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wondering if his group had heard the noise
caused by his adventure.
    He soon
found out it was not the case. Two silhouettes he recognised as being Charcoal
and Valiant appeared at the bend of the path. To guide
them towards him, Terr let out a small whistle.
    'What are
you doing?' asked Valiant. 'Didn't you hear Brave's signal? Everyone's waiting
for you at the foot of the tree.'
    'But your
nose is bleeding', worried Charcoal. 'What's going on?'
    Terr lied:
    'I knocked
myself out falling in the rockery', he said. 'I've only just come to.'

8
    'There you
are!' said Brave when he saw them arrive.
    'He knocked
himself out falling over!' announced Valiant.
    'I was
getting worried. Anything broken?'
    Terr
reassured him. Brave swiftly inspected his small gang. Most female Oms carried
babies. The males were loaded with all sorts of packages. Old Faithful was
leaning on a stick, still puffing from coming down the tree.
    Brave was
thinking. His rudimentary reasoning was telling him to split his gang into
mobile and less noisy groups. But the fear of losing someone on the way caused
him to follow his feelings. Looking at the whole tribe he was overcome by a
false sense of security and a feeling of strength and warmth swept through him.
He gave the starting signal.
    Walking in
single file the Oms followed the usual path for their pillaging raids. They
wound down amongst the palm leaves, forded the stream and left the park with no
difficulty.
    They then
stood in the mud of a ditch which lined the road. Sudden sounds of falling and
swearing could be heard here and there, and Brave shouted out 'Quiet!' as
discreetly as possible.
    Terr and
Valiant were supporting the old Faithful.
    'Where are
we going?' whispered Valiant.
    'I reckon
Brave wants us to go to the waste ground whilst waiting for somewhere better.
Hasn't he said anything?'
    'No, but I
think you're right.'
    The old man
was huffing too much to give an opinion. He was tumbling miserably on the
smallest of bumps and his breathing sounded more like a moan.
    Suddenly
Brave gave the order to stop. A few shushes ran down the column. Everyone
stopped. Terr and Valiant helped Faithful sit down in the mud.
    'Quiet!'
Brave's commanding voice whispered once again.
    Footsteps
could be heard coming nearer. Slow and heavy Traag footsteps. The flabby steps hit the tarmac rhythmically like wet cloths. As the noise got
louder a certain gap could be heard in the rhythm.
    'Two
Traags!' whispered Terr.
    'What?' said Valiant.
    Terr showed
him two fingers... The low hum of a conversation could already be heard. The
Traags' words were disjointed as they spoke in their staccato style which was
so hard for Oms' throats to reproduce. Two giant silhouettes could be seen
pacing heavily on the road. Their red eyes were glowing in the night. Sentences
were taking shape:
    '... a little tired, but this brings us closer to the earth.'
    'Well, you
know, it is more in our nature to swim. Fve always wondered if the old Zarek
was right to make us mutate.'
    'Don't be silly, in the water we'd reached a degree of evol...'
    'Gosh!'
    'What?'
    'The place
reeks of Oms!'
    The steps
stopped close by. Hearts were beating with fear in the Oms' chests.
    'It must be
infested with them around here.'
    'Vermin! The Councillors should get it all cleaned up.
Having Oms at home is not a bad thing: it's entertaining. But all those wild
Oms: They pillage, they're dirty and they breed at a tremendous rate. Besides
these animals are unhappy in the wild, full of lice and skin diseases!'
    'We are
dealing with it.'
    'Not enough.
What is needed is a global deomisation.'
    The two
Traags started walking again. A baby Om cried at that very moment. The steps
stopped.
    'There is a
nest in the ditch, said one of the Traags. The noise came from there.'
    'Let's take
a closer look.'
    A light came
on, flooding the ditch and dazzling the Oms.
    'Well!' said
one of the Traags. 'Come and have a look. A real colony!'
    'Let's
eliminate a few before the others