Aldo's Fantastical Movie Palace (17 page)

Nick wiped away his tears, glanced back, and jumped up.

“Run!”

He grabbed Chloe's and Mara's hands and herded the little children forward.

“Nick, there's nothing there,” Chloe sputtered.

“Winged snakes don't bother you a little?”

The young ones screamed. “It's all right,” Chloe said. “It must not be a very big one if we can't see it.”

Nick grabbed her ear and yanked it toward his mouth. “It fills up the entire street! It must've been following us the whole time.”

Then she heard it — a long, low hiss. A few yards back, stones scraped off the wall and tumbled to the ground.

“Okay, now run!” Chloe yelled, and Nick took off.

Chloe stayed behind the others, urging them on until her legs burned and the strange chill no longer worked her spine. She slowed and took in deep breaths while she turned a corner. They'd reached the end of the road. She approached the others standing clumped near the wall of a dead-end alley. A small door was set into the brick, with Nick slumped against it.

The gray around them felt so heavy, Chloe could
hardly move. She stared at Nick. He looked so frail. Mom was right; he'd been through a lot, much more than she could imagine.

“Accident.” Chloe said, and plunked down beside him.

“What are you talking about?”

“You asked me about my nickname when we were on the bus the first day of school. One of my dad's inventions snapped, chains flew across my face. I was eleven. I've been scarred ever since.”

Nick grimaced and rubbed his head. “The kids were really harsh. I was really harsh. But now …” Nick stared at her. “But when I see you, I don't even see the scar. Honest.”

Chloe nodded and playfully slapped his arm. “Then you
are
still blind.”

“We need to go through,” Mara said. “Shield your eyes, because it gets brighter through the door.”

Nick scooted to the side and Mara pushed until hinges creaked and light surrounded everything. They all fumbled for each other's hands and stepped out of the alley. The door promptly swung shut behind them.

Chloe spun around. There was no sign of the door or the city. They stood in a glade of tall grass dotted with wild flowers, and directly in front of
them sat a dark silhouette bent over a desk. It beckoned them to step nearer.

“Far enough.” It spoke with a voice that made Chloe want to clear her throat.

“Names, all of you.”

Mara stepped forward. “Mara.”

The man Chloe assumed must be the Inquisitor picked up a large pen then set it down. “You are a confident child.”

“I am answering your question.”

“Come close, Mara.”

“Don't!” Nick hissed. “There's nobody at the desk!”

“What?” Chloe asked. “I see him.”

“They're all around us, these shadows. It's like she has an escort. She's surrounded by them, and they're looking at her neck.”

“You've not been to the pool before,” the illusion behind the desk said in a grave voice.

“I have, it just didn't take. Now let me pass.”

Chloe hung her head. She'd just met the bravest girl she'd probably ever know.

Mara didn't wait for a response, but walked past the desk and disappeared into a brilliant light.

The three younger kids broke free and ran. “Mara! Wait for us.” They too disappeared into radiance.

“Convenient.” The Inquisitor scribbled and looked up. He pushed back from his desk and stared at Nick.

“Foolish Senseri. The word was sent out long ago. We need no more imitations of that boy. We found Nick weeks ago. Dari's transformation is complete and Nick's been disposed of. You can return to the streets.”

“Go with it,” Chloe whispered.

“But I want to forget. Even an imitation can want that.”

The Inquisitor shook his head and waved Nick forward, and then turned his gaze toward Chloe.

“Name.”

“Chloe Lundeen, son of Ray Lundeen, the famous inventor.”

“Come close, child.”

Nick was right. She felt cold breath on her neck as she walked.

“I see you've been here before. You may pass.”

Chloe nodded and walked into the light.

Chloe heard a crunch. The gravel road on which she walked was just like the roads back home. She relaxed and kicked a rock, and a smile tugged at her mouth. But something was missing. She jogged and joined the crowd moving ahead silently.

“Chloe!”

Sound! That's what's off. Frogs and crickets and horseflies —

Nick pushed over to her. All eyes fixed on him in the heavy, unnatural silence. It wasn't a quiet made to be broken. “We must be near this pool.”

She raised her finger to her lips. Near the pool meant near the palace. Near the palace meant near the trapped memories, if the elf chieftain's hunch was to be trusted. Chloe had no idea how to get inside the palace doors or what to do once she was there, but this was her task, and no good would come from being stopped due to Nick's loud mouth.

On either side of the road, a beautiful garden filled with exotic plants and flowers stretched to the horizon.

“We could make a run for it,” she whispered. “There's nothing holding us here. We could hide in the garden until tonight, then if we don't see Vaepor —”

“There is no garden.”

Chloe frowned.

“The road, it's lined with hideous things. Most of them are black and gray, so they kind of blur together. Giant dogs, walking serpents, Craeguls. And those oozing Kadim. They're all here.”

“The who? How do you know their names?”

“They bowed to me. Even I can see it now. Every army needs a leader, and not one that dissipates over a desert. It used me for all the reasons you know, and now It has Dari.” Nick bowed his head. “I feel so dumb.” He peeked up and mouthed, “I'm sorry.”

“You couldn't have known,” Chloe said, and paused. “How many gray things are there?”

“Thousands. There's no way that a few boatloads of Old Retinyans, whatever they are, could beat them. You'd need every Retinyan, in sound mind.”

“That's what we're doing, Nick. Trying to recover their memories.”

“I know. It's just … I would so like to get rid of mine.”

Chloe squeezed his hand. “Remember Mara.”

And then they were there.

The pool wasn't at all what Chloe had expected. No terrifying, mist-covered blackish water. No bubbling cauldron. This pool was beautiful — large and round, with a lovely cobblestone walkway stretching around it. Water danced in the sunlight, and seven beautiful poles surrounded the pool, each made of mountain stone that glowed the most perfect blue.

Stolen memories set the stones on fire
. She glanced down at her pocket. Her stone remained dead gray.

Chloe turned to Nick. “Is it really so —”

“Beautiful? Yeah, it really is. It's hard to see how it could do any harm at — Ugh.” He shielded his eyes. “Vaepor's here.”

Chloe spun a slow circle. “Why can't I see It?”

“Look up. Floating over the water. It's a cloud as dark as tar.”

“And around the pool?”

“Them.”

“Describe everything.”

Nick took a deep breath. “Kadim. Big, oozing worms. Think of huge silkworms with tusks like elephants and you're pretty close. They've stretched their ooze from pole to pole, and it forms a dripping fence. They wiggle their way across that slimy barrier.” He strained his neck. “That gunk connects all the poles but two on the far side. That's the empty gap. I suppose we exit through there.” He squinted. “And there's stuff stuck in the slime …”

“Go on.”

He shook his head, and Chloe elbowed him. Nick didn't flinch.

“Kids. They're trapped in that ooze. They probably got scared at the last minute and tried to bolt into the ‘garden.'” Nick's eyes grew sad. “There he is. Remember that boy who turned around on the
street? One of the Kadi just pried him free from the fence and pitched him —”

Water soaked Chloe's feet and Nick pointed down. “There! Didn't you see that splash?”

“No, I don't see any of this.” Chloe looked everywhere, frantic. “I need your eyes.”

“Okay, well, people get out of the pool, all dripping and shivering. They're herded between the two open poles … Let me see where they're heading.” He raised himself on his tiptoes. “Okay. They're walking toward …”

“A castle? Or a palace?”

“Uh, yeah, there is a palace but —”

“But what?”

“They never let me see it. The walls around it are really high.”

“Okay, walls.” Chloe urged. “Is there a moat? Or a drawbridge? You're the only one who knows what it looks like, so I need a complete description.”

“No, you don't.” He paused. “You've, uh, seen it before.” He swallowed hard. “It's Aldo's Movie Palace.”

C
HLOE COULDN'T SAY A WORD.
Finally, she stammered, “My great-grandpa Aldo's theater is here?”

“Well, it's about fifty times larger, I'd guess, but there it is.”

The thought sickened Chloe. The Palace had always been her place of safety. How could her refuge lock up something as important as memories? How could Aldo's Movie Palace become the spot where people ditched the truth and hid their pain …

Chloe closed her eyes, and her stone shone bright, its blue joining the blue from the poles around her.
It's always been that way
. She turned her stone around in her hand.
That's where I hid my pain. That's one huge reason why I loved it there
. She glanced around, then whispered, “Time to come out, Chloe.”

“Wait, Nick,” she said. “How would — You never saw Aldo's in our world. What's on the top of the marquee?”

“A diamond.”

“What color?”

“Blue. It's blue, and once everyone gets out of the pool they stagger into the parking lot and go inside.”

“They're told where to live in that thing.” Chloe turned and saw Mara standing beside her. The girl's eyebrows raised as she continued. “We sit in a big room where the lights go off, and Vaepor appears on the wall to tell us what city we'll report to. It's chaos. But eventually we're divided into families and sent off for another year.” She sighed. “Me, I'll slowly start back to Shadowton, where my dad hides and waits for me.”

Chloe peered down at Mara. “I don't think they'll see Vaepor on the screen this —”

“Please. Will the next group of fortunate souls step around the pool? As you can see, the water's clear and cool, just what you need after a long journey. Too long have I been gone from my palace. I, Secholit, promise never to leave you children alone again.”

He sounds just like Nick!

Standing between the open poles
was
Nick. An
older, stronger, more confident version. He took a step forward with his walking stick and shifted the dark glasses that shielded his eyes.

“Please, step around. Inside the pool you'll find refreshment. And yes, the rumors you heard about the pool are true. I should know. I created it.”

“Liar,” Chloe seethed.

“Do you have painful memories?” he continued. “They will vanish. Stay in as long as you like. There's no hurry.”

Chloe grabbed Nick's arm and they huddled together, walking across the cobblestones to the far side nearest the opening. Nick ducked his head the whole time.

“Is there any other way to the palace?” Chloe asked.

“No,” he said quietly. “Ooze all around. Those elephant slugs are crawling behind our back, Vaepor is floating above, and Dari is standing between the open posts. There is no way out.”

I need some help. I don't know what to do
.

“Who comes my way?” Dari continued. His face then lit up in a far-too-cheery grin. “What a compliment to have you return.” He pointed his stick at Nick. “Friends, I sense I have an admirer. Is Chloe here?” He wagged his head back and forth.

“You see me just fine, Dari,” Chloe called.

“Dari. A strange name for me. Feel free to call me Secholit like the others.”

You aren't him!

“Are you missing your world, Chloe?” Dari said. “No, because it was a painful place, was it not? Jump in, Little Miss Scarface.”

Chloe waited. Waited for the sting and the burn of the name, but she felt nothing.

“And Nick, you can forget your illness. Forget the blindness. You will be free.”

All around them, people stepped into the pool. Dari inched toward Chloe. “Think about your father. Never looking at you. Never caring for you. Scarface. Scarface. Poor little Scarface.”

And then they appeared. One after another, standing side by side on the cobblestones around the pool's perimeter. Quill and all his family, looking intently at Chloe. Activity at the pool continued as if they were visible only to her, which, as Chloe guessed, was the case. Qujan stepped forward. “He called you a name, a hurtful name. Could it be that this lovely scar, while it did alter one aspect of your beauty, gave to you another type of beauty, an inner strength, one you never would have known without it?”

Chloe's mind cleared and she spun a slow circle, a smile fixed upon her face.

Yeah, that's possible. That's really possible!

“Dari, say it again,” she said.

Dari straightened and cocked his head. “Scarface.”

“And again. It has a nice ring.” Chloe strode toward him. “Scarface. I wept for Scout like my father weeps for me.” The thought of Dad in the Quints' photo album flashed through her mind. She dug out her picture. Beautiful. Triumphant. Scarred. No longer was she the only one on the photo. A background had filled in — a pool, and Qujan stood behind it.

I made the memory!

“Scarface is a beautiful name,” Chloe said. “Call me that one more time.”

She passed by Quill, paused, and laughed. “Nice of you all to come.”

Quill bowed and stepped back to make room. Chloe reached Dari and glanced at his forehead. Sweat beaded and traced down his face.

“You're anxious.” Chloe leaned forward and whispered, “I know who you are. You don't need those glasses, do you? Why don't we just forget them?”

She swiped them off his face and threw them into the pool. Dari dropped to his knees and began
a frantic search. When he looked up, it was with an expression Chloe'd never seen on Nick's face.

Dari's eyes widened and he touched his cheeks. “I'm changing back, Vaepor! I can't hold Nick's appearance.” He crawled backward. “I have nothing over her. Take her!”

The sky darkened and Vaepor billowed overhead. Spinning arms reached out of Its mass. “You just keep coming, Chloe Lundeen,” he thundered. “No more!”

“Come on, Nick! Follow me!” Chloe shoved Dari into the pool and ran through the gate. The moment her foot crossed the threshold, Aldo's Palace appeared, huge and imposing. She turned while running, looking for her friend.

“I'm sorry, Chloe.” Nick slumped, his head engulfed by Vaepor. “I do want to forget.” Nick waded slowly into the pool.

Chloe froze.
Don't let him go. Don't ever let him go
.

Okay, Grandpa! You better be right
.

She spun and leaped back through the gate. She dived up into Vaepor's chilly mass, piked down, and dropped into the pool. Beneath the surface, the water was inky black. No light from above reached her, and she floated, surrounded by hideous moans.

I'll never find him … Wait! The stone!

She dug it out and thought of Dad. The stone lit up the darkness, revealing Nick, treading water. Shadows — Nick-shaped silhouettes — peeled off him as the pool stole his memories, his mind. Chloe bit back tears while the shadows swirled, and then, pulled by some underwater current, whisked into a culvert-like tunnel deep below the surface.

The tunnel echoed with the agony of pain-filled memories, and everyone underwater, Nick included, fought to swim away from it.

The last of Nick's shadows disappeared, followed by one that looked just like Chloe.

Oh, no you don't! Not my memories. I've been down here too long!

She powered deeper and glided into the tunnel, where she thrashed forward, unthinking, until the tube bent upward. With a final kick, Chloe thrust ahead and broke the surface.

“Wow,” she gasped, and soon stood dripping and panting in a darkened room beside a smaller pool. She tried to focus, to fix her mind on anything, but each thought slipped out of reach.

Salvador. There's a name I know. But from where?

Other names slid through her brain: Scout, Nob, Mom, but each was so faint. She had no faces to
connect them to. Chloe stared at her stone. Where had she gotten that? It dimmed, and she glanced around.

I know this room
. More shadows climbed out of the pool. They clattered the wooden hangers dangling from a rod that stretched from one wall to the other.

“This is a coat room. But from where?” She stepped farther in and ducked beneath the rod. She managed one more step before she stumbled to her knees. The room stretched ahead for miles, and crowding against the walls on either side, to the very end of Chloe's view, stood shadows of black.

They turned toward Chloe, but aside from a faint splashing behind her, all was silent.

“Who are you?” Chloe yelled.

Her voice fell. “Who am I?” She rolled onto her back, stared at the ceiling, and stomped the floor in frustration.

“I can't remember! I can't remember!”

She felt a trembling and opened her eyes. A shadow leaned over her, its gray fingers reaching to prop up her head.

“I know your shape! Dad?” Chloe's eyes lit up. “Dad. Ray. My dad. Chloe's dad! I remember your shape. I remember your face.” Her smile disappeared.
“But you're his memory. What memory would Dad want to lose?”

The shadow drew back.

Chloe touched her neck. “My accident?”

It lowered its head.

A picture of Scout clinging to a sinking ship slid into her mind, and Chloe nodded. “It's okay. I get it now. I know what accidents are like. I know what it's like to be ashamed.”

Chloe rose to her feet, cupped her hands to her mouth, and hollered, “I'm Chloe Lundeen. Do any of you belong to me?”

Shadows sprung off the wall and raced toward her. They circled her, enveloped her, and her head spun. But the dizziness quickly faded. She smiled, and remembered. Her mountain stone blazed fire blue.

“I'm in Aldo's! This is the coat room of the Movie Palace!”

She looked at all the shadows that still filled the room. Dwarf-shaped and elf-shaped and human-shaped. “Okay, you're all in the coat room of Aldo's Movie Palace. Did you know that? And I'll tell you why you're here. Or at least why I think you're here. Aldo built this thing on land that's part bog. Bad idea. Anyway, the floor cracks and water pools in the coatroom. So that's the water part, got it?”

It was silent.

“Okay, well that's not so important. But the other thing about the coatroom that was a bad idea — there's no door handle on the inside. You're locked in. Not that a memory could do much with a doorknob anyway.”

She watched more memories climb out of the pool.

“But have no fear. I just happen to be Chloe Lundeen, daughter of humble Ray Lundeen, the greatest inventor in the world.” She placed her hand over her chest and bowed. “And I often had to chase my cat Streak into this very room, and on occasion this door would lock behind me. Do you know what I would do?”

This is a quiet crowd
.

“I'd use magnetism. That's right. Magnetism. In that corner, you'll find a magnet, one that's very thin. It was one of Dad's inventions; he threw it away after the accident.”

Chloe pushed through shadows and retrieved the magnetic strip. “I rescued it, and found that it's so thin and so strong you can slide it between the two doors like this and …”

Click
. “The latch repels and the door pushes out. Voila!”

The coatroom door stood wide open. Shadows shifted but didn't leave.

“Listen,” said Chloe. “I know you're here because you weren't wanted. But the ones who let you go really need you. Vaepor has taken over. Everything in Retinya will follow It unless you help them. Remind them what it feels like to be free, even if it hurts.” Chloe stepped up to her dad's shadow. “Whatever world they live in.”

Whoosh!

A wave of shadows blew the doors off their hinges.

Chloe covered her mouth. “Mom wouldn't be happy about that.”