Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo

  They shut up.

  “What promise did my grandfather make to you?”

  The fattest Sochemist stepped forward. “I have an opinion.”

  “Great, what is it?” Leven asked impatiently.

  “Your grandfather promised to bring an end to us. He thought we were moved by darkness when he himself was touched in the head.”

  “You do confuse a lot of people,” Leven pointed out.

  They talked amongst themselves for three minutes and then Syarm spoke. “We disagree.”

  “I’m pretty certain people can think for themselves,” Leven said.

  “Foo would fall without us,” the Sochemist shouted.

  “Foo is falling because of people like you.”

  They huddled again. “We’ve yet to make a mistake,” Syarm finally announced.

  Leven just stared at them. “Who gave Sabine power?”

  They all cleared their throats.

  “Who eliminated the whisps, okayed the slaying of siids, allowed Jamoon to work with metal, used the Ring of Plague to support your agenda?”

  “How do you—”

  “Who buried and arranged the end of the lithens?”

  “We serve because we care,” Syarm said flatly. “Perhaps if the people worked harder.”

  “Really?” Leven asked in disbelief. “You make the rules and laws, create the stories, and spread the news that pleases only you.”

  The Sochemists all nodded, looking proud.

  “Wow,” Leven said sarcastically.

  They huddled again, and then Syarm spoke: “Thank you.”

  Leven looked down at Clover and shrugged. “What do I do?”

  “They seem slightly nuts,” Clover said. “Maybe you’re supposed to kill them.”

  “No way,” Leven said. “I’m not killing a bunch of old men I’ve never even met before.”

  “Try telling them you love them,” Clover suggested. “It worked with Amelia.”

  “You’re absolutely no help,” Leven sighed.

  “Why are they your problem?” Clover asked.

  “Geth did say they were part of the reason everything is so unbalanced,” Leven reminded him. “And if my grandfather promised they’d come to an end, I guess I have to help finish them up.”

  Leven turned back to the Sochemists, who were still huddled together, debating all the reasons why none of the things that were going on in Foo should be blamed on them.

  “Listen,” Leven said. “I’m not sure what my connection to you is, but I know that there’s something unfinished.”

  Syarm raised his hand. “I have an opinion.”

  Leven rubbed his forehead.

  “My knees hurt,” Syarm said. “And the weight of my body is pulling me down. All in favor of a brief reprieve say aye.”

  “Aye.”

  All the Sochemists began to lie down on the stone seating. They moaned and creaked as they tried to make themselves comfortable on the hard surface.

  “A nap?” Leven snapped. “Fate dumps you down on me so that you can just take a nap? You’re useless. I thought age brought wisdom.”

  Three of the Sochemists were already snoring.

  “Look,” Clover pointed.

  The fattest Sochemist was asleep and slowly beginning to bleed into the stone he was resting on. His legs faded in first, then his head, and finally his torso. In under twenty seconds the fat Sochemist was nothing but a fossil in the stone. Two more started to fade.

  “Should we wake them?” Clover asked.

  “No way,” Leven said.

  Three more blended into the stone.

  “Is this what normally happens?” Clover asked.

  “How would I know?” Leven said. “I’ve never studied the sleeping habits of Sochemists.”

  The remaining Sochemists were waning, meshing into the stone like butter into warm potatoes. Syarm was the last to go. He opened his eyes as his body became one with the stone. He blinked, yawned, and then froze, becoming nothing but a fossil.

  Leven looked around. He was now surrounded by the fossilized images of all twenty-four Sochemists. Like a carpet being rolled out, a thick layer of purple covered the sky, and the smaller sun jiggled just a bit.

  “To be honest,” Clover said, “they look much better like this. Did you see the chin on that one? It was all floppy, and now it’s just a line. Of course, I don’t think I would want to sit on any of these seats now.”

  “I’m worried,” Leven said.

  “Why?” Clover asked. “Those guys will never be able to bother anyone again. No more locust messages and new Lore Coil laws. Maybe Morfit will lighten up. Remember how dark that place was?”

  “I’m not worried about the Sochemists,” Leven said. “I’m worried about ever getting where I’m supposed to be. If they were unfinished business, there could be almost anything up ahead.”

  “You think more now that you’re the Want,” Clover said, hopping onto Leven’s right shoulder. “What direction are we going?”

  Leven pointed to the path of glass.

  “Then all we need to do is walk,” Clover said simply. “Who cares what’s next—as long as there’s the possibility of some food.”

  “We don’t even know that,” Leven pointed out.

  “It’s fun to pretend,” Clover said.

  Leven climbed up the amphitheater seats, got back on the path, and left the stone ghost town for good.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Picking Yourself Out in a Lineup

  The population of the world is somewhere around six point four billion. That number is so large that it really is hard to comprehend. Let’s see if this helps: If you took six point four billion ferrets and laid them end to end, you’d probably hear from some animal rights group and be sued for six billion dollars for being mean to ferrets.

  Six point four billion is a huge number.

  Of course, it seemed as if all six point four billion people were now gathered in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, and that wasn’t including the population of Foo—the hundreds of thousands of refugees that had now successfully worked through the waterway and climbed into Reality. The highways were clogged, the skies were filled with helicopters and jets, and the sounds of engines and voices and sirens and tanks permeated the surroundings. There were thousands of RVs, dozens of news crews, hundreds of black limos containing hundreds of important people from all over the world, and two women with the exact same name, Ethel Lynn Lundburg, wearing the exact same outfit, who had never met before. What were the odds?

  About one in six point four billion.

  General Lank paced back and forth in one of the tents as Ezra slept on his pop-can throne and Dennis sat on a cot thinking. The steady stream of beings was still continuing, and all over the world the attacks by the buglike sarus and tornadolike telts were increasing. On the small TV in the corner of the tent, the news was reporting a herd of avalands that had been tearing up farms in Canada and a building that had walked into a nearby lake. In addition to the Eiffel Tower getting up and walking off, so had one of the pyramids and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. And as of an hour ago, large parts of the Great Wall of China were wriggling toward Mongolia.

  General Lank stopped and looked down at a chart he had rolled out over a metal table. Other officials, including a jittery and sweaty Elton Thumps, were looking over the chart and talking on phones and radios. By now most of the world knew that telts could be destroyed with water, sarus hated fire, and avalands could be stopped by stone barricades. But even with that new knowledge, stopping these things was not easy. And now the U.S. military held in captivity things like black skeletons and rants and cogs and all manner of odd beings. To make matters worse, the Dearth had escaped and those in captivity were growing restless. Plus, the entire world was looking for answers, and so far the things that had crawled out of Blue Hole had only offered up more questions.

  “We have doctors and scientists looking over the creatures,” General Lank said into his phone. “No
, so far there has been no real aggression. But I can’t promise calm forever. There has been some protest over our examining them.”

  Dennis stood up. He walked over and looked down at the chart. General Lank snapped his phone shut and turned his attention to Dennis.

  “Tell us something,” General Lank said. “Anything.”

  “My head’s so clear,” Dennis said.

  “Good for you,” Elton snapped. “Mine’s not. I say you send me in, general.”

  “There are still so many coming out,” Lank replied.

  “So what? I can push through,” Elton argued. “I have been studying Foo for my whole adult life. It’s time I see it for myself. America has to be the first to claim that land. I have to get in there.”

  “Who would you take?”

  “Give me six men,” Elton said. “Or give me none. I don’t care. We’ll be going against the current of refugees, but we can make it. We’ll also be able to see if our equipment functions. If our radios and phones work, it will make things a lot different.”

  “I would wait,” Dennis advised.

  “No offense,” Elton said dismissively, “but you’re not being asked for your opinion.”

  “But my head’s so clear,” Dennis said again. “For the first time I think I can really see what is happening.”

  “What’s happening?” General Lank said.

  “All the messages from Sabine that have run across my brain and body for so long are clear.”

  Everyone just stared at Dennis.

  “It’s not good,” he finally said. “They are planning to take over our world.”

  “What?” General Lank barked.

  “See?” Elton snapped. “I must go in. I have to go in.”

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” General Lank asked Elton. “You look horrible.”

  “I’m fine,” Elton insisted. “My stomach hurts a little from being bitten, but I have to get in there.”

  “It’s not that easy,” Dennis argued. “The Dearth is already here. Why would—”

  “Let me see the opening,” General Lank interrupted. “If there’s any slowing of those coming through, I’ll send you in. Meanwhile, we need to resecure the fences and keep our troops on high alert.”

  General Lank strode out of the tent with an agitated Elton right behind him. Dennis picked up the sleeping Ezra and followed them. They walked through the troops and approached Blue Hole from the right side.

  A whole family of cogs were currently climbing out of the empty lake, their orange foreheads and blue hands looking even more predominant in reality. They were crying and cheering and waving their blue hands.

  Ezra slowly climbed up onto Dennis’s left shoulder. He yawned and cursed the fact that even with everything going on he was still bored.

  Two dozen rants clambered over the lake’s edge. They were jumping and hollering and marveling over the feeling of Reality.

  “Where’s the bloodshed I was promised?” Ezra said to Dennis.

  “You were never promised bloodshed,” Dennis said.

  “You have no idea what I promised myself,” Ezra seethed. “Now, who can I set on fire?”

  “You can’t just set someone on fire,” Dennis said.

  “Wanna bet?” Ezra waved, and Elton Thumps was suddenly in flames.

  Elton fell to the ground screaming and rolled himself out quickly as a nearby soldier patted him down. Elton stood back up slowly, his hair and eyebrows still smoking slightly.

  “What was that?” General Lank asked.

  Elton was glaring at Ezra.

  “What?” Ezra said. “I needed to win a bet.”

  “You’d better knock that stuff off,” Dennis whispered to Ezra.

  “Why?”

  “Because there’s—”

  “Who’s that?” Ezra interrupted, pointing to a small group of beings climbing out of the lake.

  The people being pointed at were two women and a man. The women were beautiful, both with long, flowing hair and deep-set eyes. They were wearing red robes and looking around in wonder. The man was tall and strong-looking, with long, dark blond hair. He was smiling as if he were completely happy with everything.

  “The women are beautiful,” Dennis whispered.

  “This isn’t the prom,” Ezra roared. “I’m talking about the man. General, bring them over.”

  General Lank ordered two soldiers to intercept the trio of people.

  “What’s the matter?” Dennis asked Ezra.

  Ezra was standing on Dennis’s ear and shaking. “Can’t you see it?”

  “See what?”

  “It’s like looking into a mirror,” Ezra seethed.

  Dennis’s eyes widened and he took a better look. “That’s Geth?”

  “Hot smack,” Ezra cheered. “Thank goodness I sharpened my leg this morning.”

  “Are you sure?” Dennis asked.

  “I’ve never been more certain of anything,” Ezra quivered. “Now, flick me.”

  Dennis reached up and grabbed Ezra. He placed him between his thumb and forefinger. “Ready?”

  “I’ve waited my whole life for this moment.”

  “You’ve only been alive a short while,” Dennis reminded him.

  “I can’t believe I hang out with you,” Ezra growled.

  Dennis flicked Ezra as hard as he could.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  And the Walls Came Tumbling Down

  Most everything fades—photographs, favorite shirts, hair. Many things that are bright and vibrant today will be muted and dull tomorrow. Even the things that seem still are fading. Memories fade. I remember . . . well, it’ll come to me. Feelings fade. How many times have you been angry because somebody sold you a low-security secret at a high-security price? Only to have your feelings of betrayal fade away after that person is eaten by a shark while trying to escape the country.

  Like I said, feelings fade.

  Sometimes, recognizing that something familiar has faded is not easy. Those nice blue jeans you’re wearing don’t look so stiff and new when they’re held up to a brand-new pair. And that clear, shiny whisp that you’ve been hanging out with for the last few days just might not look as shiny when you hold her up to the light of Reality.

  The point is, Janet was fading.

  “Are you all right?” Tim asked Janet.

  “Fine,” she replied, standing as close to Osck as she could.

  The day was growing increasingly warm, and all four of them were crowded together in the large parking lot that had been fenced off. They were near the Porta Potties and behind the temporary first aid station. Tim was sweating profusely; his thinning hair was wet with perspiration. Tim fanned himself. “I miss Swig,” he admitted.

  A group of frustrated cogs shoved Tim and Osck as they tried to move by.

  “Watch yourself,” Osck said as one cog walked right through Janet.

  “I’m not about to take orders from an echo,” the cog said. “And I’m certainly not going to step around a whisp.”

  The cogs walked off laughing.

  “It’s so hot,” Tim complained. “How long can they keep us here?”

  “We can’t last here much longer,” Azure said weakly from beneath the hood of his robe.

  Two nits who were fighting with each other ran into a large, overheated rant. The rant picked up one of the nits, cursed loudly, and then threw the nit into a line of beings waiting for the Porta Potty. Two soldiers grabbed the rant while others tried to help those who had been knocked down.

  “This is bad,” Tim said.

  “What do you mean?” Janet asked.

  “It’s so hot and crowded. And Swig said that black skeletons and rants weren’t designed to be cooped up with each other.”

  An official-looking military person was talking through a bullhorn, ordering everyone to stay calm.

  Osck leaned over and put his hands on his knees.

  “Are you okay?” Tim asked.

  “I feel weak,” Osck sai
d. “Like after a long night with no reflection. What are the large creatures up above us?”

  Tim looked up. “Helicopters.”

  “There’s so much metal,” Osck said. “Is there killing?”

  Tim nodded.

  “That beast there,” Osck pointed to a tank outside the fence. “It looks immovable.”

  “It’s a tank,” Tim said, wiping his forehead. “And they can actually move quite quickly.”

  “I thought we’d be free,” Osck said with a touch of panic in his normally stable voice. “Azure, you said we’d be free.” Osck reached out and touched Azure on the shoulder.

  Azure shook as long black strings whipped up from the soil and wrapped around him. It happened so quickly Tim could barely register it. Azure screamed and cried, his expression that of someone who knew better and was now getting his comeuppance. The black strands yanked Azure downward into the soil. Tim tried to grab Azure’s arm, but it was no use.

  “I was so wrong,” Azure said as he was pulled completely under the soil.

  Tim and Osck and Janet just stood there looking at the ground. A few others who had seen it happen looked on as well.

  “Where’d he go?” Osck asked.

  “The Dearth,” Tim answered.

  Janet shivered.

  “We gotta get out of here,” Osck said. “I feel like I’m fading. And look at the other echoes. Something is very wrong.”

  Tim looked around. All over, echoes were pulsating, their bright color fading in and out. Osck grabbed the fence near him and began to shake it. It rattled and swayed, but it wasn’t until a couple of dozen other beings joined him that things really began to move. The tall fence teetered and rocked—and then in one smooth motion it tipped over, crashing down on top of tanks and soldiers.

  The crowd cheered and swarmed the fence, scrambling up and over the tanks and soldiers trapped underneath.

  Tim ran with the crowd, afraid to stand still and be trampled. “Stick with me, Osck!” he called over his shoulder.

  Osck ran right behind Tim as they scurried up over the downed fence and into another parking lot filled with soldiers who now had their weapons out and were pointing them in their direction.