Pendragon - The Lost City Of Faar Part 11

Just before his head went under, Spader asked, "How do you know Zy Roder?"

"Long story," I answered. "I'll tell you later."

"You'd better. Hobey-ho!"

With that, my head sank below and we were under way. Spader had given me skimmer lessons before, so I was familiar with how it operated. But this was way different. Rather than stand up, I held on to the steering handles and my body floated parallel to the deck.

"You okay?" asked Spader.

"I think," was my answer.

"Then let's. .h.i.t it!"

He cranked his throttle, dipped the nose of his skimmer, and immediately shot down to the ocean floor. I did the same, and we were off. This was a lot like using the water sleds, except they were much more powerful. I was too heavy on the throttle at first and the skimmer nearly pulled out of my grasp. I followed behind Spader but made sure to stay out of his wake because when I got too close, the jets from his skimmer's pontoons. .h.i.t me like turbulence. It took me a few minutes, but I eventually got the knack of controlling the vehicle and staying clear of Spader. Now all I had to do was worry about the killers we were sneaking up on.

Spader hugged the sandy bottom. That was smart. The deeper we were, the less chance there was of us being spotted. Remember, the water was very clear on Cloral. Visibility had to be at least a hundred feet. I really hoped that from the deck of thePursuit,we just looked like big fish.

In no time I could look up and see the dark shape of the cruiser floating above us. Everything looks bigger underwater, but even accounting for that, this s.h.i.+p looked immense. It was like a giant black cloud that blocked out the sun. Spader set his skimmer down in the sand directly beneath the ma.s.sive s.h.i.+p, right in its shadow.

"I'll go up first," he said while taking out a wrench-looking tool from his back pocket. I'll pull off the intake covers, then come back for you. Get the water sleds ready to go."

I nodded and gave the "okay" sign. I still wasn't used to talking underwater. Spader took off swimming up to thePursuit,and I swam to his skimmer to get the water sleds. So far so good, but time was running out. I didn't have my watch (since I wasn't allowed to have a Second Earth watch on another territory), but I guessed that we were getting close to the end of the twenty-minute time limit.

I got both water sleds and rested them down in the sand between our skimmers. A few moments later, Spader joined me.

"It was snappy-do," he announced. "Covers came right off. All that's left is for us to drop off our gifts."

"Tell me exactly what to do," I said.

Spader pointed up at the hull. "Right near the stern you'll see a big round opening. I left the cover hanging from it so you wouldn't miss. There's two of *em. I'll take the one on the far side of the keel. All you have to do is bring the skimmer right up to the mouth, hit the throttle, and let her go. Soon as it's on the way, meet me right back here. I'll set off the flare, and we'll have a leisurely water sled ride back to Grallion while Press and Yenza start the natty-do topside."

"Got it," I said. It didn't sound all that hard.

"Then let's be heroes," said Spader, and hit the throttle of his skimmer.

He didn't speed to the surface; he traveled with more caution. Now was not the time to get c.o.c.ky and make a mistake. I powered up and ascended just as cautiously. I kept looking up at the dark hull as I grew closer, expecting some alarm to sound and to have the raiders start firing their water cannons down at us. As long as we stayed directly under, we stood a good chance of pulling this off.

It only took a few seconds for us to reach the s.h.i.+p. A steady hum came from its engines. I glanced to Spader. He pointed up at the hull. I looked, and sure enough, there it was. There was a round opening about six feet in diameter with a metal cover hanging below it. The intake port wasn't flush with the hull, it was perpendicular to it. The metal cover that hung from the opening had narrow slits to let water in and debris out. Now that the cover was off, anything could get stuck inside and we were riding two very big pieces of debris. I was beginning to think this would work.

Spader and I now had to separate. He gave me a thumbs up sign - a Second Earth gesture he picked up from me - and glided his skimmer across the keel to the far side of the s.h.i.+p and the other intake port.

Now came the most critical part of the operation. I carefully guided my skimmer up toward the open port. The opening wasn't much bigger than the width of the skimmer, pontoon to pontoon, so I had to make sure the whole vehicle got inside. I also didn't want to bang the skimmer against the hull because that might alert someone that predators were lurking below. I carefully used the throttle to maneuver the craft into position. I had to bring it right up under the hull, then move parallel with the hull into the intake port. It was tricky, but I soon had the entire skimmer resting inside the port. The hard part was over. I was almost there. All I had to do was. .h.i.t the throttle.

But I never got the chance.

That's because the s.h.i.+p came to life. The engines that had been idling quietly suddenly roared. I guessed the twenty minutes were over. The raiders were getting ready to fire on Grallion. The noise grew deafening, but worse than that, I felt a rush of water and realized with horror that I was being sucked into the intake port! ThePursuitwas drawing in water for power and ammunition - and I was well within sucking range! The force of the intake pulled me into the opening. In seconds I would be splatter. There was nothing to grab on to. I was going in.

That's when a strange thing happened that I still can't explain. Even as I think back to what happened, it doesn't make sense. It felt like someone seized me by the hand and pulled me out far enough to grab on to the edge of the intake port. I wrapped my fingers around the lip then struggled to bring my other hand forward and grab on as well. I looked up, expecting to see Spader there, but he wasn't there. Whoever had saved me was gone.

Did I say saved? I wasn't saved yet. I held on to the lip of the intake port with the tips of my fingers. My entire body was still inside the tube leading into the s.h.i.+p. The force of the water grew stronger. I didn't have the strength to pull myself forward. I tried to find something with my feet to push off of, but the inside of the tube was smooth. I wasn't going to last much longer.

That's when I realized that the force of the intake pump wasn't just pulling on me, it was pulling at my skimmer, too. There was still hope! If I could hold on long enough, the skimmer would be sucked into the engine and jam it up just as if I had sent it in myself. All I had to do was hang on. But I didn't know how long I would last. It was torture. The only thing keeping me from being hamburger were the tips of my fingers. I watched as the skimmer slowly moved past me, headed deeper into the s.h.i.+p. It was taking too long. I wasn't going to be able to hang on much longer. The force of the water grew stronger, and the skimmer moved faster. But that meant it was even tougher to hold on. I screamed. Why not? n.o.body could hear me over the roar of the engines.

My fingers had gone numb. I was done. Like a fiendish hungry beast, the intake pump finally won the battle. I lost my grip. I flew in toward the engine, knowing I was seconds away from death. I could only hope that it wouldn't hurt too much.

But an instant later I heard a horrifying grinding sound, and the pull of water stopped. The skimmer had been sucked into the engine! Spader's plan worked. Yes! I instantly kicked my fins and swam out of that hole as fast as I possibly could. I blasted out into open water and shot down toward the bottom, kicking for all I was worth.

Spader was already there, waiting for me. I was totally out of breath and probably looked as terrified as I felt.

"What kept you?" asked Spader calmly.

I wanted to scream that I was nearly sucked into the engine, but figured it could wait until later.

"Did you do it?" I yelled.

"Of course," was Spader's confident answer.

"Then shoot the flare!" I ordered.

He pointed the gun topside and fired. A screaming bright arc of light blasted from the pistol and shot toward the surface leaving a bright trail of light behind it. I looked up to see that the missile broke the surface and continued on into the sky. We had done it. We had crippled Saint Dane and thePursuitand opened the door for Yenza and the aquaneers to defend Grallion.

But we had done something else, too.

A few seconds later I saw four splashes next to the s.h.i.+p. Four divers had just hit the water, and they were coming after us. Yeah, you guessed it. The raiders saw our flare.

"Uh-oh," said Spader. "Hadn't thought of that."

"We can't get back to Grallion," I said. "They'll get us for sure."

"Then let's give *em a chase," said Spader as he grabbed his water sled.

We both powered up and sped off along the ocean floor headed fora I didn't know where. We flew over the bottom, inches from the coral, looking for a place to hide. It was a good thing that Spader and I had played all those games underwater, because my skills at handling the water sled were pretty good. Without slowing down, I looked back and saw the four raiders were right after us. They had water sleds too. I wondered if one of them was Saint Dane.

As we flew along the ocean bottom something caught my eye off to our right. Something was swimming alongside us, shadowing us. I only caught a quick glimpse because whatever it was, it darted below the coral. But what I saw didn't make sense. It couldn't have been a person because it was moving too fast. It might have been a big fish, maybe even a quig, but quigs were gray and black. This thing was green, like the water. Weird.

"The kelp!" shouted Spader.

I forgot about my strange vision and looked ahead to see the beginnings of the tangle of red sea kelp that grew from the coral reef and stretched up to the surface. If we could get into that dense jungle, we might have a chance of losing the raiders.

"Stay close," commanded Spader. "Don't want to get separated in there."

We hit the dense kelp but didn't slow down. The slimy leaves whipped at us as we sped by. Imagine running full tilt through a wet field of corn. That's what it was like. For a moment I thought we were home free, but it didn't last long because a second later, we popped out of the far side. Bad news. The kelp forest wasn't anywhere big enough to hide us. We had to keep going.

And that's when it happened. It was just a slight movement. I wasn't even sure what it was at first, but a moment later it hit me. It was my ring. It was getting warm and the gray stone was starting to glow. That meant that we were getting near the gate. I looked up ahead and saw the shelf of rock where the quig had nearly gotten us. It was the rock formation that held the gate to the flume. I knew instantly that it was our best and only hope. Spader was going to have to learn about being a Traveler sometime. I couldn't think of a better way to do it and save our b.u.t.ts at the same time.

"Follow me!" I shouted to Spader and changed my direction toward the rock overhang. Spader didn't question. He followed. The thought of running into a quig flashed through my head, but right now it was the least of our worries. When we were just about to shoot under the rock ledge, Spader yelled, "Stop!"

I did. He glided up to me and said, "Don't want to get trapped under there, mate. They'll have us for sure."

I looked back toward the kelp forest in time to see the four raiders break out of the vegetation and spot us.

"Do you trust me?" I asked.

"Well sure, mate, but - "

"Then c'mon!"

I hit the throttle and shot under the rock ledge. I did a quick look back to see if Spader was following. He was. For a change I could take the lead and he believed in me enough to follow. Now all I had to do was deliver.

The rock ceiling looked different, but only because the last time I was here I was going the other way. But that wasn't a good excuse for being lost. I had to find the gate. The raiders had already gotten to the rock ledge and were still coming fast. All they had to do was follow our bubbles and they'd have us. I could only hope that I'd find the gate before I hit the dead end of rock.

I started to panic. I was lost. I didn't know where the gate was. This rock ledge was huge. We could swim around here for hours without finding it. What was I thinking? I had led us into a trap. I had to calm down and think. Where was it?

The answer hit me instantly. I had been in such a rush to get in here that I wasn't thinking straight. There was an easy way to find the gate. It was my ring. I swept my hand out in front of me and saw that the stone would dim or grow brighter, depending on the direction I pointed. I carefully judged when the ring was s.h.i.+ning brightest and that told me our course. It was like following a compa.s.s. I took off in that direction and seconds later, I saw it. The round hole in the ceiling was only yards ahead. I aimed my water sled toward it and gunned the engine.

A quick thought went through my mind. Maybe I shouldn't be leading the raiders to the gate and the flume. But I reasoned that it didn't make a difference. If it was Saint Dane behind us, he already knew about the gate. If it wasn't Saint Dane, then it wouldn't matter if the raiders found it. The flume didn't work for non-Travelers. No, this was the right move for all sorts of reasons.

I broke the surface inside the cavern and looked around quickly. It was exactly the same as we had left it. A moment later, Spader broke the surface next to me and looked around in wonder.

"Hobey, mate! How did you know about this?"

I pulled off my air globe and tossed it onto the ledge. I threw my water sled there too. There was no time to explain things to Spader. The raiders would be here in a second. So I yanked off his air globe and threw it and his water sled to the side. The two of us floated in the middle of the pool, treading water.

"I hope there's another way out of here," he said.

I laughed at that. I actually laughed.

"Spader," I said. "You have no ideaa but you soon will."

I glanced up at the opening to the flume. I counted on the fact that we didn't have to climb up the sheer rock face to get there. We didn't have time.

"I'll ask you again," I said. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course, mate, but you better come up with something quick or we're going to have our own natty-do right here and - "

"Zadaa!"I shouted.

The flume came to life. The familiar bright light shot from the opening. The jumble of musical notes grew closer. Spader looked up in awe.

"Hobey, Pendragon," he said softly. "Where did you say you were from again?"

The water around us started to swirl. The light from the flume grew bright and the two of us were pulled up, together, out of the waters of Cloral.

A second later, we were on our way to see Loor.

ENDOFJOURNAL#6.

"Why did he go to Zadaa?"huffed Courtney. "Why didn't he bring Spader here to Second Earth? This is his home!"

Mark knew the answer. Loor was a Traveler. She would be able to help Bobby explain things to Spader. Things were getting hairy on Cloral and Loor was the kind of person you went to when things got hairy. Mark felt that Courtney should have realized this, but her jealousy toward Loor was clouding her thinking. Not that he'd point that out to her. No way.

Courtney stood up angrily and shoved the pages back at Mark.

"Well, if Bobby Pendragon thinks his new friend can help him better than we can, thengood luckis all I have to say!"

"C'mon, Courtney," said Mark softly. "You know he did the right thing."

Courtney looked as if she wanted to argue, but backed off. She knew.

"Yeah, well, whatever," she said with a pout.

Mark now faced a dilemma. He had to tell Courtney about Andy Mitch.e.l.l. He made a dumb mistake by leaving the page in the boys' bathroom and because of it, Mitch.e.l.l knew about the journals.

"I'm sorry, Mark," added Courtney. She had calmed down. "You're right. You've been right about everything from the beginning. It's good that one of us thinks straight. At least now we know why these pages are different than the last ones. He wrote this journal on Zadaa, not Cloral, right?"

Mark wanted to scream. Courtney Chetwynde relied on him to be the brains of this duo and right now he was feeling like anything but. She trusted him and listened to his advice, which is more than anybody else ever did, except for Bobby sometimes. It killed him to have to admit he had screwed up royally.

"You okay?" asked Courtney, sensing that something was wrong.

"Yeah, sure, I'm f-fine," answered Mark quickly. "Just worried about Bobby is all."

"You'd better get those pages back to your house before anything else happens."

Mark looked at Courtney, saw the trust in her amazing gray eyes and made a decision. He couldn't tell her about Andy Mitch.e.l.l. At least not yet. He wanted to work this out on his own rather than risk losing Courtney's faith. This was his problem and he was going to have to deal with it.

So he gathered the pages of Journal #6 together, put them in his pack, and left for home. Normally, once they finished reading a journal, Mark would stash it in the safest place he knew -an ancient rolltop desk in his attic. His parents hadn't gone up there in years and Mark had the only key. He wore it on a chain around his neck just to be safe. Every precaution had been taken. As soon as a journal was finished, it went into the desk.

Tonight was a little different though. Mark crept up to the attic and unlocked the desk drawer. He placed Journal #6 inside next to the brown rolls of parchment that were Bobby's journals from Denduron. But rather than lock them up, he took out Journal #5 - the journal Andy Mitch.e.l.l had seen the first page of. This was the journal he would show Mitch.e.l.l. He hoped that maybe this would be enough. Maybe Mitch.e.l.l would think it was all a crazy joke and get bored after reading these pages. It was the best Mark could hope for.

He spent a sleepless night, wondering how he was going to get out of this predicament. Sharing the journals with Courtney made sense. Courtney was Bobby's friend. Courtney could be trusted. But Andy Mitch.e.l.l was different. He was an idiot. Worse, he was a bully-idiot. There was no telling what Mitch.e.l.l would do with the information about Bobby once he got it. But as hard as he tried to figure a way out, he just couldn't find it. He had no choice but to show Mitch.e.l.l the pages tomorrow.

At school the next day Mark did his best to avoid Mitch.e.l.l. He held out the desperate hope that Mitch.e.l.l had forgotten all about the journal page he'd found in the boys' bathroom. Mark got through the entire day without even seeing his nemesis. His hopes started to rise. He told himself that Mitch.e.l.l didn't care enough to even show up for school! Maybe this would all blow over.

Wrong. No sooner had Mark stepped out of his last cla.s.s than he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder.

"Time for a little homework, aye, Dimond?" chuckled Andy Mitch.e.l.l.

Mark's heart sank. The guy hadn't forgotten at all. It was time to deal with the devil. Mark shrugged Mitch.e.l.l's hand off his shoulder and said, "Let's go."

Mitch.e.l.l snorted and chuckled. He made Mark's skin crawl, but there was no way out of this. So Mark led him up to the boys'bathroom on the third floor. No one would bother them there, especially not Courtney. After her run-in with Mr. Dorrico, they decided not to read the journals there anymore. This was the best place Mark could think of to get some privacy, and to avoid Courtney. He felt guilty as h.e.l.l about it, but there was no other way.

When they got inside Mitch.e.l.l stood with his hand out. Mark stared at him. Mitch.e.l.l snorted back a good one and hawked a lougie into a urinal. Mark nearly retched. He had a fleeting thought of barging past Mitch.e.l.l and running away, but that would have been useless. No, this was the only way. So reluctantly he reached into his pack and pulled out the roll of green, slick paper that was Journal #5.

Mitch.e.l.l reached out to grab it, but Mark pulled it away.

"You gotta read it here and you gotta give it right back when you're done," Mark said. Mitch.e.l.l wasn't used to being ordered around like this, especially not from a geek like Mark Dimond. But Mark was intense. He was not fooling around. Mitch.e.l.l snorted and chuckled, again.

"Whatever," he said, and swiped the pages away from Mark. He walked over to one of the stalls saying, "I'll read it in here."