Cade Mayson is from the Kingdom of Cashes Dade, City of Dayces Cameron. The city was built like a massive stadium within a circular formation of bluffs. A massively wide, rough river runs through the center. The towers are built like tall, slender spears with blue glass that you can usually see through. They use water channels as streets through the entire city. This kingdom is known for building and crafting outstanding furniture with really cool designs. People in Cashes Dade tend to be determined, creative, and tough. Cade fits in perfectly.
A little over a year ago, in the Summer, Cashes Dade was a kingdom under pressure from the aliens. The aliens were upset with their schools, feeling like the students and teachers were not working that hard or succeeding at the standard they wanted. They struggled to get the students to follow their way, called THE ONE STANDARD. This is the aliens’ list of standards that their students should follow. They expect the teachers to make the students follow this perfectly. The aliens expect students to sit completely still in “learning position.” They expect them to learn by listening to lectures and taking notes without any pictures or activities. Students are expected to get high grades. If they struggle too much, they will be ranked as BlackStar, the lowest ranking meaning failure.
Late in the Summer, all the citizens of Cashes Dade were called to a meeting at the soccer stadium, held by the aliens. The aliens can’t communicate with them directly so they use people called messengers. The aliens are able to transmit their messages to them. The messengers told the crowd that Cashes Dade was a serious failure. They told the citizens that the students and teachers needed to improve dramatically in the next school year or they would face serious punishments. They were also told that there were citizens in their kingdom secretly working with the dark spirits, experimenting with dangerous minerals that would cause dark illnesses in the country. These dark illnesses are mysterious, but they work by messing with your mind. You begin to see things that aren’t real and if you believe what you’re seeing then you will come down with the dark illness which leads to death.
Cade’s parents became ranked WhiteStar which is the highest ranking, meaning elite. They had the choice to join the aliens in their city of Arapreshday and hold a high position with great rewards. They decided to do this, but they didn’t take Cade with them, who is ranked BlackStar. A few weeks later, on November 4 of Year 51, a date no one in Cashes Dade will ever forget, their kingdom was attacked by the aliens with no warning.
The ships shot down on the city from a high distance above the clouds. It looked like a dark storm crashing down over the city with bright explosions knocking out the towers. Bright green light waves rained down on the city that night with dark mist like sheets falling down over them. No one understood what was happening. There was no warning. 20,000 people died in the attack.
The aliens reported to the remaining citizens and the world that they had killed the people who were part of the cancer, creating dark illnesses haunting the world. Cade Mayson knows better. He knows the real reason why they attacked. He knows who has the aliens scared…
Get ready to learn all kinds of interesting random facts about the star character in this series: Cade Mayson. Cade is a 12 year old from Cashes Dade who wants to kick the aliens out of his school. Wouldn’t you? First, it’s time to reveal the answer for the last mystery challenge. What name do the aliens have for the CANDLES Path on Carolmire Mountain?
Music
What does that mean? What does that reveal about the aliens? It does offer another clue as to which path the kids can take to the top, the path where the aliens have a blind spot. The final chapter is coming up next. Can you solve the mystery? What are the aliens hiding?
But first, we’re going to reveal random interesting facts about Cade Mayson. Let’s go.
Cade closes his eyes too often, way too often in fact, and at the worst times. It could be during school, during an important lesson, when it’s not exactly a good time for the teacher to think you’re sleeping. He almost never is, but they think he is, and just think how your teachers react if they think a student is sleeping during their lesson. Cade has to deal with aliens watching from the back of the classroom who have even stricter rules than the most strict teachers in the world.
Cade can get really annoying when playing tag. He’s really fast, and can make a bunch of sharp turns in a second, but there is one fact that he tries to hide about why he’s so impossible to catch in tag. He is really good, and ridiculously hard to catch, but sometimes people don’t catch him because when he’s cornered he will fake you out so many times that you get bored and just give up. Then he flies past.
You would think Cade is a great dancer considering his agility. Sometimes when he’s running from dark spirits, some of the moves he makes looks like dancing. But he cannot dance, at all, not at all, at least not when he’s trying anyway. He has some decent moves when he’s trying to fake people out during tag, the key words being during tag. When he wins, he does this ridiculous dance that’s hard to explain, and hard to watch.
Cade is hopeless at getting places on time. It doesn’t matter how close he is to where he needs to be. It doesn’t even matter how hard he tries to get ready. Something always goes wrong, like for example, maybe he stops and just stares for what feels like a few minutes but ends up being an hour because he’s trying to figure out what kind of pizza is best. In fact, Cade just has a lousy sense of time altogether. He can’t seem to figure out how long anything should take.
Cade has a really strange theory about reading. He thinks if you read the first page, skim all the other pages, catching a few words, and then the last page, you will know everything in the book. I don’t…oh wait, I forgot the other thing you’re supposed to do according to Cade. You also have to have a snack of chips and soda while you do this or it won’t work. I like his idea, but I don’t recommend it. I don’t think it works, but don’t tell him I said that.
Cade also has a strange theory about dreams. He considers it a conspiracy theory since he knows it is quite bizarre and unlikely to be true, but who knows? Ready for this? Cade thinks every dream is code for something that is going to happen in the future. It gets better. He also thinks there is a secret society of people who draw pictures and paintings that give people ideas in their dreams. That’s not all, it gets even better. He thinks they have dreams where they can somehow watch other people’s dreams and how they respond. How do they do this? What would be the point of this? Cade hasn’t figured that part out yet!
Are you similar to Cade in any of these ways? What do you think is the craziest thing about him? Leave a comment below. Get ready to see him in action. Does Cade have what it takes to fight back against the aliens?
Get ready to join a kid’s mission to find his parents and restore his world. The mysteries to solve in this story are endless as you will find yourself right there with the characters constantly trying to find the right path and find their way out of traps set by the aliens. The first story in the series The Cashes Dade Ghost Strikers is available on Amazon. Check out Book One:
Mystery of the Aliens’ Daylustar Statue. Leave a comment below if you have an early guess as to how they will solve the mystery. You can buy the book now by clicking the links at the end of this post or you can check out the bonus mystery story that leads into the series. Each chapter has a mystery to solve that is revealed in the following post. See if you can solve this story’s mystery that in turn offers a key clue for the mystery in the first book. You can check it out here: https://dadestarmysteries.com/what-are-the-aliens-hiding/
Can you figure it out?
Cade Mayson is a sharply intense and determined 12 year old with fire in his eyes. His parents gave him no warning that they were leaving him for good to join the aliens. Two weeks later alien forces attacked and destroyed most of his country; the Kingdom of Cashes Dade in the City of Dayces Cameron. Now a mysterious new illness, seemingly sent by the aliens, threatens Cade and his friends, but they’re determined to fight back.
Cade and his friends realize they will have to venture deep into the new alien School of Daylustar sneaking past their defenses unseen. They must capture and destroy the crystal crown fueling this fatal dark illness. The problem is the crystal crown sets on top of a towering statue…floating high in mid-air. How can they reach it?
Cade believes his parents are actually on a secret mission; sending him secret coded messages giving him clues on how to fight back and start a revolution against the aliens while they work on the inside. Do Cade and his friends have what it takes? Can they destroy this weapon of the aliens before it destroys them?
IN THE CONCERT HALL THE STUDENT WILL BECOME STILL
THE INTENSE REBEL MUST FIGHT THROUGH THE CHILL
HE MUST SHINE, LIGHTING UP THE DARK CORNER GLOW
IF HE FAILS TO SEE THE LIGHT, HE’LL DIE IN THE SHOW
“The Kingdom of Marcaydas will fall under their shadow Students will stare in a trance at the new school’s glow Our schools have fallen into dreary darkness and decay Our teachers who were once great have lost their way Their arrogance is masked by a confident appearance Their greed is hidden by their constant heroic stance Our leaders have deceived themselves into a new low They believe they need to be flashy, putting on a show Our students are being deceived with bright dreams Yet what they think they will become is not what it seems They have a great desire to be on stage, the only star When they begin to fall short, they will fall so far
You will first appear to them during the misty debate You will know at first, who you can trust for your fate Two teachers will stand strong against the popular force They have a mysterious power of strength to stay on course They have discovered the secret truth to spark the fire They shine with the brilliant light revealed by Carolmire Because of her strong direction and awesome song His hope will not disappear or fade Because he leads him to the mountain peak despite being so long He believes in the dream of Cade The revolution will truly begin in the eerie dark hallway You and your friends must be inspired, yet not by what they say You see, the two teachers will not be seen in the fight But the true elite students will follow them to the light They’ll be heard singing; notes strong and bright Despite the challenge, the danger, they’ll stand for what’s right Their true worth will be revealed soon, in the Silent Night”
The next night Cade and Blake moved up the slope toward the CANDLES Path. A bizarre blue light flashed just beyond the hilltop. Cade started up the slope, but Blake pulled him back.
“Wait a minute,” he said. “I heard something.” The kids got down low, staring up the dark green slope. Birds called out from the heavy forest of Dence Evergreens in the surrounding hills. Chilling winds rushed through. The slanted, dark blue trees swayed in circles looking like ghosts dancing in the night. Dark spirits lined up across the top of the hill. “What we do now?” Cade stared up at them for a few moments, then turned to Blake with a calm smile.
“We play a game.”
“Are you crazy? This isn’t the time for a slide race.”
“I think it is.” Blake stared at him in disbelief. “Slowly go over to the far left and stay low. Wait for my signal, then follow me.”
“I don’t know…”
“Come on, what’s the worst that could happen?”
“Seriously?”
“Just trust me.” Blake sighed heavily, then with a shrug he crawled across the hill.
“Such a convincing argument,” he muttered on his way to the far side. Cade took his blue glowing shell out and held it low by his side. He whispered to himself with eyes closed, then shot up the hill directly toward the dark ghosts. They glided down toward him. Just as they closed in on him, he stopped. Blake watched with raised eyes as Cade dove, sliding down the slick grass with his shell lighting him up. The dark spirits rushed down after him. Then Cade flashed his light down the hill, stopped, and shot up the hill to the left, hiding his light. He waved for Blake and the two kids sprinted up the slick hill. The ghosts kept rushing down the hill past them.
“You know they won’t want to play with you next time,” said Blake.
“Yeah, they’re sore losers,” said Cade, flashing a smile as they reached the top. A few minutes later they reached Carolmire Mountain. Cade gazed up at the bright alien lights shooting up from the mountain top. Eerie organ notes pounded from the high steep ridges along both sides of the rocky path.
“Sounds like the show’s already beginning,” said Blake. Cade glanced up at the dark clouds powering across the night sky. Breaking moonlight began lighting up the dark stone slope ahead of them. “So where are they this time?”
“It’s midnight,” said Cade. Then with eyes lit he added, “We’re about to find out.” He shot up the dark stones, flying up the relatively steep slope.
“I hate it when he does that.” Blake charged up after him. Dark shadows moved in quick bursts along the ridges. Wide, triangular evergreens called Candle Evergreens began appearing in wavy rows going up the slope in the distance far ahead looking like blurry colourful flowing sheets. The kids moved fast up the slope slowly curving to the left toward the distant glowing peak. The Candle Evergreens started coming in clearer ahead with their star shaped dark green leaves. They held candles in various bright colours. “I don’t hear any dark spirits yet.”
“Maybe they fell asleep,” said Cade still flying ahead. After about fifteen minutes the kids made their way around the bend. Chilling winds rushed up from behind whistling through the Candles Evergreens. The rows of lights flashed in waves to the rhythm of the strong mysterious organ chords. There were seven rows in colours of white, gold, green, red, blue, purple, and orange. Blake looked back to see dark shadows creeping up the slope.
“I think they’re after us.”
“Let the games begin.” The kids moved fast up the dimly lit stones. “Stay in the shadows, stay low.”
“We could climb one of them,” said Blake pointing to the evergreens. Cade nodded.
“Let’s get ahead.” The kids pushed hard. Chilling winds pushed harder down on them, now from up the slope. Deep organ chords playing an eerie, roaming melody pulsed through the seven rows. The kids felt the strong rush through the white candle rows directly ahead. They got down low, struggling ahead. Ghostly shapes of white, gold, and green danced in the chilling winds. Cade started angling to the right. “We’ll head up that one,” he added, pointing ahead to the far right. “Which one?” asked Blake. The mysterious pounding song played a sad, dream-like melody. This music floated through the night. “The awkward looking one.” “They all look awkward.” “The one, this one right up here, see?” Cade pointed as they pushed further right. “The one with the half-moon shape branch?” Chilling winds kept driving them back. “What?” “That one?” Blake pointed ahead to the first Candle Evergreen in the row of completely still triangular shapes under a red glaze directly ahead. Cade sighed dramatically and shook his head. He glanced back momentarily. Dark shadows crept closer towards them. Cade took another sharp turn to the right. Ghostly shapes of blue, purple, and orange danced in the hard driving winds. “Be ready, almost there,” said Cade with a half-smile, half-concerned, twisted expression. “Almost where?” “THE TREE.” “I STILL DON”T KNOW WHICH ONE!” “Why don’t you just climb the one I start climbing?” Dark mists started swirling ahead. “Why didn’t you just say that in the first place?” asked Blake. Cade just hung his head for a moment.
“Let’s move, move, get ahead.” The kids hurried up the stones toward the last row of dancing ghostly orange Candle Evergreens. “Be ready, it’s just ahead.” Blake just shook his head. He glanced back at the distant dark spirits. Then Cade scrambled up the branches of a swaying orange-lit tree. He flew up the wide branches looking like shelves. He got down low as Blake stopped and looked around. He turned back. Dark spirits were approaching fast. “What are you looking for, a ladder?” “Do you see one?” “NO! HURRY UP!” Blake looked around anxiously, then hurried up toward Cade. The kids got down low, huddled near the trunk. Dark spirits rushed past them gliding up the row. Sour horns blared out. Alien lights shot out, lighting up all the colourful dancing ghost-like trees in the chilling winds.
“I think they see us,” whispered Blake. The kids strained to see in the blinding green lights. More horns blew from the upper ridges. Slim, tall dark figures appeared standing in the lights at the top of the ridge across from them. “It’s them,” Blake said quietly. The orange lights kept flickering to the pounding song. The candles around them swayed in a sad, dream-like melody floating through the night. As they watched, dark spirits turned back heading in their direction. More dark spirits rushed up the slope toward them as well.
“Do you think they see us?” asked Cade.
“What does that tell you?” asked Blake pointing to the tall, slim figures on the high ridge. One of them was pointing directly at them.
In Year 50, something mysterious started happening across the kingdoms of DarkCorner Land. Cade Mayson and Blake Candade were in the fourth grade at the time. Every weekend they would go exploring in the mountains outside of Cashes Dade. Sometimes, despite their parents giving them stern warnings about not staying out in the mountains after dark, they would still be out there well after sunset. It was usually Cade’s fault. He has a terrible sense of time and tends to wander, getting kind of lost. Blake is good at figuring out how to get them back on track. One September night in Year 50, the two kids were coming down from the top of a distant mountain when they saw a bizarre green fire appear within the forest up the slope of a mountain they were about to pass. The kids quickly crept through the forest of towering evergreens called Dayshowers. They were really tall with perfect cone shapes holding bright blue leaves that glowed brightly at night. They would flash rhythmically in the night to some silent music. On this night they were flashing in a bizarre rhythm, never seen before. As the kids drew closer, they could see the fire seemingly burning in the forest, yet the evergreens remained unharmed. Dark spirits appeared, forming a line across the entire slope. The kids crawled further up the slope, hiding down behind a long, flat black stone. Within the fire they saw a triangular blue craft with small flashing gold lights. Cade and Blake watched intently as several tall, slim dark figures appeared suddenly near the craft. Another shorter, dark figure appeared momentarily before they rushed onto the craft. Just then, a violent thunder storm overtook the mountain. Hard driving rains fell with constant flashing lightning. The kids hid down while the storm raged on for several minutes. In an instant the storm stopped and the forest went completely silent. When the kids looked up, the craft was gone. The next day, the two kids read the newspaper, because they were grounded. In the Cashes Dade newspaper, they reported that a student in the sixth grade was missing.
DarkCorner Land has always been mysterious. The land has unusual minerals, plants, and trees and is constantly rocked by storms. Dark spirits haunted the land from the beginning, but then an event happened that would change the world forever. In the year 50, bizarre green lights appeared across the sky. The clouds churned, the air grew static, and all the land vibrated with the sound of a distant hum. Citizens in every kingdom gathered outside on the streets, balconies, and rooftops gazing up at the neon green sky. In an instant, the sky went dark. Then they heard incredibly loud screeching sounds coming from the sky. They grew louder and louder until a sonic boom exploded out across the sky followed by complete silence. Slowly, bright greenish-gold triangular shaped lights appeared in the dark sky.
They hovered just below the green clouds flowing like heavy sheets in the sky. Every country sounded the alarm. Bells rung out through the cities. Horns blared out as the armies took their positions in the outer rings of the cities and in the forts. Everyone waited tensely in the silence for what seemed like hours as the ships just hovered in the sky, their lights flashing to a slow, booming rhythm coming from the sky. Intense meetings were being held between kingdom leaders while the rest of them just stared at alien ships hanging in the air with some eerie music booming above them. Then sour horns blared out from the ships. Every kingdom reports some windows shattering under the intense pressure of the horns. Soldiers held up their weapons, prepared for their first war.
Bright, intense lights shined down, covering entire cities in strong heat. Green mist shot out in powerful waves down on the citizens, knocking them off their feet. The soldiers’ weapons were knocked out of their hands. They tried to stand in the driving waves, but couldn’t. Then they heard it, in every corner of every kingdom, a young student speaking in a solemn, elevated voice that sounded bizarre. The people still couldn’t stand up in the strong waves. The students had a message for the people. They were relaying a message directly from the aliens declaring that they were from a planet called Dairockneye and would be establishing their city called Arapreshday where the Kingdom of Caderias once stood. They told the people that they were now the leaders of every country and every school. When they finished speaking, the waves stopped. The ships were no longer in the skies. No one knew where they landed, but they saw aliens all around them, carrying large shining weapons. The students who spoke for them were the ones who had mysteriously disappeared, taken by the aliens to be their messengers on the day of their invasion. The students were returned to their families, the only bright spot of a dark day.
The aliens took over the schools. Every school would have an alien called the Supreme Leader, basically the principal. Every teacher would have an alien assigned to them to watch their class at all times. The aliens set up really strict rules for behavior and really high standards for grades. Students are now expected to sit completely still and learn in the way the aliens believe is best, by listening to lectures and taking notes. They don’t believe in using pictures or doing activities. Students are expected to learn challenging subjects fast and are given massive amounts of schoolwork. The aliens also established a ranking system for the students.
BlackStar is the lowest ranking, meaning failure. If students are at this ranking for too long, they will be punished and assigned tough jobs working for the aliens for long hours. Cade and Blake are BlackStar.
BlueStar is the next ranking meaning average.
GoldStar means you are succeeding, doing good, but not at the elite level. There are some basic rewards given for this ranking, but they are still challenged to aim higher.
WhiteStar means you are elite. This is the highest ranking and comes with great rewards.
Cade Mayson believes the way the aliens run their schools is unfair and keeps many students from succeeding because they aren’t allowed to learn in the ways that work best for them or be creative. What is your school like? Is your school run like the aliens in some ways? What ways is your school better than the way the aliens run the DarkCorner Land schools? Leave a comment below. Cade is ready to fight to restore their schools back to the way they should be. He believes there must be a reason why the aliens are so focused on running their schools, why they drive the elite students so hard, and he’s right…
Cade Mayson says he doesn’t believe he can see the future. He just believes he can predict what people are going to do and what major events are going to happen in the future. He has an interesting routine, but first, it’s time to reveal the answer for the last mystery challenge. If you haven’t read the bonus story, MYSTERY OF THE ALIENS’ SECRET ON CAROLMIRE MOUNTAIN, check it out. You can find it by clicking on the page, LIST OF POSTS. See if you can solve each mystery challenge. The mystery for Chapter Three was, what word do the aliens have for the LANTERNS PATH? This will give another clue to the greater mystery of which path can the students take past the alien defenses? Here is the answer:
WAY: The aliens see the Lanterns Path as the Way.
You’re walking with Cade to school. You’re talking about what loads of schoolwork you still have to do and arguing over whether the big Science Test is today or tomorrow, and then all the sudden he just stops. He gets down on one knee, closes his eyes with his hands forming a triangle in front of his face. He’ll probably start whispering quietly to himself. It might even sound like he’s arguing with himself, and maybe he is, no one really knows for sure. It could last for a few minutes or even a few hours. One time he did this on the way to school with Blake three years ago when they were in third grade. One minute they were arguing about which one of them would win in a fight if they had to tie their hands and feet and had to stay ten feet apart. The next minute Cade was in his trance. Blake tried to talk to him, but he didn’t hear anything. Blake even started yelling about bears attacking and Cade still kept still, whispering to himself. What unusual dreams, interests, or abilities do you have? Leave a comment below. Cade once saw something mysterious in the hills west of Cashes Dade. He saw mysterious lights flash. After three hours, he finally stood up, and made this prediction:
“It will begin with mysterious disappearances in the field
Look at how all the farmers are getting the same yield
The colour white will soon be worth so much more
Wearing the colour black with pride could start a war
Look for the glittering ripples flashing across the sea
Soon all the students will wish they could become free
Aliens will invade our world in time to save us from illness
We will place our hope in them to relieve our distress
Dark storms are coming for us in glittering, flashing waves
They’ll overpower our schools sending failing students to the graves
Students with intense determination will have dark dreams at night
Yet they will give aliens nightmares about the mysterious distant light”
“The aliens have deep pools to keep away the citizens of Carolmire Cade Mayson will have strong determination fire”
Cade and Blake are about to try another path up the mountain to try to discover what the aliens might be hiding. Can you solve this chapter’s mystery? The mystery is what word do the aliens have for the third path called the Lanterns Path? Clues for the answer will be revealed in the chapter. The answer will be a single word. The answer will reveal more about the mystery in this story about which path can get past the alien defenses? One of them has a weakness. If you have a guess for either mystery, leave a comment below. What do you think the aliens are hiding?
CHAPTER THREE:
The howling winds died down. The active forest went quiet behind them. Heavy darkness closed in on them from all sides in the silent chill. All they heard was the crunch of small stones under their shoes, slowly moving up the hidden slope. Dark shadows rolled across in slow roaming waves.
“I can’t see the time,” said Blake.
“It’s cool,” answered Cade. “At midnight, the lanterns will light up. The party will begin. The show will start. The…”
“I think I get it.” They felt a sharp chill rush past them.
A voice whispered, “It’s almost time. It’s almost time to find the way.”
“Was that you?” whispered Blake.
“No, was it you?”
“Why would I ask if it was you if I knew I was the one who said it?”
“I don’t know,” Cade answered, “just making sure.” Footsteps moved quickly ahead. “We need to get over, this way.”
“OW! You hit my head.”
“Sorry. I was trying to pull you in the right direction.” More voices started whispering around them as they hurried toward the hidden wall.
“Who are they?” asked Blake.
“Just some friends I invited.” Fast-paced, excited whispering continued on all sides.
“Seriously.”
“They must be dark spirits.” Just then dark blue glowing light appeared from lanterns in a wavy line along their wall and the far wall. The lights dimly lit the underground pass up the mountain along the walls. Dark heavy shadows roamed down the center. The kids glanced around at the towering blackstone walls rising to high dark ceilings. Different groups of citizens appeared standing in various points along the walls. They glowed soft blue and appeared to be somewhat transparent.
“Who are they?” asked Blake.
“They’re ghosts,” Cade answered quietly. “Let’s head this way. Stay low.” The kids crept up the slope to the center, moving just past a group of ghosts talking quietly. Chilling winds whistled through the tunnel. The lanterns swayed left and right, flickering up the wall on the right. The ghosts started talking louder as the kids started running up the steep, steady slope. “This might be easy,” said Cade with a confident shrug.
“They have to have defenses in here.” The kids breathed hard, running up the long slope until they saw a high massive circular wall ahead made of shimmering blue glass, lit by many rows of lanterns. Just then fast-paced, whiny fiddle music started up around them with a booming base rocking the walls. More lantern lights lit up at various points with the ghosts dancing to the music. They glided around smoothly. The kids reached the wall, looking up the two halls splitting left and right. The left hall was dark with only a few lanterns hanging from the ceiling. The right hall was wider and well-lit, with a small circle of dancing ghosts. “We should take the darker hall.”
“Yeah, I agree, darker is better. I can’t sleep when it’s too bright for one thing. Although, I like bright shells. You know when you see it, when it catches the light?” Blake stared at him, confused. “Wait, see that? Let’s check that way. Have you ever seen when it does that?”
“Seen what?”
“You know,” Cade answered heading for a tall blue crystal door, barely visible in the blue glass wall. Dark shadows of the dancing ghosts reflected in the dimly lit glass.
“No, I don’t,” said Blake, shaking his head as he ran after him. Cade slowly opened the door and peered inside. The wide hall was circular, sloping up steeply in shining blue light from bright glowing lanterns. Cade turned back, smiling. “I guess this might work,” Blake said, glancing back at the ghosts dancing in circles. “I mean…” He looked ahead to see Cade running up the slope. He sighed heavily as he ran to catch up.
“Stay in the center, there’s more ghosts ahead.” The fiddle music began to play faster from all sides. The instruments sounded like they were playing right with them. A small circle of ghosts danced to the rhythm right ahead. Cade and Blake swerved to the left, running low to the ground. A fast chilling wind rush whistled up the tunnel. The hazy lanterns swayed back and forth. Blake watched the lights flickering in rapid waves shooting ahead.
“Follow the way. Follow the way.” The kids turned to see the ghosts gliding up the slope behind them.
“Go, go, go,” said Cade.
“Do they see us?” Blake glanced back. The ghosts’ faces were mostly blank with only their eyes showing. They just stared ahead with sad, empty gazes. “I’m not sure they do.”
“Follow the way. This is our chance. Follow the shooting waves.” Another massive wall appeared ahead with numerous glowing lanterns. A large glowing green door appeared straight ahead, with halls splitting left and right.
“Hurry, hurry, we need to get ahead so they don’t see where we go. Which way?”
“The door,” answered Blake. “The winds can show the way in the mines. The way the lanterns sway and flicker shows which way.”
“Sounds good enough to me.” They both glanced back. The ghosts were far behind. Lantern lights began swaying to the fast-paced booming music on all sides. Blake opened the door while Cade dove in.
“Was that necessary?”
“What do you think?” Cade flashed a smile before looking ahead up the steep dark tunnel. Just then three rows of blue lanterns lit up on narrow shelves along both sides. A crowd of dark spirits appeared, blocking the entire way ahead. Blake looked back. Dark spirits entered the tunnel behind them.
“What we do now?” Cade just smiled, with eyes lit. “I should have known.” With that Cade shot ahead right toward the crowd. Blake ran directly behind him. The ghosts reached out with chains in their hands. Just as they moved in, Cade turned, and jumped up on the shelf along the wall. He and Blake ran along the narrow shelf, then jumped back down up slope.
“Let’s go, let’s go.”
“We’re out of time,” said Blake, glancing at his watch: 12:53. The kids sprinted up the tunnel until reaching a door on their left. They quickly slipped inside, hurrying down a long curving slope going down. The fiddle music started playing slower and sadder as they made their way out of the mountain. On their way down the mossy slope under a dark blue sky, with moonlight spilling through the breaking clouds, a dark bench lit up in an open meadow of soggy, dark green short grass. The kids stopped cold. A blue glowing ghost sat there, staring directly at them. He looked like an old man, wearing a dark gray suit.
“Let’s go,” said Blake.
“I have a message for you,” he said. Blake shook his head. The kids began to leave as they heard him again, saying, “I have a message for you, Cade Mayson.”
I went out to climb the same mountain I’ve done before a few times, the one to the right of Blodgett Peak. I got to the top and saw a peak in the distance that I wanted to get to so I went along the ridge and made my way to the top and found out that it was Blodgett Peak! The trail was steep. It was a tough climb, but it was awesome.
I’m not sure this is the best time to bring up 911. I don’t think anyone will forget the line, “We have some planes.” When I was climbing the Air Force was flying planes in the area. I could hear them, but I couldn’t see them. It was a reminder of how strong my country is. We have a lot of planes. There’s a lot of evil in this world, but there are many other great countries in this world as well. I was reminded that there is a lot of good in this world and we have a lot of power.
This is not the trail. I found my own way to the top.Don’t fall.With my “trail” you get a great view the entire time.I finally found Blodgett Peak!A view of Colorado Springs from the top.Another view from the top.Here’s one restaurant that’s open. This is where I had lunch; great view of Pikes Peak, but not a great place to sit.From the top, you can barely see the mountains behind Denver.
These are pictures from a mountain climb I did in Manitou Springs, Colorado. It was a relatively small mountain, but it was a tough trek to get there.
This is a creek that runs down the mountains into Manitou. I found this on the way. I knocked on the door. No one answered so I looked in the windows. There were no elves, but there were a lot of Christmas decorations. This was kind of a rickety bridge and kind of high. A view from the top.From the top, a view of Cameron’s Cone I believe. From the top, Pikes Peak is not too far away.
Blake Candade is probably Cade’s best friend, also in the sixth grade. Blake is one of the most interesting soccer players you’ll ever see, but first, it’s time to answer the last Mystery Challenge. This is for the post: MYSTERY OF THE ALIENS’ SECRET ON CAROLMIRE MOUNTAIN: CHAPTER TWO. What name do the aliens have for the STARLIGHT PATH? This will be a clue revealing more about which path the students can take to get past the alien defenses. The answer is: Dancers.
Blake’s dream is to become a great soccer star for Cashes Dade and lead them to many Grand Soccer Cup Championships. Cashes Dade has only won one in their history in Year 35. It’s currently Year 52. Blake is determined and has a quiet intensity. He is fast, but more than that, he’s tough. He has really good control of the ball. He might not be able to fake you out and dribble past people, but you’re going to have a hard time getting the ball away from him. He likes to just power through defenders. He’s had some crazy moments playing for the elementary school soccer leagues in Cashes Dade.
One time Blake’s team was down 1-0 with less than a minute left in the game. Blake’s team had been struggling to move the ball on them all day. His team had the ball and they set up the next play. They kept passing it sideways trying to get someone set up to have an open shot, but they were down at the other end of the field. Now, Blake’s a team player, for the most part, but at this point he’d had enough. Not once could they get the ball away from him all day, so he took the ball from his own teammate, and drove it down the field, pushing past every defender. He got past the last one, didn’t try anything fancy, but just kicked it as hard as he could, right past the goalie, and scored. In overtime, his coach gathered the team together and said, “We’re running the Blake play again.” So Blake took it again, drove it down field, and scored in the first minute of overtime.
Blake is really into mountain climbing and exploring in the mountains around Cashes Dade so he came up with a bunch of plays named for different mountain events. There’s the Avalanche-in this play the team lines up and rushes up field, passing the ball quickly back and forth, advancing fast for the goal. There’s the Cave In-in this one when a player from the other team is advancing up field with the ball Blake’s team suddenly rushes in on him from all sides, overwhelms them, and steals the ball. Then there’s the Rock Slide-this one is basically just Blake advancing the ball up field by himself, powering past everyone and scoring.
Do you like soccer? Does Blake sound like someone you would want on your team? Do you run any plays like that on your soccer team? If you don’t play soccer, what is your dream? Leave a comment below. Check out the next post featuring a mysterious disappearance. Right after that is the next chapter of the bonus short story. Cade and Blake are about to go deep into the mountain, but they will discover a key clue about the aliens’ dark secret.
