50_The Final Journey

" No! ” Julia cried as Heracles disappeared. She leaped forward and grabbed at the temple wall with her fingers. But there was nothing there except solid stone. The rift had disappeared too. She sank onto the floor, hardly believing what had just happened. Heracles was gone. And now Julia and Brody were trapped in ancient Greece . . . forever! Brody looked stunned too. “ I can’t believe that just happened, ” he murmured. Julia saw him staring at the wall behind her. “ Whoa! ” he cried. “ What’s going on?”

Julia looked up. A faint spark of light was coming through a tiny crack in the wall. She stood and backed away, not daring to hope. Then a hand pushed through the wall, and another. Julia gasped. “ Heracles! ” she cried. They all stared at the wall in disbelief as the hands struggled to push the wall apart. Julia could hear Heracles grunting with effort. “ He’s doing it! ” Brody shouted. “ He’s opening the rift back up! ” “ Impossible! ” Hera moaned.

It did seem impossible. But sure enough, Heracles was prying open the time passage that had just closed behind him! Soon the rift was wide enough for Heracles to wedge his upper body into it. Brody just stood there, staring in amazement. “ Brody, help him! ” Julia cried. “ We have to get him through! ” She grabbed Heracles’ hand and pulled as hard as she could. For a moment nothing happened. Then Brody grabbed the hero’s other hand. Heracles grimaced with pain as his broad shoulders scraped against the wall.

“ Don’t pull me all the way through yet. ” He gasped out the words. “ You have to get through the passage before it closes again! ” Julia realized he was right. “ But how can we fit through while you’re in there too?” she asked. “ Just give me a moment . . . ” Heracles grunted and groaned, flexing the muscles in his powerful legs. He spread his legs apart, pushing the walls farther to the sides. Soon there was enough space—barely—for a person to duck between his legs. “ Come on, Brody! ” Julia cried.

“ Hurry, ” Heracles said through gritted teeth. “ I don’t know . . . how much longer . . . I can hold it open. ” “ Thank you! ” Julia cried, diving for the opening between Heracles’ feet. “ Thank you so much! ” Brody still looked confused, so Julia grabbed his hand. She pulled him after her through Heracles’ legs—and through the rift. Behind them, Julia heard Hera ranting. “ You’ll pay for defying me, Heracles! ” she screamed. “ Trust me, you won’t have an easy day for the rest of your life, mark my . . . ”

Snap! Julia tumbled out of the rift onto the sidewalk near the school gym. “ Ow, ” she said as her elbow scraped the pavement. Brody was lying on the ground beside her. He sat up and looked at the brick wall of the school building. Julia looked too. The wall appeared normal, with no sign of the rift. She stood up and gazed around. Actually, everything looked normal. Brody looked at Julia and grinned. “ I guess we’re not in ancient Greece anymore. ”