Jack James and the Call of the Tanakee (19 page)

TWENTY-SEVEN

“WHAT ARE WE doing here? Why are they holding us? Where’s Takota?”

Little Lily kept asking the questions that were on everyone else’s minds. Jack wondered the same things. Where was his protector when he needed him most? The living quarters, though spacious and comfortable in every detail, seemed like a prison cell. Two armed guards were stationed at the exit, forbidding any movement in or out. Jack’s hopelessness couldn’t have been any greater than at that moment. Without his protector. Without the O/A. At least he had his family with him. That was of some comfort.

“Mommy?” Lily’s insistence was admirable. “Why do we have to stay here?”

“Because the commander said so, dear,” Liz answered finally.

“But why?”

“You’re going to have to ask him that one yourself,” Liz said, and, as if on cue, the entrance fizzled and sparked and split like the surface of a pool of water. Through the effervescent fissure walked Commander Klein.

“Jack?” the commander’s voice was low, and sounded almost apologetic. Almost. “I hope we can get past our differences. The truth is the Eteeans are preparing for a very important operation in the Connections Center. We’re about to make our first attempt at contacting the Children of the Blue Crystal, and, quite frankly, we need you. Would you like to join us and help?”

“Now you want my son’s help?” Liz approached the commander at a brisk pace. Two Eteean guards stood in front of him and blocked her path. “What is this? You’re treating us like prisoners? Like enemies all of a sudden?”

“It wasn’t an easy decision, Mrs. James,” Commander Klein said. “I just thought the tension was getting a little too high. Amelia was mad at me. Jack was mad at Argus. And Argus, well, he felt Jack was plotting against him.”

“Plotting against him! That’s crazy!” Liz screamed.

“Honey, please,” Ben tried to get her back to the sitting area. “Please calm down.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” she got even louder. “We’re being locked up against our will!”

“Dad?” Amelia stepped through the entry membrane. The look on her face was an equal mixture of horror and outrage. “You’ve locked up the James family? Why would you do that?”

“Now, Amelia, I—”

“No!” she put a stop to his comeback, her eyes filling with tears. “Don’t try to sweet talk your way out of this. I’ve had it. You’ve been using me. You’ve been mistreating Jack. What’s gotten into you? You’re not my Dad!”

The commander’s shoulders dropped. He inhaled as if to speak, but his words never came. Sorrowfully, he trudged to the door, where he stopped and spoke without looking back.

“I’d give my life for you kids,” and then he left.

“Jack,” Amelia said, then turned to face his family. “Guys, I’m so sorry about this.”

“It’s all right, Amelia,” announced Jack. “In fact I think we should go help your father.”

“Are you kidding?” Liz was still incensed. “After the way he’s treated you?”

“Mom, we have a duty. The world as we know it has changed. Everything has changed. But, like it or not, we’re still in the middle of a war. A war that’s been going on for a long, long time. Essinis is coming. The Nagas are out there, and it’s our job to help get the Children to safety.”

Ben looked upon his son proudly.

“You’re right, Jack. It’s important you see this through. But do you think you can put aside your differences with Argus?”

Jack sighed deeply.

“I’m going to have to try.”

“And what about you, Amelia,” Ben asked the more important question. “Can you forgive your father so you kids can get this thing done?”

She creased her brow.

TWENTY-EIGHT

THE COMMANDER MARCHED back and forth behind the three kids—Jack, Amelia, and Argus—as they sat in the Connections Center, the brains of the Black Pyramid compound. A small army of lab technicians and scientists participated in the operation, each of them having a particular part to play. His mom and dad were there, along with Lily, of course. He also recognized Dr. Hutchinson in the group, as well as Rory, the technician he’d gotten to know best.

Jack didn’t think he’d ever get over the looks of the outfit they put on him. Not for its appearance. To tell the truth, he could have gotten used to that. It had sharp contours and these mean, dazzling streaks of lightning constantly rippling through embossed channels in the surface, creating intricate patterns and symbols, much like the inner workings of the Eteea machines. The problem was just that the first time he’d seen the suit, Argus had it on.

“Are we all ready for the procedure?” the commander sounded impatient.

“
I’m
ready,” boasted Argus.

“Yes,” Commander Klein thrust out his lower lip. “Of course you are. We’re waiting for Jack, it seems.”

“We’re always waiting for Jack,” Argus smiled and glared at the same time. Jack only shook his head, fumbling with the headset they had on each of the children.

“This is too tight. Why do we have to wear these things, anyway? We don’t need them.”

“Yes, but
we
need them,” the commander said. “You may have powers of telepathy, but we don’t. And when you make contact, I need to have a record of it. A map, if you will, showing me the locations of the Children of the Blue Crystal.”

“Do you think that’s a good idea?” Amelia said. “I mean, what if the map gets into the wrong hands?”

“We’re one of the most secure, if not
the
most secure, military facilities on this planet,” the commander assured her. “Our technology is post-state of the art, meaning we possess the kind of resources even the big boys don’t get to play with.”

“You mean toys like us?” Amelia asked.

The commander paused. He tried to seem patient, but Jack sensed his frustration a mile away.

“We don’t have time to argue about the merits of my methods, Amelia. This is a serious time. A very serious time for all of us. For the whole planet. The whole universe.”

Amelia looked at her lap for a moment, and Jack could have sworn he saw her wipe away a tear. Then she straightened up in her seat.

“We’ve got a job to do,” she looked at Jack, then at Argus. “Let’s do it.”

Three technicians, one for each child, approached the circle carrying stainless steel boxes like sleek serving trays. Lifting the lids in unison, they revealed the Eteea machines. Jack, right away, set his sights on the O/A, but it was placed in front of Argus. Jack was given the one he’d used before, the Amber Machine. He’d noticed the first time he’d held it that it didn’t seem to possess quite the same strength as the O/A. Still, the machine was a powerful one, as Jack would soon find out.

The children took their machines at the same time. It wasn’t a practiced or coordinated event. It just seemed to happen that way. Each device began to hum then vibrate then whistle in unison. To Jack it felt as if the machines were talking to each other. They were communicating their happiness, their deep, pure joy to be in each other’s company once again. Jack’s heart filled at the feeling, the intense euphoria of the moment, a reunion of sorts. A family reunion. They were brothers and sisters, relatives of a higher order, bonded by affection for each other. Bonded by Eteea.

Jack let the wave of bliss wash over him, breathing deep and slow, feeling almost like he was going to slip away, off into some distant dimension before he even powered up the omnidimensional field.

“They’re entering the psychic state already, sir,” a scientist announced, eyes planted firmly on his monitor, fingers flying over a semitransparent keyboard.

“Good,” the commander said. “Good. Let them acclimate to the new environment.”

“Beginning acclimation process,” another scientist answered, and pressed in the appropriate commands at her station.

The commander turned his attention to the giant holoscreens, which showed all manner of calculations. Jack could have made sense of it had he not been in the midst of the greatest bout of pure happiness probably ever experienced by a human being. Amelia stared at her Eteea machine and just smiled, her face pinkish with starbursts. She was feeling it, for sure. Her soft smile and her deep breaths weren’t the only things Jack was getting from her. Undeniably, he heard her voice. Soft and calm. Gentle yet distinct, she answered him with her mind.

“There are no words to describe this bliss.”

Then Jack spied Argus’s face, and right away felt something odd. Argus seemed anxious, like he was getting stage fright all of a sudden. Amelia appeared too enraptured to notice, and Jack, still in the midst of the incredible euphoria, had no real way to call her attention to it. He had no time, anyway.

“All right, kids,” the commander rolled his finger on a touchscreen, and a map of Earth appeared on the biggest of the gigantic monitors. “Let’s find your fellow Eteeans.”

Jack kept his eyes on Argus, but then had to turn his attention to his own task—command the omnidimensional field. He knew one slight break in concentration, one slip in confidence, and the whole thing could collapse like a house of cards, and, as evidenced by his father, he could potentially destroy their underground base and everyone in it. So he had to focus fully and without distraction on his machine.

The device’s power jolted his muscles. He held on tight and pressed, collapsing his palms together, willing the machine to its highest setting. He saw out of the corners of his vision the others were doing the same. It still bothered him to no end Argus was using the O/A, but the Eteea machine in his hands communicated with him that it was up to the task completely. Right then, he felt the power surge and saw his own likenesses cascading toward him, merging, adding incalculable strength, both mentally and physically.

“Maximum Omnidimensional power achieved!” spouted a random scientist.

“Outstanding!” the commander shouted over the steady beats originating from the machines, each one resonating on its own frequency, accumulating in a perfect three-part harmony. The compassion, the connection, the love these beings shared was the most heartfelt emotion Jack had ever experienced. The power of so many dimensions, raw and unchecked, all funneling into the most benevolent force imaginable. That’s why, when Jack looked at Argus, he couldn’t understand how such a potent force for good would allow someone evil to use it. That meant, despite Jack’s every instinct otherwise, Argus must have been good. He must have been. In that case Jack had no choice but to put Argus out of his mind and zero in on the commander’s orders.

“Now, all of you, focus your thoughts. Reach out to the Children of the Blue Crystal. Find where they are…please.”

“But how would we even know where to start?” Jack said.

The commander smiled.

“We have a special new arrival to the Black Pyramid,” he motioned to the entrance and the portal membrane fizzled open, revealing a tall aged woman in a purple sequined shawl.

“Teresa Tree, at your service,” she bowed.

“Teresa!” Jack and Amelia shouted at once. The walls rumbled and the ceiling cracked. White-clad scientists ran for cover to avoid flying debris.

“Careful!” Commander Klein warned. “You guys are on max omni-power!”

“Sorry.”

Though he wanted to desperately, Jack had no time to talk with Teresa. Somehow he got the feeling it didn’t matter. With a wink and a nod, she told him she already knew what was going on and how he felt. And it was especially clear when she gave Argus a furtive glance.

“I’ve traveled a long way to be here with you, my children. Traveled here with a little help from my friends. Now I must ask for your ears as I tell you a tale, a tale of a fateful day,” she reached into her shawl and produced a palm-sized book, almost too tiny to read. Jack marveled at how such an old lady could read such a small book without glasses. She did, though, and quite well too.

“This day is truly historic, for it is the day of the Assemblage. The day the Children of the Blue Crystal all come together as one. The time has come for the end of this war, of eons and eons of bloodshed and sorrow. Time for an end to Essinis.”

Jack closed his eyes and saw something quite similar to his holoversarium—only instead of stars, comets, and planets, he saw small, shapeless forms, fuzzy and bright and colorful. And warm. They seemed to give off their own heat. Heat that made Jack feel so at ease he could have fallen asleep.

“From the five cardinal directions, the sound is heard, the connection is made, the voices are received,” Teresa read. “To the Children of the Blue Crystal we send this message: Join us! Gather together today, this day of days. Awaken inside of yourselves the spirit of Eteea!”

The multihued, cloudy shapes moved with Teresa’s voice, slowly at first, then faster, dancing to an unheard tune, the happiest music known to man. It reminded Jack of the inside of the O/A, or the other Eteea machines. A complicated, orchestrated ballet, with each of the blurred entities taking an exact place in the complex and intricate design. Parts in a machine. The working mechanisms of a giant device. Only Jack felt he was one of the parts, and the device was the universe.

“As the first Eteeans search for you,” Teresa continued. “They seek your power, and ask you to help them. Help to find our way out of the darkness, for as you reveal yourselves, you reveal truth, hope and love in our fellow man. We will overcome this torturous beast known as Essinis and their vile servants, the Nagas.”

Jack felt a sudden disturbance in the ocean of good feelings. Slightly, almost outside the range of perception. He turned his attention to the other two children quickly, wondering if any of them sensed it. Amelia looked at peace. Argus seemed like he was trying to convey calmness, though a tiny crack in his façade came through for just a second when he opened his eyes. Knowing he’d been spotted, Jack looked away, bowing his head and once again letting his mind drift with Teresa’s words.

“We ask you to join us on this next step of our journey, all you wonderful, gifted souls. You’ve known from birth you’ve been selected for this honor. All the children who’ve felt outcast because you’re different. All the boys and girls who’ve felt lost in this world, rudderless, without bearing. Let these words be your compass. Let my voice be your beacon in the night, your lighthouse guiding you safely into harbor!”

Jack noticed a wondrous thing. The hazy shapes took on the appearance of faces, ghostly images of children of all ages and nationalities. One by one, they passed his inner sights, brushing against his astral body, filling him with even more good tidings than before. He saw other things too, namely a giant, circular plane, invisible on the inside like glass. He saw lines, curved and jagged and irregular. Looking closer, he realized the lines formed a topographical chart, oceans and continents, the Earth represented as a whole like a map.

“And so the Children hear the words of the storyteller, words that bind, that mend this fabric of hope and togetherness and cooperation. They heed these words because they know, as we all here know—that without each other, without the formulated power of the Eteeans, we will not survive. And if we do not survive, the Earth, the universe, and all who live in it will not survive.”

The map became clearer and clearer to Jack as Teresa read. And all over, signified by those hazy points of light, places were illuminating, glowing and pulsing on the globe one by one, here, there, and everywhere. Across North America, down through Central and South America, then over to Africa, Asia, Europe, the Far East, and South Pacific, including Australia and New Zealand. From every reach of the planet the lights originated, each blinking softly, gently, acknowledging Teresa’s request.   

Jack perceived so many different children in so many different places, he thought he was seeing the world from space, watching the city lights of all the major population centers in the world. However, the more scrutiny he placed on his observations, the more he concluded the lights weren’t necessarily in big cities. In fact, many of the beacons were far off, in remote reaches, where even simple luxuries such as electricity and running water must have been unattainable.

Then to Jack’s amazement, he determined they
were
hovering in space. Jack, Amelia, and Argus, orbiting like satellites, taking in the unfolding action below.

Jack, with his Eteea machine, did a quick geographical survey. In a fraction of a second, he traveled the surface of the planet, which was, he confirmed quickly, the real Earth, not just a map. He encountered people of different ages, races, religions, ethnic backgrounds, economic statuses. One thing he learned was Eteea seemed not to discriminate. Boy or girl, rich or poor, black, white or any color in between, it didn’t matter. It only wanted those who were true to heart, who had old souls, and who cared about other living beings.

“And when the connection was complete,” Teresa read her final sentence. “The map was complete.”

“We have the coordinates, sir!” a tech shouted to a jubilant cheer from the others as they sprang from their workstations.

“All right!” the commander added to the revelry, then cleared his throat. “But we can’t celebrate yet. We have to safeguard the data.”