Amy.She crept over to Dan, and they both looked at the scribble of numbers
and letters on the piece of paper again."There are three Ds -- Dl, D2, D3. Maybe they
refer to doors?""Could be," said Dan. He whispered al the letters and numbers again.
Sometimes it helped to say things out loud. "SKP BAL BOX4 R3 Dl 45231 D2 45102 D3
NRR.""Hurry, Dan! That dog is serious business. It looks angry and hungry. You know
what that means-- "125Dan walked along Row 3 and sat down."What are you doing?
This is no time to sit around! Do something!""I am," said Dan. "I think I got this.""You think you got what?" Amy said nervously. She was searching on the floor for a button
or a lock, anything that might get them away from the approaching guard dog. "Look
for some dials or a hidden panel. Make yourself useful!"Dan calmly got up and sat in
the next seat over, seat number 5 in the row. He'd been in seat number 4. Then he got
up again and sat in seat number 2."Seriously, Dan, you've lost your marbles.""I don't
think so," he whispered. "45231 might be the order in which a person has to sit in the
seats in Row 3. Let me finish."He sat in seat number 3, then moved right up next to
Amy."If something doesn't happen when I sit down, we're in big trouble."He took a
deep breath and plopped down in the seat. There was a soft snick behind a curtained
wall at the rear of the balcony."I think you did something," whispered Amy. She could
hear the German shepherd sniffing at the top of the stairs now.Dan and Amy moved
quietly to the rear of the balcony and pulled back the red curtain. One of126the panels
had slid open an inch, revealing a black seam of darkness behind. "Kto tarn?"Amy
nearly jumped out of the balcony at the sound of the guard's voice. He was right
outside, about to enter, as Dan slid the panel open just enough to glide through. Amy
followed and the curtain dropped. She slid the panel shut.The German shepherd whined
and sniffed, searching everything in the balcony, including the curtain. But the dog
didn't find anything. Dan and Amy had vanished.* * *"I guess we follow the lights,"
said Amy.They were in a long, narrow corridor with runway lights embedded in the
center of the floor. The walls and ceiling were black, so that it felt like walking in the
midnight sky along a line of stars. They snaked back and forth for fifty feet and came to
the end."Looks like an elevator," said Dan. "D2 -- door number two."Amy nodded her
agreement in the darkness. A row of five elevator buttons, each round and circled in
red, glowed softly against the black wall."Remember the order?" asked Amy. Dan
stepped up to the bank of buttons and began pushing them one at a time. First the 4,
then the 5, then the 1, 0, and 2.127The doors opened with surprising speed and Dan
jumped back, accidentally clocking Amy in the arm with his elbow. The entire back wall
of the elevator was covered with a giant portrait of the Kabra family. Ian looked
particularly smug."They really think a lot of themselves, don't they?" said Dan."You said
it," agreed Amy.They glanced at each other, and Dan could see that Amy's hands were
trembling again. She had a lot on her plate, being the older of the two, always having
to be the responsible one. Dan felt an unexpected twinge of guilt. "We're doing okay,
you know," he said.Amy started to smile, but just then the elevator began to plummet.
She grabbed a rail and held on for dear life. Dan wasn't so lucky. He rolled around on
the floor of the elevator until it came to an abrupt stop, the doors opening once
more."I'm starting to think this place is haunted," said Dan. There was something about
being way underground that scared Dan, like he was trapped in a mine shaft and the
air was running out. "How far below-ground do you think we are?"Amy didn't answer.
Her eyes were locked on the monstrous Gothic door that stood twenty feet in front of
them down a cavelike passageway."This is so Dungeons and Dragons,"
and letters on the piece of paper again."There are three Ds -- Dl, D2, D3. Maybe they
refer to doors?""Could be," said Dan. He whispered al the letters and numbers again.
Sometimes it helped to say things out loud. "SKP BAL BOX4 R3 Dl 45231 D2 45102 D3
NRR.""Hurry, Dan! That dog is serious business. It looks angry and hungry. You know
what that means-- "125Dan walked along Row 3 and sat down."What are you doing?
This is no time to sit around! Do something!""I am," said Dan. "I think I got this.""You think you got what?" Amy said nervously. She was searching on the floor for a button
or a lock, anything that might get them away from the approaching guard dog. "Look
for some dials or a hidden panel. Make yourself useful!"Dan calmly got up and sat in
the next seat over, seat number 5 in the row. He'd been in seat number 4. Then he got
up again and sat in seat number 2."Seriously, Dan, you've lost your marbles.""I don't
think so," he whispered. "45231 might be the order in which a person has to sit in the
seats in Row 3. Let me finish."He sat in seat number 3, then moved right up next to
Amy."If something doesn't happen when I sit down, we're in big trouble."He took a
deep breath and plopped down in the seat. There was a soft snick behind a curtained
wall at the rear of the balcony."I think you did something," whispered Amy. She could
hear the German shepherd sniffing at the top of the stairs now.Dan and Amy moved
quietly to the rear of the balcony and pulled back the red curtain. One of126the panels
had slid open an inch, revealing a black seam of darkness behind. "Kto tarn?"Amy
nearly jumped out of the balcony at the sound of the guard's voice. He was right
outside, about to enter, as Dan slid the panel open just enough to glide through. Amy
followed and the curtain dropped. She slid the panel shut.The German shepherd whined
and sniffed, searching everything in the balcony, including the curtain. But the dog
didn't find anything. Dan and Amy had vanished.* * *"I guess we follow the lights,"
said Amy.They were in a long, narrow corridor with runway lights embedded in the
center of the floor. The walls and ceiling were black, so that it felt like walking in the
midnight sky along a line of stars. They snaked back and forth for fifty feet and came to
the end."Looks like an elevator," said Dan. "D2 -- door number two."Amy nodded her
agreement in the darkness. A row of five elevator buttons, each round and circled in
red, glowed softly against the black wall."Remember the order?" asked Amy. Dan
stepped up to the bank of buttons and began pushing them one at a time. First the 4,
then the 5, then the 1, 0, and 2.127The doors opened with surprising speed and Dan
jumped back, accidentally clocking Amy in the arm with his elbow. The entire back wall
of the elevator was covered with a giant portrait of the Kabra family. Ian looked
particularly smug."They really think a lot of themselves, don't they?" said Dan."You said
it," agreed Amy.They glanced at each other, and Dan could see that Amy's hands were
trembling again. She had a lot on her plate, being the older of the two, always having
to be the responsible one. Dan felt an unexpected twinge of guilt. "We're doing okay,
you know," he said.Amy started to smile, but just then the elevator began to plummet.
She grabbed a rail and held on for dear life. Dan wasn't so lucky. He rolled around on
the floor of the elevator until it came to an abrupt stop, the doors opening once
more."I'm starting to think this place is haunted," said Dan. There was something about
being way underground that scared Dan, like he was trapped in a mine shaft and the
air was running out. "How far below-ground do you think we are?"Amy didn't answer.
Her eyes were locked on the monstrous Gothic door that stood twenty feet in front of
them down a cavelike passageway."This is so Dungeons and Dragons,"
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