Louis in the Land of Tetra
Page 14
“. . .flash their wings!” they both said at the same time.
“That’s what we saw! Mr. Bixbee, Gus, and Shining Star must be in trouble. We don’t have the trail of crumbs to follow anymore, but we can go in the direction of where that light appeared. That should lead us back to them!” Louis said with excitement.
They took off and ran as quickly as they could. They jumped over fallen logs, small ravines, and shallow streams. There were many low hanging branches in the dense forest and they were careful not to run into them. Louis and Crystal ran so hard, their lungs felt like they would burst.
“How much farther?” Crystal said breathlessly.
“We’re almost there. Don’t slow down. It’s just beyond that hill.”
Their legs were burning in agony with each painful stride.
“We’re not going to make it,” she gasped. “I can’t go on.”
“Don’t give up, Crystal. Come on, we can do it. We have to do it. Our friends are in trouble and we have to help them!”
She struggled but somehow found the strength to make it up the hill.
“Look! Over there!” Louis panted.
Over the ridge, they saw gigantic ants in total confusion.
“Louis, what on earth is going on down there?”
“We’re not on Earth.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Those monsters can’t see. The bright light from the Bonky birds must have blinded them. We’d better get down there fast.”
“What is your plan? What are we going to do?”
“I wish I knew.”
#
“Here come the ants,” Gus said.
The Xingerh creatures were regaining their sight. Full vision had not return to them yet, but they were able to make out shapes and forms. This was enough to enable them to move toward their delayed meal.
“Well, Gus, my friend, it seems that the end has come. Regrettably, we did not have the opportunity to finish this adventure on a more positive note. I will miss you and Shining Star greatly. I have been very fortunate to have met friends like you,” said Mr. Bixbee.
“It’s not over yet. There must be something that we can do!” Gus insisted.
“I seriously doubt that. Our time is limited. We must be realistic about this.”
One of the Xingerhs crept unsteadily toward Shining Star. The gigantic ant-like creature opened its jaws and prepared to take a bite out of the unconscious Zeeboo.
Out of the corner of his eye, Gus saw what was happening. “No! Get away from him!” he screamed angrily.
Not thinking of his own safety, Gus jumped on the back of the Xingerh and grabbed its neck from behind. Gus pulled up with all his might and forced the monster’s head up and away from Shining Star. The Xingerh thrashed violently like a bucking bull, trying to throw him off, but Gus refused to let go. The Xingerh was in obvious pain and cried with a terrifying screech.
“Hold on to him, Gus! I think you’re winning!” shouted Mr. Bixbee.
Another Xingerh moved in on Shining Star.
“Just one second! You will not make a meal out of my friend!” shouted Mr. Bixbee. He followed Gus’s example and leapt on the back of the surprised Xingerh.
“That’s the way! Hold on to its neck!” Gus yelled frantically.
“I am not as strong as I once was, but I will do my best!” Mr. Bixbee shouted back.
They were able to steer the two Xingerhs away from Shining Star, but the rest of the ants were swiftly gaining their vision. Gus and Mr. Bixbee jumped off the huge ants and ran over to protect Shining Star.
“They look real mad.”
“It appears that we have run out of options. At this juncture, I suppose our only hope is through the device of a miracle. But, personally speaking, I believe the odds of this happening are impossibly slim.”
“I know you’re wrong, Mr. Bixbee.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I see our miracle right over there.”
Mr. Bixbee turned to look. It was Louis and Crystal carefully running past the blinded Xingerhs.
“We made it back with the food!” Crystal said out of breath. “We did it!”
“It would seem that your celebration is somewhat premature, Crystal. We are still in great danger. You were very fortunate to make it through the enemy lines, but they are recovering their sight and will launch another attack upon us.”
“But Louis will think of something, Mr. Bixbee. He always does,” Crystal said with confidence. “He can use his sweater again!”
“Unlike the turtle creatures we met before, these ants attack simultaneously from many different directions. We cannot use the same strategy that we used against the Xeros,” Mr. Bixbee pointed out.
The clacking noises of the Xingerhs’s powerful jaws were loud and furious.
“Louis, what are we going to do?” Crystal yelled.
He was trying his best to come up with a plan, but nothing came to mind.
“Why are they making that loud horrible sound? What are they waiting for?” asked Crystal.
Mr. Bixbee explained, “Judging from the peculiar noise they are generating, I would say they have not eaten anything for quite a long time. The loud sounds they make are their way of celebrating the discovery of new food. . .namely us. When they finish this odd ritual, they will become silent and attack.”
“Well, if this is the end, I want to finish what we came back to do,” Crystal said to everyone. She reached into one of the food sacks and took out a cookie.
She sat down quietly and said, “It’s me, Crystal. Wake up, Shining Star. I’ve got a nice tasty cookie for you to eat.”
Shining Star did not respond. He was dreaming about a large garden filled with food as far as the eye could see.
Crystal shook him gently. He slowly opened his eyes. He stared at the cookie and took a small bite. He was very weak and barely had the strength to chew.
“That’s the way. Eat slowly. You don’t want to get a tummy ache,” Crystal said softly to the Zeeboo. Shining Star was gaining strength. His purple and orange stripes were getting brighter.
“I bet you’d like something to drink too.” Crystal reached into another bag and brought out a small flask filled with water. As she lifted the container to Shining Star’s lips, she felt something grab her hand. She jumped in surprise and saw a small, fuzzy, familiar face look up at her from her dress pocket.
“Kompaqk, it’s you! I forgot that I put you in there.” She took him out and rubbed his long furry ears. “I’m sorry you had to come all this way with us. It looks like we’re in really big trouble.”
Crystal quickly explained the situation. The clacking noises were getting softer. Their time was running out.
“I’m sorry too. I wish I could help, but I’m only a small Binkee and no one is afraid of small, fuzzy Binkees.”
Louis thought about what the little creature said. He had an idea.
“Mr. Bixbee, do the Xingerhs have any natural enemies? Are they afraid of anything?”
“Yes, but that is of no help to us at the moment.”
“Please, just answer my question. This may save our lives!”
“Well, I don’t see how–”
“Answer the question!” Louis interrupted. “Just answer the question!” he repeated loudly.
“There is no need to behave so rudely, my young friend. The Xingerhs are deathly afraid of Xorngos. Xorngos are equivalent to what we know on Earth as anteaters, however, they are larger than hippopotami. Unfortunately, there are none here to save us. Their natural habitat is far away from here, way beyond this forest.”
Louis turned to Kompaqk and asked, “Do you know what a Xorngo looks like?”
“Yes. They are somewhat rare, but I have seen a few near my village. They are very peaceful creatures, that is until they come upon Xingerhs. Then, they become very aggressive and ferocious.”
“How is that going to help us? I don’t see any of them around here,” said Gus.
“Can you do it?” Louis asked softly.
“I’ve never tried. I don’t know,” Kompaqk said doubtfully.
“Can you try? That’s all I’m asking you. Just try!”
The Binkee ran behind a tree.
“Great. You ask him to help and he runs away. That’s the kind of help we don’t need,” Crystal said with disappointment.
A silence washed over them. The Xingerhs were ready to pounce. They moved toward Louis and his friends.
Two Xingerhs reached out and snapped at Mr. Bixbee’s body. Fortunately, even for a man of his age, he still had quick reflexes. He dropped to the ground and avoided being cut in two. Crystal was not as fortunate. A Xingerh crept up from behind and grabbed her by the hand.
“Help, he’s got me!”
“Kompaqk, where are you!” Louis yelled, but Kompaqk was nowhere to be seen.
Louis and Gus sprang into action and ran toward the Xingerh. They kicked the creature as hard as they could.
The Xingerh was temporarily stunned by the blows and dropped Crystal to the ground.
“Thanks. That was a close one.”
But it was a short-lived rescue. The other giant ants closed in and lifted Louis, Crystal, Mr. Bixbee, Gus, and Shining Star high in the air. Louis managed to shake himself loose and ran toward the tree where Kompaqk disappeared.
“Louis, what are you doing? Don’t leave us here like this!” Crystal shouted. “Louis, come back!”
But he didn’t answer.
The Xingerhs were ready to eat.
“I never thought Louis would leave me. I thought we were friends,” Crystal said with tears.
A horrible scream and growl came from behind a tree. The Xingerhs stopped and watched, petrified in stark terror.
“This is amazing! It’s a Xorngo. This is the creature I was describing to Louis. But where did it come from?” a puzzled Mr. Bixbee asked.
“Look! Louis is riding on top of it! He’s back!” Crystal shouted with happiness. “He didn’t run away after all!”
The anteater had tremendously large claws with thick, furry legs the size of tree trunks. The Xorngo was covered in white fur and had small tiny ears that didn’t seem to match its huge body. It roared loudly and shook its head violently from side to side. The nose of the creature was long and wide, covered with brown and yellow stripes. It looked very much like an elephant’s trunk.
It was no wonder that the Xingerhs were scared out of their wits. They knew very well that a single Xorngo could easily eat twenty or thirty of them without any difficulty at all.
“Let my friends go!” commanded Louis from the top of the anteater.
It didn’t take much convincing. The ants released his friends and scurried away with their lives.
One of the Xingerhs, in its haste to escape, stumbled over a log and fell onto its back. The ant struggled to get on its feet, but couldn’t manage. Like a turtle turned on its back, the ant waved its legs in desperation to right itself.
Louis and the anteater went over to the fallen attacker. This ant was different from the others. It was bigger and has a shiny red color. The other Xingerhs were blue and black.
“Please, please do not eat or claw me to death. Please show mercy to me!” the Xingerh pleaded to Louis and the anteater.
“And why should we? You were going to eat all my friends!” Louis fired back angrily.
“That’s right! You scared us almost to death!” Crystal agreed.
The Xingerh spoke while still overturned, “You don’t understand, we accidentally entered the Deep Forest and have been trying to find our way out. My family has not eaten for many days. There is nothing in the forest that is safe for us to eat. We attacked you because we were desperate for food. Please don’t harm me. I don’t want my children to become orphans.”
“You mean you’re the parent of all these ants?” Louis said with surprise.
“Yes, there were more of us than you see now. Some of my sons and daughters have perished because they had nothing to eat. As their mother, I cannot express how much sorrow I feel,” she said.
Crystal heard this and immediately felt sorry for the Xingerh.
“She was only trying to feed her family, Louis,” Crystal said in understanding.
Louis slid off the anteater and approached the mother of the Xingerhs. “Don’t be afraid. Let me help.” Louis pushed up on one side of the ant and tried to turn her over. He grunted and groaned but couldn’t do it.
“She’s a lot heavier than I thought.”
“Let’s help Louis and all push together,” Crystal suggested.
They rocked the ant back and forth until she flipped over on her feet.
The Xingerhs that ran away were back, surrounding Louis once more.
“Oh, no. I think we’re in trouble again.” Gus said.
One of the Xingerhs spoke up. “We have seen what you have done. You have spared our mother’s life. Who leads your group?” the ant asked.
“Louis leads us,” Crystal pointed.
“Is this true?” asked the Xingerh.
Louis replied, “My friends say that I am.”
“I am the commander of this tribe,” the ant announced. “You have allowed our mother to live. I, my brothers, and sisters are indebted to you for your kindness. We have had a very hard time in the Deep Forest. All of us are very weak. I do not know how much longer we can continue without food. Our actions against you were a result of our need to survive.”
“We went through the same thing too. I can understand how you must feel. Louis, do you think we could share some of our food with the ants?” Crystal asked. As usual, her love of creatures prompted her to think of their wellbeing.
“We packed a lot of food for our trip. I guess we could spare some of it. It would be terrible if any more of the Xingerhs died. What do the rest of you think?” asked Louis.
“Let’s do it! Nobody should suffer like that. We may have less food afterward, but it’s worth it to save these ants. I guess, when you’re hungry, you start to do all sorts of strange things,” Gus said.
“Wow, you know how much Gus likes food. If he wants to give them some, we have no excuse not to,” she grinned.
“Well, you know, Crystal, you could probably lose a few pounds yourself anyway,” Gus teased back.
“What? What do you mean I could lose a few pounds? Are you saying that I’m overweight? Maybe I need to give you a beating!” she sneered.
“Hey, I was only joking. Since when do you want to fight?” laughed Gus. “Are you turning into a bully or something?”
Everyone laughed at that comment. It was a long time since they had something to laugh about.
“Okay, it’s settled,” Louis said to the ants. “We agree to share our food with all of you. Everyone, please line up.”
The Xingerhs stood in single file. The mother ant moved to the back of the line.
“You should be first,” Crystal said. “You’re the mom and you need to keep your strength up.” Crystal motioned for her to move to the front.
“No, no. My children should eat first. I can wait.”
“Just like a mom. Always concerned about her kids,” Crystal said.
Each ant was given two large handfuls of food. It was obvious they were famished. They clacked their jaws in satisfaction as they ate.
It was finally the mother ant’s turn. Crystal scooped up some special goodies and treats for her.
“But why am I getting so much?” she asked.
“I think you should get rewarded for taking care of all your kids. You have so many of them. It must be really hard work, so I figured you probably need more food than everybody else,” Crystal smiled.
“Thank you. You are very kind,” the mother ant said. She clacked her jaws with joy and ate every bit of the food.
The giant anteater spoke up and said, “I’m prett
y hungry too. I would like some food please.”
“You’re such a huge animal, I don’t think anything we have could satisfy your appetite,” Crystal replied.
“That shouldn’t be a problem. I really don’t eat that much.”
“How could such a big creature like you not eat very much? You didn’t get that big from not eating!” she laughed.
“Oh, I forgot,” the anteater said. He stepped back from everyone and started to quiver from side to side.
Crystal, Gus, Mr. Bixbee, and Shining Star watched in amazement as the anteater shrunk before their eyes. After two minutes, the anteater, which was originally bigger than an elephant, had diminished to the size of a cow. After five minutes, it had dwindled to the size of a large dog. Not only did the anteater continue to shrink, it was changing into something else. The body became orange and fuzzy. The ears got longer. The big claws transformed into little pink paws.
Crystal shouted with understanding. “It’s Kompaqk! He transformed into the anteater!”
“Did I do a good job?” Kompaqk asked.
Crystal stooped down and gave Kompaqk a big kiss. “You sure did!”
Kompaqk changed from his usual orange color to a bright red.
“Hey Crystal, you’ve done it again. You’ve made another guy blush,” Gus laughed out loud.
“I guess it must be Crystal’s special super power,” Louis joked.
Crystal ran over to Louis and kissed him on the cheek. “That’s for saving our lives again!”
Louis’s face became as red as the Binkee’s.
“No thanks needed. It was Kompaqk who did all the work,” Louis said modestly.
Kompaqk spoke up in his squeaky voice and said, “It was all Louis’s idea. He asked me if I could change myself into a Xorngo. I never turned into something that big before. I ran behind a tree to transform, but I was having a very difficult time in shape-changing. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t do it. Then Louis showed up and helped me.”
“What did you do, Louis?” asked Mr. Bixbee.
“I told him he couldn’t do it!”
“What? I don’t understand. How did that help him transform?” asked Crystal.
Louis explained, “Kompaqk looked very nervous. He was so scared and worried that he couldn’t concentrate. I told him he couldn’t change as long as he was so upset. I figured it was like me taking tests at school. The more nervous I get, the less I can concentrate on the test. I needed to calm him down, so I told him to think of his Binkee tribe and the happy times he had in his village. After a few minutes, he was calm enough to turn himself into a Xorngo.”