“What about it?” asked the protector.
“It hasn’t rung!” said George. “It’s not like my mom to not call every hour.” He looked closer at the phone, then turned to the protector in dismay. “And I know why. It’s been turned off! After I saw it blinking in China, it was shut off somehow. Maybe it happened during our fight with the Grak.” Quickly he pushed some buttons on the phone. “Oh, no!” he exclaimed. “She left fifteen urgent messages on here! When I get home I’m dead!”
The protector laughed. “She may be overprotective, but it’s nice to have someone that cares that much about you, isn’t it?”
“Still,” he continued, “we can’t have her grounding you for weeks right now either. We still haven’t got this thing figured out, and there may be other places we need to go, and other things we need to do.” He went over to a cabinet, rummaged around, and came back with a small, yellow pill.
“Give her one of these as soon as you have a chance,” said the protector, handing the pill to George. “Offer to get her a drink of juice, or something, and drop it in when she’s not looking. It dissolves almost instantly in liquid.”
“What is it?” asked George curiously as he took the pill.
“It’s a ‘happy memory’ pill. It erases all unpleasant memories for the previous 6 to 8 hours, while leaving all other memories intact.”
“Wow!” said George looking at the pill in wonder.
The protector laughed. “I know what you’re probably thinking. You wish you had a whole box full, to save yourself from trouble all the time. Believe me, there’s a black market for these pills across the galaxy, and they’re in high demand everywhere. They’re quite hard to get. You have to have a prescription, and they’re very expensive.” Then the protector added in a lower tone, “I used them on my parents a few times before I came here, since I'm still a teenager you know. I can promise they work pretty well.”
Gratefully, George put the pill in his pocket. “So she’ll really forget all about not being able to reach me?”
“Pretty much,” nodded the protector. “Like I said, try to use it as quick as you can. Until you use the pill, things might be a little unpleasant, so don’t delay. We’ll meet tomorrow at the same time and place. Now, you’d best be going.”
George went quickly to the door. However, before he reached it, Emberly hopped up onto his shoulder, then bounced away again across the room. The protector smiled. “She’s definitely feeling better. I think I’ll give her a bite to eat, maybe some Vlob.”
Seeing the question in George’s eyes, the protector said, “It’s a green, moldy fungus that tastes great—a rare delicacy across the galaxy. Do you want to take some with you?”
“No thanks,” said George quickly, his stomach lurching. “I’d better be going.”
The protector pulled a jar full of a green substance from the fridge wearing a sweater. “Ok then, it's your loss,” he said while prying to get the lid off. “By tomorrow I’ll develop my pictures of China’s fallen star, and analyze them. Then we can plan what to do next.”
“I hope there is a tomorrow,” said George slowly. The thought of what he was about to face at home made him wince. Gratefully he patted the pill in his pocket, then darted through the door and was gone.
CHAPTER 19: Happy Memories
Janet was waiting by the front door when George came home. She had the biggest smile on her face that George had seen in a long time.
“You’re gonna get it!” she said with glee as he came up the steps. “Mom’s just about freaked out trying to reach you for the last 3 hours!” She happily followed George through the door and into the front hall, licking her lips in anticipation.
“GEORGE FIDELIUS BROWN!!” boomed his mother’s voice as George came into the living room. She looked all purple in the face. “Where have you been?! I’ve been trying to reach you for hours!!!”
“Well,” began George, “I, uh—“
“How could you ignore my repeated phone calls?!” his mother roared again. “What possible excuse can you give for being gone for so many hours without a single word?!”
“Uhm, actually,” began George again, “it happened that—“
“There is simply NO excuse for your behavior!!” interrupted his mother again. “How could there be?! Nothing you can say will help! No possible excuse will work! So where were you?”
Her eyes flashed fire while waiting for George to answer her impossible questions. Janet was smiling broadly. DoorJam jumped onto the arm of the couch and rubbed against George’s hand, the only one who had no interest in seeing George suffer at the moment.
George mouthed a few words, then said weakly, “can I get you a drink?”
“A DRINK?!” his mother cried. “What would I want with a drink at a time like this? I want you to tell me exactly where you have been and what you have been doing for the last three hours. And this better be good!”
“Well, uh,” began George, “I was out at the orchard—“
“The orchard?” screamed his mother. “Without my permission? How could you?” She threw up her hands in exasperation. “Let me tell you, young man—“
She then proceeded to verbally rip George apart, word by word, while Janet watched in glee. George stood there helplessly, feeling lower and lower by the minute. DoorJam, seeing an opportunity for a good, long rub, continued to press himself up against George’s hand. This was the type of opportunity he liked best.
After five full, nonstop minutes, George’s mother stopped to catch her breath. Janet, sensing that the best was over, gave George one last smile and left the room. DoorJam kept rubbing for attention.
To George’s surprise his mother suddenly sat down in a chair and looked like she was about to cry. “When I think of your poor father, disappeared without a trace, and you and Janet all that’s left in the world. And now you go and do this!”
George’s stomach felt like it had dropped all the way to the floor. Her anger was bad enough, but he wasn’t sure he could stand tears. “I’m sorry Mom—“
“Ill take that drink now,” she said abruptly looking up, her eyes shiny as if they were about to gush a heavy flow of water.
Gratefully, George darted from the room, tossing an “I’ll be right back!” over his shoulder. With shaky hands he poured a drink of orange juice into a cup, then dropped the yellow pill into it. There was a good deal of popping and fizzing while it quickly dissolved. Carrying it back into the room, he gave it to his mother, whose teary eyes had unexpectedly hardened again. It looked like she was about ready to launch into another attack.
She took a sip, then opened her mouth to start attacking him again. But to her own surprise, nothing came out. She suddenly looked down into her cup for a minute. “Strange,” she murmured, frowning. “I had something terribly important to say, but now its slipped my mind.” She took another gulp. Looking at the glass appreciatively, she said, “This is sure good orange juice. I’ll have to buy this brand more often.”
A smile of relief broadened on George’s face as his mother drained the whole cup. Setting it aside on the lamp table, she turned to George and said, “Now, what were we talking about?”
“Uhm,” said George, thinking fast. A sudden inspiration came into his mind. “About how Janet’s been going to the mall too often.”
“Hmmm,” mumbled his mother. She waved her hand in the air as if trying to ward off an invisible fly. “No, I’m sure that wasn’t it. I’d be upset if that’s what it was. We were talking about something much more pleasant. What was it?”
“Well,” said George slowly, disappointed that the power of the pill had saved his sister. DoorJam rubbed up against his hand again. “About DoorJam,” he said abruptly. “And how long we’ve had him, and how much you like him.”
“Yes, that was it,” said his mother immediately. She came over and picked up DoorJam, who purred happily at the unexpected attention he was getting. “Such a good cat. Maybe I should buy a special type of food for
him.”
She sat down again, petting DoorJam and smiling. Suddenly Janet popped her head in the room again. “So,” she said with relish, “how long is George grounded for, Mom?”
“Grounded?” said George’s mother. “Why should he be grounded?”
Janet’s mouth dropped open in shock. It was now George’s turn to smile happily at his sister.
“For being gone for three hours without a word and driving you out of your mind!” said Janet sharply. “The little twirp nearly made you call the police!”
George’s mother frowned. “Don’t call your brother a twirp,” she said automatically. Then she smiled again. “Gone for three hours? Nonsense. I don’t remember any such thing. George and I were just sitting here talking about DoorJam, and what a nice cat he is.”
Janet gaped at her mother in amazement, while George’s smile grew broader.
“How can you not remember?” Janet cried. “You were pacing the floor for hours, trying to call him on the phone every five minutes!”
“That’s impossible,” said George’s mother dismissively, with a waive of her hand. “If that had happened, I’d remember it.”
“Then you’re not going to punish him?” Janet said in wonder.
“Whatever for?” replied his mother, scratching DoorJam under the chin.
Janet threw up her arms in amazement. As she left the room she grumbled, “Sometimes I think everyone in this family’s gone mad!”
“So,” said George after she was gone. “What’s for dinner?”
His mother looked up. “I think I’ll make your favorite—a pepperoni casserole,” she said with a smile. Then she got up and headed for the kitchen.
George grinned. Now he understood why the ‘happy memory’ pills were in such demand across the galaxy. After a quick pat on DoorJam’s head, he strode from the room.
George had the dream again that night. It was the same as always. His father climbed through the window of his bedroom, came over next to George and sat down on the edge of his bed. He looked very sad and didn’t say a word, while George lay there watching him, unable to move or speak. George’s father then took his right hand and silently began writing on his palm, causing that same tingly, uncomfortable feeling. George still could not tell what he was writing. This went on for some time until he abruptly stopped, walked over and climbed out the window and disappeared without saying a word.
George slept fitfully after that. After tossing and turning and dropping in and out of sleep, George finally got out of bed and went over to look out the window at the empty street below. It was still dark. He began to wonder and worry about what was happening. Why had the clear rock come to him? What strange powers did it have, and how could it help him? Why had a fallen star come down near his home, and the same thing had come down in China? What were the Grak planning to do? How could he do anything to stop them?
With a sigh, George went back to his bed and flopped down. There were no answers, only questions. The protector had helped, but even he couldn’t figure out what the Grak were planning. For the millionth time, George wished his father were there, that he really had come through that window. He knew he could talk to him about the problem, and he would understand and know what to do.
There was a sudden loud ‘pop!’ at the foot of George’s bed. To his amazement, he saw the same leathery brown Ziphon as before, sitting on the bedspread. Before George could cry out, the creature said in its gravely, dry voice, “George Brown, the time is almost at hand for your decision, and your sacrifice. Beware, George Brown. The person you least suspect may betray you!”
Then with another loud ‘pop!’ the creature was gone.
George didn’t move, unsure whether to leap out of bed, cry out in alarm, or do nothing at all. The Ziphon’s words echoed through his mind. His time of decision was almost at hand, and so was his time of sacrifice. What did that mean? And someone he least suspected may betray him. What was that all about? The protector had said that Ziphons always gave true messages. But who did he least suspect, and why would that person betray him?
George continued to sit silently, pondering the Ziphon’s message. Someone he least suspected might betray him. George didn’t suspect anyone, so who could it be? Why would someone need or want to betray him? Who on earth had the Ziphon been talking about?
Slowly, George got out of bed and began to pace his room. A person who he least suspected would betray him. The person he least suspected. His mother? Of course not. She had nearly scalped him yesterday for betraying her. His sister Janet? No. She knew nothing of any of this, although he didn’t doubt she would take glee in betraying him if she had a chance. At any rate, he wouldn’t ‘least suspect’ her.
His father? George sat down with the enormity of the idea. Could his father be the one he least suspected who would betray him? But why, and how? He hadn’t even seen his father in a year, other than in his dream, or that night when he thought he saw him standing behind the Grak. His father would never betray him. George was sure of it.
Who else was left? Any why would they betray him? George got up and began to pace again. An uncomfortable thought had been bubbling up inside him, and now was screaming to be released and recognized. Who was the person who seemed to know everything about the Grak? Who else knew about the rock he had found, the fallen star, and the Ziphon’s warnings? Who was he trusting most these days, and spending most of his time with? Indeed, who else could the person he least suspected be, other than—
—the protector himself!
CHAPTER 20: Suspicion
The enormity of the realization made George sit down hard on his bed, as if thrown there by an invisible hand. The protector?! It was the protector who would betray him? How could that be? And why?
George had come to rely on the protector more than he had realized until that moment. He felt as if the floor he had been standing on, sure that it would never move, had suddenly been ripped from under his feet. How could the protector betray him? How? The Ziphon had told him to seek out the protector in the first place. Why would he now tell him that this person he had sought out was not to be trusted after all?
Unless, of course, there was another reason for him to seek out and come to know the protector. The Ziphon had never said the protector was going to help him—he had only told George to seek him out ‘to better see what you must do.’ Perhaps he needed to come to know the protector in order to learn about the Grak. Perhaps the protector was in league with the Grak and had been sent to lure George into a false sense of security, saying that he was an enemy of the Grak, only to betray him to them in the end. George trusted the protector so much that when it came to the Grak, he would do anything the protector said to do. Who could make sure their plan worked better than him?
But what if he were wrong? What if the Ziphon had meant someone else? How could he afford to mistrust the protector if he were really a friend? How on earth was he to know for sure?
He needed to talk with someone. He needed it desperately. But there was no one. He didn’t dare tell his mother since she would confine him to his room for the rest of his life. Telling his sister Janet would do no good since she would just go and gleefully spill the beans to his mother. And he obviously couldn’t tell the protector. Who else was there?
George felt a sudden pain in his finger. In alarm he stared stupidly at the ring he had received from the protector. It tightened painfully on his finger three times! Someone was calling him! Was it the protector? Or Jiu Na?
George quickly removed the ring and slipped it in his ear. He felt a bit silly having a ring in his ear and talking into thin air. Tentatively he said in a half whisper, “hello?”
“George?” came a girl’s voice into his ear. “Is that you? This is Jiu Na. I need to talk to you!”
“Sure,” said George quietly, so his sister wouldn’t hear him from her room next door. “What’s wrong?”
“I just had a visit from one of those strange creatures the protector told us
about,” came Jiu Na’s voice. “I don’t remember now what it’s called.”
“A Ziphon,” said George automatically. “And I just had a visit from one too.”
“You did?” cried Jiu Na excitedly. “What did he say to you?”
George hesitated, unsure what to say. Could Jiu Na be the person the Ziphon had warned him about? But he hardly knew her. And how could she betray him from China?
“He told me something scary,” said Jiu Na, not waiting for his answer. “He said the time was short for me to decide, and to beware the person I least suspected, that they may betray me!”
“That’s exactly what he told me!” cried George. Now he knew Jiu Na could not be the person the Ziphon had warned him about, or she would not have received the same message—or told him about it.
“It’s awful, isn’t it?” came Jiu Na’s voice. “Because I’ve thought and thought, and the only person I least suspect is the protector! I don’t want it to be him, but who else could it be?”
“That’s what I decided, too,” replied George slowly.
“What are we to do?” cried Jiu Na. “We need help. I thought the protector was helping us, but it looks like he’s not. He must be in league with the Grak, and fooling us. We’re just two kids half a world apart. What can we do?”
“I don’t know,” said George, his head starting to ache. “It was hard enough to figure out before. I could never understand how I was supposed to prevent the Grak from doing whatever they’ve got cooked up. Now it seems impossible.”
There was silence for a moment, as both were lost in their own thoughts.
“Maybe we’re wrong,” said Jiu Na at last. “Maybe it’s not the protector. Could it be Emberly instead?”
Emberly? In league with the Grak? The thought was impossible. “I don’t think so,” said George. “She saved me from the Grak when we got back from China. They attacked us.” Quickly George told of the Grak that had attacked him and Emberly, and how her song had saved them.
George Brown and the Protector Page 10
