04 - The Word
As monstrous monsters as the Mighty Boa Constrictor always are, he was very lonely and there was nobody quite like him anywhere on this planet, and probably not anybody quite like him on any planet within reasonable travelling distance, at least not on any means of transport big enough to accomodate him.
The all-encompassing roar silenced as the earthquake dissipated into a slow murmur of snoring as the Mighty Boa Constrictor fell asleep. Both Min and Max, now on their backs, tried to get to their feet when a sharp voice stopped them.
"Halt!" It said. That voice, easily powerful enough to cut through an army of mosquitos, didn't quite have the intended commanding effect. Still, Max froze, shocked and surprised, in a painful posture half-way on his feet.
The voice fell an entire octave. "You who come from the Outer World, tell us your mission, but first tell us the Password."
Max thought quickly, but didn't find an answer to the question that circulated in his frozen braincells. "Password? What password?" he asked, and added, "Can I get up, please?"
"No!" The voice rose again. "Stay! Until I say you can move, you do not move." The voice fell, "Except your mouth, so you can answer, obviously."
His arms aching, Max groaned.
"Wrong," said the voice. "You must say The Word."
"The Word?" Max spat.
"Correct." Hands made groping noises. Then the voice spoke again. "Catch." Max looked up in time to see a beer being tossed to him. Jerking up into a standing position he caught it.
Max looked at the cork that was still in place. How could he open a bottle of beer? He had nothing to open it with. The voice must have understood his dilemma, because it said, "Cork, go away." And the cork vanished. Gratefully Max sipped the beer.
"Thanks," he said, and burped.
The voice was a humanoid creature clad in black, sitting on something that resembled a horse, but quite clearly was not. The creature's face was hidden behind a black cloth, and only the eyes were visible. Max decided that, putting a lot of good-will into it, they vaguely reminded him of human eyes.
"Now the other you," said the creature. Max blinked in confusion.
"Other me?" he asked.
"Yes, the other you," it said and pointed a black glove at his wife who Max had conviently forgotten up until now. He looked at his wife still on her back in the tall grass.
"Min?" he asked.
"I'm ok," she said.
"You can get up now," Max explained. Min rose.
The eyes looked focused at him again. "Now," the invisible mouth said. "Now, tell me your mission."
Again his thoughts raced quickly back and forth. He considered telling them a lie, making up something, but found that anything he could think of within such a short period of time would not at all sound plausible. And anyway, what was plausible in this place? He decided to tell them the truth.
"We have no mission," Max said. "We're by a mistake. If you would be so kind and show us the way back out, we'd be grateful."
"Ah," said the voice. "Well then." It paused.
"Well then," it concluded.
Another shape rode up beside the first one and whispered something in its ear. The first creature nodded.
"Then you must come with us," it said, "and we will give you a mission."
They were offered to sit behind it on what it referred to as its "hoors" - a strange word that sounded more like "hose" than "horse." What it really meant, Max couldn't figure out, so he sat in silence and pondered his sanity.