by W Kangas
The continuous muscle action pushed her down, as she held the magic knife firm and plunged it deeper into the thumping thing. The blade was cutting ribs first and then it hit the thumper and the Trident let out a scream that Alisia could hear as she cut its heart in half.
The Trident fell hard, jarring her as it hit the ground. The muscle action stopped, and she was able to cut deeper with the knife, pulling it toward her as she plunged the blade even deeper. She kept hoping to hit a void and that would mean she had cut an opening to the outside. It happened after she cut through a tough layer and she stuck her head out of the beast and called to Ducker.
Surprisingly, the potbelly answered. The little lizard knew the monster was acting strange and thought it might have indigestion. But when she heard Alisia’s voice, she thought she was hearing things. She walked closer to the monster, and it seemed to be dead, as she studied it in the poor lighting. She was soon happy when she saw Alisia’s head sticking out of its side.
“Are you okay?” the potbellied lizard called.
Right when Alisia was about to answer, there was a multitude of scurrying that was coming their way.
“What is coming?” she asked Ducker, whose eyes were a little sharper than hers in the dark.
“It’s more of them,” said the lizard in fear, “but they are small.”
“Hop up high somewhere,” she said to Ducker. “The young will have the poison too.”
Ducker jumped from rock to rock, getting higher in the cave and soon was out of their reach. Alisia pulled open the snake flesh and crawled back inside the beast. The young tridents were soon trying to get at her though the cut in the body.
“Do you think you can outrun them, Ducker?”
“I do,” she called back, as the muffled voice came to Alisia.
“Go get the dragon for help, and let her know what we’ve done. Maybe she’ll help the spiders to take care of these creatures. There are so many around the dead mother now, and we sure don’t want them growing up. See if you can find an opening and hop like the wind if the light permits. I will stay inside the beast until you get back. Please, Ducker, be careful and bring back some help. I think I can fend them off for a while.”
“I can do it, if the dragon is willing,” called the potbellied lizard, as she went off into the dark. She remembered where they had seen the winged creature and hopped with a happy heart that her friend was still alive.
Back at the town, things were not going well. The cold air was sending shivers down everyone’s spine, and Star wanted answers as she and her friends went looking for the professor to turn on the world news once again. They found him in the cave that once held him prisoner, and he was deep under his covers, not too interested in going out in the snow.
“Let’s wait for the snow to stop; I’m snug and feeling better, so don’t bother me.”
“You’re getting up, Professor, or we’re dragging you in your underwear.”
“Okay, you’re going to see that everything is cold. Believe me, I can just feel something bad is happening.”
“Get up and we’ll make a pot of hot coffee. We have to know if humans are finished on this planet. If we are, we’ll all hunker down as you have.”
They struggled in the snow to the coffee shop with the professor complaining and Fashion wanting to put knots on his head, as she still blamed him for all the bad things happening. The girls got the coffee pot going and the thought of something warm to drink gave the professor strength to turn on the equipment. They were just in time for a science investigation talk show, where the best minds in the country appeared to discuss all types of issues facing the planet.
Tonight, our guest is Doctor Franklyn Doolittle of environmental research to discuss the funny things going on with our planet. As always, I will give him the questions provided by our audience.
“Dr. Doolittle, it is very nice to meet you, sir. I hope we can find some answers here tonight. Here is the first question from the audience. Dr. Doolittle, are we going into an ice age?”
“I sure hope not. I was wanting to take my vacation time at the beach suntanning. But seriously, we are having some unusual weather. Now if your next question is why we are having this cold weather, I will give you my thoughts.”
“Yes, please answer that for us here and now, because people all over the world are concerned.”
“Well, here are some theories, and then I will give you mine. Some say the sun is in a quiet stage with fewer prominences and many sunspots where the surface is cooling. Now from my observations, things on the sun’s surface look much the same as they did a couple of weeks ago.”
“Well, what’s causing this cooldown, Doctor?”
“I’m working my way there. Some of our eggheads think currents in the ocean have changed, thus not warming certain areas like England with the gulf stream.”
“Is that what has done it, Doctor?”
“No, not at all. I got out my trusty phone and called people who fish the oceans around the world and their boats are drifting in the same way as before our little ice age. They’re not catching fish because they are cold too, but something strange has got to be happening, right? There are two more theories and one of them is right.”
The doctor paused and took a drink of water.
“The first one is that on the fateful first day of this disaster, and believe me it is a disaster, everyone opened their refrigerator at the very same time.”
Strange sounds came from the people in the studio.
“Why is the audience grunting at the sound of this theory? It is just as plausible as the others I have mentioned, except I was able to discount the first ones, but I can’t discount this one. However, I have a better theory that the earth’s heart has been damaged. Or to put another way, the heart of the earth has in some way been damaged.”
“He has it right,” said Star. “He sounded like he was crazy at first, but by golly, he hit it right on the head. The heart of the earth was damaged, and, unfortunately, we could all pay the heavy price.”
The ladies turned their attention back to the program.
“Doctor, the next question is, What can we do to survive the little ice age?
“Hunker down with someone cute, but make sure you have plenty of food, insulation, and some way to heat your little corner when it really gets cold. I said corner on purpose, because it would be stupid to heat a big house and use up your fuel in a couple of weeks just as the really bad weather starts.”
“If this little ice age becomes the big ice age, people are going to have to become inventive to survive. But there’s always a silver lining.”
“And what would that be, Doctor?”
“Gangs won’t be on the street much. They won’t be playing much golf on TV, and you won’t have to mow your grass for a good while.”
“Okay, here is your last question before we go to our weather report. What can our audience do tonight to make things better?”
“I have several ideas, but this is the best one. Get right in your car and go buy some of that Cajun hot chicken. That will warm you up and provide some nutrition. Wink at the cute girls and just maybe one will come home and snuggle with you.”
“Thank you, Doctor, and now for the weather.”
The screen image changed to show a weather map.
“We have found the warmest place on earth, and it could be the destination for warm trips in the future. And what is the warm spot? Take a guess audience. Yes, you, young lady,” said the emcee pointing her way.
“I think it might be Tahiti.”
Aiiin’t sounded in the background.
“And that sound means you are not even close.”
“How about you, sir? Give us the name of your warm destination.”
“How about Brookland?”
“No, sir, they are all eating spicy chicken right now in Brookland. The destination, and I’m sorry we don’t have a winner to accept these airline tickets, is Iraq, the warm destination of the futur
e.”
Ducker was on a mission to help her friend, Alisia. She knew she had to hurry, with her friend trapped inside the monster with the young ones trying to bite her. As she hopped, she went from vault to vault checking for the small dragon without finding her. It was taking far too much time and had her worried.
She came upon the den with the spiders and thought they could help and forgot the danger. She hopped inside, not fully thinking, and the spiders were stunned that a potbellied lizard would walk right into their cave with no fear or protection. They surrounded her with the whole troop and stared at her with their complex spider eyes.
“I have something urgent to say to you,” said Ducker. “My friend, the one who taught you the alien dance, has killed the three-headed snake, but found that its babies are as many as your troop of spiders. She hides in the dead carcass right now down by the magical stream. We can’t let the aliens grow, or they will eat everything in this cavern. If we can get them now, we could rid the caves of them.
“She is hiding inside the dead monster while the young ones are trying to get to her, so she doesn’t have much time. I have questions for you. Do you like the caves dark, cold, and wet? Do you want the menace coming right inside your vault and killing many of your friends? Do you want to have to hide for your life all the time?
“If you want those things to happen, then go ahead and eat me and do nothing about the scourge. Besides, if you come with me now, you will have plenty of snakes to eat.”
“How can we trust what you say, little potbelly?”
“I’m a little lizard and my friend is just a young girl; the fairy we had with us had to leave.” She was sure not to tell more about Bella. “How could we take on a whole troop of spiders?”
“You said this little girl killed the mother alien, didn’t you? We are not sure the whole spider troop could take it down. Maybe she has a trick for us too.”
“Will you help me find the small dragon then?” asked Ducker.
“Maybe, but first, what happened to the other potbelly that went on your quest?”
“My best friend was Leaping; the alien ate him.”
“The little dragon is close. Do you want our sentries to show you?”
“I do, because my friend is in trouble, and I must get to her as soon as I can.”
The leader gave some spider chirps and the sentries started out of the cave. “Follow them,” said the leader. They went into a small cave that exited into a long corridor.
“It lives at the end of this corridor. It stays here, because nothing can come up behind or to the side of it,” said the sentry leader. “It will know we are coming, and we must be humble, because it doesn’t like poor manners.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Soon they heard a voice. “What are you doing in my cave?”
“I have come for your help.”
“And who are you?”
“I am Ducker, a potbellied lizard, that has been on a quest with friends to free the cavern from the alien snake.”
“Did you kill it?”
“My friend did, but there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of babies that have her cornered right now. If the babies grow up, the whole world could be in jeopardy. I would like you and the spiders to come help rid our world of them.”
“My son would be by himself if I came with you.”
“You could leave him with the potbellies, and they would protect him.”
“Could they protect him from aliens and spiders?”
“They are all peace loving but spunky when they have to be.”
“You have spiders with you. What do they say?”
“We will help protect your baby by not letting anything into the lizard’s cave.”
“I will think about this matter.’
Seconds later, the dragonette answered. “I will help for the good of everyone in these caves. The three-headed snake must be stopped. Come fly with me, potbelly; we are going to see your kinfolk.”
Ducker was in the grasp of the little dragon and never thought she would get a ride from a dragon without it being a death flight. The baby dragon was under other arm and off they went through the dark vaults, flying with speed like a bat in a dark sky. Ducker just closed her eyes and let the dragonette navigate through the different rooms.
When they entered the lizards’ vault, it sent the potbellied creatures scurrying in all directions.
“Wait,” called Ducker, hoping they would recognize her voice and sure enough some stopped to see who was calling. The dragonette put Ducker on the ground with many of the lizards surprised to see such a thing.
“I need your help taking care of the dragon’s baby while we fly to help my friend, Alisia. You must be very good to the little dragon and protect him at all costs. Can you help in this way?” asked Ducker.
“We will all help,” said one with the others agreeing, “if the dragon is going to help you.”
“There are spiders watching the cave opening to keep anything from coming in here. If you see the cave start to glow, you will know that we succeeded. I know that all of you would like to have the warmth come back, so wish us luck.”
“Good luck,” was shouted to them by many potbellies. The dragonette with Ducker in her arms took flight back through the maze of vaults.
“I hope we’re not too late,” said Ducker during the flight through the spider’s cave. The dragonette flew at a frightening speed in close quarters, zigging one way and zagging another. Ducker remembered the terrain and when they got over the big lake she knew they were almost back. She wanted to see her friend alive and hoped and wished for everything to be okay.
When they flew into the room there were hundreds of young tridents pulling on their mother’s carcass. She thought that was a good sign, thinking they were wanting a chance to get Alisia. The dragon put Ducker on a ledge close by and flew down spraying some of the beasts with fire. She turned and made another pass with the beasts scattering and then uncoiling and stretching to try to bite the dragon.
It was a ferocious battle with many snakes burning around the mother’s body but the tridents were becoming bolder as they untwisted and stretched high in the air to make a deadly strike. The dragonette was far too agile for a single attack, and the tridents figured that out quickly and started attacking in a place where they thought she would zig. They were coming close with their uncoiling viper attacks, and Ducker started feeling the urgency to signal the spiders.
Ducker jumped off the ledge and hurried away from the fight, knowing the dragonette was in danger. There were many burning tridents on the battlefield, but there were hundreds still left to attack. The numbers were making the fight difficult for the winged creature, for with every attack made by the dragonette, the tridents changed their strategy and were coming far too close to biting her.
On the battle went, as Ducker called out loud in the cave to hurry the spiders to the fray. She was now swimming in the lake but still making her calls echo through the different chambers. When she got to the other side and the shoreline, the spiders were just arriving and said they had to go around the lake to the magical stream room from the back side.
“Please, go with all speed, for we are close to losing the battle,” said Ducker.
Ducker started back to the battle, hoping all was not lost. As soon as she got into the vault, one of the tridents made a successful uncoil and stretched to bite the little dragon. The dragon swerved and alighted on the ledge where Ducker had been placed, but the lizard had made it to the jagged path overlooking her new friend’s probable demise.
She could see the tridents jumping to get on the ledge with the dragon, but the winged creature still held them off by breathing fire. The dragonette was stumbling from the poison, which put the tridents in a frenzy. Ducker then stooped to get rocks to throw at the snakes, hoping she could hold them off the dragonette in some way.
The little dragon stumbled again and fell on the ledge, giving a terrible moan. Ducker chunked rocks w
ith all her might, hoping to delay the tridents. She fired rock after rock and made contact on occasion with some of the monsters turning her way. Ducker knew her friend was finished if the spiders didn’t hurry, as the first of the snakes were now on the jagged path. She threw rocks at those jumping for the ledge and those climbing the path after her.
There was an avalanche left, and she kicked the trigger, releasing the larger, tumbling rocks. But two tridents made it onto the ledge to finish the dragon. She couldn’t get enough on the rocks to make them hit the top of the ledge.
Alisia was watching through the slit in the Trident and burst out of the carcass running, while the snakes were watching the two tridents close in on the dragon. When this happened, all the tridents went after Alisia, even the ones on the path and the ledge. They wanted her blood. She ran in the shadowy world, knowing her friends were in danger.
When she saw the huge spiders darting toward her, it gave her pause, but they passed her like they didn’t even see her or pay her any mind but went full speed for the young tridents. The tridents were still after Alisia, but being so preoccupied with her, they weren’t as aware of the spiders on the move by the hundreds.
The spiders scored bite after bite on the tridents, and as they fell, there came a change in strategy with the snakes confronting the spiders. Alisia being left alone knew where she could help the most and went back to the Trident snake carcass and cut the straps on the pouches that held the crystals.
She soon had all three and went to the stream to find the fish that the Mad Hatter had described. A fish did appear before her that seemed too sick to help but might be able to answer her questions.
“Where do these crystals go?” asked Alisia.
“The smallest goes close to the shore. I’ll swim to the spot and show you and hopefully it might accept it once again and start glowing.”
The fish swam in circles around the spot, with Alisia going underwater and trying her best to plug the crystal back into its place. It soon felt like it was securely stuck to the bottom.
She asked the fish to show her the spot for the next stone. The fish swam for the next spot with the spiders and the tridents fighting a ferocious battle close to the shore that seemed to be a standoff with the tridents and the spiders exacting heavy losses on each other.
