The Seed: The Doors of the Ancients, Book 3

By Joe Adamo

Book 3 of The Doors of the Ancients series.

After the death and mayhem on their final night in Shadow Creek, Jake and his friends are forced to flee from Earth, escaping through a portal and running from both his enemies and the law... but neither will give up so easily.

Amid a twisted tangle of deception, Jake, his friends, and some new allies each wonder who is doing the manipulating and who is telling the truth as they desperately try to escape from the wrath of Charles Dorning. And with Jake still devastated over the loss of one of his closest friends, his leadership among his group is constantly being questioned, and for good reason; Jake is forced to make rash decisions under duress, and his mysterious new mentor might not have his best interests in mind. The group quickly find themselves in constantly worsening situations, the stress amongst them only compounds their problems, and the final destination they seek is every bit as hostile as they were promised it was going to be, made even worse by a dangerous being among them; a being known as The Seed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joe Adamo
• Release date: Apr 5, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311225948

Book preview

THE DOORS OF THE ANCIENTS – BOOK 3

The Seed

Joe Adamo

Copyright 2014 by Joe Adamo

Smashwords Edition

Chapter One

Leaves & Visions

Jake stared up at the stars, aching and exhausted; they were four days out of Umberton and all thoughts of Earthen problems were diminishing, but certainly nothing had been forgotten. Earth was still their home and deep down none of them wished to be gone forever.

Jake and his friends had believed that they could take refuge in the kindly town they had discovered just a little over two weeks ago. However, the people of Umberton wanted to know all about Zachariah, the man they believed to be their savior. They had expectations of what his angels should say, do, and know, so not only had it been difficult to keep up their charade of being the Angels of Zachariah, they also felt the constant anxiety and pressure of an almost definite return of Charles Dorning. Charles was the man who controlled Shadow Creek, California by wealth, violence, and intimidation, and who pretended to be the angel of Zachariah before Jake and his friends tricked the Umbertonians into thinking that it was they who were the true angels of Zachariah. Because of that, Dorning had been banished, and he hated Jake and his friends for it. Many of the people of Umberton, though, still believed that Dorning was the true Angel of Zachariah, making it all that much more dangerous to stay in Umberton.

Dorning had promised revenge the last time Jake escaped his wrath, and Jake knew he meant it. Dorning would be with Sheriff Quinn Kraine and who knows how many thugs, hit-men, and corrupt police officers. And they would be well-armed.

Even with their enhanced abilities, Jake and his friends were merely four fifteen-year-old kids and would not be able to fight off that kind of an onslaught. So after only one day in Umberton, they were on the run, fleeing through the dense jungle of Os-verott, heading in the same direction that Joseph Catalani had taken quite some time before. Jake was the leader of the group, but he believed that his father, Joseph, was the one man who could help them and perhaps bring their lives back to some sense of normalcy. He felt drawn to his real father, whom he had never really known and hadn’t seen since he was a small child. Yet since finding his father’s journals and discovering that his father was not the madman that the people of Shadow Creek thought he was, Jake formed a bond with his dad, especially since he had gone through the same torment. He knew now that his father was actually a good man and would probably be an American hero if people knew what he had done.

On his first visit to Umberton, the Mayor had told Jake that Joseph had gone through the jungles to the south of his city in an attempt to find the Gnarls, who were people or creatures that were believed to exist beyond the jungles and the plains and the woodlands beyond that. If they still existed, they would be at the base of some distant mountains that no living Umbertonian had ever seen.

Since they were not going to be able to hide the truth for long in Umberton, Jake was forced to lie once more to the Mayor, telling him that he received a new order from Zachariah. He even used his newfound power of telepathy to speak in the Mayor’s head, using it as a demonstration of how Zachariah sometimes speaks to him. And he told the Mayor that he and his friends had to leave Umberton and find the Gnarls because that is what Zachariah had ordered him to do, and, obliged to help, the Mayor lent Jake some men to help the kids navigate their path to the Gnarls.

So Jake was now leading his friends in the same direction that Joseph had gone, sensing, or perhaps simply hoping beyond hope, that his real father could somehow help them and that the Gnarls wouldn’t kill them.

* Green World, Day 6 *

Jazmin woke just before dawn on the fourth day. Her pale purple irises were blazing with panic. They’re coming! They’re coming! She bolted up and unzipped the little tent.

The others, who slept outside, awoke immediately. Jake was fumbling through his backpack for the pistol that had once belonged to Charles Dorning. Deke and Miles, Jake’s new friends from Shadow Creek, already grabbed their pistols from leather gunnysacks. Gunther, Morgan, and Silas were the men from Umberton who had joined Jake on orders from the Mayor. Gunther grabbed his machete. Morgan and Silas were alarmed, but had no weapons to retrieve; confused as they were, they still rose to their feet, ready to fight. Steve, Jake’s medium-sized black dog, growled and bared his teeth, understanding much more than a dog should. And Eloy, the bone-thin, fifteen-year-old slave that Jake, Miles, and Deke had saved from the aliens of the brown water world, sat up, scared and confused. He still suffered from nightmares of being back in the alien camp. It had nearly been his time to die when he was rescued. Jake and his friends, who were one year younger than Eloy, had come to save Jazmin, and against all odds, their plan had somehow succeeded and they managed to save Eloy and Mikell in the process.

Jazmin was shaking as she emerged from the tent, feeling horrorstruck. Her hair, which was dyed black except for a strip of purple on the left side, had always been so shiny and vibrant back on Earth, but in this rugged jungle it became tangled and wild, framing her pretty face like an unkempt vine frames an arched trellis.

No one tried to calm her. They were all preoccupied with the dark jungle that surrounded them for dozens of miles in every direction. The boys aimed their guns from dark shadow to dark shadow, expecting Dorning or the hag, Spivey, to jump out at them from anywhere.

Not here… not yet, Jazmin told them, still trying to calm herself. She took a deep breath and looked at Jake; his chestnut-brown hair was getting long and needed a wash, but his keen, superhuman blue eyes still lit up his face like flares. Jake had been her friend for only a couple of months, but in many ways she felt a closer bond with him than to her long-time friends, Miles and Deke. And to Jake she thought, I saw them, Jake. They were in my dream. They were leaving Aranoreya. They had guns, Jake. They–

It was just a dream, he told her, interrupting her thought. His gun was back in his backpack three seconds later.

For several weeks now Jake and Jazmin had the ability to communicate telepathically. Deke and Miles had the same ability, but only Jazmin was capable of listening in on other mental conversations, and only Jazmin could competently transmit her messages to more than one person at a time because she had made this her primary and strongest power by drinking first the water of the Northwest Territory, the world with the purple clouds.

Jazmin was shaking her head in disagreement. "It wasn’t just a dream."

* * *

Morgan, Silas, and Gunther, the Umbertonian men, were perfectly aware that the special kids had constant mental conversations, but they knew better than to interrupt or ask to be included. They knew their place. They were just there to assist the kids, the angels of Zachariah, and lead them to where the Gnarls were said to live. They were headed to the same place where the man, Joseph, so foolishly ran off to over a cycle ago.

The order to assist the angels came from the Mayor, which came from the lead angel, Jake, which came originally from the great Zachariah himself. Morgan and Silas seemed honored to go along; Gunther, it seemed, only came because he was told he had to. He clearly didn’t trust the self-proclaimed angels, and he had no desire to meet the Gnarls, who, according to legend, are very mistrusting and kill strangers.

* * *

Deke and Miles were also aware that a mental conversation was going on in front of them, but they had no problem butting in.

Who’s coming? Miles asked Jazmin, though he was pretty sure he knew.

Did you dream about Dorning? Deke asked, as he put his pistol back into his Umberton-made leather gunnysack. It took longer than it should have. Deke has always been a little clumsy, and although he was smart, he could be air-headed at times.

"I saw them, she insisted as she stared blankly out into the jungle. I saw them leaving Aranoreya. They’re in this world right now and they’re coming. I told them not to come after us. I told them not to follow us into the jungle, and Spivey heard me. She heard my thoughts."

It was just a dream, Jake stated again. Miles knew that Jake was still not quite himself. After all, it had only been five days since the shootout in Spivey’s attic, only five days since he was almost killed by Butch Knifler, who was now a werewolf, and only five days since he accidentally murdered Mikell. They had left behind so much death and Jake was having a hard time dealing with it, feeling as though he thought most of it was his fault. Miles had tried to encourage him. Jake was their leader. They trusted him, and he knew that Jake was up to the responsibility, but he needed to get past what had happened. Miles, though, didn’t push. The green water could make some wounds heal quickly, but the kind of wounds Jake had would take time.

Jake, you don’t understand. Jazmin now turned back toward Jake. She was unsuccessfully trying to hold back tears. I transmitted to her. I transmitted to all of them. I saw them in my dream, and without knowing what I was doing, I sent my thoughts to them… to Spivey.

But it was to a dream Spivey. It can’t have–

"It can, Jake. Even if it was a dream, I still sent the message to Spivey. Wherever she is, she’ll have heard what I sent to her, but I know what I saw. It wasn’t a dream."

Miles began packing his things. It was almost time to move on. He wasn’t concerned about Jazmin’s dream or even being found by Dorning. His biggest concern was if their group could hold it together mentally.

* * *

They were on the move without breakfast. Jazmin didn’t care. Breakfast in the jungle consisted of a small pile of edible leaves hand-picked by Silas. Silas, it seemed, knew all about the local plant and animal life. He was the oldest of the group and was the only one to have experience traveling in the jungle, but even he had never been this deep into it. His hair was completely gray and Jazmin guessed him at about sixty-five Earth years. But despite seeming rather senile at times, he knew how to live in the wild, knowing which leaves were edible, which ones would give them strength for the day, and which ones sharpen their senses. The only problem was that he couldn’t make the leaves taste good even with the jelly spread he served them with.

Silas picked the leaves as they traveled. He limped behind the others on his bad knee and gleefully told them the story of when he was nine and got caught stealing the yellow Kai-roo berries at the harvest feast, the ones that made you feel sloppy-headed when you ate one. Silas loved to tell stories and Gunther hated hearing them.

You are a liar, Silas. Ya could not have eaten fifteen Kai-roo berries when you were nine and still have outwitted a dozen grown men trying to catch you. As a matter of truth, ya could not have eaten fifteen Kai-roo berries and have survived.

I did, insisted Silas.

Aw blast ya, old man. Gunther was in a bad mood again. He was the youngest of the Umbertonian men. Jazmin figured him to be about twenty-five in Earth years. He was fit, strong, and under Jake’s direction, led the procession through the untamed jungle.

Jake was navigating with his compass, but Gunther growled that he didn’t need no magic to tell him which way was which; he was not just in a bad mood that morning, Gunther had been in a bad mood every minute of every day since they left Umberton.

With his special power from the yellow water he drank several weeks ago, Jake was able to read feelings and detect lies. He had told Jazmin, in a mental conversation two days ago, that Gunther didn’t seem to like helping the kids, stating that he started to sense a strong mistrust from Gunther. From Morgan, Jake said he sensed a nervous fear. Morgan, who was walking a short distance behind Jake and Gunther, looked about forty in Earth years. He, like Gunther, had a full mop of dark brown hair, but Morgan kept his back in a ponytail, and he had a mess of matching facial hair. Rarely did he speak, and at dusk, when they settled down for the night, he always read from his grandfather’s journal. The journal had been given to his grandfather as a gift from Zachariah. It was a cherished heirloom in Morgan’s family and he always kept it with him. Sometimes Jazmin saw Morgan scribble little notes in the journal. She supposed he was adding his own excerpts for his own grandchildren to read, probably stories of his adventures with the angels.

Behind Morgan, Deke and Miles walked along having a secret mental conversation about which Umbertonian man was going to lose his patience first and strangle another. Deke bet his breakfast on Gunther to pop Silas a good one within an hour, but Miles called Morgan his dark horse, sighting that he had been keeping it all in for five days and was about to burst.

Jazmin, of course, could not be kept out of the secret. She could hear all nearby mental messages sent, but she didn’t care about their dumb bet. She had a lump in her throat, which was an ever-growing ball of panic. Somewhere behind them, Dorning’s posse was coming and she had inadvertently told them where to go.

C’mon, can’t we go any faster? She had been pushing the group all morning, even though the Umbertonian men were starting to be affected by her nerves. They had begun the journey in relatively high spirits, seemingly honored to have the opportunity to assist the angels in such an important quest, but once they understood that there was real danger, they were quickly losing their happy-go-lucky attitudes.

Behind Jazmin, Steve trotted along next to Eloy. Jake had asked Steve to befriend Eloy because, although Eloy was elated not to be a slave to the aliens anymore, he was acting strangely… lost really. Jazmin supposed it was because Eloy’s life didn’t have a real purpose anymore. He was so used to the structured work-based life of a slave and now there was just walking to a destination he knew nothing about to achieve a goal he cared nothing for. So Jake had lent him Steve, and told him to watch over Steve as they went through the jungle.

Behind Eloy was Silas, ranting on about his abnormally heroic childhood.

The nine travelers kept a good pace all morning, but their fine Umbertonian silk was no match for the thick foliage that tore at their sides. Fortunately, the Umbertonians had given each of the travelers extra clothes for the trek. Their sneakers were nearly the only Earth clothes they had left. Most of the kids still had t-shirts and pajamas, but only Jake and Eloy were lucky enough to have fallen asleep wearing their jeans on that horrible night when their lives changed forever.

* * *

He had made a mistake that final night on Earth by leaving Spivey and Dorning alive to hunt him down; a mistake that was making it hard to sleep at night. And Dorning might be joined by Butch, mean as he already was, had turned into a vicious werewolf, and he too cast chaos in Jake dreams, but worst of all, Jake had inadvertently shot and killed his friend, Mikell. It was a ghastly atrocity that tore at his heart every second of every day. The memory and the guilt wouldn’t let go of him. Guilt is a voracious leech, and it had itself wrapped around Jake’s throat and chest, completely consuming him. The momentary panic at dawn that morning was the first time that soul-sucking leech of guilt had let up even for a moment. In that bit of time he had been free, but it was brief; less than a minute of undaunted thought was all that came to him, and now he felt himself missing the intensity of that moment. Sometimes he hoped that Dorning’s gang would catch them. He would welcome the distraction, but surely Jazmin was right. Dorning would have men, guns, and possibly new powers to protect himself from the mind-blast, which was another power that Jake, Miles, Deke, and even Steve the dog possessed. Dorning, too, could perform the mind-blast. Jake had read journals that his father had left behind and learned that the water from other worlds could be brought through the portals under his cottage and, when consumed back on Earth, gave the drinker certain special powers. Jake didn’t know all the details because Silvia Spivey had stolen two of the journals before he could finish reading them, but he read that his father believed that the waters brought out a potential in the human brain or physique that was already there, or perhaps strengthened a part of the brain so that the power could be performed. In any case, the mind-blast could immobilize another human or beast, but it wouldn’t do much against a dozen armed men.

Jake was sure that his friends would not welcome another battle with Dorning and Spivey. They were lucky to have survived the last one. He also knew that they would never have even considered coming with him on this insane quest to find his dad, Joseph, if they felt that they could go safely back to Earth. Like Jake, they knew they would be wanted by the police, the F.B.I., and of course Dorning. They would probably be blamed for what happened there. There were four men lying dead in his yard on the night they left; two of them police officers. And, of course, two doors down, the bodies of agent Phelps of the F.B.I. and Mikell and her mother would eventually be found.

And what about Gus? Jake found himself thinking. Is he dead too? If so, it was me who murdered him. It wasn’t long ago when he considered Gus to be his only friend in Shadow Creek. Jake came to Shadow Creek being shunned by the citizens, but Gus was nice to him. However, Jake found out the hard way that Gus was related to Spivey, the wicked, old, kid-hating hag that had stolen Jake’s journals and invaded the room below the cottage. She used the portals and obtained some of the powers of the water, and Gus was helping her the whole time. Jake, though, couldn’t bring himself to hate Gus, and he felt guilty when he wondered if Gus was among the dead, even though Gus might have been helping Spivey to catch him and kill him.

Seven bodies at least, he thought, and maybe more. Besides Gus, he also wasn’t sure of the fate of Mr. Knifler, who had been shot in the back. Nor was he even sure if Spivey had survived. She was shot in the stomach, but she had the power of the green water, which would make her heal about ten times faster than normal, so Jake didn’t really think she would be dead. There was also the question of the Indian assassin, Santiago, who Jake called, the shadow man. Jazmin had told Jake of her battle with him and how Miles and Steve rescued her. She told him that she dropped a large rock down on his head. Maybe Santiago was dead too? Surely though, that many bodies would not go unnoticed. The murders in Shadow Creek would be the biggest story in the nation, especially after what had gone on just a few weeks prior to that. Of course, there were six more deaths that would most likely never be discovered; the aliens that had come for him. They had intended to kill Jake and recapture the slaves. In the chaos on that final night on Earth, the aliens had been killed, but their bodies were gone by the time Jake and his friends returned to the portals, most likely removed by other aliens. Perhaps they were gone forever, or maybe they were gathering their army.

Nope, it would not be safe to go back to Earth, and it wouldn’t be safe for a long time. Jake was sure he was doing the right thing by finding his real father. Earth wasn’t safe. Umberton wasn’t safe. They really had no other clear choice. Jake just hoped that his father would know what to do, but for now, they weren’t even sure if his father was a good person… or alive.

* * *

We’ve got to go faster, Jazmin urged for the fifth time in the last twenty minutes. She still felt the panic in her chest and heard it in her voice. She knew she was making the Umbertonian men nervous, but if that was what they needed to go faster, so be it.

There was danger behind them; she could sense it, and she thought Steve did as well. She would trust Steve’s instincts, but she felt hers were nearly as acute. Last night wasn’t her first vision. She had similar visions the two previous nights, but those were brief and blurred. She had come to the conclusion that they were that way because Dorning and Spivey were hundreds of billions of miles away back on Earth. Now they were here, in the green water world. Her vision last night was sharp. She saw Dorning leading a parade of about forty. There were many Aranoreyan men marching with him, their malformed faces scrunched up with ugly hate. She saw the long-haired assassin whom she thought she killed when she busted his head with the rock. His head was wrapped in bandages. Butch Knifler and three other human men were there too; one was Gus, the Dorning Academy custodian. Others were hidden in the crowd, but in the forefront, in a black cloak and army boots, was Silvia Spivey. She was old, but looked extremely healthy and confident. She held the others up and peered around. Jazmin knew Spivey had been aware of her presence. That’s when Jazmin yelled for them to come no further. She told them to stay away from Umberton, away from the jungle beyond. She told Spivey to leave them alone and stop chasing. It wasn’t until it was already said that she realized that she had transmitted an esp-mail message to Spivey.

Hurry, she urged again, and Miles shot her an impatient glance. His eyes were haunting, having gone from dark brown, like his skin, to jet black when he drank the black water that Jake collected from another world.

The boys were on edge. They all were.

It was mid-morning when Gunther finally lost his temper, but Deke didn’t win the bet because Gunther didn’t lose it with Silas or even Morgan. He lost his temper with Jake.

I do not care what your blasted magic crumpass says. We are going the wrong way!

Morgan and Silas were aghast at how Gunther spoke to the lead angel of Zachariah. Jazmin was quite surprised herself.

It’s called a compass, and it’s never wrong, Jake told Gunther with an eerie calm. Gunther looked like he wanted to hit Jake, but Jake seemed indifferent to it. And like I told you before, it doesn’t work with magic. It works with magnetism. The needle always points to magnetic north, so I know we’ve been traveling in a straight line.

Then how do ya explain that? Gunther yelled, pointing through an opening above, in the low canopy of the jungle.

Jazmin looked up to where he was pointing, but she couldn’t see anything with the blinding sunlight penetrating downward.

What am I supposed to be seeing? Jake asked.

The blasted sun! Gunther roared.

You watch your mouth, Gunther, Silas told him.

It’s okay, Jake said, still oddly calm. To Gunther he asked, What does your sun have to do with anything?

It’s in the wrong place. We’ve been slowly turning tull-side for the past two folds.

I’m not sure what that means, Gunther, but I can assure you we’ve been going due south by southeast.

And I can assure you that your magic pointer is broken. The sun should not be on our drift-side.

Jazmin could tell that Jake had no faith in Gunther’s navigation abilities. He just looked blankly at Gunther and told him, Maybe your sun is going the wrong way today, but the compass never lies.

Gunther’s arms were shaking. He clearly wanted to strangle Jake.

We need to get going! Jazmin told them, and then Gunther looked like he wanted to strangle her.

Shut it already, Deke told her. You’re scaring these guys.

I am not scared, Gunther said, now rounding on Deke, who instinctively stepped back a pace or two. Gunther was huge next to Deke, but although Deke was a rather scrawny fifteen-year-old with youthful freckles around his nose, he had an awesome power beneath that thin blond swath of hair atop his head, and with a mental blast of anger he could bring Gunther to his knees in a heartbeat. Nay, I am not scared of Dorning or his guns, Gunther continued, but she is. He pointed at Jazmin. "And why should that be if you are truly angels of Zachariah? I’ve been told you have his powers. Powers greater than that of Dorning, so then why should she be so frightened of him, if your powers are stronger?"

He has guns, Jazmin told him.

Aye, and so do you, Gunther pointed out, which was true. Jake, Miles, and Deke all had a pistol. The guns used to belong to Dorning, Sheriff Kraine, and Agent Phelps, but the kids managed to steal all three in the shootout in Spivey’s attic. Unfortunately, each gun had no more than five rounds remaining. Deke’s only had one.

There are more of them than us, and they have more guns. Jazmin trembled as she said this, remembering her vision.

You are sure of this? Morgan asked her.

Yes, Jazmin answered. And they know that we’re in the jungle.

Then they will kill us if they find us, Gunther said through clenched teeth. He turned to Jake with his chest puffed out and contempt on his tongue. Is it revenge that they seek?

They won’t find us, Jake told him confidently. Unlike Deke, Jake and Miles both had a more athletic build, and as Jake became more travel-worn, his muscles hardened. For some reason his physique seemed to earn more respect in Gunther’s eyes, even though Gunther was still much bigger, in both height and build.

Jake showed no sign of intimidation. We’ll be fifty miles ahead of them by now, Gunther. And should they catch up, it will be us who get the revenge on them.

Your girl is not so confident, Gunther retorted, but Jazmin hardly heard him. She could see past Jake’s cool demeanor. He was not calm because of his confidence; he was calm because there was a cold, emptiness in his eyes. He had lost part of himself that last night in Shadow Creek. He was in pain, and he wasn’t the same person because of it.

* * *

Jake led them on again.

Gunther was at his side, powering through the tangle of branches. He was still droning on about being lost, and occasionally mumbled something about going tull-side, but he could no longer navigate by the sun because it was straight above them.

Jake was thankful for the shade of the trees. It was quite hot, and by far the hottest day since they left Umberton, but for a jungle, it really wasn’t very humid. Thankfully, the shade had been increasing because the jungle had been slowly thickening, but the copious vegetation was slowing their progress.

Steve was the first to notice something was wrong. He began whining. Jake was about to call for a break. He figured Steve must be tired. They were all tired. After all, their only rest since dawn had been the brief argument three hours ago. He did not call the break though. With his power from the yellow water, he realized that Steve was whining not because he was tired, but because he was frightened.

Jake quickly flipped off his backpack and withdrew his pistol. Following his cue, his friends did the same. He then motioned for them to get low and stay quiet.

Jake. I don’t feel good, Eloy said aloud.

As Jake spun around to observe the jungle around them, he noticed Eloy indeed looked pale.

There was a swish sound in the shadows behind them. Something was moving against the foliage. Jake turned and saw movement, but couldn’t fire a shot because there were too many of his companions in the line of fire.

Could be a bird, Miles whispered without any conviction.

It might have been a bird, though. They had seen hundreds since they entered the jungle, but not so many the past two days and none in the last few hours. Jake, however, didn’t believe it was a bird. Something about the moving shadow suggested a creature much larger, and one that traveled along the ground.

Jake swallowed hard, the thought of Mikell’s sorrowful dying eyes now only a small blur behind his newly cleared thoughts. Everyone, he whispered. Get between Miles, Deke, and I. To Miles and Deke, he thought, Flank the sides of our party. Hold your guns at the ready.

There was another quick rustling of leaves. Something was moving around in the shadows.

Steve barked, more from nerves than warning. His tail was firmly tucked between his legs and he was shaking.

I might be sick, Eloy said.

Hold it down, Jake ordered. We may have to fight.

A shadow darted through the trees to Jake’s left. Whatever was in there was moving fast.

Bang!

Deke fired off a shot; his last.

What are you doing? Jake snapped. You wasted your last bullet, and for all we know it’s just some harmless animal out there. Jake supposed it really might be a harmless animal, and knowing that Deke had no more ammo made him feel like he sprung another small leak in what was left of his confidence.

To his side, Eloy fell to the floor and wretched. Nobody paid him any attention.

I think I see it, Miles whispered. He was staring into a particularly dark area and fired a shot as well, but just as he fired the shadowy figure sprung off.

It wasn’t clear if Miles had hit it, but after a few silent minutes, it was clearly gone.

Eloy was feeling better after he threw up.

Jake didn’t want to stay in that area any longer. With the stench of Eloy’s vomit, and the fear that that thing might come back, he decided that it wasn’t the best place to take a break.

Mikell’s tortured face appeared to him again. He tried to shake it, but couldn’t. Nor did he feel he had the right to. His fault, it was all his fault.

He looked back down at his compass. This way. He pointed, and began pushing aside branches. After a moment he stopped. Nobody was following him. He turned to look back. The others were staring curiously at him.

What?

That’s not the right way, Deke said.

Jake looked back down at his compass. Yes it is.

"You were just leading us that way," Gunther grumbled. He was pointing much further East.

Jake walked back to where they were standing, and looked back. He then turned forward again and realized that the trail of broken branches behind them was not aligned with the new direction he was going to lead them.

Oh, he said weakly. He had suddenly lost quite a bit of confidence from his companions. I must have misread it for a bit, but we’re barely off course. It won’t make much difference.

Jake, are you sure? Jazmin asked.

Of course. This way. C’mon. He continued back on the new path. This time the others followed, but Gunther bellowed that they were now going even further tull-side, and at this rate they would soon make a full circle.

Chapter Two

Tommy & Trust

After a few more hours, it was clear that they were lost. The jungle was now so thick that hardly any light made its way through the abundance of vegetation above them. Jake’s compass was doing flip-flops. The needle was wobbling from side to side. One moment they were seemingly going southeast, and the next moment they were headed straight north.

Jake had to let Gunther take over the navigation, but Gunther was doing no better than Jake had. He was having a hard time getting the location of the sun because they were entombed under a roof of leaves and vines, and when they did get a view of the sky all they could see was clouds, but now, even with all the shade, it was hot, almost too hot to believe. They were sweating, tired, and it was hard to stay focused on anything.

Are you sure your magic is no longer working? Morgan asked Jake for the second time.

Jake pulled his compass from his pocket and the needle swung loosely from east to west. Still not working, Morgan.

That is too bad, Jake, because I fear that young Gunther is leading us in the wrong direction.

And what would you know about that? Gunther growled. He had taken his shirt off because of the heat. His muscles tensed, and he was rather intimidating with a machete in hand, but Morgan showed no fear.

Gunther, I believe you are purposefully leading us back toward Umberton.

That is a blasted lie! You know as well as I do, Morgan, that we are headed straight away from Umberton.

I know nothing of the sort. The young angels have instructed us to take them that way. Morgan pointed in the opposite direction of which they had been traveling.

That is a lie, spat Gunther.

No, insisted Morgan. It is you who are lying. You are a coward, and you are intentionally trying to lead us back home.

Coward? roared Gunther. You are the one who is trying to lead us back to Umberton.

Wait! Jake shouted. He had been watching his compass. Look at this.

The men had come to see what he saw. The needle was now fixed again, pointing dead north.

It’s working again, Jake announced and you were both wrong. Southeast is this direction.

The going was slow for the next few hours. The jungle seemed to be battling against them. In spots it was so thick that it was impossible to get through, so the group had to double back twice, and at times they were moving laterally from the direction they needed to go.

Jake could sense both Gunther and Morgan’s frustration. He figured that neither of them was happy with the path the compass chose, but Jake knew that without proper bearings, getting lost in a jungle was easy. He had a working compass now and as long as it kept working, they would get through.

When it seemed they would have to double back for the third time, Jazmin almost lost it.

Do you realize how easy it is going to be for Dorning to track us through the jungle? she said, her eyes were full of tears.

It was just a dream, Deke told her.

Jazmin ignored him. And we’ve already cleared the way. They will be moving three times as fast as us.

We will be even slower fighting through this retched wall of trees, Gunther explained, pointing forward. We need to find a different way.

They’re going to catch us! Jazmin screamed. Don’t you all understand this? And when they catch us, we’re dead.

I agree with Gunther, Morgan said. I believe we should go back and find a new path.

Lightning flashed overhead, and five seconds later came an enormous crack of thunder. Steve whined, and Jake mentally assured him it was okay.

We had better set camp, Silas announced. Rain is coming, and it will be heavy.

No, Jazmin told him. We still have a few hours of light. We need to move on.

Gunther began to head back. It is too thick to set camp here.

Another flash of lightning came, followed almost immediately by a blast of thunder that shook the ground.

The group began back, but they were halted by Eloy. Wait! His eyes were wide. I saw a clearing ahead, when the flash came.

How far? asked Miles.

Not far at all.

Are you sure? Gunther asked.

Eloy nodded.

Twenty minutes and thirty yards later, the group had fought their way to the little clearing. It was pouring rain and they were all soaked. The ground in the clearing was covered with long grass and thick, muddy soil. Above them, the rain came down from deep dark green clouds that seemed to loom only feet above the tree tops, but the oddest thing that the group beheld, was the man standing in the center of the clearing.

As the group spilled into the clearing, one by one they spotted the solitary figure staring back at them. The man looked as though he had seen many years, yet aged well. He was a small man, a bit shorter than Jake, but he was wiry and strong. His face was thin and angular, with strong cheek bones. His skin was tanned and nearly wrinkle-free, his brown hair hung to his shoulders, and his beard and mustache were thin and manicured to points. He wore a thick cloth pullover shirt that looked decades old, and his animal skin pants, shoes, and travel pack were hand-made, though well-crafted. What stood out most, though, was the man’s piercing green eyes.

His gaze was steady. Although he carried a long, knobby walking stick, he looked like he could move quickly if he needed to, and his walking stick could easily be used as a weapon.

Jake was the first to acknowledge him. He did a little wave as he slid his backpack off his shoulder, but his mind was on the pistol inside his pack. However, he knew there was nothing yet to worry about. He did have the power to zap him with a mind-blast if needed, but the man was not scared or angry. Jake knew this because he had the power of the yellow water, which gave him a certain understanding. He could tell when people were lying to him and he could read their feelings. He felt, well… nothing from this man. Nothing good, nothing bad, but he did have a weird feeling that he could trust him.

The man finally smiled slightly and waved back.

Behind Jake, Eloy was moaning slightly. He was feeling ill again.

Hi, Jake said loudly so as to be heard over the chorus of the downpour. He made a move to approach the man, but Miles and Jazmin both grabbed him and held him back.

It’s okay, he thought to Miles, knowing Jazmin would hear it too.

Hi, the man said back after a brief moment and did another little wave almost identical to Jake’s.

See, Jake thought to Miles and Jazmin. He’s friendly.

Jake, Jazmin thought. I don’t trust him.

Well I do, and I have the power to read people’s feelings.

To the man, Jake asked, Do you speak English?

The man’s smile broadened slightly. I do speak English. His voice cracked a little, but his tone was confident, and he appeared to be amused. I’m guessing you are lost.

Jake laughed, but the others found no humor in the situation. Jake felt their distrust. He felt more than mild distrust from each one of them, but he felt upbeat for the first time in a while. This man could help them. He was sure of it. We came from Umberton. Do you know where that is?

The man was utterly motionless for a few seconds, and then he answered, Yes, I’m quite familiar with Umberton.

Well, Jake said, we’ve come from there and we were headed through the jungle. Somewhere far beyond the jungle is supposed to be a place where the Gnarls live.

The man just watched Jake closely, seemingly deep in thought, but offered nothing. Another burst of lightning lit the sky, but the man flinched neither at the flash, nor at the deafening thunder a moment later.

Behind Jake, Eloy fell to his knees and began retching. Deke had his hands