39. Jack
THIRTY-NINE
JACK
“Are we almost there, Elizabeth?” Jack asked.
“Patience, tiny dancer,” Elizabeth said over her shoulder.
Jack, his father and their guide had been traveling for what seemed like hours. They were off any kind of path, heading deeper and deeper into the woods. Jack could see the side of the mountain that stood as a border to the known land approaching quickly.
The sun was high in the sky, signaling it was just past midday. The pace that Elizabeth kept was steady but slow. The young girl almost danced through the forest. She was a sight to watch, her wild hair flowing behind her, her head swaying to the voices that only she could hear.
Jack began to wonder how Abigail was able to cope with not only the loss of her mother but the fact that she had inherited the responsibility of caring for a sister like Elizabeth.
“We’re here!”
Jack examined the area. They were in a small clearing with trees on three sides and the looming slope of the mountain in front. There was no sign of a building, much less a laboratory.
“Elizabeth, did you take us all the way out here to show us the mountain?” Marcus asked in a gentle tone. “Do you think that mountain is a laboratory?”
“Ummm… No, Jack’s Dad, that would be crazy.” Elizabeth struck Marcus with a look that said he was an idiot. “The laboratory is obviously inside the mountain. Looky here.”
Elizabeth walked to the side of the mountain that rose in front of them like the walls of New Hope. She placed a palm on the side of the rough rock surface and pushed. Nothing happened.
Jack glanced at his father with disapproval written across his face. He was about to open his mouth to ask Elizabeth why she had lied, when Elizabeth’s hand pulled some kind of trigger on the mountainside. There was a light puff of steam followed by the low, methodical sound of gears turning.
A door slowly slid from right to left, revealing a cave entrance.
“Elizabeth, how did you find this?” Jack asked, not believing what his eyes told him was very real.
“Oh, you know. I’m a smart cookie. Saw some strange men in the woods one day. I followed them here. Crazy, right? Wait until you see all the fancy stuff inside.”
“Elizabeth, wait.” Marcus moved to stand next to her and cautiously peered into the darkness. “We don’t know what’s in there—let Jack and me go first.”
“Are you okay? First, you think a mountain’s a laboratory, now you’re worried about an empty place? The men left weeks ago.” Elizabeth looked over at Jack, pointing to Marcus. “You’re a saint to have to deal with this guy.”
Jack shared a worried look with his father.
“Well, come on, guys; we have a lot to see.” Elizabeth skipped into the cave’s inky darkness.
“Well, what do you think?” Jack drew his wand, letting a green flame dance on its tip. “Into the belly of the beast?”
“Son, we are on the verge of something much bigger than either one of us. Mysterious laboratories in cave walls don’t just happen.
Very powerful people are spending a lot of money to make this possible.
We have to be ready for anything while remaining unwavering in our values, no matter what happens. ”
“I know, Dad. Money, machines, weapons, and technology are useless and even dangerous without the right people to wield them.”
“Glad we’re on the same page.” Marcus’s staff also came alive with a green flame sprouting from the top of the stick. “Well, as you said, ‘Into the belly of the beast’.”
Jack took a step inside and then another. Very soon, he was swallowed by the darkness.