Ducky stumbled through the dense tropical rainforest in a futile attempt to escape the imposing walls of green on every side but to no avail. The rainforest was an unfamiliar land to Ducky, many of the moist covered plants that surrounded her were completely new to her but that was not the real problem. It was the scorching heat that was roasting the poor Swimmer alive. Ducky continued to stumble through the rainforest but appeared to be getting nowhere.
"How did I get here?" thought Ducky, she only left her friends to get a drink and as she had started through the shrub on her way to the watering hole she suddenly found herself here, on the inside of a rainforest. Ducky called out for her friends and her mother in the hope that someone would find her and take her out of this scorching forest but nobody answered her calls. Ducky screamed out until she had no breath and the words died in her dry throat. Her skin felt like it was on fire and her lips were cracking up like the ground on the desert floor when it cracks up from the severe heat.
Ducky continued her journey through the rainforest but she was to busy buried in her own thoughts that she did not see the large tree root ahead of her.
TRIP!
"AHH!"
Ducky squealed loudly as she fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.
By now Ducky was too exhausted to move. She just lay on the ground, panting in exhaustion. She didn't even have the water left to produce any tears. "Water" thought Ducky desperately "need water". Ducky became more and more dizzy as an uncertain amount of time past with no relief to the searing head and unending thirst. She needed to find water to cool herself down and to quench her thirst.
Then somewhere in the Swimmers mind she remembered the types of plants she had been seeing and she also remembered experiencing this type of heat when they were taking Mo to the Big Water, they had nearly reached it when they started to feel this heat and see these plants. Back then she had been riding on Spike's back and as a result was not as tired as she was now. "Perhaps there is water ahead yep yep yep" thought Ducky "and maybe I will find my friends". This thought gave her hope and with what must have been an enormous effort she hoisted herself up onto her legs only to be overwhelmed by a wave of dizziness, she leaned against a tree until she recovered and resumed her journey through the rainforest.
After an uncounted time Ducky fell to the ground, utterly devoid of strength. It was at that moment that she gave up.
Ducky sobbed pitifully but no tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I am sorry Spike" thought Ducky mournfully, she would never see her beloved brother nor her dear friends and family again. "I am so sorry...I am......I am". The black veil of unconsciousness began to drift across her eyes.
SPLASH!
Ducky's eyes opened wide.
Then she heard it again, the sounds of splashing and laughter just a few metres ahead. Ducky looked up and a fresh wave of hope engulfed her.
This unlocked a hidden stash of strength that she did not know she had and with a few more steps Ducky broke through the underbrush and came out of the rainforest to be greeted by a sight that filled her with joy. A large watering hole surrounded by rainforest and in the water were at least twenty young swimmers playing.
Ducky could hardly supress her joy but she was to tired to cheer, she just walked down to the waters edge and let herself fall in. It was a wonderful sensation to feel the cool water upon her parched body. Ducky surfaced and drank for a very long time until her thirst was quenched and it was at that point that one of the other young male Swimmers came up to her.
"Wow I have never seen anyone make it through that rainforest alive, you must be exhausted" said a dark green Swimmer.
Ducky nodded as she was still to tired to speak.
"I'm Swayer" said he said "and you must be Ducky"
Ducky looked up in surprise at Swayer when he called her by her name.
"Yes, we know who you are" said Swayer "your just like us, the best Swimmer in the herd".
Ducky somewhat flattered felt the blood run to her cheeks but she was still to tired to speak.
Swayer eyed her, looking closely at her features then he spoke in a calm voice " Never give up hope Ducky, it is the only reason why you survived the journey through the rainforest". He then gestured to the other Swimmers and said "None of us could have done that and hope is the only thing that will keep you alive during your Trail but your also going to have to trust yourself as well as your family and friends, they will always help you".
Ducky finally found her voice " What are you s-".
"Ducky, Ducky!" called a faint voice that grew louder.
"Ducky wake up!".
Ducky opened her eyes to find herself back in the nest at home with her mother giving her a gentle push "Wake up Ducky it's time to start training" said her mother quietly. Ducky looked around and realised that the rainforest and Swayer had all just been a dream.
*
Sura had woken up as the bright circle made it's first appearance above the protective mountains that surrounded the Great Valley. Sura turned to look at her young ones, there was seven of her children all sleeping together next to her warm bulk and past them near Sura's tail slept Spike who was snoring the loudest "As always" thought Sura and next to Spike slept Ducky who was shifting restlessly in her sleep. "I am sorry Spike" said Ducky in her sleep "I am so sorry...I am......I am".
"She must be having a sleep story" thought Sura turning to her daughter. "Ducky, Ducky!" she said quietly but Ducky was still asleep.
"Ducky wake up!" said Sura a bit more loudly, giving her daughter a soft push with the edge of her beak as she said it.
Ducky opened her eyes and sighed.
"It's time to start training" said Sura
Ducky opened her mouth and gave a long tired yawn, while her mother went to wake up the rest of her clutch mates.
Sura had sixteen children but only nine had slept with her and that included all of her first clutch younglings and Spike, all the rest of her children were sleeping with their father as they did not need to get up early to begin training like their older siblings.
Sura then proceeded to wake Spike, she gave him a firm push but when that didn't work so she said to her son "Breakfast is ready dear". That did it.
Spike quickly awoke when he was tempted with food but when he saw this was not the case he wondered over to a bush and started munching on some of it's leaves.
Ducky was feeling very tired as she ate her breakfast, her mind kept on playing back the strange dream that she had. "Never give up hope Ducky". Swayer's words kept on repeating themselves in her mind but she could not understand why he said them. She and her friends had been on many adventures and they had never really given up hope so why did Swayer tell her not to give up?
While Ducky pondered these thoughts her siblings were working themselves into an excited frenzy.
"What will the Trials be like?"
"What will mom teach us?"
"Do you think we will do well in the Trials?"
The questions continued until Sura called them "Come along dears we are going to the watering hole to begin your training". The excited Swimmers ran to their mother and Ducky climbed onto Spike's back then they all set off.
Upon arrival the young Swimmers asked "can we have a race? can we, can we? please..."
Sura chuckled at her children's antics. "Alright, you'll all race to the center of the watering hole and back".
Each of the young Swimmers took up there positions in the water and waited for the mother's signal, while Spike looked on from the bank.
"Ready......Set......GO!"
The children took off and began Swimming very quickly out toward the centre of the Lake.
Sura smiled. To the children this was just a playful game but instead they had actually begun their training for the Trials.
Ducky was Swimming at full speed by the time she reached the centre of the lake but she didn't want to slow down so she did a wide turn so she would not lose as much speed and began Swimming back. She was neck and neck with her brother Rapid when they were half way back to shore.
She was aware of nothing but her heart beating away at double it's normal speed, they were nearly at the shore and that's when Ducky put on a fierce burst of speed that propelled her ahead of her brother and back to the shore first.
Ducky lay on the shore panting from the intense swim she had just undertaken. "Well done Ducky" said her mother "and well done to you as well Rapid you two were the fastest".
After the young Swimmers all had a break to catch their breath, their mother called them to attention.
"The Swimmer Trials" she said "test your abilities of speed like you did in that race but there are many other Trials that test your manoeuvrability, diving to depth, strength, intelligence and the ability to react quickly and correctly and each of these Trials are also contests so you must perform your best to do well. Which is why you will be trained in these abilities to give you the best chance at doing well in the Trials".
"Do you think we will do well?" asked Ducky
"I'm sure you all will" said her mother "Now can any of you tell me why Ducky and Speedy were the first to reach the shore?"
The children were caught off guard by their mother's question so no one was able to answer her.
"It was because they both did wide turns, which allowed them to conserve their speed better then if they did a sharp turn as the rest of you did" said Sura.
There was a chorus of "Oh" from her children as they all grasped the implications of their mother's statement.
"Now then" said Sura "Let's officially start your training".
Here is the next chapter. Feel free to give feedback.
