Hehehe and we're here again. Marcy is about to get plunged into something she'll never forget.
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CHAPTER 5
After finishing her morning routine, Marcy traipsed downstairs to the smell of pancakes and bacon. She sniffed her way to the kitchen and moaned at the delicious smell. Does Aunt Jenny cook everyday? she thought. Well, actually, I don’t care because if she does then at least I’ll have yummy food to eat while I’m here.
She was initially surprised to see Seth, the butler, flipping the flapjacks at the stove. He turned around at the sound of her approaching footsteps. “Well good morning, Miss,” he said. Marcy noticed that his voice didn’t sound as formal as it did yesterday, and also that he wasn’t wearing a suit at the moment. Instead, he was decked out in a casual polo and shorts. “It’s nice to see you up. How did you sleep last night?”
“Well, thanks,” she replied. “Do you cook all the time?”
“Yes, except if Miss Jenny wishes to.” Seth flipped another pancake in the frying pan, then skillfully tossed it onto a cooling rack. “Do you like syrup with your pancakes?”
“I do, thanks.” Marcy grabbed a piece of bacon off of another cooling rack and popped it in her mouth. “Ow! That’s hot!” she exclaimed, sucking her fingers.
“I could have told you that,” he laughed. “Miss Jenny has already had her breakfast and is at work. She may not have told you, but she works in a beauty parlor as a hair stylist. She has good hours and will be here often, though. She usually comes home at 5:00.” He handed her a plate and smiled. “Go ahead and get your breakfast, I’ve already eaten as well.”
Marcy took a glass out of the cabinet and filled it up with juice from the refrigerator, then got her breakfast and sat down at the breakfast nook. She surfed on her phone while she ate, chatting her friends. They all pitied her, of course. But when she took a picture of her breakfast and posted it on her social networks, they envied her. Which made her feel a bit better.
Seth eventually left the kitchen, explaining that he worked as a computer scientist and that he’d be in his room if she needed him. After she finished breakfast, Marcy went upstairs, brushed her teeth, and sat on her bed. What do I do now? I’m bored. Should I go explore outside? She shook her head. Nah. I know! I’ll go to the library again. Aunt Jenny’s not home and I doubt Seth will be downstairs until at least lunch.
Tiptoeing lest she be caught, she scanned the hallways. I feel like a secret agent, she thought wryly. She came to the door to the library hall, opened it, and backed in, peering around and closing the door behind her. Quickly, she ran to the other door and entered the library.
Once again, she was awed by the impressive collection of books Jenny owned. The large mahogany bookshelves stretched from floor to ceiling, full of knowledge and mystery. Marcy rambled in between the shelves this time, examining the books and running her fingers along the spines. She noticed that they were mostly books on fantasy, magic, and mythology. Strange, she mused. Does she have an obsession with finding another world, I wonder? There’s a lot of books on alternate universes too. Stopping, she pulled out a book named The Search for Another World. She walked back to the front of the room and sat down at a table. Carefully, she flipped open the book to a random spot in the middle and began to read. She read about 50 pages before she started to read quietly out loud. When she thought about it, she didn’t realize why she did, and didn’t contemplate it for long.
“The existence of another world is very likely. Humans have dreamed for centuries about new universes, worlds, terrains, and stars. It is quite possible that other planets are floating in space, too far for us to reach, populated with strange creatures. Aliens, monsters, and strange beasts could roam those worlds without our knowledge.”
As she read, Marcy tilted her head, trying to remember something in the back of her mind. She looked up. The thought seemed just out of reach. Puzzled, she shook her head to clear it and resumed reading.
“There might even be portals from Earth to these worlds. The myths and legends of mysterious creatures could be true. Many theories have been made based off of this. One--called the Portal Theory--states that portals at specific locations can be found and lead to these other universes. Places like Stonehenge, ________, and ________ are examples of the possible otherworldly gateways, and that they simply existed from the beginning of the world.”
Marcy still tried to grasp the thought, but it eluded her again. She gave up and continued.
“Another theory--the Created Portal Theory--asserts that humans, enlightened by books found in the depths of the earth or other such eerie places, were able to make portals and traveled to the other worlds. The theory holds that this is where mythical drawings and sketches, outlined on rocks in caves or in books by brilliant men, come from. This also explains the witches of Salem and England. The theory, if true, proves those women were real witches, who had traveled to the other planets and learned magic there.
“Some of these witches and wizards, as the brilliant men were called, may have created portals of their own in our world. It is possible, even probable, that they trained apprentices to follow in their footsteps and that these men and women trained their own apprentices. It is also probable that these apprentices still exist today.”
Here Marcy stopped. There was a note in the margin of the book, written in small lettering. Moving her face closer, she squinted at the small words. Huh, looks like it says….R9, LIG. She backed up from the book and looked at the wall. What in the world does that mean? LIG….is that a code word? An antonym? Maybe it stands for Life Is Good. She laughed out loud. “Nah, that’s ridiculous,” she said to herself.
Suddenly she jumped out of her seat. “Oh no! What time is it?” Her heart pounding rapidly, she glanced at the clock. Whew, okay I’m good. It’s only 11:51. Maybe I should eat and then try to think about that note. She had a feeling that it was significant, but like the earlier thought, couldn’t remember why. Marcy shrugged. Oh well. I guess I’ll eat.
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Soon she was sitting at the breakfast nook table, eating a peanut butter and jellly sandwich and still pondering the answer to the strange combination of letters and numbers.
“Could it be a reference to a place?” she asked herself as she ate. “Oh, maybe I should look it up. Duh.” Marcy took out her phone and typed R9, LIG into the search engine. After scrolling for a while, to her disappointment all she found were ads for face cream and gummy bears. So much for that. She took a bite of her sandwich and followed it with a potato chip. Thankfully, she’d found several bags of potato chips, all different flavors. Currently, she ate some sea salt and vinegar ones.
What could that mean? she thought absentmindedly while eating another chip. Is it message in code? Or something in the house, maybe?
“What are you thinking about, Miss?” asked Seth. Marcy jumped. She hadn’t heard him enter the kitchen. “Uh, well, how do you know I’m thinking about anything?” she said, trying not to make it obvious that he had scared her half to death.
“Everyone’s always thinking about something, Miss,” Seth answered with a smile as he pulled containers out of the fridge. “Plus you have a confused and thoughtful look on your face. And you didn’t hear me come in, which means that you must have been concentrating on something.”
Ugh, he noticed. “Well, I was just thinking about, um, this random sequence of numbers and letters I found, uh, on the internet.” She picked up speed as she fabricated the lie. “It was on this puzzle website. The only thing on this particular puzzle was R9, LIG. And I can’t figure out what it means.”
Seth looked at her curiously as he filled a bowl with leftover mac and cheese. “A puzzle website, you say? Well, that’s a strange thing. I have a bit of talent for these conundrums, and these types usually have a key somewhere to decode the message.” He stuck the bowl in the microwave and pressed a few buttons. “There wasn’t a key anywhere on the website?”
“Nope,” Marcy answered confidently. The lie came easily to her now. “Nothing. Just that.”
“Hm. If I were you, I’d search for a key, and if you can’t find one, then I’d give up. It may just be something to make people angry, similar to internet spam.” Seth took his bowl out of the microwave and grabbed a spoon. “But do what you deem as best. I’ve got to go work. See you at dinner!”
“Bye, and thanks for your advice,” said Marcy. “Any time,” the butler responded with a smile. He walked out of the room with his bowl.
Well, where in the world will I find a key? she thought, finishing up her sandwich. She got up and threw away her trash, still contemplating the riddle. What if it’s something in another book or something? Hmmm…….
Normally, Marcy was a typical girly girl, spent more time on social networks and her hair than riddles. But for some reason, she felt a pushing, or pulling, of something bigger than her. And she felt that it wanted her to solve the riddle. She didn’t stop to think about it, though, but instead focused all of her thoughts on the riddle. Suddenly struck with an idea, she sent the gibberish phrase to her friends in a group message and asked them their thoughts. Some of them replied right away, with confusion about what the phrase was. Marcy tried her best to answer their questions and told them her visit was going well so far.
So much for that. I wonder….could it be a reference to something in the library? It sounds like a book address. Like….R could mean row….row 9, author name starting with Lig. Seems like my best bet.
Marcy cleaned up her mess and went back into the library. She found that there were 10 rows, and the ninth one was dedicated to books the theories of portals to other universes. She found two books by the author Liginton, the only ones with the author’s name beginning with Lig. Carefully handling the book, she pulled the first one out of the shelf. It was on the theory of portals in the depths of earth--mines, caves, and wells. She flipped through it. Finding nothing, she put it back on the shelf and gripped the second book.
As soon as she pulled it off the shelf, she knew there was something different about it.
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SUSPEEEENNNSSSEEEEEEE
I hope it's killing you. XD
~~Zoë Wingfeather
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