by T. S. Hall
Allora felt strangely at ease, regardless of the fact that she had no idea what they were actually driving into. Being with her friends on a road trip felt normal and fun, a stress release from the threat of death, another life in a strange world, and a responsibility she didn’t understand or want. She put her head out the window and closed her eyes. The wind hit her face and tossed her long, brown hair against the window of the car. The sun pierced through the scattered white clouds, warming her skin. Spring had arrived, offering a bountiful display of colors, definitely a nice change from the rainy, gray, snowy, cold gloom of winter.
They reached Roseburg sooner than they expected. Tanner pulled over to gas up the car, and the others took the opportunity to use the bathroom before they reconvened at the car.
“I got front this time!” Dax said excitedly.
Allora conceded and hopped in the back with Katie, then pulled out the parchment, which they’d tucked into plastic for safekeeping and protection from the elements. As Tanner drove out of the gas station and headed east, toward the lake, Allora unfolded the sheet and rested it on the seat between her and Katie. She turned it over and gazed at the symbols, arranged in a neat line down the left side. In the middle were seemingly random numbers, though they were arranged sequentially, and one word ran along the edge. “Credo,” Allora read out loud.
“What’s that mean?” Katie asked.
“Mr. Swan told me it means, ‘I believe,’” Allora answered.
“Wonder how that plays into it?” Katie said.
“I don’t know, but I’m sure we’ll find out,” Allora said, staring out the window.
Tanner turned the car south, onto Crater Lake Highway. Tall pines, still covered with patches of snow that hadn’t gotten the memo that spring had arrived, lined the road to the lake. A natural perfume of fresh pine and floral scents filled the air. A vibrant green peeked from the snow-covered trees.
When Tanner pulled the car onto Rim Drive and circled the lake, they looked out the left-hand window, crowding against the glass. Tanner had to push Dax back so he could maintain his grip on the steering wheel. Mounds of snow lined the road as they zigzagged through the forest on top of the ridge.
At the end of the road, the visitor center appeared at the end of a large parking lot, a grandiose building made of oak, built on the edge of the ridge.
They scurried out of the car and ran to the edge of a steep canyon. The picturesque landscape seemed surreal. They were standing on a rocky outcrop, hanging on to a wood fence, looking down a steep vertical incline that dropped hundreds of feet below. At the bottom of the bowl-shaped canyon was a majestic, crystal-blue lake, sparkling in the sun.
Allora focused on one particular monument on the left side of the lake. Wizard’s Island jutted out of the water like a miniature volcano, rising from the deep abyss below. She couldn’t contain her excitement. She was sure The Eye of the Titans was somewhere on that island, and they were so close to finding it. The excitement subsided as she realized the gravity and pressure of their next step. “This isn’t gonna be easy,” Allora said.
“That’s okay,” Tanner encouraged. “We’re used to doing things the hard way by now, right?”
“Right,” Allora said, casting him a sideways grin, then returned her eyes to stare out at the imposing task before them.
“What now?” Dax asked.
“We wait,” Allora said, feeling the weight of nervous anticipation. She pointed down to the boat dock at the bottom of the canyon. “That’s where we’ll set out from. We’ll have to hang around until dark, and then we’ll ‘borrow’ one of those small boats to get over to the island.”
They all turned around and headed for the car.
“‘Borrow’?” Dax said, lifting his eyebrows.
Allora smiled mischievously. “Just for a little while. We’ll give it back… if we can.”
“Grand theft boating, huh? That’s gonna be a difficult thing to explain if we get caught,” Dax replied as they walked back to the car. “Sorry, Officer. We were just borrowing the boat so we could sneak over to that island and find an alien artifact to help us defeat mythological beasts who are trying to kill us.”
“Well, when you put it that way, it sounds totally believable,” Tanner said.
Laughter followed as they all got back into Tanner’s dirt covered Bronco.
He drove to a secluded area of the woods down the road, a flat, dirt clearing on the edge of a cliff on the southeastern side of the lake. The view was amazing, so they pulled out some chairs and set them up to face outward, over the cliff. It was around three o’clock in the afternoon, so they had to kill some time before sunset. None of them were sure how they were going to obtain the boat and get it started without anyone catching them, but that was a bridge they’d have to cross when they got to it.
After eating some snacks, they sat and thought about the voyage across the lake. After about an hour of discussing possible meanings of the strange markings on the back of the parchment, Dax and Katie went on a short hike to clear their heads. Tanner went to the car to retrieve the equipment they needed for their expedition, leaving Allora alone to marvel at the sun descending into the western horizon. The evening sky was clear, bursting into a rainbow of violets, oranges, and reds.
Tanner walked up, dropped the supplies in the chair, and moved next to Allora. “Wow,” he said.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Allora said.
“Yes it is,” he said, gazing at her.
Allora twisted around and realized he didn’t have his eyes on the sunset. Confused for a moment, she glanced up at Tanner. Their minute of gazing upon each other felt like days. Allora caught Tanner’s motion toward her hand. She felt the warm touch of his fingers, inching their way past her palm and curling in the crevices between her fingers. Nervous warmth flowed throughout her body, permeating her cheeks. The stubborn, independent, strong-minded girl gave way to a more innocent, shy young woman, as though Tanner had knocked down her walls with the touch of his finger. When he stepped closer, Allora’s eyes fluttered, still gazing into Tanner’s. Her heart beat faster with every inch of space that closed between them.
Just as the sun submerged into the background, Tanner’s lips neared Allora’s, and his chest lightly touched hers. His body was warm, his heart beating in rhythm with hers. Almost there, he thought as his mouth moved ever closer to her.
“Whoa! Am I interrupting something here?” Dax said, coming out of the woods.
“You always have great timing, buddy,” Tanner said.
Allora let go of the embrace, embarrassed by the intrusion.
Katie walked up behind Dax and slapped him on the back. “I told you to wait!” she said.
“It’s no big deal,” Allora said, trying to play it off. “It’s not like we were doing anything,” she lied, glaring at Tanner and silently demanding that he back her up.
“Yeah,” Tanner said awkwardly, “nothing happened.”
“Dude, you’re a horrible liar,” Dax said.
Allora shook her head. “We don’t have time for this. We’ve got a boat to steal… er, borrow.”
They all took her lead, altering their moods to a more serious demeanor. As much as Dax wanted to harass the two, there were more important matters at hand. Allora quickly reverted back to her usual guarded personality. Even though the three were her best friends, she was embarrassed and confused by her feelings for Tanner. Her mind and body began to swim with exuberance as she recalled their near-kiss and the closeness of their bodies beneath that glorious sunset, but the logical side quickly took over. She shook her head, changing her thoughts to the unemotional operation that required her complete attention. She moved with a purpose while everyone else hurried to keep up.
“Hey,” Tanner said quietly, “I just wanted to—”
Allora interrupted before he could speak his mind. “Not now, Tanner,” she stated flatly, then walked faster.
Tanner slowed down, unsure and a bit hurt that she
was being so abrasive.
Katie sped past him and ran up alongside Allora. She didn’t say anything, as she knew her best friend was in no mood for girl talk.
Dax patted Tanner on the shoulder. “Women,” he said, shaking his head. “They’re like the universe.”
“The universe?” Tanner questioned.
“Yep. Vast, treacherous, and unexplainable,” Dax said, laughing at himself and stepping past his bewildered friend to follow the girls down the hill.
Tanner marched forward, knowing he had to keep his wits about him for what lay ahead.
Night was fast approaching, and they had to hurry because they didn’t want to risk using their flashlights and being caught. They made it down the ridge to the water’s edge, moving along the rocks silently, inching their way to the docks ahead.
Allora pointed to a small boat with an outboard motor attached on the end. As they reached the back of the equipment shed at the base of the dock, they heard footsteps. Allora stopped suddenly and held up her hand, causing Dax to slip on a rock, and crash into the water.
The splashing sound initiated a response from the park ranger, who’d been about to head back up the crater. Allora motioned for everyone to quickly get under the dock, and Tanner was the last to scurry into hiding. The park ranger knelt down and shined his flashlight around, scanning the shore and the rippling water.
Pinned awkwardly against the back of the dock, the four pushed each other closer, trying to become invisible. The rocks were wet and slippery and reeked with the stench of dead, rotten fish. Katie audibly gagged, causing the light to jump from the water to the back of the dock, and Allora was certain they would be caught. The light scanned the rock they were hiding behind, then suddenly retreated.
Next, they heard the muffled sounds of someone in the distance.
“Let’s go, Harry!” the voice said. “What’s taking so long?”
“I thought I heard something,” Harry answered.
Allora looked up between the cracks of the wood planks at the puzzled face of the park ranger.
“Meh, it’s probably just an animal,” the other ranger argued. “I’m not about to miss out on my wife’s meatloaf so you can investigate a ferret sighting.”
The park ranger ignored his buddy and continued scanning the area. A moment later, he gave up and finally headed back up the cliff.
The four let out a collective sigh of relief when they heard the man’s footsteps disappearing up the dirt path. They stayed under the dock for some time, until they were sure the nosy ranger was far enough away.
When they finally crawled out, covered in mud and debris, Tanner untied the boat. “We should probably pull it along the bank so they don’t see us paddling out into the middle of the lake,” Tanner whispered.
“Good idea,” Dax said.
Trekking along the edge of the water took a long time. The moon was high in the night sky, beckoning them forward, like a guiding light to their final destination. Stars glittered in the sky, scattered majestically in their usual patterns. With each passing rock, their task became more real and arduous. At certain spots along their journey around the lake, they were required to get in the boat and paddle along the edge of the water. Occasionally, a foot or hand would slip into the glacial waters, causing a sudden spasm of pain. When they reached the point in the lake where the span of water between them and the island was shortest, they headed out.
The hard-trekked journey was forgotten as soon as they reached the island. Allora put her left foot on a large boulder to hold the boat steady so the others could disembark safely and dryly. Tanner helped her pull the boat onto the sandy bank, while the other two looked around.
“Witch’s Cauldron is at the top of the island,” Allora said. “That’s where the directions say we should go.”
With only the moon to guide them, the group hiked up the steep incline. They weaved through trees and occasionally had to crawl up small, rocky hills, tripping over branches here and there. Still, none were brave or foolish enough to turn on their flashlights. The experience with the park ranger had left them paranoid, and they knew flashlights could be seen from anywhere along the ridge of the crater, so the moonlight would have to suffice.
When they reached the top, Allora pulled out the parchment. “‘A witch’s cauldron with secrets to bear,’” she said, repeating the riddle she’d read numerous times, “‘with stones you enter, but do beware.’”
“What the hell does that mean?” Katie asked, surveying the barren, rock-filled crater.
Witch’s Cauldron wasn’t anything spectacular, and since the incline of the bowl-shaped crater at the top of the hill wasn’t steep, they steadily walked down the rocky slope to the middle, where a collection of boulders and rocks were scattered on the floor. There were small shrubs, but no sign of an entrance of any kind. They were all perplexed and a bit frustrated by the normality of the landscape.
“I don’t get it,” Allora said. “I thought it would be clear when we got here.”
“Yeah, well, I think we all thought the same thing,” Katie said sympathetically.
They spent almost an hour searching through the dirt and rock, to no avail.
“I think it’s time for a break,” Dax said, sitting down on a boulder.
Allora plopped herself on another rock beside him, and the other two found stone seats of their own. Tanner had packed sandwiches, a bottle of water, and an energy bar for each of them, and the midnight snack was nice compensation for all of their physical exertion. The moon hung overhead as they chewed.
Dax opened his bottle of water and drank about half of it, then placed the bottle next to him on the rock in order to finish his sandwich. The rock wasn’t flat, however, so the bottle tipped over, spilling the remainder of his water all over the boulder. “Oh, come on!” he said, getting up from his seat. “Sis, I’m still thirsty. Can I have some of yours?”
“Um… no,” Katie replied. “You always backwash in it.”
“Pleeeease,” Dax begged. “I’m so thirsty.”
“Maybe you shoulda been more careful then,” Katie said, grabbing her water from her lap before Dax could snatch it.
While the two siblings wrestled for the bottle, Allora noticed something. “Hey, guys!” she said, pointing to the boulder where Dax had spilled the water. “Look!”
The siblings stopped fighting, and both rotated their heads to see a thin light shining off the slanting edge of the boulder. The water had washed away some of the dirt that covered it, exposing some sort of reflective surface. The beam of light was faint, but moonlight bounced off the rock, pointing toward the other side of the cauldron.
Allora walked over and dumped the rest of her water on the boulder. “Do you have an extra shirt or towel in your bag?” she asked Tanner.
Tanner unzipped his backpack and withdrew a towel. “I guess this is as good a time as any to use this,” he said, handing it over.
Allora wiped the dirt, revealing a shiny black surface below. When she stepped back, a bright stream of moonlight reflected off the rock, only to stop at a specific spot on the ground about twenty feet away, like a marker of some sort.
All four Sonorans walked over and began digging into the ground. After a few minutes of excavation, Allora gently brushed the dirt away to reveal a magnificent black stone, a little dusty but radiant nonetheless. No one knew what it was or what to do with it, but Allora pulled out the parchment and turned it over. When the moonlight hit the surface, it exposed a compass, etched in silver. The shapes on the parchment were now surrounded by the same silver ink, creating a series of very distinct shapes.
“Whoa!” Katie said, huddling closer to Allora. “Did you notice that before?”
“No. It just appeared,” Allora said, staring like the rest of them. “It must have something to do with the moonlight or this area or something. I’m not exactly an expert on magic parchments. Anyone got any suggestions?” she asked her companions.
“Maybe we have to a
rrange the stones according to how they correspond with the compass,” Katie said, pointing at the first symbol. “See? This symbol and the rock are the same shape.”
“Nice work, Katie. Let’s try it.” Allora positioned the parchment with the “N” facing the North Star, silently thanking her mother for forcing her to join Girl Scouts. Didn’t sell all those cookies for nothing, I guess, she thought. Next, she turned the black stone counterclockwise. As she did, she could feel the stone grinding against the circular rock underneath, and the stone moved as if she were winding up a toy. As soon as the rock was positioned like the picture, they heard a clink. The circular rock, along with the black stone, sank into the ground, and the four scooted along the gravel, crawling backward to escape the sinkhole that was quickly forming.
When nothing further happened, Allora turned back to the parchment. “There are more symbols, so I guess that means there are more stones. Pour some water on those boulders outside the cauldron and wipe them down,” she ordered.
They each chose a boulder and began cleaning it, until five beams of light angled from outside the cauldron in every direction, crossing in the middle. Next, the boys dug up the stones, while the girls arranged each one according to the position on the parchment. “This rocks!” Dax joked, drawing eye-rolls from everyone at his horrible pun.
When they got to the last stone, Allora paused before turning it. She looked up at her three friends in anticipation. “Here goes nothing.”
Twenty
ISLAND
Allora turned the stone to its correct position, according to the diagram, and the round rock sank into the ground like the others. Again, she scurried backward to avoid the sinking ground. To everyone’s surprise, even after the rock sank farther into the ground, nothing happened. They hoped for some sign of what to do next, but even the air remained eerily still. The cold air escaped their mouths in puffs of mist against the moonlight. A sense of frustration and disappointment came over the four, like lighting a wick on a firecracker that doesn’t explode.