Chapter Fifteen – Simon's Ancestor
The sun touched the horizon by the time Sky, Harley, Blade, Nick, and Leland arrived back at the town. Nathan waited for them, looking a little anxious.
"About time you got back." Nathan said, leading them to the mess hall. "We're having a community dinner to celebrate your arrival. It's almost time for roll call, too."
"Roll call?" Sky asked. "What for?"
"Must make sure everyone is accounted for." Nathan said. "No one is allowed to be in the forest at night. It's dangerous."
"Dangerous?" Harley asked. "How so?"
"Well, the superstitious folks around here will claim that sprites and imps come out at night to drag you into getting lost." Nathan said. "The old folktales depict the forest as a place of spirits. But there are also many other dangers: steep and hidden cliffs, wild animals, and the like."
"So everyone just stays in town after sunset?" Blade asked.
"Nobody is to be out in the forest unless permitted by the chief aka me." Nathan said. They arrived at the mess hall to see the entire town already there. "Go get some food and find a seat. I'll join you momentarily."
Sky led the way, waving to the townsfolk as they greeted her merrily. It seemed everyone knew about Nathan's granddaughter and her exceptional powers. Several of the children came up to Sky as she got her food, asking about her powers and her Partners. Sky's lingering fears of being judged for her powers dissolved with so many people expressing their interest and admiration for her abilities. It temporarily made her forget about the situation with her and Nick. Speaking of which, Nick and Leland floated up to the rafters, where they wouldn't be seen. Especially if Nick and Sky switched.
As Harley, Sky, and Blade found some seats for themselves and their friends, Harley took a look around. "Anyone see Finn, Sparky, or Katherine?"
Sky scanned the room. "Nope. I'll bet they're still doing research."
"Let me call them." Harley suggested. "They can't miss this food. It's so delicious."
"I agree. Better than most of Maru's cooking." Blade nodded.
Harley pulled out her cell phone, and she paused. "Huh. Katherine left me a message. Shortly before she tried to call me on the radio." Harley put the phone to her ear to listen to the message.
"Hey Harley, it's Katherine. We need to talk about someone who's making me suspicious. Then again, maybe you won't get this message until you get back into town. This guy Nathan called Simon has been hostile since we came, and it's making me nervous. I'm going to try a different way to call you. Hang on."
"Something wrong?" Blade asked, noticing Harley's troubled look.
"Katherine thought so." Harley said. "Sky, do you remember someone named Simon? Lives here in town?"
"I hardly know anyone here." Sky reminded her. She jumped, and Nick's voice came out of her mouth. "Aw man. At least I didn't choke this time."
"Actually, it's good you're here." Harley said. "Have you noticed anyone acting hostile towards us? You and Leland are usually more observant when we're talking to….well, other living people."
Nick thought. "Uh, there was this one guy who kept glaring at us. He also followed us to Nathan's house. Didn't see him again when we left for the forest."
"Can you describe him?" Blade asked.
"Yeah, white guy. Brown hair. Blue eyes. Kinda ratty clothing." Nick said. He and Sky switched again, and Sky looked back and forth between Harley and Blade. "What'd I miss?"
"You see a guy with brown hair and ratty clothing following us?" Blade asked.
"I saw a guy like that when we first came in." Sky said. "Seemed surprised to see us."
"Could that be Simon?" Harley wondered.
"If it is, why would he already not like us?" Blade asked. "What'd we ever do to him?"
Harley tapped her watch in thought. "If we had a last name, I'd be able to do a background check."
"Harley!" the trio looked up at the call, and they saw Finn drive over to them in a hurry. "There you are. Have you see Katherine or that Sparky fellow?"
"Shouldn't they be with you?" Harley asked.
"We split up at the library, and they said they'd join me later." Finn explained. "But I've tried to call Katherine for the past hour, and she won't pick up. It's a tad concerning."
"That is troubling." Sky said. "I would prefer if we could keep in better touch in a new place."
"Let me try to call her." Harley turned on her earpiece and covered it with her phone. But she only received static from Katherine's end. "Nothing. Either the line is dead or she's in a zero-service area."
"I would've thought you would have better tech." Blade said.
"We're not perfect." Finn said.
Nathan approached them. "Ah, there you all are. Everyone is here and accounted for in terms of the townsfolk. How about with your little traveling party?"
"It looks like we're missing two people." Blade said. "Katherine and Sparky."
"Hmm. They were with me and Mr. McMissile in the library." Nathan hummed in thought. "And I suppose your cell phones aren't working?"
"Nope." Harley sighed. "Your town is good for Wi-Fi, but that doesn't take away the fact that there's no cell service."
"I don't like this." Sky murmured.
"Yes, our younger generation and their cell phones don't like it either." Nathan chuckled.
"No, I mean I don't like not knowing where those two are." Sky corrected. "Especially Sparky. He has the curiosity of a child."
"I'm sure they're fine." Finn said. "In fact, I can check." He looked around to make sure no one was watching, and he activated the tracking system to pinpoint Katherine's location. He stared at his mirror as the computer searched for the signal that Katherine's communication system usually gave off. But Finn frowned when the words "Signal Not Found" blinked across the mirror screen. "Well, that's awfully worrying."
"We need to start asking around." Sky urged. "I'll feel a lot better when I know for sure where those two are."
Suddenly, someone burst through the door to the mess hall. The door swung open fast, slamming against the wall and catching everyone's attention. Simon stood at the door, panting heavily.
"Somebody help! Something happened in the forest!" Simon cried fearfully.
"Calm down, Simon." Nathan said as he approached the young man. "What happened?"
So this is Simon. Sky thought. She, Harley, Finn, and Blade approached the front doors like several others in the room. Nick and Leland leaned out from where they parked on the rafters.
"I was with a couple of our visitors." Simon said. "The forklift and the one in the wheelchair. They wanted to see the forest. But we were attacked by coyotes, and they fell into a small ravine. They're trapped!"
"What?!" Sky and Harley gasped simultaneously.
"We must go after them!" Finn urged.
"Yeah, let's go!" Harley agreed. They rushed out the doors.
"Whoa, whoa! Hold it!" Nathan stopped them. "The forest is far too dangerous, especially with it getting so dark. You can't go out there."
"And you think you're going alone?" Sky snapped. "Trust us. We can do this."
"I am trained in search-and-rescue." Blade reminded Nathan.
"But you are unfamiliar with the area." Nathan said. "I'll take a group to go search, and Simon will help us. Just stay here."
Sky looked down. "Fine."
Nathan gathered some of the townsfolk, and Simon led them into the forest. Blade glanced to Sky. "We're not really going to let them do this without us, are we?"
"Something seems fishy here." Harley said.
"We have to find them." Sky said. "Something tells me Simon won't be able to lead that group very well. Finn, Harley, is there any way we can track Katherine or Sparky?"
"If something happened to Katherine, she'd find a way to help us track her down." Harley said. "We should go out into the forest and start looking for tracks."
Going up the trail, Harley and Finn kept close watch on their tracking systems, constantly refreshing their searches for Katherine's tech. Blade flew overhead, always in touch with Sky.
"Do we really believe Simon could drag a forklift and a person in a wheelchair through the forest?" Leland asked.
"I don't think so." Harley said. "But that's what's really weird about this. I don't see any kinds of tracks. Not even drag marks."
"This is very unnerving." Finn said. "I still can't get any kind of readings from anything."
"There has to be something we can do." Nick said. "Anything. I can't see a thing without your headlights on."
Harley and Sky were armed with flashlights, and shined them around the area. They could hear Blade's rotors as he glided just above the treetops. They spun around when they heard an owl hoot in the trees.
"I've spent my entire life in the desert, listening to the sounds of nature before I go to bed." Harley said. "But this forest still gives me the creeps."
"You're telling me." Sky said. "I'm not normally afraid of the forest. But I feel like something's going to pop out of the trees and grab me."
"I know." Harley agreed. "It's like every time I turn around, I see—" She did a double-take, and then screamed.
Sky whipped around, shining her flashlight in the direction Harley looked. She almost dropped the flashlight. "Max?"
It certainly looked like the firefighting partner of Mayday, who died so many years ago. Except he had a ghostly blue glow around his body.
"Who's that?" Harley asked.
"He's an old friend of mine. He was a firefighter in Propwash Junction." Sky noticed another glowing figure. "And he has a friend."
Harley gasped when she recognized the ghost car. "Doc. That's my dad!"
Max beckoned Sky and Harley forward, and he and Doc began moving through the trees.
"Come on!" Sky urged. "I think they know where Katherine and Sparky are!"
"Finn! Leland! Nick! We got a lead!" Harley called, following Sky to chase after the ghosts.
"Harley, wait!" Leland called as the boys hurried after them.
Nick flew up to Blade. "Come on, partner! We've got a lead!"
Sky and Harley hopped over tree roots and ducked under low branches as they followed the ghosts of Doc and Max through the forest. Finn, Leland, and Nick stayed close behind. Nick and Sky switched a few times on the way. After a few minutes, the ghosts stopped, turned to the girls, and then faded away.
"Thanks a lot, Dad." Harley huffed. "Doc. Always the mentor, always talking metaphorically and leading mysteriously."
Sky moved her flashlight beam around the area. She felt the edge of her shoe fall into a dip, and she aimed her flashlight down. "Hey Harley. Check this out."
Harley crouched to investigate the small rut in the dirt. "This isn't like a normal track of any kind. It looks like someone dragged a stick through the dirt."
Sky stared in the direction of the rut. "No. Not a stick. A forklift fork! Sparky did this! Come on!"
The group dashed off, following the trail Sparky left. The terrain was mostly flat, with an incline here and there. It still didn't make sense to anyone. How could Simon—a rather skinny human—carry or drag Sparky and Katherine through the forest? If that's what happened, and it seemed more and more likely.
"There!" Harley pointed her flashlight farther ahead.
"Blade, come in!" Sky said into her radio. "We found Sparky and Katherine. They're due east, near the river. There should be a big enough clearing for you to land."
"Roger that, Raven." Blade said. "On my way."
Harley approached Katherine and Sparky, cutting them free of their bonds and removing their duct tape gags. Katherine lay on the ground, her wheelchair nowhere to be seen. Sparky had a parking boot on both back tires. They began to come back into consciousness as Harley freed them. "Are you two okay?"
"We have to get out of here!" Sparky yelped.
"What do you mean?" Blade asked as he touched down behind them.
"It's a trap!" Katherine warned.
Suddenly, a net popped up to their left, strung between two trees. Another net sprung up to the right. They were boxed in with two nets on either side and the river behind them. Simon appeared in their only available exit. He carried a lantern in one hand, and he dragged a large jug of water with him. A hard glare graced his face.
"I almost can't believe how easily I could drag you out here." Simon scoffed. "How easily I could trap you. How foolish can you get?"
Harley put a hand to the net, only to pull back quickly. "Electric netting. Figures."
"What do you want, Simon?" Sky demanded.
"I want you, Skylar." Simon said. "I want you dead. And that amulet destroyed."
"The amulet?" Sparky asked. "Why do you want it gone?"
"Because he knows it's the amulet of the Goddess of Psyche." Sky realized.
"That's right." Simon said. "I saw you come in with the amulet around your neck, and I recognized it at once."
"So, you've been searching for the amulet, too." Finn guessed.
"For years, yes." Simon said. "My ancestor was the one who stole the amulet of the Goddess, and she cursed my family for it. I thought I could find the amulet and use it for a bargaining tool. But I could see that even you couldn't find the Goddess."
"Simon, the curse the Goddess put on your family will disappear when we return the amulet." Harley said. "Let us take it back to her, and you can even get a wish for it."
"If that's true, then I would wish for the Goddess to disappear completely! For her power to become mine!" Simon growled.
"Oh, so you're absolutely insane. Good to know." Blade snapped.
"I don't know why my ancestor stole the amulet from the Goddess, but I will not let her have it ever again! Not unless she lifts the curse she put on my family!" Simon set his lantern on the ground and used a free hand to manipulate the water in the jug, pulling it free and suspending it in the air.
"He's an element controller." Harley gasped. "He controls the water!"
Simon chuckled. "Oh, not just water." He raised his free hand, and everyone felt like their joints and gears rusted solid. "I can control any liquid, like blood, hydraulic fluid, and gas."
"Can anyone else move?" Sky asked. "I'm completely stiff."
"I feel like my parking break is stuck on." Finn grimaced.
"This is really uncomfortable." Sparky groaned.
"It's a shame I have to kill you so soon. Your grandfather was so thrilled to bring you here." Simon said, sprinkling the blob of liquid from his jug all around the group. Sky caught a whiff, and she realized the "water" was actually some kind of alcohol.
"Where is he?" Sky demanded.
"Oh don't worry. He'll escape before the fire consumes him. It was rather easy for him to lose track of me in the dark." Simon stepped up to Sky and yanked the amulet off her neck. He stuffed it in his pocket and then pulled out a box of matches. He struck a handful aflame.
"How exactly are you going to explain all of us dying at once?" Harley demanded. "The honored guests of the town, suddenly all dead?"
"Well, you did go out into the forest against Nathan's orders." Simon shrugged. "And one of you really shouldn't smoke in the forest in the summer." He pulled out a box of cigarettes and dumped them onto the forest floor. He tossed the matches onto the line of alcohol, instantly igniting it and setting the brush aflame. "Enjoy burning to a crisp." Simon waved, turning to walk back to the town.
"Simon, stop!" Sky shouted. "You can't do this!"
"Watch me." Simon chuckled. He kept walking, but a flash of blue suddenly rushed past him and knocked him to the ground. "What the? Who are you?"
"A royally ticked-off dad." Doc growled, revving his engine. Max stood next to him, both ghosts looking (as Doc put it) royally ticked off.
Simon stared in shock. "Ghosts? Seriously?"
Doc suddenly lunged, and Simon jumped out of the way. He grabbed a thick stick to block Max's axe. He didn't know if a ghost axe would hurt him, but it certainly felt real enough to hurt.
"Oh, I'm not missing out on this!" Nick lunged through fire to join the fight.
"We'll hold him off!" Leland followed Nick's lead. Upon seeing even more ghosts coming after him, Simon summoned water from the river to help him fight.
"How do we get out of here?" Harley asked. "The river?"
"Too deep, and the flames are spreading too fast." Sky said. "We have to go straight towards Simon and get out of here before the fire gets too far."
"How exactly are we going to do that?" Katherine demanded.
"Leave it to me." Sky said, stepping up to the flames. "I just hope Nick and I don't switch while I do it." She raised her hands to the flames, and then parted the fire like Moses and the Red Sea. "Go! Get through!" Harley lifted up Katherine and placed her on Finn's hood. Everyone ran through the space in the flames and to safety. Sky was the last to go, and then she ran straight to Simon.
"Sky, wait!" Harley shouted. "Crazy girl."
Sky suddenly tripped as she and Nick switched. But they switched back again just as quickly, and Sky grabbed Simon's ankle to make him fall. She grabbed the amulet, but Simon held her wrists and grappled with her. When Nick and Sky switched again, Simon took advantage of the surprised hesitation and grabbed Sky again. He wrapped an arm around her neck and held her against his chest, strangling her. Sky and Nick switched back.
"Stay away from me or I'll kill her!" Simon threatened, grabbing the amulet back from Sky with his free hand. Nobody dared to protest. It was just too risky.
But Harley did make a move. She shared a look with Leland, and a silent understanding passed between them. Harley pulled out her pistol and aimed it at Simon. "Sky, close your eyes."
"Uh, okay." Sky choked out. She trusted Harley, especially with her life. She squeezed her eyes shut.
"Let her go, or I will shoot you where you stand." Harley threatened.
"You wouldn't dare." Simon scoffed. "Not with her life on the line."
Harley didn't hesitate. She fired her gun. The bullet nicked Sky and hit Simon's shoulder. He stumbled backwards, and Sky spun around to grab the amulet. Doc and Leland lunged simultaneously, slamming into Simon and sending him flying. The force of the blow and Sky's grip on the amulet broke the pendant from its chain, and Simon flew so far back that he went over the flames and fell into the river.
"Not bad, spy car." Doc mused.
"Not bad yourself, Mr. Harley's Father." Leland chuckled.
Harley went up to Sky to inspect her injury. "You just shot me in the shoulder to save my life." Sky said in a snarky tone. She tucked the amulet away in her pocket.
"It's a flesh wound. You'll live." Harley huffed, healing Sky's injury with her powers.
"Help!" Simon called frantically from the river as the current swept him away. "Somebody! Please!"
"Come on!" Sky urged, running towards the river. "We have to save him!"
"You want to save the guy I just shot to save you?!" Harley cried incredulously.
"Yes, now let's go!" Sky shouted back.
"That girl is nuts." Nick groaned. Everyone, ghost and living included, followed Sky towards the riverbank.
"But she's right." Blade said. "We can't just let him die." He started up his rotors and took off at the river. He threw his hoist out for Sky to grab, and he pulled her up to him. Nick stayed by her side. The others traveled alongside the river, watching Simon struggle in the water.
Leland darted ahead, and then the ghost floated up to Blade, Sky, and Nick. "Good news is there are no major waterfalls. Bad news is the rapids get worse downriver. If we don't get him out soon, he'll drown or get bashed against the rocks."
"Lower me down, Blade!" Sky ordered, snapping the hoist hook onto a belt loop of her jeans. She held tight to the cable as Blade lowered her down, right over Simon. Sky held onto the cable with one hand and reached her other arm out to grab Simon's outstretched hand. But the river pulled him away before Sky could catch him.
Suddenly, Nick and Sky switched again. Startled by being thrust into Sky's point-of-view of the situation, Nick yelped and lost his grip on the hoist cable. He ended up dangling on the end of the hook.
"Hang on, Nick!" Blade called, trying to keep Nick from swinging so much.
Sky managed to float/fly behind her body. "Nick! Watch out for that tree!"
Too late. Nick hit the tree leaning across the river. The hook tore free from the belt loop of Sky's jeans, and the river pulled Nick away. Blade tried to fly after him, but his hoist tangled in the branches of the tree. "Oh great." Blade groaned.
Nick gasped as his head popped above water. "Sky! Help! You didn't teach me how to swim like a human!"
"Harley, help Blade!" Sky shouted to the shore. "I have to help Nick!"
"I'm on it!" Harley jumped up onto the fallen tree and ran to Blade. She activated a mini-saw from her watch, and she began cutting at the branches to free Blade's hoist. Sky ran/flew downriver towards Nick.
"Grab something, Nick!" Sky urged. "I can't grab anything in this state!"
"I can't!" Nick gasped, his head constantly dipping below the water.
Finn drove ahead and shot one of his grappling hooks across the river. "Grab hold, Lopez!"
Nick looked up to the hook cable, and he quickly grabbed it. Finn pulled him to the rocks, where Nick shakily climbed up. "Thanks." He coughed.
"Nick, you have to save Simon!" Katherine called. "Finn and Sparky can't get down this way!"
Nick looked to the thick foliage blocking the vehicles' path. He'd have to run along the rocks to reach Simon, who had grabbed a rock in the middle of the river to stop himself. "But I…"
"Nick, you can do it." Sky assured. "I'll be right by your side the whole time."
For some reason, Nick felt frozen in place. "But I'm not a hero like you."
"Then now's the time to prove yourself wrong." Sky said. "Now get off your tail and move it!"
Nick jolted, and he scrambled across the rocks and down towards Simon. He stumbled a bit along the rocks, but righted himself quickly and kept running/climbing. Sky kept beside him, mostly for moral support since she couldn't grab anything in her spirit state. Once they reached Simon, Nick looked around for something to snatch the man. He saw a single rock between him and Simon. There was also a thick tree branch sticking out of the rocks. Nick grabbed the branch and hopped over to the rock closer to Simon. He almost lost his balance.
"This is nerve-wracking." Nick gulped.
"Just don't damage my body." Sky said. "You know what you're doing?"
"I think so." Nick said. He crouched down and lowered the branch into the water. Thankfully, the branch stretched from Simon's rock to the one Nick stood on. "Simon, crawl across the branch and take my hand!" Nick ordered.
Simon scooted along the rock and wrapped his arms around the branch. He pulled himself closer to Sky (wondering why a man's voice came from her mouth), reaching for the outstretched hand. Nick took hold of Simon's hand and pulled. But the current pushed against Simon so hard that he broke through the branch, and he pulled Nick into the water with him.
"Hang on, Nick!" Sky called.
Nick struggled in the water, but he held on to Simon's wrist. Every time his head went above water, he would look for Sky or Blade. Anyone who could help.
Suddenly, Nick and Simon went over a small dip, and they temporarily fell into open air. That's when Blade finally arrived, throwing his hoist for Nick to catch. Nick held on tight, and Blade pulled him and Simon out of the water. At that moment, Nick and Sky switch back, and Sky pulled her knees up to clamp them on the hoist cable to give her a better grip. Nick's ghostly form materialized beside her.
"Whew. That was close." Nick sighed.
"You were great, Nick!" Sky said as Blade brought her and Simon over to solid ground.
"That was crazy!" Nick protested. "There are so many things I should've done instead of that."
"No, it's fine." Blade assured. "You did good in such a high-tense situation."
Sky and Simon settled on the ground, and Blade reeled in his hoist. "Nick, you were amazing. Just never hesitate like that again." Sky said.
Nick nodded. "Right. If I ever get a chance like that again." His eyes widened. "Sky, watch out!"
Sky turned just in time for her arm to intercept Simon's knife. Instead of hitting her stomach, like he intended, the blade pierced her arm. Sky growled in pain and punched Simon squarely in the nose, causing him to stumble back. There was a crazed look in Simon's eyes. Sky blocked both his punches and kicked him back again. Simon stayed on his feet, determined to kill Sky.
"Sky, get down!" Harley's voice sounded from behind Sky. She squatted down and covered her head with her arms. She heard three shots; and when she looked up, Simon had two bullet holes in his chest and one in his forehead. He fell backwards and hit the ground, dead. Sky stood and turned around. Harley, Katherine, and Finn still hadn't lowered their guns.
"Saved you again, friend." Katherine chuckled, stowing her gun.
"You still have the amulet?" Harley asked. Sky patted her pockets, and then pulled out the amulet. She sighed in relief.
"Everyone all right?" Max asked as Blade touched down.
"We're fine now." Nick said.
"Us too." Sparky confirmed.
Harley came up to Sky, jerked Simon's knife from her arm, and healed her injury. "We'll have to tell Nathan about this."
"How are we getting his body back to the town?" Sparky asked, looking at Simon. "I'm not carrying him."
"Neither am I." Blade huffed, staring at Simon's body disgustedly.
"Put him in my truck." Finn offered. "No need to treat a scumbag like him with respect." Harley loaded Simon's body into Finn's trunk, rather unceremoniously.
"How is Nathan going to explain this?" Sky wondered. "Do you think Simon has any family?"
"Um, we have bigger problems." Leland said.
"Like what?" Katherine asked.
"Like that!" Leland nodded upwards. Everyone looked to see the tops of the trees above them on fire.
"Let's get out of here!" Blade yelled.