Sonora, and the Scroll of Alexandria Page 9

  “What do we say about failure?” Mr. Swan asked.

  “It’s just one step on the road toward success,” Tanner said.

  “I’m glad that someone listened during my lectures,” Mr. Swan said, slightly surprised. “All right, y’all ready to go?”

  Mr. Swan got into the prone position, enclosed the casing, and sped ahead, mimicking Dax’s move. Allora did the same, feeling the forces of gravity turn inside her body. She rotated the handlebars as the skipper turned a hundred and eighty degrees, and then she punched it, feeling the weight push back on her feet. About thirty feet from the edge of the forest, she quickly pressed the interior button on the handlebars, launching the skipper into the air and dropping down onto the foliage. The skipper bounced on the pocket of air created by the hadron bubble on the bottom of the vehicle. Allora accelerated toward the distant dot of Mr. Swan’s skipper. With that speed, Allora expected the clear casing to become less visible, but the exterior shield kept the rain from inhibiting her sight.

  Allora shifted her weight to the right, feeling the skipper turn with her. The hovercraft glided on the air like a Jet Ski on water. She shifted her weight back to the left, getting a feel for the way it moved. After a few more slight direction changes, she hit the throttle. The dashboard in front read over five hundred miles per hour as she glided toward Mr. Swan, who was just ahead. Allora couldn’t help but smile. Using the techniques that Mr. Swan had instructed her on, she started with quicker breaths to compensate for the increase in weight on her body. As she got closer, the intercom on her dashboard lit up with the small image of Mr. Swan’s head.

  “All right, speedy,” he said, proud but apprehensive. “Let’s do a few maneuvers. First, let’s get you all synced in with your crafts. All you have to do is think of what you want the skipper to do, and it will react to your thoughts. Your synapses are connected through the handlebars, which link to your nervous system. So just project the thought of the communication link, and your image will pop up.” Allora felt a slight electrical pulse through her hands as she thought about the link, and then an illuminated image of her head appeared next to Mr. Swan’s.

  “Whoa,” Allora said.

  Then Dax, Tanner, and Katie appeared. “All right, these are closed communication circuits, so you can shift who you are talking with. You can also use the synaptic connection to alter the speed, direction, and manual override of the skipper.”

  Tanner and Katie had caught up as Dax slowed down for the others. They lined up, feeling not only a connection with their skippers but also with the others’ minds.

  “There is going to be a field in about five minutes,” Mr. Swan said. “I want you all to pull back on the handlebars and do a backflip as you get over the forest canopy. Make sure to push the booster right as you do it, and then when you drop down, push it again while you accelerate.”

  Mr. Swan pushed forward. They could see his blurry image skip upward, spin back, and drop over the tree line. Allora felt a rush of excitement as she got closer, and she proceeded to push the booster button, flip backward, and drop down toward the field. Her head slightly grazed the top of the casing as the gray sky blurred above her. The green, grassy field came into view as the skipper rotated downward. As she descended, she hit the booster button again, feeling the turn of her stomach as the skipper hopped a foot from the ground. Accelerating forward, she leveled out and sped up toward Mr. Swan.

  Just then she heard Katie scream, and her communication image disappeared. Allora and the others turned around abruptly, seeing Katie’s ballooned skipper rolling along the field. They all stopped and got off their skippers, running toward the large gray ball of balloon glue. Dax sparked it. The glue dissipated, and the enclosure opened. Katie was sucking in air, looking terrified.

  “You all right?” Allora asked.

  “Let’s not do that again,” Katie said, her hands slightly shaking.

  “All right, well, I think that that is enough for today,” Mr. Swan said, letting out his breath in relief. “Let’s head back, and we’ll pick this up on another day.”

  Dax slapped his sister on the shoulder. “Buck up, buttercup. It’s not so bad.”

  She sneered at her brother as he got back up on his skipper and took off back the way they came. When Allora got back to her house, making sure to take the back way so that no one from town could see her bouncing along the top of the forest, she walked through the back door and into the living room, where her aunt was intently staring at the television. Milly was in the back hallway, pacing back and forth while talking to someone on the com bracelet.

  “If you’re just tuning in to our broadcast, we’d like to give you a live update as to the current situation,” the national newscaster said. “As of this morning, ten bombs exploded at American and European embassies across the world. The exact number of dead is still undetermined, but sources are saying that it’s in the thousands.” The image split, showing a disheveled reporter, with illuminated smoke and floodlights in the background. “We now go live to our correspondent in the Middle East, who has more information.”

  “Thank you, Charlie,” the reporter said, after a few seconds of pause because of the delay in the communication relay. “It’s absolute chaos here as investigators try to make sense of this senseless act. Right now emergency personnel are trying to find survivors among the rubble, but the scene is pretty bleak.” The reporter looked as though he was trying to mask his emotions, having seen the aftermath up close.

  “Any indication that this was perpetrated by a terrorist organization?” the newscaster asked.

  “As of right now, no one has taken responsibility for this,” the reporter replied. “An anonymous source within the State Department believes that the sophistication and yield of these explosions were far too great to be a small-time terrorist organization.”

  “So then they believe that this was a state-sponsored attack?”

  “It’s honestly too early to tell,” the reporter said. “The FBI has flown in a special team of explosive experts, and they will be leading the investigation into these attacks.”

  “No, that’s not good enough,” Milly said, her voice echoing from the hallway. “This was not done by humans. This is the work of Titans. Salazar is trying to destabilize Earth.”

  “I’d like to take a moment of silence for the victims and their families of this atrocious tragedy,” the newscaster said, putting his head down.

  “Fine, fine,” Milly said angrily. “I’m coming to Shangri-La.”

  She pressed the off button aggressively on the com bracelet and stomped back into the living room.

  “What’s going on, Mom?”

  She looked worried as she gave her daughter a hug. The television continued to show images of all of the bombings. Allora’s heart sank as she watched the blood-and-dirt-covered faces of those who tried to get away from the fallen buildings.

  “Things have become much more complicated,” she answered, gripping Allora tightly.

  “Why would they do this?” Allora asked.

  “Because Salazar wants the humans to destroy each other. If this world is thrust into a war and military resources are depleted, Salazar will have a better chance of invading. An already weak and war-weary people will be easier to destroy.”

  Milly let go and headed for her room.

  “Mom, I’ve got to go with you to Shangri-La,” Allora said apprehensively.

  Milly stopped in her tracks and turned.

  “Does this have to do with Ben’s memories?” Milly asked.

  Allora nodded.

  Milly took a pause, thinking about how to respond. She glanced at her sister, who simply raised her eyebrows. “Fine, but you will follow all of my instructions. No taking off in the night or running around without protection. Shangri-La is dangerous, and we don’t know who to trust right now.”

  Allora jumped up and hugged her mother.

  A few weeks later, in the middle of December, Allora, Katie, Dax, and Tanner f
ollowed Milly to Sas’s cave. Sas led them down behind the crystal-blue waterfall into a chamber lined with thirteen arched doorways. Seeing the similarities to a certain room underneath Crater Lake, Allora glanced happily at the others. Sas sparked one of the doorways, which opened up a portal.

  Popping through the portal, Allora exhaled. Her whole body ached from the severe pressure. Katie arrived a few minutes later, sucking in the cold air that greeted them. A sharp, cold freeze stung their exposed skin. Curious by the sudden change in temperature, Allora ventured into a lit cave opening. The cave curved, and an arctic wind pushed her backward. Rubbing the goose bumps forming on her arms, she kept walking against the blowing wind. The air became even colder, and the light blinded her as she reached the edge of the cave.

  “You guys stay here while we scout ahead,” Milly said, disappearing with Sas into the whitewashed, snowy exterior.

  Allora inched toward the cave opening, feeling the chill of the ice-cold wind howling at the edge of the sloping cliff. The icy air bit into her skin, like razors. Looking out over the edge of the cliff, she tried to see where her mother and Sas had taken off to, but the path was invisible. For a brief second, the snowy-white landscape opened in the distance, revealing the expansiveness of the Himalayas.

  “You probably shouldn’t get so close to the edge,” Tanner said, noticing Allora’s curiosity.

  Just then a strong gust of wind blew sideways, knocking Allora off balance. She stepped back, but the ground was icy, causing her to slip. Flailing her arms like a windmill, she fell down a snowy slope.

  “Allora, no!” Tanner screamed. He slid along the ice with his hand outstretched but was unable to reach her.

  Allora’s scream echoed down the icy slope as her body tumbled in a flurry of white powder. The sharp, icy snow and frigid air ripped at her skin. As she slid faster, she became frantic, clawing at the snow to slow her descent. She saw the snow flurries clear to show a vast, empty cliff dropping down into a massive void. She flailed, twisting and spinning wildly, as gravity took her into the white abyss. At the bottom, sharp, jagged rocks jutted up from a deep crevice.

  Suddenly the image of a ball of snow moved quickly across the cliff face. It swung around, jumping along the rock like a monkey down a tree. The blurry image launched off the cliff face, flew across the crevice, and grabbed Allora’s body before it was impaled on the rock. Allora felt the cold fur of a strange creature grasping her tightly in its thick white arms. The creature held on as the two crashed into a snowy bank, creating a twenty-foot hole in the snow. Allora looked up to see dark, concerned eyes.

  “You all right, deary?” the creature asked.

  Her hands were shaking, and she was speechless, but she nodded anyway. The creature dug them out of the snow, and Allora followed out onto the snowbank. Before them was a vast mountain range, spreading across the panorama. As they turned around, a sharp jagged peak became visible in the clearing white mist.

  “Where are we?” Allora asked.

  “You’re in the shadow of Everest,” the creature said.

  Allora glanced to the right to see a massive, white, furry creature. It had large paw-like hands, worn from the weather, with one-inch claws. Its teeth were jagged, with two large incisors that hung down. Its sweet, deep-blue eyes were a sharp contrast to the creature’s gargantuan figure.

  “Who are you?” Allora asked.

  A similar white creature leapt off the rock, landing in the snow next to them.

  “She’s a big idiot, that’s what she is,” the other creature said. “What were you thinking? You’ve just got to save every stupid human who tries to climb this mountain.”

  “Hey!” Allora yelled. “I’m not stupid, you big fat gargoyle!”

  “Who’re you calling fat?” The creature yelled back.

  “Don’t mind him. He’s just grumpy ‘cause he didn’t get his morning tea,” the other creature said. “My name is Yeti, and this big oaf is Abominable.”

  “I told you not to call me that! My name is Abe.”

  “Well, when you act like Abominable, I’m going to call you Abominable,” Yeti said.

  “You can be such a pain in the—”

  “Hey!” Allora yelled, shaking profusely. “I’m freezing over here!”

  “We are so sorry, darling,” Yeti said, wrapping her furry, warm arms around Allora. “What are you doing out here?”

  “Trying to get to Shangri-La,” Allora answered, still shivering under the fur.

  “And who are you?” Abe asked.

  “Allora—Milly Sona’s daughter.”

  “Well, why didn’t you say so?” Yeti yelled excitedly. “Let’s get you out of this cold.”

  The white, furry creature picked her up and carried her up the cliff face. After getting up onto the ledge, Yeti set Allora down, and she was quickly tackled by Katie, who hugged her profusely. Tanner and Dax simply let out a sigh of relief as Yeti led them to another cave.

  Milly was walking back through. “I thought I told you four to wait for me.”

  “Um, yeah, so…,” Allora said.

  “We helped them find the path,” Yeti said, winking at Allora.

  “All right, well, I need you four to follow my instructions while you’re here,” Milly said sternly. “No arguing, no exceptions. Got it?”

  They nodded in agreement and then followed her into the cave. Milly proceeded to spark the interior wall, and then she walked through the liquid. After following her through, they arrived in an epically grandiose cavern with huge stone pillars. Lining the walls were elegant lanterns that jutted out from the dark marble rock wall. The air had become much warmer, and a sweet smell of lavender overcame the overwhelming aroma of dirt, snow, and moist rock.

  At the end of the tunnel, a winding staircase of stone brought them into a large marble chamber. Along the wall, intricate carvings of ancient battles protruded from the rock. Spears, swords, and arrows of marble clashed along the wall like a still movie. Allora followed the entire carving until the end, where two large figures stood facing each other, as if they were the only ones left in this epic story.

  Yeti stopped. “That is Kronos and Zeus,” she said, putting her arm around Allora. “They were the rulers of Sonora long ago, and this hall is a tribute to their conflict, which almost destroyed both worlds.”

  “What happened?” Allora asked.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” Abe interjected.

  “None know the truth,” Yeti replied, sneering at her twin brother. “Most of it is only depicted in fairy tales and myth.”

  At the end of the hallway, four guards were posted at a barrier-like entryway. They were clad in metallic black bodysuits. Their helmets were also black with bug-eyed goggles, and multiple weapons were attached to their every limb. Their posture grew tense when they approached.

  “That is the elite guard,” Milly said, gently placing a hand in front of Allora and pushing her behind. “They’ve been a little edgy lately, so it’s best you stay out of the way and let me do all of the talking.”

  “Stop,” one of the guards said. His voice was muffled and sounded somewhat electronic from being filtered through his lower mask. He stepped forward, brandishing his side arm and pointing it toward their feet. “One at a time, come forward, and place your arm underneath the scanner.”

  To the guard’s right was an indented metallic shelf with a round hoop that glowed red in the dark corridor. Abe walked forward, sat down on a short stool, and placed his hairy arm on the shelf. The round, glowing hoop shot back over his arm. A sheet of red light covered his forearm, scanning as it moved forward to Abe’s hand. Once there, five lasers hit his fingers, producing a small hadron ball in his palm. Abe winced slightly. Suddenly, the hoop returned to its original position, and the guard behind the scanner gave the leader a head nod.

  “These four are not to be scanned,” Milly said, blocking them.

  “Everyone gets scanned,” the guard leader said. The visor on his upper mask came do
wn as he walked forward. “There are no exceptions. We are on high-alert status.”

  “I don’t care if Salazar is here,” Sas said. “We be guardians of the high council, and you answer to us, got it?”

  “I answer to High Commander Yeren, and these are his orders.”

  “Well, you’re going to have to make an exception for them,” Milly said.

  “Sir, we’ve been given strict orders to scan everyone who comes into Shangri-La,” the guard leader said.

  “Do you know who I am, soldier?” Milly asked.

  “Yes, Colonel Sona. My brother served under you during the Rebel Wars.”

  “What is your name?” Milly asked, searching his face for recognition.

  “Lieutenant Mylar, sir.”

  “Your brother was a very brave individual,” Milly said, reflecting on a past memory. “I was sorry to hear about what happened to him at the Battle of Omega.” The guard leader remained stoic. “You still remember the chain of command, do you not?”

  “Yes, sir,” the guard said, his answers becoming louder and more pronounced.

  “And who ranks above you?” Milly asked, walking around the guard leader with her hands behind her back.

  “You, sir, but you are not my commanding officer and therefore have no authority here. Now step aside before I have you arrested and thrown in the cells.”

  Milly stared down at the young officer. The other guards moved their hands slowly to the hilts of their side arms and inched forward, preparing to make a move. Milly’s head turned slightly as her knees bent, and her right foot slowly moved along the tile floor, like a predator preparing to defend against the aggressive motions of the guards.

  “Stand down!” a booming, authoritative voice came from the corner hallway behind. The guards slowly backed up, while Milly continued to stare down the guard leader, who had his pistol almost out of its holster. “Stand down, Lieutenant.”