Written by: Jen Smithers
Date: January 15, 1999
Jen, Trent, Carlos, and Tommy decide to play a "friendly"
game of Jumanji...
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story,
nor do I own any rights to the television shows "Sons of
Thunder" or "Walker Texas Ranger." They were created by
Chuck and Aaron Norris and belong to them, CBS, TopKick
Productions, and Norris Productions. The Jumanji story
is based on the movie of the same name. I own no rights
to the movie or its characters.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Chapter One~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was a quiet Saturday afternoon when Carlos popped into
Thunder Karate with the game. Trent was up in his office, while
Jen was downstairs, working with Tommy on kicks and blocks.
"Hey, everyone!" Carlos announced his presence.
Jen and Tommy stopped practicing and walked over to Carlos.
Jen grabbed a towel as Tommy greeted his friend.
Trent appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Hey, buddy," Trent answered. "What’s up?"
"I thought we could play this game I found," Carlos suggested
as Tommy swiped the game from him.
"Jumanji," Tommy read off the wooden case.
"Tommy could sure use a break," Jen teased.
Tommy, absorbed in studying the box, nearly missed the barb.
"Hey!"
"Actually, I could use a break myself," Trent agreed, walking
down the steps. He joined them on the mat. A minute later, they
were seated on the mat around the game.
"Jumanji," Tommy read from the opened board. "A game for
those who seek to find a way to leave the world behind."
"I could use some of that," Carlos jested.
Tommy glared at Carlos for interrupting and continued. "You
roll the dice to move your token. Doubles gets another turn. The
first player to reach the end wins."
"Look out everyone, here comes Detective Sandoval," Carlos
boasted, setting the game pieces on the board. To everyone’s
surprise, the four pieces righted themselves and scattered to the
corners of the board.
"Must be magnetized," Jen said, breaking the awed silence.
Tommy picked up the dice. Since he was youngest, they’d
determined he’d go first. He dropped the dice on the board, and
they turned up a 2 and a 5. His game piece moved itself seven
spaces, then stopped. Something swirled, and then a riddle
appeared in the bubble in the center of the board.
A TINY
BITE CAN
MAKE YOU ITCH
MAKE YOU
SNEEZE, MAKE
YOU TWITCH
"Sounds like some sort of bug," Carlos pointed out. A faint
buzzing reached Jen’s ears.
"What’s that?" she asked, looking around.
"What’s what?" Trent asked curiously, trying to locate whatever
it was that Jen was hearing.
"Mosquitoes!" Tommy guessed from his clue.
"Mosquitoes!" Jen yelled, pointing towards the office.
The others looked and saw a small group of enormous mosquitoes
headed straight for them!
"Take cover!" Trent yelled. He and Jen dove under one of the
mats, and Tommy and Carlos covered their heads as the mosquitoes
dive-bombed them!
Tommy felt a rush of air, and then a loud crash sounded through
Thunder Karate. A moment later, the buzzing dissipated, then
disappeared.
Trent was the first to look, peering from under the mat.
"They’re gone." He broke cover, and Jen, Tommy, and Carlos
did the same.
Jen searched for the cause of the crash, and quickly spotted
it.
"Trent, your window," she pointed out, indicating his front
window. It had been smashed outward, and glass littered the
sidewalk.
Trent groaned. He’d just had that window repainted!
Everyone headed outside and gathered up the broken class.
After Tommy swept up the sidewalk, they all headed back inside.
"Do you think the game..." Carlos began.
Trent shook his head. "That’s crazy," he answered. "Games
can’t magically cause giant insects to appear." He stared up into
the rafters. "They must have a nest in here somewhere. I’ll have
to call a fumigator."
Everyone sat back down around the game.
Tommy handed the dice to Jen. "It’s your turn."
Jen shook, then rolled the dice. They came up on 2 and 4.
Jen’s token advanced six spaces, and then her riddle appeared.
[Chapter Two] - Not yet available
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