The Adventures of Hero and Pootnic [a finished novella of three adventurous boys]

I feel sorry for your parents too.

I like the new part.
XD
I wish my parent were like yours. Mine are every bit as stubborn as I am.

Thanks, Meaa. XD

Well, I think it's time for more!

I shivered to hear the gunshots . . . would we ever see that gangster guy again? “Who was that guy?” I whispered, feeling solemn.

“There’ll be time for proper introductions when we get to Walmart,” Jones snapped. “Now be quiet!!”

I suppressed a grumble, but fell silent.

As we neared Walmart, I saw a shadowy figure enter the door. I shivered once again when we approached the door ourselves, and we walked in.

The inside made me gape with astonishment. The shelves were filled as if they had just been stocked yesterday. “How long has this place been abandoned?” I asked skeptically.

“Dunno, kid,” Jones replied. “About a couple years or so.”

And then, to further add to the mystery of the place, the gangster stepped out from behind a rack of clothing.

“You’re alive!” I shouted in shock, and I raced to go hug him.

“Get off,” he whined, shoving me away.



That business-guy was really annoying. “Well, I chased them off for now,” I said. “But they’ll be back.” I glanced around, checking to make sure that everything was as orderly as it had been yesterday. “Take a good look around, because until everyone forgets all about this little incident, this is your new home.”

The business-guy gaped at me.

“What?!” I snapped, annoyed.

“L . . . l . . . live here?” he stammered.

“Duh,” I replied. Looking around again, I said, “We can’t linger here. Follow me to Baby Products.” I strode away, towards the back of the store where BP was.

When we got there, I sat cross-legged on the floor, and motioned for them to do the same.

“It’s time for introductions, now,” I said. “I’m Lewis.”

“And I’m Tolkien,” he replied, and then looked to business-guy.

“Er . . . Sputnik.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Sputnik?”

He glowered. “Hey, it’s not my fault!”

“I don’t wanna know,” I said, making a face. “But anyway, since the coppers are after us, we’ll have to come up with new names to keep our covers.”

Suddenly, a tall, withered figure stepped into the aisle. “Ah,” he croaked. “I was hoping you’d say that.”



“Who are you?” Sputnik exclaimed.

“I am who I am,” the weird old man replied.

“I’ve heard rumors about this guy,” I whispered to Lewis.

“No rude!!” the man shouted correctively, whipping a staff ot from his cloak and whapping my head with it. Well, how rude of him!!

“Wait a second,” Lewis said suspiciously, and he went to flip a light on. We all gaped in awe at the man once he was visible - he looked like an Obi-Wan-Kenobi-Gandalf mix!

“Obi-Wan Kenobi?” Sputnik asked in awe.

“Ah, yes . . . I was called that once,” he mused. “But not anymore. Now, I am Master Obi-Wan the White!!!!”

“Can you teach us stuff?” I asked.

“Yes,” he replied, with an innocent smile. He promptly whapped me again with his stick. “Lesson one: Always be prepared.” Sputnik rolled his eyes, and suddenly the staff was bouncing of his head. “Lesson two: No rude.”

I warily scooted away, in case he should prove more hostile with his stick usage.

“Now,” said Obi the White, “to ensure that I do not waste time teaching you in skills you will never use, I will give you a test.”

“A test?” Sputnik said.

“A test. It will show me your official weapon type so that I can train you in use of the proper weapons for you. Do you think you’re ready?”

We all nodded. Obi the White grinned. “Then let the test begin!”



Next part on page 7, post 4.

I love this story.

Lol, I remember this. XD Still funny.

Thank you all.

Yes!
Finally.

Haha, I spent forever trying to figure out who the Obi guy reminds me of. Now I remember. XD

Woww. XD So what was your answer? Was it Obi-Wan Kenobi? Was it Gandalf the Gray/White? Or was it someone else entirely different?

Lol someone else entirely. Rafiki from The Lion King. XD

OMG YES! YOU'RE SOO RIGHT! I think all the old men in stories I write are like that dude. XD Seriously. Like they all have a sense of humor . . . and are kinda wacko . . . (although, so far, the only oldies I've made are Obi the White, Eikk, and Ferlon. XD)

I just thought of him cuz of the stick thing. XD I remember Rafiki was hitting Simba in the head with his stick a few times. XD

Oh yeah! XD I think I was subconsciously inspired by it in that aspect, then.

Here's more!

The old man led the others away, leaving me sitting here alone . . . in this creepy abandoned old store . . . I started humming “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” to calm my shrieking nerves, when the lights flickered, and went out with a humming noise.

The old man had given me three weapons, and told me to use them if something strange should happen . . . I was pretty sure this qualified. There was a sword, a rifle, and a belt of grenades. I carried the grenades in my hand, the sword on my back like the last one, and the rifle in my other hand.

All of a sudden, a little baby flew past me with a ‘vwoom.’ I shrieked, then ran in the opposite direction the others had gone. “Mama!!” a fakely sugarcoated voice called, and I ran faster to get away from the demon child.

After a while, I became very afraid; I realized I was lost - and the demon baby could be anywhere!! But just a word to the wise - in case this sounds rather unrealistic, keep in mind that it was a Super Walmart.

Then a dark figure ran past, and my skin went cold. I fumbled with a grenade, and with much effort, I finally managed to pull the pin out and hurl it at the shadowy figure as he ran past again. The grenade missed by five feet, and blew a shelf to smithereens. I loaded the rifle, dropping the remaining grenades, and raised it. When the person passed again, I fired, but I missed every time from my shivering. Then I involuntary wielded the sword when my shots ran out, and hurled it at him. I think I managed to hit him.

The guy groaned and fell to the ground. Forcing myself to walk over, I meekly pulled off the burglar mask, and gasped. It was Obi the White!

“Nicely done!” he said proudly, with an ecstatic smile.



I caught a glimpse of Sputnik’s horrified face as the old man led us away. No doubt, he was a noob.

When I was in an isolated aisle, Obi told me, “Stay put, and if anything gets strange, use these.” He handed me a rifle, three grenades, and a sword. Then he left me, and I crouched down to examine my surroundings. I gaped in disgust - I was in a Barbie aisle! Surrounding me were hundreds of various Barbie dolls, quite well as freakish as those Hannah Montana and High School Musical ones. I considered the thought of moving an aisle or two away, but dismissed the thought as I mused over how important it might be for me to wait here.

All of a sudden, the lights went off - I was surrounded by darkness.

A shadowy figure ran past the aisle, then. I waited for him to pass again, but just then, the same figure jumped from the top of the shelf to my right, appearing to be jumping to the shelf on my left. Time seemed to slow as I removed a pin from one of the grenades, threw it at the shelf he was aiming for, and raced away for cover. It exploded just as the man landed on the shelf, sending him flying eight feet up into the air only to land a few seconds later with a crash.

I rushed over, and aimed the gun at his head. “Don’t move,” I warned, but he removed his mask anyway . . . it was Obi the White!

“Splendid!” he said excitedly.



I gave Lewis a high-five as I was led to away, the last one left. I was left in an isolated aisle - I gasped. The holy of all holies - an Apple products aisle! There was everything here - iMacs, iPods, computer games, mouses, keyboards, and various other fancies for the rich. They were even all plugged in, and connected wirelessly to the internet! Obi handed me some weapons, shared some sort of advice, and walked off or something. I placed a homing beacon by one of the computers, and made sure it was synchronized with my Homing Beacon Locational Device.

Just as I was about to begin using one of the iMacs, the worst thing in the world happened - the power crashed. But it was hardly surprising - they did this to me all the time! I had a feeling, however, that this was no accident. Someone had turned the lights off on me. He was out there, and he was out to get me.

I took a defensive pose with the sword. A dark figure passed me, slashed me with a blade of his own, and knocked me down. I placed the sword on my back and grabbed the rifle. Climbing to the top of the shelf, I jumped along from one to the next until I reached the highest one. I spotted the figure in a nearby aisle, and aimed my gun for his sword arm . . . and fired.

My accuracy amazed even myself; I’d shot him right in the shoulder. I jumped along the shelves until I was low enough to reach the ground, and then I hurried to the man. When I reached him, I wielded the sword. We dueled until his sword arm gave way, and he fell to the floor.

I put the tip of my sword to his neck. “Yield.”

He removed his mask, and I was not surprised to see Obi the White. Sheathing my sword, I helped him up.

“Good job!” he said, sounding pleased, oddly.

“Aren’t you mad that I hurt your arm?”

“No,” he replied, and then he pulled up his sleeve to reveal a bulletproof shirt.



Next part on page 8, post 3.

XD
I like Sputniks reaction to all this.

I take full credit for that, lol! ;D Thanks!

You are welcome.

So anyway, I or Jbros/Gri will post more after someone else comments.

Can I count?

XD I mean other people.

*Sigh*
Post other person!

I love this!! Write more!!

Okay, yeah, I'll post more. XD

We were all led to the furniture section by Obi once he rounded us all up; this section, on its own, was about as big as a regular Walmart section.

Once we’d all sat down, Obi the White walked to the middle of a circle of couches. “Your test results are in,” he said, dropping the huge garbage bag of papers from his shoulder to the floor. “Sputnik, I am not going to spare your feelings; you stink at wielding about every weapon I, or anyone, could stick you with.”

I felt a terrible sense of dejection. “Well, I can see I’m not needed!” I shouted with hurt, and hurried to my feet to begin stomping away.

“Walk away, or don’t. That is your choice.”

I stopped. If I left now, I would have to go back to my dad. With a sigh, I went back and sat down.

Obi nodded, looking pleased. “However, you were skillful enough in throwing that sword, so I suppose the blade is the way to go.” He tossed my dad’s sword at me, and I caught it, narrowly avoiding the loss of my arm.



I stifled a laugh at Sputnik’s clumsiness.

“And now,” Obi said, looking to me. “You seem to be quite skilled in combat, with explosives and firearms alike.” He tossed me a fresh belt of grenades, and my old machine gun. “If you could gain possession of a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, that would be wonderful.”

Then he turned to Tolkien. “Ah, Tolkien,” he sighed. “Your skill in firearms amazes me.” Sputnik looked like he was about to cry. “But there is still much for you to learn, so do not let your head be inflated. You were able to use the sword nicely enough, as a good addition, so . . . use this, and see if you can find a sword around town.” He threw Tolkien’s machine gun to him. “And if you could get your hands on one, a sniper rifle would be excellent.

“Now that we all have our weapons, I think we are ready to form a gang. We each need a new name, then, of course . . . let’s see. Sputnik, you are a mystery; a real queer person, and so I will give you a name to match. I declare you . . . Pootnic.” Pootnic seemed proud. “Lewis,” he then addressed me. “You are a real shady figure . . . you seem like . . . a gangster. So that is your new name.” I bowed my head in response.

“And, Tolkien. You are the best of the best; not just a regular trooper, but a high commander. A hero. Your name is Hero.” Hero smiled.

“Now, time for your first mission as a true gang. This is a fun one. I want all of you to go trick-or-treating around the neighborhood and try to get as much candy as possible. Are you up to the challenge?”

I replied “Yes!” as did Hero, but Pootnic just said “Yum!” and we all stared at him.

“. . . Very well,” said Obi after a bit. “You may begin.”



I raced out of the building. Once in the neighborhood, I looked for a kid. Not just any kid, but the kid. He was said to have known all about everything there is to know about the neighborhood. Like, where the haunted houses were, whose brother was an orc, and where Saruman was recuperating his forces. But more importantly, he knew where to get the most Halloween loot.

After searching for about ten minutes, I came across a weirdy kid - he would have been normal-looking, but he was wearing pants on his head, despite the fact that he was already wearing a perfectly good pair in the proper way. He noticed me, and, seeming to read my thoughts, said in a high and lilting voice that sounded as if he were from India, “There is a strange old man who lives in a mansion on the other side of the hill. He gives out tons of candy, almost enough to fill a garbage bag!” With that, he scurried away.

I stared at the Zippin-Up! bag I was carrying . . . I was gonna need something bigger.

After going up to random people’s houses for about ten minutes, someone finally granted my wish for a garbage bag. I thanked him, and set off for the hill.

Once at the mansion, I crept up to the door, and rang the bell. A few little tunes played; first the Star Wars theme song, and then the remixed Lord of the Rings theme. Quite the opposite from the usual doorbell sound I’d expected.

I hid my surprise when Obi the White answered the door - I tried to be nonchalant. “Trick or treat!” I shouted.

“Just a second,” Obi said bemusingly, appearing not to notice who I was, either. He walked away from the door, and turned down a hall, obscuring himself from my view. He soon came back, carrying two whole bags of assorted candy. Opening them, he poured them into my garbage bag.

I grinned. It was three-fourths full now. But to fill it completely - or to the point of overflow - I would have to come back. Lifting my goody bag over my shoulder like Santa, I walked away, grinning gleefully.



Next part on post 6.

Yay!!!!!!

Me likes it. xD

Wow, we've got a LOT to post.