He studied the wall and asked, “Which way?”
“That would be up to you, Paul Bunyan. You know trees and how they fall. Perhaps the physics is the same. Just make sure the rock moves at least a few feet in either direction.”
“What happens when it falls?” Murphy asked.
“Good question. I don’t know. I think we should beat feet away from here just to be safe. I have no idea… The line may simply be reconnected. There could be fireworks. Perhaps a small explosion when the normal line tries to blend with the meteorite-enhanced segment. Or it’s quite possible, it’s been too long, and the segments will no longer join. In that case, it’s back to plan A. I’ll have to talk to the house.”
“Stand behind me, Mia.”
She walked over and stood. Murphy shook his head and pushed her back a few feet. “I need room,” he cautioned.
Mia nodded. She watched as Murphy undercut the ground three feet from the meteorite. He worked his way upwards inches at a time until he had made a large angled shaft. “Hold on,” he said as he raised his axe once more.
Mia couldn’t hang on to anything but did appreciate the warning. She watched as the cast iron of the ghostly axe came into contact with the earth just below the meteorite. As the ground began to crumble from the weight of the rock, it began to slide. It got hung up for a brief moment, its smooth angled surface catching on the edge of the shaft. But gravity and weight won out, and it fell into the shaft and slid away from its forty year resting place. Sparks and green light filled the chamber.
Murphy ran to Mia, grabbed her and pushed his way upwards out of the ground and once more into the clearing. The two of them ran backwards and watched as the ends of the line twisted wildly in the air. Mia had seen electric lines do this after being snapped from their moorings during a storm. The lines whipped around. The southeast line flew a few feet over their heads. Mia and Murphy hugged the ground until the dangerous, powered segment had passed over them.
No sooner had they escaped the southeast segment when the northwest part of the line moved quickly towards them. They tried to evade the pull of it, but it was too strong for them. Mia pulled Murphy hard to her as the segment dragged them in. Mia and Murphy tumbled uncontrollably as a rush of energy pushed them northwards with uncontrollable speed.
Mike thanked his hostess for the cherry cordial and the company. “I fear I must retire. Audrey and I need to make an early start tomorrow. I have important business to attend to in Hillside. Thank you so much for the good company and hospitality,” he said as he climbed the stairs.
There was a momentary shudder that caused Mike to grab for the handrail. “What was that?” he asked.
“I don’t honestly know,” she said. “I haven’t felt anything like that since…”
Mike could see she fought for the memory but gave up after a few moments. “I’ll make sure breakfast is served at six am promptly. This will give you time to enjoy Millie’s confections and coffee before you hit the road. Pleasant dreams, Mr. Dupree.”
Mike turned back and continued his climb to the second floor. He walked down the corridor and was greeted by Audrey who was standing wild-eyed in the hall. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Come look outside!” She grabbed him and pulled him into their room and over to the casement window.
Mike peered out into what looked to be a laser light show. Streaks of green filled the air around the inn. Pulses of orange moved along at a slower rate and popped open, their insides oozing down what he could now see as a wall of some kind. The inn shook again.
“What’s happening?” Audrey asked.
“I don’t know. Get dressed and gather all our equipment. I think the inn is losing its ability to stand still. See how the ground is getting closer. Is that wheat? No, it’s snow, and it’s spiking upwards.”
Burt and Maggie ran to the PEEPs truck. From where they estimated the ley line was, the brief ground tremor folded the snow back as if it was flayed skin. The overhead sky was lit with orange orbs and green lightning.
Cid had jumped out of the truck with a camera and was filming the phenomena. Burt traded the leash for the camera. Cid took Maggie to the safety of the truck before joining Burt. He held an infrared camcorder and scanned the area. The cold blue of the snow was a sharp contrast to the heat of the ballooning ley line over them. The line moved nine and a half inches off the ground according to the sensitive measuring device he held in the other hand. It extended ten feet in the air, except for the area in which they assumed the Dew Drop Inn rested. There it shot fifty, sixty yards into the air. Through the viewer, it looked like a python that must have swallowed a rhino, a very angry rhino by the heat that was coming off the uppermost part of the bulge.
“What’s happening?” Burt asked, not expecting an answer.
“I suppose Mia and Murphy have reconnected the line. Do you realize we are actually filming a ley line? How great is that!” Cid said, losing his composure and jumping up and down.
Burt, who was filled with worry, looked over at the young man briefly and said, “I hope it’s worth it.”
The realization that Mike and Audrey were stuck in that bulge and that Murphy and Mia had not appeared dawned on Cid. He struggled to come up with the right words and failed to say anything but, “Crap.”
Mia and Murphy tumbled out of the end of the line into another clearing. The sky overhead was clear. The winter sky was full of stars. Mia lay on her back and reached upwards, “Murph, the stars are so close…”
Stephen Murphy, who had landed facedown, didn’t appreciate her star gazing. He struggled to his knees. His axe was gone. He frantically searched for it and found it fifteen feet from him. “Where are we?” he asked, righting himself.
Mia, who was consumed with the night sky, didn’t hear him at first.
“Where the hell are we?” he asked again.
She still didn’t answer.
He walked and stood over her, blocking her view.
“Hello, Murph, whatcha doing?” she asked sweetly.
“Where are we?” he growled.
Mia sat up and looked around. “I suppose if we are at the end of the northern line, we would be in Itasca. This used to be a place of pilgrimage for the ancient peoples. I can see the draw. It’s beautiful.”
Murphy looked around and appreciated the magnificent trees that surrounded the clearing they rested in. He saw the ley line sparking a few feet away. “Time to go,” he said, reaching his hand down to help her up.
Mia shook her head. She knew his energy was too depleted for them to connect outside of the ley line. She got to her feet unassisted. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. You must be exhausted,” she apologized.
“Worried.”
“I am too. Part of me doesn’t want to go back. It’s as if part of me is meant to stay here where it’s safe and…”
“You can’t stay here. No body, no Mia.”
“I know that but…”
“Your eggs are scrambled from the trip,” Murphy said, pointing to her head. “You have to go back to your body, Mia. Back to Ted. Back to save Mike and Audrey,” Murphy insisted.
Mia rolled her neck and took one last look around her. “K. Time to save the world. Murphy and Mia go once again into the ley line,” she grumbled. “I’d like to come back here when it’s all over.”
“Come back with Ted. Come back in the summer. This is no place to be right now,” he advised.
Mia, still a bit dazed, took a moment to organize her thoughts. “Sorry, Murph. I don’t know what came over me. Let’s go. This time, let’s walk and surf the line upright.”
“Good plan,” Murph said and waited for Mia to walk into the line and pull him in after her.