Sarah had overheard and paused with a look of surprise on her face.
"You didn't want to play either?", she asked Alan as they followed Judy, Peter and Theo to the library again, "Mr. We-Started-Something-Twenty-Six-Years-Ago-And-Now-We-Gotta-Finish-It?"
By the time the group got to the library, Theo headed to the game with Judy and Peter while Alan and Sarah kept talking back and forth.
"So, what's the deal with you and this guy?"
"He's a hunter. He kills things. Right now he wants to kill me.", Alan countered.
"Why you?", Sarah asked back clearly not backing down.
"Why me? I don't know.", Alan answered, "Everything about me he finds offensive. You think it would be a waste of his time. Maybe he needs something for his wall."
"That and the fact he's a total psychopath who really needs a time out and therapy.", Theo muttered.
Luckily, Judy and Peter didn't hear him and he doubted Alan and Sarah did also due to them arguing still.
"Maybe I should roll.", Judy suggested.
"Yeah, might as well.", Theo stated before he looked back at the two other adults still going back and forth.
"You ever think of sitting down and talking about your differences?"
"What are you crazy?", Alan countered, "The man has a gun."
"Don't ever call me crazy Alan.", Sarah snapped sharply, "Ever. Because everybody in this town has called me crazy ever since I told the cops that you were sucked into a board game."
"Well, you did mention that it ruined your life.", Theo said absentmindedly.
"Will you just stay out of this?!", Alan and Sarah both snapped at him.
Theo frowned as they went back to their argument and then picked up the dice.
"It's your turn Judy."
Judy just looked back at Alan and Sarah still arguing still.
"You know what it's like to be known as the little girl who saw Alan Parrish murdered?", Sarah shot back at Alan, "You think anybody showed up at my fourteenth birthday party?"
"Hello, I'm rolling now.", Judy said hoping to get their attention.
"Billy who?", Sarah asked clearly focused on Alan.
"Oh, what are you an owl?", Alan countered, "Come on, Madam Serena, why don't you dig deep into the higher reaches of your subconsciousness and find the memory of your old boyfriend?"
Peter sighed and took the dice from Theo and handed them to his sister.
"Here, just roll."
Judy rolled, though Theo was focused more on the argument going on.
"The kid who used to steal your bicycle?
"No, the kid who took you to the movies."
Theo heard Judy talking and shot his head back to see the rhyme appear on the amulet.
"Don't be fooled, it isn't thunder. Staying put would be a blunder."
Theo suddenly looked a bit alarmed.
"That… is not good.", he said as he recalled Jumanji telling him a similar rhyme before the game was made when he cast the spell back in Africa so long ago.
/
"You're immature.", Alan shot at Sarah.
"No, you're immature.", Sarah shot back.
"I know you are, but what am I?", Alan countered.
Theo thought about telling them, but then heard faint rumbling as if thunder was in the distance. Alan must have felt that too cause he paused.
"You feel that?", he asked.
Alan and Sarah finally stopped arguing as Alan made his way to the bookcase where a statue vibrated before falling to the floor where it shattered. The bookcase shook violently as the rumbling grew louder and Alan put his ear to it before looking back alarmed.
"Run, it's a stampede!"
Judy and Peter were on their feet in no time and bolted to the door with Sarah following.
"Alan, the game!", Theo shouted.
Alan paused to close it up, pick it up, and run with Theo out of the library as large rhinos crashed through the wall behind them and chased them into the hall.
"Don't look back!", Alan called out.
The group hurried until Theo saw the living room aside from the hall.
"In there!"
The group fell in as Alan grabbed Peter into the room just as Theo fell in after them. The whole group looked in awe as the stampede of rhinos, elephants, and zebras ran down the hall, crash through the front door and into the outside. Unfortunately, a cord had gotten loose and got around Theo's leg just as a rouge rhino in the back came snorting past and hooked it with his horn. The beast gave a jerk, and then Theo was dragged out of the room and into the hall before being dragged outside before the rest could react.
"Theo!", Alan called out.
"Hey, I'll get out of this. Don't worry!", Theo called out before he was dragged too far away.
Luckily, Theo managed to snap his fingers and fire a magical bolt which snapped the cord and he was free. Just as Theo caught his breath, a pelican flew over him enough for him to see that it had the game in its beak!
"Well, that's great.", he sighed.
"Why didn't you grab the game, Peter?"
Theo had gotten up into a sitting position just in time for Alan to run past him.
"Where are you going?", he heard Sarah shout.
"He'll head for water!", Alan called back from in front of Theo.
Theo strained to get to his feet, just as Sarah and Peter came up to him.
"You okay Theo?", Sarah asked.
"Yeah, just a little road rash.", Theo said straining from the pain in his back, "Let's just go after Alan."
"Wait for me!", Judy called out behind them.
Theo was steady enough to walk when Judy caught up though Theo felt something and turned around.
"You okay?", Judy asked Theo, "What's wrong?"
"Sorry, I thought something was there.", Theo answered as they continued on unaware that a vine was growing out of the rubble the stampede left behind and started slithering after them.
/
As the group hurried on, Theo felt his mirror vibrate. He looked around and saw that the other four were busy keeping an eye out for Alan so they wouldn't notice anything. He pulled it out fast and looked annoyed.
"What now?", he muttered.
The mirror's surface rippled like a pond's surface after something was thrown into it. Then the mirror showed Theo Van Pelt entering a gun store and went right up to a desk while a woman looked a bit suspicious.
"What can I do for you?", asked the man behind the counter.
"I'll have a gross of these.", Van Pelt answered tossing a spent casing to the clerk.
The clerk examined the casing before looking to Van Pelt.
"You know, they stopped making these in 1903."
"Dang.", Van Pelt huffed before placing his firearm on the counter, "Then I shall need a replacement weapon."
"Theo?"
Theo snapped out of watching the mirror and turned to see Judy look his way curiously.
"What are you doing?", she asked, "And what's with your mirror?"
Theo looked back at the mirror only to see it showed his reflection as Judy came up to him as if to see it for herself.
"What is it?"
Theo thought fast.
"Nothing.", he answered, "Just a reflection."
As he put the mirror away, Judy seemed more interested.
"Theo, why do you carry around that mirror around?"
Theo felt a pang in his heart. A previous adventure reared its head as a faint memory came to surface, but he had grown used to hiding it.
"The mirror is… special."
Judy frowned.
"You said that before."
Theo finally sighed.
"Judy, this mirror is very special to me cause I went through a lot to get my hands on it and I really don't want anything bad to happen to it."
Judy was now looking more interested.
"What do you mean by that?", she asked.
Theo sighed as he didn't like bringing up that one.
"I… don't really remember.", he told Judy, "Lost track I guess."
"Quiet."
Theo and Judy snapped out of their talk to see they had caught up to Alan who was facing the pelican who had landed on a rock with the game at its feet. The rest hid behind some trees as Theo observe Alan and the bird interact before Alan pulled a fish from the river and toss it into the bird's beak just as the bird's foot nudged the game off the rock… and into the river! Alan reached for it, but it drifted beyond his reach.
"Peter!"
Theo saw Peter rush off and ran after him thinking about what the boy was up to. Peter was watching the river which told Theo that he was following the game.
"Peter, what are you up to?", he asked.
/
Theo followed Peter until the boy came to a fallen tree that hung across the river and started to cross it.
"Peter, be careful out there.", Theo cautioned though he doubted the boy heard him.
Peter soon crossed his legs around the tree (it was thin enough for him to do so) and hung upside down until Jumanji came to him. The boy reached out, gripped the game and pulled himself up after setting the game in a safe hold. As Peter made his way back, Theo felt his mirror vibrate again.
"Again?", he asked.
As he pulled it out enough to see the surface, it showed Van Pelt walking through the woods with a new weapon strapped over his shoulder and the mirror went back to normal again.
"Uh-oh, we're in trouble."
Theo had to move the group along, but thankfully Judy, Sarah and Alan had shown up.
"Peter, are you okay?", Theo asked as he got to the boy first.
"Yeah, I'm okay.", Peter assured, "I do that on the monkey bars."
"Pretty smart.", Theo commented.
Judy and Sarah were clearly praising as well, but Theo noticed Alan wasn't so on board, but put a hand on Peter's hair.
"It's nice work. Come on, gimme the game.", he said before getting the game out of Peter's hands, "Let's go."
Peter looked a bit hurt, but Theo knew what to say.
"Peter, it's okay. He just wants to get this over with."
Peter brightened up a bit knowing that Theo had his back. A bit later, they were on the road and walking down it when Alan and Theo saw an all too familiar police car drive their way only the windows were broken.
"Oh no.", Alan stated before turning to the others, "Act natural."
He and Sarah started whistling as if they were out on a hike, but Theo noticed Officer Bently stop his car near them.
"Hey!
Alan then moved Jumanji over to his side.
"Hide the game.", he instructed.
Peter did so just as Officer Bently got out and came over though he was focused on Alan.
"I don't believe this.", the officer said bluntly, "Every time there's trouble, I run into you."
"Me?", "Alan asked trying to be casual, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Alright, I'm taking you in for questioning.", Officer Bently stated before grabbing Alan and taking out the cuffs.
"I'm not going anywhere.", Alan objected as he tried resisting.
Theo then heard a gunshot as the ground not far from Alan exploded like a gunshot had hit it.
"Van Pelt.", Theo said quietly knowing.
"Just a second.", Sarah objected, "You can't take him. He's…"
"Her fiancé.", Judy put in.
Officer Bently didn't look on board, but Theo knew Alan had to get out of dodge.
"It's okay ladies.", he said, "Let's not deprive the nice officer of his duty."
/
Alan got in the back of the car, but Sarah didn't look so assured.
"Remember you said you'd never abandon your friends?"
"We'll finish the game later.", Alan answered.
"Later?", Sarah snapped.
"Van Pelt.", he whispered, "Van Pelt."
Officer Bently got back in the driver's seat of his car and looked at the group.
"I suggest you all go home now."
The moment he finished, he drove off and was soon out of reach.
"Now how are we supposed to finish the game?", Judy asked.
"We can't.", Sarah sighed, "We can't finish it without him."
Theo then turned to see Peter with a very guilty look on his face.
"Judy."
Judy and Sarah turned to see Peter at a nearby stump with the game open.
"What?", Judy asked as she and Sarah came over right behind Theo.
"What happened?", Sarah asked the same time as Theo who had noticed the monkey token had moved again.
"I thought I could end the game myself.", Peter told them, "I was only ten spaces away."
Theo then noticed the rhyme on the amulet and the rest did to as Judy read it.
"A law of Jumanji hadn't been broken. You will slip back even more than your token."
"You tried to cheat?", Sarah asked.
"No, I tried to drop the dice so they'd land on twelve.", Peter explained.
"Okay, honey.", Sarah told him, "Well, that would be cheating."
Judy then noticed something.
"Peter, your hands! Look at your hands!"
They all did and saw dark course fur sprouting.
"What's happening?", Judy asked Theo.
"Of course.", Theo said looking worried, "I made the rule about what happens when someone cheats."
Sarah frowned.
"You're causing this?", she asked him.
"Not me.", Theo countered, "Back before Jumanji was a game, I suggested a rule that if a player cheats, they take on the characteristics of the animal the player's token is."
"Theo, will Peter be like this… forever?", Judy asked growing concerned.
"No.", Theo answered, "As you said Judy, if we finish the game, it will all go away. But we need a ride back to town. We need to save Alan.
He stood up and then put his hands together. Just then, a truck was passing by and Theo waved it down. Luckily, the driver did stop as Theo turned to the trio.
"Our carriage is here.", he said politely as he gestured to the truck.