The Pillars of Ponderay

  “Reports are coming in all around. The highways are packed with evacuees, but where can they go? Hotels are shutting down. Gas stations are running out of gas. It’s as if the apocalypse has come. . . .”

  The image changed, showing a highway with a line of honking cars. It was pouring rain, and the sky was so dark it almost looked like night, but the clock in the corner of the screen said it was only noon in California. The screen switched to show a place called La Jolla Shores. Its rocky cliffs could barely be seen through the torrential downpour. A lifeguard stand tumbled over into the sand, and a flock of wet seagulls huddled beneath it in hopes of shelter from the storm. There were marinas with sailboats’ masts cracked in half, and giant yachts that had capsized.

  The screen went back to the reporter, who now looked like someone was spraying her in the face with a fire hose. “It’s estimated that by nightfall, wind speeds will have reached one hundred thirty miles per . . .”

  Suddenly a gust of wind ripped the umbrella away from her. It flew through the air and smacked into the camera.

  The screen flickered. Then it went black.

  “Omigosh,” Birdie gasped.

  “Whoa,” Leroy said. “What just happened?”

  “The Imbalance happened,” Albert said. “And it’s only going to get worse.”

  Dread filled him as he stared at the empty screen.

  CHAPTER 12

  Caught Red-Handed

  Normally Albert wasn’t a desperate person.

  He excelled at lots of things (unless you counted school). Growing up, he’d loved the forest outside of Herman, and hiking, climbing, and running. These were things Albert just knew how to do.

  So when he came to the Core the first time, well, it simply clicked for Albert. After he had figured out his Master Tile, of course.

  But so far, this term was different.

  Albert knew just how intense it could be inside the real Realms. And if Hoyt and his cronies got to be the ones to enter Ponderay, things probably wouldn’t bode well for the fate of the world above. After seeing the news report, Albert’s only thought was that it was time to work harder. Really put everything out there, so that when the end results came, Albert would know he’d done his absolute best to win.

  When darkness fell in the boys’ dorm, Albert and Leroy tiptoed past the scattering mess of tents and hammocks. Farnsworth and his flashlight eyes led the way.

  They snuck out the door with ease, locking it behind them as they disappeared into the dimly lit tunnel beyond.

  “We’ll have to be quick,” Albert whispered to Leroy as they walked. They stuck to the shadows on the edges of the wall, just in case someone came around.

  They passed the statue of Frog Man, and even though Albert and Leroy had seen it a million times, the thing still made them shiver and hasten their pace.

  “Birdie’s meeting us in the Main Chamber,” Albert whispered to Leroy.

  There was a creeeeaking noise behind them.

  Albert and Leroy dove into the shadows and Farnsworth shut off his high beams. They waited as footsteps came closer.

  An itch prickled Albert’s nose, but he didn’t dare move to scratch it.

  The footsteps were almost upon them. Albert was about to turn to Leroy and tell him to run, when a person shuffled into view.

  It was only a Core Cleaner, sweeping the floors. Albert and Leroy waited as she cleaned up, and when she was on her way, they both relaxed.

  “I thought it was a Professor!” Leroy whispered. “We would’ve been busted for sure.”

  “Yeah.” Albert nodded. “Let’s hope Birdie hasn’t been spotted.”

  They made it to the Main Chamber without any more incidents, and Birdie was waiting for them as planned.

  “Let’s go!” Albert stage-whispered, waving Birdie over. She was wearing all black, and she even had gloves on her hands.

  “What do you think we’re doing, Birdie? Robbing a bank?” Leroy muffled a laugh.

  Birdie punched him in the shoulder, and he almost toppled over the railing of the bridge. Albert caught him just in time.

  “It’s just a precaution,” Birdie whispered. “Let’s move, boys.”

  Being out in the middle of the night was scary. The blue flames were dim, some of them completely melted away to purple embers, and there were strange, long shadows on the walls.

  Leroy took the lead, using his Synapse Tile to navigate to Professor Asante’s office.

  They made it to the end of a wide tunnel, and there stood the door, old and wooden, just waiting for them to go inside.

  There had to be tons of books in there, loads of secret information about Ponderay that couldn’t be found in the actual Library. All Albert had to do was get Leroy inside. He’d be able to skim through any book in seconds, and maybe they’d have a chance in the Pit tomorrow.

  “Trey said the key was up high,” Albert whispered. “Farnsworth, a little light, please?”

  Farnsworth wagged his tail and looked up, illuminating the ceiling in bright light.

  And there it was.

  An old brass key, dangling from a hook above the doorway, so high that only Professor Asante herself would be able to reach it.

  “There’s no way we’ll be able to get that thing,” Birdie said, shaking her head.

  But Albert wasn’t worried. He smiled, then reached up to grab his Master Tile from around his neck. “You’re forgetting I have this.”

  “Then get on with it.” Birdie nudged him. “The longer we stay here, the more chance we have of getting caught.”

  “Impressive reasoning skills,” Leroy said, smiling.

  “Okay, give me a second.” Albert closed his eyes and pictured the Black Book. Hundreds of pages, thousands and thousands of Tile symbols.

  What would he use for this?

  It came to him, the only clear image in his mind. The Weightlessness Tile, the same one he’d used in Calderon last term to cross the swamp.

  Albert focused on it, and soon he was floating a few inches off the ground.

  “It never gets old.” Birdie clapped her hands lightly.

  Albert had to really concentrate to get himself to rise higher and higher. He was still rusty, but after one failed try that ended up with a squished tail and an apology to Farnsworth, Albert floated to the ceiling and snatched the key.

  He landed softly, then inserted the key in the lock. It clicked open easily. A minty smell wafted its way down the hall, alerting Albert’s senses. The door swung inward with a creak, and Birdie and Leroy shuffled inside. Albert went last, but not before stopping to cast a glance over his shoulder.

  In the darkness, a shadow moved. Something that looked tall and thin and human.

  The shadow turned and started heading toward Albert.

  Albert practically dove inside the dark office, taking the key. He shut the door behind him, quickly locked it, then paused to catch his breath.

  “Wow,” he heard his friends say.

  Albert looked up, and his own jaw dropped.

  They were standing in the middle of a massive cavern, the walls lined with old wooden bookshelves. The desk in the middle of the room was piled high with stacks and stacks of paper.

  But that wasn’t the coolest part.

  There was a thick black curtain taking up an entire wall. A cool blue glow peeked out from the edge of the curtain. Albert was dying to know what was behind it.

  He took a step forward, eyes wide.

  “What do you think it is?” Albert asked.

  “I can sense water,” Birdie said. “But I’m not sure.”

  “A good guess, Miss Howell,” a voice called out from the darkest corner of the room.

  Leroy screamed like a banshee. Albert and Birdie bumped heads, and Farnsworth growled, his fur standing on end. His eyes flashed a brilliant blue, illuminating the source of the voice.

  There was a squealing sound, and Professor Asante emerged from the darkness. Albert gasped. She was in a wheelchair. The spok
es glittered blue in the light of Farnsworth’s eyes, and as Albert looked closer, he realized Professor Asante’s leg was broken. It was wrapped in a thick white cast, and stuck out in front of her like a tree branch. What had happened to her inside Ponderay?

  “What are you three doing in my office in the middle of the night?” Professor Asante asked. She raised an eyebrow.

  “We’re burned toast, dudes,” Leroy groaned.

  Albert was sure truer words had never been said.

  CHAPTER 13

  The Pillars of Doom

  “So you wish to discover the secrets of Ponderay?” Albert, Leroy, and Birdie stood in the center of the room, while Professor Asante wheeled past them, parking herself in front of them. Seeing her like this, Albert’s stomach whirled. Her injury was probably the reason for Professor Flynn and Tussy’s whispered conversation in the Pit yesterday. What would happen to the chosen Balance Keepers, if someone as large and powerful as Professor Asante could end up like this after going into Ponderay?

  Even sitting down in her chair, with her broken leg stuck out in front of her like a lead pipe, she was intimidating. And still taller than all three of them. She tapped her fingertips on her thighs. “I’m assuming that’s why you broke into my office in the dead of night. I had a rough day in Ponderay, and now you three.”

  “We’re sorry,” Albert blurted out. He swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to sound a little more diplomatic. “We’ll go back to our dorms. You can give us detention. We deserve it.”

  “Please forgive us, Professor,” Birdie piped up, putting on her best doe eyes. “We were hoping to find an advantage we could use in the Pit, but we shouldn’t have come into your office without asking.”

  Leroy just nodded and chewed on his lip, looking very much like a frightened rabbit that might bolt at any moment. Even Farnsworth whimpered, using his paws to shove his ears over his eyes.

  “You admit your crime and ask for forgiveness at once. Interesting.” Professor Asante motioned to a plush leather couch in the corner of her office. “Take a seat, please.”

  Albert exchanged a glance with his friends. They all looked a little sick, so Albert and Farnsworth took the lead.

  Professor Asante followed, pushing herself past the trio to a bookshelf in the shadows. Across the room, Albert thought he saw a yellow flash on the edges of the curtain, but it settled back to blue when he looked.

  “She looks like she’s going to eat us,” Leroy whispered to Albert and Birdie.

  “She’s not a witch, she’s not going to snack on our bones,” Birdie hissed. “But there’s no telling what else she might do.”

  “Just wait a second, guys,” Albert whispered, trying to calm them both down. “Maybe she’ll just give us detention and then let us go.”

  Professor Asante seemed to find what she was looking for. She wheeled back over, the rusted spokes of her chair squeaking like mice. When she stopped in front of the trio, Albert saw a fat leather-bound book perched on her lap.

  “You aren’t the first students to go looking for answers about the Realms, you know,” Professor Asante said. She actually sort of smiled. “I admire your bravery. I never was a rule-follower myself.”

  Albert, Birdie, and Leroy all breathed a sigh of relief.

  Professor Asante raised an eyebrow. “Nevertheless, you will serve detention tomorrow morning, as punishment.” She tapped the book, and dust floated up, dancing in the air. “But for now, we’ll simply enjoy a private lesson about Ponderay.”

  The book was massive, even larger than the Black Book. Professor Asante flipped through the pages, and Albert, Leroy, and Birdie leaned forward, eyes wide. They saw a map of the Realm for the very first time.

  The only similarity between Ponderay and Calderon was the ringlike shape that outlined both Realms. But while Calderon had forests and fields and spires, Ponderay looked like the Grand Canyon.

  “Most of the Realm is rocky and dry,” Professor Asante said. “But don’t let the desert look fool you. The air is as frigid as a scorned woman’s heart. The wind will knock a grown man from his feet, and the nights are darker than anything you’ve ever known.”

  Albert shivered and pulled Farnsworth into his lap. Birdie wrapped her arms around herself. Leroy groaned and looked like he might be sick.

  “Yes.” Professor Asante smiled, tapping her fingertips on the map. “Ponderay has been known to strike fear in even the bravest Balance Keeper’s heart. But there’s beauty there, as well. The Silver Sea.”

  She moved her tattooed finger across the map, toward the center of the page. There was a wide circle, shaded gray. And inside of it, ten sketched pillars. They looked similar to the practice pillars in the Pit. But something told Albert these would be much, much taller.

  “The Ten Pillars have been in place since the beginning of time,” Professor Asante said, her voice carrying a touch of awe. “Imagine the pillars you’ve been practicing on in the Pit, and triple them in height.”

  Albert pictured the Empire State Building, how he had to crane his neck to see the top. Sometimes, the clouds would cover it. What if the Ten Pillars were that tall?

  Professor Asante went on. “Just over a thousand years ago, Ponderay suffered a massive Imbalance. We sent our best Balance Keepers forth, in search of the Means to Restore Balance. But they did not succeed.”

  Birdie gasped. “What happened?”

  “An earthquake off the coast of what is now California. It devastated the surface world. Many lives—human, plant, animal—were lost.”

  Farnsworth whimpered again, and the glow from his eyes faded. Albert scratched him behind the ears and hugged him closer.

  “So how come it stopped?” Albert asked. “I mean, Balance had to have been restored eventually, right, or it would’ve kept getting worse. Earth would’ve been completely ruined.”

  “Smart boy, just like your father.” Professor Asante nodded. She leaned back in her chair, the old seat popping and squealing in protest. “It was the Professors themselves, from all the Realms, who entered Ponderay. They barely made it out alive. But what they discovered was fascinating. And it may well be the answer to our problems in Ponderay today.”

  “What is it?” Albert asked. He was hanging on Professor Asante’s every word.

  Even Leroy didn’t look scared anymore. He looked fascinated.

  Professor Asante smiled, and flipped to another page in the book. This one held a close-up of one of the Ten Pillars, showing its rocky sides, the strange handhold divots; there was even a rough sketch of the top of the Pillar.

  Just like in the Pit, there was a Tile on it, sticking out of a slot in the stone.

  “As you know by now, we are assuming each Pillar has its own Tile,” Professor Asante said. “I managed to make it to the Silver Sea myself and climb one of the Pillars to attempt to confirm this. And indeed, when I removed the Tile, it had a rectangle marked on its face. The Core Researchers and I think each Tile has its own unique marking. But I fell into the Silver Sea before I could remove any others.”

  Birdie gasped. “You fell from one of the Ten Pillars?”

  Albert imagined how far of a fall that must have been. Professor Asante was lucky to be alive.

  “The Ten Pillars, as of last night, were spinning at top speed, estimated to be around fifty-four miles per hour. The Core creatures, upset by the Imbalance, are reacting defensively. I was attacked by all of them at once. I’m lucky to be alive.” She stared at her injured leg for a moment before continuing. “By now, the surface world is reacting as we assumed it would, with hurricanes the likes of which no one has seen since the last Ponderay Imbalance.”

  Albert gulped, and tried not to think about his family.

  “So are the Tiles mixed up?” Birdie asked. “Is that what’s causing the Imbalance?”

  “That’s what we believe, yes,” Professor Asante answered. “But like I said, I was only able to scale one Pillar. I have yet to confirm our speculations.”

&nb
sp; “But why?” Birdie asked. “How did that happen?”

  “The question is not why or how, Miss Howell, but who?” Professor Asante shrugged.

  Albert nodded. “You mean someone’s created the Imbalance.” He thought about what Trey had said earlier.

  Professor Asante nodded. “I’m afraid so.” She stretched her neck and went on. “We are speculating that if we can remove the Tiles, and decipher a code they may have, such as color or markings, and match them back to their correct Pillars, then the Imbalance would be solved.” She pointed at her broken leg. “I shouldn’t have gone in by myself. And now I can’t go back in at all, thanks to this useless leg.”

  “But who will go in now?” Birdie asked. “If you can’t go, and the First Unit hasn’t been chosen yet . . . Tussy can’t go in alone!”

  Professor Asante looked right at Albert before she spoke. He had a feeling she was about to deliver some horrible news. “Professor Flynn has volunteered to enter the Realm in my place.”

  Albert’s entire body froze. “Wh . . . what? But he can’t! He’s . . . no!”

  Professor Asante didn’t offer any sympathy. “It’s very noble, what Professor Flynn is doing. He’s a brave man, and I have faith that he will be a great partner for Tussy.”

  With his dad’s life on the line now, Albert had to know. “How exactly did you hurt yourself? Could it happen to my dad and Tussy, too?”

  “Anything could happen.” Professor Asante grimaced as she touched her leg. “I made it all the way to the Silver Sea. I was halfway up the first of the Ten Pillars when the Jackalopes got to me.”

  “Jackalopes?” Leroy blurted out. “Like the ones in Cedarfell?”

  “But those aren’t much larger than Farnsworth!” Albert added.

  “Ponderay breeds creatures that are five times the size of what we have here in the Core.” Professor Asante motioned over her shoulder, to the curtain that covered up an entire length of wall. “In class tomorrow, you’ll witness that firsthand.”