that.” He smiled nervously. “He is my friend, why would I want him to get hurt…it’s just that I
don’t like the others. Like I said before Blake is a thief, Flim is a freak, and the urchin girl
doesn’t even belong with us. She is as poor as a spaceport mouse.”
Link and Junior relaxed, soothed by Terry’s fast-talk. Junior scratched his head and
paused for a moment.
“…Terry, I’ve been meaning to ask you something. You called Devon a thief. What did
he steal?”
Terry shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Well,
he
didn’t really steal anything, but his
whole family is a bunch of thieves.”
Junior shrugged. “I still don’t get it. Why?”
Terry leaned forward, putting his face close to Junior’s. “His grandfather nearly wrecked
mine. My grandpapa owned United Gyros back then. We owned it for generations before that.
When Devon’s grandfather invented his stupid hovercar nobody wanted gyrocopters anymore.
My grandpapa lost the company, and nearly everything else. Luckily, he still owned another,
smaller manufacturing company. He and my dad worked for a long time to make it successful,
and it is now.” Terry paused to make sure that Link and Junior understood. “So, you see, he and
his family stole almost everything we had. It just wasn’t fair.”
Link shrugged, “I guess your right, but you still got that other company. So you are still
rich.”
Terry crossed his arms angrily, “Rich, yes, but not as rich as we are supposed to
be…thanks to them.”
Junior nodded, seeming satisfied. “Okay, I guess you’re right. His family done you
wrong, so no need to be nice to Devon.” He paused for a moment, then continued. “By the way,
what does that other company your family owns make?”
Terry sat silently for a moment, jaws clenched, then growled. “Garbage Dumpsters.”
Chapter 14
Devon's eyes scanned the nearby trees carefully. The hair on the back of his neck stood
up, sending a shiver down his back.
"Does anyone else feel like they are being watched?" Devon whispered, trading glances
with Flim, Jacinda, and Merrell.
They all nodded in agreement.
Devon tapped the transmit button on his WristVid. "Mr. Jacobs? Are you there?" He
waited for a response for several moments. "Hello, Mr. Jacobs?" There was still no response.
Devon's mind began to race, filled with images of Deke lying unconscious in the aisle of
the drop ship, the children all around him screaming in panic.
Devon nearly jumped when Deke’s voice came out of his WristVid. “I’m here Devon.
You sound upset, is everything okay?”
Devon paused for a moment, trying to keep the fear out of his voice. “We are okay, but I
am getting a bad feeling…like we are being watched.”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure it is just your imagination. What we need to worry about right
now is getting you back inside. We have plenty of time before nightfall, but I want you in here a
lot sooner than that.”
“So what do we do?”
“I think we can open one of the emergency doors and lower a rope or something down to
you. We just have to find something like a rope. It should not take more than a few minutes.”
Devon sighed in relief and turned to the others. “I think that’ll make us all feel better.
Right guys?”
Jacinda and Merrell nodded in agreement, but there was no sign of Flim. Devon gave the
others a confused look.
“Where in the world did Flim go?”
Jacinda looked around, her eyes wide. “I’m not sure. He was just here.”
Merrell and Devon began looking as well, scanning the area for any sign of their friend.
Unfortunately, there was no sign.
“Flim! Where are you?” Jacinda called loudly, her voice on the edge of panic. Looking
pleadingly at Devon, she seemed about to cry. In a flash her worry turned to anger as she
realized that Devon was trying to suppress a grin. Her eyes narrowed and her mouth shrank
down to an angry scowl.
“What…is going on?” Jacinda’s hands moved to her hips, her whole posture teetering on
the edge of exasperation. “This had better not be some kind of dumb joke.”
Devon finally mastered his mirth and managed to respond. “No, it’s not a joke…exactly.
But…you know Flim. He likes to play tricks on people, and I’m sure this is one of his tricks.”
“But where did he go?” Jacinda asked. Merrell was looming over her shoulder, a look of
expectation on his face as well.
“Hmm, that is a little hard to explain.” Devon paused, not really wanting to reveal Flim’s
special talent. Devon began to wither under her relentless glare. “Let’s just say he is really good
at hiding.”
Jacinda signed, shaking her head, uttering a single word. “Boys.”
Merrell stifled a snicker as well, earning him a sharp look from Jacinda as well.
The sound of rustling leaves broke the building tension, drawing all of their attention
toward the deep forest surrounding the hilltop. All three friends peered into the undergrowth,
expecting to see Flim emerge with a smile of triumph on his face.
When no one appeared they all looked at each other, confused.
Jacinda was the first to speak. “Okay, so where is he? I honestly didn’t think he had this
kind of patience.”
“I have no…” The words caught in Devon’s throat as a figure emerged from the
undergrowth behind Jacinda and Merrell.
Jacinda recognized the look of surprise on Devon’s face and began to turn. “It’s about
time you…” She froze as well when she saw the figure. It surely was not Flim.
The creature, if that word could be used, stood upright. It was about the same height as
Jacinda, but the similarities ended there. What looked like soft green feathers covered its entire
body. Bright amber eyes peered out of the green, fuzzy face, almost like those of a friendly
puppy. The creature shifted, turning slightly toward Merrell, whose back was still turned.
Jacinda’s eyes grew wide as the creature reached out to touch Merrell. He flinched when
the creature made contact with his arm, but then seemed to relax, a look of contentment on his
face.
Devon leaped forward toward Merrell. His friend seemed to be under some sort of spell,
but if he could jar him, perhaps it would be broken. Devon bowled over the larger boy. The two
went down in a heap, tangled together and struggling.
The creature hopped back, just barely avoiding ending up on the ground with Devon and
Merrell. With a fluttering that sounded like leaves in a stiff wind, it scampered back into the
undergrowth, quickly disappearing, its green ruff blending perfectly with the surrounding leaves.
With a grunt, Merrell pushed Devon off of him. He sat up, scowling. “Why did you do
that.”
Devon stared at him, eyes wide. “Are you kidding? That thing was doing something to
you. I thought I was saving you.”
“Saving me? I don’t know about that.” The blush of embarrassment began to fill
Merrell’s face. “I mean…it seemed friendly enough.”
Jacinda shook her head. “Not to Devon and me. It looked like it was taking control of
you.”
Merrell shook his head. “Why would you think that? I’m strong and can take care of
myself. Just because I’m big doesn’t mean I have a weak mind.” He scowled at Devon, perhaps
more angry than he should be.
“That’s not what I meant…not at all,” Devon said. “I was just afraid that I might be
losing a new friend. I didn’t want anything to happen to you.”
Merrell’s face softened, the anger draining away. “Oh, well I guess I owe you an
apology then, Devon.” Merrell scrambled to his feet and offered Devon a hand up.
Devon took his hand and got to his feet. “No worries, Merrell, I was just watching out
for you.”
Merrell still seemed unsure. “Are you sure…I mean, it didn’t hurt me.”
“But it grabbed you.” Jacinda interrupted.
Merrell shook his head slowly. “You are probably right, but it just didn’t
feel
dangerous.
It
felt
friendly.”
Jacinda stared at him in confusion. “I still don’t understand.”
Merrell hesitated, his eyes full of thought. “Well, I don’t know if I can really explain it.
I mean, I
was
startled when it touched me, but just as quickly I calmed down. I got this image in
my head of my home, back in New California. It was like I was looking at a postcard of one of
those fun, summer days when I had nothing to worry about. It was almost like I was back there.”
Merrell looked back at the trees where the creature had disappeared. He wore a look of
longing. “It just felt so wonderful.”
Jacinda walked up to Merrell and put her hand on his shoulder. He looked back at her,
still almost overcome with emotion.
“Are you gonna be okay?” She asked, concern showing in her voice.
Merrell signed. “Sure…I’ll be fine…it’s just been a long time since I felt that way. My
brothers and I have been away at school for so long I guess I just miss home. We haven’t been
back for three years.”
Jacinda and Devon were obviously shocked by this news. Devon began to ask Merrell
about it, but bit off his question when Jacinda gave him a warning look.
“It’s okay, Merrell,” Jacinda gave his shoulder another squeeze, “You’ll get to go
home…and I bet it will be soon, with everything that has happened to us.”
Merrell smiled. “You are probably right…but that still doesn’t explain why I thought
about it. It was almost as if I had no choice.” He thought for a moment, “I think that the
creature did it.”
“Why would it do that?” Devon asked, suddenly very interested.
“If I had to guess, I’d say it was trying to tell me something. I think it was trying to
communicate.”
Jacinda’s eyes furrowed skeptically. “Communicate? Why did it sneak up on us if it was
trying to communicate.”
“Maybe it was afraid of us.“ Devon commented.
“Beep, beep.” Devon’s WristVid chirped, interrupting their discussion.
Devon thumbed a button, answering in an excited voice. “Mr. Jacobs, you will never
believe what just happened.”
“No time for that now, Devon,” Deke interrupted him. “We need to get you inside, as
soon as we can.”
“Okay, but we have to find Flim first.”
“What?” Anger showed in Deke’s voice. “Where did he run off to?”
Jacinda stepped to Devon’s side so she could be heard. “Mr. Jacobs, that is not all. We
just encountered a very interesting creature.”
“Jacinda, I appreciate your curiosity, but I couldn’t give two hoots about that. I want you
to find Flim and get back to the ship. We have rigged up a makeshift rope and we will be pulling
you up through one of the emergency exits.”
“But Mr. Jacobs.” Jacinda pleaded.
“No argument Ms. Vasquez. Do as I instructed.” Deke’s use of Jacinda’s last name
signaled that he would not be moved.
Devon shrugged his shoulders, giving Jacinda resigned look. After a moment he spoke
into his WristVid, “We will find Flim and come back to the ship. I’ll let you know as soon as we
find him.”
“Good, just don’t go too far into the forest. I don’t want you getting out of range of your
WristVid. Make sure you contact me every fifteen minutes.”
“Yes sir.” Devon deactivated his WristVid.
Jacinda huffed in frustration. “Okay, we have to find Flim as soon as we can.”
Merrell nodded. “Then we can go back to the ship.”
“No, I don’t think so. At least not yet.” Jacinda said, shaking her head.
Devon and Merrell both turned to look at Jacinda, mouths open in disbelief.
Jacinda began to make her way into the forest as she spoke. “Wait, before you say
anything. We will do what Mr. Jacobs said. We will look for Flim, but why can’t we look for
that creature too? We will contact Mr. Jacobs every fifteen minutes, just like we said we would.
We just have to take our time finding Flim.”
“I don’t know about this, Jacinda.” Devon looked skeptical.
“Trust me, Devon. Maybe these creatures can help us.”
Devon and Merrell followed Jacinda into the forest. They all called Flim’s name and
scanned the surrounding underbrush for any sign of their friend.
Tall, wide trees cast the land into deep shade. Thin, fern-like plants huddled around the
trucks of the trees. Soft, grey grass covered the ground everywhere else. Walking on the grass
felt like walking in think foam. It gave under their feet and sprang back up behind them, leaving
little trace of their passage. As they moved deeper into the forest, the light grew dimmer,
