Chapter 13 pgs. 70-72

CHILDHOOD DREAMS AND FORGOTTEN MEMORIES collided as they awoke with a start from their harrowing experience. They found themselves back in their physical bodies as they came to their senses, still at a loss over what had happened.

Mad broke the silence. “I know we survived an appalling reality, real or imagined, but can anyone say what happened? We were dead and now risen from the dead. That’s beyond fantastic.”

Ali said, “Yeah, what the devil? The last thing I remember is feeling overwhelmed by love and terror, as we stood shoulder to shoulder and faced down death . . . then nothing.”

Jill calmly said, “No, not nothing—it has something to do with what we have felt all of our lives; but now it’s manifesting itself with frightening speed. All I remember is we’re the chosen ones.”

Lyn replied, “You’re right—we survived a monster quake, a brush with a watery grave, faced our inner fears; and now destiny calls, for better or worse, and we have embraced it. We’ll have to feel our way, one step at a time.”

Ali said, “I feel something was fixed inside us to face what’s ahead.” The Stargirls felt it too but could think of only one thing—survival.

Sade gasped, noticing their surroundings. “How did we get here?” They were sitting at the base of King Kong’s wall, in their climbing gear.

Lyn sighed, “I haven’t the foggiest, so let’s get back to reality, if it exists.”

Sade looked at the still water reflecting her cave light and felt a pang of guilt. She felt she had let the Stargirls down; it bothered her. Mad noticed her distressed expression and fixed her with a stare. “Don’t even go there,” she said.

Their inexplicable materialization was unsettling—it defied the laws of physics. They began their ascent to the surface, two at a time. What choice did they have?

The strange events entangling them crossed Sade’s mind on the way up. She knew facing death had the power to alter brain chemistry, change perception and consciousness, and boost psychic powers. However, she had no idea whether what they had encountered had changed anything.

Ali’s thoughts were on a shower and soft bed as she eased herself onto the cavern floor and yelled to Sade. “Let’s get home to a hot shower.”

Sade reached up for Ali’s hand. “Forget the shower; any diver worth her salt wants a steamy perfumed bubble bath.”

Ali hauled her up and said, “Something’s not right.”

“What?” Sade asked.

“I don’t know.”

Gathering her gear, Ali brooded over what was not right when it hit her. “Sade, the alabaster rose disappeared.”

“What?”

“The gypsum rose chandelier.”

“That’s odd, what do you make of it?”

“No idea.”

Out of the gloom, a horrific sound caused the cavern to shake and hair on the back of Ali’s neck to stand up. The ghastly banshee sound pierced Jill like the death rattle of some monster about to strike. The ground jolted beneath them as the sound drew closer and louder; and there was a sharp guttural roar, broken up by wild snorting and sucking sounds.

Jill yelled, “Something smells us, stalking us.”

Ali shouted, “Run … come on, follow my headlamp!”, and quickly guided them out of the cave; the horrendous sound pursued them. They ran and ran until Sade, winded, stopped.

Gasping, she said, “I think we lost it. Did anyone get a look at it?”

Jill, panting hard, was last out of the cave and said, “No, but I smelled its putrid breath.” She hooked an arm around Ali and squeezed her. “Thanks heroine.”

“Ah shucks, it was nothing. But let me check my underwear.” Muted laughs silenced when Jill fretfully said, “Has anyone seen my baby?”

Lyn bearer of bad news said, “Never mind your old battle-axe. You should be asking where in the world Earth is,” as she pointed to the night sky. Jill rubbed her eyes with grimy knuckles, wondering if what she saw was a dream as she scrutinized two alien moons.

Mad said, “Where are we?”

“Maybe heaven or hell—who knows.” Lyn wished she knew.

Ali edgily said, “Defense is our offense. I don’t want anything else mistaking us for a midnight snack.”

Lyn, deep in thought, assessed their situation. The alien planet’s circadian rhythms were unknown—when dawn would come, or whether there would be a dawn was anybody’s guess—let alone fluctuations in temperature and its source of water and food. She was grateful for the oxygen they breathed and the cool climate, given the hostile terrain. She decided higher ground was their best hope. There they could find shelter and steal precious sleep they needed to keep an edge. Thinking would be their most effective weapon. They must think clearly to survive.