Escape to Turtleopolis

o Turtleopolis

  By H. Jason Schulz

  Story idea by Mrs. Terry's and Mrs Garcia's 5th Grade classes

  Copyright © 2015 H. Jason Schulz

  All Rights Reserved

  Many years in the future, after the intelligent beings of the galaxy had figured out faster than light travel, the Federation of Galactic Real Estate established a world where turtles and turtle like species could live in peace.

  You see, for many thousands of years, turtle-kind had been hunted by the Guild of Chefs. These chefs hunted all kinds of animals that were concidered a delicacy, but mostly turtles. Turtles from all over the galaxy fled from place to place until the FGRE stepped in and named one world as a refuge for all turtle-kind. Soon this planet came to be known as Turtleopolis.

  Larry is a turtle, a mutant turtle, but a turtle all the same. He escaped to Turtleopolis about ten years ago from his home planet of Brath. Brath supplies the galaxy with transporters. As you know, a transporter moves matter from one place to another by breaking up mater into energy, moving that energy somewhere else and then reassembling it. One day Larry happened to be repairing a faulty transporter when it suddenly turned on. Now, every transporter is linked with another transporter somewhere and this particular transporter was linked with one that happened to have a turtle in it. Well, as you might imagine, things got pretty unstable as both sides tried to send. Larry and the turtle collided. The result was, Larry the turtle – half man half turtle. The problem was that when Larry and the turtle fused together, he got both his left foot and the turtle's left foot. He literally has two left feet! This made Larry a little clumsy but that didn't get him down. Larry seemed to have a good attitude no matter what. He stayed on Brath and continued working as a transporter repairman, although a little slower than before.

  You might think that transporters are too dangerous to use, considering that not only Larry, but many people, each year have unfortunate transporter accidents. Statistically they're quite safe. If you take in to account how many transporters there are in the galaxy and how often they are used. Every home has at least one transporter and they are used as many times as you would walk out your front door.

  Soon after becoming a half turtle, Larry noticed that a man wearing a white coat and a tall, fluffy hat started following him around all the time. Larry, being the good-natured fellow that he was, decided to introduce himself to the man.

  “The next time I see that man with the tall hat, I'll say hello.” Larry said to himself as he polished his shell before work. He took one last, satisfied look at the gleam on his shell and started toward work. Larry had recently decided to take a shortcut through the park to get to work. He walked much slower once he became a turtle.

  As Larry made his way along the sidewalk he could see a tall, white hat poking up from behind newspaper. Larry started toward the man in the hat. Soon, but not too soon, he was standing in front the newspaper.

  “Hello.” Larry said, a friendly smile spreading across his green face.

  The newspaper slowly lowered revealing a very hairy face. There was a sinister grin beneath the fluffy beard and mustache. “Mon bonté! But you are a big turtle!” The hairy man said in a thick French accent.

  “Why, thank you.” Larry said. “I like your tall hat.”

  “You will make me a lot of turtle soup!” The hairy man exclaimed jumping to his feet and raising a long pole with a large net at the end.

  Undaunted Larry held out his hand and said, “I'm Larry. What's your name?”

  The hairy man looked at Larry in disbelief. 'Who am I?” He began to get agitated at the thought of someone not recognizing him. “Who am I?” He yelled. “I am master Chef Jeff! My turtle soup is legendary!”

  Larry stood smiling for a moment before he realized that he was in danger. His eyes slowly got bigger and bigger as the reality sank in. “Gulp!” Larry swallowed hard and turned to run but Chef Jeff just laughed.

  “Ha ha ha ha ha! Why to they all try to run! Ha ha ha!” Chef Jeff laughed.

  It was true, Larry's top speed was anything but fast, but he started running anyway.

  “Tell you what.” Chef Jeff called after Larry with a sinister smirk, “I will give you to the count of ten.... Un, deux...dix! Here I come!”

  Fortunately for Larry there was a concert in the park that day. DJ the DJ was just starting to mix some funky beats. DJ was half man and half rabbit – but all Hip Hop. DJ had a transporter accident similar to Larry but instead of a turtle... You guessed it, a rabbit.

  Larry rounded the bend in the sidewalk and was soon plunging into the crowd of people.

  “Boom – boom – boom!” The speakers pounded out the driving beat as Larry struggled through the hopping throng. Hot on his tail was Chef Jeff who continually jumped up in the air to spot Larry. DJ the DJ, recognizing Chef Jeff and seeing him trailing a turtle stopped the music.

  “Screech!” The speakers fell silent.

  “DJ the DJ live in the mix!” DJ shouted into a microphone. “Do we have any turtles in the house?”

  The crowd yelled and pointed to Larry. They picked him up and Larry crowd surfed onto the stage!

  “Whoa!” Larry said as the crowd set him gently on the stage. “That was fun!”

  “Boom – boom – boom!” The music started up again.

  DJ leaned over to Larry and asked. “Is Chef Jeff after you?”

  “Huh?” Larry asked in return. He could barely hear over the music.

  DJ asked again but louder. “Is Chef Jeff after you?”

  “Chef Jeff?” Larry asked.

  “Yeah. Is he after you?” DJ yelled.

  “Yes!” Larry yelled back.

  “Go with Butterscotch! She will get you away from here!” DJ yelled then turned and moved some controls on a turntable.

  Larry felt a hand on his shell and turned around. What he saw is hard to explain. It was part cat, part human and part butterscotch candy!

  “My name is Butterscotch. Follow me if you don't want to be the soup de jour!” She said and slipped behind a curtain hanging behind the stage.

  Larry followed and they made their way through the bushes and down a sidewalk.

  Butterscotch looked back frequently as she talked to Larry. “I see you had an issue with a transporter as well.”

  Larry nodded. “A turtle.”

  Butterscotch looked knowingly at Larry and said, “I had a tri-fusion. You see I was delivering a big box of butterscotch candy to a woman that has a lot of cats when – Ta-da!” Butterscotch held her hands out and curtsied.

  Larry smiled and thought, I'm glad I'm not candy. I'd probably eat my hand or something!

  Butterscotch and Larry made it to the edge of the park as Butterscotch reached into her pocket and retrieved a phone. She poked in a number and said, “One for extraction, Turtleopolis.” Then she hung up and dropped the phone back into her pocket.

  “Who was that?” Larry asked. “Why are you helping me?”

  “I work for the Foundation for the Fused. We help all those who have had transporter accidents with whatever they might need. And right now you need to get away from that Chef!” Just then a hover-car floated down and the door opened with a hiss. “Here's your ride.” Butterscotch motioned inside.

  “Stop zat turtle!” A french accented voice was heard from somewhere in the park.

  “Quick!” Butterscotch insisted and Larry climbed in. The door closed as the hover-car floated up into the sky.

  The inside of the hover car was completely empty except for two seats in front. One of the seats was occupied by an small turtle. The small turtle hopped around the control board pushing buttons and pulling levers until, looking satisfied, he hopped onto one of the seats. Butterscotch
slipped into the other seat and looked out the window. Larry stayed right where he was wondering what was going to happen next.

  The little turtle looked back at Larry and asked in a small turtle voice, “You okay back there?”

  Larry nodded and tried to relax on the empty floor of the hover car. “Are you taking me home?”

  “Sorry. No can do. Chef Jeff will no doubt be staking out your house.” The little turtle explained. “We can take you to the police or better yet we have a place for you on Turtleopolis – There's even a job waiting. You work on transporters right?”

  Larry nodded anagin and said, “Yep. I work on transporters.

  “Well what do you think? Want to go somewhere safe?” The little turtle asked

  Larry thought for a moment and then agreed. “Okay. I'll go.”

  Just then the three occupants of the hover car heard a loud crunch and the hover car shook violently!

  The radio crackled and they heard an all too familiar voice. “Give me zat turtle!” It was Chef Jeff! He had another hover car and he was crashing into them over and over!

  The little turtle jumped back onto the console and once again began pushing buttons and pulling levers. The hover car climbed and dove, barrel rolled and looped all the while Chef Jeff was twisting and turning his hover car in the sky trying to bring down the turtles by smashing into them! Chef Jeff was so preoccupied with crashing into the turtle's hover car that he didn't notice the gigantic spaceship looming overhead. The two hover cars swooped inside and big doors closed behind them with a bang!

  Both hover cars had landed and the occupants came running out. Chef Jeff leaped in front of the turtles, “Got you now!”

  “Oh no you don't” Hissed Butterscotch but Chef Jeff caught her off guard and threw her against the side of one of the hover cars. Butterscotch hit her head and was knocked out!

  “Now I shall have my turtle soup!” Chef Jeff laughed a snorting sort of laugh.

  “If I were you Chef, I would get into your hover car and leave before it's too late. The little turtle cautioned.

  Ha ha ha – SNORT!” Chef Jeff laughed,

  “Oh no.” The little turtle sighed, “It's too late.”

  Chef Jeff felt a heavy tap on his shoulder and whirled around. Standing in front of him was the biggest turtle ever seen! He stood eight feet tall with huge, muscular arms and a very grumpy look on his face. Chef Jeff's smirk melted as his smug expression changed into one of terror. The giant turtle reached down and grabbed Chef Jeff so fast that all He could do was scream!

  Something went bump and Larry heard a noise like the wind growing louder and louder. The doors that they had flown their hover cars through were opening up again and Larry could see that they were very high up in the sky.

  “Be sure it's on very tight this time.” The little turtle called out to the big turtle.

  The big turtle was putting something that looked like a back pack onto Chef Jeff as he walked toward the big doors. When he reached the open doors, he hurled Chef Jeff out into the sky. Larry watched Chef Jeff fall for a moment and then, Poof! A parachute in the shape of a turtle shell popped out of the pack.

  Butterscotch leaned on Larry and rubbed her head, “Is he gone?” She asked.

  “Yep.” Larry answered.

  “Come on.” Butterscotch took Larry by the hand. “Let's get something to eat.”

  Larry followed Butterscotch into the ship and wondered if he would run into Chef Jeff again.

  The end.

  What would you change in this story if you were the author? H. Jason Schulz