Battle of Bones (Anomaly Saga #5)

23

Leta parked her jeep at the edge of a public park, hopped out, and strolled leisurely towards the nearest gazebo, where Daniel stood waiting.

He wore a large dark overcoat, and he stared off into the distance as Leta approached.

"Daniel?" Leta asked. "That is you, right?"

Daniel nodded. "Leta?" They shook hands, and he gave her a curt nod. "We should get back to Chaps immediately."

"Right-o," said Leta, turning back around. "Follow me." She led him back to the Jeep, but she stopped in her tracks when she saw the purple skeleton sitting in the driver's seat.

Chaos rolled down the window. "Greetings, you two," he said. "Wonderful weather for a drive, eh?"

"Chaos," Leta growled. "Get out of my Jeep. Chaps isn't here."

"Oh, it isn't Chaps I want." Chaos opened the car door and stepped out. "He's being taken care of right now. Currently, I'm on a mission to stop anyone who might want to stop me. That includes you two."

"Well, unfortunately for you, Purple People-Eater, I'm not in a mood to be stopped." Leta lunged at Chaos, sending them both rolling on the ground. Chaos' pirate hat flew off his head and landed a ways away.

"Hey! My hat!"

"Daniel!" Leta socked Chaos' cheekbone. "Call Chaps! Either he'll answer, or Chandler or Alice will get the phone; just tell somebody the situation we have going on here! My cell is in the car if you need it."

As Leta took a kick to the stomach, Daniel dove into the car from the passenger's side. He scrolled through Leta's contacts, figured "Skeleton 💀" had to be Chaps, and called the number.

***

Alice parried Chandler's cutlass with the blade of her own. "That all you've got, detective man?"

Chandler grinned. "I only figured it polite to go easy on a little lady like you."

"Oh, what a gentleman." Alice slid and twisted her sword down the blade of his, forcing it out of his grip. "Maybe you shouldn't go too easy."

"Alice, I'm experienced in this sort of combat. If I gave it my all, I would hurt you."

Alice lifted Chandler's hat off his head with the tip of her sword.

"Hey!" He jumped up to reach for it.

She held it out of reach. "Who saved whose life?"

"You saved mine. Give me back-"

"Sorry - louder?"

Chandler sighed. "You saved my life."

Alice smiled and hummed, returning his hat. "Don't forget it."

"You won't let me."

The phone in the lounge rang again.

"Should we get that?" Alice said.

"Probably," said Chandler. "Go on ahead."

Alice shrugged and left her sword in the training gym. It took a bit of hunting around the lounge, but she finally tracked the phone down and answered it. "Hello?"

"Is this, uh, Alice?" said the man on the other end. "This is Daniel. The one Leta went out to meet. We've run into a bit of trouble."

"Oh, no. Is Leta okay?"

"She's . . . She's holding up. Is Chaps back yet?"

"No, he isn't. Do you two need help?"

"We might-"

"Hold on."

The jingle bells on the ceiling had started ringing, signaling the arrival of someone through the washing machine. It wasn't Chaps, though; it was the pink-haired girl Alice had seen with Chaps before. She was in a rather violent kerfuffle with a terrifying-looking, animate scarecrow.

"Oh, gosh," Alice said into the phone. "Uh, Daniel? It seems we've got a situation back at HQ, too."

Daniel gave a quick sigh. He sounded panicked. "Well, whenever you see Chaps - can you tell him Leta and I are at Connor Park and Chaos is here?"

"Um, yes. Can do. I should- I should probably go."

"Me, too."

"Thanks for calling."

"Thanks for answering."

"Um, goodbye."

"Bye."

Alice hurriedly set the phone back on the hook. Others had entered the scene - Pink Hair's male companion, plus a woman Alice hadn't met who had the biggest eyes she'd ever seen. Chandler rushed into the room. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Nothing good," Alice said, and Big Eyes tore off the scarecrow's left arm with a terrible rrrip!

At last, Chaps appeared in the lounge, swinging a couple Nintendo Nunchuks with reckless abandon. Alice approached him, trying to avoid being whacked. Over the ruckus the tussle was causing, she told him of Daniel's and Leta's whereabouts. "He said there was chaos," she added.

Chaps stopped swinging. "He said there was chaos, or he said Chaos was there?"

"What's the difference?"

"A single capital letter. Well, and the order of the words. But regardless, one is much more worrying than the other. I should find them. In the meantime, you and Chandler can put your scarecrow-shooting training to good use!"