by Adam Holt
On one wall was the tube that led to the underwater harbor. On the other wall there was a new tube.
“This was a present from the Misty Man,” he said. “He told me you could slide down with the green-eyed girl. You’ll find what you need.”
“You are sweet,” said Tabitha. “You remind me of my little brothers back home.”
“The Misty Man was right,” said Jason. “You are pretty like my mom was.”
If I can, I’m taking this little guy back to Earth, I thought. I picked up his favorite action figure.
“Will you come play with me when you are done?” he asked me.
“It is hard to say,” I told Jason, “but will you do me a favor? Show this to my big friend Buckshot. Tell him that you like cowboys. Maybe you can play with him while we are gone.”
Jason smiled and pointed toward the tube. Tabitha snapped on her helmet and went first. I followed her. The tube twisted side to side as we descended, the air getting colder for a while, but then as we approached the end, warm and humid. A familiar shade of red.
I landed on a grassy floor covered in red mist and surrounded by exotic fruit trees. No need for helmets here. The tropical odor made me dizzy. We were on an island, and around us was an underwater lake with powder-blue water.
My arm throbbed with pain from the landing, and Tabitha helped me to my feet.
“It’s the garden of the Sacred,” I said. “I thought this place only existed in my dreams.”
“Stars, strange universe, you have dire long sleeves,” said Tabitha. I turned toward her and laughed for the first time in days. “Oh, you never get my Tabisms, do you? The universe always has something weird and wacky waiting up its sleeve—”
“—and it’s got really long sleeves. I get it.”
“Finally,” she said, staring into me with her deep green eyes. I thought she was talking about her Tabism, but she wasn’t. “Finally. Finally. Finally.”
Out of her pocket she took her end of the mood scarf. I did the same. She took the two pieces of fabric in her hands and started to tie a knot between them. Before she could finish, I reached toward the two ends. The scarf shimmered in her hands for a moment and then became whole, like it had never been ripped in half.
Tabitha wrapped the scarf around her neck and it glowed a deep green. The effect on her eyes, seeing her with the scarf again, melted my troubles away.
“This is the new old times,” she told me. “Remember how we used to play Cave-In! at your house?”
I nodded.
“Now we are living it, but the levels are a lot harder than I expected.”
“And the monsters are a lot worse,” I said.
“That’s okay,” she said. “You were always best with the controller. I’ve got dire good instincts. We’ll be fine.”
We sat down in the lush green grass with our backs against a tree holding hands. Small purple flowers fell around us. Across the lake, an underwater archway pulsed with red light. It looked like a tunnel to another cave.
“I think that’s for you,” she said.
“How do you know?”
“Because you always get the obvious signs,” she said.
She interlaced her fingers through mine. I wanted to stay in the garden with her for hours and talk about video games and theater and whatever other silly things we could dream up, but dreams and visions were leading me elsewhere. The tunnel pulsated with red light, calling me toward itself and away from Tabitha. I wasn’t ready yet.
“What are you going to do when we get back?” I asked her.
“We worked it out while you slept,” she said. “The Ascendant need a voice. They chose me. So I’ll go to them and explain what happened—that you kidnapped me. Then I will ‘escape’ from your dad. I can keep playing the spy. It’s what I’ve been doing this whole time.”
“I don’t like that idea,” I said.
“Me neither,” she said, crinkling her nose. “I’d rather hang out with you than with the Ascendant, but it’s the right role for me. Actress turned spy.”
“You’re the best actress turned spy that I know.”
“Oscar worthy,” she said.
“So the Ascendant still think you are theirs. For a while I thought you were theirs, too. But I’m worried about something.”
“What?”
“That they changed you, and they’ll change you more.”
It had concerned me ever since Second Contact. Finally it slipped out. Tabitha stiffened a bit, then let out a sigh.
“Me, too,” she said. “They did change me. They treated me like a queen. They put me on stage and made me a star. A billion people know my name now. But what good is that? Every night I went back to that tower alone. I lived through a hundred dark nights there, Tully. I slept on the balcony and watched the sky with tears in my eyes. I looked for a sign that I wasn’t alone, but nothing and nobody came. I gave up hope for a while. Finally hope came back for me. Whatever happens, I’m never giving up hope again.”
I knew exactly what she meant. We had both lost hope, but hope has a way of finding you if you keep looking for it. Hope was my one word, and it was Tabitha’s, too.
I can’t tell you how long we sat there looking at each other. I memorized every line of her face, every freckle, every fleck in her perfect green eyes. We kissed. Her fingers traced the lightning scars on the backs of my hands. Finally, the cave pulsed with red light again, and she gave me a playful shove.
“Don’t worry,” she said, grabbing a piece of fruit from a tree. “I’ll wait.”
In the end I snapped on my helmet, dove into the water, and swam toward the tunnel, leaving behind my friends, my family, the battle for Earth, and Tabitha. As I swam, the water growing brighter and warmer by the second, I remembered something important—my mom gave me my one word. She started this battle against the Ascendant by herself, and she hoped that I would finish it. Hope. In the coming years, I would learn just how far that one word would take me away from home.
EPILOGUE: ADRIFT
Red, red, red, red, red. The water warmed my skin, but I could still feel the Lord Ascendant’s icy fingers on my chest. His words rumbled in my ears. I have a gift for you. What did he mean?
The farther I swam into the underwater tunnel, the more I drifted into a vision. I saw the great black Ascendant fleet arriving at the Earth; saw the ships, one by one, descending upon the capitols of the world.
My dad was right, I thought. They will rule.
I saw Sunjay and my dad fighting black staffs in a jungle, Trackman at the Statue of Liberty, Tabitha in a news studio, Queen Envy dressed in white, and then I searched for myself. I was nowhere to be found.
What will become of me? I asked.
“What will you make of yourself?” a voice answered.
Am I going to make it home?
“One must leave before one may truly return.”
The visions whirled in circles. The same images and words, swirling backwards and forwards, in high speed and slow. Finally, they stopped.
The back of my helmet bumped against something and I realized that I had been drifting. Another cave. There was a small island in the middle, and on it sat a familiar figure. The Misty Man, Jason had called him. I knew no better name.
“Is all of that stuff going to happen?” My voice sounded gruff, like I had not spoken in days. I took off my helmet and shook the hair out of my eyes. What a headache.
“Who says it has not already come to pass?” he asked me.
Oh, boy, riddles are coming. I shook my head. Then my chest went cold again. I lost my breath and went down on one knee.
“I wish that Icarus could have healed you,” the Misty Man said, “but deep wounds take time. His time had passed.”
“Then let’s get started,” I said. “I have to make it back to Earth.”
“Back? There is no back, Tully. Only forward.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. I didn’t want a speech. I wanted him to heal me so I coul
d get…back. I turned around and looked at the underwater tunnel. It was still there, but I could feel something different. I couldn’t put a finger on it.
“Fix me,” I said. “Tabitha’s waiting.”
“Oh, she waited,” he said. “She waited an hour, a day, but you did not return.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Time,” he said. “That’s the way of it, Tully. Always forward, never back.”
“Stop speaking in riddles,” I said, turning toward the tunnel. “I’d rather live with this icy feeling than listen to this.”
“You’ll die if you do,” he said. “You hear but you do not understand. These are not riddles. You drifted through the water for days before you reached me. Tully, she left. Now she has work to do, and so do you and I.”
“What work?”
“Come and see,” he said, and the mist fell away to reveal his true form.
…Thus ends The Rathmore Chaos, but a final act remains…
Dear Earther,
This story will continue, though it is hard to say exactly when or how. We can be sure of a few things: Tabitha must return to the Ascendant. Janice must decipher the true history of this “alien” race. Someone must fight for freedom on Earth. And, of course, Little Bacon must define things. He wrote a glossary for you on the next page, if you have not read it.
But what about Tully, who went into space to rescue a friend though he himself did not return? In time we will see where hope takes him, somewhere far beyond the Outlands. Until you meet him again, may the Universe rise up to meet you.
Sincerely,
-A
LITTLE BACON’S GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Atlantis – a mythological city that was destroyed by a terrible upheaval, maybe a volcano or a tsunami.
Bioluminescence – literally, “life light”; a creature capable of producing light. These exist on Earth as well as Europa.
Cave-in! - Tully’s favorite video game; requires the player to escape a system of caves inhabited by monsters. The main character has only a portal gun, which can create portals between two places. You see why he likes it so much?
Chaos – disorder, mayhem, upheaval, disarray, dire confusion. From the Greek: “vast chasm, void.”
Chosen of the Sacred – a mythological character of the Ascendant; mentioned briefly here; one who will reclaim the Earth for the Ascendant.
Constant acceleration – a proposed method for traveling in the solar system; a ship with such a drive will accelerate constantly until the halfway point in its trip, at which point it will decelerate. No such technology exists yet, because no one has invented an engine that can accelerate like that.
Black staff – an Ascendant weapon that has three known settings:
STUN – this freezes an opponent for several minutes or possibly hours.
TOSS – catch, toss, or throw any object or opponent.
INCINERATE – burn and turn to dust.
Europa (moon) – is the sixth-closest moon of the planet Jupiter, and the smallest of its four Galilean satellites, but still the sixth-largest moon in the Solar System. Europa was discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei. Progressively better observations of Europa have occurred over the centuries by Earth-bound telescopes, and by space probe flybys starting in the 1970s. Europa has more water than Earth, and it is one of the most promising places to look for life in the solar system. There is a mission planned to explore Europa in the 2020’s or 2030’s.
Europa (myth) – a historically accurate retelling appears in this book, although the Ascendant have an extended version that speaks of the Chosen of the Sacred.
Holoclassing – method of distance learning; a student may wear holo-glasses that project an image of him/her into the classroom, thus giving both student and teacher the illusion of being in the same room rather than many miles away.
Hypertube – a series of underground tunnels that use pods to shoot people between cities, under and over mountain and oceans, at 700 miles per hour.
Jupiter – king of planets; a gas giant with enormous gravity; its gravity pulls on Europa so hard that it causes enormous friction on the planet, which produces heat, which produces geysers like the ones that Tully encounters.
Ketea Maximus – great sea beast; slain by Tully before he arrives upon at the Rathmore Chaos.
Livewall – a large interactive television, like an oversized tablet, that was used for many years until it was replaced by holographic technologies; there is one in Tully’s house as well as the bar at the general store in Anchorage, Alaska.
Mix tape – an audiotape of recorded songs; often used as a gift between friends or potential love interests; Sunjay makes a mix tape for Lady Gaga.
Newel – the middle post in a spiral staircase; the Grand Newel is an example, although it is roughly two miles high.
Outlander – a citizen of Europa who lives outside the Rathmore Chaos; an agricultural style of life.
The Sacred / the Harper Device – a mysterious object capable of producing dreams, giving humans powers, possibly telling the future; how can something with so many definitions truly be defined?
Turbofizz – a popular carbonated beverage with twice the caffeine of coffee. It can be served hot or cold. Simply turn a dial on the can to select the desired temperature. The drink comes out blue if it’s cold or brown if it’s hot. TurboFizz causes cancer and heart palpitations in laboratory animals. Try a bottle today.
Upthruster – about the size of a surfboard, a hoverboard that can take its rider forty feet high; top speed is forty miles an hour; invented by Dr. Chet Chan, Janice Chan’s uncle.
CHARACTER LIST
IN POWER ON EUROPA
The LORD ASCENDANT, ruler of The Ascendant, self-proclaimed Chosen of the Sacred; GALLANT TRACKMAN, former Space Alliance employee and Ascendant Archspy; AKAKIOS, commander of the black staffs on the Rathmore Chaos; BLACK STAFFS, the name given to the warriors under the Lord Ascendant’s command; GOLIATH, a black staff of great strength and size.
THE FRIENDS OF THE ENCOUNTERED
The ENCOUNTERED, survivors of the Sixth Step, those who have touched the Sacred and survived; ICARUS; the commander of the Encountered and leader of a peaceful rebellion; ADELE, his second in command and wife; BERNARD, the last of the Encountered, the protector of Europa; STEPHEN, who died for speaking against the Lord Ascendant.
ON EARTH
DR. NILES CHAKRAVORTY, father of SUNJAY, famed Space Alliance engineer and researcher; QUEEN ENVY, famous diva; most recent pop star to record music in space; AUNT SELMA – sister to STELLA HARPER, COMMANDER MIKE HARPER’S WIFE; survivalist, aunt to TULLY.
OTHER CHARACTERS, WHOSE IMPORTANCE MAY ONE DAY
BE FULLY KNOWN
TYPHON – a fisherman, father of JASON. Their names may be familiar to those who know Greek mythology.
FIRSTERS, SECONDERS, ET AL. – how the citizens of Rathmore are known based on where they were born.
THE MISTY MAN – the embodiment of the Sacred; named by JASON, the fisherman’s son; having only been seen by TULLY and JASON.
EKPHRASIS – a tattoo artist who hides secrets beneath his tattoos of writhing snakes.
ASSASSIN SIGMA – a shadow figure tasked with killing Tully Harper.
AWAY TEAM BETA – an elite team of black staffs sent to capture Tully on Earth.
TULLY HARPER – aka The Red Thief; friend of the Harper Device.
THE NAMELESS ONES – aliens; their history was long ago erased by the Ascendant.
AFTERWORD
If anything here seems novel or meaningful, I must thank the Creator God Whose wisdom shaped the Heavens and the Earth. I don’t pretend to understand His purposes, but each day I look at His craftsmanship and marvel.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam Holt makes his home in Space City (Houston, Texas). He left a perfectly good teaching job to write young adult fiction. He enjoys traveling, surfing, reading, and the crunchy boom of a rocket launch. He coaches volleyball
in his spare time.
Adam loves to talk to fans about writing, publishing, life, and the universe in general. Find him on instagram, facebook, twitter or in a local coffee shop or book store.
