The Acolytes of Crane (Theodore Crane, #1)(55)

I was going to County Hearth, where that awesome skateboard-friendly parking lot lay, but I had a couple of stops to make along the way.

First stop was Liam’s house. I didn’t want to show myself at Liam’s that early in the morning, because his dad was old-fashioned about keeping trespassers off his property. There were rumors that he slept with a twelve-gauge shotgun. Therefore, I ran up to the door, and stuck a note in. It read:

Liam,

I believe that there is a better path for you, a path with no limits. You have made your mark in this town as a protecter and a fighter. Please, join my team and me. We only want to do good for Earth. Please, come to the Hearth right now for your true destiny. I beg of you.

Theodore

I realized after writing it, I had misspelled some words. I was in a hurry, but I figured he would get the point. To ensure that Liam read it before his father did, I would call upon Migalt. But, for now, I was in a hurry, and I had left my mark, with very clear instructions. It was time to rush.


I knew that I didn’t have time, and there was more begging to do.

Next stop was Mariah Espinosa’s house. It was going to be a tough transition for her, but I had a powerful sense of confidence. Just before I arrived at her house, I telepathically sent a message to Migalt:

Migalt, this is Theodore. I need you to bring Dan and Lincoln to County Hearth. Be there in twenty minutes.

Migalt quickly returned over my nanocom, ‘Do I dare to assume you and your team are ready and should I notify Zane to prepare for extraction?’

‘Yes, this is the only way. I will be ready, just have them there. Also, have Nezatron track me and take whatever action he deems necessary to ensure my safety. I am standing in the bushes outside of a prospective team member’s house’

Nezatron said, ‘I am on it, Theodore.’

I threw pebbles at Mariah’s window. After about five bangs on the window, the white drapes fluttered back and forth, and there she stood, beautiful. She pushed open the window. Her face and silky white nightgown shimmered in the moonlight. I signaled for her to come outside.

I had to read her lips. She asked, ‘Are you out of your mind?’ She angrily shut the window and flipped the light switch to ‘on.’ I stood behind the cypress bushes next to her porch and waited. She was eating up the clock.

I began to worry whether Mariah was ever going to come along or not. Nonetheless, I had to wait as long as I could. The door creaked outward, and I didn’t wait to see if it was Mariah before I jumped between the bush and the porch. I inched my head up over the top stair to look at her and almost startled her.

‘What are you doing at my house, Theodore? My dad would kill us both if he knew there was a boy standing outside.’

‘I am sorry. I just need you to come with me to County Hearth. I will explain everything when we get there.’ I sped my words by her, and yanked at her arm to run. To my surprise, she followed me, with no resistance—she had her reasons. We bolted down the street. The Hearth was about four hundred yards away, and she stopped.

‘You have to tell me now. I am not running any further.’

‘Listen, I need you to come with me. When Jack bullied you outside of the rink the other day, we didn’t think twice to help you, and I need you to do the same for me now. Please! Let’s go!’ I pleaded.

She complied, and we ran. Once we arrived, there was no one else around. I kept glancing around, to her consternation. Where were the other boys? My heart sank as I wondered if my mission would ever lift off, and I would be stuck with an irate girl who had been my fantasy for so long. I might as well have written off my hopes for her forever.

‘Okay, what is this about? I must know, Theodore, or I will have to go home. Is this about you and me?’ she asked.

‘Mariah, what I am about to tell you will be difficult for you to believe, but you must trust me.’ I looked at my watch, ‘In about five minutes you will see things that will amaze you, maybe even frighten you, you will think your eyes are playing tricks on you, but you must believe me when I tell you, this is a dream. We are in a dream right now. I want you to come with me to a faraway place,’ I spoke irrationally and quickly.

‘If this is a dream, then why do my legs hurt from running so far?’

‘Okay, it isn’t a dream. What am I saying? I am sorry, but it will seem like one. This is difficult for me too. This guy Zane has asked me, of all people, to save the multiverse and I am begging you to stand by me in this fight. That is as simple as I can make it. I know it seems crazy, but this is what I live for now, it is our duty to go into space to fight this war. You must come with me. I have nothing now. They killed my grandparents!’

‘What! Your grandparents! This is crazy. Where are we going to go, Theodore, are we going to fly away in a spaceship and zip off into space? This is weird. Your grandparents are dead. How am I supposed to believe that? I am going to stay here just to show you that this is ridiculous. I will even agree to go with you. There, I said it. I will go with you,’ she said. She stood with arms crossed, waiting for something to happen.

‘Are you done bickering?’ a male’s voice rang out behind us. It was, to my ultimate astonishment, Liam, ‘Well are you? Let’s get this party started. If this is all true, and we really have this new purpose, I am going to kiss you, Theodore. If it isn’t, remember what I do to grapes, well, you will pay for waking me up this early for a joke.’