The Secret of the Scarlet Stone (A Gabby Girls Adventure Novel, Book One) (22 page)

Zora
adjusted her glasses
.
“Gabby Girls, this just doesn’t feel right. There’s something really odd about this.” She pointed toward the colorful squares
.
“What’s the deal with the colorful squares in the middle section of the pathway? I mean, why is it so different from the gr
a
y squares in the beginning and
at
the end of the pathway? And look at the weird pattern that the blue, gold
,
and green squares are making. I can’t put my finger on it
,
but there’s something not quite right about it.”

Rosalinda gave
Zora
a defiant stare
.
“Who asked you for your opinion? If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be stuck in this dirty
,
awful place! Get out of my way; I’m out of here!” she said loudly as she pushed them aside, stomping across the gr
a
y squares. She started muttering loudly in Spanish as she marched angrily across the colorful squares.

Abruptly, the silence of the passageway was pie
r
ced by an awful
,
loud cracking sound
,
like a lightning bolt hitting a tree. They screamed with terror as they watched the entire section of the colorful pathway sharply collapse
,
taking Rosalinda with it. Quickly, they sprinted to the edge of the stone pathway.

“Oh
,
no, I just can’t look! She’s dead, I just know it,” Jessica wailed with tears welling
up in her eyes.

They peered down cautiously, breathing
out with relief when they saw a very alive but quite shaken Rosalinda trying to scramble to her feet. Nervously brushing the dust off of her clothes, she looked
up at them with fear
-
filled eyes. “Well? Don’t just stand there; help me get the heck out of here,” she screamed hysterically.

“Don’t move an inch
,
Rosalinda!
Gabi
,
let me see that clue again,”
Zora
instructed anxiously.

Gabrielle quickly pulled the clue from her pocket and handed it over to her.

Zora
quickly unfolded the clue and read it aloud
:

First step on blue then step on green, reverse it back and count t
w
o three. At the wall you multiply, ten times two then add a five.

Her forehead crinkled with concentration as she looked
up from reading the clue
; her
eyes plead
ed
with Jessica and Gabrielle for help.

Gabrielle carefully backed away from the edge of the pathway, pacing in a slow circle as she repeated the clue aloud
:

First step on blue then step on green, reverse it back and count t
w
o three. At the wall you multiply, ten times two then add a five.

She stopped mid-stride, looking over at
Zora
. Their face
s
lit
up instantly with shared excitement. “It
’
s the blue and green squares,” they screamed at the top of their lungs.

Jessica gave them a baffled stare
.
“I don’t get it. What are you talking about?”

“The clue says to first step on blue then step on green, reverse it back and count to three. Don’t you see? Rosalinda stepped on the wrong color square,” Gabrielle stated matter-of-factly.

Jessica looked at her bewildered.

“Don’t you see? It was a trick. The clue specifically says to first step on blue then step on green,” Gabrielle said slowly.

Rosalinda looked
up unsteadily
.
“So, exactly how do I get out of here?” she screamed anxiously.

They peered down at her silently.

“Okay, Rosalinda, listen carefully. Turn around and stand in the direction as if you were still heading down the pathway. Then carefully hop onto the blue square and then hop onto the green square,”
Zora
instructed patiently.

Rosalinda carefully hopped over the gold square and wobbly landed on one foot on the blue square.

They all
exhaled
with relief.

Rosalinda clinched her face with determination as she hopped onto the green square.

Slowly, the pathway started to inch its way up. They all laughed with nervous relief,
but
their laughter stopp
ed
cold when the pathway stopped moving.

Rosalinda looked
up at them nervously
.
“You guys, it didn
’
t work
. W
hat do I do now?” she wailed.

“Rosa, you’re not done. You have to hop your way down the pathway. First on blue then on green until you get to the end of the pathway,” Gabrielle instructed anxiously.

Rosalinda nervously wiped the dust from her face
,
leaving a long streak of dirt across her cheek. “You have got to be kidding me?” she asked nervously.

“Gabi’s right
.
Y
ou have to keep going
,
Rosa,”
Zora
instructed.

They looked on expectantly as Rosalinda mumbled something angrily in Spanish a
nd
hopped onto a blue square.

The pathway suddenly plummeted and Rosalinda wobbled violently, crashing to her knees. With horror, they screamed hysterically.

Jessica turned away
in
fright
.
“Oh
,
no!
Oh
,
no! I can’t look! She’s dead this time. I just know it,” she wailed.

Zora
and Gabrielle peered over the edge, breathing out with relief when they saw Rosalinda nervously dusting the dirt off of her sweater
,
as if nothing had happened.

“Wait
,
wait
,
wait
,
this is all wrong,”
Zora
s
aid
anxiously.

Rosalinda looked
up
,
frozen with fear
.
“You think?” she asked scornfully.

Zora
adjusted her glasses
.
“Okay
,
wait a minute. Let me read the clue again. Somehow, we must have missed an important step. Let me read it again
:

First step on blue then step on green, reverse it back and count t
w
o three. At the wall you multiply, ten times two then add a five.
”

Her face lit
up with excitement
.
“Okay, I got it. It
’
s a trick. The clue wants you to reverse your steps. The first part of the clue said to step on blue and then green, but now it wants you to reverse it back.”
Zora
adjusted her glasses
.
“But
,
wait, here’s the twist; the last part of the clue says to count to three, which means that when you reach the last square, you must stand on it and count to three.”

Jessica looked over at
Zora
like she was a lunatic that escaped an asylum.

Gabrielle clapped her hands gleefully
.
“Brilliant
,
Zora
, you
’
re right. Okay, Rosalinda, listen carefully. I’ll help you through it.
 
Now, hop on green then on blue,” she shouted confidently.

Rosalinda shakily got
up from the floor, dusting off her clothes self-consciously. She carefully hopped on a green square and then on a blue,
and
the pathway slowly inched its way up. She b
reathed
out with obvious relief as the
other girls
clapped happily. But their happiness was short
-
lived
;
the pathway stopped moving.

“What’s wrong now?” Rosalinda wailed.

“Don’t worry about it; you have to continue hopping all the way to the end of the pathway,”
Zora
said reassuringly. “Okay, now hop on blue then on green,” she instructed.

Rosalinda carefully hopped on blue then on green; the pathway slowly inched up again. She wiped away the beads of sweat that dotted her forehead as she waited for further instructions.

“Okay, so now you’re at the last two squares. Hop on green then on blue,” Gabrielle instructed. “Blue is your last square, so remember to stand on it
and
count to three
.
T
hen and only then can you hop off.”
 

Rosalinda stood frozen with fear.

“C’mon
,
Rosalinda, you can do it. Remember, Gabby Girls can do anything,” Gabrielle said reassuringly.

Rosalinda nodded her head in agreement as she cl
e
nched her teeth
in
determination and hopped on green then on blue.

Gabrielle
encouraged her.
“Okay, you’re almost done. Now, you have to count to
three
,” she instructed.

Rosalinda’s eyes filled with fear.

“Don’t worry; we’ll count with you,” Gabrielle said loudly.

“
One, two
—” they counted in unison.

Slowly, Rosalinda rocked back
and
forth
,
preparing to hop
off.