Geth and the Return of the Lithens

  “I’m ready,” Clover announced. “You know, if Phoebe were here she would try to stop you.”

  “Phoebe’s not here,” Geth pointed out. “She’s somewhere over Cork doing her thing. She won’t be back for a couple of days. Besides, she hates boredom just as much as I do.”

  “Well then,” Clover smiled, “what are we waiting for?”

  Geth pushed his hair back behind his ears, smiled with his blue eyes, and took off running.

  Chapter Two

  Let Sleeping Problems Sleep

  Geth ran all the way from Wet Lake to the edge of Stone Canyon near the Hidden Border. Stone Canyon was a long, thin crack in the crust of Foo. It ran for over fifty miles from east to west, or, in the terminology of Foo, from over to back.

  Stone Canyon was only about thirty feet across, but it was deceptively dangerous due to its depth. The edges of the canyon were lined with thick, tall fantrum trees that hung out over it like knotty gargoyles. The tallest tree branches touched in the middle and were heavy with vines that hung down and into the canyon. It was possible to grab a vine and swing successfully to the other side—possible, but not suggested.

  Geth and Clover had accomplished the feat the week before while exploring, and now they needed to do it again to get back to the cave.

  “This was the best part,” Clover said, looking across the gorge.

  “I agree,” Geth said.

  Geth walked along the edge of the canyon with Clover on his back. He picked up a long stick from the ground and reached out to extract some of the vines hanging over the gorge. He pulled on a couple but they both came loose from the trees and dropped down into the canyon.

  “Try that red vine,” Clover suggested.

  Geth reached out with his stick and hooked the red vine. He pulled it over and grabbed hold of it. The vine was about two inches thick and hung so far down into the gorge that they couldn’t see the end of it. Geth yanked it and it held firm to the tree it was hanging from.

  “Pretty and strong,” Clover observed.

  Geth stared at him.

  “What?” Clover said, embarrassed.

  “Just hold on.”

  Geth backed up, got a running start, and then swung out and all the way across the thirty-foot canyon with ease. He landed on the far bank and looped the red vine to the closest tree.

  “You know, Leven might think this was foolish,” Clover pointed out.

  “So might Winter,” Geth added.

  “That makes me want to do it even more,” Clover said, grinning wryly.

  Geth zigzagged through a patch of tall white trees. A large bird flew from the branches above, screaming. It circled in the air, screamed again, and then flew off.

  “You know, I’ve been thinking,” Clover said. “Animals in Reality had way better manners than the ones here.”

  “Really?” Geth replied. “I hadn’t noticed.”

  “It’s true,” Clover insisted. “You know what I really enjoyed?”

  Geth didn’t reply. Instead he pushed a tree branch aside and ducked under another thick limb.

  “Cats,” Clover answered anyway. “I really enjoyed cats. I made a couple of good friends while waiting for Leven to grow up.”

  “That’s fantastic,” Geth said, laughing.

  They reached a high, dark stone wall and walked beside it until they came to an opening in the trees.

  “There it is,” Clover reported needlessly, pointing toward the mouth of the cave.

  Geth stopped and Clover jumped down onto the ground.

  “Just like we left it,” Clover added.

  Geth and Clover had found the cave the week before while exploring the bluff. Geth had stumbled upon it by accident after Clover had run off chasing what he swore was a really small horse but actually was just a large tangle of weeds caught in the wind.

  The entrance to the cave was twice as tall as Geth and almost as wide as it was tall. The edges were chipped and moldy, giving the great hole the appearance of a Cyclops’s rotting eye socket. Spiderwebs covered the opening like a dirty film over a withered eye. The sound of something snoring behind the webs bellowed from the cave like a warm belch and penetrated their noses with the smell of decay and dirt.

  “It looks worse than before,” Clover whispered.

  “Yeah,” Geth said happily.

  Geth reached his hands forward and stuck his fingers into the thick, spongy cobwebs. The sticky strands parted and Geth pulled open a three-foot slot.

  “I don’t want to meet the spiders who made all this,” Clover said.

  “Me neither,” Geth said, moving into the cave.

  Light filtered through the web from the outside and frosted the cave’s innards in a low glow. Geth looked around as Clover shook nervously and then disappeared. Bones from various creatures littered the ground like out-of-season Halloween decorations. And cobwebs hung from the ceiling like peeling skin from a sunburned belly.

  The snoring was louder inside and the cave looked frighteningly deep. Geth began to step slowly down the gradual incline.

  “This feels right,” Geth whispered.

  With each step the cave’s light grew dimmer and the snoring louder. Twenty steps later Clover began to tremble on Geth’s shoulder.

  “Over there,” Clover hissed.

  Five feet to the right was a large, white, furry mound. Its girth waxed and waned in time with the snoring. It looked like a fuzzy white moon being blown up and deflated over and over.

  “That’s a white onus,” Geth whispered in awe.

  “It looks like a bear,” Clover observed.

  “Yeah,” Geth agreed. “But these are larger, and they have two long tails.”

  “I’m thinking this isn’t a good idea after all,” Clover whimpered as he watched the onus’s tails wriggle quietly as it snored. “That thing looks dangerous.”

  “It’s too late to turn back now,” Geth whispered.

  “That’s silly,” Clover argued. “This is the perfect time to turn back. We leave and then just talk about how brave and smart we were to come in and get out alive.”

  “Onus are a plague,” Geth informed Clover. “They tear apart farms and they’ve hurt countless nits.”

  “I know,” Clover said firmly. “That’s all the more reason for us to get out now.”

  “They’re one of the most destructive creatures in Foo,” Geth went on, sounding like a tour guide at the zoo. “Remember that onus that hid out in that pond? Then it attacked a boat, and two fishermen were accidentally killed. They’re very toxic creatures.”

  “I don’t like to judge,” Clover said piously.

  “Good for you,” Geth said. “But this onus probably has it coming.”

  “You can’t be serious,” Clover panicked. “What about fate and letting things run their course?”

  “It seems pretty fateful that we should find this,” Geth said happily.

  “Remember that saying?” Clover asked. “‘Let really giant animals keep sleeping and don’t ever, ever bother them?’”

  “Nope,” Geth answered, staring at the sleeping beast.

  “You need to act like your old self,” Clover cautioned.

  “I’d rather act like my whole self,” Geth said jubilantly.

  Geth reached up, took hold of Clover, and set him down on the ground beside him. He rubbed his hands together and ran toward the sleeping onus. Screaming, he jumped onto the animal’s back and grabbed two fistfuls of pale fur. The startled onus jumped up, and with one powerful flip it threw Geth off its back and up against the cave wall. Geth sprang to his feet and dodged the onus as it ran headlong toward him. The beast slammed into the wall and cried out, its scream echoing throughout the cave.

  “Run!” Clover yelled. “Run!”

/>   Geth turned and sprinted toward the front of the cave. Before he could take four full steps, the onus barreled into him from behind. Geth rolled and turned over just in time to witness the animal lifting its right paw. The onus threw its claws down, slicing toward Geth’s stomach. Clover materialized on top of the onus’s head and with one quick flash ripped his own claws across the top of the beast, shaving off a large swath of white fur. The fur flew around the cave like disoriented snow.

  “I wasn’t supposed to help you!” Clover yelled.

  “I’m not sure you are,” Geth yelled back, spitting fur from his mouth.

  Geth got to his feet before the onus could react to the surprise haircut. Geth swung his right leg under the animal. The beast’s front feet flew out from under it and its stomach slammed against the floor. Geth jumped onto the onus’s back, forcing the poor creature’s head to the ground with its forelegs pinned under the weight of its own body. The onus screamed and rocked, but it couldn’t move. Its backside was caught up against the side of the cave and its front end was held down by Geth.

  “Thanks, Clover,” Geth said, sounding happier than he had in some time. “You’re twice the fighter with those claws.”

  “I do enjoy using them,” Clover replied. “Now what?”

  “I don’t know,” Geth said, breathing hard. “Do you have anything in your void we can tie it up with?”

  The void Geth was referring to was the pocket Clover’s mom had sewn onto the front of Clover’s robe when he was younger. It was an amazing accessory that could hold objects of almost any weight or size. Not even Clover knew everything that was in it anymore.

  “I probably have something we could . . .” Clover stopped talking.

  “What?” Geth said, staring at Clover. “You’ve got to hurry. I’m not sure how long I can hold it!”

  “Um . . . which are faster, big animals or small ones?” Clover asked nervously while looking directly behind Geth.

  Geth turned his head. There, only four feet away from him, were two orange eyes the size and shape of small clouds, but with none of the softness.

  “Run!” Geth yelled.

  Geth sprang up off the onus and dashed toward the front of the cave. He tore through cobwebs and burst from the mouth of the cave like a sticky tongue reaching for a distant sucker. Behind him the sound of thundering feet and crashing bodies filled the air.

  “I think the big one tripped over the little one!” Clover yelled. “You might have a chance.”

  Geth ripped through the thin white trees, heading back toward Stone Canyon. His feet beat on the rocky ground like shards of flint, each strike sending sparks into the now gray evening sky. He pumped his arms and the wind blew his long hair back.

  Clover clung to Geth’s neck, jostling. “Is this what you wanted?” he yelled, bobbing up and down like an apple in rough waters.

  “Exactly,” Geth yelled back.

  Geth put his head down and pushed harder. His silhouette was a blur in the dusk. Like a thumb smearing over a wet painting, his body streaked through the remaining trees on the outskirts of the bluff. Forty feet behind, a far more ominous blur roared closer.

  “That thing’s huge!” Clover screamed. “It’s at least four times as big as the other one.”

  “It must be the mother,” Geth yelled.

  Clover looked back and saw the massive white onus thundering toward them. He tightened his grip around Geth’s neck. “She’s turning bright red!”

  “They get redder as they get angry.”

  “Well then, she’s pretty ticked off.”

  Geth groaned. “We’re not going to make it.”

  “Start acting like a lithen!” Clover screamed back.

  Geth laughed as he jumped quickly over a thicket of bushes and down onto a narrow, vine-covered ledge. Clover turned to glance back and got a clear view of the beast chasing them. The mother onus was long and as wide as a small river. The muscles beneath her bristling fur were pumping and contracting like boiling white-and-red tar. As she galloped, her two long, thin tails whipped behind her like the tentacles of a gangly squid. The onus’s massive orange eyes locked onto them. She opened her mouth and roared.

  “I thought moms were supposed to be nice,” Clover hollered.

  “Onus aren’t known for being passive,” Geth yelled back. “If we can just make it to the canyon,” he gasped, “I can swing back across.”

  The now completely red onus was closing the gap between them and her.

  “You’re not going to make it!” Clover cried. “I should have gone with Leven and Winter!”

  “Nobody made you come!” Geth retorted.

  “But I was—”

  Geth’s right foot caught on one of the vines running across his path. His body twisted and his left shoulder flew forward, crashing down on the ground. His knee and shoulder scraped across the tough vines, tearing up the right side of his body. As Geth slid, the now florid beast behind them sprang through the air, knocking Clover from Geth’s neck and ripping her right front paw across the back of Geth’s right shoulder. Clover shot straight up while Geth and the onus slid across the ground. Geth jammed his right foot under a protruding vine and brought his body to a violent stop. The onus continued to roll, sliding into a thick cluster of bushes and disappearing from view.

  Clover dropped back down to the ground and leapt onto Geth. “Are you okay?” he asked excitedly. “Did you knock her out?”

  Geth rolled over. “I’m fine. I—”

  An angry growling from the bushes alerted them to the onus’s consciousness and interrupted the conversation. Geth got up as quickly as he could and hobbled toward the edge of Stone Canyon.

  “What are you doing?” Clover demanded.

  “We have to swing across,” Geth replied.

  “But you’re limping!”

  “I know,” Geth said, breathing hard and beginning to limp faster. “It was a bad idea to fall down back there.”

  “Right,” Clover agreed. “So let’s find someplace to hide.”

  “She’ll still find us,” Geth said, still moving in the direction of the cliff.

  “Maybe not,” Clover argued. “I’m really good at hiding!”

  Geth lowered his head and limped as fast as he could. He moaned as his speed increased.

  “Stop!” Clover insisted. “I don’t even hear the onus now. She probably gave up.”

  Clover’s argument was rendered void by the sound and reappearance of the beast. Not only had she dragged herself from the bushes, she was picking up speed as she galloped toward them.

  “I changed my mind,” Clover yelled. “Run!”

  The huge onus was glowing red and looked twice as large as the car Clover had once driven in Reality. She ran with an awkward gate, dragging her back right foot. Despite the ailment, she was still gaining on them.

  “There’s the edge,” Geth pointed.

  Forty feet in front of them was Stone Canyon.

  “This was supposed to be a fun day of adventure!” Clover complained.

  “Sorry.”

  The cliff’s edge was twenty feet away. Geth pushed himself to move faster. His lungs burned and expanded like bags of hot corn.

  “How close is she?” Geth yelled.

  Clover turned to look the onus directly in the huge orange eyes. The angry beast was no more than six feet away.

  “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!” Clover answered.

  “Perfect,” Geth hollered.

  The onus leapt. Geth threw himself to the right and the animal sailed past him through the air. Geth fell to his knees as the beast rocketed by. The huge onus twisted and screamed as she flew over the canyon’s edge.

  “Geth!” Clover yelled. “The tails!”

  Geth looked down. The ends of the onu
s’s tails had become caught around his left foot. Geth reached down to untangle them but it was too late. With a mighty thwack Geth was pulled down, his face slamming against the ground and his body being dragged by the weight of the falling onus. He reached out for anything to grab hold of while his heart exploded in his chest. Geth yelled out, knowing that at any moment the full weight of the falling beast would rip him down into the thin, deep canyon.

  Fortunately, the rip never arrived.

  Geth opened his eyes and saw that he was still very much clinging to the edge of the cliff. The top half of his body was draped over the earth while his legs dangled down into the canyon. He looked at his hands as they clung to vines. His knuckles were whiter than the onus had once been. He could hear the mother onus crashing violently to the bottom of the canyon below him.

  Clover appeared next to Geth’s head with his claws out.

  “What happened?” Geth asked,

  “I may have accidentally trimmed her tail,” Clover admitted.

  “Accidentally?”

  “Well, actually, on purpose but for the sake of saving your life.”

  “Thanks,” Geth said, struggling to pull himself up. He reached for a vine in front of him and scrambled with his feet to get out of the gorge. As he stood up, a wide shadow eclipsed the low sun. Geth looked up to see the younger onus that he had first picked on.

  “Great,” Clover moaned.

  “I was wondering if it would come around,” Geth said excitedly.

  The smaller but still massive onus stood on its back legs and roared. Spittle rained down as the animal swung its front leg. The onus’s paw hit Geth on the side of the head and sent him flying to the right and into one of the trees lining Stone Canyon.

  Geth sprang to his feet quickly and spun his head around, looking for a suitable vine to escape on while the onus charged toward them.

  “There!” Clover yelled, pointing to the same red vine they had swung over on.

  Geth leapt for the vine just as the small onus got to him. The beast crashed into the tree, sending bits of bark everywhere. Clover yelled triumphantly as they swung over the canyon.