Jim stepped to the door and watch the black smoke twirl around his feet in the moonlight. Suddenly a cloud covered the moon and the hallway got dark, now lit only by the light from an old streetlamp. He waited for his eyes to adjust and then steadily opened the door and stepped inside.
He shut the door behind him and moved into the dark room. He took his trusty penlight out and began a search for the source of the smoke. The search led him over to an old bookshelf filled with ratty books. To his surprise the smoke was coming from one of the books. He lifted it off the shelf. It was titled " Wie man tötet Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung."
As Jim puzzled over such an odd language he heard muffled yelling through the wall. He moved over to the wall and placed his ear to it just in time to hear an old voice say “There’s someone here in this house.”
Jim lurched back in shock and dropped the book which fell open. The smoke which was only a thin stream when closed was now billowing out. Jim inhaled a large amount and began to swoon. “I’ve got to get out of here.” he thought in panic. He looked for the door but couldn’t see it. But a large window stood open at the other end of the room. As he went towards it he found his limbs were getting numb and he had a strange floating sensation. In desperation he threw himself out the 2nd story window.
His eyes watered profusely as he fell. It seemed to take a long time for him to drop the 10 feet into what thankfully was a large leafy bush. He watched it come towards him in wonder, only just remembering to cover his eyes just before he hit it.
As he came to his feet his head cleared and he took a look around. To the left there was a path that led to an old shed. But there was a main path led straight ahead to an old cabin nestled against the woods behind the house.
If you think he should investigate the shed, go to post 44 of this topic.
If you think he should investigate the cabin, go to post 7 of this topic
Quick as a flash, Jim slid into the little drainpipe, and not a moment too soon – the moment his head was in, he heard a roar above him as the disposal sprang to life. In utter joy at having escaped death, Jim worked his way down the drain. It was kind of like a water slide – water from the sink above kept rushing down around him. Actually, it was a bit too much water…
Suddenly, Jim reached a dead end. The pipe was trying to do a U-turn, but…he couldn’t fit through. The water kept on building up around him. Frantically, in the darkness, Jim beat the walls around him, trying to figure a way through the pipe. It was impossible! He was clogged! Perhaps he could swim back up the pipe, back into the sink? But no, the water was forcing him down…he couldn’t breath…his head was spinning…
And there end poor Jim’s adventures. Later that afternoon, Mr. Myglipik poured some Drain-O down the sink; the acid dissolved Jim’s body, and the water flowed freely once more.
And all because the dumb kid just couldn’t keep his nose out of other people’s business…
THE END
[From post 15]
Jim began to climb up the Broom handle. “I feel like a whitch,” he thought, “only instead of riding on a broom I’m climbing it!” Then he thought, “Actually one is nothing like the other. Man, that was one dumb thing to think.”
Jim finally made it up the broom handle. Then he realized that he had gone too far up it, and was on the sixth level, one level above the regrowth serum. As he was about to go down he saw a bottle that was a bit on the small side. At least to him it seemed a little on the small side, meaning it was ridiculusly small. he read the label. It said: “Fore the small mann, take one swig, and ye shalle find out how to gette the wolfe’s claw.” Jim didn’t really understand what that meant, so he turned it around to look at the other sid of the label. It said: “OLDE HENRY’S WOLFE CLAW, CRAZY-GO-NUTS POWER DRINKE.”
“Hmmmm…” thought Jim, “That might be useful. If I drinkit I might be able to… I don’t know, do something crazy. But then again it might be better if I drank it when I was back to my normal size.”
If you think Jim should put the the bottle in his pocket and go get the regrowth serum, go to post 47 of this topic
If you think that Jim should drink the potion right now, go to post 34 of this topic.
If you think that Jim should leave the bottle where it is and go get the regrowth serum, go to post 30 of this topic.
As Jim stepped into the grate to ascend the ladder, his left foot knocked over the small metal container. Several baby spiders ran out, followed each other in line, making seven circles in the ash, and then headed for the door all at once. Jim noticed this, but didn’t think much of it as he began the tricky ascent of the ladder. There wasn’t much space inside the chimmney, so it was quite a struggle to reach the top. Halfway there, Jim looked up and saw the full moon directly overhead. Oddly, though, the clouds around it didn’t seem to be moving much; indeed, it was a very still night, certainly not windy enough to move a metal ladder. It was then that Jim realised the ladder wasn’t attached to the wall, at the top, bottom, or middle. This gave Jim a bit of a shock, but not as much as disturbing the barn owl that was nesting near the top of the chimmney. Jim almost lost his footing and fell, but just managed to cling on. It was then that he heard voices - it sounded like they were coming from outside.
If you think Jim should emerge from the top of the chimmney, go to post 19 of this thread.
If you think Jim should climb back down the chimmney and investigate the other room, go to post 21 of this thread.
Jim decided that the creaking was the most important. “All I have to do is be very, very quiet.” He slipped down the stairs and down the hall. As he got closer to the kitchen he heard what he thought was someone muttering. Hugging the wall Jim edged over to kitchen and slowly bending around the corner he peered inside.
A large hulking man was pacing around the kitchen carrying strangely glowing bottles. He was muttering to himself about some “God damn bug!” He set two of the bottles down on the shelf. They glowed a sickly green. The man then reached into his coat and pulled out two vials. As he poured the first vial into one bottle it sputtered and turned red. He repeated it with the second and it turned blue.
Suddenly the man stopped what he was doing and turned sharply to look at the ceiling. With that he stopped what he was doing and walked right towards Jim. Jim didn’t have a moment to think. He pressed himself against the wall, closed his eyes and prayed like he’d never prayed before.
“I’m coming ya old bag.” the man muttered as he swept past Jim without even noticing him.
Jim couldn’t believe his luck. As soon as he heard the man begin to ascend the stairs Jim ran into the kitchen and grabbed both bottles. “They must be magic! I can’t let them use it” he thought. Not stupid enough to wait around for the man to returned Jim ran out of the kitchen door and hid in a nearby bush.
“What should I do with them?” he thought.
You must decide! Choose now. Should Jim drink the red potion? Should Jim drink both the red & blue potion? Or should he leave them hidden in the bush?
The deed done Jim stepped out of the bush and as he came to his feet his head cleared and he took a look around. To the left there was a path that led to an old shed. But there was a main path led straight ahead to an old cabin nestled against the woods behind the house.
If you think he should investigate the shed, go to post 44 of this topic
If you think he should investigate the cabin, go to post 7 of this topic
If you think he should head to that potion shop to see if he could help with the potions, go to post 36 of this topic
Jim raised the blue bottle and eyes its contents suspiciously. Then he unpopped the cork and sniffed it gingerly, it smelled spicy. Throwing caution lifted the potion and took a big gulp and waited.
“Is something supposed to happen?” he asked.
“Good things come to those who wait” quoted the shopkeep.
Jim placed the cork back on the bottle and let out a large burp. His eyes began to cross a little bit. “I think something’s happening now.”
“Good. Good.” Mr Myglipik replied. He then came in close to Jim and stared into his eyes intently causing Jim to stumble backwards.
Jim absentmindedly slipped the bottle with the blue potion into his pocket. “Whatsh’r doin?” he slurred.
“Hmm, not what I needed at all. No my boy you’ve completely failed.” With that he turned and disappeared in the back of the store.
“I’ve goth to gethout” he tried to say as his toungue felt two sizes too big for his mouth. He bumped into the table and sent the red bottle sprawling. Jim spun off and into a wall and spotted a phone. He picked up and began to dial 9-1-1 when the owner came back with a black poition.
When Myglipik saw he was doing he cried out and threw the black potion at Jim. Jim watched in wonder as the bottle with the black potion grew far larger then it should. In fact that whole store appeared to be growing. The phone he was holding was suddenly as large as him, then larger! Everything stopped when he was only inches tall. He saw to his right a gap under the display case to his left the door to the outside was open just a enough.
If you think Jim should roll under the display case, go to post 53
If you think Jim should try and make a run for the exit, go to post 9
Suddenly Jim’s eyes popped open and he sat bolt upright. “A dream?!” he thought threw the fog in his mind. The room was dark except for the faintest of lights from the cloud covered moon which just barely lit up the window sill. “It must have been the liver and onions” he mumbled “I’ll have to talk to mom about that. In the morning.” Jim closed his eyes and laid back and bonked his head on the wooden floor.
“Ow! … Floor?!” Jim whirled around on his stomach and found himself face to face with the witch, her face aglow as the moon had now come out.
“I’m afraid you wont get the chance dearie.” she consoled him “But you are quite surprising to resist the sleep I put on you.” She reeled back to her full height and threw her hands towards him. Red sparks began to dance along her fingertips and she began to mumble.
Jim got to his feet and stumbled back against the wall still groggy. Suddenly remembering something that had happened earlier he reached into his pocket and pulled out the bottle with the blue liquid. He threw it at the Prucilla. She caught it instinctively but the sparks on her fingers caused the liquid to bubble furiously. She dropped the bottle but it exploded as it left her hand, drenching her and causing her to burst into flame.
Jim stared as she burned. Her shriek pushed him into action. Past the witch and into the room with the smoking book. Into the hallway he flew and down the steps. He was taking the steps 3 at a time in the dark, so great was his panic. The 14th steps crumbled under the sudden weight and Jim rolled down the stairs and landed on his back hurting his shoulder.
As he struggled to his feet Peter stumbled into the hallway, his face a swarm with maggots and flies. “What have you done?” he moaned. When he didn’t move to attack, Jim took the opportunity to flee. The front door now opened to him and he ran down the walkway and across the street. He stopped on the far side and turned to see the old house’s roof in full burn. A final scream from the witch sent him scrambling down the street and back home to his mother who was waiting for him.
EPILOGUE
Jim spent the night in the hospital. First the police and then the press came. In the end, Jim got his headline. And his photo. In color and above the fold. It wasn’t as sweet as Jim thought it would be. He was quoted saying “This weren’t no Hardy Boy’s adventure.”
The End
Has Jim learned his lesson or will the next mystery be even greater? Find out by reading Jim’s next adventure “Trapped in the Louvre!”
Sorry to bump this but I just felt this story deserved at least one good ending before it was too far gone.