Clayton was stunned for a moment. The only time he had ever encountered Farmer Hawkins was when he was being chased by him. Or yelled at. Or shooed away. And here he was, trying to help them? He looked over at Penny, who was shivering in the damp wind. Karl's eyes were tearing, and his nose was running. Clayton stared at the old farmer for a minute, and he thought he saw a twinkle in his eye. Maybe he had been wrong about the old farmer. Regardless, they couldn't sit here under this bush.
“Let's go,” Clayton said.
“You're sure?” Penny asked in a whisper. While she said she would talk to the old farmer, she suddenly felt unsure.
“Yes,” Clayton said as he stood and headed toward the truck.
After the trio climbed in, the old farmer told them he had to dump the hay bales stacked in his truck's bed before he could take them home. So, in the safety of the truck, or at least they hoped they were safe, the trio headed up the road they had just run down.
No one spoke until they got to the firefly field and Karl asked, “Are you going to cut this whole field down?”
The old farmer continued driving the truck into the field, staying thirty feet from the tree line at the field's edge.
“No, I'm not. Some of my other meadows are flooded, so this year, I'm going to need this one. The cows will eat the rest of this field over the winter. Now, I need you boys to climb in back and push three bales off the truck. Then every time I stop, push three more,” the farmer instructed, sweeping his arm to indicate the edges of the field he intended for drop points.
“Cut the twine off the bales with this knife and put the twine in the tool box when you're finished.” The old farmer seemed good at giving orders, expecting them to be followed with no questions asked.
Without hesitation, the boys moved to exit the truck cab. As the door opened, Penny spilled out with them, but quickly jumped back in and slammed the door shut. Clayton soon wished he could climb back in, too. Even though the truck was ancient and rusty, the tired glass and heavy metal of its cab completely sheltered them from nature's chaos outside. Jumping into the truck bed, they squinted their eyes against the dust and leaves flying through the air.
“At least now we know the fairy tree is on Farmer Hawkins's property,” Clayton whispered above the noise as he lowered the tailgate.
“Hey! There's the pitchfork Brian warned us about,” Karl whispered back, as they looked to make sure the old farmer was still inside the pickup truck. Clayton pulled the menacing tool from the hay bale that held it captive.
“Brian should be here to appreciate this,” Clayton said as he put the pitchfork down and pushed three bales from the truck.
Inside the cab, a conversation was starting. “I'm Penny. I live next door to Karl,” she began, hoping Farmer Hawkins was in a good mood. “Are you going to sell your land to the developer?” she blurted as the boys continued to push bales off the truck.
“Hello, Penny. I know who you are,” the farmer replied in a surprisingly gentle voice. “I would probably sell him some of my land if he offers a lot of money,” he added without hesitation.
Penny gulped. “I hope nobody sells and the developer goes away. One of the new kids who lives in the subdivision said developers can be stopped by finding a protected or new species living on the land they want to buy. We've been looking for one, but can't find any.” Penny rambled on and on, chatting incessantly. It wasn't until the boys were back in the truck that Penny quieted so the old farmer could say something.
“I think I have the answer to your problem. I know where a horribly altered and definitely endangered species exists. My sons used to catch beetles by the old saw mill and use them as fish bait. Over time, their hard, black shells turned silver, like they were chrome-plated. We decided chemical contamination had affected them, and we never ate fish out of that lake again.”
“That's it!” Clayton shouted as the wind screamed over the clatters and rattles of the truck. “The beetles could be exactly the species we're looking for. We'll have to find some and take them to school for our biology teacher to confirm what they are.”
“Not today while it's windy,” Farmer Hawkins cautioned.
“Of course not,” Clayton agreed.
“And you have to be careful not to cut yourselves on jagged metal. Stay away from any puddles of strange-looking liquid. Who knows what that stuff is? We've been trying to get the government to clean it up for years.”
“We'll be careful. Can you drop us off at Karl's house?” Clayton asked.
After listening to the old farmer talk, he decided he wasn't really mean, but they only saw him after they made him angry.
Once at Karl's house, they said their goodbyes to Farmer Hawkins, grateful that he had given them a ride. Then they excitedly made plans to go to the lake site and collect a few beetles. Now they could rest easy, knowing the last of the dangers threatening the fairies would soon disappear. Clayton couldn't wait to tell SeeLee how they stopped the dangers and saved the fairy colony. Maybe they would go to the island and tell the Old Ones their previous warnings no longer needed consideration. The rest of the day was spent doing chores and homework. The night was spent dreaming about the fairies.
The next day, they met at the tree house in the early afternoon and recounted their visit with Farmer Hawkins. They could hardly believe their luck when the old man told them about the plight of the beetles and how contamination had mutated them. This led to a discussion about what they would have to do to obtain the beetles. Since it took over an hour to get to the old saw mill and back, they figured only an hour could be spent at the site actually looking for the beetles on any given school day. There just wasn't enough time, especially with the days growing shorter.
“You know, we might as well walk through the woods today,” Karl recommended. “We can spend more time at the beetle site today than we'll be able to spend on a school day.”
Fifteen minutes later, Karl and the twins met at Clayton's, and with Penny in tow, they began the four-mile trip around the lake. It was a warm, sunny day without the previous day's winds.
It would have been a perfect day to finish chores early and visit the fairy tree, but what the adventurers had to accomplish now was more important. Chores and homework would be waiting for them when they got back. Along the way, they met up with Ron and Brian, who were heading for the tree house, and filled them in on the previous day's happenings.
“That was easy,” Brian said with relief. “I thought the old farmer would chase you off.”
“Or kill us with a pitchfork,” Karl reminded him.
“There was one in his pickup truck. You should have been there.”
“No thanks.”
“He probably would have chased us, but he protected us from the wind,” Clayton explained. “It was so windy, with branches crashing down around us, so he was too worried to yell at us.”
“Or kill us with a pitchfork,” Karl reminded again.
“We got double lucky. Farmer Hawkins actually knew of a species that mutated around here,” Karl summed up.
“I was the one doing all the talking with Mr. Hawkins,” Penny chimed in. “All you guys did was jump out of the truck as fast as you could and throw hay bales off the back. By the time you were finished, I already told him what we needed to know,” she added to set the record straight and place credit where credit was due.
“All Hail Penny, Queen of the Universe,” Clayton, Karl, and Phil chanted as they bowed at the waist.
“Oh, shut up!”
They followed the old, two-track logging road around the lake, talking and laughing in good spirits as they went along. When the road neared Mike's clubhouse, conversation ceased, and they were warily watchful, checking for any sign of Mike.
They finally arrived at the old saw mill and spread out to search for the beetles.
“I don't see any,” Penny complained after a brief look around.
“Did you expect them to come out in throngs carrying a banner saying, Welco
me Penny, Queen of the Universe?” Ron kidded.
“Oh, shut up; you're such a peasant!”
“Spread out and look under things,” Clayton advised.
They walked around, lifting crates and old machine parts, hoping to see the shiny chrome bugs under things. But soon, their enthusiasm diminished. Then they checked under the heavier objects. Several sheds littered the site, and the kids checked with considerable banging as they kicked over hundreds of empty cans inside. They started out looking for the elusive beetles, but soon the kids were in fierce competition with the winner making the most “canned” noise. As usual, the twins spent time arguing who kicked the cans the loudest.
“Now what do we do? What if they all died off?” Penny asked, beginning to lose hope. Then she looked down at her hands, covered with rust and grease. The foul combination spread to her shirt sleeves.
“Now our parents will know we were here,” Karl warned. Everyone was as filthy as Penny.
“At least it's for a good cause,” Phil said as he shoved Paul, continuing their noisy argument.
“Let's go to the edge of the clearing and look under logs,” Clayton said, hope still lingering in his voice.
“We'll have to look along the edge closest to home because our time is almost up. We have to get home soon for supper,” Karl said, pointing at his watch.
Whatever size the saw mill property used to be, its boundaries were now blurred by the brush and saplings blanketing it after three decades of being closed. The adventurers went to the clearing's edge and searched the area before they headed home. They vowed to come back every day after school until the bugs were found.
“You guys sure vow a lot,” Brian observed after they all vowed again.
“Who made up that word? It sounds stupid,” Penny added.
“Will you vow to never use that word again?” Brian asked.
“No. But I might promise.”
“Well, I promised Mom I would have you home in time for supper. So let's hurry,” Clayton urged as he picked up his pace.
After fruitless searches on Monday and Tuesday, only a small area was left to hunt on Wednesday. All three days were sunny and warm, and would have been perfect for visiting the fairies. They were debating whether to skip their beetle pursuit so that they could go to the fairy tree.
“Sorry, guys. We vowed to find beetles, and it wouldn't be a vow if we didn't do it.” Brian threw all the vowing back in their faces to end the discussion.
With waning optimism, the group examined the area along the clearing's edge until they were almost out of edge to search. Only an area of thick, tangled brush remained to investigate. They avoided the piled scrub as long as they could, as it disguised rusty machines that could be dangerous. Being near the lake's shore, the thicket was riddled with puddles. With the rest wandering warily around the pile, Paul's voice shot from somewhere within it.
“Here they are! I found them! I found them!” he shouted excitedly.
The others stopped dead in their tracks, hardly believing their ears.
“How did you get in there, and better yet, how will you get out?” Phil asked.
“Walk fifty feet back, along the lake head into the trees, then walk between the bushes until you get here. The bushes part for a small path to follow.”
Soon they stood in a small clearing where Paul was holding a large panel of old sheet metal. Dozens of bright-silver beetles had been using the metal as a roof.
“Look how shiny they are!” Penny said. “They're like little metal bugs.”
“They do look like they are chrome-plated,” Karl observed.
“Well, let's collect some specimens,” Clayton said. “We can show them to Mr. Becker in biology class tomorrow.”
“Isn't he expecting dragonflies?” Ron asked.
“I can make little dragonfly wings for them,” Penny offered.
“No, he will be more interested in these,” Karl assured her.
As the bugs slowly stirred, Karl scooped them up with a little garden shovel he'd brought along. To keep the bugs in a familiar habitat, he added a good dose of dirt and put the whole ecosystem into a plastic bag with holes poked near the top. Showing nervous relief at their mission accomplished, the kids started laughing and joking.
“Thank you, Farmer Hawkins!” Clayton declared.
“I can't wait to tell SeeLee,” Penny said with excitement.
“With any luck, we can visit the fairies Friday night.”
They were so happy and proud of themselves; they loudly bantered and joked all the way home. They even forgot to be quiet as they neared Mike's clubhouse.
Over the next two days, the kids spent time convincing teachers to help get the proper government agencies involved with their astounding find. By after school Friday, a growing number of parents embraced their cause, and things started to move at a faster pace. Having learned a way to stop the developer, parents who didn't want to sell their land took the project out of the children's hands.
Clayton left the parents' planning meeting that was currently being led by his biology teacher. The silence in the deserted hallway offered dramatic contrast to the turmoil spinning his life out of control. He shuffled aimlessly down the hall immersed in his thoughts. As he was passing a classroom door, Wendy appeared with two girlfriends at her side.
“Hi, Clayton!”
“Hi, Clayton.”
“Hi, Clayton.”
Clayton barely heard the other girls' greetings as waves of excitement washed over him. There she was, standing before him. His heart was pounding, and the anxiety was back with the beginnings of nausea. He started to feel warm all over, and he was sure his face was turning a stunning shade of red. Looking into Wendy's eyes dissolved any thoughts from his mind, and he was barely able to stammer, “Hi.”
That simple word was followed by a parade of “ums” and “uhs” as he tried to collect himself. When he was finally capable of articulating thoughts, the part of his brain telling him to say something intelligent smacked into the part that assured him he couldn't.
“I know you can't talk to me, and I think that's so cute,” Wendy announced, flinging her dark hair. “So I'll do all the talking, and you can just nod your head. Did you find a field in the woods that fills with fireflies when it gets dark?”
He nodded yes.
“Will you take me to see it?”
He nodded yes.
“Because my mom is helping your mom with her baking business and your brother works for my dad, my family is having yours over for dinner next week. Will you take me to see the field after we finish eating?”
He nodded yes for the third time.
“You will be able to talk to me eventually, won't you?”
He nodded again, with hope.
“You're so adorable,” Wendy finished before balancing on her toes to give him a quick kiss on the lips. With a flurry of energy, she hurried down the hall with her friends.
He was in shock. A tidal wave of exhilaration steamrolled over the anxiety and worry that once consumed him. He wanted to jump for joy, but he couldn't move a muscle. So he just stood in the hall feeling like he did when he first saw the fairies. A few minutes later, the parents' meeting broke up, and he joined them as they talked over plans to investigate what chemicals caused the beetles to change their appearance so dramatically.
After the parents assured him and his friends that the proper government agencies would be contacted, the boys felt smug, knowing government investigators wouldn't be combing the area because a species needed saving or a contaminated area needed cleaning up, but because beautiful, tiny fairies needed protection.
“What are you so goofy-faced about?” Karl asked him as they walked ahead of their parents.
“I just saw Wendy, and I'm having dinner with her next week, and she wants to see the firefly field.”
“Wow, you are the man! How did you manage that?”
“I guess I just have a way with words.”
“
Wouldn't you know it,” Karl said as he opened the door and walked into a light rain. “Now that everything is taken care of, it's supposed to rain all weekend.”
“Yeah, but we actually saved the fairies,” Clayton whispered as they crossed the parking lot.
“I guess we'll have to be happy with that for the time being,” Karl conceded.
The Secret
They met at the tree house on a dreary day, the sound of rain pattering the roof, luring the kids into drowsiness as they tried to form new plans.
As always, the only thing keeping them awake was reminiscing about the fairies, just as it had so many times before. It seemed like forever since they had last seen the little creatures. Between visits to the fairy tree, the kids shared anything and everything the fairies did or said. They often talked about how their lives had changed after they encountered the fairies. It was a constant topic of conversation whenever they gathered.
As they rehashed their discoveries, Clayton stared out the window at the gloomy day. Talk eventually got around to school, and his thoughts wandered. He ran through all the questions he still wanted to ask the fairies. Most were the same questions he’d forgotten to ask every time they visited the fairy tree, and he had no clue why they always slipped his mind.
Like a bolt of lightning, something new flashed through his mind. He thought back to when they retrieved Penny from her eventful trip to the lake in the bottom of the tree. After finding Penny and walking back up a long, gently sloping tunnel, they took a turn leading to yet another tunnel. The new channel veered off into dozens of passageways. As they wound their way up, the fairies led them through so many twists and turns that he wondered if they were lost. He knew he was lost. He had no idea where they were headed.
All the tunnels were lit by a softly glowing bluish-green fungus, until one tunnel loomed as dark as night. The group stopped at its mouth, and there was barely enough light to see each other.
Beyond the Firefly Field Page 22