Chapter 14

Junior Kamryn Schultz, starts the second half of her serialized book titled Redemption. Chapters will be revealed every two weeks. Make sure to check back twice a month and leave comments on what you think about it. If you missed the thirteenth chapter, read Indiana.

The boat docked in Bremerhaven, Germany a couple days after we had taken off. Indiana and I gathered the little things we owned and made our way to find a cab. Tomas gave his goodbyes and promised Indi he would be here if we needed anything else. I could tell by the look on both their faces they needed each other more than anything.

Berchtesgaden was about a 10-hour drive from Bremerhaven, so we still had a ways to go. And even when we arrived, where was the first place to look for the strange “gem of power?”

We tried calling a cab who was willing to drive us that far, let alone one who spoke English. Phone call after phone call was made, to no prevail. Finally, a scratchy voice answered our pleas.

“Sure, miss, I would love to help. Where are you located?” The man spoke in a strong German accent.

“We are at the docks,” Indi answer in urgency. “We need to be picked up as soon as possible.”

“Not a problem. I am driving there as we speak, actually.”

Sure enough, a yellow cab drove up right at our feet, awaiting our arrival. We stuffed our small bags in the back trunk and hopped in. The driver turned around to look at us.

It took everything in me not to gasp. The man wore a torn up hat and a musty green coat covered in dirt. His unkempt brown hair covered his bright green eyes as he stared at us with a wide smile. A little too wide to be friendly but not so much to look like he was about to murder us.

“Hello, ladies! First time to Germany, eh?”

We stared at him nervously and nodded.

“Do not worry. I know the way around. Lived here since I was born. Just relax. The ride will be long though. If you need to use restroom let me know, I will stop.”

He spoke broken English in a strong German accent as he offered his advice to us. But his smile never faded. “Questions?”

Again we simultaneously shook our heads.

“Alright! Ready to go!” He strapped his seatbelt on and put the cab into gear.

We traveled the whole ten hours, nonstop. Indi and I had trouble resting because the car went so fast and swerved left and right abruptly. Indi huffed at each sharp turn, clearly trying to get some rest.

Every so often we heard him humming along to a tune unfamiliar to us. It sounded strange but unique, like a dream I had had once.

Finally, after a few more hours of reckless driving and hungry stomachs, we arrived in Berchtesgaden. It was dark outside so not a lot could be seen outside our windows. The cabbie dropped us off outside a small hostel in the middle of town. We gave him most of the money we had for his troubles, but he surprisingly refused most of it.

“This much is good,” he assured us as he shoved almost half of it back into my palm.

“Are you sure? We are willing to pay you the total amount.” Indi tried to give him the rest of our money, but he quickly rolled up his window with a smile.

“I like doing things for people like you. It makes me feel good. Have a good time here!” His reply was muffled from inside the car but still touching. As he drove away, I looked over at Indi. She smirked at the cab, but as soon as she saw me staring, it disappeared. I enjoyed the moments she did smile. It gave me hope.

We rented a room and immediately fell asleep from the exhausting trip. The next morning we woke up and ate breakfast. We sat in our rooms, eating bread rolls with different jellies and butter. Indi drank a dark cup of coffee while I stuck with my hot tea.

“Hey Indi?”

Indi looked up at me. “Ya?”

“This may or may not be an important aspect of our journey here, but where are we even supposed to look for these gems my father wants?”

Indi reached into her bag and pulled out her phone.

“I was wondering that too. Until your dad sent me this.”

A text message from a “Mr. Hawthorne” appeared on the screen. Four lines read:

You’ve made it this far

Believe me, I’m impressed

Now go find the mountains

That lie in the west

“Riddles?” I scoffed. “This is getting ridiculous.”

I checked the maps we got from the lobby. “The mountains in the west, that’s Untersberg, right?”

“Ya. That’s strange. Let me see that text again.”

I handed her the phone as I gathered together my things. If this was one of the hardest things my father could throw at me, finding these gems would be a walk in the park.

“I don’t understand. He said it would be harder than this.”

“What?” I turned, not sure if I heard her right.

“Sorry, nothing.” Indi quickly shut off her phone. “We’ll start there then, I guess.” I eyed her suspiciously as we finished putting together our stuff.

We checked out and called a cab to take us to Untersberg. The whole way there we were silent. I didn’t know what to say to her. I realized her suspicious ways and small comments were making her more untrustworthy. But her past intrigued me, and I still wanted to learn more about her.

We arrived at the foot of a huge mountain peak. The area wasn’t extremely populated, but there were quite a bit of tourists roaming around. Some were drinking beer and relaxing in bars, but others were taking pictures of Untersberg, marveling at its immense size.

I looked to my left and saw a cable car taking people up the mountain.

“Should we go up and see what we find?” I turned towards Indi.

“Uh, sure,” she replied as she slowly put the pick axes and ropes back into her backpack.

We got inside a red cable car and made our way up the hill. Though it moved very slowly, it gave us the opportunity to gaze at the beauty of the valley and mountainside.

While the ride up was only about 10 minutes, the wait seemed like hours. There were a couple tourists inside with us, chatting with their friends and family. But Indi didn’t speak. In fact, she didn’t even look out the window away from me. She stood in the corner, closing her eyes tight and mumbling to herself.

“Hey, you OK?” I asked her.

She nodded her head violently, eyes still shut.

“Yep. Just trying not to look outside. I have a slight fear of heights.” She opened one eye to look at me. “Don’t be so surprised. I’ve got PTSD.”

I nodded, not willing to risk asking any more questions.

We finally reached the top, and the tourists toppled out like building blocks, all trying to get to the same place. On top of this massive mountain, a small restaurant entertained the guests resting from their treck up. We heard laughter and music coming from inside the building. It sounded like so much fun, and I desperately wanted to join in and at least get something to eat. Suddenly, Indi’s phone started beeping. She pulled it out of her pocket and read the text message she received:

You made it to the top

Congratulations

Now head inside to find your next clue

He’s getting impatient

I spun in a circle.

“OK, where are you?” I yelled across the mountaintop. People stared at me as they passed by and whispered to themselves. “I know he’s here.”

“He? Who’s he?” Indi studied the text message as I continued my delirious searching.

“How does my father know where we are?” I frantically scanned the area but found no sight of anyone I knew.

“Kid, look let’s just head inside and find the guy in the riddle. I’m sure we’ll find more answers there.”

Indi started to head in, but I stayed put. She turned around and beckoned me to join her.

“I don’t want to do this anymore,” I exclaimed and shook my head. “I don’t want to play my father’s little game. This whole endeavor is messing with my head. I can’t do this anymore, I just can’t.”

I then proceeded to sit on the ground and cry like a baby. Indi stood over me awkwardly, not sure if she should comfort me or let me work out my feelings. She finally reached out her hand to help me up. I looked at her with tear-stained eyes.

“I know, kid. I’m sorry. But if we don’t do this, who knows what’ll happen to your mom. Do this for her. I think you can do that, right?”

I sniffled and wiped my eyes. I finally nodded my head and took her hand. This was a side of Indi that I rarely ever saw. I really appreciated it.

We entered the restaurant and found it was quite cozy. The place was lit up and cheerful, with upbeat music playing in the background and people enjoying themselves with a meal or two. Indi decided to stock up on food just in case and ordered a few things off the menu.

I scanned the area to find… well, any man. I wasn’t sure who I’d be looking for, but I figured once I saw them I’d know.

I felt a tug on my shirt and was pulled away from my searching. Indi pointed to the corner of the restaurant.

“Isn’t that our cab driver who drove us here?”

Sure enough, the dirty-looking man with the smelly clothes and the worn out hat was eating a meal by himself. He smiled as he took a bite of what looked like steak and potatoes. Still as cheery as ever, he seemed to be talking to himself as he ate, mumbling words and phrases we couldn’t make out.

Without hesitation, Indi headed straight for the cabbie. She slammed her hand down on the table, startling the man, then plopped down in front of him. I was close behind her and sat down as well.

“Alright, old man,” Indi said in frustration. “I know you’ve got something to do with our mission. You work for Hawthorne, don’t you?”

The man smiled wide as he recognized us. “Hello, friends! Long time since I saw you two, eh?”

“Yeah, yeah, let’s cut to the chase.” She pulled out her phone and showed the man the riddle my father had given us. “Are you the guy waiting for us?”

He took a break from his meal and stared at the message. He studied it intensely, putting his hand to his chin and scratching his head. Then as if a light bulb popped into his funny little brain, he shot up.

“Yes! Yes, that is me. Yes, I am Emil.” He shot out his hand towards Indi. After she refused to shake it, I stuck my hand out and made the gesture for her. Indi sighed in exasperation and put away her phone.

“Fantastic. Now, are you supposed to show us where the ‘gem of power’ is?”

He nodded his head with a smile and chuckled a bit.

“I will take you there. Let me pay for the meal and we will go.”

I thanked him, and we headed outside to wait for Emil. Indi looked annoyed as she leaned against the building. She folded her arms and tapped her fingers against them. Her eyes wandered everywhere like she was looking for something. I finally had to tell her to calm down, she was stressing me out.

“I’m sorry. I just really want to save your mom, that’s all. I know how much she means to you. And the sooner we get these gems, the sooner we can get to her and head home.”

I nodded in agreement. “Thank you. I’m glad you care so much.”

“What, are you surprised? I’m not all heartless,” she chuckled. I smiled at her kindness.

“Come, friends!”

Suddenly we heard Emil’s voice from across the hill. He had his backpack on and a walking stick, cheerfully beckoning us to follow him. We did so without question.

We took one of the hiking trails that led to the higher part of the mountain. The weather wasn’t terrible; the sun was shining, a few clouds rested in the hazy blue sky, and the wind was picking up, but something definitely felt off about the path we were taking. It weaved left and right, up and down, not making it clear where we were heading. Finally, it disappeared altogether, but Emil seemed to know where he was going. He urged us to continue on the trail, even though there was none to follow.

After a few hours of walking, we stopped to rest in a grass field near a cliff. I didn’t dare step close to the edge, but even from my safe spot, I would still see the rolling valley below the mountain. Fields of jade surrounded Untersberg and swayed back and forth in the wind. I took a deep breath and really took in the fresh air around me. The views were absolutely breathtaking; I wanted to stand here forever.

“OK, we are here.”

Emil set down his pack and took out pickaxes, ropes, and harnesses. He tied one end of the rope to a boulder near the cliff and the other end he attached to a harness. He then handed us both ropes and harnesses, gesturing to do the same as him.

We both looked at him in shock and turned towards each other.

“I’m sorry, what?” I asked.

“The gem, it is over the cliff. You must go down and retrieve it. There is a cave inside the mountain that few people know exists. But me, I know.”

He laughed and again tried to hand us the gear.

“That’s ok, um… we have our own,” Indi replied.

We both pulled out our gear from our bags. I noticed Indi hands started shaking as he wrapped the rope around herself. She harnessed herself in, double checking every few seconds to make sure she was secure. We both edged nearer to the cliff. As scared as I was, I couldn’t even fathom how Indi was feeling right now. Her skin was pale and the once annoyed face she wore had quickly turned frightened.

I put my hand on her shoulder. Shocked, she pulled away at first. But noticing that I didn’t mean any harm, she started to relax.

“It’s going to be OK,” I assured her. “We will get through this. I’ll be right here the whole way down.”

Indi nodded and gave me a weak smile. I made my best efforts to comfort her as we started to recline down the side of the cliff, but on the inside, I was scared beyond belief. I wasn’t too scared of heights, but seeing that Emil was our only sign of safety, my heart beat faster and made me dizzy. I quickly shook it away and started the climb down.

The first part was most terrifying. It’s like a trust fall and you’re praying your person doesn’t let you fall. But as Emil slowly let us down, I started to feel a bit more confident. Indi was right behind me, edging bit by bit to catch up.

“You should eventually land on a ledge where the cave is,” I heard Emil faintly holler. “Do you see it yet?”

Although I was making the effort to not look down, I did so with bravery. Sure enough, a couple yards down there was a small ledge to stand on, which held into an opening in the mountain.

“I see it!” I yelled back.

I landed with a thud and unhooked my harness. I pulled out my flashlight to see what this cave looked like. Although deceivingly small from the outside, it was actually quite large inside, almost the size of a football field. The ceiling wasn’t very high, but it was very damp and it smelled horrible.

I flashed my light to gaze at the ceiling. Two dots seemed to glare back at me from above. Two more appeared, then four more, and soon the whole cave was filled with beady eyes. I stopped breathing.

Bats.

Surprisingly my light hadn’t startled them enough to pick up and leave, so I continued to shine it ahead of me. I heard another thud and a huge sigh of relief from Indi.

“I’ll be up here when you are done. Just holler!” Emil yelled down to us.

“Thank you, Emil,” I answered back. I beckoned Indi to come near my light. Her eyes were wide with fright from the fear she had just overcome. I patted her on the shoulder to congratulate her, but she just stared ahead, as if in a trance.

I continued to search for something shiny that would catch my flashlight. Indi brought hers out as well and looked around. I turned over rocks and pebbles, looking for the green object. After about half an hour, we still couldn’t find anything. I checked the ground for the fifth time in search of a secret basement or passage with the gem inside. Nothing.

The pale Indi climbing down the mountain soon went back to her frustrated ways, pacing around the cave and huffing big breaths. Annoyed, frustrated, and tired, she proceeded to hit the walls and yell.

“Indi, please calm down! It’s OK, we’ll find it. We just need to keep looking.”

“We’ve been looking for too long,” Indi exclaimed. “What if this was a trick? What if Emil lead us here to just leave us to die?”

“I’m sure that’s not true.” I walked outside the cave and called out to Emil.

“Emil! Are you up there still?”

There was no answer.

“Emil! This is serious! Please answer us!”

Still no reply.

I almost lost my breath. I heard a crack from behind me and a frustrated groan.

“What did I tell you?” Indi exclaimed. “We are stuck here. The gem isn’t here. This was our father’s plan all along. To kill off both of us; to get us out of the way.”

She punched the cave wall and let out a loud cry. I ran towards her to shine my flashlight on her hand. It was bruised and bleeding from her previous outburst, but this one had destroyed her fist. She held it close to her, ashamed of her actions.

But her punch dented the wall, and a huge door cracked open and slid to the side, revealing a hidden room. I shine the light into it, and at the very end, a greenish reflected glinted back at me.

I ran inside, with Indi close behind me. The gem rested on a pedestal by itself, the green almost blinding me. It literally glowed as I got closer to it. It felt surprisingly warm and continued to glow as I held the sacred object in my hands. Remembering how the glow had affected everyone else back in Ireland, I quickly wrapped it in one of my t-shirts and hid it in my backpack. I turned around, to Indi’s concerned face very close to mine.

“Can I see it?” she asked.

I shook my head, not wanting to risk blinding her. “I don’t want it to hurt your eyes. I’m the only one who can look at it without it damaging my sight.”

Indi sighed, but understood my concern. Suddenly, she received another text message. When she pulled it up on the screen, there was a picture and a riddle below it. In the picture, Maryland was gagged and tied up in a boat, riding across what looked like a lake.

I gasped and threw my hands over my mouth as Indi read:

You’ve found the first gem

So your mother is free

But your hometown friend is missing

Where could she be?

To save her you must act fast

And look across the waves

But isn’t that a bit difficult

When you’re stuck in the caves?

For the first chapter, read Confronting weaknesses. If you missed chapter two, read Is she OK?.

This writer can be reached via Twitter @schultz_kamryn and via email: Kamryn.