Chapter 3

“A book!” exclaimed Jane in disappointment.
“So much for treasure…” laughed Will. He crawled over to another box and began rummaging through its contents.
Jane took the book out of the chest. It was so thickly covered in dust that she could not read the title. She brushed her fingers over the cover- and felt a tingle of excitement run up her spine as she uncovered shiny golden letters. “Zion,” the title read.
“I wonder what Zion could be, and where?” Jane murmured to herself. She flipped to the first page and skimmed its contents quickly. The page told in brilliant, vivid language of city in a faraway world, where the whole land dwelt in turmoil. An evil Enchanter had set himself on the throne and now ruled the people cruelly and mercilessly.
The illustration on the page was done in ink of a dark and dismal forest. The picture was so clear and detailed, that it seemed to glow. In fact, Jane realized, the picture was glowing. It lit up her face in a greenish light. Jane swallowed, and was about to turn the page, when something caught her eye.
In the middle of the illustration rode three horsemen. Jane peered at them closely, and wondered how she could not have seen them before. The first horse was dazzlingly white and its rider held a bow in his upraised hand. The second horse was fiery red, the scarlet hue of blood. Its rider held a sword and the man leaned forward over the neck of the horse as if urging his steed onward. The third horse, the color of a starless night reared on its hind legs, its foam-flecked mouth open wide. The last horse was pale, and partly hidden from view by a branching oak. The rider was ghastly to imagine. His skeletal hands gripped the flowing mane of the horse.
Jane slammed the book shut and leaned weakly against the wall of the attic. Will looked up. “Jane! Are you alright?”
Jane nodded quietly, and beckoned for Will to draw near. Will lowered himself to his hands and knees and inched carefully over. Silently, he looked the page over and then whispered, “That drawing is creepy. Gives me the shivers.”
“I had the same feeling!” Jane shivered. “The forest is so dark and the riders are somehow strange.”
“This whole book is strange.” Will eyed it suspiciously.
He picked up the book and flipped it open. The illustration lit up his face in a shiny green glow.
Jane shivered. This book was very mysterious.
She peered over Will’s shoulder to see better. As she watched, the picture seemed to ripple.
Without thinking, Jane put out her hand and reached to touch the picture. But instead of feeling the page, Jane was astonished to find that the illustration seemed to give way. Her hand slid through the book’s page and the chilly, distant winds of another world tingled about the tips of her fingers.
Jane gave a cry and started in terror, instantly snatching her hand away from the book. But it was too late. The ancient magic of the mysterious book had come to life.
In the silence, a gust of frigid wind whistled through the cracks in the attic roof, filling the room with dank, chilly air.
Will started and looked up. He would have jumped to his feet, if he had not remembered in time about the rotten wood of the attic.
“We both need to hurry back to our homes,” he told Jane, “There’s a storm blowing.” He grabbed the book, tucked it under his arm, and began his crawl over to the open area of the attic floor. The rope ladder flapped to and fro in the wind, making an uncanny slapping noise. As Will descended the ladder carefully, and waited for Jane, he heard a crash. He jumped in spite of himself, and then realized it was probably the door slamming shut in the wind.
Jane followed him out of the cabin, and pulled her coat closer about her. The air was chill and the wind strong. The wildflower flew out of her hair, its petals scattering about the ground. Jane walked along with Will.
Somehow, the forest seemed weird and eerie. The sounds of normal forest activity were gone.
Suddenly, Will stopped. “This isn’t our woods!”
“What?” cried Jane.
“The river should be straight ahead, but look! There’s only trees stretching for miles.”
“M-maybe we’re just disoriented,” Jane murmured, staring wildly around her.
“Me?” Will snorted. “I’ve lived here all my life. I know this place like the palm of my hand. This is not the forest.”
Jane suddenly felt dizzy. “Will…do you think?”
Will nodded solemnly. “Yes.”
“Then...we are in that illustration in the page of that book! We are in the forest with th-those riders!”
“Yes.”
“H-how? You mean, we are in another world?” Jane’s eyes widened, and her brown hair blew in the icy breeze.
“Yes. Somehow, that book…transported us. Maybe you touching it started the magic.” Will stopped speaking and surveyed the land around them.
Jane looked at the ground. Though she had longed for an adventure like this all her life, now that she was actually in one… Her feelings were hard to explain. The adventurous part of her jumped at the thought of this new world to explore- while the practical part of her trembled in terror of the… Jane bit her lip, trying to think of the best word to express her jumbled feelings… The unknown. Yes! That was it…

Jane was frightened of the unknown….