“What?” I asked.

  “I think our spy left something for you.”

  I ran to the tree and knelt down to get a good look at the object. I couldn't believe it. Rusty ran up behind me and picked the thing up. He turned it over in his hands, disbelief in his eyes as well.

  “Are you sure you didn't leave this here?” he asked.

  “Are you kidding? I haven't seen one of those in a long time, and even if I did have one, I wouldn't leave it out here.”

  “Just when I think it couldn't get any stranger … come on.”

  We ran into the house and up to the room Mom and Dad were sleeping in. Dad was fully recovered now from his near-miss Shadow Ka experience, although it had been a difficult healing process. His body had been through some downright unnatural mutations—growing wings on your back made for more than just a little itchy skin. The thought of how close we came to losing him to those monsters still made my skin crawl. It had been too close for comfort.

  “What's going on?” he asked in a groggy voice after I shook him awake. Rusty went around the bed and woke up Mom, and then sat next to her.

  “Are you guys okay?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” I said. “It's just been a weird night. I had a crazy dream, and then we saw someone running away from the house after they tried to spy on us.”

  “What!” Mom shot to a sitting position, worry spreading across her face like clouds over a lake.

  “Mom, everything's fine,” I said, wishing there was a better way to tell everything to everybody. “Just hear us out, I think we're fine. It wasn't a Shadow Ka, and they left something. A sign, I think. Maybe it was to show us they're on our side.”

  “If they're on our side,” Rusty asked, “why are they trying to climb up the house to peek in our window while we're asleep?”

  “WHAT!” Mom asked again, this time even louder.

  “Mom, Mom, calm down.”

  Dad finally spoke up. “What did they leave behind?”

  Rusty handed it to Dad, who then turned it over and over in his hands, trying to see it better in the faint light coming from the hallway.

  “What is it?” Mom asked.

  “It's a … Braves hat,” he said and then looked at her and held it up.

  “Yeah,” I answered. “And I'm positive it's the one I lost at that lake in Utah.”

  It was the mark on the inside sweatband of the hat that gave it away. I'd put my initials there with a blue pen, and there was no mistaking the handwriting or the smudged letters, “J. F.” The water from the lake had crinkled and yellowed the hat itself, but I had no doubt that it was mine.

  “That's just plain bizarre,” Mom said after I explained it to them.

  “I know,” I said. “But I've been thinking about it, and I think it means there was someone there that day, or soon after, watching out for me or something.”

  “Or maybe it was that hairy dude, Dontae,” said Rusty. “He could've gone to get it before he went back into the Blackness.”

  “I'd have to agree, son,” said Dad. “If someone was there looking out for you, they sure didn't offer much help.” I remembered that awful day, when Dad had shown up to save me right before the boat disappeared into the Blackness.

  “Maybe whoever it was got there too late or something, I don't know. But why would Hairy, or Dontae, or whatever that pig is called, take time to find the hat? I can't imagine it was him.”

  “Well,” said Mom, “whoever it was, I'm sure they'll be back, so we better keep our eyes open. I guess our little secret hiding place is no longer such a secret.”

  “Jimmy,” said Dad, “what were you talking about when you said you had a weird dream?”

  “It's a long story, so maybe we should wake up Joseph too.”

  Dad thought for a second. “No, let's save it for the morning. We all need to get some sleep—especially if you've been up for a while.”

  Although I couldn't imagine being able to sleep, I agreed, and went with Rusty back to our room. We talked for a while about everything, until exhaustion overcame my whirlwind thoughts, and I soon fell back into dreams.

  The next morning, I sat at my uncle's kitchen table with Joseph and my whole family. Dad whipped up his famous eggs and cheese grits, with sausage and toast, and we were soon all eating like kings. But everyone was silent for the most part, deep in thought over the latest developments.

  I'd taken my fourth bite of grits when Joseph couldn't stand it anymore.

  “Would you people quit jamming food down your throats for one minute and tell me what in the heck happened last night? You're all acting like someone lined your undies with sandpaper.”

  Rusty laughed, spitting a small piece of egg onto my plate.

  “Oh, thanks, Rusty,” I said. “I guess I'm done.” I pushed my plate aside and looked over at Joseph. His bald head and angular face had a huge smile on it; he was tickled to death that my breakfast had been ruined.

  “Joseph,” I said, “I know you wear some strange clothes during the day, but do you have to wear pajamas that are even worse?” He was wearing a green tank top with red- and white-striped flannel pants, and no socks on the two monstrosities he called feet.

  “Show me some love, Jimmy,” he said. “I'm your best buddy on this planet. Now let's say you give me a nice foot massage while you tell me about last night?”

  He thumped his white, bony, gnarled foot up next to me on the table, and something deep in my stomach begged for mercy.

  “Ah, no thanks.” I said. “I'd rather give Tanaka a sponge bath than ever touch those feet of yours.”

  Joseph laughed out loud and slapped me on the back. “Boy, it's good to see you still joking after all this. Now shut up and tell me about last night.”

  “How can I shut up and tell you?” I asked.

  He wiped the grin off of his face and raised his eyebrow, not saying a word.

  “All right, all right,” I said.

  I spent the next twenty minutes telling them everything. The sound I heard outside, the dream, the Floating Lady, her description of the dream world called the Yumeka and how the Stompers worked. I told them about the Wall of the Stompers rising from below, sucking in everything just like it had the other times I'd seen it. I told them about how my mind pulled me out of it. Then I let Rusty take over and tell the story of how we heard the crash in the bushes and everything after that.

  When he was done, no one said a word. A couple of minutes went by in silence.

  “A Braves hat?” Joseph asked.

  “Yeah, a Braves hat,” I said. “But I hardly think that was the most interesting part of the story, Joseph. What about the Yumeka and all that stuff about the Stompers?”

  “Oh, I already knew all that.”

  “What?” I asked, standing up. “You know what she's talking about?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “Well, why haven't you told us anything?”

  “Jimmy, sit down,” he said. I slowly sank back into my chair, angry at Joseph for the first time since we'd met.

  “Listen to me,” he continued. “Don't look at me like that. You know me. You know I would have told you if I could, if I thought by doing so it would have helped.” He let out a huge sigh. “When the little girl, the little Giver girl—when she saved me, and when the rest of the Givers banded together to send me through the Black Curtain back to you guys, they made me promise not to tell you anything. They said it had to be revealed in its own due time or you wouldn't be able to handle it. So, I've kept my mouth shut.”

  I leaned back in my chair, staring at him. My anger faded, and I knew he was telling the truth.

  “Can you help us understand it, now?” I asked.

  “Yeah—I can't tell you everything, but I can tell you a lot.”

  When he didn't continue, I said, “Well?”

  “That lady was right about everything. The Stompers are literally nightmares, and their venue is the Yumeka—where they trap you and hold onto you for as long as your body lives, cycling you over and over through terrifying dreams. Our fear is what feeds them, what makes them thrive and grow. It's horrible, guys. Remember, I've been in their grasp.”

  The thought of Joseph being snatched up by the Shadow Ka filled my mind, and the horror of that moment came back in full force. We found out later that he'd been taken to a huge structure that looked like his face made out of the black goo, and was flown into its eye. Somehow, that face represented entering the realm of the Stompers. He had only escaped because the Giver—the little girl—had sacrificed herself and taken his place.

  Then it hit me. “The Grand Exception,” I whispered, realizing I'd forgotten to tell them about that part.

  “Yes,” Joseph replied. “That was what saved me. The Grand Exception.”

  “Now what're you talking about?” asked Rusty.

  “It's some universal law that even the Stompers can't fight against,” said Joseph. “If someone is willing to take your place in their clutches, they have to let it happen. They have to switch. That's what saved me.”

  “It's what she meant by telling us she would die for him,” I said. Everyone looked at me. “But Farmer told me it was just the best way of expressing how permanent and awful it is. I don't think she's really dead—just lost in the Yumeka, captive in their world of nightmares.”

  “This is how it works,” said Joseph. “The Shadow Ka's purpose is twofold. They are the ones who scare us into the Coma with some kind of mind-controlling power. Then, we enter the Yumeka, and another Ka there takes us to the Stompers, symbolized to us by being flown into the eye of our own face—the face made out of that black gooey stuff. Once inside, our minds are forever trapped—captives of the Stompers, where nightmare after nightmare will keep us in a state of terror. The Shadow Ka make sure our bodies are fed and nourished while we sleep in the Coma, keeping us alive for as long as possible.

  “But then it gets worse. After a time, we become immune to it, and our minds begin to shut down. To prevent that, the Stompers put us into what they call another Layer, where our memories are altered and we're put back into a nice, wonderful world where it can start all over again. The Shadow Ka pretend to come again, we fall asleep, and we're taken back to the Stompers. This goes on in a vicious cycle forever.”

  “I don't understand the whole Layer thing,” I said. “That's making my mind spin.”

  “Well, it should …”

  Joseph was cut off by an odd humming noise in the next room. It sounded like a swarm of bees, loud and menacing. As one, we all stood up and ran to where the sound was coming from.

  It only took me a second to realize what was happening, and it definitely had nothing to do with bees.

  In the center of the living room, near the ceiling, a red circle appeared, emitting a soft glow. It looked like a magical hula hoop suspended in the air, and by now, we all knew that description wasn't very far off. The ring sunk to the ground at a fast pace, and in its path, as it lowered, the image of a man appeared. Below the ring, there was nothing but air. Above the ring, there was the man. This went on until the red circle finally touched the ground, and a very large, very robed, very hooded man was standing in front of us.

  The red circle was called the Bender Ring. The robed man was one of my very best friends, even though he spoke with his finger.

  The Hooded One was back.

  I ran up and gave him a big hug. Hood hated when people got near him, but I didn't care. He shrunk away and didn't return the embrace, but at least he didn't push me away like usual. His burlap-looking robe scratched my skin. The droopy hood that concealed his face shook as he bent over to pick up the Bender Ring. He leaned against it, and then walked his way over to the stone fireplace.

  “So what happened?” I asked. “Where's Tanaka? Did you guys find Rayna and Miyoko?” I'd been so worried about our friends of the Alliance, I couldn't stand having to wait for Hood's slow replies.

  His pale white hand slipped into view from the folds of his robe, and he held it up, motioning for me to shut up and be patient. He bent down, and started painting words on the bricks with his finger. I'd gotten used to his bizarre gift and unique way of communicating, but I wasn't sure how my uncle would feel about having white paint all over his nice fireplace.

  “I BRING BAD NEWS,” he painted in his usual messy handwriting.

  My stomach did a backward flip. Mom let out a little whimper and Rusty mumbled something under his breath that I couldn't understand.

  “What is it?” Joseph asked.

  Hood's draped head shook back and forth, his usual attempt to convey his uneasiness. Something was very wrong.

  “THERE IS NO TIME. WE MUST HURRY.”

  “Hood, what are you talking about?” I said, frustrated. “Are they okay? Where are they?”

  “NO TIME!!!!!” he wrote, adding several exclamation marks. “WE MUST GO—NOW.”

  “Go where?”

  “RAYNA AND MIYOKO ARE CAPTURED.” He shifted to a new spot free of white paint. “JIMMY, YOU MUST GO BACK WITH ME.”

  “Where?” I asked again.

  “THE CAVES OF MOUNT FUJI.”

  “Caves of … what are they doing there?” Dad asked.

  “I TOLD YOU. THEY ARE CAPTURED. I NEED JIMMY'S HELP!”

  “Who has them, Hood?” I asked.

  “WHO DO YOU THINK?”

  “The Shadow Ka.”

  “NO, MUCH WORSE.”

  He stood up, paced a few steps away, and then came back again, shaking his head the entire time. Both of his white hands flashed out and he made fists to the sky. Then, taking us by surprise, he walked over to the nearest wall. With a silent rush of rage he used his right arm to swipe several framed pictures off of the wall, all of them crashing to the ground with the sound of breaking glass. We all stared, shell-shocked to see him so upset.

  “Who has them?” I asked again.

  Hood looked over at me through his robe. Then, caring nothing for my uncle's wall, he wrote his next phrase in huge, sprawling letters across several feet where the pictures had been.

  “SOON THE STOMPERS WILL.”

  The sight of those words, although not really a surprise, affected me more than I would've thought. Knowing a little now about what it was like to be captured by the Stompers, on top of having it happen to people we cared so much about, made it seem so real, and so terrible. I sank to the floor of the room and stared at Hood, not knowing what to say.

  Mom was crying, like usual. Dad and Joseph were staring into space, their faces unreadable. Rusty had his back to me, shaking his head. After a moment of complete silence, Hood wrote more words on the wall.

  “TANAKA IS WAITING FOR US. WE MUST GO.”

  I knew he was right. Of all the people in the world, I was the one most capable of helping rescue Rayna and Miyoko, and the other members of the Alliance if they'd found them. But my heart was sick, and it had been a long time since I'd felt so much despair. I just wanted to be done with it—done with all the nonsense that I was the one destined to save everyone. I was flat-out sick of that burden.

  But sometimes in life, when deep down we know we have no choice but to move forward and take the only action that is right, we just do it. I stood up and rubbed my eyes.

  “Okay, Hood. Let's go.”

  Even Mom didn't complain. She usually put forth at least a token resistance when I set off to save the world, but this time she stayed quiet, knowing that it had to be. Good grief, I thought, this time last year I was picking my nose and watching football.

  “You come right back here when you find them,” Dad said. “In fact, maybe I should go too.”

  “No, no, no,” said Joseph. “Someone needs to stay here and look out for everyone. You stay here, J.M., and I'll go with these knuckleheads.”

  “No, I'll go,” said Rusty.

  I held my hands up. “Listen, you guys. Just stay here, all right? I can't waste time trying to let everyone hold onto me so they have the Shield. At least I have that, Tanaka has his … creatures, and Hood here is like some magical wizard or something—he always seems to survive. Just stay.”

  “He's right,” Mom said. No one liked it, but that was that.

  “Okay,” I said. “In two days I have to meet that lady in New York. Supposedly she's going to help me figure out the riddle of the Red Disk and find the Dream Warden. So Hood will have to help me get there. If we're lucky, we can get everyone back here before then. But if we can't, I'll go straight there, and try to get you a message.”

  “What in the heck do we do if the Ka come knocking at our door?” asked Rusty. “Or what about our little intruder last night?”

  “I don't know,” I said, a little annoyed. “I would guess you'll be better off than going into a cave full of who knows what. Make do.”

  Not waiting for his answer, I ran upstairs to get the small leather carrying case we'd found to keep the Red Disk safe. It had a long strap that I could pull over my arm and wrap around the other side of my neck. It looked dangerously similar to a purse, but I was willing to risk my manliness to make sure I didn't lose the stupid thing. I ran back down to the living room.

  “I'll take this just in case I don't make it back here,” I said, motioning to the leather case. “Well, let's get going.”

  I gave everyone a hug and then told Hood I was ready. He moved me over to the spot in the middle of the room where he'd dropped the Bender Ring. I stood as close to him as I could, and he lifted the Ring up over our heads.

  “Rusty, look after Mom and Dad for me, okay?” I said, trying to make a joke. He nodded, and did his best to smile, letting me know that everything was cool between us.

  “Be careful, Jimmy,” Mom said.

  “I will.”

  Joseph started to say something smart-alecky, but I never heard him finish.

  Hood brought down the Ring, and seconds later I was back in Japan.

  The Ring had barely hit the ground when two stinky arms wrapped around my neck and chest, and I heard the animal-like guffaw of Tanaka. He sounded like a hyena pumped up on Mountain Dew. His rotten breath washed over me as he laughed and squealed with delight to see me.