Mr. Dove and the Pipes of Creation

[davedove]

Scene 24

We made our way through the mountain pass without further encounters, other than spotting a few goats in the distance. We were making our way down the other side to the plain below when a low hum filled the air.

“What is that?” Steven asked.

As we listened the humming turned into the sound of bagpipes. I looked up at the sky and saw the rolling bank of clouds.

“It’s the storm; we have to find cover,” I answered.

We ran down the trail, desperate to find any kind of shelter from the approaching storm. As we ran lightning flashed around us and gusts of wind nearly blew us off our feet. A large gust would have blown Deena away if I hadn’t caught her and placed her in my pocket. She clung to the material of my clothes in desperation.

“Over there!” Steven yelled through the fury of the wind. I glanced over and saw a small cave where he pointed.

We barely made it into the cave before the full fury of the storm passed over us. As we watched, bolts of lightning struck the ground outside.

Deena let out a scream and I felt her squirming in my pocket. I looked down and saw flashes of energy consuming her.

“It hurts!” she screamed in pain.

As I watched I saw her form begin to blur, as though she were starting to change.

“Hold on Deena; you have to hold on!” I said to her. “The storm can’t change you if you don’t let it! You have to hang on to who you are!”

“But it hurts so much!” she howled.

“Fight it!” I pleaded. “You are Deena Unaspencia and this storm will not change you! We won’t let it!”

“Yes, hold on little one!” Steven joined in. “We are here with you!”

We continued encouraging the small pixie as the storm raged outside. As we watched her form began to solidify again, back to her normal appearance. Her cries of pain lessened as she gained control.

Then, as quickly as it had begun, the storm ended. Deena flew up and I noticed she was breathing easy.

“It’s over and you made it through,” I said to her.

“What was that?” she asked. “What happened?”

“Yes, David, what kind of storm was that?” Steven added.

“From what I understand, that was a new reality changing the world. The storm is a result of the different realities conflicting. It tried to change Deena as well, but she resisted.”

“Change me?” Deena asked in horror. “Into what?”

“I don’t know, something appropriate to the new reality I suppose, but it didn’t. You maintained your own reality.”

Deena was flying around the cave and she paused as if sensing something. “The world has changed,” she said. “I can feel it. The magic of this world is different.”

“Look at the walls of the cave,” Steven said. “When we came in here, they were moist. Now they’re bone dry.”

“Let’s see what’s happened outside,” I said to my companions.

We stepped out of the cave and looked around. Around us on the mountain, plant life was much sparser and hardier, like you would find in a dry climate. We looked to where we had been traveling and saw that things had changed drastically.

Where before a vast grassy plain had spread out before us, now only the rolling sands of a desert could be seen.

[Seanmhair]

I am mesmerized and now I have to wait!

[unaspenser]

Oh goodness! I'm all aflutter waiting to see what will happen next! ;)

[davedove]

Scene 25

We continued to follow the trail as it led us down from the mountains. As we crested a hill, I noticed movement ahead.

“Hold on,” I told my companions and we crouched low to stay hidden.

Ahead a pair of men walked a patrol, but they were unlike anything from the reality we had just left. These men were armed with firearms, submachine guns from their appearance.

However, what was even more striking was their attire. Although they wore a type of boots that would be normal for soldiers, the rest of their clothing was entirely foreign. Instead of trousers or fatigue pants, they wore a simple unpleated skirt or kilt. On their torso they had on a simple, sleeveless cotton tunic. Around their necks was a gold-colored metallic collar. Instead of a hat or cap, they wore a white cowl-like headdress.

“They look almost Egyptian,” Steven said quietly.

“Yes, they do,” I acknowledged. “And they don’t look too friendly. Let’s keep hidden and see where they go.”

We kept hidden behind rocks as we kept watch on the soldiers. After about an hour, they made their way back to a gathering of similar troops. A total of six soldiers were under the command of a single officer. What they gathered around was even stranger than their Egyptian appearance.

Two things caught my attention. The first was a large hole in the ground with mounds of dirt and sand thrown up around it, as if something large had dug up from underground.

Next to the hole was the only thing in the area large enough to have dug a hole of that size. A large vehicle was parked there, but it was unlike any vehicle I had ever seen outside of works of fiction. The vehicle was about the size of a semi-truck trailer, but had a cylindrical body. Large treads like that of a tank rested on the bottom. And on the front was what must have been the digging device. The device was a large cone set onto the cylinder of the vehicle. The cone had sharp screws that radiated from the point down to the base.

“Did that contraption actually dig up from underground?” Steven asked.

“Yes, I believe it did,” I said.

“I would love to examine it, find out how it works,” Steven said almost to himself.

“You’ll get your chance. We’re going to take a ride on it.”

“What do you mean?”

“We need transportation to cross the desert and there’s no way we can do that on foot. That is the only other means of transportation, so we will have to use it. Plus, I believe the seer told us about it.”

“He did?”

“Yes, we have traveled through the mountains, met the large obstacle, and passed through the storm. I think that is the next part of what he told us.”

“The mole,” Steven said in understanding.

“Yes,” I agreed, “the mole. Now we have to find its master.”

[Standard]

A large tracked mole in the desert, surrounded by Egyptian style guards.... I wonder how Spielberg will film this scene.

[davedove]

Scene 26

Deena flew back to where Steven and I were hiding in the rocks. She had gone down to give us an idea of the situation.

“Were you noticed?” I asked.

“Of course not, those silly soldiers thought I was some kind of bird,” she answered.

“Did you find out anything?”

“Yes, they’re waiting for someone. They were told to wait here at the base of the mountains so they could catch the person. Someone called The Pharaoh gave them the orders.”

“Could they be waiting for us?” Steven asked.

“Who else might it be?” I replied. “It seems that my quest is not a secret.”

“There is something else,” Deena continued. “There is someone who is staying inside the machine, someone called the Professor.”

“That is probably who we’re looking for,” I said.

“The mole’s master?” Steven asked.

“Most likely, but if those soldiers are working for him, then he’s not on our side. In any case, we have to get past those soldiers.”

“Do we attack?” Steven asked. “We’re outnumbered.”

“Indeed we are, and outgunned as well. Those firearms they are carrying are a bit more powerful than your revolver.”

“How is that, they are not much bigger. Do they carry more rounds?”

“Yes, but it’s more than that. Those weapons are fully automatic. With one pull of the trigger, a soldier can fire all the rounds without stopping.”

“Like the weapon that Gatling fellow invented,” Steven said in amazement. “But they are so small, and there is only one barrel, how does it work?”

“There will be time for that discussion later, just believe me that they do work. We have to find a way to get around them.”

“But how, I only have two sticks of dynamite left?”

“We need to distract them, get some of them away from the machine.”

Deena was smiling mischievously. “I have an idea,” she said.

[davedove]

Scene 27

Steven and I slowly crawled across the sand. We had made our way around the site of the digging machine and were now approaching from the desert side. As we glanced over the top of the dune, we could see that only one guard was positioned on this side. Obviously, they didn’t think anyone would approach from the desert.

Now we had only to wait for Deena’s diversion. We didn’t have to wait long.

As we watched and listened, we heard the sound of rocks sliding and a muffled yell, as though someone had slipped and fallen on the mountain.

The guards noticed this as well and they quickly sprang to alert. The officer ordered four of the guards to head toward the sound while he remained positioned with one guard watching. That left only the one guard on our side of the vehicle.

“Cover me,” I whispered to Steven.

As he held his revolver at the ready and pointed at the guard, I began to slowly move around the dune. Fortunately, the guard was distracted by the commotion on the other side of the vehicle and kept looking that way.

I had moved to within twenty feet of the guard by crawling across the sand, but I was unable to get any closer within being seen. Unfortunately, this was still too far away to attack the guard without him reacting.

At that very moment, I heard the loud roar of an animal from the other side of the vehicle and the guard again turned in that direction. I knew this was my best opportunity, so I rushed the guard.

He must have heard me because he spun towards me, but I was already on him. I knocked his weapon aside before he could bring it around and brought the handle of my mace down hard against his head. The cowl he wore offered no armor protection at all and he fell unconscious to the sand.

Steven was already running down the dune as I picked up the guard’s weapon. The two of us ran up to the digging machine and began to climb up the side. As I glanced over the top, I saw what had distracted the guards.

Flying overhead was what could only be described as a dragon. It beat its large wings to maintain a small circling flight in front of the guards. The guards were firing their weapons at the creature, but the creature seemed to be unaffected.

“Inside, quick,” I said to Steven and dropped through the hatch at the top of the vehicle. I quickly looked around and saw a single man through the door to the front compartment. I brought the gun up and pointed it at him.

The man had seen me as well. “Behind you!” he warned.

I spun around just in time to avoid the guard’s attack and brought the butt of my gun down against his arms, knocking his own gun away. When he saw the barrel of my gun pointed at him, he quickly stopped resisting.

“Get Deena inside!” I said to Steven who was still at the entry hatch.

While keeping the guard covered, I turned back to the other man. “Get this machine moving now or this man dies!” I bluffed.

“Ordinarily I abhor violence,” the man said to me, “But I would shed not a single tear for that ruffian.”

As I looked at the man, I recognized his features. “Greg?” I asked.

The man seemed shaken that I knew his name. “Professor Gregory Livingston,” he acknowledged. “Do I know you?”

“Not on this world, now can you get us out of here?”

He shook himself back into action. “Of course,” he said and moved to the control panel.

The small form of Deena flew into the chamber and I saw Steven struggling to close the hatch.

“Wait!” I called to him. “You, outside!” I ordered the guard to move.

As the guard reluctantly climbed to the hatch, Steven moved aside. The guard climbed out the hatch and Steven again pulled to close it.

“We’ve got to hurry,” Deena said to me. “When that metal door closes, I won’t be able to maintain the illusion.”

“Professor?” I yelled into the forward compartment.

“Almost ready!” he called back. “Brace yourselves; it can be rough when we start moving.”

Steven had secured the hatch and we both found seats and secured ourselves with the belts there. Deena flew down and took refuge in my shirt pocket.

From outside, I could here the sound of bullets striking the side of the vehicle. Apparently, Deena’s illusion had disappeared and the guards realized their vehicle was being stolen.

“Hold on!” Gregory called out and I felt the vehicle lurch forward.

[Seanmhair]

Thank you, I needed a bit of diversion this morning!

[Livingston]

All Right! I'm a professor now!

This is getting more and more interesting.

[Jock Scot]

Now now Mr Livingston, just don't let this "professor" thing get you carried away there. Remember those sharp pointy things, the cliff, the kerb stone, the bath mat,the..........and the..........,or the.......... and one thing more, LOOK AFTER THOSE BOTTLES!