In the Orient (2 page)

The Adventures of . . .
ARCHIBALD & JOCKABEB

In the Forest

In the Mountains

In the Amazon

In the Desert

In the Caribbean

In the Big City

In the Arctic

In the Orient

In the Outback

As the eighth book in The Adventures of Archibald and Jockabeb series opens, almost six months have passed since the snowy Christmas Eve when the two brothers returned home from another astonishing adventure high above the Arctic Circle. The backdrop now shifts from the windswept tundra of the barren Arctic to the bustling Pearl of the Orient, Hong Kong. Archibald travels there to live with the Chen family and attend a summer student abroad program. At the end of the program, Jockabeb and Archibald’s girlfriend, Willow, visit him for what was expected to be a pleasant week of sightseeing. The sunny morning the two brothers, Willow, and one of the Chen children head out on a mountain hike, they have no idea the untold danger that awaits them. When a descendant of a mythical character from centuries past finally escapes imprisonment deep within one of the towering mountains surrounding Victoria Harbour, another life and death struggle begins—but this time without a blue feather for protection. Get ready for another fascinating journey into the unknown as you begin to read In The Orient.

Copyright © 2012 by Arthur D. Collins Jr.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any other information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Published and distributed by A & J Publishing, LLC.

ISBN 978-1-943346-23-3

e-ISBN 978-1-943346-22-6

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015956935

All characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to real persons, living or deceased, is purely coincidental.

For more information on The Adventures of Archibald & Jockabeb series, visit our website at
www.TheAJAdventures.com

Design: Scribe Inc., Philadelphia, PA

This book is dedicated to Chicago, the city, and to all the wonderful people who live there.

Chapter 1. The Pearl of the Orient

Chapter 2. Lantau Peak

Chapter 3. Past and Present Collide

First Epilogue

Second Epilogue

Almost six months had passed since Archibald and Jockabeb returned home on a snowy Christmas Eve after concluding yet another astonishing adventure—this time well north of the Arctic Circle.

During the twenty-four harrowing hours spent far below the frozen tundra at a secret location codenamed ‘Checkpoint Zulu,’ the two brothers and Willow were forced to once again fight for their lives. The three teenagers, Meatloaf, and six others made up the clandestine emergency task force formed by the Paranormal Surveillance Agency. The task force, together with the three Air Force personnel who manned the CH-47 Chinook that had transported them to Checkpoint
Zulu, encountered two aliens from another planetary system—one good, and one incredibly evil.

There were two moons that orbited the 23 Librae star located at the center of that faraway planetary system, each of which was inhabited by two totally different races.

Zenda, a caring and gentle member of the benevolent Comis race that inhabited one of the two moons, was interested in making peaceful contact with the humans.

Malum, on the other hand, was from the cruel and savagely aggressive Lues race that resided on 23 Librae’s other moon. Malum’s intentions were very different from Zenda’s—first, to destroy each of the thirteen humans sent to Checkpoint Zulu, and then to enslave the entire human race.

Fortunately, Zenda helped lure Malum into a cleverly conceived trap that ultimately destroyed her seemingly indestructible foe, but not before Malum had killed eight members of the mission, including Meatloaf. With unseen aid from the spirit of Simtu, the long-departed twin brother of Haktu, Archibald had used the last blue feather from Tommy Two Feathers’ hat as a lethal dagger, thrusting the sharp tip of its quill into the only vulnerable part of Malum’s scale-covered body.

While Archibald and Jockabeb would never be certain if the two blue feathers from Tommy Two Feathers’ hat had possessed any of the mystical protective powers that Haktu’s magic blue feather had, they were absolutely certain of two rather obvious facts—all of the blue feathers were now gone and, even more importantly,
they’d be on their own to protect themselves from any harm that might come their way in the future.

As amazing as the events in the Arctic had been, they were now distant memories for Archibald as he finished the school year and prepared for his upcoming Student Living Abroad Program in the Far East. In less than a week, he’d be boarding the first of three planes that would ultimately transport him to the west side of Kowloon Bay in New Kowloon, Hong Kong.

The Washington D.C. coordinator of the Student Living Abroad Program—which bore the unfortunate acronym of “SLAP”—had sent Archibald and his parents a very concise briefing packet six weeks before Archibald’s departure. In addition to general information about Hong Kong, its customs and geography, and Archibald’s course schedule, the packet also contained background information on the family with whom Archibald would be staying. Dr. and Mrs. Chen and their two children, William and May, would serve as his host family for the two months he’d be studying in Hong Kong.

A week after the briefing packet arrived, Archibald and his parents received a very nice letter from Mrs. Chen. Nora Chen Eu-meh said just how much she, her husband, and their children were looking forward to Archibald’s stay. Like many Hong Kong Chinese who grew up under British rule, the Chen family had adopted English first names that were used together with their traditional Chinese given names and surnames.

Mrs. Chen went on to say that her husband and his personal driver, Robert Liu, would meet Archibald when he arrived at Kai Tak International Airport. They would then drive to the Chen family complex located near the top of Victoria Peak, overlooking Victoria Harbour.

She closed her letter by reassuring Archibald’s parents that their son would be perfectly safe in Hong Kong, adding a postscript saying that she’d make sure he wrote home at least once a week.

Dr. and Mrs. Chen were both from very prominent local families, and they were considered part of the Hong Kong elite. Each had graduated from a prestigious local boarding school—he from St. Stephen’s College, and she from St. Paul’s College—prior to traveling abroad to receive university degrees in England.

Following in his father’s footsteps, George Chen Yun-Wen had graduated with honors from Oxford University. He went on to receive several advanced degrees, including a doctorate from the London School of Economics. He then returned home to work in the family business, Chen Tran-Pacific Holdings, over which he eventually presided as chairman and chief executive officer.

At eighteen, William was two years older than Archibald. On the shy side and studious, he would continue the family tradition by attending Oxford University in the fall. Having had a wonderful experience himself as a foreign exchange student, William was anxious for the young American to arrive so he could
return some of the hospitality he’d been extended by his host family in San Francisco the previous year.

May was fifteen. Like her mother, she attended St. Paul’s College. While her brother was quiet and somewhat of a bespectacled bookworm, May was a firebrand. Strong-willed and adventuresome, she was the only male or female student in her school practicing Wing Chun, an ancient southern Chinese style of Kung Fu. She’d been studying Chinese martial arts for five years under a Ninth Degree Grandmaster named Wu Feng. Wu Feng had taken a particular interest in May, and recently she received her black belt under his tutelage. As part of her martial arts training, she’d become proficient in the use of ancient Chinese throwing weapons included in the art of Wing Chun.

In addition to having a strong personality and extraordinary martial arts skills for her age, May was highly intelligent, intuitive, and very perceptive. She ranked number one academically in her class, taking advanced classes whenever they were offered. Like Willow, May spoke multiple languages. Already fluent in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin, she was also conversant in Japanese and French.

From the moment Archibald learned of his acceptance to SLAP the previous January, he’d begun practicing eating with chopsticks. While he was terribly awkward at first, he finally got the hang of it. His crowning achievement with the narrow wooden sticks was when he lifted an individual green pea off his plate
and then casually held it in the air while he talked with his parents at the dinner table.

When Archibald had called Aunt Claire to tell her he’d been accepted to SLAP and would be going to Hong Kong, she immediately fulfilled her promise to cover the airfare and the program’s tuition as her gift to him for his sixteenth birthday. Not having to bear those expenses made the boys’ parents decision easier when Dr. and Mrs. Chen invited Jockabeb to join his brother at their home for a week’s vacation after Archibald’s classes ended in August.

Even though Mandarin was the predominant language on Mainland China, Cantonese was spoken in Hong Kong. Knowing this, Archibald had purchased some Cantonese language tapes, and had learned as best he could a few useful phrases. He put one of those phrases to work when he was having trouble closing his overflowing suitcase the night before he was scheduled to leave, calling out to his brother, “Gau mehng
ā
!”

Coming into the bedroom, Jockabeb laughed and said, “Okay, you know I can’t speak Chinese. I’m pretty sure you can’t either, so you’re going to have to tell me what you just tried to say.”

“I said ‘help’ in Cantonese,” Archibald replied, grinning like the Cheshire cat in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. “And for your information, I said it correctly. You know, since you’re going to be spending a week in Hong Kong, it wouldn’t hurt you to learn some Cantonese like I have. I’ll even leave you my tapes.”

“Sure, whatever,” Jockabeb answered back as he thought of all the other things he’d rather do than spend time learning a language he probably never use after his trip to Hong Kong.

When Jockabeb had sat down on the overflowing suitcase later that evening to help Archibald lock it, neither of the brothers had any inkling that it wouldn’t be the last time they’d hear those Cantonese words spoken. The next time, however, the tone would be very different—yes, very different indeed!