Atherton #3: The Dark Planet (No. 3) by Patrick Carman Page A

above, his breathing slowed and he
    continued moving until at last he reached the other side and
    stood up with a great sigh of relief.
    It was darker on this side, but soft orange and yellow light crept
    in through thin veins in the stone walls. He took a few steps
    toward the door at the back of the room.
    "This must be the way in--from the inside of Atherton," said
    Edgar. "The way that's blocked."
    And it was exactly as Dr. Kincaid had said it would be. When
    Edgar opened the door he saw a few feet of tunnel, followed by
    a wall of dirt and stone as if the ceiling had caved in from
    above.
    Edgar turned around and noticed something important about
    the gigantic black object: The back side had an opening that led
    inside. It was pitch-dark beyond the opening.
    Edgar edged forward cautiously, trying to be perfectly quiet.
    What if this thing is alive and doesn't like visitors? What if I
    wake it up? It could shoot a thousand arrows at me.
    His choices were severely limited. He had no desire to crawl
    underneath again; only monsters and firebugs awaited him on
    the other side. And the way inside Atherton was blocked. It
    seemed then to Edgar very much like he had been made to
    come here. His options, like a lit fuse, led only one way and
    seemed to vanish behind him....
    Stepping inside seemed to ignite something within. Fuzzy light
    appeared--and to Edgar's dread, the light was blue.
    "This thing is full of firebugs!" cried Edgar. But as he turned to
    run he had a feeling he was only partly right. Something
    different was going on here, something new.
    He took a few more tentative steps, placing him at the center of
    the object, truly inside, and all at once he saw from where the
    light had come.
    Firebugs indeed surrounded him on every side, but they were
    every where and nowhere all at once. The ceiling was filled
    with dancing blue dots and so was the floor. Edgar reached out
    his hand and touched--what was it? It felt like the glass Dr.
    Kincaid had shown him that surrounded the lantern in the cave.
    As Edgar moved his hand along the smooth and warm surface,
    the firebugs grew thick and mimicked the shape of his fingers.
    He pulled his hand away and saw that the shape of his hand
    remained in the blue light, then slowly disappeared as the
    firebugs moved off.
    He placed his hand on the glass again and watched the
    firebugs gather from the other side, then pulled his hand away.
    He leaned in close so his nose was almost touching the glass
    and watched with growing interest as the firebugs slowly began
    to drift off.
    Without warning, there was a tremendous BANG! on the
    surface as the glistening head of a cave eel smashed into the
    glass. Firebugs flew like sparks and Edgar jumped back, fal ing
    on the floor with a shout. The body of the cave eel slithered past
    and back into darkness, and Edgar marveled as he realized it
    was swimming.
    "There's water--or something like water--behind the glass."
    For the first time, Edgar really looked around and saw the inside
    of the vessel. The glowing blue of firebugs softly lit his way as
    he walked back and forth. It was a big space--twenty feet in
    length or nearly, and big around on every side. He could see
    the shadows of swimming cave eels as they swept by here and
    there. Soon he had counted seven but was sure there were
    more.
    Edgar had arrived at one end of the vessel and there he found
    rows of black chairs, fifteen chairs in all, plus a separate set of
    six chairs facing one another. Between the six chairs was a
    wide block of black stone or glass. Edgar sat down and saw
    firebugs immediately filling the inside of the chair beneath him.
    "Everything is connected," said Edgar. "It's like a living thing."
    The chair was now aflame from the inside with a million tiny
    dots of hovering blue. The outside of the chair was soft but
    clear, like glass that had lost its ability to stay solid. Edgar
    looked at the seat next to him and saw that something had been
    left there.
    "Who