To Make An Omelette...

     Small pieces of sandstone crumbled underfoot and tumbled down into the Tyrannian jungle far below. Max’s eyes followed them as they went, immediately not following his own advice.

     The world seemed to sway and shift in and out of focus, and Max struggled to retain his footing. He swallowed hard and continued his slow journey around the edge of the precipice. He rounded the corner and saw his goal in front of him – the lair of the Beast.

     -----------------

     Earlier that day, Max had awoken with optimism. It was to be his first day at his new job guarding the Giant Omelette. Max viewed this as an opportunity to turn over a new leaf and this new opportunity represented a shift in his fortunes. He had been down on his luck recently, ever since he was asked to stop playing with his band, Jazzmosis. The other band members had decided they no longer needed any Kau bell on their tracks. Their loss.

     Max had been excited to meet Sabre-X, of whom he had heard so much about, but that excitement quickly dissipated when it became clear that Sabre-X was not anywhere near as interested in meeting Max.

     Nonetheless, it was nice to be working again, and Max tried to make the most of the experience.

     Not long into his first shift, Sabre-X pulled Max aside.

     “Alright, lad, it’s nearly time to replenish the omelette. Hear that scraping sound when people are serving themselves? That means they’re hitting the stone underneath, which means it’s nearly all gone. Go fetch another egg for us will you, on the double!”

     Given it was his first day, one might have assumed Sabre-X would tell Max where to find a massive egg.

     He didn’t.

     And given that it was Max’s first day, one might have assumed he would have asked.

     He didn’t.

     And so it was that Max found himself shimmying along the edge of the cliffs of Tyrannia, heading towards the largest nest he was aware of.

     -----------------

     Max approached the lair and poked his head tentatively inside the entrance. There was no immediate response to this incursion, so he considered the coast to be clear. He tiptoed inside, keeping to the edges of the cave. He also took care to ensure his Kau bell (which he always kept in his pocket in case any opportunities to audition with another band ever unexpectedly presented themselves) was held still to avoid it rattling as he crept along.

     The bones of small creatures littered the floor, and Max took care not to tread on any as he moved deeper into the nest.

     Max used his hand to feel his way further and further into the cave, the air becoming more and more stale with each step he took, the cool stone now dripping with condensation. He was beginning to grow weary; this cave was somewhat unusual, as heading deeper inside meant heading uphill.

     “Well,” he whispered to himself, “at least it’ll be downhill on the way out.”

     No sooner had he finished speaking, but he reached the top of a crest, and the pathway levelled out. Ahead of him, lit dimly by the smallest crack in the roof of a cave, was what he had been seeking: A giant egg, nestled neatly on a stack of branches.

     Something behind the egg moved.

     Max froze.

     In the dull light, Max saw the edge of an enormous red wing unfurl and then furl again. The Beast snorted as it moved, then was still once more.

     Sleeping, or so Max hoped.

     The novice Omelette Guard crept closer and closer to the egg until he was within touching distance. So distracted and enchanted by his ovoid prize, he forgot to avoid the bones on the floor.

     CRACK

     Max’s stomach dropped.

     With a screech, the Beast awoke, its yellow eyes glistening in the low light, its wings flapping and beak snapping violently, searching for the source of the disturbance.

     Max pushed up flush against the huge egg, crouching low to ensure he could not be sensed by the Beast. The Beast moved forward, passing to the right-hand side of the egg, looking for the intruder, sniffing the air. As it did, Max silently crawled around the left-hand side, ensuring the egg was between him and the Beast, hand covering his mouth and holding his Kau bell to avoid making a sound.

     The Beast continued its search, looking side to side as it circled the egg. Max circled with it, but the opposite.

     The egg seemed to wobble a little, and Max jumped back, startled by how easy it was to move. Then he had an idea.

     He could stay here all day, circling this egg, playing Kougra and Meerca with the Beast forever. Or…

     With a surge of adrenaline, Max pushed the egg with all his might, then clung on to its shell. The Beast, not expecting this sudden development, jumped back, which provided the egg plenty of space to begin its roll back through the cave.

     Once the Beast had realised what happened it was already too late, but it gave chase all the same, as Max clung to the shell of the egg. Faster and faster, it rolled, downhill, back towards the sunlight.

     As the egg and its jockey neared the exit of the cave, Max closed his eyes, partially because his eyes hadn’t yet adjusted to the light, and partially because he was getting really dizzy. When he felt brave enough to peek again, he was suddenly aware of two facts.

     The first fact was that his brilliant plan had neglected to include a way to stop the egg.

     The second fact was that the egg was hurtling rapidly towards the same cliffs he had so tentatively traversed earlier in the day.

     The egg was a lot less tentative in its approach to these cliffs, sailing over the edge without a care in the world, taking Max with it.

     -----------------

     Max opened his eyes. The egg was still moving, and he was still alive. How?

     It turns out the canopy of the Tyrannian jungle is quite dense. Dense enough, in fact, for a large egg to bounce and roll across it, especially when moving at a high speed.

     And so, the egg continued its journey, and Max continued clinging desperately to the shell.

     Suddenly, with a screech, the Beast descended from the sky, grabbed the egg in its talons, and brought its roll to a halt. The sudden stop nearly sent Max sailing to Roo Island, but he managed to fight the momentum and hold on.

     The Beast flew upwards with the egg, back towards the lair from which they had come. Max, whose continued presence on the egg was unbeknownst to the Beast, looked down, saw the Tyrannian plateau below, and had another brainwave.

     Max climbed to the top of the egg, reached into his pocket and pulled out his Kau bell. As the Beast was flying directly over the Omelette Slab, Max played his Kau bell as loudly as he could. The Beast, startled by the sound of the bell, dropped the egg. Down, down it fell, before landing squarely on the slab, right in front of Sabre-X.

     Max emerged sheepishly from behind the surprisingly still-intact egg. What was this shell made of?

     “Ah, took you long enough. What was that awful racket I could hear?” Sabre-X said.

     “Oh, the Beast from the lair? Yeah, it was loud, wasn’t it? Very scary,” replied Max.

     “No, not that, worse than the Beast. There was some sort of clanging bell sound. Truly terrible. Anyway, looks like you’ve got us… uhhh, what kind of egg is this?” Sabre-X asked.

     But Max didn’t get a chance to answer, as the shell of the egg began to crack.

     But not from the fall. It was hatching.

     First one red wing, then another, eggshell flying in all directions. The Baby Beast screeched at Max and Sabre-X who stared, open-mouthed at the sight in front of them.

     “Oops,” said Max.

     The End.