Up in the Air

by Ann Marie Meyers

  “You have a nice smile, Melody,” Sara says.

  No, I don’t. I open my mouth to tell her off, but I can’t. She looks so happy and I don’t want to hurt her. I should thank her, but can’t get the words out.

  Dreamstar rustles his feathers gently. Don’t worry. The words will come in their own time.

  What. Just. Happened? Did Dreamstar speak to me? Oh, wow. His feathers? Dreamstar is a he?

  “It’s true,” Jackson says. “That smile is better than the Snakegirl scowl you usually wear.”

  “I don’t scowl.”

  “Yes, you do,” Liz says. “You frown and glare at everyone. And that face you make with the bulging eyes and sucked in cheeks and tongue sticking out, it’s disgusting.”

  “This one,” Jackson says. He furrows his brows and purses his lips.

  I want to laugh because he looks so weird, but force my lips to stay together.

  “Yeah, that’s the scowl, Snakegirl,” Jackson says.

  “Ha, ha, ha! Sn-snorfo-snorf . . .” I laugh so much I can’t say the word. “I know my wings’ name. Dreamstar.”

  Sara hugs me. “I love it.”

  “About time,” Jackson says.

  “That’s a cool name,” Liz says.

  “Thanks,” I say with a broad grin.

  “So, what now?” Jackson asks. “We just leave and—don’t say it, Kevin—trust our intuition?”

  “That’s my man,” Kevin says.

  “When this is all over, we have to have a talk. A real talk,” Jackson says.

  “About what?” Kevin lifts an eyebrow.

  “About what makes you guides tick, that’s what.”

  Kevin, Sara, and Rhonda grin.

  “Deal?” Jackson asks.

  “Deal,” Kevin says.

  “This is worse than living on earth,” Jackson says. “At least there we had no clues.”

  “There are always clues,” Kevin says. “You just aren’t aware of them.”

  “Spoken like a true guide,” Jackson says. “Well, all I will say to that is: let’s be off, my guide.”

  Kevin bows. “After you, my Guided.”

  Saying goodbye to Jackson and Liz is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.

  “So, where do I go now?” I say out loud, to myself because my guide surely won’t answer. I smile as I picture myself flying over the ocean and reaching out to touch the waves. “The sea.”

  Drraaa. Drraaa. Drraaa, hums Dreamstar. Good choice.

  “I love the sea, too, especially watching the waves tumble to shore,” Sara says.

  We leave the island and return the way we came yesterday. Although they just left, there is no sign of Liz, Jackson, or their guides. They must have gone through Exit Points.

  “Sara, do you really believe the car accident wasn’t my fault?” My chest feels tight. It hurts to breathe.

  “Absolutely.”

  “But my dad wouldn’t have turned around to look at me if I hadn’t gotten up from my booster seat.”

  “Your father could have told you to sit back down, or pulled over before taking his eyes off the road. You didn’t make him do anything, Melody.”

  “Dad told Mom to find another dance partner, but she refused. She said it was her duty to take care of him. I think Dad is angry because Mom gave up her dream.”

  “Melody, you may never know why the accident happened, but blaming yourself won’t help your parents. Or you.”

  I let her words sink in, and as I do, the tightness in my chest lessens. “You’re right. Thank you, Sara.” I feel lighter than I’ve felt in a long time.

  Dreamstar makes a sharp right and the next second we’re riding an air current.

  “Whooopeee!” I yell.

  “I second that,” Sara shouts.

  “Sara, what’s your wings’ name?”

  “Her name is Silversling.”

  “That’s beautiful. Dreamstar surrounds me with the scent of flowers all the time.”

  “I smell the freshness of the air, even when I’m in downtown LA.”

  I glance at her. “How many times have you come to Chimeroan?”

  “Five. The first as a Guided, three times to train as a guide, and now.”

  “Three times?” I had no idea it would take that long. “So, anyone can be a guide?”

  “Yes.”

  “How do I come back then?”

  “Keep on believing in your dreams, Melody, and Chimeroan will come to you.”

  “You mean, there will be a fog?”

  “Something like that, yes.”

  “So, there are fliers on earth?”

  “I told you so,” Sara says.

  “Okay. I won’t ask how no one has ever seen them.”

  “You’ll soon find out.”

  “If I solve the third clue.”

  “You will. I have faith in you.”

  Another compliment. This time I don’t get upset. “Thanks, Sara.”

  “You’re welcome, Melody.”

  We’ve almost reached the forest of the elves when I spot an Exit Point outlined against the sky. It’s a deep purple and shaped like an apple with a huge bite taken out of it.

  “What’s through there?” I ask.

  “The dreams of fairytales. It’s a short cut, and if we take it, we’ll exit beyond the forest.”

  “Let’s go.” I love fairytales.

  I’m not sure what to expect as we pass through—some kind of static or spinning sensation, or maybe even a fog, or lights flashing. But there’s none of that.

  It’s cooler, that’s what I notice first. Gingerbread houses, that’s second. And we’re much closer to the ground than we were on the other side of the Exit Point. The streets are crowded with people and kids in fancy outfits who cheer loudly and wave as we fly past.

  Gingerbread houses line up along rows of streets leading up to a gingerbread castle on a hill. When I’m over the castle, I reach for a chocolate chip cookie, my favorite, perched on the top.

  Dum bra dum bra dum.

  I pull my hand back as soon as Dreamstar hums his warning.

  “Close call,” Sara says. “If you’d taken it, you would have encountered a witch and been forced to participate in this dream. That could have taken hours, days even.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me before?” I’m surprised I’m not angry she didn’t warn me.

  “You know Dreamstar’s name. I knew you’d understand when he raised the alarm.”

  “So, if I didn’t know his name?”

  “That didn’t happen, so there’s no sense thinking about it.”

  I want to ask Sara why guides don’t warn their Guided about stuff, but she won’t give me an answer that would make sense. We pass scene after scene of stories from fairy tales. Puss in Boots, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty.

  “Hundreds of children dream of being in a fairy tale,” Sara says. “And then you have some who create their own. Sometimes kids combine two or three fairy tales.”

  When we reach a large field, way in the distance to my left, I see something approaching fast. “Is that a giant?”

  “Yes,” Sara says. “He’s on a quest with his Guided. That’s the little fellow on his shoulder.”

  “Let’s get a closer look.” I swerve lower and Sara follows.

  In seconds, the giant reaches us. He’s way taller than my house. And his chest would make the perfect bed. This close up, the muscles on his arms could easily pass for boulders. He could flick us with his little finger as if we’re flies. But Dreamstar isn’t fussing, so I don’t either.

  “Golly. They have wings,” his Guided says, a boy about my age with tanned cheeks and black hair.

  “Hello, fliers!” The giant’s loud voice hurts my eardrums. His smelly hot dog breath sends a rush of wind at me. I would have toppled over if it weren’t for Dreamstar’s powerful upstroke.

  “Gently,” Sara shouts, waving her hands.

  “Sorry about that,” the giant whispers. �
�We’re in a rush or we’d stop. Got to get Joseph Douglas here to the Growing Tree. Bye, bye.” His long legs speed him away.

  “Tonight his Guided will be as big as him,” Sara says.

  “I hope it’s painless,” I say, remembering how much my wings hurt when they attached to me.

  “I’ve heard the change happens while the Guided is asleep so—”

  The piercing shrill of an alarm bell blasts through my earphones.

  “Ahhhhhh!” I scream, and yank them off.

  Sara shouts something which I can’t hear, and speeds away in the direction the giant went.

  Dum bra dum bra dum, dum bra dum bra dum. Dreamstar hums a warning and takes off after her. My shoulder blades strain as he beats the air frantically.

  “Dreamstar, what’s wrong?”

  Dum bra dum bra dum, dum bra dum bra dum. Trouble.

  With a trembling hand, I clip my earphones back on. “Sara, what’s happening?”

  “A Guided pressed the emergency button,” she says, voice tense. “We’re the closest fliers so our wings honed onto the signal of the Guided’s wings.” A pause. “I wonder who it is.”

  Not Jackson. That’s my first thought. Or Liz. Or Sean. Claudine. Fiona. The younger kids. I don’t want it to be anyone I know.

  “Will the Guided lose his wings?”

  “That will depend,” she says.

  “On what?”

  Sara doesn’t answer.

  When we pull up over a small pond not long afterwards, the giant is nowhere in sight. I’m mesmerized by how murky and dark the water is. Then, I notice the shape of the pond: a star.

  “Is this the Exit Point for outer space?”

  “Yes,” Sara says.

  A pond that leads to outer space. That would be cool, except someone I might know is trapped inside. There’s something large in the water. It’s shaped like a whale.

  Dum dum dum. Not a whale, Dreamstar says.

  I look more closely. What I thought were flippers are actually wings. “It’s a spaceship shaped like a whale.”

  “The zookeepers.” Sara’s voice trembles.

  That, more than anything else, tells me how dangerous the zookeepers are.

  Dum bra dum bra dum, hums Dreamstar.

  The ship turns. Windows along the entire length of the side come into view. Several faces are peering out.

  “Help!” a voice cries out through my earphones. “We got captured by aliens. Can anyone hear us? Help!”

  Shivers run up and down my back. I recognize that high, whiny voice. I tap the left button on my earphones twice. “Fiona, it’s me, Melody.”

  “Thank goodness,” she says. “We’ve been calling for so long, and you’re the first to come. Where are you?”

  “Looking through an Exit Point.” I spot her then, face pressed against the glass, pink wings peeping over her shoulders.

  A flier with yellow wings rushes to her side. “Sara, this is Janice. The Zookeepers put us in a magic-proof cell. We’re part of their exhibit. All magical prisoners here are powerless.”

  The spaceship stops moving. I get the impression it’s waiting for something. Or someone. I think of a cat about to pounce on a mouse. “It’s a trap.”

  “I know,” Sara says.

  “Janice knew, too, and didn’t warn me,” Fiona shrieks. “She said I didn’t listen to my wings. But I didn’t even know they were talking to me. It’s her fault we’re stuck here.”

  I bite my lower lip. Just yesterday, I would have agreed with her.

  “The engines are revving up,” Janice says. “Don’t worry, Sara. You know we’ll get out of this.”

  “But when?” Fiona asks, sobbing.

  Janice starts to tell her something, then . . . silence.

  “The Zookeepers jammed the frequency to our earphones,” Sara says.

  “How can we help them?”

  Sara looks at me with the impassive expression I’ve grown accustomed to.

  “If we enter the Exit Point this close to the spaceship, we’ll be caught in the Zookeeper Dream, won’t we?” I ask, remembering what almost happened here in the Fairy Tale dream.

  Sara nods.

  “So, there’s nothing we can do?” Poor Fiona. She’ll lose her wings if she doesn’t solve the clue.

  My clue! I’d forgotten all about it. I grab the envelope and open it:

  There’re choices to be made,

  Neither good nor bad;

  Just choices.

  I read the words over. And over. And over. And try to ignore the one solution that flashes through my mind. My hand clutches the pocket with my leprechaun jewel. Is the clue saying I must choose between healing my dad and saving Fiona? Well, if that’s the case, the choice is easy. Dad wins. My heart makes this heavy thud-thud-thudding sound.

  “We can press the emergency button on our earphones,” I say.

  “You’ve given up?” Sara asks.

  My face gets warm. “No. Of course, not.”

  “That’s the only time you should press the emergency button, Melody.”

  “But you can.”

  “I haven’t given up either,” Sara says.

  The ship gets smaller and smaller. Soon it will disappear along with Fiona and Janice.

  I. Can’t. Let. That. Happen.

  I reach for my leprechaun jewel. This time I know nothing will prevent me from using it and exhausting the magic.

  Hmaduummm hmaduummm hmaduummm.

  Dreamstar approves, but that doesn’t make me feel better.

  I toss the jewel in the air. “Patrick O’Hara, I need your help.” I picture Dad in his wheelchair, staring at his legs. I hear him whisper, “Why don’t you work?”

  Dad, I love you so much. I brush the tears from my eyes.

  “There it is,” Sara says. Her voice booms with pride.

  At first, all I see is a beam of purple light speeding toward us; but soon, I make out the other colors. The rainbow halts a few yards away. From this close up, it’s huge, almost as tall as the giant, and extends in the distance way beyond the clouds.

  Patrick O’Hara pokes his head out the side. “You called, my young lady?” he asks.

  “Yes.” I point to the Exit Point.

  He frowns. “You mean you’re not trapped, or in trouble, or in dire need of assistance?”

  “I do need your help—for my friend and her guide. They and many other prisoners are caught by the Zookeepers. Can you rescue them? All of them?”

  “Of course, but I won’t interfere because everyone there is living their dream. So is your friend, by the by, though no doubt she’s changed her mind since you found her. And since you called me for her sake, she is the only one I can assist. Now this situation is a bit tricky. Zookeepers have magic booby traps, so we’ll have to be careful.”

  “We?” I repeat.

  “You aren’t in danger, so you must help.”

  “Okay.” I rub my cheek against my wing feathers. “Are you ready for your first space encounter, Dreamstar?” I whisper.

  Duummmm duuuummm daaaaaa deeeeee duuuummmm. Lead on.

  My wings are actually excited.

  Patrick gives Sara something that resembles a TV remote control. “The brown button calls the rainbow back. When I activate the alarm, the button will turn green. Count to ten, then press.”

  “Got it,” Sara says.

  “Not a second sooner, not a second later.”

  “I understand,” Sara says.

  Patrick turns to me. “We don’t have a moment to lose. Now, what we are about to do requires courage, and if things don’t go according to plan, we improvise. Do you know what that means?”

  “We come up with a new plan?” That doesn’t sound too good.

  Patrick gives me a satisfied smile. “Exactly. Are you ready?”

  “Yes.” What else can I say? I don’t think he’ll accept a “no.”

  Patrick winks and puts out a hand, which I take. He pulls me toward the rainbow. I scream because no door o
r window opens and I’m about to smash into a colorful wall.

  But I slip through and find myself in a sports car, speeding through space.

  24

  The Rescue

  The rainbow appears around us in translucent swirls of color. Stars actually twinkle in the distance. I’m in space. How cool is that?

  I should be worried about the danger we’re about to face, but my heart pounds with excitement. Patrick O’Hara is sure to have enough tricks and magic up his sleeve. Dreamstar is as eager as I am. His feathers whistle impatiently as they rub against my arms. He smells of jasmine.

  Wait until I tell Andrew about this. I swallow hard. If he stays on Chimeroan, I’ll never see him again.

  Patrick taps the steering wheel with his thumb and index finger. “Now, to business, my young lady. There’s a magic nullification field inside the exhibit cells, so I can’t simply zap your friends out. Hmm. Our best bet is to dissolve the window so they can escape in my rainbow. We’ll be gone before the Zookeepers know what hit them.”

  The plan sounds good, except for one thing. “Sara said we’ll become part of the Zookeeper Dream if we get close to the spaceship.”

  “She’s right. That’s why we’ll be speedy.” Patrick snaps his fingers. “Like that!”

  He reminds me of a kid setting off on his first outing. I remember how easily the hoarders trapped him. How I was the one who saved him. It doesn’t inspire much confidence in me.

  The spaceship comes into view, and as we get nearer I realize we’re in big trouble. There are three rows of windows, not one. How come I didn’t notice that before?

  The spaceship stops.

  Dum bra dum bra dum, dum bra dum bra dum. Dreamstar hums a warning.

  My excitement flickers out and my heart slows to a loud, painful beat. “They know we’re here.”

  Patrick nods. “Of course, they do. Their entire ship is rigged for prospective exhibits. Now, where are your friends? Remember our motto of speed, my young lady.”

  Fiona and Janice are nowhere in sight. I have no clue which level they’re on. I can’t even remember which window I’d seen them peeping out.

  “Fiona. Janice. This is Melody. I’ve come to rescue you. Go to the window. Hurry.” If communications are still blocked, how can I let them know I’m here?

  A hatch springs open on top of the ship.