Look Out! Ghost Mountain Below

by Lin Oliver

  “What’s that?” Luna whispered.

  “It sounds like a rattlesnake,” I said in a low voice.

  I had never heard a rattlesnake for real, only on a TV special I had seen about snakes. But that noise was exactly the way they sounded on television.

  “Nobody move until we see where it is,” David whispered.

  “I see it,” Luna said. “It’s behind a rock near your foot, David. And it’s all coiled up.”

  Oh no. Another thing I learned from that television show is that a rattlesnake’s most dangerous strike comes when it’s in the coiled position.

  No one moved a muscle. We stood there, listening to that awful rattle grow louder. Suddenly, there was the sound of hoof steps followed by a tremendous clatter. I turned around just in time to see Chives bolt over to David, grab him, and pull him away from the snake. David and Chives fell to the ground and rolled across the cave, stopping only when they smashed into the opposite wall. Startled, the snake slithered away and disappeared through a crack in the cave wall.

  Luna and I ran to David and Chives.

  “Are you hurt?” I asked. “Did you get bitten?”

  “I think I’m okay,” David said.

  David put his hand out, and Luna and I pulled him off the rocky cave floor. His shirt was torn and his elbow was cut, but other than that, he wasn’t hurt.

  “Chives,” David said. “I could have died. You saved me. How can I ever thank you?”

  David held his hand out to help Chives up. Chives didn’t move.

  “Hey, buddy,” David said. “You’re a hero.”

  Chives didn’t answer. Quickly, we kneeled around him. I put my hands under his head. His eyes were closed. I couldn’t tell if he was breathing.

  “Chives,” I pleaded. “Talk to me. Say something.”

  Ever so slowly, his eyes fluttered open.

  “Is David all right?” he said very softly.

  “He’s fine,” Luna said. “You pulled him away from the snake just in time.”

  “Thank goodness.” A little smile crossed his face.

  “Come on, buddy,” David said. “Let me help you up. We’ve got some time-traveling to do.”

  David helped Chives into a sitting position, but when Chives tried to stand up, he couldn’t. He squealed in pain and fell back onto the floor of the cave.

  “It’s my leg,” he said.

  Luna reached out and gently touched one of Chives’s stubby legs.

  “Does it hurt when I touch it?” she asked.

  “Ow,” was all he could say.

  “Should we see if you can walk on it?” I asked.

  “Let me catch my breath for moment,” Chives said.

  We waited, watching him breathe in and out. After a few breaths, Luna took him gently by the arm.

  “Come on, Chives,” she said. “You’ve got to try to walk.”

  “I did try, but I don’t think I can, dear girl.”

  “My grandma says that if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”

  “She’s a wise woman. I’ll give it a mighty effort.”

  Once again, Chives attempted to stand up, but he couldn’t. The minute he put any weight on his leg, he doubled over in pain.

  “I can’t walk,” Chives said. “You three are going to have to go on without me.”

  “I can carry you on my back,” David said. “I’m strong.”

  David was strong, but not strong enough. When he tried to lift Chives and put him on his back, he couldn’t even straighten up.

  “Tiger,” Chives said. “Get my watch and tell me the time, if you please.”

  I took the gold watch from his pocket and popped it open. It was getting very late, but I didn’t want to tell him the time. If Chives knew how little time we had, he would make us go, make us leave him behind.

  “We have enough time,” I lied. “Let’s try to get you up again. We’re a team.”

  “We all know you’ll never make it by five o’clock with me along,” Chives said. “You must go, and go now!”

  “But we can’t leave you here alone,” I said. “You’re hurt. You need help.”

  David stood up and turned to face us.

  “I’ll take care of him,” he said. “You two go home. I’ll stay with Chives.”

  “No, young David,” Chives said. “I can’t have it this way. Your mother is waiting for you. You must go to her.”

  David kneeled next to Chives and patted his arm gently.

  “You have stayed with my mother for all of the fifty years I’ve been gone,” he said. “You have cared for her, served her, and loved her. Now it’s time for our family to take care of you. For me to take care of you.”

  “But how?” Luna asked. “It’s scary up here. You’ll be alone. You’ve heard the stories. There may be ghosts or skinwalkers on this mountain. Not to mention the rattlesnakes.”

  “We’ll be okay,” David said. “Chives can rest here. I’ll try to get help. And one day, as soon as you can, you and Tiger will return to bring us home.”

  “This isn’t fair,” Luna cried.

  “But it’s the right thing to do,” David said. “That’s more important.”

  “You must go, children,” Chives said. “Every second is precious.”

  It was hard to say good-bye to David, and almost impossible to say good-bye to Chives.

  “Take care of yourself,” Luna said to him. “We’ll be back for you.”

  “We’ll just be on the other side of the fantastic frame,” I told him. I was so choked up, I could barely finish the sentence.

  “We’ll see you again,” David said. “But only if you hurry now.”

  “We’ll run like the wind,” Luna said.

  And without a backward glance, she took my hand and we left the cave, crossed the ledge, and ran down the trail as fast as our legs would go.

  CHAPTER 10

  I tried not to look at the watch as we made our way down the trail. I knew it would only make me more nervous to see the minutes ticking away. When we reached the bottom, Luna insisted that I give her the watch to check the time.

  “It’s five minutes to five,” she said.

  That was not good news. We still had to make it down the gravel road before the hour of power began. It didn’t seem possible. I looked around, hoping for a miracle.

  And one came.

  An old car was coming down the road toward us. It seemed like it had appeared out of nowhere. Maybe the spirits of Cerro Pedernal were watching over us. The good spirits.

  I happen to love cars, and this one was a classic.

  “That’s a Model A Ford,” I said to Luna.

  “I don’t care if it’s the Batmobile,” Luna said. “As long as it’s running.”

  We waved our hands and the car pulled up next to us. The driver was a woman about my grandmother’s age. Her hair was pulled straight back, and she was wearing a black cowboy hat and a long black skirt.

  “Excuse me, ma’am,” Luna said. “Would you mind giving us a ride up the road?”

  The woman leaned over and opened the door. “Hop in,” she said. “I was just heading over to Ghost Ranch, which is in the same direction.”

  As we climbed in, we saw a cow skull on the passenger seat, just like the one we had seen at the entrance to the trail. Luna nearly jumped out of her skin.

  “Oh, don’t be frightened of that,” the woman said with a laugh. “It won’t hurt you. I just like to paint them.”

  We squeezed into the back, behind the passenger seat. I had only seen Model A Fords in pictures. This woman sure didn’t take good care of hers. It was really messy in there, piled up with paints and brushes, not to mention cow skulls.

  “Right up there would be fine,” Luna said, pointing to a flat stretch of road.

  The woman pulled over and let us off.

  “Thank you so much for the ride, Miss …”

  “O’Keeffe,” she said. “But everyone here calls me Georgia.”

  Just lik
e that, she was gone, chugging down the road in her Model A Ford.

  “Luna, that was Georgia O’Keeffe,” I said. “Isn’t that amazing?”

  “Yes, but it’s going to have to be amazing some other time,” she said. “I checked the watch. We have one minute.”

  We could still see the marks on the gravel where we had landed, exactly an hour before. We lay down right on top of them and waited.

  Gradually, the ground started to rumble. The colors of the New Mexico sky began to swirl—first blue, then gray, then all the colors of the rainbow at once. I felt myself floating above the road. I reached out and grabbed Luna’s hand.

  “Are you ready?” I said.

  “The hour of power is ending!” she called. “Here we go!”

  A strong gust of wind picked me up and spun me around. It was like a roller-coaster ride, but without the roller coaster. I opened my eyes for a second. Far below, I saw Cerro Pedernal rising up from the valley, its flat top hiding the secret cave where Chives and David would stay.

  That was the last thought I remember having. The next thing I saw was two eyes staring into mine. They belonged to Viola Dots.

  I sat up and looked across her living room at the painting of Cerro Pedernal. The hole was still there, but I could see it beginning to close.

  “Luna!” I called.

  With her arms out in front of her like Superman, Luna came bursting through the hole in the painting and skidded to a stop right in front of me. Viola Dots ran to us.

  “Where are the others?” she asked.

  “Chives got hurt,” I said.

  “Oh no!” Viola cried. “What happened?”

  “He can’t walk,” I explained. “David was going to come home with us, but he stayed behind to take care of Chives.”

  Viola ran to the painting and touched its surface, but the hole had closed up. “They’re both gone now,” she said. “David! Why did you do this?”

  “Because your son is the kindest person I’ve ever met,” Luna said. “He’s a good son and an even better friend.”

  Viola began to cry.

  “They’re safe,” I told her. “They’re in a cave on Cerro Pedernal.”

  “But I was counting on today,” Viola cried. “It’s my eightieth birthday. I’m growing old. I may never be able to see my son again. Or Chives. That foolish pig. How I love him, too.”

  She held her face in her hands and began to sob.

  “All I ever wanted for my birthday was to have David back,” Viola cried.

  “And you will,” I said. “Luna and I will go back for them. That’s a promise.”

  Luna went to Viola to give her a big Luna Special hug.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said. “You shouldn’t have to be this unhappy on your birthday.”

  “Maybe we can make it a little better,” I said. “We have a surprise for you.”

  “We do?” Luna asked, giving me a confused look.

  “Yes, we do. It’s not as good as having your son back, but it might help a little. My mom baked a special birthday cake. She wants to bring it over to you.”

  “I haven’t had a birthday cake in fifty years,” Viola said. “But she can’t come here. She’ll see the frame.”

  “Then you come to our house for your birthday party,” I said.

  “I don’t think I can go outside, Tiger. After all these years, I’m afraid.”

  “Just keep saying ‘I am brave,’” Luna said. “That’s what I do.”

  Luna took Viola by one arm, and I took the other. We guided her across the living room and out the front door. Of course, who was waiting on the sidewalk but stupid Cooper Starr. He stuck his tongue out at her, like the jerk that he is.

  “Excuse me a minute,” Luna said.

  She flew down the path and marched up to Cooper Starr. Putting her hands on her hips, she got right in his face and let loose. I couldn’t hear what she was saying, but I can tell you this: Cooper Starr jumped on his bike and rode away very fast.

  Luna came back up the path and held her hand out for Viola.

  “That’s taken care of,” she said.

  “You’re quite a girl,” Viola smiled.

  We walked Viola over to our duplex. Luna’s grandmother was outside gardening, and my mom was waiting at the door.

  “You must be Viola,” my mom said. “I hear it’s your birthday.”

  “Feliz cumpleaños,” Señora Lopez added.

  “Please, come inside,” my mom said.

  Luna’s grandmother stood up, linked her arm in Viola’s, and walked her into our kitchen. Viola’s birthday cake was waiting for her. Unfortunately, so was my sister, Maggie.

  “You have a lot of candles to blow out,” the little blabbermouth said to Viola. “That’s because you’re so old.”

  “Maggie!” my mom said. “That’s not nice.”

  “Oh, that’s all right,” Viola said, to my surprise. “I like an honest child.”

  My mom brought the cake to the table and lit the candles.

  “Make a wish,” Maggie said.

  “There’s only one thing that I want for my birthday,” Viola said. She looked at Luna and me. We knew that she was wishing for her son to be with her again.

  She took a breath and blew all the candles out.

  “Hooray, that means your wish will come true,” Luna said.

  As we ate our birthday cake, I thought of David and Chives. There we were, in our warm, safe, happy kitchen. And there they were, in a cold, damp cave with the wind roaring and the coyotes howling. I hoped the good spirits of Cerro Pedernal were watching over them.

  It made me happy to see Viola enjoying her cake and being among friends. Suddenly, it struck me that my wish was the same as hers—to bring David and Chives home safely from that ghostly mountain so far away.

  It was a big wish.

  And it was up to Luna and me to see that it came true.

  ABOUT THE PAINTING

  Georgia O’Keeffe (American, 1887–1986). Red Hills with the Pedernal, 1936. Pastel on paper mounted to wood-pulp board, 21-1/2 x 27-1/4 in. (54.6 x 69.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of Georgia O’Keeffe, 87.136.4.

  Red Hills with the Pedernal

  by Georgia O’Keeffe

  Georgia O’Keeffe is one of the most famous artists of the twentieth century. She was born in 1887 in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and grew up on a farm where she learned to love the land. Later in her career, she would become fascinated with the landscape of the badlands of New Mexico. She would walk the desert and hills, or drive in her Model A Ford, and paint what she saw. The painting in this book, Red Hills with the Pedernal, depicts a real mountain in the high desert of New Mexico. Georgia painted many versions of this beautiful flat-topped mesa. “It’s my private mountain,” she said. “It belongs to me. God told me if I painted it enough, I could have it.”

  When Georgia was starting out, it was very unusual for a woman to be a serious artist. Georgia was a pioneer. She studied art at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Students League in New York City. In 1916, some charcoal drawings she had done were discovered by Alfred Stieglitz, a well-known gallery owner in New York City. He displayed her work in his gallery, where her talent was discovered by the art world. Georgia and Alfred fell in love and were married in 1924. By that time, Georgia had begun to create her famous large-scale paintings of natural forms.

  Georgia O’Keeffe never painted people. She painted architecture, from the skyscrapers of New York City to the patio of her New Mexico home. She is best known for painting large close-ups of colorful flowers. She painted clouds and rocks and shells and bleached-out animal bones. She was fascinated with landscapes as well, and she came to specialize in the rugged land of northern New Mexico.

  Georgia O’Keeffe’s fascination with New Mexico began in 1929, when she traveled there from New York City to stay with a friend. Every summer after that, she returned to New Mexico to paint, until she moved there permanently in 1949 after her husband’s death.
She had two homes: a summer home in Ghost Ranch and a full-time home in the village of Abiquiú. For over twenty years, she painted the white cliffs, the red mountains, and the vast blue skies of New Mexico.

  Georgia O’Keeffe produced over two thousand works of art in her lifetime. She was one of the first women to receive her own exhibition at New York City’s world-famous Museum of Modern Art. When Georgia O’Keeffe died in 1986, her ashes were scattered from the top of her beloved Cerro Pedernal.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Lin Oliver is the New York Times best-selling author of more than thirty books for young readers. She is also a film and television producer, having created shows for Nickelodeon, PBS, Disney Channel, and Fox. The cofounder and executive director of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, she loves to hang out with children’s book creators. Lin lives in Los Angeles, in the shadow of the Hollywood sign, but when she travels, she visits the great paintings of the world and imagines what it would be like to be inside the painting—so you might say she carries her own fantastic frame with her!

  ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR

  Samantha Kallis is a Los Angeles–based illustrator and visual development artist. Since graduating from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, in 2010, her work has been featured in television, film, publishing, and galleries throughout the world. Samantha can be found most days on the porch of her periwinkle-blue Victorian cottage, where she lives with her husband and their two cats. More of her work can be seen on her website: www.samkallis.com.

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