Chapter 23

"Let me go!" Lorenda yelled. "Where's my Adoncia?!"

The guards grunted as they struggled to control Lorenda. They roughly pushed her into a cold room. They took off the blindfold that was around her head and quickly shut the door. She opened her eyes to find more darkness. She hugged herself tightly, starting to feel the bitter cold that suddenly surrounded her. She reached out her hands in front of her and slowly started to step forward. The only sound she could hear was her own ragged breath and almost inaudible footsteps. She jumped as her hands made contact with a cold, rough surface. She whimpered as she felt around the surface, looking for any source of light. Frustrated, she started to bang on it.

"ADONCIA!" she cried. She kept banging on the wall, terrified for herself and for her daughter. She stopped after a few minutes, giving up. She felt hopeless and exhausted. She fell down to the cold, hard floor and wept.

"Mama?" she faintly heard.

Her head snapped up quickly. She immediately stood up and spun around looking for the source. "Adoncia?!"

"Mama!" she heard again. It sounded as if it was coming from the other side of the wall. Lorenda started to slap anxiously on the wall as she spoke.

"Mija! Donde estas?! Where are you?!" she yelled desperately.

"No se!" Adoncia yelled back. "Todo esta oscuro!"

Lorenda put a hand to her forehead in despair. "Si, mija. Everything's going to be okay," she wept silently. "I'm going to get you out. If it's the last thing I'll do, I'm going to get you out."

She put her ear to the wall and could faintly hear her daughter start to cry. She kept crying silently, feeling inconsolable, and put her hand to the cold, rocky wall. She desperately wished she could reach Adoncia.

~

"This really bites," Stinky whimpered. He looked around at his terrified classmates.

The girls were hysterically bursting into tears, as was Harold, while the rest of the boys were confused and scared. The guards were leading them into the abandoned temple. As they walked in, they could smell the fire that was lit just a few hours before. They all walked to the center of the temple and sat down where Lorenda's fire had been. Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz were trying to calm everyone down, but struggled to keep their own emotions under control.

The guards left them there and walked out, guarding both of the temple's entrances outside.

"We're all going to die!" Sid cried.

"Don't say that!" Sheena argued.

"Boys and girls," Mr. Simmons started quietly, "I need us all to calm down. There has to be a rational way we can talk to these people," his voice cracked. He cleared his throat and signaled for Principal Wartz to take over.

"Of course there is," Principal Wartz assured. He was determined to stay calm and show strength for the class and Mr. Simmons. "We all need to work together if we want to get out of this," he encouraged.

The class started to murmur to each other.

"Guys?" Eugene spoke, trying to get their attention.

The class ignored him. They started to talk over each other, yelling out their ideas.

"Guys?" he tried again. When he saw he wasn't getting anyone's attention, he swallowed hard and yelled, "GUYS!"

Everyone looked in his direction. He gulped.

"What if we broke them down?" he asked.

Principal Wartz raised his eyebrows. "Son, what do you mean?"

Eugene looked around at his classmates. "Well, think about it, guys. Remember when we first got Mr. Simmons as our teacher, we 'broke' him? We all tried our best to annoy him? What if we did the same thing to the guards? It's a great idea!"

Harold scowled. "That's not a great idea! That's just stupid! These guys have swords, idiot! And Mr. Simmons is a flake. That would never work."

"Now wait a second, Harold," Mr. Simmons interjected, ignoring his insult. "I think Eugene's got something here. Those guards outside may have strength on their side, but we have brains. If we can find a way to 'break' them down, then I think we have a shot to get out of here." He looked into the terrified faces of his students. "We can do this if we all work together."

The class all murmured to each other. Sid walked up to Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz and joined their sides.

"I think we have a chance, you guys." He stretched his arm out in front of him and waited. Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz both joined Sid and brought their arms to his, putting one of their hands over Sid's. One by one, the class slowly started to join in, forming a circle.

When the class all joined in, Mr. Simmons smiled. "1, 2, 3-"

"LET'S GO!" they all screamed, throwing their hands up in the air.

"What's going on?!" Francis came in yelling.

Principal Wartz stepped forward. "The kids are starting to get a little rowdy," he said matter-of-factly.

Harold nodded. "And I'm getting REALLY hungry," he commented. He held his growling stomach.

"Me too!"

"Yeah, me too!"

"I could use something to eat!"

"And when can I go to the bathroom?!"

Other students joined in, all yelling over another. Francis looked around, his nervousness becoming apparent. The class started to yell and complain loudly about their hunger and thirst, arguing with the guards. The guards looked at each other, searching one another for answers. One of the guards approached Francis.

"La Sombra didn't say anything about food," he argued.

Francis rolled his eyes. "Just go get something so they'll shut up," he snapped.

The guard stepped closer to Francis. "And who are you to order me around?"

Francis snarled. "I'M in charge here. You do what I say until La Sombra comes back!"

Suddenly, there was a loud bang coming from outside of the temple. Everyone in the temple fell silent. Two guards immediately ran out to see what it was. When they didn't return after a few moments, Francis ordered two more guards to check on them. Francis furrowed his eyebrows when they failed to return as well. He ordered the remaining guards to see what was going on. As soon as he turned his back to watch the class, they all heard screaming coming from the guards outside.

Francis widened his eyes in confusion and terror and spun around. He called for the guards, but no answer came. He turned to the class.

"No one moves. At all." He glared at them menacingly before reluctantly walking after the guards.

Principal Wartz turned to the class. "Now's our chance! Mr. Simmons, you go first!"

Mr. Simmons froze, his fear gripping him. Principal Wartz walked past the students to him and grabbed his shoulders.

"Remember about my adventures? Now it's time to have your own!" he encouraged. "For the sake of the students, Simmons!"

Mr. Simmons shook his head and furrowed his eyebrows, suddenly full of determination. "Right! Class, follow me, and don't stop for anything. Principal Wartz, you stay in the back to keep everyone together," he commanded.

Principal Wartz nodded to show he understood his orders. Mr. Simmons held a finger to his lips, motioning to everyone to stay quiet. He began to run down the hallway Francis and the guards went down to exit the temple. The class followed quietly, their full trust in their teacher, with Principal Wartz bringing the rear. As they got closer to the exit, they could hear yelling. Mr. Simmons stopped suddenly, uncertain of what to do. He turned back to his students and grew more determined seeing their terrified faces looking to him for comfort.

"No! IT CAN'T BE!" Mr. Simmons heard Francis scream.

After a moment, they all stepped out of the temple into the bright sunlight. They all looked around, and was surprised to see no one. Francis and the guards had disappeared.

The class looked to each other, all asking the same questions. As Mr. Simmons looked around, he could have sworn he saw a glimpse of someone peeking at them through the brush of the jungle before disappearing.

"HEY!" he yelled after them. "Hello? Wait! Are you here to help us?!"

"Simmons!" Principal Wartz called. "What's going on? Where are you going?!" He and the rest of the class ran after Mr. Simmons, hoping that they were going to be rescued.