Gabriel Stone and the Divinity of Valta Read Online Free PDF Page A

what else could be lurking behind every tree. Strange—the mountains look placed exactly like in Willow Creek, but reversed. And it’s summer instead of winter.
    “Everything’s like backwards here or something,” he mumbled, squinting his eyes and looking around.
    “We need to move … hide somewhere,” Piper whispered. “That creature spotted us. Who knows when it’ll be back. And what if it brings friends?”
    “Yeah, but where’s Cedric?” Gabriel asked.
    Piper shrugged. “I haven’t seen him.”
    “I don’t want to get back into that tsunami,” Brent insisted.
    “Guys,” Gabriel said, “I have to find him. I don’t know what that thing with the eyeballs was, but we don’t want to be here if it comes back.” He waved his hands through the air. “Look around. Everything’s freaky here. I mean, I’m not gonna lie; I don’t wanna get back in that water either, but all I know is that there … ” He pointed at the river. “ … Is where we came from. We’ve gotta figure out a way to get back home.”
    Piper shielded her eyes, looking over the water. “You have a point.”
    “I’ll go first,” he said.
    Brent stepped forward. “You want me to come with you?”
    “No, you stay here with her, in case that thing comes back.” And with that, he jumped into the water.
    “I’m not sure what I can do if it does,” called Brent.
    Shivers prickled Gabriel’s skin, more from fear than the water, but he knew he had to try to find Cedric and a way to get home. This is my fault. I promised Piper I wouldn’t do anything stupid. He had ruined everything when he pushed Cedric. He swam to the spot where he thought they’d emerged, close to the base of the falls in the calm water. He dove under the waterfall and swam as far down as he could, searching for Cedric and a tunnel that could have pulled them through to … wherever this was. Nothing .
    Finally, he climbed back out and trudged back over to his friends. He shrugged. “I couldn’t find anything! Nothing weird, anyway. No Cedric or a way out. This just doesn’t make sense.”
    Piper gestured at a hill. “Come on. Let’s use that hill for cover till we sort this out. Cedric is probably just playing games again. I mean, really. We’re all here—even Zigzag.”
    They dashed across the grass, Zigzag following behind. Behind the hill was a field covered in multi-colored berry bushes, mixed in with grass taller than they were. They ducked into a grass patch.
    Brent shook his blond hair. “Dude, Cedric’s taking us for a ride. He’s on the swim team. He’s probably watching us and laughing his butt off.”
    Gabriel raised his face to the sun, still shivering. “Well I just hope he’s okay. And, hey, how is it summer all of a sudden? This is freaking weird, right? And what was with that sci-fi creature?”
    Piper ran her hands up and down her arms. “Whatever it was, it didn’t look too friendly, that’s for sure.”
    The summer breeze tickled Gabriel’s wet skin as he sat stroking Zigzag’s fur and considered what to do next. He wondered how much time had gone by and checked his watch to see if it was still working. “My watch still works, at least,” he mumbled.
    Piper lifted her arm and checked the pink Timex she had gotten for Christmas. “Mine, too. Waterproof stuff rocks, right?”
    Gabriel nodded. Then, remembering the compass his dad had given him, he pulled it out and wiped the water off on the grass. The needle spun around for a few seconds before it settled on a heading.
    He pointed. “I know that way should be north.” He looked behind him. “But it’s showing south.” He scratched his head. It must be broken.
    As he stuck it back into his pocket, something rustled in the grass behind them.
    “I see youuuuuuuuu … ”
    Piper screamed, jumping up. “It found us!”
    Zigzag growled as the three friends looked at each other. Gabriel held Zigzag’s collar to keep her from chasing after … whatever it was.
    “Me