by Felice Arena
Here goes, he thought. Let’s hope this works.
He jumped and landed smack bang in the middle of the pack. The dogs leapt back, startled, but quickly lunged forward at Andy, baring their fangs. Andy swung the flaming stick. The dogs padded backwards.
‘Arrrrghhh!’ Andy yelled at them, continuing to wave the torch. The dogs padded further back, frightened, and cleared a space for Andy to walk through.
‘Yes!’ he hissed. ‘Respect the fire, hounds!’
He swung the torch and the dogs stopped growling and snarling and started to whimper, their tails between their legs. One by one they turned and ran. The mother dog picked up the puppy in her mouth and bolted.
With his ability to sprint at breakneck speeds, Andy found his friends easily. They were searching further along the track, calling for him. Just before reaching them he slowed down. It felt like he was running in slow motion.
‘Hey!’ he called out to them, pretending to be puffed. ‘They’re gone! We’re okay!’
‘Are you insane?’ cried Gabriella, throwing her arms around him and nearly knocking him off his feet. ‘We thought you were dead! We’ve been terrified. How did you escape?’
‘Good question,’ said Reggie, scowling at Andy. ‘How did you outrun them?’
‘I didn’t have to,’ Andy said. ‘I dropped the pup, climbed up into a tree and they went on their way.’ But Andy could tell that Reggie knew it wasn’t the whole truth.
Suddenly there was the sound of footsteps and a quiet voice came from behind them. ‘I didn’t think you’d be this far along. Have you been reading the signs along the way?’
Andy turned and was surprised to see Miss Taylor walking towards them.
‘So?’ she said. ‘Oh my goodness, you look a little dishevelled. What’s the problem?’
Andy glanced at Judd – no one knew what to say. Should they get Hunter in trouble and let their teacher know that the dogs were more dangerous than the ranger had thought? Or would that mean they’d all be trapped in their cabins for the rest of the camp?
‘Hunter left the track and we were chased by wild dogs!’ blurted Reggie. ‘Well, Andy was.’
‘Good one, you four-eyed jerk,’ said Hunter. ‘Just rat on me, why don’t you?’
‘Now that’s enough! All of you!’ Miss Taylor raised her voice, the loudest that Andy had ever heard her speak. ‘You can continue with the hike, but I’ll walk with you.’
‘Are you going to tell Ranger Peters about the dogs?’ asked Reggie.
Miss Taylor looked thoughtful. ‘No one got hurt. I think it will be okay if we stay on the track. Now move – and stay out of trouble this time.’
As Andy and his friends turned to walk away, Miss Taylor called Andy back.
‘Andy,’ she said softly. ‘Are you all right?’
He nodded.
‘Good. You need to keep your eyes and ears open, okay?’
‘Ah, yeah, um, okay, I will,’ Andy said, wondering why his teacher had singled him out to tell him that. But before he could ask, Miss Taylor had quickly walked away.
Later that night, back at Camp Howl, everyone had strict instructions to stay close to the cabins. The ranger had warned them that the dogs seemed to be roaming around closer than usual to Camp Howl. Andy had left himself switched on – he was worried the pack had followed his scent back to camp.
As dusk fell, Andy and his classmates sat around the campfire, listening to the dogs howling. It was an eerie sound as it echoed through the forest.
Andy looked over to where Reggie was sitting on his own. He felt bad – they hadn’t talked properly since they’d left school and Reggie was obviously avoiding him. I really should go and sort it out, Andy thought. But suddenly the blue light of his palm screen started to glow.
‘Dad?’ Andy said, sliding his finger over the screen and catching the image of his father’s face.
‘What?’ said Judd, turning to Andy.
‘Nothing,’ he said, quickly covering his hand. ‘I’m going to the cabin for a jumper. I’ll be back in a sec.’
When the campfire was out of sight, Andy held up his hand and spoke to his father. He could tell his dad was upset. Whenever he was stressed out he’d take off his glasses and chew on the ends. And he was chewing on them a lot!
‘Dad! How long have you been there? Is everything all right?’
‘Andy, Andy! Thank goodness you’re okay,’ said his father, sounding out of breath. ‘I need to tell you something, something really terrible… We just got word that Zloy is in your area, in the Howl Ranges! We’ve got to find a way to get you home, right away – without drawing attention to you.’
Andy wasn’t worried. ‘The General’s nearby, right?’ he said. ‘Just call him. He’ll be able to sort out that gold-toothed dude, won’t he?’
‘That’s the terrible part,’ said his dad. ‘Zloy has captured him. That’s why Zloy’s in the Howl Ranges – he was hunting down the General, and now he’s dangerously close to you. We believe the General is being held hostage at a fishing cabin near Moose Falls, only a couple of ks from your camp.’
Andy gulped.
‘The Triple S obviously don’t know where we are because they’re demanding that we reveal our whereabouts within the next ten hours, otherwise Zloy will…’ Andy’s father’s face dropped. ‘He’ll…’
‘He’ll kill the General?’ Andy added softly, completely stunned.
His father nodded. ‘I suspect Sylvester and the rest of the gang have some way to get Zloy out. And even if the military sends in a SWAT team and they do manage to catch Zloy, it’s certain that the General won’t survive.’
‘So what are we going to do?’
‘Nothing. There’s nothing we can do,’ said Andy’s dad, his voice cracking. ‘We can’t surrender ourselves to the Triple S – too many lives are at stake if what we know falls into the wrong hands. I’m sure the General will do his best to throw Zloy off our trail. We’ve been ordered to stay put and wait to receive instructions on what to do next.’
‘But, Dad… Mr Blundle, I mean, the General, he’s been your friend for years. You can’t just let him die.’
Andy couldn’t believe it. He had seen plenty of movies where someone risked their own life to protect others. But this was the real deal. Someone he cared about might lose his life so he could live.
‘Is there anything I can do, Dad? Maybe I could –’
‘Andy! NO! Don’t even think of trying to find him,’ his father ordered. ‘Listen carefully – Zloy is a cold-blooded murderer, but it’s not just that he could kill you. We can’t risk you falling into his hands. You can’t imagine the damage the Triple S could do with an army of Andy Roids. This isn’t a game, Andy. Do you understand me? Stay switched on – I’ll contact you when we have a plan to get you out.’
Andy nodded reluctantly. He hung up and walked sadly back to the campfire. How could he just let someone, especially a family friend, be killed? And how could he be so close and do nothing?
‘Excuse me, Ranger Peters,’ Andy said when he reached the group. ‘How far away is Moose Falls?’
‘See that old road over there?’ said the ranger, pointing to a track that led past the boys’ cabins and deep into the woods. ‘That’s Old State Forest Road. It leads all the way to Moose Falls, but the road’s not really serviceable anymore and I’m pretty sure the bridge is down. Most of it’s overgrown. Why do you ask?’
But before Andy could think of an answer, they were interrupted by Reggie’s voice. He sounded upset.
Andy left the ranger and walked towards the campfire.
‘You!’ Reggie said, as soon as he saw Andy. He pointed his finger at him accusingly. ‘I bet you stole my phone.’
Everyone turned to look at him. Andy was shocked. ‘What?’ he said. ‘Why would I steal your phone? We’re friends. I didn’t even know it was missing.’
‘Friends?’ Reggie said. ‘Real friends don’t lie to each other.’
‘That’s enough, you two,’ snapped
Mr Presticott, stepping into the light of the fire. ‘Hopkins. You were told to leave your valuable belongings at home. Serves you right for losing it. Now, all of you, sit down – it’s time for Camp Howl’s great sports quiz.’
For the rest of the night, Reggie scowled at Andy. He didn’t even want to talk to him when they all went to bed.
Andy sighed heavily. Man, what a day, he thought as he lay awake, listening to Hunter snoring on the bunk above him. One of my only friends seems to hate me, and somewhere out in the wilderness the General is trapped with only a couple of hours to live. Zloy could be torturing him right now.
Andy thought about that for a while. It was horrible. ‘Nup, not if I can help it,’ he whispered.
Andy’s heart raced as he left the safety of the campground and walked down the Old State Forest Road. He could only imagine the massive trouble he’d be in if anyone knew he was in the forest at night. He didn’t really know what he was going to do, only that he needed to find the General. He thought he’d work out the rest of it once he got there.
Moose Falls wasn’t on his GPS, but the old road was and he was grateful for the map installed in his hand screen – the road was so overgrown and littered with rocks and fallen trees that he could barely see it, let alone risk going at super speed. If he injured himself, no one at Camp Howl could fix him. And he couldn’t blast the road clear with his laser this close to camp.
Andy waved his flashlight on the path with each careful step, and the light from his hands gave out a blue glow.
‘Right, so far, so good,’ he said to himself, climbing over a fallen tree.
‘I can do this. I can do this. I can…’
Andy froze. What was that? He shone his torch into the forest. It was so dark. So still. So spooky.
Andy exhaled. Maybe he was hearing things. Or maybe it was… A horrible thought occurred to him. Was it the wild dogs? Could they be stalking him?
Andy took a deep breath and set off again. But moments later…
Andy’s heart was thumping. What if it was worse than wild dogs? What if the Triple S had found him and were preparing to grab him? He switched off his flashlight and dimmed the blue light. Someone or something was definitely following him.
Opting not to jump, just in case he hit some overgrown branches and gave himself away, Andy put the torch in his mouth and climbed up the nearest tree.
Andy held his breath. Something or someone was definitely on his trail. It was making its way along the road and it was only moments from where Andy was hiding. Through the trees a thin beam of torchlight lit up the path and then Andy could make out a shadow passing directly below him. That’s no wild dog! he thought.
‘AWRRH! Shoot!’ came a familiar voice. ‘My friggin’ toe!’
Andy flashed his torch on the shadowy figure below.
‘Judd?’ he said.
‘Andy?’ Judd put his arm up to shade his eyes, blinded by the light shining directly in his face.
Andy climbed down. ‘What are you doing? Why are you following me?’ he asked.
‘Um, what are you doing out here?’ Judd replied.
Andy was stumped. He couldn’t think of a lie that his friend would believe. So he decided to tell him the truth. Well, part of it.
‘It’s like this,’ he said. ‘My parents have a mate who’s fishing at Moose Falls. He’s in big trouble and I need to try and save him. But I can’t really tell you what sort of trouble he’s in.’
‘That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard,’ Judd said. ‘Has he got a hook caught in his mouth or something? How come you can’t call the police or a rescue team?’
‘Look, I don’t have time to explain. I’ve gotta go! Just go back and, please, Judd, don’t tell anyone.’
‘Yeah right! I’m coming with you – finally, some real excitement at this stupid camp.’
For a second Andy considered racing off and losing Judd in the forest, but what if Judd ran into the wild dogs?
Andy had to admit that he felt a little braver having a friend by his side, but how could he use his powers without Judd finding out his secret?
After an hour of trekking along Old State Forest Road, there were fewer fallen trees across their path and walking was easier, but then the boys hit an even bigger obstacle.
‘A river? Ranger Peters didn’t say anything about a river,’ said Andy.
Suddenly the clouds moved away from the moon and Andy could see that the road led onto a brick bridge that had crumbled into the water. He remembered that Ranger Peters had said the bridge was ‘down’.
‘So what now?’ asked Judd. ‘What’s the plan?’
If only I was alone, Andy thought, then I could just take a run up and jump over it. He was starting to panic. How much time did he have left? What if he was too late to save the General?
‘Maybe you should go back, Judd,’ he said desperately. ‘I’m going to swim across.’
‘What?’ said Judd. ‘There’s no way I’m going back…but, um, I’m not sure about swimming across. Look how fast the water’s flowing.’
‘Well, I’m going for it,’ said Andy, hoping that Judd would give up. He tried not to think about the fact that a vicious killer was waiting for him on the other side.
‘Swimming isn’t really my thing,’ Judd said. Andy had never seen him look nervous before. ‘And didn’t you say something about Moose Falls? Maybe the river leads to the waterfall. This is a really bad idea.’
Andy and Judd whipped around. Behind them the pack of wild dogs was lit up in the beam of the torch. They were about ten metres away.
‘They don’t seem too happy to see us,’ said Judd, as the dogs slowly edged towards them.
‘Or maybe they are,’ gulped Andy. ‘Now they can get back at me for waving a little fire at them.’
‘What?’
‘Nothing.’ Andy said, knowing he couldn’t repeat his trick with the hotplate with Judd by his side.
‘Dude – what are we going to do?’ Judd said, backing away.
The dogs were showing their fangs and the whites in their eyes were clearly visible as they slowly crept closer, ready to attack.
‘I reckon Ranger Peters needs to rethink his welcome speech – these dogs are definitely not scared of us,’ said Judd, as he and Andy backed towards the river.
‘RUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNN!’ cried Andy, as the dogs charged at them. ‘I mean, SWWWWWWIIIIIIIMMMM!’
Andy charged into the river, desperately wading through the icy cold water and splashing frantically out into the deep.
‘I think we’re safe. They’re not coming in,’ said Andy, treading water against the strong current. In all of the excitement, he’d forgotten his own superhuman strength and within seconds he’d found himself almost across.
‘Judd?’ Andy looked behind him. It was difficult to see anything in the darkness, but he could hear Judd splashing and gasping. ‘Judd?’ he called out again. ‘Are you okay?’
‘I don’t know if I can do this,’ Judd cried out.
‘Take your jacket off,’ Andy hollered back, now swimming in the direction of his friend’s voice. ‘It will make it easier for you to swim if… Judd?’
The splashing had stopped.
‘Help!’ came a desperate gasp.
Andy could just make out Judd’s silhouette. His friend was struggling to keep his head above water.
‘Hold on!’ Andy said, breaking into a freestyle stroke faster than any Olympic swimmer. Seconds later, he reached the spot where he’d last seen Judd.
Oh no, thought Andy, panicking. He’s gone under. If only I could see him… In that moment Andy came to a decision. He wasn’t going to let Judd drown just so he wouldn’t find out his secret. The glow from Andy’s hands would shed enough light for him to spot his mate, even under water.
He had no time to lose, and no choice. He tapped the screen in his left hand and the dark water was illuminated by blue light.
Judd was downstream. He was fighting the current, as he sunk fur
ther below the surface. Andy could see him thrashing as he was swept away.
Andy blasted his way through the water. He dove deep and gripped the back of Judd’s jacket. He felt the weight of the water pressing down on him and kicked hard as he hauled Judd back to the surface. The raging river tossed them about like rags in a giant washing machine. Andy felt his silicon skin tingle and burn from the choppy, icy water.
‘I’ve gotcha!’ said Andy, as they burst out of the water. He held Judd afloat as he gasped desperately for air, even Andy could feel his lungs and heart working in overdrive.
Judd coughed and spluttered some more as Andy propelled his way through the water, as fast as an outboard motor and cutting a frothy and bubbly trail behind them.
When he reached the riverbank, Judd stumbled out of the water and they both collapsed on a grassy patch.
‘Are you okay?’ Andy said, tipping the water out of his sneakers. ‘I thought you were a goner back there.’
Judd struggled to speak. He was still trying to catch his breath. ‘Thanks…’ He coughed some more. ‘I guess I totally suck at swimming.’
‘Andy! Andy! Wake up.’
Oh no! thought Andy, hearing his dad’s voice coming from his palm. If I answer this, he’ll find out I’m not in bed. If I don’t, he’ll know something is wrong. He looked up at Judd, who was staring at him. Yep, I’m totally busted! he thought.
‘So are you going to get that?’ Judd said, deadpan. ‘I think your hand is calling you.’
It was only then that Andy remembered his hands were still lit up by the blue glow.
Judd reached out and turned over Andy’s left hand. He tapped the touch screen, and ran his finger over the red line. Then he spoke directly to the screen. ‘Hello, sir. Judd Shoemaker here. You’ll know me as Agent Buddy. Your son just saved my life.’
‘What?’ Andy said. ‘WHAT?’
‘You’re an agent?’ It took a few seconds before Andy could process what was going on. ‘You’ve known all along?’