The Frog at the Top of Frosty Mountain

Another Escape

"No!" The Author screamed as the needle approached his skin. "Please, don't this!"

"Stop moving!" Sharon said. "You'll only make the pain worse."

The needle touched The Author's skin, and once again, he felt the awful pain. This time, it even felt worse. He howled in pain and shook the table he was on as hard as he could. Sharon tried her best to keep tattooing, but The Author moved so much it became impossible.

"Alright, that's it." Sharon said, putting the needle down for a moment. "I didn't want to do this, but you left me no other choice. I'm going to have to put you under a trance so you can fall asleep."

Sharon picked up the needle again, and with a fling of her wrist, it became a golden pocket watch at the end of a small chain. She dangled the watch right in front of The Author and began to swing it gently back and forth.

"You are anxious and afraid right now, I get it. But it's going to be alright." Sharon said in a calming voice that didn't shown any sign of her witch side. "Relax for a moment. Don't hang on to those anxiety inducing thoughts. Let everything go and let yourself flow down the river of your conscious."

The Author listened to Sharon's words as the watch swung back and forth, back and forth. Her words soothed him. He found himself feeling a little more relaxed, and he couldn't help but imagine the watch swinging to the beat of a Bossa Nova song.

"Are you still with me?" Sharon asked.

"Yes..." The Author answered, feeling much more relaxed.

"Good. Because I need you to listen to me very carefully. I need you to go to the back of your mind and fetch the truth."

"The truth?"

"Yes. The Truth. The real reason why you're goint to Frosty Mountain."

"But...I know why I'm going. I need to get writing advice from Mr.Bullfrog. I need to ask him to help me defeat that giant crocodile..."

"No. That's not the reason. Search inside yourself. You'll find it."

The Author found himself sinking back into the table, through his own head and through the very floor itself. He was falling into a dark void filled with voices and echoes from the past. His past. He heard the laughter of friends, family and loved ones. He heard his mother calling him to dinner, his dad cheering him on in a soccer match, his sister laughing at a stupid joke he had made. He heard his friends teasing him, a lover asking him to a dance, and a stranger asking him for directions. So many different moments from his life, all in the span of a few seconds.

Then, everything became quiet. He was alone in the dark void, floating down into an end he could not see. A few minutes passed, minutes in which he thought he would keep falling forever, but he saw a shape in the darkness. A shape he had not seen in a long time.

It was a bullfrog, a giant bulfrog that was over 8 feet tall and just sitting there. It had wise, ancient eyes, and a friendly smile that immediately calmed him.

It was Mr.Bullfrog himself.

"Mr.Bullfrog!" The Author exclaimed.

"Allan."

The Author/Allan froze. He was floating a mere inches away from Mr.Bullfrog, in awe.

"You...said my name." The Author/Allan said.

"Of course." Mr. Bullfrog said. "Would you prefer that I call you something else?"

"No...it's fine." Allen answered. "It's just that it's been so long since someone has said my name."

"You haven't talked to many people in the past few months, have you?"

"No..."

"Hm. I could tell. Sometimes you call out to me in the your sleep within your own mind. I've tried relpying a few times, but you always wake up before I can. Quick, we don't have much time. The witch's spell on you wasn't as powerful as she thought it was. Once you wake up, you need to run straight for the door."

"But we're in the middle of the forest!" Allen said. "Where am I supposed to go?" 

"The sun is about to come up. Go in the direction in which it is rising, that is the shortest path out of the forest. Once you are clear of the trees, you'll be able to see the mountain."

"Okay. Thank you."

"I'll be waiting for you Allan, good luck."

"Wait! You said I called out to you in my dreams. Do you remember why?"

"Come to the mountain, and I'll tell you." Mr. Bullfrog said. He smiled, then vanished into thin air.

Allan was stunned for a moment. He wasn't ready to say goodbye, but all of a sudden, he felt his body being launched upwards at an incredible speed. He flew past the voices of the past again, and then, with the emergence of a bright light, he was back in his own body. Sharon was still standing over him, getting the needle ready for another tattoo.

"Allan!" Sharon said, throwing the needle aside. "Are you okay? What happened to you?!"

Sharon tried touching Allan, but he pushed her hand away.

"Don't touch me!" Allan shouted. "This is another one of your witch tricks, you're just trying to hypnotize me again!"

"Allan, what are you talking about? I've been looking everywhere for you. You haven't been answering my calls. Where have you been? What's going on with you?"

Sharon tried touching Allan again, but he again pushed her hand again. He jumped off the table and ran for the door.

"You won't catch me, witch!" Allan shouted. He was almost at the door when something burst through it, something so horrible Allan couldn't have thought of it in his worst nightmares.

The thing at the door was a large creature with multiple horns and eyes. The thing roared the exact roar Allan had run from in the forest, then spoke in the voice of the stranger he had heard.

"I see you have found me sister lad..." The thing said.

"A demon!" Allen screamed. He turned around and launched himself through the nearest window, falling to the forest down below.