"Barking spiders! What in blazes are we doing in Canada?" Deryn yelled. Instead of heading to Japan, the Captain had changed course without telling anybody. It was the middle of the winter, and here they were in Alberta! Tons of trees, a big flat stretch of land as far as the eye could see, and no hint of civilization anywhere. On top of that, it was the middle of winter, and the snow was waist high. Oh, yeah. Did she mention that the Leviathan had crash landed?
The Captain stood on a few crates. "I am sure you all know of our little predicament. But this trip was not in vain. Our side is losing the war. Badly. Which is why we need the Canadians on our side. They have a huge military, plenty of young, capable men, and on top of that, they have an advantage we don't. They have managed to mix both Darwinist and Clanker technologies. But unlike others who have done it, they have made both even more advanced. The Clanker part is not as loud and big, but the Darwinist part is stronger and tinier. I have selected a few members from our crew to negotiate our needs, and gather some supplies. May I have Alek, Mr. Sharp, Dr. Barlow, Bauer and Count Volger report to my quarters immediately."
It wasn't a question. Slowly, everyone mentioned made their way inside the ship. They all received sympathizing glances, but got there in no time flat. They were greeted by a few officers, and Captain Hobbes. Once everyone got settled, the Captain laid out the plan.
"As you are all thinking, that wasn't the whole plan. Just something to keep the crew happy. These people have mixed both technologies, but unlike us, don't have any rules. This being said, it won't be such a surprise to hear that they have fabricated their own human. This human was made to bring peace to the world. Except when it was small, it was stolen by Admiral Bob Smith. He conducted a few experiments, and concluded that it was the ultimate super human. Scared of its' power, he released it into the world, and it was never seen again."
They all heard a thud. turning around, they saw Volger, Alek and Dr. Barlow had all fainted. Deryn tried to suppress her giggles, but couldn't stop herself. She was laughing so hard that eventually even Mr. Rigby was chuckling. "Do I have permission to dump water on their heads?" Deryn asked "You don't even have to ask." He replied.
She grabbed a bucket of ice cold water, and tossed it over their heads, cackling with glee. The three spluttered awake, and quickly asked the Captain to continue.
He nodded his head, and resumed the explanation. "We found a documentary of the creature, and now know how to stop it. It looks like a twelve year old girl. Her hair is cut boyishly short, and is a multitude of colors. Blue, red, green, orange, yellow, pink and purple. All the colors of the rainbow, plus a few more. Her eyes are purple, gray and speckled gold. Also, when she sings, her hair glows."
Once everyone was packed, they were practically shoved off the Leviathan. They headed in to the forest, to begin their search.
The first day was long and boring. They hiked throughout the forest, learning many things. Number one: Boffin + skirt + waist high snow = an expanded vocabulary. Number two: it is very possible to accidently hit someone with a stick, and make it look like the trees fault. Number three: Bovril can REALLY get on your nerves.
The lady boffin continued tripping over her skirts, swearing at the top of her lungs. Eventually, she pulled out a pair of trousers while she got everyone while everyone else stood guard. It was hilarious to watch her marching about in men's clothes. Count Volger kept on subtly insulting Deryn with out anyone noticing a thing. Which was why she went ahead of them, held out branch, and just when he was passing, let go, whacking him in the face. And the whole way, Bovril kept on repeating his new favourite song. Dylan and Alek sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. At Alek's questioning look, she just shrugged, wondering if the doofus was ever going to figure it out.
All in all, their day was rather tiresome. And of course, Deryn didn't get much sleep, as she was lying right next to Alek. Conveniently, she rolled over when she was asleep, and woke up on the snow, with wet backside. This introduced a new problem. It was so cold outside that her shirt had frozen to her back, forming icicles. When she was asked if she would change her shirt, she refused, saying that she didn't have any extras. Of course, they insisted that she could just wear her jacket. She had no idea what to say. Then a thought struck her. What if she were to tell them? Not her secret, but she could make up a story of how when her da's balloon burned up, she was burned badly, and it had left a nasty burn on her side. It made taking off her shirt painful, and she hated to do it in front of others. But before she could lie, Dr. Barlow came to the rescue.
"Science proves that if you take off a frozen shirt, it could severely injure you. If Mr. Sharp were to do this, a painful experience will befall him." Stupid things they were, they agreed, pretending they had said that all along.
Although Deryn soon regretted not listening to them. Her nose had begun to run, and her throat became dry. Her head was throbbing, and the world was starting to spin. Before she knew it, she had collapsed. The others were crowded around her, and she heard someone say "Get him warm. And I don't care was science says. Get him out of that shirt".