EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the fifth chapter in a 12-chapter fictional tale that will run through Christmas Day. Parents are encouraged to read aloud to their children.

By the time they reached the edge of Gumdrop Cove, the air had changed. The scent of cocoa still clung faintly to Molly’s clothes, but here it mixed with something fruitier — citrus, spice and sugar so thick it almost made her teeth ache just to breathe.

They crouched behind a tuft of sugargrass. Down below, thousands of gumdrops were scattered across the sand like seashells, glowing in every shade of the rainbow. Beyond them, larger gumdrops lined the edge of the beach like boulders.

It looked peaceful, but Molly knew better.

She’d grown up hearing stories about the wardens of Gumdrop Cove and their syrup nets. Any trespassers they caught were sent home covered in syrup so thick and sticky it took years to wash off.

Now she saw them for herself: tall figures in dark red armor moving between the gumdrops, their shiny helmets glinting in the light. Bells hung from their belts, chiming softly with each step. Every so often, one would ring their bell three or four times, and another would answer from across the cove.

Jax frowned. “So how are we supposed to get past them?”

“Just wait,” Molly said, seeing a pattern in their patrols. “They loop around the cliffs every few minutes.”

When the wardens disappeared behind a ridge, they hurried down the slope and crouched as low as possible while still moving quickly before the wardens returned.

Once they reached the beach, the ground squished when they walked over the gumdrops covering the shore. The boulders ahead were smooth and round, though some were cracked from years of wind and sun.

One of them had split completely open, and Molly stopped, intrigued by a faint glow coming from within. She carefully reached inside, pulling out a cluster of tiny jewel-shaped gumdrops. They were clear as glass, their colors vivid and bright.

“They’re beautiful,” she said as the sunlight hit them, scattering rainbows across the sand. “Like little gems.”

Molly turned one over in her palm, her thoughts racing. She could see them used as decoration somehow. An idea flickered in her brain again but didn’t materialize.

She slipped a handful of the sparkling gumdrops into a pouch and tucked it into her pack, then froze. A sound drifted through the gumdrops, faint but unmistakable — the jingle of bells from the wardens’ belts.

A warden emerged from the gumdrops, directly in front of them. The bell on his belt rang out three jingles, and until then Molly didn’t know that bells could possibly sound menacing.

“Run!” Molly screamed.

Sugary sand flew beneath their shoes as they bolted through the cove. Behind them bells jingled wildly, echoing between the gumdrops.

They darted between two giant orange domes, Molly’s heart hammering with every step. Every turn looked the same, all bright colors and endless twists and turns.

“We need higher ground!” she called.

“Up there.” Jax pointed ahead. “After those blue ones! It slopes up!”

They turned the corner and nearly collided with a warden. His armor glinted in the sun, and his syrupy net shimmered like liquid glass.

Molly froze. If that net even so much as grazed her, she would stick to everything she touched for years.

Jax scooped up a handful of sugar sand and tossed it. When it rained down across the warden’s helmet, he stumbled.

“Go!” Jax shouted.

They tore past the warden, syrup splattering the sand behind them as the warden’s net fell short. They sprinted toward the cliff just up ahead, which was steep but climbable.

The rock was slippery with melted sugar, but pure adrenaline fueled Molly upward. Jax hauled himself up beside her, and with one last push, they tumbled onto the top of the ridge. Molly rolled onto her back, trying to catch her breath. The sky above was glowing orange as the sun began to set.

Jax groaned. “Well, I can see why Gumdrop Cove has the reputation it does. Let’s find a safe spot to camp out for the night. And then, Marshmallow Mountain?” He gestured toward the bright white mountains in the distance.

Molly nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

The evening was quiet now, and the sound of the wardens’ bells was just a memory. She thought about what she’d gathered so far: the tin of chocolate mortar, chocolate kisses and the small gumdrop gemstones. Each piece felt important, like they were meant to fit together in a way she didn’t understand yet.

But as she looked at Marshmallow Mountain looming ahead, promising adventures yet to come, she knew that she was getting closer.

Read chapter 6 in tomorrow’s newspaper.