by Jeff Altabef
I won’t fail them. My nightmare won’t come true.
I’m the Alpha.
I control my own destiny.
Connor
Juliet fades into the museum with Aaric.
Turning my back on her was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. Every fiber, every inch of my body wanted to hold her one last time, but Aaric shot me a glare, and I realized that would only weaken her. I won’t do that. Not now, not ever.
Once they recover the Heart Stone, I’ll scoot, never to see her again. I won’t jeopardize her safety just because my heart will break. Orphans don’t get happy endings. We’re supposed to clean up after the drunks at the pubs.
Juliet was always too good for me. Sooner or later she would have noticed on her own anyway.
Troy steps next to me. “That was cold.”
“She has too much on her mind to worry about me. A mushy goodbye would do her no good.”
Akari shakes head. “You’re an idiot.”
“No kidding.” I kick a rock and look away, so they don’t see these stupid tears that have begun to form in the corners of my eyes. I shove aside my doubts—Aaric has to be best for her. I can’t save her. Only he can save her, and that’s all that counts.
My attention is drawn to a black Jeep that races towards us and skids to a stop in front of our SUV.
Frankie bolts out of the car and slams the door shut with a thud. “Never again, Bear. I’m never letting you drive me anywhere ever again.”
“Don’t be a baby,” says Landon. “We got here fine.”
“You practically killed us a dozen times! I’d rather face an entire gang of those freaky people then drive with you again.”
Landon points to the now darkening sky. “Good. It looks like you’ll get your wish.” He opens the Jeep’s boot. “We grabbed a few things that should help. I’ve got a bow and some arrows for myself, and swords for you guys.”
Troy and Juliet’s parents snatch old-looking swords.
Frankie grabs two hand axes for himself.
Landon also grabs a short, two-foot sword with a scabbard that he slings over his shoulder. “These are all old, but Lisa swore they’re still functional. I’ve checked the blades and they’re sharp.”
Blake looks in the Jeep. “Speaking of Lisa, where is she?”
Landon shrugs. “We thought it best if she went to that national park Juliet’s mom mentioned. If this is the wrong spot, she might find something important in those caves. Besides, she’s not going to be much help in a fight.”
Frankie scans the area. “Where’s Juliet and the other freaky guy?”
Troy waves at the museum. “They went inside to find the Heart Stone.”
Frankie nods. “All right then. Let’s hope she makes quick work of it. We’ll batten down the hatches until she comes back.”
Akari points at the bow. “I’m not sure that will be much help. The Deltites can create force fields to stop the arrows before they can do any good.”
Landon’s mouth drops open as he looks miserably at an arrow from the quiver.
Barrett looks between the bow and Akari and grins. “Only if they see them coming. Our eyesight is much more sensitive to light than yours. That’s why they’re waiting until nightfall before they attack. Generally, it would give them the advantage in the dark. But if they don’t see the arrows coming, they won’t be able to use telekinesis to stop them.”
I understand what he’s getting at, and a spark of hope lights inside me. “Since they’re more sensitive to light than us, they’ll have problems adjusting from a bright light back to darkness. If Akari creates a fireball, it will temporary blind them for a few seconds. Landon can use that time to shoot arrows.”
Barrett nods. “That should work, but only once or twice. After that, they will know what’s going on and shield themselves from the arrows anyway.”
Landon grins. “I’ll be able to take down a few of them, at least. That’ll give them something to worry about and slow them down a bit.”
“Maybe they’re not even coming?” Blake looks down the street toward the highway. “We only have Aaric’s word on it, and so far we haven’t seen any signs of them.”
I glance in the direction he’s looking and feel energy rolling toward us. It’s gathering in intensity like a wave. “They’re coming, and they’ll be here soon.”
“We need to make this area more defensible.” Landon points down the main street. “They’ll come from that direction. It’s the only way in. Since they have numbers, we need to narrow this street to create a funnel, to limit their advantage. We can use the cars to set up blockades, but that’s only marginally useful.”
Barrett grins. “I can help.”
He runs halfway down the street and places both hands to the ground. A few seconds later a thunderclap rips through the air and the brick buildings on both sides of the street topple onto the road.
The café just down the road empties, and the few customers scramble away. The debris effectively blocks most of the street.
Frankie taps Landon on the chest. “I’m happy he’s on our team.”
Juliet’s father frowns. “If he can do that, I wonder what they can do.”
“No need to worry about that now. We’ll find out soon enough.” Landon tosses me a bag with large steel spikes in it. “Spread these farther down the street. They’ll get flat tires. We don’t need them driving through here.” He points to the museum. “I’ll set up on that roof. When they get past the debris, Akari should create the fireballs. Make them as big and bright as possible. I’ll get two valleys off. After that I’ll come down and join you guys for the hand-to-hand fun.”
I glance at the other Chosen and peer into their faces.
Akari’s eyes sparkle like diamonds. She’s ready for this. She’s always ready.
Troy, who I think of as a Chosen even though he’s not, reflects a quiet sense of confidence; the confidence of someone who believes in fate and destiny, as if he’s seen the end of the movie and knows that everything will work out.
I wish I shared those beliefs with him, but I’ve never been a spiritual guy, and I’ve got a touchy relationship with destiny. Mine has always been, and will always be, complete and utter crap.
Finally, I glance at Blake.
A steely determination has settled into his eyes. He’s probably the bravest among us. He has the most fears, and yet he still manages to pull up his pants and get the job done.
He creates a gust of wind and smiles at Akari. “We’ll hold them until Juliet gets the Heart Stone. We have abilities of our own.”
She locks her eyes onto his and leans into him. Their lips collide, and he looks as if ready to hit the ground from shock. She pulls him even closer and heat bubbles from them.
When they separate, his face looks as red as the streak in Akari’s hair. He opens his mouth to say something, but gratefully he’s lost the ability to speak.
Akari beams a broad smile. “You do have abilities, after all.”
Frankie laughs and turns toward Landon. “Don’t look at me, Bear. I ain’t kissing you.”
I shake my head and chuckle; Blake was probably the only person who didn’t see that coming.
I sprint down the street with the bag of spikes in my hand. The energy from the Deltites feels like it’s cresting, as if it’s forming a tidal wave that’s headed straight for us.
I just hope we’re strong enough to hold our own against it.
Juliet
We race inside the abandoned museum. Only the skeleton of the structure remains: a ticket booth to the right, a turnstile blocking our path, and a few old photographs on the walls that show what the tunnels looked like when they were fully operational.
We jump over the turnstile and stand in front of a map of the tunnel system. A small “you are here” arrow indicates where we are.
The system looks like an elaborate maze with tunnels branching out in all directions. My stomach churns. “There are miles of tunnel
s. We could be stuck down here for days.”
“We have an hour at most.”
“Great.” Think, Juliet. “We’ve got to eliminate a few of these branches. We want the original cave system. The scene from the paintings was at the end of that series of caves.”
Aaric points to the north and south sections of the map. “We do not need to concern ourselves with these. They are called the Northern and Southern Extensions, which means they must have been built at some point after the tunnels were already operating.”
I point to the entrance to the system that’s right in front of us. “We start here, but there’s still four choices. Each one flows in a different direction.”
The door leading to the tunnels is made from heavy steel, yet when he waves his hand, as if shooing away a fly, it crashes open. The air smells musty; dim lights flicker on. We must have triggered a motion detector that started the emergency lights.
The floor is made of packed dirt. Four different entrances to the tunnel system spread out before us. Wooden boards block each of them with red Keep Out signs. There has to be some clue, some reason to pick one of the tunnels over the others.
Aaric studies the entrance in front of us. It’s carved out of red rock. The flickering bulbs offer just enough light to make out the outline. He points to the left side of the opening. “Look at this. A figure is carved into the rock.”
I squint, dust off the rock and find the rough outline of a bear. I sense my grandfather’s hand in this. “Animals have specific meanings to Native Americans. Each animal will mean something different. A bear means healing, courage and power. Let’s see if he left a different animal at each entrance.”
The Sicheii ghost looks at me for the first time, and I see a hint of a smile.
Aaric goes right and I go left. He finds a buffalo, and I find a hawk and a swan. We meet back at the entrance with the bear.
“So which is the right tunnel?” he asks.
“A buffalo means sacredness and great strength. I think we can eliminate the buffalo and the bear. The hawk was Sicheii’s animal spirit guide and means messenger or visionary power, and the swan means love.”
I glance at Sicheii’s ghost, but he gives me no indication as to which is the right tunnel. Even with everything at stake, he still wants me to figure out his riddles on my own.
“Okay, I’m assuming these clues were left for me. The swan was our secret code that meant he had a message for me. It must be the swan.”
Aaric rips off the wooden boards and we plunge down the tunnel. The emergency lights don’t reach down this far, so we pull out our crystal swords, which pulse with our energy.
Once again I’m forced to push ahead into the darkness without knowing if I’m going the right way.
A rumble from above vibrates the tunnels and dust showers our heads.
The Deltites must be close.
Connor
We’ve set up the pickup truck and the SUV to create a barrier on the main street, just after the bricks and other debris from the buildings that Barrett pulled onto the road. By parking the cars this way, we’ve created a narrow passage to force the Deltites through, which will limit their numbers advantage. I’m not sure how well the plan will hold up, but at least it’s a plan. Just having one gives us more confidence.
The jeep idles in front of the other two vehicles. We have a separate plan for that one.
Time moves slowly as we peer through the space between the cars, waiting as the last few shafts of daylight sink below the horizon. The silence is too much, too heavy. My heartbeats sound like a snare drum.
I need to interrupt the quiet before it swallows us, so I grin at Blake and say, “Looks like we might have a few minutes before they get here, so if you guys want to go back to snogging, that’s fine with me.” I make obnoxious kissing sounds at Akari and Blake just to rile them up and break the tension.
“Well, if there’s time.” Blake leans toward Akari.
She kicks him in the shin. “Really? That moment passed.”
She scowls at him, but I can tell it’s all good fun because her eyes widen and sparkle. Their personalities are almost completely opposite from each other, but somehow they work together.
Frankie laughs so hard he bends at the waist. He points at me and practically guffaws the words from his mouth. “You’re just jealous. Besides, it’s good to know what you’re fighting for.”
Frankie has the type of laugh that grabs you by the throat and yanks you along, so I have no choice but to join him. Heck, if we’re going to die anyway, we might as well have one last laugh.
“They’re here,” announces Barrett in a flat, seemingly bored tone, as if he’s a news anchor.
The laughter dies in my throat and we go back to our silent vigil, staring into the night.
A few seconds later we hear a loud popping sound like a shotgun blast, and a car crashes into a pole. Then other cars skid to avoid the first and more tires pop, followed by metal crunching into metal.
“At least the spikes worked,” says Juliet’s father.
Only Barrett knows what’s going on beyond the rubble. His eyes are closed and he’s using his mind to fix on our enemies. When he opens them, he says, “They are forming in mass behind the bricks. Now would be a good time.”
“Send her off, Troy!” I shout.
Troy shoots me a thumbs-up sign. He scoots into the jeep, wedges a brick on the accelerator, shifts it into drive, and jumps back out. The jeep races straight at the opening in the rubble.
Akari squints and sets the end of the rag that’s hanging from the gas tank on fire. The car speeds up and, when it passes the narrow opening in the street, explodes. The blast shakes the SUV in front of me, and a second later another car explodes, and then a third.
Screams echo into the night.
I whoop and so do the others. It might be childish, but it feels good to fight back. Maybe they are superior. Maybe they are stronger, faster, smarter, with crazy abilities we know nothing about, but at least we surprised the buggers. We won’t go down without a fight. We’ll make a stand for our planet, for Juliet. They can piss off.
My excitement doesn’t last long. A weird clattering noise wafts toward us as if a million little feet wear tiny tap shoes and dance on the street.
“What in bloody hell is that?” I say.
Barrett raises both eyebrows. “Scorpions. Apparently one of them can control the insects.”
Blake looks as if he might pee his trousers. “Did he say scorpions?”
Juliet
We plunge deeper into the tunnels, burrowing farther underground. The air turns staler and the rats increase in number. The pathway started wide and tall, but it narrows and shrinks as we advance into the darkness. No longer wide enough for us to walk side-by-side, and too low for Aaric to stand upright, he has to stoop behind me as we race as fast as we can in the darkness, the only light coming from our swords.
We arrive at a “T” in the tunnel, leaving us with two choices, neither obvious.
“Search for another clue,” I say.
We find two carvings in the stone: a simple figure of a rock for one path, and three wavy lines that represent a river for the other.
I smile because this time I know for certain which way is correct—one small island of certainty in an ocean of choices. “The rock is strong by its nature and doesn’t bend to events, while the river seeks the path of least resistance, always changing, always adapting.”
Aaric turns toward the path marked by the wavy lines. “We should follow the river. The river is more logical than the rock.”
I pull on his shirt and twist him around. “More logical, but less true to itself. We follow the path marked by the rock.”
“Are you sure? It makes no sense.”
I scowl at him. He doesn’t get it, and in the dim light, he reminds me of Barrett’s father and that sends a shiver through me. Barrett’s father would have sacrificed his only son because it made sense; it was the logica
l thing for him to do, the easiest path. Sicheii would never have done such a thing. He would have found another way.
I sigh. “Some things are more important than logic. Sometimes you have to stand against the storm because you can, because you are strong enough to do it.”
When did I start to sound like Sicheii, talking in riddles?
He shrugs. He’s not persuaded, but there’s no time to start an argument.
We resume our trek, but it’s hard for me to pay attention to the tunnel. I keep imagining what’s going on above us, if everyone is still safe, if they’ve started to fight yet. The anxiety builds in my chest with each step, to the point where I can barely breathe.
The tunnel suddenly widens and stretches to fifty feet in height. We’ve reached another junction. This time we have three possible choices. The path that shoots to the left has a slanted rectangle carved next to it, and the one on the right has a primitive-looking dog. The center tunnel is unmarked.
I point to the slanted triangle. “That’s the symbol for the Great Wind Spirit. My grandfather thought she created the Order of the Twisted Arrows. The dog has to represent Coyote, the dark spirit. Sicheii believed the two were fighting over the future of humans on Earth.”
Aaric points to the left. “Sounds like we should take the Wind Spirit path.”
My heart thumps. My first guess would be that he’s right, that we should follow the Wind Spirit, but a little voice in my head cautions me.
Aaric cocks his head. “Did you hear that?”
“No.” His hearing is way more sensitive than mine.
“Sounds like some sort of explosions.”
My throat tightens as a grapefruit-sized lump blocks most of the airway, and I force dark thoughts from my mind. They might still be fine. Explosions don’t necessarily mean they’re hurt.
The Sicheii ghost looks at me and shrugs. If he were solid, I’d grab him by the neck and ring the answer out of him.
I wave at the three paths, my words spoken quickly to match my racing heart. “Nothing with my grandfather is easy. He appeared in a vision where he told me that the Wind Spirit wasn’t all good, and neither was Coyote all bad. He said that I had a choice to make, that I had to forge my own path.”