Alex Mason and the Smoky forest 2-A new girl, a new journey Read online

Alex Mason and the Smoky forest 2-A new girl, a new journey

  By Kate Leonard and Jessica Teixeira

  Waiting

  A boy of 13 sat by the radiator in a small room. He had long, straggly black hair and pearl blue eyes. Last year, he had faced many events. Just one of them was fighting off an evil warrior called Salusa. He had also made lots of friends like Ben Besloo and Sophia.

  But recently Sophia’s parents had been murdered by Salusa because they were the cleverest people on earth and Ben’s Dad did not like him at all.

  His name was Alex Mason. His parents had also been murdered by Salusa. But Salusa didn’t know they had a baby boy. So Alex had been passed over to his Granddad and Grandma. What horrible people they were!

  Grandma only got up to whack Alex with her cane. Granddad whacked Alex with his stick and sent him to fetch everything! Sid was the son of Granddad and Grandma. His favourite colour was yellow. Elly was the daughter of Granddad and Grandma. Her favourite colour was pink.

  Alex went over to a birdcage on a small wooden table. Inside was an owl called TACKY. TACKY hooted hungrily as Alex fed her owl nuts. He flicked around the newspaper and saw nothing of interest.

  Then he looked at a calendar on the wall. He picked up a quill and marked off another day. Then he walked slowly down the stairs.

  In the kitchen Sid was stuffing his big mouth and Elly was eating politely for a change. Grandma was knitting a yellow jumper for Sid and Granddad was also eating like a pig, like he did every day.

  None of them took any notice of Alex at all until two kittens and two puppies ran to him. “Into your room!” Barked Granddad.

  “Eeek!” Squealed Elly.

  Alex ran to his room. The cats and dogs followed. These were Tabo and Taba, the kittens, and Lucky and Luckette. Alex’s fighting stick and suitcase had been locked in a cupboard, for ‘their safety’.

  Alex carefully thought. Only one, two, three, four, five! Only five weeks until he went back to Cross swords school of fighting and knowledge. His friends would be there too!

  “BOY!!!!!!!!!! GET DOWN HERE!!!!!!!!”

  Alex went quickly down the stairs. A patient owl dropped a letter at his feet and flew out of the window. Alex picked up the letter and fled to the privacy of his room.

  As he opened it, a piece of paper fell out. He picked it up and looked at it. It was a bunch of footprints of all of Kate’s animals. He then looked at the letter. It said:

  To Alex,

  Ben said he wants you to come over to ours for the rest of the holidays so you can watch the Backtisor Championship. Please ask the M.O.N.F’s first.

  Note from Ben:

  If the M.O.N.F’s say yes, we will be coming for you on Saturday morning. If the M.O.N.F’s say No, then me, the twins, Charlie and Patrick will come and rescue you Saturday night. Gotcha?

  P.S Patrick and Dad have REALLY changed. Please post back your answer.

 

  Alex raced downstairs and blurted out “Can I go to Ben’s house for the rest of the holidays? Please?”

  Granddad looked smug. “No.” He answered smartly.

  “As if.” Elly sniffed.

  “Ha, Ha, Ha!” Laughed Sid.

  Alex raced upstairs, hiding his grin. He would go to Ben’s house, and they could NOT stop him! He wrote a hurried reply:

  To Ben,

  They said no. Come on Saturday night.

  Alex

  Then he told TACKY where to send it. She hooted and flew off.

  Saturday was tomorrow! He hoped tomorrow would come soon! But as he lay on his floor, Saturday seemed a long way away… “BOY!!!!!! GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!”

  Alex shrugged. There was always someone who was unhappy. He dashed down the stairs. The same owl as before dropped a small letter at his feet. “UPSTAIRS!!!!!!!!!!!” Shouted Granddad.

  Alex ran to his room, nearly tripping on Elly who squealed! He slammed his door and hopped onto the floor, tearing it open. It said:

  To Alex,

  We will come tonight instead. Change of plans.

  See you tonight.

  Ben

  Alex was excited! He tiptoed down to the cupboard and pick locked it open. Inside it he grabbed his stick and trunk and then raced upstairs, shutting and locking the door of the cupboard so no one knew anything was taken. As he hid his trunk in his tiny cupboard he thought, I wonder how they will come.

  The great rescue

  As he lay on his rags that night he watched the moon on his ripped walls. Suddenly there was a crack that broke the silent night.

  And with that, six unicorns galloped down the street. As they got closer he could see the first one was Kate! Kate slid off her unicorn and easily barged open the door.

  Alex ran to his suitcase and pushed his stick inside. Then he sprinted down the stairs. Kate’s grinning face appeared at the doorway. “Hi Alex!” She called. Ben quickly came over and helped him onto a unicorn. There was no saddle or bridle!

  Patrick grinned at him and off they went! As they galloped over fields and leaped over fences, Alex caught sight of the house the house Ben stayed in. Ben came over to him and whispered “It’s called Crystal cottage.”

  Cottage! He thought, it looks like a tower!

  The house was indeed a whole lot bigger than a normal house and everything was a light blue colour. As they trotted to the front door it became very early morning.

  A woman with a blue dress and black hair greeted them at the front door. She was happy and angry at the same time!

  “Callum, Callum I’ve been worried SICK! And Patrick, you should know better. You’re 16 and still acting like a child. Oh Charlie, stop grinning at me like that. Ben, Kate, I guess it was your idea.”

  Ben and Kate grinned at Alex.

  “Sophia’s inside. She said she didn’t want to get in trouble. Hmmm.”

  Alex looked around Chrystal cottage. Everywhere he looked there were bottles of ink and potions, little paper scrolls and quills, maps of places Alex had never heard of!

  Alex was staying in Ben and Kate’s room. This time he slept in a bed of his own, not on the elephant!

  As he slept he dreamed of many things like going back to Cross swords as a second year! No bad dreams could infiltrate his sleeping mind. In the morning he got dressed and trudged down stairs. Ben and Kate were packing a trunk. Sophia was there too!

  “Alex! We are packing for the Backtisor championship! Come on!”

  Alex hurriedly packed a ragged suitcase and piled it into a giant carriage which was drawn by Unicorns!

  Then he got into the carriage with his suitcase on his knee. As the carriage jolted along, with Bens dad steering it, he wondered, where will I go now?

  The Backtisor Championship

  Suddenly the carriage jolted to a stop. Alex stepped out to hear cheering that almost blew his ears off!

  Mr Besloo murmured “Just in time too, silly unicorns almost took a wrong turn.” Then he looked brightly at Alex. “Hello boy. Look sharp!”

  Alex was about to ask why when a ball suddenly flew over his head. This was no ordinary ball though. It was a stone ball!

  A tiny little man with a grey beard greeted them. “I am Sam Flint and if you are the Besloo’s? Yes? Pitch 16,112. Please enjoy your stay.”

  Alex was lead through pitches of grass, stone and cobbles. Finally they arrived at pitch 16,112. It was a muddy pitch with a small patched tent on it.

  “Sorry about the lodgings.” Mr Besloo muttered. Patrick laughed when he saw the inside. Everyone crowded inside.

  What Alex saw was amazing! Inside was a pr
oper room with a kitchen, bedroom and living room, all crammed into one! Amazing!

  “Alex, dear, your bed is next to the radiator… Callum, Callum! Off the vases! Oh my!” Mrs Besloo shouted.

  Alex lay on his bed when suddenly he heard shouts of “It’s starting!” And “Make way!”

  Mr Besloo sighed. “Here we go.” He muttered. “Same every ten years.” He led them through the crowd and into a huge stadium made out of diamond. They went higher and higher until they reached the tenth row.

  Alex sat down. He saw people with sticks as big as themselves get onto a stage in the middle of the stadium. The men started fighting. One by one they dropped out.

  Soon there was only two left! Ben was cheering for one in purple robes. The other had yellow robes.

  “When I blow the whistle you will start.” A big man in black robes boomed. “Now!!!!”

  He blew a silver whistle. The whistle’s shrill echo went around the stadium. Suddenly everyone in the first and second row fell down. The fighters also fell down. So did the man.

  “Plug your ears!” Yelled Mr Besloo. Everyone did as told. Soon the whistle’s echo had stopped. They were lucky. Everyone else had either fainted or, Alex sadly thought, died.

  Mr Besloo led them out. No one was alive outside. Everyone had fallen down. Some onto tents, some into water barrels, ponds and even fires.

  Someone had upset the stones in which a fire lay and now the whole camp was alight.

  “Get to the coach.” Mr Besloo growled. “Let no one know of this…”

  “Help!” Called a faint voice.

  They all ran in that direction. A young girl was stuck in a blazing tent. They got water buckets and threw them onto the fire.

  The young girl had very dark brown hair, almost black, and the prettiest hazel eyes you had ever seen. Her clothes were torn, burnt and dirtied.

  “What is your name love?” Mrs Besloo asked kindly.

  “Jessica.” She sobbed. “Jessica Larven.”

  “Now then, I’ll sort you out. Come on chick, into the carriage. There’s a good girl.”

  She sobbed all the way home. She had obviously lost all her family, relations and friends. Everyone had turned up to see the Backtisor Championship.

  When they were in the house they got phone calls from everywhere, as far as Japan and Antarctic! Ben’s family had a lot of relations.

  Apparently, they were the only survivors. “That whistle killed off more people than Salusa, and he did a lot of killing here and there.” Mr Besloo groaned.

  Just the mention of Salusa made Alex shiver, even though he had killed him over a year ago. But how did a whistle kill people and who made it? Alex wondered.

  School is sad

  As they went through Sword swipe ally, it was not bustling with people, only a few shoppers were coming to buy things.

  Alex was put on the second bird with Ben, Sophia and Kate. They sat at the front because no one out of their year was there.

  Soon, after ten hours, they landed and Belquick ran to them laughing. “You’re safe! You didn’t die! You are still here! Take the second row, you’re all to yourselves.”

  It was true; no one out of their year was here! It was also very sad. They stepped sleepily upwards, step by step. Soon they were at the great hall.

  They watched the first years get put into different groups and then looked at Professor Zipplezack, waiting for a speech.

  “Welcome first years and hello again second years and… Merlin help us! There’s only four second years and seventy first years, two twins in third year and two sixth years!”

  He was right to be shocked. Usually there was at least one hundred first years! Now the hall looked bare and empty, one table was filled (All the first years had gone to Chello Chore) so no people were eating.

  Alex was really surprised. The whistle… Wait! Where was the whistle? Someone could have taken it by now! Oh no, not again!

  As he went to the common room he saw Kate trying to comfort Jessica, who thought it would be the end and that the whistle would hunt them down.

  Alex sat in a comfy seat next to the roaring fire. Jessica was there too. She was sitting on the rug next to the fire.

  Alex said what he thought had happened to Ben. Ben looked worried. “If so,” He said softly. “That whistle could kill us anytime anywhere…”

  “Not in the castle it won’t.” Kate laughed. “Professor Zipplezack put a protection around the school. The whistle would just bounce off.”

  They were all joyous for a second. Teachers had saved them!

  “But who made the whistle” Sophia asked. No one knew. It could be an ordinary whistle with bad things rubbed into it or it could have been made bad for a reason.

  When Alex went to his Dormitory He looked around. Usually it was different every year or so. So it was. They were in a clean stable with fresh straw on the ground…

  Wait! There were horses in the stables! It was a royal stable! They had to look after the horses!

  Alex’s was a chestnut mare with gentle brown eyes and a flowing main and tail. He saw it was limping and also saw a hoof pick on the wall.

  He picked it up and started picking out the horse’s feet.

  As soon as he had finished, used to having job after job piled onto him, He brushed the horse and washed it, fed it fresh oats and cleaned out the dirty hay until; at last, he lay onto a pile of hay in the corner and slept.

  In the morning he woke up to see professor Zipplezack’s laughing face. He got up and looked at the other stalls. The horses in them were limping, dirty and one was even soaked to the skin! Only Kate’s was perfect.

  Then professor Zipplezack put on a stern face and boomed. “CHILDREN! Those of you who have left your horses, why? Why have you neglected them? Tend to them at once and put their saddles and bridles on at ONCE!”

  Alex worked hard to get his horse into top position. Soon it was gleaming. Professor Zipplezack smiled. “Now, follow this map, all of you, and you will be able to hunt down and destroy the whistle and, if possible, the owner. Now hop to it!”

  They all mounted their horses and galloped out. Soon they were in the smoky forest, which stretched far beyond Cross Swords but had a gate, to which professor Zipplezack had gave Alex the key.

  It was a golden key, with red ribbon around a hole in it. It looked ancient! Professor Zipplezack had said that it was over a hundred years old!

  As they trotted through the evening sunshine, Alex thought they should make camp. So he told the others and they stopped, got off their horses and started doing multiple tasks.

  Some made the tent, some gathered fire wood and some searched for food in their bags. There was a lot of ‘Hey! That’s mine that is!’ And ‘Hands off!’ but finally they got the tent up.

  Alex relaxed by the fire on a big rug. This was wonderful! Then he ate a bit of fish and curled up inside a tent in his rugs. Then he slept very, very peacefully.

  Gallop for your life!

  Alex woke quickly. A strong thundering noise had started. Everyone was up. It was horses. Lots of them.

  “Gallop!” Yelled Charlie. “Gallop for your life!”

  They all sprung onto their horses and galloped away, keeping together in the cover of the leaves. “Keep going!” Called Patrick. So everyone kept going. Suddenly everything stopped. The thundering went away. They were at a gate.

  It was an old metal gate, still strong, but old. It had a keyhole. An old, rusty keyhole. Alex slid the key in. Everyone held their breath. It clicked. The gate opened with a nasty creak! They hurried through it on their horses.

  Now the wood was unpleasant. The trees were black and had no leaves. The path was full of little rocks and dried up tree roots. The horses stumbled so much they had to go on foot and lead the horses.

  All of a sudden the horses stopped. A flash of light almost blinded them. Then, in front of them, was clearly the thief of the whistle. He had one dirty black tooth and the rest were gold. He smiled and sai
d “Rever wishes you goodbye, since you will not see me again. Ha Ha Ha!” With that he disappeared.

  They made notes of his speech then got on their horses and walked steadily to the gate. Then they galloped back to the castle and told Professor Zipplezack of their find.

  Why us?

  He seemed to already know what they were going to say. Their words seemed to almost not come out of their mouths.

  “So you see professor, he just, well, vanished!” Sophia trembled.

  “Vanished you say?”

  “Yes professor.”

  “Hmmmmmm.”

  He watched his rats for a bit and then fed them sunflower seeds. Then he muttered to his self. He looked worried. Suddenly he ran to the bookshelf and pulled out an old dusty book. It said:

  How to make, use and destroy a silver whistle.

  Alex was joyous. They could finally destroy the whistle! He turned to:

  How to destroy a silver whistle and/or its owner

  To destroy the owner and the whistle you will need to wait ‘till moonlight in one night and collect lava drops from the lava pool of the east. Then you must wait ‘till full moon again and collect three dew drops from the tree of wisdom in the west. Then you must take three blades of grass from the Pombay Mountains in the south again at full moon. Then return to where you started and mix them all up at full moon in a rusty black cauldron full of hot bubbling water. Then say these words: Die, thou art devil from which I have travelled yonder te Pombay Mountains and ye lava pool of te east, ye tree o wisdom an ye still gonna challenge me? Ga on than.

  Then throw this potion at the whistle and its owner. They will melt away…

  The professor looked concerned. He looked at a map. On it, it said:

  Cross swords castle to the north.

  Lava pool to the east.

  Pombay Mountains to the west.

  Tree of wisdom to the south.

  He then muttered, “Dragons, perhaps. Or maybe horses? No Dragons.”

  He turned to Jessica. “You know how to saddle up dragons, don’t you?”

  She nodded.

  “In the courtroom. As many as possible.”

  She sped off.

  “Now. All you better get padding on your legs and arms. Dragons aren’t comfy you know.”

  Everyone sprinted to the dormitory. Alex pulled some leather from out of his suitcase and an old T-shirt, pair of socks and an even older pair of socks!