Part 18: The Beast of the Forest
Jimmy is getting a team together to rescue Leo... but will they make it to him in time?
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Today’s story follows Jimmy as he gets a team together to rescue Leo.
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Jimmy spent the rest of his first full day back home with his mum and dad. He was being looked after and cared for in a way that he hadn’t experienced for a long time.
It was nice to spend time with his mum and dad and for everyone to be so upfront with how much they truly loved each other. Jimmy felt a sense of gratitude and appreciation, an urge to capture the moment and hold it as a memory he could come back to whenever he wanted.
And then he thought of Leo.
He felt a burning guilt as he looked at his parents, knowing he was going to leave them again, knowing what he was going to put them through.
After school, Jimmy met up with Frank and Cal to make them the pitch. He knew it would be near impossible if he went in on his own. He would still try it if it came down to it, but it would be hard, if not impossible, to scare off the bandits all by himself, let alone scare off one of the beasts.
Assuming the bandits went back to business-as-usual once Jimmy ran off, which Jimmy figured was the most likely case, they would probably have their trap set up by now. Leo had predicted that they could be waiting for weeks before catching one of the beasts. But that didn’t change the fact that one of the beasts could come along at any moment. Jimmy wanted to get Leo out of there before the inevitable chaos of the bandits trying to subdue one of the beasts. And who knows what might happen if Leo were to get into an incident with one of the bandits in the meantime. In any case, time was of the essence. Jimmy wanted to get a group together and get going as soon as possible. He knew exactly who to ask first: Frank and Cal.
Jimmy and Frank had always butted heads. If there was ever an argument in the friends’ group, chances were it was between the two of them. They both had a lot of pride. Plus, Frank had guts. That was why Jimmy wanted him by his side for the mission back into forest.
Cal was a much quieter kid. He spent most of his spare time helping out his family. He was always cheerful, but he wasn’t one to tell jokes. And he never talked about himself, Cal. He barely talked about anything. He was more of a listener.
All in all, Frank and Cal were the two friends that Jimmy trusted most. They were the perfect foundation for his little troop of adventurers.
When Jimmy caught up with Frank and Cal, they could instantly tell that something wasn’t quite right.
“What is it?” asked Frank.
“Remember the guy I talked about who helped me?” said Jimmy.
“What about him?” Frank asked.
“I’m going to get him out of there,” said Jimmy.
Frank was appalled.
“You’re kidding,” he said.
“I need to do it,” said Jimmy.
There was on a look on his face that told Frank and Cal that he was going to be doing it whether they were coming or not.
“Let’s do it,” said Cal.
“Just us?” Frank asked.
“I’ll ask others,” said Jimmy.
“There will need to be a lot of us,” said Frank. “Power in numbers.”
“So you’re in?” Jimmy asked.
“Yeah, I’m in,” said Frank.
“Let’s get started then,” said Jimmy.
And so they did. First thing on the agenda was recruitment. They went to the after-school football game and asked who would be up for the mission ahead. Jimmy, Frank, and Cal kept searching for new recruits. They went to the houses of everyone they could think of from school who might join their cause and they made their pitch.
The next day was a Saturday. It was going to be their day of preparations. Jimmy, Frank, and Cal had already planned out what they needed to get done.
The kids gathered together in the morning at the edge of town. Now Jimmy could see how many people he was actually going to have by his side. In the end there was only eight of them. He looked around at them. They didn’t look like much compared to the bandits. They were just kids, after all. Although, in that moment, they looked more like infants still learning to walk.
Jimmy had to focus. There was no room for doubt or cynicism. Now was a time for hope and optimism. This was going to be his rescue army. So be it! He would work with what he had.
Jimmy led the way towards the trees, but the group behind him then suddenly paused at the edge of the forest. Some of them had never stepped foot in the forest before. In their minds it had been like the end of the world.
Quickly enough, they took the plunge and crossed into the forest to craft their weapons. Together they were a well-oiled machine. Their parents and teachers would have been proud (if they hadn’t been using their productivity to make weapons). There were fetchers and fletchers. The fetchers spread out and searched for steady, straight branches which they could turn into spears. They then took the branches and dropped them off to the fletchers.
The fletchers sat on fallen tree stumps and transformed the branches into spears. They broke off all of the smaller twigs and started to scratch off and peel away the bark. Frank with his big brother’s knife then shaved the tops of the pieces of wood into sharp tips. It took them hours, but once they each had a spear, they started training.
They practised by stabbing the air and hurling their spears at tree trunks. They then got into a line for some drills. When Jimmy shouted, “Charge!”, they ran together at a particular line-up of trees and stabbed at the bark trunks.
Despite their training, they weren’t going to fight the bandits. That wasn’t their plan. They didn’t want to fight anyone. If anything, the spears were for the beast. Just in case. It was better than nothing.
Eventually, after a long day of preparations, Jimmy hid his spear and went home. When he stepped inside, though, he was met by a very unimpressed mum and dad. Instantly, he knew he was in trouble.
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