Fearing that things would only get worse, Cora and Stella had no choice but to leave Wishworld. As they waved good-bye to Amy, they did their best to channel as much positive energy as possible to her—hoping against hope that it might help change her bad wish into a good one. Then, after Amy pointed them in the direction of the house they had said they were visiting, Cora and Stella walked along the dusty road until they were safely out of sight. Cora unfolded the star that had taken them on their disastrous Wishworld journey, and—without speaking a word to each other—she and Stella returned to Starland.
“What are we going to do?” Stella asked, her voice barely above a whisper, as they stood on the rooftop deck. “Our energy will be all over that Bad Wish Orb.”
Cora shook her head and sucked in her breath, her chest feeling tight and heavy from stress. The whole thing was her fault. If she hadn’t proposed that she and Stella sneak down to Wishworld, and if she hadn’t pressed Amy to come up with a way to stop the horrible jockey from riding that horse, none of it would have happened. Cora knew what she had to do, but she was afraid to say it. Finally, she looked into her best friend’s frightened eyes and spoke up.
“I’m going to go to the Negative Energy Facility,” Cora said. “I’m going to find that Bad Wish Orb and I’m going to find a way to destroy it!”
“Oh, Cora, no!” Stella shook her head and looked even more terrified. “You can’t possibly! It’s too dangerous! You’ll never be able to get in there, anyway. How would you?”
“I don’t know, but I have to try,” Cora insisted. “I’m the one to blame for it.”
“Cora…” Stella reached out and grabbed her friend’s hand. “It was as much my fault as yours. I agreed that we should sneak down to Wishworld. I was right there with you, trying to help guide Amy toward making a good wish.”
“Yes, but I convinced you to take the trip and I was the one who encouraged Amy to come up with a way to stop the horrible jockey. If I hadn’t agreed with her when she was being so negative, maybe she wouldn’t have made that…that bad wish!” Cora dropped Stella’s hand and walked to the edge of the rooftop deck. She stared up at the dark sky and wondered what would happen to her, and to Stella, if she didn’t find and somehow destroy that Bad Wish Orb.
A few moments later, Stella walked up behind her and placed a hand softly on her shoulder. “What’s done is done, Cora—we can’t take it back,” she insisted. “Going to the Negative Energy Facility isn’t an option. There’s no way I can let you do that.”
Cora spun around to face her friend and knew it was going to be impossible to convince her—even though Cora remained certain that going to the Negative Energy Facility was their only option.
Cora finally relented. “Okay. But I’m going to come up with a plan. I have to.”
“No, we’ll come up with a plan,” Stella replied firmly. “But not now. We need to try to get some sleep. We can figure all of this out in the morning—well, later this morning.”
Cora sighed and nodded reluctantly. But as she and Stella made their way through the door leading back into the Big Dipper Dormitory, and headed down the glass staircase to their room, she knew there was no way she would be able to get any sleep.
After they had used their toothlights and changed into their pajamas, Cora gave Stella a quick hug and watched her head up the staircase to bed. Of course Cora wanted to fall asleep—to let good dreams replace all the lingering memories of the trouble she had caused—but as she lay beneath her covers, she was more awake than ever. Feelings of guilt and regret were squeezing her heart so hard that she could barely breathe. She had to do something. It simply couldn’t wait.
So Cora pushed back her soft blue blanket, got out of bed, and quickly changed into her favorite navy-blue leggings, boots, and a long sweater. Then she pulled on a blue knit cap and tiptoed to the staircase leading up to Stella’s bed, where she waited until she could hear the sounds of her friend’s deep, rhythmic breathing—the unmistakable sign that she was fast asleep. Once Cora was certain that Stella wouldn’t catch her, she headed out.
The journey to the Negative Energy Facility was a long one, but Cora hoped she could make it there and back before Stella woke up. The prospect of being able to give her friend good news later that morning kept her going, providing her the energy she needed to travel at the swiftest pace possible. As she walked along the quiet roads, bathed in shimmering moonlight, she followed the route on her Star-Zap and soon found herself heading through Dimtown, located on the outskirts of Starland City. Unlike on the rest of Starland, the homes and buildings and even the plants, trees, and Starlings who lived in the region were slightly muted, lacking the vibrant colors and sparkle found elsewhere. It was the first sign that she was getting closer to her destination.
Finally, Cora came to a small hill covered in dry brown grass, and when she reached the top, she could see a dark, ominous cave in the distance. Her heart felt heavy with dread as she checked the Star-Zap to confirm what she suspected: inside that cave was the Negative Energy Facility. It was the most desolate and terrifying place on all of Starland—the sort of place that Starlings spoke about only rarely, in hushed tones or while trying to scare each other as they gathered around a campfire, telling ghost stories.
The area wasn’t slightly shadowy like Dimtown, nor did it glow like the rest of Starland. Instead, the jagged cliffs surrounding the cave smoldered in hues of sinister blue and gray, and the plants growing out of the dusty ground were shriveled and gnarled, as if negative energy had somehow seeped out of the facility and consumed them all. Cora shuddered as she realized that perhaps it had—that maybe the air was indeed heavy and thick with a toxic force and if she got any closer, it might swallow her up, too!
As apprehensive as she was, Cora slowly made her way down the hill and followed the long, winding path leading toward the cave. She caught her breath when she finally arrived at the cave’s craggy opening. Peering inside, she could see the entirety of the Negative Energy Facility towering above her. Rising from its perilously sharp rocky base was an enormous tear-shaped dome that swirled in shades of purple and indigo, with dark, bruised, disease-like spots. Its vaulted form was a physical manifestation of its misery, as it seemed to lurch and wail from the pain of all the Bad Wish Orbs it contained.
Trembling, Cora wondered if she could really accomplish what she had set out to do. What if Stella was right—what if she wasn’t able to get inside the facility? At least when they went down to Wishworld, they had learned enough about the place in their classes to be somewhat prepared for what they would find and how they could navigate it. But this was truly the great unknown—the NEF was a place that no books or classes had ever prepared her for. All she knew was that it was to be avoided at all costs.
As Cora crept closer to the facility, she saw that the heavy black iron door had an enormous combination security lock. She got closer and began punching in numbers, but it was no use. How was she going to crack the code? There was no way. Already glimpsing her defeat, she decided she shouldn’t have made the journey after all—but as she neared the opening of the cave, she saw a vehicle kicking up a cloud of dust, and it was heading straight toward her! Who could it be and why would they be heading for the Negative Energy Facility? Moreover, what would they do if they saw Cora there? With her pulse racing, she quickly ducked behind a large rock. It was her only option, as the vehicle was getting closer and she wouldn’t be able to slip by without being caught in its headlights.
Cora sucked in her breath as the vehicle slowly drove past her hiding spot. It was an enormous yellow truck with painted black letters spelling out “B.W.O.T. ~ BAD WISH ORB TRANSPORT” on the side. It drove right up to the door of the Negative Energy Facility, and two male Starlings, along with an enormous Armored Law Enforcement Bot-Bot, emerged. The Starlings wore glowing yellow hooded jumpsuits and heavy black boots, and Cora assumed they were Bad Wish Orb Gatherers. Meanwhile, the armored Bot-Bot was taller than any Cora had ever seen b
efore, with big silver plates covering its mechanical arms and legs, huge black wheels for feet, and glowing purple eyes.
All three headed to the back of the truck, where one of the Wish Gatherers flung open the doors to reveal a crate with several Bad Wish Orbs—each one crackling and glowing in sinister purple hues and, worse, making awful wailing noises. That was when Cora was almost certain she heard the unmistakable sobs—the same cry-gasp-hiccup—that she and Stella had heard when they first met Amy down on Wishworld! Could they actually be Amy’s cries, coming from inside her Bad Wish Orb? Cora knew she had to find out—but how? The Armored Law Enforcement Bot-Bot was quite literally attached to the crate of Bad Wish Orbs so it could transport them inside. There was no way Cora could get near them while he was there.
Squeezing her eyes shut, Cora searched her heart and mind for a strategy—something, anything, that would allow her to get to that Bad Wish Orb. Then it came to her: she would need to get close enough to observe the Wish Gatherers as they entered the code to open the door to the Negative Energy Facility, so she could gain access after they left and then find Amy’s Bad Wish Orb! So she began to focus all her energy on levitating, just as she and Stella had practiced many times before. Slowly but surely, she rose off the ground and stealthily floated to the facility entrance, where the Wish Gatherers were about to punch in the code that would open the door. The moment they began pressing the buttons on the silver keypad, Cora memorized the sequence. That was it! Now all she had to do was wait until they finished putting the Bad Wish Orbs inside and left—and then she would finally get her chance to undo all the damage she’d done on that fateful journey to Wishworld.
With the code committed to memory, Cora returned to her hiding place and waited for the Wish Gatherers and the armored Bot-Bot to complete their work. At last, they emerged from the Negative Energy Facility, slid the door closed and locked it behind them, and then climbed into their vehicle. After they’d driven a safe distance away, Cora steeled herself for what she was about to do. It was time.
Although her hands were shaking almost uncontrollably when she got to the door, Cora managed to enter the lock code as the Wish Gatherers had, and breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the clicking sound of the heavy bolt releasing. Her pale blue eyes widened as she carefully slid the door open a crack and peered inside, where a fine mist of gray fog swirled all around and the awful sounds of moaning and wailing were louder than ever. Realizing how heavy the door was, she suddenly worried that it might slide closed behind her—and she might be trapped inside the Negative Energy Facility forever! She had to do something to make sure that wouldn’t happen. Scanning the ground, which was littered with shiny bits of black rock and debris, she zeroed in on a piece of rock large enough to hold the door open. It was only about the size of her hand, but it would do the trick. When she reached down to grab it, she noticed it was uncomfortably icy to the touch but also quite solid. So she quickly used it to wedge the door open a crack, confident that it would remain that way until she was ready to leave the facility.
Then, as frightened as she was, Cora headed inside, careful not to disturb the orbs. The farther she went, the more a force seemed to be pulling at her—and she was more certain than ever that she could hear Amy’s distinctive sobs. So she slowly made her way past one Bad Wish Orb after another, each glassy black sphere crackling and glowing with terrifying purple sparks as it ducked and bobbed, struggling to stay afloat in the noxious air.
At last Cora arrived at the spot where the sound of Amy’s cries seemed to be the loudest, and one of the orbs began circling her head, hissing and glowing with a tortured purple aura as its sobs grew louder and then louder still. That was the one! It had to be Amy’s Bad Wish Orb! It must have recognized Cora and pulled her toward it somehow—and as alarming as that realization was, it also made her task clearer: she had to destroy it.
Cora thought about everything she’d learned in Practice Wish Orb Mastery class. Could she get inside this orb the same way she did with the practice ones? But if she did that, would she be able to destroy the bad wish—or would she simply return to the spot where she and Stella had met Amy, where they had already failed to reverse, let alone destroy, the bad wish? Although the answers remained unclear, Cora suddenly felt compelled to take hold of the orb.
As Cora’s hands came into contact with its surface, she felt prickly jolts like it was shocking her, and the sounds of Amy’s cries grew even louder until they became a scream so deafening that Cora thought she might not be able to hold on any longer. She wrapped her fingers around the orb, clutching it as tightly as possible. But that only caused it to quake and shock her with an even greater force until, suddenly, it exploded! Cora watched in horror as glassy shards flew in every direction and a massive terrifying cloud of gray fog was released. Then Cora was the one screaming and crying as the poisonous mist began to circle her like a tornado—just as it had Amy on Wishworld. After what felt like an eternity, the fog finally left her and proceeded to writhe and slither toward the open doorway of the Negative Energy Facility like a huge, hideous serpent.
Until that moment, Cora had been frozen in place, paralyzed with fear. But as she watched the cloud of negative energy heading for the outside world, the fear she felt was gone. She watched with a detached interest as the toxic cloud escaped, sliding through the crack in the doorway into the Starland atmosphere.
Cora felt a chill run down her spine, like a jolt of dark electricity. She walked toward the door, then quickly bent down to grab the black rock that had been keeping it wedged open. Without even thinking about why, she placed it in the pocket of her sweater. As she did so, she felt a surprising surge of power.
Next Cora slid through the doorway and headed out of the facility, stopping only long enough to close the door and secure the lock before making her way out of the cave. It wasn’t until she got to the outside path that she discovered she wasn’t alone. There, standing by the boulder where Cora had hidden from the Bad Wish Orb transport vehicle, was Stella!
As she watched Cora walking away from the Negative Energy Facility, Stella felt like her legs might buckle beneath her. She didn’t know what was more frightening—the fact that she’d found her best friend in one of the most treacherous places on all of Starland, or that a huge cloud of negative energy had blown out of the facility and almost directly into Stella as soon as she arrived.
“Stella!” Cora gasped, and flung her arms around her friend. “What are you doing here?”
Stella pulled away from Cora and tried to reconcile the conflicting emotions she was feeling—fury over her best friend’s doing something so reckless, relief that she had made it out of the facility without any obvious damage, and worry that she might have been harmed in some way. Concern finally won out as Stella grabbed Cora’s hands.
“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” she said. “Are you?”
“I think so!” Cora nodded with a fiery look in her pale blue eyes as she slowly pulled the knit cap off her head, revealing a tangled mess of long, shimmering blue hair. “I think I found Amy’s orb, Stella—and I got rid of it!”
“Really? That’s great,” Stella said with a weak smile. It was hard for her to focus on Cora’s victory without also acknowledging what had gone wrong. “I thought we agreed that you weren’t going to come here, though.”
“I know,” Cora replied. “But I couldn’t sleep—and the more I thought about it, the more I realized this was our only option.”
Stella shook her head, fighting back the tears of frustration and rage that were beginning to burn her eyes. “You should have waited for me!”
“I couldn’t—I knew you wouldn’t agree to come.” Cora frowned with a bitter intensity unlike anything Stella had ever seen before.
“You’re right,” Stella acknowledged, turning away from her friend and shivering as she looked at the jagged cliffs of the cave. “But when I saw that you were headed in this direction, I didn’t exactly have a choice.”
>
“How did you know I was coming here?” Cora asked. “You were asleep when I left.”
“Yes, I was.” Stella nodded, gently closing her eyes and wishing that she’d never left the safety and comfort of her bed and dorm room—and that Cora hadn’t, either. Finally, she turned back around to face her friend. “But I had a nightmare. About Amy. It was so terrible that it woke me up, and when I went downstairs to tell you about it, you were gone. I was so worried! When I searched for you on my Friend Finder and saw where you were going, I came as fast as I could.”
“Well, we don’t need to worry about Amy anymore.” Cora tossed her head triumphantly. “That nightmare is over and done with for good.”
“But, Cora,” Stella said, widening her eyes at her friend. “Didn’t you see what happened? Didn’t you see that gust of gray fog escaping from the facility?”
Stella felt her stomach lurch as she thought about how close the thick, horrible cloud had come to her. It was far more awful than the Bad Wish Orb that had nearly hit her on the way to the Celestial Café the previous day.
“Oh, that,” Cora said with a shrug. “Yes, I saw it.”
“Don’t you realize what it was?” Stella asked.
“I guess it was a bit of negative energy,” Cora replied, glancing back at the facility.
“A bit?” Stella barked, growing more furious by the moment. “It was huge! And now it’s out in the Starland atmosphere!” Then concern for her friend won out again. “It didn’t touch you, did it?”
“I…don’t think so.” Cora shook her head, but Stella suddenly noticed that her face had lost some of its shine, and even her hair and clothes had less sparkle to them.
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