Final Quest (7 page)

- 16 -

THE WATERFALL

After Jamie’s incident with the bush that was more like a Venus fly trap, we are fearful of taking another step.

I find myself wondering why the strange creature saved Jamie and then disappeared.

“Was that thing a Drapesian?” I ask Capurni.

“Never saw anything like it before. Everything around us is completely different than any of our history books about Drapesia. It’s as though some strange new world has enveloped this island that was once barren.”

Constant shrieks and cries fill the air. There’s even a voice that appears to be singing.

“Listen for the water again,” Capurni suggests.

I strain to hear the running water.

There are so many other loud noises around us that it’s difficult to hear the water. I feel like we’re in a room with a thousand birds chirping, singing, crying, and sometimes making other noises that are beyond description.

“I think I hear the water,” Jamie says as he takes a step towards the thick jungle.

“Jamie…” I say, not even finishing my sentence. The last time he took a few steps towards the jungle, he was almost strangled by a bush that acted like an anaconda. I’m terrified that another creature might attack him.

“I hear it too. It’s coming from over there,” Capurni says as he takes a tentative step to the right of Jamie.

I jump in behind my two friends, not wanting to be left alone.

The jungle is so thick and tangled that it’s difficult to see in any direction.

Jamie takes another step in the same direction as Capurni.

I shudder. At any moment, I expect that we are all going to be pounced on by a terrible creature.

Soon we’re absorbed by the twisted growth around us. It’s as though we have become part of the jungle, although I’m pretty sure that I hear the sound of running water. Perhaps it’s a river, or maybe even a waterfall.

Jamie is leading us with Capurni and me close behind him. I wonder how Jamie suddenly got to be so brave, but perhaps he was always like this and I missed it because I tended to pay more attention in the past to Drew’s heroics.

As a branch touches my arm I panic, expecting it to twist around my body. My imagination is running rampant.

“Look,” Jamie says in a loud whisper.

My eyes follow his outstretched arm. At first I don’t see anything, but then I realize that on the massive red and green leaves of a plant in front of us are hundreds of eyes.

Is it possible that a plant can have eyes?

As I look closer, I notice that the eyes are in groups. Each group of eyes is about the size of a dinner plate. I wonder if each mass of eyes forms one large eye. If so, are the eyes part of the plant, or do they belong to another creepy creature that we can’t see yet?

Jamie raises his arm for us to halt as though he’s a trail guide.

At the moment he raises his arm, I notice that the hundreds of eyes on the broad leaves of the plant all change color at the same instant. They become green and red in the same pattern as the coloring on the leaves. If I hadn’t already seen the eyes, I would never know that they were there.

Still holding his hand above him to tell Capurni and me not to move, Jamie waves his other hand in the direction of the plant with the eyes. As he does this, hundreds of eyes on the leaves move in unison with his hand.

An extra loud shriek from some unseen creature startles me.

I want to tell Jamie to stop waving his hand. What if the plant or whatever creature the eyes belong to pounces on him? Jamie takes another step towards the plant with the eyes.

A mass of eyes begin to rise. It looks like a a bunch of large Frisbees that are comprised of eyes lifting upwards at the same moment.

I’m shocked by what I’m seeing.

The eyes don’t belong to anything at all. It’s as though each collection of eyes is a creature without any other visible body parts, although I realize that underneath each of the round objects must be wings to propel them upwards.

“Listen to that,” Jamie says excitedly.

“To what?” I say.

“Listen. It sounds like bursts of air are shooting from the underside of each those eye creatures.”

As I look closer at the unusual animals, I observe that after each one of them shoots upwards, they float downwards for a second or two before they fly upwards again.

“It’s like they have their own jet-propulsion system,” Jamie says. “They move by forcing air through their bodies. They’re like animal hovercrafts.”

“Where are their mouths?” I ask. All I can see are the saucer-like objects totally comprised of eyes, bouncing up and down in the air.

“If you look on the underside of the creatures,” Jamie says, “there’s a hole that is sucking in air, and look, there are a bunch of smaller holes that are shooting out bursts of air to make the creatures fly.”

As I look at the dozen or so objects flying a short distance away, they remind me of large pancakes with a mass of small red and green eyes on the topside. The underside is bluish-white. I can see the holes that Jamie was talking about. The air is being sucked in one hole while a bunch of little holes blast the air back out as though they are sneezing. In fact, as I listen closer I hear sounds like squeaky sneezes as the creatures fly.

Flying eyes, I think. What are we going to find next?

Listening to the incessant noise around us, I realize I haven’t heard Capurni say anything for a little while. Looking around, he’s not where I expect to see him.

Capurni is nowhere to be seen.

I panic.

“Jamie, Capurni has disappeared.”

Jamie immediately turns. There’s an anxious look on his face.

“Capurni, where are you?” I say, my voice shaking.

“Capurni,” Jamie says with a little more force.

There’s a movement in a bush in front of me.

I almost jump out of my skin.

It’s Capurni. I breathe a sigh of relief.

“Where were you?  Where did you go?” I ask.

“Come with me,” Capurni smiles. “I found a waterfall. You aren’t going to believe what else I found.”

I’m not sure I want to know.

Capurni turns back to the twisted vegetation. Jamie is instantly behind him, although he stretches out his hand for me.

We beat our way through huge leaves and twisted vines. I shudder to think there could be snakes or some other hideous creatures crawling nearby.

Soon there’s a clearing through the mass of plants. There’s also the distinct crashing of water. The sound reminds me of the dangerous waterfall that we experienced just over a year ago on our journey to the Land of Shade. I shudder as I recall that I almost drowned in that situation.

Coming to the opening, I catch a glimpse of the waterfall. It’s high and narrow. There is a large pool of water at the bottom of it.

Beside the pool of water is an enormous flower, bigger than a bus. The flower has a long purple stem that reminds me of the neck of a giraffe, or actually it’s more like the long neck of a brontosaurus. Along the stem are massive leaves.

There’s something unusual about the flower as it sways in the wind. With its brilliant colors of orange and yellow, I thought I was seeing the petals of a large flower, but the more I look, the more I realize it looks more like a head.

The flower, or perhaps the head, slowly rotates in a different direction as though it’s hunting. I’m shocked to see jagged teeth, among what I thought were petals, flashing in the sunlight. This massive plant that at first glance looked like a huge flower has the mouth of a crocodile.

As I gaze at the peculiar thing, I notice five or six similar flowers not too far away from it.

Amazing, I think. Flowers that are almost as big as my house. Are they really plants, or are they animals? Or, could they be a form of life that is part plant and part animal?

One of the flowers whips its long flexible stem causing its head to snap towards the pool of water at the bottom of the waterfall. As the head of the flower strikes the water, massive jaws filled with glistening teeth suck up an enormous amount of water causing waves in the pool.

After a quick gulp of water, the head lifts upwards. There’s a green creature twisting in the mouth of the flower. It wasn’t just drinking water; it also captured its lunch.

It reminds me of a tall heron piercing the water with its long beak for a fish. But this isn’t a heron, and whatever the flower creature caught doesn’t look like a fish. Before I can decide what it has pulled out of the water, the prey vanishes into the throat of the flower.

I’m about to ask my friends whether they saw what the flower snatched from the pool when I realize that both Jamie and Capurni are standing like statues.

What are they staring at?

Then I see it. One of the huge flowers has turned its head and is looking directly at us. As its petals blow in the wind, four large red eyes appear on its face. They don’t look friendly.

The brilliantly colored orange and yellow petals that surround its head flatten backwards as though someone has used a gel to slick back his hair. This action emphasizes the menacing face and rows of razor sharp teeth.

Are we far enough away from the strange creature to prevent it from attacking us?

Large wings unfurl at the bottom of the flower head.

Before any of us can react, the top half of the plant breaks away from the long stem and starts to fly. It’s as though the huge flower is actually two animals in one. Part of it is the long stem that is still swaying in the wind while the other part is a creature that looked like a flower, but now reminds me of a prehistoric pterodactyl.

“Look!” Jamie says.

Four or five similar creatures are rising into the blue sky.

The creatures unexpectedly turn away from us.

I breathe a sigh of relief.

“What do you think it is?” I ask.

“I think they are two animals living in a symbiotic relationship,” Jamie says. “What appeared to be the head was actually some kind of reptilian creature. The bottom half looked like a plant, although it could have been a snake-like animal. They likely live together with one helping to feed the other.”

“Like a clownfish and an anemone,” I say.

As I watch the mammoth creatures flying away from us, a new realization hits me.

The jungle around us has grown strangely silent.

- 17 -

HUNTED

In the abrupt, anxious silence the winged creatures that sat atop the long stems fly away as though they are moving in slow motion. My instincts are screaming that something is wrong, but I don’t know what it is. Why has the jungle stopped breathing?

“We have a problem,” Capurni states the obvious.

“What is it?” I ask as I look around to see if I can find a clue as to what is happening.

“Some creature that the other animals fear must have entered our area,” Jamie says. “We need to hide.”

“Emily, I think you should be ready to use your emerald to protect us if necessary,” Capurni says as he begins to walk under a large leaf. “Perhaps you could create a wall around us if we need it to keep us safe.”

Wall? Then I remember that Contassia is the command for my emerald to create a shield. If we are attacked by a horrendous creature, I can create a shield to protect us.

I follow Capurni and Jamie into the sweltering jungle. It’s difficult pushing our way through the heavy growth.

Within minutes a huge expanse of water appears. I guess it’s an ocean. There’s also a shoreline that looks like a beautiful beach. If I’m not mistaken, there’s a thin dot of land, perhaps another island, in the distance.

“Capurni, is that one of the other islands?” I ask, pointing at the small spot on the horizon.

Capurni looks where I’m pointing. “Yes, that must be Zelares. Zelares is the second largest island on Drapesia. Zelares was the home of Kienda. The Zelareans were the tribe who caused great destruction during the war on Drapesia.”

“I think I see something moving in the sky,” Jamie says. “It doesn’t appear to be a bird.”

I stare in the direction where Jamie is looking.

There’s a silver elongated shape in the sky. At first, it reminds me of a zelan from Lattisan. It’s difficult to tell whether it’s a creature or whether it might be an airplane.

As I continue to watch the mysterious object in the sky, it appears to stop in midair. Then it turns. Directly towards us.

“Emily, are you ready to use your emerald?” Capurni asks, a slight trembling in his voice.

“Yes.”

Jamie reaches into the backpack that he has been carrying. What’s he going to do?

I step towards him, still keeping one eye on the flying object that is now definitely moving towards us.

Jamie looks up at me, sensing my curiosity.

“I’ve got one of Michael’s nano-drones,” Jamie says. “I’m going to launch it. It can capture close-up pictures of that thing in the sky. That might help us decide what to do next.”

Jamie takes an object that looks like a pale blue bird. Sliding his finger across a spy-pad, the bird begins to fly. Using his finger on the spy-pad, Jamie directs the nano-drone towards the distant object coming in our direction.

The small drone quickly vanishes. I move closer to Jamie so that I can look at the screen on his spy-pad. There’s a picture of a strange flying object. My first impression is that it’s definitely not an animal.

Capurni moves closer to us. As he looks at the object on the screen, there’s growing concern on his face.

I hear a new noise. It sounds like grunts or squeals from a pig.

Capurni turns in the direction of the noise. He looks worried.

On the spy-pad screen, the flying object looks like a small jet. There appear to be two heads inside a clear dome that covers the top of the object. There are strange markings, almost like hieroglyphics, on the side of the plane.

“Jamie, can you zoom in closer on any of the faces?” Capurni asks.

His voice is filled with apprehension. I sense that something horrible is about to happen.

Frantic grunts are getting closer.

With the flick of Jamie’s finger, we are  looking directly into the face of one of the creatures inside the flying object.

No one has to tell me that the creature resembles Santtonnice, although I’m pretty sure it’s not actually him.

“They’re Zelareans,” Capurni says, both fear and anger evident in his voice.

“What?” I reply. “Who did you say they are?”

“They’re Zelareans. Zelareans are the tribe that Santtonnice belonged to. They ruthlessly destroyed other civilizations during the war thousands of years ago. If they are still present on Drapesia, that’s not a good thing. We’ve got to hide.”

Capurni leads us under the broad leaves of a nearby plant. I wonder if this plant is going to keep our presence secret. I guess that whoever is in the flying object already knows that we’re on the island. Their surveillance equipment is likely far more advanced than anything that Jamie has with him.

A troubling noise is getting closer to us. I look at the flying object on the spy-pad.

A burst of light shoots out from the bottom of the flying object. Bright red flashes of light are shooting into the jungle.

Turning away from the spy-pad, I realize that the flying object is not shooting at us.

Something is crashing through the tangled vegetation. My mind attempts to piece together the beams of light firing into the jungle and the terrified sounds approaching us.

Another burst of light pulverizes the jungle a stone’s throw away from us.              

There’s a scream of pain.

I peer through the broad leaves of a plant. The flying object is descending lower.

Another burst of light erupts from underneath the wings of the flying object.

New cries of pain leap from the jungle.

Whatever is being shot at is crashing through the jungle towards us.

A branch snaps off a nearby tree. I abruptly turn to see a creature, that at first reminds me of a tiger, but then as I look more carefully I notice that its face is unlike anything I’ve seen before. If I’m not mistaken, it has two elongated eyes at the side of its face with what appears to be a mouth at the top of its face. Beneath the mouth are several small openings that I assume might be nostrils. Before I get a better look, the creature vanishes into the dense mass of vegetation.

Capurni pulls me further under a large bush.

Jamie is glued to the pictures of the flying object on the screen of the spy-pad.

“Look,” Jamie exclaims. “They’re laughing.”

The spy-pad is showing a close-up of two creatures sitting in the flying object. I shudder as I realize again that their faces remind me of Santtonnice. I will never forget his bulging eyes and his hairless head with no ears.

“Why are they laughing?” I say

“I think they’re hunting,” Jamie replies, some disgust in his voice. “Just like people who hunt wild animals for sport. Only, instead of guns they have something like lasers.”

“And a jet,” I add.

“Is that really any different than high powered boats or ATV’s used in hunting back on our planet?” Jamie sarcastically adds.

All around us pandemonium breaks loose. It’s as though we’re being attacked by a herd of wild animals.

I start to scream, but Jamie blocks it by covering my mouth with his hand.

Ten or more animals, similar to the creature we saw a minute or two ago, race by us. One of the animals turns abruptly and looks at me. Two elongated eyes beg me for help. I sense the creature’s fear. For a second, we share a longing to be safe, but then a shower of light rains down on the jungle. As each ray of light strikes an object it explodes as though a small bomb was discharged. The light beams remind me of the attack we suffered in the jungle on our expedition to the Land of Shade more than a year ago.

There are several more explosions before the resulting smoke momentarily blinds me.

Although I can’t see, I continue to hear the explosions and the cries of the animals fleeing in terror.

Branches are snapping everywhere as the onslaught continues.

I rub me eyes, trying to clear the foul smoke from them. My eyes are watering. My ears are ringing. My throat is burning from breathing the hot smoke.

“Emily, are you okay?”

It’s Jamie.

“Yes. You?”

“I’m fine.”

Squinting through my watery eyes, I see both Jamie and Capurni. I breathe a sigh of relief that we are all still alive.

“It’s leaving,” Jamie says.

“Thank God.”

I glance into the sky. The flying object is moving away from us, although it’s continuing its attack on the creatures of the jungle.

All is still around us. Almost spooky still.

I hear a whimper.

At first, it’s barely audible, but then it grows a little more in intensity.

I wonder what could be making the noise, but then something inside tells me the obvious.

It’s a wounded creature that was fleeing from the flying object.

Capurni is the first of us to move.

Jamie and I follow him. Jamie takes my hand. It feels good.

Capurni moves cautiously.

A large animal is lying on its side, attempting to crawl away. It’s moaning in pain.

“It’s okay. We are friends,” Capurni says to the creature.

The animal stops moving.

“It’s okay,” Capurni says again. “We are friends.”

Capurni is now only a step or two away from the wounded creature.

Its back legs have been severely damaged.

Capurni bends down on his knees and slowly reaches out to the helpless animal.

The animal slowly turns its head towards Capurni.

“We are your friends,” Capurni repeats.

He touches the wounded animal.

“What is your name?”

What is your name? Surely, the animal can’t talk.

It has a multitude of eyes in the slits on each side of its face. There are no lips on its mouth. Small antennas are poking out from the top of its head. It has no cheeks.

I see the same emotions of fear and suffering that I would see if I was looking into the face of a human.

In that moment, I realize that this creature is a person.