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Chapter 14 New Beginnings Well
One of the Corportons picked up
Doshmisi’s backpack in one hand and Jasper’s backpack in the other. The
Corportons encircled Doshmisi and Jasper with guns trained on them. Doshmisi’s
heart sunk at the sight of guns in Faracadar. She wondered if all their guns
shot bullets or if some of them shot a death-ray or something worse.
“Walk,” the mechanical Corporton
voice ordered.
Doshmisi and Jasper walked ahead
of their captors, careful not to make any sudden moves that would provoke the
aliens. As they marched along the fence and toward the gate at the entrance to
the compound, Doshmisi felt a growing sense of panic. Night had fallen swiftly
and the sky was dark, or as dark as the Faracadaran sky became with the many
colorful stars dotting it.
Armed Corportons inside the
compound cleared the area surrounding the front gate as the Corportons outside
the compound arrived at the entrance with their new prisoners. Inside a guard
house next to the gate, a Corporton manipulated the controls and the gate swung
open smoothly on its hinges. With the Corportons following close behind,
Doshmisi and Jasper began to enter the compound.
Just as they stood in the pathway
of the gate, a deafening roar split the air. Doshmisi clapped her hands over
her ears and screamed in pain. A gigantic plume of fire shot upward from the
ocean in the distance. A series of pops and squeals echoed across the water.
The plume of fire expanded, evolved into swirls of orange and golden flame, and
then thick black smoke curled up from the foot of the fire. The Corportons as
well as the people inside the compound stood transfixed, gazing out at the
ocean. The black smoke swirled inland to the compound and engulfed the
onlookers while white ash sifted down upon them, at first in random flecks and
then in a steady stream.
No one could see more than a few
inches in front of them because of the black smoke. In the ensuing confusion,
people and Corportons ran in every direction. Coughing and rubbing their eyes,
many of the captives stumbled out through the open gate to freedom, hastily
disappearing into the surrounding forest. The Corportons retreated further
inside the compound.
“Give me your hand so we don’t get
separated,” Jasper yelled to Doshmisi. “What a stroke of luck,” Jasper
exclaimed.
“No,” Doshmisi contradicted him grimly.
“It was probably the most unlucky thing that could happen. I think the New
Beginnings Well just exploded and caught on fire; and if that happened then tons
of oil will leak into the ocean. It will kill every living thing in that water
for miles around.”
Through the swirling black smoke,
Doshmisi noticed the gate begin to swing on its hinges as it started to close.
“Quick,” Doshmisi alerted Jasper, “the gate!” As she pulled Jasper toward the
gate, Jack materialized out of a billow of smoke. He swooped down from above
their heads on his skateboard, which had become a hoverboard that clung to his
feet. He pulled the skateboard out from under himself and jammed it between the
closing door of the gate and the latch in the gatepost. The gate hit the
skateboard with a thud and failed to lock shut.
“Woo-hoo!” Jack hollered like a
cowboy riding a bucking bronco as he floated over to Doshmisi and Jasper.
“Well-played, Jack,” Doshmisi cheered.
“Look,” Jasper pointed at his
backpack and Doshmisi’s. The Corporton had dropped their backpacks on the
ground and fled. They picked them up and put them on as Mole appeared out of
the obscurity of the smoke and drifting ash. He hugged Doshmisi and Jasper.
“That be somethin’,” he said as he shook his head sadly, his dreadlocks
flopping around his shoulders. “That explosion probably blew the evening crew to
pieces. I had friends on that rig.”
“I’m so sorry,” Doshmisi told him.
But Jasper, thinking fast, took no
time to mourn the dead crew. He instructed Mole, “Get these people out of here
before the Corportons reorganize and figure out that the gate didn’t shut.”
“The gate be open?” Mole asked
incredulously.
“Jack put his skateboard in the
latch. It didn’t close properly,” Jasper informed him.
“I have to find the other battery
makers,” Mole said.
“Pass the word that the gate is
open,” Doshmisi told him. “If we lose track of you in this hot mess, and we get
out of here too, we plan to head for Clover at the library on Whale Island.
Meet us there, Mole.”
“Clover. Whale Island. See you
there,” Mole replied.
“And Mole?” Doshmisi called after
him as he disappeared into the smoky compound. “Denzel is at Big House City. He’ll
meet us at Clover’s too.”
She could no longer see Mole, but
his voice emerged from a mountain of billowing smoke. “How do you know where he
is?” Mole asked.
“I just do,” she replied. “Trust
me.”
Word about the open gate spread
quickly and captives poured out of the compound, pushing the gate open wide so
that Jack’s skateboard fell to the ground. Jack picked it up. Jasper pulled a
length of rope out of his backpack and tied it to the gate, preparing to secure
the gate in its open position.
“Stay here,” Doshmisi told Jasper.
“Stay by the gate and make sure it stays open, and don’t get caught inside.
I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?” Jasper
asked in alarm.
“I need to find Dagobaz. We can’t
leave him behind. They’ll kill him,” Doshmisi replied.
“Are you crazy?” Jasper asked, as
he securely tied the gate open. “How can you find Dagobaz in this circus? We
can’t see past our own noses and we don’t even know if he’s here!”
“I’m sure he’s here. I have to try
to rescue him.”
“I’m going with you,” Jasper
insisted. “I can’t keep the Corportons from closing the gate once they discover
it’s open and I don’t want us to get separated. Let’s find Dagobaz quickly and get
out.”
“Jack!” Doshmisi called. “Jack, do
you know where they put Dagobaz? Can you see?” People rushed past Doshmisi and
out the gate. She hoped that the clairvoyant intuit could see Dagobaz’s
whereabouts and guide her to him. Doshmisi shouted Jack’s name again just as
the little intuit, floating on his skateboard, bobbed up next to her elbow and
touched her arm.
“Jack knows,” he said quietly.
“Jack knows.” He slipped his little hand into hers. Pulling Jasper behind her,
she followed the intuit into the mayhem of the smoky compound. Suddenly, an
explosion inside the compound rocked the ground under their feet. Doshmisi and
Jasper dropped to their knees while Jack floated above them, still holding
Doshmisi’s hand.
“Crazy. Everything is blowing up.
Do you smell something burning?” Jasper asked.
“I do. I wonder what caused that
explosion,” Doshmisi replied.
“It happened nearby. Not out on
the ocean,” Jasper noted.
“Quick,” Jack said. “Quick,
quick.”
Doshmisi hopped back up to her
feet and hurried after Jack. Then she distinctly heard the panicked scream of a
frightened horse. Her heart raced. It had to be Dagobaz. How many horses could
there be in the compound? Jack led them to a wooden door, which he opened. The
three of them stepped inside and closed the door behind them. They found
themselves inside a cool, dim barn. A young boy who had the deep-blue glow to
his skin characteristic of the Coast People stood plastered against a wall of
the barn in fright. A few feet away, Dagobaz bucked and kicked. Heavy ropes
tethered the horse to metal loops in the floor. Foam frothed from his mouth and
coated his neck while his eyes flashed with terror. He screamed deafeningly.
“He’s going crazy,” the young boy
said. “I can’t get near him to cut him loose. He’ll trample me.”
“Don’t worry,” Doshmisi told the
boy. “I’ll free him. He knows me. You save yourself. The gate is open right
now. Run and you can get out of here.” She put her backpack on the floor and
reached in and took out an apple. She bit off a bite-sized piece just right for
a horse.
“Don’t try to ride him,” the boy
warned. “No one can tame him. He’ll kill you like all the others who tried.
I’ve seen him do it.” With those words, he fled from the barn.
Doshmisi took a step toward the
frenzied stallion, holding the piece of apple in front of her in her
outstretched hand.
“Dosh,” Jasper said urgently, “he
might not let you help him. He might be too far gone. It’s not worth the risk.”
“There’s no risk,” Doshmisi maintained
stubbornly. “I know this horse. Just keep still. No sudden moves. No matter
what happens.”
Doshmisi stepped toward Dagobaz as
she spoke to him softly and soothingly. “Remember me, your friend from the
woods? I won’t hurt you. I’ve come to help you. Please trust me.” Dagobaz
snorted and blew through his nose. He pawed the ground, but stopped bucking.
His ears flicked and lay back against his head as he listened. Doshmisi
continued to speak to him soothingly as she held the apple out to him, just
like she had done back in the woods when they had bunked together for the
night. Dagobaz reached forward with his muzzle and took the piece of apple.
Doshmisi patted his nose and then slowly reached up to the harness to which the
ropes restraining him were attached. She unbuckled the harness. Dagobaz
whinnied. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jasper jump involuntarily with
alarm. Dagobaz saw him too and shook his head. Foam spattered Doshmisi’s arms.
She patted his sweaty neck and continued to speak to him softly as she
unfastened him from his bondage. Underneath the restraints, sores and scabs
dotted the horse’s skin and Doshmisi winced at the sight of his wounds. Why
would anyone mistreat a magnificent creature such as Dagobaz in this fashion?
The ropes and harness fell away
and the horse stood unfettered. He rose on his hind legs and squealed. Jasper
yelled “Dosh!” But Doshmisi felt fine and so did Dagobaz. He nuzzled her. She
gave him the rest of the apple. “Let’s get you out of here,” she said to him.
She started to walk toward the door, but Dagobaz whinnied and tossed his head.
He walked over to a bench and stood in front of it. He whinnied again. Doshmisi
went to the bench and got up on it. Dagobaz rubbed his side against her.
“On,” Jack said, excitedly. “On,
on!”
“No,” Jasper cried, “you heard
what that boy said. He has killed other riders. It’s too dangerous. He might
throw you.”
“He’ll allow me to ride. Because I
did not try to break him, I have tamed him enough to ride,” Doshmisi reassured Jasper.
She grabbed Dagobaz’s mane and hoisted herself onto his back. She had learned
to ride at Manzanita Ranch under Aunt Alice’s tutelage and had become adept at
riding bareback after much practice. The minute she landed on the horse’s back,
she became one with him. “You have to let Jasper on too,” she whispered in the
horse’s ear. “He won’t hurt you and we can’t leave him behind.”
“He let you on,” Jasper said, transfixed by
the vision of Doshmisi on Dagobaz’s back. “I can’t believe he let you on.”
“And he’s going to let you on too.
Bring my backpack and come here.”
“Oh no. He likes you, but he
doesn’t even know me.”
“How else do you plan to get out
of here? If that gate is still open then we have to move. Fast. Get over here,”
Doshmisi ordered. “Just walk slowly and stay where he can see you. Put your
hand out and let him sniff you first, then walk around to the bench and I’ll
give you a hand up.” Jasper did as she told him. From the bench, he passed
Doshmisi her backpack, then he threw his leg over Dagobaz’s back and seated
himself behind her.
“Open the door, Jack,” Doshmisi
called to the intuit, “and let’s get on up outta here.”
Jack jumped back onto his hoverboard
and opened the barn door. Smoke billowed into the barn and the panicked cries,
that had remained distant and muffled with the door shut, pierced the air.
“It’s OK,” Doshmisi soothed Dagobaz, as she leaned down low over his mane and
put her mouth next to his ear. “I’m with you now. We can do this. We have to go.”
“Diversion,” Jack exclaimed.
“Diversion, diversion.”
Suddenly Doshmisi understood what
Jack had meant when he had said “diversion” earlier. He had seen the explosion
in the future, and that it would cause a diversion. He could see it before it
happened, but he hadn’t been able to articulate what he saw properly.
“I get what you mean now, Jack,”
Doshmisi called to him, “but sometimes I wish you could communicate like a
normal person.”
“He can’t help it,” Jasper reminded
Doshmisi. “That’s the nature of intuits.”
“You are so weird, Jack. You hear
me? Weird!” Doshmisi shouted in exasperation.
“Weird,” Jack repeated with a
chuckle. “Weird, weird, weird.” He appeared to like the sound of that.
Then Dagobaz put his head down and
followed Jack out the door of the barn and into the chaos.
The smoke seemed less ferocious even though
one of the large buildings in the compound had caught fire. Occasional popping
explosions emerged from the burning building.
“I bet Mole managed to sabotage
something,” Jasper speculated. “I wonder if he got out.”
“Let’s hope that gate’s still
open,” Doshmisi called over her shoulder to Jasper, as she clung to Dagobaz,
who galloped forward, with Jack hoverboarding beside him.
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