“Maybe you should let one of us drive for a while. Well, not me, but Denise could drive, or probably Arnie.”
“Oh, I’m ok, you all need to rest. You might have some strenuous activity ahead. Speaking of which, what do you really expect to do in Artesia? If those Others are there and tearing the place apart, what do you think you could do?”
That’s Aunt Martha… you can count on her to cut through the crap and ask the honest question…
“I… to tell the truth I don’t really know. We have to do something, though. It makes me think of that old story, I guess it’s more like a parable, about the kid who finds millions of starfish on the beach, and he starts throwing them back in the water, one by one. If we can save at least some people, and maybe pick off a few of The Others in the process, then that’s better than nothing. I don’t like the idea of killing, even if it’s The Others, but our run-in with Aida has kind of changed my mind. I don’t think we’ll be able to change any of them, or to get them to see that what they’re doing is wrong, and at the same time we have to stop them from killing innocent people. So, our only other options are to capture them, imprison them somehow, or kill them. I don’t think we would be able to hold them captive. That would mean we would have to have a place where we could keep them unconscious, and that’s just not feasible. So that means we’ll have to kill them, and if that’s the only option, then that’s what we’ll have to do. Sorry, I’m thinking through this problem out loud. Do any of you have other alternatives that I haven’t thought of?”
For a few moments, there was no sound aside from the RV rumbling down the road. “The only other alternative, Mr. Ferdie, is to do nothing, and if we were to choose that option… well, we don’t really need to consider that, do we? If we were to have chosen that, we would not be barreling headlong toward danger. We could just while away our last few days or weeks on earth and allow The Master and his putrid minions to do their dirty work. Ah, but we are people of action, yes? Ours is not the passive course, and I for one am as prepared as I can be.”
Whoa, Raffy got serious there… he keeps it hidden well, but he has a little aggressive streak that pops out every once in a while…
“Look, we’re getting close to some service stations. Why don’t you kids go get some rest, and Stretch and I will gas up this bus. Don’t worry, we’ll stay on the radio, and if we hear anything important Stretch’ll alert you. Go on, you need rest, you’re too young to have bags under your eyes.”
As if hypnotized by her suggestion, I suddenly felt unbearably tired. “You’re right, sleep sounds good. I think all of us should probably do that for the rest of our trip. Are you sure you’re ok to keep driving, Aunt Martha?”
“I am good to go. I can rest when we get there, but you all will need to be ready, so go on and get to it.”
“How about you, Raffy? Do you need someone to spell you for a while?”
“I have never been more wide awake, Mr. Ferdie. It is time for you and the rest of our group to have a proper snooze. I will continue to enjoy Ms. Martha’s company.”
I glanced over at Denise, and she looked just as tired as I felt. “Ok, here we go.”
Chapter Twenty Two
I bolted up from my sleep sometime later. Dude, I just realized… if their attack on Artesia is like what happened in Carloforte, it’s totally possible that no information would get out until someone physically goes there and sees the massacre… what time is it… three a.m., that’s the worst possible time…
I rose, went in the little bathroom and splashed some water on my face, and hustled to the front of the RV. “How close are we now, Aunt Martha?”
I could see her face in the rear view mirror, and she looked exhausted. “We’re about half-way between Albuquerque and Artesia, so we have roughly and hour and a half to go. Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”
I told her and Rafael what had occurred to me, and they both looked a little crestfallen. “So if something is happening over there, it’s pretty likely that we won’t hear about it until it’s already over, that’s what you’re saying?”
“I don’t know for sure, but I think that’s right. The only thing we can do now is hurry and hope we get there in time. I wish we could just go there through the in-between, but if we did that, and they weren’t planning on attacking Artesia, we would bring them there because they would feel us going through the in-between. Wait… Raffy, what do you think about this: if we went to somewhere in the outskirts of town, maybe a couple of miles away, if they show up there we can fight them and no normal humans would get hurt. And if they don’t show up, we just walk into town from there. That might work.”
He stroked his chin thoughtfully, and in his low, rumbling voice, said, “Yes, I like it Mr. Ferdie. Let’s wake the others.”
We hustled down to the other end of the RV, rousing the rest of the group as we went. When everyone was assembled I told them my idea, and there was general agreement. “I just wish I had thought of this sooner. I should have gone to see Marsh-dog, he probably thought of it hours ago.”
Then Arnie spoke up. “There is one confounding factor here. It’s three fifteen in the morning, and it’s dark out. If we do this, and if we draw The Others to our location, we may not see them coming.”
“Yeah, that would definitely be a problem. Hey, I have an idea. I need to go talk to Marsh-dog, I’ll be back in a minute.”
I faded into the in-between, and before I was even all the way there I heard Marsh-dog say, “Yeah, I’ll watch for them from here. It’s a good idea, go for it. If I see them showing up I’ll give you a signal. Then you throw up your force field until I give you another signal. This is a new plan, so I don’t know yet what it does to the probabilities I already gave you. That means you’re going to need to be creative, think on your feet. And you’re right, I did think of it hours ago. If you would come visit me every once in a while you would know that.”
“Dude, you’re starting to sound like a lonely grandma or something.”
He adopted a fake old-lady voice, and croaked, “Oh yeah? Come on over here so I can hit you with a wooden spoon, sonny. You know, if they don’t show up when you get over to wherever it is you’re going, it could mean that they know you’re there but they want to lure you into the town.”
“Yeah, I thought of that, but we’re going there anyway so it wouldn’t really make any difference. The only thing we could do at this point is not go at all, and we haven’t come all this way for nothing. Ok, dude, you saved the day again. I mean Mr. Glowy.”
“I told you before, I’m shimmering, not glowing. Now get off of my lawn before I call the cops.”
I faded into the living area of the RV, and the whole group, aside from Aunt Martha, was waiting there somewhat impatiently. “We’re good, let’s get ready to go. We’ll head for a spot two miles south of town. As far as I can tell from Aunt Martha’s GPS map there’s literally nothing out there but weeds and cactus. Denise, have you ever been out there?”
“Oh, yeah, kids go out there and ride dirt bikes. It’s totally empty.”
“Friend Ferdie, should I go to ride with Martha, to keep her the company?”
“That would be awesome. Oh, and tell her to find a spot about ten miles outside of town and wait there. If things get bad I don’t want her to get caught up in it. Ok, everyone, let’s go.”
“Wait, Ferdie, first we must do the high-five for the good luck!”
“You’re right Ling. All hands in.”
Following our group palm slapping, Arnie said, “I don’t want to bring everyone down here, but we need to realize that this may be very dangerous. Everyone knows that, but we need to keep it in the front of our minds. Stay together and play it safe until we all decide different. Agreed?”
Denise answered for all of us: “Totally. Now let’s go save some folks.”
Then we all joined hands: Ling, Arnie, Rafael, Denise, and me. My team. I sure wish Gabriella was here… I need her guidance… ok, don’t cry, don’t tap your head…
And just like that, we all faded together into the in-between, and in an instant we were standing in a spot that had all the tell-tale signs of a desert. The moon seemed unusually bright, illuminating the area well enough that we could clearly see where we were going. “Wait here for a minute,” I hissed. “Let’s make sure we’re alone before we start moving.”
Arnie motioned us into a circle with our backs to one another so that we could see in all directions. We stood in that position for what felt like five minutes, but it was probably only two. We could see the lights of the town far off in the distance, but we neither heard nor saw anything unusual. It was a bit spooky, though; because it was otherwise so tranquil, the skittering of little critters in the sand was quite audible, and occasionally an owl hooted in the distance. “I think that’s probably long enough. Let’s head into town,” I whispered.
We trudged toward Artesia, moving cautiously and scanning the surroundings as we went. “Marsh, are you there?” I muttered, and I felt the lightest possible flick on my ear in response.
In thirty minutes we covered half the distance to the nearest structures, which appeared to be a series of small farm houses. It was now a little after four a.m., and still quite dark, but the sky would begin lightening in an hour or so. We realized that it was better for us to move under cover of darkness, at least until we got to the town proper. No telling what the farm folks might do if they thought there was a group of people snooping around on their property, especially out here in what amounts to a modern version of the old west. “We will need to be quiet and vigilant as we pass these homes. It’s likely that each one has at least one gun in it, and they probably don’t like trespassers,” Arnie hissed.
We managed to navigate our way past the farms on the outskirts of town, and now were in an area that was more neighborhood-like. Despite the early hour, an occasional car passed, likely on their way to a shift at a local factory. “If The Others are here, they haven’t done anything yet. I feel like we should continue on into the center of town, but I’m leery of a trap. Do you guys have any ideas?”
“I have one. I actually adapted this from one of Pasquale’s many battle strategies. We divide into three teams: Rafael and Ling, You and Denise, and I will be the third team. We can use this to either draw them out or verify that they are not here. I walk into the center of town, Rafael and Ling take up a position to the north, and you and Denise to the south. If there is a trap, we spring a counter trap by all of you advancing from the side. If there’s no trap, then we discuss how we want to proceed.”
“Yeah, but Arnie, aren’t you kind of putting yourself out there in a dangerous position?”
“Perhaps, but I trust all of you to converge if there is trouble. Besides, I wouldn’t mind taking a few more of them out. I don’t like the idea of killing any more than you, but at this point it’s us or them, and it’s us with a capital ‘U’, as in everyone.”
There were no other suggestions, so we decided to go with Arnie’s plan. By now the sun was beginning to show, and the desert chill was waning. Rafael and Ling headed northwest on one of the major streets in town, walking casually so as to avoid attention. Denise and I headed due west for a few blocks until we were parallel with the town center, and sat down on a bus stop bench. We could see the town center from our location, although it was several blocks to the north. Arnie walked due north from our location, and in a few minutes he stopped in what amounted to the town square. We could make him out from our location, and assumed that, when they were in place, Rafael and Ling would be able to see him also. Arnie sat on the steps of a large building casually, as if he were waiting for a friend to come by. After about thirty minutes, we were becoming both nervous and exceptionally antsy.
Denise leaned over and whispered, “Hey, do you think maybe we should move around a little? It looks a little bit funny, just sitting here… wait a minute, look.”
I turned to gaze in Arnie’s direction, and although he was several blocks away, I saw what appeared to be a small boy standing directly in front of him. The boy was standing rigidly, but his head was moving and it appeared that he was speaking to Arnie. Man, I wish I had super-hearing… wait, maybe I do…
“Marsh, are you there?” I breathed. I got a tiny flick on my ear in reply. “Can you hear what that kid is saying to Arnie? Flick once for yes, twice for no.” Two flicks. “Well can you go down there and hear him?” One flick. “Ok, go!” One flick.
About two minutes later, there was another flick on my ear. “What did he… wait, you can only answer yes or no questions… is there trouble?” One flick. “Should we go down there?” One flick, much harder this time. “Come on, Denise, we are moving. I hope Raffy and Ling see us and move too.”
We rose and walked as fast as we could to Arnie’s location. We thought that running would look too suspicious, but the speed walking we were doing had to look a little funny too. As we approached it was easy to see that something was definitely not right. “That kid is being controlled!” I hissed to Denise. “Be careful, and watch for others.”
We stopped about ten feet from Arnie and the boy; it was obvious that they had been having a discussion. Arnie appeared almost outside himself with fury. The thin little boy had a floppy mop of black hair and brown eyes, and he was wearing cutoff jeans, a too-small t-shirt, and no shoes. He had an impressively blank expression as he turned to me, The Master’s voice blasting out of his mouth. “Really, Ferdie, your man here has been quite threatening to me. I think that is bad form. He even menaced me by intimating that he would kill me. Can you believe that? You should bring him under control, that’s what I would do. He’s a loose cannon if you ask me. Well, be that as it may… how is it that you have become so clever? I must say I am very impressed with your anticipating our moves in this way. So impressed, in fact, that I have decided not to take my team to Artesia. Oh, make no mistake, we would defeat you and your little band, but there would be losses to be sure, and I am not willing to suffer those costs at this juncture. We have much to do, you see, so I need my team to be at full strength. What is it you call us? Oh yes, The Others. Really, Ferdie, you can do better.”
“So you’re telling me we scared you off? That must really sting, taking that kind of defeat. Oh, by the way, you better hope “my man”, as you call him, never gets ahold of you, because he will kill you. And resorting to communicating through little kids? That’s low, dude. I’m beginning to think you’re not nearly as strong as I thought you were.” Ok, careful… not too much taunting… quiet, quiet, come on, Ferdie, go down that hall, find the door…
“Oh, we haven’t been defeated, not at all. Now, Ferdie, we know you have special abilities, unprecedented really. In fact, I must admit to being a tad envious. However, I also have a unique… oh, let’s call it a gift. You see, to accomplish my goal for the town of Artesia, I don’t need to be there at all, I just need to give the good folks a little assistance, a little control you might say. Why, look, here come some now.”
I quickly scanned the area, and all around people were coming out of buildings and homes, hundreds of them. Some were carrying knives, some baseball bats, some rifles, and some handguns. Little children with sticks and rocks, old people in wheelchairs wielding anything they could get their hands on. “Wait, wait, what are you…”
There was a blood-curdling scream across the street to my left; we all turned to see a Hispanic teenager stab an elderly man in the chest. “No! No, don’t do it! What do you want me to do? Make it stop!” I screamed at the little boy.
He laughed heartily, and said, “Oh, Ferdie, that puts me in mind of another movie quote: what do I want you to do? I want you to die, boy who would save the world. I added that part, but you get the point. Have fun… ta ta.”
Oh, crap, what do we do now? He’s got the whole town under control… he’s right, that’s unique, I don’t think anyone else could control this many people at once… ok, Ferdie, deep breaths, keep yourself under control… think…
/> We instinctively fell back into our circular stance, our backs to one another. “Hey, that guy’s going to shoot at us!” Denise shouted. I immediately produced a force field covering all of us, and I felt the bullet strike the barrier and bounce off. Oh, that kind of hurt… I didn’t know I would feel it… come on, we need a plan… we can’t just sit here and watch all these people kill one another…
Ten yards down the street, a very heavy woman in a house coat swung a machete, slicing off the arm of the teenage boy who had stabbed the old man. People all around were preparing to kill one another, and attempt to kill us as well. “Ok, concentrate… I think I’ve got it. If they’re unconscious The Master can’t control them, right? So here’s the plan: Arnie, Denise, Raffy, you run at top speed and tap these people in the temple. That should be enough to knock them out, right?”
“Yes, but we can’t guarantee there won’t be more significant damage,” Arnie called over the rising screams and shouts all around us.
“Ok, but if we don’t do something they’re all just going to kill each other anyway, so we have to take our chances. While they’re doing that, Ling, you and I will try to drive The Master out of the ones the angels don’t get to. His control can’t be that strong over each individual, so if we work on one person at a time we should be able to push him out. When we do, we assume control and have that person go back to their home and lock themselves inside. Is everyone clear?”
At that moment a volley of rifle shots rang out, several striking my force field. “Aah, that hurts.” Another high-caliber round struck the force field, and I fell to my knees. “Arnie, Denise, Rafael, prioritize the people with guns, we’ll work on the others. Ready? GO!”
I dropped my force field, and the angels bolted so fast I could hardly see them. There’s no way we’ll get all of them… there are twelve thousand people in this town… a bunch of them are dead already… hold it together, get to work…
Ling had already successfully knocked The Master out of the minds of four people, sending them scurrying home, and was working on her fifth. “Ling, look out!” I bellowed; a very large man was approaching her from behind, swinging a baseball bat wildly. She ducked, and I took control of him, pushing The Master out. I could feel that his control was tenuous, but the more of them we got under control, the less he would have under his control, meaning that it would get harder as we went along.
Ferdie and The Seven: Book three: Fractals Page 16