Fire on the Mountain
Hours of rough hiking take the planeteers and their elderly guide deep into the Amazon, far from known trails. Soon, they arrive at the edge of a lake, now covered in sludge. Nearby, a hill is torn open, and broken fragments of rock are scattered everywhere. The five youth run up and gaze in shock into the gaping tear in the earth. After a moment, Ma-Ti hesitantly creeps closer and kneels to look. Then, something shiny catches his eye.
"How odd! I did not know we had rocks like this." He says, picking up a lump of shiny yellow metal, and sniffing at it. "What is here to dig for? Plunder wanted an old rock?"
Gi runs over and takes it from him. "Ma-Ti, this is gold!"
He looks at her with a blank face and shrugs. "It is still a rock. What do you do with gold rocks? You cannot eat them, and they are too small to build with. Who tears up someone's home just to look at a rock?"
"That's it! Gold is valuable; Plunder and Greedly found a huge stash of it. They want the gold hidden under the Amazon Rain Forest." Kwame explains. "Ma-Ti's people don't use money, so he has no use for gold where he came from."
Ma-Ti shrugs and walks on, looking around. He scans the area looking at everything that was left behind. Linka stands beside him, as he looks over the devastation, a tear running down his face. Yellowish-brown sludge oozes down the bank, into the river, churning up sickly looking underwater clouds that float away.
"I wonder what is left here. Where have my friends gone?" Ma-Ti says, holding his hand out over the river. "Heart!"
The ring begins to pulse with a bright yellow glow, as he slowly walks along, moving his hand back and forth. He wanders up the river a bit, until he comes to a broken off piece of a tree. Sitting on his knees, Ma-Ti digs at the ends with his hands furiously.
"What you got there, Ma-Ti?" Wheeler asks.
"Wheeler, most animals hide when they are threatened. I feel a presence here." Ma-Ti replies, wriggling into the log.
Slowly he comes out, holding a small, furry, golden brown animal, carefully petting it, and whispering softly. Sitting on the forest floor, the young boy holds the animal close, as he rocks with it in his arms.
"Hi little guy! I missed you so much." Ma-Ti says softly, rubbing his face against its thick fur. "Now this is worth looking for. I would give up a rock to see this little guy, anytime!"
"What is that?" Wheeler asks.
"It's a young kinkajou. You probably know it better as a Bear Monkey, or a Honey Bear." The Shaman replies. "This is what Ma-Ti does. He's a shy, quiet, child who cares a lot about animals. Suchi is his main companion."
"Isn't he cute!" Gi asks. "Now I want to save this place even more than I did before. "Ma-Ti, sorry to pull you away from your friend, but we need to stop the pollution so we can save this little guy. Come on."
Quietly, the young boy stands and snuggles with the kinkajou one last time, before carefully handing it to his grandfather. There is an unmistakable sadness in his eyes as he lets go. Now he nods following the others slowly.
"Don't be so down, Ma-Ti." Wheeler says. "We're going to make things right again."
"I sure hope so." Ma-Ti says sadly. "How can anyone do this?"
They hike on for a few minutes. There, before them is a long ditch. Quietly the follow it, looking for a spot where they can get across safely. By an old tree, Kwame suddenly stops and kneels for a moment.
"Friends, have a look at this!" Kwame says, pointing to something in a small ditch. "Plunder and Greedly left us a clue."
Linka and Gi run over to look, hopping into the ditch, and making their way to the far end. Together, they lift a strange piece of metal out of the way. Under it is a torn part of a map, and some strange looking silver liquid.
"What is that strange stuff?" Wheeler asks.
"They're using mercury to separate the gold." Gi answers. "I have seen this once before."
"What does mercury have to do with gold?" Wheeler asks.
"Mercury is a metal that is naturally a liquid. When you add it to gold bearing rock, it bonds to the gold. The weight of the mercury makes the metal mixture sink and settle on the bottom. Then water flowing over the mix washes the rock around it away. Then, they heat the mercury and gold mixture, causing the mercury to turn into a gas, leaving behind pure gold." Gi explains. "The problem is the mercury is also a strong poison that affects plants, animals and people alike. Many people that are poisoned with small amounts of mercury have health and learning problems for the rest of their lives. Even the fumes have burned people's lungs, causing them to need help breathing."
"So if that gets into the water, it will poison everyone!" Ma-Ti says frantically. "This is what we drink."
"Yes, and that is why we have to stop this fast!" Gi replies. "Look at the map, maybe it will tell us where they are going."
Wheeler and Linka glance down at the map, following the markings. "Hmm, I think I know where they are headed. If I am right, we should find their main processing plant for the gold up near this mountain."
"It's time to shut Greedly and Plunder down!" Wheeler adds.
"Come with me!" says the Shaman. "We must head up the mountain to find them quickly."
Everyone looks up at the giant of a mountain before them. The only clue they had was distant smoke coming from the trees.
"I do not like the looks of this friends!" Kwame says. "Where there is smoke, there is fire!
It was a long and tiring hike up to the mountain. At times, the path seemed to go on forever, but take them nowhere. Slowly the intense humidity, the insects and the endless heat got to everyone. Only the plume of smoke kept them on the right path. Even though it wasn't raining, they were all drenched with humidity and sweat. Pausing, Kwame and Gi knelt to get some water.
"How do people live out here?" Wheeler complained, fanning himself with a small paper fan from his pocket. "I thought New York summers were bad. Heat, and bugs and no air conditioning. Yuck!"
"Do you Yankees ever stop complaining?" Linka asks, looking at him. "No one said saving our planet would be easy."
"Come friends, we are close now!" Said the Shaman, pointing up the trail.
They weren't very far along when the smoke thickened and began to burn their eyes. Ducking low, they raced up into the trees, trying to avoid it as much as they could. Getting to an old rock, the Shaman ducked low and looked around.
"Watch the animals, there is fire nearby." He says, looking at each of them. "Fire is a part of the natural cycle out here. We must respect it and be careful."
"I can put it out." Gi says, standing.
The old man shakes his head. "Fire clears death and disease from our lands, so new life can grow. The Mebêngôkre people do not fight nature. We work with it and manage it, so we stay safe, but we let Mother Earth do her own work. Come, let me show you how my grandfather did this."
Slowly they turn onto a side trail and follow it up watching the direction of the smoke. A few times, they pause to extinguish some flames, but only enough to keep the trails open and safe.
"We are close now!" The Shaman says. "This is where you must be careful."
Thank you, Shaman!" Kwame says. "You might want to go back now. We do not wish to put you in any danger. Plunder and Greedly are people who do not care."
The old man looks on for a moment, then hugs Ma-Ti. "You need to be careful up here, young one."
"Don't worry Shaman." Kwame says, looking at the old man. "Like you, I came from a village where family is important. I will take care of Ma-Ti and make sure nothing happens to him. You have my word!"
With a look of understanding the old man heads off. Now Kwame leads his friends up a long narrow trail. Trailing near the back, Ma-Ti pulls up the straps on his backpack and continues without a word. The small group continues, heading up the hill and around the bend until they see a huge factory belching smoke into the air and dumping more sludge into the rivers. Taking off, they run to the tall chain-link fence around it. Inside, is a small, thin man with a blonde ponytail. He wears blue jeans, fingerless gloves, boots, a red singlet, and a green vest. He also wears a baseball cap. He has a long, thin nose and bucked teeth, as well as a small beard on his chin. The strange little guy is hopping around and waving frantically.
"You were right, Mr. Greedly, it's full of gold, real shiny gold!"
"And I want more of it! Now!" Greedly barks, grabbing him by the shirt.
"Good news, I just struck a deal for millions of dollars. We have a buyer for all the gold we can mine!" Plunder says, holding up a contract, as he walks out of a nearby building.
"Your million dollar deal just went up in smoke, Plunder!" Wheeler says, pointing his ring at the contract. "Fire!"
Wheeler's ring glows as the contract bursts into flames, and flares up, hitting his hand.
"Ouch!" Plunder says, throwing the burning paper to the ground and shaking his hand. "That was a mistake you little eco geek! Get them!"
From a nearby building, the door opens and men with guns come running out. Before they can say anything, the men chase after them.
"Wheeler, that wasn't such a good idea!" Linka yells, as they run from their pursuers. "We must get out of here!"
The chase was on, with bullets flying. It seemed the small troop of men were gaining on the planeteers with each step, as they turned and dodged. Running down a hill, Wheeler lead four of them to a ditch, where he jumped and then ducked into some nearby bushes. The trick, however, only lasts a moment, as he peeks out to find his friend.
"There he is, get him!" One of the men yells.
"Oh, I'm beginning to think this wasn't such a good idea!" Wheeler yells, running as fast as he can into the bushes. "Anyone have another idea?"
Kwame takes Ma-Ti by the hand and the two of them push their way into some thick bushes. Close behind is Rigger with three other men.
"Come back here you pests!" Rigger yells. "The boss wants you."
"I knew saving the forest wasn't going to be easy, but I did not expect this!" Ma-Ti says, as they round a bend and duck behind some rocks. "I am not sure how much longer I can run."
They run on, and Kwame looks around, as the footsteps get closer. "Quickly, we need to get up on that hill. I have a plan!"
The two of them run a few more feet, then duck into a narrow trail. Quietly they crawl off up the hill as fast as they can, ducking and weaving between the thick, tangled mess of bushes and vines. About half way up, they run into a tangle they cannot get through. As Kwame pulls at it, Ma-Ti points to a side trail.
"We have to go back, Kwame! It is too thick."
"Your right!" He replies, as they turn into the side trail.
Before they can get anywhere, the bushes begin to shake.
"Too late, we are trapped!"
"No we are not, Ma-Ti. I have a surprise for Greedly's friends!" Kwame says, as the bushes shake, and then break.
Rigger and another man jump out.
"I got you now!" Rigger yells.
Quickly, Kwame points his ring at the ground under their feet. "Earth!"
The ground shakes, knocking both men to the ground, as a huge bolder rises up, blocking their path. Beside the two planeteers, a new path opens up, just wide enough for them to run down, and they take off.
"We need to get out of here before they figure out what just happened." Ma-Ti says, looking around for a moment. "Maybe we can climb up into the thick trees and hide from them. No one can see through the forest canopy."
Jumping he grabs onto a branch and begins to climb. Kwame is a few steps behind, grabbing on and beginning to get up. For a moment, he slips, sliding down the tree. A few branches up, Ma-Ti looks back for a moment.
"Are you okay?"
"There is no grip, I'm slipping!"
"Use your feet, Kwame! Press them against the tree and push yourself up." Ma-Ti yells back, his face showing the worry.
Kwame continues to struggle for a moment, pushing with his feet as he slides. Several times, he tries to push against the tree with his feet, but each time he slides backwards. The youngest planeteer rubs his head in wonder, and tries reaching down for his friend. Kwame jumps and pushes with his legs, just missing Ma-Ti's hand.
"I can't get a grip. You're too high up!"
"I've climbed these trees since I was little. Why does it not work?" Ma-Ti yells, reaching back for his friends.
The sound of footsteps grows louder and closer. In the last moment, Kwame kicks off his sneakers and begins to climb the tree. Plink! A bullet just misses him as he scrambles up onto a branch and disappears into the thick leaves.
"That was frighteningly close, Ma-Ti!" Kwame says, wiping the sweat from his forehead, as he pulls himself up to the branch where his friend sits. "But how do we get down? We can't stop them from up here."
"Kwame, what about the animals? They still need help, even if we have not stopped Plunder and Greedly yet." Ma-Ti asks, peeking out of the branches. "This river has dolphins in it. If the poison gets into the water, they will die."
He nods. "We can't do everything at once, but maybe we can sneak down and check on our animal friends. If Wheeler is the kind of person I think he is, he'll go after Plunder again. Let's try."
Looking around, the coast looks clear, so they climb down. Ma-Ti quietly tiptoes down a narrow path until he comes to the river. Around them, a light rain begins to fall. Quietly, they follow it hugging the river bank. Click! Click!
"What is that sound?"
"It is a river dolphin! They make that odd clicking sound." Ma-Ti says softly. "It is how they talk to each other."
In the distance, they hear the sound of a crowd of people chanting, "Save our forest! Save our forest! Save our forest! Save our forest!"
