Garbage Island

by Fred Koehler

  “Excuse me, Bright Scales,” said Archie to the snake. “I … I realize that everyone is rather famished, but it’s much worse for all of us when we hear you say it. Your voice echoes in the chamber, and it’s a bit unsettling, you know, to hear the, um, former nemesis of our people, the nightmare of our children’s stories, mumbling about how hungry she is. I imagine you can understand.”

  “I promised not to eat any of you,” Bright Scales replied testily. “But if I don’t eat soon I will expire. It’s the way of snakes.”

  And so, seeing no alternative, Archie decided not to wait for Merri’s signal. The army crept out of the passage and onto the island so Bright Scales could have breakfast.

  After the first few spiders they encountered, most of the members of the Order had forgotten their own hunger.

  “Crunchy,” exclaimed Bright Scales. “And chewy at the same time.”

  “With a flavor explosion right in the middle!” added Huxley. “Oooh! Mother! The small ones are sweeter!”

  Edward the Dung turned greener than normal, as though he might release his breakfast back into the wild.

  The army moved stealthily across the island, securing the wall as they went. Within every group, one soldier carried a small container of the oil Merri had brought—just in case they got caught in sticky web.

  “Nice shot, Archie,” said Huxley as another spider fell from the ramparts. The juvenile snake slithered up a mound of trash to retrieve the fallen spider and Archie’s arrow.

  “We won’t be able to stay hidden much longer,” said Captain Shift. “I can only hope we’ve secured enough of the island to keep them from surrounding us. How are our two secret weapons feeling?”

  “Excellent,” said Huxley.

  “Strong,” said Bright Scales.

  “We’ll finish clearing the badlands shortly. Then we’ll be within sight of the lagoon. That’s where all the families will be holed up and where the majority of the spider army should be lurking. With any luck you’ll have a straight shot into the lagoon. You lead the charge; we’ll follow and trap the spiders between us and you. As long as nothing unforeseen happens, that should be the end of it.”

  They scrambled over the last crest of the badlands to confront the unforeseen. Archie peered through the looking glass. Across the lagoon, Mr. Popli and more than a dozen other citizens hung from the gate, covered in sticky web. The ships! They’ve been captured! thought the shrew. But where is Merri?

  Then he turned his gaze downward. There, covering the ground like fallen ash, more spiders than he could count scrambled and clawed and climbed in all directions.

  Chapter 36

  At the edge of the badlands, Archie’s remaining citizen army took cover wherever they could find it—behind broken bottles, under sun-scorched grocery bags, or inside empty takeout containers. Archie conferred with Captain Shift. The best plan he could imagine required five times as many fighters, a dozen functional coil-powered engines, and two empty jars with holes poked in the lids. He didn’t even have the lids.

  Captain Shift offered no better ideas. “I thought we’d nearly won, but we’ve barely made a dent!”

  “A dozen snakes couldn’t eat that many,” said Bright Scales.

  “And the prisoners won’t have much time,” Archie muttered. “It may be too late already.”

  “It’s definitely not too late to run away,” suggested Edward the Dung.

  Rapping a fist against his head, Archie tried to connect the dots. Think, Archie. Think! This was his island. He knew it backward and forward. They hadn’t yet been spotted, so they still had the advantage of surprise. He had a workshop brimming with tools and useful things plus anything they could scavenge from the badlands. “What are spiders afraid of?”

  “The same things all animals fear,” said Captain Shift. “Starvation. Bad weather. Predators.”

  “Brilliant thinking,” said Edward unhelpfully. “And here we’ve handed them an island overflowing with prey, protected against the weather, and perfectly secure from just about anything that would want to swim up or climb over. We may as well roll ourselves in seasoning and surrender.”

  “You’re right about one thing,” said Archie. “We can’t beat them by land or sea. We need our own air force!”

  “And I suppose you’ve got one in that satchel of yours,” Edward chided.

  But the shrew’s mind was already churning, calculating times and distances and materials. At last he looked at Bright Scales with a lopsided grin. “Maybe not a whole air force. But what if we had a dragon?”

  Bright Scales reared back, turned her head sideways, and considered the shrew. “I don’t think I’m going to like this idea.”

  Captain Shift hastily prepared a small, elite rescue squad to free the captured citizens. Archie directed the majority of the troops back at the Watchtower.

  “Add more sticky web to the second joint on the left wing! Careful not to get it on your hands. Are the seams holding? Good! Good! Reginald, how’s the harness coming along? Excellent! Janice, how’s work on the bell tower? Marvelous!”

  “I don’t suppose we could still attempt to offer terms of peace?” asked Bright Scales.

  “The spiders aren’t much for talking, in my experience,” said Archie. “Besides, haven’t you ever wondered what it’s like to fly?”

  “Yes. And I imagined that I would not like it at all.”

  “Oh. Well. That’s unfortunate.”

  “So we’re supposed to run and scream?” asked Edward. “I’m quite confident I can do that.” From the edge of the badlands between the Watchtower and Merri’s perch, the rescue squad waited for their signal.

  “This is the craziest idea that shrew has ever had,” replied Captain Shift. “There is absolutely no way it’s going to work.”

  And then came a roar. A hollow, rumbling tone that shook the ground and made Captain Shift stumble toward Edward. Every arachnid eye turned toward the sound. There, rising from the top of the Watchtower, the spiders and citizens beheld a great winged serpent. Its body writhed. Its jaws snapped, fangs glistening in the sun. Huge bat-like wings cast an ominous shadow across the badlands. A monster of legend had arrived on Garbage Island, and spiders and citizens alike trembled.

  “Oh my,” said Captain Shift. “This may work after all. CHARGE!” Her troops scrambled out of the badlands and rushed the spider army. The ground shook again. Spiders faltered and fell. Between the earth-shaking rumble, the vision of the winged beast, and the surprise of the troops charging with saltwater cannons, the spiders began to turn and retreat.

  Pack instinct and fear took over. Like a wave growing in size, the spider army fled before Captain Shift. Her battalion of ten routed hundreds of spider warriors. Out of the turnip gardens, past the lagoon, up and over the ramparts they raced, slipping and sliding down the oiled wall and into the ocean. Some curled up and sank when the salt stung their exoskeletons like acid. Most scrambled across the water onto the emptied warships from the islanders’ armada. They rowed. They sailed. The ones who couldn’t make it onto a ship scurried on their own legs. Anything to get away from the terror that plagued this island.

  Archie, Huxley, and the rest of the soldiers not tending to Bright Scales joined the pursuit. As they reached Captain Shift and her troop at the top of the wall, they laughed. Their island was free of spiders.

  “We did it!” Archie squealed, hugging the larger gecko around the middle. “They’re gone!”

  “Yes, sir, but—”

  “But what? They’re swimming away like frightened minnows!”

  “They’ve taken Merri.”

  “No!”

  “We rescued the other prisoners, including Mayor Popli, but Merri fought so hard when she was captured that they never could pull her up the wall. They finally got her tied down on the Abigail and they’re dragging it behind them. We’d have given chase, but we haven’t got a skiff left in the fleet. We’ve got no way to go after her.”

  “Oh, yes we do.
We’ve got a dragon.”

  Archie could still see the fleeing spider ships in the distance through his looking glass, but the setting sun promised he’d lose Merri for good if he didn’t hurry.

  “Quickly!” The last belt snapped into place on the harness. The shrew pulled on the left and right ropes that maneuvered each wing.

  “Do you really think it will fly?” asked Captain Shift.

  “I had the idea for these wings the second I saw the spider gliders,” said Archie. “I calculated for lift and weight ratios and motility. Of course there’s no way it would have ever flown Bright Scales. But me? I’m the perfect size. I think.”

  “That doesn’t really answer my question,” said the gecko, tightening a strap on the contraption. “My guess is we’ll be scraping you off the bottom of the Watchtower.”

  “Well, I suppose we’ll know in a moment.”

  And with that, Archie leapt.

  Chapter 37

  The spiders thought the monster was giving chase. They redoubled their rowing and trimmed their sails and cowered in the hulls of the boats. Archie spotted Merri. Her head poked out of the tangle of sticky web with which they’d trapped her. She was breathing. Thank goodness! thought the shrew.

  Archie wished he could take time to relish the glider. The design marked a beautiful fusion of spider ingenuity with his own. He’d needed more than a dozen of the salvaged spider gliders to construct the wings, and he doubted he’d ever find enough of the super-strong silk weave to make another set. It was too bad the wings weren’t likely to survive to be used for other inventions. But there are far more important things than my inventions, he thought. And then he dive-bombed the enormous glider into the stern of the houseboat that held his captive friend.

  The spiders had abandoned ship as soon as they saw the shadows of those wings racing toward them. They were taking no chances after what they’d seen and heard and felt on the island. All except one ancient, grizzled, gray-haired spider with seven legs and a stub. Having failed to conquer the island, he didn’t want to return to his clan in defeat and even welcomed death.

  He waited in the shadows as Archie struggled up the side of the ship. His eight eyeballs shook with fury when he realized they’d been tricked. Then he crept carefully behind Archie, cautious of the weapon the shrew had tucked under one arm. Step by step, he inched his way to where Archie poured a container of oil over the sticky web that entangled the yellow bird.

  The spider prickled with delight as Merri’s expression shifted from relief to terror, recognizing the danger too late. Satisfaction filled him to know that she watched as his fangs bored into the shrew’s back, injecting every drop of poison hatred he had. For his clan’s loss. For the shrew’s deception. For his own disgrace. Empty of venom, he leapt past the shrew and toward Merri. Something stopped him in midair.

  The old spider wondered at the pain as he noticed the dull end of Archie’s arrow launcher protruding from his abdomen, Archie still holding on to its other end. Falling to the deck, his final thought was one of relief. At least he’d died in battle. At home the new spider queen would’ve killed him in a far more painful manner. With one last twitch, the ancient spider expired.

  Merri flailed against her bonds, finally able to free herself from the no-longer-sticky web. She could hardly move, much less fly, but she kicked the spider into the sea and crawled to nestle her friend in her wings.

  “Oh, Archie! You great, terrible nincompoop!” She wept large, egg-shaped tears.

  The shrew managed a weak grin and then, taking shallow breaths, closed his eyes.

  As the sun began to set, a pair of serpent heads rose up on either side of the boat.

  “We’ve come to fulfill our promise,” said Bright Scales. “The spiders have been driven away. For now. Your ships are gone, but your island is safe. Let us bring you home.” Huxley and Bright Scales each took a tow-line in their jaws and swam the ship back to the island, through the gate, and into the lagoon. They ferried the vessel toward the assembly hall, now a makeshift hospital for the many wounded. At the prow of the ship, Merri stood vigil over the only family she’d ever known. She begged the stars to let him stay with her.

  As they skimmed along the waterway, a few citizens cheered. But more than a few recoiled from the snakes. Some gasped. Others murmured curses when the serpents passed by. With every corner they turned, Merri could feel the eyes upon them. If she was an outsider before, how would the citizens treat her now that she kept the company of snakes? She decided that she no longer cared.

  When they arrived at the assembly hall, Merri told the snakes, “We can take him from here.” Strong claws took hold of the towlines and small animals jumped aboard the ship.

  “Then we leave you,” said Bright Scales. “And we hold you and your Mr. Popli responsible for protecting this alliance of peace. I suggest you treat it as if your life depends on it.”

  Merri nodded. Bright Scales and Huxley dove underwater and out through the gate, away from the gaping mouths and gawking eyes of the citizens.

  Chapter 38

  Being strung up in a spider web for hours, fur soaked through with seawater, while still recovering from a snakebite, had taken a toll on Mr. Popli. They’d cut him down from the wall and ferried him to a bed in the assembly hall. He regained consciousness a day later, weak and disoriented. It was two more days till he was well enough for visitors.

  Nurses escorted Captain Shift to the mouse’s bedside. She appeared tired and haggard, evidence of hard-fought battles and the continuing aftermath.

  “You have to tell me everything, Captain. These medics absolutely refuse to speak to me about the invasion.”

  “Sorry, Mayor. That was on my order. I wanted to tell you all the news myself, and the nurses wouldn’t let me near till today. They’re quite insistent, those nurses—especially the wasp who works in the mornings. She threatened to sting me!”

  Mr. Popli laughed. “I know the one you’re talking about. I wish we’d had her during the invasion!”

  “Apparently we did! The other nurses claim she fought off a dozen spiders while leading families to safety.”

  “I can just imagine that! But did the plan work? Are the citizens all safe?”

  “We lost a number of citizens. The crickets were hit hard. So were the mud daubers. The larger animals seemed to fare better.”

  “Merri? Archibald? Huxley? Are they okay?”

  “They’re alive …”

  “And Colubra—I mean Bright Scales?”

  “Unscathed, but reclusive. She’s gone back to her lair and hasn’t been seen. Huxley spends the days here and the nights there. He says his mother still believes the islanders are angry with her.”

  “Are they?”

  “Of course. There have been too many losses over the years—and too much anger. It was only days ago we thought she was the invader. Those wounds won’t heal quickly. But there are also many who speak of her valor during the invasion, especially among the Order.”

  Mr. Popli thought about his own wounds from Bright Scales, both old and new. Their recent talks had been uneasy, but enlightening. He was no longer convinced that snakes were enemies and monsters. Perhaps they were noble, misunderstood creatures with whom peace was a genuine possibility. Perhaps I can believe she spared my family.

  “We’ll have to see how we can ensure the peace with her. But tell me about defeating the spiders. Did you see how well our distraction worked? We catapulted a few volleys at the gate, and in what seemed like only an instant, spider gliders were everywhere. Of course they overwhelmed us immediately. But we jumped into the water. And then there were nets and webs and before we knew it they had us hanging upside down from the gate.”

  “We had some tricky moments ourselves,” the gecko replied. “We had no idea how many spiders had come. Or how big they would be!” She went on to explain Archie’s quick thinking and the plan that finally worked.

  “He turned Bright Scales into a dragon?! Oh, I wish I
could have seen it! I did hear the terrible roaring sound that shook the ground though. How did you make it? We all thought a whale had come to swallow the island!”

  “Another of Archie’s ideas. His secret passage was mostly sealed off. He had us stop up the end, which we’d opened for the snakes, and the belfry as well. Then, we rang the bell harder than it’s ever been rung. The vibrations had nowhere to go except down the Watchtower and through the passage, growing as they went. That’s what shook the island. And when the sound escaped through holes and crevasses—well, it sounded a bit monstrous.”

  “Amazing! And the spiders?”

  “Gone. For now. Based on the direction they came from and which way they retreated, Merri thinks she knows where their island is. It’s farther than she can fly in a day, but the Order of the Silver Moon patrols that direction and hasn’t seen any sign.”

  The gecko described how the spider army fled, kidnapping Merri, and how Archie had used the dragon wings to rescue her.

  “You mean the wings worked? He flew? Leave it to Archibald to design fake wings that actually work. Will he be able to visit soon?”

  “Sir, he’s … he’s not well.”

  “What do you mean, not well?”

  “A spider got him, sir, while he was saving Merri. It pumped him so full of poison we thought he’d never wake up. He did, but …”

  “But what?”

  “He’s gone blind, sir.”

  “Oh, Archibald!” The mouse was silent a moment before whispering, “And Merri?”

  “I don’t think a giant squid could take her down. She’s fine, but won’t leave his side. I hardly have the heart to send her on patrol.”

  Chapter 39

  A week later, and much sooner than his nurse would have preferred, Mr. Popli went to visit Archie. Truthfully, the wasp had told the mouse he couldn’t leave under any circumstances. And so, in the middle of the morning while she was busy with other patients, Mr. Popli broke out of the hospital.