Green Planet

by Anthony E. Southby

  ‘Philip Birch was here with his mother on Thursday morning,’ Dr Rubenstein said, leaning back in his chair looking very puzzled. ‘She happened to mention this teleport pyramid thing to me, and it sounded very much like the same object that you say you apparently saw, Mr Hurly.’

  ‘Yes but it can’t be real, doctor,’ he replied, ‘the thing I saw was like something out of a science fiction movie. The next thing I know, you will have to admit me. Can you imagine what something like that could do to my reputation? Imagine the news headlines, “SCHOOL PRINCIPAL FOR PSYCHIATRIC EVALUATION”. That would be the death of me doctor.’

  ‘Have you considered the possibility that they may have hypnotised you somehow, Mr Hurly?’

  ‘Frank and Philip hypnotising me?’ Mr Hurly sniggered. ‘Not very likely, sir. Maybe someone with half a brain, but not those two palookas.’

  ‘Those boys also saw it though, didn’t they, Mr Hurly? In fact, they have apparently had close encounters with those alien creatures, haven’t they?’

  ‘So they say, doctor. So they say.’

  ‘You being here today will be our secret, Mr Hurly.’ Dr Rubenstein stood to his feet and handed him a small packet of orange tablets. ‘All I think is that you are suffering from too much stress over the issue, and I think that you just need to calm yourself a little. Take one in the morning and one at night, and you should be feeling as right as rain within a couple of days.’

  Mr Hurly stood up slowly and nodded his head, still looking very puzzled. As he walked out of the door Dr Rubenstein called after him, ‘Do you still intend expelling those boys Mr Hurly?’

  The school principal paused momentarily and said, ‘Most certainly not. I think that the best thing to do would be just to forget that any of this had ever happened. Can you imagine if any of this ever got out to the press? I mean, I couldn’t just lie about this, now could I? I saw what I saw doctor.’

  Mr Hurly closed the door quietly behind himself, scanning the empty consulting room for any potential blabbermouths. The place was empty.

  Dr Rubenstein stood at his desk speculating the possibility of the Malco pyramid and foreign planets being a reality. His mind was just far too practical to indulge himself in any magical wishy-washy though, so he expelled the topic from his mind altogether.

  Frank and Philip resumed their lives as ordinary schoolboys once again. Philip had suddenly sprung up from being an inferior nobody to being the number one schoolboy stud. Frank on the other hand learnt to control his temper and got on well with everyone in his form, everyone, including fat Robert, that is.

  Mr Hurly was feared by every scholar at Senton High, besides Frank and Philip. He avoided them at any cost. When he came across them on the school playground, he made a point of walking a large banana bend around them as if they were both infected with the black plague or some equally deadly disease. Even if they were sent to him for a caning, he refused the responsibility outright. It would be far better to be safe than sorry, if you know what I mean? After all, what chance would he have up against those interplanetary silver ball friends of theirs?

  Chapter 29

  ‘E-e-e-e-eh chir e-e-e-chirip e-e.’ Mathias attempted to conjure up an evil magic spell in monkey code, but it hadn’t worked very well because the dark side couldn’t make head or tail of what exactly he was trying to command them to do.

  ‘Get working!’ Squidget commanded, bouncing alongside him like a springy jack-in-the-box. ‘There’s a lot of land still to cover before nightfall, monkey wizard.’ Squidget walked alongside Mathias like a prison warden, watching him sow seed of every description into neat little furrows which had been carved into the soil by the little animals inhabiting the woods. He had made countless attempts to try and escape from his tiresome chore, so Chimzen finally decided to shackle him with a ball and chain to make sure that he paid the price for the terrible destruction he had brought upon several plants and trees.

  When Mathias attempted to leap onto Squidget in a wild attack, he made a hasty retreat, aided by his magic jumping ointment. The ball and chain held him back while the birds gave him a sharp pecking on his scruffy blue striped monkey head. It was payback time for all the animals inhabiting the woods, to punish him for all the cruel things he had done to them over the years.

  Chimzen had magically immobilized all the wiggling piles of ant body part remains, and commanded them into Mathias’s old dwelling shaft, with the aid of his powerful staff.

  The wicked monkey gazed in horror while ant abdomens, ant heads and pincers rolled in like bowling balls knocking his home for a strike, then filled to the brim with clumps of fertile soil. His torture camp disappeared in an instant, flattened level by dozens of squirrels, tortoises, and other tiny furry four-legged creatures.

  Chimzen looked on while Mathias sowed his final row of seed, spreading it painstakingly over the land much against his wicked judgement. The pecking on the back of his head had stung to the point of being unbearable, and he toiled and sweated in the sun in desperation to complete the chastening task.

  ‘Enough! I’ve had enough!’ he wailed, tossing the last handful of seed over the enormous opening in misery. ‘Please don’t punish me any longer, cousin, please!’ Without paying him any attention, Chimzen inspected the seed furrows carefully. He then raised his hand, motioning the little animals all to stay clear.

  He waved his staff in a slow even motion over the land, ranting under his breath:

  ‘Oh barren soil of past, where there once were trees,

  Allow thy seed to feel the warmth, and the gentle summer breeze,

  With a rumble beneath the ground,

  Allow my powers to stir a sound,

  The electrifying magical beat,

  That makes the seed to sprout in heat,

  To populate the barren land right now,

  A magnificent rebirth this very hour.’

  With those words the ground began to shake and quiver, with a top soil tremor like the first signs of a tremendous earthquake. Tiny shoots started sprouting from the surface and rapidly germinated into full bloom. Countless sprouts thickened and launched upwards, exploding into enormous trees, while others bloomed into the smaller specimens of plant life that once inhabited the woods. Not intelligent life like on Floran, of course, just your ordinary typical earth bloomers, if you know what I mean?

  Mathias struggled to avoid a large pine tree exploding into existence beneath him, and he flew right up after it, until the large steel ball shackled to him finally jerked free and yanked him right back down to earth with a thump.

  The once barren land was now densely populated with a splendid array of magnificent trees and plants, spread out across the land, blending perfectly with its surroundings like it always had before.

  ‘Hooray!’ the animals screamed, overwhelmed that their day of reckoning had finally dawned. Free at last! Free at last! Peace and harmony flooded the woods at last. An abundance of furry creatures appeared from nowhere, chattering amongst themselves in triumph. Finally free to roam their territory like all God’s creatures were intended to do. Thousands of birds of all descriptions and colours flew across the flourishing woods flapping their wings in victory. They had received the message by word of beak that Mathias the treacherous had finally been defeated. The woods were alive with activity. Now that they were protected by a surrounding 8 foot wall, it was a densely populated sanctuary of trees and wild life, a place of peace.

  ‘Damn you, Chimzen,’ Mathias mouthed hatefully, then checked around to see if anyone had heard him, just in case he should receive another sharp pecking on his head. Chimzen gazed over the flourishing land, looking very pleased with the magnificent restoration that had just taken place. He had hoped for this wonderful day to arrive for a very long time, and now that it finally had, it felt to him like a distant hazy dream.

  The Malco trio zipped in between a squirrel climbing up a tree at a magnificent speed. What a relief it was for the silver balls not to have to worry about
Mathias’s deadly toxic yellow goo any longer, able to spin about the woods as free as a ball should be.

  As for Mathias, he remained a monkey, and more than likely is still one today. You see, the funny thing with evil people is, no matter what bad fortune comes across their paths, they never seem to learn from the experience, they only grow more resentful and bitter. Shame, that poor monkey will just have to come to terms with his nasty predicament because he’s on the losing side, outnumbered one to ten thousand furry creatures. Poor, poor Mathias, when will that monkey ever learn?

  * * * * * * * *

  And as far as the boys are concerned, well they have definitely learnt a few things about life from their little adventure, and they have changed a great deal for the better. And I guess you must be wondering if they will ever go on another adventure with Chimzen?

  Well, my friends, that is another story altogether.

  ABOUT THE GREEN PLANET SERIES

  When I first started writing Green Planet I wanted to create something that was completely new and exciting, so I created a world with unlimited potential. A foreign planet ruled by unique and weird plant creatures. A dark fantasy floral existence combined with a dash of humour to add a spark to the plot.

  Then came the magic elements with the introduction of wizards, flower fairies and magical balls. The action is fast, witty and interesting with the addition of several poem spells and other clever magical concepts.

  Most important of all, if you want teenagers and children to take an interest in your story, you need to include a couple. Frank with his schoolboy fighting attitude and Philip with his scruffy ways are both roped in as the main characters that join the Green Planet mission.

  The Green Planet novels are a series of exciting adventure stories designed for anyone who would like to escape. Strap yourself up tightly, clutch the pages firmly and enjoy the Green Planet ride.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Anthony E. Southby was born in a city called Germiston in South Africa in 1973 and has lived in the surrounding areas for most of his life.

  He was always a conscientious and creative child that enjoyed doing sketching and painting as a hobby, and later on he took Art as one of his main subjects at school.

  Anthony was tremendously talented when it came to the arts and achieved best actor award in the Transvaal Play Festivals in 1991.

  After school he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and struggled for many years to control the disease. He is now stable and lives a productive and normal life.

  Anthony keeps himself fit and enjoys cycling after hours. He has completed several marathon cycling races in his time.

  Anthony is a qualified draughtsman and has experience in the engineering industry.

  The art of writing has become Anthony’s true passion though, and several years after school he has discovered his ability to capture the true essence of a creative story. Anthony lives a quiet married life. He loves to escape into a world of fantasy where he draws on his imagination for his next book.

  If all else fails, discard the disability and believe in your ability.

  No matter how weird, unbelievable and twisted our lives may seem, it’s only a fleeting moment in the eternity of our existence.

  AUTHOR CONTACT INFORMATION

  Email: anthony.southby@gmail.com

  Blog: https://fantasyadventurebook.wordpress.com

  OTHER BOOKS BY ANTHONY E SOUTHBY

  Green Planet Under Fire (Book 2)

  COMING SOON

  Green Planet and the Doomsday Oil (Book 3 in the Green Planet Series)

  The Amazing Edwin (South African Story)

  The Secret of the Magic One