The Legend of the Firewalker (20 page)

Jonas had a wide smile on his face. “Oh, okay,” he said. “I mean, I promise.”

Nathan held the door open and whispered, “Good night, Jonas.”

“Night, Nathan,” he replied.

* * *

Bam, bam, bam!

Nathan tried to adjust his eyes to the darkness. “What was that?”

Bam, bam, bam!

Nathan sat up in bed. It was the wee hours of the morning, still dark outside.
That sounds like a basketball,
he thought.

He got out of bed and opened the door to his dorm room. There were voices and chattering coming from the hallway, so he gradually put his head out from his door. “What’s g
oing on out here?” he asked. 

Andy stuck his head out from his dorm room doorway to look at Nathan. “I have no clue,” he said with a shrug. “I was in bed sleeping when I heard a loud noise that sounded like a basketball.”

“It was Jonas,” shouted Hugo, after sticking his head out from his door.

Nathan started to walk towards Hugo when he noticed that the door to Jonas’s room was wide open and the lights were off. “Where is he?” he said. “And how do you know?”

Hugo yawned and his eyes looked heavy. “As soon as I heard the dribbling I got up,” he said. “That’s when I saw Jonas with his basketball.” He yawned again, this time covering his mouth. “He was acting weird. I called his name, and it was like he didn’t even hear me.”

Nathan turned his head to look down both ends of the hallway. “So, where did he go?” he said.

“He went that way,” pointed Hugo. “Towards the end of the hallway.”

Nathan hurried past Hugo and quickly glanced into the bathroom and shower area.

“He went that way,” said another camper on the floor. “He turned the corner at the end of the hall.”

Nathan continued past several campers who were now standing outside their rooms. At the end of the hall was J
onas’s basketball nestled in a corner. Nathan could hear the sound of shuffling feet approaching from behind him. “You guys go back to your rooms,” he said sternly. “I’ll look for Jonas.”

Andy pouted, but followed Hugo and the others back to their dorm rooms.

Nathan decided to leave Jonas’s basketball and turned the corner at the end of the hallway.

“Jonas,” he sighed.

Jonas was standing at the door to the staircase a little ways away.

“Jonas!” Nathan called

Abruptly, Jonas outlined the perimeter of the door with his index finger before stopping, palms out, towards the middle of the door.  

Nathan squinted and slowly continued towards Jonas. “What is he doing?” he grumbled. Suddenly, his eyes grew wide and his mouth fell open. A blue light crept from J
onas’s hand and engulfed the door in blue light.

“Jonas!” he cried out.

Jonas vanished through the door as if it wasn’t solid, and Nathan went into hot pursuit behind him. He stopped at the foot of the illuminated door, closed his eyes, and stepped through.

Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw that everything was shrouded in gray. The air was humid, and it felt like he had just stepped into a muted vacuum.

“Jonas, where are you?”

Nathan immediately noticed that his hands felt warm and that they were red again. Scratching and faint shuffling noi
ses came from below. “Déjà vu much?” he asked himself. “Is this a repeat of Grimm Cemetery, but the stairway edition?”

Cautiously, he peered over the banister. “Jonas!” he called out.

Jonas was down below. His shoulders were oddly held back, and he was walking with a strange gait.

Nathan took to the stairs and caught up with him. The sound that he would normally hear while walking on the metal staircase was missing.

“Jonas!” he cried, but Jonas continued to walk forward, not even flinching or blinking. 

The scratching and shuffling noises drew closer. It sounded to him like an army of little feet. Suddenly, there was a soft high-pitched wail that came from down below. It sounded like grinding metal. 

Nathan’s hands started to tremble, and his eyes grew wide. He looked over the banister. “I’ve heard that sound before,” he said. “In my dreams about Leah.”

He saw what looked like small black or gray creatures running up the staircase. He could tell they had very sharp teeth because several of them had stopped to gnaw on the railings.

“Jonas!” he yelled, but Jonas continued to walk down the staircase.

Nathan grabbed Jonas by the arm. The high-pitched sound screeched louder as the creatures drew closer and closer.

“Jonas,” he yelled, “wake up!”

Jonas didn’t try to resist Nathan’s pull, but his legs co
ntinued forward. Nathan tried standing in front of him and shaking him by the shoulders. 

“Jonas,” he yelled again, “snap out of it!”

Nathan’s hands trembled. The patter of little feet sounded like the creatures were directly behind him.

Jonas’s eyes were definitely glazed over. Nathan paused and reluctantly slapped Jonas in the face.

“Wake up!” he cried.

Jonas moved his head and fluttered his eyes a few times before focusing on Nathan’s face.

“Nathan,” he murmured. He looked confused. “What’s going on? And what are we doing in the stairway?”

“No time to explain,” said Nathan, glancing over his shoulder. “We gotta move!” 

“Why?” slurred Jonas. “I want to sit down for a second.” He placed his hand to the side of his head. “I’m dizzy, and I think something’s wrong with my eyes.” 

The stairway suddenly got cold and a metallic screec
hing sound filled the air. Jonas shivered.

“What was that?” he blurted.

The sound of shuffling and scratching grew and so did Jonas’s eyes.

Nathan intently looked him in the face. “Look,” he said, “there is nothing wrong with your eyes.”

Jonas looked confused again, and Nathan sighed. “You are supposed to see gray,” Nathan said.

Jonas shook his head. “Oh, okay,” he said. “But why?”

Nathan pointed over the banister. “That’s why.”

“What the
—” stammered Jonas. “What the heck are those?”

“You see those teeth?” asked Nathan. “Run!”

They stumbled up the staircase with the gray-and-black creatures not too far behind them. Nathan felt like they couldn’t move fast enough. The creatures were now on the same level as them. They were trying to surround Nathan and Jonas by climbing up the walls and ceiling.  

“They’re everywhere,” Jonas shouted in panic. “Like roaches!”

“Head for the door!” Nathan shouted.

Jonas hurried for the door and Nathan followed. One of the creatures sprung from the ceiling, landing at the heels of Nathan’s feet.

“Aaah!” he yelled.

The creature’s small, hairy arms and hands swiped r
epeatedly at his legs and feet. Furiously, Nathan kicked it, trying to avoid its sharp teeth and long nails. He was finally able to kick the creature in the head, sending it flying over the heads of the others and down the stairs.

“The door won’t budge!” said Jonas.

“What?” Nathan cried, pushing him to the side. “This door shouldn’t be here. There was a blue door here!”

Jonas tried the door again. “What blue door?” he yelled. “There is no blue door.” Relentlessly, he pounded on the door, but every hit was met with silence. “Help!” he yelled. “Somebody help us!”

Creatures from the ceiling were dropping down in front of them and on top of the others, starting to surround them by the door. There was a deep growl from some of them and a high-pitched screeching sound from the others. For the most part, they appeared cloaked in shadow, making it hard to track their movements.

Jonas placed his back against the door and covered his ears. “Why are they making that noise?” he groaned.

Nathan could see them up close now. They were just how he remembered them in his dreams about Leah, especially their sharp teeth and long nails. He remembered how they’d clawed at her flesh, scratching her and biting her. Nathan thought the creatures looked like overstuffed hairy gerbils, the size of small cats, but with flat faces and no tails. He found himself as equally disturbed by their manic red eyes as he was by their claws and teeth.

Nathan felt Jonas cowering behind him, and several of the creatures looked ready to pounce. Nathan’s breath l
abored. His heart pounded against his chest. “Stay behind me!” he cautioned Jonas.

Stealthily, several of the creatures launched into the air
, their claws pointed at the boys and saliva falling from their mouths. Nathan crouched down, and his hand shook uncontrollably as he raised it to shield his face. 

Without warning, a huge ball of energy emerged from Nathan’s hand, knocking several of the creatures unco
nscious and leaving a trail of blue light. The force from the discharge of energy sent Nathan and Jonas hurling backwards, forcing the door open, and landing them on the floor on the other side.

Nathan shook his head and stood up.

Jonas placed his hand against his head, and Nathan helped him to his feet.

“How did you do that?” asked Jonas.

Nathan looked down at his hands. They were still red and trembling. “I don’t know,” he said. “But my hands are still shaking, so I don’t think we are out of this yet.”

“But I don’t see them,” said Jonas, while cautiously loo
king around. 

Suddenly, a metallic screeching sound reverberated through the air.

“Yeah?” said Nathan. “Then what the heck was that?” He pointed to the wall. “And look — everything around us is still in gray!” 

Jonas was shaking in panic. “What are we going to do?”

“Come on,” said Nathan, gesturing with his hand. “We need to find another door.”

Nathan and Jonas turned the corner to the hallway lea
ding to the dorm rooms and the bath and shower area. Jonas noticed that his basketball was now gray, and it was sitting in the corner.

“It’s like frozen!” he said. 

Abruptly, Nathan stopped. “What’s frozen?” he asked.

Jonas had a vacant expression on his face. “My baske
tball,” he said. He reached down and attempted to pick it up. “See, it’s like frozen, and it feels like a wall or some barrier is stopping me from picking it up.”

Nathan raised his eyebrows and gave him a stern look. “Jonas, let’s go,” he said. He hurried over to the nearest door, but it was locked. 

“Why are we checking doors again?” asked Jonas.

“Well,” said Nathan, while continuing to check each door. “I’m guessing since we came through a door, that you activated by the way, we need to go through another one to get back.”

“Me?” Jonas frowned. “That I activated?” He wrapped his arms around himself and shivered. “It’s getting cold again,” he stuttered.

A high-pitched sound filled the hallway again, followed by scratching and growling noises.

“What are we going to do?” Jonas asked.

Nathan placed his hands on his hips. His hands had star
ted to tremble more. “We have to do something fast.”

“Can’t you do that hand thing again?” asked Jonas.

Nathan looked down at his trembling red hands. “I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know if I can.”

“Look,” shouted Jonas. “This one is open!”

Swiftly, Jonas stepped aside and Nathan opened the door. Nathan tried the light switch, but it was stuck in the off position.

“Is it safe?” asked Jonas, attempting to enter the room. “Can we go?”

Solemnly, Nathan shook his head and closed the door.

“Everything was still in gray,” Nathan said. He took J
onas by the arm. “Jonas, I need you to try and activate this door.”

Jonas eyebrows were raised beneath his shaggy curly hair. “What?” he exclaimed.

“I need you to try and connect this door back to the other side,” said Nathan.

“What side?” said Jonas, with a hint of panic in his voice.

“Back to our floor,” said Nathan. “Back to Lawrence Hall. Back to Colorville!”

Jonas swallowed hard. “But what if I can’t?” he sta
mmered. “How am I supposed to do that?”

“You can do this, Jonas,” encouraged Nathan. “I’ve seen you do it before.”

“But I don’t remember,” stuttered Jonas. “I don’t even know how we got here.”

“I need you to try, Jonas,” Nathan said.

Jonas’s eyes were like a deer’s in headlights.

“Look,” said Nathan, stretching his arm out towards the door. “First, you traced the outline of the door with your fi
nger and then you faced your palm out towards the door.”

A very loud metallic sound rang out from the bathroom, and several gray-and-black creatures sprang out into the hallway.

Jonas gasped in horror. “They’re here!” he shouted. “What are we going to do?”