Chapter 1
Part 1: A New World
The morning sun shone through the windows of a small, two-story house in Borden, Montana. Despite the sunlight, no one stirred from their beds. It wasn't until almost noon before the family gathered in the kitchen for breakfast.
"I can't believe we slept that late,” said Daniel.
"It didn't feel that late to me. I'm still exhausted,” said Abigail.
"Sit down. Let me see if I can find us something to eat,” said Chelsea.
The Morris family had just moved to Borden from Chicago. The father, Daniel Morris, got a job with the natural gas company. His wife, Chelsea, had just started looking for a job. They were all excited to leave the big city and move to a smaller town.
Their son, Bryce, was eight, and their daughter, Abigail, was fourteen.
"Do you like your room?" Daniel asked Abigail.
"Yes! Thank you for letting me have a room to myself. It's going to be great,” she said.
"What about you, Bryce, how's your room?" asked Chelsea.
"I like it. I can see the mountain from my window,” he said.
"In case you're wondering, we like our room too. This beats Chicago, doesn't it?" asked Daniel.
"Chicago was awful! I'm glad we moved,” said Bryce.
"I like it here too. I just hope they have dance classes in a little town like this,” said Abigail.
"I'm sure they do. We'll go look for one as soon as we're all settled,” said Chelsea.
"Can I get a telescope? I want to watch that big tree from my window,” said Bryce.
"I think we can do that for you. I'll pick one up on my way home from work next week,” said Daniel.
Bryce was the first to finish his cereal. He got up and walked over to the sliding glass door that led to the backyard. The house had an unusually large back yard. Just beyond their yard was a mountain. One large tree on the hillside towered above all the rest. Bryce couldn't wait to go and check it out.
"I'm going to go outside, all right?" he said.
"Don't go beyond the yard until your father makes sure it's safe,” said Chelsea.
"But that's where all the good stuff is,” said Bryce.
"Bryce, stay in the yard or you can't go outside,” said Chelsea.
Bryce could tell by the tone of her voice that he wasn't going to change her mind.
"All right,” he said.
He slid open the door and walked outside.
"You need to make sure there isn't anything dangerous out there. I don't want anyone getting hurt. Why don't you do that while the rest of us finish unpacking,” Chelsea told Daniel.
"I'll do it now. It shouldn't take too long. I'm sure going to miss unpacking, though. I hate for you guys to have all the fun,” said Daniel.
"They'll be plenty left for you when you're done. Besides, you did plenty last night moving all the heavy things,” said Chelsea.
"I had my special helper,” he said and kissed Abigail on the forehead.
"I didn't do any of the heavy stuff,” she said.
"You were a big help anyway. Thank you for helping,” said Daniel.
"You're welcome. Mom, is there anything you need me to do now? If not I'll go finish unpacking my room,” said Abigail.
"You finish your room. I'll work on the kitchen,” she said.
Daniel put his dishes in the dishwasher.
"I'll be back as soon as I can,” he said and kissed Chelsea.
"Take your phone with you, and send Bryce back in here,” she said.
He put his phone in his pocket.
"Got it. See you later,” he said.
He went outside and found Bryce standing at the furthest part of the yard, looking toward the mountain.
"Once I make sure it's safe, you'll be able to explore all you want. Right now your Mom needs you to help her unpack,” said Daniel.
"All right, but you'll tell me when I can go, won't you?" asked Bryce.
"Of course, but you can't go exploring until we're all unpacked,” he said.
"Thanks Dad! I'll go help Mom,” said Bryce.
Daniel watched Bryce go back inside, and walked toward the mountain.
After Abigail finished with her room, she went downstairs and helped Chelsea with the rest of the house.
About an hour later Daniel came back and told Abigail and Bryce he wanted to talk to them.
"I didn't find anything that looked dangerous, but be careful when you're out there. It's a wilderness, so there are animals that could hurt you. I put up some stone markers. I don't want either of you going beyond them unless you Mom or I are with you. Bryce, that means you,” said Daniel.
"Can I go to that big tree?" he asked.
"The tree is within the boundaries. You can go that far. You both remember the rules we have when we're camping, don't you?" asked Daniel.
"I remember, but it has been a long time since we went camping,” said Abigail.
"We're going to do a lot more camping now. If you follow the rules you'll be safe. Can you do that?" Daniel said, looking at Bryce.
Bryce nodded.
"Good. One last thing, don't go out there after dark, and tell Chelsea or I if you're going,” said Daniel.
"That's two things, Dad,” said Bryce.
Daniel grabbed Bryce and tickled him.
"Let's go help your Mom finish unpacking,” he said.
After they finished, they all walked from room to room, and looked at their new home.
Chelsea gave Daniel a hug and a kiss.
"This is what I've always wanted. I'm so glad we're here,” she said.
Abigail gave Daniel a hug.
"This is great, so much better than Chicago,” she said.
"What do you think, Bryce?" asked Chelsea.
"I like it. Can we get a dog?" he asked.
"We'll have to think about that for a while,” she said.
Daniel looked at his watch to check the time.
"Wow, the day's gone. I think it's time for dinner. Is anyone hungry?" he asked.
"I am,” said Bryce.
"I think it's my turn to cook tonight. Your Mom's done enough for the day,” he said.
"I'll help you, Dad,” said Abigail.
"Thanks, Abigail! The rest of you can sit down and relax until it's ready,” he said.
"I better show you where things are,” said Chelsea.
"We've got this, Mom. You just relax,” said Abigail.
"All right, then,” she said.
In the kitchen, Abigail searched the cupboards and drawers.
"What would you like to make?" asked Daniel.
Abigail looked at the shelf and saw some cans of tuna.
"How about toasted tuna sandwiches?" she asked.
"Sounds fabulous! I'll heat up some vegetables to go with them,” said Daniel.
After dinner, Chelsea gathered the dishes.
"We can do that, Mom,” said Abigail.
"You cooked. It's my turn to do something,” she said.
"Like you haven't already done more than the rest of us put together,” said Abigail.
Chelsea kissed her on the cheek.
"That's what Mom's do,” she said.
"If you don't need me, can I get on the internet? I want to look for some dance classes,” said Abigail.
"Go ahead. We can go check them out together tomorrow,” said Chelsea.
"I'll go see if I can get the TV working,” said Daniel.
Later that evening they sat together and watched a movie on the TV. The kids both fell asleep soon after it started.
"I guess we wore them out,” said Daniel.
"They both helped a lot. We really have some amazing kids,” said Chelsea.
"We certainly do, and I have an amazing wife,” he said.
She kissed him, then picked up Bryce and carried him up to his room.
Daniel woke up Abigail and gave her a kiss goodnight. She went to her room.
As soon as Daniel and Chelsea got in bed they fell sound asleep.
The next few weeks passed quickly. Bryce and Abigail started school, and Daniel started work at his new job. Chelsea found a ballet class for Abigail and went with her three times a week.
Saturday morning Bryce woke up early and was anxious to go and explore the mountains. He knocked on Abigail's door.
"What?" she said.
"I want to go exploring. Will you come with me?" he asked.
"I'll go, just give me a few minutes to wake up,” she said.
A few minutes later Abigail fixed breakfast and made a few sandwiches for their lunch.
"I'll leave Mom and Dad a note so they know where we went. Where did you want to go?" asked Abigail.
"I want to go back to the pond,” said Bryce.
"It's still too cold to get wet so you can't go in the water.”
"All right,” said Bryce.
They hiked over the hill and down into a small valley.
Abigail sat down on a rock by the shore and watched Bryce. He walked around the lake looking for frogs.
Abigail saw a shadow pass over her and looked up. An owl flew into a dead tree on the other side of the lake.
"Bryce, look in the tree! It's an owl!" she said.
Bryce walked back to Abigail and they slowly approached the tree.
"Go slow or we'll scare it away,” she said.
"I love owls,” he said.
"Me too. Look at that white patch on its forehead. It looks like a diamond!"
Abigail reached over and stopped Bryce.
"We better not get any closer. Let's just look at it from here,” she said.
The owl looked down at them for a few minutes, then flew to another tree further away.
"We could have taken a picture of it if we had remembered to bring a camera,” said Abigail.
"Maybe it will come back when we come again."
"I hope so."
Bryce ran back around the pond and found a frog to chase. It jumped into the water and hopped on a log floating on the lake.
He looked over at Abigail and saw her lying on the ground with her eyes closed.
"I'm going to get you!” he said to the frog, then ran out into the lake.
The frog saw him coming and hopped into the water and disappeared.
"Bryce! I told you not to go in the water! Get out of there!" said Abigail.
Bryce walked out of the pond and sloshed over to Abigail.
"Lay down next to me in the sun. You'll catch a chill in those wet clothes,” she said.
"I was trying to catch a big frog,” he said.
"I know. When you're dried out, we'll go for a walk further up the mountain. We've never been up there before,” said Abigail.
"I like this place, don't you? There was nothing like this in Chicago."
"I like it here too. Now lay back so the sun shines on you,” said Abigail.
They both lay in the sun until Bryce's clothes dried, then they went for a walk through the forest. They saw some big squirrels and a hawk.
They stopped at the pond on their way home and ate their sandwiches.
When they got home, their parents were in the backyard.
"Did you have fun?" asked Chelsea.
"We saw an owl!" said Bryce.
"Where did you go?" asked Daniel.
"Just past the pond,” said Abigail.
"How would you two like to help me plant some flowers today?" asked Chelsea.
"I'll help. Where are you going to plant them?" asked Abigail.
"Along the fence in the back yard. Bryce, you can help me choose which ones to plant."
By late afternoon, they finished planting all the flowers, and went inside and ate dinner.
"Can I go back to the pond again? I want to see if the owl is still there,” said Bryce.
"It will be dark in a couple of hours so you can't stay long,” said Chelsea.
"I'll go with him. This time I'm taking my camera,” said Abigail.
They walked to the pond, sat down, and watched for the owl. Just as before, it flew into the dead tree. Abigail took a picture of it and they slowly walked closer.
"We better stop here,” she said.
She took another picture and they sat and watched the owl.
"We should call it Diamond,” said Bryce.
"I like it,” said Abigail.
They watched it until it flew off, then they walked back to the house.
Abigail showed Chelsea the picture of the owl.
"Wow, that is unusual. Daniel, come and look at this. I've never seen an owl like this,” she said.
"Neither have I,” Daniel said after he saw the picture.
"We've decided to name it Diamond,” said Bryce.
"That's a perfect name for it,” said Chelsea.
After everyone went to bed, Bryce got up and looked out his window. As he did every night, he looked through the telescope at the giant tree in the forest. He had hoped that the owl would be there, but it wasn't. He climbed back into bed and went to sleep.
A few more weeks passed. Bryce and Abigail went to the pond as often as they could, and Diamond always came to see them. The owl called out to them when they were there, and let them get much closer to the tree before it flew away.
One day, they brought a piece of chicken with them and put it on an old log.
As soon as they moved out of the way, Diamond swooped down and grabbed it, and took it up into the tree.
After that, they always tried to bring a treat for Diamond.
They explored other parts of the mountain and found that the owl followed them wherever they went. It never got close to them, but they could always see it.
Bryce watched for the owl at night through his telescope. Some nights it perched on the giant tree.
One night, when everyone was asleep, he went in the back yard and sat down on the bench next to the forest. The full moon allowed him to see part of the forest. He tried to mimic the sound the owl made, hoping it would come.
In a few minutes, it landed in the tree right next to him. He couldn't believe it!
It called to him, then flew to a tree closer to the mountain, and called to him again. It moved back and forth between the two trees.
"You want me to follow you!" he said.
He walked toward the tree where the owl was perched and it flew to another tree, deeper in the forest, and called to him.
Bryce followed it from tree to tree, being careful to remember his path, so he could find his way back home again.
The owl led him over the hill and down into a secluded valley. It stopped by the entrance to a small cave.
Bryce waited, but Diamond didn't fly into the cave. It stayed in the tree and silently watched him.
The cave was dark and he had no flashlight with him so he returned home and told Abigail what had happened.
"You aren't supposed to go into the forest alone, especially not at night. If Dad finds out you'll be in big trouble,” she said.
"I wasn't alone, Diamond was with me,” he said.
"Diamond doesn't count. Next time you want to go, come and get me and I'll go with you,” she said.
"I'm going outside tonight after dark to see if it comes again,” he said.
"Wake me up when you go, and we’ll go together,” she said.
That night, after dark, Bryce quietly knocked on Abigail's door. She quickly got dressed and went outside with Bryce.
They sat on the bench in the moonlight.
"This is pretty creepy in the moonlight. Weren't you scared going in there alone?" she asked.
"No. I was following Diamond,” he said.
"How long did you have to wait before Diamond came?" she asked.
"I called to it and it came,” he said.
"You called to it?" she asked.
"Yes, like this,” he said.
He put his hands up to his mouth and made the same sound he had the night before.
He tried a few more times, and Diamond flew into the tree next to them and called to them.
"I don't believe it!" said Abigail.
"I told you! It wants us to follow it,” said Bryce.
Diamond flew to another tree and called to them.
Bryce and Abigail followed it through the forest to the cave entrance.
"I've never seen this place before. I thought we had explored everywhere,” said Abigail.
"Let's go inside!" said Bryce.
"No! It's too dark and we don't have a flashlight. We'll have to come back during the day when it's light. We have to memorize the way here so we can find it again,” she said.
"Don't tell Mom and Dad about this,” said Bryce.
"Why not? They would want to explore it too,” said Abigail.
"They won't let us go inside. I want to see what's in there!" he said.
"All right, we'll wait to tell them until we have looked inside,” she said.
They were both busy with school during the week. When Saturday finally arrived, they were very excited to go and explore the cave.
They retraced their path, and tried over and over to find the cave, but never did.
"This doesn't make any sense. I'm sure this was the way we came,” said Abigail.
"I think Diamond has to take us there. We won't ever find it without him,” he said.
"Has Diamond ever come to you during the day?"
"I've never tried. Let's see if he comes,” he said.
He made his owl calls and they waited. Diamond never came.
"Owls are mostly night creatures. It probably doesn't like the sunlight, although we did see it at the pond,” she said.
"I don’t know why it won’t come. We'll have to try tonight after dark,” said Bryce.
Abigail didn't believe the owl had anything to do with them not being able to find the cave, but she decided it was worth a try.
"We'll try tonight,” she said.
For Bryce, the day dragged on. He had his flashlight under his mattress and kept watching the clock.
When night finally arrived and everyone went to bed, Abigail and Bryce went into the back yard.
Bryce called to Diamond, but it never came.
"Why doesn't it come?" he asked.
"I don't know. I guess we'll have to try some other night,” said Abigail.
They tried every night the next week, but Diamond never came.
"Maybe something happened to Diamond,” he said.
"I hope not. Let's give him some more time. He'll probably come back,” she said.
Bryce marked the last day they had seen Diamond on the calendar.
Saturday they looked for the cave all day, but couldn't find it. The markers Abigail had made ended at the crest of the hill.
After two more weeks had passed and Diamond had still not returned, Abigail told Bryce that it had left and wasn't going to come back.
"It has to come back!" he said.
"It's not going to. We'll have to find our own way to the cave,” she said.
"I still think Diamond will come back,” he said.
"I hope you're right,” said Abigail.
Bryce went to the bench each night and called to Diamond.
Almost a month after Diamond had left, it returned. Bryce was so happy!
He ran back inside and woke up Abigail.
They followed Diamond to the same cave.
"It's a school day tomorrow. We don't have time to explore the cave now. Besides, we forgot to bring our flashlights,” said Abigail.
They returned to their yard and sat down on the bench. Bryce looked up at the sky and saw the full moon.
"The moon was out when Diamond came before. Maybe it only comes when the moon's full,” said Bryce.
"If it stops coming again when the full moon ends, we'll know you're right,” she said.
"I'll mark it on my calendar,” he said.
They went back inside and went to bed.
Diamond returned the next three nights, then stopped coming.
"The next day there's a full moon, we'll see if Diamond comes back,” she said.
Bryce checked for Diamond each night, but it didn’t appear until the night of the first full moon.
"This is perfect. Tomorrow's not a school night. We can stay up late, and sleep in tomorrow,” said Abigail.
Diamond led them to the cave entrance. Abigail turned on her flashlight and shined it into the cave. It appeared to be empty.
"Let's go inside,” said Bryce.
"We will, I just want to make sure there's not a bear or something in there,” said Abigail.
When she was convinced it was safe, she ducked down and went inside.
It opened up into a larger cavern where they could easily stand. The cavern sloped slightly down and curved back and forth.
After they walked around a few turns, they found a symbol carved into the wall.
Abigail took a picture of it.
"This isn't Indian writing,” she said.
"Of course not, it's Elf writing,” said Bryce.
"You've read too many fantasy books. Elves aren't real,” she told him.
They followed the cavern deeper into the mountain. The cavern split into two tunnels, one went up, and the other continued down. There were more symbols around the two tunnels.
Abigail took pictures of them.
They followed the downward tunnel.
The walked for what seemed like about a block and followed the tunnel into a room with a high ceiling. One side of the room had a pile of rocks that covered up another tunnel.
"I'm hungry,” said Bryce.
"Let's stop and rest here for a minute,” said Abigail.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out two granola bars. She gave one to Bryce.
She drew the route they had taken on a piece of paper and marked the room they were in as the Cathedral Room.
"Do you want to go back? We can do this another time,” she said.
"No, I want to keep going,” he said.
"We'll go a little further, but we can't go too far,” she said.
As they continued down the tunnel they felt a warm breeze coming toward them.
They turned a corner and the trail angled down the side of a cliff.
Abigail grabbed Bryce and pulled him back.
She shined her flashlight over the edge, but the light didn't reach the bottom. She couldn't see the other side of the chasm either.
"This is getting dangerous, Bryce. We need Mom and Dad with us if we're going to go any further. We need to go back,” she said.
"It's a wide path. Can't we go just a little further? You can hold my hand. Please! I just want to see where it goes,” he said.
"All right, we'll go a little further. You hold on to my hand and don't let go! We're going to stay right next to the wall,” she said.
She carefully led Bryce down the path. In a few feet, it leveled out and turned left. They saw more strange symbols carved into the wall. Abigail took pictures of them and led Bryce further along the path.
They found themselves on a wide flat ledge. Abigail shined her light all around and was shocked at what she saw.
"Those are buildings!" she exclaimed.
"Can we go see them?" asked Bryce.
"Keep holding my hand,” she said.
They walked up next to one of the stone buildings. They were very old.
Abigail shined her light inside and saw that it had multiple rooms, a stone table, and two stone benches.
"I told you Elves lived here!" said Bryce.
They shined their lights around them and saw that the entire ledge was full of rows of the small stone houses.
"This is like an ancient city. Mom is going to love this!" said Abigail.
"I want to go inside,” said Bryce.
"All right, we'll go in this one."
They explored the small house. Abigail took pictures of the strange symbols that were carved into the walls.
"What do all those mean?" asked Bryce.
"I don't know. We'll have to ask Mom."
Abigail started to feel nervous about the place.
"We really need Mom and Dad here with us. We have to go back,” she said.
"Can't we explore a little more?" asked Bryce.
"Not today. We need more light so we can see better. We're going back now,” she said.
"What if they don't let us come back again?" asked Bryce.
"They'll be thrilled to see this place. We'll all come back together,” she said.
She carefully led Bryce back to the entrance of the cave.
There was no sign of the owl.
Abigail checked for her markers on the way back to the house. They were all there.
"In the morning we're going to tell Mom and Dad about this place,” she said.
"Can't we go by ourselves one more time? We don't have to go by the cliff,” he said.
"No, Bryce. We'll be in big trouble if we don't tell them."
"All right,” he said.
Chapter 2
The next morning Abigail told Daniel and Chelsea what they had found.
"Show us where it is. I've got to see this,” said Chelsea.
"Diamond has to take us there. We can't find it on our own,” said Bryce.
"The owl? That's just silly. Abigail, you said you left markers. We can follow them back to the cave,” said Daniel.
"I've tried that before. The markers end at the top of the hill,” said Abigail.
"Let me see if I can find the place,” he said.
The whole family followed Daniel to the top of the hill.
"Which direction is it?" he asked Abigail.
She pointed south.
"Somewhere over there,” she said.
"You wait here while I look for your markers,” he said.
They watched while Daniel systematically walked around the entire hillside. He thought Abigail must have gotten the direction wrong so he looked to the west and north as well. He didn't find any markers.
"You're sure you left markers beyond this one?" he asked.
"Yes! You can only see them when Diamond is here,” she said.
"That just can't be,” he said.
"Why don't we wait until tonight, and you can call to Diamond,” said Chelsea.
"You go back to the house. I'll spend a little more time exploring the area,” said Daniel.
They returned to the house, and Bryce went to his window and looked through the telescope.
"I don't think you can see the cave from here,” said Abigail.
"I know. I was looking for Dad,” he said.
A few hours later Daniel returned.
"Did you find anything?" asked Chelsea.
"Nothing. I don't understand it,” he said.
"Let's play along with them tonight. It can't hurt,” she said.
"The cave is out there somewhere. Abigail's pictures prove that.”
"I've never seen symbols like that. I emailed an old colleague of mine and asked him about them,” she said.
Later that night, after dark, they gathered around the bench in the back yard.
Abigail looked up in the sky. It wasn't a full moon.
"I don't think this is going to work. It only works when the moon is full,” she said.
"Go ahead and try anyway,” said Chelsea.
He tried many times, but Diamond never appeared.
"We're not lying. He really comes. Wait until the next full moon and we'll show you,” said Bryce.
"All right, we'll try again, when the moon is full,” said Chelsea.
Bryce checked his calendar back at the house. The next full moon was twenty-eight days away.
A few weeks later Chelsea heard back from her colleague. He had never seen the symbols before, and no one he had talked to knew anything about them. He told her it must be a hoax. Some kids must have drawn them for fun.
Chelsea wasn't sure any kid could come up with the symbols, but she put it out of her mind.
The day before the full moon Bryce went and talked to Chelsea.
"Tonight is the full moon. You said you would let us try to call Diamond,” he said.
"We'll do it tonight. I'll go remind Daniel," she said.
That night they gathered around the bench and looked up at the moon.
"It's going to work this time,” said Abigail.
Bryce called to Diamond and they waited patiently.
"Look, there it is!" said Bryce.
Diamond was in the tree just outside of the yard.
"I can't believe that worked! What happens now?" asked Daniel.
"Just follow me,” said Bryce.
Diamond led them through the forest toward the cave.
"See my markers, Dad?" Abigail said, pointing toward one of them.
"Why didn't I see these before?" asked Daniel.
"Dad, you have to just accept that what we told you is true,” said Abigail.
"I'm beginning to believe you,” he said.
Diamond led them to the entrance of the cave then flew into a nearby tree.
Chelsea turned on her flashlight and went inside. The others followed her.
She stopped at the first symbol that was carved on the wall and examined it.
"Daniel, this wasn't just carved into the stone. There's some kind of metal inside the grooves. I've never seen anything like it!" she said.
They followed the path until they came to the chasm.
"There's a cliff here. It's safe if you stay close to the wall,” said Abigail.
"You two went down here by yourselves? You could have been killed!" said Daniel.
"We were very careful. I held Bryce's hand the whole time,” said Abigail.
Daniel shined his flashlight over the edge.
"I'm going to have nightmares about this. I'm not sure this is a good idea,” he said.
"Please, Dad! You have to see what's on the ledge. It's just a little further,” said Abigail.
"All right, but next time we come we're bringing a rope so we can tie ourselves together,” he said.
They carefully followed the path past the chasm and onto the ledge.
"The buildings are over there,” Abigail said and shined her flashlight on the nearest one.
"I don't believe it! This is amazing!" said Chelsea.
She had studied archeology in college before she married Daniel and knew a lot about ancient civilizations. She rushed over to the first building and went inside.
"There are more buildings up above,” said Bryce.
Daniel shined his flashlight upward and saw the houses that had been carved out of the walls.
"Stay close to me. I don't want anyone wandering off. Let's go inside with Chelsea,” said Daniel.
Chelsea was sitting on the stone bench, writing on a piece of paper.
"This is incredible!" she said to Daniel when he came in.
"How old do you think it is?" he asked.
"I won't be able to tell until we can get more light in here. There's a lot more of those strange symbols in the house. I wish I knew what they meant!" said Chelsea.
"I told you, Mom, the symbols were made by Elves!" said Bryce.
"I want to see inside another house,” she said and left.
They all followed her into three more houses. Two were identical to the first house, and one had a third room. All of them had the strange symbols carved into the walls and furniture.
"This must have been an ancient underground city. I can't imagine the native Americans creating this. I just don't know who could have done it,” she said.
"Please don't tell anyone about this place! If anyone sees it they won't let us come here anymore,” said Bryce.
"We're not telling anyone. I want to explore this myself before anyone else finds it,” said Chelsea.
"We can only find the cave when Diamond leads us to it, and he only does that when there's a full moon. That doesn't give us very many days to explore,” said Abigail.
"I'm still having a hard time believing that, but at this point, it appears to be true. If we really want to spend some serious time here, we need to camp here for a few nights,” he said.
"That's perfect! We'll need much better lighting. Do we have anything we can use?" asked Chelsea.
"Nothing that's portable. I'll go to the hardware store and buy something. We need to check our camping supplies and make sure we have everything we need,” said Daniel.
"We'll get everything ready when we get home,” said Chelsea.
"We better start back. We don't have spare batteries for our lights and it's way too dangerous in the dark,” said Daniel.
They carefully climbed up the path along the chasm, then followed the tunnel to the entrance of the cave.
On their way back to the house, Abigail showed Daniel all the markers she had placed.
When they reached the hill above their house, Daniel stopped.
"I'm going to see if I can find one of those markers. Wait here for a minute,” he said.
He followed the exact path they had just walked but found no markers.
"This really blows my mind!" he said when he returned.
"I know it's hard to accept, but only Diamond can show us the way,” said Abigail.
"I'm not convinced yet, but I will say that it's very strange,” said Daniel.
They continued along the path and returned to their house.
Chapter 3
As soon as they reached the house, Chelsea searched through her boxes and located her old college books.
Daniel went to the garage and found all their camping supplies. He made a list of anything that was missing.
"How long do we want to stay next time we go to the cave?" he asked Chelsea.
"When's the next full moon? If we're lucky it will be on a Friday so we have the whole weekend to spend there,” said Chelsea.
"Abigail, how long before the next full moon?" asked Daniel.
She looked at the calendar on the kitchen wall.
"Twenty-nine days,” she said.
"What day of the week is that?" asked Chelsea.
"Thursday."
"Perfect! We can go to the cave on Friday and stay there until Sunday. Do we have enough supplies to stay for two nights?" asked Chelsea.
"I'll buy what we need when I go shopping for the lights,” said Daniel.
The next few weeks were busy, but the cave was always on their minds. They waited anxiously for the next full moon.
When the day finally arrived, it was rainy and impossible to see the moon.
"I wonder if Diamond will come if it's raining?" asked Abigail.
"I'll go down tonight and find out,” said Bryce.
"Make sure you're dressed for it. We don't want anyone getting sick. Tomorrow is going to be a big day for us,” said Chelsea.
After dark, Chelsea dressed Bryce in far too many clothes and allowed him to go outside.
He sat on the bench and called to Diamond.
Just as before the owl came to him.
He ran back into the house.
"It worked! Diamond came!" he said.
"Fantastic! We're all set to go tomorrow,” said Daniel.
No one got much sleep that night, and it
Impressum
Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 01.08.2015
ISBN: 978-3-7396-0778-8
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