The Secret of the Scarlet Stone (A Gabby Girls Adventure Novel, Book One) (21 page)

Gabrielle gave her an annoyed
look.
“Come on
,
Jess, we’ve come way too far to stop now. Don’t you see? We were brought together for a reason and I’m determined to find out why. Are you with us or not?”

Rosalinda clutched her designer purse tightly as she daintily stood
up from her chair
.
“I know that I will regret this later
,
but Gabi is right. My father always says that your destiny cannot be denied and that you must follow it at all costs. So, I’m with you
,
Gabi.”

Zora
adjusted her glasses
.
“I’m with you
,
Gabi. We should follow this passageway to wherever or whomever it might lead us.”

Jessica looked over at them nervously
.
“To be honest, right now I’m a little scared
,
and weird things always happen to me when I’m afraid
.
But if we all stick together, I guess we’re bound to be okay. So, yes
,
I’m with you
,
Gabi.” She stood
up and shakily walked over to meet Gabrielle
,
who stood impatiently at the passageway.

Gabrielle patted Jessica reassuringly on the back
.
“Well, what are we waiting for?
Our destiny is only a few steps away,” she said as she stepped through the threshold with Rosalinda and Jessica following close behind.

Zora
looked around the room quickly, spotting the paper with the second clue and the gold key on the floor. She ran over
,
picked
them
up
,
and shoved them into her backpack.

“Something tells me that we just might need this later,” she said to herself as she adjusted her glasses and ran quickly through the secret doorway.

First step on blue then step on green, reverse it back and count t
w
o three. At the wall you multiply, ten times two then add a five.

The night sky is full of shining points that twinkle in your eyes. Twinkle five and
t
winkle four. Work together, use your gifts, turn clockwise
,
and do it quick.

G
abrielle pointed the flashlight down the length of the secret passageway
.
“Is everyone here?”

Jessica nervously looked around
.
“I don’t see
Zora
. Where is she?”

Zora
breathlessly ran over to where they were standing
.
“I’m here! I just had to get something that I think we might need later.”

Gabrielle flashed the light in their faces
.
“Look
,
Gabby Girls, please stick together. We definitely don’t want to get lost in here.” She quickly turned on her heels and they slowly walked away from the entrance.

A loud click echoed through the passageway. Startled, they huddle
d
together
, l
ooking at each other with obvious panic in their eyes. They watched in horror as the door to the entrance slammed shut.

Rosalinda ran over to the now
-
sealed entrance and banged on it frantically. “No
,
please
,
no,” she wailed frightfully. She quickly spun around, looking at them accusingly. “Great! Do you see what you’ve done? Now we’re trapped in here,” she screamed hysterically.

Gabrielle slowly pointed the flashlight
a
t the entrance
.
“You’re right; the only way out now is down the passageway,” she responded coolly.

Angrily, Rosalinda wagged her finger in Gabrielle’s face
.
“You do realize that this is your fault
,
Gabi. After all, we wouldn’t be stuck in this horrible place if it weren’t for you and your dumb Gabby Girls Adventure
.
”

Menacingly, Gabrielle stepped toward Rosalinda, “Look
,
Princess Rosalinda, I didn’t drag your butt in here. In fact, no one did. So, you better get your bony little finger out of my face.”

Jessica bit her lips nervously as she looked at Rosalinda and Gabrielle
,
who were circling each other
.
“Oh
,
dear!
Oh
,
dear!” she mumbled helplessly.

Zora
quickly stepped in between them, gently placing a hand on each of their shoulders
and
forcing them to step apart
.
“Stop it! Stop the fighting. We are never going to get out of here if we don’t stick together. Besides, I’m positive that there’s another way out of here. There’s got to be.” She adjusted her glasses as she quickly looked over at the entrance. “Wait a minute! What
’
s
that? Quick
,
Gabi, shine the flashlight up toward the top of the entrance. I think there’s something stuck up there.”

Gabrielle quickly shined the flashlight, squinting at the barely visible object. “You’re right; it looks like there’s something stuck up there. What is it?”

“Hmm
, i
t looks like some sort of paper. Gabi
,
hold the flashlight steady while I grab it
.
”
Zora
reached
up, wobbling unsteadily on her tiptoes as she snatched the paper that was wedged at the top edge of the entrance. Her eyes flashed with excitement as she held
up a yellowed envelope for all to see.

Gabrielle glared angrily at Rosalinda
.
“See
,
Princess Rosalinda
? T
here was no need to throw a tantrum
;
there was another clue stuck in the wall,” she said smugly.

Rosalinda rolled her eyes
.
“Whatever
.
”

Ignoring them both,
Zora
anxiously ripped open the envelope
.
“Okay, listen
up
,
Gabby Girls
…
it’s
another clue
:

First step on blue then step on green, reverse it back and count t
w
o three. At the wall you multiply, ten times two then add a five
.
”

Zora
looked up.
“Hmm
,
I’m drawing a blank here. I have no idea what the clue means.” She took off her glasses and wiped them on the front of her shirt then tiredly handed the clue to Gabrielle, who quickly read it then shoved it into her jean pocket.

“I’m with you
,
Zo
.
I have no idea what the clue means,” Gabrielle said sadly as she blew
out with frustration and quickly looked around the passageway. “But I do know this
—
we’re wasting time, so I guess we better keep going. I’m sure whatever the clue wants us to do is somewhere at the end of this passageway,” she said confidently.

Jessica looked over at them anxiously as she bit her fingernails.

Gabrielle looked over at Rosalinda
.
“So, Princess Rosalinda, you know what that means—
m
ore walking and less yapping,” she said as she sharply turned on her heels and stormed down the dark passageway.

Defiantly
,
Rosalinda crossed her arms across her chest as she tapped her foot angrily.

Jessica smiled as she timidly walked over to Rosalinda
.
“Come on
,
Rosalinda
,
we have to go.”

“I guess since we’re stuck in here, I don’t have much of a choice
,
do I?” Rosalinda said nastily. She huffed as she brushed rudely past Jessica and stomped
off down the passageway after Gabrielle.

*
 
*
 
*

With the secret passageway leading them into another passageway
,
and with the only light coming from the flashlight that Gabrielle held tightly in her hand, they cautiously marched through the passage with tension so thick that you could cut it with a knife.

N
on
e
of the Gabby Girls uttered one single word
;
they were each lost in their own thoughts as they flicked away the thick cobwebs that stretched across the ceiling
,
blocking their path. Rosalinda squealed with anguish each time they walked through a cobweb, frantically pulling and blowing the
m
from her hair and face.
 

Zora
stopped suddenly, pointing down to the stone pathway that lay before them. “Wait, Gabi
,
shine the flashlight down at the floor
.
”
S
he adjusted her glasses as she looked down suspiciously at the stone pathway.

They stood silently
,
marveling at the strange pathway.
H
alf of it was paved with old
,
large
,
stone gr
a
y squares
,
but even more oddly
,
the middle section was paved with new
,
large
,
colorful squares in beautiful bright shades of green, gold
,
and blue. The even stranger thing was
that
at the end of the beautiful
,
colorful pathway
,
the stone gr
a
y squares appeared again, laid
out in all
their
glory
,
winding all the way down to the end of the pathway.