Robert's life is turned upside down when his best friend disappears into thin air. Now he must team up with the strangest girl in school to rescue his friend from The Silbury Wizard.
By: Adventure Write, with storyline input from young adventure writers.
For: Adventure Write's Add to the Story Project
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Robert wasn’t sure what his best friend, Eddy, meant when he said, "He’s coming for me," but less than one second after those words left his mouth, Eddy disappeared into a puff of brilliant green smoke.
Robert coughed and swung his arms out in front of him to clear the air. "Eddy?" He coughed again. "Dang it, Eddy! I don’t have time for your shenanigans! Where the heck are you?"
The green fog lifted, and Robert could see that Eddy was gone. "I'm not playing hide-and-seek," he called out, but Eddy didn't answer.
Robert sighed and started looking around. He checked under the couch and behind the TV, but all he found were dust bunnies, a single white sock and his long lost lunch box. Robert wrinkled his nose when he discovered a month-old, partially eaten ham sandwich still inside. At least, it used to be ham.
He slammed the lunchbox shut and slid it back under the couch.
"Eddy," he called as he meandered through the house, but there was no sign of him. Maybe he went outside, Robert thought, and he opened the front door.
Oh, great…, he sighed. The nutty neighbor, Audrey, was out. Robert always took evasive maneuvers when Audrey was around. She was usually up to something, and it was usually something wierd. She was pretty enough and rode the bus to school with him, but he couldn’t stand to listen to the crazy stories she made up. They were outrageous! Last week, for example, she was in a tizzy about some evil wizard. She said his name was Silby...or Silvery...or something like that. Anyway, this evil wizard was supposedly after her. She went on and on about it all day, starting at the bus stop.
"He's coming," she exclaimed as she rushed to catch the bus that morning. "He just escaped Silbury Hill, and he's making his way to our neighborhood right now!"
She sat on pins and needles the rest of the day. Her foot jittered under her desk, and she told anyone who would listen about the evil Wizard from Silbury. The bus ride home was pretty much unbearable. When the bus finally reached their stop, Robert couldn't wait for the doors to open.
Audrey pushed past him and blurted, "We’re all in terrible danger!" She ran home from the bus stop like a lightening bolt, and Robert hadn’t seen her since.
He figured her parents had finally put her in the nutty bin.
"Guess not," he mumbled. He watched her in confusion. She had a stick in her hand and was spinning around in circles in the middle of the road. He couldn’t be sure, but it looked like she was crying.
Robert grumbled to himself as he stepped outside. He couldn’t believe what he was about to do.
"Hey, Audrey," he called out, trying to sound nonchalant. "Wh…what…um…what’s up," he stuttered. Then he walked over to her.
Audrey stopped in mid-circle and whirled around to face him.
Robert raised his eyebrows. Yep, he thought. Definitely crying.
Audrey held up her stick and cried out. "I couldn’t stop him!"
Robert rolled his eyes. Ah, rats…here we go.
"Um, ok." Robert shifted his weight. He supposed he should ask her if she was alright, even though the answer was pretty obvious. He hated it when girls cried. It made him feel guilty. And he didn’t even do anything!
"Say, uh, are you…" he hesitated. He really didn’t want to hear whatever story she had cooked up. "…uh…I mean… you didn’t happen to see Eddy run out of my house, did you?"
Audrey’s eyes filled with tears. She threw her head back and wailed, then shoved her face in her hands.
"Careful with that stick, Aud," Robert offered. "You almost put your eye out."
Audrey sobbed and wiped her face with her sleeve. "You big dummy," she sobbed. "Don’t you get it? Eddy is GONE! The wizard took him! And it's all my fault. I tried to stop him, but…" Audrey flung her stick to the ground and kicked it. "This stupid wand burned out!"
Robert wasn’t sure what to make of all this, but he definitely didn’t want Audrey to start crying again. He had to think fast. "Relax, Audrey," he coached. "Nobody took Eddy. Matter of fact, he was just in my...house." Robert motioned to his front door and noticed it hadn't shut behind him.
Audrey looked up at him, and a glimmer of hope flashed in her eyes. "Was there green smoke?"
How the heck did she know about the green smoke? Robert weighed his answer. "Um, well, yeah."
Audrey drew in a sharp breath.
Oops. "But only a little," he quickly added. "Please don’t cry."
"Green smoke is bad." Audrey’s eyes got big. She grabbed Robert by the shoulders and looked him dead in the eyes. "The Silbury Wizard has him. If we don’t do something, he’ll turn Eddy into a ghost. We have to get to him before it’s too late." She furrowed her brow and spoke her next words very slowly. "Will-you-help-me?" She shoved Robert back by his shoulders, crossed her arms over her chest and waited for his reply.
Robert stumbled backwards and gathered his thoughts. He didn’t believe in wizards. He didn't believe in ghosts, either. He certainly didn't beleive in best friends disappearing into puffs of green smoke. And what would a wizard want with Eddy anyway? It all sounded a little...well...crazy. Still, Eddy was gone, and deep down, Robert knew that his best friend was in trouble. He shook his head and...
took a great big breath. "Alright. Where do we sta..."
The ground beneath him rumbled and interrupted his thought. He looked down and listened intently.
Audrey tugged at his shirt.
"SHHHHHH!" he demanded.
Audrey flicked him in the head.
"Ouch! What?!" he snapped. He looked up at her.
Audrey's face had gone white, and her jaw hung open. She nodded her head toward something behind Robert.
Robert whipped around. There standing right in front of his face, was the ghost of Eddie.
"Ahhh!" Robert stepped back and bumped into Audrey.
The ghost never flinched. It was staring at the ground.
Robert swallowed hard. "Eddie...?"
The ghost looked up at Robert and...
For the first time Robert noticed that it was not Eddie at all. For, slowly but surely, the ghost's skin was melting away to reveal a bluish-gray skinned man about six-foot-eight standing in his place.
"Who? Who are you?" asked Robert, "And what have you done with my friend?"
"I am Silvy," he replied, "a wizard."
"Right. And I'm George Washington. How did you do that anyway?"
"Do what?"
"That trick where you made it look like you were Eddie and then your skin melted away."
"That was no trick!" shouted Silvy, getting angry, "I speak the truth! And, to prove it...," he yelled and he pointed his wand at Audrey. "We have no use for little girls, change her into an ice cream cone with lots of swirls."
Robert watched in horror as Audrey shrunk and shifted until all that was left was an ice cream cone--with lots of swirls.
"Change her back!" Robert shouted at the wizard.
"Now, now," chided the wizard, "I'll change her back if..."
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