Chapter 8: Nothing More to Live For

About a few moments later, Rocky had grabbed the unwanted visitors and dragged them to the door. "Hey, hey, hey! Let me go! This is undignified!" Malina shouted at the brute. But he would not listen. "Go away!" he roared, his voice rumbling and shaking the ground. He tossed the friends out of the door, sending them tumbling down the staircase as they fell. Only Rascal stayed, clinging onto the giant. "You're a lot stronger than I thought," Rascal said.

Rocky only howled and tossed Rascal down to join Malina and Young at the bottom. "Heads up!" he called out as he picked up speed as he descended. "Watch out for my butt!" he exclaimed once he fell headfirst on a mound of dirt and ash. By now, Malina was infuriated. "It is not nice to throw people!" she exclaimed, picking up a rock and charging toward Rocky. "Whoa, hold on there, grumpy-pants," Young said, trying to block Malina. "Let's not be too hasty." But Malina persisted and threw the rock at Rocky's body. Rocky let out a fearsome mighty roar. "See? Now you made him angry!" Young said. "What do we do now?" Malina asked. "RUN!" Young exclaimed.

"I'll distract him!" Rascal told the two as they ran off. "You guys go!" Suddenly, two desert mice popped up from the dirt and ran off. "No, not you guys!" Rascal said. "This is going to be a lot harder than I thought."

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Together, Malina and Young barreled through the jungles and over steep hillsides as they ran to an escape, with Rocky behind their trail. "This way!" Malina exclaimed as she spotted a bent-over tree. "Look out!" Young shouted. Malina used her knife to cut off the vine entangling the tree. Lifting the extra weight, the tree snapped back and lunged at Rocky. "Yea! Woohoo!" Malina cheered, proud that the attack proved successful. But the brute wouldn't give up.

The two continued until they reached the dead end edge of a cliff. "Whoa, stop!" Young said, pausing. "It's a hundred foot drop," Malina said, looking down. "Actually, a two-hundred foot drop," Young corrected, pulling out his rope. "Here, get this." "What's that for?" Malina said while tying the rope round her. "I'm digging a makeshift anchor," Young said. "What?" Malina asked. "What if we fall?" "There's two feet of fallen leaves on the ground," Young said. "It'll be just like landing on a pillow. Hopefully."

"Ready? On three, okay?" Young ordered. "Okay, one…" Malina moved closer to the edge. "Two…" Young counted. Suddenly, a tree was sent hurdling towards them. Rocky was coming back! "Three!" Malina said, leaping off of the cliff. "Wha—Aah!" Young exclaimed as he was pulled down with Malina.

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Meanwhile, Rascal came scurrying up the path to catch up with the others. He was a complete mess. His fur was all wet and muddy after crossing the rivers and dirt-filled paths. "Oh man, I am out of shape," he muttered, and he shook himself clean. "There we go!" he said. "Hey Malina! Young! Where'd you guys go? We totally lost Rocky back there!" Suddenly, Rocky appeared and towered behind him. Turning around, Rascal smiled and said, "Oh, I was just talking about you! All good things, all good things!" Rocky then charged for the rock anchor. "Aah! No!" Rascal said, grabbing Rocky's leg. "This isn't making much of a difference, isn't it?" he muttered.

Rocky noticed Rascal on his leg and immediately picked him and flung him down the steep hills. He flew past Malina and Young. "Rascal!" Malina exclaimed. "Hang in there, guys!" Rascal yelled. The two friends suddenly felt something picking them up. It was Rocky! Spinning out of control, the friends began to panic as Rocky lifted them up from the ledge. "DON'T COME BACK!" Rocky roared.

"No, we won't!" Malina said, grabbing the knife from Young's pocket and slicing the rope in half. The two friends found themselves falling, falling, and falling…until at last, they landed on the mounds of palm leaves down below.

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Everything grew still. Suddenly, Malina popped from the mound and shook her hair. "Hey, you were right!" she said as she examined the leaves around her. "Just like landing on a pillow!" Aaaaiiiieeee!" Rascal exclaimed, popping up from the leafy mound and screaming. "Aah, I can't feel my legs! I can't feel my legs!" Young popped up behind him and said, "Those are my legs!" Rascal felt relieved. "Oy, Young!" Rascal exclaimed. "Hey, quick! Grab my butt!" Young then picked up his tail and lifted Rascal out of the mound. "Ooh, that feels better!" Rascal said. Soon, Chabela walked up to him and sniffed him. "Hey, she found us!" Rascal exclaimed. "Who's my cute little horsey?"

"You okay?" Young asked, helping Malina up. "I'm fine," Malina said, finally standing on her feet. "How's your head?" She gently touched Young's head. "Ow!" Young said, wincing in pain. I mean…I'm okay. You know, I've got a thick skull." "I don't have a skull," Rascal offered. "Or maybe I do."

"So, now what?" Young asked. "Now what?" Malina echoed. "Now…oh no no no! What—what am I gonna do? She threw me out! I can't go back to San Theodoros when the weather's like this, and then there's your sailor business and…" Young felt bad for Malina, so he tried to help. "Hey, Malina. Don't worry about my sailor business," he said. "Just…worry about your hair." "My hair?" Malina asked. "My hair's fine; I just fell off a cliff! You should see your hair!"

"No, I mean look at it," Young said, pointing to Malina's hair. "It's turning black." "Black?" Malina asked. She picked up her braid and realized that another section of her hair turned pitch-black. "It's because she struck you with her powers, is it?" Young asked. "Does it look bad?" Malina asked. "Uh…no," Young said. "You hesitated," Rascal added. "No, I didn't," Young said. It was clear that Malina needed help, and he had the perfect idea. "Come on."

"Okay! Where are we going?" Rascal asked. "To see my friends," Young replied. "The love experts?" Malina asked. "Love experts?" Rascal asked. "Yes. The love experts. They'll be able to fix this," Young said. "How are you so sure?" Malina asked. "Because I've seen them do it before," Young replied.

"I'd like to consider myself a love expert," Rascal said as the four friends continued down the path of the jungle.