Free Fiction - The Conflicting Companionships

Chapter 5

Under Len’s roof, everyone was safe. Only civilizations outside Dragland were unprotected. No sentries, however, guarded the outside now—Len lusted to have no one risk their life for him.

As the extemporaneous discussion continued, Len talked the most, for he knew what he was handling. Len just expatiated continuously; no one could hear an interval of rest in Len’s speech.

Suddenly, seven swooping apparitions eluded and frightened the crowd: Bern and The Six had arrived. Jen, so overwhelmed to see them, gave each a fervent hug. Her contact with them had been interrupted for so long! If only Gen were here, thought Jen.

Yet, no matter how much she missed Gen, this reunion enraptured all, as everyone grinned. Len and Jen orderly introduced everyone to each other—from the eldest to the youngest. Their eldest drag present was Still; their youngest, Al. Even Ju came in, joining in with some of the amusements in which everyone took part.

Jen wept from fond, old reminiscences. Cri and Still were two of the Sixes’ closest sisters. They had all simultaneously lived in Len’s home. That was the second most crowded time in Len’s home’s history because many of Jen’s progeny had not yet moved out, while she had continued to give birth to new ones. Len had managed to take care of his children primarily because Clor, Mor, Jel, and Gish had abetted him, as Len had me a meagre number of workers. Len now needed to repay Clor and The Three by nursing their wounds. It was a lifetime debt he must fulfil.

The hilarity relaxed everybody, relieving their tension and stress from their current problems. Laur and Jeff had never beheld such a passionate sight. The drags discounted their presence during the whole exchange, but Laur and Jeff retained their exuberance because they were gleeful just to be present.

Len finally ceased the laughter by advising everyone to rest. It was mandatory to catch a nap at all possible moments because time grew scarce. The escape route had ample room for the guests to accommodate themselves.

Len and Jen continued their discussion when everyone else had retired. They provoked their brains to conjure a solution to the heat, but none surfaced. They needed to reunite everyone so that their hearts were set to one goal: to endeavour to resist the flames.

Len, however, thought his first priority was devising a method of escape if they could not withstand the flames. Jen had already designed the escape route to let them flee, but what if it foundered them. They were also uncertain if it could tolerate the heat of the flames. Len observed gingerly for indications of melting rock, but found nothing. At least their domicile remained safe for now.

Len thus tried to discover to where they would escape if the flames infiltrated the escape route. Len took counsel from numerous creatures, all of whom injected some speculations. Len enumerated the essences, but found he arrived at an indefinite conclusion, as if chasing his own tail. Upon consulting with Aar, though, he realized how slim the chances were of finding an alternate escape route.

Anyone else would have panicked, but Len stayed pacified. Over the years, life had treated him gently, which appeased him. He had led a prosperous life and would not mind if he died at this point. It was merely awful to witness younger ones suffer.

Len’s continual working contributed to his having a high body temperature, so he evacuated to the escape route too. This allowed Jeff to communicate more frequently with Len, as he had numerous questions apropos of the drags and the evolution of their writing system.

Jeff was lately entranced because he perused the drags’ daily entries. The splendid quantity and quality of their writings astounded him. Reading the entries enlightened Jeff’s psyche each evening, as it served as an activity to which he looked forward. The quantity of paper in bottles, however, was becoming aggravating, for nearly three thousand tonnes of records sat in the sub. Jeff questioned if the sub could hold any more.

Laur was pleased, but not overly impressed, with the articles. He thought it merely contained facts endorsed by solid evidence. However, Laur was exuberant with the novel milieu—the escape route—because it was as if they had taken a vacation. The whole scene resembled a vacation, but this place was different from upstairs. For instance, it was cooler.

After several days, however, even the temperature in the escape route rose to the level upstairs prior to moving down here. Laur’s high spirits thus withered.

After moving, Len continued to confer the circumstances with others, reflecting upon each conversation. He repeated that cycle hourly. The Six joined with Len, adhering to his bidding in order to help to more briskly arrive at a solution to an alternate escape route.

After interviewing more than a thousand drags and studying more than a hundred books, The Six reported to Len. They had concluded that the best way to prevent the flames from penetrating the escape route was simply to annihilate them in advance.

So far, no creature had overcome the barriers of developing a chemical solution to douse the flames. Len and Jen, however, desired to try now. Since the chemicals would be dangerous, they returned to Len’s den, where no one would interfere. Still, they sealed all possible admits to it to ensure that no one could enter.

Then, they gathered materials such as rocks and various specimens of plants. The collecting was convenient because everything was in the den. Len had stocked up in the past hoping to synthesize medicinal cures, but instead, they now attempted to make poisonous chemicals.

The two fully covered their bodies with unearthly vestures to prevent themselves from absorbing any toxic substances. They retrieved their apparatus from within the room. It included pots and pans, which had to be fabricated from adamant metals and had to have a lid in order to forestall the liquid from overflowing.

Since Aar was accustomed to formulating incantations, Jen requested his aid. He was evidently a pragmatic addition to the team of “scientists.” They tried multitudinous miniature experiments that directed them to more significant ones. Every result caused them to learn. These experiments were salutary as practice sessions, but were nonetheless unrealistic in producing a usable solution.

The three, however, ended up talking more than experimenting. Since three scientists experimented, it augmented the difficulty in accomplishing tasks because they had to compromise. Consequently, they each moved to a corner of the den to work separately. In this manner, their efficiency tripled.

When everyone awoke, they had finished three provisional solutions. Len, Jen, and Aar had all approved of them. One of the tests included dumping each trial solution into fire that Len released, and all three solutions had passed that test. They had questioned whether the solutions would be capable of extinguishing the true flames, but their misgivings did not hamper their efforts.

They sprightly resumed labouring after a cursory break. Time worked against the drags and wicks. They would need to prevail soon, so they persisted twice as hard.

In order to prevail, they needed to unveil the fundamental techniques of dousing creatures. Haplessly, no professors specialized on that subject, so they would have to learn from their own misapprehensions.

Regardless of the spate of chemical solutions Len, Jen, and Aar tried to mix, they could not get the knack of handling chemistry. They were maladroit, and their paws were less sedulous than a hume’s, so they finally invoked Laur and Jeff to labour physically while the three bosses laboured mentally.

The system operated mellifluously—except whenever Jeff inadvertently criticized Laur. Laur would then give Jeff his comeuppance by yelling as obstreperously as possible. Jeff and Laur often disputed because they, being underwater archaeologists, were unfamiliar with this branch of science.

By the end of the day, 12 more solutions had been engendered and double-checked. It raised their prolific grand total to 15 chemical solutions. Over half of them, however, were then rechecked and rejected due to their unreliability. They would still need to reduce the number of potions to six bottles because it would then facilitate in the selection of the three best ones.

Finally, Zi and John impartially selected the three best potions and then decanted them into translucent jars in order to facilitate the differentiation of solutions from one another without labelling them. After they had hermetically sealed the jars, they safely tucked them under Len’s bed.

No one achieved any sense of safety during the next few days. Even waiting became nerve-wracking. Tension still lingered, with constant foreboding waves itching Len’s mind. The activity of his brain cells was growing uneven.

Jen saw the vibrant transmutations inside everyone. Her friends in Dragland were all here—under one roof, but a strain in relationships persisted. The prospect of being indefinitely cooped up depressed everyone. It resembled being grounded except that this was under one’s own will.

Clor’s recovery was rapid. He even anticipated he would be competent to help oust the flames. Grang’s, Jel’s, Mor’s, and Gish’s conditions, though, were lamentable. The treatments they underwent proved unfavourable, so their recoveries were slow. Laur and Jeff, witnessing this, munificently donated much of their energies to enliven their spirits so lavishly that the four crippled bodies, too, insisted they be enforcers in repelling the flames.

Laur and Jeff felt that the Six were humane drags, but no one’s mien rivalled Grang’s amicableness. Fortunately, his senses gradually ameliorated. Since he could hear again, he always had the forbearance to listen to their babbling. His candidness was why Laur and Jeff adored him.

One topic they discussed with Grang begot concern in him. Laur and Jeff lusted to return to the surface of the Earth while they had the chance.

During the three months of their stay, they had whimmed to depart at various moments, but the longer they stayed, the more they found they assimilated themselves in the drag civilization. Everyone here had treated them sincerely, but somehow, they thought they belonged to their birthplace. Besides, their animals grew restless too, for it had been eons since their exposure to the surface of the Earth.

They were, however, unselfish, as they vigorously affirmed if the drags were to perish, they could preserve their outlooks and traditions. If both the civilians and their accomplishments were exterminated, it would mean a society no one would know had ever existed.

Grang admired their idealism. At the same time, he could not countenance the thought of losing two pals. They were probably currently his best buddies—two nonentities. It was ignominious—as having a pet as a best friend—but he never divulged any of that shame to them.

Since he truly wished them to remain, he grew wrathful at the idea of having them slide out of his reach. He soon waxed so entranced with grief that he became totally insane. He had recovered only partially, so another shock evoked insanity in him. The metamorphosis was sudden, but Laur and Jeff could only blame themselves for initiating its development.

Grang’s dementedness began when he pulled his own tail with preternatural strength. He shrieked from the excruciating pain, as he had been on the verge of tugging it off his body. The yelping resounded throughout Dragland, but no one in the infirmary could rectify the situation.

After Jeff and Laur had reluctantly apprised Len of Grang’s insanity, Len went to witness the lamentable condition himself. Len bewailed the situation and ordered the application of euthanasia on Grang. In Dragland, if a drag insisted to be killed or kept alive, his wish would be granted. Yet, since Grang did not hold the key to his own life in this instance, it was logical for others—through common sense or reasoning—to decide upon what action would result in the optimal future for him.

When Jeff then told Len about leaving, Len viewed he and Laur’s departure with disapprobation. Len pointed out that their sub could not carry so much weight. It might be riskier leaving than staying, but he was open-minded, so he let Jeff and Laur dictate their own fates.

Jeff experienced distress in having Len flout their wish to depart. Laur and he had supernaturally decided on leaving. Jeff now did not know whom he could ask to incite them to depart. If Gen were here, he could tell him, but he was gone.

Jeff trusted Gen and thought he had infinite potential. Over the years, the myriads of people whom Jeff had met had some potential, but none had as much as Gen. Jeff often wished he would know whether his intuition was valid, but he would have to wait.

Jen was another candidate to whom to speak due to her sagacity. Nonetheless, Jeff tried to enumerate in his mind the creatures with whom he was acquainted. Except for Aar, whom Jeff dreaded to approach, everyone else was eligible to be asked. But sometimes, the most improbable creature was really the likeliest one, so Jeff gathered all his courage to seek Aar. He could have just called upon Laur to do it, but he avoided acting cowardly.

Aar was combing the escape route, as if he were a watchdog or a policeman. From a distance, he resembled a predator taut to prey. The church mouse, Jeff, tiptoed to his side. The only way to discover if Aar was virtuous was to try speaking to him, so he screamed out Aar’s name.

Upon seeing Jeff, Aar was glad to talk to him. During their conversation, he said that he was roseate Jeff would make the appropriate decision. Jeff left with something about which to think, but he would have to canvass the matter with Laur tomorrow.

Jeff executed his exact plans, but the discussion evolved into a debate. Laur and Jeff wrangled over instead of agreeing on issues. The debate was healthy, but they finally settled down and drafted a list of pros and cons of embarking home.

At first, Jeff contemplated on the pros and Laur on the cons; then, they switched. Analyzing their quandary this way clarified their predicament, but they still remained undecided. Two days later, they would return and consider it with a fresh perspective.

Until then, they incubated to conduct a disquisition. No one, however, vented any opinions, for everyone thought their problems were futile compared to theirs. Laur and Jeff should extricate their inconsequential worries for themselves, they declared.

Laur and Jeff transiently distracted their minds from the problem and concentrated instead on taking care of the animals. They secluded themselves, pretending they had been cast on a deserted isle. They then started to pack up just in case they resorted to departing.

Two days later, they retrieved the two lists. Both minds believed immense pressure was anchored on them to remain. Hence, even if ten positive points versus one negative point existed, they would need to solemnly consider if that negative point really was that grave.

The pros of leaving outnumbered the cons, but an abundance of the pros were more trivial. It was so gruelling to decide, that Jeff took a respite. He ensconced and meditated. He had learned transcendental meditation, which relaxed and solaced him after a day’s labour. Down here, he had practiced it less frequently than he would have liked, though. Laur, viewing this, began to emulate Jeff by sitting as Jeff did. Jeff offered him a few soupcons, which Laur expeditiously understood and followed.

Laur and Jeff then sat quiescently and meditated for as long as they could remain concentrated. No one mettled them; everyone left them in tranquillity.

Jeff, still leaning on the “departing” side after meditating, cognized over the dilemma while in bed. Laur had the same hunch, and when the two convened the proximate morning, they resolved to leave before it was too late.

They acted spontaneously. Laur began to organize the drags’ documents he and Jeff possessed—not that they were unorganized, but that they needed a more propitious arrangement. Laur thus squeezed most of the files into one bottle so that he could discard the excess ones.

Jeff, meanwhile, apprised Len of their decision.

Len had anticipated Jeff and Laur to leave. “I’m not surprised,” Len declared as Jeff stationed beside him. “In three days, if you didn’t say you’d go, I’d force you to. I must acknowledge it’s exceedingly dangerous here. But please sojourn for at least three more days. I guarantee you nothing regrettable will happen during that time. It’ll leave you with time to say your goodbye’s.”

"These few months have been eventful. Generally, scarcely anything happens here, but I can’t stop wondering why so much commotion exists now. I hope the excitement will subside, though.”

“Me too,” responded Jeff. “I really don’t wish to leave. I don’t know when I’ll see you again. It’s lugubrious.”

“Do you recollect the verse Professor Wallace taught?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Well, in the first sentence, it said we’ll only meet once. Nonetheless, I’m certain we’ll meet again, but don’t know where. Probably in the Valley of the Dead. But we’ll meet again. I’ll see you off in three days. The drags and I will get you out of here even if it takes the two of us.”

“Try to repair your sub. I spotted a few leakages the other day. And don’t leave without telling us first. Oh, also, I’ll notify some people of your departure if you’d like.”

“Sure. That’d be super! So, could I see you in the infirmary in two days—uh, I mean three days?”

“Of course. Goodbye for now.” With that, Len flew away.

Jeff lost the chance to utter one more valediction, but he had learned, and learning was the objective of any conversation. He had learned that a wish could always be fulfilled—in this case, he had gained camaraderie. He regretted having to part, but for now, he still had Laur.

Laur soon left his post in the sub because he was inclined to seek Jeff to find out what Jeff had discovered from Len. He met Jeff just outside the sub.

“I feared talking with Len this time,” said Jeff. “I had to muster all my courage to speak to him. I don’t know why, but I can’t seem to talk to any friends anymore except you, Laur. I still can’t treasure you as a fantastic friend, though.”

“You might question what I’m going to say next, but I’ll say it anyways. If I hadn’t pushed myself into speaking to Len, I wouldn’t have felt disappointed in myself. I had, however, accumulated all my mettle and got something completed. If I didn’t finish it today, I could, of course, do it later. But I didn’t want to procrastinate for so long. Thus, I’m proud of myself because although I’m disappointed, I’ve learned. Even Rome wasn’t built in one day. I’m euphoric. I’m gleeful.”

“Gees, I never knew you reasoned so much, but I guess the concepts you expressed does make sense. Why don’t we go inside now? It’s boiling out here,” Laur remarked.

Laur and Jeff thus scrambled back into the sub. Before long, though, they came out again. After assaying the sub, Laur effortlessly repaired the leakages because he had taken courses in plumbing.

Jeff, meanwhile, trashed the garbage from the sub into the infirmary, where Al conflagrated it so that only ashes remained. Luckily, the cinders fell to the ground because no breeze blew in the escape route. Sanitary workers then heaped them to an empty room upstairs.

After returning, Jeff warmed up the sub by starting the engine. He found Laur counting the animals. Out of the 54 livestock they had brought, 27 of them had died naturally during the past few months. 20 of the 27 that remained had already been devoured.

Synchronously, Laur and Jeff finished other tasks, such as dusting and substantiating if the controls functioned decorously. They also folded and jammed unused tables and chairs into one corner, and unplugging and storing lamps, clothing, and other miscellaneous items into cardboard boxes. They had scarcely brought any appliances or silverware, so they had one less worry. They had, however, transported manifold leisure objects such as toy boats; those, they discarded too. By the end of the day, they had amassed ten crates of trash, which Ju helped them carry to the infirmary.

The essential cornerstone to which to adhere when tidying was to unearth only as many items one could handle at a time. If all objects were indiscriminately disseminated on the floor, one would be liable not to finish even if one dedicated a thousand years to the chore. In order to methodically complete the job, therefore, Jeff concentrated on each vicinity of the sub separately.

While Laur and Jeff buzzed in the sub, Len whirred externally (in the escape route). After hearing about their departure, he instantly notified everyone whom Laur and Jeff knew. All of them arranged to give a unique farewell boon to Laur and Jeff.

Everyone transiently abandoned their posts of watching guard on the flames and collaborated on a gigantic edition of the usual newspaper. This involved abundant scheduling. Len thus coordinated the project, while Clor, who could walk now, monitored the sub to ensure neither Laur nor Jeff came out during the operation.

Even Jel, Mor, and Gish contributed by expressing their opinions, with Al tape-recording them so that stenographers could write them down later. The drags’ plan propelled perfectly. The individual articles were compiled, and then critically edited by Bern and Jen, with the Six refining the final transcription. Vignettes, a special feature, were also appended.

Participating in this activity was entertaining for everyone, but it meant the most to Len: his last hume counterparts were leaving. This was the last worthwhile favour he could perform for them.

The paper was not crammed into bottles as ordinary papers were. Instead, it was scrolled and loosely wrapped with a ribbon derived from recycled plastic. The ribbon constituted an exquisite bow, depicting peace and prosperity of different civilizations.

Then, willing volunteers held an overtime session to finish and polish the final package. The project had been laborious, so when they had finished, they were even hotter than before.

The news of Laur and Jeff’s exodus had eventually been spread to everyone else besides their acquaintances. Since the humes were a civilization rarely in contact with the drags, innumerable drags naturally converged around the sub as it prepared its launch. A narrow, vacant, reserved aisle among the drags allowed someone to carry the largess to Laur and Jeff.

Laur was the first of the two to appear as everyone cheered. “Hooray! Hooray!” ushered the throng. Laur expressionlessly turned his head in a diversity of directions like a beacon on a lighthouse.

As Len flew up to Laur, he inquired “Where’s Jeff?”'

“He’s staying in there. I’ll tell him to come out if you want.” Laur scurried in to get Jeff, who came out dubious of what to expect.

As Jeff climbed out, Len clapped his paws twice. A steady beat, as water dripping from a faucet, emerged. Instantly, Jen brought forth the distinctive present. Smiling, she carried it above her head and then handed the package to Jeff.

Before accepting it, Jeff elegantly bowed by putting his right hand on his stomach, his left hand behind his back, and bending at the waist. Then, with Jen’s aid, Laur forced the package into the sub. Jeff felt grateful for the package because some pieces of the enigma to the drags’ annals were incompatible, and these subsidiary articles might solve the puzzle.

Jeff and Laur each engaged in one final conversation with each of their comrades before boarding the sub. Parting with kith was painful. Although Grang was dead, they still said adieu to him in their hearts. They did similarly to Gen. In turn, Laur and Jeff parted with Ren, Bel, Shor, Blen, Re, E (The Six), Cri, Still, Aar, John, Zi, Gish, Mor, Jel (The Three), Clor, Clor's wife, Bern, Ju, Jen, Al, and Len. Len also instructed Jeff what to do when he and Laur pierced through the higher parameters of Dragland.

Clang! Jeff had shut and locked the sub’s door. Immediately, everyone scurried well away from it in case a hazard occurred. The last panorama Laur saw through the sub’s window was the lurid, blazing atmosphere covered by a verdant sea.

After the sub had been activated, The Three aided its launch by unleashing their fire and elevating it forty or fifty yards. Len then thrust it out of the escape route, past his den, and beyond his home. Len and Al were the only ones who escorted the sub for several miles. Ephemerally, Len was blinded by the intense red glare of the heat, but recovered in time to furnish the sub with an auxiliary boost as a precaution. He and Al momentarily hovered in mid-air like hummingbirds, but flitted back down as the sub evanesced.

They felt how sultry it really was upon returning to the escape route. It was as if a needle had abruptly pricked them. It was only around 3500 degrees Fahrenheit, but the temperature had not reached its acme—it gradually continued to increase. The central core of the Earth had probably attained 5500 degrees Fahrenheit.

The hotness stimulated Len to realize it behooved him to hold onto his three potions at all times because the flames might come without warning. Thus, he had to risk his life to go back up to his den in order to retrieve the potions.

His vigour effete from initiating the sub’s start, he had only an iota of energy left. Still, he managed to summon all his fortitude, go up, grab the potions, and come back down. Everyone acclaimed it as an altruistic deed. If he had neglected them, the jars would have invariably melted, and the liquid would have spilled out within days.

Al was restored to his normal temperature after a few days. Len, however, had only partially recovered from the heat by that time.

Aar disbelieved it was truly so hot, so he ventured outside to test; but as soon as he neared the entrance of the escape route, he hastily floated back. He was then hospitalized in the infirmary, along with Len and Al. Even though he had remained inside, the heat had damaged him, but he healed in less time than Len and Al.

With three indispensable creatures incapacitated, Jen took over. She had hung her gem around her neck with a piece of string, which acted like a necklace. She had done that because she believed the flames actually lusted for her gem—not the territory of Dragland.

She had foreseen this day, so she had expunged it from its previous location. The flames might be rummaging for it there, but they would imminently discover it was now in Dragland. She was, however, uncertain why the flames had a predilection for her gem. She had asked Len, who only offered an implausible explanation.

Besides Jen, everyone spent excessive time mourning the loss of Laur and Jeff. It was different without Laur and Jeff, they thought, because they heard less arguing. At the same time, they underestimated the hazard of the flames’ invasion.

Gish hoped they would safely return home. It would be difficult to return to a habitat because it resembled changing a condemnable habit into a virtuous one, and then back into the condemnable one. Laur and Jeff would have to rely on one another to get them past the latter stage.

Shortly after Len, Al, and Aar had become haled, the temperature rose sharply in the escape route: it reached 6000 degrees Fahrenheit. This stemmed from the flames having discovered the gem’s venue, so they had shifted toward Dragland. Everyone was stricken with panic.

Although fire-breathing drags could withstand heat, this was impossible. Everyone felt the heat scald their skin. Len knew the time to struggle with the flames neared, so he reproved everyone to prepare to combat at their apex.

The next day, the flames had extended to their pinnacle—covering most of Dragland. An acrid odour, comparable to one of burnt gunpowder, pierced everyone’s sense of smell. Moreover, ashen smoke penetrated into and smothered the escape route, impeding everyone’s vision.

Len, Aar, and Jen quickly organized their retaliation. They each poured out each of the three solutions and then facilitated the spread of their potion with their own with fire. All other drags helped mete out their own fire too, but the overwhelming flames eclipsed their efforts. Dragland’s only hope now was to help Jen escape because she possessed the gem.

Coincidentally, Gen and a group of CPCs, headed by White, came to their aid. With his ray, White extruded all the smoke from the escape route. Upon seeing White for the first time, everyone froze, enchanted by his natural comeliness.

White assuaged the universal worries, as he illuminated the drags that the flames merely wanted to live. Thus, he asked Jen to give him her gem. The flames could consequently utilise the gem as fuel, which would prolong their existence.

Jen at first winced from the horror of losing her most precious possession. Many other drags equally supported her stance, but after a few minutes, everyone realized giving up her gem was mandatory. Once Jen acquiesced, White seized the gem from Jen and tossed it in the general direction from which the flames encroached; when the flames detected it, they ceased the advance and receded.

After the flames had left, the CPCs who had come, adorned Dragland. They refined the condition of almost every object with their rays so that the burns from the flames disappeared. White also avowed that the CPCs would finally expose themselves to others; they would welcome foreigners to their land and trade with other creatures because Gen had convinced Black that the CPCs would profit as well by doing so.

It was a festive occasion for the beings in the centre of the Earth because the civilizations of drags, wicks, and wuiums would continue to endure; the CPCs would now learn more; and the flames would live longer and leave everyone in peace.

After the furor, a mob passionately rushed up to embrace Gen. Gen then learned that Laur and Jeff had departed. It was elegiac that they had left so soon, as Gen had desired to learn more about the hume civilization from them. Nevertheless, Gen’s heart kindled with hope. He aspired that the creatures in the centre of the Earth would, in turn, be able to visit and befriend the humes one day.

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