“That’s just what they tell everyone to keep us in here,” Tobias insisted.
Charlotte climbed the stairs to inspect the lock. Her brother had been the one to open locks before, but now it was her turn. Holding the padlock next to her right ear, she twisted the old dial clockwise.
“Can you hear that?” she asked.
“No,” the boys answered.
Charlotte turned the lock some more. “You can’t hear that click?”
They shook their heads this time.
“My hearing has gotten so much stronger since I’ve been here,” Charlotte said in disbelief. She turned the lock a few more times and then, with one quick jerk, she pulled the padlock open.
“Nice!” Tobias whispered.
It’s interesting how everyone has different gifts. You might be remarkable at guessing people’s weight, or perhaps you’re a gifted whistler, or maybe you’re just a supertalented TV watcher. Good for you. It’s important to note, however, that Tobias’s and Charlotte’s abilities to smell and hear were becoming more superpowers than gifts. They were good at other things, but something about Witherwood was making their senses otherworldly.
Charlotte unwrapped the chain from around the handles and set it on the stone stairs. The chain was off, but the delivery doors were still locked. Tobias tried his key, but the lock was different than the others in Witherwood.
“I need a knife or something.”
“That would take too long,” Fiddle said. “Move aside.”
Fiddle ran up the stairs, and with all his strength, he threw his right shoulder into the doors. The old lock popped, and the doors flew open like metal wings.
All three of them climbed the stairs and stepped out into the open. White stones lay scattered all over, glowing in the night like Easter eggs that had been forgotten. Tobias looked up at the back side of Witherwood while his sister looked out into the dark grounds behind it. There were a few other buildings and more trees than in the gardens.
“Do you still know where the tunnel door is?” Tobias asked Fiddle.
“I do.”
“Wait,” Charlotte said, worried. “I’m not sure we should go out there. Remember what was in front of the school?”
“I know. We’ll have to move fast,” Tobias said. “Let’s just hope all the animals are at the front.”
“They’re not,” Fiddle said. “They’re all over the mesa.”
“Are you trying to scare us?” Charlotte asked.
“No,” Fiddle said casually. “It’s funny that my imagination is worried about animals. It’s always been the Catchers that concern me most.”
“Catchers?” Tobias asked with extreme curiosity.
“Yeah, they bring the students here,” Fiddle answered. “But don’t worry about that now. I don’t think anyone will care about my imagination wandering off.”
Charlotte stared at Fiddle, worried about him almost as much as herself.
“I don’t understand,” Tobias whispered. “Catchers? What are they? Nobody caught us.”
“Sure,” Fiddle said. “You’re not real.”
“But there is a tunnel, right?” Charlotte asked.
“I didn’t realize I was so doubtful,” Fiddle said, staring at Charlotte. “Yes, there’s a tunnel. Come on.”
Rain danced on their hair and shoulders as they walked. They passed three smaller buildings that looked abandoned. Beyond those buildings were more trees. The air smelled like cedar.
“There’s the first outhouse,” Fiddle said happily.
Charlotte eww’d.
“I didn’t know there was all this land in the back,” Tobias said.
“Well, there is. The mesa’s over a mile wide on top and at least as long. It begins to slope here. If you walk straight, you’ll reach the back fence in about half a mile.”
“So is that where we’re going?” Tobias asked.
“Nope. We’re going to the spring.”
Charlotte stopped. She grabbed her brother’s arm.
“What is it?” Tobias asked.
“I can hear something. Look, there!”
Charlotte motioned to a small, dark shadow on the ground behind them. She bent down to look closer.
The shadow moved.
“I wouldn’t go touching things,” Fiddle warned.
The small shadow leaped into Charlotte’s arms.
“Lars!” she exclaimed.
Tobias shined the flashlight on the creature. It shivered in his sister’s arms and blinked slowly at her as if it was glad to see her.
“You have a weird connection with animals,” Tobias said.
Lars began making an odd clicking purr.
“I’m bringing him,” Charlotte informed them while tying the front hem of her shirt to create a pouch.
“I’m not going to stop you,” Tobias said.
“I just think it’s really nice of my imagination to care about animals,” Fiddle said sincerely. “I must be a good person.”
“You are,” Tobias said. “Now show us the way out of here.”
Fiddle stepped off the small dirt trail they were on and headed straight into the trees. Tobias tried to keep the beam of the flashlight in front of Fiddle. The trees grew thicker and then thinned as the terrain became rockier.
Charlotte stopped and listened for a moment. “Something else is following us.”
Tobias glanced back into the dark night. “What is it?”
“I’m not sure, but it’s bigger than Lars.”
“It’s probably one of the Protectors,” Fiddle answered.
“Protectors?” Tobias asked.
“The animals that guard Witherwood,” Fiddle said, twisting the hair tie. “One of those creatures that hurt that tall girl years ago.”
Tobias and Charlotte stared at each other.
“Well then, go faster,” Tobias begged.
Fiddle picked up the pace.
“I hate this,” Charlotte said. “My heart’s beating like mad.”
They ran about a hundred feet farther before coming to the edge of a small stream.
“We’re going to get a little wet,” Fiddle informed them. He then stepped down the rocky bank and waded in. “The sides of the stream are thick with thornbushes. We need to head back up the stream to get to the start of it. Let’s hope walking in the water keeps some of the animals away.”
Tobias and Charlotte followed Fiddle. All three walked up the stream. The movement of water seemed to match the flood of worry and fear they had in their guts.
Heading upstream, they could see small bits of the back side of Witherwood. A couple of windows lit up, and a piercing alarm began to scream. Witherwood was like a giant ogre waking to the knowledge of them running away.
“You better be right about this,” Charlotte chastised Tobias while holding Lars tightly.
“I really hope I am,” he replied, sounding less confident than he wanted to.
After about one hundred feet of pushing through water, they were stopped by a thicket of trees growing out over the stream. The water appeared to burst right out from under the trees.
“There it is,” Fiddle said.
Tobias directed the flashlight’s beam at the spot where the water emerged from the trees.
“It’s behind those,” Fiddle reported.
“Wait,” Charlotte said urgently. “You should turn off the flashlight.”
Tobias shut off his light. Hundreds of white stones glowed all around them. Downstream they could see a dark shape coming closer, and back by the school, there were four flashlights bobbing.
“We need to move faster,” Charlotte whispered.
Fiddle led Tobias and Charlotte through the trees and then pushed himself between a fat bush and two skinny tree trunks. Tobias and Charlotte twisted and bent their bodies trying to keep up with him.
“There’s that tree I was talking about,” Fiddle said proudly.
They could see the huge tree Fiddle had described. It was almost three stories
tall, with a trunk as thick as an oil drum. It had multiple branches, and one of them was bent down and touching the water.
“That’s weird,” Fiddle whispered.
“What’s weird?”
“I remember there being a squirrel in that tree.”
“Just go,” Tobias insisted.
Fiddle pushed aside the huge hanging branch, exposing a large gash in the ground from which the spring poured forth.
“Is that what you meant by tunnel?” Tobias asked in a panic. “Because there’s no way we could crawl up in there with that water rushing out.”
“No,” Fiddle said. “You’re really not my smartest imagination.”
Fiddle pulled the branch back even farther, uncovering a concrete slab with a round metal hatch set into it.
“Not many people know this is here,” Fiddle said. “But I do. I’ve been through it a couple of times. Years ago, they used it to sneak stuff in.”
Fiddle grabbed hold of the latch on top of the small door and tried to slide it open. It was rusted stuck. “I don’t think anyone’s used it in a while.”
“Move back,” Tobias said, waving him away.
The sound of something large splashing into the stream motivated Tobias to raise his right foot and kick the latch as hard as he could. It squeaked and whined and then, with one sharp click, it miraculously opened.
“Hurry,” Charlotte said, looking back. “Hurry!”
Tobias and Fiddle pulled the round door open, and hundreds of bats shot out into the sky. They slapped up against the children’s faces and caused all three to scream in ways that weren’t very dignified. Lars did some screaming of his own. One bat tangled in Charlotte’s hair, and Tobias had to swat it out. As the bats cleared, they could hear splashing in the water not far behind them.
“Something’s here!” Charlotte said.
Tobias looked at his sister and went as pale as the moon. There, standing in the water just a few feet away, was a creature as tall as Tobias. It had long, leathery arms and a round body with quills covering most of its torso. Its head looked like a wolf with twisted ears, and it was snarling. The animal’s eyes opened and closed slowly as the smell of something rotten filled the air.
“If that’s real, we’re in trouble,” Fiddle said in awe.
The creature lunged and slipped on the wet ground. As it tried to find its footing, Tobias pushed Fiddle, Charlotte, and Lars through the hatch door and slammed it behind him. He hooked the lock, but it wouldn’t stay closed.
The creature outside wasn’t happy. It scratched and screamed at the hatch as if its life depended on getting in. Charlotte grabbed the flashlight from Tobias. She lit up her brother as he held the door and she held Lars.
“It won’t stay shut unless I hold it!” Tobias yelled. “The latch is busted!”
“I’ll do it,” Fiddle said. “You two go.”
“No way,” Tobias argued.
“You have to,” Fiddle said almost excitedly. “I don’t know if you’re real or my imagination. Actually, I’m pretty sure I’m making this all up—I mean, the things I’ve seen. How can any of it be true? But I’d kinda like to see what would happen if some of my thoughts got out of this place. So run that way.” Fiddle pointed down the tunnel. “You’ll find stairs. Follow them all the way down. There will be a fork in the tunnel. Take the right one. Just past the fork, the tunnel will slope downward. Keep going, and when it levels out, run for about a mile more. Then you’ll bump into a door. It’ll feel like a long run, but the door will be there. Open it and you’re free.”
The creature outside of the hatch shrieked. Fiddle pushed Tobias aside and held the latch in place.
“What about you?” Charlotte asked.
“People from the school will come,” Fiddle said, sweating slightly. “And daylight will put the Protectors to sleep.”
“But if they come from the school, they’ll catch you,” Charlotte said, stating the obvious.
“Big deal.” Fiddle laughed. “They can’t stop me from imagining. Besides, I’m a Withers. My uncle won’t hurt me. Now go.”
“We’re coming back for you,” Tobias insisted.
“I’d like that. This is the most fun I’ve had in a while.”
“Thanks, Fiddle,” Charlotte said.
“Anytime,” he replied as the Protector angrily screamed outside the hatch.
Tobias and Charlotte took off, running down the cement tunnel as fast as they could. After a hundred feet they came to a downward spiral staircase. When the stairs finally ended, there was more tunnel. Charlotte jumped out ahead, and Tobias followed.
“Remember where we’re going!” Tobias yelled. “In case we get lost down here.”
“Why?” Charlotte asked. “It’s not like I’m ever heading back. Did you see that animal?”
“I don’t want to think about it.”
It was a wise thing for Tobias to say. If you had seen what he just saw, you too would probably choose not to think about it. It was one thing for Witherwood to have cruel staff members and troublesome classes. There was nothing comforting about a forbidden third floor or a second floor that looks like a hospital. No recruiting brochure would list Marvin’s voice or the square room as an attraction. No, Witherwood was a place of great misunderstanding and concern, but all those concerns were made worse by the knowledge that beasts like the Protectors roamed the top of the mesa.
Tobias and Charlotte picked up the pace. The tunnel was filled with cobwebs. Every few feet, they would twist through a huge web and then have to peel it off as they ran. Two stray bats flew past them.
They came to the fork in the tunnel and stayed to the right, just as Fiddle had said. Behind them there was a feeling of dread, but ahead there was a growing feeling of hope. Lars clicked and purred as they ran.
CHAPTER 21
REST STOP
Tobias and Charlotte had no idea how far they had run, but they were done with it. The flashlight had stopped working, and now there was nothing but darkness. They had run until the cement tunnel started sloping downward. Then they had run until it finally leveled out. After that, their running turned into a slow jog. Eventually, that slow jog became a weary shuffle. And now they were simply begging their feet to keep moving forward any way possible.
“Are you sure this is the right tunnel?” Charlotte asked, her body almost completely broken down from everything she had been through.
“I only know what Fiddle said,” Tobias reminded her.
“I don’t think I can go any farther,” Charlotte pleaded. “And Lars is getting heavy.”
“What does he weigh—three pounds? We can’t stop now. We’re almost out.”
“What if Fiddle was wrong? He said go down the right tunnel. What if he got his directions messed up?”
“He’s not wrong.”
“He doesn’t even think we really exist.”
“We’ll go a little more and then rest.”
They shuffled silently for a few minutes before Charlotte spoke up. “Why is this happening? I thought when Mom died that would be the worst moment of my life, but now look at us.”
“It’s too dark to see us,” Tobias tried to joke.
“It’s not funny,” Charlotte reminded him.
Tobias sighed. “You’re right. This is ridiculous. But you know what?”
“What?”
“The one thing that hasn’t stunk this entire time is that you were here. I don’t know what I would have done if they had split us up, or if I had been alone.”
“Really?” Charlotte asked, surprised by her brother’s compliment.
“Honest,” Tobias said.
Just then he ran into a hard wall. He bounced back and fell onto Charlotte, taking them both down. Lars squawked.
“What happened?” Charlotte asked.
“I hit something.”
They scrambled to their feet and began feeling around in the dark.
“It’s a door,” Charlotte yelled. “IT’S A DOOR!”
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Tobias could feel a long board on the front of the door. He lifted it and slid it out of the brackets it was resting in. He pushed the door open and bits of moonlight drifted in. They both stepped out and noticed a row of toilets, a few sinks, and some broken windows. Bird droppings were everywhere, and a startled bird shot from beneath a bathroom stall and flew out one of the windows.
“What is this place?” Charlotte asked. “We’re out, right? We’re not still in Witherwood, are we?”
“No way,” Tobias insisted. “This isn’t Witherwood.”
Tobias walked up to one of the sinks and turned the faucet handle—no water. He looked out a window and could see a road.
“I think we’re at some old rest stop,” he said.
Charlotte walked over to the front door and easily slid back the lock. “Good. I’d hate to be stuck in a bathroom the rest of my life.”
Tobias smiled, his heart lighter than it had been in a long time. Charlotte pushed the door open, and they walked on the uneven sidewalk at the edge of an overgrown parking lot. It was dark, and the clouds were beginning to move across the moon.
“We did it,” Tobias said in amazement.
“I can’t believe—” Charlotte started to say. Her slightly pointed ears began to twitch. “Wait, do you hear that?”
The sound of a car grew louder. The car turned off the road and pulled up in front of them, its headlights shining into their eyes.
“Who’s that?” Charlotte whispered.
“How would I know?” Tobias said nervously.
“Should we run?”
“Not yet.”
They couldn’t see the driver due to the blinding headlights, but they could hear a car door open and the sound of someone stepping out.
“Who’s there?” Tobias yelled. “Don’t come any closer.”
“I’m Sheriff Pidge,” a friendly voice hollered back. “Are you two okay?”
Tobias and Charlotte looked at each other.
“We made it!” they both said together.
Charlotte smiled and Tobias cheered while Lars did nothing but purr.
CHAPTER 22
HOPE
Go ahead and close this book. It might be fun to pretend that everything ends just how you want it to. The Eggers kids are saved—why ruin the mood? If, however, you choose to continue, please don’t complain about not being forewarned.