Part Four:
Recap: Discovering a tunnel under the bed, Riordan and Tweak decide to
investigate after gathering supplies.  Not far into their journey are
they are cornered by a monster of unknown size.  It tells them to leave
the tunnel or die, but then monster's voice cracked, and when the lights
came on they found that their adversary was only a fuzzy black spider.
The spider (who really is quite loveable) was enraged by his equipments
failure and smashed it up against the rocks (putting the fuzzies' quick
reflexes to the test.) Deciding he had had enough of being the tunnel
guard, Nid (for that's his name) quits his post to become the ferrets'
guide.  With him leading the way, they have started their journey.  No
more is their destination unknown, for Nid has revealed that the tunnel
leads to China.  We rejoin them with their expedition well underway.
 
Three weeks have passed since Nid first became their guide, and except
for a few minor mishaps, nothing much has happened.  All and all the trip
had been, well, boring!  (At least, that's what Riordan thought)
 
"Are we there yet?!" Rio asked for about the thousandth time.
 
"NO!" Nid and Tweak said in unison, before going back to their discussion
of how weather patterns affected the insect life.  Tweak found anything
that Nid had to say very intriguing.  He was like a fountain of knowledge
(at least it seemed that way to Tweak, who really had never gotten out
much before this.) "Yes.  In the right conditions, dew can be helpful
on a spider's web.  It can reflect light from a house late at night and
since many insects are attracted to light, it will attract them to our
web!"
 
"Fascinating! Now, you mentioned you were in a war?"
 
"Yes, My Lady.  It was the War of Buggy Field in 1986 the year of the
Preying Mantis.  It was between the Giant Hornets and the general bug
population.  The Hornets were coming in and destroying everything and
everybody in their path.  It was an ugly war.  I was a spy for Commander
Al T.  Tood, Chief Grasshopper of the C Double I A, that's Central Insect
Intelligence Agency." "Wow" Tweak whispered, almost speechless.
 
Riordan, whose pace had been slacking, bounded up behind them and
interrupted their conversation with a question.
 
"So how long does it take to get to China anyway?"
 
"Oh about 5 months" replied Nid casually with just a hint of a smirk.
 
"FIVE MONTHS?" said both ferrets, stopping in their tracks and looking
very shocked.
 
"Yes, five months, but that's only if you don't travel by Wurm Express."
 
The ferrets still looked skeptical.  "Wurm Express?" Tweak asked.
 
"Yes, Fair one.  Wurm Express.  It is a very fast way to travel indeed!
Once we get there, it is but a mere 10 days to China"
 
"Well, what is it exactly?"
 
"Just a bunch of Wurms.  They're very fast critters.  They built this
tunnel and many more like it, they're all connected through the worm
express.  This is the China-US tunnel.  Now a days the worms don't travel
the older parts of this tunnel.  Some of the entrances, like the one you
came through, were closed down.  Humans get kind of suspicious when all
sorts of critters come crawling out from under their beds.  Once a human
builds a bed over one of the doorways, we start to shut it down.  Usually
by the time the human is 12 years old, the entrance is totally closed and
the "monsters under the bed" completely go away, although, if the bed
belongs to a full grown human, we have to make an emergency closing.
Monsters under the bed only make adults curious, which usually leads
to our demise.  Oh well, it's rare that anyone stumbles onto a closed
entrance.  That's why the outer guards get such lousy equipment.  Maybe
this will shock them into getting some new equipment."
 
The ferrets were utterly stunned.  They had been totally unaware that
such an intricate world existed within the animal ranks (as we all are.)
"So when do we get to the Wurm Express?" Rio asked eagerly, now impatient
to be continuing onward again.
 
"We have another week of walking to do, My Lad, but we should be meeting
more travelers soon.  I'm sure you will find a playmate just as energetic
as yourself." Nid added the last part quickly for the look on Riordan's
face told him that there would be much whining about the walking if there
was nawt to look forward to within the near future.
 
"Well, alright then" Rio said, torn between reluctance and excitement at
the very idea of someone other than Tweak to play with.
 
"So, tell me more about the Wurm Express" Tweak pleaded, her thirst for
information unquenched.
 
Rio again dropped back from the pair; he didn't find their conversations
very entertaining.  He preferred to imagine he was Mongoose Jones, on the
run from evil pygmy gophers in the jungles of India.
 
"Bam!  Bam!  Bam!  Gotchya!  Take That!  And That!" he whispered, dodging
imaginary spears while shooting mock raisin guns at pretend targets.
 
As a couple days passed with no sign of company, he tired of his games
and again was very, very bored (and we all know how much trouble a bored
ferret can get into!)
 
"Tweak, I'm bored.  When are we gonna meet anyone?"
 
"Oh Rio, we'll meet them when we meet them!  Why don't you play Mongoose
Jones?"
 
"I've reenacted every movie three times already!"
 
"Well, how about I tell you one of my war stories?"  Nid suggested,
desperate for something to keep Rio's attention.  He had already gotten
them into a few awkward situations.  One involved a girl mouse from a
very large Italian mouse family, who lived in the tunnel as it's
caretakers, and a pair of pink polka dotted underwear.
 
"But I've already heard them all!"
 
"No you haven't.  You haven't heard about the time that the bumblebee
Private took on 5 hornets all himself!"
 
"Yes I have."
 
"Oh, well how about when I was cornered by a hornet and a cricket
saved me?"
 
"That one too"
 
"Hmm, what about when I spun the best booby trap web ever?"
 
"Yup, heard that."
 
Just as Nid started to look frustrated, he heard a blessed sound.
Footsteps were approaching them from the next entrance to the tunnel.
 
"Rio, listen!" Nid said, hushing them.  "There's someone up ahead at the
next entrance, maybe we'll find you a playmate!"
 
Rio practically jumped out of his fur as he launched into a war dance
driven by weeks of boredom, maybe even a whole lifetime (though you would
think that traveling to China would cure boredom!) Tweak looked very
relieved and Nid shouted a hello.
 
"'Ello Down there!" came the reply.
 
Rio bounded off down the tunnel moving faster than he had the whole trip,
except perhaps, when dodging flying metal parts from faulty machinery.
Tweak, maintaining her dignity, walked with Nid, but even their pace
quickened.  Just as they turned the bend, they heard a sound like nothing
they ever heard before.  Something running very fast was coming towards
them, screeching at the top of its lungs.
 
What is charging at Nid and Tweak?  What happened to Rio?  Will he find a
playmate or go on being bored for the rest of the trip?
 
       Join us tomorrow for the next part of
Riordan & Tweak In: Under The Bed (Digging to China)
[Posted in FML issue 4616]