Unwanteds Stories

ALTERNATE ENDING ch. 1

"Okay, Spike," Alex sighed wearily. He climbed down the side of the pirate ship which Ol' Tater had been stomping around and dropped to Spike's back, feeling like he just wanted to lie down and take a nap. But he stayed stoic, wanting to get as much taken care of as he could before nightfall. "We've got to get Captain Ahab and his head from our ship so Ms. Octavia can put him back together. Then we're . . . done." He couldn't wait for that to be true.

Spike traveled the short distance to the patchwork ship, weaving around the bevy of empty boats that floated untethered in the sea.

Just as Alex was reaching for the rope to climb aboard, Spike's eyes widened.

"Stop, the Alex!"

Alex froze. Without turning from the ship, without moving a muscle, he asked, "What is it, Spike?"

"Something seems strange here."

"Something strange?" Alex almost laughed. "Do you really think so?" He looked around at the twenty-four foreign ships in the water, the Island of Legends sitting off the coast of Artimé, and six water dragons not far from that. Nah. Not strange at all.

"Something is not right," Spike said.

Alex frowned. "Something new, you mean?"

"Yes."

Alex groaned. "Okay, let me climb up, grab the head, and we'll go figure it out."

"No! The Alex, you must come right now!" said Spike, her voice panicky.

Alex's eyes widened at her tone, and he abandoned any arguments. Spike was intuitive and intelligent, and she would always be right. It would be foolish not to listen to her- Ahab wasn't in any danger. He, Alex, was.

He sat down on her back quickly, stepping away from the rope and Ahab. He could grab the captain later.

"What is it, Spike?"

"There is something bad on board. Bad humans."

Alex felt like screaming and ripping out his hair. He settled instead on shutting his eyes tightly and pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers and thumb. After a moment passed, he opened his eyes again and shook his head. "Should we do a fly-over with Simber, you think?" he asked wearily.

"That would be very good, the Alex.

"Alright," Alex sighed. Why couldn't this nightmare just be over? He shook his head. "We'll go get him. He's collecting the pirates' bodies from all over Quill."

Spike swam as fast as she could, an astonishing clip, and dropped Alex as near to the shore as she dared. Alex swam, then ran to the beach. "Simber!" he called. "SIMBER!"

"What is wrrrong, Alex?" Simber roared from some distance away.

"Come here, please!"

Simber raced at breakneck speed across Quill's new and improved landscape, to the spot on the lawn where Alex stood.

"What is it?" he growled, his stony face and gruff voice concerned.

"Spike says there's something strange onboard our ship."

"Of courrrse there is," Simber grumbled. "Did she specify what sorrrt of strrrange?"

"Yes, actually. Bad humans."

"It figurrres. You want to do a fly-overrr?"

"Yes, please." Alex went to climb up onto Simber's back, but Simber stepped away, growling at Alex incredulously.

"What do you think you'rrre doing, Alex?"

Alex stared at him, puzzled. "A fly-over?"

"Not by yourrrself! Funny thing it would be if the day we fight ourrr last battle is the day ourrr head mage is killed! Severrral 'bad humans' arrre on boarrrd this ship, and I can't help you with magic, norrr with getting in tight spaces. You must use yourrr head, Alex! Think! We need anotherrr spell-casterrr!"