Doc Harrison and the Prophecy of Halsparr

by Peter Telep

  Without Roam’s permission.

  However, I get the feeling that the translator’s on my side now and has something to do with it. Roam was against the idea, and so the translator connected with this other grren.

  But now we’re in the middle of a grren civil war, and all we want to do is talk to an immortal.

  The grren surrounding me and Cypress trot off to confront the one-eyed grren, whose name I learn is Furroe.

  Lowering his head and hissing, Furroe backs away from the younger grren. He clicks his teeth, but the noise sounds dull and hardly intimidating.

  Without warning, the translator breaks off from Roam and gets between me and Dr. Arabelle. She says if I connect with the immortal, the grren will kill me.

  I tell the girls what’s happening.

  “So what do we do?” Meeka asks.

  “Doke, I have an idea. Tell Roam that I will make a life debt to the cubs. And tell him we want him and his translator to come with us and help fight the Galleons.”

  “I will.”

  I barely finish answering when another grren leaps down from one of the towers and hisses in my face.

  I convey Cypress’s message to the translator, who passes it on to Roam.

  And for a moment, I can almost see and hear the gears grinding in Roam’s head as he considers the deal.

  Cypress will raise the cubs with help from Punk and Mr. Gurdy. She’s made that promise. Plus, we’re offering them the great honor of fighting at our side.

  But Roam doesn’t seem thrilled.

  What do we do now? Throw in a gift card for rrinx meat? This is all we have.

  “I’m not sure he’s going for it,” I tell Cypress.

  “Let me talk to the boy!” Dr. Arabelle shouts from behind us. “Just as I have before… just as I will again… until this finally ends.”

  “Uh, what does that mean?” Meeka asks.

  I close my eyes and sigh. “I have no idea.”

  And then something snaps inside. We’re wasting time, and I need to take charge of this situation instead of letting this drag on.

  I tell the translator our offer stands. I’m connecting with Dr. Arabelle, and if they want to kill us, then they should. Right now.

  After that, they can lie around and groom themselves until the Galleons take them away.

  I raise my voice. “Guys, I’m doing it now. See you on the other side.”

  “Doke, wait,” Cypress begins…

  But it’s too late. I’ve already offered my hand to Dr. Arabelle, and he’s taken it.

  In the blink of an eye, the bridge and towers look brand new and the jungle has vanished, exposing a vast city that sweeps across the rolling hills. I glance down and see that the river is no longer clogged with growth. The water flows fast and clear.

  But in the next second my ears sting from the roar of traffic—

  Just as Dr. Arabelle jerks me out of the road. Cars and buses and delivery trucks whiz by, belching smoke. Drivers beep their horns as the traffic backs up on the far end of the bridge.

  It’s amazing. Halsparr looks even more similar to Earth than Flora.

  I glance around, blown away, and then I realize I never even introduced myself.

  Dr. Arabelle laughs. “You tell me who you are, and I tell you I wish you’d stop doing that.”

  “What’re you talking about?”

  “You’ve introduced yourself seven hundred and sixty-two times, and I am counting because I’m hoping this is the last time, I mean the very last time we have this conversation.”

  “What is this? What’s going on?”

  “This, young man, is the city of Grrethos, over a thousand years before you were born. This is your father’s home.”

  “So he’s not from Flora?”

  “No.”

  I curse and clench my hands into fists. “So he lied to me about everything. My whole life is a lie! Is Brandalynn really my grandmother? Is Lori my mother? Who are you people? What the hell is going on? Tell me!”

  “Doc, your grandparents and your mother are real. Your father took his parents to Flora after he left Halsparr. He brought them forward in time and saved them. Then he met and married your mother on Flora.”

  “No, this is all BS. I bet this is some huge diversion, and Solomon’s got us running around for nothing. He’s keeping us busy so they can attack Earth.”

  “Doc, none of that’s true.”

  “Then what is?”

  Dr. Arabelle hesitates. “It’s extremely complicated, but it all comes down to one thing.”

  “Really? What’s that?”

  “The Prophecy of Halsparr.”

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

  Mrs. Bossley told me I’m not the “chosen one” and not part of some lame ancient prophecy.

  Then why is Arabelle suggesting otherwise?

  What the hell?

  “Doc, you don’t have to understand everything. You just have to trust me… and your father.”

  I burst out laughing, but it’s a sick, twisted laugh because well, I’m hysterical. “Are you kidding me?”

  “I understand how you feel.”

  I chuckle even louder. “Oh, so your father was born on Halsparr a thousand years ago and never told you about it?”

  “Your father could never tell you. Every action, every bit of knowledge, has an effect on the future.”

  “But now you can tell me?”

  “Yes, because things are beginning to align. It’s taken a long time, Doc. A very long time.”

  I want to throw him off the bridge. Instead, I ask, “I’m here for one thing. You tell me how to stop the Armadis.”

  “I’m getting there. It begins with the prophecy.”

  I roll my eyes. “Here we go…”

  “Turn around.”

  I glance back at the city—

  Just as the nuclear bombs explode.

  At least six of them.

  Blinding white light flashes, followed by a wave of fire so hot and so thick that I wonder if Dr. Arabelle has decided to kill us both, at least in his imagination.

  The fires pass through us and evaporate, leaving behind blackened, smoking ruins that suddenly grow cold and disappear behind the fast-growing jungle.

  A thousand years passes in seconds.

  “The Prophecy of Halsparr was written by the First Ones, and it predicts that wherever humans are seeded, they’ll eventually destroy themselves.”

  “And now Earth’s next.”

  “Actually, Earth’s already been destroyed seven hundred and sixty-one times. The Galleons abduct every human life and lay waste to the entire planet.”

  “So this happened before? I don’t get it.”

  “You don’t have to. You just need to know one thing: your father caught a glimpse of the future—and he decided to do something about it.”

  I snort. “He should’ve done nothing.”

  “We had to act.”

  “But you made it worse, right?”

  “We tried to stop the Galleons from rising to power, and yes, it’s true that the more we changed, the worse it got, but we had no choice. But then your father finally realized that sacrificing himself would open a door and allow you to finish the work.”

  “Me?”

  Arabelle grabs my shoulders and actually scares me. “You have to go on!”

  “I don’t have to do anything.”

  “Your father’s sacrifice can not be in vain.”

  “Oh, I get it now. You just want to recruit me and turn me into my father. Well, I’m not him! And I’m not playing any of his games! I came here for help—not orders.”

  “You just said it yourself. You came here because you want to stop the Galleons. We all do. And now it’ll finally happen.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “Because this conversation has never happened before.”

  “So this part is all new?”

  “Yes, yes, all new and incredibly exciting.”

  “Ex
citing? I always thought my father was a mad scientist. Now I know where he got it. You realize people are getting killed or turned into slaves, right?”

  “And we’ll end that forever.”

  I just look at him, unsure what to think. “My father wrote me a letter. He said you’d know what to do.” I take a step toward him. “Do you?”

  His eyes widen. “Life is a celebration, and we’re all in this together.”

  “Why do I keep hearing that?”

  He raises his voice. “Because the Prophecy of Halsparr is a lie, and the time has finally come for all of us to bloom.”

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

  Back at the Library of Grren, I tell everyone we’re leaving.

  “What happened?” Steffanie asks. She points to Furroe, the one-eyed grren. The old cat has already pulled back Dr. Arabelle’s immortal and charges off toward the tower behind us. The other grren let him go.

  “It’s okay, Steff. I got what we need,” I answer. “But we’re running out of time.”

  “We always are,” she says with a sigh.

  I connect with Roam’s translator and ask her for them to meet us at Cypress’s engine. I tell her that Roam can bring whoever he wants. I share the news with Cypress.

  “You told them where I live,” Cypress says, bearing her sharp teeth.

  “I had to.”

  “No, you didn’t.”

  “Please, Cypress. We’ll be okay.”

  “Doc, what’s going on?” Meeka demands. “What did the old man tell you? Is he related to me?”

  “Uh, he didn’t say… but probably. It’s just… everything’s connected.”

  “Oh, that’s exactly the answer I was looking for.”

  I make a face. “Come on.”

  Meeka folds her arms over her chest. “No. I’m not going anywhere until you talk.”

  “I can’t. Not yet. We’re wasting time!”

  She says something under her breath but finally joins me.

  We walk up to Roam, and I bow. “Thank you.”

  He nods.

  The translator says they’ll gather a party and can meet us in about two hours.

  Cypress jumps us back to her place and storms around the kitchen, staring at it as though for the last time.

  “You’re doing that for a reason,” I say.

  “Because this is my house, Doke! My house! And now the grren know where it is. I can never come home again!”

  “But you won’t need to worry about them anymore. Maybe you’ll be friends.”

  Her brown eye twitches. “They still hate my blood. And nothing will change.”

  * * *

  During the next two hours, while we’re waiting for the grren, the girls fire off a million questions.

  “It’s too risky to say anything. Just be patient.”

  The sarcastic remarks come fast and furious before they settle down to glare at me in silence.

  “Hey, I’m just doing what Arabelle said.”

  “Yeah,” Meeka replies. “Your father’s teacher. Like we can trust him.”

  I glance away, unwilling to argue.

  “Doc, I feel like we’re just being used,” Meeka adds.

  “We’re not. We’re the ones trying to change things.”

  While we take seats at Cypress’s kitchen table, Steffanie drifts off to the back of the room, near the old ticket booths.

  She projects Pace’s immortal, who wears that same Goth-like wedding dress, the one with patterns of black vines running up the sides.

  The girls smile at each other, but there’s a pain in their eyes as Steffanie reaches up to touch Pace’s cheek.

  They chat for a moment, and then… I shiver as they hold each other and dance slowly, deliberately, trying to recapture old times, I guess.

  Steffanie buries her head in Pace’s shoulder.

  I turn away, embarrassed.

  Meeka’s been watching, too. “That girl ruined her life, but she still loves her.”

  And then Meeka gives me a look—

  Like I have the same problem.

  “You trying to tell me something?” I ask.

  “Just thinking about your plan. I mean, are we counting on Julie’s help?”

  “Why does that matter?”

  Meeka huffs in disgust. “If you don’t know by now…”

  “Look, all I’m trying to do—”

  “You’re so… ahhh!” She bolts from the table and runs off toward the tunnel exit.

  I start after her, but Cypress cuts me off. “No, Doke. She needs to be alone.”

  “Because…”

  “Because she loves you. And you are stupid.”

  I whirl away from her. “How many times are you going to tell me I’m stupid?”

  She shifts around to get in my face. “I tell you because you forget, Doke. It’s hard for Meeka to trust Julie, especially when she knows about your feelings for Julie.”

  “Look, I don’t trust Julie, either, but she saved Keane, just like I said she would.”

  “And you still love her.”

  “She’s… I used to… she’s just my friend. We should try to save her. That’s all I’m saying.”

  “Yes, and that worries me, Doke.”

  “Because…”

  “Because Julie is your weakness.”

  “How?”

  “Solomon will use her against you, and if you don’t believe me, then you’re a fool.”

  “He won’t hurt her.”

  “He won’t have a choice.”

  “And you know this because…”

  “Because it’s how my Mum and Dad died. They sacrificed themselves for me—and I was their weakness.”

  * * *

  Once Roam, the translator, and four more grren arrive, we gather in Cypress’s engine room and make the jump back to Flora. With a deep sigh, we draw our personas back into our bodies and meet up with Tommy and Hedera at the temple.

  “Bad news, Doc,” Hedera says. “The Galleons’ ship… it just jumped away.”

  “I know. It’s in orbit around Earth.”

  “You know?” Steffanie asks.

  I nod. “They’re about to launch their masks. They’ll take everyone on Earth up to the ship, shove a wreath in their chests, and then control them. The ship gets more powerful, and so does the Armadis. When they’re done, they’ll destroy the planet and then move on to take out more seed worlds.”

  “That’s what Arabelle told you?” Steffanie asks.

  “That’s what he showed me.”

  Her frown deepens. “So why are they doing this?”

  “Because if the Armadis gets strong enough, it can find the First Ones’ homeworld. That’s what they’re after, and that’s what the Armadis really is. It’s an engine and a way to find and destroy their enemy forever.”

  “Why are they enemies?” Steffanie asks.

  “Because the Armadis wants to expand and control all life. They think being a part of them is... wait for it, the most beautiful thing in the universe. Everything else is evil. They’ve held this belief for so long that it’s become a real, physical addiction, and they can’t help themselves. They feel the call to join each other and expand and have to act on it.”

  “So we’re all evil,” Steffanie concludes.

  “Yup,” I answer. “All the First Ones want to do is spread life throughout the universe and leave it alone. What they’re doing is totally against what the Armadis believes, so now the Armadis is on a mission to stop them.”

  “And now we’re supposed to stop the Armadis?” Meeka asks in disbelief.

  I harden my tone. “Yes.”

  She curses under her breath. “I don’t believe this…”

  “What’s the plan?” Tommy asks from behind us.

  I turn to face him. “Sir, we plan to move in aggressively to kick ass and take names. Oorah.”

  He winks. “My kinda plan. And these grren can help?”

  I glance over at the pack, who shrug against the heavier gra
vity and sniff at the strange air. “Yes. Life’s a celebration, and we’re all in this together.”

  “You know what that means now?” Meeka asks.

  “Sort of.”

  She looks at me. “Well?”

  “You’ll understand when it happens.”

  “When what happens? Tell us!”

  “I told you, I can’t. Not yet.”

  “Does it have anything to do with this?” Tommy asks, unbuttoning his shirt.

  Everyone gasps.

  Except for me—

  Because this is supposed to happen.

  A blossom from one of the scholars has broken off from its stem and attached itself to Tommy. The hexagon-shaped petals cover the entire left side of his abdomen, right over his wreath. It’s part of his skin now, like a golden tattoo, and it glistens like fish scales. If you look very closely, you can see hundreds of tiny hexagons linked together within the petals.

  “What the hell?” Meeka asks.

  “Is it taking over his body?” Steffanie asks me.

  “No,” I answer. “But it finally understands how to connect with us.” Before they can ask any more questions, I project my grandmother’s immortal. “Help me program the engine,” I tell her. “They’re ready!”

  And, of course, the girls demand answers, and so does Tommy. “Telling you now could change everything.”

  “Doc, you’re scaring us,” Steffanie says.

  “I’m scaring myself,” I answer, hustling off.

  After I fire up the engine and program in the coordinates with my grandmother’s help, I connect with Keane on the Galleons’ ship:

  “Did you tell Julie?” I ask.

  “Yeah, dude, but I’m so scared.”

  “Just remember: the Prophecy of Halsparr is a lie.”

  “Yeah, yeah, ‘fear destroys worlds but it can also save them.’ I hope you’re right.”

  “Me, too. You ready?” I ask.

  “Hell, yeah, but if this doesn’t work...”

  I try to sound convincing: “Are you kidding? It’ll work.”

  “You would say that.”

  “Yeah, but if it was me was complaining, you’d tell me to stop harshing the vibe or whatever.”

  Keane laughs. “Yeah, but I’d put a hashtag in there to piss you off.”

  “I know you would.”