Oracle--Solar Wind Page 25

  Suddenly less sorrowful, Ret requested, “Move my hand again.”

  “What, like this?” Paige wondered.

  “Look!” Ret told her. “The clone hasn’t moved. It only moves when I move, not when someone else moves me. Quick, come with me!”

  Ret anxiously rose to his feet, pulling Paige behind him. With a sudden gust, he blew a path through the debris in a straight course to the element. With haste, they ran to the edge of the chasm, on the other side of which stood the clone. Ret put his hands together, as did the clone, with the Oracle cradled inside.

  “Okay,” Ret instructed Paige, “now you put my hands under the element.”

  Ret relaxed his hands and let Paige take control. With her hands under his, she slowly extended them toward the element. To their great delight, they watched as the clone’s hands did not follow suit but remained stationary. Unlike before, Ret was not responsible for any of the movement this time. Paige was doing something for him that he could not do for himself.

  Encouraged, Paige continued until the Oracle sat directly under the element. The sphere rose above the single set of scars, aligned itself with them, and opened into six wedges. Without any interference from the clone, the fascinating glow of the wind element entered one of the empty wedges, and the Oracle reclosed.

  The earth immediately reacted. In an instant, the aurora ceased to exist, and all sound was silenced for a second. The planet inhaled briefly, drawing everything inward, and then exhaled violently, expelling everything outward. Ret and Paige were thrown to the floor. The sound of shattering filled the air. Pieces of the wall were breaking off and falling to the ground, where they crashed into dust. Long cracks were growing in the floor. The great dome overhead was beginning to give way, raining down bits of ice like hail.

  Ret checked on the clone. Having died with the aurora, it sat in a heap on the floor until enough of the ice had broken off around the mouth of the bottomless pit that the clone slid into it, never to be seen again.

  Then Ret hurried to find Rado. The Guardian was lying on his back, a broad smile across his big face. Ret wished he could thank him.

  The glacier was falling apart quickly. Ret could hear shrieks from Paige as she tried to dodge chunks of ice.

  “Come on!” Ret yelled, grabbing her by the hand. “We’ve got to get out of here!”

  Avoiding cracks and jumping gaps, they made for the doorway through which they had come. Before they could reach it, however, it caved in, sealing them inside.

  “We’re trapped!” Paige shouted.

  There was suddenly heard a loud booming sound, like the popping of a giant light bulb. The ceiling had completely shattered and was now falling towards them in a million pieces.

  Ret pulled Paige in close and said, “Hang on!” With a self-propelled wind, they were launched into the air. As they rose higher, Ret kept a steady column of fire above their heads to melt their way through the falling ceiling. They looked like an upside-down rocket as they flew out of the glacier, Paige holding onto Ret with all her might. Then Ret modified the wind to carry them to a safe place on the frozen plain.

  Though she had been in the general area when the first three elements were collected, Paige had never experienced things at ground-zero before. Ret, who was mentally and physically drained himself, could tell she was shaken up, still clutching him tightly even after their feet touched the cold ground. They didn’t let go of each other for a long time.

  CHAPTER 22

  A WARM RECEPTION

  A new day was dawning in Antarctica. As the first rays of the morning sun spilled into the valley, Ret and Paige witnessed the great changes that were taking place. They watched the centuries-old glacier continue to cave in on itself, filling the air with plumes of tiny ice crystals. Echoing throughout the frigid air were the deep sounds of heavy buckling that only nature can create. Great fissures were zigzagging far across the open plain. Ret and Paige could feel the ground shaking and ice breaking as the sudden absence of the wind element sent shockwaves throughout the miles-deep icepack. The initial quake had even been felt by some of the surrounding mountains, causing large avalanches that poured immense amounts of snow and ice into the valley.

  “Ret! Paige!”

  The pair looked around to see who was calling their names. In the distance, next to a thin pillar of smoke, they saw Leo waving his arms at them. They immediately set off to meet him, holding hands as they trudged along the frosted ground.

  Ret and Paige found their three friends near the wreckage of the floatplane, where they had built a modest fire.

  “You got the element, didn’t you?” Leo asked Ret right away.

  “Yes,” Ret replied with a tired sigh. Then, beaming at Paige, “We did. I couldn’t have done it without Paige.”

  “What was it like?” Leo questioned with great curiosity. “Tell me all about it.”

  Leaving Ret and Leo to talk, Paige walked over to Ana. She was shivering next to the fire, surrounded by her favorite pack of penguins.

  “Hey, girl,” Paige greeted.

  Through her chattering teeth, she said, “I think I’m frozen.”

  “You’ll never guess who we saw,” Dusty interjected.

  “Who?” asked Paige.

  “Sasquatch!” Dusty exclaimed. Paige just smiled.

  Meanwhile, Leo was reporting to Ret: “After we got scared off by the cave monster, we came back here to keep warm. We were running out of stuff to burn when I remembered the parachutes. It was them parachutes that got us through the night alive.”

  “Nice work,” Ret said.

  Leo continued, “‘Course, I haven’t quite figured a way out of this place yet, like you asked me to.”

  “I’m sure we’ll think of something,” Ret reassured him with a pat on the back.

  It wasn’t much later when the faint sound of gas-powered engines was heard. A group of snowmobiles appeared on the plain, hastening toward the unintentional smoke signal. As they drew closer, the identity of the lead riders became clear.

  “Dad!” Paige cheered.

  “Dad?” Dusty wondered.

  “Lionel?” Ret said with shock.

  As soon as the rescue team arrived at the site of the wreckage, Mr. Coy leapt from his snowmobile and rushed to embrace his daughter.

  “I’m so glad you’re alright,” he said with relief. Then addressing everyone, he added, “All of you.”

  After a hug from his father, Dusty glanced shamefacedly at the floatplane’s incinerated remains and said, “Sorry about the plane, Dad.”

  “Planes can be replaced, son,” Thorne smiled.

  “Ret, it’s been so long!” Lionel exclaimed, placing his hands on Ret’s shoulders. “Which element was it this time?”

  “Wind,” Ret answered, a little surprised to find Lionel being so friendly to him after what had transpired at the UN meeting.

  “I can’t wait to hear all about it,” Lionel said supportively, putting his arm around his young friend. “You and I have much to talk about.”

  Even more snowmobilers arrived, driven by military personnel whom Lionel had asked to come along to comb through the wreckage.

  The happy reunion was cut short on account of the freezing temperature and frequent aftershocks in the area. The youth, who clearly were not outfitted for their Antarctic expedition, were promptly given large parkas to wear. The adults returned to their respective snowmobiles, five of whom welcomed one of the stranded adolescents to ride in back. It was a long ride back to the research station, where there was a lot of catching up (and warming up) to do.

  Lionel was quick to pull Ret aside. He explained the hidden benefits of his actions at the UN meeting and then asked Ret to fill him in on anything and everything that had happened since their last contact (which was months ago when Ret sent him a letter just before leaving for Africa).

  “I know it seems like I turned the world against you,” Lionel said, “but, like I said, I believe it’s for our best interest. You ma
y not have needed my help to collect the element this time, but I doubt it will be so easy next time. Don’t worry, Ret. I’m here to assist you every step of the way. The real challenge will be for me to help you while making it look like I’m trying to stop you.”

  That didn’t make a whole lot of sense to Ret, but he was presently too tired to think through it. Besides, Lionel had always been right before. It was such a relief to Ret to know Lionel was and always had been his trusted friend—so much, in fact, that the burden of finding the remaining elements was eased slightly just by knowing Lionel had promised to come to his aid at a moment’s notice.

  Ret left Lionel’s office to rejoin the rest of the group. They were spread out across the research station’s main lobby. From across the room, he saw an empty space next to Paige, who was sitting with her father on the ledge of the large fireplace, and immediately set off to fill it.

  Along the way, he passed by Dusty who, with great theatrics, was retelling the last moments of the floatplane’s life to his dad. Thorne listened with interest, eager to hear all about what it was like being chased by a fighter jet and then parachuting in subzero weather.

  “And you should’ve seen Ret, Dad,” Dusty said when Ret walked by. “He didn’t even use a parachute…”

  Then Ret strode by a couch where Ana was curled up underneath a thick blanket, surrounded by several empty cups of hot chocolate.

  “Keep ‘em coming,” she called out to Leo, who was at the machine, working on Ana’s next drink.

  As Ret approached the Coys, Mr. Coy rose to greet him.

  “Ret, son, I need to sincerely apologize to you,” he said, sounding rather lowly. “Paige told me all about the clone. I was wrong, and I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. I promise to trust you from here on out.”

  With a gracious grin, Ret clasped his hand on Mr. Coy’s shoulder and said lovingly, “No hard feelings, sir.” Coy glanced back at his smiling daughter, then walked off to let Ret take his seat next to her.

  Ret sat down next to Paige, the warmth of the fire at their backs. Neither of them spoke for a few moments, preferring to let their hearts do the talking rather than their mouths. He reached to hold her hand and, while staring at it, slowly brushed the top of it with his thumb, well aware that it was her hands that had really collected the element this time.

  “I couldn’t have done it without you,” Ret told her softly.

  “I’m sure you would have thought of something,” Paige replied modestly.

  “I did. I tried everything I could think of, but I couldn’t do it on my own. I needed someone to help me.”

  “Rado could have helped you,” Paige said, never one to boast.

  “But he didn’t,” Ret pointed out. “You did. You cared. You came.” He touched her chin and gently moved her face so that she was looking him in the eyes. “I couldn’t have done it without you.” Then, after a tender pause, “Thank you.”

  With a tear in her eye, Paige accepted, “You’re welcome.” She laid her head on Ret’s shoulder and, for the first time, knew she had been of real help to the love of her life.

  When there was nothing more to be said, Coy and Thorne readied the jet that would take them home. The five teenagers followed, each with a souvenir: Dusty had snagged a surviving door handle from the floatplane, proof of his daring feat; Leo picked up a smooth stone from the rocky runway, anxious to show his fellow orphans; Ana was clutching a steaming mug of hot cocoa, its sides bearing pictures of penguins; Paige’s memento was the element, safely housed in the Oracle that she intended to return to her father; and Ret kept fiddling with Rado’s handkerchief in his back pocket.

  With the fathers in the cockpit, the children filed into the cabin. From the window, Ret watched how Lionel remained on the crude runway despite the cold, waving at them even after takeoff.

  “Say goodbye to Antarctica,” Dusty announced.

  “More like good riddance,” Ana muttered, taking a sip from her mug.

  It was clear from their bird’s-eye view that Antarctica was already undergoing vast changes. The entire continent seemed agitated, its former tectonic path not only reversed but also accelerated. Great cracks were shooting across the ice pack like veins, causing the most turmoil along the coasts where the ice shelves were calving like crazy. Tremendous chunks of glacial ice were breaking off and crashing into the sea, creating treacherous tides. Frothy and foamy, the ocean looked nearly as white as the land’s frozen tundra.

  Finding themselves at the end of another adventure, Paige instinctively pulled out the Oracle to admire their accomplishment of filling one of its wedges. A green glow, the slice of solar wind swirled in its compartment, happy to be back with old friends. From start to finish—from Poles North to South—the wind element had proven to be the most difficult to procure thus far. No other scar had required quite as much sensitivity. No other element had strained relationships quite as severely. Ret had never traveled so far, never felt so lonely, never been so cold. He hadn’t even been able to collect the element himself.

  “Four elements down,” Leo said eagerly, watching Paige cradle the Oracle. “Only two more to go.”

  “Don’t remind me,” Ret sighed, slouching in his seat with exhaustion.

  “Oh, Ret,” Paige encouraged, “I’m sure the last two elements won’t be nearly as hard as this one was.”

  If only that were true.