The Stag Gem: Part 1 Chapter 7

“Are absolutely you sure about this?”  Lucy stood in Percy’s bedroom doorway, watching him pack a small bag with a couple extra sets of his costume, a toothbrush, a bar of soap, back pills, and a map of Glasgow.  The morning sun broke through the curtains giving the room a warm and orange glow.

“You said that this Stag Gem item might be my only hope.  I’m not going to sit back and patiently wait to die, if there is a chance I could be cured.”  The Pig zipped up his dark blue sack and slung it over his right shoulder.

“Well, let me go with then.  You might need my help,” the lamb pleaded gently.

Percy leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.  “I appreciate the offer again, but you’re the only one who knows that I’m leaving, and I need someone to watch the piglets.”

“Well, then let me call Boris.  You shouldn’t be going out into the human world alone; especially in your condition.  What if your symptoms get worse?”

“Please Lucy; I don’t want the rest of the team to know.”  He walked past his friend and down hallway.  He heard the television blaring and his children laughing around the corner in the den.

“Percy, if there is any chance for you to find the gem and saving yourself, you’re going to need help!”

Percy peeked around the corner to see if Tanner or William heard Lucy’s outburst; they appeared to be too immersed in their cartoons.

He walked back to Lucy, his annoyance faded to sympathy as he saw the visible concern on her face.  “Why will you not let anyone come with you,” she whispered emphatically.

Percy paused, trying to find the answer himself.  “It’s complicated.”  His bag slipped from his shoulders and fell to the carpet.

“Well, why?”

“I don’t know for sure.  Maybe it’s a little bit of ego and pride mixed with some shame.  I honestly don’t know.”  Percy’s eyes sank to the floor.  “When we disbanded all those years ago, I left everyone on my own terms.  I had things in control and everyone looked up to me as the confident and unshakable leader.  I really don’t want any of them to see me now as a sick and dying old pig that needs my hand held.”

“That’s a stupid reason,” Lucy quietly retorted as she put her hand on Percy’s shoulder.

Percy looked up from the floor, “Please Lucy.  Let me do this on my own.  I want to see if I still have the strength in me for one last adventure.”

Lucy smiled kindly.  “Okay, Percy.”  She leaned in and shared a long and sincere embrace.  “Take care of yourself.”

“Thanks.  I will.”  Percy let his arms fall from holding his friend as he bent down to pick up his bag once more.

“Before you go,” Lucy opened up her hand and displayed a large blue button with the letters ‘B’ and ‘C’ painted in yellow on the surface.  “Will you take this with you at the very least?”

“Does it still work?”

“They still function perfectly.  Remember the ‘B’ is for talking and pressing the ‘C’ will allow you to listen.  Pressing both letters will send out an alarm to the other buttons.”

“Who else has the buttons?”

“I am the only one, Percy,” Lucy said.

Percy smiled, “Where did you find this?”

“Karl gave it to me.  I went to the Dome yesterday after our conversation on the beach and I told him that you might be by today to get one of the propulsion packs.”

“Wait, so Karl knows I’m leaving?”

“Calm down, Percy.  Karl is too busy with the perpetual upkeep of our aging and crumbling headquarters and all of the equipment there in; the personal life of his former leader is not a major conversational piece within his non-existent social circles.”

“Point taken.”  Percy took a deep breathe.  “Now time for the hard part:  Saying goodbye to the boys.”

Lucy patted him on the back. 

Percy walked down the hallway, “Alright boys, Father is leaving now.  Do I get any hugs?”

Tanner and William jumped up from the floor in front of the television and ran around the couch and attacked Percy with squeezes around his waist and kisses on his cheeks.

“When will you be back, Daddy,” Tanner asked.

“Sooner than you think,” he responded.

“Will you bring us back anything,” William inquired.

“Lots of delicious cakes and precious gifts,” Percy responded, kissing them both on the forehead.  “Make sure you two behave for Lucy.  I also want you two to stay out of trouble and do your lessons.”

“Yes, Father,” they both muttered.

“Thank you, Lucy for all of your help,” Percy opened up the front door.

“Take care of yourself,” she responded as she stood at the other side of the room, watching the front door close behind her once formidable leader and now dear friend.

It was only a brief and brisk fifteen minute walk from Percy’s house to the docks where his small motor boat was kept.   Unfortunately it was a beautiful and sunny day, so it appeared that everyone in Tarchon was out enjoying the fair weather.  Being one of the only famous people in the country, Percy had an incredibly difficult time walking to his destination.

“Master Percy,” an old English bulldog in a bowler walked past him on the cobblestone sidewalk, tipping his hat towards him.

“Mr. Tomlinson, how is the shop running,” Percy asked.

“Slow and steady, Master Percy.  A genuine gift for someone my age; not too frantic and the income has expectedly reached a plateau.” 

“Very good,” the pig responded.

“Yes, very good,” the bulldog replied.

Percy continued down the street, walking past brief breaks of shade the palm trees provided.

“Oh look children!  It’s Percy!  He’s the famous Piggy Ham Bacon Boy!”  A mother hen pointed out as she scooted her dozen children down the sidewalk.  They were too preoccupied pulling each other’s feathers and exchanging punches in the arms to take notice of what their mother said.

“I think I was before their time, Mrs. Cooper,” Percy responded

“Yes, the children these days have no one they look up to.”

“Mother, Tommy bit my finger,” one of her daughters exclaimed

“Do you think I could bother you to send a few of these scoundrels to the nearest dungeon,” the mother joked.

“I would love to, Mrs. Cooper, but unfortunately I have retired,” Percy answered.

“Have a pleasant morning.”

“And you also,” Percy continued his walk to the shore.  The cobblestones came to an eventual end and the pig walked onto the narrow gravel road that led to the shore.

“Master Percy,” A horse with a fishing net thrown across his shoulder walked past the pig.

“Did you catch anything today, Reginald?”

“Enough to go home early and enjoy the rest of the day,” Reginald responded.

“Yes, it certainly is a good one today.  Not too hot and not too windy,” Percy noted.

“Send my regards to the children,” the horse said.

“And send mine to the family,” answered Percy.

The salty air could be smelled and tasted as the pig walked onto the wooden dock.  The ocean’s calm breeze carried an unassuming smile onto Percy’s face as he paused and looked around the shore and distant beaches, sharing the moment with the palm trees that stood nearby.  They rocked gently from the warm wind, almost nodding with the appreciation of the perfect day.

“Master Percy, What brings you down to the boats?  I haven’t seen you down in this direction in quite a long time,” an old goose in a captain’s hat and eye patch immerged from one of the nicer yachts anchored at the dock.

“Captain Tailor, It is a long overdue pleasure to see you again,” Percy smiled.

The old captain climbed up his steps and waddled towards the pig.  He walked in that fashion, not because he was indeed a goose, but due to the arthritis that consistently plagued his right hip.  “Heading off to the Dome, are ye?”

“That is the plan today, Captain.”  Percy looked out into the ocean towards the small island that sat a close kilometer away from the shore.  At one point in time it was the home base to the internationally renowned ‘Barnyard Crusaders.’  Now sat a large decrepit rusty metal dome and cracked pavement runways, overgrown with grass and bushes.

“Well, send my greetings to Karl.  Let him know he still owes me ten pounds from our last Bridge game.”

“I’ll send him the message, Captain.”  Percy stepped down into his modestly sized motor boat and started the engine.

Once Percy maneuvered himself past the other anchored boats, the handful of swimmers and the fishing boats that sat further out from the shore line, he headed straight for the smaller island.

The hum of Percy’s motor traveled ahead of the boat and into the large hangar where all of the old and outdated ‘Barnyard Crusaders’ vehicles ranging from the airborne to the aquatic sat unused for decades.  The motor boat’s sound caught the attention of a green duck that immediately picked his head out from under the hood of a blue and yellow bus-shaped vehicle.   His overalls covered in motor oil and grease, he held a wrench in one hand and a welding rod in another.  A worn and old leather pilot’s helmet rested on his head and flight goggles sat over his eyes.

Putting down his tools, the green duck picked up a rag and began to wipe off the morning’s work from his hands.  “Who could be coming now,” the duck muttered as he walked past his tool bench and squatted past an old plane that had exposed wires hanging from its left wing.  A smile sprang from his bill as he walked outside into the sun once he saw Percy’s boat approach the shore.

“You stopped paying me years ago, so I hope you haven’t come all this way just to fire me,” the duck joked as Percy jumped out of his boat and pulled it up onto the shore. 

“It’s good to see you, friend.” Percy walked up to the green duck and gave him a long embrace.

“Lucy told me you might be coming by today.  Looking to use one of the old propulsion packs, are you?”

“Yes, that would be perfect, Karl.”  The two walked into the hangar.  Percy looked around at all of the old vehicles and thousands of memories both tragic and thrilling came with each one.

Karl walked over to one of the many metal shelves that rested among the cabinets and trunks in the hanger and pulled out a large object that looked like a vacuum cleaner with a seat belt attached to it.  “This puppy should take you where you want to go.”

“That’s not one of our old propulsion packs, is it,” Percy asked.

“Same basic model, I just added more details and enhancements to it.  Our old ones were designed for short term travel.  This one is designed for more international journeys.” Karl winked at Percy.  “Just what you are looking for, I assume.”

“What did Lucy tell you, Karl?”

“Just that you are going on some top secret mission that involves The Piggy Ham Bacon Boy…”

“Are you going to tell me something along the lines that I am getting to old to start gallivanting around the world in spandex again?”

“No, actually I was going to say something along the lines of ‘It’s about time.’  I didn’t want to be keeping all of these vehicles tuned up for nothing.”