Chapter 15

chapter fifteen "The crossing is just through here," Globlet announces cheerfully. Right. Just through the shadow-drenched, spooky-asa- late-night-walk-to-the-bathroom canyon. Yay, I think as I swallow and urge Seabiscuit forward...

The canyon walls stretch up, staggeringly tall, allowing almost no light in. The darkness seems to swallow us. If not for the otherworldly sounds and smells, this place could have been yanked straight from one of Dirk's favorite Westerns. And, not for the first time, I think about Dirk. And June. And Rover. I miss them. But, weirdly, I'm sorta happy they're not here. Beside me, Quint's doing long division under his breath as he works to repair his conjurer's cannon. And there's something that feels right about it being just the two of us, in this dimension, on this journey. But that doesn't stop me from worrying about our pals. A lot. "Quint," I say. "Dirk and June... you think they're... y'know?"

making out what? No," I meant," I say with a sigh, "do you think they're safe?" "Oh, without a doubt," Quint says, smiling. And it seems like he should be more worried than he is, given that we're a full dimension away and all, but, I dunno... I want to believe him. "HELLO! DUH!" Globlet says. "Obviously they're OK. They know how to take care of themselves way better than you do. June makes you guys look like a pair of butt cheeks." "Like, each of us is a pair of butt cheeks?" I ask. "Or we're each one cheek on the same butt?"

Two cheeks. Same, but you're the right cheek. Lefties are known to be smarter. That's when I spot the first flickering light, high above us. Squinting, I can just make out small structures affixed to the wall. Another flicker of light gives me another glimpse: they're dwellings, cobbled together from scavenged junk. "Let's pick up the pace, huh, Seabiscuit?" I say. As we travel deeper into the canyon, my guts start to feel like they're floating, unattached, inside my belly— flipping and rolling as Seabiscuit carries us over the rough ground.

Then Seabiscuit's steps become softer, as though she's gliding, moving across the ground like a puck on an air-hockey table. Glancing down, I notice one of my shoelaces is loose—and the end is drifting upward, waving about like a tiny flag. This place is strange, strange, strange... I'm thinking, when Globlet suddenly points. "We made it!" Globlet says. "The Weird River Crossing!" Far ahead, the semidarkness gives way to a stunning array of light, rising up and stretching out. Colors I've never seen. Like one of those majestic renderings of space you see in science-class books. This, I realize, is the point where the canyon ends, all land stops, and the river crossing begins. I'm about to give Seabiscuit a final nudge, when a thin, tinny voice calls out— "THE CROSSING BELONGS TO US!" Two small creatures spring up, clambering onto a small mound at the end of the canyon. Squinting, I see that they resemble little gremlins. One is green and shiny; the other is purple and basketball-shaped.

We allow no one to pass. Quint shoots me a glance, rubbing his chin. "I believe we may be facing a classic troll-bridge scenario." "But with really small trolls," I add. "We're not trolls! We're gorblins! I am Flustrod," the first creature says. "And this is Pillksort." Quint stands, poking his head through our taxi's open sunroof. He gives the pair a big, too-friendly wave. "Greetings, Pillksort and Flustrod," Quint calls in a voice that is equally too friendly, considering how troll- bridge encounters always seem to play out in stories. "Would I be accurate in assuming you will now present us with a riddle? And if we answer correctly, we may pass to the crossing beyond?"