Final Quest (18 page)

- 53 -

THE TATTOO

Michael takes a handful of chocolate chip cookies from a box that I brought downstairs earlier.

I step to where he’s sitting and snatch the box from him. Soon I’m stuffing cookies into my mouth as well.

“There’s no easy solution,” Jamie says. “I think we should return back to Elpis and talk to the leaders there. Maybe we can come up with a plan to stop the Zelareans.”

My life, or the lives of millions? I know what I have to do.

There’s a beep from my computer.

Someone is in our S O S chatroom.

Jamie, Michael and I look at each other with concern. Who could it be?

Stepping quickly to my computer, I see an entry.

It’s Jasmin.

DRAMA: I’m at Drew’s house. He’s acting very strange. It’s almost like he’s in a world of his own. There’s a faraway look in his eyes. I’m frightened. He keeps polishing his gun. I think he intends to use it. What should I do?

I type.

GLOW: Get out of Drew’s house. Go home. I will meet you there.

DRAMA: What about Drew? I’m worried about him. I think he’s planning to shoot someone.

My fingers race furiously across my keyboard. Jamie and Michael are now peering over my shoulder.

GLOW: Get out the house!!! Your life might be in danger. We need to talk. Get out of the house immediately!

DRAMA: You’re frightening me. Why do you want me to get out of his house? I can’t just leave. What if he shoots me?

“We’ve got to save Jasmin,” I say to Jamie and Michael. “Any ideas?”

DRAMA: Drew is lying on his bed, speaking in a strange language. What’s wrong with him?

GLOW: Look at the bottom of Drew’s right foot. Does he have a tattoo there?

“Tattoo?” Jamie says.

DRAMA: Tattoo? What are you talking about? Now’s he’s looking at me with crazed eyes. He keeps tossing his gun from one hand to the other.

GLOW: Tell him you have to go to the bathroom. As soon as you’re out of his room, run for your life.

I begin to shake.

I remember running out of Drew’s house, only to have him stalk me, and then attack me on a darkened street. If he decides to chase Jasmin, she doesn’t have a chance. This time, he’ll have a gun with him.

DRAMA: I saw it. I saw the tattoo. On the bottom of his right foot, there’s a triangle with a backwards Z in it.

“What does the tattoo mean?” Michael asks.

“It means he’s working for the Zelareans. He’s now one of them.”

GLOW: I’m on my way.

There’s no response from Jasmin.

“Let’s go,” I say. “We’ve got to help Jasmin.”

As I touch my emerald, Jamie and Michael grab my arms.

“Sandarium, Drew’s bedroom,” I say, knowing I might be instantly facing a gun.

We’re in Drew’s bedroom.

It’s empty.

Suddenly Drew jumps out from the hallway into his room.

Before I can react, he’s pressing his gun against the side of Jamie’s head.

- 54 -

A HORRIBLE DEAL

Drew smirks. His eyes are wild.

“Let’s make this easy,” he says. “You give me the emerald and I’ll spare Jamie’s life.”

“Don’t do it,” Jamie says.

Drew wraps his other arm around Jamie’s neck and pulls Jamie against him. From the fear on Jamie’s face, it’s obvious that Drew is hurting him.

“How do I know you’ll let him go?” I say, trying to buy some time to come up with a plan to save Jamie.

Drew tightens his grip on Jamie’s neck. He pulls him off the floor.

Jamie’s eyes are bursting as he fights for a breath of air. His legs are kicking, but it’s no use. Drew is much stronger.

“Drew. Stop!” I shout

He smirks at me

He eases his grip on Jamie’s neck.

Jamie gasps for a breath.

I notice a small red dot on the side of Drew’s forehead.

“Drew, you have been programmed by the Stapol,” I say earnestly. “They want you to steal my emerald for them. What you are doing is wrong.”

I hear a groan of pain from another room.

It’s Jasmin.

Drew’s eyes almost roll back into his head.

“The emerald,” he says, his voice deep and ominous, sounding like someone different than himself.

Michael is four or five steps away from Drew. He looks like he wants to do something, but what can he do?

I consider using my emerald to send a bolt of lightning at the gun. I might be able to knock it out of Drew’s hand, but the moment I begin my command, he might pull the trigger.

“The emerald,” Drew says again.

I start to unclasp the emerald from my neck.

“No,” Jamie says.

Drew tightens his grip around Jamie’s neck.

Jasmin groans from the other room.

Michael dives towards the open door, trying to get out of the bedroom.

Drew swings the gun at Michael.

There’s a loud pop as the gun fires.

Michael tumbles through the door.

I’m not sure whether he was hit.

Drew turns his attention back to me.

Jamie is turning blue. His eyes are wide with fear.

The emerald is in my hands. It’s free from my neck.

Jamie gags for air.

“How do you want to do this?” I ask Drew, hoping to gain some time. My only hope is that Drew might unexpectedly break out of the trance that he’s in. The more I can delay him, the better chance there is of that happening.

The only noise is Jamie coughing, trying to suck in a breath of lifesaving air.

“Place the emerald on my bed and back away from it,” Drew orders.

I’m hesitant to do this. Once the emerald is out of my hands, I’m powerless. Drew has already shown before that the emerald will listen to him. Once it’s in his hands, he’ll return to Zelares, and Santtonnice will have the emerald. I don’t want to think about what would happen next after that.

“Now!” Drew screams.

Jamie is shaking his head to tell me not to do it.

Drew tightens his grip around Jamie’s neck.

Am I willing to risk Jamie’s life to prevent Drew from obtaining the emerald?

Drew shifts his hand that is holding the gun. The gun is now behind Jamie’s head. I can’t see it clearly. I no longer have the option of firing a bolt of lightning at the gun.

“On the bed!” Drew shouts.

I place the emerald on Drew’s bed, even though my hand is still on it.

“Back up. Get away from the bed.”

I take my hand off the emerald, but I don’t take any steps backwards.

Drew’s eyes are fixated on the emerald as though he’s staring at a pot of gold.

A siren splits the tension.

Jasmin or Michael must have contacted the police.

Drew looks more agitated.

“I told you to back up,” he says.

Jamie’s eyes are closed. He’s no longer breathing.

Drew smirks.

He drops Jamie to the floor.

Before I can react, Drew’s gun is aimed directly at me.

I’m no longer touching my emerald. If I make any move towards it, Drew will shoot me.

Drew dives for the emerald.

I dive at the same instant.

We collide at the bed.

Although my fingers reach the emerald first, Drew violently tries to rip it from me.

He strikes me on the side of my head with his gun.

Fortunately, my body is twisting so it’s only a glancing blow.

Someone tackles Drew, knocking him away from me.

It’s Michael.

Drew knocks Michael away from him. In the same motion, he dives back at me.

His fingers dig into my hands. He’s ripping my fingers apart as he tries to take the emerald from me.

“Sandarium, Zelares!” Drew shouts.

- 55 -

EMERGENCY

Falling backwards, I smash to the floor.

My hands are throbbing. My head hurts. My body is trembling.

But I still have my emerald.

“Jamie? Michael? Jasmin?” I shout as I push back to my feet.

Jasmin appears at the door, looking distraught. Her face is bloody.

Michael is groaning.

He’s lying on the floor beside Jamie who is not moving.

I rush to Jamie.

I don’t need a doctor to tell me that he’s not breathing.

“He’s not breathing,” I yell. “We need medical help. Where are the police?” I ask, remembering the siren I heard a minute or so ago.

“It was a fake siren,” Jasmin says. “Michael found a siren sound on my cell phone and used it, hoping it might cause Drew to flee.”

“Call for an ambulance,” I say.

Jasmin dives to Jamie.

Immediately she begins CPR.

“We don’t have time for an ambulance,” she says.

I can’t lose Jamie.

Please be alive.

Jasmin is calm. She appears to know exactly what she’s doing.

I feel an arm around me. It’s Michael.

“He’ll make it,” Michael says, full of optimism.

Out of desperation I touch my emerald against one of Jamie’s legs.

I close my eyes and imagine Jamie waking up.

Jasmin counts as she pumps her hands into Jamie’s chest.

Jamie coughs.

I open my eyes.

He’s struggling to breathe. His mouth gapes like a fish out of water.

Jasmin pulls away from him.

Jamie’s eyes flicker.

- 56 -

A NEW MYSTERY

Fifteen or twenty minutes passed before Jamie was breathing comfortably. During that time, I learned that Drew had assaulted Jasmin before we arrived.

Michael told Jasmin about the Zelareans planning to attack our planet. He also told her that Santtonnice was now in Zelares.

I explained to Jasmin that the tattoo on the bottom of Drew’s foot symbolized that he was loyal to the Zelareans. I also explained how I thought Drew had been programmed to steal my emerald. I didn’t say anything about Drew’s assault on me a few nights ago. Jasmin didn’t need to hear about that right now.

“Drew’s likely back in Zelares,” I say. “We’ve got to return to Elpis. We’ve got to come up with a plan to stop the Zelareans from attacking our planet.”

“Let’s go,” Jamie says. “I agree. We need to stop the Zelareans.”

“Touch hands,” I say.

Immediately my friends group together, Michael grabbing his backpack.

“Emily, why don’t we get Squirt and Radwin,” Michael suggests. “They’ve helped us before. They might be able to get into places that the rest of us are too big to fit into.”

I hesitate.

Do I really want to endanger the lives of my friends from Tamor?

“Makes sense to me,” Jasmin says.

I know Jasmin has a close bond with Squirt. Maybe his presence would help her as she attempts to deal with what has just happened. She looks horrible. Her face is puffy. There is blood coming from a cut over one of her eyes. Is that why Michael suggested this?

“Okay,” I say.

“Sandarium, the Land of Limnits, Tamor,” I say.

I feel a spray of water in my face.

“Emily, Emily, Emily,” a chorus of voices squeak together.

Bedlam breaks out around us. Hundreds of bizarre creatures are spraying water in every direction.

Michael is laughing as he uses his hands to try to deflect some of the water back at the crazy limnits.

Tiny paws dig into my shoulders.

It’s Squirt.

“Squirt, we need your help.”

“Help, help, help,” Squirt giggles.

“Take my hands again,” I say to my friends who are now soaked with water.

“Sandarium, Radwin,” I say.

Instantly we leave a wild water fight and find ourselves surrounded by the waving arms of morphradels.

“Emily,” I hear a deep gruff voice.

It’s Radwin.

“Radwin, we need your help. I’ll explain more to you later.”

Radwin hovers in front of me, a big smile on each of his two yellow heads.

Squirt is bouncing up and down on my shoulders.

“Touch hands,” I say.

“Sandarium, the Hall of Mirrors, Elpis.”

The brilliant lights bouncing off the walls in the Hall of Mirrors greet us.

The room is unusually quiet.

I begin to casually walk around the room, admiring its beauty.

“Hello?” Michael calls, his voice echoing throughout the cave. There’s no response.

“Is anyone here?” Michael shouts.

Once again, there’s no response.

“Maybe they’re sleeping,” Jasmin says.

I wonder where they might have gone.

“Where are we? Who is sleeping?” Radwin asks.

“We’re on the planet Drapesia,” I say. “We’re in a series of caves and tunnels underground.”

Radwin is so busy looking at the reflections in the mirrors that surround us that he doesn’t reply to my comments.

“Let’s explore some of the other tunnels and caves,” Jamie says.

Although I would feel much safer if we all stayed together in the Hall of Mirrors, I know we need to take action. We need to find the Forgotten People to talk to them about stopping the Zelareans from attacking our planet.

“Let’s form two teams,” I suggest. “Jamie, Radwin, and I can go in one direction. Michael, Jasmin and Squirt can go another way. Michael can explain to Squirt why we’re here, while Jamie can give Radwin an update.”

“We can use our spy-bands to keep in touch,” Michael says at he moves beside Jasmin.

There are seven tunnels radiating out from the Hall of Mirrors.

The solitude in the cave is frightening.

Where are the Forgotten People?

“Any thoughts on which way we go?” I ask.

“Unless someone has a better idea, why not go in random directions?” Jamie says.

We all nod in agreement, although no one seems to want to take the first step.

After an awkward silence, I step towards one of the tunnels. Jamie joins me.

“Let’s go,” Michael says to Jasmin and Squirt as they head in another direction.

In a few more steps, Jamie, Radwin and I find ourselves in a long, narrow tunnel although it’s so well lit that it feels like being in a hallway in a building back home, rather than being in an underground tunnel.

The hallway is somber like the Hall of Mirrors. It’s so quiet that I’m hesitant to talk. I’m beginning to wonder if all the Forgotten People have vanished, although I get a creepy feeling that someone is watching us.

As we continue along the empty hallway, we begin to see drawings on the mirrored walls. Under different conditions, it would be a great place to explore. Jamie stops once in awhile to take pictures with his spy-band.

Hearing a beep on my spy-band, I look at the tiny screen.

It’s Michael.

COMIC MAN: No trace of anyone. Lots of drawings on the walls of the tunnel.

I talk into my spy-band and watch as my words turn into print.

GLOW: Same for us. Where could everyone be?

COMIC MAN: Maybe they’re all

All what?

GLOW: All what?

I wait for Michael’s response as I continue to watch Jamie snapping pictures of the drawings on the wall.

I reply to Michael once again.

GLOW: Everything okay?

I wait again for Michael’s reply, conscious that I can hear my own breathing.

No response.

“Jamie,” I think we’ve got a problem. Michael’s not answering me.”

Jamie looks at his spy-band, reads the messages and adds his own.

WISDOM: Comic man, are you there?

Jamie steps towards me as we wait for Michael’s response.

Silence.

Only a troubling silence.

I’m sure that something has happened to Michael, Jasmin and Squirt.

Once again I speak into my spy-pad.

GLOW: Drama, are you there?

Jamie looks anxious as we wait for Jasmin’s reply

More silence.

“Akem, Michael,” I say into my emerald.

There’s no response in my emerald.

“Too many mirrors,” Jamie says as he draws closer to me.

Radwin’s two heads look concerned.

“What do you think we should to?” I whisper to Jamie.

It feels like the tunnel is closing in on us, although I know it’s likely my imagination playing tricks.

“Let’s go back to the Hall of Mirrors,” I say.

Jamie looks at his spy-pad and then begins to walk back along the tunnel in the direction we came from.

“What if,” I say in a hushed voice to Jamie, “the Zelareans discovered the caves? Is it possible that the Zelareans have taken the leaders and all the Forgotten People?”

“Or killed them?” Jamie says, his voice quivering.