Bat Rider and the Gecko Bogo
A Matthew John Adventure
Anthony Barton
Matthew John and Hannah Brianna pursue Big Bad Bat
into the Strange Loop Nebula
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Barton, Anthony, 1942-
Bat rider and the gecko Bogo [electronic resource]: a Matthew
John adventure / Anthony Barton. -- Smashwords ed.
(Matthew John novel)
Electronic monograph.
ISBN 978-0-9878454-1-2
I. Title. II. Series: Barton, Anthony, 1942-. Matthew John
novel.
PS8553.A7776B3836 2012 jC813'.6 C2012-900774-9
Smashwords Edition. Copyright © 2012 Anthony Barton
Cover art by Anthony Barton. All Rights Reserved.
For
Maia Ross, Rowenda, Frances Mae, Roselyn, Kathylyn, Sophia, Farah, Sagel, Stephanie, Claire, Duncan, Jan, Oro, Noelle, Claire, Jayden, Taylor, Merlin, Cynthia, Braxton, Lukas, Jakob, Suzanne, Shayla, Benjamin, Sarah, Zachary, Christopher, Justin, Samantha, Ashton, Leisha, Valerie, James, Janelle, Elly, August, Liesel, Toby, Tad and Angelo, Nathan, Ryder and Hayden
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Bat Rider and the Gecko Bogo
1: The Masterful Amazing Illusion Box
‘I wish my Mum and Dad were here,’ said Hannah Brianna, playing with the hem of her yellow dress.
‘I miss my parents, too,’ said Matthew John.
‘This is my first mission,’ said Hannah Brianna, ‘so it’s worse for me. I’ve never been away from home before.’
‘The best thing to do is to keep busy,’ said Matthew John. ‘When I’m really busy I don’t get sad. Eating helps. Here, have half of my chocolate spider.’
‘Thanks. The red eyes are neat. Mmm! They taste good, too.’
‘The eyes are made of sprinkles.’
‘Mr. Seeds gave me this book,’ said Hannah Brianna with her mouth full. ‘Will you read it to me?’ She handed him a brightly colored volume.
Matthew John took the book. It was called BOGO THE LIZARD. On the cover of was a picture of a lizard dancing upside down on a ceiling. The lizard was green.
‘The lizard looks cool,’ said Matthew John, biting into his half of the chocolate spider. ‘Are you sure you don’t want to read the book to yourself?’
‘I don’t know all the words,’ said Hannah Brianna.
Matthew John finished eating and opened the book. He began reading: ‘Once upon a time there was a lizard named Bogo who lived in a book. “I wish I could crawl out of my book and live in the real world,” said Bogo. Do you want to turn the page, Hannah Brianna?’
Hannah Brianna turned the page. She wanted to see what was going to happen to the lizard.
On the next page a real lizard was dragging himself out of a picture of a lizard. The front half of the lizard was in the real world but the back half of the lizard was still part of the book. ‘It must be a pop-up book,’ said Matthew John.
‘I don’t think so,’ said Hannah Brianna, and turned another page.
The lizard ran out of the book and jumped into Hannah Brianna’s lap.
‘He’s so cute,’ said Hannah Brianna, tickling the top of the lizard’s head. ‘He has a white patch on his little nose. Hi, Bogo,’ she said. ‘I’m Hannah Brianna.’
‘Hi, Hannah Brianna,’ said the lizard Bogo. ‘I’m a dancing lizard, and not just any old lizard. I’m a gecko, and I have sticky feet. Put me on the ceiling.’
‘You won’t fall?’ said Hannah Brianna.
‘I told you. I have sticky feet,’ said Bogo. ‘I’ll be all right. You’ll see. Just put me on the ceiling. I love to dance on ceilings.’
‘Matthew John, can you give me a lift up?’ said Hannah Brianna, holding the lizard carefully with one hand.
Mathew John placed the book, still open, on the table. ‘Climb up on my shoulders,’ he said, crouching down.
Hannah Brianna stood on Matthew John’s shoulders, and then Matthew John straightened his back slowly, balancing himself while holding Hannah Brianna’s ankles.
Hannah Brianna reached up and put Bogo on the ceiling. She let go.
‘Thanks, Hannah Brianna,’ said the lizard. ‘I have lots of room to dance up here.’ He was hanging upside down by four sticky feet. ‘Want to see my Bogo Bogo dance?’
‘Show-off,’ said Hannah Brianna. She jumped down from Matthew John’s shoulders and landed on the floor.
Hanging upside down from the ceiling, the lizard Bogo began to dance his Bogo Bogo dance. First, he lifted one leg, and then he lifted another. He sang ‘Bogo, Bogo!’ as he danced. His dance grew wilder. Now he had only two sticky feet touching the ceiling. He danced even more wildly. Now he had only one sticky foot touching the ceiling. ‘Bogo, Bogo!’ he sang as he danced.
‘You’ll fall,’ said Hannah Brianna. ‘That’s enough dancing.’
‘You haven’t seen anything yet,’ said Bogo. ‘Watch this!’
Bogo the lizard went crazy. He took all four of his sticky feet off the ceiling.
‘Bogooooooooo!’ he cried, and fell from the ceiling. He fell into Hannah Brianna’s Masterful Amazing Illusion Box.
Hannah Brianna ran to the Masterful Amazing Illusion Box. ‘Bogo?’ she said anxiously. ‘Bogo, are you hurt?’
There was no answer.
It was dark inside the Masterful Amazing Illusion Box. Hannah Brianna reached down inside the box and felt about, trying to find her lizard. Her fingers closed on something warm and twitchy. ‘I’ve got him,’ she said, with a sigh of relief. Her fingers had found Bogo’s tail.
She withdrew her hand from the dark cabinet and squeaked with surprise. ‘Eek! I’ve got Bogo’s tail,’ she said, ‘but where’s Bogo?’
Bogo’s tail squirmed in her hand, flicking this way and that. It felt funny.
Hannah Brianna burst into tears. ‘I’ve killed him. I’ve killed Bogo.’
‘I don’t think you have killed Bogo,’ said Matthew John. ‘Joshua Ryan told me once that some lizards shed their tails when frightened. Wherever Bogo has gone, I expect he is all right.’
Matthew John switched on his flashlight and shone a powerful beam of light into the Masterful Amazing Illusion Box. The cabinet was empty. ‘No sign of Bogo,’ he said, ‘but I see some writing on the wall of the cabinet. The writing says “Masterful Amazing Illusion Box. Number One fun! Warning: Do not use Masterful Amazing Illusion Box in Strange Loop Nebula.” I wonder why it says that.’
Matthew John tapped a key on his Bat Rider phone. ‘Mr. Seeds? Are you there?’
‘I’m here, Matthew John,’ said Mr. Seeds’s voice, ‘and I have all of your parents here with me, eager for news. How is your voyage on the starship Artibeus going? Have you caught up with the Big Bad Bat yet?’
‘We’re hot on his trail. We’ve just landed on a planet in the Strange Loop Nebula, and Hannah Brianna’s lizard has disappeared. Can you tell us how to get her lizard back?’
‘Look about you carefully,’ said Mr. Seeds, ‘and tell me what you see.’
Matthew John turned on his heel, studying the strange landscape. ‘It’s all lizards,’ he said, frowning. ‘The floor is made of lizard-shaped tiles, there are lizard wall hangings, and the stairs have carpets decorated with lizards. Why is that?’
‘In the Strange Loop Nebula,’ said Mr. Seeds, ‘what you see is what you seek. If you wish to rescue Hannah Brianna’s lizard, then you must go where the lizard went.’
‘The lizard fell into the Masterful Amazing Illusion Box,’ said Matthew John.
‘Then you and Hannah Brianna had better follow the lizard into that Box,’ said Mr. Seeds. ‘Your parents and I wish you the best of luck.’ The phone went dead.
Hannah Brianna wrapped the twitching lizard’s tail in her handkerchief and stuffed it in her pocket. ‘I’ll must rescue him,’ said Hannah Brianna, and she ran into the Masterful Amazing Illusion Box.
‘Hannah Brianna?’ said Matthew John.
There was no answer.
‘Bother,’ thought Matthew John. ‘This is all my fault. I’ll have to go after her.’
A puff of cold air came from the Masterful Amazing Illusion Box and ruffled the pages of the open book.
Matthew John put a hand on the book to stop the pages being turned by the wind, and spotted a new picture on a fresh page, a picture of something gaudily dressed with huge dark wings. He pulled at his ear lobe. ‘What is Big Bad Bat doing in Hannah Brianna’s book about Bogo the lizard?’ he wondered, and then he recalled Mr. Seeds’s words: In the Strange Loop Nebula, what you see is what you seek.
Matthew John closed the book and placed the volume carefully in his back pocket. ‘I must save Hannah Brianna from the Big Bad Bat,’ he decided, and he ran into the Masterful Amazing Illusion Box, wondering just what Big Bad Bat was up to.
2: The Endless Stair
Big Bad Bat was having a bad day. He was bouncing down a flight of stairs on his pogo stick. The jewels on his pogo stick did not sparkle well in the half-light. He had lost his followers. There was nobody to tell him what a really great bat he was. To make matters worse, he was still smarting from the defeat he had suffered not long ago on the planet Yumi, at the hands of the boy Matthew John. It was hard to imagine that he, Big Bad Bat, the most important bat in the whole universe, had been fooled by a mere boy like Matthew John, but he knew that he had been, all the same. Matthew John had reminded him of one of his earliest and most feverish memories, a memory of a day long ago when his toy tiger had peered in at him through his bedroom window, and he, Big Bad Bat, had been so frightened that he had ordered his black starship to take off at once and to leave the planet Yumi in a hurry, and in the rush of departure he had left behind four members of his crew and three valuable tree harvesting machines. He blamed Matthew John for this. One day he would get even. He would capture Matthew John. He would make Matthew John his slave.
A girl in a yellow dress came running up the stairs. ‘Have you seen my lizard?’ she asked. ‘His name is Bogo.’
‘No, I haven’t seen your lizard!’ snapped Big Bad Bat, bouncing on down the steps. ‘You’re the first person I’ve met for hours (bounce) I’m tired (bounce) and I’m fed up (bounce).’
‘See you later,’ said the girl cheerfully, and ran past Big Bad Bat and on up the stairs to continue her search.
Big Bad Bat bounced on down the stairs, wondering if he would ever reach the bottom stair. This crazy staircase seemed to go on forever.
For a second time the little girl in the yellow dress came running up the stairs. ‘Have you seen my…? Oh, it’s you again. I thought I passed you already. What’s your name?’
‘My name is Big (bounce) Bad (bounce) Bat (bounce),’ said Big Bad Bat, ‘and I am the most important bat (bounce) in the world (bounce) and no, I haven’t seen your lizard (bounce) as I told you the first time (bounce).’
‘I’m Hannah Brianna,’ said the girl. ‘Want to see my lizard’s tail?’ She unfolded a handkerchief and held up something revolting and wriggling.
Big Bad Bat turned his face away. ‘Yuck!’ he said. ‘Keep that thing (bounce) away from me (bounce). I hate things that wiggle (bounce).’
‘I want to give Bogo his tail back,’ said Hannah Brianna, ‘but I can’t find him.’ She wrapped the tail in her handkerchief once more and ran on up the stairs.
Big Bad Bat wiped the sweat off his forehead, and went bouncing on down the infuriating stairs. He muttered and grumbled to himself. He found it very hard work pogo-sticking down stairs. It made his feet ache.
For a third time the little girl in the yellow dress came running up the stairs. ‘Have you seen…’ she began, and then she stopped in her tracks. ‘We’ve done this before,’ she said, and stopped. She was puzzled.
Big Bad Bat, too, was puzzled. He stopped hopping down the steps. He paused on one step and remained there, seated on his pogo stick, with his wings half open to help him keep his balance.
He stared at the girl.
The girl stared back at him.
‘We shouldn’t keep meeting like this,’ said Big Bad Bat. ‘I’m the most important bat in the entire universe and you’re just a girl.’
‘The stairs go round in a circle,’ said Hannah Brianna brightly. ‘How shall we escape?’ She pressed her thumbs to her forehead to help her think. ‘I know,’ she said, and smiled broadly. ‘We’ll leave the stairs and fly away together. You’re a bat, aren’t you?’
‘I’m the most…’ began Big Bad Bat.
The girl reached out, grabbed his left wing, and shook it. ‘This is a wing, right?’
‘Ooaaaah!” said Big Bad Bat, teetering dangerously. ‘What are you doing? Let me go! I’ll lose my balance.’
‘Scaredy bat!’ said Hannah Brianna, and let go of his wing.
Big Bad Bat lost his balance. He fell off his pogo stick. He landed on top of Hannah Brianna. His pogo stick fell with a clatter and lay upon the stair, a thing of glittering metal and sparkling gemstones.
‘Poof!’ said Hannah Brianna, wriggling out from underneath Big Bad Bat. ‘You’re one big fat bat, that’s what you are.’
‘How dare you say such a thing?’ roared Big Bad Bat. ‘I exercise every day.’
‘You don’t know how to fly,’ said Hannah Brianna, cocking her head to look him over.
‘Uh, well, that is, I…’ said Big Bad Bat. He did not know quite what to say.
‘Admit it,’ said Hannah Brianna. ‘You don’t know how to fly.’
‘You’re right,’ said Big Bad Bat, staring helplessly at the little girl. ‘I don’t know how to fly.’
Hannah Brianna clambered up onto Big Bad Bat’s back and seated herself on his neck behind his ears. ‘Don’t worry, Big Bad Bat. I’ll show you how. We’ll fly together, you and I. I’m a bat rider.’
‘You are?’ Big Bad Bat was surprised that anybody as young as Hannah Brianna could be a bat rider. ‘Ah… how long have you been a bat rider?’ he asked, scratching his chin with his wing claw.
‘Ages and ages, ever since the day before yesterday,’ said Hannah Brianna. ‘Spread your wings, Big Bad Bat!’
Big Bad Bat spread his wings and shuffled awkwardly to the edge of the stair. He looked down. He did not like what he saw. ‘We’re awfully high up,’ he whispered.
Far below, the Strange Loops Nebula heaved and turned inside out in a most upsetting fashion. Big Bad Bat saw pictures hanging on gallery walls became part of the very streets they depicted. He saw water that tumbled from a great height only to be channeled back along canals to fall again. Floor tiles in the shape of fishes, reptiles and birds kept coming to life for a few moments and then sinking back into floor to become tiles once more.
‘I’ve changed my mind,’ said Big Bad Bat, shivering, and backing away. ‘I don’t want to fly after all.’ As he stepped back from the edge, he tripped over his pogo stick, scrabbled helplessly with his feet, remembered too late that his feet were attached to his wings, and shot out into nothingness. ‘Help!’ he cried. ‘I’m falling!’
‘We are both falling,’ said Hannah Brianna, and grasped Big Bad Bat’s neck tightly with her skinny arms. ‘Keep your wings stiff. Try to catch the wind. You can do it, Big Bad Bat!’
Big Bad Bat was terrified. “L-like this?’ he stammered. He made his wings as stiff as he could, and, to his surprise, something quite wonderful happened. He began to float through the air like a kite. ‘Am I… flying?’ he asked in a small voice, hardly daring to believe that it was true.
‘Of course you are,’ said Hannah Brianna happily. ‘Now you and I can find my lizard before Matthew John gets worried about where I’ve gone.’
3: Matthew John and the Twisted Picture
Matthew John was already looking for Hannah Brianna. He had emerged from the Masterful Amazing Illusion Box into a mighty chamber larger than any he had seen. He ran out onto a vast tiled floor and stood there, trying to take in his surroundings. There seemed to be a great many stairways going this way and that. Some of the stairways appeared to be upside down, which was odd.
A moment later, he saw a large bat flying towards him. ‘Wimpy? Is that you?’ he asked, hopefully. His voice echoed back to him from the dome high above: ‘Is that you? Is that you?’ said the echo.
‘Wimpy?’ cried Matthew John again.
His voice came back to him: ‘Wimpy? Wimpy?’
‘You’re coming in too low and too fast,’ said a familiar voice.
Matthew John knew that voice. He cupped his mouth with his hands. ‘Hannah Brianna?’ he shouted. ‘Are you up there?’
‘I’m riding this big bat,’ Hannah Brianna shouted back. ‘He’s never flown before. I’ve lost control of him. I can’t get him to slow down. I think he wants to make you his slave.’
Matthew John saw the bat she was riding come hurtling towards him. The bat was dressed in a blue frock coat with gold epaulettes. Matthew John knew of only one bat that wore clothes like that. It must be Big Bad Bat.
Matthew John flung himself face down on the tiles.
Matthew John heard Big Bad Bat’s claws screech across the tiles. Matthew John rolled over and scrambled to get back on his feet.
Big Bad Bat circled around clumsily and then came rushing back to attack him again.
‘I know who you are, Big Bad Bat,’ Matthew John shouted. ‘I have something important to say to you! I want to say I’m sorry.’
‘Too late, Matthew John,’ said Big Bad Bat, and dived down yet again, his claws bared.
Matthew John took cover in an art gallery. He dived straight through a twisted picture and into the street inside the picture. He ran down that street as fast had he could, but the faster he ran, the longer the street became. ‘This Strange Loop Nebula is filled with surprises,’ he thought.
Matthew John heard the whistle of wind in Big Bad Bat’s wings and glanced over his shoulder. Big Bad Bat had followed him into the picture and was almost on top of him.
Matthew John jumped feet first down a manhole and ran along a tunnel under the street. What was he to do? His mind raced. He had to think of something. Hannah Brianna was riding Big Bad Bat, but did not seem to be able to control him, and Big Bad Bat was new to flying. Could he himself find a way to control Big Bat?
Matthew John ran out of the end of the tunnel and onto a rooftop. Big Bad Bat was flying by just below him, with Hannah Brianna seated on his neck. This is my chance, Matthew John thought, and flung himself off the roof into the air.
4: Big Bad Bat Learns to Fly
Matthew John grabbed Big Bad Bat by his left ear and shouted: ‘Hang on, Hannah Brianna!’ he cried. ‘I’ve come to save you!’
‘Ow!’ said Big Bad Bat. ‘Let go of my ear. I’m the most important… Woo!’ Big Bad Bat was thrown off balance and flipped over in the air. He began frantically flapping his wings to try to right himself. ‘Help!’ he cried. ‘I’ve forgotten how to fly!’