The Deadly Past Read online

  “Or else stop it.”

  Cindy was anxious. “We have to do something!”

  Watch nodded grimly. “Yeah, I know. But after seeing how these new guys just blew away the others, I don’t exactly feel like walking out there and introducing myself.” Watch paused. “We’ll wait a few more minutes, see if the situation changes any.”

  A few minutes later the situation did change again. Behind Watch and Cindy, they noticed a peculiar light shimmering against one wall of the tunnel. For a moment they feared that the aliens had circled around them and were firing on them. But such was not the case because a few moments later the glowing wall momentarily dissolved and Bryce and Sally appeared. Watch and Cindy ran to them.

  “What are you guys doing here?” Cindy asked.

  “Cindy!” Sally exclaimed, giving her a hug. “I thought you were dead!”

  “Hush!” Watch whispered. “There’s a group of aliens just a few yards down this cave. They are armed and dangerous, and we can’t let them know we’re here.”

  “Thank you for worrying about me,” Cindy said, patting Sally on the back. But Sally was suddenly embarrassed. She let go of Cindy and brushed her hands on her shirt.

  “I wasn’t that worried,” she muttered.

  “Tell me about these aliens,” Bryce snapped at Watch.

  Watch didn’t blink. “First tell me how you got here?”

  “We took the Secret Path,” Sally said. “Bryce knows how to use it to move through time. Adam decided to stay back to talk to Ann Templeton.”

  Cindy turned to Watch. “Then we are back in time.”

  Watch nodded. “By just coming here, over the mountains, we passed through the time warp without knowing it.”

  “I need to know what’s happening here,” Bryce said impatiently.

  Watch and Cindy explained about the two groups of aliens, the battle, and the big metal box that was sitting in the volcanic chamber at the end of the cave. Bryce listened closely and when they were done he thought for a minute with his eyes closed. When he opened them, he questioned Watch and Cindy more.

  “Does it look as if this new group of aliens is trying to stop the metal box from working?” he asked.

  “How should we know?” Cindy said. “They just look ugly—that’s all we know.”

  “I suspect these new aliens are here to destroy the box,” Watch said carefully. “Or at least to stop it from doing whatever the first group of aliens planned.”

  “Why do you say that?” Bryce asked.

  “The nice-looking aliens appeared to be setting up the device,” Watch explained. “These new guys seem to be figuring out how to turn it off.”

  “But what is this device?” Sally wanted to know.

  “It would take tremendous power to warp time,” Bryce said. “But even if you were to put together all the nuclear bombs we have, their power wouldn’t equal the power of one huge volcanic eruption. For that reason, I think the eruption of this volcano is a key to explain the formation of the time warp that exists between now and our usual time.” He paused. “I think this metal box you have described is definitely a bomb and that it was placed here by the first group of aliens to ignite the volcano and cause the time warp.”

  “Then you think these ugly aliens are here to stop the explosion and prevent the time warp?” Sally asked.

  Bryce hesitated. “That’s my opinion. It makes sense.”

  Sally was relieved. “Then we can just leave and return to our time. The problem is being taken care of by these ugly aliens.”

  Bryce paused. “I think so.”

  Watch shook his head. “The reverse could be true. This device might have been brought here by the first aliens to stop the volcano from exploding.”

  “That’s a possibility,” Bryce admitted. “But it’s unlikely. There’s a better chance the device is being used as a trigger for an explosion rather than as a method of stopping the explosion.”

  “Why should this volcanic explosion cause a time warp?” Watch asked.

  “Because this volcano is situated exactly where Madeline Templeton’s grave is, in our time,” Bryce explained. “This spot is already unstable as far as space and time are concerned.”

  Watch was impressed. “It is possible the old witch had herself buried in that exact spot because it was unstable.”

  “Why would she do that?” Cindy asked.

  “Maybe so she could come back to life after she was dead,” Watch said.

  “We can’t worry about that now,” Sally said. “If Bryce says these ugly aliens are taking care of the problem then I believe him. Let’s get out of here.”

  “But we can’t leave until we’re sure,” Watch said.

  There was a movement in the shadows.

  A dark figure with a fat head and black slits for eyes appeared.

  It pointed a mean-looking weapon at them.

  “Oh,” Sally whispered. “I guess we won’t be leaving.”

  8

  Adam sat in Ms. Ann Templeton’s castle in what he assumed was a living room of sorts. There was a long table with chairs. A row of burning torches led away from the room down a narrow stone hallway. There was no other furniture in the room and no sign of her trolls. As before, when he had entered her castle, Adam wasn’t sure how he had gotten from one room to the other. Doorways just seemed to open and close at her bidding.

  She had been waiting for him at the front door.

  As if she had been expecting him.

  And even though her castle had just been attacked by a murderous dinosaur, and she had lost several of her trolls, she didn’t appear to be upset. Indeed, it was almost as if she had enjoyed the encounter with the tyrannosaurus. She sat at one end of the table directly opposite him and wore a slightly amused smile. She looked as beautiful as ever, with her long black hair and her bewitching green eyes. She wore a long red robe, a thin gold necklace that held a glittering emerald at the base of her throat.

  “You’re wondering why I am not upset,” she said.

  “Yes. Can you read my mind?” he asked.

  “Yes. But don’t be embarrassed. You have a good mind, Adam. It will take you far.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know how far I’ll go. Today, I’m just worried that we don’t all end up dead.” He paused. “Can you help us drive off the dinosaurs?”

  “No.”

  He had been afraid she would say that.

  “But you’re so powerful,” he said. “You scared the tyrannosaurus away.”

  “I scared it away, I didn’t kill it. Also, there are many dinosaurs now walking the streets of Spooksville. How do you expect me to deal with them all?”

  Adam felt miserable. “But you can’t just let the city be destroyed. This is your home as well as mine.”

  Ann Templeton chuckled softly. “Don’t sound so glum. I don’t necessarily have to intervene for the town to be saved. What about your friends? They are all busy working on the time warp.”

  “Then it is a time warp that brought the dinosaurs?”

  “Yes.”

  Adam paused. “Do you know if Cindy is all right?”

  Ann Templeton was sympathetic. “You’re worried that the pterodactyl killed her?”

  Adam nodded. “We did everything we could to save her, but the creature was just too big and mean.”

  “I know you did.” She paused and put her right hand up to her forehead. For a moment she closed her eyes and did some kind of rapid breathing. Then she opened her eyes again and stared at him. She spoke in a soft but serious tone. “Cindy is alive but she is in danger. All your friends are.”

  Adam jumped up. “Then I should go and rescue them!”

  She gestured for him to sit back down. “Not yet. You came here for a reason. What is it?”

  He slowly sat back down. “I wanted your help in stopping the dinosaurs.”

  “You wanted advice as well. I can give you that. But can’t you see that I can’t always be running to rescue you and y
our friends? You have to meet the dangers of Spooksville head on, as you have been doing. It is the only way you can be prepared.”

  Adam hesitated. “Prepared for what?”

  Ann Templeton smiled. “You are being prepared for a great destiny. All your friends are. But I won’t tell you what it is. If I do, that would ruin the surprise.”

  Adam was stunned. He wasn’t even sure what the word destiny meant.

  “But can you tell me why Spooksville is always so spooky?” he asked.

  She thought silently for a minute. “Watch asked me that question not long ago. He came here for advice on how to deal with the Wicked Cat. Did he tell you?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “I did not give him a specific answer. Once again, you can only be prepared for your destiny in ignorance.”

  “I don’t understand,” Adam said.

  “It doesn’t matter, you will.” She paused again, and it seemed as if her mind was far away. Then she stirred and looked over at him. “Bum has told you about the ancient wars that occurred on this planet, between Atlantis and Lemuria?”

  “Yes. He told us a little about it when the Cold People attacked.”

  Ann Templeton chuckled. “Them. I think they’re going to be back one day.”

  “I sure hope not. They were hard to get rid of.” Adam paused. “But I would like to know more about Atlantis and Lemuria.”

  She nodded. “Bum told you that Spooksville is the last remaining bit of Lemuria, and that is true. But the ancient war between the two great continents was only a reflection of a greater war that was happening in the stars. In fact, that war continues to this day, and some of whom you call aliens want the earth to survive and others do not. Do you understand?”

  “Are you saying the time warp was opened by the bad aliens who want to wipe out the earth?”

  “In a manner of speaking. Certainly by allowing dinosaurs to invade our time they would be able to wipe us out without having to expend a lot of energy. But I’m not saying the aliens deliberately did something to open the time warp.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  She smiled. “Do you want me to spell it out for you? Do you think that would be best?”

  Adam hesitated. “No. I guess I have to figure it out for myself. The bad aliens probably wanted the rip in time but didn’t really do anything to make it happen?”

  Ann Templeton stood. “That’s the riddle. But don’t worry, you will figure it out, with the help of your friends. You always do.”

  Adam also stood. “But how can I get to them in time to help save them?”

  She threw her head back and laughed. “So many questions? Very well, Adam, at least you ask me politely. I will give you a little more information. A few more secrets.” Bidding him to come close, she leaned over and touched his wounded shoulder. “But first you must be made whole if you are going to be a hero.”

  Her fingers covered his wound for a few seconds.

  Adam felt a delicious warmth spread through his whole body.

  Then she removed her hand and his injury was healed!

  He gasped “How did you do that?”

  “That is one secret I can’t tell you today.” Then she lowered her head more and whispered in his ear. “But there are others secrets you may know, Adam. I will tell you how to open the Secret Path without having to walk all over town. How to use it so that you can travel in time. Even back as far as seventy million years.”

  9

  Adam materialized into a hot dark cave. Off to his right he saw a faint red glow and walked carefully toward it. He didn’t have far to go before he came to a wide underground chamber lit with bubbling pools of lava. In the center of the chamber was a group of four fat-headed aliens standing around a desk-size metal box. They seemed to have finished working and appeared to be in the midst of congratulating one another on a job well done.

  Behind them, chained to the far wall, Adam saw his friends and Bryce Poole.

  Adam wasn’t ready yet to accept Bryce as a true friend.

  Even though Ann Templeton had told him that Cindy was alive, Adam was nevertheless relieved to see her with his own eyes. But he was not happy that the fat-headed aliens had captured his friends. He figured these must be the bad aliens, and knew he had to move with caution. If he had any doubts about the latter, he had only to look at the floor in front of him where the bodies of the other aliens lay sprawled in a pile.

  Curiously enough the dead aliens still had their laser pistols in their holsters. Of course the bad aliens probably figured they didn’t need to disarm corpses. Also, the bad aliens probably believed they had rounded up all the intruding humans. Adam smiled to himself at their oversight. None of the fat heads were looking his way, so he had only to reach out. In moments he had a laser pistol in his hand.

  “How do I put this thing on Stun?” Adam whispered to himself. There were clearly three settings, but he couldn’t tell the Kill setting from the Blow Up Everything setting. It was not as though he wanted to kill the ugly aliens. He simply wanted to free his friends and save Spooksville. But not only did he not know how to use the laser pistol, he didn’t know how to save his friends without the aliens seeing him.

  Then Adam realized that the three caves that entered the chamber must be interconnected. He decided to walk back the way he had come to see if he could swing around the aliens and come at them from the far side. Even though his friends were chained to the far wall, they were close to the largest of the cave openings.

  Adam’s, insight proved accurate. Ten minutes later he was creeping up on the chamber from the other side. The aliens were still gathered around the big metal box, chatting in scratchy voices that sounded like CD’s being played with sandpaper. His friends were only a few feet away. But there was no way Adam was emerging from the safe shadows of the cave to talk to them. He listened for a moment before speaking, and was pleased to hear Sally complaining to Bryce.

  “How could you think these fat heads were here to save us from the dinosaurs?” she said.

  “It seemed a logical assumption at the time,” Bryce said.

  “Yeah. It was logical right up until they chained us to these rocks,” Sally said.

  “Hindsight is always twenty-twenty,” Bryce said.

  “And common sense is usually right most of the time,” Sally snapped. “I tell you, if an alien is ugly he is probably evil.”

  “If only Adam was here,” Cindy said with a sigh, “he would save us.”

  “Adam was afraid to come here,” Bryce said.

  “I don’t believe that,” Watch said. “Adam’s not afraid of anything.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far,” Adam whispered.

  They jumped at his words, but were wise enough to keep their voices down. Watch leaned over from where he was chained to the wall and peered into the dark cave.

  “Is that you, Adam?” he whispered.

  “Yes. I’m here. But try not to look my way.”

  Watch straightened up quickly. “You’re right.”

  “We’re saved,” Sally gushed quietly.

  “I knew Adam would come,” Cindy said.

  “He hasn’t saved us yet,” Bryce muttered.

  “I have a hand laser,” Adam whispered. “I took it from those dead aliens over there. But I’m not sure how to use the thing.”

  “I think you just have to aim and fire,” Watch said.

  “I don’t want to have to kill the fat heads,” Adam explained. “I don’t know how to set the laser for Stun.”

  “Just kill them,” Sally hissed. “They’re trying to kill us.”

  “Whatever setting the gun was on when you took it,” Watch said, “that setting probably kills. When the others were attacked, they were not just trying to stun the fat heads.”

  “But there are two more settings,” Adam whispered.

  “You’ll just have to guess which one is Stun,” Watch said.

  “But whatever you do,” Bryce added, “when you fir
e at them be careful not to hit the metal box. We’re all convinced it’s a bomb of some type.”

  “Adam knows that,” Sally said. “He’s not stupid.”

  Bryce was annoyed at her. “You know, Sally, you’re a fair-weather friend. I make one little mistake and you jump all over me.”

  “Join the club,” Watch muttered.

  “I’m going to open fire now,” Adam said, changing the setting on the laser and taking aim. “Wish me luck.”

  “Good luck, Adam,” Bryce said.

  “So Bryce likes Adam now that Adam is saving his life,” Sally muttered.

  “Quiet,” Watch snapped. “Let him concentrate.”

  Adam found it difficult to focus. The aliens were all so close to the metal box. He didn’t see how he could shoot them without hitting it. Also, he continued to worry that he was about to kill the aliens, whether they were evil or not, and without fair warning. Yet in the end, he had to push all that aside. He had come here to do a job and he had to succeed. Too many people were depending on him. Bracing his shooting arm on a rock protruding from the cave wall, he managed to steady his aim.

  Adam squeezed the trigger.

  A bolt of red light hit the tallest alien and it crumbled to the floor.

  Adam didn’t know if the creature was dead or merely unconscious.

  But he kept on shooting.

  Two more blasts and two more aliens went down.

  But the last of the fat heads had managed to draw its weapon and get off a shot. Adam saw a burst of red light and then the wall beside him exploded in a shower of burning sparks. He was knocked to the side, onto the floor, and the laser pistol flew from his grasp.

  “Adam!” his friends screamed.

  Adam was stunned but still awake. He scrambled for his laser in the dark of the cave as six laser blasts soared over his head. It was good that he had been knocked down or else he would be dead already. But he still had the advantage because he didn’t think the alien could see him. Adam would need only one good shot to finish off the bad guys.

  Adam’s hand bumped against the laser.

  He raised it while still lying on the floor of the cave, propping his right arm up with his left palm, sighting along the barrel. For a moment the alien paused, perhaps thinking Adam was finished. It was in that moment that Adam shot it, a clean hit to the chest.