Hailey nodded as if to cement the image in her new reality. “Okay, my first question is going to be about, oh, let’s start with the jungle queen get-up.”
Kat laughed. “Oh, this is because I’m the jungle queen.”
“Of course you are. Okay that was a stupid question, I guess. Let’s move on to the gorillas.”
“These aren’t gorillas.” Kat leaned in close and whispered, “And for the love of God don’t call them monkeys.”
“Well obviously I’d never dream of it.”
One of the white apes grunted and charged forward as if it had understood the slight. Kat dismissed the ape with a sound that rose from her throat and stopped about the same place.
She turned back to Hailey. “These are the Fengali. Far more intelligent than any ape known to man. They are the dominant life form here in Kandallaha.”
“Of course they are.”
Kat stuck out an arm and one of the Fengali moved closer. “This is Kor. This is his tribe. He and his warriors led the rescue.”
“Um, thank you, uh, Kor.”
The Fengali nodded and grunted. He put an arm around Kat’s shoulder, squeezed her and walked off to join a smaller Fengali. The pair embraced and turned to watch the stranger together.
“Okay,” Hailey said. “And what are the tigers called?”
“Tigers.”
“Clever,” Hailey nodded calmly and then exploded. “Kat what the hell is going on?”
Behind them, the gates groaned and creaked and opened once more. Hailey spun at the sound. She could see the giant gates swinging open over the tops of the tallest trees in the village.
The Fengali grew excited and began to hoot and grunt in excitement. They didn’t seem to be frightened or threatened by the tremor that built in the ground.
Hailey put out her hands instinctively as the rumble grew more intense. “Is this a run and scream situation, Kat?”
Kat’s smile grew and she turned toward the path that led to the gates. “Not at all.”
Hailey wasn’t sold on the answer but she held her ground and tried to make her knees stop shaking. She had only seen the Tyrannosaur in shadows and a little of its nose when it shoved it into the Bearberry Tree. The beast was tremendous and terrifying. It lumbered into the village as the Fengali cheered and jumped and spun with excitement. Hailey trusted her friend, really, but she knew she would feel more comfortable running away from the dinosaur.
The T-Rex stopped only fifteen feet from the pair and tilted its head at the stranger like an inquisitive puppy. It was kind of cute. Then it roared.
The leaves of every tree shook. The huts rattled. The Fengali returned a roar of approval and beat their chests. Some danced by spinning in place and leaping into the air over and over.
The T-Rex snapped its jaws shut and stared at the two women on the ground. Then it made another sound that surprised her. It sounded like a gentle question. Like the family dog asking where the treat you just had in your hand went.
“Hi, Jambha.” Kat said. “You were great, girl. Thank you for your help.”
Jambha squeaked in delight and lowered her square head slowly to the ground in a majestic bow.
Hailey resisted the urge to run as the jaws came closer and closer.
Jambha set her head on the ground and she wasn’t sure if a T-Rex could smile, but it looked like it smiled.
Kat scratched the creature’s snout and received another satisfied squeak. Kat took Hailey’s hand and drew it toward the beast. “Hailey, this is Jambha. Jambha, Hailey.”
Hailey didn’t pull her hand away, but it hardly went willingly. She soon found herself scratching the dinosaur’s snout and stammering through her greeting. “Hi, uh, Jambha. Um, thank you.”
“And this is Thorne.”
Petting a T-Rex—even a robot one—was such a captivating experience that Hailey hadn’t noticed the man that had been riding on the animal’s head. This was surprising, because he was hard to miss.
Thorne stood well over six feet tall and had long, dirty-blond hair that draped over the broadest shoulders Hailey had ever seen. The light from the fire above flashed shadows over his chest and found muscles that comic book artists had yet to discover. And, the loincloth, well, it worked for him. Hailey gave a timid wave.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, dear friend Hailey,” he said as he stepped from Jambha’s head and took her hand. “I am pleased to see that you are not injured and that you have returned here safely with my dear Katherine.”
Thorne turned and took Kat’s hands in his own. They looked longingly into one another’s eyes. It was starting to get a little weird when Thorne leaned in and kissed the girl. Kat made no effort to move and that’s when it became weird.
The already awkward kiss was uncomfortably long. Hailey looked away and only cast quick glances back until she saw the two separate.
“My dear, sweet Kat. My queen.”
Kat sighed longingly at the machine man.
“Okay,” Hailey interrupted. “I have all new questions now.”
Thorne draped an arm over Kat and turned back to Hailey. “Of course. You must. This must seem so foreign and alien to you, a person from the outside world first seeing our home amid the jungle. I’ve been here for so long myself that I’ve forgotten what it must be like to look upon it for the first time. I imagine it must bring about a certain wonder. An epiphany that there is a world larger than one’s own.”
“I was going to say weird and creepy but your words work, too.”
“It’s not weird, Hailey,” Kat protested.
“It’s a little weird.”
Kat’s lip stiffened and she crossed her arms.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Hailey asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe I thought people would call it weird and creepy.”
“Fair enough.” Hailey looked away. “But it is.”
“Ladies, please. I fear this is not the time, nor the place, for arguments. We have larger concerns.”
Kat’s posture loosened. “Yes. What about my friends? Where are they?”
Thorne turned and looked toward the direction of the wall. “The Fengali followed as long as they dared. Your friends did escape the demon bears but I fear they’ve wandered too far for us to follow.”
“What are you talking about?” Hailey asked. “You have a damn dinosaur.”
“Please, friend Hailey, that language is uncalled for. But, yes, Jambha is fierce. But she tires easily. She must sleep before we can follow into the outer reaches of Kandallaha.”
“He means the park,” Kat said.
“Ah, my queen, my love. She talks sense when I cannot find the words.” He stood in front of Kat once more and took her hands in his. “She is my everything.”
They locked eyes once more so Hailey coughed for attention and asked, “What about our friends?”
Thorne managed to pull himself away from his queen and spoke to them both. “Shashanna says they are safe for now.”
“Who the hell is Shashanna?” Hailey asked.
“His eagle,” Kat said. “He has an eagle.”
“Of course he does.” Hailey threw up her arms and dropped to the ground. She leaned back against a log and snorted her disbelief.
“You must be tired, friend Hailey,” Thorne said. “You’ve had a trying day. The Fengali can prepare a hut for you if you wish to sleep.”
Hailey grabbed a handful of her hair and blew out a large breath. “You know what? I’m really fine. But, I would really like to know what’s going on. The truth this time, Kat.”
Kat took a deep breath of her own and nodded. “You’re right. I owe you that. I was sixteen when we came to the park. My parents surprised me on my birthday with the tickets. I was so excited. You have to understand that at that point it truly was the most magical place, it hadn’t turned into blood-fueled nightmare yet. This place had everything. I grew up watching the Bearberry Bears—”
“Those vile creatures,” Th
orne interjected.
“—and I wouldn’t have admitted it but I was excited to see Enchantasia. I grew up with all of those characters. I had the toys, the lunchboxes. And it was amazing. It was everything they promised. Until the third day.”
Thorne took her hand. She covered his hand with her free hand and squeezed.
“I’m not sure what started it. No one is. But it went from gleeful squeals to screams of terror in an instant. It was chaos. The crowd panicked and ran. But no one knew where to run. In the madness, I was separated from my family.”
“A poor child alone in such horror,” Thorne added.
“I looked for them. I screamed for them but I couldn’t find them.”
Thorne’s voice grew more dramatic. “A lost soul in a sea of human madness. An innocent soul in—”
Kat tapped his hand. “I’ve got this, honey.”
“But of course, my dear sweet Kat. Please continue.”
“I was swept into the mob and thrown to the ground. I bashed my knee and between the pain and mob, I could hardly get to my feet before I was knocked back to the ground.”
Thorne stroked her hair. “The poor thing.”
“I knew, really knew, that I was going to die. But I managed to somehow crawl out of the madness into the hollow of some fake tree.” She took a deep breath that did nothing to calm her. “All I could do was watch the insanity. People were trampling one another. They were sacrificing each other to save themselves. Then the machines caught up to them and set upon them.”
“What did you do?” Hailey asked.
Kat dropped her head. “Nothing.”
“My brave Queen,” Thorne bellowed.
“There was nothing I could do. They were everywhere. Pulling people to the ground and dragging them away as they screamed for mercy. And they sang that terrible song the entire time.”
Hailey didn’t know what to say. “Kat, I didn’t know. How did you get here?”
“I hid for hours,” she continued. “It was dark when they found me. Most of the park had emptied out but I was too afraid to move.”
“Who found you?”
“Those fucking bears. They came with smiles and outstretched paws. They asked me what was wrong and did I need help. Their park attendant programming was oblivious to their actions. I didn’t know what to do, so I took their paw and let them pull me from the tree. Everything seemed like it was going to be fine. They were the helpful friends I remembered from the cartoon.”
Kat grew quiet.
Thorne could see the hurt in her. “Be brave my love.”
“Everything was fine until they saw the blood on my knee. At that point they worked themselves back into a frenzy. Convinced I was a Bearberry, they grabbed me and dragged me through the park. They were going to make me into Bearberry Juice, they said. They’d turn me into a Bearberry Bear and we’d go on amazing adventures. But I knew what was happening.”
Hailey had seen the madness herself inside the Great Bearberry Tree. Once they had spotted the wound on Glitch’s arm they had gone mad with bloodlust. “Why would they do that?”
“Friend Hailey,” Thorne said. “Everything in this world has a purpose. For some it is to do good. For others it is to do harm. For the Bearberry Bears it is to make Bearberry Juice and transport children to a world of adventure and happiness. That is their purpose.”
“With the blood of humans? I wasn’t a big fan of the show but I think I’d remember that.”
“For whatever reason, the berries on their tree have soured. They are confused creatures that believe the juice of the berry is in the sweet and gentle creatures that visit Kandallaha. So you see, they are only pursuing their true purpose, vile though it may be.”
“And what about you, Thorne?” Hailey had to remind herself she was talking to a machine. It was easy to forget. Looking at him wasn’t helping. “What is your purpose?”
“My purpose is to protect the innocent people of Kandallaha. Primarily from the evil designs of the Blaxxton Corporation and their host of evil scientists sent back in time to pillage the resources of—”
“Thorne,” Kat prompted him to hurry and it got his attention.
“My apologies, my love.” He looked back at Hailey and continued. “I am the leader of the Dinosty Warriors and it is my duty to help those that cannot help themselves.”
“I’m guessing that had something to do with how you two met,” Hailey said.
Kat turned to her jungle king and looked deep into his eyes. “He saved me. He dropped from the sky and rescued me from Brexbin and the others and then brought me here. He kept me safe. While the world outside spent weeks wondering what went wrong and what to do, he protected me. This became my home. When they finally came for me, I didn’t want to leave. So I hid. It wasn’t until later that I got off the island.”
“And now she has returned to us. In our darkest hour.” Thorne said quietly with love in his voice. Then he turned to the village and shouted, “Our Queen!”
This drew a rousing cry of grunts and whoops from the Fengali. Raspberries seemed another popular form of celebration amongst the creatures.
“What do you mean your darkest hour?”
“Things have changed. For years Kandallaha has been peaceful with each tribe acting according to their purpose. The Futopians fought Futopians. The President Townians each sought to rule President Town as they best saw fit. And the Enchantasians were happy and cheery—” Thorne got lost in his own thoughts and drifted off. “—always so cheery.”
He turned towards the gate and continued. “But now Enchantasia has grown dark. We’ve heard nothing from our friends in Futopia. Even the Blaxxton Brigade has gone missing. And if you have questions, I’m afraid I have no answers as to why any of this is happening.”
“The Blaxxton Brigade?” Hailey asked.
“My nemesis. Thaddeus Blaxxton and his evil scientists. They have come from the future to ravage and pillage this land of its resources. It is my purpose to stop their evil ways. But I cannot stop them if I cannot find them.”
Hailey turned to Kat. “What if they got off the island?”
“They would never do that,” Thorne answered. “Their purpose, foul as it is, is here in Kandallaha.”
“It’s the bears, Hail,” Kat said.
“What do you mean?”
“They exist only to turn people into Bearberry Bears and spread happiness to everyone.” Kat looked toward the gates and the Great Bearberry Tree beyond. “And nothing is going to stop them.”
Kat grew quiet after this and she stared into the night.
Thorne stepped silently next to her and put an arm around her. “It will be all right, my love.”
“Okay,” Hailey said as she stood and knocked the dirt from her hands. “Just so you know, this whole robot lover thing is still really creepy.”
It was obvious from the kiss that Kat didn’t care.
14
Jake and Savant followed the monkey down the Futopian streets as the evil whir of the Dark Rider’s cycles raged behind them. Tires squealed against the asphalt and the bikes banged against the metal track as the dystopian enforcers gave chase to the two men and the space monkey.
Commander Mike ducked into a store called Flying Saucers and Cups and waved for the pair to follow him. Though large for a monkey, he was fast and nimble and it took the two men some time to catch up.
Commander Mike held the door and waved them into the store. “In here, new friends.”
Two of the cameras zipped in through the open door ahead of Jake and Savant. Commander Mike let the door slam shut and it rattled closed as the Dark Riders pulled up in the street outside.
The Monkeynaut scrambled over a broken mess of porcelain that had once been the shop’s offering of souvenir cups and, not so cleverly, saucers. He reached the back of the shop and propped open the employee entrance.
“Another secret tunnel? Perfect,” Savant grumbled and stepped through the door. The monkey grabbed him by the
collar and pulled him back into the store.
“Watch it, monkey!”
Commander Mike put a finger to his lips and furled his brow. He said nothing but pointed frantically beneath the store’s counter and dove underneath. Using his hands and tail he brushed aside some debris to reveal an a/c vent which he lifted up. He then used his tail to direct the men inside.
Savant stepped back and shook his head for only a second before Jake shoved him to the floor and pushed him into the passage.
Jake followed and was relieved to find the air vent was large enough that he could crawl on hands and knees instead of slithering through on his stomach.
The grate closed behind them as Commander Mike followed. The monkey slid past him and pressed a finger to his lips to indicate silence once more. He then shot between Savant’s legs and shushed the startled engineer as well.
Savant stopped crawling and remained still.
Jake remained silent and motionless on his hands and knees in the vent for long enough to finally wonder if they should be taking orders from a robot monkey. Even if it was Commander Mike.
Then the footsteps fell above them and he found himself reluctant to breathe. A dozen feet belonging to half a dozen Dark Riders trampled the floor above them. The shop had been ravaged over the years but enough uncrushed ceramic remained to crumble under the robots’ feet as they rushed around.
Each crunch felt like it would pierce the metal ductwork. The sound bounced around the tin housing, making it difficult to track the Riders’ movements through the store. It felt like every step would bring the Riders crashing into the shaft with them.
A sudden scurrying of steps boomed loudly in the air duct. Then the footsteps grew more distant and the sound disappeared.
Savant inched forward again and Commander Mike popped out from between the engineer’s legs to wave Jake forward.
“They fell for the open door. Come on now. We must hurry.”
Junkers Season Two Page 11
