Dear Readers,
The answer was pretty obvious, but congrats to all who got it, and sincere thanks to those of you who contributed rhymes. I may write poetry all the time, but that doesn't make rhyming easier! These poems are going to take me a lot of time.
Thanks to my reviewers:
Mela- w00t! You got the riddle and that site will most likely be my savior. (::) (::) cookies!!! (::) (::)
Piper xox Leo-thanks for the great review, I'll get up chapters as fast as I can. You rock!
Krissy- Yup, you got the riddle, and thank you for the rhymes, those'll definitely come in handy. (::) (::) cookies!!! (::) (::)
Iheartgreenday- Correctamundo! You see, actually, in my town, those 'things' come in blue wrappers, bright blue, so I wasn't sure if white was right…but enough people got the answer, so I guess it was ok. Thanks for the great review, those rhymes will be very, very helpful. (::) (::) cookies!!! (::) (::)
Lily-applause You not only e-mailed me twice to tell me how good my stories were and to update really soon, you reviewed and made me laugh. Thanks a lot, and here's some cookies for the right answer. (::) cookies!!! (::)
Josh- your review made me laugh, hopefully this next chapter will be up REALLY soon. (::) cookies!!! (::)
Gryffindor620-thanks for the review, you rock. This next chapter will be up soon!
Princess Paige- (::) (::) cookies!!! (::) (::) great job, here's an update!
Shann51- glad you like the story, means a lot to me. Here's an update for you!
Sorry if I missed you, I tried to get this out as soon as possible and I know I missed a few people. I'll get you next time though. Thanks for reviewing!
Note: This chapter is dedicated to Lily. She knows who she is. She e-mailed twice, making me laugh when I was having horrible trouble and feeling completely miserable, and also reviewed. I can't thank her enough for telling me to get off my sorry ass and update for you guys. So give any thanks for this chapter to Lily, it wouldn't have happened otherwise.
A few minutes had passed since silence had fallen like a thick blanket over the occupants of the dining room. The sheet of quiet was broken by the tapping of Phoebe's fingers against the hardwood table. Everyone looked up simultaneously to glare at her, and with a sheepish smile, she stopped and silence reigned again.
But not for long. Paige soon threw up her hands in aggravation, just as Leo jumped up in joy.
"I've got it!"
"We'll never get it!"
They spoke together, but Leo's voice rang out.
"The newspaper! It's the newspaper!" Phoebe jumped up also, knocking over her chair, already halfway out of the room.
"Prue, where the hell did we put the newspaper?"
"We didn't! It's on the front porch!" she cried and everyone raced for the front doors, Leo in the lead, dodging the various pieces of furniture Leo had strewn about a little while ago. He threw open the doors and pounced on the innocent newspaper. He shook it and out tumbled a white piece of paper, folded just as the first was before. He opened it hurriedly, as the girls crowded around him.
You've found the next clue,
Truly, it's amazing.
I doubted your intelligence.
I still do, but the stakes are still raising.
Three clues are in this,
Latest note, poem and letter
One for the place of the next clue,
And the others so you can get her.
First we shall address,
The first clue towards her site.
Can't wait to see your face,
Maybe we'll even have a fight.
Left behind, left alone,
This word describes the place.
Empty and deserted,
Gently touching Piper's face.
This second clue is to her spot,
Quick! Your time is still decreasing.
Hurry, hurry Wyatt dear,
Before Piper's breath is completely ceasing.
Prefix of the man who howls at the moon
Not much time left, it's all a blur.
Clock's still ticking, time's up soon.
Hurry up and find her.
To find the next clue,
You'll need to travel past the door.
The color of the sun, that's what it is,
And the bird through the skies soar.
Children are always on it,
Pretending to fly through the sky.
The clue's inside it,
Hurry before Piper dies.
The note ended and Leo clenched the lined paper in his fists. The last line echoed throughout his head, ringing as though Dan had spoken aloud. Paige gently took the paper from him.
"If we have any hope of finding Piper, we're going to need this." Leo relaxed his hands and realized he had neglected to take a breath ever since finishing the note. He let out a shaky breath and started back inside, following Paige who was re-reading silently the note.
The group all reassembled in the living room as Paige took a step at a time, and re-read the first stanza with a clue in it.
"Left behind, left alone, this word describes the place. Empty and deserted, um, gently touching Piper's face." she said, hesitating on reading the last bit out loud. Leo's hands clenched slightly on the arms of the armchair, until he relaxed himself and spoke.
"I think he threw in the last part to distract me. And it worked." he tried to give a crooked smile, but it ended up looking more like he was grimacing. "But, he's giving us a word that describes the place. Left behind, left alone? Empty and deserted?"
"Well, that's easy, that's abandoned." answered Prue. Leo nodded. "Second clue?" she asked Paige, who dutifully read out the next stanza.
"Prefix of the man who howls at the moon, not much time left, it's all a blur. Clock's still ticking, time's up soon. Hurry up and find her. There's only one clue in that. Prefix of the man who howls at the moon?"
"A wolf?" asked Prue, confused. "There's nothing before the word wolf, this doesn't make sense."
"No, it says a man who howls at the moon." said Phoebe excitedly. "A man-wolf. A were-wolf! Were being the Anglo-Saxon term for-" Paige cut her off.
"Were? But that doesn't make sense. And is it that 'were', or is it like 'wear' clothes, or 'where' she is. Or like 'ware' as in cups, plates, forks and things? You know, like silverware, glassware-" Leo cut her off."Or warehouse. Do you think that's it, an abandoned warehouse?" he asked, his eyes betraying his would-be casual tone. They blazed with anger and anxiety. Prue answered as gently as possible.
"We don't know yet Leo. Let's just find the next clue and see if we can start linking them together. What's the next line Paige?"
"Well, the next line is the one that confuses me. To find the next clue, you'll need to travel past the door. The color of the sun, that's what it is, and the bird through the skies soar. Children are always on it, pretending to fly through the sky. The clue's inside it, hurry before Piper," Paige stopped reading, but continued. "dies." Leo closed his eyes and leaned back, feeling mixed emotions course through him. He was afraid, afraid to lose Piper and terrified to think what would happen to her. Paige's voice brought him back from his estranged thoughts.
"I don't get it. The color of the sun, that's easy, yellow. And he says it's a bird. A Yellow Bird that children are always on? Big Bird? That's stupid." Phoebe shook her head. She closed her eyes.
"A yellow bird that kids are on, always pretending to fly…I'm getting a flashback here you guys. A park, Piper, Prue and I in a park, younger, much. Arguing on whose going to ride… ride the yellow bird! Prue! Of course Paige and Leo wouldn't know it, the park down the street! We always played on that stupid yellow bird slide!" Prue jumped up nodding.
"It makes sense, Dan's always lived close by, he knew the park."
"What are we waiting for, let's get our asses to that park!" cried Paige, running outside, forgetting to grab a jacket. Prue followed after, running, pulling hers on and holding Paige's. Leo was about to leap down the steps when Phoebe caught his jacket. He turned and saw tears in her eyes.
"Leo, why is he doing this to you? To us?" Leo sighed and hugged the girl who was like a little sister.
"Because, he hates me, and he wants Piper. He's…he's sick."
"Why aren't we involving the police? Wouldn't they do this much faster?" she asked, starting out the door.
"No, slower. It took them 3 hours just to round up everything when they knew that Dan had done it. Imagine what it would be like for this." he said and started jogging after Paige and Prue who were several yards ahead. Phoebe followed, tears still filling her eyes.
"I don't know what I'd do without my big sister Leo." Leo sighed and nodded.
"Me either Pheebs, me either. She's everything to me. The air I breathe, a part of my soul. I just-I wouldn't be the same." He stopped talking, afraid his voice would betray the fear grabbing his heart. "Which is why we need to find her, and fast." he said, with determination. "Let's go catch up with Prue." Phoebe nodded and they ran down the sidewalk to walk with Prue and Paige. Leo spoke under his breath, finally saying aloud what he feared, knowing that no one would hear him.
"I just hope we get there in time."
Sorry for the wait. Okay, now, here's where you come in. I know I've asked this question before, but I need ALL OF YOU to answer it. If you've never reviewed before, you need to, if only to answer this question.
[IMPORTANT!]
Should I bring magic into the story? Please, a yes or no at the end of your review would help heaps. Please, answer the question.
[/IMPORTANT!]
If it's yes, then a few things will be explained. If it's no, I've got a few things to do. Either way, I don't care, I just need to know what you want.
Oh, and after I finish this story, I'm going to go through it, and edit, because I've looked back and I'm entirely disgusted with my writing style. So, you might want to keep an eye open a month or so after I finish. I'm going to be going through and fixing plotholes. This chapter is one I'm not so disgusted with, I hoped you liked it.
The Sage