Billy Stuart in the Eye of the Cyclops Read online

  CRAAAAAAAAAACK!

  Quickly the group runs for shelter. There is a deafening racket all around us. LIGHTNING hits the giant trees, taking our breath away. The force of the lightning throws the trees to the ground. We have to avoid being crushed by them as they fall. It feels as though someone up high is targeting us intentionally…

  The rain stops as abruptly as it started, like a SHOWER TAP being turned off.

  But the weather is still menacing, and the thunder continues to rumble.

  OUCH!

  Cries emerge from the men and the Zintrepids.

  “It stings!” Musky complains.

  Shrieks of pain come from here and there. I look at the ground. The rain has started again…but it’s bouncing! It’s not rain!

  “HURRY UP!” yells Timoree. It’s hail! We race toward a cave ahead of us.

  Is it possible? The hail that at first was small is now as big as golf balls. I shout:

  “FOOOOORE!”

  “SHIFTY!” shrieks Yeti.

  The chameleon lies unmoving near a tree. The weasel picks him up and carries him to safety in the cave.

  Around the Fire

  The chameleon has a GOOSE EGG on the side of his head. He has been knocked out by a huge hailstone.

  “He rolled his eyes!”

  “He’s always rolling his eyes, Billy Stuart,” Foxy says.

  “It looks like he’s fainted.”

  Outside it’s pouring ice. The NOISE the hailstones make hitting the ground is deafening. It completely blocks out FrouFrou’s barking at the entrance to the cave. Now and then a ball of ICE rolls to the opening. The poodle sniffs it, wags his tail, picks it up and drops it at my feet.

  I tell Shifty what happened, and he thanks Yeti for saving him from the hail.

  Loslobos gets everyone together to make an announcement.

  “Let’s spend the NIGHT here. We have been through enough for one day.”

  He institutes a guard-duty schedule. It’s a good idea to watch the cave’s entrance, what with all these CREATURES roaming the forest. A FIRE is lit so we can dry our clothes.

  Ugobos isn’t worth arguing with. During our recent crossing of the sea, this sinister guard led a mutiny on the ship, but Captain Loslobos easily took back control of his crew. As far as I am concerned, the captain showed too much mercy toward Ugobos. I think Loslobos should have left the awful guard to the:

  Though he is back in the ranks with us, I don’t trust Ugobos. And soon enough he gives me good reason not to. At the FIRE, he starts a conversation about the Zintrepids.

  What is TROUBLING is that some of the sailors are nodding along with him. He seems to have support among the crew.

  She whispers in my ear that FrouFrou has once again escaped Foxy’s guard and has headed down a DARK TUNNEL in the cave.

  Without wasting a minute, Musky and I make torches to light our way.

  Grabbing some clothes hanging to dry on a rope, I ask Ugobos:

  The men burst into LAUGHTER as Ugobos fumes. I let Yeti and Shifty know that I am going exploring with Musky. The TUNNEL widens as we follow the dog’s path and eventually opens into two chambers.

  What a shock! Carved in the stone at the entrance to the tunnel on the left is a V that looks like an X.

  The Plot

  Kabillions of crusty-clawed crawfish in that Bulstrode River!

  My grandfather’s signature! This clue shows us the CORRECT PASSAGE to take to follow him.

  “You know what this means, Billy Stuart?” Foxy asks, unable to contain her excitement.

  “That I have to thank the dog?”

  She tugs on the ends of my BANDANNA.

  “Yes! At the very least. But that mark there, it means we can finally go home!”

  “We’re going home?” Musky says.

  The skunk and the fox jump into each other’s arms. FrouFrou shares their excitement by on his hind legs.

  WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!

  I don’t want to ruin their good mood. But my intuition as Virgil’s grandson makes me see things a little differently.

  Ugobos’s friends slide in behind us, blocking our access to the tunnel on the left, the path we want to follow.

  Forming a wall with their bodies, the men move toward us. It doesn’t really matter, because we still need to tell Yeti and Shifty about our discovery. And it would be RUDE to leave Timoree and her brother without an explanation.

  Musky’s complaining doesn’t change anything about our situation. Ugobos’s accomplices seize us by the arms and force us to accompany them. Within minutes we have rejoined the others.

  As soon as he sees us, the captain leaves his post near the FIRE and walks over to us.

  “And so, Ugobos, what dastardly plot did you interrupt?” he says mockingly to his slave guard.

  “Captain, this raccoon in a skirt wanted to escape through a tunnel with his gang and his dog. A tunnel that leads elsewhere, it would seem.”

  I stay calm.

  “This isn’t a skirt, and that dog is not mine!”

  Excited to see Yeti, FrouFrou runs over to the weasel. To make the dog happy, Yeti climbs on his back, as if riding a horse. The duo gallops around the cave and then back to us.

  Shifty and Yeti can tell just by looking at us that we have found something important. The problem is that Timoree can also see that something is up.

  “Would you really abandon us, Billy Stuart?” she asks, incredulous.

  I don’t know how to lie. “Yes, Timoree and Captain.” I ignore the glare of Ugobos. “I fear our paths must diverge here.”

  From the Back of the Cave

  Of course, I haven’t talked to Loslobos and his sister about our traveling through time. I’m sure they wouldn’t understand. In the LIGHT OF THE FIRE, I explain the need for us to follow in my grandfather Virgil’s footsteps.

  “Since we arrived in your country, we have had but one goal—to get home. To do that, our troop must go where my grandfather has already walked. Do you remember the PEBBLE he gave Timoree in the labyrinth? Well, that was a clue. That was how he showed us which path to follow.”

  I take my grandfather’s notebook out of my purse.

  “His clues are written in here. He also left his signature in certain spots to guide us.”

  “Grrrr…”

  There is something curious about the way the POODLE is acting. He’s not looking at us. He’s staring at the back of the cave.

  Ugobos explodes with indignation.

  “Only the gods decide what is possible or not! You take yourself for a god, Billy Stuart?”

  His comments echoooooo and Loslobos’s men agree.

  “They’re strangers!” Ugobos cries, pointing at the Zintrepids. “They bring misery with them! We must SACRIFICE them to the gods to ward off any more bad luck.”

  “This is all very confusing,” admits the captain.

  Okay. It’s all or nothing now. I take off my purse.

  It’s quiet for a few seconds, and then FrouFrou starts BARKING again in such a frenetic manner it’s as if an army of postal carriers is parading up the sidewalk in front of his home.

  Foxy, who has keen hearing, turns her ears in attention.

  “Back there! It sounds like raincoats being RUSTLED.”

  She pets FrouFrou to reassure him.

  “And it’s getting closer,” Foxy continues.

  Yes, I can hear it too. The fox’s description is accurate, except we aren’t talking about one measly raincoat. With this much noise, I would say it’s a DOZEN rustling raincoats.

  Loslobos’s sailors back away, headed toward the exit or bracing themselves against the walls.

  “I don’t know what it is, Billy Stuart, but I think it would be wise to get away from it,” Foxy says in a worried voice.

  “Tro
op! Be on your—”

  My WARNING is interrupted by a terrible fracas—the sound of thousands of rustling raincoats and a huge gust of wind above our heads.

  As they pass the fire, I am able to identify the creatures making all this noise.

  Between Earth and Sky

  “Bring it on! No, really, bring it on, raincoats!” says Yeti ,who is getting very worked up.

  Without a screech, the bats fly in to harass us. The ceiling of the cave is very high, which means they can maneuver skillfully in the space, despite their MASSIVE SIZE!

  Ugobos grips Loslobos’s cuff.

  “Your strange friends bring us more misfortune—”

  Before he can finish, a bat grabs him by the arm and flies off with him. This also happens to Timoree, who struggles vigorously in the claws of a winged monster.

  As for the Zintrepids, Yeti is the first to go. Sitting on top of the dog’s back, he is an easy target for the attackers. Fighting them off with swords and torches is useless. There are just too many.

  The Zintrepids are picked like RIPE FRUIT. I am the last of the troop to be captured.

  Effortlessly the bat transports me out of the cave and into the brilliant moonlight.

  I realize with horror the full extent of our problem. There are thousands of bats—they are everywhere!

  I see my friends and Loslobos’s men hanging from the kidnappers’ claws.

  We are being TOSSED between earth and sky. I am flown up to where Foxy is. I hear FrouFrou bark, but I can’t see him amid the THRONG of creatures. Who cares?

  Foxy, of course!

  Timoree and the others seem to be a bit farther ahead. And thanks to the moonlight, I can see the creatures pretty well. I recognize them from having studied them in biology. They are FLYING FOXES, not VAMPIRE bats. Flying foxes feed on fruit and fly in a massive swarm.

  I’m looking forward to sharing this good news with my flying friends.

  “Do I look like a PRUNE, Billy Stuart?” asks Musky sounding a little puckered.

  Her bat brushes past us. Musky’s winged ride is smaller than mine, and I imagine it has to beat its wings TWICE as fast to keep up with its peers.

  “They are looking for fruit,” I yell to the others.

  “But why have they captured us?” wonders Shifty, flying behind me. “To clean up after them? To…uh…be careful underneath, I’m getting airsick…yuck!”

  “AAAAAAAAAAAARGH!”

  I recognize that disgusted cry. “Aw! Aw! Aw!”

  It is totally Ugobos.

  “Nice aim, Shifty!”

  “The pleasure was all mine, Billy Stuarrrrrt!”

  “ARGHHHHHHHH!” bellows Ugobos. “Not again!”

  “What are they going to do with us?” asks Musky.

  I am about to answer that I don’t know what the bats are thinking when the one holding me suddenly releases me from its hold.

  And I FALlllllll into the void.

  Below, the reflection of the moon shines onto a large expanse of water.

  “A lake!”

  As if it was planned, the flying foxes all release their captives. Are fruit trees calling them from afar?

  It doesn’t make any sense!

  A cry tears through the night.

  AAAAAAAAAAH!

  In the moonlight I see Ugobos’s fall. He isn’t going head first or feet first. He does a massive belly flop!

  FLOP!

  “AHHHHH! Help! I can’t swim!” Ugobos cries. “Arghhhh! My belly flop nearly killed me! Help! Ahhhh!”

  We are lucky even while finding ourselves unlucky. There is a beach in front of us, and without the MOON, we wouldn’t have been able to find our way.

  We make it to the beach fairly easily. And Ugobos? I am NOT going to be the one to give that guy mouth-to-mouth! Loslobos orders someone else to save him. Ugobos carries on like a hysterical demon.

  As I reach solid ground with my companions, I am so exhausted that I have no strength left to crawl any farther. I sink into the sand. All I want is to sleep.

  “Go away, dirty FrouFrou!”

  A Giant’s Footprints

  Hmm.

  We are woken by a terrible cock-a-doodle-doo! We should get rid of that bird. Or, better yet, give him to Yeti to eat!

  I struggle to open my eyes and wake up. I am curled up like a baby sleeping soundly with his mama. Her soft fur is keeping me warm.

  Wait a minute. This stinks—this isn’t my mom!

  “FrouFrou, you dirty mutt. Get away from me.”

  The four-legged catastrophe has taken advantage of my sleepy state to have a cuddle. The rest of the troop find this hilarious.

  “Billy Stuart, be kind,” scolds Foxy.

  “My dear FrouFrou was just looking for a hug to warm him up after his swim.”

  I jump up. It all comes back to me: the bats, the lake, the beach…

  “THE TROOP! Is everyone here?”

  In a glance, I see my Zintrepid companions, Timoree, Captain Loslobos and his men, including the insufferable Ugobos, who is still SNORING. If he hadn’t gotten in our way in the cave, we’d already have gone through the tunnel by now.

  What TERRIBLE luck! The bats carried us far away from where we found my grandfather Virgil’s path. The tunnel we’d hoped would take us back home.

  Right now we are on the shore of a magnificent lake. Fish leap OUT OF THE WATER to capture insects flying on the surface.

  The sand on the beach is blindingly white. Fruit trees abound at the edge of the forest.

  Birds are chirping. Abundant drinking water and FOOD are within reach.

  For an hour we feast on Fruit and catch Fish with our bare hands—that’s how many there are! Too bad there isn’t any trace of crawfish in all this fresh water.

  Timoree realizes that the footprint shows the creature came from the FOREST and was headed toward the lake.

  “There’s another here, Captain!” says a sailor a few meters from us.

  I don’t like this one bit. My intuition tells me we should retrace our steps and go back to the cave. It’s our only hope. But how? We have no reference point to situate us. Did we come from the east, west, south, north? I guess a working compass would be too much to ask for!

  Hundreds of birds with very long tails fly into the sky. Trees are shaking as if a MASSIVE GUST OF WIND is barreling through the forest.

  “It’s getting closer,” says Shifty.

  No matter what it is, we are at risk of being discovered. The forest is too far away for us to get to it in time to hide, and we have no weapons to defend ourselves with because everything was left in the cave when the flying foxes carried us off.

  The ground vibrates under our feet.

  “A giant is coming,” I say. “TROOP, BE READY FOR ANYTHING!”

  Two enormous hands with four fingers each spread the branches of the banana trees on the edge of the forest.

  But it isn’t a giant Homer Simpson who emerges from the forest.

  IT IS A CYCLOPS!

  On High Alert

  As soon as I see the cyclops, I remember my grandfather’s words:

  Be careful, Billy Stuart. Someone on the island is keeping an eye on you…

  An eye? That’s surely the cyclops!

  He’s STRONG and TALL (like, three or four stories high, at least). He’s not wearing any clothes except for a single cloth. His face is set in such a scowl that his single eye is almost closed. His hands are as LARGE as armchairs. He’s not yellow like the Simpsons are, but he is bald like Homer.

  It’s funny what you notice in times of intense STRESS and danger. The cyclops has a very large belly. It looks like he might be carrying a baby—maybe twins! And his belly button sticks out. The cyclops has an outie, just like me!

  We stand motionless. The cyclops se
ems preoccupied and hasn’t noticed us yet. He leans down to touch the sand, then puts his ear to the ground. The lapping of the WAVES, caused by a light wind skimming across the lake, helps him orient himself.

  With one slow and hesitant step, he moves toward the lake. He walks past us without suspecting there are intruders on the beach.

  It’s a miracle the poodle has not made a single sound. FrouFrou snuggles in Foxy’s arms, and Musky holds Yeti back, who murmurs:

  “Bring it on! No, really, bring it on!”

  The cyclops goes knee-deep into the lake. He cups his hands to collect some water and SPLASHES his face.

  The giant rubs his eye with the back of his hand, but his eyelid remains half-shut. The cyclops straightens up. FURIOUS and frustrated, he shakes water off his foot. This gestures inadvertently makes us go flying.

  “Help! I’m drowning!” Ugobos cries.

  “Kabillions of crusty-clawed crawfish in that Bulstrode River!”

  I’m convinced Ugobos does this on purpose, because his cry alerts the cyclops to all these little beings on the beach. The cyclops lets out a BLOODCURDLING scream that puts the Minotaur’s to shame.

  “Save yourselves!” commands Loslobos.

  The cyclops doesn’t know which way to look as we scramble off in different directions on all sides of him. I run between his feet and avoid looking up.

  Yeti, who is liberated from Musky, charges toward the monster.

  “Oh no! The giant’s going to devour Yeti! I can’t watch!” cries Musky.