Johnny Dash and the Doral Flower (Johhny Dash Series Book 1) Page 5

  Mini-Chapter 45

  They tried to be cautious. They came in through different places, taking advantage of the spaces there were between the tents and the desert's irregular terrain. Quickly, Scientist Edison found sodas in all colors. However, he decided not to take any, since they were very caloric and did not add a lot of nutritional value, so he kept searching. He had almost lost hope when —in the middle of the foreign normal human garbage— he found some half-finished mineral water bottles. Apparently, none of the tourist had taking a liking of it and had decided to throw them away. He unscrewed one of the lids and filled the flasks with the crystalline water. Once he had filled ten, he came back very carefully. Meanwhile, in another place of the camp, Johnny Dash and Captain Ernest had found food; however, it was not the food they expected: they only found half-finished pizza slices, hamburgers and fried chicken leftovers. It was the first time that Johnny saw so much fast food up close. After trying it, he was nauseous. He could not understand how normal humans could eat that. Then, Captain Ernest saw that there were several grapes and an apple forgotten on a table, they were more than enough to feed everyone. Nevertheless, getting them was not going to be an easy task.

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  After a few seconds, Johnny Dash climbed on the table. Then, he pushed the fruits one by one to the edge of the table. The Captain managed to catch the grapes, but he had problems with the apple and it fell on the sand, but it did not make a sound. They slowly took the fruit and left that camp as soon as they could. On the other hand, the warriors made the most important discovery this time.

  Mini-Chapter 47

  There was a toy car inside one of the tents: it was a 4x4 Jeep replica, specially designed for the desert. Apparently, it was a gift of one of the tourists’ sons. Since the warriors had no idea on how to drive a vehicle, because it was the first time they saw one, they decided to push it. Suddenly, they heard: “Dad, dad, look, the little men are stealing my car!” The child had awoken by chance and had seen them. Despite all this, his father was still sleeping, which is why the warriors kept pushing with all their strength. They were about to leave the camp when the child —who was shaking his father to try and wake him up— said again: “Dad, wake up! The little men are stealing my car! They are taking it away!” Rock and Olympus saw how a sturdy American moved.

  Mini-Chapter 48

  But he did not even fully wake up, he just shifted on his side and said: “Charlie, you said the same thing last week… I'm not falling for it this time…” “But dad, it's true, get up and look,” the child insisted. “Leave me alone now, son…” The American continued sleeping as if nothing had happened. The warriors took the chance and quickly left in front of the eyes of a child who, simply, could not believe what he was seeing.

  Once they all had accomplished the mission they had been assigned, they got together in the appointed place. They all showed what they had found, but the Jeep which the warriors had found was the most surprising item. “It's great! How did you get it?” Johnny asked. The warriors just replied: “We don't have time, we were almost uncovered, and we have to get out of here as soon as possible.” They all got on. Then, Jeff, the Tech, set the vehicle in motion, since he perfectly knew how normal human vehicles worked. Since it was an exact replica, it had all the pieces, even the spare tire in the back. This time, it took them a lot less to reach their initial position. Once they got there, they covered the Jeep with the deflated balloon; then, they got in the basket and decided to go to sleep, because they were very tired. As usual, the brave ones took turns to keep watch: this time, it was the physicians' turn. They managed to get by another night this way. The other crew members, happy because of what they had found, fell asleep.

  The next morning, most of the crew was still sleeping: the coldness of the arid area forced them to look for some heat. However, some of them got up despite all this. Among these few, there was Johnny Dash, Jeff and Captain Ernest. They decided to check Freeman Wise's map, but they could understand little or nothing; besides, half the map had completely faded. They did not know exactly what to do, they discussed for a while, until they came up with a solution.

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  Jeff, the Tech Genius, had a great idea; he turned on his Fire, and used the GPS system to know the exact place they were in: they were a little disoriented, since —as far as they could tell— they were on the wrong path, or at least on the wrong direction. Quickly, making use of the precise images of the Amazon Apps, the Tech came to the conclusion that they had to backtrack a little, and then take another direction to manage to cross the desert; and after that, the mountains. Captain Ernest and Johnny agreed. Besides, due to the presence of tourists who, by this time, must have found out the missing stuff in the camp, it was very risky to go back the same way.

  Once all the members of the crew were awake, they got on the vehicle, and Jeff started to drive with unmatched mastery. During the route, surprisingly, they saw that there were lots of roads; however, they desisted from driving on them, since —with certain frequency— huge heavy load trucks would pass by. The brave ones were on top of the Jeep, on the side of the road for more safety. On their journey, they also saw some establishments, which is why they thought they were in the right direction, so they kept driving for hours; this time, in the opposite direction, until they had to stop: there was a new obstacle.

  Mini-Chapter 50

  There was a huge fence which extended beyond what is imaginable. The techs said: “It is that way! Our calculation cannot fail this time.” The Captain realized a detail: the fence was electrified. Apparently, humans used it to protect their crops from predators which used to come from the mountain desert. “No one get close! The fence is electrified, if you touch it, you will get fried! It is very dangerous.” The crew was surprised. Johnny Dash saw the billboard which was in the upper part, which read: “DANGER! ELECTRIFIED FENCE.” A small security booth could be seen on the other side of the fence: inside of it, there was a small table with an old newspaper and a half-finished cup of coffee. How could they overcome such an obstacle?

  Mini-Chapter 51

  Since no one could come up with a plan that everyone approved, they opted to camp in that same place, as there was nothing else they could do: that fence was an insurmountable obstacle. That night, while most of them were sleeping, Captain Ernest went out for a walk as he always did when he had a difficult problem. “There is nothing better than a good walk to clear the head,” he said to himself. As he walked, he realized that there were some lights on inside the booth. Apparently, the security guard had come back, which is why the Captain retreated slowly while he thought how to get through that huge electric fence. He had a lot more problems now than before: not only was there a fence with a voltage that escaped human calculations, but there was also a police man watching it. “This definitely can't get worse.” Suddenly, something caught his attention.

  Mini-Chapter 52

  There was an eagle's nest in the highest part of a pole. He quickly realized that the bird was not there. He thought it might have gone out to get food for its chicks, which slept calmly in the nest. He felt a little sadness, because in that moment, he would have loved to be an eagle and fly above the world, reach the place where the Doral Flower was and save his Homeland which he loved so much; however, he knew that it was impossible, he was only an “abnormal” human, small like all the people in Happy Town, he only had the same special ability that all the citizens did. He didn't complain; after all, he had a very useful ability, in contrast with his size. Suddenly, he saw how a chick woke up and looked for its mom, but it did not find it. He was even more surprised when the squab walked among its brothers, who were still sleeping. The Captain though: “What is that child doing? He's going to fall on the road!” The chick lost its balance and fell. He tried to flap its wings in vain; they were still too small and underdeveloped to allow him to fly.

  Mini-Chapter 53

  Just when it was about to hit the pavemen
t, Captain Ernest caught it. Due to the fall, the brave soldier received a deep cut on his face, but he did not care: the squab was safe. He saw it in detail; it just had a few colorless feathers, and it could see the pink skin below. It was scared because of the fall, but the Captain cradled it in his arms and, as it felt protected, it remained silent. He contemplated its eyes for a moment and felt deep and in inconsolable melancholy, because he had never been able to have children despite all his efforts in the past, which is why he valued so much what a son meant, even if it was not his: he would have saved it a thousand times.

  Slowly, the eagle’s chick fell asleep in his arms. “Easy, little one, you are already safe. I will protect you until your mom comes back.” Now, not only he had to solve the electric fence and security guard issues, but he also had to think about how to get the squab back to its nest with its other brothers, which he thought was more difficult than the two previous missions together, since the pole was colossal. After thinking a lot, he decided that the most reasonable thing to do was going back to the Jeep, where the crew were resting, and watch after the chick until its mother came back. At least he had saved a life, and that motivated him, because he had always been taught that a soldier's main mission is to save other people's lives, even when having to risk his own life, and he —up until that moment— kept honoring that rule. “I can still fulfill my duties,” he thought. A satisfaction smile appeared in his face, hardened by time and nostalgia. However, the smile vanished when he detected nearby danger.

  Mini-Chapter 54

  Just a few meters away, a snake was watching him with big interest. Apparently, it was hungry and had noticed the squab that Captain Ernest carried in his arms. The Captain immediately knew he could not fight it, since it was a lot bigger, faster and stronger than him; so he tried to run, but the snake moved quickly and stayed in front of him. The reptile did not hesitate and suddenly attacked him. In a surprising and swift move, the Captain avoided the hit by moving to the right. Since he saw that the snake had lowered its guard the moment it attacked, he did not have other choice than fighting for their survival, so he took some sand and threw it to its eyes. The dangerous animal was disoriented. Captain Ernest ran as fast as he could and got away from his adversary; however, he knew the animal would not give up so easily. The only thing he had done with his move was to stun it a bit. While he ran, he tried not to stumble, since he had the eagle’s chick in his arms. He ran to the jeep, and shouted: “Everyone, get up! It's an emergency, I repeat, an emergency!” The rest of the crew woke up, still sleepy. Johnny asked: “What happened? What is the problem? My Captain, what happened to your face?” Captain Ernest replied: “There is no time for silly explanations! A snake is coming toward us! We all have to be ready to fight.” The crew members were alarmed, but they knew exactly what had to be done in a situation like that.

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  They had to support one another. They were small, but together they were much bigger than they could imagine. The Captain took the moment to give the squab to Tech Taylor, who received it surprised. “I rescued this little one; it's an eagle’s chick. Take great care of it, lady! And if things go wrong, I give you full authorization to run away, along with the physicians and scientists. After all, you are much more important than us. The only thing we know is how to fight.” Scientist Leonardo also intervened: “We are staying here, Captain, and even if we have never done it, we will fight if it's necessary. After all, you risked yourselves when you saved me, and I do not think about running away.” It was an emotive moment; nevertheless, the arrival of the snake, which now could clearly see and was more furious than ever, interrupted them. Quickly, Captain Ernest came to the front, along with Rock and Olympus.

  Johnny Dash, on his part, joined them and, although he was very scared when he saw the dangerous animal which was a lot bigger than them, he smiled and said: “We are together in this! You did not think I would miss the fun, did you?” Meanwhile, the snake was watching them, as if calculating who to attack first. For a moment, everything was quiet, and the tension could be felt in the middle of the deserted environment. Then, the animal attacked, but did not manage to hurt anyone, since the crew was much more cautious and organized than it thought. The snake quickly rose. They just had one strategy.

  Mini-Chapter 56

  The four crew members had to dodge its strikes, and they did it the second time the snake attacked. However, Captain Ernest was not as agile as the others, and he stumbled. For a moment, he was completely defenseless on the floor. The snake took advantage of this: apparently, it had realized that the Captain was the easiest prey. Just when it was about to bite him, Rock and Johnny pulled its tail and the snake fell heavily. “Why don't you leave our Captain alone?” He shouted. The snake turned around furiously and tried to bite them, but Johnny Dash was quicker and he managed to avoid it easily. On the other hand, the heavy warriors Rock and Olympus barely managed to avoid the attack. This time, the dangerous animal also realized that they were an easy prey too, so it decided to attack them, but it could not bite them. However, they had managed to dodge it with great difficulty. Suddenly, the snake attacked again. The Warrior repeated the same maneuver but, this time, the animal did not fall. It recovered in midair and changed directions. The attack was so quick that no one could avoid it. Johnny Dash jumped and pushed Rock, managing to save him; nevertheless, now the attack came toward him. Suddenly, a rock hit his opponent from behind, near the head: it was Captain Ernest, who said: “Didn't they teach you to never turn your back to your elders?” This time, the snake was much more furious and attacked mercilessly, but the Captain managed to avoid the hit, and the snake fell once again on the sand. When it saw that none of them were the easy prey that it thought, it went after Tech Taylor, who had the eagle’s chick in her arms. It attacked. When she saw this, Taylor just turned her back to protect the small one.

  Mini-Chapter 57

  Despite of all this, the wild animal could not bite her, because she was not there. Johnny Dash got her away from the place in the last tenth of a second. Now, he had her in his arms. “Do not mess with her!” He yelled very angrily. Then, the Tech told him: “Thanks for saving me, or better put, thanks for saving us.” Johnny could see the small and innocent creature she was holding, and felt he had to drive the snake away from them, there was no other way. After all, he was the quickest of them all. Although he was not certain that he would triumph, he would try anyway. From where he was, he saw how the snake was readying to strike Olympus this time, who was one of the slowest and heaviest of all, and he was down. Johnny Dash applied the same tactic than Captain Ernest did and threw a rock, which, even when it was not so big, it hit it right in the face, making it fall down. Johnny took advantage of the fact that the snake was getting up to climb in its head and ride it like a cowboy rides the wildest of broncos. The snake, much angrier and humiliated, completely forgot the others: the only thing it wanted was to get Johnny Dash off its head, but the young man held tight with all his strength. Its adversary moved in all directions, but did not manage to make him fall. However, he did not have the slightest idea of what to do. If he kept it that way, sooner or later, he would fall down. Then, Captain Ernest, who was down, shouted: “Attack its eyes, Johnny! It is its weak point!”

  Johnny Dash obeyed, but —before doing it— he thought it was a very low strategy, so he did not scratch its eyes, he just covered them with his hands, while he held on to it with his legs. The snake got disoriented, and started to flail in all directions. One of those flails hit Rock, who flew through the air and hit the Jeep heavily, losing conscience. This made Johnny furious, who hit the back of the head of the snake with both hands in a swift motion. Then, he held again with his hands to avoid falling down. The snake, visibly in pain, became even angrier; nonetheless, Captain Ernest had a plan.

  Mini-Chapter 58

  He shouted: “What's wrong with you, stupid snake? Can't you catch this old man? You are useless!” Although it could not see h
im, the snake followed his voice, and gained momentum to attack. On his part, Johnny Dash saw the gesture the Captain was making and understood the plan he had in mind, so he kept covering his adversary's eyes. Captain Ernest was facing the dangerous animal, and kept yelling at it. Then, the snake attacked with all the strength it had. The Captain made a swift move, using all the energy he had left and managed to dodge the strike, but was left completely exhausted on the floor. Johnny Dash let go in the last second and the snake got to see the phone post it was going to hit; however, it was too late and it could not avoid it, so it crashed hard with it, losing conscious. When he saw the danger was over, Johnny hurried to help everybody. First, he helped his great friend, Captain Ernest, to get up. Meanwhile, he saw how Taylor and the scientists aided Rock, who was still unconscious. He could also see how The Olympic Warrior got on his feet; apparently, the snake had not beaten anyone. Most of the crew had cuts and bruises, but nothing serious. At least, no one had become a meal for such a dangerous animal. They all hugged, more relaxed now. Suddenly, the snake got up again and prepared its last strike.