As Benjamin, Chi-Chi, and Harry reached the ledge and looked down the ridge at the ground below. They were stunned to find that the sphere was nowhere in sight; it had disappeared.
That’s impossible, Benjamin screamed to himself. I saw it go over this very ledge a second ago. It has to be around here somewhere!
The trio searched the bushes, rock crevices, and gulley. No sphere. Benjamin sat down on the cement stairs beside some brick walls and exhaled loudly in sheer frustration and disappointment. This day was not going well so far, and now this!
Chi-Chi and Harry were also exhausted from the quick run and day-long search. Harry plopped down on a nearby stone in an exaggerated and theatrical ‘I can’t go on’ way, with Chi-Chi falling right on top of him.
Just then, the stairs Benjamin had been sitting on shook violently. Benjamin was unable to find his feet fast enough to stand. The stairs raised, caught him squarely in the back of the head, and knocked him back onto the ground.
“Benjamin!!” Chi-Chi and Harry cried, getting up from their position and ran over towards him. “Are you alright?!”
“I’m okay, I’m okay,” Benjamin repeated as he rubbed his head and blinked his eyes to clear his sight.
Within the space opened up by the stairway, Benjamin could see a vast graveyard in the distance and the center of the gravestones. He saw it.
“My sphere, there it is!”
Benjamin took out his wand and tried to conjure a spell that would draw the crystal ball off from within the graveyard. No effect. Chi-Chi and Harry immediately went to retrieve the crystal for their Master. However, as soon as they reached the opening of the staircase, it rolled off again.
“No!” Benjamin shouted as he sprinted toward the graveyard.
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The crystal ball moved along the ground without the aid of wind or gravity. Benjamin didn’t understand how this was possible, as it should have stopped a long time ago, seeing as it was on relatively flat ground.
What is making it roll so fast? He thought to himself as he followed the ball through the scattered and varying gravestones and tombs.
Soon, the sphere disappeared once more. Benjamin ran up to the edge of a dark vortex, swirling within the darkness of the graveyard, and discovered more stairs. Benjamin, Chi-Chi, and Harry were unable to see what lies below.
Two large torches next to the opening burst into flames, providing light to their surroundings. Grabbing one of the torches, Benjamin descended the stairs, with Chi-Chi and Harry following close behind. They tried to stay in the glow of the flames in fear that the darkness may consume them entirely should they fall out of the protection of the light.
There’s evil in here, I know it. Chi-Chi shared telepathically with her counterpart, Harry.
.-.-.-.
After what felt like an eternity, Benjamin realized that there were no more stairs. He was at the bottom of the secret passage, but where was the sphere? Before them, the torch’s light revealed a large, dragon-shaped roller coaster car, floating within the space without a visible track beneath it.
The car had a big blue duck body for the front with black horns and an orange beak, complete with red central wings, and a green dragon-like tail stacked onto yellow wheels. The new surroundings utterly mesmerized Benjamin as if being drawn forward by an invisible force.
“Hey, guys, come check this out!” Benjamin called behind as if the others weren’t keeping up with him.
“I don’t know... it looks weird if you ask me,” Harry replied under his breath.
“But what is that? Is it even operational? And if it is, then where would it even take us?” Chi-Chi asked.
“Stop asking so many questions at once!” Benjamin ordered.
“Well, only one way to find out... right?” Harry brought up.
“Exactly,” Benjamin confirmed.
He boarded the coaster in the front seat. Chi-Chi and Harry looked questionably at each other before following their Master into the coaster. Abruptly, the coaster lurched forward and propelled through the air, as if they weren’t moving at all, and the very space around them melded around their bodies. The car took them in many directions: up, down, diagonal, and even loop de loops. Benjamin and his sidekicks got nauseous as their stomachs churned and pondered when the crazy ride would end.
Eventually, the ride slowed down, catching them all off guard. Benjamin and the others noticed something in the distance, but couldn’t quite make it out. The coaster then came to a screeching halt, bringing them closer to what they saw right in front of them.