The Waterlings
The Waterlings Somewhere beyond the high green mountains, far from the desert skies, lies a small village filled with waterfalls, and lush forests. Within this village lie the Waterlings, a keen sort of breed of animal, whose minds are greater than ours. Their scenarios similar to ours, but that have a greater impact on their lives. No man has ever come across this tiny village, or live to tell the tale, but this place is real. Welcome to the world of the Waterlings. Chapter 1. Meet Trid The day was just another ordinary Waterling day, with everyone laughing and jumping for joy in the waters of Waterling bay. Everyone, except for a small little waterling whose face was always in the mud. A dirty little waterling who goes by the name of Trid, otherwise known as, Dirt. The names in Waterworld are based on characteristic qualities. Their qualities are then turned around to become that individual’s name. Walking toward the bay, Trid sat down on the sand, and dipped his feet in the water. “Hi Trid. What are you doing here all by yourself?” asked Etilop. “Waiting.” “For what?” “For work to start. I work in the waterworks company, you know.” “Really? I never knew that. What do you do?” “Well, I’m the one who takes out all of the dirt from the water, so that you’ll drink fresh clean water.” said Trid with a proud glare in his eyes. “Wow. So you’re the person who does that. Thankyou Trid.” “Well, I’m just doing my job.” “Trid, I need to go now, and I’m sure you need to go too.” said Etilop as she got up and brushed the sand off of her. “Oh yes, thankyou. I’ll see you around?” asked Trid as he headed towards the Waterworks company. “Yeah. Bye Trid!” said Etilop as she waved with a smile. Chapter 2. Meet Ssob It was only minutes before Trid had reached the waterworks company. Before he could enter, he was confronted by a huge waterling, whose shadow when seen made your bones shiver and spine tingle. Ssob, the waterwork’s big boss. “Uh, goo-good morning sir.” said Trid, followed by a huge gulp. “Trid, I assume that you are going to work another full shift for four hours, isn’t that right?” “Uh, yes sir.” “Good. None of that only doing two hours.” “Yes sir.” “Run along now. And remember, if I see any dirt, ANY dirt, I promise you that you will be very sorry. Understand?” “Ye-yes sir. I understand.” said Trid with a shiver. “Good. Ta-ta.” replied Ssob as he left the gate entrance. Trid walked into the building with fear in his bones, and scaredness in his mind. Walking to his post, he noticed Ssob walking with a female waterling. Unable to make her out, he kept spying on them. Who could she be? Trid could hear nothing but murmuring, until they got just a little bit closer. “So, what time shall I pick you up tonight?” asked Ssob. “Midnight, so no one will see you.” said the female. “Ooh. But I thought you wanted to eat dinner.” “I know.” “But everywhere is closed at midnight.” “I know.” “Oh.” Trid secretly crawled out of his hiding place to stop eavesdropping, and to start work. “I wonder who that female was.” thought Trid. “She did sound a bit familiar.” Chapter 3. The Mysterious Female After 4 hours of long hard work, Trid retired for the day by punching his time card with the time slot. “I don’t know where this female’s dome is, but I do know what Ssob’s rac looks like, and I could follow him to her dome at midnight!” thought Trid. A rac is like a car, but uses solar energy, and no gasoline. Trid went to his dome for some special supplies for his undercover mission and bumped into his best friend, Eiddub. Hey Eiddub! Lay some skin on me! How ya’ doing?” asked Trid with a huge smile. “I’m great! Hey, have you heard the news?” asked Eiddub. “What news?” asked Trid, bursting with curiosity. “It’s about Ssob.” “What about Ssob?” “He’s dating.” “You know that too?!” “Of course! Everyone knows that! But who? I don’t know! So, where are you going tonight?” “To do exactly what everyone wants to do!” “What?” “Find out who Ms. X is!” “Yeah! Cool! Can I come?” “Of course! We’ll be a team! C’mon to my dome, and we’ll pack up for our mission!” said Trid excitedly. “Oh boy!” replied Eiddub as they went to Trid’s dome. After a few minutes, they arrived to a huge dome filled with glass windows and pillars, with beautiful marble staircases leading down from every doorway. Was that Trid’s home? Of course not! You wouldn’t think that a waterling who goes by Trid would live their, now would you? No, a waterling called Hcir who is extremely rich lives their. With his name pronounced, Jour, he would have to be French. Indeed he was. A rich, French, waterling by the name of Hcir. Who could ask for anything more? “That must be Hcir’s dome!” stated Eiddub. “Woah. It is so beautiful. Oh my gosh. I would kill to own that dome.” replied Trid. “Oh dear, I had better hire 20 more bodygaurds to protect me if you really are that serious about killing me.” stated Hcir with an audacious manner. “Oh, hi Hcir. That was merely just a figure of speech.” replied Trid. “Right. So, where are you two losers headed out to tonight? Hmm?” asked Hcir. “It’s private. And we are NOT losers, Hcir! Just because we were not born into a rich family does not mean that we are losers!” replied Eiddub. “On the contrary. You are losers because you lost your chance for money.” replied Hcir with a sneer. “See you to LOSERS again some other time.” “Gee, I’m beginning to take that figure of speech seriously.” said Trid with a slight laugh. “Right. Come on.” When the two arrived at Trid’s dome, which was a tiny broken down old hut with shattered windows, they went inside to retrieve Trid’s under cover items. “Hey, I found some of my old lack clothes that we can wear!” said Trid. Eiddub replied, “And hear are a couple of flashlights!” “And my walkie talkies are somewhere. Ah, here they are! We can communicate on these!” “Let’s go!” Chapter 4. Who is she? Riding to the Waterworks company to find the rac of Ssob, both Trid and Eiddub couldn’t think of anything but who the female could be. “We’re here! Now to find Ssob’s rac!” exclaimed Trid. “There it is over there!”exclaimed Eiddub. The two of them then saw Ssob coming out of the dark grey building and into his black rac with gold trimming, whistling a romantic tune as he walked. “Think he’s in love?” asked Eiddub with a slight snicker. “Probably. But lets find out. C’mon!” replied Trid. The two rode their ekibs down the street to chase after Ssob’s rac to find where he was going. It was a long ride, passing through street after street. Finally, Ssob parked on the street and got out carrying a box of some sort. “C’mon! Let’s follow him!” said Trid as he rode his ekib and parked it on the side of the street. Ssob rang the doorbell. Ding dong The two young Waterlings didn’t see who was at the other side of the door, but whatever it was, let Ssob inside the dark, dim lighted house. Trid and Eiddub ran right up to the window, which flashed on when the lights went on inside the dark house which now was bright. Ssob sat down on what looked to be a wine stained color love seat sofa. A woman walked up to him carrying a wine bottle and two wine glasses. Only her back was seen. “Can you make out who she is yet, Trid?” asked Eiddub. “No. Her back doesn’t even look familiar!” replied Trid. She sat down right next to Ssob, so that her face was visible! “Who is she? I must know!” yelled out Eiddub. “I don’t know! I’ve never seen her before!” replied Trid. Her fur was dark brown and she was wearing a sparkling red dress. Her eyes like sparkling sapphires, with tiny emeralds in the middle, with lips of ruby. The two of them began to stare at each other. “What are they doing?” asked Trid. “I think they’re going to kiss!” giggled Eiddub. Their lips rose close to each other, their faces lingering together, closer, closer, closer, until Ssob looked up to the window to see four eyes staring at him making out with his mystery date. “Oh my God! We are caught! Let’s scram!” yelled Eiddub. “Yeah! We’re on our own! I’ll call you, okay?” replied Trid as he got on his ekib and drove off to his dome. Chapter 5. Back to School The next day was a Wednesday. Trid and Eiddub both sat down in the class a few minutes before the bell rang. “Boy, am I tired! Staying up till one in the morning!” said Trid in an exasperating voice. “I know what you mean.” yawned Eiddub. The bell than rang. A woman in a plain and simple blue dress came in. Her fur was dark brown, her eyes were pools of sapphires, with green emeralds in the middle, and lips of the reddest ruby. “Oh my gosh!” said both Trid and Eiddub. “Hello class, I will be your new teacher for the rest of the year. My name is Ms. Suoiretsym, but you may call me Ms. S.” said Ms.S. with a huge, phony smile. “I wonder if that’s her real name.” whispered Trid to Eiddub. “Today, being my first day teaching, we’ll play a little game.” said Ms. S. The entire class, except for Trid and Eiddub, cheered with happiness. The entire day was filled with fun and games which everyone played, including Trid and Eiddub. “Well, Ms. S. isn’t that bad. She’s kind of nice, I think.” said Eiddub to Trid. “Eiddub, that’s what she wants you to think. She’s probably some evil spy from another planet!” replied Trid. “Trid, you’re crazy! She’s just a nice waterling, who happens to like your boss!” stated Eiddub. “Who on this planet would like Ssob?” Eiddub stuttered for a moment. “Well, I don’t care what you think, because I’m not going to give in like all of the idiots here!” exclaimed Trid, as he marched straight out of class. The bell had just rung, but everyone just stayed in their seats, playing Pictionary. Chapter 6. The Disappearance Trid ran down the long hallway of the 3rd floor of his campus, with his bookbag, slowly slipping from the grasp of his right hand. Running as fast as his bony legs could take him, until he reached the bus stop, where he would take the bus to the Waterworks company. “Stupid Eiddub. Stupid Eiddub,” Trid kept on saying, “Gee, the entire class, except for me is doomed with Ms. S. But, I am kind of sad that Eiddub is off of the case. Oh well, he was starting to slow me down.” The bus then arrived, and Trid got up to see that no one, except for the bus driver was inside of the bus. Trid thought that it was odd, since there were usually, what seemed like hundreds of people crowding inside the no. 7 bus, but he got in it anyway, since work was about to start. Trid would usually sit by his best friend, Eiddub, and play hang waterling in a notebook. In fact, just about the entire 7th. grade class would ride the no. 7 bus, but there was no one, except for Trid and the bus driver, which was really starting to creep Trid out. “So, all alone?” asked the bus driver with a slight chuckle. Trid gulped and replied, “Uh, yeah. It is strange, isn’t it? Do you know why?” “No. I haven’t the clue! Well, I had better be taking my routes now.” said the bus driver. This was extremely odd that no one, except for him was riding the bus. Trid thought and thought a he looked out his window to see the beautiful ocean of Waterling bay, to find no one sitting on the sand or swimming in the water. The bay was normally packed with kids and adults everyday! But then the answer finally hit Trid. “I know!” Trid exclaimed, “It’s Ms. S.! She’s the one who did it! She probably ate everyone! But I ran out of class before it was too late! Oh my gosh!” exclaimed Trid once again. “Hey, are you okay back there?” asked the bus driver. “Yeah, I just solved the case! Well, at least half of it.” replied Trid. The bus door just opened, and Trid jumped out to walk to the Waterworks company. When he got there, he didn’t see anyone except for the custodians sweeping up what looked to be broken glass from a ton of beer bottles. “What are you doing?” asked Trid. “We’re cleaning up all of these pieces of glass. What are you doing here, kid?” asked the custodian. “I work partial time here. Do you know where Ssob is?” asked Trid. “Ssob? No, I don’t know where he is. He disappeared last night.” replied the custodian. “Uh, thankyou! Bye!” replied Trid as he ran to the bus, which was still there. Trid asked for a ride and the driver agreed to take him wherever he wanted. Chapter 7. Meet Senutrof Trid asked the busdriver if he could take him to Brooks Alley, and the driver said, “Of course. I haven’t been there for years! I’ll take you wherever you want, because no one else is around, and plus I am very bored.” Thankyou very much!” replied Trid with a gleam in his little beady eyes. After about 30 minutes, but what seemed like forever, Trid reached Brooks Alley, and walked out of the bus to go to a little shop that his friends told him about. There was a tiny store in the alley that had a sign stretched across the top that read, “Antiques & Fortunes” “This is the place.” said Trid, as he stepped up to go inside of the store. The room was dusty and draft, and looked like an old walk-in closet. Walking cautiously, Trid walked over to the front desk and saw an old rusted bell which he rang. Seconds later, an old waterling stepped out of a room, secretly hidden by a door made of long strands of glass beads. “How may I help you, son?” asked the woman. “Well, have you heard about people disappearing?” Trid asked. “Yes, I have. That happened a long time ago, when I was around your age.” “Can you tell me about it?” “It’s hard for an old waterling like me to think back a long time ago, but this era was a huge event, that I try to forget, but that keeps haunting my mind.” “Are you alright?” “Oh, of course, child. I just need to sit down first.” said the woman as she sat down on an old rocking chair that looked like no more, other than debris. “Twas a long, long time ago, when I was about 12. Waterworld was pretty new, then. People were moving in, and building homes for their families, and Waterworld was at its most peaceful moment. It was very beautiful. My father was the head of the building department, so he was always busy with building plans. One day, a new store was to be built. So I, being the explorer of the family, decided to go and check out the site. At the site were huge cranes and other construction vehicles, and lumber amongst the ground. But a small tool shed caught my eye. I ran up to the shed and opened the door, and I saw something horrible!” “What did you see?” “I’m not sure what it was, but it had two beady eyes, two noses, and one mouth!” “Two noses?” “Yes, there was a bump that separated the noses, and two holes, one on each side!” “Really?” “Yes, so that’s when I ran away. The next day, a lot of people at the construction site began to slowly disappear. Then, the families of the construction workers. My whole family was wiped out, except for me. What seemed like the entire waterling population disappeared. Others came, slowly one by one, some of them, in groups. Until now, where there is a huge population of 4 million Waterlings. Why did you want to know about the disappearances?” “Because it’s happening again!” “Really? But, there hasn’t been a disappearance for over 100 years!” “Yes, but it’s happening again, so we must stop it!” “We? I’m 123 years old, and the average waterling lives for 120 years. I’m unfortunately dying. I can’t help you with this case. I am sorry.” “Then will you be able to help me by giving me more information?” “I already gave you all of the information that I know. Except-” “Except for what?” “Oh, nothing.” “Please. Anything. What is it?” “Well, there is a waterling who I used to know. He might be dead now. He’s older than me, about 4 years.” “What is his name?” “Egdelwonk.” “Egdelwonk? Do you know where he is right now?” “No. I am sorry.” “Can you find it for me by doing a reading on your crystal ball?” “Crystal balls aren’t magic, and I can sure tell you that. But, I guess I could give you a reading. Come into my back room.” said the woman as she lifted up the hanging beads so that Trid could pass. “By the way, my name is Senutrof. Sit down.” said Senutrof. “Thankyou.” replied Trid. “Now. What would you like to know?” “I would like to know if Ms. S. Is the one who is making all of the Waterlings disappear. Ms. S. is my new teacher at school. Her full name is Ms. Suoiretsym.” “Hmm. Suoiretsym. Suoiretsym. It sounds familiar.” “It does?” “Ah, yes. Suoiretsym was the name of the shop that the construction workers were going to build when I saw the monster!” “Really? How fascinating. Are you sure?” “Yes, I’m sure. I remember that because Souiretsym spelled backwards is mysterious!” “Incredible! So do you think that the monster hiding near the store, and my new teacher has some connection?” “That may be, but we’re not so sure yet. I shall try to ask the spirits of the crystal ball.” “Okay, but-” “Quiet! There must be absolute silence when contacting the spirits. Oh great spirits, do you hear me? Give me a sign.” Just then, the beads hanging from the doorway dangled and opened half way, and closed in seconds. It was as if a person had just walked in the room. “Ah, so you are here. Is this mysterious Ms. Suoiretsym the waterling who is making almost all of the Waterlings disappear? One tap for no, two taps for yes.” Just then, there was one tap. “Thankyou spirits. You may rest in peace.” The beads opened up once again, and closed. “So, Ms. S. isn’t the criminal? Or are those spirits wrong?” asked Trid. “The spirits are never wrong.” replied Senutrof. “Can I come back to you when I have more information?” “No, you mustn’t, unless you have to. Go and see Egdelwonk.” “But I don’t even know where-” “Go! Now! I am tired and must rest.” “Thankyou, Senutrof for all of your help. Goodbye my friend, and rest well.” said Trid as he set off to the bus. Chapter 8. To find Destruction Trid turned the corner of Brooks alley to see that his bus was destroyed, and the bus driver, gone. “What the-” said Trid as he walked toward the bus. This time, no one was in sight. Trid ran as fast as he could to the fortune store to see Senutrof, but when he entered the store, he found it to be seriously vandalized. He ran out of the store back out on the streets. “Why is this happening to everyone but me?” asked Trid as he walked down the street. Surely he would find someone that would help him find Egdelwonk. Surely he would find someone! Trid walked until he found an ekib that laid on the ground. “Well, this wouldn’t really be stealing. It’s just borrowing!” said Trid as he got on the ekib and searched for help. Racing down the streets of Waterworld, he found that it was too late. “Who could have done all this?” thought Trid as he passed through a small part of Waterworld that was on fire. Trid kept on riding until he cam to a huge gate, which was partially open. Trid jumped off his ekib to read the sign on the gate. It read: ‘Do Not Pass: Waterworld Ends Here-CAUTION: If you pass, your life will be in danger of destruction-Do not enter under any circumstances’ “Hmm. Why is the gate open? Should I enter? Well, I must! If it’s up to me to save the entire world, then so be it! If I die, then my name shall become my legacy!” Trid proudly shouted as he rode his ekib into the lands beyond the gate. Chapter 9. Setting off to a New World As Trid exited Waterworld, he stopped to see the amazing world outside of Waterworld. He was a prisoner inside of a huge glass dome with houses, buildings, and stores. “Where is the ceiling? Is that blue and white matter the ceiling?” asked Trid with amazement. Trid found himself on a high mountaintop over looking many valleys and plains. Everything was a lush color of green, except for high in the north, where there was thick smoke in the air, and below it, was a huge grey circle which consisted of many dark colors. “Are those buildings? They must be! Maybe that’s another place for Waterlings to stay! That must be where Egdelwonk lives!” stated Trid as he rode his ekib as fast as he could pedal down the steep mountain. Trid rode faster and faster until he reached the floor of the mountaintop, where he found, what looked to be a triangle made of fabric! “How can a geometric shape be in three dimensional form, and have a texture?” asked Trid as he walked up slowly and cautiously to the triangle. Slowly walking, taking step by step, inch by inch, until he reached the triangle. Just before he could touch it, something touched his shoulder! It felt round and cold on his back. Trid slowly turned around to see two round cylinders staring straight at him. Trid looked around the cylinders to see a monster who had two eyes, two noses, and one mouth. And he didn’t even have any fur! Trid was so petrified that he couldn’t look or run away. He heard a clicking sound, and he fainted. What seemed to be like forever, Trid woke up to find himself in a triangular, orange, and fuzzy dome. Pillows were under his head, and a tiny grey blanket wrapped around his furry body. Just then, the monster entered the triangular dome and said, “How are you doing, little buddy?” Trid thought that it was impolite to not answer when someone was talking to you, even a monster, so he answered, “Well, I’m fine, but could you take me to the grey circle to the north?” The monster looked surprised, and opened his mouth, but no words came out. “Hello?” asked Trid. “You, you can talk? What kind of animal are you? You remind me of Pikachu from Pokemon!” “Pikachu? I’m no Pikachu, I’m a waterling! Anyone can see that!” “Bu- but Waterlings don’t exist!” “Well, if Waterlings don’t exist, then how would you be talking to a waterling, an animal who looks like Pikachu that can talk?” “Well, I don’t know. I guess you are one!” “Good. That’s settled. Can you take me to the grey circle with the smoke over it?” “What? Oh, you mean the city?” “Err, yeah. The city.” “Alright. I was going back there tomorrow, but I guess I can go back early.” “Thankyou very much.” Now this ride was longer than any ride that he ever had in his entire life! It took several hours! “So you’re a human?” asked Trid as he and the human stepped out of the car. Trid looked all around him. There were towering dark grey buildings, and busy streets with hundreds of cars zooming by. “Aren’t these called racs?” asked Trid. “No, we call them cars.” said the human. “What is your name?” asked Trid. “Jonas Kramer.” “Jonas Kramer? That’s an odd name.” “Why? What’s your name?” “Trid.” “Trid? Now that’s an odd name. So Trid, do you have a last name?” “What’s a last name?” “Well, us humans have two names. The first is a common name like mine Jonas, and the second chooses which family we are from.” “Well, I suppose us Waterlings don’t have last names because we’re all related. But, that would mean that you, humans would be all related as well.” “You do have a point my little friend, err, Trid. Come along with me. I need to go to the bank. But first of all, you need to get down on all fours.” said Jonas. Right when Trid did so, he started to glow. “Woah!” exclaimed Trid as he bounced up. “What happened?” asked Jonas. “I don’t know! That never happened to me before.” replied Trid as he got down on all fours. He started to glow again, but this time, he couldn’t get up. He looked up at the building in front of him which had two statues mounted up on them. They were both cats. Trid didn’t know what animal they were, but he tried to concentrate on how they looked. Trid’s hands became smaller, and he started growing claws. His face grew smaller, and whiskers sprouted from his cheeks. Trid had become a cat. “Trid! You look just like the- Oh, I see! You glow when you get down on all fours, and when you concentrate on another animal, you can transform into it!” stated Jonas. “I never knew that Waterlings had the power to do that! Boy, would I ever be famous if I told others about this!” exclaimed Trid. But then Trid started to think. He thought about the others and his mission. “Uh, Jonas?” “Yes Trid?” “I need to go now.” “Why? Where? How? You don’t even know the city! You’re now a cat! You’ll be killed! You need to be with a human, like me who knows the streets!” argued Jonas. “I’ll find a way.” “But you know nothing of our culture. Of our way of life!” “I’m smart! I’ll do it!” “Yes, you are smart, but your smarts won’t work well here. It’s a whole new world here, and in this city, you’re ignorant! Besides, don’t you want to be rich and famous? You are now a cat! Not only a plain and simple housecat, but a talking cat!” “I’m sorry, but I have a mission!” said Trid as he ran out of the building. “Wait! I can make you a star! Wait!” cried Jonas, but he was too late. Chapter 10. The Streets of the City Running out of the bank where Jonas supposedly worked, Trid ran down the corners of the streets where he saw tall and thin black metal sticks, which a light bulb was on the top of. Trid wondered what those mysterious looking objects were for awhile, but then kept running, until he came to a group of many humans, crowding outside of a store. Trid stared at a male human, and started to glow. He ran into a near by alley, and grew in size into a male human, but looked different from the human that he was looking at earlier. He walked out of the alley looking grungy, and when he passed by the crowd, like people would hold their noses as he passed by. A tiny man came out of the doors of the huge store and said, “The world’s biggest toy store, “Toys of the World” is now open. You may enter!” After the man said that, everyone was rushing into the store, tall humans, round humans, short humans, and skinny humans. Trid stood watching them hurry into the store like flies to a lit light bulb. After the crowd disappeared into the store, Trid decided to go inside to see why this store was so popular. He walked up to a man in a navy blue suit, “Pardon me, why was everyone crowding to enter this store?” “Don’t you know? This is the opening to the world’s largest toy store!” “And so why is the opening so important?” “Because it just is! Now, why don’t you go and take a hot shower and come back here. You smell!” “I what?” “Okay. I’m sorry. You don’t smell. You just-” “Well, of course I smell! Everyone smells! I’m glad I smell! It’s one of the 5 senses!” “No, that smell, but you have a bad odor.” “Oh. Well, I don’t have a place to stay. I’m new here.” “Don’t talk to me about it. Go to the homeless agency.” “Well, thankyou for your help, my good, err, man.” “Your welcome. Goodbye.” replied the man. Trid left the store now, in search for the homeless agency. Trid stared at a small girl holding her mother’s hand as they crossed the street. “How adorable.” Trid said as he started to glow, and then shrink. “Woah! Hey, what happened to my voice? I sound like a little girl! I, I am a little girl!” said Trid as he looked at his reflection in a tinted window of a beauty salon. Trid walked along the streets and stared at a man, but nothing happened. “What? Why can’t I change into a man?” asked Trid. He walked and walked until someone tapped him on the shoulder. “Hey little girl, shouldn’t you be with your mommy?” asked a man whose chin had little spikes of what seemed to be to Trid, fur. He had a long nose, and dark mysterious eyes. “Uh, well I don’t have a mommy.” Trid replied. “What? You don’t? Do you have a daddy?” “No.” “Why don’t you come with me for icecream? What do you say to that?” “Well I-” “Come with me.” Trid heard about these types of people. They were called Kidnappers, and Trid, being a waterling, thought that he could stare his way out of the mess, but he couldn’t. So he thought he could do the poor and crazy little girl stunt. Trid was a very clever waterling. “No! I am the king of the world! I am a man! I am a teen! I am a boy! Am I getting smaller? Am I getting bigger? Am I really a human, or another species? You never can tell. You could be talking to an alien right now, disguised as a little girl! You’ll never know, will you?” “What?” “Ha!” exclaimed Trid as he ran away from the man, or kidnapper. He finally turned into a man. “What? Why did that happen now?” Trid thought. Trid walked, and started to think about his friends. He wanted to go and find his waterling friends, but he didn’t know where to start. He saw a woman waved her hand towards the road, and a yellow car drove right up to her, and she got in, and drove away. Trid thought that he could do the same. He waved his arm out, and the yellow car came up to him. He opened the car door. “Where to, mister?” asked the car driver. “Uh, do you know a place with a directory or people that I could talk to a person find a certain place?” “Yeah, town hall. Be right there.” said the driver. “So, is this your first time in the city?” “Uh, yeah.” “Why do you want to go to town hall?” Now this man was getting awfully nosy, and Trid was taught to answer people, but not to interfere in personal business. “Actually, this is none of your business.” “Fine, fine. I was just trying to make some conversation.” After about 1 hour and a half, they reached town hall. “That’ll be $34.00 please.” said the driver. “What?” “$34.00. Don’t tell me that you don’t have the money!” “Well, I don’t have the money.” “Well, that’s it. I’m calling the cops!” “Wait, don’t do that! I’ll be right back with the money.” “How am I supposed to know that you won’t just leave me here moneyless? I know. I’ll take this expensive looking suit of yours and keep it with me here.” “Alright.” said Trid as he ran to the town hall. Chapter 11. In Search for Help As he reached the doors, he knocked on them. The door opened, and a hearty man appeared. “What do you want?” he asked. “Well, I’m looking for directions.” replied Trid. “Directions? Where to?” “Well, do you know what a waterling is?” “A waterling?” asked the guard. He turned his body to face a man sitting in a large chair behind a desk to say, “Mr. Sherwell, I think you should see this guy.” “What? John! I told you not to disturb me when I’m writing a report!” yelled the man. “But sir, this man wants to talk about the waterlings.” “The Waterlings? Well, let him in then!” said the man. “Come in.” said John. Trid walked into the building, and went up to the man sitting in the chair. “Well, I presume that you are Jonas Kramer, am I right?” Trid knew that that name sounde familiar. Oh yes, it was the name of the man who had found him. Was Trid going to lie and say that he was Mr. Kramer, or that he was a waterling himself? “Well, are you?” asked the man. Trid decided to lie. It was the only way that he could find his friends and save Waterworld. “Yes, this is Mr. Kramer.” said Trid. “Good.” said the man as he got out of his chair and walked towards Trid. “My name is Sanders. Earl Sanders.” said Earl as he stuck his hand out towards Trid. Trid looked at Earl’s hand. He wondered what Earl was trying to do. “Are you signaling a taxi?” asked Trid. The two men laughed. “The boy’s got humor!” said Earl to John. “Come on don to the labs.” said Earl. “Wait, First, I need $34.00. A rode in one of those pay cars.” “Oh, money for a taxi? Sure! I’ll give you $40.00. $8.00 for a tip!” said Earl. “Thankyou. You are very nice. I’ll be right back.” said Trid as hee took the money and walked to the door. When he opened it, he discovered that the yellow car had left. “Oh well. You can have the $40.00 back.” said Trid. “No, keep it. You might need it later on. Come with me in my limosuine and go to the labs.” said Earl. Earl and Trid walked out of the town hall building and straight to a large parking lot where a long and black stretched out car lay. “What happened to your car, sir? It’s stretched out!” asked Trid. “It’s a limosuine. Haven’t you ever seen a limosuine? You’re a funny kid, Jonas. A real kidder.” said Earl as he opened the door for Trid, and got in himself. “Where to, Mr. Sanders?” asked the driver. “To the Montiez Labratories, please.” replied Earl. “So Jonas, you old bean, how much are you willing to pay for these for these babies?” asked Earl. “Well, how ever much you’d like.” replied Trid. “No, really. How much are they worth to you?” “How much I think it’s worth, or how much I’m willing to pay?” “Both. But first, how mush are they worth?” “Well, I’d say $1,000,000.” “Pretty good. Now how about how mush you’re willing to pay.” “$40.00" “$40.00? That’s it? I’m talking about at least $500,000, but $40.00! You are a kidder, Kramer. Really, how much are you willing to pay for them?” Trid thought about this, and for his friends, he’d sacrifice and do anything. Even lie. “$600,000.” “Great! And looks, we’re here. Chapter 12. In the labratories of Montiez Trid and Earl were escorted out of the limosuine by the driver. They both walked to the labratories which were in a tall, clean, and light grey in color, building, with many windows lined up perfectly. They entered the building. It looked like a hospitol, so clean, and filled with bright lights, and surrounded with the color of white. Men walked around in white laboratory coats, and some where carrying small, long, glass tubes in hand. Trid was very astonished by all of this, for he had never seen anything like it. As he and Mr. Sanders walked down the endless halls of the building, he finally came to a door, which he announced to Trid that that was Laboratory #1 for the, quote unquote, The Waterling Project. The two entered the room, after Mr. Sanders punched in a 9 didgit code. Trid didn’t know what to expect. How were these people treating his friends? Were they even there? There was a long, carpeted, hallway, with a long, glass, window along side of the floor. The window was looking into a huge white lit laboratory, where people walked around with huge white suits, and would wear white helmets covering their whole face. Mr. Sanders walked along the window side, followed by Trid, until he reached another door marked “Employees only” and of course, Mr. Sanders entered, followed by Trid. They went down a long wingding staircase made out of chrome, and it made a loud clanking sound when someone stepped on even just one stair. After they reached the bottom of the staircase, they approached yet another doorway marked “Private” and there was a code to be entered in order to get to the other side of the door. After Mr. Sanders punched in the code, they entered the huge laboratory, swarming with men in huge white suits walking all over the place. But to Trid’s surprise, he saw no waterlings, anywhere. Mr. Sanders walked past all of the men, and pointed a huge door, this time, it was black, and it read, “Forbidden”. “Only I know the code to this room.” said Mr. Sanders. He punched in a 12 didgit code and the door split open. Another door appeared, and it opened sideways to the left, and one more door appeared, and there was a silver hand marked on it. “What is that?” asked Trid. “Why, it’s the best way of security! I put my hand in this replica of my hand, and the computer wil read my palm, and the door will open. If you, or anyone else puts their hand in here, the door will not open, and the alarm will sound.” Mr. Sanders said as he put his hand on the replica. Just then, the door opened to another white room filled with lights. This time, there were no people in white suits. Only cages that reminded Trid of a dog kennel. Trid looked inside the cages and saw none of his friends, or anyone that he knew. He did, however see waterlings. “This is amazing!” exclaimed Trid. “Yeah, isn’t it? They’re a rare species too. They-” “No, I mean, I don’t know these-” “What?” “Nevermind. I geuss what I’m trying to ask is when did you get these Waterlings?” “Ah, I see. Just a few weeks ago. Would you like to know the exact date?” “No, no thankyou.” said Trid as he walked along the kennels. “Would I be able to stay here for awhile alone?” asked Trid. “Well, you probably will be the new owner, I guess you could stay in here for awhile. Sure, be my guest. I’ll be back in a few. Goodbye.” replied Mr. Sanders. “Good, now he’s gone.” thought Trid in his mind. Trid went up to one cage and said, “Hello. Can you talk?” There was no reply from the little waterling, so Trid asked, “Hello? I know that you can talk. Don’t be afraid.” Trid was begging to think that he would have to turn into a waterling to make the other waterling talk. “Okay. I beg you to talk. Please talk to me! Hey, if you talk to me, I’ll set you free.” “That never works.” said a voice from behind. Trid quickly turned around to see a waterling gripping the bars of his cell. “Hey, human! Come over here!” he said again. He had a New Jersey type of an accent, and he looked like he was probably in his early 40's. “Hey dumbo! I said you! Come here!” he said once again. Trid walked towards him and sat down near the kennel so that he would be face to face with the waterling. “I am no dummy. I know that you are a waterling!” said Trid. “Woah, you’re a real Einstein, there buddy.” “No, I mean, you are a waterling. Where are you from, anyway?” “Hey! You’re a perfect stranger! I don’t even know you! Why would I tell you where I live?” “Well, it wouldn’t hurt.” “Oh yes it would. Where I live, there are still more of us. And if I tell you where it is that I live, then you’ll go there and bring a whole team of you humans, and kidnap more of the Waterlings who live there! I never trust any humans!” “Yes, but I am not a human. I am one of you!” “Yeah right! Prove it!” “Well, alright.” said Trid as he stared at the waterling very hard. “What are you doing?” asked the waterling. “I’m trying to turn into myself.” replied Trid. “You already are yourself, dummy.” “No, I’m not. And stop calling me dummy!” “Alright dummy. So anyway, I cannot tell you where I live!” “But I already said that I am not a human!” “God, are all humans this stupid?” “I am not a human, and I am not stupid! Would there be any way for me to prove to you that I am not a human?” “Say something intelligent.” “No, I am serious. Oh, I know. Would a real human be trying to talk to a waterling, and convincing him to think that he’s a waterling?” “Well, no. No sane human would do that. But an insane human would!” “I think I might know where you’re from.” “Where?” “Are you from Waterworld?” “Waterworld?” “Yes, Waterworld.” “How do you know of Waterworld?” “I live there.” “No you don’t. You can’t! You probably invaded Waterworld, and you know the name of the city!” “No, but it was invaded, and I’m here to find my friends!” “You are a human! And anyway, even if you were a waterling, how did you become a human?” “Waterlings have special powers. They can turn into different forms of living, like other animals and objects. I just have a hard time doing it.” “Really? Then how come all of the Waterlings don’t know about this, and you’re this huge genius about changing forms?” “Well I stared at a cat gargoyle, and I turned into a cat!” “Right.” “No, it’s true! Would you like some proof?” “As a matter of fact I would.” “What?” “Change yourself into a waterling!” “I can’t! That’s the problem! I don’t know how this works!” said Trid as he put his hand up to his mouth and stared to nip at his human finger nails while looking down. Trid suddenly looked up the a gleam in his eyes and said, “Hey, I know! Stare at me, real hard, and try to concentrate on my form and you’ll turn into me!” “What? That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard of!” “Just do it!” “Alright,” said the waterling as he started to stare. “Nothing’s happening.” he said as he continued to stare. Trid stared at the waterling as well. In a moment, they switched places, and Trid was his old self again, while the waterling had turned into the man, whose form Trid was just in. “What just happened here?” asked the waterling. “I don’t know. I never knew that it could do that. I guess it was because we both stared at each other’s forms, that it made us switch forms. But for now, I need to be a human.” replied Trid. “Why? I kind of like being a human.” “Because I’m on a mission!” “Really? What kind of mission?” “A mission to save Waterworld. It was destroyed by humans, and all of the Waterlings in Waterworld disappeared, except for me.” “You’re just breaking my heart here, but I want to venture out and be a human for awhile.” “You have all of the time in the world to do that, but if you help me, I promise that you will get to do that, and you will be a hero.” “A hero? What do I care about being a hero? Nothing! I don’t give a darn! I want to be free!” “But first tell me where you live, or lived.” “Why do you want to know?” “It would just be fairly helpful for me to know. “I live in Fern Valley.” “Fern valley, Fern Valley.” Trid was trying to think why that name sounded so familiar. “How did you get here?” “How else? Humans! They invaded our valley and plan to tear most of it up, and build an amusement park or something there.” “Well, don’t you want to put an end to this, and save your home?” “Well,” “Of course you do! And that’s what I want to do as well, and together, we’d make a great team, don’t you think?” “Well I-” Just then, there was a noise in the back that sounded like machines clanking together. Trid knew he heard it before. Yes, it was the special security doors. “You’ve got to stare at my form real hard now so I can change back, okay?” “Well, okay.” said the waterling as he stared. When they switched, the final door had opened. “What took you so long?” asked Mr. Sanders. “These Waterlings are so fascinating. I’d like to take one now.” “Take one now?” “Yes.” You can’t do that!” “Why not? They’re mine!” “We’re going to use them in your theme park, Waterworld!” “Waterworld?” “Yes! You thought of the name yourself, Jonas my boy!” “I-” “So you cannot take any of these Waterlings! Besides, what would you do with an animal? Talk to it?” Mr. Sanders said with a chuckle. “Well, I would like to spend a little more time with them.” “Alright, but just one minute, and I mean it!” said Mr. Sanders as he left. “What are you going to do, genius?” asked the waterling. “Look, I don’t know, alright? I-” Trid started to say as he saw a cockroach crawling along the metal floors. “I have an idea.” “What?” “Stare at that insect.” “Oh no, I’m not going to turn into one of those filthy unsanitary insects!” “It’s the only way!” Trid said. The waterling thought about it, but he decided to go for it, so he stared at the cockroach, and turned into one. He then crawled out of the cage. “What are we going to do about the empty cage?” asked the waterling. Before Trid could think, the door was opened, and Mr. Sanders popped in and said, “Well, are you done with the Waterlings?” “Yes sir, I am all done!” said Trid. “Alright then.” replied Mr. Sanders. When they left the laboratories, they arrived at Town Hall again. “Well Jonas, I’ll be seeing you tomorrow then?” asked Mr. Sanders. “Uh, right sir. Goodbye now.” said Trid as he left, with his tiny friend in his pocket. He took him out, and he turned into a human. “It’s safer this way.” the waterling said. “Wow, you’re better than me, uh, err, what is your name?” “My name?” “Yes, your name! My name is Trid!” “What is a name?” “You don’t know what a name is?” “No.” “It defines you for your characteristics. It’s what people call you.” “Oh! You mean my code? My code is JJ719!” “JJ719?” “That’s right!” “Oh, well, you need to have a human name, now. My human name is Jonas.” “Well, I once heard of the human name Cinderella when my grandmother was reading me an ancient fairytale.” “Cinderella? That sounds a bit dainty.” “Well, can you do better?” “How about the guards’ name! Now what was it? Oh yes! John! Your name can be John!” “Well, it may sound kind of odd, but the word John reminds me of a toilet.” JJ179 said as Trid started to give him an angry face. “But, I’ll stick with it.” “Good. You will now be known as John.” said Trid, as he and John walked along the grass till they reached the sidewalk where they continued to walk. Chapter 13. Two heads are Better than One As the two were walking along the sidewalk, Trid asked, “So how was Fern Valley?” “It was the most beautiful place that you could ever imagine. Waterfalls that were over 50 feet tall, mountains towering over lakes, marvelous rainbows shimmering over the blue ocean, it’s a dream come true, Fern valley.” “Any buildings?” “No. Only shacks. But not shacks that were made by poor and unfortunate Waterlings. These shacks were beautifully hand crafted, and were built into mountains. It gave an Ethan Allen type of look to it.” “Ah. Built into the mountains?” Well, I shouldn’t say mountains, more like hills. They would tear open a chunk of the mountain that looked dead or weak, and a house would be made in that space where the chunk of the hill was taken out of. It’s very beautiful.” “Where is Fern Valley?” “Oh, it is very far from here. You see those mountains over there to the left? It’s beyond those.” “How far beyond?” “Miles and miles. It’s so far, that if you were on top of those mountains, that you wouldn’t even be able to see Fern Valley.” “Wow, that far, huh?” “Yep. Will we be able to go there?” “Of course! We aren’t doing this just to save Waterworld, or just to save Fern Valley, but Waterlings, everywhere!” “Just the two of us?” “Yes! It may seem impossible, but it isn’t! We have powers!” “But we’re just two, and we could be stopped!” “Just think positively!” stated Trid. He and John continued to walk down the sidewalk until they reached the toy store that Trid had earlier visited. Trid walked up to the man standing by the door and asked him, “Where should I go if I want to go somewhere really far?” “Why, the airport of course!” replied the man. “Where is it located?” “Call a cab and ask him!” “Fine.” said Trid as he stuck his hand out into the street. A taxi cab spud up until it reached the edge of the sidewalk. Trid opened the door, but before he could speak, the driver said, “Eh, where you like go?” “To the nearest airport.” “What?” asked the driver. Trid spoke louder and slower as if talking to a small child. “To-the-nearest-airport.” “Eh? Oh. Da nearest airport? Sure. I’ll take you dare.” replied the driver who apparently couldn’t speak English very well. When the two arrived at the airport, Trid gave the cabby the mount that was due, which was $25.00. “So, this is the airport.” said John. “Wow. It’s amazing,” replied Trid. “Come on. We don’t have much time.” Trid and John walked past some guards near a machine where people put huge cases on to disappear up a ramp and come down the other end. There was a huge brightly lit room with people sauntering all around. Trid and John walked towards an entrance to where everyone was going past booths where people stood in line with more of those huge cases. They saw a large board that read times that the airplanes arrive, depart, and from which city. “Where’s Fern Valley, John?” asked Trid. “It’s-” John started to say as he saw something very familiar on the board. “In Brazil.” “What?” replied Trid. “Brazil. It sounds vaguely familiar. I don’t know why, but it does! Let’s go!” “Are you sure?” “Yes! Come on!” said John as he and Trid rushed off to Gate 40, the gate where the plane to Brazil was to be. There was a carpeted room with many chairs, which most of them, were inhabited by people. “People who are in Medallion class, please bring your tickets up to the ticket booth please.” said a woman wearing a tight navy blue dress. “Medallion?” asked both Trid and John. They walked up to the ticket booth and began to go inside. “Excuse me, where are your tickets?” asked the woman. “What tickets?” asked John. “Your boarding tickets.” the woman replied, a little louder. “Oh, uh,” Trid began to say. He saw a woman behind him with some tickets. He then knew what they were. He tried to see what the ticket read, but in seconds, two tickets appeared in his hands. “Here they are.” “Good. Front row? Great. Enjoy your flight.” said the woman, in now a cheery voice. They walked in and sat down in the large leather covered front seats. “How did you do that?” asked John. “I don’t know. Maybe there’s something else to this Waterling thing.” replied Trid. “Let’s see. If I look at that book over there in front of me, then it will appear in my hands?” asked John. “Yes, but the book in front of you will still be there. You’ll have a copy. I think.” replied Trid. John stared at the book, but nothing happened. “Hey, is there something wrong with me? Not a thing happened!” stated John with a childish frown. “Maybe you need to try harder.” replied Trid. “I tried my hardest!” insisted John. A stewardess walked by and asked, “Is everything alright here?” “No! Everything’s not alright! I can’t make this magazine come to me!” yelled John. The stewardess grabbed the magazine and handed it to John. “There you go.” John threw down the magazine in discontentment. “Oh man!” he said followed by a “Hmph!” “John, what’s your problem? We’re going back to your island. We’re going to clear up this whole mess!” stated Trid. “Bu-bu-but I don’t have the..you know..” John said as his eyes dashed about the plane with paranoia. “Maybe you just need to develop them.. I dunno.” Said Trid.
