Summary:

The story shifts from Nancy's narrative to her little sister, Sally, who now takes over to tell her part of the adventure. In her story, she has just escaped from Akie, and unbeknownst to any of the others, is now free to try to help her friends escape.


Sally continues her tale:

"Once at the bottom, the elevator doors swished open with an ominous echoing sound. Carefully I peered out, only to hear the familiar sounds of the basement door easing shut, and a lock engaging. A quick perusal assured me the atrium was empty. That was the good news. The bad news was, Akie had slipped below ground, taking Tabby and the master key with him.

"I'm not one given to lengthy bouts of indecision, part of the reason for my many successes as a sneak, or as I preferred to be called, a stealth artist. I was, however, in a bit of a pickle. Most of my teammates were upstairs locked in a room, and another on her way to a dungeon facing a fate worse than death.

"I was almost stumped when a vivid memory thrust itself into my conscious mind... Bruce beckoning to us from where he knelt by a trap door. We had scoffed at his discovery, but now I saw it as a way out of my dilemma. It was a long shot, but the only shot I had. I placed Sage on the ground and darted out of the open front door. Sage followed close on my heels.

"Together we made our way to the amusement park, its rides and games silent as the illusions they were designed to be. I didn't pause to reflect. Who has that kind of time when in danger? I ran for the metal door partially hidden by grass.

"Looking around to make sure no eyes were watching, I pried the door open with a stick, and noticed it led to a tube-like chute. I wondered why this particular entrance wasn't kept locked like all the others. Hmm, Akie slipping up? I mean, why watch a service entry, right? Why indeed?

"'Let's go, Sage,' I said.

"Of course, Sage didn't reply, but she looked at me in the way cats do when you just know they understand what you're saying. Sage looked that way a lot, and I knew she would follow me down the tube to find Tabby.

"I scooted my bottom to the entrance and slowly eased my legs over the edge, followed by my hips and body. It was a bit tight, but not too bad. For once I was glad to be small for my age. I held onto the upper lip of the tube long enough for Sage to crawl in behind me. For secrecy's sake, I closed the top behind us. How many movies have you seen where a fleeing person leaves a door open, and is quickly found? Yeah, I had too, and remember, I was a stealth artist. It wasn't going to happen to me.

"Taking a deep breath, I finally let go. I had no idea what waited at the bottom, nor even how long it would take to get there, but you can only plan so far. Eventually, you have to just go for it, and boy did we go.

"We barreled down the tube with such speed, I felt like we were in the guts of a giant vacuum cleaner. It was definitely fun in a scary roller-coaster sort of way, but it presented my greatest challenge so far. You see, when you're falling fast, screams tend to erupt from your throat and bleat out of your mouth like a goat, but I knew the importance of staying quiet, so I held it bravely in. Sage, on the other hand, screeched like an enraged banshee. My only hope was that cat screams and creepy pyramids sort of go together, and that no one would take notice.

"Finally, we landed safely on the floor in a pile of food packages-- first me, and then Sage, who arrived gracefully in my lap. I hardly had time to get my bearings before two waif-like boys rounded a corner and looked at us as though we were ghosts.

"'Who are you?' the older boy asked, dark, damp hair accenting pale skin.

"'I'm Sally, and this is my assistant, Sage,' I said, standing up and brushing my shorts off.

"Sage, who now rested on top of a package, purred and stretched lazily. You could barely tell she had just undergone a traumatic tube drop, which was exactly the look she was going for. She glanced casually at the boys through shaded eyes. The younger boy reached around his brother and patted her on the head. She graced him with the tiniest flick of her rough tongue on his hand.

"'I'm Kith,' the older one said,'"and this is my little brother, Jason.'

"Jason, a smaller and blonde-headed version of his brother, looked at us shyly.

"'So,' Kith said. 'You came through the food shaft...'

"'Yeah.'

"'Why?'

"'It's a long story.'

"'Does it have anything to do with Akie and Mr. Holly?'

"'It has a lot to do with both of them,' I said surprised. 'Under the direction of Mike Holly, Akie kidnapped me and my friends to use to reanimate his mummy family. Four are locked in a room upstairs, and the other is being taken to the third basement level for some crazy procedure.'

"'They kidnapped me and my brother, too,' Kith said. 'We were playing in our front yard when they lured us over by showing us a puppy. Yeah, I know, it's the classic tactic they teach us to avoid in school. Don't think I haven't thought about how foolish we were over and over since it happened.'

"'We all make mistakes. We were lured here by the promise of a free preview of the theme park, and even though we figured out something was amiss way before Ahmed showed his hand, we still kept going.'

"'You know this isn't a really a theme park, don't you?'

"'Yeah, it's supposed to be the start of Akie's kingdom, but how did you know? Did he show you the film?'

"'No, we didn't get shown a film, but there's a vent Jason and I use to listen to what's going on below. We've learned a lot that way. Like, did you know time doesn't pass the same way here as in the outside world?'

"'No, I hadn't noticed.'

"'Do you have on a watch?'

"'Sure, but I haven't thought to look at it.'

"I glanced at the glowing dome of my Timex and was floored. It was 8:00 am, and we had arrived at 7:00. I knew more time than an hour had passed within these walls.

"'That's how he's built a huge pyramid in just a few months topside, and how he's managed to kidnap all of us a bit at a time. Down here, we were taken a year ago, but it had to have been much shorter outside.'

"'Kith and Jason,' I said to myself. 'I've heard of you. You live in Sharpstown, right?'

"'We did, yeah?'

"'Well, in our world, it happened about a month ago,' I said. 'Your parents are still looking for you. It's all over the news.'

"'Have you seen my mama?' Jason asked from behind Kith.

"'Only on TV. How old are you?'

"'Seven.'

"'That's very grown up, Jason, but you are listed as six on TV, and your brother as 10.'

"'I'm eleven now.'

"'That's really creepy. We've got to get everyone out of here, guys. Kith, do you think you and your brother can help me save my friends?'

"'Sure, but what could we possibly do that my brother and I haven't already tried?' Kith asked.

"'I don't know what you've already done, but how about you help me get the other kids together, and we'll attack the adults when they open the trapdoor.'

"'That we've already tried, over and over, but the others won't help us," Kith said. "All they can think of is playing games and having fun. They don't believe they're in danger, no matter how hard we try to warn them.'

"'You two believed me easily enough.'

"'We're not like them. They're just glad to have a place to live, and food to eat.'

"'And you're not?'

"'No, we have a home to go to, and most of them don't. Mike Holly said he had chosen me and Jason for a special purpose, but changed his mind when my brother and I got sick from the nasty packaged food and, well, grief. He got mad and said he had to find stronger people.'

"'Yeah, I think that's where me and my friends came in.'

"'I'm sorry.'

"'Don't be. It's not your fault. Just help me rescue my friends, and I'll find a way to get us all out. Do you know if there's a way into the lower level other than through the locked door in the floor?'

"'None that I know of,' Kith said.

"'What about the air vents?' Jason finally spoke up. 'You know, the ones we use to listen to what's going on downstairs?'

"'They're way too small to climb through, Jason,' Kith said.

"'Maybe I can, I'm really little.'

"'You're not that little,' Kith said.

"'Hmm," I said, looking over at Sage 'Maybe he's not, but I think I know someone who is.'

"'The cat?' Kith asked doubtfully.

"'Sage is a very special cat,' I said.

"'What's she gonna do, unlock the door?'

"'No, but maybe she can go for the key.'

"'Akie keeps it around his neck,' Kith said, 'but... he usually takes it off when he begins the cleansing ceremony for reanimation.'

"'And you know this, how?'

"'We listen at the vent a lot," Kith explained. 'They perform one to two procedures a day, depending on what they need. You can hear the clink of the key when he lays it on the table. Besides, we've heard Mike Holly tell him to take it off. Apparently it's an impure metal and a relic of modern days.'

"'Okay, well, that's somewhere to start. Take me to the vent and we'll let Sage have a go at getting the key when he's distracted.'

"'That sounds like a great plan, but how will Sage know what to do?'

"'As I said, she's a very special cat.'

"'Let's hope so, because your friend has about three hours tops, our time, once the procedure begins.'