Jacob woke early the next morning. Akeno murmured something in his sleep on the other side of the hut and Jacob got up, trying not to wake him. He wanted to move around a bit to stretch out his sore muscles. He’d slept well, but it would take a while for the aches to leave from the previous day.
He climbed his way through the hole Akeno had left for him in the mess of brambles and leaves. The mountains were to his back, dark and tall. He glanced up at them. They were beautiful in their ruggedness. No trees, no bushes—nothing but huge granite outcroppings. Though he was able to admire them, he was grateful the path didn’t go any higher. Instead, it led across a plateau shaped by the foothills they’d climbed yesterday.
Walking away from the campsite and back to the path, Jacob looked down at the switchbacks, maintaining a safe distance from the edge. The view was dizzying, and he had to steady himself by taking a couple deep breaths.
The wolves were making their way up the switchbacks. He rolled his eyes. What ridiculous creatures.
There was a sound behind him, and Jacob turned. Akeno was just getting out of the shelter.
“What are you looking at?” Akeno asked, picking a bunch of leaves from the branches on the hut.
“Just looking. The wolves are coming up the mountain.”
Akeno finished picking the leaves, then joined Jacob at the ledge. He glanced over. “Are they just now catching up to us?”
Jacob nodded. “How long did it take us to get up those switchbacks? A couple of hours?”
“Or a little more.”
Jacob frowned. “Let’s get out of here before they gain too much on us.”
Akeno turned. “I’ll put the branches back.”
“Why does it matter if they’re put back?”
“Because they die quickly when under so much pressure. While I’m around them, I can use my Rezend to prevent them from being damaged, but once we leave, they won’t have that protection.”
He went to the hut and Jacob followed, grabbing his backpack before Akeno dismantled his creation. The Minyas flew out, brushing themselves off and looking irritated.
“Good morning,” Jacob said, but they ignored him and flew away. He turned to Akeno. “Why don’t they talk to us very much? I’ve barely had a handful of conversations with them.”
“They’re like most Minyas,” Akeno said, pulling his tape dispenser from his bag. “They prefer games to conversing, and they’re very light-minded. They don’t find anyone but other Minyas to be interesting.” He sat and taped the leaves to his shoes. “If they didn’t have such good memories for relaying messages, no one would keep them around.”
Jacob took a drink of water from his canteen, then put it back in his knapsack. “I’ve noticed they never get tired of going back and forth.”
Akeno picked up his bag and they headed to the trail. “And they won’t. They never mess up the messages and never get lost. They’re better than cell phones.”
Jacob smiled. “Ha. Good one.”
He looked over his shoulder toward the switchbacks. No sign of the wolves. He took a breath, telling himself to relax. The wolves didn’t want to attack—at least, he hoped not.
The trail curved a couple of times around huge rocks, but it was level. There weren’t many trees here, and the mountain rose on the right with the drop-off on the left.
Strange-looking wildflowers grew in patches on both sides of the trail, and Jacob picked one to examine while walking. It was a type he’d never seen before, with bright blue petals and soft thistles on the stems and leaves. He noticed something odd and stared at it. “That’s weird. Are the petals moving?”
“Yes, they are,” Akeno said. “That’s how they attract bees. They’re my mom’s favorite flower. The petals are edible, with a spicy-sweet flavor. It does take a bit to get over the feel of them wiggling in your mouth, though.”
Jacob grimaced. “That’s really gross.”
“It’s disconcerting, yes,” Akeno said, adjusting the strap on his knapsack. “Of course, if you’re out on the road and don’t have anything else to eat, you’ll take what you can get, right?”
“I guess so,” Jacob said. “But I really doubt I’ll ever be starving enough to eat something that wiggles in my mouth.”
Akeno laughed. “You already have. The potatoes last night were seasoned with them.”
“They were? Sick!” Jacob threw the flower away from him in disgust.
He paused, staring at the trail ahead of them. The flowers and trees abruptly ended, and the ground was shiny and bubbly looking. It was a brown-gray color, with no inclines of any sort. As he got closer, it looked as though someone had poured a layer of smooth cake mix over everything. He took a step onto it—the path was barely visible—and his foot crunched through an inch or so of dried mud. It felt like stepping on dead leaves. He bent to scrutinize it.
“What’s all over the ground?” Akeno said, peering past Jacob.
“I think it’s mud. Have you seen anything like this before?”
Akeno shook his head. “No, never.”
Walking carefully, Jacob soon got accustomed to the crunching sounds under his feet. The farther they walked, the bigger the bubbles got, and the path was becoming impossible to distinguish. Then he stepped through a bubble that was at least a foot tall, causing him to stumble forward. Akeno reached out and steadied him, and together they surveyed the area. The path disappeared over the next several feet, and the bubbles were getting much, much broader.
Jacob ran his hand through his hair. “This could be a problem.”
“Maybe we should try to go around it.”
“Good idea.”
They retraced their steps and separated, leaving the path. Jacob went right, trying to skirt the mud on the side closest to the mountain and Akeno walked in the opposite direction, toward the edge of the cliff.
“The mud goes all the way up,” Jacob called to Akeno. The mountainside was a sheer granite wall, and Jacob had only been rock climbing a few times. He wasn’t about to practice here.
“It spills over the cliff on this side,” Akeno said from where he stood. “We won’t be able to go that way.” They walked toward each other. Akeno shielded his eyes from the glare of the morning sun. “Do you know anything about crossing huge sections of land covered in big, dried mud bubbles?”
Jacob chuckled. “Of course not. I’m new to this place. You’re supposed to be the resident genius.”
“Right.” Akeno wiped some dust off his pant leg. “I’ve lived in Taga Village my whole life, and we rarely go anywhere else.”
“Where could you have gone, anyway? I thought your village was blocked off until the Lorkon broke through the barrier.”
“It was blocked off,” Akeno said, smiling. “But . . . we go into your world to spy on your people from time to time.”
“You guys spy on us?” Jacob said, and then laughed. “Why didn’t you, you know, make contact with us?”
“You make it sound like we’re an alien race.”
“Isn’t that the definition of ‘alien’? Something strange and foreign and completely different from you and what you’ve ever seen or met?”
Akeno smiled. “Touché.”
Jacob looked ahead. “Let’s get started. We’ll just have to cross it.”
They continued forward, crunching through the smaller bubbles and kicking or pushing through the sides of the bigger ones. The going wasn’t very difficult, and they made good progress for a while. Jacob looked back a couple of times, but didn’t see the wolves.
After a while, the sides of the bubbles became more and more difficult to break through, and they took turns leading. Jacob’s arms and legs soon tired from the exertion, and eventually he and Akeno reached a bubble neither could break. It was about four feet tall and five or six feet wide.
Jacob put his palms on the side, pushing as hard as he could. “You know, they might be able to support our weight now.” He tested a couple sections first, then hoisted
himself on top. He got to his feet and surveyed the land. There were still hundreds more bubbles to cross, but they were different. They were flat on top and almost square in shape.
Jacob shifted his weight to the other foot. Nothing happened.
“I think if we walk on the edges of the bubbles where they’re flush against each other, we’ll be able to cross, no problem. They’ll probably be strongest on the edges.”
“I’ll walk in front of you,” Akeno said. “I’m lighter.”
Jacob pulled Akeno up, then moved aside, waiting until Akeno had a lead of a few feet before he followed. They crossed several bubbles without difficulty and Jacob actually found that he was enjoying himself. But after they’d walked for twenty minutes with barely a change in scenery, he sighed in exasperation.
“This is going to take forever.” He stopped. “Where are the Minyas? I thought they’d be back by now.”
“Yes, they should have been.” Akeno shaded his eyes, looking for the creatures. “We’ll probably need to talk to them about not leaving us.”
The sun neared the middle of the sky, warming the breeze almost uncomfortably, and Jacob was glad his skin wasn’t the kind that burned easily. It looked like the day would be another hot one.
Suddenly Akeno stopped. Jacob stepped to join him, but Akeno held up a hand. “There’s a hole—don’t move. I’m going to test it out.” He inched closer to the hole, peered down, and then stiffened. “Uh . . . Jacob?” He looked back. “The bubble we’re standing on is at least thirty feet deep.”
Jacob straightened, his heart clenching. “It is?” Even though the sun beat down on them from overhead, Jacob’s hands turned to ice and a cold sweat sent shivers down his arms. He tried not to imagine the huge distance below the hardened mud under his feet.
Early zipped past Jacob’s face, startling him, and hovered above the hole, looking down.
“Early! Where have you been?” Akeno asked. “And where’s September?”
“Right there,” she said. “We slept in Jacob’s bag. It was his idea.” She pointed at September, who was just getting out of Jacob’s knapsack.
“You should have told us where you were going,” Jacob said. He carefully folded his arms, trying to appear stern while not thinking about the thin crust he was standing on. “What if something had happened?”
“We would have awakened and helped you,” Early said.
September flitted around. “We could hear you.”
“Yes, but we had no idea where you were,” Jacob said. “From now on, if you’re not going to be in sight, tell us where you’re going and when you’ll get back.”
“Okay, we will,” Early said.
Jacob looked at the hole, resolving to toughen up and keep going. “Let’s go around this bubble. I’d rather stay as far away from holes as possible.”
They made their way to the next bubble, and Jacob was relieved when he saw there weren’t any holes in it. He looked out over the shells in front of them, dismayed at the distance that remained. “It looks like we’re barely halfway.”
“Yes, and it will probably take an hour or more to cross.”
Jacob motioned for Akeno to keep moving. They didn’t go very quickly, as Akeno was now being much more selective about the shells on which they walked.
Jacob was making his way over a very large bubble when a cracking sound came from under him. He stopped and watched in dismay as a line shot across the surface, starting at his foot.
Akeno whirled. He was five feet ahead of Jacob, already on the next bubble. “Jacob, don’t move.”
“I’m not,” Jacob said, his voice wavering. He opened his mouth, but couldn’t inhale. Just the thought of falling made his head spin.
“What do we do?” Akeno said.
“I don’t know,” he forced out.
A few seconds passed. It felt like an eternity.
Finally the wind rushed into his lungs, clearing his mind, allowing him to think. “Back up a little. I’m going to see if I can jump.”
Akeno frowned. “Jump? Are you sure?”
“If you come over here, we’ll both fall through. And we don’t have anything for you to toss me—no branches, no rope.”
“What about kneeling down and crawling or something?”
Jacob shook his head. “No, that much of a shift in weight would be bad.”
“Okay. Just . . . be careful.” Akeno backed up.
Several seconds passed, and Jacob still didn’t do anything. He went through his options again. Running was out of the question. Turning around to backtrack would be a bad idea, too. Obviously he couldn’t just stand there forever. What if he tried inching forward a little at a time? He looked at the shell beneath him, doubtful it would hold his weight while he moved. He took a deep breath. How much strength did the bubble have left? Would it be enough for one jump?
Finally he crouched a little, careful not to shift his weight too much. After waiting to see if the surface was still holding, he took a leap, aiming for the bubble nearest him. He didn’t lose his balance when he landed. Squeezing his eyes shut, he sucked in a lungful of air, holding it for several seconds.
Nothing happened.
He released his breath and straightened, relief pouring over him in huge waves as he took a careful step toward Akeno.
A loud crack raked the air. The crust beneath his feet gave way and he gasped, his eyes widening, as he clutched at the air, trying to find something, anything, to hold on to. He tipped backward as he fell, and the shell broke as his body hit it. He was aware of Akeno’s scream, the bright sun in his eyes, and the scent of mud.
Cold, damp air rushed past him, making a roar in his ears as he gained speed in his descent. Then with a thud, he landed on solid ground, and the wind whooshed out of his lungs. Everything threatened to go black. He forced his eyes open, and a dull ache built in his chest.
“Jacob! Jacob!” someone screamed.
He tried to pull in the air he needed to breathe. It wouldn’t come, and panic washed over him. How far had he fallen? Everything was dark except for a small shaft of light that came in through the hole above him.
His chest felt on fire. Finally, with a gasp, he drew in a ragged breath. Sharp pain shot across his back and chest, nearly knocking the wind out of him again. He closed his eyes for a moment, struggling to stay conscious, trying to clear his mind. He became aware of every pain spreading across his body, manifesting in varying degrees. He’d landed on his right side, his arm and leg pinned beneath him.
An eerie blue glow appeared in the hole, and it took a few seconds for Jacob to recognize Akeno’s voice.
“Jacob! Are you all right?”
Struggling to remain conscious, he could only groan in response. He looked up, feeling tears smarting in his eyes.
“Jacob, stay awake! Please stay awake!”
Through the pain, he was aware of water under him, seeping up through his clothes. The coldness made him gasp—made him nauseated. A random thought crossed his mind that it was a good thing he hadn’t eaten breakfast.
“Don’t move, Jacob! And keep your eyes open! Open your eyes!”
He wasn’t even aware he’d shut them. He forced them open, the blue light again registering in his mind. He felt tingles all over his skin, and he could barely feel his hands.
He was aware of Akeno’s voice, but couldn’t tell what he was saying.
A new level of pain washed over him when he was suddenly lifted from the ground.
The sunlight rushed nearer, and once again Jacob was out in the open, the heat of the sun bearing down on him. He shut his eyes against the glare, willing the cool air and darkness to return. Akeno’s voice was loud and it surrounded him, hurting his ears, making him moan.
“Oh, Jacob, I really hope this works. You should feel better soon.”
The last thing Jacob recognized was a soft, warm surface. Something closed over him, putting him in darkness, and he relaxed, letting go.