"Oh, come on, Phil. It won't be that bad. Alleah will help us."
"And ruin my beautiful face?" Phil crossed his arms very stubbornly and shook his head. "I think not, Barry."
"I can't believe Ivory even talks to you," Barry scoffed. "You're hardly a man."
"Excuse me?"
"Guys! Shut up!" I hollered at them, gaining both their attention. Both their eyebrows raised in surprise and my father started to smirk.
"Phil's worried about his face," Barry snorted. "Any ideas, Alleah?"
"I do NOT need her help!"
"Obviously you do. Otherwise you wouldn't be worried about something you don't even have," I replied, sending him am evil grin.
"But-"
"Get in there," I growled, pulling him into the opening of the cave. He sent me a death glare and followed with my father and Barry hot on his heels. Sometimes Phil was too sissy to be a man and I found it quite hilarious.
"Where exactly are we going anyway?" Barry wondered from behind me. Thanks to the strong amount of energy I had from the three heaping plates of pasta and marinara sauce that morning, I then had enough energy to blow up a mountain and also provide myself as a human flashlight. The three boys were following me as I followed the surge of energy I could only guess could be from the crystal.
"Why doesn't Alleah just blow up the mountain and find the crystal that way," Barry wondered as we pushed some mossy weeds away from our heads. "This is disgusting and also very dangerous."
"These mountains are the basis of the legend, Barry. It means the world to the people," my father explained.
"And how exactly do you know that?"
"It's called reading it on the internet."
"Oh."
"By the sides, Barry, you need some serious adventure," I added with a giggle. I heard him groan from behind me which made my teasing even better. I had to admit that I was a little nervous, but I knew if anything went wrong, I would definitely be there to protect everyone.
As we proceeded downward, the smell of earth became more and more strong. It was also very thick and breathing was getting quite a bit more difficult.
"It's getting darker," my father observed as we continued deeper into the cave. The energy surge I was feeling was getting so great that I knew we had to be close, which really surprised me. We had only been in the cave for a couple of minutes, not even close to the time I thought it was going to take to reach the crystal.
As I continued walking ahead, I noticed the energy surge was slowly beginning to fade away. I became confused and stopped dead in my tracks.
"It's below us," I announced as the others caught up to me. They were all panting and their pants were covered in dirt. I could smell the remaining Old Spice cologne from Barry or Phil, but the other obviously hadn't put any on. Someone smelled horrible.
"It's below us?" my father gasped. His face was pink and his chest was rising up and down at a high, intense pace. "You've got to be kidding me!"
"Brent, I don't think she is," Barry said. He looked very discouraged because we all knew what going down meant. The further we went down, the hotter it got and the more we would have to climb back up.
"I don't know if my legs can even take that," my father sighed, sitting down on a large rock sticking out of the wall. He looked worn to a frazzle and I couldn't help but feel bad for him.
"And how do you know where it is, Alleah?" Barry asked.
"I can pick up the energy that's coming from it," I explained. "The crystal is very energetic."
"Interesting."
"Brent, are you okay?" Phil asked. He sounded just as concerned as I felt.
"Yeah, I just need a little break," he replied. "That's all."
"Dad, you and Phil can go back up," I suggested. "Barry and I can handle it.
"And let you get hurt?" he raised his eyebrows. "Never!"
"Brent, you can't be stubborn," Phil said to my father. "You're risking your health and we need to keep you healthy so that when Alleah completes this, you can be there for her until we solve this mystery, alright?"
"Alleah is a strong girl," Barry continued. "She can do this. If she didn't, she wouldn't be your true daughter."
Oh gee, thanks for the confidence boost, Barry.
"She's so strong, just like you."
"Dad, I have powers that will help me. I can do this. Barry can help me."
My father sat there for a minute, looking puzzled on what to do. Phil and I glanced at each other with a hopeful look, but I could tell this wasn't going to be an easy okay. My father would worry the whole time, but at least he wouldn't be straining his already exhausted body.
"Please, Dad," I squeaked. He just had to.
We met eye contact and my heart fell. He looked at me with a very pained emotion on his face and because of that, it was hard to keep persisting.
Silence bounced through the tunnel a little longer before he finally spoke up. Barry and Phil looked at each other hopefully.
"Only for you, Alleah," he agreed finally. I let out a huge sigh of relief and ran to him, throwing my arms around him.
"Thank you, Dad," I gushed, giving him my biggest best hug. He embraced me gently and kissed my forehead.
"Please come back in one piece. I love you too much for anything to happen to you."
"I'll be fine. I have your love," I pointed out by showing him my lit up body. He smiled happily and turned to head back.
"Here, Phil," I said, throwing him my glowing necklace. He winked at me and took my father by the shoulder, beginning to head back up the dusty slope. Barry turned back to me and out his hands in his pockets.
"Where to, captain?" he asked. His expression hinted that he was a little bothered at it being just the two of us, but I had confidence. This task was easy compared to what the next task was going to be.
"Follow me," I pointed ahead of me and started walking again, triggering my eyes to become yellow light lasers so that we could see ahead of us a little better. It began to smell like wet rocks and mud and it was kind of revolting. Barry stayed pretty silent and so did I.
"Hold on," he finally said. I stopped and turned back to face him as he stood with his hands folded across his chest, looking at me with concerned pupils.
"What?"
"Look ahead of you. I think it explains itself."
I looked back to where I had been stepping and noticed the path getting skinnier and skinnier. It was almost getting to the point where Barry wasn't going to be able to fit. Barry and Phil had major claustrophobic problems so I instantly knew what his dilemma was.
"You don't have to go, Barry," I told him, wrinkling my nose at the breath of moisturized dirt I breathed in. Moss was also a key ingredient and the temperature had us both sweating bullets, which the body odor was very gross.
"Alleah, this is getting dangerous," he said. "None of us brought water. Have you noticed how hot it's getting and how much water you're losing just as we speak?"
"Yes?"
"It's a lot, right?"
"Yeah, but what about it?"
"It's not good."
"Well, what do you propose we do? That crystal means everything to my father."
"Yeah? So does his daughter," he reminded me. Of course he would. This was not building my confidence level at all.
"Not as much as his family," I fired back.
You are his family, smart one."
"I'm not Andrew and my mom though, now am I?"
"No, but it takes every member to make the family work."
"He'll have me though!"
"Not if you get hurt though, Alleah."
"But I won't."
"And how do you know that, hmmm?" he growled, upset by our bickering. "What if I'm right? Do you really want to break his heart?"
"I won't-"
"Will you quit saying that? You don't know what'll happen. You can't predict the future."
"Barry," I sighed angrily. He was really getting on my nerves.
"Alleah," he mimicked me in a girly voice. I narrowed my eyes at him and groaned loudly.
"You stay here, then. I'm going to go find it."
"And die?!" he shrieked. "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking that I need to find that freaking crystal!" I hollered. The sound echoed through the tunnel, making us both jump and Barry put his fingers to his lip. There was a bite mark on it and it began to trickle a little blood.
"Sorry."
"Don't worry about it," he looked away, trying to get the blood away.
"Barry, this is what my father has been searching for all these years. I can't give up on him. I'm going to go find it. I want you to start hiking back up and use this," I tossed him my bracelet that Jessica had given me for my birthday, "to light up your way. Trust me. I can do this."
Barry just stood there silently, the words being stuck to his tongue. I knew this was so hard, that letting the daughter of his "boss" was so difficult because he knew how much I meant to my father after the long separation we'd had. The thing he couldn't see was that if I didn't get this crystal, there was the possibility of us being separated forever.
"Fine."
"Really?"
"Don't question me or I might change my mind," he said. "Just go get it. Please be safe. I really need you to be safe and if you get dehydrated, use your powers or something to get water because Phil is too much of a sissy to help me come rescue you, alright?"
I laughed, "Okay, Barry. See you in a bit, okay?"
"Okay. Run, little munchkin."
I watched him start heading back up the steep trail, hoping he'd be okay. He couldn't fly like I could if he needed to. That was one huge reason it was now up to me.
I closed my eyes and started to search for the energy surges. I could feel it as soon as I closed my eyes and focused. It was below me to the right in what had to be a very difficult place to find. I was going to have to struggle my way down there.
I tried to think of ways to slip down there when it hit me like a ton of bricks. Density. If I was less dense, I could easily slide through the ground until I found the crystal.
So that exactly what I did.
Using my powers, I started to relax myself, letting my organs become less spacious and letting more air invade the premises. I felt myself slowly beginning to sink into the nasty earth, then felt my toes sticking out in air below me. My stomach twisted at how thin the ground was, feeling so grateful that I'd just sent Barry back to be with my father and Phil.
I went through a few layers of ground before I felt the energy surge really pick up. I was beginning to sweat more and more and I felt my eyes start to burn from the lack of water. I needed to hurry and find the crystal. This was getting very dangerous.
Finally in the midst of air I felt the sparks of energy fly into my face as the crystal started to glow. I'd been going through layers for a good five minutes, going deeper as the energy increased. It was excruciating now and I could barely stand to look in the little mini cave it was in. My eyes were on fire from the lack of water and the crystal was very bright.
I began to worry that it wouldn't come out as I got closer, but it seemed to just glow brighter and more unbearable in the intensity. I flew over and closed my eyes, picking up the small little crystal from the ceiling where it was dangling. It came way too easily to be true and I couldn't help but get a little jolt of excitement. This small crystal had the power to bring my family back together.
I started leaving immediately, making myself and the crystal less dense so I could start going through layers. The crystal was definitely my light source now. I let it light up the way for me as I used up some of the last energy I knew I had.
It took me about ten minutes and all my remaining energy to make it to the entry of the cave where my father, Barry and Phil were sitting down waiting. I walked weakly to them, dirt slimed all over my face and clothes, but I had the crystal tucked securely in my pocket. That was way too easy to be true; I couldn't even believe how simple it'd been.
Or at least so I thought.
"Did you get burned?" my father gasped as soon as he saw my red skin. "Do you need water? Do you have the crystal? Are you okay?"
"I don't know, yes, yes and no," I told him, collapsing to the ground from my lack of energy. It felt like I'd just climbed a 10,000 foot high mountain all day with no break and I felt like I was going to pass out.
"Brent, let's get her back to the hotel and get her some serious energy. Then we can talk," Phil said. I felt strong arms wrap around my back and lift under my knees bridal style. I guessed it was Phil by the way he walked long steps.
"You thought she was tan before, but look at her now, Phil," Barry said from beside me. "Her skin is really dark."
"Why?"
"It was flipping hot down there. I don't know how she survived going down that far because each step we took seemed to raise another ten degrees. It was awful."
"Aw, so it's just her body recovering from the heat."
"Yup."
"Okay."
"So, Brent, what's the plan now that Leelee acquired the crystal for us?" Barry wondered. I closed my eyes and let Phil's walking soothe me, waiting for my dad to respond.
"We need Andrew's blood," he said, monotone.
"Oh, geez," Phil snorted. "How are you expecting to pull that off?"
"I don't exactly know, Phil," my father sighed. "There's only one option I've come up with so far in a scenario where Alleah and Andrew would even be close enough to get any blood."
"And?"
"It's not an option. The only option isn't an option."
"But what's the option?"
"Letting Zemlicka get her long enough to get Andrew's blood and reverse the legend."
"But what if it doesn't work?" Barry piped in. "Then what will we do?"
"I don't know. That's exactly why it isn't an option."
"So we got that crystal for nothing?" I mumbled from my dreary state.
"No, we got it for something, it's just we have to find a way to get your brother's blood," my father replied. "We just need more thinking time."
"Brent, we're limited on thinking time," Phil reminded him. "Zemlicka probably knows where we are right now. It's hardly safe to even go back to the hotel and rest. We really should get going. Just think about our last hotel stay. You don't really want that to happen again, do you?"
"No," my father sighed.
"Exactly. Let's get going. If you want, Barry or I can drive and you can meditate and think about what you can do."
"Maybe."
"You guys, don't you realize what's going to happen?" I growled. "He probably knows what we have. He's going to start fighting harder than he was before. We need a plan. Just simply avoiding things isn't going to help."
"She's right," Barry said, turning to the hotel we'd stayed at. It was close to the mountain we had just gotten the crystal from and we walked speedily up the steps. Well, at least the boys did. I was still snug in Phil's arms.
"Yeah, but how can we do more than just simply avoiding him?" Phil asked.
"Well, remember Inspectroman?"
"Yeah?" Barry gave me a funny look.
"You mean that robot show?" Phil asked with excitement.
"Exactly."
"What about it?" Barry wondered.
"Each time they beat up the robot, it got smarter and realized the weak points of its opponent."
"What are you leading to?" my father asked me.
"I think it's the exact same thing with Zemlicka," I told them. "Each time we defend ourselves and beat him, he gets smarter. He's getting pretty darn smart and that's why we need a plan B."
"Brent, you must have let Alleah watch too many action movies."
"Um, Phil?" Barry said.
"What?"
"Brent didn't raise her."
"Oh, crap, I am so sorry!" Phil quickly apologized. My father's face had fallen, but he still gave a confirming smile that it was going to be okay. I just tried to ignore it. There was nothing we could really do about it.
Phil set me down in front of the door and we walked in quickly, gathering our things as fast as we could. It remained very quiet, especially from my father. I could tell something was bothering him but I didn't know what.
As soon as our stuff was loaded we headed toward the car and got on our way. The drive back from central America was going to take a very long time and we needed to get on our way.
"Where are we going now?" I asked my father. We were all in the car ready to depart.
"Back to our house. We need rest, lots of it, so we're heading back there to do so."
"Okay," I replied. It had been such a day and now we had another huge drive ahead of us. There went nothing.