Eighth Fire (33 page)

Mrs. Shadowitz said, “They had eighteen months
in their year plus five days as I recall. Their months were twenty
days long. Their half century was significant to them and was
fifty-two years long. I have no idea how to correlate that
information with the marking on this sunstone.”

“Perhaps we should...adjust the dials...to
find...something we recognize...to establish...a starting
point.”

Mr. Young said, “That is likely to take a
significant amount of time.”

Mrs. Shadowitz said, “Then we’ll eat and sleep
in shifts. No one other than the three of us in this room at any
time. No one is to know that we’re here, not even Nick or Mark. The
door is to be locked at all times. At least one of us will be here
at all times. We’ll come and go in radiation safe hazmat suits;
that should hide our identity and start the rumors as to why this
section is off limits.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The Attack

“Ladies and Gentlemen,” the announcer’s voice
boomed over the players on the school grounds and the crowd seated
in the bleachers waiting for the match to start. “Mrs. Shadowitz
has asked me to announce a special celebration that will commence
immediately after today’s game on the Engineering Section grounds
to witness the activation of the sunstone. Everyone here is invited
to attend this historic event and enjoy the festivities that
follow.”

Mark was sitting on the corral
fence watching his teammates prepare for the first flag and hadn’t
been paying attention to what the announcer was saying. He was more
interested in formulating a new plan to go after the bonus flag if
the one they were going to use didn’t work.
I wonder if it will work on kangaroos?
The Island was overcrowded with kangaroos but not many were
on top of the inner and outer rings.

It took a moment for the new information he’d
just heard from the announcer to process. When it did, he slid from
the fence rail and turned to face his friends who were also sitting
on the rail and in on the ruse. The play acting was for the benefit
of unfriendly ears. “The sunstone is going to be activated? They
recovered the power source? When? How? I thought it was destroyed.
Why didn’t they tell me they recovered it?”

Chenoa said, “That’s the first I’ve heard of
it.”

Jamal said, “You know why they didn’t tell you.
They wanted to keep you out of it because of what Benrah said.”

Nick slid down, walked up to Mark and put his
arm around his shoulder. He whispered, “You’re over doing it.” Then
he said out loud, “This is the first that any of us have heard
about it and Jamal is right. Benrah has no excuse to mess with you
now. Besides, they might have invented something that works and
don’t need the original power source.”

“Still, they could have told me.”

Jamal slid from the fence. “They just did. Maybe
they just recovered it this morning.”

Nick said, “That’s not likely. They would have
needed time to check it out and make sure it was safe. I think they
found something else to power it.”

Chenoa said, “So they didn’t tell you, big
deal.”

“You weren’t boiled alive trying to recover
it.”

LeOmi didn’t bother to leave her seat. She just
looked at Mark and shook her head. “The world doesn’t revolve
around you. Grow up.”

That hurt, but it also made him realize he was
acting like a little kid. Of course Jamal was right; they hadn’t
told him about it because of what Benrah had threatened. Still, he
would have liked to have known beforehand and not to have had the
information dropped on him from out of nowhere. He was transmitting
his thoughts as hard as he could.

As usual, Tim, Mark’s councilor from last year
was sitting with Mark’s parents in the stands. His mother Shirley
leaned in front of Steve and said to Tim, “Kangaroos, they’re not
dangerous are they?”

Tim chuckled and said, “Normally not unless
there is a dog within striking range. They also get a bit cranky
when they have not had breakfast. There is not anything for them to
eat on The Island and I imagine they are a smidge hungry by now.
They are also a bit edgy since there are so many of them.”

Shirley said under her breath, “Oh,” sat back up
and turned to look back at The Island.

Steve said, “It doesn’t look as dangerous as the
bears did last year.”

Tim said, “Do not let that fool you. Their
favorite method of attack is to grab you with their upper paws and
rip you open with the claws on their feet or to drown you while you
are coming toward them in the water. They are excellent swimmers
and many a dingo has lost its life that way.”

“Why don’t they just swim across the moat?”

“They know what is in the water.”

Steve frowned, raised his eyebrows and
nodded.

Charlie Goodfellow, the school’s chief
astronomer stationed atop The Seventh Mountain shouted, “Noon,” and
the game’s first flag was launched. Its silhouette was easy to
track against the wispy gray clouds as it arched toward the sandy
desert below. The moment the flag impaled itself in the ground the
twelve Emerald Tribe riders yelled in unison, “Yah!” setting their
mounts into a full-out run toward the flag along with the other
three tribes.

“They’re off and it looks like Jasper is leading
the pack,” the announcer intoned.

Mark, followed by LeOmi, Nick,
Chenoa and Jamal, walked to the edge of the moat around The Island.
Getting across fifty yards of water and back again with the bonus
flag was the hardest part of acquiring the one hundred forty-four
bonus points.
Omar’s Strategy Guide for Flags
was
seriously lacking in any description of techniques used in the past
to get across the moat.

Slone and some of his crew were approaching the
moat on the other side of The Island. They all waved at Mark’s team
and called out, “Good luck.”

The announcer chimed, “It looks like we have an
early play for the bonus flag getting ready to start. Ruby and
Emerald are getting ready to go for it...Back on the field Krisa
has the flag for Emerald but it doesn’t look like she’s going to
get around Onyx and Ruby.”

Mark halfheartedly waved back at Slone’s team as
did the rest of his group except LeOmi. Instead she said, “I still
say he’s up to something and all this niceness is just to put us
off our guard.”

“I’m not off my guard,” said Mark turning to
Nick. “You ready?”

Nick smiled and nodded. “Ambush or go for
it?”

“Let’s make a straight play and only use the
ambush if we have too.”

Nicked pulled a package from Aaron’s Grasp about
the size and shape of a book, pulled a tab and tossed it into the
water. The vinyl canoe hadn’t finished inflating before Mark and
LeOmi dove into the boat sandwiching themselves side-by-side
between the plastic sides in an obviously practiced move. A rocket
motor ignited pushing the boat across the water to the other side
in less than two seconds.

The announcer called, “In case you missed it,
Emerald team used the old rocket powered canoe trick to get across
the moat and Ruby team is using their standard rope trick. Back on
the field, Jasper scores the first point of today’s match.”

Chenoa yelled, “Fire” and all three used
slingshots to shoot skunk scent paintballs onto The Island
targeting specific points along the path Mark and LeOmi planned to
take. The balls broke open on the rocks and the kangaroos began
scampering away from those areas as best as they could. A few
slipped into the water and quickly scrambled back onto The Island
occasionally knocking others into the water.

The announcer chided, “What are they using,
skunk scent? Come on guys. That stinks. What did those poor
kangaroos ever do to you to deserve that?”

Mark and LeOmi scrambled out of the canoe
wearing clear plastic masks over their mouths and noses to keep out
the scent while using oxy-caps to breathe. They started making
their way toward the bonus flag which was erected in the middle of
the twin Stonehenge-like rings of the inner and outer circles. The
plan had been for one of them to grab the flag, sprint up one of
the inclined stone slabs to the top of the inner ring, run across
another slab to the outer ring and launch the flag like a javelin
toward the team members waiting below while the other one ran
interference against other teams that may be there or against
whatever animals that were there populating The Island. Slone’s
team was already on The Island and it looked like he and the three
other members of his team were using smoke-ring guns to repel the
kangaroos with some type of scent, but it didn’t appear to be all
that effective.

“It looks like all four teams are taking their
time getting ready to go after the second flag,” called the
announcer.

Mark pulled his mask down, tried to speak but
gagged due to the strength of the odor and quickly put his mask
back in place. A moment later his muffled voice said, “Four against
two; this isn’t going to work. Do you think you can throw it across
the moat from ground level?”

“If not, I can get it close enough for them to
get it, but I don’t think that will do any good.” She pointed back
to where Chenoa, Jamal and Nick were waiting. Many people clad in
orange, red and black were converging on their location. Players in
green were coming in behind them.

“Well folks,” said the announcer, “it’s been a
long time since I’ve seen anything like this. It looks like all the
players are heading toward The Island and no one is going after the
second flag.”

Mark looked across the moat, waved his arms over
his head and yelled, “Ambush!” and then pointed behind the
group.

LeOmi said, “You get back to the boat and I’ll
get the flag. We’ll just fight our way through when we get
across.”

“Too late, they’re making a run for it.” Mark
pointed toward Slone’s team which had given up on using the
smoke-ring guns and had started pushing and dodging through the
kangaroos making for the flag.

Mark and LeOmi’s path to the flag was a lot
clearer than Slone’s, but Slone’s team was a little closer to it.
LeOmi, following close behind Mark said, “You throw your body into
the closest one. I’ll get the flag; you just keep them busy for a
few seconds and I’ll do the rest.”

Mark ran past the flag and
headlong into Slone, the first of the four.
Ralph Lawrence,
Keith Richards and
Bruce Spencer dodged
past Mark and Slone continuing on toward LeOmi who had just reached
the flag. Ralph grabbed her shoulder and spun her just as she
yanked the flag from its mount. She used her momentum and the flag
pole to strike him on the side. He lost his balance and almost
fell. Keith and Bruce withdrew their riotous from Aaron’s Grasp.
The fight was on. Ralph joined in attacking LeOmi just seconds
later.

Mark and Slone regained their feet quickly.
Slone tried to push his way past Mark but Mark grabbed his sleeves
and spun him away from LeOmi. Slone withdrew his riotous in such a
way as to strike Mark’s chin with the pommel of the wooden practice
sword and would have, but Mark twisted Slone’s shoulders just in
time to avert the blow. He pushed Slone back and drew his
riotous.

Slone smiled. “Might as well save yourself some
pain and put it away. LeOmi can beat Ralph and Keith, but Bruce is
better than she is. Besides, she’s going to have to drop the flag
and neither one of you can stop me from getting it when she
does.”

Mark held his sword at the ready position.
“Let’s see about that.”

Slone swung low. Mark jumped over the sword,
parried Slone’s reverse swing and on landing rammed his shoulder
into Slone’s midsection.

LeOmi had difficulty fending off the three
attackers with the flag pole. She drew her riotous, smiled and
tossed the flag to the side. She slowly backed up the inclined
stone slab enticing her three attackers to follow her to the top of
the inner ring and away from the flag. She saw the nearest kangaroo
pick up the flag pole, sniff it and then toss it aside. Another
picked it up, sniffed and tossed it away. LeOmi could no longer
tell where the flag was after this process repeated a few times;
her attention had been focused mostly on her attackers.

Jamal, Chenoa and Nick, slingshots in hand,
watched as the multi-colored army of players approached. Nick said,
“Should we lay down a stink line to keep them away from us?”

Nick said, “Their intentions are obvious;
they’re going to wrest the flag away from whoever gets it off The
Island. Then it’s just going to be one big melee.”

“It sounds like our best strategy is to start
stinking up the other teams so no one wants to get near them.”
Chenoa took aim. “Don’t hit any of our guys.”

Jamal exclaimed, “Wait, shoot us!”

Chenoa looked puzzled. “Shoot us?”

“Yeah, no one will want to get near us to steal
the flag when we get it.”

“We don’t have masks.”

Nick produced three masks. “I brought some
extras in case we had an accident.”

Mark was losing badly to Slone. From sheer
exhaustion he fell backward while blocking Slone’s relentless blows
toward his upper body. He caught himself with one hand. Slone
stepped in, snatched the riotous from his hand, tossed it aside and
trotted up the ramp to where LeOmi was fighting just with Bruce now
on the outer ring. Ralph and Keith were nowhere to be seen.

Mark trotted up behind Slone whose riotous was
poised to block a sudden attack.

Slone said to Bruce, “Where’s the flag?”

LeOmi, holding her riotous upside-down, was
using as little energy as possible letting Bruce wear himself out.
He responded to Slone with one word for every two handed blow he
delivered to LeOmi, “Near...where...we...caught—