Strike 3: The Returning Sunrise (17 page)

“Oh my god!” Strike said, still lying on his stomach on the roof. “Oh my god!”

“But there’s no time to celebrate. Look!”

Agent Everybody pointed upward. The lower train tracks led up a slight incline, toward an opening in the cave that showed the night sky outside. But, one by one, the moaning, swarming ghosts were flying down from the ceiling and floating inside the opening. As Strike watched, the train’s only point of exit was soon infested with open-mouthed, long-armed ghouls. He could no longer see the world outside.

“Jump, kid!” Agent Everybody shouted. “Lightning jump!”

Strike let go of the metal railing, crouched down on one knee, and pressed his fingertips against the roof of the train. Concentrating on his powers, he sent blue electricity down his chest, across his waist, and into his legs. Once blue sparks began to spit from his boots, he stood tall and leapt upward, with lightning erupting from his feet. Shooting up into the air, with his legs leaving a stream of blue energy behind him, he raised his hands over his head and created as much bright, snapping electricity as he could.

The boy couldn’t believe it—it was working. The ghosts that were crowded together in the cave’s exit quickly turned their eyes toward Strike and then swarmed out into the cave, flying upward toward his bright light above the train.

“It’s working, kid!” Agent Everybody shouted.

“But not on all of them!”

Agent Everybody spun toward the cave’s exit. A few of the ghosts had stayed behind and were still blocking their escape.

“Krandor!” Agent Everybody shouted. He quickly grabbed his ray gun from his waist and began blasting the remaining ghosts in the exit. As the spirits were hit by the blue ray beams, they dissipated into nothingness, but many of the ghosts were avoiding his fire, waiting for the train to reach their outstretched arms.

With the hundreds of moaning ghosts flying behind him and following his blue electricity, Strike reached the apex of his lightning jump and began to descend. Luckily, he timed it just right, and as he fell downward toward the train, he knew he would land towards its rear. Hitting the roof with a painful
THUD!
, he tumbled backward and grabbed onto its metal railing, with his legs dangling off the side and swinging above the speeding track.

Feeling the rushing air all around him, Strike looked up. There were still ten ghosts blocking the exit, and the train was only seconds away from hitting them.

“Hurry!” Strike shouted.

“I’m doing my best, kid!”

Aiming at each ghost one by one, Agent Everybody fired his ray gun, and soon there were only two moaning ghosts left. Right as the train was about to reach the exit, the dead man fired two quick ray blasts, and the final ghosts dissipated into thin air directly in front of Tobin’s face. Finally, the moaning of the ghosts stopped, the train escaped into the cold, open air, and Tobin could once again see the night sky above him.

Letting out the largest sigh of his life, Tobin lay down on the train roof and closed his eyes. Agent Everybody sat down near the front of the train, breathing heavily and watching as the green grass and tall pine trees zoomed by them.

“We did it,” Tobin said.

“We did it,” Agent Everybody replied. “I can’t believe that worked.”

“It was your plan. I thought you were always right.”

“I can’t believe that worked,” Agent Everybody said again.

A silence passed. The two heroes rested on the locomotive’s roof, listening to it chug along.

“Can we go back inside the train now?” Tobin asked.

“Yes.”

***

Three hours later, and without any of its passenger cars, Tobin and Agent Everybody’s train reached a small train station in Ruffalo Rock and came to a stop. As they walked down the train station’s steps, Tobin was back in his baseball cap and sunglasses, while Agent Everybody was once again the beautiful blonde Hannah. Standing in front of a green jeep, Wakefield was there to meet them.

“Let’s make this quick, guys,” Wakefield said. “I think you might have been followed back in Holdenshmirth.”

Grumbling, Tobin got into Wakefield’s jeep and closed the door.

In the Museum of the Heroes computer lab, Scatterbolt sat at a keyboard in front of a massive screen, inspecting the lines of code he had been able to download from the Trident’s mainframe the night before. Behind him, Keplar sat in a chair, drinking from a beer and tossing the tabs from other empty beer cans into a cardboard box.

“Okay,” Orion said, as he walked into the computer lab. “I just got off the phone with Wakefield. He picked up Tobin and our other contact and they are on their way to Ruffalo Rock. So at least we know Tobin is safe. What have you guys found?”

“Well,” Keplar said, “I’ve totally been helping, but I’ll let Scatterbolt explain it.”

Scatterbolt pushed a button on his keyboard and brought up a map of Rhode Island on the screen. “I haven’t found much from the information you and Tobin got from the 105th floor, but the stuff Keplar and I got from the computer mainframe has turned out to be the motherload.” The robot handed Orion a stack of papers. “One part of Rigel’s next phase involves something in Fairfield, Rhode Island.”

“Fairfield, Rhode Island?” Orion asked, surprised. “Outside of the dome?”

“Yes. Believe it or not, Rigel has the governor of Rhode Island secretly working for him.”

“Say what?” Keplar said, sitting up in his chair. “I mean, of course. I knew that. Because me and Scatterbolt have been working on this together.”

Scatterbolt typed on the keyboard, and a photo of Governor Daniel Melfi appeared on the screen.

“According to this, Governor Daniel Melfi is the only non-Capricioun who has been allowed to travel in-and-out of the Dark Nebula since they released everyone. He’s been working with Rigel to act as some kind of transitionary figure, for when Rigel makes his move to take over Washington, D.C.”

“My god,” Orion said, looking over the papers. “Someone from Earth helping Rigel. Though I don’t know why I let this kind of stuff surprise me anymore. And let me guess: he’s allowing Rigel to build something in Fairfield?”

“Well, I don’t know if ‘build something’ is the right term,” Scatterbolt said. “It seems to be something organic.”

“Organic?”

“Yes.” Scatterbolt pulled up a picture of a crew of green-skinned Rytonian soldiers, unloading massive wooden crates from an airplane. “Or
somethings
organic, as in more than one. Whatever is going on in Rhode Island, it requires tons of feed from Capricious. They are secretly bringing in all kinds of feed and drugs from Capricious, and transporting it down to Fairfield.”

“What the hell could that be for?” Keplar asked.    

“I don’t know, but whatever it is, they’re hiding it here.” Scatterbolt pointed to the screen, and the image changed to a photo of an island military base, with a sign that read:
ALTON HAYES NAVAL STATION.

“This is a defunct navy base off the coast of Fairfield,” Scatterbolt explained. “It’s no longer operational, but it’s still used as a tourist attraction—for tours, field trips, things like that. Except it hasn’t been used for anything lately, because Governor Melfi shut it down a few weeks ago, citing safety concerns and saying it needed a lengthy refurbishment.”

“Boy,” Keplar said. “This governor sounds like a real krandor stain, doesn’t he?”

“He does,” Scatterbolt replied. “Though no one has seen him in a few days, so who knows what that means.”

Scatterbolt brought up an article from the Providence Journal. Its headline read:
GOVERNOR MELFI MISSING
.

Orion stared at the screen. “Whatever it means, we need to get to Fairfield now and check it out. I have a terrible feeling things just got a lot more serious.”

“We’re going to Earth?” Keplar asked. “Now? Without Tobin?”

“Yes.”

“That’s gonna be interesting, especially since our fakers are no longer working.” Keplar stood up and put his jacket on. “You think the Daybreaker knows about any of this? That Rigel is growing some kind of weird crap down in Rhode Island?”

“We have to assume he does,” Orion said. “But right now, I’m afraid we don’t know much about the Daybreaker. That’s been our issue all along for the past two months: we know next-to-nothing about the Daybreaker, even after Tobin’s recent face-to-face with him. If only we could find out more, find out what’s going through the Daybreaker’s head. Find out what’s made him so quickly and easily turn on his own world. If we could only somehow get closer to the Daybreaker, and have someone speak to him, it would make a world of difference.”

Scatterbolt thought it over. He looked up at Orion.

“I have an idea,” the robot said. “You’re gonna hate it.”

***

On Middle Street in Bridgton, Massachusetts, Orion sat in the black getaway car and looked out the driver’s side window. Across the street, he could see Tobin’s friend, Chad Fernandes, standing behind the counter of Tony’s Pizzeria, wearing an apron and tossing dough into the air. The teen boy and the restaurant’s manager were laughing as one of their female co-workers tossed a handful of flour at them.

“You know,” Keplar said, slouched down in the backseat of the getaway car. He was wearing a trench coat, sunglasses, and yellow fisherman’s hat, which was pulled down over his forehead. “I thought I would feel pretty hidden in this disguise. Turns out I was wrong. I’m pretty sure I just look like a giant dog who’s about to flash everybody. Can we please talk to Chad and get this over with?”

“Yes,” Orion said, opening the car door. “I’m going in now. Stay here. Don’t move.”

“You’re joking, right?” Keplar asked.

Orion stepped onto the street. “Yes.”

Keplar threw his hands up and slouched down further in the seat. “Great. Now he’s making jokes. What a time to start.”

“I just learned a bunch of new jokes from my joke book,” Scatterbolt said, as he sat cross-legged on the floor of the backseat. “I can tell you some while Orion’s in there.”

Keplar grumbled and pulled the fisherman’s hat over his eyes.

***

Inside Tony’s Pizzeria, Chad watched with a smile as his co-worker Stacey walked out of the kitchen and toward the break room. He was very pleased with his progress today; he was pretty sure the fact that she had just thrown a handful of flour in his face was a sign that she liked him.        

“Chad,” the manager of the pizzeria said. “Can you take care of the cash register while Stacey’s on break?”

“Sure,” Chad replied, as he put down the pizza dough he was tossing into the air and wiped his hands on his apron. When he reached the register, a customer was already waiting for him.

“Hi,” Chad said, looking up. “Can I help you?”

The customer was a black man with grey hair and glasses, wearing a long, red coat.

“Yes,” Orion said. “I think you can.”

Chad waited for the order. “Okay. Go ahead.”

“Do you know who I am?” Orion asked.

Chad stared at him. Then his eyes went wide.

“Oh my god,” he said. “Oh my god, oh my god.”

“Please calm down,” Orion replied. “Don’t act out of the ordinary.”

Chad’s eyes were pinned open, and a smile was quickly growing across his face. “Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. You’re him. You’re him! Tobin’s showed me pictures of you. You’re Orion!”

Orion spoke softly. “Please don’t use my name.”

“This is so awesome!” Chad whispered, not very quietly and with a massive grin. “Why are you here? Is Tobin with you?” He looked out the pizzeria’s glass door. “Oh my god, this is so crazy! I can’t believe you’re actually here! This is awesome!”

Orion kept his voice down. “Please just act like I’m any other customer.”

“This is awesome!” Chad said again. “I can’t believe I’m talking to you! I’ve never met a superhero before! I mean, besides Tobin and everything. But this is so cool! I can’t believe you’re here!”

Orion gave up. He motioned toward the street. “Come on. Let’s talk outside.”

***

As Orion opened the driver’s side door of the getaway car, Chad opened the passenger side and looked into the back seat. Scatterbolt was there, sitting on the floor, while Keplar was hunched down behind the front passenger seat, in his trench coat.

“Oh my god,” Chad said. “It’s the dog. The dog is here. This is amazing.”

“I guess my disguise didn’t work,” Keplar replied.

Scatterbolt waved up at Chad from the floor. “Hi!”

Chad sat down in the front of the car and closed the door. “This is crazy. I can’t believe you guys are here. I’ve always wanted to meet you. I can’t believe this!”

“Yes, we’re all very excited,” Orion replied. “But we can’t stay here very long, Chad. We need to ask for your help with something.”

“You do?”

“Yes, but we can’t talk about it here in the open. Do you have anywhere we could go?”

“Um, I don’t know. Both my parents are home from work right now. What do you guys need my help with? Does it have to do with Tobin?”

“Yes,” Orion replied.

Chad grew concerned. “Is he okay?”

“He’s fine,” Orion said. “But it’s...complicated. Can you think of anywhere we can go? Anywhere where we’ll be safer?”

Chad thought it over. “I have an idea. But Jen is gonna be really pissed.”

***

Seven minutes down the road, Chad led Orion, Keplar, and Scatterbolt into Jennifer’s house. 

“Here it is, guys. Just be careful.” 

“Are you absolutely sure her parents aren’t going to be home, Chad?” Orion asked.

“Yes, I’m absolutely positive,” Chad replied. “They’re in the Barbados right now. They won’t be home for a week. Jen was planning on having a party tonight.”

“Is she home right now?” Orion asked.

“No,” Chad said, peering out the living room blinds. “It doesn’t look like it. Her car’s not here.”

“Okay. Give her a call and let her know what’s going on.”

As Chad retrieved his phone from his pocket, Keplar walked into the kitchen and whipped off his trench coat, tossing it to the floor.

“Finally I can take off this stupid thing. I’m so sick of disguises.” The dog swung the refrigerator door open and stuck his head in. “Now, let’s see what they have in here…”

“Ooooo!” Scatterbolt said, his eyes lighting up. “Earth TV!” The robot dashed into the living room and leapt onto the couch, grabbing a remote control from the coffee table. “Oh, they have Downton Abbey!” He turned to Keplar in the kitchen. “Keplar, they have Downton Abbey!”

The dog was rummaging through the fridge. “Okay, just make sure you don’t go past where we are. Make sure you put on the next one.”

“Just be careful, guys,” Chad said, watching Keplar stack a jar of pickles onto a pizza box on the kitchen counter. “Jen’s dad can be really crazy O.C.D. about his stuff being neat.”

“Yes, guys,” Orion said. “We’re taking a big risk coming here, and so is Chad. Let’s make sure we keep things exactly the way they are.”

“Relax,” Keplar said, “it will be like we were never—” The dog turned around and his tail knocked a jar of strawberry jelly off the counter, sending it to the floor with a
SKCRASH!
“Don’t worry,” the dog said, looking down at the gooey, red mess. “It’s just the jelly.” The dog then bent over to pick it up, and in the process his tail pushed something else off the breakfast nook, resulting in another
SKRASH!
“And a vase of some kind,” the dog added, eyeing the jagged pieces of blue porcelain in the puddle on the floor.

In the living room, Scatterbolt lounged on the couch, pressing buttons on the remote control. “Chad, do you know if Jen’s dad is taping a baseball game on the DVR? I think something’s taping on the DVR.”

Chad stared into the kitchen, his eyes wide. “Oh my god, Jen is gonna kill me. Her dad is gonna kill me. Everyone is gonna kill me.”

Orion placed a hand on Chad’s shoulder. “I’m sorry about all this, Chad. I think it’s best if you just tell Jen we’re here so we can leave.”

Chad pressed his phone to his ear. “Yes, I think so.”

In the parking lot of Thomas Grocery a few streets away, Jennifer placed her party supplies into her car and answered her phone.

“Hey, Chad. What’s going on?”

Chad watched the kitchen as Keplar made himself a ham, roast beef, peanut butter, chocolate ice cream, potato chip, and wine sandwich. In the living room, Scatterbolt stood on the couch and whipped his arm back and forth, playing a game of Wii tennis.

“Oh,” Chad said into the phone, “nothing.”

“What’s going on?” Jennifer asked. “You sound weird.”

“Nothing. Just kind of...hanging out.”

Jennifer opened her car door, then stopped. “Where are you?” she asked. “Are you at my house? I told you, we can all hang out there later, but I don’t want to go there now when my neighbors might see us. If you and Zack are there now I’m gonna flip out.”

“Oh, I’m here now,” Chad said. “But it’s not Zack I’m with.”