Charlie and the Stone

Chapter 3

The Cave floor had now turned into beautiful beach sand, and to the right and left side were patches of grass and cool green palm trees that swayed in the breeze. Smoothly moving towards the area Charlie saw waves and a vast sky blue ocean that appeared lighter the further he looked. Glistening on top of the water, the sun cast a big reflection on the lake that looked kind of white. To his right on a tall wooden sign, the boy saw a sign that said "The Crystal Cave Island" in a fancy beach-like font. Curious about what else this beautiful place had to offer Charlie wanted to explore the place, but first he was going to dry his wet socks and shoes. Finding a big dry log that was sticking out of the beach sand,(in front of a patch of grass that was sitting under a big palm tree) The boy walked over to it ( sat down on the log) and worked on getting his shoes and socks on then he sat them on the log so they could dry. While he waited for his shoes and socks to dry out Charlie walked over close to the beach shore and watched the waves as they crashed up onto the shore. Walking Charlie could feel the soft grainy sand touch his feet. Looking further out in the ocean the boy saw strang gliding movement through the water from what looked like a turtle(of course he could only see its small head from where he was at). Charlie stood there watching the ocean waves for 10 more minutes when he figured his socks and shoes were dried out and decided to walk over to grab them. Sitting on the log Charlie brushed off the sand from his feet then slipped his socks and shoes back on and began exploring the island. Making his way around, Charlie first stopped in the middle of the island at a group of palm trees and some bushes. Now as he looked closely up at their leaves, Charlie noticed (hidden behind their leaves)a little bit of brown fuzz peeking out from what he guessed were probably coconuts. This large nut fruit lay scattered under and around some of the trees. Some were cracked open d, rotten, and filled with sand, and others were open and fresh. Just like the palm tree leaves, concealed inside some of the bushes Charlie saw some berries. The siren of all the food quickly made his mouth water since he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. Every once in a while he would have to force himself to not eat any of the berries or a freshly fallen coconut (on the grass and beach). As much as he wanted to, Charlie had quickly remembered what Luc had told him when they were out in their woods one day. She told him not to eat wild food like berries unless he knew for sure that it was safe to eat. Taking his sister's helpful advice, Charlie walked up next to a palm tree and grabbed a coconut that was sitting peacefully at its base. Holding it, the boy spun the fruit all the way around, checking for any cracks or holes. After that, he walked out to the beach shore, bent down, and started washing off as much dirt as he could on the outside. Finally, Charlie searched the island for a big rock that he could smash the coconut against. Finding a long flat gray rock stuck in the sand, the boy began smashing it. Working at this for a while, the boy saw that getting water out of this fruit was way harder than he thought. When the tree did crack and water started to spew out and dripped down on the rock. Luckily Charlie was able to catch some of the drops as they came down. " Aww refreshing,'' he thought after taking a drink. Feeling rehydrated, the boy then went to town on tearing out the coconut shavings and eating them. Just like the palm tree, these bushes concealed the fruit. There were no houses and he had landed on an island. Flying high in the clear blue sky the boy looked up and saw white seagulls. The little ripples of ocean waves moved swiftly towards the island and made a loud splash sound when they hit the beach shore. Curious about what else the island had to offer Charlie wanted to explore the place, but first he was going to dry his wet socks and shoes. Finding a big dry log that was sticking out of the beach sand,(in front of a patch of grass that was sitting under a big palm tree) The boy walked over to it ( sat down on the log) and worked on getting his shoes and socks on then he sat them on the log so they could dry.
While he waited for his shoes and socks to dry out Charlie walked over close to the beach shore and watched the waves crash up onto the shore. Walking Charlie could feel the soft grainy face touch his feet. Looking far out in the ocean the boy saw gliding movement through the water from what looked like a turtle. Charlie stood here watching the ocean waves for 10 more minutes when he figured his socks and shoes were dried out and decided to walk over to get them. Sitting on the log Charlie brushed off the sand from his feet then put his socks and shoes back on and started exploring the island. Roaming the island the boy saw beautiful tall palm trees that swayed in the cool breeze.
Looking closely at them Charlie saw (hidden behind their leaves)a little bit of brown fuzz from what he guessed was probably coconuts. He was walking around the beach listening to the waves as they crashed up onto the shore when he suddenly spotted out of the corner of his eye a brown wooden boat and oars docked there facing sideways. " This was weird," Charlie thought. "Why was a boat here when he had seen no one else on the island but himself? '' The boy thought about getting a little worried. "Maybe it was some kind of sign?", Charlie thought. Looking at this wooden water vehicle Charlie wondered if it would take him to a magical land like in some of the books he used to read. Only one way to find out, he thought. Before getting inside, first Charlie slowly walked up to the boat and looked inside. Observing the interior of the vehicle, the boy was surprised to find no equipment, and he noticed that the boat looked brand new from the inside and out. Then the boy set the oars gently in the boat and pushed it off the shore and into the water a little bit. As the boat rocked gently back and forth Charlie quickly walked up to his ankles in the slightly cold water and carefully climbed into the boat. Once he was on board, the boy then used his paddles and rowed away from the island's shore. Since he had no idea where exactly he was going, Charlie decided to just venture out into the deep ocean.
With the wind coming towards him, the boy had to row the boat a lot to keep it on course. As he did this Charlie would sometimes look carefully down at the water. Swaying at the bottom of the ocean the boy could barely see the tops of really tall green seaweed. Different collared fish also swam through the water moving their tail from side to side. Sometimes the boy would stick one of his hands in the water and would glide it through the waves. Charlie was rowing when he suddenly noticed the clouds start to darken, ahead of him.
Seeing this Charlie feared that there was probably a storm coming and tried to turn away from it and head back home, but along with the approaching clouds also came high winds and violent waves that forced the boat to dangerously rock back and forth. This made it harder for him to row, so instead, the waves took control over the boy and the boat like a remote controller and a remote control car, making it fight against the waves as they pushed it up big and small waves and came down violently like he was riding a roller coaster (a really big one). As he was pulled up and down these waves Charlie's heart started to race, feeling scared. In the distance, he could hear thunder booming in the distance.
Just when the boy thought things couldn't get any worse, suddenly the waves quickly picked Charlie and the boat up for one last ride, but this time when it came down it started d Charlie right for a pile of rocks. Quickly he tried to turn the boat but instead, it went right for the rocks and hit them with a big bang sound when hit. Crashing into the rocks the boy then quickly fell backward and hit the back of his head hard on the boat floor. Then he closed his eyes and everything went dark. A few hours later Charlie could hear the loud sound of ocean water splashing onto a shore and seagulls calling. Lingering in the air, he could smell saltwater. Waking up, the boy slowly sat up and looked around curiously. "Where am I?" Charlie wondered. Then he climbed out of the boat( leaving the oars inside) and started standing up and getting out of the boat looking around. Behind him, the boy turned around and saw a really cool vast dark blue ocean that stretched for miles. Turning back around Charlie saw a sandy beach and tall palm trees just like he had seen earlier on the other island. Standing on a strip of grass in front of him between two palm trees the boy saw a wooden sign that read "Anderson Island '' in fancy black painted letters. Peering over to the right the boy saw a path and really wanted to follow it wondering where it led.
Before doing this though, Charlie grabbed his journal and pencil and drew a picture of the island since he was just fascinated by the beautiful area.
Walking deeper through the path the boy could see the palm trees ( along either side of him) begin to disappear and were replaced by forest trees. In the sky, Charlie could see birds flying high above him. Reaching the end of the path the boy found himself on top of a hill. Approaching the edge, Charlie looked out and saw a big white oval thing standing on a field of grass. Gazing past that he saw a town and beyond that, roofs to some buildings and houses. Curious to see what was down there, Charlie carefully walked down the hill and towards the town. Walking in the grass, Charlie could feel the wind and a cool breeze behind his back. Approaching the big oval sign he had seen earlier the boy read it and saw it said " Welcome to Kanesvill '' with the first two letters in small black font and the last word in big black font. Entering the town, l Charlie walked onto a busy rock-paved sidewalk and started walking on it. On Either side of him were different kinds of shops and stores that were right next to each other. Down the middle was a busy red brick road. Strolling down the walkway Charlie accidentally bumped into a girl.l
" Oops sorry," Charlie told the girl as she walked away. Hearing this the girl quickly turned around her long hair flipping in the air. "Oh it's okay," the girl told the boy, laughing a little bit. She then smiled at him and Charlie did the same. Looking at her, the boy saw she was the same height as her and had brown hair and eyes. My name's Kate, the girl said sweetly. "Kate Summers, what's your name? ''the girl asked him. "Charlie Bridges," he said. Well nice to meet you Charlie and welcome to Kanesvill" Kate told him. Then she looked at the boy curiously.
"Hmm, now Charlie," she said as the two of them walked together." I know a lot of people in this town but for some reason, I've never seen you around here before" Kate said to him curiously. " Actually I'm not from here,'' Charlie told her. Oh really, where are you from? "Kate asked nicely. she asked him. The boy looked at her and then said "I'm from Fremont Indiana''. Hearing this the girl was confused and looked at Charlie and asked him where this place was. Then the boy stood there for a few minutes thinking about how he was going to explain to Kate where exactly he lived ( since she lived in another world) and finally told her that he lived in another world.
"Cool", the girl said, smiling a little bit. " Hey Just wondering, how exactly did you get here? Kate asked him. Then Charlie told her about his whole adventure leading up to arriving in this Kanesvill. "That didn't really happen, did it? '' she asked him, not believing his story. "Yes, it did," Charlie told her. "Wow, cool", Kate said, amazed. Well, Charlie let me show you around, the girl said.
Charlie then followed Kate as she showed him some of the main buildings in the town. She showed restaurants, clothing stores, and some other hops and stores on both sides of the street. Kate also showed Charlie one of the town's bakeries, Chelsea's Bakery (her favorite bake shop). As they walked by these buildings, Charlie noticed some of the people working inside, and also customers looked mad and upset. Even walking by people on the sidewalk he saw people who wore the same miserable look on their faces.
"Hey Kate, "Charlie whispered to her as they walked. "Yeah", she said looking at him. "How come everybody here looks so sad," he asked her. "Well, you see Charlie," the girl began. Four years our town has been ruled for years by a Queen who lives far away in a castle past those trees over there, she said pointing way out in front of her at a forest in the distance." The boy then looked out at the forest curiously.
Kate then brought her hand down and started talking again." Four years ago, our Queen, Queen Emily, was crowned Queen. As Queen, she enforced laws and made changes to our town making it better, she said. With all these changes she made, Queen Emma became one of the greatest Queens we've ever had. Resulting from these changes Kanesvill became a very successful and happy town. She stayed our queen ever since, that is until 2 months ago," Kate said sadly. "What happened?" Charlie asked curiously.

Well, four months ago Emma got accused of destroying our town and got put in jail. Now her older sister Olivia has been crowned Queen. the girl said. Olivia, unlike her sister, was mean and ruled with complete and total authority. She forced us to do what she wanted us to do. Anyone who didn't listen to her got sent to jail in the castle, Kate said. She also took away our stone of Marire which is used for electricity to power homes and when touched it can be used to heal people.

"Hey Charlie," Kate said. "Yeah," Charlie said. "I know that people think that Emma destroyed our town, but I think Olivia did and framed her sister for it", she told him. If you think this then why don't you go up to the castle to free Emma and tell the townspeople what happened. Charlie suggested." I would do that, but the castle is heavily guarded and even if I did manage to, the townspeople would still not believe I'm telling the truth Kate said. The girl then looked at her purple watch and saw it was getting late, so she decided she should probably go home.

Kate then turned around and asked Charlie if he would like to stay and live with her and her mom at their house. The boy said yes and then left the downtown area and turned right down Cardinal drive. Arriving at a tall blue house Charlie followed Kate as she walked inside the open garage, and then entered through the white door. Inside, the boy was welcomed by the delicious smell of boiling mac and cheese and cooked hotdogs. To the right, the girl showed Charlie the shoe closet where they put their shoes. Then the two of them walked forward a little bit before turning to the right down a short hallway which led to the entrance of the kitchen.
Looking around Charlie saw white tiles covering the floor and gray collared walls. On the far end of the area, he saw a big window and in front of that, he saw a blue table surrounded by four back chairs. Along the right side wall stood he saw what was assumed was a tan-colored food pantry. Next to that sat a desk with a black countertop with seven drawers under it ( 3 across on the top and two on each side one in the middle and floor). Above the desk stood three tall cupboards. In the middle, Charlie saw an island with a granite countertop. On either side were tall cupboards. Shifting his eyes over to the left he saw a white fridge and beside this was a drawer and under that a cupboard. Standing next to a black oven cooking something on the stove the boy saw a tall woman with long brown hair and eyes. Walking up to her Kate introduced the two of them to each other. both to each other. Then she asked her mom if Charlie could stay.
After thinking about it Kate's mom said yes, and then the two of them left as the girl took Charlie on a tour of the house. Looking around the boy saw it looked just like his room at home. To the left of him as he walked in two steps and stopped Charlie saw a black desk. Standing there the boy saw a brown dresser and on the left opposite wall was a bed. To the right of this along the wall was a door that opened up to a bathroom.
Peering inside Charlie saw a closet on the right side of him. Next to this sat a sink with a white countertop and brown drawers and cupboards underneath. After getting changed into a red shirt and jeans, Charlie went downstairs and into the kitchen where Kate and her mom were sitting in one of the black chairs ( with Kate sitting in the seat to the left of her mom in front of the window ) around the table talking to each other with their plate of food, silverware, and drink in front of them. When they saw Charlie the two of them said hi to him and waited patiently for him to sit down at the table. Approaching the table the boy saw there was a plate of food and silverware already dished out for him. Before eating, Charlie thanked Kate and her mom for letting him stay. While he ate a delicious serving of mac and cheese and hotdogs, the boy felt like he was back at home.
It brought back memories of all the great meals his parents would concoct something delicious for lunch and dinner. "Oh, how he missed it". After swallowing a spoonful of the cheesy macaroni, Kate's mom looked at Charlie and asked him about how he had arrived in Kanesvill. Then Charlie sat his spoon down on the table and began telling his story to her. Just like Kate, when the boy was done telling his story, Kate's mom didn't believe that any of what he was saying was true, so Charlie had to reassure her. Finished with eating, Kate and Charlie thanked Kate's mom for dinner, and then everyone gathered in the living room to watch some tv and hung out for a little bit before they all went to bed. Feasting their eyes upon the long tv (that stood on top of a long black counter and along the bottom stood 3 pairs of 6 cabinets) the three of them talked and laughed, until 10:00 pm when mom turned off the tv and they all went to bed.

That night as he lay on his comfortable mattress Charlie thought about what Kate said about Queen Emily and how she might be locked up in Queen Olivia's castle. He wanted to help her and the town by making her Queen again, but before he could do that, first he needed a team.