Savannah Tour: Chapter 4

Sasha, June 2nd, 12:00PM

The next morning, we had to learn how to operate the tractor because we were beginners, and the tractor was made many decades ago, so I guess it was a little run-down.

“First,” the instructor said loudly, “You...”

After a long lecture of starting up the tractor and running it, we were ready to be a tour guide to the VIPs. Mr. Ortega met up with us and gave us further instructions.

“Be the politest you could be,” he instructed firmly. “And be sure not to mess up anything.”

“We will,” Delta answered with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Well, you have to be there 15 minutes before, so go.” He left, excusing himself. He went in the direction of the desert, strangely. I wondered if that was his route to get home, or if he was just patrolling other rides.

We got on the tractor, waiting for the VIPs, and sweating under the hot, blazing sun. I tried to wipe the sweat off with the heel of my hand, but it did nothing.

Finally, the VIPs arrived. They wore expensive satin and silk clothing and certainly didn’t pay attention to us. They talked to each other a lot as we started up the tractor.

“Where are we going?” asked one. He wore a suit and a perfectly symmetrical tie.

“The desert out there,” I said with a bright smile. “Your tour is approximately 2 and ½ hours long. We’ll circle around the desert twice and come back.”

They all nodded without listening, and one said, “Gosh, is there air conditioning?” The others laughed so loudly like it’s a joke.

I drove the tractor slowly towards the desert. I could barely hear Delta’s instructions over the VIPs’ loud talking and laughing! Once we saw a caravan of camels, they finally were not distracted by the other VIPs.

“Look! Hey, tour guides, there’s camels!” One exclaimed with a chuckle. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. *Yes, I was showing you them,* I thought scathingly, but I sighed. Whatever! It didn’t really matter.

“Good eye! Even the tour guides didn’t see them,” another one said.

I grumbled under my breath. “Now, let’s go to the next station. There are jackrabbits there along with geckos and lizards!” I shouted so the others could hear that I knew that they were there.

We moved along the pathway as we passed some meerkats that weren't supposed to be there.

“Here’s some meerkats!” Delta said before the VIPs could say anything. “This isn’t one of our stations, though, so you’re extremely lucky to see them! They’re exceedingly rare to see in the wild here.”

The VIPs looked excited, taking out their phones. All their cases looked expensive. One was silicone, dotted with jewels. Another was black leather with gold stripes. One’s case was a beautiful, expensive artwork done professionally to look like a savannah.

“Be careful, though, meerkats can be dangerous while they’re eating,” I said quickly. Just as I said that the meerkats looked up and made a half-hiss, half-growl and lunged towards us. The VIPs screamed and scrambled away, running back to the Wild Savannah Home. Or at least, they *went* in that direction, but I wouldn’t count on them making it there. A few of the meerkats shot after them.

One of them scratched at the engine and it made a loud sound, scaring the rest away. I exhaled sharply and checked the motor. It made a rumbling noise, then... nothing. A plume of smoke wafted into the air, dissipating almost at once.

“Delta! The engine isn’t starting up.”