to maneuver. Rather than go for the maple tree, Mark scrambled up toward the peak of the roof.
“What are you doing?” Courtney yelled with a strained whisper.
Mark reached the peak and peered over the top in time to see a long black limo driving away. The loud blare of a fire-truck siren was heard in the distance. Help was coming. Mark quickly slid down the roof section on his butt, joining the others.
“It was the limo,” he said. “They took off, probably because the fire department’s on the way.”
“We’ve gotta be gone too,” Courtney said. “We can’t let them find us.”
Mark nimbly scrambled across the roof until he reached the edge, where the branch of a large maple tree jutted a few feet below. Using skills he hadn’t needed since he was a little kid, he grabbed on to the branch, swung his legs off the roof and over the top of the branch. He then shinned toward the trunk of the tree.
“Piece of cake,” he called back.
Patrick couldn’t move. “I’ve never done anything like that,” he complained nervously.
“You’re gonna do a lot of things you’ve never done before. Move!”
Courtney didn’t shove him, but didn’t back away from him either. Patrick gingerly followed Mark’s lead and made it out onto the tree. Courtney waited until he got to the center of the tree, then followed. Moments later all three were on the ground.
Flames leaped from the downstairs windows.
“I guess that’s the last of it,” Mark said sadly.
“Last of what?” Courtney asked.
“My life. Once the house is gone, there’ll be nothing left to tie me to Second Earth.”
Courtney started to say something, but stopped herself. Instead she put her arm around Mark with sympathy. “Gotta go,” she implored.
A loud horn told them the fire engines were almost there. The three rounded the house into the next yard and came out onto the street in time to see several red trucks flash by, headed for Mark’s house. They took a quick look back to see the place was an inferno.
“Why would they do that?” Patrick asked. “If they wanted to hurt us, they could have chosen a much more efficient way.”
“They didn’t want to hurt us,” Courtney said. “They wanted to scare us. It didn’t work.”
The cab was waiting for them, as requested, a block away. They got inside and told the cabbie they were headed back into the city. To the Bronx. To a subway station.
The cabbie shrugged and said, “Whatever you say. I was getting worried about you.”
“That makes four of us,” Courtney said.
Nobody spoke for the entire journey. Patrick stared out the window, wide eyed, at his home territory in-to him-the distant past. Mark and Courtney tried to nap. They knew they had to sleep when they could. Unlike Patrick, they had been to other territories beyond Earth. They knew the drill. It took nearly an hour to get to their destination. Mark nudged Courtney when they were a few blocks away.
“You’ve been to this flume, right?” Courtney asked Patrick. “On all three territories.”
“Then you know it’s dangerous. We’ve got to time the trains and get down onto the subway tracks without being seen… or run down.”
“What about quigs?” Mark asked.
“Oh, right,” Courtney said, deflated. “There’s that.”
“Stop the car!” Mark shouted.
The cabbie jammed on the brakes, making everybody nearly fly out of their seats.
“Jeez!” he shouted. “What’s the matter?”
“Yeah,” Courtney said with equal surprise. “What was that for?”
Mark reached for his wallet, pulled out a wad of bills and tossed them to the cabbie.
“Whoa, chief. That’s too much. You got change comin’.”
Mark didn’t wait. He jumped out of the car.
“Keep it,” Courtney said.
“Thanks! I knew you guys weren’t Ravinian creeps.”
Courtney crawled out of the cab, followed right behind by Patrick. As the car pulled away from the curb, they found themselves at the familiar intersection in a rundown section of the Bronx that Mark and Courtney had been to several times before. Mark stood staring. Courtney joined him and asked, “What is your problem?”
Mark didn’t answer. Courtney looked to where he was staring, and her jaw dropped.
“What?” Patrick asked, confused.
“It’s the wrong corner,” Courtney said.
“No, it isn’t,” Mark corrected.
“What’s the matter?” Patrick asked impatiently.
Courtney slowly looked to him and said, as if in a daze, “The subway station is gone.”
Patrick looked to where they were staring. “You’re right. That wasn’t there when I came through here with Press.”
Courtney asked, “So then, what is it?”
“I don’t know,” Mark answered. “Let’s find out.”
He stepped off the curb, headed toward the corner where the green subway kiosk used to be. Everything about the neighborhood was the exact same, except for that block. In place of the kiosk was a tall stone building that looked like a medieval castle. Hanging from the second story was a line of flags.
Red flags.
Flags with stars.
SECOND EARTH
(CONTINUED)
The three stood on the opposite corner, staring at the mysterious structure. It looked to Mark like a library. There were high arches and heavy marble columns. Wide marble stairs led up from the sidewalk to the many entrances.
“I’ve seen this before,” Patrick announced.
Mark and Courtney shot him a surprised glance. “Where?” they said in unison.
‘Third Earth. Everything changed, remember? When I went to the gate, instead of the underground complex I found this. The flume was inside.”
“So this thing is going to last for three thousand years?” Courtney said in awe.
“It wasn’t the exact same,” Patrick pointed out. “I guess changes were made over the years, and it was crumbling, but it was essentially the same structure.”
“What is it?” Mark asked.
“I don’t know,” Patrick answered. “All I cared about was getting to the flume.”
“Look at the flags,” Mark announced. “Obviously this is all about the Ravinian cult. Maybe it’s headquarters.”
“We gotta check this out,” Courtney said, and walked toward the strange new building.
All three walked closer with trepidation, while scanning around for any Ravinian red shirts. The street was busy with people, but not crowded. If somebody was looking for them, they’d be seen. They walked up the marble stairs to a long row of glass doors that was the entrance. Courtney tried a door to find… it was open.
“This doesn’t change anything,” she said. “We still have to flume out of here. Whatever this is, we’ll have a better shot of getting to the flume here than sneaking into Naymeer’s house back in Stony Brook.”
Patrick and Mark nodded in agreement. Courtney pulled the door open and stepped inside. Just inside the entrance was a large open area with a marble floor.
“Slick,” Courtney said, impressed.
Fresh flowers in vases were placed along the walls. The star symbol was prominent on the wall to the right, a portrait of Naymeer faced it on the wall to the left. Directly ahead was an archway that led farther into the
