by Lesley-Anne
“Don’t be silly!” said Melody, even though she sounded uncertain. “There aren’t any lions here...I think. Anyway, what happened to all that big talk about fearless Danger Dan? Where is he now?”
“Danger Dan has fled!” replied Danny in a small voice. “Only a very scared Danny is left!” His voice got higher with each word and ended in a squeak.
The bushes shook and the leaves trembled, as if a creature was trying to push its way through. Danny froze and stared at the bushes in fear.
“It’s probably nothing,” said Melody bravely. “Probably just a—”
A red jungle fowl popped out from the bushes.
“CHICKEN!” screeched Melody. She ducked behind Danny.
Phew! It is only a chicken. Danger Dan recovers from his temporary lapse in courage. He glances at the chicken and waves his hands. “Oh, Sir Rooster, if you could be so kind, please be on your way. My assistant trembles in your wake and we need to proceed on our perilous journey.”
Danny shooed the jungle fowl away. “I’ll never understand your fear of birds, Melody,” he said. “Fancy being afraid of a little chicken!”
“It was not little!” huffed Melody. “And it’s wild! It could have...er…attacked!”
Danny rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right.” He looked around and sat on a dry rock. “Can we take a rest? I’m pooped.” Danny was not only tired, he was also thirsty. The afternoon heat was unbearable. He placed his red sling bag on his lap and opened it. “Luckily, I have my fun pack stuff with me!”
“Oh, I have mine too!” said Melody, as she pulled out a red drawstring bag from her jacket pocket. It was so small it fit snugly in the palm of her hand.
“THAT’S a fun pack?” scoffed Danny. “What’s inside? Marbles?” He took out a bottle of water from his bag. “Look, I have NEWater!”
“NEWater?” It was Melody’s turn to scoff. “My NEWater is strawberry flavoured. Yours isn’t NEWater. It’s OLD water.” To Danny’s astonishment, she reached into her tiny bag and pulled out a regular-sized drink bottle.
“Hey!” he exclaimed. “How did that fit into the bag? Is it magic?”
“Space-saving technology from the future,” replied Melody. “Nobody carries big, bulky bags any more.”
Danny pouted. He was both impressed and envious. Not wanting to be outdone, he pulled out a packet of chips from his bag. “I have chips!” he cried triumphantly.
Melody pulled out a tube of sweets. “I have Gooey Gooberberry Gummies.”
She peeled off the top wrapper and offered Danny one. Curious, he took a chocolate-coloured pastille with golden swirls and popped it in his mouth. The first thing he tasted was the chocolate ice cream. The cold, smooth mixture filled his mouth. Then he tasted chunks of sticky chocolate fudge followed by crunchy cookie bits. It ended with a hint of a rich, sweet cream.
“Wooaahh!” said Danny in wonder. “That’s the yummiest thing I’ve ever tasted! What is it?”
“I told you, it’s a Gooey Gooberberry Gummy. You got the Double Fudge Sundae flavour. It has cookie crumble and butterscotch cream inside.”
“No fair!” Danny looked at his packet of chips disdainfully and stuffed it back into his bag. He rummaged in the bag for more goodies and pulled out two light sticks. “At least I have light sticks! My favourite colour too—red!”
Melody whipped out a mini torch. Or rather, it looked like a mini torch.
Melody turned it on and it glowed. It emitted a bright beam of light that changed colour from red to yellow to orange. That was not all. The single beam split into many rays of light. Each ray was a different colour. The rays then flashed and waved from side to side, creating the image of a mini rainbow. Danny was spellbound. It was as if he had just seen an entire light show. And it all came from that tiny torch!
Danny looked down at his light sticks sadly and put them back into his bag. He then slowly pulled out a lion mask. “I have a lion mask,” he said, waving it half-heartedly.
Melody saw Danny’s mournful face and felt sorry for him. “Okay, you win then,” she said, trying not to smile. “I don’t have a lion mask.”
Danny studied his lion mask. He didn’t feel very victorious.
“Actually, you just gave me an idea,” said Melody, staring at the lion mask in Danny’s hand.
“What?”
“We can use the lion mask to make Sang Nila Utama think he saw a lion,” said Melody.
“Okay,” said Danny. “Where can we put it? The lion has to move, right?”
“You can wear it.”
“Whaaatt?” wailed Danny in dismay. “I don’t want to be a lion mascot! Why can’t you do it?”
“I have other stuff to do!” protested Melody. “I’ll use the Fly to spy on Sang Nila Utama, to make sure he says that he saw a lion.” Danny remembered using the Fly on his very first time-travelling adventure. It was a flying robot with a tiny wireless camera that recorded images and sounds.
“I should be the one operating the Fly!” said Danny. “I’m better at it! You be the lion!”
“It’s YOUR lion mask and MY Fly,” replied Melody adamantly. “That’s that.”
“But...but...no! I don’t want to!” Danny went into one of his sulks. Melody had all those cool gadgets and all he had was this...this...lion mask! It wasn’t fair.
“Stop pouting,” said Melody. “It’s time to go. We have to get to the coast quickly or we might miss Sang Nila Utama.”
Danny stood up and gave a huge yawn. It was past his bedtime in his own time period. “I’m so tired,” he said.
“I’ll give you something to help you along,” said Melody. She put her hand into her skirt pocket and took out a small purple bottle. Danny recognised it at once. “Energy Fizz Wizz!” he said delightedly. “Can I really have some?”
“Just one!” cautioned Melody. “Remember what happened when the dragon dancers had three? I want you to be energetic, not out of control.” She opened the bottle and took out a little transparent pellet. It had a sapphire shimmer. Danny held out his bottle of NEWater and Melody dropped the Energy Fizz Wizz into the drink.
The Energy Fizz Wizz dissolved, leaving no trace in the water.
Danny drank his NEWater greedily. And then he waited. At first nothing happened. Then…
Danger Dan feels as if every switch in his body has been turned on. He’s like a bottle of soda, bubbling over with energy! Every trace of sleepiness and tiredness disappears from him. Danger Dan is ready for action!
“Come on, Gadget Girl!” he says. “Let’s go!”
Danger Dan and Gadget Girl eagerly press on. This time, Danger Dan has no trouble keeping up. Nothing can stand in his way now. Not the heat, not the jungle, not the spiders. Off they go to foil the Sinister Spyder and save Singapore!
Danny and Melody soon emerged from a clearing and reached the coastline. It was almost evening so it wasn’t so hot any more. Danny took a deep breath and sat down on the beach to cool off. Melody unhooked a gadget from her belt. It was a pair of dark purple sunglasses.
“What are you doing?” asked Danny. “And what’s with the sunglasses?”
“They’re high-tech vision goggles!” replied Melody. She gave the sunglasses a tap. The grey-tinted lenses changed colour, becoming transparent and slightly thicker. “This function lets me see far into the distance,” she explained.
She stared into the horizon, using the goggles as a pair of binoculars. She soon spotted a lone ship and tapped her hair clip. After a minute, Danny heard the hair clip computer buzz: “Identity confirmed. Sang Nila Utama, estimated arrival: 20 minutes.”
“They’ll be here soon,” said Melody. “Come, we have to get you in position.” Danny and Melody went back into the jungle via a clearing which Sang Nila Utama was likely to pass through. Looking westwards, they saw a small hill not too far away.
“That’s a qwintastic spot for you to stand on!” said Melody. “Once Sang Nila Utama comes into the jungle, he won’t be able to miss you. Remember what
we discussed: you put on the mask and act, er...lion-like. I’ll hide behind these bushes and send the Fly out to eavesdrop on Sang Nila Utama.”
Danny paused. “We don’t know how the Sinister Spyder made Sang Nila Utama think he saw an orangutan,” he said thoughtfully. “What if he had the same idea as us? What if he is hiding in the jungle dressed up as an orangutan?”
“Just make a lot of noise!” said Melody impatiently. “Roar and scare him away!”
“Or what if he brought a REAL orangutan?” asked Danny. “What do I do then?”
“Roar and scare it away!”
Another thought occurred to Danny. “Hey, Sang Nila Utama saw the lion when he was hunting, right? What if he comes after me with a spear?”
“He never went after the lion, remember?” said Melody. She hesitated. “If he does, just run!”
“JUST RUN?” Danny gaped at Melody, aghast. “I don’t think you’ve thought this through, Melody!”
Melody was now frantic, expecting Sang Nila Utama to burst through the jungle at any minute. “Qwigglepuff! We don’t have time for this! You’ll be fine! Hurry up, he’ll be here soon!”
Melody pushed Danny forward and waved him off impatiently. Danny made his way towards the hilltop, mumbling under his breath. “I’ll be fine? Easy for you to say! You’re not the one with a lion target on your face!”
Danny stood on the hilltop and put on his lion mask. Act lion-like...act lion-like. He got down on all fours. No, he was too short. Sang Nila Utama wouldn’t be able to see him. Danny put his hands on his hips and puffed up his chest. He felt a little silly. He tried standing up tall and scratching the air with his make-believe claws. This was ridiculous!
Danger Dan takes off the mask and looks at it in disgust. No pose can make this mask look cool. He doubts that the Prince of Singapura will be fooled. The mask may bear the face of a roaring lion but it’s still just a piece of plastic.
Danger Dan has a brainwave. He will jazz up the mask so that it is worthy of the King of the Jungle! He reaches into his kit and pulls out the red light sticks. Perfect! Danger Dan shall give the Prince of Singapura a lion to remember!
Meanwhile, Melody had positioned herself behind a thick clump of bushes which hid her from view of anyone passing by. She unhooked the Fly from her necklace and placed it on the ground. Removing her hair clip, she used it to control the Fly. The hair clip projected a red hologram which displayed everything picked up by the Fly’s camera. There! She was ready for Sang Nila Utama. Hopefully, Danny was too.
Melody soon heard the sound of people coming into the jungle. It was Sang Nila Utama’s delegation! The men trudged through the vegetation and stopped close to Melody’s hiding place. Carefully, Melody fiddled with the controls. The Fly gained height and the hologram projected an image of the group.
There was a man in the centre with elaborate headgear—that must be Sang Nila Utama! Melody was thrilled to see the legend himself up close. She also noticed, rather uncomfortably, that he had a bow and arrow in his hands. She hoped he wasn’t intending to use it. The Fly picked up on a conversation.
“Well, Chief Minister, we’ll camp on the island tonight,” said Sang Nila Utama. “This looks like an interesting place. Maybe I’ll have a good hunt today!”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” said the Chief Minister, bowing. Melody worked the controls and the Fly made its way towards the front of the group. As the Fly scanned the images of the men, the Chief Minister’s face came into full view on Melody’s hologram. His moustache wiggled in a dreadfully familiar way. Melody gave an involuntary gasp. The Chief Minister was the Sinister Spyder!
Melody’s head reeled in shock. Of course! As the Chief Minister, the Sinister Spyder could tell Sang Nila Utama that the animal was an orangutan! That fiend! Melody wished she could warn Danny. She frantically manipulated the Fly to hover above the men.
“Look over there, Your Majesty!” said the Chief Minister aka the Sinister Spyder, pointing in Danny’s direction. “It’s an animal! It looks like—”
The Fly turned to face Danny. He stood on the hilltop against the backdrop of the setting sun with its fiery red, orange and violet hues. Beams of crimson light radiated from the eye holes of his lion mask.
The effect was electrifying. The lion mask now had wicked red eyes and it gave forth a frightening, infernal glow. Danny looked like a bloodthirsty lion spirit from another world.
“AARRGGHH!” Sang Nila Utama’s men stared at the ghastly figure in the distance and screamed in fright. They turned pale and shivered. “What’s that? What’s that?” they quaked.
A fearsome roar echoed through the jungle. The leaves on the bushes quivered and birds fluttered out of the trees.
Danny jumped. That roar had come from behind him! He swung around. A flash of orange. Glinting black eyes. Gleaming white teeth. Danny caught a brief glimpse of the large creature before it leapt into the bushes.
Lion? Tiger? Orangutan?? Panicking, Danny ran around in a circle. He removed the light sticks from the eye holes of his mask and waved them about wildly, as if fending off an imaginary creature.
Sang Nila Utama and his men stared in Danny’s direction transfixed. With the sky getting dark, all they could see was flash after flash of red light. The crimson rays streaked above the hilltop randomly. It looked like a bunch of evil spirits had descended upon the jungle.
Frightened out of their wits, Sang Nila Utama and his men backed towards the bushes where Melody was hiding. Afraid that they would bump into her, Melody took a step backwards.
Melody almost tread on a jungle fowl. It flew up from behind her, flapping its wings. “Eek!” Melody was so startled she lost her balance and tumbled out of the bushes. Sang Nila Utama and his men turned around, spooked by her sudden appearance.
Melody scrambled to her feet. Her hair had fallen over her face, covering it like a ragged, black veil. The hair clip lay on the ground, its red hologram shining upwards. Melody’s head was illuminated by an eerie red glow.
The agitated red jungle fowl scampered about at Melody’s feet. “AAARRGGHH!” Melody screamed and flailed her arms. With her hair covering her eyes, she couldn’t see the bird. But she imagined it was charging towards her. She shrieked hysterically. She danced and spun around. She stretched out her hands and pawed the air like a zombie, stumbling towards Sang Nila Utama.
It was all too much to take. The red jungle fowl screeched. Melody screeched even louder. Sang Nila Utama screeched the loudest of them all.
“AAARRRGGHHH! Pontianak! Vampire! Run!” Sang Nila Utama pushed past his men to get away, almost tripping over the red jungle fowl. “This island is haunted!” he shouted. “This is PULAU PONTIANAK!”
The men screamed, kicked up dirt and snapped branches. They climbed on top of each other in their attempts to be the first out of the jungle.
Soon the sound of frenetic footsteps faded. After the cloud of dust had settled, the jungle grew strangely quiet. All the men had fled. Even the red jungle fowl was gone. Melody brushed her hair from her face and picked up her hair clip. She directed the Fly back to her and replaced it on her necklace. She then sank to the ground and sat in a dejected heap.
Danny emerged from the trees, still wearing the lion mask. He was surprised to see Melody sitting on the ground. Her hair wasn’t neatly pinned in place as usual. In fact, it was a complete mess. Grasping a light stick in each hand, Danny waved both arms uncertainly. He looked down at Melody.
“Sooo…did it work?”
“You...you...QWIRKLEHEAD!”
Danny had never seen Melody so furious. She leapt up and went on a rampage. “I told you to just stand there and act like a lion but noooooo, that’s not good enough for Danny! You had to channel some crazy lion monster! Do you know what you’ve done? Why don’t you ever follow instructions? Why did I ever pick you to help me? OHHHHH!”
“So it didn’t work?” asked Danny timidly.
Melody flared up. “It didn’t just not work, you made it worse! N
ow Sang Nila Utama thinks Singapore is haunted! He’s going to call it Pulau Pontianak! Vampire Island! How do you like that?”
“Suddenly, Pulau Orangutan doesn’t sound so bad,” said Danny lamely.
“You’re still making jokes?” cried Melody, glaring at Danny. “Do you even understand the gravity of the situation?”
“Of course I understand gravity!” said Danny indignantly. “Do you think I’m dumb? Look.” He dropped one light stick and then pointed at the fallen light stick. “Gravity.”
“GGGGNNNNHHHH! You really don’t get it, do you? I’ll show you!” Melody pressed the hair clip in her hand and the hologram projected an image. It was the picture of a jungle, not too different from the one Danny and Melody were in.
Melody continued, “This is Singapore in the future! Everyone thought Singapore was haunted so nobody dared to come here! Singapore became a ghost town and remained undeveloped. We’ve wasted our time fixing all the other events in the past! In fact, now we wouldn’t even be born! We can’t go home because we won’t exist anymore!”
Danny felt the burden of his mistake on his shoulders. In a while, he wouldn’t even exist! “I’m sorry! I really messed up,” he said, terribly downcast. “Did I really look like a vampire?”
“That wasn’t you, that wa—” Melody suddenly stopped.
“Wasn’t me?” asked Danny, puzzled. “Then who was it?”
“Umm…”
Danny stared at Melody whose face had turned red. The realisation dawned on him. “You? It was YOU? And you’re blaming me?”
“Well, you started it!” protested Melody.
“But you were the pontianak!” retorted Danny indignantly. “And you made me stand on the hill where I was almost eaten by some wild animal!” He was fuming. How dare she make him feel bad when she was part of the problem too!
