Chapter 23

"Paige, what's that noise? Please tell me it's your rumbling stomach," Dewey called from under his blanket.

"Sorry, bud, no can do."

"Do I want to know what that noise came from?"

"No," Paige said, her lips pulling back into a wince, "you really don't."

"Well, now I have to know."

"It's a bear, Dewey. It's a giant bear. And it looks…angry."

"Make a run for the mine."

"I can't! It's standing right in front of the stupid entrance. And everyone knows you don't run from bears."

"Well, what do you do to fight a bear?"

"Uh, try to look bigger. Raise your arms," Paige counseled herself as she lifted her arms into the air and waved them. "Hey, you! Get out of here! Go on, get!"

"Is it working?"

"No," Paige said with a sigh as the bear roared again. "I need that projector thing you had the first day we met."

"Oh, the Magnopro? I put it in your bag. I thought I could use it to be more frightening to the Shrieking Pixies in case we needed to negotiate."

Paige's jaw dropped as she dug into her bag in search of the device. Her gloved hands hit the rectangular projector at the bottom. The bear sniffed in the air as she hurried to pull it from the bag, bobbling it as the fabric of her gloves made it slippery. It dropped with a soft thud into the snow at her feet.

"Shoot!" She dove for it, bobbling it again as she tried to turn it on. "How do you use this stupid thing?"

"Just hold it in front of you and press the amount of magnification you want."

Paige stuck her glove into her mouth, biting down and tugging her hand out of it. It dangled from her teeth while she tried to flick the switch to turn the device on.

Her fingers started to hurt moments after hitting the air. She winced while she struggled to snap the switch into the on position, finally pushing it over. She shook her hand to relieve the pain then spun the magnification dial up to 8x.

"Go away," she shouted before looking around to see if she could spot the magnified version of her. "How can I tell if this is working?"

"Can you see a giant you in front of you?"

"No."

"Then it's not working."

"I turned it on, and I picked the highest magnification setting. What am I missing?"

The bear sniffed at them again, falling onto all fours and taking a tentative step forward.

"Oh, shoot," Dewey said from inside his carrier, "you need a pinch of nymph nectar."

"Oh, that's just great. So, this is just a giant useless box."

"No, no, I brought the nymph nectar. It's in the bag. Just watch when you open it because it…sticky…drip…grow." Dewey's words cut out as the wind whipped past them.

"What?" Paige dug through the bag again and found a small vial.

She tugged the top off and poured the syrupy sap into the hole at the top of the machine. Her frozen fingers made it difficult to manage the small vial. A smear of syrup coated her purple hand. She licked the sticky substance from her finger, pleased by the sugary-sweet maple taste.

"There we go," she mumbled to herself, shoving the cap back on and dropping the vial into her bag.

The machine started to shimmy before an image burst forth from it. A massive version of Paige stood in front of the bear.

"Get out of here," Paige shouted, her large projection mimicking her.

The bear sniffed in the air again before it fell to all fours and loped into the woods.

"Ha! And stay away," Paige shouted as she flicked off the projector and dumped it into her bag.

She slid her glove onto her exposed hand, tugging at it as her forehead crinkled. It barely came to her wrist.

She shook her head at the shrunken fabric while she charged forward toward the mine entrance. As she approached, she caught sight of two snowmobiles, hidden behind the nearby trees surrounding the mine entrance.

"Dewey," she exclaimed. "There are snowmobiles here. Maybe we can use those to escape after we get warm."

She tugged the metal door open that warned visitors to use caution and slipped inside. The door slammed closed behind her, plunging the space into darkness.

With the wind no longer howling and snow not coating her, it immediately felt warmer.

"Ah, that's better," she said, her voice echoing in the rocky chamber.

She pushed the hood off her head before she set the carrier down and dug for her cell phone. Her gloved hand struggled to work properly.

It must be half frozen, she thought.

She flicked on her flashlight and searched the space, finding lanterns hanging on the wall. After cranking one, she switched it on, and light filled the space. She set the lantern down on the floor, kneeling next to the carrier that rocked back and forth as Dewey emerged from his blanket.

"You okay?" she asked as she struggled to unzip the carrier.

"Yeah, much better now. Unzip me."

"I'm trying. Wait, let me get this glove off. My fingers won't work. They're probably stiff from the cold."

Paige tugged off her left glove with her teeth, then her right, which threatened to pop off anyway and barely covered her palm.

Her eyes went wide, and she fell onto her backside as she stared at her hand. "OMG!"

"What is it? Let me out." The carrier shook again.

"My hand! Something's wrong with my hand!" Plump digits stuck from a swollen hand that resembled a balloon.

Dewey gave a frustrated growl. "Let me out so I can see."

Paige grabbed the zipper with her left hand, her eyes still stuck on her fat fingers.

Dewey popped from within the carrier, glancing around before he crawled out, still clutching the blanket around him. "It's creepy in here. Here's your scarf back."

He tossed the red fabric at Paige as he hopped down and wandered over. "What's wrong with your hand?"

Paige shot him a concerned glance. "Look at it!" She thrust the puffy appendage at his face.

"Whoa!"

"What happened? Why is it like this?" she cried.

Dewey grabbed hold of it, studying the bulging flesh. He poked at it before he narrowed his eyes and stared at her finger. "Did you get some of the nectar on your hand?"

"Yes," Paige said.

Dewey let go of her hand and nodded. "That's the problem. It magnified your hand."

"Permanently?"

"No, just for a few hours or so. It'll wear off."

"Unbelievable," Paige said, flinging the enlarged hand in the air. "That's just par for the course on this trip."

"Look on the bright side," Dewey said, retrieving the lantern and stalking around the space with it held high. "You've got a super cool purple hammer for a hand for a little while."

"My dweam come twue," Paige said.

Her eyes went wide when she struggled to speak properly. She clamped her fat hand over her mouth and stared at Dewey.

"What's wong wit me?"

Dewey spun to face her. "You didn't ingest any of that nectar, did you?"

"I mi ha," she answered, unable to move her tongue to form the words.

"Yes or no, Paige?"

She nodded. "I wicked it."

"Well, you've got a nice fat tongue for the next few hours, too."

"Sit," Paige cursed, unable to get the proper swear word formed.

"Here's the good news."

Paige raised her eyebrows, prodding him to continue.

"We're in the mines where the Holigramium is. We just need to find it, grab it, and then use the snowmobiles you spotted to get out of here."

Paige rolled her eyes as she climbed to her feet, taking her best stab at the word "simple." She wrapped the scarf around her neck and shoved it inside her coat again before tapping her shoulder with her monster hand.

Dewey fluttered up with the lantern.

Paige slid the carrier toward the rocky wall with her foot before she continued forward.

Dewey held the light in front of him, peering at the walls. He poked a finger at a glass case. "There's a map. Grab it."

"Ho?" Paige asked.

Dewey flew to the case and tugged on it. "It's stuck. Pull it off the wall."

Paige gave him an incredulous look.

"Smash the glass."

"That's unbweakable."

"You have a hammer hand. Hit it!" Dewey said, flinging a paw toward her enormous hand.

Paige pulled the scarf from around her neck again and wrapped her massive hand in the red fabric. She lined up her arm and smacked the glass. It shattered to pieces from the vigorous blow.

"See," Dewey said as he flew to the case and ripped the map off the corkboard. "You did it."

Paige unwrapped her hand and stared at it as she nodded. Might not be half bad to keep this sucker.

"Okay, let's see here," Dewey said, fluttering the map in the air. "Looks like we need to go to the left for the remaining Holigramium deposits."

Paige nodded again, her tongue becoming uncomfortably large in her mouth.

Dewey buzzed forward farther into the mines with Paige close behind him. They entered the elevator leading down and rode it to the bottom, where a large cavern spread out in front of them.

She wandered across the yawning space and pushed the handle up on a large box. Lights sprang to life overhead, illuminating the rocky landscape.

Dewey's eyes lit up as he spotted the tunnels leading into the mines. "Look! Mine cars!"

A grin crossed his face, and he sped over to one, climbed inside, and peeked over the edge. "Come, Paige! We get to ride a mine car."

"Oh gweat," Paige said with a roll of her eyes as she stalked toward the mine car.

She flicked the switch to illuminate the passage they needed to traverse before climbing onto the mine car's base. She swung her leg over and climbed inside as Dewey let the brake off and pushed the handle forward.

The car rolled ahead into the tunnel, its wheels squealing on the track. The passage dipped sharply, and the car dropped quickly, along with Paige's stomach.

"Weee," Dewey called as the wind whipped past them.

"Swow down," Paige called.

"Live a little," Dewey said as the breeze ruffled his ears.

They bobbed up and down, hugging the curves as the track followed the winding passage through the cavern.

Dewey glanced around as the walls opened farther. "Look, another track. Wonder where that goes?"

"Who cawes? Howigramium!"

"Yes, yes. We'll just get the Holigramium and get out."

Paige nodded from where she crouched at the back of the mine car.

Dewey stared down at the map in his hand before eyeing the track in front of them. "I think we're almost there. Just a few more curves."

Dewey hugged the hand brake, slowing the car as they wound around the last two wiggles in the track and arrived at the end of the line. They bumped into another car as they came to a stop.

"Wonder why there's another ca–" Dewey started, when a loud bang echoed off the stone surrounding them.

"Down," Paige shouted, tugging Dewey lower in the car. "Gun!"

Dewey's eyes widened. "Gun? Gunshot?"

"Someone else is hewe," Paige whispered.

"Probably those damned pixies. But how did they get a– WHOA!"

Dewey flew from the car backward. Paige stared after his receding form, her jaw tensed. She flattened herself in the car as she stared up at the large, white hand holding Dewey upside down by the ankle.

"Ahhhh," Dewey shouted as he kicked and struggled to free himself.

The massive creature lifted him closer to its face, sniffing at him with a large blue-black nose.

"Put me down, you brute," Dewey shouted.

The creature tossed Dewey away like a tissue. The little dragon smacked into the stone wall and slid down it.

"Paige!" he called before he appeared hovering over the mine car. A purple-blue bump rose from his fleshy eyebrow. "They have the Holigramium! Do something, quick!"

"Do what?" Paige spit out with her large tongue.

"Use your hammer hand and hit him!"

Paige stared down at her bulging hand then shot a determined glance at Dewey. "Wight, hewe I come!"

She shooed Dewey aside and climbed out of the mine car. "Hey, woser, drop that howigramium."

The large, furry, white creature spun to face Paige.

Paige swallowed hard while she shot a glance at Dewey.

"Hit him," Dewey shouted.

Paige nodded and cocked her fat fist before she swung forward, striking the animal in the chest.

"Hit him in the jaw!"

"I can't weach his jaw," she said. "He's hooge!"

"He's a yeti. What d'you expect? Climb on top of the cart and slug him a good one!"

"Eti?" Paige questioned.

The large creature growled at Paige, his yellowed teeth showing through his thick fur.

Paige winced, scrambling onto the mine cart to stand taller.

"Deck him," Dewey shouted as he buzzed around the space.

Paige pulled her arm back and flung it forward. Her swollen skin smacked into the yeti's blue-black lip, smashing it against his lower fang.

The creature roared in pain as he stumbled backward a step before he fell back, cracking his head against the ground. The ground rumbled below them. Paige wobbled on top of the mine cart before falling into it.

The yeti grunted, dazed from the hit, as his arms fell to his side, his hands unfurling out of fists.

A glowing, yellow crystal orb fell from his paw and rattled across the ground.

Dewey dove down and snatched it. "I got the Holigramium! Punch him again, and let's get out of here!"

Paige climbed onto the edge of the mine car and balanced on the edge before she leapt off and landed on the hairy beast below her.

Her lips twisted into a devilish grin. "Someone order a knuckle sandwich?"

She cocked her fist and slammed it into the yeti's jaw. Her smile faded quickly as the yeti narrowed his eyes at her.

"No!"

"What happened?"

Paige shot a panicked glance at Dewey. "My hand! It's not swollen anymore. It's just normal size. I can't do any damage."

Dewey's eyes went wide, and he buzzed to the mine cart. "Run! Get in the cart! We have to go back!"

Paige stared down at the angry yeti as it grumbled and growled below her. She scrambled off its furry belly and climbed into the cart as Dewey let the brake off. It rumbled slowly ahead while the white creature struggled to climb to his feet.

"Go faster," Paige shouted.

"I'm trying! This thing won't go."

"Let off the brake!" she said, shoving Dewey aside and fiddling with the brake bar. "What's wrong with this thing?"

Dewey pushed against her, clutching the edge of the car as it moved slowly along. "I told you. It won't go."

"Something must be wro–"

The car shimmied on the track. They both glanced over their shoulders and screamed when they spotted the yeti chasing them, swiping at the car. His giant paw nearly knocked them off the track.

"Faster," Dewey screamed.

"I'm trying," Paige said, jiggling the handle again. She stared down at the handle, her features pinching. "There. Something's caught in the brake."

"Get it out," Dewey cried.

Paige dangled her arm over the side as she reached for the stone wedged against the wheel.

"Hurry, Paige. The yeti is right behind us."

"I'm trying to hurry. It's wedged. I can't get it." She groaned, straining to stretch her arm another few inches.

"Oh no," Dewey moaned. "Faster. Faster!"

"What? Is it chasing us?"

Dewey kept his eyes trained behind them. "In a manner of speaking."

Paige screwed up her face as she blindly reached for the stone. "What's that mean?"

"He's in the other mine car, and his brake isn't stuck. "

"So what? He's gaining on us?"

Dewey opened his mouth to answer when the response became clear.

A booming crack resounded in the small passage as the yeti's mine cart slammed into theirs. The wheels wobbled, and the cart tipped to the side, threatening to tumble from the tracks.

Paige threw her weight to the side of the car as it lifted from the tracks. "Lean!"