The Lost Tribes, page 18
BLAAM!
“Get the kids out of here!” yelled Carlos’s father. “I can hold them off.” He pulled a long slender club from a holster hidden beneath his vest and pointed it at the door. With a flick of his thumb it transformed into a double-edged spear with multiple, serrated edges.
“Not by yourself, you can’t!” Carlos’s mother brandished a weapon of her own. It hung from a chain and looked like the ignition key for her car.
“What were you planning to do with that remote?” asked Ben’s father sarcastically. “Drive us to safety?”
Carlos’ mother aimed her device at the Mercedes and fired. The car was instantly vaporized. She smirked. “I’ve been upgrading.”
“My car!” whined Ben’s father.
“Had some free time on my hands while you boys were off hunting.” Her expression remained fixed as she steadied her stance and pointed her weapon at the door like an action hero.
Carlos’ father looked longingly at his wife’s weapon.
“Oh, stop pouting you big baby. I built one for you too. I was saving it for your birthday.” She tossed a duplicate to her husband.
“Always knew I married well,” he said, admiring his new possession. He retracted the spear and shoved it back into the holster.
BLAAM!
Carlos’s parents were backed up by the Hightowers and the Choedons, all of whom had drawn weapons and were pointing them at the door.
Ben, on the other hand, gulped air and reminded himself to breathe. This was madness. All around him — chaos. Walls pounding. Streets exploding. And yet, in spite of everything, the parents showed no fear.
His father opened a mahogany box and tossed a knife to his mother.
Without taking her eyes off of the door, Ben’s mother caught the weapon squarely by its handle and — with one fluid movement — placed it in a sheath strapped to her waist.
Ben was mesmerized. His non-violent, never raise your voice, always turn the other cheek father had a secret cache of the scariest weapons he had ever seen. He had to do something.
“Toss me something, Dad. I can help.” Ben waited but got no response.
“We can hit them with a focused solar pulse,” Frank Lopez said. “The garage is reinforced with lead and titanium. It should hold.”
“Are you joking? You’ll take out most of Sunnyslope,” Ben’s mother said. “I’ve got a better idea.”
“No! You can’t risk it,” his father said.
“Risk what?” Ben pleaded.
BLAAM!
His father shoved him back through the opening. “No time to explain, Ben. Get going. We’ll get out another way. Follow the instructions on the compass and get on that ship do you hear me? Promise me you will get on that ship.”
“I don’t understand …”
BLAAM!
“Promise me!” His father barked in a tone Ben had heard only twice before — and only at Uncle Henry. His eyes filled with a fierceness that scared Ben. “SAY IT!”
Ben froze.
“SAY IT!”
“I promise. But …”
Ben felt a hand on his shoulder. He spun around in a daze. “Mom?”
“Time to go, sweetheart.” Her eyes grew calm and serene.
April crawled out of the hole and clung to her desperately.
“The game?” He searched her eyes for confirmation.
She touched his cheek. “No, honey. I’m so sorry. We should have told you about our mission.”
“I know.” Ben tried to sound brave. “I heard Uncle Henry warning Dad about it.”
His mother pressed her fingers to his lips and cut him off. “No. You don’t. But we’ve run out of time. You have to get your sister to the Harbor. That’s your mission now.”
“But I can help.” Ben flexed his muscles. “Just give me a weapon!”
“Not this time, Son,” his father interrupted.
“But Dad! …”
Eyes pleading, his father crouched until they were face to face. “Ben, I know you want to help. But right now we’ve got a job to do. So do you.”
His mother pulled him close. “I’m counting on you to take care of your sister. Keep her safe. That’s more important. I need to know you are both safe so I can do my job.”
Job? Ben couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. He blinked and tried to will himself out of this computer simulation gone wrong. “Aren’t you coming with us?”
She wrapped her arms around him, hugged him tightly and kissed his forehead. Even as the walls threatened to collapse around them, panic drained from his body. His mother’s necklace pressed into his chest as an overwhelming sense of calm washed over him.
The monitor went dark. For a split second, dead silence filled the workshop.
“What’s happening?” Ben whispered in relief. “Is it over?”
His mother gave him a sad smile and shook her head. “Remember what I told you? I’ve got some dragons to slay. You’ve got a sister to protect. I’ll see you again. Get to the Harbor. Your uncle will find you.”
BLAAM!
The attack resumed — much harder this time — as if whatever was outside had marshaled more forces. The walls bulged as if the garage were being hit from all directions by enormous battering rams. The door was going to give at any minute.
Ben’s mother kissed him, then his sister. “April — stay close to your brother. Remember. I love you both. Always!” She shoved them forcefully toward the opening and returned to the center of the room. Ben was shocked. His mother possessed the strength of an Amazon warrior.
“MOM!”
Crouching, she turned toward him, her smile a grimace and blew a kiss. “Go!” she said before tucking her head against her chest and closing her eyes as if in prayer.
BLAAM!
The armor plating dissolved.
Searing heat filled the room.
The exterior door splintered. Blinding light filtered through the cracks. Ben strained to get a better look. The other parents circled, backs to each other, weapons ready. Everyone, that is, except his mother. The ornamental knife on her belt remained in its sheath. Without warning, she stood, arched her back and threw something at the door. His mother launched …
It couldn’t be!
A ball of flame hurled toward the door.
“Fire in the hole!” hollered Carlos’s father, looking almost delighted.
Ben’s father shoved Ben back into the opening as the other parents flinched and ducked.
BLAAM!
Another blinding flash filled the workshop. Ben caught a glimpse of his father — a long, lethal knife gripped his hand just as an explosion knocked Ben backwards into Carlos.
Silence.
“Where did they go?” cried April. “Aren’t they coming with us?”
Ben scrambled up the steps. The ceiling was now solid granite. “We can’t leave them!”
Carlos squeezed into the narrow space beside him and searched the walls. “I can’t find a switch to open it.”
“Keep looking. There’s got to be one hidden somewhere,” Ben said.
The two of them worked for several minutes, covering every square inch of rock with their bare hands while the girls waited on a landing. Not a crack or crevice to be found.
Ben pounded on the ceiling until his hands bled. “Mom! Dad!”
“It’s no use. We can’t help them now. Not from here.” Carlos’s voice crackled with apprehension. “They said they would find us if we got separated. Mom promised. They’ll find another way out. I know they will.”
“Come on.” Serise said. “My dad said we’ve got a long way to go.”
Ben felt claustrophobic. His stomach churned and he fought back a wave of nausea. Above him, someone or something was attacking his parents. They could be dead or dying and he was stuck in a hole with no way to help them. Cold, tired and confused he stared at the solid rock surface and realized that he had no choice but to go down.
But down to where?
What kind of harbor was buried underground?
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
“The Museum”
“’Contrariwise’, continued Tweedledee, ‘if it was so, it might be, and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn’t, it ain’t. That’s logic!’
Lewis Carroll — Alice in Wonderland
Ben’s backpack scraped the sides of the tunnel as it narrowed. Lead by Aris, the others trudged ahead. They had walked for over an hour when they finally reached a small, empty chamber. With the exception of the tunnel, there were no other openings.
Carlos frowned. “What do we do now?”
“Wait, I guess,” Grace said.
“This is a safe harbor?” asked Serise. “There’s no bathroom, no chairs, no food. We’re going to have to tunnel out like earthworms. Maybe we missed something. Dad said to go to the museum. Think we’re under it? How do we get out?”
“We don’t,” Ben said. “We go back before we suffocate.” He turned but the tunnel had disappeared. In its place stood a blank wall. “Well, that’s just great!”
Aris sniffed and pawed at the wall. His tail flicked back and forth as he hunted.
“I know.” April’s quivering voice echoed off the walls. Normally fearless, she was now shaking.
“Did you find something?” Ben asked, trying to hide his panic and sense of dread.
“No, but Mom and Dad wouldn’t send us down here if it wasn’t safe. Serise’s dad said something about a museum gate. There has to be a trick to getting out.”
Ben banged on the rock in frustration. “Trick? Do you see anything that looks like a gate? Got one of those keys to the imaginary jungle?”
April lurched backwards. “Maybe we’ll find one of those dialers,” she said, her voice almost a whisper.
“This isn’t a game, April.” Seeing her panic, Ben tried to calm down, but hearing his own words made him sick to his stomach. “Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to yell.”
“It’s okay,” she said, but her voice seemed defeated.
Grace kicked at the dirt floor. “She’s right. They wouldn’t send us down here if it wasn’t safe. Think about it. There’s light and air down here. It has to be coming from somewhere!” She walked the perimeter, brushing the walls with her fingertips.
Aris wound in and out of her legs. His tail stiffened and he stopped abruptly. He pawed at the wall again. It shifted.
“Let me see that!” Ben pushed the cat out of the way with his foot. Aris growled indignantly and took a swipe at him. One claw lodged in Ben’s pant leg before pulling out with a snag. Leg throbbing, Ben shoved the wall. Nothing happened. He banged on the wall with both fists. Nothing. He planted his feet into the ground and pushed with his back. The wall refused to surrender to his forceful attempts.
The cat blinked and backed away. Grace looked at Aris, the wall and at Aris again. She took a deep breath then gently poked the wall with her index finger. The wall rotated silently on its axis.
“Got it!” She laughed with relief as Aris disappeared into the opening.
“How’d you do that?” asked Ben
“Your uncle’s game. There was a challenge just like this. A door there that you can’t see when it is closed, but it can be opened with the touch of a finger. You just have to know where to look. Remember? You said Pharaohs always plan an escape route.”
“Apparently, so do our parents.” Ben said, relieved.
“Whoa, guys!” Carlos said. “You’ve got to see this.”
From where he stood, the only thing that Ben could see was the back of Carlos’ disembodied bottom sticking out of the wall. Serise shoved Carlos through the opening then entered behind him, followed by April, and Grace. Ben heard a simultaneous, “Wow” coming from the other side of the door. He shoved his backpack through the gap and squeezed through, stepping into a small, familiar office.
“Serise. This is your mom’s…” Ben stopped mid sentence. The revolving doorway disappeared. In its place was a wall covered in maps, diagrams of ancient burial grounds, and aerial photography showing odd geometric shapes. Stapled next to them were newspaper articles entitled “Crop Circles a Hoax?” and “Farmers Think Crop Circles Created by Extraterrestrials.” In the center hung a Dreamcatcher and Navajo poems.
“Okay,” Serise said. “I feel better. I know where to go next. There’s a hidden passage inside the mummy sarcophagus. We’ve got to make sure that the janitor doesn’t see us.”
“A passage to where?” Ben asked.
Grace shrugged. “Our new home, I guess.”
“Home?” Carlos asked. “Is that what your dad said?”
“Actually, he said I was returning to the land of my ancestors. That means ‘home’ in my book. I just figured we’d be going to Tibet.”
“But that’s not our home,” Serise said. “Why would the rest of us be going there?”
Home?
The entire scene had been so surreal that Ben had not taken the time to fully appreciate the situation. The only home he had ever known was gone. Destroyed. Nothing could have survived those explosions.
Nothing.
No one.
He and April were all that was left of the family, except … Uncle Henry! Ben rushed to the phone.
Grace tried to block him. “What are you doing? We’ve got to get going.”
Ben ignored her. His hands shook as he dialed the wireless number, trying several times before getting the right sequence.
“All circuits are busy. Please try your call again later.”
Grace tugged on his arm.
“Whoa. Stop!” Ben pushed her hand away. “Our parents said to wait twenty-four hours.”
“Not here,” Serise said. “They said to wait at the safe house. This isn’t it.”
“Right,” Carlos agreed. “Dad said everything would be explained once we got there. Remember? When we get on a ship.”
“A ship to where? Tibet like Grace said?” April clutched Aris tightly. He growled and squirmed but she kept a firm grip until he relaxed, licked her and settled into a soft purr.
“Wouldn’t make sense. But I’m thinking we’re supposed to head towards the Pacific Ocean. That’s the closest body of water.” Ben slumped against the wall. “I guess our parents have been living a double life.”
Serise threw her hands up in disgust. “Well, no kidding, Sherlock. Where have you been for the last hour?”
“No, I mean … well … I heard my father talking about teams assembling and trying to synthesize stuff in a lab. He told your dad he was going to steal a necklace from the British Museum. I thought they were playing the game, but now I think they’re jewel thieves. Maybe we’re being chased by government agents. Think about it. The hidden tunnels. The super-sized satellite dish behind Carlos’s house and all those government systems it tapped into. My mom’s weird experiments. Everything is starting to make sense. The night my uncle gave us the game he was arguing with my father and said their cover was blown and someone was calling the teams in. I think their boss is some mean guy named Kurosh. My dad said he wasn’t going to take orders from the guy.”
Grace glared at him. “You told me you never heard of this Kurosh.”
“I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure. Carlos was freaking out about his dad possibly being a secret agent. I didn’t want you getting all upset too. My mom was going to explain everything today but she never got the chance. I thought this was all part of the game.”
“Kurosh?” asked Carlos. “My father was on the phone yelling about someone named Kurosh — that day we were playing computer games. Sounds Russian. Or Eastern European.”
“Yeah, it does. Fits with all of this spy stuff,” Grace agreed.
Sirens blared in the distance. West of the city, the night sky glowed orange. Ambulances, fire trucks and police cars raced toward the main highway. Vibrations from TV helicopters shook the glass windows.
Ben turned on a portable television behind Cheryl Hightower’s desk.
“Are you nuts!” Serise whispered. “You want the guard to hear us?”
Ben ignored her. He turn the sound to its lowest setting and frantically changed channels until he found the local news.
“ … That’s right Ted,” a newswoman said. “I’m here at the scene of an amazing but tragic explosion. It appears there has been a rupture in the natural gas main serving the Celestial Park development; home to several prominent Sunnyslope families. There are no answers yet, but the heat is so intense that firefighters say that it is unlikely anyone has survived the blast. For now, the fire is contained to the isolated cul-de-sac located at Paradise Circle. Stating again, it is highly unlikely that there will be survivors …”
“Mom! Dad!” screamed April. Ben rushed over and clamped his hand over her mouth. “Shh! Remember? There’s a guard on duty.”
Carlos hugged Serise, who sobbed quietly.
Grace stroked the feathers of a large dreamcatcher. “They got out. I know it. They promised. They wouldn’t leave us here alone with no explanations.”
Ben was too dumbstruck to say anything. He felt as if lead weights were crushing his chest and stomach making it impossible to breathe.
No government agency did that.
Grace finally sank to the floor, her face blank. April curled up next to her and buried her head in Grace’s lap.
“Guys. It was a natural disaster,” said Ben, his voice was barely audible. “They couldn’t have made it. How could they?”
“They had some power left in those magic crystals,” Serise said, still sobbing.
“Magic Crystals? That stuff’s not real!” Ben said.
“That’s what I thought,” Carlos said. “But then how do you explain Serise appearing out of thin air back at the garage? Huh? How do you explain that? How do you explain how we can be in your bedroom and somewhere else in the world at the same time?”
“Hidden passages? Secret tunnels? Mass hysteria? I don’t know enough about all this secret spy stuff. We need answers. I’ll try calling Uncle Henry again. He’ll know.”
“Don’t you understand? Something or someone deliberately destroyed the street. It wasn’t a gas explosion. I bet it was one of those secret military teams. Or the CIA. They probably got your uncle too. We’ve got to get out of here before they find us.” Serise blew her nose forcefully.
