Eric waved away the exhaust fumes of the departing bus as Rohan and Mollie disappeared down the lane.
“They’re even madder at me than they are at you,” said Eric as he watched them go. “They’re ticked off because I knew and didn’t say anything.”
“That’s silly,” said Daniel. “They’re just scared. Scared that I’m losing my mind.”
“You’re as sane as they come, Daniel.”
“I don’t know anymore.”
“Listen to me,” said Eric, stepping in front of Daniel. “Things have gotten all tangled up. These Shades, your powers, the ring disappearing. Someone is messing with us bigtime. Everyone’s scared, and we’ve been knocked back on our butts, but we’ll get up again and figure this all out! There’s a villain out there behind all of this, but he’s not you. Got that?”
Daniel nodded, but in his heart he wasn’t sure if he believed it. He had once been too quick to suspect Eric of being a villain, too easily fooled by Herman’s manipulations. But Eric was just as guilty of being too trusting of his friends. Eric’s world was still based on comic-book versions of good and evil, white and black. He left no room for gray.
Daniel watched as Eric dug his hands into his pockets and hugged his arms close against the cold. These November days had turned downright frosty, but Daniel knew from personal experience that Eric didn’t feel the cold, not the way normal people felt it. He was just shivering out of habit, because that’s what everyone else did.
“I’ve been thinking about your powers,” Eric said. “How sometimes they seem to be touch activated but not always. For argument’s sake, let’s say this started back at the bridge. On the day of Theo’s accident.”
“Okay.”
“On that day, when Theo’s car lost control, did we touch?”
“I don’t remember. I might have grabbed you, to get your attention.”
“Good,” said Eric. “I thought so.” Eric was rubbing his hands together as he spoke. He was animated, the way Daniel normally was when confronted with a mystery. But Daniel had lost his zest for puzzle solving.
“Now when we fought Clay and Bud, I know we touched, because I tried to push you out of the way. So I could clobber Clay.”
“Yeah.”
“And on Halloween Rose hugged you, and I held you back from running to help Rohan. Double touch, double powers!”
Daniel thought about it. Eric did have a point. He’d touched all the Supers he’d stolen powers from; even Bud had backed into him before Daniel had turned into a moving stink cloud. Even …
“So that leaves Louisa. Did you guys, you know, touch before she was attacked?”
“Yes,” said Daniel quickly, remembering the kiss. In some ways that had been scarier than all the rest.
“And each time, there was some kind of danger. Something exciting or threatening was going on.”
Daniel thought for a moment. “Maybe.”
“It’s instinct! Fight-or-flight response!” said Eric, clapping his hands. “Look, did I ever tell you how I discovered my powers?”
“No,” said Daniel. “I don’t think so.”
“When I was eight, my mom hooked up with this salesman named Ted. He seemed nice at first, but he had a temper. Bob’s bad, but he’s just a drunk. Ted, it turned out, was a hitter.”
“Wow, Eric. I’m sorry.”
Eric held up his hand. “That’s not why I’m telling you this. I’m telling you because I discovered my powers the day I threw Ted through a window.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. He was trying to record a big basketball game on our TV and I messed it up by playing with the remote. Mom had run out to get pizzas, and Ted, well, he came at me with a belt. A big metal buckle too. So he swung at me with the belt and I just shoved him away. Didn’t realize what I’d done until the dust had settled and Ted was outside in the driveway with a broken arm and bunch of cracked ribs. I could’ve killed him without even meaning to.”
“But, Eric, he came at you! And you were just acting out of—”
“Instinct?” interrupted Eric.
“I was going to say self-defense.”
“Same thing,” said Eric. “And you’re right—I don’t blame myself for what happened to Ted. But I am careful about how I use my power now. I have to keep a lid on my temper. Ted had it coming, but when a simple shove can put someone in the hospital, you have to watch yourself.
“You’ve been acting out of instinct, Daniel. You can’t tell someone not to flinch when you clap your hands in front of their face.”
Daniel threw up his arms. “So you see? It’s not something that I can turn on and off!”
“Not yet,” said Eric. “But with practice, maybe you can. Maybe you can learn to control it. To be more careful.”
Daniel wished that was the case. But how could he even begin when he had no idea when it was happening? It wasn’t like he had any warning.
“It just happens,” Daniel said, shaking his head. “Whenever there’s danger, I just do it without thinking.”
“So it’s a response to something physical. Great. That’s something to start with.”
“What do you mean?”
“Think about what happens when a person’s in danger,” said Eric. “Our bodies release adrenaline, the heart speeds up. Maybe it’s one of those things that activates your power.”
“So what? The next time there’s danger I should take a nap?”
“Not too far off, maybe,” said Eric. “I think you have to practice not being scared.”
Daniel laughed. Now Eric really was trying to be funny.
“I can’t help it when I get scared! I can’t change it!”
“If I clapped my hand in front of your face enough times, you’d stop flinching. You’d train yourself not to,” said Eric. “Maybe you have to teach yourself not to be afraid. In the meantime, think about your power like this: it works on touch plus fear. If you’re afraid, make sure you don’t touch anyone.”
Daniel kicked a pebble and watched it roll down the road.
“It’s controllable,” Eric said.
The two of them stepped onto the shoulder as a small caravan of work trucks came barreling by. Dump trucks, flatbeds carrying bulldozers and cranes. As Daniel watched, the pebble he’d kicked was thrown up and battered around by the passing tires. He felt like that pebble now, being tossed about by forces well beyond his control.
“The truth is we don’t have time for this,” said Eric. “I know you’re worried and Mollie and Rohan are scared and angry, but we’ve got problems to deal with. Real problems.”
“Four Shades,” said Daniel. “And the missing ring.”
Eric nodded. “Yeah. Well, three Shades now. Mollie said you let one of them have it.”
“I don’t know if it really matters. I watched one split itself into two; there could be more. Maybe it really is Herman behind all this. Maybe he’s still alive.”
“Eh, I’d still put my money on Plunkett Junior. He’s just clever enough to be involved but not show his hand. I’m telling you.”
Eric was right about one thing—whoever the villain was, he was devious. Herman had been crazy enough to believe that his relationship with Daniel was that of teacher and pupil, but the only lesson Daniel had learned from the old man was that Herman Plunkett was the most twisted human being he’d ever known. No sort of trickery was beyond him. Even an army of shadow creatures to do his bidding.
“The one thing I know,” said Eric, “is we’ll never find out for sure if all we do is sit around and mope.”
Daniel allowed himself a small smile. “The League of Pouty-Pants?”
“The Society of Whiny-Whiners! Doesn’t that strike fear into the hearts of evildoers everywhere?”
Something rumbled in the distance, and Daniel looked to see a second convoy of trucks heading their way. That was odd. Noble’s Green was not exactly a boomtown; there were no new suburbs being built that he knew of. But here came more and more trucks lo
aded with machinery, hauling it up the mountain. This time as they passed, Daniel made a point of getting a better look at them, more specifically at the logo branded on the sides.
PCI: Plunkett Construction Industries.
“Eric,” Daniel said, pointing to the passing vehicles.
“I see it. They’re headed up the mountain. To the Old Quarry road.…”
“Go get Mollie and Rohan,” said Daniel. “Tell them … I don’t know, tell them they can come after me with torches and pitchforks later, but we need them now. I’ll meet you all in the woods next to the quarry. Near the road.”
“Now you’re talking. What are you going to do in the meantime?”
“I’m going to get a head start on you all. It’s too risky for you to try to fly me, so I need to run home and grab my bike. I’ll get there the old-fashioned way.”
Eric smiled and saluted before soaring off into the sky. “See you there!”
Daniel waved back. Things were moving fast, and Eric was right that they’d lost valuable time being angry and distrustful of each other. Something big was happening, and Daniel had one memory in his head that he couldn’t shake. The memory wasn’t Herman or even the Shades. It was of Theo Plunkett standing there at the edge of the quarry, watching him. The look on that boy’s face.
The new kid.
Chapter Eighteen
Back to the Old Quarry
Trucks continued to speed by Daniel as he pedaled his way up Route 20, yard by agonizingly slow yard. He wished he could simply hop on the back of a bulldozer and hitch a ride, but he didn’t think it would be a good idea to show up with the very people he was planning to spy on.
When he was about a quarter of a mile away, Daniel steered his bike off the road and cut through the trees on foot, unseen. As he approached the quarry, the rumble of machinery could be heard echoing through the forest, and the sweet smell of pine was tainted with the tang of motor oil and gasoline. This wasn’t Clay and Bud snooping around anymore. These people were gearing up for a full excavation. But did they even know what they were looking for?
He searched the woods for a few minutes before he spotted the others. The steady roar of engines meant that Daniel didn’t have to worry about making noise as he tromped through the fallen twigs, but the leafless trees of late autumn provided poor cover, and he worried about being seen. Luckily, his friends had found a thick patch of evergreens on the edge of the quarry that made the perfect place for spying. Once he was inside the safety of the trees, Eric waved at him, Rohan nodded a curt hello, and Mollie didn’t say anything. But she also didn’t fly away or throw a rock at his head, which Daniel took as a good sign.
The four of them peered through the branches of their hiding spot and looked out over the quarry, which had transformed seemingly overnight. The trucks Daniel had seen back on the road were there, as were the usual vehicles you’d expect to see at a working quarry—dump trucks and a couple of excavators. But there was more going on here than digging for limestone. A number of large, semi-permanent tents had been erected on the outskirts. When the canvas doors were pulled back, Daniel could glimpse tables of men working at laptop computers or unpacking boxes of sophisticated equipment. This was a very high-tech operation.
“This is bad, right?” Eric asked.
Rohan nodded. “I think this is very bad.”
“Can you hear what those nerds in the tent are talking about?”
“Watch it—you’re talking about my people,” said Rohan. “But let me try.” He closed his eyes and concentrated. “There’s … there’s too much background noise. I can’t make out much. But they sound excited about something. The word awesome is being tossed about way too much, I can tell you that. And someone keeps talking about caves.”
“What are they doing here?” asked Mollie. “Why now?”
“I think I can answer that,” said Daniel. “I was up here a few weeks ago, and I found Clay and Bud digging around in the rocks.”
“More secrets?” said Mollie.
“Go on, Daniel,” said Rohan.
“It was after we learned about Louisa’s … condition. I was just kind of wandering around and I found myself up here. Clay and Bud were searching for meteor rocks.”
“And you were alone?” asked Rohan.
“I wasn’t scared of them,” said Daniel. “I thought my … powers would protect me.”
“And how’d that work out for you?” asked Mollie.
“Not so good. Clay tried to pound me and I ended up with Bud’s stink powers.”
There were a few moments of silence as Daniel’s friends seemed to be digesting this. Nothing but the sounds of trucks rumbling in the distance as they looked at him. Judged him.
Mollie was the first to go. She snorted once. Then again. Then exploded into a full belly laugh. Within moments Daniel’s friends were holding their sides as they practically cried with laughter.
“Oh, man! What I would’ve given to see that!” said Mollie.
“Not me,” said Rohan, wiping tears from his eyes. “I don’t need the real thing.”
“Okay, okay,” said Daniel. “It’s not that funny.”
Daniel acted embarrassed, but in truth he was relieved. Listening to his friends laugh again, even if it was at him, was a wonderful feeling. It was like he’d been holding his breath for days and just now let it out.
“So your super-stink won out over Clay’s strength?” asked Eric.
“Well, it bought me enough time to get away, I guess,” said Daniel. “But as hilarious as this all is, my stink power is not the point of the story. I saw Theo Plunkett up here, and he saw me. He saw everything.”
“Well, that settles it then,” said Eric. “We know who’s behind this. Theo asked his super-rich daddy to dig up the quarry!”
“But why?” asked Mollie. “It still doesn’t explain why! What’s there worth digging for?”
“He’s after the same thing Clay and Bud were—the meteorite,” said Eric. “He stole the black ring—he must’ve snuck in while you were at school—and now he’s helping his old uncle out and looking for the rest of the meteorite so they can continue the family business of being total jerks.”
“I agree that it doesn’t look good,” said Daniel. “But we still don’t know for sure.”
“Why don’t we just ask him?” said Rohan.
“It’s not that easy,” said Daniel. “I tried calling, I tried going by his house, but he’s avoiding me.”
“No, I don’t mean you should call or stop by,” said Rohan. “I mean ask him. Now.”
Rohan pointed through the trees, and they all watched as one of the tents opened and out walked Theo Plunkett. He was with his father and another man they’d never seen before.
“There’s your proof,” said Eric.
“Maybe,” said Daniel. “Rohan’s right, though. Only one way to know for sure.”
He stepped out of the trees and into the open.
“What are you doing?” whispered Eric.
“I’m listening to my friends for once,” Daniel whispered back. “I’m going to ask Theo what’s going on. You guys stay here and watch my back.”
“We’re on it,” said Rohan, nodding.
“You’re nuts,” said Mollie, but she nodded as well.
It felt good to know they were there with him. He’d been trying to do this all by himself, and look where it had gotten them. He’d forgotten what it felt like to be part of a team.
Because of all the trucks coming and going, Theo didn’t even hear Daniel approach. It was Theo’s father who spotted him first. Mr. Plunkett tapped his son on the shoulder and pointed. When Theo saw Daniel, there was a moment of obvious shock, even alarm, on his face. But he quickly recovered and stowed his surprise away behind his usual cool smile.
“I saw the trucks,” Daniel said.
Theo nodded. “I’m glad. It’s good to see you.”
“Daniel,” said Mr. Plunkett, “this is Dr. Lewis. He’s from the university
archaeological department.”
The other man, one of Eric’s nerds, shook Daniel’s hand.
“Technically, this is a closed site,” said Dr. Lewis, peering down at Daniel over the rim of his glasses. “But if you’re a friend of the Plunketts’, then I guess we can make an exception.”
“You’re an archaeologist?” asked Daniel. “I thought this was just an old limestone quarry.”
“Well, it was,” said Dr. Lewis. “But before that it was a site of significant importance. The university has been trying to get access to it for a very long time. There’ve been some very interesting finds in the surrounding areas—some of which date back hundreds, if not thousands, of years. But all this land is private property and, well …”
“Granduncle Herman didn’t care much for archaeology,” said Theo. “But now that we own this land, things have changed.”
“Theo’s being modest,” said his dad. “He found out that the university had an interest here, and so he pestered me to let them dig. I had my people verify that there really wasn’t any money to be made in limestone and then gave my okay. Looks like Theo’s the Plunkett family philanthropist!”
“It’s a very generous donation,” said Dr. Lewis. “We’re already very excited about the site.”
“Dr. Lewis said that the original people here on Mount Noble were cave dwellers,” said Theo. “But no one’s been able to find their actual caves.”
“This would actually predate even the Native American tribes that lived here,” said Dr. Lewis. “We are talking about true prehistoric people. The first humans who migrated here from Asia, across what is now the Bering Strait—the very first human beings to settle this area. We’ve gathered enough evidence over the years to get an idea of what happened to them. I believe some catastrophic event—an earthquake or perhaps even a meteor strike—covered their caves. But there still might be some remaining tunnels under there somewhere. And if we find the tunnels … well, who knows what they might have left behind?”