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]