by Jamie Smart
Rather chubby insects.
‘FLEMBERBUGS!’ he cheered.
‘Therrrrre they are,’ Ventillo sighed, her face crinkling up with a wide, enchanted smile.
‘BANG ON TIME!’ The Mayor lifted his clock with one hand, and fist-pumped with the other. ‘From all over the island, regular as clockwork.’
The crowd cheered and ran beneath the flemberbugs, trying to keep up with them, out from the shadow of the trees and taking huge strides up the grass-covered steps.
Until there it was.
The Eden Tree.
Spiralling higher than anything else on the whole island. So high, Dev couldn’t even see the top of it. Its trunk as wide as a street of houses. Its long, knotted arms holding out great clumps of vibrant green leaves, which bustled and swayed in the early-morning breeze. And into this rich foliage flew the flemberbugs. Clamping onto the bark, their furry bottoms bobbing up and down as they jostled for space. They fed from the tree, basking in its flember, glowing bright blue as it filled their bodies. Tiny little dots alighting one by one, until soon the whole Eden Tree was shining with the most beautiful blue light.
‘Flember.’ Dev gazed wistfully at the sight of it.
‘FLEMBER!’ The Mayor barged past him. ‘As before, so it continues. The annual migration of the flemberbugs. To suck at the nectar of our Eden Tree. Reminding us all, I’m sure, of the—’
‘THEY’RE DYING!’ Percy shouted.
The lights were flickering out. Flemberbugs tumbled away from the trunk, bouncing lifelessly down onto the ground. The Eden Tree itself, so mighty and impressive only seconds ago, appeared to stiffen, curling its branches in on itself.
‘It’s all … DYING!’
20
The Charge
All Dev could do was watch as the Eden Tree’s leaves turned brown and crisp, catching on the wind and spinning out to sea. The trunk splintered, its bark cracking, its rich layers of moss crinkling up into a dusty ash.
‘Our … TREE!’ the Mayor gasped.
‘Not just the tree!’ Rosa Mildew pointed to the ground beneath their feet. Where grass had grown just moments ago, now it was grey and brittle. The bilderdrops and pojoboplants were wilting. The jimona flowers collapsed, their once fluorescent orange petals shrivelling up like old balloons.
‘All our flember’s disappearing!’ came a voice.
‘Save what you can!’ came another.
The crowd scattered, picking at flowers, glow-worms, anything which might still hold some flember. Some chased after the few surviving flemberbugs, others tumbled into the quickly drying-up ponds and scooped out great armfuls of algae. They competed, and they fought. They snarled and they snatched. It only took a few minutes, but fear swiftly turned the villagers into a mob.
The Guild’s calls for order were ignored, and they were left with little choice but to go in swinging. Bastor CLONK-CLONK-CLONKED the hilt of his sword across a number of decorated helmets, while Rosa Mildew had a villager headlocked under each arm. Which, if you’d ever smelt under her arms, was perhaps the cruellest punishment of all.
‘It’s heading towards the crops!’ screeched the Mayor, who had been lifted out of harm’s way and was now crowd surfing across everyone’s heads, bobbing up and down in a furious display of limbs. ‘Our village is doomed!’
The cloak slipped from Dev’s head as he looked around. ‘This shouldn’t be happening,’ he mumbled. ‘This really, really shouldn’t be happening.’
‘I KNEW IT!’ Someone pushed Dev and sent him crashing to the ground. Instantly, Zerigauld Sourface was upon him, his boot on his helmet like a hawk holding its prey. ‘I KNEW you’d sneak up ’ere.’
Dev tried to reply, but Zerigauld’s boot just pressed down harder.
‘Everdew.’ His tongue curled around the name.
THUMP!
‘Funny ’ow things go wrong when yous …’
THUMP!
His voice trailed off.
THUMP!
Dirt rattled across the ground.
THUMP!
THUMP!
THUMP!
THUMP THUMP THUMP!
Then through a multitude of legs, Dev saw it. A huge shadow, swathed in the most brilliant, beautiful blue light. Its paws slamming into the ground as it galloped through Shady Acres.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
‘HOOOARGHHHHHH!’
Boja! Those huge eyes, blazing with light. That tongue flapping wildly from his mouth. That big shiny nose, twitching furiously, as if pulling him onwards.
And to the left.
Wayyyy over to the left.
Boja ploughed through the mob, sending a variety of decorated helmets spinning up into the air. He only stopped when he tripped and collapsed onto his own face, but within seconds he’d rolled upright again, tottering onto his unsteady legs. His nose twitched and he turned, first staggering, then running, towards Dev and Zerigauld. He tried to leap over them but grossly misjudged and with a loud SQUARK Zerigauld was gone, bundled into the sky by the bear, a long line of flember trailing behind them both. Zerigauld’s pale, wrinkly legs waggling out from beneath Boja’s fur.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion.
Then Boja landed in the crater of a dried-out pond, and the whole mountain shook under his weight.
‘Boja!’ Dev slid down into the mud, struggling to touch Boja’s fur for all the flember crackling across it. ‘Can you hear me?’
‘UHHHHHHH …’ Boja’s eyes spun around in their sockets.
‘Boja, it’s me! It’s Dev! Remember, from the workshop?’
‘DDVVVVV …’ Boja grinned. One of his eyes locked onto Dev.
‘Dev! That’s right!’ Dev whooped with joy. ‘Did you … did you come all the way up here to find me?’
Boja’s shiny black nose started to twitch again. He sniffed at the breeze. His tongue smacked inside his mouth and then, within an instant, he was up and out of the pond, all arms and legs, staggering wildly through the crowds. Swerving left and right, as if being dragged along an invisible trail.
A trail that ended at Arnold’s Flember Day Special.
The horror of what was about to happen spread across Arnold’s face. He leapt in front of his cart, his eyes wide.
‘N-N-N-NO!’ he yelped. ‘It’s mine! IT’S MINE!’
The waffle maker held his nerve as long as he could, but at the last moment he leapt out of the way, and with an almighty SPLUTCH, Boja slammed himself face-first into the giant stack of waffles. Once or twice he hauled his head out for air, before chomping back down on great mouthfuls of whipped cream and bobbleberries. Then he rolled onto his back, closed his eyes and sucked waffle bits from his fingers.
‘MINE!’ He beamed.
Dev pushed through the surrounding crowd. ‘His first word!’
‘Mine!’ Boja repeated, nestling his buttocks deeper into the cream. ‘Mine, mine, mine, mine!’
A few Guild members stepped forward, their swords drawn towards Boja.
‘No, no. It’s OK.’ Dev held up his hands. ‘He must have followed the waffles up here! I’ll pay for it, I will!’
‘WOHHHH-FFFFFLES!’ Boja garbled.
An excited chuckle rose up from inside Dev’s chest. ‘He’s called Boja,’ he said proudly. ‘I made him!’
The Mayor, who until now had been crouched behind Bastor, peeked out. ‘You did … what?’
‘I made him. I mean, I … invented him.’ Dev caught sight of his mother’s face in the crowd. She looked stunned.
They all looked stunned.
‘From old parts. I put him together, like a robot. And then I, well, I sort of … brought him to life.’
‘Now, Dev. Be sensible.’ Bastor kept his sword firmly trained on Boja. ‘You make toys and contraptions. Little, whirry, flappy things. The clanking and the fizzling. You know? That’s what you do. But this is a … well, it’s …’
He puffed out his cheeks. ‘I mean. What is it?’
‘His name is Boja
,’ Dev repeated. ‘I thought he could help. Any time anything goes wrong, Boja can protect us. He could stop a rampaging Washtopus just by standing in its way, then he could help clean up the mess! Look how big he is, how strong.’
‘You built that thing –’ the Mayor raised an eyebrow ‘– to protect us from you?’
‘N … no! Well, a bit. But not just me. He could hold back rockslides, lift whole buildings. When the fields need digging he could do it with his great big paws.’ Dev emphasised each point by miming it. ‘He’s a force for good, a great big guardian! He’ll keep the whole village safe!’
No one responded. His heart sank a little.
‘I thought you’d be pleased.’
A flemberbug stirred beside Boja. Up until now it had been lying on its back, legs folded in towards its belly, half-buried in waffle syrup. But it flipped, and it flopped, and it rolled around in the dirt, before fluttering up and landing on the bear’s big black nose. Glowing as it padded back and forth between his eyes.
Another flemberbug landed on Boja’s belly and it, too, started to glow. A shiny green flutterskit moth landed on his toes. A jibbernywick landed on his ear, and soon all manner of insects were hovering around him. Basking in his beautiful blue light.
‘He’s incredible.’ Ventillo Everdew pushed to the front of the crowd, utterly entranced by the big, glowing bear. She wrapped her thin fingers around Dev’s hand, and squeezed it tightly.
‘You both are.’
21
The Everdews
‘It’s a MONSTER!’ Zerigauld hauled himself out from the crater. His wooden nose was halfway around his face. ‘It attacked me. You saw it! You all did! I’m – hack! – I’m lucky to be alive – haaack!’
He fell down to his knees, lurching back and forth, before coughing up a big red hairball. Then he staggered back onto his feet, grabbed a clump of dirt and flung it towards Boja. Boja barely reacted. Nor at the second clump. Nor the third.
Boja was enjoying waffles.
‘Look at what it’s doing,’ Bastor gasped. He pointed his sword down towards Boja’s bottom, beneath which lush, green grass was now growing, its dew shimmering with flember. Tiny glowing mushrooms popped up – Plink! Plink! Plink! – along with daisies, redbells and drooping spotted whistleflutes.
The Mayor’s whole face – jowls, eyebags and all – sank down towards his neck ruffles. ‘Flember,’ he gasped. ‘Right before our very eyes!’
He raised his eyes slowly from Boja’s buttocks all the way up to his face. ‘This thing … it’s full of flember. Did it … did it take OURS?’
Dev suddenly went very, very pale. Somewhere in his mind he’d already made the connection, but he’d been so excited about Boja’s appearance he’d barely had a chance to process it. ‘I … I …’ He stammered, his throat croaking for air. ‘I may have borrowed a little flember, just a little, just enough to …’
Whichever way he looked, the arched, dead Eden Tree was always in view.
‘I didn’t mean to take so much.’
He turned to the crowd, who all stared back in disbelief.
‘It brought Boja to life,’ Dev whimpered.
‘So is that what you needed the heart for?’ Santoro’s voice rose from amongst the Guild. ‘Is it inside that thing?’
‘’EART?’ Zerigauld shrieked, so high-pitched it was barely audible. ‘What ’eart? MY ’eart?’
Zerigauld rushed for Dev, grabbing him by his scarf. ‘You THIEF!’ he spat. ‘You callous, lying little thief!’
‘I … didn’t …’ Dev choked.
‘Leave him ALONE!’ Dev’s mother broke from the crowd, grabbing Zerigauld’s arms and struggling to pull him away. ‘Get your hands off my son!’
‘’E’s a GOBBLETOAD!’ Zerigauld shouted. ‘A purple-nosed weasel! A rotten, stinking f-f-footface!’
‘Santoro!’ Dev gasped. ‘Santoro took your heart.’
Zerigauld dropped him on the ground, then blinked furiously at Santoro.
‘Your brother? Your fine, upstanding brother? Pride of the Youth Guild? Future Guild Leader in waiting? Yerrr … brother? Hear that, Amy? Yer boy, Dev. Trying to ruin his brother’s reputation, jus’ to save ’imself.’
‘He did steal it,’ Dev mumbled.
Zerigauld lunged for him again, but this time he didn’t even get close. Boja’s arm swung out, lifting Zerigauld off his feet and propelling him across the novelty helmets of the crowd. Far, far into the distance, until he landed with a squark in a bustle of crunchy ferns.
Everyone was silent. Apart from Ventillo, who was laughing.
The Mayor’s chins wobbled with rage. ‘Guild! Seize that … that THING! I don’t know what’s going on here, but I know that BEAST had something to do with it!’
Dev ran in front of Boja. ‘It’s not his fault! Don’t hurt him!’
‘Seize Dev too!’ the Mayor barked. ‘We’ll try him for his crimes!’
‘JUST YOU TRY IT!’ Ventillo picked up a branch and swung it wildly towards the Guild. ‘We Everdews don’t go down easy!’
‘AND HER!’ The Mayor’s face looked like it might burst. ‘AND AMY. AND SANTORO. ARREST THE WHOLE BLINKING FAMILY!’
‘You can’t arrest me. I’m GUILD!’ Santoro protested, but the Guild had already turned their swords on him. Santoro unsheathed his own, swinging it back towards them, growling like a cornered fox. A few of the Guild panicked, and lifted their swords back towards Boja. He growled too, a growl so low it rattled around in his lung sacks, rumbling though his metal bones, igniting his flember as if he were on fire.
Then the Guild turned on Amy.
Dev watched through wide, horrified eyes, his heart pounding, his legs shaking. He started towards his mother, but she stopped him in his tracks with a hard stare.
‘We can fend for ourselves,’ she said, elbowing a Guild member in the nose. ‘But you, you need to run.’
She nodded at Boja.
‘You both do.’
Dev stepped back towards Boja, gripping his fur as if it was all he had to hold onto.
‘Dev, RUN!’ His mother shouted.
Dev turned to Boja, grabbing his cheeks so they squished up his face, and he stared into the bear’s glowing blue eyes.
‘Boja, run,’ he whispered.
22
Flight
Dev could hear the golden heart inside Boja’s chest. It was thumping harder now, and faster, clattering against his internal mechanics. Boja slid an arm around Dev’s waist, hauling him up onto his back, and with an almighty roar he lunged forward. Through the swords. Through the crowd. Away from Shady Acres and down the rock face, through the withering stalks of the cornfield, across the cracked mud plains of the rice paddies and into the Old Woods.
And out of the woods.
Across the marketplace. The tables and tents didn’t stand a chance against Boja’s stampede as food and drink was flung into the air around him. He caught a ham joint in his mouth, swallowed it whole and grinned at Dev.
‘THIS IS MINE!’
‘Sentences?’ Dev laughed. Despite everything else, he couldn’t help delighting in his creation. ‘Boja, your brain circuits, they’re learning so FAST!’
Boja responded with the biggest, ugliest belch Dev had ever been downwind of. It wobbled his whole face, flecks of spit and ham splattering down onto Dev’s helmet. It was only drowned out by a louder sound; a huge, terrifying sound, the sound of the earth tearing itself apart as a wide crack opened up in the ground. It threw Boja off balance. He clipped the corner of Zerigauld’s antique shop, ricocheting across the street like a pinball.
SMASH! THUMP! CRASH!
Back and forth. One shop to another. And just as he was starting to regain control of his own limbs, a tangle of bunting flapped across his face. He tumbled over some hysterical chickens and started rolling down the road like a giant hairy butterball, clutching Dev tightly in his arms.
Dev’s stomach lurched up and down, as the streets spun past his eyes.
/> CRUNCH! TINKLE! CRUMP!
‘HYAAAAAAARRGHHH!’ Boja squeezed Dev even tighter.
‘HMMMFFFF!’ Through a mouthful of red fur, Dev tried to agree.
There was one more loud CRASH, and then they came to a halt. Dev poked his head out to see where they were. A sweet, familiar smell caught his nose.
‘Arnold’s Waffle Shop!’ he yelled, battling to tear off his cloak. ‘Or at least what’s left of it.’
Boja lay amongst the rubble, dazed. Then his nose twitched, his huge eyebrows rose up and his tongue smacked back into his mouth. ‘WOH-FFLES!’ he giggled, just as the walls either side of him collapsed, throwing shelf upon shelf of delicious waffles down into his wide-open mouth.
‘No, no! Stop!’ Dev tried to pull the waffles away from Boja’s sticky fingers. ‘You can’t just take them!’
‘Mine!’ Boja shovelled more into his mouth. ‘MINE!’
‘Not yours,’ Dev implored.
Boja thought for a minute, and then offered a clump of waffle between his finger and thumb.
‘For me?’ Dev smiled. ‘Well, I guess that’s something. At least you’re sharing!’
As Dev reached out to take it, Boja slowly pulled the waffle away, until it was hovering around his own mouth.
‘Boja …’ Dev reached across Boja’s belly, chasing the waffle. ‘Boja, share it.’
Boja’s bottom lip wobbled, his eyes wincing as if he was in pain. He glanced at the waffle, at Dev, back at the waffle, before slowly slipping it into his upturned mouth and chewing it so reluctantly it may as well have been a lump of mud.
‘Mine,’ Boja whimpered.
