Jennifer M. Zeiger's Blog, page 52

Briefcase Genie Option Aa2: Forwards

Hello everyone,

I feel compelled to point something out. This is the second time I’ve run this adventure but it’s been long enough that the group voting is mostly different. Even still, this adventure ran the exact same course as the first run. How curious.

Anyway, thanks everyone who participated and thank you Leslie Rohman for guest authoring this week.

If you’re just stopping by, click to the left under recent posts on Briefcase Genie, then option A, then Aa and then return here to see how the story ends!

Otherwise enjoy=)

Briefcase Genie Option Aa2. Forwards

Picking an option while the stars dance around you is one of the hardest things you’ve ever done. But you manage to whisper, “Forwards.” The stars disappear, and you find yourself surrounded by what appear to be aspen trees that are the size of redwoods. And they’re growing in what looks like the ruins of a large city.

The sun filters down gently through the light green leaves and the wind makes them flutter and whisper.

There’s not a soul in sight and you realize with a start that neither is the briefcase! You frantically search around but it’s nowhere to be found. You sit and try to wait for a while to see if it’ll appear, but patience has never been your strong suit. So you jump up and start picking your way through the ruins.

Photo courtesy of Arthur Rousseau with Hope for Haiti.

You walk out of what used to be the front door onto a street. This too has been overtaken by the trees. Large chunks of building lay strewn about everywhere. And the trees stretch as far as you can see in any direction.  You consider trying to climb one to get your bearings, but quickly discard the idea. They are all way too big around for climbing.

You notice smoke in the distance. Heading that way only makes sense, smoke usually means people!

After about an hour, you start to smell the smoke and it’s not too long after that that you hear voices.

As you step into the clearing where you’re pretty sure the smoke is coming from, you’re met by the business end of three compound bows held by three very scared looking twenty-something year olds.

“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” You shout and put your hands up in a very non-threatening gesture.

They lower their weapons and start laughing as the youngest looking boy says, “Dude, it looks like we’ve got another case of the crazy here!”

You look down and realize you’re dressed in a pretty wild mixture of your once nice work clothes and souvenir type clothes from Belize. You chuckle along with them.

You take a glance around, now that there are not weapons in your face and see about 25 men, women and kids. The clearing must be man made for you can see the stumps of a few of the massive trees. There’s two very large log houses that look as if they were made from the aspen wood.

Most of the people congregate in a huddle on the other side of the fire, but four others; two men and two women invite you to sit with them and offer you a cup of water. You gulp it down gratefully and your eyes grow to the size of saucers as one who calls herself Misty starts to guess correctly where you’ve come from!

“You had a magical briefcase appear and offer you three options? And from the looks of it you chose hot before picking forwards and landing here?”

You nod and realize your mouth is hanging wide open.

“Can’t tell if you chose up or down for the first option though,” she muses.

“U…up,” you stammer.

One of the boys next to you slaps the other in the arm and says, “Pay up, Phil! I knew the next one would be an upper!” Phil passes something off to the boy with a groan.

Misty finishes her summary of your trip, “and when you got here, the case was gone?”

“You’re really freaking me out, how do you know all this?”

She smiles sadly at you. “I was the first one left here by the case, then came Phil, then Jesse, then Bev.” As she says each name she points to the people sitting next to you.

“The rest of them,” she nods her head at the people on the other side of the fire, “They’re from this time.”

“How long have you been stuck here?” you ask.

“I got here exactly one year ago and the rest have come every three months like clockwork.”

Phil and Jesse take over explaining at this point. They tell all about their various journeys with the briefcase and then proceed to tell the tale of what happened to this once great city.

Turns out, you are sitting in the remains of your very own Denver, Colorado. The year is only 5 years later than when you left.

About 3 years ago, a group of scientists were experimenting with a serum that would make trees grow bigger so they would produce more wood. It worked great on pines and spruces. But when they tried it on the aspens, the serum traveled through the root system and got out of their control.

The people here traveled as far as they could and never did make it out of the trees. From the other travelers they met they learned that most people left the country. All that remains are a few pockets of groups like this one.

“So are all you briefcase people from Denver too?” You ask and all their heads nod. “Why is it sending us here? What does it want? Any ideas on how to get back?” Your questions always pop out faster than you intend when you’re nervous.

Bev talks for the first time in a very soft voice, “We don’t know why here and now. And all of them,” She indicates the natives to this time, “most of them still don’t believe us, so we try to not talk about it too much and just be helpful around the camp to earn our keep.”

Phil grunts, “Bev here is sure the case has a plan and is comin’ back for us eventually.”

This is indeed a bit more adventure than you had bargained for, but hey, now you don’t have to worry about that dead-end job that you hated anymore… You take a deep breath and muster up all the bravery you have left to ask, “What projects you got happening now that I can help with?”

Leslie and her husband, Nick.

The End

Again thank you to Leslie Rohman who took on the challenge this week and wrote Briefcase Genie.

Blessings and have a wonderful weekend,

Jennifer

Briefcase Genie Option Aa: Hear the Next Two Options

Today we have the next part in the adventure of the Briefcase Genie. But shhh, don’t let the briefcase hear you say that!

If you missed the first two parts, click to the left under recent posts on Briefcase Genie and Briefcase Genie Option A. Then return here and vote for how you’d like to proceed but choose wisely, for there are many dangers in the world!

Enjoy.

Briefcase Genie Option Aa: Hear the Next Two Options

Photo courtesy of Sebring’s Snapshots.

You lie on the sand and just watch the moon rise and creep across the sky for a while. As you do so you contemplate your options.

You’ve only a few dollars in your pocket, no credit cards (you did the freezing them in a block of ice thing a while ago…), and your bank account is almost empty, so getting home on your own sounds nigh on impossible. You hesitantly ask the briefcase, “Do you have two more options for me?”

“But of course.” It answers and then just sits there staring blankly at you.

“Well… Can I hear them?”

“Certainly. Hot or Cold?”

This is an easy decision. Living in Denver, Colorado with its beautiful mountains all around has given you plenty of cold days. Somewhere warm is the place for you!

“Hot, please,” you request.

“Excellent choice. Just close and re-open the case and you’ll find everything you need. Watch out for sand fleas.”

“Eeeeeww.” You say as you close it up. When you re-open it, there is no hologram, but there is a plane ticket, your very own passport with a stamp already in it from when you “entered” Thailand, a small pile of money and a can of mosquito repellant.

You wonder just for a moment if you’ll still have a job when you return home, but the sunrise sparkling up over the horizon drives the worrisome thought from your mind. What a spectacular sight!

After enjoying the sunrise, you get yourself to the airport. Turns out, getting a taxi is the same no matter where you go. But the drivers are a little more aggressive here.

At the airport, the tiny, little lady behind the ticket counter gives you a funny look which concerns you. Maybe the briefcase is messing with you. Maybe it’s not a real ticket. But everything checks out ok and she points you towards security where lines of people are already taking their shoes off. After you make it through the line, you stop at the restroom and one look in the mirror causes you to realize she was looking at you funny because of your hair! You have the worst helmet hair ever!

You’re still not even sure where you’re heading till you get to the gate and read Belize as the destination. Where is that? And how long will it take to get there?

Turns out it’s in Central America and it takes you a full 24 hours to get there. But the case somehow got you in first class so you sleep and eat in style and are very well rested when you arrive.

The next week that you spend in this little part of paradise is beyond awesome. You explore ancient Mayan ruins, and jungles full of the noisiest and most colorful birds. You relax on the beach, swim and get a little sunburned.

Your favorite part by far, though, has been scuba diving in Lighthouse Reef and the Great Blue Hole. The hole was a cave some thousands of years ago. But at some point the roof collapsed leaving an almost perfect circle about 1000 feet across. The scuba diving took you almost two full days to master, but it was so worth it! There’s still even stalactites at the bottom!

Your briefcase head hasn’t reappeared at all while you’ve been here. But that’s been perfectly fine with you.

You figure today’s probably the last day here ‘cause the money has almost run out. So after the traditional dinner of rice, beans and fried chicken, you head down the beach with the case for a stroll. You plan to lie on the beach, watch the stars again and see if the hologram will show up with your next options.

You pick a spot as far away from the lights of the resort as possible, spread your towel and stretch out. Ah! It’s still warm from the day. You dig your toes in and savor the softness of the sand. You open the case, but no luck yet.

The moon creeps slowly across the heavens, your eyes are getting droopy and you sigh with contentment.

And then you’re sure you’re dreaming ‘cause it looks like the stars are coalescing and shaping themselves to look like humans dancing. They dance closer and closer. Not any bigger than normal, still tiny twinkly stars, but close enough to touch.

You reach out and behind you you hear your voice say, “ I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

You jump up and the stars scatter like frightened butterflies. You stand there very still and they dance their way closer again. As they twirl around, you ask, “Why not touch them?”

“The only other time I’ve witnessed the Invitation of the Stars, the young girl who did touch became one of them. “

Just to make sure you aren’t dreaming, you pinch yourself. OUCH!

“This is real then?”

“Oh yes, and I’ve no idea if they’ll go away or not so we’d better give you the next options and get out of here.”

You just sigh in response. A star girl twirls by so close, you can feel the breeze of her passing.

“Yes, yes, we’d better hurry. Would you like forwards or backwards?”

So…

Aa1: Backwards

or

Aa2: Forwards

Thank you Leslie for this fun adventure! Check back Thursday to see how it all finishes.

Leslie and her husband, Nick.

Blessings,

Jennifer

(Please post a comment with your choice. Heads up, after feedback, one vote per comment per day please but comment as much as you like=) This makes counting votes easier. Voting will end at 8pm Mountain Time Wednesday. I’ll post whichever option gets the most votes on Thursday and we’ll see how the adventure ends!)

Briefcase Genie Option A: High

Aw, sweet Thursay=)

We’re almost through another week. Hurray!

Welcome to the continuation of the Briefcase Genie Adventure. If you missed Tuesday, click on Briefcase Genie under recent posts to the left and then return here.

Otherwise, here’s a great big thanks to Leslie Rohman for guest authoring this week’s story.

Please enjoy and vote for how you’d like the adventure to continue!

Briefcase Genie Option A: High

You tell your holographic head in the briefcase, “Let’s try high.”

“High it is then. Please exit the cab and hold on tight, we don’t want any accidents this time.”

“Huh? This time?” You ask in a slightly squeaky voice. But the hologram has already disappeared and the top almost closes on your fingers.

Not so sure about following these instructions, you must get out for the cabbie is waiting. You pay him and cautiously step out.

As soon as your feet touch the sidewalk, the case starts to rise taking you with it! You grab the handle with both hands as the speed increases. The wind drowns out the noise of you yelling yourself hoarse.  Already high above even the tallest buildings of the city, the clouds are fast approaching.

You hear a crackling sound coming from the briefcase and suddenly, you’re in a spacesuit. And none too soon either ‘cause it was getting seriously hard to breath! The huge gloves of the spacesuit make it very hard to hold on to the handle of the case and you’re slipping as you hear more crackling. The case disappears and you land inside a huge clear bubble.

You kneel at the bottom and try to get your breathing back under control. Still rising at an incredibly fast speed, you leave the Earth’s atmosphere, and it looks like you’re enclosed in a fiery bubble. The spacesuit makes you feel just a little claustrophobic.

“You have approximately 4 hours of oxygen,” the holographic head is floating near the top of the bubble. “Please sit back and enjoy the ride.”

Relatively calm now you stare google-eyed as you fly past the moon. The earth looks exactly like in all the movies. It’s hard to believe that so many people fit in what looks like such a tiny ball now.

“If you will look to the right, we’re approaching Mars now. And oh look, we can even see one of the rovers sent from earth down there collecting information.”

You can see why Mars has been dubbed the “red planet”. It looks a lot like the red rocks that make up the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs that you visited once as a child. Mars appears to be smaller than Earth and the surface is full of craters and mountains, amazing!

“Brace for slight impact.” the hologram states in its flat voice.

“What?!” You swivel around and crane your neck up and down to see what it’s talking about. Right behind you, you see a rock about the size of a mini cooper barreling towards you.

A stream of barely intelligible words flies out of your mouth, “Turn, twist, duck and cover, move it, move it, get out of the way!”

And with each command you try to give, the silly case replies, “Not a valid entry.”

“AHHHHH!” You shout in frustration and no small amount of fear. You ram your right shoulder repeatedly into the side of the bubble to see if you can alter course just enough to get out of the rock’s way.

You’re making progress, but it’s not looking like enough. “Brace for impact” you mimic and then shout, “There is nothing in here to use for bracing!”

“And coming up on the left you can see Jupiter. Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system, has at least 67 moons and is…..” The hologram keeps right on going as if nothing extraordinary were about to happen. Some part of your brain does note the enormous size of the planet.

CRASH!

You bang against the sides like a pinball and your guide says, “Due to unfortunate circumstances, we’re going to have to return home before the end of our journey, I apologize for the inconvenience. “

Inconvenience? This briefcase is crazy! There is a gaping hole in the side of your bubble!

“It also appears that your suit was damaged in the collision, and you used up a large amount oxygen when panicking earlier, as such you may run out of air before we land. Please breath slowly.”

“What!?” Your breathing is anything but slow now.

You’re zooming past Mars again, much faster than before.  It’s incredibly noisy; kind of like a car ride with the windows all rolled down at 60mph. Except you can’t feel the wind in your face as you’re enclosed in the spacesuit.  It’s definitely getting harder to breath and very, very chilly.

You shoot past the moon so fast that you might not have seen it if you’d blinked. The force of your speed has you pressed against the back of the bubble. The earth is coming up mighty fast.

“We shall attempt a water landing. Usually the briefcase will reappear and pull you safely to shore, but seeing as how you might not be awake-“

Your vision is fuzzy and you hear no more till- SPLASH! – The water brings you back to alertness.

“Good, good, hold on tight,” The briefcase bobs along in the water.

You are now spacesuitless and you manage to grab on and not let go till you are pulled onto a white sandy beach. It’s dark and moonless.

You lay there taking deep slow breaths agreeing with the Hobbit who said that adventures are “nasty, uncomfortable things” or something like that.

The case next to your head is buzzing and glowing yellow around the cracks again. You reluctantly place your thumb on the pad and see the holographic face as it opens.

“Where are we?”

It surprises you greatly when it actually answers, “Thailand.”

Huh, that’s pretty far from Denver…

Seeing how the case has a very large lack of concern for safety, you are reconsidering your original idea about throwing it in a dumpster. Getting home shouldn’t be too hard….

So do you,

Leslie and her husband, Nick.

Aa. Want to hear your next adventure options?

or

Ab. Chuck the case and thumb your way home?

Thank you again to Leslie for writing this week’s adventure.

Blessings and we hope to see everyone on Tuesday,

Jennifer

(Please post a comment with your choice. Heads up, one vote per comment per day please but comment as much as you like=) This makes counting votes easier. Voting will end at 8pm Mountain Time Monday. I’ll post whichever option gets the most votes on Tuesday and we’ll see how the adventure continues!)

Briefcase Genie

I’m so excited for this next adventure. Awhile ago Leslie Rohman wrote this story for the blog. It was run once but now we get to explore another set of choices!

So let’s get started.

Briefcase Genie

You’ve always wanted to do something adventurous and crazy, but there’s always been something to hold you back. When you first started dreaming in high school, you obviously couldn’t just leave. Then, some of your more affluent friends did the whole traveling before college thing. But you were quite short on funds. So you figured you would do college first and get a good paying job, then you could do whatever you wanted!

What you didn’t count on was being up to your eyeballs in debt after college. And here you are now, stuck at this dead end job and your dreams seem so far from achievable that you have basically given up on them. Maybe after you retire….. or win the lottery.

Today seems no different from the rest until a black briefcase appears with a small flash of light right in the middle of your paper strewn desk! On the top it reads “everything you need for an adventure” in glowing yellow letters.

Dumbfounded, with your mouth hanging open, you peek from side to side to see if anyone else has noticed this sudden appearance. Matilda, on your right, is engrossed in a phone call. On your left, Harry is filling out an online request for more staples. And behind you, Frank is trying to hide the fact that he’s playing Minecraft here at work. So, nope, no one else noticed.

You pick up the briefcase and nearly throw it over your head because you were expecting it to be heavy, but it feels empty. You flip it over and see nothing else interesting on it and when you set it back right side up, the letters have disappeared. What the what? This is so weird!

You search for a latch to open it, all the while throwing furtive glances at your co-workers. There’s nothing there except for a little pad thing to put your thumb on. Is that called biometrics something-or-other?

Heart thumping, you place your thumb on the pad and *click* the top is open! How could your thumbprint open a case that you’ve never even seen before? And where did the crazy thing come from in the first place? You stand up and take a wider scan of the office to see if anyone is watching you and laughing, maybe this is just a big joke. But, nope, everyone is totally absorbed with their everyday tasks.

You sit back down, open the top and your heart plummets. It’s empty. You run your hands along the edges looking for a hidden pocket or compartment. Nothing.

This must be just some cruel joke! Perhaps someone is watching you via a hidden camera or some other such nonsense. But it is a mighty cruel one, to raise your hopes and crush them the next instant, bah! You throw the now offensive object under your desk and try to bury your disappointment in work.

***

At the end of the day, the briefcase is still sitting there. You decide to take it home and throw it in the dumpster outside your apartment building.

Everything feels slower and harder than normal. You trip on your own untied shoelace on the way out the door, it’s raining buckets, you forgot your umbrella and it takes absolutely forever to hail a taxi. Maybe it would be better to just stop hoping for things since disappointment hurts so bad?

As you sit there shivering and feeling blue, you notice a yellow glow coming from around the cracks of the briefcase. OK…….

Your curiosity gets the better of you and you place your thumb on the scanner. *click*

It’s not empty now! As it opens, you’re reminded of one of those jewelry boxes where the ballerina stands up and spins around to music. Except this is no ballerina.  It’s a hologram of your face! Your image starts talking and you shoot a nervous glance at the cabbie but he apparently can’t hear any of this.

“One: If you call me a genie, this briefcase will disappear forever and you’ll never know what might have been.”

This is really freaking you out having your own image speaking to you in your own voice. And you have no idea why you might call it a genie, but it seems to be waiting for a response, so you nod your head.

“Two: You must agree to pass this gift along when your adventure is done.”

This sounds easy enough so you nod again.

“Three: You get three destination choices. First choice: high or low?”

Ah ha, now you see why the genie comment. “High or low, what’s that mean?” You ask with furrowed brows.

“Not a valid entry, please choose high or low.”

Well, this is certainly an interesting twist. You don’t like it when your emotions are jerked around so much. First the crazy hope then the bitter disappointment and now this cryptic offer. Hmmmmm…..

Ah, what the heck! Going home to your lonely apartment sounds terrible. Let’s try this crazy ride!

So what’s it gonna be:

A. High?

or

B. Low?

Thanks again to Leslie for this intriguing adventure so far! Check back Thursday to see how the adventure continues.

Blessings,

Jennifer

(Please post a comment with your choice. Heads up, one vote per comment per day please but comment as much as you like=) This makes counting votes easier. Voting will end at 8pm Mountain Time Wednesday. I’ll post whichever option gets the most votes on Thursday and we’ll see how the adventure continues!)

Intelligence Part Two

Welcome to the second part of the story. I hope you enjoy and feel free to leave any comments about your thoughts=)

Intelligence Part Two

“Half of remaining safe is being unpredictable,” he said and finally offered his arm. “Shall we walk.”

He waited for the yelling, maybe the stomping of feet but they didn’t come. Her scowl disappeared.

“Unpredictable… I like it.” Kicking off her shoes, she picked them up in one hand and held the other out to take his arm.

Walking side by side for a bit in silence, she finally spoke up. Zackary had wondered how long it’d take.

“So officer, what’s your name?”

“Zachary Ulster Ridden the 4th.”

“Kind of hideous.”

“Isn’t it though?”

“Then why do you say the middle name?”

“Because Zachary Ridden is a notorious thief from Seattenburg.”

“I see.”

Silence again. She truly didn’t see, Zachary was sure, but it didn’t bother him. Few did ‘see’ when it came to the way his mind worked.

Thankfully, Commander Santell understood.

The palace appeared ahead. As they passed through the gate, Zachary handed his invitation to the steward.

The man raised a brow but with the Commander’s seal on the invitation, he wasn’t questioned.

“What else helps keep me safe?” Miss Santell asked when they paused for her to put her shoes back on.

“Not walking alone with strange men… or riding in a man’s coach without knowing him.”

Melanna paused. She grasped his meaning instantly and Zachary was a little surprised to see goose bumps on her arms. She didn’t respond, so he simply followed her into the great hall.

He trailed her as she danced and ate and conversed. She didn’t offer to dance with him and he didn’t ask but instead kept to the crowd, watching. The Commander wouldn’t have approved but he wasn’t present. Zachary was beginning to wonder if that was part of the problem. Miss Melanna didn’t seem aware of the risks behind her behaviors.

Catching the flash of her purple dress as she exited the hall, Zachary shook off his thoughts and followed. He found her sitting on a bench in the gardens, gazing up at the star ridden sky. A slight smile pulled up one corner of her lips.

Moving to join her, Zachary paused as another man appeared and sat beside Miss Melanna. The man handed her a glass.

Slipping back into the bushes behind him, Zachary watched as the sandy haired man introduced himself. Miss Melanna returned the gesture and then drank from the glass as the man drank from his own, like he was encouraging her to drink up.

Zachary suppressed a groan and then held his breath as a sneeze threatened to reveal him. Stupid bushes were getting to him.

The man stood and bowed to Miss Melanna before returning the way he’d come. It was several moments before she moved to follow him back into the palace.

As she stood, she wavered and sat down again. She held a hand to her head.

“Come, Miss Melanna, I’ll take you home,” someone said. Zachary looked to the side without moving his head to see a squat but heavy shouldered man.

Miss Melanna stood, surprised. She wavered and the man grasped her arm

“Not sup..shouldn’t ride with someone I don’t know.” She tried to pull away but the man’s grasp only tightened.

“Miss Melanna.” Zachary called out, stepping forward. The stranger turned and it was just enough distance for Zachary to insinuate himself between the two.

Melanna smiled , collapsing against his shoulder as he offered an arm for support.

The stranger glared before spinning away and disappearing down the path.

“Don’t worry,” Zachary mumbled, “I’ll find you and your friend later.” Then louder to Melanna he said, “close call.”

He guided her from the palace as she mumbled a response against his shoulder.

“What was that?”

“You knew that might happen?”

“You father may have mentioned the possibility.”

She swore softly. “No one tells me these thing.”

Getting her into the coach, Zachary propped her against the window as she passed out. She wasn’t purposefully careless…just free spirited. He liked it. She wanted to learn.

“Daddy’s not home enough to realize,” he mumbled to himself. It was sad the other officers who escorted her hadn’t struck upon the simple solution.

“No worries, Miss Melanna, I’ll pass along the message.” He watched her until they reached the house, head slumped and hair mussed from leaning against him. She really was beautiful.

“The Commander’s gonna hate me.” Zachary grinned.

***

“Teach her?” Santell’s brows were raised at the report.

“Yes Sir. She’d be a lot safer if she knew the situation.” Zachary picked up a small cup from the Commander’s table.

“Don’t pocket anything,” Santell said off handedly as he considered.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, unless maybe it’s your daughter’s heart.”

“What’d you say?”

Zachary grinned. The Commander glared.

“You no good thief, I hired you to find the security leaks in my ranks, not create issues in my family. Now get out and enjoy your holiday. I see you near my daughter, you don’t get paid.”

Zachary bowed and left, still grinning. He was, after all, Zachary Ridden, the famous thief, and Miss Melanna’s heart was a worthy ‘find.’ The Commander was going to hate him indeed.

The End.

Blessings and have a wonderful weekend,

Jennifer

Intelligence Part One of Two

Welcome back for  a new story! Thank you for everyone’s patience who stopped by last week and didn’t find a story. The short break for me was much needed=)

Now on to the new story. I hope you enjoy=)

Intelligence Part One of Two

The mist dampened the ground and deadened sound. It obscured everything but a ten-foot radius around where Zachary lay on his stomach.

Armor rattled to his left, breaking the feeling of isolation. Keeping low, Zachary crawled forward until a guy line materialized out of the shifting, gray fog. Now the rattle of armor was all around him. Lifting the edge of the closest tent, Zachary spied an elderly gentleman attempting to tighten his bracers. The insignia on his left shoulder indicated he was a sergeant.

Zachary let the tent fall back into place and kept crawling. He worked his way under a handcart. On the far side, he froze with his hand under the cartwheel just as vague movement to his left solidified into two soldiers.

“Can’t see far enough to sneeze without hitting someone,” one complained.

The other snickered. “Knowing your luck, you’d spray Sergeant Lawrence in the face.”

“Don’t jinx me.”

Zachary stifled a groan as one soldier stepped on his hand. The soldier tightened the straps on the cart before stepping away, leaving a solid foot print in the soft ground around Zachary’s hand.

The two soldiers turned to lift the cart. Zachary used the moment to scamper from beneath the cart and disappear into the fog beyond. He flexed his hand, grumbling silently about the bruise he’d bare for the next several days.

The snap of flags caught his attention and a slow grin pulled at his lips. Angling to the right and farther forward, he crawled toward the sound.

A new guy line materialized and Zachary froze against the edge of the tent as a troop of ten marched past. When they disappeared back into the fog like ghosts, he lifted the tent wall and rolled beneath. He’d seen the vague movement of command flags above but even still, relief flooded him when he spotted the broad back of Commander Santell.

Rising to his feet, the maid helping the Commander don his armor gasped. Zachary pulled a clean salute as Santell turned. The Commander eyed him, eyed his gray and brown mottled clothing and the ash on his skin and in his hair, eyed the lack of insignia on his shoulders.

The Commander cursed. “You just ruined my day, Zachary.”

“My apologies, Sir,” Zachary dropped the salute as the Commander finally returned it. Out of habit, he picked up a silver spoon off of the table.

“Your apologies! Ha! My elderly backside your apologies. Report, Intelligence Officer Zachary.” The Commander looked pointedly at the spoon and Zachary returned it to the table.

“Your security is lacking, Sir.”

“Obviously.” Sarcasm dripped from the word.

“The fog, Sir, makes you vulnerable.”

“And what do you suggest I do about it?”

Zachary grinned. The Commander groaned.

***

The Commander was getting back at him for once again shooting holes in his security. Zachary adjusted his jacket again but no matter how he straightened it, he wasn’t comfortable in the dress uniform. Crawling on the ground, covered in mud and stains…he was in his element. Decked out to escort Miss Santell to the latest dance and he felt like the famous sore thumb.

Zachary, I’ve a different, but challenging mission for you. Santell suckered him in. My daughter’s security is seriously lacking. Last week one of her friends was kidnapped for ransom. Figure out how to make Melanna safe and you’ll have holiday for a month.

Zackary jumped at the offer. Now he felt the dunce. Commander Santell refused to let him work behind the scenes. Said he had to see things from the center of the mess…right next to Miss Santell.

Straightening his jacket again, Zackary exited the coach as it came to a stop in front of the Commander’s house.

The white building competed with those around it for attention, boasting a gardened lawn decked out in colors of blue, red and yellow. Zackary resisted the urge to sneeze as he approached the door.

Knocking, he stepped back and listened to the click of heels approaching from the inside.

The door swung inward.

Melanna Santell smirked at him.

“Daddy sent a new uniform?”

She wasn’t talking to him but to someone over her shoulder.

“Yes, dear. Be nice and don’t shove this one into the pond.”

Zackary used the moment they were talking to recover himself. He’d expected a butler, not Miss Santell herself.

She eyed him and then, apparently deciding he was okay, stepped out and swung the door closed.

Zachary thought about offering his arm but then decided to mix things up. She was used to security officers ‘escorting’ her. So be it. He wasn’t the typical officer.

Whistling shrilly, he waited on the step of the house until he heard the coach leave without them.

Miss Santell, who’d started toward it, spun around.

“What’re you doing?” She demanded.

Zachary refrained from chuckling. Her eyes, a shade of green slightly different from her father’s, were lit with anger. Zachary decided it was a good thing only her eyes resembled the Commander. She was pretty when angry. The Commander was not.

“Half of remaining safe is being unpredictable,” he said and finally offered his arm. “Shall we walk.”

To Be Finished On Thursday…

Blessings,

Jennifer

Life Ran Away With Me

Just as the title says, life has gotten in the way of my writing. It picked me up and carried me away to see my husband, who just graduated from Basic Training in the Air Force. So, although I had some time to write on the plane, I didn’t get the story into the nifty device called the computer.

My sincerest apologies to everyone who stopped by for a brief respite from their everyday life. I promise I’ll post a new story as soon as I get it into the WordPress sphere.

Blessings and have a wonderful day,

Jennifer

Stagecoach Mission Option Bb2: Hide in the Stage

Welcome to the conclusion of the adventure. Reader’s have chosen to hide in the stage in hopes of catching the thieves by surprise.

Good luck!

Stagecoach Mission Option Bb2: Hide in the Stage

Letting the stage driver know what’s coming might be a good idea, you decide. So before the thieves show up, you head toward the edge of the forest to catch the stage before it enters the trees.

The sun is just touching the line of the horizon as you arrive at the edge of the forest and lean against a tree to wait.

A short time later you hear a low rumble with the sound of wheels squishing through mud. The stage is moving at a pace slightly faster than a horse’s walk. You see it appear over the edge of the hill and step out into the road so the driver can see you.

He slows down but doesn’t stop. You can’t exactly blame him considering he’s probably anticipating an attack.

To reassure him, you flash the inside of your cloak, which is lined with blue and green, the colors of a King’s man.

The driver pulls the horses to a stop.

“Hello, stranger,” he says.

You introduce yourself and explain to him what’s going on. A deep frown covers his face but he doesn’t appear surprised.

“All right,” he agrees. “Go ahead and hide inside.”

Getting down from his seat, he unlocks the stage and lets you in. Then he leaves it unlocked so you can surprise the thieves when they attack.

You settle onto the seat in the small space not taken up by the King’s treasure. The stage starts forward again.

It doesn’t take long for you to reach where the trap is set up. You hear the snap of the cables and the crash of the rocks in the forest but then you feel the stage slowing. In such a situation, you know the driver’s trained to keep going unless he has no other choice.

The stage stops.

“Guess what I’ve got for you, Erik?” It’s the voice of the driver. It dawns on you he’s part of the thieves just as the lock on the stage clicks shut.

“It’s a king’s man!”

They continue to talk, discussing their next move. The trap was set up to make the driver look innocent. He would have wandered into Shelton with the ‘horrible’ story of being robbed. But now that was ruined. They couldn’t wreck the stage with you inside of it…unless they killed you.

At this point you decide you’ve heard enough.

As they continue to discuss, you move the treasure off the floor to uncover the trap door you know the King keeps in his transport stages. Picking the lock on it, you slip out the bottom, then drop to the ground and duck into the trees before they realize you’re gone.

You didn’t catch them but you have information. That, as a spy, is as good as gold. You head into Shelton to contact the lawmen there.

***

You’re information leads to the capture of the thieves in the town after Shelton. The lawmen take the praise for their capture and your part, sadly, is unknown by anyone but yourself, the Shelton lawmen, and your Master who simply advises you that that’s the way it goes for a spy.

The End

Congrats on catching the thieves! And thank you for participating in the adventure.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend=)

Blessings,

Jennifer

Stagecoach Mission Option Bb: Sabotage the Trap

Welcome back for the next part of the adventure! Reader’s choices swayed unanimously for sabotaging the thieves traps, so let’s see what happens.

At the end, please vote for the last choice in this adventure=)

Stagecoach Mission Option Bb: Sabotage the Trap

Considering your options, you decide to sabotage the trap to ensure the stage makes it safely through. You don’t want to chance that you miss the thieves all together.

You study the trap to figure out its weak points. The cables running from the board to the net of rocks are thick.

You could cut the net and release the rocks but that would be very noisy and would alert the thieves to your presence.

You might be able to saw through the cables but you’re not sure you can get through them before the stage comes through since all you have is a small knife for gutting small game.

The board buried under the road is so big it took two of the thieves to set it into place. You’re not sure you can move it on your own.

Using your gloved hand, you move mud away from one of the connection points between the board and the cables, and a smile graces your face.

The thieves have screwed eye bolts into the board and the cables are threaded through. You don’t have to cut the cable or move the board, all you have to do is unscrew the three eye bolts.

You get to work turning the bolts. It twists the cable around and around but, noticing this, you hold tight when the first bolt comes free and then you let the cable spin back to its natural position.

You do the same with the second and then the third bolt. Standing back, you look over your work by the light the moon casts on the road.

Then you frown. Your foot prints are all over the side of the road in the mud and the bolts sit free for anyone to see.

If the thieves arrive early enough to investigate, they’ll know right away their trap’s been messed with.

Taking the bolts, you push them under the board and cover them with mud so a quick look won’t reveal they’re not attached.

To cover your tracks, you walk backwards swishing your foot back and forth to remove the set prints. The mud’s cold and doesn’t move easily now but after putting some weight behind what you’re doing, you finally manage to cover the tracks.

Observing your work, you don’t see anything else you should change, so you fad back into the trees.

It occurs to you that, as soon as the thieves realize the trap didn’t work, they might attack the stage farther down the road before Shelton. As you’re considering this problem, you realize the forest around you is eerily quiet. Even at night there are usually animal noises.

The thieves must be moving in before dawn to watch their trap. You glance around but no one is in sight yet.

You could move farther down the road and hide in the trees, perhaps set up a trap to catch the thieves if they do decide to attack after the trap fails.

Or you could move to the edge of the forest and catch the stage before it even enters the trees. Then you could hide inside and catch the thieves by surprise. Either way, you’ve got to move quickly before the thieves arrive.

So do you…

Bb1: Hide in the Trees?

Or

Bb2: Hide in the stage?

Blessings,

Jennifer

(Please post a comment with your choice. One vote per post please but comment as much as you like=) This makes counting votes easier. Voting will end at 8pm Mountain Time Wednesday. I’ll post whichever option gets the most votes Thursday and we’ll see how the adventure finishes!)

Stagecoach Mission Option B: Spy on the Road

Welcome to the second part of Stagecoach Mission. Reader’s choice has you spying on the King’s road in hopes of spying out the thieves who have been attacking the stage.

Good luck! And at the end, vote for how you’d like to continue.

Stagecoach Mission Option B: Spy on the Road

You decide to spy on the road to see if you can catch a glimpse of the thieves. It’d be very helpful to know what they’re up to if they’re in the area.

Instead of walking on the road, you work your way into the Ridgeway forest and then follow the road from a distance. Because of the needles and shrubs on the forest floor that cut down on the mud, the going is easier. Your feet aren’t weighed down by ten pounds of muck. Around you birds are chirping and an occasional squirrel chatters at you.

These sounds are good. They let you know if someone else is around. And you learned long ago that if they go silent you’re in danger. So you listen as much as you watch the forest as you pass through.

The sounds don’t change and you make it a ways into the forest without running into anything. If the thieves are in the forest, they’re either not moving much or they’re not near the road.

You move closer to the road and study the lay of the land.

Up ahead the road makes a hard left and slopes down toward Shelton. It’s far enough up the mountain that it’s not visible from the town but, with the hard turn, it also creates a blind corner.

It’s the best place you’ve seen so far for an ambush. Moving closer, you climb a tree and sit on a branch to get a bird’s eye view of the area.

The trees sit tight to the road with many of the larger branches overhanging the passage. The driver of the stage would have to duck in some areas so as not to be swept from his seat.

Deep ruts dig into the dirt, showing where some wagons and coaches have tried to slow down on the slope in an attempt not to slide off the side of the road around the blind turn.

The longer you study to stretch, the more convinced you are that this is the place the thieves will use for their mischief.

The sun’s slowly setting, so you climb down and find a tree where the roots stick out of the ground. Settling into those roots, you cover yourself with your cloak and sit back to wait the night out. The coach should come through this area sometime tomorrow morning. If the thieves are going to make their move here, they need to set up their ambush. Your position gives you a view of the road without being very visible yourself.

You sit back to wait.

The moon’s high in the sky when a sound like a metal shovel hitting a rock startles you awake. You hold still as you hear men moving around the blind corner. As you watch, you count four. They seem to be burying something on the tight side just after the blind corner.

Finally the men seem satisfied with their work and leave the area. You wait a bit longer to be sure they’re gone and then rise from your spot.

Your knees protest movement but after giving them a moment to adjust, you’re able to move quietly to the spot in the road the men were working on.

A heavy board is covered with dirt. Several cables, also mostly buried, run from the board into the trees. Following one of these cables, you find they lift from the ground and are thrown over several heavy three branches. Above are suspended nets full of rocks.

It looks like a set up to roll the Stage. When the Stage takes the hard turn, the thieves release the rocks that then pull down on the cables. As the cables are pulled, they lift the board under the dirt and throw the Stage to the side.

You could either sabotage the trap or head into town for help. Taking the trap apart would take most of what’s left of the night but would help the stage. Getting help might accomplish both but also leaves the stage at risk if you don’t get back in time.

Do you…

Bb. Sabotage the trap?

Or

Bc. Head for help?

Blessings,

Jennifer

(Please post a comment with your choice. One vote per post please but comment as much as you like=) This makes counting votes easier. Voting will end at 8pm Mountain Time Monday. I’ll post whichever option gets the most votes Tuesday and we’ll see how the adventure goes!)