Chapter 11
Instinct
As much as she joked about "Super SaiyAnne" and "Ultra Annestinct," Anne Boonchuy, was, in truth, absolutely terrified of the power that she had come to possess; if, indeed, she could be said to possess it at all. When it kicked in, it almost felt like the power took over; that she wasn't truly in control of her actions. She didn't have the power, the power had her.
Which brought her to this moment. Once again, threatened and betrayed, the power kicked in and overwhelmed her once again, allowing in only a single conscious thought; the need to get her family away. It was fight or flight. The power chose flight. Figuratively, and after a running start, literally.
"Anne!" Sprig tried to shout over the sound of the rushing air. "Anne, I think we got far enough away!" At least he thought so. He didn't want to risk looking down. The memory of the fall from Newtopia Castle was still fresh enough that he and heights were not on speaking terms. Perhaps someday he'd send heights a Bogtide card suggesting they meet up sometime. This was not that day.
"Gotta get away… gotta get away…" Anne repeated in that odd echoey voice she developed whenever her powers kicked in, a mantra of single-minded focus.
"I think Anne's gone bye-bye, Sprig," Polly noted. She, at least, had looked down and was generally aware of just how much distance they'd covered. If she'd known more about Calfornia geography, she'd know they had passed the northeast city limits and were now technically in Burbank.
"She's never used her powers this long before," worried Sprig. "It can't be good for her. Who knows how long she can keep this up?"
"Probably not much longer considering she's starting to lose altitude!" warned Polly, who began to frantically slap the teen with her flippers. "Snap out of it, Anne! You're goin' down!"
"Just… a little further…." Anne said. "Almost… clear…"
Sprig risked a look despite his recently-acquired altophobia and realized what she meant. She had escaped the boundaries of civilization and was now descending into some kind of wilderness area (Angeles National Forest, specifically, though of course Sprig didn't know this; in fact, until now he hadn't been aware such natural environments existed on Anne's world).
"Made… it…" she mumbled as she crashed to the ground and rolled to a stop. It was a rough landing, but one that was reasonable to walk away from.
Unfortunately, walking was one thing Anne wouldn't be doing anytime soon. As soon as she landed, she promptly passed out. "Anne?" Sprig asked, prodding the girl.
"Anne!" Polly shouted, hopping on the girl's back. "Wake up, girl! We need you! You're kinda the only one who has any idea about how to get home!"
"It's no good," Sprig replied. "I think she burned herself out."
"Well, that's just great. Who knows what kind of things live in the wild in Anne's world?"
To illustrate her point, a tall, brown four-legged creature began to approach, nosing its way around the foliage nearby.
"What do you think that thing is?" whispered Polly.
"Hmmm… brown… four legs… long snout, stubby tail, weird branching horns… I think Anne's mentioned something like that. A... *snap* Oh right. That's a walrus."
"Well, I have no interest in being a walrus's lunch. We need to get Anne out of the open and stash her somewhere safe until she snaps out of it." She hefted Anne's legs. "C'mon, grab her other end and let's move!"
Sprig complied, wincing at the human's weight. "Ugh, I forget how heavy she is."
"Your fault for not working out. This is why I don't skip flipper day. Now heave!"
Maggie looked up at the Thai-Go sign. Why she had picked here, of all places, to go, she wasn't sure; she had just wanted, more than anything, to be anywhere but where she was. The sting of betrayal by someone she had considered family was still very, very fresh. This must have been what Anne felt like… well, a lot. Empathy was still something new for her, and at times like this she wasn't sure she liked it.
The truth was, when it came time to actually consider a destination, this was the only place she could think of. She couldn't go home, not in the mindset she was in, and Anne's house was too far away. Besides, one of Anne's parents was almost certainly here, right? She took a deep breath and entered.
The hostess, a girl probably only a few years older than her, clad in traditional Thai garb, bowed slightly. "Sawadee kha," she said. "Can I get you a table?" She glanced up from her notepad. "Are you one of Anne's friends? She isn't going to be here today."
"Uh… actually, that's kind of why I'm here. Is either Mr. or Mrs. Boonchuy in?" She debated on whether to add "it's important", since she wasn't sure just how much the Boonchuys had shared with the staff regarding their current houseguests; very little if anything, she suspected.
"Oh, yeah, Mr. Boonchuy's in… just wait here and I'll see if he's available, okay?"
Maggie nodded, allowing herself a moment to appreciate the décor and the delicious aromas permeating the space. It was mid-afternoon, too late for the lunch rush and too early for the dinner crowd, but there were still a couple of diners in attendance. If circumstances hadn't been as dire as they were, the tantalizing scent wafting from the kitchen would probably have compelled her to join them.
"Hello, Maggie," Mr. Boonchuy spoke up, snapping her out of her reverie. "Can I get you anything today? There's a special 'friend of Anne' discount."
"…no thanks, Mr. Boonchuy. Maybe another time. I… need to talk to you. In private."
"Oh," he said, a bit unnerved. "I guess we could go talk in my office."
The office in question was little more than a small room with a desk, a couple of chairs, a lone filing cabinet, and a laptop. Mr. Boonchuy took a seat in one of the chairs, motioning for Maggie to take the other.
"Okay," Maggie said. "I think Anne, Sprig and Polly might be in trouble with the government."
Mr. Boonchuy raised an eyebrow. "And why do you think that?"
"Because… it turns out my stepdad is the government."
She proceeded to recap the confrontation between her friends and her father up until the point where she'd fled. "This was the only place I could think of to go," she concluded. "I'm really sorry to spring this on you-"
"No. You did the right thing to tell me," Mr. Boonchuy assured, his phone already out, dialing Anne's. "Let's see if we can reach her."
The two waited nervously as the phone rang… and rang again… and again… They let out breaths they didn't know they were holding when the telltale sound of someone answering was heard."
A muffled sound that sounded vaguely like "hello" was heard, followed by a more distant, higher pitched voice saying something.
"Hello?" Mr. Boonchuy said. "Is that you, Anne?"
"Oh, hey, Anne's Dad," Sprig answered. "Sorry, I don't think I was holding it right before. Uh… I think we might need you to come pick us up."
"What? Where are you? Where's Anne?"
"Yeah, I don't think Anne can come to the phone right now. She's kinda… not moving. As for where we are… that's a really good question."
Mr. Boonchuy expression somehow became even more frantic. "Do you see any street signs? Any recognizable buildings?"
"None of those…"
"What do you see?"
"Uh, well, there's trees… lots and lots of trees… oh, and there's dirt. A lot of dirt. There's… moss… some bushes… various assorted fungi… worms and bugs a-plenty, so we've got food at least…"
"Sprig… listen carefully. On Anne's phone, there should be a picture labeled "map". Open it and tell me what you see."
"All right… it said we're somewhere called "Angeles National Forest."
"That's outside the city!" Mr. Boonchuy said, aghast. "How did you get all the way out there?"
"That's a long story," the little frog boy answered. "And probably one Anne can tell you herself when we manage to wake her up."
"Right. You stay right where you are. I'm coming to get you three. Stay safe until I can get there." He disconnected and got out of the office.
"I'm coming too," volunteered Maggie.
"Maggie, you do not have to-"
"Two people can search better than one. Besides… this is kinda my fault anyway."
"None of this is your fault. But…" he sighed. "It probably would help to have a second set of eyes."
"Thanks, Mr. Boonchuy," Maggie replied gratefully. She just hoped helping out would incline Anne to forgive her.
"Trudging through the wilderness, avoiding the gaze of potential predators… getting all filthy… kinda feels like we're back home, doesn't it?" remarked Sprig.
"Less talk, more move!" demanded Polly. They'd found a promising-looking gathering of shrubbery that looked like it could conceal them, but getting the heavy, unresponsive human there was easier said than done, especially having to evade the local, unfamiliar wildlife.
"At least most of these creatures seem more afraid of us than we are of them," Sprig replied. "That one with the long ears and fluffy tail was actually kind of cute."
"Sure. They're all cute until they tear your head right off your body with their bare teeth," warned Polly.
They finally managed to reach the shrubbed area and carefully stashed their elder sibling in it. "Well, I guess now we just wait until Anne's dad finds us. One of us should keep watch at all times."
"I'll take first shift," volunteered Polly. "Let's see any walrus try and get past me."
"And I'll see if I can find a way to wake up Anne. She's really out of it." He gave Polly a concerned look. "She's never used the power this long. What if… what if she doesn't…"
Polly slapped her brother. "Sprig! Don't you talk like that! She's gonna be fine! We need that mindless optimism of yours right now!"
"Whoa, sorry. I just… I don't like seeing her like this."
"Yeah, I know. Just gotta give her time." The tadpole poked her head out of the bushes to keep watch.
"Maybe what we need is something stinky. Like that durian thing at the grocery store. Maybe we can find something equally terrible here." He sniffed around. "Ah, the unmistakable scent of rotting fruit. That should do nicely."
Soon, he held two rotten crabapples under Anne's face bump. "C'mon," he whispered. At first it seemed as though there was no effect, but after a minute, the girl began to twitch. "Yes! It's working! C'mon, Anne, come back to us..."
"Uhhhh.. five more minutes…" she mumbled, eyes fluttering open. She sniffed, groaning in disgust. "Ugggh… did Hop-Pop make his swamp chili again?"
"Anne! You're awake!"
"I wasn't? She shook her head. "Why does my whole body feel like it's… oh… right… yeah, yeah, it's all coming back now."
'Yeah, it's a crazy situation. So, good news… I called your dad and he's on his way to get us. Bad news… we're lost in a forest and I have no clue how he's gonna find us."
"I can help with that at least. My phone has a GPS locator feature. Mom and dad wouldn't let me have a phone if they didn't have a way to track it. *sigh* I thought it was really annoying back then. But I guess I understand now. Just gotta… huh, that's odd. I'm telling my body to do things, but it doesn't wanna do things."
"Maybe I can help. I managed to answer the phone without destroying it…"
"No offense, but Polly's way better with technology than you. Speaking of… where is she?"
"Standing guard against walruses and other Earth forest monsters."
"Walruses?" asked Anne, confused.
"Oh, look at that!" Polly announced. "That one looks like a little yellow Domino!"
"Why would a cat be running around in the forest?" wondered Anne. "Could be a stray… unless…"
*GROWL*
"NOT A LITTLE YELLOW DOMINO! BIG! BIG SCARY YELLOW DOMINO!" Polly shouted, ducking back into the bush.
"Ohhh, crap," Anne realized. "Polly, that's a cougar!"
"Those women on that housewives show Hop-Pop likes but won't admit he likes?" asked Sprig.
"Not that kind of cougar, the vicious predator kind!" She struggled to move, but her limbs were still reluctant to obey her. "And here I am all useless. All because I panicked and flew off without thinking. Yay me."
"It's okay, Anne. It's our turn to protect you. No housewife is having you for dinner while we're around!" He loaded his slingshot and quietly stuck his head out. The cougar was drawing nearer, having picked up their scent. "I think it smells us," he whispered. "Curse my natural frog pungency."
"Careful," whispered Polly back. "It looks hungry, and I'm still mostly juicy baby fat."
"It's okay, Old Reliable has never failed me. Except that one time, and the sun was in my eyes and the wind was against me." He took aim. "Just a little closer…"
The cougar had spotted him by now, giving Sprig little time to react. He launched his projectile, hitting the cat in the snoot. It jumped back with a yelp, now more hesitant. Sprig took the opportunity to launch a second stone, then a third, until the cougar decided it would rather seek easer prey and backed off.
"Okay, he left. We're good. Are you doing any better, Anne?"
"Little bit… I can move a little, but I'm not gonna be doing backflips any time soon." She reached into her pocket. "Where's my phone?"
"Oh, right, I have it." He handed it over so Anne could activate the homing signal.
"There," she said. "Now, all we have to do is wait."
A few awkward moments passed.
"Oooh, we could play 'I spy,'" suggested Sprig.
"Hard pass," replied Polly.
"I spy with my little eyes… something starting with A," Sprig continued.
"Is it me?" Anne asked.
"No, that starts with… oh, wait, you meant 'me' as in yourself, Anne… yeah, you're right.
Polly rolled her eyes. "This is gonna be torture."
Aran Boonchuy's car pulled up to the edge of the forest. He and Maggie exited, flashlights at the ready.
They'd lucked out today; there were no other hikers in evidence, which meant fewer eyes that might stumble on the visitors from another world. As much as he would have appreciated having more sets of eyes to look for Anne, her companions made that risky.
He tensed a bit as a second car unexpectedly pulled up next to them, that is, until he recognized just whose it was, confirmed when his wife and an elderly frog-man exited.
"On," he began, "you didn't-"
"Like Ymbāl I didn't," interrupted On Boonchuy. "You think I'm gonna sit at home when my baby is lost and I can actually find her this time? You have to tie me up to stop me."
"And I have some experience with trackin' and huntin'," Hop-Pop, clad in his human disguise, added. "With the four of us, we should find Anne in no time." He tipped his hat at Maggie. "Evenin'."
"I didn't want to leave him alone in the house," whispered On. "He just learned about online poker."
"Understood," nodded Aran. "We'd better get started. We have a lot of ground to cover."
On's phone chimed. "Well, it just got easier. Looks like she activated location tracking." She smirked. "She used to complain so much about that…"
"I'm still amazed at how she managed to get all the way out here," Aran wondered.
Maggie and Hop-Pop shared an uneasy glance. "You know kids, always exploring," Hop-Pop explained. "This one time there was this firebreathing beaver…"
"Is everything in your world horrifying?" asked On.
"Pretty much, yeah."
"Okay, so… small, long ears, cotton puff tail, hops a lot?" Anne asked.
"Rabbit," Polly answered. They had abandoned "I spy" almost immediately after Sprig had misidentified a squirrel as an elephant, and Anne had decided now was the time to straighten out what animals were what.
"Good. Okay, Sprig… long skinny legs, brown coat, stubby tail…"
"Uh… door!"
"Deer."
"Awww… I love you too…"
"*groan* No, that's the name of the-"
"*chuckle* I know, I'm just messing with you. How are you feeling?"
"I think I might be strong enough to get up now," she said, experimentally struggling to her feet. After a brief bout of dizziness, she steadied herself. "Finally. I can stand. Big win."
"Good, then we can start moving again!" Polly demanded. "I'm really tired of looking at the same bunch of trees.
"Uh uh. When a rescue party is coming, you stay put. That way they don't have to spend extra time finding you."
"But if we start walking, we can meet up with them and save time…"
"That only works if we know where they are… which we d- do you hear that?"
The trio listened. They could hear something like branches rustling. One could chalk it up to the breeze f one was inclined, but it only seemed to be coming from one direction, rather than just the general area. Sprig and Polly readied their weapons as Anne tensed.
"Do you think you can…" began Sprig.
"No way," Anne cut him off. "Even if I could use the powers right now, which I doubt," (she hesitated to call them "her" powers at this point; she was fairly sure she was never meant to have them) "I really don't think using them again so soon would be good for me."
By now, the trio could see footsteps appearing in the muddy ground. "No way… it's invisible!" Polly declared.
"Then we make it visible!" Sprig reasoned, firing off rotten fruit at the general area. The fruit splattered against the unseen intruder, briefly disrupting whatever cloaking technology the thing used.
It was a Frobot, but unlike Frobo; in fact, unlike any they'd seen at this point. It was taller, tapered at the waist, with long lanky limbs and wider shoulders, and most notably a prominent finlike structure on its head. It turned to acknowledge them, almost seeming to smile maliciously (its "expression was actually fixed, but the eyes can play tricks on people) before its cloak rebooted and it began to fade from visibility again.
"Okay. New plan," Anne whispered. "We run like hell."
A.N.: Well, of course when the Kerminator finally shows up in this story, it's at the worst possible time! Not only is she powerless, but her family and friend are walking right into a fight zone! Things are about to get dicey.
Jose: I'm surprised no one's called it "The Annevatar State" yet.
Next: Annehunt