“Here we go!” Courtney shouted.
“Whoooooooo!” Mark yelled.
And a moment later, the two were lifted up on a bed of light and rocketed into the tunnel.
CLORAL
The ride was everything theyhoped it would be… only better. All that Bobby had described to them in his journals was now theirs to experience. The sensation of floating on warm air, the twists and turns with no fear of bashing into the crystal walls, the vast star field beyond, the musical notes that whipped past-it was all exactly as Bobby had explained it. Mark and Courtney held hands as they flew along. At first they held tight out of fear, but it only took a few moments for them both to relax and enjoy the ride.
“It… it’s incredible,” Mark exclaimed. He looked to Courtney, who floated alongside him, her eyes wide, taking in every detail.
“Look!” she exclaimed while pointing out to the star field.
They saw what looked like a giant fish swimming right up to the crystal shell of the flume and traveling along with them. It was the size of a house, with nearly transparent skin through which they could see the stars beyond.
“It’s one of the images Bobby wrote about,” Mark exclaimed.
The immense fish shot away and flew toward the stars.
“What is that?” Mark asked, while pointing to the other side of the flume. There was a vast, pyramid-shaped object spinning across space. It too was semitransparent so that stars could be seen through it.
“Maybe it’s a Lifelight pyramid,” Courtney suggested.
“What does it mean?” Mark asked.
Courtney laughed and said, “Are you kidding? What doesanyof this mean?” She let go of Mark’s hand and did a somersault like an astronaut in zero g. “Just gowith it.”
Mark actually laughed and tried to do a somersault too. But he only got halfway around and the two of them ended up sailing along with Courtney’s head up and Mark’s head down. They looked at each other and burst out laughing. A moment later they both heard something far ahead. The musical notes grew more furious, along with a new sound that was like…
“Water!” Mark exclaimed while scrambling to get his head back upright. “I forgot! The flume on Cloral dumps out into a-“
He couldn’t finish the sentence because they were shot out of the flume, twenty feet in the air. Gravity kicked back in and both fell toward a pool of water. Since Courtney’s head was up, she was able to get her feet together and hold her nose. But Mark was launched out of the flume head down. He flailed his arms to try and right himself, but it was too late. Courtney knifed into the water, nearly vertical. Mark spun himself heels over head and hit the water with a full-on belly flop that sounded like a cannon going off. Courtney surfaced first, looking for Mark.
“Mark?” she called out. “Mark!”
A moment later Mark surfaced, his long dark hair covering his eyes. He floated there for asecondmaking Courtney wonder if he was hurt. He then uttered a simple, profound, “Ouch.”
Courtney laughed. So did Mark. They had made it. The two swam to the side of the pool and pulled themselves up and out, to sit on the rocky ledge and survey their surroundings. It was exactly as Bobby had described. They were in a rock cavern that had vines laden with colorful flowers growing from its walls.
“We’re here!” Mark exclaimed. “I can’t believe it.” He leaned over and plucked off a dark green, cucumber-looking fruit from a vine. “Bobby made these sound delicious,” he explained while snapping it in half. The fruit inside was bright red, like a tubular watermelon. Mark took a greedy bite, the juice dripping down his chin.
“Well?” Courtney asked.
Mark smiled. “Sweet, crunchy, excellent. Bobby’s words didn’t do them justice.”
Mark handed Courtney the other half. The two of them took a moment to enjoy the strange fruit that could only be found on this territory. While they ate, both looked around the cavern, awestruck.
“Cloral. Unbelievable,” Courtney said.
Mark added, “It’s like we stepped inside a book.”
They both dangled their feet in the warm pool of water that was their welcome mat.
“I hope Wu Yenza got the message,” Courtney said. “If not, this is as far as we go.”
Both knew that in order to get out of this cavern, they would need air globes and swim belts, because they were far below the surface of the waters of Cloral. No way they would be able to hold their breath long enough to swim out. Even if they could, they’d find themselves in the middle of the ocean, with the possibility of quig-sharks lurking around. Courtney was right-if Wu Yenza hadn’t gotten their message, the mission to Cloral would go no farther than the gate.
“I think she got the message,” Courtney announced.
“How do you know?” Mark asked.
Courtney made her way carefully around the edge of the pool until she came upon a mound of vines. She tugged at them to reveal…
“Clothes!” Mark exclaimed. “Cloral clothes!”
Courtney picked up a bright blue shirt that looked to be made of a lightweight, rubbery wet suit material.
“We were expected,” Courtney said.
“Awesome!” Mark exclaimed. “I guess all we have to do is wait and-” Mark didn’t finish his sentence.
“What’s the matter?” Courtney asked.
Mark held up his hand. The gray stone in the center of his ring was starting to sparkle. “We’ve got mail.”
Mark took it off and put it on the rocks while Courtney quickly scampered around the edge of the pool to join him. The light from the stone shot out of the ring and lit up the flower-filled cavern, making it look as if they were standing inside a giant Christmas tree. The ring grew wide as the musical notes bounced off the walls. As always the entire event took only a few seconds. When it was over, Mark and Courtney were left looking at a ring that had returned to normal, with Bobby’s next journal lying beside it.
They had been so focused on the event, they hadn’t noticed the dark shadow that had been swimming toward them underwater. The shadow moved to the center of the pool and silently surfaced directly behind them.
Mark picked up the rolled-up parchment and said, “At least we’ll have something to do while we wait to see if anybody comes for us.”
That’s when the shadow spoke, saying, “No need to wait.” Mark and Courtney jumped in surprise. They spun quickly to the sound of the voice to see…
Treading water in the middle of the pool was a guy wearing a clear air globe that was form fitted to his head. He pulled off the globe and it instantly returned to its normal, round shape. Now that the globe was gone, Mark and Courtney saw that the guy had long black hair that fell almost to his shoulders. His eyes were almond shaped and he had a dazzling smile that lit up the cavern.
“You must be Mark and Courtney,” the guy said. “Sounds as if you’ve found yourselves in a bit of a tum-tigger.” Mark stammered, “A-Are you-“
“Who else would I be?” the guy laughed. Courtney uttered, “Spader?”
“Hobey-ho, mates,” the Traveler exclaimed. “Welcome to Cloral.”
CLORAL
(CONTINUED)
Mark and Courtney feltas if they had stepped inside a dream.
They had experienced the wonders of Cloral through Bobby’s journals, but now they were seeing it for themselves. Firsthand. For real. It was everything they had imagined.
“I’m proud to meet you, mates,” Vo Spader said as he pulled himself out of the pool of water in the cavern. He laid his air globe on the edge of the pool and stood up to his full six-foot height. Mark and Courtney saw that he was wearing his jet-black aquaneer uniform with no sleeves. He held his hand out to Mark and said, “You’re both just as Pendragon described.”
Mark shook Spader’s hand while staring at him with his mouth hanging open, like he was looking at a celebrity. Spader gave him a reassuring wink, then shook Courtney’s hand. “That’s a right strong grip, Courtney,” he said. “Pendragon said you w
ere a handful.”
Courtney held eye contact with him and said with a confident smile, “He wasn’t lying.”
Spader gave her a big smile in return, and said, “I’ll remember that.”
“D-Did W-Wu Yenza get our note?” Mark asked.
“Yes indeed,” Spader answered. “Can’t say I was happy about what it said, though.”
“There’s big trouble, Spader,” Mark said quickly. “Saint Dane somehow got hold of the Cloral poison and-“
“First things first, Mark,” the Traveler said. “Let’s get home and take a look at that new journal.”
“Really?” Mark asked in awe. “Home? You mean to Grallion?”
“Is that a problem?” Spader asked back.
“No, I think it’s great!” Mark exclaimed. “Can we have some sniggers, too?”
“Mark!” Courtney scolded. “Could you be any more of a geek?”
Spader laughed warmly. “No worries. This must be strange for you, splashing around a territory you’ve only read about.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty bizarre,” Courtney admitted.
“I’ll try to make it as comfortable as I can,” Spader said with a wink. “Right?”
“Right!” Mark answered.
The first task was to get Mark and Courtney into Cloral clothes. They each chose a matching set of bright blue two-piece swimskins from the pile. They also picked out pairs of soft swim shoes.
“No peeking!” Courtney teased Spader as she took off her dripping-wet Second Earth clothes.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Spader teased back.
While Mark and Courtney changed, Spader took Bobby’s latest journal and sealed it into a watertight pouch that he attached to his belt. Mark saw what he was doing and said, “Put this in there too.” He handed Spader the plastic bag that held the fur sample from Seegen. Spader took it without question and sealed it inside the pouch. He then grabbed two air globes that were near the pile of Cloral clothes. The round, clear globes were the size of basketballs, with silver harmonica-looking devices on top that turned water into oxygen.
“Did Pendragon explain how these work?” Spader asked.
“Absolutely,” Mark answered. “They form to our heads so we can breathe and talk underwater.”
“Right you are,” Spader replied.
“We need belts, too, right?” Courtney asked. “To keep us neutrally buoyant?”
“Indeed,” Spader answered. “You two really know what you’re doing.”
“We try,” Courtney said.
Mark gave a quick look to Courtney. He realized that she was flirting with Spader, and Spader was flirting back! Mark hoped this wouldn’t get icky.
“I’ve only got one water sled,” Spader said, pointing to a device that was floating on the surface of the pool. It was bright purple and roughly the shape of a football with handles. From reading Bobby’s journals, Mark and Courtney knew Spader used it to propel himself underwater.
“Only one?” Mark said with disappointment. He really wanted to use one of his own.
“No worries,” Spader answered. “It’s got enough go to pull us all.”
“What about quig-sharks?” Courtney asked.
“Haven’t seen one since the natty-do with Saint Dane,” the Traveler answered. “Seems as if they’re long gone.”
Mark and Courtney were ready. Their swimskins fit perfectly, with long sleeves and long pants. Mark checked out Courtney and noticed how good she looked in the skintight Cloral suit. He wondered if Spader noticed too.
“Either of you have trouble swimming underwater?” Spader asked.
“Not me,” Courtney said quickly.
“M-Me neither,” Mark lied. Truth was, Mark was a terrible swimmer. But he put his faith in the fact that using the air globes was as easy as Bobby described. He wasn’t going to let something silly like an irrational fear of a horrific death by drowning stop him from seeing Cloral.
“Right!” Spader announced. “On with the gear.”
Mark and Courtney picked up the round air globes and put them on like helmets. Instantly the clear globes rippled and shrank until they fit snugly to their heads. Though Mark knew what was going to happen, the sensation took him by surprise. He took a step back, tripped, and fell on his butt.
“Easy there, mate!” Spader said as he helped Mark to his feet. “You all right?”
“Yeah,” Mark said, embarrassed. “Everything’s…spiff.”
Courtney rolled her eyes at Mark’s use of the word “spiff.” It was a word they knew Spader always used.
“Here’s the do,” Spader said. “We’ll descend a bit to get you used to being underwater. Once everybody’s happy, grab on to my belt, hang on tight, and I’ll get us to the surface. Right?”
“Hobey-ho!” Mark chirped.
Courtney tried not to roll her eyes again.
Spader laughed and gave them a genuine smile. “Hobey-ho. Let’s go.”
Spader jumped into the water first, followed by Courtney. Mark eased himself in slowly. Both Mark and Courtney instantly felt their swim belts tighten around their waists, keeping them afloat. They didn’t have to kick or move their arms to stay on the surface.
“Let’s drop below,” Spader instructed. With a quick arm swing, he sank underwater. “Courtney?” Mark called out. “Yeah?”
“Can you believe this?”
“Not really,” she answered.
“I feel bad about saying it,” Mark added. “But this is awesome.”
“Don’t feel bad; I think so too,” Courtney replied. “There’s plenty of time for things to get un-awesome.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Hobey-ho, you geek,” Courtney added teasingly.
Mark laughed and the two dropped below the surface. Spader was waiting for them in the sand, about fifteen feet below. Mark and Courtney sank to the bottom and sat on their knees.
“Everything spiff?” Spader asked.
Both Courtney and Mark were surprised that they could hear Spader so clearly underwater. Bobby had explained it all in his journals, but it was still strange to hear it for real. Mark signaled a thumbs-up.
“You can talk, Mark,” Spader instructed.
“Oh, right,” Mark said. “I’m cool.” Truth was, he was so nervous he was having trouble getting a deep breath.
“Courtney?” Spader asked.
“This is freaky,” she answered, also breathing hard.
“Relax,” Spader said calmly. “Breathe normal. I promise, you’ll get used to it.”
They stayed kneeling in the sand for a few minutes, adjusting to the sensation of being weightless in the warm water and breathing through the globes. Spader was right. It didn’t take long for them to calm down. He instructed Mark and Courtney to grab on to his belt. Once they had a firm grip, he took his water sled with both hands, held it in front of him, and triggered the engine. With a low whine, the sled bit into the water and pulled the trio along. As incredible as it seemed to Mark and Courtney, they were on their way to Grallion. They shot under the long, low ceiling of rock for several minutes, until Spader announced, “Open water ahead!”
They looked forward to see a ribbon of light that was the end of the ceiling they had been swimming under. A moment later they shot out into open water. Mark and Courtney looked around in wonder at the glorious coral reef that lay just beyond the rock shelf. There were schools of colorful fish swimming lazily past, a forest of red sea kelp that swayed with the current, and beautiful coral formations that made the reef look like an undersea sculpture garden.
Mark looked to Courtney. Courtney looked to Mark. They both smiled.
Spader pulled them up to the surface. When their heads popped above the water, Mark saw something that made him laugh out loud.
“It’s a skimmer!” he shouted.
Floating on the soft swells was Spader’s skimmer craft. It looked to Mark like a large, white snowmobile, with outrigger pontoons for stability. The deck was flat, with low sid
es so it was easy for them to hoist themselves up and in.
“Off with the globes,” Spader ordered. He opened up a hatch to a storage compartment below. There he stowed the gear, along with Bobby’s journal in its waterproof pouch.
“Everything spiff?” Spader asked.
“Couldn’t be spiffer. Spiffier. More spiff. Whatever,” Mark replied happily.
“Can I drive?” Courtney asked.
Mark couldn’t believe she was being so bold. But then again, she was just being Courtney.
“Sure!” Spader replied. “Step right up.”
The controls to the skimmer were like motorcycle handlebars that you stood behind. Courtney grabbed the handles with the confidence of an experienced aquaneer. Spader stood behind her and showed her the throttle and how to steer.
“Simple?” he asked.
“Simple,” she replied. “No more talk. Let’s go!”
Mark grabbed the side of the skimmer for safety. He trusted Spader’s driving. He wasn’t so sure about Courtney’s. Spader flipped a switch and the skimmer hummed to life. The pontoons slowly lowered themselves into the water. As soon as they were wet, Spader said, “She’s all yours.”
Courtney didn’t have to be told twice. “Yeahhhh!” she yelled and gunned the throttle. The skimmer shot forward so fast that Mark fell over in spite of the fact he had been holding on. Spader pointed her in the right direction and they were off, flying over the low swells.
“This is off the hook!” Courtney shouted with joy.
Most of the trip Spader spent sitting with Mark, his feet up casually, enjoying the ride. Mark wasn’t quite as relaxed. He held on tight to the side of the skimmer, just in case. Both watched Courtney at the controls, her long brown hair flying back in the wind, a huge smile on her face. Mark thought that it was the happiest he had seen her in a long time. He knew their mission wasn’t about having fun, but for the time being, he didn’t complain.
In no time they arrived at the massive barge that was the farming habitat of Grallion. It’s where Spader worked with a team of aquaneers who kept the floating city running smoothly. Spader docked the skimmer and led them through the aquaneer landing, up the stairs, and out onto the surface of the huge barge city. When they arrived on top, Mark and Courtney were blown away by the acres of glorious farmland. They knew that except for the city of Faar, Cloral was covered entirely by water. All their food was grown either on barges like Grallion, or underwater on the farms that were all over the territory. These were the farms that were endangered by the poison that Saint Dane had helped let loose. Seeing this farm and knowing how close Cloral had come to disaster brought Mark and Courtney back to reality. They were there because Saint Dane had taken this horrible poison to Eelong.
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