Chapter VII

Two weeks later, late in the afternoon, Kitty and Tabby were looking over the crystal blue waters of Mericino Gulf and the lush forests of Central Montaigne. Their pilot, John, guided the plane down to the airport of Palillia. They entered the city, after going through customs, and went to seek out their hotel that the Lights had kindly reserved for them. After refreshing showers for everyone, they planned out their next move.

"Here are the pictures I copied before we left." Randi said, spreading papers out on the table in front of her. She picked up a stack of pictures and passed them to the others. "These pictures are what Rowdor used to look like. The one that Tabby has is what scientists and we hope to find here. It is what the ruins should look like now. If we find the ruins before the scientists, we could possibly rebuild it to it's former glory. I hope we could so all could see it."

"It would be cool if we did restore it. I would love to see it up close." Kitty said. "It would be awesome. Randi, what do these words mean?" Kitty handed the photo she was holding to Randi.

Randi studied the words then said, "I don't know; they say something about Minith, but the whole phrase isn't there. If I had the complete phrase I could tell you. I guess we'll find out when it's built, if it gets built."

"Do you want to start out tomorrow?" John asked. "I could call ahead and have the tank filled, if you do, that is."

"Thank you, John; we will go tomorrow; as soon as we can." Aaron looked at his watch then said, "I don't know about you, but I'm going to bed; if we are going to be up early, I suggest you do too. Goodnight." The others said good night then Scott and John followed Aaron to the boys' room. As they crawled into bed, the boys thought about the coming days and their adventures.

Aaron lay awake in his bed as Scott and John slept. What have I done? I told myself months ago that I wouldn't put anyone else in danger, but I have. My friends have already had to save me twice and we had to save Kitty. Both Kitty and I have almost been killed. Now we've added John to our group. He's just someone else for me to endanger. I won't have it! Aaron quietly got up and dressed; he said a silent good bye to John and Scott, the went to the main room. There he took the maps, placed them in a backpack, and knelt by Kitty's bed.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "but I have to do this. I won't risk your lives again. Thank you for everything; I love you, Kitty." He kissed her lightly and left. He looked back at his friends before opening the door.

Kitty stirred and awoke. She looked around and saw Aaron looking at her, ready to leave. She shook her head and jumped out of bed. "No! Aaron, please don't leave; don't leave me here!" Kitty yelled as she ran towards Aaron. Aaron quickly slipped out and locked the door from the outside. Andrea, Tabby, and Randi woke as the door closed. "Come back, Aaron, come back!" she cried, slipping to the floor. "No."

Andrea knelt down beside her and hugged Kitty close, as tears streamed down both of their faces. "We'll find him don't worry; at least, I hope we will."

Aaron raced down the hall knowing Randi would have the door open soon if Kitty didn't pass through it. Tears fell as he ran. I have to do this; I will do this. They will not find me; I will not let them. I love you all, but I need to do this on my own. As Aaron reached the stairs, he looked back at the door. Randi had the door open and Kitty was racing towards him. NO, they won't catch me. Aaron closed his eyes, then was gone.

"Where did he go?" John asked. "He just disappeared."

"He didn't disappear; he ran, fast." Andrea said; she then looked down the hall to where Kitty was. "Kitty? Kitty, where are you? Did you guys happen to see Kitty?"

"Yeah, she was--where did she go?" Randi asked. "She was just here. How could she just disappear like that?"

"Through the floor; she can pass through solid objects, so she probably went through the floor to catch Aaron." Andrea guessed. "If she caught him, they're both long gone by now. We'll have to meet them at the site."

Andrea didn't know how right she was. Kitty had passed down through the floor to try and stop Aaron; she passed all the way down to the first floor and waited. Soon she saw signs that Aaron was coming. Plants swayed with no breeze, things floated as he picked them up, and then vanished when he put them away.

"I have you now, Aaron." Kitty whispered to herself. "You won't get away this time." Slowly she moved over to where Aaron was standing. Silently, Kitty moved around the back of Aaron; she reached up to grab him, but hesitated. She knew he was there, but didn't want to hurt him. She reached up again and took hold of her friend.

"What the?" Aaron exclaimed.

"You're not leaving me here; I'm going with you." Kitty told him. Aaron reappeared in her arms and Kitty let him turn around to face her. "I know you were leaving to keep us out of danger, but I love you. I don't care what the dangers, I'm coming with you. And you can't stop me."

"Who said I was going to? I knew you would come after me, that's why I waited. I don't want to go alone, but I don't want to endanger anyone, especially you. I..." Aaron's eyes clouded, then cleared.

"What is it? Aaron answer me."

"They're coming to find us; we have to go now or we'll never get away." Aaron took both of Kitty's hands and made them invisible; Aaron and Kitty then ran away from their friends as fast as they could.

Andrea, Randi, Scott, Tabby, and John came into the lobby as their friends left. They looked around for them and found nothing and no one.

"They're gone; Aaron and Kitty are gone." Andrea told them, feeling her twin's presence leave her. "By the time we get to Rowdor, they could be home again; even if we left now, they would still be ahead of us by a long shot. I could tell you where they might be going, but not defiantly."

"That's okay. They're probably going to Rowdor; Aaron wanted to go badly." Tabby placed her hand on Andrea's shoulder. "We will find him again. We've almost lost him twice; we will not make it three times. Now come, let's go back to sleep and leave after dawn." The small group trudged back up to their rooms to try and sleep.