When I woke up my vision was flooded with a cold powder. Snow! Where am I? Alaska? My body trembled as I tried to stand up. Hello? Is anyone there? Where am I? Someone help! There was no response, so I began to explore. As I walked to an icy cliff to observe the glorious scenery, my foot slipped and I glided rapidly down a ice slide towards the icy ocean! I began to claw at the ground, struggling to stop myself. I came to a startlingly halt just inches away from the icy water. Carefully I inched around the strange land. When I was shuffling around on the ice I noticed my footprints. Wait, am I going in circles. No, I’m on an iceberg! To stay alive I know I must find land. As I entered the glacial water, my body was shocked. Stroke after stroke my body began to break down. I knew I was getting hypothermia, but I didn’t care. Looking ahead I started to see the shore. Keep going Willow, you’re almost there. I was motivating myself when I felt horrific pain in my legs. I glared at my legs screaming, my feet were gone all that was left was bloody shins. I paddled as hard as possible, trying to escape my death. The last thing I remembered was six creatures with tuxedos pulling me ashore.

    Suddenly, I was home again, and the dinner table was set. Conner and Cam were laughing at me for no reason. Stop it, stop it what is so funny. Then my body shivered and I woke up in a rocky cave surrounded by penguins! “You were talking in your sleep,” giggled a young penguin.

    Did you just talk to me?

    “Yes,” responded the adorable bird.

    A penguin just talked!

    “Is that a surprise to you?” questioned another penguin. While the penguins introduced themselves, I lay speechless on the bed they made for me. “My name is Joy,” quoted the first penguin.

    “Hello, I’m Blue,” noted the next.

    “I’m Charlotte, how do you do,” spoke one in an English Accent. English penguins, that’s rather interesting. “My name is Pen,” spoke another penguin while fiddling with a stick of dynamite.

    “Pen put that down!” began the fifth penguin, “Oh excuse me, I’m Piper.” At last the sixth penguin introduced himself. “Hello, I am the leader, Anchor. Please make yourself comfortable, as long as you stay here with us in Aksala.”

   Thank you, but how did I get here? Joy was quick to answer and explained that I had been attacked by an evil leopard seal, who bit my feet of. So the penguins rescued me from his lethal jaws and brought me to their lair to take care of me. At that point, I tried to stand up but fell flat on my face. Ouch, I looked at my feet to see what went wrong and instead of feet there was a tail! A tail! What did you penguins do to me?

    “Remember you got your feet eaten so we simply replaced your feet for a tail made of whale carcass,” cited Blue.

    “We also made you that suit out of the same whale,” added Charlotte. “Do you like it?”

    Sure, thanks guys, but you know I’m a human and eventually I will return to my family in Wayzata Minnesota, I can’t be a fish forever.

    “As far as we are concerned, Wayzata doesn’t exist, and you are a penguin now not a fish,” spoke Pen proudly.

    “Listen, you want to go back to your family we will help you, but first you must help us,” explained Anchor. “Ever since we were born, all six of us wanted to fly, but of course penguins can’t fly. So, we are going to the wizard of wisdom, also known as Silver Wolf, to receive our flight power. Then Joy clarified the reason I had a tail. “Willow you have a special power, the tail helps you swim faster than any other creature in Aksala.”

    Ok, I’ll help you.

    “Great, we will hit the water early tomorrow morning,” exclaimed Piper.

My tail felt incredible! It was thrilling to leap in the air, then dive in the water again. Plus the suit that Charlotte made for me insulated my body from the chilling temperature. At noon we paused our journey to rest. While I chatted with Anchor, Piper, Charlotte, and Joy, Pen and Blue went fishing. “Wow where is Pen and Blue?” questioned Joy, “they have been gone for a long time.”

    “Let’s go look,” responded Anchor. As we dove through a hole in the ice, Pen and Blue came into view. Although they were not the only creature looking for food. A leopard seal stalked Pen and Blue, but they had no clue. Come on guys, we have to save them!

    “Wait Willow come back,” shouted Piper as I raced toward the two penguins. The minute we reached them, a deep voice came from the seal. “Hello young penguins, and you, aren’t you the creature I ate the legs off of?” questioned the beast.

    Yes that’s me!

    “Guess what sweetheart, your dead meat just like the rest of your friends here. Just wait till they abandon you and the only thing you'll be good for then is seal prey.”

   Really, I think not. With this tail that the penguins provided me I can swim faster than any other creature in Aksala.

    “Haha,” the Seal mocked, “little girl don’t you know that I am the great Oliver, fastest in Aksala. If it wasn’t for your silly penguin friends and their slick defensive skills I would take over the kingdom from Silver Wolf and rule forever.”

   “Hey, we worked hard on those strategies” yelled Pen, “unlike you, who thinks he can win any battle with just his two fists. I mean come on man, you need to use some dynamite or something.”

    Listen you bully, I’ll make you a deal. We will race in three days, If you win, you rule Aksala, if I win you shall be kept captive for eternity, and Silver Wolf will continue his reign.

    “Very well you may escape this time but remember a hungry seal has an extremely difficult time resisting free food.” As Oliver finished his last sentence the penguins and I fled to the surface. Although we escaped, Anchor was not in a happy mood. “Willow! What were you thinking? You can’t just walk right up to the guy that ripped your precious feet off, and talk to him like he’s you’re mean older brother. Come on, he’s like the fastest creature ever to live. You’re going to need a miracle to win.”

    I thought you said I was faster than any creature in Aksala.

    “Oh, that was just to make you feel better,” Pen clarified.

    Still, it doesn’t matter how fast I am. Anchor you guys are the miracle! You can set traps and stuff right. Isn’t that how you stopped his last attack?

    “Yes,” Anchor sighed. “Willow have you ever heard the quote, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.” That is the perfect definition for Oliver. Whatever trap we make that doesn’t kill him, He automatically creates a defense to guarantee that he won’t be destroyed the same way next time.”

    Why can’t we just come up with another method to execute him?

    “That’s the problem Willow, our last idea was used rescuing you. That’s why we are going to Silver Wolf to ask for flying power.”

    I’m so sorry, what can I do to help?

    “Nothing as far as we are concerned,” noted Charlotte, “just come along with us and we will keep you safe.”

The penguins and I traveled tirelessly day in and out. Suddenly Blue shot up through the ice into a cave. As the six of us followed him I pondered where he could be taking us. When I looked around inside the cave, I noticed a big fluffy polar bear and her adorable cubs. At first I was cautious, but after the penguins approached her confidently I knew she was friendly. It seemed that the penguins were strong friends with the bears. While I was admiring the gorgeous polar bear cave, a cub galloped over to me. “Hello,” the little fellow said. “May I ask you a question?”

    Certainly, ask away.

    “How do you walk with a tail?”

    Oh, silly bear, I can’t walk. That’s why I am going to Silver Wolf to receive my feet again.

    “Well what happened to your feet?”

    Oliver the seal ate them.

    “Oh my I am very sorry, can we do anything for you?”

    I’m afraid not, but my you look awfully hungry. Would you like something to eat?

    “Oh yes of course! You see all of the fish have disappeared from our waters!”

    Really, then maybe you could join us on our journey to go see Silver Wolf, so you could ask where the fish went. The young polar bear gleefully bounced back to his mother to share my idea. Before I had time to see her reaction, I dove back through the hole in the cave. As my body pierced the water like an arrow, I spotted a shadowy figure in the distance. While I raced towards the queer sighting, I had a feeling I was being watched. That didn’t matter now, once I realized that the mysterious shapes were fish, I captured my prey and delivered it to my friends. Soon we had full bellies and were ready to continue our journey.

     After our final hours of traveling we arrived at our destination. But before we had the chance to knock on the giant gate of the city, Joy fainted. “Oh my! cried Piper, what happened?”

    Was it something she ate?

    “Good point Willow,” added the mother polar bear. “Lucky for her, I know a potion that can wake her up again. All I need is some potassium.” It didn’t take long before we found what we were searching for, because the penguins always pack extra bananas when they travel. Sooner than later, the bears worked their magic and Joy was up and running in no time. Pen eagerly knocked on the giant gate, and it slowly lowered allowing us to pass into the city. The kingdom was bustling with activity. Foxes, hares, reindeer, musk ox, lynx, lemmings, bears, and wolverines, all pranced around the street. While puffins, owls, geese, skuas, and terns, flew overhead. At the same time, walruses, narwhal, platypuses, pinniped, orca whales, beluga whales, and multiple breeds of fish and seals, all relaxed in a deep pool. It looked to me like the penguins and I were one of a kind. Or six of a kind if you’re talking about the penguins. Any way, we made our way through the crowded streets to a large castle. At the door there stood an enormous grizzly bear, dressed as a castle guard. “Hello sir,” Anchor spoke in a friendly tone.”

    “Yes, what do you want?” bellowed the intimidating guard.

    “We would like to see the Silver Wolf,” chorused the whole group.

    “Oh no, you can’t visit Mr. Wolf he has more important things to do than sign autographs.”

    Please, it is extremely important business. You see if the penguins don’t request flight power, then Oliver will take over the whole kingdom. Also, these poor polar bears are starving, they need food now.

    “Sorry kids, you can’t see Mr. Wolf right now.” As we walked back into the crowded city, Anchor huddled us together. “Listen, we can take this guy down, all we need to do is distract him then Pen and Blue will use their wrist rockets to take him out.”

   But won’t the other guards see us?

   “No, obviously there is no security within a mile from here, that's why it would be so easy for Oliver to swim right through these walls and conquer the city.” Our plan went straight into action. My job was to distract the stubborn guard. “Well hello again Mr. Bear, I don’t suppose you know the best place to get food around here, I’m just starving. Before the bear could respond, Pen sent a stone flying towards his forehead. “Yes, it worked!” celebrated Charlotte. Ms. Polar Bear dragged the heavy gates open allowing us to pass through. Behind the shiny nickel gate was a charming courtyard with ice sculptures and a glistening stream flowing ever so quickly. We noticed the Silver Wolf sitting upon a glittering throne, admiring his fantastic kingdom.

    “Excuse me, your majesty,” interrupted Piper. “We would like to warn you that Oliver wants to take over your kingdom and destroy Aksala.” The Wolf was so surprised he leaped from his seat and slipped down the icy steps. “Oh my, we are so sorry, we didn’t mean to scare you,” apologized Joy. As the Wolf recovered from his fall, he introduced himself and requested that we call him Benjamin. “Please come inside and explain your conflict with Oliver.” After finishing our long conference with Benjamin, he requested that we bring the captured Oliver to him to prove we are worthy to receive our gifts. “How are we supposed to catch him now?” sighed Blue helplessly.

    Guys wasn’t I supposed to race him today?

    “Oh my! That’s right,” Charlotte gasped, “we better hurry.”

My heart was pounding the second I came face to face with the enormous beast. “Let’s get this over with this quickly, the longer we wait, the longer I resist eating you,” boasted Oliver. “We will race to the city, so once we get there I can take over a quickly as possible. Oh, and my apologies for poisoning your friend. Did you really think that there would be fish waiting on the polar bears front porch? Lucky for you I only poisoned one fish.” Once Oliver stopped bragging about his great idea to poison fish, we were ready to swim for our lives. Before we began the race, I noticed the penguins whispering to each other. “In three, two, one, go!” commanded the polar bear cub. Then the race began, Oliver and I raced at the same speed through the icy water. We dodged through icebergs and underwater caves. Oliver was pulling ahead and we only had one more mile to race. The evil seal was about to cross the finish line when a torpedoing penguin took Oliver out and sent him sinking to the bottom of the ocean. As I crossed the finish line, penguins with jetpacks dragged Oliver up from the ocean depths with flipper cuffs on. You guys did it, you can fly and we got Oliver!

    That night Aksala celebrated the captivity of Oliver. Benjamin held a special ceremony for the penguins, polar bears, and I. “Welcome citizens of Aksala. It’s time to show our appreciation to our heros of Aksala. To the polar bears for helping protect our friends and keeping them in good condition I grant you an everlasting supply of fish. Now for the penguins who have learned to think outside of the box and create wings for themselves I give you silver medals to show our appreciation. I would also invite all six of you to rule with me in Aksala, helping me to keep a watch over the whole empire.”

   “Thank you your majesty! You are so kind,” Anchor expressed.

   “Now for you Willow, you came to me so you could return home is that correct and for your feet back?”

   Yes.

    “Your wish shall be granted. Say goodbye to your friends for now, but you may always visit again. Just call all six of the penguins names and you can transport between your world and ours whenever you wish. Also when you are in your world you will have feet, but if you return to Aksala you will have a tail.”

    Oh thank you, you are so kind. As I finished saying my goodbyes, I was sent whirlwinding through the air. I landed in a comfortable bed with an IV in my arm and both legs in a cast. My family was standing over me. “Oh Willow you’re alive.”

    Mom! Dad! Conner! Cam! I’m back home!

    “Technically not, your in the hospital, Cam justified.”

    “You survived a plane crash, that’s incredible,” Conner added.

    Do I have feet?

    “Yes you have feet silly. Why did you ask?”

    No reason, you wouldn’t understand. I’m just glad I’m with you all again.

    “So are we,” chorused my family.