Artifacts

by Pete Catalano

  “Is it high up there?” he yelled. “It looks high. Scary? It looks scary. Can you see Mouth from up there? Can you hear me?”

  “Crunch, they can hear you back at Hickory Wind,” I yelled as quietly as I could. “Now stop yelling and get to the other end of the woods.”

  “Okay!” Crunch yelled back, moving his arms to resemble the letters. “I’ll keep running,” he said, wiggling his fingers to mimic his running.

  Tank laughed as he watched Crunch continue to yell and dance all around about thirty feet below us. “I think something’s going to jump out of the woods and eat him.”

  “You have to think positively,” Korie said.

  “Okay,” Tank said. “I’m positive something’s going to jump out of the woods and eat him.”

  I cracked up. “Crunch has—”

  “Good intentions,” Korie interrupted me.

  “I was going to say Crunch has no off switch. Eventually, he’ll get tired and find a way to get out of the woods before dark. He doesn’t want to be here after dark.”

  “Neither do I,” Korie said quickly.

  We walked along the rope bridge about thirty yards. Every fifteen feet or so, there were ropes tied tightly to the handrail that dropped down to the forest floor. I looked over the edge each time I passed one, fully expecting to see a pirate or a Lost Boy dangling over the side.

  “You’re slowing us down,” Tank said. “What the heck are you looking for?”

  “Crunch,” I said, hoping that was a good enough answer. I thought telling him about the pirates would get me far more abuse than I wanted at that moment.

  “Crunch is moving along a lot faster than I’ve ever seen him go.” Korie pointed to Crunch about ten yards ahead of us, flailing his arms out in front of his face like a scaredy-cat Frankenstein and blazing a trail across the path below.

  “I’m surprised he hasn’t gotten lost yet.” I laughed.

  “How can he get lost?” Korie asked. “All he has to do is walk on one path.”

  I shot a look at Tank. “I’m surprised he hasn’t gotten lost yet.”

  “Cut it out,” Korie said, punching me in the arm and walking on ahead of me. “Crunch will be fine, no thanks to the two of you. And if you don’t watch out, he’ll beat us to the clearing at the edge of the woods and find Mouth before we do.”

  “Good,” I said. “Those two deserve each other. But as hard as they try, they won’t be able to sneak up on anybody with Mouth abusing Crunch and Crunch threatening Mouth. The easiest way to find them is to listen for the most annoying sounds in the forest and follow them.”

  Crunch broke free from the woods and ran into a clearing. He had his arms stretched out from his sides and was happily spinning around so fast I thought he was going to drill himself right into the ground. He was only a few yards from another scary forest.

  At the end of the bridge, there was still no sign of Mouth. There were several zip lines secured to the trees, leading down to the edge of the forest.

  “There’s no other way down from here,” Tank said.

  I laughed. “That’s okay. Zip lines I can do.”

  I climbed up over the railing on the bridge, held tightly to the zip line, closed my eyes, and as Tank pushed me off, raced through the last of the trees.

  “Yahooooooo!” I yelled, crossing through the canopies and flying straight over Crunch’s head in the clearing. I landed hard but stayed on my feet. This sounds crazy to say, but I was never happier to be at the edge of a scary forest.

  I turned around and waited for Korie. She climbed over the railing and Tank held onto her until she was ready and pushed off.

  “I’m flying!” she screamed, zipping through the woods and bursting through the trees. The look on her face was perfect. A huge smile and she laughed the entire way.

  I caught her and slowed her down so she didn’t land as hard as I did.

  “That was awesome!” She giggled.

  Tank was right behind her, and as he landed, Crunch ran over to us.

  “Any sign of Mouth?” Tank asked.

  “No,” Crunch said. “Sorry, Tank.”

  We turned to see a forest ahead of us that probably did have all the d words Crunch had described. There was only one other place Mouth could be and we knew we’d have to go in and surprise whoever it was that took him.

  Little did we know it’d be the least of the surprises we’d find.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The forest at the back of the greenway was like something out of a fairy tale. Rising up sixty or seventy feet into the air, the trees, mostly leafless with thick, gnarly branches, stood as an impenetrable wall, pushing us toward a small twenty-foot wide section of smaller trees that were spread a little farther apart.

  “This looks like the easiest way to go,” I said, “but it’s got to be a trick.”

  “It’s also gotta be the way they took Mouth,” Tank said.

  “Hey, I just climbed a rope into a tree, ran across some bridges made by the Lost Boys from Neverland, and then zip-lined back down to safety,” Korie said. “If they went that way, then I’m going that way.”

  Without hesitation, Korie took a first step into the forest … and disappeared.

  “Humbuggery,” I said, stealing a Crunch-ism. It seemed to fit the situation.

  “You look confused.” Korie laughed from just inside the darkness. “Come on. It’s actually a lot better than you’d think it is.”

  Pushing Tank in front of me and pulling Crunch behind, I stepped into the forest right where I thought I heard Korie’s voice.

  And she was right.

  The forest wasn’t nearly as black as it looked from the outside. Rays of light tumbled through the tree tops, setting the forest floor aglow.

  “This is so cool,” Crunch said. “I want to do this in my room.”

  I laughed. “I’m going to find the artifact, rescue Mouth, and go home for dinner.”

  Crunch smiled. “What are we having?”

  “We’re having you go to your own house to eat,” I said.

  “Spread out,” Tank said. “I’ll take Crunch with me and you take Korie with you.”

  “There’s a surprise,” Crunch said, then slapped his hands over his mouth.

  Korie and I walked away from Tank and Crunch and then we turned and headed in the same direction. The ground was covered with patches of moss, and I was looking for anything that could show us which way they took Mouth. About twenty feet farther in, the ground was chewed away as if someone was shuffling their feet, not taking them off the ground as they moved.

  “He’s been here!” I yelled.

  Tank came running over.

  “I hate when he walks like that,” Tank said, seeing the marks in the ground.

  “Yeah, but at least he’s letting us know that he’s alive,” I said.

  “He better be,” Tank said. “This way I can kill him myself.”

  Running through the forest, we followed the scuff marks Mouth had scratched into the dirt. They ended at a small clearing in the forest, a ring of large boulders in the middle, set up like they were getting ready for a campfire.

  Crunch collapsed on the first rock he came to and took big gulps of air. He was out of breath—he was always out of breath—but not so much that he’d stop jabbering.

  “Do you think they sat here?” Crunch asked. “Do you think they had a bombfire? A roaring fire where the flames got out of control?”

  “Probably,” I said, half-listening.

  “Do you think they’re holed up somewhere in their hideout,” Crunch continued, “holding Mouth captive in the darkness, gagged and blindfolded, hidden away in a fort … or a bunker … or holes in the ground—”

  “Crunch, cut it out,” Korie said.

  “… like that one right over there?”

  Crunch pointed to a small rectangle of dirt, moss, and green grass.

  I haven’t seen green grass s
ince we left the clearing, I thought.

  Motioning to Tank while Crunch kept yammering, we circled around to a spot behind the rectangle. Reaching down, I tucked my fingers underneath the edge of what turned out to be a piece of wood.

  We decided to move it on the count of three.

  One. I held one finger up.

  Two. I followed the first finger with a second.

  I took a breath and nodded at Tank.

  “Three!” I yelled.

  At that moment, I ripped the piece of wood up and out of the ground. Tank reached in, grabbed someone underneath his arms, and pulled him up out of the hole.

  It was Skylights.

  “Hey, get your hands off of me!” he yelled, his voice high and getting higher.

  “Take it easy,” Tank said, holding him above the ground as he kicked, twisted, and wriggled, trying to set himself free. “We’re not going to hurt you.”

  “Touch!” Skylights yelled and in moments, Touch burst through the undergrowth that surrounded the clearing.

  “Don’t let him get anywhere near you!” Crunch yelled. “If he does, we’ll all be back at school sitting around wondering what happened.”

  Touch ran for Tank. Just as he reached out to grab him, Korie tripped him and he crashed to the ground. On an impulse, I took the board I was still holding and smashed it over his head.

  “Dude,” Crunch said, seeing Touch sprawled out at his feet. “That was so badass!”

  I cracked up. “Crunch, you cussed.”

  “And it was worth every letter,” Crunch said, pausing.

  “Okay, that’s great,” Tank said, motioning to Skylights. “Now what do you want to do with him?”

  I stepped around Touch and walked up to Tank, watching Skylights swinging in the air. “What did you do with Mouth?”

  “I’m not telling you a thing,” Skylights said, squirming even more than before.

  “Hit that butt crack of a Lost Boy, too,” Crunch said happily.

  “We’ve created a monster,” Korie said.

  Crunch was giggling now. “I’m on fire.”

  “Okay, put him down,” I said to Tank. “Don’t let him go. Just put him down.”

  Tank put Skylights down on one of the boulders, grabbed him tightly by the neck, and sat next to him.

  Looking at Skylights, I wasn’t sure what to say. It’s not every day you interrogate a fairy tale character that tumbled out of their stories and into your town. So I started with the truth.

  “I think we’re on the same side,” I said. “We couldn’t care less about Bartholomew—”

  “Hook,” Korie corrected me.

  “Hook.” I smiled. “We couldn’t care less about Hook, Smee, Butt-Kiss, or even Jerkin, but we’re interested in the artifact and we want Mouth back.”

  “Wait!” Tank said. “We don’t need Mouth back. We just want to make sure he’s okay.”

  Skylights laughed. “Oh, you’re definitely getting him back.”

  “Why’d you take him in the first place?” I asked.

  “We didn’t take him,” Skylights explained, shaking his head. “He saw us running through the woods and he followed us. We’ve been trying to get rid of him ever since.”

  I looked at Korie. “Knowing Mouth, he probably thinks he’s captured you.”

  Skylights smiled. “Trust me. With the Grumpkins here, he doesn’t think he’s in charge.”

  “Do you have Hook?” Korie asked.

  “We did,” Skylights said, “at least for a short time. He awoke as Grifter was standing guard and the Grumpkins had run off somewhere with Touch. No one thought to search him after dragging him out of the school and into the woods. That stupid hook of his. He sliced through the ropes that bound him and disappeared.”

  “Ouch,” I said. “Hook roped us and about fifty other kids into looking for some artifact. Do you know what it is?”

  Skylights shrugged. “It’s not my story to tell. But if you go with me to the other side of the forest, we should be able to find you an answer.”

  Tank slowly released his grip on Skylights. “Jax, keep close to him and I’ll carry Touch. Crunch, keep an eye on Korie and make sure she stays safe.”

  “I can take care of myself,” Korie said.

  “I know, I know,” I whispered to Korie. “I think Tank was trying not to hurt Crunch’s feelings by giving him something to do. We need you to keep an eye on Crunch.”

  “Hey, Crunch can take of himself, too,” Crunch said, sliding up his pants and a half-hearted attempt at a snarl coming across his face. “Let’s go. You’re slowing me down.”

  We headed down a path cut through forest. Crunch was in the lead, which was very confusing for me, Skylights was in between Korie and me, and Tank was carrying Touch, staying about ten feet behind.

  “How much farther?” Crunch asked after about thirty yards.

  “It’s a big forest,” Skylights said. “There’s still quite a distance to go.”

  Crunch leaned against a tree. “Come back and get me, I’m not going any farther.”

  “You can still see the clearing from here,” I said. “We’ve only walked about as far as it is from home plate to first base.”

  “I wouldn’t know,” Crunch said. “I haven’t gotten off the bench all season.”

  “You can’t just stop,” I protested. “You have to keep moving.” Suddenly, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. “Wait, don’t move.”

  “Move,” Crunch said, “don’t move. Jax, you’ve got to make up your mind.”

  “Crunch, look out!”

  “I’m not falling for that,” Crunch said sarcastically. “We both know there’s nothing there. You just want to prove your stupid point about how we all need to be looking out for Crunch because he’s oblivious to any kind of danger.”

  “Crunch, I’m not kidding …”

  “Oh, look at me,” Crunch said, playing along. “I’m turning around to see the monster right behind me. Oh, wait. There’s nothing there. How many more times are you going to do this before you realize I’m able to sense any kind of imminent danger. Well, I could …”

  There was rustling in the branches right above him. Taking advantage of the leaves, it slipped to the very edge of the last branch before dipping into the light. Crunch watched as the body of a large, long, cream-colored snake unfurled before him.

  “T-T-Tank!” Crunch stuttered. He caught himself before he fainted dead away.

  I stepped toward Crunch and then backpedaled as the snake’s head slipped down from the branches behind him. Hearing the new rustle, Crunch turned back around toward us and stared at nearly a dozen rows of razor-sharp teeth, the jawbones spreading apart wide, like sticks tied together with rubber bands.

  “Tank!” Crunch squeaked.

  Before Tank could move, the sound of thunder rolled through the forest. Barreling toward us, thickets were uprooted and trees bent nearly to the ground as something very large moved through them.

  In a flash, one of the Grumpkins burst through the brush and out into the open.

  Grabbing the snake by the tail, he swung it high above his head and slammed it against the ground over and over until it no longer moved.

  Moments later, the other Grumpkin rushed through the opening.

  Seeing his brother with the tail of the lifeless snake wrapped tightly in his hand, the Grumpkin looked at us with a broken little grin and held out his hands for his.

  “Snakes aren’t good to play with,” Skylights said.

  The Grumpkin’s face fell.

  “Come on. We have to turn that frown upside down.” Korie walked over to the giant Grumpkin and patted him as high as she could reach on his back. He sighed deeply.

  “I think he’s ready,” Korie said. She shot a look at the other Grumpkin. “Leave that snake here.”

  The Grumpkin quickly hid it behind his back and looked away, but the head and tail both flopped onto the g
round.

  “Put it down,” Korie said, a little more authority in her voice.

  The Grumpkin threw the snake to the side of the path and walked over next to his brother.

  Once everyone had settled down, we started through the forest again. The Grumpkins led this time. One of them had taken Touch from Tank, and together, they cleared everything from the path so we could walk easily.

  “Did you see him whip that snake?” I said to Korie.

  Korie laughed. “Oh my gosh. I didn’t know what to do when the other one wanted a snake to carry along, too. I felt so bad.”

  Crunch ran past us and up to the Grumpkins. As they looked straight ahead down the path, he chattered away.

  “We should’ve given him Crunch to play with,” I said. “That would have taken his mind off of the snake.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  After being in the forest for what seemed like forever, we finally followed the Grumpkins into another clearing. I shaded my eyes against the bright sun, spying a run-down, four-story, ramshackle Victorian house in the distance. Judging the gap between where we stood and the house, it couldn’t have been more than a football field away.

  “What is that?” I asked Skylights, who had stepped up next to me.

  “A ghost,” Skylights said. I could hear the frustration in his voice.

  “You mean it’s not really there?” I asked.

  “Oh, it’s there,” he assured me. “It’s the place Hook and Butkus and the others are hiding all the things the teams have brought them over the past couple of days.”

  “How do you know that?” Korie asked.

  “We followed Smee and Durkin here,” Skylights said. “They were arguing and fussing back and forth so much they never noticed us. We saw them unload a truckload filled with boxes into the house and then leave as quickly as they arrived.”

  “So, whatever this artifact is, it should be in that house?” Tank asked.

  “Yes,” Skylights said. “There’s just no way on earth to get inside to look.”

  “Why’s that?”

  Skylights never took his eyes off the house. “Give it time, Jax, See how it taunts us.”