09 Follow the Leader

9. Follow the Leader It was pitch dark. “ What happened?” asked Annie. “ I don’t know. Something weird, ” said Jack. “ We have to get out of here fast. Push against the door. ” “ Good idea, ” said Annie in a small voice. They felt their way through the darkness. To the top of the stairs. “ Don’t worry. Everything’s going to be okay, ” said Jack. He was trying to stay calm.

“ Of course, ” said Annie. They leaned against the wooden door and pushed. It wouldn’t budge. They pushed harder. No use. Jack took a deep breath. It was getting harder to breathe. And harder to stay calm. “ What can we do? ” asked Annie. “ Just … just rest a moment, ” said Jack, panting. His heart was pounding as he tried to see through the darkness. “ Maybe we should start down the hall, ” he said. “ Maybe we’ll eventually come to … to an exit. ” He wasn’t sure about that. But they had no choice. “ Come on, ” he said. “ Feel the wall. ” Jack felt the stone wall as he climbed slowly down the stairs. Annie followed.

Jack started down the dark hallway. It was impossible to see anything. But he kept going. Taking one step at a time. Moving his hands along the wall. He went around a corner. He went around another corner. He came to some stairs. He went up. There was a door. He pushed against it. Annie pushed, too. This door wouldn’t budge either. Was this the same door they had started at?It was no use. They were trapped. Annie took his hand in the dark. She squeezed it. They stood together at the top of the stairs. Listening to the silence. “ Meow. ” “ Oh, man, ” Jack whispered. “ He’s back! ” said Annie. “ Meow. ”

“ Follow him! ” cried Jack. “ He’s going away from us. ”

They started down the dark hallway. Following the cat’s meow. Hands against the wall, Jack and Annie stumbled through the darkness. “ Meow. ”

They followed the sound. All the way through the winding hallway. Down, down, down. Around one corner, then another. And another … Finally they saw a light at the end of the tunnel. They rushed forward—out into the bright sunlight. “ Yay! ” Annie shouted. But Jack was thinking. “ Annie, ” he said. “ How did we get out of the false passage?” “ The cat, ” said Annie. “ But how could the cat do it?” asked Jack. “ Magic, ” said Annie. Jack frowned. “ But—” “ Look! ” said Annie. She pointed. The cat was bounding away. Over the sand. “ Thank you! ” called Annie. “ Thanks! ” Jack shouted at the cat. His black tail waved. Then he disappeared in the shimmering waves of heat.