through the gate
and looked up at the four, long walkways that led to each terminal.
They passed by the first three terminals
that each said: “ Sirioud Region ,” “ Felorra Region ” and “ Gojuju
Region. ” All three terminals were filled with the sound of chatter and
laughter by people hugging and children chasing each other, with Felorra having
the biggest crowd.
After passing these terminals, they
arrived at the end of the walkway to the “ Kengongbo Region ” terminal.
There, no one stood in sight.
“Well,” Mr. Singu said, “at least we’ll
have a quiet ride.”
After they entered the Kengongbo
terminal, they saw the entrances to three bays inside as they approached the “ Kaiser
Mount ” bay. They saw a man wearing all blue attire standing next to another
guard.
“Tickets please,” the man said with his
hand in his pocket, chewing on a toothpick.
Jogen and Mr. Singu presented their
receipt tickets. The man in blue glanced at the tickets and nodded his head.
“Alright,” the man said, “this way.”
The man unlocked the gate, causing its
iron to creak as light from the roof’s opening bled through the crack.
Inside, a behemoth was revealed: a creature
covered in a thin, wet biofilm with a light blue backside and a pudgy, white
stomach. The creature slept soundly in a stone chasm built into the ground. Its
breaths from its loud snores moved the large, iron carrier box strapped to its
back up and down with the rhythm of its expanding chest.
“WHOAH,” Jogen said with his eyes
widened, “what’s that ?! It’s huge!”
The man in blue felt a tick in his
cheek. Suddenly, a smile grew on his bearded face that caused his toothpick to
fall out.
“ That ,” the man in blue said with
his chest puffed out, “is a broagphin!”
“I don’t think I’m too familiar with
them,” Mr. Singu said.
“Hehe,” the man said, “in that case, let
me tell you a bit. But first-“
The man tucked his thumb and index
finger between his lips and whistled twice.
“BOBO!” the man shouted as his voice
echoed through the terminal.
Bobo the broagphin felt the man’s
whistle ring through his earholes. Bobo’s large, black eyes slowly opened as he
blinked twice.
Bobo shook his head and stood up on all
four of his long, muscular legs. Bobo looked down at the man and bellowed a
hollow, medium-pitch croak.
“Had a good nap?” the man said.
Bobo bent down and nuzzled his wet head
gently against the man’s body.
“He really likes you,” Mr. Singu said.
“This is my best buddy here! Broagphins
are some of the friendliest things you’ll ever meet! Just don’t take their
grub. Ever .”
“So,” Jogen said, “how does this trip
go? I’ve never taken the Express.”
The man tipped his hat downward with a
grin. “Ah,” he said, “I meant to tell ya.’ See, pound for pound, broagphins have
the strongest legs out there! Just give him a minute to warm up, then we
jump!”
“How long is the trip?” Jogen asked.
“A little over an hour.”
Jogen bulged his eyes out. “Wait…this is
all in one jump?!”
“In one jump.”
“Hold on a sec,’” Mr. Singu said as he
reached into his bag. After digging for a little while, Mr. Singu pulled out a heavy,
dark-brown book.
“What’s that?” Jogen said.
“It’s the Explorer’s Guide that Yanie
gave me. They should have a section about broagphins, I assume.” Mr. Singu read
through the index and then turned the pages.
“Let’s see,” he mumbled as he turned,
“…Ah, here. It says they have the longest jump span of any known animal.
The longest single jump of 2 hours and 38 minutes was recorded in 18309.”
“Mmhmm,” the man in blue said with a
nod.
“What rank is it?” Jogen said.
“…Hmm. It’s a hyperfauna.”
“That’s it?”
“Eh,” the man in blue said, “who
William K. Klingaman, Nicholas P. Klingaman
John McEnroe;James Kaplan