Then he thought back to his childhood, when his mother would kneel beside him at night and he’d say his prayer. He hadn’t prayed in so long. Truth is, until Buster’s group prayer tonight (or, rather, last night), he hadn’t prayed in over two years. He closed his eyes, trying to remember that old bedtime prayer. “Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray my Lord my soul to keep . . .,” he prayed softly. It was a child’s prayer, but he didn’t know how else to do it, so he wasn’t embarrassed. After all, who could hear him but God?
* * *
Yoshi walked along the wall that ran inside the northernmost side of the school building. Her watch had been pretty uneventful. She hadn’t heard a thing in the forty-five minutes she’d been making her rounds. Of course, where ninja were concerned, the quiet could be quite misleading.
There were a few chinking sounds ahead, then a rather loud THUD. With her left hand, Yoshi secured the ponytail tie that had her hair in a bun, pulling a ninja-to from its sheath on her back with her right. Silently, she padded forward.
* * *
George had suffered from insomnia when he was young, though he thought he had gotten over it. He supposed that tonight was a strange exception. He was hot, due to the fact that the heat in his room had been raised to compensate for the lack of blankets. This heat prompted thirst, which is why he now stood outside the science room, in front of the soda machines.
He picked up his Dr. Pepper and opened the can. Moving it to his lips to take a drink, he dropped it and yelped as a shorter figure lunged around the corner that connected this hall with the northern one, ramming him up against the soda machine with the blade of a sword to his throat. He relaxed a bit when he noticed that it was Jamie’s friend, Yoshi.
“What are you doing out here?” she demanded with a sigh as she slid her ninja-to back into its sheath.
“I’m sorry,” he offered. “I was really thirsty.”
“Wasn’t there a water fountain closer to your room?”
George stooped over and picked up his soda, which had miraculously landed bottom-down, spilling nothing. “I get enough water at home. My parents only cook health foods.”
Yoshi chuckled. “This is a bad thing?”
George groaned. “If I ever eat another soy burger, it’ll be too soon.”
The kunoichi raised an eyebrow. “Do you eat the school's food?”
“Yeah but their food isn’t made of soy protein,” he responded. “It’s made of radioactive waste.”
Yoshi laughed.
Chapter Eleven
Saturday, 5:07 AM
The jonin of the Funakoshi ninja clan sat straight up in his bed. What had awakened him? Then he heard the ringing again. He sighed. “You are getting too jumpy in your old age, Tanemura,” he chided himself as he reached for the telephone's cordless receiver.
He hadn’t quite gotten it to his ear when he heard a familiar woman’s voice. “Tanemura?”
“Yes, Mrs. Raleigh?” He usually enjoyed talking to Jamie’s mother, but not at five o’clock in the morning. Just because Jamie’s father had always risen at the crack of dawn didn’t mean that everybody did. “It is rather early . . ..”
Pam interrupted him. “Is Jamie there?”
He was completely awakened by that question. The old ninja ran his fingers through graying hair as he responded, “I thought that they were at your house.”
Jamie’s mother took a shuddering breath. “Haven’t you seen the news?”
“I took some sick friends to the hospital last night and the radio in my car shorted out,” he replied as he climbed from the bed and, putting on his robe, padded into the living room. “Why?”
He reached for the television and turned it on to see a cartoon. He started flipping through channels.
“An army of ninjas have taken over Jamie’s school!” exclaimed Mrs. Raleigh.
Tanemura nearly dropped the phone. “WHAT?!”
“It’s all over the radio!”
“Now calm down, Mrs. Raleigh . . .,” Tanemura began, but was interrupted by a loud SNORT behind him. He whirled to see a child sleeping upon his loveseat and an adolescent sleeping on his couch. “B.J.!” He was really beginning to think that his age was finally catching up with him. “Zack!”
Buster’s brother lurched into a sitting position. “Wh . . .What?” he asked groggily.
“Is it morning already?” groaned Zack as he took one of the sofa pillows and covered his head with it.
Tanemura rested his right hand firmly upon B.J.’s shoulder. “What are you doing here?”
B.J.’s eyes settled on Tanemura and flashed recognition. “Mr. Funakoshi! There are ninja at the school! And they wanted you and Jamie and Yoshi to come or they were gonna kill the students, but JamieandYoshicouldn’tgetaholdofyousotheywe . . ..”
“Slow down!” called Zack’s muffled voice from under the pillow. “You’re gonna rupture somethin’!”
B.J. took a deep breath. “There are ninja . . .”
“I caught that part,” interrupted the ninja master.
“Jamie and Yoshi couldn’t reach you so they went with the others to try an’ rescue the students.”
“Mr. Funakoshi?”
Tanemura put his ear back to the phone. “Yes, Mrs. Raleigh, I am still here.” He walked hurriedly toward Yoshi’s bedroom.
“Who were you talking to?”
“I was speaking with B.J..”
“B.J.’s there?”
“And Zack. They were sleeping in my living . . .,” he trailed off as he pushed open the bedroom door to find an empty bed. But what scared him the most was that the sword rack at the foot of that bed was also empty. “Oh, Heavens!”
“What?” Jamie’s mother demanded.
Tanemura rubbed his forehead with his left hand. “Mrs. Raleigh, I think that I should come to your house immediately . . .."
* * *
The large man checked his massive sword. He had lovingly crafted this weapon himself and, in keeping with his fascination with medieval history, had given it a name . . . Blade. So it wasn’t original, but that was about the only thing that wasn’t original about this person.
He looked down at the clothes that he now wore. He had removed the more fashionable button-up shirt, replacing it with a black T-shirt when he had gone back to his house to get his weapons after seeing the ninja blow up the bridge. He had never tried to swim in a kilt before, but he prided himself in his Scottish heritage and would never dream of going into a fight without wearing it.
He pulled a large pistol from his belt. He’d named it Dragonfire. No sense in getting the weapon wet during his swim and he wasn’t going to let a little water deter him from helping his friends. If Jamie, Yoshi and Tanemura had gotten to the school, then the students were probably free. But he had to prove this to somebody. More than their substitute art teacher, he considered himself Jamie and Yoshi’s friend.
He had noticed what he hoped was an army encampment upriver a mile or so from where the bridge had been. The man hoped to get some help there. But first, he had to get across.
Taking a deep breath and holding the gun above his head, he waded out into the frigid water of the Current River on this November morning . . ..
* * *
B.J., Zack and Tanemura stepped onto the large, flat concrete slab that served as Jamie’s parents’ front porch. “Jamie’s brother kicked that in the door,” explained the preteen, gesturing at the footprint imbedded in the wood.
“Yes, I know,” answered Tanemura absently as he raised his fist to knock.
He never got a chance. Jamie’s mother opened the door. Lines of worry crisscrossed her forehead.
“Have you heard anything?” asked the jonin.
“The news said that an army regiment’s been dispatched into the town, but they aren’t doing anything yet,” answered Mrs. Raleigh.
“We shouldn’t know that much!” commented an enraged man from
the couch behind her.
“It is good to see you again, Donnie,” offered Tanemura to Dave’s father. Jamie’s mother moved to the side and the jonin and children stepped into the house.
Jamie’s father sat in his recliner, Chico on his lap. Tanemura smiled politely and scratched the old dog behind the ear.
“How are you doing, Tanemura?” Donnie climbed to his feet and extended his hand.
Tanemura shook it. “I have been better, I would say.” He shook Mr. Raleigh’s hand and asked Mr. Isaac, “Why did you say that we shouldn’t know about the troops?”
Dave’s father’s brow furrowed. “They’ve broadcast it on every channel! If we know the army’s in the town, then those ninjas know!”
“Do you think Jamie and the others went up there?” demanded Mrs. Raleigh.
The old ninja sighed. “By all appearances, they did.”
Jamie’s mother covered her face with both hands and began to sob.
“Pam, I’m sure they’re fine,” comforted Chuck.
“I can’t help it,” cried his wife. “My baby’s up there!”
“That baby of yours is a ninja,” reminded Donnie. “And all of those kids are more than capable of taking care of themselves.”
* * *
Sometime during the night, Jamie had fallen asleep. As he opened his eyes, the morning sun washed into the room through the many-windowed wall on the east side.
Jamie sat up on the sleeping bag, finding his cousin still snoring peacefully. Let him sleep, he thought. He’s going to need all his strength today. Jamie stood and looked at the clock on the wall over the chalkboard. It was ten minutes after nine.
Climbing to his feet, Jamie spent about ten minutes doing standing stretches, then another ten doing sitting stretches. He spent fifteen minutes in meditation over the events of the previous night. Then he tapped Dave with his foot and asked, “Do you still have that extra toothbrush?”
Dave sat up and ran his hands through his shoulder-length, curly brown hair and answered, his voice still filled with sleep, “Yeah, it’s in my pack.”
Jamie snatched his cousin’s army green bag from the teacher’s desk and began to filter through it. He pulled out a tube of toothpaste and found a new toothbrush, still in the package. He silently opened it, then put some of the paste on it. Walking to the sink, he began to brush his teeth.
“Ya think anybody else is up?” asked Dave as he started doing a set of push-ups.
Jamie responded, but Dave couldn’t understand him with the toothpaste in his mouth.
“Huh?” responded the big teen.
Jamie spit into the lab sink, then said, “I saw some people walking over to the cafeteria.”
“Ya think Buster’s already over there cookin’?” grunted Dave as he completed his tenth push-up.
Jamie gargled with water and then spit. “Probably,” he replied. As he rinsed the toothbrush, there was a light tap at the door.
Dave climbed to his feet, moving his shoulders in circular motions to loosen the tightness of sleeping on a hard floor. He walked to the door of the room and opened it to find Yoshi. “Good morning, handsome,” she said with a smile.
Dave bowed elegantly. “And a top’o’the mornin’ ta you, dudette.”
Yoshi walked into the room. “I was just about to head to the cafeteria to have some of the preacher’s gourmet cooking,” she offered, “and I was just wondering if you two handsome gentlemen would like to escort me.”
Jamie smiled and put the toothbrush back into Dave’s pack.
Dave answered her. “We were just headin’ that way, ourselves, and we’d be delighted to join ya.”
The three walked out of the room, one boy on each arm of the attractive young woman. They exited the northeast door of the building, which was right next to the science room. Autumn was working in overtime, painting the trees vivid colors of red, yellow and orange.
“Did I hear you talking to somebody in the hall during the night?” asked Jamie.
“Yes,” replied Yoshi. “I spoke with your friend, George.”
“Why was he up?” asked Dave.
“He was thirsty and wanted to purchase a soda,” was the reply.
“How long did you guys talk?” inquired her clan brother. “I think you were still talking when I fell asleep.”
“We spoke until the end of my shift.”
Jamie nodded. "Interesting guy, huh?"
Yoshi smiled. "He is actually quite charming."
The three teens arrived at the double-doors to the cafeteria. The brick building stood next to a twin structure that served as the band room.
Jamie grabbed the handle to the right door and pulled it open. He could hear the students talking, as they always did when they came for lunch. One almost had to yell to be heard. The addition of someone playing Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” on his boom box didn’t lessen the noise.
As the three entered the building, the students, without exception, stopped talking and looked at them. The two boys and girl looked around in confusion. The only sound that could now be heard was the rap song that was being played.
Dave, at the back of the three, turned to see if there was anything behind them.
Then, the students began clapping.
Jamie’s face flushed red, as did those of his two companions, as they made their way quickly to the counter where Buster was serving food. To get there, they had to pass between two long tables. To his left, he noticed John Bowers, Freddy Jenks and Laura Blanton. The latter was smiling meekly, though not clapping. The former two were glaring at the three, though John’s focus seemed to be on Dave.
“Dude,” commented Dave to Jamie as they each picked up a tray. “Has that guy considered a laxative?”
“He’s just jealous of the attention you got for your performance last night,” explained his cousin.
“You mean this morning?” corrected Yoshi.
“Uh, yeah.” Jamie let Yoshi get her food before him. “Anyway, he was really upset that his girlfriend was enjoying the show.”
“Really?” asked Dave, his interest piqued. “She liked it?”
Jamie looked at his cousin in amusement. Did he like this girl? He hadn’t given his affections to another since Traci Bundy in Jameston . . .. “Well, he is her boyfriend.”
Dave looked back at the basketball player and narrowed his eyes. “She deserves better’n that creep.”
The young ninja shook his head. “You don’t know the half of it.”
Dave moved his attention back to Jamie. “Huh?”
As Buster used an ice cream scoop to put a helping of scrambled eggs on Jamie’s tray, he looked back up at his cousin and replied, “Let’s just say that even she’s not immune to his temper.”
“You guys sleep okay?” asked Buster. “You had the only room in the building that didn’t have carpet.”
Jamie gestured to Dave. “He brought a sleeping bag, so we just unzipped it and flattened it out.”
Buster slid a tray of food toward Jamie’s cousin. “Dave?”
“Huh?” Dave, who had been looking back at John and Laura, jumped.
“You want the gravy on your eggs?”
“Uh . . . yeah, I guess.”
Jamie patted his cousin on the shoulder. “I’ll meet you at the table.”
“Don’t forget to give thanks,” commented Buster.
Jamie smiled, giving Buster a “thumbs up,” and walked over to join the rest of Adventure.
Buster spooned an extra-large helping of gravy over Dave’s eggs. “Back for seconds, gentlemen?”
Dave looked at Buster quizzically, until he noticed that he was talking to someone who was behind him. He turned to find John and Freddy.
“No,” replied the basketball player. “We just wanted to have a chat with the hero here.”
Dave cocked an eyebrow and leaned back against the counter, folding his massive arms across his chest. “S’up?�
��
“Quite the show-off, ain’t ya?” asked the jock.
Dave shrugged. “I’ve been accused o' worse.”
Freddy put his left hand, large in its own right, tightly on Dave’s right shoulder. “Stay away from John’s girl.”
Dave looked back and forth between the two, barely keeping himself from bursting out in laughter. Were these guys joking? His gaze settled on John.
Dave’s right hand shot up, grabbing Freddy by the wrist and, his eyes never leaving the jock, squeezed painfully until the bully let go. Then Dave shoved him back a step. “Here’s a thought for ya, dudes.” His gaze bore into John. “Jamie don’t like to fight, which is the only thing that’s kept you two from pickin’ yourselves up off the floor on a daily basis.”
He picked up his tray, then continued, “I’m not like my cousin. I love nothin’ better’n bustin’ a few heads.” He smiled darkly. “And I have absolutely nothing against layin’ you out right here in front of all these people and showin’ them what a spineless loser you really are . . .,” he bowed mockingly, his eyes never leaving John, “ . . . your majesty.”
He turned to leave, but found his way blocked again by Freddy. “Dude,” muttered Dave. “You’re breathin’ my air.” He then sniffed and continued, “And your breath stinks. Haven’t you ever heard of a toothbrush?” He shouldered past the bully and walked toward his friends.
Left at the counter in front of a snickering Buster, John looked speechlessly after Dave as Freddy attempted to nonchalantly breathe into his right hand and sniff it to see just how bad his breath really smelled.
Chapter Twelve
Saturday, 10:01 AM
Dave plopped into his seat to Jamie’s right. “That dude’s got a major butt-kickin’ comin’!”
“I think it’s safe to say that you spooked him,” muttered George from his place on the far side of Yoshi.
“Wow,” commented Shawna, who had arrived with Amy and now took a seat across the table from Jamie, “I’ve never seen anybody stand up to John like that.”
“He had it comin’, dudette,” muttered Dave as he jabbed his fork into his eggs. “I never did anything to him.”
Invasion of the Ninja Page 8