Chapter 13
The Bonebreaker Race Begins
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Oliver got up extra early the morning of the Bonebreaker Race. His team was going to meet at Macready’s house an hour or so before the start to organize their supplies and plan strategy, insofar as it was possible. Tom and Abby got up, too; they wanted to say goodbye to their Dad and wish him good luck. After all, it was not every day that a parent got to participate in an alien sporting event.
Abby scrambled a large pan of eggs for the three of them. Scrambled eggs, though plain, was one of her favorite dishes, and she did them well. Eggs on Gracchia had a bright orange yolk, much more striking than eggs from Earth, and they made for an especially sunny breakfast. Abby claimed that the Gracchian eggs had a slightly sweet taste, but Dad and Tom couldn’t tell any difference. No one had asked what kind of bird the eggs came from. Oliver wasn’t sure they wanted to know. Sometimes it was easier not to, particularly if the bird in question was cute or hideous. Chickens weren’t either, at least once they outgrew the downy stage; therefore it was easier to eat them and their eggs.
The sky was clear that morning with the exception of some clouds to the southwest hovering over the top of Mount Pelerin. They clustered around the summit of the mountain like a big, white bridal bouquet. But otherwise it looked to be a fine day in late spring. According to Luke, some of the past races had taken place on days with rain and wind and once there was even snow. He’d said that bad weather tended to be an equalizer, and some of the most surprising wins had come during stormy Bonebreakers. The Ellsworths weren’t especially interested in a surprise win this year; they were just glad to see the nice weather, Abby especially. She liked getting wet about as much as a housecat did.
Tom and Abby were going to watch the start of the race with Luke and his parents. “Please stick together. I don’t know what kind of a crowd this is going to be,” Dad said. He wasn’t too worried; Aurelia was civilized and the kids were safe in the streets. Still, this was a first for all of them, and crowds could be unpredictable.
“We’ll be fine, Dad,” Tom assured him, dipping his toast into egg yolk and taking a bite. “Luke has seen it before.”
“And after the race starts, we’re going to be with Sara and Luis, too,” Abby said. They’d planned on riding their bikes. Luke said that this was the best way to see a lot of the race.
“Mrs. Whipple is making lunches for us to take with us,” Abby added.
Wilson the cat came into the kitchen and made the rounds. Tom offered him a small piece of scrambled egg on an extended fingertip under the table. Wilson sniffed carefully before taking a dainty bite. Oliver pretended not to see.
“That’s good of Mrs. Whipple. Be sure to say thank you,” said Dad, taking more eggs. He wasn’t sure when he’d be able to eat during the race or if it would be a good idea. There might not be time. Wilson came over to see if he could get more egg from the largest Human but had no luck.
Abby added hot sauce to her scrambled eggs. Wilson’s nose twitched in disapproval at the scent of spice and chile wafting through the air. Ever since she’d made the kish-kish stew for school, Abby had gained an appreciation for the pleasure of burning her taste buds. Tom ate his with plain salt and pepper.
“We’ll meet after the race at the finishing area near the Blue Pearl Sea,” Dad said, “presuming our team makes it that far. If not, we’ll meet back here at the house.” Some years as many as half the teams didn’t finish.
“Okay, Dad.”
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“The first thing they do is hand out the ceremonial staffs,” Luke explained to Abby and Tom. Luis and Sara had seen prior races too. However, Luke was the best versed in race lore; he was a fountainhead of information and trivia.
This year the race started in the big public square near the center of town. In years past, Luke had told them, sometimes the beginning had been far away, and complaints had been numerous. Once the race had begun on the top of Mount Pelerin; the Aeris were still peeved about that one.
The spectators liked to see the beginning to cheer on his team and size up the opposition, perhaps take an opportunity to sow confusion among rivals. The only question this year was if the square could hold all of the spectators.
Tom and Abby had seen their Dad off earlier then cleaned up the breakfast debris and headed over to the Whipples’ house. They both brought their backpacks, now happily empty of schoolwork. Mrs. Whipple loaded them down with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, bags of sliced fruit and large bottles of water. Then she added brownies and chocolate chip cookies, both.
“Mom, you’ve given us enough food for a week!” Luke said.
“Better to have too much than not enough,” Jo Whipple replied with motherly logic. “You’re going to be running around all over creation today, and it’s important to have enough energy. And I don’t want you eating any of the food at the checkpoints.”
“Why not?” Tom asked.
Luke had the answer. “One year,” he explained, “the Vannevar put a rash-inducing weed extract in the water supply. They drank it too, and said that the rash was merely an art effect, polka-dotted skin.”
“Oh. Well, thanks for all the stuff, Mrs. Whipple. This is great,” Tom said.
“Thanks a lot,” Abby echoed.
“You’re welcome. Such good manners! How’s your father doing? Looking forward to the race?”
“I think so. He’s kind of nervous, though,” Abby said.
“Nonsense! He’ll do just fine,” Carr Whipple boomed, coming into the kitchen where the kids were busy fitting all the food into their backpacks. Mr. Whipple wasn’t an official member of the MAFM, but during the past two years’ races, he had been known to lend an unofficial hand in finding some of the more obscure scavenger items. Mrs. Whipple didn’t know about this; she was strictly by the book, a stickler for the rules. Luke did know.
“If the camels are loaded, let’s get this caravan on the road,” Mr. Whipple said.
==============
Luke, Abby and Tom walked their bikes as they went with the adult Whipples down to the Aurelia town square.
“We can stow them on a side street,” Luke explained, “and then get them after the opening ceremony when the race starts. It’ll be so crowded, there’s no way we can bring them into the square.”
“How are we going to find Sara and Luis?” Abby wanted to know.
“If we don’t see them, I told them we’d meet in front of the House of Fire since it’s pretty close anyway,” Luke said.
When they were still several blocks away from the town square, they could hear a murmuring tide, swelling and growing exponentially louder as they grew closer. Abby, Tom and Luke racked their bikes in front of the Theobroma Café (closed, like everything else) and then proceeded with Mr. and Mrs. Whipple. The crowd noise didn’t sound so much like a group of people as like a force of nature, a windstorm or a huge tide rolling in. In the wash of sound, it was difficult to discern individual voices, and the Humans’ LMDs didn’t work very well. There was simply too much background noise. The LMD couldn’t pick a thread of voice out of the cloth of the talking crowd.
Still, Abby, Tom and the Whipples had some idea of what was being said when they saw a giant Nawak trot by, swathed in a sort of toga in green and red, chanting “Ohboy notsorindi BA!” over and over again. He looked like a berserk Christmas ornament. Tom wondered if ‘ohboy notsorindi BA’ was the name of the Nawak’s team or if he was putting a curse on his competitors. But it was impossible to tell; the Nawak’s voice was just one of thousands.
When they arrived in the square, the Humans saw a riotous melange of color and shapes. Ribbons of scent curled through the mix of people. Strong was the smoke from the Aeris furiously puffing on cigarettes, but there were also vendors of spicy hot drinks with the smell of cloves and the various perfumes and body odors from the packed crowd. Abby saw one del
irious Vannevar swirling in circles, carried away with the spirit of the event, her arms occasionally hitting one of the other spectators, a stuffed dead rodent strapped to the top of her hat. Tom wondered, not for the first time, which team was using a rodent as its symbol. It seemed so odd. And what did that little bonsai tree represent? Back on Earth, football teams had been represented by lions, tigers and bears, maybe a horse or even historical figures like miners or meatpackers. Tom supposed that some of these could look weird to an alien, too. They’d probably have to learn a lot of the history and mythology of Gracchia and the other planets before they could know the story behind some of these symbols.
The competing teams—there were eight this year—were gathered in the middle of the square in an area slightly separated from the crowd jamming the perimeter. An elderly-looking Gracchus was on an elevated platform in the center. He seemed to be consulting some type of tablet in his hands, shaking his head from time to time.
“Can you see Dad?” Abby asked. She had to shout in Tommy’s ear to be heard.
Tom craned his neck. It was difficult to find anything in this crowd. “Nope!” Tom shouted back. He shook his head for emphasis.
Then Luke said, hands cupped to direct his voice to Abby, “I don’t see your Dad, but I can see Macready.” He pointed to an area adjacent to the central platform. Abby could half-hear him, but she could also read his lips a little.
Abby jumped up and down to see the area that Luke was pointing to. At first she didn’t see, but then she could make out Macready’s balding head. “There’s Macready, Tommy!”
“I can see Dad, too,” Tom yelled back. He grinned. This was great.
The elderly Gracchus, master of ceremonies, held up his arms. The crowd grew comparatively quieter. He didn’t have a microphone, but the Gracchus knew the art of voice projection and crowd psychology. His words carried across the heads of the crowd, and with one dominant voice instead of a cacophony, the Humans’ LMDs worked.
“This is the part where they hand out the staffs,” Luke said. He no longer had to scream.
“To the team of Mighty Carnivorous Amphibian, I give the staff of Ophis!” the Gracchus announced. A nearby group of Aeris made happy, squeaking noises. The Gracchus handed an ornate staff decorated with multicolored, faceted stones to one of the Amphibian team members.
“To the team Ghost Wind from the Northeast, I give the staff of Musgux!” This time, the team seemed to be primarily composed of Vannevars, and the staff that was given to them was embedded with green stones. Abby wondered if they were real emeralds. A group of fans erupted in cheers and honking sounds.
“To the team of Smoke and Iron, I give the staff of Taranto!” This staff was covered with red stones. The Gracchus who took the staff had a miniature tree attached to the top of his head. It looked quite uncomfortable.
“To the Midlife Corpulents, I give the staff of Gannax!” Tom burst out laughing as the Gracchus Master of Ceremonies handed Macready a staff decorated with clear crystals. Tom supposed that ‘Middle-Aged Fat Men’ didn’t translate directly. The other Humans were also laughing and cheering and clapping for the MAFM. Someone let out a shrill, warbling whistle, too. Tom and Abby were surprised to see it was Sara.
Sara grinned. “My Uncle Al taught me!” she shouted above the cheers. Cool. Abby hoped that Sara would teach her how to whistle, too.
Three of the remaining teams were introduced, each with its accompaniment of applause from the fans. Then the final team was announced. “To the team of Velvet Claw Kitten, I give the staff………of the Blues!” The whole crowd erupted in noise. This staff was different from the other seven. It was plain wood, without ornamentation.
“That staff is the most important one!” Luke shouted. “It contains a part of the original document that the Blue brought back through enemy lines. Old – it’s really old. Velvet Claw gets it because they’re the winners from last year.”
Abby would have expected the most important and prestigious staff to have the most jewels and crystals. But the staff did stand out among its flashier counterparts. Still, she preferred the sparkling ones.
At a signal from the head Gracchus, a round, cannon-like machine on the central platform began to spew dice upon the huge crowd. At least, it looked like dice. The small cues rained down upon the people who reached and snatched at them.
Perhaps these were some sort of alien party favors.
“Maps!” Luke said as he jumped up to catch a cube. One of them bopped Sara in the head. She blinked then picked it up from the ground.
“Push the button on top, and you’ll get a map of the race and a list of the stuff for the scavenger hunt,” Luke said.
Tom managed to catch two at once, and he gave one to Abby. They pressed the small button, and a three-dimensional map immediately sprung forth. It showed the town of Aurelia and the area immediately around it, including Vespa Falls, Pelerin Mountain and the Aramys Book Cliffs. The checkpoints were indicated by little scintillas of light; there looked to be about twelve of them. Luke had said that the racers won points for each checkpoint they reached, plus there were puzzles and riddles at each checkpoint station for bonus points.
Around the town’s central square, the race participants and all the fans had brought their maps to life, pointing to areas on the map and discussing routes in excited voices. There wouldn’t have been enough room for the maps and the crowd crushed together except for the fact that the projected maps didn’t need free space; they just looked opaque even as they were shining onto a space occupied by a person. Unfortunately, this meant that anyone pointing at a spot on the map was likely to poke the person next to him. Abby put her hand into her map; it partially disappeared inside the image. Her fingers looked ghostlike atop Pelerin Mountain.
Many of the checkpoints were in town or close by, but one of the points was out at Vespa Falls, southeast of Aurelia, and one of them was on a small island in the Blue Pearl Sea. That one looked very difficult to reach, which meant that it was worth more points, Abby guessed. Abby looked closer at the checkpoints. One of them was moving, she was sure of it. The wandering point was north of Aurelia, and it seemed to be drifting a bit to the east, towards the Blue Pearl Sea.
Unfortunately, the scavenger list was written in Gracchian, and Abby’s and Tom’s language skills weren’t up to deciphering the list.
“Here.” Luke showed them how to change the language display by pressing another button, a smaller, less noticeable one on the cube’s top. The scavenger list appeared in Aerisian, then Vannevarian as Luke continued to hold down the button. When the list appeared in English, he lifted his finger. The names of the checkpoints and various geographical features now also appeared in English.
Abby re-examined the moving checkpoint. It was labeled, simply, ‘herd.’ If this checkpoint was actually a herd of animals—verdingers, perhaps?—that would explain why it wasn’t standing still. She wondered what would happen if the verdingers refused to let anyone come close. Maybe there’d be a stampede.
The scavenger list was long and included such things as an autograph from Branaugh Dinwiddie (Item 4), a radascall lance (Item 15), and dung from a bobosma (Item 17).
“What’s a bobosma?” Tom asked, but his question was lost in the general noise. He might not know what a bobosma was, but Tom was pretty sure he could help the MAFM team get some of these things, if his Dad would let him assist. For instance, Tom knew exactly where he could find a pair of Human’s striped boxer shorts (Item 23).
The fans were all discussing this year’s map and list with great excitement. The Bonebreaker teams were each huddled together like a football squad discussing the play, plotting strategy and the best course of action.
“Ha! An unopened bottle of Flottle!” (Item 2) Mr. Whipple said. “I can just guess why the judges want that one.” Flottle was a delicate and expensive liquor especially beloved by the Gracchus.
&nbs
p; The Gracchus Master of Ceremonies let the discussion proceed for a few minutes, then he held up his small hands for attention once again.
“And now, in honor of the spirit which drove our ancestors beyond the bounds what is merely improbable and into the nearly impossible, let us begin the race!” Another wild cheer broke out from the crowd, and the people began to disperse. To Tom’s and Abby’s surprise, the Bonebreaker teams didn’t immediately race out of the square to the first of their chosen destinations, but still seemed to be taking stock of the list and talking about strategy. Slowly, one by one, the teams trickled out of the area to the checkpoints. Some of the team members would be delegated to find what the could on the scavenger list, but it was also valuable to have as many members as possible make it through each of the checkpoints. So most teams preferred to find such scavenger items as they could along the route between the checkpoints, detouring from the course as little as possible. It was all a question of strategy, a balance of ingredients for the maximum points.
A quick, sharp scuffle broke out between a Nawak and an Aeris. If Abby hadn’t been looking directly at them as they were leaving the square, she wouldn’t have seen it. The Aeris tried to snatch a water bottle from the pack of a Nawak, possibly because he was thirsty, but more likely for a sinister reason, like dropping salt in the water or some violent emetic. At any rate, the fight was over almost before it had begun when the Nawak noticed the erring Aeris and merely leaned her bulk against the Aeris as they passed a wall, the Aeris’ hand trapped in mid-grab. She brushed him off with all the consideration she’d show an annoying horsefly.
The Aeris lay still on the ground for a brief moment, the shook himself vigorously and ran to catch up with his teammates. Abby had to admire the Nawak. It must be wonderful to be tall and mighty, she thought wistfully as they made their way back to where the bicycles were parked. Not many messed with the Nawaks. Or if they did, they were brushed off.
At the edge of the square, Luis stopped and pointed back. “Look, the MAFM are leaving.” The Human team was exiting the square, taking a southeastern direction. Luis popped his map and peered at the checkpoints. “I’ll bet they’re going to Fromage Park first.” Fromage Park, especially beloved by the Aeris, was close to the town center. It was a logical first checkpoint choice.
“Sara, Luis, where’d you guys park your bikes?” Luke asked.
“We just left them at home since we didn’t know if we’d find you in the square,” Sara said.
“Ours are right around the corner, here,” Luke pointed.
“C’mon, Luis. We’ll run and meet you back here, just a few minutes,” Sara said. She and Luis ran off quickly.
Mr. and Mrs. Whipple walked with Luke, Abby and Tom back to the side alley where they’d left their bicycles. As Tom was stowing his map cube in his backpack, he felt something unfamiliar in one of his pack pockets, something lumpy but hard. He pulled out a bag of marbles.
“What’s this doing here?”
Abby grimaced in apology. “Sorry. I put those in your pack to give to Luke because he wanted some more to put in his pool. I forgot to tell you.”
“Jeez. Why didn’t you put them in yours?”
“They’re heavy,” Abby explained with impeccable logic.
Tom just shook his head.
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“Interesting, isn’t it?” Carr Whipple observed as they made their way along the street along with a flood of other people. “The whole spectacle, the pageantry and colors could almost be something out of the history of Earth. Makes me think of the Palio, in fact.”
Tom took the bait. “What’s the Palio?”
“The Palio was an annual horse race through the streets of Florence, held annually through the years of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Florence, Italy, that is. By all accounts, the Palio was a rough event, sometimes involving broken bones of the horse and the riders, sometimes even the spectators who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Death was not unheard of.”
Mr. Whipple was one of the few academics who had been granted travel and residence permission on Gracchia. Luke was used to his father putting everything in historical context, comparing and contrasting the histories of the Human and Gracchus species. Carver Whipple was not only an expert on Shakespeare but also a passionate historian. His parents, scientists both, had hoped that he would follow in their footsteps and had named him after the great George Washington Carver, but Carr Whipple had gone his own way, as children will do regardless of the desires of their parents.
“The fans of the Palio were worthy of the name. ‘Fan’ is short for fanatic, you know,” Carr Whipple continued. “Usually the allegiance to one stable remained constant all through one’s life, and whole families wore the colors of their chosen team to show support.”
They arrived at the stashed bicycles. Carr Whipple’s lessons never really ended; they just got interrupted by other things.
Jo Whipple had a few cautionary words.
“Now you have fun, but stay out of harm’s way. Your father and I will see you at the finishing area, so be sure you’re there.”
“Right, Mom.”
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The three kids pedaled over to the House of Fire to meet up with Sara and Luis. Luis was practically dancing with impatience.
“Let’s go, let’s go!” Luis sped off on his bike in the general direction of Fromage Park. Sara and Luke followed. Tom lingered for a moment with Abby.
“You all go on ahead. I forgot something back at the house,” he said.
Abby gave Tom a sharp look. He was up to something. But the others were already disappearing around a corner, and she didn’t want to be left behind.. “Where will we see you, then?”
“I’ll find you, don’t worry, I’ll catch up.” Tom was already gone.
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Fromage Park was jammed. At least half of the Bonebreaker teams had decided to come here first, including the MAFM.
The checkpoint was easy to reach. The bonus points were another matter.
On their bikes, Sara, Luis, Luke and Abby had arrived just a little behind the five teams that had elected to go to the Fromage Park checkpoint as their first stop. The team members all passed through an arch with registered their unique energy signatures (impossible to fake even by the trickiest contestants) and thus gained the deserved points for their team. Two of the teams had simply collected the points earned for reaching this checkpoint and had moved on to other sites, one of the teams going southeast to Vespa Falls and the other westward to Eck’s Cave. The remaining three teams were attempting to gain the bonus points by solving a riddle.
Once a team had decided to take on the bonus point challenge, they could quit and move on without successfully solving the challenge, but it would cost them a deduction in style points, or as Macready referred to them, ’gumption points.’ The risk was worth the reward, though; the bonus points were substantial, and the harder the challenge, the greater the score.
The Humans kids tried to find the MAFM. Luis was the first to spot them in front of the bonus point area. Two of the MAFM were missing, out hunting for items on the scavenger list.
“There they are! I’ll bet they’re stuck,” Luis declared. He slid his slight frame sideways through the crowd to get closer to the team. Luis was confident that he’d have no problem solving the riddle.
“Luis is peeved because Dad won’t let him join a Bonebreaker team,” Sara sighed as the others attempted to follow. “He says that brains are more important than brawn, and so he should be allowed to join no matter how small or young he is.
“He could even be right, but it’s been a long couple of months. Every night, the same argument.”
They caught up with Luis who was hovering on the edge of the MAFM who had huddled to ponder the answer to the riddle given by the Gracchus checkpoint judge. Macready pretended not to see them as he murmured the riddle out loud:
<
br /> “Lighter than what I am made of,
More of me is hidden than seen.”
That was it, a very short clue. Oliver was attempting to examine it rationally. “Let’s see. We know it can’t be something that’s unique to Earth or Gracchia. And it can’t refer to any one culture, because that wouldn’t be fair to the others. Hmmm.
“Yet how can it be lighter than what it’s made of? Doesn’t seem possible.” Oliver’s brow was wrinkled in thought. Adult brains didn’t move easily in new directions, most of them.
Luis was wiggling around. It was obvious to any and all observers that he knew the answer and was bursting to tell. If he’d been in a classroom, Luis’ arm would be waving around like a semaphore. His brain did move in new directions, sometimes several new directions all at the same time. Macready eyed him indirectly. Help was sometimes given in the puzzle challenges, but it was much better stylistically for the teams to solve the riddles by themselves. Luis knew this, too. He was struck by transparent cunning.
“Gee, do you know what would be really great right now?” Luis asked Sara in a voice that couldn’t be heard more than a half-mile away. “A glass of cold water.”
Sara immediately saw Luis’ point, though she wished he had a bit more subtlety. Oh well. You took the brother you were given. “Mmmm, yes,” she replied. “A glass of really cold, cold, cold water.”
Macready suppressed a smile. The kids had the answer.
If there were any Gracchus judges listening in, it was possible that this small charade had fooled them. Or perhaps it would simply amuse them.
Macready whispered the answer into Oliver’s ear. Oliver slapped his forehead. “But of course!” He hurried off to submit the MAFM team’s answer to the riddle so they could run to the next checkpoint.
A Vannevar, having watched all this, sidled up to Luis. “Do you really know the answer? I find it hard to believe that such a young Human would be able to decipher so quickly a clue,” he said in an offhand voice. The Vannevar smoothed his sleek hair with a bejeweled hand, emeralds sparkling in the spring air. “If, that is, you do know……?”
“It’s easy,” Luis boasted. “If you just think of the physical properties of--- Mmth!” Sara clapped a hand over Luis’ big mouth and dragged him away, smiling politely at the Vannevar contestant. If he hadn’t figured out the riddle from Luis’ broad hint, then it seemed that he’d try to get the answer with guile.
“You dummy!” she hissed. “He was trying to get the answer out of you.”
“Uh. No he wasn’t,” Luis said. “He was just…” Luis’ voice trailed off. In fact, Sara could be right. Just this once.
“Oh, never mind,” Sara said. “I wonder where Tom is. The team is going to Vespa Falls next, and he’s still not here. We have to get going.”
==============
Tom pedaled furiously back to his house. He was pretty sure that he could find several of the scavenger items for the team. Wilson greeted him at the door, and Tom paused to scritch him behind his ears. But there was time for no more cat moments. He ran into his sister’s bedroom. Just as he thought: Neither he nor Abby had red tennis shoes, one of the things on the list, but one of her big dolls had red lace-ups strapped on her little artificial feet. Tom thought that a good case could be made that these were Human shoes, even if they were made for a Human toy. Maybe they’d fit a Gracchus. He knew that Abby would be less than thrilled to see her doll shoeless, so he stuffed the toy behind some of her other junk so the feet couldn’t be seen. Tom stuffed the clandestine shoes deep into his backpack; he would be careful not to let Abby see them until he could hand them over to the MAFM. Maybe she’d never notice that they were gone.
Then Tom went to his father’s bedroom. Another of the items on the scavenger list was any kind of striped undergarments. He rifled through Dad’s boxer undershorts until he came up with two pair, one in orange and black (did Dad wear these on Halloween?) and one with calmer blue and white stripes. Tom took them both; Dad had plenty and perhaps one of them could be bartered to another team.
Tom thought possibly there was a bottle of Flottle in the liquor cabinet, but no such luck. He might have hesitated to take one anyway, but Tom didn’t have to make the decision.
Tom was thirsty from his bicycling and scavenging. As he was getting a drink from the kitchen sink, Tom almost choked when he heard a knock at the door. He coughed violently.
Cautiously, quietly, Tom approached the front door. Maybe he’d been followed by a Bonebreaker official. Did they throw people in jail for helping out a team? How did they even know that he was here for the MAFM?
This was silly. Luke had said that anything goes in the Bonebreaker Race, and besides, Tom was fast on a bike. He hadn’t been followed. Still, Tom barely inched the door open, ready to slam it again if necessary.
Mr. Whipple stood on the front doorstep, a book in his hand.
“Tom! I was next door, saw you coming back.”
Mr. Whipple’s eyes twinkled. “You’re getting things for the scavenger list, I’d wager.”
Tom wasn’t sure if he was in trouble or not, but he nodded. “Um. Yes. Red shoes and some striped underwear.”
“Ah, great! Here, you can take this, too.” Carr Whipple handed Tom the book, looking backwards towards his own house.
The book was a paperback copy of King Lear by William Shakespeare.
“Open the front cover,” Mr. Whipple suggested.
Tom looked. On the first page, in an almost undecipherable scrawl: ‘Property of Branagh Dinwiddie.
“For the scavenger hunt,” Mr. Whipple explained. “Item thirty-eight is an autograph by Branagh Dinwiddie, the man who introduced the Gracchus to the pleasures of The Bard.”
“Wow!” Tom said. “But are you sure you want to give this up? Isn’t it worth a lot of money?”
Mr. Whipple grinned. “It’s worth, oh maybe five dollars back on Earth. Serious Shakespeare scholars become conversant with the detection of forgeries. Which means we look at a lot of fakes. This happens to be a very good representation of Branagh Dinwiddie’s signature. I should know; I did it myself!” Mr. Whipple beamed.
“But, ahem, please don’t tell Mrs. Whipple. I’m not sure that women always understand sports and such. Get along now, you’ve got to get that stuff to the team.”
“Thanks, Mr. Whipple. This is great,” Tom said. He took special care in tucking away the copy of King Lear, then got back onto his bike and sped away. With all this help, the MAFM were sure to win.
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Vespa Falls was quite a distance from Aurelia; the relative difficulty of reaching it meant that the checkpoint there must be worth more points than those closer to town, but the trade-off was that it took so much valuable time to get there. Once again, it was a question of strategy; did the extra points justify the extra time? As Macready kept the MAFM trotting at double-time, Oliver was glad he’d be putting in some time jogging in the evenings, though he wished he’d done more. As it was, his legs were griping, sending minor aches up to the message center in his brain. Oliver ignored the messages as best he could, trying to find the zen state of not caring. This didn’t entirely work. Oliver didn’t dare to think what his legs would feel like by the end of the day. He wondered if the Gracchus doc-in-the-box medical consultant offered some kind of special anti-inflammatory painkillers.
Speeding along on their bikes, the kids made it to Vespa Falls ahead of the MAFM, but they weren’t the first to arrive. Kitten Claw must have come here first; they were already packing up for the next stop when the kids rolled up. Velvet Kitten Claw, to give them their full name, was primarily composed of Vannevars, though they also had two Aeris members. All of them wore a sort of uniform of sumptuous black velvet, studded with little gold crescents. Abby, admiring the clothes, was pretty sure that the crescents represented cat claws. The black velvet absorbed the light, dark and mysteriou
s. It was most inappropriate for a race in the warm sunshine, a triumph of style over sensibility.
Sara was sweating. She thought that she would have heatstroke if she had to wear a heavy black velvet robe, but the Vannevars looked as pale-skinned and collected as ever. The two Aeris, however, wore only black velvet sashes around the middle of their skinny little bodies; they were more vulnerable to overheating.
As they shouldered their packs and started off down the road, Velvet Kitten Claw began to chant their team song in time with their footsteps:
“We are the Kitten,
The mighty Kitten.
Stalk, pounce, BITE!”
Further verses became indistinct as Kitten Claw disappeared in the distance.
The checkpoint arch at Vespa Falls was the same as the one at Fromage Park, but here also was a table set up with extra food and water rations. The Bonebreaker Race was meant to be tough, but not utterly uncivilized. The Gracchus didn’t want anyone collapsing from dehydration or suffering from peckishness. Also near the food table was a rough and ready first aid station with bandages, splints and other such primitive forms of medical help. This was the kind of first aid setup that Ms. Tavish was running at one of the other checkpoints. Abby thought that it might be kind of romantic if her Dad had an injury, nothing too serious or painful though, and Ms. Tavish was able to help him. Abby sighed.
Luis wasn’t lost in daydreams; he was on a quest for information. He charged over to the bonus point area and demanded to know the checkpoint riddle. The Gracchus in charge was not cowed by the junior Human.
“No.”
“Why not?” Luis demanded.
“While youth is not a disqualifying factor, not being on a team is, youngling,” the Gracchus shot Luis a stern look under beetling eyebrow whiskers and turned away to consult with a Nawak colleague, effectively dismissing Luis.
The MAFM showed up before Luis could cause a scene. Now he’d get to hear the riddle, whether the judge liked it or not.
Abby was happy to see that her Dad was carrying the MAFM standard, the Staff of Gannax. Luke had said that all the staffs were named after members of the original Blues, the group from long ago who had brought back the documents across enemy lines.
The Middle-Aged Fat Men team quickly filed through the checkpoint arch then clustered around the Gracchus in charge of the bonus point challenge. Apparently, the team of midlife corpulents had decided to get as many bonus points as possible, perhaps in lieu of trying to hit all the checkpoints.
Sara, Luis, Luke and Abby all clustered close to hear the riddle. Tom was still missing.
The Gracchus judge coughed, turned his back on the little group and spit on the ground. When he’d turned back, he said, “Recite a poem.”
Silence. The MAFM looked at each other. The team had been mentally prepared for a test of wits, strength or another kind of puzzle, but not for recitation of proper poetry. Oliver wondered if ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ would qualify. Somehow, it didn’t quite seem dignified enough.
The Nawak judge said, “RECITE A POEM.” He wasn’t shouting, but close. He might have thought that the MAFM were old enough to be hard of hearing.
“Can we make one up?” Macready asked.
“No.”
Macready doubted that the limericks in his repertoire would be suitable.
Even Luis was quiet. Poetry wasn’t his strong suit even if he’d been allowed to participate.
Finally one of the Middle-Aged Fat Men spoke up. Katie Peterson was a small, blonde woman decked out in combat fatigues. When not running around in the Bonebreaker Race, Katie designed jewelry; her light and delicate designs were particularly prized by the Aeris.
“Ahem.” Katie cleared her throat. “ ‘Four score and seven years ago,’ “ she began. Katie then delivered the entire, brilliantly simple Gettysburg Address. While neither Katie nor any of her teammates knew it, the Gracchus had already been observing the Human race during the American Civil War and understood the context of the Address. While not technically a poem, surely it was one of the most moving speeches of all time.
The cranky Gracchus judge made a notation on his notebook. As he wrote, his crystalline stylus sparkled in the morning light. “Very good, top points. Eloquent and meaningful.” Oliver breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn’t recited a nursery rhyme, low on meaningfulness. “You may continue on the Race.”
The MAFM high-fived all around, and Macready kissed Katie on the cheek. She explained, “I was Abraham Lincoln in the quarter-millennium celebration at our elementary school when I was a kid.”
“You’re a bit shorter than honest Abe, Peterson,” Macready observed.
Katie laughed. “I think I was the only one the teacher trusted enough to memorize the lines.”
The MAFM team prepared to leave for their next checkpoint, Eck’s Cave. They were taking a back route, shorter but rocky. The kids wouldn’t be able to follow on their bicycles; they’d have to take the road back to town. Tom still had not joined them.
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Tom was cycling back to town, backpack bulging with goodies, when he hit a snag. This snag took the form of several Aeris lurking on a side street.
Fortunately, one of them couldn’t resist giggling as Tom approached, otherwise Tom would have been taken utterly by surprise. He had just sailed past the central square area, littered with colored banners and party debris, and was heading for Vespa Falls when he heard a snicker coming from the alleyway just ahead. Three Aeris jumped out in front of his bike. Tom stopped with a skid, just managing to not maim any delicate Aeris limbs. The jumpers seemed unconcerned about almost becoming a bicycle speed bump. Although this did seem like an ambush, Tom wasn’t particularly nervous. He could deal.
With a flourish, the middle Aeris produced a map cube while the other two came up to either side of Tom. He was not surprised to see the cube produce the list of scavenger items; the Aeris were on the same mission to find items, albeit using a different method. This list was set to the curvy Aerisian language, but Tom knew sure enough what the Aeris was pointing to.
“Young Human. You are amenable to trade?”
“Um. I just had to go home, uh, to use the bathroom.”
Tom didn’t think that it was wise to discuss scavenger items with this lot.
The Aeris tried again. “Then have you a ‘striped Human undergarment’?”
“No,” Tom lied. This was the Bonebreaker, after all, and the city was almost deserted away from the checkpoints; revealing stuff in his backpack could be disastrous. Lying seemed the better part of valor. “But I can tell you where you can get one,” he said.
“Where?” The two flanking Aeris moved in a little closer.
“That’s valuable information. What do you have to offer?”
The three Aeris put their heads together, consulting the scavenger list and mumbling. “We have a surfeit of radascall lances,” one answered.
Tom had seen radascall lances on the list but had no idea what they were. They must be something made by the Aeris, maybe some kind of weapon.
“Okay, I’ll tell you where you can find a striped Human undergarment, and you’ll give me a radascall lance?”
More mumbling among the Aeris. “Hmmmn. This garment is easily obtainable?”
Tom nodded. “Yes.”
“We have an exchange.”
Tom offered a show of trust by going first. “You can find lots of underwear, uh, ‘Human undergarments,’ at the Vannevar art exhibit in Ajincore Field. Including Human underwear with stripes. I’ve seen it.”
One of the Aeris clapped his hands together, a sign of frustration in his species. He reached out and whacked his compatriot in the head. “Of course! Idiot!” The wronged Aeris whacked back as good as he got.
“Now you owe me a radascall lance.”
For some reason, this necessitated another mumbled conference among the Aeris. As t
hey talked, they threw an occasional glance at Tom. He thought they were especially interested in his backpack. Tom realized with uneasiness that he hadn’t seen any other people in the area since he’d been waylaid by the Aeris. And they were armed with radascall lances.
A decision was reached. One of the Aeris delved into a furry bag and brought out a funny little spiral stick. It looked like some kind of fancy straw. He handed the stick to Tom. “Here.”
“That’s a radascall lance? You’ve got to be kidding. You actually stab people with this thing?”
“It’s not a weapon, it’s used to stir beverages; they can instantly chill any drink,” the Aeris explained. “Our guess is that the Gracchus judges want them for their Flottle liquor,” he added sourly.
“Oh. Well, thanks, I’d better get going now.” Tom got back onto his bicycle.
“Your pack is large, young Human. Perhaps you have more things? For trade?”
“Um, no. It’s just my lunch and stuff.” The Aeris once again spread out around Tom. He had been afraid of this. It reminded him of school back on Earth when the bullies ganged up. Better to take action now, try to go on the offensive. Then Tom was inspired; he remembered one of the reasons his backpack was so heavy. Tom stealthily reached around and unzipped one of the lower side backpack pockets while sending a silent thank-you to his sister.
Tom fervently hoped that the Aeris weren’t that familiar with Humans and their behavior. He let a look of amazement and horror cross his face as his gaze traveled to a point behind the Aeris’ backs. “KRAV TERMEXA!” Tom shouted.
“HOLY COW!” he threw in for good measure. Tom didn’t really know what ‘krav termexa’ meant, but the owner of the Alien Oddities had used it to great effect. Maybe it was some horrible curse. Whatever it might be, it worked; the Aeris turned around to see what horrible thing was causing the young Human to utter such a terrible curse.
Even as he was stomping down on his pedals, Tom reached around with one arm to the side pocket and grabbed a slippery handful of marbles. He threw them onto the ground between him and the Aeris. Tom’s back tire spun, then bit on the cobbles, and he rocketed off down the street. Intent on steering, Tom didn’t risk a look backward but heard shouted Aerisian curses, things that his LMD couldn’t translate. He hoped that the marbles would slow the Aeris and maybe even make them fall down. Then something truly unexpected happened: A round, wobbly, pink object flew over Tom’s head and, from the sound of it, smacked squarely into a pursuing Aeris. More curses.
“This way, Tom!” a voice cried out. Tom saw a man step out of a doorway. Another roundish object was launched over Tom’s head, this one orange-colored.
The man was Alex Vargas, and even as Tom recognized him, a fresh fusillade of water balloons was launched at the Aeris. This salvo was enough to cause them to retreat.
“Ha! They hate getting wet. Just like un gato,” Mr. Vargas boomed out as Tom rolled close, then stopped. “Good fellows, most of them, but always up to tricks.”
“Thanks, Mr. Vargas. Um. How did you happen to be here? With water balloons?”
“As I’m sure you know, I’m a member of the MAFM, but this year my role is covert. I’ve been assigned by our esteemed leader to launch counter-measures.”
Tom’s expression must have told Mr. Vargas that Tom had no idea what he was talking about.
“Ah, I thought Luis must have told you about the incident last year,” Mr. Vargas explained. “The team of Mighty Carnivorous Amphibian, mostly Aeris, managed to take our Bonebreaker Staff and might have gotten away with it if not for some heroic measures by Macready. Through judicious intelligence gathering, bribery, and some last-minute planting of information, we know they’re planning the same thing this year, the attack to be launched near the Bridge of Stars.
“While extremely intelligent,” Mr. Vargas continued as he wheeled his bike out from under a shop awning, “if the Aeris have a weakness, it’s that they like to repeat their stunts and jokes. These,” Mr. Vargas indicated his heavy satchel filled with water balloons, “are part of the defense.”
He took off the weighty satchel and put it in the trailer attached to the back of his bicycle. Tom saw that the water balloons weren’t the only part of the arsenal of tricks.
“They want to take the MAFM’s staff for extra points?” Tom asked.
“That’s right. It’s considered quite a coup, very daring, plus it takes the other team out of the running entirely.”
“Can I come along and watch?”
“We can do better than that. Can you throw well?” Mr. Vargas got onto his bike.
Tom nodded enthusiastically.
“Well then, let’s get going!”
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Far Travels, The Gracchian Adventures, Book One Page 13