by Gloria Gage
“Do you know anything about Marty? Have you seen him? Is he all right?” I asked anxiously.
“Your brother is okay for now. But he’s counting on you. Here, I have a gift for you.” She took a necklace from around her neck and gave it to Chris. It was a long silver chain with a heart-shaped medallion hanging from it. Engraved in the center of the heart was one word—LOVE.
“Of all the lessons you’ve learned, LOVE is the most valuable of all. You must let your love for Martin, and for each other, give you the courage and strength to complete this final portion of your journey. You must also believe in yourselves, and in your Creator who has given you the strength and will to succeed. Hold on to that and you need never be afraid.”
“Thank you,” Chris said solemnly.
“We won’t forget,” I offered shyly, still in awe of the beautiful girl before us.
“I must go,” she said, “but remember, all of us are praying for you, and for Martin’s rescue.”
“All of us?” Chris asked.
“The good people of Star Galaxy,” she explained. “I am Princess Nala. Once, my father was the king of this land. Then, these wicked mutants came.” She looked down and a tear slid down her cheek. “They killed my father…” she whispered. “Now, we’re all burdened under the evil of the castle’s power. You have been chosen to defeat them and end their power. We knew that only one from another galaxy with a pure heart would be able to succeed. If you are truly that one, you can free us all! May God be with you and give you the courage to succeed.” With a stunning smile of encouragement, she urged her horse to a trot and moved away. We stared after her, watching her long hair flowing behind her, as her horse galloped down the path until they disappeared over the hill and into the woods.
“Wow! I think I’m in love,” Josh said dreamily, while I just stood with a silly grin pasted on my face.
Chris brought us back to earth, “Okay, guys, back to our mission! Time is running out, remember?”
“Right.” I agreed quickly. We hurried on across the meadow, but stopped in shock as we drew near the castle walls.
“There’s a moat!” Josh uttered in surprise.
“And the drawbridge is closed—I don’t see any way in.” I was stunned. “What do we do now?” Once more, I pulled the map from my pocket and the three of us poured over it, as I traced our path with my finger. “Here’s the Sky Bridge we crossed, and the park, then the fountain where we found Key Number Three on the goat’s neck. Then we followed the path through the woods and found the cave.”
“That was Key Number Four, right?” Chris asked.
“That’s right. And here’s the castle. The last two keys should be close. See, here’s Key Number Five. The map shows it near a small door in the castle wall.”
Josh pointed in excitement, “There! I see it right there. But the map doesn’t show a drawbridge or a moat at all!”
We just stood still, confused for a minute, looking in both directions for some way to get inside. “Should we walk around and look for another entrance?” Chris asked.
“I don’t think we have time. We can see a long way, and I don’t see any other gate… I guess we could swim across, but we still couldn’t get in through the drawbridge, and that small door might be locked.”
“I can swim over and see if the door is locked,” Chris offered. “Then I can signal you to follow me.”
Chris was on the school swim team, and is probably the strongest swimmer of the three of us, so this seemed like the best plan. But I was still worried, “Be careful, Chris. I don’t like the looks of that moat.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
“See you in a jiff,” she joked, tying her jacket around her waist. Before we could reconsider, she dived in and was making her way across. We waited anxiously as her strong strokes took her swiftly through the water. Once she reached the castle wall, Chris climbed up onto a ledge about two feet above the water, and reached out cautiously to try the door. Then she turned and gave us a thumbs-up sign to indicate it was unlocked.
Josh removed his glasses, remembering our last swim across a river, and held them securely in his fist, while I stuffed the keys tightly into the pocket of my jeans before we dived in and followed Chris across the moat.
We reached the wall of the castle together where Chris was waiting patiently, staring up at the door in the wall. “I’ll go in first,” I said, a little breathless from my swim.
“No, wait,” Chris grabbed my arm and stopped me. “We don’t have the key yet. According to the map, it should be here on the outside wall somewhere near the door. I’ve been looking, but I can’t see anyplace it could be hidden,” she admitted.
Just then, I noticed something else. “Look! Way down under the water. See that dark spot? Could that be another door? Do you suppose the moat was added after this map was made? Maybe the key is down there?”
“I guess there’s only one way to find out,” Chris said, and before we could stop her, she dived down into the murky water. We watched anxiously, holding on to the ledge and treading water as she went deeper, feeling her way along the wall for a hiding place that might hold a key. A minute later, she popped out of the water, gasping for breath. “I can’t see anything, the water’s too cloudy.”
“Let’s give up, Chris, and go on. It’s too dangerous, and there must be some other way. We don’t know what else could be down there,” Josh sounded really worried.
“Let me try once more,” she whispered, and with that, she was gone again.
“I’m going with her,” I said. “Josh, you keep…”
“Wait! What is that?” Josh called out. “Over there!”
I looked in the direction Josh was pointing and saw movement in the water about twenty yards away. “Just a fish, maybe?” I said hesitantly.
“I think it’s too big for a fish,” Josh sounded scared. “Logan, I… I think it’s…” Sure enough, as we stared, two eyes appeared just above the water, and the form took shape—a long body swirling the surface of the moat as it swam swiftly toward us.
“Chris!” I shouted, straining to see through the water, but she was too deep now, and I could see nothing but bubbles rising to the surface.
Chapter Thirty-Five
“She can’t hear us,” Josh said. Then, just as we were both about to dive in after her, her head popped up out of the water. She barely had time for a quick gulp of air before Josh grabbed hold of her arm, and with my help, we literally yanked her up onto the ledge. I reached up, shoved against the door, and we all crawled, scooted, and fell through the door into a dark hallway inside the castle.
“What’s wrong with you two?” Chris gasped between gulps of air.
“Look back there, Chris!” Only three feet behind us now, a giant water snake moved silently across the water, and was still coming fast! “You were almost his lunch!” Josh said.
“Oh, my gosh!” She shivered at the sight of the six-foot beast as it moved swiftly up to the wall. “What if he…?” she mumbled, picturing those sharp fangs sinking into her.
“Let’s not wait around to see if he can climb!” I shouted.
We slammed the door behind us and started down a long hallway in our squishy tennis shoes and dripping clothes, leaving a very wet trail behind us. Only torches mounted at intervals along the wall provided some dim light. I led the others now, moving cautiously. “Let’s check in with Amy,” I said, “and see what’s ahead of us. Amy, can you hear me?”
“Gosh, you guys scared me half to death! Chris, are you okay? When I saw that snake on the screen, I almost fainted. I’m sorry you couldn’t find the key. Maybe if you have the other five, one won’t matter.”
“Geesh!” Chris exclaimed. “I almost forgot, what with almost being eaten and all… I did find it, wedged in a niche just above the underwater door.” She held up yet another old and corroded but amazingly wonderful key.
“Chris, you’re an angel!” I exclaimed.
Josh patted her shoulder and grinn
ed sheepishly at her, “Good job, kiddo, I’d say you passed your test of courage.”
Chris blushed and said, “Thanks, but we still don’t know where they’re holding Marty. This place looks enormous.”
“You’re right,” I agreed. “Amy, are you still there? What can you see ahead of us?”
“Well, there’s a large room at the end of the hall. I don’t see anyone around, but I’m sure they’re there somewhere, so watch out. You’re getting very close!”
We came out of the hallway at last into the large room Amy had described. There were two fireplaces on opposite walls and a huge throne at one end. “Wow! Looks like we’ve stepped back into King Arthur’s court,” Josh whispered, as he wandered about the room in awe.
“We better check the map again,” Chris offered. “Logan, can you tell where we go from here?”
I unfolded the map once again. “We’re right here,” I showed Chris, “but I don’t even see Key Number Six on the map, do you?”
“It’s got to be there somewhere. Could that be it? See that tiny symbol. It looks like it’s on a tower or something.” She pointed to what looked like a bell tower sketched on the map. And sure enough, there did appear to be a small object hanging from inside the bell itself.
“That must be it. And the tower looks like it’s directly behind the throne. But there’s no opening in the ceiling or anything. And I don’t see a door or window anywhere around.” Chris and I gazed around at the four solid walls.
“Josh, do you see any…? Josh?” my voice echoed loudly in the empty room. “Now where did he wander off to?” Chris and I walked closer to the throne and looked behind it and on either side, but there was no door or opening we could see. In fact, there appeared to be no exit from the room at all, except from the hall where we had entered.
“Josh?” Chris’s voice echoed too, sounding a little shaky. “Please don’t joke around. Where are you?”
“He wouldn’t wander off without us,” I whispered, trying to sound reassuring. “And as far as I know, I’m the only one with disappearing abilities.”
Chris nodded her head, “Right. He must be here somewhere. Something must have happened. There must be a hidden door or something. Let’s look around some more.”
We searched all around the throne, pressing on the wall, running our hands along each edge, but nothing. “Now what do we do?” I asked in frustration. Finally, I threw up my hands in despair and sat down heavily on the throne with my head in my hands.
Chapter Thirty-Six
A slight creaking noise caused Chris to turn around, just as the throne where I was sitting began to tilt forward. At the same time, the floor in front of me slid open. I jumped as it moved and tried my best to hold on, but despite my efforts I slid right off and down an open chute that disappeared into the floor in front of me.
“Logan!” Chris cried out. “Oh, my gosh!” A second later, the throne was just as it was before, minus both her friends now. “Oh, no you don’t. You’re not going without me!” she muttered and practically jumped onto the stone seat of the throne.
But nothing happened. “Oh no! Come on, guys, please don’t leave me here all alone!” Then, as if in answer to her plea, the throne slowly began to tilt forward, the floor slid open at her feet, and Chris found herself sliding feet first down a long twisting chute. It seemed to go on forever, until suddenly she plunked out of the chute and landed hard on a cold stone floor.
“It’s about time—what kept you?” The welcome sound of Josh’s voice was better to Chris than another chocolate bar would have been at that moment.
“Where are we?” she asked, brushing off her jeans and looking around at yet more solid walls with no doors, no windows, and apparently, no exits. One small torch on the far wall gave off a bit of light.
I shook my head. “I don’t know, but it’s definitely not the bell tower. Amy, are you there? Can you lead us out of here?” There was no answer, and when we looked up, the picture floating above us was nothing but a snow-filled screen.
“Uh oh! That can’t be good,” Josh said.
I was getting really worried now. “There must be some other way out of here.”
“There’s so little light, we could be missing something,” Chris said.
I lifted the torch from its holder on the wall, and we all searched together around the perimeter of the room. It wasn’t very large so it didn’t take long to investigate. “Four walls, no windows, only the chute from the room above. There has to be some way out!” I handed the torch to Chris, while Josh and I moved ahead feeling all along the wall for cracks or hidden switches, or anything that might disguise a passageway. We covered all four walls and still found nothing.
“Josh, do you suppose we could climb back up that chute?”
He looked pretty worried. “I don’t think so, but it’s beginning to look like the only way out of here.”
Chris was really feeling tired and discouraged. It had been a very long day, and she sighed as she rubbed her backside after that long slide and rough landing on the hard stone floor. She leaned back against the wall to rest for a minute, feeling the beginning of a headache starting behind her eyes. As she rubbed her neck, a loud rumbling sound filled the room. At first, she thought it was just the headache, then a section of the wall behind her began to move, revealing a steep stairway almost swallowed up in darkness.
She stumbled backward as the wall moved, and nearly dropped the torch. But Josh caught her and took the torch from her hand. “Looks like we’ll need this,” he said. “You must have accidentally leaned against a hidden switch. Let’s get the heck out of here!”
“Good job, Chris! You rescued us again,” I touched her shoulder as I headed for the stairway. Josh started up first.
“Yuck—cobwebs! I hate these things,” Josh complained, waving his arms out in front to clear them away. Then suddenly he yelled and almost knocked us both down the stairs, as he fought frantically to move back down the stairway.
I reached out and grabbed the torch, while Josh struggled to regain his balance. Then I grinned back at my brave friend who was cowering fearfully just behind me. Propped against the stairs ahead of us were the dusty bones of a skeleton. “Anyone you know?” I asked Josh laughing.
Josh composed himself and said, “All right! Let’s see how you react to unexpectedly dancing with a bunch of bones! Go ahead and laugh, but that could mean there really is no way out of here.”
“There’s got to be,” I said, my voice sounding a little desperate, even to me. “We can’t have come this far, through so many obstacles to be stuck here.”
There were more cobwebs to swat and a few more bones to climb over, but we finally reached the top of the stairway, and found a metal door.
“Thank goodness it’s not locked!” Josh said as we went through into a new and different room, this one with windows high up close to the ceiling and several doors as well.
Amy’s voice interrupted us, “Hey, Logan, where were you guys? All I could see was static for a while. I was afraid I’d lost you for good.”
“We’re still here!” I answered looking up at Amy’s face floating from the wavy screen above us. “We just stepped downstairs for a siesta, but we’re back. Glad you’re still with us.”
“Over there,” Chris pointed to a corner of the room. “That might be the tower.” We hurried across the room, aware now that time was running out fast. A wooden ladder was built against the wall in the far corner of the room. We looked up in amazement at the sight above us. The ladder led up through a narrow opening in the ceiling and appeared to go on forever.
“Can you even see a bell up there?” Chris asked.
“No, but this must be it. Gosh, it looks like an impossibly long climb—it must be four or five stories high!” I said in awe.
“This one’s mine, guys. It’s my turn,” Josh offered bravely.
“Are you sure about that?” I asked, feeling very uneasy about this challenge.
Josh nod
ded his head and smiled.
“Okay, but watch yourself,” I said firmly. “We want you back safe and sound, key or no key, okay?”
“No sweat,” Josh said, trying to sound confident as he started the long climb. About thirty feet up, he paused to rest a minute, wrapping his arms around the next rung so he could rub his fingers together. They were beginning to tingle and feel a little cold.
“So far so good,” he called back down to us, and jumped at the loud echo of his own voice. Another fifty feet, and his legs began to shake, and numbness spread from his fingers to his arms. He held on with one arm while he shook the other to try and relax his muscles. Then he tried to take some deep breaths. He looked up for a second, and then glanced back down below and was shocked at how far he had climbed. He swallowed hard when he realized he was only about half way to the top.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
That was a mistake, Josh told himself his legs shaking, and vowed not to look down again. A minute later, the tower walls seemed to close in and the ladder began to swim in front of him. He closed his eyes for a minute, holding tightly to the wooden rungs, trying to stop the dizziness.
He took another deep breath and began to climb again, almost in a trance, just putting one hand above the other, one foot up, then the next, trying not to think at all. Just start counting the rungs, he told himself. One, two, three…and on to forty-one, forty-two, and soon, eighty-eight, eighty-nine. He stopped at one hundred to catch his breath again, still feeling light-headed. When he did look up at last, he realized he was getting close to the top. He could see the bell clearly now, and even some birds flitting about the roof beyond.
With fresh energy, he climbed again, eager now to complete his mission. A few more feet, and suddenly, the ladder ended—but he was still four feet short of the top! It appeared the last few wooden rungs had been removed from the wall. Josh held tightly to the top rung with one arm and stretched his other out toward the bell, but it was more than a foot beyond his reach.
