Secret Doors: The Challenge

by Brian D. Meeks

  Cindy yelled, “Where are you going?! Come back here.” She stomped her foot, and a tiny spark flew from the end of her staff.

  There was silence for a moment as everyone was lost in their own thoughts. Abby placed a gentle hand on Billy and stroked his fur. “Hello, my name is Abby. I've never met a talking guinea pig before.”

  “I’m very pleased to meet you. I've never met anyone with such bright red hair. I thought that your family…” He stopped when Badger let out a loud “wheek.”

  Billy, looking at Badger, said, “Yes, you are quite right. I wasn't thinking.”

  Abby asked, “How come you can talk?”

  Billy said, “I’ve never thought about it, but I imagine it is for the same reason as you can...to tell a story.”

  Abby smiled.

  Stevie asked, “You have any idea what we're supposed to do next? Oh, and my name is Stevie.”

  Billy looked at Stevie and answered, “No, I can't say that I do, but I imagine that tunnel has something to do with it. Aren't you a little old to be taking the test?”

  Stevie said, “I’m the same age as Abby.”

  Billy sort of poked him and gave a snuffle. “You are huge for a twelve year old.”

  Stevie patted Billy and said, “You are huge for a guinea pig.”

  “I have been eating more than usual; I should really cut back.”

  “No, I meant that where we come from guinea pigs are small enough to pick up.”

  “Ah, yes, on the other side. Well, here, this is our size.”

  Badger let out a series of “wheeks.”

  Billy said, “Badger wanted me to point out that it is getting late, and he's worried about the hawk coming back.”

  Jo and George were standing next to Badger, and Jo said, “Don't worry, I'll protect you.”

  George added, “And I'll help.”

  Jo smiled and wrapped her arms around Badger's neck and gave him a big hug.

  Stevie looked up at the hole in the cavern and said, “It does look like it is getting late. We should probably figure out how to get the last cube to give us its treasure. Let's go.”

  They hurried back down the path until they were at the bottom. When they got to the pillar with the cube, everyone sort of stared at it. Jo dug into her leather bag, pulled out the book, and said, “I wonder if it has something to do with the symbols.”

  Abby asked, “What do you mean?”

  “Well, all of the cubes appear to have different symbols on each side, but we can only see five of them, because the sixth is hidden underneath. For mine, this symbol,” and she pointed at the book cover, “was the one that was on the underside of the cube.”

  George said, “I didn't see what the symbol on my cube looked like. I just grabbed the sword and the shield. Sorry.”

  Jo said meekly, “Well, I sort of drew them in my notebook, but they aren't very good.”

  Abby asked, “What symbol did you draw for my cube?”

  Jo opened her notebook and showed her.

  Abby pulled her bow over her head and said, “Look, there it is, the same symbol on the spot where I put my hand.”

  Everyone found their symbols. Abby said, “I can see my symbol on the cub,” and she pointed to the right side. When she touched it, it glowed.

  Jo looked and said, “Here's mine.”

  Stevie said, “I see mine, too. Is yours on there, Cindy?”

  Cindy, not really paying attention, said, “What?”

  “Your symbol from the cube that gave you the staff - is it on this cube? Can you see it?”

  “No idea.”

  Stevie was getting frustrated and said tersely, “Can you put your phone away and check?”

  Cindy looked. “Sure, it's on top.”

  Stevie turned to George and asked, “What about you, George?”

  “Yep, mine’s on the back side.”

  Stevie said, “Let's try touching our symbols all at the same time.

  Everyone reached out and pressed their fingers against the cube, and it leapt up and began to spin.

  Abby held up a clenched fist to Stevie. “Nice job!”

  Stevie gave her a fist bump just as an opening appeared in the side of the wall. Inside an ornately carved box floated. Stevie reached out to grab it, but George grabbed his arm. “It's going to shock you.”

  “You're right. Hmm, maybe we all need to grab it at once.”

  All of them squeezed together and grabbed the box as the same time. There was a tiny pop, and they each felt a slight shock, but it immediately stopped. Stevie pulled the box out and looked at it. “I don't see how it opens.

  Abby said, “It's going to be dark soon. We better figure out how to get to the tunnel. We can worry about the box later.”

  During the next thirty minutes, everyone except Cindy tried to find a way to cross the gap between them and the tunnel. Cindy stomped around Cochon Tower waving her phone in the air and mumbling about zero bars.

  Abby stood near the edge but not too close. She said to Stevie, “You have any ideas?”

  “I was thinking we could climb the tree and try to jump from that thick branch, but it is pretty high up, and the part that hangs over the ledge is awfully thin.”

  “That can't be the answer. It doesn't even look possible.”

  Stevie stood and looked up at the thick branch jutting out from the massive tree. “Yep, I think you're right. I'm not even sure we could climb up there in the first place. There aren't any low branches we can reach.” He kept staring then asked, “Do we have any rope?”

  “I don't think so; there isn't any in my backpack. I've just got,” she paused, sitting down and opening up her pack, “two bottles of water, a big box of Goldfish crackers, a bag of Jolly Ranchers, three small mirrors, a rolled up blanket, and a first aid kit. No rope.”

  Stevie put his fingers in his mouth and gave a whistle. Everyone was spread out, and he yelled, “Hey, does anyone have any rope in their packs?”

  George came over and sat down. “I’ll check, but I don't think so”, he said, dumping the contents on the ground. “I’ve got two bottles of water, a bag of oyster crackers, cooking oil, a frying pan, a bag of popcorn, a compass, and a hoodie sweatshirt.”

  Stevie opened up his first bag. “Let's see here, two bottles of water, a box of saltine crackers, a book of matches, a package of beef jerky, a roll of tinfoil, three apples, and a can of soup, and then he put everything back before dumping out the second bag, “And in here we have two bottles of water, a box of Pop Tarts, two oranges, a spool of thread, two cans of Spam, two chocolate bars, and a can of soup.”

  Cindy came up and said, “Why does he get two bags? That's not fair.”

  Abby jumped up. “Listen, he is carrying them, that's why. You want to carry the extra bag?”

  Cindy was shocked by Abby's outburst and just glared at her.

  Stevie said, “Don't worry, Cindy, this extra bag is for all of us. You'll get to share, too.”

  “I’d better!”

  Stevie stepped between the two girls and peered down at Cindy and said, “Listen, blondie, you've been a pain in the butt since we started. We need to work as a team and that means you, too. Okay?!”

  Cindy gave Stevie her best killer look. Stevie ignored it and said, “Whatever. Now what's in your bag?”

  Cindy huffed and said, “Fine. I've got two bottles of water, a bag of pretzels, a block of Velveeta, a bag of lollipops, six pears, a large sheet of plastic, a ball of twine, and a laser pointer. A laser pointer? What is that for? Do we have to give a speech when this is done? I hate speeches.”

  Cindy was being serious, but it was so crazy that everyone laughed. George said, “I hope not. I'm horrible at speaking in front of people.”

  Jo joined the group with Badger close behind.

  George said, “You've made a friend.”

  Jo smiled shyly. “I’ve been feeding him. He really likes the yellow flowers.”

  George asked, “Where is your backpack?” />
  Jo held up the small leather pouch. “I put it in here with the book. It's easier to carry.” She opened the pouch and reached her arm into it, all the way up to her elbow. The opening grew as she pulled the backpack out and then it closed back up. “Here it is.”

  Abby looked amazed and said, “How did that big backpack fit into such a small pouch?”

  Jo shrugged. “I don't know, but it seems to be bigger on the inside.”

  Stevie asked, “How much do you think it would hold?”

  Jo thought for a moment, “I don't know. The weird thing, though, is when I put stuff in it, the bag doesn't get any heavier.”

  “That's cool. Now, do you have any rope?”

  Jo opened her backpack and dumped it on the ground. In the pile were two bottles of water, a bag of Oreo cookies, a whistle, four packages of ramen noodles, a pot and ladle, and three pairs of socks. She said, “No rope, sorry. Why do you want some rope?”

  Stevie, pointing up to the tree, said, “I thought we could throw it over that big branch and then swing across to the other side.”

  Cindy held out the twine. “Could we swing on this?”

  Stevie, “Maybe you could, but I'm not sure it would hold me.”

  Abby said, “We could make a braid and then it would be much stronger.”

  “You mean like you do with your hair?”

  “Sure, why not?”

  “I’m still not sure, but it's worth a try.”

  Abby and Jo teamed up and quickly had three pieces of twine, each about twenty meters in length. Before long they were braiding the pieces together to form a thin, but much stronger strand. When it was done, Abby handed it to Stevie. “You think that'll work?”

  Stevie pulled on the strand. “It sure feels strong enough.” He took one end, made a loop, and tied a strange looking knot.

  George was watching intently and asked, “Are we just going to throw it over the branch? It's pretty high up.”

  Stevie looked up and turned to Abby. “You think you could lob an arrow over that branch?”

  Abby shrugged. “Maybe.”

  Stevie tied the other end of the twine to one of Abby's arrows, and she pulled the bowstring back about half way and let it go. The arrow soared over the branch and came to rest a few meters away. George darted off to grab it.

  Stevie pulled their makeshift rope until the loop was about three feet off the ground. He took both ends and then with a flapping motion got the rope to jump on the limb. He did this three more times until it hung from the branch above the gap. Next, he tied the non-loop end securely into a knot just above the loop.

  George asked, “Who's going first?”

  Abby grabbed the twine. “I’ll go.”

  Stevie took it back. “Wait a minute; let's do a test.” He took the second backpack, which he hadn't filled back up yet, and filled it with some rocks. After clipping the backpack to the loop, he gave it a swing to the other side. It glided out over the gap and returned, but he missed it, and it swung back the other way, eventually coming to a stop just out of his reach.

  Cindy scoffed. “Nice job, Einstein.”

  Stevie simply took out his sword and used the handle to snare the backpack. “It would be better if the rope was further out on the limb, but I think that is as far as we can get it out there. We'll need to get good momentum to carry us over the gap.”

  Abby gathered up her backpack and bow and quiver and said, “Let's get going before the hawk comes back.”

  Jo suddenly looked up. “What about Billy and Badger? They can't swing on the rope, and we can't leave them for the hawk.”

  Billy stood up and said, “We'll be fine; you go ahead.”

  Jo looked like she was about to cry. “No! I'm not leaving you.”

  Badger gave her a nudge with his nose, and Billy said, “Don't you worry about us, Jo, we’re not normal guinea pigs. Go ahead, show them, Badger.”

  With a “wheek,” Badger scurried off towards the far edge of the tower, spun around and ran full steam towards the group. Billy said, “You better give him some space.”

  Everyone backed away, and Badger bolted past them and leapt across to the tunnel with ease. Billy said, “See, we are leapers.”

  Just then they heard the far off call of the hawk.

  Abby grabbed the loop, put her foot in it and gave a mighty shove. She glided across to the other side with ease and jumped safely to the ledge. The twine rope swung back and Stevie grabbed it. “Jo, you're next.”

  Abby yelled, “Make sure to only put your toes through the loop so it rests on the ball of your foot or else it will be hard to jump.”

  Jo did as she was told and landed next to Abby.

  The sound of the hawk got closer. Then they heard two more calls. Apparently, it had met up with some friends.

  Cindy went next. Stevie said to George, “You go, and I'll watch your back.”

  “Are you sure it will hold us?”

  “No.”

  The three hawks dove through the opening, and George grabbed the rope and flung himself across, but, when he got to the other side, he couldn't jump. His foot was too far into the loop, and he couldn't push off.

  Billy shrieked, “They're coming!”

  George panicked, and his foot slipped through the hole. Now he was sitting and swinging helplessly over the gap. “Nooo, I'm stuck.”

  All three hawks were now high above them in the cavern. Their cries were deafening, and Badger was screaming, “Wheek, Wheek, Wheek”.

  Jo yelled for George to try to swing.

  Stevie had his sword out, and Abby was notching an arrow.

  Billy yelled, “I’ll distract them; you help George.”

  Stevie held out his sword. “Here, grab this.”

  George grabbed the sword, and Stevie pulled him in.

  One of the hawks dove towards the tree, the sound of its massive wings swooshing through the air. It headed straight for George but pulled up at the last moment when it spotted Billy running out from under the tree.

  Stevie yelled, “Grab him!” and gave a huge shove to George who swung to the other side. Jo and Cindy pulled him in and quickly got him out of the loop. Jo flung it back to Stevie who grabbed the twine and thrust his foot in the loop. With his backpack and sword in hand, he pushed off. The branch creaked above him. It strained under his weight, but he made it safely.

  Jo yelled, “Nooo, Billy, run!”

  Billy was zipping back across the top of the tower.

  Two hawks dove from behind and one from his right. They were gaining quickly.

  Stevie said, “George cut this side of the rope.”

  George had his sword out and sliced through the twine.

  Jo was screaming now. “Shoot, Abby! Shoot them.”

  The hawk coming from Billy's right spread its wings and lifted its talons. Billy, still fifteen meters from the edge, slid to a stop. The hawk just missed. The other two were now bearing down on him, and it was obvious to everyone, especially Billy, that he wasn't going to make it. He spun around and stood up, claws at the ready.

  Abby fired an arrow but missed.

  The next closest hawk squawked as it closed in on Billy.

  Jo, now crying, said, “Billy!”

  A sizzling and crack thundered through the cavern, and a blinding light arced from the tunnel and into the belly of the hawk. It missed Billy and came crashing down, sliding across the top of Cochon Tower and off the edge.

  The third hawk, right behind the other, saw another flash and veered to the left, but the lightning bolt was quicker. It disappeared over the edge, too.

  Billy turned and started running towards the tunnel again yelling, “Here I come; watch out!”

  The guinea pig leapt the opening with ease and slid into the tunnel. Jo ran up and threw her arms around him. “Billy,” she said, sobbing.

  The third hawk soared out of the hole at the top of the great cavern and was gone.

  Abby turned to Cindy. “How'd you do that?”
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br />   Cindy, holding the staff and still staring up at the hole, said, “I just got angry and pointed.”

  Jo looked up from Billy, tears still streaming down her face. “Thank you, thank you so much!”

  Billy turned around and said, “I am in your debt, Miss Cindy.”

  Badger said, “Wheek.”

  Cindy said, “Don't worry about it, furry. Nice jump there.”

  Badger again said, “Wheek.”

  Billy started down the tunnel. “Badger is right; we should probably find a place to make camp for the night.”

  Stevie wound up their makeshift rope and put it in his bag.

  ***

  This tunnel was different than the one before. Massive in size, it was easily four meters across and six meters high. The walls were rough, and it was pitch black. Billy was out front because he said he could see just fine. Badger brought up the rear with Jo by his side.

  They walked for close to an hour. The tunnel didn't turn but just kept going in one, long straight, downhill line. When Billy finally stopped, he said, “Okay, I think we've reached the Grand Crossroads.”

  Cindy said, “I can't see anything. I'm tired of walking in the dark. I'm hungry and need to sit down, please.”

  Jo pulled out her book. As she touched the cover, the glyph glowed. The faint light it cast was enough that they could see each other, but the huge cavern was still mostly dark.

  George asked, “How did you make it glow?”

  Jo said, “I just touched it.”

  Before long everyone had found their glyphs, and a kaleidoscope of color was lighting up their faces.

  Abby set her bow down, and the glyph faded. “Well, we can't sit here all night holding onto our weapons.”

  Stevie looked at Cindy. “May I borrow your phone again, please?”

  Cindy, sitting crossed-legged, tossed it to him. “Sure, being a flashlight is all it's good for anyway.”

  George asked Billy, “So why is this called the Great Crossroads?”

  Billy and Badger talked between themselves, and Billy said, “It's sort of a long story, and I'll be happy to share it, but right now we need to make a decision.”

  Abby fished out a bottle of water and asked, “What sort of decision?”