MEMORIAL DAY 2024…
WAKE UP THE ECHOES OF THE SILENT NIGHT
Black clouds powered across the late dark afternoon sky. The student with short sandy hair rising up in rows, shifting out left and right, gazed up at the high grand blue stained glass window in the shape of a towering spear with several ridges at the top. His solemn, intense gaze drifted slowly down the dark blue marble wall, his blazing eyes searching, searching across the smooth, glossy surface where only shadows of students reflected. Pale blue criss crossing lights turned dark blue fading into falling shadows over the wide silent classroom. When the reflections disappeared instantly, the student sharply looked away. He sighed before turning back to his game hidden by his math book propped up open on his desk. He flicked a small paper ball across the paper. Another sigh slipped out as the paper ball just missed the small circle drawn in the corner. He glanced up nervously at his teacher droning on at the chalkboard about some kind of math puzzle. The student turned back to his game, his eyes dancing as he energetically scanned the paper. He set up the “ball,” then did a curving flick. It spun, moving right, then slowly, slowly spinning back left, landing right in the center of a small blue circle. “Yes,” he whispered. More dark shadows fell across the silent classroom. He gazed up at the empty blue wall under the window, and his smile quickly faded. That’s when he heard singing coming from the street outside.
It’s Christmas time in the Kingdom of Cadendas, City of Heyvas Caradames. Something dark and mysterious is happening in the schools. The aliens’ power has grown strong, and a final sinister plan is in motion. But the DadeStar Revolution is on the move as well, and Casey Cardade is working on something secret. Can you figure out what it is? Can you figure out what it will do? Leave a comment below if you have a guess. Tell us if you figured it out. The clues will be there. Click on the link if you want to check out the author’s facebook page and read the top pinned post of a bible study showing the mysterious story of Christmas:
https://www.facebook.com/jeff.sanborn.100/
Now, let’s get back to Cadendas on a cold, dark night before Christmas Eve.
Down below, on the dark blue marble street under the deep gold lamps holding out in the darkness of the late December afternoon, a small crowd of citizens stood at the edge, under the shadows of massive deep blue shimmering glass towers with grand blue stained-glass windows casting soft gold flickering lights from candles set across the bottoms. Dressed in all black, holding small dim gold lit candles, the citizens began to sing slowly and solemnly, the song, Ring Christmas Bells. They sang the eerie song slowly, with the melody rocking back and forth, but falling sharply. Their angelic voices echoed between the gloomy dark towers lit only with small candle clusters in the windows. The song had a somber mood, a haunting sadness about relentless loss. But deep within, was a strong sense of urgency, as they sang it faster and faster, their voices rising between the towers, echoing throughout the City of Heyvas Caradames in the Kingdom of Cadendas. Their voices sounded a warning, yet deep within, the song had a mysterious hope, waiting, waiting for someone to arrive, waiting for a light to appear out of the deepest dark…
Dim gold light flickered to the rhythm of Ring Christmas Bells outside in the far corner. “Ready for this Josh? Ready…” The light suddenly went out, crushed by a flying soccer ball. Josiah looked sharply away as the light crashed to the glossy blue floor.
Josh ran a hand through his sweaty sandy flattened rows flashing a concerned look that rolled over ending with a casual shrug. “Oh well.” He sprinted past Josiah appearing and disappearing in the dark orange filtered lights moving right and kicked the soccer ball around the long black marble table, cutting around Casey sitting at the corner. Josiah flashed around the other corner.
“That’s the third light we’ve broken in the last thirty minutes,” said Josiah.
“We just have to be more careful.” Josh dribbled over to the shimmering right corner of the table by the window. Gloomy dark orange moonlight splashed through the three towering grand blue stained glass windows as the solemn mysterious singing continued outside. Josh faked left, cut right, slid, then shot back left and kicked it up past Josiah. The ball flew across the table knocking over the blue flower pot holding several bright red roses. Josiah buried his head in his hands. Josh watched as the ball bounced off the table and just missed the space under the far left window. Then he hung his head. “We just have to find a way to avoid breaking things,” said Josh.
“There has to be a way,” Josiah echoed solemnly.
“You could just stop playing soccer in the room,” said Casey, still staring down at the project he was making.
Josiah and Josh exchanged sharply confused looks.
“What’s he mean?” asked Josh.
“I have no idea,” answered Josiah. Just then, David and Callie entered the room. They stopped for a moment, shaking their heads at the broken glass at various corners of the room, now dimly lit by two clusters of dark gold candle lights.
The four of them sat down at the table joining Casey. Josiah greeted them brightly, but his smile faded as he took in their grave expressions. “We’re going to lose more of them aren’t we?”
“I’d like to say a prayer,” David began, “before we get ready for the show. Join in if you want to.”
The mysterious angelic singing continued rising outside the dark blue windows casting stretched dark orange moonlight into the cold room. The gold candle clusters in the windows barely lit the city falling under heavy cold darkness.
“Dear God,” David began, “our students are struggling more than ever. They feel so much pressure to succeed, but when they do, no one notices. They sit quietly in the darkness while their friends just pass by. They succeed, but then their teachers and their parents just want more and more and more. They don’t know where to turn so they reach out, but they are turning to the bright promises of the aliens, to the secret paths to find great prestige. We ask you to be with us here in Cadendas, to be with us tonight. We also ask you to be with Cade, Blake, and Drew on their mission. We ask you to give us the power to show them the light. Help them to find hope. Help them to see their true worth, like the shepherd watching over his flock in the field at night, away from the city lights, taking care of his field, in the heavy darkness, the only place where a light can really shine, to be seen by a great, dedicated witness. Help them to have the vision they need to see the way in front of them, instead of going for the secret paths. Help them to see the light. Thank you for this night. Thank you for bringing us together.”
Later that night, Josiah, Casey, Josh, David, and Callie stood out on the balcony, gazing across the stadium-shaped city of dark blue towers lit only by dark gold candles in the deep blue windows. Josiah glanced at his pocketwatch: 11:59. “It’s almost time,” he said quietly, shuffling his shoes up and down, then out sideways, dancing under the fiery dark orange moonlight. Fiery gold lights reflected in the deep blue river running down the center of the city far below. Casey sighed as Josh kicked the soccer ball over and over against the balcony wall. The five of them gazed up solemnly. A slim triangular neon blue alien ship blazed across the sky. Intense dazzling gold dust spread out across the dark orange haze. Josiah’s bright eyes shot left and right. His gaze fell as he noticed the many students standing out at various balconies, staring up intensely at the alien lights.
He sighed heavily, turning to David and Callie. “There are even more of them than before.”
“What we do now?” asked Josh. The dazzling gold lights across the sky formed brilliant stars. All the students stared directly at them.
“How do we get them to stop staring?” asked Josiah.
“With this,” Casey answered, pulling out the finished project. He put up a large dark blue shimmering stained-glass window.
“What will that do?” asked Josh.
Josiah smiled. “It will magnify our voices so they will hear us.”
As the chaotic lights blazed across the night sky, David began singing Silent Night in a strong yet still voice. As he sang, the intense rush of the alien ships flying over began to fade out. In the second verse, Callie started singing with him, but in an echo. He sang the words Silent Night followed by her angelic, calm voice singing the word Silent in three higher notes, each one falling slightly, then one note lower with the word Night. Her echoing gave a mysterious power to the song, driving the hope within the stillness. Later on, David nodded to Josiah who sang with them, adding a strong, bright vibrance, combining youthful hope and faith with the strong determination holding out strong through the darkness, with a slow burning fire that glows bright through the deepest dark. Josiah smiled when he saw all the students turn away from the intense overpowering lights and turn to their song, listening to their voices, and seeing the gold streaks of light reflected across Casey’s window as Josh kicked the ball back and forth in front of it, creating the visual of a single strong shooting star. Their singing rang out through the cold, dark night, as a strong fire that burns brighter shaped and sharpened by the heavy darkness, and like shooting stars, they lit up the dark corners that had not been seen before. Their shooting stars showed a new way through the cold darkness, blazing a trail of stars not putting on a show, but showing the way…
MYSTERY OF THE FLASH KIDS’ DARING ESCAPE PLAN: CHAPTER FIVE
Stale light filtered in through the high-set maroon and blue stained-glass arched windows of the wide circular classroom. Aliens stood on the high grand blue balconies, staring down with their crescent moon eyes at the students sitting in the lower shadows far under the streaming lights striking the bare blue marble walls. The teacher stood still at the blackboard writing long math equations. The kids stared at their math books, all propped up on their desks, open wide across the back of their desks. One student gazed up at the high windows where black clouds fired past. He stared intently at the colourful glass panels forged together, lit up by the passing stale flickering lights. The other kids stared down at their desk tops in the gloomy chill of the late afternoon, a few of them starting to nod off, waiting for the lights to pass, for the shadows to fall heavier over the dreary classroom, waiting for the darker clouds to pass by outside…
It’s time for the final chapter of the Flash Kids’ Daring Escape Plan, a story about the DadeStar Revolution lighting up in the schools, leading up to Book Four coming up this Memorial Day in the USA. Have you figured out where the aliens have the key hidden? Check out the school description below to see if you can figure it out. But that’s only part of it. How will they escape? What is their secret plan? Once Cameron adds his final clues to the message, read it, really study it, and see if you can figure out what their secret plan is. You have to really look. Leave a comment below if you think you figured it out. Then read what happens. After that, get ready for Book Four called:
MYSTERY OF THE IZMAD PEAK LIGHT
It will be here on Memorial Day. Check out the author’s facebook page to follow the mystery series even closer. You can get inside information about what’s happening. You can see posts about his mountain climbs and bible studies, where he gets his inspiration for this book series. Check it out here:
https://www.facebook.com/jeff.sanborn.100/
Get ready to go on an epic adventure to take on the aliens and show them there is nowhere they can go that the DadeStar kids can’t reach. It’s time to take the fight to them.
My name is Cameron Darshia. I’m from Camden Saze, City of Cadensiah. I learned about what was going on in Canderras, and wanted to figure out how those students could escape. Where would the aliens hide the key? I looked over the description of the school:
SCHOOL OF CANDERRAS:
DOME TOP BALLROOM:
*DANCING STARLIGHTS ON CEILING
*GROOVES IN THE FLOOR REACHING OUT IN VARIOUS DIRECTIONS
WIDE CIRCULAR CLASSROOMS:
*SHIMMERING BLUE WAVY CEILING
*GLOSSY BLUE MARBLE FLOOR LIKE OCEAN
GREAT READING ROOM:
*MASSIVE GRAND WINDOWS WITH TREES JUST OUTSIDE
*TOWERING BOOKCASES MADE OF BLACK MARBLE
GRAND STUDY ROOM:
*FANCY GOLD CHANDELIER LIGHTS HANGING DOWN LOW
*DEEP DARK BLUE POOLS WITH COLOURED LIGHTS UNDERNEATH SURFACE
GRAND ROTUNDA:
*WIDE BLUE MARBLE STAIRCASES WITH FANCY RAILINGS
*BLACK GLOSSY MARBLE FLOOR WITH BIZARRE REFLECTIONS
Where would they hide it? It would probably be somewhere they figure the students either wouldn’t look or wouldn’t see. Where would the students not look? Where are they not allowed to look? My head was spinning. I had to get outside and move around, maybe do some surfing down the mountain slopes. But what really helps me think is dancing. When I study, I take breaks and dance. I once had to write a three page report. It was supposed to take about an hour, but with all my dance breaks, it took me ten hours. This time though, it didn’t take that long. I live in Cashes Dade now, and they’re building a small city at the top of the mountain peak so they don’t really have a dance hall. I don’t need one anyway. I found a wide, flat meadow and started dancing. I did my back sliding move, fast spins, launch jumps, and lightning flashes. You’re probably wondering what lightning flashes are, well not what they actually are, but what they mean as my dance moves. I slide one way, then switch back diving across the floor or grass in this case, and show up on the opposite side. I fly around. When I was done I looked around at all the black dirt I kicked up among the grass. I even saw a few weeds I didn’t know were there before. The last part of my dance is when it all clicked. That’s when I figured it out, when I launched to the top of the rock cluster, and in one smooth flash, I spun back and gazed down at the soggy meadow from high up. Then I sent this message to the students of Canderras with my final addition:
The climber must be determined to see
By flying to find your way is the key
Sometimes dance your way to be free
The way up, you will go step by step
Let your heart lead, blind you to prep
What you feel deep shows them how to rep
Music is the key to find the way while you fly
The songs we sing are the true ways you go high
There is a hidden message you must now take to see
Take the staircase one step at a time down to the tree
In the grand rotunda follow the steps to steal the key
Darker shadows fell over the wide circular classroom in the silence of the late afternoon. The students stared at their copies of the final message on their desks, hidden by their open math books. One student stared at the dark maroon and blue stained-glass arched windows when a neon blue light flashed across the glass. He slammed his book down hard on his desk. At that moment, all the students in the classroom slammed their books down on their desks. The teacher slowly turned around. One student began rhythmically drumming on her desk. In an instant, all the others drummed on their desks, and tapping on the glossy blue marble floor. Deep reflections shot out under their shoes. The aliens stared down intensely from their high grand blue balconies. Then one student jumped up on his desk, shifting fast back and forth across the surface. The others instantly jumped up on their desk tops, sliding fast with their slick shoes. The teacher started protesting. The aliens signaled to each other, gesturing down to the students. Several aliens emerged from small, grand doors when the noise of students dancing in the Great Reading Room and the Grand Study Room echoed out rhythmically throughout the gloomy school. The students started shouting out, sliding and jumping on the desks. Teachers gathered outside the various rooms in the winding circular halls, shouting at the students. In an instant, all the students spread out, spilling out into the halls, dancing to a fast, energetic rhythm. They slid incredibly fast across the floor, cutting in and out, switching places in a dizzying pattern. The aliens began directing the teachers to block the students when intense pounding from the Dome Top Ballroom above boomed out over them. They gazed up as the students danced and shouted in a high flying melody, rattling the black glossy marble floor. That’s when they saw the key bouncing up out of the grooves in the floor branching out in various directions. One student picked up the key in one swift move. The kids went sliding down the fancy railings one after another after another. Some kids sang out in loud shouting, a high flying song getting louder and louder, echoing all through the dark gloomy school. The fast moving dance took over the school as the kids spilled into the Grand Rotunda. The teachers and aliens struggled to contain them. The kids sliding fast in opposite directions, jumping high, flying across the shimmering black floor. Just then, brighter blue and red lights spilled into the school, crossing at various points. The kids shouted out their high flying song even louder and incredibly fast. The student with the key opened the grand door and all the students danced their way out of the dark school in a brilliant flash and into freedom as they sang out the hidden message in the secret message put together by students around the kingdoms:
The flying dance will blind them while you take the key.
MYSTERY OF THE FLASH KIDS’ DARING ESCAPE PLAN: CHAPTER FOUR
To the students of Canderras, this is my message. My name is Ryan Sayvas. I’m from the Kingdom of Carsenevas, City of Dayas Cadenmay. We are called the water city. Our city basically floats on a massive lake. It’s awesome. I’m a piano player and soon you’ll hear the music filling out every hall. (The aliens will hear it too, and feel it hitting them from all sides, knocking them to the floor) I got a letter from a friend back in my school. He was in trouble. So, I raced there. I took the fastest boat in the west, and flew down the river. The aliens saw me leave Cashes Dade, but they couldn’t stop me because all they would have seen was a fiery blue streak shooting across the glittering waters…
Have you noticed something bizarre about the aliens? I mean, I know they’re aliens, but what’s missing? We know they talk, kind of, just in a really odd way. We don’t see much of how they live, but they seem pretty similar. I think they have parties. But I don’t see baloons. You can’t have parties without baloons. When I get older and I open my new business called The Place, there will be tons of baloons. They’ll be everywhere, bouncing up and down, coming out of secret doors. But anyway, have you noticed what’s missing? I’ll tell you. They never sing. Have you ever heard them sing? No. They do kind of dance, but not really. They float up and down. They kind of play music, but it has no rhythm, no melody, it’s just searching noise. In fact, there is something they really seem to hate: music. It’s like it hurts them…
My friend plays the piano. He loves putting on shows. It’s not just the songs he writes or how good he plays, it’s the way he plays. He pretty much dances as he plays, like even on the piano. He truly puts on a show. The aliens even allowed it, until he played Bloody, Bloody Friday. If you know the song, it’s a protest song, you can figure why the aliens would shut it down. But that’s not the reason they shut it down. The real reason they shut it down is because of how the students reacted when he played it. His playing lit the place on fire…
But the aliens would not allow him to play anymore shows. He was devastated, and really wanted to take it to the aliens. I met with him at his home. He had a really nice home built with bright gold long bricks and gold crystal windows. He had tons of paintings on every wall, showing all kinds of cool landscapes with crazy storms. I promised him we would find a way. First, we had to find a new place he could play in secret. I decided the old cellar in the school could work. It was a really big, wide empty room with cracks all over the bare dark gold dusty walls. It muffled sound really well. The aliens wouldn’t hear the music, but they would feel it, feel the vibrations but not know where it was coming from. But I had to find a way to tell all the students without the aliens figuring it out. Watch what I do, and see if you can figure out the secret, how I pull it off.
I sent out this invitation to all the students:
You have all been invited to Brendan Cayvers’ birthday party. Get ready, ready to celebrate and jump. The time, time for this party will be on Friday at Seven O’clock. Let’s make sure we fill the big room with presents and bring streamers to put on the empty walls so the room is bright and cheerful when we start the party. Hopefully we won’t get too loud when we sing, sing to Brendan when he gets the cake. Remember, it’s all going down on Friday, at the place where I’m sure we’ll learn a lot when we all share our gifts. All the students are invited to join and rock the place.
Did you figure it out? When the students read this, they might just realize the true location of this party, since they all know Brendan’s home doesn’t have empty walls like the cellar at the school does. There are other clues, especially if you check out The Cashes Dade Beacon and read about the song Bloody, Bloody Friday. Then you should definitely see, see the clues for what is going to happen.
Students of Canderras, let me tell you what I told my friend. I told him, what really counts is staying true to who you are and what you can do. Don’t let the aliens take that away from you. Keep playing your music and playing the way that makes you really shine, and light places on fire. Dancing is the way to become free, to lift off the ground, and reach for the skies. Then, the aliens will hear the rhythms, the booming from the deep, and they will feel the power of all of us singing and dancing in the best ways we can. Soon enough, this strong, energetic music powering on and on and on will shake the floors, rattle the walls, and even open locked doors…
The climber must be determined to see
By flying to find your way is the key
Sometimes dance your way to be free
The way up, you will go step by step
Let your heart lead, blind you to prep
What you feel deep shows them how to rep
Music is the key to find the way while you fly
The songs we sing are the true ways you go high
MYSTERY OF THE FLASH KIDS’ DARING ESCAPE PLAN: CHAPTER ONE
March 22, Year 53, will never be forgotten (We won’t let it, we’ll sing it so loud they can’t forget). For those of us in Cashes Dade, it’s because we can’t stop seeing it. To the students of Canderras, this is my report. The aliens claim seven of our citizens attacked them unjustly, and tried to destroy something incredibly important. Like they could even build something important, like my castle. You really should see it. It has three surrounding water channels, seven levels, each further in, a drawbridge, and grand stained-glass windows that open surprisingly fast where the soldiers shoot out cannons suddenly. It took me four months, working on it late every night after getting my schoolwork done, to build it, and I keep adding to it, drawing really cool pictures that go inside that you can see through the windows, and look different at different times of day. Anyway, they say our people are dangerous, our students are lazy, and our kingdom is a cancer that must be destroyed for the good of the world. I’ll never forget that day, but not for the reason you would think. It’s not because of what the aliens did or what I had to see, but for how I felt on my way to school…
Are you ready to solve another mystery? The DadeStar Revolution is heating up. There’s a movement in the schools. In the last book, we were introduced to Austin Candor (and his always changing coloured hair), Cameron Darshia, and Ryan Sayvas. These students have joined the movement and are working in the schools to spread the DadeStar message. But there is a school in the Kingdom of Canderras, City of Caras Maradimes, where the students are really struggling. There is a student who has written a letter to the students of Cashes Dade, asking for help. He says the aliens have shut down all forms of music-singing, playing, and dancing. Music and creativity are what drive these students, and what they enjoy the most. He has written a report to the Cashes Dade Ghost Strikers to ask for their help to figure out how the kids can escape this dark, gloomy school. They are locked in, and there is only one large door at the front that can only be opened with the key. The aliens also guard the door closely.
If you want to join the movement, you can help as well, by solving this mystery. In this case, the mystery will come from the students. It’s a puzzle. Can you put the pieces together? But you’ll have to look deeper to find the hidden key within the puzzle. This will be the first of six posts with reports written by different students who will each offer a clue for how the students can escape this school so they can go to Cashes Dade where they can be free.
Do you want to really join the DadeStar Revolution? Check out the author’s facebook page to follow the mystery series even closer. You can get inside information about what’s happening. You can see posts about his mountain climbs and bible studies, where he gets his inspiration for this book series. Check it out here:
https://www.facebook.com/jeff.sanborn.100/
Read carefully to see if you can find the clue within each report. Check out the description of the school to see if you can figure out how they can escape. The school is locked down. The key is hidden somewhere. Can you find the way out?
SCHOOL OF CANDERRAS:
DOME TOP BALLROOM:
*DANCING STARLIGHTS ON CEILING
*GROOVES IN THE FLOOR REACHING OUT IN VARIOUS DIRECTIONS
WIDE CIRCULAR CLASSROOMS:
*SHIMMERING BLUE WAVY CEILING
*GLOSSY BLUE MARBLE FLOOR LIKE OCEAN
GREAT READING ROOM:
*MASSIVE GRAND WINDOWS WITH TREES JUST OUTSIDE
*TOWERING BOOKCASES MADE OF BLACK MARBLE
GRAND STUDY ROOM:
*FANCY GOLD CHANDELIER LIGHTS HANGING DOWN LOW
*DEEP DARK BLUE POOLS WITH COLOURED LIGHTS UNDERNEATH SURFACE
GRAND ROTUNDA:
*WIDE BLUE MARBLE STAIRCASES WITH FANCY RAILINGS
*BLACK GLOSSY MARBLE FLOOR WITH BIZARRE REFLECTIONS
I missed three days of school. Although, I wouldn’t say I missed school. I threw up once for every day missed. I felt so dizzy, so sick, trying to move anywhere felt impossible. But then I got a letter from the alien leaders at school. They said I was close to failing out and would have to be sent to The Dathmore, the prison for failed students. They claim those of us getting sick from their fountain light are getting sick because we’re lazy students. Walking to school that day was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, even harder than those stupid math story problems. At first, I could barely see where I was going, my vision was so blurry, and I felt so sick. I had to keep stopping. But then, I realized the key to keep moving. I just had to focus on one thing, just ahead, and take it one step at a time going down, and just blur out the rest. In fact, the way I made it was by dancing. You see, I could barely look up, but I remembered how the blue crystal sidewalk looked on my path to school where I did my dance steps, zigzagging back and forth as fast as I could. So, I didn’t see the Dadeluce Fountain, the alien light, the aliens, or the protesters, except one…
I couldn’t see their face. To this day, I don’t know which protester he or she was. All I could see was their hands, held up like a shield, blocking the light I guess. They were bare, not holding anything, but trying to hold back the alien powers. Then, I saw a brilliant flash from the side, and I saw the hands fall…
The aliens claim they were only defending themselves and the fountain from destruction. They claim they just struck out at them once just to stop them, not to murder them. They claim they only struck them once with the fire light, which was blinding. You see, it blinded everyone who was around so they couldn’t see what happened next, but because I wasn’t looking up, but focused on one thing, I wasn’t blinded. I saw movement, and I heard sounds. What I heard was some kind of pounding…I can’t completely describe it because it haunts me. Have you heard our protest song called Bloody, Bloody Friday? It reveals the secret, the real reason why we know the aliens lied. It’s because the next thing I saw after the hands fell was blood in the streets…
MYSTERY OF THE CHRISTMAS GHOST EXPRESS PART ONE
The December sky flows like blood close overhead. The aliens called me a loser, a lazy student. But I’m smart enough to know exactly when the Christmas Ghost Express will arrive. I’m always the first one to see them. I can see the sky through my dark blue glass window dusted with ice crystals, especially at night when all my gold dust stars in my room glow bright. I have them all over my walls…and ceiling…and door…oh yeah, and on some my clothes. Okay, all of my clothes. I have planet stickers all over too. My room is a galaxy. When they start glowing bright, that’s when I know it’s time, to check out the sky.
I keep track of all the stars’ movements and planets, but mostly, I keep track of all the alien movements. I know way more about them and what they’re doing than they realize. I wonder what other civilizations are out there, far away, maybe completely isolated and alone, and no one knows they exist, just like me…
Outside the fields are flat, gray, and dead, until the snow falls. On this cold, snowing night, I gaze out at the vast, white empty landscape. The shrill winds constantly change the shapes, making all kinds of hills and spiraling designs over the fields. As darkness falls I can still see the three neon blue ice bluffs among the never ending hills and valleys of snow.
I just finished designing a new galaxy. I like how the lights cross over the planets from different directions, making really awesome colours at different times of the day. You should see it. It’s the best looking galaxy in the universe. What was I saying? Oh yeah, I get distracted sometimes…all the time.
I look to my left and then to my right at the fading candle lights in the windows of the other small homes and shops on our single street. Our village is surrounded by cold emptiness. I look up at the wet, falling snow, falling like sheets so much that all the dark, hazy distance disappears and that’s when it happens, that’s when I hear it…
Deep humming starts up in a fast, driving rhythm. Then they start singing in low, quiet voices: “Christmas lights are here, Christmas lights are here, Christmas lights are here.”
Have you ever seen the Christmas Ghost Express? Cade, Blake, and Josiah are about to go on an adventure into the frozen north in the darkest time of the year to find it. No one knows where the ghosts first appear. But they aren’t just trying to find it for themselves, they’re hoping to help out some people who have been forgotten. There are some kids who live far in the north, a place no one ever visits. They live isolated and alone in a vast, empty place. But now, the aliens have made it so no one can reach them…
In the Kingdom of Carolmire, the land where it’s always Christmas, the people are in serious trouble. The citizens of Cashes Dade, who now live on the top of a high mountain since their kingdom was destroyed by the aliens, have seen a ton of alien activity and alien lights. The aliens clearly have them surrounded and blocked in so that no one can visit them, nothing can be sent to them. They must be running out of key supplies, important medicines. They have to work long hours in the mines, so many of them are probably getting sick. Also, friends and family can’t send letters and gifts to them. But there is one way through that even the aliens can’t stop…
If Cade, Blake, and Josiah can find the exact place where the Christmas Ghost Express begins, they can jump on board and take all kinds of medicines, supplies, letters, and gifts to the people of Carolmire. They know this happens somewhere along the northwest river between where the river turns up to Caden Ivys and the dead end into the river flowing north to Dascade Iris. No one knows exactly where they first appear, and when they do, they leave immediately and fast for the secret path up north ending here in Carolmire. But they start at one of the following four places on the south side of the northwest ice flow river. Can you solve the mystery? Can you figure out which one it is?
*AT THE FAR WEST IS A ROW OF FOUR SLOW RISING MOUNTAINS, ALL CONNECTED, EACH ONE HIGHER TO THE RIGHT. THE PEAK OF THE FIRST THREE IS RELATIVELY ROUND AND WIDE, BUT THE LAST ONE IS MORE NARROW, SHOOTING STRAIGHT UP. THEY HAVE TOWERING RISING EVERGREENS WITH CONE SHAPED TOPS THAT GLITTER GOLD AT NIGHT.
*AT THE CENTER LEFT ARE TWO ROWS OF MOUNTAINS RISING UP FROM LEFT AND RIGHT LIKE A STAIRCASE LEADING UP TO A WIDE LEVEL MOUNTAIN TOP. THEY ARE DOTTED WITH ONLY A FEW SMALL WIDE EVERGREENS AMONG DARK GREEN FIELDS AND COLOURFUL FLOWERS THAT GLOW AT NIGHT.
*AT THE CENTER RIGHT IS A SPIRALING MASS OF TOWERING MOUNTAINS WITH A NARROW VALLEY CUTTING DOWN TO THE RIGHT COVERED WITH LUSH BLUE RED AND GREEN EVERGREENS WITH REALLY TALL SPIRALING BRANCHES RISING FROM THE BRIGHT GREEN FOREST FLOOR COVERED IN GOLDEN FLOWERS.
*AT THE FAR EAST EDGE, THERE IS A SPIRALING CLUSTER OF SMALLER MOUNTAINS WITH ONE MASSIVE AND TALL ONE IN THE CENTER. THEY ARE COVERED WITH NEON BLUE EVERGREENS IN A REALLY HEAVY FOREST THAT GLOW BRIGHTLY AT NIGHT.
One of these places is where they begin, but you have to be there right when they appear. The key clue is the song, Silent Night. When you see the bright, intense gold-lit trail of ghosts flying fast across the ice, you will know you’ve found the Christmas Ghost Express and you can reach Carolmire. The key clue for which place it is, can be found in these four letters written by students from Carolmire several years ago. Can you figure it out?
Winter has been rough this year. Sometimes the darkness falls down in waves. But I wait until the silence of the night. Even though I feel alone, and it gets so quiet, that’s when I feel at peace. I can see a lot more when all goes still, when the winds die down through the empty hills.
We are surrounded by our enemies digging our graves. But like Israel we have a mysterious power to fight. The alien lights are like a massive fence all around us, but the more I see them, the more hope I have, because I realize they can’t destroy us. Our strength is renewed by fire.
There have been so many students like me who get rejected. Nothing is ever good enough for them. They don’t notice how hard we try. They only see what they think is important. We have suffered so much rejection and pain. But I find peace and truth in continuing to do what’s right.
It’s such a long, hard journey through the heavy snow drifts. When the snow is falling in sheets, the cold winds are stinging my face, I know all I have to do is just keep moving forward, one step at a time, and I’ll get there. It’s hard to see hope in the deepest dark terrain. But that’s when I hear their singing, glowing bright.
The Kingdom of Carolmire is in trouble and they need help. They will look to Cashes Dade, looking for kids who are courageous enough and crazy enough to break through the alien defenses to follow ghosts in the night. They need Cade Mayson’s ghost like running skills, Blake Candade’s intense determination and strength, and Josiah Mardade’s creative vision and ideas. Will they find the way through to reach Carolmire? Next week on Christmas Eve we will find out and the answer to the mystery will be revealed. But there’s another danger. The kids aren’t the only ones trying to find the Christmas Ghost Express…
WHAT IS THE ALIENS’ BIG LIE?
There’s something happening in the schools of DarkCorner Land, something secret, something big. The aliens run the schools of DarkCorner Land, and they have high expectations for every student. Imagine having an alien in your classroom at all times, watching you, staring at you. But you have no idea what they’re thinking. Maybe you think your own school is really run by aliens! Maybe you think your teacher is really an alien. Maybe they are… But in DarkCorner Land, you still have human teachers, but what would be the principal for them, they just call them the School Leader, is an alien. Imagine seeing the teacher go over to the alien watching the class and the alien points to you. Then a messenger will tell you what the alien wants you to know, and it’s probably not good.
They are really strict about behavior, and make students do large amounts of schoolwork every day. They challenge every student to succeed, but only in a certain way. If you’re great at art, they don’t care because they don’t see how art offers any answers for the dark illnesses. If you’re great at sports, they don’t care because they see those activities as a waste of time altogether. If you’re great at music, they don’t care because how will that solve the dark illnesses? If you’re great at history, there’s nothing there about dark illnesses so they see that as a waste. If you have really cool ideas, are creative, can make things, you guessed it, they don’t care because they see themselves as far more advanced than us so they don’t see how some kid is going to figure something out about the dark illnesses if they haven’t. They only believe the subjects of math, science, and reading about their civilization are important. They have now unveiled what they call “The Path to Freedom.” It’s a written document sent to all the kingdoms, including the new Cashes Dade. The aliens claim that this is the way to lead all the people to freedom from the dark illnesses that come from the dark spirits who haunt the land. But students like Cade Mayson, Blake Candade, and Drew Marsher think it’s a big lie…
It’s time for the first mystery challenge of the next book coming out this next Memorial Day. It’s going to be epic. This will be a two-part mystery challenge. In this post, we’ll look at the aliens’ document about “The Path to Freedom.” We’ll see how they explain it in their own words, and how they try to prove that they are the ones to save the people from the dark spirits. In two weeks, we’ll see the response from Cade and the other students who believe the aliens are lying. The answer will not be revealed in the posts, you’ll have to read the rest of the series to find out who’s lying. But after the second part, we will reveal a key clue that hints at the answer. Can you figure out who’s telling the truth? The clues will be there. Decide what you think. Leave a comment below if you think you know the answer and tell us what clues you think you have seen. Are the aliens really lying? Could Cade and the ghost strikers be lying, or might they just be mistaken? But maybe the real question is, if the aliens are lying, why?
THE PATH TO FREEDOM
We have the greatest empire in the universe. We saw your planet in our explorations and saw a planet in great distress with many problems. Your schools were a complete mess. You students fight each other constantly. You are so greatly divided, in so many ways. You have contests fighting over who has the best pictures. You hate those who play for or cheer for other teams. You get jealous of those who are popular on stage. You break up friendships about what happened in the past. You ignore those who stand out too much. Meanwhile, you can’t even come together to fight deadly illnesses…
In your dark corner kingdoms, you are haunted by dark spirits. We have captured some of them and put them to work for us. But the others are still free, developing stronger dark illnesses that overtake you. First they give you terrible nightmares that seem all too real. You become scared of what you might become, a loser all alone. Then you see things that aren’t real, you begin to see only darkness and everyone and everything becomes distorted and dark. You look in the mirror and see a twisted, dark reflection that makes you feel inferior to everyone else. Then it shuts you down until you can’t move, you have no desire to do even the things you used to enjoy, and finally it leads to death. But we have the answer. That’s why we’re here, to save you, if you’ll trust our way…
The answer is in our schools. If you have what it takes-intelligence and discipline, you can achieve the high standards that will lead to finding the answer for how to defeat these dark spirits and overcome their dark illnesses. When you understand high math and science, then see how we used that to build our supreme towers and cities, you can discover the answer. You can chase after dreams that turn into ghosts. You can go run around in the mountains or the hills or the fields and play uselessly, finding nothing, there’s nothing to find out there, or you can reach high, sit still and study our way to find the real answer. The choice is yours…
The aliens are working on a secret project. Austin, Ryan, and Cameron are now allies on a mission to find out what the aliens are doing. The aliens claim they have to work on finding the answer before the dark spirits do which is why they must be secretive. They claim they must find the answer without letting the dark spirits figure out how to respond and overcome them. The kids work in the shadows, trying to find their way to gain strong positions to discover what the aliens are developing. Maybe the aliens are developing some kind of new weapon to destroy them all. But the kids are working on figuring out how to defend themselves against any alien attack.
What is a lie? The key point to remember about lying is it doesn’t mean you’re wrong, it means you know the truth but tell something different, something you know is wrong. Those who lie tend to hide. They hide their actions so they can hide the truth. So, who’s hiding? The aliens are hiding their actions, being really secretive, but Cade has something to hide as well. He is keeping a deep secret, and it’s not what you think…
CHARACTER FUN FACTS: WHAT IS CADE’S REAL MISSION?
“Something changed with your parents, like they had a new dream.” This was something an old man, who did a lot of business with Cade’s parents, told him. A big part of that dream was climbing Izmad Peak, the highest mountain in DarkCorner Land. No one knows whether they reached the summit, but the aliens ranked them as WhiteStar after that, and invited them to take on a high position in their city, Arapreshday. His parents gained a lot of respect and admiration from the people, and the aliens, after climbing the highest and most dangerous mountain. The mountain is too far north and iced over to mine. The mountain has no resources so there would be no other reason to climb it, or would there?
A spark was lit during the play at Lincon Bereen School when Cade led the students out. The spark might be enough to start the fire of the DadeStar Revolution. The next schoolyear brings a lot of anxiety for students in DarkCorner Land, worried about the intense days at school, being watched by aliens. They dread the piles of schoolwork and high expectations for behavior and grades. BlackStar Students worry about whether they can meet their standards or be sent to the Dathmore, the cold underground prison. Austin, Ryan, and Cameron are on a mission to go to the other schools and set more students free. Cade Mayson is on his own mission, but there’s something holding him back, something he can’t yet overcome. Can you figure out what it is? The clues will be there. Through the summer the rumors spread to every school. They begin to whisper about escaping and becoming free. But others begin to whisper about taking back their schools, and kicking the aliens out…
So why did Cade’s parents go to Izmad Peak? That’s what Cade will be trying to find out. His mission is to go there and climb to the top. In the summer following the play at the Coldor Auditorium in Dayascade, Cade began preparing for the big climb by developing his mountain climbing skills. He believes his parents may have left a secret message there for him. But it’s that line, what the old man said about his parents having a new dream, that plays in his mind over and over and over again…
Cade Mayson has an unusual method in deciding which mountains he wants to climb. Does he pick the tallest ones? Does he pick the most challenging looking ones? Does he pick the ones that are most safe from the aliens? You would think he would do that last one for sure, but you would be wrong. No, Cade picks his mountains by which one has the best name, not the name it’s actually called, the name he comes up with. But that’s not the strangest part, it’s the names he comes up with. Cade has come up with such amazing names as Twisted Sister Happy Shoe, Upside Down Clown Face, Sad Tangerine Giraffe, Clapping Fat Cat, and Dancing Left-Eyed Cow. Let me explain that last one…well…I can’t. How he comes up with those names is really the greatest mystery.
No one prepares for a mountain climb the way Cade does. Discovering what’s in Cade’s backpack is more of an adventure than the mountain climb itself. What will you find in his pack? Some things are what you would expect, like bottles of water, sometimes a ridiculous amount of them. Yet somehow, some way, he always runs out. Cade has solved some complicated puzzles and mysteries, but figuring out how to save enough water for the whole climb is just too hard to solve. Cade knows he might run into trouble on a mountain climb. He knows he might get stranded, so does he bring extra food or water? No. Does he bring a blanket? No way. Does he bring some kind of first aid kit? Not so much. But he does bring a few model horse-drawn carriages, because of course his biggest concern is what if he’s stuck out there with nothing to play with?
One of Cade’s favorite things about a mountain climb is finding his way to the top, and I mean his way. Late in the summer, he decided to try climbing a mountain called, well, to be clear, a mountain he called, The Tombstone Snake. Don’t ask. The clear path to the top is a slow rising ridge lined with tall, spiked rocks that shoot up into the sky. But Cade doesn’t take the clear path. Instead, he blazed a slanted path from the start toward the top, then climbed up a complicated cluster of large black stones on the back side. The stones were really slick, so how did he make his way up? Did he wear special shoes? Did he find footholds and work his way up? No and no. Instead, he would slide between two rocks, get wedged in so he had a strong position, solid footing, then with a burst of bright energy he would lift his way up between them. He did this fifteen times until finally reaching the top. It usually takes about an hour to reach the top. It took Cade three hours.
One question that haunts Cade is, why didn’t his parents warn him they were leaving him behind to join the aliens? They could have at least told him, without revealing the real reason why they were joining them. But they didn’t tell him anything. They didn’t prepare him for that day he would come home to an empty house. Cade wonders if maybe everything that’s happened so far has led to this moment, to going for the highest mountain. He believes his parents have been leaving him clues, beginning with leading him to go to Daylustar to bring down the alien weapon. After all, it was in Daylustar where Austin heard Cade’s playing which led to him seeking out Cade to help him get the fountain back and lead the students out. That in turn led to finally finding someone who worked closely with his parents, someone who may have seen hints of what their new mission might be. But Cade isn’t really going to Izmad Peak to see some kind of message left by his parents. He’s going there to see what they saw, to discover the secret of the aliens…
BOOK 3 OF THE CASHES DADE GHOST STRIKERS IS OUT NOW
Cade Mayson and the ghost strikers are about to find themselves locked in a struggle between the BlackStar Students, who believe in exploring new ways and new ideas, and the WhiteStar Students, who work for the aliens. But there’s another ghost, a WhiteStar Student secretly working for the aliens, who is scheming against them.
MYSTERY OF THE COLDOR CRYING GHOST is available now on Amazon. To buy the book, click on one of the links below:
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2HTFN6R
Ebook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2F1GPPR
Cade Mayson has just received a mysterious invitation:
Cade Mayson,
A new play run by the aliens is about to begin in Dayascade. But the students are in grave danger. The aliens have a sinister plan for them. I need your help; you and your friends. I know who you are. My country needs the Glittering Fountain. The aliens stole it. They have it hidden deep in the school. They’ll only bring it out on stage during the play. That’s our chance. We must make a great escape with this before all the stars go dim. We have to save the students, help them escape the punishment. If you help me pull this off, I’ll lead you to the one you’re looking for, someone who knew your parents, someone who can help you on your quest. Meet me at the top floor balcony of the Devon in Dayas Caradames on Sunday night, April 17th at 11:00.
There is a mysterious puzzle to solve in order to find a ghost locked in a secret room in the school. The following prophecy offers clues as to how to solve the puzzle which will lead to figuring out which object in the school can be turned to find this room the ghost cannot escape.
There is a glittering puzzle to solve to set them free
You must put all the pieces together to reveal the key
Each piece will appear as a glowing word when you stare
Each one look to what inspires you, the answer will be there
But do not be deterred by the one single spelling error
The first piece will be found where the student plays
How does this visionary lead them through the haze?
The second piece is where the popular student can fly
But you can’t see it, blazing through, from so far up high
The third piece is where the grand symphony plays fast
Look for the answer to be found in the ship’s mast
The fourth piece is around the bend where the aliens lie
The head-strong student tries to reach, but too high
The fifth piece will be found through the missing sign
The student stares at the glitter, blind to the design
The sixth and final piece will be found inside the show
When the bright students dance at once, follow the glow
The trap will be set where the students believe they can go
The true way out for them will be the door lit by the glow
The ghost who haunts the halls is locked in a cold gloom
Solve the puzzle to find where he must live out his doom
Some object in the school can be turned to find his room
Then you will hear his message to avoid the intense light
The stars must be determined to show the way in the night
The greatest tragedy is not failing to reach the glittering peak
It’s when you miss the chance to go after the glory you seek
When you hear the ghost crying in the dark, then you’ll know
The aliens with their brilliant light are afraid of the stars’ glow
But if you don’t find the ghost in time, Cade will die in the show
Check out this guide showing the layout of the school. Do you think you know where the secret entrance might be?
LINCON BEREEN SCHOOL:
1ST FLOOR:
GRAND CENTER HALL
*CENTER ROTUNDA-GATHERING
*ROUND STUDY ROOMS
2ND FLOOR:
*CLASSROOMS
3RD FLOOR:
*STUDENT HOME ROOMS
4TH FLOOR:
MASSIVE CIRCULAR HALL
*GRAND AUDITORIUM
*GRAND DINING ROOM
*GRAND STUDY ROOM
*GRAND BOOKS ROOM
*GRAND VISIONS ROOM
There’s something mysterious about this ghost, and about the play being run by the aliens. They have a sinister plan for the students in this school, the ones they don’t consider “elite.” Do you think you know what they have planned? Here is a description of the ghost:
Brendan Diyas:
*He was a music teacher who could never quite figure out how to arrange his students. He was one of the top ranked teachers with highly successful concerts famous for strong music from up high. Many of his students went on to great success as musicians, even in the great concert halls of Arapreshday.
This will be the final post for the rest of the summer. But you can keep up with what’s happening on one of these DadeStar sites:
https://www.facebook.com/DadeStarMysteries
https://twitter.com/MysteriesDade
Come back in September to see the next post that will begin the next journey of the DadeStar Revolution.
What happens in this school will change their world forever. The aliens have a trap waiting for the ghost strikers. Can they solve the mystery? Can they lead the students out before it’s too late?
CHARACTER FUN FACTS: WHAT IS CADE MAYSON’S SECRET?
“I’ll never forget that day. My name is Cade Mayson, and this is my journal I write just in case the aliens capture us. I think they want to destroy us all, but for some reason they can’t yet. I don’t really like writing that much, because to write I have to sit down and be still. How do I know this? Well, I tried writing this while playing tag, but my writing looked like this:
So I guess I’m stuck sitting down and writing, as fast as I can, but writing really fast didn’t work so good either. Anyway, I have to write this, so here goes nothing. I’ll never forget that day, when school ended, and I played tag with Blake on the way home. I let him get close three times, and all three times I got away. The best part was when I ran up the side path toward a big burger stand. A lot of people were there. There was no way through. Blake thought he had me. But he didn’t see the small boat running along the channel next to me. I kept slowing down so we were even. Then, just as he was about to get me, I jumped in the boat, and sped to the other side. I laughed all the way home, but I stopped when I got inside, and saw all the furniture gone, except for in my room. My parents were gone, and they took everything with them, except me…
But I think they’re on a secret spy mission to figure out how to destroy the aliens from the inside, and they’re sending me clues. I think the time is coming when the revolution will begin, and we will reunite to fight them together. In my school in Cashes Dade, before the aliens destroyed it, I saw a small painting of a massive tower lit up under a bright, dazzling light shining from the top down reaching almost every corner. The golden lights across the surface and in the windows glowed in the dark. It wasn’t there before. My parents told me about this tower once. They saw it on one of their business trips. It was pretty much the only thing they ever told me about their business trips. Now all the sudden I find it in a hidden hall? I think my parents put it there, knowing I would find it…
Last year, when we fought our battle against the aliens in the mountains, and won, and they couldn’t catch me either, I was really fast. I faked them out so many times I think they’re still chasing me. You should have seen it. I was like a blazing fire that disappears, like a blazing ghost, no, a ghost on fire. That doesn’t make sense. Ghosts can’t catch on fire, so…what was I talking about? Oh yeah, the battle. I saw a clue, a big one. Actually, I didn’t see it, I heard it. I heard a lady singing in the distance, and I thought it might be my mom. She sang opera, with no real words, just pure music soaring through the mountains. The last thing my mom told me was, ‘Take the bridge.’ Our friend Casey told me he heard my mom once in a furniture store where he helped finish chairs. He heard her tell someone else about a bridge, a bridge that connects across great distances. The bridge was music…
Now, I just got this letter:
Cade Mayson,
A new play run by the aliens is about to begin in Dayascade. But the students are in grave danger. The aliens have a sinister plan for them. I need your help; you and your friends. I know who you are. My country needs the Glittering Fountain. The aliens stole it. They have it hidden deep in the school. They’ll only bring it out on stage during the play. That’s our chance. We must make a great escape with this before all the stars go dim. We have to save the students, help them escape the punishment. If you help me pull this off, I’ll lead you to the one you’re looking for, someone who knew your parents, someone who can help you on your quest. Meet me at the top floor balcony of the Devon in Dayas Caradames on Sunday night, April 17th at 11:00.
This is what I’ve been waiting for, exactly what I’ve been waiting for, to talk to someone who my parents would have shared their secrets with. Blake and Drew think it’s a trap, but I don’t. I think it’s my chance to finally solve this mystery…
Sometimes I still remember what it was like with my parents. They didn’t talk to me that much, especially about their business. I heard a lot of whispering. We didn’t spend much time together. I was busy, playing tag, playing other games, exploring, scaring my neighbors…Well, they were gone a lot too. They didn’t seem like they wanted to talk to me, especially at the end, and sometimes I wonder about that. Sometimes I wonder why they were like that. But there’s something missing, something mysterious about it all that I just can’t quite figure out…