CHAPTER 6: HIGH ADVENTURE
The sun was slowly starting to rise over the mountains and bake the land in a warm,yellow glow and Lily and Sykes were already up and about as the former straightened out her hair while Sykes disassembled the camp site. Once all the work seemed to be done,Sykes headed over to the open cave entrance with the intent to drag out him and Lily's target.
"Boy! Get up and let's go!" called out Sykes in a stern voice only for Ed to suddenly answer from nearby "I'm right here Sykes,you don't need to wake up the whole forest." before stepping out from a shadowy part of the wall much to Syke's resentment as he sneered at the boy. He had no idea how this teenager could act so carefree and borderline disrespectful towards any kind of authority figure,let alone a full blown mercenary for hire like him.
However before Sykes could try and scold the kid,Lily suddenly turned around and greeted the boy "Ah good morning Ed. I'm glad to see you haven't tried to flee overnight." only for the hermit to lightly joke in response "Eh I had considered it but I didn't wanna leave y'all hanging." causing a slight chuckle to come from Lily while Sykes glared at the two of them.
"Are you ready to go? The sooner we leave for England,the sooner I'll be rid of you." asked Sykes as he cleaned the tip of his rifle only for Ed to shake his head while Herman, Petrie and a large brown bear emerged from the cave "Hold up,I'd like to introduce you to some of my crewmates." to which Lily gasped and Sykes angrily lamented "Oh you have got to be kidding me?! You never said anything about your crewmates being animals,who's to say you won't try to send them on us and flee?"
"Oh chill out Sykes if they wanted to kill y'all they would have done it in your sleep,besides they already had breakfast." reassured Ed with a roll of his eye as Petrie flew around and examined the two visitors out of curiosity while the boy continued "The wolf is Herman,he's my best friend and my first mate. I found him as a cub and took him in since his parents were killed by poachers." to which the wolf walked up to Lily and sniffed her hand before licking it with a smile.
"That means he likes you." explained Ed with a light chuckle as Lily cautiously pet the wolf and rubbed his fur,eventually causing a smile to form on her face before Ed continued "The parrot is Perite,he could be our eyes in the sky while we're on the island I thought." to which Lily gasped and happily mentioned "Oh he's like that one character in that dinosaur movie."
Petrie not understanding the reference merely turned his head in confusion before landing on Lily's shoulder and rubbing her head with his while Ed introduced the bear "And lastly the bear is Big Tuk,he may indeed be big but he's a literal teddy bear."
Big Tuk then started sniffing Sykes' hair before suddenly grabbing the man in for a crushing hug while Ed laughed and continued "And he also loves giving hugs. It's not all of my crew but I just thought I'd bring some of them along to make this journey more amusing." to which Lily blissfully remarked in awe "This is really something Ed. I knew from the picture you must have had a thing for animals but I never would have imagined this." followed by Big Tuk finally letting go of Sykes and licking his face,much to his relief and disgust as he let out a huge gasp for air.
"Yeah,I've always been able to talk to animals for as long as I remember. The only other person I've seen who can is my girlfriend Rebeca." replied Ed in a slightly more somber tone of voice while the three animals came up and started showing affection for him before he continued "While I won't say I don't understand people,I've always felt like I've belonged with these guys. I wouldn't trade them for the world." only for a now rugged Sykes to rudely interrupt the moment "Well this is all very nice and all but I think it's time we all head on out."
Lily and Ed then nodded in agreement before the former ran up to the cave entrance and called out "Alright everyone I'm heading out! Y'all play nice and Jeremy's in charge!" to which the animals put on a record of Le Freak and started partying while Ed rejoined the others. Soon the gang of six had made their way out of the forest and boarded a private ship on its way towards England,however the initial excitement of being on a boat and traveling quickly wore off as Ed and his crewmates were left bored out of their mind,and that meant they needed something to do to pass the time.
"Are boats usually this boring? There's nothing to do." asked Ed out of complete boredom as he stared off into the clear blue sky only for Sykes to brush the boy's predicament aside while he read a magazine "Ships are like that boy,so either grin and bear it or pipe down." only for Ed to suddenly perk up when an idea came to mind "Oh I know exactly what this boring trip needs,a nice song to sing!"
"Uh no it doesn't!" sharply interjected Sykes at the mere mention of singing a song only for Ed to happily continue while Herman, Petrie and Big Tuk ecstatically joined the boy's side in support along with Lily getting a look of intrigue on her face "Alright this one's a big favorite of mine. Join in if you know the lyrics."
Ed:
Look out for me oh muddy water.
Your mysteries are deep and wide.
And I got a need for going someplace.
And I got a need to climb upon your back and ride.
You can look for me when you see me comin'.
I may be runnin',I don't know.
I may be tired and a-runnin' fever but I'll be headed south to the mouth of the Ohio.
Ed and Herman:
So look out for me oh muddy water.
Your mysteries are deep and wide.
And I got a need for going someplace.
And I got a need to climb upon your back and ride.
Ed:
Well I've been down to the pain and sorrow,of no tomorrows comin' in.
But I put my pole to the river bottom.
And I've got to hide someplace and find myself again.
Ed, Herman and Petrie:
So look out for me oh muddy water.
Your mysteries are deep and wide.
And I got a need for going someplace.
And I got a need to climb upon your back and ride.
Ed:
Look out for me.
Big Tuk:
(Look out for me.)
Herman:
Oh muddy water.
Petrie:
(Oh muddy water.)
Herman:
Your myster-
Herman and Petrie:
ies are deep and wide!
Big Tuk:
And I got a need.
Ed:
(I got a need.)
Big Tuk:
For going someplace.
Ed:
(For going someplace.)
Big Tuk:
And I got a-
Ed, Herman, Petrie and Big Tuk:
Need to climb upon your back and ride!
Look out for me oh muddy water!
Your mysteries are deep and wide!
And I got a need for going someplace.
And I got a need to climb upon you back and ride!
Ride!
"Oh that was wonderful!" applauded Lily in awe as she gleefully clapped after the song was finished only for Sykes to nonchalantly mention while he got out of his chair "Excuse me I'm gonna go throw up." leaving the five of them in bewilderment before they started giggling to themselves. True their long journey was only just beginning,but it was already proving to be a nice one to remember.
NEXT CHAPTER: THE WOMAN IN CHARGE
"Muddy Water." Written by Roger Miller.
️UMG Recordings