Operation Tenley (22 page)

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” Holden snorted.

“I know, right?” Tenley rolled her eyes.

“Ha!” Gavron clapped, thoroughly entertained now. “And you think
my
boys are dumb.”

Laraby crossed his arms over his belly and lifted his brow. “What exactly is
stupid
about what Fair One Pennie has just told you?”

Holden grinned. “First of all, Mother Nature isn’t real. That’s just a made-up term for, you know, like weather and plants and stuff. And second of all, that’s just like, stupid.”

Laraby studied him. “So, the sudden influx of storms and floods and hurricanes and tornadoes and sinkholes, these are all
random
occurrences?”

Holden shrugged. “Yeah. It’s called global warming.”

“More like a global meltdown.” Gavron slurped.

Pennie stepped closer to Holden. “It’s the truth.”

Holden snickered. “Then that would mean you were just pretending to be a teenager.”

Pennie blinked at him.

“You were
pretending
to be a teenager?”

“I’m sorry, Holden.”

“Were you pretending not to know how to skateboard?”

“No.” Pennie shook her head. “I can’t skateboard.”

A loud explosion went off in the distance. Gavron dropped to the ground and covered his ears.

“Time to get out of here,” Laraby said.

“Didn’t I already say that?” Tenley muttered.

“Time,” Laraby said to himself, turning the crystal eight over in his palm. “How does one find time?”

“What are you saying?” Pennie asked him.

“Time,” he repeated, louder. “We need to figure out where it is.”

“Duh. Time is, like, in the air,” Tenley shrugged.

Laraby stared at her. “Time
is,
like, in the air.”

Tenley nodded. “Yeah. That’s, like, what I just said.”

“What are you thinking, Lar?” Pennie asked.

“That I’m a poet and don’t even know it?” Tenley beamed.

“Does anyone hear that?” Holden asked, nervously. “That buzzing?”

Tenley collapsed. “I can’t go through that again.”

There it was, that same buzzing.

“Laraby,” Pennie elbowed him. “What is going on?”

“We need to turn back time.”

“We
can’t
.”

“We
can
. We’re not on Earth and we’re not in Fair City. The Manual says nothing about turning back time in Mother Nature’s garden.”

Pennie grinned. “That’s true.”

“Here.” He handed her the crystal eight. “Time is in the air. Slip it in anywhere.”

“Anywhere?”

“
Anywhere
,” he whispered, flicking his eyes to the right. And in full voice he said, “Say,
Pennie
. Why don’t you look for an exit
that way?”
He pointed to the right. Pennie ducked around some trees. “And Gavron?” He walked over to him, still on the ground covering his ears.

“Is the explosion over?” Gavron looked up.

“Yes. Why don’t you go look for an exit that way.” He pointed to the left. “We need to spread out.”

Gavron hurried away, but then thought better of it. “Wait a minute. What about that necklace?”

Just then, a huge gust of wind blew Tenley off the ground. She landed hard on a pile of leaves. Holden pulled her up with his good arm.

“Found the exit!” Pennie yelled. “Over here.”

They hurried toward Pennie’s voice and stopped short in front of elevator doors rippling in the air, hovering a foot off the ground. The crystal eight was sticking into the middle of it.

“Whoa, a hologram elevator?” Holden smiled.

Tenley crossed her arms. “I’m not going on any more rides. I’ll take the stairs.” She looked around doubtfully.

“This is the only way out.” Laraby walked up to the doors and slipped his hand inside of it. It looked like he had stuck it under rushing water.

Another gust of wind slammed into them. Everyone stayed on their feet this time, but the buzzing grew louder.

Tenley started whimpering. “Please. Make it go away.”

“Your stopwatch, Pennie,” Laraby said. “Exactly what time did it stop when the Fair Force arrived?”

“Seven fifty-nine and fifty-three seconds.”

“That’s the time we’ll have to go back to. Can I have it?”

Pennie slipped off the stopwatch and handed it to him.

“Okay, you two first.” Laraby waved Holden and Tenley up to the doors.

“Watch out!” Holden yelled. But it was too late. Gavron snatched the crystal and sprinted away.

The doors disintegrated.

Mother Nature’s Garden

Gavron ran for the tall grass.

“See you later, bro!”

A couple of steps and one hidden tree stump later, Gavron flew through the air and landed on his belly. The crystal eight landed to the right of him. Before he could get it again, Holden made a dive for it.

“This is
Pennie’s
.” Holden grabbed it and stood gripping his cast.

Gavron crawled away. Holden rushed back to Laraby and handed him the crystal.

Laraby stuck it into the air again and another set of doors appeared.

“That is
awesome
,” Holden said. “Seriously cool.”

“Okay, you two, let’s try it again.” Laraby waved Tenley up to the new set of doors. Just before she reached it, a black cloud appeared behind her. It hovered above her for a second before diving toward her feet and flipping her onto her back.

Another black cloud appeared behind Holden and did the same. He landed with a violent bounce next to Tenley.

Laraby dropped down to help them. Gavron saw his next opportunity. He sprinted over and plucked out the crystal eight again.

“Boys!” he ordered. The three sipLips hiding behind a tree popped out. “Catch!”

Before Gavron could throw the key, the sipLips blew backwards, splattering against the tree trunk.

“Boys!” Gavron started for them. He hadn’t taken a full step when another black cloud appeared, this time above him. It hovered for a moment, then circled around his robes fast enough to lift him off the ground and flip him sideways. He dropped the key.

Laraby scooped it up again. Two trees over, wind was pounding down on Pennie while she clung to a branch.

Holden, who had managed to get to his feet again, extended his good arm to Tenley. She took it and the two pushed onward against the heavy wind together, back to Laraby.

“As soon as the clients are inside the travel box, you’re next, Fair One. I’ll follow,” Laraby shouted to Pennie.

“No!” Pennie yelled back. “Get the sipLips in next. If they don’t get to the Log Ride at the same time, they’ll be no one to catch Tenley and Holden when they fall over it again.”

Holden and Tenley were almost to the doors when Tenley was blown off her feet, this time six feet in the air. She crumpled to the ground.

“Tenley!” Pennie stormed her way over to her. When she reached her, she pulled her behind the nearest tree. “Are you okay?” She propped Tenley up against the trunk. Tenley’s lips were trembling. She looked at Pennie with tears in eyes and shook her head. “My ankle. I can’t walk.”

“All right, listen to me, Tenley. I’m going to get you out of here. I promise.”

“Is this really happening?” Tenley whimpered. “Everything you said about Mother Nature trying to get rid of us?”

“Yes. It is. It’s really happening.”

Pennie peeked around the trunk. Holden and Laraby were hugging two tree trunks, struggling to hang on. The rippling doors to the travel box were getting dimmer. “What’s going on with the doors?” she yelled.

“They’re starting to shrink,” Laraby shouted. “And it’s taking the crystal with it.”

Pennie tucked back behind the tree. “We’re going to have to make a run for it, Tenley.”

“I can’t,” she said. “Just leave me. I’ve been such a jerk to you, anyway. I did that remix, Pennie. It was me. I wanted to trend. So I could get more votes. I’m so sorry.”

Pennie was struck. But there was no time to think about it now. “Tenley, I’d never leave you. It’s my job to protect you.”

A tear rolled down Tenley’s cheek.

Pennie pulled her up and wrapped her arm around her shoulder. “Now look. Imagine you’re late for the ANMIT auditions. They’re just about to call your name and you’re still in the parking lot. We’re going to have to sprint as fast as we can if you’re going to make it up to the stage in time. Got it?”

A fierce look came over Tenley. “Got it. I haven’t been wearing this ugly sash for nothing.”

“Let’s go!”

They leapt out from the tree. The wind hit them square on but they held tightly to one other, clenching their teeth and plowing their way to the travel box. A black cloud appeared overhead. Even with the wind whipping past them, they could hear the buzzing.

Holden tugged on a branch, which ripped off easily. He hurled it at the cloud. “Not this time!”

The black cloud broke apart into thousands of bees. Pennie yelped when the first bee stung her. She pulled Tenley into a bear hug to protect her.

“Tenley’s allergic to bees!” She yelled to Holden. “Can you get them away from us?”

Another one stung Pennie.

Tenley was shaking uncontrollably now.

“Hold on!” Holden ripped off more branches and opened fire on the bees. Finally, after too many direct hits, the bees zoomed away in different directions, a few of them slamming into each other and dropping to the ground.

“It’s clear, go!” Holden called out.

“Hurry!” Laraby waved to them.

“Come on, Tenley,” Pennie said.

“But you got stung,” she cried. Already, welts were growing on Pennie’s cheek and arm.

“Rude little things, aren’t they?” Pennie clutched Tenley tighter while they fought their way through the wind.

When they reached the doors, the pink petal was just landing in the trees above them and a new swarm of bees had surrounded it.

“That’s her,” Holden said. “The lady in the jumpsuit.”

Laraby took Tenley’s other arm and helped her hobble up next to Holden.

“Both of you!” he ordered. “Get into the box!”

Another thick black cloud blew over Pennie. It hovered for a moment before diving toward her legs and flipping her off her feet. Pennie sailed through the air before smashing into a tree trunk and collapsing onto the ground.

“Pennie!” Tenley shrieked. “Are you okay?”

Pennie’s head was spinning and her elbow felt like it was on fire. She waved anyway. “I’m fine.”

“She’s not okay,” Holden told Laraby. “We have to help her.”

“You two need to get inside those doors
now
,” Laraby demanded. “I will help her once you’re safe.”

“I can’t leave Pennie,” Tenley pleaded.

“Listed to me very carefully,” Laraby said. “We’re sending you back to the Log Ride. To the exact moment when you, Holden, reached out for Tenley before falling over the waterfall.”

“That’s not possible,” Holden said.

“Promise me that you’ll grab onto Tenley’s ankle. You
have
to be holding onto her when you fall. Promise me?”

“Yeah. Of course. But why do we have to do that again? We could have died.”

“You’re just going to have to trust me on this, Holden.”

“What about Pennie?” Tenley cried. “My mom would kill me if I left her, Pennie! Please, can we wait?”

“Listen to Laraby,” Pennie shouted up to her. “You have to believe us. If she gets either one of you in the web again, she won’t let you go this time.”

“Pennie’s right,” Laraby said. “Time for you to go. Holden, remember, we’re counting on you.”

Holden nodded solemnly, took Tenley’s arm, and helped her through the fading doors.

“One more thing, Holden!”

Holden turned back.

Laraby pulled the crystal eight out of the air and pressed it inside Holden’s palm just before the doors closed.

Laraby’s arm was caught. He hit the door with his free hand but the travel box started pulling him off the ground.

“Laraby!” Pennie shrieked, running to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and yanked. Her legs began lifting off the ground too.

“Let go, Fair One!” Laraby begged her. “Save yourself!”

“No!” Pennie yelled.

They were a few meters off the ground now. Pennie wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer. And even if she could, the travel box was disintegrating rapidly. Laraby’s arm, and perhaps the rest of him, would disintegrate along with it.

Two filthy sleeves wrapped around Pennie’s waist.

“I got you, Fairly One.”

“Gavron!”

“This might hurt a little, bro.” Keeping one arm around Pennie, Gavron reached up and grabbed onto Laraby. He yanked hard enough for Laraby to cry out in pain. His arm still wouldn’t budge.

“Boys!” Gavron screamed. Before Pennie realized what was happening, she was propelling through the air with the three sipLips. They dropped her on the ground and returned to Gavron. Pennie watched the sipLips encircle Gavron, who had both arms wrapped around Laraby’s waist. The sipLips began circling fast enough to create a small wind tunnel.

After a small blast, the travel box was gone.

Out of the vapor, five spinning bodies fell. The sipLips landed on top of each other and scurried away. Gavron and Laraby landed a few meters away.

“Holy Helium,” Gavron groaned, pushing Laraby off him. “Would it kill you to lay off on the froyo, bro, yo?”

Laraby rubbed his arm and tried to collect himself. “I hadn’t anticipated that. Thank you, Gavron.”

“No worries,” Gavron said, winking at Pennie. “It’s what we heroes do.”

An eerie silence descended upon the garden. The buzzing, the wind—all the noise, had come to a complete stop.

Gavron pointed up. “Um. I think you need to see this, bro.”

Pennie saw it before Laraby did. The bees above them had shaped themselves into an arrow, aimed directly for them.

Under his breath, as quietly as he could, Laraby said, “Pennie, come closer. Gavron. Get your boys over here right now.”

Pennie crawled closer and Gavron waved to the sipLips who were peeking out from around a tree. They zoomed over.

“Stay together, everyone. Gavron, keep a tight hold on Pennie.”

“Your command is my wish come true,” he gurgled, wrapping Pennie into his grimy robes with him.