by Alan Nayes
Spinner checked behind him. The nearest building was the museum. Perfect! It’d be deserted this near to closing time.
He peeked inside his pack. Next to the cave pearl, the saurid egg lay cushioned in his jacket. For some reason, its shell appeared even more drab than earlier, grey almost. This concerned him.
Spinner turned around and crouched behind the statue. He tensed. Then he leaped from the cover and sprinted across the street, taking the museum steps two at a time. Without slowing, he pulled the heavy glass door open and ducked inside. He turned to check outside and he felt a flood of relief—no one had seen him.
With his knapsack hanging at his side, Spinner walked over to a wooden bench and sat. From the silence that surrounded him, he guessed he had the whole place to himself.
After he caught his breath, his eyes settled on one of the newest exhibits. He walked down the hall for a closer look. As Spinner studied the fake willow trees growing around a fake pond, goosebumps prickled his skin. The diorama looked so real. Just like Echo valley.
Spinner reached into his pack and pulled out his Doomsday Animal Parade book. He opened to one of the last pages, studied the picture, and then looked up. Both scenes were very similar. It was Echo Valley!
“Echo Valley’s gnatcatcher,” Spinner read. Closing the book, he studied one of the branches overhanging the pond. It didn’t take him long to find the blue-grey body of a stuffed gnatcatcher. On another branch, he found a second one. His finger touched the plaque below the window. He read out loud: “Echo Valley’s gnatcatchers. Once abundant in the hills and forests, the last known specimen was captured alive more than thirty years ago. The gnatcatcher’s status today is presumed extinct.”
Spinner shook his head. What had the Underlanders said? They know when they are needed. At first, they had thought he and Reglan needed a place to live. Their pictures had even been drawn on the cave wall, which was obviously wrong. Could the Underlanders have been expecting this tiny bird? Was there one or two left undiscovered? Spinner looked up at the stuffed gnatcatchers once more.
“Sad, isn’t it?” A voice came from behind him.
Spinner almost leaped into the exhibit!
Mr. Tisdale, the museum curator, put a hand on Spinner’s shoulder. “Once you lose an entire species, you never get a second chance. They’re gone forever.”
Spinner tried to remain calm. “I didn’t expect you here so late.”
“Just getting ready to close up shop.” The curator patted him once on the shoulder and then turned down the hall. “Good evening, Spinner.”
“Sure thing, Mr. Tisdale.” Spinner watched him disappear around a corner. Then, swinging his knapsack over one shoulder, he studied the gnatcatcher once more before heading back to the entrance.
On the way out, he passed one of the older exhibits and paused. Two large flightless birds that resembled penguins stood on the frozen tundra. These were in his book, too: great auks. He remembered seeing one in Underland.
“The great auk,” said Spinner, reading the bird’s story from below the exhibit window. “A great flightless bird of the northern hemisphere, the great auk thrived for thousands of years until the mid 1800s. The last two were clubbed to death by two fishermen on July 3, 1844. Their bodies were stuffed and sold to museums.”
Spinner read the words again: stuffed and sold to museums. Suddenly, he really understood what Underland was about—truly about. Underland provided a solution to the problems humans created, unless people could work together and stop polluting the oceans, destroying the rainforests, and contaminating the air. Underland was home to many creatures, large and small, creatures that, for the rest of time, would be remembered only through museums or textbooks. Unique and amazing creatures, like Ebo, Kali, Scroffle, Aghh and Archaeopteryx. These creatures could never live in this world again. They belonged in Underland. But if Underland ceased to exist, so would they!
Spinner sucked in his breath and bounded for the exit. By the time Maramac’s church bell rang 5:00 PM, he was sprinting across Dwellers Meadow.
CHAPTER 19
* * *
Spinner ran along Little Horn Creek, being careful not to jostle his pack too much; he didn’t want to break the saurid egg. For the first time since leaving Underland, he knew he’d made the correct choice. Although no one in Maramac would ever realize it, Reglan and Otter would know, and that’s what counted.
Pumped up with adrenalin and anxious to return the egg, he forgot to be cautious. Only after one foot sank to his ankle mid-stride did he suspect something wasn’t right. He tried to take another step, but his other foot sank, too. Struggling to free himself, he almost lost his balance. Before he knew it, he’d sunk to his knees.
With panicked eyes, he stared down at his feet. Quicksand!
Grunting and gasping, he struggled more. The harder he tried to free himself, the deeper he sank. It was above his knees now.
“Help!” he shouted, though he knew no one could hear him.
Remembering the egg, he gingerly tossed his pack out onto dry land. Maybe someone would find it. He looked to the west. The sun was setting. It’d be too late for Underland.
“Help me!” he cried out, sinking even further and worrying that he would vanish and never be found. In a thousand years, his bones would be fossils—pictures in some book, or on a cave wall. He should have listened to Reglan! He cursed to himself.
He’d all but given up hope when he heard a bark. “Otter!” Spinner yelled with renewed hope. The slow, sucking quicksand now covered his waist.
“Where are you?” Reglan called.
“In the Little Horn. Hurry! I’m stuck in quicksand.” His heart felt like it was in his mouth.
Otter burst out of the brush with Reglan close behind.
Spinner waved frantically. “Here! I’m here!”
“We see you!” Reglan and Otter raced along the bank.
Spinner was up to his chest in quicksand and was struggling to breathe.
“Take my hand.” Reglan reached from the creek bank.
“Careful,” Spinner said.
But she could not reach; their fingers were still three feet apart.
“Get a stick! Please hurry!” he yelled.
Reglan whirled around, looking. There was nothing—only thick trees growing along the bank. She dashed up and down the creek until she found a green reed. But it was too short and broke in her hands. Putting her hands to her mouth, Reglan screamed, “Help us!”
“Help!” Spinner yelled. The thick, gooey sand burbled up to his shoulders. “Look inside my pack. Try my jacket.”
Reglan found his pack, grabbed the jacket, and flung a sleeve to Spinner.
“I got it!”
But the sleeve ripped off as Reglan pulled.
Spinner closed his eyes, terrified. He was sinking again. “You have to get the egg back to Underland before the sun sets.”
“I can’t leave you,” Reglan yelled.
“Go! Hurry!”
“I won’t.” Reglan attempted to uproot a tree. It was hopeless. It would take a bulldozer to topple it.
Or a determined saurid.
Reglan didn’t even see the flash of green scales, but Spinner did. With the power of twenty beavers, Ebo and Kali gnawed through the pine trunk in less than a second flat. With a thundering crash, it fell across Little Horn Creek.
Reaching up, Spinner grabbed a sturdy limb and heaved himself out. Sand caked his clothes and speckled his glasses. He lay still for a second, breathing deeply. Then, balancing his weight on the tree’s trunk, he carefully hurried to the bank.
On the bank, the saurids were bent over his pack. Pushing aside thoughts of how close to death he’d just been, Spinner reached inside and pulled out the egg. “I’m sorry,” he said, handing it to Kali.
The two saurids huddled over it.
Ebo cast Spinner an appraising stare. So there is hope for your species.
“The sun!” Reglan yelled.
The orange orb
of the sun touched the horizon. A look of panic flashed in the saurids’ eyes.
“Follow me,” Spinner instructed. With Otter in the lead, they sprinted through the woods and across the clearing.
At the entrance, the other Underlanders waited—watching.
The sun dipped lower. Only the top lip of the entrance was touched by sunlight now.
Spinner and Otter reached the lone oak first, followed by Reglan. Although small and light by dinosaur standards, the saurids weren’t fast sprinters. Ebo and Kali were still a hundred yards away.
“Hurry!” Spinner yelled.
Kali clutched the egg carefully in her forearms, slowing her pace.
“Hurry, Ebo. Run, Kali!” Reglan screamed.
The saber-tooth cat roared and the mastodon stomped his massive feet; even Scroffle lumbered partway out to try to hurry his leaders.
Spinner looked up just as the final rim of orange sun sank below the horizon. “Kali!” he warned.
The others turned. The sunset was complete. For a moment nobody moved. Silence hung over the clearing. Each and every Underlander knew what being left outside after sunset meant: the Opening would remain open forever, their secret lost. Time would no longer stand still in Underland. By morning Underland would cease to exist.
In frustration, Spinner kicked at the ground. He opened his mouth to speak, but there was nothing to say. Ebo and Kali had saved his life and he’d just cost them theirs. Although he knew it was hopeless, he looked up at the sky for some sign everything would be all right. What he saw instead were the topmost branches of the huge oak. One last, weak ray of sunlight was still visible, bathing the uppermost leaves in a pale glow.
Spinner gritted his teeth. If only there was some way to harness that last ray of light. Recalling the prism effect of the cave pearls and how Reglan had bent the sunlight when she’d picked up the pearl outside, Spinner suddenly had an idea. He’d been able to bend rays of light onto Miss Wilcroft’s face. Of course! The cave pearl! Reaching down, he grabbed his pack and emptied it.
“What are you doing?” Reglan asked.
“It’s not finished yet.” Spinner pointed to the top of the oak. “If I can focus that last beam of light down on the entrance, the secret will remain intact. But everyone has to hurry.”
Ebo and Kali rushed toward the Opening.
Wasting no time, Spinner grabbed the cave pearl and shimmied, like a monkey, up the tree.
“Careful,” Reglan called after him, her voice muffled as she tugged nervously at her lower lip.
Spinner stretched his hand that clutched the cave pearl as high as he could. The light was still a few inches out of his reach. “I need to go higher.”
He reached for another limb and pulled himself up. It groaned under his weight. Balancing the cave pearl on the very tips of his fingers, he stretched out again.
Suddenly, the cave pearl caught the light. In an instant, the ray splintered into seven rainbow colors.
Spinner took a deep breath. Straining, he adjusted his hand, using the cave pearl like a prism to bend the light downward. Once more the sun’s rays fell on Underland’s entrance. “Hurry, get inside.”
In seconds, the light would be out of his reach for good.
“Hurry,” Reglan urged, helping Kali support the egg. They were passing the first boulder.
The light dimmed further.
Spinner looked down and groaned. The two saurids weren’t fast enough. After all that effort, Underland was going to be lost. Spinner closed his eyes. He couldn’t bear to look.
Suddenly, he heard Otter bark. Spinner’s eyes snapped open. He couldn’t believe it. Otter was bounding behind Ebo and Kali. With long, fluid strides he urged them to go faster. Then, like a prize circus animal performer, he ran beneath them, scooping both saurids up onto his back and sprinting toward the entrance. Just like he used to do with Reglan’s pet raccoon! Spinner shouted, “You go, boy!”
Spinner stretched another inch upward and felt his shoulder pop. From the corner of his eye, he saw Otter leap inside Underland, safely placing the saurids on the ground without a second to spare.
Turning, Otter barked proudly and wagged his tail. Ebo reached out and touched Kali, who cradled her egg. They were all safe inside.
From the top of the oak, Spinner waved victoriously. “Way to go, Otter! Way to—” Instantly, his smile disappeared. Otter was still in Underland!
Just at that moment, the final beam of light vanished. It grew dark. The ground shook. The last sounds Spinner heard before the branch gave way beneath his feet were Otter’s frenzied barking and a deep rumbling noise. Then he heard Reglan scream.
CHAPTER 20
* * *
Spinner moaned. His head felt like it had been used as a soccer ball. The pain started in his neck and inched up around the back of his skull. He opened his eyes but everything was dark. After blinking several times, he began to focus.
“Spinner? Spinner!” a voice said.
A hand shook him gently. It was Reglan. “I thought you were dead.”
“I’m still not sure.” Spinner felt groggy, even lying flat on his back. Carefully, with Reglan’s help, he rose to a sitting position and quickly checked that all of his toes and fingers moved. “I guess I am alive after all.” He rubbed his neck and gazed upward. Through the branches of the large oak, a few stars were visible. “How long was I out?”
Reglan shrugged. “I don’t know, a while. I didn’t want to move you.” She placed a warm hand on Spinner’s forehead. “It seemed like hours. Man, you hit like a sack of potatoes.”
“I feel like a sack of potatoes.”
“Lucky the ground was soft. I called our parents. I was really worried about you, Spinner.”
“Thanks.” Spinner’s bearings were returning. He gazed around. In the dusky light he could make out Little Horn Creek gurgling past as before, and the outline of the two huge boulders sitting against the base of Majestic Mountain, where they’d sat for thousands of years.
He squinted for a closer look and adjusted his glasses. Everything was coming back. “Underland’s gone,” he mumbled. “It’s really vanished.”
Reglan helped him to his feet. She quickly gathered his knapsack and Doomsday Animal Parade book. “We’re alone,” she said, staring at the rocky cliff face that used to be Underland. “It’s just like the saurids said.”
Noticing something else in Reglan’s eyes, something that wasn’t good, Spinner gulped. He took a hesitant step toward the cliff but stumbled. Reglan was there to catch him. “Careful.”
Spinner took another step. And another. Suddenly, he was walking faster. The last images he remembered flashed in his mind. Kali and Ebo racing to get back to Underland in time. They weren’t going to make it. Then Otter coming to the Underlanders’ rescue.
Spinner’s skin glistened with sweat even though the night was cool.
“Wait.” Reglan ran to catch up.
Spinner didn’t slow. “Otter!” he called. “Otter!”
“Spinner, please wait!”
“Where’s Otter? Otter! Otter!” Spinner yelled. He stopped at the banks of the Little Horn. Stopping, he turned to look in all directions, but there was no sign of the Labrador. He pulled the flashlight out of his pack and shone it into the shadows. “Otter!”
Reglan crashed into him. Spinner caught her. “Where’s Otter?” He stared into her eyes.
“I’ve already looked.” Reglan’s eyes were downcast as she whispered, “They’ve all gone. I couldn’t find Otter.”
Spinner clenched his fists. “He must’ve run off, like he did earlier. I remember a loud rumbling. That’s what scared him. He just ran off.” Spinner tried to sound convincing. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he shouted, “Otter! Otter!” His voice echoed back from the cliff face. But there was no barking in return.
A look of panic swept across Spinner’s face. He bolted across the Little Horn, soaking his shoes and his pants, once more ignoring the threat of quicksand. �
�Otter!”
“Spinner. No!” Reglan slumped to the ground. “I’m sorry.”
Spinner dashed past the first boulder and skidded to a stop. He could only stare. Before him where once the entrance to Underland had been, there was only the cold granite cliff-face of Majestic Mountain.
“Otter,” he yelled. He jumped at a shadowy movement, but it was only a raccoon scurrying for cover.
Spinner limped toward the cliff. The Little Horn bubbled behind the second boulder and disappeared somewhere under the granite. “Otter.” He was no longer yelling. “Otter.”
Taking one slow, deliberate step after another, he approached the place where he, Reglan, and Otter had entered Underland only that morning. Perhaps the greatest discovery of all time, but now Spinner didn’t care. His mind was focused on only one thing: one yellow Lab. Otter.
But Reglan was right. It was just as Kali had said—Underland was gone. In frustration, he slapped the granite surface. It was rough, hard, and cold beneath his hand.
“Kali? Ebo?” he said softly. But he didn’t expect an answer. They were gone, too. Just like Otter. The image was so clear: Otter barking proudly from just inside the entrance, his tail wagging. Spinner leaned his face against the stone and began to sob.
“Are you okay?”
Spinner didn’t answer, but he didn’t turn away. He didn’t care if Reglan saw him cry. He’d just lost his best friend. He didn’t care who saw him. Why had he been so selfish? If he hadn’t stolen the cave pearls or the saurid egg, he’d still have Otter.
Reglan placed her hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay. I cried, too.”
Together, they turned their backs to the granite wall and slid down until they were sitting with their knees against their chests.
Spinner gazed out across the clearing. It was growing darker—fast. The large oak was now just a silhouette against the sky. He wiped a tear from his cheek.
Reglan shivered. “Maybe Otter did run off.”