Dad, let him know David’s okay?”
“Good idea,” Keal answered.
Toria crawled across the floor a short distance and returned with the house’s wireless phone. She punched the buttons and said, “We got him. David. He’s okay. Well, he almost threw up, but he’s okay now.”
David shook his head. Sealed up behind a wall. Teleporting away and back again. Taksidian! And it’s his almost barfing that Toria tells Dad about. “Let me talk to him.” He took the phone from her. “Dad?”
“Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m good. But, Dad, listen. There’s another portal. It—”
“Wait,” Dad interrupted. “Xander tells me Taksidian’s been bugging our phones.”
David bit his lip. “I forgot,” he whispered.
“Don’t say something you don’t want him to hear.”
“I don’t want him to hear anything,” David said. He pushed the handle of the sledgehammer. It dipped almost to the floor, then righted itself. He supposed they would have to give up using phones altogether. Strange how their lives were starting to resemble a video game: as soon as you gained one advantage—say, getting Nana back—something happened that cranked up the difficulty level.
“I love you, Dae.”
“Love you, Dad.”
He disconnected and set the phone on the floor.
Toria studied his face. “Were you crying?”
“Not now,” he said. He tapped the hammer’s handle again. It dipped and came back up.
“Before?”
“Like a baby,” he said, an embarrassed smile creasing his lips. “I kind of thought I was getting tougher. You know, getting used to almost dying about once an hour, but . . .” He looked at the opening and finished his sentence in his head:
Man, that was bad. He shook his head, perplexed by how quickly he had crumbled. “I wasn’t even in there that long.”
“The chamber?” Keal said. He was dragging a huge wooden steamer trunk toward the opening. Something in David’s expression made him stop. He set the trunk down and sat on it. He said, “Sensory deprivation. It’s one of the worst forms of torture. Can’t hear, can’t see. No contact at all. It usually takes a couple of days for the full effects to kick in, unless—”
“See?” David said, disgusted with himself. “I was flipping out in two minutes.”
Keal held up his index finger. “I said unless .” He waited until he saw he had David’s attention. “Unless you don’t know how you got there or how long you’ll be there. Most prisoners of war understand the tactic, and they know it won’t last forever. Mentally, they’re prepared. For them, it’s not a matter of being scared, it’s . . . something else. But you had no idea where you were. The bones told you other people had died in there. You’re a smart kid. You calculated the horror of your situation quickly. Given all that, of course it got to you fast. I think you handled yourself better than most people would have.” He leaned down and slapped David’s knee.
David smiled. “Thanks, Keal.”
Keal got to his feet, then tapped David’s head. “What say you help me cover this up?” he said, pointing his thumb at the chamber.
“A trunk?” David said. “That’s not going to keep anyone out.”
“I’ve got some plywood sheets upstairs,” Keal said. “Some two-by-fours and rebar. Everything we need to button this thing up good. But I’m not going to leave you guys down here alone while I get them, and I’m not going to leave that hole the way it is, unattended. Someone could come through and hide in the basement until we leave again.”
“Yeah, but . . . the trunk ?”
“Trust me,” Keal said. “Okay?”
They stood the trunk up on its side. It was taller than David. As they scooted it in front of the opening, David caught the backsplash of Toria’s light skittering around the walls inside the chamber. His stomach flopped over on itself. The room wasn’t a chamber; it was a crypt. For a while, it had been his
“Good idea,” Keal answered.
Toria crawled across the floor a short distance and returned with the house’s wireless phone. She punched the buttons and said, “We got him. David. He’s okay. Well, he almost threw up, but he’s okay now.”
David shook his head. Sealed up behind a wall. Teleporting away and back again. Taksidian! And it’s his almost barfing that Toria tells Dad about. “Let me talk to him.” He took the phone from her. “Dad?”
“Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m good. But, Dad, listen. There’s another portal. It—”
“Wait,” Dad interrupted. “Xander tells me Taksidian’s been bugging our phones.”
David bit his lip. “I forgot,” he whispered.
“Don’t say something you don’t want him to hear.”
“I don’t want him to hear anything,” David said. He pushed the handle of the sledgehammer. It dipped almost to the floor, then righted itself. He supposed they would have to give up using phones altogether. Strange how their lives were starting to resemble a video game: as soon as you gained one advantage—say, getting Nana back—something happened that cranked up the difficulty level.
“I love you, Dae.”
“Love you, Dad.”
He disconnected and set the phone on the floor.
Toria studied his face. “Were you crying?”
“Not now,” he said. He tapped the hammer’s handle again. It dipped and came back up.
“Before?”
“Like a baby,” he said, an embarrassed smile creasing his lips. “I kind of thought I was getting tougher. You know, getting used to almost dying about once an hour, but . . .” He looked at the opening and finished his sentence in his head:
Man, that was bad. He shook his head, perplexed by how quickly he had crumbled. “I wasn’t even in there that long.”
“The chamber?” Keal said. He was dragging a huge wooden steamer trunk toward the opening. Something in David’s expression made him stop. He set the trunk down and sat on it. He said, “Sensory deprivation. It’s one of the worst forms of torture. Can’t hear, can’t see. No contact at all. It usually takes a couple of days for the full effects to kick in, unless—”
“See?” David said, disgusted with himself. “I was flipping out in two minutes.”
Keal held up his index finger. “I said unless .” He waited until he saw he had David’s attention. “Unless you don’t know how you got there or how long you’ll be there. Most prisoners of war understand the tactic, and they know it won’t last forever. Mentally, they’re prepared. For them, it’s not a matter of being scared, it’s . . . something else. But you had no idea where you were. The bones told you other people had died in there. You’re a smart kid. You calculated the horror of your situation quickly. Given all that, of course it got to you fast. I think you handled yourself better than most people would have.” He leaned down and slapped David’s knee.
David smiled. “Thanks, Keal.”
Keal got to his feet, then tapped David’s head. “What say you help me cover this up?” he said, pointing his thumb at the chamber.
“A trunk?” David said. “That’s not going to keep anyone out.”
“I’ve got some plywood sheets upstairs,” Keal said. “Some two-by-fours and rebar. Everything we need to button this thing up good. But I’m not going to leave you guys down here alone while I get them, and I’m not going to leave that hole the way it is, unattended. Someone could come through and hide in the basement until we leave again.”
“Yeah, but . . . the trunk ?”
“Trust me,” Keal said. “Okay?”
They stood the trunk up on its side. It was taller than David. As they scooted it in front of the opening, David caught the backsplash of Toria’s light skittering around the walls inside the chamber. His stomach flopped over on itself. The room wasn’t a chamber; it was a crypt. For a while, it had been his
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