It was a dark and stormy night. In an old house on a crooked street, Lance Alott and his friend, Gwenna Vere, sat in a darkened library. The only light in the room came from the screen of a laptop computer which stood open on the desk in front of them. Between them, a skinny red-haired boy with glasses sat hunched over the computer.

"I've almost got it working now," he said breathlessly.

"Good job, Howard," said Lance. "You sure know a lot about computers and electricity and stuff. A lot more than they teach us in school." Lance wasn't too fond of school, anyway. School was where he struggled to get decent grades, and the other kids teased him and Gwen about their dumb names--as if they could help what their parents had named them. Lance knew that his life at school would be easier if he and Gwen weren't friends. But she'd stuck by him more than once when they were in danger. He and Gwen had survived an amazing adventure-one that most kids would never believe. He wondered if Howard would believe it.

"Okay," said Howard at last. "That should do it. But it might take a few minutes to boot up. After that, we should be able to send your secret email message with no problem."

"Why are we doing this in the dark?" said Gwen.

"I'm using my parent's computer without permission," said Howard. "I don't want the servants to know I'm in here."

"I still can't believe you have servants." Gwen was jealous.

"Only a butler and two maids," said Howard hastily.

"Oh, is that all," said Lance, rolling his eyes. "Are your parents doctors or lawyers or what?"

"They're, um, scientists-sort of," said Howard. "They've got a lab in the basement."

"Cool!" said Lance, his eyes shining. "Let's go check it out while they're not home!"

"Lance!" scolded Gwen. "You'll get Howard in trouble!"

"We can't anyway," said Howard. "It's locked and I don't have the key. Look, you guys, I said I'd help you because you got the other kids to stop picking on me for a change. You said you wanted to use my laptop to send a very secret e-mail. Since it was broken, I let you come home with me and use this computer, and even stay for dinner. So when are you going to tell me what this is all about?"

Lance and Gwen looked at each other. "Okay," said Gwen at last. "You won't believe it. Nobody would. But it's all true-I swear. What would you say if we told you that we had a way to escape to another world?"

"Huh?" Howard looked confused. "You mean, another part of the world?"

"Nope," said Lance. "We mean right out of this world, to a place that isn't even on this earth. It's, uh, sort of in another dimension or something."

"It's a fantasy world," said Gwen firmly. "Like in books," she added. "Where animals talk and fairy-tale characters exist, and."

"Stop right there!" said Howard. He stood up angrily. "If you think I'm going to fall for something stupid like that, think again. This is all a joke, isn't it? A big set-up. Just because I'm skinny and homely and nobody likes me, you think you can fool me." His face was turning red and he was breathing hard.

"Hey, cool it, buddy." Lance pushed Howard back down in the chair. "Just because those jerks at school treat you like that doesn't mean we're going to. We want to help you, not mess with your mind. It so happens that what Gwen said is true. Every word. And if you trust us, we're going to let you go back there with us. You'll see things so amazing, and have such incredible adventures, that when we get back you'll actually feel sorry for those guys at school who've got nothing better to do than act like jerks. Now, do you want to hear about it or not?"

"Okay," said Howard after a moment. "I'm listening. Go on." "Well," said Lance, "it all started when Gwen found a ring, and I found a book."

Howard listened wide-eyed as Lance and Gwen told him the whole story-how the ring had turned out to be part of a magic key, and it had transported both Lance and Gwen to another world, a place called Adventure Storyland. The book had contained a secret message that sent them to a castle called Adventure Castle. Once they'd arrived there, they'd found themselves trapped in the castle, and met a strange little man named Org, who told them they had to find another key to escape. The rooms in the castle had turned out to be magic "gateways" that led them to amazing adventures. They had met fairy-tale characters and survived encounters with dragons and other beasts. They told him how they had found a secret clue in each room. When they put the clues together, they found the second key.

"So that's how we got out and came home," finished Lance.

"Only by then we didn't really want to come home," said Gwen. "We were having such a good time there. And then Org told us we could come back anytime we want. All we have to do is e-mail him."

Howard still wasn't sure he believed all this. "Okay, prove it," he said finally. "What's the address?"

Lance leaned over and typed the address in the box. "Adventure.org?" said Howard. "You've got to be kidding." But just then, things began to happen. The whole screen lit up bright red, and giant black letters appeared across it.

"EMERGENCY!" the letters spelled. "IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR LANCE ALOTT AND GWENNA VERE!! COME AT ONCE!! YOU ARE NEEDED IN ADVENTURE STORYLAND TO SOLVE AN IMPORTANT MYSTERY!! EMERGENCY!! EMERGENCY!!" The word 'emergency' at the end began to flash on and off, and the computer began making a loud "bleeping" noise with each flash. "Shhhhhh!" Howard hissed, leaning over and turning down the sound control. "They'll hear us!"

"Sorry," said Lance. "We didn't know that would happen." He turned to Gwen. "I don't get it. How did he know it was us? We didn't even type anything in yet."

"Beats me," Gwen shrugged. "But what do we do next?"

As if in answer to her question, a small box with the word "instructions" appeared at the bottom of the screen. Lance clicked on the box, and the giant letters were replaced by smaller ones which read:

"Greetings Lance and Gwen! Thank you for responding! Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to return to Adventure Storyland immediately to solve an important mystery. A crime has been committed which threatens the entire existence of our land! Should you capture the guilty party and save our world, a great reward is yours! But beware, great danger may await you! Should you fail, you may be unable to return home! And above all else, do not fail to bring your friend Howard with you! His presence is vital to the mission! If the three of you choose to accept this mission, click on the box below!"

Lance, Gwen, and Howard stared at the small box at the bottom of the screen which read "accept". They turned and looked at each other.

"How do they know about me?" asked Howard nervously.

"I don't know," said Gwen. "But Org knew all about us, too, when we got there. Well, do we go? It sounds kind of dangerous."

Lance shrugged. "So was some of the stuff we went through the last time we were there. But lots of it was fun. This is probably just another sort of game to make things exciting. And it's just what Howard needs to give him some self-confidence-like last time did for us. I say we should go."

Gwen nodded. "You're right. It may be dangerous, but it'll be fun, too. I want to go back. But why is Howard so important?"

"Well, Howard?" asked Lance. "Do you know why?"

Howard turned red again. "Uh-I'm not sure."

"It doesn't matter," Gwen said. "We can find out when we get there. That is, if you're willing to go with us." Howard gulped. He took a deep breath. "O.K., I'll go."

Lance clapped him on the back. "Good for you!" he said. "But." he looked at the screen again-"How do we get there?" "Click on the accept button, I guess," said Gwen. She reached over and moved the mouse until the arrow hovered over the word "accept". She paused. "Everybody ready?"

"Ready," said Lance.

Howard clutched the arm of his chair. "Ready," he whispered.

Gwen took one last look around. Outside the window, the night was dark and foggy--just the kind of night for a mystery. "O.K.," she said at last. "Here goes." She clicked on the button.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then Howard let out a little yelp as the room began to fill with a strange silver mist. "Hang on," hollered Lance. He grabbed Gwen and they both grabbed Howard. The room filled with mist until it was as foggy indoors as it was outside. The three children could no longer see anything at all.

"Help!" cried Howard. "What's happening?" His voice faded way into the night. In a moment, the mist swirled and began to clear. When it was gone, the room was empty.