Part 8 by Rosemary Kelly
Frederick gasped aloud and then stifled his reaction quickly. He could see the mountain clearly, but it was imperative this councilman remain unaware, that he did not discover his secret. For, Frederick had seen the Other World. He had spoken to an Undesirable, and was now convinced that his entire Mieux Training had been based in untruths. The council had hidden this from all of them, and it was still hiding things …
The man suddenly spoke. "Why don't we stop for the night, lad? Right, then I'll gather some kindle and you get the water." He left the clearing quickly, his jacket flapping behind him.
After a minute Frederick tore his gaze from the heavenly peak and wandered from the clearing, following the sounds of water nearby. A river suddenly opened itself up before him and he sat on the bank, tossing stones into the water while he mused. He didn't noticed anything strange until a small clattering sound drew his attention downward, and he saw the very stone that he had thrown moments before suddenly sitting again at his feet. Confused, he held it in his palm. It was indeed the same stone. Hurriedly, he rose, just as a second stone was deposited gently near him. Another followed, then another. He looked out over the water and was shocked to see the stones he had tossed reappearing on the water and being borne back towards him. What was happening? The river looked normal; did he dare touch it? He crept forward, intrigued, fearful, and met the water with the edge of his bare toe. Nothing, and yet ... without warning he was totally consumed by a fierce joy, a raging passion for life. He desired to plunge directly into the river, to express his rapture, to expend himself completely without cause. Frederick raised his arms, poised to vault from the bank, but suddenly out of the brush behind burst the councilman with a contingent of soldiers. "Seize the boy!" the man yelled. "He has Disobeyed!" Frederick dived.
Part 9 by Douglas Schuda
Bewildered and exhausted, Frederick washed ashore. To his astonishment, he found himself at the feet of the Undesirable he had met so long ago, whose kind eyes now burned with fear. "Come, Frederick! We must go! We're running out of time!" As he ran, Frederick soon found that the river had mysteriously given him a renewed vigor, and as he bounded after the Undesirable, he learned that his déjà vu had not merely been fantasy …
The Undesirable proclaimed that Frederick was in the mythical region known as Imaginationland, and it was in grave peril! The walls he broke through must have been its sacred gate! Frederick learned of the Stone of Imaginationing, and how the councilman planned to use it to invade Notre Dame through the secret tunnels. Aragorn McCloud was not merely a dream: he was the only Creator to enter Imaginationland before Frederick, and he had been eliminated by the councilman.
They were soon at the base of the mountain, where Frederick knew he must gain possession of the Stone. Just before his climb, the Undesirable warned him of the great beast within. As he climbed, Frederick remembered everything. He knew what he had to do: he had to conquer the great beast, ManBearPig, and take the stone far away from the councilman. The survival of Imaginationland, Notre Dame and Al Gore depended on it!
Want to write the next paragraph to the story? Submit your paragraph to NDLFshortstory@gmail.com before 4 p.m. Limit of 200 words. Title it Part Eight. This story will continue until Nov. 16. If your paragraph is selected, it will be published in Viewpoint and you will get to read it at the NDLF panel discussion Nov. 19. The visiting authors will write the ending paragraphs. Take advantage of the opportunity to write a story along with three New York Times bestselling authors.
Nov. 17: Frank Delaney 7PM Coleman Morse Student Lounge. Author of bestselling novel Ireland.
Nov. 18: Tom Coyne 9PM Eck Visitor's Center Auditorium. Author of bestselling novel A Course Called Ireland: A Long Walk in Search of a Country, a Pint, and the Next Tee.
Nov. 19: Emily Giffin 7PM Geddes Hall Andrew Auditorium. Author of bestselling novels Something Borrowed and Something Blue.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
