“Picture the moon in your mind,” I reminded him. “That turns you invisible. The brighter the light you are in, the better it works. When you want to turn it off, think of the sun. The equipment sees that picture in your mind, and reacts.”
Quinn was strapping a sender onto his wrist. It looked like an ordinary wristwatch, and even told the time! “I wish we could keep these after this mission is over,” Quinn said. “These are great walkie-talkies.”
“I want one of these,” Logan said, as he holstered his defender. He drew it out and pointed it out the clubhouse window. The weapon wasn’t really a gun, it was a smooth, metallic silver device, that fit comfortably in one hand. It looked more like a small ketchup bottle than a weapon. There were several lights on the tip, but the settings had been locked into the ‘stun’ mode. They were powerful enough to stop an elephant, but they wouldn’t do any permanent damage.
“The bender is my favorite,” I said. “Watch this!” I went invisible, then ran over to the opposite corner of the clubhouse, and re-appeared.
“That’s cool!” Quinn said. “Watch this!” Quinn went invisible, then re-appeared outside. We all started laughing.
We left the offender in the clubhouse and went into the woods and out to the clearing to practice our skills.
We had been practicing for about an hour, when Quinn bumped into something in the clearing.
“Glute, is that you?” Quinn asked.
Silence.
We were all in invisible mode, but Logan and I were not near him. We were tossing a ball back and forth between us. When we were holding the ball, it became invisible, but when we threw it, it would appear in mid-air and then disappear again when someone else caught it.
“I can see you, Glute,” I said. I really couldn’t, but I wanted to tease him some more.
Silence.
“I see you’ve been in the berries again,” I said, bluffing. “There’s some dripping down your chin.”
“No, there’s not,” Glute said, then he appeared, wiping his chin.
“Ah, ha!” I said, running to greet him. “You HAVE been in the berries!”
I gave him a big hug, and he hugged me back. I think I might have surprised him with the hug, but he didn’t seem to mind.
“I would say you three are ready for tomorrow,” Glute said. “Let’s go pick some berries!”
Chapter Eleven- The Mission
We decided the best way to get to the Jackson-Boswell job site was to stow away in the back of dad’s pickup truck. With our benders running, it was unlikely he would notice us there in the early morning. Unless, of course, he decided to load something else into the back of the truck. We gathered our equipment and waited patiently next to the garage until he was ready to leave.
“We should get in before he comes out,” Quinn suggested. “Then we won’t take a chance of making a noise or moving the truck while we’re getting in.”
We decided to get in first, and take a chance on dad not tossing something in on us at the last minute.
Luckily, dad was running late. He hurried straight out into his truck, and we were off.
On the way, Logan kept re-appearing in the truck. “Logan,” I whispered, “I can see you!” He looked down, then closed his eyes and disappeared again. The bad thing about brainwave control is you have to be able to control what you are thinking.
“I keep thinking about the sunrise,” Logan said. “I can’t help it.”
“Think about getting yelled at by dad if he sees you,” Quinn suggested. “We are all in big trouble if this mission fails.”
“Not as much trouble as the Acree people will be in if we fail,” I whispered.
We rode the rest of the way in silence. Dad pulled into the job site, after passing through a gate and showing his identification badge to the security guard.
A small red light appeared on our senders. It traveled around the edge of the screen, depending on which way we were facing. It constantly pointed the way to the epoxy container. After entering the job site, dad turned the truck to the right and drove on.
“Hey, guys,” I said, “we’re going in the wrong direction. Should we jump out?”
“No, don’t do that,” Quinn said. “Once dad parks the truck, we’ll walk over to the epoxy. No one will be able to see us.”
On the way to the parking lot, we passed some huge metal storage tanks. They were as big as a house, with a round top and bottom. Each tank had several pipes coming out at the base, running over to a square, very tall building.
“That must be the drilling rig,” Quinn guessed. “And these tanks must hold the chemicals used in the mining process.”
Farther on, we passed what looked like an office trailer. There were several cars and trucks parked outside. Dad drove to the end of the line of parked vehicles, and turned off the truck. He grabbed his lunch box and hard hat and went inside.
“Let’s go!” I said. We carefully stepped over the tailgate of the truck onto the bumper. “Watch your step, Logan,” I said. “The bumper is slippery.”
Quinn and I each made it safely to the ground, and we helped Logan over the slippery truck bumper. Quinn looked down at his sender to get directions. As he was turning to go toward the epoxy chamber, he accidently bumped into someone walking by. My brother looked up and let out a little yelp as a very large security guard wrapped his arms around an invisible Quinn.
“Wait until the boss gets a load of this,” the guard mumbled to himself. He was now carrying Quinn, his arms pinned to his sides, toward the office trailer.
Right when I was trying to decide what to do, a blinding blue light came from behind me, and lit up the guard like a Christmas tree! I turned around to see Logan standing there, his defender in his hand.
“I had to do something,” Logan shrugged. Both Quinn and the security guard were laying on the ground, unconscious.
“How long do you think it will last?” Logan asked. I was kneeling beside Quinn, making sure he was breathing.
“He’s going to be out for about an hour, but he’s okay,” I said. “And he’s visible.”
We decided to pull Quinn up into the back of the truck, and cover him up. Dad’s coat was in the front seat, so we used it to cover up Quinn.
“What about the security guard?” Logan asked. “The sun is already up, and people will see him.”
“Logan, I can see you, too!” I whispered. “Think moon, think moon!”
Logan disappeared.
I took the offender out of Quinn’s pocket and put it in my own. It was a small capsule, half the size of a can of soda. We had to get it to the other side of the job site and into the epoxy chamber. Then we could hide until Quinn came around, and make our escape.
“Think moon, think moon,” I kept hearing Logan whisper as we walked along. It is a very strange feeling being invisible. When no one can see you, even the simplest walk can be a challenge. People sometimes change directions for no reason at all, and you have to be careful to stay out of their way. We were also trying to avoid stepping in any mud puddles, since we made splashes every time we stepped in one.
“I think they found the guard,” Logan said. He heard a commotion behind us, but we stayed focused on our goal. Men were running, and yelling toward each other, and someone was calling an ambulance.
We decided to stop and hide behind a small shed until the commotion died down. We didn’t want to take a chance of getting run over by a truck or by somebody running to help. The quiet job site turned into a beehive of activity. An ambulance arrived about ten minutes later, and loaded up the guard.
“He’s breathing, and his heart is just fine,” the Emergency Medical Technician said. “But I can’t revive him. We should get him to the hospital right away.”
Off they went, lights and siren blazing.
I was watching the office trailer, mostly to make sure dad didn’t come out and find Quinn. What I saw was a bald, fat little man, standing on the office trailer’s steps, barking out directio
ns to a crew of security people. This must be the boss, I thought.
“All security personnel are to be on the lookout for anything unusual,” he yelled at his men. “There’s a possibility we have an intruder, or a group of intruders. They may be dressed in black, or they may even be camouflaged so you can’t see them. Report any unusual noises, movements or activity to me at once. I want a security detachment posted at the drilling rig, the chemical tanks and the epoxy container. Understood?”
“Do you think they know about us?” Logan asked. “He said they might not be able to see us.”
“It sounds like this guy is expecting trouble,” I agreed. “And the extra security is going to make this mission tougher. Let’s go.”
Logan and I ran straight for the epoxy chamber, with no more delays. It had been about a half hour since Logan had zapped Quinn, and I had a feeling he was going to have a monster headache when he woke up.
Our senders lead us to a large building, where several employees were working inside. I reached for the doorknob.
“Locked,” I whispered.
“What do we do now?” Logan asked.
There was a booming voice right behind us. “Don’t think about the sun... don’t think about the sun...”
Of course, when somebody says that, the first thing you DO think about is the sun.
We both materialized, right in front of the little bald fat man and two security guards.
Our mission had failed.
Chapter Twelve- The Trouble Doubles
“Let go of me, you fat little twerp,” Logan yelled, as the boss grabbed him by the belt. “Leave me alone!”
Two of the security guards had me by the shoulders. I thought moon and disappeared, but they didn’t let go.
“Get them back to the office,” the boss said. “And keep a lookout for more of them. They wouldn’t have sent just two kids.”
“Right away, Mr. Boswell,” the guards replied. Two other guards had arrived, and they all took us back to the office.
Dad was still there, sitting at a desk at the far end of the room, when we arrived. He was very surprised to see us, and very angry to see how the guards were handling us.
“Those are my kids!” Dad exploded, as he jumped up from his desk and came toward us. “Get your hands off them!”
Additional guards appeared, to help take dad into custody. At least that was their plan. My dad is about six and a half feet tall, and as big as a moose. And he didn’t want to go into custody. Three of the security men were laying on the floor when Mr. Boswell stepped in.
“Enough!” He yelled. The security men backed off, but dad kept coming.
“If you want your children to remain unhurt,” Mr. Boswell said, holding up his hand, “you will stop this nonsense and be reasonable.” That stopped dad in his tracks.
“Logan, Trinity, what are you two doing here?” Dad asked. “What’s the meaning of this, Boswell? Let them go!”
“They are all yours, Jim, as soon as I confiscate the weapons and devices they are carrying.” He proceeded to remove our benders, senders and defenders. He piled them on top of some blueprints on the table. He also took the offender from me and added it to the pile.
“What is all this stuff, kids?” Dad asked. “It looks like you have some explaining to do.”
By that time, the other security men on the floor had recovered, and at the direction of Mr. Boswell, they were going to tie us all up, including dad.
“Everyone sit and be comfortable,” Boswell instructed. “Today is the day I have worked toward for the last twenty years. And if you want to keep your children safe, Jim, you will co-operate with my men. Now, please be seated.”
Logan, dad and I had our legs and hands zip-tied to three of the metal chairs in the room. The additional security was sent out to look for other intruders, and Boswell was preparing to launch into some kind of super-villain monolog to explain what had been happening.
“This is an important day for the human race,” Boswell began. “The day when our ungrateful ancestors are going to be removed from their underground hiding places. What you are unaware of, Jim, and what your kids apparently already know about, is a race of underground beings that enslave and control us, all without our knowledge.”
“That’s not true!” I yelled at Boswell. “They are peaceful, and never interfere.”
“Never interfere?” Boswell asked. “Then what do you call this?” Boswell picked up a defender and pointed it at Logan. He pushed the button, but nothing happened. Dad about jumped out of his chair, except he had been strapped in.
“It only works for the person its programmed for, you moron,” Logan said defiantly.
“Ah, I see the technology has advanced since I left,” Boswell said. “No matter,” he said, tossing it back into the pile. “I used to be one of them decades ago, but a little plastic surgery on the ears, and I look as human as the next guy. Now, today, my Terra Bite machine will penetrate Cogito space, and I will introduce the ungrateful Acree people to the taste of Sarin gas. Their precious little aquavators will carry it to the other Isles, and we will finally be rid of the pointy-eared little monsters!”
Oh no, I thought. The Acree have no idea this is coming. They think this guy is only a wayward gas explorer. They have no idea he is some kind of angry madman on a mission of revenge.
With that explanation, Boswell gathered up our equipment, locked it in the office safe, and walked outside, toward the drilling rig.
“Is any of this true?” Dad asked. “What have you kids gotten yourselves into?”
We were in the process of explaining the last couple of weeks to dad, when the office door opened, and then closed.
“Anyone have an aspirin?” Quinn asked, as he materialized in front of us, holding his finger up to his lips.
“Quinn!” We all whispered at the same time. “Untie us!”
Quinn went back to being invisible. All we could hear was him singing: “By the Light, (by the light, by the light) of the Silvery Moon, (silver moon, silver moon)...” as he cut us from our bonds.
“We need our equipment back,” I said to Quinn, “but Boswell locked everything in his safe over there.” Quinn had gotten us free, but we had no way of getting inside that safe.
“Maybe we should get out of here and get help,” Logan suggested. “We can come back later and deal with Boswell.”
“Didn’t you hear him, Logan?” I asked. “They are breaking through today! Later or tomorrow is too late. We have to do something now!”
“But our plan is locked in the safe,” Logan said. “The offender needs to go into the epoxy for our plan to work!”
As we were talking, the office door opened and closed again. We turned to look, but no one was there.
No one was there, but I smelled the unmistakable scent of recently squished blueberries.
“Glute, I know you’re there,” I whispered. ” You’ve been in the berries again.”
“No, I haven’t!” A squeaky voice insisted. Glute materialized by the safe. “Stand back everyone. My defender has a bit more power than yours.” With that, he concentrated his weapon at the safe dial, neatly removing it from the rest of the safe. He reached into the hole in the center, used his fingernail to line up the discs inside, and pulled the safe handle to the right, opening the safe.
Glute re-distributed our hardware to its programmed owners and grabbed the offender himself.
“I have put you kids in too much danger already,” Glute said firmly. “I will finish the mission.”
“But, you’ll die!” I said, grabbing onto him. “Don’t die! Let us do it!”
“It has to be done now,” Glute explained. “Boswell is about to break through to Cogito, if he hasn’t succeeded already. I owe it to the people.” With that, he disappeared, wriggled out of my grasp, and was gone.
“Time for us to get out of here,” Dad insisted. “Everyone get in the truck. This dangerous area is no place for our family.”
“B
ut Glute is family too,” I insisted. “Please don’t leave him here!”
Quinn grabbed my arm and led me to dad’s truck. “It’s too late for us to do anything, Trin,” he insisted. “Glute knows what he is doing, and he is moving way too fast for us to catch up with him, let alone stop him. He is sacrificing himself to save his people.”
We were all in the truck, when we heard the roar of excitement coming from the drilling rig. “We’re through! We’re through!” We heard everyone yelling. Then it went silent.
Super Kids! The Forgotten World Page 4
