Dvorak Classic
Chapter 26 (or, "Zechariah 13:9")
Yesterday’s Episode: Mac and Carissa met Ariana, a mysterious person who knows about QWERTY and their search for Dvorak.
“I still can’t believe we have it,” Carissa said as she looked at the book. “In fact, I’m still afraid to touch it.”
“You can, you know,” Mac said. “And if you want to do it, today would be the day. Once this book goes back to Raz and the guys at the library, I seriously doubt they’ll ever let it out of their sight again.”
“If they believe this story ever happened,” Isabel said as she chewed on her Saint Arbucks straw. “My guess is that nobody will, and in fact, you could probably just keep this book forever.”
“Girl,” Carissa said as she sipped her chai, “you have got to think this through a little bit more.” As in, we shouldn’t be keeping this old book, she thought to herself, no matter how much you are tempted to.
“But it’s a cool book,” Isabel said as she flipped through a few of the pages. “I mean, just look at it. Some of the words are even written in metallic. I didn’t know they could do that a long time ago!”
“They probably melted gold to do it,” Mac said as he looked at the passage in question. “What is this? Are a lot of passages like this?”
“I thought so...but now that I think about it, I think it’s just that one part,” Isabel said. She made sure that her fingers were clean after drinking her frapp, then flipped backward. “This one right here. It’s the only passage like this.”
“Maybe Isabel is going crazy because of these time slips,” Carissa thought out loud. “As long as you don’t stay this way, I’m cool with it. I don’t ever want to lose my best friend.”
“I know, I know. I’m just playing with you.” Isabel pointed at the passage. “13:9, I can’t read the book, though.”
“Zechariah, I think.” Carissa pulled out her phone and pushed a few buttons. “Here we go. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.”
“And in English that means...?” Mac asked.
“Sorry. That was definitely the King James translation there. That’s the one my family uses for English reasons...which isn’t often.”
“It means that God will give us hardships,” Isabel suddenly spoke up, “and then we will call him God and we will be his people.”
Carissa raised her eyebrows. “Since when have you become the expert on everything biblical?”
“I don’t know. I pay attention when we go to Mass every week. I think it’s kind of interesting. You know how when you get bored, you’re always texting people and checking your phone? My mama takes away my phone during Mass and won’t let me talk, so I don’t have a lot of things to keep me busy. So, I think about what the passages could mean in real world English. It kind of passes the time, don’t you think?”
“You’re still crazy, but at least it’s something we can use,” Carissa said with a smile. Then, her smile faded. “Wait. Those are the only words in gold, right? That might be a clue to how we can find Dvorak. Does anybody know where a gold refinery is in the city?”
“No, but maybe we can go to 47th and see if Diamond Alley has any clues,” Isabel said. “Can I get another drink?”
“Suit yourself, but I’m not paying for this one,” Carissa said. “We’ve been here fifteen minutes, time is still frozen, and I’m lucky that I was able to get these two drinks the way I was.”
“You manipulated the baristas into giving us those drinks,” Mac said with a creeped out look on his face. “I was the one who insisted that we put money down for them.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Carissa said. “So I’m getting good with the time slip thing. So what.” She rested her head on her hand.
Mac did the same and looked at her. “You’re not still thinking about what Ariana said, are you?”
“Of course I am. All of those other people in that universe, those other versions of us that Ariana talked about...if I choose this world like they want me to do, then all of them will just...”
“You don’t know that she was telling the truth,” Mac said. “We can’t trust her.”
“Can we?” Carissa looked into Mac’s eyes. “The old lady hasn’t exactly been forthcoming about information.”
“But Raz didn’t seem like he would hurt us,” Mac said. “And if we don’t find Dvorak, then who knows what will happen to our world? To your family?”
Carissa couldn’t think about it anymore. She simply leaned forward, to her right, and onto Mac’s shoulder. Within seconds, two things happened: Mac’s face lit up, and time mysteriously restarted. The people around the three friends started moving again, and the outside sounds started up.
Carissa jumped in surprise, away from Mac and back on her own chair. “What was that?”
“You started up time again.” Isabel sipped what was left of her drink, giving slurping sounds. “Darn. I was wanting to get another free drink.”
“Those drinks weren’t free.” Carissa got up from her chair. “We have to get out of here. Ariana is going to find us.”
They got out of the Saint Arbucks and into the nearby subway. Since they were on the west side, at the secret Saint Arbucks by the library, Carissa suggested that they go to the east side to get away from the library itself, and they took the shuttle train over to Grand Central Terminal. They didn’t have time to look up at any of the beautiful architecture or the ceiling with all of the stars.
“Hey,” Carissa said, “I just remembered something. You remember when we all rode that strange train on the 1 line the other day? When the old lady was riding with us and she was confused? What train was it pretending to be?”
“A six, I think,” Mac said as they moved around the corner and into a Hudson News store.
Isabel whipped out her phone and looked at it. “Here,” she said. “It’s definitely a six train. See?” She showed Carissa, and sure enough, there was the six train logo at the top of the train.
“Isabel, you are a genius for taking these pictures,” Mac said with a smile. “Remind me to treat you to coffee when all this is said and done.”
Isabel beamed. “Of course!”
Carissa tried not to be too sour about the situation. “What about me?”
Mac pulled her aside by the shoulder. “I was thinking more than coffee,” he said, and then he was gone, heading toward the six train. Carissa shrugged and pulled out her own MetroCard, trying to ignore the beating of her heart.
Isabel couldn’t, though. “You liiiiiike him,” she said as they took the escalator down and swiped their way into fare control.
“So what?” Carissa said. “We have more important things to do right now.”
Isabel’s smile spread across her face. “I knew it! Wait until I tell your mother.” She took out the phone as they went down the stairs and caught the six train right behind Mac. He was staring straight ahead, not talking to either of them.
“Weird,” Carissa said to herself as she looked up at the ride board. “Hey, Isabel...did you take a picture of the ride board in that six train?”
“Of course I did. Why?”
“Do all of the stops match?”
Isabel looked at her phone, then back at the ride board. “There’s no City Hall stop on this one,” she said. “In this train, there’s a stop called Brooklyn Bridge -- City Hall. But in the photo, there are two stops, one named Brooklyn Bridge and one named City Hall.”
“They had those separate a long time ago, but they closed the City Hall station,” Mac said. “They apparently still use it as a turnaround for six trains. Don’t ask how I know that.”
Carissa took a deep breath. “Guys, I think we might know where Dvorak is.”
They took the train all the way down to Brooklyn Bridge. The doors opened and everybody stepped out. A conductor came over to them. “Are you planning on going uptown on this train?” he asked.
Mac nodded. “We are.”
“Then please come to the first car.” And the conductor led them through the cars, all the way to the front one. There, Mac, Carissa, and Isabel sat down. With one last message and the signal, the conductor closed the doors. Then, the train started up again. It went past the last stop on the line and went slow for a few minutes, and then suddenly came to a stop. The doors opened, and Carissa knew they were here.
She made sure she had the Bible with her, then stepped out of the train. Mac and Isabel followed her. The station was creepy, dark, and the six train they had come on disappeared behind them, intent on starting its trip over on the uptown side.
“Well, this just got us a quiet, abandoned subway station,” Mac said. “This is great and all, but...we don’t have a way to get out of here. And even if Dvorak is here, we don’t know where to find him.”
“I think I know what to do.” Taking the Bible out, Carissa turned to Zechariah 13:9 and started to read the passage in its native Latin. Her voice echoed out into the cavern, and Carissa noted that the ceilings must be high telling by the way it echoed. When she was finished reading the passage out loud, the letters started to glow and then disappeared.
Then, the subway station was filled with light, and they were surprised at what they saw.
“You can, you know,” Mac said. “And if you want to do it, today would be the day. Once this book goes back to Raz and the guys at the library, I seriously doubt they’ll ever let it out of their sight again.”
“If they believe this story ever happened,” Isabel said as she chewed on her Saint Arbucks straw. “My guess is that nobody will, and in fact, you could probably just keep this book forever.”
“Girl,” Carissa said as she sipped her chai, “you have got to think this through a little bit more.” As in, we shouldn’t be keeping this old book, she thought to herself, no matter how much you are tempted to.
“But it’s a cool book,” Isabel said as she flipped through a few of the pages. “I mean, just look at it. Some of the words are even written in metallic. I didn’t know they could do that a long time ago!”
“They probably melted gold to do it,” Mac said as he looked at the passage in question. “What is this? Are a lot of passages like this?”
“I thought so...but now that I think about it, I think it’s just that one part,” Isabel said. She made sure that her fingers were clean after drinking her frapp, then flipped backward. “This one right here. It’s the only passage like this.”
“Maybe Isabel is going crazy because of these time slips,” Carissa thought out loud. “As long as you don’t stay this way, I’m cool with it. I don’t ever want to lose my best friend.”
“I know, I know. I’m just playing with you.” Isabel pointed at the passage. “13:9, I can’t read the book, though.”
“Zechariah, I think.” Carissa pulled out her phone and pushed a few buttons. “Here we go. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.”
“And in English that means...?” Mac asked.
“Sorry. That was definitely the King James translation there. That’s the one my family uses for English reasons...which isn’t often.”
“It means that God will give us hardships,” Isabel suddenly spoke up, “and then we will call him God and we will be his people.”
Carissa raised her eyebrows. “Since when have you become the expert on everything biblical?”
“I don’t know. I pay attention when we go to Mass every week. I think it’s kind of interesting. You know how when you get bored, you’re always texting people and checking your phone? My mama takes away my phone during Mass and won’t let me talk, so I don’t have a lot of things to keep me busy. So, I think about what the passages could mean in real world English. It kind of passes the time, don’t you think?”
“You’re still crazy, but at least it’s something we can use,” Carissa said with a smile. Then, her smile faded. “Wait. Those are the only words in gold, right? That might be a clue to how we can find Dvorak. Does anybody know where a gold refinery is in the city?”
“No, but maybe we can go to 47th and see if Diamond Alley has any clues,” Isabel said. “Can I get another drink?”
“Suit yourself, but I’m not paying for this one,” Carissa said. “We’ve been here fifteen minutes, time is still frozen, and I’m lucky that I was able to get these two drinks the way I was.”
“You manipulated the baristas into giving us those drinks,” Mac said with a creeped out look on his face. “I was the one who insisted that we put money down for them.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Carissa said. “So I’m getting good with the time slip thing. So what.” She rested her head on her hand.
Mac did the same and looked at her. “You’re not still thinking about what Ariana said, are you?”
“Of course I am. All of those other people in that universe, those other versions of us that Ariana talked about...if I choose this world like they want me to do, then all of them will just...”
“You don’t know that she was telling the truth,” Mac said. “We can’t trust her.”
“Can we?” Carissa looked into Mac’s eyes. “The old lady hasn’t exactly been forthcoming about information.”
“But Raz didn’t seem like he would hurt us,” Mac said. “And if we don’t find Dvorak, then who knows what will happen to our world? To your family?”
Carissa couldn’t think about it anymore. She simply leaned forward, to her right, and onto Mac’s shoulder. Within seconds, two things happened: Mac’s face lit up, and time mysteriously restarted. The people around the three friends started moving again, and the outside sounds started up.
Carissa jumped in surprise, away from Mac and back on her own chair. “What was that?”
“You started up time again.” Isabel sipped what was left of her drink, giving slurping sounds. “Darn. I was wanting to get another free drink.”
“Those drinks weren’t free.” Carissa got up from her chair. “We have to get out of here. Ariana is going to find us.”
They got out of the Saint Arbucks and into the nearby subway. Since they were on the west side, at the secret Saint Arbucks by the library, Carissa suggested that they go to the east side to get away from the library itself, and they took the shuttle train over to Grand Central Terminal. They didn’t have time to look up at any of the beautiful architecture or the ceiling with all of the stars.
“Hey,” Carissa said, “I just remembered something. You remember when we all rode that strange train on the 1 line the other day? When the old lady was riding with us and she was confused? What train was it pretending to be?”
“A six, I think,” Mac said as they moved around the corner and into a Hudson News store.
Isabel whipped out her phone and looked at it. “Here,” she said. “It’s definitely a six train. See?” She showed Carissa, and sure enough, there was the six train logo at the top of the train.
“Isabel, you are a genius for taking these pictures,” Mac said with a smile. “Remind me to treat you to coffee when all this is said and done.”
Isabel beamed. “Of course!”
Carissa tried not to be too sour about the situation. “What about me?”
Mac pulled her aside by the shoulder. “I was thinking more than coffee,” he said, and then he was gone, heading toward the six train. Carissa shrugged and pulled out her own MetroCard, trying to ignore the beating of her heart.
Isabel couldn’t, though. “You liiiiiike him,” she said as they took the escalator down and swiped their way into fare control.
“So what?” Carissa said. “We have more important things to do right now.”
Isabel’s smile spread across her face. “I knew it! Wait until I tell your mother.” She took out the phone as they went down the stairs and caught the six train right behind Mac. He was staring straight ahead, not talking to either of them.
“Weird,” Carissa said to herself as she looked up at the ride board. “Hey, Isabel...did you take a picture of the ride board in that six train?”
“Of course I did. Why?”
“Do all of the stops match?”
Isabel looked at her phone, then back at the ride board. “There’s no City Hall stop on this one,” she said. “In this train, there’s a stop called Brooklyn Bridge -- City Hall. But in the photo, there are two stops, one named Brooklyn Bridge and one named City Hall.”
“They had those separate a long time ago, but they closed the City Hall station,” Mac said. “They apparently still use it as a turnaround for six trains. Don’t ask how I know that.”
Carissa took a deep breath. “Guys, I think we might know where Dvorak is.”
They took the train all the way down to Brooklyn Bridge. The doors opened and everybody stepped out. A conductor came over to them. “Are you planning on going uptown on this train?” he asked.
Mac nodded. “We are.”
“Then please come to the first car.” And the conductor led them through the cars, all the way to the front one. There, Mac, Carissa, and Isabel sat down. With one last message and the signal, the conductor closed the doors. Then, the train started up again. It went past the last stop on the line and went slow for a few minutes, and then suddenly came to a stop. The doors opened, and Carissa knew they were here.
She made sure she had the Bible with her, then stepped out of the train. Mac and Isabel followed her. The station was creepy, dark, and the six train they had come on disappeared behind them, intent on starting its trip over on the uptown side.
“Well, this just got us a quiet, abandoned subway station,” Mac said. “This is great and all, but...we don’t have a way to get out of here. And even if Dvorak is here, we don’t know where to find him.”
“I think I know what to do.” Taking the Bible out, Carissa turned to Zechariah 13:9 and started to read the passage in its native Latin. Her voice echoed out into the cavern, and Carissa noted that the ceilings must be high telling by the way it echoed. When she was finished reading the passage out loud, the letters started to glow and then disappeared.
Then, the subway station was filled with light, and they were surprised at what they saw.
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