Oakaigus #1: Red Bloom (4 page)

Mr. Singu put his thumb to his mouth and
bit down on his thumbnail. After moments of silence, he finally said, “I’ll do
it.”

“That settles it. Now I’m off to—“

“WAIT,” Jogen shouted.

Dr. Yanja turned her head with her brow
raised.

“I…I…” Jogen felt queasy in the bowels
of his stomach. But soon, Jogen took slow, steady breaths, balling up his fist,
followed by a furrowing of his brow.

“I,” he resumed with bass in his voice,
“I’ll go too!”

“Now, Jo’,” Mr. Singu said, “this is
way
too dangerous. You’re only 15. I don’t think I can let you do this.”

Jogen felt his queasiness deepen, but he
gritted his teeth and puffed up his chest. “
No
,” he said, “you don’t
understand. I
have
to go. If I had actually helped Lilah, none of this
would’ve happened. It’s my fault…”

After Dr. Yanja stared into Jogen’s eyes
for a moment, she shrugged her shoulders. “Well,” she said, “if that’s how you
feel, I have no problem with it. But I’ll only pay your fare if it’s alright
with Mr. Singu.”

Mr. Singu scrunched up his lips as he
breathed in. He gazed at Jogen’s posture: head held high, shoulders squared,
and fists balled. Mr. Singu soon felt a warm rush of adrenaline flutter in his
chest.

Breathing out, Mr. Singu opened his
mouth: “…You’re
really
sure about this?”

“I’ve got no choice.”

“…Alright then. You can come.”

“That’s
that
,” Dr. Yanja said,
“I’ll give you the Guide along with the map to Prai’s whereabouts. See you
soon!”

CHAPTER 8

After a week, Jogen and Mr. Singu were
home, packing sacks of cloth with wrapped food, clothes, and tools.

Mr. Singu dug through a wooden box
filled with metal tools. He reached deep down and pulled out a saw-tooth blade.
“Jo,” he said, “here.”

Jogen turned his head and took the
blade. He glared at his reflection in the blade for a moment before wrapping it
up and stuffing it in one of his bags.

Coming down the stairs came a short,
lean woman whose curly, black hair bounced as she treaded across each step.

“How’s she doing, sis,” Mr. Singu said
to the woman.

“She’s okay,” she said, “she’s not
having spasms anymore, but she’s just really tired.”

“Ms. Fae,” Jogen said, “have you seen my
blue shirt?”

“I think I saw it between your bed and
the wall.”

“Thank you.” Jogen went up to his room
and checked in the space by his bed. He saw a ruffled, blue tunic on the floor.
“Got it,” he mumbled to himself.

After he stuffed the shirt in his bag,
he turned his head when he heard the slow sound of Lilah’s hollow breaths as
she rested in her bed. Her leg was wrapped tightly with a clean, white cloth.

Jogen walked slowly up to her and
kneeled to her side. “I’m sorry,” he said with his voice shaking, “I’ll make
things right.”

When Jogen rose to his feet, he took a
look at Lilah’s face, biting his bottom lip as his right eye teared up.

Just as he turned around, he felt a hand
slap onto his arm. He looked back and saw Lilah reaching out to him with her
eyes half-open.

“
Be back
,” Lilah said softly.

Jogen froze in place. He carefully
lifted his arm and gripped Lilah’s hand, embracing the warmth of her palm.

“Gotcha’,” he said, wiping the tear from
his eye.

Jogen struggled to take a step, but when
he did, his grip on Lilah’s hand wouldn’t let up, until he took another step
and let her fingers slide from his grasp, walking away while still biting on
his lip.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Fae and Mr.
Singu were finishing packing up.

“Got everything?” Fae said.

“Yeah, all good. Any more questions
‘bout the shop?”

“You pretty much covered everything.
Don’t worry, you’ll have two diners when you get back.”

“Haha! I’ll hold you to that.”

“You know,” Fae said, “father’s really
gonna’ want to see you after this. You gonna’ go see him when you get back?”

“Eh…not yet. Just give me a little more
time.”

“It’s fine.”

Fae and Mr. Singu heard slow footsteps
coming down the stairwell. Jogen came down sniffling and rubbing his eyes.

“Said your goodbyes?” Mr. Singu asked.

Jogen nodded a “
yes
” in response.

“It’s okay to let it all out, you know,”
Mr. Singu said.

“I know…”

Mr. Singu then grabbed all three of his
bags and hurled them over his broad shoulders.

“Got everything, Jo?” Mr. Singu said.

Jogen tightened the strings on his bags.
“Yeah,” he replied, clearing his throat.

“Good. Our carrier’s outside.”

Jogen hunched his back to swing the bags
over his shoulder. As they approached the door, Mr. Singu lifted his free arm
when he turned to Fae.

“Alright, sis,” Mr. Singu said, “be
safe. Don’t forget Lilah’s checkups.”

“I’m not THAT old.” Fae and Mr. Singu
shared a small chuckle as they reached out to hug each other. “Please,” she
said, “be safe.”

“You too…Let’s go, Jo.”

Mr. Singu backed away to let Jogen hug
Fae. “Bye, Ms. Fae,” he said.

“Stay safe, Jo! I wanna’ see you again!”

Jogen then stepped away and followed
behind Mr. Singu, stepping out into the bright rays of the sun.

Outside, a large, metal cart manned by a
short, elderly man riding on the back of a tall, yellow animal with a shaggy,
white mane. “Singu?” the elderly man asked.

“Yes sir!”

“Alright, let’s be off!”

Jogen and Mr. Singu stepped to the back
of the cart and lifted the metal cage. They threw their bags inside and hopped
in, closing the gate behind them.

“YAH,” the elderly man shouted as he
pumped his heels against the sides of the animal. The animal lunged forward, causing
Jogen and Mr. Singu’s bodies to jerk from their seats.

“No safety belts?” Mr. Singu grumbled.

Jogen settled back into his seat and
watched through the cage as the distance between him and the diner grew further
and further.

CHAPTER 9

After two hours of passing sceneries in
the wild, Jogen and Mr. Singu finally arrived at a bay with a huge stone sign
that said “
Lekobo Regional Express
.”

Jogen and Mr. Singu unlocked the cage
and slid it up. They grabbed their bags and swung them over their shoulders.

“Thank you,” Mr. Singu shouted to the
elderly man.

“You take care now!” the man yelled as
he waved and went his own way.

Jogen and Mr. Singu entered the station,
stepping onto wooden planks lodged into the dirt.

They stepped toward the entrance gate
where a female clerk was stationed, wearing a long, blue robe with a blue and
gold cap. She stood behind a white desk accompanied by two men towering above
her with their heads held high and their hands latched onto their guns.

“Welcome to Lekobo Station,” the clerk
said, smiling, “may I see your passes?”

Jogen and Mr. Singu pulled two yellow
tickets from their pockets and handed them to her.

“Thank you,” she said, “give me a moment
to verify.”

The clerk reached into her pocket and
pulled out a red lens. She put the lens over her left eye and saw the special
ink stamp in the fabric of the tickets.

“Perfect,” she said, “here’s your
receipt passes. Enjoy your trip!”

The clerk handed them two pink tickets
and unlocked the heavy, iron gate behind her.

“Thank you,” Jogen said.

The two of them stepped through the gate
and looked up at the four, long walkways that led to each terminal.

They passed by the first three terminals
that each said: “
Sirioud Region
,” “
Felorra Region
” and “
Gojuju
Region.
” All three terminals were filled with the sound of chatter and
laughter by people hugging and children chasing each other, with Felorra having
the biggest crowd.

After passing these terminals, they
arrived at the end of the walkway to the “
Kengongbo Region
” terminal.
There, no one stood in sight.

“Well,” Mr. Singu said, “at least we’ll
have a quiet ride.”

After they entered the Kengongbo
terminal, they saw the entrances to three bays inside as they approached the “
Kaiser
Mount
” bay. They saw a man wearing all blue attire standing next to another
guard.

“Tickets please,” the man said with his
hand in his pocket, chewing on a toothpick.

Jogen and Mr. Singu presented their
receipt tickets. The man in blue glanced at the tickets and nodded his head.
“Alright,” the man said, “this way.”

The man unlocked the gate, causing its
iron to creak as light from the roof’s opening bled through the crack.

Inside, a behemoth was revealed: a creature
covered in a thin, wet biofilm with a light blue backside and a pudgy, white
stomach. The creature slept soundly in a stone chasm built into the ground. Its
breaths from its loud snores moved the large, iron carrier box strapped to its
back up and down with the rhythm of its expanding chest.

“WHOAH,” Jogen said with his eyes
widened, “what’s
that
?! It’s huge!”

The man in blue felt a tick in his
cheek. Suddenly, a smile grew on his bearded face that caused his toothpick to
fall out.

“
That
,” the man in blue said with
his chest puffed out, “is a broagphin!”

“I don’t think I’m too familiar with
them,” Mr. Singu said.

“Hehe,” the man said, “in that case, let
me tell you a bit. But first-“

The man tucked his thumb and index
finger between his lips and whistled twice.

“BOBO!” the man shouted as his voice
echoed through the terminal.

Bobo the broagphin felt the man’s
whistle ring through his earholes. Bobo’s large, black eyes slowly opened as he
blinked twice.

Bobo shook his head and stood up on all
four of his long, muscular legs. Bobo looked down at the man and bellowed a
hollow, medium-pitch croak.

“Had a good nap?” the man said.

Bobo bent down and nuzzled his wet head
gently against the man’s body.

“He really likes you,” Mr. Singu said.

“This is my best buddy here! Broagphins
are some of the friendliest things you’ll ever meet! Just don’t take their
grub.
Ever
.”

“So,” Jogen said, “how does this trip
go? I’ve never taken the Express.”

The man tipped his hat downward with a
grin. “Ah,” he said, “I meant to tell ya.’ See, pound for pound, broagphins have
the
strongest
legs out there! Just give him a minute to warm up, then we
jump!”

“How long is the trip?” Jogen asked.

“A little over an hour.”

Jogen bulged his eyes out. “Wait…this is
all in
one
jump?!”

“In
one
jump.”

“Hold on a sec,’” Mr. Singu said as he
reached into his bag. After digging for a little while, Mr. Singu pulled out a heavy,
dark-brown book.

“What’s that?” Jogen said.

“It’s the Explorer’s Guide that Yanie
gave me. They should have a section about broagphins, I assume.” Mr. Singu read
through the index and then turned the pages.

“Let’s see,” he mumbled as he turned,
“…Ah, here. It says they have the longest jump span of
any
known animal.
The longest single jump of 2 hours and 38 minutes was recorded in 18309.”

“Mmhmm,” the man in blue said with a
nod.

“What rank is it?” Jogen said.

“…Hmm. It’s a hyperfauna.”

“That’s it?”

“Eh,” the man in blue said, “who knows
what the writer was thinking? But I’m just an expressman, what do I know?
Anyway, we’re ‘bout to be jumping off soon.”

“Are we the only ones going?” Jogen
said.

“TUH,” the man in blue said, “you’re the
first fare I’ve had to this place in two weeks! See, me and Bobo usually do a
lot of jumps to Felorra since it’s a big vacation spot. Kengongbo is the only
place that never has a set schedule since jumps there are
really
low in
demand, but we still at least have to have a terminal for them since their
government’s apart of our continent. We never really hear too much from them,
though. They’re strange.”

“I see,” Mr. Singu said, “well, is it
okay to board now?”

“Sure! I’m just waiting on you two
anyway, so whenever you’re ready!”

“We’re ready.”

“Bobo,” the man yelled, “sit!”

Bobo bent over, aligning the balcony of
the carrier on his back with the edge of the platform, letting Jogen and Mr.
Singu step on.

Inside the carrier, five rows of seats
were embedded into the hard floor, with a window on each side of each row.

“It’s bigger than it looks from the
outside,” Jogen said.

Jogen dropped his bags on the floor and
plopped into the soft, firm seat cushion that tickled his neck. “Ahhh,” he
said, “this feels amazing.”

Mr. Singu put his bags down and sat next
to Jogen. “Oh wow,” he said, “this
does
feel good!”

The man in blue stepped into the
carrier, peaking his head inside. “Alright,” he said, “we’re jumping off in two
minutes. Don’t forget your safety belts!”

Jogen and Mr. Singu nodded and fastened
their belts.

Mr. Singu puffed air through his cheeks
and then looked over to Jogen. “Ready?” he said.

Jogen felt the beating in his chest grow
hotter. “…Not really,” he said with his fist clenched in his lap, “but I gotta’
do this.”

Mr. Singu smirked. “I’m with ya.’”

The man in blue walked around the outer
balcony and entered a smaller compartment box at the front of the carrier. In
the box was a window behind the man that connected to the carrier’s main
seating room. The man knocked on the window, causing Jogen and Mr. Singu to
look up at him. The man raised his index finger and mouthed the words “
one
more minute
” through the glass.

The man poked his head out of the
compartment and yelled “ready, Bobo?!”

Bobo stretched his long legs and slapped
his foot on the ground, stirring up a small tremor that rocked the walls of the
station. Two workers that were still on the platform stumbled in place as they
felt the tremor vibrate up their bones.

In a matter of moments, the shaking
faded into the walls.

The man stuck his head out through the
other side of the compartment window and turned his attention to the two
workers as they were just catching their balance.

“Hey,” the man yelled to the workers,
“reel it up!”

The workers snapped their arms up to
salute the man. They jogged to the corner of the platform and pulled down on a
heavy knob with six pegs. Their veins poked through their skin as their muscles
strained to pull down the knob.

The gears connected to the knob started
churning and clanking, causing the terminal’s runway gate to rise up from the
chasm floor.

The man settled back into the wide,
leather seat of his compartment box and strapped himself in as he stared down
the long, stone runway paved in front of them.

The man dug his fingers deep into his
knee. “I never get tired of this,” he said with a grin.

Back in the seating area, Jogen and Mr.
Singu double-checked their safety belts and took deep breaths in.

Jogen clenched his eyes shut and nibbled
on his top lip.

“You got this,” Mr. Singu said.

Once the terminal’s takeoff gate rose to
the roof with a booming clang, Bobo straightened his posture.

Bobo took his first step forward through
the gate. Once his feet touched the outside runway, he leaped forward.

His steps turned into stomps. With each
stomp, the ground shook.

With each stomp, the wind pushed harder
against him.

With each stomp, Jogen and Mr. Singu
felt their stomachs bounce in their bodies.

Then, Bobo’s cadence sped up. His feet
morphed into rushing, blue blurs. His lungs pumped faster and faster as reached
near the end of the runway. Near the last inch, Bobo flexed the muscles in his
thighs, causing his legs to bulge three times their size.

Finally, Bobo launched himself with a ‘
BOOM
.’

A shockwave of wind exploded against the
stone ground, blowing dirt to the wayside miles away.

As Bobo ascended against the heavy
gusts, Jogen and Mr. Singu’s bodies pressed into the cushion of their seats,
feeling the force slightly push their organs towards their backs.

Jogen’s lungs forced hyperventilated
breaths out of his mouth. Mr. Singu grabbed onto Jogen’s knuckles. “YOU GOT
THIS,” Mr. Singu said.

Jogen squeezed his stomach and lowered
his head. Slowly, his lungs loosened up and his limbs relaxed. He started to
feel lighter as the ascent slightly slowed.