Flash Fiction #622 -- Neko's Trip Home/2

 

The first sign we were somewhere else was the fields of grass where there had been nothing but sand and rock before.  Purple grass dotted with bright orange flowers. Golden-winged butterflies glittered as they danced over the petals.

I looked at Colin.

"Somewhere in the Faelands," Colin said.  He squinted out the window.  "I have never been here before, though. We might as well get out. The car won't go any farther into the magic lands."

Luna eased her door open and looked cautiously around before she stood. I held onto her shirt and thought about just burying my head in the cloth until things went back to normal.

Three elephants took mincing steps through the purple grass. I looked down and decided to hold on a little tighter. There was no way I was going to put my feet down there. What if it stained my paws? Or worse, my legs. I wouldn't look terrific in purple.

Then, one elephant took a little bite of the purple stuff. Before long, we were all eating it. Colin watched them for a moment and then shrugged again. They didn't seem to know much of what was happening, which worried me since he was the closest we had to a guide here.

The Chipmunks must have decided to stay in the car. That didn't work out well. The car made a popping noise and disappeared, dropping everything we put in it, including our new little friends, on the ground.

At that point, we all turned to Colin, including elephants and chipmunks. He looked startled, glancing around at the entire group.

"Why are you looking at me?" He asked. "What makes you think I have any idea what's going on?"

"You said this is the fae land," Luna reminded him. "And you happen to be our only Fae."

"We are in so much trouble," I mumbled. The chipmunks nodded in agreement.

I started looking around, hoping for a sign that would direct us back to our own place. I saw purple grass and orange flowers that seemed to go on for miles until they faded into the hill land beyond us. I saw nothing except the strange movement of the grass about half a mile away from us. It took me a moment to realize something was heading our way. Whatever it was, the thing appeared to be short and long.

"I think we're about to have company," I said and nodded toward the waving grass.

We all gathered in the line, but the elephants remained behind us. I had the feeling the elephants might be a little intimidating, and Colin agreed. The elephants never told us what they thought.

I could hear small voices. "High-cut, low-cut, high-cut, low-cut."
We had trampled down the grass in our area, and it wasn't long before a small army appeared at the edge.

A small army of very small people. At first, I mistook them for pixies, but they had no wings and certainly didn't have the pixie disposition. About 60 of them rushed out of the higher grass and lifted their swords and other weapons into the air as though to warn us they were not to be messed with.

I don't think laughing with the answer either. I had to do a lot to keep myself from doing more than coughing. One of them was a stout little guy with a beard all the way down to his waist. Stepped forward and looked at us with a snarl.

"Not more damned Giants," he snarled in a voice that was louder than I had expected. "What do you want here?"

He shoved his sword into the ground, waiting for an answer. It was a good question. My answer would have been to say we only wanted to get away, but that might not be polite.
We looked at Colin again.
Since he didn't look any less confused, I had to suspect he had no idea what was going on. "It might help if we knew where we are," he offered with a bright smile.

"You must be blind! It's obvious where you are. You're in the land of the purple grass."

This was not going to be as easy as I had hoped. Then something odd -- well odder -- happened. The little guys had been looking up at us, but something to their attention to the ground. And there they saw the chipmunks. Their leader yelled angrily, drew his sword out of the ground, and started to charge forward with all of his army behind him.

The chipmunks rightly panicked at this behavior. One jumped on my back, and the others climbed Colin or Luna.

Colin pointed at the army. "Stop right there."

And they did, although that had clearly not been their intention. They gave cries of fear and anger.  The chipmunks made sounds of worry.

"How dare you come between us and the evil ones!"

Chipmunks as evil ones finally got a laugh from me. Neither side appreciated it. Apparently, the elephants got bored, though.  They wandered off, munching on purple grass.

The leader took a swipe at Colin's ankle.  He yelped and grabbed the guy up by his shirt.  "Don't do that," Colin ordered. "None of us, including the Chipmunks, are here to do you any harm. What makes you think there's a great evil?"

"They come in every harvest season and raid our fields and still our food before they cross back to their own lands and leave us to find more supplies for winter."

"They go back to their own lands? How did they do that?" I asked and shifted slightly to move the chipmunk off my shoulders.

"They don't do it with your fancy fae magic.  Oh yes, I know what you are.  Put me down!"

Colin put him down. "How do they get home?"

"By using a gate, of course."

Flash Ficion #621 -- Neko's Trip Home/1

 

 This is the third Neko story.  The other two are Neko (ff 556), and Neko's Vacation (ff575)

 

I had not expected Colin to let me drive. I stood in his lap, clamped both paws around the steering wheel, and dug my claws in.

"Remember what I said," Colin added. "Gentle movements and watch out for others. I'll take care of the rest until you feel the magic."

I nodded, forced my ears forward, and looked at Luna. She appeared oblivious to the idea of a Siamese cat driving the car.

Luna had been that way pretty much from the moment she learned I could talk and that Colin was fae. It helped that she had magical abilities, but I thought she might be suffering from prolonged shock.

We were on a dirt road in the desert, so we didn't have to worry about other cars. I had to keep my eyes open for the local denizens, though. It was good practice for the much larger cars, which I hoped would be easier to spot and avoid.

Lightning flashed across the sky.

"Out of the wash. It might not be so dry soon," Colin ordered.  

We'd been driving north on the flat stream bed for a few minutes, the banks too high to drive out on. Now I looked frantically around, hoping for an easy way out, though I suspected Colin would put wings on the car and fly if we had to.

Then I saw movement coming straight at us. Not water, my brain said. Coyotes. An entire pack of them. Maybe several packs. They swarm around and over us, their panic so strong that I started trembling --

"Luna, take  Neko.  Hold on."

I jumped into her arms. The ground started shaking, but I didn't think it was water.

No, it wasn't.

Elephants. A herd of elephants about a quarter mile away and not slowing.

"Time to run like the coyotes!" I shouted.

"Up!" Colin ordered.

The car made a feeble leap of about two feet and came back down. The elephants were closer.

I said nothing. I don't think I could have spoken. Luna seemed in much the same condition.

"Up, up, up!"

I looked into the startled eyes of a giant elephant who seemed as shocked as I was. Maybe that was because we were flying.  

So were a half dozen elephants.

"Colin!" Luna shouted and waved her arms toward an elephant swimming along and about to --

CRUNCH

I couldn't see the damage, mainly because we were rolling. Luna held on so tight that my ribs hurt. I made no complaint about seeing other things flying around the car. A package of cookies hit Colin in the head.

It burst open with the scent of cinnamon and sugar. Pieces exploded outward, and several small creatures leaped up from the back seat to grab them.

"Colin, we've got chipmunks," Luna warned.

We were no longer tumbling as fast and the elephants had spread out. We all headed for the right-hand bank, car, and creatures (including the chipmunks), landing with ease.

Luna didn't let go of me. I didn't complain.

Then the rain started, and almost at the same time, I could hear the roar of water in the stream. I was sure the entire herd of elephants had gotten out. Somewhere nearby, I could hear coyotes barking. Everyone was safe.

Colin dropped back on his seat with a moan, his hands still tight on the steering wheel. He turned his head to look our way.

"That did not go right," he mumbled. Then he looked away with a start. We need to get off the edge. I hope I can get this thing to work!"

"There are elephants out there," Luna said as though we hadn't noticed. "Where did they come from?"

"I'll ask when we get a chance," Colin replied. I couldn't tell if he was serious or not. Now was not the time to badger him with questions, either. The car sputtered to life, caught hold, and moved a few feet before dying again. This time, the entire vehicle shimmered and almost faded away.

"No," Colin ordered. The car returned to normal. Well, normal for it. "We're safe here. Rest for a while."

I wanted answers. Instead, I got chipmunks curling up on my shoulders and elephants leaning against the car as they slept.

I turned my head to look at Luna. She gave a slight shrug. I guessed sleep wasn't a bad idea, though it wasn't that easy to go to sleep.

Especially when an elephant ducked his head and stared at me. It shifted slightly and I feared we would go tumbling again. Then, the colossal beast lowered his head even more and went to sleep.

My chipmunks slid down a little, grabbed my fur, and snuggled. I had started to protest and changed my mind. It was kind of nice.

I slept, waking more than once from nightmares and finally waking completely at the light of dawn. I stretched. The chipmunks protested.

By then, everyone was awake and staring out at the dismal morning. The rain had turned to a fine, silver mist that was almost a fog. It obscured everything more than four yards away, including another elephant that came our way and greeted our companions.

Colin moved and made a sound of protest.

"What is going on?" I asked.

"Something purposely drained me of power last night," he replied. He moved his fingers as though he hadn't expected them to work.

"Where did the elephants come from?" Luna asked.

"Probably the same place as the chipmunks," he replied. Colin might even have thought that made sense to us. I felt this was a problem with not being fae -- and not having lived among them, either.

Colin got the car running, though slowly. The elephants padded along beside us like a royal bodyguard. I still didn't trust them much, though.

The mist soon began to clear.

We were no longer in the desert.

Flash Fiction # 620 -- Real life vacation/8

 Going back allows you to revisit spots, and to stop at ones you bypassed.  Bear Lake is a favorite, but often so crowded  they close it off.  If you are lucky, the high road might be open for a fun drive, providing your car is up to it.


We've been there on lovely warm days.  We've also hit high altitude snow storms, and once an ice and snow storm through the entire park.  All of these trips were in June and July.  Sometimes the upper park will close because of snow and ice. The parts remaining open were still lovely.

 

Flash Fiction #619 -- Real life vacation/7

 As you follow the road down the far side of the mountain, you will reach a newer area in the park.  Here, you can stop and see elk in wide grasslands and might even spot a moose.  A small stream rushes along the edge of the grass, and sometimes elk will come within a few feet of you.  Be careful. They are wild and can be dangerous.

Beyond this point you soon leave the park near the Grand Lake area -- a beautiful spot.  From here, you can either keep driving or turn around and go back through the park again!

Flash Fiction #618 -- Real life vacation/6

The pillars of lava are a great reminder that the Rocky Mountains are a young range, and this sight shows some of the volcanic activity that took place at an earlier time. They stand out against the red stone so common in the area.

You are in the highlands now!

Stop at the store for a souvenir or two. The cups are always nice reminders of the trip.  Drive a little farther to  the Continental Divide. One side of the ridge drains toward the east and the other side to the west.  The spot has a pretty little lake, too.