The Pillars of Ponderay (8 page)

“Good luck.” Tussy grinned. She flipped a switch on the camera overhead, then blew her whistle. “BEGIN!”

Hydra circled up at once, and Albert started shouting out commands. “Leroy, go ahead and start climbing. Get a good vantage point. See if you can figure out what secret stuff Tussy was warning us about in Lake Hall yesterday. And get some Tiles, if you're able!”

“Aye, aye, Captain!” Leroy shouted. He flipped his hat backward and waded away into the now waist-deep water.

Birdie looked at Albert. “I can sense something in the water.”

“Go check it out,” Albert said. “I'll just start collecting Tiles.”

“Good luck!” she shouted. She turned and dove into the water, disappearing beneath the silver surface.

“Here goes nothing,” Albert said to no one.

The nearest pillar was about ten feet away. He was naturally a good swimmer, but with such cold water, Albert felt like he couldn't breathe. Even with the thick neoprene outfit Tussy had given them, all of Albert's limbs were starting to go numb, and he was sure he was going to turn into a giant Albertsicle any second now. The water had grown chest-deep. Just as Albert was about to dive under, something in the water touched his ankle. “Ouch!”

It felt like an electric
pop!
Almost like that time his younger half brother had shocked Albert after rubbing his fuzzy socks on the carpet for too long. He looked down, trying to see what was beneath the silver waves, but the water was too choppy.

The feeling left Albert's foot a little numb. Still, Albert swam faster. He reached the closest pillar and started to climb. It was difficult, soaking wet and trembling, and a few times, Albert's hand slipped.

He pictured a giant hair dryer blowing all the water away and warming him back up. Wasn't there some kind
of heat symbol he'd learned about in the Black Book? It was a Warming symbol. Like a flame.

Albert focused hard, and sure enough, the chill eased up a little. The pillars were made of a softer rubbery substance today, which made them slippery. He found all the right hand and footholds, and didn't waste time on the climb. He knew the holds would disappear in seconds like they had last time.

It was almost too easy when Albert reached the top. He found the Tile sticking up from the slot—it reminded him of his mom making toast for breakfast—and grabbed it. He waved it in the air and there was a
CLANG!
signaling the point for Hydra.

Then the pillars started spinning. It started soft and gentle, like yesterday's slightly demented merry-go-round, but in seconds, they increased to breakneck speeds. Albert felt like he was on the top of a race car spinning out of control. He crouched low, just like he'd done yesterday, and pictured the Balance symbol in his mind.

Don't fall
, he told himself.
If you fall in the Realm, you won't get a second chance.

“Albert!” Birdie screamed from below.

“Yeah!” Albert screamed back, excited she was cheering him on. But then she screamed again, and he realized her voice wasn't excited at all.

She was warning him.

Albert looked around. There was Hoyt, a few pillars away, mirroring Albert in a crouch position. Hoyt grabbed a Tile for himself. And then Mo, right after, gaining Argon another point. Leroy was nowhere to be seen, probably lost in the mess of pillars.

A flash of color appeared in the water below, something thrashing back and forth. “What in the heck is that?” Albert had time to say.

Then something big and blue leaped out at him, soaring through the air so fast that Albert didn't have a chance to move.

“HAMMERFIN!” Hoyt shouted.

The shark was enormous, twice the size of the ones Albert had seen before in aquariums, and had a head shaped like a giant hammer. The Hammerfin smashed into Albert's pillar just as Albert leaped.

As he fell, he heard the shattering impact.
BOOM!

Albert splashed into the water and came up sputtering for air. Where the pillar had been was only empty space. Or maybe not . . .

The pillar began to reform, rising out of the waves like a stretching hand.

“In Balance, the Hammerfins regularly destroy pillars in Ponderay as a way to keep the ecosystem in check. But out of Balance, they'll apparently try to destroy
you
, too,” Tussy said. Albert glanced at Tussy and realized she was probably speaking from experience.

Something grabbed onto Albert's shoulders and spun him around. He screamed, expecting to see the open jaws of a Hammerfin. But it was only Birdie.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

Albert shook water from his eyes. “Just a little shocked is all. Sharks, Birdie. There are
sharks
in the Pit.”

“We should get out of the water.” Birdie nodded. “There's also other things. Like giant stingray things.” She lifted up a swollen, red hand. “It shocked me like a jellyfish. I can't feel a thing.”

“I think that's what got my ankle earlier,” Albert said. He could still feel a little bit of numbness there. “I've got to move. Climb with me?”

“Let's go!” Birdie said, and together they swam, reaching the spinning pillars side by side. It took some work, swimming as fast as they could to grab hold of a pillar, but finally Albert and Birdie made contact with one.

They started climbing just as Leroy crashed into the water beside them. He was wrestling with one of the giant sharks. It snapped and gnashed its jaws, and for a moment, Albert was terrified for his friend's life.

“Leroy! You're insane!” Birdie shouted.

But Albert thought it was
awesome.

Higher and higher he climbed. The wind whipped Albert in the face, making his eyes burn and his cheeks feel numb. Birdie fell, careening into the water. Overhead, Professor Flynn was shouting Albert's name,
cheering him on. He was exhausted, and freezing cold, and there were so many things going on that it was hard to focus on any Tile symbols.

He reached the top of his pillar and grabbed a Tile, then put all the strength he had into hauling himself on top. The bell clanged, signaling another point. But then there were two more right after, for Argon.

How are they doing so well?
Albert wondered, just as Hoyt grabbed the sixth Tile for Argon. Which could only mean one thing. Tussy blew her whistle, and Albert knew they'd lost.

“No way,” Albert groaned.

The pillars slowed to a stop, and Tussy announced Argon as the winner of Round One.

Albert climbed down from his pillar and joined Birdie and Leroy in the waves. They were both out of breath and looking just as dejected as Albert felt. Across the Pit, Hoyt and his teammates were busy celebrating. It made Albert's heart clench and his stomach feel like it was twisted with thorns. How could Hydra lose like this, twice in two days?

“Round Two is similar to Round One,” Tussy said into the MegaHorn. “But instead of collecting Tiles, you'll be putting them back into the slots.”

“Why'd we take them out in the first place then?” Hoyt shouted. “Seems like a waste of time to take them out just to put them back in.”

Tussy gave him a look that could kill, but if he was being honest, Albert was wondering the same thing. Hoyt might be happy to have won the first round, but he looked as tired as Albert felt, and if Albert could be done
now
, he'd much prefer that.

“Because, Mr. Jackson,” Tussy shot back, “while we don't yet know the system behind the Tiles in the Ten Pillars, we're assuming that each Tile belongs to only one Pillar, and that somehow the Tiles have been switched around—that that's what's causing the Imbalance.”

Albert could only think of one explanation for that. The traitor had to have switched the Tiles around by hand. Who was it? And how did they get inside the Realm undetected?

“Seems like a lot of effort based on a guess,” Hoyt mumbled under his breath.

“Do you have any better ideas for what might be causing the Imbalance, Mr. Jackson?” If it was possible for Tussy to look meaner than she already did, she has managed it in this moment. It seemed to scare Hoyt enough. He just shook his head.

“Good.” Tussy continued. “For Round Two, you'll each have five Tiles.”

She tossed two black bags into the Pit—one to Hydra, and one to Argon on the opposite side. Albert waded forward in the water and grabbed the bag before it sank. Inside were five large blue rectangular Tiles. Albert saw, across the Pit, that Argon's Tiles were orange.

“The first team to get all five of their Tiles into the slots will win,” Tussy said. “Move fast, work as a team, and don't forget to watch your backs. You never know when the creatures will attack!”

She blew her whistle, and the Pit sprang to life. Argon reacted instantly, the three teammates separating in the waves.

Birdie grabbed four Tiles from the bag. “We should climb pillars and plug in these Tiles, one right after the other.”

“Sounds good to me.” Leroy nodded.

“Let's move!” Albert tucked two Tiles into his waistband. Birdie took one, Leroy took the last one, and Hydra dove into the waves.

With a little help from the Water symbol, Albert made it to a pillar in record time. He grabbed ahold of the slippery side and started to climb. In just a few minutes, he reached the top. He got onto his knees, struggling to combat the wind, but a quick thought of the Balance symbol and he was able to stay upright.

He plugged his Tile into the slot, and the bell went
CLANG!

Seconds after, it clanged again. Albert saw Mo leap back into the waves.

“One point for Hydra and one point for Argon!” Tussy shouted into the MegaHorn. “The competition is neck and neck!”

Suddenly, the pillars began to spin
faster. How is this
even possible?
Albert thought. He squatted on his pillar, clutching the sides for dear life.

All around him, Balance Keepers were toppling overboard and crashing into the waves below.

Except for Hoyt. He was racing across the tops of the pillars, using his Speed Tile—he ran and leaped just as fast as they spun. When he made it to a Tile-less pillar, he plugged in a Tile. The bell clanged.

Albert felt a fire ignite inside of him. “Two can play at this game!”

He focused on the Speed symbol. There was the familiar buzzing in his legs. Albert stood, took a deep breath, and leaped.

He landed on the next pillar. There was already a Tile plugged into this one.

“Go, Albert!” Petra shouted from the stands, and Farnsworth barked along with him.

A Hammerfin shot out of the water, nearly crashing into Albert, but he was quick. He leaped to another pillar, then glanced back to confirm his suspicion. The Hammerfin had destroyed the pillar he'd just left. It crumbled into the water below, only to immediately rise up again, Tile still in place. But there was no time to waste. He cleared his thoughts and leaped again.

His mind was silent. He was all body, moving in a blur as fast as Hoyt was.

Finally Albert landed on an empty pillar. He plugged
his second Tile into the slot and whooped as the bell clanged.

“Two points for Hydra!” Tussy shouted.

The bell kept clanging as Balance Keepers plugged Tiles into slots. Birdie got one, and Mo right after her. Hoyt got another, and the score was 4–3, in Argon's favor.

If I can get to Leroy or Birdie and get another Tile, I can speed this up
, Albert thought. He saw Leroy on a pillar across the Pit, and aimed for him, leaping and leaping across the spinning circle.

Just when Albert felt like he couldn't go any longer, something smacked into him in midair.

“I don't think so, Flynn!” Hoyt shouted.

They were balanced together on top of a pillar. Albert pushed, and Hoyt shoved, both of them trying to knock the other overboard.

“Look out!” Mo shouted.

Neither Albert nor Hoyt had time to react. A Hammerfin smashed into them from above.

Albert felt an explosion of pain in his skull, and his ears were clanging like a bell. He saw his dad's face in the crowd before he crashed into the cold water, Hoyt landing on top of him.

Water filled his lungs.

Everything started to go black, when an image popped into Albert's mind. He clung to it: a water droplet, just like Birdie's Tile.

In seconds, Albert felt better. He didn't need air, not while his Master Tile was harnessing this power. From here, he could see Hoyt sinking to the bottom of the Pit.

Had the Hammerfin knocked him out?

I could go back up now and win this
, Albert thought.

But something tugged at his mind. It was a voice that reminded him of his mother's, telling Albert to do the right thing no matter what. With the image of the Water Tile still in his head, Albert swam down and wrapped his arms around Hoyt's torso.

Once he had a good grip, Albert kicked hard on the ground, and shot out of the water, carting Hoyt and himself upward.

Noise erupted into his ears the second Albert surfaced.

He pumped his legs, trying to keep himself and an unconscious Hoyt afloat. Albert was so tired he couldn't even find his voice to shout for help, but it turned out he didn't need to try for long.

The bell went
CLANG!
Albert heard Tussy's voice in the MegaHorn.

“Argon wins this round!”

“YEAH!” Slink and Mo shouted from across the Pit.

The pillars sank into the floor. The water receded into holes in the ground. When it was gone, the creatures were nowhere to be seen. There was just the soft, springy ground that Albert set Hoyt down on. The orange platforms appeared, ready to hoist the Balance
Keepers out of the Pit.

“Guys, over here!” Albert called to Argon. Hoyt was just coming to, and he didn't look happy to see Albert.

“Wh-what happened?” Hoyt groaned.

“You were knocked out by a Hammerfin,” Albert told him. “You'll be okay.”