Free The Slippery Map by N. E. Bode Page A

him. “They don’t know a thing. Frog brains. Don’t forget they’ve got frog brains! Fat frog brains. Don’t be afraid. They sense fear. Just keep walking.”
    Leatherbelly trotted nervously beside Oyster’s ankles. “Just act natural, Leatherbelly,” Oyster said. “They sense fear.”
    Just then a young Perth, a woman pushing a baby stroller, came toward them. She was pushing along hurriedly, a Goggle thumping along behind her.
    â€œDon’t look,” said Hopps.
    Ringet grabbed Oyster by the arm. “Oyster, turn away!”
    Oyster tried not to look, but he couldn’t help it. The young woman started to run, pushing the stroller. Hercircular cap flipped off of her head. Now other Goggles hopped out in front of her. They blocked her path, and she stopped, breathless. One Goggle flashed his long tongue, then hissed and reared up, his claws extended. The woman pushed her stroller at them, trying to edge them back, but the Goggles circled tighter. Ringet was now pushing Oyster past the scene.
    â€œPoor thing,” said Ringet.
    â€œAren’t you going to help her?” Oyster asked.
    â€œKeep walking,” said Hopps.
    One of the Goggles knocked over the stroller. It was empty. The woman started to cry. “There was a baby. I dropped her at my mother’s. I wasn’t transporting goods. I’m not a traitor!” She couldn’t move. The Goggles had paralyzed her.
    Ringet hesitated. “She’s a member, you know, Hopps.”
    â€œPretend you don’t know her, Ringet,” Hopps said nervously. “Just move along. We have things to do.”
    â€œYou know her?” Oyster asked.
    Ringet didn’t answer. He stumbled forward on his locked leg.
    â€œWhat will happen to her?” Oyster asked.
    â€œShe’ll go missing,” said Hopps.
    â€œLike Oli and Marge’s boy,” Ringet said quietly.
    â€œWe’ve got to help,” Oyster said, and he peeled out ofRinget’s grip. He shouted to get the Goggles’ attention. “Leave her alone!”
    The Goggles turned, but before they could lock eyes with Oyster, he started to run. He ran downhill, and the clawing Goggles took off after him.
    Ringet, Hopps, and Leatherbelly weren’t sure what to do. They followed the Goggles, Hopps dragging his leather bag with its wobbly casters, Ringet striding over his locked leg, and Leatherbelly jouncing behind.
    â€œWho was that?” the woman yelled. “Who saved me?”
    Oyster opened his black cape in front so that he could run better. Frog brains, he was thinking. They only have frog brains. He turned down an alleyway so packed with metal garbage cans that there was nowhere to run. And so he climbed on the cans and leaped from one to the next—as he had the chapel pews. The Goggles followed. He could hear their claws clanging against the metal lids.
    And he could hear music rising from the glowing windows. Each house’s television was tuned to the same theme song. And then there was rousing applause. Oyster took a left at the end of the alley and headed downhill. Before the Goggles emerged from the alley, he slipped into an open front door and shut it.
    There was a family of Perths all huddled around the television, eating noodles from a bowl. They turnedand looked at Oyster. He put his finger to his lips, and they all listened to the leaping Goggles thudding by on the street. The family looked cozy in the blue light of the TV, and they made Oyster think of the word parents . He had a set of those (albeit dangerous parents in jail). He had a family that, if they had the chance, might not be too much unlike this one, eating noodles in front of the television.
    Oyster glanced at the television. A Perth with blue eyes was talking into a fat, silver microphone. His hair was gelled back off of his forehead. His beard was trimmed to two points on his cheeks. His eyebrows were thick, and they drew up in