Episode 2: No Tours Allowed
“I was getting a sample from the river when I fell in,” Becky explained to her oldest friend Tree. It had taken awhile for him to recognize her new boney white image, but once he knew she was the same Becky who planted him, he lent an inquisitive ear to her newest adventure. “I swam upstream, and I was pulled under by the trash. I saw the large pipe at the bottom of the river. I think it’s from the refinery. I went to check it out, but the guard dog chased me away. I need to figure out how to get past that dog so I can figure out what’s going on,” Becky hummed in thought.
“What about a tour of the refinery? They might give those,” Tree shrugged, making his leaves fall all around Becky. She bit her lip in thought, and finally nodded. A tour might be the answer she needed to get inside the guarded facility. Gathering her watering can and the tree food she brought with her, Becky waved goodbye and ran back home to think up a plan.
The plan she decided upon was fairly simple. As president of her environmental club, she would ask for a tour in order to report back to her school that the plant was non-polluting. Of course, she would keep an eye out for the pipes that dumped into the river, knowing full well that the tour guide would not show them to her. When she arrived to the plant, there was no tour guide. “No tours of the refinery now or ever,” a grumpy old man told her as he threw away his paper coffee cup before sulking away.
Becky stood rooted to the spot trying to think of a way to sneak inside without being caught by that nasty dog again. “Becky!” hissed the trashcan, making her curiously walk over and examine the insides. “Becky, over here!” the coffee cup upside down in a pile of meatloaf called to her.
“Tree! What are you doing here?” she asked as she retrieved him from the garbage. He made a face at the brown stain on his white exterior.
“Why did it have to be meatloaf?” he sighed aloud to himself before looking up at her with his large eyes and an excited smile. He had gone on his own adventure this morning. “This morning I was taken all around the refinery. The dog’s not here!” he said excitedly. He knew that meant he wouldn’t be sniffed at and eaten by the grumpy dog when he finally made it to the dumpster. “If you sneak through that door and stay quiet, I’m sure no one will ever see you.”
Becky thanked Tree and disposed of him in the recycling bin next to the trash can before making her way out of the door he mentioned.
The refinery was bigger than Becky had imagined. There were pipes everywhere and discovering the one that led to the river would be impossible. Different chambers and large metal doors led to areas of the refinery that were locked tight, making this investigation even harder than Becky thought. Just when she was about to give up, Becky heard something calling for help inside the pipes.
Quickly Becky found a closed vent and used all her might to push it open. Only able to open a small gap in the vent, Becky was surprised when the guard dog from yesterday squeezed through. He looked different, his coloring was off, and when he started to uncontrollably lick her face in thanks, she knew something was different about the dog she met yesterday. He was made of warm steam, like a ghost.
“Thank you! I was worried I was going to be stuck in there forever,” he explained to her. “They locked me up in one of the steam rooms and forgot to let me out. I’ve been traveling the pipes all day looking for a way out. I’m Drip.”
Becky laughed at how excited the dog was to see her now. “Well, I’m Becky, and I’m looking for the pipes that lead to the river. Have you seen them?” she asked hopefully. Drip sniffed the air and shook his head.
“They don’t come from here,” he revealed, “but from the secret building across the street.” Becky pursed her lips together in thought. She had always thought the big building across the street was just part of the refinery.
“Well,” she smiled brightly, “I guess that’s where we’re headed to next…”
Go to Episode 3