Junkers Season Two

by Benjamin Wallace

  The ratchet stopped and a voice whispered. “Good morning, Sleeping Beauty.”

  “Oh my God!” Glitch thought. “They turned me into Sleeping Beauty!” He let his hand drift to his chest to test his theory and opened his eyes once he realized he was no longer strapped down.

  This wasn’t the tower at all. It was some kind of hut. He sat up quickly and saw Savant staring at him from behind a disassembled disruptor pack. It was all very confusing. “Savant? Is that you?”

  “Well played, Glitch. You always were aces at Guess Who.” Savant turned to the door and shouted, “He’s up.”

  Glitch turned and put his feet on the ground. “What’s going on? Why does my head hurt?”

  “They gave you ears,” Savant said as he returned to his work.

  “Ears?” Glitch gingerly touched the top of his head and felt the tickle of fur against his palm. “What color are they?”

  “Purple.”

  “Those bastards,” Glitch said. “What else did they do to me?”

  “Nothing as far as we can tell.”

  “But they said the operation was a success. They said they turned me into one of them.”

  “Sure they said it.” Savant agreed. “But they aren’t the brightest anthropomorphic bears I’ve ever seen. Maybe their understanding of biology isn’t as good as they think it is.”

  “I told them everything. Why else would I do that?”

  “You’re not the smartest cyborg I’ve ever seen.

  Glitch touched the ears again. “You couldn’t take the ears off?”

  “Sure, I could have. They’re just stitched on there.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “Because it’s funny.”

  “Savant, I—”

  “Glitch!” Hailey raced into the hut and threw her arms around the cyborg. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

  “Well he does have bear ears.”

  “Shut up, Savant,” Glitch said after doing his best to give Hailey a one-armed hug.

  Jake and Mason stepped into the hut. Jake put his hand on his shoulder and smiled. “It’s good to have you back, big guy.”

  Mason crossed his arms and refused to smile. “You’re an idiot.”

  Glitch smiled and nodded his thanks. “Where’s Kat?”

  “She’s consoling Thorne about the loss of his dinosaur,” Mason replied.

  “Sure,” Glitch nodded. “That makes sense. What’s a Thorne?”

  Commander Mike popped his head into the door of the hut. “Is your friend okay?”

  “He’s fine, Commander,” Jake said.

  “I’m glad to hear it,” the monkey said and disappeared back out the door.

  “So,” Glitch stood and smiled at his friends in the room. “Space monkeys. Dinosaurs. I’ve got purple ears. What the fuck is going on?”

  “Well,” Savant said, taking a deep breath. “Thanks to you, the Bearberry Bears think they’ve found a way to turn everybody into one of them and now they’re probably planning to take our plane off the island if we don’t stop them first which is going to be hard because their dinosaur stabbed our dinosaur with another dinosaur and there’s an entire army of bears and fairies and all sorts of weird shit standing in our landing zone. So they’ll probably get away with it and we’ll either be stuck here forever or killed trying to stop them. But, hey, we got you back.”

  Glitch took it all in and nodded slowly. “Shit.”

  “Yeah,” Savant agreed. “‘Shit’ sums it all up nicely.”

  “It’s not as bad as all that,” Jake said.

  “Oh, good.” Glitch scratched his head and pulled his hand back with a snap when he accidentally touched his new ears.

  “No,” Jake continued. “It’s still bad. But Savant has been working on rebuilding the equipment and we still have Thorne and the Fengali. And I think some tigers or something.”

  Hailey jumped in. “We’re going to get out of here, Glitch.”

  “Yep,” Savant said. “Just a few more hours and I’ll have everything we need for an assault.”

  “Well, that’s good,” Glitch said. “When does the plane get here?”

  Savant threw down the ratchet. “90 minutes.”

  “Just keep working, Savant,” Hailey snapped.

  “You’re not the boss of me.”

  “Just keep working, Savant,’ Jake repeated.

  Savant pointed at Jake with a wink. “Touché, boss.”

  “Glitch!” Kat shouted as she ran through the door and embraced him. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

  “Thanks, Kat.”

  A man entered behind her that Glitch didn’t recognize. He had short hair, and a pair of glasses with a broken lens that hid his eyes. He wore a Monkeynauts t-shirt that had seen better days and what looked to be a Fantastic Island crewmember jacket.

  “Hey, everyone!” Mason said. “It’s a complete stranger.”

  Before the man could speak, Kat raised her hand. “Everyone, I’d like you to meet Michael.”

  “What’s going on, Kat?” Jake asked.

  “I meant to tell you.” Hailey said.

  “Yes,” said Kat. “Michael. He’s been stranded here since the incident. Living off what was left behind. You can probably tell that from the clothes he’s wearing.”

  “Wow!” Glitch stood and shook the man’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I can’t imagine what you’ve been through. You must have quite the story.”

  “Moron,” Savant said. “It’s Thorne. Kat just cut his hair and gave him glasses.”

  Glitch looked to Kat for an answer. “What’s going on?”

  It always irritated Glitch when Savant explained to him slowly. It was insulting and unnecessary, but he had to admit that sometimes it was helpful. Savant took an exaggerated breath. “Kat has the hots for Thorne and is planning on smuggling him off the island. Hailey doesn’t think it’s a good idea. I don’t really care. And Mason and Jake are learning about it this very second.”

  Glitch shook his head. “Who?”

  “Thorne,” Hailey said.

  “Who’s Thorne?” Glitch’s headache was coming back.

  “Michael is Thorne.”

  Glitch pounded the table with his one remaining fist. “But who is Thorne?”

  “The guy with the dinosaurs, dummy.”

  “Oh,” Glitch felt he had finally caught up to the conversation. “I’m sorry you lost your dinosaur, Mr. Thorne.”

  “What’s this about Kat taking Thorne?” Jake asked.

  “Rescuing Thorne,” Kat insisted.

  Hailey looked at Kat and back to Jake. “I was going to tell you but then there was the thing with Glitch and that giant bear. A lot happened and I didn’t get a chance.”

  “Kat, you can’t take him with us,” Jake said.

  “He’s not a threat, Jake.”

  “I know that. But do you think anyone is going to believe that after what happened here?”

  “Duh. That’s why the disguise.”

  “Thorne can’t come–”

  “Michael.”

  “Fine. Michael can’t come with us.”

  “But he is,” Kat put her arm around Thorne.

  “He—”

  “He is.”

  “Friend Jake, I don’t wish to be a bother.”

  “Thorne, you’ve done everything you could to help us and I don’t know how to repay you—”

  “I do,” Kat said. “He’s coming with us.”

  “Kat.” Jake did that thing where he tried to slow the conversation down and sound serious. Glitch smiled inside. They all knew when Jake did this he was about to lose the argument. Jake was the best boss Glitch had ever had. Part of what made him such a great boss was how bad he was at being boss-like. Jake ended his dramatic pause with, “No.”

  “Jake.” Kat paused less for drama and more for mockery. “Blow it out your ass. He’s coming.”

  “He’s not.”

  “I have a solution.” Savant stood and raised his
hand. “We’re all going to die.”

  “Savant—”

  “Or be left here. Either way, arguing about Jungle Boy’s future is a waste of time. And if no one’s stepped up with the cliché ‘we don’t have time to waste’ yet, I’ll say it right now. Because if you keep screwing around, our extremely slim chance is gone.”

  “Shit,” Mason said. “I think Savant is actually the voice of reason.”

  Hailey agreed and added, “I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that.”

  Savant brushed his hands together. “So, I’m going to go back to fixing all this stuff and you all should go figure out what we’re going to do about this giant teddy bear dinosaur thing—”

  “The Cragosaur,” Thorne corrected.

  “Yeah, just do it away from my hut, okay?”

  The group stepped outside and Jake caught up to Kat and Thorne. “We need to talk about this, Kat.”

  “I’m doing this, Jake. It’s the only reason I came back.”

  Glitch’s head still hurt around his new ears and he wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but he wanted to help his friend. “What’s the big deal, Jake? Why can’t he come with us? We just won’t tell anyone he’s a machine.”

  “It’s not that easy,” Jake protested.

  “It could be,” she said. “I survived here and they stopped looking for me. Is it unreasonable to think someone else might have been left behind? Besides, Savant is probably right. We’re all screwed if we can’t get past that thing, and the bears and who knows how many others are fighting against us.”

  “Shashana has been watching the army build, friend Jake.” Thorne pointed into the sky, but Jake could not see the eagle. “They are coming from all over the park into Enchantasia.”

  “Are you saying we’re going to lose, too, Thorne?”

  “I do not know what the future holds. I only know that our enemies are many and we are few. And we have nothing that can match the Cragosaur for strength.”

  “It was damaged though. They couldn’t fix it that quickly.”

  “Those demon bears are full of surprises, friend Jake.”

  “No,” Hailey said. “If they had fixed the Cragosaur, it would be pounding on the gates right now.”

  That’s when the pounding started. The gates shook, timbers cracked, and the entire perimeter fence shook with each strike. But there were only three and then the pounding stopped.

  “What the hell was that?” Mason pointed to the sky. “And why did it just stop?”

  Thorne grunted to one of the white apes nearby. The creature dashed off toward the gates.

  The frightening sound had taken the wind out of the conversation. Everyone turned to face the gate.

  Glitch tapped Mason on the shoulder and quietly said, “Thanks for coming after me.”

  Mason smiled and punched Glitch in the shoulder. It was practically a hug.

  “Is there any chance you rescued my new arm while you were there?” Glitch pointed to his empty shoulder.

  “I’m sorry, man. There was a lot of screaming and shooting and I didn’t even think to look.”

  There was an obvious sadness in Glitch’s voice. “I don’t know how much help I’m going to be with only one arm.”

  Thorne overheard this and grunted at another of his apes. The creature grunted in response and rushed into one of the other huts.

  “Friend Glitch, I am sorry to see the state that those foul creatures have put you in. I have a gift that may help you in the coming fight.”

  The white ape returned a moment later carrying a severed arm. Thorne took it from the ape and handed it to Glitch with more reverence than a robot arm truly deserved. It was covered in red lizard skin that was torn near the shoulder and ended in two massive claws.

  “Um, thanks, Michael but—”

  “Please, friend Glitch. Call me Thorne.”

  The gates were opening, but the apes were grunting something at Thorne that somehow sounded comforting to Glitch. He didn’t know why but he knew the disturbance at the gate wasn’t a concern.

  Thorne listened to the grunts and turned to the group. “There is no need for alarm. I will be back.”

  “Okay, Thorne.” Glitch held up the arm. “Thanks for this.”

  “You are truly welcome, friend Glitch.” With this Thorne turned and hurried out of the village, leaving Kat there with a sad smile on her face.

  “Is he okay, Kat?”

  The girl nodded. “That was a big deal for him.”

  “Uh, okay.”

  Thorne returned a moment later, escorting the visitor at the gate.

  “Bully!” roared Roosevelt at the site of Mason and Glitch. “It’s good to see that you boys made it here safely.”

  “Teddy! You’re okay. How are you okay?” Glitch asked.

  “Not only am I okay, I’ve got another dozen bear skin rugs to add to my collection. But I do apologize for being late. Those damn things almost had us.”

  Glitch laughed and introduced the President to the group. “Everyone, this is—”

  Hailey stopped him short. “We know who he is, Glitch.”

  “Bully! It is a pleasure to meet all of you.”

  “What was all that at the gate?” Kat asked.

  “I’m glad you asked. I’d love to show you my big stick.”

  Kat winced. “Gross.”

  “Oh for God’s sake, woman, it’s a metaphor.” Teddy said. “Why don’t you just all head to the gate.”

  “It’s quite remarkable,” Thorne said and waved for them all to follow. Mason and Glitch stayed a moment with the President.

  “I’m glad you’re okay, Teddy. We thought they had you.”

  Theodore laughed. “It will take more than a bunch of bears and Taft to take me down, son.”

  “Thank you for coming, sir!” Glitch said.

  “I wouldn’t miss this fight for anything, son. And I see you finally got your arm back.”

  “It’s not mine. It’s someone else’s. Mine was less… lizardly.”

  “Well, either way,” Roosevelt said. “I’m sure it will come in handy with the coming battle.”

  Glitch shook the arm. The claws at the wrist waggled back and forth. “I guess I could hit the bears with it.”

  Mason chuckled. “I don’t think that’s what he wanted.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  Mason put an arm around Glitch and led him back to Savant’s hut. “Come on you moron.”

  * * *

  Thorne stood on the wall of Kandallaha, dressed as Michael, staring out into the rain.

  Kat walked up behind him and put her arms around his stomach. “What are you looking at?”

  “Kandallaha. I know that it may be the last time I look upon her, and something in my mind will not accept it.”

  “It’s been your home forever. I know that it will be hard to leave.”

  “It is not just my home. It is my charge. I will not only be leaving Kandallaha, I will be turning my back on my sworn oath and my friends.”

  “Aren’t I your friend?”

  “You are my Queen. And where you go, I will follow. It’s just…” his voice trailed off and he put his hands upon the wall. The sun was trying to break through the clouds before it set and it painted the park a fiery orange that pulsed as the clouds moved above them. “My dearest Kat, I fear friend Jake may be right.”

  “He’s not. Okay? We talked about this. You belong with me.”

  “But what if our ruse is discovered? What if they don’t believe that I’m this Michael person? Then I will have lost you and Kandallaha.”

  “They won’t. I’m telling you, the plan will work. I’ve spent years dreaming of rescuing you and everything, including the government, got in the way of that. I’m certainly not going to let you stop me from saving you.”

  Thorne watched their small army grow behind the gate. The Fengali, the tigers, the remaining Presidents. It was a small force destined to fail. “Your friend Savant is most likely corr
ect, you know? We are most likely marching to our doom.”

  Kat ducked under Thorne’s arm and stood in front of him. The hair was a different cut and color but she would never do anything to change his eyes. She looked into the blue pools that had been designed for beauty but saw the man underneath. “There’s no one I would rather be doomed with.”

  “Sweet Kat. My Queen. That is stupid. But beautiful.”

  26

  The rain had finally stopped and the clouds thinned as the sun began its descent behind Once Upon A Time Ago Castle. Enchantasia would be cloaked in long shadows by the time their ride landed. And those shadows wouldn’t make the place any less creepy.

  The thunder was gone. The rain no longer masked the sounds of the park, but still they heard nothing. Enchantasia was disturbingly quiet. Somewhere inside the formerly enchanted land there was an army of murderous cuddly bears, bearified Presidents and Fairyfolk, but they weren’t making a sound. The team had expected some singing but there was nothing at all as they approached the gate.

  Mason adjusted the pack on his back and checked the disruptor that it powered. “I hate to say it, but hearing one of their stupid songs would make me feel better right now.”

  Glitch stood beside him adjusting the IMP in his hand as if he couldn’t get comfortable with the weapon. He was used to the electromagnetic pulse cannon. It was the T-Rex hand he wasn’t quite used to yet. He shifted the IMP’s barrel in his two claws and winced as the metal scraped against the nails. “You think we’d hear something. There has to be hundreds of them in there.”

  “Two hundreds,” came the giggle as Brexbin waddled into the middle of the gate.

  The team stopped.

  “Hi, everybody. It looks like you have some new toys there. Can we play?”

  Thorne stepped forward and spoke for the group. “Brexbin. There is no need for violence here. Let us pass and no one will get hurt.”

  Brexbin smiled. “You sound sad, Thorne. I hate to hear you sound sad. What can I do to make you happy?”

  “You could die.”

  “That’s not very nice, Thorne. Is this about your dinosaur? You’ll be happy to know she’s feeling much better and she’ll be back on her feet soon.”