Lifesaver [Engl.]

37. Slowly calamity

Rango couldn't help but chuckle when he saw the big killer crouched so fearfully under the stone.
"Jake! Come out! Everything is okay... "
At that moment, something large rammed the chameleon and Rango was swept away a few feet.
Beans was so startled that she let out a choked scream.
Shortly thereafter, Rango lay on the ground and straightened up with a groan. "Hey! Can't you even land properly?" He cried at the creature next to him.
"Sorry," a low-pitched voice answered. Shortly after, a figure appeared who was struggling to get out of the bat that Rango had rammed so hard before. "But I'm not quite up to it with landing. We're better at starting."
Ezekiel, the little prairie dog, apologetically took off his pilot goggles and looked guiltily at Rango.
"Okay, it's okay," the chameleon said and rubbed his back. "At least you heard me right away."
"Oh, yes," Ezekiel said. "What only puzzled me is why the snake had run off all of a sudden. This time I hadn't flown in hawk formation."
Jake, who had recovered from his horror now, crept sullenly out from under the stone. He had not forgotten that the prairie dogs had faked him a hawk with their bats yet.
"That was just a precaution," he growled through clenched teeth.
"Is he still scared of the hawk shadow?" Ezekiel asked. He giggled softly and won a bitter look from Jake immediately.
Rango hastily pushed him aside when he saw Jake's withering look.
"Leave the jokes. He's been through enough," he hissed. "Listen. The reason why I'm here is that I urgently need your help."
Ezekiel lifted his head. "Our help? How so?"
"I don't have time to explain everything! The town is in danger, including my friends. You have to help me!"
Jake growled angrily. "You want that they help you!? I still have to settle a score with these animals."
"Jake! Please!" Rango interrupted him. "I think that they are still our last hope."
"They?"
In disbelief Jake stared at the prairie dog who wanted to burrow into the earth because of Jake's presence.
Rango didn't want to waste more time and turned back to Ezekiel. "Please, can you?"
The prairie dog rocked his head. "Well. I would, but with Pappy... I don't know..."
Rango sighed. "Has he still not forgiven me for forbidding him to sing in a stage play?"
Ezekiel shook his head. "I'm afraid he didn't. He's always very quick to snap when someone forbid him to do something, which is why he broke off contact with you. I think it's a shame that we fell out. But Pappy is such a blockhead sometimes."
Rango glanced at Jake unnoticed. "I know that feeling. Can I talk to him?"
"You can try, but I already know his answer. Follow me!"
With these words he put his glasses back on and jumped on his bat.
Jake looked at Rango in disbelief. "You fell out with someone because of a stage play? As if there weren't enough conflicts in this world already."
"You are a fine one to talk," Rango said reproachfully. "We actors are by nature very sensitive people. And when Ezekiel's father sang in the last play, every dead person would have been chased out of its grave because of him. So I had to admonish him for disturbance of the peace."

After no long time and they had reached the stony, ruined city in the mountains where the prairie dogs lived. Ezekiel had flown ahead of them and after crash landing again, he quickly picked himself up and called out loudly: "Pappy! Pappy! Someone wants to speak to you!"
In the next moment Rango felt something tremble under his feet. He jumped aside when a creature dug its way out of the earth and stuck its head out.
"Ezekiel. Is that you? " Balthazar asked. "What are you screaming like?"
He paused and sniffed. "I know that old town smell."
He crawled out of the hole and felt Rango with his hands. "Well, if that's not even the village sheriff. What do you want here? Do you want to give me another reprimand for disturbing the peace?"
Rango cleared his throat respectfully. "Listen. I didn't come because of your singing, but... "
"Singing?" Balthazar asked incredulously. "The last time I sang, you described it as an unbearable, unreasonable disturbance of the peace!"
Rango gritted his teeth. "Actually, there was no song planned for this play either."
"This is a free country, mister!" Balthazar interrupted him. "And if I want to sing in a play, I can do it after all!"
With these words he began a theatrical, croaking singsong.
"Listen, fair maiden, at the gate..."
Rango covered his ears. "Enough, enough! That is an imposition! "
"You see!" Balthazar crossed his arms very offended. "Ezekiel, he's starting again. You have to admit that my singing was absolutely perfect."
Ezekiel put his hands over his head. Why had he persuaded his father to play on a stage?
Now it was Rango who made another argument.
"In your ears, maybe. But as an educated actor, I know exactly what perfect singing is."
"Rango! Stop it!" Beans intervened. "Think about the others. We definitely don't have much time!"
Rango cleared his throat. "You're right. Listen. We should forget the whole thing and I am politely and sincerely asking you for help."
"Our help?" Balthazar asked in disbelief. "I guess I don't hear properly. Ezekiel? Have I misheard or is my hearing bad now? I'm going to be deaf."
"No, you heard right, Pappy," Ezekiel replied.
Balthazar snorted contemptuously. "It's out of the question! You called me a joke figure on the stage. My vocal performance would have been absolutely perfect if you hadn't intervened."
Rango rolled his eyes. "Would you like me to beg? Don't you understand? Somebody wants to destroy my town!"
"Your problem," Balthazar said untouched and turned his back on him.
Rango was getting annoyed and grabbed the old grave by the shoulders.
"Now listen to me! You forget that I saved your neck in the past. Without me, you would have died on the gallows! You owe me a favor at least!"
"He is correct in saying that, Pappy," Ezekiel said, to whom it all sounded logical.
"How many times have I told you not to interfere in adult affairs!" Balthazar scolded and hit him with his cane.
"Sorry, Pappy!" Ezekiel wailed and kept his distance immediately.
"Well, do you want to help us now, yes or no?" Rango asked hopefully.
Balthazar frowned. Then he rummaged around in his bag of cactus fruits. "Well, I have to think about that first."
Jake, who had stayed in the background until now, was getting impatient and reared up threateningly in front of the old man. "Should I speed up your thinking a little!?"
Balthazar sniffed. He was blind, but recognized the smell of rattlesnakes immediately. He felt forward with his hand and touched Jake's nose.
"Does he look like he sounds?" He asked Ezekiel.
Ezekiel swallowed. "Yes, Pappy."
Balthazar grinned. "What do you want to do? Do you want to force me to do it?"
Jake narrowed his eyes menacingly. "I haven't had anything to eat today."
Balthazar laughed out loudly. "Then clarify this with my family."
At that moment the whole valley was surrounded by other prairie dogs and threatened with their guns aimed at the small group.
Immediately Rango raised his hands. "Okay, okay. We don't want any trouble!"
Balthazar wrinkled his nose. "If you don't want to be in trouble, go again."
Jake growled and was about to bite that insolent mole when Rango intervened at the last moment.
"Please! Please, please listen to me! Many of my friends live in the town. Children, too. And I'm the only one responsible for their safety. For me they are more than just my friends. They are like a family to me, for whom I risk my life every day. But I can't do it alone this time. What would you do for your family if they were in danger? Wouldn't you get help, too? I promise you it won't be in vain for you. If you help me, you can have as much water as you want. Without exception. But you have nothing if the town is destroyed and instead a city metropolis may be built there, which may endanger your existence in the distant future. Oh yeah. Everything always starts very small. At first it will only affect one city. Just as the Europeans came to America. Later they wanted the whole country and drove the locals from their homeland. That might happen to you as well. Then you, with your family, have to sleep under a bridge in the worst case. Do you really want to risk that?"
It was quiet. Beans and Jake didn't say anything either.
Ezekiel was the first one to say something. "He's not so wrong, Pappy."
"Shut up, Ezekiel."
"Yes, Pappy."
"Well, we'll help. Exceptionally. But on one condition."
"You want water?" Rango asked. "You can have it right away."
Balthazar folded his arms. "This time I want to write the play and I want to sing at the end."
Rango's eyes widened. "You? You have no knowledge about theater... and certainly not the right voice for it."
"Either I can sing or you can hope for help until kingdom come."
Balthazar grinned broadly. He knew Rango had to consent.
Rango gave in dejectedly. "Fine, fine. You can sing."
"Well, well. Maybelle! Drum everyone up! We're going for a little stroll through the town."
Immediately all prairie dogs withdrew and began to mount their bats. And it wasn't long before the sky was filled with fluttering bats. Ezekiel had taken his bat too and waved Rango over to him.
"Come on, Sheriff. Or do you want to stay here?"
"No, I'll come with you!"
But just as Rango was about to run over to him, Beans held him by the shoulders. "Rango, I'll come with you, too."
"No, Beans!" Rango said firmly. "You stay here. You are still injured!"
"That little scratch?!"
"A head injury is not to be trifled with."
"Maybelle can take care of her for so long," Ezekiel said.
Beans wanted to protest, but Rango got ahead of her. "That is a very good idea."
"Come on, child," Maybelle said, pushing her away from Rango.
Rango's gaze wandered to Jake, who was standing a little further next to him and looking up at the bats suspiciously.
"Jake?"
Jake turned his head in his direction.
"I fly with them. Is that okay for you?"
Jake's eyes narrowed. "I'll come to town, too."
"How so? What are you up to?"
"You know exactly what I'm up to. I'm going to kill this gang and this turtle. They dragged my honor in the mud. And the one who insults me won't live long."
Rango swallowed. "Didn't you learn anything yet? How do you want to defeat them?"
Jake hissed menacingly. "I have to kill them! And if I have to die in the process."
"Jake, you'd better leave it and leave it to justice. Namely me."
"Try to stop me."
With that, Jake turned and crawled toward the town.
Rango looked after him with concern. "Take care ... brother."

"Pour me another glass."
Buford nodded and poured Spoon's glass full.
In the saloon, the townspeople were still partying and were being handed one cactus juice bottle and water bottle after one another.
"Finally, a life without a killer nearby," Spoons sighed in relief. "Life can be so beautiful."
"Well, I don't know," Furgus said next to him. "I have such a strange feeling again."
Elgin made a dismissive gesture. "Oh, it's just imagination. Better be glad we're rid of him. "
"Exactly," Spoons agreed. "Everything is fine now. Jake is gone and we are without a problem."

Priscilla sighed. She was worried. Her gaze wandered up to the tower clock. It was a mystery to her why Rango stayed away for so long. Neither Beans, who had secretly followed him, turned up. Had something happened to them?
Completely lost in thought, she walked slowly out of the city to the lake, where everything was quiet and lonely. All the other townspeople were in the saloon celebrating the killer's absence. Priscilla wasn't exactly sure if she should be happy about it at all. She just couldn't get out of her head what Jake had told her yesterday.
"I don't know what's to come. But if then it will only be an end for me."
Priscilla shivered. Did Jake mean it? Was his death really inevitable? Maybe it was only logical. A killer like him wouldn't expect anything else. What Priscilla frightened more was that Rango would endanger his life if he tried to help him.
She was shocked when suddenly something landed on her head and continued rolling across the floor.
"Hey! Priscilla! Throw the ball over here!"
Still a little confused, the girl picked up the ball and brought it to Cletus, who was playing volleyball with Lucky.
"Throwing it over would have been enough," Cletus said with a frown and took the ball from Priscilla. "What kind of face do you look like seven years of drought?"
"I'm worried," Priscilla admitted without hesitation. "Rango still hasn't returned. And neither Jake."
Cletus and Lucky gave each other questioning looks. Then Lucky wrinkled his nose. "What do you care? He's gone and that's a good thing."
"Exactly!", Cletus agreed. "Nobody wants him around anyway. Or do you want him to come back?"
Priscilla lowered her gaze. "No, not that. But, it's just ... It doesn't matter. But Rango has been gone for a while now."
"Well, so what," Lucky said and made a dismissive gesture. "He'll show up again. Like every time."
"True that," Cletus said and threw the ball over the net. Lucky ran forward and intercepted the ball. "I'm glad that he's gone. Now we've our peace again."
Priscilla was less convinced. "I do not know. I think there's a lot more to the whole thing."
Lucky snorted contemptuously. "Girls."
After that, the two no longer cared about the sad Aye-Aye, but played their volleyball match eagerly and exuberantly.
Priscilla hardly noticed them. Her gaze was on the city as if some disaster was hanging over it.

Madog grinned as he watched how his men pour out several barrels of gasoline and spread them around an old shed. Because the townspeople were so busy celebrating, no one had noticed the mongooses that had sneaked into the farthest part of town.
"That's enough!" Madog ordered.
Immediately his cronies ran away with the empty barrels and left the town, while Madog was left alone.
With steady hand movements, the mongoose took out a pack of matches and lit one of them. He giggled darkly. "I am a non-smoker. But I love the fireworks."
With a nasty grin, he dropped the match into the flammable liquid.

Priscilla sat at the lake shore and studied her reflection on the surface of the water thoughtfully.
Lucky and Cletus, who were still happily playing volleyball, were growing tired of their gloomy presence.
"My goodness", Lucky sighed and rolled his eyes. "Now don't sit there like a mourning lump. That makes you totally down."
"Always those girls," Cletus scoffed and caught the ball.
Priscilla sighed and stood up. She wanted to think elsewhere instead of being at the mercy of the city boys' ridicule. When she turned, she gave a startled cry. At the other end of town, billows of dark smoke rose.

Spoons, who was still sitting at the bar with the others, raised his head and sniffed.
"Uh ... Elgin. Do you smell that, too? "
"Well, it wasn't me, if it's that what you mean."
"No, that's not what I mean. It's just..." He took another deep breath. "I haven't smelled anything like that since the fire in Northern California."
At that moment the door swung open and Priscilla stormed into the saloon.
"Fire! Fire! It's burning!"