Stranger Tides

by Jack Castle

  “Henry…”

  Both of them jumped at the sound of a loud CRASH.

  Locating its source, George saw the screen door on the back of the house had been smashed open so hard it was now half-hanging on its hinges. Standing just outside the house was Henry’s faceless father. He was wearing a sleeveless t-shirt and holding his belt in his hands. Behind him was a cadre of police officers, now also faceless, with batons clenched in their fists.

  A brisk wind blew up in the scant two acres between them.

  Spotting the faceless men too, Henry’s proud shoulders slumped forward and he turned back around to him to say, “It seems time has run out for both of us.” The boy shook his head sadly, “And, I had so much more to show you too.”

  After a moment of staring at them, the faceless John Stranger led the charge toward them, knocking over Henry’s set pieces as they went.

  A woman’s voice shrieked, “Run, Henry, run.” George was fairly certain it had been Mrs. Belle.

  “C’mon!” Henry shouted and leapt from the moving carriage. George quickly dove after the boy.

  Glancing back at their pursuers, George saw several cops tripping over set pieces, but the majority were closing in. When they reached the track, they had to stop and wait for the carriage to slowly saunter past them.

  “Through here,” Henry exclaimed and stepped through a row of hedges. George hadn’t seen the exit even though he was standing right next to it. They dashed over a lunar landscape cleverly made out of old sponges. Impressive spaceships were linked together by causeways and while studying all the astronauts and moon vehicles, George collided into one of the spaceship towers and knocked it over. “Sorry, Henry,” he said immediately and tried to pick it back up. The top piece broke off in his hand. “Sorry, sorry.”

  “That’s okay,” and staring at the spaceship in his hands the boy added, “That one was yours anyway.” Then tugging on his arm, he said, “C’mon, hurry up. It won’t be long before they figure out how to get through the hedges.”

  Leaving the lunar landscape behind, they soon entered a jungle scene surrounded by transplanted bushes. There was a grouping of toy-sized African pavilions with a dirt runway strip next to it. Like the other scenes, the attention to detail was amazing, right down to the propeller of a doll-sized bi-plane spinning wildly and the sock flag blowing in the wind and at the end of the runway.

  “Keep going,” Henry urged, disappearing into the folds of the jungle.

  George followed him through the thick underbrush until he came upon a dirt clearing. At its center was a large, wide dirt mound with a cave dug into its center. The cave’s walls and ceiling were supported by thick wooden beams.

  Henry pointed to it and exclaimed, “You need to hide in there!”

  George didn’t see how much good it would do to hide in a cave only as high as his waist and about six-feet deep.

  They heard John Stranger and the faceless cops crashing through the jungle behind them. George scanned the jungle for a weapon and found nothing. “Henry, stay behind me.”

  Instead of doing as he was told, Henry gripped him by his shirt and pulled him down next to him. The boy was impossibly strong and George fell to his knees. Gripping George’s face in his hands, Henry said evenly, “Remember this George. You have to find the knife in the cave.”

  Over the boy’s shoulder, George could see the bushes rustling as the first of their pursuers was about to come through.

  Henry gripped his face tighter, “Say it! Say, I have to find the cave with the knife in it, just like this one.”

  George began, “Henry, we have to…” but the boy slapped him.

  “Say it!”

  George couldn’t believe what was happening. The absurdity of it all. This was a whole new level.

  The boy whacked him again.

  Through squished up lips, for Henry was still holding him by his face, George said, “I have to find the knife in the cave.”

  Henry nodded. “Good.” He took one last look at his father stepping through the bushes. As John stood there with the belt in his hand the faceless cops poured around him in an endless parade. “Now go.”

  With impossible strength, Henry flung George into the mouth of the cave. “Go!” the boy yelled after him. George crawled toward the back of the cave. In fact, he was surprised he hadn’t reached it already. From the outside the cave couldn’t have been more than six feet long and yet he felt as though he had already crawled twice that much.

  Police whistles shrilled after him and George heard the crack of leather against bare skin. “Keep going, George!” the boy cried in anguish. George stopped crawling forward, looked over his shoulder and saw faceless cops filling the mouth of the cave. Within seconds, some were already beginning to crawl after him in a most unnatural manner.

  As he was trying to figure out how he could turn around, with the intention of beating the snot out of every last one of those faceless jerks beating Henry, his hands slipped down off of a dirt ledge. George tried to catch himself with his other hand, but the dirt edge collapsed beneath his weight, and he fell.

  George could only scream as he toppled down into a pitch-black bottomless pit.

  Chapter 24

  Okay, Let me have It

  “Wait, let me get this straight. You want me to drive?”

  Maddie wasn’t in the mood to offer Traxx an explanation, but she gave him one anyway. “Yes, Traxx. The chain guns jammed. They shouldn’t have, but they did. And yes, I cleaned them both out, and ran a full diagnostic before we left. I want to find out why.” She grabbed Traxx’s diagnostic kit off his thigh and strode to the back of the Hopper.

  Traxx buckled his safety harness and replied enthusiastically, “Copy that. The Dauntless here we come.” Immediately delighted to take the wheel, he cracked his knuckles like a pianist about to begin a command performance. “Alright Henry, you might as well come sit up front and I’ll show you how it’s done.”

  Before doing so, Henry watched Maddie as she left the cockpit. It seemed as though he wanted to say something to her, but she didn’t give him the chance to work up enough courage to do it as she hastily brushed past him.

  Maddie navigated the accordion causeway and strode to the rear of the craft. In the payload compartment, she opened a panel and began connecting leads from Traxx’s portable diagnostic kit.

  “Hello,” The Leftenant said, appearing beside her.

  Maddie slightly shook her head, grimaced a little and managed, “Come to gloat, Leftenant? Well, go ahead. Today’s your lucky day. I got nothing left.”

  The Leftenant tilted her head to the side, “Really, I can’t imagine why.”

  Maddie wasn’t entirely sure what The Leftenant was working up to, so she settled for asking, “Weren’t you watching?”

  “Yes,” The Leftenant readily confessed, “I was watching. I was watching the entire time.”

  Maddie blew some errant bangs out of her face and finished hooking up the diagnostic to the hopper’s pc. “Then you know… we got jumped by a pack of Misfits in the mall.” Tears formed at the corner of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Despite her efforts, one slipped out like a dirty thief. “I nearly got Traxx and Henry killed.” She wiped the stupid-stupid runaway tear from her cheek onto the back of her glove. More to herself she said, “What was I thinking, taking out an expedition all by myself?”

  For a moment, The Leftenant didn’t say anything. She simply stood there studying her. Why would she? She’s just a stupid hologram. She’s not programmed to deal with a crying baby like me.

  The Leftenant surprised her, as she often did, when she said, “You know what? I believe if your father had been here to see you today, I think he would have been very proud of his daughter.”

  Maddie furrowed her brow. “Now you’re hitting below the belt.”

  “No, no. I mean it. The way you dispatched those baddies in the mall, and then later outside..” The Leftenant pumped her fist for emphasis.

>   “Jolly good showing young lady, jolly good.”

  The Leftenant rolled her eyes a little and said, “You did make some mistakes, such as leaving Cheeves and me behind, most certainly. But the fact of the matter is Traxx and Mister Henry both trust you completely, as they should. You, like your father, are a good leader.”

  “I’m not so sure about that. I was a blazing idiot to think…” Maddie began, but The Leftenant cut her off.

  “No. No, no, no. Quit talking rubbish. I was the one who was wrong.” She held up her forefinger toward herself and said playfully, “If you tell anyone I said that, I will personally box your ears off young lady.” Brushing off some non-existent lint from her shoulder she continued, “The truth is I should’ve trusted you more. Like or not, for better or worse, you and Mister Traxx are the next generation. Heaven help us.” She flicked her eyes skyward for a moment, and added, “Our lives will one day be in your hands. We have to let you make your own mistakes and hope you emerge on the other side all the better for having made them. So I’ll state it again, I am certain if your father had seen your achievements today, he would have been most proud; very proud indeed.”

  Maddie heard herself gulp, and then let loose. She gave The Leftenant a fierce hug and let the tears flow. She had never truly mourned the loss of her mom or her dad. Maybe that was part of what this was all about. In the end, she wasn’t sure how long she stood there like that, blubbering like a baby into The Leftenant’s jacket, but it felt good.

  “There, there,” The Leftenant said, patting her gently on the head. “You stay here as long as you have too.”

  Maddie sniffed loudly, wiped her nose on the back of her sleeve (much to the chagrin of The Leftenant), and said, “Thank you for that.”

  The Leftenant gave her a crisp nod. “Fortunately for me, I drip-dry easily.” By the time she finished her sentence, the tear-soaked coat was completely dry.

  “I’m sorry for what I said back there, ya know, that whole thing about my dad thinking of you as one of his daughters.”

  The Leftenant’s smile seemed strained for a moment, but she fought through it and responded by saying, “Think nothing of it. I am only a hologram, after all.”

  Before Maddie could tell her otherwise, The Leftenant vanished.

  Chapter 25

  Raggedy Man

  “Maddie, get up here!”

  Traxx brought the Hopper to an abrupt stop. Rain was falling steadily now and even though the front windshield was thick with frost, Henry could see a man standing in the middle of the street with his hands held high above his head. The man was dressed in tattered clothing and wore a thick bandage wrapped around the top of his head, concealing one eye.

  Henry wasn’t sure what all the controls did in the cockpit, but he knew enough to know that Traxx was already keying up the Hopper’s defenses just in case. Seeing the younger boy do this he blurted out, “No wait!”

  Traxx flashed a look over at him as though he had just grown two heads.

  Maddie entered the cockpit, and as she put her hand on the back of his seat, she asked him, “Would you relax? He’s not going to shoot him unless it gives us a reason.”

  Traxx seemed hurt by Henry’s accusation. “Hey, it’s not like Misfits are people. Heck, they’re barely biologicals, they’re practically background scenery.”

  Maddie chimed in, “Besides, you saw what those Misfits are capable of? They nearly tore us to pieces.” Then she told Traxx, “If that thing out there does anything funny, save your ammo and just run him over.”

  “Really?” Traxx complained. “Run him over? I was going to make sure the targeting system was functioning properly.”

  Maddie thought this over. “Hmmm… that’s a good point. Plus, if we run it over, its body might damage the undercarriage.” Henry couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

  “You’re not serious are you?” He raised a hand toward the man in the street. “How do you know he’s one of those,” he struggled with the word, “Misfits back there. What if he’s a person who’s injured? What if he’s human?”

  Henry watched Maddie and Traxx exchange a look. Traxx was the first of them to speak, “If you talked to a misfit you’d know they’re not all that intelligent. They just have a set of pre-programed responses.”

  Maddie finished for him, “And if this guy was human, what would he be doing traveling with a band of Misfits?”

  As though hearing this, the man in the street cupped his mouth and shouted, “Hello! Can you hear me in there? If you can, I mean you no harm.”

  Fearful they were about to make a mistake, Henry exclaimed, “Wait! I get it. We’ve all had an extremely bad day, and yes, the Misfits back there had tried to kill us, but that doesn’t give us the right to become murderers.”

  Traxx’s finger hovered over the firing mechanism and Maddie bit her lower lip. Henry could see he was getting through to them.

  Which was why he was caught by surprise when Maddie said, “Traxx, fire off a warning shot. If he doesn’t scamper away, let him have it.”

  Traxx began keying up the targeting laser again.

  The raggedy man cupped his hands to his mouth again and shouted, “I know where your father is.”

  Hearing this, Maddie lunged forward and grabbed Traxx’s hand to keep him from firing. Tentatively, Maddie picked up the microphone and brought it to her lips. She thought about what she was going to say for a few seconds before flicking on a switch marked intercom. Henry could hear her voice echo over the exterior loudspeakers.

  “You don’t know me, and you certainly don’t know who my dad is.”

  In the rain, the crippled raggedy man squinted his one good eye as he listened and then responded by nodding with exaggerated movements. “I do. I do know your father, George. Your father’s name is George Stapleton. You’re Maddie,” turning to Traxx he added, “and you’re Traxx.” He studied Henry for a moment through the windshield. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know who you are.” He seemed troubled by this. “In fact, I’ve never seen you before in my life.”

  Maddie slammed her palm down on the console. At first Henry thought she had shot the man outside, as did Traxx, but both were relieved when the side hatch opened instead.

  Greeting him at the stairs with her rifle and leaving him to stand out in the swelling rain, Maddie asked, “Alright, talk. Who are you?”

  The raggedy man kept his palms up and well within view. “Please don’t shoot. I don’t know my name, but I do remember my last job. I used to watch everything. I’m a sort of watcher. I can view any and every form of surveillance in all the lands. I’ve been watching you and your family for years. As have others. I know where your dad is and I can lead you to him.”

  “You’re lying. My dad is dead,” Maddie shot back, her voice cracking. “If he were alive he would’ve come back for me already.”

  Slightly delirious, the raggedy man held two fingers up higher than the rest, “Not true… not true…”

  Maddie raised her rifle toward him for emphasis and ordered, “Tell me where he is. Tell me right now or I swear, mister, I will blow your head off.”

  Henry noted that even Traxx seemed a bit shocked by Maddie’s swiftness to kill another human being. When Traxx saw Henry staring at him, he smirked, “You can see why we call her Mad-Maddie.”

  Henry whispered back, “I never wondered that. It’s always been quite apparent.” Leaning closer he whispered, “But I never thought she’d kill another human being.”

  When the raggedy man didn’t answer fast enough Maddie shrieked, “Tell me right now or I’ll cut you in half just like we did to all of your friends.”

  Hearing this, the raggedy man made a sour face, “Those things were not my friends. Those are scavengers. I was their prisoner. They only kept me alive because I could lead them to more parts and supplies.”

  Traxx frowned. “If you were their prisoner, how is it you were able to spy on us, on Maddie, and on her father?”

  The raggedy man
hesitated, and just when Henry thought he might actually be guilty of some sort of deception, he said, “How do you think I found the supply caches? The Misfits would allow me to access surveillance stations located around the parks. We would move from one supply cache to the next, while the Misfits replenished themselves,” the raggedy man convulsed involuntarily from the memory, “I would watch you, and other members of the Dauntless, on your expeditions. “ Smiling to Henry and Traxx he added, “It was better than television.”

  This seemed to placate Traxx for he leaned over to Maddie and whispered, “Maybe he’s telling the truth.”

  Without taking her eyes, or her aim, from his head, Maddie whispered back, “He could have been spying on us; maybe heard us talking in the mall.”

  Surprisingly, Traxx didn’t back down from Mad-Maddie this time. “We can’t stay like this forever. We’re running out of time, we’ve got to get back to The Dauntless.”

  Hearing this too, the raggedy man spoke up, “I can prove it. All I need is a monitor and an open line of communication.”

  “Oh goodie. You’ve picked up a stray.” The Leftenant stepped out from behind Henry.

  Maddie explained to her, “He says he’s a watcher, and he says he can find my father.”

  The Leftenant regarding the raggedy man for a moment, seemed to be accessing some distant memory before saying, “If it’s true, that he is in fact a watcher, he may not be the prevaricator he seems. He just might be capable of locating your father.”

  Maddie scoffed. “Since when do you trust anybody from Corporate?”

  The Leftenant regarded the raggedy man with a raised eyebrow. “This man is clearly a low level worker. He’s probably as much a victim as anyone.”

  Traxx thought this over. “The Hopper isn’t equipped with that kind of communications array.”

  Maddie lowered her rifle. “No, but The Dauntless is.”