7. The Evil Humanfall
Sotho and Lothan arrived back in Slumberland out of breath—and were obviously made fun of because of it. Sotho used the unrest in his claws to climb a tree a manually and fall down, just to help Lothan take the elevator and gather all the other sloths. For Lothan looked like he could fall asleep any second, even if it was rare he actually succeeded.
Like usual, they gathered in Treetower 22. Practically the heart and soul of Slumberland. Half of the sloths didn’t actually come. They opted to stay in their tree home, sleeping, but not sleeping. They sent clear messages via the Message Tree: I’m not going to burn my relationship with you for THAT nonsense.
The others said the same thing, really, but to their faces.
“Sounds like effort, it does,” said a grey-green sloth. “All humans who entered this place, have left Slumberland again and completely forgot it existed. Our machines help and protect us. Our Treetowers have never been felled!”
“Yes,” said Ismaraldah, “because your ancestors worked hard to solve these problems.”
“And we are ever grateful. And sleepy.”
“You are zombies,” said Didrik with disdain.
“What?”
“Argh, no, sorry, never mind, you don’t know what those are yet.”
Not a single Sloth joined their mission. So it was up to Sotho, Lothan, Ismaraldah and Didrik.
Upon nightfall they crawled back to the two buildings. The humans had already cut down anything before Slumberland’s border. Lothan still hoped the humans realized they weren’t allowed to go any further. Nobody shared his optimism.
The machines had pushed deep tracks into the dirt. Some of them were converted into real paths, accompanied by lanterns that shone a bright yellow light. The four of them chose a different path, though. One that led them through shadows and to the first yellow machine.
“Humans are nothing without their machines,” said Ismaraldah. “We destroy them all and it takes a year before they can hurt you.”
The biggest problem was the queue in front of the Wish Fulfiller. It never ended. Even at midnight, humans waited in line. Even when the building closed, everyone slept where they stood, afraid to lose their spot.
They had to disable the machines without making too much noise. Especially Didrik mumbled something about “stern time travelers” when he was forbidden from destroying everything.
Sotho pulled on a door handle. A door wasn’t a branch, though, and Sotho lacked much practice using his muscles in general. He was surprised when the door swung open and clumsily entered the vehicle upside-down. Then he felt the warm, soft driver’s chair. Brrr. Some human inventions weren’t too bad!
His sharp claws reached around him. Levers were removed from their metal box. Wires were cut. Even the chair was returned facing the wrong direction. When he left the machine, he looked back. The broken machine looked like that ancient, damaged Treetower; the one where he and Mindy met Ismaraldah for the first time.
The others were busy destroying the other machines. The humans hadn’t neatly put them in a row though—some still had half a tree in their metal claws—which delayed them. They had to cover large, tiring distances in the shadows.
Sotho sighed. He had to reach the machine that was closest to the queue. Some armored guards walked around, but they mostly chatted and drank some hot beverage. The hundreds of waiting people would see him before they did.
He used the shadow of the second building to get close. If he could make one perfect jump … he’d only be in the spotlights for a few seconds. Would he make it? He didn’t trust his clumsy body anymore. They should’ve practice this mission! He had to—
A man left the Wish Fulfiller building. His moustache covered a wide smile, and his arms held a gigantic box filled with objects. His long coat fluttered in the night winds and accidentally hit Sotho in the face.
“And? And?” asked the next clients.
“Completely fulfilled!” he said, picking at his moustache. “I wanted all the newest devices, mostly phones and computers, even those that haven’t even released yet. And look at that!”
He showed the contents of the box. When a child tried to pull out a shiny phone, he quickly covered the box again and left.
Sotho prepared to jump to the machine, drew in a breath, and—
A hollow, explosive sound bounced between the building’s walls.
His friend, who’d stood on a machine just now, fell down with lifeless limbs. He made no attempt at all to save himself and fell face down inside a pool of dirty water.
“Lothan!” yelled Sotho, climbing over the machines, but slipping and rolling and getting in the way of his own clumsy limbs.
Bright lights turned on. All guards moved to catch the sloths. Their numbers were few, Sotho told himself, as he tried to destroy the final machine anyway.
Mere heartbeats later, another group of guards ran outside. Enough to push aside the queuing people and circle the sloths.
Sotho jumped from roof to roof, zigzagging over the machines. Ismaraldah tried to lift Lothan and carry him; his friend didn’t move anymore.
His path through the air ended abruptly. He turned around and jumped back to the main building. A few protruding stones offered him grip, as he searched something to swing from. That’s the one thing he could trust his body to do.
Didrik leapt over him. The tiniest piece of brick that jutted out of the wall was enough for him to climb. He reached a few large buttons on the roof. He smashed the first one to trigger an alarm, then another to forcefully shut the doors.
Two men in suits were the last to leave the building before the metal doors closed. Grayman held that black object again, pointed at Sotho, then Didrik, then Sotho.
Finally, Sotho found what he needed. The humans had stretched thin black cables through the air to deliver electricity to all machines and operations. He grabbed Didrik’s hind paw and swung with him to the first rope, then the second, then the third. After falling for a few seconds, he grabbed the next rope just in time. It bent in the middle and made the human constructions creak and groan, but they held firm.
Of course they weren’t ropes, dear reader, but electricity cables. It’s not recommended for humans to touch those, even if they’re protected. But the thick claws of a sloth could easily hold them, and it was the only way to stay ahead of the running guards.
The guards were unsure how to attack an enemy swinging overhead. Grayman had activated his harness again, then trailed them from below.
Sotho accelerated. The cables were remarkably similar to their own spider web of Branchbridges hundreds of meters in the sky. He overtook Ismaraldah near the entrance of Slumberland.
“He’s too heavy,” she puffed. “Didrik, take over.”
Sotho was out of breath, his limbs like reeds swinging in the breeze without resistance.
The humans had shifted their attention to the machines. Those that still functioned were turned on and driven forwards to enter Slumberland. The first trees were quickly felled. Once all machines were humming, trees cracked and bent as if they were mere blades of grass, which meant Sotho could never climb the same tree for longer than a minute.
His current tree toppled backwards. Sotho’s world rotated and Ismaraldah slid downward. The next tree was still far out. Treetower 05, one of his favorites, because of the pretty lines that ran through the bark.
Could he make the jump? Could he make it in his current condition?
Grayman had followed them with precision. He stood below them now, his black machine pointed upward.
Ismaraldah looked forward, backward, forward, backward. Didrik grunted, all of Lothan’s weight on his shoulders. He looked like a turtle climbing a tree.
This was a stupid mission, Sotho reminded himself. A bunch of sloths! Against humans! They were nearly gods, with their machines.
His tree leaned completely backward now. He was dizzy, almost horizontal, and about to faint.
Ismaraldah screamed, fire in her eyes. She grabbed Sotho and threw him to the next tree. Didrik did the same with Lothan, then reached for the paws of his wife.
The sloths reached the next tree.
But the time traveler and her husband fell down hopelessly, towards the forest floor.
No, not just any floor. They fell towards the Curse. Grayman tried to break it loose by setting the pillar on fire.
His black object followed the falling panda and sun badger all the way from the top to the bottom. He blew the gray locks of hair from his face.
“Come on then! Give me a reason to shoot!”
Ismaraldah and Didrik held each other close, their eyes locked in a kind understanding.
Then they slammed into the Curse, the Flamefeaster, the thing that made you forget, with their entire body.
They refused to let each other go.
At their touch, the light grew large and blinding, enough to make the entire forest believe dawn had come. Grayman was blown backwards and landed amidst the ferns. The pillar broke. The two animals fell around it, unconscious.
The first tree home was attacked. The first Treetower, of the fifty that were never in any danger, shattered to flakes, chips, splinters and metal nails, which were collected by the canopy of lower trees. The Flowerwall lost its first flowers. The spider web missed its anchor now. The colored lights were extinguished, one by one. The fires did nothing to dissuade the gut-wrenching darkness and silence that followed.
As Sotho watched Slumberland burn and disintegrate, helplessly, he could only drown in his own guilt. Grow sick from his own realization.
Slumberland had indeed been blessed by the gods, the most beautiful place on the entire continent, and his entire life he’d only complained about it.