Today we are featuring Inklings Book Contest 2016 finalist, Tej Bade! Tej finished 6th grade this past school year. He wrote a fantasy story about a young boy overcoming fears in strange circumstances. Enjoy!
Bravery Ruins
by Tej Bade
I, Alastair James was steps away from my new job at the Roseville County Library. My parents were eager for me to finally get a job, even if it was only volunteer work at a crummy library. I, on the other hand, was not so thrilled. I didn’t want to work in a dusty, old building. Looks like my life had taken a wrong turn. Even working as a janitor would be nice. At least I would get to do something, no matter how gross it would be. Instead, all that I would be doing was replacing books and organizing messy shelves.
My parents parked the car and joined me on my journey to the end of my life. “Alastair, are you happy to finally get a job?” my mom asked excitedly.
“Sure,” I said sarcastically.
“It is not that bad you know. You will get out of the house and meet new people.”
“It will also teach you responsibility and discipline,” my dad said.
“Dad, I was made for more than a librarian! This is a disappointment!” I sighed. With
that, I dragged myself up the steps to the Roseville County Library where I would l be spending my entire summer.
I stepped inside. What an old place it was. Never had I seen a such an unusual place in all of Texas. There were rows and rows of what seemed like thousands of old books. There were several grubby countertops and desks. Shelves filled with cobwebs and dirt lined the black walls and there was no one in sight.
“Hey, there’s my new employee!” a tall, plump man said joyfully.
I turned around. “Who are you?” I asked.
“I am the owner of this library. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Mr. Michaels!” he said excitedly.
My dad went up to shake his hand. After a second, I shook his hand too, followed by my mom.
“I have been waiting to meet you. I am sure you will find that this place grows on you,” he winked.
Don’t be so sure, I thought to myself.
My dad and mom gave me a hug.
“Have fun honey” my mom said.
“Give us a call or a visit anytime. We will miss you very much,” my dad had said.
After my parents left, Mr. Michaels showed me everything I needed to know. He walked me through the bookshelves, showed me how to stamp the library book when checking it out, showed me how to use the computers, and showed me how the books were organized by the dewey decimal system. I listened halfheartedly though.
“Now if there is anything you need to know from me, just tell me. I will in the back office,” he concluded.
I shook his hand once again, and then he started to leave the library. I sighed once more and started to think about all the things I’d rather be doing. Sleeping was a good option. I laid in the huge chair at the front desk, waiting for someone to come to me for help. Wind blew in and out through the floor-toceiling windows that flanked the front door like a Louisiana shotgun house but no one came.
After fifteen minutes of resting in the chair, a sudden crash sounded. I looked around, frightened. What was that? I thought to myself.
A tall, massive person stomped in. At that moment I wished I could disappear. The person was Brad Finklehorn, the meanest and rudest guy I had ever met. Brad loathed me and bullied for my shyness. Although I was content being by myself, some people just couldn’t accept it, I guessed. I couldn’t let him see me as a librarian now. I would forever be a laughing stock.
I ducked down in my desk in panic. Brad started to get closer and closer. As soon as he crossed the desk, I popped out and started sprinting through the rows of bookshelves. Suddenly, I tripped over an open book lying in the middle of the hallway. I fell to the floor with a loud thud. I heard Brad’s fat feet stomping his way through the bookshelf. Panicking, I struggled to drag myself into the corner, but the only problem was my face wasn’t hidden! In desperation, I grabbed the book that I tripped over, and I pulled it to my face to block myself. As I heard Brad’s footsteps come closer, I shrunk farther and farther into the corner and shoved my face into the words of the book. His steps got louder and louder. I closed my eyes and the words began to disappear. Suddenly, Brad’s footsteps were gone. I opened my eyes. But I was no longer in the Roseville County Library.
As I opened my eyes, I examined the terrain around me. Swamps, marshes, and several plants surrounded me. I stood up straight. I was in some sort of jungle. I was so confused. I looked around once more and rubbed my eyes several times to make sure. Several marshes were still surrounding me. From the sunlight, I guessed it was the afternoon. I didn’t know where to go or what to do. I was alone. Suddenly, I heard a foot stomp on the plants.
“Hey Jake, can we keep going? I didn’t come all the way to the middle of nowhere just so you can lie in the plants!” a man exclaimed.
“What? Sorry, I think you have mistaken me. I am Alastair James. Why did you carry me out to the middle of the marshlands?!” I asked. “Who are you anyway?” I said.
“What is wrong with you!” he squealed, “Have you been knocked on the head by a Peruvian Gopher? I am Earl Mackenburg, your trusted trail guide. I didn’t take you out here.”
I was still confused. “I don’t recall,” I said.
He looked at me as if I were crazy. “Don’t you remember me?! You are an archaeologist requesting me to guide you to the entrance of the lost ruins of the Muau Ruins. Just follow me into the wilderness!” he said annoyed.
In total, I must have followed him for at least 3 miles into the marshlands, and must have tripped 20 times. Twice I had to stop recover my breath from all the winding slopes. The hills seemed like they went on forever! I finally reached the lost cave of the ruins of the Muau as Earl had told me. I was steps away from uncovering the secret of the Muau Ruins which lay in my hands. From what Earl had told me, the Muau Ruins held some ancient writings and other sneaky traps that laid in the walls of the temple. In the heart of the temple, and most important of all, was the golden gem of Pandæmonium.
While the gem of Pandæmonium was as beautiful as Earl described, I could not bear risking my life to go into such a temple as that. I wondered how Earl knew about the idol. I asked him, and he said his father died looking for it. The temple was not that big, covering only one floor. Moss grew on the sides of the temple and the rustiness lent an air of mystery to the temple.
Earl said, “It was our choice to go through this dangerous temple. Let me tell you one fact. Everybody who has gone in has never come back. It was your crazy idea to volunteer to get the gem, so good luck.” With that, he shook my hand and started to walk up a hill.
I stood still, stunned. I knew from what Earl had told me that people were counting on me to retrieve the cursed gem. Why did I have to do this? I started to wonder. I gathered the little courage that I had and entered the temple.
It was dark and dry. No traps to be seen at all. But I had spoken too soon. I stepped on a pile of leaves which actually was a trap, and it sent me falling through the leaves into a pit. I hooked my hand onto the cliff. I started to regain my confidence as I pulled myself to the side of the cliff, but as I stood up straight, the slab of rock I was standing on eroded, and I landed on an even lower cliff. I couldn’t just keep doing this! I started to get mad, angry, and exhausted. I pulled myself up and started to run. I didn’t even think how stupid I was. I just kept running while slabs of cliff eroded and spears shot at me from inside of the walls!
I entered a room that was even more rugged than the last. I saw Peruvian writings on the walls in many places and in another, I saw claw marks which made me shudder with fear. Suddenly, I stepped on a trigger that closed the room behind me. As I looked around the room, I found the rarity of Pandæmonium. There it was: the golden gem of Pandæmonium which was more shimmering then I thought it would be. It was glittering in the only sunlight that barely shone through a crack in the ceiling. I ran to it, not thinking of what traps lay before me. I raced to it and picked it up. I started to examine its fine texture when I heard a noise. I looked back, and the pedestal was gone. The walls started to close on me. I didn’t know where to go or what to do! I was doomed. I tried to find a way to escape, but it was no use.
I examined my escape route. Outlined in the center of the door, was a figure in the shape of a head that was hollowed out. Was it some type of puzzle? Was it a key? There certainly was no key I could find. I started to look at things shaped like heads. My head was the only one. I shoved my face in there, and it obviously didn’t work. That is when I realized that the gem was also a head, a very shrunken, glittery, and deformed head.
I stuck it on the wall. The wall started to move and the door opened. The walls were closing in on me. I dashed toward the door and landed on another underground cliff. As I took my first step, I looked down, but there was nothing beneath! The bridge was broken and I couldn’t go across. The wall was going to push me down! There was nothing I could do now. I closed my eyes and took a leap of faith. I felt myself falling and falling into the bottomless pit. I screamed. Suddenly, I landed on a hard surface with a large thump. I couldn’t believe it. I was alive. I opened my eyes but I wasn’t at the Muau Ruins anymore.
What I saw was a book that sat open on the floor. I got up from the corner and soon remembered that I was hiding from Brad. That was such a weird dream. It seemed so real. How was it a dream? I thought to myself. I stood and saw Brad. He had a sly grin and came over to me. I turned white with fear.
“So, trying to foolishly run away from me. You were really cute drooling all over that book,” he said.
I started to gather my anger. “Brad, I don’t care what you think of me. I will never be afraid of someone so dumb as you,” I said.
Brad chuckled. “You’re a weakling. You think that you can even survive from what I am going to do to you,” he said proudly.
“Go ahead. There is nothing to survive from.”
Brad got angry. For a second, I thought I was going to get punched in the gut. I was fortunately wrong. He took one last look at me and and stormed out of the building. He knocked into two familiar people on the way out. My parents didn’t see me before I could see them.
“Dad! Mom!” I screamed and ran towards them. They caught me by surprise. “I had–” I stopped. I was no longer at the Roseville County Library.
My vision was blurry and I was lying down on a bench. “Mom. Dad. Is that you?” I said.
“Oh honey, you are finally awake! Do you know what happened? You suddenly fainted in the middle of street. We were doing our errands.” my mom said.
“What? Wasn’t I working in the lib–” I stopped in terror. I was in the exact place where the library was. Except, there was no library!
“What happened to the library?” I asked.
“Oh Alastair, there was never a library here. Here you should take rest more. We should go home.”
I learned to make my own stories and learned the value of books. I had underestimated them. My dream didn’t feel like a dream. It felt real. It may have been somehow real.
