Dragonfly Dreams, Part Eight

Frank Mason was alone. All around him the village slept. Both Chuck and Harry had been shown to separate huts…after Harry had changed back from a horse to a human. Oddly enough, none of the villagers seemed to notice or care when it happened. Obviously, they had seen such things before. Frank wondered if people back in the United States would act the same. He chuckled to himself…picturing Harry doing one of his changing acts in downtown New York.

The moon was pregnant with light overhead…an orb of mystery and illusion. Frank stared at the full moon and breathed in deeply. The sweet scents of the jungle wafted in on a midnight current. He felt at peace. He needed that. He hadn’t felt peaceful since this entire crazy adventure had started.

In the distance, he could hear the calling of an animal…prowling the dark undergrowth for its next meal. It sounded like a wild dog of some sort. He contemplated returning to his hut but then decided against it. The animal sounded far away…and he felt safe enough in the village. He took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a long drag. The nicotine flooding his system woke him up a little more and made everything seem sharper in the moonlight. He had tried to quit smoking once but that had been years ago. Now….he was glad that he hadn’t.

A low buzzing sound made him take notice. It seemed to be coming from the jungle. It wasn’t very loud, but it caught his ear…probably because of the relative quiet that had descended upon the sleeping village. He put the sound out of mind, took another pull on his cigarette, and started to turn back toward his hut. And then he saw it. It was the largest insect that he had ever seen in his life.

The wingspan of the thing had to be at least 3 feet wide. The wings sparkled like rare jewels in the bright light of the moon….all deep purples and greens. A golden body completed the look of some mysterious treasure that had come to life. But Frank recognized the shape of the creature in an instant. It was a dragonfly. Of course, it was a monster of an insect…but it was a dragonfly nonetheless. However, the thing that disturbed him was the fact that it was headed straight for him!

Turning quickly, he started to run toward the safety of his hut. Why had he decided to come out in the first place? He should have known that something bad was more than likely going to happen. Hadn’t it been that way all day?

His feet felt like he was wearing shoes made of lead. His legs felt heavy and thick….and they didn’t want to work properly. The buzzing behind him grew louder and louder.

Frank looked over his shoulder and saw that he had been wrong about the size of the dragonfly. It didn’t have a 3 foot wingspan….they had to be at least 5 feet wide! He wanted to give a yelp in terror, but his throat wouldn’t work right. So instead, he just gave a little gasp. He saw the things mandibles working quickly. It wanted to chew right into him. He had to get away!

And he almost made it. He was just inches from his door when he felt the things pinchers dig into his shirt. His feet lifted off of the ground and he started rising higher and higher into the air. The dragonfly was so big that it was actually lifting him off of the ground! Soon he found himself impossibly high in the air. All that he could hear was the rapid beating of the things wings. He wondered if it was planning on dropping him and then eating his dead flesh. He shuddered at the thought.

But it seemed as though the dragonfly did not want to harm him…at least, not at the moment. It started flying away from the village with Frank dangling helplessly in its giant claws. Over the jungle, they swept through the moonlight and entered a world that was both strangely familiar but all too alien to Frank at the same time. The wind rushed cold and clean over his face, and he found himself relishing the feel…even though he was frightened out of his wits at the same time.

Just then, a light appeared in the darkness of the jungle. It looked like a fire, but from this height, Frank found it impossible to tell. Just as he was thinking this, the dragonfly began to descend. The ground came rushing up toward him at an alarming rate. But then, right before he crashed…the dragonfly pulled up and he landed gently on the ground. He felt a heavy weight on his back…and he knew that the dragonfly was still there….that it hadn’t flown away. He could feel it rustling down the entire length of him. He hated the feel of the creature, but he knew better than to fight it. Also…he was curious about the voices that he was hearing coming from the large tent that was right in front of him. One of the voices sounded very familiar.

“I don’t care what he says!” an angry female voice was yelling to someone, “I paid him a lot of money…and he is going to show me where the Sapphire Waterfalls are located. Tell him that I will double his money.”

It was Janet Jones! She was inside the tent…and she was arguing with someone!

Frank heard another voice…also female…speaking in Spanish. Then there was a reply. The voice was obviously male this time, but it was the voice of an old man, tired and broken.

“He says that some things are more important than money Senora,” the second female voice said slowly. The girl was obviously afraid.

Then Frank heard the click of a gun.

“Then tell him that if he doesn’t show me,” Janet Jones was saying, “That I will kill you in front of him…but that I will leave him alive to think about his decision for whatever time he has left.”

“NO SENORA!” the girl’s voice cried out, “PLEASE!”

Then the girl started rattling off in Spanish. Frank wanted to get closer to the tent so that he could see what was going on. The voices were all mixing together….shouting and pleading . Frank crept closer and peeked through a crack in the door flap. It was Janet Jones! She was pointing her pistol to the head of a young Brazilian girl….she couldn’t be more than 14. An old man was gesturing wildly and crying out.

“HE SAYS OKAY!” the girl cried out, “YOU WIN! HE WILL SHOW YOU THE WATERFALL.”

“That’s better,” Janet Jones smiled, dropping the pistol but keeping it at hand so that she could wield it when necessary.

“But Senora,” the girl looked toward the floor.

“WHAT!” Janet snapped.

“He says that you won’t like what you find there,” the girl looked up, her eyes fearful and large.

“Hmmmph,” Janet Jones pulled out a booklet and made some notes in it with a stub of a yellow pencil, “Tell him that I’ll decide that…not him. Who do you two think you are anyway? I hired you all as guides and translators….not to tell me what to do!”

Just then, the dragonfly shuffled on Frank’s back and made a buzzing sound. Janet looked toward the flap. Frank stepped back into the shadows…but it was too late. He heard the click of the gun once more.

“Someone’s out there,” he heard her say, “But they won’t be alive for long.”

Until next week….class dismissed.

Dragonfly Dreams, Part Seven

Coming out of the tall grass toward them was a large, bushy brown and black animal. It took Frank a second to realize it for what it was…a bear! It was making a large mewling, screeching sound and was shaking its head wildly from side to side. It stopped in front of them and raised up on its hind legs. Frank guessed that it had to be at least 7 feet tall. His legs felt like water. Was this the end?

Suddenly Chuck burst out laughing. Frank once again wondered about the man’s mental state. But, the laughter did seem to have an effect on the bear. It slowly lowered itself to the ground and shook its head one last time. And then…it began to talk.

“Honestly Chuckie, old boy,” it stated in a rough, deep voice that had a bit of British accent, “I really thought that I hit that one head on. I could have sworn that I had you fooled this time.”

“Oh…oh…” Chuck tried to talk through his laughter, “Honestly, mate, you would have. You look like a great bear….but you got…you got….”

And then he started laughing again. Frank was still in shock that the bear could talk. And apparently, it knew Chuck!

Finally, Chuck was able to get in a breath, “You got the tail wrong, my friend.”

Frank looked at the bear’s tail. Indeed, it was wrong. Instead of the short stubby tail of a bear, Frank saw the fluffy white tail of a bunny! What in the world was going on?

“Oh….bloody hell,” the bear muttered, looking back over its shoulder, “These bigger animals require so much concentration. I was so worried about the front that I didn’t pay much attention to the back. Enough already!”

And then the bear began to change…a little at first and then faster. The fur seemed to draw back into the skin, the claws retracted into the paws (which were beginning to grow longer and look more like fingers), and the fluffy, bunny tail simply disappeared. Soon, instead of a bear, there stood a very large man. He was very hairy…almost too hairy….which was a good thing at the moment since he was completely naked. He grinned sheepishly at Chuck and then nodded toward Frank.

“Is that him?” he asked, staring at Frank with eyes that were dark and wild. Frank noticed that the man still had large, bearlike teeth.

“Yep,” Chuck stated, turning to Frank, “In the flesh….but where are my manners? Let me introduce you two. Frank, this is my old friend Harry….Harry McCain. And Harry….as you already know….this is Frank. He’s the…”

“The Finder,” Harry said, still staring at Frank.

“You were a bear,” Frank said, trying to soak in all the strangeness that had been happening to him lately, “A real, live bear.”

“Oh…that?” Harry chuckled, his mood suddenly seeming to lighten, “Yep…I was a bear. The fact is….I can be any animal that I want to be.”

“Harry is a shapeshifter,” Chuck looked over at Frank as if that explanation would clear everything up, “He can change shape at will.”

“I just have to concentrate pretty hard is all,” Harry said, “And…as you just saw…it doesn’t always work out the way I want it to!”

Both men started to laugh again. Frank tried to join in, but it was just too bizarre. He just felt hot…and thirsty. Suddenly, he was craving an ice cold Sprite more than anything else in the world.

“I’m glad that I found you though,” Harry said, suddenly serious, “SHE sent me. She seemed to know that you all would be in this area….but I don’t know how she knew. She said that I needed to bring you to her….immediately.”

“She?” Frank asked.

“Irza,” Harry said, looking down at the ground as though he were embarrassed to be saying the name out loud, “The one who has seen…”

“The face of God,” Chuck finished, making Harry draw in a hiss of breath and stare coldly at Chuck.

“You told him?” he asked.

“I didn’t see the reason to keep it a secret,” Chuck said, “After all….he’s supposed to be finding the thing, isn’t he?”

“Yes,” Harry said, “But still….”

“ENOUGH ALREADY!” Frank yelled out, “Stop talking about me like I’m not here!”

Chuck and Harry looked at each other. Some sort of silent communication seemed to be going on between them. Finally, Harry nodded his head.

“Okay,” he said, “Enough talking. This place isn’t safe. We need to get out of here and fast.”

Frank watched with amazement as Harry closed his eyes and a look of intense concentration came over him. Slowly, he began to change. His nose pushed out…longer and longer. His ears turned up at the corners and grew longer. And his hands folded in on themselves into hooves. Soon, there was a fine looking horse standing before them.

“Climb on, you two,” Harry the horse neighed to them in a gravely sort of voice, “I can get us there in just under an hour.”

Chuck let out a whoop and jumped up on Harry’s back. He held out a hand to Frank.

“Come on mate,” he grinned, “Why walk…when we can ride?”

“Just don’t get too comfortable up there,” Harry said, kicking up dust as they started out, “This is a RARE occurrence. I’m not a pack animal.”

“Oh come on Harry old boy,” Chuck laughed, slapping Harry on the neck, “You know that you love it!”

“Watch it!” Harry warned, bucking a little underneath them.

Frank sat cautiously behind Chuck. He didn’t know how he felt riding this horse…that used to be a man…who used to be a bear. But….he wasn’t in any position to argue. He just hoped that this nightmare would be over soon.

With a loud snort, Harry the horse took off at full gallop. The beautiful Brazilian countryside was whizzing past them in a maddening whirl. Soon, the grasslands were left behind and the three of them were entering a village on the outskirts of a large rainforest. It was here that Frank first met Irza.

It was here that Frank had his first encounter with the Dragonfly.

Until next week…class dismissed!

Dragonfly Dreams, Part Six

Another shot rang out, making their taxi swerve wildly from side to side. Frank was kneeling in the backseat in a pile of broken glass. They were being shot at by Janet Jones…the crazy woman from the airport. Apparently she wasn’t going to let her job go undone this time!

“What does she want?” Frank yelled out as Chuck tried to take a quick peek out of the shot-out window.

“She wants us dead mate!” Chuck yelled back, his Australian accent coming out thick and strong.

Chuck yelled something in Spanish to the taxi driver that Frank didn’t recognize fully. He must have promised the driver something good…probably lots of money….because their speed picked up considerably.

“What do you see?” Frank called out, hoping for good news.

“I can’t see…” Chuck was cut off as another shot whizzed past his ear. He practically fell back down into the floor, on top of Frank.

“Well, I saw that,” he grinned, wiping beads of sweat from his forehead, “It was a little too close for comfort though.”

“Don’t you have a gun….weapon…anything?” Frank was exasperated. What had he gotten himself into?

“Nope mate,” Chuck looked grim, “Told ya’. I only deal in tattoos.”

Just then another bullet whizzed into their car. Frank heard a sharp cry and the taxi swerved dangerously making them tumble to the side of the car. Both men stared at each other with wild eyes and then glanced up over the seat. The driver was lying in the front seat in a quickly spreading pool of blood.

“Awwww no!” Chuck yelled, “She took out the driver. Well….nothing much else to do except…”

And with that, he hopped over into the front seat so quickly that Frank could hardly comprehend it. He did hear another shot ring out though. Chuck yelped loudly but took control of the taxi, pulling it back onto the road.

“Are you okay?” Frank yelled, feeling helpless in the backseat.

“Just a graze mate…just a graze,” Chuck called back, “But I may have a painful time sitting on my bum for a few days.”

Frank couldn’t believe that Chuck was trying to make jokes at a time like this.

“I’m gonna try to lose her,” Chuck yelled out over the noise of the racing engine, “Hold on!”

As the taxi swerved violently to the left, Frank found himself being thrown against the other side of the cab. He tried to grab the seat….the floor mats….anything to give himself purchase. But he just found himself in a pile of arms and legs. He prayed that he would survive both Janet Jones and the crazy driving of Chuck.
He could feel the taxi accelerating and then there was another wild swerve as the taxi skidded on two wheels around another sharp corner. Frank could see dust boiling up outside the taxi.

“Look out the back and see if you see her still,” Chuck yelled back, “I’m trying not to kill these fools playing in the street!”

Frank said a silent prayer and peeked up over the back seat. The jagged glass of the rear window was all over the top of the seat. It danced and glinted like diamonds in the hot Brazilian sunshine. Hot dusty air was rushing past his head, making his eyes instantly water. He scanned the street behind them. There was nothing there.

“I think….I think you lost her,” he called out, “I can’t see her anywhere back here.”

Just then the car started to hitch and give. They started to slow down.

“It’s a good thing, mate,” Chuck was trying to get the slowing taxi over to the side of the road, “I think that this car has seen its last mile….or it could be the fact that we are out of gas. I guess that could be the problem.”

Again with the jokes! Frank wondered if Chuck had some sort of mental deficiency. The car slowed to a crawl and instantly the two men were out and in the dusty dirt road that Chuck had driven them onto. There were a few people walking along…mostly local farmers and a few scrappy looking children. Several of the men were leading horses packing large bundles of bananas.

“Come on then!” Chuck said, taking Frank by the arm and tugging him toward the field beside the road, “I think that it’s best if we just clear the area. You know what I mean?”

“What about him?” Frank asked, pointing to the driver who was slumped over in the front seat.

“Who….him?” Chuck asked coolly, “Well Frank….there isn’t much we can do for him now. He’s dead….and I don’t want to end up that way. Do you?”

Frank shook his head.

“Good!” Chuck said, eyeing an approaching pair of scraggly looking girls who were giggling and waving bunches of red flowers, “Now let’s get out of here before the locals notice Senor Deadman there! Plus….Janet Jones and her taxi could be just a minute behind us. I think that I did a pretty good job losing them, but I want to get off this road!”

Soon they were far off the road. Nobody seemed to notice….or care….that they were leaving a dead driver in the taxi as they slipped into the tall grasses that lined the road. Just a few minutes later, Frank looked behind him and was surprised to see that he couldn’t see the road anymore. It was like they had stepped into another world.

Chuck noticed that he was looking. He smiled grimly, “You gotta love those Brazilian grasses. They are good for something.”

Frank tried to smile, but found that his face just wouldn’t do it. He felt hot, tired, and thirsty. Every part of him seemed to hurt. He just wanted to get to a nice hotel….have a hot bath….have a good meal….and not have someone trying to kill him. Isn’t that what anyone wanted?

Just then there was a rustling in the grass beside of them. Both men froze.
“What was that?” Frank whispered. He kept trying to think about what wild animals were prevalent in Brazil. Jaguars? He was pretty sure that jaguars were found in Brazil. He cursed his lack of knowledge about the world. If he got out of this alive, he was going to buy himself every Frommer’s Guide that was ever made and read them all.

“Shhhhh,” Chuck placed a finger over his lips. The two men stayed deathly still. The movement of the grasses came closer….and a screech started to sound out around them.

Frank didn’t know what it was. But whatever it was….it was headed right toward them!

Until next week.....class dismissed!