Eternal Summer: Chapter 2: Noah

Any worry was soon replaced, when Pudgy opened his backpack and started to get out all the goodies he had brought along with him.  A large kettle was filled with fresh water, and placed upon the firebox to start to boil.  Pudgy made crackers with fresh wild berry preserves, and passed them out to every animal present.  It was not a lot, but the taste was wonderful, and soon otters were bouncing happily alongside the steam ship.  The pastor chirped happily, opting just for a bit of the preserves, while Argente giggled at the otters swimming around in the water around the ship.  After the backpack was emptied of all food, the water was ready, so the little critter added the tea to begin steeping. 

In the background, there was a strange sound that at first started to softly occur.  Argente was the first to spot it, and pointed her paw out towards the river channel that led to the Allegheny River.  “Pudgy … what is that?”  As the little hedgehog turned, he watched as the surface of the river water was splashing as if something was causing waves.  “Pudgy do not know, but we should go check.”  The little hedgehog secured his teapot, and then opened the firebox to put more logs inside of it.  As the fire roared up, and the steam pressure began to build once more.  Argente helped the otters untie the ship from the dock.  Miller also scampered on board the steam ship, and helped push it out into the water with Argente.  The female fox smiled, and watched as the hedgehog shut the firebox door, and then moved the throttle to full speed ahead. 

Private Pawl pouted from the dock, as he really wanted to ride in the ship.  Sargent Miller stuck his tongue out at him, and wiggled happily.  The pastor had hopped up to stand on the small roof of the wheel house.  Pudgy wiggled his nose as he looked up, hoping the bird did not do what birds sometimes do when perched above.  The bubbles behind the ship signified the propellor moving, and in a short period of time they had begun to move forward.  Miller narrated as they headed forward, “this was the location of the second lock and dam.  We never did complete it, before the water level raised to render it moot.”  Argente looked down in the water over the port side of the ship, and could see logs.  “What are you going to do with the logs that are down there?”  The fox asked, with the otter nodding in response.  “They are fine down there now … but I want to get them out eventually so we can use them for other builds.”

The river otters were on either side of the ship swimming along playfully.  Well, except Pawl who was pouting still, “no fair!”  All passengers on the steam ship noticed at how the river confluence began to open up wider and wider.  This had once had been a tall forested hill, which was split down the middle when the ley line node was destroyed.  After perhaps half an hour had passed, the little ship had chugged along to the edge of the Allegheny River.  The hedgehog put the throttle to amidships, to try to keep the ship stationary.  It was a bit difficult as the two river currents were both pushing and pulling at the same time.  Eventually the critter had to put the throttle to one quarter reverse, and the ship stopped moving.  Over the hum of the steam engine, the sound of splashing water was almost starting to become deafening.  All animals watched with eyes wide open, and mouths open at the scene unfolding in front of the ship.  Even the otters swimming in the water stopped to marvel at the sight.

Fish too numerous to count were frantically swimming up the Allegheny River.  Many were even leaping out of the water, to try to get ahead of the others.  Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Musellunge, and even catfish were swimming as if their lives depended on it.  Pudgy wiggled his nose and he pointed, “why are all the fishies swimming like that?”  Argente shook her head, “I do not know Pudgy.  But whatever it is, it can’t be good.”  Miller wiggled his nose, “back when I was running the Winfield lock and dam … I saw something like this.  There had been an oil spill down river, and the fish were swimming up river to try and get away.  They even jumped over the dam walls, and soon we had to go out with large nets to try and scoop them out before they died.  Something must be happening down river to cause this, but I wonder what?”  Pudgy turned to his passengers, “Pudgy say we turn back … what if it is a monster?” 

Argente nodded, “I agree Pudgy.”  Miller nodded and called out, “every otter retreat to the lock and dam.”  The otters nodded, and all began to disappear under the water as they began to swim back.  Pudgy turned the ship’s wheel starboard hard, and put the throttle to full ahead.   As the little ship turned around and began to head up river towards the lock and dam, Miller looked up to the fox.  “you two head up to the lock, and I will hop out to coordinate once we’re closer.”  Pudgy nodded, and steered the ship towards the lock.  After another half an hour passed, the otter hopped out off the ship and into the water.  It rocked starboard to port then back to starboard, making the blue jay chirp as he steadied himself on top of the wheel house.  Once again, the ship eased into the lock.  Miller popped up out of the water, and started calling out instructions.  “Pudgy go to one quarter forward.  Shut the river side lock door!” 

Everyone began to follow the instructions, and Argente watched as the slits in the door on the Allegheny side were lifted.  A similar set of openings revealed themselves in the door at the bow of the ship, and water began to pour around them.  The lock chamber began to fill up fairly quickly, as the river current From Friendship Town made the flow of water fairly quick.  Once again, the ship was even with the river, and the otters opened the door.  Pawl was on the river bank waving, “no fair I want my turn now!”  As the hedgehog set the throttle to half ahead, the ship began to exit the lock.  Argente giggled as the excited otter hopped off the bank and onto the deck of the ship.  He almost made it, and hid hind legs were still in the water.  The fox helped him on board, and soon the ship was chugging away from the otter encampment.  Pudgy had to put the throttle to full speed ahead, to fight the current.  Once again, the familiar routine was settled into.  The firebox had to stay full of wood, and the boiler pressure had to be maintained. 

Private Pawl was wiggling excitedly, as he got to ride of the steam ship.  The deck was a bit crowded though, making him a bit less comfortable.  All watched as the little hedgehog kept making trips to check on various parts of the ship.  The pastor chirped, “I must return to my flock and ponder today’s events.  The parable of Noah seems to be in order today.”  The remaining passengers waved, as the blue jay hopped off the top of the wheel house and quickly flapped his wings to fly back up into the trees.”  As the hours passed, and the sun began to slowly sink in the western skies, the ship finally made it back to their forest home.  Argente waved at Mrs. Waffle Cat who was busy outside of her cabin planting flowers.  The female bobcat waved and watched as the ship headed towards the dragon cove. 

The ship was maneuvered into place alongside the dock, and Argente helped to pull the ship towards the dock.  This allowed both Pawl and Pudgy to moor the ship to the dock piers.  Once it was safely secured, the engine was set to neutral, and the air vents were shut to squash the fire in the firebox.  It was also when the hedgehog remembered he had made tea. Moving the kettle back to the firebox, he began to warm it.   “Oh, Pudgy forgot made tea, yay!”  The fox giggled, “it’s been brewing for hours … I wonder what it is like?”  Once the beverage was warm, Pudgy got out his metal cups, and poured the liquid out of the kettle.  It was almost black, like coffee, and had a deep rich flavor.  The first clue at how strong it was, was when all of Pudgy’s quills stood straight up and his eyes started to dart back and forth in his head.  Argente wiggled her ears, and took a sip from a fox sized cup, and soon all her fur was standing on end.  Private Pawl downed his drink in one gulp, and his back legs started to twitch. 

Words were spoken, but even the writer of this story has no idea what was said.  The caffeine was so high, and the critter so energized, it is not clear if the words spoken even had meaning.  What was observed by the curious bobcat planting her flowers, was that first the otter leapt off the ship, and swam past almost as fast as a race boat.  Pudgy scampered faster than she had ever seen him move before, and disappeared into the tunnel.  Argente was bouncing a foot off the ground, while an astonished red panda watched in amazement.  Drew waved at Mrs. Waffle cat with his paw who waved back, before turning to head slowly back up the steep hill.  The former human continued to walk past his cavern home, watching as Mary swept the floor inside the door’s threshold with a makeshift broom.  The arctic fox was trying her best to adapt, but the thick coat of fur was making her constantly overheated. 

Up the steep hill he walked, around several crushed stone boulders, through a maze of tall oak trees.  Until Drew reached his destination: the ley line node.  Calling out, “Angeliki … you up here?”  The raven was in the middle and turned around while waving her left-wing tip.  “Hello Drew, good day to you, what brings thee hence today?”  The red panda wiggled his ears, “Pudgy came back from his steam ship trip, and drank tea that was apparently too strong.  So, I headed up here to the safe zone.  How are things?”  The female raven nodded, “I am well.  The Wolf Mother says she repaired the ley line, but I have not been able to make it function.  Something is wrong, it is almost as if there is something blocking it.”  The red panda nodded, “like someone clogged the pipe.  Do you have a plunger?”  The female bird chirped as she covered her black eyes with her other wing tip.  “I do not think that analogy is appropriate, but yes, it is something like that.”

As Drew walked around, he noticed that there were many round stones placed in concentric circles around the center boulder.  They were flat, almost like river rock, and pale white.  Pointing with his paw, “what are these?”  Angeliki chirped, “ley lines are almost like a river of ancient magic.  They connect places to one another, and those who are knowledgeable in their mysteries, can all upon them to do many things.  Pudgy for instance was able to travel great distances via these lines, and would emerge from the nodes.  However, since Blood Fang destroyed the node, I have gathered all the parts of the original boulder here.   It is my belief, that we might be able to connect to nodes that are not normally connected to this one.”  The former human man nodded, “like a telephone?  You have to punch in the numbers to make the call.  I think I understand.  Have you been able to call someone yet?”

The bird chirped, “this is not a phone … but yes I have been able to communicate with my mother.  Perhaps the quiet time between hedgehog adventures will continue, and I am able to determine what is going on?”  The red panda nodded, and swished his striped tail behind him, and put one paw on a rock in front of him.  “I would like to order a pizza….”  Sadly, the ley line node rocks did not react, and no pizza arrived.  Drew nodded and silently pondered what this revelation meant, but decided not to tell Pudgy.  The former human reflected as he waved at the raven, before heading back to his cavern home.  Many of the animals in the forest chose to keep certain pieces of information away from the hedgehog, mainly because all worried that their little friend would go off on a grand adventure.  The end result of their efforts thus far resulted in a year with no hedgehog adventures. 

In no time at all, the red panda had made it back to the former dragon cave, and wiggled his nose at Mary.  The white fox waved her paw, as she laid on the stone floor.  “Drew … I am so hot … I can’t stand it anymore.”  The former human man frowned, “I know Mary.  I keep trying to think of ways to cool the cavern, but nothing is working so far.  Did swimming in the cove work,” the red panda asked with a hopeful look.  Mary shook her head, “not for long … as soon as I exited the water, I warmed right back up.”  Sighing, Drew headed over to his section of the cavern and sat down.  As his striped tail wrapped around his body, the red panda rubbed his chin with a dark fur covered paw.  “What if we were to give you a haircut?  Cut your fur really short?  Would that help?”  The snow fox looked up at him with hopeful brown eyes, “that might work.  My body was meant for the cold of Alaska, not the constant heat of Pennsylvania.  I miss the long nights …  I miss winter.”

Drew nodded, “I know what you mean Mary.  I never enjoyed winter, but even in California, the heat would subside.  I might even have had to put on a long-sleeved shirt at work, especially when I worked in the freezer trucks.  This near constant warmth is unnatural by any stretch of the imagination.  A couple weeks ago Cobalt had mentioned something was up, but he was vague in his description.  He mentioned the stars were off …”  The snow fox panted, and flattened herself out as much as she could.  The stone floor seemed to be working, and she felt the heat leeching out of her body by the stone.  Wiggling her ears, “I wonder what he meant?  I know we are all keeping pieces of information secret, to keep Pudgy here, but if something is wrong ….”  The red panda nodded, “I know.  We will need to check with Argente tomorrow.  You know how protective she is of him?” 

The two animals kept the door to the cavern open, and as the sun finally set, the darkness arrived with a thunder storm.  The rains began to pour heavy, with near constant thunder rolling in the skies overhead.  The rain storms which once were occasional, had become a regular occurrence.  Thankfully though, this one had a cooling effect, as a slight colder breeze blew in through the doorway.  Mary finally relaxed enough to fall asleep, while Drew rested with a worried look.  However, the call to sleep was too strong, and eventually the former human succumbed.  The rain fell the entire night, and well into the next day’s morning hours.  It was by that time that the various animals of the forest began to stir. 

Drew yawned as he stretched his limbs out, noticing all of his fur was a frizzy mess.  It was a tad cool, but so humid it made everything wet.  The former human woman was still asleep, so he stood up quietly and padded out to check the rain gauge.  On the exterior of the cavern, the former human man had mounted a glass tube with measuring marks within it.  They had found the measuring device underneath a collapsed ruin of a human home nearby, and thought it was prudent to take it back.  “Three inches … my word … that was a heavy storm last night.”  The red panda reached up and withdrew the glass vial from its socket holder, and then tipped it back to drink the water within.  Once emptied, he placed it back, and readied it for the next storm.  The two occupants of the cavern had built stone catch basins outside, to collect the falling rain.  Stopping by his basin, Drew stuck his face down in the water.  With his face properly clean, he drank deeply, and lifted his head to look out at the forest. 

The river was running high, but the stone barricades built around the Waffle Cat cabin were working properly.  Their home was safe, and the chimney was smoking with white puffs escaping the flue.  “Well … time to go to work,” the red panda said while starting to walk down the hill towards the dragon cove.  As he passed behind the saw mill building, then the grist mill building, he passed the steam ship moored to the dragon dock.  After passing the tunnel entrance, the former human man bumped into Argente the silver fox as she exited her home.  “Good morning Argente,” he said while wiggling his ears at her.  The female fox giggled and swished her tail behind her as she shut her door.  “Good morning, Drew … off to work I see?”  The red panda nodded, and the fox walked beside him.  They rounded the bend around the hill, and walked past Pudgy’s storehouse door then his front door.  It was a short distance past the hedgehog’s home where a general store had been built.    

It was a nondescript log wall building, with log walls and a standard roof made from cedar shingles.  There were two barn doors on a track, that could open by sliding them either left or right.  As the red panda pulled on the doors, they slid open.  “I wonder how many visitors will come today?  Yesterday I had about 6 all day long.  The stories those cardinals tell … I now know who is nesting with who … and why everyone is mad at that one woodpecker?”  Argente giggled, “they do have the best gossip.  I hope your day goes good Drew, I need to head over to Mr. Bear’s cabin today.”  The former human nodded as he moved some tables around, and prepared the store for a day of barter.  As he turned around, “I see, is everything all right?”  Argente nodded, “I saw something with Pudgy yesterday when we went on a trip to the otter lock and dam.  It has our friend worried, so Mr. Bear needs to know about it.  I will fill you in later.”  The two animals nodded in agreement while Drew waved, and watched Argente head off. 

Patches the cat waved from her tree house home as Argente scampered past, and the silver fox waved back before continuing on.  She took the bear road, named thus due to the fact that Mr. Bear and his father built it.  Up the hill, across the semi flat top, and then down the hill she went.  The trees had been cut down, or pushed over, wide enough for a bear to walk through easily.  The rocks and branches were kept clear, to avoid hurt paws, and speed travel between Friendship Town and the bears’ cabin on the outskirts of the town.  The road cut down travel time to roughly fifteen minutes, which made life so much easier.  While the birds chirped loudly in the trees above, the silver fox reached the base of the hill and the path turned to the left and followed along a swiftly moving large stream.  Three big trees had been felled, and were fashioned into a bridge to cross the water.  And Argente smiled, as when she crossed, she noticed that the bridge had been made even stronger with boulders on each side. 

Quickly padding up to Mr. Bear’s cabin, she found the front door open and the elderly gray bear sitting on the covered porch.  The bear smiled and waved at her, “hello Argente … good morning to you.  What brings you over today?”  The silver fox quickly bounced up the stairs, and sat down nearby to Grandpa Bear and wiggled her ears, “Good morning, Grandpa Bear.  I needed to talk to your son, is he in?”  The bear smiled, “no … but he will be back soon … something is concerning to you?”  The female fox nodded, “yesterday I went with Pudgy on his steam ship to check on the otters up down river from here.  It was a nice trip, and the lock and dam were functional.  When we headed to the dock their built, and was having refreshments, we saw the river moving strangely.  You know Pudgy … he wanted to check it out.  So, the ship sailed again, all the way to the edge of the Allegheny River.”  Grandpa Bear nodded as he listened, while Argente continued to explain her tale.    

“We saw fish of all manner, swimming for dear life up the Allegheny River.  They were jumping out of the water, trying desperately to get away from something.  Pudgy decided to head back, in case it was a monster, and we headed back.”  The elderly bear nodded, “my goodness … what a sight to see?  Did anything else strange occur while you visited with the river otters?”  Argente rubbed her chin with her paw, “yes …the otters said that they had built a second lock and dam ahead of the one we used.  But the river’s water level rose so much that it quickly covered it.  We actually sailed over the log walls that they had built.”  Grandpa Bear turned towards her, with a worried look in his eyes.  The fox continued, “the otters noticed it as well, and they placed a stick on the pier.  We all watched as the ship rose, and the deck rail touched the stick.” 

A familiar voice rang out behind the cabin, as Mr. Bear padded around the edge of the cabin.  In his mouth was a large northern pike fish.  The needle like teeth could be seen on its pointed head.  Twisting his head quickly, he tossed the fish over to his father.  The elderly bear grinned as he caught it, “thanks Junior … Argente came over to visit.  Argente, please tell my son what you told me?”  As the large brown bear walked up onto the porch, he sat opposite of his father and Argente, at the other end of the long-covered porch that ran along the front of the cabin.  The female fox turned around, and explained what she had told the elderly bear.  After the tale was completed, the large brown bear nodded as he scratched his belly with his claws.  “I see … yes … that is not good Argente.  If the river is rising that high, in time it will overtake the otters lock and dam.  That means the water’s current could potentially reverse itself, and send the flood this way.” 

Grandpa Bear was finishing up his meal, when he started to speak again.  “We could build a dam wall, and block the river, but that would cut us off from the Allegheny River.  Junior, what could cause the river’s level to rise so quickly?”  Before anyone could answer, they heard an eagle cry over the cabin.  The two bears and silver fox watched as a bald eagle swooped around and landed on the porch.  With wings forward, the eagle slid a bit forward towards Argente, and chirped while folding his wings back.  Mr. Bear waved, “hello Cobalt … boy that was a long patrol.  You were gone for … what …two weeks this time?”  The former human nodded, “yes.  The aerie sent me on a reconnaissance mission.  What is going on?”  The porch’s occupants gave the short version of what happened, which resulted in Cobalt nodding in agreement.  “That makes sense, given what is happening.  Is Pudgy here?”  Argente shook her head, “no.  He is back home … I didn’t tell him I was coming over today.” 

The eagle chirped a bit with a worried tone, “if we keep doing this … keep information from him … he will become suspicious.”  Mr. Bear nodded, “agreed, but the end result has been what we all feel is best.  One year without any adventures, and the forest is safe, with Pudgy happy.”  Grandpa Bear nodded, “we will continue with our plan for now … Cobalt, what did you mean?”  The eagle sighed and nodded, “the aerie is receiving reports from all posts of massive changes occurring all over the land.  I flew south, along the Appalachian Mountains, and all the way to Georgia.”  The eagle started to become visibly upset, and chirped incoherent for a bit.  The silver fox padded over and placed a paw on top of his white feathered head, “Cobalt … it is all right.  You can tell us.”  The former human calmed, nodded, and started to speak once again.  “The ocean is hundreds of miles inland now.  I watched as panicked animals are fleeing to higher ground as fast as they could.  The ocean waves are terrible … crashing against the shore, and gouging the surface.  I watched as the land sunk beneath the waves, and animals were swept out to sea.  I joined with any other bird of prey I could find, trying to rescue as many as I could. We … couldn’t save them all… “

The porch grew very silent, until the eagle spoke again.  “The mountains appear to be safe … but most of Ohio is now under water.  There is some land left … a collection of islands … and the Ohio river is now a bay for an ever-expanding ocean.  If the water is that height … it means that most of the central United States is now gone.”  Argente’s eyes went wide, “that explains why the fish were fleeing up river.  They were trying to escape the salt water of the ocean.”  Mr. Bear nodded, “that is correct.  The Allegheny, the Monongahela, the Ohio … all these rivers are fresh water.  Salt water would kill them … this means the salt is spreading up river.”  Grandpa Bear nodded, “when fresh water meets salt water … there is a space between where the water mixes.  That is what the humans referred to as brackish.  Some animals thrive in that type of water, but not this far north.  I am confused though, what would cause the oceans to raise so much … so quickly?” 

The eagle chirped incoherently again for a time, until Argente started to hug him to calm him down.  The animals on the porch were concerned, as the former human man had never acted like this before.  Once he was calmed down enough to speak again, the eagle sighed and spoke anew.  “The stars are all wrong … which I confirmed by heading south.  The planet has tilted bad … I think due to the Great Spirit’s attack on the Moon Dinosaurs and Blood Fang.  This is why winter has disappeared … we are much further south than we once were.”  Mr. Bear looked at the eagle with unblinking eyes, “the planet has tilted?  How bad do you think it is?”  The eagle looked around the porch, “Pennsylvania is where Florida used to be.  I think the equator might be where Key West was once located at the southernmost tip of Florida.”

The porch was dead silent, with the only sound being the birds chirping softly in the distant trees.  It was several minutes before any animal spoke, when Grandpa Bear broke the silence.  “All the ice has melted … all over the world.  All the water within the earth has been released … that is the only explanation that makes sense.  And none of this makes any sense whatsoever.”  Mr. Bear nodded, “and yet this appears to be true.  We have the observations of Argente, and the confirmation by Cobalt.  The key question is this now … how far will the ocean rise?”  The former human chirped, “I hope we are not talking a Noah situation here.  There’s now way we have time for something like that …”  The silver fox looked confused, “the pastor said something about Noah yesterday.  What is that?”  Cobalt sighed, “God lost faith in mankind, so he decided to flood the earth.  He chose a man with a large family to build a wooden ship, and gather 2 of every animal on it.  The flood waters came, and for 40 days and nights, they floated on the water until they found land.  The animals were released, and the wickedness of man had been eradicated.  The surviving humans multiplied, and repopulated the earth.” 

Mr. Bear nodded, “that is the short version Argente.  But the comparison is apt … so …”  The large brown bear trailed off as he saw the little brown hedgehog scampering down the bear road, and towards the log bridge.  “Pudgy is coming … shhh …”  The large brown bear said while waving his paw.  The group turned and started to wave at the little hedgehog, while looking nervously at one another.  Cobalt whispered, “we keep what we discussed quiet for now … agreed?”  The animals on the porch nodded, and watched as Pudgy continued to scamper across the log bridge, and eventually up to the porch’s bottom step.  As he huffed and puffed, the critter placed his paws on his hips. “You … snuck … off … to … mister … Bear’s … house … without Pudgy!”  The hedgehog started to pout, and wiggle his nose at them.  Grandpa Bear laughed, “sorry Pudgy … but we were coming over to visit later today.”

The exhausted hedgehog had run the whole way from Argente’s cottage to the Bears’ cabin, once he found out that everyone had headed here.  As he climbed slowly up the porch, Pudgy spotted Cobalt.  He immediate headed over and started to hug his former human friend.  The eagle grinned, and returned the embrace, and chirped happily.  “I missed you too Pudgy.  How are things in Friendship Town?”  The little critter started telling him about all the wonderful town business that had occurred over the couple weeks the eagle had been gone on patrols.  Eventually the story turned to the steam ship trip to the otter lock and dam, and the fleeing fish.  Once the story had finished, Pudgy hugged again, and buried his face into the feather covered chest of Cobalt.

After a period of time passed, Cobalt nodded while looking down at the hedgehog.  “That does not sound good at all Pudgy … I wonder why the fish are doing that?  What did the otters think?”  As the hedgehog explained, the little critter noticed the nervous stares between the animals on the porch.  The hedgehog wiggled his nose, and scampered back to look at Argente.  “Pudgy know you all talked about something before Pudgy arrived!  What is it?  Tell Pudgy!”  The animals on the porch looked nervous again, draw a rare bit of anger from the critter.  “Every day it is like this, with some Pudgy friend acting funny!  WHAT IS IT? TELL PUDGY!”  Cobalt sighed, “Pudgy … We all worry about you terribly.  We only want you to be safe and happy.”  The little hedgehog started to visibly shake, and was becoming very upset.  The silver fox tried to hug him, but she was pushed away.  Even his quills started to perk up and visibly became sharpened, as he rolled into a ball and looked very cross at them.     

Cobalt chirped, “ok … ok … ok … Yes Pudgy, we all met here without you.  Something very bad is happening, and we wanted to talk about it first.”  As the critter calmed down, and started to unfurl himself, the animals sighed in unison.  The eagle began to tell his tale of what he had observed, and it truly was bad.  The little hedgehog stared with unblinking eyes as the eagle spoke.  After the tale had ended, Pudgy made his determined face, “Pudgy have to save the day!”  Argente shook her head, “Pudgy … this is why we tried to hold off on telling you this … you automatically want to go on an adventure.  Then its weeks and months of worrying about you … have you ever considered how hard it is on everyone with your constant adventures!”  The female fox angrily snapped at him, resulting in the hedgehog growing quiet once more. 

Mr. Bear nodded, “Pudgy … where would you go?  We have no idea why this is happening, outside of informed conjecture by Argente and Cobalt.  We do not know how to fix the flooding, where to go to find out how to fix, where to go to apply said fix, and what happens if we do not apply said fix.  There are too many variables … to many ways for you to become hurt or even pass away if you run off without thinking.  All of your friends would be sad, the town would be hurt, and many other repercussions of your potential hasty actions.  It is not like it was before, you have obligations to meet … Mister Mayor.”  The hedgehog started to pout again, but he remained quiet as he listened.  After a long period of uncomfortable silence hung in the air, Pudgy spoke with an angry tone.  “Maybe Pudgy should go off to Manilla … all by Pudgy self …” 

Cobalt turned to face his angry hedgehog friend, “Manilla?  Why on earth would you head there Pudgy?  Do you know how far away that is?”  The little critter put his paws on his hips, “Pudgy keeps dreaming about an island called Manilla that Argente runs off to.  And Pudgy seems horrible things in dreams, land crashing into the ocean, and animals fleeing.  Pudgy knows Manilla is where Pudgy need to go!”  Mr. Bear looked at the eagle, then at the hedgehog, “Pudgy … that is in the Philippines.  When I was in the Air Force, that was eighteen hours smashed into a cargo plane.  It is a series of islands in the Pacific Ocean, north of Australia and south of China.”  Cobalt chirped, “it is over seven thousand miles away … even if we stocked up your steam ship with supplies, and the barge for that matter, you would never get there.  What else did you dream about?”  The hedgehog folded his paws and looked mad again, “Pudgy not telling!”