beyond help and the evil had total possession of him. David
described to his son the pain he and Dorothy had gone
through at the hands of Marcus. They went from living like
royalty to the pigpen, at the hands of their own son. Sam
told his father he was very sorry and assured him
everything would be all right soon. The group continued to walk toward home. Peter was
excited to see his new home fully. Dorothy and Jane sat
quietly in the back of the wagon. Suddenly, it began to
shake violently. Dorothy looked out, and she was in the
air. Sam had used his powers to levitate everyone into the
air. The people were now flying; this was the only way to
get home quickly before nightfall.
Through the sky they went. The children were having
the most fun touching the clouds. The birds moved out of
the way, and the long trees shrunk to make way for the herd
of people.
"Wheeeeee!" said they kids.
Up and down they moved and chased each other. This was
the first time many of them had been completely free. The
adults were placed in the back. Many of the older ones were
afraid, but Sam put their fears to rest assuring them now
that he would not drop them. Faster and faster Sam flew
them through the air, going in and out of trees, flying
over vast stretches of land. People on the ground were
pointing and shouting with surprise. One kid on a bike
rolled into a patch of hay when he saw the crowd in the
air. People were running, trying to catch up with the
flying people. Some were running to neighbors, telling them
what they had seen. The fresh air did Jane a whole lot of good; she woke
up smiling, asking for her family, until Dorothy filled her
in on what was going on. Jane pushed her hair back and
looked out of the wagon window, and smiled at her family to
show she was okay. This gave Sam more strength to move the
wagon even more quickly. Suddenly, the wagon and the people
came falling down slowly from the sky.
"We are home," said Sam.
The Carrot-Tops' home had arrived in one piece, safe
and secure. It was no longer frozen in time. The house was
like a castle -- there must have been hundreds or even
thousands of rooms. It was like the Carrot-Tops were kings
and queens of Baja. The home was fit for royalty. The crowd
of people stared at the enormous house and wondered how was
it that Sam kept all of this when their homes were either
destroyed or taken away. Some people in the crowd were
happy to have a warm place to bathe and sleep, while others
were becoming very jealous of the Carrot-Tops.
The people went through the house feeling and touching
things. It had been years since they had even seen or in
fact been in a house as luxurious as this. The people were
like kids in a candy store -- they wanted to feel and touch
everything in sight. Some people were even trying to steal
little knick-knacks outside in the garden, before they even went into the house.
"There will be none of that. Anything you want is
free. There is no need to steal," said Sam.
Peter ran up to the door and waited on his father to
open it. One deep breath and Sam gave the door a turn, and
swung it open. Everything was just like they had left it,
only this time, nothing was in an altered state. The cats
were running around the house and everything seemed to fit
in place. Sam went and lifted his wife out of the wagon and
brought her into the house. With Jane resting comfortably
on the sofa, Sam invited everyone in for a hot meal and a
fresh bath.
Some people began to grumble, they were upset that Sam
still had all of his wealth and they had nothing. He tried
to ease the tension in the crowd, but no one wanted to
listen. They were all jealous of the luxury Sam and his
family had.
"All of you have been loyal to me, and I will see that
you also get all that you left behind," said Sam.
But, no one wanted to hear that. They were upset. They
had lost everything because they were Sam's followers.
"Why should we trust you?" one man asked.
"Because we all have suffered," intervened Sam's
father. But the pep talk did no good, and off went the crowd,
grumbling and complaining. Only two people stayed behind,
Red Fox and Samantha Grey. Red Fox was half-man half-fox.
He was one of Sam's loyal friends and commander of his
army. Red had grown old and worn; his fox fur was matted
and his demeanor was that of hopelessness.
He looked Sam in the eyes and asked him, "Will you
make me like I once was?"
Tears began to fill Sam's eyes and he let Red Fox know
that he would do everything in his powers to make things
right.
Then Samantha Grey stepped forward. She was a young
woman, no more than twenty. Her gifts of being a ninja had
served Sam's army very well. Samantha was of Asian descent;
her long body and jet black hair made her stand out in a
crowd. She had taught thousands of Sam's soldiers how to
fight and how to respect the art of becoming a ninja, and
her army was unstoppable.
Samantha explained to Sam that she had had to hide in
the Black Forest when the elders kicked him out of Baja,
and she did not want to get killed like the others. Sam
went over and gave her a big hug, and told Samantha
everything would be all right.
"Don't blame yourself for running,” he said. “It was the right thing to do.”
But Samantha still felt like a coward, since she could
not protect Sam's family from being punished at the hands
of the elders. But Sam never held it against her. He
understood that at the time, she had to fight for her own
life.
Red and Samantha were the only people in the crowd who
stayed, the rest left, intent on trying to reunite with
their families that they hadn't seen in ten plus years. Sam
understood that they were angry with him, so he let them
go, knowing that most of them would be back once they were
rejected by their families and friends.
The remaining guests made themselves at home while
Peter and Dingo were having a blast running through the
house. Up and down the staircase they ran. Jane was pleased
to see her son finally finding a place to call home. It was
kinda strange to the Carrot-Tops to be back in their house
that had been vacant for years.
That night was so strange for the family that they
couldn't sleep, so the night was filled with stories by the
fireplace. Deep down inside, everyone was wondering what
tomorrow would bring. Jane began to tell Peter of a great
primary school, the great Waldorf Academy School. She told
him it was a school of possibilities, and that whatever his dreams were, the school could make them come true.
"Oh boy, I can't wait!" said Peter.
Jane told her son that he would fit right in with all
the other kids, unlike back in Georgia. For a moment,
Georgia seemed strange. They seemed to have been gone from
there for so long already. So, they put thoughts of the
human world in the back of their heads and continued on
with the stories by the fireplace.
Red Fox slowly came down the stairs; his fur was all
wet and shaggy. "Oooh, that was a great bath!" he shouted.
"It has been so long since I had a good hot bath like that.”
The family just laughed and welcomed him to sit by the
fireplace. Jane noticed that her mother-in-law was missing
and went up the stairs to find her. Dorothy was in her old
room stroking the pillowcase.
She heard Jane coming and said, "It has been years
since I slept on a bed, it seems so strange to me."
Jane sat on the edge of the bed with Dorothy and gave
her a big hug, promising that Sam would make everything the
way it was. Dorothy put her feet in the bed and crawled up
into a ball.
Jane went down and told Sam about his mother. He
rushed right up to her bedside to make sure that she was
okay. Sam saw the state his mother was in, and ran to the phone and called a doctor. David ran to his wife's side and
comforted her.
"It's the years of digging in those nasty tunnels that
has her sick," said David.
At the same time, Sam was on the phone talking to the
doctor, asking him to get there right away. Within a few
seconds, he appeared out of thin air. It startled everyone
for a moment. Sam went over and tried to shake the doctor's
hand, but it was only a hologram of the doctor that told
the patient and their family what to do to help their loved
ones.
The hologram of Dr. Doo came on with a computer
generated voice telling the family to boil hot water with
lotus leaves and place them on Dorothy's chest. The family
was stunned for a while, but did what the hologram told
them to do. Dorothy went in and out of a coma. Sam was very
sad, and he begged his mother to hold on just a while
longer.
Before anyone could say another word, the medicine
worked. Dorothy was still ill, but was feeling much better.
She leaned over to her son and asked him to bring Peter
forward.
Peter went forward to hear what his grandmother had to
say; she whispered, "You are the eighth key." Peter did not understand what she meant and just went
on agreeing with her because she was ill. She fell fast
asleep and everyone left the room. The computer-generated
image vanished and the door bell rang. Jane walked to the
door and opened it slowly.
An older gentleman walked in and said, "Hi, I am Dr.
Doo."
Jane was caught a little off guard and proceeded to
take the doctor upstairs. Dr. Doo explained to the family
that the computer-generated image stayed with a person who
was ill until he arrived. This was a far more advanced
technology than the Carrot-Tops were used to. The doctor
examined Dorothy and told the family she would be fine; she
just needed a little rest and clean, fresh air. Dr. Doo
also let the family know how wonderful it was to see them
back in Baja, and that he supported them one hundred
percent.
The family was amazed to see the support they were
getting from all over Baja, and this made Sam more
determined to fight. The night was quiet and everyone went
to bed waiting for tomorrow to come. Yet, Sam could not
sleep. He walked through the house, pacing back and forth,
trying to take in all the emotions, and to find out where
his life had left off at. He went and sat at his office desk, reading the papers
from ten years past. The headline was the exile of the
Carrot-Tops. The report made the Carrot-Tops look like a
disgrace. Sam read the report over and over again. In his
mind, he could picture and replay the event again and
again. He went through his office with a fine tooth comb,
looking for anything out of the ordinary. He knew that his
brother would probably try to set him up again.
Sam suddenly fell asleep in his office. The spirits of
the seven elders came to him, one by one in a ghostly
fashion. They swarmed around the office and said in soft
voices, "Sam, Sam, wake up." The voices repeated their
request one by one.
Sam woke up, but he was also now a spirit. He walked
out of his body to be in the same form as the spirits. Sam
looked back and saw his body lying lifeless, sleeping away,
then he turned his attention back to the spirits. He tried
to reach out to them, but a force field stopped him. To
Sam, it felt as if his legs were made out of iron. The
spirits warned Sam that they must talk quickly and he must
listen.
"A war is coming and Peter is the key. If we do not
awake in the time before the war, Baja will be lost
forever. We know you are not the one at fault. Your brother is, and he must be stopped or we will lose everything,"
said the spirits.
Sam acknowledged them, and promised the spirits that
he would try to make things right and Baja would not be
lost. The spirits reminded him that there was nothing that
they could do while in hibernation and the longer they
hibernated, the less powerful they would become. It had now
been ten years and they needed to get out of hibernation as
soon as possible. The spirits' images began to fade in and
out, and then suddenly, they disappeared.
Sam woke up in a pool of blue goo; it covered his
entire body. He ran to the bathroom to wash his face. He
could not stop thinking about what the spirits had told
him. After a quick check on everyone, Sam was back in his
office, thinking about the way in which he could save Baja. Chapter 6
Waldorf Academy
Morning had arrived, and the skies were bright purple.
Everyone was a bit in awe of what was happening. Grandpa
David told everyone it was okay. He said a purple sun
happens in Baja every six months. To Peter, this was the
best thing that had ever happened. He reached for his
father's telescope and looked into the skies.
"Wooowww!" said Peter.
The family was happy to see Peter settling in so well.
Everyone had something to do today. Jane had to put Peter
in school; Sam, Red Fox and Samantha Grey had a serious
mission to work on -- saving Baja and waking the elders.
Grandpa David had to watch Dorothy and make sure she
remained in good health. Everyone's day was planned, but as
we all know, nothing ever goes according to plans.
The doorbell rang while everyone was eating breakfast.
It was a reporter from the London Times. He was a slender
built man with black-framed glasses, and he had a
suspicious air about him. Before Sam could invite him in,
he barged his way into the house.
"I am Isaac McPhee, the London Times reporter," he said.
Everyone at the table stared at him.
"What in the world do you want?" asked Red Fox.
"Well, what everyone wants, which is an interview with
the boy," said Isaac. Since Red was a protector of Sam and
his family, he kicked the reporter out of the house. As he
was being escorted out, he shouted, "So tell me, folks, how
will it feel to be responsible for destroying Baja twice?"
No one answered as Red Fox kicked out the reporter.
News had spread all over Baja so quickly that people were
coming from all over to get a glance at the house were the
boy savior and his family were living. Jane was very upset
that this might be putting a lot of pressure on Peter, but
by his reaction, he did not care. All he wanted to be was a
kid, and be loved by everyone. The only thing on Peter's
mind was making new friends.
A tabby cat suddenly leaped onto the table and began
to talk. "Jane, I have missed you," said the cat. Jane
screamed with excitement. It was Felix, her cat.
"Where have you been? I looked all over for you."
Felix began to lick his paws, and jumped into Jane
arms and let out a soft “purrrr.”
Jane explained to the family that Felix was a magical
cat given to her by a man selling jumping bean