Roger Mantis

by Tom Alan Brosz

  “Look,” said Jerry. “I don’t think that thing is standing up straight anymore.” It was true. The Ferris wheel had developed a slight but noticeable tilt.

  “One of the braces looks like it came loose,” said Marlene. She looked worried. “You think it could actually tip over?”

  Roger looked at the wheel operator, a kid who looked like he was still a high-schooler. The operator frantically looked back and forth at the wheel and the controls in front of him. Fred Auburn joined the operator, and together they pulled one lever, then another.

  “Go!” yelled Auburn to the wheel operator. “Call the fire department! The number’s in my shack tacked next to the phone. You!” he yelled to a nearby worker, “Grab some ladders! We need to start getting kids off this thing!” Auburn kept looking up at the wheel and waved at someone in one of the highest cars.

  The yelling from the Ferris wheel started sounding less angry and a bit more frightened. The red and green neon lights on the wheel still shone brightly, as though nothing was wrong. “Guys,” said Jerry, “my dad is on the volunteer fire department. The ladder on our big pumper truck isn’t going to reach the top of that wheel, and I don’t think there’s a hook-and-ladder truck anywhere within miles of here. It’s not like Highland Falls or Centerville has any tall buildings.”

  There was a flurry of activity below the Ferris wheel now. Carnival workers were guiding the crowd away from the wheel’s base. With a sudden shock, Roger realized they were clearing people away from where the Ferris wheel would land if it fell. They were doing their best to keep this danger zone clear, but worried parents and friends kept coming back in. Other workers, keeping to the side of the wheel opposite the danger zone, were helping people climb down from the lowest cars and guiding them away from the wheel. Auburn and a few other workers were near the broken brace, talking loudly.

  “We’d need a big hydraulic jack to brace this thing properly,” said Auburn, gesturing toward the broken part. “Get some ropes, and maybe we can anchor the other side.”

  A siren signaled the arrival of the town’s biggest fire engine, the pumper truck that Jerry had mentioned earlier. It rolled up to the side of the Ferris wheel opposite the danger zone. Roger saw Jerry and Mark’s dads working to raise the ladder as the truck’s engine rumbled loudly. The chrome-plated steel ladder pivoted and extended upward section by section. It reached well over halfway up the wheel—but not all the way.

  Firemen started up the ladder and began guiding people down from the cars, moving the ladder around the wheel to reach the different cars. The wheel suddenly lurched, and people screamed.

  “Look up there,” said Marlene, pointing. “There’s Ricky and Julie! They’re in the top car! And I think that’s Chris and Henry in the car next to them!”

  Roger looked. “Aw, Jeez! It is!”

  Before too long, all the cars that the fire engine ladder could reach were clear. The firemen had reached as high as they safely could past the end of the ladder to get at a couple of the higher cars. The firemen on the ground kept looking up the road.

  “Somebody would have called in a real hook-and-ladder truck,” said Jerry. “But I don’t see anything on the way.”

  While the firemen and the carnival workers had evacuated everyone they could, there were still five cars left at the top of the Ferris wheel with passengers in them. All were kids, and from what Roger could see, about half of them were on his baseball team. The firefighters were talking about trying to connect one of the carnival ladders to the end of the truck ladder, or even trying to climb the wheel themselves, but Roger didn’t think they’d be able to manage either one in time.

  Jerry tapped Roger on his hard-shelled back. “Roger,” he said seriously, “remember what I said about being a super hero?”

  “What?” said Roger. “Me? What am I supposed to do?”

  “Fly up there,” said Jerry. “Bring them down.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Roger’s head whirled. Could he do that? What if he messed up and got someone hurt? What if he messed up and he got hurt?

  “I don’t think Roger could carry someone and still fly,” said Marlene. “I still can’t believe he can even get himself up in the air.”

  It was true. Roger had never carried anything heavier than a backpack while flying, and there wasn’t time to do experiments now. The wheel groaned and shifted sharply again. People on the wheel and on the ground began screaming in alarm. The danger zone was completely clear—everyone believed now that the Ferris wheel could crash down any second.

  “Aw, jeez,” said Roger. He unfolded his wings and with a whirring flurry, flew up to the top car where Ricky and Julie were. He heard gasps from the crowd below, and even a few cheers. He landed easily and had no trouble getting a grip on the framework of the car.

  “Wow!” said Ricky. “Nice flight, McGillicutty. Anything you can do to give us a hand?” Roger could hear a bit of shakiness in Ricky’s voice, but Ricky was doing his best not to look scared—probably because Julie was there. Julie didn’t say anything, but just shoved herself as far away from Roger as she could in the car. She looked terrified, but whether because of the Ferris wheel or because of Roger, it was hard to tell.

  “I’m not sure I can fly with someone holding onto me,” said Roger. “I don’t want to find out the hard way. But maybe I can hold you as I climb down. Julie, you first. Grab onto my back. Thorax. Whatever this is.” He tapped the long, narrow part of his body between his abdomen and his arms.

  “No!” shouted Julie. “No!”

  “C’mon, Julie,” coaxed Ricky. “It’s just Roger.” Julie shook her head furiously.

  “You first, then,” Roger told Ricky.

  “I’m not going down and leaving Julie up here,” said Ricky.

  “Okay,” said Roger. “I’ll start with another car.” He started moving across the framework. “Stay here,” he said, before he could stop himself.

  “No problem,” said Ricky. He was grinning, but he still looked like he was trying way too hard to keep it up. Julie looked like she was ready to cry.

  Roger moved to the next car forward with Henry and Chris in it. “We heard you talking to Ricky,” said Chris. “We did rock-paper-scissors. Henry goes first.” Very carefully, trying not to rock the car, Henry managed to get out from behind the restraining bar and wrapped his arms and legs around Roger’s thorax. Roger couldn’t help very much with his spiny arms and claws.

  “Wait,” said Roger, suspicious. “Who won and who lost?” Henry and Chris just looked at each other. “Never mind,” said Roger. Once Henry had a firm grip, Roger backed up and tested his own hold on the framework. He didn’t seem to have any more trouble holding on with Henry on his back than he did otherwise. Quickly and carefully, avoiding the glowing neon bulbs, Roger clambered down the wheel on the “safe” side and dropped to the ground. More cheers erupted from the crowd.

  Henry jumped off and ran out of the crash zone. Roger immediately flew back up and brought Chris down the side of the wheel the same way. Climbing back to the top, Roger looked at Ricky, who just shrugged, and Julie, who shook her head, so Roger went on to the next car back from them. Two kids he didn’t know were in this one. They weren’t happy about the giant mantis, but they weren’t as bad as Julie was. One at a time, he got them down too. By this time, the firemen had stretched a big round net below in case someone slipped off his back. Before Roger went back up, a fireman quietly told him they weren’t sure the net would work from that height, but it was better than nothing if someone fell.

  No pressure, thought Roger.

  Julie still refused to go with Roger, and Ricky wouldn’t go before Julie. So Roger took two young first- or second-graders from the car in front of the one Chris and Henry had been in. The little kids seemed to accept him more easily. Maybe they thought he was a Muppet. At this point, he was climbing down the wheel almost as fast as if he were walking along the ground. When he flew back up agai
n, he could see flashing red lights far away on the highway. It was the hook-and-ladder truck, but still a good twenty or thirty minutes away.

  The next three trips were for three little girls he didn’t know from the car two cars behind Ricky and Julie. When the last of the girls came down to the ground, Fred Auburn ran to pick her up and held her like he’d never let go as he ran out of the danger zone. “Grandpa!” she shouted. “I got to ride a bug! Can I do it again?”

  Roger flew up one more time. “Okay, that’s it except for you guys,” he told Ricky and Julie. “Now cut out the stupid stuff and let’s go!” Julie frantically shook her head. Ricky looked like he didn’t know what to do. He stood up in the car and tried to pull Julie up with him.

  Then the Ferris wheel gave another large lurch, but this time, with snapping and grinding sounds, the wheel kept tipping. Roger saw the firemen below drop the net and run for their lives. The crowd screamed as Ricky fell over the side of the car.

  Without thinking, Roger hooked one claw under Ricky’s shirt, with the smooth back of his tibia against Ricky’s skin. The spines on the other side punched through the shirt, but it didn’t tear. Ricky hung by his shirt, arms wrapped around himself to keep from falling out of it. His eyes were wide and his teeth clenched, but he wasn’t yelling. The Ferris wheel kept tipping. There was a piercing shriek, and Roger slammed forward as someone hit his thorax from behind. His baseball cap came off and fell away. Julie, still shrieking, had wrapped her arms and legs around his narrow thorax like a bear cub wrapped around a tree, while Ricky hung from one of Roger’s arms held up by nothing but his shirt. The lights on the Ferris wheel winked out, and it began to plummet sideways in earnest.

  Roger was out of options. He spread his wings, and gave them everything he had, hoping to at least slow their fall. To his astonishment (and probably Marlene’s), instead of floundering under the weight of two people, he shot upward into the darkness like a rocket while the Ferris wheel crashed to the ground with a terrible noise. Julie squealed again, but Roger couldn’t tell if it was in terror, excitement, or both. Fighting for control, Roger hovered for a moment. His wings were making a sound like an old airplane motor, but they were holding him up. Down below, the lights of the carnival glowed like Christmas decorations, surrounded by the softer lights of the town.

  Julie made a very tiny sound that sounded like “Wow!” Ricky, swinging by his shirt with his teeth still gritted, didn’t say anything.

  Roger didn’t know how long Ricky’s shirt and Julie’s grip would last, and her back was barely clearing his laboring wings. He headed for the ground as rapidly as he safely could, and landed some distance away from the wreckage of the Ferris wheel.

  Roger’s claw was stuck so firmly in Ricky’s shirt that it was easier for Ricky to work his way out of the shirt and leave it hanging on the claw. Julie carefully unwrapped herself from Roger’s back and got down as the crowd closed in on them. As far as Roger could tell, nobody had been under the Ferris wheel when it fell.

  Ricky said something in Spanish to himself, his voice cracking just a bit. Then to Roger, “Thanks man. I owe you one.” Julie stood there, staring at Roger until her parents ran up to her and grabbed her in a smothering hug. Julie’s mother, in tears, thanked Roger profusely. Julie’s father looked at Roger, grinned, and nodded.

  As Julie and her parents turned back toward their car, arms still wrapped around each other, Julie stopped and turned around to look at Roger. “I still hate bugs, you know,” she said, softly. Roger just stood there as she turned back and started off again. When Julie got to her parents’ car she put one hand on the car door handle and looked back over her shoulder. “Except you!” she yelled. Then she got in the car, and they drove off.

  The next half hour was a jumble of people, shouting, and noise. The lights and sirens must have brought most of Highland Falls out to the carnival lot. Roger got congratulated over and over again by the firemen, relieved parents, and others. He didn’t know what to think or say, but it sure seemed like Henry, Ricky, and Chris were basking in the attention.

  Fred Auburn came up to Roger once again carrying his granddaughter on his left arm, her own arms wrapped around her grandfather’s neck. The cigar was gone. Auburn introduced the little girl as Becky. With all the noise, Roger couldn’t hear everything Auburn said, but he got the impression that he could have walked away with half the carnival if he’d wanted it. At the very least, it was clear that Roger and his friends would never have to buy a ticket at any of the carnival manager’s shows again. Auburn grabbed Roger by the claw with his free hand and firmly shook it, and he wasn’t the only one. So did some firemen, including Jerry’s dad. Then, siren wailing and lights flashing, the hook-and-ladder truck finally came barreling up the road and rumbled majestically into the parking lot. Roger quickly and quietly backed out of the crowd and went behind some buildings. No sense in advertising to too many out-of-towners.

  Later, when things started to settle down a bit and the crowds were drifting away, Marlene and Jerry found Roger, still trying to stay in the background. Marlene held out his baseball cap. “It was lying near the wreckage,” she said. “Almost as good as new.”

  “Thanks, Marlene!” said Roger. “Did you see that? I flew carrying two people!”

  “Oh, just shut up,” said Marlene, but she was smiling.

  “You may need a cape to go with that hat,” said Jerry. “Hey, your mom and dad have been looking for you. They’re over on the other side of that fire engine.”

  They went over to Roger’s parents, who were delighted and relieved to see him.

  “What exactly happened here?” his father asked. “I’m glad to see you don’t seem to be the reason for all this ruckus.”

  “I’ll tell you what happened,” said a fireman who had spotted Roger and came over. “The Town Mantis here just saved a bunch of kids from getting killed on that Ferris wheel. Maybe I can fill you in more later. I gotta get back to it.”

  “I think I can fill them in okay,” said Roger, looking at his parents’ proud faces.

  While Roger, Jerry, and Marlene excitedly told Roger’s parents about the collapse and the rescues, Roger’s mother took Roger under a nearby light and checked him over again for injuries. Then she stood up and hugged Roger, wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders while Roger held his spiny claws carefully and closely against himself. It was the first actual hug he’d gotten as a mantis, and Roger really appreciated it, even if Jerry and Marlene were grinning at him.

  “Thanks, Mom,” he said. “I-I know I’m not very huggable now.”

  “Don’t be silly, son. I’d hug you if you’d turned into a porcupine. It’s just that up until now I’d been worried about squashing or breaking you somehow. You don’t seem to be as fragile as I expected.”

  “Of course not,” said Jerry. “He’s a super hero.”

  “You need a lift home, son?” his father said.

  “Nah,” said Roger. “It’s such a nice night, I think I’ll fly.”

  The crowd cheered again as he took off into the warm darkness, high above the world in more ways than one.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Late the next morning Roger woke up, still a giant mantis. At this point, he wasn’t really expecting anything else.

  His mother fixed him several thick slices of ham for a late breakfast (or maybe an early lunch). Lou sat under the table waiting patiently for his share of the meat bonanza. Man, Roger thought, I’d better start being more careful with the scraps. Lou was clearly starting to gain some weight.

  “What’s happening at the carnival today?” Roger asked his mother as he snuck a bite of ham under the table for Lou.

  “Well,” she said, “the rides are closed until they’ve finished an investigation. The games are still open. I hear Mr. Auburn’s been running this carnival for years, and this is the first time he’s had this kind of trouble.”

  “I don’t think he did anything wrong on p
urpose,” said Roger.

  “Well, we’ll see. George Clark—you know, Julie’s father—is an attorney, and I imagine if anyone is going to go after the carnival for this, it would be him.” The phone rang, and Roger’s mother picked it up.

  “It’s for you,” she said. “Mr. Horowitz.” She handed Roger the receiver. Roger grabbed it and held the phone to his middle.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello, Roger,” came Mr. Horowitz’s voice. “I’d like to come over and talk to you and your parents about something. I’m bringing some friends, too.”

  “Sure,” said Roger. “What about?”

  “I’d rather wait until we get there. We’ll be over in about an hour.”

  “Okay,” Roger said and hung up the phone. “Mr. Horowitz and some other people are coming over. I wonder what’s going on? Mr. Horowitz sounded pretty serious.”

  “I have no idea,” said his mother worriedly. Picking up the phone again, she dialed Roger’s dad at the office, explaining the mysterious call. When she hung up, she turned to Roger. “Your father will try to be here before Mr. Horowitz arrives.” Roger was glad. Was he in trouble at school? Was some city reporter at the carnival when he was rescuing people from the Ferris wheel? Whatever was happening, it would be good to have both of his parents by his side.

  When the doorbell rang, Roger’s mother answered it, then ushered Mr. Horowitz and Julie’s father, Mr. Clark, into the living room where Roger and his dad were already waiting. Also with them was Mr. Alderman, the father of Charlie, the team’s third baseman. His hardware store was the team’s main sponsor. None of them looked happy.

  Roger’s mother showed everyone to the sofa and chairs. Roger, as usual, stayed standing, getting more nervous all the time. He caught himself scraping his forearms together.

  “Is this about the carnival?” he finally blurted out, unable to contain his fear any longer. He remembered what his mother had said about Mr. Clark, the attorney. “Is Mr. Clark going to sue Mr. Auburn?”