A pair of young brothers casually strolled around a lazy river as they headed north of their hometown. Both clothed in overalls and straw hats, they each had a lunch sack tied to their waist and they whistled the same tune as they walked. If it weren't for their slight height difference, one would think they were twins.
The brothers were out on this sunny summer day with a mission in mind: to see the top of a large waterfall north of town called Grapefruit Falls. The two boys had lived in the woodsy town of Threed their entire lives, but they'd never tried to climb to the top of the waterfall and they were anxious to see what was up there. Now that their mother had declared them old enough to go exploring on their own, it didn't take the boys long to choose their first destination.
Marv, the younger brother, was staring at the sky as he walked, his mind a million miles away. He didn't notice the river take a sharp turn right in front of him. He slipped on a wet rock and teetered in place, letting out a frantic yelp for help. Hank, the older brother, grabbed Marv's arm and heaved him to safety with one easy motion. Hank was used to Marv's absentmindedness, so he subconsciously made himself aware of Marv's every move in case he got into trouble. He didn't even glance in Marv's direction when he saved him.
"Thank ya, Hank," Marv breathed a sigh of relief.
"T'was nothin'," Hank replied in a sing-song voice to keep the tune of the ditty he was whistling. Marv put his hands on his knees and took some deep breaths before catching up with Hank.
The boys had almost reached the waterfall when Hank spotted a six-foot-long, mud-covered crocodile sunning itself on a river bank nearby. He stood still and swung his arm out in Marv's direction, startling Marv to a full stop.
"What's it, Hank?"
Hank nodded toward the crocodile and discretely grabbed Marv's overalls, predicting that Marv might try to run after the croc. Hank wasn't scared of many creatures on this Earth, but stories of man-eating crocodiles had spooked him so badly when he was younger that he couldn't even stand the sight of one now. The way their crooked teeth sat menacingly between their huge, powerful jaws made Hank shudder whenever he thought about it. He wasn't going to lose his little brother to that ugly, mud-caked beast today.
"COOL!" Marv yelled when he spotted the crocodile. He tried to make a run for the monster, but Hank held tightly onto Marv's overalls. Both of the boys fell over kicking up clouds of dust as Marv struggled to free himself. The commotion caused the crocodile to swim away and settle harmlessly on the opposite side of the river. Hank let go of Marv once he was sure they were both safe.
"Aww, what'd ya do that for, Hank?" Marv dipped his hands into the river and tried to clean off his dust-covered face. He ended up soaking his straw hat in the process.
"'Cause, Marv, those things'll eat you!" Hank joined Marv by the river to wash his own hands.
"All I wanted to do was pet the little ol' thing. It was just lyin' there!"
Hank didn't reply; he was ashamed of his fear of crocodiles, but he was sure Marv hadn't caught on to his phobia and he planned to keep it that way. Hank eyeballed the croc to make sure it wasn't moving before they started walking again.
The boys made it to the waterfall after a few more minutes, Hank glancing over his shoulder every once in a while to check on the crocodile. They stopped and stared up at the water crashing down from above, bathing them in a cool mist. Hank was trying to think of a way to climb up the series of cliffs to the top while Marv focused on a dragonfly that was hovering just above the edge of the waterfall.
Marv's stomach let out a low rumble, so Hank suggested they fuel up with lunch before attempting the climb. Marv looked around for a likely picnic spot and noticed a gap between the waterfall and the rocky cliff behind it. He peeked inside and spotted a little alcove, big enough for two or three Hanks and Marvs to have lunch together.
"Hey, Hank! There's a cool spot in here!" Marv pointed behind the waterfall.
Hank narrowed his eyes and peered skeptically through the gap. The ground was a little wet, but it was nothing they couldn't handle if they were careful. Plus, the sun was unusually hot today and this little spot would provide excellent shade. Hank nodded his head.
"Sure, but let me go first," Hank warned. He stepped tentatively onto the slightly slippery ground behind the waterfall and looked around. He walked a little further inside, held out his arms, and confirmed that there was enough space between the waterfall and the rock wall behind it for the two of them to safely eat. Hank motioned for Marv to join him.
Marv kicked off his shoes, plopped down onto the soggy floor, and took a big bite out of the bologna and mustard sandwich he haphazardly extracted from his lunch sack. Hank took more care in situating himself on the ground, sitting in a bizarre-looking position so he wouldn't get his butt wet. He then took out his peanut butter and banana sandwich (with the crusts cut off) and stared at it until he decided which corner he wanted to bite into first.
"Hey Hank, why's it called 'Grapefruit Falls,' anyways?" asked Marv, his mouth full of bologna.
Hank paused mid-chew to think. As if our Dear Mother Earth had been listening, a grapefruit suddenly dropped over the waterfall and plunked down into the lazy river below with a sizable splash. Hank's face brightened.
"Well, there you go, Marv! It's called 'Grapefruit Falls' because grapefruits fall down from it!" Hank laughed, pleased with his deduction. "There must be a grove of grapefruits up there. We'll pick us a few and take them home to Mama. Maybe she can make some marmalade with them!"
Excited by the prospect of bringing a surprise gift home to their mother, Marv stuffed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth, scooted to the other side of the alcove, and stuck out his bare feet to receive a harsh foot massage from the waterfall. Hank kept an eye on Marv as he did this, too aware that things could easily take a turn for the worse. When nothing happened, Hank concentrated on his sandwich. Marv pulled an apple out of his lunch sack and munched at it.
Then there came a whisper... "Say the password!"
"You say something, Marv?"
"Me? Nah, I ain't say nothin'."
"Didn't say anything," Hank corrected his brother.
Marv shrugged his shoulders and the pair continued to eat their lunch in silence, both smiling whenever another grapefruit fell over the waterfall.
Exactly three minutes after Hank heard the phantom voice requesting a password, a whooshing noise followed by a chilly blast of air filled the alcove. The sudden breeze caused the boys' straw hats to sail off their heads, which were then promptly crushed by the waterfall. Marv ran toward Hank, nearly falling into the waterfall himself. Hank held them both steady as they looked upon a large hole in the rocky wall that wasn't there a second ago. Odd clicking noises and groans of heavy machinery were coming from inside the hole along with a stench so foul that the boys immediately covered their noses.
"Whassat, Hank?!" Marv's eyes were wide. He started coughing as the stench grew stronger.
"I dunno, Marv, but no normal thing I know makes a smell like that." Hank took a handkerchief out of his pocket and tied it around Marv's head below his eyes, attempting to block the smell as much as possible. Marv stopped coughing.
Summoning up all of his big-brother courage, Hank inched toward the hole in the wall while keeping his nose covered with one hand. Marv tried to pull him back, but Hank avoided his brother's grasp and peeked inside the hole. He saw a large room, bigger than any room he'd seen before. The walls, the floor, indeed everything about the room appeared to be covered in metal. Hank gaped at the sight of it.
Noticing that nothing came out of the hole to attack his brother, Marv timidly made his way to Hank's side. The pair stood in silence, unable to make heads-or-tails of the large metal room. No structure like it existed in Threed. It was Marv who stepped onto the metal floor first, and Hank was curious enough to follow instead of object. They made their way straight ahead to a metal railing and looked down. Several metal staircases led to more levels of metal floors with no true bottom floor in sight. Tiny orange spheres could just barely be seen moving about on some of the lower levels. They were emitting soft, high-pitched noises and bumping into one another.
Marv was charmed by the squeaky orange spheres and he pointed them out to Hank. Neither of them noticed a slimy little pile of goop creeping toward them.
"Did you bring some Fly Honey?" came a bubbling voice from the ground.
Both boys shrieked and fell down, coming face-to-"face" with a small pile of someone's undigested lunch. It was the color of pea soup mixed with pesto sauce with a few bits of other random colors here and there. It was both smooth and slightly chunky, the consistency one might expect from a pile of vomit. Its middle bulged rhythmically as if it were breathing.
"Did you bring some Fly Honey? It's Master Belch's favorite," the words bubbled from the slimy little pile, sounding not unlike the sick sucking noises made by large koi fish during feeding time. Fresh waves of nauseatingly stinky air filled the room as it "talked."
When the brothers didn't respond, the pile of vomit began to move closer to them, leaving a trail of slime in its wake. Instinctively, Marv threw his half-eaten apple at the little pile of goop in a desperate attempt to keep it away. The apple began to dissolve the second it made contact with the slime. It burned and hissed, creating an even more revolting stink.
While Marv sat mesmerized by the sight of an apple being digested in plain sight, Hank grabbed Marv's arm and yanked him toward the hole in the wall that was thankfully still open. The boys jumped through the waterfall and into the lazy river, pounding their arms and legs into the water to reach a dizzying speed.
His adrenaline sky-high from the fright brought on by a talking pile of puke, Hank made a beeline for the closest shore, yelling for Marv to follow him. Marv pumped his legs and swam ahead of Hank, yelling when he saw their destination after minute or two of frantic swimming. Instead of being relieved, Hank was horrified to see that the old crocodile from before had taken up residence on the shore once again.
It came down to dealing with a crocodile versus a sentient pile of vomit, and Hank chose the crocodile. He splashed around as much as possible trying to scare the crocodile away. Marv picked up on what Hank was trying to do and started kicking his legs in the direction of the croc to make the biggest splashes he could. Clearly annoyed that the noisy boys had returned, the crocodile swam downstream after letting out a grunt of frustration. Hank and Marv climbed onto the shore and took off running toward Threed.
They didn't stop until they made it home.