The Secret of the Scarlet Stone (A Gabby Girls Adventure Novel, Book One)

by T. L. Clarke

  Rosalinda yelped with surprise. She quickly loosened her death grip on one side of the rope and reached down for her purse instinctively.

  “No! Rosalinda, stop! Don’t move!” Gabrielle screamed.

  At the sound of Gabrielle’s sharp cry, her head snapped around with surprise. Rosalinda’s foot slipped, sending her expensive purse sailing off the edge of the bridge as it tilted sideways.

  “Rosalinda!” Jessica screamed as her body jerked, causing the bridge to shift violently.

  Gabrielle bit her bottom lip with alarm. “Jessica, stop it! Stand still!”

  Zora gritted her teeth with determination as she tried to steady the swaying bridge.

  They watched with horror as Rosalinda’s body unsteadily hung over the edge of the bridge, her feet dangling in mid-air. The river thrashed louder, as if anticipating her fall. Rosalinda looked down fearfully, her body twisting and contorting as she struggled to hang on.

  Zora’s feet slipped sideways as she huffed and puffed, struggling to keep the bridge upright. “Rosalinda, stop moving! I’m barely hanging on here!”

  “Please, I’m going to fall. Help me!” Rosalinda screamed.

  Gabrielle peered over at them anxiously. “Rosalinda, listen to me…stop moving and try to stay calm. The bridge is way too old to handle you squirming around like that.” Taking a deep breath, she continued. “Listen to me carefully. On the count of three, swing your left leg onto the platform of the bridge.”

  “I can’t! I just can’t, Gabi,” Rosalinda screamed.

  Gabrielle looked frantically over at Zora, who was struggling to keep the bridge from flipping over. She gritted her teeth with determination. “Yes, you can, Rosalinda! Gabby Girls can do anything. Now, swing your left leg onto the bridge platform on the count of three. Zora, hold on as tight as you can and brace yourself.”

  Zora nodded her head in agreement as Jessica looked on in horror.

  “Okay, one, two, three—now, Rosalinda, swing your leg up!” Gabrielle screamed over the deafening roar of the river.

  Hesitantly, Rosalinda swung her left leg up but it missed the bridge platform and fell back down violently. The bridge swung to the left, causing Zora’s legs to buckle under her. Gritting her teeth, she struggled to stand up and steady the swinging bridge.

  Gabrielle smiled hugely with false assurance. “That’s okay, Rosalinda. Let’s try again. Here we go—one, two, three!”

  Rosalinda bit her lip with determination as she swung her leg up and onto the bridge platform; this time her effort was met with success.

  Jessica breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, Rosalinda.” She looked over anxiously at Zora. “Are you okay, Zora?”

  Zora looked on nervously. “Yes!”

  Gabrielle carefully wiped the bead of sweat that ran down her forehead. “Listen to me, Rosalinda. This is very important; slowly pull your body up onto the bridge, pulling your right leg up onto the platform.”

  Rosalinda grunted loudly as she slithered her body onto the bridge platform. Slowly, she pulled her right leg up, causing the bridge to swing violently.

  Jessica screamed in horror.

  “Oh, no!” Zora yelped as her grip slipped; she quickly steadied herself and tightly gripped the ropes.

  Gabrielle looked down at the thrashing river. “Okay, Gabby Girls, please calm down.” With confidence that she was far from feeling, she smiled calmly at Rosalinda. “Listen to me, Rosalinda; you have to do this slowly. If you move too fast, Zora will fall.”

  Rosalinda gritted her teeth and slowly pulled up her right leg. Her body was now lying firmly on the bridge platform. Zora sighed with relief.

  Slowly, Rosalinda reached up for the ropes and pulled herself up to stand.

  Gabrielle looked over at them with relief. “Okay, Gabby Girls, let’s go…but slowly this time, okay?”

  They inched their way across the bridge, quietly making their way to the section of the two bridges that was merged into one.

  Gabrielle looked over at Zora. “You and Rosalinda should step onto the bridge first, then Jess and I will follow.”

  Zora cautiously stepped onto the middle bridge, holding her breath nervously as if bracing for the worst. Minutes passed and only the sound of thrashing water could be heard; she looked around with relief. Confidently, she looked over her shoulder at Rosalinda.

  “I guess it’s okay. Come on, Rosalinda, this bridge is a lot steadier than the first one.”

  Rosalinda gulped nervously as she stepped onto the middle bridge. Relief was written all over her face when the bridge stood still. Gabrielle boldly stepped onto the middle bridge with Jessica nervously following. Looking around, they inched along the bridge, their steps growing more confident as they neared what seemed to be an exit—the huge gaping hole in the wall.

  “Don’t you think it’s strange that this bridge is so sturdy and the first one was so shaky?” Jessica whispered nervously.

  Gabrielle looked around suspiciously. “Jess, right now I really don’t care. I just want to get the heck off this bridge in one piece.”

  Zora stood nervously in front of the gaping hole. “Okay, this is it, Gabby Girls. Is everyone all right?”

  Rosalinda’s face scrunched with annoyance. “For goodness sake, Zora, just step through the hole so we can get off this bridge.”

  Taking a deep breath, Zora took a step through the hole.

  “Wait, Zora! This could be another trap. Please be very careful of where you step,” Gabrielle warned.

  Zora nodded in agreement as she gulped nervously. “You don’t have to tell me twice, Gabi. I’m going to be extra careful.” Cautiously, she peeked through the brightly lit hole.

  The other girls held their breath as they watched Zora turn to look back at them with a huge smile spread across her face. She adjusted her glasses. “Gabby Girls, it’s okay. Come on…I have a feeling that the Gabby Girls Adventure has really just begun.”

  Confidently, she stepped through the hole and disappeared.

  Rosalinda, Gabrielle, and Jessica looked at each other in confusion, shrugging their shoulders. They quickly followed Zora to the continuation of the Gabby Girls Adventure.

  Gabby Girls Clue #5

  U-N-T-O-L-D--S-E-C-R-E-T-S-W-I-L-L-R-E-V-E-A-L-W-H-E-N-S-I-S-T-E-R-S-U-N-I-T-E-T-O-U-N-S-E-A-L

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Gabby Girls Never Quit

  They looked around in awe at the brightly painted passageway with walls and ceilings covered with large, intricate gold symbols.

  Zora carefully ran her fingers across the brightly painted walls. “Wow, check out these walls!”

  They looked around shocked with wide-open mouths.

  In amazement, Jessica ran her hands across the bright symbols that were painstakingly drawn. “I have never seen anything so beautiful in my life. Does anyone know what these symbols mean?”

  Zora smiled hugely, barely containing her excitement. “Yep, now these symbols I understand. They’re hieroglyphs.”

  Rosalinda slammed her hands on her hips. “Finally, she knows something that could actually help us.”

  Gabrielle curiously examined the wall. “Hieroglyphs?” She propped her hands on her hips with exasperation. “What in the world are hieroglyphs?”

  Zora adjusted her glasses excitedly. “It’s Egyptian writing. Hieroglyphics are a part of a system of picture-writing that dates way back to about 3,000 B.C. Egyptians called hieroglyphs the words of God.” She carefully ran her fingers across the brightly drawn symbols. “You see, these pictures actually represent a combination of sound-signs, pictograms, and ideograms.”

  Silently, they looked at her in confusion.

  Zora took off her glasses, wiping them clean on the end of her shirt. “Okay, everyone come closer.” She pointed to the large, brightly drawn symbols that stretched across the walls. “Okay, look closely at these symbols. You see how the hieroglyphs are written in rows or columns?” Ignoring their blank stares, she continued excitedly. “Well, they can be r
ead from left to right or right to left.”

  Gabrielle curiously examined the symbols. “Huh? Wait a minute…that’s crazy, Zora. How can it be read from left to right or right to left? How would you know which way to read it?”

  Zora adjusted her glasses. “Awesome question, Gabi! You can tell what direction to read the text because the symbols always face toward the beginning of the line.” She pointed excitedly at the bright gold symbol. “Like, you see this symbol that looks like a hand? That symbol means a letter D.” She pointed at the next symbol. “You see this symbol that looks like a lion that’s lying down? That symbol means a letter L.”

  Rosalinda planted her hands on her hips. “Okay, Miss Smarty Pants, so what does it all mean?”

  “I’ll be glad to show you. Gabi, look in my backpack; I have a notepad and a pencil in there. Take it out and write down all of the symbols that I decipher.”

  Quickly, Gabrielle dug into the backpack and pulled out the items. With notepad and pencil in hand, she eagerly looked at Zora.

  Zora quickly adjusted her glasses and carefully ran her fingers along the first six symbols. “Hmmm…okay, the first symbol is a chick, so that could be a U, O, or W, but I think it’s a U. The second symbol is a squiggly line, which means water, so that’s an N. The third symbol looks like an upside-down bowl, but it’s really a loaf; that’s a T.”

  Gabrielle scribbled furiously on the notepad.

  “The fourth symbol is a chick, so again that could be a U, O, or W, but I think this time it’s an O. The fifth symbol is a lion, so that’s an L. And the sixth symbol is a hand, so that’s a D.” Zora paused, scratched her head, then continued to the next seven symbols. “Hmmm, okay, let me see—the first symbol is a folded cloth, so that’s an S; the second is a reed, so that could be an E or I, but I think it’s an E; the third symbol is a basket with a handle, so that’s a C; the fourth symbol is a mouth, so that’s an R; the fifth is a reed, so again that’s an E; the sixth is a loaf, so that’s a T; and finally the seventh symbol is a folded cloth, so that’s an S.”

  She blew out tiredly, adjusted her glasses, and went on to decipher the next ten letters: “W-I-L-L-R-E-V-E-A-L.”

  Gabrielle scribbled quickly. “Okay, so here’s what we have so far: U-N-T-O-L-D-S-E-C-R-E-T-S-W-I-L-L-R-E-V-E-A-L.” She scratched her head in confusion. “Okay, so what in the world does that mean?” Suddenly, she jumped up and down, screaming with excitement, “I got it! It says, ‘Untold secrets will reveal.’”

  Jessica bit her lip nervously. “Reveal what?”

  Zora shook her head impatiently. “Wait a minute, Gabby Girls; I’m not finished yet.” Slowly, she ran her fingers along the rest of the carved symbols and translated: “W-H-E-N-S-I-S-T-E-R-S-U-N-I-T-E.”

  “I know! I know! That’s ‘when sisters unite,’” Rosalinda screamed.

  Jessica shifted from side to side. “I don’t understand—what does that mean? ‘Untold secrets will reveal when sisters unite.’”

  Zora looked over at them impatiently. “Gabby Girls, give me a second now. You have to let me finish deciphering the whole thing.”

  “Sorry,” they said in unison.

  Zora adjusted her glasses. “Okay, let me see…where was I?” She quickly went back to the wall, running her fingers across the symbols. “Okay, here: T-O-U-N-S-E-A-L. Okay, now I’m finished.” She breathed out tiredly.

  Jessica said, “T-O-U-N-S-E-A-L? What in the world is T-O-U-N-S-E-A-L?”

  Zora looked tiredly at Gabrielle. “Okay, now, let’s put it all together.”

  Gabrielle quickly looked down at the notepad. “Okay, listen up, Gabby Girls, this is what I think it means: ‘Untold secrets will reveal when sisters unite to unseal.’”

  They gave her a puzzled frown.

  Gabrielle held up her hands defensively. “Well, don’t look at me like that. I have no idea what it all means.”

  Zora gave them a defeated stare. “Sorry, I don’t know, either.”

  “Okay, great—you went through all that trouble to decipher those stupid symbols and it was totally useless because we still don’t know what it really means,” Rosalinda spat as she sat on the ground tiredly.

  The other three laughed hysterically as they watched a cloud of dust bloom around Rosalinda’s body, which covered her from head-to-toe.

  Gabrielle chuckled loudly. “I can’t believe that you are actually sitting on the dusty ground. What happened to ‘Miss I-Can’t-Get-My-Clothes-Dirty’?”

  Rosalinda shot her a nasty look then broke out in a fit of uncontrollable giggles. “Come on, Gabby Girls, don’t make fun of me. Right now, I could care less about my clothes. I’m tired and I just want to get out of here.”

  Zora bristled with excitement. “All kidding aside, Gabby Girls, I don’t think that it was a waste of time to decipher the hieroglyphics. In fact, I think that it’s a clue; we just have to figure out what it means.”

  Rosalinda twirled her finger around in the air. “Yippee! Another clue,” she responded dryly.

  A huge smiled spread across Zora’s face. “Yep, another clue, Gabby Girls. I think that we’re close to figuring out why we’re here. But someone is making this Gabby Girls Adventure awfully difficult for us.”

  Gabrielle giggled loudly. “Duh, I think that’s the point, Zo. It’s supposed to be difficult. All these clues lead to something big but I don’t know what.” She held out her hand and motioned for Rosalinda to grab it. “Come, Gabby Girls. Let’s find out why we’re here.”

  Rosalinda rolled her eyes with exasperation. “I don’t know about you, Gabi, but I’m way too exhausted to go on.”

  Zora smiled happily as she motioned for Rosalinda to grab her hand. “Come on, Rosalinda. Gabby Girls never get tired. We’re always up for new Gabby Girls Adventures.”

  Gabrielle giggled. “That’s right.”

  Rosalinda looked at Zora then at Gabrielle and smiled hugely. Shrugging her shoulders, she grabbed both of their hands. “Okay, okay, pull me up. You Gabby Girls are such pains in the behind,” she whined playfully.

  Zora gave her a stern look then burst out in a fit of giggles. “Nope, not before you say it.”

  “Oh, please, I’m too tired. Please don’t make me say it,” Rosalinda whined.

  “Say it!” Gabrielle screamed playfully.

  “Okay, okay—Gabby Girls Adventure,” Rosalinda said half-heartedly.

  Jessica smiled. “Oh! Come on now, you can do way better than that.”

  Rosalinda rolled her eyes playfully. “Okay, okay—Gabby Girls Adventure! Now pull me up,” she screamed loudly.

  Gabrielle and Zora giggled as they pulled her up.

  Tiredly, Rosalinda dusted off her skirt. “Gracias, las muchachas…thank you, girls.”

  Gabrielle rubbed her hands together eagerly. “Okay, Gabby Girls, let’s get a move-on. We have an adventure to finish.”

  Jessica smiled shyly. “You forgot one thing, Gabi. It’s not just an adventure—it’s a Gabby Girls Adventure.”

  Gabrielle smiled. “That’s right, Jess—we have a Gabby Girls Adventure to finish and you best believe that Gabby Girls never quit.”

  They smiled with newfound confidence as they followed a determined Gabrielle down the brightly lit passageway.

  Gabby Girls Clue #6

  Destiny Is Right Through

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Ride the Water Slide

  They walked tiredly through the brightly lit passageway. The further along they walked, the narrower the passageway became, forcing them to walk in single-file behind Gabrielle.

  Something caught Jessica’s eye, causing her to do a double-take. “Gabby Girls, I think there’s something up with the walls that we should definitely be checking out.”

  Zora adjusted her glasses. “I agree, Jess.”

  The ceilings and walls were brightly painted; every other section of the wall had painted figures of five girls walking. One section showed strange shapes hovering above the girls’ heads. Another sectio
n showed the girls carrying strange objects in their hands.

  “Do you think the girls on the walls are us? Something tells me that it can’t be a coincidence,” Jessica rattled nervously.

  Gabrielle curiously examined the walls and ceiling. “I don’t think anything about this whole day is a coincidence. I mean, this whole thing has been very weird but at the same time it just feels so familiar. It’s like I’ve been here before.”

  Rosalinda fluffed her hair nervously. “I know what you mean; I was going to say the same thing. This passageway feels so very familiar to me.”

  Looking around cautiously, they walked further down the passageway in complete silence.

  Suddenly, Gabrielle stopped in mid-stride. “Quiet…do you hear that?” she whispered.

  “Hear what? I don’t hear anything, Gabi,” Jessica whispered nervously.

  “What do you mean you don’t hear anything? It’s water, can’t you hear it?” Gabrielle whispered.

  They looked around frantically as they strained to listen.

  “Wait, I do hear something now,” Rosalinda whispered anxiously.

  “Come on,” Gabrielle said as she walked quickly down the passageway.

  Nervously, they hustled behind her; the further they walked, the louder the sound of water falling could be heard.

  “I really hope that this passageway does not lead to another river because I’ll tell you right now, I can’t swim,” Rosalinda whispered loudly.

  They gasped at the sight of a huge stone opening with gold symbols painted along the sides.

  “Great! Just what we need: more hieroglyphics. So, what does it say, Zora?” Rosalinda wailed loudly.

  Zora squinted at the symbols as she ran her fingers carefully along them. “It says: Destiny Is Right Through.”

  They looked at each other nervously.

  Gabrielle smiled bravely. “So, what are we waiting for? You heard her: Destiny Is Right Through.” She slowly stepped through the gaping hole with Zora, Jessica, and Rosalinda following. Suddenly, she stopped in mid-stride, causing them to bump into each other.