by T. S. Hall
“Well, that was a lot easier than I thought it’d be,” Dax said as they walked back up the ramp toward the opening to the cavern above. Then they heard the sound of squeals coming from the tunnel. It was like a chorus of tiny sounds moving toward them.
“Do you remember what I said about speaking too soon,” Tanner said as they all took a few slow steps back from the opening.
As the sound got closer, a few small, dark figures dropped from the opening. The beady eyes of the creatures moved quickly down the ramp toward the four.
“More rats!” Katie screamed. “Oh, come on!”
The little creatures ran past and scampered across the glass to the other side of the dome. Then a dark blob fell from the opening, moving like a blackish-gray wave of fur. The plethora of rats moved in between their legs, causing Katie to jump onto her brother’s back.
“I have just crossed over into my own personal hell!” Katie said, grabbing tightly to her brother’s neck.
“You’re seriously scared of a bunch of rats?” Dax said, accidentally stepping on one.
“ Um, guys,” Tanner said, training his left ear forward. Another sound started to echo down into the chamber. “I’d be a little more scared of what these rats are running from.”
“What the hell is that sound?” Allora said, noticing the distant roar. The chamber began to shudder, and then a small stream of water cascaded down through the opening. A wave of water, dirt, and rats washed down the ramp like a dam had just burst open.
“Run!” Tanner said.
“Run where?” Dax asked, still trying to balance his sister on his back.
Allora turned around and saw that the rats were escaping through a small hole at the base of the dome. She ran across the glass, pulled in a hadron burst, and exploded the dome wall. Behind it was a passageway.
The concussion from the hadron burst sent a quake that cracked the glass beneath their feet. The glass expanded and then shattered. Dax spun his sister around, sending her along the edge and into the newly formed opening on the other side of the dome. He dropped into the quicksand as Tanner and Allora reached for him. They slipped on the watery glass surface. From the other side, water rushed in, filling the chamber.
Dax screamed as something grabbed a hold of his leg. Tanner leapt through the rat-filled water, grabbing Dax’s outstretched hand right before it was submerged. He pulled hard but couldn’t get Dax out of the water. He looked into the terrified eyes of his best friend. From the sand and water, a large snake popped up, towering over them. The creature had sharp teeth, tentacle-like arms, and scaly, dark-brown skin. The head of the snake bore down, its teeth primed to split Tanner in two. Allora couldn’t get her balance in time and screamed as the creature was inches from Tanner’s head. From Allora’s left side, a ball of white light shot across the air, tagging the creature on the head. The snake-like beast screeched and wiggled violently in the water. The creature let go of Dax, and Tanner was able to pull him out of the quicksand. Dax crawled forward, coughing violently from sucking in too much water.
They got to their feet and waded through the passageway. The water was getting higher as they labored through the rat-filled cavern. Katie kept smacking the rats as if they would somehow go away, but nothing helped. After a few minutes, the water was waist deep, which slowed their progress. The tunnel became darker. Pretty soon they had to swim through the chest-high water. The snake was smashing itself into the tunnel opening, trying to get through, but the passageway was too small.
Eventually they had their faces pressed upward against the tunnel ceiling, trying to grasp the last bit of air as the rats swam over them, clawing frantically to escape. The water filled the tunnel completely, and they ducked down, swimming underneath the dark passageway, searching for an exit. Tanner was the first to see a light up ahead, and he swam aggressively toward it. He popped up in a cylindrical chamber. Dax and Katie followed, popping up out of the water and sucking in air. Tanner searched the waters for Allora, but she never resurfaced.
“Where is she?”
Dax and Katie shook their heads as they coughed up more water. Tanner dove down, pulling himself into the tunnel. A few feet away, the light caught a glimpse of a limp hand. He could see the lifeless expression on Allora’s beautiful face as her body floated to the top of the tunnel. Tanner’s fingers clenched, feeling the power come from within. All around him the water flowed, like the beating of a heart. Allora’s body moved toward him as the current became stronger. Then, like the pressure of an exploding faucet, the water in the cylindrical chamber shot upward. Tanner held onto Allora with the small amount of energy that he had left. The ceiling of the chamber was quickly approaching. Dax saw no other choice and shot a green hadron burst at the small drain in the middle of the ceiling. Slabs of concrete rained down. Dax, Katie, and Tanner screamed and shot out of the opening like a fountain.
They all slammed down onto the concrete floor. The impact pushed the dirty water from Allora’s lungs. Tanner gently pushed back the hair that was covering Allora’s face. He smiled slightly and pulled her in for a forceful hug. Allora pulled out the sapphire orb that she had remembered to zip into her coat pocket.
The four of them looked around at their environment. The room was filled with shelves of school supplies and cleaning equipment.
Just then the metal double doors swung open. Mrs. Winters, Mr. Swan, Mrs. Ferris, and Nurse Campbell rushed in. Their mouths dropped when they saw the soaked teens and the hundreds of rats that had spilled into the school basement.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Mrs. Winters exclaimed.
Seventeen
SAND
Principal Winters was heated, throwing her arms in the air as she paced around her office, listing all of the school regulations that the four had broken. They tried to explain the reason for being down underneath the school, but Winters wasn’t having any of it. As she articulated the immense cost of repairing the large hole in the storage room, a rat wiggled out of the air duct, landing on Winters’s shoulder as she was walking past the wall. She screamed and stomped around the room wildly. The rat managed to crawl around the back of the bookcase near the opposite wall and escape. Principal Winters spun around, breathing heavily, a string of hair having released from her tight bun at the back of her head. She continued her tirade with the details of having to shut down school before spring break because of the need to eradicate every last rat that was now scurrying through the school.
Allora wasn’t paying attention. Her mind was flashing back to the feeling of helplessness as she struggled through the dark water. She took a much-needed breath through her nose and mouth, filling her lungs with air. Remembering the moment vividly, and the boy who saved her, she gripped Tanner’s hand tightly. After a few more choice words, everyone’s com band lit up. They all sparked the metal, sliding the displays across their forearm. Milly’s head popped up.
“Emergency meeting. I need everyone here immediately.”
Milly signed off quickly.
“This conversation isn’t over. During spring break, you four are going to help with the cleanup, and you all have three weeks of detention. Now go. Because of you, I need to call the entire school district in order to cancel classes.”
They didn’t say a word as they departed and headed for the car. The morning sun was now above the horizon, and a few early commuters were arriving. Allora pulled out the sapphire orb, along with the departure cube. They got into the car and all crowded in to look at the objects as Allora slowly placed the cube into one of the sides of the apple-sized blue orb. A few seconds went by without any reaction. Then she tried sparking it, but again, nothing happened.
“Well, that was anticlimactic,” Dax said.
After a few more tries, Tanner started up the car, and they headed for Allora’s house as she continued to try to make it work. Once they were inside, Allora placed the objects in her pocket, and they walked into the living room, where there were already ten other people from
town.
Milly had her hands on her hips and looked aggravated.
“I got an interesting call from Principal Winters,” she said. Jarrod and Maureen didn’t look too pleased with the group’s late-night departure from the house. “I thought we had an agreement.”
“Yeah, you said that we were required to tell you about any trips outside of the perimeter,” she responded, smiling guiltily. “Mom, it was important.”
“Well, I hope so because you are grounded for at least a month. Now take a seat.”
Milly sparked her com bracelet, which activated everyone else’s. Baymar appeared with his hands behind his back.
“We have been tracking a large number of unauthorized passages through the gateways over the last year,” he said. “What we have learned is that they are shipping equipment, raw materials, engineers, and fabricated parts. After intercepting one of these shipments, we were able to interrogate a few personnel, who disclosed that they were manufacturing cruisers and carriers for reasons unknown to them. We also learned of one of these assembly areas. We have decided to bypass certain guardian information channels on suggestions from Milly and instead put together an assault team from outside sources.”
“Yes, from people we trust,” Milly added, standing up next to Baymar’s image display. “I feel like if we go to Shangri-La, whoever is feeding information to Salazar will quickly inform them of our intentions. We need a few volunteers to join us.” A number of hands raised, including those of Jarrod, Maureen, Sas, Aunt Lizi, and Mr. Swan. “All right, we leave in an hour. I need everyone in battle suits, with at least two different types of weaponry—one melee and at least one projectile or pistol. Dismissed.”
As they were leaving, Allora tugged on Mr. Swan’s coat sleeve, whispering to him about what they had found underneath the school. His eyes grew wide, and he quickly turned back around.
“I think that it would be best if I stayed behind,” he said, walking back toward Milly. “I think Winters may need some help with tidying up the school. It seems she has a rat problem.”
Milly glanced at her daughter, who looked away, rolling back and forth on her heels.
“Fine,” she said after some contemplation. “But if I hear that you have taken those four anywhere outside of this town, there will be hell to pay. You hear that?”
Allora nodded profusely. Milly left the room. Allora pulled out the sapphire orb, handing it to Swan. He looked it over excitedly.
“I tried everything, but it’s not working,” she whispered.
“Have you tried an element?” he asked.
Allora glanced over her shoulder, squinting in the dark hallway to make sure no one was looking. Then she held the blue orb, focused, and produced a slight purple flame within her palm. The fire consumed the orb, flickering slightly as it surrounded the object. Unfortunately, nothing happened.
“Let me try,” Tanner said, stepping forward.
Allora extinguished the flame and handed the orb to Tanner, who bobbled the burning-hot object. Once it cooled, he pulled in the moisture from around him, focused it into his arms, and swirled the liquid around the orb. Suddenly the object lit up and projected light all around them. It was a light blue image of Earth, spinning around them. Stepping out of the projected image, they noticed a small yellow light near the northeast side of Africa.
“Egypt,” Allora said, remembering her geography.
“Of course,” Mr. Swan said. “It’s Abu Simbel.”
“Abu huh?” Katie said.
“Isn’t that the monkey from Aladdin?” Dax asked. “I love that movie.”
“It’s a temple site that was dedicated to one of the greatest pharaohs of ancient Egypt, Ramesses II,” Mr. Swan said, thinking back to a book he read over the summer. “It makes perfect sense. They relocated the temple when they built the dam on the Nile, which created Lake Nasser. Alexandria must be located in the original temple site.”
“You mean underneath the lake,” Allora said, cringing at the thought of going underwater so soon after almost drowning. “Great.”
“And how are we getting to Egypt?” Dax asked.
“Well, from what I’ve learned from my research, this orb is one of the original keys made after the Titan Wars. It should be able to transport us directly to the site. We’ll just need to get outside of the port inhibitors to test it out.”
“And how do you suppose we breathe underwater?” Allora asked, completely terrified of another drowning episode. “I’m not scuba certified.”
“Don’t you worry about that,” Mr. Swan said, grabbing her shoulder. “Just go put on some summer clothes, and fill a backpack with some snacks, weapons, and other gear for cave diving, which I hear you guys are very good at.”
“Spelunking,” Katie added proudly.
“Right. Then we’ll meet back here. We’ll need to leave today so that we can get back before your mother and the others return.”
When they returned to the living room, Milly was clad in a complete battle suit and was placing black throwing knives in sleeves around her right thigh. Dax, Tanner, and Katie left to pack as the rest of the assault team was preparing to leave. Milly gave her daughter a hug and then headed toward Sas’s cave to take one of the stationary portals to the jumping-off point. Once she was gone, Allora changed into khaki shorts, a white tank top, and brown hiking boots. After filling her backpack with supplies, she grabbed her bow and the quiver of arrows out of the garage and waited for the others to arrive. Then they got onto their skippers and took off over the forest canopy, arriving at Crystal Lake after about ten minutes. They got down off the skippers, placed them in their backpacks, and made a circle around Tanner, who held out the orb.
“You guys ready?” Tanner said, preparing to activate the sapphire orb. They each placed a hand on his shoulders and waited as Tanner focused the surrounding water into his palm. The orb lit up blue, creating the swirling image of the Earth above. Mr. Swan sparked the point near Egypt that was lit up, and they were pulled downward into a portal, which spit them back out into an incredibly hot desert. They landed on the hot sand, looking out on an expansive lake, rolling sand dunes, and a large temple with four fifty-foot statues. A few feet away, a group of people stared at the five as they got up from the sand.
“Is this the tour group?” Mr. Swan asked, brushing off his arms and legs. They all nodded with mouths open, wondering how these five people came from out of nowhere.
Mr. Swan ushered the other four into the tour group as the other people began whispering to each other.
“People, now make sure to follow close behind me,” the tour guide said loudly. He had on a Hawaiian shirt and a hat with an overly large bill. His shorts came halfway up his thighs, and he had on large hiking boots with his socks tucked over the top. “We have a lot to explore and not that much time to do it.”
The heat was brutal. Allora brushed the sweat from her brow and put on her sunglasses. High above, the sun stood still like a guard on his watch, reminding those who entered the sands of Egypt that they were in his dominion.
Up ahead the monument of Abu Simbel stood tall, a grandiose symbol of Egypt’s long-lost civilization. Four proud pharaohs made of stone sat as lookouts, staring out into the grand lake before them.
“Abu Simbel was built sometime in 1264 BC in honor of the ancient pharaohs who built Egypt’s empire. This is, however, not the original location of the monument. In 1967, the Egyptian government had to move the stone monument because of the dam that filled this valley with water. The preservation was done brilliantly, but some say that the original location still holds some precise artifacts that have yet to be discovered.”
“You can say that again,” Mr. Swan whispered.
After ditching the tour group, they hiked along the shore of the lake until they found a dock where they rented a boat. It was motorized but looked barely able to fit everyone. They slowly stepped into the craft, squeezing onto the narrow wood seats. A small amount of standing water splash
ed against their feet, and the paint was chipping along the boat’s sides. After about ten pulls on the motor, Mr. Swan sat down for a quick breather.
“Are you sure this thing is even going to keep us afloat?” Dax asked.
“Only one way to find out,” Mr. Swan replied. He finally started the motor, which blew out a plume of noxious black smoke. They all coughed profusely as Mr. Swan pushed the boat away from the dock and out into open water. He guided the watercraft about two miles along the western shore until he found a lone red-orange balloon bobbing in the waves about a hundred yards ahead. “You see that buoy out there? That is where we start from.”
“Well, I hope you have some magical way of breathing underwater because I don’t see any scuba gear in this boat,” Allora said.
Mr. Swan pulled the boat alongside the buoy, tied a rope around the chain that secured it to the bottom, and then fished five balls from his pocket. He handed one to each of them. “This is pharynx glue. When activated, it bonds to your pharynx in your throat and nasal passages, allowing the oxygen in the water to filter through. It’s a very weird substance, so don’t freak out when it coats the back of your throat.”
He then had them watch as he put the ball into his mouth and sparked the glue. The substance engulfed his face, like the popping of blown-up bubblegum. It melted onto his cheeks, over his eyes, around his head, and over his ears.
“Easy!” he said. Mr. Swan’s voice was very nasally, as if he had a serious sinus infection.
“Gross!” Katie said, flapping her arms. “There is no way I’m doing that!”
Mr. Swan jumped out of the boat with his flippers and crashed into the water. Reluctantly, they put the strange balls of pharynx glue into their mouths and sparked them. Katie shrieked as the weird substance covered her face. Then they jumped into the water and put on their flippers.
“OK, guys, the pharynx glue will allow you to hear each other talk underwater as well. Think of it as a whale’s sonar. It will sound distant, like an echo, so make sure you enunciate your words.”
