RIO's March E-Zine
The Love and Wild Air Edition
It’s My Heart by Emma Jones
It's my heart
And it's always been mine
Not handing it out
Until the stars align
Then he showed up
Not the right one at all
And he plucked it right out
As if there had been no wall
To take it away
Somehow he's got a knack
But it's my heart
And I'd like it back
And it's always been mine
Not handing it out
Until the stars align
Then he showed up
Not the right one at all
And he plucked it right out
As if there had been no wall
To take it away
Somehow he's got a knack
But it's my heart
And I'd like it back
When I . . . by Olive DiCintio
When I look in the mirror,
I see me eyes hiding all the truths.
Hidden behind my smiles and outspoken exterior
Is the defeated soul and the cracked confidence.
But I’m rebuilding the pieces,
And soon I’ll be light enough
To let my eyes shine.
When I walk down the halls,
I hear my voice, drowning what I really want to say.
Drowned behind my bad puns and quick wit
Is the gentle tone and the soft speech.
But I’m slowly letting them whisper through,
And soon I’ll be brave enough,
To let my voice ring.
When I embrace the friends I have,
I feel my hands holding on, blocking what I need to feel.
Blocked behind the friendly hugs and flirty gestures
Is the love unreturned, and the protective passion.
But I’m still holding on,
And soon I’ll be strong enough,
To let go.
I see me eyes hiding all the truths.
Hidden behind my smiles and outspoken exterior
Is the defeated soul and the cracked confidence.
But I’m rebuilding the pieces,
And soon I’ll be light enough
To let my eyes shine.
When I walk down the halls,
I hear my voice, drowning what I really want to say.
Drowned behind my bad puns and quick wit
Is the gentle tone and the soft speech.
But I’m slowly letting them whisper through,
And soon I’ll be brave enough,
To let my voice ring.
When I embrace the friends I have,
I feel my hands holding on, blocking what I need to feel.
Blocked behind the friendly hugs and flirty gestures
Is the love unreturned, and the protective passion.
But I’m still holding on,
And soon I’ll be strong enough,
To let go.
Drink the Wild Air
Photos from Drink The Wild Air
Youth Writing Retreat
RIO Writing Through Movement night
Random Chalkboard Writing By Alexis Kelly
DRINK THE WILD AIR – THE STORY By Kim Firmston
The dark of the cave oozed into their skin. Three dead orcs, lat half-rotted and crumpled on the edge of the cave. The stench was unbelievable. Like the boot room of WordsWorth – only ten times worse. It was at this point that even Lisa agreed, the night hike may have gotten a bit off course. In fact, they may even be lost.
The whole thing had started off innocently enough. Everyone had fun skating, sledding, or murdering one another with cardboard swords. Then Kim called them over for a night hike, handing out red plastic sheets and elastic bands for better night vision, advising the group, “Elastic bands are the most useful of all the outdoor tools!”
Then they were off. Colin led the way chanting a poem about fog and alternate dimensions, eyes which watched ceaselessly, and trees whose branch like fingers which could reach down and snatch your soul clean out of your body. Jamie finally told him to cut it out and sang a song about bananas instead.
It was Allison who realized the change first. A cool fog rolled in, and the moon grew bigger. Closer. Almost unnatural in colour and markings. Trees bent and twisted, their bark mottled with ever roving eyes. Allison dodged by a branch which made a snatch for her. She turned to Titania and asked, “Does something seem weird to you?”
Titania shrugged. She was thinking about a story she wanted to write. Something about a woman with a sword and an urge to kill robots or maybe prehistoric squirrels, or perhaps instead the woman had a wand and just wanted a good veggie sandwich – the BEST veggie sandwich – Titania was still working out the details. Then Izzy screamed.
It was more of a cut off scream, which started in a high pitched wail and ended quite suddenly with an “Urk!” Robin spun, fists clenched, ready to punch. A tree, large and heavily barked, held Izzy tight in its grasp fifteen feet above the ground. Sap oozed down her cheek as she fought back, fingers grabbing. Robin sprang forward, fist coming down in a smashing frenzy, only to be stopped by Alexis.
“Don’t be an idiot,” she said, handing Robin one of the two LARPing swords she carried. “You’ll break your hand.”
“Why do you even have these?” Robin asked.
Alexis shrugged. “We were going for a night hike. What else would I bring?”
Robin and Alexis faced the tree, swords raised. “Put her down,” Robin bellowed.
“Or what?” the tree asked, its voice creaking like branches in a heavy wind.
“Or we’ll do to you what we did to the trees which make up our weapons,” Alexis replied.
Robin grinned. “Yeah! These swords are made from mulched tree AKA cardboard. We could do that to you if you don’t put down our friend.”
Alexis lunged forward. “Want to be mulched?”
Izzy felt to the ground. She turned and gave the tree a mighty kick. “Don’t ever do that again, twig!” She screamed. “Or I will release an army of flaming, miniature, rainbow unicorns on your butt!”
“Umm, tree’s don’t have butts,” Quyanna remarked.
“Don’t care.” Izzy replied, wiping tree sap from her face.
“Where are we anyway?” Quyanna continued, looking around. “This doesn’t look like camp or even Earth.”
“Judging from my calculations,” Brett said, pulling out a book on astrophysics from his back pack and referencing it against the complete Lord of the Rings trilogy. “It looks like we might be in some parallel dimension.”
“How the heck did we get to a parallel dimension?” Zoe asked.
Brett looked at the stars, ran his fingers over the ground, and took a large sniff of the night air, then stated, “It was Colin’s fault.”
Jamie, let out a huge huff. “I knew your poetry was nothing but trouble!”
Colin let out a huge and evil laugh, hands gripped like claws, eyes glinting with demon fire. “Trouble?” he cackled. “You don’t even know trouble!”
Zoe pointed a quivering finger. “So you did this on purpose?”
“Well,” Colin deflated, shrugging. “No.”
“So why the big show?” Camryn asked.
“I’ve always wanted to play the villain. Or at least the evil laugh part.” Colin said, meekly. “Sorry if I scared you.”
“We weren’t that scared,” Camryn replied, “but we do need to find a way back home. Perhaps if you did another one of your poems?”
“Oh, no!” Jamie said. “Who knows where we might end up.”
“What about another camp song?” Sakura suggested. I always liked that fast food one, you know with Mac Donalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken. It’s so funny.
“It may be funny, but I don’t think that’s the right way to get home,” Miranda said, swinging her guitar from her back and strumming a chord. “I think we might have to sing a different tune.”
Brett flipped through some more pages. “According to the Lord of the Rings, it looks like we’re on a quest.”
“A quest for the best song?” Miranda asked, starting to rock out.
“Not quite,” Brett said. “More like a quest for . . .”
“The wild air,” Zoe said, snapping her fingers.
Camryn nodded. “To get home, all we’d have to do is drink it.”
“How did you figure that out?” asked Emily D.
“It’s kind of obvious. It is the name of the camp,” Zoe said.
“Good point.” Emily D looked around. “So what is wild air? What would it be made of?”
Ava stepped into the middle of the group and held the flashlight under her chin, chanting, “Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting, Lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing.”
“Umm, I don’t think that’s the right ingredient list.” Emily D said, “What book are you using anyway?”
“This.” Ava held up the complete works of William Shakespeare.
Emily D gasped. “You carry that around with you all the time?”
“Who doesn’t?” Ava said.
“Yeah, I have my copy,” Lisa said, pulling out a stack of books from her back pack. “I have Shakespeare, Alice in Wonderland, The Complete Guide to Cooking Wild Boar, Conversations with Fruit, and Hiking for Joggers.”
“I don’t think any of those are going to help us.” Miranda said.
“You’re right.” Teighan replied, “What we need to do is nail down what makes up wild air and then set out to find a place that would have it.”
“Standard air is seventy-eight percent nitrogen, twenty-one percent oxygen, and one percent other gasses.” Emily F said, “But we need WILD air. I think that might be made of darker stuff.”
“Mount Doom would probably have wild air,” Brett said, holding up one of Tolkien’s maps.
“You know, what bugs me?” Emily F huffed exasperatedly. “Tolkien created all these complicated names for mountains, rivers, forests, and even plains. AND he usually made them in more than one language. On top of that most of the characters had two or three long and complicated names. Even the weapons had cool titles. But when it came down to naming the main goal of the book, the place everyone is scared of, he calls it Mount Doom. What the heck? Mount Doom? Seriously? Did he suddenly run out of inspiration or something?”
“Good point,” Teighan said, “but that is not what we need to focus on right now.”
“And there’s no Mount Doom here anyway,” Miranda said scanning the horizon. “Not that I can see anyway.”
“How about that thing over there?” Em pointed. “It looks wild.”
“It looks like a cold dark cave full of terror and fear,” Teighan said.
“Perfect!” Em shouted. “Let me just get my Yu Gi Oh flashlight out and we can get going.”
“I like the way Yu Gi’s hair lights up. It’s so pretty!” Jessica exclaimed.
“Isn’t it?” Em laughed. “Let’s go!”
Leading the way with Yu Gi and his hair, Em marched into the mouth of the cave.
“What is that smell?” Sakura asked, retching.
“Those!” Thomas said, picking up a stick, and walking over to poke some dead orcs.
“There’s hardly any air in here,” commented Jessica, “wild or otherwise.”
“But there is a breeze,” Sakura said. “It’s coming from back there.”
“And it smells better than this cave.” Jessica waved her hand in front of her face. “Maybe the wild air is out there.”
“Wild air and. . .” said Thomas darkly, “whatever killed these orcs.”
“It’s time to find out,” Ava hissed, holding her red tinted flashlight under her chin, turning her skin blood red.
“Stop doing that! You’re freaking me out.” Josh said.
“Oh come on!” Ava said, marching toward the back of the cave. “Look, there’s an opening.”
Through a crack in the rock the group saw a long narrow rock bridge leading over a wide chasm. Above, spilled stars glimmered against the darkness of space. A soft pine-laden wind curled cool and fresh through the opening.
“You freaked out now?” Ava asked Josh.
“No. Of course not,” Josh said, stepping out. “I got this. Ahhh!”
“What?!”Ava called.
“Umm, the ledge out here. It’s not that wide. I almost stepped off. Be careful.”
“Thanks for the warning,” Ava said, starting out.
Josh inched his way onto the rock bridge followed by Ava, Thomas, and the rest of the group.
“The wind here is quite substantial,” Thomas said.
“Yeah, it’s wild!” Andrew agreed. “We’ll have to be careful not to be blown off. It’s a long way down.”
“What did you say?” Thomas exclaimed.
Andrew pointed. “It’s a long way down. Probably, like a kilometer at least. I mean, look at that river down there. It’s a twisting iridescent blue thread glistening in the light of the lunar glow. It’s beautiful, man. Beautiful.” Andrew wiped a tear from his eye.
“That’s not what I meant,” Thomas said.
“Oh, you mean the speed of the wind. Yeah, it’s blowing hard like the exhalation of a blue whale surfacing from the depths of the ocean right after an enormous battle with a giant squid. Two monolithic beasts gripped in the eternal fight of nature. Struggling for survival and freedom. It’s beautiful, man. Beautiful.” Andrew bit his knuckle, supressing a sob.
“That’s not what I meant either!” Thomas shook his head. “You said the air was wild.”
“Wild as a horse galloping on the open plains. A tangled mane the hue of golden flax. Hooves cracking the ground with rhythmic drumbeat. Like the earth’s heart. Just like the Earth’s heart. It’s beautiful, man. Beautiful!” Andrew blew his nose into a tissue as tears streamed from his eyes. He pounded his fist against his chest. “I love this place, man! It’s so awesome to be alive!”
“Okay. That’s great,” Olive yelled from the back of the line. “But what I think Thomas was pointing out is that we may have found the wild air.”
“Exactly.” Thomas said.
“So how do we catch it?” Sabrina asked.
“In a bottle?” Olive yelled.
“What?” Sabrina yelled back. “I can’t hear you over this crazy wind.”
“IN – A– BOTTLE,” Olive yelled once more.
“Wait!” Willem called out holding up his hand. “What if this is crazy wind and not wild air? If we use the wrong air we might end up in the wrong place? How will we know?”
“Just catch some. We can figure it out later.” Olive said.
“I don’t have a bottle.” Sabrina yelled. “I have a toothbrush, a notebook, cash, travelers cheques, proof of insurance, a map, a membership card to Chapters, a luggage lock, my cell phone, my headphones, my E-book reader, extra batteries, a travel alarm clock, Sponge Bob boxer shorts, a shower cap, some loungewear, and my bandana. I think I might put the bandana on now. It seems appropriate to this situation.”
“What did you say you have?” Olive yelled. “I can’t hear over this blasted wind.”
“Now it’s Blasted Wind!” Willem grabbed his head. “We’ll be stuck here forever!”
“Calm down.” Elizabeth said, taking Willem by the shoulders. “We’ll figure this out.”
“Yes,” exclaimed Andrew. “Breathe the revitalizing air deep into your lungs like a mother seal does to her. . .”
“Revitalizing air? Wild Air? Blasted Wind? Crazy Wind?” shrieked Willem. “AAAH!”
“Not helping, Andrew.” Elizabeth scolded. “Wait! Hang on!” She spun and looked at Sabrina. “What did you say you had?”
Sabrina started to tick off her fingers. “I have a toothbrush, a notebook, cash and travelers cheques, my credit card, proof of insurance, a map, a . . .”
“Yes! That!” Elizabeth exclaimed.
“You have a map?” Madeleine asked. “Of what?”
Sabrina shrugged. “I don’t know. Just a map.”
“Let me see it.” Madeleine commanded.
The map was passed carefully from person to person on the long, narrow, rock bridge, Finally arriving at Madeleine.
“Okay, if this is a map of here,” Madeleine said, studying it. “Then we just left the orc’s cave, we are now on the shifting bridge, after which we’ll come to the ogre’s keep, and beyond that is the wild air and the portal home. Simple.”
“The shifting what?” Quyanna asked.
A rumble vibrated the legs of the group, stopping each heart in turn with cold fear.
“Can anyone fly?” Caitlin asked with a quivering voice.
Everyone shook their heads.
“Then RUN!” Josh yelled, leading the way.
They all pelted across the bridge as rocks rained down into the deep ravine from their shoes and the rumbling bridge. When they all reached safety on the other side, breath heaving against their ribs, they sat, quivering. Until they heard another rumble.
“Sorry, I’m hungry,” Willem said. “I get hungry when I’m stressed.”
“Here. Have some fruit jerky.” Caitlin said, handing Willem a sticky, peach scented slab. “One hundred percent fruit, nothing weird or chemical.”
“Uh, thanks?” Willem smiled, chewing it. “Hey, not bad.”
“Now, what are we going to do?” Caitlin asked.
“We head through the ogre’s keep.” Madelein said.
“That sounds simple.” Caitlin crossed her arms over her chest. “If simple was another word for impossible.”
“Not impossible. We have weapons.” Eliot pulled her elastic band from her flashlight.
“Elastic bands aren’t weapons,” Quin said, putting her hands on her hips. “Swords are weapons.” She indicated Alexis and Robin. “Sticks are weapons.” She pointed to Thomas. “Elastic bands . . .”
“Sting!” Eliot said, shooting one at Colin.
“Ow. What was that for?” Colin rubbed his cheek and scowled.
“You got us stuck here.” Eliot growled. “With an ogre.”
“It’s an adventure?” Colin suggested, hopefully.
“Fine!” Quin sighed. “Elastic bands will have to do. Come on.”
They group followed Madelein down the path to an encampment stinking of dung and filth.
“This is worse than Butterfield acres if Butterfield acres were in hell and filled with constantly pooping animals,” Eden said, holding her nose. “We have to go through that? Can’t we go around it?”
“Nope,” Madelein said. “Not unless you want to end up in the swamps of stench.”
“Ugg. It might smell better than this,” Eden groaned.
The group slowly tip toed through the encampment. The ogre was nowhere to be seen. The place was silent except for the slight shuffle of their feet on the sandy ground.
“Wow. This is easy,” Audrey whispered.
“Don’t say that,” Quin hissed back.
“Why?” Audrey asked.
A growl rolled up behind them. They spun. An ogre, ten feet tall with green skin and spittle dripping down his chin stood, club in hand.
“That’s why.” Quin said, backing away.
“Oh.” Audrey said. “Sorry.”
“WHO DARES TRESSPASS ON MY LAND?” the ogre roared through rotted teeth.
“We can do this! Don’t be afraid.” Eliot jumped forward. “Ready! Aim! Fire!”
As a unit, the group fired the elastic bands from their flashlights.
“Ow! That stings!” The ogre cried. “But I have something far worse than a sting little humans.” He breathed in, puffing up his huge chest until he looked like an over inflated toad.
“Watch out!” Eden yelled, flinging out her arms. “He’s going to breathe on us!”
“I got this!” Alexis yelled, flying through the air. She landed with a thud on the monster’s shoulders and in one mighty blow, the ogre’s decapitated head went flying. Her feet hit the ground as the body collapsed beside her.
“But… But…” asked Naomi open mouthed. “Isn’t that a LARPing sword?”
“Yup.” Alexis replied, wiping off the slick green blood.
“Yeah, but . . . Naomi sputtered, “they’re just made out of cardboard and duct tape.”
Alexis smiled. “I made some modifications.”
“Oh.” Naomi said, stepping back. “Okay. So now what?”
“On to the Wild Air and the portal,” Emily T said, pointing down the path.
On the group went through the dim forest. The howling echo of a wolf pressed on their ears. Naomi shuddered. “Are we close?”
“Nearly there.” Emily T replied, looking at the map in Madelein’s hands.
“We still have a problem,” Meagan said. “How do we store Wild Air?”
The group pondered this as they walked but no one could figure out a solution. Finally a bluish glow appeared ahead.
“Look! The portal!” Emily T said, pointing.
The group entered a clearing. Before them stood a glowing arch, pulsing with blue light, and giving off a low electric buzz. The air near it tasted of aluminum and shocked their tongues.
“So, what now? Do we go through?” asked Meagan.
“Or do we need to do something first?” said Tia. “The air is awfully still. Not wild at all.”
And it was. The air was so calm and quiet they couldn’t even feel it on their cheeks. Even their breath died the moment it left their mouths.
“Let’s just go through the portal,” Meagan declared. “I’m tired of being here. I want to go back.” She strode forward. A sharp white flash met her entrance and she was bounced back into Tia’s arms. “Okay. Maybe we can’t go through right now.”
Tia slowly walked around the perimeter of the clearing. “There has to be something we’re missing.”
“A poem?” ask Colin, hopefully.
“Shut it!” Jamie scolded.
“Yes!” shouted Emanuelle.
“Yes?” said Colin.
“Yes,” repeated Emanuelle, “but not from you.”
“Aww, come on!” Colin said. “It was an accident.”
“What kind of poem then, Emanuelle?” asked Tia.
“The wild air kind,” Emanuelle replied. “Think about it. Those lines didn’t come out of nowhere.”
Sydney jumped up. “I know! I know! The lines Drink the Wild Air were written by Ralph Waldo Emerson.”
“Ralph!” laughed Tia.
“Waldo!” snorted Allison.
“Emerson!” chuckled Titania.
“Emerson isn’t funny.” Sydney said.
“It is to me,” Titania replied. “Then again so is rutabaga, the number nine, and kumquat. Kumquat, hilarious!”
Sydney shook her head. “Okay…”
“I’ve heard the lines, but I don’t know them very well,” Tia said.
Sydney looked around. “Does anyone here know them?”
“Umm . . .” A hand went up at the edge of the group.
“Makayla, you know it?” Sydney asked.
“Sort of. My English teacher had a poster with the lines on it,” Makayla replied. “It goes, Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, Drink the wild air's salubrity.”
“What’s salubrity?” asked Sydney.
Lisa stepped forward, and cleared her throat. “Salubrity is an adjective which means promoting health.”
“So we are drinking to our health?” asked Izzy?
“No. I think the wild air gives us health,” said Eden.
“That sounds reasonable,” Izzy replied.
“Okay, but how do we use the lines?” Makayla asked.
“How about we say them all together,” Sakura suggested. “Like a chant.”
So the group gathered in a circle around the portal and Jamie lead them. The chanting started low and grew in volume until the wind came up as if spurred by their breath and moved in a great whirl wind growing faster and faster as the words came louder and louder. Clothes flapped percussion and beautiful crisp air flowed in their mouths and down their throats, into their lungs and out again forming sounds and words and music. The group had never felt so full and well. Inspiration was at their fingertips. The muse of writing whispered in their ears. Even the portal changed its colour from electric blue to glowing green with the scent of apple blossoms and sounds of a hawk’s call.
“Now!” shouted Meagan.
“Jump!” said Allison.
And through the portal the group went finding themselves suddenly back inside, in front of the fireplace, well and whole, with the spirit of creation firmly planted within them.
“That was awesome!” Audrey shouted.
“Really, awesome!” Naomi agreed.
“Can you say another poem tomorrow, Colin?” asked Jessica.
“Oh yeah, I have just the one. Something with coconut trees, fragrant hibiscus flowers, and sparkling turquoise water filled with dolphins and jellies. . .” Colin said, hands moving.
“That’s beautiful, man. Beautiful.” Andrew cried, “I can’t wait to hear it!”
“But until then,” Jamie said, slapping a hand over Colin’s mouth. “I think we’ve drank enough wild air for one night.”
The whole thing had started off innocently enough. Everyone had fun skating, sledding, or murdering one another with cardboard swords. Then Kim called them over for a night hike, handing out red plastic sheets and elastic bands for better night vision, advising the group, “Elastic bands are the most useful of all the outdoor tools!”
Then they were off. Colin led the way chanting a poem about fog and alternate dimensions, eyes which watched ceaselessly, and trees whose branch like fingers which could reach down and snatch your soul clean out of your body. Jamie finally told him to cut it out and sang a song about bananas instead.
It was Allison who realized the change first. A cool fog rolled in, and the moon grew bigger. Closer. Almost unnatural in colour and markings. Trees bent and twisted, their bark mottled with ever roving eyes. Allison dodged by a branch which made a snatch for her. She turned to Titania and asked, “Does something seem weird to you?”
Titania shrugged. She was thinking about a story she wanted to write. Something about a woman with a sword and an urge to kill robots or maybe prehistoric squirrels, or perhaps instead the woman had a wand and just wanted a good veggie sandwich – the BEST veggie sandwich – Titania was still working out the details. Then Izzy screamed.
It was more of a cut off scream, which started in a high pitched wail and ended quite suddenly with an “Urk!” Robin spun, fists clenched, ready to punch. A tree, large and heavily barked, held Izzy tight in its grasp fifteen feet above the ground. Sap oozed down her cheek as she fought back, fingers grabbing. Robin sprang forward, fist coming down in a smashing frenzy, only to be stopped by Alexis.
“Don’t be an idiot,” she said, handing Robin one of the two LARPing swords she carried. “You’ll break your hand.”
“Why do you even have these?” Robin asked.
Alexis shrugged. “We were going for a night hike. What else would I bring?”
Robin and Alexis faced the tree, swords raised. “Put her down,” Robin bellowed.
“Or what?” the tree asked, its voice creaking like branches in a heavy wind.
“Or we’ll do to you what we did to the trees which make up our weapons,” Alexis replied.
Robin grinned. “Yeah! These swords are made from mulched tree AKA cardboard. We could do that to you if you don’t put down our friend.”
Alexis lunged forward. “Want to be mulched?”
Izzy felt to the ground. She turned and gave the tree a mighty kick. “Don’t ever do that again, twig!” She screamed. “Or I will release an army of flaming, miniature, rainbow unicorns on your butt!”
“Umm, tree’s don’t have butts,” Quyanna remarked.
“Don’t care.” Izzy replied, wiping tree sap from her face.
“Where are we anyway?” Quyanna continued, looking around. “This doesn’t look like camp or even Earth.”
“Judging from my calculations,” Brett said, pulling out a book on astrophysics from his back pack and referencing it against the complete Lord of the Rings trilogy. “It looks like we might be in some parallel dimension.”
“How the heck did we get to a parallel dimension?” Zoe asked.
Brett looked at the stars, ran his fingers over the ground, and took a large sniff of the night air, then stated, “It was Colin’s fault.”
Jamie, let out a huge huff. “I knew your poetry was nothing but trouble!”
Colin let out a huge and evil laugh, hands gripped like claws, eyes glinting with demon fire. “Trouble?” he cackled. “You don’t even know trouble!”
Zoe pointed a quivering finger. “So you did this on purpose?”
“Well,” Colin deflated, shrugging. “No.”
“So why the big show?” Camryn asked.
“I’ve always wanted to play the villain. Or at least the evil laugh part.” Colin said, meekly. “Sorry if I scared you.”
“We weren’t that scared,” Camryn replied, “but we do need to find a way back home. Perhaps if you did another one of your poems?”
“Oh, no!” Jamie said. “Who knows where we might end up.”
“What about another camp song?” Sakura suggested. I always liked that fast food one, you know with Mac Donalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken. It’s so funny.
“It may be funny, but I don’t think that’s the right way to get home,” Miranda said, swinging her guitar from her back and strumming a chord. “I think we might have to sing a different tune.”
Brett flipped through some more pages. “According to the Lord of the Rings, it looks like we’re on a quest.”
“A quest for the best song?” Miranda asked, starting to rock out.
“Not quite,” Brett said. “More like a quest for . . .”
“The wild air,” Zoe said, snapping her fingers.
Camryn nodded. “To get home, all we’d have to do is drink it.”
“How did you figure that out?” asked Emily D.
“It’s kind of obvious. It is the name of the camp,” Zoe said.
“Good point.” Emily D looked around. “So what is wild air? What would it be made of?”
Ava stepped into the middle of the group and held the flashlight under her chin, chanting, “Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting, Lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing.”
“Umm, I don’t think that’s the right ingredient list.” Emily D said, “What book are you using anyway?”
“This.” Ava held up the complete works of William Shakespeare.
Emily D gasped. “You carry that around with you all the time?”
“Who doesn’t?” Ava said.
“Yeah, I have my copy,” Lisa said, pulling out a stack of books from her back pack. “I have Shakespeare, Alice in Wonderland, The Complete Guide to Cooking Wild Boar, Conversations with Fruit, and Hiking for Joggers.”
“I don’t think any of those are going to help us.” Miranda said.
“You’re right.” Teighan replied, “What we need to do is nail down what makes up wild air and then set out to find a place that would have it.”
“Standard air is seventy-eight percent nitrogen, twenty-one percent oxygen, and one percent other gasses.” Emily F said, “But we need WILD air. I think that might be made of darker stuff.”
“Mount Doom would probably have wild air,” Brett said, holding up one of Tolkien’s maps.
“You know, what bugs me?” Emily F huffed exasperatedly. “Tolkien created all these complicated names for mountains, rivers, forests, and even plains. AND he usually made them in more than one language. On top of that most of the characters had two or three long and complicated names. Even the weapons had cool titles. But when it came down to naming the main goal of the book, the place everyone is scared of, he calls it Mount Doom. What the heck? Mount Doom? Seriously? Did he suddenly run out of inspiration or something?”
“Good point,” Teighan said, “but that is not what we need to focus on right now.”
“And there’s no Mount Doom here anyway,” Miranda said scanning the horizon. “Not that I can see anyway.”
“How about that thing over there?” Em pointed. “It looks wild.”
“It looks like a cold dark cave full of terror and fear,” Teighan said.
“Perfect!” Em shouted. “Let me just get my Yu Gi Oh flashlight out and we can get going.”
“I like the way Yu Gi’s hair lights up. It’s so pretty!” Jessica exclaimed.
“Isn’t it?” Em laughed. “Let’s go!”
Leading the way with Yu Gi and his hair, Em marched into the mouth of the cave.
“What is that smell?” Sakura asked, retching.
“Those!” Thomas said, picking up a stick, and walking over to poke some dead orcs.
“There’s hardly any air in here,” commented Jessica, “wild or otherwise.”
“But there is a breeze,” Sakura said. “It’s coming from back there.”
“And it smells better than this cave.” Jessica waved her hand in front of her face. “Maybe the wild air is out there.”
“Wild air and. . .” said Thomas darkly, “whatever killed these orcs.”
“It’s time to find out,” Ava hissed, holding her red tinted flashlight under her chin, turning her skin blood red.
“Stop doing that! You’re freaking me out.” Josh said.
“Oh come on!” Ava said, marching toward the back of the cave. “Look, there’s an opening.”
Through a crack in the rock the group saw a long narrow rock bridge leading over a wide chasm. Above, spilled stars glimmered against the darkness of space. A soft pine-laden wind curled cool and fresh through the opening.
“You freaked out now?” Ava asked Josh.
“No. Of course not,” Josh said, stepping out. “I got this. Ahhh!”
“What?!”Ava called.
“Umm, the ledge out here. It’s not that wide. I almost stepped off. Be careful.”
“Thanks for the warning,” Ava said, starting out.
Josh inched his way onto the rock bridge followed by Ava, Thomas, and the rest of the group.
“The wind here is quite substantial,” Thomas said.
“Yeah, it’s wild!” Andrew agreed. “We’ll have to be careful not to be blown off. It’s a long way down.”
“What did you say?” Thomas exclaimed.
Andrew pointed. “It’s a long way down. Probably, like a kilometer at least. I mean, look at that river down there. It’s a twisting iridescent blue thread glistening in the light of the lunar glow. It’s beautiful, man. Beautiful.” Andrew wiped a tear from his eye.
“That’s not what I meant,” Thomas said.
“Oh, you mean the speed of the wind. Yeah, it’s blowing hard like the exhalation of a blue whale surfacing from the depths of the ocean right after an enormous battle with a giant squid. Two monolithic beasts gripped in the eternal fight of nature. Struggling for survival and freedom. It’s beautiful, man. Beautiful.” Andrew bit his knuckle, supressing a sob.
“That’s not what I meant either!” Thomas shook his head. “You said the air was wild.”
“Wild as a horse galloping on the open plains. A tangled mane the hue of golden flax. Hooves cracking the ground with rhythmic drumbeat. Like the earth’s heart. Just like the Earth’s heart. It’s beautiful, man. Beautiful!” Andrew blew his nose into a tissue as tears streamed from his eyes. He pounded his fist against his chest. “I love this place, man! It’s so awesome to be alive!”
“Okay. That’s great,” Olive yelled from the back of the line. “But what I think Thomas was pointing out is that we may have found the wild air.”
“Exactly.” Thomas said.
“So how do we catch it?” Sabrina asked.
“In a bottle?” Olive yelled.
“What?” Sabrina yelled back. “I can’t hear you over this crazy wind.”
“IN – A– BOTTLE,” Olive yelled once more.
“Wait!” Willem called out holding up his hand. “What if this is crazy wind and not wild air? If we use the wrong air we might end up in the wrong place? How will we know?”
“Just catch some. We can figure it out later.” Olive said.
“I don’t have a bottle.” Sabrina yelled. “I have a toothbrush, a notebook, cash, travelers cheques, proof of insurance, a map, a membership card to Chapters, a luggage lock, my cell phone, my headphones, my E-book reader, extra batteries, a travel alarm clock, Sponge Bob boxer shorts, a shower cap, some loungewear, and my bandana. I think I might put the bandana on now. It seems appropriate to this situation.”
“What did you say you have?” Olive yelled. “I can’t hear over this blasted wind.”
“Now it’s Blasted Wind!” Willem grabbed his head. “We’ll be stuck here forever!”
“Calm down.” Elizabeth said, taking Willem by the shoulders. “We’ll figure this out.”
“Yes,” exclaimed Andrew. “Breathe the revitalizing air deep into your lungs like a mother seal does to her. . .”
“Revitalizing air? Wild Air? Blasted Wind? Crazy Wind?” shrieked Willem. “AAAH!”
“Not helping, Andrew.” Elizabeth scolded. “Wait! Hang on!” She spun and looked at Sabrina. “What did you say you had?”
Sabrina started to tick off her fingers. “I have a toothbrush, a notebook, cash and travelers cheques, my credit card, proof of insurance, a map, a . . .”
“Yes! That!” Elizabeth exclaimed.
“You have a map?” Madeleine asked. “Of what?”
Sabrina shrugged. “I don’t know. Just a map.”
“Let me see it.” Madeleine commanded.
The map was passed carefully from person to person on the long, narrow, rock bridge, Finally arriving at Madeleine.
“Okay, if this is a map of here,” Madeleine said, studying it. “Then we just left the orc’s cave, we are now on the shifting bridge, after which we’ll come to the ogre’s keep, and beyond that is the wild air and the portal home. Simple.”
“The shifting what?” Quyanna asked.
A rumble vibrated the legs of the group, stopping each heart in turn with cold fear.
“Can anyone fly?” Caitlin asked with a quivering voice.
Everyone shook their heads.
“Then RUN!” Josh yelled, leading the way.
They all pelted across the bridge as rocks rained down into the deep ravine from their shoes and the rumbling bridge. When they all reached safety on the other side, breath heaving against their ribs, they sat, quivering. Until they heard another rumble.
“Sorry, I’m hungry,” Willem said. “I get hungry when I’m stressed.”
“Here. Have some fruit jerky.” Caitlin said, handing Willem a sticky, peach scented slab. “One hundred percent fruit, nothing weird or chemical.”
“Uh, thanks?” Willem smiled, chewing it. “Hey, not bad.”
“Now, what are we going to do?” Caitlin asked.
“We head through the ogre’s keep.” Madelein said.
“That sounds simple.” Caitlin crossed her arms over her chest. “If simple was another word for impossible.”
“Not impossible. We have weapons.” Eliot pulled her elastic band from her flashlight.
“Elastic bands aren’t weapons,” Quin said, putting her hands on her hips. “Swords are weapons.” She indicated Alexis and Robin. “Sticks are weapons.” She pointed to Thomas. “Elastic bands . . .”
“Sting!” Eliot said, shooting one at Colin.
“Ow. What was that for?” Colin rubbed his cheek and scowled.
“You got us stuck here.” Eliot growled. “With an ogre.”
“It’s an adventure?” Colin suggested, hopefully.
“Fine!” Quin sighed. “Elastic bands will have to do. Come on.”
They group followed Madelein down the path to an encampment stinking of dung and filth.
“This is worse than Butterfield acres if Butterfield acres were in hell and filled with constantly pooping animals,” Eden said, holding her nose. “We have to go through that? Can’t we go around it?”
“Nope,” Madelein said. “Not unless you want to end up in the swamps of stench.”
“Ugg. It might smell better than this,” Eden groaned.
The group slowly tip toed through the encampment. The ogre was nowhere to be seen. The place was silent except for the slight shuffle of their feet on the sandy ground.
“Wow. This is easy,” Audrey whispered.
“Don’t say that,” Quin hissed back.
“Why?” Audrey asked.
A growl rolled up behind them. They spun. An ogre, ten feet tall with green skin and spittle dripping down his chin stood, club in hand.
“That’s why.” Quin said, backing away.
“Oh.” Audrey said. “Sorry.”
“WHO DARES TRESSPASS ON MY LAND?” the ogre roared through rotted teeth.
“We can do this! Don’t be afraid.” Eliot jumped forward. “Ready! Aim! Fire!”
As a unit, the group fired the elastic bands from their flashlights.
“Ow! That stings!” The ogre cried. “But I have something far worse than a sting little humans.” He breathed in, puffing up his huge chest until he looked like an over inflated toad.
“Watch out!” Eden yelled, flinging out her arms. “He’s going to breathe on us!”
“I got this!” Alexis yelled, flying through the air. She landed with a thud on the monster’s shoulders and in one mighty blow, the ogre’s decapitated head went flying. Her feet hit the ground as the body collapsed beside her.
“But… But…” asked Naomi open mouthed. “Isn’t that a LARPing sword?”
“Yup.” Alexis replied, wiping off the slick green blood.
“Yeah, but . . . Naomi sputtered, “they’re just made out of cardboard and duct tape.”
Alexis smiled. “I made some modifications.”
“Oh.” Naomi said, stepping back. “Okay. So now what?”
“On to the Wild Air and the portal,” Emily T said, pointing down the path.
On the group went through the dim forest. The howling echo of a wolf pressed on their ears. Naomi shuddered. “Are we close?”
“Nearly there.” Emily T replied, looking at the map in Madelein’s hands.
“We still have a problem,” Meagan said. “How do we store Wild Air?”
The group pondered this as they walked but no one could figure out a solution. Finally a bluish glow appeared ahead.
“Look! The portal!” Emily T said, pointing.
The group entered a clearing. Before them stood a glowing arch, pulsing with blue light, and giving off a low electric buzz. The air near it tasted of aluminum and shocked their tongues.
“So, what now? Do we go through?” asked Meagan.
“Or do we need to do something first?” said Tia. “The air is awfully still. Not wild at all.”
And it was. The air was so calm and quiet they couldn’t even feel it on their cheeks. Even their breath died the moment it left their mouths.
“Let’s just go through the portal,” Meagan declared. “I’m tired of being here. I want to go back.” She strode forward. A sharp white flash met her entrance and she was bounced back into Tia’s arms. “Okay. Maybe we can’t go through right now.”
Tia slowly walked around the perimeter of the clearing. “There has to be something we’re missing.”
“A poem?” ask Colin, hopefully.
“Shut it!” Jamie scolded.
“Yes!” shouted Emanuelle.
“Yes?” said Colin.
“Yes,” repeated Emanuelle, “but not from you.”
“Aww, come on!” Colin said. “It was an accident.”
“What kind of poem then, Emanuelle?” asked Tia.
“The wild air kind,” Emanuelle replied. “Think about it. Those lines didn’t come out of nowhere.”
Sydney jumped up. “I know! I know! The lines Drink the Wild Air were written by Ralph Waldo Emerson.”
“Ralph!” laughed Tia.
“Waldo!” snorted Allison.
“Emerson!” chuckled Titania.
“Emerson isn’t funny.” Sydney said.
“It is to me,” Titania replied. “Then again so is rutabaga, the number nine, and kumquat. Kumquat, hilarious!”
Sydney shook her head. “Okay…”
“I’ve heard the lines, but I don’t know them very well,” Tia said.
Sydney looked around. “Does anyone here know them?”
“Umm . . .” A hand went up at the edge of the group.
“Makayla, you know it?” Sydney asked.
“Sort of. My English teacher had a poster with the lines on it,” Makayla replied. “It goes, Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, Drink the wild air's salubrity.”
“What’s salubrity?” asked Sydney.
Lisa stepped forward, and cleared her throat. “Salubrity is an adjective which means promoting health.”
“So we are drinking to our health?” asked Izzy?
“No. I think the wild air gives us health,” said Eden.
“That sounds reasonable,” Izzy replied.
“Okay, but how do we use the lines?” Makayla asked.
“How about we say them all together,” Sakura suggested. “Like a chant.”
So the group gathered in a circle around the portal and Jamie lead them. The chanting started low and grew in volume until the wind came up as if spurred by their breath and moved in a great whirl wind growing faster and faster as the words came louder and louder. Clothes flapped percussion and beautiful crisp air flowed in their mouths and down their throats, into their lungs and out again forming sounds and words and music. The group had never felt so full and well. Inspiration was at their fingertips. The muse of writing whispered in their ears. Even the portal changed its colour from electric blue to glowing green with the scent of apple blossoms and sounds of a hawk’s call.
“Now!” shouted Meagan.
“Jump!” said Allison.
And through the portal the group went finding themselves suddenly back inside, in front of the fireplace, well and whole, with the spirit of creation firmly planted within them.
“That was awesome!” Audrey shouted.
“Really, awesome!” Naomi agreed.
“Can you say another poem tomorrow, Colin?” asked Jessica.
“Oh yeah, I have just the one. Something with coconut trees, fragrant hibiscus flowers, and sparkling turquoise water filled with dolphins and jellies. . .” Colin said, hands moving.
“That’s beautiful, man. Beautiful.” Andrew cried, “I can’t wait to hear it!”
“But until then,” Jamie said, slapping a hand over Colin’s mouth. “I think we’ve drank enough wild air for one night.”