Gabriel stepped forward just as Brent and Cedric tumbled toward him in a ball of legs and arms. Cedric grabbed a big stick from the ground, jumped up, and thrashed it against Brent’s face. Piper screamed.
Gabriel shot forward, pushing Cedric away. Cedric stumbled backward and tripped over a rock. For a second he staggered on the edge as they watched in shock. In another second he plunged into the icy river.
They all rushed to the edge and looked into the water.
“Oh my God, where is he?” Piper yelled.
Gabriel scanned the river looking for some sign of him. “Quick, Brent, check over on that side.” He pointed several feet away. Gabriel leaned over the water’s edge. “Cedric!” he shouted.
Piper dashed in the opposite direction. “I’ll look this way!”
After a couple of minutes, Brent ran back, his face ashen. “Dude, he’s gone. I’m going in. Maybe he’s trapped under the ice, like you were.”
“No. I’m going in,” Gabriel said firmly. “I’m the one who pushed him. “Hey, Piper!”
There was no answer.
“Piper, come back,” Brent called. “Gabe’s going in to try to find Cedric.”
Still nothing.
A sickening feeling grew in the pit of Gabriel’s stomach. He tried pushing it back down, and to quiet the screaming in his brain.
Zigzag howled, sensing the tension. Gabriel and Brent bolted to where Piper had been only moments before. She was gone. Just … gone. They stared at one another.
In the next moment, they jumped into the icy water. Zigzag flopped right in behind them. Swimming behind the waterfalls, they searched for Piper and Cedric. The water crashed down on some ice chunks, sending icy water spraying over them.
Brent’s forehead creased. “Where are they?” he yelled over the sounds of the thundering water slapping around them.
Gabriel couldn’t answer. A powerful pull tugged on his legs. Something—or someone—tried to yank him under the water.
“Help!” Gabriel fought to stay above the water. He caught a glimpse of Brent struggling, too. Pulse racing, he grasped the crystal and took a deep breath, just before being hauled under the water. For what seemed like an eternity, he spun around, jerked down hard, as if he was being sucked down a funnel. He struggled against it, but he couldn’t resurface.
Then, as if blasted from a cannon, he shot up to the surface. Brent popped up right behind him. They gasped for air. Gabriel’s limbs felt like wet noodles. The water still swirled and frothed all around them, but it was warmer, and the ice had disappeared.
“Guys, grab this!” Piper thrust a big branch in front of them.
They grasped the branch and Piper tugged them in until they climbed out of the pool and collapsed on the ground. A few feet away, Zigzag’s wet head surfaced. Gabriel smiled as she jumped out of the river and shook like a washing machine on spin cycle. She flopped beside him, panting.
“What in the world, dude?” gasped Brent.
“That’s just it, Brent,” Piper whispered. She gaped at something over Gabriel’s shoulder. “I don’t think we’re in our world anymore.”
Chapter Four
Gabriel followed Piper’s gaze as her head moved slowly to the right. Huge mountains covered in sparkling gold dust towered in the distance, but before he could notice any more, his eyes fell on the humanoid-looking creature just feet away. It stood on two feet like a person, and had massive ears that were almost half as big as its body. A dozen glowing eyes floated around its head in a perfect circle. Gabriel blinked and shook his head. Brent rubbed his eyes, looking pale.
The odd creature strolled up to a short bush with multi-colored branches. The branches held a mix of orange, yellow, and green berries. Even though the stumpy creature stretched to its tip-toes, it still couldn’t reach the yellow berries at the top of the bush. It stomped its foot and grumbled.
Brent gasped.
Gabriel reached over to cover his friend’s mouth, but it was too late. The creature wiggled its massive ears, then widened all of its eyes at once and peered directly at them. It released a shrill scream, an inhuman sound. Zigzag took off after it, barking.
“Ziggy, no!” Gabriel yelled, but his voice was swallowed by the sharp screams.
Just as Zigzag reached the creature, it yanked an oval-shaped device from its pocket, fumbling its fingers over a dial, before jabbing its pointer finger into a button on the device. The creature vanished into thin air. Zigzag ran around the bush, sniffing the ground where it had just been.
Gabriel jumped to his feet. “What the heck was that?”
“I d-don’t know,” Piper stammered. “Look around. I … I don’t even know where we are!”
Gabriel’s eyes darted over the vast, lush landscape. His insides tumbled with fear. What will I see next? More multi-colored trees and shimmering gold mountains spread across the landscape, and Gabriel wondered what else could be lurking behind every tree. Strange—the mountains look placed exactly like in Willow Creek, but reversed. And it’s summer instead of winter.
“Everything’s like backwards here or something,” he mumbled, squinting his eyes and looking around.
“We need to move … hide somewhere,” Piper whispered. “That creature spotted us. Who knows when it’ll be back. And what if it brings friends?”
“Yeah, but where’s Cedric?” Gabriel asked.
Piper shrugged. “I haven’t seen him.”
“I don’t want to get back into that tsunami,” Brent insisted.
“Guys,” Gabriel said, “I have to find him. I don’t know what that thing with the eyeballs was, but we don’t want to be here if it comes back.” He waved his hands through the air. “Look around. Everything’s freaky here. I mean, I’m not gonna lie; I don’t wanna get back in that water either, but all I know is that there … ” He pointed at the river. “ … Is where we came from. We’ve gotta figure out a way to get back home.”
Piper shielded her eyes, looking over the water. “You have a point.”
“I’ll go first,” he said.
Brent stepped forward. “You want me to come with you?”
“No, you stay here with her, in case that thing comes back.” And with that, he jumped into the water.
“I’m not sure what I can do if it does,” called Brent.
Shivers prickled Gabriel’s skin, more from fear than the water, but he knew he had to try to find Cedric and a way to get home. This is my fault. I promised Piper I wouldn’t do anything stupid. He had ruined everything when he pushed Cedric. He swam to the spot where he thought they’d emerged, close to the base of the falls in the calm water. He dove under the waterfall and swam as far down as he could, searching for Cedric and a tunnel that could have pulled them through to … wherever this was. Nothing.
Finally, he climbed back out and trudged back over to his friends. He shrugged. “I couldn’t find anything! Nothing weird, anyway. No Cedric or a way out. This just doesn’t make sense.”
Piper gestured at a hill. “Come on. Let’s use that hill for cover till we sort this out. Cedric is probably just playing games again. I mean, really. We’re all here—even Zigzag.”
They dashed across the grass, Zigzag following behind. Behind the hill was a field covered in multi-colored berry bushes, mixed in with grass taller than they were. They ducked into a grass patch.
Brent shook his blond hair. “Dude, Cedric’s taking us for a ride. He’s on the swim team. He’s probably watching us and laughing his butt off.”
Gabriel raised his face to the sun, still shivering. “Well I just hope he’s okay. And, hey, how is it summer all of a sudden? This is freaking weird, right? And what was with that sci-fi creature?”
Piper ran her hands up and down her arms. “Whatever it was, it didn’t look too friendly, that’s for sure.”
The summer breeze tickled Gabriel’s wet skin as he sat stroking Zigzag’s fur and considered what to do next. He wondered how much time had gone by and checked his watch to see if
it was still working. “My watch still works, at least,” he mumbled.
Piper lifted her arm and checked the pink Timex she had gotten for Christmas. “Mine, too. Waterproof stuff rocks, right?”
Gabriel nodded. Then, remembering the compass his dad had given him, he pulled it out and wiped the water off on the grass. The needle spun around for a few seconds before it settled on a heading.
He pointed. “I know that way should be north.” He looked behind him. “But it’s showing south.” He scratched his head. It must be broken.
As he stuck it back into his pocket, something rustled in the grass behind them.
“I see youuuuuuuuu … ”
Piper screamed, jumping up. “It found us!”
Zigzag growled as the three friends looked at each other. Gabriel held Zigzag’s collar to keep her from chasing after … whatever it was.
“Me found you!”
A little black monkey jumped into the clearing. He had a long tail, playful, bright brown eyes, and wore a bright blue scarf tied around his left arm. “Me Finley, who you?”
They gaped at the crazy, impossible monkey, who stared back at them impatiently. Gabriel recovered first. He looked at his friends, realized neither of them would speak, and then looked back at the monkey. He would have to speak to a monkey. A talking monkey wearing a blue scarf. Here goes nothing.
“Uhhhh, I’m Gabriel. These are my friends, Piper and Brent.” He pointed them out, keeping a firm hand on Zigzag’s collar. “And this is Zigzag.”
“Ohhhhhhhh, it funny looking!” Finley said. “You lost? You no look like you belong here.”
“But wait—how—you’re a monkey. And you’re talking?” Piper exclaimed.
“Me talk.” Finley nodded. “You do, too. Me be watching you. Master tell me you come from human world.”
“Hold on a sec. Did you say master?” Gabriel asked.
“Yes, master. Master tell many thing.”
Piper hung her head in her hands, her raven-black hair dangling around her face. “This can’t be happening.”
Finley hopped toward Piper. “Don’t worry. Peeeease. Finley try help.” Brent lifted his arm to block him, sighed, and dropped it, letting him pass. The monkey petted Piper on the head, pulled two handfuls of berries from a nearby pail, and handed them out. The berries looked similar to the ones the creature had been picking earlier.
Piper mumbled, “Thank you.”
Brent pointed to the scarf on Finley’s arm. “What’s with the scarf? And where would you even get one of those around here? Wait. Don’t tell me. You’re a talking, sewing monkey, right?” Brent burst out laughing, slapping his leg.
Piper gave him a light shove. “Shh.”
Gabriel chuckled under his breath.
“Finley tracker. Me guide tribe. It what Finley do.” He pointed to his blue scarf. “Tracker tag. Master give Finley. What you do?”
“Us? We go to school. That’s what kids do in our world.” Brent pulled at the grass between his legs and looked up at Gabriel, shrugging, as if to say, just go with it. Not knowing another option, and because Finley seemed innocent, they relaxed a little and ate some berries. Zigzag licked Finley’s hand like she’d found a long lost friend.
A few minutes later, Piper gagged, jumped up, ran to a nearby bush, and threw up.
“What’s wrong?” Gabriel asked. He rushed over to her, and Brent followed, groaning as he tried to keep up. Brent looked green and grasped at his stomach. Gabriel didn’t know if Brent was grossed out by Piper throwing up or if he felt sick, too.
“My stomach hurts,” Piper moaned. She leaned over and threw up again. Then Brent followed with his own contribution.
“What’s wrong with them?” Gabriel demanded, pointing at Finley.
“Just Valta berry!” Finley held his hands up defensively. “Maybe they no try ‘fore.”
“Of course we didn’t try before.” Brent’s fisted hands were on his hips, but soon he doubled over again.
“Finley feel bad. No more Valta berry for Piper and Brent. But why Gabrul no ick? Finley wonder.”
Gabriel kneeled beside Piper. “I don’t know why I’m not sick, Finley. I actually feel okay, so it can’t be poison. Maybe you guys just have sensitive stomachs or something.” Gabriel patted her back and looked at Brent. Brent shook his head, gagging. Piper rolled into a ball, grasping her arms around her knees, rocking back and forth.
Gabriel sighed, twisting his hands. He thought about what Finley had said. Why hadn’t he gotten sick, too? An anxious feeling swirled in his stomach. He was starting to think they weren’t safe there—and poison berries would be the least of their problems.
Chapter Five
Gabriel stood in the tall grass and watched the sun setting in the east, rather than the west. He checked his compass again, and gave it a tap. A broken compass, a talking monkey, poisonous berries, and a creature with a gazillion eyes. Great. The day was worse than one of Gabriel’s worst nightmares, and he couldn’t help but blame himself.
Somehow, he’d have to find a way home. He wasn’t sure how he’d do it, but he had to try.
“Finley,” he started, “where do you sleep at night?”
“At home,” Finley answered with an expression that said, ‘Where else?’
“Yes, Finley, but where is home?”
“Me live in ky hut with Fegan.” Finley pointed to the sky. “Fegan my family.”
Gabriel nodded. “Well, I was wondering—I mean, since my friends and I are so far from home and everything. If, well—”
“It good, Gabrul. You human come with Finley. But be very quiet and hurry. Gruock come in dark.”
Piper stood slowly, the color slowly returning to her cheeks. “What’s a gruock?”
“Is it one of those things with googly eyes that screams like my mother when she sees my room?” Brent managed a weak laugh. Gabriel laughed, too. He was relieved Brent was starting to feel better.
“No,” Finley said. “Me no like eeker, but not eeker me fraid of.” He motioned for them to follow. “We leave now.”
“Wait,” Piper whispered to Gabriel as she held her stomach and walked along.
Gabriel looped his arm through Piper’s. “You gonna be okay?”
“Yeah, I think so. I’m just tired. But where is he taking us?”
Gabriel pulled her forward through the tall grass keeping close behind Finley. “I guess to his family or whatever—but hey, it’s better than being stuck out here at night, I guess. Lean on me if you need to, k?” He chewed his lip. “Finley’s our best hope right now.” They followed the talking monkey toward the sunset.
“Me know good trail!” Finley bounced along, leading them down a path through the tall grass, which offered some cover from whatever might be lurking beyond it.
“Keep head down,” Finley said. “Be quiet.”
Eventually, the path widened. Ahead of them, a grove of at least fifty trees with small, wooden houses sat perched among the leafy branches. “A whole tribe of talking monkeys,” Piper mused, sounding better.
Finley approached a tree in the middle and tapped a rhythmic beat upon its knobby trunk. A few moments later, a rope ladder dropped from the branches above them. “Hurry,” he urged, scrambling up the ladder.
Piper started up next, but slipped as the ladder swayed. Piper’s not feeling much better after all. Gabriel frowned and reached forward, grasping Piper by the elbow to help steady her.
Brent jumped, his eyes bulging as he spun around. “Did you hear that? It was like a wolf howl or something.” He darted a glance over his shoulder. “Get up the ladder, Piper. Fast!”
Zigzag growled and perked up her ears. Her fur stood high on the back of her neck. A loud, spine-tingling roar rang out. Zigzag barked back.
Piper shouted from the top of the ladder. “Something’s moving through the grass! I’m totally not kidding. Hurry up!”
“Gruock!” Finley screamed. Rustling and squeaking noises burst from the trees, and one
after another, more monkeys hopped around from branch to branch. Gabriel figured they were the Fegans that Finley talked about.
Brent pushed Gabriel toward the ladder. “Hurry, Gabe, before it gets here.”
Gabriel wiggled the ladder. “You first.”
But Brent pulled Gabriel’s arm, twisting him around to face the ladder. “Dude, just go,” he insisted.
“What about Ziggy?”
“I’m stronger. I’ll carry her up. Just be ready to take her from me.”
Gabriel knew only Brent was strong enough to carry Zigzag up, so he grabbed hold of the nearest rung and climbed. In the distance, the growls grew louder and louder. Halfway up, he glanced back to see Brent climbing with Zigzag under one arm. The ladder groaned under the extra weight.
“Finley!” he shouted. “The ladder!” But Finley was making strange monkey sounds like all the others, and didn’t hear him.
Gabriel bit his lip. Hands, feet, hands, feet. The words rushed through his mind as he tried to climb at the same pace. As he neared the top, one side of the ladder began unraveling; the rope’s ripping sounds sending goose bumps shooting over Gabriel’s skin. He quickly scrambled to the plank of the wooden hut and twisted around to help Brent.
“Piper,” Gabriel yelled. “Grab hold of the ropes while I help Brent.” He stretched his hand into the growing darkness. “Hurry, Brent. Climb!”
The hair on Gabriel’s neck prickled as another gut-wrenching roar sounded out. He stared into the night and spotted a creature like a gigantic wolf with a thick red mane running toward the huts. Chills spread over Gabriel’s body like wildfire. The creature’s fluorescent green eyes pierced the darkness, focused unblinkingly on Brent’s dangling legs. Its mouth frothed.
Piper screamed and gripped the rope tighter.
“Don’t look back,” Gabriel warned Brent.
The creature pawed at the bottom of the ladder, making it sway left to right. The ladder shimmied and moaned as the ends of the ropes made a horrible shredding sound.
“I’m losing my grip,” Brent hollered.
Gabriel Stone and the Divinity of Valta Page 3
