Chapter 10
The Solstice Spectacular
The Sundance Solstice Spectacular was finally here. Amelia and Veyla stayed up all night putting the finishing touches on their photo. Their entry was now ready to print and submit.
“I emailed the photo to the printers,” Veyla told Amelia. “It should be ready for pickup within the hour.”
“Sahhhweeettttt!” Amelia said with a high-five to Veyla. “Let me pack up and we can ride into town. Do you need to stop at your house first? Or are you good?”
“I’m good to go,” Veyla confirmed. “I’ll just leave my com- puter here and then pick it up later.”
Amelia ran around the house, throwing some last minute items into her book bag. She grabbed a sweatshirt in case it got cold later, along with her flashlight, and treats for her and Artemis. She also slipped her grandmother’s necklace over her head. She gave the pendant a quick kiss, whispering “bring us some luck,” before tucking it under her shirt.
“Alright. Let’s blow this popsicle stand,” she said. “C’mon, Arty. Time to go.”
With that, the trio headed out the front door, down the porch steps, and over to the bikes. Amelia added a basket to the front of her bike so Artemis could ride along. At the rate he was growing though, he wouldn’t fit in it much longer. But it got the job done for now.
“Right. So we’ll stop at the General Store to pick up the photo. Then we’ll drop it off at the Historical Society. And then meet up with dad to check out the festivities before the judging,” Amelia said to Veyla. “Sound like a plan?”
“Sure does,” Veyla answered while swinging her heel back, knocking the bike’s kickstand up into place. “Let’s go get us that new mount!”
With that, they were off.
It didn’t take long for them to realize that downtown Sundance was mobbed. There were cars – and people – all over the place. Veyla joked that if she were to hold a lightbulb over her head she was sure it would light up thanks to all the electricity.
Making your way down Main Street during the Spectacular was an olfactory adventure. The smells progressed in an orderly fashion from savory to sweet – from chili, to burgers and hot dogs on charcoal grills, to kettle corn, to fried dough. The big news on the food truck scene was that Big Jim was going to have his own booth. Just the week before, Big Jim’s Green Chili (7) took first place in the famous Chugwater Chili Cook-Off. This was a huge badge of honor, not only for Big Jim, but for Sundance, too. Smokey was even talking with Big Jim about bringing the recipe into the pizza shop.
(7) Get this award winning recipe here → Big Jim’s Green Chili
The girls made their way down the corridor with their heads swiveling from right to left, taking in the smells. They continued pedaling without stopping – not even for a powdered sugar Elephant’s Ear! – riding right past the Historical Society, where the line to get in was backed up all the way out the door.
“Looks like the society’s fund is going to have a pretty good year,” Amelia pointed out.
They parked their bikes in the usual rack located alongside the Historical Society. Given the crowd, there was only one empty space available. So they doubled up the lock to secure both bikes and made their way down the street to pick up their printed submission.
“I have butterflies,” Amelia admitted to Veyla as they weaved through the crowded sidewalk.
“That’s normal,” Veyla reassured. “My uncle always says: the only things worth doing are the things that can break your heart. You’re nervous because you really care about this. That’s a good thing.”
Somehow that line of reasoning actually helped Amelia feel better. So much so that by the time they arrived at the General Store, her fluttering butterflies were still.
“You go grab the print. I’ll wait with Arty over there.” Amelia pointed across the street to an open spot on the main green.
“Copy that,” Veyla said, heading into the store.
With so many people milling about, Amelia figured she’d have some time to kill before Veyla made her way through the checkout line. But she’d just sat down on the bench when she heard Veyla shouting from behind her.
“We got it! We got it!”
Looking over her shoulder, Amelia saw Veyla running towards them, brandishing a long cardboard tube. Between exiting the General Store and reaching Amelia, Veyla already had the lid popped clean off. She flipped it to Amelia, pulled out the photo, and unrolled it.
“Wow, Vey,” Amelia beamed. “It looks incredible.”
Their submission captured the moon with incredible clarity. Amelia swore that if she ran her finger over the picture she’d be able to feel a bump for every crater. It was a genuine work of art.
Veyla admired their handiwork. Her smile took up her entire face. “That mount is ours,” she whispered, rolling the photo back up and sliding it back into the tube.
From there, the girls followed the plan. They dropped the photo off at the Historical Society and then doubled back to meet up with William. He suggested Big Jim’s Chili tent as the rendezvous point – after all, you can’t not at least sample the Chugwater champ.
By the time the girls – and Artemis – made it back to Big Jim’s, William was already in line.
“Hiya, ladies. I saved you a spot,” he said, waving them over.
“Dad, wait til you see our photo,” Amelia gushed. “Veyla crushed it.”
They continued chatting in line, talking about how handy the new mount will be while waiting their turn for a cup of Big Jim’s chili. Once secured – along with a piece of cornbread for dipping – they walked around the downtown area. They still had some time before the contest judging began. So they made the most of it, taking in the Spectacular scenery. Walking around the green with the smell of the food vendors, the sound of laughter mixing with a live band playing in the background, just an all-around feeling of good, happy energy, Amelia wondered if her grandmother could’ve imagined what her backyard event would someday grow into.
When the time came for the judges to begin making their rounds, the girls headed back over to the Historical Society. The submitted photos were on display in front of the building, each photo mounted on an individual stand. Amelia’s quick math revealed that this year’s contest had thirteen submis- sions – six more than the previous year.
In order to reduce any bias, each photo was simply assigned a number. This way, the judges did not know beforehand who was responsible for each photo. The committee also introduced a new twist they called the “Spectacular Vote.” This enabled the crowd to cast a vote for their favorite photo.
Amelia and Veyla went from photo to photo, sizing up their competition. Although there were a variety of subjects the other photographers focused on for their submissions, the pair were increasingly confident in their chances.
“Yes!” Veyla discretely fist-pumped. “Our photo is lucky number seven!” she said under her breath to Amelia.
But there was one picture – number three – that gave Veyla some pause. “This is a really lucky shot,” Veyla said, studying the photo.
Whereas the girls focused on capturing the moon, the photographer behind submission number three chose the sun. Even more specifically, the photographer captured a solar prominence. As the girls studied the picture, Veyla started talking about how we’re moving deeper into the active period of the sun’s cycle. Which means that violent bursts of energy – known as flares – will become not only more frequent but also much larger. Photo number three beautifully captured a solar prominence ejecting a branch of superheated plasma into space (8).
After explaining this, Veyla looked to see if Amelia was even listening. Turns out she was. But so was a tall, older gentle- man. He seemed to be tuning in to Veyla’s commentary while also studying the photo in his own way.
(8) For reference, here is Veyla’s favorite photo of a solar prominence: https://cosmicbackground.io/products/escape-from-sol
Once the girls made their way down the line of photos, they reconnected with William who’d saved them a spot over by the judge’s table. They filled him in on the competition, once again circling back to the idea that his days of hauling their current mounting rig up and down the stairs were behind him.
Ms. Kramer approached the microphone on the table, clicked a button, and then tapped it a couple of times. “Testing, testing, testing...” she said once the feedback stopped screeching.
“This is a fifteen-minute warning for those who have not yet submitted their “Spectacular Vote” for this year’s photo competition. The ballot box will close in fifteen minutes as the judges start to finalize their decisions.”
With this announcement came the return of Amelia’s butter- flies. She fidgeted in place until Ms. Kramer again reappeared at the mic, this time flanked by the judges.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” she began, “welcome back to another Sundance Solstice Spectacular!”
The crowd responded to this cue, clapping and whistling at Ms. Kramer’s opening statement.
She continued. “First of all, I want to thank you for participat- ing in this year’s “Spectacular Vote.” Our photo contest was so well-received last year that the committee wanted to make this year’s contest even better. Part one of this was making the contest more interactive and giving you – Spectacular attendees – a vote. And part two was to up the prize for the winner. That’s why we spared no expense and are offering this Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro Equatorial GoTo Mount to first place.”
Ms. Kramer took a side step, revealing the mount. Veyla’s eyes practically bulged out of her head as she got her first look at it. She excitedly whopped Amelia on the back. “There it is, Mimi!”
Ms. Kramer went on. “And as you can see from these thirteen incredible submissions, it is clear that the level of talent participating in this year’s contest is very, very high. So how about a round of applause for this year’s contestants, huh?”
The crowd again complied – even more enthusiastically than the earlier round of applause.
As the clapping quieted down, Ms. Kramer explained how the judging took place and what went into the process. “The photo with the highest number of votes from you,” – she pointed out at the crowd – ”received an automatic entry into the final three, chosen by our four judges here.” She now motioned towards the three women and solitary man who served as the panel.
“Our four judges have made their decision. So let’s get to it, shall we. First, I’d like to reveal the “Spectacular Vote” tally winner. You – our wonderful crowd – voted as your favorite photo submission number seven!”
Amelia and Veyla jumped up and down at the news while William proudly beamed above them. He bent over and whispered, “One vote down, ladies. Two to go.”
“So...” Ms. Kramer moved on, getting closer to the finish line, “the top three submissions are numbers: seven, three, and eleven.”
This didn’t really come as a surprise to the girls, as Veyla made a strong case for number three earlier. But she wasn’t all that worried about number eleven. And it didn’t take long for Ms. Kramer to prove her right, as she announced that photo number eleven was awarded third place.
“Which means the contest – and the mount – is between photos number three and seven.” Coming down to the final two contestants, Ms. Kramer’s delivery became more formal. “And so to crown a winner, we are going to go judge by judge and ask each to reveal which photo has their vote for first place.”
This strategy of crowning the winner actually served to create some buzz around the crowd. Usually decisions like this were made anonymously so judges didn’t have to face the people. But Ms. Kramer – who was intent on raising as much money for the Historical Society as possible – thought this kind of bread-and-circus type of twist would bring more eyeballs – and thus, more dollars – to the Society.
And so she pointed to the first judge in line. She turned the dry-erase board she held in her hands around, revealing a number three.
“So photo three has one vote to photo seven’s one vote from the Spectacular,” Ms. Kramer announced. “Next!” she said, pointing at the second woman in the line.
Amelia and Veyla studied the judge’s face harder than they’ve ever studied anything before. To them, it looked like she had some second thoughts about her decision. They watched – on pins and needles – as she flipped over her board.
“Three!” Ms. Kramer roared into the microphone. “So that’s two votes for photo three and one for photo seven.”
What an emotional roller coaster. Heading into the event, Amelia was nervous but confident. And after seeing the com- petition, Veyla felt the confidence was justified. But following the second judge’s reveal, the girls physically deflated. They knew that if the next judge voted the same way, their hopes of a new mount were dashed.
As if reading their minds, Ms. Kramer said the same exact thing. “Depending on judge number three’s reveal, this could end the contest!”
The judge didn’t drag her decision out by dramatically delaying the choice. She quickly flashed her decision, kindly putting the girls out of their misery.
“We’re all tied up!” Ms. Kramer exclaimed. Looking out into the audience, she saw that more and more people were coming over to see what all the fuss was about. Her plan was working – albeit at the expense of Amelia and Veyla’s nerves.
“And so, here...we...are.” Ms. Kramer paused, letting the curious onlookers get settled and cast their eyes towards the front, where behind Ms. Kramer a big banner hung from the Historical Society urging visitors to make a donation. “One last vote remains. This is for all the marbles. This is for the mount. This is for being crowned the winner of the Sun ... (pause) ... dance... (pause) ... Sol ... (pause) ... stice ... (pause) ... Spectacular photo contest! What say you judge number four?”
All eyes moved at once from Ms. Kramer to judge number four. He was the only man on the panel. And as Veyla looked at him, she immediately recognized him as the gentleman listening in on her solar prominence conversation with Amelia earlier. Leaning in to whisper that to Amelia, she was surprised to hear Amelia whispering to her first.
“Isn’t that the guy we saw on the stairs with Ms. Kramer when she gave us a tour of the Historical Society?” Amelia asked. Veyla – closing her mouth so she could better think – scrunched up her nose and thought back to the day they rode their bikes over to the Society. Looking at the man now she actually did remember him from then.
“I think you’re right,” Veyla said. “He was wearing that same hat that he ever-so-politely doffed as we passed him on the stairs.”
“Do you think he remembers us?” Amelia asked.
“Maybe,” Veyla answered. “I do know he was eavesdropping on our conversation earlier about photo three. But I have a good feeling about...”
Before Veyla could finish her sentence, the man shared his answer with the crowd.
***
“I’m so proud of you girls,” William said as he bent down to wrap both Amelia and Veyla in a hug. “I know second place wasn’t the outcome you wanted, but you should be very proud of yourselves. You put in some late nights out back. And Veyla, your digital work is amazing — I can see every nook and cranny on the moon!”
Veyla clasped her hands together and bowed. “Thanks, Mr. M. I wanted to do your namesake proud.”
If she hadn’t been so serious, William probably would’ve laughed. Instead he assured her, in a straight face, that she was successful in her mission. “How about a couple cones from Honey Hut, huh?”
“While not as satisfying as the taste of victory I do believe ice cream will at the very least alleviate the sting of defeat,” Veyla begrudgingly offered.
Amelia silently agreed, leading the way over to the ice cream shop. Although she didn’t necessarily want to admit it out loud, she thought that a double scoop of chocolate peanut butter with banana on top – served in a homemade waffle cone – was a just reward for all of their hard work.
With their cones in hand, they found an empty park bench – a perfect spot to watch the scheduled fireworks. A breeze passed through, causing the bistro lights strung across the green to break into an impromptu dance. Softly illuminated
smiling faces floated along underneath – some laughing, some whispering, some with their heads resting on the other’s shoulder. Even if it only lasted for this one night – and despite a second place finish – it was perfect.
William’s phone interrupted the moment. “Excuse me, ladies, I have to take this,” he said, standing up. Artemis, lying under the bench, lifted his head up off of his paws just long enough to watch William walk off to answer his call.
The girls, bummed about their runner’s up result, continued working their way through their double scoops. Amelia kept an eye on her dad, trying to read his body language in order to decipher what the call was about.
When William rejoined them on the bench, Amelia already knew what was coming next. “Sorry, girls. The station got a call about some campfires out in Porky’s Gulch. And I’m on duty tonight.” His disappointment was obvious. “I can drop you off at home before heading out there?”
“Dang. It’s always something,” Amelia sympathized. “Our bikes are locked up over at the racks. Can we watch the fireworks and then meet you at home?” Amelia asked.
William took a beat to think it over before nodding. “Yeah, that’ll work. Just be extra careful on the bikes. There are a lot of people driving around who don’t know where they’re going.”
“Don’t worry, Mr. M. We’ve got Artemis to keep us safe,” Veyla reassured.
The pup, still lying under the bench, once again picked up his head at the mention of his name. Not seeing any movement from Amelia, he put it right back down.
“Alright. Well, I’m really sorry to cut this night short. But it doesn’t change the fact that I’m super proud of both of you.” He bent over to give Amelia a kiss on the forehead and extended his knuckles to Veyla for a pound.
With one last reminder to stay safe, William headed off to his truck. The girls remained where they were, putting the finishing touches on their ice cream. As they sat there, legs dangling off the bench, waiting for the fireworks to begin, Veyla smiled. “Just wait until they see how good our submission is next year.”
***
Following the fireworks finale, the girls headed back to the bike rack. “What do you want to watch tonight?” Amelia asked Veyla.
“I’m thinking it’s a “Princess Bride” kind of night,” Veyla suggested.
“I can get behind that,” Amelia agreed.
As they turned down the alley alongside the Historical Society where their bikes were parked, something caught Amelia’s eye. She wasn’t 100% sure. But as best as she could tell, a tall, shadowy figure was moving along the back edge of the property, slinking along near the outbuildings. The same (notoriously haunted) buildings where Artemis and Veyla saw something on their previous trip to the Historical Society. This time however, neither Artemis or Veyla were paying attention. Veyla, holding a stick, was teasing Artemis, lowering the stick and then quickly raising it up out of reach when he jumped for it. They only realized Amelia stopped in her tracks because Veyla smacked into the back of her.
“Veyla! Look! The Sundance Shadow!” Amelia pointed. Veyla followed along beyond Amelia’s finger. She saw what Amelia was pointing at. So did Artemis. Now, all three were frozen in place, watching the shadow float over the grass and approach the smaller of the buildings. Amelia saw the door open, and then the shadow figure disappeared.
Amelia looked at Veyla who was already looking at Amelia.
“Well, are we doing this or not?” Amelia asked the question they were both thinking.
Veyla didn’t immediately answer. Amelia looked down at Artemis. His tail wagged. “Artemis is in. Are you?”
Veyla sighed. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath. “Fine. I can’t let you two go alone.”
With Veyla on board, Amelia wasted no time, skirting into the shadows along the Historical Society. They pressed forward, moving towards the chain link fence that separated them from the prohibited area. Reaching the gate, the girls noticed that although the padlock looked like it was secure, it actually wasn’t locked.
Amelia stealthily opened the gate just wide enough for them to sneak through. Once they were on the other side, she replaced the lock to make it look like no one touched it. The three skittered again towards the shadows, leapfrogging from cover to cover until arriving at the target destination.
Amelia and Veyla hugged the wall of the shack with their backs. Artemis stood pat. All three remained motionless, straining their ears for the slightest indication that the Shadow was just other side of the wall. Not hearing anything, Amelia called in other senses as backup. She noticed that up close, the shack was actually not as decrepit as it looked from far away. In fact – from what Amelia could tell – the shack seemed in too good of shape to be haunted.
“You see this, Vey?” she whispered. “From the other side of the fence, this place looks like a stiff wind would knock it over. But it’s actually in good shape.”
“Curious, indeed,” is all Veyla offered in return.
Given their situation – namely that they were willingly choos- ing to pursue a ghost (and not just any ghost, mind you, but a very particular ghost with a particular predilection for snatching up kids) – Veyla actually wasn’t all that curious about the architectural details of the shack. Her concern was more about who – or what – was inside.
Amelia continued to weigh their options. She swung her book bag around to the front, unzipped, and pulled out her flashlight. Motioning with her hands, she brought Veyla and Artemis into a huddle.
“Alright,” she whispered. “You two stay here. I’m going to look around. But everyone needs to keep your eyes and ears open. And if I start to run, we all run.”
Veyla nodded to indicate she understood. Artemis wagged his tail.
With that Amelia set off. Crouching, she duck walked her way around the building, looking for a way to see what was going on without having to go through the same door the Shadow did. But this reconnaissance mission came up empty. No windows. No cracks. No way to see inside.
Having circumnavigated the building to then backtrack her way to where Veyla and Artemis were on sentry duty, Amelia reported her findings. The only way to see what was going on inside was through the door.
“I don’t think we have a choice,” Amelia whispered. “This is our chance to catch the Sundance Shadow. What do you say, Vey? What’s the worst that can happen?”
Veyla shrugged. “You mean other than the Shadow snatching our souls? Or dragging us down into his haunted mine and turning us into killer zombies? Or...”
“– Great. So you agree.” Amelia cut in. “Then I’m going to crack the door open – just a little bit – to see what is going on in there. Remember the plan: if I run, you run.”
Veyla waved her hand in a “well then go right ahead” kind of way.
Amelia took another deep breath, collecting herself. She thought of her mom’s signature sign off.
“Age recte. Nil time,” she whispered to herself.
Amelia looked at Veyla and Artemis, giving them a nod. Veyla winced and braced herself as Amelia held up her fingers. Three. Two. One. GO!
***
Nothing.
That is exactly what Amelia saw when looking through the open crack of the door. Among all of the possibilities of what she expected to find, a completely empty room was not on the list.
“What the...” she said.
Once Veyla realized that Amelia was not running or screaming, she pressed up alongside for her own view. “I think I would have been less surprised to actually see a ghost staring back at me than to find nothing at all.”
Being certain that the room was indeed empty, Amelia opened the door all the way, sticking her head in. She looked to the left and then to the right. With the room clear of any ghost (or at least clear of the visible ghost variety), she tiptoed in. She then signaled to Veyla and Artemis to follow. They now stood together, in the middle of the empty shack.
Amelia was still holding her flashlight. Up to now, she kept it turned off so as to avoid alerting anyone to their presence. Now that there was no one to alert, she turned it on, splashing the light around the room. The light swooped from side to side and then up from the wooden floorboards to the ceiling. Amelia remained surprised at both the condition the shack was actually in and the fact that it was now empty.
“I don’t understand. I mean, we saw the Shadow creep in here, right, Vey?”
“I’m inclined to agree that we did see something. But when you were casing the perimeter of the building, I got to thinking. Considering that ghosts are not physical beings, how could it actually grab the door handle, turn it, and then open the door? And leaving aside the notion that ghosts do in fact exist, doesn’t that kind of physical action from a non-physical entity defy some kind of law of physics?”
Veyla was picking up speed.
“And if the Shadow were actually a shadow, it would by definition lack a physical presence. So then I ask, why did it need to open the door to get in here? Why didn’t it just walk through the walls? Was it because it couldn’t walk through the walls? But if it couldn’t walk through the walls, and it didn’t come back out the door through which it entered, and there are no alternative means of egress, why isn’t it in here now?”
With Veyla and Amelia trading theories on the possible reasons why they were presently standing in an empty room, Artemis took the opportunity to lay down. He found himself a nice cool, dark spot in the corner closest to the door. With everything going on with the Spectacular, he missed his afternoon nap. Sensing that the girls’ conversation wasn’t going to end any time soon, he would be remiss if he passed up this opportunity to shut his eyes – even if only for five minutes.
But just as he was settling in, he felt something skim past him. He was immediately on all fours frantically looking back and forth. This strange, sudden behavior from the wolf spooked the girls.
“It’s the Shadow!” Veyla squeaked. “Artemis must sense his presence. We have to get out of here!“ Her voice increased in pitch with each choppy declaration.
“Whoa, Arty, easy. Easy.” Amelia soothed, whipping her flashlight all around the shack, trying to uncover what put Artemis on edge. Snapping her wrist back and forth, Amelia froze as her beam caught the shadowy figure Artemis alerted them to.
***
A mouse let itself into the shack, not knowing a wolf pup also happened to be inside. To further complicate the situation, said mouse was unaware that one of this particular wolf pup’s favorite games to play is “Catch the Mouse.” Since coming home with Amelia, Artemis hadn’t had a chance to play this game – not even once. He was not going to pass up this opportunity.
After getting up onto all fours in a single motion, Artemis now crouched, spring loaded in an athletic position. He locked in on the mouse, tracking the tiny creature’s every move. Feeling the memory of thousands upon thousands of years of hunting bubbling up inside of him, the wolf pup was ready to get done what he was meant to do. His eyes compressed into slits. They were so narrow that when Amelia shined the light on him, she couldn’t even tell if his eyes were open. His body is statuesque, his tail perfectly poised for what is to inevitably come next.
There is no alternative ending for the mouse. It’s the rule of nature.
With a bang, Artemis exploded out of his stance, bearing down on his prey. But being the awkward, slightly goofy, not yet super athlete pup that he is, Artemis tripped over his own paws, smacking the floor with his face. His momentum carried him right past the mouse, who at this point, stood on its two tiny back legs, watching nonchalantly as Artemis sailed right on by, snout first. He smashed into the wall. Hard.
The mouse looked at Artemis lying in a heap of fur and limbs. And then casually scampered back through the same crack through which it entered. Amelia meanwhile immediately burst out into laughter. “Artemis! Ya big goo...” She didn’t finish her sentence.
“Uh, Mimi...is it just me? Or is the floor moving?” Veyla whispered.
A section of the shack’s floor next to where Artemis was now lying began to peel away. Amelia thought the floor was being slowly pulled open from below.
The girls inched closer to the opening. Keeping their distance, they leaned forward to get a better view. As Amelia shone her flashlight over the area, a descending stairway was revealed.
“Well, that is. . .unexpected.”
Almost as soon as Amelia finished the sentence – as if the shack was intentionally trying to keep the girls off-balance – the floor started moving again. It returned to its closed
position without either an audible sound or a visible seam.
Even with the knowledge that the hidden door in the floor existed the girls were unable to spot the lines around where it was built in. Amelia, running her fingers along the ground, couldn’t find any sign that betrayed the secret. Standing up, she walked over to the corner where Artemis had been laying before the failed game of Catch the Mouse.
“Artemis clearly must have triggered something. Help me retrace his steps to see if we can find whatever he did.”
Veyla joined in as the two shuffled across the shack’s floor. They reached the wall but nothing happened. They tried again. Still nothing. Amelia turned her focus to the wall. Squatting down to get closer to where Artemis hit, she pressed her fingers against the wall and moved her hand down towards the floor. Everything was solid.
“I think he was more over here,” Veyla said, moving a couple paces away from Amelia. Veyla copied Amelia’s technique.
Click.
The floor started opening again, like a long, silent yawn.
“What’d you do?” Amelia asked, shining the flashlight where Veyla was pressing.
“Look – there’s a built-in button here at the bottom of the wall. Artemis’s face must have smashed into it,” Veyla pointed out.
The button was close to six inches above the floor. And like the door in the floor, it was indistinguishable from its surroundings.
Veyla continued, “It’s the perfect height to hit with your foot. Just lift your foot up, press, and it’s open sesame.”
The girls now stood directly at the top of the stairs. Once again, the dark stairwell beckoned.
“Whaddya say, Vey?”
Amelia could hear Veyla thinking.
She finally answered. “Haunted shack. Secret door. Under- ground lair – probably full of kids’ bones. What’s the worst that can happen?”
Now it was Amelia’s turn to ponder the consequences. But her default is more doing than thinking. So Amelia did what Amelia does.
“Alright. Here goes nothing.”
Amelia took the first step. Before it landed on the stair below Veyla grabbed her by the back of the pants.
“Wait! On the off-chance that something is down there, do you think we want to wave the flashlight around and announce our arrival?”
“So. . . you think it’s better to sneak up on whatever is down there?”
“I’m just saying that heading down there, splashing light all over the place and alerting whatever’s down there that “hey we’re down here too!” is as shortsighted as those geniuses sending radio signals to outer space so alien civilizations can find Earth. It’s unlikely that either are going to welcome us with open arms.”
“Uhhmm. Okay. I guess.” Amelia said, half-heartedly agreeing as she clicked off the flashlight. Taking her first step – a second time – she muttered under her breath, “Here’s to hoping the underground aliens don’t find us.”
Now that she was firmly planted on the stairs, Amelia became aware of the fact that there was only enough light to see the next stair below. This meant they had to go slowly. And because the stairway was narrow, they had to move down it in a single file. Amelia led the way, followed by Veyla, with Artemis bringing up the rear.
The bottom of the stairs gave way to what – as best as Amelia could tell – was a long hallway. It appeared to be wider than the stairwell, but she was waiting for her eyes to adjust to the pitch black darkness to be sure.
Veyla stood next to her, staring in the same direction. “What do you think is down here?”
“I have no idea. But this seems like a pretty elaborate setup for a ghost,” Amelia answered. “Let’s see what’s up ahead. We don’t have to go far. Besides, we can always turn around whenever we want. Are you ready, Arty?”
Amelia turned around to check on the pup’s progress down the stairs. She saw he was more than halfway down. But in checking on Artemis, she also saw that the secret door had begun to silently close – again.
“Oh crap! Veyla! The door!”
Amelia scrambled up the stairs, trying to get back into the shack before the door shut. This coincided with Artemis awkwardly attempting to navigate his way down to the next stair below him. Because the stairwell was so tight, Amelia was unable to go around the pup. And when Artemis recognized Amelia charging towards him, he froze with two paws on the bottom step and two on the step behind. Amelia tried to jump over him just as he scooted his back legs up into the air. She caught her foot underneath his belly, bringing both of them down into a tangled heap right there on the stairs. Veyla, with nowhere to go, watched helplessly as the door slid back into its locked position.
That’s when – from somewhere off in the deep darkness ahead of them – the screaming began.
***
For the second time tonight, Amelia, Veyla, and Artemis remained still, listening as hard as possible. Though the truth was, they didn’t have to try too hard – the screams echoed all around them.
Part of the reason none of them moved is because they were afraid to draw attention to themselves. But the bigger issue at hand was that they couldn’t see.
During a pause in the screams, Amelia whispered to Veyla, “I dropped my flashlight when I tripped over Artemis. See if you can feel it on the ground.”
Both girls silently dropped to a knee to start feeling around the ground. And they both kept coming up empty handed. The debate taking place in Amelia’s head revolved around whether or not to use the flashlight even if they found it. The flashlight would give them visibility concerning their surroundings. And more importantly hopefully reveal how they could get out. But Amelia didn’t know who (or what) was screaming off in the distance. Or why it was screaming. The last thing she wanted to do was manifest Veyla’s concern of drawing attention to the fact that they were now cornered at the bottom of the dark stairwell.
“Shoot,” Amelia muttered. “I can’t find this darn thing.”
She sat down on a stair, taking a minute to compose herself. Sitting there, head in hands, Amelia noticed that the hallway had grown silent. The screaming stopped. This gave her a chance to think without the distraction of a bloodthirsty shadow demon reminding them that it was just down the hall.
“Alright, Veyla. There has to be a switch down here to open the door. Let’s check the walls. You take that side, I’ll start over here.”
“Good idea – as above, so below.” Veyla whispered back.
Veyla changed positions, going from fumbling along the floor to now pressing both hands on the wall. Like before, she applied pressure with her fingertips and slid them down towards the ground. Amelia did the same, hoping to either push a secret button that opens the door or find a more pronounced switch she could turn.
No luck.
If there was a button to push that opened what was now the ceiling above them, it was hidden just as well as the one Artemis had found. Without the flashlight to help them see what they were looking at, Amelia felt like they were just spinning their wheels.
“If we stay here, we’re sitting ducks.” 160
THE SOLSTICE SPECTACULAR
“And if we keep going, we’re walking directly into the lion’s den,” Veyla confirmed. “But I don’t think we really have a choice. We can’t just sit here forever.”
Amelia estimated that the screaming had stopped for at least five minutes.
“Alright,” Amelia exhaled. “If not now, then when?”
Amelia flipped her book bag around to the front of her body so she could put her back flat against the wall. She began sliding down the hallway, heading towards who-knows-what. As her eyesight tried to adjust and come online in the darkness, her other senses fired up. The wall was smooth to the touch, but cold. Pressed into the wall, her fingertips felt like they were pulling the chill from somewhere deep in the stone and injecting it directly into her bones. Her ears were on high alert. If a mouse tried tiptoeing within fifty yards of her, Amelia was confident she’d hear it. She tasted a staleness in the air. It tasted like the complete opposite of the freshness of Bear Lodge Mountain.
Onward they crept. Slowly, slowly, slowly. Even Artemis seemed to intuit that one wrong step, one clumsy stumble, could spell out a big problem.
Being the party’s scout, Amelia walked with her right arm extended, palm against the wall, bird-dogging the way ahead. As they inched forward, her fingers found a surprise.
Amelia froze.
“Stop!”
Her fingers reached – and then instinctively curled around – a corner. They’d come to the end of the wall. Amelia turned her head back towards Veyla to share the discovery. “I think the hallway takes a turn to the right. I’m going to sneak a peek to see if we can see what’s up ahead.”
Veyla tapped her on the shoulder, silently confirming she understood the plan.
Amelia knelt down, got herself as close to the wall as possible, and hesitantly peered around the corner with one eye. There was a faint glow at the end of the hallway. She couldn’t tell exactly how far away it was but she could tell they were close.
Amelia pulled herself back around the corner. She relayed the finding to Veyla.
“I guess the good news is that we haven’t heard any screaming in a while,” Amelia said, hoping to reassure Veyla.
“Yeah. That’s because the Shadow put whatever was scream- ing out of its misery,” Veyla whispered back.
“Do you want to stay here with Artemis while I check it out?” Amelia asked, glossing right over Veyla’s smart ass comment.
“Are you nuts? No way. All for one, one for all. Besides, we might as well offer the Shadow a full on buffet instead of just a snack.”
So the trio resumed their positions. With their backs against the wall they slid around the corner. The closer they got to the light, the faster Amelia’s heart beat. She tried to slow down and focus on her breathing. But instead of slowing down her heart, she slowed down her movement. Veyla kept bouncing off of her because she was moving so slowly. “Sorry,” Veyla whispered.
Finally reaching the source of the light, they again stopped in place. They were close enough to make out the details of a door. The light that they saw came from whatever was on the other side. It leaked through the cracks along the side and between the top and bottom of the door.
“Do you hear anything?” Veyla asked, crouched behind Amelia.
“No,” Amelia told her. “But I’m going to get closer. I’ll be right back.”
Amelia crept ahead. She placed her ear up against the door, listening for signs of who or what might be on the other side. Silence. She waited a little longer, her ear barely touching the door. Still nothing.
Backtracking to Veyla and Artemis waited, Amelia whispered. “If there is something on the other side, it’s quiet. I didn’t hear anything at all.”
“You know how eating turkey on Thanksgiving makes you tired?” Veyla said. “It’s probably napping after eating some poor kid.”
“Thanks, Vey. Again, super helpful.”
The three remained crouching in the dark. They knew they didn’t really have a choice. They were stuck. In the dark. With no way of opening the secret door in the floor at the top of the stairs.
Amelia finally said the inevitable.
“I’m gonna see what’s on the other side. I’m not asking you to come with me. But I think it’s our best shot at getting out of here.”
Veyla sighed. “I know, I know, I know. Please – just open the door slowly. Use some finesse. Don’t go all ‘Mighty Mimi’ on us and bust the door down.”
Amelia pursed her lips and nodded. ”Deal.”
With that agreement in place, they moved into position. Amelia was ready. In all honesty, she was expecting the door to be locked. Or maybe she was more so hoping that was the case? After all, whoever went through all the effort to tunnel this place beneath an allegedly haunted shack to then make it accessible only through a secret door in the floor had to have some serious trust issues.
Amelia took a deep breath. She counted down silently to herself. 3. 2. 1. Moving to open the door, she expected to find resistance.
But that was not the case.
Amelia’s gentle nudge resulted in the door swinging open, creaking on its hinges before clanging off the wall. Full blown, but unintentional, “Mighty Mimi.” Veyla squeezed her eyes shut. “Frick,” she whispered to herself. In an instant, they found themselves standing in the middle of a bright doorway, completely exposed like deer in headlights.