Crown Park

by Des Hunt

  A car stereo? Here in the distant past? It can’t be!

  Maybe he was getting crossover signals from real time. But Chainsaw was getting something as well, for his head was up sniffing the air.

  Then Fluoro spoke. “I think we’d better check this out. Could be interesting.”

  Without waiting for a reply he moved into the thick surrounding bush.

  Chainsaw looked up at Jack asking if they should follow. Jack didn’t like the look of the tangle of undergrowth in the bush, but nor did he like the thought of being in this land on his own.

  He bent over and gave Chainsaw a reassuring pat, before following Fluoro into the darkness.

  Chapter 5

  Fluoro, Chainsaw and Jack made their way through the forest heading for the strange sound. All the time the doof-doof beat was getting louder. Soon they could make out another noise like the honk of a cheap car horn. Doof honk, doof honk, doof honk…

  They arrived at a clearing in the forest. Now, more notes could be heard. Someone was whistling a tune in time with the doof-honk rhythm.

  Fluoro stopped at the edge of the clearing. “I think we’d better hide,” he said.

  The humans edged back into the forest, but Chainsaw stayed in the clearing staring in the direction of the sounds.

  “Get in here, Chainsaw!” hissed Jack.

  The cat turned to him and flicked his tail slowly a couple of times. He turned back to the sounds.

  Across the other side of the clearing, bushes began moving as some animal pushed through. The booming bass beat was now causing Jack’s ears to throb.

  Then the source was marching towards them.

  It was a moa!

  A very big moa. Probably taller than Fluoro and Jack stacked on top of each other. That’s if it ever stretched to its full height. Even crouched over in the walking position it was as tall as any human.

  Jack shook his head in wonder at the sight of the giant bird. It was much more impressive than any models he’d seen in a museum. The feathers were well groomed and more like hair than feathers. Its thick scaly legs could have been those of a dinosaur.

  The most striking feature however, was the S-shaped neck. The throat was a royal blue, so deep a colour that it could’ve been face paint. The blue skin bulged with each doof beat.

  The honking came from an animal behind the moa, a giant goose as tall as the moa’s legs. While the moa was marching to the beat, the goose was waddling, taking two steps for each of the moa’s.

  Both were heading directly for Chainsaw, who had crouched down to hide in the grass. When they were almost upon him, the moa gave an extra long call, followed quickly by two shorter notes: dooooof, doof, doof. Then it halted so quickly the goose had to veer to the side or it would have crashed into the moa’s legs.

  Chainsaw flattened himself to the ground. Yet neither the moa nor the goose had seen him. They stood there as if waiting for something else to happen.

  Jack turned to Fluoro. “Is this real?”

  “Who knows?” replied the man shaking his head. “Strange things can happen when you empty your mind of all its clutter.”

  Before Jack could comment, another bird flew into the clearing, filling the air with a series of high-pitched whistles. When it saw the others had stopped, the whistling changed to a loud croak, and it glided down to land on the goose’s back.

  “Kaka,” whispered Fluoro.

  The kaka peered around the clearing, then let out a call that sounded to Jack like “Pat!”

  “Yes?” While the answer came from the direction of the moa, it was far squeakier than the big bird’s call.

  A tiny head popped out of the feathers on the moa’s back. “Are we there yet?”

  At first Jack thought he was mishearing the squeaky call. Then Fluoro gasped and he figured maybe not.

  The head was not the prettiest Jack had seen. A prominent nose poked out below two squinty eyes. It looked like some sort of mouse — a mouse with exceptionally big ears.

  “No, no, we’re not there yet,” replied the moa. “I just needed a rest.”

  “So did I,” said the goose. “I can’t handle these expeditions as I once did. Maybe I’m the one that should be getting the ride.” He looked up at the animal on the moa. “What do you think, Pat?”

  Pat didn’t answer. His nose was in the air sniffing. “What’s that smell?”

  “Can’t smell a thing,” said the goose.

  “Me neither,” added the moa.

  The kaka sniffed twice. “There is something. But I’ve no idea what it is.”

  “I’m going to investigate,” said Pat, who now crawled out of the moa’s feathers until his entire body was visible. Two black, leathery wings unfolded as he took to the air.

  Jack gasped. It was a bat, the first he had ever seen.

  “Pekapeka,” whispered Fluoro. “The lesser short-tailed bat.”

  Jack barely heard. All his attention was on Pat, now high over the clearing, flying in circles that narrowed as he lost height. He was homing in on Chainsaw.

  The cat’s eyes followed the bat until it was directly above him. Then he jumped up and swatted the bat, hitting a wing with his paw. Pat crashed to the ground.

  Chainsaw rocked back on his haunches, ready to pounce. Pat tried to scramble away, but a wing got caught on some weed stalks and wouldn’t fold in.

  Just as Chainsaw was about to spring forward, a huge foot thumped down between the two animals. If the timing had been only slightly different, Chainsaw would have been squashed as surely as if a truck had run over him. As it was, his nose was cut by a massive claw.

  Chainsaw decided to get out of there before the other foot landed. He bounded to the nearest tree and was crouched on a branch before the other animals had a chance to react.

  “What was that?” asked the kaka.

  “Never seen one before,” replied the moa.

  “Looked like one of your sort, Pat,” said the goose.

  “What do you mean, my sort?”

  “You know. A furry thing.”

  Pat stared at the goose. “There aren’t any other furry things.”

  “There must be,” replied the goose, looking towards the tree where Chainsaw was sheltering. “It’s covered in fur, not feathers. So it has to be one of your sort.”

  “It was trying to kill me,” squeaked Pat. “I don’t think another mammal would do that.”

  “Well, he’s certainly not a bird,” said the goose.

  “Was that the thing that smelled?” asked the moa.

  Pat sniffed the air. “Yes!” Then he sniffed again. “But it’s not the only thing.”

  The moa turned to the kaka. “Emily, could you check it out, please.”

  “Which direction?” asked Emily.

  Pat turned his head slowly, breathing in deeply. He stopped when he was pointed directly at Jack and Fluoro. “There!”

  Emily took to the air, flying straight towards the humans. Jack ducked down, but Fluoro remained standing.

  The kaka spotted him, and began squawking noisily, flying backwards and forwards before landing on an overhanging branch.

  “What is it?” asked the moa.

  Emily peered down at the two humans. “Things. Living things,” she replied. “I don’t know that I can describe them any better.”

  The moa moved closer. “Come out!” it boomed. “Come out, you things.”

  Jack looked up to Fluoro for guidance. The man gave him a reassuring smile. “Come on. We’d better do as it says. I don’t think it means to harm us.”

  Jack parted the bushes to study the bird that was now standing at full height. “Are you sure?”

  “No! But it’s probably best not to anger it any further.” Fluoro took a step forward.

  A moment later, Jack did the same. What does it matter? he thought. None of this is real, is it?

  Chapter 6

  Jack felt as if he was back in the principal’s office again, except this time the principal was a giant m
oa, and the teacher was a huge goose. Pat and Emily were acting like a couple of kids sneaking a peek through the window.

  “What are you?” boomed the moa.

  “Humans,” replied Fluoro.

  “Never heard of them,” said the moa. “What about you, Godfrey? You heard of humans?”

  “No!” said the goose, shaking his head.

  The moa returned to peering down at them. “Where are you from?”

  Fluoro took a while to answer. “A long time away.”

  That seemed to make the moa happier. “Ah! That’s why we haven’t heard about you before. How far away? How many moons?”

  “About twenty-six thousand,” said Fluoro.

  The moa blinked a couple of times. “Yes, that is a long way.”

  “What do you eat?” asked Godfrey.

  Jack and Fluoro looked at each other. How could you explain human food to these animals?

  They were saved by the moa. “The important thing is, do you eat birds?”

  Fluoro shook his head. “No!”

  The moa turned to Jack. “And you?”

  Jack shook his head vigorously. “Never!” he answered. This wasn’t the time to mention the fried chicken he’d had last night.

  “What about that thing in the tree?” asked Godfrey.

  “That thing is a cat,” replied Fluoro. “His name is Chainsaw, and his preferred food consists of rats and mice, which are another type of furry thing you won’t yet have met.”

  That seemed to satisfy the birds, but not Pat the bat, who began jumping up and down on the moa’s back.

  “Yes Pat,” said the moa. “That thought did occur to me too.” Then to the humans, “Does he eat bats?”

  “I can truthfully say that he has never eaten a bat in his life,” replied Fluoro.

  “Good, good,” said the moa, although Pat didn’t seem so convinced. “Then I think we should introduce ourselves. What are your names?”

  Fluoro first introduced Jack and then himself.

  “Good. Nice to meet you,” said the moa. “I’m Lucy or Luce, and I’m in charge of the group. My deputy alongside me is Godfrey. His job is to add wisdom and insight. Then there’s Emily, often called Em.” The kaka bobbed up and down a few times. “She’s our Eye in the Sky.”

  “Actually, Eyes in the Sky,” corrected Emily. “I do have two of them.” She turned her head from side to side to make sure that everyone could see that she had two eyes.

  Jack gave a little giggle. He was already beginning to like this Emily.

  “Yes, you do, dear,” said Lucy, patiently. “Just like all of us.” A pause. “And last,” she continued, “but by no means least is Pat. Pat the bat.”

  “Except you don’t,” added Emily.

  “You don’t what?” asked Jack.

  “Pat the bat,” she replied. “He doesn’t like to be touched.” She went through the bobbing routine again, pleased with her little joke.

  Jack groaned.

  Lucy let out a little snort. “Thank you, Emily.” Then to the humans, “Pat performs a very necessary function. As none of us birds have much sense of smell, he is our nose.”

  “Our Nose Without Clothes,” said Emily.

  The fur on Pat’s back spiked up into an angry ridge. “I do so have clothes.”

  “Not proper ones,” said Emily. “Not like us. Anyway, you don’t have anything on your wings, do you? They’re just bare skin, and such a drab colour.” Then she surprised everyone by leaving Godfrey’s back and flying up to balance on Fluoro’s shoulder. “See! Even humans have clothes.” She used a claw to lift up the front of the orange vest. “And they’re such a wonderful orange colour. This would go well on me.” She opened a wing to reveal the bright red feathers beneath. “Yes, this would go very well indeed.”

  Lucy sniffed. “Orange is all right, but I much prefer purple. Purple and blue are my favourite colours.”

  Godfrey let out a loud honk. “Ladies, ladies, can we get back to the matter at hand?”

  The females reluctantly agreed.

  “Good,” said Godfrey, turning to the humans. “Now, I take it you’ve come to see The Source. Am I correct?”

  “The Source?” asked Fluoro.

  “Yes!” Godfrey nodded his head in the direction of a cloud of steam that was rising over the trees in the background. “That. We call it The Source.”

  Fluoro nodded. “Yes, we were hoping to see a bit of action.”

  “Oh, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed about that,” said Godfrey. “It seems to be hotting up nicely.”

  “Aren’t you worried about it?” asked Jack.

  “No! Why should we be?”

  Fluoro gave Jack a nudge before bending down to whisper in his ear: “I think it’s best if we don’t mention the eruption. Not yet, anyway.” Then he turned back to the birds. “Are you also here because of The Source?”

  “In a way,” replied Godfrey. “We’re on an expedition.”

  “We’re called the Luce Crew, interrupted Lucy. “And we go on expeditions.”

  “We’re looking for moho,” said Godfrey.

  “What’s that?” asked Jack.

  “They,” corrected Lucy. “They are one of the most beautiful birds that ever existed.”

  Emily rolled her head around. “If you haven’t guessed already, they’re purple. Purple and blue. That’s why Luce thinks they’re so beautiful.”

  “They also have red beaks,” said Lucy. “And, Emily, you do like red.”

  “They’re like takahe,” Fluoro explained to Jack. “They’re the North Island takahe.”

  Godfrey nodded. “Yes, I have heard of these takahe and you’re right, they are said to be similar.”

  “Why are you looking for them?” asked Jack. “Are they rare?”

  “Becoming that way,” replied Godfrey. “Sad to say.”

  “And if we don’t help them,” added Lucy, ‘then we won’t have any purple and blue birds left.”

  “What about pukeko?” asked Jack. “They’re everywhere.”

  The birds looked at each other. “Pukeko?” said Godfrey. “Never heard of them. If they exist where you come from, then they haven’t made it —.”

  He was interrupted by a loud belching sound from the direction of the lake.

  “Whoa,” said Pat. “That was a good one. Let’s go look.”

  “Yes, let’s,” said Lucy. She turned to the humans. “You can come as well, if you like. You can be temporary members of the Luce Crew.” She released her deep booming doof sound. Godfrey added a honk, and soon they were marching off once again to the doof-honk beat.

  The humans followed as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Before they’d reached the edge of the clearing Chainsaw had joined them. His tail waved high in the air, like a pennant flying at the end of a column of warriors.

  Chapter 7

  The scene at the lake was incredible. There were birds everywhere on the shore and in the water: several types of moa and a range of ducks and geese, many too bulky to fly.

  A short distance offshore, dozens of big birds fought over thousands of fish floating on the surface. They were the biggest water birds Jack had ever seen and it took him a moment to work out what they were.

  “Look!” he shouted. “Pelicans.”

  “Yes,” said Fluoro, ‘they were probably quite common in New Zealand once.”

  “Big clumsy things,” moaned Godfrey.

  “And so lacking in style,” added Emily. “Look at that beak! What sort of bird would ever go around looking like that?”

  “And they stink!” said Pat. “They always pong of fish.”

  “How did all those fish die?” asked Jack.

  “The Source,” replied Godfrey. His eyes lifted to a spot further out in the lake where the water was bubbling. “You can see it out there. Every now and then The Source provides all this food and you get a great gathering of birds from all over.”

  “Volcanic gases,” said Fluoro. “The fi
sh are being poisoned.”

  “If you say so,” said Godfrey. “It’s still The Source that provides it.”

  Fluoro sidled over to Jack. “This is the first stage,” he said quietly.

  “Of the eruption?” whispered Jack.

  Fluoro nodded.

  “Should we warn them to get away?”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “Should we go?” said Jack. “I don’t want Chainsaw getting hurt.” He looked around for the cat who a short time before had been close by. “Where is he?” he cried.

  “Who?” asked Emily.

  “Chainsaw!”

  “I’ll find him,” she said, taking to the air. “Have no fear while Em is here.”

  She circled above the shoreline. Some of the assembled birds flinched as her shadow passed over, but soon recovered when they looked up and saw that it was only a kaka. Her circles got wider until she reached a place where a group of large, dark-grey birds had the place to themselves. All the other animals kept well clear of them.

  The reason became obvious when Emily swooped down to take a closer look: two of the birds took a swipe at her with their beaks. Others screeched in a most unfriendly manner. Emily turned sharply and raced back to the Luce Crew.

  “He’s with the adzebills!”

  “Oh no!” said Lucy and Godfrey.

  Pat popped his head out of Lucy’s feathers. “They’ll kill him.”

  “I don’t think they’ve seen him yet,” said Emily. “He was creeping around the outside getting ready to attack.”

  Godfrey looked up at Jack. “He wouldn’t attack an adzebill, would he?”

  “He wouldn’t know what they are,” said Jack. “What is an adzebill?”

  “They’re killers,” said Lucy. “The worst we’ve got. They hunt in packs. Their leader is Boris. He’s the most evil bird ever.” She glanced over to where the adzebills were gathered. “If your friend gets in amongst that lot, they’ll kill him.”

  “You sure he was going to attack?” asked Fluoro. “He’s much too smart to go after something big like them.”

  “They’ve got chicks,” replied Emily. “He was after one of them.”