Chapter 5!
Chapter 5
Lightning, Poison, and Giddiness
Kevin had just swallowed a dose of Sgt. Prozac’s Lonely Hearts Club Depression Medication™ when he saw two girls and a boy, all in their teen years, in the clearing up ahead. The three teenagers eyed the travelers warily, then seemed to decide that the approaching group’s intentions were not wicked.
“Hello,” Kevin called to the friends. The younger girl responded first.
“Hey there,” she said. She shook everyone’s hand in turn, smiling at the dumbstruck look on Chase’s face. “Name’s Pandora Hryalina. Panda for short.” Pandora looked about fourteen years old and had straight jet black hair, pulled back in a ponytail. Her eyes were presently a brilliant cerulean hue, but as a small cloud passed the sun overhead, they flickered a miserable silvery gray, only to return to their dazzling blue shade when the sun was un-obscured. Kevin had read about Oculacians (people whose eye color changed with weather) before but had never encountered one. She wore a green T-shirt with a detailed drawing of a walrus on it, and a miniature dress, under which were a pair of skinny jeans. Her appearance was strangely formal, yet strangely casual.
The other girl and the boy, the latter covered in dirt, introduced themselves. “Fay Ryna,” said the girl, who looked sixteen. “And this little weirdo is The Self-Proclaimed King of Turnips.”
“Oh, shut up!” said the boy, who looked the same age as Pandora. “Shore Lian,” he added, “and I was looking for turnips because they have the capability of curing all diseases known to man, dog, dragon, snake, and monkey-chicken.”
“You and your monkey-chickens,” Fay mocked playfully. She was tall with long blonde curls, and she sported an abundance of freckles upon her nose. She wore a blue T-shirt with the phrase, “I Dig a Pygmy” printed on it, and over it, a blue smock that was far too small for her; it didn’t even reach her sky blue shorts, and her feet were clad with black boots, worn with mud and dirt from countless hunting trips.
Around her neck was a purple snake with the horns of a goat and the tail of a rabbit. It lifted its horned head like a purple periscope and looked directly at Kevin. In an instant, it lashed out and bit Kevin’s neck. As he fell in slow-motion, he heard voices shouting:
“Oh my God!” “Kevin! Help him!” “I’ll get a turnip! I always keep one with me just in case.”
Then he blacked out.
Kevin knew he had to be dead. There was no way he could have survived that dragon’s bite, but somehow, the reality was the exact opposite. He knew he was alive because Wallace, Chase, May, Fay, Pandora, and even Ponis were pulling him to his feet; Shore was rubbing turnips all over Kevin’s neck.
“That should do it!” said Shore. “All better. First bite from a Doku-hebi, eh?”
“A- a what?” Kevin asked?
“A Doku-hebi. They’re dragons that greet people they want to become friends with by biting them.” Seeing Kevin’s bewildered expression, he added, “The bites are never fatal. They just cause annoying giddiness that eventually turns into overconfidence and then evil that lasts for the rest of the victim’s life, but once you’ve been bitten, they’ll never bite you again. A couple strokes from a turnip’ll cure the bite instantly. It’s the one instance when turnips are colloquially accepted as medical tools, so far,” he added maliciously.
“And that’s all they’ll ever be used for, Shore,” scolded Pandora. Shore didn’t bother arguing.
Shore had short brown hair, perfectly round glasses and a green backpack that looked like he’d never taken it off. He sported navy blue boots, sweatpants of the same color, and a black sweatshirt, but Kevin couldn’t study the bespectacled boy for long, for Shore was immediately struck by a bolt of lightning.
There was a moment of shock and horror as the travelers gathered ‘round the dead boy. Then Shore sat bolt upright and exclaimed, “That reminds me!” He ran off to the corner of the clearing and picked up a small cat. He immediately rushed back to Kevin, said, “It’s for your safety!” and shoved the cat’s belly in his face. Shore then did the same for May, her dragon, Ponis, Wallace and Chase.
“Sorry, it’s just that ever since they discovered that scientific anomaly near Mount Facean, random bolts of lightning have been raining down. But if you rub a cat in your face, you get lifetime protection from electrocution, both natural and artificial. It’s law now,” Shore explained.
Surprisingly, Pandora and Fay both nodded. “We already had ours,” Pandora said. “I had mine right after I was born.”
Nobody questioned this medicinal anomaly. Instead Fay asked, “So where’re you folks headed?”
Wallace answered, “Well, I guess we’re headed for Mount Facean.”
Shore replied, “Well through the Eastern forest in Dalesville, the ocean should take you were you need to go, if you stay on a straight path, but forget about it! There’s too many dangerous dragons in the water. You’ll get sliced and diced.”
“You’re kidding,” said Chase.
“How are we gonna get to the volcano?” May asked.
It was Pandora who answered. “I know. You need to head up north. In the northeast is the Kingdom of Tricor. My father has a map, you can borrow it.”
“That’s great!” said Kevin. “But what do we do when we get to Tricor?”
“Why, you need to talk with Atsuma.”
