Mitt, The Leaf Ball.

Mitten, The Leaf Ball

 

 

—’It’s A Challenge

— No ! This Is Madness. How Many Of Us Are There?

— Four.

— I'm Sure Lapiquette And Danltono Are Already There. Ready?

— And If You Saw Their Machine !

— I Suspect ! And The Others?

— Four Girls. Lafriperie And Pacher Are There.

— Their Bike ?

— Super Equipped, Classy! They Will Only Have To Do So. Press The Little Multi-colored Buttons With Their Manicured Nails.

— À Provided That They Know How To What They Correspond To! The Machine?

— Like Her ! Two Sophisticated Boots, Two Houaris Stacked On Top Of Each Other. It's Daring, But It Moved.

— And The Others?

— Two Smart Girls.

— Whoa! When You Start Like ça.

— Ravisssants !

— And Their Invention ?

— A... Strange Set With Two Transverse Wings, A Gigantic Balloon. It’s Heavy.

— Engine ?

— Solar ! The Brunette Is An Aeronautical Engineer! The Redhead, Anthropologist.

— And You Registered Us With ça !

— Trust Me.

— You Are Aware That The Rain, The Heat, The Storm Will Get The Better Of You…

< P>— Stop, It’s An Adventure, What Are We Risking? Lose! It’s Better Than Staying Here!

Lapiquette And Danltono Strutted In Front Of Crotal. A Super Stylish Machine, Armed With A Hull Equipped With Everything One Could Hope For In Terms Of Aerodynamics. Three Spirals Housed Propellers Topped With A Balloon Ending With Ingenuity This Machine Reflecting A Coiled Snake, Whose Frightening Head Hung Several Meters Above The Ground. Lapiquette Was An Intelligent Man, Coming From A Broke Nobility, Seeking To Gain Wealth. Make Your Fortune Again With This New Opportunity; Offered By Paris-Urban. Danltono, Was A Copy Of His Friend, Politico Chicos, Possessing A Notoriety Recognized. Given Their Relationships, They Were Granted The Prefecture Square For The Start Of The Race To The Applause Of The Crowd Gathered Behind The Barriers And The Militia.

Lafriperie And Pacher, Two Bourgeois Women, Navigating In The Fashion And Beauty Sphere, Splashed The Money Of Their Hard-working And Show-off Parents. The Blackboot Sat On The Esplanade Of The Croquenots' Bridge, Who Were Sawing At Full Speed. Wonder, àgrave; Their Manufacture. Two Large Black Boots Covered With Gadgets Sheltered The Cabins Topped By Two Small Round Balloons. Four Oversized Tires Were Hidden In Two Soles. The Engines Roared, In Front Of Ecstatic Onlookers.

Cagoule And Piedebiche Were Two Ravishing Young Women, They Were Preparing To Take Off. This Adventure For Months. Their Machine Attracted Attention For Its Refinement. The Hull Made Of Glass Panels Created An Elongated Shape At The Front Outlining An Elegant Caravel. An Oval Balloon Kept Them Weightless At A Glance. More Than One Meter From The Ground. Two Skates, Four Wheels, And Two Plated Transverse Wings Attested To Great Power. The Assigned Starting Point à Pirat Was The Place Of The Central Bank. It Couldn't Be Otherwise.

In The Parking Lot, Between The Full Containers. Bursting With Garden Waste, Mitaine Immediately Triggered Perfidious Snickers. It Is True That The Frame Of The Envelope Made Of Flexible Roots Covered With A Tangle Of Leaves Could Worry The Sky Pros. The Drops Beaded Along Fine Channels Cut In The Lianas, At The End Of This Unusual Course, They Rushed Into A Container To Transform The Collected Liquid Into A Container. In Water Vapor, Actuating The Pistons Of A Small Engine. The Basket Made Of Woven Branches Formed A Sort Of Basket, The Whole Thing Seemed Fragile, But Very Ecological. Few People Surrounded Them, The Only Ones Daring To Stay Wanted To Witness The Action. A Masterful Bowl, Upon Departure.

The Flight Was Indeed A Source Of Problems For Him. The Rain From The Day Before Had Considerably Saturated The Water. The Leaves, Making The Envelope Heavier. Mitaine Stood Up, Then Fell Back, Scraping The Cobblestones Of The Street, Rocking Back And Forth. He Danced This Jig Too Long For Lesage Who Got Angry.

 

— We Have To Shake Him Up.

—You're Kidding! Not Above Them.

— They've Made Enough Of Us!

Mitain Spun Like A Top, Throwing Out A Multitude Of Drops Of Water, Showering The Stunned Idiots In Their Fall. Relieved, He Hesitated... Then Made Up His Mind. He Rose With Incomparable Grace, Like A Leaf Waltzing With The Breeze. For An Hour, He Walked Quietly Above The City.

— So Lesage, Isn't The View Splendid?

— Whoa ! À At This Rate, We Can Count The Pins At Each Point. Laundry On The Wires. I Remind You Egaret, That We Must Reach The Mountain Of Prehistory, And That It Is Located At 100 Km From There.

Coming From A City Disadvantaged, Lesage, A Hydraulic Engineer, Allowed Himself To Be Convinced By His Friend Egaret, A Rheologist, To Make A Machine Capable Of Flying And Rolling.

The Hours Passed By ; The Speed Of An Hourglass Filled With Large Stones Seeking To Move Forward. Passing Through The Fine Funnel, When Snow-capped Peaks Rose Up In Front Of Mitaine. Armed Powerful Binoculars, Egaret Pointed His Index Finger To The Left.

— We Are Finally There! There You Go The First Beacon.

The Balloon Of Leaves Landed At A Hundred Meters Of A Pile Of Bones. The Two Astonished Men Looked At It, Wondering About Its Provenance, And Above All, What They Had To Offer. Do It. Jumping Nimbly From The Basket, They Started Their Passage. The Beacon's Screen Lit Up, Then Went Dark Without Giving Them The Slightest Clue. Something?

— I Don't See Anything.

— What Is That?

— Çit Looks Like A Rump!

— With This, They Fed A Village. Egaret Joked.

— I Have The Impression That We Have To Put Everything Back To Normal. His Place.

— Is That Their Riddle? A Puzzle.

— Stupid ! Maybe That's The Aim Of The Game.

— I Sense A Trap!

As They Logically Completed The Reconstruction Of The Skeleton Of The Beast, The Head Moved.

— It’s Not Over, Friends, You You Have To Find My Name, To Get Going Again.

The Two Men Let Go Of The Rope, Screaming As They Jumped Into The Balloon Ready To Take Off. Fly Away.

— Don't Mess Around Guys! I'm Not Going To Eat You! Your Colleagues Are Already There. Far Away, You Would Have To Panic If You Want To Sleep Outside. Liburns This Night.

— What Is This Bintz, Egaret ?

—I Don’t Know, Lesage! But... We Have To Go Back Down.

— I Guess This Prank Is Part Of The Race. How Do They Do That?

— Mystery, But It’s… Finally, çhe Looks Alive.

— I’s Scared, He Looks Like A Man. An Animal From Prehistory, A Velociraptor!

The Skeleton Claims.

— But No Moron!

— Oh ! Pile Of Bones, You Don't Talk To Me Like That! Lesage Said.

— Okay, But Get Moving! It's Not Complicated. What Do They Teach You In Your Brain-killers? You Missed Lessons On The Age Of Caves! So What... Bird... Skinny, Tiny.

— Macer !

— Pititus !

— Runton !

— You're Doing It On Purpose, You Two Soft Melons! How Do You Say, Small In Your Cities?

— Ornithominus ! Proclaimed Egaret, Proud Of Himself.

Exasperated Exasperation From The Skeleton.

— We're Almost There! Before The N In The Alphabet?

— Ornithomimus !

The Pile Of Bones Resembling A Huge Chicken Got Up.

— Phew ! It's About Time.

— What Are You Doing In This Race?

—We Must Team Up!

— You're Kidding, Plump Dad!

— Not At All !

— And What Is The Program ?

— Win It, I Fly, I Pull You Or You Push Me!

The Two Men Giggled, Imagining The Hitch.

— And The Others Were Treated To A Treat. What Kind Of Leave?

Skeletal Grimace.

— À See His Face, We're The Last, He's The Craziest.

— Give Him A Chance Lesage.

The Shadow Scrolling On The Ground Was Most Astonishing. Chicken Swept The Sky With A Slow Movement Of His Fleshless Wings. Fortunately, The Wind Helped The Convoy By Propelling It Jerkily. The Ball Of Leaves Wriggled, Trying To Find Its Way. He Could Escape, But The Rope Held Him Securely.

— Tell Me, Featherless One, Do You Know How To Run? Asked Lesage Mockingly.

— Yes ! But That Will Be For Later!

— We Wouldn't Go Any Faster If We Pulled You!

The Skeleton Plunged Towards The Ground And Rose Again, Tipping Over To The Right Then To The Left, Accelerating, Sending The Two Occupants In All Directions.

— Stop Your Bullshit, He Doesn't Appreciate Your Humor! Admit That The Landscape Is Splendid!

— And The Cruise Pace Allows Us To Count The Butterflies. I Wonder What They Inherited? The Others.

— I’d Have Liked To See Their Faces When They Met Their Teammate.

— the Same As Ours When The Thing Moved. Lesage Whispered

At The End Of The Day, A Cloud Of Dust Appeared.

— What Is That?

— Your Friends !

— Our Friends ! Tell Me, Chicken, Why Don't We Fly In The Same Direction?

— I’borrowed A Shortcut!

— What ? But You Want Us To Be Disqualified!

— Do You See People Down There?

— No !

— Well Then ! Not Seen, Not Taken! I Will Land First In The Court Of Miracles.

…Is This The Rallying Point?

— Um… Maybe.

— No Gimmicky Bag Of Cutlets! We Must Point At Upon Arrival.

— But Yes !

— I Don’t Really Trust Him. Lesage Whispered.

The Hands Of Time Turned For Three Long Hours Where Everyone Ate The Dust. Daylight Was Fading, When…

Mitain’s Irruption Into The City Was Relatively Discreet Compared To The Others. That Of Others. Fortunately, The Central Axis Leading To The Court Of Miracles Bypassed The Entrance To This Pretty City. All Made Of Glass.

The Inhabitants Laughed When They Saw Poulet Landing Miserably, His Legs Spread, Bouncing Like A Ping-pong Ball. On The Other Hand, They Screamed And Fled In Front Of Crotal And Blackboot Who Were Hot On Their Heels. Crossing The Finish Line First, Lesage And Egaret Watched In Amazement As The Flower Pots, Lampposts And Kiosks Waltzed From All Sides. A Dull Sound Of Heavy Footsteps Sent Back An Echo Making The Seats On The Stage Where They Jumped. The City's Notables Waited Patiently, Sending Their Occupants Rolling Into The Freshly Mown Lawn.

— Hé Well! If I Expected çthat's Crazy.

— I Told You We Were Going To Laugh, Lesage.

Crotal Arrived Calming His Mount Who Was Not It Was Other Than A Huge Mammoth Skeleton. The Women Turned Pale, The Weakest Fainted, The Most Lucid Fled Like A Fly From A Swatter. Men Succeed At Big Drops, And Some Wet Their Pants, When The Monster Uttered A Resounding Trumpet. He Also Had Difficulty Getting There. Slowing Down His Course, It Was The Garnished Table That Stopped Him In His Tracks. The Diggers' Playmate Made A More Distinguished Appearance. With A Feline Gait, He Stopped On The Microphone Into Which He Let Out A Roar Before Swallowing It, Causing The Eccentric Hats Of The Bourgeois Women To Fly, Scattering Like Mosquitoes Catching Each Other. A Swig Of Insecticide Spray.

It Was A Tiger From Prehistoric Times. Sabretooth, A Monster Two Meters High At The Withers And More Than Three Meters Long With Canines Measuring More Than Fifty Centimeters.

— You Think That’ ;he Swallows Everything He Finds, Egaret?

— Me... No ! But The Populace, Yes, Hear His Cries.

Finishing The Show, Pirat, Ahead Of Himself, By A Giant Frog, Jumped And Fell Gracefully, Calming The Crowd. The Two Girls, A Little Shaken, Staggered Down From The Machine.

— Hello, Everyone. Phew! What An Epic! It’s…

— Shattering, Continued Egaret, Rushing Towards Them.

— Our Stomachs Are Smeared, But…

— Can We Invite You To Spend The Evening Together?

— That’s Very Kind, But We Need To Check That Nothing Is Damaged From This Fantastic Odyssey. We Fear The Other Stages.

— And So Do I! Murmured Lesage.

The Streets Emptied, Leaving The Crews, Their Machines And The Skeletons Alone In A Finally Restful Silence. Lapiquette And Danltono Had More Success With Lafriperie And Pacher, Strutting Into One Of Liburns' Most Chic Establishments. Deciding To Entrust Mitaine To Chicken, Lesage And Egaret Ferret In The City. Offering Plenty Of Entertainment, But Also Maintaining Vices. The Convent Was A Place That Housed Gaming Tables, Alcohol, Drugs, Sex And Erotic Shows. Lesage And Egaret Spent A Good Part Of The Evening There And Were Nicely Hooked By Two Girls Who Stole Some Hard-saved Tickets From Their Pockets. The Night Was Tormented For Some, Restful For Others.

The Cooing Of A Pigeon Woke The Two Men From A Heavy Sleep.

— What A Time Is He, Egaret?

…I Don’t Know!

— The Pigeons Sing At Night!

—None Of These Questions! N... On… They Chirp During The Day!

— Damn, Let's Go!

They Jumped Out Of Bed As Quickly As A Mouse Jumps Out Of A Cat's Bowl. But... In The Court Of Miracles, They Noticed That Mitaine Had Disappeared.

— The Bastards, They Untied Him.

&mdash ; And The Plucked Who Snoozes! He Wasn't Supposed To Monitor Him?

— Oh ! Stand Up.

Chicken Stretched, Dropping A Few Bones, But With His Long Beak He Put Them Back Into Place. Their Place. Animated Vain Reluctance, The Skeleton Nevertheless Succeeds In Convince Them To Climb On Top Of Him In Order To Catch The Fleeing Balloon. This Poor Carcass Took Off, As It Landed, Experiencing Some Difficulty In Landing. Synchronize Wings And Legs, Causing Hilarity And The Taunts Of The Inhabitants. Lesage And Egaret Clung On, But The Grip Was Hardly Firm And Caused Dangerous Slippage Throughout The Journey.

— Damn, But Where? Is That Damn Balloon?

— Don't Panic, Little Ones! The Wind Is Coming From The West, It Has Turned Around.

— What ? You Mean He's...

...It's Over For Today, We're More Than Four Hours Behind The Others.

Scrutinizing Carefully On The Horizon, Angry At Their Careless Behavior, A Silhouette Appeared In The Middle Of The Vast Meadow.

— L&agrav;, Down! It Ricochets Off The Lake.

Poulet Hovered For A Brief Moment, Veering Sideways. Descending Slowly. The Maneuver Allowed Astray From Jumping Skillfully Into The Basket, Lesage Was Less Agile And Fell Into The Cold Water. Hanging à The Mooring Rope, He Succeeds In Rise To The Top Edge. Happy To Find Their Ball In Good Condition, They Encouraged Their Sidekick.

— Come On Chicken, It’s Time To Have A Blast.

Little Footprint Despite The Effort, He Preferred To Use Trickery Once Again, And Took A Shortcut. Across The Mountain.

— It’s Not Very Honest To…

— And To Untie Mitten, You Think That’ Is Clean? Râla Poulet.

The Wind Strengthened At The Beginning Of The Afternoon. Crotal Sped Away At Full Speed, But The Fine Dust Of The Desert Raised By The Behemoth Very Quickly Clogged The Sophisticated, Poorly Protected Engines. The Propellers Gave A Few Jolts, With A Harsh Clicking Sound They Locked, But The Machine Had Other Surprising And Powerful Assets. With His Skates Out, Crotal Looked Like He Was Doing It. A Towed Water Skier By A Mammoth Trampling Everything In Its Path. The Monster Turned To Right Then To Left With Such Brutality That A Piloting Error Catapulted Them Into Its Tracks. Continuing Its Frantic Race, The Team Rolled Over Several Times; Fortunately, Its Spherical Design Allowed It To Escape With A Few Scrapes. He Stood Up, Finding Himself Far In Front Of Blackboot Who Also Encountered His First Complications.

— The Left Boot Does Not Complete Its Circuit, We Deviate. This Is Becoming Too Risky, We Must Stop.

But This Observation Came Too Late. The Machine Tilted, Ricocheting Seriously Between The Rocks. She Ends Up Lying Down, Dragged By Saber Teeth. The Girls Took Refuge In The One On The Right, Inflating The Balloon, Which Lifted Them Up.

 — Launch Control Of The Structure, Pacher !

—’That's What I Did, But Everything Seems Normal.

Lafriperie Went Downstairs When A Noise Distracted His Attention.

< P>Wires Danced Dangerously Along The Frame Causing Sparks. She Came Back Up, Tearing Her Tunic In The Process.

— Cut The System, Pacher ! Quickly.

— But How Will The Machine Be Piloted?

— I Don't Know, But We Can't Risk Burning. Where Is Anton’s Manual?

Lafriperie Turned The Pages To The Electrical Plan. His Finger Slid Along The Diagrams.

— That’s It. Turn 3 And 4 Back On. These Are The Boots. Pull In The Wheels.

— We Are On The Earth, There Are Piles Of Rocks, We Are Going To Them…

— Do What I Tell You . Cut Sector 5.

— But…

— We Both Went Sailing. So We Leave Electronics. Rush To The Left, We Will Use This Plateau As A Springboard And Launch Ourselves, If It Fails, We Will Slip.

— It Would Be Wiser To Stop And Repair The Circuits.

— No ! I Don't Want To Waste Time, Crotal Is Already Ready. Too Far, And There Are Too Many Bets Placed On Us. We'll See Until This Evening.

Once The Rock Was Crossed, It Took On An Ascending Current, But It Turned On Itself, Beginning The Descent. The Girls Handle The Ropes With Such Agility. That Blakboot Came Back Up.

— Phew ! It Was Minus One. But What A State We Are In!

— We Should Opt For More Practical Clothes.

Lafriperie Reappeared In Jeans, A Big Sweater And Sneakers, A Braid Hidden Under A Hat. Fur. The Sun Receded, Giving Way To The Sun. The Darkness Which Covered The Landscape. Crotal Presented Himself At The Foot Of The Valandra Desert, While Pirat And Mitaine Stood At The Foot Of The Valandra Desert. About Thirty Kilometers Behind Him. Blakboot Had Deviated Slightly; Trying To Stay In The Rising Winds, He Continued Despite The Winds.

While Everyone Was Trying To Resolve Their Problems, In The Suddenly Darkening Sky, An Insatiable Whirlwind Appeared Encircling The Crews. The Fine Rain Quickly Turned Into Downpours Beating On The Machines, Swinging Them Like Blades Of Straw.

— We Have To Get Out Of Its Path, Said A Frightened Lesage.

— We Can't. It’s Too Late, Turn Off The Engine!

— Mitten Will Not Hold !

— But Yes, Strap Yourself In, çit Will Shake !

The Powerful Breath Moved Loudly. The Wind Pushed The Crews Into Its Funnel, Sucking Up Skeletons, Sails, Nacelles. À Inside, Crotal Whirled. Mammoth Was Desperately Trying To Catch With Its Trunk The Bones That Were Escaping From Its Silhouette. Blackboot Tossed Around Ricocheted Many Times. A Sharp Whistle Escaped From The Soles. Blue Smoke Enveloped The Team. Sabretooth Leapt, Roaring, Before Returning To Dry Land. The Two Boots Waddled One After The Other, Imitating The Step Of A Skater Fleeing Quickly On Smoking Wheels. The Scene Was Funny, Although For Others, The Moment Was Dramatic.

Crotal Who Had Abandoned The Game. The Flight Attempted To Regain First Place, Although Its Speed Was Reduced By Engine Failure. The Huge Tires Bounced On The Bumpy Ground In A Torrid Heat Which Suddenly Settled In, Forming A Compact Mud On The Dust Soaked By The Heavy Rains Which Had Just Fallen. Sweat Beaded On Faces, Bodies Dripped With Perspiration.

— What's Happening, Piedebiche ?

— The Wind Falls, And So Do We. Grenouille Has A Hard Time Pull Us. We Are Diving Too Fast. Everything Appears Normal, No Safety Lights. Is Not Red. It Seems Too Heavy!

— I Calculated’ The Load, And Everything That Is To Do With It. The Interior Will Be Useful To Us.

« But At The Same Time At This Rate, We Will Never Reach The Second Stage! Muttered Piedebiche.

She Jumped Onto The Outside Deck Tying The Ropes.

— Pull The Three Levers One After The Other”!

 

The Panels Distributed On Each Side Of The Wall The Railing Moves Away, Releasing Two Tapered Wings. Pirat Swooped Down Before Plowing A Wide Strip Of Grass. Hood Lost His Balance, Slumping Against The Wall. Stunned By The Impact, She Lost Consciousness.

— Shit, What's Happening? Shouted Piedebiche, Unaccustomed To It; Failure. ÇAre You Okay, Cagoule ?

The Silence Worried Him. She Ran To The Front Finding Her Friend In The Shoeshine. She Shook It.

— Whoa ! çThat's It, Have We Taken Off?

— No, My Dear, For The Moment, We Are At Home. Quay !

— What ?

— He Refuses To Steal This Piece Of Crap.

— But All The Attempts Were Good!

— It Was Windy At Night. Each Time, Today, There Are No More, And This Can Continue Throughout The Adventure. I Have To Review My Plans, In The Meantime, Sort Out What We Will Need.

— What If We Drained The Water?

…It’s Risky!

— Out Of Two Tanks, One Can Be Dropped. 20 Liters Will Be Enough For Us.

— We Keep The Strict Minimum. Warm Clothes, Sleeping Bags. Two Shopping Bags Back With A First Aid Kit, A Knife, A Bowl, A Flask, A Saucepan. We Fire Everything Else. We Only Keep Freeze-dried Foods.

— Books? CDs?

— Everything, We Have No Choice.

While Cagoule Regretfully Unloaded The Unnecessary, Piedebiche Cut The Side Panels Serving As Wings And Those Higher. The Translucent Shell Sported A New Silhouette. It Only Retained The Front And Rear Wheel And The Huge Central Skate. Both Had To Do With It. Barely Had Time To Go Back Up When Pirat Took Off, Veering Suddenly Towards The West.

— Don't Tell Me He's Too Light Now. What's Going On?

— Nothing Serious, We Lost Grenouille! The Line Came Loose. Hang In There! He's In The Ascending Currents. I'm Letting Him Drift, We'll Put Him Back On The Right Path Again. The Bar.

— Because It’s No Longer Programmed”?

— No, I Dumped Her IT, Everything Will Be Done Manually.

— Is It Dangerous ?

— No More Than Flying Over The…

Bing ! Bang!

— Ha !

Pirat Hit A Peak, Cutting Cleanly The Heads Of The Three Other Gigantic Fir Trees. Piedebiche Jumped On The Rudder And Turned It With All His Might. Cagoule Pushed The Two Levers Releasing Two Huge Wheels, Pirat Transformed Into A In A Land Vehicle Crushed The Tall Grass Tracing A Straight Line To The Right. Across The Meadow. Not Far From There, Mitaine Attended The Event. The Scene.

— But What Are They Doing?

— Come Down Egaret, We Have To Help Them.

They Shouted At Him. Breaking Their Voice, Begging Them To Stop Before The Ravine Which Was Approaching Them At The Bottom. High Speed, But Piedebiche Was Too Preoccupied And Waited For The Right Moment. She Let Go Of The Rudder Which Swiveled In The Opposite Direction, Then She Put The Wheels Back On.

— I’forgot To To Close The Piedebiche Supply Airlock.

— Too Late To Think About It, My Dear. Belt Up. It's Going To Roll.

Indeed, The Ball Suddenly Spun Around. The Front Of The Gondola Tilted Towards The Bottom, Then Upwards, Making The Person Dizzy. Hood Who Clung To Himself While Screaming.

— Don't Be Afraid, Our Pirat Is Holding On, He's Flying! He Flies!

Pirat Appeared Going Up Along The Wall Of The Ravine. Frog Jumped, Grabbing The Line, Allowing Them To Land Slowly.

— Damn, They Succeeded.

Mitaine Placed Himself At The Top Of The Rope. Next To It Of Pirat, Saluting The Girls For Their Skill.

Pirat, Transformed Into Into A Giant Raft, Glided Gracefully Across The Ground, And Resumed Racing.

 Two Hours Later, At More Than Fifty Kilometers Behind…

…What Do You Still Have? Asked The Exhausted Lesage; By The Heat.

— I’m Thirsty!

— You're Kidding Me, You're A Skeleton. Where Would The Ingested Water Go?

— Ça, çit's Looking At Me !

— It’s A Nightmare. We Are In The Middle Of The Desert, And Plump Father Wants To Refresh His Goose

Chicken Stopped In His Tracks Refusing To Continue.

— You Know How I Like Poultry . Lesage Shouted.

— Cooked, Cut Into Pieces. In A Dish, I Presume!

— And The Only One Who Is In This Desert With The Nut Is You! A Pile Of Thirsty Bones.

A Hilarious Egaret Lowered The Jerrycan And Filled A Bowl, Which He Emptied In One Gulp.

— It’s Unheard Ofï , How Selfish You Humans Can Be!

— Excuse The Featherless, I Was Far From Suspecting That A Skeleton Could Drink From The Fleet !

— Good ! From Now On, Nothing Will Surprise You!

— After That, I Believe !

Many Holes Appeared In Mitaine’s Envelope. The Frame, Made Of Flexible Roots, Had Bent, Weathering The Attacks Of The Tornado. The Rain Collected In The Tanks Allowed Them To Push The Engine, Replacing The Total Desertion Of The Wind, Since The End Of The Storm. Chicken Ran As Fast As He Flew. In Other Words, He Walked At A Glance. Big Steps Exasperating Lesage Who Never Stopped Making Fun Of His Abilities To Dragging A Machine. And The Burlesque Continued. The Duo Moved Side By Side. Side, Or, Mitten, Rolling Sideways Reduced Speed Pulled Poulet Contemplating The Landscape.

— Do You Know A Shortcut?

— Baguetil-Over Is At Less Than Thirty Kilometers, And The Others Are Not Very Far Ahead.

— How Do You Know All That, Volatile Soothsayer?

— Sensory Communication With My Peers.

— Ah ! I See!

— Tell Me Since You Have Certain Gifts, The Second Riddle Talks About Lemure, Tricoises, Do You Have An Idea?

— Check Out Brainless Humanoid Google!

— No Network In This Hole!

Ignoring The Finish Line Of The Second Stage, And The Mocking Clamors Of The Crowd, Mitaine Discreetly Placed Himself Last At The Finish Line. Leaving The City. Well Hidden In A Forest, In Order To Avoid Any Scuttling Attempts.

— They Will Think That Mitaine Is Totally Destroyed!

— Good Point ! We Will Have Time To Walk The Streets Outside. The Search For Tricoises, Ergastula, And Lemures.

— So I Deduce That We Must Discover Keys That Will Open The Door To A Underground Prison, And Free A Spirit. You're Talking About A Program. Another Riddle To Solve The Nut !

— With This Type Of Vocabulary, I Would Lean Towards Going To Places That Are Not Very Frequented.

— Whoa! And Where Where Are The Best?

— On The Port.

The City Was Bright, The Streets Were Full Of Smiling People, But They Had To Leave The Fancy Restaurants And Go To More Pleasant Places. Dark Where There Followed A Row Of Shady Bars Of People With Looks That Were Not Very Enthusiastic About Their Presence.

 The Old Woman Was Puffing On A Pipe, The Burning Grass Of Which Smoked Part Of The Room. She Looked Mockingly At Lesage And Egaret Drinking A Pitcher Of Beer.

— So The Little Guys, Mitaine Is At Home. Quay ?

— Yes ! Um... Well No! We Are Simple Visitors.

— Bla-bla-bla, I Know Who You Are.

— OK, Fairy Carabosse, Murmured Lesage Upset, We Have To Go To An Old Prison In Which People Were Locked Up. Lemures.

The Old Woman Grumbles.

— It’s In A Cemetery That We Have To Go, Here He There Are Only Living People.

— Is There Nothing Else?

— H&eac; ! Mycosis, Are They Looking For Ghosts? Have You Seen Any Lying Around These Days?

Laughter In The Room.

The Old Woman Stood Up, Blowing A Cloud Of Smoke At Lesage, Which Caused Him To Have A Fit Of Cough.

A Small, Stunted Man Approached.

— My Name Is Findrien, I Am A Discoverer Of Treasures. What You Want Is Up To You. The Exit Of The City, In The Old Arenas. He Is Waiting For You.

— Who ?

— That’s All I Can Tell You. Follow Me.

 

 The Grim Streets Were Not Reassuring. Lesage And Egaret, Although Both Having Grown Up In A City, Moved Forward Cautiously. Small Muffled Sounds Of Footsteps Carrying Curious Shadows Retreated As They Passed.

— What Is That’thinsp;? Whispered Lesage.

— They Are Neparos. They Work For Sybille. They Are There à Because Of You!

— Us ?

Astonished Pout From The Two Young Men.

The Gloomy Arenas Only Made The Unpleasant Feeling Worse And Rising, Invading The Bodies And Brains Of Lesage And Egaret. But A Glow Warmed Them When Findrien Gave Them A Key.

— The Ergastules Are At The Bottom Of This Long Corridor.

— What’ -What’s On The Other Side? Asked Lesage Worried.

— He Chose You, But Don't Deceive Yourself. Only One Of Them Holds Him Back.

The Man Disappeared With The Light Of His Lantern, Leaving Our Two Adventurers In A Relative Questioning.

— He Is This Guy Is Funny! Don't Take The Wrong Door. How To Recognize It?

— I Have An Idea Lesage.

— Ohé ? I'm Looking For A Lemure.

Deep, Wild Laughter, Mournful Tears And Sarcastic Cries... Then… Silence.

— What Else Do You Want To Find Here!

ÉExchange Of A Knowing Look Between Lesage And Egaret.

— Où Are You? Asked Egaret.

Several Voices Appeared Screaming, It's Me. They Followed The Maze, Branching Off Into The Corridor.

In Front Of The Last Cell. Clink Of The Lock. Creaking Of The Postern.

— Hum ! I Didn't Think You Would Think So Quickly.

The Lemure Was So Pale And Frighteningly Thin That Fit Perfectly With His Body. Its Natural State.

— A Real Extra For Halloween. Between The Feather And Feather And He, We Are Going To Unleash Screams Of Terror After Having Made The Crowd Die Of Laughter. Say Lesage In Annoyance.

— Grouillons. We Have A Balloon Protect And Protect Repair.

The Night Was Not Conducive To Getting To Know Each Other. The Specter, Stingy With Words, Lay Down In A Corner Of The Cabin, While Poulet Snored As Usual.

— We Will Pretend To Land Tomorrow At Night. Dawn, And We Will Resume The Race Immediately After Clocking Out. Let Others Think We're Out Of The Loop.

The Electronic Bell Tower Chimed Five When Mitaine Appeared In The Heart Of The City. The Sleeping Commissioner Jumped When Lesage Shook Him.

— Ah ! There You Are. Hey! Well, It Took You A While.

— Sorryé We Fell Out Of Wind.

— But… The Storm.

— We Have It… Averted.

— Ha !

Stamp On The Logbook.

— The Others ? Asked Egaret.

— They Left Recently.

— We're Late Again. Did They Respond To The Question? The Riddle?

— What Riddle? Here Are Your Sticks. Your Room Is Number 7.

— Our Room ?

— Yes

— But… Ergastules. Lémure.

— It’s A Former Underground Prison Transformed Into A Hotel. The Lemure.

Dismay. Lesage And Egaret Look Crestfallen.

Poulet Pulled On His Wings And Giggled.

— Two Idiots, And It's Me Who’ They Chose!

— Oh, That's Enough Of The Feather! Advance!

Lemure, Prostrate; In His Corner, Remained Silent. The Weather Was Fine, Not A Bit Of Wind, Cloud Or Rain. Mitaine Was Flying, Finally... Let's Say That He Followed In Fits And Starts In A Heat Which Intensified With Such Violence That Crotal And Blackboot Took A Break Near A Vast Expanse Of Water. The Two Crews, Using Their Mutual Machiavellianism, Looked In Vain For A Way To Sabotage The Other So That It Would Not Take Off Again. Pirat Also Landed, Tired Of The Incessant Jumping Which Separated The Remaining Glass Panels.

— We Did Not See Mitaine. Do You Think He Is?

— Destroyed By Yesterday’s Storm. The Idea Was Beautiful, But Flimsy.

— I Hope They Are Alive, Hood.

—  They Are Bold And Courageous Guys, I Don't Worry About Them.

Very Far Away, Mitaine Was Moving Forward Very Idly.

— We Would Have To Make A Sail For It. With Such A Wingspan, It Would Have To Rise High With The Updrafts, Which Would Allow It To Descend More Quickly To The Plains, And Rejoin The Others.

— How Do You Know ça , Lémure ?

— I Was A Glider Pilot. Your Ball Is Light, It Is A Natural Element Evolving In Its Environment, And That Is An Asset.

Two Hours Later, It Looked Like A Football. A Chicken, Not Covered In Feathers, But Dressed Like A Chicken Of All The Clothes And Rags Firmly Attached, Which Gave Him An Appearance... Ridiculous, But... Effective. His Wings No Longer Beat, He Floated, Carried Away By The Whims Of The Currents Of Hot Air, Playing With Them. The Burlesque Team Pointed Towards The Sun, And Dipped Towards The Ground, Flirting With The Tall Grass. Lesage And Egaret, Overexcited, Screamed With Joy, Forgetting Their Neighborhood, Their Poverty, In The Distance. Next To It Of A Gigantic Skeleton And L’mure, The Spirit Of A Glider Pilot Riding A Carcass And Rediscovering The Exhilaration Of Aerobatics.

— Why, Are You Firing Poulet  ?

— I Have My Reasons.

— And Could We Share Them ? Asked Lesage.

— Ahead, It’s The Sea Of Ridges.

— But Still…

—  ;Let's Just Say They're Less Nice Than Me.

— And What Do They Do?

— They Swallow Everything That Crosses Their Waters.

Laughing From Lesage And Egaret Pointing Their Index Fingers Towards The Sky.

— They Make Remarkable Leaps. You'll Understand When We Get There. Lémure Continued.

The Screams Of Lafriperie And Pacher Forced Lapiquette And Danltono To Stop. Get Out Of Their Cabin.

Comical Spectacle.

Fish Shapes Were Looking To Find Their Way. Spearing The Girls' Buttocks, Only The Swimsuits Remained Stuck In Their Formidable Jaws. Naked And Confused, They Took Refuge In The Blackboot. The Engines Hum. Sabretooth Rushed Forward, Mammoth Passed Him, Hitting The Surface Of The Water With His Titanic Strength. The Edges Bounced Under The Impact, Crashing Against The Hulls. The Young Men Hit Them With Everything They Could Get Their Hands On. Unfortunately, One Of Them Cut The Line, And Crotal Found Himself Stranded In The Middle Of The Immense Sea. The Propellers Spun, Two Of Them Disappeared Into The Starving Prostheses. They Are Desalinated Skeletons. Crotal Took Out His Skates, Sliding And Escaping The Irritable Inhabitants Of The Place. Pirat Did Not Suffer The Same Fate. Grenouille, Leaping With Ease, Destabilized The Edges. She Carried On, Pirat Ricocheting Like A Flat Stone. Piedebiche And Cagoule, Agile In Shooting, Armed With Rifles Pomp, Burst Out The Warlike Gluttons. Mitaine Passed Through The Sky, Out Of Reach Of The Morfals Under The Happy Gaze Of The Girls Delighted To See Again The Silhouette Of The Fragile Balloon, Which Swirled Above The Sticky Sea.

—  But, What Are You Doing, Featherless?

— I'm Hungry.

— No, But I'm Dreaming! Weren't You A Herbivore? Shouted Lesage.

— ÇThat Was A Time When I Was Alive. Since I Calanché, I Have Eaten Everything.

Shaving Over The Water, The Inevitable Happened, The Bones Were Thrown Onto The Frail Structure Of Leaves, Leaving Them With No Trace Of Water. Cutting Large Pieces Which Put Mitaine In Danger, When Lémure Seized A Vine Shaking It Above Chicken Who Turned Around, Releasing His Beak.

— Oh&thinsp ;! Your Mind Is Crazy!

— Get Us Out Of There, Mitten Is Under Attack.

Chicken Went Back Upstairs, Complaining About The Loss Of His Meal.

Crotal Again Crosses The Finish Line First, Destroying The Superb Decorations Erected In Honor Of The Machines. Blackboot Landed More Than An Hour Later. Pirat Announced Himself In The Fleeing Night, The Individuals And The Other Crews. Mitten Takes Cover A Quarter Of An Hour From Underfyord. Alone, Lémure, Lesage And Egaret Stroll The Lit And Festive Streets Of This City, Where The Party Was In Full Swing.

    Sneaking Through The Sated And Drunk Crowd, The Trio Infiltrated A Narrower Alley. The Sound Of His Starving Fingers Tapped On The Glass Of A Window.

Squeaking, Opening And Appearance Of An Elegant Old Man.

&mdash ; Hi, I've Been Waiting For You For A Long Time!

 The Individual Gives Him A Card.

— So, What Is Ectoplasm, This Circus?

— Follow Me.

— We're Tired Of Following Everyone Since The Start Of This Adventure, And Not Knowing Anything.

— I Can't Say Anything At The Moment.

Mitaine Pointed At Her. Four In The Morning And Took To The Air First. The Dawn Was Cool, Egaret Was Swallowing A Coffee, Admiring The Horizon.

— What A Splendid View!

— I Don’t Regret Having Accompanied You. Egaret. It’s The Craziest Race Ever, But It’s Awesome.

— Mitaine Is Special, But Its Fragility Does Not Take Away Its Persistence.

— And These Two, Next To It’s Too Bad Not To Meet Them! By The Way, What Is The Reward?

— 300,000 Euros.

— The Cow, çthat Would Put Biftons In The Bank's Purse.

— Whoa ! But I Doubt Our Victory. Crotal Is The Best And Blackboot Seems Indestructible, It Must Be Admitted That The Two Diggers Are Not Doing Badly. Pirat Is No Longer A Formidable Opponent, He Is As Fragile As We Are Since The Tornado.

Suddenly, They Changed Direction.

— You Know That I’ ;I'm Tired Of Constantly Asking: What Are You Doing?

— Look Back, You Moron!

— What’is ? Who Is That?

— The Sibyl And Her Neparos !

—What Are They Doing? What Do They Want?

—Preventing Me From Retrieving Something! Shouted Lemure In Panic.

— I Don't Understand Anything!

— Stop Us, Triple Nozzle ! S'égosilla Chicken.

— Why, Who Are They With?

— Um… It’s A Bit Complicated, Egaret!

— I'm Fed Up With These Two Stiffs!

— She… They... Are Looking To We're All Messing Around…

— You've Got It All Figured Out, çthat's It ! Laughed Chicken.

— Hold On, çit's Going To Shake ! Ordered Lemure.

Everyone Remained Silent. A Rock Wall Rose Up In Front Of Them, Mitaine Lay Down On The Right, Infiltrating A Corridor. He Kept Veering Between Sharp Peaks, Hitting The Cliffs, Which Tore Up The Leaves. The Roots Seemed To Push Back These Destructive Serrations. The Awful Gnomes At Head Of A Dog, Not Possessing The Ability To Of Lémure In Terms Of Piloting, Collided And Crashed In The Tumultuous Waves Of The River. The Team Descended To The Next Level. Vertical, Then He Plunged Into The Deep Ravine. But The Sibyl Was Gaining Ground, She Got Dangerously Close To The Boys Who Lay Down At The Bottom Of The Basket, They Could Hear Her Sarcastic Laughter. Chicken Slowed Down To Let Her Pass Him, She Raised Her Spear To Strike Lemure. The Long, Powerful Beak Of The Skeleton Slammed It Against The Rock. The Machine Ricocheted Off The Walls, Igniting Like A Torch.

— Çthere You Have It ! Rejoiced Egaret.

But The Joy Was Short-lived. A Multitude Of Flames Surrounded Mitaine Forming The Silhouette Of A Fire-spitting Fury Seeking To Attack. Devour The Leaves. The Sibyl Returned More Aggressive Than Ever, With A Murderous Look. She Hit The Ball With A Long Drag Resembling A Ball. One Hand, Discharging A Volley Of Smoking Spikes.

— Mitten Burns !

Poulet Turned Around.

— But She Wants To Grill Us Like Steaks, That Idiot!

— We're All Going To Die! Moaned Egaret.

— But No ! It’s Just A Little Grill! Tried To Reassure Poulet.

He Plunged His Two Joined Paws Into The Torrent, Triggering A Gigantic Spray Of Water Which Covered Mitaine, Crushing The Deadly Sparks, But Which Drowned The Basket .

 The Evil Shadow Disappeared Into The Dripping Puddles On The Ground. The Team Stopped Awkwardly. The Two Boys Sat Down On The Stony Ground, Their Minds Just As Wet As They Had Been. Than Their Clothes.

— What’she...

— Later ! Wait For Me Here, It’s Too Dangerous.

— Ah ! No! Damn, I'm Fed Up.

— It’s A Very Long Lesage Story, And Time Is Running Out. I Give You My Word That You Will Understand, But You Have To Wait A Little Longer.

Suffering Of Weariness From Lesage And Egaret.

—  Do You Have A Cigarette?

Egaret Handed Him One.

...On The Other Hand, I Don't Have A Fire!

Chicken Laugh.

 At The Bottom Of A Crevasse Lay The Wreckage Of A Glider. Lemure Slipped Into An Opening At The Bottom. Barely Visible. His Frail Figure Advanced At A Slow Pace, He Jumped Despite Being Hit. All On Three Flat Rocks Before Disappearing. Lesage And Egaret Took Advantage Of This Stop To Rest, They Did Not See The Time Passing, And It Was With Humor That Lesage Welcomed Lémure Who Without A Word Loaded His Animated Booty Of Unexpected Strength.

— Another Corpse ? A Friend Of Mine You?

— He's Sweating, The Big Guy Looks Really Heavy! Continued Poulet, Delirious.

Mitaine Turned To; Again In The Steep Corridors Led By Lémure. It Rose Abruptly, Taking The Ascending Currents, Crossing A Valley Rich In Pastures And Cattle. Very Far Ahead, They Saw Mammoth And Rattlesnake Which Crushed All Plant Life In Their Path, Forming Dusty And Blinding Clouds. Sabretooth And Blackboot Sped In His Wake. The Speed Deployed By The Two Powerful Machines And The Colossal Strength Of Their Acolytes Became Perilous, And The Inevitable Happened. Blackboot Wanted To Overtake Crotal; He Came A Little Too Close, And They Collided, Rolled, Slid, Bringing With Them A Whirlwind Of Bones Which Fell Like Hailstones Onto The Dented Sheets Of Metal. . Mammoth Wearily Searched For His Scattered Bones While Danltono Shouted All Sorts Of Insults At The Girls, Who Were Helping Sabretooth To Get Rid Of Him. Find His Own. The Incident Delaying The Two Teams Allowed Them To Move On. Pirat To Return To The Lead. But The Two Indestructible Behemoths Resumed The Race, Dragging The Machines In A Pitiful State. Mitaine Followed The Line From Afar Hoping For A Helping Hand From Fate To Overtake The Two Cars.

— The Main Thing Lesage Is To Participate”! Admit That We Had A Really Good Laugh!

— That’s True, But Winning Would Have…

— And Blah, Blah, Blah!

— What Did You Do?

— Take Out Your Handkerchief Toddler.

— I Say I Would Have…

— The Race Is Not Not Finished, Little Guys!

— It’s Wrong. Mitaine Has Lost A Good Part Of Its Leaves And We Are Dragging Ourselves Like Dab !

Chicken Rode Up Towards The Light Of The Sun. The Team Stopped, Like A Plane Whose Engine Ran Out Of Steam, Then It Plunged, Mowing Down The Grass In Its Path. The Gondola Shuddered At The Same Time. Several Times On The Ground, Leaving The Two Boys Speechless. Mitaine Followed Behind; Half Lying Down à Horizontally, Forcing Lesage And Egaret To Move Hold On To The Vines. Chicken's Legs Ran When He Accidentally Touched The Ground. His Wings Flapped, Giving Him The Attitude Of A Rooster Looking To Eat. Impress A Rival. He Passed Mammoth And Sabretooth, Taunting Them Copiously. Suddenly He Slows Down.

— But What Are You Doing?

— I'll Let Pirat Win.

— You're Kidding Us, There's 300,000 Euros In Reward.

Mittain’s Landing Was Most Comical. Poulet Tried To Slow Down, Paws Pushed Forward, Sitting On His Rump, Wings Spread. He Dug A Deep Furrow, Throwing The Sand Onto The Delirious Crowd. His Burlesque Slide Ended Fortunately, Behind Pirat, Who Crossed The Finish Line First. Mitaine, Although Severely Shaken, Settled Down With Grace And Lightness, Like The Last Leaf Of A Tree In Autumn.

Lesage Jumps Out Of The Basket, Furious. Egaret Congratulates Cagoule And Piedebiche.

— You Know What We Could Have Done With 300,000 Euros, You Stupid Bastard?

— Hey, I'm Not A Pile Of Bones Anymore!

— Know A Little About Wealth. Leave The City, Experience Wonderful Adventures! Triple Nozzle.

 

ÉExchange Of A Knowing Look Between Lemure And Chicken.

—  What Are You Up To Again, Skeletons?

— Let's Continue Exploring The World, There Are So Many Things To Discover. See.

— And Our Job. We Don't Eat Dreams, We Humans, We Need Bread, Wine...

...And Calendos, I Know.

... ;And Mitaine, What Shall We Do With It?

— Well ! Couillon, How Will You Travel? Coupa Poulet.

— In As-used Condition. He Is!

— Only A Few Leaves Are Missing, And The Burnt Vines Will Have To Be Replaced. Egaret Intervened.

In The Dark Sky, Under The Halo Of Stars, An Ornithomimus Skeleton Rides On A Horse. By A Lemure Pulled A Balloon Of Leaves Dancing With The Breeze Of The Wind. In The Gondola, Lesage And Egaret Were Counting The Gold Ingots In The Box Found In The Wreck Of The Sancti Spiritus.

— T’ Many Of The Planes Which Contained Lémure  Money? Asked Lesage. ©EYLLIAE