Hammer caught up from behind.

“Jimmy,” he said, panting. “What's the deal? We're here to help you, man.” I turned to face him, and he had his hands on his knees, catching his breath. “Come on, now, let's get in the van and get out of here.”

My mind clicked into overdrive, trying to devise a plan. All we needed was the Bender Ring and ten seconds alone. Dejected, I walked over to the back of the van before an agent decided to grab my arm again.

Then it hit me that I was intentionally refraining from using my Gifts. For some reason it seemed strange to use them against these guys because they were good. I had never done that before, and realized that maybe that was why the Shield had seemed to take longer than usual to protect me from Hammer upstairs when he grabbed me from behind.

I looked at my watch. There was no more time to mess around.

“Uh … look guys, I really appreciate you coming to rescue us,” I said, wanting to lessen the blow of what I was about to do, but not knowing how. “I can explain everything to you and to whoever else later, but right now my strange-looking friend and I have important things to do.”

The agents looked at each other, asking with their eyes if I had gone nutso.

“Look, I don't know what to say. See ya, take care.”

I stepped to the van, reached in, and grabbed Hood's arm. Our troubles were over.

Hood understood, and stepped out of the van, making sure he did nothing to make me lose my grip. Then everything went crazy.

Hammer was the first one to try and grab us. When his hand rebounded off of the Shield, the look on his face reminded me of the time my friend poured chocolate milk down Bonnie Bingle's back during lunch. When Bonnie gasped and whipped around, it turned out Bonnie was actually Mrs. Shaw, our homeroom teacher. My friend's face couldn't have shown more shock if it had been Homer Simpson whose shirt he'd just defiled.

As they always do, Hammer tried again, this time with more force. When the Shield threw him backward, the rest of the agents swarmed in. One by one, they flew in every direction, tumbling across the pavement.

Hood and I walked calmly to the hotel entrance, my hand firmly planted on his arm.

Once inside, we abandoned all sense of being cool and darted for the elevator. The agents ran inside just as the elevator opened with a soft “bing.” We stepped onto the lift and turned, facing our annoying heroes.

They ran for us as one. Hood's pale hand reached out and hit the button for the third floor, where his room was located. The doors began to close. The woman agent was almost on us. The sliding doors came to within a foot of closing when her hand reached through and set off the sensors, making the doors open up again.

“Please, lady,” I said, “you don't understand what it is we have to do. Just leave us alone.”

By this time, she stood there, holding the doors open, while the other agents joined her.

“Mr. Fincher,” she said, “the whole world has fallen into chaos, and we know that you had something to do with it. One way or another, you are coming with us.”

I hated to do it, but I had no choice.

“No,” I said, “I'm not.”

Trying to be as gentle as possible, I called upon the Ice. Misty swirls of air flew in from all directions, and encircled each agent with solid ropes of frosty Ice. More and more I called out of the air, wrapping them until they couldn't move a muscle. Surprising me, their looks went beyond even that of my poor friend when he poured chocolate milk on Bonnie-Bingle-Who-Wasn't-Bonnie-Bingle.

“Sorry,” was all I could say.

A last burst of Ice pulled the female agent's hand away from the elevator, and the doors slid shut with a dull thud. The elevator began its ascent.

We reached the third floor, the doors opened, and we sprinted to Hood's room. From some unimaginable place within his robes, he pulled out his credit-card key, and opened the door. We walked inside. Hood went over to the closet and opened it with his pasty hand. Inside, leaning against the back wall, was a vehicle faster than any space ship conceived by the most brilliant of scientists.

The Bender Ring.

Then the worst thing that can happen to a kid who is in a hurry to save the world happened.

I had to use the bathroom.

“Okay, Hood,” I said, “hold tight while I use the bathroom. There ain't no way you're going in there with me.” The thought hit me that I had never noticed Hood leave to use the bathroom since I'd met him, but it seemed the wrong time to ask him about it.

I went in to take care of business, hoping the agents didn't break out of the Ice and find our room in those few moments. Although my mom probably would've forgiven me under the circumstances, I paused out of instinct to wash my hands when my task was complete.

Just as I turned the water off and grabbed a towel, I heard the door to our room crash open.

With wet hands, I ripped open the bathroom door and ran out into the room. Three agents, different from the ones I had frozen with icy ropes, were holding Hood by the arms, his struggles useless against their strength. One of them spoke.

“Just wait, Jimmy,” he said. “Please hear us out—we're only here to help you, to ask you to help us. We're out of options, and have no idea what is happening to our world. The skies are dark, mythical beasts are everywhere; people are falling into comas at an increasing pace. Please, help us.”

The desperation in the man's voice was crystal clear, and pity filled my gut. But time was out, and the Rip would open any minute, thousands of miles away.

Saying nothing, I walked up to the group and grabbed Hood by the arm. They tried to stop me, but it was useless, and the agents couldn't hide their surprise at finding out their comrades had not been lying about the invisible Shield.

I smacked a ball of Ice against the agents’ chests, and they tumbled backward as one, falling over each other with shouts of anger. I reached into the closet, pulled out the Bender Ring, and handed it to Hood.

“Let's go,” I said.

Hood nodded, his droopy robe flopping up and down. As I held onto his arm, he raised the Ring above our heads so that we both stood within its circumference.

“Stop, or I'll shoot!” one of the agents screamed. “I swear to you, I will shoot!”

“Go ahead,” I said, making sure I was touching Hood.

I had called the man's bluff, and he lowered his outstretched arm holding the gun, giving up.

Then Hood dropped the Ring. I caught a last glimpse of the agents as the Ring passed my eyes, a red swath of chaos following in its path, replacing the room around us.

We were on our way to the North Pole. I couldn't help but wonder if we had a better chance of seeing Santa Claus than seeing a Rip in the Black Curtain.