The Gravity Keeper (19 page)

I leaned forward in my recliner and cheered as Alysha went into action. This was the best Chronicle ever!

Wanderby narrowed his eyes to see through the falling water. “That girl just came out of the tube. Loisana, get ready to freeze her.”

Simon spoke his gravity formula before Loisana could act; Wanderby, Myarina, and Robertitus collapsed to the ground, and Loisana couldn't concentrate enough to attack. Simon had made their area's gravity three times as heavy, so their every movement was a pained struggle.

It was a strain for Simon to concentrate on an area he couldn't see. He still managed to increase Owen's friction, allowing him to climb atop the water-slicked tube. Owen also had to struggle to focus his velocity control on the falling water; liquids were much harder to control than solids. He managed to collect a steadily growing puddle in the air above Simon and him.

Alysha dove forward through the mirror. For a second, she saw nothing; she was in the middle of the light wall. Then she burst through and saw the whole playground again. She dropped to her hands and knees to cope with the heaving ground and waves of water. She grinned as the Order members struggled with their increased weight. They were too busy to pay much attention to her.

Robertitus, the biggest and strongest, strained to get to his feet and prepared to send his seismic waves against Alysha. He struggled to maintain focus on her but had barely managed to aim his attack when Owen sent a water blob the size of a small swimming pool hurtling over Alysha's head. It crashed into Robertitus and the other Order members at three times its normal force, strengthened by the increased gravity. Robertitus was slammed into the brick wall and slid down, stunned. Myarina and Wanderby were flattened to the ground while Loisana, still friction-stuck down, had the wind knocked out of her.

All four Order members were momentarily helpless, sprawled onto dirt that was covered with water and segments of metal from the shattered jungle gym.

And Alysha had learned that water containing dissolved particles from dirt is an excellent conductor of electricity. As is metal.

Alysha, still on her hands and knees, felt the extra gravity hit her. It didn't matter: she'd gotten as close as she needed to. She'd already built up a strong charge; now she grabbed hold of the nearest piece of metal, partially immersed in the water, and spoke her formula.

The air was filled with a loud popping sound as Alysha's stored electricity streaked through the water and metal, zapping the four adults. Suddenly, the ground stopped shaking, the water stopped dropping from the air, and the mirrored walls disappeared. The playground was eerily quiet.

Simon and Owen shut down their formulas. Exhausted, they dropped off the concrete tube and unsteadily crossed the ruined playground toward Alysha. She was shaky as she pointed to the adults. “I didn't know I had that much juice stored up.” Her voice quivered. “Do you think they'll be…okay?”

Owen went to Myarina and, mimicking paramedics from the medical shows he'd watched on television, felt for a pulse at her jawline. “She's alive. Her pulse is strong.” He went from one to the next, checking the same way, and announced that all four Order members were fine, just unconscious.

Alysha laughed nervously, still a little scared by what she'd done. “Listen to you. ‘Her pulse is strong.' You should get a job at the hospital.”

Simon nodded to Alysha. “Nice work.”

Alysha shrugged. “We had to stop them somehow, right?”

“We tried to make them listen, but they wouldn't,” Owen said.

“We did what we had to,” Simon said.

Alysha exhaled slowly. “I'm just glad you didn't make some lame joke.”

Simon grinned. “Shocking, isn't it?”

Alysha shook her head. “That's it. You're next.”

They all laughed, overcome with relief and weariness. “Let's get out of here before they wake up or someone else comes after us,” Simon said.

Owen nodded. “Or we have to clean up.”

Alysha walked over to Myarina and Loisana. “Give me a second.” While Simon and Owen retrieved their backpacks, Alysha bent over, her back to Simon and Owen, and rooted through the women's purses. Then she fished around in the water for a few minutes. “Okay, I'm ready.”

She took her backpack from Owen and poured something from her hands into the bag. Owen noticed. “What was that?” he asked.

“An insurance policy,” Alysha said. “I'll explain later.”

Simon reached into his bag. “Can you believe it? The Book isn't even wet!”

“We have to get to the hospital quickly,” Owen said. “I do
not
want to face Mr. Wanderby in gym tomorrow.”

They came to the fence. All the exits were still iced over: Loisana's barriers had cracked but not shattered during the fight. Owen groaned. “No way can I climb that now.”

“Owen, do you think you could manage a little more velocity control? 'Cause if you can, there's a great way to get to the woods,” Simon said.

Simon negated their gravity, and Owen used velocity to lift and send them whooshing through the air. Simon let out a whoop of joy. Weary and scared or not, they were actually flying!

Not long before that, Marcus Van Ny stirred at the sound of his cell phone ringing; he realized he'd dozed off in the nurse's office. The last thing he remembered was getting a few bandages and being told to lie down while the nurse called his father to come get him.

“Dad?” Marcus said as he answered his phone groggily. “You here yet?”

“I'm outside in the car,” Myron Van Ny growled. “Hurry up.”

Marcus sat up. The nurse wasn't there. “I just have to get my books from my locker.”

“I do
not
have time for this,” Myron practically roared. “You have
no
idea how many important things I have to do right now.”

Before Marcus could answer, he felt a rumbling and heard a distant crashing sound. “Did you feel that? Or hear it?”

“A man doesn't buy a car as luxurious as mine when he wants to see or hear anything outside,” Myron snarled. “So no.” With that, Myron hung up.

Marcus went to his locker; it was down the hall from Alysha's and Simon's…the same hall that led to the playground. He was surprised to see the school nurse—a kind, elderly man that Marcus couldn't stand. He was staring at the double doors to the playground, trying to see through a mysteriously cracked window.

“Hey! What's the big idea leaving me there by myself?” Marcus shouted. “I could have slipped into a coma or something!”

The nurse turned around, his face pale with fright. “Something's going on.”

There was another rumble, this one fiercer and longer than the last; it was followed by another and another. “Is it an earthquake?” Marcus gasped.

“I don't know; there's tons of water outside! I don't want to get near it.”

Marcus snorted. “That's because you're a wuss,” he muttered under his breath. He walked over to the double doors, but a loud popping noise made him pause; he was sure he smelled something burning. He waited a few minutes to be sure the noise and shaking were done before putting his face to a window.

“Whoa. It's like a movie,” Marcus said, marveling over the wreckage on the playground. And something more. “No way!” he exclaimed.

The nurse ran over to the other window. “What? What?”

Marcus pushed open the door and stared in horror and awe. He jumped as his cell phone rang, and he quickly answered. “Dad?”

“Boy, are you coming or not?”

“Dad, the playground's destroyed! Like a bomb went off, but there's water all over. And four people lying on the ground.” He moved closer. “Is that Mr. Wanderby? My gym teacher!” He stared into the distance. “I swear I can see three kids flying! Oh no, it's them!” Marcus's knees went weak, and his voice rose in pitch. “They used witchcraft on me in gym today, too.”

“Say that again?” Myron's voice was suddenly intense and focused. “Witchcraft? Flying? Who are these kids, Marcus? Where are they flying to?”

Marcus spoke in gasps, on the verge of hyperventilating. “Their names are Simon, Owen, and Alysha. And they're going toward the edge of Lawnville. The Stoneridge side.”

“Dunkerhook Woods!” Myron's voice was a scratchy whisper.

“What woods? No, that loser Simon lives that way.”

Myron laughed. “Of course! It's all clear now!”

“Dad? Can you come and get me?”

“Find another way home, boy,” Myron growled. “This is it. This is it!”

Myron Van Ny, known to some as Mermon Veenie, disconnected the call and quickly dialed another number. “Sir? It's Veenie. I know where the kids are going with the Book!” Then he laughed cruelly as he sped off in the direction of the woods.

Owen paid close attention to his velocity control to steer them, making sure they stayed higher than people's houses but low enough to use the trees and roofs as cover. He didn't dare move them too fast; he was tired, and his reaction time was off. He was afraid he'd send them plowing into something.

Still, it was an exhilarating ride as the wind rushed past and the world slid away beneath them.

“Why don't we fly all the way to Mountain Hospital?” Alysha shouted.

“Can't!” Owen shouted back. “I'll pass out if I don't take us down soon.” In fact, they were starting to wobble as they flew; they were barely aloft by the time Owen brought them to their destination: the end of Van Silas Way.

Simon increased their gravity as they settled to the street; curiously, the pavement was as wet as they were. None noticed the rain clouds dissipating during what was otherwise a sunny day.

The bruised, wet kids stood there and stared at the entrance to the woods. As I had predicted, all three could see it now.

“I'm not sure about this new wet look,” a musical voice said.

Simon, Alysha, and Owen whipped around and found Flangelo, in human form, walking toward them from up the street. “Relax, commandos. The war's over for now. Nice fighting. You've all come a long way.”

Alysha fumed. “You watched us go through all that and didn't try to help?”

Flangelo flung his hands up into the air. “For the last time, spark plug, I am not a fighter. I recognize how silly it sounds to say this to twelve-year-olds, but trust me, you are much tougher than I am. You even flew here faster.”

“Don't worry about it,” Simon said. “We did okay on our own. And I'm still eleven, by the way.”

“You did great,” Flangelo said in a tone more serious than he'd ever used with the kids before. “But it's not over. I followed to warn you. When your pals from the Order wake up, they're going to call for reinforcements. And after all that, I'm guessing you'll be too tired to use your formulas much more.”

“Actually, I learned one more formula that I haven't used,” Simon said.

“Oh, thank you!” Alysha said with relief. “I thought we were going to be relying on mine.”

“So what's your formula?” Owen asked. “What can you do?”

“That's the problem; it's hard to understand. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to control it.”

Owen and Alysha slumped. Flangelo cleared his throat. “I'm not in a position to throw stones here—I mean, I'm basically a chicken in sparrow's clothing—but wouldn't it have been better to, oh, I don't know, pick a formula you
did
understand?”

“I asked the Book what to pick and this is what it chose. It's called space-time and has to do with theoretical physics. Relativity.”

“You mean like aunts and uncles?” Owen asked.

Flangelo groaned. “Oh, Scooter, just when you were starting to impress me.”

“Albert Einstein had this whole theory-of-relativity thing,” Alysha said. “Ever hear of
E
=
mc
²
?”

Owen shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Alysha, do you know what it means?” Simon asked.

She shook her head.

“I talked to my dad about it; a little, I mean.”

“Your dad?” Flangelo chirped.

“Rocket scientist,” Alysha said.

“Sure,” Flangelo said. “It's not brain surgery, but it'll do.”

Simon thought about what his dad had said. Maybe he could teleport himself and his friends, but how could he control it? They could wind up halfway in the ground, or on the surface of the sun, or in the year 3012.

“No,” Simon said, “it's still too risky. We should just go on foot.”

Flangelo whistled sadly. “Good luck with that. With everything.” He nodded solemnly and then turned into a bird and flew off.

Alysha watched him flap away. “My hero.”

“C'mon, guys. We can't waste any more time,” Simon said.

They stepped into Dunkerhook Woods, and the Breeze washed over them. Its energies flooded them more than ever before, imparting as much power as it could to their weakened bodies. They were almost able to forget how tired they were.

Owen breathed deeply and held up his hand. He concentrated, spoke his formula, and made a stone leap into his palm. “I think we just got recharged!”

“Thank you, Breeze!” Alysha whispered. “But don't use it up, Owen. What if we run into someone between here and the hospital?”

“Even that Eldonna might try to fight us when we show up,” Simon said.

“So, let's-come-up-with-something-make-a-plan, you know, just in case,” Owen said.

After several minutes of walking and strategizing, they reached the clearing and paused. “We're not far from the gap,” Simon said. “We'll have to get across it without wasting too much formula strength. This is where it gets dangerous again.”

“Danger? Big deal,” Owen said. “I kicked Marcus's and Barry's butts in dodgeball, knocked my gym teacher around, and ate great pizza. I've led a full life.”

Simon chuckled. “Okay, this is it. We stick together and follow the plan.” Alysha and Owen nodded, and they headed on toward the ravine.

But they'd only gone a few feet when a familiar, chilling voice boomed.
“It's about time. I was starting to doze off.”