Phantom Town

Part 9

As they kept walking, the sky grew dark and thunder began to rumble above them. "Looks like rain." Moira observed. "We need to keep going." Charlotte replied, rubbing her leg where the snake had bitten her. Moira threw another Night Stone on the ground, and a tarp and bungee cords materialized.

They covered their things with the tarp and continued walking. The rain started softly, but gradually turned into a full-blown storm. The raindrops hit Harrison's face like bullets and the animals were looking pretty pathetic, with their fur plastered against them and dripping wet. Suddenly, they began to bark and yip frantically. "Guys, what is it?" Harrison shouted over the wind. However, he soon got an answer. Coming towards them ahead on the trail, there were five spiders, and they weren't the sort of spiders one would find in the average backyard. These things looked like living Halloween decorations; all thick and hairy, some black, some purple, some red, and each one was the size of a tire. Harrison said some word that made Moira glare at him.

With a deep breath, the three of them took out their swords and began to tear through the arachnids. At one point, when Harrison felt a huge, hairy, severed leg brush against his own, he felt his breakfast almost come up. Still, they kept on until they were surrounded by diced spiders. "I guess that was just to freak us out." Moira remarked while the dead spiders, thankfully, started to disappear. "Ohhh I hate spiders!" Harrison said with disgust. "The rain's stopping, I think." Moira observed. Just then, Harrison noticed Charlotte. She was looking satisfied from the spider fight, but also looking weak, as if she might faint. "Charlotte, you okay?" Harrison asked. "Yeah... I'm... I'm fine..." She answered shortly before collapsing in the mud. "Charlotte!" Moira exclaimed, kneeling beside her sister. Then, Harrison remembered the snake bite.

He carefully undid the bandage on her leg to reveal that the area around the bite was swollen and purple, and much of the rest of her leg looked terrible. "Moira, it's the snake venom!" He exclaimed. Moira looked at the swollen leg, and flinched. "Quick! Let's get her to that clearing!" She suggested, pointing to an opening in the trees nearby. Together, they lifted Charlotte's lifeless body and ran towards the clearing. They ran so quickly that they ended up running right off a ledge that hid a huge body of crystal clear water. They hit the water with a huge splash, and surfaced one at a time. First Harrison, then Moira, then Charlotte, the life suddenly flooding back into her.

It didn't take them long to paddle to the shore, which was made of sand so tightly packed it was like concrete. The sun peeked out from behind the clouds, bathing the area in golden light and making the pond sparkle. All at once, Harrison noticed several strange things. First, all three of them were perfectly dry. He remembered being wet when he first surfaced, but somewhere in the time it had taken them to swim to shore, they'd all dried miraculously. The other thing, Charlotte was fine. Her leg looked perfect. As well, Harrison's claw marks were completely healed. Finally, none of them were the least bit dirty from the woods. They even smelled good. They all exchanged a few looks before Harrison voiced what they'd all been thinking. "Hugo Pond." He said.

They looked up at the ledge. On the edge of it stood Carl the Dog and Sonya the Fox. "Jump in! The water's fine!" Moira called. The two animals leapt off the ledge and disappeared into the water. The first one to surface was Carl, his face beaming as he looked at his new human hands. Then, came a woman in a long, blue dress. She had Moira's brown hair, and Charlotte's enormous green eyes. She looked older, about Carl's age, but still quite pretty. The two former animals ran to the shore, and Harrison and his father embraced. "Oh Harrison, I'm so sorry I didn't trust you!" He exclaimed. "I really messed things up." "Dad, it's okay! I'm just glad you're back!" Harrison replied.

They pulled back from their hug, and looked over at Charlotte and Moira with their mother. They looked back at them, all smiling hugely. "I think it's about time we all formally met each other." Carl suggested. "It feels like we already know each other." The girls' mother replied with a grin. "Dad, this is Charlotte and Moira, and their mother." Harrison said. "You can call me Sonya, Harrison." She replied, shaking his hand. "And you ladies can call me Carl." Carl added. "Hi, Carl!" They replied.

Harrison turned to his father. "So, you don't mind if they come with us, do you?" He asked. Carl looked at them for a moment, and smiled. "I don't mind at all." He replied. Charlotte and Moira pulled Harrison into a tight hug.

They made their way up a nearby path, and continued for just a few more yards before they heard the whooshing of cars. "I guess we found the highway." Harrison observed. "Moira, where'd you put the Night Stones?" Charlotte asked. "I have them right here!" She exclaimed, pulling out the sack of pebbles. She took one out, whispered "Carl's car", and threw it. When the car materialized, it looked like it had been thrown off a cliff. The windows were shattered, the doors were dented, and the tires were all deflated. "Oh... I guess they got mad and destroyed it." Charlotte guessed. "Don't worry, I've got it covered." Sonya replied. She walked past the car with her hand outstretched, and the thing suddenly looked as good as new.

While Moira, Carl, and Sonya started the load the trunk with the belongings from the wagon, Harrison stepped over to where Charlotte was. "Something wrong?" He asked. "It's just weird. My entire life, I've never left these woods. What if I can't adapt out there?" She asked. Harrison placed a comforting arm around her. "Don't worry, we'll be with you guys the whole way." He told her. As he kissed her forehead, Carl called out from the car. "Hey, aren't you kids going to help us?" "Come on, let's go!" Harrison said. He and Charlotte returned to their group, hand-in-hand.

"Oh, we have to return the swords." Moira reminded them. They took out the magic weapons and whispered "go home" as Tucker had said. They melted in their hands, and shifted into the form of metallic birds. The birds took to the skies, and they five of them stood watching until they were gone. "Come on, everyone get in the car." Carl said. They all piled in and drove away, never to return to Fantome again.

"So, where are we going?" Harrison asked. "We're going home." Carl replied. "That sounds good to me." Harrison answered.