Secrets Of New Forest Academy Part 13

"Wow, Daisy! You're pretty good."

Daisy shivered against the cold on her face. "I've played a balance game like this on the Wii!"

The two kids sped down the canyon road, Spencer taking the lead once he got used to the balance of the cleaning cart. It was amazing how fast they could go. As speeds exceeded anything possible on a bicycle, Spencer thought of how upset his mother would be if she knew what he was doing. He wasn't even wearing a helmet!

The ride was surprisingly smooth. The four little wheels of the cart managed to absorb the b.u.mps without offsetting the driver's balance. It was a little scary on the tight corners, speeding forward without even a headlight to illuminate their way.

They caught glimpses of Slick far ahead, leaning into his cart. It was hard to keep a safe distance without losing sight of him around the corners. Spencer and Daisy pressed forward, gritting their chattering teeth against the cold wind and squinting painfully. Their hands were white and numb.

At last, the mountain road leveled and they came into a residential neighborhood. A dog barked in someone's yard. Through lighted windows, Spencer could see families clearing the dinner tables.

Daisy shivered. "We lost him." Her speech was a bit slurred, as the cold wind had numbed her face.

They drove their carts to a side street and peered down the dim lane. The janitor could have taken any number of roads.

"There!" Daisy pointed away from the roads. Spencer turned and saw Slick cruising through a dark field. Spencer leaned sideways, spinning his cart toward the meadow. He didn't see how the small wheels could possibly handle the off-road terrain, but Slick seemed to manage.

The going was rough. The two kids took a serpentine path across the field, carefully driving around shrubs and bushes. Twice, Spencer's wheels jarred on hidden rocks, causing his cart to jerk in an unexpected direction as his balance shifted. And once, Daisy leaned too far and actually tipped her cart on a bit of uneven ground.

At last they arrived at a small road on the far side of the field. An errant breeze sent a few dry leaves whipping around the cleaning carts. "Some shortcut," Daisy murmured, glancing back at the treacherous field.

"Hey," Spencer said. "Look where it brought us."

The road wound around a long chain-link fence. Peering through the links, the kids saw a flat, gra.s.sy soccer field and the silhouette of playground equipment. Beyond that was a low building with lots of windows.

"It's a school," Daisy said.

Spencer nodded. "A public school for all the kids that live around here. The kids who don't go to the Academy."

"And Slick came here?" She glanced around. "Where'd he go?"

"Must have gone around to the front of the school." Spencer stepped off his cart and unclipped his broom from the rack. "And I'm afraid I might know what he's planning."

The first flight from their brooms landed them on the soccer field. The second sent them soaring onto the roof of the school. They tiptoed around skylights and roof vents, making their way to the front of the building. They arrived just in time to see Slick lean around the street corner and stop his cleaning cart by the school's front entrance.

Dropping to his hands and knees, Spencer could see clearly. Slick wiped his runny nose with the back of his hand. He grabbed the handle of the Agitation Bucket and lifted it from the cart. With a ping of dread, Spencer remembered the Welcher Elementary library and the devastation an Agitation Bucket could cause.

With one swift motion, Slick upended the bucket as though he were tossing out dirty water. But instead of harmless water, dozens of agitated Toxites spewed onto the school's front lawn.

As soon as the bucket was empty, Slick shifted his weight on the cart and sped away. A few of the monsters leapt after him, clicking and grunting, but the chase wasn't worth it.

The angry Toxites had been a doorstep delivery. They smelled the school and tasted the students' residual brain waves lingering from a hard day of learning.

In a bristling ma.s.s, they flooded up the school's front steps. They were home.

Chapter 24.

"We've got to stop them!"

We've got to stop them!" Spencer said as the first Toxites reached the front of the public school.

The Grimes had no problem entering. They compressed their lizardlike bodies and squeezed through the tiniest crack. Many of the bristling Filths burrowed into the lawn like rabbits to await the school's opening. The winged Rubbishes lit on windowsills, croaking like ravens and pecking at the gla.s.s.

Spencer gripped his broom and prepared to leap into the fray. It didn't seem like the smartest idea, but hadn't Jenna praised him for his bravery?

"Are you crazy?" Daisy grabbed his arm. "Those things just came from an Agitation Bucket! They'll kill you!"

"But we can't let them inside!" Spencer said. "We've got to stop them!"

Daisy pushed Spencer away from the edge and reached into her coat pocket. Stepping forward, she lifted her arm, and Spencer saw the weapon in her hand.

A chalkboard eraser.

Daisy hurled the eraser downward. It struck the front step of the school and instantly began gushing white chalk dust. The Toxites skittered to escape, but without walls to contain the explosion, the chalk cloud was rising too fast.

A few Rubbishes turned skyward, wings flapping wildly. The white cloud seemed to reach up and swallow them. Limp, paralyzed bodies plummeted to the school grounds. But the rising chalk cloud seemed bent on ensnaring more than just the Toxites.

"Run!" Daisy screamed. The explosion was stretching across the roof of the school in less than a heartbeat. Spencer and Daisy sprinted away, wisps of chalk dust wrapping around their ankles like hungry ghosts.

Side by side, Spencer and Daisy slammed their brooms against the roof. The magic activated in their brooms, propelling them across the soccer field and over the fence. They landed clumsily in the meadow and scrambled back to their waiting carts.

The public school was enveloped in a milky haze. Tendrils of chalk dust spiraled heavenward, given an eerie illumination by the rising half moon. The explosion was subsiding, but the paralytic effect on the Toxites had been devastating.

"Phew!" Daisy swallowed hard. "That was close."

But Spencer was shaking his head. "It didn't kill them," he said. "Walter said the chalk bombs wouldn't kill the Toxites, only paralyze them for a day or so."

"At least we stopped them," said Daisy. She started to say something more, when out of nowhere a pushbroom pierced the air like a javelin and struck her in the side. Daisy screamed as she lost gravity, soaring out of sight over the dark field.

Spencer leapt onto his cart, cutting a hard turn as he shifted his weight. Where was the attacker? Where was Slick? Blindsided by a blast of vac dust, Spencer toppled from his cleaning cart. Suction force held him to the road as Slick coasted into view, his cart rack full of Glopified supplies.

"Glad you could join me out here," the greasy janitor said. "Much more convenient. I was having a devil of a time figuring how to catch you without making a stir on campus. The other students are quite sensitive. Don't want to ruin their education."

Slick wheeled closer on his cart. Spencer strained against the vac dust. His hand reached out to the side of the road and closed around a heavy rock. But what use was a rock against Slick's Glopified a.r.s.enal? Spencer could barely lift the rock, let alone throw it.

"Now that I've got you alone," Slick said, "why don't you tell me 'bout the package? That's all the BEM really wants from you." He rolled even closer, the cart's wheels almost smashing Spencer's arm. "Just tell old Slick what was in the package that Daddy sent."

Heaving against the vac dust, Spencer lifted the rock and rolled it onto the back of Slick's cart. The added weight caused a sudden shift in the balance, jerking the cleaning cart backward across the road.

Spencer jumped up as the vac dust subsided. Slick's cart was spinning in tight, uncontrollable circles as the janitor tried to kick the heavy rock away and regain balance control.

Daisy appeared at Spencer's side, shaken but unhurt. The pushbroom that Slick had used against her was still on the road, and she picked it up just as the janitor abandoned his out-of-control cart.

Slick came running toward the kids as his cart zoomed off in the opposite direction. Daisy leapt onto her cart, leveled the pushbroom, and charged like a jousting knight on horseback.

The flat bristles caught Slick under the chin and he flew off the ground. His feet clipped the top of the school's chain-link fence, and the action sent him spinning head over heels through the dark night.

Without a moment's delay, Spencer and Daisy were navigating their carts back through the b.u.mpy field, desperate to reach the Academy before Slick had a chance to recover.

Without a doubt, Spencer and Daisy knew that Slick was an enemy. Their safety at the Academy was compromised. But where else could they go? They were many hours from home with no one to drive them. And Spencer didn't think the cleaning carts would be too safe in freeway traffic.

"We need to get a message to Walter," Spencer said as they sped up the road.

"A phone call?" Daisy asked. "Should I be sick again?" She gave another unconvincing moan that sounded like a frog throwing up.

"No," Spencer said. "Slick will expect us to try a phone call. We need something different. I have Walter's e-mail. We'll tell him what happened to Roger Munroe. Tell him that Slick is working for the BEM."

"Then what?" Daisy asked. "We're still stuck at the Academy."

"Walter will send help if he finds out we're in trouble." Spencer squinted against the cold. "All we have to do is stay alive."

Chapter 25.

"Can we start over?"

A ball bounced off the back of Spencer's head.

"Ha ha!" Someone from the brown team laughed.

"Jail time for Doofus!" Dez shouted across the gym. Spencer glared as he crossed the dodgeball line and entered the brown team's prison. Daisy was waiting for him at the back of the gym, anxiously observing the game.

Morning P.E. was supposed to be energizing and exciting. It was supposed to prepare the kids for a full day of cla.s.ses. But things looked grim for the blue team. Only Min and Jenna remained. Jenna cowered near one of the corners, and Min seemed to be calculating the velocity of every ball thrown toward him.

Min hurled a ball at Spencer, intending for him to catch it and return to the game. Spencer reached up, but the soft ball pa.s.sed over his head, his hands closing too slowly to grasp it. The ball rolled out the doorway and into the hall.

Stepping out of the gym, Spencer saw the ball under the drinking fountain. He was just bending down to grab it when a hand closed over his mouth and a rough arm shoved him against the wall.

Eyes watering with panic, Spencer twisted to see his captor. It was Slick. His filthy gla.s.ses pressed down on his hooked nose, and his greasy hair was matching every expectation of his nickname. His face was scratched, and a rash from the coa.r.s.e pushbroom covered his neck.

"Spencer?" Daisy's voice rang out from inside the gym. Of course she had noticed that he had been gone too long. Spencer tried to warn her, but Slick's dirty hand was tight across his lips. Spencer tried not to think of the plentiful germs that were probably leaping off the janitor's hand and onto his face.

"Move along," Slick said into Spencer's ear. The janitor pushed him down the hallway until they reached a janitorial closet. The door was partway open, so it was easy for Slick and Spencer to step inside. Spencer barely glimpsed Daisy coming out of the gym before the closet door closed, leaving Spencer and Slick alone in the dark s.p.a.ce.

Slick bent close to the boy's ear again. "Thought you could get away from me so easily? The BEM didn't hire me to fail."

Suddenly, the closet door jerked open. Daisy locked eyes with Spencer. Then she quickly stepped inside the closet and pulled the door shut again.

"Nice hiding spot," she whispered in the dark. "Who are we hiding from?"

"Me," said Slick.

Daisy jumped a full foot. She tried to push open the door, but Slick caught the handle.

"Spencer!" Daisy said. "Slick got you!" Spencer rolled his eyes. Luckily Daisy had arrived to point out the obvious. "I thought you were hiding out. I didn't even see him in here!"

How could she have missed Slick? Spencer didn't usually stand in dark closets with a hand clamped over his mouth. Now they were both trapped!

"Not another word from you, Missy," Slick whispered, "or Zumbro gets hurt."

Daisy held up her hands like she'd seen people do on TV. "Okay," she said. Then she clamped her hands over her mouth. "Oops! I said a word! I didn't mean to say that! Can we start over?"

The bell rang, officially ending P.E. All the teams started pouring out of the gyms and into the hallway, following Director Garcia's directions to meet at the main building after dodgeball.

Spencer started to fidget. Help was only feet away. All he needed was a quick shout and someone would surely open the janitorial closet.

It was as if Slick had read Spencer's mind. "Don't even think 'bout screaming. Either of you." His crackly voice was barely audible above the noise of the kids in the hall. "If you want to scream, we'll save it for later. This closet's full of Glopified supplies that will make you squeal."

A scream was certainly what they needed. But Slick seemed to be the only one allowed to speak. So how could Spencer get Slick to raise his voice above a whisper?

An idea came to Spencer. A horrible, disgusting idea. Spencer closed his eyes against the nasty task. Then he opened his mouth and bit down hard on one of Slick's dirty fingers.

The janitor let out a wail and jerked his hand away. He blundered through the darkness, causing more of a ruckus as supplies crashed and fell.

Spencer started spitting and gagging. Desperate to sanitize his mouth, he grabbed his blue handkerchief and started wiping his tongue.

Daisy reached for the exit, but before she grabbed the handle, the closet was flooded with light from the hallway. Min stood with his hand on the door, Jenna at his elbow. Spencer and Daisy tumbled out of the closet.

"Sportsmanship," said Min.

Spencer looked back into the closet for Slick. The janitor's thick gla.s.ses had fallen among the rubble of supplies, but Slick was nowhere to be seen. Spencer squinted into the dimness. Was there another way out? A secret pa.s.sage in the back of the closet?

"Frankly, I'm disappointed in you," Min continued. "You must develop a better sense of sportsmanship. Do you expect to hide in a closet every time we lose a game of dodgeball?"

"We weren't hiding ..." said Spencer.

"It was ..." said Daisy, pointing into the closet. But she couldn't say Slick since the janitor had somehow managed to vanish.

"We heard you shout," Jenna said to Daisy. "Are you okay?"

Slick might have been offended that his scream was mistaken for a girl's, but the janitor was nowhere to be seen.

"We're ... fine," Spencer said. "Thanks for finding us."