The Complete 8-Book Guardians Adventure Saga Read online

  She took her V-8 from the flight attendant and poured it over ice cubes in a small plastic cup. Gently, she smiled at Sam. “Tell her what you want to drink.”

  “Who, the stewardess?”

  “I believe they prefer to be called flight attendants.” Achava laughed.

  “Coke, please,” Sam said.

  “I’d like a cup of coffee—black,” said the professor.

  The three relaxed with their drinks. The engine on the plane roared and soon raced down the runway and lifted into the air.

  Dr. Salinger decided not to sleep until he learned what danger lurked inside the plane. He looked at his cell phone to check the time and then turned it off. Achava obviously had something up her sleeve. He recalled how nervous she had been when she’d locked up his house. Somebody had to be following her.

  Although he could not see her eyes now, he knew she was still scanning the plane, looking for an evil one.

  His fear grew.

  Chapter the Eighth

  ACHAVA SPOTTED one passenger in particular who was almost directly across from her by the opposite window. She took another sip from her drink, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

  The man she was concerned about was dark complected and dressed in a black leather jacket. He was bigger than anyone on the plane—broader and taller. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans.

  No matter where she went, he was there.

  There should not have been a problem, but she had seen him eying her in the airport. Now, he sat across from her. He leaned back in his seat with his feet propped up on the arm of the seat in front of him. She saw that he wore thick-soled loafers that could have been hand stitched, like a Canaanite would wear. She believed that he was following her.

  He had a few scars on his face in all of the places like the one she had encountered before. He grimaced when she looked at him. He turned toward her and formed his lips into a strange facial gesture. It was almost a forced smile. This had to be him. He had to be Cana.

  Dr. Salinger frowned. “You okay?”

  “Not sure. Just stay alert,” she whispered. “And keep your eye on me.”

  “Okay.” Salinger frowned.

  “What are you two talking about?” asked Sam.

  “Wait and see.” Achava turned to Sam. “I guarantee that this will be the most exciting plane ride you will ever experience.”

  “You know, I wish you wouldn’t be so honest all the time!” Sam appeared sufficiently agitated.

  “Would you prefer surprises?” she asked.

  “No.” He turned and looked out the window.

  “Movie time,” she said and turned her back to Salinger and Sam.

  The Iron Lady soon came on the TV screen, and Sam watched it. Dr. Salinger went to sleep.

  When the movie ended, Sam gestured to get Achaea’s attention. “What else is there to do on a long plane ride?”

  “Go to sleep, while you can,” she said.

  Sam said, “I can’t sleep. Not since you decided to be so honest with me about the dangers.”

  “As you wish.”

  Achava sat straight up in her seat for most of the night. She refused to allow herself any rest until her job was done. She had come too far to let anything stand in her way now. She would solve the family mystery.

  The man on whom she had been keeping an eye moved to an aisle seat, just as she had. He had been checking the time all night. This time, when he looked at his watch, he stood up. He stretched his arms high and looked around the plane, like he was getting someone’s attention.

  She looked at the watch on Salinger’s wrist. There was another thirty minutes before they were supposed to land. Yet, her gut instincts told her they would be on the ground before that.

  The dark-complected man walked toward the bathroom. No one followed. Maybe he didn’t signal someone after all.

  Achava waited for him to get into the bathroom before she awakened Salinger. “Professor, I need you to stay alert now. Listen carefully. I have two backpacks stashed in the compartment directly over your head for you two.”

  “I understand.”

  “As soon as you hear anything that does not coincide with the regular operation of an airplane, make sure to grab both of them.”

  Shocked, Salinger and Sam looked at each other and then at her. The doctor asked, “What about our carry-on bags?”

  “Open them now. I strongly suggest that you take out only the absolute necessities. Make sure you have your medicine, your passport and anything else you deem important. Stash them in the pockets of your clothing.”

  “All right.”

  “Be prepared to leave everything else.” She touched his hand. “Do you understand?”

  “Yes.”

  Sam looked at Salinger. “What the heck is she talking about?”

  Salinger said, “I would suggest that you do exactly what she says without questions and with the utmost haste.”

  “I am in charge, Sam,” Achava said. “And I know what I’m doing. If you can’t trust me, then trust Salinger. It is too late to turn back.”

  Achava stood and walked toward the bathrooms. They were both occupied. A woman walked out of one, and Achava told her to quietly go to her seat.

  “Why?”

  “Go quickly. No questions.”

  Achava looked around to see if anyone else was involved. No one looked suspicious. Pulling a curtain to prevent onlookers, she stood ready for the other “occupied” sign to move. She could not leave enough room for him to escape when he exited the bathroom. A minute later, the door slowly opened to reveal the man. But he was now wearing a black sleeveless shirt. She saw that on one arm he had the tattoo of a club. On the other arm, he had the tattoo of a spear that extended upward into a tree. She gasped, and he looked surprised to see her standing there.

  He said, “You are that Israelite on our ‘wanted’ list.”

  She did not allow herself to show emotion as she glared at him. “And you are Cana, the evil Canaanite.”

  He sneered. “It appears we are at a standoff. Being who you are, you could not possibly attack me here.”

  “Why is that?”

  “We are surrounded by people that you care for. Your kind always puts the needs of others first.”

  “Don’t count on it.”

  “I guess we’ll just have to wait until we land.” He snarled, rolling his eyes. “We’ll soon see what you are capable of doing and not doing, Israelite.”

  “My power comes from the God of my homeland, Cana. If you actually do know who I am, then you should know that my mission takes precedence over anything or anyone else.”

  The Canaanite appeared surprised. “You have no power here.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “We are not yet in your homeland.”

  At that second, the voice of the pilot came over the intercom announcing that the plane had just entered Israeli airspace. Achava felt the warmth of supernatural power, as her irises turned gold. “Now I have the power.”

  The Canaanite instantly showed fear. “You’ll still never defeat ‘HIM.’”

  “By ‘HIM,’ do you mean Anak? ‘HE’ is not here right now.” She knew he was referring to the ancient evil Anak, whom he believed still lived. She believed the demonic spirit that once possessed Anak now possessed another giant by the same name. That was all. The dead did not live again.

  He doubled his fist and swung at her. She ducked.

  Using the side of her hand, she hit his throat and his nose with such speed that he fell backward, choking. While he was down, she quickly slapped him dizzy, back and forth with both hands.

  When he sat up, there was a stream of blood coming from his nose. He kicked her hard, away from the restrooms and into a partition. She spun away from his next attack. The next time he kicked, he hit the partition again, and it collapsed. He jumped up and ran at her, full force. She let him use his own momentum against himself by moving out of the way at the last
second. Bam! He landed in a back seat across the aisle of the plane, into the lap of an obese woman, who screamed.

  Achava ran to him. Before he could stand, she grabbed his shoulders and flipped him up and behind her into a crowded aisle. More people started screaming. They got up and ran away from the battle.

  Cana was soon back on his feet.

  She paused in the aisle and waited for him to come at her. His rage was obviously out of control now as he dove for her. She ducked down behind a seat and kicked upward into his groin area as he flew over her. He hit some empty seats and doubled over. He lay slumped on the floor, glaring at her, groaning in pain. When his eyes rolled back into his head, he momentarily blacked out.

  She rushed to Salinger. “Get ready to go.”

  He asked, “What happened?”

  “He was going to kill me, but I got him first.” Achava laughed. “I hit him so hard that all he could see was my fists traveling back and forth with the punches.”

  Sam laughed.

  “That was quite a trick of the light,” said Salinger.

  “There was no trick.” She cocked her head to one side. “Why did you think that?”

  “I assumed it was a light trick, because I saw your eyes develop a golden hue.”

  She laughed. “That is the source of my power.”

  “Fantastic.”

  Sam looked stunned and asked, “How could you fight in such a confined area?”

  “It wasn’t easy.” Achava put her hand on his shoulder and whispered, “We have no time to talk. This battle is not over. Open your overhead compartment, and help your professor with the backpacks.”

  She turned toward Salinger. He was absolutely pallid.

  “Put on the backpacks.” Achava continued to whisper, “Count to thirty-five slowly. Let me know with a signal when you get there.”

  Salinger’s face was colorless, as he slowly nodded.

  Sam looked startled. “Professor, does that mean what I think it means?”

  Achava gripped his shoulders. “All you need to do is make sure your two backpacks are fastened tightly, Sam.”

  “That’s all?”

  She firmly slapped his cheek. “That’s all. Salinger will guide you.”

  By now, the huge man was walking toward the cockpit. Most of the people had gone to the back of the plane, trying to hide. Flight attendants were frantic, doing everything in their power to keep everyone calm amid the chaos.

  The air marshal appeared. He pulled out his gun and pointed it as he walked up to Achava. “Put your hands in the air.”

  She obeyed.

  He continued, “Everyone else, just stay calm!”

  “Fool,” called out the mystery man.

  The marshal turned, pointing the gun toward the Canaanite, who let out a guffaw. “Fool! You won’t open fire inside the plane! And you can’t defeat me in hand-to-hand combat!”

  ***

  ACHAVA WATCHED the Canaanite push the air marshal aside, force his way past the flight attendants and disappear behind the curtains toward the cockpit where he made short work of the locked cockpit door.

  Suddenly, she felt the big hands of the air marshal tackle her from the back.

  As he was cuffing Achava, she turned, grabbed the cuffs from him and cuffed his hands to a seat. She did it in a move that was faster than any normal human could ever imagine. She then punched him on the jaw and knocked him out.

  She looked at Salinger. He stood there holding a backpack. She yelled, “Put it on!” He looked confused for a second, but then she saw Sam put on his own backpack, and then help the professor. She placed her forefinger to her thumb as they fastened the last buckle. She mouthed, “Good job.”

  She scrambled to her feet and pursued the Canaanite into the cockpit. No one bothered to stop her. She reached the open door in time to see the Canaanite break the neck of the pilot with his bare hands. The co-pilot was slumped over in his seat, so she assumed he had been the first to die.

  The Canaanite laughed—a haunting sound—as the plane started shaking and began to nose dive.

  She blocked the door and hastened back into the seating area.

  By now, people were putting on the oxygen masks that were now swinging freely over each seat. Children were crying. Others were screaming and running around.

  “If there is a pilot on board, please go to the cockpit,” Achava shouted. She was sincerely concerned for the people who were trying desperately to find a way to save themselves. They had to do it on their own, because she was powerless to save them. “Use your seat cushions as floatation devices,” she said. “Save yourselves.”

  She watched Salinger and Sam move quickly from their seats with their backpacks on. They hastened toward her as she moved toward the side door. Before she could figure out what to do next, she saw the Canaanite walk calmly out from the cockpit and come toward her. Approaching Achava, he said, “You are trapped.”

  She glanced out the small window on the emergency exit door and then nodded to Sam and Salinger. They motioned that they understood, and stayed by the emergency exit. Right when Salinger and Sam got next to her, she tested their straps to make sure their backpacks were secure. “Go!”

  The Canaanite approached Achava. “Is it your wish to go down with the plane?”

  “I don’t report to you!” She stared at him. “It looks like you want to kill the innocents aboard.”

  He scowled. “There are no innocents anymore.” He pressed on her nose. “Today, your dream will die with the people on this plane.”

  Salinger released the lever on the emergency door at that moment. The door opened to a rushing wind. The plane was tilting with the nose down now and he was being sucked toward the open door.

  “Hold on,” Achava called out.

  Sam and Salinger clung to the siding on either side of the opening, as Achava pushed the wicked Canaanite past them.

  Placing her feet in the Canaanite’s back, she pushed. While blocking the people from the doorway with her back, she used the leverage to push Cana toward the open door. With one final swift push, the Canaanite slid out the door and into the morning sky—screaming. She watched grimly as he fell through space. “No honorable death for you, betrayer!”

  The plane was approaching the ground, so it had already decompressed, or else they would have all been sucked out.

  She showed the two men where the release cord for a parachute was on both backpacks.

  Sam clung to the facing for the emergency door, murmuring to himself about dying before they could even get off the plane.

  “Sam, you will soon realize that staying on the plane and dying is the least of your concerns,” said Achava. She grabbed his hands and placed them on his straps. She did the same for Salinger. “Hold tight.”

  Achava immediately grabbed both her traveling companions, one in each arm and jumped, pulling them out of the plane with her. For a brief moment, there was no sound except the wind whistling past her ears. She could tell that Sam was in shock as he got closer to the ground. He yelled like a child.

  There was a small mountainous region that they headed straight into. She noticed that Salinger had his eyes closed. He probably believed this to be his exit from life, but he appeared to be accepting his fate bravely.

  “Pull your ripcords,” she yelled into their ears. But there was no response. Achava had a hard time hanging onto both men without any help from either of them. Only being able to designate one hand to each man, she managed to reach Sam’s cord and pull it. The parachute did not open. Holding him securely on her arm, she struggled to get to the cord for Salinger, to no avail. She knew she had about three seconds before it would be too late and both could die.

  She gritted her teeth and pulled the cord on Sam’s backpack again. The parachute flew out instantaneously, causing the trio to spin in the air as it opened. Grabbing the cord on Salinger’s pack, she pulled again, and they spun around the other way. His chute had opened as well. Using all her strength, with her
arm muscles tight, she kept a firm hold on the two men as they landed.

  Achava’s eyes burned. She knew they glowed gold once again. She needed the extra power as they headed straight for the base of a small hill. The parachutes had significantly slowed them down, but were now tangled. Since they were falling at an angle, they were more likely to survive as opposed to a straight fall. Achava angled their bodies so that hers would be the first to make contact with the ground.

  Sam’s eyes were closed now and he vomited all over himself. Achava knew the feeling. She used to get like that when she rode on her favorite rollercoaster ride.

  Once they hit the ground, the three separated from each other. Achava stood up immediately, unharmed. She watched the men roll helplessly along the ground at a speed equivalent to someone jogging. Sam and Salinger rolled over rocks and dirt until they came to a stop. Sam lay at the base of the small hill and Salinger landed in some bushes.

  ***

  SAM MANAGED to slowly stand.

  He looked down to see several bruises and cuts on his body. There was a lot of line from the chute still attached to his pack, but no sign of the chute itself. He slowly took off the backpack and let it drop to the ground, looking around for Salinger. There was no sign of Salinger or the lady. Having trouble breathing, he pulled out an inhaler. He took a deep breath from it and put it away again.

  Walking around, he wondered where the woman was. Suddenly, he realized that he never even knew her name. Maybe she had set them up to die.

  “Dr. Salinger!” he called out. “Can you hear me? Hello?” Just as his shock turned to fear, a groan came from bushes on his left side. Following the sound, he stumbled over some rocks and made his way to where there were several bushes, where Salinger lay sprawled out in the bushes, unconscious.

  Seeing he did not move, Sam rushed to him. “Professor!” He shook him. The professor flopped around like a rag doll. He looked around for the lady, to no avail. He needed to find a pulse on the old man to see if he was still alive. He was about to touch Salinger’s wrist when he was startled by a familiar voice. “Don’t touch him!”