This never-before-published prologue was originally
part of Fields of Elysium, and was removed from the final version during
the editing process.
The conversation between Molly and Camilla
foreshadows important details of the upcoming sequel Valley of Darkness.
Prologue
Once the wormhole spouts me out, I land on my knees.
My journeys through the Secret Passage used to be much smoother, enjoyable
even, but this time every cell of my body aches. Well, I’m not sixteen anymore,
I groan, and heave myself to my feet, holding on to the cave’s cold wall. I
look back at the swirling blue light to note the gradual calming of the
ring-shaped swellings. Seconds later only a few waves ripple across the surface
and at last it smooths out. If I were to describe the circular phenomenon
blocking the way in a few words, I’d say it looked as if a mirror-smooth lake
had flipped vertically in front of me, creating confusion as to what was up and
what was down.
The image doesn’t shock me, though. Not anymore.
I turn toward the darkness to find my way out of the
cavern. My eyes take a moment to get used to the dim light as I slowly begin
stumbling along the rocky path.
It was a sudden decision to return to Earth, and now
here in the dark I realize how unprepared I am for this visit. I desperately
need some light, which I don’t have. However, the creepiness of this place
doesn’t faze me. I’m well aware of the infiltrated light I’m about to reach. So
I just keep going, inhaling the dusty air, low on oxygen.
Just one more step, I keep encouraging myself.
When I finally reach the spot where the mouth of the
cave is supposed to be, it’s still pitch black around me. A worm of suspicion
starts to bore inside me. Is it possible that I had calculated the time
incorrectly and arrived to Earth at night? I had done this so many times
before; I even had a special device to do the work for me. I couldn’t be wrong.
Determined to get out of this place, I take the next
few yards with my arms stretched out in front of me. I search for the entrance
like a blind man. Soon my fingers touch something soft, a living thing. A plant
perhaps? With my eyes still useless in the dark, I can feel my fingers wrapping
around a vine and I tear on it, allowing the sunbeams to penetrate the
vegetation. And after more intense tearing and pushing, I breach the overgrown
cluster of desert bushes and shrubs in front of the entrance.
At last I’m out of the cave.
Standing in the clearing, I draw a long and deep
breath of the summer California air.
I’m finally home.
Oh, how much I missed this place!
My watch beeps madly and I squint at it. The settings
have already changed to Earth’s date and time, and I let out a sigh of relief.
My calculations are precise and I still have plenty of time to hike up on the
bluff and get to Griffith Observatory, where I planned to call for a taxi.
Despite my active lifestyle since I passed fifty, my
endurance isn’t what it used to be. From climbing on the steep side of the
hill, I pant heavily and lean against the railing by the Observatory, trying to
slow down my heartbeats.
When the burning in my thighs dissolves and my lungs
don’t hurt as much, I steal one more glance at Los Angeles beneath me and head
to the main building of the Observatory to find a public phone.
The taxi ride is short, yet I regain my strength, which
I very much needed. I’m going to spend my entire afternoon telling my
extraordinary story to a bestselling author, Camilla Baker. In high school, she
was one of my best friends. Today, more than likely, she is going to greet me
as a stranger.
So many things had changed since my family moved to
the West Coast, but I had decades to digest the past, so I’m calm when I step
out of the cab.
“Hi, Camilla!” I greet the young woman sitting on the
bench under a giant palm tree. There is an undisguised joy in my voice from
seeing her again, even when I suspect that she is not going to recognize me.
Out of an old habit, a very old habit, I wrap my arms around her
body, rigid with astonishment. She smells just as good as I had remembered.
When I pull back, Camilla gazes at me, wide-eyed. My
intimate greeting must have left her confused.
“It’s me. Molly. Molly Bennett,” I say, my body
tingling with excitement, as I sit down beside her.
The notebook falls out of her hand and lands on the
concrete sidewalk with a thud. As she picks it up, her narrowed eyes scan me
from my toes to my head.
“You called me about a story, right?” she asks. I can
detect a faint recognition developing in her eyes, though her mind is obviously
fighting to reject the idea.
“Yes, I did,” I confirm, trying hard to sound formal.
It can’t be managed without difficulty because the anticipation of spending
time with Camilla after so many years wants to burst out of me. “When I learned
about your successful career as an author I was so proud. So once I decided to
tell my story to someone, there was no question whom to ask.”
“Do we know each other? Have we met at a book signing
or a book fair somewhere?” Camilla’s face flushes with a mixture of suspicion
and discomfort. I have to choose my words carefully now. I don’t want her to
get up and run, thinking that I was an escapee from an asylum.
“We went to high school together,” I say slowly,
allowing the words to sink in. “The girl from Hopewell?” I remind her, pointing
to myself.
“That’s impossible,” she bursts out, shock creeping
into her voice. She leans back on the bench, her body as tense as ever. “I
don’t mean to be disrespectful, but the Molly I went to school with would be
twenty-five now. While you … you look …”
“I’m fifty-eight. I know this doesn’t make any sense
to you right now but once I’ve finished telling you what happened to me it will
all make sense.” I smile, in an effort to radiate calmness.
Being back on Earth is making me very emotional. It
had been forty years Arkana time since I last breathed the air here.
And soon the passage is going to be destroyed, gone forever. I only have a few
days to make sure that my name wouldn’t disappear and the memories of my life
fade away without a trace.
The blood drains from Camilla’s face as she looks
over her shoulder. She seems to be expecting a camera crew from a prank TV show
jumping out from behind the bushes. But there is nothing or nobody around us;
only the warm summer breeze, birds chirping, and random passing cars.
Choosing our old school’s front lawn as a meeting
place is both good and bad.
Good because just by looking at the ivory-colored
Beverly Hills High School building the flashbacks starts. And bad because the
memories wrench my heart.
When Camilla looks at me again, her eyes are
more focused. She must have started to notice the resemblance between my
younger face and the one I have today.
“It is you!” she whispers after seconds of
an awkward silence, tears gathering in her eyes. “Where have you been? What
happened to you?”
My vision becomes misty as I hug her again. This time
Camilla returns my hug with the passion of an old friend.
“That’s why I’m here today … to tell you everything.
Every little detail.” I speak softly into her ear and straighten back up. “Did you
bring your recorder?”
She lifts the device to show me, wiping away the
tears that glistened on her cheeks. “Why didn’t you call? I’ve been waiting for
you to contact me for years.”
“I never moved to the North. I lied to you. I lied to
everybody. Once my parents died something broke in me. It was excruciatingly
painful. No seventeen-year-old body should experience what I was forced to live
through emotionally. I’m sure you remember when my aunt came down after the
accident to look after Nick and me. But I just couldn’t stand staying with her.
I chose a different path which determined my entire life.”
“Thank you for calling me, Molly. I don’t even know
what to say. I can’t wait to hear the entire story. What made you age so fast?”
Having a techie as a friend on Arkana had
been very useful to me. I could never have figured out how to get in touch with
Camilla from across the universe on my own.
“It’s so awesome that you are a published novelist.
It’s so cool.” I smile again, fighting the lump in my throat. I used to think
that my tear ducts had dried up years ago, but apparently I thought wrong.
I close my eyes for a moment and sigh. I concentrate
on the day when this amazing journey began. The picture is so clear in my mind,
as if it had all happened yesterday.
I hear the beep of the voice recorder.
I take a deep breath, look up at the school, and
start my story.
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