Ignoring the pain, I grabbed the backpack. I pulled the straps off my shoulder. Then I swung the pack around to my chest and gripped it tightly with both hands.
“Got to get the mice,” I murmured out loud. “Got to get the kitty cat some mice to play with.”
My hands were trembling so hard, I couldn’t work the zipper.
“Aaaaagh!” I let out a frustrated cry—just as the cat swooped me up in its jaws again.
I tried to call out to Marissa. I wanted to tell her to hold on. That I had a plan.
High in the air, I gripped the backpack with my right hand. Reached for the zipper with my left.
Please. Please! I prayed silently. Let me get the mice out. Let me click them on.
“My only chance,” I muttered, struggling with the backpack zipper. “My only chance…”
A burst of hot cat breath made me shudder. Once again I felt the dry, scratchy tongue scrape the back of my neck.
“Yessss!” I shouted as I finally pulled the zipper and opened the backpack.
“Yessss!”
I shot my hand excitedly into the backpack. I felt the furry mechanical creatures inside.
I started to wrap my fingers around one…
But the cat swung me hard. Tossed back its head and flung me into the air.
“Noooooo!” I let out a long wail—and felt the backpack fly out of my hands.
“Noooooo!” I frantically grabbed at it. Grabbed with both hands. Missed. Then I tried to snare it on my foot.
“Noooooo!” I watched the backpack sail to the ground.
It bounced once. Twice. Then lay in the dirt near the shore.
The cat caught me in its teeth. I felt the sharp points dig into my skin.
Then the jaws opened. And I started to slide. Down the scratchy tongue. Down, down into the cat’s cavern of a mouth.
“Sorry, Marissa,” I murmured in my panic. “We are doomed.”
25
The ground disappeared from view as I slid further down the cat’s rough tongue. On my stomach, I reached out with both hands.
And grabbed the two curved eyeteeth. They felt warm and sticky in my hands.
With a hard tug, I pulled myself part of the way up. I crawled a little way on the tongue. Then I gave another tug, and my head poked out from the cat’s open mouth.
I searched for Marissa, but I couldn’t see her.
Had she already been swallowed?
Beneath me, the tongue bucked and curled. The cat was trying to force me down.
But I held tightly onto the eyeteeth. And glimpsed the ground far below.
And saw three or four gray mice scampering out of the backpack, onto the dirt.
They must have clicked on when the backpack hit the ground!
Would the cats see them? Would they care?
The cat chomped its teeth together. I cried out in pain, and my hands slid off the eyeteeth.
The tongue rolled beneath me. I started to slide again.
The mouth closed over me, shutting me in darkness. “Ohhhh.” So hot and wet inside. So hard to breathe.
I heard low gurgling and growling below me in the cat’s stomach.
“No!” I cried. “No no no no!” My voice sounded tiny and muffled inside the cat’s mouth.
And then, to my shock, the sunlight poured back in as the jaws popped open.
The tongue pushed me forward. Past the teeth. Past the lips.
I sucked in a deep breath of cool, fresh air.
And then I went flying from the cat’s mouth.
I landed on my back on the ground next to Marissa. She gaped at me in surprise, her eyes wild, her red hair tangled and matted wetly to her head.
We both scrambled to our feet—in time to see both giant black cats pounce.
They both leaped at the same mechanical mouse.
Hissing and clawing at each other, they began to fight over it.
“Marissa—let’s go!” I choked out.
She stared in amazement as the giant cats wrestled, hissing and scratching, rolling into the stream, then out again.
“Hurry! Let’s go!” I shouted. I grabbed Marissa with both hands and tugged. “If they figure out the mice aren’t real, they’ll come back after us!”
“But are the cats real?” Marissa demanded, still gazing at them in amazement. “Are the cats real? Or fake?”
“Who cares?” I shrieked. “Let’s get out of here!”
Once again, we started running through the forest. Which way were we headed? We didn’t pay any attention. We just wanted to get as far away from those cats as we could.
My clothes felt wet and sticky from the inside of the cat’s mouth. But the cool, fresh air felt good against my skin and helped to dry me off.
Our shadows leaned ahead of us, as if leading the way. I heard strange animal calls that sounded like shrill laughter. And I heard the flapping of wings above the trees.
But Marissa and I ignored all the sounds. We kept running, pushing tall weeds and shrubs out of our way, making our own path.
We didn’t speak. We didn’t even look at each other. We ran side by side, keeping each other in sight, helping each other through the tangled forest.
We were both breathless when we reached a round, grassy clearing. White and yellow moths floated silently over the swaying grass.
“Marissa—look!” I gasped, pointing to the other side of the clearing.
A small cabin stood under the trees where the grass ended. A very familiar cabin.
“It’s Ivanna’s!” Marissa exclaimed happily. “Justin—we made it! We’re back!”
I sucked in a deep breath and scrambled across the grass. Marissa ran right behind me.
“Ivanna! Ivanna!” We both called her name as we hurried to the cabin.
She didn’t come out. So I grabbed the door and pushed it open. “Ivanna—we’re back!” I cried happily. I glanced quickly around the room, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the dim light.
Marissa pushed me aside as she burst into the small kitchen. “We survived!” she exclaimed. “Ivanna—is the test over? Did we pass it? Justin and I—”
We both saw Ivanna seated at the small wooden table. She sat stooped over, her head on the table.
Her horned helmet had fallen off. It lay on its side on the table. Her long blond braids had come undone and fallen over her face.
“Ivanna? Ivanna?” I called. I turned to my sister. “She must be asleep.”
“Ivanna?” Marissa called. “We’re back!”
The woman didn’t stir.
I heard a whimper from the back of the room. Squinting into the shadows, I saw Silverdog. He was huddled sadly against the wall, his head on the floor between his paws. He let out another whimper.
“Justin—something is wrong here,” Marissa whispered.
“Ivanna! Ivanna!” I shouted her name. But she still didn’t move.
The big white dog whimpered sadly.
“Is she asleep?” Marissa demanded. “What’s wrong with her?”
“Let’s see,” I murmured.
I took a deep breath and made my way across the kitchen to the table. Marissa raised her hands to her cheeks and stared at me. She didn’t budge.
I was nearly to the table when I stopped with a gasp.
“Wh-what’s wrong?” Marissa stammered.
“Look what’s sticking out of her back!” I choked out.
26
“Huh?” Marissa’s mouth dropped open in horror. “Justin—what?”
I swallowed hard. My legs started to tremble. I grabbed the back of a chair to steady myself.
“Marissa—look,” I instructed, still pointing.
She came a couple of steps closer, her eyes bulging wide with fear.
We both stared at the metal object poking out from the back of Ivanna’s dress.
A large metal key.
I worked up my courage and crept up behind Ivanna. My heart pounding, I leaned down and examined the big key.
“It-it’s a windup key!” I stammered.
Marissa opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
I took the key in both hands and turned it one click.
Ivanna’s head bobbed up, then fell back to the table.
“Yes. It’s a windup key,” I told my sister.
Ivanna’s hands had drooped to the floor at her sides. I reached down and grabbed one of them.
It felt soft and spongy. Stuffed with cotton or something.
I let the hand drop to the floor and turned back to Marissa. “Ivanna isn’t real,” I told her, swallowing again. “She’s some kind of dummy or puppet or something. Ivanna isn’t real, either!”
“Then what is real?” Marissa demanded in a tiny voice. “This is so scary, Justin. Is it all part of a test, or what? How do we get out of here now? How do we find Dad? If Ivanna isn’t real, then who is?”
I just shook my head. I didn’t know how to answer her questions. I felt as frightened as she did.
My eyes fell on Silverdog back in the corner. The dog had his head buried in his paws. He whimpered softly.
Then, suddenly, the dog’s ears perked up. He raised his head, his eyes flashing excitedly.
I heard a sharp growl behind me. From the door.
“Hey—!” I spun around as the door swung open.
And a growling, snarling creature burst in.
Luka!
His eyes moved hungrily from me to Marissa. A pleased grin spread over his wild face.
“No!” Marissa shrieked, backing away from him.
Luka tossed back his long hair with a shake of his head. He opened his mouth in a long howl.
He leaped into the center of the room. Tossed back his head in a roar. And hurtled toward us.
“Luka—stop!” I begged. “Don’t hurt us!”
27
Luka’s grin faded. He lowered his arms. He narrowed his dark eyes at me.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said softly.
Marissa and I stared back at him in shock. “You—you can talk?” I stammered.
He nodded. “Yes. I can talk. And the first thing I want to say is, congratulations!” His smile returned.
He stepped across the room, walking upright like a human. He shook hands with Marissa, then with me. “Congratulations to both of you,” Luka said warmly. “You passed the test.”
“But—but—” I could only sputter.
Luka peeled a long strip of fur off his arm. Then he pulled the fur from around his neck. “I’m happy to get this stuff off,” he said, peeling more fur from his arm. “It’s so hot and itchy—especially when you’re running around like a wild man in the forest.”
“I’m very confused,” I confessed.
Marissa nodded agreement. “Ivanna isn’t real,” she murmured. She motioned to Ivanna, slumped over the table behind us.
Luka shook his head. “No, she isn’t. I built her myself. Just as I built all the creatures you found in my Fantasy Forest.”
“But—why?” I choked out. “Why did you build all that?”
“As a test,” Luka replied simply. He stepped up behind Ivanna and pulled her up into a sitting position. He brushed the dummy’s hair behind her head with his hand. Then he propped the helmet back on her head.
“So many people come to the forest,” Luka continued, turning back to Marissa and me. “They come searching for all kinds of treasures. Just as you two have.
“My family has lived in this forest for hundreds of years,” Luka explained. “It became our job to protect many of the treasures. And so we built a test forest, to keep out those who were unworthy. To stop the people who don’t deserve the wonderful treasures.”
“You built the entire forest?” Marissa asked him.
He shook his head. “Just the part that isn’t real.”
“And how did we pass the test?” I demanded.
“By discovering what was real and what wasn’t,” Luka replied. “By surviving and triumphing over the unreal.”
Marissa stared hard at Ivanna. The dummy’s green eyes gazed dully back. “Why did you build Ivanna?” Marissa asked.
Luka grinned proudly. “She is my best creation. She keeps everyone from guessing that I am in charge here. No one believes that a wild wolf man runs the Fantasy Forest. It makes it so easy for me to watch everyone and see how they do on my test.”
It all seemed very mysterious to me. But I was too happy it was all over to argue with him.
“And now I shall give you the treasure you came for,” Luka announced. He turned quickly and disappeared into the back.
Marissa and I exchanged glances. “I can’t believe it!” I whispered. “He’s giving us the silver chest containing the Lost Legend! Dad is going to be so amazed!”
“We’re going to be rich and famous!” Marissa exclaimed. “And Dad won’t be able to tell us we’re not helpful—ever again!”
A few seconds later, Luka returned carrying a small silver chest. “Congratulations again,” he said solemnly. “I am happy to award you the ancient treasure that you came here to seek. And I wish you good fortune with it.”
He placed the silver chest in my hands. It felt lighter than I expected. The silver gleamed in the light from the candle on the table.
My heart pounded. My hands trembled.
I suddenly felt so excited, I nearly dropped the silver chest! To think that I held the Lost Legend in my hands!
“Thank you,” I managed to choke out.
“Yes, thank you,” Marissa said. “Now how do we get back to our dad?”
Luka snapped his fingers. Back at the wall, Silverdog leaped to his feet.
“Silverdog will lead you back to your camp,” Luka announced. “Stay close behind him, and he will protect you.”
“Uh… protect us?” I asked, gripping the chest tightly.
Luka nodded. “There are many thieves in the forest. Some of them are real, and some of them are not real. But they all would steal your treasure and make it their own.”
“We’ll stay close to Silverdog,” I promised.
We thanked Luka again. Then we followed the big white dog out of the cabin and back into the forest.
The afternoon sun had started to lower itself behind the trees. It cast an orange glow over the forest floor. The air had already begun to carry an evening chill.
Trotting steadily, the big dog kept his furry tail up high as he led the way, like a flag for us to follow. I carried the chest carefully between my hands and kept my eyes on the dog. Marissa followed close behind.
We walked along a curving path through a patch of tall yellow weeds. Then we made our way around a high clump of evergreen bushes.
On the other side of the bushes, Silverdog led us onto a leaf-covered path. Our boots crunched over the path as we hurried to keep up with the trotting dog.
I gripped the silver chest tightly. I couldn’t wait to pull open the lid and gaze at the Lost Legend. To take it out and start to read it.
What was the legend about?
Who wrote it? And when was it written?
So many questions. And I knew they would all be answered as soon as we opened the chest and removed the legend from its hiding place of five hundred years.
The sun lowered itself behind the trees. Our shadows grew longer. The leaves crunched underfoot.
“Oh—wait!” I cried out when I heard leaves crunching behind us. “Wait—!”
Silverdog trotted on ahead of us.
But Marissa and I stopped.
And listened.
Listened to the crunching footsteps creeping up fast from the trees behind us.
I felt a chill of fear sweep down my back. “Marissa—we’re being followed,” I whispered.
28
“Luka warned us about thieves,” Marissa whispered.
The crunching footsteps came closer. I tucked the silver chest under one arm as if protecting a football. My throat tightened. I could barely breathe.
I turned and s
aw Silverdog trotting on up ahead, his tail still raised behind him. The dog disappeared behind a clump of tall weeds.
“We can’t just stand here,” Marissa whispered.
The footsteps were approaching faster now. Any moment, I knew, some thief—or several thieves—would burst out of the trees and grab the chest away from us.
I turned to the tall weeds. I couldn’t see the dog at all now.
“We have to run,” Marissa whispered.
I listened to the crunching footsteps.
“We can’t outrun him,” I told her. “I can’t run very fast. I have to be careful with this chest.”
Marissa’s blue eyes grew wide with panic. Then her expression changed. “I have an idea, Justin. Let’s duck into those trees.” She pointed. “The thief will run right past us. Then we’ll hide there till he’s out of sight.”
Was it a good idea?
A terrible idea?
We had no time to think about it. We had to move.
We both spun around and started to run to the trees. Toward the approaching footsteps.
Would we make it to safety? Could we hide in the trees before he came rushing out at us?
I never found out.
About halfway across the grass, I tripped over a fallen tree limb.
“Ohhh!” I cried out.
And stumbled forward.
The silver chest flew from my hands.
“Noooooo!”
I desperately grabbed for it.
Missed.
Fell hard to my knees.
I watched the chest sail into the air.
And I stared in shock as a big man lumbered out of the dark shadows of the trees, raised his arms, and caught the chest easily.
29
I stared at the silver chest. Watched the man’s hands pull it in, then hold it tightly.
Our chest.
Our Lost Legend.
We had gone through so many horrors to get it. And now someone else had taken it away.
I stared at the chest gripped so tightly in the man’s hands. Then I raised my eyes to the man’s bearded face.
“Dad!” I cried.