They stopped at a dumpster in an alley to get more discarded treats. They also stopped at Nana’s and Papa’s house, which was on the way. They were going to be cutting it close to the 7:00 a.m. deadline. Peter wasn’t sure why they were stopping at his grandparents’ house, just that Papa was adamant that they did. Papa told everyone to wait in the car and he would be back soon. The next thing Peter knew, the garage door was opening and Papa was holding three objects in his hand. As Papa moved closer to the car, he realized they were helmets: one jet black with brilliant red flames, one cherry red with fluorescent pink flowers, and the third royal blue. It was then that Peter noticed the mopeds behind Papa.
Everyone got out of the car and Peter’s dad said, “Whoa, Dad! What? You have mopeds?”
Peter stood there wide-eyed with his mouth hanging open. Papa and Nana on mopeds! No way!
Papa slyly grinned. “Yes son, your mother and I have been riding for the last six months.”
“This is crazy. Why didn’t you tell me?” Peter’s dad asked.
“Because you would say it was crazy,” Papa answered matter-of-factly.
“What are we going to do with those?” Peter’s dad questioned.
“Son, we are going to need a quick getaway. We can’t very well run out of there on foot all the way home. I am fit, but I am not as spry as I used to be. I would surely get caught.”
“Why do you have three helmets?” Peter’s dad asked.
“In case I got around to telling you and you let Peter go along on a ride.” Papa grinned, winking at Peter.
“I don’t know about this,” Peter’s dad said, pursing his lips.
“I assure you, I am a very safe driver, much better than in the car. Your mom and I took several safety classes and we are members of the Rockin’ Peds Elite,” Papa said proudly.
Peter’s dad wasn’t quite sure how to respond. He didn’t like the idea one bit, but agreed it was better to have multiple getaway vehicles. Papa and Rod mounted the mopeds and rolled them out of the driveway. As Peter strapped on his helmet, he saw it had golden lightning bolts on the sides. Peter liked that immensely. He hopped on Papa’s jet-black moped and was impressed to see that it had red and yellow flames. He glanced over at Nana’s moped and had to smile when he saw Rod, all muscle, wearing a flowery helmet. When Rod pulled ahead on Nana’s cherry-red moped, Peter let out a chuckle at the sight of the skull with a pink bow in its hair painted on the back of the moped. All right, Nana!
Peter’s dad led the mopeds in his SUV. As they got closer to Harrison and Bernard Streets the air became icy cold. The hair on Peter’s arms was standing up and goose bumps started to form on his skin.
“What is that smell?” Papa yelled, squishing up his nose. Peter knew exactly what that rancid smell was: the Peblars. The smell was worse than burning rotten broccoli and onions. It wouldn’t be long before the entire town felt icy cold and smelled like a smoldering sewer.
When they thought they couldn’t go any further without being detected, Peter’s dad pulled the SUV down an alleyway and the others followed on their mopeds. They were going in blindly. They had no idea how many Peblars there were or in which areas the brutes would be hanging out.
“We have to time this exactly right or we will be in a heap of trouble,” Peter’s dad said, swallowing hard. In an effort to lighten the mood, in his best secret agent voice he added, “All right men, our mission is to save Lina and we’ll worry about how to get rid of Goaltan and his goons later.” It didn’t lighten the mood.
Papa took his son’s face in his hands, looked straight into his eyes and said, “Be careful, Son. I love you.”
“You be careful, too, Dad. I love you,” Mr. Fischer replied.
“I love you both,” Peter said. He grabbed his father around the waist and squeezed as hard as he could. He squeezed so hard his arms hurt. Then he did the same to Papa.
“Let’s get my little girl back!” Rod said confidently and fist-bumped with everyone. Peter’s dad looked a little awkward during the motion.
Peter took off his helmet and handed it to Rod, then climbed into the back seat of the SUV as the others drove down the opposite street. It was 6:56 a.m.
The plan was simple enough. Peter’s dad was to drive the SUV down Harrison Street, open the trunk with the release on his car keys, and swing a hard left. Hopefully the confections they had collected would go flying along the road and distract Goaltan and the Peblars. Meanwhile, Papa and Rod were to drive up Bernard and hopefully spot Lina quickly enough to get her on the back of Nana’s moped.
It would be dangerous. Peter had firsthand experience with what Goaltan was capable of doing. Just days before, Peter had witnessed Goaltan’s abilities when he and Lina rescued Joe and Angela from Goaltan’s lair. Now he was attempting to rescue Lina. He took a deep breath and braced for the ride.
As they drove closer to the corner of Harrison and Bernard, the buildings began to look as though Goaltan was making his home away from home. They were covered with tiny gray pebbles, just like the ones that made up Goaltan’s castle.
“Whoa!” Peter’s dad said.
Peter rolled down the window in preparation and felt the frosty air pour into the vehicle. The smell was putrid, reminding him once again of Goaltan’s dreadful home. What he saw next he couldn’t believe, or didn’t want to believe. Where Happy Donuts once stood was now a gaping hole. The ground was covered with rubble. Happy Donuts really was a happy place. Peter went there every first Sunday of the month before church with his Nana and Papa.
Happy was a really cool guy. He always called Peter “little dude” and gave him a free donut hole while they waited for their order. Nana was always saying that Happy was quite the gentlemen. Peter glanced at his watch. It wasn’t 7:00 a.m. yet. Goaltan hadn’t kept his promise. He wasn’t supposed to start destroying anything unless Peter didn’t show up for Lina. Peter could feel his face burning with anger. Happy didn’t deserve this.
“Hang on, son, here we go!” Peter’s dad exclaimed as he pressed hard on the gas pedal.
Peter looked straight forward and could see several Peblars turning their heads toward them as the engine roared louder. He searched for Goaltan and Lina. No sign of either one.
Peter had a surge of energy and leaned out the window to scream as loud as he could, “I am here now, you big oaf—7:00 o’clock on the dot!” He reached in the back and threw a cherry pie in the Peblars’ direction. As soon as the words exited his mouth, he saw Goaltan head for the middle of the street straight ahead of him, holding Lina by her shoulder with his burly hand. She was trying to kick and bite him with no luck.
“Oh spam!” Peter shouted as they barreled straight toward them. This was a term Peter used when he wanted to say something he wasn’t supposed to. His mother didn’t seem to mind it and had even said it a few times herself.
Peter’s dad turned the steering wheel sharply to the left. Even though Peter expected it, the sudden move still surprised him. Goaltan’s eyes enlarged with rage as he saw what happened next. The tasty morsels flew straight out of the back of the vehicle. Peter helped by throwing what he could out the window. Goaltan released his grip on Lina. She ran toward her dad and Papa, two blurs on the road. Peter wasn’t so sure about Papa’s driving, but he seemed to be maneuvering the moped with precision. Peblars were clawing at them as the mopeds whistled by toward Lina. One Peblar narrowly missed Papa. Goaltan wasn’t paying attention to Lina, which was a good thing. The bad thing, he was paying attention to Peter.
Peter’s dad drove the SUV up over the curb and struggled to get back on the street. Peter tried hard to keep his eyes on Goaltan and Lina. He breathed a sigh of relief as Lina mounted the moped with her father. Peter couldn’t hear what Goaltan was yelling, but was pretty sure it was something his mother wouldn’t want him to hear. Goaltan raised his right arm above his head and Peter understood this was not good.
Peter looked over his shoulder and saw a crack in the road moving toward them, fas
ter and faster, and growing bigger and bigger with every foot.
“Dad, you better step on it!” Peter cried.
Peter’s dad pushed his foot down hard on the gas pedal.
“Dad!” Peter yelled.
His father could see what was going on in the rearview mirror. Peter didn’t know what his dad was going to do next, but he better do something now.
The crackling grew louder—almost to a thunder—when they felt the back of the SUV being lifted two to three feet off the ground. As fast as it was lifted, the SUV dropped back to the ground and continued to move steadily ahead. The thundering had stopped and Peter looked out the back window to see a crater the width of the street behind them. Goaltan had missed. In the distance, he could see Goaltan jumping up and down in frustration, causing the street to ripple. They were safe for now.
Unexpected Visitor
Pulling into their garage, Peter and his dad let out gigantic sighs of relief. They were home, but where was the rest of the rescue team? He hoped they weren’t far behind. Peter thought it was a little peculiar that some of the neighbors were peeping out their windows at them. He thought maybe it was because no one else dared to drive around. Seconds later, Papa arrived, waving triumphantly. Peter and his dad waited for him before they went inside where they were met by hugs and kisses.
“That was the most action I have seen in years!” Papa said.
“Is my Lina with you?” Mrs. Young asked desperately.
“They should be right behind us,” Papa assured her.
Mrs. Young rushed to the window to wait and Peter joined her.
“We got separated shortly after Lina jumped on the moped with her dad. A crazed Peblar jumped in front of our mopeds and nearly swiped my head off! I was rattled but I managed to continue straight down the road. Rod swerved and took a right turn to avoid a collision,” Papa said.
“Oh!” Mrs. Young gasped.
“Don’t worry. I am sure they will be here any moment,” Papa reassured everyone.
“We saw you on TV. You were all so brave!” Nana said.
“You did?” Papa answered, looking at the black TV screen.
“Oh yes, dear! My goodness! All of you looked like superheroes rushing in to save the day!” Nana added.
Peter’s mother explained, “Goaltan appeared on TV a few minutes before 7:00 a.m. talking about how he wanted everyone to watch as he made Lina and Peter his personal slaves. Goaltan said since he doesn’t plan on returning to his own land, he was going to make Peter and Lina pay for what the Candonites did to him so many years ago, when they banished him from Maple Town and Honeyville. Well, when you showed up things didn’t go as Goaltan had planned and he was livid. The camera shut off soon after that.”
“You showed him!” Angela said with spunk, her rainbow chips swaying.
“I would have felt awful if you were captured this time by Goaltan right after rescuing us,” Joe said.
“It is an awful shame about Happy Donuts,” Nana added.
“Quite a shame,” Papa agreed.
Peter looked around and didn’t see Henry. “Where is Henry?” he asked.
“I hope you don’t mind, Peter. I let him play with the action figures in your room. Something to keep him busy, honey,” Peter’s mother answered. Normally he would have minded. However, Peter understood the situation. Hopefully Henry wouldn’t pull off any of the heads. He tried not to think about it.
“They’re here!” Mrs. Young shouted, heading for the door.
Elated, Peter watched as the moped drove into the garage. Lina was ecstatically waving at him. He raced to the door to greet them.
Once inside, Lina told about how she had snuck out in the early morning hours. Lina apologized to her parents and added that she knew they would never have let her go. She had to do it.
“Dad, you are always telling me about your duties you had in the military. Well, I had my own duties to fulfill,” she told him. To Peter’s surprise, Rod shook his head like he understood. Lina continued, “When I thought I was within range of the Peblars, I climbed a tall tree.” Mrs. Young didn’t like the sound of that and let out a disapproving noise that came from smacking her tongue against the roof of her mouth.
“Ah, Mom, you know I am an excellent climber! You always say I get my climbing skills from my lola, Grandma is still a great climber,” Lina said lightly. “Anyway, I picked a good tree. I could see Goaltan and his thugs clearly. I also heard a low crackling noise and saw the side of a nearby house very slowly turning into small gray pebbles until the whole house looked like something straight out of Goaltan’s homeland. That was bizarre! I watched for a few minutes, scoping out the area. When I thought I got enough info, I climbed back down the tree and was about to sprint out of there. The next thing I knew, a Peblar had me by my arm and was pulling me toward their camp. I fought as hard as I could, Dad. But he was just too strong.” Lina looked disappointed in herself.
Rod put his hands on Lina’s shoulders and said, “You are safe now, soldier.” At that moment, Peter recognized where Lina got her tough-girl spirit.
Lina continued, “Goaltan likes to hear himself talk as much as he likes scaring people. I promise I was getting the biggest headache listening to him ramble on. He told me about what happened after Peter and I rescued Joe and Angela. The special delivery box fell from thin air right onto his head. Goaltan said the next thing he knew he was being sucked into it. Many Peblars came to his aid, but the force of the box was too much. All of them ended up here at the corner of Harrison and Bernard within a matter of moments.”
“Why did they emerge at that particular spot?” Angela asked.
“It is the center of town,” Papa said.
“I think it has something to do with my messing up the natural order of things,” Joe said, swallowing hard. “When Peter and Angela were touching the special delivery package and saying the words that would return them home, I had the not-so-brilliant idea of patting Peter on the back. Angela tried to stop me, but it was too late. We were sucked in too.”
“It’s all right, Joe. You didn’t know,” Peter said, trying to make his friend feel better.
“Nana, did you remember anything useful?” Peter’s father asked.
“No. Sorry, Dear.” She shut her eyes to get back to remembering.
“Well, I think we better not stay here too long. It isn’t safe,” Papa said.
“Where are we going to go?” Lina asked.
“We can’t very well stay here. It will only be a matter of time before Goaltan finds out where we live,” Papa said.
“I would like to say we could go to Papa’s and Nana’s house or the Sweet Shop, but neither would be a good idea,” Peter concluded.
“We better figure out something fast,” Peter’s mother advised.
There was a knock at the door and everyone froze.
“I’ll get it,” Lina said. “If it is Goaltan he would have knocked the door down.” Everyone relaxed, knowing she was right.
As the door opened, everyone heard, “Howdy!”
“Old man Rupert?” Lina blurted out. “I mean, Mr. Rupert, what are you doing here?”
“May I come in?” the old man asked. He spoke with a country accent and wore a stiff straw hat and grass-stained blue jean overalls.
“Of course, come in.” Peter’s mother waved him in and Lina stepped inside with her mouth agape.
Peter had never been this close to old man Rupert. He instinctively took a step back. No one had as much as spoken to the grumpy man, though they were yelled at occasionally when they walked too close to his fence or lingered on the sidewalk outside his home longer than a minute. Pretty much everyone stayed clear of his house whenever possible. It was kind of hard sometimes, since he lived a few houses down the street from Peter.
“Holy millennium!” Mr. Rupert exclaimed at the sight of Angela and Joe. He was so intrigued by them that he couldn’t contain himself. He walked up to them and started sniffing and poking.
&
nbsp; “Hey, watch it!” Angela said.
“Sorry. I would have never thought in all the years I have been alive, I would ever see the likes of y’all and your friend Goaltan,” Mr. Rupert said.
“He is NOT our friend!” Joe said, offended.
“Oh, I humbly apologize,” Mr. Rupert said. “Best be statin’ my business.”
“Yes, you best be,” Angela agreed.
“I’m here ’cause I was watchin’ y’all on the tellervision. I figured everyone else in town probably was too. It wouldn’t be long before ol’ Goaltan himself figures out where y’all reside. I don’t want no bully coming here and whoopin’ up my neighborhood. I reckoned if y’all come to stay with me, ya’d be in a better position. Now, my place ain’t nothin’ fancy like this here home. But it is plenty big and would keep y’all safe,” Mr. Rupert said.
Peter wasn’t so sure it would be safer going to stay with Mr. Rupert than staying home. What he did know were the stories from the kids around the neighborhood. They were not pleasant stories.
Mr. Rupert must have been reading his mind. He said, “Now, I know what ya youngsters have been hearin’ around town, but I ain’t got nothin’ strange or out of the ordinary in my home ’cept for my coin collection. I do keep to myself mostly, but that ain’t no cause for alarm.”
“What about when you yell at kids for leaning on your fence or lingering outside your house?” Lina asked.
“I was simply bein’ cordial. They never stayed long enough to hear my invitation for freshly squeezed lemonade or a gingersnap cookie. I make the best of both! Don’t know what got those nasty rumors started about me bein’ a mean old fogy. It stings like a hornet at times. I can’t see long distance worth a lick, so I recollect sometimes people might think I am mighty rude if I don’t get to wavin’ speedy quick,” Mr. Rupert said, taking off his straw hat and revealing his tuft of gray hair. He waited politely for the answer, tapping the hat against his leg.
Peter was ashamed that he believed the kids at school before coming to his own conclusion. He told himself he would make a conscious effort to never do that again.
Headache Page 4