SWNOVELS Chapter 22: Squirrels Store Nuts
“Chiver me flip bits.” Kevin muttered under his breath, careful not to let his mother hear him. For it had been this remake exclaimed in anger, when his bike chain broke. That had earned him the slap on his jaw, which he was now nursing. It wasn’t as if Kevin even knew what it meant. He had just heard the big kids saying it. And parrot like he had stored it away, for a moment of anger.
Well he was angry now, angry at the injustice of a broken bike, and a sore cheek. The offending bicycle lay on the patio floor. And his mother had returned to her telephone conversation. Oblivious of Kevin’s darkening mood. He’d show her; he carefully opened the gate so not to attract his parent’s attention. And he was off up the street, as fast as his little legs would carry him.
Then he spotted it, the high fence, and the no entry sign. And best of all, there was a small gap in the fence. A gap that only a small child could hope to squeeze through. Let her worry about him. When she finally remembered he should be in the back yard, and not off exploring. And what a place this was to explore. For Kevin had now poked his head through the gap. He could be on a jungle expedition, as he squeezed the rest of his body through the hole. And he set off hacking his way through the dense undergrowth. With a handy stick for a machete; and an imaginary pith helmet on his head.
If only he could find the lost diamond mine, before the tribesmen got him. Suddenly there was a movement off to his left. Kevin crouched aiming his stick, now a rifle at the ferocious tiger. As the alley cat slinked off unimpressed. The undergrowth was thinning out now, and Kevin could see a wide expanse of lawn stretching up to a big house.
There didn’t seem to be anyone about. So Kevin broke cover and trudged up the slope to a window, which was ajar. He sat resting his little legs under the window, and surveyed the land stretching out below him. Kevin imagined the clouds below him, on his Himalayan expedition. “It’s confirmed then. This is definitely a world wide phenomenon.” The words emanating through the window gap cut in to Kevin’s daydream, and grabbed his attention. It was a real mystery. He could just see over the ledge, by standing on his toes.
A map of the world on the far wall dominated the room. The map was festooned with red pins. Staring at it was a small group of people, dressed either as scientists in lab coats, or high ranking military. One man stood at the front addressing the assembly. “What is disturbing gentlemen, is that despite the resources of every nation’s security forces available to us. We still don’t know how, why, or who is stealing the world’s weapon grade nuclear material.”
The hushed embarrassment of these eminent representatives of the world’s powers; was broken by a small voice coming through the window. “Squirrels.” Suddenly the room full of faces turned towards Kevin; and with a squeak he dropped below the windowsill. The curious looks that followed him out, as heads looked through the window; held Kevin like a bug under observation. Until a soldier stood next to him; and took Kevin’s hand.
“What’s a small boy like you doing here?” “Bring the little fellow in here”, came the command from the soldier’s superior, out of the window. With a salute he led Kevin round the side of the building, to a door. Kevin was met by the man, who he had seen addressing the group before. “Now young man, I bet you are hungry. Sergeant, bring our guest some sandwiches, and a bottle of lemonade.” The soldier, who had brought Kevin inside, left. Then offering Kevin a chair, the man paced back and forth. “So young man, what is your name, and what brings you to our top secret meeting of world powers. That not even the heads of state know the exact location of?” He stopped pacing, and gave Kevin a stern look. “Kevin”, Kevin suggested. “And why do you think squirrels are stealing our nuclear material?” Kevin looked up in to the man’s questioning eyes. “Oh that’s easy, squirrels store nuts. Then you just go and find what tree they’re in. Can I have my lemonade now?”
He tucked in to the snack the sergeant had just brought in. So he was too engrossed in the cheese and pickles, to notice the top man go in to the next room. But the voices from in there drifted through the door. “We have little else to go on gentlemen.” “Out of the mouths of babes general.” And so on descending in to a general mumble of planning.Which Kevin dutifully ignored, as he had finished the pop and most of the sandwiches; and was now happily trying to burp the alphabet. While the sergeant in charge of him, tried not to break his impassive look, and laugh out at Kevin’s performance.
Kevin had not mastered the art of belching at will, so when he had released all the gas he could; he got up. Then he started to traipse around the walls, under the watchful eyes of his temporary guardian. On the third circuit of the room, he lent against the door. And much to both his and the sergeant’s surprise, Kevin fell through. It was pulled open by an excited scientist; the man who had interviewed Kevin earlier. He hastily helped Kevin up, and made sure he was all right. “Come in my boy. You may have just saved the day.”
He took Kevin by the hand, and led him in to a room full of big screens. Showing maps of the Earth in different colours, and each making ping noises. It reminded Kevin of a submarine film he’d once seen. “This is the nerve centre of our operation Kevin. And after your idea, we decided to see if all the nuclear material was stored in one place. Before that we had assumed they would keep it split up, to hide it. But now as you can see there in the Namibian dessert, is a hot spot too big to hide.” He pointed at a red dot on a screen that made no sense to Kevin. Kevin looked harder, which anyone who has been a small boy knows is a near impossible thing to do. When there was so much interesting stuff going on around him. But look he did, and Kevin saw a red blob in the middle of the yellow sand. “Want a gob stopper?” Kevin removed the paper bag from his pocket, and offered it up to his new friend; the man took one out of form. “Are you going to get the squirrels now?” Kevin enquired.
But before the man could ponder this question; the whole room was bathed in a soft blue light As Kevin felt like he was floating in the little pool at the local baths. He looked down and realised he really was floating, about six inches off the floor. All the other people in the room were floating too, but they all had their eyes shut, as if they were asleep. And then as if some one had suddenly pulled a big bath plug out of the room, Kevin and the other people dropped for an instant. And the room blinked out of existence.
They fell on to hot dry sand dunes, which stretched away as far as Kevin could see. There were about ten adults staring about in blind panic, while Kevin took the hand of his protector. He looked down at Kevin’s questioning face. “No son, I think the squirrels are going to get us.” Kevin took the news in his stride; for it really was beyond him to speculate further. And shielding his eyes with his other hand; he saw a shimmering figure approach over the nearest dune. Amid gasps of amazement and shock, the approaching form coalesced itself in to the solid shape, of a seven foot tall bright red squirrel.
It stood panting in front of Kevin and his companion. “Aren’t you hot in that fur coat Mr squirrel sir. I’m hot; in fact do you have some lemonade. I wish I had a lemonade.” The words slurred off his tongue, as Kevin swayed in the intense heat. The big squirrel twitched its tail; and like a mirage shimmering in to being the light dimmed.
Looking up, Kevin saw they were now under a very large and colourful tent; with a light breeze gently blowing through. Right next to Kevin now stood an ornate table, supporting an aquarium sized bowl of ice cube cooled lemonade. The little cubes kept floating up and down in the liquid, as it gave off a faint pink glow in the light. Kevin reached out and took one of the glass mugs, hung from hooks around the edge of the table; and put it under one of the many spigots at the base of the tank. Cool fizzy lemonade flowed out, and Kevin tried to drink it in one go. But his burps stopped him.
Finally he did get the drink down, and with a satisfied look he sat down on one of the brightly coloured pillows, that he noticed were scattered about. The adults had now staggered to the table, and drank their fill of the cool refreshing liquid. “I’m glad you have come for your toys back”, came a motherly voice from where the squirrel had been. Then the disembodied speaker continued. “You know you really shouldn’t be playing with such dangerous things. But I suppose you didn’t think what would happen if they got set off.” Kevin looked about, and saw that far from being refreshed from the drink. The adults seemed to be dozing off to sleep. And several were already lying flat on their backs on the cushions, snoring loudly. Only Kevin’s friend was wide-awake; and he was wondering about the tent with a confused look on his face.
The disembodied voice spoke once more. “Kevin let’s play a game.” Kevin stopped building the house of cushions, and looked up. The squirrel was back; and it stood holding his friend’s hand, as the man looked about the tent in wonder. Then speaking from the squirrel’s lips. “I know let’s play hide and seek. If you can find us, we’ll let you have your toys back. But if not, then we will take them away with us.” Kevin blinked once, and them he chirped up “all right Mr squirrel.”
The ground opened up beneath the squirrel and the man, and they dropped out of sight. Kevin closed his eyes, and turned round twice. Counting was for big kids he thought; and when he opened his eyes, he slid down the hole too. It was like a helter-skelter dug out of the solid sand, and Kevin spun round and round, getting deeper and deeper. Then the bottom fell out, and he was tumbling through the air. With a soft thud, he landed on the top of a soft cone of sand. And slid down to the bottom, where he came to a halt on the sandy floor below. There was a faint glow coming from the sand itself; and when Kevin let it trickle through his fingers, it sparkled like the stars.
Kevin looked up at the hole in the ceiling. “No way back up there, even if I could climb to the top of the cone.” So he had to choose from one of the many tunnels, leading off this vast circular chamber. Suddenly Kevin felt very alone; so he started to hum a tune to himself, as he walked round the room. The sound bounced off the walls and seemed to comfort him, like an invisible friend. But when Kevin got to one tunnel, it was as if the sound was being sucked down it. Kevin chose that one to follow.
He held up his hand; and from his open palm, specs of glittering sand drifted lazily away down the tunnel. And Kevin followed it, chasing the willow the wisp like cloud. The golden motes of sand began to spread out like a wave; and Kevin could poke his head through it, like breaking the surface of water. Then as this tunnel too seemed to split in to many passages, Kevin felt as if he too were following each wave of the golden dust down every passage. Until he felt like a wave himself, passing through every possible route in the maze of sand. Then one of the many parts that made up Kevin saw a furry head poking out from a side tunnel. All that was Kevin collapsed back in to the one boy. He giggled, and cried out with joy. “You-hoo I see you.” The squirrel gave a giggle in reply, and scampered off down the tunnel.
When Kevin got to the side tunnel he stopped; for sat on the floor was his friend smiling up at him. “Come on we’ve got to get the squirrel.” Kevin told him, and taking the man’s hand he led him down the tunnel. It spread out in to a vast chamber, where more golden dust swirled in to the distance, and curled up in to what looked like a spiral galaxy. Kevin had seen one in a book he had once looked at. As he gazed about, Kevin noticed a myriad of stars glittering against the black background. One exploded and sent waves of light out towards other heavenly bodies. He could some how see tiny specs, and concentrating on them Kevin saw they were planets, with little creatures roaming on them.
Then the wave of light broke over the tiny orb, and the little world was swept bare. “Hey no fair” Kevin protested. He thought the little creatures had looked interesting, and now they were gone. “Don’t you like that game?” The squirrel was back, and holding Kevin’s other hand. As Kevin looked back and fourth; the squirrel started to look like one of the little creatures, from the planet that had been destroyed by the exploding star. “Did you come from that planet?” The sad look in the creature’s eyes told it all. “And you don’t want us to have the new-key-er weapons, ’cos we might kill all the rabbits, and trees and people?” “All life is precious to us. Now we roam the worlds, helping others from hurting themselves.” It waved an arm at the myriad of light specs festooning the sky. “I think you should keep them then.” Kevin had decided; and his friend turned towards the alien, and nodded too.
The room filled with a sweet smelling mist, and Kevin waved his hands to clear it as he stumbled about. He realised he was back in the command room again; and staggering to the window he let himself over the ledge, and on to the grass below. There was a normal sized squirrel staring at him, and then it bounded off. Kevin wandered down to the woods, and after a while he found the hole in the fence. When he got home, his bike still lay where he had left it. And pushing the door open; he saw his mother put the telephone down, as she turned to him smiling. “Want some lemonade Kevin?” she asked.