I Left My Sneakers in Dimension X by Bruce Coville

Author:Bruce Coville
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Aladdin
Published: 2014-02-18T05:00:00+00:00

“Would it be possible to get sterile water where you are taking us?” Madame Pong said to Galuspa.

“This is what we drink,” he said. “Besides, it is growing dark, and soon we must rest for the night. We are still another day’s travel from our village.”

Which pretty much decided the matter. One by one, under the watchful eye of the shapeshifters, we went to the stream and drank. The water was cool, clear, and delicious. Even so, I worried that I was going to catch some terrible Dimension X disease and die. (Several of the shapeshifters took the opportunity to drink, too, but I figured they would be used to whatever germs might live in the water, so that didn’t make me feel any safer.)

We continued our journey, traveling up and down several hills. Though the path itself was bare, the forest floor on either side of it was covered with strange plants, including some red ones that made a constant humming noise.

“Hey,” said Elspeth. “The hills really are alive with the sound of music!”

Finally Galuspa called a halt for the night. The shapeshifters prepared a meal, which turned out to be kispa-dinka, fried and mixed with something that looked like flower petals. Remembering the food we had been given in Castle Chaos, I stared at the meal for a long time before I finally got up the courage to taste it.

To my astonishment (and relief!) it was pretty good—sweet and slightly spicy. I ate three helpings of it.

* * *

When it was time to sleep the shapeshifters linked themselves together to form a fence around us. While I was trying to settle down Madame Pong came and sat next to me.

“Rod,” she said softly. “I need to speak to you for a moment.”

“About what?” I asked warily.

“I have done something that you need to be aware of.”

“What do you mean?”

She looked directly into my eyes. “When we discovered that you had been taken to Dimension X, I took the liberty of sending your mother a letter.”

“You did what?”

She put one of her long–fingered hands on my arm, a request for me to stay calm.

“You must understand that we had no way of knowing how long it would take us to find you and return you to your home. Rather than have your mother wracked with worry about what might have happened to you, I gave her a reason for your absence.”

I snorted. “You think telling my mother that I was kidnapped by a giant monster from Dimension X is going to make her stop worrying?”

Madame Pong smiled gently. “I didn’t say I told her the truth, only that I gave her a reason for your absence.”

I frowned, trying to imagine what reason Madame Pong could have invented for my absence that would have kept my mother from going berserk with worry. It was ridiculous; there was no such excuse.

Or so I thought.

“All right,” I said. “What did you tell her?”

“I said that your father had taken you away for a visit, and that he would bring you back as soon as he was able.

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