Chapter 15
Many Try
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Sara, Luis, Abby and Luke were already at the Eck’s Cave checkpoint. This one offered two opportunities for gaining extra points. One of the choices was another riddle, to Luis’ initial delight. He wasn’t so happy after he couldn’t figure it out within the first few minutes, as he usually could.
The second puzzle had the contestants guessing the total volume of an oddly shaped container; the guess could be made in whichever units of measurement the Bonebreaker contestant felt most comfortable with. Luis asked about this one; it turned out that only the team which came closest to guessing correctly got the points, and no one would know who won them until the end of the race. The Gracchus liked to promote excitement and uncertainty in the Bonebreaker wherever they could.
The odd shape was a hollow sculpture of an eight-legged octopus. At the moment, it was filled with Eck’s finest ale. Presumably, Eck the Nawak knew how much he had needed to fill the octopus, but he was a man of integrity, unbribable, in the best tradition of Nawakian ale house owners. Though it was largely unknown by the general populace, the Nawak system of banking had begun in the ale houses because of the trustworthiness of the owners.
“If we can estimate the volume of one of the legs,” Sara said, “we could multiply it by eight, then guess the volume of the head. The legs are all about the same size.”
Luke speculated, “I’d say that one of the legs hold maybe, um, half a gallon.”
“No way. More like a quart,” Luis argued.
“Look at the way the leg curves, then gets fuller where it meets the head. Way more than a quart,” Luke said.
Abby didn’t join the discussion. She was concerned about Tom. Abby knew that he must be doing something to help Dad’s team. Probably he was getting some of the scavenger items. Too bad she didn’t have any red shoes. Maybe she should ask Sara.
The actual checkpoint at Eck’s Cave was set up outside the tavern. The hollow octopus sat on a platform, and Eck had rigged a small parasol to shade the ale from the corrupting influence of the sun. Abby wandered over to the judging table for the riddle.
Both the team of Ghost Wind and Smoke and Iron were trying to solve the riddle. They were talking in low voices among themselves, trying not to be heard by the other group, casting the occasional suspicious glance if some member of the other team happened to move a bit.
A Vannevar from Ghost Wind finally broke away from her team and approached the table. She was gorgeously arrayed in velvet, the indispensable fabric of the fashionable among the Vannevar. Abby thought it was Valdivia the artist, though it was a little hard to tell with all the makeup the Vannevar customarily wore. Valdivia wrote down their team’s guess on a tablet, then handed it to the Gracchus judges. It was impossible to know whether the answer was correct; the judges’ faces didn’t change. Indeed, some of the riddles had more than one answer.
Abby pondered the riddle:
Many try,
But few succeed.
My only goal
Is to impede.
Hmm. It sounded like the answer was a hurdle, or a locked door. But that didn’t really make sense either. Abby couldn’t focus her mind on it properly. Where was Tom?
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When they’d started out this morning, the only clouds in the sky had been a few clustered on the southwest horizon. There still weren’t a lot, but it looked as if rain might roll over the city. Abby didn’t want to get caught out in the rain, especially when Tom was missing.
Abby spotted the MAFM coming down the road to Eck’s Cave. She ran to meet them; before she reached the team, a strong odor of garlic assailed her nose. It smelled as if they’d fallen into a vat of marinara sauce, and they were more than a little bedraggled.
Abby was both relieved and a little peeved. Tom was supposed to be following the Bonebreaker with the rest of them! But as they went along, Tom told the brief version of being waylaid by three Aeris highwaymen trying to get scavenger items the quick and easy way, and Abby briefly reverted to worry.
Sara and Luis were enthralled at the story of how their Dad had thwarted the Carnivorous Amphibian.
“So that’s why he needed all the garlic!” Sara exclaimed. “He wouldn’t even tell Mom. Dad special ordered a lot from Earth, then said that we weren’t to touch it, that it wasn’t for the restaurant.”
Luis was filled with glee. Tom thought for the first time how much Luis was like his father. The expression on Mr. Vargas’ face when he’d launched the garlic bombs was identical to how Luis looked now.
The MAFM decided to go quickly through this checkpoint, taking a guess at the inner volume of the hollow octopus, but then going on from there without taking a whack at solving the riddle. They needed to hit some more checkpoints, and Macready knew that Oliver wanted to see Ms. Tavish today. Some things were more important than winning this particular race. The MAFM also decided to forgo the Pelerin Mountain points, even though they must be worth a lot since the checkpoint was so far away. Instead, Macready determined that they’d go to Giant’s Park, the Bosky Woods, the River Split, then try for the Ajincore Field, Book Cliffs and Aeris Spire as time and energy permitted.
One of the items on the scavenger list was ‘a piece of clothing from an antagonist team.’ Oliver had a brief discussion with the members of Ghost Wind still at the site, but there was no exchange made. The Vannevars simply didn’t want to trade any of their gorgeous clothing, especially not for any of the grungy, damp items that the Humans were wearing. The MAFM would have to try with some other team.
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Luis was stubborn. He wanted to see the Pelerin Mountain checkpoint, and he wanted to see it right away, immediately if not sooner. He’d heard from one of the Vannevar members of Ghost Wind that there was a particularly difficult mathematical puzzle to be solved for bonus points. This was an irresistible lure for Luis.
“But Luis,” said Sara, exasperated, “the MAFM aren’t going, and it’s so far out of the way. Plus, it’s a mountain!” While she and Luis were arguing, Abby, Tom and Luke were over at the entrance to Eck’s Cave. Tom had his map cube out and they were discussing where to go next, whether to follow the MAFM or go somewhere else.
“The checkpoint isn’t at the top, silly,” Luis pointed out. “It’s at the base. Vandehar said that there is are bonus points for sprinting to the top and back down again, but it’s not like we’re going to do that.”
Luis pulled out his trump card: his bicycle. “If you don’t want to go, I’m going by myself!” He swung a leg over the top bar and prepared to push off. Sara knew that he was perfectly capable of running off. Luis would probably be fine, but what if the little twerp hurt himself by falling off his bike, or grossly insulted a Nawak and got pounded or something like that? Sara knew that her parents would hold her responsible, unfair as it was, and her Dad was already gone with the MAFM. Sara needed a shock collar to control Luis. She briefly lost herself in the daydream.
Sara regained herself. “Wait just a moment, won’t you? I’m going to talk to the others.”
“Okay, but I’m going with or without you.”
Sara restrained herself. Barely. “I know. You already said that,” she said through clenched teeth. “Wait. Two. Minutes.” She walked over to Abby and the boys.
Sara explained her problem. “I should just let him go, but if something happens to him, Mom and Dad will kill me.”
“It’s okay, Sara,” Luke said. He pointed to the map. “After we go to Pelerin Mountain, we can go up to the Sun Bridge and hit the Bosky checkpoint, then the River Split and the Book Cliffs if we still have time.” They would miss the Giant’s Park checkpoint, but at least this way they’d be together.
“Thanks, you guys.” Sara was relieved.
“No big deal,” Luke said. They all packed their stuff and got on their bikes. Luis was raring to go.
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Even as the clouds moved in front of the sun, the day remained warm and the bike ride back to the Bridge of Stars went quickly. Although this route meant that Tom had to retrace his path, it was the quickest way to Mount Pelerin. And after Tom told the story of the showdown at the Bridge of Stars, the rest of the group wanted to see the site of the battle. Tom just hoped that they wouldn’t encounter a boiling mad gang of Aeris along the way. Luke said that Humans all looked alike to the Aeris, pretty much, but it would still be better to avoid the Carnivorous Amphibians. Tom felt sure that he was marked.
Only a few minutes after they left Eck’s Cave, the kids met Katie Peterson, trotting to catch up with the rest of her team. She stopped to talk.
“The Amphibians are heading north,” Katie said. “I think their strategy is to hit Ajincore Park, then try to find the Wandering Herd and ultimately go to the Gem Island checkpoint. They probably figure if they’re the only ones who make it out to the island, they might score some really big points. I wouldn’t count on it if I were them, though. The Nawak are natural swimmers. They can go along forever and a day.”
“Are they looking for revenge?” Tom wanted to know.
Katie nodded. “No doubt. But what does that change? You know Macready’s prepared.”
Tom and Abby were somewhat reassured.
“I’d better get going if I’m going to catch up. You say that the team’s gone on to Giant’s Park? I won’t even bother stopping by Eck’s Cave, then.” Macready had told her that he’d leave word at Eck’s as to their next destination, but now that she didn’t have to stop, she’d be even quicker.
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The kids pedaled across the beautiful Bridge of Stars and stopped on the far side so Tom could point out the scene of the recent battle. The place still smelled heavily of garlic and would for weeks. When Abby and Tom had read about the mythological creatures of Gracchia, there hadn’t been any mention of vampire-like creatures, but if any of those beasts were allergic to garlic, they’d be warded off from this place for a long, long time. Sara wondered if garlic plants would grow here eventually, then she remembered that garlic grew from bulbs.
“C’mon you guys, let’s hurry up,” Luis said. He was eager to confront the math problem at Pelerin Mountain.
Luke cast an eye at the sky darkening to the southwest. The clouds had heavy gray bellies like sacks of cement. Luke’s Mom had made him pack a rain poncho (naturally), but he wasn’t sure how well the others were equipped. “Luis is right. Let’s make tracks before we get rained on.”
They continued on the lesser track that led to Pelerin, if the cube map was correct. The path narrowed here, so the five of them had to ride in single file, and the path itself was bumpy with roots and rocks. This was going to take a while. None of the bikes had slick tires, but they weren’t really equipped for this kind of rough riding, either. Still, the group pedaled on, Luis in the lead.
After half an hour, Abby had to call for a rest break. Her feet hurt, her ankles hurt, her thighs hurt. And her hands were achy from trying to keep a tight grip on the handlebars over all the bumps and jolts.
“Oh, thank goodness,” Sara said. “I’m exhausted. And besides, it’s lunchtime.” She looked at her watch. “Past lunchtime, actually.” Sara rummaged around in her pack for something to eat and pulled out a package of peanut butter crackers, slightly damaged. She bit into them with relish. Why did food always taste so much better outside?
Luke passed around a bag of gorp, compliments of Mrs. Whipple.
“Why is it called gorp?” asked Tom around a mouthful of nuts and chocolate chips. A raisin caught between his teeth, and Tom picked it out.
Abby ate her chocolate chip cookies, then had some gorp, too. She was hungry.
“My Dad says it’s short for ‘good old raisins and peanuts,’ “ Luke said, “but I don’t know. It sounds made up.”
“I think gorp came from the Nawak,” Abby announced. “The word, I mean, not the food.”
“Why would we call a Human food by a Nawak name?” Luke asked, eyebrows raised.
“Synchronicity,” Abby said. “Like when two people come up with the same idea at the same time. Or like octopusses being on more than one planet.”
This did not persuade Luis, but before he could speak, Sara changed the subject.
“How much further is the mountain?” she said. “We’ve been on this path forever.” Sara had noticed a number of side paths branching off from the one they were on. She hoped that they were still going in the right direction. How did the Bonebreaker teams ever make it?
“It just seems that way because it’s so slow on a bike,” Luis said. “We’re almost there.”
“Are you sure?” Sara was skeptical.
“Sure I’m sure. Look at the map.” Luis projected the race circuit from his cube. “See this little bend on the path? That’s where we are now.” Luis seemed certain.
Sara looked around dubiously. The path had been going through thick underbrush and trees; she didn’t see how Luis knew where they were at all.
Luke stood up, brushing the last bits of gorp from his hands and shirt. “Well, we have to go forward, anyway. If we turn around, it will take just as long to go back to the Bridge of Stars as it took to get here. It’s faster to go to the mountain, then back to town on the Sun Bridge.” He looked up at the sky. In the few minutes that they had stopped for a break, the leading edge of the dark clouds had come across the sun. The sudden drop in temperature felt good on their sweaty bodies, but it would soon chill them unless they were moving again.
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After another twenty minutes of bicycling, even Luis had to admit that they were lost. The temperature had gone down another few degrees, and the rain had begun to mist down in a fine veil. Luke and Sara had rain gear, but the others did not, though they did have some spare clothing. The single track path had almost disappeared, and Tom believed that they were now on some sort of game trail, rather than a path made by the Gracchus. Tom wondered what kind of animal might have made this trail. Did big cats, like mountain lions, ever make trails?
The soft rain made it impossible to get their bearings. By now, they certainly should have been able to see Pelerin Mountain, but the swathes of gray cloud hid all landmarks from view.
Abby was certain that her legs were going to ache forever. She’d graduate from high school, and her legs would still ache. At least this early in the warmer weather season, she didn’t have to contend with bugs. If she’d had to endure bugs, Abby might have started screaming.
It wasn’t entirely his fault, but Luis wouldn’t have won any popularity contests with his immediate peer group at the moment.
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They all stopped again when Tom’s bike got a flat tire. He carried a spare tube and had a tire pump on his bike frame, but it was still a pain to repair, especially in the cool rain. As Tom detached the wheel from the bike and went to work, Luke, Sara and Abby discussed what they should do next. Luis stood a little apart with his arms folded tightly across his chest.
“At least the rain’s light,” Sara said. No sooner had these words left her mouth than a flash of light illuminated the shrubberies, and a ferocious CRACK of thunder left her ears ringing.
Tom had been trying to wedge the tire off the rim. The thunder startled him, his hand slipped, and a half-inch of skin came off his knuckle.
“That’s really weird,” Luke exclaimed.
“What?” Tom’s hearing was still impaired. There wasn’t much weird about a skinned knuckle.
“This is the first time I’ve seen lightning since we’ve come to Gracchia,” Luke said. “And it’s weird in this kind of storm, on any planet.”
“What do you mean?” Sara asked.
“Well, normally there’s a lot more disturbance in a storm when there’s thunder and lightning, at least back on Earth, and it must be
the same here,” Luke said. “The wind comes up, the rain comes down hard. It’s just a lot more active. You don’t get lightning with gentle, misty rains like this. Sheesh, there’s even fog. Fog and lightning don’t do together.”
Luis looked at his watch. “Hey, my compass isn’t working anymore.”
“Compass?” said Tom, wiping the blood off his hand onto his already wet shirt. A little blood couldn’t hurt it much, he figured. No use cleaning out the knuckle. A bandage certainly wouldn’t stick to cold, wet skin.
“My watch has a built-in compass. That’s how I knew we were on the right path,” Luis said, showing the watch. “Only now the compass has started spinning. I think that the lightning might have done something to it.”
“You were sure we were going in the right direction because of your watch compass?” Sara asked.
Luis nodded absently, fascinated by the moving needle of his compass.
“Luis, have you tested that compass here on Gracchia?” Sara asked.
Luis looked up. “No. Why should I? North is north.”
“Because, genius, that compass was made for Earth. Maybe Gracchia doesn’t have the same polar magnetism,” Sara said.
Luis was stricken. “But that doesn’t explain why it’s doing strange things now.”
“No, but maybe you shouldn’t have relied on it for directional help,” said Sara. “Did you guys notice any other paths?”
Abby shook her head. “I was too busy trying not to fall behind.”
Tom shook his head. A small gob of rain dripped from his nose. Tom had managed to put the new tube inside the tire and was now occupied with trying to put the tire back on the rim. He wedged it into place, re-scraping the knuckle which until now had stopped bleeding, and picked up the pump to reinflate the tire.
“I noticed other paths, but I never thought we left the main one. It’s not all Luis’ fault,” Luke said. “Maybe we just missed it or the map isn’t complete. Anyway, I think we’d better try to go back. At least we know how to get back to the Bridge of Stars. I think.”
“I hope we don’t get struck by lightning,” Abby said.
“Probably it was just a freak of nature,” Luke said. “We’ll be safe.”
As if to punctuate his words, a diamond bright flash lit the underside of the tree limbs as a simultaneous, gut shaking thump made the ground shake.
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Everyone was knocked over flat on their backs, rain drizzling into their eyes, noses and mouths.
Abby sat up and rubbed her face. Had they been hit by lightning? She could still feel her skin. Abby looked at the others as she wiggled her legs; nothing seemed to be damaged, but she had heard stories of people whose hearts had stopped after they’d been struck. Abby rolled to her knees and crept over to where Luis lay unmoving. She felt for a pulse in his neck.
“What are you doing?” Luis squawked, eyes flying open.
“I was seeing if you were alive!” The sound of their shouts stirred the others.
“Of course I’m alive. What happened?” Luis looked around. “We were hit by lightning?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so.”
Sara raised her head and looked around. Tom and Luke were slowing getting to their feet. Tom shook his head to clear the cobwebs.
Then a high-pitched shriek made their blood turn to icewater in their veins.
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Far Travels, The Gracchian Adventures, Book One Page 15