“Yeah, kind of.”
“There’s a ton of stuff on the internet about Bigfoot,” she clicked a video icon. A shaky, grainy, poorly-framed motion picture of a large, odd-looking primate played on the screen. It lumbered upright several strides through dense forest before turning over its shoulder to the camera. “This is the famous Patterson-Gimlin film taken in California. Everybody’s seen this.”
“That was proven a hoax, wasn’t it?” he squinted.
“Maybe, maybe not,” she clicked and opened a text file. “So many sightings have been reported, not only in the US, but from everywhere around the world. There’s the Native American Sasquatch and Skookum, the Yeren of China, the Yeti in Nepal, and the list goes on. Stories date back thousands of years, though there’s nothing about infant Bigfoot. So I thought about it some more.”
She clicked through several pages, searching.
“What if it’s not a baby Bigfoot at all,” she posited. “What if it’s full grown? A whole different species altogether?”
“A pygmy Bigfoot maybe?” he wondered.
“Exactly!” she opened another file. “And guess what? I found something.”
Jack’s jaw dropped when he saw the picture. “That looks almost exactly like him! He’s brown and gray instead of black, and the fur’s a little different, but that’s him!”
Amelia read. “‘This small primate-like cryptid, similar to Bigfoot, inhabits mainly the forests of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, though some have been witnessed roaming the plains and prairies of the American West and Southwest. It has been described as tiny, less than three feet tall and weighing not more than ten pounds, with a thick coat which varies in texture and coloration. The animal’s most prominent characteristic is a section of ridged, bare skin below each eye the shape and color of a leaf.’”
“That’s right. They are different colors. And they have those weird green spots on their cheeks.”
She read further. “‘Though it has been referred to by many names such as the Furry Forest Baby and Western Wild Child, the term Native Americans use for the creature is Tanakee.’”
“Hmm. Tanakee,” he repeated, then went again to the picture. “Takota the Tanakee.”
“There’s more,” she continued. “‘The Tanakee are thought to possess strange, almost supernatural powers. Their eyes are described as large and hypnotic, they have been known to lift objects many times their weight, and can run at unnaturally high speeds.’”
“You might say that,” he muttered under his breath.
“Why? What did you see?” she eyed him.
“Let’s just say they’re fast,” he analyzed the screen. “Freaky fast. And strong. He caught me, Amelia. I was falling down those stairs and he actually caught me. And there’s something I haven’t told you yet. They can talk. That’s how I know its name. Isn’t that incredible?”
“Yeah,” she paused. “And if you think that’s bizarre, then this will blow you away,” she closed the file and let the computer sit on a blank screen. “Jack, didn’t you tell me your dad’s working on a machine he claims will let people use the energy from other dimensions?”
“Omnidimensional energy absorption is what Dad calls it, capturing and utilizing excess energy from all other dimensions.”
“Other dimensions, okay,” she clicked another file. “Listen to this: ‘It is well known in the world of cryptoscience that the Department of Defense has been attempting to capture a Tanakee since the early 1960s. Each attempt at holding one in captivity has ended in failure, though, with the creature either vanishing seemingly into thin air or hypnotizing its captors with what has been described as a potent form of mind control. Because of these innate abilities, the Tanakee is thought to be an interdimensional being.’”
“What?” he leaned close to study word for word what she’d just read aloud. When finished, he only managed a stunned, “Whoa!”
“You get it, don’t you?” she sounded excited. “There’s a reason for all of this. You and that Tanakee and your dad’s dimensional machine—you’re all connected.”
“But, but how?”
“I don’t have a clue. Why did it save you? Why did it let you carry it around in your bag at school all day? From what this says, it could have easily gotten away from us, so why did it play possum like that?”
“It says people are trying to catch them,” he began to think clearly again. “What if they’re running from someone?”
“Or something…” she cut herself off, though she didn’t need to say another word. He knew what she meant, and it chilled his skin. They both had seen that strange entity hovering over them behind the store, and though they’d mentioned it to each other at the time, neither one of them dared speak of it again.
“Daddy!” Lily made them both recoil. “Jack, Daddy’s here!”
“I should leave,” Amelia took her memory card.
“No, no,” he assured her. “It’s fine. Don’t go. I wanna introduce you to Dad.”
“But aren’t your parents, like, split up?”
“They’re not divorced or anything like that. They’re just living apart for a while, that’s all.”
“Listen, Mercury’s in retrograde right now. Everybody’s on edge. I don’t wanna get in the middle of something.”
“No, no. They aren’t fighting,” he led her to the stairs. “They get along great. It’ll be fine, come on.”
TWELVE
TAKOTA FOLLOWED CHEYTON, though at a much slower pace. He wasn’t interested in racing. So many other thoughts were already running through his mind. Cheyton had said something that raised all kinds of questions. Why this sudden ability to use Eteea? Did it have anything to do with Savage and the experiments they were doing on him at the lab? And what about that boy, Jack? Why such a strange, powerful connection with him?
CRASH!
Something hit him square in the back, sending him careening in midair.
BAM!
He landed flat on the floor, his legs tangled in a knot with someone else’s.
“Wha…what was that?” he realized he was wrapped in a twisted heap with Pud and a bunch of cold metal.
“Ha! Pud hit you!” Ayita rode past them on a shiny contraption. “That hadta hurt!”
“It wasn’t my fault,” Pud picked himself off the floor. “He was right in the middle of the track,” he glared at Takota. “Didn’t you hear me yellin’?”
“All right, Pud. It was nobody’s fault,” Enola skidded her machine to a stop. “He didn’t know any better, that’s all.”
“Well, he made me lose my lead,” Pud seemed determined to get his wheels upright again. “I can’t let her beat me this time!”
He threw himself onto the narrow seat, pushed with his feet and sped off, screaming madly at Ayita.
“They have so much fun on these,” Enola chuckled.
“What do you call those things?” Takota examined her silver machine.
“A bicycle.”
“Bicycle, yeah,” he nodded. “I saw some humans on those today. Only the ones they rode were a lot bigger.”
“I know, it’s weird,” she agreed. “They have bigger ones here, too. Then they have these tiny ones. I can’t imagine a human riding one of these, though, even a child. It’s as if they built them especially for us Tanakee.”
She got off and tilted the little bicycle toward him.
“Here, you wanna try?”
Takota didn’t want to be teased in case he happened to be terrible at it.
“No, thanks.”
“Go on. Try it,” Cheyton rolled up on his own mini-cycle. “It’s not that hard. For someone with such a natural command of Eteea like you, it should be a snap.”
Takota took a step back and waved his hands, grayish-brown fur swishing between his fingers. “Really, no. I’ve never…”
Ayita came out of nowhere, powering her bike sideways while keeping it parallel to the floor. She kicked her foot and the cycle slid tow
ard the nervous group. At the last second she flexed her left leg, straightened her right and stopped with a SCREECH!
“Hey!” she seemed unconcerned about the momentary terror she’d caused. “Get off the track, will ya?”
“No, no, no!” Pud appeared at the end of the aisle, peddling intensely. “You’re not gonna cheat this—hello! What have we here?”
“Takota hasn’t ridden a bicycle before,” Enola explained. “So we need to help teach him.”
“All right! Another loser to eat my dust!” Pud rejoiced.
“Wait a second,” objected Takota. “I’m not riding that thing.”
“Pfft!” Ayita sputtered. “I knew it.”
“Yeah, what a wimp,” Pud chuckled.
“I’m not a wimp!” Takota snapped. “I just don’t feel like it right now, okay?”
“Don’t feel like it, or scared? Which is it?” Ayita sneered.
“Chicken, brock, brock!” teased Pud.
“Okay, okay,” Enola attempted to calm the waters. “We shouldn’t try and force him. If he’s too scared then, uh, I mean…”
“That does it,” Takota huffed. Angrily, he took that bike by the seat, threw his foot over the metal frame, and stretched his legs to reach the pedals. He felt for the handlebars with confidence and, instead, found himself flailing at air.
“Ha! He’s backward!” Pud exploded into hysterics, joined by Ayita and Cheyton. The only one not making fun was Enola. She helped him get pointed in the proper direction.
She said, “Don’t worry about them. Just push off and pedal. You can do it.”
Just push off and pedal, he thought. Okay. I’m pushing. I’m pedaling! I’m doing it! I’m riding!
One, two, three shaky rotations of the pedals and it appeared to the entire world he was already an expert.
“Would you look at that! He’s a natural!” Pud proclaimed. “Go, Potato, Go!”
Takota angled right instead of left, putting his bike on a path into an area with racks and racks of clothes. Probably to a human it wouldn’t have seemed daunting. To a Tanakee it was akin to navigating a canyon maze. Luckily, the walls of this particular canyon were soft. Attempting a sharp turn around a stack of socks, he overcompensated. He lost his balance and twisted out of control. Then the bike stopped. He didn’t. The force sent him over the handlebars against a wall, burying him in an avalanche of little pajamas.
“Are you all right!” Enola sounded worried.
“Takota, say something!” Cheyton was getting close.
Embarrassed, Takota waited under the mountain of pinks and purples and allowed himself to be dug out by his rescuers.
“Speak to me! Where are you?” Enola tossed aside garment after garment until she had him excavated entirely.
“Are you okay? Can you move?” she asked.
“Yes,” he blushed. “I’m fine.”
“Wow, cool!” Pud rode a wheelie past them. “He just made up a new game! The obstacle course!”
Despite some initial objections from Pud and Ayita, they all pitched in and helped clean Takota’s crash scene. They scrutinized, straightened, refolded and rehung each item until the entire section appeared exactly as before.
That’s how things were done around there. If someone made a mess, they cleaned it up. When they ate something, they made sure it wouldn’t be noticed. And when they used something, such as a bicycle, they insisted it be placed in the precise spot where they’d found it.
It was their strategy of survival in that place, encapsulated by the world of humans, living every second of the day under constant threat of discovery and capture. And the games, the competitions, the goofing off allowed them an outlet to deal with such stress. Sure, the complete trappings of a luxurious and carefree lifestyle were there. Winmart was a vast, climate controlled Garden of Eden with food prepared and packaged for them. But at what cost? Not only were they putting themselves at great risk by spending so much time so close to people, it also threatened the entire Tanakee race.
Talking them into leaving their lavish land of luxury was going to be a delicate, difficult task, though.
THIRTEEN
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN you’re still working on the O/A?” Liz was red-faced. “How much longer are you going to torture your family? Look around, Ben. We’re in an apartment! The house is in foreclosure! We’re broke!”
“Hey, princess!” Ben set down his black flapover briefcase and scooped Lily into his arms. She touched the whimsical yellow stars and comets on his midnight blue necktie. “How’s my little Lilipad, huh?”
“Don’t ignore me,” Liz didn’t let her daughter speak. “I need answers!”
“Not in front of the kids, Liz, please,” he kissed Lily’s cheek then put her on her own feet again. She clung to his leg.
“Since when do you care about the children?” Liz ranted.
“You look nice, honey,” he tried a different tactic, pointing at her fitted plaid shirt and skinny jeans. “New outfit? Thumbs up! Right, kids?”
“Don’t try to change the subject, Ben. Your invention, that’s all you care about. You nearly killed your children, your own children!”
“Jack, my boy!” he returned to not listening. “How’s my little genius?”
He took his progeny by the shoulders, beaming.
“Jack, aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”
“Oh, yeah. Dad, this is Amelia Klein. Amelia, this is my dad, Ben James.”
“A pleasure, a pleasure,” he shook her hand with vigor. “Hey, Amelia. If you’re smart, you’ll stay good friends with this Jack character. Did I mention he’s a genius?”
She narrowed her eyes. “A genius, huh?”
“You’ve got it,” Ben clapped his hands once. “And I’m not saying that just because he’s my son, either. He truly has an incredible mind. Superior creativity and intellect, a combination even I don’t possess.”
“Ben, knock it off. I mean it,” Liz warned. “You’re putting too many ideas into that boy’s head. He’s stressed out enough already.”
“Oh, honey,” he hobbled to her with Lily attached to his jeans. “It was his breakthrough that’s taken the project to a whole new level. Without him, the O/A would still be the size of a microwave from the seventies. Now that it’s portable, the operator can fully utilize its omnidimensional energy absorption capabilities.
Amelia spoke up. “Omnidimensional energy absorption? How does it work?”
He jolted his cool blue stare toward the girl. “Ah! A budding scientist, I see! Essentially, it’s quite simple. Currently it’s common knowledge in quantum mechanics that other dimensions exist, countless other dimensions, actually. And in each of those dimensions is another Amelia Klein, another Jack James…”
“And another Lily James, too, Daddy?”
He rubbed her curls. “And another Lilipad,” he again addressed Amelia. “I call them dimensional duplicates. Remember, there are infinite parallel universes, and therefore infinite duplicates. Now imagine having a device that combines the energy, the power of all of your dimensional duplicates into one.”
Amelia gasped.
“That’s right, unlimited energy,” Ben smiled wide, broadening his narrow features.
“Unlimited energy to do what, Mr. James?” she asked.
“To unlock the secrets of the universe, young lady,” he swept his hands, then stopped and sniffed. “Ooo! Smells delicious. Taco night! Amelia, you staying?”
FOURTEEN
UNDER A LARGE SIGN that read, ‘Garden Center,’ and surrounded by all sorts of plants, both hanging and sitting in pots, the Tanakee settled down to eat.
Each of them had their personal favorite: Cheyton ate beef ribs, Enola preferred greens and berries, Pud devoured slice after slice of pizza, and Ayita enjoyed a little bit of everything from bananas to fish to something called lasagna. It was a strange sight, watching a bunch of Tanakee eating human food. The pepperoni smelled good. It all smelled good. It was fool’s gold,
though. It couldn’t last. He knew their fortune was an illusion, and he needed to bring his new friends back to reality.
“How’d you guys get here, anyway?” he asked after swallowing a handful of M&M’s. Ayita, Enola and Pud froze in mid-chew, eyes on Cheyton. He kept gnawing.
“Aren’t you going to tell him?” Enola squeaked.
“Why should I?” Cheyton had his mouth full. “He’s not telling us everything. Are you, Takota?”
“I, uh,” he stammered.
“We’re descendants of the Lost Tribes,” Enola revealed.
“The Lost Tribes?” Takota swallowed hard.
“So, you’ve heard of us?” Cheyton asked.
“Of course. Everybody’s heard of the Lost Tribes, but I always thought it was a myth. We all did. It’s supposed to be a legend.”
“Ha!” Ayita erupted. “Tells you what you know. We’re the greatest, bravest Tanakee warriors ever.”
“That’s what the legend says,” agreed Takota. “Great warriors. It’s been recounted for so long, passed down for so many generations, the story itself has become part of us. Students are told from an early age about how great warriors from the Lost Tribes are, one day, supposed to return to Wind Whisper Woods.”
He glanced at each of them.
“Are you the great warriors?”
Pud laughed. A hunk of undigested crust must have lodged in his windpipe. He coughed and hacked into his mouth, chewed silently, then gulped.
“We don’t know why we were chosen to go, actually,” admitted Enola. “We just knew it was our duty. You see, we know the legend, too. All of our lives, we’ve been told about Wind Whisper Woods and how representatives from the Lost Tribes will one day embark to find our ancestral home. We had games where young ones competed against each other in the hopes they would be chosen for the first expedition. Some of us took these contests more seriously than others…”
Pud interrupted her with an immense belch. Enola continued as if she’d expected the outburst.
“We all knew what it meant to be chosen, though I never thought in a million years it would be us.”
Jack James and the Tribe of the Teddy Bear Page 11
