Twilight of Doom A Taylor and Alan Adventure

By Jackie Mae and Alison Taylor

Faction meets Fiction in this thrilling new tale. Meet Taylor and Alan a sister/brother duo, as they embark on their latest mission.

Taylor’s family had patiently waited a whole year for this. Being on vacation in Ocean City was the stuff kid’s dreams were made of; cotton candy, sun, sand, waves, pizza, crabs, the boardwalk, and the carnival. For two whole weeks every year they packed their belongings and headed down to Ocean City, Maryland.

The House of Mirrors, where you can be skinny and tall, thin or wide. But this House of Mirrors has something else besides mirrors in it, something Taylor and Alan have never experienced before. Something that will scare and amaze them—The House of Mirrors, where all is not as it seems.

Taylor and Alan must find their way back from the Land of Spark, while helping the people that live there get out from under the control of the bad wizard. Can two children outsmart the powerful wizard, save the people that are from the Land of Spark, and possibly find their way back home?

This story weaves rich history into this thrilling tale while instilling the concept of being mindful and respectful of the environment.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jackie Mae
• Release date: Apr 21, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310680502

Jackie Mae

Jackie Mae. Author, blogger, gardener. I love life and strive to inspire. My children’s chapter books are written with my young granddaughter, Alison Taylor, for the middle grade. Alison Taylor is a student, daughter, sister, granddaughter, and an inspiration to everyone around her.Our series, called, A Taylor and Alan Adventure, are thrillers that weave rich history into the story as well as instilling the concept of being mindful and respectful of the environment. A portion of the proceeds from our children’s chapter books go to the Caitlin Dunbar Nature Center, to help support Girl Scouts.I also write in the genre of sci-fi/thriller/paranormal romance/supernatural /suspense. My adult series, called “The Darkest Series,” chronicles women as they struggle with their new found psychic abilities and the desperate need to help the rebellion against the Ones.A series of novellas are due out early 2015.

Book preview

Twilight of Doom

A Taylor and Alan Adventure

Jackie Mae

and

Alison Taylor

Illustrated by,

James Khoui

Edited by,

Ashton Farmanara

Complied by,

Carolyn Sheltraw

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2014 by Jackie Mae

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

ISBN: 978-0-9916149-4-3 (paperback)

978-0-9916149-5-0 (ebook)

Distributed by Smashwords.

Printed in the United States of America

To,

My husband, always my knight

And a special thanks to,

Matthew A. for always giving us great ideas

And to,

Bradley H.

And to,

Billy Box Turtle Heinbuch

With Girl Scouts of Central Maryland’s

Caitlin Dunbar Nature Center

For sharing his passion and knowledge

Our ecosystem is tied to our future,

5% of the proceeds from the sale of this book will go to

The Caitlin Dunbar Nature Center

A Note from Jackie Mae

Welcome. With our ever-depleting habitats, the disappearance of the forests along with their closely held secrets, and the potential rise of the oceans, there seems to be a lot of uncertainty. Our children are our hope for the future; they should be respected and valued for the gifts they bring. With love and guidance, raising respectful and mindful children, I know we can all say with certainty the place we call home will be a better place.

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Glossary

Chapter One

One day past the summer fields, over the hills, and through the maze of tall corn, the dark blue skies beckoned. Beyond the marshes, beyond the inlets, on a flat strip of land where the sky, land, and ocean meet, there sat the top of the Ferris wheel.

C’mon Mom, it will be fun, I screamed overtop the loud carnival music that was playing.

No thanks honey. You go ahead and have fun with Dad.

Dad and I rode the Ferris wheel while Alan and Mom watched. It was just after dusk and the night lights were beautiful. From up here I could just make out the outline of the beach where the waves crashed, hear the music, and smell all things carnival. The smell of popcorn, that faint whiff of buttery topping, or perhaps the sweet smell of cotton candy and corn dogs. I just love being on vacation. Especially here in Ocean City (OC), Maryland, where there’s sun, sand and waves, the boardwalk full of activities and shops, and, of course, the carnival.

Alan wanted to go to the House of Mirrors. I wasn’t all that eager but I didn’t protest. You have to compromise when you’re on vacation or else you won’t have a good time. After all, Alan had waited patiently while I tried on different bathing suits earlier in the day.

I tried to stick behind Mom in line but Alan ended up behind Mom and Dad, with me last. As we went through the House of Mirrors it was funny, at first. After all, there’s no way you can look in the mirrors and not laugh at yourself. I looked fat, tall, skinny, hourglass shaped, pear shaped, and everything in between.

After a few minutes, however, the sound of children laughing gradually faded. I didn’t really hear all the commotion I expected to hear. You know, like the music blaring from the loud speakers throughout the carnival, the clanging of the various rides around the park, or kids bustling through the House of Mirrors. I wondered...what was going on? Alan looked over at me with a puzzled look on his face too.

Let’s get out of here, Taylor, Alan suggested. He pointed toward a door. We hurried over to it and opened it.

No sooner had we gone through the door, than we realized things here were even stranger.

Alan, where are we? I asked.

I don’t know, Alan declared.

Just then we heard a loud noise, a thunderous noise, like footfalls of either a very large animal or several large animals running in unison. The ground shook with each supposed footstep. The sound and shaking increased until we had to balance ourselves just to stay standing.

We ran to stand behind a group of large rocks. A grove stood just behind the rocks, creating a little space for Alan and I to hide. Whatever it was making that noise was coming fast and we didn’t want to be in its way.

"Quick, get behind