We ran for some 500 meters before finally taking shelter up a ridge near the lava river.
“I think we lost them for the time being.” I said. “It’s going to take the Magma Cube a little while before it can find us.”
“Not so sure about that. As long as it leaps in the right direction, it can get here in a mere 12 bounces.” Paul replied.
“Yeah, but it doesn’t know we are here, so we should be safe. At least until we come up with a better plan. Right, General Bart?” I asked him. “What do you have in mind?”
“I was going to, uh… shoot more arrows at it?”
“Are you even paying attention?” Paul asked. “You already tried that, and the arrows bounced right off its giant mouth! Soon enough, it’ll be better at shooting arrows than our guys are.”
“But uh…”
“But what? You must come up with a better plan, General Bart! I am sure you are an experienced fighter who knows his way around a battlefield, aren’t you?” Tom asked.
“I… I had never been in a battle before.” General Bart said.
“Are you kidding me?!” Tom almost had a heart attack.
“This is a joke, right, another one of those silly jokes of yours? You are a prankster, after all. Haha, not funny!” Paul tried to understand what he was trying to say.
“No… Unfortunately, this time it is not a joke.” General Bart replied. “Like I said earlier, Frank Bones appointed me as his general simply because we are neighbors.”
“What?” I knew it had to be some kind of silly joke, but General Bart’s expression did not change. He remained serious.
“He came up to me one day and asked me: ‘Hey Bart, would you like to be the General of Albeja? We need to hire someone.’ And that’s how I got my job.” General Bart explained.
“That is the worst story ever.” Paul replied.
“Frank Bones certainly made a horrible decision that day. I think he was in dire need for a General for him to do something so irresponsible like that.” Tom said.
“Hey, I’ll have you know that I’ve been working really hard as a general for many years! It is not my fault that we never had to engage in battle because the 14th Infantry goes to all of the battles!”
“Fourteenth infantry? So, there is another infantry in Albeja.” Paul replied.
“The snobs at the 14th infantry… they think they are so much better than everyone else because they are always busy fighting. But Frank Bones likes me better, and that’s why he always keeps me safe in Albeja and out of trouble. He sent me on this mission because he probably felt it wasn’t going to be so dangerous.”
“It is dangerous. We never lied about the dangers of this mission!” I said.
“Exactly, but apparently Frank did not believe you guys…” General Bart replied.
“This is such a mess. So let me get this straight, Frank Bones has a better infantry, the14th infantry…”
“They are well prepared, that’s for sure. Frank usually sends them on the dangerous missions.” General Bart replied.
“Alright, whatever! So, in short, Frank sent us his weak infantry and a general with no previous battle experience whatsoever because he thought this wasn’t going to be a dangerous mission. Is that correct?” Tom asked.
“Well… I wouldn’t say it in such a rude manner, but yes.” General Bart replied.
“What have we got ourselves into?” Tom said. “I cannot believe they sent us out here to face the same enemies again, but this time we have an unprepared infantry!”
“Hey, don’t blame them! They are doing their best.” General Bart said. “Besides, they really did undergo training and they do have battle experience. I’m the only one who has never been in one before.”
“Ok, great! Then tell your soldiers to do something about that Magma Cube before it finds us!” I said.
“Yes, but what can we do? Arrows are pointless. We cannot get too close because the monsters are radioactive!” General Bart said.
“You are the general here. You should be the one to decide what to do next, not us!” Tom said.
“I’m just asking for a suggestion.”
“This guy has been a general for I don’t know how long, and he can’t even make decisions by himself? They are literally giving away this job to anyone!” Tom complained.
“Guys, watch out! The Magma Cube is coming in this direction!” Nora alerted us. She had perched atop the ridge and kept an eye out for the monsters. “It should be here in less than five minutes. We must do something before they find us!”
“Okay, time’s up General! What is it going to be? We need your help!” Tom said.
“I don’t know what to do…” General Bart replied.
“Just think of something, anything!”
“Oh, I know exactly what we can do – explosive arrows!” General Bart replied.
“Wait, what?” Tom asked. “What do you mean by explosive arrows?”
“That’s exactly what they are! They are arrows that explode upon impact! Pretty nifty, isn’t it?” General Bart asked.
“No, this is the opposite of nifty! This is a terrible idea!” Tom commented.
“General, are you sure about this? Common arrows are useless. What makes you think that explosive arrows are going to do anything at all?” I asked him.
“Because they are explosive!” General Bart replied. “I have made-up my mind, civilians. Now stay back and watch the show while the 15th infantry shoots down the Magma Cube with our exclusive explosive arrows crafted in the city of Albeja! 15th infantry, load up!” General Bart ordered.
It sounded like a horrible idea, but General Bart had finally made-up his mind, and he wasn’t going to change it now.