The Takers: Book One of the Oz Chronicles (9 page)

"Yes!" I screamed.

"What's the big deal?" Lou asked.

"Don't you see? We have a way to fight back."

She thought about it. Slowly a smile began to form on her face.

We spent the next hour carefully repacking the wagon and loading as many fireworks as we could. We stuck with mostly firecrackers like Hydro Crackers, Black Cats, 16,000 count Wolf Pack strips, Thunder Bombs, Silver Crackling Crackers, and virtually anything else we could light and throw. When we finished packing and discovered we had room for more, we went back for the bottle rockets. If it said "The Loudest Available by Law" on the package, we loaded it on the wagon.

Had it been different times, I would have allowed myself to enjoy the little shopping spree. My Pop and I used to have a blast shooting off fireworks on the 4th of July and New Year's. But these fireworks weren't for fun. They were going to be used to inflict harm.

As I lifted the last box of fireworks into the wagon, I saw some movement under the highway overpass to our right. I quickly grabbed the horses' reins and hid the wagon on the other side of Crazy Jay's metal building. I instructed Lou to stay near the wagon and keep Ajax and Kimball occupied while I checked it out.

I hid myself from view behind signs and deserted parked cars as I moved in closer to the overpass. At about thirty feet, I could make out a half dozen people on bikes, four boys and two girls. I estimated the youngest to be a boy about eight or so and the oldest a girl that was 17 or 18. They were all smoking, even the youngest one. I could see by their ragged appearance they had traveled long and hard. Remembering Wes saying that I should take extra care when it came to dealing with strangers, I stealthily made my way back to Lou and the others without being spotted by the bicycle gang. They may have been perfectly fine, but I wasn't in the mood to find out. Instead, we waited until they got on their bikes and rode away. Unfortunately, they were headed in the same direction we were. We decided that we would spend the night in South Pittsburg and let them have a day's ride on us.

There were motels up and down the street, but we elected to spend the night at Crazy Jay's for no other reason than we were already there. Our two days of travel had really taken their toll on us. We wanted nothing more than to just stop, sit, and not move for the next several hours, and that's exactly what we did. We sat in the middle of Crazy Jay's and didn't make a sound. Exhaustion had set in on all of us. Ajax was the first to conk out. He curled up in a ball and started snoozing away. Kimball lay down next to him, let out a worn-out grunt, and fell fast asleep.

I was so tired I don't remember falling asleep, but I do remember waking up to the sounds of Phil and Ryder whinnying, snorting, and throwing a general fit. We all rose up. Our minds immediately kicked into defense mode, I grabbed J.J. and slowly moved toward the front door, Ajax and Kimball flanking me on the left and right. The horses whinnied some more, and I could hear voices. Lou picked up Nate and headed for the back of the warehouse.

Looking out the glass door, I could see what had the horses so upset. The bicycle gang was back, and they were trying to steal the horses and wagon. Relieved they weren't Greasywhoppers, I breathed easier. It did not occur to me that I still had a crisis on my hands. It only occurred to me that I would not have to face another one of those slobbering ghouls for the time being.

I looked at Ajax and then Kimball. "We can handle this," I said. With that I opened the door and stepped outside. Ajax and Kimball remained hidden behind me. "Can I help you?" I asked the thieves.

The older girl turned to me first. She was tall, skinny, and covered in road dirt. "That's all right," she said with a thick country accent. "We're just going to help ourselves."

A boy, about 15 and shorter than the girl, positioned himself in front of her. He was wearing a Hixon High School hat and a heavy flannel jacket. He held a thick, four-foot length of chain and twirled it around at his side. "You don't have a problem with that, do you?" he asked.

Another boy, maybe 13 years old, stood beside him. He was a chubby kid with a broken pair of glasses and a pair of Converse high tops that had seen their share of mud puddles. He laughed. "Nah, he ain't got no problem with that."

The youngest boy, a small kid wearing only a t-shirt and a baggy pair of blue jeans had hold of Phil and Ryder's reins. He looked petrified. A girl about his age stood next to him. She wore a tattered dress that was at least two sizes too big for her. She held a handful of sugar cubes in her hand trying to get the horses to calm down. At the end of the parking lot near the bicycles, another boy stood in the darkness guarding their belongings.

"As a matter of fact, I do have a problem with that," I said. I stepped out into the open. I motioned for Ajax and Kimball to stay put behind me.

The fifteen-year-old stepped forward. "We got us a hero, Reya."

The older girl answered. "Show him what we do to heroes, Miles."

The fifteen-year-old howled and stepped forward. He raised his hand high above his head and started swinging the chain. "Whatcha' gonna do, boy?" he shouted with a look of unbridled insanity.

"Me?" I said calmly. "Nothing."

The chubby thirteen-year-old chimed in. "Then how you going to stop us?"

I smiled. "I'm not."

Reya snorted. "That's what I thought." Phil snorted and whinnied. "Tyrone, I told you to get them horses calmed down," she said.

"I'm trying," the small kid said.

"Let go of those horses, Tyrone," I said. "They're more likely to give you a swift kick on the noggin than calm down. They're tired and fussy."

"Shut up," Miles said.

"Devlin, go help Valerie and Tyrone keep them horses under control," Reya told the chubby kid.

"What about him?" Devlin asked, gesturing to me.

"He ain't going to do nothing," Miles said.

"It's not me you have to worry about," I said.

"Oh yeah," Reya said. "Then who do we have to worry about?"

I stepped back and motioned for Kimball and Ajax to come outside. They burst out the door and stood in front of me, Kimball with his teeth bared and tail bent down and Ajax beating his chest.

Valerie screamed and the horse reared up. Tyrone went tumbling to the ground. I ran over quickly and pulled him to safety. Reya stood like a statue while Miles and Devlin were already halfway to the bikes.

I heard Devlin yell out, "Monster," as his fat legs carried him to the end of the parking lot.

"Still want to help yourself to our horses?" I asked Reya.

She turned to me, the color drained from her face. "We didn't mean nothing by it. We was just tired of riding our bikes."

"Well," I said, "I hope you're not too tired to ride on out of here."

She started to back away. "Valerie, Tyrone, come on, let's get."

Tyrone looked up at me. "I didn't want to do it," he said. "They made me."

"I just wanted to give the horses some sugar," Valerie said.

I looked at them and felt guilty that I had scared them half to death. "That's alright."

They followed Reya. She shifted her gaze back and forth from me to Ajax and Kimball. She was angry because she had been beaten.

The bicycle gang mounted their bikes and disappeared into the night. I turned to Ajax and Kimball and smiled. "Man, did I pick the right friends," I said.

***

Needless to say I didn't get much sleep that night Kimball and I took up residence in the wagon, while Ajax watched over Lou and Nate in Crazy Jay's all night. Besides being cold, I drove myself crazy by reacting to every little noise that I heard in the darkness. I was convinced Reya and her mob were going to return and finish what they had started.

But by daybreak, they had not reappeared. I wasted no time getting the horses hitched up and coaxing Lou, with Nate, and Ajax on the wagon. I wanted to hit the road and get as far way from South Pittsburg as I could.

I didn't see any signs of the bicycle gang until we crossed Nickajack Lake. Just over the bridge, I spotted Devlin trying to hide his pudgy frame behind a car parked at a truck stop just off the interstate. The others were nowhere in sight. I didn't like seeing him. It meant one of two things. We were either headed in the same direction by chance, or they were deliberately following us. Either way it increased our odds of having another run-in. I turned and looked at Ajax. As long as I had him with me, I felt relatively safe from Reya and her group. I wouldn't worry about them for now. I gave Phil and Ryder a tap with the reins, and they went from a walking pace to a slow trot.

"What's the hurry?" Lou asked.

"No hurry," I said. "Just seeing how fast this thing will go." I smiled.

She smiled back and opened the sling on her lap. Nate's red face peered out. He was in an unusually good mood. Lou goo-gooed and gaw-gawed him. She gently tapped his nose with the end of her finger. "I sure hope we're doing everything right," she said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"With Nate. I was around when my baby brother was born. I kind of watched my mom, but that was three years ago. I don't know if I'm doing everything right."

"You're doing great," I said.

She shrugged her shoulders and continued to play with Nate. "You ever notice Nate's ears?" she asked.

"His what?"

"His ears. They look kind of funny."

I leaned over and looked at the little guy. "They look okay," I said. "They're kind of small and funny shaped, but he's a baby. He'll grow out of it."

"They just look weird," she said.

"Yeah, well we've all got our burdens to bear."

"What?"

I looked at her and laughed. "It's something my Mom used to say when I complained about something. 'Yeah, well we've all got our burdens to bear, Osmond. Get over it,' she used to say."

"Osmond?" She laughed.

"Family name. Now you know the burden I have to bear."

"It's not so bad," she said still laughing.

"Yeah, right," I said. "How 'bout you? Any words of wisdom from your parents you want to share?"

"Words of wisdom?"

"I figure we might as well teach each other as much as we know. Doesn't look like anyone else is going to."

She furrowed her brow and tried to think of something she could pass along from her parents. "My parents were always too busy fighting to really teach us anything."

"They didn't get along?"

"They hated each other. That's pretty much why they got divorced. Although my Mom meeting my Stepdad didn't really help things much."

"How long ago?"

She thought about it. "About four years ago, I guess."

"Tough?"

"Scary," she said. "My parents fought a lot, but they were always around. It was weird not having my Dad around any more."

"I guess that was your burden to bear," I said.

She thought about it. "Until now."

"Yeah, until now."

Her eyes suddenly brightened. "My grandmother Kate used to tell us something that might count as words of wisdom. She was kind of a loon, but she usually meant well."

"What was it?" I asked.

"She used to say that God put us on this planet to see the magic in everybody."

I looked at her. "I like that."

She smiled. "Me, too."

Gray clouds started to form above us. A crack of thunder echoed in the distance. "Looks like a storm is headed our way," I said. I saw a sign for a rest area ahead. "We should probably wait it out." I looked behind us and saw no signs of the bicycle gang. Relieved I tapped Phil and Ryder again with the reins, and shouted, "Get up, boys." They responded and barreled toward the rest stop.

***

The rain came in torrents for hours. We (Lou, Nate, Kimball, Ajax and I) took shelter under one metal-canopied picnic area, while Phil, Ryder and the wagon rested under another. We ate lunch and relaxed as best we could. The sound of the heavy raindrops pounding the metal cover was deafening at times, but the noise somehow soothed little Nate into a peaceful slumber. Lou tucked him away in his sling and approached me.

"We should do it now," she said.

"Do what?" I asked.

"Read the book?"

"What?"

"We've got the fireworks. We're out in the open. We can see them coming from every direction."

"No," I said, my tone sharp and serious.

"Why not?" Her tone was just as resolute.

"Because we don't know how many will come this time. I'm not saying you're right, but let's say they are after Nate, they're liable to send a whole army to get him. We can't do much against an army even if we do have Ajax and Kimball."

"They won't send an army," she said.

"How do you know?"

She couldn't answer.

Ajax heard our conversation. He knuckle walked through the rain to the other picnic area and climbed on the wagon. He rifled through some stuff until he found what he was looking for. He returned with the book written by Dr. Fine.

"What?" I signed.

He handed me the now wet and muddy book.

"You want to talk?"

He nodded. He formed his arms in a cradle and rocked back and forth.

"Baby," I said.

He put his fingers together, thumbs up, palms in, and then pulled his hands into his body.

It meant, "Have."

He then held his hands like he was a soldier marching and carrying a rifle across his body. "Army."

"Baby have army," I said out loud. "I don't understand."

"Baby have army," he signed again.

I looked around the picnic area. "Us? We're not an army."

Ajax shook his head furiously. "Baby have take Army," he signed.

I looked at Lou and told her what he said. "That just doesn't make any sense."

She thought about it. "Ask him how he knows," she said.

I asked him and he replied, "Gorilla always know."

"How?"

He pulled down from his chin like he was pulling on a long beard and then he made his hand into the shape of the American Sign Language letter 'F' and moved it in steps ahead of his body. "Old future." He repeated the signs for "Gorilla always know."