The howls were followed by footsteps and snapping branches. Indira turned in that direction, hammer out and ready. The rest of the crew circled to stand with her. A shadowy figure was pressing through the trees and closing in on their location.
“Wolves,” Squalls muttered. “No one said anything about wolves….”
But it was most definitely not a wolf.
Indira squinted as one figure became three. It almost felt like she was looking into a fun-house mirror. Three women approached, their faces identical. Indira could not tell if they were sisters or clones or something more magical. Only their clothing and age didn’t match. The first girl could not have been older than ten. She wore a delightful sundress and an excited smile to match it.
The second girl looked like a teenager. The sleeves of her more practical dress were muddy, and her hair had been thrown into a quick ponytail. Indira saw she was gritting her teeth, as if braced at any moment for an attack. And the final sister was nearly an adult. She wore majestic armor and—if Indira wasn’t mistaken—a matching crown.
“Welcome to the land of Plot,” the youngest said. “We are the rulers of this region, and your official welcoming party. You may call me Beginning.”
The teenager with the dirtied sleeves nodded. “I am Middle.”
“And I am End,” the queen said crisply. “We were worried when you didn’t arrive at your scheduled time, or at your scheduled location. It was a wonderful idea to send up flares! We saw the fire and headed straight here to welcome you.”
Phoenix glanced over at Indira before shrugging at them.
“Er. Yeah. Flares. Those were flares.”
Indira had to hide a laugh. Gadget, meanwhile, was studying the three of them like a science exhibit. “You’re the same person, aren’t you?”
“No,” End answered with a sly smile. “And yes.”
Beginning looked like she might burst from all the excitement. “Is anyone the same person they were at the start of the story? So much can happen! So much can change! I am the same as them, and at the same time I am who I am now. The three of us have ruled Plot for centuries. You’ll start your adventure in my neck of the woods, obviously.”
“And then you’ll pay me a visit,” Middle added. “Don’t expect it to be fun.”
End smiled. “And I am the final chapter of your story. We will not know how your journey ends until the very last page. Exciting, is it not?”
Beginning lugged a briefcase forward and set it down on the ground in front of them.
“No time to waste!” she exclaimed. “I want you in place by nightfall. You’re here for the Hero’s Journey tutorial. Every story has a Beginning, Middle, and End. But we’ve developed some more specific strategies for storytelling in Plot over the last century. The Hero’s Journey is our most popular method. We’ve got some top-of-the-line tech for teaching the method.”
Indira and the rest of the crew crowded forward to get a look. All except for Squalls, who was still nervously eyeing the woods behind them for any sign of approaching wolves. The interior of Beginning’s briefcase had a black velvet surface. Six dime-size devices were set into the padded material like precious jewels. Gadget let out a gasp at the sight.
“No way,” she exclaimed. “We get to use tutor devices?”
Indira had never heard the term before, and she was thankful when Middle explained what Gadget already seemed to know. “Tutor is short for tutorial,” she said in that steady voice of hers. “These devices are teaching instruments that will walk you through each step in the Hero’s Journey.”
Gadget was nodding excitedly. “They record everything, too. So we can analyze the data later. And tutors provide graphics as we go through the quest. It’s like a video game. So cool.”
Beginning smiled. “I have a device for each of you. The tutor will begin with a description of your role in the upcoming story. Most of the time you’re just following your instincts and playing out the scenario you’ve been given. If you start to get away from the classic Hero’s Journey story line, these devices will help you get back on track. It’s like one giant training session.”
Indira nodded. “That’s actually pretty cool.”
Beginning carefully lifted out the first device. It was just big enough to cover the tip of her finger and—to Indira’s untrained eye—looked a lot like a contact lens.
“Let’s start with you, Gadget, since you’re obviously the most excited.”
Excited was an understatement. Gadget was gripping the young emissary’s elbow and actually leaping up and down like a little kid. She didn’t even need instructions on how to use the device. She simply pulled down one eyelid and slid the lens inside.
After a few rapid blinks, she let out a delighted squeal. “Wicked! I’ve been dying to get my hands on tech like this!”
Beginning turned to Phoenix, offering a device. “Naturally, we designed yours to be fire-resistant.”
Allen Squalls was next. The emissary handed his over, and he promptly fumbled it. Indira watched as he snatched it out of the dirt. He did his best to wipe the device clean on his shirt, even blowing on its surface. And then, lifting it up, he fumbled the device a second time.
“Slippery little suckers!” he complained.
Indira couldn’t help smiling. Allen was a little bumbling, but at least he would add some humor to the trip. The emissary approached Indira next.
“You’re the leader,” she explained. “All the devices will calibrate to yours. So if you change the direction of the story, the advice the others receive will adapt to what you’re doing.”
Indira nodded. “Makes sense.”
Middle had marched over and was attempting to roughly jam the device into Allen’s eye. Indira pulled down an eyelid. It was horribly uncomfortable to try to touch her own eyeball. She flinched and blinked and grew annoyed before finally opening her eye and sliding the device inside. She’d never worn contacts before, and the feeling was incredibly invasive. It took her several blinks and a few tears to situate the lens properly. Glancing up, she was disappointed to find that the surrounding forest looked exactly the same as it had a moment before.
“How does it—”
Indira fell silent. Words and objects were appearing in thin air. The curtain of trees was still there, but now little icons were imposed over her view of them.
“Wow!” she said. “It really is like a video game.”
At the bottom center of her vision, Indira saw her own name floating in the air. The number zero glowed beside it. In the left corner, there was a neatly formatted list running down in an organized column. Indira read the first few items curiously:
THE ORDINARY WORLD
THE CALL TO ADVENTURE
REFUSAL OF THE CALL
SUPERNATURAL AID
Indira noticed that the first line was glowing and bold. The other items in the list appeared to be slightly faded. She was half listening as Beginning started giving instructions.
“…go ahead and read your introductory paragraphs,” she was saying. “I’ll escort you into town when you finish the orientation process.”
At the very center of her vision, Indira saw a slightly faded paragraph of text. She squinted, trying to bring it into focus. The response was immediate. The words glowed bright enough to read. Gadget wasn’t kidding. These devices were wicked cool.
Indira read:
Welcome to the Hero’s Journey tutorial! The concept of a Hero’s Journey was first made popular in the Real World by Joseph Campbell. His theory was that nearly every great story in the world followed the same predictable pattern. The Wizard of Oz? The Hobbit? Star Wars? The Lion King? All those stories—and so many others—follow a standard plot pattern that he called the Hero’s Journey. We believe that taking this tutorial will sharpen your instincts and give you a natural sense of where an Author is heading in any story. Ready to begin?
Indira saw that the last sentence was underlined. She stared at those words, and the device seemed to read her mind. That paragraph vanished, replaced with a new set of instructions:
Head to the town of ORDINARY. You live in the brick house with the frog statues on the front porch. Open the door and head up to your room on the second floor. The scenario will begin in the morning after you get a good night’s sleep.
The device must have sensed she was done—because the second she finished reading, the text vanished from sight. Her actual vision shifted back into focus and her eyes found Phoenix’s.
He grinned at her. “I’m a farm boy.”
“Flames and hay.” Indira winked. “That’s a dangerous combo.”
Squalls was still blinking at his own instructions. Gadget actually groaned.
“I’m apparently the town outcast?” she said.
“And I live in the frog house,” Indira said with a smile. “Let’s get started.”
Beginning let out a little squeal at those words. The emissary led them excitedly out of the forest. Rolling hills waited in the distance. The countryside was dotted with rather average-looking farmhouses. Beyond those stood the town of Ordinary. A single stone wall circled fifty or so buildings. The gates of the little town stood open in welcome.
“Ordinary,” Gadget pronounced. “Pretty fitting name choice.”
She wasn’t wrong. The place looked plain as sand.
“That’s how it should be,” Phoenix replied. “Look at the status in the left corner of the tutor device. We’re on the Ordinary World step. Isn’t that how most of the stories start? Heroes are always living such normal lives in the beginning.”
Beginning nodded her approval. “Ten points to you! As you advance through the tutorial, you’ll notice that the bolded step will change to indicate where you are in the Hero’s Journey.”
Indira was still thinking about the Ordinary World step. She knew that was how the story she’d been chosen for had begun. Everything had been pretty plain. It had taken several scenes to get to the cool stuff. As the crew approached the town, it was hard not to notice just how empty it was. Not a soul could be seen. Farm tools were scattered at random. The lone guard post had been abandoned.
Her mind started racing through clues. Was this the start of their practice journey?
“So the townspeople went missing,” she guessed. “And it’s up to us to figure out what happened to all of them?”
A little red −10 appeared in Indira’s vision. She frowned.
Beginning explained. “Not exactly! The Hero’s Journey starts in the morning. When you wake up, the town will be full of people. All of you will have temporary families. Most of the actors are unfinished characters. Some very talented characters in the bunch. Just remember that everyone in the scenario with you is playing a role. Your job is to trust your instincts and practice.
“Which brings me to the point system. Right now Indira is in the negative. Phoenix is in the positive. This is just practice, though. The points will wipe clean at the start of the scenario. You’ll find as you move through the Hero’s Journey that good story instincts earn you more points. Every time you do something well, you’ll be rewarded. Going off track or slipping out of character will be scored negatively. Your brainstorms will use those scores to assess your performance at the end.”
End offered a queenly wave.
Indira found herself nodding, grateful that her negative score would be reset. She was very familiar with practice roles. It was kind of like living with the Penningtons. They’d started out pretending to be family, and after a time, she’d fallen into character and become their actual family.
“This is where we part ways,” Middle said quietly. “But do not fear, it will not be long.”
End smiled. “Longer for some than for others! See you at the close! No spoilers!”
“I’ll be around if you need me,” Beginning said. “Any final questions?”
Allen’s hand shot into the air. “I’m pretty sure my device is broken. It says that I’m Phoenix’s guardian. Which is fine, I guess. I’m not sure if I’m really cut out for guard duty. But then there’s this footnote….” He squinted to read text the rest of them couldn’t see. “It says I have a seventy-five percent chance of dying to protect him during the tutorial! That’s like…a lot of percent. Isn’t it? That’s more than half! I’d have a better chance of surviving a coin flip! I guess I’m just wondering if it makes sense for me to trade for a different role? Maybe I’m the kid at the start of the story who makes a joke and you never see him again?”
Beginning smiled. “You have a role to play. We all do. And keep in mind that the story will change as you go along. There’s always that twenty-five percent chance you survive! Trust the tutor device to guide you. I promise that it will explain everything. Any other questions?”
Squalls was still muttering to himself. “…seventy-five percent. That’s like really close to one hundred percent….”
When no one else spoke, Beginning dipped into a gracious bow. The three sisters walked arm in arm toward the woods. Indira watched and thought she saw them become one person again as they reached the edge of the woods. Turning back, she found the others waiting for her.
Right, she thought. I’m supposed to lead.
“Any other special instructions?” she asked. “Mine just says to go to bed.”
Gadget grinned. “Mine says I get to tinker with some inventions tonight. Sweet!”
“I’m apparently not allowed to use fire,” Phoenix said.
Indira frowned at that. “Weird. That’s kind of what you do.”
“It actually says fire is forbidden,” Phoenix corrected himself. “That’s the exact wording.”
Indira considered that. It felt good to stand on the edge of a fresh new mystery. Last year, her adventure had involved a lot of bad grades and failure and frustration. She had a feeling that this adventure would be a lot more fun. Excitement raced through her veins.
“I’m sure it will make sense in the morning,” she said. “Let’s get some sleep.”
Overhead, the light was fading fast.
“I’m up there.” Phoenix pointed. “The house on the hill.”
“Me too…,” Squalls said, his voice full of concern. “There’s probably a monster hiding in that barn. Or the house will be haunted by vengeful ghosts. It looks very exposed. A good wind might knock the whole thing over on top of us. We’ll have to test every floorboard to make sure it’s all structurally sound….”
Phoenix threw an arm around him. “Squalls. It’s going to be okay. Come on. We’ll go up there together and check everything out.”
Allen’s steady stream of fears went quiet. Their crew exchanged goodbyes. Indira walked into the center of town with Gadget at her side. It took a few minutes to find their assigned houses. Gadget’s home looked like it was located right above a strange workshop.
Before Indira could say good night, Gadget nodded to her.
“What’s it like?” she asked.
Indira frowned. “What’s what like?”
Gadget stared down at her own feet. “Being in a story? A real story?”
It took her a moment to remember Gadget’s file. The girl had been in school for years now, and still hadn’t found a story of her own. This was one of her last chances to prove she had what it took. Indira waited until the girl looked back up. She smiled, trying her best to sound confident.
“I could tell you,” she answered, “but after we crush this tutorial, you’ll land your own spot with an Author. And then we can compare notes. How’s that sound?”
Gadget didn’t look like she believed it, but she nodded.
“Sounds good.”
Indira wished the girl a good night, found her house, and headed inside. As she walked up the stairs to her bedroom, steps echoing, she felt a change in the air.
Adventure.
She couldn’t have been more ready for it.