300
Hillary was left in a state of abject confusion and desperation. She looked on helplessly as her brave steed Dante struggled to escape. Everything was happening too fast, she thought. It was difficult to know how to proceed. She whirled around quickly as she heard a terrible cackling laugh. It was Samantha as she walked towards her now hopeless victim. The terrible red rider descended from his black raven and joined Samantha. He presented his silver jewel-encrusted sceptre from beneath his dark robe. Dante continued to struggle forward toward the safe haven of the hedge. Suddenly the sky above cast a huge dark shadow over the scene. The fearsome dragon slowly circled the sky in preparation for a final attack. Hillary watched in horror as the loud shrieking beast descended towards her. Just then a trampling of hooves was heard fast approaching. Hillary watched as a huge camel with a well dressed rider atop entered the scene from around a corner in the maze.
All were caught off guard by the new development. The dragon was unrelenting in its attack. A searing, scorching plume of fire shot from its terrible jaws. Dante was nearly at the hedge and with it, escape. Samantha and the evil crimson rider were momentarily dazed. The devious girl blurted out. “Who is that?” At that very moment, Rupert called down to Hillary, who had quickly got up to assess the situation. “Hillary, its me, quickly, grab hold of my hand, now!” Hillary was rapidly lifted up just as the dromedary sped off down the pathway. Samantha spun around as the dragon's flames nearly engulfed her. She was barely able to avoid the 301
fatal Hellish fire. The crimson rider and the raven were instantly incinerated in the attack. So too was the courageous Dante, who could not escape the burning flames in times. His fractured body was turned to charcoal in one brief, horrible moment.
Digby, Wallace and Charles were still walking along by the light of the sprite's lantern. “We need to find a way back through one of the mirrors, Charles. It may take a while though. Just keep looking for anything bright.” The trio walked on in silence as the frustrated father continued to fret over the fate of his family.
The detective’s boy noticed something very faint in the distance. “Hey, guys, I thought I saw something there...I'm not sure what it was, but it sparkled for a moment. Meanwhile, Annie and Chauncey the faithful leprechaun had also escaped within the hedge. The elderly woman explained. “We need to get out of here as quickly as possible, and find a mirror home. There could be anybody or anything at all lurking within the darkness.” The elfish creature listened intently. A tiny torch lit their way as its flame glimmered off the shiny buckles of his shoes. The faint reflection did not go unnoticed. Wallace led the way in the direction of the tiny spark of light. Soon Digby too noticed the glimmer of light. “There it is....I see it. I just hope whatever it is, its friendly.” Soon Annie and Chauncey noticed the light from Digby's lantern. The old woman was at first cautious, but persisted. “It looks like we have company. Let's hope they're friends.” In moments, they two groups 302
had merged. Annie spoke first. “Thank God! I didn't even want to think what might be awaiting us. Charles, I see you already know Digby, but who is this handsome young man?” Wallace appreciated the compliment. “My name is Wallace, but that's not important now, we have to save Hillary!” Annie acknowledged the dire warning. “ You could not be more right, but we can do nothing more at this point but pray for her well-being. The best we can do is escape from this in-between place before we all become fodder for the dragon of Nibiru.” Charles nodded in agreement. “We need to get out of this crazy place and back to the real world where we can do some real good.” Annie instructed the band of travellers to follow her.
She went in search of an escape through the looking glass.
It was nearly bedtime in cold Boston. The excited child saw their mother in the kitchen putting the dishes in the dishwasher. “Mom, you said that I could read my new book after I finished my homework, you promised.” The woman replied sternly. “I'll bring the book up, but I want to see your completed homework assignment.” She walked up to the child's bedroom where the math problems lay opened upon the desk. The mother quickly checked through them and relented by offering up the new book. “Now you must not stay up all night. Its a school day tomorrow. You can read the first chapter or two, but no more, you understand.” 303
The child nodded in agreement and snatched the precious book from the mother's hand. “ Don't worry Mom, only two chapters-max....I promise.” The mother left the room and turned off the light. The child crawled into bed and opened the stupendous book to the comforting warm light of the bedside lamp.
Hillary could barely catch her breath as she held on tightly to her mother's waist. Rupert rode the camel hard down the pathway, clutching Carolyn's lifeless half-self across his legs. They raced with incredible speed. Carolyn felt limp and weak. “Oh my God, Hillary! Is it really you?” Tears of joy streamed down her worn face. The happy girl was overcome with emotion. “Mama, I missed you so much...how did you find me?” Carolyn nodded to their new leader. “This is Rupert, without him, your father and I would probably be dead.” Hillary had difficulty processing all the new information. “Oh I know Rupert, we were separated, but I knew he'd come back to save me...eventually. Why is he holding a body that looks like you? Is it another doppelganger?” Carolyn hardly knew how to begin to explain her complicated predicament. “Oh Hillary, it so complicated...if we could just find your grandmother, she could explain it better.” Hillary realized that there were more pressing concerns.
304
Samantha stood for a moment attempting to access the situation. She had watched as the dragon had incinerated Dante and accidentally her own dark allies.
The powerful leader of the crimson riders and her raven familiar had also been destroyed in the attack. Luckily, she thought, her loyal kangaroo Dagobert remained unharmed in the heated exchange. She had watched as the surprisingly resourceful Rupert had managed to save Hillary from a certain demise. She reached up to feel the bloody socket that remained where her left eye had been torn from her face. Rupert and Samantha were far ahead of her in the race to the vortex of the maze. Her kangaroo would need to travel at maximum speed to overtake them. She began to climb into the marsupial's pouch when suddenly she was thrown in the air.
The mighty gryphon Godel had been waiting for a moment to attack. He swept down at the rangy animal and ripped viciously at the Australian beast's neck. The creature was severely injured. It staggered about with a stream of blood pouring from its wound. Samantha looked up and shouted at her foe. “You will not defeat me! I will find a way to stop Hillary!” Realizing that Dagobert would not survive, she set off on foot. She looked back to see the powerful gryphon mercifully put the wounded kangaroo out of its misery. The winged creature then set upon Samantha herself. A stroke of luck came to her as she looked up at the strange red-shifted sky.
The terrifying dragon had reentered the scene. It immediately dove towards the majestic gryphon. The wicked girl was cognizant of the reptilian beast's 305
uncontrollable nature. She knelt upon the pathway and began to pray on her unique manner with her hands splayed in the centre. She spoke quickly, not knowing if her prayers would be answered. “Oh Tiamat, please make the dragon my friend, so that he may help me in my quest to become real.” The brave gryphon was a fierce warrior, but no match for the formidable fire-breathing dragon. The brave gryphon utilized its superior speed and agility to break away from the dragon's attack.
Samantha was still not quite sure whether or not the dragon would help her, or incinerate her in a maelstrom of flame. She stood motionless as the scaly beast came swooping towards her. The razor talons and massive jaws came into view as the stalwart blond girl continued to stand her ground. The beast finally alighted beside her with nary a puff of smoke. It extended its elongated neck for its new master to climb aboard.
Detective Gardner and Rodney Boggs were a little confused as to how best to proceed. “Rodney, the only person who might possibly understand what's going on is Carolyn's mother Annie. I can't help but believe that she is somehow tied up in all this. Call it a hunch. Maybe we should get over to her place and see if she can help. First we need to quickly clean up this mess with the candy jaw-breakers, or I'll never hear the end of it.” He quickly began to scoop up the multi-coloured 306
spheres, as his friend began to do the same. “Detective, should we just throw them out?”
“I say we send them back to where they came from...I wonder if....” The detective attempted to throw the handful of balls towards the very mirror that had facilitated their escape from the strange world. He was amazed to watch as they easily passed through the silvery liquid glass with a splash. The surface rippled and waved with each new disturbance. Rodney followed suit and proceeded to toss his accumulated debris also into the glass surface. Soon the room was free of the colourful candy trash. They were about to leave when one candy jaw-breaker came hurling back through the liquid surface and hit Mr. Boggs directly in the head.
The child eagerly dived into the magical storybook. It's cover was suffused with a multitude of strange Hieroglyphs. The edge of the book was gilded and the pages were adorned with incredible illustrations of the action. The story concerned a young girl that lived in Boston. This was also where the reader lived. The young girl became separated from her mother and was wandering around the downtown mall. As the second chapter ended, the girl named Hillary and her two friends had just escaped through a small door in the hedge. The voracious child turned to begin the third chapter when the sound of footsteps filled the room. The door swung open. “You know what I said...you are not going to read the entire book tonight...do 307
you hear me? Lights out...that means now.” The obedient child dutifully did as they were told. The bedside lamp was switched off and the child put the book upon the nightstand. As darkness enveloped the room, the mother bid her child goodnight and closed the door. The determined youth turned over to finally go to sleep when a faint sound was heard. It was barely audible, even below a whisper. It sounded like several people speaking in the distance. The curious child flipped over in the bed to see from whence the strange sound was emanating. Amazingly the storybook now seemed to be glowing from within. It cast a dim light onto the child's bed. Immediately the clever child reached for the shining beacon. As the pages of the magical book were opened, a brilliant white light illuminated the words and pictures from within. The faint sound of voices continued.
Hillary, Rupert,and Carolyn's two half-selves continued pell-mell down the maze pathway. The camel was now travelling at incredible speed. Their surroundings became blurred, as colours and shapes began to wax and wane. The normally blue sky had turned red and streaked with long thin clouds. Hillary noticed their improbable speed. “Do you know what's happening Rupert? Why does everything look so strange?” The determined boy was far too concerned with maintaining control of the increasingly agitated dessert beast. “No I don't Hillary, but wherever it is we're headed... it looks like we're almost there.” He pointed 308
directly ahead towards an impossibly large bright sheet of light at the termination of the path. It seemed to be speckled with black lines and dots. “Hillary, I think that must be the centre-point, the vortex that Dante was telling us about. That must be where the Thinker lives.” Carolyn simply listened and held on with all her rapidly diminishing strength. She was not sure how much longer she could hold on before collapsing with exhaustion. With their attention fully focused upon the towering, luminous phenomenon ahead, they did not notice the terrifying reptilian that had surreptitiously grown dangerously close. Samantha's one good eye burned with a fierce, unholy fire of intention. Hillary instructed her fiery minion to begin a final dive for a searing attack of fire upon the unsuspecting travellers below.
Digby spoke first with a bitter complaint.“ Did anybody else feel that?” He had cried out as a large candy jaw-breaker had smashed him in the head.
Instinctively, he had reached down for the offending object and tossed it back in the direction it had come. Soon Annie too felt a small pang on her leg as another confection sphere came hurtling in the darkness. Charles spoke up, “I think we're under attack!” He could barely discern the now growing mass of jaw-breakers which littered the ground beneath them. Wallace acted impulsively and began picking up the balls and throwing them back rapidly. Back in detective Gardner's bedroom, Rodney called out loudly. “Ouch! That mirror is attacking. What's going 309
on?” Gabriel was also puzzled by the development. “ What the heck? He quickly walked over to still rippling liquid surface of the mirror. He felt another jaw-beaker strike his shin. “Hey...is there somebody in there? Stop doing that! We're trying to get rid of these crazy balls!” Charles immediately recognized the deep, strong voice of the detective bellowing in the darkness. “Gabriel...is that you? Where are you?”
“Charles...are you trapped in there too?”
“Yes....amongst others...how do we get out of here?”
“Walk forward. Just follow my voice.” The detective continued to speak in a loud voice, explaining to the listeners his account of recent events. Eventually the wanderers in the void were able to discern the source of the sound. They could all now easily make out the form of a large floor length mirror. One by one, they began to climb through the mercury-like surface. They were all quickly through the mirror and standing together in a confused looking group. The elderly woman quickly took charge of the situation, knowing full well that time was of the essence. “We have no time to waste. Detective Gardner, what did you do with the storybook? We need to find it quickly. We may still be able to help Hillary and Carolyn. By now they must have almost reached the centre-point of the maze.” Gabriel shrugged his shoulder in response. “Well, it was causing so much confusion, that I just tossed it out the window there...come to think of it, that was 310
not like me...it was almost like the book wanted to be thrown away. Last thing I remember, it was lying out by the sidewalk.” Annie walked over to the window and looked down. The magical book was nowhere to be found.
The startled child was tantalized by the strange glow emanating from the book. The faint sound of voices continued to fill the room. The lure of the book was overwhelming, despite the very real threat of punishment for any further midnight reading. The dire warning had been clearly provided. The conflicted child struggled with the situation, when suddenly a loud crack was heard on the floor.
The sound caused the surprised child to bolt out of bed onto the cold hardwood floor. A fair sized red ball rolled slowly across the floor. Reaching down to pick it, the youth found that it to resembled a candy jaw-breaker. Another red ball came smashing onto the floor, then a blue one. Finally the source of the odd objects was discovered. The amazed child watched as one more green candy ball came shooting through the surface of the dresser mirror. The child immediately ran over to the source of the perplexing display and reaching for the surface of the glass. It rippled and waved like the centre-point of a lake. Suddenly the sound of loud footsteps was heard. The panicked child ran quickly to gather up all the jaw-breakers and return to bed. The book continued to glow eerily. It was snatched up and hid under the covers to conceal it's illumination. The door opened quickly to a dark and silent 311
room. “I heard something in here...now don't pretend to be asleep. I've fallen for that trick before. If you wake up once more, that book is going back onto the refrigerator for the night. Do I make myself clear?” The child ended the ruse of sleep and assented. “I swear it wasn't my fault that time. I'll go to sleep, I promise.” The mother shut the door and returned to her own room. The child again heard the faint sound of voices emanating from the strange luminescent volume.
Hillary, Rupert and Carolyn sped toward the towering, shining light. As they grew closer, they all began to feel a slight tug, as if the strange phenomenon were pulling them forward. Its form became more distinct. It was an impossibly huge obelisk which stretched upward as far as the eye could see. Yet still the outer edges could were clearly visible. The blinding white structure was clearly the centre-point of the maze. Hillary realized that they had very nearly reached their goal of finding and contacting the Thinker who dwelt somewhere within the mysterious phenomenon. The faces of all three travellers were brightly lit up to the point of obscurity. All began to shield their eyes from the blinding light. Rupert looked back at Hillary to speak. “It looks like I will escape from Nibiru after all. Hillary, watch out!” Both Hillary and Carolyn turned to watch the fearsome dragon swoop down upon them. It was a mere twenty feet away, as it began to inhale deeply for its final belching fiery attack. They were very close to reaching the singularity, yet it 312
seemed that they would be incinerated in a final crushing end to their quest.
Samantha urged her reptilian minion onwards. “Hurry, they're almost at the centre, we can't let them beat us there!”
Annie was clearly the leader amongst the strange group of characters that had assembled in detective Gardner's bedroom. “How can we find that storybook?
It's the only way to stop Samantha.” Just as she finished speaking a tiny splash was heard rippling in the liquid mirror. It was the tiny fairy Lilith. It came delicately fluttering up to Annie. The elderly woman realized instantly that the diminutive creature was well aware of their predicament. Loud steps were suddenly heard by all gathered in the room. Gabriel exclaimed loudly. “Good God, that's my wife!
What are we going to do?” This time it was Charles who spoke out. He pointed towards the two smallest members of the crew. “You two...quickly, get in the closet until she's gone!” Digby and Chauncey accepted the suggestion as they ran for cover. The door burst open as a stern looking black woman scanned the room.
She immediately spotted her son. “Oh my God! Wallace, you're back! I knew you'd come back! What has happened to your shirt? Your shoulders are all bruised and bloody. You come with me and I'll clean you up. My prayers were answered.
Gabe, why didn't you tell me that you'd found Wallace? The weary man simply 313
shrugged. “ Well honey...its been a really strange day...I was just coming down to see you.”
“And who are all these other people? How did they get here? What's going on, Gabe?” Luckily Lilith the tiny fairy had managed to fly behind the elderly woman just as the bedroom door had opened. Annie took the initiative and walked up to the clearly confused mother. “Well, your gracious husband had invited us all for dinner...I'm afraid that's why we're here. I hope we're not imposing....” For a moment, the detective’s wife just stood there with her arms crossed, assessing the situation. “I still have plenty of questions...for all of you...but there are plenty of leftovers from Christmas dinner downstairs, and they won't keep forever, so you might as well all come down to eat.” Mr. Boggs was particularly pleased by the suggestion. “My Lord I am hungry, thank you so much, Mrs. Gardner.” Charles also could not help but add, “You're hungry? I've never been so famished in my entire life. Let's go!” With that, the hungry group were led downstairs to the dining room. Annie stayed behind. “I'll be right down...just need to freshen up.” The excited child was again alone within the bedroom. The strange candy jaw-breakers were rolling around beneath the covers. The curious child decided to sample the confection. The red and blue spheres were both picked up. There was a moment's hesitation, as the young person could not decide between the two 314
choices. Finally the red jaw-breaker was tasted. After several licks, it was found to be a worthy snack. The eerily glowing storybook beckoned. Settling in with the candy and the book, the child opened the book to the last page read and continued the story. It relayed the tale in great detail. It told of Hillary's meeting up with Samantha, how they became separated, and her eventual travel across the land of lost dreams. The child became more and more drawn into the intoxicating tale. The book was self-illuminating, and continued to ensnare the unsuspecting, eager reader. Hours passed with unusual speed. The rapt reader was up well beyond the midnight hour. The story continued to engross the apt child. Time passed with increasing rapidity. The jaw-breaker was still imparting its tasty sweet flavour with each lick. The child suddenly stopped reading and put the book down for the first time in hours. A strange passage in the tale had caused the perplexed child to pause. It was one particular turn in the story that had caused the interruption in the reading. In the story, suddenly a brand new character was introduced. The character was a child, but there was no specific description of what how this person looked. It was as if the new character was left entirely to the discretion of the reader's imagination. This new child had picked up a strange storybook that had been lying upon the sidewalk. The character in the story had then proceeded to try and find the owner of the book; and had eventually taken the book home. The strange similarity to actual events had caused the reader to become startled. “What exactly is going 315
on?”, thought the curious child. Suddenly the magical storybook was viewed suspiciously. Yet the desire to gain knowledge was overwhelming. The lure of the strange tome was overpowering. The child carefully again opened up the now burning bright book, and continued to digest the quixotic words contained therein.
As soon as Annie was left standing in the room, Lilith quickly fluttered from behind her back to hover gently by her head. The woman called out in a low voice.
“The coast is clear you two, come on out.” The shuttered closet doors opened as Digby and Chauncey came ambling out. Annie quickly updated Lilith as to their dire situation. The tiny fairy nodded almost imperceptibly and waved her wand towards her two Nibiru compatriots. The wise old woman spoke with great concern to her audience. “You two listen up, this is of the utmost importance. You rapscallions may be responsible for saving the both our worlds. Now, Lilith knows the whereabouts of the storybook. Apparently a child is reading it right now. They may be watching us as we stand here. Lilith will take you through the looking glass to the child's bedroom. There, you must explain to this special child how to contact Hillary within the maze vortex. It is imperative that Hillary and not Samantha is contacted. Do you understand? There is no time to waste. Go now!” The two had many questions but were silenced by the stern woman. The tiny fairy darted quickly into the mirror as the the two small creatures followed close behind. Annie 316
immediately collapsed onto the floor in a heap. She was not well, and the stress of recent events had overwhelmed her completely.
The amazed child continued to read the strange storybook with great apprehension. There were not many pages left to consume. The book was now shining with a bright white white light which illuminated the entire room. They could barely make out the sound of a girl's voice which seemed to be coming from the book itself. The reader was for the first time seized by a genuine fear. The book was again put down on the covers. The bedroom dimmed somewhat. A small splashing sound caused the child to jump up. “Who's there? I can get my Mom you know...” Another tiny splash was followed by another. The sound came from the dresser mirror across the bedroom. The incredulous child watched as a tiny fairy, a leprechaun and a very small red-haired boy came flying and crawling through the mirror. The frightened child pulled the covers over their head to hide. Digby came trotting up to the terrified young person. “There's no reason to be scared. You've been reading the book, you know who we are.” The child summoned up the courage to respond, still with the covers pulled up tightly for protection. “I don't know who you are. You do look like the pictures in the book, and what I imagined the character in the book would look like...but that's just a story. You're just a fictional character, you're not real. I know the difference between real and pretend.
317
Either that, or I could just be dreaming.” This time it was Chauncey who continued the explanation. “Be that as it may, let's just say for the sake of argument that this is a dream, and we are all merely figments of your imagination...don't you want the dream to end well? You don't want to have a nightmare do you? Think of us as dream-weavers. We're here to help your dream end well.” The explanation seemed to mollify the distressed child. The covers were pulled down and the child emerged onto the cold hardwood floor. Digby was pleased by the development. “Now that's more like it, we have no time to waste. Quick, hand me the book.” The now more compliant youth assented by passing the glowing book to the red-haired sprite. He ran with the storybook and placed it against the wall. The book was opened up as a now blinding light bathed the room. “Now this is the hard part. You are just going to have to believe what I am about to tell you. You must have faith. Everything you have been reading in the storybook is really happening, we are real, and this is no dream. Most importantly, it is only you that can save Hillary, nobody else. If you care about her, you must do as I say. Do you understand?” The exhausted youth had warmed to the adventure and the great sense of responsibility. “I will help...what can I do?” The two other-worldly creatures spoke at once. “Quick, turn the book to the last page.” Chauncey flipped the book forward to the last page which burned bright like the sun. The entire bedroom began to shake. Chauncey ran back, as the strange book began to extend a powerful gravitational pull upon 318
everyone in the room. The bed itself began to slowly edge closer to the edge of the room. The book itself began to expand outward and upward, even as the light shining from within grew stronger. Digby yelled loudly. “We have to stop that dragon, do you see it?” The child stared into the white page and could distantly see what looked like a few distant figures moving towards them. The child was caught up in the excitement. “How do I stop it...how do I save Hillary from the dragon?” Chauncey jumped up onto the bed and handed the child one of the candy jaw-breakers that sat upon the sheet. “Do you know how to throw a stone, youngster?” The frantic leprechaun handed the candy sphere to the child. It was seized. “I can throw a baseball pretty well. What should I do?” Digby pointed towards the shining page that now extended up beyond the ceiling. “You must use that jaw-breaker to smash that dragon. You must throw hard,and you must hit it square on the forehead. That will stop it. Can you do it?” The eager youth moved carefully towards the immense bright page. “I think I can do it...but I have to get closer to get a good shot.” Closer and closer the page grew as the child strained to get a good bead on the fierce fiery beast. The arm was cocked for a mighty toss. Digby watched and prayed for a positive outcome. The blue candy sphere was hurled with great force. The determined thrower was not able to stop their forward motion. The force of the throw pulled the child headlong into the burning bright page with a flash.
319
320