Charlie Bone and the Library of Fantasy

Chapter Four: Split Up: Part One- Lysander

"Ow…" Lysander stirred. He was on top of a bush.

He stood up quickly and hit his head on a tree branch.

"Owch!"

Lysander rubbed his head. He looked around. Neither his friends nor the teleporting symbol were in sight. It looked like he was in the woods

"Hello?" Lysander called, "Is anyone there?"

There was no response. Lysander sighed.

"Better find out where I am..."

He started stumbling through the abundant shrubbery.

Eventually, he pulled a tree branch aside and saw a clearing. In the middle of the clearing was a cottage.

"A cottage? In the middle of the woods?" Lysander was intrigued.

"Maybe if I go into the cottage, I'll be able to figure out where I am…"

He walked up to the cottage and knocked on the door. No one answered.

He turned the knob to find it unlocked. Hecautiously opened the doorand stepped in.

He shut the door behind him.

There was a table in the middle of the room. Two chairs were around this table; a big one and a medium sized one. There were also the remains of a small chair on the floor.

"This seems familiar…" Lysander murmured.

On the table were three bowls; one big, one medium sized and one small. The small bowl was empty, but the other two were nearly full of porridge.

Lysander's stomach growled.

"Well, I haven't eaten in ages…"

Lysander spotted a spoon, scooped up some porridge from the medium sized bowl and shoved it in his mouth. He spat it out.

"Eww…it's all cold and soggy…"

He walked over to the bigger bowl, scooped up some porridge and put it in his mouth cautiously. He spat it out too.

"HOOOOOOT!" Lysander shrieked, sticking his tongue out and fanning it.

He looked around for some water. The only water source he could see was a fish tank. He promptly ran over and dunked his head in the fish tank.

After ten seconds of drinking fish water, Lysander felt better.

Lysander tried to pull his head back for air, but to no avail. His head was stuck.

"Help!" He tried to call, but since his head was underwater, it wasn't loud or clear.

Lysander felt so ashamed as his life flashed before him. It was a pathetic way to die. He was going to die from drowning. Drowning isn't a bad way to die – it's more the fact that he was drowning because he had his head stuck in a fish tank. He wanted to die with as much dignity and respect as possible.

No wait, strike that, he didn't even want to die! Especially not so young.

Lysander started running around, flapping his arms, trying to get the fish tank off of his head.

He wasn't looking where he was going and incidentally ran into a wall, shattering the fish tank.

Lysander was knocked back onto the floor from the collision. He got up slowly, carefully getting the glass shards off of him and then looked at himself. He only had a few scratches and they weren't that deep. He was lucky.

Carefully, he treaded over the glass shards to a safer area.

Lysander suddenly felt the urge to go to the bathroom.

"Probably from all that water I just drank…" he moaned.

He walked around the bottom floor bu

t there was no bathroom. Lysander spotted a staircase.

He climbed up to the second level and searched the second level. He hadn't seen another staircase.

There was just one room left.

He opened the door…it was a bedroom! There were three beds; a big one, a medium sized one and a small one.

"What the heck? Who doesn't have a bathroom?"

Then he noticed someone was in the small bed. That someone stirred.

She sat up and stretched, yawning. Then she opened her eyes and blinked twice.

"Who are you?" Lysander asked the girl, mystified.

She had long blonde hair that had some curls in it. She had fair skin and big blue eyes.

"My name is Goldilocks."

'Goldilocks is hot…' was Lysander's first thought.

Suddenly, realization hit in. Lysander's eyes bugged out.

It was all so obvious. The chairs, the porridge, the beds. How come it hadn't occurred to him? He mentally slapped himself.

"Why are you holding yourself weirdly?" Goldilocks asked, fluttering her eyelids, smiling.

"I need a bathroom – but it doesn't matter right now! We've got to get out of here!"

"Why?"

"Look, three bears live here! They're gonna come and probably EAT us if we don't get out of here!"

"Three bears? Live in a cottage? Don't be ridiculous!" Goldilocks laughed daintily.

"No seriously! You've got to trust me!" Lysander grabbed her arm and started trying to pull her out the door.

"You really are stupid, aren't you? Bears wouldn't live here, dummy, now let me go! I think you just want to hold my hand!" Goldilocks hissed icily.

'What a bitch…I try to save her and is she thankful? No…' Lysander thought.

Suddenly, there was the sound of a door opening and shutting.

"Oh no!" Lysander turned and glared and Goldilocks, "Thanks! Now I'm gonna die too!"

"What are you on about? There's no danger. So why don't you just run along and go find a bathroom?"

"I don't think I need one anymore…"

"Ew! Gross!"

The door to the bedroom swung open. There stood three bears.

"Now do you think I'm stupid?" Lysander muttered under his breath.

Goldilocks screamed a piercing scream and jumped out the window.

Lysander turned back to the bears after watching Goldilocks jump out the window. They were approaching, growling, their mouths open wide, and their teeth glistening.

Lysander screamed.