10 Jolt Escapes

10 Jolt Escapes Violet and Sprite were back in Leon's room. Jolt was still playing Action Kingdom. His eyes looked glazed. "Almost there," Jolt said.

Violet looked at the screen. It said LEVEL 9. The picture looked like a desert. Leon was walking down a sandy trail. "Leon's still okay," Violet said. "But we have to hurry!" "This level doesn't look so bad," Sprite said. Jolt grinned. "Just wait!" He pushed some buttons on the controller, and Leon walked to a hole in the desert sand. A big snake popped up. It hissed in Leon's face. "Aaaaaaah!" Leon yelled.

"Whoops!" Jolt said. "I've got to get through this desert without Leon getting bitten by a snake." Then he paused the game. "So what are you guys doing?" he asked. "Do you really think you can get me to read a book?" "No," Violet lied. "I'm just going to sit here and read my book."

Jolt hit the PLAY button. "Fine with me. I'll just keep playing the game." Violet sat on the floor. She opened up Peter Pan. Violet began to read aloud. After a few minutes, Sprite nudged her. "It's not exciting enough," Sprite said. "Get to a good part." Violet read as quickly as she could. Jolt ignored her. He kept playing the game. Violet looked up at the screen. Now Leon was in level ten! It was a jungle filled with pits of quicksand. My plan has got to work, Violet thought. Jolt said he always loses the game at level eleven. Then what will happen to Leon?

Violet read faster. She told the story of Peter Pan. How he brought Wendy, Michael, and John to Neverland. And a band of pirates caught them. The pirates were led by Captain Hook. Then she skipped to the end of the story. She looked at Jolt. The gremlin had paused the game. He was pretending to play. But he was actually listening to Violet. "It's working! It's working!" Sprite said in Violet's ear. "Keep reading!"

Violet nodded. She got to the part when Peter Pan and Hook had their final fight. "Suddenly, the sword fell from Hook's hand," Violet read, "'and he was at Peter's mercy.'" "You mean Captain Hook was helpless?" Sprite asked. "Yup," Violet replied. Then she closed the book. "Well, that's it." Jolt stood up. "What do you mean that's it?" he asked. "What happened to Hook?" Violet shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "That's all there is." "It can't be!" Jolt said.