Part 7 by Mary Laird

Frederick looked inquisitively at the man as together, they stood at the base of the mountain. Frederick’s fingers still bled from his desperate attempts to get through that wretched brick wall, and he grimaced as he wiped them on his tattered shirt. He winced once more as he ripped at his checkered sleeve for cloth with which to wrap his torn hands, and inexplicably, the man beside him chuckled.

“You know, Frederick, you really should have just used the door! Would’ve saved us all a great deal of time, and we would not have had any of this falling through the wall nonsense. That’s the trouble with your kind … always overcomplicating things …”

The man trailed off as he watched his own hand, previously motionless, give a small twitch. Beyond the mountain, he knew, was the place for which he searched. Rumors had reached his ears of a secret tunnel system, large enough only for several people to pass through, that would allow him to circumvent the biting winter weather and travel from beneath LaFortune all the way to the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. He would not lose another limb to frostbite, of this he was certain.

The only obstacle between him and this ultimate power was the stone. He did not know if Frederick knew of the power it could bestow, or even of its existence, but it did not matter. Frederick would lead him, or he would return to the council and face death.

Want to write the next paragraph to the story? Submit your paragraph to [email protected] before 4 p.m. Limit of 200 words. Title it Part Eight. This story will continue until Nov. 16. If your paragraph is selected, it will be published in Viewpoint and you will get to read it at the NDLF panel discussion Nov. 19. The visiting authors will write the ending paragraphs. Take advantage of the opportunity to write a story along with three New York Times bestselling authors!