[Junior Jedi Knights] - 03(22)

Anakin felt the words slither around his body like snakes. All the fear he had about who he was, and the burden of carrying the name “Anakin,” fought to rise to the surface. He felt an overwhelming need to strike out against the evil follower of Kun. But instead, he laughed. It was a small laugh at first, but it grew stronger as Tahiri joined in. And the louder the Jedi students laughed, the weaker the voice became, until it went out, like a flame before a hearty wind. Anakin and Tahiri reached the base of the stairs and walked toward the doorway they’d entered before to discover the globe.

But nothing could have prepared them for what they saw and heard.

Nothing.

The children were crying. Anakin could hear their strangled sobs the moment lie stepped inside the room. Countless ghostlike hands were pressed against the inside of the globe, torn away by the madly swirling sands, only to reappear moments later in silent pleas for help.

“The followers of Exar Kun are trying to destroy the children before we can free them,” Anakin said in horror.

Tahiri ran toward the globe before Anakin could stop her, and struck it with her fists. The field repelled her efforts, tossing her through the air. Her body somersaulted once, then struck the stone wall. Anakin raced over to his friend, who lay crumpled on the floor. He helped her to sit up, and watched as she shook her head slowly from side to side to clear it from the blow. Tahiri looked up at Anakin with agonized green eyes.

“They’re dying in there!” she cried. “Anakin, we’ve got to do something!”



The pain that extended from the globe through Anakin’s right palm and across his chest was sheer agony. He fought to remain standing, to absorb the field as it coursed through his body like white lightning, to make it harmless. His legs buckled from the torture, and he fell to his knees. Tahiri leapt forward and tore her friend from the field’s stranglehold. They both fell back, Anakin breathing in rattled gasps as the pain slowly subsided.

“There’s got to be another way!” Tahiri said. “What if we both focus on using the Force to weaken the field,” Tahiri thought out loud. “Anakin, you did it when you weakened the reel on Yavin 8,” she continued. “Once the field is weak enough, we can both enter the globe and find the children.”

“You’re right, Tahiri,” Anakin replied, rising to his feet. “But I don’t think we should go inside together. We have no idea what it’s like inside the globe. If one of us fails, the other needs to be able to help, or to go get help if there’s no other choice.”

Tahiri nodded.

“I want to go in first,” Anakin said softly. The hard glint in his eyes told Tahiri there could be no arguing. Anakin moved toward the globe. Tahiri stood by his side. There were no more words. Both knew what had to be done. They closed their eyes and reached out to the field with the Force. The field sparked and flared as their minds tried to weaken it. Anakin felt sweat roll down his forehead. His back cramped with effort. And, just when he almost began to lose hope, he felt a tiny weakening in the field.

“It’s working,” Anakin said through clenched teeth.

Tahiri squeezed his hand. She could feel it, too. Moments later, the field’s strength flickered, then faded to a soft buzz in Anakin’s mind. Without pausing, he reached toward the smooth sphere. He felt his hands pass through the crystal, felt the stinging of the golden sands on his flesh.

It’s now or never, Anakin thought. He plunged forward, his body entering the globe, then disappearing from view in the swirling sands. He felt a sharp bolt of pain as his right foot slid inside the sphere. The field had regained its power. It’s like swimming through sand, Anakin thought as he fought his way through the whirlpool of golden particles. The sands stung and blinded him, and he covered his nose and mouth with the sleeve of his jumpsuit so that he could breathe. Then he began to search for the children.

Strange, Anakin thought; from the outside, the globe is no more than four meters across, but inside it’s huge. Anakin blindly struggled to find his way through the globe. His body was tossed and tumbled in the mad whirls of sand until he no longer knew up from down. He cried out to the children, but there was no answer.

And then there they were, crowding around him, their small hands reaching out, grasping the folds of his jumpsuit, touching his face, his hair. There were so many of them, Anakin wondered how he could lead them all out of the globe.

“Grab hands!” he called out. “All of you, grab hands.”

They understood, and he felt two small hands slide into his. Anakin battled through the storm as the sands filled his nose and mouth and threatened to choke him. He had to lead them to the edge of the crystal, through the field, he thought, his legs struggling as the sands thickened.