Part Five
 
Recap: Not long after starting their exploration of the Tunnel they
discovered, the fuzzies were faced by a tunnel monster; who really just
turned out to be a loveable old spider.  After quitting his post as
Tunnel Guard (due to faulty equipment), Nid, became the ferrets' guide.
With him leading the way they began their expedition.  After weeks of
walking and putting up with Riordan's boyish antics they trio has finally
reached another entrance to the tunnel.  Hearing voices, they hope to
meet up with other travelers, but as they turn the corner something very
fast comes screeching towards them.
 
Without even a chance to scream the thing flew past them and then another
thing with a higher pitch screech went flashing by, this one they
recognized.  It was Riordan, running after the first flying ball of fur
with a look of utter joy on his face, war dancing in total abandon.
 
"Oh My" Nid breathed as he leaned against the tunnel wall.  "I think
Riordan found his playmate"
 
"Yes" said Tweak equally out of breath.  "I think he did"
 
The two balls of fur (although they looked very much like one at the
moment) rolled past.  Two more forms came down the tunnel towards Tweak
and Nid (effectively dodging out of the path of the furry whirling
dervishes.) The two forms turned out to be a tall garter snake wearing a
conductor's hat and a plump opossum, looking very much like a hillbilly
complete with straw hanging from the side of his mouth.
 
"'Ello" said the garter snake, tipping his hat.  "I'm Kipling, but you
can call me Kip"
 
"And I'm Frank" said the opossum, with a very notable country twang.
"That be my boy Samuel rolling around with Rio there.  I guess he's been
as bored as Sam has.  They barely introduced themselves before goin' at
it.  Sorry if they scared ya coming around that there bend.  Screaming
like maniacs they were, but I guess that's what ya git for keeping boys
without a buddy to play with for long."
 
Tweak and Nid just blinked at the two newcomers.
 
"Ah well, boys will be boys I suppose," Kip stated.  He looked over at
the heap that was Sam and Rio, both of which were now out cold from too
much adrenaline.  Faint snores could also be heard.  "I guess we're in
for a bit of a stay.  Say, you're Nid from the outer guards aren't you?"
 
Tweak, Nid, Kip, and Frank spent the next hour and a half getting to
know each other.  It turned out that Kip (who was a British immigrant)
was guiding Frank and Sam through the tunnel from the southern country
entrance.  They were on their way to visit a few distant cousins in Hong
Kong via China.  Tweak, who'd finally adjusted to the accents, found the
tales of their homelands fascinating.  She couldn't get enough of their
stories and little did she know, but a wanderlust was growing in her.
Now she was almost as excited as Riordan.
 
"I bet China is wonderful" she said dreamily when they were on their way
again.  "I can't wait to get there"
 
"You'll have to send us a post card!" said Nid.
 
"Can't you and Kip come with us?"
 
"No, they've offered me a post a guide now, Kip and I are going to work
the entrances near the Canadian border."  Nid said, his happiness over
the new post mingled with disappointment over not being able to escort
his two charges all the way to China.
 
"You'll be the best guides there ever were,"  Tweak matter-of-factly
stated "Thank you, My lady," Nid said with a bow.
 
Kip just tipped his hat.
 
Meanwhile, Riordan and Sam were thoroughly enjoying each other's company.
 
"You say you lived in a tree?" Riordan said in awe, shaking off the last
of his yawns.
 
"Yup, just me and my Pa.  My brothers and sister moved away and my Mum
got takin' by a hunter."
 
"Oh, I'm sorry"
 
"Don't be, I can't remimber her much anyways.  I was a real littl' fellar
when it happened."
 
"Oh" he said with a slight pause.  "So, what you wanna do now?"
 
"Have ya ever heard of a speet shooter?"
 
"No" Rio said, his eyes widening in suspense. "What is it?"
 
"Well, ya get a straw and some paper." Sam replied, stopping momentarily
to pull out two straws and a book of paper (many pages were obviously
missing) from his pack.  Handing one straw to Rio he continued.  "Then ya
chew up some of the paper and wad it into a ball"
 
Rio stuck some paper in his mouth and found that it tasted quite good.
"Hey, thif thuff tathsed good" Rio said, wiping a bit of drool from the
corner of his mouth.
 
Sam chuckled, "Yea I gots it from a magerzine, it's special flavored
paper.  Bar-b-q is my favorite, but I ran outta that last week.  Now,
wad that up into a ball and put it in the straw."
 
Rio did exactly that and Sam followed suit.
"Now what?"
 
"Well, aim at one of them there growed ups and blow as hard as you can."
 
"URRGH!" Tweak yelled her eyes bugging out as she felt something wet
smack her neck.  She shook her head and two spit wads flew off.  Boyish
laughter came from behind her, but was suddenly squelched by the look on
Tweak's face when she turned around.  Abandoning all dignity (and leaving
the others shocked) she took off after the two miscreants with a war cry.
Rio and Sam ran for their very lives, but they weren't fast enough.
Despite her delicate figure, Tweak was really quite fast.  It was all
over for Rio when she caught him, there was nothing he could do to escape
the scruff shaking due to him.  Sam rolled on the floor laughing, until
Tweak marched over to him and shook him too.  When both Sam and Rio were
thoroughly shook, Tweak did a victorious war dance with a bottle brushed
tail.  Then, as if nothing had ever happened, she rejoined the amazed
three some who had observed the whole thing.
 
"Now, You were saying something about a drink called Moon Shine?" she
asked Frank, as dignified as ever.
 
Rio just rolled his eyes and directed a whispered comment to Sam, that
sounded something like "Girls, they're as fun as old socks" (but it could
have been they're as dumb as an ox)
 
The next few leagues of the journey were filled with stories of
adventures and strange lands and two rambunctious boys who kept going
and going like the energizer bunny only stopping when their batteries
were completely drained of juice (although, they never did shoot spit
wads again.) The tunnel also got gradually busier and busier.  Creatures
from every walk of life seemed to be traveling.  The creatures from China
were the most interesting to Riordan.  A few Chinese Water Dragons had
even joined in with him and Sam, proving to make their games a lot more
interesting.  Tweak occasionally had to step in and tell Riordan that he
should play Godzilla with them if they had played Mongoose Jones with
him, but for the most part everybody got along.  When they reached Wurm
Express Station Number 27 they all suddenly realized they'd been
traveling for a month.  Time had passed a lot more quickly than it felt,
it seemed like years since Tweak and Rio had stumbled upon the tunnel.
 
"This is it" Kip said.  "The Wurm Express"
 
"Station Number 27" Nid continued, gesturing grandly with 3 of his legs.
Tweak, Rio, Frank, and Sam all stood jaws hanging at the sight before
their eyes.  It was amazing.
 
What is Wurm Express Station Number 27 like?  What adventures lay in
store for Riordan and Tweak?
 
    Join us Tomorrow for the next installment of
Riordan & Tweak In: Under the Bed (Digging to China)
[Posted in FML issue 4617]