 
# Andy The Spider

## Captured

Published by Samantha Rindfuss Schwertfeger at Smashwords

Copyright © 2014 By Samantha Rindfuss Schwertfeger  
Book Cover Illustrations by Somnath Chatterjee of dotpixel.in

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including scanning, photocopying, or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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# CHAPTER 1

Carefully hiding behind a tree, Emily waited for something delicious to fly into her newly-built web. She looked around hoping she wouldn't find her brother, Andy, lurking nearby, waiting to steal her food before she got to it. He liked to do that lately, and this time she was prepared. This meal was all hers!

Emily heard a familiar buzzing sound soaring through the air. She looked up into the sky and saw a large fly coming close to the ground. Oh, how she hoped the fly would land in her web! Unlike her brother's poorly-made webs, hers was strong, and nothing escaped.

Andy had a difficult time making webs strong enough to catch his own food, so he had to rely on his sister. That meant she had to share. For just once, she wanted a meal all to herself.

Seconds later, the fly crashed into her web. Emily watched the poor, innocent fly try to escape. Sadly, its life was doomed.

Emily took a few steps toward her food when Andy came out of nowhere and sprang toward her web.

She ran after her brother. Unfortunately, she wasn't fast enough, and by the time she got to her food, half of it was already in Andy's mouth.

"What do you think you're doing?" Emily scolded. She yanked the other half of the fly out of Andy's mouth. Being upset made her appetite disappear. She tossed the last of the food to the ground.

"Hey!" Andy whined with food still in his mouth. "That was a waste of perfectly good food! What did you do that for?"

"I am the one who makes our webs! Why is it fair that you always get the first bite?"

Andy shrugged. "Sorry, you're too slow."

Emily tensed up. Who did he think he was? Even though Andy was slightly older, it did not give him any right to be so greedy!

"That's it! No more!" Emily yelled.

Andy swallowed his food. "What?"

"I am not sharing my webs with you anymore! I spend a lot of time building them, and you take advantage of it! But, no! Not anymore! It's time for you to learn to do it yourself!"

Andy was at a loss for words. She had to be kidding with him. However, the pained look on her face told him she was serious.

"How will I get my own food?" he asked. "You know I can't build good webs. That's why you do it for me!"

Andy waited for his sister to respond, but she didn't say anything. Could she really be serious?

Emily sighed. She didn't have a mean bone in her body. What was she thinking? Yes, she was mad at her brother, but she couldn't let him starve.

"There will be one condition," Emily said. "I get the first bite. Since I am the one who catches the food, it's only fair. If I see you doing it, I'm cutting you off."

"Fine," Andy said with a defeated sigh.

Andy and Emily were not your ordinary-looking spiders. Out of all of their hundreds of brothers and sisters, they were the biggest. They were almost the size of a tarantula. However, unlike tarantulas, Andy and Emily had the ability to weave webs. Both of them had purple, furry skin, but their design was what made them different from each other. Andy's skin was full of light purple spots. Emily's design was two yellow strips going down her back. They weren't normal spiders.

While Emily waited for her brother to finish eating, her stomach rumbled. She gazed over to where she'd thrown the rest of the food. She would have eaten it, but once something hit the ground, she refused to touch it.

Andy licked his mouth. "So how about that race? You wanted a rematch, remember?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "Now? Sorry, but I'm too hungry to even think about chasing after you. Besides, we both know I'll never beat you. You're too fast."

Andy shrugged. "Hey, I have to be good at something! It'll be fun! Please?"

Emily knew her brother would keep bugging her until she agreed. Racing was the only game Andy liked to play. He always won, and he enjoyed the feeling that he was better than Emily at something.

"Let's go!" Andy yelled and dashed past his sister.

"Can't you give me a head start once in a while?" Emily took a deep breath and ran after her brother.

Andy had ran ahead of her so fast, Emily could not find him anywhere. She stopped running and noticed her surroundings. It was as if all the living creatures had left the woods, and she was the only one left. Emily did not like being alone. The feeling of being alone gave her chills.

"I hope this isn't a joke you're playing," she whispered to herself.

Out of nowhere, something tackled Emily and she tumbled to the ground.

A scream escaped from her mouth.

When Emily turned around to see who had jumped on her, Andy stood there laughing.

Emily's heart pounded. "You scared me!"

"I'm sorry, but it was funny," Andy said. "You should have seen the look on your face! You would have laughed at yourself, too!" His laughter slowly stopped.

Emily's blood boiled. Boy, her brother was testing her patience today. Frustrated, she turned around to go the other way, but froze instantly. An old, ugly owl stood before her, and he seemed to happy to see her.

"Well, look what we have here," the owl said in a deep, scary voice.

"What... do you want?" Andy asked.

The owl paced around Emily. He wouldn't take his eyes off her.

Emily gulped. What did the owl want, and why was he looking at her in such a way that made her scared to move an inch?

The owl sneered at Emily. "You would make a delicious snack for my friends and me."

Courage suddenly empowered Andy. "Don't you dare touch her!"

The owl moved closer to Emily, stopping a mere few inches in front of her. He glared at Andy. "If you take another step, you won't see her again."

"Andy, just run!" Emily yelled.

"No, I can save you! Please just trust me!" Andy said, trying to sound convincing.

However, the owl was not impressed. He grabbed Emily's back legs with his claws. He looked at Andy one more time with a wide grin and said, "I hope you can find her in time."

The owl flew away, leaving Andy standing there. For the first time in his life, he was alone.

# CHAPTER 2

Andy wandered through the woods for days, brokenhearted, hoping to find any trace of his sister. The owl could have taken her anywhere by now.

Was there really any chance of finding her?

He never thought owls could be so terrifying. He burned the image of the owl into his mind so when the day came and he found him, he wouldn't be mistaken. The owl had dark, eerie brown eyes. His brown and red feathers were tangled and dirty. That owl didn't know what a bath was.

Since Emily was the only one who could catch their food, Andy was starving. Even though it had been a long time since he had spun a web on his own, he had to try.

Soon enough, Andy stumbled upon two large rocks along a pond. He took his time spinning a web between them. When he had finished, Andy stood back a few feet. For the first time in a long while, he felt proud. It appeared to be as strong as Emily's webs, but if anything broke through it, he would be in trouble.

Knowing nothing would fly into the web with him standing there, he decided to take a walk away from the pond.

Once Andy returned, his heart felt heavy. Something had landed in the web and escaped. The web was destroyed.

He tore apart the rest of the web and shoved it aside. "So much for that idea!"

Andy turned to leave, but he heard a rustling sound coming from the grass behind him.

He curiously glanced around. "Is anyone there?"

Silence.

He shrugged it off and began to walk away. Within seconds, he heard it again!

At that moment, a blue and yellow caterpillar appeared through the tall grass. "Hi," the caterpillar greeted kindly.

"Were you trying to scare me? It didn't work," Andy said, hoping to sound convincing.

"Of course not. I noticed what happened to your web, and I wanted to offer you some of my own food."

Andy was desperate. He had never gone this long without eating. "What do you have?"

The caterpillar smiled. "Follow me, I'll show you!"

Andy was following him through the tall weeds when the caterpillar suddenly stopped before him, almost causing a collision between the two of them.

The caterpillar pointed to a pile of plants. "It's all yours! Take what you like. I don't mind."

Andy took a bite out of the plants, and a sour taste filled his mouth. Even though he had been starving, there was no way he was going to eat any more of the plants.

Feeling sick, Andy took a few steps back.

The caterpillar frowned. "Sorry, guess you don't like what I eat. I'm Sam, by the way."

Andy tried to wipe the taste out of his mouth. "I'm Andy. How can you eat that stuff? It's terrible!"

"Well, I find those bugs you spiders eat quite disturbing, too," Sam said, a little offended.

"I'm sorry. I'm so hungry. I haven't eaten in days. Emily always..."

"Who's Emily?"

"My sister. She was abducted a few days ago. I don't know where she is."

Sam didn't know what to say. He felt so bad for the spider, and he knew right away he had to help him!

"I should go," Andy said and turned the other way.

Sam yelled, "No! Wait! I can help you!"

What could a little caterpillar do to help him out? Andy was more than twice his size. Besides that, caterpillars moved slowly!

"I have a friend," Sam said. "She loves to help others out. Come with me and meet her. If you don't want our help, it's fine."

Sam seemed so happy, and Andy didn't want to hurt his feelings, so he agreed to accept his help.

Andy slowly followed the caterpillar through the woods to find his friend. Just as he was about to give up, Sam said they had arrived.

Andy looked around, but didn't see anyone. "Where's your friend?"

"Oh, she's probably flying around somewhere. Don't worry, she'll be back soon."

Andy had doubts when Sam mentioned his friend could fly. He knew owls weren't the only ones that could fly, so he tried not to think the worst.

At that moment, Andy saw Sam's eyes grow wide.

"Tami, meet Andy!" Sam said.

The shadow of a familiar shape appeared before him. Andy closed his eyes, hoping it wasn't who he thought it was. Taking a deep breath, he turned around.

His eyes grew wide.

Panic began to settle.

Another owl stood right before him!

"Andy, meet Tami!" Sam said happily.

Andy turned to Sam. "You didn't tell me your friend was one of those creatures that took away my sister!"

Sam was speechless for a moment, but then figured it out. "Oh. Oh, no! It was an owl who took her, wasn't it? I am so sorry! I would have told you, but you never told me either!"

Tami took a few steps toward Andy, and he tumbled backwards.

"Don't be afraid. I am not going to hurt you," Tami said softly.

The sweet sound of Tami's voice made Andy relax.

The owl smiled. "See, there is no reason to worry."

Once Andy was able to find his words, he said, "I'm sorry. My sister was taken by an owl, and you're an owl, and..."

Tami smiled warmly. "It's okay. You're with us now. There is nothing to worry about."

Andy told Sam and Tami in detail what had happened with the owl and his sister. He noticed Tami was very focused on the story.

"You're in luck, dear," Tami said.

Andy's eyes grew big. What did she mean by that?

"I know of the owl you are talking about. His name is Harry and he is one of the most terrible owls you will ever meet. Well, besides his two sidekicks."

"Do you know where I can find them?" Andy asked.

"They move around often," Tami said. "We can look around, that's no problem. But it is going to be dark soon, and unfortunately, I am not a night owl. We can get started tomorrow, if that's okay."

Andy didn't want to wait until morning, but he didn't want to be rude to someone who was offering to help him. "Promise?"

"Of course. Now, let me get some rest. These old wings took a beating today! Goodnight, you two." Tami flew up into her nest.

Sam looked at Andy with concern. "Don't worry, we will find her. Tami knows everyone. There has to be someone who knows something."

Andy smiled, but it faded when the caterpillar turned around. He hoped someone knew something and fast!

# CHAPTER 3

At the same time, Emily sat high in a nest a few miles away. Harry and two other owls, Hope and Hank, surrounded her, making sure she didn't try to escape.

Harry pushed a small pile of dead bugs toward Emily, hoping it would make her want to eat something.

"Go on. Eat up. A spider needs her dinner!" Harry said with a glaring grin.

She pushed them back. "Why? So you can plump me up so I'll be juicer to eat?"

Harry chuckled. "Haven't you realized that if I truly wanted to eat you..." He stepped closer and bent down so that he was eye to eye with her. "I would have already?"

"Let me go then!"

"I can't do that. See, you fascinate me. I've never seen a spider like you before. Besides, yellow is my favorite color. Now, one last call. Are you going to eat what I have given you or not?"

Emily turned her head to the side, avoiding any more eye contact with Harry.

"Suit yourself," Harry said and tossed the insects out of the tree.

Her stomach rumbled while she watched the food fall.

Eventually, the owls drifted off to sleep. They kept her trapped, gathering around her in a circle.

While they slept, Emily did not. She wanted to fall asleep, but how could she? All she could think about was Andy and how he was probably lost without her. Not once in their lives had they ever been apart from each other.

Finally drifting off to sleep, Emily felt the branch gently sway back and forth. She poked her head up, hoping to see something, but nothing was there.

Almost asleep, she felt it again. Her eyes flew open, and she saw a pair of bright green glowing eyes looking at her from a short distance.

The green eyes came closer, and Emily felt butterflies in her stomach. She shut her eyes and hoped whatever it was would go away.

"Psst," a voice whispered.

Emily slowly opened her eyes, afraid of what she would see. To her surprise, a squirrel crept toward her.

"I'm here to rescue you," the squirrel said.

Emily almost wanted to laugh out loud. How did the squirrel think he was going to save her?

"I've been watching you ever since they brought you here. I despise these guys just as much as you do."

"Who are you?" Emily asked.

"Charlie."

"I'm Emily."

"Nice to meet you," Charlie said. "Now, let's get you out of here!"

"But how?"

"There is something you don't know about these creeps. They're sound sleepers. Nothing can wake them up." Charlie poked Hank to prove his point. The owl didn't budge.

Emily's heart almost jumped to her throat. Was this squirrel crazy?

"See? Now, slowly walk over by me." Charlie continued to instruct Emily on how to get past the owls.

Once Emily was away from them, she jumped on the squirrel's back and shut her eyes tightly as Charlie raced down the tree.

When they reached the ground, Emily was surprised they had been able to escape so easily. The owls obviously needed to guard what they captured better.

Emily glanced back up the tree to make sure they were truly safe. What she saw sent shivers through her body.

"So much for them being sound sleepers," Emily said.

Charlie looked up and saw one of the owls staring at them.

The owl screamed, "Get back here!"

Now, all three of the owls looked down at them.

"Um, we need to run!" Charlie yelled. "Jump back on me now! I'm a fast runner!"

Emily jumped onto Charlie's back. She held onto him tightly, and he took off.

Hank swooped low to the ground and chased after them. "We're going to get you!"

Charlie dashed around a tree, hoping the owl didn't see which way they went.

Hope flew down behind Hank at the same time the squirrel disappeared. Now Hank couldn't see them anywhere. He stopped mid-air and looked around.

Hope wasn't paying attention and collided into Hank. They fell to the ground.

At the same time, Charlie noticed a fallen tree with a small hole on the side of it. He ducked inside it with Emily still attached to him.

"That's just great! We lost them!" Hank yelled at Hope. "Don't you watch where you're going?"

Hope got up quick, ignoring the fact she had fallen a little hard. "I wouldn't have crashed into you if you hadn't stopped so suddenly!"

"Harry is going to kill us! Don't you know that?"

Out of nowhere, Harry landed on the ground. "I might as well," he said. "I should have just watched her myself."

Harry examined the area. All he saw was darkness and a few birds soaring through the trees. "Who took Emily?"

"It looked like Charlie," Hank said. "That pesky squirrel is always in our business."

Harry's blood boiled. This would be the last time that squirrel ever crossed paths with him. "Let's go! First thing in the morning, we are going to find that squirrel and finally make him into a meal!"

When the owls flew away, Charlie and Emily stepped out of the tree.

"I'm going to take you home with me," Charlie said. "You'll be safe there."

Emily looked up at the night sky and watched as the owls flew farther away. "I need to find my brother! He doesn't know where I am! He's probably lost and confused somewhere!"

"We can look for him tomorrow. I promise," Charlie said. "It's dark, and I won't be able to see much."

Even though Emily wanted to protest, she followed Charlie back to his home.

As Hope flew back with Harry and Hank, she grew tired of hearing Harry ramble on about getting revenge on Charlie. She thought Harry's obsession with that squirrel was going to destroy him. Hope wanted to have fun, not spend her time worrying about a silly squirrel. She wanted to leave them and go off on her own.

"So, what's the plan?" Hank asked Harry. He disliked that squirrel just as much as Harry did.

Harry sat in his nest and gazed up above. Hundreds of stars filled the sky. He loved nights like this. This was the time he always created his best schemes.

"We will get Emily back," Harry said coldly.

"She's only a spider. You can go find another one," Hope said. She wasn't trying to hide her aggravation.

Harry narrowed his eyes at her. "How dare you talk to me like that? Who do you think you're talking to?"

"Someone who has lost his mind! I'm bored with the two of you. I think it would be best if I went on my own."

"If you leave, I will hunt you. When you least expect it, I will come for you," Harry warned in a deep, menacing voice. No one left him without facing the consequences.

"I'm not afraid of you."

Harry stood an inch in front of her and stared directly into her eyes. "You should be."

Hope continued to stare at Harry for a few moments and then flew away. She didn't look back.

# CHAPTER 4

The sun had risen to the highest point in the sky when Emily woke up the next morning. She walked out of the log-like cave she was in and looked around for Charlie.

Two baby squirrels darted past the log. A few seconds later, they ran back again.

One of the squirrels stopped and stared at Emily. "Charlie!" she yelled. "Your friend is awake!"

A dark shadow stepped out in front of Emily and her heart hammered. Charlie's head then appeared from around the corner.

"Sorry if my sisters woke you up," he said. "They can be very loud and annoying sometimes."

One of his sisters yelled at the other. "Give that back!"

"No! You had the last one! This one belongs to me!" the other one shouted.

Charlie rolled his eyes and sighed. "Sarah, just give the nut back to Casey. Mom will be bringing back more any minute."

Sarah kept a firm grip on the nut and shook her head.

"Give it back, or I'll tell Mom!" Charlie yelled.

Casey grinned and held out her hands, waiting for her sister to hand over what belonged to her.

Sarah held the nut out in her hand. Casey snatched it and ran the other way.

Sarah pouted her lips and crossed her arms. "You're so mean, Charlie!" She darted into her home, refusing to make any eye contact with her brother.

From a short distance away, a familiar voice said, "Charlie, are you still here?"

"That's my mom," Charlie told Emily.

Charlie's mother appeared from behind a tree, holding several nuts. She placed the nuts in front of the log.

Sarah crept outside and took one of the nuts from the pile. She then sneaked back inside without saying a word.

"Well, you must be Emily. I'm Dani, Charlie's mom."

Emily smiled. "Nice to meet you."

Dani looked upon her son with deep concern. "You have to be careful next time. Do you know how lucky you are that those owls didn't catch you?"

"I'm not scared of them, Mom. I'm too fast for them anyway," Charlie said proudly.

Dani gave her son a kiss on his cheek. "Just be careful. Promise?"

Charlie wiped off his mother's kiss. "I'm going to help Emily find her brother."

Dani tried her best to put a smile on her face. "That's very noble of you, but those owls are probably out there looking for her right now."

Emily gasped. "You really think so?"

"I don't mean to scare you, Emily, but Harry doesn't like it when things don't go his way," Dani said.

Charlie shook his head. "I doubt it, Mom. Knowing them, they are probably out looking for someone else to bother."

"Just watch your back. You know how word spreads around here." Dani walked away.

Sarah overheard the conversation between her brother and mother. There was no way Charlie was going to go out there and risk his life for a spider! She darted outside.

Sarah cleared her throat. "You're leaving?"

"Not for long. Why? You never seemed to care before," Charlie said.

"Yeah, but this is different! Harry is looking for her! You'll be in danger while you're with her!"

Emily was speechless. She didn't want Charlie risking his life for hers.

Charlie smiled and began poking his sister. "Aw, is my little sister scared something is going to happen to her big brother?"

"Stop it!" Sarah yelled. She escaped from Charlie's grip. "Just watch your back." She picked up another nut from the pile and gave her brother a kiss before heading back inside.

Emily turned to Charlie. "You don't have to go with me. She seemed so worried..."

"Don't worry about her. Now, go spin a web or whatever you spiders do and catch something to eat before we go."

Emily curled her lip. "I'm not hungry."

"We're not leaving until you eat something." Charlie crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.

Emily laughed at how serious Charlie looked and gave in to his demands. Besides, she was starving.

# CHAPTER 5

"Catch anything good this morning?" Sam asked Andy as he walked toward him. He hoped he wouldn't see any dead bugs dangling out of Andy's mouth.

Instead, Sam saw an upset spider.

"I tried again, but my food destroyed the web! This isn't supposed to happen!" Andy tore down the web as fast as he could. "I'll never be able to do this."

"You just need practice. That's all."

Andy frowned.

Tami flew down from her tree branch and landed beside Sam and Andy. "What a beautiful day, isn't it? Are you two ready to go?"

Sam and Andy nodded.

"Just hop on my shoulder and hang on tight." Tami put her left wing to the ground and Andy and Sam climbed up.

Andy wasn't so sure about this. He had never been off the ground before. What if he was afraid of heights?

Tami flew into the sky, and Andy closed his eyes, hoping for the best.

During the flight, Andy started to feel a little better. This wasn't as bad as he'd thought it was going to be. It was kind of fun!

After searching the woods for several hours, Tami landed on the ground. Sam and Andy jumped off. Even though Andy enjoyed the ride, he was glad to be back on solid ground.

"This used to be one of their spots," Tami said. "I was hoping maybe they'd come back here." Tami frowned when she saw no one. "I guess not."

Something suddenly caught Andy's attention. Beyond the trees ahead of them was a field. But it was not empty; a tall house stood in the middle of it.

Andy pointed. "What's that?"

"You don't want to go that way. Humans live in that house," Tami said seriously.

"What are humans?"

Sam's eyes grew wide. "They're much taller than we are, and their big feet can step on us and crush us!"

Andy's mouth dropped. "Tami, can they step on you, too?"

"No, of course not," Tami said with a laugh. "Sam is right, though. The two of you have to be careful if you ever cross paths with one."

"Interesting," Andy whispered.

"No way, Andy," Sam shook his head. "Bad idea. Don't even think about it."

"Hey, maybe the owls took her that way. We won't know if we don't take a look, right?"

Before Sam and Tami could protest, Andy took off into the field and headed for the house.

Tami snatched up Sam and flew ahead of Andy. They waited in front of the building as Andy approached.

Sam looked around, hoping they wouldn't cross paths with a human. "Let's make this quick."

"Don't be scared. We'll be fine." Andy said. He, on the other hand, thought it would be interesting to see a human.

Andy wandered around to the back of the house. This new place was exciting and amazing to him. He had never seen anything like it before. In fact, he never knew this kind of place existed!

While Andy wandered around, he realized his two new friends were nowhere near him. Why weren't they following him?

Soon enough, Andy found Tami and Sam. However, something wasn't right. He could tell by the look in their eyes that something had scared them.

A dark shadow appeared out of nowhere and hovered over Andy.

He looked up and saw a creature he'd never seen before. Suddenly, a clear object went over him. He was trapped.

Sam and Tami watched in utmost fear as the human captured Andy, placing a clear plastic cup over him.

Andy jumped around quickly, trying to find a way to escape.

The human brought the cup closer to his face.

Andy froze in fear. The human's face appeared through the cup, and its blue eyes were huge and bulky looking.

The human's smile grew wide. "Gotcha!"

Tami and Sam watched as the human took Andy into the house.

Sam had never felt this scared before. "What are we going to do?"

"Dear, I wish I knew the answer. C'mon. There has to be some way to see into the house."

The human darted up the stairs and hurried into his bedroom. He rushed over to an empty fish tank with the cup held tightly in one hand and his other hand over the top.

He placed the cup over the tank and moved his hand away. Andy tumbled inside. The boy put a wire lid over the top.

Andy huddled in the corner and watched in fear as the human put his face near the glass and stared at him.

"You're amazing! We're going to have tons of fun! Just wait and see!" The boy ran out of the room, calling out something Andy didn't understand.

Andy studied the room. Behind him was a big open window with a tree outside. Its branch rested right outside the window.

Inside the cage, grass lay underneath Andy's legs. In the corner was a brown bowl. He walked over to it, but it was empty.

"Ah, you must be Josh's new friend," an unfamiliar voice said.

Andy looked around, trying to see where the voice came from. Several feet away from him, there was a similar cage like the one he was in, on top of a desk. Inside was a golden-brown hamster.

"Why did he bring me here?" Andy asked.

"Josh loves spiders. Even more than he loves me, I think. Most of them only last for a few weeks. But hey, maybe you'll be the lucky one!"

Andy stiffened. "Well, my friends saw Josh take me, so they know where I am. I'll be rescued any minute now."

The hamster chuckled. "I wouldn't hold my breath."

Andy heard voices mumbling from outside the bedroom door. The hamster went back to his corner and pretended to sleep.

The door flew open, followed by nine-year-old Josh and his seven-year-old sister, Amy.

Amy dashed to the tank and stared at Andy. Her eyes grew so big, Andy was sure they were going to pop out of her head. She put her blonde, wavy hair behind her ears. "Wow! He is so cool!"

Andy stepped back into the corner. He had no idea what these humans wanted to do with him.

"I've never seen anything like him before! Is he a tarantula?" Amy said.

"I don't think so. Have you ever seen a purple tarantula before? I sure haven't. He's just one of a kind," Josh said.

"Can we take him out?"

"No! He's scared. We didn't take George out for a while at first, remember?"

Amy looked at George, the hamster. She narrowed her blue eyes. "Stupid hamster. He's so boring. I wish you never got him!"

George opened his eyes and glared at Amy.

"Well, what are you going to name him?" Amy asked her brother while keeping her eyes locked on Andy. Before Josh could answer, she said, "Mom is gonna be mad at you when she finds out you brought another spider into the house."

"Well, don't say anything, and she'll never find out," Josh said through his teeth.

Amy crossed her arms and narrowed her eyebrows. "And why should I keep my mouth shut?"

"I'll let you come in here any time you want to visit. Even if I'm not home."

Amy thought for a moment and agreed to keep the spider a secret.

A woman's voice shouted from outside the bedroom, telling the kids to come downstairs.

Josh ran for the door, but stopped when he noticed his sister wasn't behind him. "We gotta go! He's not going anywhere!"

Amy smiled warmly at Andy and then followed her brother out of his room.

"Don't get too excited," George said to Andy when the children were gone. "They'll be back to play with you later."

"Thanks for making me feel better," Andy said sadly.

"There is one thing you must know about humans. Don't let them hear you talk. Humans can never find out." George nestled back into his bed and went to sleep, for real this time.

Andy heard muffled voices coming from outside the window. He saw the children and another taller human get into an unknown object and leave inside it.

Out of nowhere, Tami landed on the tree outside the window.

Andy's nerves disappeared when he saw his friends. "Can you help me get out of here?"

At first, Tami had no idea how she could help. There wasn't a way for her to enter the house. Then, an idea came to her. "Well, since you're safe, I want you to stay here for tonight. Sam and I will go out and see if we can find out any more information about Emily."

Andy wasn't happy to hear that. He didn't feel safe at all.

"Don't worry," Sam said. "Tami knows almost everyone in the woods. She'll find your sister. I'm sure of it!"

"You'll be fine. Trust me. I'll be back soon to check up on you," Tami said and then flew away with Sam.

Once they were gone, Andy decided to take advantage of the quiet time and get some well-deserved rest. He was going to need it.

# CHAPTER 6

A bright light shone into Andy's cage and then vanished. Andy opened his eyes and noticed it was dark outside. He glanced out the window and saw the boy and girl running into the house, laughing.

Tami was asleep on the tree branch with Sam on her shoulder. Andy had hoped to see Emily with them, but she wasn't there.

Andy sighed and turned away from the window. He looked at George, who was munching on his food.

Thinking of food made Andy's stomach rumble.

The door burst open, and a light turned on. Josh and Amy rushed toward the tank, each with huge smiles. Andy noticed Josh carrying a small, white box.

Amy tapped her fingers on the tank.

"Stop it!" Josh scolded.

Amy pouted her lips. "Sorry."

Andy watched Josh as he took something out of the box and put it in his bowl. It was his least favorite thing to eat, worms. However, worms were a better choice than those plants Sam had given him yesterday.

George began to run on his hamster wheel.

Josh stared at the hamster and frowned. He turned to his sister. "Can you put George in his ball?" he asked. "I don't feel like hearing that wheel right now."

Amy rolled her eyes. She put the ball on the floor with George in it and gave it a slight push with her foot.

George ran the ball into Amy's feet several times to make her mad. He enjoyed doing things like this since she was always mean to him.

"Stop it!" Amy kicked the hamster ball away from her, and it spun across the floor to the other side of the room.

"Don't do that!" Josh yelled and ran to George. He took him out of the ball and petted him softly. When Amy was being mean to his hamster, Josh felt bad. He didn't know why she treated his pet like that.

Josh put George back into his cage. "I'm sorry, buddy." He stomped his foot and glared at his sister. "Why are you so mean to him all the time?"

"I... don't... like... him. That's why, dummy," Amy smart-mouthed back. She turned the other way, and George stuck his tongue out at her. Josh thought he saw George do it, but he shrugged it off, knowing it wasn't possible.

The door opened, and the children turned to see their mother. "Amy, it's time for bed. It's late!" she said and then closed the door.

The kids were scared she was going to come in and see their new pet. Thankfully, she didn't.

Amy put her face to the cage as Andy was eating his food. "Goodnight, little guy." She left the room before Mom came back in to get her.

Josh went to his closet to get his pajamas. He put his pajamas on and turned off the light.

That was when Andy did something he was warned not to do. "Let me go!"

Josh turned the light back on. The spider stared back at him, as if he had said those words. But that was impossible, right?

Confused, Josh grabbed a little stool and sat down in front of Andy's tank. "I'm going crazy, aren't I? You can't talk."

"Oh, I can talk!" Andy said. He didn't care if he broke George's rule. Josh was the only way to get out of the house and back to his sister.

Josh sprang from the stool. It tumbled over and rolled toward his bed. "This is impossible!"

"Anything is possible. Now, back to what I was saying..."

"Wait, that means George can talk, too!" Josh said, watching George with curiosity.

George sat on the food bowl, trying to mind his own business. He ate his last piece of corn, turned around, and stood on his back feet. "You have a listening problem, don't you, Andy? Now look what you've done!"

Josh's eyes widened. "Wow! This cannot be happening. Am I dreaming?" He pinched himself several times.

Andy was losing his patience. "Let me go!"

"Okay, I'm not dreaming," Josh said when his pinches started to hurt. "Why would I let you go? This is an amazing discovery! Just wait until..."

"No!" George shouted. "You can't tell anyone!"

Josh's shoulders slumped down. "Why not?"

"Who in the world would take a kid seriously? Come on, now," George shook his head. "You might end up at the crazy doctor's."

Knock knock.

Josh tiptoed to the door and opened it. Amy stood before him. Her grabbed her by the arm, pulled her inside and gently shut the door.

Amy rubbed her arm. "Ow! That hurt, you know!"

"Shh," Josh said, walking to his bed. "They can talk."

Amy stood there and stared at her brother as if he'd lost his mind. Then she burst out laughing.

Josh threw his arms down. "I'm serious!"

"Are you kidding?" Amy asked. She laughed so hard, she had to clench her stomach.

"Nope, he's not," George said.

Amy stopped laughing and eyed George. She took a step closer to the hamster. "What?"

"Told ya so!" Josh said proudly.

"This is so weird."

George smiled. "Funny, just like you are!"

Amy spun around and jumped up and down. "We have to tell Mom and Dad!"

Josh shook his head. "George is right. No one is going to believe animals can talk, especially from us." Josh turned his attention back to Andy. "Why don't you want to be here? It's a lot safer here than outside."

"Wait. He wants to leave? Why?" Amy said in a high pitched voice.

Andy sighed and told the children the story of Emily's kidnapping, Harry, and meeting Tami and Sam.

When the story was over, Amy pouted her lips. "Aw, that's so sad."

George pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. "Yes. How touching."

Tap tap.

Josh glanced out the window. To his surprise, he saw an owl with a caterpillar clinging to its wing. He opened the window, so Andy's friends could come in.

Amy smiled. "Are you Tami and Sam?"

"That would be us," the caterpillar said happily. "Can we have Andy back now?"

"But why? He's so cute!" Amy pouted her lips. "Can't he stay here for just a little longer?"

Tami knew Andy wasn't going to like what she was going to tell him. During her search earlier, she had heard a rumor about a squirrel rescuing a spider from Harry's nest. She didn't want to tell Andy this update right away, just in case it wasn't true.

"Andy, I'm going to need you to stay here for a little bit longer while we keep searching for your sister," Tami said. She looked at the kids. "If that is okay with you?"

Amy clapped her hands. "Yay! You're staying!"

"Oh, lovely," George whispered to himself.

Andy frowned. "If that's what you want me to do." But Andy wasn't going to listen to Tami. He would find his own way to escape!

"It'll be okay, Andy," Sam said with a big smile. "Don't you worry for one second! We'll find her and bring her safely back to you."

"I'll start looking again in the morning," Tami said.

Josh shut the window as Tami and Sam nestled into the tree.

"Wow, what a night," Josh said.

Amy chuckled. "You got that right. I guess I'd better go back to bed before Mom comes back up here."

After Amy left Josh's room, he turned off the light and snuggled into his bed. Even though it was dark in his room, the moonlight shined on Andy's sad face.

"Don't worry, Andy," Josh said. "It will all be okay."

Andy half-smiled and turned the other way and fell asleep.

# CHAPTER 7

When Andy woke up the next morning, Josh wasn't in the room. Tami was gone, too. She was probably out looking for Emily. Andy hoped she would have better luck today.

George shoved a piece of food into his mouth. "He's downstairs eating breakfast."

Andy examined the room, hoping to find some way to escape.

George watched Andy and knew what the spider wanted to do. "You know," he said, "there is a way to escape. But only if you're strong enough. It's what I used to do when Josh kept me in the cage for too long."

"What is it?" Andy asked, hoping George would just tell him.

"Are you good at jumping?"

"I'm good at running."

"No, you have to jump. And if you can jump high enough and use all your strength, you can get out with no problem."

Andy was confused. He looked above at the wire lid and it was slightly pushed to the side. Andy understood what George meant. If he jumped high enough, he could knock the lid off the cage and climb out.

He took a deep breath and jumped as high as he could. The lid moved, but not enough for him to get out. After several attempts, he still had no luck.

George laughed. "You know you're a spider, right? Why don't you climb up the side of the cage and knock the lid off?"

Andy felt flustered. "Why didn't you tell me that in the first place?"

"I wanted to see how gullible you are. I guess you don't use your spider senses that much."

"Unbelievable," Andy muttered to himself. He crawled up the cage and knocked the lid off.

"There you go, smarty-pants!"

Andy ignored the hamster and climbed up the wall.

"Why are you going that way? Just jump to the ground. It's easier," George said.

"See how smart you are. If I do that, Josh will see me. He won't if I'm up here," Andy said.

"Now you're thinking like a spider!"

Andy made his way up the wall and to the ceiling. He had crawled halfway toward the door when he heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. He froze.

Josh came into the room and he slammed the door.

The slamming door made Andy lose his balance. He fell onto the ceiling fan, landing on one of the blades. Josh flipped a switch on the wall, and the fan began to move faster and faster. Andy tried to keep a steady grip, but failed. He screamed as he flew across the room.

Josh heard the scream from above and saw Andy soaring through the air. Andy hit the wall and tumbled to the ground. Josh ran over to his new friend, who lay sprawled out on the floor. The fall had knocked him out.

Carefully, Josh picked Andy up and put him back into his tank.

George gasped and put his paw over his mouth. "Oh, no! Is he okay?"

Josh crossed his arms and frowned. "What did you do? Tell him how to escape?"

George smiled innocently and shoved a piece of corn into his mouth. "Me? Never! He did it all on his own."

# CHAPTER 8

Emily took a bite out of her food. "Do you think the owls are out looking for us?"

Charlie heard the crunching in Emily's mouth, and it made him shiver. He wished he didn't have to be a witness to the death of her food. "I wish I knew. You never know with them. Hopefully, they've forgotten about you."

Emily glanced around, and strands of hair stood up on her back. A twig snapped, and she froze. "There's someone here."

"Shh." Charlie walked ahead of her and searched around. He didn't see anyone. However, when he turned back to Emily, he saw the fearful look in her eyes.

"What is it?" Charlie asked.

Emily pointed with her trembling leg.

Charlie turned around and found himself face to face with another owl.

Instinct took over, and Emily darted off in the opposite direction. The owl sprang after her.

Emily found herself running into a field. There was nothing around that could protect her. But then she saw a building up ahead and decided to run for it.

She glanced back a few times and saw the owl gaining speed. Charlie was nowhere to be found.

"Stop!" the owl yelled.

Emily didn't obey. Did that owl think she was going to listen?

Tami was losing her patience, and her wings felt weak. "Please stop!" She used the last amount of strength she had to pick up speed and landed in front of Emily. For this one time, she was glad she had let Sam search for his own food around the human's house. This would have been too much excitement for him.

Emily slid across the ground and stopped in front of the owl. No matter which way she moved, the owl stood in her way.

"Please don't hurt me," Emily said, her voice trembling.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Tami said, taking deep breaths. "I've been looking for you."

Emily took a few steps back. "Me? You're with Harry, aren't you?"

"Oh, no, dear. I'm actually a friend of Andy's."

Before Emily could respond, Charlie ran up behind her. "I thought I would never catch up with you. You ran off before I could say anything."

"You know her?" Emily asked.

"Of course. A lot of us do. This is Tami. There's no reason to be afraid of her."

Emily relaxed and looked at the owl. "You know where my brother is?"

"In the house over there," Tami said. "A human captured him while we were out looking for you yesterday."

Emily had no clue what a human was. "Is he okay?"

"Yes. The humans are taking good care of him."

"I'll come with you," Charlie told Emily.

Emily smiled. "No, it's okay. Go back to your family before your little sister sends an army after you."

Charlie laughed and hugged Emily goodbye. She hoped to see him again one day. If it hadn't been for him, she would have never escaped from the owls, and who knows what her fate would have been.

Tami flew Emily up to the window and tapped on the glass.

Josh was on his bed watching television when he heard a tap on the window. He turned the volume down and saw Tami. He opened the window.

"Look who it is!" Tami said happily.

Emily slowly stepped onto the windowsill. When she looked inside, she saw Andy sleeping in a cage. "Why is he in there? He doesn't like to be trapped!"

Josh told them about Andy's attempted escape.

Andy slowly opened his eyes. He looked around and saw his sister sitting outside of his cage. "Emily!"

Emily sighed in relief. "What did you get yourself into?"

"It doesn't matter. You're back! Now I can get out of here!" Andy turned to Josh. "Right?"

Before Josh could answer, Emily interrupted. "Um, why don't we stay here for a while?"

Andy rose an eyebrow. Was his sister crazy?

"I've had so much action these past few days," Emily continued. "It seems like it's safe here."

A loud yawn came from George's cage. "Oh, great, another spider for Josh."

Andy turned to George. "Do you ever mind your own business?"

"Nope. Never."

Andy rolled his eyes and looked at his sister. He'd never seen so much worry in her face. "Okay, we can stay. But you have to tell me what happened out there."

"I'll tell you everything. If Charlie hadn't found me, I would have been doomed."

"I have to go tell Amy the news!" Josh said. He rushed out of his room.

"Who's Amy?" Emily asked. How many humans were there?

"His sister," Andy answered.

"No, let me correct you," George said. "His very annoying sister."

Well, this is going to be a fun living arrangement, Emily thought to herself. However, it was better than taking her chances out there with the owls. She wondered where they were and what they could be planning.

# CHAPTER 9

Several Weeks Later...

Sarah caught herself staring at the same thing her sister, Casey, was looking at. They stared at each other, both wondering who was going to go after it first. The last nut sat at the bottom of the tree where their mother had left it.

Casey smiled innocently at her sister and ran for it. Sarah chased after her.

Casey grabbed the nut and Sarah tackled her to the ground. The nut fell out of Casey's hands, and Sarah snatched it.

"You snooze, you lose," Sarah said. She cracked open the nut.

Casey screamed, "Mom!"

Dani was almost asleep inside her log when she heard Casey's cry. She stepped outside, afraid to see what was going on with her daughters. "Yes, honey?"

"She keeps taking my food. I had it first!" Casey wailed.

Sarah sat there smiling as she ate the nut. "Mom, it's not my fault! She dropped it!"

Dani shook her head. "How many times do I have to tell you girls to share your food? You know Charlie will be back soon with more."

Casey stomped her foot. "But, Mom!"

"I don't want to hear it." Dani turned and pointed to Sarah. "And you, no more food until later. Let your sister eat."

Sarah kept munching on her nut, ignoring her mother.

Casey stood there pouting and their mom went back inside. She watched as her sister finished eating the nut that should have been hers.

Sarah licked her paws. "Oh, that was very delicious."

"You're so mean! I hope you run away and never come back!" Casey yelled.

Sarah chuckled. "In your dreams!"

At that moment, Charlie walked up to his sisters, holding a large collection of nuts. He tossed them to the ground.

"Oh, Charlie! You're a life saver! I'm starving because our sister is a brat!" Casey ran over and picked a nut out of the pile. She smiled at her brother and gave him a big hug. "You're the best brother ever!"

"Um, thank you?" Charlie said as Casey backed away. "Where's Mom?"

"Taking a nap," Sarah answered, since Casey's mouth was now full of food.

Charlie tip-toed into the log and saw his mom resting. When he turned around to leave, he heard his mother's voice. "Please tell me you brought home a lot of food. I don't know what I will do if your sisters keep tormenting each other."

Charlie smiled. "Yeah. There's plenty to go around."

A terrifying scream came from outside. Charlie and Dani rushed out of the log.

Charlie's face turned red. Harry and two unfamiliar owls held onto his sisters with their claws. Sarah and Casey struggled to get free. Before Charlie could move, Hank swooped down and grabbed hold of Dani.

"Let my family go! Now!" Charlie demanded.

Harry hooted with laughter, and the others mimicked him. When Harry suddenly stopped, so did the others.

Harry stared at Charlie, his eyes glaring. Slowly, a sly smile came over his face. "Charlie, my boy, it is so nice to see you again!"

"Can't say I feel the same. What do you want?" Charlie asked. He didn't take his eyes off his family.

"You took something of mine, and I want it back."

Charlie rolled his eyes. "Emily was never yours to begin with. Why can't you just leave her alone?"

"I am going to make a deal with you," Harry said. "If you want to see your family again, you will agree to my terms."

"Charlie, don't do anything!" Sarah shouted.

Harry turned to Sarah and narrowed his eyes. "If I were you, I would stop talking... right now."

Sarah shut her mouth, forcing herself not to say something she would regret.

"Now, back to business," Harry looked at Charlie. "You're going to bring Emily back to me, and in return, you'll get your family back. However, Hope must be with you."

For a split second, Hank forgot how to breathe. Harry hadn't told him that part of the plan.

"Why Hope?" Charlie asked.

"She betrayed me, and no one does that. She's hiding somewhere, and I can't find her. If you do those two things, you will get your precious family back. Do we have an agreement?"

Charlie was quiet. He didn't know what to do. Harry had his family! He knew he must protect them, no matter what the cost.

"Deal," Charlie mumbled.

Harry grinned. "Oh, that is great to hear!" He looked at the other owls. "Now, take them away!"

"No!" Charlie cried out. He started to run after his family, but it was too late. The owls flew away, and all he could hear was his mom and sisters scream as they disappeared through the trees. For the first time in his life, he felt his eyes water.

"They'll be fine. No need to cry," Harry said, acting as if he cared. Then, his tone changed. "Three days from today, that's all I am giving you. You'd better start looking!"

Before Charlie could say a word, Harry flew away.

Thunder roared from above. Charlie gazed up at the dark gray sky, and the rain started to come down. He sat in the rain for a few minutes, letting everything that had just happened soak in.

There had to be a way around what Harry wanted him to do. Emily's friends wouldn't just let him hand her over. No, he had to go to them and explain what happened.

With that in mind, Charlie took a deep breath and darted in the direction of the field. While he ran, he thought of ways to convince Emily and her friends to help him. Hopefully, it would be easy.

# CHAPTER 10

Meanwhile, back at the humans' house, Andy ran for his life.

He turned a corner and slid across the hallway floor. When he got up, he saw that the big black animal had found him.

The unknown creature stood there, waiting for Andy to move.

Andy slowly stepped back, watching the animal come toward him.

"There's nowhere else to go," the animal said in a deep voice.

The back door flew open, followed by a gust of heavy rain.

Josh hurried inside the house and slammed the door. Before he could take his backpack off, Andy ran toward him, calling out his name. The family's new pet cat, Max, was chasing after him.

Josh bent down, and Andy leaped into his hands.

Max crashed into the chairs, almost knocking one over. He got up, looked innocently at Josh and cried, "Meow."

Josh kicked at Max. "Get out of here, you stupid cat!"

Max jumped up, barely missing Josh's foot. He scurried into the other room.

Josh looked at Andy with a frown. "What did I tell you about getting out of your cage? My mom will only let me keep you guys as long as she doesn't see you."

Andy pouted. "Sorry. Who was that, anyway?"

"Oh, I probably should've told you. Mom got a new cat. That was Max."

"I don't like him."

"Neither do I," Josh said. "I've never liked cats. See, that's another reason you shouldn't leave my room. Who knows what Max could do to you?"

Josh ran up the stairs while holding Andy. He entered his room and saw the cat sitting on his bed, staring at Emily. She stood frozen in the corner of the cage.

George glared at Josh and then back at Max. "We have an intruder. What in the world is it?"

Josh rushed to his bed and pushed Max off. He placed Andy down and closed his bedroom door after Max ran out.

"Mom wanted a cat. That's Max," Josh finally answered.

George rolled his eyes. "That's so nice of your mom. I should thank her."

Josh took Emily out of the cage. She was still a little frightened. He put her on the bed next to her brother. Being next to Andy did calm her down a bit.

"Hey, what about me?" George crossed his arms. "You can't leave me in here all the time, you know."

Josh sighed and opened George's cage. He placed George next to the spiders on his bed. "Behave or you're going into your ball."

George crawled over to the pillows and snuggled against them. They were soft and cozy, much better than his cage.

Amy barged into the room and rushed over to the bed. "Oh, they're out!" She hopped up and sat by the pillows, ignoring the fact she sat on George.

George screamed. "You're sitting on me! Get off!"

Amy scooted over and glanced down at the hamster. "Oh, sorry. I didn't see you there."

"You were trying to squish me!"

"Oh, I would never do a thing like that, silly!"

George's eyes widen. Just as he was about to nibble on Amy's favorite pair of jeans, Josh picked him up and put him back into the cage. George was safer in there when Amy was around.

Emily watched out the window as the rain started to slow down. As soon as the sun was shining, she wanted to go outside. She had been stuck in the house for the past few weeks, and she wanted to get some fresh air.

"Let's go outside for a while," Emily told the kids.

Amy sighed and crossed her arms. "Ugh, but it's so wet out!"

Josh sighed. "No one said you had to tag along."

"Oh, whatever. I'll just stay on the patio where it's dry."

Josh couldn't stand his sister when she complained. He grabbed Andy, and Amy picked up Emily. They left the room and went downstairs.

Mom was in the kitchen getting dinner ready. The aroma of meatballs filled the air.

"Where are you two going?" Mom asked. She turned away from the stove. When she saw the spiders, she almost screamed. "What are you doing with those things?"

Amy's jaw dropped. "They aren't things!"

Josh interrupted his sister and told his mom they were going to go out on the patio for a while until dinner was ready. Mom shook her head with disapproval and turned back to the stove. The spiders gave her the creeps.

When the kids were outside, they placed the spiders on the patio table and sat on the chairs. Josh tilted his head back and gazed up at the sky. He saw an owl flying in their direction. He recognized who it was.

Josh spun around in the chair. "Here comes Tami."

Within moments, Tami flew down and landed on the table. Sam was resting on her back.

"Where have you been? You've been gone for days!" Andy said with worry.

"I've been around," Tami said. "But I'm afraid we have a problem to deal with."

"Yeah, a big problem!" Sam repeated.

A voice yelled out from a short distance.

Emily smiled. "It's Charlie!"

"The squirrel who helped save you?" Andy asked.

Emily nodded. However, her smile faded when she saw the expression on Charlie's face. Something was wrong.

Emily jumped down from the table. For once, she didn't worry if Harry and his friends were hiding nearby. She had to know what was wrong with Charlie.

She rushed over to her friend. "What's wrong?"

Charlie had a hard time catching his breath. He had been running nonstop. "They took them," he was finally able to say.

Andy jumped down and joined them. "Who took who?"

Charlie was now calmed down. "Harry took them. He took everyone! Mom, Sarah, and Casey."

# CHAPTER 11

Emily was speechless. Why would Harry take Charlie's family? What was he planning on doing with them? She hated to think of anything terrible happening to anyone.

"When did this happen?" Andy asked.

Charlie jumped onto one of the empty chairs. "Not too long ago. It wasn't just Harry, either. Hank was with him and a few others I've never seen before."

"I don't understand," Josh said. "Why would he want your family?"

Charlie looked at Emily and said, "Because I am the reason Emily escaped."

Everyone turned their attention to Emily. She didn't move. She looked as if she had seen a ghost.

Emily blinked and stared at her brother. "This can't be happening. He still wants me! That's why he took Charlie's family! He wants a trade!"

Amy was almost on the verge of tears. "Please tell me she's wrong, Charlie."

"No," Charlie said. "He said I can have my family back when I bring Emily to him."

Tami flapped her wings. "That owl has lost his mind!"

Charlie sighed. He knew they weren't going to like the next thing he was going to tell them. "That's not all."

"What?" Emily asked. She didn't want to hear any more bad news.

"He wants Hope, too."

"She's hiding from him," Tami informed them. "Everyone in the woods knows that. No one betrays Harry and gets away with it. It's going to be hard to find her."

"We're not taking Emily to him!" Andy yelled.

"Yes, we are," Emily said.

All eyes focused on her.

Andy shook his head. He couldn't believe she would agree to this. "No way!"

"Andy, yes. I owe it to Charlie. He saved my life, remember?" Emily said calmly.

Andy didn't care what his sister said. He wouldn't let anything happen to her. Even if everyone thought he was being selfish, it didn't matter to him.

"Andy," Tami said, "this is up to Emily. If she decides she wants to go, she won't be alone. We will go with her."

"Harry only gave me three days," Charlie added. He turned to Tami and asked, "Do you have any idea where Hope could be hiding?"

Tami frowned. Harry knew the woods far too well, so Hope would be skipping from one new place to another.

"My family is doomed," Charlie said, his voice above a whisper.

"No, they aren't!" Emily shouted. "We will find her and rescue your family! We have three days, right? We can start tomorrow, after we figure out some sort of plan."

Andy still did not like what he was hearing.

Josh and Amy's mom opened the back door and announced dinner was ready. Oddly enough, she didn't seem to notice her children were having conversations with animals.

"Can I stay with you guys tonight?" Charlie asked.

"I don't think Mom will let us bring a squirrel into the house," Josh said.

"I'll stay out here."

Tami told them she was going into the woods to seek out news regarding Hope or Charlie's family. She flew away with Sam.

Charlie found a spot by the side of the house next to a row of bushes. He lay down, made sure he was hidden and drifted off to sleep.

# CHAPTER 12

Later that night, Tami perched upon the tree branch outside of Josh's bedroom window.

George was in his ball chasing Amy around the room. Josh lay on his bed with the spiders, his eyes glued to the television.

Amy hopped on the bed to escape from George.

Tap tap.

Amy saw Tami at the window and opened it.

Before anyone could ask Tami if she'd found out anything, she told everyone she had no leads. No one knew anything, or if they did, they were keeping quiet.

"Wait, what's going on?" George asked.

Amy rolled her eyes and explained the story to George.

George sighed. "See, that's why I mind my own business!"

"No, you don't!" Amy jumped off the bed and kicked the ball across the room. George screamed as it crashed against the wall.

Josh ran over to George and took him out of the ball. "You know, you two really need to get along." He placed the hamster back into his cage.

George stumbled into the corner and passed out.

"We'll never get along," Amy crossed her arms. "I just never see it happening... ever!"

"So, what's the plan for tomorrow?" Andy asked. He was still not convinced bringing Emily to Harry was a good idea.

Tami looked at the children. "Can you please bring Andy and Emily outside in the morning before you leave for school?"

"Mom is gonna want to know why we're bringing the spiders outside, ya know," Amy said. She put her hand on her hip.

Josh laughed. "Mom isn't gonna be a problem. She'll probably think we got rid of them." He put the spiders back into the cage and placed several books on top of the lid. The last thing he needed was Andy trying to escape.

Amy left the room, and Josh watched television until he dozed off.

During the night, Emily kept waking up. She was so worried about tomorrow. Besides that, she couldn't fall asleep with her brother snoring.

Emily sneaked over to Andy and poked him. "Wake up," she whispered.

Andy would not move. No matter how many times she poked him, she couldn't wake him up.

Emily stared out the window and looked at the bright, full moon. She turned back to her brother and he was frozen like a statue. His eyes were wide open with fear, focusing on something behind her.

Emily rose an eyebrow and turned around to see what Andy was looking at. Her heart began to beat faster.

Harry was outside the window, gazing at her. He wore a wicked grin.

"I found you," Harry said in an evil tone. He threw himself at the window.

Emily screamed!

Her eyes flashed opened. In a split second, Andy was next to her. She looked around frantically, afraid she was going to see Harry.

The night lamp turned on.

"It's okay. You were having a bad dream," Andy said, rubbing Emily's back.

Tears flowed out of Emily's eyes. "It was Harry. He was coming for me."

Andy hugged his sister.

George rubbed his eyes and stared at everyone. "What's with the screaming? You're ruining my beauty sleep."

The door flew open, and Amy stood in the doorway. "What happened? I heard a scream."

"She had a nightmare about Harry," Andy said.

Amy pouted her lips and rushed over to the spiders. "Are you okay?" she asked Emily.

Emily took a deep breath and nodded.

George rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm not okay. Why don't we all go back to sleep?"

Amy turned to George. Her eyes seemed ready to bulge out of her head. "You're so mean! We should let George go out with them tomorrow. Maybe he can get lost and never come back!"

"I don't think so," Josh said.

George looked at Amy with a cheesy smile on his face. "Nice try."

Amy stuck her tongue out at George, and he chuckled. She threw her arms down. "Ugh!" She stormed out of the room and slammed the door.

Andy looked at his sister with worry. "Are you okay to go back to sleep?"

"Yeah," Emily said softly.

Josh turned off the lamp, and Andy rested next to his sister.

Emily stared out the window. The night sky was exactly how it had appeared in her dream. She closed her eyes, hoping this time, she would have good dreams.

# CHAPTER 13

Later that night...

Casey snuggled against her mother and looked at her with sad eyes. "Mom, I'm scared."

Dani put her arm around her daughter and pulled her close. "I know, dear. Everything will be fine."

"Stop being a baby," Sarah said. All day long, she'd heard her sister complain about being scared, and she couldn't take any more of it.

"Sarah!" Dani scolded.

"Oh, come on! Charlie will come for us. There's nothing to worry about."

At that moment, Harry landed on the tree branch, which was attached to the large nest the squirrels were in.

Harry smiled evilly, his eyes locked on Sarah. "You're a firecracker, aren't you? Not afraid of anything?"

Sarah stood up proudly. "You got that right!"

Harry stepped a foot closer. He saw the fear in her eyes. She hid it from her family, but he was no fool.

Sarah ducked down as Harry hovered over her.

"Now are you scared?" Harry sneered.

When Sarah didn't say anything, Harry backed away with a satisfied grin.

"Charlie will come for us! You're gonna be in big trouble!" Sarah shouted.

"I don't doubt him. As long as he brings me what I want, you'll go home safely." Harry flew to the next tree where the other owls were resting.

Sarah tightened her lips. Why did this owl think he was so special? An idea suddenly popped in her head. Her mom and sister weren't going to like it, but oh well.

"We can probably run down this tree and run away as fast as we can," Sarah whispered low enough so the owls couldn't hear.

"No," Dani said. "Let's not make things worse."

Sarah narrowed her eyes. If they weren't going to go with her, she would go by herself and bring Charlie to them.

Pretending to give up, Sarah lay back down and watched their kidnappers carefully. None of the owls were paying any attention to them. She knew she could get away!

Without warning, Sarah jumped over Casey and her mom. She darted down the tree.

Unfortunately, Harry witnessed it all. "Get her!" he yelled. "Don't just sit there, you goons!"

One of the owls flew down the tree and snatched Sarah right before she reached the ground. Sarah screamed and squirmed all the way back up to her family.

Harry flew over to the squirrels with Hank by his side.

"What a brave girl you are," Harry said to Sarah. "You know I can't have you running away. It will ruin everything." He looked at Hank and said, "Watch them."

"Me?" Hank said, his voice shaky. "Why do I have to be their babysitter?"

"If you had watched Emily that night and not fallen asleep, we wouldn't be in this mess," Harry said. "Think of this as your punishment."

Harry flew back to the other tree before Hank could utter a word.

Sarah crossed her arms. "You're just going to let him boss you around?"

"Sarah, be quiet and go to sleep," Dani said.

Hank sat in front of the squirrels. "Listen to your mother."

# CHAPTER 14

The next morning, the kids rushed out the back door before their parents woke up. The less their parents knew, the better.

They ran to the side of the house where Tami, Sam, and Charlie waited.

Josh and Amy placed the spiders on the ground next to the others.

"We have to get back in before Mom and Dad wake up," Josh told his sister.

Amy tried her best to keep the tears from flowing, but she couldn't. "Please be careful out there. I don't want anything bad happening to any of you."

Josh shook his head and reached for Amy's arm. "C'mon. They'll be fine." He looked down at Tami. "Take care of them."

Tami nodded with a slight smile.

Josh pulled Amy back into the house. She watched her new friends as they ventured off into the field.

*****

"We're going to meet up with two of my closest friends," Tami told everyone as they traveled through the woods. "They will be a great help to us."

Charlie frowned. He was still nervous they wouldn't find Hope and get to his family in time.

When afternoon arrived, they arrived at a stream.

"I think it's time for a break," Tami said.

When Andy saw the water, his mouth felt dry. He ran toward the stream for a nice, long drink, but the ground underneath him disappeared. He screamed and tumbled down a narrow, deep hole.

When Andy reached the bottom, he looked up to see everyone peering down at him.

"Andy, are you okay?" Tami yelled.

Andy felt a little embarrassed. "Yeah, the ground broke my fall."

Sam chuckled.

"Can you climb out?" Emily asked with worry.

Andy jumped the best as he could and tried to grab hold of something. The dirt was loose, and he lost his grip. He tumbled back down. "I can't get out!"

"The hole is too tiny for me to go in and grab you," Tami said.

"Aren't there any rocks you can climb up on?" Sam asked.

Charlie peered down the hole. He turned to Emily and asked, "Why don't you spin a web and yank him out?"

Emily wasn't so sure. She'd never spun a web that far out before, but it was worth a try. She looked down the hole to see how deep it was.

"Andy, when you see my string, grab hold of it and try to climb up while I pull."

"Okay, but hurry! I feel like I'm being suffocated down here!" Andy shouted.

Emily tried several times to shoot a web far enough so Andy could get hold of it, but she had no luck.

_Why couldn't Andy watch where he was going?_ Charlie thought to himself.

"Got it!" Andy suddenly yelled.

Relief flew through Charlie, and he looked down the hole. He watched as Andy slowly made his way up while Emily pulled.

As Andy was about to reach the top, Charlie noticed Andy was losing his grip. Charlie reacted fast and reached his arm into the hole. He grabbed Andy before he fell back down and pulled him to safety.

Andy looked at his rescuer. "Thank you."

"Just watch where you're going next time, okay?" Charlie said.

Emily tried to catch her breath. She never realized how strong she was, and she suddenly felt good about herself.

Andy patted his sister on the back. "Thanks!"

The spiders and the squirrel jumped across the rocks in the stream to get to the other side. Tami easily flew across with Sam on her shoulder. Before they left the stream, Andy made sure to quench his thirst.

The sun began to descend, leaving a golden sunset in the sky. Tami decided it was time to rest for the night.

Emily spun a web to catch dinner while Charlie climbed up a tree to find food for himself.

Tami snuggled up against the bottom of a tree. She felt weary.

Emily noticed how exhausted Tami looked. "Are you okay?"

Tami smiled faintly. "Yes, I'm just tired. I feel so young at heart, but my body doesn't agree."

Something then caught Emily's attention. She looked at her web and Andy was taking her fresh food. Didn't she already have a talk with him about stealing her food?

Emily rushed over to the web. "What do you think you're doing?" She knocked Andy out of her way before he could enjoy his stolen dinner.

Andy moaned. "But I'm hungry! Aren't you going to share?"

Emily grinned and shoved the bug into her mouth.

Andy heard the food crunching in her mouth, and his stomach rumbled even more. He sighed and took a seat next to Tami and Sam.

Charlie ran down the tree with a nut in his mouth. "There are hardly any nuts anywhere." He cracked open the nut and began to eat.

As Charlie ate, something fell from the sky and hit him on his head.

A sweet voice called from above, "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

When Charlie looked up, there was a pretty squirrel sitting upon a tree branch. She hurried down the tree.

Charlie felt shy for the first time in his life.

"Are you okay?" she repeated.

"Yeah," Charlie whispered so low that no one could hear.

Emily ran to the squirrels. "His name is Charlie. I'm sorry, he isn't normally like this. He's actually very vocal!"

The squirrel smiled. "I'm sorry about that nut, Charlie. I thought I had a good hold of it. I'm Jessie. Can't you talk?"

Charlie nodded.

Everyone introduced themselves to Jessie.

"Oh, wait a minute," Jessie said. "I think I heard something about you guys. Aren't you the ones looking for the family Harry kidnapped?"

"That's my family," Charlie said. "Have you heard anything?"

Jessie shook her head. "I'm sorry. I just overheard some rabbits talking about it. Do you guys need more help? I don't like Harry at all. Someone has to stand up to him!"

"We can use all the help we can get," Tami said.

Tami told Jessie the whole story so she could understand everything better. When she finished, Jessie hugged Charlie. Charlie froze, not knowing how to react.

Emily began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Andy asked his sister.

"I think Charlie is in love," Emily whispered.

"Ew, gross."

Jessie broke the hug and faced everyone. "Count me in!"

"Thank you, Jessie. That's very kind of you," Tami said.

Charlie felt butterflies in his stomach. Besides his family, he'd never had contact with other girls. This was going to be new to him, and he hoped he wouldn't embarrass himself in front of Jessie.

# CHAPTER 15

Sam stared at the bright full moon in the sky. Its shine was the only light they had to use. Even though the day had been long, he found himself bored. Tami always used to tell him stories of what her life was like before she met him. They were adventurous, and he couldn't believe how many animals she had met in her lifetime.

"Can you tell us one of your stories?" Sam asked Tami.

"Yeah, what about Harry?" Andy asked. "What's his problem?"

Tami took a deep breath. "No one knows."

Andy looked at Tami with a raised eyebrow.

Tami smiled and said, "Harry grew up with loving parents and a few brothers and sisters. He was the odd ball of the bunch, you could say. He never listened and always got into trouble." Tami paused for a few seconds. "A long time ago, I knew his sister. She was terrified of him. He always bullied her until one day she'd had enough and flew off. I never saw her again."

Emily saw a single tear in Tami's eye. "Are you okay, Tami?"

"Oh, yes. I'm fine. I'm just remembering all the stories she told me about him. It's something I never wanted to think about."

Emily nudged her brother. "Good going asking about Harry, dummy."

"What?" Andy said defensively. "I'm just curious, that's all."

When Andy turned away from his sister, something caught his attention. Coming at them was a flock of small, white flashing lights.

Andy pointed. "Um, what's that?"

"Okay, that is something you don't see every day," Emily said.

As the lights got closer, Jessie giggled.

"What's so funny?" Charlie asked.

Jessie couldn't believe no one could figure it out—not even Tami! "There is nothing to be afraid of. Those are fireflies! They're harmless little things."

Soon the fireflies hovered over them. White specks of light reflected off everyone's faces.

Sam couldn't take his eyes off the fireflies. "Pretty."

The fireflies began to speak in high-pitched voices, all saying, "Hi!" at the same time.

Three of the fireflies appeared in front of the others.

"We have news," the first firefly said.

The other two fireflies repeated what the first one said.

"What kind of news?" Charlie asked. He hoped they knew something about his mother and sisters.

The second firefly said, "Your family."

"Yes, your family. They are safe," the third firefly said.

Charlie frowned. "Where are they?"

The first firefly hovered over Charlie. "Up, high in the sky."

"The owl that is missing is not missing," the third firefly said.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked. "If she's not missing, where is she?"

"Shadows," all the fireflies said at once. They flew up into the sky and repeated "shadows" over and over as they flew away.

"Wow, that was weird," Andy said.

Tami shook her head in disbelief. "Fireflies aren't the smartest creatures."

Jessie saw the pained look on Charlie's face. She put her paw on his back, but he shoved her away. He quickly darted up a tree without saying a word.

She wanted to chase after Charlie, but Tami stepped in front of her. "He'll be okay, dear," Tami said. "Just give him some time."

Jessie half-smiled and turned the other away.

*****

Hope watched the scene very carefully. All day long, she'd made sure none of them knew she was following them.

She watched the fireflies leave and overheard everything. Her muscles tightened. Those fireflies could have blown her cover since they knew she was near. Why did those pesky insects have to be so nosy?

Since the time Emily and her friends had come back into the woods, Hope had been watching them. She knew they were looking for her. Hope had already heard about Harry's latest scheme. He wanted her. She knew it would happen eventually. From the first time Hope met Harry, he had never let anyone betray him and get away with it. Yes, she would have to face him, but it would be in her own time. However, time was running out.

# CHAPTER 16

Gloomy clouds filled the sky when everyone woke up the next morning.

Emily breathed in the morning air and smiled. "It smells like rain."

"Oh, it better not! It would slow us down," Andy said.

Tami gazed up at the sky. "Emily's right. We should get going now before the rain starts."

"So, where do we go?" Charlie asked. They were losing more time as each minute passed by.

"To see a very good friend of mine. He's usually helpful," Tami answered.

_Someone around here has to be,_ Charlie thought to himself.

Noticing the tension in Charlie, Jessie walked up to him, hoping this time he wouldn't shove her away.

"May I walk with you?" Jessie asked.

"Sure," Charlie said, barely above a whisper.

"You know, I could understand you a lot better if you spoke up more."

Before Charlie could respond, rain started to fall, and it came down fast.

"We need to find cover!" Andy shouted.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Oh, you big baby. It's only water!"

Within moments, thunder roared, and the rain came down even harder.

"We can get washed away if it keeps raining like this!" Andy cried.

Everyone walked faster, hoping to find somewhere to get dry.

Within seconds, the rain stopped as fast as it had started. The clouds broke apart, and the sun shined brightly.

This made Andy much happier, and he suddenly got a burst of energy. He turned toward his sister and asked, "How about a race?"

Emily sighed. "No, thanks. I think we are done with that game. Remember last time?"

"Yeah, Andy. We need to keep moving," Sam said while stretching out his body. He felt cramped since he hadn't had a chance to stretch his legs out in a long time.

"C'mon. On the count of three, just race me, okay? One... two... three... Go!" Andy took off and ran past everyone.

Emily didn't run with him. He turned back and saw Emily standing with the others.

"Why aren't you racing? I'll let you win!" Andy shouted. He honestly just wanted to have some fun and forget for a moment about Harry wanting to take away his sister.

"Andy, look out behind you!" Sam shouted.

Andy turned around and found himself face-to-face with a long, black tail, pointing straight up. Before he could move, the tail released a horrible stench.

Andy coughed uncontrollably. He couldn't catch his breath. That creature had sprayed something on him, and its smell was something he'd never come across before.

The others darted toward Andy, but stepped back when they smelled the foul odor.

Tami tried waving the smell away from her. "Don't you look before you spray?"

The skunk turned around with a big smile. "Tami! Glad you made it!"

Charlie and Jessie plugged their nose. That smell was not going away.

"Oh, that is disgusting," Jessie said.

"How do you think I feel?" Andy yelled. "He sprayed that stuff right on me!"

"Oh, sorry, mate," the skunk said with a strange accent. He sniffed the air. "That smell is outrageous, isn't it? I can't stand it myself."

Andy spun around to Tami. "You know this guy?"

"Yes, he's my friend I told you all about." Tami looked at the skunk. "Everyone, this is Jack."

Jack said hello to everyone.

"How is he going to help us?" Charlie asked.

Jack grabbed his tail and petted it. "This, my friend, is my deadly weapon. My spray turns everyone away, as you can tell."

"Psh. You got that right," Andy said.

"Don't worry, mate. That smell will go away... eventually," Jack said. "But there is something else I can do, something no other skunk can do."

"Oh, really," Emily said, a tad bit annoyed with the situation. "What else are you capable of?"

Jack jumped up high, kicked his leg out and pretended to punch something that was invisible.

Everyone watched Jack, dumbfounded with what they saw him do.

Tami whispered to everyone, "He thinks he knows karate. Just agree with him."

"How do you like that? I've got more moves if you would like to see them," Jack said proudly.

"No!" Everyone shouted.

"It's okay, we believe you," Sam snickered. "You don't have to show us."

Jack shrugged.

"Well, Jack," Charlie said. "Do you have any idea where we can find Hope?"

"There are some possible places where she could be," Jack said.

"We had a strange lead last night," Tami began to say. "A group of fireflies said Hope wasn't missing, and they kept repeating the word 'shadows.'"

"Shadows?" Jack giggled. "Those little things never make any sense. Their voices are quite disturbing, too."

Charlie couldn't have agreed more.

# CHAPTER 17

Jack stayed behind the group as they followed Tami. "So, where are we off to now, mates?" he asked in a bubbly voice.

"Why do you always say mates?" Emily asked.

Andy snickered.

"It's just something I've always said," Jack looked at Andy and tilted his head to the side. "You don't like me very much, do you?"

Andy narrowed his eyes. "Not until this smell goes away."

"I truly am sorry about that, mate. I will be more careful next time."

"Yeah, save that weapon of yours for Harry," Jessie said.

"I'm afraid you're going to need a lot more than my spray and my awesome karate moves to defeat that owl."

Tami stopped where she was and turned to Jack. "I do not want to defeat anyone. I just want to get Charlie's family back."

Andy wanted to argue. Did Tami forget Harry wanted Emily, too? If they didn't defeat Harry, how would Emily be safe? Deciding not to cause any worry to the others, he kept his feelings to himself. No matter what happened, he would protect Emily, even if he had to do it by himself.

"Hey, no one answered me," Jack interrupted. "Where are we going?"

"I have another friend who can help us," Tami said.

Andy grabbed several bugs that were walking on the ground and shoved them into his mouth. He engulfed them instantly. He didn't like catching food this way, but he was starving.

Jessie watched Andy swallow the insects and was disgusted.

Andy noticed the dreadful look Jessie gave him. "They're very delicious!" he told her.

Jack unexpectedly stopped walking and observed his surroundings. "This place looks awfully familiar."

"Yeah, about that..." Tami suddenly heard her name being called from behind her.

When Jack saw who was coming at them, his face turned beet red. He took a deep breath to calm himself down.

A porcupine came out from a hole in the ground and greeted everyone with a smile. Although, when he saw Jack, his smile grew bigger. "Well, well, well. Jack, it's been so long. How have you been?"

Jack did not answer.

"Still holding that grudge against me?"

Andy leaned into Tami and asked, "What grudge is he talking about?"

"Something that happened years ago," Tami said.

Jack snapped himself out of it. He decided the best way to go about this was to act as if nothing was bothering him.

"Hello, mate," Jack said.

"Everyone, this is Carl." Tami took her time and introduced Carl to everyone. After she was done, she said to Carl, "I've come for a favor, actually. It's a big one."

"I know all about it," Carl said. "You know everyone gossips around here. Harry has the boy's family." Carl pointed to Charlie.

"Do you know anything?" Charlie asked, sounding hopeful.

"No, but I do know of a way to banish Harry from these woods forever."

Emily perked up. This was great news!

Carl explained, "You see, there's a legend about a coyote who doesn't live too far from here. He's the ruler of the woods, so to speak."

Jack didn't believe him. He wished Carl would speak the truth for once. "A legend? Really? You can't be serious. Even if what you say is true, why didn't this coyote banish Harry a long time ago?"

Carl waved his finger at him. "No, that's not how it works. The coyote doesn't bother with anyone. If you need something, you have to go to him."

Tami brushed her wing over her face. "This is something new to me."

"Yeah, but it doesn't mean it's not true," Carl said.

Jack felt his temperature rising. "Of course it's not true! The truth never comes out of his mouth!"

"I'm not lying! What do you know, anyway?"

Jack leaped onto Carl and knocked him to the ground.

Tami watched her two friends tumble across the grass. "Okay, you two, that's enough!"

Jack jumped off Carl and stuck his butt in his face. The skunk laughed and he sprayed Carl.

Carl stepped back and coughed.

Everyone else held their breath.

While Jack sat there laughing hysterically, Carl sprang back up and jumped onto Jack. Carl released his quills, and many of them hooked onto Jack, digging deep into his skin.

Jack leaped back, screaming in pain. This time, Carl was laughing.

"Spray me and I stick you!" Carl shouted.

Andy was impressed with Carl. The porcupine was going to come in handy with the owls.

Jessie and Emily rushed over to Jack.

Sharp pains coursed through Jack's body.

Emily's eyes grew big. "Wow, you must have fifty of those things in you!"

"Please, get them out!" Jack cried out in pain. "I can't take this!"

Carl grinned. "Not so tough now, are you?"

Jessie studied Jack. She had to get those quills out of him, and she had to do it fast. Without warning Jack, she began plucking them out.

When Jessie was done, Jack rolled over onto his back. The pain was still there; however, it had subsided a little bit. He was relieved.

"You two owe each other an apology," Tami said. He kept her eyes locked on Jack and Carl.

Jack sat down with his arms crossed against his chest. He turned his head away from Carl.

Carl grinned. "Yeah Jack, say you're sorry!"

"No," Tami said. "The both of you. You are both guilty."

Carl rolled his eyes. "I'll be the better one and say it first." He looked at Jack and with a sweet smile said, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry," Jack mumbled.

"Now, Carl, please be serious," Tami said in a sharp tone. "Are you telling the truth about this coyote?"

"Of course! Tami, I would never lie to you!" Carl insisted.

"Does the coyote always help out when he's asked to?" Emily asked.

"I only know about the legend," Carl said. "Not really sure if he will help us or not. If we leave now, we can make it there by sunset."

Jack slowly sat up and glared at Carl. "I don't believe this silly legend."

"I just want my family back," Charlie said. "If we can't find Hope, then we need a backup plan. This is the best option we have."

Jack whimpered. "I can barely move."

"Oh, yeah? Well, I smell like rotten garbage. I think we're even, don't you agree?" Carl said.

"Fine. We're even, mate."

Carl narrowed his eyes. "Don't call me mate."

Jack grinned. "Mate."

# CHAPTER 18

After wandering through the woods for several hours, Jack wanted to take a break. He still ached from the quills. "Are you sure you know where this place is?" he asked Carl.

"I'm looking for a certain landmark," Carl said.

"Perhaps you should tell us what we are looking for," Tami said.

"It's a long, deep cave. There's a tree on each side, full of bright blue leaves. You can't miss it."

Jack laughed. "Blue leaves? C'mon, you guys! You really want to waste any more time believing him?"

Carl stopped in his tracks and turned around to face Jack.

Everyone watched them, unsure if they were going to end up in another brawl.

"You still don't believe me, do you?" Carl asked. "How about a bet?"

Jack grinned. "What are the stakes?"

"If I find this place, you have to lick these babies for ten seconds." Carl sat down and held up his back feet. They were covered with dirt and dead bugs.

Jack felt as if he was going to gag. "What if I'm right? Which I already know I am."

"I'll owe you any favor, anytime you ask."

"I can agree to that."

"I hope you enjoy eating the dirt off my feet."

Andy shook his head. He wished he knew why those two didn't get along. It had to be an interesting story.

While the others began to walk away, Andy heard a faint buzzing sound. He looked around, but couldn't tell where it came from.

"Do any of you hear that?" Andy asked.

Everyone stopped and turned back to Andy.

"Hear what?" Emily asked.

Buzz buzz buzz.

Andy looked up and saw a bees' nest dangling from a tree branch.

Emily saw it, too. But when she saw the amused look on Andy's face, she became worried. "Don't even think about it."

Andy jumped onto the tree and climbed up to the nest. He couldn't stop staring at it. Then, without thinking, Andy poked the nest, and it swayed back and forth.

"Andy!" Sam yelled from below. "Don't make them mad!" He covered his eyes.

Andy poked the nest again, ignoring his friend's pleas. This time, he poked too hard, and it crashed to the ground.

Everyone froze.

One bee remained, and it stared hard at Andy.

Andy gulped and smiled innocently at the bee. "Sorry."

The bee flew after him with his stinger ready to attack. Andy raced down the tree and ran past everyone without hesitating.

Hundreds of bees flew out of the nest. Everyone darted off after Andy, trying to escape the bees.

"Ow! One stung me!" Andy screamed.

Just then, the bees froze in midair and flew away in the opposite direction.

Everyone stopped running and watched the bees disappear.

Andy pointed straight ahead. "Look!"

Jack gasped. "Oh, no."

Ahead of them was a cave with a big tree on each side, full of bright blue leaves. It was exactly the way Carl had described it.

Carl felt victory! He plopped down in front of Jack, waved his back legs in the air and smiled.

Jack shook his head. "I am not putting my face anywhere near your feet!"

Carl rolled his eyes. "Can't keep your end of the bet, can you?"

Jack knew Carl would never leave him be if he didn't complete the bet. Jack frowned and stepped a foot closer. Carl still lay there with his feet dangling in the air. Jack closed his eyes and licked Carl's feet for one second.

"Oh, come on now!" Carl yelled. "That's not long enough!"

Jack wiped the dirt off his mouth. "So? We don't even know if there is a coyote in there!"

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Charlie said and headed toward the cave.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Jessie grabbed the stinger out of Andy.

"Ow!" Andy screeched. "You could have warned me first!"

Jessie shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "You're welcome."

Emily glanced around. There was no sign of any life. No bugs crawling along the ground and no birds flying in the sky. It was as if everyone was afraid to come near the cave.

Carl was excited. "What are we waiting out here for? Let's go!" He followed Charlie toward the cave. When no one followed him, he turned back around. "Do you want Harry gone, or not?"

Everyone slowly followed Charlie and Carl into the cave.

Once inside the cave, Jack noticed it was empty. "So, where is this so-called ruler?"

A deep voice called out, "Who dares to come in here?"

No one knew what to say.

Charlie shoved Carl toward the voice.

The porcupine cleared his throat. "We've come for help."

A pair of bright yellow eyes appeared through the darkness. Slowly, the coyote came into view. "No one ever comes in here."

Charlie came forward. "Harry kidnapped my family."

"That old owl? I'm surprised he's still around."

"Can you help?" Andy asked.

The coyote tilted his head to the side. "And what do you expect me to do?"

"Legend says you can banish anyone from the woods," Carl said. He hoped what he had told everyone was true.

The coyote chuckled. "You have it wrong. I enforce banishment, not create it. Everyone in these woods must come together and agree upon the banishment."

"And how do you expect us to do that?" Jack asked. It seemed impossible!

"It is up to you to find out," the coyote said.

"Well, so much for this idea!" Charlie threw his hands up in the air. "How are we going to find Hope by tomorrow?"

"Ah, Hope," the coyote said. "If you keep your eyes open, you will find her."

The coyote turned around and began to walk away.

"Can't you do anything to help?" Charlie yelled.

Jessie stood next to Charlie. "Let's not make him mad."

"But..."

The coyote leaped at them and growled loudly, showing his sharp, pointed teeth.

Everyone screamed and scampered out of the cave.

# CHAPTER 19

Hope rested high in a tree. She watched everyone run out of the cave, screaming like maniacs. She gave them a lot of credit. They were trying very hard to do what they must to defeat Harry.

It was time to visit Harry and his friends. She wanted to make sure the squirrels were still all right.

Hope landed on a tree that was close to the squirrels and watched them.

Casey snuggled against her mother with tears flooding her eyes. "Charlie isn't coming."

"Yes, he will!" Sarah shouted. "Just wait and see!"

"But tomorrow is almost here!"

Hank had been watching the squirrels for the past two days. How could Harry do this to him? After all he had done for him, this was how Harry treated him?

"Just please stop whining!" Hank scolded Casey.

"Why don't you let us go?" Sarah said. "Harry doesn't care about you. Why are you even listening to him?"

Hank's eyes grew wide. "If you don't be quiet, I will make you!"

Sarah grinned. "Yeah, because I'm so afraid of you!" She then felt the branch shake and saw Harry had came for a visit.

"Now Hank, don't do anything stupid," Harry warned. He turned to the girls and smiled. "How are my favorite squirrels? Tomorrow's the day. I don't think poor Charlie is going to deliver on time."

Sarah narrowed her eyes. "He'll be here."

Harry laughed. "We'll see about that." Smiling, he coasted back to the other tree.

Sarah clenched her teeth. "I can't stay here anymore! I have to go find Charlie and bring him here!"

Hank coughed. "I'm right here you know. Did you forget about that? You're not going anywhere."

"And what do you think you're going to do?"

"Try me."

With a wide smile, Sarah jumped onto Hank and bit him.

Hank screamed.

Sarah ran past him and darted down the tree. She ran without looking back, hoping the owls wouldn't catch her.

Her family watched in fear as Sarah disappeared into the woods.

Harry saw everything, but instead of getting mad, he was happy. His plan was working better than he had thought.

One of the other owls asked Harry, "Aren't we going to go after her?"

Harry grinned. "Don't worry about her. She'll be back."

Hope couldn't believe her eyes. Harry was actually letting that squirrel escape without doing anything about it? He was up to something. She had to catch Sarah.

The little squirrel ran as fast as she could. She was afraid to stop in case the owls were chasing her.

Sarah ran until her legs buckled underneath her. She collapsed to the ground and rested for a while. Looking up at the sky, she saw the sun had begun to descend. There wasn't much time left to find Charlie.

"Hey there," an unfamiliar voice said out of nowhere.

Sarah turned in every direction. "Who's that?"

"Don't be afraid, okay? I'm not going to hurt you."

Sarah saw an owl appear from behind a tree and suddenly felt the urge to attack.

Hope held up her wing. "Wait, now. I said I'm not here to hurt you."

"What do you want?" Sarah asked. Her body trembled.

"I know where your brother is. I can take you to him."

Sarah smiled. "You're the owl my brother needs to find!"

"Yes, I'm aware. I've been keeping an eye on them. They're fine."

"Them?"

"Charlie and his friends. You'll see."

They traveled together in silence. Sarah was curious about Hope and why Harry wanted her so badly.

"Why does Harry want you?" Sarah asked.

"You're nosy," Hope said.

"Nope, just curious."

The last thing Hope wanted to do was explain the whole story. A short explanation was all that was needed. "I made him mad."

"Why?"

"Because I was sick of his games. I got smart, so now he's mad."

"But what about Emily? Why does he want her?"

Hope huffed and rolled her eyes. "What is this? Twenty questions?" She landed on the ground in front of Sarah.

Sarah stood there, waiting for an answer.

"Nothing has gotten away from him before," Hope said.

"I escaped him."

Hope laughed. "No, sweetie. He let you escape. There is a difference."

"So what's going to happen tomorrow? Are you going to let my brother bring you to him?"

"That's the plan."

Sarah stood on her back legs and crossed her arms. "Is he going to let my family go?"

Hope was about to take off, but instead turned to the squirrel. "I don't know. But twenty questions are now over. Can you please be quiet?"

Sarah didn't answer and continued to follow the owl in silence.

# CHAPTER 20

Night had fallen by the time Hope and Sarah found Charlie and his friends. They hid behind a tree so they wouldn't be seen.

"He sure did get a lot of new friends," Sarah whispered to herself. However, she didn't see Charlie anywhere.

Out of nowhere, Charlie appeared with another squirrel chasing after him. The unfamiliar squirrel tackled Charlie to the ground, and they rolled across the grass. Sarah did not like what she was seeing.

"Now, that's Carl, Jack, Emily, Andy..."

"Who's the other squirrel?" Sarah asked.

"Jessie. She looks like a girlfriend."

"He doesn't have a girlfriend!" Sarah darted away from Hope. She had to find out what was going on.

"Get back here!" Hope yelled.

Sarah ran toward everyone, yelling for her brother.

Charlie heard his name being called and quickly stood up. Sarah tackled her brother to the ground, before he could utter a word.

"I'm so glad I found you!" Sarah shouted.

Charlie got off the ground and embraced his sister in a big hug.

Andy ran to the squirrels. "How did you get away?" he asked Sarah.

Charlie looked around, hoping to see the rest of his family. "Where are the others?"

"Harry still has them. Only I was brave enough to run away!" Sarah said. "But don't worry, they're fine. Well, besides Casey being a little brat."

"How in the world did you know where to find us?" Tami asked Sarah.

"Well..." Sarah stopped when she noticed everyone was staring at something behind her. She turned around and saw Hope.

"Hope brought me here," Sarah continued.

"I'm here of my own free will," Hope said. "I watched Sarah escape, and I knew she had to find you."

"Wait, so you were following us this whole time?" Emily asked. She wanted to put all the missing pieces together.

Andy shook his head. "Do you know how much time we would've saved if you had just come to us?"

"I couldn't," Hope answered. "But I'm here now."

Tami stood in front of Hope. "You understand we have to bring you to Harry, right?"

"I'm aware."

"Are you willing?"

Hope smirked. "Willing? No! I'll deal with him when he lets everyone go. I'm not afraid of him."

"He wants me," Emily said. She looked down at the ground.

"Not as much as he wants me. I betrayed him. That's far worse than wanting to chase after a spider."

"So, now what do we do?" Charlie asked.

"Tomorrow we'll rescue your family," Hope said. "And hopefully put everything to an end." She flew up to a high tree branch before anyone could say another word to her.

"Well, finding her was easy!" Jack said. "Less work for us to do!"

Charlie stepped closer to his sister. "Is Mom really okay?" he asked.

"She's fine. Casey has been a cry baby, though. She's so annoying." Sarah looked at Jessie and narrowed her eyes. "She's not your girlfriend, is she?"

Charlie chuckled. "Why? You wouldn't be jealous, would you?"

Sarah's mouth dropped. _You can't have a girlfriend! You'll never have time for me! I'll be stuck playing with Casey all the time, and she's so annoying!_

"Wow! You are!" Charlie couldn't stop laughing.

"Stop it! You don't know anything!" Sarah darted up the same tree Hope was in before Charlie could continue to tease her.

Hope was starting to fall asleep when she felt the tree branch shake. She opened her eyes and saw Sarah. "Now what do you want?" Hope asked.

"May I sleep here with you?"

"As long as you don't keep me awake all night."

Sarah smiled. She curled herself into a ball and closed her eyes.

Hope stayed there until Sarah fell asleep.

Tami began to think about the next day as she flew to another tree. She wasn't sure if she would be able to keep Emily away from Harry. Whenever Harry wanted something, he usually never stopped until he had it.

Tami felt the tree branch move. When she looked to see who was next to her, she frowned when she saw it was Hope.

"Do they know?" Hope asked.

Tami turned the other way. "No."

"They will find out."

"And I will worry about it when the time comes."

# CHAPTER 21

When Sarah woke up the next morning, she looked down at the ground and saw everyone was awake.

Jack began to practice some of his karate moves. "So, what's the plan of attack? I'm ready to take him down right now!"

Hope was startled. "What in the world was that?"

"What's the matter? Don't you like my moves? It's my lethal weapon," Jack said with a grin.

"Right. We'll see about that."

Sarah darted down the tree and joined everyone. She rushed to be next to her brother, but he was sitting with Jessie. Jessie smiled at Sarah, but the smile wasn't returned.

Andy tilted his head back and sighed. "Are we leaving soon or what?"

"I'm in no rush," Emily said. Up until now, she'd felt fine about seeing Harry. Although, since today was the day, she had an empty feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Well, I suppose it's time to get this over with," Hope said and quickly flew off. She didn't want anyone changing their minds. Everyone followed her, wondering how the showdown with Harry was going to turn out.

About an hour later, Hope landed and motioned to everyone to be quiet.

"We're here," she whispered. She looked around to make sure none of Harry's buddies were hiding nearby.

Charlie pushed his way through the group and stood before Hope.

Hope pointed to a nearby tree. "They're up there."

When Charlie looked up, he was relieved to see his family. However, they look petrified, and Hank guarded them closely.

Charlie began to run toward the tree, but Hope blocked him. "Hold it there, buddy," she said.

"We can't just charge after them, mate," Jack said. "Haven't you ever heard of a sneak attack? They aren't supposed to see, or hear us coming."

Hope glanced at everyone. "Just follow my lead."

Before Hope could move, Casey saw them from above. "Charlie!" she cried out. "You're here! You're really here!"

"I'm coming for you!" Charlie yelled.

At that instant, Harry landed in front of Charlie.

"I see you found us in time." Harry said. "I was starting to get worried you weren't going to."

One of the other owls flew down and grabbed Hope. The owl pushed her toward Harry, almost causing Hope to crash into him.

Harry grinned when he saw her. "Well, there you are!"

Hope smiled widely. "Here I am. Now let everyone go."

"Ha. It's not that easy. Where's Emily?"

Emily hid behind Andy. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It was time to face her fears. She stepped out into the open.

Harry grinned. "Wonderful! I was hoping you would be here."

Unexpectedly, Harry noticed someone he hadn't seen in many years. He wasn't sure it was even her. "Sis? Is that you?"

Everyone looked around, wondering whom Harry was talking to.

Tami was facing away from everyone so Harry wouldn't notice her too early. She turned around.

Harry was delighted. "It is you! You know you have something blue hanging on your wing?"

"Hello, brother," Tami said softly.

Sam tightened his lips.

"Wow, didn't see that one coming," Andy said.

"Why haven't I seen you in so long?" Harry asked.

"I didn't want to see you."

Harry tilted his head to the side. "That's not nice to say."

"I must get that from you." Tami didn't want to be around him any longer, so she cut straight to the point. "What is it that you really want? Emily is of no use to you, and you know it. Hope is here. Now, let Charlie's family go, and we'll leave peacefully."

"What if I don't want to?"

"We'll make you!" Carl said sternly.

Harry and the other owls hooted with laughter.

Emily looked up at Charlie's family and noticed Hank was still guarding them.

Harry stopped laughing, and so did the others. "No more of this useless talk! Grab Emily!"

An owl darted at Emily. Jack quickly stood in front of her, blocking the owl.

"Get out of my way," the owl said.

Without warning, Jack spun around in a circle and kicked the owl. The owl fell to the ground, and Jack sprayed him in the face.

The other owls charged at everyone.

Hope tried to escape, but Harry stopped in front of her. "You're not going anywhere," he said.

Carl struck some of the owls with his quills when they attempted to grab him.

Harry rushed over to Emily with Hope still by his side.

Sam was resting on Tami's shoulder when he noticed Harry was about to snatch Emily. "Emily! Watch out!"

Emily turned around and found herself face to face with her enemy.

"At last," Harry said with a hideous smile.

Suddenly, the ground began to tremble. No one could keep their balance. Everyone looked around to see what was causing it.

"Is this an earthquake?" Andy shouted.

Sam noticed something ahead of them. "Look!"

Every animal that lived in the woods stood before them. There were deer, birds, bears, bugs, rabbits—the entire population!

"Wow," Andy said. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was incredible!

"This is impossible," Jack whispered.

Carl smiled at Jack. "Aren't you glad we saw the coyote?"

Harry was furious. He stepped away from everyone. "What is going on here?"

The coyote suddenly appeared before them.

Silence filled the air.

Finally, the coyote spoke. "Harry, come forth."

Harry didn't budge. Who did this coyote think he was? "I am not moving."

The coyote chuckled. "Is there anyone here who does not wish banishment on this creature?"

No one said a word, not even the other owls. Harry knew they were too scared to speak up. Cowards.

"Wait!" Harry yelled. "Hank does not want me banished." He shouted for Hank to come down next to him.

Hank frowned and flew down to the ground.

A crooked smile formed on Harry's face. "You're the only one here who will stay at my side. Be a friend to me and tell him no."

This was the perfect time for Hank to seek his revenge on Harry. Of course Hank wanted him gone. Why did Harry even think for one minute that Hank would defend him after everything he had done to him lately?

"Well?" Harry's patience was staring to wear out.

"Will you apologize?" Hank asked.

"Apologize? For what?" Harry chuckled. "You remember this is all your fault, don't you? Do I have to remind you Emily escaped because you fell asleep? I would not be here right now if it weren't for you. So, no. I won't apologize."

Hank knew Harry wouldn't say two simple words, 'I'm sorry.' He just hoped deep down Harry had some remorse. But he was wrong. "Banish him."

Anger soared through Harry's veins.

The coyote repeated, "Is there anyone here who does not want this creature banished from these woods for life? Speak now!"

Harry couldn't believe no one would speak up. He glanced at Tami. Surely his own sister would save him. However, Tami turned the other way so she wouldn't have to look her brother in the eye.

"Harry, I hereby banish you from these woods for life," the coyote said, unbelievably loud.

Harry laughed. "Oh, please! I can go anywhere I want! I don't need this place!" He turned to his sister. "And I don't need any of you!"

The coyote shook his head. "I am afraid this is not how it works."

Before Harry had the chance to respond, the coyote leaped at him. Magically, the coyote's mouth opened bigger than normal, and he swallowed Harry whole.

# CHAPTER 22

Andy blinked several times, not sure if what he saw was real.

One minute, all the animals were silent. Seconds later, they began to cheer.

Casey and Dani darted down the tree and hurried over to Charlie and Sarah. They embraced each other.

The coyote turned around to leave when Andy said, "That's it? That's how someone gets banished? You swallow them? Geez, remind me to never make you mad."

Emily frowned. "Andy, don't upset him."

"No, Andy," the coyote said. "That was how I decided to do it. Harry was evil. Why? Are you complaining?"

Andy shook his head as fast as he could. The coyote turned around and walked away.

Harry's pack flew off since they didn't want to suffer the same fate as Harry.

Soon all the other animals began to leave until the only ones remaining were Andy and his friends, along with Hank and Hope.

All eyes were on Hank. They wondered why he didn't leave with the others.

"Why didn't you stop the coyote?" Tami asked Hank.

"I was tired of Harry telling me what to do," Hank said.

Hope drifted over to Hank. "That was impressive. We should go, though." She said goodbye to everyone and winked at Sarah. She then flew off with Hank.

Sam jumped off Tami and stared up at her. "Why didn't you mention Harry was your brother?"

Tami shrugged. "I didn't want anyone to know. But it's over now. There's no need to worry about it anymore."

At that moment, Jessie gave Charlie a kiss on the cheek. When she backed away, she glanced at Sarah. Sarah was watching them with her arms crossed firmly against her chest. Dani noticed her daughter's reaction to Jessie and warned her to behave.

Everyone walked the squirrels back to their home. Jessie decided to stay with Charlie and his family. She had become fond of Charlie, and he couldn't have been happier.

After the squirrels were home, Jack and Carl eagerly went their separate ways. They couldn't stand to be near each other any longer. Tami thanked each of them for their help.

Andy, Emily, Tami, and Sam hurried back to the field. The sunset had begun to descend when they reached the edge of the woods. They saw the kids sitting on the patio.

"Well, are you two going back?" Tami asked.

Andy turned to Emily. "It's up to you."

Emily observed the children. She hoped they hadn't been waiting there for them the entire time they were gone. However, deep down she knew they probably had been. How could she not go back? Her family had just grown bigger.

The spiders darted to the house.

*****

Josh spun around and around in the chair.

Amy sat across from her brother with her head back, gazing up at the colorful sky.

"They should've been back by now!" Amy smacked her hand down on the table. "It has been three days!" She sprang from the chair and stood on the edge of the patio. When she looked out into the field, she saw her friends.

Amy glanced back at her brother. "Look! I knew they would come back!"

Andy and Emily ran to the kids. Tami, with Sam on her shoulder, flew onto the tree outside Josh's bedroom window. As long as the spiders lived there, they would, too.

Amy picked up Emily. "I can't believe you're back!"

"Did you miss us?" Andy asked as Josh scooped him up in his hands.

"Of course!"

For the first time, Andy was happy Josh had trapped him with that cup. Besides, if he hadn't, Emily wouldn't have been able to find him so easily.

The children took the spiders into the house and ran upstairs to Josh's room, avoiding their parents. When Josh opened the door, he saw Max sprawled out on his bed. He pushed the cat off, and he scampered out of the room.

"Well, look who made it home," a familiar voice said.

Josh put Andy and Emily on his bed.

"Hey, George! Miss us?" Andy asked with a cheerful smile.

George chuckled. "Nope."

Amy smacked the hamster's cage. "You're so mean! Knock it off!"

George shrugged. "It comes naturally. I can't help it."

Amy looked outside and smiled when she saw Tami and Sam. She opened the window.

Josh sat down on the bed next to the spiders. "So, what happened out there?" Josh asked.

Andy and Emily took turns telling the story, making sure they didn't leave out any important details.

"Whoa! Wait a minute," George called out when the spiders were finished with their story. "How the heck does a coyote swallow an owl without chewing? I would have loved seeing that!"

Amy rolled her eyes. "No one is talking to you."

George smirked. "It doesn't mean I'm not going to listen."

"Are you guys going to stay with us?" Josh asked. He was afraid they were going to say no.

Amy clapped her hands together. "You have to! You can't go back out there!"

Emily smiled. "We're staying, but I don't want to live in a cage. It's too small!"

Amy held up her finger. "Wait! I have an idea!" She dashed out of the room.

Within a few minutes Amy came back in, holding a basket in each hand. She placed them on the bed.

Josh raised an eyebrow. "And what are those supposed to be?"

One basket had a pink, fluffy blanket in it, and the other, a brown blanket.

"I took some blankets from my dolls and put them in the baskets. These can be their beds! It's a lot cozier than that small cage," Amy said proudly.

Emily crawled into her basket and lay down. She rubbed her head against the smooth blanket. "Now this I could get used to."

Amy could tell by the hesitant look on Josh's face that he wasn't sure about the new living arrangements for the spiders.

"You know they can't be locked up in that dinky cage forever," Amy said. "They need their freedom! Just keep your door shut so Max doesn't get in. Duh!"

Josh shrugged and turned to the spiders. "You have to stay in my room if you're not going to be in a cage. I don't want that cat to have you two for a snack."

Andy gulped.

At that moment, Mom called the kids downstairs for dinner.

After the kids left the room, Andy crawled into the other basket. He couldn't believe how comfortable it was.

Seconds later, the door creaked open.

The pitter-patter of little feet could be heard.

"Oh... no," George whispered.

Andy looked at George and saw him pointing to the floor. He stepped out of the basket so he could get a better look at what George was pointing at.

Max sat on the floor, staring at Andy. He licked his paw several times and then switched to the other paw. When he was done, he smiled widely at Andy.

"Meow."

Andy The Spider:  
Hide and Seek

Just when you think Andy and Emily are safe, the owls return for a new game of their own.

## August 2014
