action.
A few times, Albertâs hand or footholds disappeared,and he nearly fell off again. But with some major Tile concentration, and a determination burning like fire in the pit of his stomach, he climbed until he was perched just below the top.
A little bit more! Albert stretched, picturing his little half siblings reaching as hard as they could for the countertop where his mom hid the candy jar. Finally, Albertâs hand closed over something smooth and hard, about the size of a salad plate. The Tile!
â Albert Flynn is the first to collect a Tile! â he heard Tussy say into her MegaHorn. Overhead, the crowd cheered, and Farnsworth howled. âOne point for Hydra! Theyâre in the lead!â
âYay, Albert!â Leroy screamed from across the Pit. âYou . . . did . . . it!â
From up this high, Albert watched as Hoyt summited a pillar across from him.
âOne point for team Argon!â Tussy yelled, and Albert frowned. Hoyt had grabbed a Tile and was waving it in the air for the screaming crowd.
Uh-oh , Albert thought. Time to step up my game.
Hoyt dropped down to the floor, then raced to another pillar and started the climb. It was almost like instinct, what Albert did next. Tussy hadnât said you had to climb all the pillars. You just had to collect the Tiles on top of them. Albert was already high in the air. He tried to hoist himself up higher and get his whole body ontop of the pillar. That way, he could simply stand and leap from one to the other. But Albert soon realized he wasnât strong enough. His muscles were screaming with exhaustion.
I need to use the Strength symbol , Albert thought, and he focused with all his might on an image of what looked like a mountain, tall and strong.
Albert felt his arms and legs start to tingle as the Master Tile worked its magic. He put all his effort into hoisting himself up, and sure enough, it worked. Albert was crouched on top of his pillar like a mountain lion on a boulder.
âTwo points for Hydra!â Tussy screamed, and Albert saw Birdie with a Tile clutched in her hands.
âYes! Nice job!â Albert screamed.
âAnother point for Argon!â Tussy yelled, as Mo grabbed a Tile off the farthest pillar, then leaped down to the floor.
Albert stood up on top of his pillar. Even though there was no wind in the Pit, he thought he could feel his pillar swaying. A little to the left, a little to the right.
That was when it started to move.
And it wasnât just his pillar. It was all of them. They were spinning in a wide circle around the Pit.
They werenât moving fast, but the spinning disoriented Albert, nearly causing him to topple overboard.
Itâs just like being on a merry-go-round, Albert. No big deal.
But just as Albert got his balance, the pillar began to move faster.
Okay, like being on a slightly demented merry-go-round.
As they rotated faster, the force picked up and threatened to knock Albert to the Pit floorâalong with the Tiles.
âThe Ten Pillars have minds of their own!â Tussy said into the MegaHorn. âWhen the Realm of Ponderay is balanced, the Pillars stand strong and steady in the middle of the Silver Sea. But the Imbalance seems to have caused the Pillars in the Realm to begin rotating like this. Better think fast, and grab more Tiles, before the spinning knocks them off!â
Almost as if in response to Tussyâs words, the pillars sped up even more. Now they were moving at a speed Albert was definitely not comfortable withâthere was no way his mom would have let him ride a merry-go-round at this speed. Albertâs mind buzzed, and his body felt wobbly and wrong. He just knew he was going to fall.
âAbandon ship!â Leroy screamed from somewhere below.
Albert didnât want to give up. He stooped to his knees and clutched the edges of his pillar as it zoomed around. He could see the next pillar in the circle just a few feet away and
A few times, Albertâs hand or footholds disappeared,and he nearly fell off again. But with some major Tile concentration, and a determination burning like fire in the pit of his stomach, he climbed until he was perched just below the top.
A little bit more! Albert stretched, picturing his little half siblings reaching as hard as they could for the countertop where his mom hid the candy jar. Finally, Albertâs hand closed over something smooth and hard, about the size of a salad plate. The Tile!
â Albert Flynn is the first to collect a Tile! â he heard Tussy say into her MegaHorn. Overhead, the crowd cheered, and Farnsworth howled. âOne point for Hydra! Theyâre in the lead!â
âYay, Albert!â Leroy screamed from across the Pit. âYou . . . did . . . it!â
From up this high, Albert watched as Hoyt summited a pillar across from him.
âOne point for team Argon!â Tussy yelled, and Albert frowned. Hoyt had grabbed a Tile and was waving it in the air for the screaming crowd.
Uh-oh , Albert thought. Time to step up my game.
Hoyt dropped down to the floor, then raced to another pillar and started the climb. It was almost like instinct, what Albert did next. Tussy hadnât said you had to climb all the pillars. You just had to collect the Tiles on top of them. Albert was already high in the air. He tried to hoist himself up higher and get his whole body ontop of the pillar. That way, he could simply stand and leap from one to the other. But Albert soon realized he wasnât strong enough. His muscles were screaming with exhaustion.
I need to use the Strength symbol , Albert thought, and he focused with all his might on an image of what looked like a mountain, tall and strong.
Albert felt his arms and legs start to tingle as the Master Tile worked its magic. He put all his effort into hoisting himself up, and sure enough, it worked. Albert was crouched on top of his pillar like a mountain lion on a boulder.
âTwo points for Hydra!â Tussy screamed, and Albert saw Birdie with a Tile clutched in her hands.
âYes! Nice job!â Albert screamed.
âAnother point for Argon!â Tussy yelled, as Mo grabbed a Tile off the farthest pillar, then leaped down to the floor.
Albert stood up on top of his pillar. Even though there was no wind in the Pit, he thought he could feel his pillar swaying. A little to the left, a little to the right.
That was when it started to move.
And it wasnât just his pillar. It was all of them. They were spinning in a wide circle around the Pit.
They werenât moving fast, but the spinning disoriented Albert, nearly causing him to topple overboard.
Itâs just like being on a merry-go-round, Albert. No big deal.
But just as Albert got his balance, the pillar began to move faster.
Okay, like being on a slightly demented merry-go-round.
As they rotated faster, the force picked up and threatened to knock Albert to the Pit floorâalong with the Tiles.
âThe Ten Pillars have minds of their own!â Tussy said into the MegaHorn. âWhen the Realm of Ponderay is balanced, the Pillars stand strong and steady in the middle of the Silver Sea. But the Imbalance seems to have caused the Pillars in the Realm to begin rotating like this. Better think fast, and grab more Tiles, before the spinning knocks them off!â
Almost as if in response to Tussyâs words, the pillars sped up even more. Now they were moving at a speed Albert was definitely not comfortable withâthere was no way his mom would have let him ride a merry-go-round at this speed. Albertâs mind buzzed, and his body felt wobbly and wrong. He just knew he was going to fall.
âAbandon ship!â Leroy screamed from somewhere below.
Albert didnât want to give up. He stooped to his knees and clutched the edges of his pillar as it zoomed around. He could see the next pillar in the circle just a few feet away and
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