by C. M. Bacon
“Scuttle?” I asked.
“Blow them up, kid. Blow them all up.”
I wondered about Arvin. Were the Black Vipers telling him the same things? Both sides claimed the all the pods as their own, hated their enemy, and were prepared to destroy everything rather than letting it go. Right or wrong, they’re all nuts.
Silver 2 raised his right hand in a fist, signaling his team to get down on one knee. He put his right middle finger to his ear and pressed. A tiny red light flashed within his ear canal as he talked to the air.
“Silver 2 to base, I’m receiving you. Proceed with instructions.” There was a long pause before he started speaking again. “Ay, Commander Silver 1. Mission change confirmed. Proceeding to the new target.” He signaled Silver 7 and 8 to huddle with him. Silver 9 stayed with me at a distance as they whispered.
“Sir. Yes, Sir,” they said, reforming their line as Silver 2 walked up to me.
“We have a new mission.” He looked to Silver 9. “Take him.”
Before I could flinch, Silver 9 had twisted and tied my arms together at my stomach.
“So Perry, it looks like your little brother has accomplished a bit of a miracle. He got the Blacks to request the two of you be sent peacefully to Pod 42 - the Black security headquarters.” He turned back to Silver Squad. “Our young friend here is a Black Viper.”
“I’m not a Black or Silver,” I said, struggling against the strap digging into my wrists. “I just want to go home.”
“You’re either with them or with us. Your little brother says you’re with them.”
I couldn’t lie my way out of this one. “Are you going to let Arvin and I go to 42?”
“Sure, once you deliver a message for us. It’s a humanitarian mission.” They all chuckled without smiling.
Silver 9 continued to hold onto my tied wrists as the others assembled something. I saw it as they finished, placing it into an empty backpack. It was large and black, made from several cylinders tied together. Looping red, green, and yellow wires crisscrossed each of the cylinders entering through the bottoms, out of the tops, and into a small digital readout on the front. As they closed the backpack, I saw red numbers light up on the readout counting: 10:00, 9:59, 9:58, 9:57--.
They untied my hands to place the heavy pack on my back. “Here, you go,” Silver 2 said, adjusting the backpack until my arms started to lose feeling at my elbows. “This pack is full of water and other supplies for you and your brother, so don’t drop it.”
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Your little brother will wait in a transport tunnel between these two Pods. Once you enter the tunnel, tell the Black Vipers to proceed, unarmed, as your escort to Pod 42. Let them know we’ve agreed to give them safe passage. Neither you nor your brother will be armed, but we’ll allow you to carry a silver shield in case the Black Vipers break the ceasefire.”
“Will I go alone into the tunnel to meet with Arvin?”
“That’s the plan.” Silver 2 placed a black shield in my hand and returned to the front, ordering Silver 9 to remain behind me. “Move out, Silver Squad and Black Viper boy.”
Silver Squad continued to the transport tunnel. Silver 9 repeatedly nudged me from behind towards the waterfall blanketing the tunnel’s entrance.
“Move it, kid,” Silver 9 said, pushing me ahead of the line. “Go on. Your brother is waiting in the tunnel.”
I walked up to the waterfall, the cold seawater splashing at my feet as the leak from the fracture poured into the pod. The power surged. The intense white lights turned on for a second, revealing Arvin standing in the middle of the tunnel a hundred feet away.
“Get moving!” Silver 9 said, pushing me through the waterfall into the tunnel. It rained down on me as cold as the albino’s blizzard.
I walked step-by-step towards Arvin, my wet silk slippers making a squishing sound with Every. Single. Footstep. Arvin carried a Black shield in his hands. A black backpack hung from his shoulders and brushed against his ankles. I stopped three feet in front of him.
“Hello, Arvin. How have you been?”
“Not so good. You?”
“Same. Silvers claim all the pods belong to them.”
“Yep. Blacks, too.”
“What’s in your backpack?”
“Bomb. You?”
“Bomb. But they told me it was water and supplies.”
“Blacks told me the same lie. They’re not very good at hiding their plans.”
“Geez, Arvin. I don’t know what to sa-” The lights flashed again, shining through the tunnel to the outside. “Is that --”
“A red-bellied brown snake? Yes. I saw it a few minutes ago when the power surged. I won’t bother guessing how it can survive down here.”
“So, do you still think we can help everyone with magical gewgaws?”
“No,” Arvin said, sighing. “Black Vipers don’t want help, and they’re nuts.”
“Yep. Silvers, too. We have about two minutes before these bombs bring down the tunnel and flood both pods.”
“Halvor was right.”
“About what?” I asked.
“He said ‘some people never learn’ or something like it.”
“Have we learned enough to get us out of this?”
“Enough, I think. Not everything. But enough.”
“If they want to blow themselves up, let them. What do you want to do?”
“I want to go home, but first, I want to put my hands around the throat of our slithering stalker.”
“Agreed. Let’s show him how it feels to be drowned, dragged, buried, beaten, starved, and frozen - all because of a stupid yellow balloon.” My shield suddenly lurched towards Arvin. Arvin nearly dropped his on the floor.
“Perry, did you feel--”
“Yes, I did. It felt like a magnet pulling my shield towards you.”
BEEP
The bombs in our backpacks started singing their deadly song. Arvin and I took the packs off and gently rested them against the tunnel wall.
“Arvin, I think this is it.”
“It’s been nice to know you, Perry Dobbs. Big brother.”
“You too, Arvin Pewter. Little-- No. Just ‘brother’.”
BEEP BEEP BEEP
We looked each other in the eyes and took a deep breath. Our shields lunged toward each other, ripping themselves from our hands. They smashed against each other in the air with a loud CLANG fusing into one shield - black on one side, silver on the other. Four matching holes fused into two in the center. The power in the tunnel surged, the lights pulsed more intensely than ever. Arvin ducked, putting his hands over his eyes. I followed after.
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP
Silence
“Arvin, are we alive?” I asked, the light continuing to shine through my fingers.
“If you can ask the question, I’d say yes. Do you feel it?”
“Yes. It’s warm.”
“Perry, have you opened your eyes yet?”
“No. I think you should look first.”
“Ok,” Arvin said, “Perry, look.”
I stood up, squinting my eyes in the bright light. A red sun blazed in a beautiful purple sky as a strong breeze swept through my hair.
“Perry,” Arvin said, “you need to look down.”
I jumped back, hitting a green handrail behind me. I reached out to grab it, holding myself up as my knees began to shake. Pure white clouds passed under my feet, swirling around in the breeze far above the planet’s surface. I saw myself, from blue slippers to blonde eyebrows, reflecting off whatever I was standing on.
“Arvin, we’re in a --”
“City in the clouds,” Arvin said, smiling ear-to-ear. “We’ve moved again.”
“I knew you were going to say that.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Hitting a Snag
Arvin and I stood in awe on the outskirts of a gleaming city floating among the clouds. Silver and glass buildings stretched high into the sky. Their twist
ed shapes reflected sunlight at every angle. Catty-cornered to each other, some were bulbous, and all were beautiful. Throughout the city, crystal minarets scraped the sky, like obelisks of splintered glass tearing through clouds as they passed. The largest minaret was easy to spot. It sat like a heart in the city center, pulsing light from bottom to--.
“Look at that,” I said, pointing out something yellow covering the top half of the massive minaret. “Looks like Nico’s plan worked after all.” The balloon’s rounded rubber edges flapped in the breeze, repeatedly striking the glass minaret.
“It must have floated near the city and then popped on the minaret,” Arvin said.
“How did it get here?” I asked. “This can’t be the same place, can it?”
“I think we need to find our slithering stalker. I’m tired of guessing. I want real answers.”
I nodded my head. “Let’s get closer.”
As Arvin and I walked, the city grew larger in our eyes. Buildings which were delicate at a distance became resilient structures of fused glass and bolted steel. Bubbling water fountains and colorful flowerbeds lined the way into the city. The smooth walkway gradually changed as we approached, transitioning from crystal clear, to gray, to black. We passed under a steel archway ten times my height. The walkway became a typical paved street, full of people going about their business.
“Excuse me,” a woman said, bumping into me as she passed. Her pet ferret peeked out of her purse, squeaking at me as she continued on her way.
“Pardon me.” “Get out of the way.” “Either walk or get off the sidewalk.” “Move out of the way.” “Step aside.” “Don’t stand there.” “Can’t you see we’re walking here?”
“Look at all the people, Perry,” Arvin said.
“Arvin, let’s get out of the way.” I pulled Arvin through the crosswalk to the other side. Our wet silk slippers made squishing sounds with every step.
We examined the crowd as the crowd examined two filthy boys in ripped tunics. It was quite the spectacle to see so many colorful characters. Their bright clothes looked haphazard and childish, crisscrossed with multiple silver zippers, gold buttons, flared pants, orange and pink ruffles, and a rainbow of feathers from peacocks, parrots, ostriches, and roosters. Glitter and rhinestones sparkled on their wide belts and pointy hats. Men, women, and children of all shapes and sizes went about their business dressed like I had gotten into Mom’s old clothes boxes and dressed myself with one hand - in the dark. Their hairdos were wild and twisted, spiraling out in every direction. I wondered how, with thousands of glass buildings around, nobody could find a mirror.
Our royal silk tunics, pants, and slippers looked lifeless in comparison. I wasn’t sure to be more embarrassed for our sorry look or for their strange one. When I saw the rhinestones, I knew Arvin saw potential.
“Perry, they’re incredible,” Arvin said, his eyes widening. “Can we find a clothing store?”
“And pay with what? I don’t think your silk underwear will be worth much to them. But I’ll make you a deal. If we find our snake, I’ll help you glue rhinestones to its back.”
“Deal,” said Arvin, moving off with me towards the balloon-draped minaret.
Hundreds of people passed as we strolled down the sparkling avenue like two blue blobs walking amongst metallic flowers.
WOO-WOO, DING-DING, BOING, RAZZ-POP
A chorus of sounds blared out of an open doorway ahead on our right. Multicolored lights flashed from within the room as kids our age stepped in and out in pairs and in groups.
“Sounds like an arcade,” I said. “Let’s check it out.”
“You and those video games.”
“You and those rhinestones.”
Arvin smiled at me. “Us and those magical gewgaws?”
“Perhaps. But there’s something I don’t understand. We refused The King’s rings. We gave our pendants to our albino friends. The animal pelts were ruined in the Pod. We didn’t use those, but we used the balloon, rock, stick, figs, bones, money, and the shields. What’s the connection? Gewgaw or no gewgaw, it’s the same over and over.”
“Sometimes a gewgaw is a gewgaw,” Arvin said, nodding his head.
“Quoting Halvor, again?”
“Iwa and Halvor were right about a lot of things. I wish I could--”
“No. Don’t say it. Don’t even think it.”
“Oops. You’re right. First things first.” Arvin spotted an open circular hole like a rain spout at the bottom edge of the building. He knelt down on both knees and whispered. His voice echoed in the opening. “Here, snakey-snakey. Here, snakey-snakey. Come out so I can glue rhinestones to your back.”
I laughed at Arvin whispering into the rain spout, calling a snake out to fight. “Maybe he doesn’t like rhinestones.”
Arvin winked at me. “Proof he’s evil.”
A rainbow-clad group of two girls and two boys stepped out of the arcade, laughing and tugging on each other’s arms. If Arvin were wearing his swim trunks and tank-top, he could’ve camouflaged himself among them. Arvin stood up before they could see his attempt to start a grudge match with the waterspout.
“Excuse me,” I said, stopping the rainbow brigade. “Can you tell us what happened to the large spire over there?”
“You must be new,” one boy said. He was my height. He wore rainbow shorts and a matching shirt. Stitched all over his outfit, pink teddy bears rode yellow poodles. Rhinestones encrusted his shoes, and some were glued to his cheeks. I couldn’t see the color of his hair or eyebrows under double layers of green and purple glitter.
“Yes, we are. My brother and I arrived a few hours ago.”
“Welcome to Aurabash. I’m Devon. This is my girlfriend Lucy, and Jeddi and Liz.”
“I’m Perry, and this is my brother, Arvin. Can you tell us about the yellow thing?”
“Yeah. You guys missed a great show.”
“The greatest show,” Lucy said.
“Right. The greatest show. The city was hovering in its usual place when all the sudden this yellow thing floated up. It was the size of the city.”
“It was bigger than the city,” Lucy said.
“Right. Bigger than the city. The whole sky looked like a yellow blob monster was about to eat us. We thought it was going to pass.”
“But it didn’t,” Lucy said.
“Right. It didn’t pass. The city’s main power spire--”
“The big one in the middle,” Lucy said.
“Right. The city’s main power spire, the big one in the--” He turned to his girlfriend. “Lucy, can I tell the story?” She huffed and stood back with Jeddi and Liz, crossing her arms and scrunching her face. “The yellow blob got caught on the spire and popped.”
“It sounded like thunder,” Lucy said, blurting out from behind.
Devon growled at her. “Yes, it was loud. The blob blew out so much air, it knocked the city out of place, dragged us into a storm, flooded streets, started fires, and froze several water storage tanks.”
“You missed the best part,” Lucy said. “Everything’s fixed now.”
“Everything’s fixed except for the main power spire. They’re still trying to unravel some burnt ropes from the power converters up there. That’s why it’s flashing. The yellow blob melted an ancient fuse or something.”
“Ancient?” Arvin asked after patiently waiting his turn - unlike rainbow Lucy over there.
Devon said, “Yeah, that spire may look new, but it’s actually quite old. They refurbished it to match the newer buildings, but it still uses some old copper wires to keep it going. I don’t know why they haven’t bothered to replace them yet.”
“Dad says it’s because of budget cuts,” Liz said. “Anyone rich enough to own copper has probably moved to a newer city by now.”
Devon said, “And the city’s main communication terminals are still without power, so we can’t call for help until they’ve found enough copper to repair the fuse.”
Did you see a rep
air team on your shuttle?” Lucy asked. “Maybe they found some copper.”
“Sorry, I didn’t see a repair team on the shuttle,” I said.
“Thanks,” Arvin said. “We should get going. We don’t want to be late.”
“No problem,” Devon said, leaving with his friends.
“What ridiculous clothes,” Lucy said, grabbing hold of Devon’s hand as they walked away.
We continued down the street, approaching the spire to get a better look. Arvin began to pull his twisted wire out to examine.
“Stop, Arvin. Don’t take it out in public,” I said.
“Why not? All this copper must be worth a fortune.”
“That’s why you can’t let anyone see it. How long until someone tries to take it from you?”
“Did you learn that in the pod?” Arvin asked.
“Didn’t you?” I asked.
“I learned we can’t depend on everyone, but we can rely on our friends.”
“You sound like my dad.”
“Do I? I had a dream about him in the mudflat.”
“You said you had a dream about swimming in chocolate.”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry. I didn’t want to upset you by talking about your dad,” Arvin said, scratching at his growing hair.
Wow, I’m a jerk, I thought. “You were right in the albino’s cave. I was a jerk - even before you left.”
“Yes, you were. But so was I. I wouldn’t listen to you when you tried to tell me about the snake and the wishing. And I shouldn’t have embarrassed you about Emilia.”
“Arvin, what would I do--”
SLAP-SLAP
The humongous balloon’s thick rubber smashed against the spire and released, flying into the air and over the city’s outer edge, disappearing out of sight.
TWEEK
The spire’s tip broke off and fell through the air. It hit the street with a deafening BOOSH! as it shattered, throwing shards like spears through store windows. A thousand people ran in every direction, knocking Arvin and me onto the ground.
We were lucky to be a couple hundred feet away from the glass spire, only to cut our hands on broken rhinestones dropped by the crowds as they ran. Arvin and I sat up, dusting the rainbow rhinestones off our clothes. Arvin giggled, pointing at my face. I turned to see my colorful reflection.