Loki and the Kindergarteners Save the World (ONC 2023)

a piece of candy starts it all

Though fall was close on the heels of summer, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Outside was warm enough to wear nothing more than a sweater or light sweater. Too perfect of a day to be cooped up indoors-which was why the Rainbow Elementary School kindergarten class trekked through the tiny wood behind the school.

"Mr. P, what's this?"

Will-(or Mr. P as his students called him)-approached Charlie, who stood away from the group. Her dark eyes were round and inquisitive behind her thick glasses. A nervous habit, Will noticed, was that she tugged on a tightly braided row of hair. Her mother did say Charlie had a penchant for learning, though her curiosity sometimes led to trouble. Not that that slab of rock was trouble, though it did look out of place. Manmade. And old, older than anything found in the area.

"They look like runes?" Will muttered to himself, crouching for a better look.

Sure enough, there were scratched markings lining the side of the rock. Feathery, faded, unreadable symbols he recognized from Scandinavian countries. They were supposed to be exploring for science class, finding bugs and plants. The last thing he expected to find was a rock with ancient runes etched into it. If the lichen, discolouration and deterioration of the stone were any indications, it had been there a long time. Which begged the question: what was it doing in the middle of the prairies? There were no records of Nordic nomads wandering that far inland. If they had, there would have been traces of them somewhere.

"What's 'runes'?" Charlie asked.

She scrunched her face at the unfamiliar word, and Will straightened, dusting off his hands. The slab of rock unsettled him. Something was off like it had been built with ill intent. A cold shiver brushed the back of his neck, a whisper of goosebumps forming in its wake.

"They're like a very old alphabet," he explained.

"That looks like the stuff on Lord of the Rings," came another voice-Alexandre. He jogged over with a triumphant grin.

"And who let you watch Lord of the Rings?" Will groaned. Every day, Alexandre had a story to tell, whether true or some elaborate version of the truth.

Alexandre shrugged. "My brother and his girlfriend was suppos'd to be babysitting, but they was watching Lord of the Rings. I was supposed to be in bed, but they didn't notice me... it was kinda hard to see because my brother's girlfriend kept climbing onto my brother's lap-"

"Okay, thank you for sharing," Will interrupted quickly. He would have to table that conversation later, perhaps with a meeting with Alexandre's parents.

He glanced around the woods to find his students scattered about the clearing. The five-year-olds were less interested in science and more about playing. Shrieks of laughter filled the air, crisp with the promise of fall. A wind picked up, whispering ominous whispers. Will shivered.

"Okay, but what is it, Mr. P?" Charlie asked, her round face shining with innocent curiosity. "Did a person make it?"

Will had a pretty good idea of the answer, given that the tablet was about human-sized and human sacrifice was a thing once upon a time.

"People used to worship their gods by presenting them with... offerings." Of a sort. "They'd offer food, drinks, sometimes an item they thought the gods would like."

"Oh! Like candy?" Charlie dug into her backpack and pulled out a baggie of colourful gummies. "If we put candy on the table, will a god hear us?"

She said it with such eagerness that Will didn't have the heart to tell her that gods were fairy tales. But he couldn't ignore the creeping suspicion crawling up his arms. Something told him to round up the kids and return to school. It was an absurd feeling, though Will didn't like the slab of rock that sat before them.