The Wasteland

Chapter 10: 16 September 2192

When you see the stars ( **** ), please play the video and read slowly. But don't look behind you......

Chapter 10: 16 September 2192

The next morning, I opened my eyes after a restless night. As my eyes adjusted, I jumped back in shock. Maxx was kneeling beside my bed, staring at me. I put my hand over his face and pushed him away. "Dude, if we're going to be in here together, don't be that creepy." I said as I sat up. I rubbed my eyes and asked Maxx what time it was. "Time for you to get a watch! Hahahaha!" Maxx laughed. I stared at him with a frown on my face. "Um," he said as he cleared his throat, "Right. It's ten in the morning." My eyes widened and I grabbed Maxx's shoulders. I shook him and said "Does that mean I missed breakfast? Because if I did, you are screwed. I become a nasty son if a--" Maxx turned around and pulled something out from under his bed. It was a tray of food. "I saved some for you." Maxx said with a smile.

Maxx led us up a huge flight of stairs. There were shelves upon shelves of books from historical fiction to biographies lined up against the wall. "This looks like it's from Beauty and the Beast." Artemis said as she looked around in wonder. I looked at her and said, "That was exactly what I was thinking, too." Maxx must have heard us because he turned around and smiled.

We had to stop walking up the stairs about halfway through because we were all tired out. "How much longer?" Artemis asked, gasping for air. "You're in luck because we are here." Maxx informed us. He turned toward the bookshelf that was along the wall and pulled out a book. Behind it was a switch in which Maxx flipped. The bookshelf moved and it revealed a passageway. "The old spy trick. Nice!" I exclaimed. "I know, right!" Maxx agreed with me.

Artemis, Maxx, and I walked throught the passageway and the bookshelf closed behind us. "I am going to fall and kill myself." I said as I squinted, trying to see if there were stairs or cobwebs. And then, next to me, a torch lit. Maxx took it off the wall. "Did I almost burn your hair off?" he asked. "Almost." I said. "Blaze!" Artmis yelled. "What?!" I yelled back. "Your hair IS on fire!" Artemis smacked my head and so did Maxx. Artemis picked up her water canteen and splashed it on my head. "You're good." Artemis said. I pulled out a hankerchief from my pocket and wiped my face and hair. "Okay, onward my trusty steed!" Maxx said in a British accent. I chuckled as he led us farther and farther into the dark corridor.

We eventually came to a door and Maxx pulled out a metal key ring with about 10 keys on it. He looked through them and pulled out one that had the letters "COS" written on the side. "COS?" Artemis asked. "Yeah. The Chamber of Secrets. This place should have been named that." Maxx opened the door and a room filled with books was revealed to us. "This room is filled with the secrets of the USA, the UK, everywhere. From where and how Edgar Allan Poe died to how a science lab in Sweden knew that our world would become a wasteland. They knew that way back in 1973. They didn't tell anyone because they didn't want everyone to freak out." Maxx explained. "Now," Maxx said as he walked over to a bookshelf and pulled out a red leather bound book, "This is the book you need. This was my father's journal. It contains information about your burn, the Agathon Stone, and what he was planning on doing with it." Maxx handed me the book. I flicked through the pages. The journal was filled with drawings, notes and calculations. "Alright," I said closing the book, "We have what we needed to get. Now let's get out of here. This place is giving me the creeps."

Maxx led us out of the "chamber" and back to the main floor. "Well, bye." Maxx said right before Artemis and I left. "What?!" I exclaimed. Artemis butted in, "You are coming with us. I just rediscovered you and I am not going to leave you here. And plus, you are really smart so you might come in handy." Artemis smiled and put her arm around her brother's shoulders.

**** We all walked out into the cold and I stopped. "What's wrong?" Maxx asked. "Listen closely. Don't you hear that?" We all stood in silence and listened. We could hear music coming from down the street. We all look toward the direction of where the music was coming from. Artemis looked back at me with eyes full of fear. A figure appeared about 5 blocks away from us to the right. It seemed as if the figure was a clown. We all stared at it. The clown must have saw us too because it tilted it's head and started to walk toward us. The closer it got, the faster it went. I pushed Artemis and Maxx ahead of me and yelled, "Go, go, go!" We all ran as fast as we could in the opposite direction of the clown. The clown was gaining speed. Even though we were running fast, it was running faster. Next to me, Artemis collapsed. Maxx and I stopped and tried to help her up. Then, Maxx passed out. It wasn't long before I passed out too.