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  Craggleknot decided to follow the agent back in time. He told the boys that the agent had convinced Philo to abandon his work or else he would destroy everyone that Philo knew and loved. He also found out that the agent told Philo that two boys would come to him and that he must find a way to imprison them. Craggleknot learned this from another conversation when the agent appeared back in his lab.

  “So what do we do now?” asked James.

  “How do we convince Philo to change his plans?” asked Eddie fearfully.

  Mr. Craggleknot smiled and said in a low voice, “I have a plan.”

  *****

  Craggleknot woke the boys early the next day. “Let’s go boys,” he announced as he handed them each a lighter, a small flashlight and some rubber bands.

  On the way, Craggleknot reminded them that they must return in the same portal that he had set for them. It was crucial that they come back at the same time they left.

  Eddie questioned why Craggleknot did not just go back to the time machine before when the agent used the time machine. Craggleknot explained that it was because it is impossible for people to be in the same place at the same time as themself. The laws of physics would not allow it. That is why they must always return at the exact same time or after the time they had originally left and never before.

  Craggleknot went on to explain how each time they alter the past, there are consequences. The fewer times they go back the less chance of altering the future. This is why they had to try to get things back on track and then leave it all alone. That is also why this was their last chance, because he will shut the machine down as soon as they get back.

  “So,” asked Eddie. “How much time has passed since we did not return?”

  “I am sorry to tell you this,” answered Craggleknot sadly. “It has been one week.”

  “One week!” exclaimed Eddie. “Our parents will kill us.”

  “That is the least of our worries,” said James.

  “James is right,” confirmed Craggleknot. “Let’s finish this and then we will think about how we can make things right in the future.”

  Eddie took a deep breath and nodded his head in agreement.

  The three of them got ready and headed for Philo’s house. It was still dark out. That was part of the plan so that they would not be seen by any of the city guards. They had to take a path away from the main roads and it took them a while to get there.

  They snuck around back and climbed in through a window. Once inside, they made their way to Philo’s bedroom. James and Eddie stood on either side of the bed and simultaneously grabbed an arm and leg of Philo. Craggleknot put a large cloth over Philo’s mouth so he could not scream.

  Philo instantly struggled to get free. His eyes were as big as grapefruits and he wiggled like a worm on a fishhook. Craggleknot quickly tied each arm and leg to the bed.

  Once Philo was secure, Craggleknot gave each boy a nod. That was the sign for them to do their show. Each took out their matches wrapped them with the rubber bands and lit them. A big flash of fire and light filled the room. Philo squirmed with fear. Then, they each took out their flashlights and turned them on and off and moved them around making light dance around the room. They hoped this would impress Philo. It must have, since Philo’s eyes were even bigger and he was shaking.

  Craggleknot spoke with authority, “Philo! Listen to me! You will make the water wheel!”

  Philo shook his head back and forth indicating ‘No’.

  Craggleknot went on, “You must and you will! The man that visited you earlier, he will is no match for us. We are the creators of the machine that brought him here. We have the power to stop him.”

  Philo started to relax at this point. Craggleknot decided to take the risk and remove the cloth from his mouth to let him speak.

  Philo took some deep breaths and said desperately, “How do I know that you are right? There is no guarantee that man will not be back again. I do not even know who you are or if you are telling the truth. What that man showed me was real. It was horrible. I cannot take the risk.”

  “I know,” said Craggleknot. “This is difficult for you. As you can see, we have great power. We can generate fire and light on command. I cannot prove to you any of the things I have said are true. You must make up your own mind. Let me ask you this. Would you prefer to do something out of fear or do it out of courage? Would you save yourself or save all of humanity? I know you have it in you to make the right choice.” Then Craggleknot placed Philo’s water wheel drawings upon his chest and asked the boys to untie him.

  Philo sat up and stared at the drawings for a while. Then he looked at each of the boys and back to Craggleknot. “I,” started Philo. “I…will. I will do it! I trust you. I hope I am not making the wrong choice. However, something inside me is saying that I am destined to do this. I shall make the water wheel. You are right. It is too important of an invention.”

  Just as Craggleknot was about to thank Philo, there was a loud knock at the door. A loud voice called, “Imperial guard! Open this door!”

  Craggleknot looked at each boy and whispered urgently, “We must leave! The guards must have tracked us down.” Then he looked at Philo. “Is there another way out of here?”

  Philo stood up and said, “Follow me. There is a secret chamber below my library.”

  They made it into the chamber just as the guards broke through the door. The head guard confronted Philo, “Why have you not let us in! Are you hiding something?”

  “In fact,” replied Philo, “I am. Much of my work is confidential. I do not want anyone stealing my ideas.”

  The guard frowned. Being suspicious, he ordered the other guards to search the house.

  Craggleknot and the boys were relieved that they had not been discovered. However, Craggleknot began to be worried. He had set the portal to open soon after he expected the discussion with Philo to end. It was now getting closer to that time and the guards were not leaving.

  Craggleknot checked his watch. The portal would open at any time. He whispered, “Boys. We need to get ready to jump out soon.”

  “What?” exclaimed Eddie. “The guards are still there!”

  “Yes,” said Craggleknot, “they are. But the portal will open any minute and it is our only chance.”

  Eddie frowned. James smiled with excitement. Craggleknot hoped that none of the guards or Philo would be near the portal when it opened. Craggleknot took the opportunity to peek out of the chamber. He could see Philo was alone as the guards were still searching the home. He let Philo know what was about to happen. Philo agreed to try to keep the guards out of the room for as long as possible.

  The lead guard came back. He was not happy. He asked, “Where are you hiding them? I know they are in here. You must have a secret passage.”

  Philo did not answer. He kept looking at his bedroom across the hall. He hoped the guards would notice this and focus his attention on that room.

  The guard turned around and looked at the room. Philo’s plan had worked. He ordered all of his men to take apart the bedroom. Then the guard turned back around. He asked Philo, “Why do you stay in that room? You have not left it since we arrived.”

  Philo became nervous and answered, “I told you. This is where I keep all my ideas. I do not want anyone stealing them.”

  However, the guard did not believe him. He shouted to the other guards to come. They all lined up behind him. Just as he was about to issue the command to search the library, the portal opened.

  A bright flash of silvery-blue light filled the room. All of the guards jumped back and took out their swords. They sat there frozen, as did Philo, staring at the portal.

  Craggleknot made the boys wait a few seconds. He wanted to enter the portal at the last second to ensure no one would follow.

  Philo pretended that he was the one who created the portal. The guards were afraid and stepped even further back. All of them except the lead guard. He sensed that Philo was telling a lie. He started walk
ing toward Philo.

  Craggleknot could not take the risk of someone entering the portal. He decided they should make their move now. He and the boys jumped out and surprised the guard. It only stopped him for a few more seconds. Thinking quickly, James pulled out his flashlight and shined it in the guards face. This stunned the guard for a few seconds more.

  Craggleknot told the boys to jump in the portal. They did not want to leave him, but he insisted and they leapt through. The guard ran towards Craggleknot and grabbed him. Craggleknot could see the portal closing, but could not break free. Then, Philo hit the guard in the head with one of the vases he had on his desk. It stunned the guard just enough to let go and Craggleknot fell back through the portal just as it closed.

  On the other side, he landed in front of the boys. They were happy to see him after being afraid he might not make it back. Craggleknot immediately shut down the time machine and removed a few small parts from it. “There,” he said, “that should keep anybody from messing with it.”

  James asked, “Do you think that we did it? Did Philo invent the water wheel?”

  “Let’s see,” replied Craggleknot as he opened the door into the classroom. “Everything looks the same.” Then he quickly grabbed one of his history books off a shelf. After rapidly skimming through it, he stopped on a page and smiled. “Looks like he did!” then he showed them a picture of it and Philo in the history book.

  Things had also changed a little. However, they did not know it, because they now experienced any changes to the past earlier in their life.

  I know, it is confusing, isn’t it?

  For example, let’s say you went back in time, before you were born. You went back and changed the color red to green. That would mean that you grew up learning the color red was always green. But, if that is true, then you would not have had the idea to change red to green. This is called a paradox and cannot be solved.

  Anyway, time travel is complicated but somehow in this story it works. Try not to think about it too much or you will hurt your brain like me.

  A Wish from a Fish

  Teddywinkle the toad went down the road.

  Where he found a nice bog and hid in a log.

  Waiting for bugs to come by.

  A nice little fish gave Teddywinkle a wish.

  There upon him was a magical fin.

  That gave wishes

  in the wink of an eye.

  The toad then replied with eyes open wide,

  “What shall I wish for new friend.

  The fish had suggestions,

  and many more questions.

  They seemed to come without end.

  This is what came out of his mind:

  Fame and fortune

  Gold and glory

  A beautiful mansion of seventeen story

  Large dessert portions

  Jewels and fun

  Everything under the sun

  Health and happiness

  Power and fame

  A super intelligent brain

  Sharpness and snappiness

  Super star muscles

  A promising business that bustles

  All the bells and the whistles

  Handsome and healthy

  To be extra importantly wealthy

  A title of the highest of officials

  Candy and cake

  A fizzling soda pop lake

  Then the toad said, “I don’t want all those.”

  The fish said, “What then, do you suppose?”

  The toad thought hard and though long.

  He thought deep and thought strong.

  He thought left and thought right.

  He thought loose and thought tight.

  The fish was pacing and racing.

  What could the toad have to say?

  He thought, “I cannot be staying and waiting.

  I do not have all night and all day.

  Please won’t this toad make up his mind?”

  The toad kept on thinking and thinking.

  Searching all thoughts he could find.

  Then, something came singing and ringing.

  From the very exact middle

  of his little toad mind.

  “I’ve got it!” he exclaimed.

  “It came right from my brain.

  I knew it was there all along.

  “What is it?” shouted the fish.

  “What is your wish?

  That I have waited to hear for so long?

  Said the toad, “I will tell you dear sir.

  It is something I know makes me happy.

  It is something that I’ll like for sure.

  It is something quite wonderful and snappy.”

  Then the toad stood up tall.

  And with no shame at all.

  Said he wanted some socks.

  “Some socks? Some socks!

  Are you plain crazy?

  You can have so many more things!”

  Said the fish with eyes glazy.

  “Some socks I wish upon my back feet.

  It’s so cold in the wet and damp peat.

  I freeze them each time I sit down to eat.

  So please do not make me repeat.

  And give me some socks or admit your defeat.”

  Said the toad clear and complete.

  The fish then swam three circles around.

  Jumped in the air

  and came splashing down.

  As soon as he did, the toad had his treat.

  Two purple socks covered his feet.

  Freaky Freddie

  Richard Cober stood paralyzed with fear as he saw Freaky Freddie slowly walking toward him. Freddie was dragging a dirty mop behind him and half of his face grinned, showing his big yellow teeth. Richard imagined himself snatched up like an eagle's prey by Freddie, and taken to some dark dungeon filled with bugs and skeletons.

  Richard shuddered at the horribly disfigured left side of Freddie’s face. It looked like a melted tangle of skin and scars. His left ear was absent and replaced by a warped oblong hole. You could count the number of hairs on the side of his head if you used your fingers and toes. To Richard and the other kids, he was a hideous monster from an old black and white horror movie.

  Freaky Freddie came closer and closer. Richard started to shake and felt like he was going to pee his pants. He could see the hunger in Freddie's wild eyes as he was now only ten feet away. Suddenly, the door to Mrs. Swayne's room swung open. It almost hit Freddie in the face. Mrs. Swayne came out and stood in front of Freddie. She started talking to him, "Fred, one of the kids was sick in class and had an upset stomach. Do you mind cleaning up the mess?"

  Freaky Freddie nodded his head and went slowly into the room giving one last menacing look to Richard. Richard walked as fast as he could, taking extra-large steps along the way. Within seconds, he made it to his first period class, sixth grade mathematics. As he entered the room, it became silent and everyone looked in his direction. Once they realized it was only him, they quickly turned back toward the teacher, who continued with her lesson.

  Richard was as timid as a stray cat. Unfortunately, being afraid of everything had caused him to be an outsider. People generally did not even notice he was there and usually left him alone. He actually preferred it that way. It was better than being bullied. Sometimes it made him sad and he wished he had at least one friend to play with. Every once in a while, he would get enough courage to consider making a friend. However, when it came down to doing it, he always chickened out.

  Since he kept to himself and did not complain or tell anyone about his fears, nobody tried to help him. His parents just figured he was quiet. They thought since he always seemed happy, he must be ok.

  The class bell rang and Richard realized that he did not hear a word the teacher said. He was too busy worrying about Freaky Freddie. As he left the room and started down the hall to his next class, he caught site of Freddie again. Freddie was at the end of the hall and STARING RIGHT AT RICHARD!

&
nbsp; Richard froze for a second and then acted as if he needed to tie his shoe. He frantically thought, “What do I do now? I could try to hide behind the other kids. Maybe he will not see me. He would not try to hurt me in front of everyone, would he? I can’t take the chance; I will have to go around.” But, going around meant that he would be late for his next class. Besides, it would look strange and people would wonder why he went the other way. He really had no reason to go that way. He thought again, “I really need to do something. I cannot just sit here tying my shoe all day. I will look weird.”

  You can see how Richard’s fear became a big problem for him. He would over think every situation. Whatever choice he made, he would always find something scary about it. It stopped him from doing what he wanted.

  Being too afraid to do anything, Richard finally decided that going around was the best choice. He would come up with an excuse if he needed one. He hurried as fast as he could. Luckily, he was only a couple of minutes late and nobody seemed to notice or care when he walked in the room for his next class.

  Richard spent the rest of the day worrying about Freddie. To make things worse, the two boys in front of him on the bus were talking about Freddie. Richard overheard their conversation:

  Boy #1: “Freaky Freddie must be getting ready to crack again. Did you see how he was searching for his next victim?”

  Boy #2: “Yeah. I wonder who it is going to be. Poor Jimmy Madson. I guess we will never see him again. What do you think happened?”

  Boy #1: “I heard that Jimmy could not remember his locker combination one day after school. He spent fifteen minutes trying to remember. When he finally did, the bus and everyone had already left. He was all alone in the school. Nobody knows what happened next, but everyone suspects Freaky Freddie.”