“Oh man,” Bobby breathed in awe. “You’re right. This is exactly how he’s going to do it.”
Facing Bobby in neatly spaced rows was a squadron of small, two-seater vehicles.
Helicopters.
EELONG
(CONTINUED)
“No way!”Bobby exclaimed as he stepped into the cavernous room that was the helicopter hangar. “You guys can fly?”
“Gigs have been around forever,” Kasha explained. “They’re simple, really.”
Bobby examined the first gig he came to. The body looked like a bumper car from an amusement park, only narrower. There were two seats in an open cockpit, side by side. The body itself looked to have been molded out of a natural resin material that was hard, like plastic. The craft was a deep yellow color. Half of the gigs were the same yellow and the rest were a deep, forest green. Rising up from behind the cockpit like a triple umbrella were three rotors. The blades of each were only a few feet across, rather than a single, large rotor like Second Earth helicopters. There were two more small rotors on either side of the body, below the cockpit. Each of these rotors was encircled by a ring of the same hard, resin material that the body was made out of.
“No wheels?” Bobby asked.
“Rollers,” Kasha said, and gave the gig a push. The light little craft moved forward a few feet. “It’s powered by the same type of crystals that light the city.” She pointed out two clear, crystal panels that were built into the body in front of the cockpit, and behind. She reached into the cockpit and squeezed a handle in front of the right seat. “Look to the front,” she said.
Bobby looked to see a set of pincer claws attached below the rounded nose-they looked big enough to grab a good-size pumpkin. As Kasha squeezed the handle, the pincers opened and closed like a lobster claw.
“We can pluck fruit from the highest treetops and drop it in a container hanging underneath.”
“Isn’t it kind of…dangerous?” Bobby asked.
“It’s safer harvesting with a gig than fighting off tangs. Except we can’t carry as much as a wagon, so it’s not always practical.”
“Can you fly this thing?” Bobby asked.
“All the foragers can. There’s only one problem with the gigs. The crystals can’t store enough solar energy to spin the blades. So we can only fly during the day.”
Bobby looked to the far side of the hangar where there was a huge opening that looked out onto the forest. A large platform was built out from the tree, where Bobby figured the gigs were launched. But what he focused on was the sky. It was turning from black to deep blue. Daytime was coming.
“I think this is how they’ll do it,” Kasha said somberly. “Two klees can fly over Black Water with the Cloral poison attached to the front. It would be simple to fly down low over the village and dump it. We do it all the time with fertilizer over farms. Black Water would be destroyed before they made the turn to come back.”
“And Saint Dane and the klees could stay here all safe and comfortable while an entire race was wiped out.”
“With the rest of Eelong soon to follow.”
Bobby took a few steps toward the giant hangar door and looked out at the early-morning sky. “They can’t fly until it gets light?”
“Exactly, which means we don’t have much time,” Kasha said. “To do what?”
She gestured to the neat rows of helicopters and said, “Sabotage.”
Gunny looked ahead to see the faint outline of the mountains that held Black Water. That was the good news. They were getting close. The bad news was that he could see them at all. It meant daytime was coming and with it, the chance of a tang attack. They had been riding through the night, constantly coaxing the zenzens to gallop, trying to beat the gars who were making their way to Black Water. The animals were at the point of exhaustion and so were the riders. It was a grueling journey.
“Ho!” Gunny shouted, and pulled his zenzen to a stop. Soon the others galloped up and stopped. They were at the point where the jungle began to grow sparse and give way to dry, rocky terrain.
“It’s going to be light soon,” Gunny announced. “This is our last chance to take a break.”
“Gladly!” Courtney shouted and hopped off her panting zenzen. “I’ve been bouncing so much I think I’m two inches shorter.”
Everybody dismounted and stretched. “How much farther, Gunny?” Mark asked as he did a deep knee bend to get the circulation back.
“At this pace I’d say we’ll hit the trail into the mountains in about an hour. Then maybe another hour from there until we’re inside Black Water.”
“We’re going to make it!” Spader exclaimed. “Saint Dane won’t attack until the gars get there and we’re way ahead of them.”
“Maybe,” Gunny said. “We don’t know what he’s planning.”
Boon added, “And we’re not there yet.”
“Hobey!” Spader exclaimed. “Let’s be positive.”
“Okay,” Boon said. “I’m positive we’re not there yet.”
Spader laughed and said to Boon, “I like you, mate. When this is over I want to show you Cloral.”
“You sure about that?” Courtney asked. “Can klees swim?”
“No, we can’t,” Boon answered. “Would I have to swim if I went to Cloral?”
Courtney, Mark, and Spader exchanged glances, and burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Boon asked, confused.
Spader answered, “Maybe a trip to Cloral’s not such a good idea after all-“
The attack came without warning. A tang leaped from some low bushes just off the trail. It had crept as close as possible before making its move. Its target… was Mark.
“Ahhh!” Mark screamed as the beast jumped on his back, throwing him to the ground. The lizard opened its mouth and lunged. But instead of soft flesh, the tang got a mouthful of broken teeth when it clamped on the steel tank.
Boon leaped and tackled the lizard like a linebacker. With one quick move, he lashed at the surprised tang’s throat with his sharp claws. The tang didn’t stand a chance.
Spader swooped in and pulled Mark to his feet. “You all right, mate?”
Mark’s eyes were wide with fear. He was breathing fast, but able to nod and say, “Y-Yeah.”
“Back on the zenzens!” Gunny ordered.
Gunny and Courtney mounted up while Spader helped Mark climb onto Boon’s animal. They all looked back toward Boon. What they saw made them turn away just as quickly. Boon was backing away from the dying tang, his paw glistening with blood. Tang blood.
“Boon!” Courtney yelled. “C’mon.”
Boon kept his eyes on the tang to make sure it didn’t jump up and fight to its last breath. A sharp hiss of exhalation told Boon he needn’t bother. The tang was finished. The entire event took no more than twenty seconds.
“I…I’ve never killed a tang before,” Boon said with a quivering voice. He was truly shaken.
“You picked the right time to start,” Spader said. “You saved us all.”
“Pull yourself together, Boon,” Gunny said with authority. “It’s getting light and there are more tangs where that came from. No more stops until Black Water. Yah!” He kicked his zenzen and galloped off. Courtney was right behind and Spader behind her.
Boon climbed onto the zenzen in front of Mark and grabbed the reins.
“Th-Thank you,” Mark said. “You saved my life.”
“Thank me later,” Boon replied, still a little shocked. “We’re not done yet.”
Boon kicked the zenzen, and they galloped after the others. Smash!
Kasha used a heavy metal tool to crack the crystal power source on the front of a gig. She dug out the broken
