Did you miss Part 1? Read it Here!

… Suddenly Matt and Josie are hyper-aware of the earth’s pressure beneath their feet. It isn’t something they’ve ever noticed before – save the occasional cue for groundedness in a Corepower class – but their weight is impossible to ignore as it slowly dissipates. They’re flying!

The seemingly involuntary nature of their initial ascent makes way for a more laborious and intentional flapping of their now fully formed wings. It takes them a minute or two to get accustomed to their new feathered limbs as they flail their legs and arms. But once they determine the right way to engage their core (Corepower shoutout #2), the two angels cross the moat with ease. 

Once they touch down on Ventureland, their wings swiftly detach from their bodies. The two are shocked by but grateful for the fickleness of their appendages. Flying was strange, and laborious in a way that didn’t quite appeal to them. They prefer working from the ground up.

Matt feels a strange itch in his throat. He begins coughing, and realizes there’s something lodged in there. He turns to Josie, eyes bulging. She’s terrified, asking what’s wrong, if she should try the Heimlich. She learned how to do it at babysitting training when she was nine, and remembers the gist of it. But just as she musters the courage to perform the maneuver, her own throat becomes similarly itchy. The two stand hunched and coughing for the better part of two minutes, until they finally spit the culprits into their palms.

They stare at their cupped hands, dumbstruck. Matt and Josie each have three pods that are about the size of sunflower seeds. The seeds had come from the low-hanging fruit they had consumed, though they had evidently been germinating in their chests. After examining them closely, Matt and Josie place the pods in their pockets with the understanding that they will undoubtedly be of use in the near future. Before they get to that, though, the two would need to execute some due diligence on their surroundings.

The fortress is far vaster than it had initially seemed. They expected to find a castle immediately upon entering the gate, but are instead met with a sort-of garden/forest hybrid that apparently extends endlessly. They begin walking, because what else is there to do?

After some time they stop, exhausted and longing for the subway. They feel aimless, and would like to establish a game-plan.

“What if this is like The Wizard of Oz,” asks Matt “where we’ve had the key home this whole time?”

“But wasn’t the point that they had to go through all that stuff as a learning experience?”

“Maybe, but it would be way more optimal for us to just click our heels together.”

“I don’t see ruby red slippers on either of our feet!”

“I think we’re going in circles.”

In fact, they are. They aren’t even large, meandering circles. They’re walking on a track that’s been carved into the shrubbery. Defeated, Matt and Josie sit. Matt rubs his temples. Josie idly tears at the grass.

As I sit like this, a group of ants begins crawling over Josie’s hand. There’s something different about these ants, though. A powerful energy, something special about how they work together to do whatever it is they’re doing. Josie lifts her hand to show Matt, and he notices it too. For some reason, this gives them the motivation to get back up. Josie blows the ants off her knuckles, and they push their way through the shrubs to escape the endless track they’ve been walking on.

As they struggle through the brush, Matt notices what he assumed was a rock beginning to move. It’s a turtle, moving slowly and steadily. As they get to a clearing, Matt and Josie stare in awe as a phoenix rises from ashes. A zebra runs through the clearing, creating a blur of stripes. Scared but intrigued, the two continue on, now seeking the source of these creatures. 

A gorilla jumps out at them, alarmingly hostile, and they break out into a run. A dragon tries to strike them from above, barely missing them with the stream of fire it spits onto the earth. The two are exhausted and confused. Hadn’t they already crossed the moat? But an overwhelming curiosity now seizes them, so they continue on toward the place that is clearly trying to keep them out.

The bizarre assemblage of animals reaches a crescendo as a pack of elephants storms toward them. Josie and Matt get separated from each other as they dart out of the way. The two become overwhelmed by the noise, and struggle to call out for each other in the blur of strange creatures. 

Eventually, they figure out how to deliver a signal to each other, and are soon reunited. Josie and Matt sense they’re getting close to whatever their destination is, and they continue on together.

Finally, they come upon a castle – one with floor-to-ceiling windows – that sits upon a small hill made of sand. They step onto the sand hill road, eager to finally get a peek into the source of all of these fantastical creatures. Off to the side, they witness a pack of unicorns playfully fighting with their horns. They manage to sneak by the creatures unnoticed.

In a conveniently located piece of shrubbery, they hide, gaining a near-perfect vantage point into the grand foyer. And then they see him, coming down the stairs. Tall and strong to the point of being egregious, they put two and two together – he’s a giant. And they’ve never felt so small…

What will our heroes do next? Will David take on Goliath? Stay tuned for next week’s Too Be Continued to find out.