Dana walked for a while. The jungle felt so big and filled with life. Animals coming and going. A girl could get lost so easily. As she explored, she found that these flowless rivers run everywhere in this jungle. She had no idea how deep they were, but she didn't want to risk crossing them for fear of being swept away. The rivers flowed into each other from every angle met in large four-way intersections. To Dana this made absolutely no sense at all. She thought, rivers flow downhill. But for some reason these don't. What kind of magic is this?
Dana followed the rivers until she found a huge fallen log. The log was stable enough for animals to cross over it without touching the river. Finally, some good luck. Dana followed the other animals over the top of log avoiding the fruits flowing in the river below. Once on the other side Dana found more forest to explore. She walked until she was blocked by a river then turned and explored more. Soon enough Dana found the rivers blocked her path in every direction. She could go back across the log and try again, or she could cross one. Going back is not an option. She was not going to fall back into Mr. Doberman's grasp.
The thought of being swept away in a river scared Dana a bit. Rather than focusing on the rivers that blocked her path she looked up at the huge trees that grow everywhere. Some of the trees were so big that animals lived inside of them. She stood back and watched as animals came and went in and out of the trees. Like woodpeckers but without wings. The idea made her laugh on the inside. It brought a smile to her face. She watched as the woodpeckers walked in and out of the river too. They were unaffected by the water flow. Maybe she would be too?
Dana walked over to the river and put a foot in expecting to have a wet foot. But it didn't happen. The river was not wet. Nor was it very deep. Maybe 6 inches total. She felt no current at all as the water flowed around her shoe. She pulled her foot out of the river complete dry. That's pretty cool she thought. One by one Dana put both feet in the river. A large Lemon with wheels was approaching her and let out a loud honking noise. Dana stepped back as the Lemon rolled by. Why is there so much fruit in the jungle? Dana checked for incoming objects floating down the river, then quickly crossed to the other side. That was easy enough. She did it. The flowing water was... not water at all. The most dangerous part of the river was the objects flowing down it. Dana thought, there must be an explanation for this. But her exploration continued.
For now, Dana resumed her travels walking along the trees looking at the animals coming and going. Dana came to another river and saw a handful of animals standing together. Bears, deer, even birds all standing together in a group. Then what seemed like all at once, they walked across the river. Dana was intrigued. Once they were across the river, they all went their separate ways. Dana realized that she could use this to her advantage. She waited until the group of animals started to form up again. Then she walked over and joined them. Standing so close to this large group Dana noticed that some of them didn't smell very well. But when they all started walking, so did she. Once they had successfully crossed the river Dana stood back and watched everyone go their separate ways. This was a superior method of crossing the river. Just running and dodging fruit was a thing of the past.
Dana continued to explore the jungle using this technique to cross two more rivers. This was slower, Dana thought to herself. This is a better than getting honked at by fruit and running like crazy.
Dana walked for a long time. At this point she had crossed at least 10 rivers. If she had to guess it had been at least a mile since she lost Mr. Doberman. Dana thought maybe she was far enough away to feel safe. Regardless, she was getting tired. Her feet were starting to hurt. She reached down to touch her foot through her shoe. Taking a break was worth the risk. Dana looked around for some place to rest. Surely there was a nice quiet place for her. Soon enough, Dana spotted a tree stump that was tall enough she could use to sit on. It was right next to the river, but Dana figured it was as good as any other place. She walked over and sat down. She pulled her foot up so she could take her shoes off. Dana's feet instantly felt better, they needed a rest. She sat there with her shoes off for a few minutes.
Sitting on the log Dana started to think about the flowless river. She looked at the river pondering its existence. Clearly the river had another name, but it escaped her at the moment. She continued to watch animals moving around the jungle. Everyone just going about their business. It was like clockwork. Almost on a soothing level. Dana watched the river and the objects flowing down it. Each one different in its own functionality. A huge watermelon would float by. Then a few seconds later a birdcage would float by. How is that possible? Did the birdcage and the watermelon have the same functionality on the inside? Did they drive the same? If so, where did the birdcage hide all of its moving parts?
Dana thought about it for a while and concluded that both the watermelon and the birdcage acted like boats. All the objects in the river were merely vessels for the animals inside. They were being pushed by the river downstream while the animals inside steered them. It was a simple system. They only part that didn't make sense was the river. How exactly did it work? All this thinking was beginning to twist her brain into knots. Dana decided not to think about it too hard. Just accept it the way it was and sat there enjoying the jungle.
After a few minutes Dana put her shoes back on. She surveyed the jungle for the next place to explore. There were near endless opportunities. Across the river was a tree that animals visited a lot. As she had been there resting, she saw at least 20 animals go in and leave with bags and drinks. It might be a place worth exploring. However, it was on the other side of the river. She would have to walk around to the crossing. She looked in the direction of the crossing. As she did, out of the corner of her eye she spotted a human sized hamster walking in her direction. He had on glasses, a large white headset, and carrying a blue bag. He seemed to be listening to music as he walked. His head was bobbing to the beat. Dana pretended not to look at him, but she found herself staring for no reason. He was just interesting to look at. The hamster walked over and sat on the stump only a few feet away from her. Eventually Dana and the Hamster locked eye for a second. That awkward second. The hamster took off his headset and looked at her and said, "You okay, kid?"
Dana was okay as far as she knew. So, she just shook her head yes. The hamster said, "Okay, are you taking the bus?"
Dana looked around, not knowing what to say. "I don't know. I am not really going anywhere."
The Hamster chuckled a little bit under his breath, "Yeah, I remember when I was young," the hamster put his bag down unzipped it and put his headset inside. Then he followed up with, "I had all the time in the world. No place to be, no job, no responsibilities. All I had was time." He looked at Dana for a response, she did not give one. He continued and asked, "You live around here? Or you just come out here to chill at the bus stop?"
"Umm, no. I was just resting my feet for a second." Dana smile and said, "Now that you are here, I want to ask you about this river."
"Okay," The Hamster asked while still looking through his bag. He pulled out his bus pass and asked, "what river is that?"
Dana was hesitant to ask but she did anyways, "What do you call a river that doesn't have any water?"
"Is this a riddle?" the Hamster looked at her like he had been asked an impossible question. After thinking for a minute, he finally said, "How many times have you asked people that question? You know I thought you were just some random kid sitting here at the bus stop. Instead, you come out here to throw some… some crazy hyperbole at me? Seriously how many people have you ask?"
Dana shakes her head, "I haven't asked anyone. Seriously, you are the first."
"Yeah, sure. Let me think for a second." The hamster pulled his bus pass out of his bag. He looked at it then looked back at Dana. "I am not your average Joe here. I am a college student, you know? Hard questions require hard answers. I am going to give you an intelligent answer. You ready for this?" Dana nods. The Hamster continues, "A lava flow would be a river without water. Maybe a mudslide would be considered the same thing." He scratches his head. "A river without water… isn't a river at all. That's it. I can't really think of anything else. What is the answer?"
Dana shakes her head, "I don't know the answer."
"Come on, kid. You don't know the answer to your own riddle?!"
"It's not a riddle. That is why I asked you."
"Now that is terrible." The hamster rubbed the top of his head as he knocked a few hairs off. After a moment he laughed and said, "You got me. So, is this your whole plan for the day? Sit around the bus stop asking impossible questions? Don't you have school or some place to be?"
Dana shook her head, "No, I haven't been to school in a while. What are you doing today?"
The Hamster looked at his bag. He said, "Normally I would be going to class but today I have a job offer." He picked up his bag and put it on his hairy back. "No need for college if you already have a job. You know what I am sayin kid?"
Tired of hearing him call her kid, Dana nodded and said, "I'm Dana." She held her hand outstretched to shake his hand.
The hamster put his hand out to shake hers, "I'm Argyle. Future engineering tech at my new job."
"The job you haven't interviewed for yet?"
"Yes, that is the one." Argyle smiled. "Starting pay is $18 an hour. Sure, beats sitting in class and doing homework."
As Argyle talks about his amazing new job, a hissing noise approaches in the distance. Dana looked to see a giant hamster wheel coming down the river. Argyle turned his head to see the wheel approaching and stood up. He looked back to Dana and said, "Bus is here. You stay cool, Dana." Argyle held out his fist. Dana smiled and gave him a fist bump.
The hamster wheel came to a stop right in front of Argyle. Almost like they it was his wheel. The side door opened revealing the driver of the hamster wheel was also a hamster. Dana wasn't too surprised. The driver sat on a miniature hamster wheel inside. As the doors opened, the driver said, "Good morning, Argyle. Are running late today?"
"Nope, it's all a part of my plan, Gena." Argyle climbed aboard the wheel and sat down. The side door closed and with a loud hiss the wheel moved forward. Dana watches until Argyle and the wheel are completely out of sight. Once again Dana was alone on the tree stump.
Dana sat for a little while longer. Time seemed to slip by quickly as she rested. She watched as the sun flew across the sky with frightening speed. Was this real? Dana looked around. The animals and objects in the river did not increase in speed. Just the sun. Strange.
After having rested long enough she got up from the stump and continues walking the same direction she was headed before. Away from the cave and Mr. Doberman. She crossed another river using the grouping method. On this side, Dana investigated a few trees. Just out of curiosity. Suddenly a door flung open, and a young rabbit came out. He didn't look at Dana at all. Instead, he turned back to yell at his mother, "Come on mom! You said we could go to the park today!" The word park really stuck out in Dana's mind. She always loved the park. The young rabbit held the door open as his mother came walking out. To no surprise, she was a rabbit as well. She was carrying a small bag and wearing a beautiful sun dress. Dana wondered why a rabbit would need to wear a dress. The young rabbit continued talking to his mother, "Can we go? Please? Please? Pretty Please?"
Finally, the mother rabbit rolled her eyes, "Fine, but only for a bit. We have a lot of stuff to do today." They walked in the direction of the park. Dana followed them at a distance. Dana knew from the experience with the red-haired squirrel that she should follow them but not too close. Best not to draw attention to herself. They would take her where she wanted to go, and no one would ask if she was with them or not.
Crossing the next river, the young rabbit took off running. The mother rabbit did not chase him though. She walked over and sat down next to a tree. She watched him as he played on the playground which was made of sticks, tree branches, and vines. This was the park? Quite a few animals were walking around and laying in the grass. There was also a handful of smaller animals playing on the playground. Dana froze for a second. She could not help but think that she had been here before. This Park looked completely different to the parks she visited with her parents. Or was it? The memory of her parent suddenly surged inside of her. The thoughts of her parents inflicted pain again. No, stop, Dana thought to herself. Is this a headache?
Dana shook off the headache. She instead focused on the park. Dana started to walk through the park. Unlike the rest of the jungle this park had very few trees. The trees that did exist in the park were tiny by comparison. Small enough Dana could almost put her arms around them. But there is nothing wrong with small trees Dana thought. She kept walking until she saw a Buffalo laying in grass reading a book. She was wondering what a Buffalo would read. Dana bent down to read the title of the book, but the Buffalo gave her a mean look. Dana said, "Sorry!" as she stood up and ran away quickly. No need to anger the local wildlife.
Further into the park Dana found a clearing. It was large enough someone could build a small house. Nearby there were more Portals to Nowhere. Dana's attention was drawn to the portals. There are so many of them. Dana walked over to look at them closer. As she did a human sized Fox came over and threw something into the Portal. Without saying a word, the Fox walked away. Dana investigated the Portal. The item was gone. The bottom was pitch black. Dana backed away from them. As Dana was looking at the Portal crates a Turtle walked by and looked at her.
The Turtle and Dana looked at each other for a moment. Then the Turtle said, "You trying to throw something away?"
"Umm, no." Dana said awkwardly. She looked around for something to throw away. Over by one of the Portal crates was an empty drink cup on the ground. With the Turtle watching, Dana quickly walked over and picked it up. She returned to the Portal crate and threw the cup in. With a smile on her face, she watched as it fell. After the cup disappeared into the void of darkness she turned back to the Turtle with a smile and said, "There."
The turtle was not very impressed. He slowly turned and said, "At least you're keeping the park clean. Most of the kids your age don't seem to care about such things." The Turtle walked over to an old tree stump and sat down. Dana started to walk away but decided that she wanted to ask the Turtle some questions about the Jungle.
Approaching the Turtle Dana asked, "If you don't mind can I ask you, what are you doing here?"
The Turtle was clearly annoyed by such a question. He said, "It's a free country, isn't it? Or has things changed in the last 50 years?"
Dana didn't know what to say to that. She changed her question, "Umm, no. I was just wondering what you are doing here. Like what is your purpose?"
"Bird watching."
"Bird watching?"
"Listen little lady. Kids your age are all wrapped up in video games. You don't take the time to look around yourself. When you get to be my age you start to appreciate the little things. Birds, animals, wildlife and stuff like that."
Dana nodded, "I see, how long have you lived here?"
The Turtle gave her a troubled look and replied, "Longer than you have been alive. Are you going to ask me questions all day? You are going to scare the birds away."
Dana looked around to see the birds he was talking about but quickly turned back and said, "I'm sorry. Don't mind me."
As Dana was walking away from the Turtle he said, "While you are at it you could clean up some of the trash over by the road. That would be great."
Dana walked away from the grumpy turtle. While she was walking, she started to look for my trash to throw away. The Turtle recommended it, but Dana wanted to throw more stuff into the Portal to Nowhere. She wanted to study it more. Maybe she could see where the stuff was going.
Suddenly Dana heard a voice. It pulled her out of the moment. Someone was shouting. It was loud, they must be far away. Dana walked toward the voice. No, now there is a second voice. Two people are talking. One loud, one quieter. She followed the voices. Anything was better than feeling the pain in her head. Passing a few more trees she came to a clearing. The owners of the two voices were at a table. Unlike everyone else here they were the strangest pair. Both men were also wearing armor like they were getting ready for battle. One was sitting was in black armor. They other was standing. His armor was impeccable. Polished to a shine. His sword and shield were also finely crafted with white symbols on them both. Each were across from each other playing some kind of game. The shining armored one on the left that was standing up spoke, "Do you seriously think you can beat me? You are doomed this time. My defenses are perfect!"
The black armor man raised his finger to his lips just to say, "Shhhh. Let me think for a bit." Dana moved in closer to get a better look at them. She noticed his black armor had no shine to it at all. Like it was burned in a fire and never cared for. Also, the man's fingers didn't look like a normal finger. More like claws. The black armored man paused for a bit then reached out to the board. At this point she noticed that his arm was unusually long. He moved a piece on the board and said, "Check."
Dana walked to the left to see the men's faces. These men were not men at all. They were sloths. Both of them. The white armored sloth raised his visor so he could see the board better. He scratched his face with his claws and after a long moment he smiled and said, "Cleaver, but not this time!" he reached out and moved a piece on the board. "You can't best me with these old moves…"
The black armored sloth wasted no time. He grabbed his piece on the board and moved it. Then he said calmly said, "Checkmate. Good game old friend." The black armored sloth reached over and stopped the clock with his other hand. The game was over. The white armored sloth was stunned. Both sat there is total silence. The white armored sloth looked at the board, then back to the black armored Sloth, then back to the board. It was almost like he could not believe his eyes. But after a solid 10 to 15 seconds his eyes turned to rage. He raised his hands in anger. Slowly. Dana backed up a few steps as he knocked his chair over and drew his sword. The white armored sloth pointed his sword in the black armored sloth's face and said, "You have cheated me for the last time!"
Several bystanders were watching the commotion, so Dana walked away and hid behind a Portal to Nowhere. Once hidden, Dana quickly turned back to the two sloths and their exchange. The black armored sloth replied, "It was a fair game. Don't point that thing at me because you are a sore loser." With that he slapped the sword away from his face. The white armored sloth, screamed in agony. Apparently, he had lost one to many games against his friend. He dropped his sword and stepped in closer to take swing with his bare fist. But before his punch could connect, the black armored sloth pulled his shield up to intercept the incoming fist. There was no loud thump of fist striking wood. The punch was so slow that there was hardly any sound at all. Bear in mind, two sloths in full blown combat was by far the slowest exchange Dana had ever seen. It was like watching a war movie in slow motion. Several more punches were thrown, each blocked with the shield. Eventually seeing an opening, the black armored sloth closed the gap between them and pushed his friend over.
The two sloths fought on the ground for a while. The whole fight was about five minutes long. Some of the bystanders got bored with it and walked away. Someone came over and looked at Dana. She was startled at first, but the person simply opened the Portal to Nowhere, threw something in, and walked away. Dana opened the Portal and looked inside. It was black empty void. A place to throw trash maybe?
Suddenly there was a whistle. Mr. Doberman came running across the field. He shouted, "Hey you two, break it up!" Both sloths stopped fighting and slowly stood up. They brushed grass off themselves. Mr. Doberman scolded them, "What is wrong with you two?"
Dana's heart skipped a beat. How did Mr. Doberman find her? Was he following her this whole time? The black armored sloth slowly shook his head, "No sir. Just a disagreement between two friends. Right?"
The white armored sloth agreed, "yeah, it's nothing officer."
Mr. Doberman shook his head, "Fine, keep it that way. I am looking for a little girl that ran this way. Long blonde hair, white shirt, purple pants. Have you seen her around here?"
She decided it was time to leave this place. Before she was caught. She slowly backed away from the portal and ran in the opposite direction. There was a large rock that children were playing on. She ran around it hoping to escape Mr. Doberman. She could hear them having a conversation, but she couldn't understand what was being said. It didn't matter. She wasn't going to get caught. As she got to the other side of the rock Dana saw the female Golden Retriever was right there looking at her. Dana recognized her from the cave. This was Mr. Doberman's friend. I can't remember her name or if she was a good dog or not.
The Golden Retriever reached up and spoke into her paw. She said, "I found her. She is on the east side of the big rock." Dana looked around. She needed to get away. She could run for the river. But the river is dangerous. Plus, it is unlikely that she could outrun the dogs. The Golden Retriever put her paw down and spoke to Dana, "Sweetie, are you alright? My name is Marina."
Dana shook her head, "I am not going with Mr. Doberman."
"Why not?"
"He is a bad dog. He said he would find me a new home, but I don't need a new home. I am fine without your help." Dana was looking over her shoulder for Mr. Doberman. She knew he was coming.
The Golden Retriever knelt down and said, "I am sorry honey, we can't just leave you walking the streets like this. We are luck we found you. We were supposed to take you to see the Judge today. But it is too late now. We have to take you to your foster home, okay?"
Dana shook her head, "What Judge? The Judge that Mr. Doberman was talking about?"
Marina smiled at her, "Yes, it is the whole reason we brought you here. But it is getting late now. We have to take you to foster care. You can see the Judge tomorrow, okay?"
Dana looked at the Marina, "Then after I see the Judge I can go home?"
Marina nodded, "Yes, after you see the Judge, you can go home." But before she could say another word Dana heard a noise to her left. Dana turned her head quickly to see Mr. Doberman coming out from around the big rock. She could tell by the look in his eye he was not happy.
Mr. Doberman shouted with an angry tone, "Dana, you have caused us a lot of trouble today. But enough is enough." Dana looked away taking a last chance for someplace to run. The river was the only place she could think of. It was at least 30 feet away. Even if she got there where would she go? Dana took one last look at the Golden Retriever. She wished she had meet her sooner. But it was too late for wishing. Dana ran for it.
Within a second Dana bolted for the river. She ran as quickly as she could. But she only made it about 10 feet and Mr. Doberman picked her up by the back of her shirt. Despite being a dog, Mr. Doberman was a strong dog. Strong enough to lift her off the ground completely. He turned back toward Marina. "Not this time kid. If I had known you were going to be this much of a problem, I would have done this the first time." Dana screamed and flailed her arms and legs, but it was no use.
Dana could see Marina's face. She looked mad but not at Dana, "Seriously, if this is how you treated her on the flight, no wonder she ran away from you." Mr. Doberman didn't say a word. Marina walked over to help Dana while she flailed in the air. Dana grabbed her head to balance herself. She held onto Marina until Mr. Doberman let go of Dana shirt dropping her to the ground. Luckily, she landed on her feet.
Marina looked at Dana to make sure she was okay, then looked at Mr. Doberman and said, "I will take Dana to the foster home. You need to go work on your people skills."
Mr. Doberman made a strange noise at her then said, "Whatever, you know the captain will write us up for this. Both of us. You can explain my lack of people skills to him."
Marina scolded him again with her eyes. Then she leaned down again to Dana. "Mr. Doberman doesn't have to come with us if you don't want. I can take you to your foster home. They have a bed for you, food, and drinks. Does that sound good?" Dana nodded, still shaken by being tossed around. She would have agreed with anything to get away from Mr. Doberman.
Marina lead Dana back to the park. Dana noticed that despite being a dog, Marina seemed much nicer than Mr. Doberman. Around a few trees and back to the river on the other side. Sitting in the river with flashing red and blue lights was a marshmallow. At this point Dana had seen much weirder things. So, seeing a marshmallow didn't bother her. But the lights, my goodness they were bright. Dana covered her eye from the light. Marina notice Dana's hand covering her eyes. Marina said, "Yeah, I can turn them off now. They are really bright, right?" Dana did not respond. Once they were close enough, Marina opened the door passenger side door and turned the lights off with a switch. "There, see no lights anymore. You want to ride up front or in the back?"
Dana just looked at the giant marshmallow. Her first thought was, how do you get in the back? Not wanting to upset Marina, Dana answered, "Front."
Marina held the door for Dana as she climbed inside. Once she was in Marina shut the door and walked around to the other side. Jumped in and said, "Seatbelts." Dana watched as Marina buckled herself in and started the marshmallow. They drove down the river for a while. Marina looked over to see if Dana was okay, then grabbed a dog bone of the dashboard. She spoke into it, "Unit 159 on route to Michael's residents. Over."
The dog bone made a beeping noise as she returned it to the dash. Then a voice popped in, "Ten Four."
Dana was bewildered by this. But Marina looked at her like this was totally normal as she said, "You must be starving. A two-hour flight then you ended up wandering around for hours." Dana nodded and opened her mouth to ask a question, but Marina cut her off. "If you could eat anything right now, what would it be?"
Dana thought for a second then blurted out, "Marshmallows."