“But, but,” he stammered. “Are you sure?”
“Just trust me,” she pointed. “Watch!”
Jack looked, though he didn’t want to. Cheyton and Takota were steps away from each other. Cheyton roared, snapping his jaws. Then he hopped up and landed solidly. In a flash of light and a crack of thunder, he split into at least a hundred copies. An instant mob of Cheytons formed a circle, yet Takota didn’t appear a bit concerned.
“Is that all you GOT!” Takota mimicked the move, launching himself skyward and coming down in a loud, brilliant eruption. The flash blinded Jack. Then his vision readjusted and the dust cleared, revealing a spectacular scene. Takota had also separated into scores of duplicates, each of them paired with a different version of Cheyton.
An audible hum exhaled from the spectators. The two gangs of tiny beings clashed, fur flying, teeth gnashing, shrieks of pain and growls of aggression. The action whizzed in a blur, and everywhere Jack turned, the Takota double had an advantage. One Takota thumped a Cheyton in the gut, folding him over then tossing him down. Another Takota held a Cheyton in an armbar, grinding him into submission. In yet another battle, a Takota had his counterpart pinned down, forcing him to surrender.
Just as each of his copies seemed on the verge of defeat, they melded together one by one, once again forming a single Cheyton. He crawled to his feet and staggered to safety. The Takota duplicates did the same, merging into the same physical space, returning to the original.
Cheyton disappeared again, attempting to escape. Takota seemed to know where and when he would come back, flashed into position, and pounded him with a solid blow to the head. Cheyton crumpled. Takota hauled him toward the broken gate where the metal had frayed into a tangled mess. He took a strand of stiff wire and yanked it loose. When he had enough, he wrapped it around and around Cheyton’s wrists. Then he flipped Cheyton over and did the same to his ankles, pulling them behind his back, rendering him immobile.
Finally, Jack allowed himself to relax. He watched Takota let out a heavy sigh and wipe his hands together. The little guy’s self-congratulations didn’t last long. He took a step toward his friends, then stopped short. Eyes widening, he vanished just before a bolt of red lightning struck the ground where he’d been standing.
Takota flashed into reality nearer Davos, crouching, ready to tear into the evil being. Then, just like that, he was gone again. Davos flicked his hands and his blazing orb shot a static-charged stream. As before, it missed where Takota had been by a split second, bouncing off the totaled hearse.
When Takota solidified from the unseen, he was even closer to his enemy, and this time in a dead sprint. Davos sent out a rapid fire, showering the area in tiny meteors, scorching the ground with explosion after explosion. Takota flashed here and there, here and there, moving with a calm fluidity, a total contrast to the frantic actions of the Nagas.
Inevitably, Takota reached his goal, launching his body and thrusting Davos backward and downward, deep into the ground. A sonic boom resonated beyond the river and back. A hail of dirt and rocks and grass fell over everyone. Jack shielded himself, though it was unnecessary. The O/A’s protection kept anything from touching him. He still wasn’t used to that.
Then all went quiet. Jack peered through the dust at a current of smoke drifting from a fifty-foot-long impact crater, the result of the epic clash.
Takota crawled out of the charred trench in a daze. He stumbled, caught himself, and managed to climb over a mound of broken earth. He emerged to a roaring crowd. A hero’s welcome. Then he collapsed.
SIXTY
JACK LEFT THE O/A’S SAFETY and raced to meet his protector, plucking him off the ground and hugging him with all his might. The little guy could take it. He could take anything.
“You’re so amazing!” he told Takota. “We’re just lucky you’re on our side!”
People began to filter through the broken gate. They jumped and shouted in celebration, surrounding both Jack and Takota. Then a loud, commanding voice rang out, silencing the merriment.
“All right, all right! Everybody disperse!” Chief Sillay pushed through, nursing a bruised eye. “What are you doing treating these criminals like heroes?” he pointed at Jack. “This child is a thief!” he then motioned toward Ben. “And that man is a fugitive from justice. He’s an escapee, and he’s armed and dangerous. They’re all under arrest!”
“Are you kidding?” shouted a woman in a green Oregon Ducks hat. Jack squinted to examine her better and recognized Mrs. Eisenschmidt. She winked at him.
“Are you blind or something?” added a tall man wearing mirrored sunglasses.
A silver-haired woman spoke up. “Didn’t you see what happened here? They just stopped that, that nasty, evil man!” she pointed at the smoldering crater. “If it was a man! Whatever it was, it could have easily come after us and probably would have.”
“YEAH!” agreed the majority.
The chief remained stoic. “Protest all you want, it won’t change a thing! These people are in a lot of trouble,” he seized Takota from Jack’s grasp. “And these creatures are the property of Archer Savage Industries.”
“That’s right!” Savage stepped energetically from the main entrance of his compound. He forced into the crowd to get at the chief and retrieve Takota. “And my company is striving to protect this nation. With these creatures, we can do our part. Thank you, Chief Silly.”
The chief coughed. “Uh, that’s Chief Sillay.”
“Whatever,” Savage cleared his throat. “You’ve done a great thing for our country’s safety today. I just hope these criminals get what they deserve. The full letter of the law should be brought to bear on them for what they’ve done.”
People became agitated, hundreds shouting at once. One strong voice rose over the rest.
“How can you two stand there and ignore what just happened?” screamed Mrs. Eisenschmidt. “Am I losing my mind? Are we all? That, that…thing is some kind of a monster! And the only ones who tried to stop it were Jack and Ben James and those dear little creatures!”
“And their friend Amelia,” Kristy Blades suggested. “These kids have an interesting story to tell. What do you have to say, Chief?”
“I say they can tell it to the judge!” he snapped his fingers at the squad of officers assembled behind him. “Arrest them!”
The men in blue gave their boss quizzical expressions. One of them, a big man, came forward and took off his hat.
“Sir, I…we agree with these people,” he squeaked. “We think Ben and Jack are heroes. We don’t think they belong in jail, and those amazing creatures sure don’t belong in some secret defense lab, either.”
Everyone agreed. Everyone, that was, except two people.
“This is a bunch of bull!” Dillon staggered. He pointed his shaky finger at Takota, still comatose in Savage’s grasp. “That thing belongs in a cage forever!”
“It attacked us!” Mike stood next to his friend. “They’re dangerous, and if Archer Savage wants them, he should have them!”
“And he will,” assured the chief. Then he unleashed his growing impatience on his reluctant underlings. “If you don’t want to lose your jobs, you’d better do what I say and arrest them, NOW!”
The officers snapped to attention and hurried to secure the prisoners. One apprehended Jack. Another took Amelia by her arms. Others raced to Ben and Liz.
“Fine, I won’t fight you anymore,” Ben sighed. The O/A’s force field fizzled to nothing. He placed the machine on the ground and raised his hands in surrender.
“Okay,” the chief nodded to Savage. “The creatures are all yours now.”
Savage grinned from ear to ear. He glanced at Jack, then returned his satisfied gaze to the chief. “I’ll make sure the boys in DoD hear about the brave work you’ve done today. Now, we have a big job to do, so if you’ll all excuse me.”
“Takota! Wake up!” Jack screamed.
Savage’s chest heaved with pride. “Face it. I’ve
won. Your friends can flash in and out with those dazzling illusions of theirs, you can show off your so-called advanced technology, but in the end, I’ve won!”
“Not if we can help it!” Enola stood in Savage’s path, her green halo aflame with cloudy formations. Ayita and Pud were by her sides. They each wore firm faces, staring at the man.
“Do I need to hit you with my power again, Savage?” Enola’s aura raged. “How many times will it take before you learn your lesson?”
Savage inched backward. Jack detected Takota rousing from his daze, stirring in the man’s hands. His eyes darted underneath their lids. Then they opened. In a snap he vanished, reappearing between Savage’s French loafers and tripping him to his knees. Then he bounded to Savage’s shoulders and smothered his face. The man jumped to his feet again, spinning and jerking. He grabbed and hit Takota hard. The little creature held fast.
“HELP!”
Then, in one gigantic shift, the ground rocked, forcing the officers to hunker down and let go of Jack and Amelia. Suddenly free, the children got low, along with everyone else on North Point—everyone, even Chief Sillay. He was on all fours, his face wrought with concern.
Savage fell to his belly and whimpered. Takota stood on the man’s back, scanning the grounds, searching for the source of the quake. He shot his stare to the trench where he’d buried Davos. Stones and roots and mounds of soil spat from the hole as all four Tanakee approached the crater together—slowly, steadily.
When they got near the ditch, it erupted. A giant, blinding fireball filled the sky. Davos roared out of the earth. He glared at the crowd, then at the Tanakee.
“I should have listened to the others and destroyed you the second I found you. But it’s not too late. I WILL destroy you! I will destroy ALL of you! Along with the entire city of Willow!”
“Get him!” Takota shouted. In mid-sprint, all four Tanakee disappeared, reemerging on top of Davos, clinging to his arms and legs, attempting to stop him from executing his plan of destruction.
It was no use.
The glowing sphere folded into itself and shrunk to nothing. At the same instant, Davos changed his form once again, splitting from his hair to his feet into dozens upon dozens of black, sinuous, winged serpents. Like missiles, they soared along the river and arched toward the expansive bridge in the distance.
With Davos’ abrupt escape, the Tanakee fell to the ground, one on top of the other.
SIXTY-ONE
A RUSHING NOISE FILLED the landscape. The sound of a thousand waterfalls. Jack realized the river was receding, once invisible pylons now jutting from the channel, barnacles and mussels exposed to the atmosphere.
He took Amelia’s hand. “We gotta go! We gotta go NOW!”
“No, wait,” she seemed more calm than she should have been. “Not yet. Stay here.”
“But…”
She gave him a look telling him to trust her. Somehow he did.
Large ships lowered in their moorings with the outgoing tide, their steel hulls hitting bottom and tilting on their keels in the mud. A swarm of cackling seagulls dove to snatch the now unprotected oysters and sea anemones along the draining estuaries. Then Jack saw a bolt of scarlet lightning in the distance, followed by an earthshattering thunderclap.
Takota stared at the retreating river.
“What’s going on?” asked Jack. No response. He tried again. “Takota? Do you know what’s happening?”
Takota answered, “Davos is up to something. I’m going to find out.”
“I’m going with you,” Ayita announced.
“So am I,” agreed Pud.
Takota disapproved. “No you’re not. You’re both staying here,” he watched the electrical storm gain strength. “It’s too dangerous. I’m doing this alone.”
He inhaled deep and pressed his chin to his chest.
“Takota, wait!” Ayita took his arm. He looked up and she took a quick, short breath, startled by his attention. Then she seemed to melt, throwing herself into his arms. “Before you go, I just have to tell you that, that I…”
“Oh, for Eteea’s sake,” Pud intruded. “What she’s so gracefully trying to say is she loves you!”
“We all do,” Enola gave Takota a nod. “Now go find out what that nasty Nagas is doing.”
Ayita sniffled, slow to release her grip. Takota gave her a tender smile and wiped a tear from the smooth, silky fur on her striped cheek.
“I’ll see you soon,” he told her. He cleared his throat and, one at a time, met each stare directed at him. “I’ll see you all, real soon.”
He breathed deep and in a wink was gone. Jack heard gasps.
“Duck Soup!” Ben placed his hand on Jack’s shoulders. “That critter can move!”
“Where?” Jack scanned the horizon.
Ben pointed downstream. “Over there!”
The darkening, stormy backdrop made it difficult to see, though finally Jack spotted Takota, standing on a steel girder and leaning into the wind at the tallest point of the bridge. A blinding flare nearly missed him. It was Davos. It had to be. The brilliant laser sped to sea, colliding with the sudden cluster of storm clouds which had gathered offshore.
Jack’s blood drained when he saw what Davos had conjured as it emerged from the cloudbank. His stomach fell and his knees weakened. The deafening silence from the crowd spoke more than any words. Nobody talked. Nobody moved. No one so much as stole a breath.
The tallest, most fearsome wave Jack had ever seen towered over the bridge. The sheer scale of the monstrosity seemed almost too big to comprehend. It dwarfed the long, manmade steel span, lifting and lifting, threatening to wash over the unsuspecting motorists. Something so massive, traveling so fast and bringing with it such a devastating force—strange how it seemed in slow motion.
“Tsunami!” a solitary cry set off a mad rush. People dashed for vehicles, tripping over each other, shoving and kicking and fighting to escape North Point. With cars still filtering in, a traffic jam sprouted, blooming into a complete mess. Nobody could move. They were trapped.
Chief Sillay hurried toward Ben and Jack, his hands clasped over something he obviously deemed precious. Jack worried it might have been a gun. Liz waved her hand in disgust.
“Now? You’re going to arrest him now?”
“No! No! I was wrong,” the chief opened his palms, revealing the O/A, its rainbow patina reflecting off the man’s silver badge. “Here. Use it, Ben. Use your machine. Save us,” he nodded and stepped away, giving the inventor space.
Jack pointed at the machine in Ben’s hands. “Dad! You’ve got to do something! Use the O/A!”
“I can’t!” Ben drooped. “I can’t get it to work properly. It’s, it’s too much power to handle.”
“Somebody’d better do something, and quick!” Pud shouted. “Or this whole place’ll be underwater!”
Ayita kept her concentration on the bridge. Bright, raging bursts assaulted the darkened sky. Takota and Davos were locked in battle.
“I’m going to help him!”
“Ayita! Wait!” Amelia grasped her arm. “Don’t you see it?”
“What?” Ayita shook her head. “See what?”
She clutched her eagle feather.
“Jack, listen to me. I’ve seen this before,” she took his hands. “Jack. It’s you!”
He scowled in confusion. “What do you mean it’s me?”
“You are supposed to operate the O/A, not your dad. It was made for you, Jack!”
A chill slinked through Jack’s skin. His butterflies surged with a vengeance. He turned to the roaring tidal wave. It crashed inland, nearing the bridge, nearing Takota and Davos.
He twisted to face Amelia, then his dad. “But it, it doesn’t work. Right, Dad? You said you can’t get it to work!”
Ben placed the device in his son’s hand. “You’ll get it to work.”
Beneath the O/A’s vibrant, lavender exoskeleton, endless geometric shapes circled and twisted upon themselves, creating t
he strangest, most wonderful figures. Some of them Jack recognized—the normal ones, like the spheres and cubes, even the tesseracts and toruses. Most, though, seemed alien, extra-dimensional, existing in a dream.
He trembled. Placing his palm over the interface, he felt his consciousness fuse with the mysterious device. The two of them, boy and machine, became one—one mind, one will.
Then the idea of oneness took on a whole new meaning when he peeked left, noticing someone who seemed an awful lot like himself. He flinched and the parallel Jack flinched. He leaned, searched past his duplicate, and saw a long line of other Jacks stretching to the horizon. They leaned and looked. Jack waved. They waved.
From the side, one of them slammed into him. Instead of pain, though, it was a rush of energy, as if his double had stepped into his body and gave him added strength. He felt like he’d just gained a hundred pounds of pure muscle.
Another duplicate melded into him, then another and another, over and over until it became a blur. Thousands, hundreds of thousands, even millions of his dimensional copies crashed into him, each bringing that much more ability, that much more strength.
Ben came alight when the merging was complete. “DUCK SOUP! It worked! Didn’t it, Jack?”
Jack didn’t respond. He felt so omnipotent, he thought if he talked, the power of his voice would shatter eardrums and crumble buildings.
Ben examined the O/A in Jack’s hand. “It did! It worked! Jack, you’ve done it! You’re running the machine on its highest setting! You’ve achieved maximum omnidimensional energy absorption! Son, how does it feel?”
Without thinking, he answered. “GOOOOOOOD!” the force from his lungs rumbled the concrete compound. People covered their ears, even dozens of yards away.
Not Ben. He pointed at the tidal wave crashing toward the bridge. “Go, Son! GO!”
Jack considered the Tsunami, the traffic on the bridge, Takota and Davos engaged in battle among the steel girders. The urge to rush to Takota’s aid was overwhelming, yet he knew what he had to do. He pictured himself helping those motorists and whisked away, high above the water, racing at a force that should have snapped his spine in two. He felt fine, though. Better than fine. Better than ever. The power. The energy. Then he realized.
Jack James and the Tribe of the Teddy Bear Page 41