The Portal Of Odd

Chapter 9 An Oddworld Illness

The native Mudokons around the village were hard at work, cleaning up the mess left over from the battle that ended a few hours ago. Abe's followers even lent a hand in picking up the destroyed blimp debris and dead Sligs. Alf and Abe were lucky; they had to take Munch back to the ocean to locate the gabbiwogs he hid for safety. I, myself, was happily picking up shrapnel and pulling away dead Sligs and their pants in a pit the Mudokons dugout in a field far enough away from the town. The Mudokon's dug two pits, one for the carcasses and another for the trash. I wasn't enthusiastic about dragging dead bodies into a pit for the Mudokons to set ablaze later in the night. I hope the smell wouldn't become too foul for my nose to bear. Maybe I would be back home before that happened. My body began to sweat as I wipe it away from my forehead. I lean over the pit seeing the last of the junk fall within one of the holes.

"Finally, we're done for the evening." Someone spoke out behind me as I glanced over my shoulder. It was Toby.

I stand up all the way and turn to face Abe's friend, "Yeah, that was hard work, but I'm glad I helped out in the end."

"The shamans told me to tell you to rest up until Abe, Alf, and Munch come back. They figured you would like to see them before ya leave?"

"Yeah," I rub my head, expelling out a short snicker. "I guess the hut that I was in before, eh?"

"Yeah," Toby pointed behind him, "I gave ya fresh food and water in there as well."

"Thanks, Toby." I smile sweetly up at him. "Though I think....right now, I just want to relax outside. To see the view from outside of town."

"All right. Just don't go too far out."

"I won't." I explain, "Just going out near the fields where the meeps graze." As we both go our separate ways, I decided to make a pit stop at the hut to set down my bag to lighten the load. On the way there, my mind soon wanders. "I wonder what time it is back home? Maybe the same time of day?" I ponder more, "Now that I think of it, it was the afternoon back at home before I fell into the portal. And then, when I fled the lab, it was in the dead of night. Not only that, back home, it's fall. But here on Oddworld, it feels like the middle of summer!" I shook my head at a frantic rate. I had hoped that time stood still back at home, or else my family may be out looking for me.

Meanwhile, Abe and Munch stood at the very spot where they met me wounded under the tree. They had a bucket filled with ocean water to relocate the baby gabbits back to the village for the time being. While Munch jumped into the water to locate the underwater cavern he left the gabbiwogs in, Abe scanned around the tree. He stumbled across the hoodie I had around my waist with the left sleeve ripped due to me using it for a bandage. Abe picked it up to take it with, making sure nothing from my world was in his. Alf was back at the blimp that he landed closer to the forest, waiting for them to return quickly. It was a quiet fifteen minutes until splashing accrued in the water—Munch and the small gabbits in a line, ready to make their adventure on the blimp. One by one, the gabbiwogs swam into the bucket that Abe placed on the shore. Both Abe and Munch gave one another a thumbs-up, successfully retrieving the gabbits, making their way back to the blimp.

Back at the village, I make it to a clearing seeing the landscape in the distance. My eyes scan the perimeter, spotting a lovely tree to lay down under so I could take it all in before I leave this place for good. Once plopping down on the soft tall grass under the shaded tree, I bent my knees to wrap my arms around and chin to rest on as I daydreamed. It was a good ten minutes until I suddenly twitched my leg from a strange soft feeling rubbing up against it. It was a fuzzle smiling up at me. I was hesitant even to pet the fuzzle as it showed off its sharp white fangs. But, I knew the fuzzles could understand Munch, and the Mudokons, so I gave it a go.