Adventures Into the Forbidden: Episode 4 – Only if You Get Caught

Episode 4 – Only if You Get Caught

Being the only child in his family is hard. Milo has to deal with being alone most of the time since his parents are usually at work until six. He is allowed to do anything he wants as long as he doesn’t cause his parents trouble, but with no one to hang out with and nowhere to go, he stays home by himself watching TV. Since nothing appears to be on, he decides to turn the TV on to Adventures Into the Forbidden, a puppet show that he saw his neighbors watching. The neighbors seemed like weird people, especially since they were talking about a puppet that Milo wasn’t seeing, but the show looked interesting,

Milo turns on the show to see the puppet he saw, Pal the Pirate. He sits on a ship docked in a beachside bay with his hands above his head where his name appears. The puppet has one extremely large eye and a pair of large teeth that both appear like they came from an animal or a human. One of his hands has a hook while the other has four sharp-looking fingers.

“Hello, boys and girls! I’m the Pal the Pirate, your best pal and favorite pirate. You may think that a criminal such as myself shouldn’t be out in the public like this, but the thing is that all of my crimes are only between us. The world knows nothing of what I’ve done, and they don’t need to. Did you ever wonder why pirates like me are the main characters in shows for kids? It's because us pirates know when to have fun and when to settle down.”

Pal’s ship starts to set sail and heads out into the sea.

“A little fun never hurt anyone. In fact, it’s historically kept them from going mad and doing worse things. Imagine it. If I wasn’t a pirate, then I wouldn’t be able to take care of myself, my family, and my friends. Everyone indulges in a little “evil” from time to time and that’s okay.”

Pal’s ship crashes through another and all the other ship’s riches land on Pal’s that is unharmed.

“Just like the legendary Robin Hood I steal from the rich and give to the poor. Who cares what I take from those who have plenty? They should be the ones giving instead of me forcing them to. Did you know that rich people typically steal more than the poor to stay rich and get richer?  These are the kinds of thieves that you shouldn’t imitate. You should knock these people down a peg or two, so they’ll come to their senses.”

Pal’s ship opens fire on the port town he was in. The town burns as people scatter to put out the fires.

“Don’t worry about them, kids. Hopefully, this will make them think twice about their actions. If not, then nothing of value was lost.”

The port town sinks into the water below.

“Thank you for listening to this old pirate and I hope to see you all again next time. Maybe I can scavenge for some goodies from this wreck, in the meantime. Hopefully, there was something worth saving on the island and I’m not talking about the people! Haha!”

The show ends as Milo’s parents come home. Milo reflects on what he heard on the show as he eats dinner.

“What’s on your mind, Milo?” Milo’s mom asks.

“Oh, nothing important.”

“Do you want to hear something exciting? Dad and I got a promotion?”

“Oh really?”

“Yup. That means we can get you more things and go to bigger places on our vacations.”

“How did you get your promotion so quickly?”

“Your dad and I know how to pull strings in the company. Other people in the company may have to be moved around, but it’s worth it so we can get by, go on vacations, and buy whatever we want. Don’t you think so?”

Milo remembers what Pal the Pirate said. He thinks it connects to how his parents work and how they take other jobs that people had and worked hard to get. To him, it makes sense that his parents could do whatever they wanted to because of their hard work invalidated the hard work of their coworkers. Inspired by this, he comes up with a plan for the next day at school. His targets are set on a boy who he thinks should be brought down a peg or two.

Raymond is a boy whose brother has recently run away without a trace. He’s hogging all the attention ever since he arrived and the sympathy he’s been getting only adds to it. To bring him down, Milo doesn’t have to do much. During a test, he sees Raymond cheating on a test. Raymond feels Milo’s watching eyes, panics, and exposes his cheat sheet. The teacher sends him to the principal’s office to punish him. At lunch, rumors spread as Raymond’s reputation diminishes.

It then comes out at the end of the day that someone who overheard the principle’s conversation that Raymond admitted to cheating on tests and giving people false advice so that he could remain popular and not be lonely. Milo feels like he had a part in Raymond’s drop in reputation despite not doing anything. He takes note of what Raymond in the hopes of using his tactics for his own use. When Milo gets home, he feels the need to hear what Pal says on the show today, so he turns on the TV to see the show beginning with Pal sailing across the sea. Pal the Pirate has a green iris instead of the brown one he had the last time, but it doesn’t raise any questions in Milo’s mind.

“Hello, boys and girls! I’m glad that you’re back to listen to this scoundrel of the seas. The one and only Pal the Pirate, your best pal and favorite pirate! You must know a lot about those people who don’t deserve what they have. What am I reminding you all of this for? I know for a fact that you’re the smartest of the smart because you’re here listening to me. Well, you should do what I do and take whatever you want from them as long as you don’t get caught like Raymond here.”

Pal’s ship stops at a small island that barely fits a larger boy that looks almost exactly like the Raymond Milo knows. This Raymond has black hair, his hair partially shaved, no eyebrows, bandages on his face, and an eyepatch. He wears a striped black and white shirt with black pants as if he were a prisoner. His hands seem to be bound together with black duct tape; however, the camera shows it. Raymond’s face is terrified with tears running down only one of his eyes.

“This boy is one of our daily viewers. He was recently caught doing the wrong thing. How could you do it, Raymond? You were doing so well. Why couldn’t you be like your brother, Ray?”

“I-I’m sorry! I felt like someone was watching me and I slipped,” Raymond confesses.

“And now you’ve paid the price! Your eye, eyebrows, and patch of hair are doing me nicely. I hope you’ve learned your lesson.”

Pal sails away from a crying Raymond. Milo feels chills after seeing who he thinks might’ve been the Raymond he knew. How did he get on the show and what happened to him?

“That boy got what he deserved. Don’t you worry one bit about that, boys and girls. This is what happens when you go too far with your shenanigans. Remember that the next time to act mischievous. Above all, don’t get caught. You know you went too far when you get caught, so enjoy yourselves as much as you want until that day. Take what is rightfully yours. Take it from those who don’t deserve it. Thank you all for listening to this old pirate again. See ye all again later. Some sooner than later. Hahaha!”

Again inspired by Pal the Pirate, Milo heads out of his house with a large backpack. He puts on a mask that has a similar look and smile to Pal’s face. His parents are going to be home later because of their new job, so he has plenty of time to himself. Milo goes to several houses he’s seen to steal the valuables he wants. He’s passed these houses before on his walks and has admired his neighbor’s possessions for a while. Now, he doesn’t need to be jealous of them anymore as he takes what he wants.

While sneaking through a house, he sees that a family is watching Adventures Into the Forbidden with Pal the Pirate on.

“There you go, boy! That’s how you be a pirate!” Pal says.

Milo feels as if Pal is encouraging him, so he continues with his theft. Once his bag is full, he goes back home, drops off his stuff, then goes back out for more. Again, he finds another family watching Adventures Into the Forbidden with Pal the Pirate.

“Keep going, boy! You’re doing me proud,” Pal says.

This time Milo brings home a big bag of valuables. Milo has robbed dozens of houses blind. Since he’s on a roll, he goes out again to steal from a few more houses. In one of the houses, he tries to take more than he can carry and is seen by someone. He tries to hide but is found again, so he drops what he has and runs out of the house. While heading home, he becomes anxious as he feels as if someone is chasing him. To make sure no one is following him, he heads home and locks all the doors.

As Milo begins to calm down, something knocks him out from behind and kidnaps him. He wakes up to see Pal the Pirate on his face with Pal’s hands cutting at his face with his sharp hand.

“You got caught, boy,” Pal says before Milo is knocked out again.

Milo wakes up sitting a small island on the set of Adventures Into the Forbidden just like Raymond. Milo is also dressed and tied up like Raymond while an eyepatch on his eye that feels numb. Pal’s ship sails to Milo as a camera in the darkness records them. Pal’s one eye is blue now instead of green. The same color as Milo’s.

“This boy is one of our daily viewers. He was caught red handed in his crime and dropped all his valuable loot. How could you do it, Milo? You were doing so well. Why didn’t you stop while you were ahead?”

“I-I was getting ahead of myself. I thought I could do one more run,” Milo answers.

“And now you’ve paid the price! Your eye, eyebrows, and patch of hair are doing me nicely. I hope you’ve learned your lesson.”

Pal sails away as the camera follows him and leaves Milo crying in the dark. Milo is reported missing after his robberies. A week passes until he is found in the garbage can at his house. No one knows how he got there all bruised, scratched, and out of it with a missing eye. All that he kept saying was how sorry he was to a non-existent puppet named Pal the Pirate.