‘Careful, the ground is slippery!’ Eva’s warning came too late, as Nora had already slipped on the wet rock and took a hard anding on her backside. ‘Great way to start,’ she grumbled as Finn helped her up. ‘Who needs dangerous animals when the island itself is trying to kill us?’
The place where they had landed seemed idyllic at first glance. Above them, the leaves of enormous trees rustled in lush green and deep violet. At first, a path was still visible, but the further they ventured into the interior of the island, the denser and more impenetrable the vegetation became. The air was humid and heavy, and with every step the jungle seemed to close in. ‘This is no ordinary forest,’ Finn murmured, scanning the surroundings. The trunks of the trees twisted upwards like entwined snakes, their bark glistening in the semi-darkness as if covered in fine dew. Strange, shimmering particles danced through the air and tiny fireflies could be seen here and there. ‘Do you think someone lives on this island?’ asked Nora, who kept stopping to gaze at nature with her mouth half open. ‘I would imagine that someone would have revealed themselves to us by now,’ replied Eva. ‘Or maybe they don’t want to be found.’
The friends continued on their way in silence. It was dusky under the canopy of leaves, but they could tell from the fading light that day was slowly coming to an end. They passed some old stones, but the Orbis didn’t seem to react with any of them. Finally, the jungle cleared in front of them, revealing a small hill. Behind it towered the mighty mountains, of which they could only see the bases of the snow-capped peaks down here. ‘Look,’ said Eva, pointing ahead, ‘a cable car!’ Indeed, there was a valley station in front of them, with an old-fashioned gondola waiting there.
Time had left its mark on the station. The wood was weathered and the ropes that held the gondola creaked softly as Eva, Nora and Finn boarded. Inside was only a metal lever, otherwise no clues as to where the vehicle would take them. Eva looked at her friends, Nora nodded. She pulled the lever and, as if by magic, the gondola began to move. They quickly rose higher and higher, and the view of the jungle became wider and wider. Below them, only a surging sea of green and purple treetops could be seen stretching to the edge of the island.
Slowly they broke through the fog and found themselves in a different world. The warm, humid haze of the jungle was gone, replaced by clear, cold mountain air. The trees that had been below them now disappeared, and the landscape opened up to wide, snow-covered slopes. High peaks, framed by small clouds, towered majestically and unapproachably in front of them. The snow glistened in the pale light of the setting sun and the jagged rocks on the steep slopes looked like silent guards watching over the valley. ‘Hu, it’s cold!’ Nora wrapped herself tightly in her jacket. Finn didn’t say anything, but he too turned up the collar of his jacket and stared intently out of the window.
The gondola shuddered slightly as it climbed the last few metres and slowly reached a platform. It came to a halt with a squeak and the doors opened. Hesitantly, Eva took a step onto the icy ground, followed by her friends. In front of them was a mountain station, half built into the rock. The building was old, the wooden walls bleached by the weather, but as they approached, they immediately recognised the pattern that adorned the front door, which was now peeling off. There was no sign of a latch or handle anywhere. ‘Finn, what does this mean?’ Nora asked, pointing to a small plaque attached to the side of the door. ‘Si nostrum es, pulpo,’ she read out. “If you are one of us, knock,” the navigator translated. “One of us? What does that mean?” “Let’s find out,” said Eva, and knocked on the door without further ado.
The ground crunched and gave way before they could get to safety. With a scream, all three plunged into the depths of the hole that had suddenly opened up beneath them. They fell, fell and fell – finally landing abruptly in a stretched net that bent under their weight. The map that Eva had been holding slipped out of her hand as she reached for one of the ropes to steady herself. ‘No!’ she called out, but could only look desperately after the sheet as it swirled down into the darkness.
‘A trap? Seriously?’ Nora grumbled as she tried to pull her shoe out of a hole. Finn had already regained his balance and helped the girls to free themselves from their predicament. ‘We’re trapped,’ he said, pointing up where the hole in the ceiling was slowly being closed by a stone slab. ‘Great,’ Nora snorted. ‘Apparently we’re not “one of them”.’
With great effort, they managed to wriggle out of the unstable web and climb onto a platform at the edge. Eva’s hands slid over the smooth but cold metal of the ledge and with all her might she pulled herself up. Yet another puzzle awaited them there. A large polished steel door rose up before them. In the middle of it was a circular panel surrounded by a multitude of small indentations. Scattered on the floor were a number of plates made of wood, metal and stone – all in different shapes and with incised lines that at first glance seemed completely random.
‘Great,’ said Finn, squatting down to take a closer look at the plates. ’A puzzle. Just what we need right now.’ “Look at the lines on the plates,” Nora remarked, picking up one of the plates. She turned it in her hand and held it up to the light. “They could make a pattern if you put them together correctly. Eva, give me the map – doesn’t that look like the pattern?” Eva took a step back and raised her empty hands helplessly. ‘The map… it slipped out of my hand when we fell.’ Her voice was quiet, apologetic, and you could hear the lump in her throat. Nora paused in the middle of her movement. “What? You lost it?” “It wasn’t intentional!” Eva replied dejectedly. “It just fell… There was nothing I could do!” Her friend closed her eyes and took a deep breath. ’All right. We don’t have a map anymore, but we have the Orbis. Maybe there’s something we can do with it…‘ No light source here is strong enough,’ Finn interjected, his voice strained with frustration. Eva let her hands drop, her fingers shaking. ‘I don’t know what we’re supposed to do,’ she whispered, taking a step back.
‘Chin up, everyone,’ Finn said. ‘Maybe we should just try every combination.’ But his tone of voice revealed that he wasn’t entirely sure how that would work either. Nora stood with her arms crossed, chewing on her lower lip. She seemed to be staring at the panel, but her eyes looked distant, as if she was weighing something up in her mind. ‘This is pointless,’ murmured Eva, leaning against the cool wall. ’Without the map, we don’t stand a chance. We can’t reconstruct the pattern.’
Suddenly Nora raised her head as if someone had rung a bell inside her. ‘Wait a minute,’ she said slowly, her voice calm, but her eyes flashed. ‘Eva – your socks. “My what?” asked Eva, irritated. “Your socks!” Nora repeated, stepping up to her and grabbing her trouser leg and pulling it up. ‘It’s the same as on the map, silly!’ Eva stared at the familiar pattern, which stretched across the fabric like fine, intertwined lines. She had seen it so often that she hadn’t even thought about it – it was just another part of her. ‘That… that could work,’ she stammered. Nora nodded vigorously. ‘Of course it works! Come on, give it to me!’
Eva hesitated for a moment, then pulled the seldom-worn stocking out of her pocket. She held it carefully next to the panel and the friends began to move the plates one by one to recreate the pattern. With a deep click, the tiles merged into a single image. A soft humming sound could be heard and the massive door began to move, opening with difficulty. Behind it was a room bathed in golden light.