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Note: The parts in italics and parentheses are my notes providing you with background info so you can better understand the story.
The tropical rain fell in drenching sheets, hammering the corrugated roof of the clinic building, roaring down the metal gutters, splashing to the ground in a torrent. Sophia M***sighed, and stared out the window. From the clinic, she heard a deep rumble that built and emerged until it was clear: the rhythmic thumping of a helicopter. She thought, "They can't be flying in weather like this". But the sound built steadily, and then the helicopter burst low through the ocean fog and roared overhead, circled, and came back.
It was looking for a place to land.
Through the windshield she saw the pilot exhale in releif as the helicopter settled onto the wet sand of the beach. Uniformed men jumped out, and flung open the big side door. She heard frantic shouts in Spanish, and Jared nudged her.
They were calling for a doctor.
"I'm Dr. M***," she said. The rain fell in heavy drops on her head and shoulders.
"Thomas S******, we've got a very sick beanie here, and Docter Roberta Carter told us to fly it here to San Jose."
Sophia trotted alongside the injured toy as they carried it to the clinic. It was a panda, no older than two years. Lifting away the beanie-stuffing laden covering, she saw a big slashing rip.
"What happened to it?"
"Occupational hazard," Tom shouted. "It's head was reversed too many times and we tried to get the stuffing arranged properly." (Eric and Calvin really liked pushing Paddie the Panda's head in. Those evil people.)
The beanie was empty, limp, unconscious. Sophia noticed a characteristic look to an animal attack.
"All right," she said. "Wait outside." She reached for her Olympus point-and-shoot. She took several snapshots of the injury shifting her light for a better veiw. It really did look like bites, she thought. Then the beanie groaned.
"Raptor," it said. "Lo sa raptor... Must save Molly and others..."
"What does it mean?" Sophia asked.
Jared shook his head. "I do not know, doctor. 'Lo sa raptor'--- no es espanol." The beanie opened its glassy eyes and sat straight up on the table. The injured toy moaned and twisted it's head, looking left and right with wide-staring eyes, and then it explosively vomitted beanie-stuffings. Then he shuttered off the table.
Thomas opened the door, saying, "What the hell's happening?" and when he saw the beans on the floor, he turned away, his hand to his mouth.
Sophia looked at the body on the ground and realized that it didn't matter; there was no possibility of resuscitating it. She watched as the men took the body away, but when she turned back to the table, she saw her camera was gone.
Anthony whistled cheerfully as he drove the Land Ravor through the Loco Pollo Biological Reserve near San Jose. It was a beautiful morning in October.
Anthony had come to Loco Pollo with his wife and beanie for a two-week holiday. The trip had actually been his wife's idea; for weeks Jessica had filled his ear about how good it would be for Delphine to see Loco Pollo.
Suddenly a small shape flashed across the road and Delphine shrieked, "Look! LOOK!" Then it was gone, into the jungle.
"What was it?" Jessica asked. "A monkey?"
The six-month old Delphine consulted the pictures in the guidebook. "I think it was just another howler monkey. Hey," she said, more brightly. "According to this book, 'the beaches of Loco Pollo are frequented by a variety of marine animals, including dolphins.' You think we'll see a dolphin, Dad?"
"I bet we do."
"Really?"
"Just look in the mirror." (Delphine happens to be a dolphin beanie.)
Jessica changed into her bathing suit, saying, "Honestly, I don't know how I'm going to get this weight off."
"You look great, hon." Actually Anthony felt that she was too thin, looking anorexic, but he had learned not to mention that.
Delphine was already running down the beach. ********** Delphine ran to the water's edge. After frolicking in the ocean for a little while, where she felt at home, Delphine decided to move out of the sun, back from the water, to the shade of the palm trees. She noticed many bird tracks in the sand. Delphine was looking idly at the tracks when she heard a chirping, followed by a rustling in the mangrove thicket. She waited quietly, not moving, hearing the rustling again, and finally she saw the source of the sounds. A few yards away, a lizard emerged from the mangrove roots and peered at her. The lizard cocked its head as it looked at her.
Delphine thought it was cute. Sort of like a big salamander beanie. She raised her flipper and waved back.
The lizard wasn't frightened. It came toward her, walking upright on its hind legs. Delphine thought it would make a wonderful pet. Slowly, Delphine extended her flipper to show she didn't have any food.
The lizard jumped up onto her outstretched hand. And then the lizard scrambled up her arm, towards her face.
From down the beach, carried by the wind, Jessica and Anthony heard their beanie daughter's voice. She was screaming.
"I think that she'll be alright now," Dr. Clark said, however Anthony was still apprehensive. He could still remember exactly what Delphine looked like when he first saw her. The drive back to civilization through the Loco Pollo Biological Reserve took forever, and it was no longer a 'beautiful morning'.
"Are you sure? Those bites…" Jessica said as she looked at Delphine.
"We have no identification yet, I have never seen bites like that, nor an animal like that," the Clark said while looking at the picture that Delphine had drawn. "Are you sure that this is what bit her?"
"Yes, she said that it looked like a big salamander beanie," said Anthony, "and that it chirped."
"Well, I'm no expert, but we did call in Dr. Clark to help and identify the lizard," said the doctor.
A woman approached Anthony and Jessica, and introduced herself as Dr. Lewis. "Well, we do know that it is a lizard, and with it walking upright, that limits is to about a dozen species, and with the picture and coloration, I think that it is a Basilicus Amoratus, which luckily isn't poisonous, she just had an allergic reaction."
"She was screaming, she said it was so painful," said Jessica, "Why did it bite her in the first place?"
"It probably was painful, and lizard bites are common, I heard that just the other day a lizard bit an infant in a crib in Amaloya, about sixty miles from here," Lewis said, "May I see that picture again?" Anthony showed Lewis the picture, "A few of the details are wrong, of course, the neck is much too long, and she drew three toes instead of five."
"But Delphine specifically said the neck was long," Jessica insisted. "And that there were three toes on each foot."
"Delphine's pretty observant," Anthony said.
"I'm sure she is," Lewis said. "But I still think that Delphine was bitten by a Basilicus Amoratus. She will feel just fine in the morning." ********** In the basement of the Clínica Santa María word was received that Dr. Lewis had identified the animal that had bitten Delphine as a harmless Basilicus Amoratus. They halted the analysis of the saliva, and placed the saliva samples on the holding shelf of the bacteria, even though preliminary analysis had resulted in produced results of unknown biological activity.
The next morning, a clerk seeing that Delphine was to be released soon, threw out the samples. Noticing that one sample had a red tag which meant that it was to be forwarded to the lab in San Jose, he retrieved it and sent it on its way. ********** "Thank you Dr. Clark," Delphine said, "I feel much better now." She reached up and shook Dr. Clark's ____. "You have a different shirt."
For a moment Dr. Clark looked perplexed, then he smiled, "That's right, when I work all night I change my shirt in the morning."
"But not your tie?"
"No, just my shirt"
"We told you she was observant," said Jessica. Delphine went on to describe the lizard she saw, remembering how closely it resembled a salamander beanie.
"Have you heard of any other lizard bites at the hospital, I must admit that her description puzzles me. I am no longer sure that she was bitten by a Basilicus Amoratus. Not Certain at all," said Dr. Lewis
"Then what can it be," Dr. Clark replied, "No, not that I know of, why?"
"Let me know if you do."
Alan W*** crouched down, his nose inches from the ground. Working patiently with a toothpick and Becky's hairbrush (that he took out of her backpack), he exposed a tiny O-shaped fragment of gum from under his table.
"Hey Alan!" Alan looked up, blinking in the fluorescent light of the room. He was crouched on his backpack on the floor of Mrs. Voss's room in the T building. Visitors found the T building depressingly bleak, but when Alan looked at this landscape, he saw something else entirely. This barren land was what remained of another, very different world, which had vanished more than a year ago. In his mind's eye, Alan saw himself behind the door that led to Mr. G's room. This room had a reputation of defeat, from the class of 1998 cheating on the Golden State exams to the class of 99's numerous 2's received on the Advanced Placement Exam. Almost none of the U.S. History students passed.
"Hey, Alan!" She stood, a raven-haired, fellow student of Voss and G. And Alan saw Alissa waving to him, from the shadow of the desk next to him.
"Visitor!" she called, and pointed to the door. The visitor coughed at W***'s smell as she entered the room. "Rowena R*****, EPA (Extrasensory Psychokinetic Agency), she said, extending her hand.
Alan introduced himself and said, "You look cold. Want a toothpick?"
"Jesus, yeah. When I first walked in the door, I thought this was G's room," Rowena said, pointing to G's room.
"No," Alan said. "Just next door."
"Uh-huh," Rowena said. "Very fitting." She squinted at the desolate landscape and shook her head. "How long have you been in here?"
"About sixty seconds," Alan said. When Rowena looked surprised, he explained, "We measure time in toothpicks. We started a minute ago with two toothpicks. We've gone through about one so far."
"One-point-3, to be exact," Alissa R****** said, as they reached the table. Alan was amused to see Roduta gaping at her. Alissa was wearing cut-off jeans and a workshirt tied at her midriff. She was a Senior and darkly tanned. Her blond hair was pulled back.
"Alissa keeps us going," Alan said, introducing her. "She's very good at what she does."
"What does she do?" Rowena asked.
"Reverse psychology," Alissa said. "And I also do the standard field preps. The heating in the room only brought the temperature up to eighty-five degrees, but it seemed warm after the rainstorm outside.
"What do you know about the foundation?" Rowena asked.
Alan shrugged. "The Eron Foundation is a respected source of academic grants."
"Do you know why the Eron Foundation supports so much gum research?" Rowena asked.
"Of course. It's because old Eron V******** is a gum nut."
"You've met Eron?"
Alan shrugged. "Once or twice. He comes here for brief visits. He's quiet elderly, you know. And eccentric, the way rich people sometimes are. But always very enthusiastic. Why?"
"Well," Rowena said, "the Eron Foundation is actually a mysterious organization." She pulled out a Xeroxed San Jose map, marked with a red dot, and passed it to Alan. "This is the place the foundation financed last year. Notice anything odd about it? Loco Pollo Biological Reserve. It was around the area where the dolphin was bitten by long-necked, three-toed lizards. We'd like to know why."
"I don't get it," Alan said.
"Neither does anybody else," Rowena said. "As far as we can tell, it doesn't make any sense at all. And what about his HQ on S***** Avenue? Supposedly to set up a biological preserve. The reason I mention it is that, according to the records, you were paid a consultant's fee in connection with this place."
"I was?"
Rowena passed a sheet of paper to Alan. It was the Xerox of a check issued in March 1998 from Eron Foundation, S***** Avenue, San Jose, California. Made out to Alan W*** in the amount of twelve dollars. At the lower corner, the check was marked CONSULTANT SERVICES/S***** AVENUE/JUVENILE HYPERSPACE.
"Oh, sure," Alan said. "I remember that. It was weird as hell, but I remember it. And it didn't have anything to do with S*****. I sold candy and christmas trees." (For Key Club fundraisers, which Eron and Alan were officers for, they sold candy and Xmas trees).