Atherton #3: The Dark Planet (No. 3) (35 page)

with the distinct feeling he and Isabel should hide. "I have a

feeling something's about to happen," he said.

"Maybe we should step back a little," said Isabel, fear rising in

her voice. They looked in every direction. There was the

towering wall of icy glass crystals, the small passageway to the

side where they'd come in, and the vast opening to the outside.

They had stayed well away from the opening for all of the two

days they'd been there, because they knew the closer they got

the harder gravity would try to pull them out into open air.

Samuel and Isabel were both shuffling back slowly when

Gossamer roared into the open space outside. It was hard to

imagine anyone on the surface of Atherton not hearing the

crushing volume of the black dragon's voice.

"Why's he screaming so loud?" yelled Samuel, but Isabel

couldn't hear him.

Gossamer flapped his leathery wings and dove for the opening.

"Where's he going?" yelled Isabel. She had been afraid before,

but now she was terrified. "Don't leave! Please, Gossamer.

Come back!"

She ran from the safety of the passageway with Samuel

chasing her.

"NO, Isabel!" Samuel sprinted after her. Both of them realized

the mistake they'd made and tried to stop, but momentum was

on gravity's side. They slid closer to the opening on loose rocks

and dirt until they finally skidded to a halt ten feet from the edge.

"Step back, Isabel!"

But Isabel couldn't stand the idea of being left behind by her

protector inside Atherton. Without Gossamer, she didn't see

how they could survive. She took one more step toward the

edge, where gravity's pull was like a fast-moving river that was

getting deeper and deeper.

Samuel held on to Isabel's arm. "Isabel, please! I can't hold you

if you won't help!"

"I'm trying!" she said, finally coming to her senses as she felt the

force of gravity growing. "I can't back up!"

And just then, right when they were both more afraid than they'd

ever been, the Raven rose from somewhere beneath their line

of sight, its million black spikes sliding in and out threateningly.

It crept up slowly, as if it were studying the two, trying to decide

if they should be destroyed or not. The shocking sight of the

mysterious vessel sent Isabel and Samuel into a panic.

"I'm sliding, Samuel!" screamed Isabel. As Samuel reached

unsuccessfully for her hand, she rolled head over heels toward

the Raven, which hovered directly above the edge of the hole

and seemed to watch the scene unfold without emotion.

Isabel's legs went over the edge first and then her body

followed until all Samuel could see was her head and her

hands, which held on for dear life. Her eyes were white with

fear as she slid, clawing the dirt with her fingers and then--
flit!
-she was gone.

"Isabel!"

The Raven hovered closer to Samuel, leaving him speechless

as its enormous weight glided overhead. Samuel looked back

to the edge and thought about jumping after Isabel, though he

knew he would be jumping to his death. Was there any chance

he could save her?

He heard Gossamer before he saw him, the monstrous black

wings flapping somewhere out of view. But a second later the

miraculous presence of the black dragon filled the cave once

more.

"This is all your fault!" cried Samuel, choking back tears. "She

trusted you! You're nothing but a monster!"

Gossamer flew up and in, pushing Samuel away from the edge

with the power of his wings. The wind nearly bowled Samuel

over as he ran back toward the passageway, angry and afraid.

When Samuel was safely back from the pull of the opening,

Gossamer landed. He blew a puff of black smoke from his nose

and laid his soft wing along the floor. Isabel slid down, battered

but alive.

"Isabel!" shouted Samuel, overcome with gratitude that his

friend wasn't lost forever. "Are you all right?"

Isabel stood, feeling her arms and head. Her hair was a crazy

mess on top of her head, and there were small cuts and bruises

every where, but nothing appeared to be broken.

"I think I'm all in one piece."

When they looked back at Gossamer he began to move, quickly

making sure Isabel and Samuel were okay and then going

straight to the Raven. Two of Dr. Harding's most imposing

creations sat nose to nose with each other, and Gossamer

seemed oddly pleased at the arrival of the spiked object.

"What are they doing?" asked Samuel, completely bedazzled

by this new mystery. The Raven landed on the ground on

thousands of black shards. As imposing as the Raven was, it

was still dwarfed by the size of Gossamer, who stood over it,

craning his neck in every direction as he examined the new

arrival. It was, Samuel thought, like a mother inspecting an egg

for the first time.

Isabel and Samuel crept forward until they stood about twenty

feet away from the Raven. They didn't dare get any closer.

When the door began to open they jumped back, and

Gossamer moved behind the door, where those coming out

wouldn't be able to see him. If anyone turned around, though,

there would be no hiding the crouching giant.

Light from the white wall filled the inside of the Raven as Red

Eye and Socket emerged, swishing their benders back and

forth. Socket had found his goggles, but the dark lenses were

spidery with cracks and the world of Atherton was harder to see

than he'd hoped.

Edgar called out from inside the Raven. "I can show you where

to go," he said. "You should let me come out."

"Edgar?"
said Isabel. She couldn't believe her ears, and it

showed in her voice. "Is that you?"

"Edgar!" yelled Samuel.

Isabel and Samuel wanted to bolt forward to look for their friend,

but neither of them felt they could safely go anywhere near the

Raven.

Red Eye and Socket had no intention of letting their prisoners

go. "Stay right where you are," commanded Red Eye, staring

down Samuel and Isabel. He returned his bender to his back,

but he had found Shelton's Leveler, a very powerful handheld

pistol of sorts, which he pointed in their general direction.

"Bring me Edgar, and one of the others--the small one," said

Red Eye. Socket reached back and stored his bender, then

disappeared inside. When he returned a moment later he had a

firm grip on Edgar in one hand and Landon in the other. Landon

had pulled his small goggles down over his face and looked

around in wonder.

"It's really you!" Isabel cried, her arms outstretched as she

impulsively moved toward him.

"That's far enough!" said Red Eye. He grabbed Edgar roughly

with his free hand and yanked him close.

"You shouldn't do that," warned Samuel. "And who's going to

stop me?" said Red Eye. Seeing no adults to confront him, he

slipped easily into his typical arrogant behavior. "I've got the

boy
and
the Leveler."

Samuel and Isabel shook their heads. They had an idea of what

was coming.

"Don't shake your heads at us!" demanded Socket. He raised

his hand to strike Landon and show who was in charge. It was

then that he felt the hot breath on the back of his head. Socket

looked over his shoulder. His brother followed suit.

"You better let them go," said Isabel. "Gossamer doesn't seem

to like you very much."

Gossamer's head was frighteningly close to Red Eye and

Socket. The dragon opened its growling mouth and revealed

rows of black teeth.

"Gossamer, it's really you," said Landon slowly, mesmerized.

Socket's grip had slackened and Landon pulled himself free,

stepping farther back to get a good look at the monstrous black

dragon. He broke into a great smile and looked at Socket. "Oh,

he's mad! You really made him angry!"

In a flash Gossamer had one huge claw around Socket and

lifted him off the ground, but his fiery blue eyes never left Red

Eye. Socket squirmed and screamed as Red Eye pushed

Edgar to the ground. His plan was to dive back inside the

Raven and return to the Dark Planet as fast as he could;

Atherton was not what he had expected.

But his leap to safety ended in midair in the claw of the black

dragon.

Gossamer held both men close to his face and inspected them.

He had a mind to throw them both into the air and shower them

with flames, reducing them to bones and ashes before

everyone's eyes. Red Eye and Socket screamed in terror as

Gossamer held them tightly, gazing with those terrible, piercing

eyes. The Leveler fell out of Red Eye's hand and Gossamer

pulverized it with one foot.

"Does he listen to what you say?" Edgar asked Samuel and

Isabel. He wanted to go to them, embrace them, and hear all

about how they'd come to be here with such a commanding

beast. But he couldn't do that until Red Eye and Socket were

taken care of.

"He usually listens to us," said Isabel. She looked to Edgar a

little worse for the wear, as if she'd been beaten up or rolled

down a steep hill, and it made him wonder about the adventure

she'd had.

"Tell him to set them down," said Edgar.

"Put them down, Gossamer," yelled Isabel.

A burst of dark smoke drifted from Gossamer's nose. He put

Red Eye and Socket down reluctantly but kept a close eye on

them. They were fairly near the edge and they felt the pull of

gravity.

"Can't we go back to the Silo?" asked Socket, who'd already

had quite enough of the monsters and bright lights, and now

had this bizarre feeling that he was going to be pulled off the

edge.

Edgar pointed toward the wal opposite the passageway, which

seemed as good a place as any to make them wait until he

could figure out what to do with them. The rest of the green

team already had their goggles on as they streamed out of the

Raven and blinked rapidly in the light. Gossamer sniffed the

door to the Raven, pronounced it empty, and set his gaze on

Red Eye and Socket.

"Throw the benders off the edge," said Edgar. "Then sit over

there and don't make a sound."

"We'll do no such thing!" shouted Red Eye. "Send us back to

the Dark Planet. That's all we want."

"Give them a good roar, Gossamer," Samuel ordered.

"Everyone cover your ears!"

Gossamer took in a colossal breath. It felt like all the air was

being sucked out of the chamber. All the children covered their

ears, and then Gossamer roared at Red Eye and Socket, his

massive teeth only inches from their faces. For Red Eye and

Socket it was the kind of noise that felt like it had the power to

kill them both where they stood. Forever after they would have

an annoying ringing in their ears that would make it nearly

impossible to hear what anyone was saying.

When the roar was over the two men pulled out their benders

without hesitation and threw them toward the vast opening to

the outside. Gossamer blew a mighty red flame at the benders

and the horrible weapons were vaporized for good.

"What's that you say?" said Socket, looking at his brother and

hearing only the ringing.

"What?" said Red Eye, banging his head with the palm of his

hand.

The rest of the green team looked around, stunned and

confused, as Edgar, Isabel, and Samuel hugged one another.

The time of their reunion had finally come and the questions

flew. Soon Edgar understood how his two friends had used the

tablet to find Gossamer, and Isabel and Samuel understood that

Edgar had brought the Raven. None of them had any idea what

was supposed to happen after that.

"These are my new friends," said Edgar, "Vasher, Teagan,

Landon, and Aggie."

All four of the children from the Silo looked apprehensively at

Samuel and Isabel. They were self-conscious of the way they

looked, because even from inside their goggles Samuel and

Isabel seemed as healthy as Edgar did. Teagan wondered for a

brief moment if she fit in better on the Dark Planet than here.

"They have to wear the goggles, because of the light," said

Edgar.

Samuel was already talking to Vasher and bending down to

shake hands with Landon. Isabel knew immediately what she

had to do.

"I'm very happy to meet you," she said, drawing near Aggie and

Teagan. "Thank you for bringing Edgar back and for coming

here. We're going to be great friends, we three, I'm sure of it."

Aggie and Teagan felt better then. Maybe things would be all

right.

"I think we're about to see what Dr. Harding meant by the chill of

winter," said Edgar. "Maybe we saw the statues in the yards in

the right order, after all."

Gossamer had been watching the Raven, nudging it gently with

his snout as the group gathered together. They watched as the

black dragon blew soft flames on the black surface of spikes.

"I think he's cooking the Raven," said Landon.

"Be quiet," said Vasher. "Let's not distract him."

The Raven's door slid shut and it rose into the air and drifted