Keystone (26 page)

Milo returns a thin smile.

“Yeah,” he says. “Right next door.”

“I’ll help you carry your stuff over then,” Garrett says.

“That’s alright. I’ve got it,” Milo says, reaching for the box. Garrett hands it back easily enough, but their eyes remain locked. “Thanks for the hand anyway, Tiger.”

“Any time,” Garrett says.

I’m kind of glad that the party is breaking up. I keep yawning and can’t stop. Milo flashes a dry smile around the room before he leaves, but the minute the door closes behind him, Deeta squeals.

“He’s ALO!” She wraps her arm around me, pulling me so close that her squeals ring in my ears.

“He’s gorgeous is what he is,” Zaneen says and Deeta stops pulling. She lets go of me and sits up straight.

“He’s Alo…” Deeta frowns.

“I’m not looking to marry him,” Zaneen shrugs. “Just date him a little. Besides, he couldn’t marry me if he wanted to. Well…unless he went Simple, but I don’t think he’d go Simple, do you? But look, if you’re into him that hard, Deets, then he’s all yours.”

Deeta blushes.

“Not hard,” She almost whispers the denial. “I just think he’s cute.”

“Ok,” Zane says. “While you two are busy drooling all over the new kid, I’m getting bored. Who’s up for a ride on my Free Ball?”

“What is that?” I ask, yawning, even though I don’t care. I just want to crawl into bed.

“You’ve never seen anything like it,” Zane says. I hate the way he grins at me, like I’ve got to stay awake for another ten minutes. I don’t care what a Free Ball is. I just want him to say I’m a drag and ask who else wants to go. Any scenario would work really, besides taking me with them. But Zane’s eyes spark with excitement as he says, “It’s a huge, round, rubber-coated pipe frame that’s filled with gases that make the ball float. Think of a soccer ball, but with all the hexagons poked out. Come and see for yourself. You can sleep in the van, Nali Girl, if we can sneak out of here. And we’ll hit the junkyard first thing in the morning to talk with Clint.”

“I’m sure we can’t,” I say. Besides being tired, floating around on a ball that’s only made of rubber pipes sounds absolutely life-threatening. “We shouldn’t. Garrett’s mom might need us. We’re not supposed to...”

“We wouldn’t have to sneak out,” Garrett says. He tips his chin down and winks. “I can let my mom know about the photo and I’m sure she’ll let us go, once she clears it with the Addo.”

“Let’s do it,” Zane jumps to his feet. “We can crash at our Gpop’s farm, if you can actually sleep after a trip on the Free Ball.”

I don’t want anything to do with Zane’s Free Ball, but I figure I’ll just opt out. What I really want is the chance to talk to Clint. If he knew Roger, he might have some ideas about where Roger would hide my grandfather’s Memory. I can’t help getting lost in the hope that Clint will have a piece of the puzzle that helps me find The Key. Whether or not I die of exhaustion before I get there.

“Okay, I’m in,” I tell Zane and Garrett flips open his phone, reporting to Mrs. Reese that we’re going out to the Middleditch farm for the night.

“It’s too dark to ride it tonight. There’s no moon,” Robin says, but then Zane counters with, “It’s more fun in the dark
.
”

Zaneen adds, “It’s scary as hell in the dark,” and Zane ends with, “Which makes it way more fun.”

And next thing I know, we’re all getting on our shoes and going down all the back hallways of the hotel until we’re at Zane’s car. It’s a compact and the only thing holding up the back bumper is a bungee cord. And then Brandon pops up out of nowhere as we’re piling in.

“Where ya goin’?” he says. Garrett and I are crammed onto the backbench seat, with Deeta between us, and Zane, Zaneen and Robin are smashed together on the front. “And where’d you get this hunk of junk?”

Zane, still hanging half out of the door, tips his head back so he can look down his nose, even though he’s looking up at Brandon.

“It’s a loaner,” Zane says. “Don’t need the Contego cars attracting attention. And speaking of that, shouldn’t you be more concerned with watching for the Fury?”

“I’m supposed to be watching for whatever isn’t normal,” Brandon says. He pokes Zane’s chest with one finger. “And you’re as not normal as it gets. Where are you going?”

“What are you doing, writing a book?” Zane sneers.

“We’re just taking Deeta home,” Garrett says, beside me in the backseat.

Deeta chimes in, “You want to come, Brandon? Hessa would love to see you. She talks about you
all the time
.”

Whoever Hessa is, she’s some kind of Kryptonite that sends Brandon stumbling backward, away from the car.

“Nope, nope…I’m good,” he says. “See ya.”

Zane jumps behind the wheel and we’re off. He wiggles his eyebrows at me in the rearview mirror. “Ever rode a Free Ball before, Nal?”

“How would she?” Zaneen snorts. “You think her mom kept her out of the Ianua, but let her go looping around on Free Balls? She doesn’t know anything about them.”

“Well, there are only like five of them in the country.” Deeta adds.

“Zane and Neen’s nutty old…what was he anyway? Your great, great uncle?” Robin says. “Anyway, their uncle invented it and named the thing because it’s ball-shaped and it can float around in the air without tethers. Think of a carnival ride that shoots you up in the air, but then, instead of coming back down, you can float around, kind of like a hot air balloon.”

“Except that you’re strapped to the outside of the rubber pipes,” Zane adds.

“You’ll just have to see it to really get what we’re saying,” Robin says.

“If it really freaks you out, you can always stay on the ground with me or Bella-Neener,” Zane adds. “Whoever does the controls.”

“Shut up, butt zit,” Zaneen slugs him.

The shiver only expands inside me as I wonder what I’m getting myself into.

It’s a four-hour car ride and I sleep through as much as I can, even though my head keeps bouncing against the car wall. I don’t want to droop onto Deeta’s shoulder. When Zane hits the brakes and my head slams into his headrest in front of me, I’m not so tired anymore, but I’ve got a headache.

Zane throws open his door and jumps out to unlock his Gpop’s farm gate. But it’s not a simple wooden ranch gate, like I expect. We’re parked in front of a high brick wall with an iron gate and floodlights that replace the need for the moon
.
As the gate slides open, I wonder if we’re really going to a farm or a prison compound.

A winding dirt road runs right down the center of rows of leveled crops. Zane drives us in, following the snaking road. The land is pretty flat, but goes on too far to see in the dark. Even if I press my temple to the window, I can’t see anything up ahead until we finally stop in front of a mammoth, red wood barn.

Zaneen squeals to Garrett, “Do you remember that one time, when Zane sent us up together and left us up there for an hour? I was so scared and you held my hand the whole time.”

“That was when we were all, what? Ten years old?” Zane chimes in. “Besides, now Garrett only wants to hold Nali’s hand.” Zane gives Zaneen a crushed-lip grin and pulls me from the backseat. “Ready for the ride of your life, Nali Girl?”

No. No I’m not. But I am as far as Zaneen will ever know.

“Sure,” I say.

The barn door is on sliders and Zane and Garrett heave it open. Deeta squeals and yanks on my arm and I stumble along beside her into the barn.

My eyes catch on it, glinting in the dark, before Zane even flips the switch for the floodlights. What I was looking at was only a few bars at the bottom. Zane’s Free Ball looks about as big as the Epcot ball. It’s not exactly a ball. It’s more like a hollow ball frame of connected, rubber-coated bars. There is a solid, hexagon-shaped piece at the bottom and another at the top.

“You ride in that?” I ask.

“Duh. No.” Zane says with a laugh. We follow him around the ball. “You hang on the outside of it.”

Zane tugs on one of the harnesses that are molded to the rubber bars. They raise right out of the frame, like thick rubber bathing suits, split down the middle. And they have buckles. It makes me queasy just looking at them.

Whatever my face looks like, Deeta starts explaining everything, like I’m just totally confused instead of completely horrified.

“We buckle into these things,” she says. She pulls back one side of a harness like a flap of skin. My knees wobble and Zane assures me, “It’s totally safe.”

“It’s a total rush!” Robin hoots as Zane reaches up and jerks on one of the bars. The enormous ball actually
jiggles
like it might roll on top of us
.
I’m the only one who jumps back.

“You okay?” Garrett asks. He reaches out to touch my arm and then drops his hand with a grimace. He takes a step backward, as if to be sure he won’t be able to reach me if the impulse hits him again. I’m glad when the grinding sound, coming from overhead, drowns out the answer I don’t give.

I look up as the barn roof slides open; two large slats opening like a secret compartment door, letting in the night sky. I feel myself go pale as it finally hits home. This Free Ball and the barn are designed for full scale launching.

“Oh, you look terrible, Nali!” Deeta scurries over and steps between Garrett and I as she gives me a quick squeeze. Garrett’s eyes drop to his feet, watching how easily Deeta loops her arms around me. He takes a tiny step back. Deeta just keeps talking, a mile a minute. “I’ve done it before! We’ve got to be launched up to be able to float and when you go up you get that w
hooo….oooop!
in your stomach and then it’s just like having that dream where you’re flying…except that you actually are! And when you come down, the bottom is weighted, so it usually lands on the base.”

“Usually? What if it doesn’t?” I ask, trying to keep my voice level. “How does it work?”

“Magic.” Zane flashes me his devilish smile. “That’s all you need to know.”

“Yeah, right. There wouldn’t be a control station if it was magic.” Zaneen says, motioning to a black podium in the corner. There are knobs and dials and switches on the slanted top of it.

“Wrong.” Zane says. “That’s just the man behind the curtain. But do you really want me to explain the gravitational gases and all that? Because you’ll never get it…and then you’ll be a
real
mess,” he says. I’m already a real mess, but I’m glad it isn’t showing. “All you have to know is that it’s totally safe, Nal. My family has used this thing for years. It’s fun. I give you my word.”

“I, uh,” I stammer, staring up the expanse of the ball. The only way I’m getting on Zane’s Free Ball is if they knock me out and strap me to it. “I believe you? But I’m…uh…just really not with it tonight.”

“Me too,” Garrett yawns. “We’ve been going since this morning. Let’s just save it for tomorrow, after we visit Big Dog’s. How ‘bout it, Zane-o?”

“You’re serious?” Zane glowers. “We drove all the way out here to just sleep?”

But he closes the slats in the barn roof. As we walk up to his Grandfather’s farm house, I’m already making a list in my head of all the excuses that I can use tomorrow to get out of riding on that thing.