What If They Die

Night time, in the many-roomed house of Pedro Vicente Maldonado.

Pedro is asleep, in his airy bedroom. He wears his favourite red velvet pyjamas.

He dreams he is doing a crossword puzzle. The word on the far right keeps changing.

Nothing fits in.

In a room down the passage, Arthur is removing the dirty bandage from his worst knee.

Yeow! says Arthur.

Sweezus is checking what they'll need to climb Chimborazo, by watching YouTube videos of other people doing it.

Ice pick, says Sweezus. Boots, torch. Look at this guy!

Arthur looks.

This guy's not happy. No one told him he ought to take food, and his water froze in the first half hour.

Remember that, says Sweezus. Take food.

And a torch, says Arthur.

Shit yeah, says Sweezus. Wonder why they all start off in the dark?

Arthur can't think of a reason.

Next door Gaius is ..... not where he should be.

He has gone down to the frog room.

Terence and Cherry have taken advantage of his absence to go and look for Pescado.

They knock on the doors of the bedrooms until Mariposa opens.

What? says Mariposa.

Where's Pescado? asks Terence.

In here, says Mariposa. We're packing our trunkies. Lucky you came.

Is it? asks Terence. That's why I came.

Pescado looks up from his trunkie. It's overflowing with tee shirts and shorts. And several geometry puzzles, on loose sheets of paper. And a book about dinosaurs.

Get in, says Pescado.

Who? asks Terence.

Cherry goes in mine, says Pescado. You're going in Mariposa's.

Cherry hops onto the dinosaur book. Plenty of room. It sinks down.

Terence looks at Mariposa's trunkie.

It's empty.

I'm not going in FIRST, says Terence.

You don't have to, says Mariposa. I'm just thinking. Help me decide what to take.

Lots of red drinks, says Terence.

Out of these, says Mariposa. She points at a jumble of journals and sketchbooks.

Ha ha, says Terence. What about shorts?

Yes of course! SHORTS! says Mariposa.  And a swim suit. And a dress for going out to dinner, and a necklace. What do you think I am?

A girl, says Terence. And you need undies.

Like I don't know THAT, says Mariposa.

Is she cross about something?

She's just scared, says Pescado. Of dinosaurs and volcanoes.

Am not, says Mariposa. I'm just missing Piffy and Pi-face. What if they die?

They will die, says Pescado. Everything dies.

Does it? asks Cherry. Do I die?

No, says Pescado. You just run out of battery, and get a new one and eventually after a few more replacements you run down for the last time. But don't worry.

I don't worry, says Terence. 

Not you, says Pescado.

I'm going down to check on them, says Mariposa.

She takes her torch, and makes her way down to the frog room.

Opens the door. Hears what she least expected.

Frogs whooping. In a good way.