Escape to the Forbidden Isles

Chapter Eight: Why the Isles are Forbidden

Fifteen minutes later, Thora and Tove were stealing quietly through the forest.

After explaining his plan to Thora, Tove had snagged Dustin and asked him if he could do a big favor. Dustin, the picture of innocence, had willingly agreed.

"Sure Tove. Anything."

"Thora and I need to check on something top-secret. It is so important that I need you to say absolutely nothing about it to anyone. I'm counting on YOU, Dustin, to watch all of the kids and keep them all right here. Can I trust you?"

"Yes, Tove. I can do that, no problem."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"This is really, really big and important."

"Tove, I'll keep everyone here and I won't tell anyone that you left at all."

"Not even Skye?"

"Not even Skye."

"Ok," he had said reluctantly.

They ran through the forest, far from the men chopping trees and the women foraging. They ran toward the heart of the forest. It was getting dark, not only due to the shade from the trees, but also from the setting sun. They ran farther. Tove could run fast, and Thora was having trouble keeping up. She ran faster. Suddenly, Tove stopped. Thora almost ran right into him. She looked at him. He was staring at something. What was it? Thora looked at the forest floor. Nothing besides leaves, shrubs, some patches of dead grass, dirt, and some light colored sticks. Tove knelt to the ground and picked up a stick and some of the dead grass. Thora gasped. Those weren't sticks, and that wasn't a patch of dead grass. The sticks were splintered, burned bones, and the grass was bits of animal fur. Tove stood slowly. They looked around them. They were standing in the middle of a war zone. Bones, fur, feathers, and blood were all over the ground. Spots of the ground were charred. Huge prints were in the soft dirt. While Thora stood still, Tove walked around, examining the forest floor. He picked up a bone, a feather, some fur, some charred bits, a dark colored scale that he had found and placed them next to a paw print that was bigger than Thora's boot. He studied the objects. He looked up.

"What carnivorous reptile has four giant paws, three inch claws, strong jaws with teeth, breathes fire, weighs more than three Vikings, and can fly?" Tove asked himself.

Thora looked up. The treetops had burn marks. A tree that had fallen over had a burned top. She shuddered.

"I hate to know," Thora answered. "Let's leave before it comes back."

"Good idea."

Luckily, only Skye had noticed their disappearance and she hated being supervised by Thora just as much as Thora hated doing it. She just ignored it and kept playing. When Thora and Tove returned, Leif was blowing on the shell he used to call everyone together. They gathered the children and dried them off, then ran to the village for dinner.