Chapter Eight: Shadow Puppets Want to Scare Everybody

Nobody seemed to notice us flying throughout our sleepy little town late at night. Mainly because it was dark and foggy and really cold out. Mom and I were having fun flying around the neighborhood in our warm pajamas getting to the magic store downtown. 

Mom stopped and almost smashed into a stop sign at the corner of the street. Where a golden retriever stood at the end of the sidewalk. Next to a red fire hydrant, barking at us. Mom got dizzy and crashed to the foggy, wet ground with a thud.

Looking at the stray dog closely by the red fire hydrant, I noticed the animal still had his shadow. Watching it closely, I saw the golden retriever's shadow start to sniff the red fire hydrant. Like it was interested in doing its business on it.

When suddenly, water erupted from the red fire hydrant before the doggie could lift its leg and pee on it. The knob from the red fire hydrant knocked the stray dog out. And his monster shadow puppet got unattached from him. And started barking and floating over Mom and me by the corner of the street.

"This is not good!" I screamed. I struggled to help get Mom to her feet. She was feeling woozy and a little light heated from knocking into the red stop sign. Looking ahead of her, Mom screamed as she frantically got herself up with my help. 

The angry shadow puppy was still floating after us! And wouldn't stop barking like he wanted to make us afraid of the animal after us. Suddenly, I saw one of the neighbor's trees in their front lawn had a long, croaked brown twig that seemed to be broken from it.

I quickly floated toward it! I grabbed the brown broken twig off the neatly trimmed green front lawn grass. This got the shadow dog puppet very interested in it! His black shadowy tongue rolled out of his mouth, letting drool fall from it. The shadowy golden retriever dog suddenly wanted me to play with him. He sat on the road next us by the sidewalk on his hind legs and barked at me to get his attention.

Turning to look back at the red water fire hydrant, water was still gushing out into the street. I also turned and saw the body of the golden yellow retriever was slowly stirring awake. As water kept gushing straight at its face, getting him soaked and drenched with cold, water pressure spraying him.

The shadow golden retriever wasn't interested in anything else other than the long brown twig I got from the neighbor's front lawn. He started circling around and around on the road in front of me. Barking and trying to get me to toss the twig far away for him to fetch and retrieve it back to me.

I didn't know how to ignore what was happening to us. If the shadow dog puppet would eventually get bored and leave us alone. Or just keep coming back to Mom and me like he was meant for us to belong with him.

Mom hovered over to the water spraying from the red fire hydrant into the black road pavement. She was trying to help move the unconscious golden retriever away from the fire hydrant so water wouldn't get in the dog's lungs. And drown him to death.

I quickly tossed the twig back in the direction of the neighbor's house where I found it, in the first place. In a flash of lightning, the shadow dog creature took off after the twig. It landed in the lawn next to some lawn ornaments.

I turned back to see if I could help Mom. Suddenly, dead goldfish started coming out of the sides of the spraying red fire hydrant. They seemed to be coming from the sewer where people in Supernaturalville had flushed their dead goldfish down into their toilets after they had died in their fish tanks.

"Wesley! What do we do?" Mom cried and watched helplessly. As the dead fish from the sewer fire hydrant started flopping around on the ground, trying to come back to life. It became clear that this would be an opportunity to wake up from a bad horrible dream experience!

The dead fish kept flopping and snapping their razor sharp teeth at us! The golden retriever next to Mom, started barking at them to back them off us. But I don't think fish have any ears, they are just very hungry amphibians.

Taking her feet, Mom stepped and squashed a hungry undead piranha fish trying to attack the frightened stray dog at his face and long, fluffy tail. I turned back to look at the other stray shadow dog puppet monster walking quickly with its tail wagging at me. Coming after me, when suddenly a big city bus came streaking through the road…And went through the shadowy dog puppet creature without having a chance to watch out for him,,,

I heard tires squealing at a stop light in the middle of the street. And the sound of the shadowy dog puppet whimpering loudly. Mom and I turned away from the accident as we didn't want to have to witness anything tragically. 

After the big city bus turned and went away, down the street after the stop light turned green again, Mom and I gasped. The shadow dog puppet was lying on its side in the middle of the foggy, wet road.

"No, I can't believe this happened," Mom said, sadly. We then turned to look at the other yellow golden retriever, who stirred fully awake. Mom gently petted the stray dog, who just woke up, surrounded by mad, jumping hungry undead piranha fish who came from the sewers through the red fire hydrant.

The real golden retriever next to us stood up, fully alert now. And started barking at the hungry, snapping undead piranha fish coming after him. I couldn't find anything that would help our friend from being harmed by meat-eating fish. 

Something dropped bombed from the dark, stormy clouds in the sky above us. Turning to look up, Mom and I didn't notice seeing anything unusual. That's when another creature quickly came from the sky again. We watched it snatch an angry, hungry, undead piranha fish off the sidewalk, next to us.

Looking at the sky, it was a vampire bat! They were flying and circling the air above a tree as moonlight from the bright full moon shone on top of them. As the black little vampire bats got bait for their meal!

"How are we ever going to make it to the Magic Is For Everybody shop, without getting distracted by wild, mother nature?" Mom asked, stomping her shadowy feet on the bitting, jumping undead piranha fish next to us at the sidewalk.

I didn't have an answer right away, myself. But I wasn't going to give up getting us there before anything goes wrong on our way there. I ducked as a vampire bat swooped down from the night sky over my head. And dived at a piranha fish who was about to leap and take a bite out of my shadowy ankle. Mom and I watch the vampire bat take the bait back up to the large tree in one of the neighbor's front lawn.

These creatures are so territorial. They'll do anything to get what they want. Mom grabbed hold of my hand, as we started floating away from the sidewalk next to the stray dog. Who was still barking and growling at the mean, vicious biting undead piranha fish at his sides. While we watched the vampire bats continue grabbing the fish as bait, Mom and I quickly floated away from them.

Even though we were down the next block now, we could still hear them screech and get on each other's nerves. Mom's eyes were wide with fear and they were watery. I wanted to tell Mom everything will be alright when we go see the magician at the magic shop. 

"He's going to help us get what we want, okay Mom?" I asked, honestly. "Do you believe he will help us with anything we need?" I asked, hoping she'd understand me. Mom wasn't in the mood to pay attention to me. 

After a couple blocks later, we made it downtown. Suddenly, Mom and I gasped. We turned and saw a man in a magician's cloak and uniform, locking the dark store. We quickly floated toward him. But seeing we were still a shadow, the old magician took one look at us. Dropped his keys by accident…And ran away from us…screaming like a girl with his arms waving wildly in the air…

"Now, what are we going to do, Wesley?" Mom asked, impatiently. I bent down and took a snatch at the old magician's store keys he dropped. Mom smiled and took the store owner's keys from me. Stepped inside…