Thelonius and Celeste ducked down behind the stoves as a pair of Nazi soldiers thundered through the kitchen. The instant they were gone, Thelonius popped up to rummage through the kitchen drawers. He softly hooted in delight when he found a tray of silverware, and he immediately tamped a pouch of black powder into his blunderbuss and crammed a handful of forks in after it.

“What are you doing?” Celeste demanded. “They’re going to be back any minute, and you’re stealing silverware?”

“I am not pilfering, madam. I am preparing a mighty weapon which will strike supernatural terror into our enemy’s hearts, just as it did before.”

“You fire that thing again inside this zeppelin and you could blow us all up, you know.”

Ignoring her, Thelonius jammed in a cloth plug to seal the blunderbuss charge, and his weapon was then fully ready for action.

As he scooped more silverware into his pocket for later use, he noticed a set of dials. Unable to restrain his curiosity, he gave one a twist. Nothing happened. He gave the others a twist, but he still noticed no effect. Then he saw that a red light blazed within a small chamber beneath the knob. When he opened the door to the small chamber, heat washed over his face. He could see no open flames, only two red bars glowing like miniature suns.

“Amazing,” Thelonius’s brows furrowed in concentration. “The Na-Tzee tribe must worship fire, and this must be a religious altar.”

“It’s an oven,” Celeste commented dryly.

Thelonius nodded. “I will remember that in your primitive language, the word ‘oven’ is synonymous with ‘altar.’ But there is no more time for this. What we need is a distraction…”

A devious idea struck the chimp-man’s brain, and his domed lips pulled back into a smile. Swiftly, he took out one of the gourds in which he carried his blasting powder. He popped it inside the oven and closed the door.

“What was that?” Celeste eyed the oven suspiciously. “Is this how you gorillas cook supper?”

“A distraction, my dear monkey-woman,” Thelonius grabbed her wrist and led her at a run out the door. The gourd would insulate the powder for a short time, but soon the heat of the oven would cause it to explode. Fire, shrapnel, noise—it would make an entirely satisfying distraction.

“By the way,” Thelonius asked as they dashed through the hallway. “Earlier you said I shouldn’t fire my blunderbuss inside this zeppelin. Why was that?”

“Well, because it’s a blimp,” Celeste said as if he would know what that meant. “It floats because it’s filled with an explosive gas, for crying out loud. If there’s a leak somewhere and you make so much as a spark—BOOM! The whole stinkin’ place could burn to a cinder and fall right outa the sky.”

Thelonius peered back over his shoulder in the direction of the kitchen, where his gunpowder-packed gourd was currently roasting in an oven.

“Oh dear,” he allowed.

Thelonius tried to keep his hands steady on his blunderbuss as he stared down the Nazis. Humans, he realized, looked a bit more like chimpanzees than he would have cared to admit, which would make shooting them in cold blood feel too much like murder. He prayed that these primitive savages would have the sense to recognize his superior weapon and back down.

No such luck.

They chattered rapidly at him in their strange, fricative-laden language and then one of them suddenly lunged at Thelonius’s throat with his knife. Now it wasn’t a question of murder, it was a question of self defense, and his finger seemed ready to pull the trigger of its own accord.

With a boom and a cloud of grey smoke, a pattern of tiny black holes opened up across the soldier’s chest and the wall behind him. The other soldier, evidently unaware that Thelonius’s weapon held only one charge, turned and ran down the hall, shouting for his peers.

“You shot a gun inside a zeppelin?” The female hollered at him. “What kind of crazy monkey are you?”

“I am no monkey, madam, I am a chimpanzee,” Thelonius decided to be forgiving because the poor thing was no doubt frightened by the loud bang and flash of his highly advanced weapon. Still, manners must be considered. “A thank-you might be in order, as I just saved you from your enemies. My name is Thelonius, and you, if I may be so bold, are named Celeste?”

The female’s eyes widened in amazement.

“Professor Limefellow informed me of your name,” he explained in hopes that she wouldn’t be too in awe of his more highly evolved mind. Humans, he had observed, were notoriously superstitious creatures and he didn’t want any of them to start worshipping him as some kind of god.

Boot-falls and angry voices echoed down the hallway.

“We gotta scram,” Celeste said as she grabbed his wrist and pulled him into a run. In his opinion, this was a most impertinent and un-ladylike action, but it seemed best to follow her nonetheless.

Their aimless dash took them into the ship’s mess hall, where they took cover behind a row of ovens. Their pursuers sounded like they were everywhere behind them, but Thelonius needed a moment to catch his breath. Celeste seemed none the worse for their short sprint, by which Thelonius surmised that her long human legs were better adapted for running than his. Perhaps human beings were not inferior to chimp-kind in every way.

“What was your plan, monkey man?” Celeste whispered to him.

“Your kind more closely resembles monkeys than mine,” Thelonius bridled. “To answer your question: I gained access to this vessel by climbing the tether. Unless you can climb down a few hundred feet of swaying rope, we will need to find another route.”

Thelonius the chimp-man, quite bored of Professor Limefellow’s investigations of the ruins, scampered up the tether connecting the zeppelin to the central pylon. He had waited long enough to investigate this strange machine that hovered overhead like a dark storm cloud: it appeared as large as a hill, and yet it floated in the air as easily as a sprig of wood floated on a pond.

How could this be? He wondered. The chimpanzees of the surface world must be wise indeed to create such a vehicle for their human servants.

Thelonius slipped in through the anchor hatch and soon found his way into the cabins. The insides, he discovered, were ringed with tight passages and narrow doorways, the intersections of which were marked with the bent-cross insignia that he recognized as the symbol of the Na-Tzee tribe. Seeing it reminded him to be cautious, for Limefellow had warned that they were a brutal tribe.

It took Thelonius little time to work out the mechanism for operating the door latches, and he peeked into several rooms to inspect the soldiers’ living quarters. He found little of interest. The decorations were limited to little more than pictures of a thin, arrogant-looking human with a square mustache that sat on his upper lip like a small box. After marveling at the lifelike quality of the artwork—what ape-man could paint with such precision?—Thelonius realized that this must be the Na-Tzee leader. Picking up one of the flat glass picture cases, he wondered why they would enshrine a human being in this way rather than the ape-men who must certainly be in charge of their society. (Human beings govern themselves? Preposterous.) With closer inspection, Thelonius decided that he could see a certain chimpanzee-esque quality in this leader’s features. Possibly, he was some kind of vile half-breed. Thelonius set the picture down with a shudder of disgust.

Suddenly, a piercing shriek sounded over the ambient wind against the zeppelin’s hull. Thelonius un-slung his blunderbuss and crept out into the hall. Another shriek and a series of very angry words uttered in a female voice drew him forward through the tight hallways. The chimp-man moved cautiously and quietly, but he found he needn’t: only a skeleton crew remained aboard, evidently assuming that their elevation would protect them from all boarders. Foolish humans and their two-dimensional thinking.

Thelonius quickly tracked the sound through the hallways to the opposite end of the ship, where the Spartan bedrooms were replaced with Spartan storage closets. Two gray-suited men were attempting to push a human female into one of these closets. The female resisted furiously. In the struggle, one of them knocked her cap from her head and a cascade of golden hair rained down around her shoulders.

“Unhand that female!” Thelonius shouted boldly, raising his rifle to his shoulder. He considered giving them a warning shot to scare them off, but it would take too long to reload. Better a quiet threat than a loud bluff, he decided.

The two soldiers were startled at his voice. They turned to him in amazement, the female all but forgotten. Then there was a flash of steel, and each had a knife in hand.

This is an ongoing story about a lost world of hungry dinosaurs, sinister villains, and non-stop action. If you’re new to Hollow Earth Expedition, I suggest starting at the beginning.

Hanging by his prehensile feet, Thelonius gripped Professor Limefellow under the armpits and hoisted him up to a low branch.

“Watch where you set me down,” Limefellow huffed, straightening his tweed suit. “Don’t you know this genus produces sticky sap?”

“I hope you will agree it is worth the bother,” Thelonius pointed out at their new vista. From up in the tree, they could see an ancient and crumbling city. Clusters of slaves moved through the vine-choked streets with the diligence of ants. All the while, their gray-suited slave masters looked on sternly.

Thelonius grunted. “It appears this city has been claimed by your tribal enemies, the Nah-Tzees.”

“It’s pronounced ‘Nazis’” Limefellow corrected.

“What is so important for them to stay in the city? Surely, They could travel anywhere in that flying city of theirs.” Thelonius pointed a long, red-brown finger at a bulbous black shape hovering fifty feet above the city’s center.

“That’s a zeppelin,” Limefellow corrected again. “And your animalistic cunning is correct: the Nazis are excavating something, and they are going to considerable efforts to do so—or, at least, their slaves are going to considerable effort. By Minerva’s plume, I wish we could get a closer look to see where they have taken my colleagues.”

“It so happens that I can grant that wish.” With a slight flourish, Thelonius produced a long spy-glass constructed from polished wood and hammered brass rings. He extended it to its full length and peered through one end.

“Have you ever seen such a device?” he asked proudly, handing it over. “It allows one to see at great distances by concentrating the perceptual rays projected from the eyes.”

“Perceptual rays?” Limefellow shook his head as he took the spyglass. “No, my simpering simian, that device operates by refracting light through curved lenses.”

“I wouldn’t expect a hairless monkey like you to understand it,” Thelonius said with a wink. “Incidentally, you might have more luck if you peered through the other end.”

Limefellow scowled at the chimp-man and then reversed the spyglass. Now he could see the city with enough detail to recognize faces, and it took him only a moment to locate Celeste’s shimmering red dress and bright blonde hair. They held her under armed guard at the center of the city, in the shadow of the zeppelin itself. There were no signs that she had been mistreated, but the Nazis seemed to be making her wait for something, probably an officer of sufficient rank to interrogate her.

Jack Steele, on the other hand, was sealed inside a cage. A rather burly soldier was weheeling him out to some unknown point in the city, away from the command post, but also away from to the slave barracks. Clearly, the Nazis had something special in store for Jack, and Limefellow guessed that it would not be pleasant.

Limefellow folded up the spyglass and handed it back. “Find me some vines,” he announced. “I shall weave us a rope using techniques I studied among the South American Q’ero tribe.”

“I have some rope right here,” Thelonius showed him the length of solid, strong fiber he kept in his satchel.

“Nevertheless, I’m certain that my rope will be superior. I have devised a plan for infiltrating the city and rescuing my friends. As long as you follow my instructions precisely, success is certain.”

Thelonius rolled his big brown eyes.

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Hollow Earth Expedition was created by Jeff Combos and is property of Exile Game Studio. For more Hollow Earth Expedition action, check out ExileGames.com

This is an ongoing story about a lost world of hungry dinosaurs, sinister villains, and non-stop action. If you’re new to Hollow Earth Expedition, I suggest starting at the beginning.

Thelonius, the speaking chimpanzee, led Professor Limefellow through the jungle while pestering him with questions.

“Is it true that the Outer World’s sun whizzes through the sky like a drunken bird?”

“No, no,” Limefellow tutted. “It proceeds in an orderly direction from East to West.”

“What is Eee-sta?” Thelonius asked. “What is Wes-ta?”

“It is pronounced—never mind. East is where the sun rises and West is where the sun goes at night, just before leaving the sky.”

“The sun leaves the sky?” Thenonius, horrified, stopped in the middle of the trail. “Where does it go? How does one see without its light?”

“Do you mean to tell me,” Limefellow asked, equally amazed, “that the sun here is always directly overhead? Have you have never seen the stars twinkling in a dark sky?”

Thelonius shook his head and silently contemplated the ramifications for a long time. The two began their hike again, proceeding along the left bank of a river that trickled out of a steep canyon.

“I have difficulty imagining a dark sky,” Thelonius finally said. “Your homeland is surely a strange and terrifying place. Oh—please be careful. That plant is carnivorous.”

Limefellow gave a wide birth to a bulbous green pod that gaped like an open mouth. He shuddered as he looked at it, imagining the fibrous lips closing around him.

“You simply don’t seem to be evolved to survive,” Thelonius observed. “I can deduce that your kind must have been bred as pets for your ape-men masters.”

“Pets?” Limefellow could feel his face reddening. “Let me tell you something about evolution, you ill-bred missing link. The science of phrenology clearly shows—”

Thelonius stopped the lecture by grabbing the lapel of Limefellow’s tweed jacket and pushing him behind a tree.

Limefellow brushed his hands away and exclaimed, “Get your filthy hands off me, you damned, dirty—”

“Quiet,” Thelonius whispered sharply. He placed a long, hairy finger against his lips to indicate the need for silence, and then pointed the same finger out at the canyon trail. Squinting, Limefellow could make out several figures approaching.

With the help of Thelonius, Limefellow ascended to the lowest branches of the tree and watched the procession passing on the far side of the river bank. There were four people: the one in the lead was Jack Steele, his khakis torn and his square face twisted into a scowl. Next to him walked Celeste, her blonde hair disheveled and her red dress looked rather the worse for wear. Limefellow was about to call out to them until he saw that the other two people in the group had rifles pointed to the backs of his friends. These men wore grey military uniforms and domed helmets emblazoned with swastikas.

“Nazis,” Limefellow whispered.

“Nah-Tzees?” Thelonius rolled the unfamiliar word around in his mouth. “May I presume these Nah-Tzees are your tribal enemies?”

Don’t miss any of the pulse pounding action! Get all the episodes of this story delivered to your inbox each month by subscribing to my free ezine!

Hollow Earth Expedition was created by Jeff Combos and is property of Exile Game Studio. For more Hollow Earth Expedition action, check out ExileGames.com

This is an ongoing story about a lost world of hungry dinosaurs, sinister villains, and non-stop action. If you’re new to Hollow Earth Expedition, I suggest starting at the beginning.

Professor Limefellow stared in amazement at the talking chimpanzee. “How is it that you can speak?” he asked

“I prefer to use my mouth and throat when forming words—is there some other way to do it?” The chimp-man’s domed lips curled up into a wry smirk. “Forgive my jest. My name is Thelonius, and I am very pleased to have discovered you.”

Thelonius performed a twisting dismount which landed him a few paces from Limefellow.  Standing on level ground, he revealed his posture to be almost as upright as that of a human being, although he stood a few inches shorter than the average man.

“But you—you’re an ape,” Limefellow stammered. “Apes cannot speak. You aren’t evolved.”

“You accuse me of being un-evolved?” The chimpanzee narrowed his mahogany eyes and pursed his brown lips. “I note, sir, that you have only two articulated thumbs. I have four.” To demonstrate this point, Theloinius snatched a small rock from the ground with his foot. He tossed it up and down repeatedly, catching it between his long, finger-like toes each time.

“Be that as it may,” the chimp-man went on. “You must tell me: do you come from the land where men speak Angle-ish?”

“Angle-ish?” Limefellow repeated. “Oh—English. Yes, it is my native tongue. But how did you came to speak this language?”

“When I was a pup,” Thelonius explained. “I met a hairless monkey from Angle-land. He taught me many things, and I have been searching for another like him ever since. Today, it seems, I have finally found one.”

As strange as the chimp-man appeared, Limefellow began to sense that he meant no harm. The professor had been clutching his briefcase defensively to his chest, but now he lowered his guard and wondered whether this primitive-looking fellow might be of some assistance.

“I came with a group,” Limefellow said. “Can you help me find them?”

“Others from the outer-world?” The chimp’s eyes lit up with very human excitement. “Of course I will help you find your group. The presence of others from the outer world would firmly establish my theories.”

“Your… theories?” Limefellow repeated cautiously.

“Indeed!” Thelonius exclaimed. “I have a theory that the world is a hollow stone sphere, and that a vibrant and technologically advanced society of ape-men lives upon its surface.”

Limefellow groaned. “You and your ‘theories’ remind me of a man named Scrumtumbler.”

“If I remind you of him,” Thelonius winked. “Then he must be a particularly handsome member of your species. Come—there was a recent commotion not far from here. Perhaps we will find the other members of your group in that direction.”

Don’t miss any of the pulse pounding action! Get all the episodes of this story delivered to your inbox each month by subscribing to my free ezine!

Hollow Earth Expedition was created by Jeff Combos and is property of Exile Game Studio. For more Hollow Earth Expedition action, check out ExileGames.com

This is an ongoing story about a lost world of hungry dinosaurs, sinister villains, and non-stop action. If you’re new to Hollow Earth Expedition, I suggest starting at the beginning.

Professor Limefellow measured the width of the footprint with his ruler, making a divot in the compressed soil to indicate the twelve-inch point. Moving the foot of the ruler to the divot, he measured out the next twelve inches, then the next. He carefully recorded the total size in his notebook and repeated the process for the length of the foot, as well as the dimensions of the three great toes.

It was the spoor of Tyrannosaurus rex, he had no doubt. Surely, the other members of the expedition would be thrilled—Limefellow felt confident that this was the most exciting thing that could possibly happen in the course of their expedition in this strange land. Furthermore, the size of the print and the depth of the impression suggested an animal half again as large as the fossil records indicated. Either the paleontology community had discovered mere pygmy versions of this dinosaur, or, as Limefellow suspected, its evolution had continued over the past sixty million years in this isolated wilderness, where the conditions favored vastly larger descendants. It might even be classified as a new species—perhaps he would name it Tyrannosaurus imperialis. No matter what name he picked, the grant money was sure to roll in.

Limefellow brushed the dust off his ruler and tucked it neatly back into its designated pocket within his briefcase. He stood, positioned his bolo hat on his head, and studied the trackless jungle surrounding him. Despite his revolutionary zoological discovery, he still needed to discover his way back to base-camp.

“You seem to be lost,” someone said from behind him.

Startled, Limefellow spun around but saw no one. He peered into the underbrush, but no one hid within. Instinctively, he clutched his briefcase to his chest and slowly backed towards a tree.

“Don’t be afraid,” the unseen person said again. The voice was throaty without being deep, and he spoke with the hint of an accent that Professor Limefellow, Doctor of Philology, could not quite place.

“Who are you?” Limefellow said. “Show yourself and declare your intentions.”

“I already have shown myself, but you ground-monkeys never bother to look up.”

Limefellow placed his hand on his hat and tilted his head back. There, above him, hung a chimpanzee, gripping a branch with his feet and dangling upside-down with as little effort as it took Limefellow to stand upright on the ground. Stranger still, this chimp wore clothes—coarse woven fibers that formed trousers, shirt, and vest. The reddish-brown hair of the chimp’s body was visible only at his wrists, ankles, on top of his shaggy head, and beneath his rounded chin. Strapped to his back were a satchel and a stocky firearm, and on his flat nose were clipped a pair of round spectacles.

“You and I have much to speak about,” said the chimp-man. “Unless, of course, your species has not yet evolved the power of language.”

Don’t miss any of the pulse pounding action! Get all the episodes of this story delivered to your inbox each month by subscribing to my free ezine!

Hollow Earth Expedition was created by Jeff Combos and is property of Exile Game Studio. For more Hollow Earth Expedition action, check out ExileGames.com