Quest Chasers: The Deadly Cavern (A Magic Fantasy Adventure Book Series)

by Thomas Lockhaven

  “Drew, we get it.” Tommy raised his hands in an “it’s OK, we understand” gesture. “We just want to know where the tree is, so we can do a little investigating on our own, and keep anyone else from danger if they happen to venture near that tree.”

  Drew’s body gave an involuntary shiver as he thought about going back to the tree. “You guys are the only ones who believed me. Thank you…. I’ll show you how to find the tree.”

  Tommy nodded with a smile. “Don’t worry, you’re in good hands.”

  Eevie put her hand on Drew’s shoulder, her face becoming both determined and serious. “We’re going to figure this out, together.”

  Drew smiled appreciatively. Eevie has got to be the coolest girl I have ever met. I’ll never wash this shoulder either.

  “Let’s meet at my house at four,” said Tommy. “If we go to the bus stop, we can get off at Evergreen and we won’t have to worry about riding our bikes in the rain.”

  As if on cue, everyone looked skyward and watched as dark clouds raced like ghosts across the sky.

  “OK,” said Drew. “I’ll be there.”

  Eevie nodded. “Sounds good.”

  Black Hallow Park, Not Such a Happy Place...

  The bus groaned to a stop, engulfing the trio in a swirling plume of noxious exhaust. It was still early enough in the afternoon that the bus was mostly empty except for a few passengers interspersed throughout. Drew, Eevie, and Tommy squeezed into a bus seat and braced themselves as the bus lurched forward. Black Hallow Park was only about a mile away, and it seemed as if they had only been on the bus for a few seconds when the air brakes hissed like a deflating balloon.

  “That’s us,” said Tommy, jumping to his feet. “Let’s go.”

  The park’s entrance was surrounded by an old stone wall with a giant black wrought iron gate that read “Black Hallow Park: Founded 1779.” The park was immense with an area for camping, a nature museum with an auditorium, and a fully stocked lake with paddleboats and canoes where visitors could fish and swim. There were miles of paths that spread throughout the park like splayed fingers from a giant hand.

  The clouds had been patient enough, and now a steady rain began to fall. Eevie and the boys pulled their hoods up as they walked past the old iron gate. The thick cloud covering meant that it would be dark soon.

  “All right, Drew, let’s find this tree before Eevie begins to complain about her hair.”

  Drew managed a weak smile, his mind was busy replaying the events of just a couple days ago. “He’s just jealous, Eevie. We all know Tommy has the hair of a baby egret.”

  “I see how it is,” Tommy said with a smile. “My hair believes in quality, not quantity.”

  The group wound their way deeper into the forest. The path grew darker and darker as the canopy of trees blocked the last bit of remaining light. Solitary drops of water fell around them, victors over the other raindrops that were captured by the dense canopy of leaves that loomed above them.

  “Drew, are you sure you can remember the tree? It’s getting crazy dark in here and they all….” Just then Tommy stopped talking.

  Up ahead stood a magnificent tree. The trunk was twisted as if dozens of giant ropes had been coiled around each other. Unlike the other trees, there were very few leaves, and those that remained were a blackish brown color. Its branches erupted skyward like gnarled skeletal fingers. Roots like a jumble of veins and arteries surrounded the tree for what seemed like twenty feet or more. The tree was simply massive.

  “Thaaaattt’s the tree,” whispered Drew, his hand shaking as he pointed.

  Eevie drew in a sharp breath; her spine felt like it had turned to ice. Drew’s fear was palpable. With trembling fingers, she pulled out her iPhone. “I’m going to GeoMark our location; it will tag where we are using a GPS app.”

  Tommy just nodded—hearing, but not really listening.

  Next, Eevie clicked on the video button. The iPhone’s electronic ding sounded alien in the stillness of the forest.

  “What’s the plan?” Drew’s face was pale; cold sweat glistened on his forehead.

  “We’ll slowly approach the tree,” Tommy said. “Make sure you stay well outside the reach of those roots. I think as long as we are together we’ll be fine.” Tommy sounded more sure than he actually was. Inside he could feel the blood rushing to his ears with every heartbeat.

  As a group, they cautiously approached the tree, carefully stepping outside the intricate array of roots. Their eyes darted up and down, watching the tree and the roots for any movement. However, there was nothing, absolutely nothing. Just stillness.

  Tommy relaxed a little. “Is this what they mean when they say the calm before the storm?”

  “Heyyyyyy. What are you kids doing?!”

  Drew screamed, falling to the ground, while Eevie and Tommy jumped and spun around, crouching low. Through the darkness of the night, they could just make out the silhouette of a man standing on the path behind them. His long, angular face was deeply shadowed under the brim of his hat, but they could still feel the intensity of his stare. Tommy reached down and helped Drew to his feet. He could feel Drew trembling.

  “It’s OK, Drew,” Tommy whispered. “It’s just the park ranger, he’s…”

  “The park is about to close.” The ranger’s voice took on a tone of suspicion cutting off Tommy mid-sentence. “What are you three doing out here in the woods in the dark?” The park ranger slowly played his flashlight across their faces, blinding them.

  “We were just taking pictures of that beautiful old tree,” said Eevie, her voice shaking slightly. “We were just about to leave.”

  “In the dark?” The ranger didn’t wait for her answer. He stiffly walked past them toward the tree. Tommy noticed the ranger had a slight limp that gave his shadow a creepy jerk with each step.

  “Sir, Eevie is telling the truth,” Tommy explained. “Mrs. Keystone, our English teacher, asked everyone to do a report on a local legend. Eevie’s grandfather told us that this tree...well, that it had supernatural powers. We don’t really believe any of that; we just wanted to take some spooky pictures at night because we thought it would look creepier for our report. I’m sorry if we broke any park rules. We can just try to find some pictures online.”

  The ranger stared intently at Tommy and the rest of the group. He pulled his lips tight and nodded his head, then put his hand on the side of the giant tree. “This tree is over four hundred years old. It survived the devastating fire of 1856, when according to historical records, everything in this forest was burned down to the ground—yet somehow this tree survived. This tree has a lot of history. I’ll give you a little tidbit about this tree that you can use in your report…. About five years ago, we gave a couple of historians permission to use ground-penetrating radar devices around the tree.”

  “Why would you use radar around the tree? Can’t you just use a metal detector?” asked Eevie.

  “Ground-penetrating radar allows you to visually see if there is anything below the surface without damaging the environment. Metal detectors are great for finding buttons and knives and other types of artifacts, but you have to dig and they aren’t always reliable.”

  “Did they find anything?” asked Tommy.

  The ranger paused for a moment. “Yes. Yes, they did. They found a sword, a canteen, and two rifles twisted and buried in the roots. Curiously, there was no sign of a soldier’s remains…”

  Eevie stepped toward the ranger. “I’m confused. A lot of soldiers died here during the war. Why would they be surprised if there were no remains? Surely they would have buried him, or if he was injured, carried him to safety.”

  “Good question.” The ranger turned the beam of his flashlight downward. In the shadows, the dark and twisty roots looked like serpents. “They found two bullets lodged in one of the roots. And the soldier’s canteen had also been shot. You have to remember, most of these soldiers were poor farmers without a lot of
food or weapons. They would not have taken the soldier and left his weapons behind; they were much too valuable. That’s the mystery.”

  “Thank you, sir,” said Tommy. “You’ve been a huge help.”

  “Thank you,” whispered Drew, deep in thought.

  The ranger glanced down at his watch. “I’ll walk you kids out of the park. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”

  The small group walked in silence, each one playing and replaying the conversation over in their mind. The only sound was the rain splashing off the leaves and the occasional staticky burst from the ranger’s walkie-talkie.

  “Sir,” asked Tommy, “if the legend were true about that tree...well, at least the ones where we’ve heard about people disappearing and such...why isn’t the tree blocked off?”

  The ranger paused. “Just because a tree survives a fire, and a soldier died cradled in its roots, doesn’t mean it has some mysterious power. People make up stories to scare people, like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster. I’ve been a ranger here for thirty-seven years, and I haven’t seen anything mysterious yet. People like to make something out of nothing.”

  Through the darkness, Tommy could see the outline of the ranger’s house as they approached the gate. He wasn’t sure why, but he always loved the way orange and yellow lights mixed and shined out from the windows at nighttime.

  However, something wasn’t right. Something stared back at him through the window, and then it was gone. It looked like a cat, but it didn’t move like a cat. It moved like…

  The ranger followed Tommy’s eyes and looked back at Tommy.

  “Oh...you have a cat,” said Tommy, knowing that it wasn’t a cat.

  “Yes, I do,” he smiled. “A black cat. Good night,” said the ranger, still staring at Tommy—both of them knowing that he had seen something other than a cat...

  The rest of the group seemed oblivious to the strange exchange between Tommy and the ranger.

  “Good night,” said the group in unison. The ranger closed the wrought iron gate behind them with a metallic clang. They continued walking toward the bus stop, the sound of a chain being put in place ebbing through the darkness.

  When they had walked a few steps away, Tommy was about to tell them what he had seen, but Drew exploded. “The tree didn’t do anything to him! He walked right up to it and basically petted it and NOTHING. You guys must think I’m crazy.” He looked from Eevie’s face to Tommy’s face. “I’m not lying.”

  Eevie placed her hand on Drew’s shoulder. “Listen, we believe you. You must have done something to make the tree try to devour you. I’m not sure what, though.”

  “Guys,” said Tommy, “let’s go. We can figure out everything on the bus.”

  The ride home was quite different; the bus was filled with weary travelers on the way home from work. Most of the passengers followed the universal norm, heads bowed staring at their cellphones as their thumbs danced about as if playing a miniature drum set.

  The three children sat squished together on one seat, their heads close together, whispering so no one could hear them.

  Tommy whispered, “Did you guys see the way the ranger looked at me when I mentioned the cat in his window? It was weird.”

  Eevie and Drew shook their heads “no” in unison.

  “What do you mean?” asked Drew.

  “I saw something in his window. It was black like a cat, but it didn’t move like a cat. Then when I said something about it, he gave me a creepy stare. He knew I saw something, and he knows that I know it wasn’t a cat.”

  “He’s a ranger. It could have been a raccoon for all you know. He could be rehabilitating an animal. Who cares? In the grand scheme of things, who cares if he had an elephant in his house? We are dealing with a tree that has a history of turning people into Lunchables.” Said Drew mystified.

  “They are tasty,” acknowledged Tommy. “Maybe I was just seeing things,” said Tommy, trying to appease Drew. Inside, however, Tommy knew that “look.” Something wasn’t right, but he wasn’t going to push the issue until he could speak with Eevie in private. “OK, let’s get back to ‘operation angry tree.’”

  “Angry tree?” Drew inhaled and exhaled, shaking his head. You’re gonna be just fine.

  “Tonight is Friday night. Eevie, you can tell your parents we’re going to go see a movie?”

  “Sure,” said Eevie, nodding. “Not a problem.”

  “What about me?” asked Drew, a worried look filling his face.

  “Drew,” smiled Tommy reassuringly, “you did everything you needed to do. Eevie and I will sneak into the park and shoot some video. Don’t worry, we’ll stay clear of the tree and the roots. You will be vindicated by my amazing videography—trust me, this tree will give everyone the creeps.”

  Drew looked at Tommy, his eyes filled with doubt.

  “Are you doubting my videography skills or that Eevie and I will stay away from the tree? Trust me, we’ll stay clear of the tree, the roots, the branches—we’ll be fine!”

  Just then, the bus hissed and screeched like an angry cat as it pulled to a stop at the intersection of Broad and Hamilton. The group disembarked and then huddled together on the sidewalk.

  Eevie turned to Drew. “Remember, not a word of this to anybody. My folks will ground me until I’m forty if they find out!”

  “I’m not gonna tell anybody. You have my word! Just please be careful. Don’t try to do anything heroic on my behalf.”

  My Oversized Cranium

  Eevie showed up at Tommy’s door promptly at 7:30 p.m. She had just raised her hand to knock when Tommy swung open the door dressed in his best “going out” hoodie. Behind him, blue electric light flickered from the doorway of the living room. Tommy’s parents had most likely settled in for a night of Netflix binge watching.

  “Eevie’s here. We’re leaving now!” Tommy had to yell to be heard over the wall of sound blasting from the TV.

  “Hi, Eevie! Have a good night! Be careful!”

  “Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Blackwood,” said Eevie, arching forward onto her tiptoes, as if this would help project her voice.

  “I always wondered which they really wanted me to have...a good night, or to be careful,” Tommy said with a wink.

  Eevie playfully pushed Tommy, shaking her head. “Tonight, I think we both know the answer to that.”

  “Sure you don’t want me to drive you guys to the movies?” called out Tommy’s dad.

  “We’re good—thanks, Dad!”

  “Give me a call if it gets too bad and I’ll come get you.”

  “Gets too bad? Eevie’s mean to me at times, but it never gets that bad,” laughed Tommy, raising his eyebrows. “See,” said Tommy matter-of-factly, “even my parents know the truth.”

  “I mean the weather. We’d replace you with Eevie any day of the week,” yelled his mother, laughing.

  “My own mother. That’s horrible.” A look of mock disgust and anguish filled Tommy’s eyes.

  “Love you, honey. Call us if the weather gets too bad.”

  Eevie snickered and silently mouthed “honey.”

  “I’m their darling son, and your jealousy…well,” paused Tommy, shaking his head, “it’s just pitiful.”

  He turned his head and shouted into the doorway, “OK, will do!”

  And with that, they were on their way.

  Tommy reached down and retrieved his backpack that he had stashed in the boxwood bushes in front of his house.

  “I know; you’re impressed with my forethought,” smiled Tommy.

  “Actually, I am more impressed that you know the word forethought, and even more impressed that you actually used it correctly.”

  Tommy’s hands flew to his chest, his face tilted skyward. “My heart. My heart…. You know it is possible to be engagingly smart and handsome.” He turned his head expecting to see Eevie’s eyes filled with remorse and acknowledging his immenseness; instead, she busied herself by
putting on her helmet and climbing on her bike.

  “My skillset is so underappreciated,” said Tommy to no one.

  The plan was pretty simple. Ride their bikes to the park without looking suspicious. Hide their bikes and then climb over the stone wall. Then, with their phones recording, they would try to make the tree come to life without getting killed. They weren’t quite sure how to pull off that part of the plan, but they were sure they would come up with something. Tommy said something about taunting the tree, and Eevie of course used what she termed “selective hearing” and completely ignored him.

  The ride to the park was uneventful. They had ditched their bikes across the street at the library. A mottled orange light shone through the park’s gate, overwhelmed by the four huge spotlights illuminating a twenty-foot semicircle around the gate.

  “Do you see what I’m seeing?” said Tommy, pointing toward the lights.

  “That’s not the only thing,” whispered Eevie. “Look.” She pointed toward the top corners of the gate. “Cameras.”

  “I’m sure Ranger Rick in there doesn’t have a love life. He’s probably sitting there staring at those cameras right now.”

  “We should have put a little more planning into this. The front of the gate is incredibly well lit; there’s no way we won’t be seen. Maybe we should just go back to your parents’ house and work out a more thorough plan.”

  “Eevie, they have all of this protection at the gate because everyone goes in and out that gate.” Tommy gestured at the gate as if this validated his statement. “You have to think outside the box; we can just climb the walls.”

  “Noooo way,” said Eevie, shaking her head. “They are at least nine feet high, and while you are an amazing athlete—cough, cough—I don’t have a standing or running four-foot vertical leap.”

  “No, neither do I. Thanks for the compliment, by the way. But we do have a ladder.”

  “You brought a ladder? Do you have magic pockets in those pants?”