Final Quest (5 page)

- 10 -

THE ARREST

Jasmin, Jamie, Michael and I are powerless to prevent Drew from being arrested. There’s no attempt to let us state what really happened, but then again, how could any of us ever explain Drew’s two punches?

Drew must be confused by what has transpired. The language problem definitely contributed to his inappropriate reaction. He might have even been dwelling on whatever has been bothering him lately. But, regardless of what was going on inside Drew’s head, he made a huge mistake by hitting a helpless flower vendor and then a cop.

Drew offers no resistance as he’s handcuffed with force. He’s viciously hauled away by two officers who continue to berate him in Italian.

I start to follow Drew, but Michael and Jamie grab me at the same time.

“Let him go,” Michael says so strongly that he surprises me.

“I think we better separate,” Jamie says. “We can meet later and discuss what to do about Drew.”

Before I can reply, Jamie grabs my hand and pulls me away from Michael and Jasmin.

Jamie and I begin to wander aimlessly around the Piazza San Marco. He points out a few of the museums and features in the square as though we are two more tourists fascinated with Venice.

For the most part, I fail to hear what Jamie is saying. I imagine Drew struggling to explain what happened. I suspect his failure to understand Italian will only agitate him more. I have to help him.

Finding a vacant bench, Jamie and I sit down to decide what we are going to do next. The evening has grown colder. There is a steady cold mist falling like a blanket of fine rain.

Using his spy-band, Jamie contacts Michael.

“They’re on the other side of the square. Should I tell them to join us?”

“Yes.”

Taking my emerald, I say, “Akem, Drew.”

A picture of Drew emerges in my emerald. It appears that he’s sitting by himself in a jail cell. His mask has been removed. There is a trickle of blood on his cheek. One of his eyes is swollen. Has he been in a fight with the police?

Continuing to look into my emerald, I say, “Akem, the Stalker.”

Jamie pushes closer to me as he stares at the emerald.

A picture of the Stalker emerges. She is tied to a chair. Her face is bloody. She has  been tortured. I wonder what she has told her captors.

“We’ve got to get both Drew and the Stalker,” I say to Jamie.

“I agree, but it’s unlikely that they are both in the same location,” Jamie says as we lean into each other to keep warm. “Who should we get first?”

“Drew. He’s one of us. The Stalker can wait.”

“Hey guys.”

It’s Michael, still wearing his Doctor of Death mask and costume.

Jasmin is standing beside Michael. She has taken off her mask. She’s much calmer than I would have expected. I wonder if she’s beginning to pull away from Drew. Based on his unpredictable behavior during the past few days, I think we’re all starting to feel a little uncomfortable being with Drew. None-the-less, he’s our friend and we have to save him.

“Have a plan yet?” Michael asks.

“Not exactly,” I say, “but we’ve got to get Drew first. He’s alone in a jail cell. I can use my emerald to reach him.”

There’s no response to what I said. It’s almost like the others are reluctant to save Drew, even Jasmin which surprises me.

Gazing into my emerald, I say, “Sandarium, Drew.”

I rub my eyes.

I’m in a jail cell with Drew.

Unexpectedly, Jamie is with us. He must have been touching me when I said Sandarium.

There are three police officers standing outside Drew’s cell. One of them spots Jamie and me.

Suddenly the officers are pointing at me and shouting. Another officer starts to open the door of the prison cell.

We’ve got to get going.

“Drew,” I say, tugging his arm, “we’ve got to get out of here.

Drew seems to be lost in another world. He doesn’t respond.

“Jamie, grab Drew and me.”

The cell door is opening.

The second I know that I’m in contact with both Drew and Jamie, I say, “Sandarium, Michael.”

No sooner than we reach the others, then Michael says, “Let’s split up again.”

“What’s happening?” I say.

“I think we might have some more enemies,” Michael says. “There are several people who keep staring at us.”

Jasmin puts her mask back on.

Jamie, Jasmin and I go in one direction, while Michael leads Drew, who is looking confused, another way.

- 11 -

THE STALKER

Almost an hour passes before we meet at a gelato shop, a short walk away from Saint Marco square. After ordering some gelato, we pause to enjoy our snacks.

During our walk, Jamie and Michael were in constant contact through their spy-bands.

Although there were times when we thought we were being followed, in the end we decided that we were all being paranoid. It certainly didn’t help that everywhere we went, there were people wearing a variety of masks, some of them more horrific than others. Without being able to see the faces behind the masks it was easy to keep thinking that the police had informants that were constantly following us.

On the other hand, our masks protected our identities. Drew has a new mask. It’s blue and gold with the face of a woman on it.

At the present time, we have all tilted our masks to the top of our heads so that we can enjoy the gelato.

“Look!” Michael says, breaking the silence.

As I turn my head in the direction that he’s looking, I see a convoy of five black vehicles turn onto a street a short distance away. They stop outside a faded building that has no distinguishing features to set it out as being any different than the other buildings around it.

“Looks like someone important is about to be moved,” Jamie says.

“Come on,” says Michael as he starts to walk towards the line of black vehicles, their windows tinted in a manner that says “stay away”.

“No,” I immediately respond. “We can’t bring attention to ourselves.”

Michael stops.

I gaze into my emerald.

“Akem, the Stalker.”

A picture of the evil woman unfolds. She’s no longer tied to a chair. She’s standing with several armed guards around her.

“I’d be willing to bet she’s being taken to one of those vehicles,” Jamie says.

I agree with him.

Michael steps back towards us as he digs into his backpack.

Within seconds, he launches a nano-drone the size of a fly.

I look back at my emerald. The Stalker is being taken through a tunnel. She must be in the basement of a jail or a building used to interrogate criminals.

One of the guards places a dark canvas bag over her head.

“Look!” Jasmin whispers.

Five serious looking men are approaching the black vehicles. The Stalker, with a bag over her head, is being escorted inside the phalanx of guards.

“It’s the Stalker,” Jasmin whispers loudly.

I glance at Drew.

I imagine him racing across the street to highjack a car to use in following the official looking black SUVs.

As quickly as the Stalker appeared, she’s gone, shoved in the back of a SUV. The SUVs begin to depart.

I believe that the Stalker was pushed into the third vehicle, but unexpectedly the vehicles change order as they pull away, making it difficult to be absolutely certain where she is.

I look again at the image in my emerald.

The Stalker is in the back seat of one of the SUVs. There is at least one other person in the back of the vehicle with her.

I look up.

Four of the SUVs have already vanished around the corner. One is remaining.

“Grab hands,” I order.

Once we are all touching, I say, “Sandarium, the back seat of the black vehicle.”

Instantly we’re squashed in the back of one of the SUVs. Fortunately, there’s no one else in the back of the vehicle. A darkened glass panel separates us from the driver. I wonder how long it will take for the driver to notice us.

I can’t believe what I just did. If we are discovered in the back of the SUV, we’d all be in serious trouble, and no has to tell me that we might find ourselves with guns pointed at our heads before I could use the emerald to save us.

Several sharp turns and we’re racing through the streets of Venice. Drew and Jasmin are hugging the floor of the vehicle while Jamie, Michael and I are twisted together flat on the back seat trying to stay out of sight.

Michael is looking intently at his spy-pad.

“I’ve got the fly in the same SUV as the Stalker. Look. Someone is removing the hood from her head.”

I manage to turn my head to get a look at Michael’s spy-pad.

I can’t believe what I am seeing.

The stalker is smiling.

Suddenly the guard who is inside the back of the SUV with the woman, takes a key and unlocks a chain that is fastening the woman’s hands and legs to the floor of the SUV.

“What’s he doing?” I ask.

“If I didn’t know better,” Jamie says, “I would say that he’s going to help her escape.”

Michael adjusts the volume on his spy-pad.

The conversation we are are now hearing is in English.

“In a few minutes,” the guard says to the Stalker, we will be attacked. Remain calm. You have friends who are going to rescue you. The other drivers of the SUVs and the other guards are completely unprepared for what is going to happen.”

The guard takes a cell phone from his pocket and says something in Italian.

“Are you ready?” he says to the Stalker who replies, “How do they know which vehicle I’m in?”

The guard smiles. His crooked yellow teeth are noticeable. “My cell phone is sending a signal. Your friends will know exactly which SUV we’re in. The other SUVs will all be destroyed by short-range rockets.”

“Rockets?” Jasmin says. “We’re going to be blown up by a rocket.”

“Emily,” Michael says, “I can use the nano-drone to spray a sleeping gas to temporarily paralyze the guard. As soon as I do this, you’ve got to use your emerald to take us to their SUV. Once we’re there, you’ve got to use the emerald to take the Stalker and us somewhere else.”

“What about the other SUVs?” I say. “Isn’t there something we can do to save the other guards and drivers?”

An awkward silence greets my question.

The guard says, “Ten seconds.”

“Do it!” I say to Michael.

Michael touches the screen on his spy-pad.

The guard goes limp.

Suddenly there’s a thumping sound of a helicopter outside.

“Touch me!” I shout.

A tremendous explosion shakes all of us.

The SUV in front of us explodes into a ball of fire.

“Sandarium, the Stalker!” I scream.

We tumble into the back seat of another SUV.

“So we meet again,” an evil voice snarls. “You’re the girl with the emerald.”

Another SUV explodes.

Our vehicle turns abruptly throwing me into the Stalker. As I twist away, I notice Michael sliding his finger across his spy-pad.

A puff of white powder sprays the stalker in the face.

“Grab hands,” I say to my friends.

I touch the Stalker who is now unconscious.

“Sandarium, Capurni.”

- 12 -

ANOTHER MISSION

For the past hour, I have been telling
Capurni everything that has happened since the last time we met. My friends are enjoying riding some zelans in this fabulous underwater world. As for the Stalker, she is now safely locked up for good on a planet far away from earth.

“Lately,” I say to Capurni, “I have been considering giving the emerald back to the people of Lattisan. I don’t want to spend  the rest of my life looking over my shoulder, always wondering whether Santtonnice or some other villain is plotting to steal it from me. Besides, every time there’s a crime on my planet, or a new war, I feel guilty not using the emerald to help resolve the problem. I think that life would be easier for me if I no longer had the emerald.”

Capurni gazes at me thoughtfully. “The emerald can be a wonderful gift, but it can also be a curse. Before you make a decision on your future with the emerald, it would make sense to be absolutely certain that Santtonnice is dead. As well, as I have said before, I have a very important mission for you to complete first.”

I remember Capurni mentioning to me on a few occasions that he needed my help with something. I guess that now is as good time as any to hear what he has to say.

“Yes, I remember you saying something to me about another request that you had. What is it?”

Capurni settles deeper into the chair where he’s sitting. I feel the celleria gently massaging my back on the couch where I’m sitting.

“My people have always hoped that someday they would return back to Drapesia.”

“But wasn’t Drapesia destroyed by war and pollution?”

Capurni reflects on what I said.

“Yes, it is true that much of Drapesia was   destroyed thousands of years ago, but it is possible that the planet has recovered by now.”

“What are you asking me to do?”

My mind is already racing ahead thinking that I might have the opportunity to visit Drapesia. Am I ready to go on another adventure?

“I would like you to take me back to Drapesia. If the planet is no longer at war, and it is safe for my people to return back to the planet where we originated from, you could use the emerald to transport us there.”

“Transport you there? There must be hundreds of thousands of people living in Lattisan. How could I possibly transport all these people to Drapesia?”

Capurni touches one of his slender paws to his face that reminds me of a puppy.

“Whether you transport one person or a thousand, it is all the same to the emerald. You have the power to move every person in Lattisan back to Drapesia.”

“Why don’t I give you the emerald and you can travel to Drapesia on your own?”

Capurni laughs. “If only it was that easy.”

“It isn’t?”

“For now, the emerald has chosen you. Although I would gladly accept the emerald back into my world, there is no telling how long it would take before the emerald chooses another Keeper. Once this mission is over we can talk again about the emerald.”

I think about what Capurni has said to me. It doesn’t seem like it would be too dangerous to take him to Drapesia. He can determine whether the planet is safe. If it is, I can use the emerald to take the inhabitants of Lattisan to Drapesia. If it isn’t safe, that will be the end of the mission.

“Yes, I’ll help you,” I say. “I’m sure it will be fascinating to visit another planet.”

Capurni rises from his chair and hugs me.

“Thank you very much. My people will always be grateful to you.”

I’m going to Drapesia.

Could this possibly be the greatest adventure of all?