“Main Chamber of the Core,” Albert said.
The arrow inside the compass spun on his palm, pointing ahead.
“We don’t need that thing for this,” Leroy said. “I got this place wired.”
And it was true; Leroy had memorized how they’d gotten to Cedarfell. Even Albert’s Core Compass couldn’t compete with Leroy’s mad mental skills.
“Guys! Over here!” Birdie waved from the center of one of the bridges as Albert and Leroy arrived in the Main Chamber. Farnsworth barked and ran for her, his little tail wagging like a propeller.
“Treefare is sooo amazing,” Birdie said when Albert and Leroy joined her. “It’s like being inside of a magic forest. There’s this fog on the ground that makes it warm for our feet, and big tents and great food and—”
Trey’s miniature blue dragon, Alfin, came soaring across the Lobby, and Birdie stopped short. Alfin landed on Albert’s shoulder, as weightless as a feather.
“Hey, little guy,” Albert said, nervous it might bite him in the ear. “How’s it going?”
The dragon leaned forward and spoke in a papery, soft voice. Albert jumped at the sound. You gotta be kidding me. This thing talks?
“Follow me, Albert-human,” it said. “Alfin is a girl, not a boy. I must deliver the Albert-package and friends to Trey-master.”
Alfin took flight, doing a somersault in midair before zipping off into the nearest tunnel.
Albert, Birdie, and Leroy took chase, struggling to keep up as they followed Alfin down the tunnel. Instead of twisting and curving in every direction, the tunnel led them straight down, deeper and deeper into the Core. The air grew cooler. Goose bumps rose on Albert’s arms.
“Do you think Alfin is taking us to our first training day?” Birdie asked. Her pink-and-blond ponytail swayed across the tops of her shoulders. “Venzee, one of the girls in Cedarfell, said the simulations are intense.”
“That’s what we heard, too,” Leroy said. “Just look out for Hoyt. The guy’s got a target on Albert’s back.”
When they’d run so far down the tunnel that Albert was starting to wonder if it would ever end, they came upon Trey. Alfin sat on his shoulder, looking very proud of herself for delivering the Albert-package.
“Ah, I see you three found your uniforms,” Trey said, smiling at them as Albert, Leroy, and Birdie stopped before him. They were standing before a copper-colored door set in the stone wall. “Did you enjoy your new quarters?”
“Cedarfell is excellent,” Leroy said. “Especially the food.”
“Treefare is even better,” Birdie added.
“You’ve never even been to Cedarfell,” Leroy protested.
“Yeah, but I’ve been to Treefare, and I’m telling you, it’s better!” Birdie crossed her arms and stuck out her hip. Albert, realizing these two were probably going to be bickering like this a lot, got in the middle of them.
“They’re both really cool, okay, guys?”
Birdie huffed, and Leroy’s face reddened, just a bit. He straightened his glasses.
Trey smiled and nodded at Albert.
“Training starts at once. This way, quickly, quickly.”
He turned and pulled a lever embedded in the stone wall. Steam began to pour out around the edges of the copper door.
When the door opened and they’d passed through, Albert’s eyes went as wide as the moon. Standing before them was a cave larger than any he’d seen so far. It went up, up, up, into the ceiling, past where the light from Farnsworth’s eyes could reach. Waterfalls cascaded down from several openings in the rocky walls, glittering like the water was full of falling stars.
There was a winding stone bridge that sloped back and forth from one side of the cave to the other, crisscrossing until it stopped high in the air over Albert’s head. At the end of the path was a floating orange platform, casting off a faint glow.
Leroy gulped. “That bridge doesn’t have any railings.”
“I must warn you to tread carefully,” Trey said, nodding. “Let’s carry on, shall we?”
“I want to go first!” Birdie said. “Farnsworth, lead the way!”
Farnsworth yipped and ran onto the path, his blue beams cutting through steam that poured out from different places. They walked higher and higher. Every so often, Albert stopped and looked down. Heights didn’t scare him at all. Instead, they made him feel alive, like he was king of the world, looking down into darkness. The path led them through the middle of two waterfalls, one on each side, parted like curtains. Birdie ran her fingers through the water.
By the time they made it to the orange platform at the very top, Albert was very nearly out of breath—they all were—but he smiled as he looked over the edge. The path looked like a tangled spiderweb from above.
“Oh man, that was a rush,” Albert said.
“It’s beautiful up here.” Birdie sighed. “I just adore this place.”
“I’ll never understand you two.” Leroy came up behind Albert. His face was as green as fresh broccoli. He leaned his head against the cool cave wall. “I counted three thousand seven hundred eighty-nine ways to fall and die back there. Why couldn’t my Tile have given me flying powers? This mental situation is giving me an anxiety attack.”
Just then, the platform began to move, floating upward so fast that the sweat Albert had worked up in the climb quickly evaporated even before the platform had stopped at another copper-colored entry. It couldn’t be called a door, not really. It was more like a porthole cover, complete with a spinning wheel in the center.
“Are you ready?” Trey asked, turning to the trio. He had a look of wonder on his face, like even though he’d been through the entrance a thousand times, he still couldn’t wait to go back inside and see what was behind it.
“Let’s do this,” Albert said.
Trey spun the wheel and then pushed the copper porthole cover open.
“Welcome to the Pit.” Trey beamed, moving aside so Albert, Leroy, and Birdie could look down.
The Pit was exactly like its name: a colossal circular space that sank far into the ground. Around the top there was a ring of seats where a small scattering of people sat, waiting for the action to start.
It occurred to Albert that what stood before him was a lot like the video games he’d played all his life—except that this time he wasn’t going to be hiding behind a controller. He was going to be the character in the game. The thought made his heart beat fast.
The Pit was a chasm as deep as the one they’d just come from, but instead of waterfalls, there were vine-like cables hanging from the ceiling, and instead of a winding pathway, there were rings of blue fire floating every few feet. There were also a few of the familiar orange platforms, and a black bubble that bounced off the walls like a giant balloon, knocking a boy off course as he tried to swing from cable to cable. It was Hoyt, Albert realized, and his teammates were down there with him. One of the guys, Slink, climbed up a cable with effortless grace, then swung from it, flipped through a ring of blue fire, and grabbed on to another cable. The third boy, Mo, was busy trying to kick the black bubble away from Hoyt.
“Professor Flynn already told you you’ll be training for Calderon this term,” Trey began. “What you see before you is a simulation of some of the things you might encounter if the Calderon Realm goes out of Balance.” Trey pointed down below. “The cables represent vines. The bubble represents a King Firefly, but here we call it the Melatrix. And the fire is self-explanatory.”
Leroy readjusted his baseball cap on his head. “How much fire is in the Calderon Realm?”
“I bet you there’s lava, too! I bet I could probably swim in it!” Birdie said.
Leroy whined, and Albert patted him on the back.
“Well, usually, there isn’t much fire,” Trey said. “But there are many Calderon creatures that breathe fire, and we’ve seen that get out of hand on various occasions, depending on what’s causing the Imbalance in the Realm.”
“Great,” Leroy said
, rolling his eyes. “Just great.”
“And are the King Fireflies always big bullies like that?” Birdie asked, a look of concern on her face. “The fireflies back in Oregon can be a little annoying, but that Melatrix just about took off that boy’s head.”
“Professor Flynn will get to that in a moment,” Trey replied.
“When do we start?” Albert asked. He wanted to begin now, dive in and finally do something dangerous. More importantly, he wanted to test out his Tile.
“In a few minutes. Professor Flynn and the Calderon First Unit should be arriving any moment to show you how everything works.”
“My dad is going to teach us how to navigate this thing?” Albert asked. “No way.”
Just then, Professor Flynn walked down a steep flight of stairs from the viewing area. He was wearing his usual green professor’s coat, the fabric sparkling like polished emeralds, and there were three people behind him. When he arrived next to Albert and the rest, he didn’t waste any time on formalities.
“You are the Hydra training unit, who will train for the Calderon Realm this term,” Professor Flynn began. He moved aside and introduced the three people standing behind him. “This is the Calderon First Unit: Grey, Aria, and Terran. Grey here is the Core’s best weapons handler, Aria is a talented Wind Tamer, and Terran is Professor Asante’s granddaughter. Terran and I share the same power. These three earned their spot as Calderon First Unit after successfully completing training for all three Realms. And if I remember correctly, they earned more points in these simulations than any training unit had earned in decades. Am I right?”
“Yes, sir,” the three teammates said together.
More than any other team in decades? Geez, Albert thought. No pressure or anything . . .
Professor Flynn continued. “Normally, since you’re the First Term Calderon training unit, you would get some attention from these three. Unfortunately, we’ve had some recent . . . abnormalities in the Calderon Realm that Grey, Aria, and Terran have been investigating, specifically that the King Fireflies have been acting uncharacteristically antagonistic. Their strange behavior could be a sign of a greater Imbalance in the Realm, and if that’s the case, the world above might be in danger. So the First Unit might be busy while you train, but I did want you to meet them.”
Grey stepped forward, pushing back a mop of black hair on his head. He had obviously been named for his eyes, for they were the brightest shade of gray Albert had ever seen. He looked positively wolfish.
“Don’t let the Pit scare you,” Grey said. “You’re going to get banged up; that’s normal. Just stay focused; don’t let your attention drift. The best competitors are those who stay alert and miss nothing. Above all, give it everything you’ve got. The Pit will make you pay if you’re lazy.”
“Don’t let Grey scare you,” Aria said, nudging him on the shoulder with a rueful smile. She had fiery red hair and stood almost as tall as Leroy. “We’re just happy to have a training unit to impart our wisdom to. You three will do well; I’m sure of it.”
“And don’t forget,” Terran added, tightening her dark ponytail in a very Birdie-like way, “you’ve got an entire world of secrets to uncover down here. Have some fun, Hydra!”
They all watched as the First Unit left the same way Albert and his friends had just come. Albert was excited to have met them, even if it had been too brief. They all walked with their heads held high, and just knowing that the three of them had actually been inside of a Realm made Albert want to be just like them. One day, maybe he, too, would be walking past a team in training, heading into a Realm to save the world. His dad’s voice broke him out of his daydreaming.
“What you learn in the simulations will carry over into what you might face in the Realms. The simulations are different depending on the day, since the Realms themselves are constantly evolving. As soon as a course is completed, it will morph into another set of obstacles. Your challenge today is to reach the top of the Pit.” Professor Flynn pointed to the very top of the ceiling overhead, where a silver bell hung from a looming stalactite.
“That’s it?” Birdie exclaimed. “Sounds easy to me. Can’t we add in some fire?”
“Or maybe we could do something nice and calm, like . . . read some books, or something?” Leroy groaned.
Albert glanced back and forth between his two friends, struck by how different they were.
Professor Flynn chose to ignore the comments and went on. “Beat the obstacles; ring the bell. Normally your team would be competing head-on against another team at the same time—Argon and Ecco are the second- and third-term teams training in Calderon with you—but the first day is for getting the hang of things, so you’ll compete separately. The goal right now is to learn to start functioning as a team and getting the job done quickly. Those are of the utmost importance.”
Work together; complete the task quickly. Got it, Albert thought.
“That said,” Professor Flynn continued, “today your score will be tallied against Argon’s. You’ll see both teams’ points on our Pit Leaderboard.”
Professor Flynn held out his hand, motioning for the trio to look down into the Pit. There, on the side of the rounded walls, was a glowing leaderboard. It looked sort of like the kind that Albert saw when he watched football games on TV, but instead of numbers, there were blue balls of flames tallying the score. The left side was Argon—Hoyt, Slink, and Mo. As the three boys in the Pit got closer to the top, another blue ball of flames appeared, stacking itself on top of the others. More points for Hoyt and his cronies.
“We’re going to beat these punks,” Birdie said. She cracked her knuckles and leaned forward, as if she couldn’t wait to climb into the Pit and prove herself.
Professor Flynn continued. “Between Hydra and Argon, whichever team has the most points at the end of the day will win a prize. Yours and the eight other training units’ scores are also tallied on the Main Leaderboard, which Trey maintains. If the need arises, whichever team has the most points might be called upon to enter a Realm behind the First Unit.”
There was a clang just as he finished speaking. Albert looked up, guessing where the sound had come from. Sure enough, Hoyt was at the top, hanging one-handed from a cable with a giant sneer on his face. His teammates hooted and hollered along with the small gathering that sat watching around the top of the Pit. A moment later, the entire simulation went still. The cables hung slack, the blue flames fizzled away, and the Melatrix popped with a shower of sparks. The members of Argon started making their way to one of the orange platforms.
“Under seven minutes,” Trey shouted over the cheers. “That’s brilliant, boys! Absolutely brilliant!”
Albert groaned. “Seven minutes? How is that even possible?”
“The chances of that are pretty high, actually, if you do everything the right way,” Leroy said.
“Not now, whiz kid,” Birdie said, silencing him.
The orange platform carried Team Argon up and out of the Pit, and suddenly Albert, Leroy, and Birdie were face-to-face with Hoyt and his team.
“Careful down there, Hydra,” Hoyt said as he walked by. “With that useless Tile Flynn’s got, you three will probably be down there all day. You’ll probably set a new record for longest Pit time ever.”
“Don’t listen to him, guys,” Albert said. He boarded the platform beside his teammates. Trey blew a whistle, and the platform started down into the depths of the Pit. When they reached the bottom, they found that while the floor looked like normal cave ground, it had a bouncy feeling, like a trampoline.
Albert tried a cannonball, just to test it out. Sure enough, when he landed on the floor, he bounced up a few feet before settling back down again.
Man! This is going to be fun! A sound caught his attention and he looked up.
Professor Flynn glided down to them in a rusted metal cage. He spoke into what looked like a curled animal horn, and it magnified his voice throughout the Pit like a microphone.
“
All right, team. The rules are simple. There are no rules.” Professor Flynn had a strange gleam in his eye. It made him look ten years younger.
“As I said before, today’s simulation goal is simple. One of you has to reach the top and hit the bell. If you do it in less than seven minutes, you win leaderboard for the day. Be prepared for me to intervene in the challenges. Sometimes these alterations may seem drastic, but they’re designed to help you think on your feet. We’re training to save the entire world here, team! Do your best.”
Just the mention of saving the planet made Albert’s stomach buzz with excitement. He was dying to start and see what it was all about.
“What’s the prize for the winner each day?” Birdie asked, looking up at Professor Flynn.
“Copper Medallions,” Professor Flynn answered, speaking into the giant horn. “So you can purchase Realm items from the Core Canteen.”
Albert noticed Hoyt’s smug face looking down at them from above; Hoyt was already assuming his team would win the Medallions for the day. Albert was desperate to prove him wrong.
“Everyone ready now? Let’s begin.” Professor Flynn must have pressed a button—the cage rose halfway to the top of the Pit.
“Wait!” Albert yelled upward. “How do we even know what to do?”
“Just go with it!” Professor Flynn yelled back. “Learn by doing. Trey? Ready the Pit!”
Overhead, Trey busied himself setting features in the simulation on a control panel Albert and his friends couldn’t see from where they stood. Then Trey blew a silver whistle and the Pit came to life.
The black cables began to shake like writhing snakes. The circles of blue flame ignited, hovering high in the air over Albert, Leroy, and Birdie. The Melatrix appeared, as big as a recliner, bouncing back and forth from the Pit walls like it was eager to shove them off their course.
“What do we do?” Leroy asked. He looked to Albert for an answer.
Albert shrugged. “I guess we dive in, like my dad said.”
Balance Keepers #1: The Fires of Calderon Page 8