“Getting help isn’t all he did,” said Notch. He told Snowy about the beast Jung had chased away.
“Pink? Dirty? Tusks?” asked Snowy.
“And stupid,” added Notch.
“Wronk,” said Snowy. “Will crush you, if see you.”
“You were brave,” Neff said to Jung. She touched his shoulder. He looked down and kicked some dirt with a vaulter.
“He’s cool,” said Notch.
“We hide. In boulders,” said Snowy, pointing ahead. He turned to Sparky. “You first. Find place in middle, not by water, not by trees.”
Sparky shrugged, “Okay.” He slipped in between rocks that were three times his height. The others followed him in. Jung waited.
Sparky squeezed past a dozen slabs until one blocked his way. It angled upward. “Make like a salamander,” he said. He shimmied up the slab and found Jung basking on a boulder. “How did you get...?”
Jung tapped his vaulters.
Snowy came up last, saw Jung, and shook his head with a smile.
Jung glanced at the river, then went back between the boulders.
Snowy pointed to a large, dark pool in the flow. “Stay away,” he said.
“From what?” asked Notch.
“Them, I think,” said Sparky, staring.
Notch opened his mouth to say something, then shut it again. He felt a chill.
Huge dark shapes glided beneath the pool surface—eel-like creatures as wide as garbage cans, as long as cars. Some undulated lazily downstream from the left with the flow, passing others undulating vigorously upstream against the flow.
“What are they?” asked Sparky.
“Unduleels,” said Snowy, “Swarming. Not good.”
“Why?”
“Frenzy coming,” said Snowy. “Stay away. I go. See which path Trappids take,” he said, turning green. He faded into the jungle.
CHAPTER 23
Unduleels
NEFF JOINED JUNG in the boulders.
Sparky and Notch snuck forward to watch the unduleels. Sparky peered over a boulder. Notch looked into an eddy below it. Something was swaying on the surface. He stared. A tail fin! He pulled away, wide-eyed, and pointed.
“What?” whispered Sparky.
“Unduleel.”
“I’m outta’ here,” hissed Sparky.
“Wait,” whispered Notch, grabbing Sparky by the arm. “Let’s check it out, from up there.” He crawled up the rock and stretched out over the top to see the beast. Where’s its head? Notch pushed out further. He began to slide. Sparky grabbed his ankles.
In a blur, the unduleel’s head shot up toward Notch, rows of jagged teeth reaching for his face. “Aggh!” he cried, lurching away. Sparky yanked him back. He fell on Sparky.
The gruesome head appeared over the top of the boulder and wriggled after Notch, snapping its teeth.
Notch pressed against Sparky.
“Scram!” screamed Sparky, flinging a rock. The beast snapped at it as it passed, losing its forward momentum. It hung for a moment, then slipped backward into the eddy.
Notch rolled off Sparky. Sparky scrambled to his knees. Suddenly, the beast’s head shot around the side of boulder. Sparky jumped away and shoved Notch. Notch ran, Sparky pushing, chills shooting up their spines. The beast wriggled after them.
Notch ducked into the boulders. Sparky, sensing the creature on his heels, jumped onto a small shelf, leapt to a larger one, scrambled up another, and turned. The unduleel made it over the small shelf, struggled up the larger one, then hung there panting, flippers gripping, teeth dripping, glaring into Sparky’s eyes. It finally rolled off and wriggled back to the eddy.
“That...was...really scary,” panted Sparky, joining Notch, Neff and Jung. Sparky reached for Notch’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he replied.
“You guys,” said Neff, frowning, “why didn’t you come back here with Jung? He knows about these things.”
“Stupid, again,” said Notch, his face ashen. “That thing almost got my head!” He shuddered. He looked toward the trees. “I’m feeling, I, uh, have to see a man about a horse. Fast. Back in a minute. Excuse....” He squirmed through the boulders and ran into the trees.
A minute later, he came sprinting back. “Monster!”
A five-horned behemoth sheathed in blue armor came galloping out of the trees. Three curved horns ran up the middle of the broad, blue head.
The beast was almost on Notch.
“Dive!” screamed Sparky, ducking behind a rock.
Notch dove headfirst and squirmed on hands and knees past two huge volcanic slabs.
The beast plowed headfirst between the slabs and stopped dead, panting. It snorted at Notch’s backside, bucked its head and wiggled its wide, blue body.
“It’s stuck,” shouted Sparky.
“Stuck?” asked Notch, looking back.
The beast swung its head to and fro, clacking its horns on the hardened lava, while pushing backwards with its four tree-stump legs. It couldn’t budge. It roared.
Roars answered from the forest. A moment later, a herd of the blue beasts burst from the trees grunting in rapid spurts. The two lead monsters waddled up to the wedged one, backed their broad bottoms against its ribs, and puffing like steam engines, took turns shoving.
Seesawing. Notch caught his breath. The stuck beast finally popped free and fell on its big behind. It roared once again, rolled on its side, and struggled to its feet. It took one last look at Notch, snorted, then turned away. It followed the others into the trees, grunting. A foul odor hung in the air. Jung stuck his fingers in his nostrils.
“What...is...that?” coughed Neff, rubbing her eyes.
“Wasn’t me,” choked Notch. “Not this time.”
“What happened?” gasped Sparky, holding his nose.
“I was in there next to this big tree, answering the call of nature,” responded Notch. “I heard crunching, then scraping. I looked around the tree. That thing was scratching its bottom on the other side. I pulled up my drawers and bolted. You know the rest.” He took a deep breath, “Uh, oh. I’ll be back.” He ran into the boulders.
He returned a few minutes later.
The four sat leaning on their backpacks safe from river and jungle, munching on pieces of a plump, red fruit Jung had picked.
Suddenly, Jung’s ears perked up. He rose and looked toward the river.
“What’s going on?” asked Sparky, standing up.
The water was roiling. “Looks like they’re swarming.”
The others stood. “Check that out.” Sparky pointed at the far bank.
A herd of animals the size of jackrabbits hopped out of the bushes on the far bank and headed toward the river, blabbering.
“Sounds like a cafeteria at lunch,” said Neff.
“Blabbits,” said Notch, as the throng reached the water’s edge.
The animals lined up along the shore and began lapping. The unduleel swarm swam slowly toward them. The blabbits eyed the swarm. Shortly, six unduleels turned leisurely toward one end of the line. Five more turned toward the other end.
“Uh, oh,” said Notch.
As if on cue, all eleven unduleels flicked their tails and writhed rapidly toward the shore, trailing wakes of foam, building momentum. They squirmed up the sand behind the line of lapping critters, crossed behind them and wriggled down toward them.
“A trap,” said Sparky.
The unduleels in the river swarmed towards the shoreline, snatching the trapped blabbits and flipping them back into deeper water, now red with blood.
The escaping blabbits scurried back up the beach through the unduleels trying to reach the bushes. Some made it. Others were flung back to the water.
Neff, Notch and Sparky watched, transfixed. Jung looked on curiously
. Sparky pointed downstream.
“The reeknoceroses,” said Notch. The herd of blue beasts was standing belly deep in the water, drinking. “There’s my friend,” said Notch, waving.
It bellowed.
“They’re not afraid of unduleels,” said Neff.
“If you were that big and reeked like that....” said Notch, not finishing.
“Look. There’s more!” blurted Neff.
A second wave of blabbits rushed from the bushes, ears pinned back, fangs bared. They bit and clawed at the unduleels on the sand. The unduleels retaliated viciously, squealing in anger and pain. But the blabbits overwhelmed them. The sand was red with blood.
Neff had never imagined such a gruesome scene or such horrendous sounds. “No more,” she said, turning away.
“Pretty bad,” said Sparky, rubbing his forehead.
“I don’t feel so good,” said Notch.
“No kidding. You were almost eaten by one of your toothy undul-friends,” said Sparky, “and almost impaled by one of your reeky buddies,” he said, pointing downstream.
“Got to be more careful,” mumbled Notch.
Sparky rolled his eyes. Careful? How about not doing something stupid and getting us killed?”
“Where’s Snowy?” asked Neff, concerned. She looked at Jung.
Jung tapped his chest and pointed toward the trail. She nodded. Jung headed off. Sparky began to follow, but Jung motioned for him to stay.
Sparky watched Jung vault away. As the minutes ticked by, Sparky finally said, “Snowy’s gone. Now Jung. We’ve got to get out of here!”
“Jung’ll be back,” said Neff. “I know he will. Let’s wait, a little,” she pleaded.
“If he comes back, he can track us,” said Sparky, lifting his pack.
Just then Jung came bounding from the trees. “Trepp,” he uttered, clutching his hands to his chest, “Tek Snoee.”
“Trappids took Snowy?” asked Neff. What will they do to him?
Jung spread his arms toward the three and clutched his chest again.
“Trappids are coming for us, too?” she asked.
Jung nodded vigorously, taking two steps backwards.
“We have to go. Now,” she said.
Jung grabbed Neff by the hand and headed off. Notch and Sparky followed. The trail split. Jung followed the reeknoceros herd. The herd had flattened the foliage on both sides of the trail, leaving a large open swath, plus lots of poop and a strong, lingering stench.
After an hour, Sparky said, “Need to get away from this smell.”
“Yes,” said Notch, “my eyes are burning.”
“Please,” said Neff.
They cut over to the river. It was shallow there, with a mass of rapids. They rested on a rock, breathing in the fresh, moist, ion-laden air. Jung crept to an eddy and refilled their canteens. He’d picked more fruit and nuts. They snacked in the sun.
“Time to get going,” said Sparky, tossing away the last pit.
The four once again headed down the reeknoceros-flattened trail, the rapids off to their left.
Sparky, in scout mode, focused on the forest. Jung listened to the ambient sounds. Notch looked ahead for reeknoceroses.
Neff, staring at Sparky’s heels, trudged in a trance. She had a vision. She was in a boat, bouncing through rapids and swirling currents. Trappids lined the riverbanks. The vision faded. Anxiety took its place, as the red sun sunk lower.
“Where will we sleep?” she asked. “It’s warm. We might not need a fire. But how will we hide from predators?”
“Let’s find a place,” said Sparky.
They chose a large, round plant tucked in between five boulders about fifty meters from the river. Its big leaves hung to the ground. Jung and Sparky gathered grass, while Neff and Notch spread it inside the leafy hut. When done, they all crawled in and lay back.
Within a minute, Neff sat up, sniffling, “My nose won’t stop running.” She picked up a large purple leaf to wipe her nose. She hadn’t seen the tiny, squirmy worm on the underside. When she brought the leaf to her nose, the little creature scampered up her left nostril.
“Ow. Hey. Stop,” she cried. She rubbed her nose furiously and blew into the leaf. She blew again. “It won’t come out!”
“What’s going on, Neff?” asked Notch, squinting at her.
“Something weh up by dose! I cah feel it moving. Gross,” she said, scowling.
Sparky sat up. He and Notch stared at her, not knowing what to do. Jung smiled slightly.
Neff’s eyes followed the progress of the crawling creature through her sinuses, from the left side of her face to the right side. A panicked two minutes later, she said, “It’s coming out!”
“Shlupp.” The worm squeezed out of her right nostril.
She caught it in the palm of her hand. It was much fatter than when it went in.
Neff held the worm gently. It wriggled. “Tickles,” she said. She sniffed. “I can breathe.” She sniffed again. “My nose is clear. It’s like magic.”
“You’re kidding,” said Sparky. He reached out his hand. Neff handed the tiny animal to him. Sparky studied it for a moment then handed it back. Neff placed it gently on the ground.
“Wait. Are you nuts?” cried Notch. “Keep it.” He reached for the tiny animal. “Drug companies would kill for this.”
“Or not,” said Neff, grabbing Notch’s arm. The worm wriggled away under a leaf. “Thank you, little friend,” she said, softly. She took a long, deep breath through her nose, and smiled. Wait until I tell my mom. If I ever see her again. Sadness overcame her once again, as she thought about her mom, her dad, her grandmother and her llama.
Before Notch went to sleep, he thought about the worm. Antihistamines would be a thing of the past. I could sell these little critters through the internet. I can see it now—snotworm.com.
Then he thought about the unduleels. They fascinated him. Unlike fish, which undulate from side to side, or like porpoises, which undulate up and down, unduleels moved in both planes. They must have very unusual spines. Science could learn a lot from them. He dozed off.
Despite the roaring river and the screeching night creatures, the three slept. They were exhausted.
Jung, on the other hand, was fully aware of the night critters clustered around their plant hut, sniffing.
CHAPTER 24
Mounds
“HUMANC?”
Sandy jumped. The voice came from behind her. She spun, tried to rise, and fell back against the boulder. A huge humanoid stared down at her.
“Humanc?” it repeated, pointing at Sandy. It was clothed in white, like the two crouching between her and the mounds. Its face was white too, with images of snowflakes falling. It was on skiyaks like hers.
“Snoflian,” it said, tapping its chest.
“Uh, huh,” squeaked Sandy, a frog in her throat. Humanc must mean human. She struggled away from the rock and stood shakily in the skiyaks, knees wobbling.
The Snoflian reached toward her. She flinched, then realized it was pointing past her. It slid by and headed toward the rounded huts.
“Come,” it said, moving away.
“Um, okay,” she croaked. She swallowed, took a deep breath and followed, her heart pounding.
The other two Snoflians rose in front of her.
She followed the three, her thoughts firing. They trust me to follow. Where could I go anyway? Will my friends be here? The second one looks female. I hope it’s warm inside. I’m so cold.
As Sandy got closer, she saw round topped tunnels, like igloo entries, stretching between the rounded huts.
The three Snoflians passed the first two huts and stopped at the third. The Snoflian who had spoken pointed at the entrance. Another Snoflian stepped out, his clothing and face tan.
No camouflage needed? Sandy w
as surprised.
“You fall through from Gaia!” said the tan Snoflian.
“Uh, yes,” said Sandy. “You speak...English?”
“Some,” he said. “I Gaia watcher, long ago. Speak some your words. I only one who can, here, in this....” he scanned the vast snowscape, shook his head and sighed, “...forsaken place.”
Then he pointed to the Snoflian who had spoken to Sandy. “Sorzz here speak English too. Three words. You heard them,” he said chuckling.
Sense of humor. Sandy relaxed a little, but remained wary. He seems friendly. Is he really? Am I safe here? Are Neff, Sparky and Notch here?
“We watch you long time. You cold. Tired. Thirsty. Hungry. My name Grezz.”
“My name Sandy...er, I’m Sandy.” I’m talking like him!
“Sandee,” said Grezz.
She nodded. They watched me for a long time?
“Those belong Snoflians,” said Grezz pointing at her skyaks. “How you get?”
“They were in the cave with me,” said Sandy.
“Cave?” He nodded to two of the Snoflians who had brought her. They slid away.
Grezz motioned to the doorway. “Please,” he said.
Sandy tried to pull her foot from a skiyak. Grezz realized she didn’t know how to get out of it. He looked at the female who pressed the tip of her pole into a slot on Sandy’s skiyak. The skiyak opened.
“Thank you,” said Sandy, pulling her foot out. Sandy undid the other.
Grezz nodded to the female who glided back to the second pod.
Sandy followed Grezz through the doorway. Warm! Feels so good. She scanned the bright, oval space. It was light yellow, her favorite color. A green and blue mat covered the floor. A small, round, heating unit with a bell-shaped chimney glowed red in the middle.
Grezz handed Sandy a pair of soft, slipper-like shoes and pointed to one of two low chairs in front of the heating unit, the chair closest the entrance. Sandy put her helmet on the mat, unzipped her parka and sat. She took off her boots and put on the soft shoes. Cozy. Her feet felt warm again. Who are these people? Oh, they’re not really people are they?
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