7. The Explosion

His body was burning. Anywhere the gas had touched Pin, his skin hurt. Pain, pain, pain, endless pain. His eyes felt dry and would not open anymore. Even his longs were on fire and pretended to have forgotten how breathing worked. He heard voices, but they couldn’t overrule the beeping in his ears.

It delayed his realization that the real world around him was also on fire.

Dannis sunk through his knees, but Pin was too weak to climb onto his back. The fire of the explosion had consumed all neighboring houses by now. Even from this distance it felt like entering the heart of a volcano.

Soldiers screamed and ran back and forth, some away from the explosion, others right into it to save their friends or possessions.

Another explosion. The fire had reached the first home of their street.

“Pin! Pin! Can you hear me?”

Finally his eyes opened, but his vision was still blurry. It prickled and itched, as if someone drove a knife into his pupils, and then threw him into a desert. They were outside, but it didn’t feel that way. The gas felt all around him; a blanket still seemed to choke him.

In that chaos, the Freethieves had forgotten their prisoners. They jumped onto a new invention called the Automobile. It moved automatically—hence the name—and added even more stinking gas out of an exhaust pipe. Some still called it a Cart, just with an upgrade.

That gas isn’t as bad as the Mustard Gas though. Pin wanted to say it, but his throat was still on fire. Mmm. I could drink an entire ocean right now.

The fire grasped for anything more to burn, faster than Dannis could follow. They were surrounded by flame walls before long.

An automobile passed by. Dannis dared a leap and pushed the drivers—three beavers—off of it. The parrot helped carry Pins heavy body again, which worked against them all the time. They barely got him onto the cart.

“Where’s the steering wheel!?”

Dannis was used to the vehicles of the Godesweets, made predominantly for apes. Those had chairs, a steering wheel for hands, and a gear lever. This one had none of that and looked more like a wooden raft on wheels. A toy cart that was built too large.

“Hold on!”

“As if—cough—I can—cough—”

“What’s that, Pin?”

Dannis stood on an extended wooden plank. Apparently, it sent the car to the right. They turned in circles, again, and again, looking for a gap in the fires.

“Pin! Pin! How are you?”

“We must—” He coughed slime and turned onto his belly. “We must go back.”

“What?”

The automobile suddenly leaned left. Pin looked back. Two beavers had latched on and wanted to flee too, one with a burned tail, the other wearing glasses without glass.

Was that Bitz? He prepared to kick him off the cart. Then his vision sharpened and he realized it was someone else.

Of course. Bitz and the commander would already be safe and sound somewhere else.

“Think, deerfriend!” yelled Pin. A cry followed by more coughing. “A chance. Steal their secrets!”

“I am thinking—about how we’ll SURVIVE.”

The car leaned sideways again and teetered on the edge of toppling over. A heavy rhino crushed the back wheels in an attempt to climb onto the vehicle.

“You are SAVING the ENEMY again.”

Pin found his strength, partially thanks to his anger.

Dannis caught one of the beavers with his broken antlers. With a jerk of the head, he threw the beaver to the steering wheel. And sure, they did know how to use the automobile.

Dannis cast a shadow over Pin. “I am saving living beings.”

“I HATE YOU.” Pin tightened the strap of his helmet. When he was about to jump off the car, they suddenly turned and he fall backward.

“You are a GRUMPY PENGUIN.”

“I saved your life!”

“And then I saved yours!”

Another explosion. All homes in the area had seen fire now. They neared the storage building filled with nitrate, where the explosions had started and still continued.

Pin pointed at a building a little further away: Bitz’ laboratory. “I am going to THAT BUILDING to steal their formula for the gas! Do NOT STOP ME!”

“Well, well, well, then I am GOING WITH YOU.”

Together they lept from the driving card, rolled over the bumpy ground, and sought their way to the lab. Pin tried to slide on his belly, but his damaged skin protested. He grunted at Dannis, then climbed on this back again.

The car chased them. The beaver had found the highest gear. Pin feared they’d finally realized they were enemies, but they didn’t actually chase them.

They aimed for a beaver standing in front of the burning storage building.

“Bilara! Bilara!” they said. “Bilara! We come to save you!”

Their voices were relieved, almost cheerful. And surprised she had been able to stay out of the fire, completely unharmed.

Bilara turned around.

She walked into the fire.

The fire grabbed her, burned her skin, but she did not react. Dannis and Pin could not look at it. The car came to a stop at the front door, drowning in disbelief, uncertain what to do.

They could not save her anymore.

Dannis broke the door to the laboratory with his antlers. Pin ran inside and pulled open cupboards, drawers, chests, maps, even other doors. Gray smoke swirled through the rooms as if they were guarded by ghosts.

As Pin went into another room, Dannis explored some metal object near the window. Bitz’ notes were there, untouched by fire, spread around as if they were accidentally left behind. As if they were worth nothing.

But those papers contained the secret. The secret to make guayn themselves.

Dannis hadn’t really believed it. He thought the Freethieves had actually found the Stone of Destinydust and used that to grow their food and get gunpowder. But these papers and flasks proved they had worked on an actual scientific process to making fertilizer.

The choice was simple. Dannis had enjoyed being First Islandseeker. But his goal was not some higher rank—his goal was never hungry. Going back to the forests of Casbrita, to his family, bearing the good news that they’d never have to die of starvation again. He was no soldier—never had been.

A worn leather bag hung by the door. He threw all the papers inside and pushed his neck through the shoulder strap.

Pin stuck his head through the doorway.

“There is,” another coughing attack, “another exit here!”

The car raced past the window. The soldiers had decided there was nothing they could do for Bilara or Bitz. They escaped safely through a gap in the firewall.

Dannis and Pin ran for the other exit and landed on a field of grass, just outside the fire zone. They wasted no second and found their way to the front of the Godesweets. Hopefully they’d recognize Dannis, the First Islandseeker, and let him in. Otherwise their troubles were just starting.

The more they walked, the more Pin regressed. The mustard gas had not only touched him physically. His entire body felt ill in a way that resting could not solve. In fact, standing still made it worse and made him realize just how badly he was damaged.

Their parrot landed on Pin’s shoulder, who yelled in pain from the featherweight.

“Where have you been all this time?”

“Bad news! The Freethieves want to continue the gas. They’ll use it tomorrow, at large scale, with an attack on the Godesweets.”

“To be expected,” Dannis said solemnly.

Night fell. They’d have to walk for a few more hours to enter the Godesweets army camp.

“Even worse news! The Godesweets saw the explosion and think the Freethieves are weakened now. They plan to do a surprise attack tonight.”

Dannis and Pin looked each other in the eye.

“Oh well, I guess the fate of the entire war is in the hands of a genius antelope and a grumpy penguin again.”

“A very brave, strong penguin. Who’s hungry.”

“And, erm—” Dannis frowned at the parrot. “We never even asked your name.”

“Better not. Half the world is still looking for me on accusations of piracy! A false accusation, aye!”

“Yes yes. I can’t wait until we can use that Telephone at sea. We won’t need messenger birds like you!”

“Fine. I’m getting old. I heard a Freethief mention that they were collecting Heavenmatter to stop the Magic of Longlife, but only for the Godesweets. Can you imagine? That none of us live a thousand years, at least, but … only twenty years?”

Dannis and Pin looked as if they were overcome by a bad smell.

“Then there really is no time to waste.”

All three of them sucked in a nice, deep, long breath of fresh gasless air.

They raced to warn the Godesweets to not attack.