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  “Now!” he bellowed. “Before the tangs catch a whiff of your stench!”

  I got the message. I stepped forward and into the first row of plants. The others followed to either side and slightly behind. I didn’t know what else to do, so I started pulling the blue fruit off the stalks and dropping it into my bag. It was mindless work, which was good because the only thing on my mind was the possibility of a tang lying in wait for me. As I picked the fruit I looked back to see what the klees were doing to protect us. The answer was, nothing. Just the opposite, we were there to protect them. While Boon and another klee stayed at the wagon, the others walked behind us, inside the arrowhead, shielded from a surprise attack. Kasha was with them, which gave me a little reassurance. Very little.

  When my bag was filled with blue apples, a gar came forward, took it from me, and gave me another empty sack. The gar dragged the loaded bag back to the wagon where he dumped the fruit. They had a couple of gars shuttling loaded sacks. I realized pretty quickly that once the wagon was loaded, there’d be no room for us poor gars to ride on the way back to Leeandra. That is, assuming we survived.

  The picking was slow going. I’d say it took about a minute to get all the fruit off a single plant. I quickly learned that after a plant was picked clean, it had to be uprooted and laid down. That meant as our formation moved forward, we cleared a path through the crops that grew wider as we went. I don’t know how long we were picking. Two hours? Three? It was grueling and I was getting tired. The klees didn’t give us water, either. Or food. It struck me that if the tangs were smart, they’d attack later in the day, once their victims were burned out. I really, really hoped they weren’t smart.

  I finished another bag and held my hand up to signal a gar to come and take it. But nobody came. They had been pretty quick up till then, so I realized that for some reason the process had slowed . . . or stopped. I looked to Kasha and held up the heavy bag.

  Kasha saw it and shouted out,

  “Here!” Nobody came to fetch it.

  The other gars stopped picking. I instantly felt the tension as they stood up and looked around nervously. The cats reached for their weapons and slowly brought them forward. Uh-oh. Everyone stood absolutely still, not making a sound, only listening. A few seconds went by. The only sound I heard was the wind gently rustling the plants. Where were the shuttling gars? Were they just slow in emptying the sacks at the wagon, or was the answer more ominous?

  I looked to my right. Standing a few feet behind me was the gar who earlier showed me his amber cube. His every sense was on alert, listening, looking, smelling. He was scared. I didn’t blame him. So was I. The guy looked ahead into the dense crops, but saw nothing but plants. His gaze wandered until he saw me. Our eyes met. Instantly his look went from one of fear, to one of serenity. Seriously. It was like the tension left his body as he broke into a big smile.

  It would be the last action of his life.

  A second later I smelled the stench. It was the odor of a hungry tang. Another second passed and the tall plants in front of the gar rustled. Something flashed out. It went so fast I can’t really describe exactly what happened. One second he was standing there, the next second a green blur wrapped around him and pulled him into the dense plants. I stood frozen, a scream caught in my throat. A moment later I had no trouble screaming, because something came back out. It hit the ground and rolled close to my feet. I looked down to see something I’ll never forget for the rest of my life. Lying at my feet was the head of my friend the gar. His lifeless eyes staring up at me.

  I screamed . . . and the attack began.

  JOURNAL #17

  (CONTINUED)

  EELONG

  The assault was fast and violent.

  The tangs were waiting for us, just as I had feared. As soon as the first gar was killed, it was like the signal had gone out for the others to attack. They sprang from the plants in front of us like guerrilla fighters. These may have been beasts, but they were smart. Their green color blended with the green vegetation so well that we were nearly on top of them before they made their move.

  A tang leaped for me. Without thinking, I swung the bag full of apples. It wasn’t exactly a deadly weapon, but the heavy bag saved my life. I hit the tang’s gut with such force, I heard it grunt. The beast fell back, its scaly tale thrashing. It wasn’t hurt, but the move gave me the few seconds I needed to do the only thing possible.

  I ran.

  It all happened so fast that I can only remember quick, horrible images. I saw another tang leap out and grab the gar who was picking fruit on the other side of me. The gar’s scream of pain cut right through me. I never saw him again. All around me, gars had dropped their bags of fruit and were running back toward the wagon. They had no weapons. They were sitting ducks. Or running ducks. The klees didn’t do anything to help them. The cats held their wooden staves up as they backed toward the wagon, but it was to protect themselves, not the gars. A few tangs attacked the klees, but the experienced foragers used their weapons expertly, fending them off and knocking a few senseless. There were screams all around me, both from gars who were being attacked, and the tangs who were pouncing on them with a bloodlust. I had no idea how many tangs there were. There could have been ten, or a hundred. It was all a blur.

  All I could do was block out the horror around me and get back to the wagon. I pumped my legs, jumping over the crops we had just picked. I didn’t dare turn around for fear of what I would see. Besides, it would only slow me down. I’ve always been fast, but I had no idea if I was faster than a hungry tang.

  Up ahead of me, the klees were on the run. They were down on all fours and chewing up the ground to escape. I didn’t see Kasha, but I figured she was right there with them, abandoning me. So much for trusting the next Traveler from Eelong. Behind me, I heard tangs crunching across the fallen plants, hungry to catch up. But my confidence was growing. I was faster than they were. I was going to make it to the wagon. My thoughts went to what I would do once I got there. The klees would make a stand, I was sure of that. But could I count on them to protect me and the other gars who were lucky enough to make it back? Could I rely on Kasha? And Boon? I would find out soon enough. Up ahead, I saw the wagon. Boon was standing up in the driver’s seat, motioning for us all to hurry. I shouldn’t have been looking at him, because it meant I wasn’t watching what was in front of me and . . . I tripped.

  I stumbled forward and did a complete somersault only to come face-to-face with a dead gar. Blood trickled from his mouth. I jumped up quickly to see what I had tripped over. It was another dead gar. I then knew what had happened to the group that was shuttling the fruit back to the wagon. They had been ambushed by the tangs. A quick look to my right showed me a tang dragging a gar back into the high stalks. He had gotten his prize. I shot a look to where I had come from to see a tang was running for me. Its mouth was open to reveal bloody, sharp teeth. I was like a deer caught in the headlights. The tang was on a dead run. I was just . . . dead. There was no way I could turn and run fast enough to get away. I was tang chow. I backed away, but too late. The tang leaped.

  And a blur flashed in front of me, knocking the tang off balance. It was a gar! He fought the tang valiantly, but the poor guy didn’t stand a chance. I took a step forward to help him, but it was too late. The tang swept its arm back and stabbed the gar with its long, sharp talons. The three talons went right through his body, coming out his back. It was hideous. The gar writhed in pain, but managed to turn his head and look at me. The guy was in agony, but when he saw me, he relaxed. It was like the pain had magically gone away.

  I recognized him. It was one of the gars I had spoken to on the wagon. His eyes looked peaceful. He wasn’t in pain anymore. He smiled. I swear, guys, he smiled. This primitive human-animal had sacrificed his life to save mine. But why? Blood started leaking out the sides of his mouth, but he kept his smile. He croaked out two words. He said them with such a soft whisper, I could barely hear.

  “Bla
ck Water,” he groaned.

  His eyes closed and he died. The tang pulled its talons out of the guy, threw him to the ground and looked at me. I wasn’t sure if it was going to attack or make off with its conquest. I didn’t stick around long enough for it to decide. I turned and ran for the wagon, trying to hold down the sick feeling in my stomach. I expected to feel the tang’s talons stab me in the back, but the stab never came. The tang must have stayed with its victim. Gross.

  “Hurry! C’mon!” Boon yelled.

  The other klees got to the wagon first. Of the twenty or so gars who were brought here, only a handful survived the attack. I was one of them, thanks to the selfless gar who gave his life to save mine

  “Durgen! Help!”

  I heard the pained cry come from a klee who was still twenty yards from the wagon. He was on the ground, hurt. I saw that both his back legs were bleeding. He could barely crawl forward using his front paws. A tang was slowly creeping up on him, ready for the kill. It approached cautiously, in case the klee still had some fight left. Lying next to the injured klee was his wooden weapon, but he was too weak to use it. The cat was doomed . . . unless somebody helped him. I glanced to the wagon to see the gars were hiding underneath. The klees were standing next to one another, weapons up, ready to defend themselves. None made a move to save their friend. I had a quick thought of the gar who died to save me. It felt wrong not to try and do something to help the injured klee. Before I had the chance to chicken out, I ran for the fallen cat. Stupid move, I know. But I had to do it. There had been enough killing.

  “No!” Boon yelled.

  As I think back to that moment, I wish I had listened to him. Things would have turned out much better. But there was no way I could have guessed at the horrible consequences my actions would have. My plan was to grab the cat’s weapon and try to fend off the tang. I hoped that if the other klees saw that I was putting up a fight to save their friend, they’d come and help us both out.

  It was a totally stupid plan.

  I ran to the klee and scooped up the weapon. But as soon as I lifted it up, another tang leaped from the cover of the tall stalks. It had been hiding, waiting for a golden opportunity like this. It lashed out with its scaly tail and whipped against my hands so hard and fast, it felt like I was hit with an electric shock. The wooden weapon was knocked out of my grasp. What an idiot. Now the klee and I were both in trouble. He was injured and I was defenseless—with two tangs standing by, ready to attack.

  I heard a sound that can be best described as a whistle. Whatever was making it, it came up from behind me fast and whizzed past my ear. It felt so close I ducked, expecting to get hit in the back of the head. An instant later I saw what it was.

  Kasha. She had thrown her lasso with the three stones tied to the end. The stones spun like a buzz saw, flew past me, and wrapped themselves around the neck of the closest tang. Kasha gave a sharp yank on the rope and I heard a sickening snap. She had broken the tang’s neck. If I wasn’t so relieved, I would have been totally grossed out. The beast fell. It was dead before it hit the ground. But there was still one more tang to deal with and Kasha no longer had her lasso.

  The tang made the next move. He didn’t attack me, or Kasha. He pounced on the injured klee, the easy prey. The lizard jumped on the cat’s back and locked its jaws around its neck. The cat reared up and tried to shake the tang off, but the monster would not be denied. The klee was already weak from having lost so much blood. He didn’t stand a chance. I watched in horror as the cat fell to the ground hard, with the tang’s jaws still clamped on its neck.

  I felt a strong hand on my shoulder. I whipped around, expecting another tang attack. But it was Kasha.

  “It’s over,” she said sadly. “We have to go back.”

  It may have been over for the poor klee, but not for us. Other tangs were still sniffing around, looking to do some damage. We had to get out of there. The two of us ran back to the safety of the wagon. I stole a quick glance back at the battleground to see that the tangs were finished. They got what they came for. I watched as the few remaining tangs dragged their victims back into the tall stalks. Most were gars, but of course, there was the one klee. It now suddenly made all sorts of sense to me why the klees chose to build their world in the trees. The tangs were merciless marauders.

  I wasn’t sure of what to do when we got back to the wagon. I still had to act like a simple gar, so I decided to hide under the wagon with the survivors. But I didn’t get the chance. As soon as we approached the group of klees, Durgen stepped forward and slapped Kasha across the face. Everybody was so stunned, they froze in place. Including Kasha. Durgen stood in front of her, his eyes fixed on her in anger.

  “You sacrificed a klee to save a gar?” he seethed. “Are you insane?”

  Uh-oh. Kasha had saved me, but it looked as if she was going to pay a price for it.

  “He was as good as dead when I got there,” Kasha said, not backing down. “If I tried to save him, we would have lost both.”

  That might have been true, but I wasn’t so sure. Durgen didn’t think it was true at all. He hauled back and slapped Kasha again. Kasha barely flinched. She was tough. She took the hit but stood tall.

  “You don’t know that!” he bellowed. “If there was a chance to save him, you should have taken it. But you didn’t. And why? To save . . . this?”

  Durgen grabbed me by the back of my neck and held me up in the air, my feet dangling a few inches off of the ground.

  “It is an animal, Kasha!” he shouted in anger. “An animal!”

  He tossed me down hard. I wasn’t ready for it and my knees buckled, sending me crashing onto my shoulder. I wasn’t so quick to get back up. I didn’t want him throwing me around again.

  “That klee was your friend,” Durgen continued, his voice softening. “You chose this animal over a friend.”

  Kasha looked down. I think it finally hit her that someone she cared about, a fellow klee, had died.

  “I did what I felt was right,” she said softly.

  “And I will do what I think is right,” Durgen said angrily. “Turn the wagon around! Back to Leeandra!”

  I looked to Boon. His eyes were wide and scared. He knew exactly why Kasha had chosen me over the klee, but he wasn’t about to say anything. How could he? I stood up slowly and looked at Kasha. She walked past without looking back at me. I guarantee she was having second thoughts about what she had done. The trip back to Leeandra was grueling. The wagon was full of blue apples, so we gars couldn’t ride. I think the only reason we got to ride out here in the first place was to save our strength to pick the fruit. Now that our job was done, the klee foragers couldn’t care less if we even made it back. Boon drove the wagon again, while I walked behind it with the few surviving gar. Kasha walked behind us with another klee. Durgen and the last klee walked in front of the wagon. If we ran into another band of tangs, I don’t think anybody would have had the strength to fight.

  The walk took a few hours and it gave me time to plan my next move. I still had to find Seegen. I figured the best way to do that was through his acolyte, Yorn. If Seegen was on Second Earth, I thought that maybe Yorn could send a message to you guys, and you could tell Seegen to return to Eelong. It was a weak plan, I know. The chances of you guys finding him were pretty slight. I couldn’t imagine a jungle cat wearing a tunic walking through the streets of Stony Brook. He’d either be shot, or captured and put in a zoo. But I couldn’t think of anything else. I was too tired.

  Thankfully, no tangs attacked on our return trip. When we finally made it safely inside the gates of Leeandra, I figured I would ask Boon if I could stay with him. I was pretty sure Kasha wouldn’t want me around anymore. But as soon as the gates closed behind us, my plan went right out the window. Durgen grabbed me by the neck, again. It was getting very, very old. He dragged me away from the group. Boon leaped down from the wagon and jumped in front of him.

  “Uhh,” he said with a nervous laugh. “What are you do
ing?”

  “Have the rest of the gars unload the wagon at the transfer station,” he ordered. “Then return the wagon to the corral.” He kept walking, dragging me along with him.

  “Yeah, sure,” Boon said. “But what are you doing with Kasha’s gar?”

  Durgen stopped and looked back to Kasha, who stood by the wagon. Her eyes were wide, but she didn’t say a word. When Durgen spoke, it wasn’t to Boon, it was to Kasha.

  “This gar cost me a dear friend,” Durgen said bitterly. “I’m going to make sure I get some value in return.”

  What was he talking about? Was he going to eat me or something? Kasha took a step forward.

  “You can’t,” she complained. “He’s my gar.”

  “Not anymore,” Durgen spat back at her. “I’m selling him to the handlers.”

  “No!” shouted Boon.

  “You can’t!” Kasha added.

  Durgen gave me a shove. Boon caught me. Durgen went nose-to-nose with Kasha, saying, “And how exactly do you plan on stopping me?”

  It was a standoff. Kasha didn’t back off. Neither did Durgen.

  “What are the handlers, Boon?” I whispered nervously. “Are they going to eat me?”

  “Don’t worry,” Boon whispered back. “We’ll get you out of there.”

  He didn’t get the chance to say any more. Durgen stepped back from Kasha and grabbed me again. I had had enough. It was time to stop fooling around and start taking charge of my own destiny. I pulled away from Durgen and stood facing him, trying to look as defiant as possible.

  “I am not an animal,” I declared. “You don’t own me and you sure as heck can’t sell me.”

  I thought this would blow Durgen away. I saw the shock on his face. I doubted if he had ever heard a gar speak a full sentence like that, let alone right in his face. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the other gars looking at me in awe. The only ones who weren’t shocked, of course, were Kasha and Boon.

  Durgen reacted in a way I didn’t expect. He laughed. “Well.” He chuckled. “A gar who believes he is more than a gar.” He put his hands on his hips and said, “I have bad news for you.” He hauled back and hit me with the back of his hand. Hard. It was such a surprise and came so fast, I had no chance to duck or to block it. He hit me square on the side of the head. I saw stars. And colors. I don’t think I was knocked out, but I lost touch with reality. Things got fuzzy. I remember being grabbed again, and dragged. It was all a blur. Whoever was dragging me wasn’t gentle about it. I remember being knocked around a few times, and hitting my head again, which didn’t help matters.