Lizard's Leap: Chapter Thirty Two: Running the Gauntlet

‘No way,’ Vicki cried. ‘No way are you going down that hall, Mark. I’m your older sister, and I’m not having it.’

‘Agreed,’ Emma added. Kerry didn’t say anything at all but looked as though she was about to faint.

‘I can do it, sis,’ Mark said. ‘I know I can. Look how long it took for the spikes to come up. It must have been about thirty seconds. Nobody could run down that corridor in time, but on a skateboard it’ll be a doddle.’

‘It’s too risky. You are not doing it. I forbid it.’

‘I decree it,’ King Luke said, glaring at Vicki.

‘I forbid it.’

‘I decree it,’

‘I’ll punch you on the nose.’

‘I’ll have you put to death.’

‘I’ll haunt you and…’

“Oh, shut up you two. I know I can do it. There’s just enough time if I get a good kick-off.’

‘And what if you don’t?’ Emma asked, looking at the halved apple.

‘I will. I’m good. I’m tall and skinny and fast and that makes me one of the best boarders in our school.’

‘Let me do it,’ Vicki offered bravely, but she shook so hard as she said it that she’d have had trouble getting on the skateboard, never mind running the gauntlet, as the race down the Hall of Death was known.

Mark studied the smooth floor. It was ideal for boarding. If God and a bit of luck were with him, he would have enough time to get down the corridor and up onto the Golden Doorstep to safety before the spikes pierced the floor. And if these things weren’t with him, then…

‘Mark, find somewhere to have a practice run first, if you insist on doing it,’ Vicki begged, almost in tears. She hoped that having a dummy run would put him off trying it for real.

‘No practice, Vic. It’d make my legs tired and I need them pumping. This is it. Wish me luck.’

He hugged and kissed all the girls in turn and took the Golden Key solemnly from King Luke. The key only just fit in his back pocket and he forced it all the way down.

Mark put his left leg on the skateboard. He thanked his lucky stars that he’d cleaned and oiled it recently. He smiled bravely and the girls huddled together. They were all crying and clinging. King Luke just grinned.

And then Mark was off.

He pushed his right leg hard along the floor for all he was worth, once, twice, three times, four times, five times. Then his leg came up onto the board, fitting snugly into position behind the other one. He glided down the corridor at an amazing speed. Twenty yards, thirty. Then he felt himself losing momentum.

He was more than two thirds of the way down the corridor, but time was running out. Again he dropped his right leg and used it to firmly build up more speed on the board. And again he rode. One second passed, two, three, four.

He heard a loud metallic clunk and was convinced that the spikes were going to pierce him and pin him to the floor. He bent forward, making himself more streamlined, willing himself onto that step at the end of the corridor.

He jumped from the board and landed safely. He turned, wiping sweat from his eyes, nearly sobbing with relief.

But, horror of horrors, ten feet away from him on the still-stable floor lay the Golden Key.

It had dropped out of his pocket. That’s what he’d heard not the spike mechanism cranking. It wasn’t too far away. He leapt off the step and ran for the key without stopping to think about the consequences. If he had taken a second to think, it would have been too late and he’d never have made it. He would have been stranded forever at the opposite end of the hall from the others, and the treasure would have been lost.

The girls screamed, and he was dimly aware of Vicki’s voice calling, ‘Mark, get back.’

He’d reached the key, was bending to pick it up, his head ringing with the sound of screaming. He realised that one fourth of the noise was coming from him.

He had the key. Surely, now, he’d be speared before he could get back to the safety of the step. He was running.

He leapt-

KERRRRRUANK!

-the spikes rose from beneath him as Mark was in the air. And then he was leaning with his back against the Golden Door. Rasping breaths shuddered through his chest, which felt as though the flames of Hell were burning in it. His eyes were streaming with sweat and tears and he heard the girls sobbing, but it sounded as though they were a long way away. He was safe.

It took him over two minutes to get his breath back, partly through the exertion and partly from the sheer, life-threatening terror he’d just survived.

When his hands had stopped shaking, Mark put the huge key in the old-fashioned keyhole. He tried to turn it and was hit by another wave of pure, undiluted fear.

The key wouldn’t turn.

After centuries of not being used, the lock had seized. There was no way to get back to the others and the lever to disarm the spikes was on the other side of the door. Again and again Mark tried, until he was gasping in frustration.

‘I can’t turn it,’ he shouted down the corridor.

‘Keep trying,’ Vicki screamed back a note of hysteria rising in her voice.

Mark returned his attention to the lock. After more attempts he felt the heavy key moving. He doubled his efforts until he could feel the rough golden key tearing the skin on his hands. He tried to ignore the pain. He gripped the key tighter; if it fell onto the corridor it would reactivate the spikes.

The key had made his hands bleed and the blood made the key slippy. He wiped the blood on his jeans and tried again. This was, after all, a case of life or a long, slow, death. Finally, the key turned, the barrel settled in the lock, and the handle twisted to open the door.

As the door opened, shafts of sunlight spilled through the castle windows. Dust particles swam before his eyes, flitting in the light. He waited for his eyes to grow accustomed to the mottled sunlight in the golden room.

What he saw made him gasp in disbelief.

He ran to the wall to the left of the door and found the big lever that would deactivate the traps. He worried for a minute that this too would be too stiff to manoeuvre, but it moved in its leverage. He couldn’t see the spikes retracting into the floor, but he heard them, and then he heard rapid footsteps pounding down the hall towards him.

King Luke and the girls watched the spikes disappear back into the floor and then they set off down the corridor. At almost the same point each of them faltered for a second: what if the mechanism was faulty and the spikes took on a life of their own and shot back up again? It didn’t bear thinking about.

Vicki was the first into the treasury. She stepped over jewels and riches as though she didn’t even see them and ran to hug Mark. And then the five of them stood amongst the finery, just gaping at the wonder of it all.

They were in a room the size of a barn. One thousand trunks of treasure had been emptied into it. There were hundreds of thousands of golden coins, goblets and jewellery, sceptres and fine stones. There were trinkets and artefacts from the four corners of the world. It was breathtaking.

After half an hour, they tired of dressing in jewels and splendour, and thought it was time they were getting home.

King Luke said they could each pick something from the room to take with them. It was very tempting, but how would they explain four pieces of priceless jewellery to their parents? In the end, they declined. The castle riches should stay exactly where they belonged.

King Luke had lost interest in fooshing. His new love was skiteboarding. Poor Mark had to leave not only his fishing rod, but also his skateboard for the King to play with.

As they were leaving, they laughed because King Luke was throwing a tantrum because he couldn’t keep his balance on the board. They promised to return soon and hoped that he would have improved by then. ‘Mark. Mark,’ they heard him shouting after them, ‘This skiteboard is broken. I decree that you bring me a new one.’

They walked into the Squircle, and Ratchet was screaming at Floss because she had found Kevin in her bed again. On the other side of the castle wall, they could hear the gargoyles bickering…

It was an amazing castle.