by Baltazar Ray
Hydra tried to concentrate on the area where he had heard Pluggo’s voice. Just then a beam of light lit up the space inside the truck and Hydra spotted Pluggo’s red head. He was laying there and not moving at all. He must have used up all his energy, Hydra thought.
“Pluggo! Listen to me. We have to move fast,” Hydra whispered.
“Is that you, Hydra?” Pluggo asked. He was disoriented from his weakness.
Hydra connected one of his nozzles to Pluggo and revived him with a little dose of water. The transfer of energy was obvious as Hydra felt weaker and Pluggo’s body ballooned, his eyes widened and lit up. Hydra relieved, leaned over and whispered something to Pluggo. The other hydrants quickly gathered around them to listen to what Hydra had to say.
“Can we have a little bit of privacy here?” Hydra snapped.
The nosy hydrants flushed red, stepped back.
“Hey guys, I know you want to get out of here too, but I think it would be impossible to get you all out of here—at least, not this time. But as soon as we get our strength back, we’ll come back and get you,” Hydra said, feeling sorry for the other hydrants.
Hydra and Pluggo slowly stood up and walked to the side of the truck to evaluate the situation. Although the top of the truck was open, the railing was a little high for them. They could use a little help. Their energy was almost used up that even their reserves were already depleted. They turned and looked around. No, not these small hydrants, Hydra thought as he looked at the pile of hydrants on the floor. The truck was littered with old and new hydrant parts, tools, and newly assembled hydrants lined up on the other side of the truck, gleaming as the light reflected on them.
Think fast Hydra, think fast. He looked around and looked some more. His eyes lit up. He noticed a blazing red hydrant in the corner of the truck with a long torso. The shape of the body was thinner—thinner than Pluggo but much longer. It was an unusual form for a fire hydrant. Hydra quickly approached the hydrant.
“Hey, tall one!” Hydra whispered.
“Hey, tall one!” Hydra was afraid that the tall hydrant might also be out of energy.
The tall one opened his eyes, seemingly unaware of what was happening around him.
“You, talking to me?”
“Yes, you. Listen, we have no more time. We need your help and we need it fast. We’re about to pass the middle of the bridge and we want to jump out of here but we can only do it with your help. Can you give us a hand?” Hydra asked.
The tall one was thinking, scratching his chin.
“Sounds like I don’t have a choice,” replied the tall one. “Let’s go do it.”
Hydra leaned closer to him and told him his plan in detail. The tall one nodded and approached the other hydrants and shared the plan with them.
* *
“I’M STILL SHAKIN’! AND I’M BRAKIN’! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!" Guido and Ben were singing along with the radio and didn’t appear to know what was happening at the back of the truck.
* *
The tall one and Hydra joined Pluggo.
“Pluggo meet… err,” Hydra said trying to introduce the two.
“Meet!” replied the tall hydrant.
“Meet who?” Pluggo asked.
“Meet! That’s my name! Meet Five Feet, as they call me.” Meet said proudly.
“Err… hi Meet! Nice to meet you!” Pluggo said, smiling nervously.
“Let’s get going guys!” Hydra cried.
* *
Meanwhile, inside the truck… “Hey Ben! Nice sound!” Guido yelled.
“Yeah, I just installed this radio. The old one sucked. With this kind of job, you can’t afford not to have a good radio,” Ben said. Guido kept singing along, not acknowledging Ben’s comments.
“Do you want more bass?” Ben asked proudly, as he cranked it up.
“BOG! BOG! BOG! BOG!”
“Is that loud enough?”
“Yeah, that’s cool, Ben,” Guido said as he swayed in time with the music.
“You want more treble?”
“Sure!”
“SSH! SSH! SSH! SSH!"
“Loud enough?” Ben asked.
“Yeah, that’s cool, Ben.”
“BOG! BOG! BOG! BOG!”
“SSHHH! SSHHH! SSHHH!
"SSSSHHHH! SSSSSSSSHHHHHH!” The hissing sound was getting louder.
“Hey, way’da minute! That hissing sound is not from the radio! I think we have a flat! Guido, check the tires!” Ben yelled.
Guido stuck his head out of the window.
“I can’t see from here, Ben. It could be the rear tire!” Guido yelled. “You have to pull over.”
“Ben tried to stop but kept going when the irate drivers behind him began blowing their horns.
“HOOOOOOOOOOOOONK! BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!"
“HOOOOOOOOOOOOONK! BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!"
"Ohh, give me a break!" said the arrogant Ben.
So, he forced his truck out of the middle lane to get to the side of the bridge. The hissing sound continued—
“SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHH!”
* *
Meanwhile, at the back of the truck, the hydrants were getting out of breath from hissing, some of them were close to laughing. They hadn’t had this much fun in a long time. The two men were being fooled into thinking that they were getting a flat.
Finally, Ben pulled the truck to the curb. Ben turned down the radio while Guido jumped out to check the tires.
Guido couldn't hear any hissing sound. He bent down and placed his head close to the hot tires—there was still no hissing sound.
“Nothing here Ben! Your tires seem to be okay,” Guido said as he happily climbed back in the cab. He hates changing flats. Not in this traffic.
Ben grinned at him and cranked up the radio again.
“LOWVE! YEAH, YEAH, YEAH! I’M IN LOWVE!”
“OH I MISS YOU SAWHOOHAW!”
The speakers blasted out the tune again and Ben and Guido began to scream along with the Beeples music. Ben was waiting for his chance to move back into the middle lane.
* *
“LET'S GO! NOW!” Hydra yelled. Meet picked up Pluggo and hurled him out of the truck.
“PLANNNNNNNK!”
Pluggo hit the pavement. He continued to roll with such force that when he hit the curb he was flung high up in the air and over the bridge railing. After a few seconds, they heard a faint…
“SPLASSSSSSHHHH!”—as Pluggo hit the river below.
The other hydrants watched, with their eyes wide and their mouths open.
* *
Meet struggled to carry Hydra.
“UUMMMMMMMPPHHH! AAARRRRRRRGGGHH! You’re so heavy! AAARRRRRRRGGGHH!” Meet was getting all flushed from his struggle with Hydra. “HAAAAAAAAAHHHH! Stop holding the railing, you foo…”
“PLANNNNNNNK!”
Hydra hit the pavement and did exactly what he had seen Pluggo do. He rolled himself towards the railing—but his body bounced up and down due to his protruding nozzles, which slowed him down.
“KA-PLANNNNK! KA-PLANNNNK! KA-PLANNNNK!”
He paused for a while, clenched his face in, and with great force, jumped over the railing.
“SPLASSSSSSHHHH!”
* *
“I’M WAITING WITH MY ARMS! STRETCHED OUT WAITING FOR YOUHOOHOOO!” The two men howling with the radio were oblivious to what was happening.
Meet was getting ready to jump. He turned back and looked at the other hydrants. They all stared at him.
“Goodbye Meet! It’s okay!” one of them said.
“Goodbye guys! Don’t worry. We’ll be back to get you,” Meet said as he scrambled to jump over the truck’s railing.
“PLANNNNNNNK!”
He hit the pavement and rolled towards the bridge’s railing as Hydra and Pluggo had done. A little while later there was another sound in the river below.
“SPLASSSSSSHHHH!”
They had all made it.
CHAPTER 10
The Mohegan River
THERE’S NOTHING MORE exhilarating than jumping from the Mohegan Bridge to the depths of its river—it’s just that you can’t see what is underneath. By the time you hit the water, if you survive the fall, you are instantly lost in the midst of the pitch-black setting. You can’t be sure if it is polluted water or simply the churning water from your dive, making it impossible to see. But not to fret, a few seconds after you hit the bottom, the space gradually brightens up. Silhouettes, shapes, and shadows take their form. Ghostly images and the formation of accumulated junk appear on the horizon at the bottom of the river.
Mohegan River is the extension of Guerlin City—a city of excess. One can easily make out an inventory of junks—refrigerators, several bikes, an array of tires—piled like black Lifesavers, half-buried grocery carts, car batteries, computers, and protruding beer cans that almost cover the entire riverbed. Some of them are newly thrown away but most of them are old and rotten, creating a peculiar hazardous environment—-an underwater junkyard. The fish and other water creatures blended with the setting, even using some of the junk to live in or set traps to dine on other water creatures. This place, with its junk, seemed somehow, natural in its own world—-like the settings of the coral reefs of the Bahamas.
* *
A curious crab cautiously approached the unconscious Hydra as he lay at the muddy bed of the river—he was still dazed by his fall. When Hydra opened his eyes, the crab quickly scurried away leaving a cloud of sea dust along its path. Hydra sat up and noticed the commotion— he stood up, walked around, scanning the riverbed in a curious fashion. Man, this place is a dump.
Prying eyes surrounded him, as tiny bubbles spewed out of crevices and holes, most likely from river creatures—revealing their hideaway. More crabs, thought Hydra. They are such strange creatures.
He glided among the junk looking for anything familiar. A school of fish followed his every move. Suddenly, he heard an approaching noise from above. It sounded like a ship or a boat and it was getting louder.
“SWOOOOOOOOOSSSSSHHHHH!”
What the… ? Hydra froze with his mouth agape. He saw a torpedo-like object heading towards him.
“SWOOOOOOOOOSSSSSHHHHH!”
He barely had time to duck before the object narrowly missed him. Hydra scrambled to defend himself in this unfamiliar territory. But the thing disappeared as fast as it had come.
Then Hydra heard someone laughing. It was a peculiar feeling, inasmuch as he couldn’t really hear it but more like think it—like reading somebody’s mind. Hydra felt that somebody was laughing at him. Just then, two torpedo-like objects emerged and were coming fast towards him. Hydra braced himself for a collision.
“SWOOOOOOOOOSSSSSHHHHH!”
“SWOOOOOOOOOSSSSSHHHHH!”
Hydra closed his eyes, grimaced, and waited for the impact.
The noise stopped.
He opened his eyes.
And right there in front of him—were Pluggo and Meet!
Pluggo and Meet just floated there, smiling. Hydra could read their minds, just like they were talking.
(“Hi Hydra! That was us who buzzed you a minute ago— ha-ha-ha! I hope we didn’t scare you!”) Pluggo said with a chuckle.
(“Yes you did guys, yes you did!”) Hydra replied. (“Glad to see you Pluggo—and Meet, welcome aboard. I wasn’t expecting you to follow.”)
(“Thanks for welcoming me, Hydra. I appreciate your kindness,”) Meet said humbly.
(“Well Meet, without you, we wouldn’t have made the jump and we wouldn’t be here,”) Hydra said.
(“C’mon guys! Let’s enjoy our newfound power. The power of being a fish!”) Pluggo said as he took off ahead of the two.
Hydra gingerly jumped at the chance and followed the other guys as they swam and explored the river. He started slowly, but became more proficient as the other hydrants encouraged him. Pluggo’s enthusiasm and fast-learning capability was contagious.
The hydrants had never been as energized and strong before. They had fully regained their strength. The river water must have had something to do with it.
Pluggo, because of his eagerness was leading the way. Hydra understood and just let him be. He felt like a big brother to him. Meet, new to the group, was a warm and personable hydrant, too. There was good chemistry among them and Hydra felt like they were becoming a real team.
They cruised in a jet-fighter formation. Pluggo was in front and the other two were on his sides in a triangle form, all of them spewed clouds of bubbles behind. The fish stared in obvious admiration at these new water creatures.
“SWOOOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHH!”
“SWOOOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHH!”
“SWOOOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHH!”
The three headed south, unaware that they were approaching the mouth of the river, towards the open sea.
They broke their jet-fighter formation and went their separate ways. They knew they could easily communicate by thought and not lose each other. It was a vast new world to explore, from Grunt’s Farm to Guerlin City, and now, the Mohegan River.
The bottom was much brighter at the mouth of the river. There was less junk and more room to move. But the water current was stronger and the fire hydrants struggled to keep their balance.
Hydra, for one was struggling to maneuver. But he was momentarily distracted by the many new varieties of fish circling around him, curious. They were bigger and were swifter than the fish he saw by the bridge. He thought of out-swimming them just to see if he could. The fish got the clue and swam after him after Hydra started speeding up. He clenched his eyes and forged ahead of them with great speed. After a while, he looked back and was surprise that he was alone. Elated, he sent signals to the two hydrants about his prowess that despite his massive body size he proved he could out-swim those fish.
Worried that they might have already gone too far, Hydra rose to the surface to see exactly where they were.
“SPLASSSSSSSSSHHHHHHH!”
Hydra was relieved that they were not that far from the city. They were still at the mouth of the river, close to the open sea, exactly as he had imagined. He took a break and floated on his back, enjoying the breeze and the view. The sparkling lights that adorn the skyscrapers illuminated the whole river.
No wonder people from all over the world come here to visit, thought Hydra as he drifted around rotating slowly with the waves. He then saw a gigantic green statue illuminated with lights on the other side of the river. He tried to figure out what it was. Hydra thought that most structures in the city were phenomenally huge.
* *
There was a boat docked at the foot of the statue that distracted his attention. He felt something was wrong. There were men and children milling around the dock, and he sensed stress in their voices.
Hydra submerged and signaled Pluggo and Meet to follow him to take a closer look. He rose up again, this time closer to the boat. There were children crying and men yelling—giving out orders as they all started to board the boat. This must be some kind of school trip that has gone haywire, thought Hydra as he cautiously peeked from the water making sure not to expose himself.
“C’mon! Hurry up!” yelled the man, a tall, lanky and scruffy man dressed up like a boat captain. But the uniform hardly fits him as if he had borrowed a costume for a late Halloween party. His dark blue cap with a white color bream fits his head though.
“Hu-hu-hu-hu! I want my mommy!” cried one of the kids.
“I want to go home!” cried another.
“Shut up or I’ll take your Teddy bear!” yelled the man.
“Whaaaaaa!” wailed the kid.
“Please, don't hurt the kids,” pleaded the teacher, a second grade teacher named Ms. Hannah. “You should really consider letting us go—these are innocent children. Don’t you have any conscience at all?”
“Listen lady, the faster you can get your kids on board, the easier it will be for all of us,” the captain said.
Miss Hannah was in shock and was totally helpless be
yond means. It was her worst nightmare. She was responsible for the safety of these kids, and now it looked like there was nothing she could do.
She and the children had gotten separated from another group and had been in this situation for sometime, with no contact with them at all. They volunteered to stay behind to study the surroundings of the huge statue. But they forgot to keep track of the time until they met these three lowly men who was pretending to be lost and was asking for directions. And now they're in this mess.
The captain announced that they were all going with them in their boat and to follow their orders so there will be no trouble.
The teacher bowed her head and followed the last kid in line as they walked toward the boat. Just then, Pluggo raised his red head out of the water, caught the teacher’s eye, and motioned for her to be quiet. She was encouraged by the encounter and hoped that some kind of help was on the way.
One of the man shoved the teacher and yelled at her to hurry up. She slipped and hit the ground.
“Get up and move!” the man yelled.
Miss Hannah struggled to get up and joined the line.
* *
Hydra counted the men as his head bobbed in and out of the water. There were three of them. The "captain" was inside the boat scolding the children and the other two who wore ill-fitting black suits were outside minding the boat and getting ready to leave.
Some of the children began crying. But most of them not knowing the danger they were in became excited like riding the boat would be a wonderful adventure.
The captain couldn't contain the kids. And in a short time, they started making noises, pushing, teasing and playing, and ignoring the dilemma they were in.
(“I’m just waiting until all the children are safely inside”), Hydra said to Meet and Pluggo. (“I’ll tell you when”). It would be Hydra’s call.
* *
The two men hurried to get on board. One of them lifted the plank and threw it overboard; but he fumbled and tripped. He regained his balance before he could fall into the water. Sensing the commotion, the captain rushed out to help the two men.
(“This is it, guys!”) Hydra said.
“WEEEEEEEHOOOOWEEEEEEEEEEP!” Hydra whistled as a signal to attack.
The men heard the whistle but didn’t know where it was coming from. They were confused, as there were no other people or boats in the area. Then they heard a loud hissing sound getting closer and closer…
“HHHHSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!”