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  Rocky walked to the opposite wall and crouched down on its haunches.

  “You think I’m going to be rambling on for a while? Maybe you’re right.”

  Rocky put out one arm and made a rolling motion.

  “Okay, okay. I’ll get on with it. The point is I was unprepared, and yet I was expected to behave like I had been one of the Society for my whole life. Gram wants to be the leader and to set down the rules, and I am to be obedient and blindly follow. But I can’t. I have to be responsible for the entire planet, the entire universe — which don’t get me started on that. I have so many questions on how we’re supposed to handle things beyond our own planet and nobody has given me an answer to that. I’ve even started looking in the books of the Grand Library and nobody has answers to give me written down or otherwise. That’s why I’m so mad. It’s not that I want to be off here on my own, but I already am. I already was. They float around me like ghosts — like they’re there, visible, but they won’t give me anything of substance.”

  Rocky plunked its head down between its arms.

  “Too poetic or am I boring you?” Roni’s tone snapped Rocky’s head back up. “That’s better. What’s the point of having a little golem of my own, if you’re not going to pay attention? Look, the real problem for me, for all of us, is that the truth is coming after us. I don’t mean that like some metaphysical answer, or some spiritual answer, or even the number forty-two. I mean that before I learned about all of this, the truth was a certain reality I understood. And then I discovered the caverns and the Parallel Society and all of it, and now the truth is something different. It’s more truth. And seeing the way things have been run here, the way things have been set up to avoid getting too deep into these caverns, the way Gram has dealt with the hellspiders and other relics from other universes — well, I think there’s a further level of truth that even the Parallel Society has not witnessed yet. That’s what I feel coming our way.”

  Roni grew quiet, and after a few minutes of silence, Rocky popped to its feet. Nudging her leg, it gestured for her to follow. It then led the way further down the tunnel. Roni did not think her golem friend had a specific destination in mind, though it seemed to move with purpose.

  “You smell something?” Of course not. It didn’t have a nose. “I mean, do you see something?”

  Rocky kept a steady pace ahead.

  As Roni followed, her mind wandered back to her earlier words. This was more than some kind of performance anxiety, something an athlete might experience before a big event. It wasn’t a simple matter of self-doubt. Of questions like will she be ready? Or will she be capable? Too much riding on her ability to make the right decisions. And what of the Yal-hara? Wasn’t that the ultimate truth? They had a duty to that living relic.

  Roni did not truly care if she had to wait to lead the group. She didn’t really want it in the first place. Deep down, she felt she was better off alone. But Yal-hara was counting on them.

  No. Once again, Roni tried to evade the truth.

  The truth — the real truth — was that she did not care who led the group, or what happened to Yal-hara, or if the hellspiders were freed or imprisoned. She had not come down here to impress Gram or convince her grandmother that she was capable of greater things. Perhaps on some level those things existed in her mind, but none of that scratched the real truth.

  She stopped walking. Without looking back, Rocky stopped as well.

  “I did this,” she said, needing to hear her voice, “because I want to get whatever help the kyolo stones will provide for my lost memories. And now that I have the stones, I want to get back to Yal-hara and have her deliver on the promise.”

  And there it was.

  Not only had Roni spoken the truth, but she knew that it rested at the core of all strife between her and Gram. More than any fight over leadership, she suspected Gram would hate the idea of Roni remembering.

  Why?

  She never had a suspicion of Gram. Her grandmother never once said or did anything to suggest that there were secrets to be hidden. Gram was not a bitter woman, and though tough, she did not seek out confrontation or drama. So why would Roni instinctually feel that Gram did not want her to remember?

  If Roni wanted to look at it from the point of view of love, then she considered that Gram worried the discovery might be upsetting — perhaps, devastating — and so she wanted to spare her granddaughter. Yet after discovering her entire reality was false and learning of the incredible, bizarre nature of true reality, there really couldn’t be anything in her mundane memories that would shock her. If, on the other hand, Roni took a cynical viewpoint, a darker one, then perhaps Gram knew more about her mother’s death than she had let on. Perhaps, Gram had been involved — even if only tangentially.

  Roni shook off these thoughts. She had the kyolo stones, and they would hopefully reveal something of her memories. When that time came, Gram’s place in all of it would be revealed. No point in working herself up now when she had no knowledge of the actual answer.

  “And I better remember that Yal-hara made no promises. She only suggested the kyolo stones might help.” Roni knew from a lifetime of disappointment not to grow too excited about the possibility of getting her memories back.

  Stretching her arms, she looked back the way she had come. She heard the thump thump thump of Rocky running up to her side. Tugging on her arm like a little child, the golem gestured deeper in the tunnel.

  “I’m coming. I’m coming.”

  Rocky’s urgency did not cease. Then Roni heard the deep, foghorn moan. Her skin prickled.

  Chapter 19

  The blood pumping through her system froze in place. She could not move. How had the hellspider found her when she didn’t even know where she was? And why? Did this creature seek vengeance? Was that possible?

  As her thoughts roiled her stomach, a feather fluttered within her — a glimpse of a memory from her Lost Time. Her father.

  They sat in a park. The one that backed up against the Olburg Elementary school. He looked young, fit, ready to be the best version of a dad one could ask for. Several children played on the jungle gym, and though Roni wanted to join them, she could not move.

  Her father stroked the back of her head. “Fear is a funny thing. See, in one way it’s one of our most important instincts. It is something so basic, so part of us, that without it, we never would’ve survived long enough to evolve into human beings. But the modern world isn’t filled with lions and panthers and things that are hungry to eat you up. So when we’re threatened, those two ideas come into conflict — the new world reality versus the old world instincts. And for a lot of us, our body does not know how to react. We shut down. We freeze. Here’s the thing — it doesn’t matter what you do when you’re afraid. It’s only important to do something. Don’t allow yourself to stand still. Even if the choice you make is the wrong one, it’ll be better than standing there waiting to be destroyed.”

  From what she could remember — and that was, of course, not much — her father often spoke to her like this. He took something as simple as being shy around new kids, and turned it into some big lesson far beyond her capability of understanding at that age. Standing there in the cavern, she got the sense that he might have been trying to prepare her for moments like her current one.

  Even as she pushed aside that notion, she realized the memory was right — she had to do something.

  With Rocky close behind, Roni hustled along the tunnels until they returned to the low-ceiling cavern. She scanned the area with its numerous paths — which one had they come through?

  “Any idea how to get back to Sully and the rest?”

  Rocky lifted its head to check all the possibilities. Then it checked them again.

  “Guess I shouldn’t expect too much from somebody with rubble for a brain.” The ceiling hummed with its many books, and when the low moan of the hellspider echoed into the chamber, Roni could feel vibrations in the air rippling off each book.<
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  “We definitely can’t stay here. When that hellspider gets closer, I don’t want to see what kind of damage those vibrations can do.”

  Bouncing her finger from one direction to the next, she ran a quick game of eeny–meany in her head. When she finished, she pointed at a tunnel on the left.

  “Looks like that’s the one.”

  She wanted to run, but she knew that would be dangerous in a dark cavern. Too many opportunities to twist an ankle or break a bone. But she couldn’t casually stroll, either. Moving as fast as she dared, she headed along the tunnel with Rocky staying near.

  The passageway curved sharp in one direction and then the other like a switchback on a mountainside. Though the walls opened and narrowed, and the ceiling raised and lowered, Roni never encountered a junction or even a branching off pathway. With her pulse beating hard and her heavy breaths bouncing off the walls, the steady thump thump thump of her golem created a rhythm to their pace. Beneath it all the throaty moan of the hellspider followed by its distinct clicking continued its threat that soon, very soon, it would arrive.

  At length, the passage ended in a space no bigger than Roni’s apartment bedroom. Shelves had been dug into the stone walls, and chained books filled them with no apparent order.

  No doors.

  No tunnels, passageways, or alcoves.

  No way out.

  The hellspider’s numerous legs crunching stone as it progressed through the tunnel grew louder. Roni spun back to face the only direction she could go. Don’t stand still. Don’t stand still. If she returned up the passageway, she would smack right into the hellspider. So, that option was out. A quick glance at the walls and the floor convinced her she could not dig a solution.

  Books. If she could find another book that opened up into a world of fire or lightning or anything that would inflict harm, then she could fight back. Rifling through the shelves, Roni did not find a cover bearing the symbol that she had seen on her previous fire book. Nor did she find a symbol that indicated lightning.

  But she had no way to know if the symbols on these books used the same language as those on the books from her part of the cavern. Considering that the various groups doing the same work as the Parallel Society came from other universes, it would be a lot to expect them to share a common language. Besides, even if she found the book, she soon discovered that these volumes had been chained numerous times. They barely budged when she tried to pull them.

  She did not have the time to start cracking them open in an effort to locate a useful one.

  Responding to the latest, and loudest, series of noises from the hellspider, Rocky stepped into the entranceway and raised its fists. Like a deer knowing full well that a hunter stalked nearby, Roni gazed up the passageway even as she inched towards the back of the room. Her mind raced through possible ways to escape — their number were few and none seemed good. Worse, the more she strained for an answer, the more her mind conjured images of her horrid demise. She repeatedly pictured the hellspider disemboweling her, decapitating her, or worst of all, it would open its unhinged jaw and inhale her.

  Four obsidian legs reached around the edges of the entranceway to grip the wall. More legs followed, and Rocky took several steps backward to put itself between Roni and the hellspider. Accompanied by that incessant clicking, the hellspider entered the room.

  The stone golem launched toward the intruder. Yet even as the hellspider got its bearings, it had no trouble swatting Rocky aside. The golem slammed into a wall of books. Turning its red eyes upon Roni, the hellspider approached.

  As her gaze lifted to keep focus on the creature’s eyes, her heart sank. She had no escape. She had no weapon.

  Her palms grew sore, and when she snatched a look, she saw that her fingers had clenched into fists. As the hellspider gazed down upon her, she mustered all her inner–strength to maintain her composure. Yes, she was scared. But she didn’t have to show it.

  The hellspider leaned down bringing its face closer and closer. Roni noted an unpleasant, musty odor — like a horse that had rolled around in its own manure.

  She could not say whether the next moment came from bravery, inspiration, or stupidity, but before Roni had formed a clear idea of what to do, her body reacted. She punched the hellspider in the jaw.

  Its head wracked to the side and the hairs on its face bristled. The rest of it, however, remained still. As it turned back toward Roni, its red eyes narrowed and an angry huffing flared its cheeks.

  With so many legs on her opponent, Roni never saw the attack coming. She had fixated on its face, and the two legs that shot forward came low and out of sight. As one struck the air from her lungs, the other shoved her back against the wall. Then the beating really began.

  Roni had taken a punch or two in her life, but nothing could have prepared her for the assault she endured. One leg after another pummeled her body. The hellspider struck her in the chest, the arms, the thighs, the pelvis, and of course, the head. It was a jackhammer attempting to break through her bones. The ferocious beating made it difficult to catch her breath, and she worried she would die of suffocation long before any internal injuries took their toll.

  Like a boxer, the hellspider exhaled with each jab thrown. Blood dribbled down Roni’s face. Her mouth filled with its coppery taste.

  She slumped to the ground, and mercifully, the hellspider let her. In moments she found herself lying flat on the stone floor. Everything burned and throbbed and ached, and she had grown numb to the worst pains — at least, she thought so. She cringed at the idea that sometime soon, the full torrential pain would ignite. Unless she died before that unpleasant moment arrived.

  Through swollen eyes and a filter of blood, she watched as the hellspider climbed up the wall and onto the ceiling. It positioned above her, making slight adjustments until it centered directly overhead. Roni thought of old wrestling shows that featured costumed stars like Hulk Hogan standing on the ropes of the ring ready to jump through the air and slam onto their opponent for one final big move.

  Roni listened to the crowd. The cheers, the boos — sounds that signaled the end.

  Obliging her thoughts, the hellspider hissed long and loud before dropping through the air. She saw its multi-limbed body flip over like a cat ready to land on its feet. But it was Roni’s head that the hellspider aimed for. The dark figure grew fast in her view, and she had one flashing thought — I wish I had gotten to find out what I can’t remember.

  That was when Rocky saved her.

  The stone golem shot out from the side, hurling its body through the air and T–boning the hellspider. The creature flailed out its legs. Knocked off target, it skidded against the floor to the right of Roni.

  Too injured to move, Roni simply watched as her stone golem scrabbled atop the hellspider, throwing a flurry of punches. While Rocky did not have the strength to damage the hellspider significantly, the little golem moved fast. Like a dog overrun with fleas, the hellspider twisted and turned and rolled back upon itself in an effort to rid its skin of this irritating bug. But Rocky would not be deterred.

  The stone golem ducked, jumped, and maneuvered every way possible to evade the hellspider’s lumbering attacks. As the two creatures wrestled on the ground, Roni felt her consciousness fading.

  The hellspider thrust back against the wall in an attempt to slam the stone golem, but at the last second, Rocky dismounted and let the hellspider injure itself. Not wasting a second, Rocky lunged back into the fight. Irritated, angered, and possibly hurt a little, the hellspider pivoted toward the entranceway.

  Roni saw the creature slinking down the tunnel with Rocky throwing punches on its back. When she could no longer see them, she could hear them — sounds of stone against stone, hissing and moaning, angry cries and multiple grunts, even as the sounds disappeared.

  Roni coughed, and blood spurted from her mouth. With each breath, her chest felt as if somebody stood on her sternum. She wondered if she had broken most every bone in her bod
y. She wondered if she would feel Death coming or if she might simply fall asleep and never awaken.

  A tear welled in the corner of her left eye and dribbled back the side of her face. She had never given much thought to dying, but she never thought she would die alone.

  Chapter 20

  The trickling stream made for a peaceful sound, and the warmth covering Roni eased her pains. In fact, she felt little pain. Concentrating on her feet and working her way up her torso all the way to the top of her head, she discovered only the barest throb. Turned out, death wasn’t so bad.

  She heard the shifting of cloth and smelled the rich aroma of burnt wood. She knew that smell. Only one man she had ever met brought that comforting aroma her way — Elliot.

  Opening her eyes, she saw Elliot’s gnarled cane above her. His free hand brushed the air back and forth over her head and down to her belly.

  “Do not struggle,” he said, with a gentle smile. “You sustained quite a large number of injuries. Let my healing do its work.”

  She tried to speak, but moving her mouth to form words sent crushing pangs through her jaw.

  “Close your eyes. Rest. You are safe.”

  She had questions, but her exhausted body forced her to obey Elliot’s commands. Her eyes closed and her mind shut down. Only for a few seconds — at least, that was how it felt. However, when she opened her eyes again, Elliot sat nearby on a large stone eating an apple.

  With minimal effort, she managed to sit up. Gently prodding her jaw with two fingers, she discovered no pain. “You’re amazing,” she said.

  Elliot chuckled. “I have had a lot of practice. I must say, though, you were pushing my abilities. I am not a young man anymore. Please, do not get so torn up again.”