Cloud Riders (25 page)

"Remember what dad said, get their attention first. You know, like in an argument.” Paul shrugged. “I need to ask him to help in this solar system saving stuff I'm supposed to do."

Keen Aware breathed in several short snorts, which Paul thought might be his way to express some kind of emotion. “What is your name? Hurry up! Hurry up!"

"Paul Winsome. This is my sister—"

"You know Harry Winsome? Hurry up! Hurry up!"

"He's our dad,” Paul said. “Why?"

The hut shifted and Paul and Vicki rolled on the floor. It repositioned each time they tried to regain their feet.

Isno screeched with an impatience only a cat knows. He had become used to floor shifts and kept his feet.

Paul looked around the giant enclosure and noticed there were no windows. “How do you see them coming, Keen?"

"Aware. Aware."

"Keen Aware,” Paul corrected. “How do you know when the rockets and asteroids are coming?"

"Keen Aware! Hurry up, Keen Aware!” After a long pause, he explained, “I don't see them; the machines see them as they hurry up hurry up."

"Then why are you needed?” Paul said. The building shifted just as he almost got a foothold on the moving floor. “How would you like to do something the machines can't?"

"It missed that last one,” Keen said, defending his job. “It hurried hurried past without warning. Answer me this, if you think I'm not needed. Hurry up! Hurry up!"

"Our cloud ride, Satin, told me. We can't hear your warnings,” Paul explained. “Anyway, you didn't catch it either."

Keen Aware's eyes blinked. “How do you know this if you can't hear my warnings?"

"My cloud ride didn't duck."

"Could need a cloud hearing adjustment. Couldn't that be? Hurry up! Hurry up!"

"Your work is so important, Mister Keen Aware,” Vicki said pleasantly. “My brother has been asked to save the solar system, and that would involve you. No solar system, no Ice Hut. Paul doesn't mean to make fun of your name. Or of you personally. He needs your assistance. Won't you please help him?"

"You do know about Vile Extinction, right?” Paul asked.

"She's not my assignment.” Keen Aware paused and put a finger to his nose. “At least until she hurries hurries out of Link Traver.” Keen Aware's eyes stared at Paul's group. “He's a wormhole, you know. Wants to be a black hole, but wormholes don't become black holes, according to Queen Calamity Horrid. Black holes don't exist, they are only light—"

"Being as the machines do your job for you, are you really needed?” Paul quizzed like a lawyer making his summation.

Vicki looked at her brother. “Paulie, that's mean."

"No it isn't, Sis. I really wonder why he's needed if the machines do all the work. If I don't save the solar system, then there is no me, no Fawn, no Isno, no Dad, no Mom, no moon, no Earth, no Claude Nab, no Keen Aware or Will, no Maken Fairchild or Reshape, no you..."

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Paul gasped to inhale enough air to continue his dire warning. “No nothing."

Why didn't Reshape come in with them, Paul wondered. How could the hopping hut help save the Earth solar system? Couldn't anyone understand how improbable his chances were to save anyone or anything with everyone's parallel-imagined-lives getting all mixed into one sky stew?

"What other creature could do this job?” Keen Aware said, sounding genuinely puzzled. “Who has enough eyes? If not me, who? Well? Hurry up! Hurry up!” Keen Aware stopped talking long enough to poke his nose tip into a disk resembling a dial found on older telephones, twisted it, turned two other knobs with his long bony fingers, while he glanced at several dials and Paul, Vicki and Isno. His white skin reflected the green luminance from the massive array of instruments.

The room vibrated aggressively, bouncing Paul and Vicki into another far corner.

"If you wise-off again, I can hurry up, hurry up bounce you right out of here in a hurry. Hurry."

"Hey, Keen Aware! You have a lady present!” Paul said with force. “It's not right to treat a lady that way!” He paused, and almost as an afterthought allowed the reason they were in the Ice Hut to creep into his thinking, the giant CD disk with two blazing suns coming toward the Earth solar system. He thought over his next words carefully. “I need to ask a favor, one that'll help you survive. As you know, another solar system is about to invade. It has two hot suns. Add them to our sun and we'll melt. But there is a way to save us all. Could you please send the rockets into Vile Extinction?"

"Of course not. They hurry hurry all by themselves. Stupid question. Did you not see the fire farts propelling them?"

Paul wanted to remind Keen Aware once again about a lady being present, but thought perhaps fart-fire might be a good description of what came from the rear ends of the rockets. “I'm disappointed that you won't help. I was counting on it... on you."

Vicki stared around the colossal room, her eyes wide and mouth open. “Paulie? Did you see all the paintings?” She nodded toward one. “Look."

Attached to the wall, framed in silver, the beautifully rendered painting... of himself. Nothing can create one's curiosity quite like looking at someone else's painting of one's self; and Paul fully involved himself in this interest. Most wonderful of all, this painter had the skill of a master. Hypnotized by his portrait, Paul didn't notice the hut relocate itself once again.

Vicki reached out and pulled at his shirt. “It's dad."

It came to Paul that his dad had been about his age at the time of his painting. He looked up at the ice crystal girders and instantly saw another larger painting with a huge mirror-like frame attached to the overhead ice. Clouds drifted around the frame as if reflected from the sky outside the Ice Hut. A work of art so large he wondered how he could have missed it. Calamity Horrid. Her crooked lips upturned in what must have been an attempt to paint her a smile, her image rendered in glowing florescent paint. Obviously the same painter that painted Harry Winsome's portrait had accomplished this one, realistic as florescent pigment allowed.

"Does that painting of my dad, Keen Aware, have anything to do about when he saved Earth? And why is the big painting of Calamity Horrid up there?"

"Which question? Hurry hurry."

"Dad, I guess,” Paul said.

Vicki gave him a hug in obvious agreement with his choice.

"Harry Winsome used the hut to hurry hurry change direction of something hurry hurry coming toward Earth.” Keen Aware twisted a dial and pushed a small switch, as his three eyes not occupied with his visitors searched the mass of green glowing instruments. “I wasn't here then and didn't have to hurry hurry. I was happy. I was Proboscis Snooter and lived slowly slowly. Very slooowly.” His nasal tone had a longing quality that could make one sad if they listened to it for too long.

"Who was here then?” Paul asked.

"Question two hurry hurry.” Keen Aware pushed a lever with his nose.

Vicki whispered into Paul's ear. “Calamity Horrid must have operated this hut when Dad came here."

"He saved Earth from here?” Paul whispered back.

"I'm guessing, my king. But I think so."

Isno made his move and leaped high into the air and landed on Keen Aware's nose, claws bared and digging in.

Keen Aware's albino fingers pushed buttons, turned knobs, and dialed controls on the instrument panels. He appeared unable to free a hand long enough to pull off the clinging cat riding his magnificent appendage like a carnival ride. He tossed his head side to side in a frantic effort to dislodge Isno, making him look like a cat attached to a wiener in a tornado. Keen Aware's eyes kept his instruments in view. His two outer eyes peered around his unwanted passenger as the hut lifted, shifted positions and lowered several times.

The badly behaving cat raised one paw toward one of Keen Aware's roving eyes and instantly returned his paw to the impressive nose to maintain his balance as Keen Aware increased his head movement. The fantastic snoot gyrated up and down, then sideways right and left.

"Isno!” Paul and Vicki shouted in one voice.

"That's not right!” Paul explained. “Here kitty-kitty."

"You'll hurt him!” Vicki pleaded. “That isn't going to help. Please stop, Isno."

"Move ... floor ... stop,” Isno said as he swayed violently back and forth, trying to gain enough balance to claw at one of the six eyes just behind his swinging body. The eye that peered at him seemed enlarged with its raised eyebrow.

"Get! Off! Me!” Keen Aware shouted as he fumbled for a yellow lever with one hand and a red switch with the other. “Hurry hurry. Ouch! Ouch! Hurry up! Hurry up!” As he shook his head, the flaps of his leather flight helmet slammed against Isno like a boxer jabbing at the intruder clinging to his super honker.

"Me got!” Isno growled. “Got me!"

The ice hut raised and shifted.

Isno lost his balance and flew sideways toward the floor, arced his body, and twisted in midair to right himself for a landing. He skidded on the ice floor into a wall of equipment panels next to Paul and Vicki. Lowering his head, Isno said, “Got no."

"Nice try,” Paul said. He scratched the fur below the cat's jaw. “May not have been a wise move, though. He's the driver."

"Why did your cat want to ride on my nose?” Keen Aware asked. Drops of blood trickled from puncture marks on his nose, which speedily healed. “Why? Hurry. Hurry."

"He wanted to play with all your eyes. Maybe he doesn't like the fact you don't give us a chance to stand up,” Paul said in an irritated voice.

"Paulie, he didn't invite us,” Vicki said. “We invited ourselves. Isno shouldn't have done that."

"Ride it me,” Isno defended. “Too eyes many."

"Kind of a bucking bronco, huh, Isno?” Paul said in sympathy. “Like jumping on a dog.” He ran his hand over the cat's back to straighten the hair. Paul looked at Vicki glaring at him. “But Vicki's got a point, old fellow.” Paul pressed his lips together in thinking mode. “I don't think Keen Aware is going to be of much help saving the solar system."

"Maybe if you asked a little nicer?” Vicki whispered. “Letting Isno be mean with his nose might not be the best way to his heart."

A loud knock sounded at the door and echoed around the large enclosure.

"What? What?” Keen Aware said, obviously at the end of his patience. One of his eyes looked toward the ice slab door, one eye carefully watched Isno, one Paul and Vicki, and three kept watch on his instrument panels. “Hurry Hurry."

"May I come in?” a muffled voice came through the ice.

"Who? Hurry! Hurry!” Keen Aware insisted.

Paul looked puzzled. “Don't you know, Keen?” He waved his hand toward the dials and gauges. “With all this stuff you still don't know who's on your doorstep?"

"Too close,” Keen Aware explained with an exasperated voice. “Calamity Horrid design flaw.” He turned his nose toward the door. “Who's there? Hurry hurry."

"A friend. Calamity Horrid sent me,” the muffled voice said sweetly. “Do I need a password?"

Keen Aware pressed two buttons at once. The ice slab backed inward and slid upward. A huge dark form squeezed into the room. The ice slab came down with a crunch and closed off the access.

"
Claude Nab
!” Paul blurted in a surprised-angry-scared voice.

"I come to gather your visitors, long-nosed one,” the ape growled. “Calamity Horrid, your queen, needs your visitors for ice castle duties."

"Get out,” Keen Aware demanded, seemingly not one bit frightened by the huge creature, who continued to grow. “Hurry up! Hurry up! You looking for some Calamity Horrid trouble, ape? Horrid Horrid trouble?” Keen Aware's six eyes stared at the beast's red eyes in a stare-down even Claude Nab didn't have a chance to win. “Only Queen Calamity Horrid can interfere with this operation.” Several instruments whirred and two buzzers buzzed lack-of-attention warnings. Keen Aware's nose pointed in a threatening manner, his nostrils flaring and de-flaring as it spoke. “Well? Hurry up! Hurry up!"

Claude Nab's used two fingertips to grab Keen Aware by his nose. Alarm bells sounded.

Keen Aware's legs ran in space, white boots kicking and whiter arms flapping, his six eyes rolling in their sockets. He snorted in his effort to call out, but with his nose squeezed he couldn't speak.

The hut shifted. Paul and Vicki flew into an instrument laden panel and bounced into the soft hand of Claude Nab. Keen Aware thrashed, his white boots running in space. He moaned through his squeezed nose-mouth.

Isno ran in a tight circle, paws a blur. He spit and yowled a warning of attack, but his feet slipped as he prepared to jump into the fray. He didn't know who to attack, Keen Aware's nose or the enormous fingers squeezed around it.

Vicki called to the beast, “Can he breathe, Reshape?"

"Isn't that Claude Nab?” Paul asked.

"See how he has a brownish tinge. That's Reshape pretending to be Claude,” Vicki said. “Outside, while he was a carpet, he said he'd come after us if we stayed too long."

"Oh, come on, Reshape, let us go!” Paul struggled to pry out of the gorilla's grip. Being inside someone else's parallel-imagined-life while trying to find his own, irritated Paul no end. His imagination didn't dream up being jailed with his sister within the grasp of giant fingers. And why did Reshape attack Keen Aware? But there remained one imagined ability he did have control over. Pretending to stop all resistance, Reshape relaxed his grip enough to allow one of Paul's legs to depart his body. The brave limb flew down, circled and shot up. It kicked the Claude Nab shape on his elbow. The gorilla form dropped Keen Aware, Paul and Vicki.

Keen Aware gasped for air in long drawn out snorts, his albino skin turning pink from trauma.

Paul's leg returned and plugged back into his body, its gallant task completed.

Vicki stared at her big brother while Isno stared at his human.

"What?” Paul said, looked at his sister, then his cat. He shrugged his shoulders.

Reshape's gorilla form stared at Paul. “That hurt,” he said in an injured-puzzled voice. “You are full of surprises. How wonderful."