Mixed Messages

Ollie awoke to a beautiful night in Brustleville. Tonight was a very special occasion, for he would finally graduate from the Messengers of Peace Academy. Ollie had invested the past fourteen of his sixteen years training to be a messenger owl. Ollie flew downstairs to find his mother cooking his favorite dish - sweet bread.

“Good evening,” his mother said in a happy tone.

“Good evening,” Ollie said back. “Is that sweet bread?” he asked.

“Yup!” said his little brother Oswald from behind the kitchen island. “We made it just for you.”

“My little boy is finally going to graduate,” his mother said with a huge smile on her face. Ollie sat down next to Sarah, his little sister.

“Here you go,” said his mother, handing him his breakfast.

“Thanks,” Ollie said.

All of the sudden the front door flung open and a voice yelled out, “Come on Bro, you’re gonna be late!” It was Leo, Ollie's best friend.

“Coming,” said Ollie. “Bye Mom. Bye Oswald. Bye Sarah. See you later.” Ollie said, rushing out the door.

“I can’t believe we're graduating tonight,'' said Leo, walking through the academy doors. Leo was a Snow Owl and was very good at handling the cold.

“Me neither,” said Ollie. Ollie was the best flier at the academy. Being a Great Horned Owl, it came naturally to him. When they finally got to class, Mr. Bristle, the Barn Owl greeted them.

“Hello Leo and Ollie. Are you two ready to graduate?”

“Yes!” they both replied excitedly. Just then the Principal, Mrs. Smidget, came over the intercom announcing that the graduation would start in one hour.

It was midnight at the Academy when Mrs. Smidget opened the door to Class 972 and informed them that their town had just received an urgent message from the far away village of Whinsville. The message stated that Teratown had declared war against Whinsville and that they needed their allies to come and help them defend their town. Mr. Bristle was a bit confused and asked why she had come to his classroom, considering his soon-to-be graduates were messengers, not brawlers. Mrs. Midget explained that all of Brustleville’s brawlers were already out on missions. Since Class 972 was the only messenger class with students who had brawling experience, she needed to gather them to go fight.

Ollie couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He, Leo, Olivia, and Daniel were the only students in the academy who had experience in brawling. Ollie and Leo had both taken brawling lessons together back when they were young kids. Although they graduated brawling lessons with flying colors, he was still nervous. As Mrs. Smidget led them to the TreePort, Leo asked Ollie if he still remembered what the brawling classes had taught him. Ollie shared with Leo that he was secretly still taking lessons just in case he ever came across a fight while flying from town to town delivering important messages. He wanted to make sure he was prepared. Ollie asked Leo if he was nervous and Leo said that he was actually very excited. He had always wanted to be an Honor Guard for the King of Whinsville and this was the perfect opportunity to prove himself and show off his skills.

Mrs. Smidget introduced the few students she had gathered to Mr. Jenkins, the TreePort pilot.

“Hello kids,” said Mr. Jenkins. “I know this might seem scary and nerve-racking, but Whinsville has helped us in times of need, and now it is our turn to return the favor. Ollie asked why they were standing next to such a large tree.

“Because you kids are going to have to use this TreePort to get to Twigsville,” replied Mr. Jenkins as he fired up the Tree. All the kids watched in amazement as a huge portal opened in the tree.

“Whoa,” said Ollie gazing at the portal. “It’s absolutely beautiful.”

“Yeah,” said Leo, mesmerized.

“This here is the TreePort kids,” said Mr. Jenkins. “Everyone, please step onto the branch in front of you.”

As Ollie stepped onto the branch, he immediately felt magic coursing through his body. It felt as though he could do anything. As the last owl stepped onto the branch, it shot up to the portal. On the top branch, there was another owl waiting.

“Hi,” said the owl. “I'm Julia. I’m the magic keeper and I'm here to prepare everyone for entry to the TreePort. Here are your uniforms.”

“Uniforms? Why do we need uniforms?” asked Daniel.

“Well, inside the portal you’ll be traveling very fast, which will cause your bodies to heat up. Without this special uniform, your bodies will continue to get hotter and hotter until they completely disintegrate.” Daniel was completely speechless. He couldn’t believe how dangerous this was.

“Why can't we just fly to Twigsville?” Olivia asked Julia.

“Good question Olivia,” said Julia. “Twigsville is about 400 miles away from Brustleville. and Even if you kids could fly that far, remember that Twigsville is currently at war.

“Wait. Twigsville is 400 miles away?” asked Ollie.

“Yup,” replied Julia. “Any more questions?”

“No,” said all of the students.

As Ollie, Leo, Olivia, and Daniel flew into the portal, they felt the air around them get heavier. Then, all of the sudden, they were jolted forward. Leo’s uniform began to glow bright orange, and then he disappeared. The same happened to everyone else until they were all out of the portal and in the middle of a damp swamp with a huge tree. Just as they thought the portal was closing, a hologram of a buff looking Screech Owl appeared.

“Who are you?” asked Olivia.

“I am the commanding officer, and I’m here to make sure you amatuers don’t get hurt.”

“Oh, okay,” said Olivia, feeling a bit relieved.

“Where are we?” asked Ollie.

“We are in a black swamp,” said The Officer.

“What's a black swamp? asked Leo.

“I’m pretty sure a black swamp is a very rare type of swamp that has volcanic ash in the mud, causing it to turn black,” said Olivia.

“That’s correct,'' said the Officer. “Now follow me, pipsqueaks.”

As the team made their way out the swamp, they saw a large village in the near distance.

“Is that Twigsville?” asked Leo.

“Yes it is kiddo,” replied the Officer. As the team was flying closer to Twigsville, they saw a flaming object flying directly towards them in the sky.

“Look out!” yelled Ollie. They all dodged the object just in time. It flew right past them and then suddenly there was a large crash, as the object hit the ground sending dirt and rocks flying everywhere.

“What was that?” stammered Daniel fearfully.

“It appears to be a boulder with tar smothered on it,” said Ollie.

“Why would a flaming boulder be flying at us?” asked Daniel.

Right as the group was about to fly off again the Officer yelled, “Catapult raid!”

“What?!” yelled Ollie.

“Fly low and behind large trees or rocks!” screamed the Officer. Just as the group was about to arrive in Twigsville, the sky was filled with tiny objects everywhere.

“Arrows, twelve-o-clock!” yelled Leo.

“Take cover!” yelled Ollie. Then all of the sudden a shriek filled the air.

“Ow, my wing!” sobbed Olivia. Ollie looked over to see his Friend, Olivia, plummeting to the ground with an arrow in her wing. Ollie tried to fly down and catch her but even he wasn’t fast enough. She landed with a loud thud; impaled by a sharp rock.

“Nnnooooooooo!” screamed Ollie in disbelief. When the arrows finally stopped, the group flew down to Olivia’s lifeless body.

“Why? Just why?” cried Daniel. Leo was speechless. He had never witnessed anyone he knew die.

The group was about to bury her when they saw an owl flying towards them from the swamp.

“Urgent message!” yelled the owl. He dropped the message into Ollie’s wings and then flew away. As Ollie read it, tears rolled down his face.

“What does it say bro?” asked Leo sadly.

“It says, ‘Urgent: the message sent to us earlier from Twigsville was a mix up. It was supposed to be an invitation for the best fliers to come and test their skills dodging arrows, fire balls and spears.The message we received was supposed to be a training letter for Twigsville’s brawling officers. Please retreat immediately.”

“Wait, what ? Then why is this hologram of a brawling officer here?” asked Leo.

“That was sent to us by Mr. Bristle,” said Ollie.

“So Olivia died for nothing?” asked Daniel angrily.

“I’m afraid so,” said Ollie sadly. Daniel couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Nnnoooooo!” yelled Leo.

The group carried Olivia back to town. They brought her to her family and informed them what happened. Then they helped give Olivia a proper burial. Ollie, Leo, and Daniel graduated the next day along with their fellow classmates, and they dedicated their lives to ensuring that important messages would never again get mixed up under their watch.