Kid Quest

A Turtle Named Pickle

Grass blades surrounded the tiny turtle as she slowly traversed onwards. With determination in her heart, and adventure driving the way, Pickle the turtle raised her head in triumph as she reached the curb. This was it, the edge of the flat forest, and the beginning of the stone desert, from where none of her brethren have ever returned.

She stepped forward, towards the cliff's edge, and looked down. The stone desert was vast, and giant creatures roamed there, but Pickle was determined to get to the strange glowing hole on the other side.

Suddenly, a piece of stone upon which she stood crumbled, falling away under her feet. She tumbled downward, landing on her shell and spinning into the path of one of the large creatures she'd seen passing by, a native to the desert of stone. It moved quickly, and she believed that it would devour her, but to her surprise it very quickly slowed to a stop.

She watched as another creature emerged from the body of the first. It approached her, reaching a giant limb down to grab her, and she felt as though her stomach would escape her shell, but soon she was upright again. She stared into the eye of the creature, now so far above the stone desert that she dare not look down. She could feel it, the heart pounding intensity of adventure, but it was only a taste. The creature set her down at the edge of the desert, back where she'd started, returned to the body of the larger creature, and left her with a new vigor and motivation to reach the glowing hole.

Once again she stepped over the edge of the curb, the curved cliff face that was previously her enemy, but this time she landed on her feet. In triumph, Pickle tapped her feet upon the stone, turning in different directions as she performed her little dance.

Several days went by as Pickle ventured towards the hole. A bird stalked her for the first two days, swooping down occasionally in an attempt to grab her as a snack. She fought valiantly, lobbing pebble after pebble at the bird's wings and face, eventually driving it away.

The third day was taken up by Pickle's sudden fascination with centipedes, which she watched travel through and around things. There was one that came from a crack in the ground, its many legs tapping away as it strolled by, waving an antenna at Pickle. There was one that fell from above, landing on the stone next to Pickle and giving her a fright. When she looked up she saw a massive sprawling tree branch that stretched over the entire stone desert, just above where she'd been walking, no wonder it was so cool.

There was yet another centipede that Pickle came across, rolled into a ball. It saddened her, to see this creature with missing limbs, small holes in its carapace, no antennae. She bowed her head to the centipede, tapping it in mourning. She was about to give a short speech when a leaf fell upon her face. She shook it off, and as it fell away her eyes met the hole, and she was reminded of why she was here.

The fourth day of her journey was a stormy one, the stone desert flooded, and Pickle was forced to seek refuge atop a part of the stone that had broken and was protruding upward. She watched as creatures washed by, caught in the torrent, but was unable to help. She watched as trees toppled over, as wired poles broke apart, as electricity surged through the running water and scorched whatever happened to flow through its radius. The chaos only stopped the next day, as the morning sun broke through the clouds, drying the remnants of water that lingered in the open.

Finally, on the fifth day of her journey across the stone desert, the sun high in the sky, Pickle reached the glowing hole. She took one last look behind her, acknowledging her journey so far, and then stepped through. Although she knew nothing of what lay ahead, Pickle ventured onward with curiosity and determination. The real adventure would soon begin.