by Sophia Sharp
We left the hotel, and John hailed a cab. Arthur said last night he would meet us at the airfield, and luckily the driver knew exactly where it was. When we got there, a half hour later, Arthur was already waiting.
“Ah, there you are!” he exclaimed, and came over to give kisses to each of the girls on the cheeks. I tried to shy away when it was my turn, but he was very forceful. At least Rob didn’t seem to mind. Arthur then shook Rob’s hand, and John’s. “Well, come along, come along!” he urged, ushering us into a hanger. “This is it!”
There was only one plane in there, and it was surprisingly well-built. For some reason, I had been half-expecting some decrepit remnant from the 1980s. Maybe it was just because of the nature of our trip so far – the rusty truck, the crummy motel room. This plane, however, looked almost brand new. I’d never been this close to one before, and was impressed by the sheer breadth of the wings. They jutted out powerfully to either side, and there were two engines under each one. A set of retractable stairs led up to the cabin, which was roomy enough to give everyone plenty of space to sit.
Arthur went into the cockpit, and did something I didn’t see. The engines started to hum gently. Then, he returned, secured the cabin door, and gave us a quick overview of the safety features of the plane. Basically, he just told us not to touch the door while in-flight, and to remain buckled up unless we wanted to be thrown around by unexpected turbulence. Then, he offered an opportunity for one of us to ride in the cockpit with him. Madison, of all people, seemed absolutely thrilled with the prospect and eagerly took up his offer. He put a hand around her shoulder and led her in there, causing me to smile on the inside. She’d never fall for his tricks, but it was funny because he had no idea she was so young.
Not long after, Arthur taxied the plane to the runway, and after a somewhat rocky start, we took off. Once we were in the air for a few minutes, and our elevation had leveled out, I looked out the window. From high up, everything below seemed so serene. In the air, I felt like none of our troubles could reach us. It was both peaceful and comforting to be flying, something I would have never expected. In fact, I even thought I could catch up on some sleep here pretty easily. I started to close my eyes, when Rob nudged me with a foot.
“Daydreaming about something?” he asked with a twinkle in his eye. I frowned at him, then realized what he meant, and stuck out my tongue. He laughed.
“What do you think we’ll find when we get there?” I asked. Liz was engaged in conversation with John. Ashley was saying something to Liz. So, we kind of had some time to ourselves.
“No idea,” Rob answered. “But I do know one thing.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “We’re all in this together, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He reached over to squeeze my leg gently, and then leaned back in his seat. I gave him a secretive smile and returned my attention to the window.
The ride didn’t feel long, but that was mostly because I had fallen asleep until we started to descend. The change in elevation caused my ears to pop, which I discovered was one of the worst ways to wake up. I looked out the window, and saw only trees below us. We were in the middle of absolutely nowhere. I scooted over in my seat to change the angle, and saw a narrow landing strip ahead of us. It looked to be part of an abandoned farm.
The plane dipped down, and my stomach lurched to my throat. I felt a bout of panic, which lasted until the wheels touched ground. Then it became even worse. Taking off was fine, but apparently Arthur hadn’t quite mastered the landings. The plane rocked forward violently, then tipped to one side, and I nearly flew out of my seat. A loud scraping noise sounded, but cut off as the plane regained its balance. The engines became even louder, heaving and howling, but we were slowing. Finally, the plane slowed to a sharp stop. Everything was still.
Eyes wide, I looked across at Rob. He was pale as a ghost. I felt much the same way.
“Sorry!” Arthur called from the cockpit. “Sorry. A little of wind came out of nowhere, and—”
“As long as we’re all safe,” Eve said coolly, “everything’s fine.”
“Yes, well…” Arthur cleared his throat. “I’ll have to check on that – it sounded like the wing may have touched the ground.” He came out from the cockpit, opened the door to the cabin, and lowered the stairs. While we filed out, he inspected the damage he had caused.
“Yup! Right here,” he confirmed, patting the end of the left wing. “Not much to worry about, though. The paint may have scraped off, but the structure beneath looks fine.”
“That was too close,” John said. “If I had known you were an amateur—”
He cut off as Liz placed a hand against his chest. “It’s fine,” she emphasized.
“Thank you for bringing us here, Arthur,” Madison chimed in beside her. To my surprise, the man absolutely beamed.
“Well, come along then,” he said. “It’s a long walk from here, so we might as well get started! Oh, and by the way – welcome to my childhood farm.”
I looked around, and gaped. He grew up here? There was only one farmhouse, off to our left. It looked like it had started falling apart a century ago! This was the only part of the land clear of any trees. Weeds and overgrown grass were everywhere. It was a wonder they hadn’t taken over the landing strip.
“How do people get here?” Liz wondered. “Aside from the plane?”
“Oh, there’s a small village down the road,” Arthur said, pointing west. “It’s not too far, but there’s no landing strip there, and the drive from Boston would have taken days. This way, we’ve already completed half of our journey!” He seemed awfully cheerful today. “Come on!” he encouraged us. “It’s this way.”
“How far away is your father’s cabin?” I asked as we neared the edge of the woods. There was no path here. We were relying entirely on Arthur’s lead.
“Like I said,” he smiled, “my father became somewhat of a hermit. He doesn’t much like visitors, but—”
“Doesn’t like visitors?” Eve said. “How’s he going to react to us?”
“Well, I am his only son, and he hasn’t seen me for a long time,” Arthur mused. “I think we’ll be fine. You’re all with me, after all.”
“I hope so,” I heard John grumble behind me.
“Anyway,” Arthur continued, “we should get there before sunset.” I looked up to the sky. The sun hadn’t even hit its midday peak yet. It wasn’t even twenty percent of the way there! Suppressing a groan, I followed him. This was going to be a long hike.
Time passed slowly as we picked our way through the woods. I had lost my orientation about ten minutes after leaving the farm. I had absolutely no idea where we were going. I did not mind the forest back on Traven Island, because no matter how deep you went, you could always turn around and find your way back. Here, as I saw from the flight in, the woods extended for hundreds of miles around. This was completely uninhabited land. Something about it gave me the creeps.
The undergrowth here was thicker than on Traven Island, too, which meant we had to struggle through most of it. Unruly branches and overgrown shrubs made it even worse. Even the air was thick.
We must have been walking for at least four hours by the time the sun hit its zenith. John put down the bag he held, and suggested we take a break to eat. Nobody protested, as he handed out granola bars he had picked up from the hotel lobby shop. My stomach growled loudly. It had been a long time since I’d eaten a good, hot meal. By the looks of it, it would be just as long before I got the chance again. At least, I thought sourly, it wasn’t raining.
After the brief stop, we started up again.
“So, do you actually know where we’re going?” Rob asked Arthur after we passed a stump that looked eerily like one we’d passed an hour ago.
“Do I know where I’m going?” Arthur laughed. “Pfft! Of course! I grew up out here.”
“But have you ever been to your father’s cabin?” Eve asked.
“Um, well… no,” Arthur admitted.
“So we are lost?” Eve clarified.
“No! Everything’s fine! We keep going north, and eventually the land will start to slope. We’ll pass by a creek, and that’s when we’ll know we’re close. My father told me all this before he left. We follow the creek up, to its source, and his cabin will be near there.”
“Alright, well, lead the way then,” Eve said, motioning forward. Arthur gave her a mocking smile and continued on.
There were no interruptions after that. By midday, everyone was tired and anxious to get to the cabin. By the time night started to fall, tension was at an all-time high. It felt a little like walking in a forest littered with matchsticks. The tiniest bit of friction, and the whole thing would go up in flames.
Thankfully, that did not happen. Just when I was ready to collapse from exhaustion, Arthur gave a yelp of triumph and ran forward. I looked around me, not understanding. Then I saw a dim light, far away. The cabin? It must be! That was where Arthur was running. Picking up my feet, I trailed after him. Everyone else did the same.
Sure enough, it was the cabin! I’d never seen such a welcome sight in my life. It was still far away, still mostly hidden by the trees, but Arthur stopped us right there. We gathered around him, and he ushered us even closer.
“We’re here. You guys better wait for me to go first,” he said. I thought I could sense a hint of worry in his voice. “I don’t want to spook my dad with too many people all at once…” he trailed off, wringing his hands nervously, and shooting anxious glances over his shoulder. “It’ll be fine, I’m sure. But, I can’t just introduce you at once. I’ll have to ease him into the notion of having visitors.”
“Go do what you need to do,” John told him. Arthur nodded. He took a deep breath, and started for the cabin. As he left, I looked at our group. I wondered what Arthur’s dad might think when he saw us. Surely, he would be surprised, and maybe even apprehensive. But he was someone we could talk to about the crystals. He was one of the original researchers, and that made his counsel extremely valuable.
I sighed tiredly, and leaned against the trunk of a tree. My feet were killing me. I had no idea how John had managed the hike without complaint. His leg surely wasn’t even close to being healed yet. He was, I had to admit, tougher than I originally took him for. In spite of the long walk, he still looked so handsome…
I shook my head roughly. Handsome? Rob was the one I cared for. The hike must have taken more out of me than I thought for my mind to drift like that.
Lucky for me, it was right at that moment that I heard Arthur’s yell come through the forest. “Come on up everyone! Everything’s fine!”
Relieved, I started forward, together with everyone else. The cabin revealed itself as we came closer. It was actually an impressively large structure two stories high, situated at the top of a hill. The land around it was clear for about ten yards in every direction. Stumps were still visible from the trees that had stood there before. The cabin was made entirely of wood, of course, but everything looked so fresh that it might as well have been built yesterday. Arthur Eliot – the senior Arthur Eliot – clearly took great pains to keep his home in top shape. The creek that Arthur mentioned ran along one side, and turned a small waterwheel that was not connected to anything. Most surprising was perhaps the solid light that shone through the cabin’s windows. It was not at all like the light from a burning flame, but rather the very distinct, very civilized light that came from an electric source.
Arthur, who was standing in the doorway, eagerly called us up. “Come on, come on! We’re here!”
I walked the remaining distance to the cabin and came to the door, where I expected to find Arthur senior ready to greet us. Instead, there was just Arthur… the one who led us here.
“Where’s your dad?” I asked.
Arthur shrugged. “Out somewhere, I presume,” he said nonchalantly. “He’ll be back soon.”
“How do you know?”
“Well, for one, he left the lights on. That’s not very prudent when you’re running your own generator for electricity. And two, I saw an untouched pot of tea brewing on the stove. He’s a man who loves his tea, and wouldn’t let a drop go to waste. Come on, we can go sit down in the kitchen.”
Arthur led us into the kitchen, where I found a dining table carved from the same wood as the rest of the house and two seats made of hollowed out tree trunks. The stove Arthur mentioned stood off to one side, near a broad kitchen countertop. There was a fire oven in one corner of the room, a log burning inside. All the heat came from that source, as far as I could tell. The whole cabin had an open floor plan, so that the kitchen and the living room actually did not have a partition in between. Arthur led us to two couches in the living room.
“Sit down, sit down,” Arthur urged. “Make yourselves at home. You should be comfortable!”
We arranged ourselves on the couches, and I sighed contentedly as I sank into the soft fabric. Finally, I would have a chance to rest after a long day. The reprieve did not last long, however. At that moment, a door slammed open somewhere.
“Who’s there? Who’s there!” A harsh, thunderous voice demanded. “Who dares intrude my home?” A loud clunk sounded, like the loading of a gun. I tensed.
“Dad?” Arthur called out. “It’s me! Your son.”
“Arthur?” Something fell to the floor with a thud. Heavy footsteps plodded toward us. “Arthur, is that really you?”
The man came through the door, and I saw him for the first time. Arthur Eliot senior could not look less like his son. He gray, curly hair was tinged with white, but most of it had long since disappeared from his head. The bits that remained fell well past his shoulders. He was a heavy-set man, with a protruding belly and sizeable legs, but his arms still looked strong and capable. I did a quick calculation in my head. If I was generous and assumed he was in his twenties when the research took place, then he would probably be in his late sixties or early seventies now. A pair of old, well-worn glasses perched on his forehead. One of the lenses had a sizeable crack running through it. Arthur senior surveyed his son with astonished eyes then embraced him in a huge bear hug.
The younger Arthur looked just as thrilled. The two held each other for a long time. I could see tears glisten in the larger man’s eyes.
“Arthur, it’s been so long!” the heavier man exclaimed.
“I know, dad. I have so much to tell you!”
“Oh-ho!” Arthur senior laughed. “I bet you do! Let’s sit down over a nice cup of tea—” He froze, as his eyes fell on us for the first time. “…Who…is…this?” he asked slowly. The mirth had gone, replaced by an icy intensity.
“Father, these are my friends,” Arthur said. “They came to see you.”
“Friends? Harrumph! They look too young to be friends. So many girls.”
“That’s why I came here. That’s what I have to tell you. The crystals! Remember everything you told me? Well, these girls know about the crystals! They found them themselves.”
“The crystals?” the older man considered. “Oh. Oh, no. No, no. I left that behind when I came here. You… you should not have brought them.” He pointed his fat finger at us. “You have no right to be here!”
“Father, relax,” Arthur soothed. “They’re friends. And quite harmless, I can assure you.” He laughed in that giddy way that I had come to expect from him. “They came because they want to know about the crystals. They found your research paper. Liz, come show him.”
Liz looked around uncertainly. Then, she slowly got up and walked forward. She handed Arthur the paper she kept in her jacket. The older man stared at her like a hawk until she sat back down.
Arthur gave the paper to his dad, who lowered his glasses to his nose and examined the sheet intently. His eyebrows crept up as he read it. When he finished, he let out a heavy sigh, and let the paper fall to the floor. I looked at Liz. She treasured that paper. Would she retrieve it? But, she did not seem eager to move. For a long, uncomfortable moment, the elder
Arthur just stared into space. The only sound that broke the silence was our collective breathing.
“I had thought all traces of this had been destroyed,” he said finally.
“I know, and that is what you told me,” Arthur said with barely-concealed excitement, “but these girls found it, and they came to me! They meant to come to you, really, because they saw your name on the first page. They know about the crystals, father, but even more, they can use them!”
“What?” the older man sounded shocked. “Is this true?” He rounded on us. “Tell me. One of you can use the crystals?”
“Well, all of us, can, actually,” Liz said. For the first time since I’d met her, her voice actually sounded small. The man standing before us was quite imposing. “We were hoping that we might ask you some questions…”
“Questions?” Arthur senior interrupted her. “What kind of questions?”
“What do you know about the crystals, sir?” Liz replied. “Like your son said, we can use them, but we don’t know much about them.”
“Oh. I see.” He jerked around to face Arthur again. “Yes. I can tell you things. Of course I can. Did you know I am the only one still alive? Yes. Well. Age takes its toll on all of us.” He was mumbling, somewhat, and his voice now reminded me of a giant bumblebee. “Well. This brings back memories, certainly. Some, I would rather forget. But others, others might be valuable to you. Come, let me make us some tea, and we can talk.”
He went to the stove. The younger Arthur shot us a huge grin. His dad continued speaking, but his thoughts seemed to be elsewhere. “How would you like your tea? Black? With sugar? I might have some powdered cream around here…” he trailed off, and opened one of the cupboards above his head. He reached in and took out enough cups for each of us, and went to retrieve the kettle. His son darted to get it first, and handed it to his father. The elder Arthur barely even seemed to notice he was there. He continued mumbling half-formed sentences to himself as he took the pot. It looked as if he were having some sort of internal debate. Other than that, he went about the task of pouring tea quite methodically. An edgy silence slowly crept into the room. None of us dared to break it.
