Chapter 3--OUTPOST 51

 

A cloudburst drenched the swamp with another evening storm, the third this week. Soon the clouds cleared and stars glittered in the night sky. After scooping out the water at the base of a dry leaf, the only leaf on a dying cattail, Felix and Lily huddled together.

A missing critter poster tacked not far above their heads looked dire. The poster featured a father and a mother: Gus Gus P. Gnat and Gertrude Gnat. Below the parent’s pictures, Felix quietly read the names of their twenty or so, missing children.

“Gary, Gwen, Gerald, George, Ginny, Geri, Giuseppe…I never knew there were so many names that started with the letter G,” he said.

“I’ve seen more of those posters in the last few hours than I care for,” Lily said. “We must be close to the outpost.”

“Geoffrey, Glenda, Glick…who names a child Glick?”

Lily sat abruptly. “Enough, you’re starting to depress me. You need your rest, tomorrow is going to be a long and difficult day.”

Just as Felix nestled down next to Lily, cries rang out in the dark.

“Did you hear that?” Lily said with a start.

“Bats,” Felix whispered.

The two flattened down as far as they could as the sky filled with a flutter of wings. A colony of bats swooped, darted, and filled the air with piercing cries. One bat flew dangerously close and a green glow shot from its eyes, illuminating the end of the leaf.

The monstrous cry that Felix had heard the night he emerged from the water returned. A dark shadow blotted out the half-moon and then it cried again.

In one great whoosh, all the bats followed.

“Did you see it?” Felix whispered. “What do you suppose that thing is and why do the bats follow?”

“I’m not certain,” Lily said. “Selma once said a Dragghoul lived in the swamp. A creature with the body of a human and wings like a bat. Instead of a pointy snout, it uses teeth to suck blood from other humans.”

“What’s a human?”

“It’s a kind of swamp rat without the fur. They float on the water in things called boats and pull fish out of the swamp on invisible ropes.”

“Are they dangerous?”

“Yes, very dangerous. They practically destroy everything they touch, even themselves. I saw one put a red hole in another with a loud stick and then sank it in the water, tied to a rock.”

Felix shook his head. “It’s tough enough surviving with all those big things out to get us, but what kind of creature destroys itself?”

“Maybe it was helping to feed all the hungry mouths around here. Humans taste fantastic you know. Selma took me to feed on them once. The older ones are fine but most have dirt covering their necks. Other necks are red or covered in sweet smelling grease that tastes bitter. The little ones that dangle their fingers in the water taste the best. Better than any honey you’ll ever eat. You have to watch out though. Their mouths are armed with sirens that bring the big ones swinging.”

Felix chuckled. “I’ll stick to honey. They sound too dangerous for my taste.”

“All this talk about food is making me crave again and there is nothing within a minute’s flight,” Lily said. “Better we get some rest.”

That night, the banjo-strumming crickets made no sounds. The isolated cattail made for a lonely place. In the distance, a single cicada played a sad and beautiful song on its tummy. The lonely melody carried on the cool breeze. Felix believed he just needed a friend to get him through the night. By Lily’s side, he felt safe and warm.

Bad experiences bring bad dreams, or so Felix thought. A dream of the Dragghoul had woken him before dawn. As he wiped cold sweat from his forehead, he noticed how silent things were.

“Lily, wake up. We need to get moving now,” Felix said. It appeared she did not want to leave her dreams behind; a case of mattress glue, he called it. “Lily, it’s time to go,” he said, giving a shake.

“What, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing…we just need to go.”

“Why so early?”

“Can’t you see? Everything is still asleep right now. It’s the best time to go.”

“You’re right,” Lily said. She grabbed Felix by the hand and nearly dragged him to the top of the cattail. She cupped her eyes, faced the open water, and mumbled something about a leaf boat.

“A boat?” Felix said.

“Quiet, I’m thinking.

“Think faster, the cowbird will be up soon.”

“It’s not the cowbird we need to worry about here. It’s the swallows.”

“Swallows…why are they called swallows?”

“I suppose it’s because that’s the last thing you’ll hear before going into their bellies.”

Felix began searching the sky. “How will I know what they look like, should they come?”

“Think bats in the daylight,” Lily said. She knelt and gripped Felix by the arms. “You need to give me the strongest flight yet, while you’re wings are fresh. There is a leaf floating on the pond like a boat. It’s halfway before the next set of reeds. We can only rest there for a short while and then you have to do it again…do you understand?”

Felix felt nervous. Maybe getting up so early was not such a good idea after all. “I understand,” he said. Inside, he felt like throwing up but he did not want to let Lily down.

“You can do this Felix…I believe in you.”

The words meant everything to Felix. Not only was his sister brave, she was smart and he trusted her. “Let’s make history.”

“Now Felix,” Lily said, giving him a nudge. “Whatever you do, don’t look back. It’ll slow you down.”

Felix’s little wings buzzed to life and he began to run. With one giant leap, he took off toward the leaf. He pointed his snout full steam ahead. His wings hummed loud and he began to fly like never before. When he got half way to the leaf, he realized Lily was not in front of him as he expected. Don’t look back she said, Why didn’t she want me to look back? he thought. When he could stand it no longer, he took a quick peek behind. That’s when he saw Lily and then heard the swallows calling above.

Tangled between several birds, Lily dodged, dove and fought for her life. The swallows had been there all the time. Until now, they had made no sound. “Lily!” little Felix cried. He could not turn back, he realized. If he did not stay focused on the boat, he knew the birds would eat him.

The swallows cried, “Chitter-chatter, Chitter-chatter.”

Felix’s heart went, pitter-patter, pitter-patter.

In a nosedive, he made it to the leaf. Under a curled, brown canopy, he hid. He stayed as long as he could in hopes Lily would show up and surprise him, but she never did.

Soon the pond came to life and the leaf began to vibrate with the sound of fish moving below. With tears in his eyes, Felix took off for the final clump of cattails as a caldron of screaming swallows circled the sky.

A yard or so from a tangle of dead cattails, Felix wings began to sputter. With a spit and a spat, they finally gave out. He set them to glide but it had no effect. He was about to crash, inches short in the water.

Ker-splash.

Felix did his best to swim without making noise, but he was sure the V-shaped ripple he made would give him away, and it did.

An old familiar voice coming from the reeds in front of him was enough to give his wings a start.

“Hello there…what are you doing on this side of the pond,” Lenny the Leech asked.

He looked battle worn, with a set of deep hoof prints on the side of his face.

“I don’t want any trouble,” Felix said and before Lenny could slither into the water, he flew up into the center of the cattails.

After a moment of rest and a bucket of tears, Felix made his way up a forest of stalks lashed together. Below, he saw a scattering of eggshells and fluttering feathers of an abandoned goose’s nest. He came to an enclosure of woven sticks, inside a few bees had gathered on one side of a counter and wasps on the other. A layer of dirt covered the wasps and they wore helmets on their heads. As for the bees, bright yellow pollen dusted their striped jackets. Both were drinking what smell like sour honey. It seemed to make them laugh and wobble when they stood. Neither group conversed with the other.

“What’s your name son?” one of the wasps said.

“Felix.”

“I’m Clay Dauber…my friend’s call me Mud,” he said with a sinister laugh.

“Nice to meet you Mud—,”

“You’re not one of my friends,” Clay interrupted. He leaned down, lifted the helmet above his brow and glowered. “This is no place for a gnat.”

“I’m a mosquito,” Felix said.

“Well, in that case…scram,” he said giving a nod. “The gnat bar is that way.”

Felix made for the door and began to climb a spiral path woven in the reeds. Missing posters littered the way of mayflies, gnats and a few mosquitoes that looked like relatives. He even saw a giant-sized poster of cat. He could not imagine what that was doing here, possibly driftwood blown in by a storm.

In a room similar to the first, only smaller, a group of battered insects sat around drinking steins of nectar. A ladybug had only one spot on her shell, the rest looked chipped off. She had a black eye too. A few older mosquitoes with tattered wings sat on stools. One had his arm around a mayfly that had turned white. As he leaned in to kiss her, she turned to dust.

“Gosh darn it, that’s the third one in the last hour,” the old mosquito said.

“Welcome to outpost fifty-one, can I get you something?” a lacewing serving drinks said.

“Nope,” Felix answered with a nod. “Say, do you know Lucy?”

“We don’t approve of that kind nonsense around here.” The lacewing looked upset by what he had asked. Felix thought he just misunderstood.

From the far corner, a familiar voice rang out. “Well look what the gnat dragged in.”

“Selma?” Felix said, making his way around the counter. It was Selma in fact, but she did not look so young. In the past week, she had grown into an adult. A week in a mosquito’s life is like a year to humans.

“I’ve got to give it to you kid, you’ve got spunk,” Selma said. “Now where is your crazy sister?”

“I’m afraid she didn’t make it,” Felix started.

Selma slapped him on the back, freeing the tears standing in his eyes.

“No time to fret now,” she said as if she did not care. “We’ve got a swarm to catch, now that the weather has finally cleared.” Selma motioned for him to join a circle of odd bugs. “Let me introduce you to a few of my friends. Skeeter Jones is in the ball cap, Sheila in the baby doll dress and Alexi is the tall one in the back.” She leaned close and whispered, “Whatever you do, don’t mention frogs around Alexi…he gets a little crazy.”

“Got it.”

“Oh I just about forgot,” Selma said, pointing to a mayfly sitting near Skeeter Jones. “This is Darla, or Darleen…gee they all look the same.”

The mayfly spoke in a squeaky voice. “It’s Darla, I’m—” she started to say and then turned white.

Selma began snapping her fingers in front of Darla’s face. “Darla, honey…you still with us…Darla?” A breeze sent the empty husk of what used to be her body, sailing across the bar. “Figured as much…mayflies don’t live more than a few hours.”

Felix tried not to gasp. Tried and failed.

“It’s okay, buddy,” Skeeter Jones said. “It doesn’t hurt that much…from what I hear.” Skeeter had a funny voice too, kind of like the gnats Felix had heard, high-pitched and gravely. He was not much bigger that Felix was. He compared his height when he dusted off Darla’s chair and pointed for him to sit. Skeeter had something he did not have for such a small mosquito, a full set of wings.

Selma started again. “So the plan is we swarm across to the snake grass, first thing tomorrow.”

“You call this a swarm?” Felix said. “It’s not even a cluster.”

“The summer is nearly over and this is all we’ve got. If we wait any longer, we’ll be icicles.”

Felix had little concern about where he would spend the rest of his summer. Whether in the snake grass or the safety of the meadow, it would never be the same without Lily. Still, there was a chance someone else in his family might be alive out there.