The Dark Planet

by Patrick Carman

  Come back!"

  She ran from the safety of the passageway with Samuel

  chasing her.

  "NO, Isabel!" Samuel sprinted after her. Both of them realized

  the mistake they'd made and tried to stop, but momentum was

  on gravity's side. They slid closer to the opening on loose rocks

  and dirt until they finally skidded to a halt ten feet from the edge.

  "Step back, Isabel!"

  But Isabel couldn't stand the idea of being left behind by her

  protector inside Atherton. Without Gossamer, she didn't see

  how they could survive. She took one more step toward the

  edge, where gravity's pull was like a fast-moving river that was

  getting deeper and deeper.

  Samuel held on to Isabel's arm. "Isabel, please! I can't hold you

  if you won't help!"

  "I'm trying!" she said, finally coming to her senses as she felt the

  force of gravity growing. "I can't back up!"

  And just then, right when they were both more afraid than they'd

  ever been, the Raven rose from somewhere beneath their line

  of sight, its million black spikes sliding in and out threateningly.

  It crept up slowly, as if it were studying the two, trying to decide

  if they should be destroyed or not. The shocking sight of the

  mysterious vessel sent Isabel and Samuel into a panic.

  "I'm sliding, Samuel!" screamed Isabel. As Samuel reached

  unsuccessfully for her hand, she rolled head over heels toward

  the Raven, which hovered directly above the edge of the hole

  and seemed to watch the scene unfold without emotion.

  Isabel's legs went over the edge first and then her body

  followed until all Samuel could see was her head and her

  hands, which held on for dear life. Her eyes were white with

  fear as she slid, clawing the dirt with her fingers and then-- flit! -she was gone.

  "Isabel!"

  The Raven hovered closer to Samuel, leaving him speechless

  as its enormous weight glided overhead. Samuel looked back

  to the edge and thought about jumping after Isabel, though he

  knew he would be jumping to his death. Was there any chance

  he could save her?

  He heard Gossamer before he saw him, the monstrous black

  wings flapping somewhere out of view. But a second later the

  miraculous presence of the black dragon filled the cave once

  more.

  "This is all your fault!" cried Samuel, choking back tears. "She

  trusted you! You're nothing but a monster!"

  Gossamer flew up and in, pushing Samuel away from the edge

  with the power of his wings. The wind nearly bowled Samuel

  over as he ran back toward the passageway, angry and afraid.

  When Samuel was safely back from the pull of the opening,

  Gossamer landed. He blew a puff of black smoke from his nose

  and laid his soft wing along the floor. Isabel slid down, battered

  but alive.

  "Isabel!" shouted Samuel, overcome with gratitude that his

  friend wasn't lost forever. "Are you all right?"

  Isabel stood, feeling her arms and head. Her hair was a crazy

  mess on top of her head, and there were small cuts and bruises

  every where, but nothing appeared to be broken.

  "I think I'm all in one piece."

  When they looked back at Gossamer he began to move, quickly

  making sure Isabel and Samuel were okay and then going

  straight to the Raven. Two of Dr. Harding's most imposing

  creations sat nose to nose with each other, and Gossamer

  seemed oddly pleased at the arrival of the spiked object.

  "What are they doing?" asked Samuel, completely bedazzled

  by this new mystery. The Raven landed on the ground on

  thousands of black shards. As imposing as the Raven was, it

  was still dwarfed by the size of Gossamer, who stood over it,

  craning his neck in every direction as he examined the new

  arrival. It was, Samuel thought, like a mother inspecting an egg

  for the first time.

  Isabel and Samuel crept forward until they stood about twenty

  feet away from the Raven. They didn't dare get any closer.

  When the door began to open they jumped back, and

  Gossamer moved behind the door, where those coming out

  wouldn't be able to see him. If anyone turned around, though,

  there would be no hiding the crouching giant.

  Light from the white wall filled the inside of the Raven as Red

  Eye and Socket emerged, swishing their benders back and

  forth. Socket had found his goggles, but the dark lenses were

  spidery with cracks and the world of Atherton was harder to see

  than he'd hoped.

  Edgar called out from inside the Raven. "I can show you where

  to go," he said. "You should let me come out."

  "Edgar?" said Isabel. She couldn't believe her ears, and it

  showed in her voice. "Is that you?"

  "Edgar!" yelled Samuel.

  Isabel and Samuel wanted to bolt forward to look for their friend,

  but neither of them felt they could safely go anywhere near the

  Raven.

  Red Eye and Socket had no intention of letting their prisoners

  go. "Stay right where you are," commanded Red Eye, staring

  down Samuel and Isabel. He returned his bender to his back,

  but he had found Shelton's Leveler, a very powerful handheld

  pistol of sorts, which he pointed in their general direction.

  "Bring me Edgar, and one of the others--the small one," said

  Red Eye. Socket reached back and stored his bender, then

  disappeared inside. When he returned a moment later he had a

  firm grip on Edgar in one hand and Landon in the other. Landon

  had pulled his small goggles down over his face and looked

  around in wonder.

  "It's really you!" Isabel cried, her arms outstretched as she

  impulsively moved toward him.

  "That's far enough!" said Red Eye. He grabbed Edgar roughly

  with his free hand and yanked him close.

  "You shouldn't do that," warned Samuel. "And who's going to

  stop me?" said Red Eye. Seeing no adults to confront him, he

  slipped easily into his typical arrogant behavior. "I've got the

  boy and the Leveler."

  Samuel and Isabel shook their heads. They had an idea of what

  was coming.

  "Don't shake your heads at us!" demanded Socket. He raised

  his hand to strike Landon and show who was in charge. It was

  then that he felt the hot breath on the back of his head. Socket

  looked over his shoulder. His brother followed suit.

  "You better let them go," said Isabel. "Gossamer doesn't seem

  to like you very much."

  Gossamer's head was frighteningly close to Red Eye and

  Socket. The dragon opened its growling mouth and revealed

  rows of black teeth.

  "Gossamer, it's really you," said Landon slowly, mesmerized.

  Socket's grip had slackened and Landon pulled himself free,

  stepping farther back to get a good look at the monstrous black

  dragon. He broke into a great smile and looked at Socket. "Oh,

  he's mad! You really made him angry!"

  In a flash Gossamer had one huge claw around Socket and

  lifted him off the ground, but his fiery blue eyes never left Red

  Eye. Socket squirmed and screamed as Red Eye pushed

 
; Edgar to the ground. His plan was to dive back inside the

  Raven and return to the Dark Planet as fast as he could;

  Atherton was not what he had expected.

  But his leap to safety ended in midair in the claw of the black

  dragon.

  Gossamer held both men close to his face and inspected them.

  He had a mind to throw them both into the air and shower them

  with flames, reducing them to bones and ashes before

  everyone's eyes. Red Eye and Socket screamed in terror as

  Gossamer held them tightly, gazing with those terrible, piercing

  eyes. The Leveler fell out of Red Eye's hand and Gossamer

  pulverized it with one foot.

  "Does he listen to what you say?" Edgar asked Samuel and

  Isabel. He wanted to go to them, embrace them, and hear all

  about how they'd come to be here with such a commanding

  beast. But he couldn't do that until Red Eye and Socket were

  taken care of.

  "He usually listens to us," said Isabel. She looked to Edgar a

  little worse for the wear, as if she'd been beaten up or rolled

  down a steep hill, and it made him wonder about the adventure

  she'd had.

  "Tell him to set them down," said Edgar.

  "Put them down, Gossamer," yelled Isabel.

  A burst of dark smoke drifted from Gossamer's nose. He put

  Red Eye and Socket down reluctantly but kept a close eye on

  them. They were fairly near the edge and they felt the pull of

  gravity.

  "Can't we go back to the Silo?" asked Socket, who'd already

  had quite enough of the monsters and bright lights, and now

  had this bizarre feeling that he was going to be pulled off the

  edge.

  Edgar pointed toward the wal opposite the passageway, which

  seemed as good a place as any to make them wait until he

  could figure out what to do with them. The rest of the green

  team already had their goggles on as they streamed out of the

  Raven and blinked rapidly in the light. Gossamer sniffed the

  door to the Raven, pronounced it empty, and set his gaze on

  Red Eye and Socket.

  "Throw the benders off the edge," said Edgar. "Then sit over

  there and don't make a sound."

  "We'll do no such thing!" shouted Red Eye. "Send us back to

  the Dark Planet. That's all we want."

  "Give them a good roar, Gossamer," Samuel ordered.

  "Everyone cover your ears!"

  Gossamer took in a colossal breath. It felt like all the air was

  being sucked out of the chamber. All the children covered their

  ears, and then Gossamer roared at Red Eye and Socket, his

  massive teeth only inches from their faces. For Red Eye and

  Socket it was the kind of noise that felt like it had the power to

  kill them both where they stood. Forever after they would have

  an annoying ringing in their ears that would make it nearly

  impossible to hear what anyone was saying.

  When the roar was over the two men pulled out their benders

  without hesitation and threw them toward the vast opening to

  the outside. Gossamer blew a mighty red flame at the benders

  and the horrible weapons were vaporized for good.

  "What's that you say?" said Socket, looking at his brother and

  hearing only the ringing.

  "What?" said Red Eye, banging his head with the palm of his

  hand.

  The rest of the green team looked around, stunned and

  confused, as Edgar, Isabel, and Samuel hugged one another.

  The time of their reunion had finally come and the questions

  flew. Soon Edgar understood how his two friends had used the

  tablet to find Gossamer, and Isabel and Samuel understood that

  Edgar had brought the Raven. None of them had any idea what

  was supposed to happen after that.

  "These are my new friends," said Edgar, "Vasher, Teagan,

  Landon, and Aggie."

  All four of the children from the Silo looked apprehensively at

  Samuel and Isabel. They were self-conscious of the way they

  looked, because even from inside their goggles Samuel and

  Isabel seemed as healthy as Edgar did. Teagan wondered for a

  brief moment if she fit in better on the Dark Planet than here.

  "They have to wear the goggles, because of the light," said

  Edgar.

  Samuel was already talking to Vasher and bending down to

  shake hands with Landon. Isabel knew immediately what she

  had to do.

  "I'm very happy to meet you," she said, drawing near Aggie and

  Teagan. "Thank you for bringing Edgar back and for coming

  here. We're going to be great friends, we three, I'm sure of it."

  Aggie and Teagan felt better then. Maybe things would be all

  right.

  "I think we're about to see what Dr. Harding meant by the chill of

  winter," said Edgar. "Maybe we saw the statues in the yards in

  the right order, after all."

  Gossamer had been watching the Raven, nudging it gently with

  his snout as the group gathered together. They watched as the

  black dragon blew soft flames on the black surface of spikes.

  "I think he's cooking the Raven," said Landon.

  "Be quiet," said Vasher. "Let's not distract him."

  The Raven's door slid shut and it rose into the air and drifted

  slowly toward the wall of white crystals. "They're the same,"

  said Samuel out of the blue, noticing that the Raven was

  shaped the same as the many oval shapes of glowing white

  light on the vast wall.

  "What do you mean?" asked Vasher, who was keenly

  interested in all that was happening.

  Before Samuel could say anything more Gossamer walked

  behind the Raven, fanning it with flames. The spikes began to

  glow red and orange, though the center stayed black as night.

  Seeing the spikes turn red seemed to spur Gossamer on, and

  he blew thicker, darker flames as they moved closer to the vast

  wall of white crystals. When they came within fifty feet of the

  wall, Gossamer stopped blowing. As the Raven spun in a slow

  circle, its spikes appeared to have been lit like a mil ion long

  candles.

  "I get the feeling we should be in the passageway," said

  Samuel.

  "So do I," said Isabel.

  She and Samuel led everyone out of the chamber and stood a

  few feet back inside the tunnel. Edgar spotted Red Eye and

  Socket huddled against the far wall. He yelled for them come

  near, but they couldn't hear him. He wasn't at all sure it would

  be a good idea to let them come too close, anyway. He hadn't

  wanted to see them burned to death by a dragon, but he surely

  didn't trust them.

  Gossamer turned and blew fire on the Raven again. A few

  seconds later a sound like firing arrows filled the air. Everyone

  marveled as the once black spikes that surrounded the Raven

  became flaming spears flying into the white wall by the tens of

  thousands. The Raven moved up and down, firing glowing

  orange arrows into every part of the wall. Soon the wall was

  trembling and Gossamer was howling magically, flapping his

  wings eagerly as if preparing for a task he'd waited his whole

  life to begin.

  "He's not leaving, is he?" asked Landon, suddenly aw
are that

  his dream of being with Gossamer might come to a quick end.

  He ran out into the open yelling Gossamer's name until he

  stood at the foot of the black dragon. "You can't leave! I only just

  found you."

  Gossamer leaned down close and seemed to smile at Landon.

  His big tongue rolled out and Landon touched it. It was hot, but

  not so much that he couldn't put his fingers on it, and Gossamer

  licked all the way up Landon's arm.

  "Are you ever coming back?" asked Landon.

  Gossamer couldn't respond, but his big eyes stared down at

  Landon and nudged the boy toward the passageway with the

  soft part of his nose.

  "He licked me! I bet he's never done that to anyone else, ever!"

  The wall of white began to change. It moved like it was alive,

  bulging in a thousand different places, until a section crumbled

  loose and drifted in the air. It was a mirror image of the Raven,

  only it was white, not black. It was the same size and oval

  shape and covered on every side by white shards. A few

  seconds later a second white Raven broke free, and then, as if

  by magic, there were hundreds of white Ravens floating in the

  chamber.

  "I've seen something that looks like this before," whispered

  Aggie. "My dad had a picture of it. This is winter."

  "It wouldn't have worked without you," said Edgar, looking at all

  his new friends from the Silo. "I don't think white Ravens are

  possible without powder blocks. It's the secret ingredient."

  Gossamer flapped his wings and ran for the opening of the

  chamber before any part of the storm could escape. The black

  dragon took flight, zooming down and out of sight, then

  charging back up again and holding steady as he roared into

  the chamber. A steady stream of white Ravens fell in line

  behind Gossamer and he flew away, his dark outline

  disappearing fast as he raced for the Dark Planet.

  "He was saying goodbye," said Isabel, putting her arm around

  Landon. The two of them would miss Gossamer more than

  anyone else.

  "I think he's coming back again someday," said Landon. "In fact,

  I'm sure of it."

  Vasher watched in awe as the sky fill with white.

  "There must be ten thousand of them."

  "More than that," said Samuel, seeing that the wall was

  anything but finished producing them. A steady blizzard of white

  Ravens blew through the chamber, all of them following the

  black dragon. The making of winter lasted an hour. Red Eye