Strike 2: Dawn of the Daybreaker by Charlie Wood Page A

thing.” The boy looked across the cabin; Junior was sitting in a seat by himself near the back of the ship. Tobin pushed the button on his walkie-talkie and whispered. “You sure Junior isn’t gonna, like, kill us?”
    Orion laughed. “Yes, Tobin. Junior is gonna give you a hand. He knows the area on the tablet map very well, and you’ll need all the help you can get.”
    Tobin walked into the cockpit. “Okay, if you say so. Later, Orion.” The boy turned off the walkie-talkie and turned to Keplar. “So, you know where we’re heading?”
    Keplar pointed to the glass tablet map they had received from Wakefield; it was now connected to the Sky-Blade’s dashboard, and the blinking light was showing in the center of a landmass on the eastern section of the map.
    “Yup,” the husky said. “Me, you, and Mr. Baldie-McScowl-Face are headed to wonderful, scenic Zanatopia. So sit back and enjoy your flight. Try to not get murdered.”
    Walking into the cabin, Tobin buckled himself into a seat across from Junior. The bald man was holding what looked like a bag of red licorice; as he nervously snapped off pieces of the candy with his teeth, he was looking around at the cabin’s ceiling and walls. Tobin smiled at him awkwardly.
    “Hi,” Tobin said.
    “Hi.”
    The boy looked at the bag of licorice. “Are you eating candy?”
    “Yes.”
    “Why?”
    “I always eat candy when I fly.”
    “Oh.”
    A silence.
    Junior held out the bag. “Want a piece?”
    “Sure.” Tobin took a piece.
    Junior looked into the cockpit. “So...are you sure this thing’s safe?”
    “Oh yeah,” Tobin said. “Definitely. I’ve flown in it a hundred times.”
    “Good.”
    The ship’s engines turned on, and Junior jumped and gripped his armrests.
    Tobin smirked and furrowed his brow. “Are you afraid of flying?”
    The ship ascended into the sky and Junior’s hands darted to his chest and clutched his seat belt.
    “No,” the bald man replied.
    Tobin smiled. “That’s funny—a guy who makes robots is afraid of flying.”
    “Why is that funny?” Junior snarled, with his teeth clenched and beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
    “Just is,” Tobin replied with a grin, chomping a piece of licorice.
     

CHAPTER TWELVE
     
    Four hours later, the Sky-Blade landed in Zanatopia, and Tobin walked down the ship’s ramp and into the outskirts of a town. This was a land that very much resembled Japan, the boy thought: there were beautiful temples, wooden houses with pitched, layered, colorful roofs, cherry blossom trees, and tall, snow-capped mountains in the distance. There was also a bustling urban area only a few blocks from the sky-ship port where they had landed.
    “Okay,” Keplar said, walking down the Sky-Blade’s ramp with the tablet map in his hand. He was also wearing a bulky backpack containing all of their supplies. “We park here where my friend will look over the ship, and we follow the blinking light.”
    “Should be easy enough. Hey, Junior, you coming?”
    Tobin and Keplar turned to the Sky-Blade; Junior stumbled out of the side door, with his face pale and his arms across his stomach. As he walked down the ramp, he swayed from side-to-side and burped three times.
    “All right,” the bald man said, trying to hide the fact that he was seconds away from vomiting. “Let’s go. We cut through the town, and then head up the mountain.”
    Junior led the way, with Keplar and Tobin following him, snickering.
    ***
     
    Just as Junior had described, Tobin and his friends had quickly made their way through the crowded-but-friendly streets of Zanatopia, and were now hiking up one of its majestic mountains. Unending cherry blossom trees surrounded them, and a cool, refreshing breeze was sending small, pink petals fluttering to the ground. It was beautiful—a place for deep thought and appreciation of nature’s wonders.
    “Strange place for a super-villain hideout,” Tobin said. “Looks more like a place my grandparents