arm away from the bony fingers of the old woman. He got up and ran into the darkness of the woods. She followed close behind, shouting at him. He didn't hear what she said. He was running so fast into the darkness that it would only be a matter of time before he ran into a tree. He brushed one hard with his arm and tripped over a root, but luckily did not hit one head on. After a while he slowed down and listened. The shouting stopped. Everything was quiet again. He was really lost now. With no light and no way of knowing where he was poor little Thaddeus dropped to the ground and started crying out of fear and loneliness.

He kept hoping that his parents' soothing voices would reach him where he sat. Surely they would be running around like mad to find him. That old woman lied to him. They were looking for him, he knew they were.

Hours passed and Thaddeus didn't dare move. Any moment he would hear his parents and run right to them. The darkness all around lessened ever so slightly. A dull gray appeared over the horizon. The sun was starting to come up. A few minutes later the forest came into view.

Thaddeus got up and started in a direction he picked at random. The park was surrounded by neighborhoods, he was sure to reach one in no time. He could ask for a ride and be home before breakfast. His parents were probably waiting patiently for his arrival.

The boy walked on and on and on but no houses or neighborhoods came into view in the distance. The woods kept going forever. He tried to keep himself calm by thinking of getting home and seeing his parents, but a fear was growing in him that said something different.

#  Chapter 3

Thaddeus came up on tall grass that took the place of the trees. The dry ground turned to mud. He walked slowly, trying not to get stuck. After a minute of this he came to a large meadow, very similar to the one he went to with his parents. There were little turtles on logs and ducks swimming around. The only difference was that there was no wooden walkway here and also no observation tower. He walked along the edge of the meadow, trying to find the part where he walked with his parents the day before. It had to be around there somewhere.

No walkway ever appeared and there was no sign of human life at all. He walked on the edge of the water for a long time, eventually coming to a clearing with dead grass and mud patches. There should have been houses and roads. The park wasn't this big. He should have been back in the neighborhoods by now.

Something poked above the dead grass and mud up ahead. He couldn't tell what it was from so far away. When he got closer he saw that it was a little hut. There was a sign on the door. The words were old and faded.

Cart rides to town

Thaddeus knocked on the door. It opened and an old man looked out at him. He looked like he had just gotten up. He wore a long heavy cloth nightgown. His face had the same slight difference that made it somewhat off from faces Thaddeus was used to.

"Yes." He said, surprised to see someone at his door.

"I saw that you have cart rides to town." Thaddeus reached into his pocket and pulled out a few dollar bills. "I only have a little money."

The man looked down at the bills curiously. "You really want a cart ride? Nobody's wanted a cart ride in years, except for that crazy old woman who lives in the woods. I only keep the sign up so I still feel like I have something to do in life. Say, what's a kid like you doing way out here?"

"I lost my parents." Thaddeus said quietly.

"What'd they run away?"

"I ran away."

"Why would you go and do a thing like that?"

"I just wanted to see where the path went." Thaddeus said defensively.

"Don't get all out of whack. What do I know; I like being alone. Now how about that cart ride?" The man went around to the back of his hut and came back with a little cart. It was one of those with just the one wheel, the kind that has to be pulled by a horse or a mule. The man stood where the horse should go and gestured with his head for Thaddeus to get in. "You coming or what?"

"Don't you have something to pull this for you?" Thaddeus asked.

"Now how am I supposed to get exercise if something else pulls my cart?" The man said as if it were completely normal to see an old man pulling a cart into town.

Thaddeus got in. The cart was old and had several holes in the bottom. Spiders had made webs and a few ants crawled around. He tried not to notice.

The old man took off in a jog and the boy almost fell off the back. There was nothing to hold on to.

The cart rattled and shook the whole way. Thaddeus was afraid it might fall apart. The old man jogged merrily through the mud patches and didn't slow down for anything. He was a very fit old man.

Buildings came into view before too long. They were all made of the same gray stone that was probably once white. This was definitely not any town Thaddeus had ever seen before.

"What is this place?" Thaddeus asked. "I thought we were going to town."

"This is town." The man said, out of breath.

"No, I mean town with the neighborhoods and the streets and the gas stations and everything."

"We have streets and neighborhoods here."

"This isn't the town I was talking about."

The man stopped jogging at the edge of town and put the cart down. "This is the only town within miles. If you want another one you should find a merchant or someone who can take you."

Thaddeus got out and looked around. His parents wouldn't be here. He had never seen this place in his life.

"Are you sure there's no place else."

"This is it, kid. Anyway, I better get back. Have fun." The man picked up his cart and jogged away.

"Wait, what do I do here?"

The man didn't hear the boy and kept jogging back to his little hut.

Thaddeus stepped into the town.

The ground was entirely covered in the same gray stone as the buildings. Commotion was all around. People pushed and pulled carts just like the one Thaddeus rode in on. Some carried vegetables, some carried slabs of stone, and some even had people. Thaddeus walked around looking at all the people while trying not to get hit by carts that were going way too fast. He found someone who was not running all over the place and went up to him.

"Excuse me, sir, but do you know where I am."

"What kind of a question is that? You're right there." The man said, annoyed.

"No, I mean what town is this?"

"It's The Town. Yeesh, some kids don't know nothing."

"What is it called?" Thaddeus stressed.

The man hunched down and put his face real close to the boy's. "I just told you. It's called The Town. Ain't one for a ways there, why would we call it anythin else?"

"Surely it has a better name then that."

The man looked taken aback. "Whass yo problem, young? You mean to be snapped, don't ya?"

Thaddeus took a step back. He didn't understand the man's meaning and didn't think he wanted to. He turned and started down between a row of buildings. There had to be someone around who could tell him where he was and what was going on.

At the end of the row was a building larger than the rest. It had three floors and a lot of windows. People were going in and out every few seconds. Thaddeus noticed that everyone he looked at had that strange difference that he had yet to pinpoint. He tried not to think about it. It only made him more frightened.

Thaddeus went up to a few people talking near the building. One of them was bound to be able to help.

"Excuse me." He said as politely as he could.

A woman around his mother's age noticed him first. "Yes, dear." She said.

"Do you know where a Willow Street is? That's where I live and I can't seem to find it."

"Your street has a name?"

"Yes, it's Willow. Do you know it?"

"No street in The Town has a name." She shrugged and went back to talking with the people she was with.

"I need to get back to it."

A man standing next to the woman noticed Thaddeus next. "Hey, there, little man, what seems to be the problem?"

"I can't find my way home."

"Oh, that's terrible, little man, tell me your name."

"Thaddeus Minnow."

"Minnow? Minnow, hmm. No Minnows in this town, unless you count the pond." He laughed. "But seriously though, go home."

"I can't."

The man went back to talking with the others as well.

"Can you tell me what this building is?"

Another woman in the group noticed him.

"Hello there, little one. What can I do for you?"

"What is this building?" Thaddeus groaned. He was getting tired of these people.

"This is The Building. It runs everything in The Town."

"Is its name The Building?"

"That's what I just said."

Thaddeus got away from those people as fast as he could and went into The Building. The entryway was small and it led to three different rooms. The one on the left had a sign saying Offices. The one on the right said Drinks. And the one directly ahead didn't have any sign and was blocked by a large scary looking man. Thaddeus decided to try Drinks.

There was a long bar with stools at it and behind the bar several people went around giving out large glasses of what looked like mud. There were a few tables and business types all sat around drinking more mud.

Thaddeus went cautiously up to the bar. He wasn't allowed in places like that where he was from, but this was looking more and more like someplace else. He took a seat at the bar next to a man that was either sleeping or dead, he hoped sleeping.

One of the people from behind the bar came up to Thaddeus. "What'd you do?" He asked with a sly smile.

"What?" Thaddeus asked.

"You have to be here for some reason. So what did you do, or are you here to support some friend or something?"

"I got lost." Thaddeus said for what felt like the fiftieth time.

"Got lost, eh?" The man behind the bar said. "They'll put people away for anything now. Check this fellow out here." He pointed to the man that was hopefully unconscious. "This is like the tenth time that he's been here this month alone. Some people never learn, you know?"

Thaddeus was very confused. "I'm trying to find my parents." He said.

The man behind the bar nodded with understanding. "That's how it is, eh? That's a shame. Some of these people have kids, it doesn't matter. They spend their time doing bad and soon enough the kid ain't got a parent or two for a while. But don't you worry. I'm sure they'll get out in no time. What'd they do?"

"They took me for a walk."

The man behind the bar's eyes widened. "Must have been some walk. They kill someone on this walk?"

"No, they're nice people." Thaddeus said.

"They're all nice once in a while. Take this guy," he pointed once again to the man with his head on the table. "This guy's nice when he's in here. You'd be surprised though. I heard he knocked out the mayor's cousin, and for what? He's only thirty or something, that's too young to be throwing life away. Give it another chance, ten more years at least." He gave a disgusted look to the man. "Hey pal!" He shouted at him. "You didn't pay yet. What am I giving these away?" He picked up a half finished glass of mud and poured it on his head. The man's head flew off the table and mud went splattering onto the table behind them.

"What's all this about?" He yelled angrily.

"Pay up, mud bath."

The man wiped mud out of his hair with one hand and pulled a little pink coin out of his pocket and put it on the counter. "Is this really how you treat repeat customers?"

"Yes, repeats are the worst. Now what's with this? You know perfectly well that drink was more than that."

The man pulled out a few more coins and scattered them on the counter. "Is this better?" He asked, annoyed.

"More like it, yes." The man behind the bar went over to someone else.

The mud bath man wiped more mud off him and then wiped his hands on his pants. He glanced over at Thaddeus. "What'd you do?"

"Nothing." Thaddeus said. "I lost my parents somewhere and I need to find them."

The man looked at Thaddeus for a long time. Thaddeus looked away; he hated feeling eyes looking him over. After a few second he looked back defiantly. That's when he noticed something odd about the man, or something not odd. This was the first person he saw that did not have the slight difference to him.

"So where'd you leave them? Run away I guess."

"I didn't run far."

"Right, now you're here, and they're where?"

"I guess at home worried sick."

"And where's home?" The man asked, staring longingly at his empty glass.

"Willow Street."

"That's not around here, is it? Streets don't have names around here."

"It's near Buckington Ridge High School. I know we're getting close when we pass the school."

The man suddenly looked very serious as he inspected the last remnants of mud in his glass. "What's that now?"

"It's near the high school." Thaddeus repeated.

The man took quick peeks over at Thaddeus, but kept his eyes on his empty glass. "Do you need help finding your parents? I mean I can help you if you'd like."

"Really?" Thaddeus exclaimed. For the first time since following the unofficial path in the woods he felt a little happiness.

"Sure, I'd love to. When do we start?"

"Right now, let's go. They're probably worried sick about me." Thaddeus jumped down from his chair.

"Hold on a second, quickie lick, I need to take care of something first. But as soon as that's over I'll get you back to your parents in no time."

He led Thaddeus out of Drinks and into the main entryway.

Thaddeus would miss breakfast, but he would be back in time for lunch.

#  Chapter 4

"The name's Galen Woollard." The man announced as they climbed the stairs to the floor above. "I assume you have some kind of sporty name. Something like Champ. Am I close?"

"Not even. My name's Thaddeus."

"Ooh, a two hundred year old sporty name."

"It's classic."

"It's ancient."

The second floor had a lot of doors and a lot of people wandering about. Galen led Thaddeus up to a desk on the far wall near a window. A woman sat behind the desk, next to her was another door. This door had gold plating and looked very important. Galen rested his elbows on the desk and held his head with his hands.

"Nice day, Sandy. You seen the judge today? He look mad?"

The woman, Sandy, rolled her eyes. "Mr. Woollard are you really here again. I mean I saw you on the list but seriously. What is this like the twentieth time this year you've been caught doing something stupid?"

"Twentieth? Why I thought the desk lady would have to do better math than that. It's only my fourteenth this year, tenth this month. Some people say ninth, but I came in with a friend one time. I count that."

"You better straighten up your act. The judge gets angrier the more he sees people like you." Sandy said.

"Oh, yeah right. Who is it today, Baldy or Fatty?"

"It's Judge Morgan."

"Morgan? Ha, I thought I was getting someone worth something. I'll be back tomorrow; you tell judgie that I'll be back when someone else has the job."

"Very funny." Sandy said. "By tomorrow you'll probably get caught doing something else. What is it this time?"

"I may or may not have punched out the mayor's cousin."

Sandy's mouth dropped. "What? Why?"

"I didn't know who it was. The idiot was calling me all kinds of names for not addressing him properly."

"What did you say?"

"I said 'hey man, get out of the doorway, people are trying to get in'. And then he says 'I can stand wherever I want; I'm the mayor's cousin'. And then I jabbed once or twice or maybe sixteen times and next thing I know I'm getting a court date."

"I thought you said you didn't know who he was."

Galen shrugged. "I thought he was lying. Why would anyone say that? The loser thought he was better than us because he knows the mayor. I taught a lesson, but I don't think he learned. People like that don't learn a thing."

Sandy noticed Thaddeus, who was listening intently while staring out the window at all the gray buildings.

"The kid with you?" She asked.

"Yeah, a good friend of mine. Hey, Thad, come on over."

"It's Thaddeus."

"What do I care? I gotta say it, not you."

Thaddeus went over and greeted Sandy the desk lady. "Hello."

"Did he bring you along for the angle?" Sandy asked.

Galen shushed her. "What do you think I'm that kind of person?"

"I don't know anything about you except for these chats and they never go past what you did to get here. Now you should probably go in before you're late."

She opened a little door in the desk and Galen pulled Thaddeus through. And then she opened the gold plated door and they went in there too. This room was very long and had benches leading up to a large desk with a large balding man sitting at it. Galen went up to the desk. The first few rows of benches were full of people who looked scared or defiant.

"Agree with everything I say alright?" Galen whispered.

"I really need to find my parents; I think we should get going."

"We'll get to that, but first we need to take care of something. Now what did I say?"

"Agree with everything you say."

"That's a good little kid."

Thaddeus didn't like the look of this place but for some reason he really believed that Galen might be able to help him. Everything and everyone was so strange and yet Thaddeus could tell that Galen wasn't, despite the fact that he was in court.

"I am here to face justice." Galen said somberly when he got to the desk.

Judge Morgan looked at the paper in front of him. "Mr. Galen Woollard, sent here because he mauled Mayor Gartread's cousin."

Galen laughed. "Mauled? Did you say Mauled?! It was merely an accident. I was attempting to show Mr. Gartead's cousin new boxing moves and he got his face too close. And I should just say that when I get into a boxing move I make sure I finish it regardless of who puts their mug in my way."

The judge stared at Galen and looked very bored. "I'm sure." He said emotionlessly. "Now I think I speak for all of the judges when I say that the punishments we've been giving you have done little to—"

"If I may only stop you there." Galen interrupted. "I have a great reason why I cannot be put into one of your cells. You see this little sad boy here?" he pushed Thaddeus in front of him. "Do you see him? You see his sad little face? He has been waiting for me to take him out to The Lake for a very long time and it would just crush his little heart if I didn't do it right now. Isn't that right, little one?"

Thaddeus nodded. He was beginning to feel like he got himself in something he couldn't get out of.

"I think I speak for all the judges—" The judge continued as if he hadn't been interrupted "—if I say that the punishments we have enforced have not curbed your vicious behavior. To make sure this does not happen again we have decided on a harsher punishment. You will spend the night in jail and tomorrow morning you will be banned forever from The Town."

Galen looked taken aback. "Banned?" He asked as if he could not have possibly heard right. "You can't ban me. I've lived here for fifteen years."

"And recently you have become a menace to society." The judge leaned forward. "Take this sentence graciously or we will keep you in the jail for much longer."

Two guards came up to take Galen away.

"Wait; give me one minute with the boy."

The judge nodded with a displeased sigh. "One minute."

Galen got on his knees and grabbed Thaddeus by the arms. "Things didn't quite work out but I promise I will help you. For now I want you to go to my friend's house outside of town. He's a scientist and he can help you for now until I get out. He's studied cases like yours. Go out the north side of town and keep going until you reach a lake. On the other side of the lake will be his laboratory. He's a marine scientist but he studies what happened to you as a hobby. Go there now and you should be there by night. Oh and here." Galen pulled out a few pink coins from his pocket and handed them to Thaddeus. "There are restaurants here. This will buy you lunch."

"What do you mean a case like mine?" Thaddeus asked.

"Tell him what you said to me, about the high school and stuff, and he'll explain."

The guards took Galen away. The judge asked if Thaddeus had anywhere to go and he said he did. Thaddeus left the courtroom and went down the stairs to the door. Things were getting very strange, and he had a sinking feeling that this was only the beginning.

Thaddeus couldn't tell which way was north. The sun was directly overhead and even if it wasn't he probably still wouldn't be able to tell. He went up to someone that looked like they could help and they pointed him in the right direction.

None of the buildings had signs out front. Thaddeus couldn't tell which ones housed restaurants and which housed people. Instead he decided to bypass getting food, though he was very hungry, and try to find Galen's friend's house.

The road leading from the north side of town was broad and had been beaten down by hundreds of carts going through every day. Thaddeus had to walk in the grass on the side so he wouldn't be hit by people running with their carts. No one seemed to own a horse or donkey or anything that could do it for them. Thaddeus still didn't know where he was, but he was certain he had ended up somewhere very far from home. He must have been walking for a long time the night before.

The road cut right through more woods. Thaddeus kept a look out for houses of any sort that might be a sign of the county he lived in. The trees seemed to go on forever on either side of the road.

A man with a cart stopped on the side of the road for a break and was selling vegetables from his cart to the people going by. Thaddeus gave him two pink coins for a tomato and ate it on his way to find the lake.

It didn't take him long to find it. Not too far after the cart a large glimmering lake appeared off the right side of the road. A brick house stood on the far bank. A dock was next to it with a small boat.

"This must be the place." Thaddeus said to himself.

# Chapter 5

It was harder than it looked to get across the river. There was no boat on that shore and the woods around the lake were full of thick brush and everything was covered with ivy.

Thaddeus made his way very carefully around the edge of the lake on the mud banks. His shoes were already filthy so he didn't mind too much. It took far longer than he imagined it would. At least an hour passed from the time he first saw the house and the time he got to the other side of the lake where there was a clearing leading up to the house.

Buckets full of water and metal instruments were scattered about on the lawn next to the house. The boat was filled with brown water with dead leaves floating around. It didn't look like it had been used in a long time.

Thaddeus knocked on the door and there was a loud thud as something hit the floor inside. A voice shouted that he could come in.

The first thing that the boy noticed was that the floor was a mess. Books and papers were lying at odd angles all over the place. There were several large metal tables and those had books and papers all over them as well. A ladder on the right wall led up to a loft space with bookcases. A lamp stood on one of the tables but it kept the loft in semidarkness. There was no furniture like one would expect in a home. All the chairs at the tables were hard and metal.

Thaddeus waited for whoever told him he could come in to appear, but they did not. He waited for a minute but there was no other noise apart from his own footsteps as he tried to navigate the floor of books and paper.

"Hello." He called out.

"Hello there." The voice said. It was coming from the loft.

Thaddeus looked but could not see anyone. "My name is Thaddeus and I was told to come here by a Galen Woollard. He said that a scientist might be able to help me get home."

"I am indeed the scientist. I am surprised that Galen sent you to me. We haven't seen each other in a long time. I was beginning to think he forgot I existed. Now what did you say about getting home? Have you lost your way?"

Thaddeus wished that the scientist would show himself. He was wary of talking with people he could not see since his talk with the old woman the night before. "I lost my parents in the woods—the woods with the meadow in the park. I found a town and met Galen there."

"Those woods are rarely entered." The scientist said. "I do research in that meadow all the time or at least I used to."

"What do you study?"

"Migratory patterns of fish."

"Oh," Thaddeus said, "that sounds interesting."

"It's really not, at least not anymore. I've grown tired of it."

"Then why not change to something else?"

"Because I get money to study the migratory patterns of fish." The scientist said simply.

"I'm sorry." Thaddeus said, not sure what else to say. "Do you think you can help me get home? I live on Willow Street."

"Willow Street? Streets don't have names here; you must have come from very far away."

"I don't think so. It wasn't a long drive from our house to the meadow."

The scientist was quiet for a long time, and then: "A drive you say? As in a car drive?"

"Yes." Thaddeus was beginning to wonder if this man was also crazy. "What else to people drive?"

"Well, um, people can drive tractors. Is that right? Do people drive tractors?"

"I suppose."

"Aha, so you do know of tractors?" The scientist exclaimed.

"Of course I know of tractors. Everyone knows of tractors."

The scientist gave a small laugh. "If only they did. I'm sorry I'm not being a better guest, please make yourself comfortable. I'll be right down."

Thaddeus sat on one of the hard chairs but could find no way to get comfortable. Strange noises came from the loft. A loud thud was quickly followed by another. It sounded as if the scientist was running into things.

"Are you alright?" Thaddeus asked.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine."

Something appeared in the light on the edge of the loft. Before Thaddeus could get a good look it crashed to the floor with the loudest thud of all.

The boy ran over to it. He stopped very suddenly when he got a look at what it was. A whitish bean bag in the shape of a person was lying on the floor. It had scuff marks on it and a few stains. Thaddeus stepped back and looked up at the loft.

"I think you dropped something."

"Don't be alarmed, this happens all the time." The scientist said, only the voice did not come from the loft, it came from the bean bag.

Thaddeus jumped back as the person shaped bean bag began to move. It drew its arms in under the body and pushed up. The head flopped back and rested awkwardly in an upward position. It had eyes and a mouth printed on it. The eyes blinked and moved and then the mouth opened.

"I can't really climb down the ladder anymore. I should just get rid of it, I guess."

Before he knew what he was doing Thaddeus was against the far wall, staring terrifyingly at the moving bean bag.

"Don't be scared. I should have told you I was a little different."

"How—what—are you a . . .?"

"This might take some explaining." The bean bag said, shifting around until it was sitting against the wall, smiling at Thaddeus. "Do you know how sometimes you are given a wish and it actually comes true?"

"No." Thaddeus whispered, unable to take his eyes off the bizarre creature.

"Oh, well sometimes wishes come true, especially if you tell them to a would-be sorcerer. Not that sorcerers are real or anything. Well I guess they are. I certainly didn't start out like this. I was a very prominent scientist once, as I said, studying the migratory pattern of fish. Anyway I became very sick about thirty years ago and the doctor told me I didn't have much time left. That's when I was visited by a sorcerer. Of course I didn't believe in such nonsense. He told me to make a wish and it might come true. Well at that point I was angry with my own body for betraying my mind by letting a disease take hold. I wished that I could stay alive and not have to worry about ever getting sick again. The next day I woke up like this. The wish transferred my mind into this bean bag doll so I could continue my research. The only problem is that I could not get around easily anymore and that made my research very hard. As you can probably tell walking is not my forte anymore. That's when I met Galen. He helped me by going out to the water for me and studying the fish. The lake out there is connected to a stream and that goes to the ocean. That's how the fish get in. Actually one year beavers showed up—"

"That wish was magic?" Thaddeus interrupted.

"It depends, what is your definition of magic?"

Thaddeus had to think about that. He had never really thought about it before. "I guess it's when something happens that shouldn't."

"Then yes it was magic."

"Magic's not real." Thaddeus announced proudly. "My parents don't let me read those stories because it's not real. I read the stories where writers can come up with ideas without cheating."

"Magic's not real? So says the boy talking to a bean bag man."

Thaddeus had no response to that.

"So Galen thinks I can help you?" The scientist said. He tried to get up but his legs couldn't hold his weight and he fell back down. "I wonder why he thinks that."

"He said that you study cases like mine as a hobby, but he wouldn't say what my case is."

The scientist's printed on eyes stared at Thaddeus. "Do you know where you are?"

"No, I can't seem to find any markers to show me how to get back to where I live."

"You won't find them." The scientist said seriously. "You won't find them because you aren't where you think you are. You're close but you are also so far away."

"How can I be close and far away?" Thaddeus asked folding his arms.

The scientist sighed. "Those woods and that meadow were the same ones you saw with your parents, only different. They were in the exact same place but without your people. Does that make sense?"

"Not at all."

"Alright let me try a different way. You said that meadow was part of a park, right?"

"Yes." Thaddeus said slowly.

"To start let's go to the beginning. We live in two different parts of the same Earth. The Earth is the same way for both of us, at least at the start it is. Your half turned to cities long before my half and now you have large buildings and neighborhoods and all sorts of cool things because your half stayed put. My half only recently, and I still mean hundreds of years, started living in cities. We are the same age but behind, do you understand?"

"I didn't get a word of that." Thaddeus confessed. "Two Earths are the same or something."

"It's a tricky idea to pick up on at first. The world has two very different very distinct sides. Not sides like sides of a page but sides as in differences. This half of the world lives right along with yours but we never see yours and we never see what you build."

"Like a um, a different dimension?"

"Not really, at least not that I've seen. This is the same dimension, just two different sides of it. Have you ever seen a person out of the corner of your eye or a shadow move when it shouldn't? You're seeing our world. You know of the spirit world right? Some say that it is right along with our own but we can't see it. That's the way it is for us. When you saw the meadow with your parents it was the same as the meadow you saw once you got here. Because it hadn't changed much in hundreds of years it looked the same in both. Of course grass will be in different places and things like that."

"Alright." Thaddeus said, attempting to figure this out. "You're saying that we are right along with my world right now and that I can get back real easy. I don't really care where I am, I just want to get home. My parents are probably worried and I'm scared I won't get back."

"I wish I could tell you it was easy. I've studied the two worlds extensively, but everything is still theoretical. I've heard rumors that people could go through the boundary, but I've never had the chance to talk to someone who remembered the other side as well as you do."

Thaddeus's heart dropped. "Is there any way to get back?"

"Remember what I said about the sorcerer? That might help. I don't know where to find anyone like that, though, and usually the wishes don't end up the way you want. What you need is a safe and efficient way to get back, but I don't know what that is. I do know something that might help. That sorcerer gave me something the day he came all those years ago. I keep it with me for good luck. I have it here in my pocket, come over and get it. I can't get it, I don't have fingers."

Thaddeus went closer to the bean bag man with a look of disgust on his face. He tried to hide it but it was hard.

A pocket was sewed into the scientist. Thaddeus reached in while looking away and pulled out a little brown stone in the shape of a flower.

"That's a pilgrim's amulet. It is supposed to bring good luck as a pilgrim journeys across the land to wherever they are going. There is sacred oil in it. The source has long been lost. The sorcerer said that this little clay flower held the power of the wish. The power was used up when I became this. If you find one of these then it might help you get back. I know of nothing else in the whole world that has the power that this little flower has shown me. If there is ever another way then I don't know it."

Thaddeus dropped the clay flower amulet back in the scientist's pocket. "So my only way home is to find something like that?" Thaddeus asked.

"As far as I know, yes."

Thaddeus sat in one of the hard chairs and tried not to cry. He was lost in a different world that he never knew existed. He imagined his parents looking for him and never finding him. He had to get back, and he was determined to get back any way possible. "Where can I find one of those?" His voice shook slightly.

"I'll see if I can point you in the right direction. But first you look hungry and tired, let's fix you up."

#  Chapter 6

The bean bag man hadn't needed food for a long time and only kept a little handy for visitors. It was safe to say that there hadn't been visitors in a while because all the food had been taken away by insects and rodents. There wasn't a scrap left. The scientist gave Thaddeus a little money to go back to town to find something. Thaddeus told him that he couldn't tell the difference between the restaurants and the houses in town. Eventually it was decided that Thaddeus would go back to the road where he found the man selling vegetables and see if anyone was there.

The scientist had Thaddeus take the boat and gave him a bucket to get the water out of it. By the time all the water was out and only dead leaves and debris were matted to the bottom of the boat he could have walked the bank to get back to the other side. Thaddeus had only ever been on a boat once and it was a ferry he took with his parents to a little island somewhere. This was nothing like that. An oar was in the boat and he rowed it slowly to the other side where he tied it to a wood stump that was placed there for that reason.

The road to The Town had less traffic now. It was getting to be evening. Luckily there was a vendor on the side of the road selling bread. Thaddeus bought several pretzel rolls and went back.

When he got back to the lab the scientist was only a few feet from where Thaddeus left him.

"Do you need me to help you?" Thaddeus asked.

"Yes, can you help me get to that table over there, the one with the map?"

The scientist was light enough for Thaddeus to drag him across the floor and help him into a chair at the table with the map. Thaddeus started on his first pretzel roll as the scientist laid out a plan.

"Alright, here's the map. This dot here, that's us. What you need to do is follow this road here, do you see it?"

The map was full of dots and arrows and words describing what each dot and arrow meant. "Yes." He said.

"Good, now you need to get to this green part, do you see it?"

"I do."

"That's the Bell Forest."

"More trees?" Thaddeus complained.

"Yes, what's wrong with trees?"

"I'm tired of trees."

"The Bell Forest is a tiny kingdom." The scientist continued. "There is a castle there that was once considered sacred by pilgrims. It's a great place to start looking for an amulet. Last time I was there, and that was a long time ago, they sold amulets that they dug up. If they still do that then that is good news for you."

"How long is it to there?" Thaddeus asked. The map made it look very far.

"I would say about a two days journey."

"Two days?"

"That's by cart. There's a lady who lives in The Town that can take you. She runs a service where she takes people in a large cart all over the place. It's a bit far but she might be willing at the right price."

"Does she run with the cart?"

"No she actually uses a horse."

"Should I wait for Galen to get out of jail?"

"Galen's in jail? What did he do this time?"

Thaddeus explained everything he knew about how Galen ended up in jail and what his punishment was.

"Banned, eh?" The scientist mused. "It was bound to catch up to him eventually. I wish he just stayed here and helped with the research like he used to. But anyway, yeah I think you should wait for him. He's got a good eye for finding things, especially trouble. Who knows, maybe with you he might change all that."

Thaddeus finished all but one of his pretzel rolls as the scientist finished the plan. Thaddeus was going to go back to town in the morning to the jail and when Galen got out they were going to get a cart ride to the Bell Forest. The boy was going to spend the night with the scientist. There weren't any beds but there was an old blanket that he could curl up in.

Thaddeus went around the lab picking up all the books and papers in return for spending the night. When it got dark out Thaddeus helped the scientist into a little room where he entertained guests. This room had a soft rug and two large chairs and even a fire place. Thaddeus lit the fire with a match and they sat in the chairs for a long time while the scientist asked as many questions as he could about the side of the world Thaddeus was from.

"Now what do you do at the malls?"

"You just shop." Thaddeus said casually.

"Shop for what?"

"Anything. They have clothes and food and all sorts of other things. I usually look at the books."

"That's the thing I don't get." The scientist said, moving his bean bag head until it flopped down. It took a great deal of effort to get it back up. "Why do people go around and buy so many things? I haven't bought anything in years."

"Because they can."

"Well I guess that's a good enough answer to any question."

"People want things." Thaddeus explained patiently. "I'm sure people here would love a mall. They might not at first but they would grow into liking it. I think that's what it's all about. Everything you could want in one place. That gives you more time to do other things when you are not worried about food and essentials."

"You know a lot about this for someone so young."

"My parents make me learn all sorts of things. My mom teaches anthropology and always makes me learn about how social gathering helped early humans."

The scientist smiled. "You're set to become a scientist one day."

Thaddeus went on to explain about architecture and cars, though he didn't know much about either to be any help.

The fire crackled pleasantly and Thaddeus found himself growing very tired while staring into it. His home didn't have a fireplace. He always wished it had but his parents once told him that the cleanup wasn't worth it. That's how they felt about a lot of things. Thaddeus never had a pet or was even allowed to have friends over for the same reason. The only people he ever talked to were at school.

"That place sounds so nice." The scientist said serenely a while later.

Thaddeus pulled his eyes away from the fire and smiled. "It is."

"Was it the same time of day when you arrived here?" The scientist asked.

Thaddeus sat up. "No, that was weird. It was day and then suddenly turned to night. I guess that's when I went through the boundary."

"That's fantastic. I mean that's fantastic for my research."

"I didn't see anything. I didn't go through a door or a portal or anything. I was just walking through the woods."

"It's a different kind of boundary. Unfortunately it's not one that we can see or even hear."

"How do you know so much about it?" Thaddeus asked. "I don't think anybody in my world knows a thing."

"You're not the first person to get through. I once talked to a child shortly after they came through. They told me all sorts of things, but they were so young I couldn't get too much out of them."

"So when they get over here they can't get back?"

"Not yet, but I'm hoping you might be the first, at least the first I know of. I really think that since you are older than most that come over you might be able to get back using the amulet. I just hope that all of them have a wish."

Thaddeus looked back into the fire gravely. "So only kids come through?"

"That seems to be what I've noticed from people who claim to have met someone who came through. No one knows why. Just remember that this is still a very secretive thing. Most people don't know anything about it. It's lucky you ran into Galen, probably the one person in The Town that knows anything about it."

"What are the odds?" Thaddeus said, staring deep into the fire for some type of comfort.

"What are the odds you would get over here in the first place? Sometimes we feel like things shouldn't happen because they are so rare. But think about it, it has to happen to someone, why not you?"

Thaddeus was getting more tired every second. He fell asleep sometime in the night while watching the fire slowly go out. The scientist fell to the floor and pushed himself out of the room.

Thaddeus woke up to find himself on the floor curled up in the blanket the scientist gave him. It smelled old and was very dusty but it was better than not having a blanket at all.

He made his way into the lab where the scientist was looking over the map.

"It should be almost time for Galen to get out. You should go over there to the same building with the courts. That's where he'll be." The scientist said.

"Shouldn't he come here? I think he said he would come here."

The scientist sighed. "If given the chance I don't think he would come at all. He's one of those people where if he is not looking directly at you he will forget how important your problem is and wander off."

Thaddeus ate his last pretzel roll and started out for the boat.

#  Chapter 7

The road into the city was very crowded with people and carts that morning. Thaddeus had to once again try not to get hit while staying on the edge of the road.

There were all sorts of vendors selling things. Most were selling food but some were selling jewelry or clothes. Thaddeus made sure to check the jewelry carts to make sure nobody had any little clay amulets.

The Town was very crowded as people made their way to work. It was hard to find the right building. After asking several people and getting lost multiple times he came up to it just as the doors swung open and Galen came out. Two guards escorted him out of the building and down the street.

"Galen, where are you going?" Thaddeus asked when he caught up with them.

"Oh, hey little kid, how was your night? Did you find the scientist?" Galen said, trying to free his hands from the handcuffs he was wearing.

"Yes, and he made up a plan for me to get home. We have to go to the Bell Forest."

"Bell Forest? That's far."

"We have to take a cart. The scientist said that there is a lady in this town that can take us."

"Yeah I know who you mean. You're going to have to find her, I'm sort of leaving town for the last time."

Thaddeus went up to one of the guards leading Galen to the edge of town. "Excuse me, can we stop by the cart lady first?"

"No." The guard grunted. "We have to take this menace out of town."

"Menace?" Galen sounded bewildered. "Did you call me a menace? I'm no more a menace than you are thin."

The guard sneered angrily. "I can't wait to never have to see you again."

Thaddeus went up to the other guard. "Can you tell me where this cart lady is? She uses a horse and takes people on cart rides."

The second guard looked around. "I think she's down there, oh yeah, I can see her house. It's the one with the little stable attached. You see it?"

"Yes, thank you." He turned to Galen. "Wait for me on the road to the scientist's, I'll get the cart lady."

"I don't have any place else to go." Galen said sadly. "Just hurry up."

Thaddeus ran down to where the little stable was and knocked on the door of the adjacent house. No one answered. He peeked into the open door of the stable and saw a woman tending to one of the horses. She looked to be about the same age as Galen.

"Excuse me, ma'am." Thaddeus began. "I was wondering if we could get a cart ride."

"Where to?" She asked without turning away from a large brown horse.

"The Bell Forest."

"The Bell Forest? That's far."

"I know, how much would that be?"

She thought for a second. "I'll take fifteen gold. You got that much?"

"Yes." Thaddeus said, unsure if Galen or the scientist actually had however much that was.

"Good. Give it to me now and then we can go. Is it just you?"

"No, I'm with a friend. And how about I give you half now and half when we finish?"

She looked suspicious. "Eight now and seven when we finish."

"That sounds good." Galen reached into his pocket and took out all the coins he had left and handed them to the cart lady.

"Six pink? I thought you said you had half?"

"That's not half?"

"Not even close."

"I'll be right back."

Thaddeus ran out of the stable, looked around, and then ran back in. "Which way is the north side of town?"

The lady pointed over her shoulder and Thaddeus ran out again.

He found the north entrance to town with some difficulty and set out looking for Galen. He found him at one of the carts that sold bread.

"Galen, we need fifteen gold to get the cart."

"Fifteen?" Galen shouted through a mouthful of bread. "What's so important in the Bell Forest that I need to shell out fifteen gold?"

"The scientist said that I might find a magic amulet there that can lead me home."

"A magic amulet, really? Is he still going on about that stupid flower? I seriously think he was always a bean bag and just forgot. By the way, how was that shock? I guess I should have told you."

"He says it's the only way for me to get home. Unless you can think of something better."

Galen shook his head. "No, I was just going to take you to the scientist. He's really the only person around here who knows anything. I only know anything because I used to work with him. And I would rather not know, that's for sure."

"So what about the money? I need eight gold now."

"Alright. I think I have eight gold with me. Before I left town they let me withdraw everything from the bank since I wasn't coming back. Let's see," He took a little pouch from his pocket and emptied it into his hand. "I have some pinks, some greens, aha, here are eight gold for ya. We'll have to stop by the lab and get the rest from the scientist. It is his idea after all."

Thaddeus took the money and went back to the stable, once again getting lost on the way. When he finally found it the lady was outside with a horse already on the cart.

"Here's eight gold." Thaddeus said out of breath, handing her eight gold coins.

"Thank you very much." She dropped them into her pocket and got on the cart. "You're lucky I haven't given a cart ride in a while or I might have charged twice as much. We should get there sometime tomorrow. You should tell your friend that they're going to have to let us stay the night somewhere, Chrissy here doesn't like the night much." She gestured at the horse.

"That's fine." Thaddeus said, getting into the cart. This one had four wheels. "My friend is on the road outside of town to the north. We have to pick him up."

The cart lady, who said her name was Margy, steered Chrissy the horse to the main road and started for the north entrance. The road wasn't big enough for people running with carts and for a horse pulling an even larger cart. The runners shouted things and gave them dirty looks as they ran by.

They found Galen at another vendor cart where he was trying different kinds of cheese. He jumped in the cart when they came up. It only took a few minutes to get to the lake.

"Here we are." Margy said. "First stop."

"That's you, kid, head on in and get the rest of the money." Galen said, hanging his legs over the edge of the cart.

"Are you coming?" Thaddeus asked.

"Nope. I haven't seen the crazy man in years and I don't plan on seeing him now."

Thaddeus jumped out of the cart, got in the boat, and rowed over to the lab. He went in and found the scientist climbing up the ladder to the loft.

"Do you need help?" Thaddeus asked, running over to the ladder.

"Maybe just a push. Did you get Galen?"

"Yes, and the cart is waiting outside. We were wondering if you could give us seven gold to get to the Bell Forest."

"Seven gold? That's it? Sure, by all means. I keep all the money up here."

Thaddeus pushed the bean bag man up the ladder and then went up himself. The money was kept in a large pouch on a table all the way in the back of the loft. He counted out seven gold coins.

"Thank you. We'll be going now. You've been really nice to me, sir."

The scientist plopped down in a chair and smiled with his printed on face. "It was a pleasure to be of service. I don't mean to sound mean but I hope I never see you again."

Thaddeus laughed. "And I hope I never see you." He started down the ladder.

"Try to convince Galen to come back and see me sometime. It's been a while." The scientist called down.

"I'll try."

A few minutes later Thaddeus got out of the boat and jumped into the cart. He handed Galen the money and they were off.

Thaddeus Minnow sat in the back of the cart and watched the world go by. The trees lessened and large fields and rolling hills took their place. Far in the distance he made out a little village. That appeared to be where a lot of the people running with the carts were coming from.

The morning faded into afternoon as small cliffs sprang up all around. Chrissy climbed a gradual hill. The top gave a wonderful view of valleys with little rivers and occasional buildings.

For the first time Thaddeus allowed himself a brief few minutes to think over his situation. He was wary that over analyzing or thinking about it much at all would be very frightening. He imagined that he had fallen into one of those fantasy books with the colorful covers he always wanted to read but was never allowed. Those characters always figured a way out in the end, didn't they? All he knew was that the heroes ended up in strange made up worlds, he never found out if they got out. They would have to. What writer would leave someone in a strange world? No, they all got out, he was sure of it.

His eyes began to well up at the thought of his parents giving up hope of ever finding him. He shook it from his mind and looked out at the beautiful sights all around. This area was very familiar to him. It was west of where he lived. His grandparents lived out that way. That gave him just enough comfort to dry his eyes and think about finding amulets.

# Chapter 8

Throughout the afternoon Margy told stories about her life. Galen covered his face with his jacket and slept through it while Thaddeus listened only enough to grunt or say "wow that sounds interesting."

The road went down into the valley. The great cliffs loomed overhead. Evening approached and the sun disappeared early behind the cliffs. A small building came out of the fading light with a giant sign telling all who should see it that it was a restaurant.

Margy steered Chrissy behind the restaurant. A metal bowl was near the post where Margy tied Chrissy. She went inside a back door and came out with a jug of water and poured it into the bowl. She then led the way around front and inside.

A stern looking host seated them at a booth in the back corner. There was no one else in the restaurant. The host gave them menus and pointed out everything that was out of stock, which was almost everything.

They all ordered the beef and sat awkwardly around the table.

"So what's the farthest you've ever had to take someone?" Galen asked.

"I once took a couple to the Foggy Shore." Margy said, looking over the empty restaurant.

"That must have taken a week." Galen said, clearly uninterested.

"Only a few days." Margy responded, also sounding uninterested.

Thaddeus wanted to ask Galen questions about what he knew about the boundary but he decided against letting Margy know he was different.

The food came after only a couple minutes. It consisted of a large slab of cooked beef and a few sliced up carrots. They were all given water to drink.

It was actually pretty good beef. When they were finished Galen paid and they set out again.

It was dark out. Margy said something about a house that let in travelers not being too far away. Chrissy really did not like the night and kept stopping and snorting her displeasure at being forced out at such a late hour.

A light came out of the darkness up ahead. Margy went toward it, it was indeed the house. From what Thaddeus could see it was a very strange looking home. It was three stories tall and each floor looked oddly misshapen as if the upper floors were added at a much later time and were smashed down on the one below. The old couple who lived there greeted them sweetly and gave them two rooms on the third floor. Galen and Thaddeus shared one and Margy took the other. Chrissy was put in a stall out back.

The room had two small beds and several pictures hanging from the wall of places Thaddeus had never seen. The floor was slanted and one of the beds was anchored down while the other was against the wall. Thaddeus took that bed and was certain that his weight was going to force the bed through the wall. He wished he had more clothes to wear. The outfit he wore when he disappeared was starting to get dirty. He spent the night dreaming of falling off of cliffs.

Galen woke him up early. The old couple who owned the house brought up oatmeal. Thaddeus sat on the edge of his bed and ate, feeling groggy from having to get up so early.

Galen watched him mysteriously as he ate his own oatmeal. "Do you like it here?"

Thaddeus looked up, surprised to be asked that question. "I guess. I try not to think about it much. I just want to get home."

"I get that. What's it like there? How is it different?"

Thaddeus told him all about cars and the internet and everything he knew that was different.

Galen looked impressed. "I used to want to go." He said softly. "That crazy scientist put all sorts of ideas in my head. But boy did I ever want to go once. I didn't know a thing about it really. All I knew was that it was different." He ate a big spoonful of oatmeal. "I wanted to be anywhere but here."

"Maybe you can come with me. If there's more than one amulet I'm sure you can wish to go with me."

"Nah, I don't think it's worth it now. I've got a life, or at least I did." He stared at the floor for a minute. "I guess I really don't have anything to do anymore now that I can't go home."

"Just think about it." Thaddeus said.

Galen nodded, still staring at the floor.

A little while later they were back on the road through the valley. Thaddeus stared absentmindedly out at all the things they passed by, which wasn't much out there. Galen was equally as silent on the other side of the cart. Margy kept on going with the story of her life but this time Thaddeus couldn't even pretend to be interested.

"So what business do you have in the Bell Forest?" Margy asked when she was tired of talking to herself.

"What to do you care?" Galen said.

"Well excuse me. Some kind of spy stuff."

Galen laughed. "Sure, we're spies. The kids the boss, can't you tell."

"Alright, you don't have to be smart with me." Margy said. "I get a lot of people going strange places and sometimes they don't want to talk."

The rest of the day passed without incident. Thaddeus took a nap and dreamed about finding amulets and then losing them.

He woke up late in the afternoon. They were no longer in the valley. Trees could be seen up ahead.

"And here is the Bell Forest." Margy declared on approach. She took them all the way up to the trees. "That'll be seven gold."

Galen pulled the seven gold coins out of his pocket and handed them over.

"Thank you very much. Now get out."

They got out and Margy turned Chrissy around and started away.

Galen turned to Thaddeus. "I've only been here once to follow a school of fish down a river. I've heard strange stories but we should be alright. Remember that this is a different country now. Our money doesn't work here. We have to find a place to exchange it. Oh, and one more thing . . . actually never mind."

"This isn't another surprise like the scientist, is it?"

"You'll see."

They walked into the Bell Forest.

There were trees and trees and more trees. A very old sign on one of them said that a castle was up ahead. The letters were scratched into a piece of wood that was stuck to the trees.

"That's for the pilgrims." Galen said, looking at the sign. "Not too many come by anymore."

The trees were very tall and the sun could barely get its light through the canopy. Thaddeus kept his eyes on the ground to look out for amulets that might be there. He also wanted to make sure he didn't trip on roots.

They came to a little brick shack that had a window where a young man sat.

"Hey there." Galen called out.

"Hey." The young man responded without looking up. "Can I interest you in a personalized key chain or perhaps a hat to keep birds from messing up your hair?"

"No thanks. Do you exchange money?"

"Sure do. What you got, gold or pinks or greens?"

"I'll exchange a few gold."

"Cool." The young man took a few gold coins and gave Galen several pieces of wood with markings on them. "Have a good day."

Galen thanked the young man and they kept going. "We'll be getting to the castle soon." He told Thaddeus. "Remember to be friendly and gracious, they take their castle very seriously."

Thaddeus nodded but wasn't really listening. He looked over his shoulder as a very tall man went up to the little brick shack. He wore what looked like a wood body suit. It was very strange. His hair was short and spiky. Thaddeus almost tripped on a root and faced forward again.

"Where are the towns? Doesn't anybody live here?" Thaddeus asked Galen.

"They don't really have towns like we're used to." Galen looked back at the tall man. "You'll get it before too long."

"Get what?"

"What's so strange about this little kingdom."

"Can you give me a hint?"

"All I'll say is that there is a reason nobody ever cuts these trees down."

# Chapter 9

A clearing appeared and in it was a giant wooden castle. It rose high into the sky and had turrets and flying buttresses and even a few gargoyles on top. Everything was made out of wood.

A lady was standing outside. She had that same look as the man they saw at the shack.

"Why does she look like that?" Thaddeus whispered.

Galen smiled. "Look over there."

Thaddeus turned to where Galen was pointing. It was just a tree on the edge of the clearing. But then something happened. An arm popped right out of the trunk. It was followed by a torso and then the legs stepped out. A very tall man yawned and stretched and then walked to the castle. It wasn't a body suit he was wearing. They were actually made of wood. Tiny twigs poked out of their head for hair. Their clothes were bark, resting on their bodies to look like suits or dresses.

"They look like tree people." Thaddeus said in awe.

"They're the spirits of the trees." Galen explained. "They inhabit this forest. The pilgrims who came thought they had healing powers."

"Do they?"

"It depends on who you ask. Now let's get in there."

The two of them went into the castle. The entryway was huge and stretched up to the ceiling. It smelled like a hardware store. There were tree spirits all around. Some were blocking doors and some were just wandering about.

Off to one side was a tree spirit standing in front of a long table with little knickknacks on it. Thaddeus went there first.

There wasn't much there except for little sticks.

"Excuse me." Thaddeus said.

The tree spirit looked down very slowly at the boy. It had dark gold eyes that carried a knowledge not yet known to Thaddeus. "Yes?" It said in a deep voice.

Thaddeus took a wary step back. "Do you have pilgrim amulets?"

"Do I have what?" it's voice sounded old and wise. It drew out its words to put emphasis on each one.

"They are little clay objects that pilgrims used to carry with them long ago. I think you used to sell them."

It nodded. "I haven't sold one of those in a very long time." Thaddeus's heart sank. "But," It continued. "I do think that the king and queen may have one or two in their possession."

"Do you know if I can speak with them?"

The tree spirit moved its head to one side and then the other. "I don't know if that is possible."

Galen came up. "They don't take visitors?" He asked.

"They might, if you were to ask the guard."

It pointed over their heads. They turned and saw a tree spirit blocking a large door with markings on it.

"I'll handle this." Galen said, starting over to the guard.

"Be nice." Thaddeus advised.

Galen went up to the guard. "Say, can we see the king and queen? We have official business with them."

This tree spirit wore ivy that covered its whole body except for its head. Thaddeus took that to be a sign of rank.

"Do you have an appointment?" It asked very slowly.

"No, but I need to speak with them right away." Galen said, almost threateningly.

"I'll have to see if they will see visitors today. Stay here and I will be back shortly."

The tree spirit turned around and went through the door. It was moving so slowly that it took several minutes just to open the door.

"This is going to take a while." Galen moaned.

"At least we got here." Thaddeus pointed out.

"I'm not gonna say anything is good until we get an amulet and you're home."

"Why do you care so much?" Thaddeus asked.

Galen shrugged. "What? I'm not caring too much. I don't have anything else to do so I might as well start doing good deeds."

They waited outside for over an hour before the guard returned.

"Good news." It said. "You have been accepted in. Please follow me."

It led the way through a narrow passageway with a high ceiling. The tree spirit took a long time to take each step. Thaddeus wished he could just get around it and go faster. Galen kept making annoyed hand gestures behind its back.

After about ten minutes they came out of the passageway into a room. The floor had a rug and table with several chairs. Two large wood thrones sat in the back of the back of the room and two people sat on them.

"Presenting the travelers to the king and queen." The tree spirit said.

The king and queen were humans. They wore colorful robes that practically shined in the brown room. They each had crowns on their heads. They glanced up at the visitors but didn't say anything.

"I shall now take my leave." The tree spirit said and it started its long journey back to its post.

"Hello there." Galen said, stepping before the king and queen. "My name is Galen and this here is Thad."

"Thaddeus." The boy corrected.

"I told you I don't care." Galen whispered. "I have to say it not you." He turned back to the king and queen. "Anyway, Thad here wants to ask you something."

Thaddeus suddenly felt very nervous and glared at Galen for making him talk. "Hi, I was wondering if you had any pilgrim amulets."

Neither the king nor queen took any notice of their visitors or their questions.

Galen looked from one to the other and then back at Thaddeus. "Suppose their deaf?" He whispered.

A side door opened and a little girl came out. She wore a very colorful dress and had a tiara on her head.

"Mummy, daddy, I want to go out, can I?"

The king groaned. "Not again, haven't you been out today?"

"Yes, but I want to go out again." The girl whined.

"You're wearing on us." The queen said, annoyed. "Why don't you just go back to your room and play with . . . whatever you have in there."

"But I want to go out!" The girl screamed.

The king stood up. "Then go out with—" He looked up and saw Galen and Thaddeus. "Who are you?"

Galen looked puzzled at the whole situation. "I just told you. We asked you a question."

The king squinted at them. "What did you ask?"

"We asked if you have any pilgrim amulets."

"Pilgrim amulets?" The queen said loudly. "Why would you want pilgrim amulets?"

The little kid did not like the attention taken from her. "I want to go outside!" she screeched.

"Shush darling. You there, whoever you are, we don't just give away the amulets. You have to—" The king stopped and frowned. "You are humans, right?"

"Yes." Galen said as though the fact should have been obvious.

The king nodded to the queen and she looked impressed. "You know." The king said. "We haven't had humans for dinner for a while. Why don't you stay till then?"

Galen held up a finger. "To make this clear, you mean eat with us and not eat us, right?"

The king laughed. It was clear he hadn't laughed in a while. "I like you." He boomed. "I definitely mean eat with us."

"Oh, in that case sure." Thaddeus agreed.

The little girl looked very mad as she tapped her foot waiting for all the talk that wasn't about her to end. "Now I am going outside." She said.

"Not yet, Yew." The queen said. "Why don't you take these nice people around the castle for us? Show them around."

"Then can I go outside?"

"Yes, dear."

She went to the door. "Come on." She snarled.

Galen and Thaddeus followed her all around the castle. She took them up to the top floor and went down from there. She went very quickly around each floor and only ventured into some of the rooms. She didn't say a word the whole time.

Every piece of furniture was made of wood. The only things in the whole castle that were not wooden were the blankets on the beds and the towels.

She took them outside after the tour. "That's the castle." She said impatiently.

"Thank you very much." Galen said. "Now what did they say your name was?"

"Yew, like the trees."

"Very pretty."

She didn't respond. Instead she looked at Thaddeus. "What's your name? Something stupid probably."

"Thaddeus."

"Yeah, I thought so."

She led them back into the small throne room where food was being set out on the table.

"I think it's alright if we eat early. "The queen said. "Everyone take a seat."

Yew sat next to Thaddeus who sat next to Galen. She looked put out that she didn't get to spend much time outside. The king and queen sat across the table from them.

There were all kinds of wooden bowls on the table. Some had different soups and some had meat. Some bowls had mashed potatoes and there was also a bowl of cut up vegetables.

"So," The queen began once everyone was seated and they all had food on their plate, "where did you two come from?"

Galen told them about The Town and how they got there.

"Sounds like not much has changed." The king said approvingly.

"Why do humans rule the Bell Forest?" Galen suddenly said. Thaddeus wished he hadn't.

"Someone has to." The queen answered. "My family has owned the land for years. We built this castle five hundred years ago. Besides they don't mind. They are very simple beings." Galen frowned quizzically. "Not that they aren't smart." The queen added. "It's just that they are sort of slow. Invaders used to come in and they couldn't defend themselves very well. That's when my family decided that they needed protection."

Galen shrugged. "Sure."

"Now then," The king said, "why do you need amulets?"

Galen bumped Thaddeus with his arm.

"I need one to—" Thaddeus began. He wasn't sure if he should tell them the actual reason. He glanced at Galen who gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm not from around here and I need the wish to get home."

The queen leaned forward. "Where are you from?"

"Um, you know the boundary or something?"

"The boundary between the worlds?"

"Between the parts of the world." Galen added.

"Is that what you mean?" The queen asked. Her eyes flashed over to Yew for just a second and then went back to Thaddeus.

"Yes." Thaddeus said.

"Oh well, I'm sorry to tell you that you can't just wish on an amulet."

"Why not?" Thaddeus burst out.

"Sure every amulet has a wish in it." The king said. "But you need a sorcerer to unlock the wish."

Thaddeus moaned. "You do?"

"Indeed." The queen affirmed.

"Do you know where we can find one?" Galen inquired.

The king thought for a minute. "We once had one employed here didn't we?"

"Yes, dear, but he escaped remember?" The queen reminded him.

"In that case there is only one thing to do. You two have to go to the sorcerer colony."

"There's a sorcerer colony?" Thaddeus asked, surprised that there could be enough of them to form their own colony.

"There is." The king said. "They can't live with the rest of society. Nobody wants to live next to someone who could accidentally turn them into a mule or worse. That colony isn't terribly far from here. It's North East of here on the coast. If you were to walk it would only take a week."

"A week?" Thaddeus yelled unintentionally.

"You could always ride down the river." Yew suggested.

Everyone stared at her.

"That's exactly what you'll do." The king said happily. "You'll have to ride down in a boat. That'll get you there by morning. Or if you leave in the morning by evening."

Thaddeus thought it over. "I suppose we'll leave in the morning, if that's alright."

"Of course. We haven't had company for a very long time. You can sleep in a couple of the guestrooms upstairs. Remind me after dinner to get an amulet for you."

They finished their meal and sat around talking for a while. The king went to go find an amulet and came back with a little clay jug. He gave it to Thaddeus and promised that no wish had ever been made on it. Thaddeus put it in his pocket and hoped it would work. If everything went well he would be back at home by suppertime tomorrow.

#  Chapter 10

The king and queen retired back to their thrones and Yew led the way back up to the top floor where the guestrooms were. The rooms were small and sparsely decorated. They each had a bed, a small desk, and a lamp.

Galen went to bed early so he could get up early. Thaddeus sat on his bed and looked out the small window at the darkness. The late hour brought the fear and anxiety back that he was so good at covering up during the day. All he could think about was his parents searching the woods every day for some sign of him.

Yew came in the room and sat on the bed. She stared at him mysteriously.

"Hello." Thaddeus said awkwardly.

She looked out the window. "How do you know you aren't from here?"

"I went through the boundary between the two sides of the world." Thaddeus explained.

"How?"

"I don't know, I just did it. I wish it was that easy to get back."

She nodded. "If only."

Thaddeus got up and went over to the desk and sat down. "Do you like living here?"

Yew continued to stare out the window lost in thought. She suddenly realized he said something and looked over to him. "What?"

"Do you like living here?"

"I guess . . . not really."

"It must be hard to be a princess here without any people."

She looked at the floor. "I'm not really a princess."

"Oh, are you a duchess or something?"

"That's not what I mean."

"What do you mean?"

She looked up slowly. "I'm not related to the king and queen."

Thaddeus shrugged. "So you're adopted."

"No."

"Oh." Thaddeus could tell she didn't want to talk about it but she continued to press on.

"I'm like you, I think."

Thaddeus was silent.

"I mean," She said, "I'm from where you're from."

"How do you know? How long have you been here?"

"I was really little. I ended up in the woods here and the king and queen found me. They took me in."

"Do they know?" Thaddeus asked.

"I think so, but they don't know I do. You're the first person I've ever met that was like me."

They both sat quietly for a while. Thaddeus thought over what this meant. He felt sorry for Yew, but didn't know what to do.

"What are you going to do?" He asked.

"Do you promise not to tell?"

"Of course."

"I want to escape."

Thaddeus breathed deeply. "That's a big deal. Your parents wouldn't like that."

"It's almost impossible. The forest might not be very big, but the moment they find out the tree spirits will be after me. They may be slow, but you can't go five feet without hitting a tree."

"I think there is one way."

Yew looked up. "What?"

"The river."

"I've thought about it, but it would be hard to get a boat out of the shed by the river. It's locked."

"Do you know where the key is?"

"Yes."

"Then why not try it? If they catch you, you can say that you were just trying to help us get down the river."

She thought it over. "That sounds nice, but the biggest problem is after we get out. What do I do about getting home?"

"Take one of the amulets. Do you know where those are?"

"No."

"Maybe we can share mine."

She shook her head. "It's not worth the trouble just to find out I can't."

They sat quietly for a while longer trying to think up a plan. Thaddeus really wanted to help her. He thought about her parents and how they probably gave up looking long ago. If only they knew why kids kept coming over. The answer to that would probably solve all of their problems.

"What do they want from you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why did they adopt you?"

"They wanted someone to become the next leader after them."

Thaddeus stood up. "Well we are going to leave in the morning. If you decide to come with us then we need to think up a plan just in case."

They spent an hour or so coming up with what they would do if Yew actually decided to go with them. It would be dangerous and probably stupid, but it was worth it if she could get home in the end.

Thaddeus went to bed very late and before he knew it he was being shaken awake by Galen. He got up slowly and rubbed his eyes. For a moment he forgot where he was. The location sank in and he grumbled as he got out of bed.

"None of that now." Galen said. "The king and queen said we can eat with them. All we have to do is figure out where that room was. This place is hard to get around if you don't know how."

Thaddeus went back and forth on whether or not he should tell Galen about Yew. He decided not to until he absolutely had to.

They wandered around looking for the little throne room. It took a while but they made it after asking a tree spirit which way to go.

The table was set out with eggs and bacon and little sausages. It was all very good. Yew sat between the king and queen. Occasionally she glanced over to Thaddeus who tried not to notice. He was very nervous and was certain that the plan would be found out before it had a chance to begin.

"It's as easy as can be." The king said while they were talking about getting to the sorcerer colony. "The river goes right there. You'll know you reached it when you see a bunch of tents on the river bank. It should be an all-day sort of thing. I'll have a boat ready for you in an hour. Go ahead and leave the boat in the river. I'll have someone retrieve it eventually."

"Thank you very much." Galen said graciously.

An hour came and went and Galen and Thaddeus followed the king and queen to the river. Yew ran ahead. The river was nothing more than a stream not far into the trees. Little sandy islands poked above the shallow water in intervals as far as the eye could see. Several tree spirits sat on the banks and watched the water go by. The boat was very small. It was almost as small as the one the scientist had. It had two oars and two blankets in case it got cold along the way.

Galen got into the boat and then helped Thaddeus in. "It has been a pleasure meeting you." He said. "I hope we can do it again someday."

The king and queen nodded and waved. Thaddeus waved back and then untied the rope that kept the boat stationary. It started down the stream. Everyone waved and smiled as the boat slowly made its way through the water.

They each took up an oar and tried to keep the boat from hitting the little islands.

"That was loads better than I ever expected." Galen said happily. "We lucked out there. Don't think that these sorcerers are going to be that nice. I mean wow, I've never met leaders that were so friendly." He looked in the distance dreamily. "When all this is done I'm going to come back and see if I can stay for a while."

"Don't steal anything." Thaddeus warned.

"Why would I steal something?"

"Weren't you in jail all the time?"

"Not because I stole things. I got into fights a little too often. And once I set a cart on fire but I think that if I told you the story you would agree that had to be done. Not that you would understand, you don't do that sort of thing do you? One of those good little kids."

"Not anymore." Thaddeus admitted.

Galen frowned. "What did you do?"

Yew flung the blankets off and Galen almost fell out of the boat.

"What is this?" He shouted. "What is going on here?"

"I'm coming with you." Yew announced.

"Since when? If your parents—oh they're gonna kill me. They'll never let me hang out with them now."

"She's like me." Thaddeus explained. "She's from where I'm from. When she came over the king and queen took her in. We have to find a way to get her back."

Galen threw his hands in the air. "Did you ever think that you could have just told me and then when you went back I could have come back and told her?"

"Hmm, no that actually never occurred to me." Thaddeus said, nodding.

"Get out." Galen told Yew.

"No, I don't want to stay here. When the doors are closed they're not very nice." Yew said.

"I don't care. I'm not about to get killed for kidnapping the princess."

"No one is going to find out, at least not yet." Yew promised.

A low shout came from the river bank. A tree spirit was shouting and pointing in the water.

"Do you see that?" Galen yelled. "They're gonna kill us. I just have one thing to say: next time you make up a plan, count me in!"

Yew took a blanket and put it over her head. "They might forget."

Tree spirits appeared all down the river banks. They took up rocks or branches and started throwing them at the boat.

"They are actively trying to kill us now." Galen shrieked. "You're getting outta here." He went over and started wrestling with the blanket.

Thaddeus watched the tree spirits and saw that they were not trying to hit the boat. They were throwing the rocks and branches in front of the boat so they might stop the boat from going any farther.

"They're not trying to hit us. They wouldn't try to hurt the princess." Thaddeus yelled over the commotion.

"I don't care what they're doing. I don't want her on here." Galen picked up the wriggling blanket and threw it to the bank where a tree spirit caught it. "Sorry about that." He yelled. "I promise that if I ever find the secret I'll come back and tell you."

"Why did you do that?" Thaddeus shouted, pushing Galen. "She was like me, she might have been able to help."

"She didn't know any more than you did." Galen reminded him.

"I don't care. I want to help her." He started hitting Galen.

Galen grabbed Thaddeus, took a blanket, and wrapped the blanket around Thaddeus. "You will help her by finding a way back and I will tell her. This is the best thing for her. Now stop trying to hit me or I'll throw you back to shore and you can walk the rest of the way." Thaddeus stopped. Galen removed the blanket to reveal an angry Thaddeus. "What do you want me to do? If I let her stay and we were caught do you ever think we would make it where we were going?"

Thaddeus grunted.

"Answer the question." Galen snapped.

Thaddeus jumped. He didn't expect Galen to get angry. "No." He mumbled.

"That's right. I know you aren't in your half of the world and I know you want to help Yew, but the way to do that is to stay on course and use your head. Any stupid and rash decision making will only hurt you. I want you to get home and we can't do that by sitting in a jail cell somewhere. Trust me, I know how that goes."

Thaddeus nodded sadly, tears filling his eyes.

Now when we—" Galen stopped.

He looked down. The boat was filling with water. Without anyone noticing the boat hit one of the rocks and tore a hole in the left side. Water gushed in every time the boat dipped to that side.

"Come on!" Galen grumbled.

Thaddeus looked around to see if there was a little island they could jump on to. That wouldn't happen. The shallow stream connected with another somewhere and was turning into an actual river.

The boat picked up speed and hurtled down the river, picking up speed as it filled with water.

"This is just great." Galen complained. "We gotta get out a here before the boat sinks completely."

"I can swim." Thaddeus said.

"Swimming's got nothing on this current. You could get pulled under faster than anything."

Galen shoved one of the blankets in the hole and it seemed to keep the water out somewhat. He took an oar and tried to shovel the water back into the river. Little bits splashed out but it wasn't fast enough. He bent down and hurriedly pushed it out with his hands. This was a little better but by now the blanket was soaked through and was letting water back in.

Thaddeus got down and pressed in on the blanket from both sides of the hole. It seemed to stop up the leak just enough.

Galen went faster and faster, but the water never went down very much. He stood up and stretched his back. "As long as it doesn't sink completely we'll be alright." He looked ahead and barred his teeth. "Oh, and they couldn't mention that!"

Thaddeus turned around expecting to see either a waterfall approaching or rapids. It was rapids.

The nose dipped down and the boat plunged into a slope of sharp rocks laid perfectly for the destruction of even the best-made craft. And this boat was definitely not one of those.

Thaddeus took his hands away and the blanket slipped through the hole and disappeared into the white water. He grabbed the other blanket and put it around his neck and held on tight.

The boat crashed against every rock it could find. The wood tore like paper being ripped apart. Both on board were thrown this way and that, whacking their hands and arms on the splintery wood. In only a few seconds the edges dipped below the surface.

"Put that blanket over your head." Galen ordered.

"What?" Thaddeus asked, the water rose up to his knees and the boat finally slowed down.

"Do it!" Galen shrieked.

Thaddeus threw the blanket over his head. The darkness was scarier than any rapids. He felt himself being lifted into the air. Arms wrapped around him and held him tight. A sudden jolt told him Galen had jumped. A hard smack followed. It wasn't on a sharp rock but something soft. He breathed a little easier.

#  Chapter 11

Thaddeus tore the blanket from his head. They were laying on grass on the edge of the bank. Thaddeus sat up and saw pieces of the boat floating on down the river. His hands and arms were full of splinters. He closed his eyes and pulled some out. His arms hurt so bad that he barely noticed pulling the splinters. He got them all out and rubbed his bleeding arms.

"You know what?" Galen said angrily as he pulled splinters out of his own arms. "I really think that they wanted to kill us. I am never going back there."

"What do we do now?"

"Well," Galen looked around, "we have to figure out where we are."

The trees of the Bell Forest were in the distance from where they came and nothing much was where they were going. A few hills in the distance and a few trees scattered about but not much else.

"I guess we keep going." Thaddeus advised.

"We have to find someplace to clean up. We look terrible."

They were both wet, dirty, and bleeding. They had no medical supplies and no food.

"There should be someplace somewhere." Thaddeus said. "We'll find something on the way.

"It was going to take a day by boat to get all the way there. It'll probably take a week if not longer on foot."

"If there's a river then there's probably more boats somewhere. Once we get past the rapids here we should find some all over the place."

"I hope you're right." Galen grumbled.

Thaddeus started down the river. Galen sauntered after him.

For over an hour there wasn't a sight worth mentioning. The grass kept going indefinitely and the rapids provided enough soundtrack to keep things from getting too quiet. Thaddeus kept his eyes ahead. Every step took him a little bit closer to getting home. Galen mumbled incoherently a few yards back.

The rapids ended and a nice calm river took its place. It sparkled complacently in the midday sun. It brightened their moods a little. Galen quit mumbling and continued on in silence.

A thin trail of smoke floated leisurely into the air a good distance away. When they got closer they saw that it was coming from a little hut in a village of little huts. They were brown, possibly made of mud, and had thatched roofs. There were no rows, they were built wherever there was room. Every hut had a crudely made fence around it and some of them had animals in the yards.

"This might be a fishing village." Thaddeus said.

"Doubt it, there aren't any boats." Galen responded.

A very old man sat with his back against the first hut they came to.

"Is there a doctor in town?" Galen asked.

The old man grunted and pointed to a hut nearby. They thanked him and went to it.

The huts did not have doors but very heavy curtains with markings on them blocking the entrances. Galen moved the curtain aside and entered.

This hut only had a table and a chair in it. A kind looking woman sat knitting. She looked up and saw her visitors and jumped up at once. Without saying a word she took Thaddeus over and began cleaning off his cuts and scrapes. She bandaged him up and then did the same for Galen.

"Can you tell me where we might find a boat?" Galen asked when she finished fixing them up.

"I think there might be some boats down the river a bit, you need one?"

"Yes, we're looking to find the sorcerers colony, are we on the right track?"

She frowned. "Don't know why you'd want to go to a place like that, but sure a boat will take you there."

They thanked her and left the little village.

Only a few minutes later they came to another hut. A couple small boats were laid out on the bank of the river. Galen went inside and Thaddeus stayed out. He was growing tired and hungry and took that time to rest. He watched the water and saw little fish swimming in it.

Galen came out counting the money in his pouch.

"I thought it would be more." He said merrily. "We have this boat for three days. I've no idea how I'm supposed to get it back. I don't think he'll mind."

"Maybe we can get one of the sorcerers to make it come back on its own." Thaddeus suggested.

"Good thinking, Thad."

Galen tossed the boat in the water while holding the rope like a leash. He walked the boat down the river a little until they found a suitable place to board it at. Thaddeus jumped in and Galen followed. He took an oar, there was only one, and steered the boat away from the edges.

The river grew wider and the water rose every time a little stream emptied into it.

"I'm very proud of you, Thad." Galen said out of the blue while the boat glided peacefully through the water.

Thaddeus searched for meaning. "How so?"

"I think that you're a very strong little kid for getting through this so well. I'd be a complete mess if I had to go through what you're going through."

"Oh, well thanks." Thaddeus said, not sure what else to say.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes." Thaddeus lied. He tried so hard not to think about what was going on in a negative way, but the more Galen talked the harder it became to avoid the negative thoughts.

"If you ever need to talk about it, I'm here."

Thaddeus felt really awkward all of the sudden. "I'm good." He said forcefully.

Galen took the hint and stopped talking.

The day passed quietly. There weren't any more rapids. The water remained smooth the whole way.

Thaddeus wished very much they had something to eat. Breakfast in the castle seemed so long ago. He wasn't used to going so long without food.

Evening came and went and then the night descended on them. They had no lights and had to tread cautiously to make sure they didn't run aground.

The world was calm that night. The only noise was the water and the usual night noises of bugs on the shore.

A couple hours into the night a light shined bright through the darkness. It floated above the middle of the river. It looked like it was hanging from a rope, but when they got closer it was clear that it was a lantern floating in midair. They passed under it. More lights appeared on the shore to the left. They were all floating lanterns. They could see little cabins in the light.

Galen steered the boat over to the left shore. He jumped out onto a patch of sand and pulled the boat onto the sand and out of the water. Thaddeus stepped out and they climbed the ledge up to the grassy edge of the riverbank.

Cabins stretched into the distance, all with floating lanterns somewhere around them.

"I guess this is it." Galen said. "Who else could make all these lanterns float? Do you still have the amulet?"

Thaddeus reached in his pocket. "Yeah, still got it."

Galen put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "I hope this goes well. You should be back with your parents by morning."

"I'm going to wish for you to come to."

"Don't worry about me, kid."

"You're my friend. I have to worry."

Galen laughed. "I definitely don't deserve a friend like you."

All the sorcerers were inside the cabins. Some had their doors open and could be seen sitting and reading.

Galen caught the eye of someone sitting inside through the open door. He came out and greeted them. He was middle aged and wore purple robes and carried a book.

"Real visitors." He said happily. "It sure has been a while. What brings you by tonight?"

"This boy has arrived on our side of the world by mistake and needs to make it back to his family." Galen said, not wasting any time.

"The sorcerer looked at Thaddeus carefully. "You say he's from where now?"

"The other side of our world. Do you not know of the other side?"

"I'm afraid not. But here's what I'll do. I'll go look it up in the big book. Here, come on inside, it looks like you've been through a lot." He opened a small gate and let them into his home.

# Chapter 12

Nobody in this world decorated much. The sorcerer's cabin had a table, a few chairs, and a bed. The walls and floor were bare. Thaddeus and Galen sat down and waited for the sorcerer to return from checking the big book, whatever that was.

Thaddeus shifted nervously. He was so close to getting home. All he had to do was give the sorcerer the amulet and let him put magic in it.

The sorcerer returned a few minutes later with a giant book. Gems shined brightly on the cover. He dropped it on the table with a loud thud and started looking through it.

"Let's see here, what you say sounds oddly familiar. Oh, is that—no, that's for other dimensions. And some of them do look interesting. Look at that, Ice Dancers, they are sinister. Aha, I think—yes here we go." The sorcerer began reading out loud. "Little is known about the other side of the world. It is a shadow of our own. The geography is the same unless tampered with by the humans who live there. From all accounts the humans on the other side are more advanced and have created far more than the humans of this side. It has been reported that children from the other side have somehow crossed the boundary and are now living here. It is unknown how this is possible. There is no known way to return them to their own side of the world." He stopped and looked guiltily up at Thaddeus. "That's it I suppose. No known way."

"That's why I thought I could use a wish on the amulet. They are good for a wish with magic." Thaddeus said.

"And who told you that?"

"I met a scientist who was given a wish by a sorcerer. He wished that he could live longer and he was turned into a bean bag man."

The scientist closed the book. "Sorcerers don't grant wishes. We only use spells, and it is not allowed for a sorcerer to use a spell on another human."

"But this one sorcerer did give the scientist a wish." Thaddeus stressed. "I saw him with my own eyes, he was a bean bag man. Now how could something like that happen without magic?"

"Did the scientist say when this was?"

"Thirty years ago." Galen answered.

The sorcerer tapped his chin with his finger. "Around thirty years ago there was a sorcerer who went bad. This sorcerer went around the world using his magic on people, sometimes with disastrous results. He was tired of the restrictions put on his magic. He wanted to do whatever he wanted. This sounds like the work of that sorcerer."

"Where is he now?" Galen asked quietly.

"He came back here to prove to everyone that magic could be used on people. Of course we laughed at him. He decided to use a spell on himself to prove it worked. He tried to make himself grow taller and instead turned himself to stone. We set up a nice garden around him. Maybe you'll see it on your way out of town."

Thaddeus grew very anxious. He stood up. He could no longer bear sitting. "Can't you try to put magic into the amulet? I really need to get home."

The sorcerer shook his head. "Magic cannot go into an object like that. If this scientist really did turn into a bean bag it was because the bad sorcerer did it himself. It makes sense. He wouldn't tell this scientist that he was going to use a spell on him. Who wants to get a spell used on them? He probably told the scientist that there was a wish in the amulet and then used a spell so that the scientist wouldn't freak out that someone used a spell on him. Does that make sense?"

Thaddeus paced the small cabin, attempting to find something to say to sway the sorcerer. "But why can't magic be used on people?"

"Because it has disastrous effects. People are so complicated. The mind is a very powerful force and can change the intended effects of a spell without anyone realizing that it's doing it. If I tried to use a spell to send you home right now you might end up turning into a house or worse."

Tears started to well up in Thaddeus's eyes. "Can you please at least try something? I can't stay here forever."

Galen put his hand on the boy's shoulder. Thaddeus suddenly felt a little calmer. "It's alright." Galen said softly. He then turned to the sorcerer. "Is there anything at all to do? Do you have any ideas—any recommendations?"

The sorcerer sighed. "I can't think of anything. What we need to do is find out why you came over? Did you intend to go someplace new?"

"No, I just wanted to take a path through the woods."

"Have you tried going back to the woods? Maybe if you retraced your steps you could get back."

Thaddeus wiped his eyes and sniffled. "I don't think I would ever find the spot if I went back."

"Then I'm afraid I can't help you."

The boy sat down and felt the world crashing down around him.

The sorcerer looked on sadly. "I won't give up just yet. Tonight I'll look through this book and see if there is anything I can find. Do you have a place to stay?" Galen shook his head. "Oh, then stay here. I'll get some beds and—have you eaten?" Again Galen shook his head. "No problem, I'll get some food right up.

The sorcerer said a few words under his breath and two mattresses appeared in the corner of the cabin complete with blankets and pillows. He said a few more words and two plates of food appeared on the table.

"Go ahead and eat and go to bed and I'll stay up looking through the book here."

Galen sat down and started right away on the meat and rice on his plate. Thaddeus ate slowly trying to tell himself that the sorcerer would definitely find something in that old book that could be useful.

After they ate they went to the mattresses and laid down. Galen went to sleep but Thaddeus stared at the ceiling for several hours. Occasionally he looked over to see the sorcerer turn a page or mumble under his breath.

In the early hours of the morning Thaddeus finally got to sleep.

Something startled Thaddeus awake. He sat up and looked around. The sorcerer was gone but the book was still open on the table. Galen slept soundly on a nearby mattress. Thaddeus looked around but didn't see any reason why he should have awakened so suddenly.

A pounding on the door shook the whole cabin. Galen bolted upright. "What's happening?" He said groggily.

The sorcerer came out of a small room they hadn't noticed the night before. "My word, who comes by so early?"

He opened the door and the king of the Bell Forest ran in. He looked steaming mad. He pointed a finger at Galen and Thaddeus. "What did you do to her?" He growled.

"What?" Galen said, rubbing his eyes.

The king looked like he was about to strangle Galen. "One minute we were talking to her and the next she vanished."

"Who?"

"Why did Yew vanish?" The king bellowed.

"I'm right here." Galen said.

"Not You! Yew!"

Galen nodded. "Oh, the girl, what about her?"

"She's gone!"

"Where did she go?"

"I don't know!" The king howled.

Galen waved his arms around. "Wait a second here. You tried to kill us. Don't tell me you didn't know about those rapids."

The king punched the air. "I haven't left the forest in years. I forgot."

"Then how did you get through?" Galen asked, standing up.

"We got in our boat after the—where did she go?!"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"You tried to kidnap her, you must have done something to her."

"Kidnap?" Galen said, his voice rising. "I didn't kidnap anybody. She stowed away."

"Stop lying."

"Lying?" Galen shouted as though that was an insult to his lying ability. "Why would I throw her back if I wanted to kidnap her? My goodness you're hard to talk to."

Thaddeus stood up. "What did she say before she left?"

"Something about not being from here. You told her something didn't you?" The king accused.

Thaddeus shook his head. "She told me she was from the other side."

"I don't care what she said." The king yelled. "I am going to take both of you back to face sentencing for this."

"Sentencing?" Galen said. "No, I don't do anymore sentencing."

"We have a jail," the king sneered, "and you are going to spend a very long time there."

Galen was about to protest but stopped and smiled. "And who's going to take us back?"

The king put his hands on his hips. "I am."

"You are?" Galen smirked. "You didn't bring an army? Or is it that they would never catch us?"

"I'm going to add disrespect as an offense. Now come with me."

The sorcerer stood behind the king and waved at them. When he got their attention he pointed to the door.

Galen ran to the other side of the cabin. The king went after him while Thaddeus ran for the door. Once outside the sorcerer led Thaddeus through the colony and away from the water. The boy looked back and saw Galen running after them, the king close behind.

Sorcerers jumped out of the way and some even cheered them on.

Galen and the king were much faster than Thaddeus and the sorcerer. They caught up shortly after they passed the last cabin.

"Keep going." The sorcerer yelled to Thaddeus. "I'll get him off your trail. I'll meet you by the cliff."

"Cliff?" Thaddeus shouted.

The sorcerer wasn't listening. He slowed and let the king pass him. He spoke a few words and the king suddenly stopped. Thaddeus looked back and watched as the king spun around in circles and ran back to the colony.

Thaddeus slowed. Galen caught his arm and pulled him back. He looked and saw that his feet were right on the edge of a cliff. A fifty foot drop ended in sharp rocks. It was about twenty feet across to the other side.

"Sorry about that." The sorcerer said. "It was closer than I thought."

"What did you do to him?" Thaddeus asked, attempting to catch his breath.

"I used a spell so he would run the opposite direction. He may never stop. See, that's the problem with using spells on people." The sorcerer stepped up to the cliff. "If you follow this cliff you'll find a slide of sorts that will take you down to a little path between the cliffs. Keep going and you'll find a train station eventually. It can take you all over."

"Did you find anything in the book?" Thaddeus asked hopefully.

The sorcerer sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, little one. There is no known way to get back. But don't ever give up. The answer is out there somewhere. I'm sure you can find it. Now I need to find that man and see if I can sort him out."

Thaddeus nodded and felt the tears well up in his eyes again. He started away from the sorcerer in the direction he pointed out. Galen thanked the sorcerer and followed Thaddeus.

# Chapter 13

Thaddeus cried and shivered. He tried not to let it show but it didn't really matter anymore. This was his world now. No one had any way to get him back. He pinned it all on the sorcerers. All hope rested on their ability to get him back.

He almost turned back several times. If there was any chance at all he wanted to take it. But he kept walking. It was over now. There was no going back, not even for a slim chance. He knew they wouldn't help him. They were even more useless than the king and queen of the Bell Forest.

Galen followed at a distance. He watched Thaddeus sadly, searching his memories for any kind of clue that might help out.

"I think we should go back to where you came in." He said.

Thaddeus shook his head. "No," he said, trying not to sound like he was crying. "It's over."

Galen didn't push the subject.

They came to the dirt slide. Thaddeus got down and let himself slip down the fifty feet to the bottom. He jumped up and continued walking. Galen followed close behind.

Not long later Thaddeus sat down on a big rock and folded is arms.

"What is this?" Galen asked.

"I'm done." Thaddeus announced.

"You're what now?"

"I'm finished with this."

"Finished with what?"

Thaddeus stared ahead, frowning deeply. "I have no reason to continue if I'm never going to see my family again. I don't want to be in this horrible place anymore."

Galen grew irritated. "That's it? This is the end of the road for you? What do you think this is exactly? This isn't something you can just quit. Get up."

"No."

"So what now? Are you going to sit on this rock for the rest of your life and be lonely and depressed? No! You're not. You're going to get up and keep moving. You're going to put a smile on your face and never stop looking for what you need."

"A smile?" Thaddeus said as though it was the stupidest idea ever. "I'm never going to go home again, I'm never going to see my family. What makes you think I need to smile?"

"It's better than the alternative!" Galen snapped. "Trust me. It's better than sitting on this rock for the rest of your life being depressed and lonely. Do you not think that everyone in this world wouldn't rather sit here all day and feel bad? Everyone would. You know why we don't? Because we learn that that's not the way to deal with what's wrong. We get back up and keep going even if it kills us because it's better than dying alone and sad on some stupid rock."

"You don't get it." Thaddeus breathed.

Galen straightened up to his full height and glared down at Thaddeus. "That's your answer? I said that once. And then I grew up. Do you think I wanted to spend my whole life helping some bean bag man? After fifteen years I got outta there. I wanted to find my family. I wanted to get back to where I was from. That's right, I'm like you." Thaddeus looked up quickly. "I came over when I was very young." Galen continued. "I have almost no memories of what it was like over there. I vaguely remember my parents and maybe a car ride but that's it. When you said something about a high school in that bar I immediately knew you were from there as well. Things like that don't exist here. I couldn't believe it, someone like me. Someone who could remember the world I left. I wanted so badly to help you because I thought you might finally be the one to figure it out. You knew the most, you had to have some ideas. But no, I find out now you don't care about getting back, not really."

"I do want to get back." Thaddeus said.

"Then get up and prove it."

"I don't know what to do!" Thaddeus yelled. "I'm out of ideas. I spent every minute since I got here convincing myself that I would get back as soon as possible. I kept all the fear and loneliness hidden away because I couldn't bear to think about it. I had a goal when I met you, I had someone who could help and that led to someone else who could help. Now there's no one. I don't know who to turn to or where to go. The world is huge and it could take years to find someone else with any knowledge. By then I might forget what they look like or what they sound like and that's terrifying."

Galen sat down and put his hand on Thaddeus's shoulder. "This isn't just about you finding a way back. This is about you finding a way back for everyone who was ever stuck here."

"I don't even know why people get stuck here."

"We have to figure that out. What do we have to work with right now?"

"Nothing that I know of."

Galen shook his head. "Not quite. Don't you remember what the king said?"

"About Yew?"

"Exactly. She disappeared. It sounds to me like she may have gotten back over."

Thaddeus jumped up from the rock. "It does doesn't it? But if she did—how?"

"No idea. Here, let's walk and figure it out. We need to get to that train station. From there we can go anywhere and maybe find someone who can help."

Thaddeus nodded slowly. He was willing to give it a try. He looked at the rock with disgust. Galen was right. Thaddeus smiled and started away from it. "There is no alternative." He said.

Galen smiled. "That's right."

They walked side by side discussing what may have been said by the king and queen to Yew. They wondered if that even mattered. It had to, there's no other way she would have disappeared so suddenly. If she really did go back through to the other side because something was said it must have been something that changed everything for her. They tried hard to figure out what it could be but to no avail. Thaddeus suggested they go back and ask, but Galen was worried about getting put in jail. Plus the king might still be running away if the sorcerer couldn't change him back.

Sometime later they came out onto a beach. Sand went right up to a pleasant shoreline. To the left was a small building with a platform. They crossed over railroad tracks in the sand and went over to the building.

Galen went up to a little window and bought two tickets. They got onto the platform and sat down on a bench.

"Where are we going?" Thaddeus asked.

"Away."

It was good enough for Thaddeus.

"I'm sorry about all this, kid." Galen said after a few minutes of waiting.

"It's alright." He lied.

"Sometimes life doesn't work out the way we want it to."

"Or the way we need it to." Thaddeus added.

Galen went into the little building and came back with two sandwiches. They ate and continued to wait for the train. The day passed painfully slow at the station. Shortly before evening a train finally pulled up. It was short and had only one car.

It was empty. The inside was a little different than Thaddeus thought. The front half of the car had benches on the sides and the back half had seats facing forward. They sat in the back facing forward.

Someone came by and took the tickets. They waited a minute to see if anyone else would show up but no one did.

The train began to move. Thaddeus stared out the window longingly. Talking to Galen made him feel a little better, but now the pain and anxiety slowly returned.

"It's a beach train." Galen said. "It follows the beach the whole way."

Thaddeus nodded.

They stopped at a few small stations along the way. A few people got on at the first one and a few more at the second. No one talked. Some looked just as sad as Thaddeus.

The sun went down and for a while the train moved smoothly through grayness. The world is calm in the evenings. It's a time to reflect on the day. The sky turned slowly to black. Everyone got off at the same station. Only Galen and Thaddeus were left.

Thaddeus sat back and tried to sleep but it was difficult on the hard seats. Galen carefully pulled him over and let him put his head on his shoulder. Thaddeus tried to sleep. He didn't know how much longer they had or if they would even have a place to sleep when they got there.

The rhythm of the train was soothing. Little Thaddeus Minnow dozed off sometime in the night.

He dreamed of his parents. All he remembered was that they were somewhere with him. He woke up when it was still dark out. For a few moments he was content. And then realization crept in and he remembered where he was and what happened.

Galen nudged him awake. "Last stop. We have to get off."

Thaddeus got up and sauntered to the door. He was still very tired. They got off the train at the edge of a town. It seemed oddly familiar. "Where are we?" He yawned.

"The Town." Galen responded.

#  Chapter 14

"What?" Galen was shocked. "Why are we here? I thought we were going someplace where we might find someone who could help."

"We are."

"You can't even go in there." Thaddeus pointed out.

"We're not going in. I want you to show me where you crossed the boundary."

"I told you I don't know where that was."

"Let's see if we can find it."

Galen told Thaddeus to lead the way and he did reluctantly. He really didn't think this was going to help but there wasn't much else to do.

He led Galen around the town until he saw the road he came in on. They went until they saw the little home of the man who took Thaddeus to town on his cart. The old man was sitting outside in a chair drinking something out of a glass.

"Hey, you're back." The old man said. "Do you need another cart ride?"

"Not today." Thaddeus said with a smile and a wave.

A few seconds later they were back in the woods where it all started.

"I don't remember exactly where I crossed over. There was a little house nearby where an old woman lived. If I can find that then maybe we can figure out at least near where it was."

At first Thaddeus tried to retrace his steps. He went in the general area he felt like he came from but there was no point. It was impossible to figure out where he went that day.

They wandered about for a long time. Thaddeus occasionally thought something looked familiar but he was never sure. They came to the meadow and he knew he was close. It was a little easier from there. He knew about where the path was and started away near where the path was in his side of the world.

The little house where the old woman lived came into view suddenly. It had an even more displeasing look during the day. The wood was dark and looked wet with bugs all over. Thaddeus shivered at the sight.

"So this is the place." Galen said. "Let's go up and see if anybody's home."

"What do you think this is going to do?" Thaddeus asked.

"I think it might help you."

"How? If magic can't help I doubt anything else will."

"Well I've been thinking." Galen said. "I just have a feeling that the place we come in is somehow important to all this. Now let's get in there."

He went up to the wood and knocked. No one answered. He poked his head in the big hole where a door should have been. "Excuse me, oh, hello." He gestured for Thaddeus to come over. Galen went on in.

Thaddeus followed. The house was very unpleasant in the daylight. It looked slimy and uncared for.

The frizzled woman sat in a chair in the half of the house that had been dark before. There was nothing there but the chair. She looked them over wearily.

"So you came back." She said.

"Yes." Thaddeus answered.

"Yes, hello." Galen said. "Thaddeus here came through a boundary of sorts near here. Do you happen to know anything about this? Does this happen a lot?"

The woman stared at them for a while before answering. "A boundary? Nothing is in these woods except me. I've lived here alone for years."

Galen nodded. "So you don't know of anything like that?"

"All alone I've been here. I needed help. I needed someone to come here and help me. I needed it real bad." She pointed a dirty finger at Thaddeus. "And then he came here and my needs were filled. I had someone to help me out around here. Well I got over it. I don't need anyone anymore. People are trouble, every one of them. I can't believe I ever wanted help. You," she growled at Thaddeus, "can leave and never come back."

Galen frowned and turned to Thaddeus. He was gone.

It was dark out. One second Thaddeus was standing in a nasty little house and the next he was in darkness. It took a second for him to be fully aware of the difference. It happened so suddenly.

He called to Galen. No one answered. The house was gone and so was the woman and Galen. Thaddeus didn't know where he was and at first he was afraid that something sinister happened. He walked around in the darkness trying to figure out where he was.

His feet hit something hard. He couldn't see it. He bent down and touched it with his hands. Wood. The wood walkway! Could he be? No, nothing happened. But what if it was?

Thaddeus's heart pumped very fast. He slowly got up and followed the path. It led out into the meadow. He could hear the water.

He turned the other way. He came to the end of the wood and a dirt path started. He ran through the darkness. He kept telling himself that it was impossible. There was no way that he got back.

Eventually the forest ended and he stood in an empty parking lot. Lights from houses could be seen. He did it, somehow he made it back.

Thaddeus Minnow kept running. He ran to the road and looked for someone who could help. A minimart was in a little shopping center nearby. He went to it.

"Can I use your phone?" He asked the man behind the counter of the mini mart. The man showed him to the phone.

Twenty minutes later Mr. and Mrs. Minnow pulled up to the minimart and jumped out of the car. Thaddeus ran out and they embraced each other in a big hug. He was back. He was safe.

As the days went on Thaddeus appeared on the local news. He was gone for several days and everyone was really worried. The news of the boy who vanished left the spotlight when a new even more unbelievable story came up. A girl who had been missing since she was three suddenly turned up a hundred miles away. Thaddeus recognized Yew on the T.V.

Months later the two of them got together to talk. Mr. and Mrs. Minnow drove Thaddeus out there so they could meet.

"So how did you get back?" Thaddeus asked.

Yew, now known by her real name Sara, shrugged. "I don't know. I was yelling at the king and queen to let me go and they finally said that they wished they had never found me. That's when I suddenly appeared here. How about you?"

"I don't know. I was just standing somewhere and Galen was talking to an old woman. He's one of us, you know. He's from here."

"I wonder if he's ever going to make it back." Sara said.

"No idea, I hope so."

"So what now?" She asked. "Should we tell people?"

"I told my family but that's it."

"Yeah," Sara said, "I don't think I'll tell anyone else either."

That night Thaddeus thanked his parents for not giving up and promised that he would never wander away again, at least not to a different side of the world.

# Chapter 15

The lab was silent except for the occasional sound of beans flowing through a bag and the turning of a page. It was a quiet night, like many others before it. The beans moved once more and the scientist sighed. None of his books had any reasons behind the subtle movement of small fish. Maybe it really didn't matter.

The front door opened and a man stood in the doorway. He breathed deeply, taking in a smell he hadn't known for a long time. His footsteps echoed throughout the lab. He picked up a couple books and pages that had fallen to the floor and placed them neatly on a table.

The scientist listened intently. "Hello." He called.

"Hello." A friendly voice responded.

The scientist got up and moved the best he could to the edge of the loft. "Galen? What are you doing here?"

"I think we need to talk." Galen said, smiling as he sat down.

The bean bag scientist dropped to the floor and got up with great difficulty. He made his way over to a chair and collapsed into it. His printed on eyes studied Galen.

"It's been a long time." The scientist said. "I wondered if you would ever come back."

"It's funny how a few days with someone can change your whole perspective." Galen said. "Or maybe it's the few days doing something different."

"Where is the boy?"

"Thaddeus? He's home now, I hope."

"Oh," the scientist cried. "He did it! But how?"

Galen stared off into the distance. "It's strange how things can happen sometimes. Magic has little effect on the mind. Did you know that? I didn't. The mind creates the magic." He folded his arms and shivered. "It's a powerful thing. It can solve problems and create them. It can also bring people closer together, sometimes without anyone realizing it's happened."

"But what of the boy?" The scientist persisted.

"You really needed someone to help you didn't you? When you turned in to this I mean."

"Well yes, I couldn't do research like this without help."

"Much like how a king and queen need an heir, or how an old woman needs a helper. Sometimes we ask the world for something, and you know what? Sometimes it listens and grants us what we ask for."

"That's all very good." The scientist said. "But how did Thaddeus get back? I need to know for my research. If we can isolate the cause then every child who can get over will be able to get back."

"Do you still need me?" Galen asked.

"I suppose not. I have learned to manage pretty well since you left. The only thing I need from you is to tell me what happened to Thaddeus."

Galen nodded slowly. "And after I tell you, you won't need me ever again?"

"Like I said," the scientist said exasperatedly, "all I need is to find out how to get people back."

"I'll write it down for you." Galen said, picking up a pencil and paper from the table. "Here you go, the answer to everything." He handed the paper to the scientist.

The scientist took it between both his bean bag arms. "Oh, this is great. I knew you would be able to figure it out." He put the paper on his lap. "This really is all I ever nee—" Only two words were on the paper.

"Look up." The scientist read curiously. He looked up at Galen.

He was gone.

