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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Teens
- Theme: Action & Adventure
- Subject: Novels
- Published: 11/07/2020
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Chapter 1
Sticking his finger into the thick white frosting, Jayden smiled with pleasure. Then he licked off the sweet stickiness, his blue eyes closed in bliss. A slap on his shoulder opened his eyes and wiped the smile from his face. "Hey, that's my cake too. Keep your dirty fingers out of it."
Jayden Carter turned to look at his sister. "You don't need to hit me. Besides I'm a minute older than you and I should get first dibs anyway."
Jenny rolled her own blue eyes that were almost identical to her brothers. In fact, if their hair wouldn't have been different color, they would have been identical twins. If you examined their faces, it was easy to see.
"Actually, you are only fifty three seconds older than me, but I'm smarter and I also have a lot more common sense, so I'd say being less than a minute older doesn't count for much."
Jayden looked down at his sister who was three inches shorter. "Well. I'm bigger and stronger, so let's just call it even and have ourselves some of this cake."
Jenny shook her head of light brown hair that just touched her shoulders. "You know the cake is for the party. You can hang on another hour or two, geez Jayden, you're always eating. I can't believe you don't weigh a ton."
Jayden only laughed and reached his hand toward the cake again.
"On no you don't young man."
The two sets of identical blue eyes looked toward the sound and saw their mom standing in the kitchen's doorway, her hands on her hips. Misty Carter's brown eyes narrowed. "You both know that cake is for your party. I think your sweet tooth can wait that long."
Jenny stared at her mom and then turned and pointed at her brother. "You should be talking to Jayden, not me. I was the one trying to stop him."
Misty turned to Jayden. "Why don't you go out in the backyard? I'm sure your father could use some help. He's trying to set up the barbeque. Jenny can help me get the stuff ready in here."
Taking one last look at the cake, Jayden nodded and left out through the kitchen's back door.
As soon as he was gone, Jenny rolled her eyes again and looked at her mom. "Really mom, Jayden acts like he's turning three today, not thirteen."
Misty laughed. "Oh Jenny, he's just being a boy. Now c'mon, forget about Jayden for now, we need to get busy. Your friends will be here soon, and we still have a lot of work to do."
Jenny smiled. "Brenda will be here soon, but Denise said she might be late. She was going to help her mom and dad finish packing up the stuff for their trip."
Misty, who was pulling things out the fridge, nodded. "Oh, that's right. I almost forgot they were taking off for the summer."
Jenny sighed. "I wish we were. This is the first summer that all of us aren't going on our family vacation. I wish you and dad hadn't volunteered at the school."
Shaking her head, Misty put some bowls of food on the counter. "Now honey, your dad felt it was important for him to teach summer classes. With him doing that, it only made sense for me to work through the summer too. They needed a secretary and it is my job anyway. Besides, we should have two free weeks before classes start in the fall. We'll go somewhere then."
Nodding, but still frowning, Jenny sighed. "Okay, but I hope we will get to go somewhere really special then."
Misty laughed. "We'll figure it out, but right now, we better get busy fixing this food, or your guests won't be too happy."
Jenny and her mom worked in the kitchen while Jayden and his dad were busy getting things ready in the backyard.
Lance Carter had lit the charcoal in the barbeque and now both he and Jayden were busy arranging chairs around the picnic table. Looking at Jayden, Lance smiled.
" Do you want to set up the badminton set or would you rather bring out the crochet set?"
Jayden thought a minute. "Let's put up the badminton net, it's a more fun game."
Lance nodded. "The set is in the large green bag in the storage shed. Why don't you go get it? I need to go see if your mother has the hamburgers and hotdogs ready for me to put on the grill."
Jayden nodded at his dad. "Go ahead inside; I'll get the badminton set ready while you're gone."
Lance turned and went in the house. As he stepped in, he smiled. "Wow, it looks like you two have really been busy."
Lance walked over and looked at the cake. Lifting a hand with one finger pointed out, he reached toward the cake. Misty grabbed her husband’s arm. "Oh no you don't. That cake is for later."
Misty rolled her brown eyes. "I don't know who is worse, you or Jayden."
Laughing, Lance shrugged. "Hey, like father, like son."
Misty shook her head. "Did you come in here for something besides trying to sneak the frosting off of the cake?"
Looking over at his wife, Lance nodded.
"As a matter of fact, I did. Do you have the hamburgers and hotdogs ready for me to throw on the grill?"
Going over and opening the fridge, Misty pulled out a foil lined cookie sheet. "Here's the hamburgers. I'll bring the hotdogs out in a minute. I think we just about have everything ready in here."
Nodding, Jenny laughed. "Yeah, all we lack are the guests."
Right after she made the statement, the doorbell rang. Jenny wiped her hands dry on a towel and looked at her parents.
"I'll answer that, it's probably Brenda."
Jenny left her mom and dad alone in the kitchen.
In the living room, Jenny opened the door and smiled at not only Brenda, one of her best friends, but also at Matt and Paul, Jayden's best friends. All three carried packages.
Jenny opened the door wider. "Come on in, you can just put those presents on the table in front of the couch. Then we can go out back. Mom and dad are having the dinner out there."
All three of the guests put their packages on the table. As soon as Brenda put hers down, she gave Jenny a hug. "Happy Birthday Jenny, welcome to being a teenager."
Jenny laughed. "Thanks a lot Brenda."
Matt and Paul looked at each other and then at Jenny. Matt nodded. "Yeah, happy birthday.”
Paul smiled. "Same from me, now where's Jayden hiding out at?"
Jenny rolled her blue eyes. "He's out back; you two can go ahead and go out there. Brenda and I need to wait here for Denise. She should be showing up any minute."
Paul and Matt hurried out of the room. Brenda looked at Jenny, her own brown eyes disgusted. "Those two are such idiots. While we were waiting all they could talk about was what flavor your cake might be."
Jenny laughed. "No wonder they're friends with Jayden, the three of them are just alike. Well, mentally anyway. They sure don't look much alike."
Jenny was right, Matt with his almost orange hair and green eyes was chubby, while Paul had dark hair that matched his eyes and if anything, was way too skinny. Jayden with his blonde hair and blue eyes, made it so the three were about as far apart in looks as they could get.
Brenda laughed. "At least you, me, and Denise all have brown hair, we each have a different shade, but we're pretty close."
Jenny shrugged. "I guess I never really gave it much thought. Never mind that, what's in my present?"
Brenda laughed. "You'll just have to wait and see. I'm not telling you."
The doorbell rang and Jenny smiled. "That's got to be Denise."
Jenny walked over and opened the door. Denise was standing there holding two boxes. "Happy birthday Jenny, sorry I'm late. I didn't think we'd ever get done packing. You'd think we were moving away for good and not just visiting for the summer."
Jenny pulled Denise in the door. "I wish you weren't going at all. I'm gonna miss you."
Brenda nodded. "Me too, the three of us have so much fun together."
Denise shook her head. "This summer you two will be having all the fun. All we're doing is going to my Aunt and Uncle's farm, boring."
Jenny nodded. "It's going to be different this summer for sure. We usually take a family vacation, but my mom and dad are both going to be working for the summer."
Jenny shrugged. "Let's forget about that for now. We need to go out back and see how the barbecue is coming. I think we'll probably be playing some games too."
The three friends walked out to the kitchen and then went outside. Misty turned to look at the three girls. "It's about time you three got out here. The food is ready, grab a plate and load up and then find a place at the picnic table."
Ten minutes later, eight people were seated at the table with piles of food in front of them. Lance was smiling as he looked at his kids and their friends. "This is so nice. Nothing is better than to have a couple of close friends when you're growing up. I always loved the summer time when my friends and I got to hang out when we were kids."
Denise was shaking her head. "That would be great Mr. Carter, but I won't be here. I have to go to my aunt and uncle's place. My aunt is almost ready to have her baby and my mom wants us to be there so she can help out."
Misty frowned. "Didn't you say they lived on a farm?"
Denise nodded. "Yeah, I don't think it's very big, but I guess they have a few horses and pigs and whatever else you have on a farm."
Misty smiled. "I think that sounds like fun, maybe you'll get to ride a horse."
Denise shrugged. "Well, that might be fun, but there isn't anyone else my age at my aunt's place. She has a daughter. But she's only four."
Laughing at the sad look on Denise's face, Misty shook her head. "You might have more fun than you think."
Matt shook his head and looked at Denise. "You'll have more fun than me; my mom is shipping me off to camp."
Lance smiled. "That sounds like fun Matt, why do you sound so disgusted?"
Shaking his head, Matt looked at Lance. "You don't understand what it's like Mr. Carter. First of all, I have orange hair and freckles, now add to that I am forty pounds overweight. That makes me a prime target for every bully in the world."
Misty's eyes widened. "No one would bully you Matt."
She turned to her husband. "That wouldn't happen would it Lance?"
Shrugging, Lance then nodded. "I'm afraid everyone can be a victim of bullying. I do think they have counselors at the camps to watch for that kind of thing though."
Jayden was shaking his head. "Matt is going to be fine. He's just nervous and worrying himself sick for nothing. Besides it's only six weeks and then you'll be back and we can have fun the rest of the summer."
Jenny nodded. "At least you're going somewhere. Jayden and I are spending summer at home."
Paul stared at Jenny. "I have to stay here all summer too; at least you don't have to babysit. My mom and dad are trying to find someone to watch my sisters, but until they do, I get the job."
Misty looked at the kids around the table and then shook her head. "I think all of you will find a way to have fun no matter how you feel now. Things will work out."
She looked at Denise. "You will probably love the farm." Then she turned to Matt. "And you are going to find that camp is a lot better than you give it credit for."
Misty looked at the other four kids. "As for the rest of you, I think you will find lots of time for having fun. Just be glad you're not a little older and have to find jobs for the summer."
Jenny laughed. "Mom's right, this summer will be fine. It will just be different from last summer. You never know what adventures we will find."
Nodding, Jayden smiled. "Right now, the only adventure I want to have is digging in the cake and then finding out what presents we got."
Laughing, Misty stood. "Okay, if everyone will help me get the table cleared off, we'll get that cake out here and then you two can open your presents."
An hour later, everyone had finished at least one piece of cake and Misty and Lance had retrieved the twin's presents and piled them on the picnic table. Misty smiled. "Who wants to open their presents first?"
Jenny looked at Jayden. "Let's open them together. We can start with what my friends brought, then yours. We can open mom and dad's last."
Looking at Matt and Paul, Jayden shrugged. "Is that okay with you guys?"
When they both nodded, Jayden grabbed the gifts from Brenda. He handed one to Jenny and started ripping the wrapping off his own. Jenny saw him and unwrapped hers as quickly as she could. Both of them smiled when they saw CD's from their favorite artists. They both thanked Brenda and Jenny picked up the gifts Denise had brought. Jenny unwrapped hers first.
She smiled when she saw a journal. "Oh wow, just what I need. I can write in here and when you get back from your aunt and uncles' place you can read all about what happened around here."
Jayden unwrapped his gift. He lifted up a calligraphy set so everyone could see it. Then he looked at Denise. "Thanks, I've been wanting to try doing calligraphy."
Jenny grabbed the gifts from Paul and both her and Jayden took off the wrapping to find video games. They were the games both the twins had been waiting for and they thanked Paul.
Jayden picked up the two gifts from Matt. Both presents were in smaller boxes. Jayden handed Jenny hers, frowning because he couldn't figure out what the gifts could be. Jenny unwrapped hers first and held it up so everyone could see. A few moments later, Jayden did the same.
Matt smiled. "They're camping knives. My dad sent me one in the mail when he heard mom was sending me to camp. I loved mine so much I had mom get you both one. I know you like to go exploring and they might come in handy."
Jayden already had his knife unfolded and was pulling out all the attachments. "This is so cool; this thing even has a spoon."
Jenny nodded. "I think this thing has everything in it. Thanks a lot Matt."
Matt smiled shyly. "No big deal, I just hope you both can use them."
Jayden slid his knife in his pocket. "Okay, now it's time to open mom and dads' present."
He pulled a large package toward him and pushed the other to Jenny. As they opened the packages, Jenny laughed. "Oh wow, they're Archeology field kits."
She looked at her mom and dad. "Thanks, these will be perfect for us. Now we'll have something fun to do this summer."
Nodding, Jayden smiled. "Yeah thanks, these are terrific."
Lance stood up. "That's only part of your presents. The other half is in the garage."
Both Jayden and Jenny frowned, but stood up and followed their dad. Everyone else around the table stood and followed close behind.
In the garage, Lance pointed to the center of the room. Instead of his car being parked there as it usually was, there were two bikes standing side by side. One was baby blue and the other midnight blue. Lance turned to look at his kids. "Your mother and I thought since you're twins we'd get the same color, just different shades."
Jayden ran over to the darker boy's bike. "I love it, thanks dad." He turned to his mom. "Thanks mom, this is great."
Jenny too, had walked over to her bike. "This is terrific, thanks both of you. My old bike was ready for the garbage heap."
Misty laughed. "We noticed that and Jayden's wasn't far behind."
Lance clapped his hands together. "Now that the presents are opened, why don't we go play some games?"
Everyone followed him to the backyard.
By the time it got dark, Jenny, and Jayden's company had left and the two were in Jenny's room looking at the kits their parents had given them. They had all the stuff pulled out and were sorting through the items.
Jenny was shaking her head. "I can't believe all the stuff that’s in here."
Nodding, Jayden looked at his sister. "I like that it all fits in these backpacks. I can't wait until we can go down to the caves west of town and have a look around."
Jenny smiled. "After you're finished with your chores you mean. Mom and dad have to start work in the morning and they said everything had to be done before we can leave the house."
Laughing, Jayden stared at his sister, their blue eyes so alike. His were now shining with mischief. "Come on, you don't have to remind me, when did I never do my work?"
Jenny shook her head of brown hair. "How about every day for starters. I mean it Jayden; I'm not going to do all the work. We both get the chores done and then together we can head out and go exploring."
Jenny frowned. "Is Paul going to be able to go with us tomorrow?"
Jayden shook his head. "No, his mom is still trying to find a sitter for Paul's sisters. How about Brenda?"
Shaking her head, Jenny frowned. "She's helping her dad for a couple days. I guess it will be just you and me doing the exploring."
Jayden nodded. "That's okay, I just want to do some exploring, they can come next time.”
Chapter 2
Running the vacuum cleaner, Jenny pushed it behind the couch. When she did, she reached over and tapped Jayden on the back of the head. He turned around and yelled at his sister. "Hey, watch it will ya, I'm trying to play my game."
Shaking her head, Jenny stuck out her tongue at her brother. "Instead of playing your game, you better get off that couch and help me with the chores around here. You heard what mom and dad said. We can't go do anything until the chores are done and I'm not doing them all myself. Now, come on Jayden, I want to go do some exploring."
Jayden saved his game and then stood up. "Okay, okay, I'll do my share. I just wanted to try out the new game I got for my birthday. I guess Brenda isn’t going to come with us."
Jenny shook her head. "Not today, remember her mom has her helping around the house, what about Paul, did you talk to him again?"
Frowning, Jayden shook his head. "Yeah and he said he couldn't come until tomorrow for sure."
Jenny shrugged. "I guess we are on our own. That's okay, maybe we can go down to the caves today and find a good spot and then we can all go down tomorrow and do more exploring. But first, you need to go take out the garbage."
Jayden shook his head. "You're worse than mom." Then he smiled. "Okay, I'm on it, now will you quit bothering me."
Jenny let go of the vacuum and put her hands on her hips. "Only if you sweep out the garage after you take out the garbage. Then we can get our packs together and head out."
As soon as Jayden left the room, Jenny finished vacuuming, then pulled a rag out of her pocket and dusted quickly. When that was done, she put the vacuum away and went in search of her brother. She found him in the garage; he had just finished sweeping and was putting back the large push broom. He smiled at Jenny. "My part is done, let's go get our packs."
The two ran back in the house and up to their rooms. Each grabbed the backpack that belonged to their new Archeology field kits. They had already loaded them the night before and now all they needed was to add a drink and some kind of snack. They carried their packs into the kitchen. Jenny reached in the fridge and handed Jayden a bottle of water along with a bottle of pop. He put those in his bag and then went to the cupboard and grabbed chips and cookies. He held them up. "Will these do?"
Jenny nodded. "Yeah, we'll take those and there are some energy bars in that drawer by the stove, grab a few of those and we can get going."
Jayden did what he was told and then they locked up the house and went out to the garage, where their new bikes were. The twins wheeled their bikes out and Jenny pointed at the open door on the garage. She turned to Jayden. "Let me hold your bike and you can pull that door down, I doubt if Mom and Dad would like it if we left it open."
Jayden rolled his blue eyes, so like his sisters. Jenny was always so pushy. He let her take his bike and hurried and pulled down the garage door. Walking back over to where Jenny was standing he grabbed his bike. "You should stop being so bossy. I hope you aren't going to be like this the whole time we're exploring."
Jenny smiled. "Sorry Jayden, I don't even realize I'm doing it. I'll try and do better. If we are going to go on exploring adventures we should be partners."
Jayden smiled. "Perfect, now let's get down to the caves."
Riding away from the house, the first thing they saw was their neighbor, Mrs. Carlton. Jayden rolled his eyes. "Just what we don't need is to run in to her."
Jenny shook her head. "I know, she hates kids, but try and be nice Jayden."
Looking up at the twins, Mrs. Carlton's gray eyes narrowed and her lips turned down. "Why aren't you two in school? I'm going to tell your parents."
Trying to put a smile on her face, Jenny shook her head. "It's okay Mrs. Carlton, school is out for the summer. Jayden and I are just taking a ride on our new bikes. We just got them for our birthdays."
The woman shook her head of gray hair, still scowling. "Maybe you should be riding them in the street then instead of trying to kill someone on the sidewalk."
Jenny could see her brother's face getting red and shook her head at him before turning back to the older woman. "You're right, sorry about that. We'll head out into the road right now."
The two hurried from the sidewalk and out in the road and then took off pedaling fast so they wouldn't have to endure any more conversation with Mrs. Carlton. When they got in the road, Jenny turned to Jayden. "I wish you wouldn't get so mad. She's just a lonely old lady."
Jayden smiled. "There's probably a reason she's lonely, no one wants anything to do with her. C'mon Jenny, you know how she is. I don't think I've ever heard her say anything nice. She's even that way with mom and dad."
Jenny had to laugh. "Just forget about her and let's get down to the caves. I want to do some exploring before it gets late."
Making their way to the edge of town the two finally stopped in front of a huge rock wall that was part of the small mountain that filled up the area. Both got off their bikes and wheeled them toward the rock. Off to one side a bunch of bushes sat at the rock base. Jayden pointed at them. "Maybe we should hide our bikes behind them. We can put our locks on them too. A lot of the insides of the cave get pretty low and narrow. I don't want to try and take the bikes in and get stuck."
Jenny nodded. "Okay. But let's be careful, I don't want to scrape up my new bike on the branches."
As soon as the twins got their bikes hidden, they walked around the side of the rock and over to where they knew the cave was. Jayden stopped and put down his pack.
"I'm going to get my flashlight out."
Jenny nodded as she also stopped so she could put down her own pack and dig through it. A few minutes later they'd put their packs back on and both held their flashlights, although without turning them on.
Jayden turned to Jenny. "I'm going in first. Stay close behind me. We’ll probably have to turn on the flashlights as soon as we get in there. I wish we had some of those lights that fit on your head."
Jenny nodded her eyes shining with excitement. "We should get some when we get home or tomorrow, we have the birthday money the grandparents sent. You can go first, but once we get in, we can walk side by side."
The two bent over so they could head into the three foot high mouth tunnel. Once they got inside, they stood up and looked around. The place they were standing in looked like a large room. Looking up, Jenny could just barely make out the top of the cave, twenty feet above her. She spoke quietly, but her voice echoed slightly in the space.
"How safe do you think this is Jayden? I mean, you don't think there might be a cave in do you?"
Shaking his head, Jayden smiled. "Don't worry; this place has been here since before any men ever were. It's not going to fall down, now come on, and let's go do some exploring."
Both Jayden and Jenny turned on the flashlights. Jayden pointed at Jenny. "Turn your light off. We can use just mine for now and save yours."
Jenny nodded and turned off her flashlight but held it in her hand. "Which way do you want to go?"
Jayden pointed to an opening to the right from where they were standing. "Let's try over that way. Matt and I went up there once and saw some really cool drawings on the walls."
Shaking her head, Jenny shrugged. "Do you mean hieroglyphs?"
Jayden shrugged. "Whatever, they're still just pictures ain't they? Now let's just get going."
Walking together, the two headed over to what almost looked like a doorway carved out of the rock. Jenny rubbed the side as they stepped through. "Dad said at one time this whole placed was filled with water and that's what cut out these caverns."
Jayden coughed. "As dry as it is in here now, you'd never know it."
Jenny pointed down at Jayden's hiking boots. "You could try picking up your feet when you walk. You're the one kicking up most of the dust."
Jayden turned the flashlight toward Jenny's head. She turned her face away from the light. "Cut it out Jayden, you're blinding me."
Jayden moved his hand so the light was focused back in front of them. "Then quit giving me a bad time."
Jenny nodded, even though now that the light was away from her, she knew Jayden couldn't see the motion. "Sorry, we shouldn't be arguing. Let's go and find some cool stuff."
The two started walking. Jenny stopped when she thought she heard a noise. Jayden didn't notice and kept walking. Jenny ran up to him and put a hand on his shoulder and whispered. "Hold up Jayden, I think I heard something."
Jayden turned to tell Jenny she was crazy, but then he heard the noise too. It sounded like something whining. Now he whispered also. "What is that?"
Jenny shook her head and pointed ahead of them and off to the left. "It's coming from up there."
Both of the twins stood still and waited for the noise to come again. The next sound they heard wasn't the same as the first. Instead, this new sound was a barking noise. Jayden smiled. "It's a dog, wonder what a dog is doing in here?"
Jenny's blue eyes widened. "Maybe it's not a dog, maybe it's a wolf or a coyote or something worse."
Laughing at his sister, Jayden shook his head. "C'mon Jen, it's a dog. You watch too many horror movies. Now let's go and see where it is. It might need help."
Jenny followed Jayden, although reluctantly. When Jayden yelled, a nervous Jenny jumped. "Look, there it is."
Jenny waited a moment for her heart to slow down and then looked ahead where the beam from Jayden's flashlight revealed a smaller, brown dog. Jenny thought it looked quite a bit like a cocker spaniel one of her friends used to have. This animal was really more of a puppy than a dog. Jenny squealed. "Oh my gosh, look how cute it is."
The puppy took off running and the twins ran after it, further into the caves. Jayden pointed. “Look, it's going into that small opening up there."
A few minutes later, the two stood in front of an opening about a foot and a half in diameter. Jayden turned to Jenny. "You'll have to go in."
Jenny frowned. "I don't want to go in there."
Turning to his sister, Jayden pleaded with her. "Please Jenny, what if the poor thing is stuck in there? You're smaller than me, you need to go in and check."
Jenny sighed as she pulled off her backpack and set it on the ground. She took the flashlight she was still holding and placed it in the top of the pack. "I'll go in, but if I get bit by a spider or something else, I'm going to kill you."
Jayden laughed. You'll be fine Jen. I've never even seen bugs down here, the other times I've been in the caves."
Jenny grunted. "That doesn't mean they aren't in here. I don't think we've ever come in this far before either."
Dropping to her knees, Jenny then crawled in the small opening. She yelled back at her brother. "Hey, shine your light in here, it's really dark."
Jayden bent down and focused his flashlight in the hole. With the added light, Jenny could see the area she was in wasn't very large and she could see the dog looking at her with sad brown eyes. The animal was sitting just in front of her. "It's okay puppy. We won't hurt you. I just need to get you out of this place."
Jenny reached forward and began petting the dog, who stepped close to her and started licking her face. Jenny giggled. "Hey, that tickles." She put an arm around the puppy and bringing the dog with her, started backing out of the hole.
Standing outside, Jayden saw his sister slowly coming out. As she backed all the way out of the hole, Jayden reached down and took the puppy so she could stand up.
Once she got up, Jenny brushed the dirt off herself, and then she smiled. "Isn't he cute?"
Jayden frowned and then saw why Jenny was calling the dog he. Laughing, Jayden nodded. "He sure is, I hope we can keep him."
Jenny pointed at the dog. "He's got a collar on Jayden. He must belong to somebody."
Frowning, Jayden sighed. "If he does, then his owners should take better care of him. Who would let their pet loose in these caves?"
Jenny shrugged. "Maybe he ran away and they don't know he's in here." Jenny reached over and patted the dog's head and noticed he also had a tag hooked to his collar. "Look Jayden, what does that say?"
Pointing his light at the tag, he frowned. "It says Portal, what kind of name is that?"
Jenny shrugged. "I don't know, maybe it's short for something. Let me get my rope out of my bag. We can cut off a piece and make a leash."
Jenny went to her backpack and got her rope and then using the knife Matt had given her, cut off a piece about six feet long. She walked over to Jayden. "This should be long enough. Just let me tie one end to Portal's collar."
As soon as she was finished, Jayden sat the dog on the floor. Portal looked up at the two kids, panting. Jayden turned to Jenny. "Do you have anything we could put some water in? I think our new friend could use a drink."
Jenny grabbed her backpack and started looking in it when she heard Jayden yell. "Oh no, he got loose, c'mon Jenny, we need to go after him."
Grabbing her pack and slipping it on, Jenny ran after her brother. "Why didn't you hang on to the rope?"
Jayden glanced back at her. "He surprised me and I let go." Jayden turned back to look ahead of him. "Hey, there he is."
Jenny frowned at Portal who was standing in front of them. "Are those steps he's standing on?"
Jayden was also looking at where the dog now stood and was surprised that it did look like Portal was standing on steps that were covered in dirt and grass.
" I can't tell, but that does look weird."
As the two got closer, they could see light coming from the area where the steps led. Jayden pointed. "That must be another way out of here." As he said that, both him and Jenny watched as Portal turned and ran up the steps, Jenny's rope trailing behind him. Without thinking about it, the twins ran up the steps and towards the light.
Jayden pointed at Portal, who was standing by what looked like an opening. "C'mon Jen, let's go get that dog and your rope. That opening must come out on the backside of the mountain and these caves."
Jenny nodded as Portal ran through the opening. Looking at each other, both twins shrugged and then raced after the puppy.
When they stepped through the opening and out into daylight, the dog was sitting just outside the opening as if he was waiting for them. Jenny bent down and grabbed the rope. "I'll just take this and hang on to him from now on."
Jayden rolled his eyes. "It was an accident Jenny."
Jenny smiled. "Well, I'll just go ahead and hold on to him for a while anyway."
Jayden pointed across a field from where they were standing. "Wow, look, there's the mall. How did we end up here?"
Looking over, Jenny frowned. "That's not the mall Jayden. Look at the sign."
Looking toward the building again, Jayden frowned at the large sign on the front of the building. The mall in their town was called The Benton Center Mall, but the sign he was looking at, read 'Finnegan's'. Jayden stared at the place. "What the heck is going on? When did they change the name?"
He turned back to look at Jenny, whose face was covered in shock.
"They didn't change the name Jayden. We would have known if they were doing that. Something is wrong here Jayden. Maybe we should turn around and head in the caves and get back to the way we came in."
Jayden shook his head. "No, I think we should take a look around and see what's going on. We're supposed to be exploring aren't we?"
Jenny backed up a step. "I don't know if that's such a good idea Jayden."
Shaking his head, Jayden smiled. "Don't be such a baby Jenny. I'm sure there's a perfectly normal explanation."
Jenny felt her arm being tugged as Portal tried to run. Jayden pointed at the dog. "Look, even Portal wants to go. That makes it two to one, you're overruled. Now let's go have a look around."
Jenny rolled her eyes, but gave up trying to argue. Jenny decided to let Portal lead the way. Instead of dragging her toward the field and the mall across that way, Portal pulled Jenny to the right, away from the caves in the mountainside. They walked a short way and came to a street that led them past a few houses.
Then Jenny saw something she didn't like. She grabbed a hold of Jayden's arm.
"We better try a different direction, look who's up there."
Looking up, Jayden saw Mrs. Carlton coming toward them. "Oh no, she's the last person I want to talk to."
Jayden started to turn around, but Portal pulled Jenny forward, just as Mrs. Carlton looked her way. "Hi Jenny, what are you doing in town?"
Jenny didn't know what to say as Mrs. Carlton stepped up to her and then bent down to pet the dog. "What a cute dog. When did you get a puppy? I don't remember seeing him before."
Jenny shook her head. The last thing she wanted to do was stand here talking to the woman that none of the kids got along with. "He's not mine. I think he's lost."
Mrs. Carlton nodded and then she stared at Jenny frowning. "Oh my goodness, what did you do, dye your hair? I mean it looks really cute, but I liked it blonde better."
Jenny frowned, her hair had always been brown, and why was Mrs. Carlton acting nice? Now Jenny was more certain than ever that something was wrong. She turned her head, looking for Jayden, but her brother was nowhere in sight. Jenny turned back to the woman in front of her. She brought her hand up and touched her hair. "Um, yeah, I dyed it. You know, just to try something different."
Mrs. Carlton smiled. "Well, if you change your mind about the color, you could come by my house and I'll help you bleach it back. You know I always have fresh baked cookies too."
Jenny's mind was reeling. This woman wasn't Mrs. Carlton, not even close. That lady hated kids. Jenny wanted to run as fast as she could away from this imposter, but instead she forced herself to smile. "Thanks for the offer, if I decide to change it back, I'll be sure and let you know."
Jenny bent down and picked up Portal. "I better get going and see if I can find this little guy's owners. I'll uh, see you later."
Jenny turned and walked away, it took all her willpower not to break down and run. She walked about a block away when she heard her brother's voice.
"Jenny, hey Jenny, over here."
Looking over, Jenny saw her brother standing behind a tree. She ran over as he stepped out. Jenny slapped him on the arm. "Thanks a lot you big chicken."
Jayden rubbed his arm. "Knock it off Jen. I thought it would be better if that ornery Mrs. Carlton didn't see both of us."
Ignoring her brother's lame excuse, Jenny stared at him and shook her head.
"That woman was not Mrs. Carlton."
Jenny saw Jayden looking at her like she was crazy. "I mean it Jayden, that woman was nice. She even offered to fix my hair."
Jayden frowned. "What do you mean, why would she want to fix your hair?"
Shrugging, Jenny shook her head. "It was crazy. She said my hair was blonde, like yours. She thought I had dyed it this color. She even said I could come to her house and she'd fix it while I ate her fresh baked cookies." Jenny stared at Jayden. "Does that sound like Mrs. Carlton to you? She asked me what I was doing in town. I want to know not only what in town means, but also what town we're in. Something is wrong Jayden, this can't be Benton. I mean it looks a little like Benton, even that building back there looks like the mall, but it's not. Can we please go back to the caves and get out of here? This place is scaring me."
Jayden nodded. "I don't know what's happened either, but you're right, this place doesn't feel like home." Jayden pointed at Portal. "You want me to carry him?"
Jenny nodded. "Okay, but don't let him down. I don't want to chase him around this crazy place."
Jayden took Portal and they all started walking back to the cave entrance. Suddenly, Jenny grabbed Jayden's arm and pulled him back. "Hurry, hide."
Jayden frowned as Jenny pulled him back into some bushes. "What are you doing Jenny?"
Jenny put a finger to her lips, her blue eyes scared, then she whispered. "Just stay here and you'll see."
Both Jenny and Jayden squatted down behind the bushes. Jayden heard the sound of talking and peeked out through the branches of the bush in wide eyed astonishment at the blonde haired, blue eyed twins walking just on the other side of the bush. As soon as the two walked past the bushes, Jayden turned to Jenny, also whispering. "That was us, I mean, those two, they..."
Jenny nodded at her brother's obvious confusion, mostly because she was the feeling the exact same way. Jenny grabbed Jayden's arm and whispered quietly.
"Let's get out of here before anything else happens."
The two slowly emerged from their hiding place and glanced around before quickly walking to the caves.
Just before they reached their intended destination, Jayden pointed to a field a half a block away and a man standing in it. "Jenny, oh my gosh, is that Mr. Decker?"
Jenny looked over and then she frowned.
"It looks like him, but Mr. Decker is baldheaded, that guy has a head of blonde hair."
The two moved faster, afraid the man, Mr. Decker or not, would see them. Jenny sighed with relief when she saw the mountain with the cave opening ahead of them.
The two stood in front of the opening. Jayden still held Portal, who was squirming in his arms. "I need to put him down. I think he might have to use the bathroom."
Jayden turned to his sister. "Would you hold his rope? I want to get some rock samples."
Jenny frowned as she took Portal's makeshift leash from Jayden. "Why in the world are you going to do that?"
Opening his backpack and taking out some containers, Jayden grinned. "I want to compare them to other rocks by our house. Maybe that will help explain what this place really is."
Jenny only shrugged, thinking it couldn't hurt. "Give me one of those containers. We never did give Portal a drink."
Jenny took off her own backpack and pulled out a bottle of water. Feeling Portal tugging at the rope, Jenny walked him over to a bush and waited while Portal lifted his leg and marked the spot. When he finished, Jenny took him back over to the cave entrance. Grabbing the container that Jayden had set out, Jenny filled it with water from the bottle before taking her own drink.
Jayden stepped up to them holding up a couple of containers. "I got rock, dirt and leaf samples. We can compare them to samples from back home."
Jenny frowned. "What if we can't get back home Jayden?"
Seeing the scared look on his sister's face, Jayden put an arm around her shoulders. "Everything is going to be okay Jen. You'll see, we just need to retrace our steps."
Jayden picked up his pack and slipped it on. Then he reached down by Portal and picked up the now empty container. "Wow, I guess the poor guy really was thirsty."
Jayden patted Portal's head, then scratched the dog's neck. "You ready boy?"
Portal barked once and pulled at the rope that Jenny was holding. Jayden laughed. "Guess that means yes."
Jenny put on her own pack. "Do you think we should carry Portal again?"
Jayden shook his head. "No, it looks to me like he wants to lead the way."
Jayden held up the flashlight he had kept out of his bag. "Go in in, I'll light the way."
With one hand holding the rope, Jenny put her other hand out to Jayden. "Can we go through together? I'm scared to get separated."
Jayden nodded as he took his sister's hand. "Okay, let's do this."
The twins stepped into the entrance. Jenny closed her eyes, afraid of what she'd see. Jayden has his wide open and laughed as they stepped in. He turned to look at Jenny. "Hey, open your eyes. Look, there are those weird looking steps. Everything is going to be fine."
Jenny opened her eyes and relaxed a little. She turned back to look at the place they had just stepped out of and frowned. "Look Jayden, there's some kind of writing on the wall next to the opening."
Jayden stopped over and held up the flashlight and looked at the writing Jenny was talking about. She was right, there was writing on the cave wall, but it was no writing he had seen before. "It's not in English, that's for sure, it just looks like a couple of swirling marks and maybe an X and a few slant lines. Nothing that makes any kind of sense."
Jayden stepped away from the rock wall and stood next to his sister. "We better get moving."
The two retraced their steps and a few minutes later returned to the large cave they had been in earlier. Jayden pointed at the opening. "There's our way home Jenny. C'mon, let's get outta here."
Jenny nodded, but until they got out and back home, she knew she wouldn't be able to stop worrying.
The twins stepped outside, bringing Portal with them. Walking around the rock face of the hill, both were relieved to find their bikes were where they had left them earlier. Jayden smiled. "What did I tell you Jen? Everything's going to be okay now. I guess we should walk the bikes home since we have Portal."
Jayden looked at his watch and frowned. At first, he thought it had stopped, but then he saw the second hand moving. He looked at Jenny. "How long do you think we were gone?"
Jenny shrugged. "I don't know, probably three or four hours at least."
Shaking his head, Jayden tapped his watch. "We were gone less than an hour."
Jenny looked at her own watch, surprised at the time. "How can that be? It had to have taken us at least that long just to get to the caves from home, walk in, and back out. What about all the time we spent in that strange place?"
Shaking his head, Jayden shrugged. Looking down at the dog a moment thinking, Jayden suddenly smiled as a thought hit him. He stared at Jenny. "I think I know where this dog got his name though."
Jenny frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Jayden half shrugged. "I think that opening we went through was some kind of portal."
Jenny's eyes widened as she shook her head. "You're kidding right? There's no such thing as real portals. That's just science fiction stuff."
Jayden only shrugged. "Let's get home and look at these samples I gathered. Then we can figure out what to do with Portal and we can go from there."
Jenny nodded. "Okay, but I'm telling you, whatever happened back there is something no one has ever heard of."
Jayden nodded. "I might have to agree with you on that one."
The two began wheeling their bikes home. Just before they got there, Jenny began laughing. Frowning, Jayden looked at her. "What is so funny?"
Jenny turned her head to face Jayden. "Look at Mrs. Carlton."
Looking over at the woman, Jayden continued to frown at the woman who was staring at them with a scowl on her face.
"So what, she always looks like that."
Jenny nodded. "I know, and that means we're in the real town of Benton and we’re back home."
Jayden had to join in the laughter relieved at what Jenny was saying. A few minutes later, the two walked into their own yard. Jenny held the bikes while Jayden opened the garage. After they pushed the bikes in and put them away, Jayden closed the door.
Turning around, he looked at Jenny and pointed at Portal. "What should we do with him?"
Jenny shrugged. "I guess we'll put him in the backyard. We'll have to wait until mom and dad get home to see if we can keep him. We'll have to get him a leash and some dog food too."
Jayden nodded. "I'm hungry myself, maybe we can find Portal something to eat until we can go to the store. You could run up now if you want to, I'll be glad to stay here with Portal."
Jenny shook her head. "I don't want to go anywhere alone. I'm still freaked out from being in that place."
Walking over, Jayden took the rope from Jenny. "Let's put Portal out back and then we can figure out something for all of us to eat. I know there's still some of that birthday cake left."
Frowning, Jenny glared at her brother. "You can't give Portal cake."
Rolling his eyes, Jayden laughed. "I know that, the cake is for me."
After putting Portal in their fenced yard, the two went in and found some leftover chicken that Jenny broke into small pieces. "I'll just give Portal a little of this and some water for now."
Busy already eating a sandwich, Jayden nodded. "After that, I want to use your laptop and check out a few things."
Jenny frowned. "I know your laptop is broken, but why don't you use the computer in the family room?"
Jayden shrugged. "I want to look up parallel universes and wormholes. I don't want mom and dad to check my internet searches and ask a bunch of questions."
Jenny frowned. "I'm sure they wouldn't question something like that."
Jayden lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "Probably not, but I'd just feel better using yours."
Jenny held up the two bowls she'd found to put the food and water in. "Just let me take these out to Portal and then I'll go and get you my laptop. Will you put our packs away and clean up your mess? You've got crumbs all over the place."
Jayden smiled, his mouth full of food. Swallowing, he nodded and waved at Jenny. "Okay, okay, geez, you're worse than mom. I'll take care of it."
After Jenny finished with Portal, she got her laptop and sat next to Jayden in the living room while he started searching the internet. Jayden was pointing at the screen. "There are a whole lot of people out there who believe in parallel universes. I really think that's where we were Jenny."
Next to Jayden, Jenny just stared, her eyes going back and forth between what was on the computer screen and her brother's face. "How can that be possible? We've been in those caves hundreds of times and never had anything like that happen before."
Jayden shrugged. "I don't know, but it might have something to do with Portal."
Jenny frowned. "You mean that little puppy? What would he have to do with any of it?"
Jayden stared at Jenny. "I'm not really sure, but I don't think it's just a coincidence his name is Portal. Remember, he led us to the opening that took us to that weird place. I want to take Portal and go back in those caves though."
Shaking her head, Jenny's blue eyes grew wide. "Are you kidding me? We were lucky we got home Jayden. I've seen lots of movies and people get stranded in alternate worlds. A lot of those places are pretty creepy too. The place we went to, the other Benton, or whatever it was, at least wasn't dangerous."
Jayden sighed. "C'mon Jen, how can you not want to go back?"
Jayden looked at Jenny and she could see the pleading in his blue eyes, so like her own. "Please, listen, we can have Paul, and Brenda come with us. You'll see, it will be okay. Just think of all the cool stuff we could find."
The blue eyes narrowed as Jenny stared at her twin. "Oh yeah, and what if we find tons of cool stuff and then we can't find our way home?"
Jayden let out a sigh. "Jen, I think you're worried for nothing. I just have a feeling that we were meant to find those tunnels."
Jenny was going to say something when she heard a car pulling in. "Someone's home, give me my laptop."
Jayden closed down Jenny's computer and handed it to her. "Remember, we don't tell mom and dad anything about the opening we went through. Maybe we can after we figure out more. But for now, I think we better keep it a secret."
Jenny stood. "Okay by me, I wouldn't know how to explain about those things anyway."
Jenny looked toward the door. "I'll just go put my laptop in my room."
Jayden nodded. "I threw your pack in on your bed."
Misty Carter stepped in the house at the same time Jenny returned and smiled at her. "Hi mom, how was your first day of summer school?"
Misty smiled back. "To tell you the truth, it was a little boring for me. Your father is going to be at least another hour though. What about you two? Did you two have fun today?"
Jayden spoke first, afraid Jenny might share too much information. "We just did a little exploring."
Just then, a couple of barks came from outside. Misty frowned. "My goodness, what was that? It sounded like a dog."
She frowned at Jayden, then at Jenny. "Not only that, but I am sure it came from our backyard."
Both Jenny and Jayden hurried and stepped over to their mom. Jayden tried to give her what he hoped was an innocent look. "Uh, Yeah, I was just gonna tell you about that."
He looked at Jenny, who nodded. "When we were exploring we found a puppy and brought him home. He was all alone down in the caves."
Misty frowned. "I know your father said you could go and explore in those caves, but I'm still not sure they are all that safe."
Misty shook her head. "Never mind that now, let's go have a look at this puppy you found."
Both twins nodded and walked with their mom out to the backyard. Jayden yelled as soon as he walked out. "Here Portal, come on boy."
Portal ran to Jayden, wagging his tail. Jayden knelt down on the grass and began petting the dog. Jenny kneeled down next to Jayden so she could pet the puppy too. Misty had to smile. "He is one cute dog. But, he's not yours and we'll have to try and find his owner. Did you call him Portal?"
Jayden nodded and pointed at the tag on Portal's collar. "If his name tag is right, that's what his name is."
Misty looked at both her children. "When your father gets home, we'll see about getting him some dog food."
Jenny looked at her mom smiling. "He needs a leash too. We were just using a piece of rope."
Misty smiled back. "I guess it won't hurt to grab him a leash. Just remember, don't get too attached to him. I'm sure he has an owner somewhere that would love to have him back. I'm going to go get dinner started. You two can stay out here and keep the dog company until your dad gets home."
Two hours later, Jayden and his dad had gone to town and returned with a leash and dog food and now the family had just finished with their own dinner. All four sat at their dining room table. They were discussing Portal.
Lance looked at Jayden and Jenny. "I want you to take a picture of the dog so we can make some posters. We'll just say you found a dog and not give out his name. It's unusual enough I don't think many people would just guess his name."
Misty nodded. "Your dad's right. I think we should place an ad in the paper too."
Jenny frowned. "And what if no one claims him? Can we keep Portal then?"
Jayden was nodding. "Jenny and I will take care of him. It would be so awesome to have our own pet."
Jenny smiled. "Especially Portal, he's so cute."
Lance nodded. "If no one claims him, then I think the two of you are old enough to take on the responsibility of a dog."
Jenny jumped up and hugged first her dad, then her mom. "You guys are the best. Can we camp out in the backyard tonight too? He'll probably be lonely."
Misty smiled. "I think that's a great idea." Then frowning, she turned to Lance. "They found that dog down in those caves. Are you sure that place is a safe area for these two to be digging around?"
Looking at his wife, Lance smiled. "We've been over this before Misty. I was raised in Benton and all the kids I knew spent time in that place. I can never remember anyone ever getting hurt in the caves. They're safe and the kids know not to try anything dangerous. Right you two?"
Jayden and Jenny nodded, but both were thinking about their trip earlier. Jenny stood up. "If Jayden and I are going to sleep out in the yard, we better go and get our stuff ready."
The two hurried out of the room before either of their parents could question them more about their cave exploring.
After getting their sleeping bags, the twins set up a small tent in the backyard and using an extra pillow made a place for Portal to sleep between them.
Coming in the tent, Portal went to Jenny first and licked her face, accepting her petting in return. Then he went over to Jayden and repeated the process before settling down on his pillow.
Jayden turned to Jenny. "I almost died when dad said we knew better than to try anything dangerous."
Eyes wide, Jenny nodded. "Tell me about it. I feel so guilty. I know we didn't go into the caves thinking about trying anything crazy. It all happened so fast and we were just following Portal."
At the sound of his name, the dog lifted his head to look at Jenny. Smiling, Jenny scratched the puppy's ears. "Not your fault boy, in fact, we were lucky to have you to bring us home safe."
Jayden frowned. "You'll go back won't you? I mean if we take Paul and Brenda with us, then you'll feel better about going won't you?"
Shrugging, Jenny stared at Jayden a minute before she spoke. "I guess it will be okay with the four of us together. As long as Portal is with us to lead everyone home. I'll have to call Brenda to see if she has anything going on."
Jayden nodded. "Yeah and Paul is waiting on his mom to find a babysitter too. Until we can all get together, I still have those samples I found to look at. We can check them out and do some more research. Let's not tell Paul or Brenda about our trip until we all get ready to go together. There's just too much to explain. I think it would be better if we tell our story when we are all down in the caves."
Jenny smiled. "That's no lie, first we need to try and explain what happened to us before we can even begin to explain it to Paul and Brenda." Then she nodded at Jayden.
"Plus when Matt and Denise get back, I'm sure they will also want to hear all about this story."
Jayden stretched before nodding. "Let's try and get some sleep Jenny. I have a feeling we will be having some interesting days in the future."
Chapter 3
It took two weeks, but finally Brenda and Paul managed to both have a free day and agreed to meet Jayden and Jenny at the caves. Everyone decided to bring their backpacks with drinks, food, and whatever else they felt they would need for their exploring trip.
Jenny and Jayden decided to walk to the caves, because they had Portal. They arrived at the caves just a few minutes before Paul and Brenda rode up on their bikes.
After the bikes were hidden in the bushes with the locks put on, Paul and Brenda joined Jayden and Jenny by the cave entrance.
Jayden was smiling. "I'm so glad you guys are here."
Paul laughed. "Not as glad as I am. It took my mom and dad forever to find a babysitter for my little sisters."
Jenny looked at Brenda. "I'm glad you made it. In fact, if you wouldn't have, I wouldn't be here either."
Brenda frowned at that, but before she could ask why, Jayden interrupted. "Let's go in the cave, Jenny and I have a story to share with both of you that I think you are both really gonna love."
The four teenagers and Portal went into the cave and then sat so they formed a circle in the center of the large room. Taking off their backpacks, they got comfortable. Brenda was holding Portal.
Jayden and Jenny sat close together on one side of the circle and Brenda and Paul sat almost across from them. Brenda absently scratched Portal as she looked at Jayden. "Okay, let's hear this story."
Jayden started talking and didn't stop for almost an hour. Jenny had taken out her journal from her backpack. She had written down everything she could remember from that day and used her writings to fill in some pieces of the story Jayden missed.
When the twins were finished, both Brenda and Paul stared at the twins at a loss for words. Before either of them could say anything, Portal barked twice and then got up off of Brenda's lap and stood straining at his leash and looking toward the far side of the cave.
Four heads turned to see what the dog was looking at, and then their eyes opened wide as they saw the man who was standing in the cave.
From the teenager's vantage point on the floor, the man looked huge. In fact, he was six foot three and muscular. Brushing back his dark brown hair, which had a tendency to fall in front of his eyes, the man smiled. Seeing the looks on the faces in front of him, the man shook his head. "Please, don't be afraid. I am a friend."
As he stepped closer, the friends, still sitting on the floor, could see the handsome face would have been picture perfect if it wasn't for the scar on the side of his face. A thin, slightly crooked line ran from the corner of the man's left eye down to almost hit his jawline. "My name is Travlar."
As soon as the man spoke his name, Portal broke away from Brenda and ran to the man, who bent down and scooped up the dog. "Portal, you little rascal, I've been searching for you."
Turning back to where he had stepped out from, the man whistled. "Galaxy, get out here and meet some new friends. C'mon Galaxy, we've found Portal."
As the four watched, a large dog, who looked like an Alaskan sled dog, stepped into the cave. The dog walked straight to Portal who jumped up and down next to the larger dog. Finally, Portal settled down and Galaxy licked the top of the pup's head. As soon as Portal received the recognition, he laid down at the bigger dog's feet. Galaxy took his spot on the cave floor next to the smaller dog.
Jenny was smiling. "What a beautiful dog, is he yours?"
Smiling, Travlar nodded and the teenagers felt something in that smile that made them relax in the stranger's presence.
"Yes, he's mine and more importantly, I am his. We mutually belong to each other." Travlar looked from one face to the next. "Would it be okay if I joined your circle?"
The friends looked at each other shrugging and then nodding their approval. Jayden answered for the group. "I'm Jayden, this is my sister, Jenny, and those two are both our friends, Brenda and Paul. I think we all agree that you can join us. It looks like Portal must belong to you too. We found him here in the caves and took him home. We put up signs to see if anyone would claim him."
The man laughed and the hearty sound echoed in the cave. "I'm guessing from what I heard you explaining to your friends you already knew that no one around here would claim him."
Jayden smiled, almost guiltily, and then nodded. "Yeah, we kinda figured that."
Travlar stared at Jayden before turning to look at Jenny. "You two would be the twins." When they nodded, he continued. "And you were born under the sign of Gemini."
Jenny gasped. "Wait, how did you know that?" Then she frowned. "Have we met before?"
Travlar shook his head. "No, we've not met before." What he said was true. He had never actually met the twins, although he had seen them. Once, when they had first been born, Travlar had come to the hospital. He could remember staring at the twins through the plate glass window. Another time he had come back to the same hospital. Then it had only been Jenny he had watched. At three years old, Jenny had been taken to the hospital with pneumonia. Waiting until her parents had left the hospital for a much needed rest; Travlar had stepped into the room and kept a silent vigil on the child until he knew her parents would be returning.
Now he gave the kids a half smile. "I do know a little about you both though."
Travlar didn't elaborate on his statement. Instead, he asked a question. "Did you two have a look at Portal's tag?"
It was Jayden that answered. "Of course we did, that's how we knew his name."
Looking at Jayden, Travlar frowned. "Did you look at the back side?"
Both Jenny and Jayden shook their heads in a negative gesture. Travlar turned to where the two dogs were now half asleep.
"Come here Portal."
The dog looked at the man, then stood and stretched before stepping over to him. Travlar pulled the puppy into his lap and then turned around the dog's tag so everyone could see the picture etched into the back side.
Jenny squealed. "Hey, that's our zodiac sign. It is the symbol for Gemini."
Jayden nodded. "That's us, Gemini is the twin sign." He smiled at Travlar. "We are double lucky, twins born under the twin sign."
Nodding, Travlar smiled. "That's exactly right, and that's why I have these for you."
Reaching in his shirt pocket, Travlar pulled out two medallions. Each round medallion hung from a braided leather cord. Travlar handed one to Jenny and then gave the other to Jayden.
Both of the twins looked at the Gemini emblem carved into the round copper discs. The picture on the medallions looked almost identical to the one on the back of Portal's tag. The two pairs of blue eyes stared at Travlar with curiosity. Before either had a chance to question him, Travlar smiled, his own blue eyes shining. "I think those will come in handy when you go on the adventures you are planning on."
The twins were still frowning. Jenny slipped on the necklace. The metal felt warm against her skin. Jayden still held his necklace in his hand. "Does this mean it is okay for us to use whatever those openings are?"
The man nodded. "Yes and you can take your friends, but they need to understand that there are dangers. First off, they will need to stay with you. The medallions will help you travel to parallel worlds and more importantly bring you back. You also have Portal. He will always lead you on the right path."
Jenny's eyes widened with surprise. "You mean we get to keep him?"
Travlar nodded as he lifted the pup and set him back by Galaxy. "He was meant to be yours."
Jayden was frowning. "If Portal has the ability to travel to parallel worlds, where does a dog named Galaxy travel?"
Travlar laughed. "Let's just say his name fits what he does and where he goes, just like Portal's fits him." Travlar shook his head at the four teenagers staring at him in wonder. "Maybe I should try and explain this better."
Travlar turned to Paul and Brenda. "Do you still want to be involved in this?"
Paul nodded first. "Are you kidding? The answer is a definite yes."
Travlar looked at Brenda. "How about you?"
A slight grin appeared on Brenda's face.
" I'm going, it will take Jenny and I together to keep these guys in line."
Staring at the two, Travlar took a moment before he nodded. "Good, now I think I should try and explain." Taking a deep breath, Travlar began the story.
"I guess I should start by telling you that people have been traveling to parallel worlds since time began. I don't know what all the others use to travel. I do know some groups use hypnosis and meditation. I have a medallion that I use like the ones I gave Jayden and Jenny. The reason behind that goes back to when you were born."
Travlar shook his head in wonder. "Gemini twins are special. We found out about you and when you turned thirteen, Portal was sent to find you. These caves are special and have been here a long time, but the medallions make them work. You need to understand about the parallel worlds and your job when you are in them. If you decide not to go after I explain, no one will blame you for that. Your decision is personal and one you have to make yourselves."
All four sets of eyes stared at Travlar with rapt attention, waiting for him to continue. "You were given the medallions so you could travel and help others. In the parallel worlds, just like in this one, some things need fixed. Sometimes it takes someone from outside of that world to solve the issues that come up."
Travlar frowned. "Before I say more, I do have to tell you about a man. He's pure evil and his main purpose in life is to disrupt peace and harmony throughout the worlds. His name is Ralvart and he has his own following. Others like him want to spread evil also. As a group, we try to prevent his group's evil. Jenny and Jayden, you've been to one parallel world. The one you went to is a lot like this world. Not all the worlds are as similar to this as that one was. Did you see the twins when you were there?"
Both Jenny and Jayden nodded. Jenny touched her hair. "The one who looked like me had blonde hair, but I knew who she was. Jayden and I hid in some bushes so they wouldn't see us."
Nodding, Travlar smiled. "I'm sure that was a shock. You should know it doesn't matter if you meet your parallel selves. If you were time traveling, that would be different. These people are like you, but they are not you. In fact, sometimes you will need their help or they will need yours. When you begin to actually travel, you will feel pulled to the place you are needed. Don't ever fight that feeling. Your instincts will be right and your chances of helping will be greater. If you decide to go..."
Travlar turned to look at Brenda and Paul. "...and that includes both of you if you join your friends. None of you can tell anyone what you are doing and what happens once you cross into the other worlds."
Turning back to the twins, Travlar smiled. "Did you happen to notice the difference in time while you were in the parallel worlds?"
Both the twins nodded and Jayden answered. "We did, at first I thought my watch was broken."
Smiling, Travlar also nodded at what Jayden was saying. "I don't know why that happens, but it's a good thing. That way you don't have to explain being gone for an extended period. That will be important for all of you. It would be hard to explain to your parents why you were gone for so long."
Jenny was frowning. "What about our other friends? Denise and Matt are both gone right now, but the six of us are best friends and always together. It would be hard to hide this from them."
Travlar nodded. "That will be up to you. If you and your friends can keep this secret amongst yourselves, then it will be okay to tell them. Just remember, you and Jayden will be responsible for anyone that travels with you. When you open the portal to go to the alternate worlds, your friends will go in with you. That also means they have to return with you."
Jenny stared at Travlar. "You mean they can't return without us?"
Sighing, Travlar nodded. "That's exactly what I mean."
Jenny turned to Brenda and Paul. "Are you sure you still want to go with us?"
Both Brenda and Paul nodded. Paul rubbed his hands together. "I can't wait to check out these worlds."
Brenda then frowned. "I want to go, but I'd like to know more about this other guy you mentioned. The one you called Ralvart and his followers. Just how bad is he and how do we recognize him?"
Taking a minute, Travlar looked at the four teenagers, one at a time. "Ralvart and those who do his bidding aren't hard to spot. Evil surrounds them and you can feel it. Ralvart is about my height, though much thinner. Our hair is the same color, although his is longer and thinner. I have to say that I don't think it is washed often either. Ralvart has brown eyes that are almost without light or life to them. Him you will know as soon as you see him and you will know that he is an evil presence. Do not confront him if you see him. Just go back through the portals as quick as you can. Very few people can overcome Ralvart. I would like to try, but he avoids me like the plague. One day though..."
Travlar quit talking and just stared off at nothing for a moment, lost in his thoughts. Shaking his head slightly, he focused back on the teenagers. "Just stay away from him. Ralvart will be taken care of someday as will those that follow him."
Travlar stretched and stood up. "Now it's time for Galaxy and me to be on our way. If the four of you decide to travel today, you will only be observing. Use your trip as an experimental journey. Take your time; remember you won't be losing any time on this side of the portal. That way you can spend time exploring and learning."
When the kids all nodded their agreement, Travlar reached down and scratched Portal's ears. "You take care of these kids Portal." Then Travlar touched Galaxy's neck. "Let's go boy, we have places to be."
Jayden stood next to Travlar. "You'll be back won't you? I mean we're kinda lost here. We don't really know what we are doing."
Smiling and nodding, Travlar put an arm around Jayden's shoulders. "Don't worry, I'll be around. In fact, you'll probably get tired of seeing my face." Travlar lifted a hand to the others. "It was good to meet all of you."
And then Travlar and Galaxy left the four teenagers alone in the cave. They took turns staring at each other before Jayden spoke. "Well, that was strange."
Jenny nodded. "The weirdest part is I feel we can trust Travlar. If anyone else would have walked in on us like that, I probably wouldn't have listened to anything they had to say."
Paul was grinning. "What I found interesting is that Travlar's name is the exact opposite of Ralvart's. There's has to be a connection between those two. If this Ralvart is completely evil, does that mean Travlar is extremely good?"
Brenda nodded. "I got the feeling he was. Do you think he travels not to just parallel worlds but to other galaxies, like his dog's name?"
Jayden's face lit up with excitement. "Wow, wouldn't that be cool?"
Jenny shook her head. "Not to me, I'm having a hard time with just the parallel worlds."
She looked over at Brenda and then at Paul.
"Are you both still sure you want to go with us? I mean, the way Travlar talked there could be a lot of danger."
Both of the twin's friends nodded. Jayden grabbed his backpack. "Then I say let's go. Time might not matter on the other side, but it's ticking away here."
Everyone else stood and grabbed their backpacks. Jayden turned to Jenny. "You stay close to Brenda and I'll keep Paul close to me. They need us to get back, so don't let them out of your sight."
Brenda put on her backpack and stepped over to where Jenny was putting on her own. "You don't have to worry about that. I'm sticking to Jenny like glue."
Jayden grabbed Portal's leash. "C'mon boy, let's take a trip."
Chapter 4
Leading the small group, Portal walked deeper into the caves. Paul, walking next to Jayden frowned, "I don't think I've ever come this far into the caves before."
Jayden shrugged. "Jenny and I came in pretty far last time, but this isn't the way we came. This place must be huge. I know the caves go all the way into the mountain, but it doesn't look this big from the outside."
Behind Jayden and Paul, the two girls walked side by side. Jenny looked at Brenda. "Are you nervous?"
Brenda nodded. "I guess I am, but I'm also curious. I can't believe we're going to see an alternate world and that I could see someone who looks like me. You already have a twin, so you're kind of used to it, but I don't even have a sister or a brother. It's just been me and my dad ever since I can remember."
Jenny put an arm around her friend. She knew Brenda's mom had died when she was a baby and her dad had raised her. "Well, you are just like a sister to me and that's what counts."
Nodding, Brenda smiled. "Thanks Jenny, you're like a sister to me too."
Brenda and Jenny almost walked into Jayden and Paul who had stopped walking just in front of them.
Portal was a few steps ahead of Jayden. The puppy was standing at the bottom of what looked like steps covered in overgrown grass. Jayden was pointing at the area. "I think Portal has decided on our destination for today."
Frowning, Jenny stepped closer to the cave wall next to the opening. She pointed at the side of the wall. "Look, here are more of those symbols like the other opening had."
Everyone walked up closer to see what Jenny was looking at. Paul was the first to reach up and lightly touch the symbols. "I'm not sure what these represent. I suppose they could mean anything."
Brenda frowned. "The one almost looks like a triangle, but those other lines just look like scribble marks."
Jayden shrugged as Portal pulled on the leash he was holding. "I think we just have to trust Portal's instincts."
He looked at the others. "Is everyone ready for this? If you don't want to go, I'll understand."
When all the others nodded their agreement, Jayden let Portal lead him up the few stairs and then into the opening at the top. Jayden and Paul stepped through first with Jenny and Brenda following close behind.
As their eyes adjusted to the brighter light, Jenny moaned. "Oh no, what a horrible place, this can't be Benton's parallel world."
All four of the friends stared in dismay at the landscape in front of them. Jayden was shaking his head as he looked at the ground around them with no grass, no trees, and no bushes.
Paul cleared his throat. "This place looks like the pictures I've seen after a bomb of some kind was detonated."
Brenda grabbed Jenny's hand and looked worriedly at her friend. "You don't think this place is dangerous do you? I mean what if there's radioactivity or some kind of biological poison in the air?"
Hearing that, Jayden shook his head. "I don't think Travlar or Portal would have us enter a place like that. I think we should go have a look around and see what we can find out." He pointed across the brown field.
"The other time Jenny and I came through one of these openings there was a building that looked like the Benton Center Mall. That building over there is a lot smaller, but maybe we can find some answers there."
The group started across the bare ground that in Benton was lush grass. Jenny felt like crying. "I just can't believe how awful this place looks. I can't see green anywhere."
Paul pointed in front of them. "At least they have cars here, so that's something that looks familiar." He turned to Jayden.
"Do you hear that?"
Frowning, Jayden shook his head. "I don't hear anything."
Smiling, Paul nodded. "That's because the cars are either electric or solar. What you aren't hearing is the sound of engines. Apparently, despite the lack of scenery, this place has a high level of technology."
Looking again at the few cars that were passing by on the street in front of them, Jayden smiled. "Maybe we'll be able to find something fascinating here after all. When we stepped through, I have to admit, I was a little worried."
Jenny, behind them, laughed. "Welcome to my mind Jayden. I'm still worried and more than a little."
The four friends made it to the road and then crossed over to the building. A sign on the front read 'Brinkley's'. Jenny looked at the others. "It looks like some kind of variety store. Should we go in?"
Jayden shook his head. "I don't think so. I don't want to run into anymore look a likes, that was a little weird. Besides, they probably wouldn't let us take Portal in."
Jayden turned away from the building, looking both ways before he pointed to the right. "Let's just head that way and have a look around."
The kids walked about three blocks when they came to a large corner lot that looked like it must have been a city park at one time. A rusted swing set and a matching slide sat in the center of the area. Together the four stepped onto the dirt covered park.
Shaking her head, Jenny turned to the others. "I never realized how beautiful our town park was, but now..."
Jenny stopped talking as she turned and scanned the area again.
"...this is awful. I'll never complain about our park again. What in the world could have happened to this place?"
A voice behind them had all heads turning around quickly. "The main thing that happened was greed."
The group stared at the young man who spoke. He looked to be a few years older than they were. He was frowning now, his brown eyes curious. "You must have seen this before. Most of the country looks like this now." The brown eyes narrowed. "Who are you guys and where are you from? I've never seen you around here before."
Jayden took a step forward. "We're not from here, we're just passing through. Where we are from doesn't look this devastated. I guess we were lucky."
Jayden was hoping the guy would buy his explanation and hoped his friends realized what he was doing and wouldn't say anything to jeopardize their position in this new world. Jayden was relieved when the young man only nodded.
"I guess we did have it worse here. I was just a baby when it all happened. You four probably weren't even born. I guess that doesn't matter, all of us are suffering now because of the greed and stupidity of others."
Looking at the young man in front of them, all four of the friends were trying to figure a way to find out what had happened without exposing the truth of them not actually being from this world. It was Paul who stepped up next to Jayden and spoke. "Why did you have it so much worse here?"
The young man grunted out a sarcastic laugh. "Because, it started here."
Looking at the faces in front of him, the young man grinned. "I'm Colby by the way."
Jayden relaxed, as did the others. "I'm Jayden and this is Paul. The girl in the back that looks like me is Jenny, my sister, and the other girl is her friend, Brenda."
Jayden frowned. "I guess we were never told the whole story, you know, just rumors. What really happened here?"
Colby pointed to a couple of benches. "That explanation could take a while. Do you want to go sit down?"
When the group all nodded, Colby led the way and the four followed with Portal walking in front of them. Jayden held the dog's leash, glad to see that Portal didn't seem to sense anything wrong with the young man they were following.
When everyone sat down, Colby, Paul, and Jayden sat on one bench and Brenda and Jenny sat across from them on the other, Colby began talking.
"It all began about fifteen years ago. Well, probably even before that, but the major problems began then. I was almost two years old. My dad worked for the Marsdale Electric Company. At the time, the company was searching into new power sources. They had discovered solar and wind power to be beneficial but they wanted more. I'm not quite sure where they found the new power source. Some say it was discovered in Mexico, down in some Mayan ruins. It doesn't really matter, I guess. My dad said the power sources weren't any bigger than a marble. But each one had enough power to run a whole city. Marsdale electric patented the power source even though those artifacts of power didn't belong to them. Then they sold them to the highest bidder."
Colby looked at the others sitting with him. "My dad quit the company when he saw what they were doing. We were going to move out of here and start over somewhere else, my dad had enough of their greed."
Colby shook his head. "We never got the chance to move away. After the artifacts had been bought by several countries, the flaw was found. When you kept the power from them running for more than thirty days they blew. Some places were obliterated and most ended up like here. Now, all these years later, whatever was contained in those small power sources has prevented anything from growing back. Some places, I suppose like where you all are from, didn't get hit as hard as we did. I know a lot of people died just so the stockholders of Marsdale Electric could get rich."
Colby sighed. "They got theirs though. The big company building with all the head guys in it blew up. That's why my family is still here. My dad was brought back in to control the disaster. Now we have a safe power supply, but the area will never be anything but this waste land, along with most of the world. The greed of a few people trying to make the most off of artifacts they knew nothing about was the downfall to everyone."
As Paul shook his head at the miserable aftermath of the situation, the four listening to him were horrified at his story. Jayden, shaking his head, was the first to speak. ”Does your dad think they’ll ever be able to fix the damage that was done?”
Shrugging, Colby shook his head. “I don’t know, my dad died a few years ago. He never was able to get much done on the project, and I’m pretty sure no one is continuing his work. It seemed like every time my dad made headway, some bureaucrat would find a reason to stop the work he was doing.”
Jenny was looking at Colby with a deep sadness in her blue eyes. “I’m really sorry about your dad.”
Shrugging, Colby shook his head wearily. “It’s hard without him, but at least he doesn’t have to look at this crap every day. It’s funny, people worry about terrorists and war ruining our lives and it was our own people that screwed things up. It was all just so they could make more money too, it is such a shame. They didn’t want to give people cheaper energy. It was the highest bidders who got the power source and all it did was devastate our world.”
Colby looked past where Jenny and Brenda were sitting and smiled before standing up and waving. “Hey Hannah, come on over.”
A girl about eight years old with long blonde hair came walking over toward Colby and the others. When she got to Colby, she stood next to him and then took a step shyly so she was almost behind him.
Colby smiled down at her and placed his hand on her head. “This is my sister Hannah. She’s a little shy.”
Jenny smiled at the girl. “There’s nothing wrong with being shy. My name’s Jenny and this is my friend Brenda.”
Jenny pointed to the bench across from her. “That’s my brother Jayden and his friend Paul.”
Large brown eyes stared at Jenny, but Hannah didn’t speak. A slight, shy grin appeared on her face as she stepped even further behind her brother.
As Hannah made her move, Portal came out from under the bench where he had been enjoying the only shade to be found. Seeing him, Hannah giggled and knelt down.
“Hey there, aren’t you cute.”
Smiling at the girl, Jenny pointed toward the puppy. “His name is Portal.”
Hannah smiled. “Can I pet him?”
As soon as Jenny nodded her okay, Hannah pulled Portal on her lap and began petting the dog.
Colby sat back down and looked at the others. “Looks like you made her day. Nothing like a puppy to bring out a smile.” He looked down at Hannah, smiling himself. “What were you doing anyway Hannah? I thought you were at home with mom?”
Hannah looked up at him, eyes wide. “I was, but she sent me looking for you. She needs some help back at the house. She’s moving stuff around and I’m not big enough to help her with it.”
Colby stood up. “We better get going then. Tell the puppy good-bye.”
Hannah hugged Portal, who licked her face, making her giggle again. Reluctantly, she moved Portal off her lap and stood up next to her brother. She looked at Jenny. “Thanks for letting me pet your dog, he is just so cute.”
Colby turned to look at the members of the small group. “It was nice meeting all of you. Sorry we can’t stay and talk more.”
Jayden stood. “That’s okay, we need to get going ourselves.”
The friends waited until Hannah and Colby walked off before the rest of them stood by Jayden. Paul turned to him. “Do you want to look around some more?”
Jayden shook his head. “Not really, this place is so depressing. I think it’s time to head back.”
Jenny nodded. “I’m all for that. I hate seeing what’s happened here. It’s so awful and scary. Something like this could happen anywhere, even in back in Benton.”
Jenny rubbed at her arms as a chill ran through her, raising Goosebumps. The she nodded. “Yeah, I vote to go home.”
The friends left the park and headed back toward the building they had first seen coming out of the cave. When they reached ‘Brinkley’s’, the four crossed the street and headed across the dirt field. Jayden still held Portal’s leash and he noticed even Portal seemed to be in a hurry to leave this Parallel World.
As they stepped in the opening, the group all breathed a sigh of relief.
*
None of the four had noticed the man standing in ‘Brinkley’s’ front window watching them as they made their way through the dry field, their shoes kicking up the red dust.
When the group had reached the half-way point between where the man stood and the cave entrance, he put the phone he had been holding to his ear and waited for a familiar voice to answer with a terse. “What have you got?”
The five foot eight inch, two hundred pound man, who looked like he spent time in a boxing ring, answered in a low, course voice. “The two you asked everyone to watch for are here. There’s two others with them. Just a bunch of kids. You want me to grab them?”
The man waited anxiously for an answer, and absently twisted the ring on his finger. He knew with that ring he had the power to follow the children even after they entered the cave. The man frowned at the answer he was given.
“Let them go, we only want the twins. We have time to wait until they are alone.”
Without saying another word, the man hung up. He was alone in a large dining room. Running long fingers through his stringy brown hair, the man then made a fist and slammed it down on the dining room table. The drink in front of him tipped over and the amber liquid flowed across the wooden surface. The man stared at the mess with lifeless brown eyes.
*
The group of teenagers had made their way back to the main cave and were once again sitting together on the dirt floor, their backpacks beside them. Jenny was digging in hers. After a minute she pulled out Portal’s bowl and a bottle of water. After filling the dog’s bowl, she took a long drink herself. When she finished, Jenny looked at the others. “Just being in that place makes me feel like I walked through the desert or something.”
Nodding at that, Brenda pulled out her own bottle of water. “I know what you mean. I feel so bad for Colby and Hannah. I can’t imagine living in that place.”
Paul was frowning. “Lots of people like living in the desert. Besides, that’s all they know. You’re just used to living in Benton. I think the worst part was hearing about Colby’s dad. He was trying to fix things and then died before he got the chance.”
Jayden nodded. “Paul’s right, but what’s bothering me is wondering how in the world you’d fix something like that. Travlar said when we are drawn to the parallel worlds in the future, it will be to fix what is wrong. How would we ever be able to do that? Even as smart as Paul is, I don’t think he could find the solution for that place.”
Shaking his head, Paul stared at Jayden. He hated when people thought he was smart just because he got straight A’s in school. The work came easy for him, but there was so much he didn’t know. Jayden got lower grades at school, but he was great at fixing things. Paul knew both Brenda and Jenny knew a lot more about computers than he did. “I’m not that smart, besides I don’t think Travlar would expect you to fix something like that anyway. I don’t think even he could do something about a place like that. Maybe you could ask him about it the next time you and Jenny see him.”
“Maybe you should ask me now.”
All four heads turned to see Travlar standing on the far side of the cave with Galaxy by his side. The dog ran over to the kids, accepting petting from each before going to Portal and licking the smaller dog’s head.
Jayden smiled broadly. “Hi Travlar, wow, I’m so glad you’re here.”
Jenny nodded. “We all are.”
Travlar walked over and sat down between Paul and Jayden. “Apparently the four of you went to a parallel world today you didn’t like very well.”
He turned to Jayden. “Can you explain to me about this place you all traveled to?”
Shrugging, Jayden looked at his friends before his blue eyes settled back on Travlar. “The place was desolate. Almost all the vegetation was gone and it didn’t seem like it would be returning anytime soon. We talked to Colby. He and his sister, Hannah, live there with their mom. From what he told us, his dad died while he was working on a plan to recover what was lost.”
Travlar nodded. “Unfortunately you might find a lot of places like that one. You will also find wondrous, unimaginable places. There is a balance throughout the worlds of good and bad. Just as you find in life here. You are not expected to fix something like that. Believe me, when man destroys something, the cure is harder to find. I think you will find the places you are drawn to will have an easier puzzle to fix. It may take some thinking and some hard work, but you will not be given an insurmountable task. When the time comes, you will see for yourselves. Other than that, did you have any other problems or did you see any of Ralvart’s people?”
Jayden frowned. “Colby and his sister, Hannah, were the only people we talked to.”
Jayden looked at the others. “Did any of you notice anything I didn’t?”
The others shook their heads and Jenny shrugged. “I was so focused on the devastation of the world, I didn’t notice much else.”
As Jenny looked at Travlar, she was amazed at how easily their group had accepted this man. In her heart she knew their acceptance was right and that it was their destiny to meet this man and do as he said and journey through the portals into whatever the parallel worlds held for them. She had always been a trusting person and Jayden had always been the opposite. If he too, felt like she did, and apparently he did, then Jenny knew they were doing what they were supposed to.
Travlar was nodding, he didn’t know how much he should share with the twins right now. He knew he had to warn them about Ralvart and his followers. He didn’t think he needed to share the fact that they were Ralvart’s main target right now. Surely the man hadn’t figured out where the twins were yet. “I think if Ralvart or his men would have been there, you would have known. The best thing I can tell you is to watch for them and stick together. I don’t want you to be so afraid that it distracts you from the worlds or what needs to be done, but you should be alert for them and their wrong doings.”
Jenny was nodding. “You don’t have to worry about that. I’m nervous enough, I’ll be watching everything from now on.”
Travlar laughed. “That’s good, I won’t have to worry about you so much. I will be checking on you in between my own travels. If you see anything thing strange, just head for home and you can let me know about it when you see me.”
Travlar stood up. “Speaking of traveling, Galaxy and I need to get going. I’ll check in with you soon.”
At the sound of his name, Galaxy stood and walked over to Travlar and then the two left the cave.
When they were gone, Jenny looked at her brother and then at her two friends. “I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m ready to head for home.”
Brenda nodded. “Me too, my dad will be getting off work soon and I need to start his dinner.” She stood up and grabbed her backpack. The others did the same and then walked out of the caves.
Paul and Brenda got their bikes and headed home after first getting reassurances from Jenny and Jayden that they’d call when they were going back in the caves for more adventures.
Jenny and Jayden walked home with Portal. They put him in the backyard while they put their things away. Then the two went out and sat at the picnic table. Jenny was staring off into space, a vacant look on her face. Jayden frowned as he looked at her. “Earth to Jenny, earth to Jenny, are you in there?”
Turning at the sound of her brother’s voice, Jenny frowned. “Sorry, I was just thinking about what Travlar said about the two of us feeling a need to go back in the caves and to the alternate worlds. What do you think he meant by that? What does a need feel like?”
Shrugging, Jayden then smiled at his sister. “It’s probably like my need right now to go find some kind of dessert.”
Rolling her eyes, Jenny let out a disgusted sigh. “You’re impossible Jayden, but now that you mention it, I think there is some ice cream in the freezer. After that dry, wasteland, I could go for something cold and wet.”
Jayden jumped up from the table. “I guess great minds really do think alike.”
The two raced each other to the house to get their ice cream.
Chapter 5
Jenny was in the kitchen just a little over a week after the visit to what she called the wasteland. She frowned and dropped the spoon she had been washing. She felt strange, something was wrong. Her mind was full of worry and her stomach tightened with nervousness.
Turning away from the sink she saw Jayden as he came running quickly into the kitchen.
“Oh my gosh, do you feel it Jen?”
Nodding, Jenny shook her head. “I feel something, I’m not sure what. It’s like I know something is wrong, but I don’t know what or where.”
Staring at his sister with disbelief on his face, Jayden shook his head. “You might not know what, but you know where.”
Jenny’s blue eyes grew wide. “Is this coming from the caves, from another world?”
Jayden nodded. “We need to get our stuff together and I have to call Paul.”
Jenny nodded. “I better call Brenda too.” Jenny’s hand went to cover her stomach. “This feeling and whatever is causing it, is really making me feel sick.”
Nodding at his sister, Jayden took in a deep breath. “It’s your nerves, I can feel it too. After I get my stuff and call Paul, I’ll go and get Portal.”
Jenny grabbed her cell phone off the counter and called Brenda as she headed to her room to get her backpack.
Brenda answered on the third ring out of breath. “Hello.”
Jenny was in her room and grabbing her pack just as her friend answered the call. “Brenda, we’re headed to the caves. You need to meet us down there. Both Jayden and I feel something is wrong and we need to get there soon.”
At her house, Brenda was frowning. “I can’t go with you Jenny. I’m helping my dad today. We won’t be finished for at least a couple hours.”
Jenny was trying to slip on her backpack while holding the phone between her chin and shoulder. “I wish we could wait for you Brenda, trust me, we can’t.”
Brenda sighed. “Oh wow, I wish I could go with you. I want to hear all about it the first thing you get back though.”
Jenny nodded. “I promise I’ll call you or come over to your house when we get back. I gotta go now though.”
Brenda nodded. “Okay, I’ll be waiting to hear from you.”
Jenny ended the call and shoved the phone in her back pocket before heading to the kitchen.
Waiting for Jayden, Jenny finished the dishes she had been doing quickly. All the time, feeling the dread of something being terribly wrong.
Jenny sighed with relief when Jayden walked in with his pack on and Portal beside him. “I think we better take the bikes. Paul said he’d meet us at the caves. What about Brenda?”
Jenny shook her head. “She can’t make it.”
Jenny placed a hand on her stomach. “Let’s get going.”
Feeling the same concern as Jenny that they needed to hurry, Jayden only nodded.
A few minutes later, the two were riding to the caves with Portal running alongside Jayden’s bike. The little dog, feeling the same urgency as the twins, had no problem keeping up.
As they got to the caves, they saw Paul standing out front waiting. He stepped over and took Portal’s leash from Jayden so the two could put their bikes away. When they walked back to where Paul was standing, he handed the leash to Jayden and frowned.
“What’s going on? You both look awful.”
Shrugging, Jayden shook his head.
“I’m not quite sure, both Jenny and I started feeling like something was wrong and it’s something we’ll find in there.”
Jayden pointed at the caves.
Paul nodded as he followed Jayden and Jenny through the caves entrance.
Once inside, Jayden bent down so he could scratch Portal’s neck. “Which way do we go boy?”
Wagging his tail, Portal turned and ran into the caves, pulling Jayden with him.
Jenny and Paul followed close behind. Portal led the kids to yet another set of grass covered steps. This time, just two steps led down to the open doorway.
As they stepped through the doorway and looked around, Paul frowned. “It didn’t work, we’re still in Benton.”
Jayden stared across at the building that looked like their city mall. “It looks like Benton, but it’s not. The first place Jenny and I went looked like Benton too.”
Jenny nodded, but her forehead was creased with worry. “We need to get going and find what or who needs help.”
Jayden pointed at Portal who was straining at his leash. “I think Portal knows where we need to go.”
All three followed Portal as he tugged on the leash and walked to a pole with a paper flyer tacked to it. Jenny gasped as she looked at the picture on the paper. “Oh no, that’s Hannah.”
Stepping closer, Jayden shook his head. “It looks like Hannah, but it’s not her.”
Paul nodded, pointing at the picture. “He’s right Jenny, it says here this girl’s name is Annie Mason.”
Stepping closer, Jenny placed a finger on the picture of the young girl. “It says here she’s been missing for a week. That’s if our days match theirs.”
Jayden reached down and picked up Portal. He held the dog in front of the flyer.
“We need to find this girl Portal. Where is she boy?”
Setting the dog down, Jayden turned to Jenny and Paul. “I’m afraid we can’t do much, it’s going to be up to Portal.”
As soon as Jayden got the words out, Portal pulled at the leash once again. Jayden smiled. “I think he needs to go.”
The three friends followed the dog to the edge of town. They only passed a few people along the way, but all three were focused on following Portal and didn’t pay attention to any of the faces.
From the edge of town, Portal led the kids another mile to a wooded area. Stepping through the trees, Jenny frowned. “I hope she didn’t get lost out here. I’m sure there are wild animals around.”
Portal stopped in a clump of trees and Paul pointed just ahead of where they were. “Look, there’s a cabin over there.”
Everyone stared at the small log house that looked more the size of a shed. It was older and looked like it was about ready to crumble to the ground. A small, older car sat in front of the place. Jenny frowned. “Do you think the girl could be in there?”
Jayden shrugged. “I don’t know, but that’s where Portal is looking. So yeah, I think she just might be.”
Paul pulled out his cell phone and then frowned at the ‘no service’ message. Jayden put a hand on Paul’s shoulder.
“Your cell phone won’t work here Paul. They don’t work in the caves either.”
Putting his phone away, Paul slowly shook his head. “I keep forgetting we’re not in Benton anymore.”
Paul looked down at Portal who was staring at the cabin with the hair raised on the back of his neck. “It looks like Portal would like to run over there to that cabin.”
Paul shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea with that car there. Anyone could be in there.”
Jayden nodded. “Let’s just watch the place a minute.” He turned to Jenny. “Could you write down the license number from that car?”
Nodding, Jenny slipped off her backpack and dug in it for a pen and paper. After writing down the number, she slipped it in her pocket. Replacing the pen and paper, Jenny pulled out a bottle of water and Portal’s bowl. She poured him a drink before taking her own. As soon as Portal got a drink, Jenny was putting the things away when Jayden pointed toward the cabin.
His voice came out in a whisper. “Duck down, someone’s coming out of the cabin.”
The three ducked down and slid behind the bushes. Jayden placed a hand on Portal’s neck, afraid the dog might start barking.
The three watched a slender man who looked to be in his thirties come out of the cabin and get in the car. He was wearing what looked like a gray uniform. None of the kids got the chance for a good look at the man’s face before he started the car and pulled away from the cabin.
Jayden stood up. “Let’s go get a look inside before he comes back.”
With Portal leading the way, all three raced to the cabin. Jenny and Paul went to the windows, but found they couldn’t see inside the covering on them. Jayden and Portal headed for the front door. Reaching down, Jayden grabbed the knob, surprised when it turned and the door opened. He yelled to the other two. “Hey, get over here, the door’s not locked.”
Paul and Jenny ran over to Jayden just as he pushed in the front door. Turning back he looked at them. “Be careful, there might be others inside.”
The three entered slowly, glancing around nervously for any signs of trouble. The inside of the building was darker than the outside. All the windows looked like someone had nailed heavy blankets up to cover them.
Jayden pulled his flashlight from the utility belt he was wearing, thankful he had decided to put it on today.
Turning on the light, Jayden moved it around the room. The three looked around the inside of the small cabin which was set up more like one large room. On one side of the room, a small rusty stove sat next to a sink that had an old fashioned pump water handle on it.
Jayden focused his the beam of light towards the back of the room where two small beds sat. One was empty, but in the other the trio could see a small girl huddled in the corner of the bed. She sat up with a blanket covering her that was pulled up to her neck. The large brown eyes stared at the teenagers full of fear.
Jenny was the first to take a couple of steps forward as she stared at the young girl who looked so much like Hannah. The young girl they had met in the other world.
“Don’t be afraid, we’re here to help. Are you alone in here?”
The girl’s headed nodded slowly, but the wide eyes didn’t lose their fear.
Portal was pulling against the leash and Jayden let go, hoping the girl would trust the young dog more than she was the three who were strangers to her.
Portal headed straight for the bed, his tail wagging. When he got there, instead of jumping on the bed, he stood on his hind legs and placed his front paws on the edge of the mattress.
As the girl stared at the dog, Jenny took another step forward. “That’s Portal, he’s the one that found you.”
The girl reached her hands out from under the blanket and moved them timidly toward Portal. Jenny was the first to see that the girl’s hands were tied together.
As the hands got close to Portal, he licked them and the girl smiled. It was a small smile, but it was enough to encourage Jenny and she stepped closer. “Your name’s Annie isn’t it?”
The girl stared at Jenny, eyes wide and nodded. “How do you know that?”
Jenny smiled. “Your whole town is looking for you. They have posters up all over.”
Jenny had made it to the bed and stood next to Portal. “We’d love to take you home Annie.”
The brown eyes filled with tears. “The man said he was my dad now. He said I had to call him father and that my new name is Grace. He said no one was even looking for me, no one wanted me, only him.”
Annie started crying then with deep sobs that tore at Jenny’s heart. She reached forward and held out her arms towards Annie. “He lied to you. C’mere honey, let’s get you home.”
Dropping the blanket, the girl tried to move to Annie, but another rope around her ankle kept her anchored to the bed.
Shaking her head at how horrific this ordeal must have been for this child, Jenny removed her pack. She tried to smile at Annie. “Hold on just a minute sweetie, and I’ll have that rope off of you.”
Digging in her pack, Jenny found the knife that Matt had given her. Sliding the pack back on, Jenny reached over and cut the ropes off of Annie.
As soon as the girl was free, she practically flew into Jenny’s arms. Holding her tight, Jenny spoke quietly. “It’s okay now Annie, everything is going to be okay. Let’s get you out of this place.”
The girl nodded and slipped her legs over the bed. Jenny frowned. “Where’s your shoes Annie?”
The girl shook her head. “That man took them. I don’t know where they are.”
Annie started to cry again.
Jenny felt like crying with the young girl. “That’s okay Annie, don’t cry. See those two guys right there? That’s my brother Jayden and our friend Paul. If it’s okay with you, Jayden can carry you until we get back to town where there’s a sidewalk. Would that be okay?”
Annie wiped her eyes and nodded. As soon as she did, Jayden came over by the bed and handed his backpack to Jenny before turning back to Annie and giving her a smile.
“Why don’t you stand on the bed and then you can get on my back and we’ll get you out of here.”
Annie crawled backwards on the bed and stood up. When Jayden turned his back to her, she got on, putting her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.
Jayden took a hold of her legs. He looked at Jenny, then Paul. “You two go out first and make sure everything is okay. Annie and I will be right behind you.”
Paul nodded and went to the cabin door and let out a sigh of relief when he didn’t see anyone around outside. “Looks like we’re good to go.”
Jenny grabbed Portal’s leash. “Let’s go then, I just want to get out of this place.”
They left the cabin and hurried as fast as they could through the woods and back towards the town.
When they hit the sidewalk, Jayden turned his head slightly to turn back and look at Annie. “Do you want to get down and walk now or would you rather stay up there on my back. Either way is fine with me, you’re not heavy at all.”
Annie shook her head. “I want down now, I can walk.”
Crouching down, Jayden let Annie climb off his back. As soon as she stepped on to the sidewalk, Annie looked shyly at Jenny. “Could I hold your puppy’s leash?”
Handing her the leash, Jenny smiled. “You bet, besides, you know where your house is. You should be leading the way, you and Portal.”
Taking the leash, Annie smiled and looked at the dog. “C’mon Portal, I’ll show you where I live.”
The three teenagers let Annie and Portal walk in front of them. All three kept looking around, watching for either the old car that was parked in front of the cabin or the man who had been driving it.
Jenny had a concerned look on her face. She hadn’t asked Annie if the man had hurt her. Physically she looked dirty, but Jenny hadn’t seen any bruises. Emotionally however, it might be a different story. Right now, all Jenny wanted to do was get Annie home. It would be up to her family to figure out why the man had kidnapped Annie and asked her to be his daughter. Jenny had no clue why someone would do that, but the thought of it made her sick to her stomach. Her nerves had settled down once they had found Annie, but hadn’t completely subsided and she knew they wouldn’t until Annie was home safe and sound.
Just as Jenny was thinking that, she heard Annie scream. Jenny’s heart dropped to her stomach. Looking up, she let out a breath of relief as she saw Annie running to a woman who was standing ahead of them on the sidewalk. That’s when Jenny realized the scream she was hearing was actually Annie yelling. “Mommy.”
The woman looked quite a bit like Annie, right down to the brown eyes, which were now filled with tears that were overflowing onto the woman’s cheeks. Kneeling down, the woman opened her arms wide as Annie ran to her. Then the woman was hugging the girl with one arm and using her other hand to smooth down the messed up blonde hair. She kept repeating Annie’s name over and over as she pressed down the girl’s hair. “Oh Annie, it’s so good to see you, my baby, my poor baby.”
The woman looked over Annie’s head at the three teenagers who had run up behind the young girl, accompanied by their small, brown dog. “Thanks so much, all of you, oh my word, this is a miracle. Where did you find her?”
Jenny half shrugged. “It was actually our dog that found her. We were just walking in the woods, following him. Portal wouldn’t step away from the cabin he saw there. We were just lucky that we found Annie alone inside.”
The woman stood but kept a hold of Annie’s hand. “I can’t thank you enough. You could never know how terrified I have been.”
The woman frowned. “I mean how terrified we’ve been. I need to call my husband and let him know. I have to call the sheriff too. Do you want to come inside while I call? It will only take me a minute.”
Jenny shook her head. “I think we’ll just wait out here, you go on ahead. I’m sure your husband will love to hear that you’ve got Annie back.”
Jenny was thinking the sheriff would probably be interested to learn about that fact too. That thought reminded her of the license plate number she had written down. She reached in her back pocket and pulled out the piece of paper and held it out to Annie’s mom. “We didn’t get a very good look at the man, but I did write down the number off his license plate.”
Taking the note from Jenny, the woman smiled. “Thanks so much again, for everything. You’ve given my world back to me, bringing Annie back.”
None of the friends knew how to respond to that comment. When they only nodded, the woman turned, still holding Annie’s hand in a tight grip and went into her house.
As soon as she disappeared inside, Jenny turned to Jayden and Paul. “I think we better go before the sheriff shows up here. We might have a hard time answering any questions he might ask.”
Jayden nodded and Paul laughed. “I don’t think any answers we could give would seem plausible. Jenny’s right, let’s get out of here and back to the caves.”
With Portal leading the way, the friends walked quickly toward the caves. Just before they got there, Jenny turned to Jayden.
“Do you feel that?”
Jayden frowned at his sister. “What are you talking about? I don’t feel anything.”
Laughing, Jenny nodded. “Exactly right, that awful feeling of dread and nervousness is gone. I think we accomplished the job we were supposed to do here.”
Both boys smiled at that. Paul pointed at Portal. “I think most of the credit belongs to Portal. We wouldn’t have found Annie without him.”
Jenny bent down and rubbed Portal’s neck. “That’s right, and I’m going to make sure you get plenty of treats when we get home too.”
The three teenagers made it to the cave entrance a few minutes later. Jayden, holding Portal’s leash, looked down at the dog. “Okay Portal, let’s go home.”
*
As the three stepped through the opening, a man watched from twenty feet away. He ran a hand through his stringy brown hair. The brown eyes narrowed as he stared at the small group. He knew he could follow them, but he didn’t want to go to the world where they were headed. Knowing the do-gooders would be traveling again, the man turned away from the cave. He would bide his time and grab them in a place more suited to him. A world where he would have the advantage.
Chapter 6
After going through the caves, the trio headed to Jenny and Jayden’s house. Jenny had called Brenda after they had gotten home and now all four sat in the backyard of the Carter house at the picnic table.
Brenda looked from one face to the next. “Okay, let’s have it. What happened in the world that you all just went to? I want to hear everything, I mean it, and don’t you dare leave out a thing.”
Jenny laughed at her friend’s curiosity. Then taking a deep breath she told the story. Jayden and Paul added their own details as the tale unfolded. When the three had finished telling the adventure, Brenda frowned, the brown eyes worried.
“Do you think that man who kidnapped Annie could have been one of Ralvart’s followers? The way Travlar talked, Ralvart’s followers are the ones that cause trouble in the parallel worlds.”
For a moment all three just stared at Brenda. None of them had even thought about Ralvart when they had been helping Annie. Finally Jenny shrugged. “We never even really got a good look at the man. I’m sure he could easily have been one of the followers though. I mean the guy had to be evil to do what he did.”
Paul nodded. “We don’t even know why he took Annie. We didn’t stick around to get any answers.”
Jayden also nodded. “That’s for sure, we didn’t get answers and we didn’t want to have to give out any answers either. If we would have stuck around for the sheriff to show up, you can bet he would have had a lot of questions. I think almost any evil we find in the other worlds will have Ralvart behind it. I hope the next time we see Travlar, he’ll give us more information on Ralvart and his followers.”
Brenda looked at Jenny. “Your attitude about traveling seems to be better. Does that mean you’re not afraid of the portals anymore?”
Jenny laughed. “I’m still scared to death. When we reunited Annie with her mom though, it was like a miracle. I felt so good about what we were able to do, I didn’t even think about being afraid.”
Smiling at her friend, Brenda nodded. “I sure hope I get to go next time.”
Jenny laughed. “I’m sure you will. We just had to leave in such a hurry. The feeling of dread was so strong.”
Looking at Jenny, Brenda frowned. “That must have been weird.”
Jayden laughed. “That’s an understatement. At least now we know what the feeling is about.”
Jenny nodded. “That was the worst part. I was freaking out with worry and had no idea why.”
Brenda’s eyes were wide. “That’s so crazy, but the next time it happens, call me. I don’t want to miss any more travels.”
Brenda looked at her watch. “Oh wow, I have to get going. I didn’t realize it was so late.”
When Brenda stood up, so did Paul. “I think I need to head for home too.”
Paul turned to Jayden. “I feel like Brenda, if you and Jenny get the need to travel again, call me and I’ll be here in a minute.”
Jayden stood and put one arm around Paul’s shoulder and the other around Brenda’s. “Don’t worry, I have a feeling we’ll be going on a lot of parallel adventures and we’ll make sure you both are included.”
Jenny stood and smiled. “That’s right and when Matt and Denise get back we can let them know what’s been happening. I can’t wait to tell Matt how useful the knife he gave me was today. When they get back, all six of us can travel together. ”
Behind the kids, Portal barked and Brenda laughed. “I think you mean all seven of us.”
Parallel Adventures -Into The Caves(P.S. Winn)
Chapter 1
Sticking his finger into the thick white frosting, Jayden smiled with pleasure. Then he licked off the sweet stickiness, his blue eyes closed in bliss. A slap on his shoulder opened his eyes and wiped the smile from his face. "Hey, that's my cake too. Keep your dirty fingers out of it."
Jayden Carter turned to look at his sister. "You don't need to hit me. Besides I'm a minute older than you and I should get first dibs anyway."
Jenny rolled her own blue eyes that were almost identical to her brothers. In fact, if their hair wouldn't have been different color, they would have been identical twins. If you examined their faces, it was easy to see.
"Actually, you are only fifty three seconds older than me, but I'm smarter and I also have a lot more common sense, so I'd say being less than a minute older doesn't count for much."
Jayden looked down at his sister who was three inches shorter. "Well. I'm bigger and stronger, so let's just call it even and have ourselves some of this cake."
Jenny shook her head of light brown hair that just touched her shoulders. "You know the cake is for the party. You can hang on another hour or two, geez Jayden, you're always eating. I can't believe you don't weigh a ton."
Jayden only laughed and reached his hand toward the cake again.
"On no you don't young man."
The two sets of identical blue eyes looked toward the sound and saw their mom standing in the kitchen's doorway, her hands on her hips. Misty Carter's brown eyes narrowed. "You both know that cake is for your party. I think your sweet tooth can wait that long."
Jenny stared at her mom and then turned and pointed at her brother. "You should be talking to Jayden, not me. I was the one trying to stop him."
Misty turned to Jayden. "Why don't you go out in the backyard? I'm sure your father could use some help. He's trying to set up the barbeque. Jenny can help me get the stuff ready in here."
Taking one last look at the cake, Jayden nodded and left out through the kitchen's back door.
As soon as he was gone, Jenny rolled her eyes again and looked at her mom. "Really mom, Jayden acts like he's turning three today, not thirteen."
Misty laughed. "Oh Jenny, he's just being a boy. Now c'mon, forget about Jayden for now, we need to get busy. Your friends will be here soon, and we still have a lot of work to do."
Jenny smiled. "Brenda will be here soon, but Denise said she might be late. She was going to help her mom and dad finish packing up the stuff for their trip."
Misty, who was pulling things out the fridge, nodded. "Oh, that's right. I almost forgot they were taking off for the summer."
Jenny sighed. "I wish we were. This is the first summer that all of us aren't going on our family vacation. I wish you and dad hadn't volunteered at the school."
Shaking her head, Misty put some bowls of food on the counter. "Now honey, your dad felt it was important for him to teach summer classes. With him doing that, it only made sense for me to work through the summer too. They needed a secretary and it is my job anyway. Besides, we should have two free weeks before classes start in the fall. We'll go somewhere then."
Nodding, but still frowning, Jenny sighed. "Okay, but I hope we will get to go somewhere really special then."
Misty laughed. "We'll figure it out, but right now, we better get busy fixing this food, or your guests won't be too happy."
Jenny and her mom worked in the kitchen while Jayden and his dad were busy getting things ready in the backyard.
Lance Carter had lit the charcoal in the barbeque and now both he and Jayden were busy arranging chairs around the picnic table. Looking at Jayden, Lance smiled.
" Do you want to set up the badminton set or would you rather bring out the crochet set?"
Jayden thought a minute. "Let's put up the badminton net, it's a more fun game."
Lance nodded. "The set is in the large green bag in the storage shed. Why don't you go get it? I need to go see if your mother has the hamburgers and hotdogs ready for me to put on the grill."
Jayden nodded at his dad. "Go ahead inside; I'll get the badminton set ready while you're gone."
Lance turned and went in the house. As he stepped in, he smiled. "Wow, it looks like you two have really been busy."
Lance walked over and looked at the cake. Lifting a hand with one finger pointed out, he reached toward the cake. Misty grabbed her husband’s arm. "Oh no you don't. That cake is for later."
Misty rolled her brown eyes. "I don't know who is worse, you or Jayden."
Laughing, Lance shrugged. "Hey, like father, like son."
Misty shook her head. "Did you come in here for something besides trying to sneak the frosting off of the cake?"
Looking over at his wife, Lance nodded.
"As a matter of fact, I did. Do you have the hamburgers and hotdogs ready for me to throw on the grill?"
Going over and opening the fridge, Misty pulled out a foil lined cookie sheet. "Here's the hamburgers. I'll bring the hotdogs out in a minute. I think we just about have everything ready in here."
Nodding, Jenny laughed. "Yeah, all we lack are the guests."
Right after she made the statement, the doorbell rang. Jenny wiped her hands dry on a towel and looked at her parents.
"I'll answer that, it's probably Brenda."
Jenny left her mom and dad alone in the kitchen.
In the living room, Jenny opened the door and smiled at not only Brenda, one of her best friends, but also at Matt and Paul, Jayden's best friends. All three carried packages.
Jenny opened the door wider. "Come on in, you can just put those presents on the table in front of the couch. Then we can go out back. Mom and dad are having the dinner out there."
All three of the guests put their packages on the table. As soon as Brenda put hers down, she gave Jenny a hug. "Happy Birthday Jenny, welcome to being a teenager."
Jenny laughed. "Thanks a lot Brenda."
Matt and Paul looked at each other and then at Jenny. Matt nodded. "Yeah, happy birthday.”
Paul smiled. "Same from me, now where's Jayden hiding out at?"
Jenny rolled her blue eyes. "He's out back; you two can go ahead and go out there. Brenda and I need to wait here for Denise. She should be showing up any minute."
Paul and Matt hurried out of the room. Brenda looked at Jenny, her own brown eyes disgusted. "Those two are such idiots. While we were waiting all they could talk about was what flavor your cake might be."
Jenny laughed. "No wonder they're friends with Jayden, the three of them are just alike. Well, mentally anyway. They sure don't look much alike."
Jenny was right, Matt with his almost orange hair and green eyes was chubby, while Paul had dark hair that matched his eyes and if anything, was way too skinny. Jayden with his blonde hair and blue eyes, made it so the three were about as far apart in looks as they could get.
Brenda laughed. "At least you, me, and Denise all have brown hair, we each have a different shade, but we're pretty close."
Jenny shrugged. "I guess I never really gave it much thought. Never mind that, what's in my present?"
Brenda laughed. "You'll just have to wait and see. I'm not telling you."
The doorbell rang and Jenny smiled. "That's got to be Denise."
Jenny walked over and opened the door. Denise was standing there holding two boxes. "Happy birthday Jenny, sorry I'm late. I didn't think we'd ever get done packing. You'd think we were moving away for good and not just visiting for the summer."
Jenny pulled Denise in the door. "I wish you weren't going at all. I'm gonna miss you."
Brenda nodded. "Me too, the three of us have so much fun together."
Denise shook her head. "This summer you two will be having all the fun. All we're doing is going to my Aunt and Uncle's farm, boring."
Jenny nodded. "It's going to be different this summer for sure. We usually take a family vacation, but my mom and dad are both going to be working for the summer."
Jenny shrugged. "Let's forget about that for now. We need to go out back and see how the barbecue is coming. I think we'll probably be playing some games too."
The three friends walked out to the kitchen and then went outside. Misty turned to look at the three girls. "It's about time you three got out here. The food is ready, grab a plate and load up and then find a place at the picnic table."
Ten minutes later, eight people were seated at the table with piles of food in front of them. Lance was smiling as he looked at his kids and their friends. "This is so nice. Nothing is better than to have a couple of close friends when you're growing up. I always loved the summer time when my friends and I got to hang out when we were kids."
Denise was shaking her head. "That would be great Mr. Carter, but I won't be here. I have to go to my aunt and uncle's place. My aunt is almost ready to have her baby and my mom wants us to be there so she can help out."
Misty frowned. "Didn't you say they lived on a farm?"
Denise nodded. "Yeah, I don't think it's very big, but I guess they have a few horses and pigs and whatever else you have on a farm."
Misty smiled. "I think that sounds like fun, maybe you'll get to ride a horse."
Denise shrugged. "Well, that might be fun, but there isn't anyone else my age at my aunt's place. She has a daughter. But she's only four."
Laughing at the sad look on Denise's face, Misty shook her head. "You might have more fun than you think."
Matt shook his head and looked at Denise. "You'll have more fun than me; my mom is shipping me off to camp."
Lance smiled. "That sounds like fun Matt, why do you sound so disgusted?"
Shaking his head, Matt looked at Lance. "You don't understand what it's like Mr. Carter. First of all, I have orange hair and freckles, now add to that I am forty pounds overweight. That makes me a prime target for every bully in the world."
Misty's eyes widened. "No one would bully you Matt."
She turned to her husband. "That wouldn't happen would it Lance?"
Shrugging, Lance then nodded. "I'm afraid everyone can be a victim of bullying. I do think they have counselors at the camps to watch for that kind of thing though."
Jayden was shaking his head. "Matt is going to be fine. He's just nervous and worrying himself sick for nothing. Besides it's only six weeks and then you'll be back and we can have fun the rest of the summer."
Jenny nodded. "At least you're going somewhere. Jayden and I are spending summer at home."
Paul stared at Jenny. "I have to stay here all summer too; at least you don't have to babysit. My mom and dad are trying to find someone to watch my sisters, but until they do, I get the job."
Misty looked at the kids around the table and then shook her head. "I think all of you will find a way to have fun no matter how you feel now. Things will work out."
She looked at Denise. "You will probably love the farm." Then she turned to Matt. "And you are going to find that camp is a lot better than you give it credit for."
Misty looked at the other four kids. "As for the rest of you, I think you will find lots of time for having fun. Just be glad you're not a little older and have to find jobs for the summer."
Jenny laughed. "Mom's right, this summer will be fine. It will just be different from last summer. You never know what adventures we will find."
Nodding, Jayden smiled. "Right now, the only adventure I want to have is digging in the cake and then finding out what presents we got."
Laughing, Misty stood. "Okay, if everyone will help me get the table cleared off, we'll get that cake out here and then you two can open your presents."
An hour later, everyone had finished at least one piece of cake and Misty and Lance had retrieved the twin's presents and piled them on the picnic table. Misty smiled. "Who wants to open their presents first?"
Jenny looked at Jayden. "Let's open them together. We can start with what my friends brought, then yours. We can open mom and dad's last."
Looking at Matt and Paul, Jayden shrugged. "Is that okay with you guys?"
When they both nodded, Jayden grabbed the gifts from Brenda. He handed one to Jenny and started ripping the wrapping off his own. Jenny saw him and unwrapped hers as quickly as she could. Both of them smiled when they saw CD's from their favorite artists. They both thanked Brenda and Jenny picked up the gifts Denise had brought. Jenny unwrapped hers first.
She smiled when she saw a journal. "Oh wow, just what I need. I can write in here and when you get back from your aunt and uncles' place you can read all about what happened around here."
Jayden unwrapped his gift. He lifted up a calligraphy set so everyone could see it. Then he looked at Denise. "Thanks, I've been wanting to try doing calligraphy."
Jenny grabbed the gifts from Paul and both her and Jayden took off the wrapping to find video games. They were the games both the twins had been waiting for and they thanked Paul.
Jayden picked up the two gifts from Matt. Both presents were in smaller boxes. Jayden handed Jenny hers, frowning because he couldn't figure out what the gifts could be. Jenny unwrapped hers first and held it up so everyone could see. A few moments later, Jayden did the same.
Matt smiled. "They're camping knives. My dad sent me one in the mail when he heard mom was sending me to camp. I loved mine so much I had mom get you both one. I know you like to go exploring and they might come in handy."
Jayden already had his knife unfolded and was pulling out all the attachments. "This is so cool; this thing even has a spoon."
Jenny nodded. "I think this thing has everything in it. Thanks a lot Matt."
Matt smiled shyly. "No big deal, I just hope you both can use them."
Jayden slid his knife in his pocket. "Okay, now it's time to open mom and dads' present."
He pulled a large package toward him and pushed the other to Jenny. As they opened the packages, Jenny laughed. "Oh wow, they're Archeology field kits."
She looked at her mom and dad. "Thanks, these will be perfect for us. Now we'll have something fun to do this summer."
Nodding, Jayden smiled. "Yeah thanks, these are terrific."
Lance stood up. "That's only part of your presents. The other half is in the garage."
Both Jayden and Jenny frowned, but stood up and followed their dad. Everyone else around the table stood and followed close behind.
In the garage, Lance pointed to the center of the room. Instead of his car being parked there as it usually was, there were two bikes standing side by side. One was baby blue and the other midnight blue. Lance turned to look at his kids. "Your mother and I thought since you're twins we'd get the same color, just different shades."
Jayden ran over to the darker boy's bike. "I love it, thanks dad." He turned to his mom. "Thanks mom, this is great."
Jenny too, had walked over to her bike. "This is terrific, thanks both of you. My old bike was ready for the garbage heap."
Misty laughed. "We noticed that and Jayden's wasn't far behind."
Lance clapped his hands together. "Now that the presents are opened, why don't we go play some games?"
Everyone followed him to the backyard.
By the time it got dark, Jenny, and Jayden's company had left and the two were in Jenny's room looking at the kits their parents had given them. They had all the stuff pulled out and were sorting through the items.
Jenny was shaking her head. "I can't believe all the stuff that’s in here."
Nodding, Jayden looked at his sister. "I like that it all fits in these backpacks. I can't wait until we can go down to the caves west of town and have a look around."
Jenny smiled. "After you're finished with your chores you mean. Mom and dad have to start work in the morning and they said everything had to be done before we can leave the house."
Laughing, Jayden stared at his sister, their blue eyes so alike. His were now shining with mischief. "Come on, you don't have to remind me, when did I never do my work?"
Jenny shook her head of brown hair. "How about every day for starters. I mean it Jayden; I'm not going to do all the work. We both get the chores done and then together we can head out and go exploring."
Jenny frowned. "Is Paul going to be able to go with us tomorrow?"
Jayden shook his head. "No, his mom is still trying to find a sitter for Paul's sisters. How about Brenda?"
Shaking her head, Jenny frowned. "She's helping her dad for a couple days. I guess it will be just you and me doing the exploring."
Jayden nodded. "That's okay, I just want to do some exploring, they can come next time.”
Chapter 2
Running the vacuum cleaner, Jenny pushed it behind the couch. When she did, she reached over and tapped Jayden on the back of the head. He turned around and yelled at his sister. "Hey, watch it will ya, I'm trying to play my game."
Shaking her head, Jenny stuck out her tongue at her brother. "Instead of playing your game, you better get off that couch and help me with the chores around here. You heard what mom and dad said. We can't go do anything until the chores are done and I'm not doing them all myself. Now, come on Jayden, I want to go do some exploring."
Jayden saved his game and then stood up. "Okay, okay, I'll do my share. I just wanted to try out the new game I got for my birthday. I guess Brenda isn’t going to come with us."
Jenny shook her head. "Not today, remember her mom has her helping around the house, what about Paul, did you talk to him again?"
Frowning, Jayden shook his head. "Yeah and he said he couldn't come until tomorrow for sure."
Jenny shrugged. "I guess we are on our own. That's okay, maybe we can go down to the caves today and find a good spot and then we can all go down tomorrow and do more exploring. But first, you need to go take out the garbage."
Jayden shook his head. "You're worse than mom." Then he smiled. "Okay, I'm on it, now will you quit bothering me."
Jenny let go of the vacuum and put her hands on her hips. "Only if you sweep out the garage after you take out the garbage. Then we can get our packs together and head out."
As soon as Jayden left the room, Jenny finished vacuuming, then pulled a rag out of her pocket and dusted quickly. When that was done, she put the vacuum away and went in search of her brother. She found him in the garage; he had just finished sweeping and was putting back the large push broom. He smiled at Jenny. "My part is done, let's go get our packs."
The two ran back in the house and up to their rooms. Each grabbed the backpack that belonged to their new Archeology field kits. They had already loaded them the night before and now all they needed was to add a drink and some kind of snack. They carried their packs into the kitchen. Jenny reached in the fridge and handed Jayden a bottle of water along with a bottle of pop. He put those in his bag and then went to the cupboard and grabbed chips and cookies. He held them up. "Will these do?"
Jenny nodded. "Yeah, we'll take those and there are some energy bars in that drawer by the stove, grab a few of those and we can get going."
Jayden did what he was told and then they locked up the house and went out to the garage, where their new bikes were. The twins wheeled their bikes out and Jenny pointed at the open door on the garage. She turned to Jayden. "Let me hold your bike and you can pull that door down, I doubt if Mom and Dad would like it if we left it open."
Jayden rolled his blue eyes, so like his sisters. Jenny was always so pushy. He let her take his bike and hurried and pulled down the garage door. Walking back over to where Jenny was standing he grabbed his bike. "You should stop being so bossy. I hope you aren't going to be like this the whole time we're exploring."
Jenny smiled. "Sorry Jayden, I don't even realize I'm doing it. I'll try and do better. If we are going to go on exploring adventures we should be partners."
Jayden smiled. "Perfect, now let's get down to the caves."
Riding away from the house, the first thing they saw was their neighbor, Mrs. Carlton. Jayden rolled his eyes. "Just what we don't need is to run in to her."
Jenny shook her head. "I know, she hates kids, but try and be nice Jayden."
Looking up at the twins, Mrs. Carlton's gray eyes narrowed and her lips turned down. "Why aren't you two in school? I'm going to tell your parents."
Trying to put a smile on her face, Jenny shook her head. "It's okay Mrs. Carlton, school is out for the summer. Jayden and I are just taking a ride on our new bikes. We just got them for our birthdays."
The woman shook her head of gray hair, still scowling. "Maybe you should be riding them in the street then instead of trying to kill someone on the sidewalk."
Jenny could see her brother's face getting red and shook her head at him before turning back to the older woman. "You're right, sorry about that. We'll head out into the road right now."
The two hurried from the sidewalk and out in the road and then took off pedaling fast so they wouldn't have to endure any more conversation with Mrs. Carlton. When they got in the road, Jenny turned to Jayden. "I wish you wouldn't get so mad. She's just a lonely old lady."
Jayden smiled. "There's probably a reason she's lonely, no one wants anything to do with her. C'mon Jenny, you know how she is. I don't think I've ever heard her say anything nice. She's even that way with mom and dad."
Jenny had to laugh. "Just forget about her and let's get down to the caves. I want to do some exploring before it gets late."
Making their way to the edge of town the two finally stopped in front of a huge rock wall that was part of the small mountain that filled up the area. Both got off their bikes and wheeled them toward the rock. Off to one side a bunch of bushes sat at the rock base. Jayden pointed at them. "Maybe we should hide our bikes behind them. We can put our locks on them too. A lot of the insides of the cave get pretty low and narrow. I don't want to try and take the bikes in and get stuck."
Jenny nodded. "Okay. But let's be careful, I don't want to scrape up my new bike on the branches."
As soon as the twins got their bikes hidden, they walked around the side of the rock and over to where they knew the cave was. Jayden stopped and put down his pack.
"I'm going to get my flashlight out."
Jenny nodded as she also stopped so she could put down her own pack and dig through it. A few minutes later they'd put their packs back on and both held their flashlights, although without turning them on.
Jayden turned to Jenny. "I'm going in first. Stay close behind me. We’ll probably have to turn on the flashlights as soon as we get in there. I wish we had some of those lights that fit on your head."
Jenny nodded her eyes shining with excitement. "We should get some when we get home or tomorrow, we have the birthday money the grandparents sent. You can go first, but once we get in, we can walk side by side."
The two bent over so they could head into the three foot high mouth tunnel. Once they got inside, they stood up and looked around. The place they were standing in looked like a large room. Looking up, Jenny could just barely make out the top of the cave, twenty feet above her. She spoke quietly, but her voice echoed slightly in the space.
"How safe do you think this is Jayden? I mean, you don't think there might be a cave in do you?"
Shaking his head, Jayden smiled. "Don't worry; this place has been here since before any men ever were. It's not going to fall down, now come on, and let's go do some exploring."
Both Jayden and Jenny turned on the flashlights. Jayden pointed at Jenny. "Turn your light off. We can use just mine for now and save yours."
Jenny nodded and turned off her flashlight but held it in her hand. "Which way do you want to go?"
Jayden pointed to an opening to the right from where they were standing. "Let's try over that way. Matt and I went up there once and saw some really cool drawings on the walls."
Shaking her head, Jenny shrugged. "Do you mean hieroglyphs?"
Jayden shrugged. "Whatever, they're still just pictures ain't they? Now let's just get going."
Walking together, the two headed over to what almost looked like a doorway carved out of the rock. Jenny rubbed the side as they stepped through. "Dad said at one time this whole placed was filled with water and that's what cut out these caverns."
Jayden coughed. "As dry as it is in here now, you'd never know it."
Jenny pointed down at Jayden's hiking boots. "You could try picking up your feet when you walk. You're the one kicking up most of the dust."
Jayden turned the flashlight toward Jenny's head. She turned her face away from the light. "Cut it out Jayden, you're blinding me."
Jayden moved his hand so the light was focused back in front of them. "Then quit giving me a bad time."
Jenny nodded, even though now that the light was away from her, she knew Jayden couldn't see the motion. "Sorry, we shouldn't be arguing. Let's go and find some cool stuff."
The two started walking. Jenny stopped when she thought she heard a noise. Jayden didn't notice and kept walking. Jenny ran up to him and put a hand on his shoulder and whispered. "Hold up Jayden, I think I heard something."
Jayden turned to tell Jenny she was crazy, but then he heard the noise too. It sounded like something whining. Now he whispered also. "What is that?"
Jenny shook her head and pointed ahead of them and off to the left. "It's coming from up there."
Both of the twins stood still and waited for the noise to come again. The next sound they heard wasn't the same as the first. Instead, this new sound was a barking noise. Jayden smiled. "It's a dog, wonder what a dog is doing in here?"
Jenny's blue eyes widened. "Maybe it's not a dog, maybe it's a wolf or a coyote or something worse."
Laughing at his sister, Jayden shook his head. "C'mon Jen, it's a dog. You watch too many horror movies. Now let's go and see where it is. It might need help."
Jenny followed Jayden, although reluctantly. When Jayden yelled, a nervous Jenny jumped. "Look, there it is."
Jenny waited a moment for her heart to slow down and then looked ahead where the beam from Jayden's flashlight revealed a smaller, brown dog. Jenny thought it looked quite a bit like a cocker spaniel one of her friends used to have. This animal was really more of a puppy than a dog. Jenny squealed. "Oh my gosh, look how cute it is."
The puppy took off running and the twins ran after it, further into the caves. Jayden pointed. “Look, it's going into that small opening up there."
A few minutes later, the two stood in front of an opening about a foot and a half in diameter. Jayden turned to Jenny. "You'll have to go in."
Jenny frowned. "I don't want to go in there."
Turning to his sister, Jayden pleaded with her. "Please Jenny, what if the poor thing is stuck in there? You're smaller than me, you need to go in and check."
Jenny sighed as she pulled off her backpack and set it on the ground. She took the flashlight she was still holding and placed it in the top of the pack. "I'll go in, but if I get bit by a spider or something else, I'm going to kill you."
Jayden laughed. You'll be fine Jen. I've never even seen bugs down here, the other times I've been in the caves."
Jenny grunted. "That doesn't mean they aren't in here. I don't think we've ever come in this far before either."
Dropping to her knees, Jenny then crawled in the small opening. She yelled back at her brother. "Hey, shine your light in here, it's really dark."
Jayden bent down and focused his flashlight in the hole. With the added light, Jenny could see the area she was in wasn't very large and she could see the dog looking at her with sad brown eyes. The animal was sitting just in front of her. "It's okay puppy. We won't hurt you. I just need to get you out of this place."
Jenny reached forward and began petting the dog, who stepped close to her and started licking her face. Jenny giggled. "Hey, that tickles." She put an arm around the puppy and bringing the dog with her, started backing out of the hole.
Standing outside, Jayden saw his sister slowly coming out. As she backed all the way out of the hole, Jayden reached down and took the puppy so she could stand up.
Once she got up, Jenny brushed the dirt off herself, and then she smiled. "Isn't he cute?"
Jayden frowned and then saw why Jenny was calling the dog he. Laughing, Jayden nodded. "He sure is, I hope we can keep him."
Jenny pointed at the dog. "He's got a collar on Jayden. He must belong to somebody."
Frowning, Jayden sighed. "If he does, then his owners should take better care of him. Who would let their pet loose in these caves?"
Jenny shrugged. "Maybe he ran away and they don't know he's in here." Jenny reached over and patted the dog's head and noticed he also had a tag hooked to his collar. "Look Jayden, what does that say?"
Pointing his light at the tag, he frowned. "It says Portal, what kind of name is that?"
Jenny shrugged. "I don't know, maybe it's short for something. Let me get my rope out of my bag. We can cut off a piece and make a leash."
Jenny went to her backpack and got her rope and then using the knife Matt had given her, cut off a piece about six feet long. She walked over to Jayden. "This should be long enough. Just let me tie one end to Portal's collar."
As soon as she was finished, Jayden sat the dog on the floor. Portal looked up at the two kids, panting. Jayden turned to Jenny. "Do you have anything we could put some water in? I think our new friend could use a drink."
Jenny grabbed her backpack and started looking in it when she heard Jayden yell. "Oh no, he got loose, c'mon Jenny, we need to go after him."
Grabbing her pack and slipping it on, Jenny ran after her brother. "Why didn't you hang on to the rope?"
Jayden glanced back at her. "He surprised me and I let go." Jayden turned back to look ahead of him. "Hey, there he is."
Jenny frowned at Portal who was standing in front of them. "Are those steps he's standing on?"
Jayden was also looking at where the dog now stood and was surprised that it did look like Portal was standing on steps that were covered in dirt and grass.
" I can't tell, but that does look weird."
As the two got closer, they could see light coming from the area where the steps led. Jayden pointed. "That must be another way out of here." As he said that, both him and Jenny watched as Portal turned and ran up the steps, Jenny's rope trailing behind him. Without thinking about it, the twins ran up the steps and towards the light.
Jayden pointed at Portal, who was standing by what looked like an opening. "C'mon Jen, let's go get that dog and your rope. That opening must come out on the backside of the mountain and these caves."
Jenny nodded as Portal ran through the opening. Looking at each other, both twins shrugged and then raced after the puppy.
When they stepped through the opening and out into daylight, the dog was sitting just outside the opening as if he was waiting for them. Jenny bent down and grabbed the rope. "I'll just take this and hang on to him from now on."
Jayden rolled his eyes. "It was an accident Jenny."
Jenny smiled. "Well, I'll just go ahead and hold on to him for a while anyway."
Jayden pointed across a field from where they were standing. "Wow, look, there's the mall. How did we end up here?"
Looking over, Jenny frowned. "That's not the mall Jayden. Look at the sign."
Looking toward the building again, Jayden frowned at the large sign on the front of the building. The mall in their town was called The Benton Center Mall, but the sign he was looking at, read 'Finnegan's'. Jayden stared at the place. "What the heck is going on? When did they change the name?"
He turned back to look at Jenny, whose face was covered in shock.
"They didn't change the name Jayden. We would have known if they were doing that. Something is wrong here Jayden. Maybe we should turn around and head in the caves and get back to the way we came in."
Jayden shook his head. "No, I think we should take a look around and see what's going on. We're supposed to be exploring aren't we?"
Jenny backed up a step. "I don't know if that's such a good idea Jayden."
Shaking his head, Jayden smiled. "Don't be such a baby Jenny. I'm sure there's a perfectly normal explanation."
Jenny felt her arm being tugged as Portal tried to run. Jayden pointed at the dog. "Look, even Portal wants to go. That makes it two to one, you're overruled. Now let's go have a look around."
Jenny rolled her eyes, but gave up trying to argue. Jenny decided to let Portal lead the way. Instead of dragging her toward the field and the mall across that way, Portal pulled Jenny to the right, away from the caves in the mountainside. They walked a short way and came to a street that led them past a few houses.
Then Jenny saw something she didn't like. She grabbed a hold of Jayden's arm.
"We better try a different direction, look who's up there."
Looking up, Jayden saw Mrs. Carlton coming toward them. "Oh no, she's the last person I want to talk to."
Jayden started to turn around, but Portal pulled Jenny forward, just as Mrs. Carlton looked her way. "Hi Jenny, what are you doing in town?"
Jenny didn't know what to say as Mrs. Carlton stepped up to her and then bent down to pet the dog. "What a cute dog. When did you get a puppy? I don't remember seeing him before."
Jenny shook her head. The last thing she wanted to do was stand here talking to the woman that none of the kids got along with. "He's not mine. I think he's lost."
Mrs. Carlton nodded and then she stared at Jenny frowning. "Oh my goodness, what did you do, dye your hair? I mean it looks really cute, but I liked it blonde better."
Jenny frowned, her hair had always been brown, and why was Mrs. Carlton acting nice? Now Jenny was more certain than ever that something was wrong. She turned her head, looking for Jayden, but her brother was nowhere in sight. Jenny turned back to the woman in front of her. She brought her hand up and touched her hair. "Um, yeah, I dyed it. You know, just to try something different."
Mrs. Carlton smiled. "Well, if you change your mind about the color, you could come by my house and I'll help you bleach it back. You know I always have fresh baked cookies too."
Jenny's mind was reeling. This woman wasn't Mrs. Carlton, not even close. That lady hated kids. Jenny wanted to run as fast as she could away from this imposter, but instead she forced herself to smile. "Thanks for the offer, if I decide to change it back, I'll be sure and let you know."
Jenny bent down and picked up Portal. "I better get going and see if I can find this little guy's owners. I'll uh, see you later."
Jenny turned and walked away, it took all her willpower not to break down and run. She walked about a block away when she heard her brother's voice.
"Jenny, hey Jenny, over here."
Looking over, Jenny saw her brother standing behind a tree. She ran over as he stepped out. Jenny slapped him on the arm. "Thanks a lot you big chicken."
Jayden rubbed his arm. "Knock it off Jen. I thought it would be better if that ornery Mrs. Carlton didn't see both of us."
Ignoring her brother's lame excuse, Jenny stared at him and shook her head.
"That woman was not Mrs. Carlton."
Jenny saw Jayden looking at her like she was crazy. "I mean it Jayden, that woman was nice. She even offered to fix my hair."
Jayden frowned. "What do you mean, why would she want to fix your hair?"
Shrugging, Jenny shook her head. "It was crazy. She said my hair was blonde, like yours. She thought I had dyed it this color. She even said I could come to her house and she'd fix it while I ate her fresh baked cookies." Jenny stared at Jayden. "Does that sound like Mrs. Carlton to you? She asked me what I was doing in town. I want to know not only what in town means, but also what town we're in. Something is wrong Jayden, this can't be Benton. I mean it looks a little like Benton, even that building back there looks like the mall, but it's not. Can we please go back to the caves and get out of here? This place is scaring me."
Jayden nodded. "I don't know what's happened either, but you're right, this place doesn't feel like home." Jayden pointed at Portal. "You want me to carry him?"
Jenny nodded. "Okay, but don't let him down. I don't want to chase him around this crazy place."
Jayden took Portal and they all started walking back to the cave entrance. Suddenly, Jenny grabbed Jayden's arm and pulled him back. "Hurry, hide."
Jayden frowned as Jenny pulled him back into some bushes. "What are you doing Jenny?"
Jenny put a finger to her lips, her blue eyes scared, then she whispered. "Just stay here and you'll see."
Both Jenny and Jayden squatted down behind the bushes. Jayden heard the sound of talking and peeked out through the branches of the bush in wide eyed astonishment at the blonde haired, blue eyed twins walking just on the other side of the bush. As soon as the two walked past the bushes, Jayden turned to Jenny, also whispering. "That was us, I mean, those two, they..."
Jenny nodded at her brother's obvious confusion, mostly because she was the feeling the exact same way. Jenny grabbed Jayden's arm and whispered quietly.
"Let's get out of here before anything else happens."
The two slowly emerged from their hiding place and glanced around before quickly walking to the caves.
Just before they reached their intended destination, Jayden pointed to a field a half a block away and a man standing in it. "Jenny, oh my gosh, is that Mr. Decker?"
Jenny looked over and then she frowned.
"It looks like him, but Mr. Decker is baldheaded, that guy has a head of blonde hair."
The two moved faster, afraid the man, Mr. Decker or not, would see them. Jenny sighed with relief when she saw the mountain with the cave opening ahead of them.
The two stood in front of the opening. Jayden still held Portal, who was squirming in his arms. "I need to put him down. I think he might have to use the bathroom."
Jayden turned to his sister. "Would you hold his rope? I want to get some rock samples."
Jenny frowned as she took Portal's makeshift leash from Jayden. "Why in the world are you going to do that?"
Opening his backpack and taking out some containers, Jayden grinned. "I want to compare them to other rocks by our house. Maybe that will help explain what this place really is."
Jenny only shrugged, thinking it couldn't hurt. "Give me one of those containers. We never did give Portal a drink."
Jenny took off her own backpack and pulled out a bottle of water. Feeling Portal tugging at the rope, Jenny walked him over to a bush and waited while Portal lifted his leg and marked the spot. When he finished, Jenny took him back over to the cave entrance. Grabbing the container that Jayden had set out, Jenny filled it with water from the bottle before taking her own drink.
Jayden stepped up to them holding up a couple of containers. "I got rock, dirt and leaf samples. We can compare them to samples from back home."
Jenny frowned. "What if we can't get back home Jayden?"
Seeing the scared look on his sister's face, Jayden put an arm around her shoulders. "Everything is going to be okay Jen. You'll see, we just need to retrace our steps."
Jayden picked up his pack and slipped it on. Then he reached down by Portal and picked up the now empty container. "Wow, I guess the poor guy really was thirsty."
Jayden patted Portal's head, then scratched the dog's neck. "You ready boy?"
Portal barked once and pulled at the rope that Jenny was holding. Jayden laughed. "Guess that means yes."
Jenny put on her own pack. "Do you think we should carry Portal again?"
Jayden shook his head. "No, it looks to me like he wants to lead the way."
Jayden held up the flashlight he had kept out of his bag. "Go in in, I'll light the way."
With one hand holding the rope, Jenny put her other hand out to Jayden. "Can we go through together? I'm scared to get separated."
Jayden nodded as he took his sister's hand. "Okay, let's do this."
The twins stepped into the entrance. Jenny closed her eyes, afraid of what she'd see. Jayden has his wide open and laughed as they stepped in. He turned to look at Jenny. "Hey, open your eyes. Look, there are those weird looking steps. Everything is going to be fine."
Jenny opened her eyes and relaxed a little. She turned back to look at the place they had just stepped out of and frowned. "Look Jayden, there's some kind of writing on the wall next to the opening."
Jayden stopped over and held up the flashlight and looked at the writing Jenny was talking about. She was right, there was writing on the cave wall, but it was no writing he had seen before. "It's not in English, that's for sure, it just looks like a couple of swirling marks and maybe an X and a few slant lines. Nothing that makes any kind of sense."
Jayden stepped away from the rock wall and stood next to his sister. "We better get moving."
The two retraced their steps and a few minutes later returned to the large cave they had been in earlier. Jayden pointed at the opening. "There's our way home Jenny. C'mon, let's get outta here."
Jenny nodded, but until they got out and back home, she knew she wouldn't be able to stop worrying.
The twins stepped outside, bringing Portal with them. Walking around the rock face of the hill, both were relieved to find their bikes were where they had left them earlier. Jayden smiled. "What did I tell you Jen? Everything's going to be okay now. I guess we should walk the bikes home since we have Portal."
Jayden looked at his watch and frowned. At first, he thought it had stopped, but then he saw the second hand moving. He looked at Jenny. "How long do you think we were gone?"
Jenny shrugged. "I don't know, probably three or four hours at least."
Shaking his head, Jayden tapped his watch. "We were gone less than an hour."
Jenny looked at her own watch, surprised at the time. "How can that be? It had to have taken us at least that long just to get to the caves from home, walk in, and back out. What about all the time we spent in that strange place?"
Shaking his head, Jayden shrugged. Looking down at the dog a moment thinking, Jayden suddenly smiled as a thought hit him. He stared at Jenny. "I think I know where this dog got his name though."
Jenny frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Jayden half shrugged. "I think that opening we went through was some kind of portal."
Jenny's eyes widened as she shook her head. "You're kidding right? There's no such thing as real portals. That's just science fiction stuff."
Jayden only shrugged. "Let's get home and look at these samples I gathered. Then we can figure out what to do with Portal and we can go from there."
Jenny nodded. "Okay, but I'm telling you, whatever happened back there is something no one has ever heard of."
Jayden nodded. "I might have to agree with you on that one."
The two began wheeling their bikes home. Just before they got there, Jenny began laughing. Frowning, Jayden looked at her. "What is so funny?"
Jenny turned her head to face Jayden. "Look at Mrs. Carlton."
Looking over at the woman, Jayden continued to frown at the woman who was staring at them with a scowl on her face.
"So what, she always looks like that."
Jenny nodded. "I know, and that means we're in the real town of Benton and we’re back home."
Jayden had to join in the laughter relieved at what Jenny was saying. A few minutes later, the two walked into their own yard. Jenny held the bikes while Jayden opened the garage. After they pushed the bikes in and put them away, Jayden closed the door.
Turning around, he looked at Jenny and pointed at Portal. "What should we do with him?"
Jenny shrugged. "I guess we'll put him in the backyard. We'll have to wait until mom and dad get home to see if we can keep him. We'll have to get him a leash and some dog food too."
Jayden nodded. "I'm hungry myself, maybe we can find Portal something to eat until we can go to the store. You could run up now if you want to, I'll be glad to stay here with Portal."
Jenny shook her head. "I don't want to go anywhere alone. I'm still freaked out from being in that place."
Walking over, Jayden took the rope from Jenny. "Let's put Portal out back and then we can figure out something for all of us to eat. I know there's still some of that birthday cake left."
Frowning, Jenny glared at her brother. "You can't give Portal cake."
Rolling his eyes, Jayden laughed. "I know that, the cake is for me."
After putting Portal in their fenced yard, the two went in and found some leftover chicken that Jenny broke into small pieces. "I'll just give Portal a little of this and some water for now."
Busy already eating a sandwich, Jayden nodded. "After that, I want to use your laptop and check out a few things."
Jenny frowned. "I know your laptop is broken, but why don't you use the computer in the family room?"
Jayden shrugged. "I want to look up parallel universes and wormholes. I don't want mom and dad to check my internet searches and ask a bunch of questions."
Jenny frowned. "I'm sure they wouldn't question something like that."
Jayden lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "Probably not, but I'd just feel better using yours."
Jenny held up the two bowls she'd found to put the food and water in. "Just let me take these out to Portal and then I'll go and get you my laptop. Will you put our packs away and clean up your mess? You've got crumbs all over the place."
Jayden smiled, his mouth full of food. Swallowing, he nodded and waved at Jenny. "Okay, okay, geez, you're worse than mom. I'll take care of it."
After Jenny finished with Portal, she got her laptop and sat next to Jayden in the living room while he started searching the internet. Jayden was pointing at the screen. "There are a whole lot of people out there who believe in parallel universes. I really think that's where we were Jenny."
Next to Jayden, Jenny just stared, her eyes going back and forth between what was on the computer screen and her brother's face. "How can that be possible? We've been in those caves hundreds of times and never had anything like that happen before."
Jayden shrugged. "I don't know, but it might have something to do with Portal."
Jenny frowned. "You mean that little puppy? What would he have to do with any of it?"
Jayden stared at Jenny. "I'm not really sure, but I don't think it's just a coincidence his name is Portal. Remember, he led us to the opening that took us to that weird place. I want to take Portal and go back in those caves though."
Shaking her head, Jenny's blue eyes grew wide. "Are you kidding me? We were lucky we got home Jayden. I've seen lots of movies and people get stranded in alternate worlds. A lot of those places are pretty creepy too. The place we went to, the other Benton, or whatever it was, at least wasn't dangerous."
Jayden sighed. "C'mon Jen, how can you not want to go back?"
Jayden looked at Jenny and she could see the pleading in his blue eyes, so like her own. "Please, listen, we can have Paul, and Brenda come with us. You'll see, it will be okay. Just think of all the cool stuff we could find."
The blue eyes narrowed as Jenny stared at her twin. "Oh yeah, and what if we find tons of cool stuff and then we can't find our way home?"
Jayden let out a sigh. "Jen, I think you're worried for nothing. I just have a feeling that we were meant to find those tunnels."
Jenny was going to say something when she heard a car pulling in. "Someone's home, give me my laptop."
Jayden closed down Jenny's computer and handed it to her. "Remember, we don't tell mom and dad anything about the opening we went through. Maybe we can after we figure out more. But for now, I think we better keep it a secret."
Jenny stood. "Okay by me, I wouldn't know how to explain about those things anyway."
Jenny looked toward the door. "I'll just go put my laptop in my room."
Jayden nodded. "I threw your pack in on your bed."
Misty Carter stepped in the house at the same time Jenny returned and smiled at her. "Hi mom, how was your first day of summer school?"
Misty smiled back. "To tell you the truth, it was a little boring for me. Your father is going to be at least another hour though. What about you two? Did you two have fun today?"
Jayden spoke first, afraid Jenny might share too much information. "We just did a little exploring."
Just then, a couple of barks came from outside. Misty frowned. "My goodness, what was that? It sounded like a dog."
She frowned at Jayden, then at Jenny. "Not only that, but I am sure it came from our backyard."
Both Jenny and Jayden hurried and stepped over to their mom. Jayden tried to give her what he hoped was an innocent look. "Uh, Yeah, I was just gonna tell you about that."
He looked at Jenny, who nodded. "When we were exploring we found a puppy and brought him home. He was all alone down in the caves."
Misty frowned. "I know your father said you could go and explore in those caves, but I'm still not sure they are all that safe."
Misty shook her head. "Never mind that now, let's go have a look at this puppy you found."
Both twins nodded and walked with their mom out to the backyard. Jayden yelled as soon as he walked out. "Here Portal, come on boy."
Portal ran to Jayden, wagging his tail. Jayden knelt down on the grass and began petting the dog. Jenny kneeled down next to Jayden so she could pet the puppy too. Misty had to smile. "He is one cute dog. But, he's not yours and we'll have to try and find his owner. Did you call him Portal?"
Jayden nodded and pointed at the tag on Portal's collar. "If his name tag is right, that's what his name is."
Misty looked at both her children. "When your father gets home, we'll see about getting him some dog food."
Jenny looked at her mom smiling. "He needs a leash too. We were just using a piece of rope."
Misty smiled back. "I guess it won't hurt to grab him a leash. Just remember, don't get too attached to him. I'm sure he has an owner somewhere that would love to have him back. I'm going to go get dinner started. You two can stay out here and keep the dog company until your dad gets home."
Two hours later, Jayden and his dad had gone to town and returned with a leash and dog food and now the family had just finished with their own dinner. All four sat at their dining room table. They were discussing Portal.
Lance looked at Jayden and Jenny. "I want you to take a picture of the dog so we can make some posters. We'll just say you found a dog and not give out his name. It's unusual enough I don't think many people would just guess his name."
Misty nodded. "Your dad's right. I think we should place an ad in the paper too."
Jenny frowned. "And what if no one claims him? Can we keep Portal then?"
Jayden was nodding. "Jenny and I will take care of him. It would be so awesome to have our own pet."
Jenny smiled. "Especially Portal, he's so cute."
Lance nodded. "If no one claims him, then I think the two of you are old enough to take on the responsibility of a dog."
Jenny jumped up and hugged first her dad, then her mom. "You guys are the best. Can we camp out in the backyard tonight too? He'll probably be lonely."
Misty smiled. "I think that's a great idea." Then frowning, she turned to Lance. "They found that dog down in those caves. Are you sure that place is a safe area for these two to be digging around?"
Looking at his wife, Lance smiled. "We've been over this before Misty. I was raised in Benton and all the kids I knew spent time in that place. I can never remember anyone ever getting hurt in the caves. They're safe and the kids know not to try anything dangerous. Right you two?"
Jayden and Jenny nodded, but both were thinking about their trip earlier. Jenny stood up. "If Jayden and I are going to sleep out in the yard, we better go and get our stuff ready."
The two hurried out of the room before either of their parents could question them more about their cave exploring.
After getting their sleeping bags, the twins set up a small tent in the backyard and using an extra pillow made a place for Portal to sleep between them.
Coming in the tent, Portal went to Jenny first and licked her face, accepting her petting in return. Then he went over to Jayden and repeated the process before settling down on his pillow.
Jayden turned to Jenny. "I almost died when dad said we knew better than to try anything dangerous."
Eyes wide, Jenny nodded. "Tell me about it. I feel so guilty. I know we didn't go into the caves thinking about trying anything crazy. It all happened so fast and we were just following Portal."
At the sound of his name, the dog lifted his head to look at Jenny. Smiling, Jenny scratched the puppy's ears. "Not your fault boy, in fact, we were lucky to have you to bring us home safe."
Jayden frowned. "You'll go back won't you? I mean if we take Paul and Brenda with us, then you'll feel better about going won't you?"
Shrugging, Jenny stared at Jayden a minute before she spoke. "I guess it will be okay with the four of us together. As long as Portal is with us to lead everyone home. I'll have to call Brenda to see if she has anything going on."
Jayden nodded. "Yeah and Paul is waiting on his mom to find a babysitter too. Until we can all get together, I still have those samples I found to look at. We can check them out and do some more research. Let's not tell Paul or Brenda about our trip until we all get ready to go together. There's just too much to explain. I think it would be better if we tell our story when we are all down in the caves."
Jenny smiled. "That's no lie, first we need to try and explain what happened to us before we can even begin to explain it to Paul and Brenda." Then she nodded at Jayden.
"Plus when Matt and Denise get back, I'm sure they will also want to hear all about this story."
Jayden stretched before nodding. "Let's try and get some sleep Jenny. I have a feeling we will be having some interesting days in the future."
Chapter 3
It took two weeks, but finally Brenda and Paul managed to both have a free day and agreed to meet Jayden and Jenny at the caves. Everyone decided to bring their backpacks with drinks, food, and whatever else they felt they would need for their exploring trip.
Jenny and Jayden decided to walk to the caves, because they had Portal. They arrived at the caves just a few minutes before Paul and Brenda rode up on their bikes.
After the bikes were hidden in the bushes with the locks put on, Paul and Brenda joined Jayden and Jenny by the cave entrance.
Jayden was smiling. "I'm so glad you guys are here."
Paul laughed. "Not as glad as I am. It took my mom and dad forever to find a babysitter for my little sisters."
Jenny looked at Brenda. "I'm glad you made it. In fact, if you wouldn't have, I wouldn't be here either."
Brenda frowned at that, but before she could ask why, Jayden interrupted. "Let's go in the cave, Jenny and I have a story to share with both of you that I think you are both really gonna love."
The four teenagers and Portal went into the cave and then sat so they formed a circle in the center of the large room. Taking off their backpacks, they got comfortable. Brenda was holding Portal.
Jayden and Jenny sat close together on one side of the circle and Brenda and Paul sat almost across from them. Brenda absently scratched Portal as she looked at Jayden. "Okay, let's hear this story."
Jayden started talking and didn't stop for almost an hour. Jenny had taken out her journal from her backpack. She had written down everything she could remember from that day and used her writings to fill in some pieces of the story Jayden missed.
When the twins were finished, both Brenda and Paul stared at the twins at a loss for words. Before either of them could say anything, Portal barked twice and then got up off of Brenda's lap and stood straining at his leash and looking toward the far side of the cave.
Four heads turned to see what the dog was looking at, and then their eyes opened wide as they saw the man who was standing in the cave.
From the teenager's vantage point on the floor, the man looked huge. In fact, he was six foot three and muscular. Brushing back his dark brown hair, which had a tendency to fall in front of his eyes, the man smiled. Seeing the looks on the faces in front of him, the man shook his head. "Please, don't be afraid. I am a friend."
As he stepped closer, the friends, still sitting on the floor, could see the handsome face would have been picture perfect if it wasn't for the scar on the side of his face. A thin, slightly crooked line ran from the corner of the man's left eye down to almost hit his jawline. "My name is Travlar."
As soon as the man spoke his name, Portal broke away from Brenda and ran to the man, who bent down and scooped up the dog. "Portal, you little rascal, I've been searching for you."
Turning back to where he had stepped out from, the man whistled. "Galaxy, get out here and meet some new friends. C'mon Galaxy, we've found Portal."
As the four watched, a large dog, who looked like an Alaskan sled dog, stepped into the cave. The dog walked straight to Portal who jumped up and down next to the larger dog. Finally, Portal settled down and Galaxy licked the top of the pup's head. As soon as Portal received the recognition, he laid down at the bigger dog's feet. Galaxy took his spot on the cave floor next to the smaller dog.
Jenny was smiling. "What a beautiful dog, is he yours?"
Smiling, Travlar nodded and the teenagers felt something in that smile that made them relax in the stranger's presence.
"Yes, he's mine and more importantly, I am his. We mutually belong to each other." Travlar looked from one face to the next. "Would it be okay if I joined your circle?"
The friends looked at each other shrugging and then nodding their approval. Jayden answered for the group. "I'm Jayden, this is my sister, Jenny, and those two are both our friends, Brenda and Paul. I think we all agree that you can join us. It looks like Portal must belong to you too. We found him here in the caves and took him home. We put up signs to see if anyone would claim him."
The man laughed and the hearty sound echoed in the cave. "I'm guessing from what I heard you explaining to your friends you already knew that no one around here would claim him."
Jayden smiled, almost guiltily, and then nodded. "Yeah, we kinda figured that."
Travlar stared at Jayden before turning to look at Jenny. "You two would be the twins." When they nodded, he continued. "And you were born under the sign of Gemini."
Jenny gasped. "Wait, how did you know that?" Then she frowned. "Have we met before?"
Travlar shook his head. "No, we've not met before." What he said was true. He had never actually met the twins, although he had seen them. Once, when they had first been born, Travlar had come to the hospital. He could remember staring at the twins through the plate glass window. Another time he had come back to the same hospital. Then it had only been Jenny he had watched. At three years old, Jenny had been taken to the hospital with pneumonia. Waiting until her parents had left the hospital for a much needed rest; Travlar had stepped into the room and kept a silent vigil on the child until he knew her parents would be returning.
Now he gave the kids a half smile. "I do know a little about you both though."
Travlar didn't elaborate on his statement. Instead, he asked a question. "Did you two have a look at Portal's tag?"
It was Jayden that answered. "Of course we did, that's how we knew his name."
Looking at Jayden, Travlar frowned. "Did you look at the back side?"
Both Jenny and Jayden shook their heads in a negative gesture. Travlar turned to where the two dogs were now half asleep.
"Come here Portal."
The dog looked at the man, then stood and stretched before stepping over to him. Travlar pulled the puppy into his lap and then turned around the dog's tag so everyone could see the picture etched into the back side.
Jenny squealed. "Hey, that's our zodiac sign. It is the symbol for Gemini."
Jayden nodded. "That's us, Gemini is the twin sign." He smiled at Travlar. "We are double lucky, twins born under the twin sign."
Nodding, Travlar smiled. "That's exactly right, and that's why I have these for you."
Reaching in his shirt pocket, Travlar pulled out two medallions. Each round medallion hung from a braided leather cord. Travlar handed one to Jenny and then gave the other to Jayden.
Both of the twins looked at the Gemini emblem carved into the round copper discs. The picture on the medallions looked almost identical to the one on the back of Portal's tag. The two pairs of blue eyes stared at Travlar with curiosity. Before either had a chance to question him, Travlar smiled, his own blue eyes shining. "I think those will come in handy when you go on the adventures you are planning on."
The twins were still frowning. Jenny slipped on the necklace. The metal felt warm against her skin. Jayden still held his necklace in his hand. "Does this mean it is okay for us to use whatever those openings are?"
The man nodded. "Yes and you can take your friends, but they need to understand that there are dangers. First off, they will need to stay with you. The medallions will help you travel to parallel worlds and more importantly bring you back. You also have Portal. He will always lead you on the right path."
Jenny's eyes widened with surprise. "You mean we get to keep him?"
Travlar nodded as he lifted the pup and set him back by Galaxy. "He was meant to be yours."
Jayden was frowning. "If Portal has the ability to travel to parallel worlds, where does a dog named Galaxy travel?"
Travlar laughed. "Let's just say his name fits what he does and where he goes, just like Portal's fits him." Travlar shook his head at the four teenagers staring at him in wonder. "Maybe I should try and explain this better."
Travlar turned to Paul and Brenda. "Do you still want to be involved in this?"
Paul nodded first. "Are you kidding? The answer is a definite yes."
Travlar looked at Brenda. "How about you?"
A slight grin appeared on Brenda's face.
" I'm going, it will take Jenny and I together to keep these guys in line."
Staring at the two, Travlar took a moment before he nodded. "Good, now I think I should try and explain." Taking a deep breath, Travlar began the story.
"I guess I should start by telling you that people have been traveling to parallel worlds since time began. I don't know what all the others use to travel. I do know some groups use hypnosis and meditation. I have a medallion that I use like the ones I gave Jayden and Jenny. The reason behind that goes back to when you were born."
Travlar shook his head in wonder. "Gemini twins are special. We found out about you and when you turned thirteen, Portal was sent to find you. These caves are special and have been here a long time, but the medallions make them work. You need to understand about the parallel worlds and your job when you are in them. If you decide not to go after I explain, no one will blame you for that. Your decision is personal and one you have to make yourselves."
All four sets of eyes stared at Travlar with rapt attention, waiting for him to continue. "You were given the medallions so you could travel and help others. In the parallel worlds, just like in this one, some things need fixed. Sometimes it takes someone from outside of that world to solve the issues that come up."
Travlar frowned. "Before I say more, I do have to tell you about a man. He's pure evil and his main purpose in life is to disrupt peace and harmony throughout the worlds. His name is Ralvart and he has his own following. Others like him want to spread evil also. As a group, we try to prevent his group's evil. Jenny and Jayden, you've been to one parallel world. The one you went to is a lot like this world. Not all the worlds are as similar to this as that one was. Did you see the twins when you were there?"
Both Jenny and Jayden nodded. Jenny touched her hair. "The one who looked like me had blonde hair, but I knew who she was. Jayden and I hid in some bushes so they wouldn't see us."
Nodding, Travlar smiled. "I'm sure that was a shock. You should know it doesn't matter if you meet your parallel selves. If you were time traveling, that would be different. These people are like you, but they are not you. In fact, sometimes you will need their help or they will need yours. When you begin to actually travel, you will feel pulled to the place you are needed. Don't ever fight that feeling. Your instincts will be right and your chances of helping will be greater. If you decide to go..."
Travlar turned to look at Brenda and Paul. "...and that includes both of you if you join your friends. None of you can tell anyone what you are doing and what happens once you cross into the other worlds."
Turning back to the twins, Travlar smiled. "Did you happen to notice the difference in time while you were in the parallel worlds?"
Both the twins nodded and Jayden answered. "We did, at first I thought my watch was broken."
Smiling, Travlar also nodded at what Jayden was saying. "I don't know why that happens, but it's a good thing. That way you don't have to explain being gone for an extended period. That will be important for all of you. It would be hard to explain to your parents why you were gone for so long."
Jenny was frowning. "What about our other friends? Denise and Matt are both gone right now, but the six of us are best friends and always together. It would be hard to hide this from them."
Travlar nodded. "That will be up to you. If you and your friends can keep this secret amongst yourselves, then it will be okay to tell them. Just remember, you and Jayden will be responsible for anyone that travels with you. When you open the portal to go to the alternate worlds, your friends will go in with you. That also means they have to return with you."
Jenny stared at Travlar. "You mean they can't return without us?"
Sighing, Travlar nodded. "That's exactly what I mean."
Jenny turned to Brenda and Paul. "Are you sure you still want to go with us?"
Both Brenda and Paul nodded. Paul rubbed his hands together. "I can't wait to check out these worlds."
Brenda then frowned. "I want to go, but I'd like to know more about this other guy you mentioned. The one you called Ralvart and his followers. Just how bad is he and how do we recognize him?"
Taking a minute, Travlar looked at the four teenagers, one at a time. "Ralvart and those who do his bidding aren't hard to spot. Evil surrounds them and you can feel it. Ralvart is about my height, though much thinner. Our hair is the same color, although his is longer and thinner. I have to say that I don't think it is washed often either. Ralvart has brown eyes that are almost without light or life to them. Him you will know as soon as you see him and you will know that he is an evil presence. Do not confront him if you see him. Just go back through the portals as quick as you can. Very few people can overcome Ralvart. I would like to try, but he avoids me like the plague. One day though..."
Travlar quit talking and just stared off at nothing for a moment, lost in his thoughts. Shaking his head slightly, he focused back on the teenagers. "Just stay away from him. Ralvart will be taken care of someday as will those that follow him."
Travlar stretched and stood up. "Now it's time for Galaxy and me to be on our way. If the four of you decide to travel today, you will only be observing. Use your trip as an experimental journey. Take your time; remember you won't be losing any time on this side of the portal. That way you can spend time exploring and learning."
When the kids all nodded their agreement, Travlar reached down and scratched Portal's ears. "You take care of these kids Portal." Then Travlar touched Galaxy's neck. "Let's go boy, we have places to be."
Jayden stood next to Travlar. "You'll be back won't you? I mean we're kinda lost here. We don't really know what we are doing."
Smiling and nodding, Travlar put an arm around Jayden's shoulders. "Don't worry, I'll be around. In fact, you'll probably get tired of seeing my face." Travlar lifted a hand to the others. "It was good to meet all of you."
And then Travlar and Galaxy left the four teenagers alone in the cave. They took turns staring at each other before Jayden spoke. "Well, that was strange."
Jenny nodded. "The weirdest part is I feel we can trust Travlar. If anyone else would have walked in on us like that, I probably wouldn't have listened to anything they had to say."
Paul was grinning. "What I found interesting is that Travlar's name is the exact opposite of Ralvart's. There's has to be a connection between those two. If this Ralvart is completely evil, does that mean Travlar is extremely good?"
Brenda nodded. "I got the feeling he was. Do you think he travels not to just parallel worlds but to other galaxies, like his dog's name?"
Jayden's face lit up with excitement. "Wow, wouldn't that be cool?"
Jenny shook her head. "Not to me, I'm having a hard time with just the parallel worlds."
She looked over at Brenda and then at Paul.
"Are you both still sure you want to go with us? I mean, the way Travlar talked there could be a lot of danger."
Both of the twin's friends nodded. Jayden grabbed his backpack. "Then I say let's go. Time might not matter on the other side, but it's ticking away here."
Everyone else stood and grabbed their backpacks. Jayden turned to Jenny. "You stay close to Brenda and I'll keep Paul close to me. They need us to get back, so don't let them out of your sight."
Brenda put on her backpack and stepped over to where Jenny was putting on her own. "You don't have to worry about that. I'm sticking to Jenny like glue."
Jayden grabbed Portal's leash. "C'mon boy, let's take a trip."
Chapter 4
Leading the small group, Portal walked deeper into the caves. Paul, walking next to Jayden frowned, "I don't think I've ever come this far into the caves before."
Jayden shrugged. "Jenny and I came in pretty far last time, but this isn't the way we came. This place must be huge. I know the caves go all the way into the mountain, but it doesn't look this big from the outside."
Behind Jayden and Paul, the two girls walked side by side. Jenny looked at Brenda. "Are you nervous?"
Brenda nodded. "I guess I am, but I'm also curious. I can't believe we're going to see an alternate world and that I could see someone who looks like me. You already have a twin, so you're kind of used to it, but I don't even have a sister or a brother. It's just been me and my dad ever since I can remember."
Jenny put an arm around her friend. She knew Brenda's mom had died when she was a baby and her dad had raised her. "Well, you are just like a sister to me and that's what counts."
Nodding, Brenda smiled. "Thanks Jenny, you're like a sister to me too."
Brenda and Jenny almost walked into Jayden and Paul who had stopped walking just in front of them.
Portal was a few steps ahead of Jayden. The puppy was standing at the bottom of what looked like steps covered in overgrown grass. Jayden was pointing at the area. "I think Portal has decided on our destination for today."
Frowning, Jenny stepped closer to the cave wall next to the opening. She pointed at the side of the wall. "Look, here are more of those symbols like the other opening had."
Everyone walked up closer to see what Jenny was looking at. Paul was the first to reach up and lightly touch the symbols. "I'm not sure what these represent. I suppose they could mean anything."
Brenda frowned. "The one almost looks like a triangle, but those other lines just look like scribble marks."
Jayden shrugged as Portal pulled on the leash he was holding. "I think we just have to trust Portal's instincts."
He looked at the others. "Is everyone ready for this? If you don't want to go, I'll understand."
When all the others nodded their agreement, Jayden let Portal lead him up the few stairs and then into the opening at the top. Jayden and Paul stepped through first with Jenny and Brenda following close behind.
As their eyes adjusted to the brighter light, Jenny moaned. "Oh no, what a horrible place, this can't be Benton's parallel world."
All four of the friends stared in dismay at the landscape in front of them. Jayden was shaking his head as he looked at the ground around them with no grass, no trees, and no bushes.
Paul cleared his throat. "This place looks like the pictures I've seen after a bomb of some kind was detonated."
Brenda grabbed Jenny's hand and looked worriedly at her friend. "You don't think this place is dangerous do you? I mean what if there's radioactivity or some kind of biological poison in the air?"
Hearing that, Jayden shook his head. "I don't think Travlar or Portal would have us enter a place like that. I think we should go have a look around and see what we can find out." He pointed across the brown field.
"The other time Jenny and I came through one of these openings there was a building that looked like the Benton Center Mall. That building over there is a lot smaller, but maybe we can find some answers there."
The group started across the bare ground that in Benton was lush grass. Jenny felt like crying. "I just can't believe how awful this place looks. I can't see green anywhere."
Paul pointed in front of them. "At least they have cars here, so that's something that looks familiar." He turned to Jayden.
"Do you hear that?"
Frowning, Jayden shook his head. "I don't hear anything."
Smiling, Paul nodded. "That's because the cars are either electric or solar. What you aren't hearing is the sound of engines. Apparently, despite the lack of scenery, this place has a high level of technology."
Looking again at the few cars that were passing by on the street in front of them, Jayden smiled. "Maybe we'll be able to find something fascinating here after all. When we stepped through, I have to admit, I was a little worried."
Jenny, behind them, laughed. "Welcome to my mind Jayden. I'm still worried and more than a little."
The four friends made it to the road and then crossed over to the building. A sign on the front read 'Brinkley's'. Jenny looked at the others. "It looks like some kind of variety store. Should we go in?"
Jayden shook his head. "I don't think so. I don't want to run into anymore look a likes, that was a little weird. Besides, they probably wouldn't let us take Portal in."
Jayden turned away from the building, looking both ways before he pointed to the right. "Let's just head that way and have a look around."
The kids walked about three blocks when they came to a large corner lot that looked like it must have been a city park at one time. A rusted swing set and a matching slide sat in the center of the area. Together the four stepped onto the dirt covered park.
Shaking her head, Jenny turned to the others. "I never realized how beautiful our town park was, but now..."
Jenny stopped talking as she turned and scanned the area again.
"...this is awful. I'll never complain about our park again. What in the world could have happened to this place?"
A voice behind them had all heads turning around quickly. "The main thing that happened was greed."
The group stared at the young man who spoke. He looked to be a few years older than they were. He was frowning now, his brown eyes curious. "You must have seen this before. Most of the country looks like this now." The brown eyes narrowed. "Who are you guys and where are you from? I've never seen you around here before."
Jayden took a step forward. "We're not from here, we're just passing through. Where we are from doesn't look this devastated. I guess we were lucky."
Jayden was hoping the guy would buy his explanation and hoped his friends realized what he was doing and wouldn't say anything to jeopardize their position in this new world. Jayden was relieved when the young man only nodded.
"I guess we did have it worse here. I was just a baby when it all happened. You four probably weren't even born. I guess that doesn't matter, all of us are suffering now because of the greed and stupidity of others."
Looking at the young man in front of them, all four of the friends were trying to figure a way to find out what had happened without exposing the truth of them not actually being from this world. It was Paul who stepped up next to Jayden and spoke. "Why did you have it so much worse here?"
The young man grunted out a sarcastic laugh. "Because, it started here."
Looking at the faces in front of him, the young man grinned. "I'm Colby by the way."
Jayden relaxed, as did the others. "I'm Jayden and this is Paul. The girl in the back that looks like me is Jenny, my sister, and the other girl is her friend, Brenda."
Jayden frowned. "I guess we were never told the whole story, you know, just rumors. What really happened here?"
Colby pointed to a couple of benches. "That explanation could take a while. Do you want to go sit down?"
When the group all nodded, Colby led the way and the four followed with Portal walking in front of them. Jayden held the dog's leash, glad to see that Portal didn't seem to sense anything wrong with the young man they were following.
When everyone sat down, Colby, Paul, and Jayden sat on one bench and Brenda and Jenny sat across from them on the other, Colby began talking.
"It all began about fifteen years ago. Well, probably even before that, but the major problems began then. I was almost two years old. My dad worked for the Marsdale Electric Company. At the time, the company was searching into new power sources. They had discovered solar and wind power to be beneficial but they wanted more. I'm not quite sure where they found the new power source. Some say it was discovered in Mexico, down in some Mayan ruins. It doesn't really matter, I guess. My dad said the power sources weren't any bigger than a marble. But each one had enough power to run a whole city. Marsdale electric patented the power source even though those artifacts of power didn't belong to them. Then they sold them to the highest bidder."
Colby looked at the others sitting with him. "My dad quit the company when he saw what they were doing. We were going to move out of here and start over somewhere else, my dad had enough of their greed."
Colby shook his head. "We never got the chance to move away. After the artifacts had been bought by several countries, the flaw was found. When you kept the power from them running for more than thirty days they blew. Some places were obliterated and most ended up like here. Now, all these years later, whatever was contained in those small power sources has prevented anything from growing back. Some places, I suppose like where you all are from, didn't get hit as hard as we did. I know a lot of people died just so the stockholders of Marsdale Electric could get rich."
Colby sighed. "They got theirs though. The big company building with all the head guys in it blew up. That's why my family is still here. My dad was brought back in to control the disaster. Now we have a safe power supply, but the area will never be anything but this waste land, along with most of the world. The greed of a few people trying to make the most off of artifacts they knew nothing about was the downfall to everyone."
As Paul shook his head at the miserable aftermath of the situation, the four listening to him were horrified at his story. Jayden, shaking his head, was the first to speak. ”Does your dad think they’ll ever be able to fix the damage that was done?”
Shrugging, Colby shook his head. “I don’t know, my dad died a few years ago. He never was able to get much done on the project, and I’m pretty sure no one is continuing his work. It seemed like every time my dad made headway, some bureaucrat would find a reason to stop the work he was doing.”
Jenny was looking at Colby with a deep sadness in her blue eyes. “I’m really sorry about your dad.”
Shrugging, Colby shook his head wearily. “It’s hard without him, but at least he doesn’t have to look at this crap every day. It’s funny, people worry about terrorists and war ruining our lives and it was our own people that screwed things up. It was all just so they could make more money too, it is such a shame. They didn’t want to give people cheaper energy. It was the highest bidders who got the power source and all it did was devastate our world.”
Colby looked past where Jenny and Brenda were sitting and smiled before standing up and waving. “Hey Hannah, come on over.”
A girl about eight years old with long blonde hair came walking over toward Colby and the others. When she got to Colby, she stood next to him and then took a step shyly so she was almost behind him.
Colby smiled down at her and placed his hand on her head. “This is my sister Hannah. She’s a little shy.”
Jenny smiled at the girl. “There’s nothing wrong with being shy. My name’s Jenny and this is my friend Brenda.”
Jenny pointed to the bench across from her. “That’s my brother Jayden and his friend Paul.”
Large brown eyes stared at Jenny, but Hannah didn’t speak. A slight, shy grin appeared on her face as she stepped even further behind her brother.
As Hannah made her move, Portal came out from under the bench where he had been enjoying the only shade to be found. Seeing him, Hannah giggled and knelt down.
“Hey there, aren’t you cute.”
Smiling at the girl, Jenny pointed toward the puppy. “His name is Portal.”
Hannah smiled. “Can I pet him?”
As soon as Jenny nodded her okay, Hannah pulled Portal on her lap and began petting the dog.
Colby sat back down and looked at the others. “Looks like you made her day. Nothing like a puppy to bring out a smile.” He looked down at Hannah, smiling himself. “What were you doing anyway Hannah? I thought you were at home with mom?”
Hannah looked up at him, eyes wide. “I was, but she sent me looking for you. She needs some help back at the house. She’s moving stuff around and I’m not big enough to help her with it.”
Colby stood up. “We better get going then. Tell the puppy good-bye.”
Hannah hugged Portal, who licked her face, making her giggle again. Reluctantly, she moved Portal off her lap and stood up next to her brother. She looked at Jenny. “Thanks for letting me pet your dog, he is just so cute.”
Colby turned to look at the members of the small group. “It was nice meeting all of you. Sorry we can’t stay and talk more.”
Jayden stood. “That’s okay, we need to get going ourselves.”
The friends waited until Hannah and Colby walked off before the rest of them stood by Jayden. Paul turned to him. “Do you want to look around some more?”
Jayden shook his head. “Not really, this place is so depressing. I think it’s time to head back.”
Jenny nodded. “I’m all for that. I hate seeing what’s happened here. It’s so awful and scary. Something like this could happen anywhere, even in back in Benton.”
Jenny rubbed at her arms as a chill ran through her, raising Goosebumps. The she nodded. “Yeah, I vote to go home.”
The friends left the park and headed back toward the building they had first seen coming out of the cave. When they reached ‘Brinkley’s’, the four crossed the street and headed across the dirt field. Jayden still held Portal’s leash and he noticed even Portal seemed to be in a hurry to leave this Parallel World.
As they stepped in the opening, the group all breathed a sigh of relief.
*
None of the four had noticed the man standing in ‘Brinkley’s’ front window watching them as they made their way through the dry field, their shoes kicking up the red dust.
When the group had reached the half-way point between where the man stood and the cave entrance, he put the phone he had been holding to his ear and waited for a familiar voice to answer with a terse. “What have you got?”
The five foot eight inch, two hundred pound man, who looked like he spent time in a boxing ring, answered in a low, course voice. “The two you asked everyone to watch for are here. There’s two others with them. Just a bunch of kids. You want me to grab them?”
The man waited anxiously for an answer, and absently twisted the ring on his finger. He knew with that ring he had the power to follow the children even after they entered the cave. The man frowned at the answer he was given.
“Let them go, we only want the twins. We have time to wait until they are alone.”
Without saying another word, the man hung up. He was alone in a large dining room. Running long fingers through his stringy brown hair, the man then made a fist and slammed it down on the dining room table. The drink in front of him tipped over and the amber liquid flowed across the wooden surface. The man stared at the mess with lifeless brown eyes.
*
The group of teenagers had made their way back to the main cave and were once again sitting together on the dirt floor, their backpacks beside them. Jenny was digging in hers. After a minute she pulled out Portal’s bowl and a bottle of water. After filling the dog’s bowl, she took a long drink herself. When she finished, Jenny looked at the others. “Just being in that place makes me feel like I walked through the desert or something.”
Nodding at that, Brenda pulled out her own bottle of water. “I know what you mean. I feel so bad for Colby and Hannah. I can’t imagine living in that place.”
Paul was frowning. “Lots of people like living in the desert. Besides, that’s all they know. You’re just used to living in Benton. I think the worst part was hearing about Colby’s dad. He was trying to fix things and then died before he got the chance.”
Jayden nodded. “Paul’s right, but what’s bothering me is wondering how in the world you’d fix something like that. Travlar said when we are drawn to the parallel worlds in the future, it will be to fix what is wrong. How would we ever be able to do that? Even as smart as Paul is, I don’t think he could find the solution for that place.”
Shaking his head, Paul stared at Jayden. He hated when people thought he was smart just because he got straight A’s in school. The work came easy for him, but there was so much he didn’t know. Jayden got lower grades at school, but he was great at fixing things. Paul knew both Brenda and Jenny knew a lot more about computers than he did. “I’m not that smart, besides I don’t think Travlar would expect you to fix something like that anyway. I don’t think even he could do something about a place like that. Maybe you could ask him about it the next time you and Jenny see him.”
“Maybe you should ask me now.”
All four heads turned to see Travlar standing on the far side of the cave with Galaxy by his side. The dog ran over to the kids, accepting petting from each before going to Portal and licking the smaller dog’s head.
Jayden smiled broadly. “Hi Travlar, wow, I’m so glad you’re here.”
Jenny nodded. “We all are.”
Travlar walked over and sat down between Paul and Jayden. “Apparently the four of you went to a parallel world today you didn’t like very well.”
He turned to Jayden. “Can you explain to me about this place you all traveled to?”
Shrugging, Jayden looked at his friends before his blue eyes settled back on Travlar. “The place was desolate. Almost all the vegetation was gone and it didn’t seem like it would be returning anytime soon. We talked to Colby. He and his sister, Hannah, live there with their mom. From what he told us, his dad died while he was working on a plan to recover what was lost.”
Travlar nodded. “Unfortunately you might find a lot of places like that one. You will also find wondrous, unimaginable places. There is a balance throughout the worlds of good and bad. Just as you find in life here. You are not expected to fix something like that. Believe me, when man destroys something, the cure is harder to find. I think you will find the places you are drawn to will have an easier puzzle to fix. It may take some thinking and some hard work, but you will not be given an insurmountable task. When the time comes, you will see for yourselves. Other than that, did you have any other problems or did you see any of Ralvart’s people?”
Jayden frowned. “Colby and his sister, Hannah, were the only people we talked to.”
Jayden looked at the others. “Did any of you notice anything I didn’t?”
The others shook their heads and Jenny shrugged. “I was so focused on the devastation of the world, I didn’t notice much else.”
As Jenny looked at Travlar, she was amazed at how easily their group had accepted this man. In her heart she knew their acceptance was right and that it was their destiny to meet this man and do as he said and journey through the portals into whatever the parallel worlds held for them. She had always been a trusting person and Jayden had always been the opposite. If he too, felt like she did, and apparently he did, then Jenny knew they were doing what they were supposed to.
Travlar was nodding, he didn’t know how much he should share with the twins right now. He knew he had to warn them about Ralvart and his followers. He didn’t think he needed to share the fact that they were Ralvart’s main target right now. Surely the man hadn’t figured out where the twins were yet. “I think if Ralvart or his men would have been there, you would have known. The best thing I can tell you is to watch for them and stick together. I don’t want you to be so afraid that it distracts you from the worlds or what needs to be done, but you should be alert for them and their wrong doings.”
Jenny was nodding. “You don’t have to worry about that. I’m nervous enough, I’ll be watching everything from now on.”
Travlar laughed. “That’s good, I won’t have to worry about you so much. I will be checking on you in between my own travels. If you see anything thing strange, just head for home and you can let me know about it when you see me.”
Travlar stood up. “Speaking of traveling, Galaxy and I need to get going. I’ll check in with you soon.”
At the sound of his name, Galaxy stood and walked over to Travlar and then the two left the cave.
When they were gone, Jenny looked at her brother and then at her two friends. “I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m ready to head for home.”
Brenda nodded. “Me too, my dad will be getting off work soon and I need to start his dinner.” She stood up and grabbed her backpack. The others did the same and then walked out of the caves.
Paul and Brenda got their bikes and headed home after first getting reassurances from Jenny and Jayden that they’d call when they were going back in the caves for more adventures.
Jenny and Jayden walked home with Portal. They put him in the backyard while they put their things away. Then the two went out and sat at the picnic table. Jenny was staring off into space, a vacant look on her face. Jayden frowned as he looked at her. “Earth to Jenny, earth to Jenny, are you in there?”
Turning at the sound of her brother’s voice, Jenny frowned. “Sorry, I was just thinking about what Travlar said about the two of us feeling a need to go back in the caves and to the alternate worlds. What do you think he meant by that? What does a need feel like?”
Shrugging, Jayden then smiled at his sister. “It’s probably like my need right now to go find some kind of dessert.”
Rolling her eyes, Jenny let out a disgusted sigh. “You’re impossible Jayden, but now that you mention it, I think there is some ice cream in the freezer. After that dry, wasteland, I could go for something cold and wet.”
Jayden jumped up from the table. “I guess great minds really do think alike.”
The two raced each other to the house to get their ice cream.
Chapter 5
Jenny was in the kitchen just a little over a week after the visit to what she called the wasteland. She frowned and dropped the spoon she had been washing. She felt strange, something was wrong. Her mind was full of worry and her stomach tightened with nervousness.
Turning away from the sink she saw Jayden as he came running quickly into the kitchen.
“Oh my gosh, do you feel it Jen?”
Nodding, Jenny shook her head. “I feel something, I’m not sure what. It’s like I know something is wrong, but I don’t know what or where.”
Staring at his sister with disbelief on his face, Jayden shook his head. “You might not know what, but you know where.”
Jenny’s blue eyes grew wide. “Is this coming from the caves, from another world?”
Jayden nodded. “We need to get our stuff together and I have to call Paul.”
Jenny nodded. “I better call Brenda too.” Jenny’s hand went to cover her stomach. “This feeling and whatever is causing it, is really making me feel sick.”
Nodding at his sister, Jayden took in a deep breath. “It’s your nerves, I can feel it too. After I get my stuff and call Paul, I’ll go and get Portal.”
Jenny grabbed her cell phone off the counter and called Brenda as she headed to her room to get her backpack.
Brenda answered on the third ring out of breath. “Hello.”
Jenny was in her room and grabbing her pack just as her friend answered the call. “Brenda, we’re headed to the caves. You need to meet us down there. Both Jayden and I feel something is wrong and we need to get there soon.”
At her house, Brenda was frowning. “I can’t go with you Jenny. I’m helping my dad today. We won’t be finished for at least a couple hours.”
Jenny was trying to slip on her backpack while holding the phone between her chin and shoulder. “I wish we could wait for you Brenda, trust me, we can’t.”
Brenda sighed. “Oh wow, I wish I could go with you. I want to hear all about it the first thing you get back though.”
Jenny nodded. “I promise I’ll call you or come over to your house when we get back. I gotta go now though.”
Brenda nodded. “Okay, I’ll be waiting to hear from you.”
Jenny ended the call and shoved the phone in her back pocket before heading to the kitchen.
Waiting for Jayden, Jenny finished the dishes she had been doing quickly. All the time, feeling the dread of something being terribly wrong.
Jenny sighed with relief when Jayden walked in with his pack on and Portal beside him. “I think we better take the bikes. Paul said he’d meet us at the caves. What about Brenda?”
Jenny shook her head. “She can’t make it.”
Jenny placed a hand on her stomach. “Let’s get going.”
Feeling the same concern as Jenny that they needed to hurry, Jayden only nodded.
A few minutes later, the two were riding to the caves with Portal running alongside Jayden’s bike. The little dog, feeling the same urgency as the twins, had no problem keeping up.
As they got to the caves, they saw Paul standing out front waiting. He stepped over and took Portal’s leash from Jayden so the two could put their bikes away. When they walked back to where Paul was standing, he handed the leash to Jayden and frowned.
“What’s going on? You both look awful.”
Shrugging, Jayden shook his head.
“I’m not quite sure, both Jenny and I started feeling like something was wrong and it’s something we’ll find in there.”
Jayden pointed at the caves.
Paul nodded as he followed Jayden and Jenny through the caves entrance.
Once inside, Jayden bent down so he could scratch Portal’s neck. “Which way do we go boy?”
Wagging his tail, Portal turned and ran into the caves, pulling Jayden with him.
Jenny and Paul followed close behind. Portal led the kids to yet another set of grass covered steps. This time, just two steps led down to the open doorway.
As they stepped through the doorway and looked around, Paul frowned. “It didn’t work, we’re still in Benton.”
Jayden stared across at the building that looked like their city mall. “It looks like Benton, but it’s not. The first place Jenny and I went looked like Benton too.”
Jenny nodded, but her forehead was creased with worry. “We need to get going and find what or who needs help.”
Jayden pointed at Portal who was straining at his leash. “I think Portal knows where we need to go.”
All three followed Portal as he tugged on the leash and walked to a pole with a paper flyer tacked to it. Jenny gasped as she looked at the picture on the paper. “Oh no, that’s Hannah.”
Stepping closer, Jayden shook his head. “It looks like Hannah, but it’s not her.”
Paul nodded, pointing at the picture. “He’s right Jenny, it says here this girl’s name is Annie Mason.”
Stepping closer, Jenny placed a finger on the picture of the young girl. “It says here she’s been missing for a week. That’s if our days match theirs.”
Jayden reached down and picked up Portal. He held the dog in front of the flyer.
“We need to find this girl Portal. Where is she boy?”
Setting the dog down, Jayden turned to Jenny and Paul. “I’m afraid we can’t do much, it’s going to be up to Portal.”
As soon as Jayden got the words out, Portal pulled at the leash once again. Jayden smiled. “I think he needs to go.”
The three friends followed the dog to the edge of town. They only passed a few people along the way, but all three were focused on following Portal and didn’t pay attention to any of the faces.
From the edge of town, Portal led the kids another mile to a wooded area. Stepping through the trees, Jenny frowned. “I hope she didn’t get lost out here. I’m sure there are wild animals around.”
Portal stopped in a clump of trees and Paul pointed just ahead of where they were. “Look, there’s a cabin over there.”
Everyone stared at the small log house that looked more the size of a shed. It was older and looked like it was about ready to crumble to the ground. A small, older car sat in front of the place. Jenny frowned. “Do you think the girl could be in there?”
Jayden shrugged. “I don’t know, but that’s where Portal is looking. So yeah, I think she just might be.”
Paul pulled out his cell phone and then frowned at the ‘no service’ message. Jayden put a hand on Paul’s shoulder.
“Your cell phone won’t work here Paul. They don’t work in the caves either.”
Putting his phone away, Paul slowly shook his head. “I keep forgetting we’re not in Benton anymore.”
Paul looked down at Portal who was staring at the cabin with the hair raised on the back of his neck. “It looks like Portal would like to run over there to that cabin.”
Paul shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea with that car there. Anyone could be in there.”
Jayden nodded. “Let’s just watch the place a minute.” He turned to Jenny. “Could you write down the license number from that car?”
Nodding, Jenny slipped off her backpack and dug in it for a pen and paper. After writing down the number, she slipped it in her pocket. Replacing the pen and paper, Jenny pulled out a bottle of water and Portal’s bowl. She poured him a drink before taking her own. As soon as Portal got a drink, Jenny was putting the things away when Jayden pointed toward the cabin.
His voice came out in a whisper. “Duck down, someone’s coming out of the cabin.”
The three ducked down and slid behind the bushes. Jayden placed a hand on Portal’s neck, afraid the dog might start barking.
The three watched a slender man who looked to be in his thirties come out of the cabin and get in the car. He was wearing what looked like a gray uniform. None of the kids got the chance for a good look at the man’s face before he started the car and pulled away from the cabin.
Jayden stood up. “Let’s go get a look inside before he comes back.”
With Portal leading the way, all three raced to the cabin. Jenny and Paul went to the windows, but found they couldn’t see inside the covering on them. Jayden and Portal headed for the front door. Reaching down, Jayden grabbed the knob, surprised when it turned and the door opened. He yelled to the other two. “Hey, get over here, the door’s not locked.”
Paul and Jenny ran over to Jayden just as he pushed in the front door. Turning back he looked at them. “Be careful, there might be others inside.”
The three entered slowly, glancing around nervously for any signs of trouble. The inside of the building was darker than the outside. All the windows looked like someone had nailed heavy blankets up to cover them.
Jayden pulled his flashlight from the utility belt he was wearing, thankful he had decided to put it on today.
Turning on the light, Jayden moved it around the room. The three looked around the inside of the small cabin which was set up more like one large room. On one side of the room, a small rusty stove sat next to a sink that had an old fashioned pump water handle on it.
Jayden focused his the beam of light towards the back of the room where two small beds sat. One was empty, but in the other the trio could see a small girl huddled in the corner of the bed. She sat up with a blanket covering her that was pulled up to her neck. The large brown eyes stared at the teenagers full of fear.
Jenny was the first to take a couple of steps forward as she stared at the young girl who looked so much like Hannah. The young girl they had met in the other world.
“Don’t be afraid, we’re here to help. Are you alone in here?”
The girl’s headed nodded slowly, but the wide eyes didn’t lose their fear.
Portal was pulling against the leash and Jayden let go, hoping the girl would trust the young dog more than she was the three who were strangers to her.
Portal headed straight for the bed, his tail wagging. When he got there, instead of jumping on the bed, he stood on his hind legs and placed his front paws on the edge of the mattress.
As the girl stared at the dog, Jenny took another step forward. “That’s Portal, he’s the one that found you.”
The girl reached her hands out from under the blanket and moved them timidly toward Portal. Jenny was the first to see that the girl’s hands were tied together.
As the hands got close to Portal, he licked them and the girl smiled. It was a small smile, but it was enough to encourage Jenny and she stepped closer. “Your name’s Annie isn’t it?”
The girl stared at Jenny, eyes wide and nodded. “How do you know that?”
Jenny smiled. “Your whole town is looking for you. They have posters up all over.”
Jenny had made it to the bed and stood next to Portal. “We’d love to take you home Annie.”
The brown eyes filled with tears. “The man said he was my dad now. He said I had to call him father and that my new name is Grace. He said no one was even looking for me, no one wanted me, only him.”
Annie started crying then with deep sobs that tore at Jenny’s heart. She reached forward and held out her arms towards Annie. “He lied to you. C’mere honey, let’s get you home.”
Dropping the blanket, the girl tried to move to Annie, but another rope around her ankle kept her anchored to the bed.
Shaking her head at how horrific this ordeal must have been for this child, Jenny removed her pack. She tried to smile at Annie. “Hold on just a minute sweetie, and I’ll have that rope off of you.”
Digging in her pack, Jenny found the knife that Matt had given her. Sliding the pack back on, Jenny reached over and cut the ropes off of Annie.
As soon as the girl was free, she practically flew into Jenny’s arms. Holding her tight, Jenny spoke quietly. “It’s okay now Annie, everything is going to be okay. Let’s get you out of this place.”
The girl nodded and slipped her legs over the bed. Jenny frowned. “Where’s your shoes Annie?”
The girl shook her head. “That man took them. I don’t know where they are.”
Annie started to cry again.
Jenny felt like crying with the young girl. “That’s okay Annie, don’t cry. See those two guys right there? That’s my brother Jayden and our friend Paul. If it’s okay with you, Jayden can carry you until we get back to town where there’s a sidewalk. Would that be okay?”
Annie wiped her eyes and nodded. As soon as she did, Jayden came over by the bed and handed his backpack to Jenny before turning back to Annie and giving her a smile.
“Why don’t you stand on the bed and then you can get on my back and we’ll get you out of here.”
Annie crawled backwards on the bed and stood up. When Jayden turned his back to her, she got on, putting her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.
Jayden took a hold of her legs. He looked at Jenny, then Paul. “You two go out first and make sure everything is okay. Annie and I will be right behind you.”
Paul nodded and went to the cabin door and let out a sigh of relief when he didn’t see anyone around outside. “Looks like we’re good to go.”
Jenny grabbed Portal’s leash. “Let’s go then, I just want to get out of this place.”
They left the cabin and hurried as fast as they could through the woods and back towards the town.
When they hit the sidewalk, Jayden turned his head slightly to turn back and look at Annie. “Do you want to get down and walk now or would you rather stay up there on my back. Either way is fine with me, you’re not heavy at all.”
Annie shook her head. “I want down now, I can walk.”
Crouching down, Jayden let Annie climb off his back. As soon as she stepped on to the sidewalk, Annie looked shyly at Jenny. “Could I hold your puppy’s leash?”
Handing her the leash, Jenny smiled. “You bet, besides, you know where your house is. You should be leading the way, you and Portal.”
Taking the leash, Annie smiled and looked at the dog. “C’mon Portal, I’ll show you where I live.”
The three teenagers let Annie and Portal walk in front of them. All three kept looking around, watching for either the old car that was parked in front of the cabin or the man who had been driving it.
Jenny had a concerned look on her face. She hadn’t asked Annie if the man had hurt her. Physically she looked dirty, but Jenny hadn’t seen any bruises. Emotionally however, it might be a different story. Right now, all Jenny wanted to do was get Annie home. It would be up to her family to figure out why the man had kidnapped Annie and asked her to be his daughter. Jenny had no clue why someone would do that, but the thought of it made her sick to her stomach. Her nerves had settled down once they had found Annie, but hadn’t completely subsided and she knew they wouldn’t until Annie was home safe and sound.
Just as Jenny was thinking that, she heard Annie scream. Jenny’s heart dropped to her stomach. Looking up, she let out a breath of relief as she saw Annie running to a woman who was standing ahead of them on the sidewalk. That’s when Jenny realized the scream she was hearing was actually Annie yelling. “Mommy.”
The woman looked quite a bit like Annie, right down to the brown eyes, which were now filled with tears that were overflowing onto the woman’s cheeks. Kneeling down, the woman opened her arms wide as Annie ran to her. Then the woman was hugging the girl with one arm and using her other hand to smooth down the messed up blonde hair. She kept repeating Annie’s name over and over as she pressed down the girl’s hair. “Oh Annie, it’s so good to see you, my baby, my poor baby.”
The woman looked over Annie’s head at the three teenagers who had run up behind the young girl, accompanied by their small, brown dog. “Thanks so much, all of you, oh my word, this is a miracle. Where did you find her?”
Jenny half shrugged. “It was actually our dog that found her. We were just walking in the woods, following him. Portal wouldn’t step away from the cabin he saw there. We were just lucky that we found Annie alone inside.”
The woman stood but kept a hold of Annie’s hand. “I can’t thank you enough. You could never know how terrified I have been.”
The woman frowned. “I mean how terrified we’ve been. I need to call my husband and let him know. I have to call the sheriff too. Do you want to come inside while I call? It will only take me a minute.”
Jenny shook her head. “I think we’ll just wait out here, you go on ahead. I’m sure your husband will love to hear that you’ve got Annie back.”
Jenny was thinking the sheriff would probably be interested to learn about that fact too. That thought reminded her of the license plate number she had written down. She reached in her back pocket and pulled out the piece of paper and held it out to Annie’s mom. “We didn’t get a very good look at the man, but I did write down the number off his license plate.”
Taking the note from Jenny, the woman smiled. “Thanks so much again, for everything. You’ve given my world back to me, bringing Annie back.”
None of the friends knew how to respond to that comment. When they only nodded, the woman turned, still holding Annie’s hand in a tight grip and went into her house.
As soon as she disappeared inside, Jenny turned to Jayden and Paul. “I think we better go before the sheriff shows up here. We might have a hard time answering any questions he might ask.”
Jayden nodded and Paul laughed. “I don’t think any answers we could give would seem plausible. Jenny’s right, let’s get out of here and back to the caves.”
With Portal leading the way, the friends walked quickly toward the caves. Just before they got there, Jenny turned to Jayden.
“Do you feel that?”
Jayden frowned at his sister. “What are you talking about? I don’t feel anything.”
Laughing, Jenny nodded. “Exactly right, that awful feeling of dread and nervousness is gone. I think we accomplished the job we were supposed to do here.”
Both boys smiled at that. Paul pointed at Portal. “I think most of the credit belongs to Portal. We wouldn’t have found Annie without him.”
Jenny bent down and rubbed Portal’s neck. “That’s right, and I’m going to make sure you get plenty of treats when we get home too.”
The three teenagers made it to the cave entrance a few minutes later. Jayden, holding Portal’s leash, looked down at the dog. “Okay Portal, let’s go home.”
*
As the three stepped through the opening, a man watched from twenty feet away. He ran a hand through his stringy brown hair. The brown eyes narrowed as he stared at the small group. He knew he could follow them, but he didn’t want to go to the world where they were headed. Knowing the do-gooders would be traveling again, the man turned away from the cave. He would bide his time and grab them in a place more suited to him. A world where he would have the advantage.
Chapter 6
After going through the caves, the trio headed to Jenny and Jayden’s house. Jenny had called Brenda after they had gotten home and now all four sat in the backyard of the Carter house at the picnic table.
Brenda looked from one face to the next. “Okay, let’s have it. What happened in the world that you all just went to? I want to hear everything, I mean it, and don’t you dare leave out a thing.”
Jenny laughed at her friend’s curiosity. Then taking a deep breath she told the story. Jayden and Paul added their own details as the tale unfolded. When the three had finished telling the adventure, Brenda frowned, the brown eyes worried.
“Do you think that man who kidnapped Annie could have been one of Ralvart’s followers? The way Travlar talked, Ralvart’s followers are the ones that cause trouble in the parallel worlds.”
For a moment all three just stared at Brenda. None of them had even thought about Ralvart when they had been helping Annie. Finally Jenny shrugged. “We never even really got a good look at the man. I’m sure he could easily have been one of the followers though. I mean the guy had to be evil to do what he did.”
Paul nodded. “We don’t even know why he took Annie. We didn’t stick around to get any answers.”
Jayden also nodded. “That’s for sure, we didn’t get answers and we didn’t want to have to give out any answers either. If we would have stuck around for the sheriff to show up, you can bet he would have had a lot of questions. I think almost any evil we find in the other worlds will have Ralvart behind it. I hope the next time we see Travlar, he’ll give us more information on Ralvart and his followers.”
Brenda looked at Jenny. “Your attitude about traveling seems to be better. Does that mean you’re not afraid of the portals anymore?”
Jenny laughed. “I’m still scared to death. When we reunited Annie with her mom though, it was like a miracle. I felt so good about what we were able to do, I didn’t even think about being afraid.”
Smiling at her friend, Brenda nodded. “I sure hope I get to go next time.”
Jenny laughed. “I’m sure you will. We just had to leave in such a hurry. The feeling of dread was so strong.”
Looking at Jenny, Brenda frowned. “That must have been weird.”
Jayden laughed. “That’s an understatement. At least now we know what the feeling is about.”
Jenny nodded. “That was the worst part. I was freaking out with worry and had no idea why.”
Brenda’s eyes were wide. “That’s so crazy, but the next time it happens, call me. I don’t want to miss any more travels.”
Brenda looked at her watch. “Oh wow, I have to get going. I didn’t realize it was so late.”
When Brenda stood up, so did Paul. “I think I need to head for home too.”
Paul turned to Jayden. “I feel like Brenda, if you and Jenny get the need to travel again, call me and I’ll be here in a minute.”
Jayden stood and put one arm around Paul’s shoulder and the other around Brenda’s. “Don’t worry, I have a feeling we’ll be going on a lot of parallel adventures and we’ll make sure you both are included.”
Jenny stood and smiled. “That’s right and when Matt and Denise get back we can let them know what’s been happening. I can’t wait to tell Matt how useful the knife he gave me was today. When they get back, all six of us can travel together. ”
Behind the kids, Portal barked and Brenda laughed. “I think you mean all seven of us.”
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Zornitsa
01/12/2021Hey I was wondering if i could use one of your stories for my prose competition?If you don't mind can we get any contact?
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Zornitsa
01/14/2021Thank you som much I really appreciate that! :)
I found your books on amazon they are awesome!!
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P.S. Winn
01/13/2021Yes, my stories are mostly already copyrighted and printed into books. My e-mail is harrybearskin@hotmail.com
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Aleena Nawaz
01/01/2021Congratulations! Dignified mam, on being chosen as the short story writer of the month:)
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