Strange Creatures of Dr. Korbo (5 page)

Gus ambled over to look down at the woman. “Did she say anything? Doesn't appear like she's going to make it. Too bad.”

“Sh!” Sarah warned. She was afraid the old lady would hear him. She took the pan of fresh water that Abbey brought and with a cloth began bathing her face.

They all stood about. watching.

After a while Reb got his breath back. “There's something spooky about this place,” he muttered, frowning.

“What do you mean, spooky?” Dave asked. “Spooky like ghosts?”

“No. Not ghosts. It's the
varmints
around here.” He looked back in the direction where they had been hunting. “I never saw anything like it.”

“What kind of animals did you see?” Josh asked, as though he could not imagine what would shake up Reb after having killed a dragon and a saber-toothed tiger and a T-rex.

Pulling off his Stetson, Reb mopped his brow with a brilliant red handkerchief. Then he stared around the group, and his eyes were thoughtful. “It was just before we found this lady,” he said and related the incident. “We saw this critter jump out of a tree and snatch up that rabbit we were after. Killed it with one bite.”

“What kind of a critter?” Jake asked.

“It's hard to say,” Sarah put in then. “It was the size of a big dog. It had a bushy tail and the most awful looking teeth you ever saw. It had reddish fur, and I guess it looked pretty much like . . . like a squirrel.”

“A squirrel!” Jake snorted. “Sounds more like a lion.”

“It was almost big enough. I reckon it could have weighed a hundred pounds,” Reb said. “And with those teeth, it could tear a fellow to bits. Sarah and I were lucky to get two arrows into it before it got to us.”

“I guess we'd better keep a guard out, then,” Dave said with a nervous glance back into the trees. “The rest of us didn't see anything like that.”

“I'll bet it wasn't the only one, either,” Reb said. “Nobody had better take off into the woods alone.”

Sarah kept on bathing the woman's face. For some time the lady lay absolutely still, but then Sarah said, “I think she's waking up.”

They all leaned forward to see.

The woman's eyelids fluttered. Then she opened her eyes and again put out her hands in fear.

“Don't worry. We're your friends,” Sarah said soothingly. “Can you sit up and take something to drink?”

“Very thirsty!”

Quickly Sarah poured a cup of cold fresh water, and the woman drank it eagerly. “What's your name?” Sarah asked.

“Viona,” she whispered. But she still looked frightened. “Who are you?”

“My name is Sarah. These are my friends. I know all this must be pretty scary.” Sarah smiled in an effort to take away the woman's fear. “We were shipwrecked last night. That's why we're here.”

“Yes. And we don't even know where we are,” Dave added. “What is this place?”

“It is the Land of Dr. Korbo.”

“You mean this is his ranch?” Reb asked.

“It is the Land of Dr. Korbo.”

They questioned the woman, but she would not go beyond this.

“We found you lying on the trail. You probably need something to eat. Is that pig of yours done yet, Dave?”

“Just about. Probably we're all ready to eat something.”

The pork proved to be stringy but good flavored. The woman who called herself Viona could not eat more than the few bites that Sarah cut up for her. It
was impossible to guess her age, Sarah thought, but she was certainly not young. The white hair and the wrinkles told her that.

As they finished eating, Dave asked, “Do you think we could find this Dr. Korbo, Miss Viona?”

“No! No! You must not do that!”

Sarah was shocked at the fear that leaped into the woman's eyes. Viona began to tremble, and she put her hands in front of her face.

“There, there, don't be afraid,” Sarah said. She looked around helplessly at the others. “Why are you so afraid of Dr. Korbo?”

“He is an evil man.”

“Is he perhaps the ruler of this land?”

“Yes. Everyone serves him.”

The Sleepers tried gently to find out more about the mysterious Dr. Korbo, but the woman apparently was terrified even to speak of him. Each time his name was mentioned, she would look around as if expecting him to come stalking out of the forest.

Then she gazed thoughtfully at the Sleepers. She said, “You must be the Sent Ones.”

“What do you mean, Miss Viona?”

“You must be the Sent Ones,” she repeated.

“Sent to do
what?
” Josh asked.

Josh had resigned his position of leadership, but Sarah noticed that he was leaning forward, just as fascinated as the others.

“Who sent us?” he asked.

“I do not know. I just know that you are strangers here. I have been long hoping that someone would come to help, and you have been sent.”

“Well, in a way that's true,” Josh said hesitantly. He looked around at the other Sleepers, then added, “We serve
Goél. He sends us to help others in need. Have

you ever heard of him?”

“Never.”

“Well, he's very strong and very good,” Sarah said, when it was evident that Josh was going to say no more.

“You have been sent to save the little ones.”

“What little ones?”

The exertion of talking seemed to have overcome the old lady. She closed her eyes again and appeared to fall asleep. But then she immediately opened them, showing less fear now. “You are good. I can see that. You have been sent. Yes. You have been sent.”

Jake put his hands in his pockets and stared at her. “Tell us about this Dr. Korbo. If we're going to help you, we've got to know what we're getting into.”

The frightened expression came back. But as Viona looked around the circle—and perhaps saw the friendliness in all the faces—she began to speak. “He— is a magician.”

“You mean he does tricks?” Dave asked with astonishment.

“He is an evil magician. He . . . changes things.”

“Changes what kind of things, Miss Viona?” Abbey asked quietly. “What does he change?”

“He changes animals.”

“How does he change them?” Sarah asked.

“He . . . makes them different. Animals are good, but he has a place in the castle where he takes them, and he does horrible things to them. He changes them. You will see!”

A silence fell over the group, and finally Josh said, “
How
does he change them, Miss Viona? Can you give us an example?”

For a moment she did not answer, but then she said, “You know what a bat is?”

“The furry creature that flies at night,” Sarah said, nodding.

“Yes. They are nice little creatures, but Dr. Korbo has made them evil. They are huge now, and they attack anything that moves after dark.”

“How huge are they?” Reb asked, frowning.

“They are wider than my two arms. They are black and have very sharp teeth, and they will kill anything that moves that they find in the dark. We never go out at night. All my people are afraid to go out of their houses at night.”

“So he's made a race of giant bats,” Jake muttered thoughtfully. “He takes living creatures and makes changes in them. You know what that's called? It's called genetic engineering.”

“Why would anybody want to make a nice little bat into a monster?” Abbey asked the woman.

“I do not know. His father and grandfather before him ruled here. They were all magicians. And now our land is filled with terrible beasts.”

“Just a minute!” Reb exclaimed. “Did he make a thing that looks like a squirrel but is very big—as big as a big dog?”

“Yes, and they are deadly. They jump on our people from the trees and bite them to death. We dare not go far into the woods, or they will kill us,” Viona said softly.

The woman seemed to have completely lost her fear of them, and for some time she answered their questions. But she was obviously very weak and tired. “My heart. It is not good.” She put her hand on her breast and shook her head. “It is very weak, and sometimes it goes very fast.”

The Sleepers exchanged knowing glances. Everyone knew that she was describing some kind of serious heart problem.

“Where were you going when we found you?” Sarah asked.

“Out trying to find food for the little ones.”

“Who are these ‘little ones' you talk about, Miss Viona?”

The woman shut her eyes, and a look of horror twisted her face. When she opened her eyes, she said, “Dr. Korbo, his father, and grandfather have done horrible things with animals and birds. And now . . .” She hesitated as if she was afraid to complete the sentence.

“What is he doing now, Miss Viona?”

“He took children from the villages. He wants to do awful things to them too!”

“How terrible!” Sarah exclaimed. “How could anyone do that?”

“He is a monster himself. Worse than any monster he has created,” Viona said bitterly. “The servants of Dr. Korbo sent his men, and they took the babies away. There was great sorrow, but what could the villagers do? Then the men took me and my granddaughter to care for the babies.”

“But didn't the villagers fight?” Reb asked.

“They are not men of war. We are a peaceful people. All my little ones!” she cried suddenly. “What awful things the magician will do to you.”

“Where are these babies now?” Sarah asked.

Though obviously exhausted, Viona struggled to speak. “The magician was ready to begin changing the babies—so Meta and I stole them. We put them in a cart in the middle of the night, and we left the castle, and we hid them.”

“How are you caring for them?”

“It is very hard. Meta and I cannot do it any longer. I am old, and she is young. We've been able to get goat's milk for them, but babies make noise. They cry like all babies do, and soon they will be found, and the magician will have his way.”

Every one of the other Sleepers—and even Gus— looked as horrified as Sarah felt.

“We've got to do something about this!” Dave said. “This Dr. Korbo sounds like a servant of the Dark Lord to me.”

The Sleepers held a quick debate about getting involved. Some said yes. Some said no. They'd had no direct word from Goél.

And then Gus said, “If it looks like you've been sent here to do a job, I reckon you'd better do it.”

“What about you, Gus?” Josh asked quickly.

“Me? Well, a good looking fellow like me has to be careful. I wouldn't want my manly beauty to be spoiled.” He held his head at an angle for them to behold what he considered his beautiful face. But then he shrugged his thin shoulders. “Seems to me all of us have to do the best we can for these young ones. We'll probably all get changed into giant ants. But the bright side of it is, if he does change us into something like that, we won't have to worry anymore about finding clothes to wear.”

J
osh seemed unable to function, and Dave jumped into the position of leadership. “We have to make some kind of a stretcher to carry her on,” he said, motioning toward Viona. “She obviously can't walk.”

“I'll take care of that,” Jake said. “Come on, Reb. Let's go cut some saplings for handles.”

As the two of them disappeared, Dave moved rapidly, organizing for the journey. He divided up what was left of the roast pig so that each could carry an equal amount. He went around giving instructions quickly and efficiently.

“Josh, I expect it would be better if you would be one of the ones that carry Miss Viona.”

“All right, Dave. If you say so.”

Sarah watched all this with dismay. She did not like it that Dave had suddenly become the leader. She knew that somehow this was wrong. Goél had appointed Josh. But she did not try to argue the point now.

Reb and Jake soon came back with saplings trimmed, and they quickly made a litter. “All right,” Reb said. “We're ready to go now, Miss Viona. We'll carry you up front, and you can show us the way.”

The old lady nodded. She looked very ill and tired, and she lay utterly still under the blanket that the girls had spread over her.

They started their journey with Dave in the lead. Right behind him walked Josh and Reb, carrying the litter. The rest of the group followed, and Sarah brought
up the rear. “If you see anything suspicious back there, just call out, so we'll all have time to get armed,” Dave urged her.

“All right, Dave.” She remembered what she and Reb had seen, and she said under her breath, “I just hope we don't see any of those monster squirrels.”

Viona gave instructions as they went along. After a while they came to a clearing and then followed a path that hugged the base of a steep rocky incline.

Dave all of a sudden stopped the procession. “Look at
that!
” he cried.

Everyone craned their necks. Overhead flew a huge black shape that had apparently risen out of the forest and was headed for the top of the rocks.

“That is the monster bat that drinks blood!” Viona said. “They do not usually come out in the daylight, but sometimes they do.”

“Where is he going?” Dave asked.

As they watched, the creature disappeared into a black hole in the cliff.

“I bet that cave's full of them,” Jake muttered.

“Let's keep going,” Dave said. “Is it much farther, Miss Viona?”

“No. Not far,” she said.

The little group moved onward, and then Dave stopped them again. “Hold up a minute—I hear something!”

Viona said weakly, “It is just the waterfall. We are nearly to our hiding place.”

Dave motioned them forward. They came out of a clump of woods, and suddenly a waterfall was before them, cascading over a sheer face of rock.

“It's beautiful!” Sarah whispered. “It looks like a picture postcard.”