Taking the Big Break

One morning, Dr. Spaghetti woke up refreshed and ready to investigate a cure. Yesterday afternoon a mysterious phone call had sent him chasing a particularly mysterious disease. The disease was discovered after a very interesting meteorite hit earth in Australia. The meteorite was very interesting because it had a new element in it, called gelatonium. The disease was a little stubborn and would not be cured very easily. It was very dangerous though, and it was in Australia and quickly appearing in south-east Asia. He got up and looked around his clean room, picked out some clothes and had a delicious breakfast. He had breakfast with his wife, Mrs. Penne and his friends, Mr. Tagliatelle and Mrs. Ravoli. They were visiting from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They had come to visit originally, but they were still happy to be away from the now fast-spreading disease. At the breakfast table, Mr. Taliatelle “I’m worried about this disease.” Mrs. Penne said “No need to worry. Dr. Spaghetti will find a cure soon.” Dr. Spaghetti finished eating and went into the garage.  He stood on his new Segway, admiring it. He zoomed around the garage and headed out the door.

As he cruised to work, he looked at the beautiful sights of Lake Oswego. He saw the deep, blue lake, Tryon Creek, and the Willamette. When he arrived at work, he plugged in his Segway, and entered the glass elevator that would take him down into the ground, to his underground lab.

In the high-tech lab, he pulled up a chair to the microscope with the bacteria. He continued to attempt cures. He tried a pasta sauce puree with a little 50-year-old parmesan… nothing. Essence of pasta with 25-year-old parmesan…nothing. Tablespoon of Tylenol with a clove of garlic… YES…but no, not the tablespoon of Tylenol. The clove of garlic and a leaf of basil… no. The clove of garlic and the juice of a tomato… YES! The bacteria had withered up and died. He zoomed up the elevator and jumped on the Segway.

Soon he hopped off again at his house. He ran in the door to the living room where his friends were gathered and cried, “I found a cure! We have to go immediately to KL and then Sydney. They both have medical centers that can spread the cure all around.” They all jumped in the car and headed out the door. They stopped at the airport and jumped on the small, emergency plane to KL.

The flight was bumpy. Everyone else had fallen asleep, but Dr. Spaghetti just couldn’t. He thought about how many lives this cure would save. Over the radio, the pilot said, “We shall soon be flying over land again. We will fly over North Vietnam, then 10 minutes over Laos, then a half an hour of Thailand. Then a hour of ocean and then we land in KL. Only 2 more hours!”

They continued to fly along. The pilot announced, “We have now passed all of Laos, now we will start to see the Thai Jungle.” Soon there was a small lurch, then the pilot said, “Coming up is a little turbulence, so please, fasten your seat belt.” Almost the exact moment the sound of the click hit their ears, the nose of the plane started to angle downward. Down, down, down, down… the nose was aiming down at least 80 degrees and still going!

Dr. Spaghetti yelled over the rush of the wind, “We are in a hurry… please stop doing tricks!

The pilot, Mr. Pennette, yelled, “I didn’t do that!’

“Wait, the plane is falling?” Mr. Spaghetti said, half surprised and half terrified.

“No reason to worry, I do skydiving as well,” said Mr. Pennette. “I have some parachutes in the back.”

“IN THE BACK!”

“Climb the empty seats like a ladder. It should be easy enough.”

“Why aren’t we flat right now?”

“No time for questions. GO!”

He took off his seat belt and jumped onto the seat opposite. He thought he felt a good deal lighter than normal. He climbed up on the back of the grey, cushy seats like a ladder. Mr. Tagliatelle screamed “I’ll catch you if you fall.” Mrs. Penne exclaimed in fright “Go quickly!” One seat that he had his foot on was wiggling, and he wasn’t sure why he wasn’t squashed by the ground by now. As he climbed, Mr. Pennette said, “Those seats aren’t meant to endure such strain. Go quick, before the seats fall or the plane crashes.”

Dr. Spaghetti said, “I’m on it!” before returning to the task at hand with double the vigor. The seat he had just moved his foot on wiggled loose and the seat fell to the front of the plane. He swung his foot on another seat and was able to push off that one. Behind him, all his friends had woken up and were dodging falling luggage. He continued climbing and gripped the door handle to the back part of the plane. Just then, the seat that his other hand gripped jerked and fell, leaving him dangling to an open door handle. He swung his arm and caught another seat. He turned his body and the handle, pulled it open, and was engulfed in a heap of parachutes.

He fell down with them. The rest of the group got closer …but he was going to hit his head on a metal bar… Then suddenly, everything went black.