| "The Adventures of Kat and Clara" Part XI: The Tree of Methiosan The winds grew a little colder as the winged machine flew along them, cold enough to awaken Kat. She pulled her cape over herself and sat up on the deck of the airship. Clara and Salem still slept soundly, not appearing to be waking up soon. The sun was still high in the air, and any sight of the cliffs were gone; it was only the end of the morning, and already it seemed as though the flying machine had traveled hundreds of miles. Kat crawled on her knees to the side of the basket and looked over it. The height at which they traveled made her a little dizzy; they must have been miles above the ground of their continent. She slouched down behind the wood panel. It is going to be a late arrival in Trillan, Kat thought. But it is so beautiful out here; I must wake them to see such a sight. Kat crawled back to Clara, who lay asleep on her back. "Wake up, Clara," she said, shaking her arm. "It's a beautiful sight to see." Clara slowly awoke to see Kat leaning over her. "Oh, my," she sighed, rubbing her eyes. "How long have we been asleep?" "Probably close to midday," Kat replied. "Maybe it is time that we ate and be nourished. We cannot simply sleep until we get to Trillan." "Your right," Clara said, then yawning, sitting up. "We have only flown this machine once; if something went wrong, we would surely all die." "I'll go wake up Salem," Kat said, crawling to him. "It's time he ate, too." Clara examined the basket of food the nudists had given them as Salem was jostled awake. Together they prayed and ate; they fed on large quantities of mango, cantaloupe, and bread. The sweetness of the fruit brought on feelings of home; how dearly they missed their loved ones. "Where are we, about?" Salem asked. Clara was also beginning to feel the winds become colder; even she put her cape around herself. "Since it is colder," she said, "I would think that we are near the oceans." "It feels like we are much farther north," Kat said. "Trillan still is very far across the seas; we may not make it there for another few days." "I don't think we have enough food to last us the trip," Clara said. "We should land somewhere first to gather more food." Kat crawled to the edge of the basket once more and looked over. Down below was a vast ocean; the water was certainly hundreds of feet deep and it was crawling with enormous waves. Nowhere was any land in sight, not even a single islet to land upon. I wish the nudists had given us a map,Kat thought. That, or maybe this flying machine isn't traveling fast enough. Suddenly, the airship began to silently accelerate. "Are we moving faster?" Clara asked, looking around herself. Kat began to feel it, too, realizing her thought. "Hold onto something," she warned, holding the front of the bow. Clara and Salem joined her as the flying machine picked up speed. "What were you thinking??" Clara shouted, as the flying machine reached a nearly unbearable speed. "I thought about getting there faster!" Kat shouted back, the rush of the air making noise in her ears. "Just hold on tight, and lie down!" Kat, Clara, and Salem laid down on their bellies, maintaining a death grip on the bow. The flying machine became violently fast; the basket of food tumbled out the back, its contents falling over a mile downward into the ocean. How badly did you want to be in Trillan, Kat? Clara thought, hanging on for dear life. The three cats' capes all waved behind them violently like flags in a storm as their airship whizzed through the sky in a straight line in the late morning sun. "How much longer could this go on for?!" Salem cried, struggling to keep his grip. "Just keep still!" Kat shouted back. "Hopefully not for much longer!" "Make it stop, please!" Clara pleaded. Slow down, slow down, Kat thought. A moment later, the airship decelerated, returning to a more moderate, bearable speed. Thank goodness that's over; I'd better not do that anymore. Kat sat up. "Forgive me, Clara and Salem," she said, exhaling. "I'll not do that again!" "And rightfully so!" Clara snapped. "Because of what happened, we lost all the food the nudists gave us." "I'm sorry," Kat said. "When we get to Trillan, I'll find us some more--" "Look!" Salem shouted, pointing down. "There's land ahead! We are near Trillan!" Kat and Clara looked over the side to the land Salem spotted. Down below was a small cluster of little islands, seperated by a series of bridges. On each island appeared to be a great deal of tall trees and a small ring of sand that made a small beach. "Could that be Trillan?" Salem asked. "I'm not sure," Clara thought. "I always was taught that Trillan was a single great island, not many little ones. We just may be flying above another island nation." "I will land us," Kat said. "I am responsible for the loss of our food; we shall find more down there." Land us on the islands, faithful flying machine, Kat thought. It was then that the airship banked sharply and descended. Kat, Clara, and Salem hung on tight as they were brought down onto the beach of one of the dozens of islands. Each of them were joined with many others by means of wooden, man-made bridges, which spanned the narrow straits of water between them. The flying machine landed softly, skidding to a halt on the beach. Next page >> |