The Fantastic Turtles

By David Stewart

After finding some old submarines on a nearby deserted island, The Fantastic Turtles follow their leader, Sarde, as he heads south. Ending up at the home of their longtime rivals, the Falgans, they begin to exact some long-awaited revenge, with some unexpected results.

Laugh and cry as most of The Fantastic Turtles overcome many different obstacles to survive, while some find other ways to cope with the ever-present dose of reality.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 5, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524528393

David Stewart

David Stewart earned an economics degree and has worked in business, finance, and the non for profit sector throughout Australia and Southeast Asia. He is also an alcoholic who chooses sobriety and freedom. Stewart lives by the surf near Bondi with his partner, Donalee.

Book preview

Copyright © 2016 by David Stewart.

Cover Illustration by Matt Stewart

Library of Congress Control Number:   2016911991

ISBN:      Hardcover         978-1-5245-2841-6

      Softcover         978-1-5245-2840-9

      eBook            978-1-5245-2839-3

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 08/05/2016

Xlibris

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

744773

Contents

Chapter 1 The Cas

Chapter 2 Resolutions

Chapter 3 The Ghost Ship

Chapter 4 Sarde

Chapter 5 Helge The Wanderer

Chapter 6 A Falgan A Day: The Storm 1

Chapter 7 Turtle Soup: The Storm 2

Chapter 8 Balg The Musician

Chapter 9 The Sleeping Giant

Chapter 10 Demise

Chapter 11 A Final Farewell

Chapter 12 Balg’s Epiphany

Chapter 13 Objective

Chapter 14 Inside The Glass

Chapter 15 Turtles Forever

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

For a long time i thought there is so much more to say, how do i do it? Then it hit me- make an addition to the book, and explain it. You’ll find that i am honest in both what i say, and how i say it. I have no need to be dishonest, and i have no tolerance for it. There is a reason for this, so please read it through. So here goes.

I was born with a then unknown hereditary condition called spinocerrebellar ataxia. It means that my brain stem is slowly shrinking, and as it does it is damaging the nerves that it is there to protect. Those nerves control my motor skills and eyesight. It is causing me to have macular degeneration.

At the time i was diagnosed (1997), it was still in it’s infancy, and i have what is known as type 7. Apparently, they have now found almost 30 different variations. By mid1998, my eyesight was measured at 20/200, the threashold the government uses to declare you legally blind. Now, (2016), i am around 20/1000. All forms of measurement are lost after you reach 20/800. Writing the fantastic turtles, i was warned, would cost me some eyesight-and it did. Oops.

In 2012, i moved into an assisted living residence. At that time i was using a walker. Within two months the nurses there had me, and i needed it, using a wheelchair. Never being one who could be accused of sitting around when i could be doing something, i decided to write a book. In may of 2015, i began writing the fantastic turtles. 1500+ Hours later, this is the result.

Why am i doing this? There are 4 reasons.

A) I feel people need to be educated.

B) I want everyone to know that’s why the fonts have been left large. It’s easier for me to read with a magnifier, and i hope to encourage others to do the same. I have found that reading has been taken away from me. One of the reasons for this is because the print is too small.

C) Not everyybody who is disabled enjoys spending their time unable to do anything. I am still able to do something, so i am.

D) I would like to have a residence committed to encouuraging those with a skill to persue it. To my knowledge, nothing like that exists at the moment. How this will be accomplished still has to be developed.

NOW ON TO THE STORY

Of course, it started out to be something else, but became what it is now. But what has never changed is this: it is meant to be pure entertainment. There are no hidden messages or anything. Just kick back, relax, and join the turtles as they discover the world around them.

CHAPTER 1

The Cas

H oly doodle! Not again! Exclaimed sarde (sar-day), leader of the fantastic turtles, as swimming arrows and rocks unleashed by the falgans rained down on their living quarters from the surface of the cas (kass) sea.

The turtles and the falgans have lived for years in and around the cas sea, separated by eighty or ninety miles of sparkling water spotted with several small islands. It would seem that the falgans may be the turtles’ nemesis, but that was not the case. The turtles merely did not want to respond. They would wait and launch a retaliatory strike another day. Patience was a cornerstone of their education.

The turtles develop quickly once they are hatched, so after only one year the next fifteen years are spent in the tutelage of two teachers, learning about their language, history, and math. They also learn how to communicate using their telepathic abilities, and how to survive living in an underwater environment. During their first sixteen years they also mature physically, fully growing into their now adult-sized bodies.

The falgans’ long, scaly bodies make them almost eight feet tall when upright. A lengthy jaw is complemented by a long tail. Their reddish eye-shine, a layer of cells located in the retina, enables them to see better than most at dusk. They usually travel on two legs, but will use all six appendages if necessary. They live in obscurity in the trees behind the beaches on the southern shore of the cas sea.

The cas sea connects the falgans to the turtles and the land dwellers. The land dwellers live on the northern shore, the falgans in the south, and the turtles in between them, below the surface in the middle of the cas. The turtles can be found in two compounds, the main compound and the outer compound. The main compound is the smallest, and is located in a water-resistant energy field. Surrounding the main compound is the outer compound, which extends out another eighth of a mile.

A coral reef makes up the majority of the main compound. The bottom is lined with caves that did not develop naturally. They were clearly created by the former inhabitants, who are believed to be the survivors of a lost civilization. The center of each cave makes up the main, or living room. Off of each living room are three smaller rooms. One of these rooms has only one light that emits a greenish hue, and has been designated for sleeping.

Because it is so small, the main compound is inhabited by lieutenants and the leader only. The first cave is occupied by the leader, sarde, and his lifemate bzera (zeer-rah). Sarde asked bzera to be his life mate six years earlier, just before he became leader of the turtles. Lifemates are two turtles who choose to make a life together. The remaining caves are occupied by the lieutenants. Next to sarde is helge (hell-gee) the wanderer and his life mate of forty-six years bnina (nee-nah). Then there are the brothers balg the musician and borg, each in his own cave. The last two caves are inhabited by caldon and juno the looker. Like balg and borg, neither juno nor caldon has chosen a lifemate.

To the near north of the turtles outer compound is a small island with a river running through it called taro (tair-row) island. According to helge, the eldest and wisest of the active turtles, taro island was once inhabited by land dwellers and at one time was the object of several cloaking experiments. One day, the island disappeared permanently. The land dwellers had no choice but to abandon it, and everything on it. But, for reasons they can’t explain, the turtles are able to see it.

One day, the turtles decided that they would explore taro island. Sarde, helge, juno, balg and borg went. For a long time, most of them had lived solely underwater in the outer compound. The possibility of having somewhere to go that wasn’t entirely covered by water was an enticing proposition.

It was a warm, sun-drenched day as one by one the turtles exited the cas and met on the southern shore of taro island. Their minds were filled with anticipation as they imagined what they might find on the island. After everyone had arrived, they left the beach to explore the island and find out what it might be hiding.

Along the way, the turtles found what appeared to be some underwater boats that may have been one hundred and fifty years old. They examined the exterior of one, and it seemed to be made with a frame that was covered with sheets of copper. It was approximately thirty-five feet long, eight feet in diameter, and looked like it could hold a lieutenant and one squad, consisting of ten troops. Two three foot propellers were visible, as were two sails tied to poles on the top. When they completed their examination of the exterior, the lieutenants explored the interior.

They entered through a hatch found at the top. Next to it was an optical device, later identified as a periscope. On the other side of the hatch was a small, clear structure big enough for a turtle’s head. After climbing down the stairs below the hatch, they could see two cranks that were most likely used for turning the propellers they saw when examining the exterior. They could also see controls for opening and closing the ballast tanks, which determined how deep an underwater boat might go. Sarde then decided that they would mark each underwater boat with numbers for purposes of identification using a paint developed with an ink base that had been obtained from the local squid. Sarde would be number one, and helge number two. The next four, in order, would be juno, caldon, balg and borg. When they had finished examining