The Secret of the Scarlet Stone (A Gabby Girls Adventure Novel, Book One) (33 page)

Zora
gave her a stern look then burst
out in a fit of giggles
.
“Nope, not before you say it.”

“Oh
,
please, I’m too tired. Please don’t make me say it,” Rosalinda whined.

“Say it!” Gabrielle screamed playfully.

“Okay, okay—Gabby Girls Adventure,” Rosalinda said half-heartedly.

Jessica smiled
.
“Oh! Come on now, you can do way better than that.”

Rosalinda rolled her eyes playfully
.
“Okay, okay—Gabby Girls Adventure!
Now pull me up,” she screamed loudly.

Gabrielle and
Zora
giggled as they pulled her up.

Tiredly, Rosalinda dusted off her skirt
.
“Gracias
,
las
muchachas
…
thank you
,
girls.”

Gabrielle rubbed her hands together eagerly
.
“Okay
,
Gabby Girls, let’s get a move
-
on. We have an adventure to finish.”

Jessica smiled shyly
.
“You forgot one thing
,
Gabi
.
I
t’s not just an adventure
—
it’s a Gabby Girls Adventure.”

Gabrielle smiled
.
“That’s right
,
Jess—we have a Gabby Girls Adventure to finish and you best believe
that
Gabby Girls never quit.”

 
They smiled with newfound confidence as they followed a determined Gabrielle down the brightly lit passageway.

Destiny
I
s Right Through

T
hey walked tiredly through the brightly lit passageway. The further along they walked, the narrower the passageway became
,
forcing them to walk in single
-
file behind Gabrielle.

Something caught Jessica’s eye, causing her to do a double
-
take
.
“Gabby Girls
,
I think there’s something up with the walls that we should definitely be checking
out.”

Zora
adjusted her glasses
.
“I agree
,
Jess.”

The ceilings and walls were brightly painted; every other section of the wall had painted figures of five girls walking. One section showed strange shapes hovering above the girls
’
heads. Another section showed the girls carrying strange objects in their hands.

“Do you think the girls on the walls are us? Something tells me that it can’t be a coincidence,” Jessica rattled nervously.

Gabrielle curiously examined the walls and ceiling
.
“I don’t think anything about this whole day is a coincidence. I mean, this whole
thing
has been very weird but at the same time it just feels so familiar. It’s like I’ve been here before.”

Rosalinda fluffed her hair nervously
.
“I know what you mean; I was going to say the same thing. This passageway feels so very familiar to me.”

Looking around cautiously, they walked further down the passageway in complete silence.

Suddenly, Gabrielle stopped in mid-stride
.
“Quiet
…
do you hear that?” she whispered.

“Hear what? I don’t hear anything
,
Gabi,” Jessica whispered nervously.

“What do you mean you don’t hear anything?
It
’
s
water, can’t you hear it?” Gabrielle whispered.

They looked around frantically as they strained to listen.

“Wait, I do hear something now,” Rosalinda whispered anxiously.

“Come on,” Gabrielle
said
as she walked quickly down the passageway.

Nervously
,
they hustled behind her
;
the further they walked
,
the louder the sound of water falling could be heard.

“I really hope that this passageway does not lead to another river because I’ll tell you right now, I can’t swim,” Rosalinda whispered loudly.

They gasped at the sight of a huge stone opening with gold symbols painted along the sides.

“Great! Just what we need
:
more hieroglyphics
.
S
o, what does it say
,
Zora
?” Rosalinda wailed loudly.

Zora
squinted at the symbols as she ran her fingers carefully along the
m.
“It says
:
Destiny
I
s Right Through.”

They looked at each other nervously.

Gabrielle smiled bravely
.
“So, what are we waiting for? You heard her
:
Destiny
I
s Right Through.” She slowly stepped through the gaping hole with
Zora
, Jessica
,
and Rosalinda following. Suddenly, she stopped in mid-stride
,
causing them to bump into each other.

They gawked nervously at the wide
,
steep
stone staircase that spread from wall
to
wall.

“Do you think it’s another trick?” Gabrielle asked anxiously.

Jessica twisted her blond hair nervously.
Zora
adjusted her glasses
.
“It might be, so let’s be very careful.”

They slowly followed
Zora
down the stone staircase, looking around like frightened deer caught in a headlight.

Gabrielle looked around the cavern nervously
.
“Stop!
This doesn’t feel right.
Zora
, do you remember
exactly
what the golden symbols around the entrance said?”

“Umm
,
let me see. Okay, it said
‘
Destiny
I
s Right Through,
’
”
Zora
responded.

Gabrielle looked around cautiously
.
“It’s another trick.”

Rosalinda
asked,
“Are you sure it’s a trick?”

Gabrielle’s face scrunched with annoyance
.
“Well, no
,
Rosa, I’m not
a hundred percent
sure. Jeez, I’m not a p
s
y
ch
ic
,
you know.”

Zora
agitatedly adjusted her glasses
.
“Well, we can’t go back
;
there’s nothing back there for us. Plus the entrance did say
‘
Destiny
I
s Right Through.
’
So, let’s cross our fingers and hope for the best
.
T
his way
,
Gabby Girls!”

In complete silence, they continued walking down the steep staircase. They walked for several minutes with a twinkle of uncertainty filling the air. Suddenly, a loud boom cracked through the cold
,
dark air
;
startled, they stopped and looked around with alarm.

Rosalinda jumped up
and
down hysterically
,
as if her shoes were on fire
.
“Oh
,
my goodness, oh
,
my goodness.
Did you hear that?”

Gabrielle shot her an annoyed glare
.
“Of course we heard it
,
Rosalinda. After all
,
we’re not deaf
,
you know.”

Jessica
’s
eyes bulged with fear as she bit her bottom lip nervously.

Gabrielle looked around the cavern with determination written all over her face. “
Zora
, ignore it. Let’s just—.”

The loud boom bellowed again
,
which was followed by a louder cracking sound.

Their eyes
widened as
they watched with terror
when
the steps that lay before them unfolded one
by
one
,
as if banged flat by a hammer.

Gabrielle looked on with horror as trickles of water
came
down the stairs, followed by a rush of rolling water.

Jessica squealed in anguish as the cold water splashed against her ankles like the waves at a beach
.
“Oh
,
my goodness, oh
,
my goodness.
This is definitely not good.”