16 Choice Point

Chapter 16 CHOICE POINT Something had come over Pep McDonald. Four weeks earlier, she had been a pretty normal California girl, concerned with her homework, babysitting, and soccer. But in the last two days alone, she had beaten up a defenseless woman and killed a snake with her bare hands. She had gained a tremendous amount of confidence, and ruthlessness. It was like she was a different person. Her brother, on the other hand, seemed to have lost some of the swagger he'd displayed at the start of the trip. Coke was no longer calling himself "Ace Fist" and bragging about his karate skills. He had become hesitant, tentative, sometimes hanging back and letting his sister take charge of the situation. The pressure of being chased and hunted

down like animals over thousands of miles was starting to wear on both of the twins. Knowing that Dr. Warsaw was building an atomic weapon and might set it off at any time had frayed their nerves. They were less than 800 miles from San Francisco now. Questions were running through the backs of their minds. Will we get home alive? What's going to happen if we do? Will we be able to live a normal life? Will we be hunted —and haunted—by Dr. Warsaw forever? The uncertainty was eating at them. "I don't know what happened," Pep said on the way back to the hotel. "I think I just snapped." Coke flipped on the TV to help them both calm down. SpongeBob was on again. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Their parents were back. "Oh, I wish you kids had come to the vortex with us!" gushed Mrs. McDonald. "I felt the energy. The hair on my arms was standing on end!"

"Personally, I didn't feel a thing," said Dr. McDonald. "I say it's all a hoax." "You're still sitting here watching TV?" asked Mrs. McDonald. "You kids haven't moved an inch since we left." "Actually, we went out for a walk," Coke said. "We consulted with a psychic healer, and then Pep beat her up." "Ha! You kids are a riot," said his father. "I guess that healer wasn't really psychic, because if she was, she would have known that Pep was going to beat her up, right?" They went to eat at a little Italian restaurant down the street. After dinner, Dr. McDonald called a family meeting. He had read an article in a magazine that said children enjoy and appreciate family vacations better when they're involved in the decision-making process. Up until this point, the parents had pretty much decided where they were going, and the kids had had no say in the matter. "We are here," Dr. McDonald said, after

spreading his road map across the table and pointing to Sedona, Arizona. "We have two choices tomorrow. We can drive south down to Phoenix or north up to the Grand Canyon." "What's in Phoenix?" Pep asked. "Oh, there's lots of cool stuff," Mrs. McDonald said as she pulled out her Arizona guidebook. "Let me see. There's the Musical Instrument Museum, and the Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting. Oh, and there's also the Phoenix Police Museum. They have a room honoring police dogs that have died in the line of duty. And you get to sit inside a real police car." "That sounds pretty cool," Coke said. "Wait, listen to this!" said Mrs. McDonald after flipping the page. "There's a Cockroach Hall of Fame!" "You gotta be kidding me," Coke said. "It's true," his mother continued. "An exterminator has a place called the Pest Shop. In the back, he made a museum with dead

cockroaches dressed as celebrities!" "That's ridiculous, Bridge," said Dr. McDonald. "Oh, come on!" Mrs. McDonald told him. "It will be fun! It says they have David Letteroach, Marilyn Monroach, Liberoachi, and roach versions of Elvis, Britney Spears, and lots of other famous people. Oh, we must go!" Dr. McDonald closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead silently. He had already endured museums devoted to yo-yos, hot dog buns, mustard, bowling, washing machines, and Spam on this trip. He tried to think of a diplomatic way to get out of driving 117 miles to see costumed cockroaches. "I think the children would get more out of a trip to the Grand Canyon," he said gently. "The Grand Canyon is just a big hole in the ground," Mrs. McDonald replied. "What's the big deal about that?" "It's one of the seven natural wonders of the world!" her husband said, raising his voice

somewhat. "I'm just kidding, Ben," Mrs. McDonald said. "The Grand Canyon and Phoenix are both about two hours from here. How about we let the kids decide which direction we go?" "Fair enough." While their parents went to pay the check for dinner, Coke and Pep stayed at the table and talked things over. "Do you care where we go?" Pep asked. "No." "Me neither," Pep said. "The important thing is, where are Dr. Warsaw and his pals likely to go? If we go to Phoenix and they go to the Grand Canyon, we avoid them, at least for a while. If we go to Phoenix and they go to Phoenix, we're in trouble. We've got to outguess them." "Of course, they could track us and follow us anywhere," Coke pointed out. "Dr. Warsaw could be watching us right now." The twins debated the issue a little while