The Last Thunderegg
by
L. J. Louden
SMASHWORDS EDITION
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PUBLISHED BY:
L. J. Louden on Smashwords
The Last Thunderegg
Copyright 2010 by L. J. Louden
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
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The Last Thunderegg
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CHAPTER 1
Andy stuffed the money back into his pocket and grinned. He had just enough to buy the gemstone. It was rough, dull grey and oblong in shape. And it fit perfectly into his closed fist.
“Why do you want that one, Andy?” asked his mom. She had a smile on her face and pulled his ear as she poked another rock into his belly to tickle him. “Look at this one.”
It was smooth, very polished, and green.
At least this one wasn’t pink, thought Andy. “Nope,” he scrunched his nose up at his mom and crossed his arms.
She laughed and ruffled his wavy hair. “Oh, you! I don’t know what you see in that ugly thing. But, it’s your money.” Shrugging, she wandered down the aisle looking at the myriad of different stones on display.
He didn’t know why he liked it, either. It just felt right. When he held other rocks, all he felt was a cold, hard stone. But when he dug his gemstone out from under the pile in the basket, it was warm. It felt like it was pulsing in his hand. And he was sure he saw faint flashes of color when the light hit it just right. Andy felt an immediate attachment to it and wouldn’t consider trading it for any other stone. With it clutched in his hand, he continued to look through the other baskets.
Mr. Marley, the Banff Rock & Gem Store owner, kept glancing at him. He would watch Andy closely when his mom tried to convince him to spend his money on a prettier rock. Every time Andy refused to consider one his mom showed him, the corner of Mr. Marley’s mouth would twitch and his eyes would twinkle.
Twelve year old Andy was small for his age. Long eyelashes framed his dark blue eyes and a splattering of freckles danced across his nose. He constantly battled with a crushing shyness and pronounced stutter.
When his dad died five years ago, his world turned upside down. They moved several times since then. Every move meant a new school for Andy. He gave up trying to make friends since the combination of his extreme shyness and stutter made him the brunt of cruel jokes. While quiet and withdrawn at school, when he was at home, Andy and his mom had a great time. They had a special bond – the two of them against the world – kind of thing.
Six months ago, his mom married Brian. Andy’s new stepfather always had a smile on his face and never made any comments about his stutter. On the rare occasion that Andy said anything more than one syllable to him, Brian would just wait patiently for him to finish talking. And then he’d continue the conversation as if nothing was different. But Andy was still shy and uncomfortable around him. He didn’t know what he should call him – ‘Brian’, ‘sir’, ‘Mr. Crandall’? It just didn’t feel right to call him ‘dad’.
They left their home in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan for a two week summer holiday through Alberta and British Columbia. Andy had been excited for weeks and was impatient for the day they would leave home and start their vacation. They were going to camp in the mountains and swim in the ocean. Brian promised they’d go salmon fishing and build sand castles on the beach. And they’d brought their ball and gloves with them. The plan was that Andy’s pitching arm would be so strong by the fall that the local teams would be fighting to have him as their pitcher. Andy wasn’t sure how that was going to happen since all the kids told him he couldn’t hit an elephant. But it was exciting to think that he might actually be good at something. And Brian could be such a goof. They usually ended up on the ground, gasping for air from the giggles.
The drive across the prairies was pretty boring. But the day they spent at the Calgary Stampede was full of rides and games, junk food and checking out the many barns housing lamas, sheep, cows and Andy’s favorite, the horses.
As they left Calgary and drove west, all three passengers in the car became more excited. The Rocky Mountains - having a war with towering rain clouds as to which one would dominate the view - grew larger and eventually surrounded them as they followed the highway towards the renowned mountain village of Banff.
CHAPTER 2
The Banff Gondola Ride at Sulphur Mountain was the first stop. After climbing into their private glass paneled car, they stood - noses pressed to the glass - and watched as a panoramic view slowly materialized as they climbed. Snow capped mountains spread out before them. The higher they climbed, the more mountain peaks rolled into view.
Andy’s mom turned - face beaming, “Andy, isn’t this incredible?” Her expression quickly turned to one of concern when she saw him sitting on the floor, face slowly turning an odd shade of green. “Andy! Are you okay?”
“Uhhhhh…..uh,uh.”
Brian turned at the sound of Andy’s moaning response. “Uh oh. Are you afraid of heights, Andy?”
Andy peeked outside and looked down. His answering groan was all they needed to hear. His mom convinced him to breathe deeply and count to himself. Brian sat beside him the rest of the way up - insisting he keep his head between his knees. Andy, eyes closed, listened to Brian’s silly jokes and stories, knowing it was supposed to distract him from his very nauseous stomach. When they finally reached the summit, he couldn’t get out of the gondola fast enough.
“Geez, I didn’t know you were afraid of heights, Andy,” his mom ruffled his hair.
“Yeah, n-n-neither did I!” Andy’s humor returned when his stomach stopped doing somersaults. “I sure d-d-don’t want to go on that th-th-thing again.”
When his mom’s grin slowly disappeared - replaced by a growing look of concern, Andy’s heart flipped. He suddenly realized that they had to get down the mountain.
“No! M-m-mom!”
“Uh, Brian…” his mom turned to her husband, at a loss as to what to do.
Brian grinned good naturedly. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to toss you down.”
Andy’s mom raised her eyebrows in surprise.
“Or we could ask that bear over there to give you a ride down.” He pointed to a neighboring mountain where a large black bear was meandering across a meadow.
Andy’s jaw dropped. His mom’s eyebrows lowered over her eyes as she glared at Brian.
“Or, we could walk down that trail over there,” he pointed under the gondola to a well worn path that zigzagged down the mountain.
Andy’s mom gave her husband a good natured slap on the arm while Andy heaved a sigh of relief.
Andy loved Banff. Wild elk wandered the streets and grazed in the meadows along the highway. Old, chalet style houses were nestled behind treed yards on side streets called Rabbit, Fox, Otter and Marmot. Tourists speaking German, French, Spanish and the occasional American twang crowded the busy sidewalks. Sports stores and souvenir shops stood shoulder to shoulder all along the main street. Candy was purchased by the pound at Welch’s Candy Store and small crowds of people - mouths watering - watched fudge being made through a plate glass window at The Fudgery. The fresh, crisp mountain air smelled of pine boughs at Christmas and newly mowed grass. He couldn’t help but take big breaths - filling his lungs and slowly letting the air escape - eyes closed in delight.
When they reached the Banff Rock & Gem Store, Andy squeezed through the people coming and going through the front door. Once inside, he stopped and stared in awe. There were shelves and shelves of rocks. Every color, shape, size and texture that you could imagine. Baskets lining the walls overflowed with all sorts of different kinds of rocks. Most of them were polished until they were as smooth as glass. Others looked like they had been cut in half. One side was rough and dull looking. The cut side of the rock was hollowed out with hundreds of tiny brilliant purple, blue or white square chunks of color all jumbled together. There were glass cases holding necklaces and bracelets made out of tiny sparkling stones. By the front door, narrow rocks, almost as tall as Brian, stood at attention.
Andy had vacation money that his mom had given him - just enough to buy one of the small rocks in the baskets along the floor. After looking through several piles, he finally found his rock.
He was wandering through the store, captivated by the world of shining, colored gemstones when his mom interrupted his browsing.
“Honey, we’re going to look at some more stores. Do you want to come?”
“Uhhhh…,” Andy hesitated.
“You can stay here if you’d like. We’ll only be gone for about half an hour,” she said.
Andy nodded in agreement. He wanted to see the rest of the store. And he would keep his head down so he wouldn’t have to talk to anyone.
“And you know not to leave the store, right Andy?” She nudged him, eyebrows raised.
Andy nodded again.
“What was that, honey?” his mom asked softly.
“Y-y-y-yes mom,” Andy whispered, glancing behind him to see if anyone had heard him. He received a juicy kiss on his cheek which was immediately rubbed off with a disgusted, “Awww, mom!”
After Brian and his mom left the store, Andy pulled the hood of his sweater over his head, stuck his hands in the front pouch and slowly went from case to case inspecting their contents. There were rocks called ‘Tourmaline’, ‘Amethyst’, ‘Amber’, ‘Quartz’, ‘Crystals’, and ‘Chalcedony’. He wanted to know what his rock was called, so he picked up a book from one of the racks and started leafing through the pages. Apparently, most gemstones had some kind of power or mystical qualities. Crystals were thought to have healing powers and were used to tell the future. The amethyst was supposed to bring good fortune in war and drive out evil spirits.
He didn’t find any rocks in the book that looked like the one in his hand. Returning to the basket where he found it, Andy kneeled down and started to dig. After a thorough inspection, he decided - with a mixture of pride and confusion - that he had a one of a kind.
Andy had been deep in thought, wondering about the uniqueness of his rock when, all of sudden, he realized the store was quiet. When he had come through the front door, it was full of people. There had been a constant buzz of talking, laughing, ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’. Now, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. He spun around and looked at the deserted store.
Mr. Marley - the only other person there - was watching him. The store owner was an odd looking fellow. His too long and tousled hair was all sorts of shades of grey. In contrast, his mustache and beard were neatly trimmed and combed. He wore a black beret - like the French painters. His old fashioned suit had a gold pocket watch tucked into the vest. Mr. Marley’s eyes looked like they were black, but if the sunlight hit them just right, you could see they were a deep emerald green. Mr. W. Marley was printed in fancy, swirly letters on his name tag.
He slowly approached Andy, hands clasped in front of him. “All gemstones have names and special qualities,” he began. His voice was soft and gentle. “For instance, this one,” Mr. Marley picked up a shiny black rock from a pile in a box, “is called a tourmaline. It’s said to dispel fear and grief. According to legend, the tourmaline protects the wearer against dangers and misfortune. And this one,” he picked up a sparkling pale green stone, “is called a Peridot. It’s used to help dreams become reality.”
Mr. Marley peered at Andy over his wire rimmed glasses and raised his eyebrows as if waiting for a response. When Andy just blinked, the old man turned and continued on down the row of shelves. Picking up a sample from each basket, he would give a brief description of the stone and then gently place it back where it belonged.
They had wandered to the back corner of the store - beside the basket where Andy had found his rock - when Mr. Marley’s mood changed.
“Now, that one that you’re holding is called a Thunderegg,” Mr. Marley’s voice had become deeper, quieter and very serious. He gazed into Andy’s eyes.
“It’s very powerful and trjeklirnkvnenldanshahd fklgjseoirgfeioj…………………”
All of a sudden, some very strange things happened. Mr. Marley’s words became garbled. Andy saw a flash of green out of the corner of his eye and heard a giggle. But when he glanced over his shoulder towards the baskets, there was nothing there. He brought his attention back to the old man. Andy shook his head but still couldn’t make sense of what Mr. Marley was saying. The old man kept motioning towards Andy’s Thunderegg and went into some kind of long explanation. Bending down so he was nose to nose with Andy, Mr. Marley’s face had lost all signs of humor, his bushy eyebrows lowered over his eyes. It seemed like he was asking him a question, but Andy still couldn’t understand him. He felt himself nod his head, but had no idea what he was agreeing to. He looked down at his Thunderegg and gasped when he saw it sparkle - ever so faintly - as if it was winking at him. Then, sensing a presence between the shelves again, he glanced over as Mr. Marley straightened up. He thought he saw something…. Or did he? The air between two of the baskets had a greenish hue. And objects in the area looked a bit distorted. Andy blinked and everything was clear again. Even more confused, he brought his attention back to Mr. Marley.
“So, your journey begins.” Mr. Marley’s voice was back to normal. The tall man straightened and clasped his hands in front of him. “That Thunderegg has chosen you to …”
They were interrupted by the jingle of the doorbell as some people entered the store, including his mom and Brian. As Mr. Marley turned and walked over to greet them, Andy heard another giggle behind him. He spun around but couldn’t see anything amongst the neat rows of baskets. Just as he was convincing himself that he was hearing things, he heard the sound again. This time it was a bit louder and sounded like someone was in the middle of a deep belly laugh. Andy, heart pounding, slowly walked along the rock filled shelves - trying to follow the sound.
“Andy. It’s time to go.”
His mom’s voice, calling from the front of the store, made him jump. Feeling spooked, he hurried towards her - glancing back several times at the baskets.
“Ready to go?” Brian looked down at him with an affectionate grin.
Andy nodded at Brian and dug his money out of his pocket. When he approached the till to pay for his Thunderegg, Mr. Marley bent down and looked him squarely in the eye.
“Do you understand the task ahead of you?” the store owner asked quietly as he discreetly pointed at Andy’s Thunderegg.
Andy was confused at this question, but too shy to ask for an explanation so he just nodded his head and looked at the floor. Mr. Marley put Andy’s rock in a black velvet bag and rang in the sale. When he handed the bag to Andy, he winked and whispered, “Good luck”.
Back on the highway, Andy made a nest in the back seat amongst pillows and blankets. He had his Thunderegg in his hand and was rubbing it between his thumb and fingers. It was rough, but warmed to his touch. He looked up at the sky and noticed the clouds had changed from a solid grey mass to puffy white marshmallows. Carpets of green trees climbed up the sides of the towering Rocky Mountains. Every once in a while he glimpsed a waterfall tumbling down a rocky path.
Andy, starting to get drowsy, leaned his head against the window. He continued to rub his rock ever so gently and slowly. His eyes started to droop. As he watched the trees and meadows glide past, he wondered what it would be like to ride a horse in the ditch beside the car. In his mind, he saw a white horse galloping so fast it could keep up with the speed of the cars on the highway. It leapt smoothly over anything in its way. He had never ridden a horse before and imagined it would be really exciting. His eyelids sagged and his head felt heavy. Sleepily, he glanced down at his hand as he felt the stone become warmer. It started to tingle and sparkle. Andy squished his eyes closed against the flashes of color that shot out from the dull grey surface.
CHAPTER 3
WHOOSH! Andy was jostled awake and had a hard time sitting up. The wind was rushing past him so fast he could hardly open his eyes. Feeling something warm and moving underneath him, he looked down and squinted against the wind.
“Whoa!!”
He was sitting on a horse! A horse that was galloping very, very fast. Andy fell forward and grabbed the horse around its neck - his heart suddenly hammering against his chest. The Thunderegg was now a pulsing blue and twinkled in his hand. Andy gasped then started to cough from the blast of air that hit his lungs. Digging his heels into the horse’s sides for a better grip, he whimpered and buried his face in the long silky mane. Underneath him, the horse surged forward in powerful leaps.
“Uh, ‘scuse me. Could you get your heels out of my belly and stop choking me, please,” grumbled an irritated throaty voice.