Night at the Museum by Michael Anthony Steele

Author:Michael Anthony Steele
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barron's Educational Series, Inc.
Published: 2014-08-16T04:00:00+00:00

Octavius peered over the edge of a deep shaft on the ductwork floor. He and Jedediah had been traveling for what seemed like miles to their tiny legs. They hadn’t found a way out of the heating system until now. Unfortunately, the only way out seemed to be a dark shaft leading straight down. It was an endless pit that disappeared into utter darkness.

When they had originally fallen through the first vent, the two miniatures were blown through the ducts in a whirlwind. They had been stuck on a lint-covered air filter until the wind inexplicably stopped. The miniatures had tried to retrace their steps but they heard the monstrous footsteps of something in the ductworks with them. They had run from the unseen beast hoping to stay away from whatever danger it possessed.

Jed leaned over to gaze into the dark vent with Octavius. “Can’t see much. We could jump down and hope for the best.”

Octavius frowned. “We have no idea what’s down there.”

Just then, the echoing footsteps returned. The entire metal tunnel vibrated beneath their feet as the creature drew near.

“No idea what’s up here either,” said Jedediah.

The footfalls sounded like thunder. They turned to see a dark shape round a corner several feet away. Then the creature gave the most peculiar roar.

Hi-yah!

“Aaaaghhh!” screamed Jedediah and Octavius. Without another word between them, they leaped into the shadowy pit before them.

They fell for a long time in total darkness. Then light grew around them as they rapidly approached another slatted vent cover. Both the tiny cowboy and miniature Roman commander slipped between the blades and were suddenly bathed in bright light. Octavius squinted, trying to get a bearing on their whereabouts. Before he could make out anything, they landed on something hard. They tumbled to the ground.

As they got to their feet, Octavius’ eyes slowly adjusted to the light. He took in their new surroundings. They had landed on a normal-sized brick street. It was a normal size for them, anyway. Stone buildings lined the road and large structures spread out as far as the eye could see. Unbelievably, Jed and Octavius stood in the center of a deserted city—a city that was just the right size.

Octavius recognized the architecture at once. “This is a Roman city,” he said. “I can feel the familiar pull of history in its very foundation.”

Jed tilted back his cowboy hat and glanced around. “Where the heck is everybody?”

The two walked along the empty streets. They peeked in doorways and looked through windows, but there wasn’t another soul about. The place was utterly deserted.

Octavius furrowed his brow. “This town looks familiar,” he said. “I could swear I’ve seen it before.”

The street ended at a barrier of thick glass. It turned out that they stood inside a miniature display. It was similar to the ones in the diorama room in their museum back in New York.

Octavius put his hands on the glass and looked down. The display was labeled with a small plaque below. Perhaps he could find out where they were.

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