Chapter One
Two hours. Sitting in school, watching a play, in the dentist’s office, at a graduation—it seemed like forever. That is exactly what it felt like for Todd on the way to visit grandmother, a weekly ritual since his grandfather died nearly a month ago. An hour north on the interstate and another on a road that rambled through miles of forest and aged homes. Entertainment for the past fifteen minutes was watching a fly. The tiny creature flew back and forth at the top of the window sensing fresh air on the other side, but frustrated by the invisible barrier preventing him from getting there. As the car came to a stop, Todd rolled down the window just enough to let the insect fly free into the afternoon’s warm air. Todd’s gaze caught a minuscule scratch on the left side of the window, and a voice snapped on in his head as if the radio had just been switched to a different channel. Glass – Silicon. Symbol Si. Number 14. One of the most widely used elements. Silicones range from liquids to hard solids and have many useful properties, including use as adhesives, sealants, and windows.
“TODD!”
His name being screamed from the front seat broke Todd’s concentration The mini van, filled to capacity with his brother, sister, three dogs, and a wheelchair, had become the equivalent of a greenhouse, and tiny beads of sweat ran down the back of Todd’s neck.
“Yes?” Todd answered.
“Can you come out of whatever world you are in. When we get to Grandma’s I need you and Jenny to get the dogs in the yard. She was adamant about them not being inside.”
“What about—”
“I’ll get George in the house. You and your sister unload the car.”
As the long plot of tombstones came into view, it was official they had arrived. There sitting squarely in-between an ancient graveyard and acres of untouched forest was a wooden A-framed house. The paint had all about worn off, leaving it a grayish color that served as a perfect camouflage to its surroundings. Only two of the green shutters on the top floor were still intact, the rest had long succumbed to the past winters. Thick wisteria held the porch rails in place and when Todd spotted one of his grandfather’s fishing poles sitting on the side of the house, a wave of sadness swept over him.
“Wait here until I signal,” Todd’s mother said as she got out of the car.
The front door creaked open, and several seconds later an elderly woman with a thin, grey braid that landed midway down her back shuffled out. Each eye had a perfect white circle in the pupil, as if a full moon had landed smack in the middle. The paisley blue dress she wore fell below her knees, exposing thick ankles tucked into black orthopedic shoes.
“Hi Mom.”
“Margaret, that you?”
“Yes.”
“Dogs too?”
“Yes, I told you they were coming.”
“In the yard, don’t want any hair in the house. Where’s George and Jenny?”
“In the car, I’m taking George to the city in the morning. Todd and Jenny are staying here.”
“Todd?”
“Yes Todd. They’ll be good company for you.”
“Always around at the wrong time that boy.”
“He blames himself enough, he doesn’t need your help. Promise you won’t say anything.”
Todd’s mother motioned for them to get out of the van. Jenny bolted out, lingering at Todd’s window long enough to let her eyes land on him with a look of disgust.
“What?” Todd said as he opened the door.
“I hate it here. I would rather be laying under one of those tombstones than spending two weeks at this excuse for a house.”
“It’s not my fault we’re here,” Todd said as he closed his door. He stepped closer to his sister, and in a low voice said, “Stop complaining. Do you have to make everyone miserable?”
“I’ll make—”
Margaret brushed past them and slid open the side door. “Stop fighting. I need you to unload the car.”
“I thought you were going to leave me in here to die of heat or slime,” George said as he tried to distance himself from the massive head protruding from the back of the van. Todd held his breath and ran to the side of the van as he released the rear latch. A stampede exited. Chester, their Bernese mountain dog, stretched from the long ride and then carefully took in his new surroundings. Pookie, the twenty-pound pug, was pulling Atlas’ tail, one of her favorite pastimes, as the 180-pound Newfoundland headed to the side of the house where water was dripping from a leaky faucet.
“That dog is the next best thing to a divining rod,” Todd said.
“Yeah, and he would drink us out of house and home if we ever had a water shortage,” George said as Margret eased him into the wheelchair.
“I’ll get the luggage, you can do the dogs,” Jenny said as she grabbed a couple of bags from the back.
Todd corralled the three of them in the fenced-in yard and snapped the gate closed. The air was still except for the slight squeak of a broken gate from the adjacent graveyard.
Jenny peered over the railings and said, “Why did you bring your climbing knapsack?”
“What else am I going to do here?”
“If Mom sees it she’s going to flip.”
“Then let’s make sure she doesn’t.”
Their grandmother had a lot of unlikeable qualities, but her cooking wasn’t one of them. On the bare wooden table sat a hearty chicken potpie and freshly made lemonade. The five of them squeezed around a table meant for four. Each plate was a different size and pattern. The sun was sitting low in the sky, letting streams of hazy light through the lace dining room curtains. Several small chipmunks scurried on the trees outside, hiding future meals in their packed cheeks.
“Mom,” Margret said breaking the silence, “you should move. This house is too much for you to keep up with.”
“Let’s not go there. We’ve discussed it before. This house has been in our family for generations. This is my home and I’m not leaving.” She slid her chair back and disappeared into the kitchen.
“What are we going to do here for two weeks?” Jenny moaned. “There’s no Internet, no phone service, I don’t even think the television works.”
“I am leaving in the morning with George, you can deal with it for two weeks.”
“You should’ve let them stay at our house, they’re old enough,” George said.
“Grandma can use the company. I don’t want any trouble from either of you.”
“Todd brought his climbing stuff,” Jenny spurted out.
Margaret’s face tuned a shade of crimson, “We’re done climbing in this family.”
“You don’t give up something you love because of one set back.” George spoke to his mother but landed his eyes on Todd.
“I don’t want to hear the world climbing in this house. Todd, if I find you went climbing you will be grounded for a year. Now for sleeping arrangements, Todd, you’re on a cot in the attic. Grandma is going to sleep upstairs with Jenny. I’m down here on the couch and George is in grandma’s room.”
“Someone kill me,” Jenny whined.
Todd grabbed a couple of plates and brought them into the kitchen, where his grandmother was scrubbing a pot.
“The pie was good, Grandma.”
“Nothing’s the same since your Grandpa is gone.”
“I know.”
“You still having problems in school?”
“I’m doing okay.”
Todd’s grandmother stopped scrubbing and turned her moon eyes in Todd’s direction. “You were born with an incredible gift. You best use it.”
She turned back to her pot, and Todd knew he was being dismissed.
Access to the attic was through a slim door on the second floor that led to a steep, narrow staircase. The attic was an expansive room of old items that had been accumulated over dozens of years. A Victorian dollhouse sat in the corner, each room decorated with miniature furniture, rugs, and accessories. A life-size, headless body was posed near a small window, half draped in bright red material with dozens of pins sticking out from seams yet to be finished. Todd smiled when he spotted the poster on the opposite wall. The colorful blocks were faded, and the notes and arrows his grandfather had made during the long hours he would spend talking to Todd about the Periodic Table, were still there. It had started one summer day when he was four and had found the poster under one of the beds. His Grandfather discovered that Todd had an uncanny ability for science. In two days he had memorized the table and within weeks had been able to name various compounds and experiments used with the elements.
Under the poster was a Scooby-doo lunchbox. Todd smiled as he opened it. Inside was a magnet, swiss-army knife, pack of matches, his old Polaroid camera, and a large tin. Todd popped open the tin revealing a chunk of sodium covered in layers of aluminum foil. The door below squeaked open, and as the sound of footsteps announced a visitor, Todd closed the tin and stuck it back into the lunchbox.
“You okay?” His mother said.
“I miss grandpa.”
“Me too,” Margaret said as she put her arm on his shoulder. “He thought the world of you. Ever since Dad died, he thought of you as his son.”
“I shouldn’t have left the boat.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
She was holding a yellow bag with a picture of Einstein on it, which Todd recognized from his favorite science store.
“Here’s something to keep you occupied while I’m gone.”
Todd opened the box and smiled. “Cool, thanks Mom.”
The small plasma ball lit up in a fury of blue and pick lightening bolts. Todd touched his finger on the top and the energy inside jumped to his finger.
“It’s battery operated. Have fun,” she said and kissed him on his head. “Now go to sleep.”
Todd slid under the blanket noticing the musty smell that permeated the entire house had also seeped into the sheets. He stared at the Periodic Table until his eyes grew heavy and fell asleep with dozens of symbols dancing in his head.
The walls were flickering with rays of light beaming in through the hand shaped leaves on the tree outside. Todd pulled himself out of bed and glanced out the window. The sky was a perfect blue with soft cotton puffs floating eastward. The mixed aroma of bacon and sausage was seeping into the room. He grabbed the half-finished dress off the mannequin, shook the pins out and wrapped it around the ball. He tucked it in the lunch box and made his way in the direction of the morning conversation, which stopped abruptly when he entered the room.
“What’s going on?”
His Grandmother looked at his mother and shuffled into the kitchen.
“Getting ready to leave,” Margaret said. “How about letting the dogs out for a run.”
“That pug is trouble. Always trying to run away that one.” Todd heard his grandmother call out from the kitchen. “The Newfoundland slimes everything it comes in contact with. The only good one of the bunch is the Bernese. Good watch dog that one.”
As soon as the squeaky door swung open, Atlas jumped up against the fence. His long white teeth shined in the morning sun and his head stood a foot taller than the fence. Pookie was pawing at the latch trying to open it and Chester was patiently sitting.
Todd threw them each a piece of bacon, “Yes, you have me this morning. Come on guys let’s go for a run.”
They inhaled the meat, pranced around the yard, and then took off for the woods in the back of the house. Todd retrieved the knapsack he had hidden under a blanket in the back of the van and tucked the lunchbox in it as Jenny came out of the house. At five foot seven, she had grown an inch taller than him and was a duplicate of his mother who was often compared to Greta Garbo. Her long-sleeve purple tee shirt hung down over her faded jeans and she had a school sweatshirt draped over her neck.
Todd slid the knapsack behind the steps and said, “You’re going to be hot.”
Jenny pulled the sweatshirt tight to her body. “I would rather dress in layers, the mornings are freezing here.”
“If the new freezing is 65.”
“Where are you going?”
“Nowhere.”
Todd reached in the van and grabbed a handful of milk bones. He let out a sharp whistle, startling a pair of morning doves from their nest in an adjacent tree. Chester responded with no hesitation. Atlas and Pookie were nowhere to be found. Todd called their names when from behind he heard a romping that could only mean one thing. As he turned, Atlas pounced on him with a ball of fur attached to a long tail lodged between his massive jaws.
“Ahh! Get off me. Get off me now! Mom, help!”
Todd’s mother ran out of the house as he struggled to distance himself from Atlas. Pookie in the meantime danced all around them as if she was Atlas’ personal cheerleader.
His mother inspected the fur on the ground and said, “Oh Todd, it’s a rat and it’s dead.”
She shook her head, grabbed an old newspaper, and picked the limp mammal off the ground.
“I hate rats, I hate mice, I hate all those rodent-like things,” Todd said as he cringed at its long hairless tail swing in the air.
“He was bringing you a present.”
“IPods, headphones, even Godiva – those are presents. A dead rat is like a threat from the mafia.”
She tossed it in the trash and said, “Not to a dog.”
Todd pulled Atlas into the pen, Pookie attached to his tail. Atlas looked up at Todd with big eyes full of confusion as to what was wrong with his gift.
“Say good luck to your brother, we’re leaving.”
George was sitting in the car with a wide smile on his face.
“It wasn’t funny,” Todd said.
“It was from here.”
“Hey good luck with the doctor.”
“Who knows, maybe they’ll find some magical drug to make these legs work again.”
“I hope they do,” Todd said and gave him a tap on his arm.
As the van took off down the road, Jenny looked at Todd. “What are you doing with the knapsack?”
“I’m going for a hike.”
The door squeaked open and their grandmother stuck her head out. “The dogs are running through the graveyard.”
“What!” Todd said as he ran to the back of the house.
“I told you that pug is nothing but trouble.”
The gate was open and Todd could see Chester’s white tail far off in the distance running with the other two through shrubs and graves.
“Jenny! Help me!” Todd shouted as he ran after them.
“Where did they go?”
“Over by the Mausoleums.”
When they reached the stone structures, the area was quiet with no sign of the dogs.
“Great. Mom’s going to kill us,” Todd said.
“Us? You were in charge of the dogs.”
Todd looked behind each of the large stone structures and when he reached the largest one marked Erickson he heard noise coming from inside.
“Atlas!” Todd called. “I think they went inside.”
“I’m not going in there,” Jenny said.
“Chester!” Todd called out.
From inside they heard a shuffling noise and a muffled whining. Todd pushed the door open revealing a pure stone room with tall vaulted ceilings. Cut into the thick limestone were three arches leading to other rooms. The inside temperature dropped twenty degrees, and as Todd bent down to inspect a piece of stone, he felt a hand on his back.
“You scared the heck out of me.” Todd said.
“It’s scarier outside than in here. Pookie!” Jenny called out.
From the room to their left they heard a faint noise.
“We should get out of here.” Jenny said.
“We can’t go back without the dogs.”
Jenny grabbed on to Todd’s shirt as he slowly made his way through the arch. The room was larger than the first with dozens of images carved into the wall. A long stone casket sat on the right side, covered with dust and cobwebs.
“The dogs aren’t in here,” Jenny said pulling Todd’s arm in the direction of the exit.
“Wait, look at this.”
On the far wall hung a large black ring. As Todd ran his hands around it, he heard a deep rumbling from below.
“Todd!” Jenny shouted.
From the doorway where they had entered, the floor began to open up, filling the air with a high-pitch squeal.
“Here!” Todd said as he scrambled on the casket and put out his hand for Jenny.
The floor continued to open and the room began to shake as if a giant storm was raging outside. Todd reached out for one of the bars on the window when a crack echoed through the room and the casket gave way plunging them into the abyss below.
Two hours. Sitting in school, watching a play, in the dentist’s office, at a graduation—it seemed like forever. That is exactly what it felt like for Todd on the way to visit grandmother, a weekly ritual since his grandfather died nearly a month ago. An hour north on the interstate and another on a road that rambled through miles of forest and aged homes. Entertainment for the past fifteen minutes was watching a fly. The tiny creature flew back and forth at the top of the window sensing fresh air on the other side, but frustrated by the invisible barrier preventing him from getting there. As the car came to a stop, Todd rolled down the window just enough to let the insect fly free into the afternoon’s warm air. Todd’s gaze caught a minuscule scratch on the left side of the window, and a voice snapped on in his head as if the radio had just been switched to a different channel. Glass – Silicon. Symbol Si. Number 14. One of the most widely used elements. Silicones range from liquids to hard solids and have many useful properties, including use as adhesives, sealants, and windows.
“TODD!”
His name being screamed from the front seat broke Todd’s concentration The mini van, filled to capacity with his brother, sister, three dogs, and a wheelchair, had become the equivalent of a greenhouse, and tiny beads of sweat ran down the back of Todd’s neck.
“Yes?” Todd answered.
“Can you come out of whatever world you are in. When we get to Grandma’s I need you and Jenny to get the dogs in the yard. She was adamant about them not being inside.”
“What about—”
“I’ll get George in the house. You and your sister unload the car.”
As the long plot of tombstones came into view, it was official they had arrived. There sitting squarely in-between an ancient graveyard and acres of untouched forest was a wooden A-framed house. The paint had all about worn off, leaving it a grayish color that served as a perfect camouflage to its surroundings. Only two of the green shutters on the top floor were still intact, the rest had long succumbed to the past winters. Thick wisteria held the porch rails in place and when Todd spotted one of his grandfather’s fishing poles sitting on the side of the house, a wave of sadness swept over him.
“Wait here until I signal,” Todd’s mother said as she got out of the car.
The front door creaked open, and several seconds later an elderly woman with a thin, grey braid that landed midway down her back shuffled out. Each eye had a perfect white circle in the pupil, as if a full moon had landed smack in the middle. The paisley blue dress she wore fell below her knees, exposing thick ankles tucked into black orthopedic shoes.
“Hi Mom.”
“Margaret, that you?”
“Yes.”
“Dogs too?”
“Yes, I told you they were coming.”
“In the yard, don’t want any hair in the house. Where’s George and Jenny?”
“In the car, I’m taking George to the city in the morning. Todd and Jenny are staying here.”
“Todd?”
“Yes Todd. They’ll be good company for you.”
“Always around at the wrong time that boy.”
“He blames himself enough, he doesn’t need your help. Promise you won’t say anything.”
Todd’s mother motioned for them to get out of the van. Jenny bolted out, lingering at Todd’s window long enough to let her eyes land on him with a look of disgust.
“What?” Todd said as he opened the door.
“I hate it here. I would rather be laying under one of those tombstones than spending two weeks at this excuse for a house.”
“It’s not my fault we’re here,” Todd said as he closed his door. He stepped closer to his sister, and in a low voice said, “Stop complaining. Do you have to make everyone miserable?”
“I’ll make—”
Margaret brushed past them and slid open the side door. “Stop fighting. I need you to unload the car.”
“I thought you were going to leave me in here to die of heat or slime,” George said as he tried to distance himself from the massive head protruding from the back of the van. Todd held his breath and ran to the side of the van as he released the rear latch. A stampede exited. Chester, their Bernese mountain dog, stretched from the long ride and then carefully took in his new surroundings. Pookie, the twenty-pound pug, was pulling Atlas’ tail, one of her favorite pastimes, as the 180-pound Newfoundland headed to the side of the house where water was dripping from a leaky faucet.
“That dog is the next best thing to a divining rod,” Todd said.
“Yeah, and he would drink us out of house and home if we ever had a water shortage,” George said as Margret eased him into the wheelchair.
“I’ll get the luggage, you can do the dogs,” Jenny said as she grabbed a couple of bags from the back.
Todd corralled the three of them in the fenced-in yard and snapped the gate closed. The air was still except for the slight squeak of a broken gate from the adjacent graveyard.
Jenny peered over the railings and said, “Why did you bring your climbing knapsack?”
“What else am I going to do here?”
“If Mom sees it she’s going to flip.”
“Then let’s make sure she doesn’t.”
Their grandmother had a lot of unlikeable qualities, but her cooking wasn’t one of them. On the bare wooden table sat a hearty chicken potpie and freshly made lemonade. The five of them squeezed around a table meant for four. Each plate was a different size and pattern. The sun was sitting low in the sky, letting streams of hazy light through the lace dining room curtains. Several small chipmunks scurried on the trees outside, hiding future meals in their packed cheeks.
“Mom,” Margret said breaking the silence, “you should move. This house is too much for you to keep up with.”
“Let’s not go there. We’ve discussed it before. This house has been in our family for generations. This is my home and I’m not leaving.” She slid her chair back and disappeared into the kitchen.
“What are we going to do here for two weeks?” Jenny moaned. “There’s no Internet, no phone service, I don’t even think the television works.”
“I am leaving in the morning with George, you can deal with it for two weeks.”
“You should’ve let them stay at our house, they’re old enough,” George said.
“Grandma can use the company. I don’t want any trouble from either of you.”
“Todd brought his climbing stuff,” Jenny spurted out.
Margaret’s face tuned a shade of crimson, “We’re done climbing in this family.”
“You don’t give up something you love because of one set back.” George spoke to his mother but landed his eyes on Todd.
“I don’t want to hear the world climbing in this house. Todd, if I find you went climbing you will be grounded for a year. Now for sleeping arrangements, Todd, you’re on a cot in the attic. Grandma is going to sleep upstairs with Jenny. I’m down here on the couch and George is in grandma’s room.”
“Someone kill me,” Jenny whined.
Todd grabbed a couple of plates and brought them into the kitchen, where his grandmother was scrubbing a pot.
“The pie was good, Grandma.”
“Nothing’s the same since your Grandpa is gone.”
“I know.”
“You still having problems in school?”
“I’m doing okay.”
Todd’s grandmother stopped scrubbing and turned her moon eyes in Todd’s direction. “You were born with an incredible gift. You best use it.”
She turned back to her pot, and Todd knew he was being dismissed.
Access to the attic was through a slim door on the second floor that led to a steep, narrow staircase. The attic was an expansive room of old items that had been accumulated over dozens of years. A Victorian dollhouse sat in the corner, each room decorated with miniature furniture, rugs, and accessories. A life-size, headless body was posed near a small window, half draped in bright red material with dozens of pins sticking out from seams yet to be finished. Todd smiled when he spotted the poster on the opposite wall. The colorful blocks were faded, and the notes and arrows his grandfather had made during the long hours he would spend talking to Todd about the Periodic Table, were still there. It had started one summer day when he was four and had found the poster under one of the beds. His Grandfather discovered that Todd had an uncanny ability for science. In two days he had memorized the table and within weeks had been able to name various compounds and experiments used with the elements.
Under the poster was a Scooby-doo lunchbox. Todd smiled as he opened it. Inside was a magnet, swiss-army knife, pack of matches, his old Polaroid camera, and a large tin. Todd popped open the tin revealing a chunk of sodium covered in layers of aluminum foil. The door below squeaked open, and as the sound of footsteps announced a visitor, Todd closed the tin and stuck it back into the lunchbox.
“You okay?” His mother said.
“I miss grandpa.”
“Me too,” Margaret said as she put her arm on his shoulder. “He thought the world of you. Ever since Dad died, he thought of you as his son.”
“I shouldn’t have left the boat.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
She was holding a yellow bag with a picture of Einstein on it, which Todd recognized from his favorite science store.
“Here’s something to keep you occupied while I’m gone.”
Todd opened the box and smiled. “Cool, thanks Mom.”
The small plasma ball lit up in a fury of blue and pick lightening bolts. Todd touched his finger on the top and the energy inside jumped to his finger.
“It’s battery operated. Have fun,” she said and kissed him on his head. “Now go to sleep.”
Todd slid under the blanket noticing the musty smell that permeated the entire house had also seeped into the sheets. He stared at the Periodic Table until his eyes grew heavy and fell asleep with dozens of symbols dancing in his head.
The walls were flickering with rays of light beaming in through the hand shaped leaves on the tree outside. Todd pulled himself out of bed and glanced out the window. The sky was a perfect blue with soft cotton puffs floating eastward. The mixed aroma of bacon and sausage was seeping into the room. He grabbed the half-finished dress off the mannequin, shook the pins out and wrapped it around the ball. He tucked it in the lunch box and made his way in the direction of the morning conversation, which stopped abruptly when he entered the room.
“What’s going on?”
His Grandmother looked at his mother and shuffled into the kitchen.
“Getting ready to leave,” Margaret said. “How about letting the dogs out for a run.”
“That pug is trouble. Always trying to run away that one.” Todd heard his grandmother call out from the kitchen. “The Newfoundland slimes everything it comes in contact with. The only good one of the bunch is the Bernese. Good watch dog that one.”
As soon as the squeaky door swung open, Atlas jumped up against the fence. His long white teeth shined in the morning sun and his head stood a foot taller than the fence. Pookie was pawing at the latch trying to open it and Chester was patiently sitting.
Todd threw them each a piece of bacon, “Yes, you have me this morning. Come on guys let’s go for a run.”
They inhaled the meat, pranced around the yard, and then took off for the woods in the back of the house. Todd retrieved the knapsack he had hidden under a blanket in the back of the van and tucked the lunchbox in it as Jenny came out of the house. At five foot seven, she had grown an inch taller than him and was a duplicate of his mother who was often compared to Greta Garbo. Her long-sleeve purple tee shirt hung down over her faded jeans and she had a school sweatshirt draped over her neck.
Todd slid the knapsack behind the steps and said, “You’re going to be hot.”
Jenny pulled the sweatshirt tight to her body. “I would rather dress in layers, the mornings are freezing here.”
“If the new freezing is 65.”
“Where are you going?”
“Nowhere.”
Todd reached in the van and grabbed a handful of milk bones. He let out a sharp whistle, startling a pair of morning doves from their nest in an adjacent tree. Chester responded with no hesitation. Atlas and Pookie were nowhere to be found. Todd called their names when from behind he heard a romping that could only mean one thing. As he turned, Atlas pounced on him with a ball of fur attached to a long tail lodged between his massive jaws.
“Ahh! Get off me. Get off me now! Mom, help!”
Todd’s mother ran out of the house as he struggled to distance himself from Atlas. Pookie in the meantime danced all around them as if she was Atlas’ personal cheerleader.
His mother inspected the fur on the ground and said, “Oh Todd, it’s a rat and it’s dead.”
She shook her head, grabbed an old newspaper, and picked the limp mammal off the ground.
“I hate rats, I hate mice, I hate all those rodent-like things,” Todd said as he cringed at its long hairless tail swing in the air.
“He was bringing you a present.”
“IPods, headphones, even Godiva – those are presents. A dead rat is like a threat from the mafia.”
She tossed it in the trash and said, “Not to a dog.”
Todd pulled Atlas into the pen, Pookie attached to his tail. Atlas looked up at Todd with big eyes full of confusion as to what was wrong with his gift.
“Say good luck to your brother, we’re leaving.”
George was sitting in the car with a wide smile on his face.
“It wasn’t funny,” Todd said.
“It was from here.”
“Hey good luck with the doctor.”
“Who knows, maybe they’ll find some magical drug to make these legs work again.”
“I hope they do,” Todd said and gave him a tap on his arm.
As the van took off down the road, Jenny looked at Todd. “What are you doing with the knapsack?”
“I’m going for a hike.”
The door squeaked open and their grandmother stuck her head out. “The dogs are running through the graveyard.”
“What!” Todd said as he ran to the back of the house.
“I told you that pug is nothing but trouble.”
The gate was open and Todd could see Chester’s white tail far off in the distance running with the other two through shrubs and graves.
“Jenny! Help me!” Todd shouted as he ran after them.
“Where did they go?”
“Over by the Mausoleums.”
When they reached the stone structures, the area was quiet with no sign of the dogs.
“Great. Mom’s going to kill us,” Todd said.
“Us? You were in charge of the dogs.”
Todd looked behind each of the large stone structures and when he reached the largest one marked Erickson he heard noise coming from inside.
“Atlas!” Todd called. “I think they went inside.”
“I’m not going in there,” Jenny said.
“Chester!” Todd called out.
From inside they heard a shuffling noise and a muffled whining. Todd pushed the door open revealing a pure stone room with tall vaulted ceilings. Cut into the thick limestone were three arches leading to other rooms. The inside temperature dropped twenty degrees, and as Todd bent down to inspect a piece of stone, he felt a hand on his back.
“You scared the heck out of me.” Todd said.
“It’s scarier outside than in here. Pookie!” Jenny called out.
From the room to their left they heard a faint noise.
“We should get out of here.” Jenny said.
“We can’t go back without the dogs.”
Jenny grabbed on to Todd’s shirt as he slowly made his way through the arch. The room was larger than the first with dozens of images carved into the wall. A long stone casket sat on the right side, covered with dust and cobwebs.
“The dogs aren’t in here,” Jenny said pulling Todd’s arm in the direction of the exit.
“Wait, look at this.”
On the far wall hung a large black ring. As Todd ran his hands around it, he heard a deep rumbling from below.
“Todd!” Jenny shouted.
From the doorway where they had entered, the floor began to open up, filling the air with a high-pitch squeal.
“Here!” Todd said as he scrambled on the casket and put out his hand for Jenny.
The floor continued to open and the room began to shake as if a giant storm was raging outside. Todd reached out for one of the bars on the window when a crack echoed through the room and the casket gave way plunging them into the abyss below.