abound.
He thought for a moment and remembered his English teacher discussing Argus during Greek Mythology week. Argus was killed by Hermes and afterward Hera transferred his one hundred eyes to the tail feathers of a peacock.
Aaron turned his attention back to the carousel and walked around it in the opposite direction of which it turned. His eyes zeroed in on a large feathered bird positioned next to the lion.
“Nah, that’s not a peacock. It’s an ostrich,” he whispered to himself.
He moved closer to the carousel and noticed another large feathered animal coming around the bend.
“There it is,” Aaron said as he climbed up onto the platform and made his way over to the peacock.
It was large and emerald green with twinkling blue spots covering its massive wingspan. When Aaron reached the peacock, he realized the spots were not twinkling lights. They were blinking eyes.
Aaron looked at the dozens of eyes staring back at him. “I need to close the one hundredth eye, but which one is it?” He reached toward one of the eyes as it stared intently at him, the pupil following his hand.
“Eww, stop looking at me,” he murmured as he took his index finger and gently closed the eye. He quickly looked around for anything odd. Nothing.
He continued closing each of the eyes, until he reached the final one. “This has to be it.” Just as he reached up to flip the final lid closed, he saw a quick movement from the corner of his eye and smelled the odd burnt odor.
“Nakal,” Aaron yelled out as he turned to scan the area. “I know you’re here. I can smell you!”
Aaron turned around and closed the final eye that glowed, rapidly gyrated, and shifted around. A popping sound was heard as the eye fell from the socket. Aaron watched it hit the platform. As he reached for it, the platform suddenly stopped, causing Aaron to fall backwards. The eye rolled out of his reach.
He quickly crawled toward it, but the platform tilted upward at an angle that caused him to slide in the opposite direction. He reached out and caught the giraffe by the leg, but quickly let go when the giraffe came to life and looked down at him. Aaron stared wide-eyed at the giraffe and came to an abrupt stop by sliding into one of the seated chairs. While Aaron looked for the eye, all of the animals on the platform slowly moved, as if stretching after a long nap.
The platform tilted upward and in the opposite direction. As Aaron rose higher, he looked down and saw Nakal standing at the edge of the platform, rotating it around as the eyeball rolled back and forth, hitting different objects like a pinball machine.
Aaron rolled over to a seated position and allowed his body to slide down toward Nakal. He kept his eye on the glowing eyeball, careful to maneuver around the now shifting feet of the animals. Just as he neared, Nakal reached up, grabbed the eyeball, and held it up for Aaron to see before shoving it into his pocket.
A flicker of light appeared in front of him before the board came into view. A check mark appeared under Nakal’s name. Nakal—2 Aaron—1
Aaron frowned.
“You snooze, you lose,” Nakal said as amber sparks shot from his eyes. “You’re not going to win. This world took my family from me. Now, I’m going to take yours, but don’t worry, I will take great care of your family.”
“What do you mean?” Aaron yelled. “We don’t know your family. We only tried to help you.”
Nakal placed his hands under the platform and shook it quickly back and forth. The animals were now fully alive and startled from the sudden movements. The tiger growled.
“Wake up!” Nakal yelled. “I’ve brought you a snack,” he said to the animals before giving the platform one final jarring shake.
Nakal looked at Aaron. “One word of advice. This would be a good time to run!” he said before he vanished into the ground.
Chapter 10
Aaron scrambled to his feet and ran as fast as he could through the amusement park. The
He thought for a moment and remembered his English teacher discussing Argus during Greek Mythology week. Argus was killed by Hermes and afterward Hera transferred his one hundred eyes to the tail feathers of a peacock.
Aaron turned his attention back to the carousel and walked around it in the opposite direction of which it turned. His eyes zeroed in on a large feathered bird positioned next to the lion.
“Nah, that’s not a peacock. It’s an ostrich,” he whispered to himself.
He moved closer to the carousel and noticed another large feathered animal coming around the bend.
“There it is,” Aaron said as he climbed up onto the platform and made his way over to the peacock.
It was large and emerald green with twinkling blue spots covering its massive wingspan. When Aaron reached the peacock, he realized the spots were not twinkling lights. They were blinking eyes.
Aaron looked at the dozens of eyes staring back at him. “I need to close the one hundredth eye, but which one is it?” He reached toward one of the eyes as it stared intently at him, the pupil following his hand.
“Eww, stop looking at me,” he murmured as he took his index finger and gently closed the eye. He quickly looked around for anything odd. Nothing.
He continued closing each of the eyes, until he reached the final one. “This has to be it.” Just as he reached up to flip the final lid closed, he saw a quick movement from the corner of his eye and smelled the odd burnt odor.
“Nakal,” Aaron yelled out as he turned to scan the area. “I know you’re here. I can smell you!”
Aaron turned around and closed the final eye that glowed, rapidly gyrated, and shifted around. A popping sound was heard as the eye fell from the socket. Aaron watched it hit the platform. As he reached for it, the platform suddenly stopped, causing Aaron to fall backwards. The eye rolled out of his reach.
He quickly crawled toward it, but the platform tilted upward at an angle that caused him to slide in the opposite direction. He reached out and caught the giraffe by the leg, but quickly let go when the giraffe came to life and looked down at him. Aaron stared wide-eyed at the giraffe and came to an abrupt stop by sliding into one of the seated chairs. While Aaron looked for the eye, all of the animals on the platform slowly moved, as if stretching after a long nap.
The platform tilted upward and in the opposite direction. As Aaron rose higher, he looked down and saw Nakal standing at the edge of the platform, rotating it around as the eyeball rolled back and forth, hitting different objects like a pinball machine.
Aaron rolled over to a seated position and allowed his body to slide down toward Nakal. He kept his eye on the glowing eyeball, careful to maneuver around the now shifting feet of the animals. Just as he neared, Nakal reached up, grabbed the eyeball, and held it up for Aaron to see before shoving it into his pocket.
A flicker of light appeared in front of him before the board came into view. A check mark appeared under Nakal’s name. Nakal—2 Aaron—1
Aaron frowned.
“You snooze, you lose,” Nakal said as amber sparks shot from his eyes. “You’re not going to win. This world took my family from me. Now, I’m going to take yours, but don’t worry, I will take great care of your family.”
“What do you mean?” Aaron yelled. “We don’t know your family. We only tried to help you.”
Nakal placed his hands under the platform and shook it quickly back and forth. The animals were now fully alive and startled from the sudden movements. The tiger growled.
“Wake up!” Nakal yelled. “I’ve brought you a snack,” he said to the animals before giving the platform one final jarring shake.
Nakal looked at Aaron. “One word of advice. This would be a good time to run!” he said before he vanished into the ground.
Chapter 10
Aaron scrambled to his feet and ran as fast as he could through the amusement park. The
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