Auburn Circle
ning to suspect that we were not returning to our bikes at all. or the explosions will not affect the barn. Second, we’ve got to proSure enough, we rounded a bend and came to a length of chain tect ourselves from the explosions.” stretched two feet above the dirt path, blocking off traffic from “Okay, let’s do this,” he said. the main road, which was about 50 yards away. The landmark that In that moment, our hearts and eyes were completely focused most intrigued us, however, was a run-down barn to the right of on the perilous but good mission that lay before us. the path, on the opposite side from the woods. The grass around I looked at my phone again. 4:40. “Okay, it’s time.” the barn was only slightly overgrown, but it looked like the barn We each threw our first two grenades in less than a minute, hadn’t been touched in years. I didn’t feel at all like a trespasser, making exploding noises with our mouths, bracing ourselves beeven though we had to climb a fence to get onto the property. It hind a tree to protect ourselves from flying shrapnel the bombs was a walk-in barn, no doors to close anyone out and windows dispersed. with no glass. There was an unmistakable feeling of gloomy aban“For these next three,” I began, “We have to climb up this tree donment we experienced inside. Rusty tools and watering bowls and launch them from up in the tree. Because these last three grehad been left like relics on the dirt floor, along with some old nades are heavier, and we can’t throw them as far, but they have to bags of dirt or fertilizers. There was nothing particularly ominous strike the building from higher.” or unusual—nothing, except we noticed Blake hurried up the tree first, and I that in several of the horse pens (or what- “Of course, there was almost followed. We launched our final three greever animals they kept), there were crude- certainly a compelling story nades from the tree branches, Blake about looking collars attached to secured chains. about this barn, something that a body length and a half higher than me. In the quietness of the abandoned barn, was probably connected in some We clung to the trees and smothered our shaded by its own solitude and the cloudy, cheeks against their rough bark, hoping breezeless sky outside, the collars looked way to the history of Daria and that the sturdy wood would protect us from like crude torture devices. Of course, there the rise of the White Witch and the fire emanating out from our explodwas almost certainly a compelling story the Scientists.” ing gum balls. After we launched the final about this barn, something that was probgrenade, I looked at my cell phone, and it ably connected in some way to the history of Daria and the rise of was 4:47, only three minutes before the White Witch and her gunthe White Witch and the Scientists. wielding Scientists would overtake us. “What is this place?” Blake asked. “We have less than three minutes to get on our bikes before We looked around at the sad interior of the barn, and I said, “I the Scientists capture us. We gotta run fast!” don’t know, but whatever animals lived here must’ve lived a rough We climbed with agility back over the fence and ran down the life.” dirt path toward familiar sights. I wasn’t sure where we were, but “This is terrible,” he said. “I bet the White Witch used to use it felt like we were going the right way. I hoped so, because we had this barn to keep animals locked up. That’s probably why there’s so about 90 seconds to find our way out. much less animals in the forest now.” “Take cover!” Blake shouted. Shots were raining over our I said, “I think the Scientists would come here to do experishoulders; we didn’t have to turn to know that the Scientists were ments on animals. Now, the animals are probably long dead, and on our heels with guns they that fully intended to use to kill us. We the Scientists have moved on to human experimentation now.” kept running without stopping, sometimes ducking our heads, Blake shook his head. “That’s awful.” sometimes leaping to the right or left, our mouths buzzing with I nodded in agreement. It was awful. “We’ve gotta do somethe crack of gunfire and whizzing bullets. thing,” I said. “Before we go, we have to complete a mission. We My cell phone read 4:50. have to destroy this cursed barn, so that the scientists can never “We have 45 seconds,” I yelled, not sure if that was true or if come back here and use it again for their evil purposes.” we actually had less time before it turned 4:51. I was starting to “How will we destroy it?” Blake asked. recognize the path we were on now, not far from where we had “We have to burn it down,” I responded automatically. “We entered the woods. have ten grenades—five for each of us.” “Thirty seconds!” I yelled. The shots continued to ring out, I reached to the grass and began plucking up fallen sweet gum but we kept running, and shortly I could make out our bicycles balls from the grass and stuffing them in my pocket. Blake gathparked at the end of our path, near the dividing edge of the field ered some, too. and the forest. “These are our grenades,” I explained. We made it to the bikes, scarred and wounded by bullets, but “Okay,” he said. “But we have to act fast, because as soon as none that were life-threatening. I looked at my cell phone, and it they hear us they’ll come after us, and they have way more numread 4:51, but I didn’t tell Blake this. What would be the point in bers than us.” saying we didn’t make it out when we clearly did? “You’re right,” I said. I reached in my pocket and looked at my Before we pedaled away, Blake turned and addressed the forcell phone. “Right now, it’s 4:38. We’ll begin the assault at 4:40, est as if it were a person, “Goodbye, Daria, until we meet again. and we have to be on our bikes by 4:50. If we’re not, there is a good May the black fox live long in your land.” chance we won’t make it out of here. We rode away from Daria victorious in one battle over the evil “There are two important requirements,” I continued. “First, that grew within its forests, an evil that would persist for years and we have to make sure we hit the building on all ten of our throws, years, though a little weaker than before.
37