Chapter 10
Mike and Charlie waited as patiently as they could until Wolfgang and Boo walked into the cave.
"This is incredible," Boo said, moving closer to the back wall.
"This is why we're here," Wolfgang said. "When did it start to glow?"
Charlie shrugged. "Couldn't have been too long ago; the muggle who found the bones didn't mention it, and I think that would have been the first thing out of his mouth."
"Right," Wolfgang said.
"Have you ever seen anything like this before?" Mike asked.
"Not exactly," he said. "But haven't you both something similar in the mountains? But that wasn't a nesting cave, was it? Wasn't it a portal or some sort?"
Boo and Charlie nodded. "Oh yeah, Zephas, the zombie queen demon's portal." Both of them shuttered.
"Zombies?" Sheila asked. "Demons?"
"That was a long time ago," Mike explained. "Ricardo and Charlie were fighting-oh, never mind, you wouldn't believe it anyway."
"Or remember," Boo laughed.
"Are we going in now?" Charlie asked, excitedly.
Everyone, except Sheila, who couldn't decide if she was terrified or just really pissed off, looked at each other and nodded. Charlie dried his dampened hands on his jeans, clutched his wand tighter, and took a deep breath. "Ready?" he asked.
"Wands at the ready, brothers," Mike said.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Charlie said. "What about Sheila?"
The three wizards turned and looked at Sheila who was still huddled against the side of the cave.
She pushed herself up. "I'm going with you!" she said.
"No!" Four voices rang out. "It's too dangerous," Mike continued.
"You can't stop me," she said.
"Uh, yes we can," Charlie said.
"Oh, okay, you can stop me, but please?"
"No!" The four of them shouted again.
Wolfgang was about to hit her with a paralyzing hex when the back of the cave began to pulsate and the light started to build in intensity. There was such a force that the wizards were struggling to hold on to their wands.
"Get the woman out of here!" Wolfgang shouted. Charlie aimed his wand at Sheila to get her out of the cave, but he couldn't control it. Suddenly a force from behind the back wall shot a light that engulfed the woman. Before the others could react, Sheila was pulled inside, disappearing into the back wall.
They stared at each other for a split second. "That's not good," Boo said.
The light disappeared and the wizards could not hear a sound from the back. Sheila's screams cut off as soon as the rock became dark.
"How are we going to get back there?" Charlie asked.
"No idea," Wolfgang said.
"But we have to try," Charlie insisted.
Wolfgang stared thoughtfully at the wall, rubbing his chin. "Sure, absolutely." He pointed his wand at the wall, and then stopped. "If we blast it, Dr. Preston may be right behind it and the explosion would crush her."
"Assuming that she isn't already dead," Mike said.
"Of course," Wolfgang agreed.
"Well, we have to try," Charlie repeated.
"Disapparate?" Mike suggested.
Wolfgang shook his head. "Too dangerous. We could apparate into solid rock."
"That's true," Boo said.
"Maybe there's a way in somewhere else," Charlie suggested.
"Hell's bells," Mike said, "we're wizards. Surely we can figure this out. We've got to do something to help her."
"Charlie, why don't you try to speak to it?" Boo suggested.
"What am I, Harry Potter? I'm not a parselmouth."
"A what?" the others asked.
"Sorry. Harry Potter could talk to snakes. He just opened his mouth and communicated."
"There's a snake behind the wall?" Boo asked, extremely confused.
"No," Charlie chuckled and shook his head. "Sorry, I'm just frustrated."
"Well, try," Wolfgang said. "You've worked with dragons in Romania and they are different from American dragons. Maybe you can communicate."
"If there's a dragon behind the wall I don't see it communicating at all," Charlie argued.
"But something intelligent reached out and grabbed Dr. Preston. It could have gotten any of us. Why the only woman in the room?" Wolfgang pointed out.
"Oh, screw this, I'm going in!" Boo cried as he made his way to the back wall.
The four men searched every inch of the back wall but they could not find the tiniest crack or crevice. Charlie used every disillusioning spell he could think of and a few he made up, but the wall would not budge. It was as if they had dreamed the lights and the opening and the fact that Sheila Preston had been sucked away from them.
"Maybe it opens once or twice a day, you know like when it needs to feed," Mike said. "Oh crap, that's not good."
"I'm just wondering what we're going to tell Dr. Smith," Wolfgang said.
"Do you think he'll notice?" Boo asked.
"Probably not," Charlie said. "He'd be too busy knocking people out of the way so he can get his photograph taken. What a dick."
"Well, I for one believe that she isn't dead and that we'll find her behind that wall," Mike said pointing to the wall.
"Right," Boo said, "And I'm going to play seeker for the Reds."
"I don't believe she's dead, either," Charlie said. "And I believe we will find her."
"Or her bones," Wolfgang piped in.
"Her charred bones," Boo interjected.
"We'd better get back to the camp before the muggles come looking for us," Charlie said. "It's very important that we don't lose any more of them."
"The disillusioning charm will work for another day, I think, so nobody's going to wander in here. Someone should stay here tonight on the off chance that Dr. Preston shows up," Mike said.
Everyone nodded. And to no one's surprise, they all volunteered to stay behind. They finally decided to take shifts and guard the cave. They were hopeful that the back would open up again and they would be able to explore the unknown.
They drew lots and Charlie and Boo were the first watch. He tried to keep his enthusiasm up but as the hours wore on, he was becoming doubtful that Sheila was alive. Boo was convinced that the light show was bait for any unsuspecting prey that may wander into the cave. Charlie didn't want to believe that, but it made more sense to him that anything else he could come up with.
They talked about why the 'light', as they called it, only grabbed Sheila. Maybe there was a reason for that. The fact was that each of the wizards was armed with his wands and Sheila was the only one vulnerable. Well, sooner or later, the wall would open again and they were determined to be there. It was incredibly dangerous, but they were all excited about the prospect of finding that new dragon and they were willing to take the risks.
A/N: Again, I'm a bad person for not updating as quickly as I should have. I promise to do better. Rita