Kim stirred, the morning sun gently touching her eyelids. She listened for the children but heard nothing. Maybe they were still asleep, or playing quietly in their room.
Someday she would indulge herself in the fantasy of sleeping all day, but not today. It must be almost time for her morning run so she needed to wake the girls. Kim rolled over to swing her legs over the edge of their king-sized bed. The bed was actually larger than king-sized, special ordered by Shego for their Homeric sex-play.
Kim rolled over. The soft bed became stone.
The dawn’s early light didn’t get any brighter.
The dream ended and Kim Possible found herself in a tight, rocky den.
She was lying on a mat of cloth, dense and tough but soft to the touch, like felt. It was impossible to tell if the mat was woven or made of hide. Light was coming from a small portal, a rough-hewn doorway into the cramped space. It was the same glow that had illuminated their journey for weeks.
This reminded her of Shego, and Kim made ready to use the doorway and face whatever dangers lay beyond. Kim gave herself a quick inspection and reviewed what he remembered of recent events.
She was wearing the same clothes hat she’d worn for weeks, and they were still clean from the washing she’d given them before they took to the water. Upon closer inspection, her outfit seemed to have received additional care from somewhere; it appeared to have been patched in several places, stitched with what looked like twine.
Something itched above the small of her back and near her right shoulder blade. Reaching under her clothes, Kim was appalled to find something like wads of oatmeal adhering to those areas.
Peeling the dried substance away from her skin, Kim also discovered small welts under the stuff. They were mildly sore and itched, not much more than a minor bee sting.
Kim remembered the fight on the lake, and the mega-hydrae stinging her. Things started to get fuzzy at that point, but she also recalled hearing Shego’s voice. There was nothing after that, not until the pleasant half-dream from a minute ago.
In the modern world of advanced medicine into which Kim had been born and raised, by a mother who was a lauded and accomplished brain surgeon, using a poultice to draw out poison was almost a lost science.
Crawling through the doorway, Kim left the cubbyhole and faced the unknown.
Several shocking points of interest presented themselves to Kim Possible at that moment.
First was the cavern she was standing in. There was a large body of water a few dozen yards away at the bottom of a slight decline, making it likely that they had finally reached the opposite shore. The fact that Kim could even see the water from this far away meant that the light here was as strong as they had encountered so far.
Second were the stone huts. Much of the ground level of this stone gallery was covered with tiny structures, each one assemble from stones piled together though she could see one or two made from broken stalagmites, forming a crude lean-to.
Last were the inhabitants. The part of Kim’s psyche that was keeping her from screaming explained to her that it was only logical that there be inhabitants, simply because of the existence of stone huts. ‘So not the drama’, it said.
Standing before Kim and facing her stoically were scores of tiny humanoids. They were not more than two feet tall and wrapped in something very dark, like rags or strips of cloth. Between rents in the filthy material could be seen filthy, pale skin and piercing black eyes. Like beads of onyx, the eyes were the only things that were alive and bright about the little creatures, and they were all looking at Kim.
These were the ‘Trogs’ that Shego had been fighting at the Middleton armory so many days ago. Kim was puzzled at how quiet and still they were. There didn’t seem to be anything dangerous about them now. In fact, they were all just standing there, as if waiting for something.
“Um… ” Kim stammered nervously. “Hi!”
The ‘Trogs’ didn’t move. Kim would have thought they were carved from stone if she didn’t hear an occasional breath.
By now fear and apprehension had given way to curiosity, and that was losing ground to anxiety and worry about Shego. Kim didn’t have a solid plan of action, but she would not allow this new development to slow her down.
Kim picked up her foot and took a tentative step forward, then another. Gaining confidence, she edged up to the little men. They really were unearthly in appearance, even if she didn’t feel threatened. When Kim reached the edge of the crown, she noticed something else about them… how badly they smelled.
It made her eyes water just standing next to them; it was a throat-clogging stench that made her a little nauseous. Whether the stink was coming from the little creatures themselves, or the vile wrappings they were covered with, Kim could not tell.
Without preamble, Kim heard sounds echoing from deep in the crowd. As she stared into the pale light, she saw movement.
From several yards away, someone was moving through the crowd. This new figure was moving quickly and with determined strides directly to Kim. The other little men silently moved out of it’s way, parting like the proverbial Red Sea.
The newcomer was a giant compared to the other ‘Trogs’. Kim didn’t feel any more threatened because this ‘giant’ simply stood a head taller than the rest (meaning closer to three feet tall). It / he moved with a commanding presence and the others cleared a path for him right to Kim’s feet.
When the newcomer finally stood before Kim, she noted the differences between him (?) and the smaller ‘Trogs’. First, there was the (slightly) greater height. Second, thought he was dressed in the same tattered fashion, he was the only creature to act with any sort of motivation. In Kim’s book that would make him a Leader, at least until she came across something better.
Thirdly, he was armed… sort of. Kim was slightly shocked to note that this ‘Trog’ was missing his left arm. There was only the barest suggestion of a shoulder, but no limb at all.
She could only guess at the accident or attack that caused such a wound, not to mention the will to live that this being possessed to survive it.
Held in the crook of his right arm, however, Kim saw that he was carrying an odd weapon. It was much taller than he was, maybe six or seven long, and might have been a spear except that the broad blade at the end had no point. The blade was flat at the end and slightly cupped: it was as if a kitchen spatula had been turned into a garden trowel and then stuck on the end of a pole.
The being stood before Kim; he was as filthy and stinky as the rest, but he was not silent.
“Glesh. N’yung glesh.” The wrappings about his head completely obscured his mouth, as was the case for the rest of the ‘Trogs’ present. Regardless, Kim could hear him clearly. His voice was strong and confident. It just wasn’t English.
Kim was nonplussed. “Hello? My name is Kim Possible.”
The Leader cocked his head, and then shook it in a very humanlike gesture, never taking his eyes off Kim. Under the dirty layers of cloth there was the suggestion of a mouth and very oversized teeth.
“Voot rinto, glesh.” The words came at her more slowly than before, more deliberate. Was he hoping that Kim could be made to understand him? Even Latin and French classes hadn’t prepared her for this.
“Please tell me, where is my… where is Shego? What have you done with Shego?” Kim had almost said ’my wife’ just now, but guessed that this distinction might be lost on the little man.
As she had been asking these questions, Kim had been raising her hand above her head and also to tug downwards on her own hair; it was an attempt to visually depict Shego’s taller height and longer hair.
With a nod of comprehension, the one-armed Leader turned and walked quickly away from Kim, deeper into the gloom in the opposite direction of the lake. While the language barrier seemed impassable with these guys, the Leader seemed to understand Kim’s hand signals well enough.
The crown of little ‘Trogs’ silently cleared a new path for him. Kim had to jog to catch up; the little fellow sure moved fast on those tiny legs.
After several paces, the two of them broke through the crowd and were moving off on their own. The rest of the ‘Trogs’ were not following. As they moved further away from the ‘Trog’ settlement, Kim began to wonder if the cavern didn’t look brighter somehow. Before long, she was certain that there was some other source of light exerting its influence over the darkness.
Though they had been moving across an open area of the cavern, Kim noticed that their destination appeared to be a partially collapsed wall where the rocky ceiling met the ground beneath their feet. The wall seemed shattered, possibly the result of subsidence from ancient times. It was from between these enormous boulders that a strong light was visible.
Raising her hand to protect her weakened eyes against the glare, Kim noticed that they were about to encounter some strangers. Several of the smaller ‘Trogs’ were clustered nearby. An encampment had apparently been made in the vicinity of the mysterious light, for what reason, Kim could not guess.
Then, Kim saw Shego.
Shego was seated on a mat placed atop a smoother section of the floor. The floor was also sandier here instead of stone, making the ground softer. A tarp of the same hide or woven material that Kim had seen earlier was being used as a shield to protect both Shego and the ‘Trogs’ from the glare. Shego appeared to be conscious and was talking animatedly to the little men standing around her.
Kim could not contain herself further. She out paced her guide and ran to Shego.
“Oh, baby. Are you all right?”
Shego’s head tilted up to look Kim full in the face, her mouth parted in a huge grin.
“Hey, Princess! Glad you’re home. Did I forget a play date? Whose birthday is it?”
Shego’s voice was overloud and her movements exaggerated, as if she were drunk or drugged.
“Kim, look… I guess that I forgot to be home for this. I’m sorry, and I’ll make it up to you and the kids. But… really, if you’re going to have Kasy & Sheki’s little friends over to play, you should have given the girls a bath. They’re both pretty ripe.”
Kim kept moving closer, kneeling down beside the seated form. Shego certainly appeared healthier and more lucid, but she wasn’t making sense. In fact, as she came closer, Kim was shocked to see Shego actually holding two of the ‘Trogs’, one cradled in each arm, beside her on the floor. Each little man was struggling for release, to Shego’s apparent amusement.
“Shego, do you know where you are?” That question didn’t immediately register with Shego. She was too busy tickling her ‘captives’ under their chins.
Shego let go of one ‘Trog’ and used both arms to lift the other. The first little man ran past Kim to stand behind the Leader, apparently for protection. Shego lifted the backside of the other ‘Trog’ to her face and sniffed.
“I think Kasy here has a poopie diaper.” The ‘Trog’ made no sound, but hung there in Shego’s hands with a look of helpless indignation.
Kim reached over and accepted the ‘Trog’ from Shego. When she set him down on his feet, he joined his cohort in safety behind their Leader. The Leader directed gestures and grunts at them. They subsided into ordered obedience.
“Shego, do you know where you are?” Kim repeated.
“You should know. You planted all the flowers back here.” Shego looked around at what she apparently envisioned as their backyard. “It’s getting pretty dark, it might rain.”
Other than an unexplained lack of clarity, Shego seemed fine, and Kim was able to breathe easier for it.
“Baby, I’ll take are of the girls. You stay here and rest.”
“Thanks, Kimmie.” Shego stifled a yawn. “Call me for dinner.” With that, she promptly fell asleep.
A sudden waft of stink alerted Kim that the Leader had sidled up beside her. She looked down to see that he was holding something out to her. Taking it, Kim lifted it closer to her face and noticed with disgust that it was apparently some sort of foodstuff. It was pasty and smelled of fish.
Gaining Kim’s attention with a wave of his hand, the Leader pointed to Shego first, then at himself. He took a few staggering steps, then fell over. The entire pantomime was so ridiculous that Kim had to fight against laughter, but the point was being made quite well. Then the Leader took the fish paste back from Kim, pretended to take a bite by raising it to the wrappings around his face (Kim never actually saw his mouth) and then sprang to his feet and thumped himself vigorously on the chest.
Kim interpreted as follows: they could tell Shego was ill, they fed her something with medicinal properties and she was recovering (or was at least better off) even if she was still a bit wonky. Kim leaned down to her sleeping lover and pointed at Shego’s head, then raised both hand with palms upwards in a questioning gesture. How long will she like this?
In a reply that was shockingly human, the Leader held out his only arm with the palm of his own hand up and shrugged. No way to tell.
Kim sighed and stood upright. For now Shego was as safe here in the care of the ‘Trogs’ as she’d be anywhere.
Glancing around for more details about these mysterious little men, Kim was reminded of the bright light pouring from between the collapsed boulders at the near end of the cavern. Turning round to find the exact source, she started to move in that direction. She hesitated for a moment, wondering if she really should leave Shego alone, when she noticed that her guide had already walked around her and was apparently moving in the direction of the light himself.
Using his trowel-spear to prompt her to follow, he walked towards a jagged cleft in the cavern wall. The cleft was a deep, horizontal crack that created a narrow passage out of the main gallery. By the time they had reached the passage, the light was almost blinding to Kim’s eyes.
The little man stood off to one side of the jagged opening and set his weapon aside. In a minor display of aptitude using only one arm, he tore away a length of his wrapping and held it out to Kim. Before she could think of a way to ask her question, he placed his hand over his eyes and pointed his weapon into the passage.
Loath to have the smelly rag touching her skin, let alone her face, Kim still did as he had indicated. In the dim glow of the bioluminescent fungus, Kim would have been totally blind. Next to this raging source of unnatural light, the cloth acted as protection, much like a pair of sunglasses would.
Leaving her guide behind, Kim entered the passage. It was just as quiet here as it was in the main cavern, but somehow the light made every breath and every scuff of her feet sound a hundred times louder.
After what as only about twenty feet or so, the passage became much too narrow for Kim to follow. The walls closed in a seam that even the smallest ‘Trog’ could not fit through. Looking around, it was a few seconds before Kim realized that the source of the light was over her head. After spending weeks being stuck underground and traversing mile of caves and tunnels, Kim had simply lost the habit of looking up. And when she did…
“HAH!” Kim raised her arm and danced in a circle (that’s all the room she had to move in the rock). She cried and laughed and yelled for joy. Then she cried some more.
At a countless distance above her, at the top of a natural chimney in the earth, penetrated unknown ages ago by whatever forces shattered the cavern walls, was a thin ray of sunlight.
Momentarily spent of energy, Kim sank down to her knees and thanked the powers that be that they had finally made it this far. They were not saved yet, but her heart was now fully stocked with hope. Shego was going to live. They were both going to hold their daughters again.
To Be Continued…