The sixth day of my quest to save the world went like this.
I slept late and woke up with a stiff neck, because the big pillows at the Big Pillow Motel were too big. There’d been no sign of Tina or Vale since they walked out of the room the night before, so Ridge and I wandered over to the lobby for the free breakfast. We ate stale muffins and tangy orange juice, but anything was better than those smashed peanut butter sandwiches in my backpack.
I was going back for thirds when the lobby door opened and in walked Tina and Vale. I pretended like I didn’t see them, draping a couple strips of flaccid, transparent bacon on my plate and returning to the small table where Ridge sat.
“You guys ready to go?” Tina asked, as though everything were normal between us.
“What makes you think we’re going anywhere together?” I answered with a question. “I think Ridge and I will do just fine on our own.” I refused to look up at her.
“Then I guess Vale and I will take the jet by ourselves,” said Tina.
I finally glanced up. “Jet?”
“Yeah,” answered Tina. “I was trying to think of the fastest way to get the four of us to San Antonio, so I wished for a private jet.”
I had to admit that sounded pretty cool, but with Tina’s track record, I wondered if it was just another trick. My defenses were up now. I wasn’t going to fall for any yellow-eyed, green-tongued Wishmaker with a private jet.
Vale cleared her throat conspicuously. “Hey, Ridge. Why don’t we go get some oatmeal?”
“I’m not really an oatmeal guy,” Ridge answered.
“Then how about some yogurt?” Vale pressed.
“They don’t have the flavors I like,” he said.
“Ridge.” Vale was growing impatient. “Why don’t you come help me with the waffle maker?”
“It’s pretty simple,” he said. “Just put the batter in and close the lid—”
“Ridge!” Vale grabbed him by the sleeve and yanked him to his feet. “We’re going over there for a few minutes.”
I watched Vale pull my genie over to the buffet table as Tina sat down in Ridge’s vacant chair.
“I’m sorry, Ace,” she began. “I really am.” I glanced across the table at her, but she was looking down. “I’m not proud of what I did. I shouldn’t have tricked you like that. You’re a brave Wishmaker. Braver than me.”
I liked where this was going, but it didn’t mean I was going to forgive her.
“I’ve been thinking about that consequence that Jathon accepted,” Tina went on. “How he can’t spend time with friends for the rest of his life. But I think I have it worse.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Jathon has no friends because the Universe won’t let him,” Tina said. “But I don’t have any friends because of who I am all by myself.” She sniffed. “I’m a liar, Ace. My whole life I’ve struggled with it. Keeping secrets from the ones I should trust. Maybe I am the bad guy.”
“Hey,” I said, setting down my bacon and turning to her. “I think you’re being a little hard on yourself. I understand why you rigged rock, paper, scissors. I might have even done the same thing, if I’d been smart enough to think of it.” I thought about putting my hand on her shoulder. “I don’t think you’re the bad guy, Tina.”
At the sound of her name, she clapped her hands and my shoelaces untied. “I want to finish this together,” she said, staring straight at me. “We have to finish this together. I thought about wishing to make you forgive me, but that seemed like another trick. Another lie.”
“Yeah,” I muttered. “Forgiveness wouldn’t mean much if the Universe forced me into it.”
“I know,” Tina said. “It has to be something you choose.”
I was sick of making choices. Choices that brought awful consequences. But maybe this one could actually bring a good consequence.
“You really have a private jet?” I asked. She nodded. “What consequence did you take for that?”
“Oh, several, actually,” said Tina. “In order to get the jet, the Universe destroyed my three most favorite possessions.” She paused, then decided to list them. “My guitar, a bracelet from Peru, and a blanket my abuela made for me.”
I grimaced. I only had one real possession. And I’d be pretty upset if the Universe had destroyed my ace card.
“Of course, after I got the jet, I needed a pilot,” Tina said. “As a consequence for that wish, I’ll pee my pants anytime someone hugs me today.”
I snickered, wetting my socks, and she shook her head, unamused.
“Lastly, I agreed to have my left elbow itch for the rest of the week.”
“What was that consequence for?”
“That was for wishing that the jet would be able to take off from the motel parking lot,” Tina said.
I stood up, grinning. “Seriously?”
She nodded, scratching her elbow. “We’re all ready to fly to the cave. I just need to know if you and Ridge are coming with us.”
It was hard to stay mad at Tina when I could see how sincere her apology was. And the fact that she’d taken on these consequences proved that she was trying to atone for the way she’d played me.
“Let’s go stop Thackary Anderthon,” I said. “Or save his life.”
I moved around the table, waving the genies over. Ridge was just pulling a fresh waffle out of the iron, but he left it abandoned on the countertop.
“Thanks, Ace,” Tina said. “Thanks for giving me a second chance.”
“Just promise that you won’t trick me again,” I said.
Tina paused, and then opened her mouth to say something. Vale cut her off, gesturing toward the lobby exit. “This way to the jet, boys.”
My gaze lingered on Tina for a moment longer, but she turned and strode after Vale, leaving Ridge and me to follow. I didn’t know what to think. I could tell Tina felt bad about what she’d done. But she also seemed to think that lies and trickery were part of who she was.
I had forgiven her. And on a scale of one to ten, my trust in her was sitting somewhere around a seven. We were teammates, but I’d need to keep my eye on Tina.
The pilot greeted us as we boarded the private jet. Captain Steve. He was a cheerful fellow, but the Universe had really worked him over. To fulfill Tina’s wish, he had suddenly appeared in the cockpit, with no need for an explanation of why he was departing from a motel parking lot and flying four kids across the country.
We settled into the big comfortable seats for takeoff. Once we were in the sky, I noticed Tina hunched over a tray table. Leaning forward, I saw that she was writing something on a pale blue sheet of paper.
“Catching up on your journal?” I asked, causing Tina to swipe a protective hand over the page.
“None of your business,” she snapped.
I might have pressed the issue if Ridge hadn’t suddenly arrived with a few sodas and a bag of pretzels.
“They’ve got a ton of snacks in the back in case you get hungry.” He handed me a drink and seated himself beside me. Tina finished her scrawling and hastily folded the blue paper, tucking it into her pocket.
We talked. We napped. We ate.
The flight was extremely long. But this was traveling in style!
Finally, we made our descent, Captain Steve announcing our landing in sunny San Antonio. It wasn’t until we got off the jet that we realized that we were definitely not where we needed to be. It was actually pretty cold outside—not at all like I imagined southern Texas to be in the dead of summer. And Ridge pointed out that none of the nearby signs were in English.
“Where are we?” I shrieked, climbing back into the jet.
“This sure isn’t Texas,” muttered Vale, causing me to jump at the state’s name.
“I told the captain to take us to San Antonio,” Tina insisted.
Captain Steve suddenly appeared from the cockpit. “This is San Antonio.”
“Why is it so chilly out there?” Ridge asked.
“Because it is,” he answered.
“Where are we?” I asked again.
“Chile,” said the captain.
“I don’t care about the weather,” I said. “I need to know where we are.”
“Chile,” Captain Steve repeated. “San Antonio, Chile.”
“What?” the four of us yelled in unison.
“We’re in South America!?” I gasped.
“He’s probably the worst pilot in the world,” Ridge pointed out.
“We need to get back on track!” Tina yelled at the captain. “Fly us back to the States!”
“No can do,” answered Captain Steve. “The jet only had enough fuel to get us here.”
Tina grunted in frustration, whirling to find Vale. “I wish that the jet would have enough fuel to fly us directly to San Antonio, Texas.” She emphasized the state name, causing me to jump.
“If you want to refuel the jet,” said Vale, “then your armpits will be sticky for the rest of the week.”
I cringed.
“How sticky?” Tina asked, scratching at her itchy elbow.
“Like you smeared honey in them,” answered Vale.
Tina lowered her eyes as though she were embarrassed to accept the consequence. “Bazang,” she muttered. Tina made a grossed-out face and slowly lifted her arms.
It took us some time to get approved for takeoff. When we were finally in the air, this leg of the journey felt even longer than the first flight.
Luckily, we got a good bit of sleep, and I was surprised to see that it was already morning when we began our descent into the real San Antonio, Texas.
Morning.
This was it. The seventh day. The final day. The day we would either succeed at stopping Thackary Anderthon from opening the Undiscovered Genie jar, or bring about the zombie pet apocalypse.