Diego and the Rangers of the Vastlantic

by Armand Baltazar

  Without thinking, Diego lunged for Lucy, grabbing her hand. He wrapped his arms around her waist and shot forward, pushing his board to full power to guide them both away. Fast.

  “You okay?” Diego called over his shoulder, breathing hard.

  “Oh my God, I thought I was done for!” Lucy shouted. She gripped him tightly around the waist.

  Diego felt the tears streaming down her face against his neck. “Hold on.”

  The board wobbled beneath Diego’s feet. Lucy felt heavier than she should have, too. Her board’s antigravity accelerator must have been damaged.

  He leveled off above the treetops, throttled forward, and then found a place to land.

  Diego hopped off his board and inspected Lucy’s. The damage was worse than he’d guessed. It was a wonder she could still fly. The two front fans were bent. Diego blamed himself. When that crocodile had turned on him, he’d lost sight of Lucy. She’d panicked and bolted deep into the jungle along the stream. She hadn’t even seen those allosauruses until it was too late. But striking the juvenile was bad luck. The nose of the board was dented and smeared with its blood.

  “I hear something hissing,” Lucy said.

  “Me too.” Diego spun around and inspected her pack. She was losing pressure fast, the dial spinning down. She had a few minutes of flight capacity left and almost no pressure for thrust. The board was not going to get Lucy back to the ship.

  “I’m sorry I messed up. I—”

  “No, you didn’t.” Diego unstrapped her pack and slid it from her shoulders.

  “Diego, what are you—?”

  He pushed her onto his board.

  The magnetic couplers locked in her boots.

  “Have to get you out of here,” he said. He whipped off his pack and slipped it over her shoulders. He connected the fittings.

  A series of roars sent nearby birds scattering from their perches. About a half mile out, Diego thought, adjusting the fittings and settings. And coming fast.

  “Oh God, it’s them!” Lucy cried.

  The flying gear was all set. Diego grabbed her by the shoulders. “Your board’s ruined, so you’re taking mine.”

  Lucy nodded. “No! What about you?”

  “There’s not enough power in my pack to fly us both, so you need to get help.”

  “But they’re coming! And you—”

  “I’ll be fine,” Diego said. He checked her pack. “I’ve got enough to fly up to that cliff face. I can wait there. Got it?”

  “Okay,” she said, still breathing hard.

  “You can do this.”

  Lucy wiped her eyes and nodded.

  Diego slipped on Lucy’s pack and connected the cables and hoses. He glanced at the dial on his glove. Not good.

  “Diego . . . ,” Lucy said, seeing the worry on his face.

  “It’s okay,” he said.

  “You’re lying,” Lucy said.

  “Listen,” he said anxiously. “We are going to get out of this alive. You’re an Emerson, and Emersons don’t fail, remember? Fly just above the tree line. And no faster than twenty-five on the speed dial. Understand?”

  “Got it.”

  “Okay, Emerson, time to go!” He smiled as bravely as he could.

  She nodded, but then her eyes seemed to widen. Diego heard something behind them. Breathing. He turned . . .

  He’d grabbed her board and started running when a second allosaurus burst through the bushes at his side.

  Its neck lunged, its jaws snapping inches from his face.

  Diego sprinted, felt its giant footsteps pounding the earth right behind him.

  He fired up the board and, in one smooth motion, threw it out in front of him while pumping the actuators in his gloves. He jumped on the board as it accelerated. He could feel the breath of the allosaurus on his back, the roar growing louder as his board struggled to climb higher.

  Diego flew skyward, but the board didn’t have enough power left to clear the waterfall, and he crashed into the cliff face, tumbling down onto a ledge. He gripped his shoulder. It burned in slicing waves of pain that made his fingers tingle and his neck seize up. The beasts began to throw their massive bodies against the wall, trying to dislodge him.

  “Is that all you’ve got?” Diego shouted down at them. He staggered and fell to his knees. A large chunk of rock dislodged beside him, tumbling down. Diego threw himself against the wall, out of breath, his shoulder screaming, his vision getting blurry.

  But then the creatures stopped pounding. As if they were connected by the same brain, they reared back on their hind legs and roared toward the sky.

  A shadow fell over Diego, and he looked up to see a massive shape flying overhead.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The Magellan

  The massive airship could not fully be seen from where Diego lay. He traced the thick ropes that connected to one of the cranes on the ship’s undercarriage. He saw the name across the side, next to one of the large propellers pushing them forward.

  Magellan.

  He’d been rescued by his best friend and the Mapmakers of the Vastlantic.

  “Greetings, Diego,” said the girl beside him as the canoe arced over the jungle. She looked a few years older than him. “I’m Dusty. This is my associate Kiyoshi. You’ve got one very dislocated shoulder here.”

  “Konnichiwa, Diego san,” Kiyoshi said, bowing.

  Diego tried to nod to him but was overwhelmed by burning pain. The edges of the world looked hazy. Craning his neck, he spied the John Curtis growing in the distance, but even that simple motion made everything start to swim. He closed his eyes, grimacing.

  “Hang in there, D,” Petey said. “We got here as soon as we could.”

  “It’s probably best if I just fix this now, okay?” Diego felt Dusty’s hands on his elbow and back. “Petey, hold his other arm steady, okay?”

  “Sure,” Petey said.

  “Dusty,” Kiyoshi said, “I’m not sure this is wise until we are on solid ground.”

  “What do you mean?” Diego mumbled.

  “Relax, Kiyoshi,” Dusty said. “No time like the present! Keep your eyes closed, Diego, and count to three with me. One . . .”

  “Two . . . ,” they said together.

  Dusty shoved Diego’s shoulder back into place.

  His world went white with pain. After a second, he screamed in agony. Despite the razor-hot burning up and down his side, he could move his shoulder again.

  “There you go,” Dusty said, rubbing her hand over his head. “All systems back online.”

  “Thanks,” Diego said weakly.

  The canoe came to rest on the beach, scattering a flock of curious, pigeon-size dinosaurs.

  Petey helped Diego out of the canoe, and then he turned to his rescuers.

  “Thanks,” Diego groaned.

  “Don’t mention it,” Dusty said. “Though you really would have been done for without us.”

  “Yeah, I guess so,” Diego said.

  “Relax,” Dusty said. “Just giving you a hard time.”

  “Subarashii!” Kiyoshi said, turning his attention to the robots standing nearby. “What creations are these?”

  “They came with us,” Diego said. “I built the red one.”

  “You are a masuta of metal servants?” Kiyoshi said, bowing.

  “He honors your skill,” Dusty explained. “It’s his way.”

  Footsteps crunched in the sand behind them. Diego turned to find Lucy, Gaston, and Paige running up the beach alongside the captain.

  “You’re alive!” Lucy said, throwing her arms around Diego. He froze for a second, grimacing, overcome by pain, but then gently hugged her back with his good arm. Her forehead, arm, and hand were all bandaged up.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  She pulled back and glanced sheepishly at her bandages. “I got all the way to the beach. But then I had a little trouble with the landing.”

  “You’ll get it next time,” Diego said.

>   “Dusty! Kiyoshi!” A voice called down from the Magellan with a rough Scottish accent. “If you two are done making friends, get back on board. We have work to do.”

  “Well, you heard the man,” Dusty said. “Nice not really meeting you all. Gotta run.” She and Kiyoshi stepped back into the canoe, and it began to rise.

  “Thank you,” Lucy called after them.

  Dusty tipped her hat. “Take better care of your boyfriend, Steam Timer. I did it for him, not you.”

  “He’s not my—we’re friends!” Lucy shouted.

  “Let’s get you inside,” Gaston said, motioning to Diego. “That shoulder needs ice.”

  Petey helped Diego stumble his way back aboard the John Curtis. His vision was still dim, his balance off. He was aware of two figures standing on deck, guiding the Magellan directly over the John Curtis.

  The captain checked in on Diego once he was lying in bed. “The Mapmaker did good work with your shoulder,” he said. “You have a couple bruised ribs. You are lucky that is all. Allosauruses are not to be trifled with.”

  “I’m sorry,” Diego said.

  “Small words,” the captain said. “Apologies are meaningless when you’re dead.” He handed Diego a cup of green medicine. “Take this for the swelling.”

  It tasted like sour licorice and burned the back of his throat, but it soothed his pain almost immediately.

  Gaston came in with the ice pack. “Here.” He wrapped Diego’s arm in a sling and affixed the ice pack under the strap.

  “You’ll have to take it easy for a few days,” the captain said. “But understand that you are still expected to do your duties. When you are back on your feet, we will talk of today’s mutiny, and punishment.”

  The captain and Gaston left, their footsteps fading down the deck. And Paige erupted. “What were you thinking, breaking the captain’s orders? You nearly got Lucy killed!”

  “Paige,” Lucy said. “Calm down. It was my fault. I panicked and flew down that stream, and I’m the one who ran into trouble with the allosaurus.”

  “Yeah, right after that reckless fool took you out of sight of the ship!” Paige shouted, turning her glare on Lucy. “You two got stupid! And you almost ended up dead.”

  “Paige,” Petey said. “Come on. . . .”

  Paige whirled toward him. “Shut up!” Then back to Lucy. “I told you we should never have hung around with these crazy little boys—especially that one!” Paige locked eyes with Diego. “You ever do anything to hurt this girl, Ribera, and I’ll finish you!” She stormed out.

  “What’s her problem anyway?” Petey said. “And why is she mad at me? I didn’t do a thing!”

  “Petey . . . ,” Lucy said. “Don’t be insufferable!”

  “No, really,” Diego said. “What’s her deal? It’s like everything I do pisses her off.” He threw his hands up as he spoke, setting off a fresh wave of throbbing pain in his shoulder.

  “Paige was scared. She’s looking out for me.”

  “If that’s looking out for you, I’d hate to see her when she’s actually mad,” Petey said.

  “I don’t understand how you could be friends with someone who is always so . . . difficult,” Diego said.

  Lucy’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t know anything about her. Give her a break. Paige’s parents both work days and nights. She was practically raised by her older brother. These days, between me and the Breakers . . . that’s about all she’s got.”

  “The Breakers,” Petey said. “I’ve heard of it. Tough place, right?”

  “The toughest,” Diego said. “That’s the old broken chocolate factory on the border of Old Chicago where the Mid-Time black neighborhoods are. It’s where blacks and whites don’t mix, let alone Steamers and Mids. It’s a rough place, and only the best skaters go there.”

  “And the toughest kids,” Lucy said. “Paige and her brother skated the Breakers to stay out of trouble. So before you say anything else stupid, cut her some slack.”

  “Man,” Diego said, “I didn’t know.”

  “I wish she’d told us about that,” Petey said. “She never wants to talk about herself, or to us at all really.”

  “Well, I still don’t get why she’s up in my face about what happened,” Diego said. “I mean, you’re fine. It’s not like we got hurt.”

  “Didn’t you listen to a word I said?” Lucy snapped. “It’s so obvious why she’s mad at you! She thinks you almost got us—me killed.” She threw open the door and stormed out.

  “What’s with her?” Diego said.

  “I have no idea,” Petey said.

  The door had barely closed when it slapped back open and the captain stepped in, another man behind him.

  “I brought the man to whom you owe your life,” the captain said. “Meet Captain Wallace of the Magellan, leader of the Mapmakers of the Vastlantic.”

  “Glad to see you’re in one piece,” Wallace said, shaking Diego’s hand.

  “Thank you for saving me,” Diego said. “Lucky for you, we decided to search the area when Captain Boleslavich failed to meet at the rendezvous,” Wallace said. “We had new information to give to your captain about Magnus’s location. That said, it was pure luck finding you on this island, so far off course. We were passing within miles of here when my first mate spotted that blond comet bursting out of the jungle through the spyglass.”

  “Lucy.”

  “Yeah, that’s the one. We came in for a closer look, and she gave us word about you,” he said, adjusting his gloves. “Now that our business is done, we should be off before we give the Aeternum any reason to suspect we’ve broken our code.”

  “What code is that?” Diego asked.

  “Diego.” The captain shot him a piercing look.

  “Sorry, Captain Balsamic, I—” Diego slapped a hand over his mouth.

  “Balsamic!” Wallace bellowed, bursting into laughter.

  “It was an accident, sir,” Diego stammered. “I just—I had trouble with your name this one time and I . . . I mispronounced it.”

  The captain looked like he might explode.

  “Well, of course you did,” Wallace said. “I still try to avoid saying our good captain’s name for fear of tripping over it. And I don’t mind the question. The Mapmakers’ guild has sworn to be politically neutral, and we’re willing to sell maps to anyone for the right price. That said, I like to do what I can for those who I believe are in the right, your captain being one of them. The Aeternum have their eyes on us, though, at all times.” He turned to the captain. “Shall we?”

  The two walked out. “Balsamic!” Diego heard Wallace say as they walked up the deck. “That’s priceless.”

  The air hummed with the sound of the Magellan’s engines warming up. Petey helped Diego to the back deck to watch the takeoff.

  Once airborne, the Magellan’s cranes began lifting netted cargo off the deck of the John Curtis, including many of the cargo containers from Navy Pier.

  “Looks like they traded supplies for information,” Petey said, pointing to piles of equipment on the deck.

  Diego noticed Paige and Lucy down on the deck. Ajax and Gaston stood nearby, talking to someone dressed in a deerskin shirt and pants, and wearing high boots. “Who’s that?” Diego wondered.

  “That . . . ,” Petey said, “is the new love of my life. She’s Captain Wallace’s first mate, Clementine Van Jensen, the deadliest shot in the West. I’ve read about her.”

  “Clem!” Kiyoshi called down from the Magellan. Diego saw a few much younger faces beside Kiyoshi. “Time to go!”

  Clementine hugged Ajax and Gaston.

  “Good luck with the new recruits,” Gaston said, glancing up at the kids with Kiyoshi.

  “Ha,” Clem laughed. “They’ll be easy compared to the saplings you’ve got on board.”

  “Man,” Petey said. “I wish I was one of those recruits. Training with the Mapmakers would be the best.”

  Clementine strode to Captain Wallace. “Time to get moving, si
r, if we’re going to get these medical supplies to the people in Texas.”

  Captain Wallace shook hands with the captain. “I hope you find your ships in Volcambria. If the Dauntless and the Valiant survived, I’m certain they’ll be there. And if not, send word, and I know what to do.”

  The captain nodded and clapped Wallace on the shoulder. “You are certain of your spies’ information?”

  Wallace’s face darkened. “I know you have to ask, old friend, but one of my best men lost his life gathering that intel.”

  The captain nodded. “His life will not have been given in vain. I swear it.”

  The captains exchanged salutes, and Wallace and Clementine grabbed on to the last cargo net, rising with it up to the Magellan. Once they were on board, the ship banked away from the John Curtis.

  As the Magellan shrank on the horizon, Diego felt an ache inside. Texas was a long way from New Chicago, but it was still in the direction of home. Diego missed his room, his street, his family.

  He took a deep breath, trying to fight back the fear inside him. The farther he traveled, the harder it became to see how he would get back home.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The Captain

  Once the Magellan had disappeared in the distance, Diego and Petey headed for the bridge.

  They found the captain standing on the bridge balcony taking a sextant reading. Without a word, he stepped around them and entered the bridge. Diego and Petey followed.

  “The repairs are complete,” the captain announced.

  Inside, Lucy was at the wheel, with Paige at her side. Diego found that he couldn’t look at them, though, and had to step over by the windows and gaze out at the sea. At first, he felt angry at them, but as he gripped the railing, his head still aching, he realized that he was embarrassed about messing up and still felt guilty for putting Lucy in danger.

  “Supplies are stowed,” the captain said. “The robots are aboard the barge. Lucy, prepare to take us out of the cove and get us back on course.”

  “Yes, sir.” Lucy throttled up the engines. The ship rumbled as the steam engine roared to life.