by B. C. Harris
It’s quickly apparent that we are never going to make it to the jungle before the flying object reaches us. It’s moving far too fast. In spite of this reality, I continue to run for my life.
Drew is out in front of all of us with Jasmin racing after him. Jamie, Capurni and I are struggling to catch up with them. The soft sand makes it difficult to run.
I realize that Michael is no longer with us.
I stop.
Michael is standing by himself a little distance back on the beach. He’s digging into his backpack.
The flying object is getting closer. In another few seconds it will rip us apart with its weapons.
Michael throws a small object into the air. I guess that it’s a nan-drone, but I can’t understand why he’s doing this. It’s not going to help us to get more video of a flying object. We need to escape.
I take my emerald and point it at the flying object. Our only hope is for me to blast the object out of the sky. If I do this, I wonder how long it will take the Zelareans to figure out that their emerald has returned. Once this occurs, I will be the most hunted person on this planet.
Suddenly the flying object veers away from us. It’s rapidly descending. It’s diving towards the ocean.
The flying object hits the surface of the ocean, exploding in a fiery ball.
Black smoke drifts upwards.
“Not bad,” a familiar voice says.
It’s Michael. He’s now standing beside me. I didn’t even notice him walking to me.
“Not bad? What do you mean?”
Michael grins from ear to ear as he tucks his spy-pad back into his backpack.
“They’ll never know what happened. They’ll think the plane had a mechanical failure.”
“What did you do?”
He smiles awkwardly like a kid who stole some cookies from a cookie jar. “I sent a nano-drone to jam its flight systems. It caused them to lose control of their plane.”
“And crash into the ocean,” I say. “Let’s get out of here. I have a feeling that soon we’re going to be seeing other Zelareans.”
Michael looks satisfied. It’s almost as though he was playing a video game.
As I turn back towards the jungle, Jasmin and Capurni are reaching the edge of it. Jamie is walking back towards Michael and me. Drew is nowhere in sight.
“Let’s go,” I say. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
I begin to run, hoping there are no more sand creatures.
Soon Michael, Jamie and I are running stride for stride.
“Emily, what happened? Why did that flying object crash?” Jasmin says as we draw closer to her.
I’m too short of breath to reply to her.
At the edge of the jungle, there are flowers that are bigger than my head. They remind me of the huge flowers that Capurni, Jamie and I experienced on our previous visit. I wonder if they’re about to fly away.
“Michael blew it up,” I say, finally answering Jasmin’s question.
Her wide eyes express her surprise.
Walking past Jasmin I look closer at the large flowers, each one about the size of a Frisbee.
Each flower has what appears to be a face in between its bright yellow petals. Each face has a large eye in its center that is made up of many smaller eyes. The smaller eyes look in multiple directions, each appearing to be independent of the other.
As I take another step, dozens of small eyes shift in unison and look directly at me. There’s something unnerving about having a flower look at me. I’m not sure what I should do next. Is the flower friendly or is this another danger we have to worry about?
“What’s next?” Michael asks Capurni as I continue to stare at the flowers.
“Let’s get a little further into the jungle and then use the emerald to see if we can locate any caves,” Capurni answers as he takes a few tentative steps deeper into the tangled growth.
After my encounter with a frightening creature on the beach and from my previous visit here, I’m not eager to go any further into the jungle. My mind is already imagining a multitude of bizarre animals that are waiting in the thick vegetation for us.
“We must find the caves with the drawings,” Capurni says to all of us, attempting to motivate us. “Finding the caves is our mission.”
No one responds to Capurni. I think we’re all looking for an excuse not to enter the jungle.
“Where’s Drew?” Jasmin asks.
I look for Drew. I can’t see him.
“Drew!” Jasmin shouts.
There’s no response.
The others are twisting their heads as they look for Drew, although it’s obvious that no one is eager to step further into the jungle to search for him.
“Drew!” Michael shouts.
Several shrieks tumble from the jungle. They sound like frightened birds.
- 21 -
MISSING
Not only is Drew missing, but we quickly discover that he’s far away from us. Using his spy-band, Jamie was able to determine Drew’s current location from the GPS tracking device that is built into Drew’s spy-band.
“How could he already be so far away from us?” Jasmin asks.
“He’s continuing to move away from us at a rapid pace,” Jamie says as he continues to monitor information on his spy-band.
“He’s must have been captured,” Michael says. “It would be impossible for him to be moving through the jungle so quickly on his own. Someone, or something, has taken him; someone familiar with a path through the jungle.”
“Or someone who is flying,” Jamie says.
“What are we going to do?” Jasmin moans in a theatrical display of emotion. “We’ve got to save him.”
Although I’m sure we all agree with Jasmin’s desire to save Drew, how do we even begin?
“Drew’s gone,” Jamie says, his voice full of concern.
“Gone?” Jasmin says, her voice rising. “What do you mean he’s gone?”
“There’s no longer any signal from his spy-band,” Jamie says.
“Maybe it’s been damaged,” Michael suggests.
“No, that’s not possible,” Jasmin cries out. “How can he be gone? Emily, can’t you use your emerald to find him?”
Of course I can, I think. Sometimes I forget about my emerald.
Holding my emerald, I say, “Akem, Drew.”
Nothing happens.
“Impossible,” I say. He can’t just vanish.
I try again.
“Akem, Drew.”
Once again, nothing happens. There’s only a cloudy unrecognizable image in my emerald.
We move closer to each other. If Drew can vanish, then so can the rest of us if we get separated from each other.
- 22 -
HYPNOTIC PERFUME
Michael and Jamie are both trying to make contact with Drew using their spy-bands.
Their faces reflect their failure to locate him.
The dense blanket of every color in the rainbow erupts with an endless variety of sounds, almost like a thousand people, each speaking a different language trying to compete with each other to be heard.
A few steps away from me, a purple tree that threads upwards through a twisted mass of blue vines, seems to be saying something.
A talking tree?
As I glance around me, I come to the realization that the plants and trees are making various noises. Are they talking to each other? Is it really possible that the plants and trees can communicate?
“They’re sending a message across the jungle that we’re here,” Capurni says as he moves closer to the tall purple tree.
“What do you mean?” Jasmin asks, fear evident in her voice.
Jasmin begins to step away from the jungle. As one of her feet touches the sand, she stops. The look on her face sums up our current situation. We are trapped between a beach, with hideous creatures waiting beneath the sand to snatch us, and the jungle with unknown dangers lurking everywhere.
“We can’t contin
ue to stand here,” Capurni says. “We need to enter the jungle.”
“Where will we go?” Jasmin asks.
“Why don’t we begin by seeing if Emily can use her emerald to locate the caves?”
“What about Drew?” Jasmin says.
None of us have an answer for her.
I hold the emerald in front of me. My friends crowd closer to me.
“Akem, caves on the island of Elpis,” I say.
A cloudy picture forms in the emerald that is so distorted that it doesn’t make any sense.
There’s something very strange happening on this island.
“Jamie, can you use your spy-band to point us in the direction to the place where you had the last contact with Drew?” Capurni asks.
“I think so,” Jamie says.
Jamie touches his spy-band.
He says, “Last GPS coordinates for Drew.”
I don’t think that any of us are too keen on going any deeper into the jungle.
Jamie looks at Capurni. “I’ve got the last GPS coordinates for Drew before he vanished.”
I glance at each of my friends. I get the feeling that none of them want to enter the jungle.
I look at Capurni and reluctantly nod as if to say, “Let’s go.”
What choice do we have? We can’t leave Drapesia without Drew.
“Follow me,” Jamie says nervously as he takes a few steps further into the jungle. His eyes are glued to his spy-band as he plots a course for us.
I’m immediately behind Jamie with Michael, Jasmin and Capurni all pushing against me. It’s obvious that no one wants to be left alone at the back of our little line.
A few steps into the dense vegetation and the humidity hits me like someone throwing a pail of warm water at me. The ground is slippery. There’s no actual path for us to travel on so we twist our way over exposed roots and through vines, tree trunks and a maze of vegetation that is splashed with color like Picasso designed it.
As I lose my footing stepping over a large root, I grab a branch to steady myself. Unexpectedly the branch vibrates and emits a sound of pleasure as though I’m tickling a baby.
Jerking my hand away from the branch, it moans as though it’s sad.
I reach out to the branch again and softly stroke it. Soon the tree is purring like a contented cat. As I continue to softly touch the moist, neon orange branch it vibrates, sending a shiver of pleasure into my hand.
“Hold up,” Jamie says.
Capurni, Jasmin and Michael are in front of me. Next is Jasmin and then me. I’m now alone at the end of the line.
Capurni says, “We need to stay together. Remember what happened to Drew when he separated from us.
I rush to catch up with the others, almost knocking Jasmin over in the process.
Soon we’re walking tightly together again.
When Jasmin unexpectedly stops, I bump into her.
She’s looking at an incredible array of flowers.
The stunning flowers are dangling from the branches of a large yellow tree, its trunk smooth like silk. Some of the flowers are purple while others are pink. Some are a deep orange and some are a brilliant red. I’m not sure whether the flowers are part of the tree or whether they are attached to various vines that have crept around the tree.
“Smell that?” Jasmin says as she takes a step closer to the hanging flowers. “It smells like a fragrant perfume.”
Taking a step closer, I get a whiff of the pleasant smell. It’s almost hypnotic. I find myself wanting to get closer.
“Wait,” Michael says, after stepping back to join us. “This could be a trap.”
There are hundreds of the delicate flowers hanging from the branches of the trees around us. The center of each flower is glowing as though a neon light has been set inside the luminesce petals.
The beautiful aroma begs me to come closer.
“Don’t move,” Michaels says sternly.
Jasmin’s fingers are already reaching out to touch one of the flowers. Suddenly a vine from the tree snaps around Jasmin jerking her off the ground.
Jasmin screams, but her cry of terror is brief. A vine is wrapped around her like a snake. She’s being choked.
I point my emerald at the vine that has ensnarled Jasmin.
“Abruella!” I shout.
A bolt of lightning strikes the vine causing a burst of fire.
At the same moment, another vine whips at me, barely missing.
Before any of us can take further action, another vine has wrapped itself around Jasmin. She’s now dangling above us, her breath being squeezed out by the powerful grip of the vine.
“Abruella!” I scream “Abruella!”
Bolts of lightning fly from my emerald smashing against the vine. As one vine shrivels from the flashes, another one takes its place.
“Try hitting the tree trunk,” Jamie says.
I direct bolts of lightning at the trunk of the tree. It moans. I continue blasting it.
Suddenly the tree vaporizes in a cloud of smoke and dust.
Jasmin drops.
Michael attempts to catch her. Although he’s unsuccessful, he breaks her fall as they both tumble to the ground.
“Look!” Jamie exclaims. “They’re back.”
Jamie is looking into the sky.
Although it’s difficult to get a clear view through the thick vegetation that is surrounding us, there are at least ten more flying objects like the one that Michael shot down earlier on the beach. The Zelareans have come to seek their revenge on us.
What are we going to do?
Jasmin is on the ground, groaning in pain. Michael is holding his leg.
“Over here,” an unfamiliar voice says.
Glancing in the direction of the voice, a humungous orange tree trunk opens as though it’s an elevator waiting for us.
Jamie and I pull Jasmin to the trunk of of the tree. Capurni helps Michael.
“You will be safe here,” a soft voice says.
I’m amazed at how still the jungle has become. It’s almost as if every living creature on the island is afraid of the Zelareans. Minutes ago, the jungle was deafening; now its silence is terrifying.
Being inside the tree trunk is like being jammed into a narrow closet, but none of us are complaining. We’re hidden from the Zelareans.
What if the flying objects land?
Perhaps it’s time to use my emerald to return back home, even if this means leaving Drew behind.
Capurni sticks his head outside the tree trunk. He looks upwards. Instantly he pulls himself back inside. His eyes are wide with fear.
“There’s a flying object hovering at the top of this tree.”
They’ve found us, I think. Any minute now, they will attack.
Suddenly the inside of the tree, where we’re hiding, shifts. The ground below us opens. Unexpectedly, we’re sliding rapidly through a tunnel.
- 23 -
THE DRAWINGS
My rapid descent comes to an abrupt stop in a large pool of water. In spite of the fear caused by what is happening, the water feels refreshing.
My friends are swimming nearby.
We’re in a large underground opening. Streams of light are pouring down from crevices in the natural rock ceiling. The closer I look at the walls and ceiling, the more I’m beginning to think that the surfaces are acting like a gigantic mirror.
“Over here,” a familiar voice says. It’s Capurni. He’s standing on a wide ledge beside the pool of water.
I swim towards Capurni.
“What about our spy-bands?” I shout to Michael.
“Waterproof,” he answers.
I should have known.
Reaching Capurni, I pull myself out of the water.
Gazing around me, I discover two smaller tunnels leading away from the pool of water. It appears that one of them could be reached by walking along the ledge while the other one would require a short swim to get to it.
“Any thoughts on which tunnel we
take?” I say to Capurni.
Capurni is focused on something else. He’s bending over to inspect one of the tunnel walls. Jamie is beside him. I step closer to them.
“Look at this,” Capurni says, pointing towards some markings on the wall. “Someone has drawn pictures.”
“Looks like a map,” Jamie says.
I see the drawings they are referring to. The surface of the wall is reflective like a mirror even though it appears to be part of a natural rock formation.
“That must be the pool of water,” Jamie says as he points to a circle that has what appears to be ripples or small waves on it. “The drawing shows the two tunnels.”
Jamie’s fingers trace the lines on the wall. The drawings are a blue color. They look like they were made recently, rather than being something that was made a long time ago.
“These are fresh drawings,” Capurni says to confirm my thoughts. “I think that someone is trying to give us directions.”
“Or lead us into a trap,” Jasmin says. She pulls herself out of the pool.
Jamie’s fingers travel over what appears to be a picture of the tunnel leading from the pool of water.
“That looks like a monster,” Jamie says as his fingers touch one of the crude drawings.
Although I wouldn’t have come to the same conclusion as Jamie on first looking at the picture, I see what appears to be a mouth of vicious teeth slashing through the air. Or, perhaps we are letting our imaginations run wild and what we are looking at is no more than a bunch of random squiggly lines. Then again, who drew them? And why?
“What are we going to do?” Jasmin asks. “We have to find Drew.”
No one responds to Jasmin. Right now it would appear that the drawings on the walls are more important to the others than finding Drew.
Michael is running his hand along one of the walls as though he’s looking for something.
“Find anything?” Jamie asks.
“Yes,” Michael says as he turns back towards the rest of us. “This cavern is not a natural formation. It has been built by someone.”
“How can you tell?” I ask, at the same moment observing Capurni taking a closer look at the walls.
“The walls are too smooth to have been formed naturally,” Michael says. “If you look closely at them, you can see thin grooves in the walls where the materials were joined together.”
