Final Quest by B. C. Harris Page B

smiles awkwardly like a kid who stole some cookies from a cookie jar. “I sent a nano-drone to jam its flight systems. It caused them to lose control of their plane.”
    “And crash into the ocean,” I say. “Let’s get out of here. I have a feeling that soon we’re going to be seeing other Zelareans.”
    Michael looks satisfied. It’s almost as though he was playing a video game.
    As I turn back towards the jungle, Jasmin and Capurni are reaching the edge of it. Jamie is walking back towards Michael and me. Drew is nowhere in sight.
    “Let’s go,” I say. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
    I begin to run, hoping there are no more sand creatures.
    Soon Michael, Jamie and I are running stride for stride.
    “Emily, what happened? Why did that flying object crash?” Jasmin says as we draw closer to her.
    I’m too short of breath to reply to her.
    At the edge of the jungle, there are flowers that are bigger than my head. They remind me of the huge flowers that Capurni, Jamie and I experienced on our previous visit. I wonder if they’re about to fly away.
    “Michael blew it up,” I say, finally answering Jasmin’s question.
    Her wide eyes express her surprise.
    Walking past Jasmin I look closer at the large flowers, each one about the size of a Frisbee.
    Each flower has what appears to be a face in between its bright yellow petals. Each face has a large eye in its center that is made up of many smaller eyes. The smaller eyes look in multiple directions, each appearing to be independent of the other.
    As I take another step, dozens of small eyes shift in unison and look directly at me. There’s something unnerving about having a flower look at me. I’m not sure what I should do next. Is the flower friendly or is this another danger we have to worry about?
    “What’s next?” Michael asks Capurni as I continue to stare at the flowers.
    “Let’s get a little further into the jungle and then use the emerald to see if we can locate any caves,” Capurni answers as he takes a few tentative steps deeper into the tangled growth.
    After my encounter with a frightening creature on the beach and from my previous visit here, I’m not eager to go any further into the jungle. My mind is already imagining a multitude of bizarre animals that are waiting in the thick vegetation for us.
    “We must find the caves with the drawings,” Capurni says to all of us, attempting to motivate us. “Finding the caves is our mission.”
    No one responds to Capurni. I think we’re all looking for an excuse not to enter the jungle.
    “Where’s Drew?” Jasmin asks.
    I look for Drew. I can’t see him.
    “Drew!” Jasmin shouts.
    There’s no response.
    The others are twisting their heads as they look for Drew, although it’s obvious that no one is eager to step further into the jungle to search for him.
    “Drew!” Michael shouts.
    Several shrieks tumble from the jungle. They sound like frightened birds.

- 21 -
    MISSING
     
    Not only is Drew missing, but we quickly discover that he’s far away from us. Using his spy-band, Jamie was able to determine Drew’s current location from the GPS tracking device that is built into Drew’s spy-band.
    “How could he already be so far away from us?” Jasmin asks.
    “He’s continuing to move away from us at a rapid pace,” Jamie says as he continues to monitor information on his spy-band.
    “He’s must have been captured,” Michael says. “It would be impossible for him to be moving through the jungle so quickly on his own. Someone, or something, has taken him; someone familiar with a path through the jungle.”
    “Or someone who is flying,” Jamie says.
    “What are we going to do?” Jasmin moans in a theatrical display of emotion. “We’ve got to save him.”
    Although I’m sure we all agree with Jasmin’s desire to save Drew, how do we even begin?
    “Drew’s gone,” Jamie says, his voice full of concern.
    “Gone?” Jasmin says, her voice rising. “What do you