The Shuffle Thumpus - Book 2: The Book of the Loose Skins

By Jerry Inberg

In the first book of the shuffle thumpus we find the thumpi living an idyllic existence in the Emerald Forest beneath the Tree of Life. After encountering the beautiful and magical unicorns they are captured by the dreaded loose skins and made to work the gold mines of Newtown. Geni, one of the thumpi leaders, becomes allies with a flying unicorn called Champion and a very unique rodent called King Rat. With these two and a group of thumpi rescuers they plot and execute a daring escape. All but one shuffle thumpus makes it to safety. Now they are on the run with the loose skins scouring the land looking for them.

Gabby, the last remaining shuffle thumpus sits in his prison in the Caves of Despair hoping his friends will rescue him. Each day he is taken, in chains, to the mountain to dig for gold. He works all day without rest, while the loose skins whip and beat him when his strength wanes. How will he survive?

What more can happen to our thumpi friends?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Jan 4, 2016
• ISBN: 9781483442747

Book preview

Parker

Prologue

Bee can hear them but she can’t see them. A stiff breeze blows into her face as she climbs to the top of a small hill. It’s as if the wind carries their sound. The playful-happy sound of large creatures galloping through the grass without a care in the world. But the wind carries another message. A more dangerous message. But how? She doesn’t see it. Does she smell it?

She crests the hill and looks down on the most beautiful field of yellow flowers she has ever seen. But where are the unicorns? Didn’t she hear them playing in the grass, sneezing and snorting and galloping along? She sees a place where the yellow flowers are moving and runs quickly down the hill toward the movement. Then, she slows her pace and quietly creeps forward, pushing yellow flowers aside. She stops. A unicorn right in front of her is beating its hoof against the ground. The flowers in front of her begin to move. A musky scent fills her nose. Her heart is pounding in her chest. A shiver vibrates through her body as the hair on her arm stands straight.

Slowly, a twisted horn emerges from the yellow flowers and brushes her hand. She instinctively grabs on and a voice whispers inside her head, We need you, Princess Bee. She recognizes that voice. It’s a voice from long ago. But whose voice is it? She looks at the head of a beautiful unicorn as it appears in front of her. Then it’s gone.

Princess Bee, wake up, her grandfather calls to her.

The musky scent of the unicorn is replaced by the more familiar smells of biscuits baking and coffee brewing. What time is it, Grampa?

Time to start the chores.

Bee listens to the sound of the roaring wind as it continues its relentless onslaught against the tiny cabin walls. She wonders if the cabin can sustain such fury. She smiles. Perhaps this snowstorm will keep Grampa in the house all day. Maybe they can start the next book right after breakfast. She springs from her bed and begins her morning chores.

She hears Grampa clattering around the kitchen. Oh, Princess Bee, he growls as he stretches the stiffness out of his gnarled old body. There isn’t a sweeter smell in the whole world than coffee and biscuits in the morning.

Bee comes into the kitchen and pours her grandfather a cup of coffee and checks to see if the biscuits are done. She removes the pan and sets them to cool on the top of an old wooden chopping block. The old man cannot control himself and grabs a biscuit out of the pan, throwing it into the air a couple of times to get the hot biscuit to his plate and crying, Ouch, ouch, ouch!

Bee laughs and pushes over the jam and butter. Cool it off with some butter and jam or you’ll burn your tongue.

The old man grins and spreads on his butter and jam.

I dreamed of a unicorn last night, Bee finally says, hesitating and looking seriously at her grandfather and waiting for him to look at her.

You did? he replies, raising his eyebrows and turning toward her.

I must have been searching for them all along but, well, you know how a dream pulls you along, revealing a little bit at a time.

Yes, yes, I suppose I do.

I reached the top of the hill and saw something moving in a field of yellow flowers below. You know, like the Golden Meadow. I ran into the yellow flowers and I met a unicorn. When I touched its horn, I heard a voice from the past. It was very familiar and I tried to remember where I had heard that voice before.

And did you remember it?

I believe it was my mother’s voice.

What did she say? Grampa asks, a large lump rising in his throat.

She said she needed me. Actually, she said we need you, Princess Bee.

Grampa nods his head, looks warmly at Princess Bee, and says, It’s been a long time since we talked about your mother. I know it’s been hard for you over the past six years. It’s been hard for me, too. I miss her a lot.

Do you think she’ll ever come back?

I do, Princess Bee, I do with all my heart.

Do you think she was sending me a message?

Maybe, or maybe the story of the shuffle thumpus is waking something inside of you. Perhaps we should take a break from this story and let you get yourself calm again.

No, no, Grampa we can’t do that! We can’t leave Gabby with those cruel loose skins. No, I am very calm; don’t worry about me.

Grampa smiles. Okay, Princess Bee.

They finish breakfast and Bee takes care of the dishes and then, as Grampa asked, she gathers wood for the fire. She fills the wood box until it’s overflowing because she doesn’t want anything to interrupt their story.

Grampa finishes his work outside. He moves so slowly these days. In his time, he takes off his coat and boots, and settles down into his chair by the fire. Grampa reaches under his easy chair and pulls out a shoe box and gives it to Princess Bee. Here, this used to be your mothers, but I am sure she would want you to have it.

Princess Bee opens the box and finds a number of wooden carvings. Oh, Grampa, they’re beautiful. She holds up a flying unicorn. This must be Champion. She holds each one and calls their names. Gi, the big one; Stony, the stout; and Geni fits right onto the back of Champion. This one with its mouth open must be Gabby.

Grampa laughs. Yes, that’s Gabby.

Did my mother like the story?

She reacted a lot like you did when she heard the story. I see your mother in your eyes, child. She would play with these figures all day long, making up new stories for the shuffle thumpi and the unicorns.

At the bottom of the box are two figures that Bee does not recognize. The dreaded loose skins, she says as she holds them up. Who are these two, Grampa?

Those two are the characters you’ll meet next in the story. Shall we begin?

Yes, please, let’s start the next adventure.

With a cup of hot coffee by his side, a pipe curled in his lips and book 2 firmly in his hands, he turns the cover to the first page and says, Bee, in this book you will find out all about the loose skins, but you will also learn much more about the thumpi. Let’s start.

Chapter 1

Geni

Geni stared at the craggy peak created by the explosion in the Thunder Mountains. Did Champion and Superumpus cause this eruption when they touched his horn and the loose skins’ sacred object to the Forest Stone? A large part of the center mountain was gone and smoke still billowed out of its core. The shock wave released within the council chambers hit both Champion and Superumpus directly. Geni recalled looking around at the other council members right after the blast and seeing fear and confusion in their eyes. Some shuffled and thumped quickly away, tripping over Champion on the way out. The Superumpus was still holding tightly to the sacred loose skin object. Two council members were trying to lift him up without touching the loathsome thing. Geni went to Champion, who was still on his knees. She bent under his neck and tried to push him up. Champion struggled to move his hooves under his body to support his weight. He wobbled and stumbled but he could finally walk. When Geni led Champion from the chamber, she touched his horn and she could not hear him. Was he in too much pain, or did he lose his power of communication?

Superumpus was unconscious when the council members carried him from the chambers. Geni could not believe what had happened. Without Champion or Superumpus what would they do? She turned from the crowd of thumpi staring at the smoking mountain and walked back toward the clearing and the Tree of Life.

Champion slumped against the tree with his eyes closed and his horn against the trunk. It was harvest time and there were piles of the Fruit of Life stacked up around the tree. Geni grabbed a couple of pieces of fruit and walked over to Champion and set them down by his nose. Champion stirred and began to eat the fruit. He moved his horn toward Geni, who put her hand on it. Geni could not hear Champion’s thoughts. She looked deeply into his luminous eyes and understood his love for her and his appreciation for her kindness. She wept at the silence between them. Champion closed his eyes and went to sleep.

****

Teddy had been unconscious for two days, and when he awoke he immediately asked for Geni. She rushed to his side and said, Oh, Superumpus, I was so afraid for you. How are you?

I’m okay, Geni, replied Teddy in a whispery rasp. He drank some water and tried to talk again. I have a small headache but it’s nothing. How is Champion? I heard he was also shaken by the shock.

He’s okay, but I cannot communicate with him anymore. I’m not sure if he’s just too weak or has lost all of his powers. I fear for him and his herd.

Where is he now?

He’s resting under the Tree of Life. I gave him some of its fruit in the hopes that it would restore him. He ate it and then fell back asleep.

I’m sure he will need time to heal. I’m also troubled since nothing was revealed from the loose skin object. At this point Teddy hung his head, grabbed tightly unto Geni’s arm, and in a whisper said, Geni, I fear I have violated the Code-of-Shuffle-Thumpus.

Geni felt her legs betray her and she slumped into a chair near the bed. She grabbed Teddy’s hand tightly, leaned in closer, and stared intently into his wild eyes. What do you mean, Superumpus? How could you, the leader and protector of the thumpi, violate the code?

Geni’s calm and steady voice made the old thumpus focus. I didn’t try to understand the Forest Stone. It was beautiful and our dark green forest was named after it, so I assumed it was connected to the Tree of Life. I consulted with it many times, but now as I search my feelings, I don’t think I ever really received any guidance. Still, for some reason I was compelled to believe it held the answer to the secret of the loose skins’ sacred object.

Do you know why you believed this? Geni asked, squeezing his hand even tighter. She sat straight up in her chair and leaned in closer to the Superumpus to hear his fading voice. She saw Superumpus wince and she loosened her grip.

When the power streamed back from the stone I heard a malevolent laugh ring through my head. A powerful, mocking laugh that will haunt me forever. I believe the Forest Stone convinced me to entice Champion back to touch it so that it could draw upon his power. Perhaps that’s why the mountain was able to speak again.

And that’s why Champion has been drained of his power and now sleeps underneath the Tree of Life. She cried loudly as she put her head in her hands.

I’m so sorry, Geni, Superumpus said as he tried to bring himself up onto his elbow and move toward her. A shaky hand moved toward Geni, stopped, and fell back onto the bed. Just before we tried this experiment, I had said that we had two ideas for breaking the secret stored in the loose skin object. The first has failed and so now I must ask you if you are willing to try the second.

Superumpus, you know I will do whatever you ask. What is it?

I’ve been thinking about the loose skins for a while. Since you first came back with Champion and told us of the attack and capture of the thumpi. They have obviously grown in number since we first encountered them many years ago. They live in a community like ours and they work together. Perhaps they are like us in other ways.

What ways?

Well, no two thumpi are the same. It’s one reason we have the code, to try to get those who have different skills and different ideas to move in a direction that would help us all. Perhaps the loose skins also have similar differences and perhaps some do not believe their violent actions toward us is the right direction.

If that were true for the thumpi, wouldn’t that be a problem?

Before there was a code, many thumpi had different ideas on how we should live. Over the years, the majority of the thumpi have settled on the code you know today. The code is a dynamic and living thing, which needs to be first learned and then questioned with each new generation of thumpi. We do not teach this to the new young beyond-moons because it can be confusing and some don’t mature as fast as others. You, Geni, have matured faster than most, and your contact with the loose skins and your alliance with Champion have given you an understanding of things the rest of us don’t have.

Superumpus, I am not sure what this has to do with understanding the sacred object of the loose skins.

Perhaps to understand the loose skins better we need to find one or more who are different than the rest, loose skins that see the world more like us. Those who would help us understand the sacred object, how to escape and how to avoid the ones who would cause us harm.

So, your request of me is to find these loose skins?

Yes, and with Champion’s help, try to communicate with them.

Okay, if I can finally communicate with him, perhaps he can help me; but I may have to get him back to his herd where his powers can be restored. Geni sighed. She looked back at Superumpus and she could see that he was exhausted. He fell back into his bed and quickly fell asleep.

Chapter 2

Larry and Betty

Betty and Larry, two loose skin teenage children, hid behind some hazelnut bushes, trying to avoid the notice of the adults engaged in their daily routines around the village. The large furry bigfoot creatures had escaped three days ago and the first searches failed to get them back.

Can you see them on the hilltop over there? Betty asked as she pointed to a large clump of trees on a hill overlooking the town.

Shush, Larry replied, pushing her hand down. Don’t let anyone else know they’re there.

They watched as the two large creatures hid behind the trees. They moved ever so slowly, peering out now and again to observe the activity in the village. Larry looked back at Betty, whose long blonde hair fell down on one side of her face. A perfect blue eye peered out from the uncovered side and he smiled. She smiled back and they stayed very still in their hiding place, trying not to draw any attention to themselves so they could continue to watch what these bigfoot creatures would eventually do. After about an hour of silent observation, the creatures finally moved from behind the trees