The Ninja Apprentice: The Lost Scrolls of Fudo Shin

by Jon F. Merz

  “At the game store or here destroying your latest purchase.” Jimmy smiled. “You guys take care.” He stood there for another moment, looking at his friends, and then turned and hurried downstairs.

  Frankenstein and the woman stood by the front desk. The woman looked concerned and kept checking her watch. She saw Jimmy and sighed. “All done then, are you? Good. Good. Well, it’s time for us to be off, then.”

  Frankenstein stuck out a meaty paw to Jimmy. “It was good knowing you, Jimmy. Don’t forget about us here, okay?”

  Jimmy grinned and shook his hand. “Thanks. I won’t.”

  The woman came up behind him. “Right, let’s get going. Thank you for your help, Mr. Griffin.”

  “My pleasure.”

  The woman’s hand was firm on Jimmy’s back. He spun away. “I can walk by myself.”

  She smiled. “Of course you can. It’s just that the weather is quite awful out there and shows sign of getting worse. I’d hate for you to get caught in it. Start our journey off sick, so to speak.”

  “I’ll be fine. I’ve been looking after myself for years, you know.”

  They moved toward the front door. Another flash of lightning made Jimmy slow down. The woman leaned close to him. “Why don’t you just let me check outside first, all right?”

  “Why?”

  “Oh, I’ll just see if we need the umbrella.” She ducked outside but instead of looking at the sky, Jimmy watched her head sweep in a wide arc that covered the entire parking lot. She didn’t look the least bit interested in the weather. In a second she was back.

  “All right, it looks as though we’re safe for the moment.”

  Jimmy ducked outside and felt the rain hit him. It quickly soaked his sweatshirt and ran down his back. The woman’s car sat by the curb. As they approached, the engine turned over and the door locks popped.

  “Get in.”

  Jimmy climbed into the front seat and the woman hurried around to the driver’s side. She slid in and instead of getting her seatbelt on, she slid the car into drive and they shot away from the orphanage, out onto the city streets.

  Jimmy pointed at the street in front of them. “Some people think turning on their headlights is a good idea when they drive at night.”

  The woman smiled. “Your file says you’ve got quite sarcastic streak in you. Nice to see the information I paid for is reliable.”

  “My file?”

  She ignored him. “I agree that headlights are nice, but I’d rather not advertise our presence at this moment. ”

  Jimmy frowned. “Huh?”

  But instead of repeating herself, she looked over at him, here eyes scanning up and down. “You’re a bit taller than I would have thought for a 13 year-old.”

  “I’m almost fourteen.”

  “Tomorrow, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, then, allow me to be the first to wish you a happy birthday.” She extended her hand. “My name is Vanessa MacPherson. Most people call me V.”

  “Shouldn’t I call you auntie or something like that?”

  “You might want to in time, but honestly, I’m not your aunt.”

  Jimmy leaned back. “Who are you?” He glanced at the car door and thought about making a run for it. If Vanessa stopped at a red light, he could have the door open and be gone in a flash.

  “Car doors are locked by a master control switch. They won’t open unless I allow it. And I’m afraid I can’t allow you to escape right now.”

  “Lady, I don’t know who you are, but-“

  “I just told you who I am. And the part about you not escaping is for your own good. Trust me. We barely found you in time as it was.”

  Jimmy frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  Vanessa glanced in the rearview mirror. She nudged Jimmy. “Look behind us.”

  Jimmy turned in his seat. He could barely make out the orphanage now. But he saw two sets of headlights parked out front, where he’d been only moments before.

  “More cars? They’re busy tonight.”

  Vanessa’s face looked tight. “Those cars aren’t there for the other kids. They’re there looking for Jimmy Matsuda Dolan.”

  “Matsuda?”

  “It means pine tree in Japanese.” She grinned. “Surely you’ve noticed that you’re not exactly the blonde-haired blue-eyed young man that your name suggests?”

  “I’ve known I’m part Asian. But I never knew my parents.”

  “Your father was Japanese. Your mother was American. You’re a mix of them both. And that mix has probably helped you more than you realize. Kept you hidden when we were all looking for you.”

  “Me?”

  “And it’s not about the gum you stole earlier.”

  “How’d you know-?”

  “I know a lot of things about you, Jimmy. Right now, the most important thing for you to know about me is that I’m responsible for your safety. I won’t let anyone harm you, but you need to trust me. All right?”

  “Harm me?” Jimmy swallowed. “Who would want to harm me?”

  “I’m afraid that’s a rather long list. I hate being the bearer of bad news and all, but there are some things you’re going to have to be brought up to speed on rather quickly. That’s one of them.”

  Vanessa’s car sliced through a deep puddle, tossing grimy water up near Jimmy’s window. He frowned. “But I don’t know that many people.”

  “But they know of you. At least they do now. When we found out about you, so did they. It was a race just to get to you tonight before they did. As you can see, we only just made it.”

  Jimmy looked back. The headlights hadn’t moved. “Who are they?”

  “The bad guys.” She wheeled the car onto a winding road that led up a hill. At the top, Vanessa parked the car and Jimmy could see the orphanage far below them. The headlights hadn’t moved.

  “I’m sorry, but I don’t really understand what’s going on here.”

  Vanessa held up her hand. “Just wait.”

  Jimmy peered through the windshield. The orphanage suddenly looked strange, illuminated somehow from within. “What’s happening down there?”

  Vanessa's voice was quieter. “By now, they’re erasing any evidence, I’d expect.”

  “Evidence? Of what?”

  She looked at him. “Of you, Jimmy.”

  There was a sudden explosion of yellows and reds from inside the walls of the orphanage as flames erupted from the windows. “They set it on fire?”

  Vanessa’s hands were tight on the steering wheel. “They won’t be pleased that they missed you. And I’m afraid they won’t be merciful, either.”

  “Merciful-“ Jimmy leaned forward. “Jamal and Derek!” He started to reach for the door handle, but Vanessa held him back.

  “Don’t.”

  “Those are my friends down there! I can’t just sit here and let them die!”

  Vanessa’s hand was firm on his chest. “They’re already dead. Everyone’s already dead, Jimmy. I’m sorry.”

  Jimmy stared through the windshield. The flames tore through the orphanage despite the pouring rain. They must have used an accelerant, he decided. Something that would make the place burn even with all the water falling from the sky.

  The image of the fiery orphanage blurred as Jimmy’s eyes felt hot. His breathing came out in staccato spurts. He blinked rapidly, trying to calm himself down. After several minutes, the building started to crumble and fall apart.

  In the silence of the car, the only sound was the rain pelting the roof. And Jimmy’s breathing.

  “You knew this was going to happen,” he said quietly.

  Vanessa eyed him. “You were the priority, Jimmy. I’m sorry about your friends.”

  He faced her, eyes blazing. “You could have stopped this. You could have saved Jamal and Derek if you’d wanted.”

  Vanessa shook her head. “No. There’s a limit to what even I can do.”

  “You could have called the cops as soon as we
left.”

  “And told them what? That the orphanage was under attack? That would have brought us far too much attention. You need to disappear again, Jimmy. Now that you’ve seen what they’re capable of.”

  Jimmy frowned. “You showed me this on purpose?”

  “I’d hoped it wouldn’t come to this.” She sighed. “But once again, I’ve underestimated their capacity for evil.”

  “Why make me watch this? I don’t understand.”

  Vanessa laid a hand on his shoulder. “You need to understand what you’re up against. And why it’s so important that you live.”

  Jimmy brushed her hand away. “Oh, please. I’ve never been important to anyone. Except maybe the two friends I just watched burn to death.”

  Vanessa sighed. “Don’t make the mistake of blaming me for their deaths, Jimmy. I didn’t kill your friends.” She pointed out of the windshield. “They did. The sooner you get that, the better.”

  “I don’t get any of this.” Jimmy shook his head. “Jamal and Derek didn’t have to die. I should have been there with them. If you hadn’t come for me-“

  “You’d be in a far worse situation than you know,” said Vanessa. “Listen carefully, Jimmy: I know what it’s like to lose friends.” She paused. “Family even. You’re not the only one who has suffered. All of us have. You’d do well to remember that.”

  Jimmy said nothing, aware of the rage he felt swelling in him. He’d known Vanessa for all of thirty minutes and he already hated her.

  “Jimmy.”

  He glanced at her. “What?”

  “You’re angry with me. I understand that. You don’t have the full picture yet. So that hatred you have brewing inside you? Just make sure you direct it at the right people – the right man – who is truly responsible for the deaths of your friends.”

  “And who would that be?”

  Vanessa glanced at her watch. “It’s time we were moving again.” She wheeled the car into reverse and they slid back down the hill before making a series of fast turns. Jimmy realized he was in a part of the city he’d never seen before. Within minutes they were driving on the highway leading out of the city. Only then did Vanessa seem to relax a bit more. With a big sigh, she used one hand to take the blonde wig she’d been wearing off and throw it into the back seat.

  Jimmy stared at her as she fluffed her brown hair underneath. “So who are they? What do they want with me?”

  Vanessa looked at Jimmy and then back at the road as if trying to decide something. After a moment, she took a breath.

  “They want to kill you, Jimmy.”

  Chapter Two

  “I kind of figured that part out,” said Jimmy. Still, hearing Vanessa actually say it set his heart thundering in his chest. Jimmy’s fingers danced along the armrest and his knees shook.

  Relax. Take a deep breath and exhale it.

  Jimmy froze. The voice had never spoken to him when he was with other people before. However, he did as he was told and when he blew out the breath, he felt a little better. But only just.

  “Try not to be so nervous,” said Vanessa.

  “That’s easy for you to say. You weren’t just told that people you’ve never even met before want you dead.”

  Vanessa cracked a tiny smile. “Jimmy, there are plenty of people who want me dead, too.”

  “Yeah? Like who?”

  “The same people who want to kill you.” She looked back out the windshield.

  Jimmy frowned. “Way I’m feeling right now, you could probably add my name to that list.”

  Vanessa nodded. “I know you’re furious with me for not saving your friends, Jimmy. I get that. But it’s misguided rage. My mission tonight was to get you out of that orphanage intact. The parameters of the operation weren’t flexible enough to allow me to save anyone else. I’m sorry, but those are the cold, hard facts.”

  “Yeah, well, those facts suck.”

  “I’m sure you feel that they do.” She glanced at a highway marker. “Now let me concentrate, I’m still not used to finding this place.”

  Vanessa steered the car off the highway and onto a long winding country road. Jimmy looked around but saw no other houses. They must have been at least thirty miles from the city by this time.

  The rain had let up some, but a slight drizzle still spattered the windows. Tall trees seemed to shield part of the road as they drove. They came around a bend and Vanessa made a sharp turn. They bounced down a dirt road that looked more like a trail in the woods than anything else.

  Jimmy gripped the arm rests and tried to keep his jaw from clattering as they maneuvered down the path, the car jumping and bucking with each bump and scrape. “Maybe you should get this paved.”

  “No,” said Vanessa. “There's a reason why we left it this way.”

  Jimmy frowned. “You still haven’t told me why they hate me so much.”

  Vanessa pointed out of the window at the surrounding landscape. “It’s this way for a reason. Harder to get a lot of vehicles down here, and that’s if they even knew where this place was. Which they don’t. Lucky for us.”

  Jimmy wondered if she’d ever answer any of his questions. The car continued to jump and buck over the holes and bumps in the dirt track. “The tires are going to pop if we stay on this much longer.”

  “They run flat anyway,” said Vanessa. “Can’t have people shooting out our tires now can we?”

  “Shooting?”

  “Yes. You know, bullets?”

  The car nosed its way through the dark woods, twisting as the path did, until at last the trees seemed to thin out and Jimmy could see a few hundred yards ahead of them.

  “That? That’s where we’re going?”

  If it had once been a magnificent mansion surrounded by manicured lawns and carefully sculpted rose bushes, there was little to suggest its former beauty. The stonework seemed in desperate need of new mortar, with large scabs of brick and masonry littering the ground closest to the house. The rose bushes hugged the foundation, reaching their thorny branches up toward the first floor windows. No lights glowed from within the house.

  Jimmy tried to decide if he’d ever lived in a worse looking place. “Looks like it’s haunted.”

  Vanessa laughed. “There were rumors of ghosts here a long time ago.”

  “Who owns this dump anyway?”

  “Does it matter?” Vanessa pulled the car around to the back and Jimmy watched as an automatic garage door slid open. Blackness seemed to reach for the car and as Vanessa drove in, they were swallowed by it. The door slid down behind them and only then did a faint red light come on, illuminating the interior.

  The garage had a single door leading out of it, but was otherwise empty. Jimmy thought it strange there weren’t any rakes, shovels, or any other garden equipment he would have expected to find in garage.

  Vanessa got out of the car. “You can get out now.”

  Jimmy slid out and then closed the door behind him. Vanessa waved him over. “In case you’re thinking about running – which I wouldn’t advise – we’re on over a thousand acres of densely forested land. Step into the woods and you’ll be lost in no time.”

  Jimmy frowned. “I might have a keen sense of direction.”

  Vanessa smiled. “Jimmy, the only woods you’ve ever seen have been in movies or on the television. You’re a city boy. Not Daniel Boone.”

  She unlocked the door and ushered Jimmy inside.

  It was cold. A breeze seemed to drift through the house as they climbed a set of stairs to the back of the kitchen. Jimmy noticed that each step seemed to creak an awful lot as they climbed them.

  “Stairs need work.”

  “Or maybe I like them that way for a reason,” said Vanessa. “Come on.”

  The kitchen looked old, but functional. Jimmy could hear the hum of the refrigerator and the stove looked like it might actually work. An assortment of pans hung on an overhead rack near the sink.

  “Are you hungry?”

  “Tire
d,” said Jimmy.

  Vanessa nodded. “I’d expect so. I’ll show you to your room.” They walked down the long hallway leading off of the kitchen. Jimmy’s sneakers sank into the plush carpet and he looked at the framed portraits hanging on the walls.

  “Who are these geezers?”

  “I don’t know. I bought the place furnished. Maybe they’re the ghosts everyone says live here.”

  Jimmy frowned. “Ghosts don’t bother you?”

  Vanessa put one hand on the banister of the staircase that led upstairs. “I’ve never met a ghost who could destroy an orphanage, Jimmy. I tend to worry more about the people in this world who can actually hurt me than about ghosts and that lot.”

  The stairs leading to the second floor creaked just as much as the ones from the garage. But when they got upstairs, the house looked a bit more comfortable. It was warmer, for one thing. And when Vanessa showed him his room, he saw it was a king-sized bed with a lot of pillows and blankets on it.

  “I think you’ll be comfortable enough.”

  Jimmy nodded. “Yeah. Thanks.”

  Vanessa turned to leave. “It’s a bit after 2200 hours now. Wake-up time is 0530. Good night.”

  Jimmy shook his head. “What?”

  Vanessa stopped and sighed. “It’s ten o’clock at night and you’ll be waking up at five thirty in the morning.”

  “What for?”

  Vanessa smiled. “See you then.”

  Jimmy closed the door behind her. At least she didn’t lock him in. He wandered to the windows and stared out. The lawns ran about two hundred yards in all directions before the dark forest closed in.

  She is right. You will never make it if you run.

  I might make it, thought Jimmy.

  Not yet. In time, perhaps. But not right now. You would be dead within a day and then what kind of fun would we have?

  Jimmy turned from the window and kicked off his sneakers. What kind of fun are we going to have anyway? I’m cracking up, talking to a voice in my head.

  Are you?

  Jimmy lay down on the bed and sank into the layers of comforters and blankets. Without realizing it, he stretched and yawned.