The river continued to rise behind them. Dr. Leaf and Jet led the uphill procession, sharing the weight of Koze and Midas as they struggled up the rocky path. Black mud caked their clothes, and their feet slipped and slid on the muddy uphill slope. Jet struggled to hold the stretcher steady by using both hands behind his back and his body slanted forward.
Halo pulled her side of the stretcher tighter, holding it as high as her arms allowed. She couldn’t fail now. Midas’ and Koze’s fate depended on them. She didn’t know what happened to broken androids and didn’t want to think about it. The air inside the cave smelled old, abandoned, and unhealthy like the muddy beach behind them. She tried to block the vision of Midas’ swollen face and his whimpers from her mind. Her heart broke a little with every step they took.
Jet led the little group through a sharp turn in the path and guided the stretcher inch by inch through a narrow opening in the wall. They folded the sides of the airboat around Midas and Koze as they toted their precious cargo through the last turn leading directly into Jet’s cave.
A ray of sunlight danced across the floor, fresh air sifted through the hole above them, and Jet lowered the stretcher with a sigh of relief.
“We’re back in Jet’s cave! We made it!” The sight of the canvas stacks, paints, shells, and rope ladder signaled the end of their journey. The floor moved. She was dizzy, weak, and it was hard to breathe. Then the lights dimmed.
Dr. Leaf rushed to her side, helped her lie down. He instructed Jet to get water and a towel.
“I’m better now. It’s a dizzy spell. I can help.” She started to stand, but Dr. Leaf pushed her back to a sitting position on the solid dirt floor of the cave.
“I’ll get help. Both of you stay here.” Jet pointed to a pail of water by his desk, then climbed up the ladder.
“Not without me.” Dr. Leaf hurried to catch Jet. “Halo, can you stay here with the patients?”
“Absolutely. It was only a dizzy spell. I’m good now that we’re out of that place,” she told them and shivered.
“We’ll be back as soon as we get someone to help us bring them up,” Dr. Leaf told her and disappeared over the top of the cave.
Midas lay completely still, making no sounds at all; his face was swollen nearly twice its normal size. She poured a few drops of water into her palm and lifted his head slightly to wet his lips. She discovered something rough under his body, pulled it out, and recognized a branch from the spotted berry bush. The one so important to TLC. A miracle cure, that’s what he’d called it. How did they work? She’d never seen him use the berries. Maybe they had to be injected, like a shot, or swallowed like a pill, or maybe rubbed on like an ointment. It couldn’t hurt to try one. After all, they had a whole bush with roots, too.
She squeezed the berry between her fingers, releasing red pulp and a heart-shaped seed. Maybe she needed to grind up the seed. Well, she had to try something, and rubbing it into the puncture marks seemed the best option. She squeezed the pulp into the cut and pushed it as far into the skin as she dared. She picked another berry, rolled it between her fingers, smelled, squeezed, put it in her mouth for one quick taste. Her lips puckered, and her stomach heaved from the sour, bitter juice of the berry. She swallowed and decided to wait and see. Maybe Jet would get help and be back before suns down. She could see the light fading already through the opening above her.
~ ~ ~
Zadie knew she couldn’t hide backstage forever. The curtains closed for intermission, and she knew the girls would find her. She followed the arrows leading from the backstage rooms to the arena seats.
“Ten-minute intermission. Please return promptly to your seats on the first bell. Thank you,” came over the speakers.
Zadie eased into a seat beside Opal, Star, and Amber. They welcomed her with a smile.
“What happened to Annie?” Opal asked.
“Do you think the angels caused it to happen?” Amber finished the thought.
“I don’t know. Something terrible is happening to her. Did you see the wild and scary way she was shaking her finger at me? Like a threat.” Zadie shook her head, closed her eyes, wanting to forget the whole episode.
“She’ll tell everything. I know it. I don’t know what to do,” Zadie told them with a tear slipping down her cheek.
Opal led the way with Star and Amber guiding Zadie away from the crowd of students lining up to stretch their legs or find a water fountain.
“Let’s talk somewhere else,” Amber told Zadie as she led the way toward one of the refreshment stands outside the arena. Students lined up to wait at juice and snack dispensers, snagged empty tables, and waited for friends to join them. Star spotted a table and ran to claim it.
“Want something to drink or eat?” Opal offered. They sat totally uninterested in food.
“We could tell Angel Vesta ourselves,” Zadie volunteered.
“Oh,” Star sighed.
“No!” Amber and Opal answered together.
“She’ll find out anyway.” Zadie didn’t think it mattered anymore. She might never see Jet again anyway. They stared at each other, hoping for an answer to the dilemma.
“I mean, you didn’t really do anything. Jet brought you the shells. You don’t know where he got them,” Zadie rationalized.
Their blond curls bounced with nods.
“Annie wanted you to decorate her dress. You did it for her. That’s not against the rules.” Zadie searched their faces, their blond curls bouncing in unison and three sets of blue eyes blinking at her.
“You didn’t do anything to hurt her. I didn’t, either.” They nodded again.
“It’s my fault. I knew about Jet and his cave. He made my drum from the shells he found there.” Zadie’s voice quivered. “I knew he broke the rules going past the Star Points, even missing suns down a few times. I should have told him to stop.”
“Have you been to…?” Opal asked.
“The cave?” They finished the question together.
“No. I was afraid to go,” Zadie admitted.
“Why? What does he do there?” Star whispered.
“He can’t want the shells because he gives them away.” Opal lowered her head and voice. They leaned forward to whisper.
Flashing lights interrupted their conversation and reminded them to return to their seats.
“I’ll tell Angel Vesta myself,” Zadie whispered, pushing back her chair.
“No, we’ll go with you and tell her together,” Star volunteered.
“Okay, let’s go to her office the minute the program’s over,” Zadie agreed.
Three blond heads bobbed together. Four pairs of hands joined together, their eyes meeting to confirm the vow. They zigzagged through the crowd to find their seats.
~ ~ ~
Halo snuggled close to Midas, stroking his fur until she fell into a troubled sleep. She heard a voice somewhere far away then drifted back to sleep.
“Halo. Halo. Are you there?”
“Halo, answer me,” the voice persisted.
She rubbed her eyes, tried to stand, and then steadied herself by touching a big, furry animal. The reality of the cave and their predicament got her full attention.
“I said, answer me,” the shrill voice growled again.
“Dr. Leaf?” she yelled to the voice above her.
“Hold on. I’m on my way.” One shiny black, gold-buckled boot found the first rung, and he held onto both sides of the swaying ladder, his short legs stretching from one rung to the other. She opened her arms, catching him in an embrace. Jet followed, sliding down the rope so fast he nearly knocked both of them down.
Midas lay motionless on what remained of the ABC. Dr. Leaf dropped to his knees, put his head and hand against Midas’ furry chest. He didn’t waste time explaining the condition of Midas or Koze. “Let’s get going. Time is precious,” Dr. Leaf told them.
“I’ve signaled the emergency team. They should be here any minute,” Jet tapped.
“Great! You take Koze in my motor to the administration building. They will notify Angel Vesta, and she’ll know what to do. Can you drive him by yourself?”
Jet didn’t stop to answer. He lifted Koze over his shoulder and placed his hand on the rope ladder. They heard the sirens of the emergency vehicles above them.
“The emergency team will transport Midas to TLC with me. Jet, take her with you.”
Midas still hadn’t moved. Dr. Leaf shouted directions to the robot team as they lifted Midas out of the pit and carried him to a waiting airlift.
She was confused as to which person or animal to help, but Dr. Lead solved the dilemma by shouting, “Scram! You’ll be useless in surgery. Jet needs your help.”
“Wait for me,” she yelled, waving her arms and running to catch Jet in the motor. They raced to the Star Compound, abandoning the vehicle in front of the administration entrance, and signaled a robot security guard to help them bring Koze inside.
~ ~ ~
The suns played in and out of pink-tinged clouds as they sank toward the horizons. There were only two student presentations to go before the Birth Day gift presentation ended. Suddenly, a rumble of voices starting from the back of the room interrupted the program.
She still had on the dirty purple tank suit, her legs were dirty and her fuzzy red hair a mess. A tall boy, his jeans torn and his black hair matted and muddy around his face followed behind her. They’d hoped to slip into the two empty seats beside Zadie and the triplets without causing a commotion, but they should have known better. Angel Vesta floated to the microphone before they reached the seats. Angel Vesta was not smiling. A hush fell over the audience. Halo spotted the two robots walking rapidly toward them. Her knees felt like rubber when a robot took her by the arm and led her out of the arena to a waiting motor. She watched a very pale-faced Jet being escorted to an identical motor by another robot.
“We will continue with the Birth Day celebration.” Angel Vesta floated across the stage and disappeared behind the dark folds of velvet curtains. The program continued.