Counting Sheep
“Everyone stay alert,” I say as we cut through some bushes and emerge on a street full of boots and teakettle homes in Enchantasia Village. “We have no idea how long Red and Robin can hold off the beasties.”
“Robin,” Maxine says his name and starts giggling. Peaches quacks at her as she waddles along the path beside us. Maxine blushes. “I do not! He’s just lovely, that’s all.” Peaches quacks again. “No, I don’t want you to go back and snatch one of his arrows as a souvenir. Gilly’s right. We need to stay together.”
Jocelyn looks around warily. “Does anyone know what time it is?”
Jax pulls out his tricked-out pocket watch, which has gotten us out of a scrape once or twice before. I haven’t seen him carry it in a long time. “Around three o’clock. Why?”
Jocelyn looks around warily. “Street is pretty empty for the middle of the afternoon.”
There are bikes and toys strewn on front lawns as if the kids were called in to dinner and left everything where it was. We walk by a Hot Tea for Sale stand and the teakettle is steaming, which means the stand’s owners just made it. They couldn’t have gone far.
“Maybe everyone is just getting out of school,” AG suggests.
I pull an arrow out of my quiver and prepare to nock it. “Or we’re about to be attacked.”
“If we were going to be attacked, I think we’d know,” Ollie said. “The beasties have been in clear view all along. They’re not even trying to hide.”
“Let’s just move quickly,” I say, hurrying down the street as Wilson pokes his pink nose out of my uniform pocket and squeaks in agreement. “We need to get to Pinocchio’s Puppet Theatre unseen in case anyone here is looking for us.”
“Don’t think that’s going to be a problem,” Jocelyn says as we turn onto another empty street. “Is it a holiday or something?”
“Not that I know of.” Jax frowns. “Let’s see what’s going on in the village square.”
“I thought we were going to try to stick to the side streets.” I turn onto another block of boot homes that look identical to the one I grew up in. “I know a lot of shortcuts.”
I wasn’t going to mention this out loud, but if we keep heading down Humpty Dumpty Court and then cut through the backyard of the old woman who lives in a shoe, we’d be on Boot Way, which is my block.
Would it be so wrong to run in for two seconds and warn my family about what’s going on? I am not sure I should send them a Pegasus Post—it could be intercepted—and they need to know what I learned about Grandma Pearl and Alva. My family could be in danger. Who am I kidding? They are in danger. If Stiltskin wants to find me, he definitely will be after them. I need to get home. I walk faster and hope my friends will follow.
“Hey. This isn’t the way to Pinocchio’s Puppet Theatre,” Maxine notices. “It’s in the other direction.”
“Is it?” Wilson looks up at me. I keep my eyes on the path ahead, sidestepping another bicycle lying in our way.
“Yeah, Gilly, this is the wrong way.” Ollie points in the opposite direction. “Pinocchio’s Puppet Theatre is a few blocks away from Gnome-olia Bakery, and that’s right off Baa, Baa, Black Sheep Boulevard. I mean, if we have time to get a few pattycakes on our way, that wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
“Except we really need to be on This Little Piggy Place,” AG corrects him. “By Combing the Sea?” She sighs. “Maybe I could just pop in the shoppe for a second. I love their dragon-tooth combs.”
“We are not going shopping or getting food! We need to get to school before those gargoyles come back and try to take us away,” Jocelyn says. They all start arguing, which is the perfect time for me to break into a run. “Hey! Where are you going?”
“To see my family!” I yell, not looking back.
“You can’t!” Jax yells. “It’s not safe!”
“I’ll be fine! You guys keep going. I’ll meet up with you!” I promise.
“Gilly, watch out!” Ollie shouts, but it’s too late.
I trip and go tumbling into a tent in someone’s backyard. Wilson goes flying out of my pocket and lands in a piece of cake on the picnic blanket next to the tent. But I’ve landed hard and torn my red-and-white-striped tights, and my knee is bleeding. I get up slowly.
“Are you mad as a hatter?” Jocelyn barks. “You can’t run off like that. We have to stick together.”
“I’m sorry, but I’ve got the worst feeling about my family,” I say, wiping off my knees. “I just wanted to check on them.”
“You have a feeling? Are your ears tingling?” Kayla’s eyes light up. “Maybe your fairy senses are kicking in!”
I touch my ear. No vibrations. “My ears aren’t tingling. I’m just worried about them.” I look at Jax. “I need to make sure they’re okay.” AG pours some water from the pitcher on the picnic blanket onto a napkin and hands it to me to dab at my bleeding knee. “Thanks.”
“Headmistress Flora can send someone, but we can’t go to the boot,” Jax points out. “What if it’s being watched?”
“Um, guys?” AG interrupts. “How is this man snoring through all this commotion?” She points to a large man lying on the lawn. His shirt is curled up, showing off his belly button. “Is he Rip Van Winkle or something?”
Ollie peels back the opening to the tent. Two kids are sleeping inside, clutching wooden horses. “You two okay?” Ollie asks and nudges their shoulders. They continue to snore. Peaches pushes aside their uneaten sandwiches and steals the apple they have, swallowing it whole.
Maxine looks back at us guiltily. “I have to work on her not stealing things. But who knows when she ate last?”
This time I feel a tingling at the back of my neck, but I don’t think it’s due to fairy powers. I think it’s intuition.
“Wait a minute—” Kayla says at the same time I begin to piece together what is happening.
I spin around and look at the other lawns—two people are asleep on a porch, and a child is out cold on a swing. A dog in his doghouse is slumbering too. Wilson starts squeaking madly, and I know he’s thinking the same thing I am. It’s as if my heart constricts at the same time I hear a ringing in my ears.
“Stiltskin,” I say aloud. I jump over the sleeping man and run as fast as I can through the other backyards to 2 Boot Way. I can hear my friends trying to stop me, but I need to reach my home before Rumpelstiltskin does. I round the corner to my block. It’s eerily quiet, but there are no carriages parked out front, no cooking ladles (Stiltskin has flown on one before) or signs of magic anywhere. I run up the path with my friends at my heels and throw open the door.