How It All Goes Down
Meet Tendai Matsika. He's like any thirteen-year-old, unless you count the fact that he lives in Zimbabwe in the year 2194. He has a younger sis (Rita) and bro (Kuda), two strict parents, and a full-time guy to sing his praises (the Mellower). Literally. Plus, robots do his chores, cook his food, and even help him out with his homework. Sounds perfect, right?
Wrong. All Tendai wants is to be able to leave the house and go out into the world so he can get his explorer badge and become an Eagle Scout. Too bad his parents won't let him. They're afraid he might get kidnapped or hurt out there in the big, scary world, especially since General Matsika—a.k.a. Tendai's dad—isn't everybody's favorite guy since he cleaned the streets of gangs. Yep, that'll score you a bunch of enemies.
So Tendai takes matters into his own hands. He and Rita get the Mellower's help to ask their folks if they can leave the house, which is normally a big no-no. This all sounds fine until we realize that the Mellower actually puts people into a trance with his melodic praises. Tendai's parents agree to let him leave, but they aren't exactly conscious when they do.
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, Tendai makes his way through the market with Rita and Kuda. He's so thrilled to be outside that he barely notices the blue monkey trick him into going down a dark alley. There, Tendai, Rita, and Kuda are kidnapped and taken to a woman called the She Elephant. They have to work in a mine several hours a day, but at least they get fed each night. It sounds weird, but Tendai is actually happy and enjoying his new found freedom for a few weeks.
That is, until he overhears that the She Elephant plans to sell them to the Masks, a dangerous gang. He knows he has to protect his siblings, so the three of them flee with the help of a guy named Trashman. He takes them to an ancient village, Resthaven, where people act like it's the Stone Age. Seriously—there's no technology anywhere. Meanwhile, the Matsikas hire some strange detectives named Ear, Eye, and Arm to track down the kids.
At first, Tendai enjoys sitting by the campfire and listening to ghost stories, but before long, he realizes they've outstayed their welcome. For one thing, Rita is treated pretty horribly, and for another, people suspect the kids might be witches. When Rita calls the chief out on trying to get rid of his new baby daughter (Sekai) simply because she's a twin, all of the kids run for the gates.
Trashman helps them escape, and they find their way to the Mellower's mom's pad. Ear, Eye, and Arm make their way to Resthaven just after the kids leave, but in time to save baby Sekai. Arm decides to raise the baby as his own since no one else wants her.
Rita is sick with the chicken pox, and it's not long before Tendai and Kuda come down with it, too. They are so busy resting that they forget to call their parents and tell them everything is okay. But it's not. Mrs. Horsepool-Worthingham is more interested in a reward for the kids than she is worried about keeping them safe. Tendai overhears her on the phone demanding that her son ask for a ransom.
Tendai hatches a plan to humiliate Mrs. Horsepool-Worthingham and get back home, but before he can go through with it, the She Elephant shows up and kidnaps the kids—again. She sells them to the Masks, but she doesn't realize they plan to sacrifice Tendai. When the She Elephant gets hip to this, she tries to rescue him, but it's too late; the Masks begin their ritual ceremony.
Just then, Ear, Eye, and Arm bust the joint with the help of the Matsikas. Phew. Tendai is safe, if not a little weak from the ceremony, and the family is reunited. Tendai has grown up a lot since he was last home, and luckily, his folks realize they have to let him live a little now that he's fourteen.