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    Michael Vey 3: Battle of the Ampere
    Michael Vey 3: Battle of the Ampere
    Michael Vey 3: Battle of the Ampere
    Ebook376 pages4 hours

    Michael Vey 3: Battle of the Ampere

    By Richard Paul Evans

    4.5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    • Adventure

    • Friendship

    • Survival

    • Betrayal

    • Courage

    • Power of Friendship

    • Chosen One

    • Smart Guy

    • Power of Love

    • Found Family

    • Escape From Captivity

    • Training Montage

    • Forbidden Love

    • Prophecy

    • Mentor Figure

    • Loyalty

    • Power

    • Danger

    • Family

    • Escape

    About this ebook

    The hair-raising action continues for Michael Vey in this charged third installment of the #1 New York Times bestselling series.

    Michael, Taylor, Ostin and the rest of the Electroclan have destroyed the largest of the Elgen Starxource plants, but now they’re scattered across the Amazon jungle. The Elgen have joined forces with the Peruvian army to capture the Electroclan, and only Michael has managed to remain free. With his friends due to stand trial for terrorism—a charge that may carry the death penalty—Michael will need all his wits and his abilities if he’s to save them.

    Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Dr. Hatch and his loyal Electric Children have seized control of the E.S. Ampere—the super yacht the Elgen use as their headquarters. With the Elgen fleet now under his control, Hatch heads back to Peru to pick up his army and then begin his quest for global domination.

    Michael will have to free his friends then find a way to stop Hatch, but the organization behind the mysterious voice that has guided him to this point has been compromised. Hatch knows Michael and the Electroclan are coming. And he’s ready for them.

    Can the Electroclan win the battle of the Ampere? Or has Michael’s luck finally run out?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon Pulse/Mercury Ink
    Release dateSep 17, 2013
    ISBN9781442475137
    Michael Vey 3: Battle of the Ampere
    Author

    Richard Paul Evans

    Richard Paul Evans is the #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than forty novels. There are currently more than thirty-five million copies of his books in print worldwide, translated into more than twenty-four languages. Richard is the recipient of numerous awards, including two first place Storytelling World Awards, the Romantic Times Best Women’s Novel of the Year Award, and five Religion Communicators Council’s Wilbur Awards. Seven of Richard’s books have been produced as television movies. His first feature film, The Noel Diary, starring Justin Hartley (This Is Us) and acclaimed film director, Charles Shyer (Private Benjamin, Father of the Bride), premiered in 2022. In 2011 Richard began writing Michael Vey, a #1 New York Times bestselling young adult series which has won more than a dozen awards. Richard is the founder of The Christmas Box International, an organization devoted to maintaining emergency children’s shelters and providing services and resources for abused, neglected, or homeless children and young adults. To date, more than 125,000 youths have been helped by the charity. For his humanitarian work, Richard has received the Washington Times Humanitarian of the Century Award and the Volunteers of America National Empathy Award. Richard lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with his wife, Keri, and their five children and two grandchildren. You can learn more about Richard on his website RichardPaulEvans.com.

    Read more from Richard Paul Evans

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    Reviews for Michael Vey 3

    4.5/5

    150 ratings12 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a pretty good book overall. It has some romance, which some readers may enjoy. The language spoken by the Amacarra tribe in the Amazon Rainforest being Mandarin is a bit weird, but it adds an interesting element to the story. The book is amazing and has great attention to detail, making readers happy. It is recommended for 12-year-olds and older who enjoy the Harry Potter and Miss Peregrine's series.

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5

      Jul 24, 2018

      Really good.
    • 5/5

      Nov 24, 2020

      Wow just wow. This series is amazing, this book is amazing. The details to absolutely everything that Richard Paul Evans puts all over makes me so happy. As a huge Potterhead, I love this series and I love the fandom as well. This book is my second favorite, the first being the Battle of Hades. I recommend this book for 12 year olds and everyone older. Read this book and join the fandom!!!!!!!!
    • 4/5

      Jun 8, 2020

      The book was so epic. If u have read Harry Potter and miss perigrines, u will find this book great.
    • 4/5

      Mar 25, 2020

      I think that this book was overall pretty good
    • 4/5

      Sep 11, 2015

      I like this book but to much romance -I'm 9 Hudson

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5

      Aug 31, 2015

      love it
    • 5/5

      Feb 19, 2014

      Great series for kids in the age group 9 - 15. My 11 year old nephew and I are reading it together and we have formed our own Book Club.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5

      May 22, 2015

      The third entry in the Michael Vey series.
    • 4/5

      May 10, 2018

      I’ve just realized the language the Amacarra tribe speaks is Mandarin. I should know, I’m Chinese. ‘Hen Keai’: very cute. ‘Wo ain ni’: I love you. It’s quite weird - a tribe living in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest speaking Mandarin.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5

      Dec 30, 2013

      Continuing the adventures of the Electroclan, Evans spins a tight, enjoyable story with already identifiable characters (who didn't have issues as a teenager?) that reads easily and sets up at the end for Michael Vey 4. The group is on the run in Peru and is desperate to strike a blow against the Elgen and their fleet of naval vessels. Along the way, each deals with conflicting emotions of fear, love, and courage as they learn about themselves and the evil they fight against. I highly recommend this series for parents with teenagers.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5

      Feb 8, 2018

      In Michael Vey 3: Battle of the Ampere we join our favorite young heros or the “Electro clan” as they continue their battle against the evil Elgan and Dr. Hatch. Just after accomplishing a huge feat and shutting down the large peruvian “Starcourse” plant which was owned and run by Dr.Hatch, they are all captured by the peruvian army which are unknowingly being controlled by Elgan forces. Well everyone except for Michael who is stuck somewhere in the middle of the Amazon rainforest. He is found by natives that are surprisingly welcome and know an unsettling amount about him such as his name. Meanwhile Dr. Hatch is planning something big and soon so big in fact that if he succeeds he will have the whole world under his control. Will Michael and the rest of the “Electro Clan” be able to stop him in time or will the whole world fall under his reign?
      I found this fast paced novel to be a great installment to this stellar series. Although it was a good overall book I still found myself struggling to finish a page due to it just boring me.I was only bored during Dr.hatches perspective because they tended to babble on and were quite predictable. This was balanced out with the compelling stories from the “Electro clan” in the Peruvian prison. I felt while reading that the protagonists were given lucky breaks far too often even to the point that it seemed unrealistic. All in all i would recommend this book to anyone who would like to have a fun and adventures read.
    • 4/5

      Mar 7, 1436

      In the third installment of Michael Vey, Michael and the Electroclan must escape the Peruvian jungle in hopes to escape the Elgen and the government (who are led to believe that the teens are terrorists). The Electroclan's endgame? Take the Ampere--a super yacht that serves as the Elgen's capital in their seafaring nation.Once again I enjoyed Michael and his ability to narrate a good story (or rather, Richard Paul Evans's ability). The climax was the fastest moving part of the book, so I gobbled the final ten chapters or so in just an hour.Admittedly, parts of the book did tend to drag. While Michael was separated from the rest of the group, he, another teenager, and a Peruvian resistance member survive in the jungle with a tent, radio, and assorted foreign fruits Evans is insistent on having us learn by heart (name, color, shape, texture, taste).While most scenes are written with a distinct goal (get to the mountain for radio contact, reach the road to rescue the prisoners, meet at Cuzco, etc.) it does seem to move slow in places it should be fast, but descriptions and emotions seemed to be either lacking or glossed over at points.However, the book was overall enjoyable and relatively clean for upper elementary, lower high school. The characters are likable and all helpful to the cause, even if not all of them have aggressive superpowers.Things to Watch Out For:Romance: Guy and girl sleep in the same tent, but nothing wrong happens; teens briefly kiss throughout the novel and a friend tells them to "get a room"; girl rubs the back of a boy on a bed to get him to fall asleep, and she ends up falling asleep next to him and another girl falls asleep in a boy's arms on a bed, but no sensuality is described.Language: Mother of G (in Spanish)-3 (46, 57, 94); "crap"-3 (134, 227, 290); "bloody"-3 (164,169, 170); "screw"-2 (202, 305); "butt"-3 (227, 286, 294); multiple insults and name calling towards the main villainViolence: a man throws another man overboard and kills him; a genocide of a small people group; a character is shot and killed; a character electrocutes another in self defense; a character spirals into depression and cuts his friend's initials in his arm with a knife; a villain plans to paralysis and dissect teenagers while they're awake; many people killed in an explosion; a character writes that he was abused by his grandmotherDrugs: Man and teenagers drink Scotch; man lights and smokes a cigarette; food is cooked in beer; a character's family is into drugs and beerNudity: A teen boy is shirtless sometimesOther: The villain of the book calls the Bible fabulous fiction; he likens himself to the Dragon of Revelation and quotes the passage; a man says he will pray to Mary; a character is thinking about suicide

    Book preview

    Michael Vey 3 - Richard Paul Evans

    PART ONE

    1

    A Bad Dream

    I’m Michael Vey. Last night I had a really weird dream. I was back home in Idaho, sitting at the table with the cool kids in the cafeteria at Meridian High School. (For the record, I’m not one of the cool kids.) My girlfriend, Taylor (who is one of the cool kids), was sitting on my right side in her cheerleading outfit. My best friend, Ostin, was on my left, eating cheese pizza and garlic bread. The rest of the table was filled with a bunch of cheerleaders and basketball players. As usual, Ostin and I looked as out of place as chocolate doughnuts at a Weight Watchers meeting.

    The school’s basketball team was joking with me like they did at Maddie’s party, calling me Li’l Norris—short for little Chuck Norris—and trying to outdo one another with their Li’l Norris jokes.

    Drew, the basketball team’s star point guard, said, "Li’l Norris is so tough, dark is afraid of him."

    Yeah? said Spencer. "Li’l Norris is so tough that the road in front of Meridian High used to be called Li’l Norris Street, but it was changed because no one crosses Li’l Norris and lives."

    Everyone laughed except Ostin, who looked confused. I don’t think it was ever really called Li’l Norris Street, he said.

    Shhh, I said. It’s a joke.

    Yeah? said Drew. Monsters check under their beds to make sure Li’l Norris isn’t there.

    I got it; I got it, Spencer said. Li’l Norris is so tough that he died ten years ago but Death is too afraid to tell him.

    Everyone was laughing when a low, angry voice behind me said, If Li’l Norris is so tough, why is he hiding in the jungle?

    I turned around to see Dr. Hatch standing behind me. I was paralyzed with fear. Suddenly everyone else vanished and it was just the two of us. Hatch leaned forward, close enough that I could feel his breath and see his eyes through the dark lenses of his sunglasses.

    I’m going to find you, Vey, he whispered. And when I do, I’m going to hurt you.

    That’s when I woke up in the jungle.

    2

    Number Fifteen

    It took me a moment to remember where I was. Some kind of Amazonian jungle insect-beast was crawling on my face, and as soon as I realized it, I sat up, wildly brushing it off. Someone started laughing. A young native girl was on her knees on the ground next to me. She was wearing a dress made of tree bark and was holding something that looked like one of the dream catchers my mother used to hang on her wall. I also noticed that my foot had been packed in dark dried mud, wrapped in leaves, and tied up with jute twine. Surprisingly, my ankle wasn’t aching anymore. Hey, I said to the girl.

    She gazed at me with dark, intense eyes. "Dzao an, hen keai."

    I have no idea what you’re saying, I said. I have no idea what any of you have been saying.

    She smiled, then set down the dream catcher and ran out of my hut.

    Now what? I thought. I lay there for a while, wondering what I should do. I still didn’t know what the tribe had planned for me. It crossed my mind that I should try to escape. But where would I go? The jungle had to be at least as dangerous as this place, and I’d only get more lost—if that were possible.

    Out of nervousness, I sat up and started making lightning balls and throwing them against the wall, which wasn’t exactly smart. You know how they say that people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones? They could also say, people in thatch huts shouldn’t throw lightning balls, because the wall will catch on fire. It did. I had to use my shirt to beat the flames out. I had just extinguished them and was sitting back on my mat, pulling my shirt on, when the chief walked into my hut flanked by two warrior tribesmen. There was still a lot of smoke in the room, and the chief looked at the burned spots on the wall, then back at me. As usual, the warriors just stared at me with angry expressions, like they wanted to skewer me with their spears, then eat me.

    Good afternoon, Michael Vey, the chief said.

    Uh, hi, I replied, not sure how I was supposed to talk to a tribal chief. My eye started twitching. I still didn’t know how the guy knew my name. Just the fact that he spoke English freaked me out a little.

    How is your ankle? he asked.

    It’s not hurting like it was.

    Stand, he said.

    I slowly stood. My ankle was still a little sore, but it was not nearly as painful as it had been the day before.

    It feels better, I said.

    He nodded. The jungle medicine is strong. By tonight it will be healed.

    I didn’t know what medicine they had used, or even when they had wrapped my ankle—I had slept through it all—but whatever they’d done was nothing short of miraculous. Thank you, I said.

    He stepped closer to me. How did you dream?

    I had weird dreams.

    He looked concerned. What did you dream?

    I dreamt about this guy called Dr. Hatch. He said he would find me.

    The chief frowned. Then he will find you.

    His saying that chilled me. Hatch had found me twice before, and both times I had barely escaped with my life. I couldn’t imagine being lucky three times. It was just a nightmare, I said.

    The chief just looked at me gravely. Wo syiwang jeiyang, he said. Then he said in English, We can hope.

    Do you know where my friends are? I asked.

    The woman with the two boys is deep in the jungle. They are safe.

    What about the others? The ones like me.

    They are not safe. The Peruvian army is hunting them—as they are hunting you. You must leave the jungle soon.

    Why is the Peruvian army hunting us?

    I do not know their ways. After a moment, he said, Come. There is someone you must meet.

    Who?

    You will see. The chief turned and walked out of my hut. The warriors stood next to me.

    Janchi lai! one shouted.

    I followed the guards outside. We walked maybe twenty yards to the edge of the clearing where there was a small hut set apart from the others. We stopped at its door.

    The chief said to me, When you go, there is someone you must take with you. He turned back toward the hut and raised his hands. Hung fa, he shouted. Gwo lai!

    A moment later a young woman came out of the hut. She looked like she was my age—pretty with dark red hair and freckles. She looked at me curiously, then at the chief, as if awaiting an explanation.

    She is one of you, the chief said.

    She’s American? I asked.

    The girl stepped toward me. He means I’m electric. Like you. You must be Michael.

    I looked at her quizzically. How did you know that?

    Because I know all the electric kids except for the last two the Elgen hadn’t found. You’re not a girl, so you must be Michael Vey. She reached out her hand. I’m Tesla.

    As my hand neared her, electricity began to spark between my fingers. I pulled back, afraid to shock her. I’m sorry, I said. I’m not trying to do that.

    She just gazed into my eyes. It’s all right. You can’t hurt me.

    I still kept my hand to myself. Are you sure?

    I’m sure, she said.

    What’s your power?

    Have you met any of the others like us?

    Yes.

    Have you met Nichelle?

    I stepped back from her. Yes.

    Don’t worry, I’m not like her. Actually, I’m the opposite of Nichelle.

    You mean you’re not a psycho Goth freak?

    She grinned. I meant my powers. I don’t suck away electric powers. I enhance them. Here, shake my hand. She stuck out her hand again. Go on.

    I just looked at her.

    C’mon, she said. You won’t hurt me. Promise.

    I hesitantly reached my hand out. The closer I got to her, the more intensely my electricity sparked. When we touched, my hand was glowing pure blue-white, almost like it was in the rat bowl.

    You have a lot of electricity, she said. It . . . tickles.

    Tickles?

    Yeah. I usually don’t even feel it. She stepped back from me and my electricity lessened. You’re very electric. Far more than any of the other Glows.

    You were amplifying my electricity?

    Yes. But I wasn’t really trying. If I tried, I could make you produce ten times that. At least.

    That could be useful, I said.

    Dr. Hatch thought so.

    My heart froze at the mention of him. You’re with Hatch?

    Not anymore.

    Why are you here—in the jungle?

    The Amacarra rescued me. I escaped from the Starxource compound by crawling out through a pipe that runs underground. . . .

    The Weekend Express, I said.

    She looked surprised. You know about that?

    It’s the same way I got out.

    Then you know it just drops you out in the middle of the jungle with a lot of snakes and stuff. It was dangerous, being alone in the jungle. I’m not like you. I don’t have any powers of my own. I probably would have been eaten by something if it wasn’t for the Amacarra.

    Why were you here in Peru in the first place?

    Hatch was using me to amplify the electricity the plant was producing. Do you know how the plant works?

    The electric rats . . .

    She nodded. I was able to increase the amount of electricity they produced by more than three times. She cocked her head. So you also know about the rat bowl.

    I broke it.

    What?

    Actually my friends broke it. I just helped.

    She looked at me in amazement.

    What kind of name is Tesla?

    "Actually, it used to be Tessa. A few months after I was captured by the Elgen, Hatch added the l, in honor of Nikola Tesla, the great inventor and pioneer of electricity. He’s the guy who invented the Tesla coil."

    Like in science, I said.

    She nodded. Hatch thought changing my name was pretty clever. Tesla is also the name of one of the Elgen boats.

    They have boats?

    Practically a whole navy.

    Why?

    It’s where they live. If they lived in any real country, they’d probably be arrested. So they made their own country.

    You’ve seen their ships?

    "Only the Ampere and the Volta. The Volta is a science boat. It’s where they do their most secret experiments. It’s not as nice as the Ampere. The Ampere is where all the Elgen brass are."

    Brass?

    You know, the bosses. Hatch’s boss.

    I didn’t know he had a boss.

    Tesla grinned. I don’t think he does either. I’m pretty sure they don’t like each other. Hatch calls them the board of jesters.

    You should change your name back. Tessa’s a pretty name.

    She thought about it for a moment. I like that idea. It could be my declaration of independence. She nodded. Call me Tessa.

    Tessa, I said. So how long have you been here?

    I’ve been in Peru for more than two years. I came three weeks before they turned on the Starxource plant. But I’ve been in the jungle about six months. I think. It’s hard to keep track of time out here. It’s not like the Amacarra have calendars.

    You’ve been here for six months and the Elgen still haven’t found you?

    They sent guards out looking for me. Tessa looked at the chief. But the Amacarra know the jungle. They protect me.

    I am sorry we cannot protect you now, the chief interjected. I had forgotten that he was even standing there. "There are too many of them coming. The dark magic of the Chullanchaqui is too strong for us."

    Tessa turned to me. Do you know what’s going on out there?

    When we shut down their power plant, all the guards came after us. But now the Peruvian army is looking for us too. The chief said we’ll have to leave their village soon.

    Hearing this upset Tessa, and she began to tear up. Then we’ll leave, she said to the chief. You’ve risked too much for me already.

    The chief frowned. It is with great sadness that you leave, he said. You are Amacarra, Hung fa. He turned and walked away.

    I let Tessa compose herself before I asked, "What’s a Chullanchaqui?"

    "The natives believe the Chullanchaqui is a demon who lives in the Amazon jungle. It appears as a friend and lures people off into the jungle where they are never heard from again. The chief thinks Hatch is the Chullanchaqui."

    He’s right, I said.

    Tessa nodded, then said, I have a lot of questions. Do you want to go into my hut and talk?

    Sure, I said. I followed her inside. Her hut was nicer than the one I’d stayed in. The walls were decorated with bright red and green parrot feathers, and the ground was completely covered with a thick mat woven from leaves. We sat cross-legged across from each other, my back toward the door.

    Nice place, I said.

    She grinned. For a jungle hut. She looked at my mud cast. What happened to your foot?

    I hurt it while I was escaping from the Starxource plant. I woke up this morning with this mudpack on.

    Is it broken?

    I don’t know. I’m hoping it’s just sprained.

    The medicine they put on it will help, she said. Your face keeps twitching. Are you feeling okay?

    I have Tourette’s syndrome, I said. It makes me blink and gulp—stuff like that. Especially when I’m under stress.

    Tourette’s, she said. I’ve heard of that. Is it contagious?

    No. It’s genetic, I said. You won’t catch it.

    She nodded. Before I came to Peru, there were two of you that the Elgen couldn’t find—you and a girl. Did they ever find her?

    Taylor, I said.

    Then you know her?

    I nodded. I know her.

    She looked at me for a moment, then said, You like her.

    Why do you say that?

    I can tell by the way you said her name.

    I didn’t realize I was that obvious. She’s my girlfriend.

    Where is she?

    She’s out in the jungle with the rest of the Electroclan.

    What’s an Electroclan?

    That’s what we call ourselves. They’re my friends. Some of them used to be with Hatch. You might know them. Ian, Abigail, and McKenna. Zeus.

    Her eyes narrowed. Zeus? You’re with Zeus?

    You know Zeus?

    I know them all, she said. I knew Zeus the best, since Ian, Abigail, and McKenna were locked up for insubordination. I’m glad Dr. Hatch finally let them out.

    He didn’t. We rescued them.

    And Zeus?

    He came with us.

    That surprises me, she said. But he always was a wild card.

    He still is.

    So how did you meet up with them? she asked.

    It started when Hatch kidnapped my mother and Taylor. I went after them.

    Have you ever met Dr. Hatch? I mean, face-to-face?

    I nodded. The last time I saw him he tried to feed me to his rats.

    She grimaced. Hatch made me watch someone be fed to the rats. That’s what he does to the guards who disobey him. How did you escape?

    I absorbed the rats’ electricity. It made me too electric for them to touch.

    You can absorb electricity?

    That’s how I stopped Nichelle.

    She looked surprised. You stopped Nichelle?

    Yes.

    No one’s ever stopped Nichelle. Suddenly, Tessa looked up. Ni yau shemma?

    I turned. The young woman who’d been in my hut when I woke up was standing in the doorway looking at us.

    Hung fa. Ta bi laile. Tade jyau hai hwaide. Wo syu bang ta.

    "Hau, hau, Tessa said. She looked at me. I guess you have to go."

    Where?

    She said your foot is still hurt. She needs to work on it some more.

    I lifted myself up. Yeah, it’s still a little sore. It was nice meeting you.

    Same here, she said. Though kind of surreal.

    What do you mean?

    You’re kind of a legend. Like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster.

    I looked at her quizzically.

    It’s just that everyone at the academy has talked about you for years. But I never thought I’d ever really meet you. Especially not in the middle of the Amazon jungle.

    I never thought I’d be in the Amazon jungle, I replied.

    3

    A Rushed Departure

    I followed the young woman back to my hut. When I got there, there were two stone bowls on the ground next to my bed. One had a thick, green substance in it. The other one also held liquid, but it was dark and watery with purple flowers floating in it. There was also a pile of fresh leaves next to the bowls.

    Dzwo, she said, pointing to the mat.

    I guessed she was telling me to sit, so I sat down. She knelt down, untied the jute twine, and peeled back the leaves around my ankle.

    Fang sya, she said.

    What?

    She pushed back on my chest.

    You want me to lie down? I asked. I partially lay back. Like this?

    She laughed and pushed me again. Fang sya.

    I lay back. She set the leaves aside, then began peeling the hard clay from my foot. When it was all off, she washed my foot with warm, sweet-smelling liquid, then began rubbing some kind of salve on it. She kneaded my foot for nearly an hour. The massage felt really good, and the concoction she was rubbing into my ankle made my skin tingle. I started to sit up to look, but she gently put her hand on my chest to stop me. Ching bu.

    Sorry, I said. Just looking. I lay back and closed my eyes. After my ankle was fully coated she wrapped it in fragrant leaves, then gently tied it with the same cord as before. Then she came around and began running her fingers through my hair. This is, like, better than a day spa, I said, even though I’d never actually been to one and she couldn’t understand me anyway.

    She didn’t speak any more but continued to massage my scalp and gently tug on my hair. I had no idea what this had to do with healing my foot, but it felt really good.

    After a few minutes she began to sing.

    Hen ke aide,

    bu syi huan wo,

    tai ke shi,

    yin wo ai ni.

    Hen ke aide,

    Wai gwo haidz

    Ho ni li wo,

    hwei ni syang wo,

    Wo syi wang, hwei

    yin, wo ain ni,

    jye nyu haidz

    hwei syang ni.

    She sang the words over and over. I had no idea what she was singing, but it was pretty and soothing, and she seemed sad singing it. At one point she got particularly emotional. I partially opened one eye and saw that she was crying. She was still singing when I fell asleep.

    *   *   *

    I had another dream. I was alone in the jungle when a tiny Peruvian man with a wooden leg came to me. We must hurry to someplace safe, he said. "He is coming."

    Who’s coming? I asked.

    El Chullanchaqui.

    Who is that?

    No time to explain, he said, running off into the jungle. In spite of his size and wooden leg, he moved quickly as I ran after him, deeper and deeper into the trees. The farther into the jungle we went, the darker it got, until it was nearly dark as night. Finally we stopped in a place that was too thick to hike through. The branches of the trees around me were snakes, snapping at me.

    I looked at the man fearfully. I thought you said you were taking me someplace safe.

    There is no safe place anymore.

    "Who is El Chullanchaqui?"

    He looked at me and smiled. Me. Then he disappeared.

    I woke, gasping. It was dark around me, and the hut was slightly illuminated by the glow of my skin. The girl was gone. I took a deep breath and rubbed my forehead. I’ve got to stop dreaming, I thought.

    *   *   *

    It was about a half hour later that the young woman returned. I could see her silhouette in the entranceway. She wore flowers in her black hair and dozens of red and purple beads, which shone against her bare shoulders and neck. She looked pretty.

    "Hen keaidi, ni laile." She reached her hand out to me.

    I took a step toward her and realized that my foot felt completely better. I touched it, then looked at her and smiled. Thank you.

    Bu yung, sye. She took my hand and led me out to the center of the village, where there was a large fire blazing. The natives looked at us as we arrived, their faces lit by the flickering flames. They were sitting around the fire on mats woven from palm leaves. There were many more women than men, and I guessed that the warriors were out patrolling the jungle.

    I sat down on a mat next to the young woman, who looked very happy, her face blanketed with a contented smile.

    It’s a pretty night, I said.

    She didn’t speak.

    I can’t believe that you fixed my foot. Doctors in America can’t fix a foot that fast.

    She looked over at me, her eyes gazing deeply into mine.

    Hey, glow boy. She doesn’t speak English.

    I turned around to see Tessa walking up to us. At her approach the young woman frowned, then quietly stood and walked away. In the shadow outside of the fire, I could see Tessa’s faint glow, which was comforting to me. My own glow increased as she got nearer. She sat down next to me.

    What’s going on here? I asked.

    It’s a funeral dinner. That’s why the women are wearing those red and purple beads.

    A funeral dinner? Who died?

    Tessa gave me a funny smile. We did.

    I stared at her. They’re going to kill us?

    She laughed. No, glowworm. When someone leaves that they won’t see again, they consider them dead.

    That’s . . . creepy.

    It’s their custom. I mean, it’s not like Americans don’t have weird customs—like, carving faces into pumpkins and putting candles in them. Or hanging lights on Christmas trees. How weird is that?

    I never thought about it that way.

    That’s because it’s what you’re raised with. Same with them. Unfortunately, their customs won’t be around much longer.

    Why is that?

    The Amacarra are going extinct, she said. There used to be thousands of them. Now this is all that’s left. There are more old people than young. Soon they will be down to less than a dozen people.

    Why are they going extinct?

    Same reason the American Indians did, she said. Disease. The shrinking forest. The modern world.

    The young woman returned and handed me a stone bowl filled with a yellow substance, mashed like potatoes.

    Wo gei ni chr, ke aide.

    I didn’t know what she said but thanked her. She left us again.

    Tessa asked, Do you like Meihwa?

    I looked down at my bowl. I don’t know. I’ve never tried it.

    Tessa burst out laughing. No, Meihwa is the girl who’s been taking care of you.

    I looked up at her. "Oh, sorry. She seems nice. She

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