LeOmi's Solitude (29 page)

Lydia said, “I definitely agree and so does
Mrs. Shadowitz.” She had found a comfortable spot to sit on the
shady side of the tree; she motioned for LeOmi to join her.

Bekka said, “I’ll leave now. LeOmi, I will
see you at dinner?”

“Now, I want you to know that we would
rather believe that there is good in Slone. Don’t you agree?”

“Yes!”

“Good!”

“Sometimes, you project your emotions to
those around you. When that happens, people generally become just
as happy or as angry as you are. The key is to control your
feelings and I have a few tips to help you do that.”

LeOmi nodded.

“Good.”

The lesson lasted for about an hour, while
the coneys were romping up and down the branches of the olive
Tree.

* * *

Later that evening in the museum, Mr.
Diefenderfer explained to the volunteers, “Twenty-four hours…equal
twenty-four days…approximately…in the labyrinth…Two seconds…outside
time…is a few minutes… in the labyrinth…Mark has had…no sleep,
little food…and the evilness…of the place...If you are…posted as
a…listener …please be aware…that you may experience…these
things…along with…Mark.”

At least three weeks had passed for Mark. He
was shown through The General’s eyes that the glass cases in the
museum had been moved. He knew that a very long ladder was lying on
the floor prepared to be shoved into the labyrinth as soon as the
wall disappeared.

The easel with the large paper tablet now
read:

Stand clear when the door opens.

We’re sending in clothes and food first.

Then we’ll put the ladder in.

The ladder is self-supporting,

Stay clear until the legs lock in place.

We are not going to give up.

LeOmi and everyone else in the volunteer
group were standing by and waiting.

When the door finally opened, Tim threw down
six duffle bags full of food, lanterns and warm clothing.

Tim yelled through the emptiness, “Make way
for the ladder” as Gerod and a team of volunteers shoved the
extension ladder through the hole. It seemed to take forever for
the ladder to reach the bottom and lock. There was no sound, just
the support vibrating with the ladder sections lowering one by
one.

Everyone stood by, anxiously waiting for Mark
to come through but nothing happened.

When the door closed for the day, Mrs.
Shadowitz stood as Mr. McGraw had the day before, “Everyone, do not
dismay, this is the first attempt and we have made much progress. I
believe that it is only a matter of time.”

* * *

In the morning, the news was all over the
mountain. “Mark has made it out of the labyrinth.”

LeOmi bombarded Bekka with questions, “Where
is he? Is he all right? How did he get out?”

“Dad said that Mark had a terrible time in
the labyrinth, then he learned the secret of his staff. It is a key
to the labyrinth.”

“He had it with him the whole time and he
didn’t realize it.”

“He seems to be fine, in fact physically he
is better than fine. He totally healed from all the injuries he
sustained from the labyrinth.”

“Where is he?”

“He is in the Healing Ward. Mary White is
taking good care of him.”

LeOmi found the Healing Ward; it was on the
second level of The Seventh Mountain.

Mary allowed her to stand at the door and
peer in.

“He looks all right, tired and drained, but
he’ll be okay, won’t he?”

“The body knows what it needs. Let him
sleep.”

Days passed, and Mark didn’t wake up.

* * *

LeOmi went to Slone’s practice area near the
Island on Saturday after giving tours at the Game Preserve. There
were twenty-four in Slone’s group now and LeOmi would make
twenty-five.

Ralph was sweeping away crusted bird poo from
around Slone. LeOmi had heard of the Flying Fecal Farce practical
joke that Mark Young’s group had played on Slone’s group. She could
see that he was still seething from the humiliation.

She had on her work tunic and was removing
her baton from Aaron’s Grasp as she approached.

Slone smiled at her, “LeOmi, so glad you
could make it.”

Slone motioned for her to take the spot next
to him, the spot that Ralph had just cleaned.

Ralph nodded and moved down to sweep more
muck.

Slone started his warm-up stretches and LeOmi
started her warm up exercises too.

Lydia had given several pointers, they all
made perfect sense.
“Just act like you belong. They will sense
that from you and accept it as fact. They are expecting you to act
a certain way, be cautious, don’t let your guard down. Treat others
the way you want them to treat you and you shouldn’t have any
problems. If the situation calls for kindness, use kindness. If a
situation calls for aggression, use aggression. If it calls for
walking away—do it. If all else fails and you feel yourself getting
frustrated, pick a song that you can just kind-of get stuck
into.”

“I knew that you would be back.”

“Let’s call it a trial basis. You’re right. I
can’t afford to eat and go to school. I’m tired of going hungry all
the time, and I wouldn’t have done that stunt with the birds and
locking doors. Nobody should be that cruel.”

“Well, what about Mark in the labyrinth?
Isn’t that cruel?”

“I thought that was an accident—just horsing
around is what I thought you said.”

“That’s right.”

LeOmi continued her warm-up and hoped that
she suppressed her anger and contempt for Slone. “So what are the
rules out here? Are you gonna puncture my lung again? Or do we play
nice?”

Slone’s smirk was a statement of pride, and
it took all that LeOmi had to not punch him in the face.

“There have been a few who have gone to the
healers after they have left practice, but they were back the next
day. The same thing happens at Ms. Vanmie’s class from time to
time. Of course if you are out for revenge, you can get as much as
you give.”

“I have to admit that I would like to see you
a little bloodied, but I don’t want to put you in the
hospital.”

“Well good.”

“Let’s start you at the bottom shall we, and
we can find out where you do the most good. You agree that we learn
from our mistakes don’t you?”

“Of course.”

He dismissed her by pointing to the back of
the group. She nodded and went to the end of the last row and Ralph
took up his spot again.

Practice began.

* * *

After a week, Mark finally woke up, Bekka had
just found out from Mrs. Shadowitz.

LeOmi was about half way through her morning
run when a guard from the Healing Ward approached her on the
jogging track. “Mrs. Shadowitz needs to speak to you. She is in the
Healing Ward, Mark Young’s room.”

When LeOmi entered the room, she heard the
guard say, “Here is the last of the students that you sent for,
except for Cap’n Ben. I can’t find him, anywhere. I’ve sent more
runners to look for him.”

“Very well, see to it that I see him,
immediately, when he is found.” Mrs. Shadowitz stood and faced each
student in turn and examined them for the staff.

“None of these have it with them.”

Mrs. Shadowitz
stood so
that everyone in the room could hear her, “Mark’s staff is missing,
the key to the labyrinth.”

Mark said, “That has to mean that Cap’n Ben
has the staff and has gone into the labyrinth.”

Mrs. Shadowitz said, “That could be
true.”

* * *

The next day at nine in the morning the door
opened and a duffle bag and bug bomb, a bug spray for evil, were
thrown in.

Mark climbed in on the ladder, a few seconds
later Cap’n Ben and Mark climbed out.

Mark didn’t go back to sleep because he had
been in the labyrinth for only a few moments, but Cap’n Ben went to
sleep immediately and helping hands gently took him to the Healing
Ward.

“I don’t like the way that he did it, but he
was right. Those people need to be rescued from the labyrinth. Not
Cap’n Ben or anyone else knew that Mark was the only one who could
use the staff.”

The following day, an expedition to rescue
those trapped in the labyrinth began.

* * *

“LeOmi, If you would…please help…with the
beds…There will be…almost seven hundred…coming out…of the
labyrinth…They will sleep…as soon as…they reach the…floor of the
museum…We will need…volunteers…to carry all…away from the…threshold
to a cot…that the orphanage…has graciously provided…for
this…rescue.”

“Of course, I’ll get right to it.”

“Thank you…Please see…Orphanage Counselor,
Jesse Jones.” He pointed to a tall man giving directions as to how
to properly unfold and set-up a cot. It was her brother. As he
pointed, he laid his other hand on her shoulder and gave her a
gentile shove. She took a few steps and turned back to him.

Just then, Mark opened the door to the
labyrinth with his staff, the key to the Labyrinth, and Mr.
Diefenderfer was one of the first ones to enter. LeOmi watched him
go and then she continued to the task that he had asked her to
do.

“Bundles of cots have been staggered
throughout the Museum.” He unlatched an elastic cord that held the
bundle. The cots were stacked but easily separated. “The Healing
Ward can handle hundreds, but it is thought that the Museum would
be the best place for the uninjured, which is expected to be the
majority of the occupants due to the reported healing qualities
that the labyrinth possesses.”

He stood and spoke just like their father,
but he was about four inches taller and even in the robe of a Magi,
it was apparent that he was too thin.

“There are three hundred Magi standing by in
the Healing Ward for the word to come when they are needed.” He
grabbed a cot and demonstrated the set-up once again. “Let’s get to
it people.”

The thirty or so students and Magi headed off
in different directions. LeOmi followed Jesse to a bundle. They
worked well together, in silence, neither knowing what to say.

The spacious underground cavern became full
of empty cots that were ready for occupants while Magi were still
streaming into the Museum and down towards the labyrinth’s hole in
the wall. Three hundred Magi each carried a duffle bag with food,
water, lanterns, and Gerod’s bug bombs which proved useful as an
ancient method of temporarily running off evil spirits.

Mrs. Shadowitz, Nick, Jamal and Chenoa kept
a tally of those going in and after eight hours, they watched as
the last of the line descended the ladder and Mark gave a small
wave as he turned and allowed the wall to take its normal
shape.

“Now the real waiting begins again.” Mrs.
Shadowitz looked around, “Well there must be something to do. There
is always something to do.”

LeOmi and Jesse started placing piles of
blankets in easy access of the labyrinth opening, the last of the
preparations before the waiting began in earnest.

LeOmi asked, “Do you hear from Ruby?”

“No. Not anymore. Of course, I spend all my
time working.”

“Yeah, I guess she does too.”

Silence again.

“Do you ever get IRKed by anything?”

LeOmi’s face showed the puzzlement from the
question, “No.”

“Well I do. What is most aggravating to me is
how theories seem to become fact, but my most recent IRK is the
manipulation of literary fiction.”

“What do you mean by that?”

He started pacing back and forth waving his
arms. His voice gained volume, “There was no Robin Hood, no Tom
Sawyer, and no Uncle Tom’s Cabin for that matter. They are all
creations from writer’s minds. Sure they may have been based on
experiences, but the true characters of these novels never existed,
unlike some would have you believe. Doesn’t that bother you?”

“Uhhh.”

“Another IRK is the instant where someone
takes something that is real and revolves a lie around it. As an
Example, King Solomon’s Copper Mines—He didn’t get his copper by
mining. He got all his copper from his father’s storehouses.” He
began waving his arms again. “But someone started the rumor in the
1800’s that Solomon had mines and huge stories have developed from
it. There are even archeological digs trying to find these mythical
mines.”

He stood waiting, “So do you have any
IRKs?”

“What is IRKs?”

“Irritatingly Ridiculous Knowledge.” He waved
his hands over her head as if to cool her brain from
overworking.

“People believe what they want to
believe.”

“Yeah.” Then he said, “Do you ever get any
PIRKs?”

“What?”

“PIRKs? That’s People with Irritating
Ridiculous Knowledge.”

“What?”

“How about SPIRKs?”

LeOmi’s smile was stretched across her face.
They had drawn a crowd and everyone was smiling the same smile,
even Mrs. Shadowitz.

“SPIRKs are Surprised People with…”

LeOmi spoke a little too quickly, “Irritating
Ridiculous Knowledge.”

Everyone applauded, except for LeOmi who
shook her head, then she lowered it in shame—that she fell for such
a ridiculous rant of knowledge. “You’re such a comedian.”

“Always have been, I thought I would just
pass the time.”

Everyone dispersed back to what they were
doing.

“So, you work with the Orphanage?”

“Well, sometimes I feel like a bit of an
orphan myself. As I am sure that you do too. Probably more-so than
Ruby and I.”

“We do have dad.”

“Yes, but he was so busy, and I imagine he
still is.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know that mother didn’t want me to
leave home and come here?”

“I was so young when you left.”

“She was not told about The Seventh Mountain,
until I was accepted. She was angry at me for even wanting to come
here. I suppose she became even angrier when you and Ruby wanted to
come here too.”