Capes, Costumes & Crooks
Country of Animated Super Toons
Country of Animated Super Toons
Stumbling into the Country of Animated Super Toons by accident, a young man becomes an unwilling part of a nation dedicated to animated Anthropomorphic beings.
[CCC] Gerard Prentice - Episode One
The Golden Carrot
Written by Darrel Vanwinkle (Lord Pouchlaw)
February 1st, 2019
Starring,
Gerard Prentice as PVT Rabbit Prentice
Chapter One - Foggy Short Cut.
Having left the baseball game well after dark on foot just outside of Summer Lake, Oregon, the young boy with sandy blond hair, hazel eyes, and fair skin made his way along the unpaved road which led toward where he lived with his older brother. Just ahead, he saw what looked like a dense fog drifting across the roadway making it so you couldn't see a few inches in front of oneself. "Man, that is some fog. But it wasn't supposed to be foggy tonight." He continued walking through the fog thankful that he could feel the road under foot which would tell him that he was going the right way.
As he proceeded forward through the fog, he heard a shout from somewhere in front of himself saying, "Catch him! He has the Golden Carrot! If he uses it to cross into another world, we are all doomed!" The young boy shouted back, "There is a quicksand bog in this direction! I just barely avoided falling into it! Damn this fog!" He had seen the trick used in an old movie and he hoped that whomever the thief was had not seen the movie himself. Then he found himself stepping out of the fog rather suddenly and he saw an anthropomorphic brown and red fox with two tails wearing a military uniform standing almost directly in his path. The military fox looked surprised to see a young human emerging from the fog at his location. The boy quietly said, "You have two tails like the Mobian known as Miles Prower. Who are you?"
The fox sensing that the human was choosing to be diplomatic replied, "I am Corporal Wiley Primer; a soldier in the CAST World army. Who are you and where did you come from?"
The young boy replied, "I am Gerard Prentice from Planet Earth; I was proceeding home from a night-time baseball game and this thick fog moved across the road I would use to get home and I chose to walk through it since I knew the route well enough to stay in a straight line. I didn't think the fog was going to be this thick. What is the Golden Carrot and why would someone steal it?"
Wiley replied, "It is a magical artifact that is shaped like a golden carrot and it permits the user to open gates between worlds. We don't know what shape the world gates look like. For all we know, it could be this fog you walked through."
Gerard arched an eye and said, "There is one way to find out, Wiley. Are there any humans in CAST World? I am asking since you seem to know what humans look like."
Wiley stated, "The last time humans were seen in CAST World was just before the transfer gate was sealed to prevent corruption between the two worlds. But since you are here now, I would have to surmise that the thief opened a new gate or we missed one we previously didn't know about. I am thinking more the former since that seems more likely. We haven't seen a thick fog like this since the sealing of the primary gate. I knew not to step into a fog. I like living in CAST World."
Gerard asked, "When was the original gate sealed? I've never heard of CAST World."
Wiley said, "It was long before I was born, my friend. Nearly 500 years ago in 1519 in the year of our lord, the human locals feared non-human life as well as powers they themselves could not utilize. In order to separate themselves from our own people in what they called 'The Realm', their top ministers devised an enchanted object that when thrown into the gate would seal the gate off from their world deeming that we, of all people, were demons and devils to be banished. The object crafted was the Golden Carrot. With the object in our world and the gate sealed, we had no knowledge of how the thing operated. Recently a group of revolutionists did some research that stated that the Golden Carrot could operate from night time conditions mixed with sea water and a solid chunk of carbon dioxide. This would activate the Golden Carrot by summoning the eerie fog needed for making the gate appear."
Gerard smiled when he heard the explanation. "Oh, Dry Ice. Then I am assuming that the Golden Carrot is made of Dry Ice before being coated in a layer of liquid gold before being allowed to harden and dry where upon it takes on the appearance of a carrot. In all honesty, this seems rather stupid on behalf of the ministers to believe in an old wives tale. They performed witchcraft themselves in order to close a gate between worlds. Since I am the first human your people have seen in 500 years, then I have to assume that the seal was weakened which permitted me to pass through it. Does the thief still have the Golden Carrot?"
Wiley smiled. "He might still have it. If the Golden Carrot enters your world, then all formerly sealed gates would re-open at the same time. And since we haven't gotten that report as yet, then we might still have a chance to stop this fool. When the shout came that there was quicksand just ahead in the fog, I heard someone running to the right as if to either avoid the quicksand or being caught by whomever gave the shout."
Gerard chuckled. "I gave off the quicksand shout from a play I had seen performed last year. In truth, there is no quicksand. My warning shout simply made him either abort the crossing or freak out when he thought his escape route was cut off. Of course, I should try to return home, Wiley. My brother will freak out if I don't return from the ball game tonight."
Wiley frowned, "Then you better get going; it looks like the thick fog is starting to thin out in spots. If you cannot cross back into your world, I will give you lodging until we can figure out a way to get you home. A shame since you are arousing me something fierce."
Gerard turned to look back into the fog and saw that it was true, the fog was starting to thin in spots. He turned fast and ran into the thickest portion of the fog; he knew he had only walked about ten feet before encountering Wiley. One part of him wanted to get to know the fox better, but his brother was waiting for him back home. After running ten feet, he stopped when he came upon what felt like a cliff that rose up out of the ground before him. "Oh no... I didn't get through in time. I hope Wiley waited for me." And he turned to return to where he had last seen Wiley. As he walked forward, he stumbled over something on the ground. Kneeling down and feeling for the object, the boy soon felt something that felt like a carrot, accept it was cold to the touch. He pulled out his catchers mitt and he picked up the object in that. Then he lifted his voice. "Wiley? Speak up so I can find you! I didn't make it back home! But I found something that might be what you and your people are looking for!"
Wiley's voice was heard from a certain direction in the fog. "I'm over here, Gerard! You sound like you are off to the right instead of being in a straight line like you originally said!"
Gerard then emerged from the fog and was once again standing in front of Wiley. "I found this on the ground and I picked it up with my catchers mitt. It was too cold for my bare skin to touch. It looks like a gold carrot; is this what you and your people were looking for?"
End of Chapter One
Comment