Chapter Twelve

Defenders of the White Star, Huck, and Fairies

Sara and Mr. Thompson walked through the bookcase and stood in front of an elevator. To the right of the elevator was a framed picture of Mr. Thompson with another man with messy white hair. The picture looked ancient. It was signed, “Thanks for the tip about the frogs and the name change, Samuel Clemens.”

“Hey, that looks like that Huckleberry Finn dude, but his name was Mark Twain.”

“They are one and the same. The Defenders sent me to investigate some unusual amphibian activity in a mining camp east of San Francisco. Down.” The elevator started down. “I met a young reporter from the local newspaper, and he volunteered to show me the way to the camp. He said, and I do quote, ‘I have been hankering to go out exploring the countryside, and I would be as happy as a June bug in clover to escort you to the camp.’”

Sara reached out to press the button on the elevator. Mr. Thompson stopped her hand.

“The buttons don’t work the way you would think Sara. They are a trick. The elevator only works with verbal commands from selected voices. Elevator, authorize the following voice. Sara, say down.”

“Down.”

“Now you can authorize the elevator yourself. The buttons are a trap. If you press the button, you will teleport somewhere- anywhere.”

Sara put her hands down. “Wow. So tell me more about the June bug in clover dude.”

“Well, Sam and I became wonderful friends. The amphibian activity turned out to be some jumping frog contest. I suggested to Sam. He should write an amusing story and perhaps change his name to something simpler. He wrote a very famous story called ‘The Jumping Frogs of Calaveras County,’ and he changed his name to Mark Twain.”

“That is cool. This elevator is slow.”

“It is not that slow. We are going down to the very core of the installation.”

“Wow. Hey, Mr. Thompson, who are the Defenders? You mentioned them in your story.”

“The Defenders of the White Star are an organization I belong. They were around a very long time. It is their mission to destroy the evil in our world so everyone can live in peace again. We were a very active organization once, but the arrest of most of our leaders led us to work covertly.”

“I bet my dad would join you.”

“Your father works for the Senate of Libero Salus, and they have declared our organization illegal. He fights against Tenebrae in his way. Well, we are here now, come along Sara.”

She wandered down the hallway. On each side was a brightly colored door with a picture window alongside it. At the end of the hall was a very plain, but somehow ominous brown door. Mr. Thompson entered the door on the left side while Sara peered through the window.

The room was filled with computers and sitting at the computers were small children with beautiful iridescent wings. Mr. Thompson was talking with one of the magical creatures. “Fairies, they are fairies.” One of the fairies flew over to the window and looked at Sara. The fairy was wearing an iridescent blue dress that matched her blue and purple iridescent wings. She smiled at Sara and then returned to her computer.

“Are you ready, Sara?” Mr. Thompson exited the door.

“Yes, what are the fairies doing? They are fairies, aren’t they?”

“They are monitoring the internet. Tenebrae has been using the internet to plant seeds of evil which they will use to invade Earth. The fairies are removing the evil put onto the internet by Tenebrae.”

“Cool. Mr. Thompson, what will happen to the fairies and other magical creatures if I fail?”

“Remember Sara. You will not fail. What do you think the answer to that is, Sara?”

“Not good?”

“Tenebrae does not like good magical creatures, like fairies, which use white magic. I need to go into the map room for just a moment. You can wait right here.”

“Okay.”

Mr. Thompson entered the other room while Sara looked through the window. Inside the room was a hideous creature. It reminded her of something from one of her nightmares, part warthog, and part camel. The walls were covered in maps. One of the maps looked like her neighborhood, and the creature was putting a red pin on her house. “That can’t be good.” Thompson patted the creature on the hump and came back to the hall. Sara was still staring at the creature.

“I know Stanley takes a little getting used to, but he has been with me since the beginning, and I would trust him with my life.”

“The fairies are so beautiful, and he’s so, so....”

“Yes, they are, and many good magical creatures are beautiful, but some of the evil creatures are beautiful also. And some good magical creatures are, shall we say, unique looking. You mustn’t judge good or evil based on outward appearance, Sara. Always look for what is in the heart.”

“What do the red push pins mean, Mr. Thompson?” Sara and Mr. Thompson walked towards the ominous door at the end of the hall.

“The red push pins designate where someone has been kidnapped. Your mother was not the first, and she won’t be the last.”

Next to the door at the end of the hall was a plaque. The second name on the plaque was Thomas Tyrone Thompson. Stanley’s name was third. Also on the list were Grant S. Dalton, her teacher, and Jackson Roberts, her father.

“Mr. Thompson, what is this plaque? It has my father’s name on it.”

“Ah,” smiled Mr. Thompson, reminiscing, “That is a plaque honoring the brave members of the Defenders of the White Star from about fifteen years ago. The first name on the list, Darrien G. Fulmer, was our leader. Well, we are here Sara, at the lab, where we can train you on how to use the magical talismans. Are you ready?”

“I’ll never be ready, but let’s go on anyway.”