The Legend of the Firewalker (29 page)

“Yeah,” Nathan said. “And now on your phone. Do you think Dr. Colvers is behind this?”

“No. The only reason Dr. Colvers is involved is because of his research. And I suspect because of how vocal he is with his conspiracy theories about the Order, they are probably monitoring him; and that’s how they learned what Dr. Helmsley was working on.”

“And that’s why you wanted me in the dark about Dr. Colvers.”

“Precisely,” said Jonathan. “I didn’t want to risk the Order coming after you too. And thanks to the little gold souvenir left behind by our dangerous femme fatale, I am almost certain they are behind our little visit today. I believe we were close to learning something they didn’t want us to know, and they were willing to do whatever is necessary to stop that from happening.”

Nathan’s face lit up. “What about Argus?”

Jonathan looked confused.

Nathan continued, “He has a tattoo of the Firewalker symbol on his arm. Malick said he’s probably a member of the O
rder.”

“Argus?” Jonathan asked. “Well, he would know.”

Nathan shrugged. “What do you mean?”

Jonathan looked at him disbelievingly for a second before continuing. “I am not surprised he hasn’t told you,” he said. “According to my research, Malick’s father is a member of the Order.”

“What?” asked Nathan, in sheer disbelief.

Jonathan nodded. “Yes, Stephen Malick Sr. is a me
mber of the Order. This is the first time I’ve learned anything about Argus being involved, but if he’s wearing a tattoo of the symbol, it’s highly probable he’s a member.”

“What about Malick?” Nathan asked. “Is he a me
mber?”

Jonathan had started to pace. “I’m not sure yet,” he said. “It’s difficult finding anything about the Order
— even basic things such as who its members are, what their purpose is, and where they’re located.” He stopped pacing. “But for now, be very cautious. After tonight, it appears the Order is no stranger to people who have abilities, and until we learn about his involvement, don’t trust Malick.” 

There was a loud moan, and the boys turned around to find Dr. Helmsley’s eyes fluttering; she was waking up.

“We should get her back to campus,” said Jonathan.

Nathan nodded. “So,” he said, pausing for a moment, “the black dog in the forest. The first night at camp
—”

Jonathan had kneeled down to check Dr. Helmsley’s vital signs. “Yes,” he interrupted with a smile. “But it’s more like a black fox, not a dog.”

“Don’t you think you’re a little too big to be a fox?”

Jonathan frowned, and his blue eyes glared over his glasses. 

Nathan thought he had just received the look of death. “All right,” Nathan said, raising his hands as if surrendering. “Whatever you say, black fox.”

Jonathan pushed his glasses back on his nose and a smile crept back onto his face. “Could you give me a hand?” he asked.

Nathan reached down and together they slowly helped Dr. Helmsley to her feet.

“I just want to say thank you,” said Nathan. “You saved us that day. I don’t know how, but I just knew you wanted us to turn down that road.”

Jonathan continued to smile, but suddenly looked uncomfortable.

“How did you know where to find us?” Nathan asked. “And why are you a dog
— I mean, a fox?”

Jonathan took a deep breath and looked at the wall ou
tside of the secret chamber. “He will be known by those around him,” he said.

“What?” Nathan was confused, but followed Jonathan’s gaze over to the wall.

“The first night at camp,” continued Jonathan, “we discovered the Firewalker symbol on the wall along with other symbols. We had planned to wait until morning to try and decipher them, but I was so excited I just couldn’t wait.”

Nathan squinted. He could see the Firewalker symbol on the wall outside the chamber along with some other symbols.

“I figured since there were a few more hours before nightfall, I would come back and start deciphering the symbols,” Jonathan said. He pointed with his free hand. “When I touched that one, the Cahokia symbol for teacher, that’s when I became the black fox.”

Nathan looked to see where Jonathan was pointing. Around the Firewalker symbol were several smaller sy
mbols.

“So how did you end up on the road?” Nathan asked.

“I’m not sure. I have a hunch, but it’s just a theory at this point.” He paused for a moment, as if he was about to say something, but then looked away. “But I do know for certain that I was drawn there. Before I knew it, I was in that place I was talking about the night of the first bonfire.”

“Oh,” responded Nathan. “You mean the Space In B
etween or the Spirit Realm.”

Jonathan looked surprised. “How did you
—”

“You know,” said Nathan, with a nervous chuckle, “I’ve been doing my research.”

Jonathan looked at him skeptically for a moment, but then nodded. “Well, since that night,” he said, “I’ve been doing my own research. I’ve been trying to figure out what happened to me and what it has to do with the Firewalker symbol and the Order. That’s when I discovered the other strange occurrences happening in town and that there were others probably like me.”

Nathan looked confused. “I’m not sure I’m following you.”

Dr. Helmsley moaned; she was out of it, but surprisingly was still standing. Jonathan looked like he was getting weary of allowing her body weight to rest upon his shoulder. “I’m sorry,” he said, after repositioning himself. “See, I found this article in the IUCF newspaper about a student who claimed to be attacked by several small creatures.”

“Leah,” said Nathan.

“Yes, you are correct,” said Jonathan, looking surprised. “Based on her account of what happened to her, it sounded like she had been in the Space In Between.”

“And that’s why you had a copy of the IUCF yearbook,” responded Nathan confidently. 

“Yes,” said Jonathan. “At Lafonda’s party, I heard about a girl named Leah who was attacked on campus. After I got her last name from Alan, I looked her up, and that’s when I discovered that she lived in Lawrence Hall, in the same room where —”

“Jonas is staying in for the summer,” finished Nathan.

“Yes,” responded Jonathan, still surprised. “And that’s when I learned something even more interesting but equally disturbing. I discovered that Leah’s roommate was found dead not too far from where they found the body of Bartholomew Riley.”

“Jonas’s father,” muttered Nathan.

Jonathan nodded. “They found both their bodies out on Route 7,” he continued, “which is right outside of —”

“Grimm Cemetery,” said Nathan.

“Yes,” said Jonathan. “And I believe they are all connected. After reading in the newspaper about what Leah said happened to her, I am certain whatever happened to her occurred in the Space In Between. And if Leah was there, then it’s highly plausible that she has a power as well. I suspect that whatever was after Leah, was probably after her roommate and maybe even —”

“Jonas’s father,” said Nathan.

“Now if it turned out that Jonas had an ability,” said Jonathan, “then we would definitely know we were on to something. But for now, I am almost certain that after we decipher the rest of the Legend of the Firewalker, we’ll be closer to discovering how everything is connected: our powers, the symbols, the Order and the strange occurrences.”

“We have to go,” said Nathan, there was a hint of panic in his voice. “Like right now!”

Jonathan was confused by the sudden urgency but nodded, and they slowly started helping Dr. Helmsley out of the cave. “Nathan,” he said, “when did you find out you had an ability?”

Nathan chuckled. “It’s a long story,” he said. “But it wasn’t as magical as touching a symbol on the wall.”

Jonathan smiled.

“Let’s just say I sort of had a premonition about it and then was forced to use it,” he said. “It didn’t turn out how I e
xpected, but it pretty much was either eat or be eaten.” 

Jonathan’s eyebrows frowned inward beneath his glasses. He looked confused again. “How long ago was this? And how did you know how to use it?” His pupils were dilated and he suddenly looked really inquisitive. “And what brought you to the caves tonight?”

“It really is a long story,” said Nathan, feeling slightly uncomfortable. “I just happened to be on the trail tonight when I saw you transform into a fox. After that, I pretty much decided to follow you.”

“I usually don’t do that so out in the open,” said Jon
athan, with a chuckle. “I’m usually a little more discreet.”

Nathan grinned and then nodded. “I promise to explain more later.”

“Well, now you know why I kept asking you to come out here. After the car incident, I just knew you were connected, somehow.”

The torches
leading to the entrance to the cave had been blown out, but with it being a full moon, Nathan and Jonathan could still find their way out. Dr. Helmsley was semiconscious and silent almost the entire way to the entrance to the cave, so they both were surprised when she actually said something.

“What’s going on?” she stuttered, slightly in a panic. “Where is she?” 

“She’s gone,” Jonathan responded, raising his free hand to calm her. “Everything is okay.”

Her eyes still looked dazed when she glanced over to N
athan. “Who are you?” she asked.

Jonathan and Nathan turned to look at each other, and Nathan removed the broken glasses that now dangled from Dr. Helmsley’s face.

“Just a friend of Jonathan’s, Dr. Helmsley,” Nathan replied. “I’m here to help you.”

She opened her eyes wide, and her head gradually fell from side to side until it stopped square in his face.

“What a nice young man,” she said groggily. “You may call me Janet.”

She lifted her arms from their shoulders and attempted to walk forward, but quickly passed out.

Jonathan reached out to grab her, but he wasn’t fast enough. She hit the ground with a thud. “Ouch,” he said, while wincing. “That’s going to hurt.”

Nathan and Jonathan both bent over to prop Dr. Helmsley against the entrance to the cave. A trickle of blood ran from the crest of her head, and Jonathan attempted to stop the bleeding with the bottom of his shirt.

Nathan stood up and wiped his forearm across his brow. “It will take forever to get back to campus at this rate,” he said.

“I agree,” said Jonathan. “And it appears Dr. Helmsley needs immediate medical attention. I fear she may be suffe
ring from a slight concussion.”

“Crap,” said Nathan. “Check your cell phone. My phone keeps dropping the signal.” 

Jonathan opened his cell phone revealing once again the green light Nathan saw earlier while following him in the forest. “My phone isn’t working either,” he said.

Nathan noticed the ground was soft beneath his feet. He looked up and a few raindrops landed on his for
ehead. In the distance, past the meadow, a deep rumbling sound echoed at them somewhere above the trees. He glanced over at Jonathan and saw that the bottom of his shirt was soaked with Dr. Helmsley’s blood. He thought about what Jonathan had said about Leah’s roommate and Jonas’s father and how whatever attacked Leah could be the cause of their deaths. He also thought about what Jonathan didn’t know: that Jonas did have an ability and that the same creatures that attacked Leah had attacked Jonas.

“It would be quicker if you stayed here with Dr. Helmsley and I went back for help,” he said.

Jonathan stood up and gazed upward at the sky. “Yes,” he said. “I agree with your conclusion. It doesn’t look like the storm is over, however; you should leave before it starts raining again.”

Nathan nodded and started to trot off. “I’ll call for help as soon as I can,” he said. “I probably will get a si
gnal when I am close to campus.”

“Nathan,” called Jonathan. “I’m glad you were here t
onight.”

Nathan smiled
and then ran as fast as he could up the meadow. The grass was wet and he almost fell a few times, but soon he entered the forest. He thought about what Jonathan had said about his transformation as he passed the two yellow-ribboned trees.
Malick said our powers were hereditary. Did Jonathan really become a black fox just because he touched some symbol?
he thought.

He stepped out onto the black asphalt just in time to see the last parking lot lamp flicker out.

“Great,” he mumbled. “And I still have no signal.”

He was relieved he didn’t have to worry about bumping into anything because the lot was empty. He could feel mud stuck beneath his shoes and tried to clean them in the grass before continuing down the trail. The path leading out of the forest and on to Lawrence Road was darker than normal b
ecause the streetlights were out. Before crossing the road he could see that most of campus still had electricity, including Lawrence Hall. 

He could tell from the sidewalk that the lobby to La
wrence Hall was empty. While on the trail, he figured it would be best just to tell everyone there had been an accident and that part of the cave had collapsed, injuring Dr. Helmsley. He had intended to tell this story to the front desk attendants so they could call and ask for emergency medical assistance, but their area was vacant as well. Nathan thought it was odd, but proceeded to the elevators and pulled out his cell phone.