TSOCID – Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine: Mother Nature

Vermont, USA

On the edge of the Maple Guardian’s forest

“Hey, man,” the hiker said, slightly out of breath from having to jog with a backpack on to keep up with me, “I gotta say thanks for helping me out.”

Read more “TSOCID – Chapter Nine”

TSOCID – Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight: More Ado About Nothing

Vermont, USA

Lookout Tower D

A forest perimeter guard was one of the easiest positions a Scout Elf could fill. It required no human interaction, had minimal day-to-day duties, and every single outpost was located smack dab in the middle of some of the most beautiful natural locations known to elf or man. Landing an FPG assignment fresh out of basic Scout Elf training would inevitably be followed by rumors of friends in high places circulating for months after deployment. At least, that was Harriet’s experience. Her rumors had been especially jealous. She could see why. The job was great.

Read more “TSOCID – Chapter Eight”

TSOCID – Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven: Responsibilities

January 1995

By the time New Years rolled around, Curtis woke up expecting a brand new slew of disasters. Between the inevitable rough patch that follows any change in management and Jack’s refusal to do anything, nearly every section of the North Pole had already faced some catastrophic failure he had to deal with. Alone. Every time. So when Curtis arrived at the stuffed animal production line to find a hurricane of stuffing and fake fur caused by a broken windowpane, he wasn’t surprised Jack was nowhere to be found. And, like every other time before, the situation was too much of an emergency for him to walk away from it and drag Jack back by his ear. 

Read more “TSOCID – Chapter Seven”