Joshua turned and punched Daniel in the arm. “Look over there,” he said, getting so excited he almost fell off the Oren.
Daniel’s heart skipped a beat. There it was, the portal light—they were going home. Alistair landed beside it and the boys climbed down.
The first time he’d seen the portal was one of the most terrifying moments of Daniel’s life. Now, it was one of the happiest and he couldn’t wait to get through it. “Are you ready?” he asked.
Joshua eagerly nodded.
“Just give me a minute, okay?” There was one more thing to do—one final goodbye—and he didn’t look forward to it. He turned to face Alistair for the last time.
“This has been a crazy adventure, hasn’t it?”
“It has, indeed,” said Alistair. “One I will not soon forget.”
Daniel smiled. “You know, I’m going to miss your crazy way of talking.”
“And I will miss your crazy way of talking to yourself.”
Daniel brought out the stone from his pack. “What do I do with this now?”
“Keep it. Let it serve as a reminder. Never forget what you have seen here.”
“It’s a promise,” said Daniel. He put the onyx into his jeans pocket. “You know, I want to thank you for everything you did for me. For the both of us. You’re a really good friend, Alistair.”
“You are welcome. I will always be your friend, even though we are worlds apart. Friendship is in the heart, Daniel. It is not broken by distance. Always remember that.”
Daniel nodded. Though he didn’t say so, he was going to miss Alistair.
Alistair reached out to shake Joshua’s hand. “It was an honor to meet you, Joshua. I’d heard much about you, but stories are never a substitute for the real thing. You were very brave out there today.”
“Thank you.” Joshua blushed.
“Oh, by the way,” said Daniel. “I meant to tell you. Awesome sky dive from the cloud this morning. You nailed the landing. It was perfect.”
Alistair raised his arms and slowly faded from sight. “I had nothing to do with it. You did that all by yourself. Goodbye, Daniel. Goodbye, Joshua.”
The boys watched until he finally disappeared. Daniel was floored. What did he mean by that? Was he actually saying that I fl—?
“Hey, come on, let’s go,” Joshua said. Daniel shook his head. Oh, well, he could figure that one out later. Right now, they had a portal to get through.
The boys stood at the entrance. Daniel took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Would they ever see this place again? He doubted it, but then again, who knows? Stranger things have happened.
“We’ll go at the same time, all right?”
“Deal.” They took each other’s hand. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
“Okay, here we go. One … two … THREE!”
Epilogue
The boys looked around. They were home. “Yeah, we did it!” they shouted and jumped down the mausoleum steps.
“Don’t worry,” Daniel said. “Being gone hasn’t changed anything. You’re still as ugly as you ever were.”
Joshua wasn’t about to let the opportunity slip away. “Yeah, well, you’re still dumb as a box of rocks. Now, let’s go. I’ll race you home.”
“Yeah, right, like that’s going to be a close race.”
The boys dashed across the arboretum, past their granddad’s house and the old fishpond. It was like seeing it all for the first time. Through the woods, Daniel slowed down—just enough to let Joshua keep up. As they raced down the gravel road, they heard their mother’s voice and ran faster.
“Mom!” The boys bounded into her arms.
Emi hugged the boys tightly. “I love you both so much.”
“We love you, too, Mom.”
Daniel wiped the final tear from his cheek. His mom was still wearing her robe, he noticed. How much time had elapsed since they disappeared? Had it been a week, a day, a month? He shrugged his shoulders. Right now, it wasn’t important. They were together again and that’s all that mattered.
“Mom,” Daniel asked, “can we order pizza?” He thought of Marco’s extra cheese and pepperoni. Somewhere out there, Alistair was smiling. He was sure of it.
“Yes, you can order pizza.”
“Can we stay up late?”
Emi tried to hide her smile. She knew their game well enough by now. “I guess so. But just this once.”
Daniel hesitated for a second. He may never get her in this good of a mood again; might as well give it a shot. “Mom, am I still grounded?”
“Are you still grounded?” Emi paused before answering, if for nothing more than dramatic effect. “You can bet your life on it.”
Oh, well, it never hurts to try.
Chasm Page 21