by Baltazar Ray
“It was my pleasure, Hydra. I may not know her but I already feel close to her,” Pluggo replied, looking tired but happy.
“Where are we heading now?”
“I don’t know, Pluggo.”
Silence.
"We're on a mission, remember?" Hydra said, smiling wryly.
CHAPTER 8
Splatter
“HURRY UP, PLUGGO!” Hydra yelled. Pluggo ran to catch up, panting—he said, “Wait up Hydra! You’re gliding way too fast. You might have forgotten that I’m smaller than you.”
“Yes, but smaller doesn’t mean slower—just hurry up!”
“Why are you in such a hurry? Didn’t we just finish our mission?” Pluggo asked, annoyed.
Hydra stopped in his tracks and glared at Pluggo.
Pluggo approached Hydra cautiously.
“You okay Hydra?” Pluggo asked.
“Look, I hope I’m not being too hard on you. I’m proud of what you did for that little girl. But that doesn’t mean we’re done. OUR MISSION IS NOT OVER!” Hydra stressed.
“But… but… ” Pluggo said, stumbling over his words. Now he feels that he’s turned out to be the bad guy. But that’s not the point, Pluggo thought.
“What about ‘stopping and smelling the roses’, huh, Hydra?”
Hydra didn’t know what to say. Those were his own words coming back at him. He mellowed down and said, “I understand Pluggo… just be patient and we will make time to ‘smell the roses’.”
“Well, slow down a bit! You’re stressing me out. I still say I’m smaller than you! Where are we headed anyway?”
“Beatree said to follow this road,” Hydra said, not really sure where they were going.
The traffic was still heavy even though it was way past rush hour. The sidewalks were still full of people and there was no letup. There were tourists, workers, vendors, shoppers, people from all walks of life—young and old—an array of human profile, it was like a circus.
“Talking about ‘smelling the roses’—you rarely see flowers around this city—if you do see one,” Pluggo said to himself, “it will be covered in soot in no time. This place is congested. CON-GES-TED.”
As he worked his way through the crowd, Pluggo wondered how these people lived. He watched them even stepping on each other’s toes.
“Ouch! Hey watch it!” someone yelled.
“Watch your back! Watch your back!” A pizza deliveryman yelled.
“Excuse me! Excuse me!” another one yelled.
Bike messengers and Chinese-food delivery boys, notorious for riding on the sidewalk and running into people, were numerous at every turn. You really have to stay alert when you walk the streets of Guerlin City. It’s one of the most populous cities in the world.
Pluggo scrambled to keep up with Hydra. But Hydra was out of sight. He quickly stepped out to the street and yelled, “Hydra! Hydra!” People were unmindful of him as they plugged along on their daily business.
“Hydra! Hydra!” he yelled again but much louder this time.
“HEY YOU! YOU’RE JAYWALKING! GO BACK TO THE SIDEWALK OR I’LL GIVE YOU A TICKET!” someone yelled.
Pluggo blushed and scurried back to the sidewalk but couldn’t get on because it was jam-packed. “Hydra, where are you? And who was that voice I heard? It can’t be the voice from the field—it sounds too mean,” Pluggo said, frantic.
Pluggo looked funny as he balanced himself by the curb waiting for his chance to jump back on the sidewalk. Then suddenly, there was a sound of laughter—Hydra stood by a phone booth laughing his heart out.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha! He-he-he-he-he!” Hydra couldn’t stop laughing.
“Hydra! Hydra!" Pluggo said excitedly, “Where were you?”
“Hi-hi-hi-hi-hi!” Hydra giggled some more. “You almost got a ticket for jaywalking. Hi-hi-hi-hi-hi!”
“HEY YOU! YOU’RE JAYWALKING! GO BACK TO THE SIDEWALK OR I’LL GIVE YOU A TICKET!” Hydra repeated the prank and kept on laughing. That was me! Ha-ha-ha-ha!” Hydra continued, laughing through his tears.
Pluggo looked puzzled.
“Boy! You really did scare me there, Hydra,” Pluggo said. “Honestly, I think I was more scared of not seeing you than I was of getting a ticket. From now on, I’m going to stick with our mission, no matter what.”
“C’mon Pluggo, I was only kidding,” Hydra said with a naughty grin on his face.
* *
Pluggo gladly followed Hydra on the way to the bridge. They kept walking but the bridge was still nowhere to be found. Hydra was not even sure if they were going in the right direction. Pluggo couldn’t care less and depended on Hydra who led the way. They both stopped short when they came to a fork in the road.
Hmm, where do we go now? thought Hydra, scratching his head. He didn’t want to look like a fool to Pluggo, so he abruptly turned the corner. This maneuver led them into a maze. They turned left, then right, and then left again—until they ended up on a deserted street. Hydra couldn’t believe that they had actually found a deserted street in Guerlin City. It seemed like only a short time earlier the streets were full of people—now they were empty.
“Hydra, do you know where we’re going?” Pluggo asked, worried.
“Of course, we can turn that next corner and we will be back where we came from,” Hydra said, confidently.
Instead of that, when they turned the corner, they came to a dead end street. The place was dark and menacing, with old buildings crowding and leaning on each other. Rusted steel fire escapes crisscrossed their facades. The buildings had peeling paint all over with damp windowpanes as steam blew past them.
Hydra and Pluggo huddled back to back as they walked and groped in the dark. It was pitch black and they couldn't see anything. They thought of the notorious dogs, Pete and Roth that Crooton had warned them about. And to their dismay, they heard a faint growl coming from the dark shadows of the street.
But Hydra unexpectedly moved in the direction of the menacing noise.
“What are you doing? Let’s get out of here while we can," Pluggo whispered.
“For one thing, I don’t think Pete and Roth can hurt us. And besides, we’re already here and I’m curious about these notorious dogs.”
“GRRRRRR! GRRRRRR!”
The hydrants jumped and dashed behind a garbage container.
“Pete? Roth? Is that you guys? Hello? Pete?” Hydra asked, feeling foolish.
Silence.
Hydra and Pluggo slowly peeked around the side of the garbage container but it was too dark to see.
“Pete?” Hydra called again.
“I’m not Pete, you fool! My name is Splatter!”
Hydra was relieved but puzzled.
“We can’t see you,” Hydra said.
“Turn on your headlamps. Tap your head twice. Just do what I say,” the voice said.
The ever-vulnerable Pluggo did just that.
“TAP! TAP!”
Voila! A beam of light came out of his head like a miner’s hat.
“Wow! D’ya see that Hydra?” Pluggo said, aiming his headlamp into Hydra’s squinting eyes.
Hydra quickly tapped his head too.
“TAP! TAP!”
Nothing.
“TAP! TAP! TAP!” stronger this time.
“Whoa!" Hydra excliamed, as a light beamed out of his head.
The dark street was now lit up with the dazzling array of lights from the hydrant’s headlamps. Hydra and Pluggo suddenly stopped—marveling in their newfound power and aimed their light beams at the figure that had been talking to them.
“Whoa!” They howled, both taking a good look and not batting an eye. Right in front of them was a very peculiar hydrant. It was white, with random black spots all over it, like a Dalmatian or a cow. They couldn’t figure out what it was.
“And who are you?” Hydra asked.
“Err… my name is Splatter. I’m sorry that I got you scared. I have to protect myself, you know. You wouldn’t believe this but I’m really a dog
and a spell turned me into a hydrant,” said the disgraced Splatter.
Hydra looked in amazement. He couldn’t believe what was happening. It was all too fast. This marvel, the discovered headlamp and all these undiscovered powers—Hydra wondered what was next.
“How can someone put a spell on you?” Pluggo asked, feeling sorry for Splatter.
“You see, we dogs love to pee on you hydrants. But I didn’t know this one here is off-limits to dogs.”
“And—” Splatter was about to continue when the skeptical Hydra cut him off.
“Well, we don’t want to know the details right now. Can you tell us how to get to the bridge?”
“Which one? There are several bridges in Guerlin City,” Splatter replied.
“We forgot the name. But I’m sure we’re close by. A friend pointed us in this direction and said that we couldn’t miss it.”
“Hmm… let me see… oh, okay, follow this street then make a right, then turn left, walk straight up for another twenty blocks and you’re there. You won’t miss it. I think that’s the bridge you’re looking for.”
“Are you going to be alright?” Pluggo asked, concerned.
“Well, I’ve been stuck here for sometime now and I miss my home. I’m a housedog for Fire Engine 107—right around the corner. My caretaker surely misses me. His name is Tommy. He’s been posting my picture around as you can see,” Splatter said, motioning to a missing-dog poster tacked to a post.
“Are you sure you’re telling the truth?” Hydra asked.
“Hydra! Be nice!” Pluggo exclaimed.
“I can prove it. Do you want to see something?”
“Yeaaaah?” The two hydrants said in unison.
“Come closer,” Splatter said. He whispered something to them causing their eyes to widen. Hydra and Pluggo looked in the back of the spotted hydrant and saw something coming out, near its base. It was long, white, and spotted, and was jerking from side to side.
“Whisssk! Whisssk! Whisssk! Whisssk!"
“IT’S A TAIL!” exclaimed Hydra and Pluggo.
“Whisssk! Whisssk! Whisssk! Whisssk!”
The tail continued to sweep the pavement, and the three hydrants burst into laughter.
“This is incredible! I’ve never seen anything like it!” Hydra said.
“Oh, Splatter, this is wonderful! You turned out to be a nice hydrant after all. Although, I really feel sorry for what happened to you,” Pluggo said.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure the Voice will give you power too!” Pluggo continued.
Hydra glared at Pluggo again. He didn’t want him telling everyone about this 'power' thing.
“What power?” Splatter asked.
“We’ll we have to go on our way now,” Hydra cut in. He walked past Splatter and Pluggo as he headed out for the bridge. “It was fun meeting you Splatter,” Hydra said, his tone became serious.
“Well, we better go,” Pluggo said in a friendly tone. He were overly concerned about Splatter’s dilemma. “We’ll come back and get you out of here—I promise.”
“Goodbye Pluggo!” Goodbye Hydra!” Splatter said as he looked after the two departing hydrants. He looked solemn, his tail wagging lazily.
“Whisssk! Whisssk! Whisssk!”
CHAPTER 9
Meet Five Feet
MOHEGAN BRIDGE was a gigantic structure with six car lanes going in both directions, to and from Guerlin City. It was so huge that it dwarfed everything around it. In the middle of the span were two soaring 'towers' that were supported by oversized cables as thick as Redwood trees. The suspended cables were adorned with dazzling lights that followed the winding shape of the bridge. This awe-inspiring structure was a masterpiece of engineering and a perfect match for the metropolis’s skyscrapers. It was the gateway to Guerlin City.
Ironically, as wide as the roads were on the bridge, it didn’t improve the traffic situation. Rush hour was still the pits. The cars and trucks packed the bridge, as was every road connected to it. All the drivers seemed to have one goal in mind—to get away from it all and be home as soon as they could. It was a daily occurrence, a vicious cycle that would start again the next day and the day after that, and so forth.
The two hydrants struggled to reach the foot of the bridge. But they stopped to simply stand there in awe, admiring the masterpiece. How could we miss such a colossal structure? Hydra thought. He didn’t know that another problem was looming.
Hydra noticed it first—he had been chiding Pluggo for being slow but now he realized that he too was getting slow and weak. It was taking a lot more effort just to turn his head and talk to Pluggo.
They both stood there, tired and forlorn. Hydra could not utter a word—and neither could Pluggo. He could barely take another step.
“This doesn’t look like the bridge Beatree described to us,” Hydra whispered, panting. “Let me see…”
“Are we lost again?” uttered Pluggo in a barely audible voice.
“I think I know… ” Hydra suddenly stopped.
“Hydra, I’m thirsty and feeling weak. What is happening?”
The two hydrants stood there like stones. They looked like they were attached to the sidewalk like normal fire hydrants. Hydra knew that the remaining energy in their bodies was reserved for emergency use. He realized that being alive has its ups and downs and that things didn’t stay constant for long.
* *
The snarl of traffic continued—bumper-to-bumper. The bridge was literally eating up the cars and trucks as they entered its mouth and spewing them across on the other side of the bridge. Not far beyond, the cars and trucks were fighting over lanes.
“KLINK! KLANK! KLINK! KLANK!” No one wanted to give in, and everyone was playing hardball.
“KLINK! KLANK! KLINK! KLANK!” One truck squeezed in and cut off another one.
“HOOOOOOOOOOOOONK! HOOOOOOOOOOOOONK!”
Hydra noticed the familiar blaring music coming from afar.
“I’M STILL SHAKIN’! AND I’M BRAKIN’! SO BABEE PLEASE DON’T LET ME GOHUWOW! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!”
“I REALIZE YOUR GAZIN’ EYES, ARE ON ME! I CAN SEE! SO PLEASE, COME AND STAY WITH MEHEEEHEEHEE! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! I’M IN LOWVE!” the melodic explosion continued. The occupants were screaming their lungs out as they sang along with the radio.
Hydra tried to sneak a peek at them but hesitated. I’ve got to conserve, got to conserve. But that noise, he thought. That could only be… hmm…
Ben and Guido?
Hydra’s eyes widened. Pluggo didn’t seem to notice. There wasn’t much they could do except wait for the truck to pass.
“COME BACK TO ME! AND DAHLENG CAN’T YOU SEEE…”
“I’m glad they found these lost Beeples songs Guido!” Ben said.
“Yes! They’re the coolest band… Heyy! What do you know? Check it out Ben—on the side of the street!” Guido yelled.
“Oh no—not now Guido! Not now!” Ben said, sounding annoyed.
“But Ben, aren’t those hydrants familiar to you?”
“This better be good, Guido.” Ben said as he looked Guido’s way.
“Oh yeaaah! You’re right! How did those two get there? No wonder we were short the other day!” Ben exclaimed.
“Pull over! Pull over!” ordered the excited Guido.
“HOOOOOOOOOOOOONK! BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!"
“HOOOOOOOOOOOOONK! BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!"
Irate drivers swerved to avoid the truck’s sudden lane change.
Hydra noticed the rapidly approaching truck. Oh no! What do we do now?
The truck came to a screeching stop and the two scruffy men jumped out. They both eyed the prized hydrant they had lost the previous day. They talked about how different the hydrants looked—-more alive than regular hydrants.
“Guido, pick up the small one and throw him by the front side of the pile. There’s a small space there for that size, then help me with this big one,” Ben ordered Guido.
Guido picked up Pluggo and quickly threw him in t
he truck.
“KA-BLANNNNNK! CRASSSSSHH!”
“Ouch!”
“Huh? Did you say something Ben?”
“No, why?”
“I thought I heard something,” Guido said, looking around.
“Never mind, I swear I heard something,” Guido said again.
“Having ‘flashbacks’ again? Huh, Guido?” Ben was smiling.
As the two men bent down to pick up Hydra, Guido said, “speaking of flashbacks, didn’t we just do this before? We have to make small steps to the rear of the truck, swing the load to gain momentum, and throw this big chunk to the pile.”
“KA-BLANNNNNK! CRASSSSSHH!
“Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!” There were more cries from the other hydrants that Hydra landed on.
Guido didn’t even mention anything this time as he warily glanced at Ben.
The two men boarded the truck and started to merge back into the relentless rush-hour traffic. Meanwhile, Hydra lay on top of the pile and cried out, “Pluggo! Pluggo! Where are you?”
“KA-PLANNNNNK! PLANNNNK!” The hydrants began rolling and shifting around as the truck moved back into traffic.
“Pluggo! Pluggo!” Hydra tried again.
“Hydra! I’m right here in front," Pluggo replied. What are we going to do?”
Hydra looked around the pile of hydrants and noticed several eyes staring back at him. “You guys are alive too?”
“Yes, we’re just too weak to move and escape from here,” murmured one of them. Hydra looked powerless. There was nothing he could do to help them. His goal was to save himself and Pluggo first.
Where’s Pluggo? Hydra thought, as he scrambled to get to the front of the truck.
“KA-PLANNNNNK! PLANNNNK! Excuse me! Excuse me!” Hydra said as he crawled over the other hydrants on his way to the front of the truck. He continued to call Pluggo’s name.
“Ouch! Ouch! Hey, watch it fella,” some of the hydrants cried out.
“Excuse me! Coming through!” Hydra said, as he struggled to get to the other side. At last, he reached the front but he still couldn’t see Pluggo. It was dark at the bottom of the pile but streaks of light lit up the space as the truck moved down the bridge. There were a lot of other small hydrants making it doubly difficult to locate Pluggo.
“Pluggo! Pluggo!” Hydra whispered, knowing that they were running out of time. The truck was almost halfway over the bridge and Hydra had a plan. He had to find Pluggo right away.