FIFTEEN
JimJim and SueSue were back in JimJim’s room. They were sitting on the floor trying to catch their breath. That was a very close call. The purple shadow came very close to capturing them. That was close, way too close.
It took a while for JimJim and SueSue to calm down. It was all very scary. It was all very strange.
SueSue said, “It looked like everything was fine. The other Council Kids were all there. They were having a good time. The purple shadows were gone. TT and the other Shadow Kids were gone. Everything was dandy. Poof. TT and the Shadow Kids were back. The purple shadows were back. It was back exactly like it was before. PosterGuy was captured. A purple shadow was attacking us. We barely escaped. What is going on?”
JimJim said, “We popped into the Great Council Hall. We hid in a corner. We thought no one could see us. We were checking out what was happening with the other Council Kids. It looked good. It looked dandy. I almost missed it. I nearly didn’t see it. It was a trick. It was TT. He was playing a trick on us. It was more of his genius stuff.
“We weren’t really watching the Council. We were watching a huge video screen. It was like a video game. The real Council Kids were hidden behind the screen. All we could see was the video stuff TT was showing us. He almost fooled us. It was a very clever trick.”
SueSue said, “You are definitely right about that. It was a very clever trick. That’s only part of it. There is way more to it. What about PosterGuy? How did the Shadow Kids capture PosterGuy? After that, how did that purple shadow sneak up on us? It almost snatched us.”
JimJim stood up. He walked around. He looked out the window. He sat on his desk chair and took a deep breath. He said, “I was watching the video screen. TT popped it away. I saw the real Council Kids. It was all back to the way it was. You saw it too. We were both staring. We could not believe our eyes. We were shocked.
“At that very minute, a purple shadow snuck up on PosterGuy. He didn’t see it. Poof. He was captured. Before we noticed, PosterGuy was at the Council table with the other Council Kids.
“The Shadow Kids tried the same trick on us. Another purple shadow was sneaking up on us. We were nearly captured. It almost got us. We popped away just in time. It was too close. Now here we are.”
It was morning. JimJim woke up. He yawned. He stretched. He shook his head. He sat up. He looked around. He thought, “Where is SueSue? Was I dreaming? No, it wasn’t a dream. It was real. This is definitely serious. I have to talk with SueSue. All of the other Council Kids are depending on us. We have to rescue them.”
JimJim got dressed and went to find SueSue. Her door was open. She was up and dressed. She was sitting on the edge of her bed. She looked sad. She was definitely thinking about important stuff.
SueSue looked up. JimJim came in and sat on her desk chair. He said, “We have to help the other Council Kids. We have to figure out a way to rescue them.”
SueSue nodded and said, “You are definitely right about that. I’ve been sitting here thinking about that very thing. I’ve been asking myself a question. Did the Shadow Kids know we were coming?
“We popped into the Great Council Hall. We hid in the corner. We didn’t think anyone saw us.
“TT had his video game ready for us. The video screen was already up. The other Council Kids were already hidden behind it.
“The Shadow Kids had a strategy ready to go. They had a strategy for the purple shadows to sneak up on us.
“It worked with PosterGuy. Poof. He was captured before you and I saw what was happening. Their strategy almost worked with us. They came within a blink of capturing us too. It was like they were expecting us. It was like they knew we were coming. I wonder. Did they know we were coming?”
JimJim just sat there for a while. He thought about what SueSue was saying. “Do they know when we are coming? Can they read our minds or something? SueSue is right. It’s like they knew we were coming. We definitely need a strategy. We need a secret strategy.
“How did the Shadow Kids find out about our plans? How did they figure out what was going on with us? SueSue and I have to figure it out. We have to just do it.”
