"Evie!" Ashlynn broke free from Ms. Julie and hurried to her. "Are you okay?"
"Oh, I'm fine. I'm just a little shaken up." Evie sat up and rubbed the back of her head. Goosebumps prickled on her arms.
Emrys, Amanda, Tate, and Ms. Julie were the next ones to approach her.
Ms. Julie picked up Annabelle. She handed her to Evie.
Annabelle had some dirt on her jacket, and her hair was in snarls. Nevertheless, Evie went ahead and hugged her. "What on earth was that?" she asked Ms. Julie. There was a pit in her stomach. She wanted to cry, but she stopped herself. Rangers didn't cry.
Ms. Julie took her shoulder. "That, my dear, was a taste of the Paperblank Forest's power."
Ashlynn brushed the dirt off Evie's white shirt. "At least you got off easy. I think Mr. Mateo got the worst of it."
Ms. Julie rose to her feet. "Why don't you guys keep her company for a little bit?" she asked the campers. "I need to make sure he's okay."
Evie's head overflowed with questions. "A taste of the Paperblank Forest's power..." Did Ms. Julie mean the pebble was from it? If so, why did it attack her and Mateo? Evie started to feel like the camp was something more than just learning how to be a ranger. She felt like it was destiny for her and Mateo to be together.
Ms. Julie hastily moved toward him.
He rolled around on the dirt, with his hands over his tummy.
"Really? Not even two days in, and you already get hurt? You're even worse than I thought, kid." The voice scared the living daylights out of the young man.
Mateo's eyes snapped open. He removed his hands from his abdomen and sat up. "Who's there?"
It was the shadow that flew after him when he left home the other day. To Mateo's surprise, a large figure landed in front of him–a Red-Crowned Crane. White feathers covered the bird's body. He had skinny, olive-green legs and three toes on his feet. His wing secondaries were black. It looked like his tail feathers were the same color, but they were white. However, his cheeks, throat, and neck were black, too. Over his head was a straw hat.
He poked Mateo with his olive-green beak. "I'm with your mother. We need to put you in a bubble," the bird laughed.
Ms. Julie made it to them, followed closely by Evie, Ashlynn, Emrys, Amanda, and Tate.
The children's eyes widened.
"Hold this," the bird said. He took his hat off his head, revealing a miraculous red crown, and set it down on Mateo's. Then, he wrapped the claws of one of his feet around his hand and pulled him up. He used his wing to brush him down.
Ms. Julie smiled at the sight of her old friend. She was also relieved that it didn't look like Mateo was too badly injured.
Evie, Ashlynn, Emrys, Amanda, and Tate stood frozen.
They paid no attention to the whispering trees and Paperblank villagers calling down from their treehouses, "Hey, it's John!"
John the Red-Crowned Crane moved his foot toward Mateo's belly, but he slapped it away.
"What are you doing here, mi amigo?" he asked.
"Ha! Well, funny story. Ya see–"
"Did my mom send you?" Mateo interrupted.
Chuckling nervously, John shrugged. "... Maybe?"
"What are you supposed to be?" Evie shrieked. It wasn't every day she heard birds talking. Sweat ran down her temples like water from a mountaintop. She took a step back.
Ashlynn was fascinated. She jumped up and down and said, "It's a Red-Crowned Crane!"
Amanda was also excited. "A fine specimen of a Red-Crowned Crane, too." She moved her glasses closer to the bridge of her nose.
John retrieved his hat from Mateo. He bowed to the two girls. "I am John Golden, the most notorious crane in all of Pinta Country. I have endured hardships like none other: princes shot with arrows, heroes falling off their horses, mermaids almost drying out... The list goes on."
Ms. Julie laughed. "Sorry, he's a bit of a showoff," she explained.
Mateo rolled his eyes. "You may be friends with the king, John, but it doesn't make you a celebrity. My mom did not have to send you."
"Friends with the king?" Evie perked up. "Hold on, how did you guys meet?"
"Oh, it was wonderful!" John said. He put his hat back on his head. "My friend Mateo here was personally invited–"
However, Mateo clamped his beak shut before he could say anymore. "Why don't you make yourself useful and figure out where the pebble went?" He shot the bird an angry look.
Evie tried to make sense of John's words. She couldn't think too hard because she was still recovering from the pebble's onslaught.
"Aw, why me?" John asked his friend.
"Because you can fly," Mateo annoyedly answered.
"Fine, fine. You need to learn to chillax, dude. You're way too serious for your age," John admitted.
Ms. Julie couldn't help but agree. "Right?" she knowingly said.
John cracked a grin. "Stand back, children, and watch the professional takeoff of John the Red-Crowned Crane!"
The camp crew cleared the stage for him.
John opened his massive wings. A gust of wind rushed through his black wing secondaries. Flapping them, he lifted into the sky. John looked over his shoulder at his audience. "Now this is what I'm talking about! Aren't I wonderful?" Except, he celebrated too soon. John twisted his head, and his beak slammed right into one of the treehouses' trunks. The force of the crash knocked leaves off its branches.
Mateo slapped his hand to his face, but Evie, her friends, and Ms. Julie chuckled.
"I'm okay!" John mumbled. He struggled to free himself. His wings picked up dirt and dust at the treehouse's base. Finally, his beak slipped out of the bark. His eyes knocked together, but he shook out his head. With another flap of his wings, he catapulted toward Paperblank's blanket of trees.
Villagers waved goodbye to him. "See ya later, John," they said.
John also waved. He vanished above the treetops, off on his own mission.
***
"He was a talking bird," Emrys stammered.
Tate rolled his eyes. "Well duh. This is Pinta Country."
Evie knew it wasn't uncommon for animals to talk, but she was still a bit freaked out.
"I thought he was wonderful," Ashlynn admitted. She glanced at Amanda. "Surely you agree with me, Amanda."
While the children were distracted, Ms. Julie approached Mateo.
He blankly stared at the forest.
"You okay, Mateo?" inquired the older adult.
He didn't look at her. "I'm fine, just nervous."
"John is checking it out. I'm sure your mom sent him to help you. The most important thing now is for you to get your group to their cabin. Let's not worry about this for now. But you're okay, right? Nothing hurts?"
Mateo's tummy was sore, but he hid the pain behind a fake smile. "Don't worry about me, ma'am." He started toward his campers but stumbled. An eerie pain hit his abdomen. He momentarily keeled over and closed his eyes.
Ms. Julie caught him by the arm. A nervous look washed across her face.
"I'm okay," Mateo said in a low voice, releasing himself. "Come on, niños," he called to the campers.
"Where are we going?" they asked. Each child glued themselves to their counselor.
Ms. Julie watched them. Her eyes roamed around the miraculous village. She made sure the coast was clear and then reached into the back pocket of her shorts. The woman pulled out the same kind of walkie-talkie-like device Mateo had. She pressed the button for voicemail. Ms. Julie brought it to her lips. She said in a calm, cool voice, "We've got a situation. I think our best ranger has been afflicted by the sickness."
***
Mateo escorted his group to the edge of Paperblank Village. They stopped at a wooden lift. It worked like an elevator. The lift went up to the village's main intersection. Up top, the roped bridges led to different sections of it. There were a total of five. The display was fan-like.
Mateo puffed out his cheeks, in an attempt to hide the excruciating pain he felt.
Next to him, Evie asked, "What are we doing here? What about my pebble? I want my pebble."
"That pebble was dangerous," Mateo argued.
"I don't care. It's still mine."
"Evie, please, let's worry about it later and just get to our cabin." Mateo wanted to lie down and rest.
Evie may have been angry, but she still blushed every time she was around him. She also just noticed that she and Mateo had very similar facial features: long, slender noses, wide foreheads, and bushy eyebrows. The feeling she embraced was strange. It was of realization, but she had a hard time believing it. There was definitely some sort of connection between her and her counselor.
Mateo's eyes landed on the others. He cracked a weak smile. Even though he was hurting, he stayed collected and asked, "Who's ready to see our cabin?"
Ashlynn waved her hands. "I am! I am!"
Emrys merely flipped his black locks. "Oh, please. It's rather absurd to ask a question like that after we've been on a bus for four hours."
Nervous Tate was not much of a talker. He mostly just liked to stand back and listen. Because of his shyness, he never had too many friends. Currently, his mind was on the awesome Red-Crowned Crane his group just met.
Mateo didn't appreciate Emrys's rude response, but he shook it off. He looked up to the platform the lift went to and called, "Yo, Marshmallow!"
The lift's operator, Marshmallow, appeared. He was an enormous man who had a huge, brown afro. There was a chicken burrito in his hand. A grin broke across his face when he saw Mateo. "Mateo, my boy! How the devil are ya?"
"I'm fine. Sorry, we're a little late, but we're trying to get to our cabin."
"Ah, you're never late, my boy. I totally understand," Marshmallow said. "Don't be shy. The lift is all yours."
"Thank you. Let's go, niños." One by one, Mateo lifted each child and put them in the lift. A protective, bamboo-like gate was around them. Mateo was the last one to get in. He squeezed in next to Evie and shut the lift's door behind him.
It jerked and then started to slowly ascend upward.
Evie, Amanda, Ashlynn, and Tate couldn't help but smirk. They looked over the gate, only to see the ground growing smaller and smaller.
Emrys merely rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.
Since Mateo's tummy bothered him, he plopped down on his backside.
Unlike the bus, the journey on the lift was short and sweet. It reached the wooden platform where Marshmallow was in just a minute.
Mateo was the first one off. His knees knocked together a little bit when he stood. However, he pushed open the door.
The lift's platform was relatively large. Marshmallow's treehouse was on it. There was also a smaller, shack-like feature. Being close to him, Evie now understood why he was named "Marshmallow". He smelled like marshmallows. She was the first person who Mateo helped off the machine.
Evie started to roam. She peered across each bridge, curious to know where they went. The one that caught her attention the most was the center bridge. At the end of it was a cluster of cabins. Each overlooked the village's enthralling stream and the Paperblank Forest itself. Momentarily, the pebble left her mind. Excitement replaced Evie's fear and anger. One of those cabins was going to be her group's, but which?
***
John the Red-Crowned Crane flew the fastest he had ever flown. The Paperblank Forest's green grass was hazy under his body. The wind rushed through his feathers, giving him a much-awaited massage. Mateo may have assigned him a mission, but he was having too much fun.
John soared over the treetops in the late afternoon summer sunshine. He flew in an arch and zoomed back down to the forest. His claws clutched tree branches, and he slid down them like a slide. He held his wings out to his sides.
John hopped off one of the branches. He landed on the forest bed. Something flickered by his head that interrupted his playtime–the pebble. It zoomed by John, heading toward a tall wall of vines and thorns. "Hey, there you are!" the bird called. He dove for the pebble but missed it. He landed in a flower bed.
A few rabbits hopped out of it, startled by their unexpected visitor.
Deer emerged from the forest. Their eyes also caught the pebble.
John followed it right to the wall of vines and thorns. He had never seen so many in one place. The wall loomed over him like a giant. The pebble floated into it. It ducked under the plants, moving deeper into the grove.
"Oh, you want to play tag now, don't you?" John asked from behind. Lifting his foot, he stepped into the danger zone. Thorns scratched his body, but his feathers protected him. Therefore, he did not fear moving further in. He ducked under an overgrown vine, but a thorn caught his hat. "Hey!" John quickly got it back. He was not a huge fan of his red crown, so that was why he liked to hide it.
The crane followed the pebble for a while, but finally, he fell out of the wall. He landed on his back, with his wings outstretched. "A quick, little devil, aren't ya?" he asked the pebble. He flapped his wings to help him stand. It was a bit difficult because his legs were so long.
The bird peeped forward, and his beak dropped. He had stumbled into an area that was completely overgrown with vines and thorns. Honestly, he was overwhelmed by all the green. His dark eyes caught something that looked like an old pathway. It was a bit hard to make out with all the plants, but John definitely saw it. The path led to what looked like a stone staircase and a shrine.
John moved toward the shrine. He jumped when the pebble whooshed by his head. "Whoa, freaky," he said.
The pebble swirled like a whirlpool in front of the shrine and above an old, stone platform. It unleashed a blast of light that temporarily blinded John. It was so bright that he retreated into the wall.
"Why do I always put myself in situations like this?" the bird asked himself.
The trees in the area glowed up the same bright blue, but for once, it did not threaten the country. The pebble took on the form of a bubble.
John forced his eyes open. He stuck his head out of the inferno, greatly intrigued.
A figure appeared within the bubble. It was a little boy, but not just any boy. Sam. He had not aged at all in sixty years. He landed gently on his wounded arm, unconscious and barely breathing. The forest, though, offered him some of its vitality.
Light rays from the trees moved in on the child. Slowly but surely, his vital signs improved. The color in Sam's face returned, but he was still unconscious. Now that he was no longer trapped in time, his wound started to bleed again.
A tiny figure fell out of his brown hair onto the platform. Euphorbia dragged herself to some ferns behind her shrine, but she collapsed onto her front. There was almost no light left in her wings. She felt guilty about Sam's near-death experience. She used all her life energy to keep him alive; now she had to embrace the toll of her own power.
John could not believe what was happening. He had seen so many interesting, magical things in his short life, but none as fascinating as a time traveler appearing from out of nowhere. Pinta Country truly was a wondrous place.
The trees stopped glowing, and the forest relaxed.
The pebble, back in its original form, fell next to Sam.
John carefully stepped out of his hiding place. "I can't believe it," he mumbled under his breath. "The legends. The legends are true."