AXLE GALENCH
AND THE
GATE OF NO RETURN
By Rooster Morris © 2004. All Rights.
Chapter One
I’d March During the Ides of March But My Shoe’s Untied
The time is right now. The place? A planet called Mizmoe, located on the opposite side of space far from Earth. The human-like creatures living on Mizmoe are Manarkins. The most important event of the year is about to take place….That would be the Manarkin Marching Band Competitions. Are the Manarkins serious about this? YES. The students of Kamoo School are scheduled to perform in ten secomoos.
“All right, students. This is what we’ve been working toward all year long.” The band director, Mr. Beflat, sighed. “And as much as I don’t want to tell you this, I’m forced to put Axle out front with his diggery-dulcimer.”
“What!?” shrieked the entire band. “Where’s Keynoat? Why isn’t he here?”
“I just received word that he’s in the hospital getting a tonsil transplant.”
“Oh, no! Why now?” asked Drumager. “Axle’s not ready to be placed out front. Speaking of Axle, where is he?”
“I don’t, Axle, where are you? Axle!” called Mr. Beflat.
“Coming,” came a meager reply amidst a large crowd of Manarkins that were shuffling into the stadium.
“Hurry! It’s time to start. Get your instrument ready,” ordered Mr. Beflat.
“Sorry I’m late. My mother couldn’t get off work and”
“You knew the contest was today. Why didn’t you have your father bring you here?” demanded Mr. Beflat.
“I don’t have a father. He’s gone, remember?”
“Oh…well. We don’t have time to listen to your excuses. You’re taking Keynoat’s place out front. Places, everyone! Take your places!” Mr. Beflat called out.
“Out front? But I’ve never marched out front,” said Axle.
“Keynoat’s in the hospital. The entire district of Kamoo is depending on you to help us win this final competition. I don’t need to tell you how important this is. Now get up there. It’s time to march,” said Mr. Beflat.
Axle grabbed his diggery-dulcimer and took Keynoat’s place up front. The hardhearted looks from the other band members pierced every nerve in Axle’s system. I can’t mess this up. I’ve got to be perfect. Axle glanced down at his feet and gasped. I didn’t have time to put on my band shoes! Oh no! One of my shoes is untied!
“Attention! Prepare to march!” ordered Mr. Beflat.
“The Music Arts Department proudly presents the Kamoo School Marching Band!” A loudspeaker echoed throughout the stadium.
“Ready…march!” ordered Mr. Beflat.
Axle couldn’t see his feet when he held his diggery-dulcimer up to play. I hope the judges don’t notice my dumb shoes. I hope I don’t trip on my shoestring, Axle thought. The band made various maneuvers and turns, then they split into several single files and formed the perfect letter K for Kamoo. After that, the band returned into formation and was marching in perfect unison for their grand finale. Then, disaster struck.
Axle had worried all this time about tripping on his shoestring, but that didn’t happen. Quirk Fluter, a boy marching behind Axle, stepped on it, catching Axle completely off-balance. Down he went with a thud. Those that didn’t fall down on Axle fell over his diggery-dulcimer.
THUD! THUMP! CRASH! BANG! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
There, in front of two thousand Manarkins, stumbled the once proud and top-ranking marching band of Kamoo School. Everything they had worked so hard for that whole entire year was gone. Mr. Beflat ran out to help the students back to their feet.
“What happened?” he asked as he picked Quirk Fluter up. Then he looked down and saw Axle’s shoes. At closer glance, he saw that one of them was untied. “Where are your band shoes, Axle?” Mr. Beflat groaned. “Oh...why me?”
Everyone in the band shushed instantly and glared down at Axle, who was still unable to get up. Beneath a pile of instruments, Axle looked up at the faces of his disgusted classmates. “Sorry…I’m sorry.”
“All right! Let’s clear the area for another band,” the announcer called out. “Let’s give a round of applause to Kamoo School, because your applause is all they’ll receive. Thank you, youngsters, for trying.”
The band turned their backs on Axle and left him all alone on the field. He got up, not bothering to follow his schoolmates to their section. Instead, he lowered his head to avoid the stares from the crowd and began the long embarrassing walk to the place where his mother would pick him up after she got off work.
It was difficult to hide in the crowd while carrying a diggery-dulcimer. Axle felt all eyes were on him and his clumsiness. Manarkins were human in appearance and only three feet tall when fully grown, but at the moment, Axle felt as if he were a giant red sore toe that everyone was gawking at. He made his way to the designated spot where his mother, Clea, said she would pick him up, and sat down by himself to wait.
Axle really admired his mother. She was a little taller than most Manarkin ladies and walked with a confidence that added to her beauty. She worked long hours to provide a living for them, and even when she was dog-tired, she would tell Axle stories about his father, the twinkle in her eyes radiant. Axle liked hearing those stories. His father had mysteriously disappeared a few years back, and Axle cherished his fond memories of him. He still had the Gerfid collection (like an ant farm) his father helped him build, and the singing tortoise they had found on a nature hike.
At other times, when Manarkin children’s books weren’t satisfying Axle’s thirst for excitement, Clea would bend the rules of Kamoo a bit and read advanced Manarkin novels to him. Experiencing anything out of the ordinary was like a breath of fresh air for Axle. At the same time every night in Kamoo, the lights flashed on and off twice. That was the signal for everyone to turn out their lights and go to bed. Although talking wasn’t allowed after the lights out signal, Clea would whisper stories to Axle until he drifted off to sleep. Axle had an increasing desire for the freedom to learn about all things, which was not the best thing to do in a place where blind obedience was considered more important than knowledge or reason.
HONK. HONK. The sound of an approaching car pulled Axle out of his daydream.
“Axle, are you okay?” asked Clea.
“Oh…hi, Mom. I was, uh…my mind was somewhere else,” replied Axle.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen at the band?”
“I just want to go home now. Maybe we’ll talk about it later, if that’s okay?”
“All right. If that’s what you want…” she said, concerned. They rode in silence in his mother’s workmobile. When they pulled up in front of their house, Axle asked to be excused and went to his room. He lay on his back and stared at the ceiling until he went to sleep. Clea tiptoed up to his room and checked on him and decided it was best to let him rest.
* * * * * * * *
“Doubledang! I’ve burnt your toast again, Axle…Axle? Good morning! Are you out of bed? Axle?” called Clea. Clea listened. When she heard no response from Axle’s room, she went upstairs to check on him. As she topped the stairs, she could see her son standing in a very unnatural stance, staring at himself in the mirror. Clea stood quietly watching him, puzzled. Then she interrupted. “What in the name of Kamoo are you doing?”
“Oh! Hi, Mom. You startled me,” said Axle.
“Why are you standing like that in front of the mirror?” She asked.
“I was just…wondering what I would look like if I had hair.”
“Hair? Why would you ever think about that? Manarkins don’t have hair.”
“I was thinking, maybe if I looked different I wouldn’t get into so much trouble.”
“Does this have to do with last night or is it something else?”
“I’m sorry, Mom, I…I never meant for any of this stuff to happen.”
“Axle, I’ve noticed you’ve been sleeping a lot lately and you seem distracted. Is there something wrong? Are you feeling okay?”
“I don’t know. I just feel different. I don’t know how to explain it.”
“Is there anything?”
HONK! HONK!
“Doubledang! The bus is here. I’m late! I gotta go. See you tonight.”
“Your breakfast is on the table and your lunch is in the bag sitting by your backpack. Grab it on your way out. We’ll talk later, okay?”
“Okay, Mom. Thanks.”
“I love you, son.”
“Love you, too.”
Axle grabbed his backpack and lunch and ran to catch the bus. His unhappy schoolmates certainly had not forgotten what he had done at the Marching Band Competition. All the usual seats were taken, and he had to sit in the newly designated Manarkin nerd section right behind the bus driver. It was a lonely ride to school. Upon arrival at school, Axle headed to Manarkin History class. All students were required to sit up straight and face front, but those sitting around Axle turned a cold shoulder so they wouldn’t have to look at him.
“Prepare to take notes,” ordered the history teacher, Mr. Dullstoy. “The Book of Manarkin History clearly states the world of Kamoo was nearly destroyed by some strange beings called humans. We do not understand how they got here, because it was believed impossible for them to travel this far. But, in their glutinous search for Oomph, they somehow opened the Gate of No Return. This allowed the unruly beasts of Bedlam to enter into Kamoo. Everything was in turmoil and confusion. The well-governed and precise workings of Kamoo came within a nit-burger of collapse and Manarkin life as we know it today was almost lost forever.”
A Manarkin girl sitting across the aisle from Axle flashed a disgusted glance at him and raised her hand.
“Yes, what is it, Learna?” responded Mr. Dullstoy.
“What does the Gate of No Return do?”
“It separates us from the awful, unlawful creatures of Bedlam. Thank goodness no one has opened it since that horrible invasion,” said Mr. Dullstoy.
“How was law and order ever restored in Kamoo?” Learna asked.
“The book states that the Manarkins of that time had to employ creatures from the subterranean vault to come up here and remove all the outsiders from Kamoo.”
“What were those creatures called?” Learna asked.
“They’re called Droolsops.”
“Why didn’t the Droolsops destroy Bedlam and the humans so we could live peacefully?” asked Learna.
“That’s another good question, Learna. Although we Manarkins disagree with Bedlam’s laws of disorder, we’ve learned through physics there must be opposite energies for matter or life to exist. On our planet of Mizmoe, the ancient Manarkins divided the planet so our half, Kamoo, had order and Bedlam’s half had disorder. There’s a planet the exact size as Mizmoe located on the opposite side of space and it’s called Earth. Humans live there. The big difference between humans and Manarkins is that here on our planet, we’ve completely separated ourselves from opposing energies, or disorder. On Earth, humans live in an atmosphere where disorder and order work against each other constantly. That’s why humans are so...different,” said Mr. Dullstoy.
The class was enthralled with the lecture. Another student raised his hand.
“What is your question, Gluek?” asked Mr. Dullstoy.
“Is it true that if a human touches you, you’ll die?”
“Yes, it is, Gluek. The Book states that the touch of a human is so poisonous that it causes you to break out in hives and scratch yourself to death,” answered Mr. Dullstoy.
All the students gasped and shuddered…except for Axle, who was staring out the window, halfway listening while his thoughts slid into a flashback of a conversation he had had with his mother the day his father disappeared.
“When is Dad coming home?”
“I don’t know, Axle…he’s disappeared.”
“Disappeared?”
“Yes, Favil didn’t show up for work and he hasn’t come home or called. Something’s wrong. I can feel it.”
“No, I don’t believe it…!” “NO, I don’t believe it!” Axle shouted out loud.
The other students and Mr. Dullstoy were dumbfounded by Axle’s outburst. The students moved their astounded stares from Axle to Mr. Dullstoy. Axle had been in trouble before for doing what the Manarkins considered weird, unusual things, but now it seemed that he had just blatantly disagreed with Mr. Dullstoy, something you never do in Kamoo. The class waited apprehensively for their teacher’s response to Axle’s rude interjection. Mr. Dullstoy stood speechless, then began to stutter out of shock. “Uh…Axle…you…you can’t talk that way…you’re out of order.”
“But, you don’t understand. I didn’t mean ”
“You’ve made a mess of the chemistry lab and you’ve clowned around at the Marching Band Competitions but you’ll not interrupt in my class. You’re going to the principal’s office.”
“But”
“No buts. Bring your books and come along.”
Tension hung in the air as Mr. Dullstoy led Axle out of the room. Everyone in the classroom looked at each other as if to say, Here we go again. Axle followed Mr. Dullstoy down the hallway to the doorway of the principal’s office.
“Axle, sit on the floor and wait here while I go inside to talk to Mr. Moof,” ordered Mr. Dullstoy.
Axle knew it was useless to try to explain now, so he sat down and waited. He heard the adults talking, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. To pass the time, Axle began thumbing through his history book, and the chapter about humans opened. Axle scanned the pages and began reading. What would it be like to live in a place that allowed both order and chaos? he wondered. No matter how hard Axle tried, he couldn’t imagine such an existence. Suddenly the door opened, and Mr. Dullstoy came out. “Go to the cafeteria for lunch and sit at the isolation table. After you’ve eaten, you are to return to the office. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir. I would like to apologize.”
“I’m sure you would, but it’s between you and Mr. Moof now. I’m taking my class to lunch,” said Mr. Dullstoy as he turned and walked away.
Axle got up and walked alone to the cafeteria, where he sat down at the isolation table. It was embarrassing to be the only one there and to have everyone staring at you. Axle didn’t bother taking his lunch out of his backpack. He just wasn’t hungry.