Emerging Compassions

Chapter 27: Mount Everest

(Cindy's POV)

During the next 2 days, we did what we could to maintain our living space in the cave. Libby & I did mainly little things, since normal activities were beginning to prove exhausting, such as rearranging the furniture around some, the reason being that we were carrying children.

Then, the day the rocket was fixed finally arrived! I woke up that morning relaxed & feeling rejuvenated; I sat up & stretched, ready to start the day, & got up to get myself some breakfast. I stole a quick glance at Jimmy, who lay in our bed asleep, & thought, Jeez, putting the finishing touches on his rocket must've worn him out last night!

As I ate, I noticed that Libby also got up. Funny, she usually takes the time to sleep in a good bit. "Hey, Libs. You sleep well last night?" I asked of her as she sat next to me.

"Yeah, for once. Fo' the first time that I've noticed recently, Sheen didn't sleep-talk at ALL last night, nor did he snore! I'm surprised!" she informed me, rolling her eyes.

"Wow, that's a first for him!" I noted with a light chuckle.

"Ya know, I really wanna know if I'm havin' a girl or a boy...," Libby admitted with a sigh, grinning.

"Me, too!" I told her, "I wonder if Goddard could help us find out...?"

Jimmy must've heard us, because we heard him sit up, stretch, & get out of bed. "Hey, sweetie," I greeted him, looking in his direction, "You get enough sleep last night?"
"I got to bed around midnight & I just now awakened at 9, so yeah, I slept very well, Cindy," he informed us, grabbing a bite to eat.

"Glad to hear it," I returned politely.

Right at that moment, I heard the monkeys start chattering again. "Oh, brother...," I groaned, slapping my forehead, "There they go again! I swear, those monkeys are driving me NUTS!"

"Don't worry, Cindy! I'm gonna get to the bottom of this situation before ya know it! Plus, we gotta leave today, so we better get ourselves dressed normally," Jimmy said, bringing out his hypercube & pulling out several of our outfits he had stored in there. Then he added, "I better get Carl & Sheen up now."

He then walked up to each of them & shook their shoulders, saying, "Carl, Sheen, time to get up! Today's the day we're leaving this joint!"

Sheen immediately got up & exclaimed, "Finally! C'mon, Carl!"

Carl soon followed suit, & soon they found the extra clothes Jimmy had laid out for them. "Thanks, Jim!" he thanked him, taking his outfit & going behind a large boulder to change. Sheen grabbed his & did the same thing.

Once Libby & I were finished with breakfast, we took our outfits, which were maternity size, thankfully, & went behind some bushes to change.

When we'd finished, we noticed that everyone else was ready to go, as well. He used that nifty invention to retract everything in the cave to its former state, then we all clambered in the rocket, Jimmy started it up, & we were soon on our way.

On our way to the Himalayas, Sheen found ways to be obnoxious, as usual. He did so by telling us what things he saw reminded him of UltraLord. Figures. I just ignored him the whole way, but Libby got rather ticked after a while.

"Sheen, if ya don't shut up right now, you are gonna regret it!" she snapped.

"Alright, Libby, dang!" he retorted, & shut up for the rest of the way there.

Once there, Jimmy landed the rocket gently on a level, snow-covered ledge just beneath where Calamitous had built his lair, then we all got out.

Man, hiking up that slope was a real PAIN! I must admit that Libby & I did nothing but complain the whole way up. It was really exhausting having to trek up that slope while carrying children who were 8 months along, but we made it to level ground & his lair about 2 minutes later.

"Whew, that was some hike!" Libby gasped.

"I concur, Libs!" I agreed, trying to catch my breath.

After we caught our breath, the 5 of us snuck into Calamitous' lab through a side/secret entrance only Jimmy knew about & had discovered when he was here last.

Once inside, Jimmy whispered to us, "Okay, now that we're inside, we have to be as stealthy as possible, so I'll make us invisible with my watch."

"I remember doing this!" Sheen exclaimed, "Jimmy, Carl, & I did this when Jimmy had to bust that smart kid that tried to steal his invention idea at that college!"

"Sheen, zip it!" Jimmy snapped quietly, then pressed a button on his watch & announced, making us all invisible, "Commencing invisibility!"