Chapter 10:01 the Golden Key

The stone cells in the dungeon of the old buried castle have bars made of bone.

"Where am I?" Theo asks no one as he wakes up confused, alone in a cell.

He peers through the bars. He's among the forgotten children, the dream weaver, the stork and now him. All dirty and tired, sick from malnutrition, relying on mousetraps for food.

He shoves the cage door but it doesn't budge.

Theo backs against the stone wall and sulks as he disappears into himself. He's lost everything. Maise's gone. Oliver and Mr. Bear are gone. The journey was a failure and everything's ruined. He's so angry it brings tears to his eyes.

His mother taught him a thing to say whenever he feels upset: "Love yourself, be proud of yourself, trust yourself, earn your goals." She told him to repeat it in his head until it gives him strength and courage again.

He remembers what his baseball coach told him: "Every loss is a lesson— and if you don't accept the lesson, you don't deserve the win." His coach told him it was good to get his butt kicked every now and then as long as it made him better.

None of that was helping now, though. All he feels is hopelessness and despair. He throws a rock at the bones of his cage.

In the adjacent cell, out of view, is an old man sitting cross legged, meditating. His grey beard ten feet long. A broken hand, his arm in a sling. The rock rolls up to his foot and breaks his concentration.

"You lost this," the old man says as he gently rolls the rock back.

"Keep it." Theo mutters.

"What's your name?" the old man asks.

Theo doesn't respond.

"I saw you when they brought you in. I have a granddaughter about your age."

Theo sits up. "Enoch?"

"Yes," the old man replies.

"I'm Theo. I've come a long way to find you."

"How is Ada?" he asks.

"Frustrated."

The answer fills Enoch with sadness. "I'm afraid my worst fears have been realized," he says. "The balance of the land is indeed askew."

"My sister and I are trying to get home. But we got lost and now I don't know where anybody is." Theo hangs his head.

"Where are you from, Theo?"

"A place different than here. A place where time is normal."

"I see," Enoch says softly. "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, Theo. Your quest to return home, like all dreams, is the pursuit of an impossible task."

Theo blurts out a disappointed laugh. "Figures," Theo says with tears heavy in his eyes. "This can't be worse."

Kane sits on the floor of another cell with his knees at his chest and his head in his arms. "It can always be worse," he whispers.