asked.
Nobody jumped in with an answer. There was a long silence, then Mark said softly. “It’ll be easy.”
Everyone looked at Mark. Mark cleared his throat and continued, “We read it in Bobby’s last journal. I think it’s why Saint Dane is here right now. This is the turning point of Eelong. When the radio message is sent from Black Water to start the Advent, every gar on Eelong will go there.”
The horrible truth suddenly became obvious to everyone in the cavern. It was Gunny who said it out loud. “If the gars are all in one place, then it would be nothing short of-“
“Genocide,” Bobby whispered. “That’s what Saint Dane promised. That’s his plan. Genocide.”
“That’s it,” Gunny said, stunned. “If the klees poison Black Water after the Advent, they’ll not only wipe out the gars, they’ll destroy everything the gars learned about growing enough food to feed the territory. The klees will be killing off their only hope of survival.”
Bobby’s head was spinning. This was all too much to believe, even for him. He sat down on the flat rock, stunned. Courtney sat next to him.
“You okay?” she asked.
“He told me everything,” Bobby said, reeling. “He told me what he planned to do, like he was daring me to stop him. He even said that you and Mark figured it out.”
“And we can stop him,” Courtney said. “We brought the antidote from Cloral. All we have to do is figure out how to use it.”
“You brought the antidote?” Bobby asked, surprised. “But Uncle Press said never to mix anything between territories.”
“Press is gone, Bobby,” Courtney said firmly. “Things have changed. You don’t want Saint Dane to get another territory, do you?”
Bobby closed his eyes, as if the thought actually hurt to be inside his head. He jumped to his feet, walked to the far side of the cavern, and huddled down, hugging his knees. The others watched him nervously, not sure of what to say. Spader made a move to go after him, but Gunny held him back.
“Leave him be,” Gunny said. “He needs to work this through.”
The tension in the cavern was intense. Nobody was sure what the next move should be, or if Bobby could get his act together and help figure it out.
Courtney approached Kasha and said, “I’m sorry about your father.”
Kasha nodded in appreciation.
Mark joined them and said, “He didn’t s-suffer or anything. One second he was fine, then he was gone.”
“That’s how fast the poison works,” Courtney said. “Saint Dane really could wipe out the gars.”
“I’m finally beginning to understand that,” Kasha said somberly.
Every so often they’d glance toward Bobby to see that he hadn’t moved.
Spader whispered to Gunny, “Time’s wasting.”
Gunny nodded and walked to Bobby. When Bobby looked up at him, Gunny saw in his face how troubled and confused he was. Gunny sat next to him, and the two had an intense conversation that nobody else could hear. Bobby nodded often, as if he were getting sage advice from a wise old friend, which is exactly what was happening. Finally, Bobby stood up, wiped his eyes, took a deep breath, and walked back to the group.
“I want to say something,” he announced.
The others gathered around, not sure of what to expect.
“None of us want to be here,” he began with a low voice. “If it were my call, we’d all go home and pretend none of this ever happened. But we can’t. Some of us don’t even have homes to go back to. I don’t know about you guys, but the more I learn about this idiotic war, the more confused I get. Uncle Press told me the number one rule was never to mix the territories. He said each territory has its own history and destiny. That’s the way it was meant to be,’ he’d always say, and I believed him. But if that’s true, how come Saint Dane doesn’t know it? Why do we have to play by the rules, if he doesn’t?”
As he spoke, Bobby’s voice grew more assured. The others felt it. Without meaning to, they all stood up a little straighten
“But you know what?” he continued. “We’ve beaten him. More than once. He took away most everything I ever cared about, but we beat him. He killed my uncle, but we beat him. He uses every trick possible to confuse us, but we still beat him. And I’ll tell you what, here on Eelong, we’re going to beat him again.”
Spader smiled at Courtney and winked. Things were getting interesting.
Bobby continued, “If he says the rules have changed, fine. That means they’ve changed for everybody. This may not be the way it was meant to be, but it’s the way it’sgoingto be. We’re not waiting for his next move. We’re taking the fight to him.”
“Yes!” Boon shouted.
“Mark, Courtney,” Bobby continued. “I’m sorry I doubted you. You were right to bring the antidote here. When we save Eelong, it’ll be because of you guys.”
Mark beamed. This was exactly the kind of moment he had been dreaming about since he read Bobby’s very first journal.
“But I want you to go home now,” Bobby added. “This is way too dangerous for you guys.”
“No!” Courtney said adamantly. It was so quick that everybody turned to look at her. “We’ve come too far to wuss out now. We want to see this to the end. Right, Mark?”
Mark gulped. “Right,” he said with a shaky voice.
Bobby nodded and gave them a small smile. “That’s what I figured you’d say. All right, then. I’m glad you’re here. You earned it.”
Courtney beamed. Mark smiled weakly.
Bobby turned to Spader and said sharply, “Spader?”
Spader stood up straight. He nervously said, “Look, Pendragon, I know you told me to go home and wait for you but-“
“Welcome back to the show, mate,” Bobby said with a smile. Spader let out a relieved breath and said, “It is so very good to be back.”
“Tell us about the antidote,” Bobby said.
“With pleasure,” Spader replied. He knelt down next to the three tanks in their black harnesses. “The agronomers tell me the poison may be nasty, but it’s fragile. A single whiff of the liquid in these tanks will make it harmless.”
Gunny asked, “How do you think Saint Dane will use the poison against Black Water?”
“From what I’ve read in Pendragon’s journal,” Spader answered, “Black Water is inside a giant, natural bowl, right?”
“That’s right,” Gunny answered.
“That’s good and bad,” Spader continued. “The poison is a liquid gas that clings to anything it touches. If Saint Dane and his klee wogglies release enough of it into the air of Black Water, the surrounding mountains will trap it. The result? Every living thing inside would die.”
Everyone exchanged nervous glances.
“So what’s the good part?” Boon asked nervously.
“The mountains can help us, too,” Mark answered. “If these canisters of antidote are released inside the bowl, the mountains will help keep it from blowing away and let it do its work against the poison.”
“Right,” Spader concurred. “The tricky part is the timing.”
“Gunny and I have a plan,” Bobby announced. “If Saint Dane is going to attack Black Water, we’ve got to get the antidote there as fast as possible. Boon, can you get five zenzens and more weapons?”
“Say the word,” Boon answered proudly.
“Good,” Bobby acknowledged. “You’re going to Black Water, tonight, with the antidote tanks. Gunny will lead you there, along with Spader, Courtney, and Mark. First thing Gunny will do is try to convince the gars not to make that radio broadcast. If the rest of the gar population stays away, that’s half the battle.”
“Why so many of us?” Courtney asked.
“It’s a long way back,” Gunny answered. “A lot can happen between here and there.”
They all knew what Gunny meant. Eelong was a dangerous place. There was no guarantee they would all get there safely. The more people who went, the better chance they had of somebody arriving with the antidote.
