The Gravity Keeper (8 page)

Simon and Owen headed toward the clearing. “C'mon, you've got to try this,” Simon said.

Owen shook his head.

“I swear I'll be careful! I've really got the hang of gravity now; I can do something simple but fun.”

Owen just shook his head again.

Simon picked up three fist-size rocks from the forest floor and started to juggle them. Then he spoke his formula, reducing their gravity so they fell more slowly. He quickly grabbed more rocks and used his gravity control on them, too; within seconds, he was juggling ten rocks at once.

Owen stared. “Cool! I didn't know you could juggle!”

“There are lots of things you don't know I can do,” Simon said. “But if you think this is something, wait'll you let me try a formula on you.”

“I knew it!” a girl's voice interrupted. “You
are
up to something!”

Simon and Owen turned pale as Alysha Davis stomped down the path toward them. Simon forgot to catch the rocks, and all ten drifted down to the dirt.

Alysha stared openmouthed. Before Simon or Owen could react, she dove forward and picked up one rock. She hefted it in her hand, confirming what her eyes had told her. Then she looked up at Simon. “How?” she asked.

Owen's mouth moved up and down, but no words came out.

“What are you doing here?” Simon recovered enough to ask.

Alysha crossed her arms over her chest. “I want to know how you did this. And that thing with your books yesterday.”

Owen took a step back from her, his mouth still flapping uselessly.

Simon frowned. “You shouldn't be here. How did you get into the woods?”

“You didn't answer my question.”

“You didn't answer mine.”

Alysha rolled her eyes. “I asked you first. But if you want to be a baby, fine. It's a free country. What's the big deal?”

“The big deal is…” Simon paused; he didn't know what to say.

To his amazement, Owen did. “The-big-deal-is-that-this-is-our-place-not-yours. Why-can't-you-let-us-have-one-place-where-we-don't-have-to-get-picked-on?”

Alysha held up her hands. “Whoa, boy, relax. Breathe. You're like that cartoon mouse.”

“Mickey?” Simon asked.

“She means Speedy Gonzales, and no, I'm not…I just…” Owen took a breath and continued. “My mouth can't keep up with what I want to say sometimes.” He paused for a moment. “I can speak normally if I want to, but that's not the point.” He paused again. “The point is, this is
our
private place.”

“What, are you scared of me or something?” Alysha asked.

“Not you,” Owen said. “But you'll bring your friends, and soon Marcus and Barry and those guys will come here, too, and then me and Simon won't have anyplace to go that'll be safe, and that's not fair!”

Alysha and Simon both stood silently, sorting out what Owen had said. “I won't tell anyone anything,” Alysha said. “Especially not Marcus. It's not their business.” She held up her hands, palms out. “
I'm
not mean to you; I just hang out with some people who are. There's a difference, you know.”

Simon frowned. “Not a big difference.”

“I guess you're right,” Alysha said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Simon sighed. “You swear you don't want to bring Marcus or any of that group in here?”

Alysha shook her head. “I can do stuff without them, you know. Besides, it's just a forest.”

“
Just
a forest?” Simon said. “Are you nuts? Have you
ever
seen it before?”

Alysha chewed her bottom lip. “Okay, so that was weird. One minute, you guys had disappeared down a dead-end street, and the next…the next, I was in a forest.” She gazed up at the towering trees. “I guess I just never noticed it before.”

“It's hidden. Wait, how did you get in? Owen
never
notices it until I bring him in.”

Alysha told them about that hint of wind she'd felt and how she'd tripped.

Simon looked around, breathing in the energy-filled air of the woods. “Wind? That Breeze. It
must
be that. That's what called me here, and that's what let you in, too. The Breeze must be part of the place's magic.”

Alysha pounced. “Magic? What?”

“It's the place,” Simon said. “It's special somehow. Can't you feel it?”

Alysha took a step back. “I don't know. Maybe.”

Simon made up his mind. “Okay. Here's the truth.” He gestured with his backpack. “I found a Book that lets me control the laws of physics.”

Alysha stared at him for a minute, glanced over at Owen (who looked away), then rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right.”

“It's true!” Owen shouted. “I've seen it!”

“Simon, your games were fun when we were seven, but that's old now.”

“Do you want me to prove it?” Simon asked.

“Okay, show me what you got,” she said.

Simon nodded. “I looked up a new formula: friction. It's the resistance between two objects when they rub against each other. It's what makes things stick together, and without it, things are all slippery. So there's a lot of friction when you rub against sandpaper but very little when you slide along a freshly waxed floor.”

Alysha faked a yawn. “Okay, so let's go, Merlin. Dazzle me.”

Simon pulled out the Book and opened it. He said, “Friction,” and smiled proudly at Alysha and Owen as the pages flipped right to the section on friction.

Alysha folded her arms. “Nice gimmick.”

“You're not a very open-minded person, are you?” Simon asked.

“I promise I won't tell anyone else about this, fine,” Alysha said. “But if you want me to believe you can do magic, I'll need to see real proof. To do otherwise”—she looked at Owen—“would be ignorant.”

“It's not really magic, I don't think,” Simon said. “It's science. This Book tells me how science really works, and I can command it. It only
looks
like magic if you don't understand.” Seeing her doubt, he nodded. “Just wait.”

“Good, show her what you can do!” Owen said. “You did read carefully and practice, right?” he asked quietly.

“Yeah, yeah, sure,” Simon said. “Don't worry.” He glanced at Alysha. “These symbols are like a language. I just have to make sure I'm saying the right thing.” He spoke a handful of nonsensical words. “Done.”

Alysha looked around. “Sorry, Science Boy. Nothing's changed.”

“Oh no?” Simon said. “Walk that way.” He pointed toward the clearing.

Alysha took one step, and her feet slid out from under her as if she'd stepped on the biggest, slipperiest banana peel ever made. She fell on her butt and started sliding forward along the dirt path.

She let out a piercing scream. “Siiiiiiimmmoooooonnn! What did you do?”

“I took away your body's kinetic friction,” Simon yelled. “Believe me now?”

She was speeding down the trail, her hands clawing uselessly at the dirt. Without any friction, everything was slicker than even the smoothest ice. “Yes! Now make it stop!”

Simon smiled wickedly. “I've got a better idea. Oh, Owen?”

Owen was looking at Alysha with a triumphant smile on his face; he turned to Simon and his eyes widened. He only had time to say, “No, wait—”

Simon directed the formula at Owen, who was already starting to move away. As the formula kicked in, he slipped forward, fell onto his stomach, and started belly-sliding in the same direction as Alysha.

“I'm coming, too!” Simon yelled. He used the formula on himself but gave his toes a bit of friction so he could use his feet to push off and pick up speed. While Alysha and Owen were slipping, he could actually dirt-skate. “Yeaahhh! Just like ice-skating!” he yelled.

Simon zoomed after Owen and Alysha as they slid toward the clearing. Owen was moaning loudly, while Alysha was now shouting with delight.

“This is awesome!” she cheered. “Way better than skating!” She streaked along effortlessly, laughing as she zoomed through the clearing. Fortunately, there were no tree stumps in her way.

Owen whimpered as he sped headfirst. He was like a puck whizzing along the ice in a hockey game, only there was no net to catch him.

Simon pumped his feet, speeding forward so he could catch up to Owen. He looked down and waved. “So what do you think?”

“Please-please-please-make-me-stop!”

Alysha's scream yanked Simon's attention away. “Simon! Help!” She was past the clearing. Up ahead was the ravine that had formed during the Order's meeting…and Alysha was seconds away from going over the edge.

“Don't worry, Owen,” Simon shouted, “I'll figure this out before you get there.” He sprint-skated toward Alysha, the trees blurring as he rushed by. He was starting to get winded; even without friction, it was tiring to run that hard.

Simon passed Alysha. “I'll save you, just hold on!” he yelled.

“Hold on to what?” Alysha yelled back.

Although the woods, as Ralfagon had predicted, was slowly fixing the gap on its own, the space was still close to thirty feet across. Simon would have to reverse the friction formula and fast.

In his hurry, Simon bobbled the Book. Since he had canceled friction while holding it, it was as friction-free as he was. It wasn't slippery to him, but it kept going when it hit the ground, sliding at matching speed. He couldn't bend over to grab it without falling, and he couldn't remember the formula's language to stop.

“Simon! Turn it off!” Alysha screamed from dozens of feet behind him.

Simon groaned. “Stupid, stupid, what are those words?” He was nearing the edge of the ravine. It was about twenty feet deep, and he had no doubt that falling down it would either kill them or at least hurt a whole lot.

He got an idea. It was going to take excellent timing: he'd only have one chance. He sprint-skated even faster so he was ahead of the Book when he reached the gap. Then he spoke his gravity formula.

“Simon, no!” Alysha cried out, but she was too late. Simon sailed over the edge of the gap. Only he didn't fall.

Simon had canceled the gravity right over the gap; instead of falling, he launched across it. He spun in midair so his hands were where his feet should have been, and he managed to grab the Book as it went over the edge.

His momentum kept him going; he spun as he soared, weightless, through the air. But Simon knew that Alysha and Owen weren't used to moving in zero
g
; they could collide with each other or drift back into the regular gravity zone and fall. He held the Book tightly. “Show me the friction-reversal formula!” he said.

The Book opened to the right page, to the exact words Simon needed to fix things. Simon twisted in midair and saw Alysha coming up to the edge. He waited for the precise moment and multiplied her friction to fifty times more than normal so her momentum wouldn't carry her into the chasm.

Alysha was jolted to a halt with only her rear end still on the ground. She was literally hanging on to the edge by the seat of her pants.

Simon continued spinning through the air to the other side of the gap. He used his gravity formula to make him light enough to land gently and then used friction to stop. He turned and saw Owen going over headfirst. Simon increased Owen's friction just in time, so the tips of his sneakers gripped the edge.

Simon burst into laughter. The no-gravity zone over the chasm kept Alysha's legs and Owen's body floating above it. Owen was flapping like a towel on a clothesline.

Alysha whooped. “That was…wow! I mean, wow.”

Owen struggled to keep his voice steady as his body billowed. “Simon. Bloom. Let. Me. Down.” This only made Alysha and Simon laugh harder.

Alysha clapped and cheered. “Okay, okay, you win. Magic, science, whatever you want to call it—I've never seen anything like it!”

Owen twisted his head around to glare at her, speaking remarkably slowly. “Yeah? No kidding.”

“I'll be right there,” Simon called out. He wasn't eager to take another low-gravity jump right then, so instead he changed his friction so his hands and feet would stick and unstick to the chasm wall. He climbed down and then up the other side, like Spider-Man.

Once he was back on the path, Simon dragged Alysha and Owen back from the edge of the gap and returned all gravity and friction to normal.

Owen scrunched his face up into a furious snarl.

“Sorry, Owen,” Simon said, “but you've got to admit it was a little fun, right?”

Owen glared at him and smacked away the bits of dirt that had stuck to him while floating over the gap. “I want to go home.”

“Come on,” Simon said, “when you were sliding…I saw you smile.”

Owen grumbled. “That was the wind pushing my lips back.”

“Owen, please!” Alysha said. “That was amazing! It was ten times better than any roller coaster!”

Owen frowned. “Don't like roller coasters.”

“You honestly hated it?” Simon asked.

Owen tried to hold a glare, but a bit of a smile peeked out. “I guess it was kind of cool.” He paused. “But did you have to make me slide on my stomach like that?
She
got to sit down!”

Alysha chuckled. “Oh, what's the difference?”

Owen glanced down at her backside and laughed. “You're right: at least I still have something covering my underwear!”

Alysha felt the back of her pants and gasped. The abrupt increase of friction had ripped the seat of her jeans to shreds.

“I can't believe this. I love these jeans!” Alysha screamed. “They're my do-nothing-relaxing jeans!”

“Now they have built-in air-conditioning,” Owen said with a smirk.

“That's
so
not funny,” Alysha said.

Simon stopped short and put a hand to his head. The weariness was back, worse than before. He stumbled, almost falling over. Owen and Alysha both grabbed him.

“Simon!” Alysha shouted.

“Are you okay?” Owen asked.

“Yeah, I guess. I just need to get some rest.”

“Controlling the laws of the universe must take a lot out of you,” Owen said.

“Come on,” Alysha said, “we'll walk you home. Maybe we can all meet up tomorrow and try some more formulas?” She looked from Simon to Owen hopefully.

Simon gave a tired smile, and Owen nodded. “You're on,” Simon said.