“Come on,” hissed Abigail. “While they’re distracted, we need to find a way out of here!”
Andy shook his head, clearing his mind. “You’re right.” He glanced down at Rusty. “But what about him? We can’t just leave him here.”
Abigail reached down and lightly tapped Rusty’s cheek. “Rusty, wake up! We’re in danger! Wake up!”
Rusty’s eyes flickered and he let out a small moan.
“He’s awake!” Andy said.
The big man slowly sat up, his good hand clutching his injured arm.
“What’s happening?” he asked.
“No time to explain,” Abigail said. “We’ve got to get out of here. Can you walk?”
Rusty nodded and stumbled to his feet. Andy noticed that the color had returned to his cheeks, and he looked close to his old self.
That purple aloe works wonders!
Rusty glanced over at the vicious fight going on between the Isnashi and the Dingonek. His eyes widened.
“Where’s my pistol?” he growled.
“It won’t work,” Andy said quickly. He motioned for Betty and Dotty to follow. The twins rushed over from behind the bush where they’d been watching the battle of the two titans.
“How do we get out of here?” Abigail asked.
“I have an idea,” Andy said. He glanced in the direction the first howl of the Isnashi had come from.
“Follow me!”
Andy and the others found what they were looking for easily enough, as the stench of the creature was as obvious as a series of arrows painted on the ground. It got stronger as they reached the Isnashi’s dwelling and was nearly overpowering once they were inside of the cave.
From the skeletal remains that littered the floor of the Isnashi’s cave, it seemed few people—if any—had ever made it out of the monster’s lair alive. Hidden behind the bones, deep inside the fetid dwelling, was an ancient door.
Eyes watering and breathing through their noses to keep out the smell, Andy and the others waded through the bones and made their way to the door.
For all its brute strength, the Isnashi evidently wasn’t very intelligent. The door had a primitive latch that, when thrown, opened easily enough.
The group wasted no time in going through the door and slamming it shut behind them. They gazed around at their new surroundings in awe. They were outside…back in the jungle they’d so recently been hiking through.
The air was damp but fresh, and all of them happily took in great lungfuls of the humid air.
Andy glanced back at the exit through which they’d come. The door to the Isnashi’s cave had been carved into the side of a mountain. They’d found an escape in a very unlikely spot. It was one that Andy hoped was outside the knowledge of the Collective.
“This mountain looks familiar,” said Rusty.
“I think we’re near the entrance to the Death Maze,” Abigail said. “The mountain looks the same. Maybe they didn’t take us far when they drugged us.”
“We’ve got to get to my grandfather,” Andy said. “The last thing he told me was that he was going back to see Jack McGraw.”
“Then he’s probably at the Jungle Navigation Company docks. We’ll need a boat,” said Abigail.
Andy looked around. There was nothing but jungle in every direction. Then his eyes fell upon a very unusual tree. It was much taller and broader than the rest, and there seemed to be something built in its branches.
“Wait, what’s that?” Andy asked. He pointed to the tree.
“What?” Abigail said. “That tree?”
“It doesn’t look like an ordinary tree,” Andy said. “Look, up there in its branches.”
Rusty’s eyes widened with surprise. “Crickets and cats! It looks like some kind of treehouse!”
“That’s a Yesniddendron semperflorens grandis,” Betty said.
“This must be one of the largest ever-blooming trees of its kind,” Dotty added.
“Very rare,” Betty concluded.
“Maybe there’s someone up there who can help us,” Andy suggested. “Come on.”
It was agreed that Rusty, Betty, and Dotty would stand guard at the base of the trunk while Andy and Abigail investigated the mysterious treehouse.
The base of the tree was huge, consisting of centuries-old twisted roots that tangled around each other. A staircase carved into the trunk of the tree led upward, its banister made of thick rope. Looking up, Andy saw that the stairs twisted high into the massive branches, disappearing at the top into an alcove on a particularly sturdy branch that looked to be about ten feet wide.
“Stay quiet,” Andy said. “There might be someone up there. We don’t want to alert the wrong people to our presence.”
They did their best to walk as quietly as possible. It made climbing the big trunk take much longer than it ordinarily would have, but Andy wasn’t about to take the risk of alerting anyone to their presence. At the top, he was amazed to discover a sprawling series of rooms installed beneath the leafy canopy of the tree.
I wonder what secrets are hiding up here?
Abigail must have been thinking the same thing, because she pointed at the nearest room with a surprised expression. Andy followed her gaze. The cleverly designed room had a maple writing desk and a reading lamp. Leaning against the far wall in the corner was something familiar.
“Those are our things!” Abigail whispered.
It was true. The rucksacks they’d been carrying before they were captured were neatly stacked against the wall.
The two made their way as quickly and quietly as they could to their gear. As they gathered everything up, Abigail leaned in close to Andy’s ear and whispered, “Let’s get out of here while we can.”
“You go,” Andy said. “I want to look around.”
Abigail looked like she was about to protest, but thought better of it.
“Fine,” she whispered. “I’ll take these down to the others. Be careful!”
Andy nodded. After shouldering his own pack, he moved farther up the main branch to the next alcove. He glanced inside the closest room and noticed nothing interesting, just a kitchen with a huge clamshell for a sink. The next room down the branch had some beds and a hammock.
Since there was still no sign of anyone about, he went up to the last room at
