Right at that moment, a hiker emerged from the forest that surrounded the cabin.
"What the hell?" he exclaimed, mostly out of shock. His eyes must have been playing with him, right? No way was he seeing what he thought he was seeing. A centaur. A female centaur. And it looked real.
The hiker's sudden appearance startled Karyn, making her drop the remote from her already fumbling grasp.
Jon (or rather Joan now) looked around for the stone, but didn't see it anywhere. It must have fallen to the ground. Which wasn't good, because as a centaur, Joan couldn't just bend over and pick it up.
The hiker took out a rope and used it to ensnare the confused centaur. Dollar signs filled his mind as he thought about the millions of dollars he'd get for showing off this mythical creature.
Karyn tried to pick up the remote, but her paws made it difficult. And by the time she did pick up the remote and change herself back to normal, it was too late. Joan and the hiker were already gone.
She looked around for the wishing stone, but couldn't find it. There were too many leaves on the ground. They made it difficult to find the stone. What was she going to do? How was she going to prevent her friend from becoming a zoo exhibit?
