by Tom Hoffman
Several hours prior to this legendary celebration, Proto had been describing to Myrmac the Brave how he persuaded the Shrieking Terror to alter his diet from ants to a much healthier menu of fresh fruits and vegetables, a diet which would alleviate his gastrointestinal distress.
Myrmac the Brave listened without expression to Proto’s story. When Proto was done Myrmac slowly shook his head. “I’m afraid your memory does not serve you well, my tall silver friend. That’s not what happened at all. Follow me. Watch and learn from the master, Myrmac the Brave.”
Myrmac led Proto out onto a balcony overlooking a throng of several thousand wildly cheering ants. He motioned for Proto to take a seat, then raised his arms dramatically, waiting patiently until the crowd fell silent. He paused for effect, his piercing eyes scanning the sea of ants. He began in a low voice, a voice which grew louder and stronger and more vibrant with each passing second, describing in grim and graphic detail the epic confrontation between the venomous, bloodthirsty Shrieking Terror of Tatuid and the stalwart and loyal Great Silver Rabbit from the distant Kingdom of Muridaan Falls. The fearsome battle had lasted for sixteen furious hours, both opponents desperately trading the most brutally violent assaults imaginable upon each other until the final heart wrenching moment came when the Great Silver Rabbit realized he had been mortally wounded, the end of his life drawing near. As he prepared himself for the final journey to the Great Beyond, the noble Silver Rabbit raised his eyes up to the heavenly blue skies above. There was a blinding flash of golden light and a gleaming silver sword descended out of nothingness into The Great Silver Rabbit’s hand. In less than an instant his deathly wounds had healed. He let loose a terrible roar, his eyes blazing with a fearsome new light. With one impossibly powerful stroke of his mystical silver sword he brought to an end the savage reign of the heartless Shrieking Terror of Tatuid.
Two thousand ants thundered their approval, shrieking and stomping and crying out the name of The Great Silver Rabbit, Hero of Tatuid, Destroyer of the Shrieking Terror. Myrmac motioned for Proto to stand and lifted his arms skyward. The sea of screaming, frenetic ants erupted into wild unparalleled celebration. Myrmac leaned over to Proto with a smirk. “That’s how it’s done, Proto the Brave.”
The celebration of the Great Silver Rabbit’s miraculous victory lasted for three days. One day later the village slipped back into its normal sleepy routine.
Orville, Sophia and Proto found themselves back in the King’s Palace. The King of Ants was relaxing in his large stuffed chair while Myrmac the Brave was consuming another very substantial cheese sandwich. “Mmm... excellent cheese. I do hope you all enjoyed that rather exuberant celebration. The villagers need heroes like you, Proto. The day to day life of an ant in Tatuid Village can be somewhat dreary, to say the least. Ironically, their lives will be drearier than ever now that the Shrieking Terror is dining on fruit salad rather than citizens. It is a certainty, however, that our taverns and homes will be filled with tales of The Great Silver Rabbit’s magnificent exploits for many generations to come. You have given them a new model of bravery and loyalty and strength, something far more meaningful than simply ridding the village of the Shrieking Terror.”
The King of Ants gave a great yawn. “If you’re quite through, Myrmac, could we move along with the prophecy? Let’s not drag this out any longer than necessary.”
“Your wish is my command, O Great and Noble King of Ants.” Myrmac gave a low sweeping bow.
“I believe I’m quite capable of recognizing sarcasm when I see it, Myrmac. The prophecy please?”
Myrmac turned to the three adventurers. “What I have not disclosed to you is my part in the prophecy, or the reason I came to be known as Myrmac the Brave.”
The King of Ants rose from his chair. “I’ve heard this story far too many times. If you need me I shall be in the King’s Tavern having lunch.”
Myrmac waited until the King had left, then motioned for them to sit. “The King’s departure is quite fortuitous. There are bits and pieces of the prophecy I do not wish him to be entirely familiar with.” Myrmac gave them a wink, then slumped down onto the King’s stuffed chair.
“The blue stone you spoke of, the stone I sold to Ollo the Rock Mouse. There were two of them, you know. The prophecy stated that once I had the two blue stones in my possession I would sell one to a mouse wearing stars and one to a foreign trader wearing a silver moon, and that is precisely what I did.”
Sophia looked at Myrmac curiously. “Ollo the Rock Mouse wears green pants with stars on them. Who was the trader?”
“I have no idea. All I know is he was a traveling dealer of precious gems and stones who was wearing a long cap with a silver crescent moon medallion dangling from the end of it. Odd name... Skizzle, Skeezle, or something like that. Where the second blue stone ended up I have no idea.”
Orville rose from his chair. “The trader must have sold the second stone to a jeweler, who made a necklace out of it which eventually found its way to Miraculum’s Fine Antiques. That was the necklace I bought for my mum. The marble my Papa gave me led me to the stone in Mum’s necklace, which in turn led me to Ollo the Rock Mouse and his blue stone, which led us to Tatuid Village.”
Sophia clapped her paws together. “It is miraculous how events have conspired to bring us all together. Wait, you haven’t told us where you found the two blue stones.” She turned questioningly to Myrmac.
Myrmac gave a long sigh. “I’m afraid you’re not going to be entirely thrilled with the second half of the prophecy, the part I call the fine print.”
Orville suddenly felt like he was going to throw up. He knew what was coming next. His voice was barely a whisper. “We have to jump into the volcano.”
Myrmac gave a grim smile. “Bingo! Give that mouse a complimentary dinner for two at the King’s Tavern, drinks not included.”
Sophia shook her head. “I don’t understand. That’s absurd. Why would we ever do something like that? What would that possibly accomplish?”
Myrmac’s eyes darted around the room to make certain no one else had entered the King’s quarters. “A very good question indeed, and one that leads me to the story of how I became known as Myrmac the Brave.”
Orville’s eyes opened wide. “You jumped into the volcano.”
Myrmac nodded. “That was why I called it the fine print of the prophecy. I had to leap of my own accord into the crater of Mount Ianua and return with the two blue stones.”
Orville shook his head. “That’s not possible. No living creature could survive molten lava. Even the most powerful shaped sphere of defense would not protect you.”
Myrmac gave a wry smile. “Well, my young friend, things in this world are often not what they appear to be.”
Sophia gave a laugh. “It’s not an active volcano. The lava tubes we used to reach the Shrieking Terror were ancient, and when we flew The Dragonfly over the crater there should have been a powerful updraft caused by the heat rising up from the lava. There was no updraft, no heat. Whatever that orange lake in the crater is, it is not molten lava.”
“You, dear Sophia, are a very astute and clever mouse. It’s not lava, it’s a doorway to another world, a world where I found the two blue stones. A most perilous world, and one which you must enter of your own accord. I will confess to you that I did not purposefully leap into the volcano. I was most certainly not Myrmac the Brave when I climbed up to the crater’s rim. Several times I worked up enough courage to almost jump, but could not complete the task. It seemed pointless to throw my life away on the word of an eccentric old ant, even if he was my own grandfather.”
“What happened?”
Myrmac shrugged. “I was leaning over the rim searching for a safe way to climb down into the crater when a rock dislodged and I tumbled over the edge, falling through the orange lake into the next world. That’s how I became Myrmac the Brave.”
Proto said, “What did the prophecy say about this other world? What are we supposed to do there?
What are we looking for?”
Myrmac gave a long sigh. “I wish I had an answer for you. The prophecy says only that the Great Silver Rabbit and his two companions will leap into the crater and never be heard from again. It does go on to say three black circles shall pass through our skies, but I am unable to explain the significance of that cryptic message, or even if it has anything to do with the three of you. All I can say is, whatever you find or do in the other world will disrupt the disastrous chain of events which is catapulting our planet toward the end of time.”
The next morning found Orville and Sophia hiking up the steep slopes of Mount Ianua toward the crater’s rim.
Orville stopped to tighten his bootlace. “Myrmac is certain Proto was going to the rim?”
“He saw him heading up the trail an hour after dinner. He was definitely going to the crater and he said something to Myrmac about a promise he had made to your mum.”
“He promised Mum he’d look out for us, keep us safe. He must have jumped already. I guess he wanted to make sure there weren’t any terrifying creatures waiting for us on the other side. It’s strange how he can be kinder and more thoughtful than a lot of mice I know.”
“That’s how the Elders programmed him. It’s really no different from you being taught by your parents to be kind and respectful to other mice. You’re taking rather a long time to tie your boot.”
“I’m not trying to slow us down. It’s not as scary as it was in my dream because I know it’s not a real volcano. It will be kind of fun to see this other world where Myrmac found the blue stones. Maybe we’ll find more of them.”
“Or maybe the volcano is real and Myrmac just made up that whole story so he can get rid of us and take all the credit for saving the village from the Shrieking Terror.”
Orville’s eyes blinked rapidly as he processed Sophia’s statement. “What? Do you think that’s possible? We might be jumping into a real volcano?”
Sophia burst out laughing. “Come on, Captain Orville, we have a world to save. I’ll race you to the crater!”
Chapter 16
The Other Side
Orville peered over the rim of the volcano at the rippling orange lake below. Sophia slung her pack onto the rocky ledge and flipped it open.
“What are you doing?”
“I want to take a few measurements before we jump. I’m just curious.” Sophia pulled a dark green metallic sphere from her pack and tapped two colored tabs on the top. A small yellow light blinked on and the device made a low humming sound.
“What is that thing?”
“It measures gravitational waves.”
“Gravity has waves? Like the ocean?”
“I want to make certain this really is a spectral door. They all have essentially the same wave signature. Watch.” Sophia inched over to the edge of the rim and pointed the cube’s narrow yellow beam down into the crater, tapping twice on each tab. A series of rippling concentric blue circles appeared just above the surface of the lake, the narrow circles on the outer perimeter increasing in width as they flowed inward. A pulsing white light appeared at the center of the blue rings. “It’s a spectral door. It’s safe for us to jump. All you really have to do is hold your paw over the crater. There’s no heat rising up from the orange lake.”
“Who put the doorway there?”
Sophia shook her head. “Civilizations come and go and leave remnants of their technology behind, footprints in the sand. It’s possible this was used during the Anarkkian wars to transport troops or supplies to and from another world. It also could have been here before the mountain was. An expert in ancient technologies would have to examine it. Papa would have known what it was. He knew all about those things.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to remind you of...”
“It’s okay. Are you ready?”
“I think so.”
Sophia slung her pack onto her shoulder. Orville took her paw in his. “Just like in the dream, but without the crispy toasted mouse part. On three?”
“I’m ready when you are, Captain Orville.”
“One, two, THREE!”
The two adventurers leaped off the rim of the volcano, plummeting down toward the burbling orange lake. Orville had the strangest feeling that time was slowing down. The closer they got to the surface of the lake the slower they seemed to be falling.
“Why are we falling so slowly? What’s happening?”
“I’m not sure, I’ve never gone through a doorway like this one before. It might be ancient technology from long before the Anarkkians.”
“We’re floating toward the center, where that white light was.”
“Don’t let go of my paw.”
“I won’t. This isn’t like my dream when we fell into the lava.”
“Dreams can be a mix of symbolism and reality, a mix of content and form.”
“We’re almost there. I’m feeling kind of weird. Like I’m stretching out or something. I don’t really like it.”
“You’re feeling the effect of the denser gravitational waves on–”
“AAGGHHH!!” Orville was careening head over heels through a bitterly cold blinding white maelstrom. “Snow! We’re in snow!”
Orville rolled to a stop. “SOPHIA! SOPHIA!”
“Over here! It’s so cold!”
Orville fought his way up to the surface, poking his head out of the deep snow into the frigid air. He was on a steep mountainous slope, neck deep in soft powdery snow. He flicked his wrist and blinked up two heavy winter coats, tossing one over to Sophia.
“Thanks. Are you all right?”
“This is it! The snow! When I woke up from my volcano dream my bedside table was covered with snow. Now I know why!”
“We need to get off this mountain and find Proto.”
Orville looked up at the mountain peak. “Look up there!” Orville pointed to an enormous round blue disk several hundred feet up the slope. He could see the trail they left in the snow when they tumbled out of the gateway.
“The blue disk! The other side of the spectral door is blue, not orange. This is the gateway Arthur Anteater went through. This must be his home world!”
“I’m cold. Is the whole planet this cold?”
“I don’t think so. An anteater couldn’t survive in a frozen world. Let’s go.”
Sophia began pushing her way through the deep snow, inching her way forward. “This is too hard. I have a better idea.” She flicked her wrist and a long wooden snow sled appeared. “We can ride this all the way down.”
“I think the mountain is too steep for–”
“Hop on, nervous ninny! It’ll be fun, more fun than blinking down! Pop up a sphere of defense. We’ll be fine.”
Orville shrieked like a little mouseling for most of their ride down the rugged mountainside. They only rolled the sled once, tumbling wildly through the powdery snow for almost a hundred feet. Sophia couldn’t tell from Orville’s hollering whether he was terrified or having fun, but when they reached the bottom of the snow line he had an enormous grin on his face.
Sophia studied the flat layer of dark clouds extending out across the horizon. “I don’t like the look of these brown clouds. For one thing, I can’t see the surface of the planet.”
“Can’t we just climb down through them?”
“I guess so. They could be toxic though. They don’t look like normal clouds. Pop up an airtight sphere of defense while we’re descending through them. You’ll have to shape fresh air every ten minutes or so.”
It took them an hour to descend through the forbidding cloud layer that blanketed the planet. Orville gave a cheer when they finally emerged and had a clear view of the new world. Unfortunately the new world proved to be an endless sea of shattered rubble, the ghastly remains of sprawling gargantuan cities. The land was lifeless, no trees, no plants, no birds, no movement. The words ‘silent as a grave’ popped into Orville’s head. “What happened? What do you think happened here?”
“I think
war happened here. This must be one of the planets obliterated by the Anarkkians. They destroyed dozens of worlds, maybe hundreds. I’ve seen pictures in books and on holodiscs, but I’ve never been to one. It’s horror on a scale beyond imagination.”
“How could they do that? All those lives.”
Sophia shook her head. “I don’t know. Greed and insatiable hunger for power I suppose. Let’s look for Proto.”
“I have a better idea.” Orville raised one paw and a brilliant white light flashed up into the sky. With a thunderous boom that rolled across the landscape, mammoth glowing golden letters appeared below the layer of dark ominous clouds.
PROTO, WE’RE HERE!
Sophia grinned. “He’ll have a hard time missing that. Let’s head down the mountain. We’ll need to be careful. I read once that–” Sophia stopped short, her eyes darting nervously over to Orville.
“You read what? What did you read?”
“Nothing, just to be careful around old ruins for... buildings that might collapse.”
“That’s it?”
“I told you it was nothing. Let’s go. I want to see if Proto found any blue stones.”
“I don’t see how a decimated planet like this could have anything to do with stopping time on our world. It doesn’t make sense.”
“The universe sent us here for a reason and it’s our job to figure out what that reason is.”
Two hours later the pair of adventurers reached the base of the mountain. The devastation set before them was staggering. “There’s nothing left.”
Sophia had no words.
“I guess we should look for Proto. He must know we’re here by now. We’ll have to be careful on these streets, they have giant cracks in them we could fall into. Scary. At least we know there’s no weird creatures here.”
Sophia nodded but made no reply.
“Let’s head over to that dark green building that’s still kind of intact. We can climb up on the roof and look for Proto.”
“Good idea. We should probably blink up a sphere of defense.”
