The Forgotten

by K. A. Applegate

  No diabo." The man glared at Ax. Then he took the butt of his short spear and began to draw something in the dirt. It took a few seconds for me to rec- ognize it. It was a creature with two arms, two legs, and a tail. It had blades on its elbows, knees, and head. The man pointed at th e drawing. "Diabo. Monstro." I swear I almost started laughing in sheer relief. The man had drawn a Hork-Bajir. "Yes, definitely. Mat. Diabo. Monstro and any other bad word you can think of." I took my bare foot and rubbed out the drawing. "He liked that," Rachel said. The guy grinned and slapped his chest. "Polo." "That's either his name or his favorite brand of shirt," Marcosd. I pointed at myself and said, "Jake." The man nodded. Then he rubbed out what was left of the Hork-Bajir picture. He grinned a huge grin. He laughed out loud, and all his men and boys laughed with him. Even the kid who'd tried to shish kebab me. "You know, I think I like these guys," Rachel said. Suddenly, the skies opened up, and rain came pouring down on us. Pouring down like we were standing under Niagara Falls. Polo grabbed my hand and forearm in a strong grip. We were sealing a deal. "Diabos. Matar diabos." "I think he said hunt. . . kill the devils," Marco said. I looked into Polo's eyes. I had no doubts. "That is exactly what he said." Polo and his people stepped back into the bushes, and in an instant they were invisible in the pouring rain. "Those little guys up against Hork-Bajir warriors?" Rachel shook her head skeptically. "I have a feeling about those "little guys,"" Cassie said. "I think maybe this forest is theirs, and they don't like a bunch of alien diabos stomping around killing everything in sight." "Better to have them on our side than against us, that's for sure," I said. Suddenly I felt really tired. Too many dangers. Too much adrenaline. And even though it was just late afternoon here, in Brazil, in this time, my own body had been awake and fighting and morphing for almost twenty-four hours. The rain was just absolutely pouring down from the sky. Tobias couldn't even think about flying. I could see I wasn't the only one exhausted. "So this would be the "rain" part of rain forest," Marco said. "They don't do anything halfway around here, do they?" We trudged through the downpour, drinking our fill from the water that drained down off the leaves. But finally, I could see that no one could go any farther. At least I couldn't. Time was running out -- we had just about three hours. We had no solid plan. It was the worst possible time for a rest. But there was no going on. Not yet. "Let's take a break," I said. "Where?" Marco asked. I flopped down in the mud and rested my back against a tree. "Right here, man. Right here." Cassie came and sat beside me. The noise of the falling rain made our conversation private. "How are you doing?" Cassie asked me. I shrugged. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" She looked at me skeptically. "Jake, I know you. I can see it on your face. You're worried. And you're mad. Since I don't think you're mad at any of us, I'm guessing you're mad at yourself." I looked away. "Everything will work out," I lied dully. "You know, it was kind of funny seeing you and Polo together." "Yeah? Why?" I didn't really care. I was too tired to care. But Cassie was being kind, and I needed some kindness. "Because you're the same, you and Polo. He's you, and you're him. The leaders. You know, he took a risk putting down his spear. We might have killed him and his people. There was no way he could know if it was the right thing to do. He just made the best decision he could. That's all anyone can ask from any leader." I felt for Cassie's hand in the rain. It was too dim and gray to see her face well. "I'm so tired," I said. Cassie laid her head on my shoulder. "I know, Jake. Rest. Just rest."

  6:49 P.m. J. woke up suddenly, with the feeling that I had slept too long. I opened my eyes. Black night. Night so black it was like being smothered in black felt. But not everything was dark. Six inches away from my face, two eyes glowed green and gold. I could smell foul breath. I could feel its breath on my face. Jaguar! The big cat stuck its nose closer to me, trying to decide who I was, and what I was doing in its forest. I might have wet my pants right then from sheer terror. I don't know, because I was soaked to the bone from the rain, which had finally ended. I was sitting in mud, feeling the adrenaline pump into my veins. Feeling fear again. I was going to live or die depending on what the jaguar decided. Was I food? Or was I not? If the cat was hungry, and if I smelled like prey, it would sink its massive yellow fangs into my neck and it would all be over in a second. I wouldn't even get the chance to scream. Then, a faint memory of hope! There was one thing I could do. No time to morph, but . . . As slowly as I could, I raised a trembling hand to touch the jaguar's spotted fur. I focused my mind. I concentrated fervently on acquiring the jaguar. And I prayed the jaguar would act like most animals act when they are acquired. I hoped it would go into a trance. When I opened my eyes, the jaguar closed his. "Marco!" I hissed. "Cassie! Rachel! Ax! Tobias! Somebody!" "Wha? Huh?" Marco said groggily. Then, "Whoa! Whoa! Wake up, you guys! Jeez, Jake, what are you doing? That jaguar could chomp you." "Really? I hadn't thought about that, Marco. Thanks for pointing that out to me. Now, look, I'm acquiring him to keep him calm. Here's what we do. One after another, we acquire him, then we move off. Ax?" less-than Yes, Prince Jakeeagreater-than Ax said. "You think you can outrun this big kitty?" less-than Yes. greater-than "Okay, then Ax, you acquire him last, and run for it. Just in case he's in a bad mood." Five minutes later, we were all a safe distance away. "You know, you were probably fairly safe, Jake," Cassie said. "I doubt jaguars eat prey your size." less-than l'll bet they eat prey