Jack James and the Tribe of the Teddy Bear (27 page)

Jack pressed the O/A. The Gravitomiton whirred. The power supply worked. Maybe Pud
did
fix it. Jack pushed once more, setting the device on low. No telling how much power he would need. He remembered what his dad once told him about keeping a focused mind and a clear purpose. Then came the tricky part. His dad always went on and on about how the O/A was the next generation of technology, how it would transform the way people used machines. He was correct. The device blew everything away. So advanced, so revolutionary even Ben didn’t understand it completely. Teresa had called it a kind of genie. An imagination machine. So he imagined the power to destroy Davos.

The O/A sparkled with violet light. Jack felt a surge through his body down to his feet and the ground trembled. Davos struggled to stay upright. That was it, though. After the tremor, the machine seemed to power down. Inside, Jack felt hollow and sick. Then he realized—the O/A was ill. It communicated with him, told him how sorry it was. So sorry. The despair tore a hole into him. Then came another message.

Ben
, it said.
I need Ben
.
Take me to Ben.
He can fix me. Fix me and the Nagas can be defeated.

“That’s what I suspected,” Davos chortled. “Neither you nor your protector know how to use your powers. Pathetic!”

He pointed his hands, ready to send a lethal burst. Behind him, Teresa’s voice rose over the howling wind. She read from a tattered piece of paper salvaged from her destroyed book, and took control of Gedegwsets again.

“Gedegwsets sprang to life, willing to defend his new friends, eager to crush the wicked Nagas, to eradicate the vile presence, and to restore peace in his forest!”

Crackle! Creak! Crunch!

The giant dropped the tree on top of Davos. The impact sent a horde of separate black reptiles scattering in midair. They regrouped and went for the giant, once again circling and slashing him.

Jack pocketed the O/A. He’d lost his chance to help Teresa.

“Come on!” Takota took his hand and pulled, forcing him to follow deep into the woods. Behind them, Gedegwsets howled. Jack felt his suffering, the same anguish he got from the O/A. A tremendous explosion made the ground quake. He kept his sights forward as they sprinted to catch up with the others.

Ahead, Jack saw Amelia and Ayita. Up further, his mother and Lily waited for them.

“Mom!” Jack raced to her. “Are you okay?”

Liz rubbed her sternum. “I’m, I’m fine. What are we doing?” she panted. “Where are we going?”

“Does it matter?” Takota inspected behind them. “We just need to get away!”

“Mommy, I’m scared. It’s dark!” Lily cried.

“Don’t worry,” Ayita soothed her. “Takota and I will protect you,” she looked at Takota. He studied the ground.

“Takota? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

In the distance, Gedegwsets cried in agony. They each shared a sudden gasp.

“Go! Go!” Jack felt the grip of terror driving his feet. Takota stayed by his side as they scrambled further into the wilderness.

THIRTY-TWO

BEN GROPED IN THE GLOOM, not sure where he was or how he’d gotten there. He saw nothing, felt nothing, and heard noth…wait—he
did
hear something. Faint. In the distance, drilling into the murk. A beacon of familiarity in the strange, stale void. He strained his ears. Then he heard it plain and clear.

“Dad!” a voice pleaded. Jack’s voice.

“Son!” he ran. The ground felt like thick, wet concrete.

“Dad!”

“Jack! Is that you?” he stopped, out of breath, hands on his knees. “Jack, I heard you were in trouble! What happened?”

“We found out who’s really after the Tanakee, that’s what. It’s Archer Savage.”

Ben scratched his head. “Archer Savage. The defense contractor, of course.”

“Yeah, he concocted an elaborate scheme by pretending to be some charity, buying up all the stuffed animals in Winmart and giving them away. That flushed the Tanakee from their hiding place, so we had to smuggle them out of there. Wasn’t easy, but we got them out.”

“Good, good. That means you’ve got the O/A, right?”

“Right, but it’s still broken and we need you to fix it so you can use it against Davos.”

“What? Who’s Davos?”

“Savage works for him. Dad, he’s not human. He’s a Nagas. He’s pale as a ghost and has this glowing red globe that produces terrible powers and, listen to this—he can shapeshift. His hair splits apart and his whole body becomes a bunch of black snakes that can fly. He’s horrible, Dad. He wants to hurt the Tanakee and we need you to help stop him.”

Ben grabbed his temples. He felt the world spinning. “This is too much. All of this, it’s going too fast.”

“Dad, we can stop the Nagas. I know we can, but you have to fix the O/A, first.”

“How’s the O/A going to help us? I still don’t know how to get it to function correctly. I’m not even sure what its real function
is
.”

“Don’t worry, Dad. I know what it’s for, now.”

“Oh, you do? How do you know?”

“Teresa Tree told me.”

“Teresa Tree? Who’s that?”

“She’s the storyteller from Winmart. She’s a witch, Dad. A good and powerful witch. She’s been a friend of the Tanakee for a long time. She said the O/A is kind of a genie, an imagination machine.”

“A genie?” Ben tingled all over.

“I know. It’s amazing isn’t it? But it’s true. All you have to do is ask the O/A for what you want, that’s it. The one stipulation is that it can only be used for good. Dad, you told me you got omnidimensional energy absorption to work. Now all you have to do is take it to the next step. Of course that’s after you fix it.”

“There’s one problem with that plan. I’m in jail!”

“We’ll get you out.”

“How?”

“I don’t know. The Tanakee have some amazing abilities. We’ll think of something. First we have to get out of a little mess of our own.”

“Mess? What mess? What are you saying? Are you in trouble? I thought you said you got the Tanakee out of the store safely!”

“We did. We helped them escape, but now Davos is after us. It’s terrible. He hit Mom with his energy weapon and—”

“What! Your mom? Is she okay?

“Don’t worry, Dad. She’s fine. So is Lily.”

“LILY!” Ben searched the dark, finding nothing to give him solace. “Don’t tell me she’s in the middle of all this!”

Silence.

“Jack?”

“Dad? You’re fading. I can barely hear you. Are you leaving?”

“No, I’m right here. Where are you?”

“I can’t hear you that well, Dad…you’re, you’re fading…”

“Wait! I have one more question! How are you doing this? How are we able to communicate? It’s the O/A, isn’t it?”

Silence. Darkness.

THIRTY-THREE

“DAD!” JACK SHOOK himself awake. The emptiness of space gave way to bright morning sun. Robins singing. Dewdrops on the grass. He stretched his arms. A dagger in his ribs made him wince into the fetal position. He felt his side. No knife. No sharp branch. No bone protruding from his chest, though it sure felt that way. He blinked away the grit. Hazy forest in all directions.

Though he had his jacket on, he should have been freezing. Instead, he felt warm. Someone brushed the dead leaves from his hair. He blinked again and saw Takota sitting beside him, gazing to some faraway place.

“Takota, what’s wrong?”

He didn’t answer.

“Is everyone all right?” Jack sat up. His ribs protested the move. “Ouch!” he grabbed his side.

“You’re hurt,” Takota’s voice sounded lifeless.

“No. I’m fine. Where is everybody?”

He pointed to a cluster of field grass. “Over there. Still sleeping.”

“Good,” Jack stumbled to his feet. “Let’s wake them up and go back to town. We’ve got to find a way to get my dad out of jail so he can fix the O/A. Then we can…” he stopped. Takota’s expression bothered him. Sallow and sullen, he seemed defeated. “Takota, what is it?”

Takota sighed. Then he half laughed. “It’s my job to protect you.”

Jack shrugged. “I don’t see it that way. The way I see it, we protect each other.”

“No!” Takota stomped his foot. “
I
protect
you
. That’s the way it goes. At least that’s the way it’s supposed to go,” he stared down again. “I can’t do it, Jack.”

“What do you mean?”

“I failed. When Davos tried to attack you, I couldn’t fight him off. I couldn’t protect you. I’m not a protector, I’m not.”

Jack knelt close. “This is just gonna take some time. Remember what Teresa said?”

“That’s not good enough. I can’t do anything about Davos if I can’t use these powers. They only come and go, and sometimes they don’t come at all. Back there, when I was fighting, or trying to fight, I didn’t feel anything. No special abilities, no instant knowledge—nothing. Why? Why can’t I do it all the time?”

“You have to be patient. Teresa said…”

“How can she know about Eteea? She’s not a Tanakee.”

“But she
does
know. And she helped us. Why would she lie about that?”

“She’s not lying. She just doesn’t know everything. She can’t know everything. She’s a human. Only a Tanakee can fully understand Eteea. And there’s really just one of us who does—Orzabal.”

“Maybe he can teach you. Where is Orzabal?”

“Home. In Wind Whisper Woods,” he sniffed, scanning the sky. “It’s not far.”

“Then we can go!” Jack stood. “I can go with you. Come on!”

Takota gave him a long, sullen face.

“What?”

“You can’t go.”

“What? No. No, you’re not leaving. You’re not going to abandon us. No way!”

“Jack, you can’t go with me. It’s too dangerous. I can’t protect you. Not now. Not yet. I can’t rely on Eteea. And without it, I have no chance.”

“Takota, without you
I
have no chance. You’re my protector, remember?”

He turned an ear uphill.

“What is it?” Jack pleaded. Then he heard it too.

“Eeeeeennooooooollaaaaaa!”

The mournful call haunted the tree line.

Ayita stood in the tall grass. Liz sat up, dirt-blemished, leaves and twigs stuck in her hair. She rubbed her eyes and glanced to her sides.

“Lily! Honey, where are you?”

“I’m here, Mommy,” the little girl strolled from the meadow with Amelia by her side, each carrying handmade bouquets. The wild foxglove blooms matched Amelia’s purple dress and the pink cherry blossoms went with Lily’s chiffon. “I’m okay.”

“Eeeeeennooooooollaaaaaa!”

“Cheyton!” Ayita darted up the steep hill. Takota raced beside her. Jack and Amelia lagged behind.

“Jack! Hold on!” Liz shouted. He didn’t listen.

At the hilltop, they found the trail and followed it to Teresa’s house—what was left of it. When Jack saw it, he could only stand still and fight for breath. The entire structure had been reduced to a jagged, chalky pile of splintered timbers, chunks of stone, shattered glass and, of course, a heap of books. Excitedly, Pud searched the clutter, tossing aside debris larger than himself. Cheyton circled the destruction, swiveling to catch every chirping bird, every shaking leaf, every rustle in the trees. He watched closely while Takota and Ayita approached.

“Where’s Enola? Have you seen her? We can’t find her,” he said through clenched teeth.

“Maybe she thought it wasn’t safe to come back here,” suggested Takota.

“No. She’s supposed to be here. HERE!” he shouted to the sky.

“Eeeeeennooooooollaaaaaa!”

“She might be still out there,” offered Jack. “She’s probably on her way right now.”

Cheyton frowned. “We’ve been searching all morning.”

“Yeah,” Pud groaned. “All morning and nothing to eat.”

“Pud!” Ayita yelled. “How can you think of food at a time like this?”

“Easy!” he dug under a jumble of rock. “Aha! See! I found something! Peanut butter!” he opened the jar and dug in, slathering the stuff into his mouth. “I foumf somf penummft buttumf.”

“Enola’s gotta be out there somewhere,” Jack said. “Maybe she got lost. We can go look.”

Cheyton implored Ayita. “You have Eteea. Can’t you see where she is? Can’t you tell me anything?”

“Let me try,” Amelia tiptoed over broken glass, exposed nails, split boards. She stood behind Ayita, held the Bald Eagle feather, and became still. Cheyton glimpsed Takota, then Jack. He waited for Amelia. She jolted with a start.

“She’s been captured! By Davos and Savage! They have her!”

“What! Where?”

She bowed as if hearing something far off. “At a-a building. A lab. That’s all I can see.”

“Archer Savage’s compound,” Takota said. “I escaped from there. Not somewhere I want to go back to, either.”

“Is this true, Ayita?” Cheyton asked. “Do they have my Enola?”

Ayita frowned at him. Sulking, she nodded.

“I’m going!”

With one mighty leap he cleared the rubble pile, landing in a puff of dust on the other side. Pud started down to meet him. Cheyton waved him away.

“No! I’m going alone. This is my fight. Pud, you stay with Ayita. Keep her safe. I’ll see you soon. I promise!” he turned and ran.

Ayita called to him. “Wait! You don’t even know where Archer Savage’s compound is!”

“I’ll find it easy enough,” he said over his shoulder. “The stench of evil isn’t hard to pick up.”

“But you can’t fight them all alone. Its suicide! Tell him, Takota!”

Cheyton didn’t wait for his answer. He charged down the driveway. Where the road curved, he didn’t. Straight into the forest he went, heading toward the town of Willow.