A month had passed since they had left The Sand Club and since they had lost Lucy. Ford had never returned as he knew what could be the consequences of his act so, he thought to go to the Lady Villa where he could have pleasure. Our crew had also got this knowledge from somewhere but they had taken the oath to not to return to the Lady Villa again.
"Hey there it is, The Wormhouse. But it kinda looks like a lighthouse." said Amy. "Let's see." said Hobert.
The crew went there. It was night time so they decided to take rest for that night. While standing in front of the gate of the lighthouse Hobert said, "Hello, anyone there. We want shelter for tonight. Please would you let us in?" They couldn't hear any reply. They had a good fortune as the gates were not locked. They pushed the gate and entered the Wormhouse. It was dark inside but was warm, most suitable for having a good sleep. They couldn't find anymore so they followed the stairs up. Suddenly the clouds began gathering. Slowly drops by drops rain fell on the ground which increased from time to time. A storm emerged. The gates began to bash. The crew however managed the close them. It made the inside even darker. Amy and Stacy had a candle each while Amanda had a matchbox. They built a flame and lighted the candles. They found three rooms and decided that in each room there will be sleeping two people. So, it was quite an easy decision that the boys would be sleeping with their partners.
The windows bashed and there were no locks in them so, they found difficulty in sleeping though they managed and before sleeping they would never forget to kiss their lovers.
THE SHINING OF THE MAP AGAIN
In the next day they had woken early because they wanted to discuss about the directions and they would prepare before beginning their journey again. They opened the gates and found that the weather was all okay and was perfectly warm. They had their breakfast and sat on the big boulders which they found at the back if the Wormhouse. There was a garden and the boulders were wet but they didn't make any objections regarding that. At that time the most priority they gave was to their discussion. So they sat down. As soon as John took the map from his bag they noticed that it began to shine again. "I think a new destination would be exposed today." said John. It stopped shining any further. He observed it carefully. "That's absurd. There's no new destination." said John curiously. "How is that possible?" asked Hobert. "No... no..no wait. There is something different. Well look at the back side of the map. There's something written on it. 'Hold your breathe. Calm yourself and pierce the sword in between yourself. Only then you could be able to find your next destiny.' That's all." said John. "Does it want anyone of us to sacrifice. Has it mentioned anyone. But where and How?" asked Hobert. "We cannot lose another life, you know. May be there's a different way." said Amy. "What shall we do now?" asked Drake and John together. "I don't know let us wait for some days." replied Hobert. "Hobert's right. We cannot find the next destination unless we solve this riddle. We should wait for a clue." said Amanda. "Hobert and Amy will go to find food at least for a week. We don't know how much time will it take. I and Drake will go to find logs in order to light a flame so that we could survive at night. Stacy and John will observe the weather and would inform us in time." said Amanda.
THE EMERGENCE OF A STORM
A day passed but they couldn't solve the mystery. Another day went by. In the third day they found that the weather was getting worse like the first day of their enter in the Wormhouse. This time more black clouds we're gathering. Stacy and John ran through the forest to warm their friends. They returned to the Wormhouse safely. They locked the gates of the lighthouse and made all the preparations for them to last at least another week without finding more food.
However, they couldn't manage to close the windows. They could hear the noises created by the heavy storm blowing outside which posed a danger to their Wormhouse too. John told that the weather was not getting better but it was getting worse. A cyclone could even emerge and the fast blowing winds can even break the Wormhouse as it was old and the bricks were not so strongly cemented.
It was their bad fortune that John's prediction was going to be a reality or it had the probability to. Heavy rain fell and the windows couldn't prevent the water from being flown inside. The rainwater began to gather slowly inside the Wormhouse too. They used their hands to throw the water outside but it wasn't worth doing it.
The water level was increasing in the Wormhouse which too indicates that there has been a flood outside which was too accompanied by a storm. They stepped up the stairs and sat quietly inside a room and closed the door. They thought that it was going to end shortly and everything would be normal again. After an hour Stacy left the room to enquire whether the storm had came to an end or not. But the thing happened which they feared the most. The storm was not even nearer to an end but increasing rapidly. Half the Wormhouse was already filled with water. Though the light house was not too tall but was safe. Water couldn't rise to the room in which they sat but it could break as the condition of the lighthouse was not too great. They went to the terrace to to see what was the condition of the weather then.
It was hard for them to open their eyes because of the fast wind blowing with dust. But they managed using their hands. They saw that it was breaking the trees as if they were made in a film studio. They noticed that the water level was increasing from time to time though it didn't pose any danger to their shelter. They finally concluded that it won't stop until morning. They must wait till the clouds disappear.
FINDING A WAY TO SURVIVE
It exactly happened as they thought. The storm came to an end in the morning. It destroyed almost all the trees of that place. They still couldn't find any solution how to solve the mystery and lead themselves to the next destination. Another day passed. They were running out of food. The storm had destroyed the trees which was why they couldn't get more fruits. The only hope they had in their way was to solve the riddle as fast as they could and lead them to the place which the map tells. They had the concept that once the map shines three different destinations emerges but it didn't work this time.
They thought that there is no benefit in staying without any hopes for their survival so, they decided to follow the path in which the road leads them. Holding hands like couples, they started walking again.
A week passed since they started walking. They established camps at night so that they could withstand the cold climate. They set up bonfires to keep themselves warm. They're face were covered with dusts and dirt and they were breathing heavily with thirst. They had even spent a whole day without drinking water as there was no particular destination marked on the magical map. There couldn't find a water source since a day. In the meanwhile they found that there was no road built any further and found themselves completely surrounded by sand. Or as we can say they had entered a desert with no sign of water and food near them and there was no way return.
"What shall we do now?" cried Amanda. "I don't know." said Hobert. "Is it the end of us? I don't want to die starving. There must be another way." added Drake. "We shall not lose hope. We need to manage ourselves for at least a day of walking. I think then we can cross this massive land of sand and would be welcomed to a completely new place." said Hobert. "How are you so sure?" asked Amy holding his hand. "I don't know. It's my faith on the almighty. Don't you think we shall not lose our hope so early. It's just the beginning. We need to adjust in even worse situations later. And also we had promised each other that we will not lose our hopes at any cost." said Hobert. This advice gave a little confidence to their hearts and more strength for walking ahead.
As they promised, they will not lose hope at any cost.