by Tom Hoffman
Proto nodded. “Quite pastoral indeed. I only hope there’s nothing dreadful lurking in the trees, some menacing creature waiting to pounce on their unsuspecting prey.”
“Proto, Proto, Proto. Sometimes a beautiful meadow is just a beautiful meadow with no terrifying creatures lurking about waiting to devour us. I’m taking us down.” Orville pulled the left stick back and the humming of the wings diminished, the craft slowly descending. A minute later The Dragonfly touched down in a spectacular field of violet, blue, and gold wildflowers.
Orville shook Sophia’s arm. “Wake up, sleepy bones! Time for lunch!”
Sophia opened her eyes and looked around. “What is this place? It’s beautiful!”
The three adventurers hopped out of the ship and looked around at the lush sparkling sunlit meadow.
“Over there, next to that shade tree, the perfect spot for our picnic!”
Sophia and Orville strolled to the center of the meadow and flopped down in the soft grass beneath the tree. Proto was rummaging around in his pack. “Ah, here they are.” He pulled out a checkered picnic blanket, two porcelain plates, a pink cardboard box, and a set of silverware, setting them down in front of Orville and Sophia.
“We get a picnic blanket and plates? You’re amazing, Proto.” Orville flipped open the pink box, eyeing the contents. “Yum! This looks delicious! Would you care for a tasty sandwich, Captain Sophia?”
“I would indeed, I’m famished. What a lovely day it is. This might be the most relaxing adventure we’ve ever had.” Sophia leaned back against the tree with a long sigh.
Twenty minutes later Orville had eaten two sandwiches, two oatmeal cookies, three tasty little cakes and six lemon cream chocolates. “Mmm, so delicious. That was the best lunch I–” He stopped in mid sentence, gazing across the meadow. “What is that? It kind of looks like two fat birds, but they’re flying oddly, almost like humming birds. It must be some kind of oversized hummingbird that lives around here. Maybe they caught the scent of those tasty little cakes. Remember how much the green sticky ball creatures on Periculum liked them?”
Proto nodded, his eyes on the birds across the meadow. “There are more of them now. At least a dozen just flew out from the trees. I hate to alarm you, but they could be a mutant species of carnivorous bird, you know.”
Orville laughed. “I’ll solve this puzzle.” He dashed over to The Dragonfly and grabbed his flying goggles from the cockpit, slipped them on and twisted the small dial on the left side. Orville studied the plump birds for a moment, then ripped his goggles off and shrieked, “Into the ship! We have to leave right now!!”
Sophia jumped up and dashed toward The Dragonfly. “What are they?”
“Huge bees! At least a foot long, maybe two, and the trees are packed with them. There must be a gigantic hive over there. Hurry, Proto! We have to go!”
Proto ran toward the ship, calling out, “I’m afraid it’s far worse than that! Bees are one of the few predators dragonflies have. If there’s a hive of them they’ll swarm our ship and tear it to pieces.”
Orville leaped into the cockpit and fired up the duplonium motors.
Sophia cried out, “Sphere of defense! They’re heading this way!” She sprang into the craft followed by Proto. “Take us up! We have to outrun them!”
Orville jammed both sticks forward. The wings blurred and they shot up into the air. Sophia popped up a powerful sphere of defense around the cockpit, glancing behind them. Her eyes grew wide. “Orville, there’s at least a hundred bees chasing us!”
A dozen of the huge bees slammed into Sophia’s sphere of defense only to be knocked senseless, tumbling through the air to the meadow below. The rest of the swarm was closing in rapidly on The Dragonfly. Proto cried out, “They’re landing on the ship! They’ll tear the wings apart!”
Twenty of the huge bees were now clinging to the tail of the craft, the duplonium motors straining with the additional weight.
Orville hollered, “Hold on, I’m taking us straight down!” He pulled the left stick back and slammed the other stick as far to the right as it would go. The Dragonfly made a snap barrel roll and shot down toward the ground at over a hundred and seventy miles an hour. Sophia cried out, “We’re going to crash!”
When the ship was fifty feet above the ground Orville shoved both sticks forward, back, then forward, flipping The Dragonfly and sending it straight up into the sky. Orville’s vision went dark. He realized he was blacking out from the enormous forces of their sudden turn. Right before he lost consciousness he glanced at the ship’s tail. His maneuver had thrown all the bees off the ship.
When Orville woke up he gave a shout. “What? Where are the bees?!”
Sophia grabbed his arm. “They’re gone. Proto took the controls when you blacked out. You knocked the bees off the ship and most of them were disoriented. Proto managed to outfly the few that weren’t. We’re up to five thousand feet, well above where bees can go.”
Orville leaned back against the seat. “That was terrifying.”
Proto nodded. “Quite dreadful, but I’m afraid those bees were just the beginning. Who knows what other ferocious creatures are lying in wait for us deep in the mysterious and forbidding Symocan jungle.”
Orville suddenly slapped his paw against his forehead. “Oh, no!”
Sophia’s eyes darted wildly around the sky scanning for bees. “What is it?”
“We left the tasty little cakes and a box of orange cream chocolates back in the meadow!”
Sophia stared blankly at Orville. “I’m starting to think there is something very wrong with you. We just escaped from a huge swarm of deadly giant bees and you’re worried about tasty little cakes you left in the meadow?”
“What? All that excitement made me hungry.”
Proto leaned forward between the seats. “Nothing to worry about, I have two more boxes of tasty little cakes tucked away in my pack.”
“Perfect! I couldn’t BEE happier. Get it? I couldn’t BEE happier?”
Sophia groaned. “I get it.” She glanced back at him, then stopped, a smile creeping across her face. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks for saving us from the giant bees, Captain Orville. You really are the best pilot I know.”
Chapter 11
The Newspaper
The adventurers flew onward, high above the sprawling primordial forests of central Symoca. Sophia gazed over the side of the ship, watching as the emerald green carpet of trees gradually diminished, eventually replaced by desolate and starkly mountainous terrain. Orville was forced to take The Dragonfly up to twelve thousand feet to traverse the rugged peaks. Sophia blinked a sphere of defense around the cockpit to protect them from the thin frigid air at that altitude, then flicked her paw again and shaped warm winter coats for her and Orville.
“Thanks, I was about to turn into a block of ice. Another half hour and we’ll be over the range and heading back down to warmer temperatures.”
Sophia leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. “Let’s set up camp at the base of the mountain range. We can have a relaxing dinner and get some rest before we head for Mount Ianua.”
“Is something wrong? You’re sounding a little weird.”
“I don’t think our trip is going to be quite as uneventful as you promised your mum. My inner voice told me events are going to become chaotic and unpredictable. It also said no matter how bleak the situation seems we must make no effort to alter the chain of events.”
Orville frowned. “I’m not sure I like the sound of that. We do need a break, though. We can rest and gather our thoughts. We’ll spend the night and leave in the morning for Tatuid Village.”
Proto leaned forward, poking his head between the two front seats. “Sophia, just out of curiosity, did your inner voice happen to give you any specific details regarding the nature of these upcoming chaotic events?”
“If you’re asking about those fearsome beasts you’re so fond of, I can’t say. All I know is we will be
facing a series of unforeseen obstacles. Orville calls them the fires of life, difficult events which are capable of changing us profoundly.”
“Well, whatever happens, I will be right beside you and Orville, ready to pluck you safely from the jaws of whatever dastardly creatures we encounter. Once again it will be Proto to the rescue!”
“Thanks, Proto. It was our lucky day when Orville and I found you in Pavorak Gorge.”
Orville called out, “We’ve crossed the range, I’m taking her down!”
As The Dragonfly was descending Sophia and Orville removed their winter gear and converted it back to thought clouds. “Whew, it’s warm on this side of the mountains.” Orville spotted a wide rocky shelf with a spectacular view of the sprawling jungle below and brought the ship gently down. He switched off the two duplonium motors and studied their surroundings. “Any giant bees?”
Sophia grinned, hopping out of the ship. “Don’t BEE such a nervous ninny.”
“Stop stealing my jokes.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Orville Wellington Mouse. Besides, why would I–” Sophia stopped, her eyes fixed on the horizon. “Look! Way over there!”
Orville felt a shiver pass through him. “Is that…”
“It’s Mount Ianua. That’s where we have to go.”
“I wish I hadn’t had that dream about us jumping into a volcano.”
“We’re not going to jump into a volcano. Stop and think. There’s absolutely no reason why we would ever do that. Ever. It was just a symbolic dream you had about us leaping of our own accord into the fires of life.”
“I guess. You did say we would lose control over what happens to us though.”
“I don’t think we will be losing that much control. In your dream it was our choice to leap into the volcano. We made a conscious decision to do it. That’s simply not going to happen. You shape tents and sleeping bags and I’ll shape us a roaring campfire.”
Proto rubbed his large silver hands together. “I have everything I need in my pack to prepare a lovely dinner for my two best friends. For dessert I have a large box of tasty little cakes and several dozen of Orville’s favorite oatmeal cookies.”
By the time dinner was over the sun had set and a brilliant yellow moon was drifting through the sky over Mount Ianua. The three adventurers leaned back, taking in the glorious lunar display in the east Symocan night sky.
Orville gave a sigh. “Mount Ianua looks so small and so peaceful, and that moon is lovely. It’s hard to imagine it will be as perilous as your inner voice says.”
“The most beautiful things can be the most dangerous. A glimmering snow covered forest in the middle of winter can be quite deadly to a mouse without his winter gear.”
“You’re right. Maybe I’m just trying to convince myself it won’t be so bad.”
“We’ll get through it. Best friends can get through anything together.”
Proto laughed, putting his great silver hand on Orville’s shoulder. “Especially if your best friend is a ten foot tall indestructible Rabbiton who will dash in at the last moment and save the day.”
Orville grinned. “You’re both right. I don’t think there’s anything the three of us can’t handle. Let’s get some sleep so we’re well rested for whatever tomorrow sends our way.”
Proto stood up and flicked on his enhanced optical night vision. “While you two are sleeping like little mouselings I shall be scouring the landscape for any dreadful nocturnal creatures who might leap down from above in search of a plump and tasty bedtime snack.”
Orville crawled into his sleeping bag with a groan. “Thanks, Proto.”
The night passed without incident, and it was a rather disappointed Proto who gently shook Orville’s shoulder the next morning. “Rise and shine, adventurers! Next stop is Mount Ianua. Who knows what we’ll find in that dark and forbidding land. It is a jungle, so keep your eyes open for giant carnivorous centipedes.”
“You keep forgetting those giant centipedes only live on Periculum. There’s not enough oxygen in the atmosphere for them to live on Earth. We don’t have to worry about them here.”
Sophia popped up from her sleeping bag. “Good morning, everyone! Ready to get a good close look at Mount Ianua, Orville? You might want to wear a light shirt and a pair of shorts. It’s going to get quite warm, especially when you’re swimming in thousand degree molten lava.” She let out a great guffaw.
Proto gave a loud staccato laugh. “Ha ha ha ha! Excellent joke, Sophia. I will have to remember that one.”
Orville frowned. “How can you two even joke about something like that?”
“Oh, relax, we’ll be fine. Mmm… what’s that delicious aroma? Do I smell snapberry flapcakes?”
After a tasty breakfast they converted their camping gear into thought clouds and jumped into The Dragonfly. “Ready to take this bug up, Captain Orville?”
Orville attempted a cheery grin. “Ready to go, Captain Sophia. Next stop is the very peaceful and friendly village of Tatuid, nestled snugly at the base of lovely Mount Ianua, the happy little volcano that mice never, ever jump into.”
Sophia snorted.
Orville flipped on both duplonium motors and pushed the left stick forward. The Dragonfly rose up into the brilliant blue sky. “Hold on to your adventuring hats!” He shoved the right stick forward and the craft shot toward Mount Ianua.
With the foothills of the mountain range behind them, Orville descended to a few hundred feet above the dense jungle. “I can’t believe we’re really here. When I was growing up I heard so many stories about the jungles of east Symoca. Most of them were tales made up to scare little mouselings though. I never met anyone who had actually been here.”
Sophia nodded. “It really is amazing, so lush and so beautiful and covered with bright yellow and red tropical blossoms. It’s not dark and spooky like the jungles of Periculum.”
Orville pointed to the volcano. “We’re getting closer. It won’t take us long to get there at this speed.”
Sophia nodded, her eyes on the rapidly approaching volcano. “Fly over the top so we can look inside the crater and see if it looks like your dream.”
Orville was not completely enthralled with Sophia’s suggestion, but he pushed the left stick forward and they soared upward. Several minutes later they were at an altitude of nine thousand feet, approaching the peak of the volcano. When they were directly over it Orville pulled back on the right stick and brought The Dragonfly to a hover. With some trepidation he peered down into the volcano. Orville groaned, “It’s exactly the same. Just like my dream. A big round orange lake of bubbling lava.”
Sophia eyed the rippling glowing magma, her eyes narrowing. “Interesting. Let’s go, we need to get to Tatuid Village. I’ll check the location.” She reached into the small storage compartment and pulled out the map Mirus had given her. “Tatuid Village is about two miles southwest of the volcano.”
Orville nodded, his eyes on the round compass between him and Sophia. “Southwest it is.” The ship made a sharp banking turn and shot forward. Several minutes later Orville called out, “I see a village. It must be Tatuid. I’m going to land a good distance away. I don’t want to scare the villagers by landing a giant dragonfly in the middle of their town.” The ship sped on for another few minutes until Orville brought it down in a small clearing. He kept the wings humming as he scanned their surroundings. “It looks safe enough. I don’t see anything scary. What do you think?”
“I think this is exactly where we’re supposed to be. Everything that has happened since you saw your papa’s blue marble rolling uphill has been leading us to this very spot.”
“I hope you’re right.” Orville switched off the motors and hopped out of the craft. “Everyone keep your eyes open. We have no idea what kind of creatures inhabit this jungle.”
Proto chortled, rubbing his silver hands together. “Oh, my, this is quite thrilling! Far more exciting than watching over glowbirds in the Cube.”
Sophia climbed out of The Dragonfly and pointed to a well traveled jungle trail. “That’s heading in the right direction. Let’s take that.”
Orville nodded and they trekked off toward Tatuid Village. “Eyes open, stay alert. Be ready to blink up a sphere of defense.”
They had traveled no more than a half mile when Sophia froze. She had spotted something heading toward them. “What is that? What is it holding?”
Powerful spheres of defense shot up around Orville and Sophia. Orville squinted, trying to get a better look at the approaching creature. Proto flipped on his enhanced magnovision and scanned the mysterious jungle denizen. “It appears to be some sort of multi-legged creature strolling along reading a newspaper.”
“What do you mean, reading a newspaper?”
“There’s really no other way to say it. The creature is hidden behind a large newspaper.”
Sophia and Orville stepped off the trail and waited for the curious pedestrian to pass by. As it strolled alongside them the creature slowed down, eyeing them with mild curiosity. Orville had no idea how it might react to their presence, but to his great relief the creature simply gave a polite nod. Until it noticed Proto.
When its eyes landed on Proto the creature lurched backwards, almost dropping its newspaper. It stared intently at him, slowly stepping away, then glanced at Orville and Sophia. The creature dropped its paper and raced off down the trail.
Orville managed to find his voice. “Did I just see a six foot tall ant reading a newspaper?”
Sophia turned, tracking the extraordinarily large ant as it scurried down the trail. “I think so. We may have just met one of the inhabitants of Tatuid Village.”
“Ants? It’s a village full of ants? Why didn’t someone tell us it was ants? We have to go into a village filled with giant ants? I don’t think I can do this. Giant ants??”
“Orville, calm down. Think about it, please. Did the ant try to attack us? Would a deadly predator be strolling along reading a newspaper and nod to us politely?”
