The Candy Shop War, Vol. 2: Arcade Catastrophe (43 page)

“Utcha,” Nate said again.

He folded into himself and was suddenly standing on the slope not far from the little opening. Nate flew to the entrance and slithered through. He soared through the cave at a high speed. He snatched the electric lantern near the lip of the crater and dove into the enormous hole. Earlier he had descended slowly. Now he rocketed straight down, faster than he would have fallen had he simply jumped off the edge. The speed was essential. If his Peak Performance ran out before he reached the deadly obstacle course, he would get mutilated.

Nate slowed so he could make the turns where the shaft elbowed, then raced to the room with the Gate, through the next room, through the cramped hallway, and into the chamber that led to the obstacle course. He noticed the clothes of Lindy, Chris, and Risa flying around. Destroying Jonas White’s Source had freed them. He also noticed the clothes belonging to Cleon and Jeanine.

The Peak Performance still felt fully operational. Nate paused for a moment in front of the churning corridor of blades, spears, and columns. He had been in such a hurry to get here that he hadn’t stopped to consider whether he still needed to be here.

Did he still need to destroy Uweya?

Jonas White was in trouble. All of his simulacra were now useless. Some of his top people were down for the count. Jonas was probably not in a position to come get Uweya at this point.

But what if Jonas escaped? He knew where to look now. It would only be a matter of time before he tried again.

Even if Jonas was captured, how many of his people knew about Uweya? The secret was out. The way was now open. If Nate left Uweya unguarded, somebody would come and claim it.

As much as he hated the thought of passing through the deadly corridor again, he could not leave a voodoo Earth lying around for any wacko to come and claim. The Hermit and the Graywaters had been right—Uweya was too powerful to entrust to anyone. For the safety of the whole planet, Uweya had to be destroyed.

Nate knew he couldn’t wait. If his Peak Performance started to wear off, he would never survive the obstacles ahead. So he zoomed forward.

Dodging through the brutal obstacles was no easier the second time. Nate took a similar route as he had the first time, with many minor variations. Once again, he progressed gradually, his body spinning and flipping into strange positions to avoid the endless dangers. He received nicks and scratches and plenty of close shaves, but he emerged alive at the other end.

This time the door beyond the obstacles was already open. Nate flew into the domed chamber. He saw the clothes belonging to Ted and Celia in motion, and felt relieved to see that Katie hadn’t incapacitated them.

A large sphere hung in the center of the room, roughly twelve feet in diameter. Unlike the appearance of Uweya in the real world, this Uweya glowed brightly, its vivid surface an ever-changing palette of swirling color. Amid the dynamic hues, the forms of the oceans and continents remained visible, although the shapes undulated and blurred as diverse colors migrated across the globe.

Nate flew over to the worktable where Ted had gotten him a coin. Several coins lay in plain view, and he claimed one. It seemed identical to the coin in his pocket. Flying close to the brilliant sphere, Nate held the coin in his palm. When he threw in the coin, would Uweya be destroyed instantly? Or might he have a chance to try to fly out and look at the sky using the coin in his pocket?

Iwa Iza was supposed to be an amazing magician. Nate hoped he wouldn’t have designed Uweya so that whoever unmade it would be killed.

Bracing himself, Nate searched for the courage to proceed. Throwing the coin might be the last thing he ever did. But it would make his family safe from the threat of Uweya. His friends would also be safer. In thousands of years, nobody had been in a position to remove this danger from the world. Even though he might die, he had to take the chance. He focused on the hope that he would live.

Nate flipped the simulcratic coin with his thumb toward the glowing sphere. After spinning through the air, it disappeared inside the globe. For a moment the sphere swelled and became blinding, then Nate experienced a sensation as if he and everything around him were being drawn into the globe and imploding down to a singularity. As he shrank, an instinctive terror of death rose within him. This could be it. There might not even be a body left to recover.

*****

When Nate expanded out of that point where all of Uweya had united, he found himself back in the room with Ted and Celia. They stood gaping at him. Looking up, Nate saw that he was sitting below where Uweya had previously hovered. Except Uweya was gone. Dust swirled in the air and was spread on the floor. Glancing over his shoulder, Nate saw Katie Sung lying motionless.

“You did it,” Celia gasped, her gaze fixed on him.

“It’s gone,” Ted said, astonished. “You survived.”

The ground rumbled threateningly.

“Guys?” Nate asked.

A second rumbling was accompanied by some heavy quaking. A few blocks fell from the ceiling, streaming trails of dust.

“This place is old,” Celia said. “It might not hold together without the power source.”

“It might be deliberately rigged to fall apart without the power source,” Ted added.

“Time to go?” Nate asked.

A stronger quake hit. Ted and Celia were already running for the door. Nate glanced at Katie. She had fought against him, but he couldn’t just leave her to die. He went to her and slapped her cheek. Her eyelids twitched. He slapped her harder. “Get up!”

Katie groaned.

Nate shook her shoulder. “Get up or you’re dead!”

Her eyes opened. “You?” Katie asked, disoriented.

“I trashed Jonas White’s power source and also demolished Uweya,” Nate explained hastily. “This place is coming down.”

The strongest, longest quake yet made Nate fly into the air to avoid the shaking. Stone blocks and dirt cascaded from the ceiling, some landing nearby. Fragments skittered across the vibrating floor.

Katie sat up, eyes closed, legs crossed, her remaining hand in her lap. She breathed deeply, as if meditating. Her posture became more erect.

Nate realized she must be trying to recharge her batteries. “We need to hurry,” he said.

There was a lull in the shaking. “You go,” she said. “I’ll be along.”

Nate zoomed for the doorway. He could feel his Peak Performance wearing off. The obstacles in the corridor beyond the doorway no longer functioned. The blades had stopped swiping, the spikes had stopped stabbing, and the pendulums no longer scythed back and forth. Nate caught up with Ted and Celia as they made their way through the stalled traps.

Chris and Lindy came flying toward them. Their appearance surprised Nate—he had assumed they would already be headed for the exit.

“Nate!” Chris called. “You’re alive!”

“We have to get out of here!” Nate yelled. “I wrecked Uweya! This place is falling apart!”

Another round of heavy quaking added emphasis to his warning. One of the heavy pendulums dropped to the floor, leaned into the wall, and came to rest against several inert blades.

“Who are you with?” Chris asked as he reached Nate.

“Ted and Celia Graywater,” Nate said. “They’re on our side.”

“Lindy, get the girl,” Chris ordered. “Nate, help me with the guy.”

Nate was surprised to see Lindy scoop Celia into her arms and fly off down the corridor with only a little extra difficulty. Celia was fairly short and slender, but it was still impressive.

“As flying tanks you can handle more weight?” Nate asked.

“Quite a bit more,” Chris said. “But I may need help with the guy.”

Nate grabbed one of Ted’s legs. Chris grabbed the rest of him. Nate wasn’t sure how much he was helping, since Chris bore most of the weight, but together they shuttled Ted from the corridor.

Looking back, Nate saw Katie rushing through the corridor. Occasionally she would make a larger leap than seemed possible, but she was far from using the impressive bounding stride he had witnessed in Arcadeland on Uweya. Judging by her pained expression, her current effort was requiring all of her energy and concentration.

The quaking was getting more severe, and the pauses were becoming less frequent. Risa flew to greet Nate and Chris in the room beyond the cluttered corridor.

“Where’s Jeanine?” Nate asked.

“She ran back toward the entrance with Cleon,” Risa said.

“Stop her,” Nate said to Chris. “We’ll need her help to get everyone out.”

“I’m on it,” Chris said, setting Ted down. Extending a fist, Chris shot ahead.

Lindy put Celia down as well.

“Come on,” Nate urged. “You can run. The ground is smoother from here on out. This way.”

Nate led the way at a pace that allowed the others to keep up. In the next room, Nate noticed the Protector back on the pedestal. He suspected that Jeanine and Cleon had probably tried to seal them in. Fortunately, without Uweya functioning, the Protector was no longer operational.

They hurried through the gate and into the next room. Glancing back, Nate saw Katie trip on her way through the gate. She didn’t get up.

The quaking worsened. Nate kept his eyes up to avoid falling blocks and stones. Here and there, boulder-sized chunks of stonework crashed down to the floor.

“Lindy,” Nate shouted, flying back toward Katie.

Lindy grabbed one arm, and Nate seized what remained of the other. Katie was a fairly large woman. Carrying her between them, they soon found they could make better time if they let her legs drag.

Stone thundered down around them. The floor began to fracture dramatically. Gritty dust filled the air. Nate narrowly avoided a falling chunk of masonry the size of a microwave oven.

When they reached the enormous shaft, Chris awaited them with Jeanine and Cleon. Jeanine looked disgruntled. Cleon looked pale and exhausted.

“Get us out of here,” Nate shouted over the seismic commotion.

“Too many people,” Jeanine replied loudly. “I can’t raise so many. I’m almost out of juice.”

“We’ll help,” Nate said. “Just make them lighter.”

Jeanine shrugged. “I’ll try.”

“Try now!” Chris yelled angrily.

Chris grabbed Ted, Lindy took Cleon, Risa claimed Celia, and Nate kept hold of Katie. Jeanine began to rise, and Katie became much lighter. Nate found that he could fly with her, although it wasn’t easy.

“Stay near me!” Jeanine shouted. “That will help!”

Crowding close, they rose together. They passed the two bends. The rumbling began to recede. The shaft trembled, but not so violently as down below.

The higher they went, the heavier Katie seemed. With the top in sight, Nate could no longer make progress. He barely managed to hover. He exerted himself with everything he had, but instead of rising, he started to sink. He had draped Katie over his shoulder, so he wasn’t losing hold of her, but he lacked the power to fly her any higher.

“A little help?” Nate asked.

“I’m giving it all I’ve got,” Jeanine growled through clenched teeth.

Chris came down. Ted was riding him piggyback. Chris grabbed Nate’s hand, and together they managed to haul Katie beyond the top of the shaft. As soon as they touched down, Jeanine slumped to the ground, and Nate felt Katie’s full weight. He set her down as gently as he could. Which wasn’t very gently.

The rumbling was now distant. This part of the cave seemed to be in no danger of collapse.

“Let’s get outside,” Nate said. “You know, just in case.”

Jeanine got to her feet, Chris carried Katie, and the group made their way out through the cave mouth. Nate felt relieved to see the blue sky and to breathe air that didn’t smell of dust and minerals.

“I thought I was a goner,” Cleon said. “You kids are all right.”

“You did it, Nate,” Lindy said. “I can hardly believe it.”

“We’re not finished yet,” Nate said. “We have to make sure Trevor, Pigeon, and the others at Arcadeland are all right. Jonas can’t use his simulacra anymore, but I’m sure he has other powers. And he has henchmen. I don’t care if people see me flying, I’m going straight there.”

“We’re with you,” Chris said.

“Lead the way,” Risa seconded.

“Go on,” Ted said. “We can’t fly.”

Nate looked at Cleon and Jeanine. “You guys will play nice?”

“I’m spent,” Jeanine said wearily.

Cleon scrunched his face. “Jonas blew it, man. This is over.”

Nate glanced at the other Jets. “Over or not, we can’t trust them. Any volunteers to stay and keep an eye on things?”

Lindy looked worried by the prospect.

“Chris?” Nate asked. “Would you mind?”

“Go on,” Chris said, waving Nate away. “I’ve got this.”

“Great.” Nate turned to Risa and Lindy. “Follow me.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Mopping Up

Pigeon sat with his back to the wall, gently tapping his head against the concrete. He tried not to envision the hot buttered popcorn that had been available whenever he wanted during his stay in Mozag’s cell. He tried not to dwell on his failure to knock the urn off the shelf. If only he had been a little faster!