Jack James and the Tribe of the Teddy Bear

by J. Joseph Wright

  “Coming through!” a voice startled him into an impromptu somersault, dodging out of the path of the oncoming object. It was Ayita, driving a miniature pink thing on wheels decorated with the word, Corvette. She honked the little horn and kept going.

  “Hey!” he picked himself up. “You tryin’ to kill me?”

  He ran to the end of the aisle to see her drive into a maze of furniture. Now I have her, he thought, zipping through office supplies to cut her off near the garden center. He scurried and hid in a small collection of palmettos, waiting.

  When Ayita was one row over, he jumped from the floor and clung to a banner with a large picture of a smiling child eating cereal. He swung to another banner, rocked his weight, then released, spinning twice. At the last second he straightened his legs and threw his arms forward, executing a perfect landing in the Corvette’s passenger seat.

  Ayita widened her eyes, then squinted. Then she cranked the steering wheel. The car tilted onto two tires, sending him to the ground. He stood and slapped away the dust.

  “Are you okay?” she stopped.

  “What? Oh, yeah.”

  “I know why you’re here,” she said.

  “Do you? Good. Maybe you can tell me then we’ll both know.”

  “I mean I know how you got here, that you escaped from a bad man, and that he works for someone who wants to capture and enslave our kind.”

  She drove away. Takota hurried to get alongside.

  “But how?” he asked. “How do you know?”

  She responded with silence.

  “Eteea,” he answered his own question. “Cheyton told me. Does it happen often?”

  She nodded. “Ever since we got here it’s been getting stronger and stronger. Lately I-I don’t know how to describe it. Everything’s speeding up. Eteea seems to be in distress.”

  Takota was confused. “How can Eteea be in distress?”

  “I’m telling you what I see. I don’t know how it works. It just comes to me. It tells me things. Problem is, lately the visions have been coming so fast, most are impossible to understand.”

  “But some you are able to understand, right? That’s what Cheyton told me.”

  She slammed the brakes.

  “Sounds like he’s been telling you a lot of things. What else did he say?”

  “Nothing,” he didn’t want to anger her any more. “I just asked him why you’re so upset at me.”

  “Oh, yeah? And what did he tell you?”

  “He told me not to be offended, that you sometimes become troubled by what Eteea shows you. Ayita, is there something you want to tell me?”

  She sighed. “Your presence here confirms one of my most beautiful, yet at the same time terrible visions. It was a message that came through so vividly, for a few days I thought it was real. The vision replaced reality to the point where I’d become immersed in another world, another time. With you.”

  Wheels squeaking, she lurched forward and sped off again.

  “What? Wait!” he ran to catch her. “What are you talking about?”

  “Like I said, all I know is what I see,” she braked once more. “Ever since my visions began, I kept getting the same message, about you coming here.”

  “Then what?” he pressed.

  “I don’t know. Things get so mixed up. I know one thing for sure, though. It means danger for all of us.”

  “Then you agree. Staying here is too risky. You’ve got to help me talk to Cheyton. I can take you all to Wind Whisper Woods. There we’ll be safe.”

  She spoke with a hush. “There are things Cheyton doesn’t talk about. In the time after we left the Lost Tribes, we encountered more than just humans trying to capture us. If it were only humans, then it might have been another story altogether. We live with people all day every day, right under their noses. It’s not hard to fool them. We could have found Wind Whisper Woods if they were all we had to contend with. There’s something else. Some kind of evil lurks out there. Not human, though sometimes they appear to be. They stay mostly in the shadows. At one time there was a whole group of them after us. They almost got us, too. One of them nearly killed me. If it weren’t for Cheyton, and if we hadn’t found this place...”

  She shuddered. He put his hand on her shoulder.

  “They’re hideous, Takota. I never want to see them again.”

  “It doesn’t make sense,” he said. “Why can’t they find us here? What makes this place so special?”

  “I’ve never been able to understand why we seem to be safe here, but we are. And I’ve got to tell you, none of us want to go back out there any time soon.”

  “But, what about your vision? What about the danger you see coming?”

  “That’s why I’m so confused,” she buried her face in her hands.

  “And angry?”

  “No,” she allowed her tear-swollen gaze to meet his. “Not angry. Never angry. Not with you or anyone else. I’m scared. We all are. Cheyton tries not to show it, but it comes out. Like yesterday, when that boy had Pud. He panicked. Cheyton’s been on edge, especially now that you’re here.”

  “Then maybe I should just go,” Takota strode away from her.

  “Wait!” Ayita got out of her toy car and followed him into children’s wear. “Where are you going to go?”

  “No idea,” he rummaged through a pile of tike-sized bags and packs. “I wanted to go home to warn everybody, but something Enola said earlier made sense. I don’t want to lead Savage or those evil beings he works for to Wind Whisper Woods. I’m not much of a fighter, but I’ve got to find a way to stop them.”

  Finally, he found a backpack which halfway fit. Despite the fact that it had cartoon pictures of kittens plastered all over, it was wearable.

  “What are you doing?” Ayita seemed perplexed.

  “Can’t leave without a few provisions,” he announced, then hastened to the checkout lanes where he stuffed his pack full of M&M’s packages. That task complete, he hurried for the big glass doors leading outside.

  “Wait! You can’t go!” she tried to hold him back. He slipped through her grasp.

  “I can and I will,” he marched to the exits, confident they would open automatically. He’d seen them do it so many times for people. “Farewell, Ayita! Tell the others goodbye for me!”

  BAM!

  He smashed his nose against the unyielding glass.

  “Ouch!” he reeled back, perturbed by the surprise, more of a blow to his pride than his snout.

  “I told you. You can’t go,” she held back a giggle. “The doors are locked.”

  “Yeah? Well, that’s not gonna stop me,” Takota searched for something heavy among a display of various lawn ornaments, including an assortment of cement and ceramic elves, frogs and gnomes. His weapon of choice—a reflective glass ball. He measured its weight and knew it would do nicely.

  “What’s going on?” Cheyton demanded. He was across the store and coming at them fast.

  “He wants to leave,” Ayita told him. “Say’s he’s gonna fight the shadow beings all by himself.”

  “I’m not fighting anyone. I’m leaving!” Takota lifted the garden globe, ready to smash it through the door. In a blur, Cheyton snatched it from his clutches.

  “I can’t let you do that,” he put the iridescent globe on its shelf again. “You’ve caused enough damage around here already.”

  Takota explained, “You don’t understand. Every second I stay here puts all of you in more danger. There must be another way out of here. I’ve got to go!”

  Cheyton glared. “So, there was something you’ve been hiding. What is it? What kind of trouble are you in?”

  “I was captured by humans,” Takota stared at his feet. “But I escaped. And I found out they have some pretty horrible plans for the entire Tanakee race.”

  “What kind of plans?” Cheyton asked.

  “They want to take over our minds and use our Eteea powers to make us do terrible things. I can’t let that happen. If I leave
, maybe I can lead them away—far away from here. Now, please. Let me go.”

  “Go?” Enola emerged from a nearby checkout counter with Pud close to her. “Don’t go, dear. Not now. It’s too dangerous out there.”

  “Yeah, you can’t leave,” Pud pleaded. “I haven’t got the chance to beat you in a bike race yet!”

  “Stay with us,” Ayita added. “Enola’s right. It’s still too dangerous. Much more dangerous than you might think. It’s better if you stay. Besides, you haven’t been with us very long at all.”

  “Yes, stay. Rest and eat some more. Get your strength back,” Enola’s white, fluffy fur shimmered at the ends with that green, almost invisible halo again. Takota blinked, spellbound by her unearthly beauty. “Cheyton, tell him he has to stay.”

  Cheyton crossed his arms. “I’m not gonna tell him to do anything. He can go if he wants, but I won’t let him break these doors down. They’re unlocked during the day. He can go then.”

  Enola gasped. “Don’t listen to him,” her emerald glow flirted with the moonlight. “You belong with us, the lost of the lost, the tribe without a home. A tribe of orphans, living our abandoned lives amid toys and trinkets, stuffed unicorns and bears. You’re one of us now—the Tribe of the Teddy Bear.”

  SEVENTEEN

  THE MAY STORM clouds had cleared, allowing a tiny fissure of sunlight to peak through the atmosphere and warm Savage’s pale cheeks. He enjoyed getting out into the field. It had been so long, he’d almost forgotten how fresh the air could be. Then he thought about his cashmere jacket getting dirty and slid into the van again, opting for the artificial environment over the natural one.

  “Status?” he said into the microphone, straightening his woven silk tie.

  “Red Team in place.”

  “Blue Team, check.”

  “Green Team here. We’re a ‘go.’”

  “Outstanding,” he studied the screens, each showing him video of what his teams were doing in real-time. “Okay, stick to the game plan, people.”

  He felt sending squads of covert agents into Winmart dressed as civilians to scour the store for the Tanakee was a waste of time. If it was up to him, he would have overturned everything not nailed down to find that creature. And the things that were nailed down, he would have ripped from the floorboards. This was how his client wanted it, though, so this was the way it had to go. Nobody said he had to like it.

  “Red Team, whatcha got?”

  “We’re in transit, currently between the deli and produce. All’s quiet.”

  “Blue Team, talk to me.”

  “We’re in the garden department. There’s an area here that closely resembles the creature’s native habitat. Lots of places for it to hide, too. So far, nothing, though.”

  “All right. What about you, Green Team?”

  “In the stockroom. The good news is our disguises are working great.”

  “And the bad news?”

  “There’s no sign of the target.”

  “Okay, then. Keep looking. I want you people to search every inch of that place twice. The target’s got to be in there somewhere.”

  He’d assembled his best field operatives, the cream of the crop, and teamed them into three groups of two. Red Team comprised of a man and woman, married, late 30s. He wanted them to fit in with the rural shopping crowd, so they each wore blue jeans, mountain boots and t-shirts imprinted with slogans which captured the local attitude. The man’s shirt read, ‘Fish Fear Me,’ and on the woman’s was the phrase, ‘This is what I wear when I just don’t care.’

  For Green Team, he went with a different approach. Since Willow was near Portland, he had the man wear a splotchy beard and the woman a nose ring. They also had thrift store clothes on and, of course, the obligatory cheek pins and neck tattoos.

  The men in Blue Team were disguised as potato chip guys to infiltrate the store from its heart, and search behind the scenes in the employee lounge, the warehouse area, restrooms, heating and air conditioning ducts—anywhere and everywhere the other two teams weren’t able to reach.

  “Red Team entering Electronics, we haven’t seen any signs of...oh my God! Wait, everybody!”

  “What! What is it? Do you see something?”

  “Yes! It’s amazing!”

  Finally! He felt the weight of the world slide off his shoulders. Davos would be happy, thankfully, and Savage would, once and for all, be able to return to his real work instead of chasing that little primate.

  “Go Red Team.”

  “Blu-ray’s are three ninety-nine apiece. It’s incredible, I’m getting some!”

  “Three ninety-nine, huh?” responded the woman from Green Team. “That’s pretty good, but usually the selection on those is pretty poor.”

  “Focus, people! Focus!” Savage palmed his face and rubbed until he saw stars. “Remember why we’re here.”

  “We’ll come back. What time do we get off?”

  “RED TEAM!”

  “Y-yes sir, sorry sir.”

  He scanned the video screens in disgust, praying for a miracle.

  “Green Team, hold on. Stop right there,” his heart raced at what he thought he saw. “Back up to where you just were.”

  “Yes, sir. We were just, uh, down here in the restrooms.”

  “No, not that far,” he directed. “Go back. Along the wall.”

  “The wall? How’s it gonna hide on the wall?”

  “Just do it!”

  “Uh, okay, uh. Here’s the wall. There’s a bulletin board.”

  “The bulletin board, that’s it!”

  He leaned close to the monitor, squinting at the images of handwritten notes announcing seasoned firewood for sale by the cord, free kittens to a good home, and a 4H bake sale with a raffle for a used car. Somewhere he’d seen an image that stirred up a sense of recognition.

  “Slower,” he held his breath. The operative panned the camera.

  “This?” the agent paused on a photo of a lost dog.

  “Keep going. A little more—there!”

  “Hey! It’s him! Mr. Savage, do you see this?”

  “Yes. Yes I do,” he lowered his shoulders and allowed his respiration to return to normal. There was no doubt. With one hundred percent certainty, they’d found a picture of their Tanakee. Same thick, gray brown fur, same shaggy mane, same tiny, humanoid hands and feet, and, most prominent of all, same large, reddish-amber eyes with areas of vibrant green, like spring leaves, just below them. He hadn’t forgotten for one second how hypnotic the little guy’s stare was in an unguarded moment.

  He read the announcement. “‘Child’s teddy bear. Found on May 18th at Winmart. If this item belongs to you, please claim it in the Lost and Found at the end of aisle eight.’”

  “Sir, this is Red Team. We’re close to aisle eight. Do you want us to make the grab now?”

  “No, stand down for a second,” he reclined to collect his thoughts. “So it’s pretending to be a teddy bear. Ingenious little…”

  “Sir, awaiting instructions.”

  “Fall back,” he commanded. “Everybody abort and regroup in the briefing area. I’ve got an idea.”

  EIGHTEEN

  TAKOTA LEANED BACK on the pile of dusty old coats, enjoying an exaggerated yawn and a series of lazy stretches. Not even the pair of smelly sneakers spoiled his relaxed mood, though he wondered why he still had to be sleeping in the Lost and Found. It was Pud’s idea. He said the humans would be expecting him to be there. Of course he was correct, so there Takota sat, with only some malodorous shoes and a worn out umbrella to give him company.

  A part of him felt happy to be stuck in a supermarket, who knew how far from home, surrounded by humans, and on the run from a madman bent on enslaving his species. Strange, but even in the middle of such tragedy he had a sense of joy, even exhilaration, the same feeling he got whenever Jack was around. When he was with the boy something stirred inside, a drive to protect, a mandate from Eteea herself to keep him from harm at all costs.

/>   That euphoric sensation seemed to become stronger whenever Jack was near, and he felt it now, a warm tingle inside. It was no surprise, then, when he heard the young human’s voice.

  “He’s not here,” Jack sounded close.

  “Are you sure? Maybe he’s buried beneath something,” answered a girl. It sounded like Jack’s friend Amelia.

  Takota remained lifeless while human hands rummaged through the unorganized shelves of forgotten clothes. He expected Jack to discover him at any minute, and readied himself for the reunion. Instead of being unearthed, though, more things were piled on top of him. The searchers had missed him. Takota decided to help by scooting toward the edge of the shelf and letting a leg dangle over the side.

  “Dad, what are we gonna do? We can’t let—wait! What’s that? It’s him!”

  The boy yanked him from the shelf and hoisted him into the air. Takota’s stomach dropped.

  Whoa! Careful there, kid, he thought, though he didn’t dare say anything aloud. Talking to Jack when they were all alone was one thing. Now there were two other people with him, Amelia and a man Takota hadn’t seen before. He appeared harmless enough—tall and thin with a hint of a beard and the kindest gray-blue eyes. His rugged handsomeness reminded Takota of Savage, only pleasant instead of sinister. Amelia seemed nice, too. Still, he felt compelled to play the dead game.

  “Hi, little fella,” Jack placed him on the counter. “I want to introduce you to my father, Ben James.”

  “Uh, hi,” the man waved uneasily.

  “And you’ve already met Amelia.”

  “Hi-eeee,” Amelia took Takota’s left hand in hers and pumped it up and down.

  “Listen,” Jack had the tone of an old friend. “I know you’re nervous about revealing yourself to people, but you’ve got to believe me. You can trust them, okay?”

  He searched left to right, scanning for some unseen intruder.

  “There’s nobody else around,” he assured Takota. “No one but me, my dad and my best friend. It’s perfectly safe. So please, please say something, anything.”

  Takota didn’t budge.