Brief Author Bio:

Loni stared at the clock. Ninety-seven minutes until freedom. Mr. Dorian Sanchez was sitting at his desk, peering over his glasses at some papers, completely oblivious to the chaos in the room. Loni was pretty sure that Jesse was throwing bits of paper at her from across the room, but she didn't care. She couldn't take her eyes off the clock. Ninety-six minutes. She couldn't take it anymore.
She walked across the room to Mr. Sanchez, trying to move as slowly as possible to kill time. Finally, she reached his desk. She stared at the top of his head. What was wrong with his hair? It was like he tried to overcomb a combover, but only on one side, so one side of his hair went down towards the floor like it was supposed to, but the other side went up and over his head. She glanced back up at the clock.
"Yo, Dorian, my homie!" she said, flashing a gang sign at him. "I'm illin' for the b-room, man, can you hook me up with a pass?" He continued reading his paper. It was common knowledge that when he was concentrating on something, it took him at least a minute to process anything else. She patiently waited. She felt something hit the back of her head. Reaching over to rip the corner off one of the papers on Mr. Sanchez's desk, she spun around and threw it back at Jesse, hitting him square in the forehead.
"Loni! That kind of behavior is not acceptable," barked Mr. Sanchez.
"I'm very sorry, sir," she said. "But Jesse did it first. May I please exit the room to make a voyage to the restroom?"
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Only because it's you," he said. "But after witnessing hooligan behavior like that, I normally wouldn't let someone have the privelidge of leaving the room. Here." He handed her the giant stuffed cat that served as the hall pass for his class.
Loni grimaced. "Is this really necessary? It's the last day. It's not like people will be checking for hall passes."
"Oh, they will, *because* it's the last day. Do you know how many people get antsy and try to leave early on the last day? And I am giving you a *gift* here. The gift of trust. The gift of leaving the room. You're in no position to compromise. Now take Mr. Moodles and go. And I'd better see you back here soon."
Loni rolled her eyes, grabbed the cat, and stomped out of the room, glancing again at the clock on the way out. Ninety minutes. She could almost taste the freedom. She planned to go home, lay on her bed, and stare at the ceiling for several hours. She wanted to relish the glory of not having to do anything, of not having to be anywhere, to be able to be bored on her own terms. The last day of school was always torturous, but it was even worse than usual today. Mr. Dorian Sanchez wasn't helping. She didn't even have to go to the bathroom, but she had to get out of the classroom. Even her usual savior from boredom, graphing calculator games, weren't helping now.
She turned the corner towards the bathroom. Something was on the floor - a patch of mist? No, it was a girl, but she looked like a ghost. Her outline was vague and swirling, and she appeared to be transparent. "Well, I guess today has just been too stressful, and I've finally lost it," she muttered to herself. She knelt down by the girl and reached out to her. Her hand didn't go through, but she didn't feel her - her hand just stopped. She peered at her. The girl's features were shining and transparent at the hard time, so they were difficult to make out. Still, she had the sense that the girl was beautiful.
Suddenly, the girl started moving. At first it looked like she was floating, but then Loni saw hands reaching towards her, lifting her up - but she could barely see them, they were so translucent. They seemed to put her on a stretcher. They were carrying her away. A faraway scream pierced the air. "Yup, I'm going crazy," said Loni. "Might as well follow the imaginary ghost girl." She heard another scream, and she smelled smoke. "Cool, an apocalyptic hallucination!" She followed the girl on the stretcher down the hall. They began taking her down the stairs. As she descended, her eyes began watering. The smoke smell was much stronger, and the air was starting to look hazy. She squinted. She was supposed to be in Mr. Sanchez's room. She was supposed to be drawing in her notebook right now. She looked down at Mr. Moodles, then at the translucent girl, who was almost at the bottom of the stairs by now.
"I hope you burn," she said to the stuffed animal, and threw it to the ground. She walked after the girl. Each step seemed laborious. She should be in the classroom. But she wanted to follow the beautiful girl.
The stairs led to the cafeteria. A group of students ran past her, screaming. They didn't even glance at her or the girl. She peered at them, then continued to follow the girl. They were taking her towards the door leading outside. Outside. Freedom. She was almost out. Her body was protesting. She was in the wrong place. She glanced down the hall on the other side of the cafeteria. She could see the flames, but she barely processed them. She wasn't supposed to know about the fire yet. She looked back at the girl, and saw her float right through the door. She felt half-asleep. She had to go back. She had to follow the girl. She had to be in the classroom. She had to go outside. She clenched her fists and sprinted to the door, grabbing the handle. It was locked. The screams were getting louder and louder. The room was getting hotter. The door had a large window. She turned around, grabbed a chair, and threw it at the window. It seemed to shatter in slow motion. As the flames spread into the room, she leaped through the window. She barely felt the glass cut her hands. Everything was swirling around her - the screaming, the girl in the distance, the classroom she was supposed to be in. She crawled away from the school until she couldn't move anymore. She saw the flames engulfing the school, and then everything faded to black.
***
Lita grimaced at the cup of tea her mother handed her. "Thanks, mom," she mumbled. Whenever her mother was nervous about her, she responded by giving her cup after cup of tea. Lita had nothing against tea, but this was the fifth cup today. "You know," she said, "I'm really fine. People pass out for no reason all the time. I feel okay now. And I don't really need any more tea."
"Do you know how many people say that? First they think that they just passed out for no reason, and the next week they're in the ER. Speaking of which, I gotta go to the hospital. You know how crazy it's been - two more people quit last week, and we were already understaffed. Just stay in bed, drink lots of fluid, and call me if you experience vomiting, fevers, or death. Take care of yourself, okay?"
"Yeah, sure, mom," said Lita. As soon as her mother left the room, she poured the tea into a nearby potted plant. She waited until the car pulled out of the driveway, and then she grabbed her sunglasses and headed for the door. She didn't care that she had passed out at school; she felt fine now. But as they were taking her out of the school and she started to wake up, she saw something strange. She wanted to go back to the school, just to reassure herself.
She smiled as she walked down the street. Sweet freedom. Despite her overbearing doctor of a mother, she was freer than she had been for months. School was finally out for the summer... and she was celebrating by returning to it. She chucked to herself at the irony. As she saw the school in the distance, she thought to herself, "*Of course it's still there. Why wouldn't it be? I was just crazy from passing out.*" But she still wanted to look in the door to the cafeteria, see that it wasn't broken, see that the inside of the building wasn't burned.
As she drew closer to the school, she saw someone else walking towards it. A janitor? No - it was Mr. Ian Woon, one of the teachers. She was almost behind him now, but he didn't see her. He went through the cafeteria door. Through the glass, she saw him open a door in the cafeteria that she had never seen anyone go through before. Glancing around, she saw that the school was still there and still not burned down. A scream! She looked wildly around, but saw no one. "Who's there?" she yelled.
"What is going on?" demanded a female voice. It seemed to be coming from very close by, but Lita didn't see anyone.
"You tell me," said Lita. "Where are you?"
"What? I'm right next to you," said the voice.
"I don't see you," said Lita.
"Are you blind?" said the voice.
"Are you a hallucination?" said Lita.
"I thought you were," said the voice.
"Whatever, ha ha, funny joke," said Lita. "Cut it out now."
"Oh, now my hallucinations are telling me what to do?"
"So says the invisible girl!"
Lita sighed. She walked to the corner of the school and looked around it. She checked in a nearby bush and behind a tree. As she looked, the voice said, "I told you, I'm standing right next to you. Okay, quit moving, I'll poke you." Lita stopped and held out her arm. She felt a very slight touch on her arm.
"Okay, I think I felt something, but it was probably my imagination. So are you just invisible, or are you, like, a ghost? Can you walk through that tree? What's your name, anyway?"
"I'm Loni," she said. "And I thought you were the ghost. I'll only try to walk through the tree if you do."
"But you'll be able to see me crash, and I won't see you."
"All right, fine." There was a pause. "OH MY GOD!"
"Did you go through?"
"YES! What? Why? What?"
"I told you you're the ghosty one. I can't walk through stuff. Anyway, as much as I hate to admit this, my mother is probably right. I really do need some rest. As creative as my subconsious is, I would prefer not to hear voices. I'm going home."
"I am not a hallucination! Okay, do you know anything about the musical RENT?"
"What? No."
"Well, I do. So how about I tell you a bunch of stuff about it, and then you can look it up on the internet, and you'll see that it's all true."
"You're a smart one," said Lita. "But first I need a nap."
"Well, I'm following you home."
"What? Why? That's creepy."
"Because the school burned down but I saw you but you were all translucent and weird and I followed you out even though I felt like I shouldn't and then I woke up and the school was different and not burned. And everyone else I saw who I tried to talk to just ignored me, and then you showed up again, and you can actually hear me. And I don't know what any of that means or what the hell happened, but I know you were involved, so I'm going to follow you around. It makes just as much sense as anything else that's happened to me recently."
"Wait, the school burned?" asked Lita. "Because when I was half-unconscious, I thought I saw fire..."
"I saw it too. And I felt like I should have burned."
"This is just too weird," muttered Lita. "I'm going home. And I'll take a nap, and then I'll wake up and there will be no more disembodied voice and I can get on with my normal summer."
"Whatever you need to tell yourself," said Loni.
***
Loni wandered around the house, waving her arms through random objects. Nothing but the ground she walked on seemed to be solid.
"I'm going to go look around town," she said. "Stand in the street and yell, see if anyone can hear me. Walk through stuff. See if anything else is mysteriously on fire."
"Have fun," said Lita. "Maybe you should see if you can find a good psychiatrist while you're at it. One or both of us is definitely crazy. I'm taking a nap."
Loni exited the house by going straight through the wall. She shook her head. This would be hard to get used to. She glanced up and down the street. She rarely came to this neighborhood, but it looked different than she remembered. She sighed and headed towards her house.
***
"Hey!" Loni yelled. Lita nearly fell off her chair.
"Could you please not do that?" she said. "I can't see you, remember? By the way, while you were gone, I remembered something. I think the school burned down once, about twenty years ago. Then they rebuilt it. It was before I was even born, so I forgot about it."
"Oh my god," whispered Loni.
"What?"
"The whole town. It's different than I remember. I saw some people I used to know, and I barely recognized them. They looked so much older. And some buildings are different, and some other family is living in my house now..."
Lita furrowed her brow. "You mean... you think... crazy time travel?"
"And you're the only one who can hear me."
"Let's go back to the school again. There's definitely something weird going on there."
"Sure. Not like I have any better ideas."
Lita marched out the door, and Loni followed through the wall. They walked for a few minutes in silence, then Lita spoke.
"I really wish I could see you. It's kind of creepy knowing you're there but not knowing where."
"It's kind of creepy not being able to be seen."
"Touche."
Another pause, then Lita spoke again.
"So what exactly did you see yesterday?"
"I was in class and I went to go to the bathroom. I saw you lying on the floor, but you looked weird. Transparent and shimmery. And then it looked like people picked you up and were carrying you away, so I followed. They took you through the door in the cafeteria, but they didn't open it first; you just went straight through. I tried to open it and it was locked. The cafeteria was starting to burn... I closed my eyes and ran at the door, and I went through. I saw the whole school burn, and then I passed out."
"Hmmm," said Lita.
"What happened to you?"
"I was in the hallway, coloring a stupid poster with a group. Dumb last-day-of-school activity. And then I just passed out for no reason. The nurse already left for the summer, so they decided to just take me home, but as they were carrying me out, I started to wake up. I wasn't very awake, and I was still pretty groggy, but I clearly remember seeing the school burning. All right, we're here."
Lita halfheartedly tried the handle of the door into the cafeteria. It was locked. She grinned. "Figured it would be locked up. That's why I brought this." She reached into her pocked and pulled out an unbent paperclip. "Oh, I almost forgot. When I came back here earlier today, I saw Mr. Woon going in that door in the cafeteria - the blue one? I've never seen anyone go in there before."
Loni peered into the cafeteria. "The school looks different than I remember, too. Different than it was yesterday. The posters, the tables, the chairs.. they were different. There was a door there, but it was white." She paused. "Wait, Mr. Woon? Wow, if I really have traveled twenty years into the future, that guy has been working here for a long damn time. I remember him. He's crazy." She looked back at Lita, who had busied herself with picking the lock. "I can just go through the door and explore, you know."
"Why should you have all the fun?" The lock clicked. She grabbed the door and opened it. "I've picked that lock so many times," she said. "Well, here goes."
They entered the cafeteria and went to the mysterious door. Loni held her hand to it. It passed through. She glanced around the cafeteria again. She wanted to see how the school had changed, but she was more curious about the door. Lita walked through her and crouched down, pushing the paperclip into the lock.
"Hey, you're in my leg!" said Loni, jumping away.
"Not my fault!" said Lita. She looked at the door, confused. She pulled the paperclip out and turned the handle. It opened. "Oh. It wasn't locked."
Loni laughed. There was a staircase beyond the door. She began to descend. She tried to place her hands on the walls for extra balance, but discovered that they just went through.
"This is so cool," said Lita. "Mysterious. Intriguing. Nothing interesting ever happens here."
"I suppose it is," said Loni. They reached another door at the bottom of the stairs. Loni stuck her head through and gasped.
The whole room was filled with students. They looked like Lita had the day before - shimmering and transparent. They were standing in rows, arms at their sides, staring straight ahead. It was difficult to make out their features because of their transparency and shininess, but she thought she recognized many of them. Lita reached her arm through Loni and opened the door. Loni jumped.
"I really wish you could see me," she muttered. "What on earth is going on here?" She walked up to one of the students, who she recognized as Jesse, the annoying kid who had thrown stuff at her. She reached out to poke his arm. It felt like poking someone was supposed to; her hand didn't go through.
"What do you mean?" said Lita. "It's just a huge, empty room."
"What? No, look, it's full of people. It looks like everyone in the school!" She walked through the crowd. She noticed that there was an unoccupied spot in the rows.
"I don't see anything," said Lita.
"Are you just messing with me?"
"No, I swear, I don't see anything. Except that door there." She pointed at it; it was in the wall to the left of them. She ran over towards it.
"Wait!" Loni warned, thinking she should scout it first - but it was too late. Lita was already halfway through the door.
"Hey!" bellowed a voice from the other side. Lita gasped, turned, and ran. Loni wildly glanced around, then ran to the unoccupied spot in the rows of people. She stood as straight as she could and stared directly forward. Mr. Woon ran out after Lita. He yelled after her: "I'm in no shape to chase you, Miss Hansen, but we will have a serious discussion about this later!" He glanced around at the rows of students; it was clear he could see them. Then he went back through the door. Loni waited a few minutes, then went to the wall the door was in and carefully put her head through until she could just see through it.
The room looked like a stereotypical evil scientist's lab. There was strange machinery all over. One machine was filling bottles with a glowing white liquid. Mr. Woon was bent over this machine, pressing buttons on it. On the far side of the room was a door to another room, which appeared to be full of shelves of bottles of the liquid. Loni pulled her head out of the wall, then ran up the stairs and out of the school.
Lita was leaning against a tree outside the school, panting. "Hey," said Loni. "Well, that was interesting."
"Did he see you?" said Lita.
"No," replied Loni. "But I'm pretty sure he could see all the people in the room. I looked into the room he was in. Looks like he's manufacturing some weird glowing liquid."
"I knew that guy was weird," said Lita, shaking her head.
"He called you Miss Hansen," said Loni. "That's your last name?"
"Yeah."
"Then he knows you saw his crazy lab. That's probably not good." Loni paused. "The people in that room. They were all lined up in rows, and they were standing really stiff and staring straight forward. Like they were just... turned off. And I think I was supposed to be with them. There was an empty spot in the rows. I stood there to hide, and Mr. Woon didn't glance at me twice. I must look like them to him. And they looked like you did to me yesterday."
"I think we should go talk to Mrs. Reed."
"Mrs. Reed? Oh, that crazy old lady. Wow, she's still alive?"
Lita laughed. "She's been here forever. She'd know more about what happened when the school burned down."
"Are you sure she'd tell us the truth, though? Last time I talked to her, she told me she thought I was spending too much time hanging around with werewolves."
"These days, she's more concerned about the strays in the town. She thinks they're undead. But she always seems to tell the truth when she tells stories. It's just the present that she has issues with."
"Does she still hang around in the Oak Plaza?"
"Oh, yeah. Practically every day. Let's go!"
Loni laughed. "Right now?"
"Hey, for all you know, Mr. Woon could have called out a mob hit on me by now. And we have nothing better to do."
"Fair enough."
The Oak Plaza was so named because of the giant oak tree in the middle of it. It was a square with brick-style ground covering stuff and lots of benches and tables. It was surrounded by shops selling various food and drink items. Loni and Lita walked there. This didn't take long because the town was so small that it wasn't that hard to walk anywhere. Mrs. Reed occupied her usual spot in the table farthest away from the road, reading a book, sipping tea, and muttering to herself. Loni walked up to her.
"Reed! Hey! Can you hear me?" The old woman didn't respond. "ANYBODY?" she yelled as loud as she could. No one responded.
"I told you," she said to Lita. "You're just special."
"Or I'm crazy," she said.
"What's that you said?" said Mrs. Reed.
"Nothing," she said. "How are you, Mrs. Reed?"
"Those hell-dogs have gotten into my azaleas again. Friendly strays indeed. I keep trying to warn those Humane Society people, but will they listen to me? No, of course not. Well, they'll be sorry when they think one of their little animals is dead, and then it jumps up from beyond the grave and eats them up."
"That's nice," said Lita. "Look, I was wondering if you could tell me about when the school burned down."
"Morbid curiosity, eh?" said Mrs. Reed, peering at Lita over her glasses. "When I was your age, I was just as curious about the local graveyard. And thank the lord for it too. If I hadn't been curious, I never would have found out about those vampires, and I surely would not be here today. Have I told you about them? There's not many left now, mostly gone off to big cities, but there used to be a whole gang of 'em-"
"Yes, yes, you've told me," interrupted Lita. "You were talking about the school."
"Oh, right," said Mrs. Reed. "Well, there's not that much to say. It was obviously arson, but they never found out who did it. The fire alarm was disabled, the doors and windows were locked, the fire exits were blocked up... everyone died."
Lita gasped. "Everyone? Everyone in the whole school?"
"Well, no, not everyone. Some people had left early for the vacation."
"But everyone who was in the school at the time of the fire... no one escaped?"
"I'm not sure," said Mrs. Reed. "I think so, but I don't remember. But I do remember that same year, a lost alien came to town trying to pass as a traveling salesman..."
"Yes, yes, I'm sure you can tell me about it some other time," said Lita. "But I have to go. Have a nice day, Mrs. Reed."
She turned and quickly left before the old woman could start another story. "I wish other people could see you so I could talk to you without looking crazy."
"Well, that story was kind of pointless," said Loni. "So it was arson. Big deal."
"I bet it was Mr. Ian Woon!" said Lita. A nearby man sitting by the tree gave her a strange look, which she ignored. "I bet he burned the school down."
"Your mom's getting home soon, right?"
"Yeah. So?"
"So you should go home. But I'm going to go to the school and wait until he leaves, and then I'll follow him. See what he does."
"Aww, I wanna be a secret agent too!"
"Maybe you can help snoop on him later. But I'm going to go to the school now. See you!"
***
After Loni had waited for twenty minutes, Mr. Ian Woon finally exited the school. She began to carefully follow him, running from bush to bush. She wasn't entirely sure he could see her, but it appeared he had seen the other ghosty people, so she wanted to be careful. She noticed that he was carrying a large suitcase. Finally, he went into a dark alley. Loni waited in a nearby fire hydrant until some other guy came along and went into the alley. She peered around the corner and saw that the other man appeared to be buying a bottle of the glowy liquid stuff from Mr. Ian Woon. He handed him money and Ian opened his suitcase and took a bottle out of the suitcase and handed it to him. They shook hands and Ian closed his suitcase and they both left and Loni hid. Loni continued to follow Ian, until he went into a house. She memorized the location of the house and returned to Lita's house.
***
On an Asian island, a girl was meditating. She sat at the base of a mountain, slowly breathing, trying to relax. She could hear the messenger's footsteps. "Are you sure?" she asked, eyes still closed.
"No," replied the young boy. "They're never sure. But they want you to go now."
She took a few more deep breaths, then stood and opened her eyes. The boy was gone. "Well, it's about time," she said.
***
"Ghost drugs, I'm telling you. It's the only answer that makes sense," said Lita.
"That's sure what it looked like," said Loni. "But how on earth do you make drugs out of ghosts who died in a fire twenty years ago?"
"By being a crazy mad scientist, apparently," said Lita.
Just then, ninjas dropped out of nowhere and surrounded Lita!
"Whaaaaieaarrggaaahhh!" she said.
"We need you to come with us," said one of the ninjas.
"Okay," said Lita. "Where are we going?"
"Hey!" said the ninja, looking around at one of his brethren. "You said she'd be likely to put up a fight! All of us came all the way out here, and now she's just going to come willingly? I had plans today, you know?"
"Well, soh-reey!" said the other ninja, rolling his eyes. "It's not like I'm psychic, you know! The last one had five friends who all attacked us! We have reason to be cautious!"
"Hey, are you just going to leave me here?" said Loni.
"I'm not stopping you from coming along," said Lita.
"Who are you talking to?" said one of the ninjas.
"Oh, just this ghost girl who's been following me around," said Lita.
"Hey!" said Loni. "It's not like I'm a stray dog or something."
"See! See! I was right!" said the eye-rolling ninja. "She *can* talk to the dead!"
"Hey, guys, there's some ghosts from a fire twenty years ago hanging around in the local school, and this mad scientist guy seems to be making drugs from them somehow. Think you could help out with figuring out what's up with that?"
"Maybe later," said one of the ninjas. "But right now, we really need your help. See, there's this artifact we really need, and none of us know where it is, but we think there's some ghosts who might know, so we need you to talk to them."
"What, am I a special ghost-talker or something?" said Lita.
"Well, apparently," said the ninja. "Now, let's go!"
"Can Loni come?" said Lita.
"Loni?" asked a ninja.
"Yeah, that's the ghost girl."
"Oh, I doubt she can," said the ninja. "That's why there's still ghosts hanging around our home island of people who died decades ago. They'd rather travel the world, but they can't go farther than a few miles away from where they died."
"Wait, I'm dead?" said Loni. "I... whoa. I never thought about that."
"We're going to an island? Will there be beaches?" said Lita.
"There's a few. But the water's pretty chilly."
"How are we going to travel?" asked Lita.
"Ninja."
"Ninja is a mode of transportation?"
"Yes. I'm afraid you won't remember it. It's too much for the untrained mind to handle."
"Hey! What am I supposed to do while you're gone?" said Loni. "I thought we were going to be all detectivey together and do important stuff."
"I'll probably be back eventually, and we can do that. In the meantime, I'm sure there's lots of fun stuff you can do as a ghost. Spy on people! Learn to levitate stuff with your mind! Watch Mr. Ian Woon!"
One of the ninjas held up a note. "This is for your parents, so they know where you went." Lita peered at it. It said:
"Mr. and Mrs. Hansen,
We have kidnapped your daughter. She will probably be back eventually.
Sincerely,
Ninjas"
"Oh, good," said Lita. "Now I know they won't be worried. Okay, let's go!"
The last thing she saw was Loni glaring at her, arms crossed. Then she was on the ground and it was cold and the sun was bright and shining at her and she was dizzy.
"Waiaghaaghhahggg," she said. "That's what ninja transportation is like?"
"Yes," said a ninja. "But we can only do that when our destination is our homeland. Otherwise, we have to travel normally. Well, since we're ninjas, we can run across water and climb sheer cliffs, so I suppose it's not exactly normal travel. Still, it's slower. Anyway, welcome to Three Point Five."
"What?" said Lita, trying to stand up. She fell back over.
"It has been the home island of the noble ninja for thousands of years. The true name is a secret known only to the wisest master ninjas. To all others, it is known as Three Point Five."
"Why?"
"That is also a secret known only to the wisest master ninjas."
Lita finally succeeded in standing up. She looked around. The island was really rather small. There were some hills and a mini-mountain that wasn't really tall enough to be considered a real mountain, although it was pretty big in comparison to the other stuff. There were a lot of rice paddies and temples and groves and maybe a forest and description is boring so Lita asked the ninja, "Where did everyone else go?"
"They went back to their duties. I'm the one who has been designated to take you to the suspected location of the ghost."
"Do you talk like that all the time?"
The ninja sighed. "Look, let's just get this over with."
"Why don't you take off your mask? It doesn't look all that comfortable."
Ignoring her, the ninja pointed to a nearby stone building surrounded by trees. "That building was once the home of Shak Fin, a greatly respected ninja who died about two years ago. He had a dozen or so engraved medallions, and we have yet to locate them all. We don't know which ghosts are present on the island, but we believe there is one living in his house. It might be him, it might not. But we want you to try to speak to whichever ghosts you can find, and see if any of them have information about the locations of the medallions."
"But I was only able to see Loni, back at home," said Lita. "There was this room - she said it was full of ghosts, but I couldn't see any besides her."
"When did you first see her?"
"I was at school and I passed out. When I was starting to wake up, I wasn't really awake or asleep - just out of it, and that's when I first saw her. And I saw the school burning, which apparently happened twenty years ago."
The ninja nodded. "That's how it often works. Very few people see *all* ghosts, and the ones who do usually get overwhelmed and go insane. They only connect with them when they are in an unusual mental state, and then after that they can see those particular ones. It often happens when they have fevers, use drugs, or go into trances of some sort. Shak Fin apparently had that ability, and he would lock himself in his house or hike up to some cave, and then he would fast and meditate until he connected with a ghost. He said there were several still on the island, and many of them were people who once could speak to ghosts. That's why we are hopeful that his ghost is still around."
"Huh," said Lita. "Weird stuff. So what, you're going to make me starve myself until I get so delusional that I see dead people?"
"No," said the ninja. "We tried that with the last person who said they could talk to ghosts, and it didn't go so well. He ended up starving to death. Really, you forget to check on someone for one day..."
"What!?" exclaimed Lita.
The ninja chuckled. "I'm kidding. The last one just turned out to be crazy. No, we're just going to have you sleep in there. We think Shak Fin has been actively trying to contact us, so you probably won't need to be in a deep trance for him to be able to reach you - normal sleep should do the trick."
Lita glanced at the sky. The sun was low over the horizon, but sunset hadn't really began yet. "Well, what am I going to do until it's night?"
The ninja shrugged. "They didn't really specify. We expected that it would take longer to convince you to help us. It's been about a year and a half since we realized that we needed Shak Fin's medallions and that we might be able to get his ghost to help us. None of us currently have the ability to speak to ghosts, so we began trying to track down people with that ability in the outside world. Of course, we found a lot of people who were just crazy or lying. Only a few seemed to actually have the ability, and none of them wanted to help us. We may be warriors, but we're not torturers. I suppose we could have found a way to force them, but causing pain when there is a viable alternative is against our philosophy. So we kept looking for someone who would be willing."
"Why wouldn't they want to help you?" said Lita. "It's not really that hard."
"Apparently, most people with your ability are terrified of it. They think it's the influence of evil or some such nonsense. They don't want to talk to the dead."
"People are strange," said Lita. "I think it's kind of cool. I mean, I've only talked to one ghost, and she wasn't that great. But there's all kinds of dead people out there! Some of them must be fun to talk to. So what determines whether someone becomes a ghost or not?"
"We have no idea," said the ninja.
"Huh. So what are we going to do now?"
The ninja shrugged.
"Well, what cool ninja skills do you have that you can teach me?"
The ninja laughed. "I don't think you have the capacity for the things we learn here."
"Hey!" said Lita. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that ninjas are trained from a very young age to have great self-control. We spend hours meditating. We practice and practice and practice. And the things we do utilize that self-control. For example, I can make a flowerbud start to bloom into a flower by channeling energy into it. But it takes great self-control. I have to meditate, concentrate, block out everything except the flower, and slowly let it fill my mind... it takes great care. It's not a party trick that can be learned in an afternoon."
Lita rolled her eyes. "Well, show me, then!"
"All right, I will. Let's go to the greenhouse." She spun around, and Lita followed. They didn't speak for the whole walk, which lasted about seven minutes. They arrived at the greenhouse. Lita looked around. There were ninjas tending the gardens. None of them were wearing face masks. She giggled a little.
"What's so funny?" said the ninja, picking out a flower that had yet to bloom.
"Just... ninjas gardening," said Lita.
"We're self-sufficient on Three Point Five," said the ninja. "It requires a lot of non-ninja-related activities. And anyway, spending time doing things like growing rice and cleaning helps build character."
"You sound like my grandfather," said Lita. "He thinks everything builds character."
The ninja ignored her and held up the plant. She closed her eyes. For a long minute, nothing happened. Lita was about to say something when she saw the leaves around the bud twitch. Then, slowly, they began to open. Lita could see the tops of the small, soggy petals within. The bud slowly expanded, twitching - but then it stopped.
"That is pretty cool," she said. "Why can't you make it bloom all the way?"
"I'm only a novice ninja. I'm not diciplined enough."
"Are you sure you can't teach me? I want to be able to do it."
The ninja smiled a bit. "It is pretty neat. I can also make vegetables ripen a bit and things like that, but the flower is more fun. I suppose I could try to teach you, but don't set your expectations too high."
"Well, I can talk to ghosts," said Lita. "I must have some sort of power."
"I suppose," said the ninja. "Here." She handed Lita a potted flower with a large bud on the end of the stem. "All right, let's go outside."
They went outside, and Lita sat on a large rock. She held the pot in her lap and stared at the bud. "Okay, so you said... clear everything out of my mind except the flower?"
The ninja sighed. "Maybe I shouldn't try to teach you this. I'm definitely not a teacher, and anyway, you should at least know the basics of meditation first..."
"Well, tell me the basics of meditation."
***
Meanwhile, an old man was sitting at a table in a tavern, arms crossed, glaring at a younger man sitting across the table from him. The young dude had a pointed goatee and mustache, an eyepatch, and an annoying smile. The old dude had a few scars on his face and an anchor tattoo.
"You'll pay for this, Frederick," grumbled the old man.
Frederick just smiled. "You've got to learn to let things go, old man. Ships' crews change all the time. Go with the flow."
"The Seal Breath was my ship for twenty years, Frederick! Twenty years! You can't just let something like that go!"
Frederick shrugged. "It wasn't even that great of a ship. In fact, I think I've managed to find myself a new ship. Much nicer. I still need a few more people on my crew, if you're interested..."
"I would never work for scum like you! You wrecked my beloved Seal Breath! I helped to build that ship with my own two hands! And thanks to you, it's all gone! Someday, you'll know how it feels to have your life ripped away from you. Until then, I don't want to see your face again."
Frederick laughed. "You've got to learn to stop being so noble, or people will just keep taking things. Well, I guess I'll see you later." He stood and exited the tavern. The old man smirked and reached into his pocket, pulling out a circle of metal with a small hole in the top and strange engravings on it.
"Stop being so noble, eh? Well, I think I'm doing well with that."
***
"Stop thinking about puppies!"
"I'm not trying to! They just keep popping into my head!"
The sun was setting on Three Point Five, and Lita had yet to master the art of meditation. Try as she might to clear her mind, adorable and fluffy puppies kept drifting through her thoughts.
"Look, I was at the humane society yesterday," she said. "And I played with all these puppies, and they were adorable and awesome, and now I can't stop thinking about them. I'm sorry. I don't think the whole mind-clearing thing is for me. Can't I just try to make the flower bloom without meditating?"
"Well, you can *try*," said the ninja. "But the only way I know how to do it is through meditation. I fall into the meditative state, clearing my mind completely. Then, I let the flower into my mind - but only the flower, nothing else. That part is difficult. Clearing my mind is easy, but it's hard to think about just one thing and nothing else. Anyway, I just concentrate on the flower in its entirety, letting it fill my brain - becoming the flower, in a way. And then... it's hard to explain. I make the flower bloom in my mind. But since my entire mind is the flower, it's like I make myself bloom."
"That doesn't really make sense," said Lita. "All right, be quiet, I'm going to try again." She closed her eyes and tried to imagine a bottomless pit. Black emptiness. Blooming flower! No, she wasn't supposed to think about the flower yet. Clear the mind first. She started thinking about the walls of the bottomless pit. She sighed and deleted the pit part. She just thought about a completely empty void. Black. Cold. No, blackness and coldness are things. She was supposed to be empty. She tried to not imagine anything. She watched the shapes on the insides of her eyelids. Puppies. No! She tried again. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.
...
Flower.
She wanted it to bloom.
"I can't do this!" she exclaimed, standing up. "Here, put the flower back. Maybe I'll try again later. I can't clear my mind. It's silly."
"Well, are you ready to go to sleep yet?" asked the ninja.
"I suppose," said Lita. "The sun isn't all the way down yet, but I am pretty tired."
"All right, let's go back to the house."
Once again, they walked in silence. When they reached the house, the ninja pulled a key out of somewhere in her ninja suit and unlocked the door. Lita peered into the one-roomed house. The only light came from the window and the now-open door, but she could make out a bed, some tables, and some cupboards.
"There's a pitcher of water and a glass over there if you get thirsty," said the ninja, pointing at one of the tables. "If you do contact a ghost, ask if they're willing to talk to us directly - with you translating, of course. If they are, ring this bell." She pointed to a bell next to the door. "If they don't want you to call us for some reason, don't do it - we don't want to make them mad. THere's a pen and a pad of paper by the water, so you can write down anything they say. Sweet dreams."
Lita entered the room, and she heard the ninja close the door behind her. "Well, I'm sure this will be fun," she muttered to herself."
***
"Did you find anyone?" grumbed the old man.
"A few possibilites," said Viola, a tall woman in her forties with long wavy black hair and an enormous three-pointed hat with a feather in it. "Some other bitter victims of mutiny. Nothing interesting. What is interesting is this." She reached into her bosom and pulled out a metal circle similar to the one the old man had. She showed it to him with a grin, then put it back in her boobs, which were medium-sized and slightly pointed but not in a preeteen way.
"Well, well, well," said the man. "So this trip wasn't a complete waste. Now where did you find that?"
"Won it in a game of cards from someone who didn't know what it really was," she said. "Stupid, and a cheater."
The man raised his eyebrows. "You're saying you didn't cheat?"
"Only get called a cheater if you get caught," she said. "Did you find anything?"
"Nah," he said. "I've just been drinkin' all night. Frederick came to taunt me. I'll look properly tomorrow, but I've dedicated tonight to feeling sorry for myself.
"At least you're honest," she said. She tossed him a key. "Room seventeen, top floor, paid for by a bet that I couldn't hold five shots of Rudy's strongest. Try to get your ass up into bed before you pass out, or my stomachache will have been for nothing."
"Thanks, Viola," he said.
"There'll be plenty of time for thanks when we've achieved our great wealth and glory," she said with a wink. "I'm off to see what else I can find."
The old man smiled to himself as he walked off. She sure was something else, whatever that means.
***
Lita was surrounded by mountains. She turned around and saw a flock of goats. They knew how to climb mountains. She watched them spread out, each choosing a different one. "Finally," said one of them. It walked behind a tree. She couldn't see it anymore. There was no more tree... this was a dream...
"I have much to tell you."
Lita grumbled into her pillow. Stupid dream with talking goats.
Wait, that wasn't a goat.
She sat bolt upright and looked around. In the corner by the door, she thought she saw a faint silhouette...
She rubbed her eyes and looked again. Yes, it was definitely person-shaped.
"Are you dead?" she asked.
"I see that tact is not your strong point," responded the figure.
She sighed and fell back onto her pillow. "Sorry. Not so polite when I've just woken up. Are you Shak Fin?"
"No. I am Lining," said the voice, which was male and pronounced that Lihn-ing, not like line-ing. "However, I once knew Shak Fin."
"Is he a ghost now?"
"Yes. But as far as I know, he hasn't spoken to anyone since he died, dead or alive. I know he must still be on the island, but I've only seen him a few times, and he wouldn't speak to me. He seems to be hiding now."
Lining sounded sad. "I'm sorry," said Lita. "Was he your friend?"
"You could say that. Before you get your hopes up, I don't have all the information you seek. I know the ninjas want to know the locations of the medallions Shak Fin created. I would very much like to help the ninjas find the medallions, but I'm afraid I cannot be very helpful with that endeavor. Shak Fin told me very little about them. I don't know if even he knows where they are. I know that a young boy stole some of them - he was irate because the ninjas refused to give him full training. I believe he was sailing back to the mainland with his family when the ship was attacked by pirates. The medallions may be at the bottom of the sea in the shipwreck. But more likely the pirates took them. They'll take anything that looks vaguely like a coin. I knew one who stole a bottle cap once."
"Was the boy and his family killed?" asked Lita.
"I don't know," said the ghost. "Even if there was a fatality, it's unlikely that any of them would have become a ghost. As you may know, most ghosts are people who were able to speak to ghosts in life, or people who had other supernatural abilities. We tested the boy and his family, and none of them had any such ability."
"Hmm," said Lita. "So now that I've seen you once, I'll be able to see you from now on, right?"
"That's how it seems to work."
"Are there any other ghosts around here?"
"There are about a dozen on the island, but I don't think any of them know about the medallions besides Shak Fin. And most of us spend much of our time meditating, or listening to the master ninjas teach. I just... well, I spend some time in this house."
"Well, I'm going back to sleep. If you find any other ghosts who feel like talking to me, bring 'em down here and let them invade my dreams. But don't try too hard, because I'd really like to sleep more. I'll tell the ninjas what you said in the morning."
"All right," said Lining. "I'll look for you later." He walked out the wall, and Lita rolled over and closed her eyes again.
***
Lining sat on the mountainside, perched on a large rock. A nearby stream trickled down the mountain. It was a familiar spot. He had visited it only once in life, but he came here nearly every day in death. The stars above him were obscured by clouds on one side of the sky, but shining bright on the other. The full moon made a circle of light from behind the clouds. It was nearly identical to that night two years ago...
"You know this will have to end," said a voice behind him.
Lining smiled to himself. Ghosts were notorious for this kind of thing. But right now, he didn't mind following the stereotype. "I don't believe that." He paused a moment longer than he had the first time this scene had played. He was supposed to turn around, but he was afraid that if he did, there would be no one there. But he turned, and there stood Shak Fin. It was no dream. It was just an echo.
"I wish I still thought that what we believed mattered," he said in his low, controlled voice. "All that matters is what a handful of people believe. What the master ninjas believe. They're the ones who control us."
"Why can't we just leave?" pleaded Lining, as heartfelt as the first time. Maybe they could find a way. Maybe they could leave together, as ghosts. They could go haunt the mainland together. Or if they couldn't leave the island, at least they could leave behind their lives there, live together in death, stop meditating and learning. "What's so wrong with being happy?"
Shak Fin turned his back to Lining. "We've lived our whole lives this way. Discipline. Self-control. Meditation. Learning to feel nothing. And these people are our lives. The only way we know how to live is on this island. We go out into the world, but our hearts are still here. We don't go into the world to live. We go as ninjas. We go as outsiders, to change, to kill. Do you really think we could change that just by wanting it? Do you think we could go get an apartment in a city and work at the supermarket? No one else would trust us, or understand us, or accept us. This is the only way we can live."
The words echoed in Lining's mind. "*I'm sorry.*" It was all he said, and it was all he was supposed to echo.
No. No.
"No."
Shak Fin froze, stood stiffly.
"We have to stop being weak," he said. "We lived as echoes of the lives the masters created for us. Are they really so strong that we can't even escape them with death? Come on. We don't have to be like this anymore. They can't see us. They can't control us. They can't stop us from being happy."
"It's wrong," said Shak Fin, almost whispering.
"Who has the right to say that? We're not hurting anyone. They don't care about us anymore. They say ghosts of ninjas never leave this island. The truth is that it's the living ones who never leave. They keep us here. We have so much power, but they never let us use it. They never let us care enough to use it. Come on. We're so powerful. We can make flowers bloom, we can kill someone in under four seconds, we can run across water, but we can't leave a damn island? Come with me, Shak. Break away."
Shak Fin turned around. Lining saw his eyes burning. "No..."
Lining took a few steps towards Shak. "Do you love me?"
"What do you think?"
"Say it."
Shak looked down at the ground. "I can't."
Lining grabbed his shoulders. "They taught me all my life to let go of emotion, to analyze instead of feel. They told me that passion was what made people fail. And I believed them. But when I went on missions, I did things because they were what I was supposed to do. And I only went through the motions. But then I fell in love with you, and I tried so hard to meditate it away, to replace it with logic, but I couldn't, and that night when I fought for you, I fought better than I ever had before in my life. Because of the passion. Because I cared. So I say the master ninjas are wrong. How can emotion be wrong when it makes us feel so right. I love you, Shak. You're the only thing I've ever truly loved."
Shak fell forward, hugging Lining, sobbing into his shoulder. Lining hugged him back. They stood their, holding each other hard, both crying. Finally, Shak looked up and gazed into Lining's eyes.
"I love you."
***
Lita was back with the goats. This time, they were all climbing the same mountain. They were resting in a cave on the mountainside. One of the goats walked up to her. "So you're the girl," it said.
"Are you sure this is the right mountain?" she said.
"I need to speak to the ninjas."
"Oh, damn," she said. "I guess I shouldn't have expected to get a good night's sleep." She sat up, seeing another ghost standing in the room. This time, it was a she-ghost. The sun had partially risen, and light streamed into the room. "But what's up with the goat?"
"Everything is a goat," said the ghost. "Call the ninjas, please."
Grumbling, Lita stood and rung the bell. Soon, a ninja came through the door. He was very old and he had a crazy beard.
"Yes? Do you need something?"
"There's a ghost over there," said Lita. "She wants to talk to you."
"Is that so?" said the old man.
"You don't look very convinced," said Lita. "Didn't you bring me here to talk to ghosts?"
"Yes, but many of the other people we have brought to talk to ghosts have turned out to be hallucinating them."
"Tell him that the flowing river cannot be stopped, but it must remain steady," said the ghost woman.
"Uh," said Lita. "The ghost lady says that you can't stop a river, but it has to stay steady. Or something."
The old guy raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's promising."
"Four of the medallions were stolen by a young boy. Then his ship was attacked by pirates, and they stole them. They did not wreck the ship or kill the people on it - they did some damage, but mostly they looted the ship and sailed back away. I know this because the boy and his family reached his hometown, and I was there at the time, and I overheard them talking about it."
"Wait, let me repeat that," said Lita. "Well, earlier tonight, I saw another ghost named Lining. He told me about the boy who stole the medallions, but he didn't know that the boy got back home. So now this other ghost lady says that some pirates attacked the boy's ship and took the medallions, but they didn't kill anyone or wreck the ship, so the people got back home, and she overheard them talking about it."
"I see," said the old guy. "And which ghost do we have the pleasure of conversing with?"
"My name is Nia," said the ghost.
"Nia," said Lita.
"Ah, Nia," said the old man. "I remember you."
"Yes," said Nia. "Anyway, the pirate ship that attacked was called the Seal Breath. After hearing about this, I tracked it, but I found it too late. Apparently, a man named Frederick started a mutiny against the previous captain, Pierre. Pierre managed to sabatoge the ship before Frederick made him walk the plank. They were near land, so Pierre managed to swim to safety. The ship crashed into the rocks by the shore, thanks to Pierre's sabatoge. I found the shipwreck and searched it, but it seems Frederick managed to get most of the valuables out of the ship. I guessed that he would have gone to Roshcoshnoshtersteinville, since he shipwrecked pretty near there, and that's where pirates always go to get new ships. So I went there undercover, and I discovered that Frederick and Pierre were both there, and I learned that Frederick did indeed still have much of the treasure that was on the ship. Unfortunately, I died before I could discover whether the medallions were there. I did hear a rumor that someone had a strange engraved metal circle as a prize in a card game, though. That could have been one."
Lita sighed. "I have to repeat all that? This is going to take forever. All right, the ship that attacked-"
"The Seal Breath," Nia interrupted.
"Right. The ship that attacked was called the Seal Breath. And Nia tracked it. And some guy Frederick mutinied and took over, but the old captain sabatoged the ship before Fred threw him off the ship, so it crashed. But Nia searched the wreck and all the valuables were gone, so she went to some ridiculous pirate town-"
"Roshcoshnoshtersteinville."
"I can't even say that name. Rosh-something-ville. NIa went there and found out that both the original captain and the mutiny guy were there, and she heard that there was some weird metal thing someone was putting up as a prize in a card game, and that Fred had salvaged the valuables from the shipwreck. And then she died."
"And how exactly did you die?" asked the old man. "I heard of your death, but not the circumstances."
"I'd rather not discuss that now," said Nia.
"She doesn't want to tell you," said Lita. "It's probably something embarrassing."
Nia rolled her eyes. "I simply don't think it's relevant."
"Whatever," said Lita.
"Well, Nia, thank you for that information. We'll send a convoy to Roshcoshnoshtersteinville immediately to try to ascertain the location of the medallions. Do you know if the ghost of Shak Fin is still on the island?"
"Lining said he was," said Lita.
"I'm afraid that you can't trust Lining," said the ninja. "He's a betrayer."
"What? Why? He seemed perfectly nice," said Lita. "What did he do?"
"Perhaps I can tell you later," said the old guy. "But right now, I need to share this information with the other ni njas an d make plans."
"Well, what am I supposed to do for now?" said Lita.
"As l ong as you don't cause any disturbances, I don't really care. It would be excellent if you could locate some more ghosts."
"How am I supposed to do that? I just fall asleep and they come bother me. I don't know how to contact them while I'm awake or anything."
"Well, perhaps you should learn how. I have to go."
"That was incredibly unhelpful," grumbled Lita as the old guy left. She looked at Nia. "Were you able to talk to ghosts when you were alive?"
"Yes," said Nia.
"Is there some special way to contact them besides falling asleep when there's one around?"
"I sometimes managed to contact ghosts while meditating," said Nia.
Lita rolled her eyes. "You ninjas and your meditation. It's, like, all you ever do!"
"It's very important to our way of life. And our way of fighting."
"Well, I tried it, and I sucked at it. Is there any other way to contact ghosts?"
Nia shrugged. "Not that I know of. If you don't mind, I'm going to leave now. I have things to do."
"Like what? You're dead."
"That doesn't mean I cannot continue my pursuit of true inner peace." Nia left through the wall. Lita sighed. "Well, this is fascinating," she grumbled. As she was getting herself a glass of water, there was a knock on the door.
"Yes?" she said.
The door opened because a ninja girl opened it. She was wearing the black ninjasuit, but no head covering. "There's a meditation class starting in half an hour, if you want to try again," said the ninja.
"It's hard to tell you ninjas apart, especially since half of you are wearing those head things, but you seem familiar," said Lita. She peered at the girl, who had shoulder-length dark brown hair, almond-shaped and greenish-brown eyes, and rather small features on her face.
"I was the one who showed you the flower thing yesterday," she said.
"Oh," said Lita. "Why wouldn't you take off the head thing?"
"We have to wear them all day at least once a week. That was my day. Anyway, do you want to try the meditation class?"
Lita shrugged. "Why not? It's not like I have anything else to do."
"So did you contact any ghosts?"
"Yeah, but they didn't have that much information. Apparently some of the medallions might be in Roshcoshnoshtersteinville, but we don't know for sure."
The girl raised an eyebrow. "The pirates have them? Well, I'm sure this will be interesting."
"What, is the whole ninjas versus pirates thing actually real?"
"Oh, yeah. One of the things a ninja can get a lot of respect for is going to Roshcoshnoshtersteinville and stealing something from the pirates, or assassinating one of them."
"I thought pirates were crazy and rowdy and half-drunk all the time," said Lita. "Wouldn't it be easy to steal from them?"
"It is when there's just a small group and they're not expecting it," said the ninja girl. "But they've learned to expect it in Roshcoshnoshtersteinville. All the buildings are well-lit and have very few closets and small places to hide. And it's sort of difficult for a ninja to disguise themselves and infiltrate a pirate town. We don't exactly fit in."
"I see," said Lita. "So what's your name, anyway?"
"Tanis," said the ninja girl.
"That's a cool name. I've never heard it before. So do the pirates ever come here?"
"They certainly do," said Tanis. "They come and try to steal from us. We have a lot of valuables here. But neither of us really try very hard when we attack each other. Whatever the ninja masters may say, we're about evenly matched, and if another real war between ninjas and pirates broke out, it would be a bloodbath."
"But.. you guys have crazy martial arts skills," said Lita.
"They may have lower standards, but that means they have much greater numbers," said Tanis. "And we train as assassins, for the most part. When we kill people, we track them down, sneak up on them, kill them before they know anything has happened. We have excellent stealth skills, and we're good at utilizing our environments - leaping on furniture, climbing trees, that kind of thing. But the pirates attack us openly, and we're not so great at fighting in an open area and not being able to use stealth."
"Hmm," said Lita. "Now I kind of want to see a pirate versus ninja fight."
"Maybe someday," said Tanis. "We should get going to that meditation class."
"All right," said Lita. "But I doubt it'll do much good. I'm not great with the clearing of the mind."
"You should at least try," said Tanis. "It's a useful skill."
"So I've heard."
***
"Pierre! Wake the hell up!"
The old man grumbled and rolled over. "Gnnrg? Viola? What?"
"There's a ship leaving for Three Point Five in an hour. I convinced them to let us on to do the dirty work - washing, cooking, whatever. Not exactly what we were hoping for, but I'm afraid we're going to have to take it, because I also found the other two medallions, and their previous owners are rather disgruntled now. I got them to blame each other for the theft, but they'll figure it out. So get out of bed before they realize what I did and come to set us on fire."
"Rrrngh," Pierre grumbled. "One of these days, I swear I'm going to get a good night's sleep. All right, I'm going, I'm going."
"Good. I started packing for you. You finish the job while I find us some food."
***
"You didn't feel inner peace?"
"Sorry, no. I felt inner boredom."
Tanis and Lita were walking away from the meditation class.
"But it's so relaxing! You can just let go of everything. It's wonderful."
"Oh, whatever. It's just boring. I want to explore."
"Uh, okay. I'd go with you, but I have to shuck corn."
"You have to shuck corn."
"Yes."
"That's the most ridiculous excuse for not doing something... ever."
"It is not."
"Okay, it's not, but it's pretty ridiculous."
"Well, it's the truth. Don't get lost."
"I won't."
Tanis walked away and Lita explored for the rest of the day. She found a spring and a cool cave and lots of fun trees and like a beach maybe, but that's boring, so let's skip to when she went to bed.
Lita went to bed.
Lita fell asleep.
Lita started dreaming.
Lita was trying to stop goat terrorism. They were planting a bomb. She had to find it and stop it. But one of the goats jumped out in front of her, holding a gun. It was all over! But then the goat wasn't a terrorist anymore and it wasn't holding a gun anymore and it said "So you're the girl."
"Sleeeeeeep," she said. "I love it. I miss it. But you ghosts keep interrupting it."
"This is important. Wake up."
She grumbled and sat up. "Okay, who are you?"
"Shak Fin."
"Oh! You're, like, important. Okay. Where your medallions at, bro?"
"What?"
"The medallions. Where are they?"
"That kid stole some of them. I don't know what happened to them after that."
"Well, do you know where the other ones are?"
"Yes, but I'm not going to tell you."
"What? Why?"
"Because I no longer respect or follow the master ninjas."
Lining walked through the wall. "Hello," he said. He held Shak Fin's hand.
"Hey, Lining," said Lita. "Why won't Shak tell me about the medallions?"
"Because the ninjas are full of crap," said Lining.
Shak Fin laughed. "I don't think I've ever heard you say that word."
"It's kind of liberating. Damn! Crappity crap crap!"
"Shit fuck hell," replied Shak.
"I think I'm missing something," said Lita.
"Ninjas aren't supposed to swear. And now we're swearing."
"All right," said Lita. "Uh, so... what should I tell the ninjas?"
"Screw them! We don't want to help them find the medallions."
"....." said Lita. "Oooookay. This is just getting weirder and weirder. What do they even do? The ninjas wouldn't tell me."
"They decode the papers I wrote when I was posessed by ancestor spirits," said Shak Fin. "I basically went crazy for a week and wrote all this crazy stuff that I barely remember now. And it's all in code, and you need the medallions to decode it."
"Okay. What's on the papers?"
"A recipe for worldwide renown, fame, and wealth."
"... but what *is* it?"
"I don't remember. I just remember that it contains information that can bring someone great fame and glory-type-stuff. So the ninjas want it, obviously."
"Apparently the pirates got a bunch of the medallions. But they don't know what they do."
Shak Fin shrugged. "I don't really care if they do get the great fame and wealth. I just don't want the ninjas to have it because they tried to stop our love."
"Whaaat?" said Loni.
Lining smiled at Shak. "We fell in love. And we were terrified of being together because we were taught all our ives to free ourseelves from emotion. But when Shak Fin went crazy... well, he wrote all that stuff, but it was too much. Being possessed by a ton of ancestor spirits is not a fun thing, apparently. It drove him insane. He tried to attack some ninjas. We probably could have rehabilitated him, brought him back... but they just wanted to kill him. They attacked him. And I defended him. Because I couldn't handle him being gone. Obviously, the two of us versus all the other ninjas... they killed us both fairly quickly. But even until death we were afraid to be together. Until last night. When we realized how stupid we were."
Shak nodded. "They controlled us, even in death. But not anymore. We're going to be together. And we don't want to help the ninjas any more."
"Fair enough," said Lita. "But it doesn't seem like they're really that bad. Their ways are what they think is a good way to live. If you didn't like their rules, why didn't you just leave?"
"I admit, we were cowards," said Lining. "And maybe we are unfairly demonizing them. But if someone had tried to murder the love of your life, you probably wouldn't like them a whole lot either."
"True," said Lita. "All right, I'll tell them what you said. Hey, I just remembered that they said not to trust anything Lining told me. I guess that's why."
Lining nodded. "I attacked them. They consider me a traitor. I did not recieve an honorable funeral. But I believe I died honorably. Now, if you don't mind, we're going to try to get off this island."
"I thought you were stuck here forever," said LIta.
"That's what they told us. But we want to try anyway. And if it doesn't work, we want to find a way to go on to whatever is after this."
"Okay," said Lita. "Well, good luck."
"Thank you." They both exited through the wall.
Lita sighed. She still wasn't sure what to make of the ninjas. They seemed perfectly nice, but overyly obsessed with discipline. Perhaps it made them good warriors, but it couldn't be healthy.
"Back to the goats," she said to herself, and went back to sleep.
The next day, no one came to wake her up. She left the building and wandered aimlessly for a while, until the same old guy from before recognized her and started talking to her.
"Any more ghost visits?" he said.
"Yes. Very interesting," said Lita. "Both Shak Fin and Lining showed up. Apparently, they're madly in love, and they hate you all because you didn't allow them to be together. So they don't want to help you find the medallions, and now they're going to try to leave the island together."
"This is no time for jokes," said the old man. "What really happened?"
"I'm telling the truth! Why would I lie to someone who could kill me in under a second?"
The old man shook his head. "We knew that Lining was struggling with feelings for Shak, but we thought Shak was strong enough to resist. Apparently we were wrong. That's a shame. So they didn't give you any useful information?"
"No, not really," said Lita. "So how long are you going to keep me here?"
"Well, if you keep having nightly ghost visits, you should remain here," said the old guy. "You may still find a ghost who will be willing to help us."
"Okay. I don't especially want to go back home. It's not like anything interesting was happening there. Well, except for that whole thing where Mr. Ian Woon was making drugs from ghosts who died twenty years ago... but you know, that's not interesting at all. Sitting around on an island all day waiting until I can go to sleep so dead people can talk to me but not actually tell me anything useful... that's much more fun."
"I'm not sure if that was sarcasm, but it doesn't really matter," said the old guy. "You should at least stay here for a few more days."
"Hey, Lita!" said a nearby ninja. It was Tanis. "I want to show you something. I just learned it."
"More ninja skills?" said Lita.
"Yeah. I've been practicing throwing shurikens."
"Oh, cool!" said Lita. "I wanna see."
"Come here."
Lita followed Tanis to a field full of flowers. Tanis pulled a shuriken out of nowhere and threw it. It flew in an arc around the field, cutting the stems of a dozen flowers. She ran after it, grabbing the flowers as they were cut, and returning to Lita holding them.
"That was cool!" said Lita. "Probably not all that useful, but cool."
"I spend a lot more time practicing the cool stuff," admitted Tanis. "Rather than the useful things. Really, I'm supposed to be working on hitting specific parts of people from a distance with these, not chopping flowers. That's just more fun."
"So you're trained to murder people? That seems kind of weird," said Lita.
"Well, we are ninjas."
"But don't they train you since you're a child?"
"Yes."
"So you've been learning how to kill people since you were a child?"
"Well, leading up to it," said Tanis. "For the first few years, they don't even mention it. It's all about the meditation and the self-control. And then we start learning basic battle techniques. But, like I said, we are ninjas. It may seem strange to you, but it's a way of life for us. And it's not like we randomly go out and murder people all the time - it's always for good reason."
"What kinds of reasons?"
"We go after bad people. People who are trying to cause great pain and suffering."
"But *who*? How do you track them down?"
Tanis shrugged. "That's the master ninjas' job. They're very wise, and they determine who the world would be better without. And it's our job to bring that to be the way it is and kill them but it's not up to us to do the thinking behind it."
"You guys really are crazy," said Lita. "You just go out and murder people because some old guys tell you to? You don't know if they deserve it. How can you trust them so blindly?"
"Oh, come on," said Tanis. "There's lots of history of times that our killing was good. We study it."
"They could have made up that too."
"I don't have time for this!" Tanis pushed the flowers into Lita's arms. "I have to go. Have fun with your ghosts." She began to walk away.
"Hey, wait," said Lita. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. It just seems weird to me, but I don't know much about the ninja way or whatever..."
"I know," said Tanis. "But I feel angry, and I shouldn't. I need to restore my inner peace." She walked away.
"Crazy! They're all crazy!" said Lita.
"They sure are," said a voice behind her. She spun around. It was Lining.
"I thought you were leaving," she said.
"We were, but then we saw that some of the ninjas were dangerously close to where Shak hid the medallions. Look, you've been here for a few days and you already see how crazy they are. Do you really want these people to have great fame and wealth?"
"I don't really care," said Lita.
"Okay, let's put it this way. We can help you find the rest of the medallions, and *you* can have great fame and wealth."
Lita blinked. "When I first heard about this great fame and wealth thing, my first thought was that I would like to get the medallions myself. But then I remembered that my competition is a bunch of *ninjas*, and I decided to let it go. Look, I'd sure like great fame and wealth. Who wouldn't? But I don't want to piss off an island full of extremely skilled warriors."
"They wouldn't have to know! Look, there are fourteen medallions. The ninjas have five of them, and they're hidden in various places on this island. We don't know where all of them are, but since they can't see us, we can work on finding them. There are three more that Shak hid himself - the ones that the ninjas almost found. And if they're not moved, they're sure to find them soon. And that kid stole the other four. The ninjas are probably going to track them down eventually. So all you have to do is get the three from the cave and wait until the ninjas get the others. Then steal them all, along with the paper, decode it yourself, and voila! Fame! Wealth!"
"Uh, no," said Lita. "Come on. I can't steal from *ninjas*. I don't like them a whole lot, but I don't hate them. I'm getting bored of this island. I just kind of want to go home."
"You're not going to tell them about this converation, are you?" Lining looked at her, wide-eyed.
"I don't know. Probably not." She sighed. "I'm going to go hang out at the beach for a while, I guess." She walked away, leaving Lining looking at her worriedly.
She lay on the sand, eyes closed. For all she knew, the ninjas did do good. Maybe they had made the world a better place by killing these terrible people. Maybe all the meditation and self-control stuff did make them good fighters. They just seemed so... cultish. What gave them the right to take over a child's life like that before they're old enough to be able to decide what they want to do?
Shak Fin and Lining claimed that the ninjas had destroyed their chances at love during life. Emotion was forbidden. But they could have just left. They could have gone and lived a normal life together.
But could they?
Since they were children, they had only known the ninja way of life. Even if they had been strong enough to turn their backs on the only life they had ever known, would they be able to live a normal life? Could they live in a normal town, get normal jobs, pay the bills and go on dinner dates? The ninjas took over people's lives and minds.
But did that mean they didn't deserve this great reward?
Who knew...
She drifted off into sleep. In her dreams, two goats were fighting, ramming into each other with their horns... yellling!
She woke up again, grumbling. She looked up. A pirate was standing over her. She could tell he was a pirate because he had a bandana thing on his head, a gold earring, stubble, an eyepatch, a scar on his face, a poofy peasantish shirt, and lots of necklaces.
"You've got to be kidding me," she said. "Pirates. Really? Persnickety Jesus."
"You're not a ninja," said the pirate. "Why are you here?"
"I can talk to ghosts," she said. "And the ninjas wanted me to talk to some ghosts."
"Ah," said the pirate. "So, lassie, do you happen to know anything about some medallions? Fame, wealth, glory, so on?"
She shrugged. "I know that the ninjas have a bunch of them. I have no idea where."
"Well," said the pirate, "I think you're going to help us find out."
"And why would I do that?"
The pirate casually rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. "Well, we can kill you if you don't. Plus we'll let you have some of the loot."
"This is ridiculous," said Lita. "How am I supposed to find where the ninjas have hidden those medallions? They didn't even trust me enough to tell me what they were for. I just found it out from one of the ghosts. Anyway, the ninjas could kill me too."
"Well, how about you get the ghosts to help? They can find them."
Lita feigned surprise. "I suppose they could! I'd ask, but it's not like I can summon them or anything. I can just talk to them when they show up. But they've been visiting me every night in the little house that I've been staying in. So when they show up tonight, I guess I'll ask them."
The pirate glared at her. "All right. But if you don't come back here tomorrow to report on what the ghosts said, we're just going to raid the city. And we'll be sure to look for you."
"Don't worry, I'll be here," she said. She turned and went back to the ninja town. On the outskirts, she saw Tanis with a very strange look on her face.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
Tanis bit her lip. "I'm not allowed to dabble in earth energy anymore," she said. "You know, what I used to make the flower start to bloom. I was getting better at it. But they say too much focus on that always gives people the wrong frame of mind. The wrong attitude. I was unbalanced. So now I need to only use it for chores. Ripening fruit for us to eat, that sort of thing."
"I thought you said you loved it," said Lita.
"I do."
"So just because they told you to, you're going to give up something you love?"
Tanis put her head in her hands. "I just feel so angry, and I can't stop, even with the exercises, I can't make it go away... after they told me, the first thing I did was find a flower and make it bloom a little. I wanted to disobey. I still do. I always do! Whenever they tell me not to do something, I just want to do it. I *know* they're wise and they mean well. But I just can't control myself!"
Lita put her hand on Tanis's back. "It's not that you're not good enough for the ninja lifestyle. Maybe you're just not crazy enough. It's not normal for people to supress all their feelings. And most people probably can't do it. That doesn't mean they're bad people..."
"This is what my life is," said Tanis. "I have to be able to do it."
"Why? Why can't you do what makes you happy? If this life doesn't make you happy, don't live it. Leave. Go live somewhere else."
"I can't do that." Tanis stared up at her. "I was four years old when I came here. And I'm lucky to be here. They have a complicated genetic chart, and they figure out which children are likely to have ninja skills from their family trees. And my tree wasn't all that impressive. But they took me anyway..."
"Why?" said Lita.
"My family... wasn't so happy about me being a part of it," she said. "I'm lucky to be here. The ninjas have taken care of me for so many years..."
"Yeah, and given you a nice assortment of mental issues," said Lita.
Tanis glared at her. "Don't you have ghosts or something to talk to?"
"Yeah, but they're crazy too. And some pirate showed up."
"What? Again? Why would they think they could fight us on home territory?"
"I don't know. I only saw the one. He seemed pretty dumb. I told him I'd steal stuff from the ninjas for him and he just let me go."
"You're not actually going to do it, are you?"
"Come on. I am *not* stealthy. I couldn't steal from ninjas."
"Good." Tanis paused. "I wouldn't want to have to report you."
"Would you?"
They looked at each other.
"I have to go," said Tanis. She left. Lita sighed and decided to try to find Lining again. She went back to the field where he was before. He wasn't there.
"Lining!" she yelled. No one answered. She started wandering towards the mountain. Every few minutes, she would yell "Lining" again. Eventually, as she was passing a stream, Lining yelled back.
"Who is it?"
"Lita!"
He appeared from behind some trees. "How did you know I was here?"
She shrugged. "I didn't. I was just wandering."
"Did you tell the ninjas what I said?"
"No. I just want to get out of here. Now some pirates have showed up, and they say they'll kill me if I don't help them get the medallions, and the ninjas will probably kill me if I help the pirates, and I miss home, and I just want to leave. But you're the only person I've met recently who doesn't seem completely crazy, so I decided I'll move the medallions for you. I don't want to take them with me - just a few of them without the others and without the stuff they decode wouldn't be useful. But I'll move them somewhere the ninjas will be less likely to find them. And then I'll try and convince them to take me back home, so I can get away from these crazy people and go deal with the crazy mad scientist in my own town."
"Will they take you back?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. If they won't, this girl Tanis might. She's feeling all rebellious, apparently."
"Tanis? Sounds familiar. Who is she?"
Lita described her. "And they're telling her she needs to focus on combat training, because she spends all her time working on the cool stuff like making plants bloom and cutting flowers with a shuriken instead of working on decapitating people or whatever. She really doesn't seem very happy here, but she won't leave. She says she's lucky to be here because she didn't really qualify for ninjadom because of her family tree or something, and because her family didn't want her."
Lining knit his eyebrows. "They told her that?"
"Apparently."
"They told Shak the same thing... that his family didn't want him, that his lineage wasn't very impressive. But... I suppose it was two or three days ago? He overheard some of the master ninjas talking. Apparently, when someone they're training starts to seem rebellious, they tell them that. To make them work harder to prove that they can be just as good as those with spectacular heritage, and to make them feel indebted from the ninjas for saving them from a family that didn't want them. They were debating whether to tell some seven-year-old these things because he seemed rebellious." He paused. "After we died, we didn't even speak. We meditated, we tried to calm our minds, thinking that now we had infinite time to achieve ultimate peace, and that if we did, maybe we would go on to whatever is after this. Or stop existing at all. We kept going to the master ninjas' lectures and lessons, and we kept living by the ninja code. But still, every night I went to this spot on the mountain. The spot where we... admitted our love for each other. The only time. I told myself that I was making myself let go of what happened, but really, I was just re-living it. I gradually realized that I needed to stop letting them control me, that the whole point of that was to be a good fighter, and I wasn't going to fight any more. I stopped meditating, I stopped going to lectures. Shak didn't. Until he overheard that conversation. He realized that they were just manipulating him to create a good fighter. That's what they do with all of us. They don't care about the people, just about the warriors they could be. So that night, he went to that same place on the mountain, and that's when we decided to be together, even in death. And then we went back to his house, and found you."
"Wow," said Lita. "Why would they go to so much trouble just to make good fighters?"
"It's what they've always done. The master ninjas are still being manipulated by the things they were taught by the master ninjas who came before them. It's crazy." He paused. "We are some damn good fighters, though. For what it's worth."
"Jesus," said Lita. "I should tell Tanis that they're lying to her."
"It'll change her life forever."
"Probably for the better. She's not cut out to be a killer."
"Just don't be surprised if she doesn't take it well."
There was a silence.
"So, the medallions," said Lita. "Did he hide them near that place where you 'admitted your love' for each other?"
"That obvious, huh?" Lining laughed. "He pretends he's not sentimental."
"Do you have somewhere for me to move them to?"
"Yeah. Hollow spot in a tree's roots. We're near where the medallions are now, but the new spot is kind of far away. Feel up for a hike?"
Lita laughed. "Sure. Not like I have anything else to do."
***
"What do you mean, you let her go?"
"She said she'd help us!"
The pirate captain put his head in his hands. "I can't believe I'm stuck with you idiots. I can't wait until the other ship gets here. At least those people know what they're doing." He looked up, and the younger pirate was gone. He looked around. The ship was empty.
"Hey! Where did you go! This isn't funny," he said. He turned around, and the last thing he saw was a flash of black.
***
"I need to get my own ship again," grumbled Pierre. "I'm not cut out for this sort of thing." He was halfheartedly scrubbing the deck with a rag.
"It's not so bad," said Viola. "Anyway, we'll be there in a few hours."
"This was a bad idea," said Pierre. "How are we supposed to find those other medallions? Just the two of us against an island full of ninjas?"
"I told you my ideas," said Viola. "Join the pirates as they try to raid the ninja town, break off, find some novice ninja, kidnap them, make them help us. Or pretend we're innocent civilians who the pirates kidnapped, tell the ninjas we escaped during the attack, ask them to help us."
Pierre sighed. "We are so dead."
"Or," said a voice behind them, "you could dress up in these ninja outfits I happen to have. Took 'em from the bodies from our last raid. Half the ninjas walk around with their faces covered all the time. It would be easy to blend in. The hard part would be getting someone to tell you where the medallions are. Even if you did kidnap some novice, they wouldn't know where they are. They probably wouldn't even know that they exist. The master ninjas never tell the novices anything important."
"Well, well, well," said Pierre. "And who would you be?"
"You can call me Ria."
***
"Hey, Tanis!" called Lita. Some people turned and looked at her strangely. Tanis slowly turned. "What do you want?"
"I need to tell you something. Come here," she said.
Tanis sighed and followed her away from the street thing where they were. "What now?" she said.
"I was talking to Lining again - he's one of the ghosts. And he told me that Shak Fin overheard something... disturbing. He was also told that his family tree wasn't very impressive, and that his family didn't want him. It was a lie. He overheard the master ninjas debating whether to tell some young boy those same things. When a novice seems rebellious, they tell them things like that to make them want to prove themselves - prove that they can be just as good as those with great lineages. And to make them feel grateful towards the ninjas, rather than rebellious."
"Right," said Tanis. "Come on. I'm sure you can come up with something better than that. Why are you trying so hard to make me give up the ninja life?"
"I'm not! I'm telling the truth! Why would I lie? I just thought you had the right to know."
Tanis narrowed her eyes at her. "It can't be true."
"It is."
"I don't believe you."
"That's not my problem. I'm going to go back to the house and rest. You stay in denial if you want." Lita left. Tanis stared, then spun and headed towards the master ninjas' quarters. When she got there, she burst in through the front doors. She was supposed to knock first. She didn't care.
"Is it true?" she demanded of the shocked, elderly ninjas who were dining inside. "Did you lie to me? You said that my bloodline was corrupted, that my family tree wasn't impressive. And you said that my family didn't want me. Was it all a lie?"
An old woman rose from the pillow where she was sitting and eating rice. "My child, anger is a natural response, but it only clouds your mind. Try to calm yourself."
"Just tell me! Did you lie to me?"
"It was for the best," she said. "It gave you a more healthy attitude towards your superiors. It put your mind in the right place. I know it's difficult to learn something like this, but it was necessary for your development."
"Right," said Tanis. "I have to go." She slowly turned and left.
***
"The ninjas got them," panted the pirate. "It was horrible. They're all dead."
"Damn," said the captain. "Good thing we planned not to show up at the same place where they were. Well, we should at least attack the solitary camp. We can probably take that by ourselves. And we can try to get the stuff from their ship. They won't need it anymore." He put his hand on his chin. "Damn ninjas. There were some good pirates on that ship. All right, everyone get your weapons. We're moving out."
"All right," whispered Ria. "Follow me." She led Pierra and Viola to the place where people sleep. The quarters or something. She opened a chest, dug through some stuff, and threw a pile of ninja outfits on the ground. She picked one out for herself.
"Find the ones that fit you the best," she said. "Now, I've been here a few times before. Two raids, and one other time I dressed up as a ninja and wandered around. I overheard a few interesting conversations. That was how I found out about the medallions, actually. And I learned that the person who made them was named Shak Fin. He was posessed by some ancestor spirits or something, and he wrote the papers and engraved the medallions that decode them. I know where his house is. It's probably as good a place as any to start looking for them."
Viola laughed. "It's lucky you found us," she said. "Do you have any of the medallions yourself?"
"Do you?" Ria said.
"I asked you first."
Ria smiled. "Let's worry about the ones on the island first."
***
Lita was lying on the bed in Shak's house, staring at the ceiling. Suddenly, the door opened. She looked around. "Who is it now?" she said. It was three ninjas with their faces covered.
"You're not a ninja," said one of them.
"So everyone keeps pointing out," said Lita. "I can talk to ghosts. So the ninjas brought me here to talk to some ninja ghosts."
"Oh," said one of the ninja-masked people. "Are you in Shak's house to talk to his ghost?"
"Yes," said Lita. "He's not all that talkative, though."
The ninjas looked at each other. "Did he tell you about the medallions?"
Lita looked at them suspiciously. "Why don't you know about this already?"
"Not everyone on the island knows everything," said one of them. "I think-"
She was interrupted by the door opening again. It was Tanis. She pushed through the group of ninjas and sat on the end of the bed.
"I can't believe it," she said. "You were right. They lied to me."
At that moment, Shak and Lining came through the wall. They looked sympathetically at Tanis.
"I know how that feels," said Shak. "Poor girl."
"Any luck leaving the island?" said Lita.
"What?" said Tanis and one of the ninja people at the same time.
"I'm talking to Shak Fin," said Lita. "He and Lining are standing over there."
"Really," said one of the ninjas. "And do you think he would be willing to tell us where the medallions are?"
"No," said Lita. "They don't like the ninjas much, since they ruined their lives and then murdered them."
"And it seems this young lady isn't too pleased with us, either," said one of the ninjas, gesturing towards Tanis.
"They lied to me," said Tanis. "About my heritage. And they said my family didn't want me. To make me feel grateful towards them, when really they took me away from a family who loved me. I could have been happy."
"What are you going to do?" said Lita.
"I don't know," said Tanis. "I've never really wanted to be a killer... I just like the other things. The acrobatics, the flower-blooming, that sort of thing. Not the hurting people."
"You know," said one of the ninjas, "with those medallions, you could do whatever you wanted. Great wealth, right? You could move to a mansion in the Carribbean, or start your own business, or go on a safari or something."
"What's up with you guys?" said Tanis. "You're not acting like ninjas."
"We're not," said one of them.
"Hey!" said another. "What are you doing?"
The first one took off her ninjaclava, revealing brown eyes and reddish brown hair. "We've infiltrated Three Point Five to try to find those medallions. So what do you say? Screw the ninjas. What right did they have to mess up your life?" She gestured to where Lita had indicated Shak Fin and Lining were standing. "Look what they did to poor Shak and Lining. Come on. Let's find those medallions and get out of here. We can split the money, live an awesome life."
"Sounds good to me," said Lining. "The ninjas don't deserve it."
Shak nodded. "Today, I discovered the locations of a few more of the medallions."
"Lining and Shak think it's a good idea," said Lita. "And they know where some of the medallions are." She sighed. "I really don't want to risk getting ninjas mad at me. I kind of just want to go home."
"You're the only one who can talk to the ghosts," said Tanis.
"Actually," said one of the other ninjas, "she's not. I can talk to them too." She removed her ninjaclava, and so did the other one. The ninjas were Pierra and Viola and Ria.
"Oh, thank god," said Lita. "So I can get out of here?"
"Will you help us?" said Ria to Tanis.
"I need to think about it," said Tanis. "I'll meet you back here tomorrow and tell you." She stood and left.
"Where are you fake ninjas sleeping?" said Lining.
"Lining wants to know where you're sleeping," said Lita.
"On the ship, I guess," said Ria. "Why?"
"That's how people who can talk to ghosts connect with them," said Viola. "We can't just see them all the time. But if a ghost happens to be around when we're in an non-awake mental state - sleeping, having a mental breakdown, whatever - then we can see them. And then we can see that particular one from then on. Shak, Lining, you can just follow us back to the ship."
"Do you still need me?" said Lita. "I'm going to go ask the ninjas if they'll bring me home."
"You can go," said Pierre. Lita went. She wandered until she found the old guy from before.
"Excuse me," she said. "I don't think there are any other ghosts who want to talk to me around here, and Shak and Lining just refuse to tell me anything else. I don't think I can help you any more. I miss my town, and this place is kind of boring. Can I go home now?"
He sighed. "If you really feel that there's nothing more for you to do here, then I suppose you can go." He looked at the sky. The sun was beginning to set. "I suppose there's still time before nightfall." He whistled. A few ninjas showed up. "Can you escort this young lady home?" he said.
"Of course," said one of the ninjas. They picked her up.
"Hey! What-" Lita protested, but suddenly everything was a blur. It lasted for a while, and then she was on the front steps of her house. She fell to the ground.
"Aaaggraablaaaa!" she said.
"Drink a lot of water," advised one of the ninjas, and they sped away.
Meanwhile, Pierre, Viola, and Ria were walking back to the ship, re-ninjaclava'd. Shak and Lining were following them.
"I can't believe you just told them," said Pierre.
"It worked out, didn't it?" said Ria. "Maybe we are gonna get this great fame and wealth after all.
Viola shook her head. "You're a risk-taker, eh?"
She shrugged. "I guess."
"Do you think the pirates will notice that we weren't with them for the raid?" said Pierre.
"Nah," said Ria. "Those things are always crazy and hectic. And usually a few people chicken out and don't go anyway. Even if they do notice, they won't punish you or anything. They'll just make sure you don't try to take any of their treasure."
***
Viola grumbled and sat up. "So tiresome," she said. She peered at the two shimmering, translucent men standing near her bed. "Shak Fin and Lining?" she said.
"Indeed," said Shak.
"All right. I'll talk to you in the morning," she said, and went back to sleep.
***
The next day, Ria, Pierre, Viola, Shak Fin, and Lining were in Shak's old house. Everyone was wearing ninja outfits except the ghosts, who were wearing jeans and T-shirts.
"I'm sure another ship will show up," said Ria. "Pirates come out here pretty often."
"Not that often!" said Pierre.
"Well, if that girl decides to help us, she can help us get off the island too. Don't worry about it."
Pierre sighed.
"We can't find the medallions by noon today," said Viola. "Sure, the ship is leaving. But I think Ria's right. It'll take a while for us to get the medallions anyway. We can worry about getting off the island once we've gotten them all."
"Well, where are we going to sleep?" said Pierre.
Viola shrugged. "Camping is fun," she said.
"Wonderful," he said. Just then, Tanis came through the door. She leaned against the wall.
"I'll help you," she said.
Ria smiled. "Viola says that Shak and Lining say that there are three medallions in the master ninjas' quarters. Have any idea how to get in there?"
"Where in the quarters, exactly?" said Tanis.
"One in a hidden pannel in Dennis's wardrobe, one in Finakinasion's pillow, and one in the hilt of the ornamental sword on Manygoats's wall."
"Hmm," said Tanis. "The master ninjas don't spend that much time in their quarters. But there's always people in that building. We could try to make some sort of distraction."
"Do ninjas like ice cream?" said Ria.
"What? Of course! Everyone likes ice cream," said Tanis.
"Good. You figure out who's going to go get those medallions. Meet me outside the master ninja quarters in twenty minutes. Trust me, they'll be out of there." She ran out.
"Uh, well, I guess each of us should get one," said Pierre, looking around.
"I want the one in the pillow," said Viola.
"Why?" said Pierre.
"Sounds easier to get."
He rolled his eyes. "You're the one who can talk to ghosts. They can help you while you're looking, but not any of us. I think you should get the hardest one."
She sighed. "All right, I'll try to find the hidden compartment in Dennis's wardrobe," she said.
"I've seen that ornamental sword before, and I know how to get it down without breaking it," said Tanis. "So I'll look in Manygoats's room."
"Okay, I'll look in Finakinasion's pillow," said Pierre.
"All right," said Viola. "Wonder what Ria's distraction is. By the way, Shak, Lining... why are you wearing normal clothes when you were wearing ninja outfits yesterday?"
"We discovered that we can change our clothing at will," said Shak.
"Check it out!" said Lining, his outfit suddenly changing into a chicken suit.
Shak smiled and changed into an inmate's orange jumpsuit.
Then they changed into clown outfits, flight attendant outfits, raver outfits, various ridiculous mascot outfits, doctor outfits, army outfits, Abraham Lincoln outfits, racer outfits, angel outfits, demon outfits, hobo outfits, prostitute outfits, sexy librarian outfits, prostitute Abraham Lincoln outfits, plumber outfits, electrician outfits, Dan the tech guy outfits, tetris outfits, spider outfits, diseased outfits, vampire outfits, people who are sad outfits, people who are angry at their friend outfits, and Frankenstein outfits.
"What are you laughing at?" said Pierre to Viola.
"Just ridiculous ghosts," said Viola. "Okay, let's ninjaclava up and get to the master ninja quarters!"
They ninjaclava'd up, left the house, walked some steps with their legs on over to the ninja master house. They waited around for a bit, until they heard music in the distance.
"Is that what I think it is?" said Viola.
"Ah, reminds me of my childhood," said Pierre. "Every week, I would hear that wonderful sound and beg my mother for a few cents... and then I would run as fast as I could out of the house, running to the end of the block just to get my delicious ice cream faster."
Tanis looked confused. "I've only seen one once," she said. "Is that Ria's distraction?"
"Why else would it be here?" said Viola.
"That... makes no sense," said Tanis. "How... what... why? What? How on earth did she get an ice cream truck to an island in the middle of nowhere? We don't even have electricity here!"
"Who knows? We'll ask later. For now, we need to get a-stealing," said Viola. Already, ninjas were running towards the sound. Others were looking around, confused.
"What is that noise? It sounds so... delicious," said one.
"I do not know," said another. "I've never heard anything like it. Yet... somehow, I have the feeling that it brings great things."
They looked at each other, then began running towards the sound. Ninjas were flocking from all directions. Tanis peered into the distance and saw the brightly colored truck coming closer. She looked back at the master ninja quarters and saw the elderly ninjas slowly exiting the building. Tanis, Pierre, and Viola ducked behind the building to avoid looking suspicious by not going towards the music. As they stood there, Pierre pouted.
"I want some ice cream," he said.
"Oh, shut up," said Viola. "Now's our chance." The street was deserted. The three of them rushed into the quarters, and promptly stopped. Tanis laughed.
"Dennis's room is that way, Finakinasion's room is over there," she said, pointing.
"Thanks," said Pierre and Viola simultaneously.
"Jinx, you owe me ice cream," said Viola, dashing into the room.
Tanis entered Manygoats's room, feeling slightly uncomfortable. She was still angry with the master ninjas, but it felt wrong to enter their quarters like this. They were a very private place. She had been in the main hall many times, but not in specific rooms. She glanced around and saw the sword on the wall. It had been the last thing Manygoats's grandfather created before he died. She pulled a chair up against the wall underneath it and stood on it. She carefully lifted the sword up off the metal thingies that held it up, and then pulled it down. She stepped off the chair and sat on the bed as she examined the handle. She carefully tried twisting it. Nothing. She twisted it the other way, and it unscrewed.
"Well, that was easy," she muttered. She unscrewed it all the way and a small circle of metal fell out. She picked it up and placed it in one of the pockets of her ninja suit. Then she re-screwed the handle back onto the sword, stood back up on the chair, and replaced it on the metal things. She smoothed out the bedspread from where she had sat on it and exited the room, carefully closing the door. She glanced around. The main hall was still empty. She went back outside. Pierre was standing outside. When he saw her, he held up his medallion. She reached into her pocket and held hers up.
"So how many do we have now, and how many more do we need?" Tanis asked.
"Well," said Pierre. He counted on his fingers. "I stole one from Frederick, Viola got three more, now you and I have two more, and she's getting a third... so that makes seven that we have." As he finished speaking, Viola appeared.
"And the ghosts say that Shak hid three - you know where they are, Tanis," she said. "And the ninjas have at least two more hidden somewhere on the island."
"So that's twelve," said Tanis. "Where are the other two?"
"I have no idea," said Pierre. "We have all four that that kid stole."
"Shak? Lining?" said Viola.
"I overheard a ninja saying they might be in Roshcoshnoshtersteinville," said Shak.
"I thought the only ones in Roshcoshnoshtersteinville were the ones the kid stole, and we have all of those," said Viola.
"Apparently, they suspect that ninja Nia might have been planning on stealing all the medallions for herself," said Lining. "She went to Roshcoshnoshtersteinville to look for the ones there, but they think she might have acquired the other two somehow before that and taken them with her on the mission."
"Why would she take them with her?" said Viola.
Lining shrugged. "If she hid them, someone else could have found them while she was gone."
"Right," said Viola. "Lining says that the ninja Nia might have acquired them and taken them with her to Roshcoshnoshtersteinville."
"She died on that mission," said Tanis. "So those two medallions are probably in the hands of pirates now."
They all looked at each other.
"Shit," said Pierre. "We need to get back to the ship so we can get to Roshcoshnoshtersteinville and track down those other medallions. I wish I'd known that they were there..."
"But what about the other medallions here? And the papers?" said Viola.
"I can run across water to get to the mainland, and from there I know how to get to Roshcoshnoshtersteinville," said Tanis.
"You can *run* all the way from here to the mainland?" said Ria.
"I'm a ninja," said Tanis.
"Okay, good point," said Ria.
"Anyway, I can carry someone as I run, but only one person. I couldn't carry all three of you."
"All right," said Ria. "Pierre, Viola - you know Roshcoshnoshtersteinville better than I do, and you managed to get those other four medallions, so you're obviously good at that stuff. How about you get back to the ship, sail there, and look for them. I'll stay with Tanis and help her get those other medallions and the papers. Then she and I can travel to Roshcoshnoshtersteinville and meet you there."
"I'll be fine by myself," said Tanis.
"Hey, you couldn't have done that without my ice cream truck," said Ria.
"Where did you get that, anyway?" said Viola. "And when did you show up? We were all talking and then you were just sort of here."
"I walked!" said Ria. "And I brought the truck here years ago. I was with a group of pirates, planning to use it as a distraction so we could raid the town. I hid it in the forest, but the ninjas found us and attacked too early. Most of us died. Those who survived sailed away as quickly as possible, so we just left it here. And it was still here."
Viola raised an eyebrow at her. "If you say so," she said.
"Anyway," said Ria, "if the ninjas find out that we're stealing stuff, they'll try to kill us. And with two of us, there's a greater chance that one of us will escape alive!"
"That's a cheerful way to look at it," grumbled Tanis. She looked around. The ninjas were starting to return, happily eating their ice cream. "We should go somewhere else so we don't look suspicious."
"Wait," said Pierre. "The ice cream truck actually had ice cream in it? How long ago did you leave it here? And why didn't I get any ice cream?"
Ria rolled her eyes. "You two run and catch the ship before it leaves. If we all survive and manage to meet up later, I promise I'll buy you some damn ice cream."
"You better," said Pierre. He and Viola left.
"Looks like it's just me and you now," said Ria. "Good thing I can talk to ghosts."
"Wait, Viola was the one who could talk to ghosts," said Tanis.
Ria looked at her confusedly. "What are you talking about? Viola has never spoken to a ghost in her life. I'm the one who's been telling you what the ghosts said, remember?"
"I could have sworn-"
"You're just crazy," said Ria.
"But..." Tanis protested.
"Come on, let's go find those medallions you hid!" said Ria.
"After all the trouble I went to to move them, now we just go and get them again," grumbled Tanis.
"Just think of it as a nice hike," said Ria. "Three Point Five really is a beautiful place. Whenever I'm here, I'm always worrying about raids and not dying and being sneaky. I never have time to appreciate how nice it is." They started walking towards the hiding spot.
"I've lived here since I was four, and I still haven't explored everything," said Tanis. "From on the mountain, it seems small - you can see the end of the island easily. But when you're wandering around, it seems a lot bigger. I remember when I was ten, and I got lost." She laughed. "Of course, if you just pick a direction and walk, you're bound to hit the mountain, a beach, or a settlement. But I was so scared."
Ria laughed. "I got lost in the area around Roshcoshnoshtersteinville once," she said. "But it wasn't for long. Since it's sort of surrounded by mountains, you just have to go down. Only easy way to get there is by boat."
"Actually," said Tanis, "there's a pretty easy route through the mountains. It's what the novice ninjas use to get there."
"Novice ninjas?" said Ria.
"Yeah. Ninjas go to Roshcoshnoshtersteinville rather a lot. To train. They're given missions to steal stuff from the pirates, or just to sneak around without being detected. Occasionally they're given assassination missions, but not too often, because we don't want to make the pirates so suspicious that they start paying more attention to whether there's ninjas sneaking around their town."
"Huh," said Ria. "I always wondered why we caught a ninja there every now and then. But why don't you just run over the ocean?
"Harder to do without being detected," said Tanis. "And lots of the novices who go there aren't able to do that yet. And crossing the wilderness to get there is good training, too. A master will drop them off at Normaltown, and from there they have to cross the cornfields without being detected, then hike through the wilderness for a day or two, cross the mountain pass, and sneak into the town."
"And is that what we're going to do to get there?" asked Ria.
"Yes."
"We'd better be careful going through the cornfields."
"What? Your biggest concern is going through the corn? Not the running across the ocean or hiking across the wilderness or going over the mountain pass or sneaking into the town?"
Ria shrugged. "I've hiked before. But Farmer Joe... he sure doesn't like people messing with his corn."
"How would you know?"
"I've been to Normaltown plenty of times before. Just trust me."
Tanis scoffed. "I'm a *ninja*. I think I can manage not to get caught by some old farmer."
Ria just shook her head. "That's what I thought, once. Well, we'll see."
"Whatever. So. Where did you leave the truck?"
"When everyone had bought their ice cream, I just said goodbye and drove it back to where it was hidden before."
"Without giving me any?"
Ria laughed. "We can go find it and I'll get you some. What flavor do you want?"
"Watermelon," said Tanis.
Ria gave her a weird look. "How did you know that my ice cream truck has watermelon flavor?"
"It does!?" exclaimed Tanis. "I've only had watermelon ice cream once, when I was young and the ninja masters took a bunch of us on a trip to see what the outside world was like. We stopped at an ice cream shop.... oh, it was so wonderful." She smiled. "And on all the other trips I've taken where I've had some spare time, I've tried to find watermelon ice cream again. But nowhere else sold it."
"I know!" said Ria. "The same thing happened to me. I had it once, and then no other ice cream could compare. So when we formulated this grand ice cream truck plan, I made *sure* to get watermelon ice cream. You don't even want to know what I had to do to get it."
"Yes I do!" said Tanis. "We still have some walking to do. Plenty of time for a story."
Ria laughed. "All right. But promise not to tell."
"Who would I tell?"
"Pierre. Viola."
"Why would they care?"
"Just... don't tell. I'm really not supposed to ever tell anyone. Okay, so here's what happened. I went to Normaltown, which was where I got it before. But the shop where I got it had closed. So I asked around and found out who had run the store. It was some old lady named Felicity. So I had to track her down in a nursing home. Seemed she was really in pretty good health, she just enjoyed having people cater to her every whim. But they wouldn't let her have cigarettes in there, so before she would tell me where she got the stock for her store, she made me sneak cigarettes into the nursing home for her!"
Tanis laughed. "That's your shameful secret?"
"Wait, there's more. So she told me that she bought her ice cream from a company called Industry Account Tech, Inc. They would make deliveries in unmarked vans, and she would have to pay in cash at the spot in various hidden locations. After several packs of cigarettes and two expensive imported Bolivian cigars, she told me that she found about Industry Account Tech, Inc. through the man who ran the donut shop, and he knew more than she did. So then I tracked *him* down. His son ran the store, and he spent his days golfing and collecting rare bird feathers. I found him, and he told me he wasn't involved with sneaky stuff like that anymore, and the only thing that would convince him was if I helped him with his collection. Then I had to go to Africa. I found a tribal village and gave a man a knife in exchange for him finding me a nest of this particular rare bird. I climbed a tree to get to the nest, and stole one of the feathers that was in it. Then I went back to the donut man and gave him the feather, and finally he gave me the instructions on how to contact a representative of Industry Account Tech, Inc. I would have to have at least sixty dollars up front to show that I was serious. I had to take this particular stationery, write my name and tape the money to it, and go to this gym equipment storage building outside a school in some little town. I left the stationery with the money taped to the door, and waited by the steps in the school. Oh, and I had to be there on Tuesday at 1:15 AM. Apparently, I had to wait there so they could take photographs of me, although they must have been pretty sneaky, because I didn't notice anything. Anyway, after waiting for half an hour, I had to go back to the door, and there was a paper with the word "sacapunta" on it. The donut man explained the code to me - there were five different words that they left, and each one meant a different location. Sacapunta meant the alley behind the town's local bakery. So I went there that Thursday, again at 1:15 AM. Finally, a guy with a large beard, sunglasses, and his hood up came to talk to me. I told him that all I wanted was a gallon of watermelon ice cream. He said that was seventy dollars, and since I had already paid sixty, I just needed ten more. So a few days later, I met another representative in a different location with my ten dollars, and he gave me a gallon of watermelon ice cream. I took it back and put it in the ice cream truck. I haven't sold any. I couldn't bear to. I've eaten some of it, but I haven't shared it."
It took Tanis a few seconds to find words to respond to Ria's story. "Holy Ron," she said. "That's just... I don't... wow." She paused. "Watermelon, huh? I say it's worth it."
"For sure," said Ria. There was another silence. "So you'd better enjoy it."
"You're letting me have some?" Tanis said.
"Sure," said Ria. They both smiled.
"We're finally here," said Tanis. She went up to the old dead tree. "I'm pretty sure this is it, anyway. I was just here yesterday." She knelt by its base and began digging around by the roots. Eventually, she pulled a bag out of the dirt. She opened it and extracted the medallions inside.
"Hooray!" said Ria. "Now we just need to find the two the ninjas stole. And the papers."
"Oh, is that all?" said Tanis sarcastically.
"Hey, don't burst my bubble," said Ria. "Let's go celebrate with ice cream."
"Celebrate... finding the ones that we already knew where they were?"
"What did I say about my bubble?"
"Sorry." Tanis examined the medallions. "They don't even look that special. If we're going to go to all this trouble to find them, I think they should look more impressive. Like... they should glow or be super shiny or something. But they're just little metal circles with some symbols engraved in them."
"I know," said Ria. "They just look like coins or something. But at least that way they're less likely to get stolen. And if someone has them and doesn't know what they are, it'll be easier to convince them to give them to us."
"True," said Tanis. "Now, let's go get some ice cream!"
They went to go get some ice cream.
"We should have just driven the truck over to the medallions," said Ria, as they walked.
"Too suspicious," said Tanis. "Anyway, the walking is kind of nice."
"Yeah," said Ria.
Eventually, they reached the truck. Ria entered and dug around in the back. "Ninjas really like ice cream," she said. "I made quite a bit of money selling it to them. And they ate up most of it. Good thing they didn't know I had watermelon." She emerged with a tub of pink substance and two spoons. "I'm out of cones and cups, but who needs 'em? We can just eat right out of the tub!"
Tanis laughed. "Classy," she said. She took one of the spoons as Ria pried the lid off. The sweet scent reached her and she sighed in joy. "Ahhh," she said.
Ria placed the tub on a rock and they both sat by it. Tanis slowly scooped a tiny bit onto the tip of the spoon, while Ria dug out a huge spoonful. She licked the side of it and sucked a piece into her mouth, while Tanis slowly put the sliver of ice cream into her mouth.
"We have a whole gallon," said Ria when she was done with her mouthful. "You don't have to eat it bit by bit."
"I wanted to savor the first taste," said Tanis, eyes closed. "Oh, my God. I can see how someone could make a ton of money selling this stuff. Seventy dollars was definitely worth it." Tanis took another spoonful, this one normal-sized, and began to eat it. She looked over at Ria, who was licking the side of the scoop of ice cream with her eyes closed. She found herself watching Ria's tongue. She blinked a few times, then resumed eating hers.
"So," said Ria, "do you have any idea how exactly those medallions decode the paper?"
"No," said Tanis. She sighed. "This time, you've burst my bubble. I've been thinking of getting the medallions and papers as the ultimate goal here. But you're right - once we get them, we still have to figure out how to decode them. And then we have to follow whatever instructions are on the paper. And while we're doing that, the ninjas will probably be chasing us and trying to get them back."
"Dang," said Ria. "I sure wish Shak Fin could remember writing those papers. It would be much easier."
"Are he and Lining still with us?" said Tanis.
"No," said Ria. "They went to go eavesdrop and try to figure out where the medallions and papers are hidden."
"They told you that?"
"Yep."
"You're sure you can talk to them?"
"Yes."
"And you're sure that you've always been able to talk to them?"
"Of course! Get over it!" said Ria.
"All right, all right. Let's go back to town,"
"All right. I'm going to sleep well t