In the Orient Read online

  THE ADVENTURES OF . . .

  ARCHIBALD & JOCKABEB

  The Adventures of Archibald and Jockabeb chronicle two young brothers as they grow up experiencing one fantastic adventure after another—oftentimes dangerous and always exciting. The Archibald and Jockabeb series also showcases the classic struggle between the forces of good and evil.

  When the boys’ first great adventure begins to unfold, they are twelve and eleven years old. Over the ensuing years, they learn much from their incredible encounters with a host of truly memorable characters—some good, some very bad; some human, some anything but; some from this world, and some otherworldly beyond belief.

  The stories are set in the latter part of the 20th century—a simpler time before cell phones, the Internet, and social media became part of everyday life.

  The series begins with the boys finding a secret cave hidden deep within a mysterious forest close to home. There they rescue an enchanted Native American brave, who in return gives them a magical blue feather and teaches them the mystical words to use along with it. Although it will not be the last blue feather they will receive, the encounter sets off a chain of events that alter the young brothers’ lives in ways they could have never imagined.

  Over the years, the boys find adventure in a variety of truly amazing locations that span the globe. From the mysterious forest behind their home, they travel to a secluded summer camp high in the Rocky Mountains, and then to a remote part of the Amazon Rainforest. As one incredible adventure follows another, they begin to question whether it is only the magic blue feather and mystical words that allow them to endure hardship and ultimately prevail, or something else.

  After the brothers have turned fourteen and thirteen, they find themselves abandoned in the sweltering Sonoran Desert, coming face to face with the occult in the Caribbean, running for their lives in New York City, being stranded high above the Arctic Circle, and finally traveling to the exotic city of Hong Kong where they are swept up in an ancient Chinese legend. In the last volume of the nine-book series, Archibald and Jockabeb set out for a dangerous and remote part of the Australian Outback. Now approaching young adulthood at seventeen and sixteen years of age, two facts are abundantly clear—the last of the magic blue feather power has been totally expended, and their string of astonishing adventures is far from over!

  WHAT THE READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT . . .

  The Adventures of . . .

  ARCHIBALD & JOCKABEB

  “One of a Kind!”

  This is the best book EVER!!!!!! Dragons, Indians, horses, evil crows, there is nothing like it! I loved it, can’t wait for more adventures to come.

  “A majestic tale—Harry Potter meets The Indian in the Cupboard”

  Loved reading this book. I quickly got hooked, dug in, and engaged with the characters. A wonderful bedtime story!

  “Rich in Vocabulary!”

  Best book ever! This book is rich in vocabulary. It has plenty of detail and super descriptive. I can’t wait to read other Archibald and Jockabeb books!

  “Best of the Best!”

  In the Forest is an outstanding book! It is filled with interesting words to increase your vocabulary and make a clear image in your head. The characters are great and help make the wonderful story come together.

  “Terrific series of action books!”

  This is the first of a series of boys’ adventure books that are absolutely terrific. Art Collins uses bold imagination, memorable characters and enough twists, turns and suspense to keep kids turning the pages from the start to the finish.

  “Fun book for older kids and younger teenagers!”

  Several of my daughters’ friends (girls and boys ages 10 through 12) have read this book, as well as the next one. They liked the storylines, and the crazy fixes the two brothers get themselves into. They also liked the human and non-human characters and the drawings interspersed throughout the books.

  My son who is 10 finished this book this morning and said he wants the next two for Christmas. He said the story was neat and the pictures were cool. I guess that means he really likes it. Thanks to the author and illustrator.

  I bought this book for my nephew and niece, ages 13 and 9, and they loved it. I’m going to buy the next two books and hope the rest of the series come out soon. My nephew likes Harry Potter and my niece likes Nancy Drew.

  The Adventures of . . .

  ARCHIBALD & JOCKABEB

  In the Forest

  In the Mountains

  In the Amazon

  In the Desert

  In the Caribbean

  In the Big City

  In the Arctic

  In the Orient

  In the Outback

  CONTACT US:

  www.TheAJAdventures.com

  www.Facebook.com/TheAJAdventures

  Twitter—@TheAJAdventures

  Art and KC would love to hear from you, the readers! Share your thoughts, comments, or questions with us or find out about upcoming events.

  As the eighth book in The Adventures of Archibald and Jockabeb series opens, almost six months have passed since the snowy Christmas Eve when the two brothers returned home from another astonishing adventure high above the Arctic Circle. The backdrop now shifts from the windswept tundra of the barren Arctic to the bustling Pearl of the Orient, Hong Kong. Archibald travels there to live with the Chen family and attend a summer student abroad program. At the end of the program, Jockabeb and Archibald’s girlfriend, Willow, visit him for what was expected to be a pleasant week of sightseeing. The sunny morning the two brothers, Willow, and one of the Chen children head out on a mountain hike, they have no idea the untold danger that awaits them. When a descendant of a mythical character from centuries past finally escapes imprisonment deep within one of the towering mountains surrounding Victoria Harbour, another life and death struggle begins—but this time without a blue feather for protection. Get ready for another fascinating journey into the unknown as you begin to read In The Orient.

  Copyright © 2012 by Arthur D. Collins Jr.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any other information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Published and distributed by A & J Publishing, LLC.

  ISBN 978-1-943346-23-3

  e-ISBN 978-1-943346-22-6

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2015956935

  All characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to real persons, living or deceased, is purely coincidental.

  For more information on The Adventures of Archibald & Jockabeb series, visit our website at www.TheAJAdventures.com

  Design: Scribe Inc., Philadelphia, PA

  This book is dedicated to Chicago, the city, and to all the wonderful people who live there.

  “You can leave Hong Kong, but it will never leave you.”

  Nury Vittachi

  “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

  Confucius

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter 1. The Pearl of the Orient

  Chapter 2. Lantau Peak

  Chapter 3. Past and Present Collide

  First Epilogue

  Second Epilogue

  THE ADVENTURES OF

  ARCHIBALD & JOCKABEB

  IN THE ORIENT

  Almost six months had passed since Archibald and Jockabeb returned home on a snowy Christmas Eve after concluding yet another astonishing adventure—this time well north of the Arctic Circle.

  During the twenty-four harrowing hours spent far below the fro
zen tundra at a secret location codenamed ‘Checkpoint Zulu,’ the two brothers and Willow were forced to once again fight for their lives. The three teenagers, Meatloaf, and six others made up the clandestine emergency task force formed by the Paranormal Surveillance Agency. The task force, together with the three Air Force personnel who manned the CH-47 Chinook that had transported them to Checkpoint Zulu, encountered two aliens from another planetary system—one good, and one incredibly evil.

  There were two moons that orbited the 23 Librae star located at the center of that faraway planetary system, each of which was inhabited by two totally different races.

  Zenda, a caring and gentle member of the benevolent Comis race that inhabited one of the two moons, was interested in making peaceful contact with the humans.

  Malum, on the other hand, was from the cruel and savagely aggressive Lues race that resided on 23 Librae’s other moon. Malum’s intentions were very different from Zenda’s—first, to destroy each of the thirteen humans sent to Checkpoint Zulu, and then to enslave the entire human race.

  Fortunately, Zenda helped lure Malum into a cleverly conceived trap that ultimately destroyed her seemingly indestructible foe, but not before Malum had killed eight members of the mission, including Meatloaf. With unseen aid from the spirit of Simtu, the long-departed twin brother of Haktu, Archibald had used the last blue feather from Tommy Two Feathers’ hat as a lethal dagger, thrusting the sharp tip of its quill into the only vulnerable part of Malum’s scale-covered body.

  While Archibald and Jockabeb would never be certain if the two blue feathers from Tommy Two Feathers’ hat had possessed any of the mystical protective powers that Haktu’s magic blue feather had, they were absolutely certain of two rather obvious facts—all of the blue feathers were now gone and, even more importantly, they’d be on their own to protect themselves from any harm that might come their way in the future.

  Willow, Meatloaf, Zenda, and Malum

  As amazing as the events in the Arctic had been, they were now distant memories for Archibald as he finished the school year and prepared for his upcoming Student Living Abroad Program in the Far East. In less than a week, he’d be boarding the first of three planes that would ultimately transport him to the west side of Kowloon Bay in New Kowloon, Hong Kong.

  The Washington D.C. coordinator of the Student Living Abroad Program—which bore the unfortunate acronym of “SLAP”—had sent Archibald and his parents a very concise briefing packet six weeks before Archibald’s departure. In addition to general information about Hong Kong, its customs and geography, and Archibald’s course schedule, the packet also contained background information on the family with whom Archibald would be staying. Dr. and Mrs. Chen and their two children, William and May, would serve as his host family for the two months he’d be studying in Hong Kong.

  A week after the briefing packet arrived, Archibald and his parents received a very nice letter from Mrs. Chen. Nora Chen Eu-meh said just how much she, her husband, and their children were looking forward to Archibald’s stay. Like many Hong Kong Chinese who grew up under British rule, the Chen family had adopted English first names that were used together with their traditional Chinese given names and surnames.

  Dr. and Mrs. Chen

  Mrs. Chen went on to say that her husband and his personal driver, Robert Liu, would meet Archibald when he arrived at Kai Tak International Airport. They would then drive to the Chen family complex located near the top of Victoria Peak, overlooking Victoria Harbour.

  She closed her letter by reassuring Archibald’s parents that their son would be perfectly safe in Hong Kong, adding a postscript saying that she’d make sure he wrote home at least once a week.

  Dr. and Mrs. Chen were both from very prominent local families, and they were considered part of the Hong Kong elite. Each had graduated from a prestigious local boarding school—he from St. Stephen’s College, and she from St. Paul’s College—prior to traveling abroad to receive university degrees in England.

  Following in his father’s footsteps, George Chen Yun-Wen had graduated with honors from Oxford University. He went on to receive several advanced degrees, including a doctorate from the London School of Economics. He then returned home to work in the family business, Chen Tran-Pacific Holdings, over which he eventually presided as chairman and chief executive officer.

  At eighteen, William was two years older than Archibald. On the shy side and studious, he would continue the family tradition by attending Oxford University in the fall. Having had a wonderful experience himself as a foreign exchange student, William was anxious for the young American to arrive so he could return some of the hospitality he’d been extended by his host family in San Francisco the previous year.

  May was fifteen. Like her mother, she attended St. Paul’s College. While her brother was quiet and somewhat of a bespectacled bookworm, May was a firebrand. Strong-willed and adventuresome, she was the only male or female student in her school practicing Wing Chun, an ancient southern Chinese style of Kung Fu. She’d been studying Chinese martial arts for five years under a Ninth Degree Grandmaster named Wu Feng. Wu Feng had taken a particular interest in May, and recently she received her black belt under his tutelage. As part of her martial arts training, she’d become proficient in the use of ancient Chinese throwing weapons included in the art of Wing Chun.

  In addition to having a strong personality and extraordinary martial arts skills for her age, May was highly intelligent, intuitive, and very perceptive. She ranked number one academically in her class, taking advanced classes whenever they were offered. Like Willow, May spoke multiple languages. Already fluent in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin, she was also conversant in Japanese and French.

  From the moment Archibald learned of his acceptance to SLAP the previous January, he’d begun practicing eating with chopsticks. While he was terribly awkward at first, he finally got the hang of it. His crowning achievement with the narrow wooden sticks was when he lifted an individual green pea off his plate and then casually held it in the air while he talked with his parents at the dinner table.

  May and William Chen

  When Archibald had called Aunt Claire to tell her he’d been accepted to SLAP and would be going to Hong Kong, she immediately fulfilled her promise to cover the airfare and the program’s tuition as her gift to him for his sixteenth birthday. Not having to bear those expenses made the boys’ parents decision easier when Dr. and Mrs. Chen invited Jockabeb to join his brother at their home for a week’s vacation after Archibald’s classes ended in August.

  Even though Mandarin was the predominant language on Mainland China, Cantonese was spoken in Hong Kong. Knowing this, Archibald had purchased some Cantonese language tapes, and had learned as best he could a few useful phrases. He put one of those phrases to work when he was having trouble closing his overflowing suitcase the night before he was scheduled to leave, calling out to his brother, “Gau mehng ā!”

  Coming into the bedroom, Jockabeb laughed and said, “Okay, you know I can’t speak Chinese. I’m pretty sure you can’t either, so you’re going to have to tell me what you just tried to say.”

  “I said ‘help’ in Cantonese,” Archibald replied, grinning like the Cheshire cat in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. “And for your information, I said it correctly. You know, since you’re going to be spending a week in Hong Kong, it wouldn’t hurt you to learn some Cantonese like I have. I’ll even leave you my tapes.”

  “Sure, whatever,” Jockabeb answered back as he thought of all the other things he’d rather do than spend time learning a language he probably never use after his trip to Hong Kong.

  When Jockabeb had sat down on the overflowing suitcase later that evening to help Archibald lock it, neither of the brothers had any inkling that it wouldn’t be the last time they’d hear those Cantonese words spoken. The next time, however, the tone would be very different—yes, very different indeed!

  Aunt Claire

  CHAPTER 1

  THE PE
ARL OF THE ORIENT

  By the time Archibald deplaned from the Cathay Pacific jumbo jet at Kai Tak International Airport on a warm and humid Friday evening, he was dead tired. He had been so excited at the prospect of his upcoming stay in Hong Kong that he’d slept only a few hours since leaving the Midwest Wednesday morning.

  In order to reach Hong Kong, which was on the other side of the International Date Line in a time zone thirteen hours ahead of his hometown, he spent more than twenty-four hours on three separate airplanes and in airport transit areas. The long trip had a flight path that spanned parts of the Pacific Ocean and the East China Sea, and it required two intermediate stops. The first stop was in Los Angeles and the second was in Tokyo.

  The highlight of the flight to Hong Kong was definitely the final few minutes that it took the Boeing 747 to make its final approach to Kai Tak’s famous Runway, 13/31. While conducting research on Hong Kong, Archibald had read about how the rugged mountains near the airport required a low altitude, hard-left banking approach to the runway that jutted into the surrounding Victoria Harbour. Even so, he didn’t expect the steepness of the turn, let alone the bird’s-eye view he had of people eating their dinner or watching television in the six-story apartment buildings that the plane’s huge fuselage flew by!

  As promised, Dr. Chen and Robert Liu were outside passport control waiting for Archibald. Both men were Chinese, but that’s where any physical similarity ended.

  Even though Dr. Chen had just turned fifty-two, his neatly combed hair was prematurely gray, just as his father’s had been at the same age.