Oracle of Doom

by D. J. MacHale

  “Whatever,” Joe said. “At least I can say I did all I could to make you not be a weezer. Let the pilot take the heat.”

  Joe was obviously disappointed because if Theo wouldn’t go, he wouldn’t get to go either.

  They were parked in front of a small building that was marked with a sign: Nimbus Air. It was on the far end of the airport, a good distance from the main terminal building. Beyond the squat one-room building was a wire fence that cordoned off the runways.

  Theo got out of the car…

  …and left his cell phone on the front seat.

  “I’ve got an idea,” Theo said with enthusiasm. “I’ll fly, but not today. Let’s see if he’ll change it to next week.”

  “Next week isn’t your birthday,” Joe said.

  “Who cares?” Theo shot back. “I’m not six years old. It doesn’t have to be on the day.”

  “What’s the difference if it’s today or next week or next year?” Joe asked.

  “Next week I won’t have this same bad feeling,” Theo replied.

  “Unbelievable,” Joe said with exasperation. “It was a stupid fortune-telling machine, fool.”

  Theo could only shrug.

  The two walked across the gravel parking lot toward the small building. Theo looked out beyond the wire fence to the tarmac. What he saw erased any last doubt that he was making the right decision. Sitting on the tarmac, not far from the building, was a helicopter with the name Nimbus Air painted on it.

  The helicopter…was bright red.

  His stomach twisted and his head went light. The prophecy was becoming clear. It was foreseen that he would die in a tragic helicopter crash.

  But not if he had anything to say about it.

  I sped on my bike to Theo’s house even though he lived only a few blocks away through the suburban sprawl of our neighborhood. I got there in record time, dropped my bike while still moving, and rang the doorbell, hoping Theo would throw open the door and tear me a new one for not answering his calls.

  He didn’t. Nobody did. Nobody was home.

  “Are they here?” Lu asked as she flew in on her bike behind me.

  “Only if they’re asleep,” I said. “But I doubt it.”

  “We let him down, Marcus,” Lu said, near panic. “I promised him we wouldn’t let anything happen.”

  “It’s okay. They’re probably headed back here right now.”

  “And what if something happens on the way? We should have slept here. Or had him stay at your house. Or tied him to a chair. Anything! We totally dropped the ball.”

  “I know, but it’s still early,” I said calmly, though I was feeling anything but. “His birthday is all day. He’ll be home soon.”

  “Let’s hope so,” Lu said.

  “YOU MUST BE THE McLean boys!”

  Theo and Joe were greeted inside the small office by a tall, trim sixtyish African American guy wearing a leather flight jacket. His short gray hair and neat clothes pegged him as the pilot.

  “I’m Captain Russell,” the guy said warmly, holding out his hand to shake Joe’s.

  “I’m Joe. This is Theo.”

  “The birthday boy!” Russell exclaimed, and shook Theo’s hand enthusiastically. “Fourteen. Great age. Old enough to get around on your own and start figuring out how it all works. Happy day.”

  Theo shook his hand and noticed that Russell was wearing a bright blue shirt underneath his leather jacket. The sight actually gave him confidence. This might have been the guy Marcus saw in the crystal ball. Things were playing out exactly the way the fortune had predicted. The only thing missing was somebody with orange hair.

  Theo relaxed. This was where he was destined to meet his fate. He was sure of it, and he knew exactly what he had to do.

  Or not do.

  “Thanks,” Theo said. “There’s a change in plans, though.”

  “Oh?” Russell said, looking concerned. “Everything okay?”

  “Here we go,” Joe said, rolling his eyes.

  Lu and I sat down on the front steps of the McLean house, leaning into each other to keep warm. A biting-cold wind whipped across the yard. It was the kind of morning best spent in bed, nice and warm. Asleep. And safe.

  “Look!” Lu exclaimed.

  A car turned off the road into the driveway.

  “Yes!” I exclaimed.

  Again, that’s allowed.

  We jumped up and ran to the car to find it wasn’t Theo or his parents. Sitting behind the wheel was Harry McLean, one of Theo’s older brothers. The one who went to college.

  “No,” Lu said with disappointment. And of course it changed nothing.

  Harry opened the door and climbed out.

  “Good to see you guys too,” Harry said sarcastically. “What’re you doing here so early?”

  “Looking for Theo,” Lu said. “Nobody’s home.”

  “They’re probably at church,” Harry said as he got out of the car. “My parents love that early-bird service. Crazy. Still feels like last night to me.”

  “I thought you were at school,” I said.

  “I want to surprise Theo for his birthday,” Harry said. “And have Mom do some laundry.” He reached into his backseat and pulled out a sack stuffed with dirty clothes.

  “We tried to call his cell, but he’s not answering,” Lu said. “We don’t know your parents’ numbers.”

  “We’ll call ’em from inside,” Harry said. “But I don’t want to bother ’em during the service.”

  “They won’t mind,” I said quickly.

  Harry gave me a how would you know that? scowl and headed for the house.

  “I WANT TO POSTPONE the flight,” Theo said adamantly.

  “Really?” Russell asked. “Why’s that?”

  “Because he had his fortune told and it said he was going to die on his birthday,” Joe said with a scoff. “Can you believe it?”

  “Really? What kind of crazy fortune is that?” Russell asked, incredulous.

  “Crazy is the exact right word,” Joe said.

  “It’s dumb, I know,” Theo said. “Nothing’s going to happen. But I really don’t want to tempt fate. Call me superstitious, or dumb, or whatever you want, but I’m not going to fly today. Maybe we can do it next week.”

  Russell gave Theo a curious look, as if not sure how to respond to such a silly concern. “The deal your parents made was for today,” he said. “Rescheduling wasn’t an option.”

  “So then let’s fly!” Joe exclaimed.

  Theo’s shoulders fell. He was out of options.

  But Russell gave him a big smile and clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m just giving you a hard time,” he said with a laugh. “You actually saved me the trouble of delivering the bad news.”

  “What bad news?” Theo asked.

  “We can’t fly today,” Russell said. “The winds are crazy. Besides being dangerous, it wouldn’t be a very pleasant experience. We’d be bouncing around like popcorn. Maybe that fortune of yours isn’t so foolish after all.”

  Joe’s mouth fell open. “Whoa,” he muttered.

  “Really?” Theo asked with total relief. “We can reschedule?”

  “Absolutely,” Russell said. “Have your parents call me, and we’ll pick another day that won’t be so dramatic.” He smiled broadly and added, “For any reason.”

  Theo grabbed Russell’s hand and shook it furiously. “Thank you, sir, thank you,” he said, bubbling over with excitement. “I really want to do this. I do. I’ve always wanted to fly in a helicopter. Did my parents tell you that? It’s been one of my dreams. It’ll be awesome. Just not today.”

  Russell laughed. “Yes, it’ll be awesome. We’ll pick a perfect day.”

  Theo backed out of the room.
“We will. Can’t wait. So…see ya!”

  Joe looked to Russell and gave him a shrug.

  “He’s odd,” Joe said.

  “That’s okay. Odd is good.”

  Joe went outside and looked to the car, but Theo wasn’t there. He glanced around and saw his brother standing at the wire fence, staring out at the red helicopter.

  “So everybody’s happy,” Joe said. “Let’s go home.”

  Theo didn’t move. He continued to stare at the helicopter, his excitement suddenly gone.

  “What’s the matter now?” Joe asked.

  “Nothing. It’s just kind of scary,” Theo said. “I’ve been worried about this for so long. I feel like I just dodged a bullet. That’s pretty intense.”

  “You are seriously strange,” Joe said. “Tell you what: I’ll get you home, and you can hide under your bed for the rest of the day. Maybe that’ll make you feel better.”

  “Nah,” Theo said. “I’m actually feeling okay.”

  Harry dumped his bag of dirty laundry on the stairs and went straight for the kitchen.

  “You guys want something to eat?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I said.

  “No,” Lu said at the same time.

  “Let’s call your parents first,” I said.

  “What’s the rush?” Harry asked.

  “We just want to know if they’ll be back soon with Theo,” Lu replied. “You know, so we can figure out if we should hang out and wait or not.”

  “Whatever,” Harry said, and pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll FaceTime them. It’ll freak them out to see I’m calling from the kitchen. I didn’t tell ’em I was coming.”

  Harry found their number in his contact list and hit the FaceTime button. The phone rang a few times, and then…

  “Hey!” came Mr. McLean’s voice through the phone. “What’re you doing up so early on a Sunday? No party last night?”

  “Yeah, there was, and I’m not feeling so hot right now,” Harry said as he held the phone up so the camera would see him. “You see where I am?”

  “You’re in the kitchen!” Mrs. McLean exclaimed. “What’re you doing home?”

  “I came for Theo’s birthday.”

  “That is so sweet!” Mrs. McLean said.

  “And to do laundry,” Harry added.

  “And that is so typical,” Mr. McLean said.

  “Put Theo on,” Harry said. “He’s got a whole birthday committee here waiting for him.”

  Harry directed the phone toward Lu and me so we could see Mr. and Mrs. McLean and they could see us.

  “Morning!” I said brightly. “Could you put Theo on so—”

  The words caught in my throat.

  “Oh no,” Lu whispered in dismay.

  “He’s not here,” Mrs. McLean said. “He’s with Joe. Wait’ll you hear what his birthday present is.”

  I didn’t register anything they were saying. All I could do was stare at Mr. McLean.

  The guy was wearing a bright blue shirt.

  Life as Theo knew it was going to end that day, but not because of anything that might happen to him.

  The person in real danger was his father.

  AT JUST PAST DAWN, a small group of teens stood around in the empty parking lot of Stony Brook Middle School, stomping their feet on the leaf-strewn blacktop to try and stay warm. They clutched cups of Starbucks coffee for warmth, yawned, and generally fought to keep their eyes open at an hour that was so crazy-early the sun was barely peeking over the treetops.

  “Why are we doing this so early?” a kid with a hoodie pulled tight over his head asked nobody in particular. “On a Sunday. It’s crazy.”

  A tall guy with blond hair cut so short he looked bald was the only one who didn’t seem annoyed to be there or bothered by the cold. He leaned against a jet-black Mustang like he owned it, with his arms casually folded across his chest.

  “No problem, you can sleep in next time,” he said to his friend with no sympathy. “We’ll visit you in the hospital.”

  “You know why we’re doing this now,” another guy said impatiently. “We’ve got the whole block to ourselves.”

  A girl with a bold streak of purple in her long dark hair glanced at her cell phone.

  “We’re in the window,” she said. “Church got out ten minutes ago. If we don’t go soon, traffic’s gonna start picking up again.”

  “He’s not coming,” the kid with the hoodie said, annoyed. “I knew he wasn’t coming. I got out of bed for nothing. I’m gonna find that little weasel and pound him until he—”

  The tall blond guy threw his hand up to silence the hoodie kid.

  “Shh,” he commanded.

  Everyone listened. The only obvious sound was the swirling prewinter wind rushing through the trees.

  “What?” Hoodie snarled, impatiently. “A storm’s coming. So what?”

  The blond guy smiled. “Storm’s already here. He’s driving straight into it.”

  That’s when they all heard it. The rumbling. What at first could only be sensed by the blond ringleader was now obvious to everybody.

  “That’s him,” the girl with the purple streak said with a mischievous grin. “It’s on.”

  Another car turned off the road and into the parking lot where the group stood waiting. The throaty growl of its engine drowned out the steady sound of the chilly wind.

  “Oh yeah,” the blond guy said with satisfaction. “It’s definitely on.”

  “Theo!” I exclaimed.

  He had answered his cell phone. Finally. I ran out of the kitchen and went straight up the stairs for his bedroom. I didn’t want Harry to hear what I had to say.

  Lu was right behind me.

  “Where have you been?” Theo asked anxiously. “I’ve been calling you all morning.”

  “I know, I’m sorry,” I said. “My battery died. Lu’s here too.”

  “She wasn’t answering either,” Theo said. “But it’s okay. It’s over. You’ll never believe where I am. Joe drove us out to—”

  “It’s not you, Theo,” I said.

  “Uh…what?” Theo asked, off-balance. “What do you mean?”

  “It’s your father,” I said bluntly. “Your mother, too, for all I know. They’re the ones in trouble.”

  I got nothing from the other end of the phone but silence. I guess I should have been a little gentler about the way I broke the news to him, but there were more important things going on. I waited for him to process the information, though I was afraid we were running out of time.

  “Theo?” I finally said to make sure we hadn’t been cut off.

  “What’re you talking about?” Theo said with confusion. “My birthday present was a helicopter ride. Joe and I are at the Stony Brook airport. It’s a red helicopter! I’m looking at it right now. That’s the red thing that crashes. It’s gotta be. It has nothing to do with my father.”

  “A helicopter!” Lu exclaimed, leaning over my shoulder. “You’re not going up in that thing, are you?”

  “Of course not!” Theo said. “I refused, but it didn’t matter. The pilot had already canceled the flight because of all the wind.”

  I felt Lu tense up next to me. I knew exactly what she was thinking.

  “The pilot canceled the flight?” I asked. “You didn’t ask him to do it?”

  “I didn’t have to,” Theo replied. “It’s way too dangerous to fly.”

  “Then it’s definitely not about that helicopter, T,” I said. “It can’t be. If the pilot canceled the trip, it means you had nothing to do with changing things. You were never meant to go up. That wasn’t your future. Nothing’s changed. I’m telling you—I saw your dad on FaceTime two minutes ago. He was wearing a bright blue shirt. I thought the image in the c
rystal ball was you, but it was him. Whatever’s going to happen, it’s gonna be to him.”

  “But how? Why?” Theo exclaimed. “It wasn’t his fortune.”

  Lu yanked the phone out of my hand.

  “What did the fortune say, Theo? Life as you know it will end on your fourteenth birthday. If something happens to your father, to your parents, life as you know it will definitely change.”

  “Yeah, and what was the last word?” I asked, leaning into Lu to get to the phone.

  “Humility,” Theo said.

  “Exactly!” I exclaimed. “Humility. It’s not about you, T. We’ve been so focused on you, we never thought of who else might be affected by that fortune.”

  Theo didn’t say anything right away. I knew he was tugging on his ear, thinking. Calculating.

  “Where are they?” he finally asked.

  “They went to a diner for breakfast after church,” Lu replied.

  “The Silver Star,” Theo said, suddenly all business. He had clicked into Theo-logical mode. “It’s about a half mile from Saint Paul’s. We always walk there after Mass. They’ll be headed back to the church to pick up the car.”

  “So we can get to them at the church?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” Theo said. “But what are we gonna tell them?”

  “Who cares?” I yelled. “Let’s make sure they’re safe first.”

  “We’re at your house, Theo,” Lu said. “Harry’s here too. We’ll get him to drive us to the church.”

  “I’ll go straight there with Joe,” Theo said. “We’re still way out at the airport. You’ll get there before I will.”

  “We’re leaving right now,” I said.

  “Marcus? We can’t let this fortune come true,” Theo said, his voice cracking with emotion.

  “We won’t,” I said with false bravado. “Go!”

  I took the phone and ended the call.

  “What’re we gonna say to Harry?” Lu asked.

  “We’ll tell him we need a ride to church.”

  THE THROATY GROWL OF the powerful car engine was a rude disruption to the quiet suburban morning. The Corvette Stingray pulled into the school parking lot and rolled all the way to the far end, where the group of teens stood waiting. It stopped with its nose only a few inches from the grille of the black Mustang, intruding on its space. Menacing.