Mullet Fingers limped down the poorly lit highway. His entire body was aching. There was no way he was going to make it all the way back to Coconut Cove. He felt very woozy, as though he would pass out at any second. There were no cars driving by, so he couldn't hitchhike like he did when he escaped from military school. Suddenly, he tripped and lost his balance, falling into a ditch and banging his head on a rock. He couldn't get back up. This was it. There were wolves and coyotes everywhere near the highway. Sooner or later they'd pick up his scent and come looking for some meat. He was going to die out there.
Oh well, He thought , At least Beatrice and Roy won't have to worry about me all the time now.
He hated how they were always so worried about him. When he ran away, he hadn't planned on causing so much worry for Beatrice. She'd probably be horrified when the found his half-eaten body in a ditch, but at least she wouldn't have to worry about the police being after him or anything. Roy would be upset too, but at lease he would be getting into trouble looking for him anymore. Lonna would be happy when the coroner showed up at the door with the news. She'd probably throw a party and invite all her friends. He hoped he could count on Beatrice to not let Lonna donate his body to the university to dissect or anything. He knew Roy would take good care of the owls. He didn't have any regrets, after all he'd been through. And then, he felt very tired. He couldn't keep his eyes open any longer.
"Beatrice...Roy...I'll miss you guys." He whispered aloud before his eyes closed and everything went black.
Beatrice, Roy and Officer Delinko hurried out of the hospital. "Hurry, those Mother Paula's people could already have him at their building!" Beatrice said once they were in the car.
"Right, there's a Mother Paula's building a few miles away from the city, he's probably there." Said Officer Delinko as he sped off toward the highway.
As they drove well above the speed limit, with the sirens roaring, down the highway, Roy could have sworn he'd noticed someone lying in the ditch. Probably just a homeless person. Five minutes later, they could see the Mother Paula's corporate building. Officer Delinko called for back-up on his radio. They pulled up and ran inside. They approached the front desk.
"We're looking for the head of this building." Said Officer Delinko firmly.
"Mr Howan? He's in a meeting right now, you'll have to come back in the morning." Said the secretary.
Suddenly, four security guards ran up to Officer Delinko and mistook him for one of them.
"Have you seen the kid anywhere?" One asked.
"What kid?" Officer Delinko asked.
"The blond one, the one Howan's got us looking for." Said the guard.
The police officer glanced at his younger companions and then pulled out his badge and held it up to the guards.
"I'm Officer David Delinko, C.C.P.D. I want to see this Mr Howan now." He said in his best intimidating voice.
The security guards looked a bit taken aback. They realized they had no other choice and took him to Howan's office. Roy and Beatrice waited in the lobby. Minutes later, several more police cars showed up. Officer Delinko returned with a tall, bald man in a grey suit who looked very pale.
"He says your stepbrother isn't here anymore. I want this whole building searched anyway." Said Delinko.
"What if Mullet isn't here anymore? That doctor told us he was hurt, he may be in trouble." Said Beatrice.
Suddenly, Roy felt nauseous. Could the person he'd seen lying in the ditch be Mullet Fingers?
"Uh...er...I think I...oh my god. Mullet Fingers, I think I saw him in a ditch." Said Roy dazedly.
Mr and Mrs Eberhardt were returning early from their cruise. Mrs Eberhardt had been worried that Roy was lonely. Mr Eberhardt had read in the paper that the owls had disappeared from the Owl Sanctuary on the corner of East Oriole and Woodbury. They'd decided to get off at the next stop and catch a plane home.
"Oh, honey do you really think Roy's getting involved with that Leep boy again?" Mrs Eberhardt asked anxiously on the flight.
"I'm sure of it, Liz. Him, the Leep boy and that girl Beatrice." Said Mr Eberhardt.
Mrs Eberhardt sighed. "Oh, what I wouldn't give to have the shy, quiet Roy back." She said.
"Think about it. If we had the shy, quiet Roy then there'd be a Mother Paula's on East Oriole and Woodbury, an innocent teenager in juvenile hall , and no more burrowing owls in Coconut Cove." Said Mr Eberhardt.
"I suppose. Oh, I only hope he's alright."
Mullet Fingers awoke on a cozy bed.
I'm alive? He thought. He was sure he had died in that ditch. He looked around. He was in a small shack. It was very warm. There was a man with very long, shaggy blond hair, a short beard and freckles cooking at the stove. He noticed Mullet Fingers was awake and smiled at him.
"Thought you were dead? Or perhaps you hoped it? Heh, you're lucky I found you when I did, there were some nasty looking wolves lurking around." Said the man.
"Where am I? And who're you?" Mullet Fingers asked, sitting up.
"You're in my, ah, temporary abode. And as for who I am, well let's just say I don't go by a name anymore." Said the man.
"You don't? Do you have a nickname?" Mullet Fingers asked, being reminded of himself.
"Not one I'd repeat around a teenager. Some people call me Trav." He said.
"As in Travis?" Mullet Fingers asked.
"No, as in traveler. I get around a lot. How do you feel?" Trav asked.
His foot wasn't throbbing as badly anymore, but the back of his head hurt. "Better. Walking a quarter mile with a fractured foot and four broken toes isn't my favorite choice of activities." Said Mullet Fingers.
Trav chuckled. "And here I was thinking that you walking all that way without shoes on was a problem." He said.
"Naw, I never wear shoes. They just slow me down, ya know?" Mullet Fingers said, examining his injured foot.
"Ah yes, I'm brewing something up for that right now. It's quite a complicated potion but I think it could work. I can't really call myself an apothecary." Said Trav, getting up and checking on the large pot boiling on his stove.
Mullet Fingers raised his eyebrows. "Brewing a potion? Is this some kind've dead person dream or what?" He asked.
Trav laughed. "No, but if I told you where I found out about this potion I would have to kill you, so it's best you not ask anymore questions." Said Trav.
"Uh...okay. I'm pretty sure they gave me the best medicine they could find at the hospital though." Said Mullet Fingers.
"Oh, I'm quite sure they won't have this in a hospital." Said Trav, pouring the contents of his pot into a phial and walking over to Mullet Fingers.
"I hope this works." Trav said.
"What's the worst that could happen?" Mullet Fingers asked.
"Well, your foot could turn to stone and fall off, but that happens very rarely." Said Trav, pouring the liquid onto Mullet Fingers's injured foot.
It was scalding hot. Then he became very cold.
"Wiggle your toes." Trav instructed.
He did so, and to his great surprise, there was no pain at all. The bones had healed! Trav chuckled.
"Wait until Zid finds out I brewed that and didn't cause someone to lose their limbs." He said happily.
"Zid?" Mullet Fingers asked.
"An old friend of mine. Between you and me, he, er, never quite forgave me for the time I brewed this for his little problem." Said Trav.
Mullet Fingers looked at him quizzically. "Well, let's just say that Zid hasn't had much of a sex-life since then." Said Trav, dismissing the subject.
Mullet Fingers's stomach rumbled. "And that's our cue for dinner!" Declared Trav, going back to the stove.
Officer David Delinko, Beatrice and Roy drove slowly down the highway in Delinko's police cruiser, searching the ditch.
"I don't see him. Let's get out." Said Beatrice.
They did so and began searching the ditch more closely. And then, Officer Delinko found something. He shined his flashlight on a footprint in the ground. A barefoot print. They followed the tracks until they come to a large rock where the tracks ended. They then peered fearfully into the ditch. The long grass had been pushed aside, someone had been lying in the ditch.
"He couldn't have just vanished." Said Roy.
Delinko radioed his men at the Mother Paula's building to say that Napoleon Bridger Leep had been in a ditch at some point and could possibly have been taken back to that building. Beatrice looked like she was on the verge of tears. Roy wished he could comfort her, but didn't know what to say. Where was Mullet Fingers? Was he even alive?