The End
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"Has anyone seen Barry lately?" Mr. Fitzhugh shouted to the rest of the group.
"Fitzhugh," Betty replied, "Barry is in the Spindrift, writing the things that happened to us during the last three days down in his journal. Remember - Captain Burton chose him to record everything so we would have a written document of our stay on this planet."
"Oh yes, Betty, I forgot about that. Maybe I will help the lad out, after I take a quick little nap."
Barry's latest journal entries:
Spring arrived early this year, and the weather was warm and humid. With the humid weather conditions came a new problem for us - INSECTS (flies, mosquitoes, and the dreaded bees).
The past winter had been the worst one yet for us. Supplies were nearly exhausted, or gone. Even our clothes needed to be fixed up.
While Fitzhugh was guarding the ship, the rest of us were away looking for food, water, and tools to fix the ship. Betty was with Valerie, Mark was with Dan, and Steve was with Chipper & me. Each team had a walkie-talkie, flashlight, and a very rough map (sketch) of the assigned search area. Today's search (the first since the snow melted, and the ground dried up) was going extremely well. Our group found berry bushes, apple & grapefruit trees, and water. Mark and Dan stumbled upon a giant garden, with carrots, corn, radishes, lettuce, and tomatoes. Betty and Valerie were the only ones who hadn't found anything yet, but their luck was to soon change, with horrific results.
"So, Betty, what do you think Steve and the others have found in their search?" Valerie asked.
"I don't know Valerie," Betty responded, "but I do know that we can't go back to the ship empty handed now, can we? Let's keep looking over by those rocks."
"Betty, someone's coming! Quick, behind this rock."
Just then they saw seven giants looking around the area for something.
"OK, men, spread out and search everywhere; they can't be very far away now. A big reward awaits the person who finds them. Please notify me when you have something to report."
Both girls recognized the voice as that of Inspector Kobick.
"Inspector! Over here, Sir - I have found some little people's clothing."
All the giants walked right by Betty and Valerie, who were hiding behind a large rock.
"Betty, see if you can reach the others on your radio," suggested Valerie.
"Steve, this is Betty. Can you hear me?"
"Betty, this is Steve, what's wrong?"
"Steve, there are giants everywhere. We are trapped behind a giant rock, and we need help fast."
"All right, Betty, I'll notify the others and get right over there. Stay calm, and stay out of sight; were coming right away."
"Betty, we should get out of here while we have a chance."
With that they both started running away from the giants.
"Valerie, lets take this path over here. Hurry - they may have seen us."
As the girls turned the corner, they came to an abrupt stop, for they had come upon a crashed spaceship.>
"Betty, you'd better tell Steve and the others what we've found."
About ten minutes later, the rest of us arrived.
"Steve, Mark, Dan, over here. Look what we found!!"
"Mark, oh my gosh, it's a ship. A ship from earth."
"You're right, Dan, and judging by the mess it's in, I'd have to say that it has probably been here for a long time."
"You girls go over to that tree with Barry and Fitzhugh," Steve instructed, "while the rest of us check out the ship. We don't know what could be in there. If it is a trap, make it back to the Spindrift, understand?"
"OK Steve."
The girls agreed and headed over to the tree where Fitzhugh, Chipper, and I were hiding.
"Dan, Steve, come over here. This is too good to be true - most of these parts are salvageable. But there appears to be no fuel onboard. Probably due to the crash landing."
"Mark, do you think that we have enough time to start dismantling the ship today?"
"I don't know Steve; it is getting a bit late. Maybe we should go back to the Spindrift and turn in for the night. We can always come back here tomorrow morning. Besides, the girls had a rough time dealing with those giants."
"Hey Steve," said Dan, "why do you think that the giants left so suddenly, and in a frightened manner at that?"
"I don't know Dan, but we'd better be careful."
Since it was getting late, Captain Burton decided to call it a day and return the next morning, so we all returned to the Spindrift for supper. In the morning, we went back to the crashed ship.
"Betty and Valerie, I want you two girls to check out the galley to see if there is anything useful there. Barry, check out the passenger compartment. Mark, check out the engine room. Fitzhugh, you check around outside the ship, but don't go too far away. Dan and I will check out the cockpit. We will all meet back here in an hour."
With that said, we all went to our assigned search areas.
"Steve, look at these controls. There must have had a captain, a co-pilot, a navigator, and two stewardesses on board to fly it. This has to be a more advanced ship then ours."
"I guess so. Well Dan, we'd better get back to the others - it's almost time to check in with them."
We all met with Captain Burton when and where we were instructed to. All, that is, except for Mr. Fitzhugh. "Did anyone find anything?"
"All the food in the galley is gone, Steve."
"I found a suitcase full of tools and diagrams, and I found a burnt journal, Captain."
"A lot of the equipment in the engine room is useable, Steve."
Just then Commander Fitzhugh came running back, yelling. "Captain Burton, Captain Burton, come with me quickly, and bring the others too. I found a cemetery, with graves and markers on them."
Soon after we arrived at the cemetery, Captain Burton, counted all the graves. There were thirteen in all.
"Steve, someone buried them here, and I doubt that a giant would have done it. Could there be some survivors from this crash?"
"It looks that way Dan, but we can't look for them at this moment. We have to start removing these parts, before the giants return, and find what's left of this ship. We can look for these - survivors - tomorrow."
Everyone checked out the list of names etched on the crosses.
"Steve, I know some of these names," Mark spoke up. "Professor Henry Higgins, Thomas Elder, Matthew Applegate and John Franklin all worked for me, in one of my factories."
"I know some too, Steve," said Valerie. "Jennifer Westbrook and Melinda Samuels were wealthy friends of mine, who I went to parties with. And they were around my age."
"Darren McGrath and Doug Simpson were college buddies of mine, who went to the Olympics with me," Dan said.
Steve replied, "Jimmy Hitchcock, Martin Banks, and Sydney Fellows were the pilot, co-pilot, and navigator of the ship. I met them at the academy."
Betty recognized some names as well. "I knew Susan Taft and Sarah Rolands during my stewardess training class."
"Mark, there is a name on this journal," I told him. "It says WINDSTORM."
"Barry, did you say WINDSTORM?"
"Yes, Sir."
"That explains it," Mark replied, getting a lump in his throat. "That is why I knew most of these names. I was going to London to seal and sign a multi-million dollar deal regarding a new atomic powered spacecraft project called "WINDSTORM". It could carry ten passengers and a crew of five. But it should have taken them years to build it and test it."
"Maybe this was the first test flight Mark. Jennifer and Melinda told me that they were investing a lot of money into a new space project. And they both wanted to get personally involved with it, as much as possible."
"That could be, Valerie."
"Steve, let me check out the baggage compartment, to see if we can find out who the other survivors are. We have already accounted for the entire crew, so it must be a passenger who survived the crash."
"OK Dan, but be back here fast."
Five minutes later, Dan returned.
"Steve, I know the names of the survivors of the crash. A man named Phillip Burton, and a women named Silvia Henderson. There are two crosses in the baggage compartment, with their names etched on them."
"Phillip Burton is my brother," Steve answered, surprised.
"Captain Burton, Silvia Henderson is my niece. I demand that you find her immediately, do you hear me?"
"OK, Fitzhugh. We'll look for them in the morning. Take it easy. Now, let's start salvaging this ship for useable parts."
That night everyone slept like a log, because we were all completely exhausted, from the day's work. Even Commander Fitzhugh did his fair share of work.
"Good morning, everyone, did you all sleep as well as I did?" Dan asked cheerily. "Oh, Betty and Valerie, Steve wants you two girls to go down to the pond and wash some clothes. He also wants you to try out the new detergent that Mark made. It should help remove the dirt and grease that we encountered last night."
"OK, Dan. Valerie and I will do the laundry after we take care of the dishes."
"Betty," Valerie asked, "why do the women always have to clean the dishes and wash the clothes? I would like to see one of them try doing this for a change."
Betty and Valerie finished the dishes, and were now washing some clothes at a nearby pond.
"Gee Valerie, this new detergent smells terrific, almost like a scent of a flower."
"Yeah, and look at the stains breaking down and disappearing with very little scrubbing. For once one of Mark's inventions is starting to pay off."
"Valerie, do you hear a buzzing sound getting louder in the distance?"
"Yeah; I wonder what it could be. Oh, I'm sure we have nothing to worry about, Betty."
"Val, it's a swarm of bees - quick let's get out of here! RUN FOR COVER!!" Betty screamed.
Before they could get away, it was too late.
"Betty, help, one of the bees has got me."
"One of them has me too. Let me see if I can get a hold of the others." Betty pulled out her radio "Steve, Mark, Dan, anybody, we have been caught by giant bees, and we're being taken away. Someone please help us!"
"Betty, this is Dan, try to keep your radio on so we can track you. Try to remain calm; we'll find you."
"Steve, Mark, Barry, Fitzhugh, get in here," Dan called. "The girls have been picked up by giant bees.
"I don't understand it. Mark, why would the bees be interested in the girls? All they were doing was washing clothes at the pond."
"Oh my god, Fitzhugh, it's got to be the detergent. One of the ingredients must be attracting the bees. We'd better find them, and fast."
"Steve, this is Betty," came her voice over the radio. "We've just flown into some sort of bee hive. It is very near the area of the crashed ship, and it's on the ground. I'll bet that the ship must have hit it when it crashed."
Captain Burton told the rest of us, as we were running towards the crashed ship, to search everything when we got there. Chipper began to sniff around, and he strayed away from the rest of the search party. He had picked up the hive's scent and started barking, which alerted everyone.
"Hey, Steve, no wonder Kobick's men left in a hurry two days ago - they were probably stung to death by the bees. This is the area that the girls said that Kobick and his men were searching for something."
"Yes, I know, Mark. Let's keep looking for the girls; they have to be here somewhere."
"Captain, here's the giant bee hive."
"Stay away from it, Barry," Dan warned me. "It's too dangerous to get that close to it. We'd better find a way to get the bees out of there so we can go in after the girls."
"I'm not getting anywhere near it Mr. Erickson," I assured him. "I'm allergic to bee stings. If I get stung by a bee, it could kill me."
"Steve, Betty again. The bees have released us inside a room with a bunch of honeycombed cubes inside it."
"Betty, look," Valerie said to her, "these two cubes have something in them. Let's break them open to see what's inside."
"Steve," Betty said, still over the radio, "I am going to open one of the cubes. I'll have to crawl inside to get a better look. Oh my gosh! It's the mummified body of a little girl. Valerie, check out the other cube, and let me know what is in it."
Valerie broke open the cube and climbed inside. She discovered the mummified body of a man. Betty told Steve what Valerie had found.
"Valerie," warned Betty, "the bees are coming back; they're starting to seal us in these cubes! Steve, help!" she called over the radio, explaining what was happening.
Dan started barking out orders to everyone.
"Start gathering up some leaves and branches - we're going to smoke the bees out of the hive. Hopefully this will drive the bees out so that we can get the girls out. Fitzhugh, you have the matches; give me one. OK, everyone, I'm lighting the pile, so find a safe place to hide."
"Dan, the smoke is going right into the hive. It should only be a matter of seconds before the bees start flying out."
"I can see that, Steve. Everyone take cover, the bees are starting to fly out of the hive."
Then a huge swarm of bees came flying out; within seconds, they were gone.
"OK, everyone get inside the hive. I don't know how much time we have before the fire burns out and the bees come back. Search the hive for the girls."
Mark was the first one to find the girls.
"Steve," he called, "they're over here."
"Fitzhugh, you keep a watch on the hive entrance," Steve instructed, "in case the bees start to return. The rest of us will try and free the girls."
"OK, Captain Burton."
On his way to the hive's entrance, Fitzhugh came across a room full of honey.
"I'm sure that no one will object if I taste this delicious liquid. Mmm, this is delicious, and I can eat as much as I want. What is that strange buzzing sound? It is different then the sounds that the other bees made. Yikes - it's a queen bee, and she is coming right towards me. Once she gets across the honey, I'm done for. HELP!!"
Scared out of his mind, Fitzhugh lit a match and set the honey on fire. Then he ran to us, yelling as only he can.
"Help, help, bees! A queen bee! The hive is on fire - run for your lives!"
Dan, Mark, Steve, Chipper, and I broke open the two honeycombed cells and freed Betty and Valerie.
"Oh no!!" Captain Burton exclaimed. "That's my brother. Quick, get a hold of him - we can't leave him here in the hive. We can bury him with the others. Someone get the little girl. Fitzhugh can try to identify her after we get out of the hive."
Just then Fitzhugh arrived.
"Bees - I'm getting out of here!"
"Everyone, this way. Quickly; we don't have much time before we are trapped in here forever. Get out of the hive, now!!"
We barely made it out of the hive before it was destroyed.
"Fitzhugh, is this your niece?" Dan asked, pointing to the girl.
"Yes, Mr. Erickson, she is my niece, Silvia," Mr. Fitzhugh confirmed. "She was only sixteen years old. Why she was on this flight, I will never know."
We walked over to the cemetery, buried the last two survivors from the crashed ship, and put the crosses over at the gravesites. After the burial, Steve and Fitzhugh walked away from the rest of us in tears. An hour later we all returned to the Spindrift.
"Dan, Mr. Fitzhugh has really taken the death of his niece hard. He won't eat, and he doesn't want anyone to be near him. Can't we do anything for him?"
"Yes, we can Barry."
We all turned around to see Captain Burton rejoining us.
"I hate to admit it, but Mr. Fitzhugh probably saved all our lives, and I think that it would be a great idea if we, as a group, told him that. After all, he did make the bee hive useless to the bees, now that the queen bee is dead. Barry, I think that we should all thank Mr. Fitzhugh - he is the reason that we're standing here today. He deserves a lot of credit for his actions."
With that, we all went to see Mr. Fitzhugh, to thank him.
"Mr. Fitzhugh, the captain and I…well, we would like to thank you for saving all our lives back there at the bee hive. You are indeed a hero, Sir, and it is an honor to have you as a friend."
"Hear, hear, Fitzhugh," Steve said, followed by the rest of us.
"Speech, speech!" shouted Valerie. "Say a few words, Fitzhugh."
"Why is it that when I am truly scared and at my wits end, and I do something purely out of desperation, I am called a hero?" he asked modestly. "I am not a hero. I'm a fake, a thief, a chicken amongst men and women, trying to survive on this miserable planet. If there is a time when you truly need me, can you really depend on me? Even I don't know the answer to that question."
Then, taking me aside, he quietly said, "I will tell you one thing boy, a little secret just between you and me. I would gladly risk my life to save you. Now, lets eat - I'm starving."
That's our Mr. Fitzhugh. And that's why we love him.
"Come on, everyone lets have some supper," Steve said. "Oh, and Barry, tomorrow morning, remember to write all this down in your journal. I think that you should be the one to record our adventures while we are on this planet."
"OK, Captain Burton. I'll write everything down, but feel free to write down anything in the journal when you have some free time. After all, we are all in this thing together, you know."
The End
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