The Candy Shop War Vol. 1: Chapter 5

 

Jalena decided to take a Moon Rock like Jay, but not so that she could be carried. Instead, she opted to follow Liberty, bouncing and soaring across streets and over obstacles. Without looking back, she leapt up onto the roof of a squat cottage, then continued jumping toward her house.

“Do you think we lost him?” asked Liberty.

In response, the two girls heard heavy footfalls coming behind them. Glancing back, Jalena saw the man pursuing them again! He held his left arm awkwardly, like as if he had injured it, but it apparently didn’t slow him down one bit.

 

“You go left! I’ll got right! He can’t catch both of us!” Jalena cried.

Liberty sheered off to the left on her next leap, and Jalena went the opposite way. The man followed Jalena.

 

“You can go high, but you aren’t very fast.” he warned.

 

A large three-story bungalow stood across the street. Jalena decided to try and jump onto the roof of the house where she would be way out of the man’s reach. She took a small hop and cleared the fence, then leapt with all her might towards the roof. As she soared, she realised that she didn’t have enough forward momentum to land on the top of the bungalow, so she changed her trajectory midair, descending upon the garage. Behind her, she heard the man vault over the fence, landing heavily on the other side. Jalena crouched and sprang again, aiming for the rooftop, when something whacked her in the side.

Tumbling through the air, Jalena landed smack on the porch. She realised that the stranger had thrown a basketball at her, knocking her out of the sky! Where had he gotten a ball?? It must have been left on the lawn by some kids.

 

As she fell, her pursuer came pounding towards her. Before she could even rise up from the ground, the man was already gripping her by the neck.

 

“You don’t weigh anything,” he commented, effortlessly raising her several inches above the ground so that they were eye-to-eye. “Now tell me, what are you sucking on?”

“I’ll scream!” Jalena said defiantly.

The man instantly clapped a huge hand over her mouth.

“I wouldn’t, if I were you. Let’s keep this friendly, shall we?”

Jalena tried to struggle, but to no avail. In the end, she gave a curt nod.

“Good.” The man removed his hand.

 

Jalena tried to think of a way to escape. If only she had some Shock-Bits in her mouth: the man would be instantaneously electrified since he was touching her. As she realised this, a plan formulated in her mind. With her right hand, she rummaged in her pocket for a dose of Shock-Bits while speaking slowly.

“I understand you’re jealous that we can fly, but like I told you earlier... we are part fairy....”

 

Before the man could do anything bad to her, Jalena spat the remainder of her Moon Rock straight into his face and shoved the Shock-Bits into her mouth. Momentarily stunned by the spit-attack, the stranger failed to stop her from eating the Shock-Bits. Before Jalena could even taste the candy, it had fizzled into nothingness and she was free.

 

Consuming a Moon Rock, Jalena leapt onto the garage, than pushed off, landing on the road. Trading the Moon Rock for three Energy Beans, Jalena sprinted down the street fastest than the blink of an eye. With her remaining two Energy Beans, she flashed down another street that turned onto Maine. She was sure that she had lost the tenacious stranger, or at least had a major head start. Suddenly, she felt dizzy and nauseous. Her flesh rippled and her blood churned: the Melting-Pot Mixers were wearing off. After the weird sensation had passed, Jalena looked like herself once more. Worried that the man might see her true form, Jalena began running again. Hoping that the rest were at The Nest, she dashed across Maine and crawled through the undergrowth to find Cyboo, Liberty, Jay and Josiah all waiting for her. They also looked like their normal selves.

 

“Jalena!! You’re ok!” Liberty said in relief.

“We were just discussing going back to help you.” Cyboo interjected.

“I knew you could lose him!” Liberty continued.

“He caught me, but I shocked him and used the Energy Beans to get far away before he recovered.” Jalena recounted.

“Oh no! Did he hurt you?” asked Jay.

“I’m so sorry for leaving you!” Liberty cried.

“It’s OK. I’m not harmed in any way. Definitely not like Josiah.”

Josiah grimaced. “I don’t know how I’m going to explain this to my family. My arm is really broken: I can’t move it at all.”

“Maybe say you fell down in the bathroom?” suggested Cyboo.

“I don’t really want to lie, you know.” Josiah scolded.

 

The five were silent for a while.

Then Jay spoke up: “Do you still have the iron chest Jalena?”

Actually, Jalena had forgotten that she had it, but she took it out of her deep jeans-pocket and showed it to Cyboo and Liberty.

“That’s it????” Liberty asked incredulously.

“Hey,” Jay said defensively, “I was tiny, and the hole Josiah punched through the door was really small as well!”

“It looks a bit disappointing,” Cyboo admitted. “Let’s hope there is something useful inside, or else this whole mission was a bust.

“Don’t forget that I’m probably going to be in a lot of trouble too.” Josiah added.

“What do we do now?” Liberty inquired.

“Go home.” Jalena replied.

“I guess I have to go back too.” Josiah lamented.

“Afraid so, buddy.”

 

Josiah slowly trudged down the Presidential Estate toward his house, desperately thinking of a way to explain himself. However, his home was speedily coming into view and he hadn’t thought of anything. He considered making up a story, essentially lying, but then discarded the idea. At any rate, he thought, I need to get my arm in a cast or something.

 

As he neared the porch he froze. The downstairs lights were on. Mr. Krell has been wrong. His parents undoubtedly knew that he was missing, and were either searching the house, or were waiting for him to return. He was in an even bigger mess now.

 

Heart heavy, a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach, Josiah crept up to the front door and tried the knob. He was relieved to find it still unlocked, the way he had left it. Quietly slipping inside, he saw and heard no one: obviously they were waiting for him in the kitchen. Josiah contemplated sneaking upstairs to his room, but his arm was really starting to hurt like mad, and besides, they probably had already examined his room.

 

So Josiah entered the kitchen, a convicted criminal waiting for his sentence.

To his surprise, he saw his Dad casually sitting on a chair, feet on the kitchen counter, eating some of Mr. Krell’s ice cream. His Dad was even more surprised to see him!

“Hey! What’s up, Yosh?”

“Umm...” Josiah couldn’t believe it. Had his Dad not noticed that he was scratched, bloody and in his street clothes??

“Couldn’t sleep eh? Neither could I. Just thought I’d take a midnight snack if you know what I mean. Care for some?”

“Uh, no thanks.” Josiah ventured. “I think I broke my arm.”

“Really? That’s bad. Never did like broken arms, but sometimes it just happens. Can you move it?”

Josiah was dumbstruck. Could this be because of the Minty Ice Cream?

“No, it really hurts. I think it needs a cast.”

“OK, let me tell your mom, then I’ll bring you to the doctor. By the way, how did you break it?”

 

The relief that had begun flowing over Josiah instantly vanished, and was replaced with panic.

“Uhh...” he stammered.

“Oh, don’t tell me. Yeah I know, sometimes I wish my bed was a little closer to the floor. I remember once, I fell off my bed and had a bruise on my head for days!”

He thinks I fell of my bed and broke my arm! Josiah realised.

“Something like that.” Josiah agreed.

“Just let me finish this scoop, and we can go.” his Dad said.

“OK. Just let me change out of my...”

“Pyjamas.” his Dad finished. “Don’t waste time!”

Josiah scrambled upstairs, feeling a whole new level of respect for the Minty Ice Cream.

 

Jay woke up the next morning feeling exhausted from the night’s excursions. He just wanted to keep on resting, but he roused himself and went downstairs, ate his breakfast and went out to search for the other CHTers before homeschooling started. No one was at the Nest, so he left a quick note there and returned home, thinking that there was no way he could focus on his Maths today.

 

However, his Mom seemed extraordinarily relaxed and laidback today, like as if she had no more worries in life anymore. Content to lounge on the couch, watch TV and snack on ice cream, she basically let Jay and Liberty (who had just woken up) do whatever they wanted, be it their work or not. So Jay decided to go onto Chess.com and write out his next reminder for the JRS.

Josiah and Cyboo were online as well.

 

cyboo: Hey Jay! What’s up? Let’s meet at the Nest. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you aren’t doing any work right now, right?

JayHunterBrickwood: Yeah, my Mom has like completely mellowed out

Green_Sleeves: Thanks for posting the reminder Jay!

JayHunterBrickwood: how’s your arm

Green_Sleeves: will tell everyone at the Nest.

cyboo: I’ll pick up Jalena, Jay bring Liberty.

JayHunterBrickwood: OK.

Green_Sleeves: Bright Green Going Dark!!!

cyboo: you should abbreviate that as BGGD 😉XD.

 

Ten minutes later, the 5 were all assembled together. Josiah’s arm was in a cast and he was wearing a sling. Jalena brought the iron box with her.

“Everyone well rested?” Cyboo asked.

“Yes!” Liberty smiled.

“That’s because you woke up so late! Thank goodness Mom didn’t even care....” Jay chided.

“You guys too?” Josiah inquired. “My parents have been completely out of it as well! Last night, I got my dad to bring me to the doctor, and he assumed I broke my arm by falling of my bed! He didn’t notice I wasn’t in my pyjamas, and he didn’t ask any questions!”

Jalena nodded. “It’s definitely the ice cream.” she said.

“Well, that’s good! So I suppose you aren’t in any trouble, Josiah?” Cyboo inquired.

“Nope! I’m completely in the clear!”

“I don’t believe it....” Liberty mused.

“I do, and I’m so thankful.” Josiah grinned.

“Shall we go see Mr. Krell?” Jay suggested.

“Sure. After all, it seems like we don’t have anything better to do.” Jalena agreed.

 

Together, they left the Nest and strolled to Tasty Treats. The candy shop was moderately crowded when the CHTers arrived. Apparently, word had gotten out about the delicious confectionary, and people were flocking to sample the many treats. If the shop was this busy on a Friday morning, Jay wondered how busy it would be during the weekend. Pushing past the line of expectant customers, Jay noticed Tobias and a new, attractive, young woman managing the counter. The two looked flustered as they rushed to fill the multitudinous orders and serve as many customers as possible. Once again, Mr. Krell was no where to be seen, but Tobias recognised them and ushered them into the back.

 

For the first time, the backroom was messy and disorganised. Tables and ice boxes cluttered with candies lined the floor, and there were several cages with animals inside. Mr. Krell was wearing an apron, and he was hustling from table to table making the treats. When the children entered, he motioned for them to take a seat at the purple circular table.

 

“I’m sorry, but I’m completely overloaded today. I need to replenish all the merchandise, and quickly at that! As you probably saw, I hired another assistant to help Tobias manage the front. On the bright side, profit is rolling in: Minty Ice Cream samples always does the trick. So, how did your midnight adventure go?”

“Jay got this.” Jalena said, holding out the small iron chest.

Mr. Krell momentarily stopped rolling small balls in chocolate and squinted at the tiny object. “Was that it?”

Jay squirmed in his seat uncomfortably. “Well, we dug away the sand where you told us to, and discovered the monument. The whole place was empty except for one room which was blocked by an iron door. Josiah used the Energy Beans and punched through it, and I swam in. There were three chests, but when Liberty whistled, I only had time to grab the smallest one and...”

“Liberty whistled? Why?”

“Oh! Cyboo and I stayed outside the water to watch out for trouble,” Liberty explained. “Our plan was to blow a whistle to alert Jay, Josiah and Jalena in case of anything.”

 

Mr. Krell frowned. “You’ll ran into trouble?”

“Yes! There was this man that came out of nowhere! He had a crossbow, and was going to shoot us. He demanded to know what we were doing, but we shocked him and managed to get away after a while.” Jalena explained.

“Were you using the Melting-Pot Mixers?”

“Yeah, he didn’t see what any of us really look like.” Liberty confirmed.

“At one point, he had the three of us pinned, but Cyboo ate some Energy Beans and rammed into him. Consequently, he smashed into me and that’s how I broke my arm.” Josiah added.

Mr. Krell looked at Josiah, for the first time noticing his sling. “That’s terrible!”

“Do you have any enemies?” Liberty asked.

Ignoring Liberty, Mr. Krell continued addressing Josiah.

“There’s a way to speed up the healing process. You know that upon eating the Energy Beans, you immediately feel the urge to release the burst of energy. However, if you have enough self-control to resist, the potential energy will continue zipping through your body, speeding up all your bodily functions, including healing! However, it is really hard not to move with so much pent-up energy; so I’d suggest just taking one, and letting your four friends hold you still.”

 

“I’m willing to give it a go!” Josiah said enthusiastically.

“Do it in a secluded but open place in case you release the energy and accidentally hit or break things. Definitely don’t do it in an enclosed space like here.” Mr. Krell cautioned. “Now, back to your expedition....”

 

“Do you have any enemies?” Liberty repeated.

Mr. Krell hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. “I suppose I should tell you. The treasure I am seeking rightfully belongs to me, as a direct descendant. However, since neither me nor my family currently holds the talisman, other greedy people are trying to retrieve it and claim it for themselves. The man who tried to apprehend you was probably also in search for the treasure. What did he look like?”

“Tall, burly, muscular, brown overcoat, chiselled features, crossbow.” Jay described.

Mr. Krell nodded pensively.

“Do you know who he is?” asked Jalena.

“I suspect, but I’m not sure. I did not expect opposition so quickly. Shock-Bits and Energy Beans are insufficient protection against determined foes. I underestimated the dangers, but you five still performed marvellously under the circumstances. Next time I will equip you guys much better. May I have the chest?”

Jalena passed it to him.

Mr. Krell looked it over from all sides.

“Locked, eh?” he said, more to himself than to anyone else. “Hmm...”

 

“Why all the animals?” asked Jalena conversationally. Indeed, there were many animals; some were commonplace like a dog, a cat, a snake, a fish, etc. However, a few were more exquisite such as a peregrine falcon, a tiger, a wolf and a bear.

“Oh, some of them are Nikki’s pets, and the rest I need for some other things. New magical candy and stuff like that.”

“Nikki? Who’s that?” Cyboo questioned.

“That’s my new assistant.”

 

“Do we get any reward candy? You said we’d get more after completing the assignment.” Josiah reminded Mr. Krell.

“That’s right, but I’m really busy now, and I’d prefer to find out whether there even is anything inside the chest first. Tomorrow I will close the shop so that I have more time to restock, and so that we can talk more. Hopefully I will have forced the chest open by then. Don’t worry, you did a good job. I’ll definitely have a reward ready.”

“Hey, how about we try using the Energy Beans to break the box?” Liberty proposed.

“Umm, no. Firstly, you might destroy whatever is inside. Secondly, I believe that the box is magically reinforced. Trying to smash it by brute force may injure yourself. Happily, I know most of the ways that my family used to strengthen and lock receptacles magically, so perhaps it’ll be open by tomorrow.”

By now he had finished coating the balls in chocolate, and he began to roll them in crushed nuts. “Have some,” he offered, “On the house.”

 

 

 

 

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