An Unexpected Exploit: Myth Coast Adventure, #3

Chapter 1: Shinwano

Early morning sunlight filtered through the mist and evergreen boughs as birds awoke and twittered their welcome to the day. Franklin shivered and rubbed his hands together. Although summer had come to the area, the coast never saw true heat, and it never warmed before two or three o’clock in the afternoon. Readjusting the .270 in the crook of his arm, Franklin continued along his way. No path existed here other than what deer or other smaller critters had created. A clearing opened before him, and Franklin steadied himself against the large spruce tree.

Before him stretched a meadow with blackberry bushes snarling the far side. Franklin sighed; he didn’t want to traverse that tangle of thorns. Movement in the thicket caught his attention, and he held his breath. A smile crept across his tan, round face. He adjusted his hat and raised the rifle to his eye. The scope brought the bear into focus, while Franklin waited for a clear shot. From the size of the creature, Franklin decided it may have been a good thing he hadn’t filled his bear tag earlier in the season.

The scolding of a jay right above Franklin’s head startled him, but his aim stayed true. However, the bird’s racket disturbed the bear. A word that definitely wasn’t school appropriate slipped out as the creature turned his face toward Franklin’s hiding spot. The boy’s mouth dropped open as the creature stared at him.

This was no bear! It had the body of a bear, but as it stood on its hind legs, its face came into clear view. Where a snout should have been, a flat human-like nose and eyes sat. And those eyes! It was as if they could see him across the clearing and through the scope. Dark, almost intelligent eyes met his as if daring him to shoot or follow; he turned and ambled back through the berry-bushes, walking upright.

Franklin didn’t know what to do, but then without any warning, the creature shimmered and disappeared! Another unsavory word slipped from his mouth, but he wasn’t even aware of it. Leaving caution to the wind, he walked straight for the berries. Once he stood where he had seen the creature, he paused trying to decipher how it had maneuvered through the thorns. To his surprise, a path wound its way without any obstacles out of the clearing and back into the forest. About three feet from where he stood, light glimmered along the needle-strewn ground. Franklin searched for the source without success.

Reaching forward with his hand, he held it palm down and waved it in front of him. What the—! The tips of his fingers disappeared from sight leaving his hand without their endings. No pain came with the sensation, only a change in temperature. In no time at all, the tips reappeared as his arm movement swung back to the left. Franklin held his fingers to him and examined them. No damage had been done that he could see.

A sane person would have run, but Franklin had been called crazy before. His mom had repeatedly warned him that curiosity had killed the cat.  Besides, what other sophomore could claim to have seen what he’d seen this morning? With a huge breath of fresh air, he stepped closer and ran his whole hand through the shimmering light. It looked as if his hand had been cut off, much like Luke Skywalker after the lightsaber duel. However, no pain was associated with it. With a final glance at his hand, Franklin decided to go for it.

He stepped forward and put his head through. He blinked at the bright sun reflecting off a crystal, blue lake. Overhead, a hawk called, catching his attention. He tilted his head up and gasped. What he saw was impossible! Talons reached out, and he ducked and stumbled. The gryphon flew past, but when Franklin looked down, he discovered his whole body now stood along the shore. Sand stretched in either direction, and jagged peaks rose across the lake.

Franklin shivered, not from cold, but from shock. He gripped his rifle close to him, trying to find some comfort and sense of reality. A twig snapped behind him. With a start, he turned. A large black hand slapped him across the head, neck, and shoulder and he knew no more.

***

The scent of sweat and dirt filled Franklin’s nostrils, an all-too-familiar odor after his freshman year as manager of the boys’ basketball teams. An insistent pain throbbed across his left shoulder, neck, and head, too intense to be a dream.

Ladaku, whatever were you thinking? a voice said from somewhere behind him. Franklin couldn’t tell whether it was male or female; the pitch could have belonged to either. Or, like always, you weren’t thinking at all. You just decided to fight.

Sahasi, you didn’t see what he pointed at me. I saw his eyes, a definitively male voice replied.

"He’s just a baccaharu, Ladaku. If you saw his eyes, you should have known that." Sahasi’s voice moved closer to Franklin as it spoke.

A rustle of fabric or canvas covered any footsteps, but then Ladaku’s stubborn voice also sounded nearer. "Hence why he’s still alive. I’m not that cold-blooded, unlike they are. For that, you can thank Sirjanakarta."

Hair tickled Franklin’s nose, and he stifled a sneeze.

Oh, look, he’s awake.

Franklin felt a calloused hand on his forehead and started to turn toward its owner, but the pain in his neck stopped him short. Hush, don’t try to move. Let me check the compress. Sahasi adjusted some kind of damp fabric, and as she did, Franklin caught a glimpse of coarse black hair covering her hand.

He felt his pulse quicken. What had he gotten himself into? What kind of people were these?

Will he be okay? Ladaku’s tone carried not a hint of the concern in his words.

The weight of Sahasi’s hand lifted, and Franklin tried to move again. He needed to see where he was; besides, the position he lay in and the tickling of his nose from the fabric beneath him was getting too uncomfortable.

Ladaku, use your size and help me reposition him.

Whatever the relationship between the two, Franklin knew the tone of a mother when he heard one. Soon large, hairy hands wrapped around his arms and pulled him to a sitting position. Franklin learned nothing at first, as he was too busy trying to keep his breakfast down. But when the nausea and pounding in his head subsided, Franklin cracked his eyes open a slit.

A large, dark face with a flat nose and beady black eyes met his gaze. Long, stringy hair covered the creature as far as Franklin could see. His eyes came back to the face. Although it was alien, it still bore the recognizable expressions of tenderness and concern.

My name is Sahasi, she said. "I am a healer among my people, the sanraksaka. I don’t believe you have properly been introduced to Ladaku."

Franklin shifted his position and shuddered. Staring at him with hairy arms crossed in front of an ape-like chest was the same creature that had met his gaze across the clearing.

Ladaku grunted, and Sahasi elbowed him in the ribs. He inclined his head. I did not mean to hurt you so badly.

Despite the morning he’d had, Franklin couldn’t help but grin. He’d heard that surly reluctance before, whenever his mom would force his older brother to apologize to him. That’s okay. I suppose I wasn’t where I should have been.

Ladaku’s glare softened. No, you were not. How did you get here?

"I’m... not sure where here is. The last I remember I had poked my head through the shimmery light and saw a... He started to shake his head, thought better of it, and continued, I saw a gryphon. I stumbled, and then a big, hairy hand slapped me upside the head."

Sahasi crossed her arms in a gesture of vindication, bunching up the leather-like sleeveless dress she wore, and tilted her chin up toward Ladaku.

What? Ladaku unfolded his arms and held them up in question. I apologized. I didn’t expect him to be so weak.

"Hey, I’m not that weak, just compared to... what did you call yourselves?" Franklin didn’t want to say the names coming to his mind—names like Sasquatch, Bigfoot, and yeti.

"Sanraksaka. Sahasi said, enunciating the word carefully for him. It seems you found the dhoka that connects Shinwano with your world."

Wait. A... A doh... Franklin struggled with the unfamiliar word. Like a portal?

Sahasi nodded.

Then I’m... where did you say?

Shinwano, she repeated patiently.

I’ve never heard of it.

She laughed, a hearty, earthen sound whose resonance was slightly intimidating. None of your kind have ever been here, at least not that I know of. Usually, it is our races slipping into your world, not the other way around.

It still didn’t make sense to Franklin. If what Sahasi said was true, he was no longer just outside of Myrtle Beach, Oregon, but in another dimension. Theoretically, it was impossible, but here he sat with a throbbing headache and two sanraksaka, or what he’d call Sasquatch, staring at him. He had no words to explain what he was seeing or feeling.

Are all your people like you? Ladaku leaned against the supporting latticework of the round tent.

Franklin shifted on the pillow under him. He realized he was probably on Sahasi’s bed in her home.

Like what? Weak like me? Franklin couldn’t help but return Ladaku’s words and watch as Sahasi glared again.

Yes. Ladaku’s tone dared him to deny it.

A smile pulled at Franklin’s lips. Well, most sophomore boys are actually weaker than me. You just caught me before my morning coffee.

Soft-more? Cough-fee? Sahasi stumbled over the words. Are you from the Soft-more people?

Franklin laughed, then coughed and held his head as the pain resurged. Ladaku retrieved a water skin from a table and pushed it toward Franklin. He took it and sniffed before taking a sip, then grimaced at the taste and tried to hand it back. No, drink more. It will help with the pain, Ladaku insisted. Trust me.

Franklin didn’t precisely trust the simian creature, but Sahasi was just rolling her eyes, so Franklin took another drink.

More.

Franklin obeyed, but he found himself jutting his chin out stubbornly, just like he would sometimes do when he had to listen to his older brother, Jeremy.  By the third sip, though, the bitterness had disappeared, and Franklin could discern the taste of berries.

See? Ladaku grinned. "Sahasi, he might make a keta-manisa yet."

"He is a soft-more, Ladaku, not a sanraksaka. Do not go trying to find more keta-manisa." Sahasi took the skin from Franklin’s hands and rose to her full eight feet.

Actually, sophomore is what grade I finished last year in school. We’re called humans, Franklin supplied. He’d decided not to tell them what humans called them.

"Who-man or soft-more, either way, you are not fit to be a keta-manisa." Sahasi turned as if the conversation was done.

"What’s a keta-manisa?"

Ladaku met Franklin’s gaze, then squatted down to his level. "I do not know how much I can trust you, but I do know that I cannot let you just wander in and out of Shinwano as you will. A keta-manisa is one who I train to protect the dhoka."

A bird chirped outside, and Sahasi irritably pushed the canvas flap away from the door and left. Franklin realized that Ladaku had just offered him a gift, and Sahasi was not pleased with it. Had Franklin just stepped into the middle of clan politics, or was it just a family disagreement? Either way, he couldn’t make an enemy of Ladaku.

"I’m not sure if I’m ready to be a keta-manisa, but I can tell you I’ll do my best to keep my side of the dhoka safe. I can just imagine what people would do if they came here. My .270 would be the least of your worries."

"Then until we can figure out what to do with you, I will train you to be a keta-manisa." Ladaku grinned, showing prominent, sharp canines. Franklin figured he didn’t have much of a choice.

Whatever was in the drink Ladaku had given him, it cured both the nausea and the headache. Franklin shifted as if to stand, but before he got far, Ladaku reached forward and grabbed Franklin’s hand to stop him. He was suddenly reminded of holding his dad’s hand, walking through the forest on one of their hunting trips, back when he was young enough that all of his fingers could barely wrap around one of his dad’s.

Let me help you. Ladaku grasped Franklin’s bicep and pulled him upright.

You can let go now; I’m not going to fall over. Ladaku raised an eyebrow. At least as long as you promise not to knock me upside the head, Franklin grinned.

Only if you deserve it. The sincerity in Ladaku’s response gave Franklin pause.

"Well, I’ll hope not to deserve it then."

Are you ready to see our little section of Shinwano? Ladaku held the flap open for Franklin.

The boy caught his breath. I’m not going home?

"Not right now, who-man. You’ll be with us until the dhoka opens again."

Panic caught in Franklin’s chest. It was one thing to say he’d help guard the portal, but a totally different thing to be stuck on the fantasy side of it. He forced down the fluttering sense of terror in his chest and followed Ladaku through the doorway.

Chapter 2: Missing Person

Hey, Will. Ana allowed the door to close on its own. How’s it going?

Will rested his elbows on the counter. Fine. Slow. What’s up?

I just really needed to get out of the house, honestly. These first few weeks of summer everything feels so quiet and dull. She waved an annoyed hand at the nearly deserted docks of their tiny town as she passed the window. I was sitting at home watching a fly bump into my window. That’s how bored I am. At least when school was in I had something to do all day!

Yeah. Don’t worry; tourism’ll be picking up soon and then we’ll be busy. Is your dad coming in today?

The bounce left Ana’s step at the reminder of the boating accident last fall. Will had been the one to find her dad, and without him, Ana wouldn’t have been able to handle the rest of the school year.

I don’t know if he’ll make it in today. He had a rough night last night. He woke me up... She trailed off, her throat tightening.

Still having nightmares? Will ran his hand through his close-cropped blond hair. I can only imagine what it’s like for him. It’s bad enough just remembering pulling him out of the water.

Ana nodded and swallowed. She didn’t want to remember those days. Not only did she have the fear of her parents’ health—her mom had had a heart attack only weeks before her dad’s accident—but she also had the memories of Kajri, the unicorn that had appeared at her best friend Daisy’s house. While her dad was still in the hospital, they had been protecting the unicorn from a poacher who was willing to go to any lengths to obtain the medicinal and magical properties of the unicorn horn.

Has there been any sign of Jack Collins? Ana shifted the conversation to a less emotional topic.

None that I know of, but speaking of news, have you heard about Franklin? Will straightened.

Who’s that? Ana rested against the shelves.

He’s going to be a junior, so a year older than me. I don’t know if you’d remember him. He’s quiet, loves to hunt and fish. Will traced a scratch in the wooden counter.

Ana’s braids bounced against her shoulders. I don’t think I remember him. What’s the news?

Will took a breath. They haven’t heard from him in a couple of days. He went out hunting out near White Cape and didn’t return.

Ana paused her fidgeting. Out on the point?

I’m not sure, but he was out somewhere on his own property, and he lives out that way.

Ana remembered that rainy day at the airport just as vividly as she remembered the day they pulled her dad from the surf. She could still hear Daisy’s voice as it came over the abandoned runway speakers. It’d taken weeks for the bursts of phantom pain to fade; the memory of Jack’s electro-pulse lasso wrapped around her body still made her shudder, but whenever it appeared, she tried to replace it with another: the image of Kajri, her dripping wet, pure white coat shining as she leapt into the air and disappeared in a shimmer of light. The bell over the door jingled, bringing Ana back to the present. I’ll let you take care of them. I’ll be out by the docks.

Will welcomed the customer as Ana walked out to the Osprey, her dad’s only surviving boat. Up until November, Ana would have crawled up on the deck of the Harrier, but after it sank, she’d had to make do with the Osprey as her thinking place. The upper deck didn’t have the same view as the one on the Harrier, but Ana had learned to enjoy the comfort of the vinyl seats.

Her thoughts meandered over the events of the fall and her dad’s accident. The one thing she’d learned to be thankful for was her friendship with Will and how he’d been there to help her cope with all the questions and emotions that had worried at her since. She’d even started going to church with him and Harley.

Since Daisy hadn’t joined her at church and with the stretch of summer vacation before her, it meant she wouldn’t see Daisy as much as she had during the school year, but she’d need to make it out to her friend’s house sometimes, if for nothing else than to make sure Root, her appaloosa horse, got the exercise she needed.

Hello, Ana, Winston called from down on the dock.

Ana waved and scampered down to meet the NSA agent. She realized how crazy it was to have a homeland security officer as a friend, especially in their little podunk town of Myrtle Beach. How’s it going? she asked as she gave him a hug. Winston’s job was to protect the United States from any mythical creatures who would slip through time-space continuum warps, but he’d also proven his personal interest in protecting those creatures from ruthless profiteers like Jack Collins.

Fine. Still trying to figure out how to close the rifts in this area.

Any new ones opening up?

Now that you mention it, I thought I saw a blip a couple of mornings ago, but it hasn’t returned. Winston stared out to sea.

Out on White Cape? Ana held her breath.

Winston turned back to her. How’d you know that?

Ana let the air out. Will said a classmate of ours disappeared out that way a couple of days ago. He went out for an early morning hunt and hasn’t been seen since.

And you think there’s a connection? Winston pushed his glasses back up on his nose. I’ve never heard of anyone disappearing into the rifts, but if creatures can come this way, and Kajri was able to return... I guess I’ll go see if I can help out the local sheriff’s office with the search.

Let me know if there’s anything we can do. Will knew Franklin, so maybe Karis and the others would be willing to help.

Winston nodded as he pulled out his phone and walked away. Ana shook her head. Little ol’ Myrtle Beach didn’t need this type of excitement. She hoped Franklin was safe, wherever he’d gone. Maybe he’d even meet Kajri.

***

Harley, come down here this minute! Mrs. Maegher called.

Harley groaned. If his mom was yelling up the stairs, he was in big trouble. She never hollered in the house. She said it disturbed their B&B guests and wanted to stay in practice even when guests weren’t around.

Get down here. His mom emphasized each word with a pointing finger.

Did I do something wrong? he asked as he descended.

Harley, how many times do I need to tell you to clean up after yourself? You were doing so well after last summer’s issues, and now you’re back to leaving a trail of your things around the house. Mrs. Maegher set her hands on her hips.

Harley hung his head. Sorry, Mom. Cherise, Will, and Chace were all over last night and we had some snacks.

And didn’t take care of the popcorn bags, the movie packaging, or the soda cans.

It was late. Harley tried to rationalize his inconsiderate ways, but his excuse sounded weak even to his own ears.

And this morning, when guests came down for breakfast?

Yeah, sorry. I’ll go take care of it.

"You’d better believe you will. If