by Jack Patton
“In that case, we have to rescue him,” Max said, clenching his fists.
“All right, short stuff,” Spike said. “Let’s get to it!”
Quickly, Max and Spike set off. As the sun steadily rose in the sky, they descended the mountain. Being on Spike’s back was a lot steadier than riding on Buzz, though it was still rough going, especially when Spike went charging off down near-vertical slopes.
“Whoa!” Max yelled, as the scorpion took a bend too fast.
“Hold on, partner,” Spike cried, scuttling down the gravelly slope. Max tried to dig his heels in, but they just scuffed against the surface. Spike scrabbled and clutched like a spider trying to escape from a bathtub.
Eventually they came to rest, sideways, at the foot of the slope.
“Well, that’s one way to get down the mountain fast,” gasped Max. “Come on, buddy. Let’s get to the old camp.”
Together, they stalked their way between the massive trunks of trees and across the leaf-laden ground. Max usually felt safe here, but not today. He kept glancing around, alert for any sign of reptiles. Creatures like the leaf-tailed gecko could be hiding anywhere. You wouldn’t see them until you were right up close, and then it might be too late.
Spike hunkered down as they approached the ruins of the camp. Only his stinger showed above the scattered leaves, poking out like the periscope of a submarine.
Max flinched as he saw the shattered remains of the once-proud bug camp—the place was in ruins. What mattered now was getting Glower out, so the resistance could begin.
“Should I get closer?” Spike whispered.
“Wait here a minute,” said Max. “Listen up.”
Soon, Max could just make out several hissing voices coming from the camp, as the reptiles argued among themselves. He poked his head above the leaf cover and caught a glimpse of some of them. A gang of sea turtles was boasting about the number of reptiles they had all ferried across the ocean, while a Western fence lizard with yellow spots bragged about the fighting he’d been in.
A tokay lizard, thought Max. Another kind of gecko … and a big one, too.
“You should have seen me!” it said. “Smashing bugs to the left and right! I took down that Barton, all by myself!”
“Don’t lie,” hissed a sea turtle. “Barton escaped. Everyone knows it.”
“Nah. That must have been a bug-double,” mumbled the tokay lizard. “I got Barton. I got that scorpion, Spike, too.”
Max had to hold Spike back from charging in and attacking on the spot. “Keep listening,” he whispered. “We need intel.”
The biggest sea turtle roared with laughter. “You think you’ve seen fighting, little lizard? Just you wait until the next wave of turtles arrives at sundown. Then you’ll see a battle to end all battles!”
Max’s ears pricked up and he urged Spike closer. But just as the scorpion edged forward, Max saw something that froze the blood in his veins. A monstrous head reared up over the crumbling battlements. It was sleek, like a dragon—which, in a way, it was.
It was a beast Max had faced down before. Last time he’d seen it, it had been roaring in anger as it was swamped by a tsunami.
“You did not destroy Barton, soldier,” it snarled. “None of you did, and none of you will. Barton is mine!”
“That voice,” Max whispered. “It’s him.”
“But it can’t be,” said Spike.
“It is. It’s General Komodo!”
Max’s mouth hung open. “I can’t believe it,” he whispered. “How can General Komodo possibly be alive?”
He thought back to the mighty battle for Bug Island several months earlier. The lizard army had mounted an all-out attack, and most of them had managed to swarm onto the lava bridge that had connected the two islands. Just as all had seemed lost, the volcano on Reptile Island, known to the lizards as the Great Reptilicus, had erupted. The bridge was swept away, and Komodo went with it—or at least that’s what they’d thought.
“Spike, tell me I’m not seeing things!”
“Keep your voice down,” warned Spike. “They said something about sea turtles landing tonight.”
But the lizard voices had already died down to a hush, as if none of them dared to speak in the presence of their general.
“You lazy reptiles should be interrogating the prisoner, not gossiping among yourselves,” Komodo snarled. “If I catch you …”
He stopped midsentence. Max crouched, trembling, and watched Komodo crane his huge head toward them, peering through the trees.
His forked tongue flicked out and in, out and in, as if he could taste the air.
What’s he up to? Max wondered. Then, he realized. That’s how he smells his prey … prey like me!
“We are being watched!” Komodo roared. “Spies are in the forest. Find them!”
“Let’s get out of here,” Max said. He wheeled Spike around and galloped the scorpion back into the surrounding forest. They plunged into the deep foliage, where bright flowers towered above them like skyscrapers.
Komodo came lumbering after them, crashing through the undergrowth and bellowing. The tokay lizard, eager to prove itself, went racing ahead in front.
Max glanced over his shoulder and saw the huge komodo dragon right on him.
“Faster, Spike! He’s catching up!”
Spike scrabbled through the fallen leaves while Max clung on. General Komodo bounded after them and made a flying leap.
Max let out a yell as Komodo’s claws grabbed hold of him and he went tumbling to the ground.
As Max writhed on the ground, the tokay lizard sprang into action, chasing Spike farther into the jungle. In an instant, Max was left on his own.
Like something in a nightmare, Komodo waded toward him. He looked like a rampaging dinosaur. As Max peered up from the forest floor, he realized that there was only one way out of this. There was a tree above him. Its surface was covered with wrinkled bark that looked like it might be easy to climb. He pulled himself up and made a break for it, grabbing handholds and footholds as he went.
Steadily, Max inched his way up the tree, as Komodo bellowed with rage behind him.
“Don’t you know when you’re beaten?” roared Komodo. “I’m coming for you, worm!”
On an impulse, Max looked behind him—and immediately wished he hadn’t. General Komodo began to rear up on his hind legs and shake the tree with his huge claws. Max clung on as best he could, but Komodo was shaking so hard the bark was coming away from the tree.
Komodo paused, peered at the branch, and laughed. “So many times you have been my nemesis, and now I have you trapped, clinging to a tree like a fat little caterpillar!”
“You’re supposed to be dead!” Max shouted.
“I’m delighted to disappoint you,” sneered the reptile. “You came close to finishing me, I admit. Closer than any bug ever has. But the tsunami was not enough to kill me, human. And nothing can keep me from my destiny … to conquer Bug Island!”
Komodo lunged and struck with his claws. There was a violent sound of tearing wood, and the tree branch broke clean off. Max, who was still clinging to it, went hurtling to the ground.
The impact knocked the wind out of him. He lay on his back, fighting for breath. General Komodo’s leering face loomed huge in his vision. Then there was nothing but darkness.
* * *
It was still dark when Max awoke. He had to fight hard to make his eyes adjust to the dim light. He looked around him and could tell he was inside a termite tower—or what had once been a termite tower. The entrance was blocked up with a huge scoop of mud, no doubt plastered there by a sea turtle.
The only light in his gloomy cell came from a crack in the wall, far too small to squeeze through. Max pressed an eye to it and saw lizards patrolling back and forth outside.
“Komodo’s keeping me prisoner,” he muttered to himself. “That’s not good. But it’s better than being eaten. There’s got to be some way out of here.”
“
Well. This is a familiar feeling, isn’t it?” asked a dry voice from the corner of the room. “Last time we two were trapped together, it was in Lieutenant Titan’s cave.”
A light flared to life. Max saw that it was the luminous body of an old friend.
“Glower!” he cried. “Am I glad to see you!”
“You too, Max,” said Glower, the firefly intelligence specialist.
“This was supposed to be a rescue mission,” Max began. “But, um, things didn’t exactly go according to plan.”
Glower’s firefly body glowed bright in agreement. “They never do, young Max!” He edged close and lit up the entire chamber.
“The reptiles seem to be saving us for something,” he said. “If they don’t want to eat us, then they must want information.”
“I could use some information myself,” Max said. “How can Komodo be back? I thought we’d beaten him.”
Glower checked over his shoulder and then drew closer to Max.
“Well,” he began. “From what I overheard, he’s been resting up on Reptile Island, secretly coordinating the other attacks, and letting the other lizards do the dirty work. But since they’ve all failed, he’s decided to come back and take over the island for himself.”
“One thing’s for sure,” Max said. “If we don’t get out of here, we’ll be eaten, and the remnants of the bugs’ forces will be destroyed.”
“I’m afraid you are correct,” said Glower.
Max hunted around, looking for a way out. The crack in the wall was narrow, but he thought he might be able to widen it enough to squeeze through. He took a fistful of earth and tugged it away.
Immediately, a gecko’s eye appeared at the crack. “You in there!” snapped the gecko. “Back away from the wall. No funny business!”
Max sat down heavily on the floor. “It’s no use, Glower. Those guards don’t miss anything.”
“I’m not surprised they are diligent, what with Komodo himself watching over them,” said Glower. “No doubt he will devour any of his troops who fail him today.”
There’s no way out, Max thought. There are reptile sentries standing all around this stump of a building.
Then an idea came to him.
“Glower?” he whispered. “Instead of finding a way out, maybe we can find a way down.”
“Termites built this tower,” Max whispered excitedly, “and if I’m remembering right, termites always build an emergency exit!”
Back when the termites had built the watchtower on the Howling Cliffs, the foreman had shared a secret with Max: There’s always a secret exit, just in case …
“You mean to say there’s been a way to escape this prison all along, right under my antennae?” said Glower, flickering with excitement.
“There’s only one way to find out!” Max replied.
With mounting excitement, Max and Glower searched around the dingy cavern. They ignored the walls and poked at the floor every few steps, checking to see if the packed mud-and-dung mixture felt different anywhere.
Sure enough, Max’s foot soon crunched against a leafy mat, similar to what Webster used to seal off his burrows.
“Glower, over here! I think I’ve found it.”
Between them, they lifted the trapdoor as quietly as they could. Underneath lay a narrow tunnel plunging down into the darkness. Max gave Glower a silent thumbs-up.
“Excellent fellows, those termites,” said Glower. “Follow me, Max. I’ll soon have my bearings.”
Glower was as good as his word. They had not gone far through the tunnels before Glower cried “Aha!” and pointed out a little cave opening.
An emergency shelter stretched out in front of them. Stockpiles of sticky nectar for food lay in one—plenty to see the bugs through if it was too dangerous to go back to the surface.
“It sounds like it’s occupied,” Max said. He could hear the sound of chittering bug voices from inside the shelter. By the sound of it, there were thousands of them in there.
The pair of them went to investigate. By the light of Glower’s glow, Max saw rank upon rank of bugs huddling in the cave: mantises, ants, beetles, and even some flying bugs, like the tarantula hawks.
“Max!” shouted a mantis. “You’re alive! Welcome to Bunker 8-U-G.”
The bugs crowded around Max, eager to tell him all about the battles they’d fought. One cicada chirped about the camp being overrun. A scorpion boasted about stinging a dozen lizards.
“I’m glad to see so many of you made it,” Max said. “Are you ready to fight again?”
“YES, SIR!” bellowed the assembled bugs.
“Great. Okay, here are your orders. Nobody is to go above ground until sundown. That’s when the lizards are planning their next attack. When the moment comes, I want you all to gather at Fang Mountain so we can defend the beach.”
“Roger that!” said the mantis, giving a salute.
Glower tapped Max on the shoulder. “We should visit all the bunkers, if we can,” he said. “There may be more bugs we can rally.”
“Good thinking!”
Farther down the tunnel, they came across the entrance to Bunker 4-N-T. It turned out to be full of bullet ants who were delighted to hear there was more fighting ahead.
“We’ll be there at sundown,” snarled the bullet ant commander, snapping his mandibles and flexing his stinger. “About time you bigwigs in Battle Bug Command gave us something to do!”
“Wow,” muttered Max as they moved on. “He was antsy.”
“Well, yes,” agreed Glower. “He’s an ant. It goes with the territory.”
They moved on through the tunnels, visiting every bunker they found on the way. One of them was sheltering a swarm of bees, whose queen promised Max the support of her troops. Another was literally crawling with spider troops. Max was growing exhausted when he finally spotted a shaft of light up ahead.
“Glower, I think we’re at the surface!”
“This tunnel will take you up to the forest,” Glower said. “Good luck, Max. I have to leave you here.”
“You aren’t coming with me?”
“There are more bunkers I need to visit. Every bug needs to know the battle plans, so our armies can act as one. I can do that work on my own. You, I think, are needed elsewhere.”
Max nodded solemnly and shook Glower’s extended foreleg. “See you soon, old buddy.”
“We’ll be sipping nectar together on Fang Mountain tomorrow morning,” Glower said. He sounded like he wanted to believe it.
Max saluted, and hurried up the tunnel and out into the bright light of day.
Alone among the vast trees of the forest, he tried to get his bearings. The sound of splashing water was coming from somewhere close by. Max ran toward the noise, glancing around for reptile scouts. No scaly eyes watched him as he passed.
He soon found himself standing on the banks of a rocky stream that cut straight through the forest. The splashing was coming from a nearby waterfall, where strange, bright flowers bobbed in the mist.
Max threw some cold water on his face, clambered onto a rock, and tried to see where he was. Away to the north he could make out Fang Mountain, while to the south lay the long, sandy beach and beyond it, the sea. Max imagined how it must look from above. The river neatly cut off the southernmost patch of forest that lay beside the beach.
He turned his attention to the odd flowers by the waterfall, and the rocks that glittered under the water’s impact. Then he stopped and looked more closely at the foaming water. Something was gleaming up from the streambed—something he’d been afraid was lost forever.
Max was suddenly very glad he still had his vine rope. He unslung it, tied one end around a nearby tree, and the other end around his waist. He gave it a tug to make sure it was secure, then waded into the churning waters.
“I can’t be too careful in running water,” he panted. “Not since that time General Longtooth nearly swallowed me whole.”
The water came up to his shoulders, but the vi
ne rope held him steady. He took a breath and dived down, groping in front of him for the glittering object.
He came spluttering to the surface, holding the shining thing triumphantly as a trophy. It was his missing magnifying glass, still miraculously intact.
Just as he was beginning to think his luck had changed for the better, he flinched in sudden fear. A gruff voice boomed out behind him:
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing in there?”
Max staggered back through the deep river as a shadowy form loomed up in front of him. Water made his vision blurry, but he could tell the creature was dark-colored, large, and very agitated.
“Hey!” it shouted again. “Max! What do you think you’re doing? Going for a swim? Come out of there before you get swept away!”
“Spike?” Max gasped. He rubbed the water out of his eyes and saw it was only his scorpion friend, fidgeting anxiously at the stream’s edge.
“What’s this? A vine?” Spike tugged at it. “I’ll pull you out.”
Spike hauled Max up out of the stream. Just as he managed to stagger onto the bank, Spike launched into what had happened with the tokay lizard.
“As soon as I noticed you had fallen off, I turned around and went looking for you,” he said, sounding a little embarrassed. “But the tokay lizard followed me all through the forest. I managed to sting him, but when I turned back to you, I couldn’t find you!”
“No worries.” Max laughed. “At least you got back at that lizard.”
“I was so mad!” Spike clashed his pincers. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re in one piece, short-stuff. Barton’s got to be going buggy, wondering what’s become of us. We need to get back to the camp, fast.”
The mountaintop camp, which had been almost deserted before, was heaving with bugs. Glower’s message had been passed on all across the island, and now thousands of bug warriors were getting ready for the final battle.
Barton was pacing nervously back and forth when Spike and Max arrived. “You made it!” he shouted, sounding very relieved.
