An Early Childhood Chapter 23 Part 3

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE: SUITING UP ON THE BANKS OF THE MADLIN (PART THREE)

Continued from Chapter 23 Part 2.

            The four of us sprinted from the shed with what few weapons we already had in our hands, and quick as a flash, the shed exploded and we were thrown down the hill and into the river like raggedy doll children in the opening sequence of Little House on the Prairie.

            “Well, holy God!” I finally managed, as my head broke out of the waters.

            The four of us managed to doggy paddle back to the bank. Our weapons had landed there as we’d dropped them following the blast.

            We sat, drenched and bedraggled on the bank. Ai Bang Mi Fa Ki Ni finally got up and crouched down, starting to rub two bits of wood together. Arheddis looked at her fearfully.

            “Is she going to start another fire?” he asked us in a frightened tone of a whisper.

            There was a fire burning within twenty minutes. Another twenty minutes was spent by Ai Bang collecting fruits of the forest. She placed a pan atop a makeshift griddle, and with what little Nature had given her, alongside the strips of filo pastry she’d brought along herself, she managed to cook a delicious smelling berry pie.

            “This my apology cake!” she said once finished, holding it before us, with her long sleeves shielding her delicate, porcelain like hands. She bowed. We each took a slice.

            It was very tasty, with a rich bitter-sweetness brought out by the fruits.

            “This is delicious,” I managed to stammer. “You can really cook!”

            “I am gooooood cook,” she admitted. “Making fruit desserts like this is not for the feign-tarted!”

            We finished eating and examined the weapons we had gathered – a rocket launcher and three missiles, two machine cannon with the requisite ammunition, and a number of single shot rifles and pistols. We gathered our belongings and set off again on our raft.

 Continued in Chapter 24.