Chapter Thirty-Eight

When Arthur, Pete, and Alice finally returned a few hours later, they wore looks of frustration on their faces.  Arthur explained that they were each pulled into a room, one after the other, where a grueling interrogation took place by the queen’s right hand while she silently sat and listened.  Questions from how long they’d lived in inner earth to how well they knew Olga were put to them in so many different forms that it became both confusing and frustrating.

“It was as if they were trying to trip me up with my answers,” Arthur complained.

“Right?”  Alice snipped as she flopped into a nearby chair.  “My brain feels like mush.  They just kept asking the same thing over and over again in a different format.”

“I need a nap,” Pete grumbled as he eased himself into a chair.  “What was that all about, anyway?”

“It would be one thing if they simply aske