Away From it All
By: Stitch
Part 7 - 'Pickles and aliens.'
Boy, am I glad I brought those cookies. Chip didn't lead us on a hike - he took us on a survival march. We were out in the rough for hours, climbing up hills, down into valleys, over great big rocks and up the sides of trees. Not that it wasn't pretty and stuff... but after a while everybody was exhausted.
Everybody except our fearless leader, of course, who kept zooming ahead of us with his trail guide out and jabbering away about plants and butterflies. Every thirty seconds it was "Look, guys, it's a tri-petaled orange spruce blossom!" or "Hey, I found a banana slug!" For a chipmunk born and raised in the city, he sure gets excited about flowers and wild bugs.
But even though my feet were killing me and I was starting to get hungry, I really couldn't complain. After all, if the idea was to make Chip happy then we'd definitely done a good job. After all that moping around yesterday, it was nice to see him enjoying himself for a change.
Monty and Zipper held up okay, though after a while Zipper took to resting on Monty's shoulder while we climbed up steep embankments and through little canyons in the river bed. I was surprised at how much Gadget seemed to be getting into the spirit of things, since she was the one who'd least wanted to come. At first she spent most of the time practically glued to Monty's shoulder, but after a while she started poking around in the bushes with some of her instruments and 'scanning' stuff with these weird blue goggles she brought.
I remember at one point she got all excited and held a pawful of dirt out to us. "Six percent feldspar with quartz granules!" she said with a big smile, like that was truly amazing. Then she took out a little beaker and poured the dirt in. It wasn't long before she had a whole bunch of different samples... I was kind of afraid to ask what she wanted them for. Thank goodness she didn't try to keep the banana slug.
Eventually we came to the end of the trail, so to speak. The river bed suddenly dropped away down the side of the mountain... if there had been water I guess it would have been a waterfall. We all stood near the edge and looked out over the treetops and down into the valley, which got so wide that you had to turn your head to see both sides of it. The forest looked like a great big fuzzy green blanket, except for way high up where the trees couldn't grow and everything was jaggedy and grey like the surface of the moon (or at least what I've always thought the moon should look like, anyway). On the very highest peaks there were little white patches of snow that made me think of peppermint frosting.
It was a perfect spot to stop and rest, so we broke out our lunch and had a picnic. I'd brought a couple of peanut butter sandwiches, one of which was plain and one not. I thought I gave the plain one to Chip, but he took one bite and got a weird look on his face.
"I think this one is yours," he said with his face all pinched up. He was right... the one I had was completely free of vanilla wafers, bananas, and fudgie sauce. So we swapped sandwiches, then sat down beside each other on a log and started eating.
Gadget, meanwhile, reached into her backpack and pulled out a rubber hose with a spray nozzle on the end. "Who wants cola?" she asked. Then she held her cup out and filled it with fizzy lime soda. "I've also got cherry, grape, and lemon."
I got to have a cherry soda with my sandwich, and it was ice cold, too! I'm telling you, science fiction movies have nothing on Gadget.
"Gadget, love, you are a bona-fide miracle," said Monty as he took a swig of grape soda. She just sort of blushed and smiled and sipped her pop.
"To the Rangers," Chip said with his cup held up.
"To the Rangers!" we all cried as we clinked our drinks together. (Why do they call that a 'toast', anyway? There's no bread involved, toasted or otherwise. I think it should be called a 'chug', or a 'gulp' or something. Anyway it was a nice way to cap off our lunch.)
It was getting late in the afternoon by the time we got back to the campsite. Everybody was really tired, even Chip, so we all grabbed our chairs and set them up in the shade so we could cool our heels. It was surprisingly relaxing, just sitting there listening to the breeze rattling the leaves around, and it wasn't long before my eyelids got kind of heavy. I must have dozed off, because the next thing I knew I was getting woken up by Gadget.
"Hnnzh?" I heard myself say (I wonder what I meant by that?) while she shook my shoulder. Suddenly she clapped her paw over my mouth and made a 'shh' noise as she pointed off to my side. When I looked over I saw that Chip was asleep next to me with his paws folded together on his belly and his chin half-buried in his chest fur. He smacked his lips and mumbled something in his sleep that sounded a lot like 'Another case solved, Sureluck...' with a happy smile on his face.
I giggled into Gadget's paw, then moved to stand up out of my chair as quietly as I could. She and I tip-toed over to the other side of our campsite and slipped behind her tent. Monty and Zipper were already there, waiting for us. We all leaned in close and whispered so as not to wake Chip up.
"I think everything's set, right, guys?" asked Gadget.
"Right-o," nodded Monty. "Zipper and me were just doing a double check to make sure we haven't forgotten anything."
Zipper nodded and gave us all a salute.
"Did you remember the rope?" Gadget asked him. Zipper nodded in reply. "Spoons? Flashlights? How about that spare bottle of coolant I told you about, the one in my tent?" Zipper kept nodding and going 'check... check... check' as she went through her mental checklist.
"Okay, then," she said, turning to face me. "I guess that just leaves something to cover Chip's eyes with?"
"Gotcha," I said as I reached into my shirt pocket and pulled out a big strip of that green ribbon I brought with me just in case I had to wrap any presents all of a sudden... I never thought of it before, but it's just right for a blindfold.
"Bonzer. Now all we have to do is wake Ch - "
Monty didn't even have to wait long enough to finish his sentence, because we suddenly heard Chip let out a loud yawn as he woke up. For a moment we all smiled at each other in a sneaky kind of way... I couldn't wait to spring our big surprise on him!
"Alright, you all remember what to do, right?" I asked. Everybody nodded. "And listen, thanks again for all your help. I really appreciate it."
"Aw, it's nothin'," said Monty as he scratched at the back of his head like he always does when he's embarrassed. "Anyhow, you did all the planning and scheming and everything."
"But you guys did all the hard work..."
"Don't worry about it," said Gadget with a smile. "That's what friends are for. Besides," she added as she reached out and patted me on my shoulder, "I think it's really sweet that you'd go to all this trouble for Chip."
I think I must have started blushing under my fur, because my ears got all hot. "Er, okay," I said, "let's go, then. Rescue Rangers away!" I couldn't quite hide my smile as we walked back around Gadget's tent, casual as pie (is that a real phrase? It ought to be, if it isn't.)
Chip was sitting up in his chair and looking around all sleepy-eyed. He scratched at his sides and stood up. "Oh, there you guys are..."
"Nice nap, then?" asked Monty.
"Yeah, did you catch the bad guys?" I couldn't help asking.
He just looked at me funny while Gadget and me chuckled. "It was a nice nap, yes. Er..." He must have noticed the way we were all standing (okay, Zipper was hovering) around him in a half-circle with our paws behind our backs and not-very-well-hidden grins on our faces. "...Is everything alright?"
"Oh, sure, sure..." said Monty as he reached out and clapped a paw on Chip's shoulder. He started to nudge him forward while he talked. "Beautiful early evening, sunset turnin' the sky a lovely shade of cheddar, crickets are singin'... nothin' could be better, right, pally?"
Chip kind of stumbled along next to Monty, who kept his paw on his shoulder and wouldn't let him veer away. "Yeah, it's... uh... time for dinner, right?" He tried to slink out from under Monty's arm without success.
"Funny you should mention that," said Gadget as she sidled up to Chip's other side.
"Mention what?" He kept staring around at all of us with a puzzled look on his face. "Guys, what's going on? Did something happen?"
"Food's gone," buzzed Zipper as he hovered in front of Chip's face. I've got to give credit to Zip... he's got a great poker face. It was all I could do to keep from laughing.
"Gone?! How could the food be gone? Dale...!?"
We were almost to the edge of the campsite. I trotted up in front of them. "It was the weirdest thing," I said. "A bunch of aliens came down and ate it all while you were asleep. Even the pickles."
Chip was really kicking his heels into the dirt. "Aliens? Pickles? That's ridiculous!"
"It was a full-scale culinary invasion, mate," said Monty.
We'd started making our way out into the woods by now. "They were so stuffed that they couldn't get their spaceship back into orbit, and they crashed into the trees," I added, pointing up.
"Now, guys - " Chip obviously knew something was up. He doesn't really like surprises (one year we threw him a surprise birthday party, and when we clicked the lights on and threw confetti at him he actually jumped out the window because he thought he was under attack), but it was just too much fun to see him getting all befuddled.
"Shh!" I hissed as I clapped my paw over his mouth. "They're still up there!"
"Mmmrf?!"
"This is the tree, right here..." whispered Gadget into my ear. We all came to a stop at the base of a tall old oak tree.
"Okay, hold it, what're you guys up to?" Chip demanded when I pulled my paw away from his muzzle. He didn't notice that Zipper had suddenly zoomed way up into the branches and disappeared. "You know I don't like practical jokes..."
That was a laugh... how many times have I woken up to find a pair of ink spectacles drawn on my face, or had a water balloon filled with whipped cream land on my head as I walked out the front door, or opened the closet only to have a handkerchief ghost come springing out at me? I think what he meant was, he doesn't like practical jokes if he's not the one doing the joking. Even still, he usually doesn't mind too much when I pull a gag or two on him (like that tricky grape sucker I gave him the other week that stained his lips and tongue bright purple for a whole day... sure, he bonked me on the head when he found out, but deep down you could tell he thought it was kind of funny). But tonight, everybody was in on the joke, not just me, and it was obviously making him nervous.
"No joke, Chipper me lad. The aliens are demanding more pickles or they'll destroy the Earth. We told them we'd send our leader up to negotiate," said Monty with total sincerity.
Suddenly the end of a rope dropped down and dangled right in front of Chip's nose. He tilted his head back and stared up, but all you could see was the rope disappearing into the branches. "Guys..." he pleaded.
"You're the only thing standing between us and total annihilation," I said as I took out my spool of green ribbon. "The thing is, they're kinda shy, so we have to blindfold you before you can talk to them..."
Chip's eyes started to get that firey look that means he's about to get all huffy, which told me that we'd pushed him about as far as we could. Just as he was opening his mouth to say something, I leaned forward and pressed a finger over his lips.
"Hush," I said softly and smiled. "Just trust me one more time, alright?"
He blinked a few times, then slumped his shoulders and sighed. "Oh, all right, then," he said with all the enthusiasm of a doomed prisoner stepping up to the chopping block. Then he let me blindfold him while Gadget tied the rope securely around his middle. Monty had already started climbing up the side of the tree... he was out of sight by the time Gadget and I were done.
After a little while there was a pair of tugs on the rope, which meant that Monty and Zipper were ready to start hoisting Chip up. "Hold on to the rope," I reminded him as I tugged back to signal that it was okay to start pulling.
The rope tightened, and then Chip's feet left the ground. He gripped the rope tightly above his head with a grimace on his face. Gadget and I started climbing up the trunk, keeping pace with him in case he got stuck or something. "You know, I could climb this tree a lot faster than this..." he griped.
"Not with a blindfold on, you couldn't," I reminded him.
"Say, that's a good point," he said. "So why don't we take the blindfold off..."
"Don't be a spoilsport," I said as I leaned in close to make sure he wasn't trying to peek through the ribbon. "Besides, we're almost halfway there."
Up above us, the branches were all tangled together like giant wooden knots. I could see lots of acorns hanging down from between the leaves (I reminded myself to grab a few for later), and farther up lots of speckled bits of fading blue sky. The higher up we got, the more I could feel the breeze as it ruffled my fur. Pretty soon we were so high that the ground was hidden by twisty branches and leaves... that old oak must have been three times the size of the Ranger Tree.
Just when I was starting to think we'd never get there, I saw Monty's face, and Zipper buzzing his wings down by his paws as he tried to help pull on the rope. "Rrrgh! There you guys are... you know, this reminds me of the time I went eagle fishing off the coast of Camusfearna... nnnff... what you did was, you tied yourself to the end of a rope, and then you dangled yourself off the edge of a cliff... rrrrff... and when an eagle came by and took the bait, you popped him on the head with a stale baguette..."
Gadget and me climbed up onto the nearest branch and helped pull Chip up. Once he was steady on his feet, we untied the rope.
"Can I...?" he asked, pointing at the blindfold.
"Not just yet, mate." Monty and Gadget each took hold of Chip's arms and led him along the branch.
"Eagle fishing?" I whispered to Zipper.
He laughed softly, rolled his eyes, and twirled his finger around in a circle next to his head. I snickered, then trotted along behind the others.
They went around a twist in the branch that had a bunch of leaves sticking up from it. I pushed my way past the leaves, then held them aside for Zipper. When I turned around again, I saw that Monty and Gadget had stopped leading Chip forward and were standing still. The branch there was really thick and twisty, with lots of room to walk around on, and it was where everything had been set up. I blinked in surprise... they'd really gone all out while Chip and I had been snoozing!
Smiling, I stepped up alongside Chip and tapped the side of his head. "Okay, you can take that off now."
Chip reached up and yanked the ribbon from his eyes. "All right, where are these - " When he saw what was in front of him, he actually stuttered. "A-aliens?"
There was a long moment as he looked around, taking in the dozens of fluttering multi-colored streamers, the fold-out table set up with our checkered tablecloth, the little clusters of party balloons and the large paper banner that was strung up above everything. It read: 'OUR HERO!' in big orange letters. Next to that I'd drawn a picture of a snarling tentacled alien eating a pickle, and a chipmunk in a fedora and leather jacket was shooting it with a ray gun.
"I-er-uh...?" Chip sputtered as he stepped forward, eyes wide. "You... when did...?"
Gadget walked past him and over to a large metal thing that was perched on three spindly metal legs not far from the table. There were lots of black scorch marks all over it from the pieces that had exploded yesterday, and little sprigs of loose wires sticking out from behind a panel that had blinking green lights on it. She picked up a cup made out of a toothpaste cap and twirled it around on the end of her finger.
"Ah...!" Chip blurted when he saw the machine, and nearly took a step backwards into Monty.
"Hee hee! It's okay, Chip, I've got all the bugs worked out this time," she said. Then she held the cup down next to a little metal nozzle she'd welded into the side and flipped a switch. There was a soft humming noise, then a loud gurgle... I saw Chip flinch out of the corner of my eye. Suddenly a big glob of pale green and brown-swirled ice cream poured into the cup. She stuck a spoon into it, then walked over to Chip. "Double pistachio mint with fudge ripples," she said with a grin.
Chip stared down at it in total amazement. "My favorite..." Then he looked around at everything again, and at all of us too. "You guys did all of this just for me?" he asked softly.
"Dale's idea, really," said Monty as he clapped a paw on my shoulder.
"Yeah, but you guys did all the *whuf!*" I didn't get a chance to finish what I was saying because Chip had suddenly thrown his arms around me and was giving me a great big hug. Gadget giggled next to me, and beside her Zipper started tittering into Monty's shoulder. I felt my ears go hot as I blushed at my eartips. Still, I couldn't help but grin as I hugged him back.
When Chip finally let me go and took a step back, he was beaming and looking happier than he's been in days. I'm not sure, but I think I saw him blink back a couple of tears, too. "You guys are absolutely the best team in the whole world," he said in shaky voice as we all crowded together and wrapped our arms around each other.
"Well, we've got the best leader, you know," said Monty.
After a little while Gadget asked, "So, who else is up for ice cream?"