SATURDAY NIGHT ADVENTURE Darius Powell Smashwords Edition Copyright 2010 Darius Powell On an average Saturday night, in an average suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio, and an otherwise average neighborhood, the Gordon family prepared for a good night’s sleep. Little Bobby was already down for the count; however, Janet and Bill were having a much tougher time with nine year old Tess. “Tess, honey, it’s time to go to sleep,” said Janet, speaking louder than normal from her bathroom. Tess walked into her parent’s room in a manner no different than she had more than 2,191 times over the past six years. Bill, who was sitting on the bed, looked at his daughter in disbelief. “What do you think you’re doing little lady?” he asked. “Have you forgotten our agreement?” Janet added to Bill’s comment. “Daddy’s right Tess; tonight is when we agreed that you would begin sleeping in your own room full time.” “I know what I agreed to, but I’m still not ready. If I can’t sleep with you, can I sleep with Bobby?” asked Tess. “Not a chance; besides, this has gone on long enough,” said Bill. Tess began to cry then started to mumble all of the reasons why she didn’t want to sleep alone. She was scared of the evil monster in her closet. She was afraid of the witch under her bed. She didn’t like how the tree branch looked from outside of her room. “Everything will be okay honey,” said Janet, as she consoled Tess. “Daddy and I will walk you to your room, read you a nice story and tuck you in bed.” Janet and Bill read Tess a light hearted bedtime story based on her collection of American Heritage Dolls. These were thematic dolls with individual stories that suited each of their unique personalities. Wendy was a TV talk show host from Chicago. Bianca was a star fashion designer from New York City, and Diva was an A-List Hollywood starlet from Los Angeles. Tess’ mood changed for the better and she decided to sit her Wendy, Diva, and Bianca Dolls in her bed. Bill and Janet kissed Tess goodnight and started to leave the room. “Daddy, can you leave my room light on?” asked Tess. “No can do sweetie. Remember, we also agreed that all lights off was part of the deal.” Bill turned off Tess’ room light and closed the door behind him and Janet. Tess frowned and then turned over, placing her head in her pillow. She cried until she went to sleep. Although she had slept in her room from time to time, this was the first time that she did so with all of the lights turned off. As Tess began to wake up, she couldn’t tell where she was. She’d fallen asleep in her own bedroom, but this wasn’t it. She was still in bed, but this room was filled with pastel colored walls and decorations and small furniture that she did not recognize. “Where am I?” asked Tess. “You’re in the land of Vensalia,” said Wendy. Tess sat up, slowly. She rubbed her eyes and shook her head in an effort to wake fully. She even pinched her arm to ensure that she was not dreaming. Could this be possible, she thought. She was looking at Wendy, Diva, and Bianca; her dolls from the American Heritage Collection. But they were alive …and could speak! “Well, Tess, how are you?” asked Wendy. Startled by the current situation, Tess thought to herself again, they know my name! She then frowned, and started to weep. She was afraid. Although the dolls were non-threatening, she was uncomfortable. “I want to go home. I want my mommy and daddy.” “You swore that this would be okay, Wendy,” said Bianca. Tess continued to cry. “She should be in movies. Look at the emotion,” said Diva. Tess cried out louder. “Stop it right now, Bianca and Diva. It’s obvious that Tess is scared, so the best thing for us to do is to tell her the truth.” Wendy put her hand on Tess’ shoulder. “Tess, honey, don’t cry. We won’t hurt you, I promise. We’ll also make sure that you get back home in one piece.” Tess stopped crying and began to wipe her tears. She raised her head and listened intently. “How can you get me back home?” “Well, Wendy, this was your idea. Go ahead and tell her the rest,” said Bianca. “Tess, we’ll get you back home the same way we brought you here, but we need you to help us first.” “How did I get here? The last thing I remember was my parents walking out of my room and turning off the lights. Why am I glowing?” “One question at a time, Tess, please,” said Bianca. “She’s so assertive, excellent skill for a leading lady,” said Diva. Wendy took over the conversation. “Tess, when your parents made you turn out all of the lights in your bedroom, the darkness activated magic crystals in our necklaces. We were able to come to life in your world and bring you to our world. You’re glowing because you’re human.” “Is that true, Wendy? I mean what you said about the glowing,” asked Diva. Bianca looked at Diva and shook her head with a smile. “Considering that Tess is the first human in Vensalia, I’d call it a good guess.” “When can I go home?” asked Tess. She began to cry some more. “Please, Tess, don’t cry,” said Wendy. “Once you rescue our Alpha twins, the life-force of our village, we’ll get you home in a jiffy.” “I’m only nine years old. How can I do that?” “You’re a nine year old human and you can do a lot in Vensalia.” “Where are the twins?” “They were taken from us by Tram Mercantile, leader of the Mercantile Mass,” said Bianca. “He needs their power to take over our village. They have but a few hours until he’ll completely take over their minds.” “What happens if Mr. Tram takes over the twin’s minds?” “The twins will be assimilated into the Mercantile Mass Army and our village will soon follow,” said Wendy. “What does assimilated mean?” asked Tess. Bianca attempted to answer her question. “It means that we’ll become commodities, lose our individuality and freedom to think.” “Thanks, Bianca, but I still don’t understand.” Diva stepped in to clarify. “It means that we’ll be like mindless zombies. We’ll look the same, act the same, and only follow the word of Tram. I’ll lose my ability to act in movies, Bianca will no longer make trendy clothes, and Wendy will lose her TV show.” “Oh, I see. Thanks, Diva, I want to help you, but I’m scared. Mr. Tram sounds like he’s mean. I wouldn’t know what to do.” Wendy said, “Tess, don’t worry, we’ll tell you everything you’ll need to know, plus as long as you maintain your glow, Tram can’t hurt you. All you’ll have to do is take Action Alley to the Special Blue Light Forest. The Great Cliffs of Backdoor Mountain are on the other side of the Forest and Tram’s assimilation center is in the valley below.” “Can you say that again?” Tess asked. The dolls continued to talk Tess through everything she would need to do. After reviewing the details for her journey, they sat down and had tea. “You’ll need to take these things with you,” said Wendy. She handed Tess a sack that contained a cell phone, a softball bat and an iPOD. Tess shook her head, rapidly blinked her eyes and looked at Wendy. “Hey, this is my cell phone, bat and iPOD. How did you get them?” “We knew you would need them and carefully took them from your room. We made sure not to touch them with our bare hands. You’ll need the bat once you enter the Special Blue Light Forest. When the lights notice you, they’ll fly your way. You play softball, so use your bat to hit the lights. If the lights touch you, you’ll lose your glow. The cell phone will be our method of talking to you, so keep it turned on. Use the iPOD against Tram.” “Why would I use my iPOD against Mr. Tram?” “Music tames the savage beast,” said Wendy. “But you need earphones to hear anything,” said Tess. “Don’t worry, it’ll work loud and well here,” said Wendy. Tess looked at Wendy for a few seconds then shrugged her shoulders. “What the heck,” she said and waved goodbye to Wendy, Bianca, and Diva to start her journey to the Great Cliffs of Backdoor Mountain and impending meeting with Tram. She was determined to help her dolls by saving the Alpha twins, but was still apprehensive about the whole situation. Action Alley was a fast paced path equipped with a conveyor belt type apparatus that Tess made good use of. She didn’t have to walk, so she spent her time pinching her arms in hopes of waking up back in her room. After a while, Tess realized that she wasn’t going home until she rescued the Alpha twins and decided to take in the sights of Action Alley. It was dominated by brilliantly colored trees, flowers, and streams. The live stuffed animals who lived along the path were numerous and all waved to Tess with smiles. It seemed that every creature in Vensalia knew what Tess was there to do. The conveyor belt stopped at the edge of the Special Blue Light Forest. The look of the forest was in stark contrast to Action Alley. In front of Tess were tall, dark trees; tall enough that she couldn’t see the highest branches. Tess glanced ahead to check the path she had to travel only to notice that it disappeared a few steps into the forest. All she could see in the distance were small blue images. Tess was scared and frustrated. Tess’ cell phone rang. It was the dolls. Wendy spoke to her. “Tess, listen to me closely. We can see what you see and will give you directions through your cell phone. Ensure that you cover the phone with your hand to prevent its light from showing. The blue lights react to noise and light, so you’ll also have to be really quiet.” Into the forest Tess crept, slowly and reluctantly. The dolls gave her great directions which helped Tess gain confidence and move along pretty fast. Crack, crinkle, snap! Tess froze in fear. She had stepped on a dry twig. Its snap echoed throughout the entire forest. The sound of a whirling hiss grew and the next thing Tess saw was a buzz of blue lights headed in her direction. “Run!” said the dolls. Tess started to run as fast as she could. She dropped her bat and forgot to close her cell phone. The light from the cell phone helped the blue lights zero in on Tess’ location. They sped up and grew in numbers and then Tess slipped and fell to the ground. The blue lights immediately covered her entire body. She lost her glow and the blue lights began to smother the nine year old. Good thing for Tess that the dolls contacted Garrett Rangoe. He was Tram’s half brother, was a good guy, and wanted to get even with Tram. In milliseconds, he was in the Special Blue Light Forest. Garrett was more powerful than anyone in Vensalia other than Tram. He was dressed in a bright orange jumpsuit emboldened with the letters GR on his chest. He saw the mound of blue lights covering Tess and whisked them off of her with the mere movement of his hands. Tess was unconscious, so Garrett flew them out of the forest and into a clearing where he lay the little girl down. He put his hand on Tess’ face and she began to wake up. “Daddy, how did you get here?” asked Tess. Garrett smiled at her. “You got me mixed up with somebuddy else little lady. I’m Garrett Rangoe, but you can call me Gee-arr!” “Thank you for saving me. I couldn’t breathe. You look like my father.” Tess continued to gather her senses. “We have to save the Alpha Twins.” “I know about yer troubles. I’ll help you save those little whippersnappers.” He pointed to his left. “That thurr is Backdoor Mountain.” The ground beneath them started to shake violently and the sky became pitch black. Tess looked to Garett and asked, “what is happening Mr. Garett?” “It’s Tram,” he said. Tram Mercantile and his mass army appeared before them. The Alpha Twins were in tow. Tram was a beastly sight, and all of his soldiers were smaller versions of their leader. His body was covered with perfectly angled knife blades. The looks of an evil tyrant, his eyes were blood red bulbs. His voice was a gruff series of echoes. “Howww dareee youu showw yourrr faceee innn myyy, domainnn?” He pointed to the Alpha Twins. “Isss thisss whattt youu wanttt?” “Pleasure to see you bro. Bout time you showed up. I’m here to help this little lady and to put y’all out of business.” Tram signaled to his army and immobilized Garrett. Tram’s foot soldiers grabbed Garrett and began to pull him apart. “Stop,” cried Tess. “Please don’t hurt Mr. Garrett. He saved my life.” Tess remembered the iPOD and she turned it on. Immediately all of the mass army soldiers covered their ears, fell to their knees and started to wail in pain. Garrett looked up and started to smile. “Looks like she bout got ya brother.” Tram was incredulous. He turned to Tess and used his powers to remove the iPOD from her hands. He grabbed it out of mid air and looked at it. “Whattt isss thisss?” Tram’s eyes turned off and his blades closed into his body. He fell to his knees and looked at Tess. “Whyyy, whyyy,” he said. Tram fell completely to the ground motionless. “What happened to him?” asked Tess. “I didn’t want to hurt him.” “Little lady, he hurt himself. He forgot the golden rule of Vensailia. He touched a device from the real world with his bare hands.” The entire mass army stopped their wailing and stood up. They were individuals again, dolls and toys of all types. The Alpha Twins were also free. The former mass army soldiers thanked Tess for freeing them and handed over the Alpha Twins. Garrett put his hands on Tess and the Alpha Twins and snapped his fingers. They were instantly transported back to the village with Wendy, Bianca, and Diva. “Thank you, Garrett, I knew you’d come through,” said Wendy. Bianca and Diva also greeted Garrett with hugs and kisses. “No problem y’all.” Garrett said goodbye to Tess and flew away. “Tess, we’re proud of you too. We knew you could do it.” “I had my doubts, but I’m glad you’re okay,” said Bianca. “I’m so happy, I could cry,” said Diva. Wendy, Bianca, and Diva put their necklaces together and instructed Tess to lie down on the little sofa. They said their goodbyes, as did Tess. Tess and Diva both cried. “Hey little lady, time to wake up,” said Bill. Tess thought that Garrett was calling her until she opened her eyes. She was home, in her own room. She ran to embrace her daddy. “I guess you had a good nights sleep,” said Bill. “Sure did daddy.” Tess smiled and looked over her shoulders to see her Wendy, Bianca, and Diva dolls. To Tess’ surprise, each doll gave her a wink.