by Jean Fischer
The captain went to the bus to get the megaphone.
By now, the crowd was trying to push toward the Wrights to get a better look at the shiny machine. “Get back, please!” Nate Wright shouted. Everyone took a giant step backward. Before long, the beach security team showed up and stretched a line of yellow tape between two posts that they pounded into the sand. They patrolled the line, telling onlookers to stay behind the line. The Kessler twins showed up, and the officers let them through.
“We told security that they’d better get down here,” said Carolyn.
“We told them to hurry, because we needed crowd control,” Marilyn added. “Tons of people are here already!”
The only time Sydney had seen the beach more packed was on the Fourth of July. “How many people did you tell?” she asked.
“Hundreds!” said Carolyn.
“At least!” added Marilyn. “When we got home from the crab fest last night, we printed up flyers on our computer. We told everyone to come down here at eight o’clock tonight because a UFO was going to be on the beach.”
“We used up two big packs of paper—” said Carolyn.
“And a whole black ink cartridge,” said Marilyn. “Then we got up early this morning and started putting them in all the mailboxes.”
“And after that, we went to the shopping centers,” said Carolyn. “And we stuck flyers under the windshield wipers of all the cars in the parking lots.”
“But then a guy came out and told us not to do it anymore, so we left,” said Marilyn.
Captain Swain stepped out of the bus with the megaphone in his hand. He turned it on and pointed it toward the crowd. “Testing one, two, three, four. Testing.” His deep voice boomed across the beach. He turned the megaphone off.
“I thought you didn’t like crowds, Captain,” Sydney said.
“I don’t,” the captain replied. “But this is an historical day. Why, once people see the Wrights as serious twenty-first-century inventors, we can only imagine how their inventions will someday change the world.”
As twilight faded to darkness, Mr. Kessler and his friends ducked under the yellow tape. The twins’ dad wore khaki shorts, a white tee shirt, and flip-flops. His friends were obviously not as prepared for the beach. They had taken off their suit coats, rolled their pants legs above their knees, and were barefoot. “Let’s get this show on the road,” Mr. Kessler said. “Are you ready, Drake?”
“Yes, sir,” Drake replied.
Mr. Kessler and his friends joined several others who were seated on the bleachers.
Bailey was at Drake’s side now. She stood on her tiptoes and whispered to him. “You can do it. Just keep repeating to yourself, ‘I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.’ That’s what I did when I climbed the lighthouse.”
Drake’s face turned redder than ever.
The captain flipped a switch inside the bus, and floodlights wired from the bus turned the beach from darkness to daylight. He then walked to the front of thecrowd and stood with the megaphone in his hands. “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, may I please have your undivided attention?”
A hush fell over the crowd.
“I have the great privilege of introducing one of our own, Mr. Drake Wright!” He swept his left hand toward Drake.
Bailey, Sydney, and the twins moved out of the way, leaving Drake by himself next to the Wright D-94 Wave Smasher. They began to clap loudly.
“Let’s hear it for Drake!” Bailey shouted. Then everyone on the beach clapped and cheered.
The captain continued, “Drake and his dad, Nate Wright, are well known around Corolla as inventors, and tonight Drake will show you an invention he has worked on tirelessly for the past several years. It is a recreational watercraft unlike anything you have ever seen. As soon as you have watched it in action, you will want a Wright D-94 Wave Smasher of your very own. I won’t take up your valuable time explaining the fine points of his amazing invention. I will, instead, let it speak for itself. Drake, my boy, take it away!”
Drake climbed into the cockpit and pulled down the bubble-like cover. He started the engine and the soft whirring sound began. He pushed a button making the four snowshoe-like feet pop out of the bottom of the vehicle. Then another button raised the D-94 up on its legs. It started walking toward the water, and people in the crowd gasped.
“You haven’t seen anything yet, ladies and gentlemen,” the captain said. “Prepare to be amazed.”
When Drake got within several feet of the water, he let the D-94 lift and hover a few yards above the beach. Then it started rotating.
“It walks. It hovers. It even spins!” the captain announced. “Around and around she goes!”
Drake let his invention spin faster and faster until it looked like a top spinning out of control. The crowd oohed and aahed. Then, slowly, Drake let the craft rotate counterclockwise to a complete stop. He set it down in the ocean, just offshore. The legs and feet folded up into the bottom of the vehicle and it floated.
“How about a game of leapfrog?” the captain asked the crowd.
With the spotlights fixed on his craft, Drake pushed the control stick forward, and the D-94 sailed out to sea, leaping over waves that got in its way. The crowd went wild. Captain Swain flicked a switch, and all the spotlights went dark. “Keep your eyes fixed on the horizon,” the captain said. “The best is yet to come.”
“Now what?” Carolyn asked in the darkness.
“Yeah, now what?” Marilyn repeated.
“Just watch,” Sydney answered. “He’ll make it look like a UFO.”
“He’s so awesome,” Bailey remarked. “He can make the D-94 do just about anything.”
Offshore, Drake turned on the signal light. It flashed bright white in a series of dots and dashes. “He says, ‘Watch this, Dad,’” Sydney heard Mr. Wright say as he stood nearby. “I’m so proud of you, son,” Mr. Wright said, although Drake couldn’t hear him.
The Wright D-94 Wave Smasher lit up like a Christmas tree, first with red lights chasing around its middle, then with multicolored lights flashing on and off. As the crowd watched, Drake made the craft shoot like a bullet across the water. Its lights provided the only clue as to where it was. To make things even more interesting, Drake sometimes turned off all the lights and then changed places before turning them back on.
“He’s over there!” someone in the crowd shouted.
“No, he’s over there!”
“Look at how fast that thing can move.”
“You can’t tell if it’s on or above the water!”
Drake put on an amazing show before bringing the craft back to shore. As he approached the beach, Captain Swain flipped the spotlights back on. The D-94 sailed to the water’s edge and lifted off the sand with a puff of air. It scooted across the beach to where the bus was parked, and then Drake set it down to rest in the sand. He killed the engine and pulled back the cover on the cockpit.
“That was more wonderful than anything I could ever have imagined,” said Bailey.
“Wow, that’s saying a lot,” Sydney replied. “You have the wildest imagination of anyone I’ve ever known.”
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the captain shouted. “Let’s give a big round of applause to our resident inventor, Mr. Drake Wright!”
Everyone on the beach applauded, and many tried to get past the yellow tape. “Stay back!” Mr. Wright shouted.
“That’s all for tonight,” the captain announced. “There will be plenty more opportunities for you to see the Wright D-94 Wave Smasher in action. And before long, you might even have one of your very own.” He shut off the megaphone and climbed down the ladder.
“Drake,” Captain Swain said, approaching the D-94, “you were incredible!”
“Yes, you were!” Bailey agreed.
“We think so, too,” said Carolyn and Marilyn.
Drake climbed out of the cockpit, and Sydney shook his hand.
“You did that just like a pro,” she said. “I
was praying for you the whole time.”
“Thanks, Sydney,” Drake said with a lot more confidence in his voice. “I felt your prayers. I couldn’t have done it without you guys—”
“And the Greatest Helper of them all,” said the captain, pointing up at the sky.
“He means God,” Sydney whispered to the twins.
Mr. Kessler had climbed down from the bleachers and was walking toward them.
“Here comes our dad,” said Marilyn.
“Drake.” Mr. Kessler said in a serious voice. “My associates and I would like to have a word with you and your dad. Over there, please.” He motioned to the bleachers where his friends were waiting. The Wrights followed Mr. Kessler through the sand.
“What do you think will happen?” Sydney asked.
“They’re going to set him up,” Carolyn said.
“Huh?” said Bailey.
“We overheard our dad talking on the phone this morning,” said Marilyn. “He said that if Drake’s demonstration went well tonight, his company will start manufacturing the Wright D-94 Wave Smasher.”
“And there’s more,” said Carolyn. “He’s going to set up a dealership, right here in Corolla, and Drake’s dad will run it, and everybody on the Outer Banks will come here to buy their D-94s.”
“Before long, there will be dealerships up and down both coasts,” Marilyn added. “And Drake and his dad will own them all.”
Captain Swain beamed. “Praise our God! His deeds are wonderful, too marvelous to describe.”
“You really need to meet our friend Beth,” Sydney told him. “You two could have a contest to see who knows the most scripture verses.”
“Why, Sydney Lincoln,” said Captain Swain, “I’d be honored to meet your friend. Maybe she can come with you the next time you visit your grandparents.”
A few yards away from them, they heard Drake Wright let out a joyful whoop! Mr. Wright threw his arms around his son and hugged him.
“Watch that boy,” said the captain. “This is only the beginning.”