by Ellis Byrd
“Thank you all for coming.” Zios’s deep rumbling voice, though kind, caused the animals to fall silent immediately. “As you know, we’ve called you here because the Phantoms’ grip on Jamaa is only growing more suffocating.”
“Since our last battle with the Phantoms, we have traveled all over this land to find the leaders necessary to defeat them,” Mira continued. “And we’ve seen just how terrible the extent of the Phantoms’ destruction has become. The jungles are filled with smog. The oily dirt in the plains is causing rashes and illness. The snow in the mountains is gray slush. The forests have suffered yet another fire. And it’s only getting worse.”
As she spoke, the animals listened intently. Greely and Liza looked unsurprised but disturbed, while Sir Gilbert’s brow was furrowed in concentration. Cosmo tilted his head, and Graham glanced forlornly at his smog vacuum. Peck’s eyes had filled with tears, but she kept her chin up determinedly.
“We need the six of you if we’re going to defeat the Phantoms,” Zios told them. “As leaders—as Alphas—you are the key to driving the Phantoms from this land and healing our damaged world. To help with this endeavor, Mira and I have a gift for you.”
Mira swept a wing across the grass, and six glittering jewels appeared, sparkling among the blades. Cosmo and Peck edged forward eagerly to take a better look.
“These are your Alpha Stones,” Mira explained. “Six jewels with restorative properties that work with the natural world. They can also harness and amplify each of your unique powers. Like healing and creativity,” she said with a smile, handing Cosmo and Peck their gems.
“Diplomacy and strategy,” Zios continued, presenting Liza and Sir Gilbert with two more jewels.
“Ingenuity,” Mira went on, handing a jewel to Graham. “And perception.” She offered the final Alpha Stone to Greely, who hesitated for a moment before accepting it.
“Thank you,” Peck said, her voice trembling a bit with excitement and nerves. “Do you really think the six of us can defeat all the Phantoms?”
“We believe you can do more than that,” Zios replied. “We believe you can unify all your species in this fight. And . . .”
He glanced at Mira, who stood taller and surveyed the Alphas.
“And we believe you can find the Heartstones the Phantoms stole and bring back the lost species,” she finished.
Even Greely had difficulty hiding his surprise. A smile spread slowly across Liza’s face, and Peck’s eyes shone with wonder. Sir Gilbert stepped forward, his head held high.
“I think we can all agree that would be marvelous,” he said. “And I for one am willing to work together to accomplish this goal.”
He smiled around at the other animals, though he didn’t quite meet Greely’s eyes.
“I’m glad to hear it,” Mira said. “And now, we’d like to welcome you to Alphas Hollow.”
She and Zios moved aside, and the animals stared curiously at the twisting trunk of the massive tree. As they watched, the roots shifted and writhed until an opening appeared. Sir Gilbert stepped inside first, closely followed by Liza and Cosmo. Peck waited for Graham to push his smog vacuum inside.
“Aren’t you coming?” she asked Greely, who hadn’t budged. The wolf didn’t respond at first, but Peck continued to smile hopefully at him. Finally, he sighed.
“Yes. After you, of course.”
Ears twitching, Peck hopped through the entrance, Greely right behind her. Mira and Zios entered last, and the roots drew together once more, closing behind them.
They watched, pleased, as the Alphas exclaimed over the interior. Enormous, intricate maps of the diverse lands and oceans of Jamaa covered any available wall space. Potted plants sat in the corners and hung from the ceiling, each containing various herbs and flowers that filled the Hollow with a sharp woodsy scent. A fire crackled merrily in a hearth on the right wall, along with a huge cabinet filled with every type of tool imaginable. On the opposite wall were shelves stocked with colorful paints, pencils, and brushes.
In the center of the Hollow sat a giant round table, six cushions evenly spaced around it. Greely watched the others marvel over the space from his spot near the entrance, his expression inscrutable.
“We hope this place will serve as a useful headquarters,” Mira announced. “As you can see, there are plenty of resources here to help you formulate a plan to defeat the Phantoms.”
“It’s wonderful,” Cosmo said, dried dandelions clutched in his paws. Nearby, Graham nearly dropped a monkey wrench as he nodded fervently in agreement.
Zios’s eyes glowed. “Excellent. Now that you are all together, Mira and I must be on our way.”
“Already?” Peck cried.
Mira nodded gravely. “Until our search for the six of you, we hadn’t realized just how dire Jamaa’s environmental problems are. The melting snowbanks, the oily sand, the smog . . . We need to survey the land extensively to see just how far the damage has spread.”
Cosmo opened his mouth to protest, but Sir Gilbert spoke first.
“Thank you both,” he said, his voice deep yet soft. “We won’t let you down.”
Mira’s wings fluttered. “We know,” she replied. “That’s why we chose you.”
And with that, the guardian spirits of Jamaa departed, leaving the Alphas alone in the Hollow.
CHAPTER FOUR
Inside Alphas Hollow, the silence was long and uncomfortable. Finally, Sir Gilbert approached the giant round table, gesturing to the cushions with his paw.
“Shall we?”
The others obeyed immediately, scurrying to take a seat. Peck and Cosmo claimed the thickest, tallest cushions, which helped them see over the table. Liza sat cross-legged on a flat turquoise pillow, while Graham climbed onto a stiff straw cushion with squat wooden legs. Sir Gilbert claimed a velvet maroon-and-gold mat, then coughed expectantly, eyeing the entrance.
Greely had not budged from his spot. The other animals watched anxiously as he stood slowly, almost defiantly, and headed toward the table. He stopped next to a cushion woven from thin blades of grass, but did not sit.
Sir Gilbert placed his Alpha Stone on the table, where it glittered brightly. “Mira said these stones can harness our unique abilities and amplify them, making us more powerful,” he began slowly. “I propose we start there. Our plan should play to each of our individual strengths.”
“I agree,” Liza said, placing her own Alpha Stone on the table. “One of our biggest challenges is going to be convincing all the species to trust one another again. I can go to Jamaa Township and start talking to them. Maybe if they hear about the way we’re working together, it will give them hope, and they can begin to build trust as well.”
“Excellent idea,” Sir Gilbert said approvingly. “Now, which areas of Jamaa are hurting most? The rest of us should probably begin our efforts there.”
“Kimbara Outback,” Cosmo piped up. “It’s not just the oily dirt. What little water the area had is nearly gone.”
Sir Gilbert sighed. “The Phantoms’ work, I would venture to guess.” He looked from Cosmo to Graham. “Why don’t the two of you go there together? Cosmo, you know the area, and perhaps Graham can put his inventive skills to work helping the inhabitants of Kimbara Outback find water in the meantime.”
Cosmo eyed Graham doubtfully, but nodded in agreement. “Okay!”
“Appondale is also suffering,” Liza informed the others. She pulled out the photos she had taken for them to see. “The mud hole is nearly dried up, and the baobab trees are dying. One of the local tigers told me the trees aren’t able to store water the way they used to.”
“Hmm,” Sir Gilbert said thoughtfully. “Perhaps I should visit my fellow tigers and learn more about these problems.”
“Can I come with you?” Peck asked earnestly. “I studied the baobab trees for a woodworking craft project once. I might be able
to help come up with a solution.”
Sir Gilbert smiled and bowed his head. “I would be honored to have you as a traveling companion,” he replied, and Peck giggled at his formality.
Liza cleared her throat. “And what about you, Greely?” she asked. “Would you like to accompany me to Jamaa Township? A panda and a wolf working side by side would be a real demonstration of cooperation the other animals might appreciate.”
“Perhaps,” Greely said, arching one white eyebrow. “But I prefer not to have a partner. Rest assured, I’ll do my part.”
Turning, he headed for the door. Peck’s mouth fell open, and Sir Gilbert’s eyes flashed dangerously.
“And what exactly is your part?” he called after Greely. The wolf paused and surveyed the rest of the Alphas, his expression unreadable.
“You heard Mira,” he said. “My strongest asset to this group is my perception, an awareness of what is going on around me.” He continued walking toward the door. “I can do the same for us . . . but only on my terms.”
With that, Greely left Alphas Hollow. Several seconds passed in silence as the other Alphas looked at one another nervously.
“I suppose there’s no sense in delaying,” Sir Gilbert said at last, rising from his cushion. “Our mission awaits!”
Hours later, Sir Gilbert and Peck had just reached the outskirts of Appondale. Peck was enjoying the journey; Sir Gilbert’s formality had been a little intimidating at first, but he was actually quite warm and inquisitive. She told him tale after tale about her adventures, the Art Studio, and even the mural in progress back in Coral Canyons. But Sir Gilbert was most interested in hearing more about her fellow bunnies.
“Did you say a dance competition?” he asked incredulously. Peck was in the middle of a story about how she had pranked one of the dance squads by hiding glitter pouches under the wings of their fairy costumes. (The prank had helped the squad win; the judges were wowed by the colorful bursts of glitter when the bunnies had spread their wings at the end of the routine.)
“Oh yes!” Peck grinned, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. “At the annual costume ball. The competition is fierce. We bunnies are excellent dancers.” To prove her point, she hopped extra high and spun midair, striking a pose when she landed.
Sir Gilbert chuckled. “That much is obvious. Have you . . .” He stopped, placing a large paw gently on Peck’s shoulder. She froze at his side, ears twitching.
“I hear it,” she whispered. “Sounds like . . .”
The two Alphas finished the thought at the same time.
“Phantoms.”
The sound was coming from the other side of a hill just up ahead. Sir Gilbert and Peck crept cautiously through the yellow grass to the top, peering around a few dry shrubs at the scene below.
A solitary baobab tree stood in the middle of the field. The trunk was as wide as Alphas Hollow, but rather than being made up of dozens of intertwined roots, this trunk was straight and smooth. It rose high into the air, branches sprawling out only at the very top. Even from this distance, Sir Gilbert and Peck could tell the leaves were dried up and dying.
Three Phantoms circled the trunk, all staring up at the sky. One seemed to be calling orders, flailing two large, clunky tentacles at the other two as he shouted.
But the Phantoms weren’t the only problem—a large purple-and-black cloud hovered ominously over the baobab tree, churning and emitting a low, thunderous sound.
“It’s a Phantom portal,” Peck whispered. “The Phantoms opened it over that poor tree.”
Sir Gilbert narrowed his eyes. “But for what purpose?”
Straightening up, Peck pulled out her Alpha Stone. “Why don’t we go find out?” she said boldly. Sir Gilbert nodded in approval, and together they headed down the hill toward the baobab tree.
“You there!” Sir Gilbert bellowed, and the Phantoms all spun around. “Step away from that tree at once.”
The Phantom with the two lumbering tentacles giggled, and one of his smaller tentacles fell in front of his eye. “Or what?” he sneered. “You obviously don’t know who you’re dealing with, tiger. I am Stench, the Phantom Queen’s right-hand Phantom!”
“Second right-hand Phantom,” another Phantom interrupted. “Leach is first.”
“We’re both her right-hand Phantoms,” Stench said sullenly. “Two equal right hands.”
“The Phantom Queen has two right hands?” the third Phantom wondered. “I thought she had two regular tentacles.”
Sir Gilbert and Peck exchanged a glance as the Phantoms began to argue among themselves. Slowly, the two Alphas moved closer to the tree. Peck noticed movement in the shrubs lining the tops of the surrounding hills, and she nudged Sir Gilbert.
“There might be more Phantoms,” she whispered, nodding to the shrubs. “Someone is watching us.”
Sir Gilbert narrowed his eyes and glanced at his Alpha Stone. “We are Alphas now,” he replied in a low voice. “We can take them all on, if we must.”
Stench whirled around and glared at the Alphas. “Stop right there!” he hollered, his tentacles flapping. “Not another step!”
Peck put her paws on her hips. “What are you doing to that tree?” she demanded.
Stench giggled again. “You’ll see. Any second now . . .”
As they watched, the branches and leaves high overhead began to tremble and wither beneath the portal. Peck gasped as thin, curling wisps of gray began to seep out of the leaves.
“It’s on fire!” she whispered frantically.
Sir Gilbert sniffed. “I don’t believe that’s smoke,” he replied. “In fact, I would venture to guess that it’s smog . . . but I don’t understand where it’s coming from.”
Peck thought quickly. “Baobab trees store water inside their trunks,” she remembered out loud. “The Phantoms must be using the portal to pollute that water, and now it’s expelling smog. Oh, Sir Gilbert—they’re going to infect all the baobab trees in the savanna!”
Sir Gilbert’s eyes flashed. “Not if we have anything to say about it!”
He and Peck brandished their Alpha Stones, both focusing as hard as they could on summoning the natural forces of Jamaa. Around them, the wind picked up, rustling through the dry grass. Peck’s heart soared. The Alpha Stones were working!
The Phantoms stared around, looking unnerved. Then the wind died down, and the grass fell still. After a moment, Stench started to snicker. The other two Phantoms followed suit, and soon all three were cackling and flailing their tentacles wildly.
“This is what happens every time the animals of Jamaa try to work together!” Stench sniggered, holding his sides. “They fail!”
Peck’s heart sank like a stone. Stench was right, she thought miserably. The Alpha Stones hadn’t worked at all. Then she looked up at the dark swirling portal and had an idea.
“We didn’t fail at all,” she told Stench with the most confident smile she could muster. “Look at that storm cloud!”
The Phantoms stared up at the portal. Stench’s eye widened. “Where did that come from?”
Sir Gilbert caught on to Peck’s trick immediately. “We summoned it, of course,” he announced. “And more are on the way.”
The second Phantom spoke up nervously. “Um, boss? Isn’t that our portal?”
Stench blinked, then narrowed his eye. “I think I know what a portal looks like,” he snapped. “I am the Phantom Queen’s right-hand Phantom.”
“Second right-hand,” the second Phantom muttered.
The third Phantom looked frightened. “What should we do?”
“Well, it’s going to start raining any second,” Peck told them. “Clean, fresh rainwater!”
“Not to mention thunder,” Sir Gilbert added. “And lightning!”
“We need to take cover!” Stench yelled, flailing his clunky tentacles. “Retreat!”
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He sped off across the grass, his fellow Phantoms right behind him. And just as Peck had hoped, their portal followed them across the savanna.
“The storm cloud is chasing us!” she heard Stench yelp. “Move faster! Hurry!” His cries faded as the Phantoms disappeared over a distant hill, along with the portal.
Peck clapped her paws and beamed. “It worked!”
“That was quick thinking,” Sir Gilbert told her, clearly impressed. “Very clever indeed. And look—the baobab tree already looks stronger!”
The Alphas squinted up at the tree, shading their eyes against the hazy sun. Indeed, the leaves already appeared greener and brighter, and the smog had vanished.
“That was amazing!”
“Wow!”
“Did you see that? They saved the baobab tree!”
“They beat the Phantoms!”
“And got rid of the portal!”
Sir Gilbert and Peck looked around, startled. All along the top of the hill behind them, bunnies were poking their heads up from the long yellow grass. Several tigers emerged from a thick cluster of shrubs.
“Don’t be afraid, friends!” Sir Gilbert called, waving them forward. “The Phantoms are gone.”
“How did you do that?” one tiger asked wonderingly. Peck and Sir Gilbert smiled at each other.
“By working together,” Peck told the animals firmly. “It’s the only way to defeat the Phantoms. And we won’t give up until we’ve driven them all from Jamaa!”
“But if we’re going to succeed,” Sir Gilbert added, “we need your help. We need all animals—tigers, bunnies, koalas, pandas, monkeys, and wolves—to unite, to trust one another. Spread the word!”
A few tigers looked skeptical, and one bunny scrunched up his nose doubtfully. But most of the animals looked more optimistic and began chattering enthusiastically among themselves.
Peck danced a little jig. “Look how excited they are!” she told Sir Gilbert. “Mira and Zios were right. We really can save Jamaa!”
