Part+IV

Dave realized that he looked ridiculous in his shimmering robe with his turban so he quickly removed it. Then Jim and Timmy sat at the table while Dave set up everything he needed. He left the room for a few minutes then came back and with a small coin on a chain and a bowl filled with a powdery substance that Jim couldn’t recognize. Dave started chanting and then took a box of matches from his pocket. Lifting the box above his head he lit a single match and through it into the bowl filled with powder. The bowl ignited with a bright flash and smoke encircled the room. Timmy grabbed onto Jim and closed his eyes. When the smoke cleared Dave took out the coin attached to the chain and hunched over the table in front of Timmy. “Now Timmy if you will, please follow the movement of the coin as it swings.” Timmy shoved his face deeper into Jim’s chest. “It’s okay Timmy” Jim soothed “He’s a nice man just follow the coin. Do it for Daddy.” Timmy sniffed up he mucus that was dripping from his nose and wiped away his tears “Okay Dad, I’ll do it” Timmy watched the swinging of the coin like a pendulum. “Okay Timmy, now just follow the coin. Watch as it sways back and forth, back and forth, back and forth” Timmy’s eyes started fluttering “Good Timmy, Good. Now listen to my voice I want you to close your eyes and think of the greatest place in the world. Now go close your eyes and drift away to your happy place.” Timmy’s eyes shut and Dave placed the coin onto the table. “Timmy if you can here me I want you to raise both your hands into the air.” Timmy did as Dave asked “Now I want you to wave um around like you just don’t care.” Timmy, with his arms in the air, waved them like he just didn’t care. “Okay, Okay that’s enough now just stop and rest for a moment.” “Was that last part really necessary Dave.” “Not at all Jim, but it’s always fun.” “Just figure out what’s wrong with him will you.” “Fine” Dave said sitting back down “No one gets my sense of humor” he muttered under his breath.” “Okay Timmy I want you to answer the following questions yes or no. Do you understand?” “Yes.” Timmy robotically answered “Good, Good. Now let’s start simple. Is your name Timmy?” “No.” “Is Jim your father?” “No.” “What’s wrong with him?” Jim asked “I’m no sure.” “Timmy now when I ask you a question I want you to tell me the truth and answer it. Okay?” “Yes.” “What is your name?” “I have no name.” “Everyone has a name. What’s yours?” “I have No name” “Okay, who is your father?” “I have no father.” “Who is your mother?” “I have no mother.” “Then how where you born?” “I was not born I was created.” “By whom were you created?” “I was created by a machine.” “A machine that’s preposterous. Surely that can’t be true, now tell me Timmy where you were born?” “I was born in a Tree” “A tree. Well was your father with you in the tree.” “Yes.” “So you’re acknowledging the fact that Jim is your Father.” “No, Jim is not my father. The frogs created me. The frogs are my father and my mothers.” Jim gasped “Dave, a couple years ago I had this dream about a frog man that came to take my son away. Could this have anything to do with this?” Before Dave had a chance to reply Timmy’s eyes shot open revealing only the whites of his eyes. Timmy stood up and shouted in a voice that was not his own but rather deeper and raspier. “I told you Jim do not try and seek us out for we will destroy all that you know and love. You just weren’t happy with this cloned version of Timmy. So he may not progress as fast as most children but we at least gave you something to remind you of him. But now, now you’ll have nothing.” And with the Timmy’s last words still reverberating through the small room he melted to the ground in a pile of mud, twigs, and grass. Amidst the messy pile of dirt was a small golden ball. The ball was only an inch in circumference but had to have weighted nearly twenty pounds. Jim picked up the ball and examined it. “OH Shit.” Dave mumbled “What the fuck just happened.” Jim just kept looking at the ball. “What’s that?” “I don’t know but I think it’s ticking” “Unidentified Ticking objects never end well.” Jim just ignored him and kept playing with the ball there was a small glass opening in the ball that revealed a half clock with a small red hand that ticked ever so slowly. By now Dave had walked over to Jim and had been talking the whole time but Jim just ignored him and kept rolling the ball around in his hand. He eventfully found a small latch on the ball that he was able to pry open. The ball opened and white smoke spewed from the ball like smoke from a dragon’s nose. “OH SHIT” Dave screamed as he jumped behind the small circular table that only moments ago they had been sitting around. “FIRE IN THE HOLE.” Jim erupted into a fit of coughs, and started swinging his arms in front of his face to clear the smoke. When the smoke cleared Jim was on the floor of a forest with twigs and leaves littering the earth below his feet. “Where the hell am I?” Jim questioned to the nothingness around him. When Jim looked back into the hand that had previously held the golden ball and now there was a solid gold key. Small and light weight. It was very intricate with patterns of tree roots and leaves woven up the key. Jim went to a near by tree and pulled a thin piece of vine off of it. He was able to thread the vine through the tiny hole in the key so that he could tie it around his neck. Jim went to the tree that he had gotten the piece of vine from and climbed up it. When he found a small comfortable crevasse to rest in he curled up and laid there. Looking around from that height he still couldn’t see anything more then the dense forest in front of him.

“Jim?” Dave explored in the dark still smoke filled room. “Are you here Jim? Can you hear me?” Dave waited for a friendly returning voice but got nothing. Dave crawled form behind the table to where Jim had been standing. Looking for Jim’s feet or unconscious body. He found nothing. He wondered what had happened to him and even worse what he would do if he found him dead. Eventually the smoke cleared the room and all that was there was a pile of Muddy twigs in leaves that had formally been Timmy, and the table that he had been hiding behind. “Shit, this can’t be good for business.” Dave stood up the table that he had knocked over to hide from what ever that smoking gold ball was and gathered up the remains of Timmy into a bucket. Surprisingly Timmy cleaned up quite easily and was extremely heavy. He drug the bucket to a sink in the employee bathroom where he proceeded to pour out the muddy dirt down the drain until all that was left was twigs and leaves. Dave gathered the remains and threw them out the back door into the wilderness that surrounded the back of the store. “That’s it no one has to know anything.” Dave thought as he went to Jim’s car and smashed open the window with a crow bar he had in his shop. He reached under the steering consol and pulled out a couple wires after a few tries he was able to start the car and drive away.
 * MoonHeart**

When Jim came to he felt the breeze of air in his face. “Ahhh” Jim yawned. That’s when he realized he was moving. The tree that he had fallen asleep on was now walking on its roots. “How the-” “I’ll tell you how?” A voice said “Who’s there? Who was that?” Jim asked “I’m Mesto” A squirrel said as he jumped down from a couple branches above Jim “I live in this Tree, me and my whole family. We’ve got a nest up there.” Jim looked up and saw that there was indeed a nest that had been fashioned from twigs and leaves. All and all it looked like a pretty sturdy structure. “Ya see we use to live in another tree but one day there was a storm and it fell down that's when me and my family knew we had to build them stronger. We lost almost everything in that storm it was a sad day indeed for the Ratchet family. Then the tree before had a nest in it also, but that one was attacked by the-” “Look I hate to cut you off” Jim interrupted “But where am I and how is this tree moving” “Ohh well I see how it is. You’re just another one of those stuck up types only cares about themselves right. Well guess what you can find your own tree, and leave me and my family alone.” Mesto angrily said as he ran back up to his nest with his family. “No wait, Mesto I’m sorry it was incredibly rude of me to interrupt you. You see it just I’m a little confused right now I’ve never talked to a squirrel before let alone ride a tree.” “Who are you calling a squirrel, for your information I’m a billiwat, now my father he was a squirrel complete dirt bag left me, my mom, and the rest of his 6 children alone to fend for themselves. I was the oldest of my brothers so I rightly took the place as head of the household.” Not wanting o interrupt Mesto again Jim listened to him hoping that eventually he’d be able to say something. “I built us a new nest with a veranda and everything, but sadly my mother passed on and my siblings and I had to find are own family. That’s how I got here with my lovely wife Patricia and our seven kids Daisy; she’s the oldest, Ronald, Jimmy, Bethany, Harold, Anne, and the youngest Westcott Stanford Walden the Third” Well that sounds like quite the happy family actually that’s why I’m here.” “You’re taking my family?” “No I’d never; I’m looking for my son.” “Well okay. Come on up me and the misses will give you some tea. Maybe we can lend you a hand finding him” “No offense Mesto but I think I’m a little big for your nest.” “Nonsense you’ll see space has no place in this world.” “But still the opening-” “You’re just going to have to trust me on this one friend. Come here.” Jim climbed up and sat in front of the nest that was less then the size of his chest “Now what I want you to do is put you hands in first” oddly enough Jim was able to squeeze his hands in and at that point the nest worked as a vacuum sucking Jim in. “Wow I’m impressed I didn’t think I’d make-” but Jim stopped his breath caught in his throat when he saw the size of the nest. It was massive there was a spiral stair case that seemed to be endless and there seemed to be two wings. “Wow Mesto this is quite a place you’ve got here.” “Yeah it’s a little place compared to our last one but it’ll have to do.” Mesto lead the way down the red velvet carpet that lined the floor and we made a turn down the right wing Jim admired the marble floor that was beneath the red carpet it was beautiful and when he passed one of the walls on his way to wherever it was the Mesto was leading him he saw that the marble was about an inch thick. Lining the hallway walls were portraits of other billiwats some were wearing vest and one even had a monocle with a top hat Mesto noticed Jims staring and said “Yep these here are some of my family members. There all good people. A little talkative if you’d believe me.” “I couldn’t imagine” Jim said sarcastically Eventually after passing six or seven doors they went into one and found the kitchen. The kitchen was amazing it had an eight range stove, a dishwasher, and a center island with pots hanging above it. “Patricia” Mesto called “Patricia dear, we have company” a billiwat, wearing an apron, came running out she must have been Patricia. Jim thought. “O it’s a pleasure to meet you dear please, please come and sit down I’ll fetch you boys some tea.” “That’d be great Patricia thanks” Mesto said leading us me towards the kitchen table, which strangely enough was big enough for me. It was a very long table long enough to fit a normal family of ten. All the chairs had small circular pillow in the middle except for one that was the on I sat on. Mesto sat across form me and said pointing to my chair “That’s are guest chair” Mesto explained “It’s suited to fit anyone that’s why there’s no custom pillows like the rest of them” “I see” Jim said “very conscientious of you” “We aim to please our guest” “Well you’re certainly doing a good job at it” At that moment Patricia returned with the tea. There were three wooden tea cups on a silver tray. Included on the tray was a cup for cream and a small bow of sugar. “How do you take your tea Mr.… um…? I’m sorry didn’t catch your name” “Jim, call me Jim” “All right how do you take your tea Jim?” “Just plain." No cream or sugar for me thank you.” Patricia served the tea and joined us at the table sitting next to Mesto. “So Patricia our friend Jim here has lost his son.” “Ohhh dear, that’s just terrible can we help you find him?” “Well frankly I just don’t know. I’ve never talked to a billiwat before. Let alone walk up in a walking tree.” “Never talked to a billiwat?” Mesto asked “Never.” “Well I don’t see how you couldn’t have. You look o be about thirty-seven.” “Thirty eight actually.” “And you’re telling me that thirty eight years of being in Highbias you’ve never once talked to a billiwat.” “That’s the thing I’ve never been here before this is the first time.” The room turned silent for a moment then Patricia turned to Mesto and whispered something in his ear but Jim couldn’t hear what she said Mesto brushed off he comment in a fit of ‘I knows’. “Is there a problem?” Jim asked “Well, Jim, you see people from your world aren’t allowed here. Actually I’m curious as to how you got here without dying.” “What do you mean without dying?” “There’s a Powerful spell put on this world by the one’s who rule here. Anyone who has not previously been here is destroyed in what can only be described as visceral.” “Then how did I get here safely.” “Only the Flying Spaghetti Monster knows.” “Who?” “Ohh, yes, I believe he's equivalent to god in your world.” “Yeah,” Jim exaggerated “So can you help me find my son?”
 * Forest**