Chapter Five: The Storm

Handy groaned and rubbed his burning eyes as he stared down at the blueprint, clutching a candle to see properly in the darkness of the night. He had been working on creating a suitable house design for Golly since the afternoon, but it was already midnight and he still hadn't sketched anything that was even remotely probable.

NutBot blinked sleepily and gave a loud yawn before trotting over to Handy's workbench and hopping into his creator's lap. "Why is Master staying up so late at night? You haven't been sleeping at all! And fainting doesn't count either!" NutBot complained. "You've been keeping NutBot up since seven o'clock at night. What are you TRYING to do, Master?!"

"I'm TRYING to build a house, NutBot!" Handy snapped. He irritably shoved his squirrel off his lap and gritted his teeth. His plan for protecting the village was turning out to be nigh impossible, and fatigue wasn't doing anything to improve his mood. "I've got to keep working until I get this right! You don't understand-all you do is act like a nut and drive everyone up the wall. But the whole village is counting on ME to protect them, and if I don't…we could all die."

"Still, NutBot thinks you should lie down for a minute. Master looks like a zombie Smurf," NutBot huffed. He crossed his arms and gave his master a glare of annoyance. He did not enjoy being treated so rudely, nor did he like being belittled by having Handy tell him that he was a nut. NutBot probably wouldn't have been too offended if it hadn't been for the fact that Handy had been acting like this for days.

"I just told you-I can't! Not until I can find a suitable house design to build for Golly so we can get her safely away from the village!" Handy screamed. He picked up a screw and threw it at NutBot in a fit of reckless rage. He'd had it up to here with all of the stress he'd had to endure recently. He just couldn't take it anymore. Why was everyone bothering him to go to sleep when he had far more important things to be doing?

Obviously, NutBot had had it up to here, too, with Handy's abusive treatment of him. "Fine. If Master doesn't love NutBot anymore, then NutBot can pack NutBot's bags and move in with Master's Friend, and Master's Friend will love NutBot more than Master does," NutBot huffed. He turned abruptly on Handy and stormed out of the room in anger. An uncomfortable silence fell after NutBot's departure, but Handy hardly noticed.

"Who cares if that little metal jerk moves in with Hefty? I've got more smurfnificant things to do with my time than argue with HIM," Handy grunted. He crumpled up the blueprint paper he was using to sketch house designs on and tossed it into the overflowing wastebasket next to his workbench. He was beginning to get the feeling that none of his designs would ever work out, and if they did, he wouldn't be able to build any of them in time to prevent Golly from sabotaging the village.

Handy continued to work quietly for several hours. After about three hours had passed, he felt a funny twinge that seemed familiar to him. He couldn't put a name on it, but the weird feeling made him feel like he'd just fed a helpless mouse to a bloodthirsty cat. He tried to ignore the feeling and concentrate on his blueprints. However, the more he ignored the feeling, the more intensely it returned to haunt him.

Finally, Handy knew what he was feeling: guilt. It was guilt for treating NutBot so harshly, for shutting out everyone he loved because they wanted to help him solve his problems, and for not even taking care of himself because of his obsession to rid the village of Golly.

Ven was right when she had told him that he was becoming a lying coward who tried to bury himself in work when life threw challenges at him. Now he could see her words in action, and he didn't like who he had become very much.

Handy placed his designs on the table with a sigh of regret and rose from his seat. Shuffling towards the front of his house, he opened the door and called NutBot's name. When he didn't hear a reply, he tried again, more loudly this time. Still no response came from the quirky robot. It was as if NutBot had suddenly managed to vanish into thin air by pure will alone.

"NutBot?" Handy called a third time. The hoarseness of his own voice shocked him greatly. He had no idea how sickly he had become because of his refusal to rest until he achieved success with a housing design. He quickly ducked back into the house and glanced at himself in the mirror.

The pale face with the shadowy, baggy eyes filled with obsession and weariness seemed too alien to be his own, but there was no denying the truth now. Handy had become a creature of overwork and selfishness to the point where he thought of no one else but himself in the world. He was now a mere shell of the being he used to be-a person who wanted nothing else but to improve upon the world and bring light into the lives of others.

Handy hung his head in shame at the silhouette of ignorance that he now was. A tear slipped down his once-rosy cheek as he thought of NutBot, who had become a dear friend to him and was now probably gone forever. NutBot may have been a robot, but he had very strong and irreversible opinions of people. Once he decided he hated someone, he would hate them forever-and that person was now Handy.

Before Handy could collapse into a storm of heartbroken sobbing, a tiny knock echoed on the wood of his door. His heart beat rapidly as he tentatively pulled it open. Could it be? Yes, it was. Outside the door stood his very own creation, NutBot. And not only had his creation returned-so had his treasured sidekick and companion.

"NutBot decided that Master would probably kill himself if NutBot didn't take care of him, so NutBot returned with a little gift for Master," NutBot explained sheepishly. Handy was so overjoyed that he wasn't even able to speak a word.

As it turned out, he didn't really need to. Instead, he simply threw himself on his knees and embraced NutBot with gratitude. Handy tried to hold back the tears, but he couldn't stop himself from weeping for joy. He was so happy that NutBot loved him enough to return for him even though he had given him nothing back.

"So NutBot…what's this 'little gift' that you've brought for me? Something to help me with my housing project?" Handy asked, wiping the salty drops off his face. The tears he hadn't wiped away stuck to his cheeks like a bizarre crust, which added to his careworn appearance.

"Well…it's a very special dust that NutBot got from the Big Old Guy," NutBot said. He flashed Handy a devious smile and hid the container behind his back, as though trying to keep Handy from guessing the correct answer too early.

"Hmmm…let me guess…is it pixie dust?" Handy smiled.

NutBot shook his head. "Nope, guess again, Master. Something more SPECIAL than pixie dust…"

"Uhh…I got it…fairy dust!" Handy exclaimed triumphantly.

"Nope. Not from fairies," NutBot said. He shook his head and backed further away from Handy like a naughty boy who had stolen a jar of cookies before dinner.

"Hmmm….what could it possibly be….uh, it isn't from a Zjin, is it, NutBot?" Handy asked, scratching his head. He almost hated to admit it, but his pet was really stumping him this time. He hoped fervently that the mysterious dust didn't have anything to do with Golly.

"No….but….it's…dreamy dust!" NutBot announced. He shoved the jar into Handy's face, revealing silvery, sparkling dust lying at the bottom of the small container. It almost seemed to be swirling and shifting by itself, like the incessant lapping of the ocean waves.

"Dreamy dust? What on Smurf is THAT?" Handy cried. NutBot didn't answer him. Instead, he crept towards him with a stalking gait that gave Handy a case of the shivers. He shuddered and quickly shut the door behind him, as if to lock out any approaching evil.

He opened his mouth to ask NutBot what he thought he was doing, but he never got the chance to voice his opinion. "Sorry, Master, but it's for your own good," NutBot squeaked. Quick as a flash of lightning, NutBot pried open the jar, poured the dust into his palm, and blew it into Handy's face.

The blinding dust filled Handy's vision like a rapidly approaching cloud of mist. He staggered and had to grab onto the arm of the sofa to prevent himself from falling over. "NutBot, what are you-"Handy muttered groggily. He slumped onto the sofa, struggling to keep his eyes from closing.

A sudden wave of sleepiness had taken him by surprise. He wasn't sure what NutBot had in mind, but he hadn't been anticipating anything like this at all. NutBot ducked his head and looked up at Handy with big, apologetic eyes. "Master, it's for your own good! The Big Old Guy said it would make you feel better," NutBot insisted.

Handy would have questioned his pet further, but at that moment, his eyes snapped shut. He immediately sank into a deep, heavy, dreamless slumber and knew nothing more from that moment on.

…

A painful stinging sensation not unlike a burn roused a feverish Clumsy in the early hours of the morning. He was shaking from shock and terror, but he could not bring himself to remember what had caused him such trauma. He lay still for several moments, hoping that the nasty feeling would go away.

Eventually, he forced himself to open his eyes in order to figure out what had happened to him. He blinked and wiped sleep from his eyes as he scanned his hands, which were covered by thick bandages. The bandages went all the way up to his elbows, and when he gingerly touched his face, he could feel even more covering his cheeks and forehead.

"Oww…what happened to me? Did I fall in a fire or somesmurf?" Clumsy whimpered. He flopped back in bed and licked his dry lips. He felt absolutely parched, but there was not a single glass of water or any other liquid in sight. He made a few attempts to get out of bed, but he was far too feeble to perform such a difficult action.

He was just starting to fall back asleep again when he remembered how he had gotten injured. He had been riding Golly back to the village in order to bring Handy home. He had forgotten that Golly had acidic poison in her spines and by the time they returned, he had been so badly injured that he had fainted before they'd even landed.

He didn't recall his face getting singed, but he must have either hit his face against her spines when he passed out or else Golly must have slapped him with her spines or some other poisonous part of her body. At least Golly was nice enough to take me home…I just hope Handy didn't get hurt either. That wouldn't be very smurfy, Clumsy thought.

He stretched his limbs and winced at the surprising soreness he felt from them. He dragged himself groggily out of bed and peeked out of his bedroom window.

Fluffy white snow drifted softly to the earth as far as the eye could see. Delicate flakes drifted in the winter wind like icy pixies to join with the frigid blanket covering the ground. There was no other sound besides the wind, and the beautiful whiteness seemed to beckon Clumsy like a cheerful old friend.

"Well…I guess I can smurf a little walk before the others wake up. As long as I don't trip and break anything loudly, everything will be smurfy," Clumsy murmured to himself. He quickly changed clothes, wrapped a scarf around his neck, and slid mittens over his hands before braving the frosty world.

It felt very strange being the only Smurf awake at that time of day. It was so dark that Clumsy couldn't even see where he was walking. "I'd better smurf a candle, otherwise I'll be more black than blue by the time everyone else wakes up," Clumsy said. He dashed inside the house and lit a candle. He nearly dropped it on the way back out, but he managed to catch it before he set anything on fire.

He had just slipped out of the village and was beginning to lumber towards the forest when a dark shadow made him jump. He was so startled that he forgot that he was carrying a candle and let it crash to the forest floor.

Luckily, everything was covered by snow, so the light was merely snuffed out by the icy whiteness. It died with a hiss like an angered cat. Thin wisps of smoke flitted upwards-the only trace of the nightmare that had passed by.

Clumsy sighed in relief and hesitantly picked up the candle again. He looked around to make sure the fearsome presence had gone, but there seemed to be no other being in the forest besides him. He continued on through the woods, but since he had no more light to guide him, a sense of unease passed over him with every step he took.

A few minutes later, Clumsy got another shock. A large figure loomed through the morning mist like a silhouette from a dream. It slowly stalked towards him with its shoulders hunched and its fanged mouth open in a vicious snarl. For several moments, Clumsy stood stock-still, stricken dumb with terror. He opened his mouth to scream, but not a single word escaped from his lips. Instead, the horrible creature lunged forwards and pinned him to the ground.

Clumsy's eyes snapped shut and his muscles went stiff. He waited with dread in his stomach for the fatal blow that would end his life. His heart was throbbing in his chest, and every shallow breath he took nearly choked him. Was he about to smurf the bucket? If he did, he hoped that he wouldn't wind up anywhere nasty. Have I done anything in my life that was REALLY unsmurfy? Clumsy asked himself.

Before he could decide on anything, he felt a familiar snide voice cut into his mind. What are you doing, you little coward? Thought I was a monster, did you? Golly smirked.

Clumsy could have melted with relief when he realized whom he was speaking to. He opened his eyes and sat up to see the bitter Zjin leaning over him impatiently. "Golly, it's you! Oh, I was so scared! You see, my candle went out, and I saw this shadow in the woods and thought it was a monster, so when you jumped on me, I thought I was going to die and-"Clumsy babbled in relief.

No need to tell me what I don't need to know. What I do want to know is this: Why are you walking in these woods at such an ungodly time of day, especially with burns like yours? Golly pried.

"B-b-b-b-burns? I thought the poison just made you go to sleep," Clumsy stammered. He stared down at his hands with a growing feeling of nausea. He didn't want to know what they looked like, but part of him had an almost demonical desire to see just how much damage Golly's poison had inflicted upon him. With a horrible sinking feeling in his stomach, Clumsy removed his mitten and timidly lifted one of the bandages covering his hand.

A horrible blue-green burn that seemed to cover his whole hand stared back at him like the eye of a devil. He let out a scream of terror and immediately dropped the bandage. It felt like centuries before Golly finally clapped a paw over his mouth to shut him up.

Well, what did I tell you? There ARE some drawbacks to riding on a Zjin. Just be grateful you didn't get any on your hair, or it would have never grown back, Golly snarled. Clumsy struggled to escape from her paw, but she firmly kept it clamped down on his jaw. She seemed to have a sense of Clumsy's wide-eyed horror and appeared to be attempting to keep him from throwing himself into a full-on panic attack.

"But I don haf any air!" Clumsy mumbled. He shoved at Golly's paw, but she continued to hold him back with a grip like steel.

What? Golly asked in confusion. Clumsy made another effort to speak, but his words came out just as garbled as before. Golly sighed and reluctantly let Clumsy free. As soon as she did, Clumsy put his mitten back on and spoke again. This time, Golly was able to hear him properly.

"I just told you: I don't have any hair!" Clumsy exclaimed.

Golly pulled her ears flat against her head and backed away, surprised by Clumsy's unexpected confession. You don't have any hair? But you're only about…a hundred years old? That doesn't make sense; you look like a young child! Golly asked, confused.

"Smurfs age more slowly than humans do. When a Smurf turns a hundred, that means he or she is an adult. And we actually don't get any hair at all until we're four hundred and start growing beards," Clumsy explained. "And the beard thing is something I'm really nervous about…I hope Papa Smurf lets me shave when that happens. I don't want to grow a beard that's long like Grandpa's in case I trip on it."

Golly stared mindlessly at Clumsy for several seconds before bursting out in a hysterical fit of laughter. Here you are, walking around in the middle of the night with no light or way to defend yourself, and the most worrying matter haunting your mind is the fact that one day in the faraway future you're going to grow a beard so long that you'll trip on it?

It all seemed so ridiculous to her. If Golly were in his position, she definitely wouldn't be fussing about the length of a nonexistent beard. Then again, Clumsy really had no idea what dark secrets she kept hidden deep in her soul.

And Golly intended to keep things that way. If he learned even the smallest thing about her true identity, no doubt he would run back home and blab to that silly inventor who kept fainting in front of her. Once that happened, Tiber would find her and everything would be ruined.

Golly took one look at the startled expression on Clumsy's face and immediately silenced herself. She could tell he was suspicious of her already, and that was a terrible sign. I must be more careful about how I behave in front of him in the future. Otherwise I could be led into my first grave early….Golly chided herself.

Keeping this thought hidden from Clumsy, she simply said, Well, perhaps you ought to go home and get into bed now. You certainly won't be able to do much until your skin starts to grow back. Of course, she didn't add that his skin wouldn't heal from the burns for a thousand years, if he even lived that long. She didn't want him to go into a fit of hysterics and alert the other members of the slumbering village to her presence.

"Oh, okay then. Uhhh…how long will it be before these burns go away?" Clumsy asked.

For a few moments, Golly hung her head and refused to answer. She was too afraid of how he might react when she told him the crushing truth. She could tell that he was an extremely sensitive being who would probably cry if he knew that his burns were going to last for the rest of his life. And if he started sobbing, then there was no telling what might happen.

Can you handle the truth? It isn't a very pretty answer, if that's what you were looking for, Golly asked. She figured that she might as well give him a warning before catastrophe struck.

"Yeah….uhhh…how long? A month?" Clumsy stammered. Golly narrowed her eyes and reconsidered her decision. She was afraid that he wouldn't be strong enough to handle the truth in a mature manner. She was sick and tired of seeing these little blue men faint like wimps in front of her. Were they all that unmanly and feeble? Or was it just the inventor who was overreacting? Either way, she didn't care to find out.

Well….several years, Golly replied carefully. It was mostly the truth, and she figured that this child of an imp probably wouldn't be able to handle anything more specific than that. She hated to water down reality, but what else could she do? She was a refugee in a place she hardly knew and she knew full well that one misstep on her part could lead to bloodshed.

Fortunately for her, Clumsy didn't scream and faint as the pathetic Elenbyr had. However, his reaction was far worse than any melodrama that the inventor could have displayed.

Upon hearing her news, he gulped for several minutes and stared at her with big doleful eyes. After a while, shiny fat teardrops began to roll down his face like water dribbling out of a crack in a rock. This went on for some time before Clumsy let out a wail of pain and broke down in a fit of utter misery, shaking and sobbing loudly in the snow.

Golly glided a safe distance away and hung her head. She tried to focus on the snow as hard as she could. She ignored Clumsy's heartrending weeping and instead took note of the many details of the fresh powdery drifts. The snow was piled up in various heaps all across the forest floor. There were large piles in some places and small piles in others. The uneven snow drifts and the darkness of the night seemed to reflect her uncontrollable and intense emotions regarding the situation.

Don't get attached to a mere mortal fool like him. It won't do you any good further along in your life, Golly admonished herself. Despite this piece of good self-advice, Golly had to admit that something about the helpless creature caused something to stir inside her. Perhaps it was the fact that his understandable melancholy echoed her personal sense of hopelessness. Perhaps it was simply a motherly instinct to care for him, or perhaps it was a tinge of empathy flaring like a spark within her.

Whatever it was, the nondescript emotion caused her to tiptoe in the snow towards Clumsy and gently nudge him in the back. "W-what is it? W-what do you want with m-me?" Clumsy sobbed. He wiped his tearstained face with the back of his hand and looked up at her with pain in his eyes.

If you are still, I can heal your wounds, Golly told him. Clumsy opened his mouth, but the look in Golly's eyes made him close it again. Golly quickly spit into the palm of her paw. She then smeared the gooey substance into Clumsy's wounds and rubbed it in as firmly as possible. She repeated this several times until the unsettling burns had been well doused in Zjin saliva.

This should help speed up the healing process a bit. In a few months all should be well again, Golly informed him.

Clumsy nodded and sat up in the snow. His bright blue eyes shone like stars in the unfathomable night. "Thank you for your help," he replied shyly. Golly gave a forced grin before beginning the long trek back to the village. Clumsy strode beside her, his silence an easy companion for the introverted Golly. The snow seemed to understand this need for quiet and fell as though to cover their tracks.

Golly was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't hear Clumsy's gasp of horror. She sensed his distress but carried on nonetheless, certain he was overreacting about the condition of his burns. It wasn't until the icy blue eyes glimmered hatefully through the trees that she understood what was happening.

Tiber! No! He can't be….he couldn't have! How could he have tracked me down so fast? Golly thought in dismay. She backed away from the beast with horror rising in her chest. Clumsy…run. Don't look back. We're being stalked, she warned the young imp as calmly as she could.

Clumsy let out an awful shriek and stumbled away from Tiber through the snow, but his escape was hampered by his constant tripping. Golly rolled her eyes and launched herself vigorously into the night sky. What a fool! That isn't an escape-that's a way to get yourself killed! Golly muttered. She thought she heard Clumsy yell in protest, but once again she could not hear a word he said. All that mattered to her was escaping from Tiber with all five souls intact.

Against a nagging emotion that lay somewhere in the very depths of her belly, Golly propelled herself onward through the now-ominous woods. She glanced quickly at the sky and noticed that light was beginning to creep over the sleeping horizon. She flapped her wings harder against her impending fate. If dawn washed over them before she had a chance to outfly Tiber, then all would be lost for both her and Clumsy.

Just when Golly thought that she had outflown her pursuer, a loud roar and a terrible ripping sound told her otherwise. Fearing the worst, she swiftly flew into the highest branches of a nearby oak tree and clung to it with her emerald-green claws. She prayed that the scraggly naked branches would be enough to hide her from the lupine beast.

A sound of growling made Golly's bones vibrate with fear. With cold trickling down her spine like melted ice, she narrowed her eyes and gazed down at the snow-encrusted earth. The wolf-creature had cornered Clumsy in front of the very tree that she was hiding in. It bared its fangs with an air of menace as it prowled ever closer to the naïve Smurf. Golly could have sworn that she heard Clumsy's tiny heart beating with pure terror at being trapped by such a malignant animal.

"D-don't hurt me," Clumsy pleaded. His words had no effect on the vicious fiend. With a howl of rage, it lunged at Clumsy with its blade-sharp claws outstretched like the unforgiving talons of Death. A flurry of blood and snow soon followed, accompanied by eardrum-shredding screaming. By the time the wolf had finished its macabre task, Clumsy lay bleeding to death in the snow.

Golly had to blink several times before she was finally able to accept the fact that the irritating imp was actually dead. Well, at least he won't be able to stop me from controlling the Elenbyr now, Golly thought uncertainly. She was struggling to block the guilt that wriggled in her mind like an unwelcoming worm rising through mire. She knew full well that she could have saved Clumsy if she had tried, but instead she had heartlessly watched the gory murder as if it were no more important than a fly buzzing past her nose.

Golly glanced down towards the wolf to see if she could give it a good claw in the nose for the atrocious crime it had committed, but to her great surprise it had disappeared entirely. The only thing she could hear in the night was the eerie moaning of the wind. It seemed as if the night itself was mourning the death of the innocent creature and condemning the egregious killer at the same time.

Well, perhaps I can clean up the body a bit and at least give him a decent burial, Golly decided. She glided down towards the ground and landed gracefully next to the still body of Clumsy. Leaning over the lifeless Smurf with melancholy eyes, she began to gently lick away the blood that streaked across his body like branches crisscrossing the sky.

Under her tender tongue, the body shifted. Golly immediately pulled back from the corpse, shivering with the horror of the unknown. Had some mischievous sprite reanimated the carcass? Or was the tremble merely a wistful longing for Clumsy? Against her better judgment, she gave the corpse a cautious nudge with the tip of her berry-pink nose.

The body twitched again. No, he was definitely still alive. Without thinking, Golly pressed her nose against his forehead to check for heat. She could feel burning sweat shrouding the soft skin like a feverish cloak. Not only had Clumsy been seriously wounded from the encounter, he had also begun to show signs of a fever. If Golly was to save him, she would have to find a secure place to care for him and keep him warm.

Golly was just about to carry Clumsy back to the safety of the Smurf Village when the howl of the wolf that had mauled the young Smurf sounded again. She turned her head around just in time to see the demonical brute charging down a hill towards her. There was no time to waste. Clumsy's life was in her hands, and that meant that she would have to find a shelter somewhere else, for both her safety and the Smurfs'.

Golly threw herself into the air and flapped her wings with all the power she was capable of. She strained to cup as much air into her wings as possible, even though she knew her wings weren't developed enough to propel her that far. Her heart throbbed faster and faster with every minute as she fought to win the deadly chase. Sweat poured down her side, making her skin stickier than warm honey with every passing second.

Every yard she pulled ahead of the wolf seemed to also allow it to gain several feet on her. It would only be a matter of time before she failed and killed both herself and Clumsy. The thought of an early grave for both of them spurred her on more powerfully than any whip ever could. With a final lunge, she dove into a cave and waited fearfully for the end with her heart rising up into her throat.

The wolf crashed into a stalagmite with the force of a charging bull and lay as still as a dead log for what seemed like an eternity. For a while, Golly was convinced that the wolf was merely unconscious and that it would wake any minute to kill her. When several minutes passed with no sign of life coming from the wolf, Golly began to suspect that the impact had been enough to kill the crazed canine.

Warily, she padded across the cave floor and gave the wolf a hard shove in the face with her tail. It tumbled down a previously unseen slope and came to rest at the rocky bottom. It made no more movements after that. Golly was now certain that it was dead and she had nothing more to fear from any predator for the moment.

She turned back to check on Clumsy and almost shrieked in shock. His face was paler than a specter, but that was second only to the whiteness of his tiny eyelids. The bleeding wounds had yet to clot and would soon snuff out any life Clumsy had if they were not stopped.

Golly looked helplessly around the cave. She knew nothing about the art of healing whatsoever. She had never even had the experience of being sick and nursed back to health herself, so she had no memories to guide her. She was going to have to care for Clumsy herself. But if she was to save him, she had to do something now before Death snatched him up.

She sniffed the air, searching for the scent of herbs she could use for healing or wood she could use to start a fire. Strangely enough, an earthy scent found its way to Golly's keen nostrils. She scratched carefully at the snowy floor. Her persistent search was rewarded by the unearthed presence of a shriveled leaf.

Encouraged by her discovery, Golly continued to dig until she had uncovered a small tangle of branches. She stopped to ponder for a moment what she could do with them and glanced at Clumsy for inspiration. It suddenly occurred to her that an ill creature like him should have a proper bed. A cold stone floor would do him no good, and she definitely didn't plan to snuggle with him at night.

Gently, she picked up Clumsy by the scruff of his neck and deposited him in the branches. She stepped back for a moment and realized that a pile of twigs still wasn't enough to keep an ailing patient warm during frosty weather. She decided to dig in the snow again to see if she could find anything to add to the nest.

Golly continued to rummage for nest materials in the snow around the cave until she had collected enough leaves to provide a toasty covering for Clumsy's makeshift bed. She warmed them with her breath until they were dry before piling them up on top of Clumsy. Satisfied with her work, she lay on her belly next to him and again checked his temperature with her nose.

If Golly hadn't known that Clumsy was alive, she would have thought that he was a miniature statue thrown into a bellows by the intense heat emanating from his body. Panicked, she began to lick his forehead furiously in order to cool him down. This seemed to revive him, for Golly could have sworn she heard Clumsy muttering, "Stop it, that smurfs," under his breath.

Golly immediately pulled away from Clumsy in shock. She wasn't sure if she wanted him to wake up or not, as she still felt uncertain about her choice to save his life. Luckily for Golly, Clumsy merely rolled over and drifted back into sleep again. Golly heaved a sigh of relief, but her contentment didn't last for long. A couple of minutes later, Clumsy began to snore loudly enough to make the leaves in his nest vibrate.

Irritated by the noise, Golly got up and slapped Clumsy in the face with one of her wings. Clumsy woke with a start and sleepily opened his eyelids. "Gosh, Golly, I'm really tired….can't I smurf for five more minutes?" he protested.

If you really want to be knocked out, I'd be happy to help you, Golly bit. Injured or not, she still wasn't exactly enamored of the klutzy little imp.

Clumsy scooted backwards in his nest, startled by Golly's bitter retort. "Uh-on second thought, I think I'll just stay awake for now. I'm not really THAT smurfy," he stuttered. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, only to fall backwards in pain moments later. "Oww…..that wolf really smurfed me up! Ummm, does that stuff you rubbed into my burns help cuts too? Or is it just for Zjin poison?"

Golly would have told him that it was possible that Zjin saliva could heal wounds, but she never got the chance to tell him. That was because Clumsy suddenly began to cough violently.

At first, small globs of spittle shot from his mouth and hit the ground close to her paws. Then as the coughing gradually worsened, phlegm began to fly from his mouth. The phlegm soon gave way to chunks of half-digested food that Golly had to dodge every few seconds. Fortunately, the flood of disgusting substances slowed as Clumsy's coughing began to die down.

Golly was thoroughly disgusted by the young Smurf's coughing fit. She began to scrape the mucus and mushy Smurfberries off of her back. "Look, Golly, I'm really sorry that I spit up all that nasty stuff on you, but I'm just not feeling very smurfy…"Clumsy faltered. Golly turned her head towards him and stared at him for several moments before returning to cleaning up the mess Clumsy had created. She totally ignored him until she almost stepped on a puddle of blood staining the snow.

What now? He can't possibly be hacking up blood…can he? Golly groaned as she reluctantly spun around to face Clumsy. He appeared to be sleeping, but a trickle of red slithered down his cheek like the beginning of a river. More red coated his mouth and dribbled down his nose. It seemed that things were taking an unpleasant turn for the worst: Clumsy was indeed bleeding again.

Alarmed, Golly gave Clumsy a sharp nudge on the shoulder to wake him. She was expecting him to protest, but instead he merely opened his eyes to look at her. His pleading eyes told her everything: Clumsy's life was in grave danger. If Golly didn't take action immediately, he would soon die young in the isolated cave.

Golly tore her gaze away from the dying Clumsy and trotted outside to determine how far away the cave was from the village. She flew as high as she could into the sky and hovered for a few moments, taking in the landscape below. Try as she might, she just could not determine the distance from the cave to the village. Discouraged, she spiraled down and landed with a dejected plop back in front of the cave.

Golly prepared to break the disheartening news to Clumsy as she reentered the icy cave. But when she stepped back into their shelter, she could not find Clumsy anywhere. Where are you?! Golly screamed in despair.

When no answer came to her, she tore wildly around the cave in a frenetic attempt to locate him. She even ripped apart the nest to see if he was hidden from sight behind one of the branches, but there was not even so much as a drop of blood to give Golly any hint of Clumsy's whereabouts.

Dispirited by the apparent disappearance of Clumsy, Golly curled up on the floor of the cave and shut her eyes. She had no one to blame but herself for all that had befallen the helpless being. Clumsy's sweet voice seemed to haunt her ears as she slowly drifted off into a miserable sleep filled with dreams of aching desolation and loneliness.

…

Something kicked Golly in the belly like an irritable kangaroo. Her crystalline eyes snapped open to reveal a minute person snuggling up against her green-freckled belly. Golly's heart skipped a few beats. Could this little creature possibly be Clumsy? And if so, was he still alive after his long exposure to the cruel weather?

Golly sniffed the air. A familiar blue scent hit her nose, revealing to her that the thing cuddling her was indeed Clumsy. She leaned forward and pressed her ear to his side to listen to his heartbeat. She was shocked to discover that it was barely beating. She could not stall any longer-she was going to have to return Clumsy home right now or else he would succumb to the bitter cold.

Without waiting for an answer from Clumsy, Golly scooped up the imp in her talons and threw herself into the sky. Flapping her wings furiously, she reluctantly glanced around Clumsy's mind to search for directions to the Smurf Village. Among his scattered memories, she managed to procure enough information to guide her in the right direction. Golly narrowed her eyes and wheeled around to face the west. Speeding up her flapping rate, she soared over the forest, determined to get Clumsy home before Death snatched him away from her.

After what felt like two hours, Golly scanned Clumsy's mind again to see how far she was from the village. She was astonished when she realized that she was only a fourth of the way there and it would take many more hours before she finally arrived. Panicked, she forced her wings to work harder against the brisk wind. She blew out hot breath over Clumsy in order to warm him. He merely stirred a little before slumping over in Golly's claws once more.

It was a desperate race against time and death. Golly had never been more frantic to fly anywhere in her short life so far. Her wings ached with the pain of being strained against their limits, but she continued to flap them as hard and fast as she could. She was panting and dripping with sweat despite the cold, but she hardly noticed. The only thing she was aware of in the entire world was the faint beat of Clumsy's tiny heart. Nothing else mattered to her except feeling it throb against her claws. If it were to stop beating, everything would be lost. Life itself would dim in her eyes if she was to fail on her errand.

At last the village came into view of her sharp eagle eyes. Golly aimed herself at the village and threw herself into a steep dive. She accelerated as she fell like a comet towards the frozen ground. The tension was almost unbearable. She wondered if perhaps she had been imagining feeling Clumsy's heartbeat over the last few hours. Maybe it was all a fevered dream.

Just as this last thought entered Golly's mind, she crashed through the invisible barrier and collapsed in a heap on the ground. For several moments, she wasn't even able to think. She gasped for air and tried to call for help, but her throat burned with dry soreness. She flopped down onto the ground and whipped her tail against the earth, hoping that the noise might be loud enough to attract some attention.

As it turned out, a Zjin crashing into the Smurf Village was in and of itself a feat worthy of the attention of all one-hundred-and-something Smurfs. Before long, a crowd had gathered around Golly, discussing amongst them about why on Earth the snippy little Zjin had landed so unceremoniously in their village.

"What on Smurf is THIS for? What does she think she's tryin' to do; kill us?!"

"Calm down, Gutsy, I'm sure it isn't THAT bad. Maybe she's trying to talk to Handy again..?"

"Well, in that case, I'm gonna show her what a REAL Smurf is like! And she isn't gonna forget it soon either!"

"Gutsy, no! You can't! You'll just get yourself turned into Smurf haggis!"

"What's the big deal?! She's probably just trying to act innocent so we'll let her in and destroy everything! And if that's the case-well-she'd better go find some OTHER gullible forest critters instead!"

"Are you sure? She looks hurt-and what happened to Clumsy? Oh, he's bleeding, the poor thing!"

"B-blood? I always f-faint at the sight of b-blood….s-somebody catch me; I think I'm smurfing…"

"Scaredy, you're such a wimp! He isn't even BLEEDING that-"

The hubbub of the crowd died down as Papa Smurf began making his way through the gathering of Smurfs. He eventually stopped in front of the panting Zjin and calmly looked her in the eye. "Golly, do you mind telling me what has happened to both you and Clumsy?" Papa asked. "You look like you've been attacked by a venomous dragon."

No, we were attacked…by a huge…wolf…. Golly puffed. It clawed Clumsy…very injured…he has a high fever….I can barely feel…heartbeat….care for him…before…Death eats him…. Too exhausted to speak any more, she laid her head on the ground and closed her heavy eyes. Sleep consumed her as Papa tenderly pried Clumsy from her talons and dragged him away to his mushroom.

Kat immediately padded off after Clumsy. Her green eyes shone with worry as Papa began to approach his and Mama's mushroom. "Papa, do you think he'll be OK? He looks so horrible…and he's not moving," Kat whispered as Papa opened the door. He lifted his eyebrows in reply to Kat before pulling Clumsy into the house and lifting him up onto the sofa.

Kat raised her own eyebrows and glanced at Papa, wondering what he had been trying to say to her. Papa shrugged and looked at her with solemn eyes that clearly said I'm not exactly sure. Kat nodded, trying to hide the wave of uneasiness that was swelling within her. She plopped onto a chair next to the couch, stoically looking on as Papa assessed Clumsy's injuries.

Kat practically jumped out of her chair when a loud knock resounded through the humble mushroom. "Kat, do you mind smurfing up and answering the door? Clumsy's in too dire a condition for me to leave his side right now," Papa requested.

"Okay," Kat replied. She jumped nimbly to her feet and trotted up to the door of Papa Smurf's home. She timidly pulled it open to reveal a red-nosed Brainy waiting impatiently on the doormat. Kat blinked several times in shock. She had thought that Brainy was sick in bed with the sniffles. Why had he come here of all places when he should have been recuperating at home?

Brainy answered her question before she even spoke it out loud. "I'm here because according to my calculations, Clumsy Smurf is dying from fever and wolf bites and unless he gets the proper potion in time, he'll be ninety-nine percent deader than a doorknob," Brainy stated bluntly.

"B-but….Clumsy's really sick…I-I don't know if he'll be able to handle v-visitors yet," Kat spluttered.

"That doesn't matter," Brainy replied in an offhand manner. "If Clumsy is going to die, then I want to see one last time…and let him know what a smurfy friend he wa-ahem, I mean IS."

Kat smiled shyly at this rare compliment. Brainy was usually an arrogant, selfish Smurf whose praise was mostly directed at his own genius. To show up at what could very well be Clumsy's deathbed was unusually considerate of him. It just went to show how important the klutzy young Smurf meant to the self-centered know-it-all.

"So…are you going to smurf open the door or not?" Brainy snapped. Kat jolted out of her reverie and respectfully held open the door for Brainy. Without even a thank-you, Brainy stormed through the door and sat down hard on the chair Kat had formerly been sitting on. "Is he going to smurf or not? Tell me now or else I'm going to tell everyone else that the great Papa Smurf couldn't save one measly klutz from smurfing to death," Brainy demanded.

"Brainy, be patient! I'm still bandaging his wounds!" Papa scolded. He looked over his shoulder and called, "Mama, can you come over here for a minute? Clumsy's bleeding half to smurf and I need to get up and brew him a fever-reducing potion."

"All right, just let me finish this herbal brew first!" Mama called back somewhat irritably. Papa muttered something unintelligible under his breath before continuing to tend to Clumsy's injuries.

Three minutes later, Mama scurried around the corner, holding a thin flask with a light green liquid inside it. She halted when she saw Clumsy lying unconscious and bleeding on the couch. "Papa? What on Earth happened to him? He looks horrible! Oh, my poor, sweet little Clumsy!" Mama cried. She placed her flask on a nearby table and hurried to his side. Tears filled her beautiful blue eyes as she stared hopelessly at Clumsy's deathly pale countenance.

"Golly told me that he was attacked by a wolf and that he somehow got a bad fever. She didn't tell me anything else….I'll have to smurf the full story out of her later," Papa explained. "In the meantime, do you mind caring for Clumsy while I go brew up a potion to reduce his fever? He isn't going to live for very long if I don't give him medicine right away."

"How…how long is it going to take you to brew the potion then?" Mama inquired worriedly.

Papa hung his head. He was silent for what felt like years before he finally spoke. "Probably about three hours. But by the time I finish….Clumsy might not still be alive to drink it."

"T-that's horrible!" Kat gasped. Her tail stood on end at the mere thought of Clumsy's death. Tears filled her eyes as she imagined her clumsy friend's name carved onto a gravestone: "Clumsy Smurf-a smurfy friend, collector of rocks, creator of accidents, savior of the Smurfs in New York, only Smurf to receive honors in the Smurfic Games. We'll always miss you…"

Brainy placed a hand on Kat's shoulder, startling her out of her disturbing reverie. She noticed that he looked rather upset himself. "Are you sure the fastest time for a fever potion is three hours? Because if you can't save Clumsy, then I don't want to be your apprentice anymore," Brainy questioned. Kat was pretty sure that wasn't the worst of the things he'd do if Papa wasn't able to save Clumsy-after all, Clumsy had been his best friend since they were Smurflings.

"Well, I don't know! I can't make time go any faster, can I?" Papa stuttered.

"Well, you could always ask Father Time to speed things up so you don't have to wait hours upon hours for the potion to finish brewing," Brainy suggested loudly.

"But Clumsy would be dead by the time we got to Father Time's house! Really, Brainy, there's nothing I can do. We'll just have to wait and see. And if Clumsy dies…well…at least Smurfette will be able to help you handle it."

"But I don't WANT Clumsy to die! He's my best friend! I mean, how would YOU feel if Mama was so sick that SHE might die?"

"Brainy! That's enough! I'm going to brew that fever potion right now, and if Clumsy is dead before I finish it, then-"

"Guys, stop it! I don't WANT to think about what might happen if Clumsy were to…to…to…" Kat wailed. She couldn't handle all this discussion of death and illness any longer. Pierced by the impending arrows of death, she slumped over in defeat and cried noisily into her fluffy white tail. Her petite body was wracked with sobs, and her once-white cat tail soon become green with snot.

Kat couldn't deny the specter of death any longer-it loomed over the quaint room like a stormcloud on the horizon. It wouldn't be long before the storm struck and washed away Clumsy's existence like rain washing away saplings. When that happened, she knew her heart would explode into a million pieces. At least, it would unless she used some of her secret necromancy skills to revive Clumsy. But the last time she had used them was such a disaster that she was already having second thoughts about bringing Clumsy back.

"Papa…I'm not sure if this will help or not, but this herbal brew I just mixed up might have a beneficial effect on Clumsy," Mama said, breaking the painful silence that had formerly prevented any conversation. "It's just a general cure-all, but if it were to work…it might help him get through the next three hours while you brew the potion. Should I test it out and see if it helps him?"

Papa gave a wordless nod of approval. Mama hesitantly tiptoed towards Clumsy and carefully opened his mouth. She picked up the vial and tipped it so that a single drop of the herbal liquid fell into Clumsy's mouth. When nothing happened, Mama poured in another drop, closed Clumsy's jaw, and gently pushed back his head so that the medicine ran down his throat. She stepped back and sat down, waiting to see if her brew would have any effect on him.

Five minutes passed by with no obvious effect. Everyone looked at each other anxiously, but not a single one of them could provide any comfort. It was clear that Clumsy was past help now. If he did not revive soon, then his soul was lost forever. Based on the current circumstances, his chances of survival didn't look particularly promising.

When fifteen more minutes had passed without a sign of life from Clumsy, everyone knew what that sinking feeling in their chests was telling them. Nobody wanted to say it aloud, but there was no need to restate the obvious. Clumsy had died. There was no going back to save him now.

"Clumsy!" Kat sobbed. She buried her head in her hands, ignoring Mama's reassuring hand on her back. She didn't want anyone to make her feel better. No one could ever make her feel better ever again. Clumsy had died, and that was the only thing that was real to her now. She had only known Clumsy for a year or so, but he had been such a charming and warmhearted friend to her that she couldn't picture anyone else filling the gap that his death had left behind. She could only imagine how Brainy must be feeling.

"I'm not going to be your apprentice anymore! You wasted so much time worrying about Clumsy dying that he-he-he DID die! And-and-and he was my Best Smurf Friend!" Brainy cried. Wiping his eyes, he turned on his heels and stomped out of the laboratory, scowling angrily.

Kat looked back down at her lap, overwhelmed by the consuming tide of grief. It wasn't until she heard the cough and saw the blood in her lap that she knew that her heart was still whole-aching and shocked, but still whole.

The gap that Clumsy had left in death had disappeared like a mirage in the sun. Like a mirage itself, the storm that was Death had only been warning clouds in the sky. The destructive lightning of death hadn't struck after all.