Peekaboo

Patrick and Ariel halted everyone, as they reached the shores of the island of Lord Nemo’s lair. Ahead of them the dark castle rose up high into the air and a dragon circling around the tips. The castle glowed black in the cloudiness, which hung like a thick miserable blanket over the small island. And in front of the castle, leading toward it, was a huge yard that could fit at least three or four football fields total. Behind the yard and castle island, dangerous-looking mountains, similar to the Alps, rose up into the clouds and sky.

Patrick shared a look with the princess. Then they both stepped forward and immediately halted as the ground shook.

“Earthquake!!” Brad and Andrew shouted. They grabbed each other, unknowingly.

Adam looked unsteady, as did Jamie, as they both tried to get footing. Reilly buried his head into Torey’s arm, whimpering. Brandon and Sharp tried to comfort Adam. Patrick grabbed Ariel’s hand.

Suddenly a thicket of thorns rose out of the grass and encircled the island, cutting off the yard and their view of the castle. The thorns were jagged and sharp and threatening, mocking them almost. The shaking and thunderous noise soon stopped and now what had once been clear views, was now a sight from Sleeping Beauty.

“Nemo did this! He knows we are here!” Ariel stated.

“Probably through Lauren, his little spy!” Jamie spat.

Patrick bravely tested the sharpness of the thorns, pricking his finger in the process. He yelped and jumped back, flicking his hand and trying to get rid of the stinging feeling. “That hurt. Okay, note to self, don’t touch thorns with bare fingers.”

“What are you an idiot? Of course you don’t touch thorns with your bare fingers!” Andrew chirped, shoving Brad off of him. “And you, don’t touch me like that!”

“As I recall, no one asked you to hug me, Shawzy!” Brad snarled, fluffing his black and white fur out.

“I didn’t hug you, you hugged me!” Andrew snarled, showing his canines.

“I didn’t hug you, you hugged me!” Brad retorted.

“Marchy! Shawzy! Stop it, okay…look, we’ll get nowhere bickering or fighting with each other. And no one will bring up the hug,” Patrick spoke.

Adam tossed his head about back and forth, “Well, I might.”

“Bur, don’t push it!” Patrick remarked.

Sharp petted Adam on the head. “Weren’t you two like good friends a little bit ago?” he asked the dog and honey badger.

“What do you mean? How could I ever be friends with him?” Brad growled, pointing his furry “thumb” or appendix in the direction of the gray dog.

“Exactly my thoughts as well!” Andrew barked.

Patrick turned to Jamie, who was shuffling his hooves in the sand of the beach, nervously. “Jamie,” the blond Blackhawk called. “Think you can use your antlers to get us through the thorns?”

Jamie looked up. “I can try. I’m not sure if the thorns will hurt me, but I think I’m the only one who can help out right now.”

“Excellent. Give it a try, if it hurts, we’ll come up with something else. We can’t risk anyone getting hurt here.”

“Maybe we can throw the dog into the thorns and create a path,” Brad suggested, cracking a grin and giving a smug look to Andrew, who immediately swung his head to look at the honey badger.

“Brad, remember what Kaner said, “nobody gets hurt.” Leave the Blackhawk alone, you honey badger!” Torey scolded.

“Says shorty!”

“Do I have to fight you when we get back to Boston?”

“Maybe.”

“I’m a few inches taller than you, so suck it up and get over it and yourself!”

“OKAY!” Patrick cut in, guiding Jamie to the thorn thicket. “Go ahead, Jamie.”

Jamie lowered his head and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath in and then charged forward. The thorns did nothing to him and he managed to create a pathway forward with his horns. Patrick signaled to everyone to follow the reindeer, which made Andrew and Brad grumble. But they followed Jamie through the thicket and then found themselves surrounded on either side by tall, grassy walls.

With the thorn thicket behind them, they were able to gaze around. Jamie shook the thorns from his antlers and then joined them. He looked up at Patrick, who patted him on the head.

“Thanks Jamie.”

The Dallas Stars’ Captain cracked a smile, as best he good, looking rather goofy. But he took the compliment from the winger.

“Where are we?” Brandon asked. “We still can’t see the castle and now there’s a path of grass walls…almost like a—“

“Maze!” Adam exclaimed, finishing his teammate’s thought.

Patrick touched the wall and found he couldn’t push his hand through. He also couldn’t see over the walls and ahead of him, different paths branched off in different directions. Great, they’d have to go through a maze now to find Jonathan and save him from Lord Nemo. Fantastic!

“Let’s just pick and path and continue on,” Patrick sighed, rather heavily and annoyed.

“But which one?” Brandon asked.

“Yeah, there are at least four different paths!” Sharp exclaimed, shaking his head. “How do we pick?”

Patrick padded forward. He halted in the middle area, before the maze took off in the four different directions. He looked at each path thoroughly, before turning back to the group. He faced the princess, who seemed to be staring at Torey and Reilly.

“Ariel?” Patrick questioned, hoping she had the answer.

She faced him and shook her head. “Sorry, Patrick, I'm unsure about this. You must pick one…follow your heart. Which path do you think leads to Jonathan and Nemo?” She dipped her head to him.

Patrick slowly rotated back to the paths. He looked at each again and then pointed to the second path. “Let’s try this one.”

The others nodded and started forward, but before they could start down the path, an earsplitting roar cut through the air. It was Stalock the dragon.

“DRAGON!” Brandon screamed. “RUN!”

Chaos broke out, as the dragon swooped down at them, attempting to attack. Andrew and Brad raced off in the panic, heading down the fourth path, while Sharp, Adam and Brandon took the third. They vanished from sight, screaming. Reilly and Torey fled down the first path and disappeared around the first sharp corner of the maze. Ariel grabbed Jamie and Patrick and they launched down the second path.

Everyone ran for his or her life, until finally the dragon pulled back and flew off in satisfaction. They all skidded to a halt in their places in the maze.

Andrew and Brad shared a look with one another, as they found themselves alone in some part of the maze.

“We lost the others!” Andrew stated. “And now I’m stuck with you!” He gave a doggie disgust look to the honey badger.

“Well, you’re no rose either, Princess!” Brad snapped back, touching his holster, where his sword was.

“I’m not a princess!”

“Yes you are! You may be a dog in disguise, but I know you are secretly a princess!”

“Grrrr!!” Andrew snarled and leapt at Brad, who left his holster and sword be and just unsheathed his claws.

They tumbled about, finally able to fight each other.


Meanwhile, Brandon, Sharp and Adam were huddled together alone.

“PATRICK!! ANDREW!! ARIEL!!” Brandon called out.


Reilly had a hold of Torey and was shaking with trepidation. “Where did everyone go?” the bear asked his friend.

Torey’s eyes were wide. He hugged Reilly close to him. “I don’t know.” He began to scream for the others, calling for them, but got no answer.


Meanwhile, Patrick skidded to a halt with Ariel and Jamie. They paused to catch their breath, looking to the sky with worry and then slowly relaxed. They turned to look for their friends, finding that they were deep into the maze and alone.

“Crap! Where’d they go?” Patrick exclaimed, anxiety and worry creeping into him again. “We lost everyone!”

“Nemo must have sent the dragon on purpose. He must be watching us!” Ariel remarked, shaking her head and folding her arms in front of her. Her long red hair swayed behind her.

“Isn’t that a violation of personal space?” Jamie questioned, cocking his head and accidentally jamming his antlers into the grassy wall. He yanked them out and shook his head, leaves falling around him.

“It is, but Nemo doesn’t care,” Ariel responded.

“So what should we do? We can’t go back...this is a maze, we aren’t even sure how to get back or get out of here,” Jamie continued, looking to Patrick.

“We’ve got to carry on and find Jonathan, Showtime, and Nemo. And hope that the others are okay and will do the same.”

“What about Andrew and Brad?” Jamie inquired.

Patrick faced him, wearing a forced smile. “I’m sure they’ll be fine. If they are with Sharpie and Saader, those two can handle them.”

“And if they are alone with just each other?”

“Hopefully they’ll come to their senses and not tear one another to pieces.” Patrick gave him a worried, unsure look.

“They’ll be fine,” Ariel said, putting a hand on the blond’s shoulder. “Now let’s continue on and stop wasting time!”

“Right!” Patrick exclaimed and the trio continued down their path, heading for the center of the maze. Perhaps they might even be reunited with the others. But they had to carry on and continue with the mission. They had to find Jonathan Toews, Lord Nemo, and Showtime, Patrick’s special, magical hockey stick-sword.

Notes

So why are Brad and Andrew fighting again? Weren't they bestest of friends just a little bit ago? That will be revealed soon.
Who's gonna find Jonathan? Are they going to save Jonathan?
Is this all apart of Nemo's plan? Are they just puppets of the villain now?
You'll find out soon.


Next up: Things go from bad to worse...in Nemo's Maze!