Jack James and the Tribe of the Teddy Bear (30 page)

THIRTY-SEVEN

THE PATROL CAR SKIDDED in the gravel. Amelia thought Deputy Morris took the corner a little too fast. She knew the clean-cut man was nervous, though he had arms bigger than fence posts. He tried to mask it with a straight face, but she saw sweat on his upper lip. She also saw his spirit clothes, flaring an anxious pale orange. She peered at Liz and Lily in the backseat. Ayita and Pud sat unresponsive on Lily’s lap. Liz nodded toward Morris. The deputy glared at Amelia. She put her head down.

“Lily,” Liz said. “How would you like to ride up front with Amelia and nice Deputy Morris, huh? I bet your teddy bears would love that.”

“Yeah!” shouted Lily.

The deputy refused. “I already said. Young kids can’t ride up front. I don’t have a child seat.”

“But my teddy bears wanna sit up there!” Lily cried. “Why can’t they sit up there!”

“Listen. I told you. Now please. Be quiet, little girl.”

Tears streamed down Lily’s cheeks. She went from pink to red to nuclear in seconds. She huffed. And puffed. Her lips quivered. Then she erupted.

“You mean, mean man! You won’t let my teddy bears ride up front! Why can’t they? That’s all they wanna do, why can’t they!”

The deputy appealed to Liz in the mirror. She mouthed the words,
“I can’t help you.”

He tried to reason with Lily. “Listen, please. You’ve got to quiet down. It’s distracting me. Please, little girl.”

“Her name’s Lily,” Amelia said.

“Lily, please. Settle down.”

Lily’s tantrum grew more turbulent. She kicked his seat, stomped on the floor, and pounded the window, screaming at the top of her lungs, “MY TEDDY BEARS WANNA RIDE UP FRONT!”

“Okay!” Morris stepped on the brake. They lurched forward as the car slid to a stop in a cloud of dust. He got out and opened Lily’s door. She smiled, wiped the tears and slobber with her sleeve, then handed Pud to him.

“Here,” she sniffled.

The deputy took both Tanakee. “I don’t see the big deal with these things. Why does Archer Savage care about teddy bears, anyway?” he examined them. “I just don’t…”

He stopped when his stare met Ayita’s. He went blank, relaxing his shoulders, neck, arms. Ayita and Pud slipped out of his hands and he slumped against the car, then to the ground.

“Did you do it?” Amelia leaned to get a look.

Pud hopped to the driver’s seat. “She did it.”

“Okay,” Liz said. “How long will it last?”

Ayita answered, “Not sure. We don’t have much time.”

“Then let’s get to it. Remember the plan.”

Pud unlocked the doors for both Amelia and Liz. They hurried out and helped the deputy to his feet. Amelia noticed his aura had changed. Now it was the same deep crimson as Ayita’s. They eased him, wobbling, into his seat and propped him up. Then he seemed to regain consciousness. He frowned at Liz and she pulled away.

“Don’t worry,” Ayita said. “He’s under my control. We have to hurry, though.”

DEPUTY MORRIS PULLED the Crown Victoria into the Clatsop County Corrections vehicle lot. At the gate, he stopped and punched a code into the keypad.

Buzz!

The chain-link fence slid open. They proceeded to the next stop, a garage with a large door which rattled while it lifted. Metal on metal. Chains clinking.

Amelia glanced at Lily. The little girl looked ready to crack a smile any moment. She checked on Ayita and Pud. Motionless. She knew that would soon change.

“Hey, Zeke,” Morris called to a uniformed man emerging from inside. Zeke greeted Deputy Morris at his door, walking beside the car as it pulled into the garage. Amelia noticed his bright canary spirit clothes, telling her he was awash in thought. He pressed a button on the wall and the big door closed. Then he peered into the vehicle.

“I hear you have the Ben James device? Is that true? And those animals from Winmart. You have them, too?”

Morris got out and laughed, patting Zeke on the back. “You guys sure are gullible around here.”

“So…no device?” Zeke shifted his weight, trying to get a good view inside.

“No. No device.”

“What about the animals?”

“Teddy bears, Zeke. Ever heard of a teddy bear?”

Zeke stood straight. A larger man than even Morris, he squared his shoulders. “You kidding?”

Morris answered. “No. I’m not kidding.”

“I’m gonna tell them you’re here, anyway,” Zeke walked away.

“Hey,” Morris shouted.

Without turning, Zeke stopped. “What?”

Morris raised his right hand. Pud leapt from the backseat with Ayita rushing after him. Both quick, nimble creatures were on Zeke before he blinked. Holding his ears, Pud slammed him with a stout head-butt. He dropped to his knees and managed a muted
Ugh!
As he toppled over, the Tanakee jumped to the roof of the squad car, falling once again into their inanimate, stuffed toy routines.

Morris stepped toward Zeke, crouched and grabbed the man’s keys.

Liz ran to the back and rummaged through the trunk until she found the O/A. “Here it is!” she put it in her pocket and seized her daughter’s hand. “Come on, Lily,”

Amelia took Ayita then gave Pud to Lily. They ran and caught up with Morris. The deputy unlocked the heavy door and pushed it open. Inside, the air smelled different to Amelia, stale and at the same time sanitized excessively. The lights buzzed. The walls were painted a sedate primrose. Each room they passed was fortified by a solid slab with no view to the outside world.

They arrived at a tall desk. A dark-skinned woman stood with her back toward them. She had the navy blue spirit clothes of a joyful, good natured soul.

“Be right with you!” she sang. Her long curls hung in dark bunches, a style created by several hair ties. She turned with a smile, chewing open-mouthed on a large wad of gum. “Hey, Morris,” her grin disappeared when she saw Amelia and the rest of the group. “What’s goin’ on?” she asked, bubblegum popping, the name
Bonnie
inscribed in cursive on her tan uniform.

Liz nudged Lily. The little girl jumped into action.

“I wanna bring my teddy bear to my daddy,” she placed Pud on the counter.

“Teddy bear?” Bonnie studied Liz. “Wait a minute. You’re Ben James’ family. We’ve been…”

Her eyes locked with Pud’s. He squinted intently, raising and lowering his brows. Bonnie’s pupils flared. Then she snapped straight and giggled so hard she spat out her gum.

“What are you doing, Pud?” Ayita frowned.

“Nothing. Hold on,” he waved and intensified his gaze. Bonnie nodded. She stepped to the opposite wall, crouched and opened a small door. She advanced toward Pud again and handed him a sandwich.

“Aha,” he shoved half into his mouth.

“Pud! Get serious,” Ayita scolded.

“Gotta have my strength, right?” he offered the other half to any takers. When no one accepted, he shrugged and gobbled that down.

While Pud finished his snack, Bonnie pecked at her computer keyboard. She paused to watch the screen. Then she smiled at Pud, pointing to a door behind the reception area.

Buzz!

Deputy Morris hurried and gestured for them to follow. As they went inside, Amelia saw a series of large windows arranged at angles. She couldn’t tell how many there were, but it seemed pentagonal. She tagged behind, making sure nobody noticed them. She also wanted to make sure Bonnie stayed under Pud’s trance. If the spell somehow became broken now, they would be caught for sure. Bonnie acted normal, going about her business answering the phone, entering data into the computer, relaying information. She even looked at Amelia and smiled. Uncanny.

Just inside the door, they all stopped and huddled. Amelia saw what everyone else saw—a large, central guard station. Inside, two jail officers stood watch, hovering over a series of closed-circuit video systems.

Liz agonized. “How’s this ever going to work?”

Ayita stepped forward. “Don’t worry. He knows what to do,” she pointed up to Morris. “Don’t you?”

THIRTY-EIGHT

JACK WONDERED WHAT Teresa was thinking as she searched the seemingly impenetrable forest.

“What are we doing?”

“Shhh,” she whispered. “It’s close.”

“What is? Wind Whisper Woods?”

She chuckled. “No, silly. Weren’t you paying attention to my story? We can’t just find Wind Whisper Woods. We have to follow a…” she skimmed her sights along the treetops. Jack spotted nothing unusual.

“There it is!” she pointed.

“What?” he continued searching, yet still came up with nothing. Then he felt a feathery tickle on his neck. He shivered.

“A butterfly!” she jumped and clicked her heals, reaching for the delicate, milky insect. It danced in the air, fluttering off into the forest.

“Come on!” she gave chase. He hurried after her and they traveled deep in the timberland where nothing seemed familiar. Even the trees began to appear different. Twisted, gnarly roots grew out of the earth in leering groupings like trolls huddling and conspiring against them. Moss spread from the forest floor to low hanging branches, choking the sun. Every step seemed to plunge them further into shadow. Jack zipped his jacket and put the hood over his head.

Teresa stopped. The butterfly flew in a circular pattern, climbing past the trees until it became nothing but a speck in the sky.

She raised her nose and sniffed the air.

“This forest is magical,” she leaned, peering forward through the tree trunks, which got bigger and bigger the further they went. “It’s not far now. This way.”

He followed her to a tiny trickle of a brook winding down a gentle slope. She stood at its edge. “Yes. I remember,” she pointed at the lapping water. “This is it. This is the stream I found long ago.”

“Are you sure this is the one? We’ve seen a bunch of little creeks.”

“No, no. This is it. I’m sure of it. Come on!” she skipped over a protruding root. “Right up there is the fallen log. Under that you should find the waterfall. Oh, Jack. Wait until you see it. It’s magnificent!”

She tried to hop onto a thick branch growing near the ground. The slick surface made her slip backward, sitting flat on her rear in the messy sludge. “Oh, my. See what I’ve done? What a klutz!”

Jack hurried to her aid. The harder he ran, the deeper his feet sank. She waved him away. He made it to more solid ground on the other side of the stream. Then he saw something that made his pulse race. His footprints in the mud began to emit steam. Little geysers spat and fizzed, churning up brown lava. Teresa’s expression sharpened.

“Stay away from here, Jack! Get away!”

The ground came alive. A gigantic mouth opened below, ready to suck her under. She grabbed for a low hanging bough. It helped for a second, until it snapped, sending her even deeper. He’d heard of quicksand. This wasn’t it. The bubbling and the steam. He had to believe something was lurking down there.

“What is it!” Jack screamed. “What’s going on!”

“I think it’s a Mudmaw! Get back! Don’t come any closer!”

“I’m not gonna let you die!”

Jack swallowed his fear and climbed onto a sturdy branch suspended over the mud. He leaned against the trunk for balance, picked out a long, solid limb and snapped it off. It was a struggle, but he managed to get it to Teresa. She snatched at it, missing the first time and catching it the second. A few hard tugs and he pulled her out. The dirt clung to her, stuck to her bare feet and ankles in long, thick clumps. The sudden stench made Jack cover his nose with his shirt collar.

“Gross!” he coughed, expecting her to shake free at any moment. She didn’t. The foul sewer held on stubbornly. It wanted a meal.

She kicked at it, which only made it clamp tighter. She snapped the stick and jabbed it with the sharp end. A deep roar rumbled and the muddy fingers recoiled. Teresa jumped to her feet and climbed into the tree with Jack.

“Look at me. I’m a mess,” she shook the grime from her stained shawl.

Jack scanned the muck. “What’s a Mudmaw?”

She eyed the spot where she’d nearly suffocated. “Mudmaws, like many so-called monsters, exist in other planes of reality or, as you and your dad would say, other dimensions.”

“That’s what I thought,” he said.

“Yes, well they’re not supposed to exist in our world.”

“Unless it was conjured by someone,” added Jack.

She nodded. “You may be right. Davos probably put it up to this. No telling what kind of surprises he has in store for us. What a pity, this docile creature made to do his dirty work.”

“Docile? That thing doesn’t seem too docile to me.”

“Jack, you’ve got to understand. All creatures have a purpose. A reason. In its own world the Mudmaw isn’t an abomination at all. It belongs there. It’s no more a monster there than we are here. It’s neither bad nor good. It is what it is.”

“Yeah, well it tried to eat you. In my book that makes it bad.”

She allowed her eyes to twist along with the miniature gully. “I think it’s good, you know why? Because it means we’re near.”

She climbed down and tested the ground. Solid. She tiptoed along the stream bank. Jack followed closer this time. They reached an area ruled by a family of ancient firs, some more than two hundred feet tall.

“Just wait ‘till you see the waterfall—oh, what a grand spectacle! I’ll never forget the first time I saw it!”

“Where?”

“It’s up here,” she squinted through a thicket. “It marks the entrance to the home of the Tanakee.”

After negotiating some rather dense brush, they reached a place where a huge fallen log blocked the path. Behind that, a sheer rock face went straight up. The stream poured over a pebbly, one-foot drop through a gap under the collapsed tree, a tiny waterfall rimmed by toadstools, lichens and mossy stones.

“Here it is!” she put her hands on her hips.

“This?” Jack looked at the trickle of water, then at Teresa. “You were talking about this? This isn’t some grand waterfall. It’s barely a dribble.”

She glimpsed up at the tremendous rock wall looming over them. “Yep, this is it. This is the waterfall.”

He bent down with his hands on his knees and studied closer. “Maybe it just seemed bigger to you when you were a little girl.”

She chuckled. “No, no, no. Not this. You have to go through there,” she pointed to the opening under the log. The minuscule flow came from somewhere inside the rock, a fissure forced through by a natural spring.

“Through there? It’s too tiny. I’ll never make it. And you—there’s no way you’ll fit.”

“Oh, I’m not going.”

“What! What’re you talking about?”

“I can’t go, Jack. Humans, at least adults, aren’t allowed in Wind Whisper Woods. Only children can understand Tanakee magic.”

“But you understand magic, and you understand the Tanakee.”

“I’m here to guide you, that’s all. You have to take the next steps by yourself, with Takota protecting you, of course.”

“No,” he crossed his arms. “I won’t go without you.”

She knelt to his level. “Jack, you have to go. This is
your
path.
Your
journey. You don’t need me anymore, but you do need Takota. He’s the only one who can protect you from the Nagas.”

Jack sighed. “He doesn’t believe in himself.”

“He will,” she nodded. “You must hurry, though. They have Enola. If Davos gets control of even one Tanakee, he could become unstoppable. It might very well be over for all of us.”

He shivered. It still hadn’t all sunk in yet. Just a few days ago, he was a semi-normal ten-year-old. Now he was expected to help confront an evil force with the powers to destroy the universe. He rubbed his eyes, hoping to awake and find himself in his own bed, in his own house.

“I know,” she broke the silence. “I know how you feel. Why me, huh?”

He nodded.

“You know something else, though, don’t you? You’ve felt it all your life, haven’t you? Jack, you’re one of a kind. Your soul has been sent on a unique journey, and you know it, don’t you?”

He sighed again. “Yes. I don’t know why I’ve always denied it. I guess I was trying to fit in with other kids. It’s hard, though. I’ve always felt so different.”

“That’s okay. You can be the same
and
different. The one thing you must never do, though, is deny yourself your gift. You must not turn your back on your calling, since that will certainly spell doom not just for you, but for all of us.”

“I do need Takota.”

“There’s no doubt.”

“Okay. I’m doing it. You sure you can’t come?”

“This is
your
path. Don’t worry. You won’t have to go far.”

He stepped into the stream, cold wetness invading his Vans. He tucked under the fallen tree, peering through the murky opening from which the water fell. The hole scarcely seemed big enough.

“You sure this is it?” he asked. “Seems awful snug.”

“You’ll make it,” she prodded. “Just remember. When you come back, there might be creatures like the Mudmaw that want to do you harm, creatures under the evil spell of Davos. Be extra careful.”

He nodded.

“Okay. Here goes,” he squatted and pushed his head through. Gentle lapping gave way to a deluge of sound.