Stink Bug – Chapter 16

K’eel quickly ushered me back under the forest canopy as the sky darkened. There was a flash and a clap of thunder, followed by the rush of water from above. Under the trees, the air grew damp, but we were mostly protected from the onslaught. Water ran off the trees into trenches that drained into a larger stream that passed through the forest.

The stream showed clear signs of intelligent intervention. Its floor was perfectly smooth, composed of coarse gravel embedded in cement. The banks were perfect and straight and were parallel along the entire length of the stream that I could see. The ditches passed into the stream by way of exacting notches in the banks. It was disconcertingly mechanical, and completely efficient at drawing the excess water away from the stand of trees that the Vrr’ak’l called home.

The rain lasted only a few minutes, punctuated occasionally with lightning and a loud clap of thunder. It stopped abruptly, as it had the day before, and the sun returned to the sky.

We paused at the center of the village and ate while the landscape dried. As we ate, K’eel was frequently interrupted with requests of other Vrr’ak’l. She would respond with a curt squawk or a more polite warble, and the others would flutter away. Another approached and K’eel raised the feathers on her neck and head and screeched before a single word was spoken. The Vrr’ak’l hastily hopped away, wings flapping.

“You’re pretty important around here, huh?” I asked.

K’eel eyed me and sighed, lowering her feathers. “When T’r’bl is not here, I must provide guidance.”

“Ah.”

“T’r’bl spends many days now in contemplation.” K’eel gazed into the canopy. “We are dying here, Nate. We are lost.”

“I’m sorry Keel. I hope I can help.”

Her eyes came back to me. “As do we all. Have you had your fill?”

“Sure.”

We left the main village and walked toward the edge once more. The forest was impenetrable except for the trail that we followed. The Vrr’ak’l had labored to clear this path, and diligently kept it clear, otherwise, this part of the forest would be inaccessible. The trail widened and passed around a single, tall tree. K’eel stopped, and I stood beside her. The trail actually ended here. This tree was the goal.

I peered upwards. At the top of the tree was a platform, at least 100 feet up. “Oh dear,” I muttered.

“There it is,” said K’eel. “We can watch the plains from there.”

“Stupid question. How am I getting up there.”

K’eel looked at me blankly, her feathers pressed against her neck. She glanced at the platform again, then back to me. “Oh,” she peeped.

“There’s no ladder, is there?”

“We don’t need ladders,” she mumbled, staring up the tree’s trunk. “That’s a problem.”

“Yeah.”

“How much do you weigh,” she said absently.

“What?”

“Hardly enough room.” She was talking to herself. “Don’t want to make a ladder.”

“Do you have ropes?”

She gave me a double take. “Ropes?”

“I don’t know. A rope. A pulley, or two or three.”

“Ropes.”

“It probably wouldn’t work.”

“Pulley.” K’eel scratched her chin. “And ropes.” She was lost in her thoughts again.

I passed around the tree, gazing up through its branches at the platform. There was no way I was climbing that tree. Even when I was young and healthier, I couldn’t have done it. I wasn’t crazy about heights, either. I shuddered at the thought of falling.

“What is a pulley?” K’eel squawked.

“What? A pulley? Um. It rolls. I mean, ropes roll over it.”

“Yes. OK,” nodded K’eel. “Come. V’x can help us.”

Read Chapter 17.

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