Ventriloquism

It was another lovely day outside of the Backstreet bus.  The boys were traveling to their next concert site, but had a day off to stop in a little town.  All of them were relieved to have this day.  It had been a while since they had time to do whatever they wanted.  Yet for now, they had to sit on the bus and wait until they arrived.

“Are we there yet?”  Kari yawned as she watched the trees go by.  The guys let out a groan.

“Kari, the answer is still the same as last time.  You will know when we get there.”  Howie called up from the back.  Kari turned and gave an evil eye in that direction.

“Whatever.”  She answered.  She then returned to watching the trees.  In the back, the other five were walking television and talking.  Brian could see Kari from where he sat.

“Poor kid.  Seems like whenever she comes with us, she can never find anything to do.  I guess this really isn’t a place for a seventeen year old girl.”  He said with sympathy.  He heard Nick give a scoff.

“She is the one that asks to come along, remember?  Besides, we’re not her babysitters.  We don’t need to entertain her.”  He said shaking his head.  He had no idea if his sister had heard him.

“Oh, that’s really nice to say about your sister dude!”  A.j. said sarcastically.

“Well Nick does tell some truth.  Although, you are wrong about her and entertaining.”  Said Kevin.

“What do you mean?”  Asked Brian.  Kevin just chuckled.

“She has a tendency to find her own fun.  Most of the time, it is at our expense.”  He laughed.  Everyone else couldn't’t help but agree.  Kari did have that tendency to find trouble and fun where ever she went.

“Guys!  Get your stuff together!  We’ll be at the hotel in a matter of minutes!”  The bus driver yelled up.

“all right!”  All of them answered in unison.  Howie reached up and clicked the television off and they scrambled to their bunks.  They began to search through their stuff for what they needed.  They could see buildings go flying by the bus as they drew closer to their hotel.

“Wow!  This is a pretty big town.”  Kari said as she peered out of the window.

“I swear your eyeballs are glued to that very window.”  A.j. joked.  She playfully shoved him and smiled.

“Sometimes I wonder if you can really pull off an actually funny joke.”  She shot back.  They all picked up their things as the bus pulled into the parking lot of the hotel.  They heard the engine shut off and the door whoosh open.

“Let’s head inside.”  Kevin yelled.  They grabbed their belongings and left the bus.  Outside, there was already a crowd of screaming fans gathering.  Those people are like the secret service.  They know where you are going to be before you do.  With the help of bodyguards, they made their way into the hotel.

“Oh my god.  There are some crazy people out there.”  Nick laughed as they stepped in the door.  Fans tried to follow, but were stopped by security.  The people at the desk looked up from what they were doing.

“Ah, welcome!  Our bellboy will show you to your rooms.”  Said the older man.  They could see that the two younger women behind the desk were star struck.

“I can’t believe it!  It’s the Backstreet Boys!”  One of them whispered out loud.  One of the hotels bellboys appeared with a luggage trolley and they placed their stuff onto it.  Kari couldn't’t help but check him out.  He was pretty cute.

“Hi, my name is Jeffrey.”  He greeted.  Kari looked at him in a daze.  Nick noticed this and shook his head

“Kari!  Stop that!  I think you’re drooling.”  Nick whispered into her ear.  She pushed his head away.

“I’m just doing a little shopping.  You know you do it whenever you see a girl you like.”  She answered.  Nick thought for a moment.

“That is true.  all right, look away.”  He said.  Kari just rolled her eyes.

“If you’ll just follow me, I’ll take you to your rooms.”  The young bellboy said.  Kari quickly ran ahead and started to chat with him as they entered the elevator.  The bellboy pressed the floor number and the doors closed.

“I swear she does this in every single hotel we’ve stayed in.”  Howie whispered to Brian.  Brian let out a stiffed snicker.  There was the familiar ding of the elevator reaching its destination and the doors popped open.  They began to walk down a long hallway.

“Finally some down time.”  Kevin sighed.

“Yeah. Some time to enjoy the day and hang out.”  Nick said in a dreamy voice.  The bellboy stopped and began to open the door to their room.

“If there is anything you need, don’t be afraid to call down to the main desk.  I will be here all afternoon if you have any questions.”  He said as he opened the door.  He pushed the cart inside and the others followed.

“Whoa!  This is one sweet room!”  Kari exclaimed.  It was about the size of a house.  There was a kitchen, two bathrooms and five bedrooms.  One of them was going to end up on the pull out couch.  It wasn’t so bad because it was a futon.

“Well, thank you so much Jeffrey.  You’ve been a big help.”  Said A.j ..  He reached in his pocket and pulled out some cash.  He gave Jeffrey a tip and replaced the extra money back into his pocket.

“You are very much welcome.”  He answered.  He turned to leave the room, but not before handing Kari a card with writing on it.  After he left, Kari looked at the card.

“Well, what does it say?”  Asked Brian.   Kari gave him a funny look.
“He just gave me his phone number.  I should call him later.”  She said with a smile.  The others couldn’t help but laugh.

“Kari’s got a boyfriend, Kari’s got a boyfriend.”  Nick chanted.  She went up and smacked him in the arm.

“Shut up!  That’s not official yet!”  She said.  Everyone else just shook their heads and began to take their stuff into their rooms.  Once again, Kari ended up without a room.  She didn’t mind.  It gave her a little move privacy then you would really know.

“Hey guys!”  A.j. yelled from his room.

“Yeah?”  Howie answered back.

“I’m going out for a look at the shops.  Does anyone want to come with me?”  He asked.  There was a second’s pause.

“Not me.  I already have more stuff than I need, thank you.”  Brian answered.

“Sorry Aje, I have some paper work to do.”  Said Kevin as he came out of his room.

“I’ll go.  I haven’t been shopping in ages.  I think I will waste away if I don’t shop soon.”  Kari joked.  A.j. emerged from his room.

“Oh goody, I’ve got a taker.  Anyone else want to come with us?”  He asked again.  Howie and Nick, who were in the kitchen area, both shook their heads.

“Not up for it today.”  Nick said as he grabbed something to drink from the fridge.  A.j. turned back to Kari.

“Looks like it’s just the two of us today kid.”   He said.  Kari smiled at him.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing”  she giggled.  He then grabbed her into a headlock and gave her a nuggie.

“It’s not a bad thing.  I love any opportunity you give me to torture you.  Now, let’s get out of here.”  He said as he let her go.  Kari ran over to her bags and pulled a purse out of one of them.

“all right, let’s roll.”  She said.  They left the room and walked back down to the elevator.  As they did, Kari reached into her purse and pulled out a folded hat and a pair of sunglasses.

“I have the feeling that I will be needing these.”  Kari chuckled to herself.  The elevator only to reveal that no one else was inside.  They took it down to the lobby.  This was a very bad idea.

“Oh my god, look at them all!”  A.j . said to himself.  There were fans still trying to get inside of the hotel.  He then felt Kari tug on his arm.

“Come on, we’ll have to take the back way.”  She whispered.  Both of them prayed that they hadn’t already been seen.  They ran down the opposite hallway until they saw another doorway.

“Oh, thank goodness.”  A.j. said when he saw that the door was unattended by fans.  They quickly put on their disguises and when out of the door.  They carefully made their way around the building and avoided going near the front.

“I think we did it.”  Kari whispered to A.j . as they passed the huge crowd.  They continued on in silence until they were sure that the ravenous fans were out of ear shot.

“Fame, ain’t it a b…”   he started.  Kari reached a hand up and covered his mouth.

“What have I told you about cussing in front of me?”  She said sternly.  A.j. pulled her hand away.

“O.k., sorry!  I forgot you don’t like those words.”  He answered.  Kari looked at her hand to see a layer of A.j.’s spit was in the middle of it.

“Ew!  You didn’t have to lick my hand!”  She said as she wiped it off on her pants.  A.j. just sneered.

“Don’t you know how many girls would die to have my spit in their hand?” he said as they passed a bike shop.

“Yeah, but I’m not one of them.”  She answered.  They walked down the sidewalk a little while longer before coming to a small antique shop.  Kari stopped A.j. from going any farther.

“Let’s go in here.  I love looking at all of the old stuff.”  She said.  She pushed open the door and heard the little bells above it ring.  The familiar smell of old products filled the air.

“Huh.  I wonder if anything from Kevin’s childhood is in here.”  A.j. said.  Kari just looked at him with a smirk.

“You do know that I am going to tell him that you said that.”  She said.  He just shrugged and started to look at some of the items.  It was the usually stuff.  Books, old toys, silverware.

“This stuff is pretty cool.”  A.j. said to himself.  Kari passed him by and was looking at some of the wooden toys.  Suddenly, something caught her eye.  She looked up to see an old ventriloquist dummy in one of the glass cases.

“Aje, come here!”  She called.  He stopped what he was doing and when up to her.

“What?”  He asked.  Kari pointed to the dummy in the case.  It was the most beautiful doll she had ever seen.  There were no flaws in the paint that its body was covered in.  Its eyes were sky blue and its nose looked like a red painted dowel.  Its painted clothes look like something you read about in fantasy books.  The gold on its vest were so elegant, it looked almost like real gold.  Its hair was strands of what were thought to be real human hair that was dyed white.  All in all, the dummy was in good shape.

“That is so cool!”  Kari said out loud.  Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder.  She jumped up and turned around to find a short Japanese man.

“Good day madam.  Can I help you?”  He said in a thick accent.  She turned back to the case.

“Yeah, what can you tell us about this dummy?”  She asked.  The man looked passed her and into the case.

“Ah, that is our Puck ventriloquist dummy.  In legends, Puck was a trickster that was banished from the magic world to live among the mortal.  I see you have taken an interest in him.”  He answered.  Kari gave a nod.

“Puck huh?  I read about him in A Mid Summer Nights Dream.”  She said.  She looked at the dummy again.

“There is something I need to warn you about this doll.”  The man said.  Kari and A.j. both turned their attention to him.

“What’s that?”  A.j. asked.  The mans eyes seemed to narrow.

“This dummy is known for carrying a curse.  In the reading that came with him, it explains the story.  The legend goes that the real Puck is entombed inside this doll because he displeased one of his former masters.  Yet, there was a catch.  Pucks magic was very powerful and he placed the curse upon it so that he can return to this world someday.  Any human that were to touch him would was to turn to wood and the dummy to flesh.”  The man explained.  Kari and A.j . looked at each other.

“I don’t believe in stuff like that.  It was probably someone making a joke that wrote that.”  Kari said.

“Yeah, probably.”  A.j. agreed.  Kari looked back at the dummy.

“What do you say A.j.?  Should I get him?”  She asked.  He bit his lip for a second.

“How much is it?”  He asked the man.

“Twenty dollars.”  He answered.  A.j. was amazed that the price was so low for something that looked so new.

“Wow!  I’m getting him!  You can teach me how to throw my voice, Aje!”  She said cheerfully.  A.j. rolled his eyes at her.

“I never said I was any good at it.”  He said.  Kari gave a laugh.

“We’ll take him.”  She told the man.  The man nodded and pulled a set of keys from his sleeve.  He placed one of the keys into the lock and opened the case.  He then stepped back, not touching the dummy.

“Take him if you want him.”  He said with a hint of fear in his voice.  Kari gave him a funny look and removed the dummy from the case.  He was even more beautiful as she looked at him close up.  She ran her fingers over its face with intrigue.  The feeling was almost like tiny shocks going into her fingertips.  Her smile grew even wider.

“I love it.”  She whispered.  She then remembered where she was.  “A.j., can you hold him for a second?  I have to pay the good man.”  She asked A.j..  She handed the dummy off and pulled out her purse.

“This thing must have a few splinters.”  A.j . said, shaking his hand off.  Kari looked at him as she handed the store owner her money.

“Why do you say that?”  She asked him.  A.j . continued to shake his hand off.

“It poked me in the fingertips and it kind of hurt.”  He said, putting one finger into his mouth to sooth it.

“You big baby.”  Kari rolled her eyes.  A.j. gave her an angry look.

“I have a special gift for you two also.”  The man said as he walked back up to the front register.  The other two followed him.  The man reached behind the counter and pulled out two objects.

“These are the emeralds of Avalon.  They are said to bring motion to the motionless.”  He said as he held the necklaces out.  Kari took one of them.

“Cool.  Maybe I can make those Burger King toys I have come to life and torture my brother.”  She said with a devilish look on her face.  A.j. didn’t want to know what she was thinking.

“They only work on things that were once human.  That is their catch.”  The man explained.  A.j. took the one meant for him.

“Then these will be great when Nick won’t get up in the morning.”  He snickered.  Kari held back a laugh.
“We better get going.  We’ve got a lot of shops to go.”  She said as she tugged on A.j.’s sleeve.  She put the necklace around her neck and grabbed one of the plastic bags off of the counter.

“Yeah.  Thanks for the cool gift.”  A.j. said to the man.  The man gave a small bow and slipped back into the back room.  Kari took the dummy from A.j. and placed it into the back.  She then brought it up to his face and made a scary noise.

“Ohhh!  Look out A.j., the curse will get you!”  She joked.  A.j. wasn’t laughing.

“You are such a dork.”  He said while walking toward the door.  Kari began to follow him

“Would you expect anything else?”  She shrugged.  A.j. opened the door and stepped out.  Suddenly, he heard something that made him turn around.

“Did you hear that?”  He asked.  Kari shook her head.

“Hear what?”  She asked.  A.j. listened again.  This time, he heard nothing.

“I could have sworn I heard somebody say you’re next.”  He said.  Kari gave him an odd look.

“A.j., it’s called sleep.  You need to get more.”  She said as she walked out of the door.  A.j. shut the door behind them and they started down the street again.

“Maybe I do need more sleep, but I know what I heard.”  He said to her.  They continued on.  Inside the bag that Kari held, the dummy’s face had changed.  Its moveable eyebrows had turned themselves down in an angry look.

“He he he.” It whispered upon the wind.  Neither of the two had heard the noise.  They both continued down the strip, never knowing that something was about to change the course of their day.   
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Nick and Brian stared each other down.  Neither of them flinched or showed any emotions on their face.  Nick was chewing his lip, trying to get Brian to lose the game.

“Will you two go already?”  Howie asked, who was watching them.  Both of them glared at him and then turned back to what they were doing.  They continued to stare at each other until Nick opened his mouth to speak.

“Got any fives?”  he asked.  Brian looked at his cards.

“No!  You took my best hand!”  he said, handing the rest of his cards to Nick.  Nick placed his three cards with the rest of his.

“Man, now I know why we don’t take that many days off.  You two are insane.”  Howie said as he got up.  He walked over to the kitchen area and got himself something to drink.

“It’s not our fault that we are so competitive .”  Brian said as he took Nick’s cards and put them back in the box.

“O.k., whatever.”  Howie said as he walked back to his chair.  There was suddenly a soft click as the door to their room opened up.

“Who is it?”  Brian yelled, his back to the door.

“Who do you think it is?”  Kari yelled back as she entered the room.  The three looked over at them.

“Hey, how were the shops?”  asked Nick.  Kari and A.j. put their purchases down on one of the tables.

“Pretty good.  I managed to get some nice shoes that were a good price.”  A.j . said, pulling out a box.  The three others groaned.

“More shoes?  Aje, we’re running out of room on that bus.  You don’t need more shoes.”  Howie said.  A.j. just continued to unload what he bought.

“You’re just jealous because I never let you borrow some of them.”  He answered.

“Yeah right!  You’ve got bigger feet than a T-rex.”  Howie scoffed.  Kari, Nick and Brian had to hold back a laugh.

“Where’s Kevin?”  Kari asked.

“Sleeping.  It’s about time that boy had some rest.”  Brian answered.  Kari just nodded in agreement.

“Dude, you have to see what I got!”  she said with excitement.  She opened up the bag that she was holding and pulled out the dummy.

“What the heck is that?”  Nick asked.  Kari couldn’t believe Nick could act so dumb sometimes.

“It’s a dummy.  I bought him from this antique shop not far from here.”  She said, holding it up.

“That’s pretty cool Kari.  You must have had to pay a lot to get him.”  Brian said.  Kari just shook her head.

“Nope, I only paid twenty bucks for him.  It’s almost like the guy wanted me to take it off his hands.”  She said looking it over to make sure it wasn’t damaged in the travel.

“That’s good.  You might want to put that in the bus.  I don’t want you to forget it when we leave tomorrow.”  Nick said.  Kari looked up at him.

“Good idea.  I just have to get past all of those fans.”  She said as she grabbed her sunglasses and hat.

“Remember if they start throwing stuff, run for your life.”  A.j. said to her before walking into the bathroom.  She gave him a thumbs up and walked out of the room.  She made her way down the hall and into the elevator.

“Nick was right.  I would never want to leave you here.”  She said to the dummy.  She then put her fingers through its hair.  It was so soft.  The doors opened once more and she stepped out of the elevator.  To her surprise, the hotel had forced all of the fans to leave.

“Do you need some help Ms. Carter?”  the woman at the desk asked.

“No, thanks anyway.”  She called back.  The woman nodded and went back her business.  Kari walked out of the front doors and looked around.  There was no one around to jump her.

“Thank god.”  She sighed to herself as she walked over to where the buses were parked.  She quickly found the one she had come in and pulled her keys out.  She unlocked the bus and stepped inside.

“Now, where am I going to put you?”  she whispered as she looked around.  She suddenly felt something grab her wrist.  She jumped and dropped the dummy.

“Who did that?”  she asked out loud, looking around for anyone.  She didn’t find anyone.  She then heard a soft voice chanting something.  Fear swept over her.

“I have a bottle of mase!  I know how to use it!”  she yelled.  She began to back up when she tripped over something.  She fell to the floor and looked up what had tripped her.  Her scream was caught in her throat when she saw what it was.  Her dummy was standing before her, looking at her.

“Hello deary.  Ready for your new life?”  it asked. Kari tried to scream for help but found that she had no voice.  Around them, pinkish sparks surrounded then and were gathering speed.

“Don’t worry my dear.  Puck will make sure that it doesn’t hurt.”  It said as a cloud came down around them.  There was a bright flash and a moments silence.  Now, there was a very tall man standing up.  He had a sinister smile on his face.

“Flesh once more!  Oh happy day!”  He said to himself as he touched his face.  He then reached down and picked up a wooden doll that had once been Kari.  It wasn’t moving.  He tugged on her arm to make sure.

“Not so fun, now is it deary?”  He mocked her.  Her head just lolled to one side and her mouth fell open.  Puck then snapped his fingers.

“I wonder how the man reacted to it.”  He said to himself.  He then looked to the floor where Kari had fallen before.  There were a set of keys on a keychain laying there.  He set Kari on the table and picked them up.  She had attached the room key to the others.  On it was the room number.

“Hmm, room 589.  I’m guessing your boyfriend is up there.  I’ll have to go check.”  He said in a sing-song voice.  He put the keys into a little pouch on his hip.

“Enjoy your time alone deary.”  He said.  He clapped his hands twice and disappeared.  He made himself reappear in the bathroom of Kari’s room.  Puck looked around and grinned.

“Very snazzy.”  He said as he looked in the mirror.  He then noticed something laying near the bathtub.  He waved his hand and it rose up.

“Ah.  The females boyfriend.”  He said.  Like Kari, A.j. had been changed.  The sunglasses that he was wearing were now dangling from one of his wooden ears.  Puck laughed to himself.  Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

“A.j., what the heck is taking you so long?”  a voice asked from outside.  Puck wasn’t afraid of them.

“My first victims.”  He sneered to himself.  He took another look at A.j.’s limp form.  He closed his eyes as if to be deep in thought.  When he opened them once more, he had assumed the form of A.j..

“Not as attractive, but I’ll have to take it.”  He said to the mirror image.  He then let go of A.j.’s body.  It hung in mid air before him.  Then, with the simple snap of his fingers, A.j.’s body came apart.  His arms, legs, torso, head and mouth fell to the floor.

“Sorry boyo, but can’t risk you being found.”  He said as the parts flew into the bathtub.  Puck closed the curtain and turned back to the door.  He took one deep breath before opening it up.  Brian was standing just outside of it.

“About time!  Did you fall in or something?”  he asked sarcastically.  Puck just smiled at him.

“If you only knew.”  He said in A.j.’s voice.  Brian just looked at him funny.

“Yeah, sure.”  He said as he walked into the bathroom.  Puck narrowed his eyes as the door closed.

“Stupid mortals.”  He hissed.  He then walked over to where Howie and Nick were watching tv.  He sat down in the seat nearby and began to watch it with them

“What took you?”  Nick asked, not even turning his attention away from the show.  

“That is none of your concern Nicholas.”  Puck said, gazing at the television screen.  He had never seen anything like it.  Nick shrugged and rolled his eyes.

“Whatever.  If you call me Nicholas again I’m going to break your legs.”  He said.  Puck just smiled.

“Depends on who gets to it first.”  He said.  This time, both Howie and Nick looked at him.

“What’s up with you A.j.?  Why are you acting so funny?”  Howie asked.  Puck didn’t answer.  He just sat back and put his hands behind his head.  Nick and Howie looked at each other.

“You are such a freak.”  Nick said, shaking his head.  Suddenly, they all heard a noise like a yelp come from the bathroom.  They then heard the door open and Brian came out.

“What the heck is this?”  he asked, holding up a little wooden leg.  The rest of the parts were in his left hand.  Nick and Howie looked at it and both raised an eyebrow.

“It’s probably just a part from Kari’s dummy.”  Nick said.  Brian quickly can over and put the rest of the pieces onto the table.

“Well, explain why this isn’t the same one that she bought this afternoon.”  He said as Howie picked up one of the tattooed arms.

“Yeah, this one kind of looks like you A.j ..”  Nick said, looking at the mouthless face.

“Yeah right.  That looks nothing like me.”  Puck quickly said, trying not to blow his cover.

“Than who was the wise guy that pulled it apart and put it into the bathtub?”  Brian asked.  Instantly, they both looked over at Nick.  He raised his hands up.

“It wasn’t me this time, I swear!”  he exclaimed.

“Yeah right Nick.  Your reputation is not the best when it comes to practical jokes.”  Brian said.

“I’m serious!  It was probably A.j.!  He was the last one in there before you.”  Nick said, growing more defensive.  Puck didn’t move from his spot.

“Why would I do such a thing?  He was merely in there before I was.”   He said in a sly voice.  Brian, Howie and Nick were looking at him even weirder than before.

“A.j., are you feeling alright?  Now you’re speaking like he is a person.”  Said Howie.  Puck winced for a moment, but didn’t move.

“I’m fine Howard.  I was just talking about it like that because he is Alexander James.”  Puck cheerfully said.  He suddenly realized what he had said and covered his mouth with his hands.  Brian grabbed his shoulder

“What is going on here A.j.?  Why are you acting like this?”  he said sternly.  Puck pulled away from Brian’s grasp.

“I guess the cat is out of the bag, or whatever you humans say.”  He hissed as he got up from where he was sitting.  Before any of the guys could say something, Puck began to spin like a top.  Things around him went flying everywhere.

“What’s going on out there?”  Kevin yelled from his room.  The others couldn’t answer him.  Puck has turned himself back to his normal form and the others were dumbfounded.

“Whoa.  Do that again.”  Nick said in shock.  Puck just let out high pitched laugher.

“Ready for some fun?”  he asked.  He then disappeared into thin air.  Howie quickly walked over and felt around.

“Where did you go?”  he asked, his hands waving in the air.  At that moment, Kevin came walking out.

“Why the heck did you wake me up?”  he said grumpily.  He then looked at the other three.  “O.k., I missed something, didn’t I?”  he said with confusion.  The others didn’t answer.  They just kept looking for Puck.

“Oh, wondering where I am?  Am I over hear?”  a voice boomed into the room.  Brian ran over to where the voice was coming from.  “Nope!”  the voice came from the other direction.

“Who are you?”  Kevin yelled.  Laugher filled the room.

“The Puck has many names and faces.”  It answered.  At that moment, a candle holder came flying at their heads.  All of them ducked to avoid being hit.

“Puck?  But you’re that dummy Kari bought.”  Nick said.  Puck gave a little chuckle.

“Well, I guess you can’t call me the dummy now.”  He said.  They all felt a wind blow by them.

“What have you done with A.j.?  Where is he?”  Brian demanded.  Suddenly, a spark came through the air and hit him in the chest.

“Alexander James never left boyo.  He is still right here.”  Puck’s voice taunted.  The other guys looked over at Brian and had to stifle a laugh.  He looked down at himself and saw that he was standing there in his underwear.

“What the heck.”  Brian said in surprise.  Puck then appeared before him, holding his clothes.

“So many questions, so little time that the Puck wants to have with you.”  He let out a high pitched laugh and threw the clothing to the floor.  Brian quickly grabbed them and ran off to one of the rooms.

“Where’s did you put him?  Bring A.j . back!”  Howie ordered.  Puck didn’t stop laughing.

“Sorry kid, but no can do.  I like being in the flesh.  I don’t want to go back into the wooden prison.  Nope, I think I’ll just keep him where he is at!”  Puck exclaimed.  He clapped his hands and there was a big flash.  When the boys looked again, he was gone.

“Do you think he’s gone for good?”  Nick asked, rubbing his eyes.  They guys all looked around, completely bewildered.

“He can’t be.  We don’t even know where A.j . is.”  Said Howie as he picked up one of the dummy’s pieces.

“We don’t even know where to start looking.  That guy could be gone forever.”  Brian said.  They were all very confused.  They couldn’t call the cops, they would never believe them.  They didn’t have anything.

“Maybe this dummy is some sort of clue.  There has to been a reason why Puck ripped it apart.”  Said  Kevin .  He picked up the torso and an arm.  He carefully popped the arm back into place.

“I guess those parts were detachable.”  Nick said to himself as he picked up the head.  He then picked up the mouth and popped that into place.  He looked around and snickered.

“To be, or not to be.  That is the question.”  He said as he held it up.  The other four looked over at him like he was crazy.

“What are you doing?”  Brian asked.  Nick just shrugged.

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”  He said, tossing the head up and catching it again.

“Stop screwing around!  This is serious.”  Howie said through his teeth.  Nick shrugged again and looked down at the head.

“Hey!”  he cried out as he dropped it.  Once again, the other four looked over at him.

“What now?”  Kevin said.  Nick looked very scared.

“That thing just blinked!”  he cried out, pointing at where the wooden head had landed.  The guys just groaned.

“Nick, what did we just say?”  Brian asked.  Nick’s emotions didn’t change.

“I’m dead serious this time.  That thing really did blink.”  He said, not taking his eyes off of the head.

“I think that Puck guy has really messed up your head.  The dummy can’t blink unless you make it do that.”  Howie answered as he walked past him.  He reached down and picked up the wooden body part.  He looked it over carefully.

“I swear it moved.”  Nick said, shaking his head.

“Well, it’s not moving now.”  Howie said as he started to walk back.  He suddenly felt a twitch in his hand.  He looked down and almost screamed.  The head was defiantly blinking.  His eyes widened as it began to move it’s jaw up and down.

“Guys?  Kevin said, seeing what was happening.  Howie brought it to his face.

“Hello?”  he asked it.  The head stopped moving it’s jaw and turned it’s eyes to Howie.  It’s eyebrows raised up.

“What the heck?”  the head said.  This time, all of them screamed and Howie threw the head onto the couch.  It landed face down between the cushions   They didn’t move from where they were standing.

“This has to be one of Pucks tricks.  He has got to be here somewhere.”  Brian said, moving nothing but his eyes.  Kevin then felt something moving in his hand.  He suddenly remembered that he was holding the body of the dummy.

“Please tell me that thing isn’t moving.”  Kevin said, not looking at the object in his hand.  Nick looked down and look back up.  He gave three nods.

“Get rid of it!”  Howie yelled.  Kevin quickly threw it down onto a chair nearby.  They could see the hands moving around.

“Marhf!!!”  They could hear the head cry out.  The others just looked at each other.

“What should we do?”  Brian whispered.

“Flip it over.  Maybe it can tell us what it is.”  Kevin said out of the side of his mouth.  No one moved.

“Dude, I’m not going to touch it.”  Howie said, shaking his head.  Brian just rolled his eyes.

“I’ll do it.  We shouldn’t be scared of a wooden puppet.  Like it can really hurt us.”  He said.  He took a deep breath and walked over to the couch.  Slowly , he grabbed the head by it’s realistic hair.  He pulled it upward, holding it out like it were a bomb.  It let out a loud cough.

“Ow, that hurts!”  It said in a high pitched voice.  Brian quickly put it into his other hand.

“Sorry.”  Brian said.  He looked over at the others.  They all watched in wonder.

“What the heck is going on here?”  the head asked.  Brian couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

“We were hoping that you could tell us the same thing.”  He said.  He was beginning to calm down.

“Brian, why are you acting so weird?”  it asked.  It then shifted it’s eyes to the other three.  “And why does it sound like I’ve been sucking on helium?”  Brian lowered his eyebrows at the sound of his name.

“You know my name?”  Brian said to it.

“Of course I know your name.  Why are you guys acting so weird?”  he asked. Again.  It suddenly dawned on all of them.

“A.j.?  Is that you?”  Howie said, taking a closer look at the head.

“Yes!  What’s going on here!”  he yelled.  Neither of them wanted to tell him.  They all knew that he would take it kind of hard.

“Well, let me put it this way…not everyone can hold their friends head in their hands and have it talk to them.”  Kevin said, biting his lip.  A.j. looked even more confused than before.

“What?”  he said.  Brian shifted his hand slightly so that A.j. could see a nearby mirror.  A.j. let out a scream when he saw his reflection.

“Oh my god!  What happened to me?  Where’s the rest of me?”  he said in a panic.

“Your body is on the chair.”  Nick said quickly.  Brian took A.j. over and placed his head next to his body.  His brown eyes were full of confusion and what they thought was fear.  He watched as his body stand up.  It then moved it’s hands around, as if to be testing itself.

“This is not happening.”  He said to himself as his body picked his head up and snapped it back into place.

“It’s happening.”  Howie said.  A.j. looked down at himself, moving various parts to make sure that they were all accounted for.

“I can’t believe this.  That stupid curse was real.  That dang curse was freaking real!"  He said, clinching his fists.  He then looked back up to his friends.  It felt very strange to be that short.

"This is just like a very bad Chucky movie.  No offense."   said Kevin.  A.j. just rolled his eyes.

"I just want somebody to tell me what the heck happened."  He said, crossing his arms.  He tried to walk, but found it was a little difficult.  "Dahhh!"  He fell off of the couch and hit the floor with a loud thud.  Brian rushed over to help him back onto his feet.

"Hey, are you o.k.?"  asked Nick.   A.j. steadied himself as if he were on a tightrope.  His new legs were on the flimsy side and not usually made for standing on.

"You guys just gotta get my out of this body.  I don't know how long I can live like this."   he said, falling against the couch again.  He was become more and more frustrated.

"We've got to get Puck back.  He is your key to becoming human again."  Howie said, looking down at the struggling A.j ..  Once again, A.j. tried to stand on his own two feet.

"Puck?  You mean that butt ugly puppet that Kari bought?  How is that hunk of junk suppose to make me human?"  he asked, taking a few steps.

"Well, that thing isn't a puppet anymore.  He is flesh and blood.   As real as any of us are."   explained Kevin.  A.j. looked up in horror.

"Oh no!  Where is he now?"   he asked, gaining a very good balance .

"He's gone.  He disappeared right before you can back to life.  He could be anywhere by now."  Brian answered.  A.j. just snapped his fingers.

“He couldn’t have gone far.  He probably doesn’t know this world all that well enough to go anywhere else.”   He said, putting a hand on his chin.   He looked deep in his thoughts.   “If I were Puck, where would I go first?”   He mumbled to himself.  Suddenly, he eyes lit up and he started to walk over to the coffee table holding the phone book.  Well, not before falling down for the third time.

“What are you after?”  asked Kevin, beating A.j. to the table.

“A map to the hottest area of town.   I can bet that he can’t resist playing some more pranks before moving on.”  A.j said as he stood back up on his flimsy legs.   That is when Howie took a look around the room and noticed something the others had over looked.

“Guys?   Why hasn’t Kari come back yet?”   he said with concern.   All of them looked over at him.   They hadn’t thought about that.   Nick’s eyes went huge.

“Oh god, what if he has her?”  he said with fear in his voice.   A.j. made a bolt for the door.

“We have to go to the bus.  She’s either there, or she’s not.”  He said with his squeaky voice.  The way it was so high pitched had begun to annoy him.   He tried to reach the door knob, but found that he was too short.  He tried jumping for it, but his legs buckled at the first time.   “A little help here!”   he barked at the others.   Brian came over and picked him up off the ground.

“You can’t go out there looking like this!   What if somebody sees you?”   he said, looking A.j . in eye.  You didn’t have to ask him twice.  He looked around the room until he came to an empty shopping bag.

“I can ride in there.  If anyone asks, just tell them you are returning something.   Now put me down, I’m not some little kid!”   He said as he pointed to the bag.   The others looked at each other.   No one else had a better idea.

“all right, but you have to keep still and most importantly, shut up.”   Brian said as he carried A.j . over to the bag and placed him inside.   He grabbed the bag by the handles and turned for the door.   Before he opened it, he handed it off to Kevin.   “Here, you take it.  He listens to you.”  Kevin just chuckled as he took the shopping bag from his cousin.

“This is turning into a pretty interesting day.”   He said as he followed the others out the room.   They made their way down the hallway and into a private elevator that went to the back of the hotel.   They road it down and made it to the back door when they ran into trouble.

“Yo, guys!   Where do you think you’re going?”   asked one of their bodyguards.   They had forgotten that they were never to leave all together.   It was too big of a security risk.

“Relax.  Nick and Brian are looking for Kari and Howie and I are just going exploring.   Is that a problem?”   Kevin said sternly.  The guard just shook his head.

“Fine, but at least let me see what is in the bag.”   He said.  Without warning, he grabbed the bag away from Kevin’s hands.   All of them held their breath.   He reached inside and pulled A.j . out.  He had gone completely limp and his mouth was hanging open.

“It’s just a gift for A.j. that a fan made.   We’re just putting it on the bus for him while he’s sleeping.”   Nick said quickly.  Everyone was shocked that he had thought that up so fast.   The guard was looking it over and even tugged on the sunglasses that hung off of A.j.’s peg nose.

“Nice craftsmanship.   You should get your fan to make a whole set.”   He laughed, handing the empty bag back to Kevin.   He moved the arms and legs around one more time before handing it back.

“I know.  They are just getting better and better at their creative gifts.”   Howie smiled tensely.  

“Well, I’ll let this slide this time, but next time I have to follow the rules your manager put on.  Got it?”  he said with a straight face.  All of them nodded.  Nick looked down at A.j ..  His eyes were the only indication that he was not very happy with what just happened.

“We’ll do sir.”  Kevin answered.   The guard gave a final nod and went on his way.   They all waited until he was out of sight before breathing a sigh of relief.

“That was so close.”  Brian said as he held a hand to his chest.  He felt like his heart had stopped for a few seconds.   That is when A.j. sprung to life again.

“You?   Imagine how I felt!  He practically ripped my arm off!”   He said angrily.  They all knew that his many outbursts were mostly out of fear, so they just ignored this one.

“Come on, we have to find Kari.”  Nick said.  Kevin let A.j. drop back into his hiding place.   He looked down to see that he was sitting with his arms around his knees.  Kevin knew that A.j. was either very afraid or thinking whenever he did that.   He felt so sorry for his friend.   They all escaped out the back way and looked around before entering the parking lot.  The fans were still chased off and hadn’t had the opportunity to return.   They quickly made their way to the bus to find that the door was locked.  All of them dug in their pockets for a key.

“Dang it, I left mine in my other pants!”   Howie thought out loud.   Finally, Brian pulled a set of keys out of his back pocket.   He unlocked the door and they all walked up the stairs.

“Kari?  Are you here?”   Nick yelled out.  There was no answer.  The plastic bag the she had earlier was still laying on the kitchen area table.  There were things tipped over, indicated a struggle.   “Kari!”  Nick still yelled.   Everyone became worried.

“He’s got her, I know it.”  Kevin said as he put his bag on the table.   A.j. climbed out and took a good look around the disheveled bus.

“No, she’s here.”  He said softly.

“How the heck would you know?”  asked Nick, as he slowly walked by the bunks.

“I don’t know.  It’s like I can sense that she’s here.  Almost like a connection.”  He said.   Nick just rolled his eyes.

“Brian, check inside the bunks.  I’ll try the lounge.”  He said.   He started to walk faster until suddenly, something lunged at him from one of the top bunks.   It latched itself onto his head and began hitting him.

“What the heck is that!”   Howie let out.   Nick struggled to break it’s grip, but it had a firm hold on his hair.   It started pulling it as hard as it could.

“Ow, get it off me!”   he screamed, hitting it back.   That is when Brian noticed a blonde flash as Nick went running by.  It was too light to be Nicks.

“Nick, stop running!”   Brian ordered.  He grabbed onto the object and gave one sharp tug.   It broke loose and let go of Nick’s injured head.   It actually had given him a black eye.   It struggled against Brian, but soon weakened.   Brian could feel that this being was made of some kind of wood.

“It can’t be.”  Kevin said.   Brian flipped it over.  It just covered her face with her arms and hands, as if to be defending herself.

“Go away Puck, please don’t hurt me!”  It let out with a higher pitched voice than A.j..   The whole bus went dead silent.   No one knew what to say.   Soon, the wooden person slowly pulled it’s arms away from her face to reveal her painted blue eyes and her scared expression.

“It’s alright, Puck isn’t here.  It’s only us and we promise not to hurt you Kari.”  Brian said in his usual soothing voice.  If Kari could have cried right then and there, she would have.  She wrapped her wooden arms around Brian's neck.

 

"Oh thank god it's only you guys!  I thought the Puck came back!"  she said, tightening her grip.  Brian's face was turning a little red.

 

"Kari, I don't think Brian can breathe."  Nick said, holding back a laugh.  She quickly let go of his neck.

"Oh, sorry."  she answered.  Brian walked over to the table and set her next to A.j..  She was just as stunned to see him.

"Oh no, not you too!"  she said, grabbing his hand.  It was the strangest sight that any of them hand gone through in a while.

"How is this possible?  I mean, dummys don't usually get up and walk around.  Let alone turn your friends into a puppet.  This is just way too bizarre."  Kevin said, pacing a little bit.  None of the still human people could think of anything.  Suddenly, A.j. grabbed the front of his shirt.

"Wait a second!  Those necklaces that guy gave us.  He said that it gives life to the lifeless."  He said as he lifted his shirt up.  There, just within his wooden chest was a glowing green light.  The strings that held the necklace were the only things that were outside of his body.  Everyone looked on in awe.

]-->"Wow, that's pretty convenient.  Does Kari have one of those?  Can I see it?"  Nick said as he grabbed the bottom of her shirt.  She grabbed his middle finger and bent it back.  Nick yelped in pain, but she didn't let go.

"Oh no you don't buster!  I am still a girl and that area is off limits to you."  she said through her teeth.  Nick gave a little nod and she let his finger go.  Nick rubbed it gently and backed off.

"Guys, enough of this!  We have to find Puck and make him turn you both back to normal.  God forbid if you have a time limit."  said Kevin.  Everyone looked at each other in agreement.  If they were going to get anywhere with this, it had to be with Puck.  

"all right, but I say that we stop by the old mans shop again.  He might have a little more information that the first time."  A.j. said as he stepped into the bag.

"Fine then, we go there first.  I just want to get the all over with.  I'm sick of these little missions every place we stop."  Howie said as he rolled his eyes.  Kari eyed the bag with a face of disgust.

"I have to ride around in that?"  she said with distaste in her voice.

"Just pretend it's a car or something.  Just get in here!"  A.j. snapped as he yanked her inside.  Kevin picked up the bag and they all walked off the bus together.  There were still no fans for how far the eye can see.

"We're going to have to tip this place very nicely for fighting those girls off."  Nick said as they reached the rental car that had been brought for them before the arrived in town.  They climbed in and Nick started the car up.

"O.k. you two, you'll have to give the directions."  said Brian.  A.j. poked his head out of the top of the bag.

"Well, I can't if I'm stuck in this thing!"  He said in a cocky voice.  Before anyone else could say a word, Nick grabbed him by the head and threw him onto the dashboard.

"There, is that better?"  Nick sneered.  A.j. didn't answer.  He just turned his head backwards and scowled at him.  Nick began to drive with A.j. yelling out the directions at different moments.

"I should have never bought that thing.  I'm always causing problems where ever I go.  I don't understand why you keep letting me come with you."  Kari whimpered.  She wanted to cry so badly, but she knew that this new body just wouldn't allow it.  Howie reached in a pulled her out.

"Hey kid, you make our lives a little more interesting than they already are.  Besides, who the heck would have seen this coming?"  He said in a calming voice.  Kari felt a little bit better.  Finally, Nick brought the car to a halt and turned it off.

"We're here.  Bag in the bag you two."  He said as he unbuckled his seatbelt.  Both A.j. and Kari jumped back into their hiding spot and Brian took the bag off of the seat.  One by one, they entered the little shop that not less than two hours before A.j. and Kari made their purchase.  

"Who do we talk to?"  Kevin whispered to the two.

"I don't know his name, but it's a little Asian man."  Kari hissed back.  The remaining four split up and began to search the shop.  The soon met back up in the middle.

"You didn't find anyone?'  asked Howie.  All of them shook their heads.

"No, but I did find this."  Nick said as he held up a strange looking object.  No one had any idea what it was.

"How will that help?"  A.j. yelled up.

"It won't, but I just think it's kind of cool."  he answered.  Everyone let out a groan.  Brian walked up and smacked Nick in the back of the head.

"Ow!  What was that for?"  he asked, dropping the object and rubbing the back of his head.

"I wanted the rest of your head to match your eye."  Brian said sarcastically.  Nick was about to pop him one when they all heard someone clear their throat behind them.  They all whipped around to see the little Asian man that A.j. told them about.

"Good sirs, may I help you with anything?"  he said with a bow.  The four froze.  They had no idea how to tell this person that two of their friends had been turned into puppets and a mad magic man was running around town somewhere.  It just wasn't the sort of thing you start a conversation with.

"Well...um...I don't know how to put this."  Kevin stuttered.  The man raised a hand up and Kevin fell silent.

"You are the young lady and wild man's friends, aren't you?"  he asked.  None of them could believe that he remember Kari and A.j.  A.j. felt a little insulted with the wild man comment.

"Why, yes.  How did you know?"  Brian asked.  The man just smiled.

"Come with me.  I maybe able to help you out."  he said, motioning to them to follow.  He led them behind the counter where he pulled back a curtain to the back room.  The back room was covered in Chinese art and smelled of incense.  It was almost intoxicating.  The man motioned to some chairs along the walls.

"Sit my friends."  he said.  As the began to sit, he turned back to them.  "The girl and the man can come out of the bag now.  They have to hear this as well."  he smiled.  Nothing happened for a minute.  Finally, Brian put the bag down and the two climbed out.  The man didn't look that surprised.

"Well, is there anything you can do for them?"  Kevin asked.  The man sat down on a satin pillow in front of them.

"I'm afraid there is nothing more than I can do than give you advice.  Puck's power is far more stronger than mine can ever be."  he said sadly.  Kari let out a little cry.  A.j. put his arm around her.

"You mean to tell us that these two are going to be stuck like this?"  Nick said, almost standing up.  Kevin reached up and forced him back into his seat.  The old man's face remained calm.

"No, they don't have to be.  Puck maybe more powerful than me, but humans can very easily outsmart him.  You see, he always doubts the human intelligence and thinks they are completely helpless beings.  Most of the time, he is very wrong.  That is how he ended up as the puppet in the first place."  The old man explained.  The six just looked at each other and then back at the man.

"What the heck can we do?"  A.j. asked with a little bite in his voice.  His high voice was even becoming annoying to him.

   "The only way that Puck will return to wood and you to flesh is to have him pull on the leg of the first person to touch him."  The old man answered.  Howie couldn't help but let out a quick laugh.

"That's it?  All he has to do is pull off one of their legs and he's finished?  There's gotta be a catch to that."  he scoffed.

"Well, there sort of is.  Puck is a very quick little fellow.  He will give a good chase before he will be captured.  That is, if you ever catch him."  The old man said wearily.  Suddenly, a sharp wind came flowing throughout the room.  It was colder than a whole tray of ice cubes.  The guys ducked as the candles blew out and went flying everywhere.

"Uh oh."  Brian yelled.  The sound of the wind soon turned to a high pitched laugh booming through every crevice of the room.

"I'M BAAAAAAACK!"  It screeched.  The noise was almost deafening.  Object around the room began to move and flung themselves at the seven surrounding the small table.  Two of them grabbed Kari and A.j. before retreating under the table for safety.

"We gotta get out of here!"  Howie yelled over the noise.  The wind was so great, Kevin and Nick had to grab A.j. and Kari to keep them from being blown across the room.  Above, they could hear the old Asian man shouting something, but they couldn't make out exactly what he was saying.

"How?  He's got us trapped!"  Kari screamed.  Suddenly, the table flipped over and crashed against the wall.  All of them looked up to see Puck floating in mid air.

"So, you think you can hide from the Puck, do you?  Well, lets see how well you hide without one of your members!"  he yelled.  The walls shook at the very sound of his voice.  Pucks eyes were glowing bright.

"What the heck do you mean by that?" Kevin shouted over the racket.  Puck just laughed again.  Suddenly, Kevin began to rise up from the ground.  He tried to move, but he found that he was completely paralyzed.

"No!"  Nick yelled as he leaped up to try and pull Kevin down.  Instantly, there was a loud zap noise and Nick was thrown back down.  Puck had placed some sort of force field around Kevin.  All of them heard a soft choking noise.  They knew Kevin probably couldn't breathe very well with the force of the magic upon his lungs.

"Yes, you will make a very nice pet indeed."  Puck sneered.  Kevin couldn't say anything.

"Stop!"  Kari screamed.  She tried to charge at Puck, but Howie held her back.

"Why should the Puck stop?  He is having so much fun!"  Puck cheered.  Then, with a loud pop, both he and Kevin disappeared.  All that was left was sparks falling to the floor.

"No, Kevin no!"  Kari cried.  She broke loose from Howie’s grasp and ran to the sparks on the floor.  She tried desperately to find some sort of trap door, anything that they could have dodged down and out of site.  Her frustration grew when she didn’t find either.  She pounded her fists on the floor as the others watched.

“Please sir, isn’t there anything you can do to bring Kevin back?  He could be in danger!”  Brian said to the Asian man.  The man looked at Brian with sad eyes, and then turned his gaze to the small girl.  His heart broke as he saw Kari sobbing, but unable to have any tears flow from her eyes.  He turned back to Brian.

“I cannot.  It is now out of my hands.”  He said softly.  This made Kari cry even harder.  By this time, A.j. walked over to her, knelt down, and placed a hand on her back.  He then turned his head to the others.

“We have to find him.  It’s bad enough that he’s turned us into puppets, but to kidnap a member of the group is down right dirty.”  He growled through his teeth.  The others nodded in agreement.  It wasn’t like they had much choice.

“Listen dude, there’s has to be something you can do to help us now.  That white haired freak just took our friend!”  Nick exclaimed, not knowing whether to be angry or in shock.  The shop owner thought for a moment in silence, with the exception of Kari’s stifled sobs.  Suddenly, he got a certain glow in his eyes.  He began to dig through the rubble of his back room, mumbling to himself.  On the floor, A.j. continued to comfort Kari.

“Hey, it’s going to be alright.  You’ll see.”  He whispered in her ear.  She looked up at him with sorrow in her eyes.  She then threw her arms around her neck and cried into the crook of his neck.

“Ah ha!  Here it is!”  the shop owner smiled.  In his hand was a test tube full of some orange liquid.  The four men looked at it wearily.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but how in god’s good name is that going to help us?”  asked Howie with one eyebrow raised.  The Asian mans smile didn’t fade.

“This elixir will show you the location of your friend.  I just need one of you too drink it.”  He said, holding the tube out in front of him.  The others looked at each other cockeyed.  “Any volunteers?”  he beamed.

“Sorry, I can’t do it.  I don’t even breath anymore.”  A.j. said, pulling Kari to her feet.  Finally, Brian let out a sigh and held up a hand.

“I’ll do it.”  He said.  He snatched the glass tube from the man’s hand and pulled the rubber stopper out of the top.  He was about to drink it when the shop owner grabbed Brian’s arm.

“Just a second.  You need to really think about the person you are looking for.  Picture them in your mind.”  He explained.  Brian nodded in understanding.  He then tilted his head back and downed the liquid.  He half expected it to taste horrible, like in all of the old horror films he had seen.

“Hmm, tastes like cool-aid.”  He said goofily.  Suddenly, his face went blank.  Right before all of them, his eye’s turned bright orange.  Even Kari stopped crying and looked up.  His entire body had gone ridged, like he had been frozen in a block of ice.

“O.k., that is the freakiest thing I’ve ever seen.”  Nick said, waving a hand in front of Brian’s face.  He even went so far as to lightly hit Brian in the cheek. 

“Oh man, the boy is gone.”  A.j. said, walking with Kari towards the group.  Then, just as soon as it started, the orange faded from Brian’s eyes.  As soon as they turned back to normal, he blinked and shook his head.

“Whoa, that was cool and scary at the same time.”  He said, rubbing his eyes.  The rest of them looked at him with anticipation.

“Did you see him?  Where did he take Kevin?”  Kari asked in her strained voice.  Brian was still in a bit of a daze, but things were becoming clear to him.

“He’s down by the pier, in some kind of old bait shop.  He’s safe, and he’s not even tied up.  I tried to see his face, but I came back before I could.”  He answered.  Kari felt her heart flutter.

“Did you by any chance see Puck anywhere in there?”  Howie queried.

“No, I didn’t see him there.  He must be out causing damage somewhere else.”  Brian said.  He turned to the shop owner.  “Before I go, what happened to me?  I felt like I wasn’t even in my body.”  He said, looking himself over.

“That’s because you weren’t.  That potion makes the person leave their body and allows them to see the person they are thinking about.  While your body was here, your spirit was with your friend.”  He explained.  Brian just nodded and looked at the five.

“Let’s go, I have no idea what’s going to happen to Kevin but I don’t want to find out too late.”  He said.  Instead of making the two other fallen members of the group get back into the bag, Nick and Howie just picked up them up.

“You do know I can walk.”  A.j. grumbled, crossing his arms.

“We know, but I don’t think you can keep up after what we saw earlier.  So quit your whining Pinocchio and just enjoy the ride.”  Howie said sarcastically as they all ran out the front door.  The shop owner watched as they disappeared down the road.

“I hope you get there in time.  More than anything, you get there in time.”  He whispered into the wind as he, and his shop, disappeared from every person’s sight.