Black Water tpa-5

by D. J. MacHale

  “No!” Boon insisted. Kasha shot him an angry look, as if she weren’t used to being disagreed with. Boon backed down, but not by much. “I’m sorry, Kasha,” he continued sheepishly. “You may not agree with your father, but Pendragon is a Traveler. He should be treated with respect. It’s what Seegen would want.”

  Kasha stood staring at me. She really hated to be civilized to an uncivilized gar.

  “Fine,” she finally said. “Prepare a meal, Boon. I’m going to clean up.” She left for another room, leaving Boon and me alone.

  “C’mon,” Boon said. “I’ll make something.”

  He took off my restraints and led me into the kitchen, where he made dinner. I’d never eaten cat food before, though I didn’t think he’d be cracking open a can of Friskies. On the other hand, I was so hungry I was pretty sure I’d eat anything, no matter how gross it was. He reached into a square container on the floor that was some kind of refrigerator. He pulled out three birds that looked pretty much like chickens, all cleaned and dressed as if they came right from the grocery store.

  “You eat meat, right?” he asked.

  “Depends,” I answered.

  “On what?”

  “On if you’re going to cook it or not.” I’m happy to report that Boon laughed at that.

  “Of course I’m going to cook it!” he said. “We’re not animals.”

  Yeah. Right.

  Boon proceeded to cook the chickens, or whatever they were called there, on a rotisserie like at Garden Poultry on the Ave. There was a bed of hot coals beneath that cooked the birds slowly, all the way around. When the smell of the cooking birds hit my nose, my mouth started to water. Man, bar-bequed chicken. I couldn’t wait. Too bad I couldn’t have some fries to go with it. While the birds cooked, I took the chance to grill Boon about Kasha…no pun intended.

  “Why is she so angry?” I asked.

  “She loves her father,” Boon explained. “He’s a hero. He helped build Leeandra from nothing, fighting off the tangs every inch of the way. Everything she learned, she learned from Seegen. So when he started talking about Travelers and intelligent gars and fluming to different territories, her whole image of him fell apart. In her eyes he had lost his mind. Then he told her that when he died, she would take his place. Well, that really set her off. She won’t even talk to him about it. The thing is, Kasha is great. She’s brave and caring and would do anything to help a friend. But she’s also pretty stubborn. If something doesn’t fit her idea of the way things should be, it’s hard to change her mind.”

  “But you believe Seegen,” I said.

  “I’ve got more of an imagination,” Boon answered. “Besides, I’m sitting here talking to you, right? Seegen said you’d come and here you are.”

  “What about her mother?” I asked.

  “She was killed in a tang raid,” Boon said softly. “I think that’s why Kasha became a forager. She likes fighting tangs. Every time she kills one, I know she’s thinking about her mother.”

  Kasha entered the kitchen and Boon fell silent. “Are we ready to eat?” she asked.

  “All set!” answered Boon. The three birds were now crackling brown and smelled delicious. Boon pulled them off the spit and brought them inside the tree, where we all sat around the table. Kasha gave me a quick, dirty look. It must have been hard for her to have a filthy gar sitting at her table, but too bad. I was starving. I sat down politely and waited for Boon to serve. He placed one bird in front of each of us. No knives. No forks. No plates, either. I was kind of hoping for a vegetable and a potato, but I wasn’t going to push my luck. The chicken would do me just fine. Kasha and Boon picked up their birds and devoured them. I pulled off a leg and took a big bite. Oh yeah. It was good. It tasted like…chicken. No big surprise. It could have tasted like shoes. I didn’t care. I tore into the meat and ate, but not quite as ravenously as Boon and Kasha. It took them all of thirty seconds to polish off their birds, bones and all. I had barely finished one leg when they were licking their paws and staring at my bird out of the corner of their eyes. As hungry as I was, there was no way I’d be able to finish the whole thing, so I tore off the other leg, pulled some breast meat off the bone for myself and asked, “You guys want to finish this?”

  Boon answered by grabbing the bird quickly, tearing it in two, and giving half to Kasha. These cats may have been civilized, but they sure ate like animals. The strange scene was complete when I heard an odd noise. It sounded like a low engine, but looking around, I didn’t see anything that might be making the sound. That’s when I realized it was coming from Kasha and Boon. They were purring. How freaking strange is that?

  I finished the delicious meat and looked around for a napkin to wipe my hands, but realized that was idiotic. So I followed the lead of my hosts and licked my fingers clean. Hey, why not? At home my mother would kill me for doing that, but I wasn’t home. When I finished, I saw that my plate was empty. Both my leg bones had been swooped up by the cats and devoured. Note to self: If you don’t want to go hungry around here, eat fast.

  “It’s late,” Kasha announced. “I need rest. Tomorrow we will go to my father’s home. Be ready to leave early.”

  “Where do I sleep?” I asked, really hoping she wouldn’t banish me to the dog run.

  She glanced at Boon and spat out, “Right here.” It killed her to let a beast sleep under her roof. Tough.

  Boon said, “I’ll get you a blanket.”

  “I need something to write with,” I said. I figured it was time to catch up with my journals.

  Kasha looked at me like I had just announced I was going to grow a second head.

  “You can write?” she asked, not hiding her surprise.

  “Amazing, but true,” I answered snottily. “And I can count, too. Want to hear?”

  “I’ll get what you need,” Boon interjected, trying to keep the peace. Kasha left without saying good night. Boon got me a scratchy blanket, along with some blank parchment pages and a pen. The pen actually had an ink reservoir inside. I didn’t have to dip a quill into a well. Eelong was truly a strange place. Much of what I saw was savage, but there were also hints of modern convenience.

  “I’ll be back in the morning,” Boon announced.

  “Whoa, you’re not staying? What if Kasha decides to slit my throat while I’m asleep?”

  Boon chuckled. “She won’t. She may not like to be told what to do, but she’s honorable.”

  “I’ll have to take your word for that,” I said. I planned on being a very light sleeper that night.

  “So, tomorrow we go after Saint Dane?” Boon asked hopefully, like he was asking if we were going to Disneyland.

  “One thing at a time,” I answered. “First we find Seegen and Gunny.”

  “Right!” Boon exclaimed. “Good night, Pendragon.” He got down on all fours, leaped out of the doorway, and ran off into the night.

  I sat down on a long couch that had a soft blanket for a seat. It wasn’t exactly cushy, but it was comfortable enough. I spent the next few hours writing Journal #16, the one you’ve already read by now. By the time I finished, I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I rolled up the pages, sent it through my ring to you guys, then put my head down to rest. In the few seconds before nodding out, I thought back on the incredible day I had just spent. I had woken up that morning in a mansion on Veelox having slept in a comfortable bed. I ended the day sleeping on a scratchy blanket in a tree house surrounded by predator jungle cats who were getting ready to pass a law that allowed them to kill and eat humans. Can my life be any stranger?

  I wanted to sleep lightly, but my body wouldn’t let me. I totally conked out. The next thing I remembered, I had a dream that I was being stalked by a cat. No big surprise, right? The only thing was, the dream felt real… so real that it jolted me awake. There was a moment where I wasn’t sure where I was, but when I opened my eyes it all came flooding back. That’s when I realized my dream wasn’t a dream. I slowly opened my eyes to see a big, gray cat creepi
ng across the floor toward me, hunched down, ready to spring. Zing! I went from dead asleep to wide awake in a nanosecond. I was totally defenseless and quickly realized I had only one hope.

  “Kasha!” I screamed. I rolled off the couch and scrambled underneath it, pulling the blanket down for whatever pitiful protection it might offer until Kasha came to my rescue…assuming she came to my rescue.

  She did. The black cat leaped into the room, ready for action. “What?” she snarled.

  The big gray cat who was stalking me stood up on its two hind legs and said, “What is this, Kasha? You’re now letting gars sleep in your home?” The cat’s voice sounded old. His fur was longer than others I’d seen and the gray was from age. This was definitely an elderly cat, but it still looked pretty dangerous.

  “Where is my father, Yorn?” Kasha growled at him.

  “Yorn?” I exclaimed. “The acolyte?”

  The old cat shot me a surprised look. I figured I had to take charge and said, “My name is Pendragon. I’m looking for Seegen.”

  “Pendragon?” the old cat gasped. “But…you’re not supposed to be here!”

  “Well, surprise,” I said, crawling out from under the couch. My heart was still thumping. “Where is Seegen?” I asked him.

  Yorn staggered to a bench and sat down. I wasn’t sure if it was because he was old and weak, or the surprise of seeing me knocked him for a loop.

  “He went to Second Earth, looking for you!” Yorn answered. “He had news of the Traveler you seek. The injured gar.”

  “Gunny?” I shouted.

  “Yes, Gunny.”

  “Where is he? Is he all right?”

  “I don’t know,” Yorn answered. “He and Seegen left on a journey several days ago. They wouldn’t tell me where they went. Then Seegen returned alone. As far as I know, Gunny’s harm does not go beyond the loss of his hand. He was attacked by a tang, you know.”

  I couldn’t believe it! Gunny was okay! Now I knew why he lost his hand-he was attacked by a tang. But he survived. That’s all that mattered.

  “There’s more, Pendragon,” Yorn continued. “Saint Dane is here on Eelong. He’s influencing the Council of Klee to begin a campaign that will wipe out the gars. Seegen went to Second Earth to tell you this and bring you back.”

  “This is ridiculous,” Kasha spat out. “Where is my father?”

  Yorn and I shared a look. Kasha didn’t have a clue. We ignored her.

  “I’ve got to get to the flume,” I said. “If Seegen is on Second Earth, he’s in trouble. A big cat roaming around Stony Brook is going to get-“

  “Kasha!” came a voice in the doorway. I looked to see a group of cats entering, led by the big cat named Durgen. It was the same group that was with Kasha when they were attacked by the tang the day before. I quickly backed away from Yorn and bent over like the animal I was… or was supposed to be.

  “What do you want, Durgen?” Kasha asked, annoyed.

  “We’ve got a forage,” Durgen answered.

  “No,” Kasha protested. “We’re off the schedule today.”

  “Not anymore,” the big cat answered.

  “Well, I can’t,” she answered. “There may be a problem with my father and Yorn needs my help to-“

  “I’m sure it’s nothing the old klee can’t handle,” Durgen interrupted. “This is a direct order, Kasha.”

  Yorn glanced to me, but said nothing. Kasha made a quick move for the door.

  “Fine,” she said. “Let’s get out and back fast, all right?”

  Durgen asked, “What about the gar? You can’t leave him here.”

  “I’ll tend to him,” Yorn offered.

  “Nonsense,” the big cat replied. He grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me to my feet. I felt as helpless as a kitten, which is a strange way to put it under the circumstances. “After the attack yesterday we’re short a few gars. We can use this one. We’re going to the south country.”

  Yorn sat up straight, as if hearing this surprised him.

  “The south country?” Kasha asked, surprised as well. “There hasn’t been a forage there in months.”

  “Exactly,” Durgen answered. “There are acres of ripening fruit about to go bad.”

  “Yes, but it’s dangerous,” Kasha shot back. “There are huge packs of tangs in the south.”

  “That’s why we need all the gars we can get,” the big cat replied. “We’re probably going to lose a few on this one.” The cat looked Kasha right in the eye and said, “Since when were you afraid of a few extra tangs?”

  Kasha stiffened and said, “Did I say I was afraid? Let’s go.”

  Durgen gave me a shove toward the door. I stumbled but Kasha grabbed me before I could fall. I took a quick glance back at Yorn to see the old klee looking worried. Join the club. I had seen what happens to gars on a forage. Now I was about to experience it for myself.

  JOURNAL #17

  (CONTINUED)

  EELONG

  Upuntil that moment, my stay on Eelong had been a nightmare. It was about to get worse. Is there a word for something worse than a nightmare? If I could think of one, I’d use it. Saint Dane’s plan was clear. He was going to throw Eelong into chaos by thinning the gar population, which would tip the balance of nature and lead to the destruction of the klees. My plan was clear too. I had to find Seegen, the Traveler from Eelong, and get his help to find Gunny. Together, the three of us would try to stop Saint Dane. But as treacherous as that was going to be, I couldn’t even get started, because I was being shipped off on a suicide mission to run interference for a bunch of cats so they wouldn’t be killed by rampaging tangs while they harvested some fruit. How idiotic was that? The future of their entire world was at stake, and I had to go out and pick fruit in a war zone.

  I was really beginning to hate Eelong.

  It was morning. The sky was growing lighter. In no time I expected to see the sunbelt appear in the sky. The team of foragers led me and a few other gars down to the jungle floor and toward the corral where they kept the zenzen horses. There were five cats, along with three gars…and me. They lashed my hands together and tied me up to the other gars so we had to shuffle along like one of those chain gangs you see in prison movies. I’m not really sure why they did this, since the gars didn’t look like they were going anywhere. If there was anybody who wanted to beat feet out of there, it was me. Kasha walked ahead of us with the other klees. A few times she stole a glance back at me. I might be reading too much into this, but I thought I saw a touch of sympathy in her eyes. Maybe even a little worry. She knew I wasn’t ready for this. On the other hand, maybe she was thinking this would be a quick and easy way to get me out of her life, and her father’s life. Either way, I wasn’t real excited about how this day was shaping up.

  As we neared the zenzen corral, I looked ahead to see a big wagon with huge wooden wheels being driven toward us, pulled by two zenzens. Sitting in front with the reins was Boon. Loaded in back were a dozen more gars, all looking about as thrilled to be there as I was. Boon brought the wagon to a stop and shouted a friendly greeting. “Morning, everybody!” He spotted me and the smile fell from his face. “Whoa, not that gar. He’s useless.”

  I tried to look useless.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Durgen asked.

  Kasha answered, “He’s been sick. He’s weak. He won’t be able to harvest his weight.”

  That was good. Kasha was trying to get me out of this too. At least that meant she was on my side. Durgen felt my arms with his paws. I tried to shrink and act all weak, but there was only so much acting I could do. He lifted my chin and looked into my eyes. Finally he grabbed my hands and examined them. “He is soft,” the cat exclaimed. “But he doesn’t seem frail.” He dropped my hands, turned his back to me, and walked away. Suddenly he whipped around and threw his wooden weapon at me. I didn’t have time to think, only react. I caught the weapon before it beaned me. It was the wrong thing to do. I should have taken the hit. I gave a quick glance
to Kasha, who looked to the ground in disappointment.

  “His reflexes are fine,” Durgen announced. “Better than most. And he’s the biggest one here. Even if he’s weak, he’ll harvest more than the rest. He comes.”

  Oh well. Nice try. The other three gars and I were shoved into the back of the wagon, where there was barely enough room to sit down. Most of the gars were men, but I saw a few women, too. They were all sitting on the hard, wooden floor. Not exactly a deluxe way to travel. I found a small opening between two gars. My first instinct was to be polite and ask, “Excuse me, can I sit there?” But I realized it would be a waste of breath, so I nudged my way in and sat down between the two without a word.

  “Let’s go!” Durgen shouted.

  Boon cracked the reins and the wagon lumbered forward. The crude wooden wagon bounced across the jungle floor. My aching butt felt every bump and divot. A few minutes later the giant doors swung open and we rolled out of Leeandra, headed for who knows what danger. Kasha and Durgen walked in front of the wagon, with the other three klees walking to the rear. As soon as we left the safety of Leeandra, the cats tensed up and grabbed their weapons. Their eyes darted back and forth, looking for any hint of danger.

  Between the threat of tangs and the bumpy ride, I knew we were in for a long trip. All I could do was try to get comfortable and stare at the pathetic-looking gars who surrounded me. It was totally creepy. I was jammed in with a bunch of raggy-looking people who kept their eyes down. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, but it was tough getting my mind around the fact that as much as they looked like humans, they weren’t. Expecting them to be social would be like expecting a bunch of cows to stand up and sing some reggae. And they smelled too. I don’t think any of them had a bath in, well, maybe never.

  As we bumped along the dirt road, one of the cats tossed a bag into the center of the wagon. The gars dove for it, tearing it apart and pulling out what looked to be pieces of fruit. They looked like apples, but they were bright blue. The gars fought over them like it was their last meal. The sick thought occurred to me that for some of them, it probably was. I hoped I wasn’t one of them. I didn’t join the fight. I didn’t have much of an appetite.