The Things I Do For Family
Chapter 3
Courage screamed in horror as he watched the ship come tumbling down to the ground below. Courage tried his best to com himself so he could find a solution to his dilemma. Courage quickly searched through the panel hoping to find some kind of emergency switch or something. As Courage frantically examined the panel, he noticed a switch labeled "Emergency Parachutes." Courage pressed the button and suddenly, five secret doors on the top of the ship opened up and five large parachutes came out. However, as fate would have it, the teddy bears who had owned the ship originally had not placed in two of the parachute properly so two of the five parachutes did not open. The ship's descent did slow down, however, but Courage was still traveling too fast for comfort and Courage only had mere seconds before he hits the ground. Out of survival instinct, Courage clutched the handle bars as if his life depended on it. He closed his eyes and braced himself for impact. The ship crashed front first into the ground, hurling Courage out of his seat. What happened next? Courage couldn't remember, only that the world suddenly went black as he lost consciousness.
Courage awoke with a splitting headache and some muscle pain.
"Ugg, my head." moaned Courage in agony as he sat up. As he observed his surroundings, he realized that the viewing screen was smashed and judging by the dent on the screen, covered in spider web patterned cracks, Courage realized that he crashed head first (literally) into the viewing screen.
"Good thing I was wearing this helmet." thought Courage as he removed the bicycle helmet off his head. Courage checked himself for injuries but found only a few minor cuts and bruises. Courage was amazed that he could survive a crash like that and sustain so few injuries but Courage has sustained major damage in the past with few injuries and Courage has always shown that he was a fast healer. Believing that he'll be fine, Courage walked over to his back pack which was flung to the front of the ship when the ship hit the ground. Courage checked the contents to make sure it was alright. Satisfied that nothing inside was broken, Courage walked over to the door. The lighting in the ship was poor because the crash had broken a few over head lights and shut off some of the power. Courage managed to locate the door in the dim light and pushed the button. The door opened and Courage stepped out into the alien environment.
The entire planet seemed very quiet and deserted at first glance. The planet was certainly alien since the soil was lime green but it looked and felt like the dry ground in Nowhere. The trees were not numerous but those few that were capable of growing were covered in blood red bark, was bent like a bent pipe cleaner, and they had lots of leaves that were bright yellow and they were oval shaped. The sky was light green and had several white clouds hovering over head but it was beginning to grow dark as the sun in the distance began to set. Courage carefully sniffed the air in order to find out if there was any predators. Courage found none. Once satisfied that it was safe to come out, Courage stepped outside and examined the damage of the ship. The damage didn't look good because the entire front half of the ship was bent and cracked. Courage began to panic as he realized the hopelessness of the situation. The ship was severally damaged and there was obviously no way it could fly again. Even if it wasn't damaged, without anymore fuel, Courage could never fly back home. Realizing that he was now marooned on this planet, Courage began to panic. Trying his best to com down, he took in deep breaths and tried to think of some solution. Realizing that he wasn't going to gain much from standing out here, Courage went back into the ship in hopes of finding something that can help him.
He frantically searched through all the compartments and cupboards within the ship until he found a cylinder shaped object. It was about six inches tall and it had a diameter of three inches. On top of the device was a small pull-out antenna with an on switch to it. Courage rotated the device in his paws and noticed some instructions written on the side. The instructions read:
S.O.S. Signal Beacon can emit a continuos distress signal in all directions, up to 1 million miles. This distress signal can be picked up by most ships and shouldn't be used unless it is an emergency and you lack any other way of seeking help. To activate, take the beacon outside and into the open, extend the antenna to its full length, and then activate the beacon by pressing the on switch. Leave the switch on continuously because there's always that chance that a ship could be nearby and you might miss it.
After reading the instructions, Courage carried the beacon outside. Following the instructions, Courage extended the antenna and then turned it on. The "on" switch glowed orange, an indication that it was on. Courage then carefully climbed to the top of ship and then secured the beacon to the top of the ship and hoped that a passing alien ship will find it and help him.
"Well, I certainly hope this works." said Courage. Courage sat next to the beacon and observed the surrounding terrain. The planet certainly seemed like a real waste land that was filled with a few plants but no animal life. Not even insects. Courage knew that it would take awhile before help would arrive so Courage decided to go out and search for some clues as to where his parents were. Courage climbed down the ship and went over to his back pack which still laid next to the door. Courage opened the back pack and pulled out his base ball bat, then set out to search for his family.
A shiver ran down Courage's spine as he began to feel the cold air. The planet (or at least this part of the planet) was at a much colder temperature than in Nowhere. It wasn't freezing cold but it was cold enough for Courage since he had spent his life in a warm town like Nowhere. Courage felt tempted to run back and get his winter coat but Courage figured he could adjust and he didn't want to waste too much time. He wondered off in just one direction, marking the ground in anyway available so he could find his way back. The dry ground below his feet began to become more moist and more plant life was starting to appear. He even found plants that resembled grass but they were green-blue instead of green. Courage was also seeing some small insects that resembled flies but he found no animal life, yet.
Courage's trek through this alien world led him to a large ravine that was about 12 feet deep and had a small river running through it. There was also some more trees and plant life below and more of that strange looking grass. Placing his base ball bat into his mouth, Courage climbed down the side of the ravine towards the ground below. Upon reaching the ground, Courage observed the area and noticed nothing immediately harmful. In the trees above were some pigeon sized creatures that looked like birds but they had scales on their heads and talons. Despite how quiet and peaceful the surroundings were, Courage, felt uneasy about being here, as if there was someone watching him. Courage raised his base ball bat, ready to strike at the slightest hint of danger. Remembering his quest to find his parents, Courage shrugged off his fears and walked through the plant life of the ravine, searching through all the thick trees. All the while, he had his bat raised because he still sensed danger nearby.
Suddenly, from out of nowhere, an arrow flew by, missed Courage's head, and instead struck a nearby tree, startling Courage by the sudden attack. He turned around to face the attacker and noticed a dog aiming a bow and arrow at him. The dog held out the bow and arrow like a skilled archer and a quiver of arrows was strapped around her shoulder. But what was so strange about the dog was that her dog breed was a pure bred pink lemden, the same dog breed as Courage. Infact, she resembled Courage in every way but she had longer eye lashes and she had some famine features around the eyes. The two dogs stared at each other, not sure what to do next.
"Alrgiht, stranger, what are you doing here?" demanded the other dog while still holding the bow and arrow.
"I mean no trouble." said Courage.
"Oh really." said the dog sarcastically. "And how do I know you're not working for the aliens?"
"Aliens?" said Courage in surprise. "Look, Miss, I..."
"My name's not 'Miss,' it's 'Misty." said the dog.
"Okay, Misty, I swear, I am not involved with any aliens." said Courage, a little annoyed. Realizing that he's probably not going to talk his way out of this, Courage hunched over and got into a fighting stance. He held out his baseball bat in a ready position. Misty was surprised by this aggressive move but acted accordingly by firing her arrow. Using some martial arts skills Courage had learned in China, Courage swung his bat and struck the arrow in mid air causing the arrow to brake in half. Misty then charged Courage, dropping her quiver of arrows along the way. Courage saw her coming and swung his bat but Misty expertly dodged the swing and then straitened up with a good uppercut to Courage's jaw. She then karate kicked the bat out of Courage's paw and then tried to punch Courage again but Courage easily blocked that attack with his paw. Then with the other paw, Courage aimed for Misty's abdomen but Misty saw it coming and dodged to the side. She then used that dodge by twirling on one leg and then gave Courage a round house kick to his head. Amazingly, despite what Courage had learned in China, Misty was a far more superior martial artist than Courage was.
Dazed by the kick in the head, Misty took this opportunity to grab Courage by both arms and then shoved him against the wall of the ravine. Courage tried to struggle free but Misty had a strength that rivaled his own. Misty held Courage with an iron clasp but Courage continued to struggle. Being this close and panting heavily, the two dogs got a whiff of each other's sent and suddenly, they noticed something very familiar about each other's sent. The two sniffed each other and discovered a unique characteristic about their sent that they hadn't noticed before. Amongst their many odors, they had one sent that was inherited by their ancestors and both dogs noticed that they had the exact same ancestral odor. Misty let go of Courage and the two dogs just stared at each other as the same conclusion came to their minds: they were siblings. A smile crossed Misty's face as she hugged Courage tightly and said, "Brother."