were around and wanted to attack, they would have by now. Still, she kept her hands on the pepper spray just in case.
She closed the door and went right for the stairs that led down to the basement. Now that she was getting close, her anxiety rose. She wanted to know what she would find down there. She picked up the pace as she climbed down the stairs and walked across the vast empty basement to the wooden door that led to the root cellar, and the flume. She stopped outside the door and looked at the star symbol that marked it as a gate. She remembered back to when she and Mark saw it magically burned into the wood by some unseen force. As she stood there, staring at the symbol, she shook her head in wonder. Life was turning out to be a whole lot different than she’d expected.
“Mark?” she called. “You in there?”
No answer. She pulled open the creaky wooden door and stepped into the dank earthen cellar.
Mark wasn’t there. The large, rocky tunnel that was the flume was quiet and dark. Courtney’s eyes took a second to adjust. She stood at the mouth of the flume, looking into the depths of infinity.
“What did you do, Mark?” she said aloud.
Her biggest fear was that Mark had jumped into the flume, headed for another territory. But only Travelers could use the flumes. They learned that lesson the hard way. It collapsed on Eelong for one reason and one reason only: because Mark and Courtney had traveled. She had trouble believing that Mark would use the flume again knowing how dangerous and wrong it was. But Mark might not have been thinking clearly. She couldn’t imagine getting the news that her parents had both been killed. For all she knew, Mark might have lost it. There was no way that anybody could think straight after hearing something like that. The question was, how “off” did his thinking get? Was he so messed up that he didn’t worry about the dangers and jumped in? If that happened, where would he go? To find Bobby? But why?
As well as she knew Mark, she couldn’t get inside his head to figure out why he would have come here, or asked her to come. She had done what he asked. But coming here didn’t answer any questions. It only raised more. With a shrug, she turned to leave.
That’s when she saw it. She hadn’t noticed at first, because her eyes were still adjusting to the dark. Now she saw something on top of an overturned wooden box a few feet back from the mouth of the flume. It was a manila envelope. A regular old Second Earth envelope. Written in large black letters was a single
Word: COURTNEY.
Courtney dove at knew it had to be from Mark. That’s why she was there, to get this. Without wasting another second, she tore it open, being careful not to damage anything that might be inside. Peering in, she saw a slip of paper, and two smaller envelopes. She pulled the paper out first to see it was a note.
It read: This is the hardest thing i’ve ever had to do. Please forgive me. Mark.
Courtney couldn’t catch her breath. What had he done? She was beginning to think he might have jumped into the flume after all. She dropped the note back in the large envelope and pulled out one of the two smaller envelopes. It had weight. Something solid was inside. Written on the outside of the envelope was a series of numbers: #15-224. Courtney knew exactly what it was, an assigned account code. Seeing this, Courtney also knew what she would find inside the small envelope. She tore it open and dumped the contents into her hand. It was a small brass key. Courtney held the account number and the key to the safe-deposit box where Mark stored Bobby’s journals at the National Bank of Stony Brook. Bobby had opened the account on First Earth, 1937, and asked them to keep his journals safe there. Mark had dutifully stored every bit of correspondence from Bobby in that bank. Courtney nervously bit her already hurting lip to stop herself from crying. Mark had handed over the responsibility of Bobby’s journals to her. But why?
There was one more small envelope in the bigger envelope. Courtney pulled it out to discover this one had some weight as well. She tore it open, looked inside, and this time she couldn’t stop herself. She cried. Courtney wasn’t somebody who cried much. She barely shed a tear throughout her whole painful ordeal after the accident. But at that moment, tears filled her eyes and she flat out sobbed. She hadn’t expected this. It hit her like a speeding truck. The emotion poured out; she couldn’t help it. Inside this envelope was something that couldn’t be, yet was. It was Mark’s Traveler ring. It was the ring that was given to him so long ago by Loor’s mother, Osa, before they even knew that Bobby was missing. Before they heard of things called flumes and territories and Travelers. Before they heard of Saint Dane. This ring had never left Mark from the moment Osa gave it to him, until now. When she saw it, Courtney knew. There was no doubt in her mind. Mark had jumped into the flume and wherever he’d gone, he wasn’t coming back.
“Mark, what were you thinking?” she sobbed.
Courtney sat down on the wooden box and let her emotions pour out. There was nothing she could do. Mark left no other clue as to what had happened. Courtney knew that had to be intentional. If Mark had wanted Courtney to know more, he would have told her. Seeing the items he left, it was pretty clear what Mark had in mind for her. He wanted her to receive Bobby’s journals and keep them safe. Alone. She would do it, no question. She was prepared. But she wasn’t prepared to be without Mark.
She didn’t want to be at the flume anymore. It felt like the walls of the basement were closing in on her. She wanted to be outside, in the light, where she could breathe and think. The open mouth of the flume gave her the shivers, as if it were taunting her. There were answers in there, through the tunnel, but they were beyond her reach.
She quickly put the safe-deposit key in her jacket pocket, along with the envelope that had the account number. She folded up Mark’s note to her and slipped it inside the same pocket. She was left with the heavy silver ring with the gray stone that was surrounded by carved symbols-one for each territory. She was about to drop it into her pocket, when she stopped. No, she thought, that was wrong. This ring wasn’t a “thing” to be carried around. It was a living symbol of Halla. Of Bobby and the Travelers. Of Mark. There was only one way to respectfully possess a Traveler ring. Courtney held the heavy ring in the palm of her left hand. She had held this ring before, many times, but never with such a feeling of importance. Of destiny. Though she and Mark were both acolytes, it was Mark’s ring. Osa had given it to him. Whenever she touched it, she always felt a little bit uncomfortable, as if she weren’t worthy. But now Mark had given it to her. It was her ring. She was now the sole acolyte from Second Earth. There was only one thing to do. Courtney held the ring up and looked at it with reverence. She wiped away her last tears and said, “Mark, wherever you are, I hope you know what you’re doing, you dork.” She slipped the silver circle onto the ring finger of her right hand. It fit perfectly
Instantly, as if in response, Courtney heard a crackling, groaning sound. She froze. She knew what that meant. She’d heard it before. She spun around and saw it.
The flume was coming to life.
(CONTINUED)
Courtney jumped back, away from the flume, hitting her back against the stone wall opposite the mouth. She stared in wonder as the tiny light appeared far in the distance, growing larger. Someone was coming in. Courtney had seen this phenomenon before. She had flown through the flume herself, but never had she experienced any of it alone. She found herself holding her hand out to her side, as if to reach for Mark, but Mark wasn’t there.
The light grew brighter. She could hear the faint sweet musical notes that always accompanied the Travelers on their journeys through the flumes. The tunnel itself seemed to twist, ever so subtly, as if stretching out and preparing itself to welcome the visitor-whoever it might be.
“Please be Mark,” Courtney said to nobody. “Or Bobby.”
She didn’t have to say who she didn’t want it to be.
As the light grew brighter, the gray stone walls of the tunnel melted into crystal. Courtney knew it wouldn’t be long now. Whoever was coming was almost there. Brilliant light blasted out of the tunnel and threw dancing, sparkling beams all around the root cellar. Courtney squinted and shielded her eyes, but wanted to see it all. Moments later she saw the shadow of a Traveler landing in the mouth of the tunnel.
“Mark?” she shouted over the now-loud music. “Bobby?”
The light didn’t disappear after the Traveler arrived. It continued to shine brightly. That was unusual. Courtney had only seen that happen once before. It wasn’t a happy memory. If Courtney could have backed herself through the stone wall, she would have.
“Hi, Courtney,” came a friendly guy’s voice. “Long time no see!”
Courtney nearly fainted. She knew that voice. In her mind she was suddenly transported back to a lonely road
