Chapter 15: Bringing the Food
Many teams of fruit pickers had been sent out to supply food to the Downs residents and the technicians who were working at the settlement construction sites. Alex led one such team. His team initially consisted of just himself, RJ, and Walter.
Shortly after departing, they ran into Scott, Hamlet, Rico, Sapiod X, and fluffy Lily. Scott had been given the responsibility to round up Sapiods and Sapes to help increase their capacity to collect and transport food. Alex thought it would be a good idea for them to join forces. The eight of them affectionately referred to themselves as ‘team foodies’.
‘Right,’ said Alex triumphantly. ‘That’s Hamlet’s cart full again.’
‘I can tell from that look in your eyes you’re going to start eating the food again,’ said Walter as he stared at Hamlet.
‘Bhaa onk onk onk!’ shouted Hamlet at Walter.
‘Hamlet collects the most fruit, friend,’ said Alex calmly. ‘It’s only fair she gets a few extra treats.’
‘She ate five days of food in half an hour,’ grumbled Walter. ‘We’ll be delivering empty carts.’
‘Bhaa onk onk onk!’ shouted Hamlet again.
Scott rushed over to Hamlet and placed the mind voice on her head.
‘I work hard, so I eat more,’ said Hamlet through the mind voice on her head. ‘You’re just lazy and grumpy.’
‘I’m not lazy and grumpy,’ shouted Walter. ‘I’m just angry, and now I need to rest.’
‘Just hop onto Hamlet’s cart,’ said Alex. ‘She’s made a space for you.’
‘Arghh, stop eating all the food,’ shouted Walter as he began waving his arms around frantically.
‘All this talk of food has put me in the mood to make a mango sticky pie,’ said RJ excitedly.
‘That sounds delicious, friend,’ replied Alex, smiling.
‘We don’t have a mobile kitchen, you moron!' shouted Walter. ‘How are we supposed to make pastry and then bake it?’
‘We have a stack of premade piecrusts in Big Blue,’ replied Alex. ‘Julie made them for us before we left.’
RJ started blowing raspberries at Walter.
‘Stop teasing me or I’ll hit you,’ shouted Walter.
‘Start making the pie or I’ll eat everything,’ said Hamlet in an angry tone through the mind voice on her head.
‘Challenge accepted,’ said RJ as he leapt into Big Blue.
Within ten minutes, RJ had made three sticky mango pies. However, within a matter of seconds Hamlet had gobbled down two of the pies and Rico the other.
‘What is wrong with you?’ shouted Walter.
Sapiod X began to laugh.
‘Why are you laughing?’ asked Walter as he turned to Sapiod X. ‘You didn’t get a pie.’
‘He ate four pineapples while RJ was making the pie,’ said Scott.
‘No!’ shouted Walter. ‘This is the worst team ever.’
‘I beg to differ, friend,’ said Alex. ‘Remember that team we passed two days ago?' Their Sapes were eating the tyres on their vehicle.’
Walter climbed on Hamlet’s cart and covered his head with his arms.
‘Yes,’ said Hamlet through the mind voice on her head. ‘He’s finally going to shut up.’
Three hours later, Alex climbed out of Big Blue to talk to the others.
‘I have some good news and some bad news,’ said Alex.
‘Oh, I’d love to hear the good news,’ said Scott as his face lit up.
‘I’m feeling happy,’ said Alex as he energetically pumped his arm.
Sapiod X jumped up and down waving his arms in the air.
‘You’re always happy. How’s that news?’ sighed Walter, shaking his head. ‘What’s the bad news?’
‘We appear to be lost,’ said Alex in a chirpy tone.
‘Seriously, you got us lost,’ barked Walter, shaking his head and holding his palms upwards. ‘Looks like your directions are as bad as your taste in fashion.’
Suddenly, there was a loud roar.
‘That Sape sounds incredibly hungry,’ remarked Walter as he put his hands on his hips. ‘Could this day get any worse?’
‘That’s… not a Sape,’ stammered RJ as his eyes darted from side to side. ‘It’s a Sentray, they’re back for us.’
‘Well at least it’s not going to eat our fruit,’ sighed Walter.
A large Sentray being ridden by a giant lizard-like Linap ripped through the bushes. It was Octavius Spiro. He was patrolling the area between the Downs Region and the site of the new settlement. His Sentray galloped towards team foodies.
RJ ran towards the nearest tree and began to desperately climb. Alex began to wave his arms in the air. Walter put his hands back on his hips. Hamlet and Rico moved in front of Alex and Scott to protect them. Sapiod X was still jumping up and down excitedly.
‘Are you lost?’ asked Octavius as his Sentray stopped several metres in front of Hamlet, who had her head down ready to charge.
‘I think we might be, friend,’ replied Alex as he held up a map.
‘It’s not “we”,’ interrupted Walter angrily. ‘It’s you who are lost.’
‘I’m surprised you didn’t run away in terror,’ chuckled Octavius. ‘I love the faith you have in your Sapes to protect you.’
‘Hamlet is the hero of Downs,’ replied Alex. ‘She scared away a Sentray and rescued millions of Sapes.’
‘Why’s your Sentray’s tongue hanging out?’ probed Walter. ‘Do we look funny or something?’
‘You look incredibly amusing,’ chuckled Octavius. ‘That’s not the reason Ducky’s tongue hangs out. Sadly, she had an accident and lost all her teeth.’
‘You’re so ridiculous, even a Sentray won’t eat you,’ griped Walter angrily as he stared at Alex.
‘We’re not here to eat anyone,’ chuckled Octavius. ‘We came over to help you get back on track. My name is Octavius.’
‘I’m Alex,’ said Alex as he started pointing at his team members. ‘The big Sape is Hamlet, the next Sape is Rico, the small Sape is fluffy Lily, the quiet one is Scott, the grumpy one is Walter, the one in the tree is RJ, and at the back is X.’
‘Of course, Sapiod X!’ replied Octavius joyfully as he jumped off Ducky’s neck. ‘I never thought I’d see you again.’
Octavius and Sapiod X locked arms and danced joyfully in a circle.
‘We found another one,’ said Hamlet through the mind voice on her head. ‘This one can talk.’
‘Haha, a talking Sape,’ cheered Octavius. ‘What a day it is!’
‘It’s not as impressive as you think,’ said Walter, shaking his head as Octavius walked back over to Alex.
‘Show me your map,’ said Octavius to Alex as he held out one of his huge hands.
‘Oh yes,’ replied Alex as he handed the map to Octavius. ‘We want to get here and then here,’ he added as he pointed at the map.
‘The first mark is your start point,’ said Octavius.
‘We started collecting fruit straight away,’ said Alex in a surprised tone.
‘No, no,’ said Octavius. ‘You use your motorised vehicle to tow your carts to the first point on your map. This is near the drop-off point, which is the second point on your map.’
‘Damn it!’ shouted Walter as he started slapping his forehead.
‘Doesn’t seem like you’ve collected much anyway,’ said Octavius as he glanced across at Hamlet and Rico, who were frantically eating from the carts.
‘Stop it!’ shouted Walter as he patted Hamlet on the back. ‘Please, stop it!’
‘You’re better off travelling light,’ chuckled Octavius. ‘It’ll save you time.’
‘Thank you so much, friend,’ said Alex joyfully.
‘When you’re ready, I’d be happy to escort you,’ said Octavius as he glanced at Sapiod X, who was clapping his hands in joy. ‘Your team is great company.’
‘I was thinking of making some pies with the remaining fruit,’ said RJ as he leaned over from the branch he was on. ‘Does anything tickle your sweet tooth?’
‘I have an insatiable sweet tooth,’ chuckled Octavius as he looked up at RJ. ‘I’m a sucker for a jumbo cannoli or a wobbly blancmange.’
‘I think I’m influencing Ducky,’ added Octavius as he watched Ducky suck down several mangoes.
‘Has the professional baker been overlooked yet again?’ grumbled Walter.
Octavius helped Alex’s team connect the now empty fruit carts to their two motorised vehicles. Alex drove one vehicle with Walter and RJ in the back and Sapiod X and Rico riding in the attached carts. Scott drove the other vehicle with Hamlet and Lily riding in the carts. Octavius and Ducky led the way.
Walter and RJ made a dozen pineapple tarts between them. Octavius decided to stop and taste them. All of them climbed into the largest cart together.
‘We have two tarts here,’ said Walter as he held up the two tarts. One was perfectly shaped and beautifully decorated, and the other had a mushy lump of pineapple in the middle. ‘I’m not going to tell you who made them. I want you to judge purely on the flavour.’
‘You want me to ignore the appearance,’ chuckled Octavius.
‘Yes, it’s food, not art,’ replied Walter angrily.
‘Sure, calm down,’ replied Octavius as he patted Walter on the shoulder.
Octavius took a big bite out of the nicely decorated tart. ‘This is really nice,’ said Octavius, nodding his head.
‘The blended coconut cream gives it its richness and texture,’ said RJ proudly.
‘Come on, try the other one,’ urged Walter. ‘It’ll blow your mind.’
Octavius took a big bite out of the messy tart. ‘Wow!’ said Octavius as his eyes bulged slightly. ‘It’s like eating lumpy pineapple mash.’
‘That’s it!’ called out Walter jubilantly as he leaned towards RJ. ‘Nothing but pure flavour, none of the fancy, “I’m a super blogger” nonsense, uh-uh, uh-uh-uh.’
‘They’re both amazing in different ways,’ said Octavius, smiling slightly. ‘I’ll have to call it a draw.’
‘He only said that because he could see you’re about to cry,’ gloated Walter as he flapped his arms up and down in RJ’s face.
‘So who made which tart?’ asked Alex, scratching his head.
Sapiod X grabbed his throat, pretending to gag.
‘Big mouth butchered a sour pineapple,’ chuckled Hamlet through the mind voice on her head.
‘If a certain fatso hadn’t eaten every other pineapple, we could have avoided this problem!’ shouted Walter as he slapped his own legs.
‘You need to calm down,’ said Octavius to Walter. ‘You did well with the resources we have.’
‘I was the most treasured baker in Downs,’ said Walter, thumping his chest. ‘Now everybody loves Julie. Don’t think I haven’t heard the whispers.’
‘Nobody whispers, friend,’ said Alex in a joyful tone. ‘We sing about her wonderful cakes and pastries every day.’
‘Shut up or I’ll punch you!’ shouted Walter.
‘Now you have a chance to bring your wonderful, delicious creations to those that need them the most,’ said Octavius as he patted Walter on the head.
‘Looks like I’ve made my point,’ said Walter as his eyes darted between the other team members. ‘I need a nap now.’
Walter climbed off the cart, entered the back of Big Blue, and curled up into a ball. Alex gently closed the door behind him.
‘What do the initials “RJ” stand for?’ asked Octavius as he turned to look at RJ.
‘I sort of prefer just RJ,’ replied RJ in a slightly nervous tone.
‘It’s your name; you should be proud,’ said Octavius.
Everyone became silent and stared at RJ.
‘Fine,’ said RJ, shaking his head. ‘My name is Rolly Jolly.’
Hamlet and Rico began to snigger.
‘That’s an awesome name, friend,’ said Alex.
‘He’s right,’ replied Octavius. ‘It’s a strong name. Your parents knew you were going to be someone truly special.’
‘Thank you so much,’ said RJ with a slight smile. ‘I’ve always dreamed about writing powerful blogs that could change lives. Maybe my parents somehow knew that.’
'Hey, Rolly Jolly!’ shouted Walter as he poked his head out of a side window. ‘Your blogs are more deadly than a Sape’s fart.’
Hamlet screamed loudly, and Scott started licking his fingers as he stared angrily at Walter. Walter quickly pulled his head back inside Big Blue and narrowly avoided being hit by a lump of spit that Scott had flicked at him.
‘Okay, I think we better get going,’ said Octavius as he climbed back on to Ducky.
Alex handed Scott a paper towel to wipe his wet fingers. RJ smiled softly as he leaned back in the cart.
Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide
Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide is the final book in the Sapien Loop trilogy. It continues directly after the events of the second book. The world above and the world below merge into one world. The conflicts in the underground world are brought to the surface. The new ruling elite attempt to crush any resistance from above and below in an attempt to create a new global empire.
Currently, three books from the series have been published on Amazon; see the links below:
All individual chapters can be found on my 