The Tundra Trials
Page 25
Shortly after, the admiral leaves with her honor guard and Ridders explains the logistics for our return to Earth. Tomorrow morning, we’ll fly by passenger craft to the nearest bounding base. From there, we’ll free bound to the Ezone at the space station and transfer to smaller crafts for the trip back to Earth. Cole and I are grouped with the other cadets from Americana East.
When Ridders wraps up, we head to the floor to congratulate our friends. Soon, the only people left in the chamber are the Bounders and their junior ambassadors. Sadly Neeka is nowhere to be found.
“I wish she were here,” Lucy says. “I want to give her a big squeeze and let her know how sorry I am about her dad before we leave Gulaga.”
“I have an idea,” I tell her. I track down Grok talking to some other junior ambassadors. “Hey! Argotok! Any chance you can get us into the Den tonight?”
A few hours later, we meet up with Grok and Ridders’s pod and wind our way through the tunnels to the Den. As we’re about to enter, an old Tunneler with a scar across his face steps from the shadows. Barrick.
Grok stops, but Marco waves him on. “It’s cool. Give Jasper and me a minute. We’ll meet you inside.”
At first, Grok hesitates, but then he pulls the door open and ushers the rest of our group into the Den.
Marco and I duck around the corner where we spotted Barrick.
“Hey, kid,” he says to me then turns to Marco. “You one of the lost boys from day one?”
“Yeah,” Marco says. “You bolted before I could say thanks.”
“As one does in unfriendly territory,” Barrick says.
“Speaking of that,” I say, “why are you here? Isn’t it risky?”
“Less risky for me than for the one who wants his message delivered.”
“Huh?” I say.
Barrick shakes his head. “Still aren’t quick on the uptake, kid. Jon Waters asked me to find you.”
Waters?
Marco clenches his fist. “Where is he?”
“Relax. He’s safe. And he’s relieved to know you are, too. He cares about you kids.”
“He has a funny way of showing it,” I say.
“There are a lot of things at play, kid,” he says.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, intragalactic relations are complicated,” Marco says. “Look, Barrick, we’ve heard it all before. You can call us kids all you want, but the truth is we’re soldiers. And we’re smarter and far more skilled than most adults you’ll ever know, including the infamous Jon Waters. So give us the message or don’t. We have somewhere to be.”
“Fair enough,” Barrick says. “Waters will be watching and trying his best to keep you safe. When the time is right, he’ll reach out. He’s on your side. We both are. But trust no one in Earth Force.”
“Anything else?” I ask.
“Yeah, kid,” Barrick says. “He’s sorry.”
“A little late for that,” Marco says.
“It’s a little late for a lot of things,” Barrick says and takes off down the passage.
Marco stuffs his hands in his pockets and gazes into the shadows.
“What was that all about?” I ask once I’m pretty sure Barrick is out of range.
Marco shrugs. “I believe him. And I believe Waters.”
“Why?”
“Because I trust Barrick. He hasn’t given me a reason not to trust him. Unlike most people.”
He means me. “I get it, okay? No more secrets. Not to you. Not to any of the Bounders. In fact, I can’t wait to get home. I have a lot of things I need to tell my sister before she comes to the Academy next tour.”
Marco turns to me with a cold stare. “Make sure of it, Jasper. I’m all about second chances. But not third.” Once he lets his words sink in, he nods at the door to the Den. “Let’s head in.”
When we enter the Den, we’re greeted with the same loud and joyful atmosphere I remember from my first trip here with Mira. Grok waves from a table in the corner packed with our pod mates and allies and some junior ambassadors. As soon as we sit, a Tunneler arrives with bowls of something dark and foamy.
Marco raises the bowl to his lips. “A bit earthy, but it beats what they serve in the cantina.”
“That’s a pretty low standard,” Annette says.
“What’s in the box, Jasper?” Lucy asks, twirling a hot pink ribbon around her finger and nodding at the black case by my side.
“You’ll see,” I say.
The music picks up, and the crowd swells. We grab another round of drinks for the table and reminisce about the Tundra Trials.
“I never got to see a slimer,” Ryan says.
“Be grateful.” I shudder with the memory of that creature oozing its way around my legs.
“I’ll be happy never to sink my teeth into BERF again,” Meggi says.
“I’ll drink to that.” The bowl leaves a foamy mustache on my top lip.
“Do you think they’re going to send us to Alkalinia next tour?” Cole asks.
“What’s Alkalinia?” Grok asks.
“It’s nothing!” Lucy says, giving Cole an evil eye. “We are so not talking about that tonight.” She springs to her feet. “There’s Neeka!”
Lucy races to Neeka’s side and leads her to our table. Our Tunneler friend stoops even more than normal.
When they reach us, Neeka switches on her voice box. “Oh! Oh! I’m sorry I didn’t make it to the briefing. It was a difficult day. I wanted to see you before you left Gulaga, though, so I’m glad you came.”
“Sorry about your dad,” Marco says. The rest of us nod and tell her how awful we feel about what happened.
I can picture Commander Krag tied to the controls on the space dock, confidently barking orders until the very end. “He was very courageous,” I say.
“Oh! Thank you. He served Earth Force, he did his duty, but I will miss him very much.”
“Of course you will, sweetie,” Lucy says. “If there’s anything we can do, even after we leave Gulaga, please ask.”
Neeka sits with us for a few minutes, and then excuses herself to be with her family.
After she leaves, we toast and take turns sharing stories. Cole asks a gazillion questions about the occludium mines and the aboveground leaf structures. Amazingly one of the junior ambassadors is just as pumped to provide endless answers. Lucy isn’t the only one in our pod to find a kindred spirit among the Tunnelers.
“I wasn’t going to bring this up,” Lucy announces to the table. “You know, with the battle, and the deaths, and everything. But now since we’re hanging out, and having fun, and it is our last night here after all, and so I was just thinking—”
“Cut to the chase, DQ,” Marco says.
“Okay, fine, I will. Does anyone know what day it is?” Lucy grins at all of us like the answer is so obvious we should be jumping in line to be the first to answer.
“Umm, the day we almost got killed by the Youli?” Ryan asks.
“Yes, and?” Lucy says.
“The last day of our tour?” Meggi says.
“Yes, and?”
“The day you stopped being so dramatic?” Marco says. “Just tell us!”
“Here’s a hint,” Lucy says. “It’s October twelfth.”
“So what?” Annette says.
“It’s Lucy’s birthday,” Cole says. “She told us back at the labs.”
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Lucy flings her arms around Cole and plants a huge, wet kiss right on his cheek. Cole turns as red as a ripe tomato.
We sing happy birthday to Lucy. Grok brings over a basket of creepy crawlies as a birthday treat. I almost barf on the spot. But once I get over the grossness, it’s immensely entertaining to watch the Tunnelers eat the nasty things. Even Ryan chokes down a few.
As we sip on another round of foamy Tunneler brew, Marco raises his bowl. “It’s all about the pod!”
We all lift our drinks. “It’s all about the pod!”
Mira slips away to join the band. The beat picks up, and I can’
t help but sway to the music. Most of the Tunnelers leave to dance. Lucy, Meggi, and Annette follow.
I grab my black case and cross to the back of the room, where the band jams. My brain sparkles when Mira sees me coming. I fit together the pieces of my clarinet and join the song, enjoying another perfect moment in our imperfect Bounder world.
Acknowledgments
There are so many people behind the scenes who have contributed to the success of the Bounders series and helped bring The Tundra Trials to bookshelves.
I have so much gratitude for my editor, Michael Strother, who believed in me and my characters. These books will always have him in their pages.
The entire team at Simon & Schuster/Aladdin has been awesome. I am so fortunate to have them ushering my books into the world. I am especially grateful to Sarah McCabe, who took this book by the hand and helped it across the finish line.
My agent, David Dunton, championed the Bounders series from the beginning and found these books a great home, for which I’m so grateful.
One of the best experiences of the past year has been meeting and corresponding with readers. Thank you so much for your e-mails, letters, handshakes, and high fives. I love knowing that readers are connecting with my stories.
Writing may be a solitary profession, but I’m blessed with an incredibly supportive community of authors, many of whom have terrific books of their own. Special thanks to Melissa Schorr, Lee Gjertsen Malone, Bridget Hodder, Victoria J. Coe, Dee Romito, Jenn Bishop, Jen Maschari, Abby Cooper, Janet Johnson, Jen Malone, MarcyKate Connolly, Marilyn Salerno, Julia Flaherty, Lisa Rehfuss, Debbie Blackington, and all the Sweet Sixteens.
I greatly appreciate the fabulous authors who took time out of their busy schedules to read and blurb Earth Force Rising: S. J. Kincaid, Shannon Messenger, and Wesley King.
I have a wonderful community in which to live and write, and the support I’ve received has been truly sustaining. Special thanks to my south shore friends and family and my Oechsle colleagues.
When I visit schools, I always talk about my childhood and active imagination. More than ever, I’m grateful to my parents, Richard and Lynne Swanson, for creating a home environment that allowed my creativity to flourish.
Of course, my heart bursts with love and gratitude for the three main guys in my life: Jamey, Nathan, and Gabriel. Thank you so much for walking with me on this journey. You are all a source of comfort, inspiration, and joy.
Gabriel, second only in birth date, your passion and focus are both incredible and familiar. This book is for you.
PHOTO BY CARRIE SMITH PHOTOGRAPHY
MONICA TESLER lives in a coastal community south of Boston with her husband and their two boys. She earned her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Michigan, and she has worked as an attorney for more than fifteen years. She writes on the commuter boat, in coffee shops, and at her kitchen table. She tries to meditate every day but often ends up fantasizing about space, time travel, or strange lands, both real and imagined.
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Also by Monica Tesler
Bounders, Book 1: Earth Force Rising
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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First Aladdin hardcover edition December 2016
Text copyright © 2016 by Monica Tesler
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Library of Congress Control Number 2016955905
ISBN 978-1-4814-4596-2 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-4814-4598-6 (eBook)