Peter Carrot-top

  Chapter 14

  Losing a Friend

  The two women began to duck and dodge the branches as

  Oscar ran and whipped through the trees. Jane and Samantha

  held on tight, because Oscar was not slowing down. Through

  the trees and over streams and hills, Oscar ran with power,

  trampling the dead trees and leaves that filled the ground.

  Jane noticed that all of her plants were dying, even the

  ones she'd tried to save. They cried out for her, but she

  could not stop, she yelled.

  "I promise I will be back to save you all, and

  everyone who is responsible for this will pay!"

  But this did nothing to heal the hurt all of the

  plants and trees were feeling; they just cried out for her

  more. Jane felt terrible inside; but Samantha reminded Jane

  that there was no way that they could stop right now, they

  must keep going, and she promised Jane that she would come

  back with her to heal her beloved plants.

  Right now, they were in a middle of a war. Jane

  quickly shied away from the cries of her plants, turning a

  blind eye in order to not feel the pain. Yet, out of the

  corner of her eye, she noticed that her plants and all the

  vegetation were sick, something was killing them very

  rapidly. Tears began to flow from her eyes. She quickly hid

  the tears from Samantha, but everyone knew she was hurting.

  Suddenly Oscar came to a stop as a huge tree fell in

  their way. The tree was dying and begged Jane for help.

  "Help us, master," they all cried.

  Jane and the others watched as the tree did its best

  to pick itself off of the ground. It kept crying out for

  Jane; this time she couldn't ignore it. She jumped off of

  Oscar and began to heal the tree with her touch. Suddenly

  the tree's limbs and roots began to flourish with color,

  and it picked itself up. Its bark began to get brown again

  and the leaves began to grow rapidly.

  "Oh! You have the green thumb all right," said Oscar,

  as the tree began to heal, and quickly embedded its roots

  into the ground.

  The tree began to pass along life to the next, then

  all of the trees began to rise from the death and dried up

  limbs they once had. They began to move wildly in the

  winds; praising the heavens for their quick return from

  death. Then they bowed to Jane, singing and praising her

  name. The trees, one by one, like a set of dominos, fell to

  their knees over and over again.

  Jane was filled with emotions, and asked the trees to

  get up as she wiped the tears from her eyes. One of the

  trees took its branch with a little leaf on it and wiped

  Jane's face ever so gently, letting her know that they did

  care. Oscar once again reminded Jane that they had to

  leave; the others were waiting and in need of their help.

  Jane immediately thought of a plan, and asked the

  trees to help her find her husband and friends. The trees

  put their leaves to the ground; they could sense the

  heartbeat of anyone. Immediately, they turned their

  branches and leaves in the direction they needed to go.

  "You must hurry," said the trees.

  Jane and Samantha immediately jumped on Oscar's back,

  and quickly took off down the path the trees had made for

  them. The trees began to wave and say goodbye as Jane and

  the others raced through the path. Jane looked back once or

  twice to make sure the trees were all right, and she

  noticed that the trees were covering up her path so that no

  one could track them. Jane was proud of her trees, not only

  was she able to save them, but they were able to save her.

  So, on their way they went; Oscar flying along, and Jane

  and Samantha holding on for dear life.

  "We must get there before nightfall," said Jane, as

  they passed the many splendors of the Ambassador Forest.

  They noticed that everything was now being infected,

  mountains and stone structures began to crumble right

  before their eyes; rivers and streams began to dry up as if

  someone was sucking them up with a straw.

  "Baja is dying," said Oscar, as he continued to race

  through the forest.

  "We must find that rhino plant," said Samantha.

  Further up the stream, dead fish and other sea

  creatures were gasping for air as there was no water.

  Animals were dropping from the sky; every size, every

  species, and all were fighting for life. As Oscar continued

  to run through the forest, Jane glanced something

  spectacular, an old ancient Mayan temple.

  There was an eerie feeling of evil coming from it, but

  the temple was so beautiful. Huge Mayan statues graced the

  entrance, with large rock monsters guarding the temple. At

  a closer look, Jane saw that people were being carried in

  by chains and ropes. She immediately told Oscar to stop and

  get a closer look. Samantha was not thrilled with this

  idea, but let Jane do as she wished.

  "Let's see if there is anyone we know," said Jane.

  Before the words could leave her mouth, her eyes were

  on Bella. "Well, well, well; if it's not the brave Bella."

  Samantha quickly crouched down behind a tree to get a

  better look; and sure enough, it was Bella. They were

  bringing some of the fighters that were with Sam and the

  others. From a far distance, Samantha spotted David, and

  gasped a deep breath of air.

  "Oh! No, they caught Sir David," shouted Samantha.

  Jane quickly put her hands over Samantha's mouth, as

  any little noise could carry far. It was as if Samantha's

  words floated on thin air. Suddenly, the words hits Bella's

  ears, and she immediately sent her rock dogs out to search.

  They were huge, with strong iron breastplates and helmets;

  all of their muscles were made of huge rocks. They were

  mean-looking and evil; their eyes were completely black and

  they constantly foamed at the mouth.

  "Go and bring me human flesh," said Bella.

  The rock dogs took off running.

  "Oh no! We must leave," said Jane, as the rock dogs

  came tearing through the forest, knocking down trees and

  vegetation.

  They had picked up on Jane and the other's scent, and

  they were now on the hunt. Jane and Samantha jumped on

  Oscar's back and they took off, but it was too late; they

  were now being chased by the huge rock dogs. Jane was so

  afraid, she closed her eyes from time to time, but every

  time she opened them, they would be right there, breathing

  down Oscar's back.

  Samantha pulled out her iron bow and arrows, and began

  to shoot the creatures as they came full force behind them.

  But the iron arrows did very little damage to the rock

  dogs; a little chip here and there did not slow these

  massive creatures down, and the more Samantha shot at them,

  the faster they came running.

  At this point, Oscar became very tired and began to

  slow down; he could no longer run, and he was running out

  of energy. Suddenly Oscar collapsed to his knees, throwing


  Jane and Samantha into the shrubs and trees. Oscar began to

  wrestle with the creatures, but he was outnumbered. The

  creatures ganged up on him and began to tear his flesh

  apart.

  "Don't worry about me, run!" said Oscar.

  Jane looked back with tears in her eyes, and began to

  take off running, leaving Oscar to fend for himself. He put

  up a good fight, until he saw that Jane and Samantha were

  far away; then he gave up, his body was savagely torn

  apart. His blood filled the ground, the symbols of Baja

  that were on Oscar died as he did, and the rock dogs

  savagely dragged his body back to their master. Jane and

  Samantha got away; they quickly ran through the forest

  avoiding all main pathways. As soon as they were well away

  from danger, Samantha began to blame Jane for stopping.

  "We were told not to stop," said Samantha.

  Jane could not do anything but hang her head low,

  sobbing. She was in distress; she had lost her best friend

  once again, and began to blame herself. Samantha had no

  pity; she began to walk along the path without Jane.

  Shortly afterwards, Jane followed. No one said a word; both

  ladies continued to walk the long pathway, intent on saving

  Sam and the others.

  "We must keep fighting, we can have a pity party

  later," said Samantha.

  But deep inside, Samantha was sad and hurt; after all,

  Oscar was part of the family. She stopped to get a drink of

  water from a stream that was running out of a tall mountain

  rock. Samantha washed her face as she let the tears roll

  down; she did not want Jane to see how hurt she was. After

  all, she was supposed to be a warrior.

  As Samantha went to drink the water from the stream

  she noticed an awful stench. "This water is poison!"

  Jane rushed over and took a quick sniff; the water was

  indeed poisoned, and that was the main reason all the

  plants, animals and vegetation were dying. The seven

  wizards had poisoned the waters with the same sickness as

  the wizard Cilus had. Samantha quickly wiped her face with

  the sleeves of her shirt to get the poisonous water off of

  her face.

  "We must keep going," said Jane.

  The two ladies got themselves together and began

  walking the long pathway. Oscar was no longer alive to move

  them fast through the forest, and he was no longer there to

  protect and warn them of danger. As they walked, there were

  death and destruction everywhere; plants were once again

  dying, vegetation had become poisoned, and the stench of

  death was in the air. Old tombs and ruins were completely

  destroyed, stone and rubble were scattered all over the

  ground, statues that once guarded the entrance to the

  secret forest were nothing more than dust, and destruction

  was as far as the eye could see.

  There was no living thing in sight. Jane held back her

  emotions; this was no time to stop and save any more plants

  and vegetation, because they would die of the poison in the

  Ambassador Forest. As Jane walked, she continually looked

  back, hoping to find any signs of life anywhere, but there

  was just death. Jane promised revenge for the plants of the

  forest; she promised that whoever was responsible for this

  would pay a great price.

  After hours of walking, Jane and Samantha were finally

  close to finding Sam and the others. Jane began to run

  ahead, awaiting the comfort and loving arms of her husband.

  Samantha quickly ran after her, warning her that this could

  be a trap. This time, Jane listen, slowly walking instead

  of running. Jane and Samantha checked out their

  surroundings, but could not find anyone. Jane feared the

  worst, thinking that Sam and the others had been captured

  like David and held in a prison camp.

  "This is the right spot, so where are they?" said

  Samantha.

  She held out a reflection glass in the sun, and the

  glass began to glitter in the sun's rays. Samantha sent out

  a code to anyone alive who knew how to send codes by the

  sun. At first, nothing happened; so the two ladies sat and

  waited. Then, through the dead leaves and vegetation, a

  code came back.

  "It's them, someone is alive," said Samantha to Jane.

  The two ladies began to run and hopped over the dried

  up vegetation, hoping to find anyone they had lost. Jane

  and Samantha kept running, as if they were running from

  someone. Their emotions got the best of them, and both

  ladies began to cry uncontrollable.

  From beneath the vegetation, out popped Sam and Red

  Fox with a few of the remaining fighters. Sam was glad to

  see his wife, and was happy that both ladies had made it

  out alive. There were no words, just emotions as the

  fighters reunited with Jane and Samantha. Sam held Jane in

  his arms for a long time, and Red Fox held onto Samantha,

  kissing and rubbing her cheeks. The two men apologized to

  the ladies for leaving them behind, but both women knew

  that there wasn't anything either of them could have done

  to save them from what had occurred.

  Nevertheless, Sam and Red Fox hurried the ladies out

  of the path, letting them know that the wizards had sent

  out hunting dogs. Jane began to cry, telling Sam and the

  other fighters that the hunting dogs had killed Oscar, and

  that David was captured by Bella and her imp friends. Sam's

  conscience began to bother him, and he apologized once

  again to his wife for not believing her about Bella, and

  because of his loyalty to her, he had caused many lives to

  be lost, and Baja to crumble. Jane turned around and

  comforted her husband, letting him know that all was not

  lost, and he would help in saving Baja.

  "We must continue to fight or forever be slaves of the

  wizards," said Jane.

  Red Fox, Sam and the remaining fighter agreed. Sam and

  Red Fox quickly took Jane and Samantha into a dune under

  the ground. The dune was huge, earthy-looking and felt soft

  and loamy. Its tunnels were long; from the scratches and

  carvings in the dune, Jane knew that they were in a large

  bird's nest. Large white and gold eggs were still lying in

  the nest, lifeless.

  As Jane and the others walked about ten feet in, there

  sat a large bird, slouched over, and foaming at the mouth.

  The bird was huge, and had to weight about two thousand

  pound. On its head was a large crown made out of pure gold

  and the finest silver. Just like most things in Baja, the

  crown glowed with codes and symbols. The feathers on the

  huge bird began to fall off, one by one causing a big cloud

  of dust.

  "It is dying," said Red Fox.

  He explained that the bird had been poisoned from the

  water, and no matter what they did, there was no way of

  saving any of the animals unless they got the rhino plant.

  Jane and Samantha let the others know that they had

  experienced this as well. Samantha rubbed the big bird's
r />   head and whispered in its ear.

  "We will revenge your death."

  After this, the bird gave up and died; the huge crown

  and symbols stopped glowing. The bird turned into dust and

  blew away in the wind.

  "We must keep moving," said Red Fox to the others.

  He and Sam were pretty beaten up; they looked tired

  and worn out. Red Fox was missing patches of fur on his

  tail and face, Sam was badly cut and bruised; so were the

  other fighters. Yet, everyone vowed to move on and not to

  give up. They quickly moved the heavy bird's eyes to the

  entrance of the dune to block anyone from coming in, and

  then quickly began to move through the underground tunnel.

  Inside this magnificent tunnel was a long history of

  the protectors of Baja. Sam explained to Jane and Samantha

  that the bird's name was Ofus; he was one of the original

  founders and protectors of Baja, and he was thousands of

  years old. There were many like him, but they were

  scattered throughout the region. They were very hard to

  find, because they were the first birds to ever live

  underground in dunes.

  The cave had marvelous paintings of centuries ago; at

  times, the paintings seemed to come alive. They showed a

  great nation being destroyed and enslaved by the evil of

  the seven wizards. The pictures also showed how beautiful

  Baja once was; there were moons that came down and sat on

  the roads and farm lands. All the people of Baja were

  skilled in every level; there were machineries, pyramid

  builders, artists, teachers, wizards, and great beasts from

  many worlds away.

  Everyone lived in peace and harmony; until one day a

  great key was found by a little boy who showed it to his

  father, who was a code breaker. His father deciphered the

  codes and became the most powerful man alive, except he was

  evil. He began to rule with an iron fist. Turning people

  into slaves, he began to build statues and pyramids to his

  liking; instead of serving the people, he served himself.

  As Sam was telling the story, Jane got closer to the

  drawings and a picture seemed to move. She could not

  believe what she was seeing, and rubbed her eyes for a

  minute. She grabbed Samantha.

  "Look, doesn't this picture remind you of Mr. Stewart?"

  Samantha quickly ran her fingers over the picture.

  "Yes it does."

  Sam and Red Fox wanted to know what was going on. The

  two ladies explained that they were in the company of Mr.

  Stewart in the underground city, and he had an evil twin

  brother. Red Fox questioned Mr. Stewart's truthfulness.

  "I never trusted that man, from the moment I first

  laid eyes on him," said Red Fox.

  "Let's not jump to conclusions, let's wait on the

  truth," said Sam.

  "We don't have time to wait on the truth, many men

  have died!" said Samantha, as they continued to walk

  through the tunnel.

  The bird was of great importance, he had gold upon

  gold, and there were treasure chests and small rooms filled

  with gold and valuable gemstones. As they walked further

  through the tunnel, they came upon a surprise; there were

  three golden doors that glowed with the secret codes of

  Baja.

  "Where could these doors possibly lead us?" said Sam.

  "From the experiences we've had, I am not looking

  forward to it," said Jane.

  No one knew which door to open, or even to open a door

  at all. There were so many mysteries in Baja that did not

  need to be opened; so everyone was being careful. The

  fighters got ready and held up their few remaining weapons.

  Sam and the others took a deep breath and exhaled.

  Sam then quickly chose door number two. A bright light

  burst out of the door opening; then it swirled around the

  room like tornado winds. Everyone fell to the floor and up

  against the walls. The ball of light began to spin and make

  little white balls of light. They circled around the room,

  scanning everyone's faces; then they joined together and

  became one huge ball again.

  Suddenly the ball let of a huge bang and sucked Sam

  and the others into a new dimension. The boom was so loud

  that it could be heard for miles. The people in Baja also

  felt it, but brushed it off as just an old earthquake. Yet,

  the wiser and older citizens knew that it was something

  more, and fear came into their eyes. They began to gather

  up their grandchildren and closed all their stores. Many

  other citizens went on with their daily lives, as if

  nothing had happened. But unknown to the ignorant, there

  was plenty going on; a war between good and evil was taking

  place right under their noses.

  Back in the tunnel, there was something strange and

  magnificent going on. Sam and the others were in the big

  ball; the light was so bright that they had to close their

  eyes. Sam and the others could feel themselves tumbling

  down; going nowhere. Their eyes were tightly shut and their

  hearts were thumping in fear. They had no idea as to where

  this was leading them.

  One by one, they began to tumble down a long stem-like

  vegetation; the further down they went, the less bright the

  light became. They were now able to open their eyes, and

  when they did they got the shock of their lives; everything

  was green and lush. The trees had big red and silver apples

  the size of a wagon; the wind blew by tiny fairies that

  flew in swarms of at least a million.

  Everything seemed to be alive and prospering. After

  everyone had tumbled down the hole, they looked back and

  saw that they had slid down a huge, big old tree that had

  been around for centuries. The birds must have found a way

  here by digging. The tree stood about two hundred feet

  tall, massive in size, with moss and huge mushroom growing

  from its bark.

  "Where could we be?" asked one of the fighters.

  "I have no clue," said Sam. "People talk about many

  worlds in Baja, but many thought it was nothing more than

  myths of the old people."

  Before anyone moved, Sam made sure everyone was all

  right and accounted for.

  "Make sure we all stick together," said Red Fox.

  Samantha could see in her friends' eyes that they were

  scared and tired, especially Red Fox. He was hurting so

  badly, but there was nothing she could do. So, Samantha

  finally went up to Red Fox and told him to get in the back

  and she would lead the crew. There was no arguing with

  Samantha; once she made up her mind, she never turned back.

  So Red Fox and the others let her lead. The land was

  massive; Samantha had no idea where to go first. Everyone

  began to look over this immense land and see the huge roots

  that were connected to the tree.

  "These roots can lead anywhere," said Jane.

  Everyone nodded in agreement. The roots seemed to go

  in a million different directions, over and under the

  planet. As they walked, they
could feel tremors coming from

  the ground; whatever it was, it was big, and coming their

  way. Samantha told everyone to stay close, and behind the

  tall grass and plants. As the team walked on, Jane noticed

  that the plants and vegetation were clinging to her. Some

  were singing, some were spitting out cotton seeds from

  their center, and one plant pulled off its petals and

  inside it was filled with fresh drinking water.

  Jane gracefully took the water and began to drink; it

  was refreshing, and she then passed it on to the others. It

  was the freshest water they had tasted in a while. Jane

  then took here green thumb and healed the plant where it

  had broken the petals off. The petals grew back instantly;

  then the plant began to sign, sending codes to the others.

  "It seems like they love you," said Sam as he hugged

  his wife.

  Jane was pleased to see that something was surviving

  and living well. Suddenly a magical pathway appeared, and a

  huge leaf dropped from the sky.

  "They want us to pile in," said Samantha.

  Everyone did; the leaf was big enough to hold them

  all. Once everyone was in, the plants began to blow on the

  leaf, sending Sam and the others flying down the magical

  pathway. It seemed like a wild ride, but the plants were

  taking them to their destination. The ride went on for a

  while, and then it suddenly stopped at the end of the

  pathway.

  The crew could still hear the loud tremors on the

  ground. Whatever it was, it was getting closer and closer.

  Jane and the others peaked from behind a huge flower. The

  flower came alive and pushed Jane and the others into the

  open.

  "Master, we have been waiting for you," said the

  flower. It sounded sad and depress. "The great war is

  coming and you have come to save us."

  Big tears dropped from the flower and splashed on Jane

  and the others. This flower was huge, like nothing Jane or

  the others had ever seen. It had a human face, but its

  entire body was a plant, with stems, roots and leaves. Its

  skin was pale white with rosy cheeks, and silver titanium

  hair the glittered in the sun. The plant was at least

  eighteen feet tall, long and slender like a snake. Jane

  could not believe her eyes; she stood and gazed upon this

  marvelous creature for several minutes.

  "Forgive me, but did I make you?" said Jane.

  "Of course you did, silly master," said the plant.

  It went on to remind Jane of how she formed them. When

  Jane was a little girl, she was brought to the elders as a

  gifted child. They put in front of Jane a rare plant that

  grew on certain children of Baja. When she touched the

  plant, it grew, consuming the children with it.

  "Oh, yes! I remember, your species was called the

  Naffaldorfs."

  Jane was amazed to see what her green thumb had done;

  for so many years she had blocked out this event. But this

  was a short meeting; the plant quickly moved itself back

  into the ground as the loud tremors got closer. When Jane

  turned around to question her plant, it was gone, totally

  vanished back into the earth, obviously something was

  coming. All the plants were afraid and began to disappear

  into the earth, leaving only a small ant hill dome.

  "Don't be afraid, whatever it is, we will help," said

  Jane.

  But the plants never stuck their heads out, knowing

  better of what was coming. As all the plants vanished

  underground, this left a better view of the land, and now

  that Jane and the others could see better, they noticed

  that something was sucking the land dry. The earth began to

  crack from the lack of water; there was no rainfall, and

  under the ground was the last source of water. Jane knew

  then why the plants wanted her here, but what was causing

  this was the same thing causing everything else, the

  seventh wizard Cilus.

  Once Jane and the others found the white rhino plant,

  its powers would heal the plants and also Cilus. This was a

  risk they had to be taken or everything would die. As

  Samantha led the way, she noticed a huge group of strange

  monsters were coming. They were about fifteen feet in

  height, muscular, and huge; their size alone would frighten

  anyone. They came in packs, all carrying white sacks, as if

  they were going into the fields to hunt and farm. There was

  no running from these huge creatures, and as they got

  closer, Jane noticed that they were also a type of

  Naffaldorfs with their human appearance, but their bodies

  were covered in plant and vegetation. They were a living,

  moving garden of plants and flowers. Jane and the others

  were speechless.

  "Let's try to communicate with them," said Sam.

  "That seems like a bad idea," said Red Fox as the

  creatures got closer.

  Not only did the creatures outnumber them, but their

  size alone would frighten the bravest men. Jane and the

  others waved to the creatures as they came forward. At

  first, Jane thought that the creatures might run them over,

  but they stopped. As Jane got a good look, she was amazed

  to see the beauty of these creatures; their eyes were pitch

  black, some had silver hair, and some had golden hair.

  Others wore the finest linens, while some clothing seemed

  to be ravaged and worn. Yet, through it all these were a

  beautiful species.

  As the leader of the creatures knelt down, with a loud

  voice, he said, "Master, our master has return."

  He shouted it back to the others, and then they all

  knelt down, praising Jane. She had no time to bask in the

  glory; she wanted to know what was going on. Sadly enough,

  the creatures told Jane that the water supply was running

  out, and the only way that they could survive was to eat

  their relative plants in the meadows. The creature had a

  sad look on his face as he told Jane the story. The plants

  and flowers in the meadows produced more water, and because

  of this, they were a great source of food to the creatures.

  Jane was hurt, but knew that they were only killing

  the plants in the meadows for survival, not out of evil or

  jealousy. That's why the plants in the meadows would bury

  themselves in the earth to hide from the creatures. The

  creature went on to tell Jane that it was never like this

  before, and that something was truly wrong. Baja was under

  attack, many of their people had die, and back in their

  village many were still dying. They were the gatherers; it

  was their responsibility to find water to keep their

  species alive.

  "Maybe I can heal them," said Jane.

  "But we need water," replied the creature.

  Jane explain to the creatures that the only way to

  stop the vast spread of drought was to find the white rhino

  plant.

  "Yes, of course, we know where it is," said the

  creature.

  Jane and the others were glad to hear that, but there


  was more; the creatures went on to tell Jane that the rhino

  plant was guarded by a satanic creature. No one had come

  back alive when trying to get that plant. For centuries

  now, many had tried, and failed.

  "Well we can't afford to fail," said Jane.

  The creatures were ordered by their master Jane to

  stay outside the meadows and wait for her return. They were

  told not to feed on their distance relatives in the

  meadows. Jane promised she would return with plenty of

  water. It was a warm statement, but Sam felt as if his wife

  had promised something she couldn't deliver. Yet, he never

  said a word; he went along with his wife's plan and

  supported her every step of the way.

  "How do we get there?" said Jane to the creatures.

  The creature then whistled up into the air, and an

  army of large wind hawks flew down. Their wingspan was long

  and massive, they had horns on their heads with a grip for

  holding on, and they were sable in color. From their outer

  appearance, these birds looked very frightening, but they

  were the gentlest creatures in the vast meadows of Baja.

  Jane and her fighters were frightened, but quickly

  learned that the creatures were very gentle, and they were

  their only means for flying up high in the air to get to

  the area of the rhino plant. As the hawks landed, they were

  well groomed and taken care of. They were strong and

  healthy creatures of the air, and they all landed in a

  synchronized order, all by rank.

  "Who is the leader who would guide us?" said one of

  the large birds.

  "I would," said Samantha.

  Without hesitation, a bird threw Samantha up on its

  back, and showed her off as the leader. Once the other

  birds recognized their leader, everyone else was loaded

  onto the hawks. With their large beaks, they picked up

  everyone remaining. Getting up on these huge creatures was

  very hard and uncomfortable. Once the hawks were matched

  with their riders, their backs sank down to take the form

  of the person riding them, making it more comfortable in

  flight.

  "Now that was cool," said Samantha.

  As the hawk fitted her to his back, Samantha and the

  others were then given lassos to tie around their bird's

  neck for a better grip. Now it was time for take off; up,

  up into the air one by one the birds took off, leaving

  nothing more than wind in their rider's face. The plants

  and leaves on the ground began to blow from the heavy wind

  that was propelled by the birds' wings.

  "Remember to keep your word," said Jane to the

  creatures.

  They promised not to harvest any more of the other

  plants in the meadows until she returned.

  "We will keep our word," said the leader of the

  creatures.

  As they watched Jane take off into the air, the hawks

  were moving so fast that all their riders could see was a

  puff of cloud every now and again. The riders held on

  tightly as the hawks flew through the air. Soon deep down

  below, Jane and the others could hear a loud chanting; then

  there was a loud roaring.

  "We are here," said the hawk to Samantha.

  The leader of the hawks told the others that this was

  as far as they could go without being spotted by the manta

  rays of the air.

  "What are the manta rays?" said Jane.

  The hawk explained that there were huge black flying

  manta rays; they covered the skies in blackness, feeding on

  anything in the air. They were fast, and their wings and

  devil's tails helped propel them in the air. They couldn't

  touch the ground because they had no way of taking off; so

  if they were to come down low, Samantha and the others

  should pull them to the ground.

  The hawk also told Samantha that the chanting was from

  the talking stones, the stones worshiped the guardian of

  the rhino plant, and they would sound an alarm once they

  spotted an intruder. These stones would be easy to spot by

  their red glowing symbols.

  "Whatever you do, run when you come in contact with

  the stones," said the hawk.

  Everyone was a little tense, not knowing what to

  expect. The hawk reminded Jane and the others that they

  would be waiting right here for their return, if no harm or

  danger befell them. They also let Samantha and the others

  know that, since the hawks were the only ones that could

  get here, they must protect their lives, because Baja would

  need someone to retrieve the plant, if something happened

  to Samantha and the others. They nodded in agreement, and

  off they went into a dark and unknown forest, wondering if

  they would ever return to the land they loved.