Chapter 25: By the Shores of the Red Lake
**The kids shade their eyes against the light as they shoot out into a small clearing. Metal tents are scattered around haphazardly on the trampled dirt. A heavily scarred, bony Gorlock saunters around the clearing, stopping for a moment to throw a log on the roaring fire in the center. A huge axe is strapped to his back by two metal belts. Beyond the clearing, a vast expanse of red water laps against the rocky shore. Flecks of light dance over the surface of the red lake and reflect in the eyes of the Gorlock as he turns his gaze in their direction**
GORLOCK: (straightening) Who goes there?
LEE: General Garr-Nor, it is me, Leeee-RAH-Doh, second squad commander. And if I may say, you are looking exceptionally fierce today, sir.
GENERAL NOR: (squinting up at the saddle) Oh, Lee. I did not recognize you. Say, what are those weird-looking things up there with you? Can we eat them?
LEE: Not this time, sir. They are visitors.
GENERAL NOR: (shoulders slumping in disappointment) Oh…
SHEEN: Mah, don’t feel bad, you wouldn’t like us anyway! We’re too fattening… ’specially Carl!
CARL: Hey!
**Another Gorlock, a hulking, buxom female, emerges from one of the metal tents. She is dressed in plates of scaled armor that lay awkwardly over her ample frame. An animal fur of some kind dangles from her shoulders like a boa**
BILKA: (tapping her foot) What did you say about fat?
FUTURE LIBBY: (eyes growing wide) O-oh, no, you see, he just meant that…
BILKA: …Because I have never heard such a sweet compliment! I am so flattered! Thank you little…uh…what is that thing, Lee? I just love it!
GENERAL NOR: (grumbling) It is a side dish, but Lee says we can’t eat it.
BILKA: It is so cute! I want it for a pet! Lee, can I have it?
LEE: Certainly not, Bilka. I cannot give it to you. It is not mine.
BILKA: Oh, well, that is no problem. I will steal it later. In the meantime, can I make you some food? I have some Kragor beans boiling in the tent, and there is a very fat Grorrgnog roasting over the fire…
KIDS: Nooo!!!
LEE: That sounds excellent! We will eat while we are waiting for the council to begin.
**Lee dismounts and helps the kids climb down from the saddle. Carl tumbles down and falls in a heap, and Sheen does a flying leap into a fern bush. He sits up, a fern sticking out of the back of his shirt**
SHEEN: Man, what a sweet place! Hey Libs, check this out!
**He grabs two ferns and sticks them to the front of his head like a pair of giant antenna**
SHEEN: Now I look just like Mothra X from Ultralord episode 229! Oh no! The flame! Not the flame! It’s drawing me in! Ahhh!!
**Sheen staggers toward the bonfire in the center of the clearing, swerving and grabbing at his fern antennae in mock agony**
SHEEN: Ah! Cursed antennas! Why do you betray me? Nyooo!
LIBBY: Sheen, stop makin’ a fool outta yourself.
BILKA: (clapping her hands together) Oh my, what an entertaining creature! I must have one!
**She grabs Sheen by the wrist and drags him toward one of the metal tents**
BILKA: Come, you can help me prepare the Kragor beans!
**He tries to resist, but she grabs him and squeezes him in a crushing hug. His eyes bulge as she tousles his hair and rocks back and forth in glee**
SHEEN: (mouthing the word to Libby) Help…
LIBBY: (giggling) Have fun Sheen!
**Bilka and a miserable looking Sheen disappear into the tent, and Nor glumly leads the rest of the group to the bonfire. A ring of mossy stones encircles the fire pit; Nor takes a seat on one of them, and the rest of the group follows his example**
CARL: (squirming) Owww, my seat is really hard…
CINDY: Duh! It’s a rock!
**Future Libby attempts to sit down in a ladylike manner, but loses her balance and falls over when two small Gorlock children dash past her. Both are girls, but they are very different in appearance. One wears black leather under a tight metal waistband and metal suspenders. She wields a large, thorny stick and ululates wildly as she chases the other little girl, who is wearing a dress made of lilac colored fur. The girl in lilac is covered in cuts and scrapes, and a cut beneath her left eye oozes a stream of purple blood**
WENNA: (putting up her arms to ward off the blows) Ai! Ai! Stop it Nakki! You are hurting me!
NAKKI: Ppppfffttt! Pathetic, thin-wristed nothing! Fight back, or I will hit you harder!
**Nakki chases Wenna around the circle of stones, swinging her thorny club and yelling all the while. The visitors stare incredulously, but Lee and General Nor seem oblivious to the commotion**
WENNA: Aiiiiii! MOTHER!!!!!! Nakki will not stop hitting me! She is hurting me! Stop! Stop!
**Bilka rushes out of the tent, carrying a steaming cauldron whose contents slosh around with each swaying step**
BILKA: Ugh! How many times have I told you Wenna? This type of behavior is pathetic. When Nakki hits you, fight back! If someone hits you with a stick, find a bigger one! This is the Gorlock way of life. If you cannot accept that, then you will not survive.
**Bilka waddles back inside the tent, and Nakki sneers at her sister**
NAKKI: (sticking out her tongue) Failure! Pathetic! You will be slain in battle!
**Nakki raises her hand to hit her sister again, and Wenna whimpers and braces herself for the blow. Future Libby catches Nakki’s wrist as she moves to strike**
FUTURE LIBBY: (turning red) That’s enough! I’m not gonna sit around and watch a little kid get beat up!
**Both of the Gorlock girls look up at Future Libby, whose face is contorted into a surprisingly angry scowl**
FUTURE LIBBY: Nakki, you don’t have any right to hit your sister, ya hear me? This kind of fightin’ is what gets everyone into trouble in the future. I don’t wanna see it again. Got it?
**She glares fiercely at Nakki, who returns the favor**
FUTURE LIBBY: (softening) Now, Wenna, is that your name?
WENNA: (sniffling)Y-Yes…
FUTURE LIBBY: Come sit on my lap, Wenna. You don’t deserve to be beat up. Kay?
**She sheepishly obeys, and Nakki laughs scornfully**
NAKKI: What sort of thing are you? You like weak children?
FUTURE LIBBY: Pacifism is not a weakness.
NAKKI: Bleh! Loser! Maybe I should hit you too!
LEE: (absently) I wouldn’t do that, Nakki. This woman is a friend of Aurora and April.
**Nakki falls silent for a moment, then grins nastily before dashing off into the forest. Everyone is silent for a moment**
CINDY: Phew, and I thought human kids had problems. Jeez.
**Future Libby looks down at the tiny Gorlock sitting on her lap**
FUTURE LIBBY: You OK, Wenna?
**Wenna gazes up at Future Libby and nods slowly. She has big, shining purple eyes and long lashes**
WENNA: I’m…I’m sorry to be rude, but is that true? Do you know Aurora and April?
FUTURE LIBBY: Sure do. Aurora an’ I were best friends when we were your age.
WENNA: (eyes growing wide) Wow. Aurora and April are so strong and brave. I wish I could be like them. But I am not like my sister. I will never be good enough to be a soldier.
FUTURE LIBBY: (smiling warmly) That’s OK! Everyone’s good at different things, ya know. We don’t all have to be a certain way to be important. I’m not very good at fighting, but that doesn’t make me better or worse than April or Aurora. It just makes me different.
**Wenna sits in silence, staring at the fire**
WENNA: Oh. I didn’t know that.
FUTURE LIBBY: (trying to sound cheerful) Well, now you do. Hey look, you hungry? I think your Mom is done cookin’.
**Bilka emerges from the tent laden with bizarre looking food, and Sheen staggers out behind her, wobbling from side to side as he attempts to carry a huge pot. As soon as he lays eyes on Wenna perched atop Libby’s lap, he lets go of the cauldron, and it drops like a stone. Orange, chunky material sprays out all over everything, including Bilka**
SHEEN: Hey! What gives? How come she gets to sit on Libbylicious’s lap!
**He dashes over and shoves Wenna to the side**
SHEEN: Move it sister! This spot’s reserved!
FUTURE LIBBY: Sheen!
SHEEN: What?
WENNA: (pulling herself up) I am used to being pushed.
**Future Libby wraps her arms around Wenna and cradles her**
FUTURE LIBBY: (glaring) Get lost, Sheen!
SHEEN: What? What’d I do? This is so unfair!
BILKA: Ugh! You call that unfair? Now I am covered in the melli-melli. Lee, I have changed my mind. This creature is more trouble than it is worth. I will not be stealing him any time soon. Oh! The melli-melli is all over the ground too!
**She stoops over, and to everyone’s astonishment, begins scooping the mush back into the cauldron. Twigs, stones, and clumps of dirt find their way into the mix along with the melli-melli**
KIDS: Ewww! Gross!
JIMMY: I can’t believe she just did that!
**The visitors stare in revulsion at the steaming concoction as Bilka picks up the pot and waddles over to them. She sets it down, then lumbers back into the tent. She reappears, carrying two large oval-shaped wooden bowls filled with what appear to be ordinary baked beans. Bilka sets them down by the fire, and the kids stare at the contents suspiciously**
JIMMY: Are those…Kragor beans?
BILKA: Why yes! Do you like them? I will ladle some into a…aiii! Wenna, I have forgotten! Will you fetch us some plates?
**Wenna hops down from Libby’s lap and dashes off. Libby cautiously points at the wooden bowls**
LIBBY: So lemme get this straight…these are actual beans, right? As in…they’re plants? Cause I don’t wanna wake up tomorrow and find out I ate some freaky pile o’ sloth guts or somethin’.
BILKA: Oh yes, they are beans from the ground. They’re not very strong tasting, but that is why we have the melli-melli here!
**She kicks the cauldron with her foot, then huffs impatiently**
BILKA: Wenna! What are you doing? Hurry up with those plates!
**The tiny Gorlock reappears carrying a stack of stiff, green leaves, each carefully folded into the shape of a bowl. Wenna gives the stack to General Nor, who takes one and passes it down the line. Jimmy stares down at his quizzically, examining its network of watertight creases**
JIMMY: You eat out of folded leaves?
LEE: Why yes. As a mobile society, disposable dinnerware is a necessity.
JIMMY: (turning the bowl in his hands) Huh. Interesting…
**There is a moment of silence**
BILKA: Well? Are you going to eat?
JIMMY: I guess…after all, as guests to a foreign…erm…place, it’s only polite to at least try the food. Hey Lee, can I…
**He is cut off when Nor and Lee literally dive for the right bowl of Kragor beans. They shove handfuls of the stuff into their leaf bowls, and then, snarling at each other, race to scoop piles of melli-melli onto it**
CINDY: Eww! Ever heard of table manners?
**Nor bares his teeth at Cindy**
JIMMY: The Gorlocks have different eating habits than us, remember?
CINDY: This goes BEYOND different eating habits.
LIBBY: (wrinkling her nose) Ya, I don’t care where you’re from, some things are just plain wrong.
BILKA: (eyes wide) What are you waiting for? Take the Kragor beans, or you will not get any!
**Future Libby carefully picks up the left bowl and, after giving it a nervous sniff, suddenly brightens**
FUTURE LIBBY: Mmm! It smells delicious!
**She pours a small portion into her leaf, then passes it on. The kids do the same**
JIMMY: Well?
LIBBY: OK, on the count of three, we’ll all take a bite. One…two…three!
**Various chewing noises and sounds of delight ensue**
CARL: Mm-Mm-Mmmm! They’re even better than Plutonian Gut Chunks!
CINDY: I hate to admit it, but this stuff’s not half bad.
LIBBY: I’ll say!
SHEEN: Hey, you know what I just realized? We’re eatin’ beans, and you know what that means!
CARL: What?
SHEEN: All I’m gonna say is that I’m not gonna want to be anywhere near Carl in like an hour or two. He’ll be droppin’ bombs left and right!
CARL: I can’t help it! I have digestive problems!
ALL: Eeeeeew!!!
CINDY: Can we TRY to have a civilized meal here?
**At that moment, the melli-melli lets out a gurgling sound and a chunk of orange mush sails out. It hits Sheen square on the stomach, then slides down his torso, leaving a trail of thick slime in its wake**
SHEEN: Wow, what are the odds? Check it out babes! I’ve got melli-melli jelly on my belly!
ALL: (groaning) Sheen!
JIMMY: Are the quips really necessary?
CINDY: Seriously, I’m losing what’s left of my appetite! I mean really, could you BE any more ADHD?
FUTURE LIBBY: OK, OK, lay off you guys. This is probably really borin’ for someone like Sheen.
CINDY: Um, this is really boring for someone like me, but you don’t see me losing it and acting like a total whack-job!
JIMMY: Ha…haha…
**Cindy throws him a vicious stare, but then snaps to attention at the sound of a loud drum somewhere in the distance. Lee instantly perks up**
LEE: That is the drum signaling the commencement of the Gorlock Council. We must leave at once!
NOR: Ah, Lee! You really wish to go listen to a bunch of young know-nothings and foreigners discuss a war that isn’t even on our soil? You should stay with me, and we can recount stories of the glory days during the Civil War!
LEE: (darkening) April is NOT a know-nothing. Besides, I must bring our guests to the meeting.
**Nor doesn’t dignify him with a response, so Lee gets up and gestures for the others to follow. Before leaving, he lets out a large burp**
LEE: (patting his stomach) Thank you for the meal, Bilka. It was very good.
BILKA: Glad to see you liked it!
**She turns to the kids and waits. They look around awkwardly, not sure of what to do**
CARL: (whispering) Why is she looking at us like that?
JIMMY: Oh! She’s waiting for us to burp! Remember how April said it was an insult in Gorlock culture if you don’t burp after a meal? Quick, everyone, burp!
**A chorus of rather disgusting-sounding belches follows, considerably enhanced by Carl’s ear-shattering burp at the end**
CARL: ‘Scuse me.
BILKA: Ah! Very good! Well, goodbye alien guests. May you prosper and be always victorious!
**They take their leave of the encampment and head out across the vast, grassy plain leading to the capitol building high atop the hill**
LIBBY: (looking out at the expanse) You gotta be kiddin’ me…we’re walkin’ the whole way? Jimmy, can’t we ride on Goddard or something’, like the time we did on Mars? I’m not sure I’m up to this.
JIMMY: Normally that wouldn’t be a problem, but I’m worried about Goddard’s battery. The tinted Gorlock atmosphere cuts out the type of UV rays that he normally uses to recharge. He’s been running on limited power for a couple of hours now. He’s pretty listless.
**As if to confirm this statement, Goddard hangs his head and whimpers**
CINDY: (crossing her arms) Looks like
we’re walking…