Wilbur

Wilbur Matthews pedaled slowly down Bismarck Road heading toward Crossgate Street. Birds were chirping and the sounds of animals scampering through the woods on the south side of the road could be heard. There was a slight breeze that every so often blew Wilbur’s brown hair up, causing it to lay crisscrossed on his scalp. Wilbur crossed a narrow bridge that went over a small creek before the road curved onto Crossgate. On the bank of the creek, Wilbur noticed, the Evilsizor brothers were playing in the water and dirt. Wilbur kept riding but pedaled slowly so as not to bring attention to himself. The gravel road turned into pavement and Wilbur only got a little bit away from the bridge when he heard the sound of footsteps and bicycles racing up the ground to the road.

“It’s Matthews! Get him!” Dale shouted. Dale was the oldest Evilsizor brother and was the same age as Wilbur. He had a few classes with Dale at Northeast Middle School but Wilbur usually just tried to avoid him. The younger siblings were Mitchell and Porter. The Evilsizors were always recognizable with their bright red hair and face full of freckles.

The three boys began racing after Wilbur as he picked up speed. The brothers chased Wilbur down Crossgate to Shadybrook Drive, where Wilbur made a quick right turn. The brothers were still on Wilbur’s tail but started losing them on the second curve. Wilbur quickly turned onto Lazy Brook Lane, hit some loose sand and wiped out.

Wilbur rolled onto his stomach and tried to crawl away until Mitchell ran into him with his bike, knocking him down again. Wilbur tried his hardest to hold back his tears as the Evilsizors stood over him. “What were you doing out there?” asked Dale.

“I was just riding around,” Wilbur groaned.

“Bismarck Road is Evilsizor territory. Stay off of it,” Dale ordered.

“You tell him, Dale,” said Porter, who had not done anything until now.

“You don’t even live near Bismarck Road, and besides, it’s a public road and…” Mitchell interrupted Wilbur by kicking him in the ribs. “Ow.”

“We don’t ever want to see you on Bismarck Road again, or else we’re gonna dump you on Old Man Kupfer’s property,” Dale threatened. The Kupfer property was the woods south of Bismarck Road. There was a large house in the middle of the wood built in the 1870s. It had been abandoned for decades and there was a rumor among the kids that a monster lived there. “Come on, guys, I think this turd has learned his lesson.” All three then kicked Wilbur again, got on their bikes, and rode off.

Wilbur slowly got up, brushed the sand off his clothes and looked at the bloody scrapes on his elbows and knees. He picked up his bike and began walking back to his house back on Shadybrook. As Wilbur passed in front of his neighbor’s house, Amy Parker, a girl Wilbur’s age with short brown hair and dark brown eyes, came out onto the patio.

“What’s wrong, Wilbur?” she asked him.

“The Evilsizor brothers were chasing me and I wiped out taking a turn,” Wilbur said walking up to the patio and looking up at Amy.

“Do they hurt?” she asked.

“What?”

“Your scrapes,” Amy giggled and pointed at them.

“They’re fine. I’ll live. I’m gonna go and get washed up,” Wilbur started crossing the yard to his house. “I’ll see you at school.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Amy said. Wilbur walked up onto his patio as Amy went back inside.

Amy Parker was Wilbur’s best friend and they had lived next door to each other their entire lives. Wilbur was a month older exactly and their parents had been friendly beforehand. While Amy’s dad, John, was the owner of a grocery store in southwest Laketon, her mom had always been a stay-at-home wife and mother. Wilbur’s parents were more professional. Wilbur’s dad, Lawrence, was city manager and his mother, Michelle, was a professor at Sibley University.

Wilbur had two siblings. His brother, Charles—or Chuck—and sister, Cindy. Amy had only one older sister, Christine. Wilbur and Amy were such good friends that everyone joked that they would get married when they got older but of course, both Wilbur and Amy found this totally disgusting.

The next day at school, Wilbur and Amy were sitting with their friends Tim Earles and Emily Wertham at lunch. They were almost done with their food when Jennifer Mandabach arrived and sat down. “Jen? Where have you been?” Wilbur exclaimed.

“I was finishing up an assignment for Ms. Ebeling,” Jennifer replied.

“We were just talking about getting together after dinner at Quarry Park. There’s new playground equipment. I figured we could hang out, play around, enjoy the new park near our houses. They have tennis courts,” Wilbur said.

“No one here knows how to play tennis,” Amy said.

“The park is five blocks away. We can learn,” Wilbur laughed.

Up until about two months ago, Quarry Park was a park full of nothing. It was completely flat with a few trees. It used to be an active quarry but as the neighborhood encroached, the quarry filled in the pits and gave the land to the city. Because the land might be unstable since it was just a landfill, the city turned it into a park. For years, it was just greenspace to allow the land to settle and then they put in a basketball court, a couple of tennis courts, and playground equipment.

Wilbur and Tim were the first ones at the park. Tim had been Wilbur’s friend since they Kindergarten. He was a nice and quiet kid who helped balance out Wilbur’s more outgoing nature. They were both on the swing set, waiting for the others to show up, if they did. It was a nice night and getting cooler as the sun went down.

“Do you think Emily is cute?” Wilbur asked suddenly.

               Tim turned toward Wilbur and shrugged. “Eh.”

               “I think she’s cute. I like her. I’m glad she moved here,” Wilbur said.

Emily was a girl with long light brown always in a ponytail. She had a small upturned nose and face dotted with light freckles. She was an adopted daughter and, before she moved to Laketon, was somewhat of a troublemaker that she kept hidden from her new friends. What caused her parents to move was Emily getting caught about once a week behind the groundskeeping shed at her school with a boy whose pants were down around his ankles. When Wilbur befriended her early in their seventh-grade year, she seemed to change overnight.

“I like her but I’m not, like, attracted to her or anything,” Tim said.

“Who are you attracted to?”

Tim stopped swinging and just looked at Wilbur. “Promise not to tell anyone?”

“Of course. Why?”

“I’m gay.”

Wilbur returned to look to Tim and stopped swinging. “Really? I mean, I’m sorry. You are? How long have you known?”

“For awhile but I realized it back in sixth grade,” Tim said. He went back to swinging, as did Wilbur. “You’re the first person I’ve told so that’s why I want you to keep quiet.”

“The first? You haven’t even told your parents?” Wilbur smiled big.

“Oh. No, I told them back in fourth grade or something like that.”

“Oh,” Wilbur sounded dejected.

“You’re the first friend I’ve told though.”

“Oh!” Wilbur perked back up.

“Here come the others. Remember, keep it quiet,” Tim said and hopped off the swing.

Amy, Jennifer, and Emily arrived as the street lights came on. The five of them ran around the park until it became completely dark. One-by-one they began going home until only Wilbur and Jennifer were left.

“Hey, Wilbur,” Jennifer said as they both began walking home from the park. They both lived on the same street but she lived on the corner while Wilbur was in the middle of the block. “Would you want to come over to my house for dinner some time?”

“Really? Yeah, sure. I’ll have to ask my parents if it’s all right but just let me know when,” Wilbur said. He looked up at the stars and sighed. “It’s a nice night, isn’t it?” he asked.

“It is nice. I love this temperature,” Jennifer said.

They arrived at her house quickly. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Jen,” Wilbur said and continued walking toward his house.

“Bye, Wilbur. See you,” she waved at him.

Dale, Mitchell, and Porter trudged through the thick woods on the Kupfer property. They could hear other animals nearby but couldn’t see them. “I think we’re lost,” Mitchell said after tripped over an exposed tree root.

“We’re not lost. There’s only one path to the house and we’re still on it. The gate should be nearby.”

As they continued walking, the trees began to thin out and the grass got thicker and taller. Dale pointed the flashlight from the ground to straight ahead of him and two stone pillars reflected back at him. The iron gate between the pillars was rusty and, despite being chained and padlocked, was open enough for someone to squeeze through.

“Here it is,” Dale whispered. Mitchell and Porter got closer to their older brother. Dale shined the flashlight around the stone pillars, the iron gate, and the stone fence. The two globe lights on top of the pillars were shattered. A grotesque was carved into each pillar. “Those are so cool,” Dale said and went up to the pillar and touched one of them.

The three brothers slowly and cautiously passed through the gate and prepared to approach the house. Dale nonchalantly tried to push Mitchell in front but Mitchell held his ground and shoved his older brother’s arm away. “What are you doing?” Mitchell asked.

“I thought you might want to go first. I’m trying to be nice,” Dale explained.

“This was your stupid idea, Dale, so you are going to go first,” Mitchell ordered and took a step back behind Dale.

The Kupfer house was in shambles. Nearly all the windows were broken out and door hung loosely on their hinges. The paint was peeling and chipped from the wood. The grass was very tall but it seemed as if a path had been made because some of the grass was bent down. The three boys peered into the house through one of the broken windows and saw that everything that was left in the house was ripped apart. Holes had been made in the wall, the railing to the central staircase had been destroyed but the newel post inexplicably remained. A loud scuffling noise erupted behind the boys causing them to scream and run away from the house. They ran back down the path to their bikes that they left at the entrance. The three of them pedaled as fast as they could.

A loud whooshing noising mixed with a leathery flapping echoed in the night sky above the boys. It got closer until the sound of Mitchell’s bike hitting the pavement and a piercing scream flooded the night. Dale and Porter slammed on their brakes to look behind them. They saw Mitchell being carrying off by a man-like monster with bat-like wings. The creature flew away until disappearing into the woods surrounding the Kupfer house.

If you would like to support my writing and research, you can buy me a cup of coffee over on Ko-fi.

No. 22: Wilbur and Kolak

Wilbur walked up to his father who was working on a car in the garage. “Dad? If I found a cat, could I keep it?” he asked.

“Of course not. You know I’m horribly allergic to cats,” Wilbur’s dad explained.

“Oh, yeah. Well, could I keep it in the tree house until we found it a home?”

“Sure, I guess. Why? Did you find a little lost kitten?” his dad chuckled.

“Kind of…” Wilbur said, walking away. Wilbur walked to the far back of the backyard to a smoldering crater with pieces of a rocket ship in it. Next to the crater was a calico cat wearing a fancy jeweled collar. “My dad won’t let me keep you but said you could stay until we do find you a home,” Wilbur said to the cat.

“Oh, well, I guess that’s better than nothing,” the cat replied.




“So your name is Kolak?” Wilbur asked the calico, now in Wilbur’s tree house behind the main house. “And what are you doing here?”

“I was sent by my planet’s High Emperor to evaluate humans, unfortunately I misjudged the landing so now I’m stuck here,” the cat explained.

“That’s too bad. Well, you can stay here until we can find you some other place to stay.”

“I appreciate that but I can’t put a burden on you or anybody else. Technically, I’m not even supposed to let on that I can talk.”

“Hate to say it but you’re doing a bad job of that,” Wilbur chuckled. “Look it’s no problem, you can stay up here until we can find you a place to stay and then you can be a normal cat for them.”

“I guess. It’ll be harder to do my reports but I...Wait! That’s impossible!” Kolak shrieked.

“What?”

“I can’t be anyone’s pet. If I become anyone’s pet they will probably fall in love with me and when I have to leave and go back home…”

“You’ll break their heart. Well, I guess you’ll just have to stay up here until you leave.”

“I guess.”

Wilbur glanced at his watch and stood up. “It’s suppertime so I’ll see you later. I’ll bring you something to eat when I’m finished.”

“No hurry. And Wilbur? Thanks,” Kolak smiled.




Inside, the Terwilleger family all sat around the dinner table as Wilbur’s sister, Nancy, talked about her day at school. Wilbur showed obvious disinterest in Nancy’s story.

“...And then, when I was in music class, I saw David walk past the door and he looked right at me!” she said in a shrill voice.

“Well, maybe he was looking at someone else. Your music class is pretty big…” Wilbur said, purposely trying to dash his sister’s dreams.

“He looked right at me because I heard later from my best friend’s cousin’s best friend’s girlfriend that David looked right at me as he walked by,” Nancy explained.

“Well, I’m glad you were able to verify that,” Wilbur sighed heavily and rolled his eyes.

“Leave her alone, Wilbur. How was your day at school?” asked his father.

“It was great. Alex threw up at recess and Trevor broke his collar bone. I also tripped Amy tripped twice and poured sand on her head. Principal Arevalo says ‘hello’ by the way,” Wilbur elaborated.

“Wilbur,” his mom sighed exasperatingly “why do you torment that girl?”

“Because he loves her,” Nancy mocked.

“Shut up! I do not! Girls are icky!” Wilbur shouted.

“Now everyone calm down,” Wilbur’s dad said, calmly. “There’s a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why Wilbur, and boys in general, treat girls the way they do: one, they want to feel a sense of superiority; or two, because he loves her.”

“Dad!”

“I’m sorry but it’s cute. We and the Parkers are already planning the wedding,” Dad joked.

“Aargh!! Can I be excused?” Wilbur groaned.

“Yes, you can,” Mom answered.

“Can I take some meat out to Kolak?” Wilbur asked. “Maybe some milk or water, too?”

“Kolak? Is that the kitten? Where’d you come up with that name?” Nancy asked.

Wilbur loaded some meat and vegetables onto a plate. “I didn’t come up with it. It’s his name.”

“So the cat has a home?” asked Dad.

“No,” Wilbur said.

“Then how’d you come up with the name Kolak?” Mom demanded.

“He just looked like a Kolak, like I look like a Wilbur and Nancy looks like a horse,” Wilbur got up from the dinner table with the plate and went outside. He climbed up the tree to the tree house and placed the food in front of Kolak. “I brought you some turkey. Hope you like all this,” Wilbur motioned to the food on the plate.

“Thank you, Wilbur,” Kolak kneeled down and began chewing the turkey.

“Can I ask you a question, Kolak?” asked Wilbur.

“Of course.”

“What do those jewels on your collar do?” Wilbur asked, referring to the six crystals upon the collar around Kolak’s neck.

“Every citizen of Juriorty has one and each crystal does something different. Green can create anything you desire; white can translate and decipher any language; blue has infinite knowledge; yellow can morph you into anything; red is a communicator and black, well, black should never be used.”

Wilbur looked out the tree house window to the house next door. “I think I know how you can stay close to me but have a true home,” Wilbur exclaimed.

“How?”

“My neighbor Amy. She loves cats and we’re pretty good friends,” Wilbur said. “I’ll ask her tomorrow at school.”




The next day, Wilbur and Amy climbed up into the tree house and Kolak bounded over to them like a playful kitten. “Oh, he’s adorable Wilbur!” Amy said.

“I thought you’d like him. So, you’re certain your parents will let you keep him?” Wilbur asked.

“Pretty certain. I’ll take him home now.”

“No!” Wilbur screamed. “I mean, I want a little more time with him. I’ll bring him over in a couple minutes,” Wilbur snatched Kolak away from Amy.

“Okay. If that’s what you want. I’ll be at home talking to my parents just to confirm if it’s okay,” Amy looked at Wilbur oddly and climbed down the ladder of the tree house.

“Smooth,” Kolak said.

“I want to say good-bye. You be good over there, all right?” Wilbur ordered, holding Kolak out at arm’s length and looking right at him.

“I am twenty times more evolved than your primitive Earth-cats so I think I can handle it,” Kolak smirked at Wilbur and struggled out of Wilbur’s grip. “Is she your girlfriend?”

“What? No! Why does everyone think that?”

“You may think that now but it will soon change. Treat her good because she’s going to need a good friend down the line and she’s going to come to you.”

“How do you know?” asked Wilbur heading down the ladder.

“Another one of my many powers.”

“Kolak? This may be the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” Wilbur chuckled.

“That’s right, Wilbur, use a tired cliché to end the story.”

“Story? What are you talking?”

“Nothing. Just take me home...” Kolak chuckled and leapt out of the tree house.

164: Wilbur and Kolak Part One, Chapter 7 Excerpt

            Kolak always hated meetings with Ultrik.  He knew about Ultrik’s hatred for him and tried to avoid him outside of a group setting.  Kolak had to go to this meeting alone because it was about the expedition to Earth.  Kolak and Ultrik sat at a small round table while Tarvos waited on them with a special dinner.  They had currently been talking about the Cat Rangers and the future pertaining to Juriorty, the Rangers and Lara.

            “Well,” Ultrik said as he finished what was on his plate, “let’s get down to the matter at hand,” Ultrik noticed that Kolak wasn’t finished with his dinner and waited to be prompted by Kolak to continue.

            “Yes, I had always wondered why we had never tried to communicate with Earth before,” Kolak said.

            “Humans are a peculiar breed.  They tend to fear and hate what they don’t understand.  They are our closest contemporaries and over the years we have weighed the options and just decided not to pursue any contact,” Ultrik explained.

            “But why now?”

            “Opportunity, my boy.  We’ve done studies on the planet and learned quite a bit.  Earth is seventy percent water, their rainforests are being wiped out, one-third of an entire continent is an arid desert.  With our terraforming capabilities, land can be created on water, rain forests can be reborn and the desert can become livable.  The so-called super powers of the United Kingdom, United States, Russia, Japan and China can take advantage of our military powers while smaller countries can protect themselves better,” Ultrik explained.

            “I’ve read some reports on Earth and from what I saw, most of the countries are possessive and very volatile.  Are you sure it’s wise to introduce this type of advanced technology to this species?  They’ve had many wars over things are considered pretty trivial,” Kolak warned.

            “Earth is the only other planet in this solar system that has any life on it.  With our ships, it’ll take three days to get there.  It currently takes six months to get to our closest ally and a year and a half to our next closest.  Earth will be good for the economy,” Ultrik said.  “Upon arrival you will blend in with the humans.  Gain their trust and learn about them.  We expect this mission to last about seven months then hope to open the lines of communication and possible trade routes,” Ultrik noted.

            Kolak ate the last of his dinner, quickly chewing and swallowing it, and spoke.  “I still don’t see why I have to go alone.  If two Rangers went we could possibly push the trading date a couple of months or so,” he said.

            “We’ve thought about sending two but this mission can only be handled by the best and while we were hesitant in sending our best to Earth, we know that Dahrkron is more than competent to take over for you while you are gone,” Ultrik said proudly.  “Now, will you join me for desert?”

            Kolak stood up from the table.  “No thanks, I’m gonna get home so I can spend some time with Lara before leaving in the morning.  Dinner was fantastic, sir.  Thank you,” Kolak saluted and left the banquet hall.  A smile came over Ultrik’s face as Tarvos approached to remove dishes. 

            “Yes, Cahmossieu, run off to spend time with Lara.  It could be the last time you see her,” Ultrik lightly chuckled.

 

            Porter, Mitchell and Dale trudged through the thick woods on the Kupfer property.  They could hear other animals nearby but being pitch black out, they couldn’t see them.

            “I think we’re lost,” Mitchell said after tripping on an exposed tree root.

            “We’re not lost,” Dale proclaimed.  “The gate should be nearby.”

            To trespass on the Kupfer property, one could not take the easy way up the small gravel lane to the front door.  One had to go around and follow what used to be a farm road and go through the woods, approaching the back gate.  The trees started spreading out and the grass became thicker and taller.  Dale pointed the flashlight ahead and lit up two stone pillars and an iron gate.  The iron gate was bent and ripped from its hinges.

            “Here it is,” Dale whispered.  Mitchell and Porter got closer to their older brother.  Dale shined the flashlight around the gate, up the stones and onto the gargoyles that sat atop the pillars.  “Those are so cool,” said Dale.

            The three brothers slowly and cautiously passed through the gate and prepared to approach the house.  Dale nonchalantly tried to push Mitchell in front but Mitchell stood his ground and forcibly shoved his older brother’s arm away.  “What are you doing?” Mitchell asked.

            “I thought you might want to be first.  I’m trying to be nice,” Dale explained.

            “This was your stupid idea Dale so you are going to go first,” Mitchell ordered and took one step back behind Dale.

            The Kupfer House was in shambles.  Nearly all the windows were broken and the doors hung loosely on their hinges.  The paint was peeling and chipped from the walls.  The grass was up to Dale’s waist but was a sun-scorched yellow.  The three boys peered into the house through one of the broken windows and saw that nearly all the furniture was ripped apart and nearly torn to shreds.  A loud shuffling noise erupted behind the boys causing them to scream and run away from the house.  They ran back down the old back road to their bikes they left at the entrance.  The three of them pedaled as fast as they could.

            Soon, they heard a noise.  A loud whooshing noise mixed with intermittent flapping.  The whooshing and flapping got closer until the sound of Porter’s bike falling to the street and a piercing scream flooded the night.  Dale and Mitchell slammed on their brakes to look behind them.  There, they saw their youngest brother being carried off by a man-like monster with bat-like wings.  The creature flew away until disappearing in the woods surrounding the Kupfer House.

161: Wilbur and Kolak Part One, Chapters 1 & 4

Chapter One

            The sun was just burning off the early-morning fog on the Ohio River just south of Laketon.  Laketon, Ohio was founded in 1842 by Jonathan Sibley and John Ezekiel Wells.  Laketon is a prosperous community and someone traveling through Delaware Street would see the fruits of the two men’s labor.  Between 10^th and 16^th Streets along Johnson, Delaware and Madison Street was the historic downtown district where dozens of local shops and some chains did their business.

            The huge brick City Hall was built in 1947 and houses every department of the city.  The city hall used to be housed in a small building along the Ohio River, where the city was really started.  In 1888, warehouses and factories were built and two railroads came through, one from Detroit heading south and one from Philadelphia heading west.  With the redevelopment of the river banks, a new town square was built at 14^th and Delaware.  Each corner had something different—the new city hall, the Lawrence County Courthouse, the Laketon Memorial Hospital and the entrance to Laketon University.

Laketon U. was founded in 1877 and was always a top university but it wasn’t until 1983 when it was named one of the top ten colleges that it obtained national credibility.

            Delaware Street comes to an end at 17^th Street.  Turn right onto 17^th and hang a quick left onto Crossgate Terrace.  The left side is a bustling of new housing developments while on the right is still an empty field which used to be the small town of Bismarck Grove.  The only remnant of Bismarck Grove was a solitary house built in 1870 by Nathaniel Kupfer.  Bismarck Grove, back in the day, drew thousands of visitors to its fields for fairs, carnivals, and chautauquas. The sprawl of nearby Laketon finalized Bismarck Grove’s demise by the 1930s but the history is well remembered.

            The Kupfer House stood on a small hill just yards from Crossgate Terrace and the surrounding land was still in the family, owned by Jules Kupfer, the great-great grandson of Nathaniel.  Jules was a hermit who only left the property to get groceries and when he lost his wife and only son in 1973, he imported huge stones from Europe to build a fence around his house.  Atop the gate pillars, Jules placed two gargoyle statues and rumors swirled around the city schoolyards that the gargoyles came alive at night and killed children who wandered the streets.  For the brave who would trespass onto the Kupfer property, they would never enter the gate and would always run away at the slightest sound or if they caught a glimpse of “Old Man” Kupfer staring at them from the window.

 

            Wilburforce Matthews pedaled slowly down Bismarck Road heading toward Crossgate Terrace.  Birds were chirping and the sounds of animals scampering through the woods in Kupfer field could be heard.  There was a slight breeze that every so often blew Wilbur’s tasseled brown hair up, causing it to lay criss-crossed on his scalp.  Wilbur crossed a narrow bridge that went over a small creek and on the banks of the creek, Wilbur noticed, the Evilsizor brothers were playing in the water and dirt.  Wilbur pedaled slower as to not bring attention to himself as he rounded the curve where Bismarck Road became Crossgate.  He only got a few feet from the graveled road when he heard the sound of footsteps and bikes.  He looked behind him and saw the Evilsizors hopping on their bicycles and coming after him.

            “It’s Matthews!  Get him!” Dale shouted.  Dale was the oldest brother and self-proclaimed leader of the brothers.  The younger siblings were Mitchell and Porter, with Mitchell being the same age as Wilbur.  The Evilsizors were always recognizable with their bright red hair and face full of freckles.

            The three boys began racing after Wilbur as he picked up speed.  The brothers chased Wilbur down Shadybrook Drive, where Wilbur made a quick right turn.  The brothers were still on Wilbur’s tail but started losing them on the second curve.  Wilbur quickly turned onto Lazy Brook Lane, hit some loose sand and wiped out.

            Wilbur rolled onto his stomach and tried to crawl away until Mitchell ran him over with his bike, knocking him down again.  Wilbur tried his hardest to hold back his tears as the Evilsizors stood over him.

            “What were you doing on Bismarck Road?” asked Dale.

            “I was just riding around,” Wilbur groaned.

            “Bismarck Road is Evilsizor territory.  Stay off of it!” Dale ordered.

            “You tell him, Dale,” said Porter, who had not done anything until now.

            “You don’t even live near Bismarck Road and besides, the road is county property and…” Mitchell interrupted Wilbur by kicking him in the ribs.  “Ow.”

            “We don’t ever want to see you on Bismarck Road again or else we’re gonna dump you on ‘Old Man’ Kupfer’s property and then, if you survive, maybe you’ll start listening to us!” Dale threatened.  “Come on, guys, I think this turd has learned his lesson.”  All three then kicked Wilbur again, got on their bikes and rode off.

            Wilbur slowly got up, brushed the sand off his clothes and looked at the bloody scrapes on his elbows and knees.  He picked up his bike and began walking back to his house at 3730 Shadybrook Drive.  As Wilbur passed in front of his neighbor’s house, Amy Parker, a girl Wilbur’s age with short brown hair and dark brown eyes, came out onto the patio.

            “What’s wrong, Wilbur?” she asked him.

            “Those Evilsizor brothers chased me and I ended up wiping out making a turn,” Wilbur said walking up to the patio and looking up at Amy.

            “Do they hurt?” she asked.

            “What?”

            “Your elbows, the scrapes?” Amy giggled and pointed at them.

            “They’re fine, I’ll live.  I’m gonna go and get washed up,” Wilbur started crossing the yard to his house.  “I’ll see you at school.”

            “Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Amy said.  Wilbur walked up onto his patio as Amy went back inside.

 

            Amy Parker was Wilbur’s best friend and they had lived next door to each other all of their nine years.  Wilbur was exactly a month older and their parents were friends beforehand.  While Amy’s dad, John, was the owner of a grocery store in southwest Laketon, her mom, Sarah, was always a stay-at-home wife and mother.  Wilbur’s parents were more professional.  Wilbur’s dad, Laurence, was Deputy Mayor of Laketon under George Herriman and his mom, Lynda was a professor at Laketon University until she became pregnant with Wilbur.

            Wilbur had two other siblings.  His brother, Chuck and sister, Karen.  Amy had only one older sister Christine.  Wilbur and Amy were such good friends that everyone joked that they would get married when they got older but of course, both Wilbur and Amy found this totally disgusting.

Chapter Four

            Situated 2,109,000,000 miles from the Sun, between Uranus and Neptune, is the planet Juriorty.  Protected and hidden by a planet-wide shield, Juriorty has avoided any detection for thousands of years.  Juriorty is a mainly desolate planet that houses a capital city of nearly a billion citizens and a large, expansive desert created by the shield protecting the planet.  The advanced race on this planet are cats.  Simple, ordinary cats who, in order to thrive and prosper on their nearly dead planet, had to evolve quickly and now the Juriortians were the most advanced species in the known universe.

            In the center of the Capital City stood the tallest building which served as the central nerve of the city and planet.  Looking out over the city was Ultrik, the Prime Ruler of Juriorty.  Ultrik was different from the other cats.  Juriortians were normally covered in soft, silky fur but Ultrik’s body was muscular and rocky.  A pale grey color covered Ultrik which made him a striking and imposing force.

            “Tarvos!” Ultrik bellowed from the Great Hall.  Tarvos, a disfigured cat with one extremely large eye that had a scar running over it and dressed in a purple robe entered the Hall and slowly approached Ultrik.

            “Yes, my Lord?”

            “Is the program ready?”

            “The one for Cahmossieu?”

            “Yes.  We have confirmed that Hattie is just outside the city with his followers.  You will contact Cahmossieu and order him to take out Hattie and bring him in.  We’ll dispose of Hattie and tomorrow, Cahmossieu will be selected to be sent on a mission that will take him off-planet, millions of miles away from Juriorty and away from my daughter!”

            “If I may be so bold as to ask why you despise Cahmossieu so much because he is good to your daughter and he is the best leader our Cat Rangers have had in decades,” Tarvos nervously queried.

            “Despite,” Ultrik began gruffly causing Tarvos to jump, “Cahmossieu being a great asset to the Rangers, the city and the planet, he is the only one I have ever met who could equal me.  Therefore, I must dispose of him before he can dispose of me,” Ultrik positioned himself in front of the window and crossed his arms behind his back.

            “So Master Ultrik is scared of Cahmossieu?” Tarvos questioned, wringing his hands together.

            Ultrik swung around and yelled at Tarvos.  “I am not scared of Cahmossieu!”

            Tarvos flailed backwards and fell down.

            “The one they call Kolak is next in line for the throne.  He doesn’t get it until my death but I don’t want someone to get it into his head that my death should come sooner.  He is also spreading around that the old way Juriorty does things is getting stale and wants to initiate change.  He is slowly, yet unknowingly, turning my citizens against me.  Even my own daughter.”  Ultrik sighed, returned his arms behind his back and walked past Tarvos.  “Get Cahmossieu over to Hattie’s camp.  I’ll be with the judicial committee to review a suitable punishment for Hattie and his followers.”

            “Yes, my Lord,” Tarvos croaked as he watched Ultrik leave the Great Hall.

 

            The Artificial Sun beamed into the windows of Cahmossieu de Kolaack and Lara ze Ultrik’s residence.  Kolak was in the kitchen trying to cook breakfast but instead was burning it.  The smoke wafted out from the kitchen and into the other rooms.

            “I really hope you know what you’re doing since you overrode the sprinkler system,” Lara said coming into the kitchen and leaning against the door.

            “I just thought I’d do something nice and make us some breakfast.  It didn’t go over to well,” Kolak chuckled tilting the pan with the burned egg toward Lara.

            “Next time you want to do something nice, just help me in the shower or something,” Lara walked over to Kolak and kissed him.

            Kolak was a tall and handsome Calico cat.  He had been a member of Juriorty’s police force, the Cat Rangers, for seven years and was made their commander three years ago and in that short time made the Rangers a magnificent force in the community.  Lara, with her brown and silver fur, was truly one of the most beautiful females on Juriorty.  She worked at the biological institute but couldn’t wait until she and Kolak could settle down and have a family.

            “Why don’t I just do something nice right now?” Kolak smirked and the two kissed passionately while Kolak lifted Lara onto the table.  They were just starting to get into it when the videomonitor rang.  Kolak sighed and looked at Lara apologetically.  “Hello?” he answered.

            Tarvos’ face appeared on the screen and saw Kolak climbing off of Lara and the table.  “Oh my!  Did I interrupt something?” he smirked.

            “No, no.  What do you want Tarvos?”

            “Hattie is right outside the city and we feel he’s vulnerable enough to be attacked so Master Ultrik wants you to rush out and attack him before he attacks the city.”

            “Thanks for the head’s up.  I’ll gather the Rangers,” Kolak started to turn around but was stopped short by Tarvos.

            “No!  Ultrik wants you to go alone.  A swarm of Rangers would be noticeable and he wants to catch Hattie off-guard,” Tarvos ordered.

            “All right.  I’m on my way,” Kolak once again started to dart off after Tarvos’ face left the screen but this time was stopped by Lara.

            “I don’t want you to go alone!” she demanded.

            “I have to in order to get the rush on him.”

            “He is a mass murderer with deluded Juriortians as followers.  At least get Dahrkron to accompany you.”

            “Sweetie, every second I’m here arguing with you is another second I lose to attack Hattie,” Kolak looked at his love pleadingly but she stood her ground.  “I don’t want him to kill again.”  With that, Lara stepped aside and Kolak gave her a peck on the cheek, “Thanks.  I’ll be careful.  I love you.”

            Kolak dashed out the door while Lara sat down at the table.  “I love you, too…” she whispered.