“And like that guy,” Malcolm pointed a talon at a security officer standing on the corner of the roof of the building, looking down at the commons below. He was only one of many. A security bot rolled on its one wheel along the wall near the guard.
“Have you finished the challenges I gave you?” Derick asked.
“Some of them,” Nia said. “I studied George Washington for several hours yesterday, but I don’t see what he has to do with anything.”
“The challenge is about having the same kind of character as great people in history before I can tell you the secret,” Derick said. “Plus, the secret’s not completely mine to tell. When my grandfather wakes up, he’ll know how to handle this. I’m just trying to get you ready.”
The falcons all looked at each other. “The same answer,” Malcolm said. “My mama would tell me to find friends who don’t keep secrets from me.”
“Actually, what I’m going to ask of you may help answer some of those questions,” Derick said.
“It doesn’t sound like you’re going to tell us anything,” Maria said. “Let’s do this first.” The Crash practiced as a club a few times a week. They had taught Derick well and he was having a lot of fun, but he noticed they were giving him harder and harder challenges. Perhaps that was their way of getting back at him for not answering their questions.
One of the falcons turned its piercing eyes toward Derick. “Would you like to know one of the coolest things about peregrine falcons?” Nia asked.
“Right now, I’m just thrilled to be in one and able to fly,” Derick said.
“Well, I’m not sure all of what you were doing was flying,” Piper said. “Some of it was flopping, and a little of it was falling.”
“Falcons can fly up to sixty miles per hour,” Malcolm explained, “but that’s not in a stoop.”
“What’s a stoop?” Derick asked.
“A stoop is when a falcon dives for its prey,” Piper explained.
“And then they can go up to 200 miles per hour,” Maria said, then whistled. “That’s fast! Shall we give it a shot?”
“200 miles an hour? Is that safe?” Derick asked.
“It’s not about being safe,” Malcolm answered. “It’s about hunting, getting food. It’s about being focused and not holding yourself back at all. It’s about really
being
a peregrine falcon.”
“So amazing,” Derick said. He could only imagine what it would be like to dive at that speed.
“And for you, it’s about keeping a secret from us,” Maria added, a bit of a kick to her voice.
“I would try to defend you,” Rafa said, “but I think you can stoop.”
“Just dive and don’t hold back,” Malcolm instructed in his Southern drawl. And then he leaped off the tower and dove. Two others joined him.
Derick stared in awe as they rocketed toward the ground. Every fraction of a second they increased in speed. They fell faster and faster. At the last moment, they pulled up just above the ground, then glided up into the sky. It looked easy and graceful, but Derick knew it would be terrifying.
Then Rafa and Piper stooped together. Again, the same reckless speed and again, they tilted their wings and ran parallel to the ground at the last second. Both birds glided in wide arcs until they had turned around and looked up at him.
Derick looked down. This was crazy. It was awesome and amazing, but also crazy. Then the chanting started. “Stoop. Stoop. Stoop. Stoop.”
So much for flying being a way he could relax and find peace.
Derick wasn’t one to back away from a challenge, nor was he one that was easily scared, but his mouth was definitely dry. “All right, Hayabusa,” Derick whispered to his robot falcon. He liked to name his avatars.
Hayabusa
was the Japanese word for peregrine falcon, but also the name of a motorcycle that had been the fastest in its time. The second fastest had been named “Blackbird.” The company had named their bike “Hayabusa” because falcons hunt blackbirds. “Let’s give this a shot.” He leaned forward and dove.
He had jumped off high dives before. He had jumped off cliffs into lakes. He had felt the tug of gravity, but this was different. This was embracing it, letting it drive you toward the ground with all it had.
“Don’t try to get too close to the ground on your first go,” Nia said. “If you don’t pull up in time, you’re going to destroy the falcon avatar and be in serious trouble with Rafa’s mom.” Rafa’s mother not only invented the avatars, but was in charge of the avatar department at Cragbridge Hall and had to fix them when they were damaged.
The wind ripped across his face, but with a beak and an aerodynamic head, it didn’t feel the same; he sliced through it. He was made for this, or more accurately, the robot falcon was. He tucked his feet in and felt himself careening toward the ground. Derick tried to let out an excited scream, but he lost most of the air from his lungs a few feet into the dive.
“Yeah! He’s doing it!” Malcolm screamed. “You’re invincible.
In-vinc-i-ble
!”
Derick fell faster.
“Okay, now!” Rafa called out. “Open up your wings and plane out, but be ready, because it’s going to be fast.”
Derick could do this. He kept his dive.
“Derick,” Rafa said.
“Now, Derick,” Piper commanded.
The ground grew closer, larger. It was only seconds away.
Just a little more . . .
Now!
Derick opened his wings and felt the wind catch them. It jolted him more than he had expected. He’d thought it would be like brakes, slowing him down; instead, it just redirected him, still traveling at full speed. He veered left and then right, trying at speed to figure out how to dodge the Hall, the main building on campus. Right, right was the right direction. He wheeled and began to climb, skimming an exterior wall and feeling his speed taper off just enough to regain control. It’s one thing to dive at great speed; it’s another thing entirely to try to navigate. He turned in a large curve, still gliding, gradually slowing down, then rose toward the others who were perched on top of the building. Of course, when Derick tried to land, he toppled over, frantically catching the beam below him with one talon and scrambling to remain upright.
“The kid can stoop,” Maria said. “But the flying after was a little crazy—and he can’t land.”
Derick was glad robot falcons couldn’t show a red face.
“Hey, I remember that you couldn’t turn right for a while, only left,” Malcom said, pointing at another falcon with one of his wings.
“That’s not true,” Maria countered.
“I know,” Malcolm said. “But I thought it would be funny.” He let out a rumbling chuckle, his deep voice laughing at his own joke. “And it was.”
“All right,” Nia said, her dark-tipped beak pointing at Derick, “You impressed me enough. What did you want to ask?”
“Let’s talk face to face,” Derick said.
The group flew their birds into an opening in the roof of the avatar lab building, turned them in to be logged and stored with the other avatars, and then they unhooked their harnesses and gathered in an avatar lab classroom. It was designed for instruction, surrounded with harness stalls and large screens at the front where those in the room could watch what the animal avatars were doing.
Derick looked at his friends. Malcolm was the largest of the bunch, standing at least four inches taller than Rafa. He was also sixteen and had black skin, broad shoulders, and short dreadlocks hanging down onto his forehead. He had played a lot of football in Oklahoma and looked it.
Maria was shorter, seventeen, with long black hair she wore almost to her waist. Her face was round and she had big brown eyes. She wore a dress, which seemed a bit formal, but it was her usual attire.
Piper and Nia both were about average height, but Piper had red hair and wore a bright blue T-shirt. Nia had blonde hair and wore a black warm-up suit that had flames on the sleeves and legs. Piper was sixteen and Nia fifteen.
“Okay,” Derick said. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to tell you much, but you need to understand that Rafa and I know something that—” he chose his words carefully, “is powerful, but potentially dangerous. And it can only be shared with those that can be trusted.”
“Um,” Nia said, “I think the fact that we saved your life tells you that we can be trusted.”
“Yes,” Derick said, “I trust you.”
“
Eu tambem.
So do I,” Rafa added. “But we need you to be patient.”
“Yeah, that’s easy for you to say,” Maria piped in, pointing at Rafa. “You know just as much as Derick.” She shifted, cocking one hip.
“Finding out a secret,” Rafa said, “can be quite a burden.”
“And like I’ve told you over and over,” Derick said, “it’s my grandfather’s secret, so under normal circumstances, he should decide who knows and when.”
“And your point is?” Piper asked.
“We think someone else may have found out the secret,” Rafa explained.
“And that’s bad?” Malcolm guessed.
“Real bad,” Derick confirmed. “We think it may be what they’re offering as the grand prize to the Race winners.”
“Interesting,” Maria said, stroking her chin. “The key has something to do with it.” She paced in the avatar lab, pointing her toes with each step. “Well, one of us is bound to find out what it is. We’ve all been recruited by some of the best teams. Chances are that one of our teams will win and we’ll find out the secret.”
“That’s the thing,” Derick said, rubbing his chin. “If it were up to me, I’d be fine with you guys finding out, but not necessarily members of other teams. This really is a big deal, and we have to know that we can trust those who find out the secret.”
“So, what are y’all asking us to do?” Malcolm asked.
Derick looked at Rafa.
“What if we formed our own team?” Rafa proposed. “All of the Crash together. Then, if we win, you could learn the secret and we could prevent anyone else from finding out about it.”
The members of the Crash exchanged looks. “It’s not a bad idea,” Piper said, shaking her head, her red hair bouncing. “But we’d need more than just us to win the Race. I mean, obviously, we’d have avatars covered, but there’s a lot more we would need.”
“We’d all probably be pretty good at physical events,” Malcolm said. He lifted his arms and flexed. “Maybe you’re not as good as me, but I think we could hold our own.”
“Oh, yeah?” Nia said, and flexed in the exact same position. “I’m pretty sure our muscles are about the same size.”
Piper snickered. Then it spread to the whole group.
“That’s right,” Nia said, confidently hanging on to her joke.
“Oh, yeah?” Malcolm said. “Can you do this?” He walked over and lifted a large wooden desk off the ground, then past his waist, and finally over his head. He slowly put it back in front of Nia.
“Maybe,” Nia said. “Maybe not. But can you do this?” She glanced over her shoulder to make sure nothing was in the way, then did three back handsprings in a row. Her warm-up suit swished as she moved. Obviously, she had trained as a gymnast.
“You can always try this, Malcolm,” Maria said. She took three graceful steps and then began spinning on one foot, over and over, like a ballerina on stage.
“Show-offs,” Piper said. “I don’t have an ice rink to join the ‘look at me’ party.” She had been a figure skater back home.
“Anyway,” Malcolm said, “even if you’re not as buff and good-looking as I am, everyone here is pretty good with the physical stuff. So that would be in our favor. I’m also one of the top in my class at geography. It’s one of the reasons I got into this place. I’ve traveled a lot, climbed mountains, rappelled down slot canyons, camped in deserts . . . My parents really like that stuff. I’m also decent in math, but nothing too impressive.”
“I’ve got math down,” Nia said. “Plus I’m buff and better looking than Malcolm.” She flexed again and stuck out her tongue at Malcolm. “And I’m good at physics and astronomy.”
“I can dance,” Maria said, which was rather obvious after her demonstration. “I’m fluent in Spanish, and I’m good at both Spanish and English literature. And I’m not bad at biology.”
“Wow, look at all you people good at other stuff,” Piper said. “Are we listing all our strengths now? Is this some sort of contest?”
“No,” Rafa said. “But I think it’s a good idea to see what we’re good at. It will give us an idea if we could win.”
“Well, then,” Piper said, “I’ve played the guitar for the last six years, but I really doubt they are going to have a classical guitar showdown, so chalk that up as useless.”
“You never know,” Rafa said.
“What I’m probably best at outside of avatars is robotics,” Piper said. “I mean, that’s obviously related to the avatars, but I can help build and program robots to do simple tasks.” She looked at Rafa and then Derick. “But I’m not good enough to be our expert. We need someone really good if we want to win. Robotics are really popular for challenges. I think we need Jess Maughn.”
“I’ve heard that Jess is the best,” Malcolm said.
“Hey, that rhymed,” Piper said. “Malcolm, are you and Nia going to have a poetry showdown now?”
“Very funny,” Malcolm said.
“I’d do it for money,” Nia rhymed, a smile crossing her face. “And buy a bunny and live where it’s sunny.”
Maria gave Nia a friendly slap on the arm to get her to be quiet.
“Don’t try to stop me, honey,” Nia continued.
“If we decide to do this,” Piper said, “I could invite Jess. Because I’m showing some promise, she’s helped me out on a few projects.”
Everyone looked at Derick. “First off,” Derick answered, “before we worry about anyone else—are you guys in? Will you be part of a team with me?”
“That may depend on whether or not we get the other important people we need,” Malcolm said.
“And do we really need Jess before we can win?” Derick asked.
“Definitely,” Piper said.
“Plus, we still need someone who is good at using the Bridge,” Nia pointed out.
“Actually,” Rafa said, “I think we may have that covered.”
Derick cleared his throat. “Um. Well. There are two more people that already know the secret,” he said. “My twin sister, Abby, and her friend Carol.”
“No offense,” Malcolm said, “but they’re seventh graders. I doubt they know enough to really help us.”