Nick James - The Pearl wars

There are boxes everywhere, stacked neatly along the back wall but becoming more of a mess the closer they get to us. At least the place isn’t crammed with junk. Boxes I can handle.

“It’s no luxury liner,” George starts, “but this is what you kids wanted.”

“Whoo, boy.” Bobby shakes his head. “Have fun, guys.”

“When are we leaving?” I ask, eager to get the whole thing over with.

George scratches the side of his head. “Soon as we can.” He cups his hands around his mouth. “Danny!”

The kid appears noiselessly from behind the nearest junk mountain, running to his dad.

“You got your gloves, boy?”

Danny nods and heads to the front of the van.

Bobby crosses his arms. “Good luck. I can’t say I envy you, being stuck in that trailer all afternoon. I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

Avery grabs his shoulder. “Thanks for all your help.”

“Yeah.” I smile.

“No prob. Be safe.”

George rests his hands on his hips, eyes slit. “Don’t go stealing anything while I’m away, Henderson.”

Bobby sticks his hands in the air. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” He leans close to us, whispering. “Not like he’d notice.”

Then, out of nowhere, a loud rumble tears through the air above us. Thunder.

My eyes dart up to the sky. There aren’t any clouds. It can’t be thunder. Lenbrg’s the quietest place I’ve ever been.

Then I see it-a familiar green dot shooting down at us through the blue. Not again.

And just like last time, it’s headed straight for me.

My heart does somersaults in my chest, but the pain’s gone. I’m in control.

There’s only one problem. Pearls don’t make noise, not like the rumbling I just heard.

A shadow falls over the empty field beyond us as a government cruiser lowers to the ground a couple hundred feet away. Dust and dirt kicks up as the machine’s thrusters batter the earth. I cover my face as it settles down, peering through my fingers at the steadily approaching Pearl.

“Are you gonna catch it?” Avery steps away.

I nod. “I can use it.”

The cruiser’s engines shut off and the rumbling silences. The sunlight glints off the ship’s shiny black exterior. The windows blend seamlessly with the body-an ominous, impenetrable machine. It sits like a shark’s fin poking out from the ground, ready to attack. Whether it’s after me or the Pearl is the only question. Maybe it’s after both.

George jumps behind the wheel of the van. Bobby staggers back into the junkyard, taking refuge among the piles of rubble. The Pearl continues its path toward my hands.

A ramp lowers from the bottom of the cruiser and seven soldiers run into the field. With their dark bullet-proof uniforms, they look more like robots than people.

I gaze up at the Pearl, coaxing it forward. The soldiers sprint through the dying grass. Avery grabs my arm. “There’s no time! Get in the van!”

“No.” I stare up at the Pearl. “I can do this.”

She backs away as the energy draws nearer. My fingers buzz. The soldiers’ heavy boots clomp through the dirt. Thirty more seconds and they’re on us.

Then the Pearl lands in my arms and all hell breaks loose.

A line of bullets rains down from the sky behind us, puncturing the dry grass in front of the oncoming soldiers. Even though the guys are protected by bulletproof everything, they stop in their tracks and gaze up over our heads.

I spin around and cock my head to the sky. The underbelly of a second ship rushes over the barn, kicking up a fierce wind that nearly sweeps me to the ground. It’s tinier than the government cruiser, but majorly ticked off.

Spinning to the side, it plunges to the ground-landing mere feet from the cruiser.

“It’s an Academy transport!” Avery flattens against the side of the moving van. “Jesse, we can’t stay here.”

“Government and Skyshippers?” Bobby marvels from the edge of the junkyard, peering out from the center of a busted window frame. Then he turns to me and notices the Pearl in my hands. “Man, how did you do that?”

I watch as the side doorway’s pulled open from the Academy ship’s silver exterior. Unlike the dumpy shuttle Avery and I piloted into a building yesterday, this one’s a sleek, needle-shaped agent’s transport-more than a match for the cruiser.

The soldiers stop in their tracks, dumbfounded as they stare at me. With all the distractions, I hoped they wouldn’t notice my Pearl-catching trick, but it’s too late.

The energy from the Pearl intensifies in my hands, getting warmer by the second. Coupled with the triple-digit weather out here, it’s all I can do not to drop it to the ground.

Captain Alkine bounds out from inside the agent’s ship, landing hard on the grass. He wears a dark bulletproof jumpsuit underneath his long gray jacket-crazy-hot gear for the Fringes. I do a double take as I watch him step forward.

He notices me immediately, probably because I’m staring at him, mouth agape, holding a freaking Pearl. It’s not hard to miss. Our eyes meet for a second and I instantly pull away, pretending I didn’t see him.

“In the van, Jesse,” Avery coaxes beside me.

The soldiers split into two groups, one headed for Alkine and the other breaking off toward us. Alkine leaps into the fray, taking on three of the nearest soldiers with nothing but his fists. A roundhouse kick catches them off guard, followed by a series of lightning-fast blows that send all three slumping to the ground. Despite myself, I stand in awe, watching.

Half a dozen agents jump out into the field behind him. Right in the center are two slightly smaller ones. I squint in the harsh sunlight to see them. Skandar and Eva, each wearing dark bodysuits just like Alkine.

They run through the chaos, separating from the others and heading for the van. Ahead of them rush four government soldiers, closing in on us.

Avery jumps into the back of the trailer, stretching her hand out to grab mine. Instead of grabbing hold, I turn and toss the Pearl to her. I could’ve exploded it and been done with everything, but I can’t risk hurting my friends. Even Eva.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” Avery rolls it from hand to hand, cautious of the growing heat.

A second Academy shuttle bursts into the sky above us, firing down at the oncoming soldiers. Half of them stagger backward and fall to the ground, hit by raptor bullets too powerful for their government battle suits. The two remaining soldiers duck out of the way and renew their frantic pace. Eva and Skandar take a longer route, circling around the battlefield to avoid the flurry of bullets.

“Bobby!” I turn to face the kid, still huddled in the safety of the junkyard. “Toss me something, now!”

He nods, prying a long metal beam from the pile behind him and throwing it to me. I catch it at the middle and wobble to the side, knocked off balance. It’s hotter than the Pearl, and much heavier.

I reach down with my other hand, stabilizing the beam and wielding it like a baseball bat. The soldiers don’t seem to notice or care. It’s just like August Bergmann back at Lookout Park. Let them underestimate me.

They converge on the back of the van, going for the Pearl rather than me. Muscles straining, I pivot sideways and swing the beam at them, letting gravity pull it forward until it connects with the backs of their knees. I hear the loud crack of bones. They tumble over backward, long enough for Avery to jump down and yank the gun away from the nearest guy. The other one loses grip of his rifle. It flies out into the dust. Avery cocks her weapon and points it straight at the two of them, Pearl tucked under her arm. “Back up. Now.”