Phantom Town

Part 7

They all stood there, unable to speak for a few moments. Eventually, Jones's body faded into nothing, and Harrison spoke up. "What just happened?" "I guess the Council turned him into a coyote as his punishment." Charlotte replied. "But why would they turn him into a coyote? Why not a squirrel or something?" Moira pointed out. They all exchanged some looks. "Maybe... they made him a deal. They might have told him that they'd turn him into something strong if he agreed to hunt us down... and that's why he attacked Charlotte!" Harrison suggested. The girls looked curious. "Yeah, that would make sense." Charlotte replied, dusting off her shoulders. She had a scratch at the base of her neck that looked pretty painful, but she didn't seem to care. Just then, Harrison glanced over at the two remaining animals in the clearing.

His father, the dog, sat staring at the fox who had saved the day, as if they were having a nice animal chat. The fox looked up. It was a pretty animal, with sleek orange fur, black-tipped triangular ears, and a bushy tail that swished back and forth. "It's so weird how the fox just jumped in, like it wanted to protect us." Moira observed. Then, something strange happened. The fox smiled. Harrison was fairly sure he'd never seen a fox actually smile, but it was obvious the girls had seen it too. Charlotte stepped closer to the animal, a quizzical look showing on her face. She knelt on the ground, and the fox stood up with its back paws on the ground and its front paws on Charlotte's knee. It let out a soft "yip" and looked Charlotte in the eyes. "Is... is that you?" She whispered, her voice shaking.

Moira, suddenly getting the connection, knelt beside her sister with a look of shock on her face. The fox responded by touching its nose to Charlotte's forehead and yipping once more. A wide grin spread across Charlotte's face. The girls laughed with glee and embraced the elated fox while Harrison looked on with a grin. Carl, wagging his tail, sat by Harrison and managed his own animal smile. "Now, we just need to find Hugo Pond." Harrison said to him.

They began to pack up after a while. Charlotte ran a finger down the wall of the house and where it had stood, the block with the house shape on it fell to the ground with a clatter. The patches of grass and flowers underneath weren't the least bit flattened. They left after lunch, and started down the trail. Moira let the animals ride on top of the wagon, since they weren't very heavy. To entertain the others, Charlotte made a group of pebbles levitate in the shape of a man and walk beside them. "That's awesome!" Harrison giggled. "That's nothing, watch this!" Charlotte exclaimed. She lifted her other hand and created a stone woman from the next pile of rocks, with stray blades of dead grass for hair. The pebble couple started dancing down the path together until they disintegrated against a tree trunk. The others, even the ones in animal form, started to laugh.

It was the late afternoon when they found a spot to rest. The sun started to sink behind the trees while Charlotte made the house appear and Harrison taught them how to make a campfire. As the flames started to grow, Charlotte suddenly hushed everyone. "What is it?" Harrison asked. "Don't you hear it?" She whispered. "It sounds like music." "I hear it too." Moira said. Just then, the sound reached Harrison's ears. It was the sound of a single fiddle playing an eerie tune. Before they could question it further, a huge barn owl swooped into the clearing, startling them all. The creature ruffled its tawny wings and came in for a landing, but when it touched ground it wasn't an owl anymore. It was a man who looked vaguely familiar.

"Mr. Tucker!" Charlotte exclaimed with a start. After a moment, Harrison recognized the potion shop owner. "What are you doing here?" He asked, sounding alarmed. "Calm down. I'm on your side." Tucker reassured. "Smith has been going crazy since you kids left. He's absolutely determined that y'all don't make it to the highway." He said. "Does he know where we are?" Moira asked. "No, but he senses that you kids are still in the forest." Tucker replied. He glanced over at the fox and the dog. "I'm truly sorry about the potions. Smith insists I create those awful concoctions so he can use them for punishment and control. Trust me, he was a good man when we first built Fantome. I'm just glad you kids found Sonya." He gestured to the fox, who looked up at him with a "yip" of approval.

"Anyway, the real reason I came is to help y'all out." Tucker continued. "If you keep going tomorrow, you'll most likely reach Hugo Pond by the afternoon, but there'll also be some things in your way. Smith is at the point of releasing his monsters on you kids. Some of them are fierce, some of them are venomous, and some of them are just to scare you. Either way, you will need these." From his pocket, Tucker produced three metallic objects that looked almost like dive sticks for a swimming pool. Harrison looked to Charlotte and Moira, but even they looked confused. "These aren't sold in my store. I keep them locked up for emergencies only. Here, each of you grip one in your hand."

Harrison, Charlotte, and Moira each took one of the objects and held them out. "Hold them vertically." Tucker instructed. They did so, and a glowing blade appeared from each object so that they were suddenly holding swords. "Whoa..." Harrison said after awhile. "Those swords must be used only to defend yourselves. When you find the highway, whisper the words 'go home' to them, and they'll return to me." Tucker explained. "Thank you, Mr. Tucker." Charlotte replied. "You're welcome! Good luck, tomorrow." He answered. Then, he waved his hand and his fiddle materialized in the air. It hadn't even crossed Harrison's mind that the thing could be magic. He took it, began to play the tune they'd heard before, and transformed back into an owl. The fiddle song faded as he flew away into the night.