Chapter Twenty Seven is Getting Very Near the End

Friday, June Seventeenth, right around an hour before lunch, Walli-Wo island time

After breakfast, Alex and Bruce had accompanied King Lemmy on the search for King Lemmy’s great great grandfather.  The three of them, along with the other islanders who were assisting with the search, found themselves in quite a hurry because the storm the sailors had been running from was due to hit Walli-Wo at some point that day.  There were dark clouds on the horizon, getting closer and closer.

One of the questions Alex had for Bruce as they searched was, “How long until we can get off of this island?”

The answer was, “Once the storm has passed Walli-Wo, we should be clear to fly, as long as the storm doesn’t change direction.  We’ll want to leave either very early in the morning, or very late at night.”

“Why’s that?” Alex had asked.

“Because that’s when the weather will be the most calm, and also, that timing will give us the best chance for getting back to the U.S.A. during daylight hours,” Bruce said.

Thinking about Princess Lulu’s appetites made Alex hope they would be able to leave at night, rather than wait until the following morning.  And it would be just super if they could leave that night.

Alex, Bruce, and King Lemmy started their search over after breakfast, beginning in front of King Lemmy’s house.  Alex hoped that some of the wreckage from the broken door, or the broken glass from the interior sliding door that had been shattered, would have been dragged away from the house.  That would have at least given them a direction to start looking.

Unfortunately, they’d had no such luck.  Alex had gotten down on the ground, looking for a trail where the statute had been dragged (like it had been through the broken glass), with no luck.  It would seem that whoever had taken it had found the strength to carry the statue once they were outside.  Or they’d done a really good job of covering their tracks.

Either way, they were low on ideas for where to start the search. Since they didn’t have any better ideas, they started the search by moving in concentric circles around King Lemmy’s house, expanding the circle a little bit each time.

The three of them were walking side by side along the Walli-Wo coast, searching for the statue, when the wind started to pick up.  Alex and King Lemmy looked up from the ground at the same moment.  The sky was quickly turning nearly black, and the clouds were very low.

“You know,” Alex said.

“I think,” Bruce said.

“It would be an excellent time for us to get to shelter,” King Lemmy said.

All three of them hurried back to King Lemmy’s house. 

“Is your house really the best place to wait out the storm?” Alex said.  “You’ve got a broken interior courtyard door, and a broken exterior door.  It might be just a touch windy in there.”

“My home does have more than two doors, Alex,” King Lemmy said.  “It also has a storm shelter.  It’s very cozy and safe.”

Alex wasn’t exactly sure how to reply, so he just followed along quietly. 

The wind started to really whip across the island, and the few people they saw still outside were all hurrying for shelter.

“Where are all the other islanders going to go for shelter?” Alex said.  With the next gust of wind, he narrowly avoided catching a flying branch in the face.

“To their own storm shelters,” King Lemmy said.  “Of course we would prefer to all shelter together in the great hall, but we also run an international bank.  Should something unthinkable happen, it’s best if all of the key players are in different places.  It would not be good if the majority of our economy was wiped out by a tree falling on the wrong building.”

“It’s good to have a contingency plan,” Alex said.

The sky opened, and huge, fat rain drops came pouring down on to them as they hustled towards King Lemmy’s house.

There was a brilliant flash of lightning, and thunder crashed almost immediately.

Cool! Alex thought.

They reached King Lemmy’s house and hurried inside.  They were already soaked all the way through, but at least they’d be safe from the wind and anything that happened to start flying through the air.

King Lemmy led Alex and Bruce through his house.  Alex had the weirdest feeling that he was being watched as they approached and passed the windows looking out on the courtyard.  Of course, that was impossible.  No one would be foolish enough to stay out in the storm, and what’s more, security had been beefed up around King Lemmy’s home since the doors had been smashed.  Sneaking into the courtyard would be quite a feat.

In one of the interior rooms (Alex guessed it wasn’t used much.  The furniture was showroom pristine, and it just felt kind of stuffy.  It didn’t seem like a place where King Lemmy would willingly spend much time.), King Lemmy grabbed a table lamp, and pulled it firmly towards himself.

A trapdoor in the floor, covered by a rug, popped open.  Through the door was a staircase leading down to, Alex assumed, King Lemmy’s storm shelter.  King Lemmy gestured to Alex and Bruce to go ahead of him.  He followed close behind the two of them, and pulled the trapdoor shut again behind himself.

At the bottom of the staircase, there was a well-lit, marble-lined hallway leading them further towards the interior of the house.  Alex wondered what part of the house the storm shelter was under, exactly.

Alex would have guessed that a “storm shelter” would be something like a basement room with no windows and a good supply of beef jerky and maybe some blankets and candles.  He was surprised when he walked through the door to the shelter itself.

King Lemmy’s storm shelter was more like a second home, underground.   The room they were currently standing in was furnished every bit as nicely as the rest of King Lemmy’s house.  There was art on the walls, and a plush carpet.  There were also doors leading to what Alex guessed were other rooms in the shelter.

“Come in and get comfortable,” King Lemmy said.  “We have everything we need down here to wait out the most powerful hurricanes.  We could stay down here for a month, easily, if we needed to.  Two months, less easily.”

“Less easily?” Alex said.

King Lemmy grimaced and said, “We would have to get into the freeze dried food, and Spam.”

“I thought folks out here on the pacific islands love Spam.  I could have sworn I’d heard it’s like a comfort food,” Bruce said.

King Lemmy looked skeptical.  “I do not think anyone, anywhere, ever, has been comforted by Spam.  But, if you say it is so, then maybe there are such places.  Come, let me show you where you’ll be spending the night.  We should be able to get you into some dry clothes too.”

He led them through the room they were in, past a well-equipped kitchen, and into a large bedroom with two queen beds.

“I’m sorry I can not provide you with private quarters here in my shelter.  My daughter will be in one of the other rooms, and of course she needs her privacy,” King Lemmy said.

Almost as soon as he’d mentioned her, Lulu came into the room.  She made a quick kissy face at Alex while King Lemmy wasn’t looking, and winked again.

Uh oh, Alex thought.  Well, at least I’ve got Bruce here to keep her on her best behavior while we’re all down here.

Lulu brushed past Alex and Bruce, and opened a door that was just behind them.  It was a closet, and it looked as though it was full of sweatpants and sweatshirts. 

She turned back and said, “These should be much more comfortable than the damp clothes you’re wearing right now.”

As she passed Alex again, she pinched his butt.  He was shocked, but did his best to pretend that he hadn’t even noticed.  He didn’t want to encourage her.

I hope the bedroom door has a lock, otherwise it’s going to be a long night, Alex thought.

“Say, has anyone seen Harry lately?” Alex said.  “Where is he?”

“No, the last time I saw him was at breakfast,” King Lemmy said.  “He is a smart man and will have taken shelter as well, however.”

“Does he have his own house?” Alex said.

“Of course,” King Lemmy said.  “Why wouldn’t he?”

“I assumed he lived here with you,” Alex said.

King Lemmy laughed, and said, “Even Harry needs to take a break sometimes, Alex.”

“Anyway,” King Lemmy continued, “Please get into some dry, comfortable clothes, and make yourselves at home.  We have everything you could possibly ask for down here, so if you need something, just ask.”

“Just ask,” Lulu echoed, and gave Alex another wink.

King Lemmy and Lulu left the room.  Alex waited a moment, then walked over and shut the door behind them.  He was completely thrilled to see that the door did, in fact, have a lock.  That was probably going to save his hide.

“So, Bruce,” Alex said.  “I’m going to need you to not leave my sight for the rest of the time we’re down here.  Otherwise, I think Lulu is going to get me into a whole lot of trouble that I don’t want.”

“O.K.,” Bruce said.  “It doesn’t seem like that’s going to be difficult for me to do, since we’re here in a storm shelter, but you’ve got it.”

“Thanks,” Alex said.

Bruce was about to ask Alex what kind of trouble he thought Lulu was going to cause, when there was a knock at the door.

Alex went back over to the door and opened it.  He found himself nearly toe to toe with Lulu.

“I thought you might want this,” she said, and stuffed something soft into his hands, then kissed him full on the lips before he even knew she was going to.  Then she giggled and walked away from the door again.  She swayed her hips seductively for several steps, then looked back at Alex and winked again before she went into a different room and out of sight.

Alex shook his head, and then looked down to see what it was that Lulu had thought he might want.

He discovered he was holding a big bundle of pink fleece.  She’d brought him the bunny suit.