Black Water tpa-5

by D. J. MacHale

  Fayne said, “I thought about that too! I mean, they live like animals. They could have all sorts of diseases.”

  “That’s why we need this tank hooked up to the irrigation system. When the gars arrive, we can send this…this…”

  “Disinfectant?” Bobby offered.

  “Right, disinfectantthrough the entire system. It’s very mild, but it will kill any germ that might cause trouble.”

  Gunny handed the tank to Fayne. Fayne examined it suspiciously and said, “You say Aron wants me to do this?”

  “He’s very concerned that the Advent goes smoothly,” Bobby offered. “And he wants everybody to be safe.”

  Gunny looked Fayne right in the eye and used his most convincing Traveler voice to say, “It’s very important that you feed it into the system right now. If you don’t hurry, it will be too late. Can you do that?”

  They all watched Fayne to see if she would accept the ruse.

  “Sure,” she said with a shrug. “Don’t want none of them germs getting us sick or nothing.”

  Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as Fayne took the tank to the irrigation controls. Spader went with her, just to be sure everything went well.

  “We’re almost there,” Courtney said, barely containing her glee.

  Bobby stepped away from the group and looked over the vast room full of plants that were growing in air. For the first time since he set foot on Eelong, he felt as if he had a little bit of control back. It was a relief, yet strangely disturbing to him.

  “What’s the trouble, shorty?” Gunny asked, walking up to him. “We’re about to save Eelong and knock Saint Dane back down a peg or two. You should be happy.”

  “I am, but I’m worried about Mark,” Bobby answered.

  “Try not to,” Gunny said. “I’ll bet Boon is watching out for him right this very minute.”

  Bobby nodded. “And I’m worried about the future.”

  “Why’s that?”

  Bobby looked up to the hole in the glass ceiling. “Have the rules really changed, Gunny? I can’t stop thinking about what Uncle Press said. We weren’t supposed to mix the territories.”

  “I thought we went through this,” Gunny said. “If Saint Dane can do it, why not us?”

  “I know, but what if that’s the whole point? We’re the good guys. We’re supposed to do things the right way. I mean, when is it okay to break the rules? When it’s important enough? But who’s to say what’s important?”

  “I think saving a territory is pretty important,” Gunny said. “I hate to bring up a sore subject, but you remember theHindenburg. If we had saved that ship, it would have been doomsday for Earth.”

  “This is different,” Bobby said quickly. “TheHindenburgwassupposedto crash. Who knows? Maybe Black Water is supposed to be poisoned?”

  Gunny didn’t have a reply to that.

  Bobby continued, “What I’m saying is that if we start playing on Saint Dane’s level, I meanreallyplaying on his level, where will it end? What else will we have to do in the name of stopping him? If we have to keep doing things that aren’t right, does that make us as bad as he is? Is that the way things were meant to be?”

  A dark, worried look crossed Gunny’s face. Bobby’s words had struck a frightening note of truth.

  “She’s ready!” Spader announced. “Let’s put Saint Dane out of business.” He led them all over to the irrigation controls.

  “We’re gonna beat him with seconds left on the clock!” Courtney said to Bobby.

  Bobby didn’t react.

  All eyes went to Fayne, who was adjusting the antidote tank. The tank itself was lying on its side, underneath a panel that had a series of valves and gauges. Fayne had attached a heavy, metallic tube to the nozzle.

  “Is this going to work?” Bobby asked abruptly.

  “Sure,” Fayne answered confidently. “I’ve never seen a valve like this, but I made a few adjustments. The seal is solid. Are you sure there’s enough juice in there to do the job? I mean, the tank is pretty small.”

  “No worries, the antidote is very powerful,” Spader said.

  “Antidote?” Fayne asked.

  “Disinfectant,” Gunny said quickly. “Fayne, can you release a small amount to make sure it’s all hooked up properly?”

  “It is,” Fayne said.

  “Humor me,” Gunny said more forcefully.

  Fayne shrugged and said, “Whatever you want. I just do what I’m told.” She stood up to the control panel and twisted a few heavy levers.

  “What’re you doing?” Courtney asked.

  “Opening up the valves so the entire system is activated. That’s what you want, right?”

  “It has to reach all of Black Water,” Gunny said.

  “And that’s what it’ll do,” Fayne assured him. “Here we go.” Fayne took hold of a large, black lever and turned it from left to right.

  Nothing happened.

  Fayne stared at her gauges with a frown. She reached forward and flicked her finger on one gauge to unstick it. The needle didn’t budge.

  “This doesn’t make sense,” Fayne said. She flipped a few more levers and tapped a few more gauges. Her frown deepened.

  “What’s the trouble?” Gunny asked.

  “Hang on,” Fayne snapped. She left the control panel and pulled the tank out from underneath. She lifted it up on end and unscrewed the metallic hose. The others exchanged nervous looks. Fayne removed the connector and examined the tank’s nozzle.

  “Ah! Here’s your problem,” she announced. “There’s a crack at the base of the nozzle.”

  “A crack?” Courtney shouted in dismay.

  “It was fine when we left Cloral,” Spader said. “Nothing happened to it since.”

  “But it did!” Courtney said” nervously. “It got hit with an arrow on the wippen field. And, and, I landed on the tank when I fell off the zenzen during the rockslide. I got hammered! It could have damaged the nozzle!”

  “Can you fix it?” Gunny asked.

  “Sure,” Fayne answered.

  “See?” Spader said. “No worries.”

  “But it won’t do no good,” Fayne added.

  “Why not?” Courtney asked.

  Fayne answered by unscrewing the nozzle and throwing it to Courtney. “Because your tank’s empty. The juice inside leaked out through that crack. I hope you got another one because there ain’t nothing in here.”

  They all exchanged stunned, helpless looks.

  Something caught Bobby’s eye. It was on Kasha’s face. Something was happening that didn’t make sense. Kasha’s black fur had suddenly changed color. He stared at her for a moment, not comprehending what he was seeing, until Kasha lifted her head and looked to the ceiling.

  “Oh, no,” Kasha whispered.

  The truth hit Bobby hard. Kasha’s face hadn’t changed color. The change happened because she was suddenly bathed in light. Light from the sunbelt. The greenhouse was soon aglow with bright light that shone down through the crystal ceiling. Everybody raised their eyes to the sky, all thinking the same thought:

  The gigs had power.

  EELONG

  (CONTINUED)

  Mark and Boon slipped outthe window of the room where they had been held captive. It was remarkably easy for Boon to unscrew the window hinges with his claw and remove the frame. It wasn’t a room designed to keep klees locked inside. The two quietly eased themselves out, so as not to alert the guard, and cowered against the outside wall.

  “Now what do we do?” Boon whispered.

  “We’ve got to get this tank to somebody who knows how to use it,” Mark answered.

  “Okay, who?” Boon replied. “Aron was the only gar Gunny told us about, and he threw us in jail.”

  “I don’t know,” Mark said nervously. “M-Maybe we should try to find Aron and convince him again. Or maybe Gunny made it to Black Water by now. Or maybe we can figure out a way to use it ourselves. Or maybe-“

  “Or maybe we have no idea of wha
t to do,” Boon interrupted.

  “Or that,” Mark said, defeated.

  Two gars rounded the corner of a building across the road and froze in surprise when they spotted Mark and Boon. All four stared at one another, not sure of what to do. Finally…

  “Klee!” shouted one of the gars. He took out a whistle and blew it frantically. The other gar reached behind his back and whipped out a speargun.

  “Uh-oh,” Boon shouted. “Time to be someplace else.”

  The gar fired the weapon and the spear shot across the road. Boon shoved Mark out of the way, and the spear stuck into the wooden wall.

  “Wait! We’re friends!” Mark shouted at the gars while waving his arms.

  The gars didn’t believe him. Another spear was launched. Boon hit the ground as the missile sailed right over his head.

  “Run!” he shouted to Mark.

  “But we’re here to help them!” Mark shouted back.

  “We can’t do it dead,” Boon yelled. He stood and pushed Mark to get him running. A quick look back showed him that the two gars were reloading their spears. A moment later a loud horn sounded an alarm.

  Inside the greenhouse the group heard the alarm horn. “What’s that?” Courtney asked.

  “Could the gigs have gotten here so fast?” Bobby asked.

  “No,” Kasha answered. “They have to regenerate their power first.”

  “What is that horn, Fayne?” Gunny asked.

  Fayne backed away from the group, saying, “I’m getting nervous about all this. I’d better find Aron.”

  “Why?” Gunny pressed. “Is it an alarm?”

  “Look,” Fayne said. “I know you said that klee is friendly, but having two around is two too many.”

  Spader leaped at her, making her jump in surprise. “What do you mean ‘two’?” he asked. “There’s only one klee here.”

  “Yeah? That alarm says there’s another one. I’m getting Aron.” With that, Fayne ran out of the greenhouse.

  Spader turned back to the group. They all stared at one another, thinking the exact same thing. Spader said it first, “Boon!”

  “Yeah, and Mark,” Bobby exclaimed, and took off running.

  “Stay close to me,” Gunny ordered Kasha as they all ran from the greenhouse. When they got to the street outside, they saw a group of gars running with their spearguns drawn.

  “What’s going on?” Bobby called to them.

  “There’s a klee on the loose,” one answered.

  Bobby didn’t hesitate. He took off, running after the gars.

  Mark and Boon desperately fled through town, trying to outrun the pursuing gars. The village was empty since everyone was lined up on the other side of town, ready to welcome the exodus of gars arriving at Black Water. Mark tried to open the door of a hut. It was locked. Boon tried another; it, too, was locked. He moved away from the door as another spear stuck into it with a solidChunk!

  “Keep moving!” Boon shouted.

  The two dodged in and around the huts, trying to lose their pursuers.

  “Take the tank,” Mark said, breathless. “You can get away. You’re faster than me.”

  “But I’m the one they’re shooting at,” Boon returned. “We’ve got to get rid of them.”

  “I can’t run much more,” Mark panted. “My side is killing me.”

  “Turn here!” Boon commanded and pushed him into a quick left turn. He grabbed Mark and pulled him down behind a low, stone wall. The two held their breaths, trying not to make a sound that would give them away. A few seconds later they heard the footsteps of the two gars running past. The gars had made the turn, but didn’t know Mark and Boon had stopped. Mark needed air, but he did his best to control his breathing until he was sure they were out of earshot. Boon took a peek over the stone wall and saw the two gars still running down the street.

  “Unbelievable,” Boon said, panting. “It worked.”

  They both stood up and jumped over the wall to head back the way they had come.

  “I think we better split up,” Boon said. “As long as you’re with me, you’ll be in danger.”

  The two walked back to the intersection where they had made the turn.

  Boon continued, “I’ll keep looking for Gunny and-look out!”

  Three more spears flew at them, whizzing past their ears. The second wave of gars was on their trail. Without a word Mark and Boon started running again. They jumped off the street and ran along a row of huts, hoping that the trees in the front yards would shield them from incoming spears. The odds weren’t with them. This second group had four gars. It would only be a matter of time before one of them took a good shot.

  “There!” Mark shouted, and made a quick left turn between two huts. Behind the huts was a stand of trees.

  “Maybe we can lose them in the trees,” Mark reasoned.

  They entered a miniforest that was so dense, it forced them to keep running along the path. With each step, the path grew narrower and narrower until they soon had to run shoulder to shoulder. Fifty yards ahead of them, they saw that the forest ended.

  “When we get to the end, we’ll split up,” Boon declared. “They won’t know which way to go.”

  “If we’re lucky,” Mark added.

  The two sprinted to the end of the path, broke out into the open… and stopped short.

  “We’re not lucky,” Mark declared.

  They found themselves on the bank of the river that ran through the center of Black Water. There was no turning left or right. It was a wet dead end. Behind them the group of gars was closing fast. Mark took a look at the water to see it was running fast, maybe too fast to swim.

  “I’m not a good swimmer,” he declared.

  “Really?” Boon said. “I can’t swim at all. I’m a klee, remember?”

  “But we gotta,” Mark said nervously. “There’s no other way.” Behind them a gar stopped and pulled out his speargun. “What’ll the water do to the stuff in the tank?” Boon asked. “I–Idon’t know! Boon, we gotta go!” The gar knelt down on one knee and raised his speargun. “I can’t, Mark. I’ll drown.”

  The gar took aim, setting his sights directly on Boon. “They’ll kill you!” Mark cried.

  “I got a better chance here than in the river,” Boon cried. He put his hands on Mark’s shoulders, ready to push him in. “You go!” Boon ordered.

  Boon was strong. Mark knew he couldn’t fight back if the big cat pushed.

  “I won’t let you drown!” Mark promised. “We can go together and-” Mark looked past Boon into the woods and spotted the gar who was about to shoot. “Look out!”

  Boon turned. The gar tightened his finger on the trigger and…

  Bobby Pendragon came running up behind the gar and launched himself, feet first. “Yahhhhh!” he shouted, and nailed the gar square in the back.

  The gar pitched forward, shooting his spear into the ground. He scrambled back to his feet to see Bobby. “What are you doing?” he shouted. “The klee is getting away!” He pulled another spear from his carrier. But before he could load it, he was wrapped in a bear hug by Spader.

  “That’s all the shooting for today, mate,” Spader said.

  The other gars ran up, drawing their spearguns. Bobby jumped in front of them and held out his arms.

  “Stop!” he commanded. “They’re friends.”

  One gar yelled, “Klees are not friends.”

  Kasha walked up behind him and put a furry hand on his shoulder. “Some are,” she said calmly. The gar looked at her and dove away in fright.

  Gunny jogged up, out of breath. He stood next to Kasha and held his hand up to the gars. “It’s all right,” he said calmly. “It’s true. These two klees are friends.”

  Gunny was a forceful presence. The gars didn’t know how to react, or what to believe.

  “Bobby!” Mark yelled, and ran to meet his friend wearing a huge, relieved smile.

  Bobby grabbed him by the shoulders and said, “Are you okay?”

&nbs
p; “We are now! Man, I can’t believe you’re here! Spader too! Is Courtney okay?”

  “She’s fine,” Bobby answered. “She’s back at the Center.”

  Boon walked up, saying, “I owe you one, Pendragon.”

  “Bobby, it was unbelievable,” Mark said quickly. “I tried to bring the tank to Aron, but he locked us both up! We didn’t know what to do so we-“

  “Wait!” Kasha said. “Listen.”

  Her ears perked up. The others listened too.

  “All I hear is that alarm back at the Center,” Bobby said.

  “I hear it,” Spader said. “It sounds like… like…that’s impossible. It sounds like a speeder boat.”

  “It’s not a boat,” Kasha said as she looked up to the sky. Everybody else looked up. Through the trees they could see clear blue sky. The storm cloud was long gone. “I hear it now,” Bobby said.

  Soon after, they saw them. They flew in a perfect “V” formation, like a flock of geese. They passed directly over Black Water, their rotors making the familiar whirring sound…times nine.

  “What are they?” Mark asked in wonder.

  “Flying death” was Kasha’s answer.

  EELONG

  (CONTINUED)

  The formation of gigspassed high, flying directly over Black Water.

  “We’re done,” Bobby said, defeated.

  “Not yet,” Kasha said. “They won’t spray the poison from that far up, the wind would take it away.”

  “They must be flying over to scout the place,” Gunny suggested.

  “Or waiting until the first bunch of gars arrive,” Boon said ominously.

  “Whatever,” Spader said quickly. “It means we’ve still got time.”

  Bobby looked to Mark and asked, “Can you keep going?”

  Mark stood up straight and said, “Absolutely.”

  They started back to the Center, but the gars stood in their way, holding up their spearguns.

  “Stop!” the gar commanded. “Until we hear from Aron, you are all being held in confinement.”

  “You are going to hear from Aron right now!” Aron and a few more gars walked quickly along the path. “Gunny! What is happening here?” he demanded.