Narrow escapes

The stranger looks up for a moment, then goes back to filling her bucket, with only a shrug. Kwame continues to run towards her. Now the individual reaches down, about to dip her hand in the water. Jose and Ma-Ti are hard at work, trying to wipe down a bird, covered in a thick, mud-like gook! Distracted by the yelling, Jose looks up and spots the woman about to drink from the water.

"Esta agua está envenenada. ¡Aléjate de ella antes de enfermarte! ¡Ir!" Jose yells, waving his hands and shaking his head.

The person at the water's edge lets go of the bucket, jumps up and runs off into the woods. Kwame looks in wonder.

"What did you tell her?" Ma-Ti asks.

"This water is poisoned. Get away from it before you get sick!" Jose replies, turning to him. "I speak English and Spanish. I'm Jose Poblos. It's just me and my mom."

"What happened to your dad?" Kwame asks.

The young boy sits quietly for a moment. "He died years ago. My parents told me always do what you know is right. Dad was trying to find out about an attack on a village in the forest. No one ever told me anymore. That's why I wondered if the stories of people of the forest were real. For me, meeting your friend Ma-Ti made it real, a child my age that lives in this forest."

Ma-Ti sits off to the side really still and quiet.

"Ma-Ti, are you okay?"

"Bad memories of long ago. I cannot talk about it right now." He says, wiping his eyes.

Jose walks over to him and smiles. "For years, I have wished there was someone my age who thought this was more than an adventure. Come, we can help each other."

Ma-Ti stands, and the boys put an arm over each other. "Jose, right now, we need to find the animals. They need our help!"

"Finally, I get to do more than hold signs, and listen to people talk." Jose replies, as they sprint down the dirt path. "Something that makes a real difference in lives."

The two of them continue until they reach a tall wire fence in the middle of nowhere. Quickly ducking behind a bush, they peek out to see armed guards on the other side patrolling the strange compound.

"What is this place?" Ma-Ti asks.

"It belongs to a mean man named Plunder!" Jose says, looking around. "This is what we came to protest."

"Protest?"

Jose nods and sighs. "We want the government to close it down because it is ruining the water. People stopped listening to our complaining about the animals. I hope that when people find out you and your family are real, maybe they'll finally close this awful place for good."

Ma-Ti nods. "My friends and I came to stop them, but some of my friends are missing."

Suddenly, they hear footsteps coming towards them.

"Duck!" Jose says, lying on the ground. "The guards are back!"

Diving behind a bush, the boys lie flat on the ground, and hold their breath as the guards approach. Thump! Thump! Thump! The echo of boots grows nearer.

"Bill, there was someone here a moment ago!" one of the guards says looking around.

"Find them! Plunder doesn't want interference from any more meddling environmentalist." The other says, shaking and rifling through the bushes.

The first guard runs down a ways, and circles to the other side of the bush, as the boys crawl underneath. Shh! The bush shakes around them as the men try to force them out. Crack! One of the branches breaks, and Jose starts to slip a little. Quickly he reaches over and grabs another.

"They can't be in here; they would have fallen out by now." Bill says. "Come on, let's see where they went."

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! The sound of running footsteps fills the air, gradually fading away. Once all is quiet, Ma-Ti slowly looks up. With a nod, he gets to his knees, gazes around cautiously and then stands. Jose stands, and Ma-Ti joins him. Looking around cautiously, they run across the compound and slip into a narrow space between two of the buildings a few yards away. Hidden in the dark, they wait a moment, before inching forward to the building wall.

"Where are these friends of yours?"

"I do not know. I fear they are in danger." Ma-Ti says, shaking his head. "I am hoping to find them while we rescue the animals."

Jose nods as they move toward the building, when suddenly they spot a shadow moving towards them. "Someone else is coming!"

Quickly the two of them lie behind the bush once more, holding their breath. The stranger walks by, but does not stop. They wait until the person is out of sight.

"Let us hope Kwame is having better luck getting in. We need to rescue the animals, or they will die."

For a moment the boys look at each other, then sneak off toward the water. Ma-Ti goes to the edge of the bushes, then peeks out.

"The coast is clear. We need to go help our friends."

At that moment, they feel drops of water hit them. Ma-Ti looks up.

"An afternoon rain shower. They are normal for this time of year. Actually, today has been drier than usual." He says. "This way!"

The drops quickly turn into a full on rain storm, with whipping winds and dirt trails turning to mud underfoot. Shh! Trees overhead shaking and blowing fill the air with wild sounds. Different local monkeys call out, as they scamper up the trees to shelter. The boys splash and slide as they hike through slippery, ankle deep mud, grabbing trees to help them balance, the trail gets steeper. Ma-Ti, however, seems quite happy in the rain shower, urging his companion on towards the river.

"It doesn't bother you?"

"No Jose, the rain will wash away our tracks. The bad guys will not be able to follow us." Ma-Ti replied. "It is a trick I learned from my grandfather for avoiding enemies."

Scrambling the last few feet, they slide down a muddy embankment to the edge of the river. The water is a sickly looking yellowish-brown, and churning wildly, as it splashes and overflows its banks. Carefully, Ma-Ti grabs onto a rock and wades into the water toward something bobbing near the surface. A sudden rush of water, pushes him back, and he just grabs onto a branch to avoid being swept away. Pushing further out, he comes upon a tangled mass of long hair in the twisted branches of a fallen tree. SNAP! CRACK! Quickly he begins to pull it apart and untangle vines. A surge of water comes along, sweeping him off of his feet, into a thick root. As he struggles against the water, Jose hops down and races to grab his hand. Together, the boys fight the current until they make it onto the river bank. Under their feet, the ground begins to crumble and fall away.

"We have to get out of here, Ma-Ti!" Jose yells, pulling him as hard as he can.

At the last minute, as another jet of rushing flood water breaks up the bank under foot, they leap to safety. Brown swirling muddy water rushes into the spot where only seconds before, Jose's foot was.

"I got her!" Ma-Ti sighs, landing in a puddle.

"What is that?"

"This is a baby two-toed sloth!" Ma-Ti answers pushing the thick fur out of its eyes. " They live in the trees. This little one must have gotten separated from its mother when the tree fell. Without care, a sloth this young will die."

Jose nods. "Now we need to get to your friends, and find more animals!"

"Let's go!"

While Jose and Ma-Ti were rescuing the sloth, Kwame was on the far side of the compound, searching for the missing planeteers. Quietly, he runs along the wall of one of the buildings and peeks out. In the distance, he sees a truck pulling out of a loading dock, piled high with gold ore. As he steps around the corner, he spots three guards in the distance, coming his way, and a large, pig-faced man eating a sandwich.

"Finely, we can mine in peace!" Plunder says with a snort.

"I'm about to shake up your plans; Earth!" Kwame says, pointing his ring.

It glows for a second and an earthquake splits the ground open. Everyone tumbles to the ground, as the truck rolls over and crashes into the hole.

"What was that?" Rigger cries out, running from a building.

With a chuckle of satisfaction, Kwame ducks and runs behind a building. "While they are trying to get that truck, I can find my friends."

Circling around, he quietly sneaks inside. Snort! Snort! The sound of footsteps causes him to duck. Peeking out of his hiding spot, he sees Hoggish Greedly, and two men walk by with Wheeler and Gi. He ducks to avoid being seen.

"You'll never get away with this, pig face!" Wheeler says, as Greedly shoves him forward.

"See that's where you are wrong, Planeteer. I already have, and it's going to make me the richest hog on earth. I'll be filthy rich."

"I don't know about rich, but you sure are filthy, Greedly!" Wheeler fires back, as they are shoved into a room.

Greedly's face turns red, and he grits his teeth. "I'll deal with you later, loud mouth! Getting rid of you will be fun."

"Where is Linka?" Kwame asks, looking around. "Something is very wrong here."

Greedly slams the door, and locks it. "You've insulted me for the last time, you troublesome teen. Enjoy your stay!"

Quickly he ducks, staying out of sight until Greedly and his henchmen walk away. Hopping up and running to the door, he peers in quickly.

"Kwame!" Gi asks, looking up.

"Are you all alright?"

"We lost Linka when Greedly grabbed us." Wheeler says. "What do we do now?"

"Hang in there. We have a plan." Kwame whispers, shaking the door. "Now we just need to get you out of here!"

"It's locked!" Wheeler says, as Kwame shakes it.

Just then, a ghost image of Ma-Ti appears. "My friends, we are running out of time. The flooding is getting worse. Please hurry!"

"Well friends, we need help." Kwame says. "Wheeler, try cutting that door with your ring."

"You got it!" he says, pointing his ring at the lock. "Fire!"

Like a laser, a hot jet of fire begins to cut through the door. After a few minutes, the lock falls away. Wheeler jumps up and kicks the door. Bang! It flies open.

"Now we need Linka!" Gi says, as they run off down the hall.

The planeteers come around the corner to the sound of yelling and things falling. Wheeler looks through the window into the room.

"Old Hog face has our friend." Wheeler says, kicking the door open. "Let her go, Greedly!"

"And what if I don't?" Greedly asks, with a laugh and a snort. "I think I'll just keep your friend as a souvenir of our meeting."

He drags her struggling to the door as they watch. Gi points her ring at him.

"Uh ah, miss superhero! This time I win!" Greedly says, kicking the door open, and running for a helicopter. "You won't catch me!"

"No! He has Gi!" Linka yells, as the helicopter starts, and the whirling blades kick dust into her eyes.

They run towards the helicopter, but the force of the rotors is much too strong, and it blows them off of their feet on the slippery ground. He tries to get up as Greedly reaches for the door of the helicopter and begins to pull it.

Kwame puts his ring to his head. "Ma-Ti, if you can hear me, we need your help right now!"

SNORT! SNORT! "Ha, HA! If that's your best, you should quit right now." Greedly yells. "You can't catch me. Now I've got your friend, and there is nothing you can do about it. So long, suckers!"

From nowhere, a ghost image of the young Kayapo boy appears. "What do you need?"

"It's time to take Gaia's advice." Kwame says, as Linka is forced into the helicopter. "Let our powers combine. Earth!"

Wheeler points his ring into the air "Fire!"

Linka runs toward them pointing her ring. "Wind!"

"We're out of here!" Greedly says, starting the helicopter.

"Water!" Gi says, pointing her ring.

"Heart!" Ma-Ti's voice echoes.

"Well, that wasn't very impressive." Greedly laughs, lifting off. "Maybe next time."

As they begin to fly away, a streak of light shoots up from the forest in front of them. Slowly in the middle appears a clear blue figure of a man. His mullet turns green, while his chest turns red with a yellow globe.

"By your powers combined," He says, streaking skywards, "I am Captain Planet!"

"Ut-Oh, Looks like I picked the right time to leave." Greedly snorts. "This guy is trouble!"

Captain Planet circles around, as the helicopter races away. Quickly, he lands with Kwame, Linka, and Wheeler.

"I am your powers combined and magnified. While I am here, your rings will not work." Captain Planet explains. "For now, go help the animals and the people. I will deal with Greedly, Plunder, and their mess."

"Right!" Kwame says, pointing off in the distance. "Hurry Captain Planet, Greedly just took off with Gi in that helicopter!"