by Jane H Wood
Keith charged forward but was beaten back by the intense heat. He knelt there, numb with shock, watching his senior ranger attempt the impossible.
‘Get a rope!’ yelled Gus at the top of his voice while backing up, realising the blanket would be useless. His face felt scorched from the heat of the blaze and he lifted a hand protectively.
The screams stopped just then, but the blackened bodies continued burning, lying motionless on the ground a short distance from the flames engulfing the twisted metal of their motorbikes.
Edmund had heard the screams, and the shouts of anguish coming from Gus. He skidded to a halt and stared back at the flames, aghast at the scene, and swallowed, feeling his blood go cold. He could make out movements, men running, trying to help.
Should he go back…? He didn’t want to. He hesitated, scouring the darkness ahead of him again.
GoldenEars was nowhere to be seen; the lights had gone.
Panting hard, he was thinking desperately what he should do, his conscience pricking him. He had covered a good distance, but he should help, he thought. Then he saw Josh charging towards him, shouting something, but he couldn’t make it out. Edmund stiffened, knowing he’d done the wrong thing, and took half a step backwards.
With a shock of surprise the earth wasn’t there anymore, and he was falling, falling down into a black hole. He saw Josh’s hand sweep the air, just missing grasping his wrist. Then just as quickly another body was falling with him. Down and down they went, crashing onto the soft ledges that crumpled under their combined weight. They continued bouncing and sliding all the way to the bottom and landed on their backs in the cold black earth.
Knocked senseless, the pair lay there stunned, and the seconds ebbed by.
Regaining his wits first, Edmund pulled himself up into a sitting position. He was cold and covered with damp sticky earth, his head throbbing. With exploratory fingers he felt the growing bump on the back of his head and winced.
Beside him lay Josh, barely visible in the gloom. The ranger opened his eyes and groaned, slowly turning his head to peer at him. Edmund heard his friend exhale noisily.
‘Josh, are you all right?’ he gasped, still rubbing his head. The ranger groaned again, turning his attention skywards.
‘You idiot! Why didn’t you stop when you saw me? I was trying to warn you of this, this hole or whatever it is!’ he said through gritted teeth, trying to keep his temper under control.
‘That’s not important! GoldenEars is leaving. He must already be long gone,’ remonstrated Edmund. ‘We have to find him. They all need our protection!’ he said, his voice strained and panicked. He was feeling impatient and, not waiting for a reply, stood up and attempted to climb up the smooth earth wall. Unable to gain a foothold Edmund slipped back down again, nearly falling over on the slippery mud underfoot.
‘What’s happened here?’ asked Josh quizzically, standing up and running his hand over the vertical walls. ‘It looks as though we’ve fallen about thirty feet. We were damn lucky to survive.’
Not receiving any sort of comment he peered into the gloom, searching for Edmund, but he’d gone.
‘Hey! Where are you?’ shouted Josh, alarmed by his sudden disappearance.
A few seconds passed before Edmund came hurrying back.
‘I don’t think that’s the right direction,’ he announced quickly, continuing to walk straight past him. He stopped abruptly, as though a thought had occurred to him, and glanced back. ‘Look, I thought Gus had sent you and I was in trouble for running off, but I was about to come back and help. Those men… I’m sorry, Josh,’ Edmund babbled guiltily and chewed his bottom lip.
‘I think the accident has calmed everyone down,’ replied Josh. ‘Damn awful business. People have died, Edmund,’ he added forcefully, looking at him.
Hearing Josh confirm what he’d already suspected spiked a feeling of sympathy for those men, but also heightened his desire to protect the wolves.
‘But let’s not forget those men were willing to commit murder! Wipe out an entire species just because a few wolves chose to fight back in defence of their young!’ Edmund stopped, aware he’d raised his voice.
‘Yeah, I know! But more men are coming, and who can say what will happen when they get here...’ Josh’s voice trailed away. ‘Shh, listen,’ he whispered.
The noise above ground had subsided, and the atmosphere took on an unnatural quietness.
‘What’s going on? It’s much too quiet up there.’
Footsteps crunched on the ground above. With quick reactions Josh grabbed Edmund’s sleeve and pulled him down onto the ground. The pair knelt there, hidden in the dark with their bodies pressed against the wall of earth, listening.
‘There’s a deep rift or something here. I can’t see the bottom,’ uttered a voice, and a black silhouette leaned over the top edge, appearing to look down. Then another person leaned over.
‘I saw you fall in! Are you both all right?’ said a strained voice. It was Gus, fatigued and anxious. Both young men let out a breath of relief and stood up. Seeing movement, Gus added angrily. ‘Whatever were you thinking, Edmund? That was a plain stupid thing to do!’ He was breathing hard, trying to control his anger and straining to see the boy in the blackness. A slight movement told him where he was.
‘Why didn’t you stop when I called?’ he continued, furious with the boy.
‘This is not the time, Gus! Edmund knows he’s been foolish; you can continue discussing this when we get back!’ remonstrated Josh from deep inside the rift.
Edmund found his voice and was determined to defend his actions.
‘I was being shot at by the men! Perhaps you couldn’t see but they nearly killed me. I didn’t know what was going on back there, and how could I help if I’m not allowed to use a gun? And anyway…!’ he protested, equally annoyed. ‘Aren’t we supposed to be defending the wolves from that unruly mob?’
Gus mumbled something incoherent and moved from their view. He returned a minute later and shone a flashlight down into the rift.
‘What are you going to do now?’ he asked in a slightly less aggressive tone.
Josh looked at Edmund and they both shrugged, perplexed by the strange question.
‘Well, obviously you are going to throw us a rope and help us out of here,’ replied Josh, staring up into the dazzling light.
Gus sighed, before answering. ‘Um, I don’t know how to tell you boys, but the rope is gone, burnt in the fire. I’m afraid we… Anyway, two dead, I’m sorry to say. And the rest of the mob have gone – where, I’ve no idea. If they decide to return we haven’t got a chance of stopping them. Keith was shot, though not badly, but I need to get him to hospital fairly quickly.’
‘Damn!’ cursed Josh under his breath.
‘How bad is it?’ asked Edmund.
‘An arm wound, only slight but bleeding quite a bit. Look… you’ll have to find a way out yourselves. If you can’t climb up, try walking along; there may be an easier route to the top. I need to get on the radio, call for a helicopter rescue. Once you’re out, we’ll come get you,’ said Gus flatly. Then added, almost as an afterthought, ‘Oh, are either of you injured?’
‘No!’ the pair chorused. Gus nodded, grateful for small mercies.
‘I hope Keith will be okay,’ replied Josh sympathetically. ‘And do you know what’s happened here, why the earth opened up like this?’ he asked, bewildered.
‘I’ve no idea, wish I did. Earthquakes are extremely rare in these parts,’ uttered Gus, puzzled. He hadn’t heard from Edmund for a while, and suddenly he was concerned.
‘Edmund, are you okay?’ he called, shining his flashlight into the darkness.
Josh spun round, searching for him.
‘He’s not here! I can’t see him!’ he called in exasperation.
Moving from his spot beneath Gus, he began to
explore, taking a few uncertain steps, keeping a hand in contact with the wall for guidance. Then, when he felt he’d gone far enough, he turned round and continued back the way he’d come, only to be greeted with the same blackness.
‘Edmund!’ Josh called loudly, clearly agitated that he’d run off again.
Out of the darkness came a muffled voice, followed by heavy footsteps surging through the soft wet earth, growing louder, until Edmund came hurrying into view.
‘This way! Towards the mountain, quickly!’ he said, pulling at Josh’s arm.
‘Why that way? It’s black in both directions. How do you know?’
Gus was still waiting for an explanation. ‘Is Edmund all right? What’s going on down there?’ he asked impatiently, shining his flashlight on top of Edmund’s bobbing head.
‘I’m fine, Gus. Can you spare one of those flashlights?’ he asked, shielding his eyes, trying to see past the beam at the man behind it. The light was removed from his eyes and a dull thud sounded on the damp earth beside them, the beam illuminating their boots and the earth immediately in front of it.
‘Thanks,’ called Edmund. ‘We’ll see you later,’ he said, picking it up and making his way along the uneven ground.
‘What makes you think that this is the right way?’ asked Josh dubiously, hanging back. Edmund glanced at him.
‘I can feel it. Trust me,’ he said, edging along.
Josh watched him, then decided to follow; after all, he has the flashlight, he thought.
They continued slowly, the flashlight illuminating a small area immediately in front of them as the rift floor twisted and curved. They had been walking for about ten minutes when Edmund stopped abruptly, causing Josh to walk into the back of him.
‘Hey, what’s up now? I thought you knew where you were going,’ scolded Josh, staring at the back of Edmund’s head.
‘Shh…! I’m listening,’ whispered Edmund, tilting his head on one side.
Josh turned away irritably and scanned up the rift’s walls. They were just as high here, with no possibility of climbing up the vertical wall of earth.
‘Um, don’t you think this is weird? The way this happened, you know… smooth?’
‘Shh, Josh! Do you hear that?’ asked Edmund, turning to face him.
Josh stumbled backwards; being confronted with Edmund’s ponderous face so close to his was far from alluring.
‘Well?’ insisted Edmund, raising an eyebrow.
Josh went quiet, hearing the wind whistling through the passageway and brushing their faces as it passed. Then the flashlight flickered and went off. Edmund gave the cylinder a hefty knock, bringing the beam back to life, and held it casually between them, letting the beam shine on their upturned faces.
‘I can’t hear anything, just the wind. Are you getting spooked or something?’ Josh smirked, trying to smother a laugh.
Edmund made a face of dismissal and moved down the passageway before stopping and looking back. Josh hadn’t moved.
‘Okay,’ said Edmund, realising Josh had no idea what he was getting at. ‘Look, the wind is blowing down the tunnel this way, towards us, yes?’ he said, nodding. Josh gave him a blank look.
‘We are heading towards the mountain… a solid lump of rock, but there is a strong wind blowing onto our faces. So there must be an opening of some kind, a way through, which means we’ll get out of here if we continue along this path,’ said Edmund forcefully.
Josh nodded his understanding, although he was reluctant to put his life into the hands of a seventeen-year-old boy.
The pair hurried on, with Edmund leading, knowing that they’d soon be out. The ground began to rise, changing as they progressed, and before they knew it they were climbing over dry rock instead of earth, negotiating a narrow rocky shelf, channelling them relentlessly forward. Minutes later they were squeezing between the rocks, where some had split and fallen away. Crouching low they were forced to scurry along on all fours. The further they went, the narrower it became, reducing the rangers to crawling on their bellies, before the shelf gradually widened.
Gratefully, the pair pulled themselves clear and found they’d entered a vast chamber, where a dark mysterious passageway stretched before them, as though inviting them into the interior of the mountain.
29
The two young rangers stood in awe as their eyes took in the vast space.
‘Wha, what is this place…?’ stammered Josh, his voice trailing away as he pivoted on the spot.
Edmund was equally dumbfounded by their discovery, for the pair had unwittingly entered the bizarre interior of the hollow mountain. It astounded Edmund.
‘Wow!’ he mouthed, letting his eyes be drawn to the ruptured summit several thousand feet above them, where a thin strip of sky was just visible in the opening. He scanned down the vertical walls of black rock, taking in the deep indentations, the overhanging boulders perched precariously on top of smaller ones, and the tumbled appearance of the whole chamber. The low humming tone was more evident now they were actually inside the mountain.
He moved cautiously, wondering where it was coming from. A constant breeze filtered round the chamber, passing his face and ruffling his hair.
‘Look, Josh! Up there, a light. There must be an opening of some kind,’ said Edmund, noticing a pale streak of moonlight shining on a wall high above them. ‘That’s what’s making that weird noise. The air is passing through it.’ He moved to get a better view. ‘Now I know for sure the wolves came this way… through that opening up there. It’s the only possible explanation,’ he said excitedly, pointing up a slope formed from an accumulation of loose stones and smaller rocks to the topmost point where the ground levelled, forming a rough ledge.
‘The wolves must have gone that way, along the passageway in front of us and deeper into the mountain,’ he said, his voice echoing. ‘Come on, hurry!’
Edmund set off at a run, annoyed with himself for taking so long to figure it out.
‘Hey, slow down, Ed, what’s the rush?’ shouted Josh, hot on his heels.
They ran at a steady jog, every step taking them further into the interior of the mountain. The pair were concentrating on the path ahead, following the flashlight beam, which was gradually dimming as they ran onwards.
‘I’m puffed! Let’s stop for a breather!’ gasped Josh, stopping and struggling to get his breath back.
Edmund came to a reluctant stop, although he too was breathing hard.
‘Okay. Just for a few seconds, until our breathing returns to normal.’
He cast a wary glance at the formidable walls on either side of them, gently slanting inwards as if funnelling them both forward. A smattering of light had passed fleetingly high above as they’d run.
The atmosphere felt heavy and damp even though a breeze was still evident. Now they’d stopped, a sound caught Edmund’s attention. He wandered a few steps, still scouring the rock formations. A glint of light made him hurry over to the opposite wall, where he discovered the source was nothing more sinister than water gently trickling down the rugged walls.
‘Look at this,’ said Edmund, reaching out to touch the clear water droplets. He licked his wet fingers. ‘Tastes okay. Do you think it’s safe to drink?’ he asked dubiously, watching it mingle among the rocks on the ground then disappear completely.
Josh scanned up the mountain wall to the summit.
‘It’s possibly rainwater, or more likely snowmelt. But I wouldn’t risk it, unless you’re desperate of course,’ he said, giving a slight shrug of dismissal.
‘Well, we’re not desperate yet,’ replied Edmund. ‘But it’s good to know there is some drinkable water here. Ready?’ he asked, watching Josh leaning casually against the rock walls.
The young ranger drew in a deep breath and gave him a curt nod, and the pair were running again.
As they ran, an eerie hal
f-light flickered on the walls, signalling dawn wasn’t far off. After a while the passageway widened and so too did the jagged opening at the mountain’s summit where the sky was clearly visible. Edmund promptly switched off the flashlight to conserve the remaining battery power.
Progressing further they rounded a bend, and stopped, for ahead was a peculiar sight. Apparently emanating from the ground was a strange pale mist, faintly opaque but with a wispy transparency too, hovering and rotating anticlockwise very slowly but maintaining its position in the air. It filled the width of the passageway and extended up the vertical walls to the height of a tall man. The pair gazed in amazement, then looked at each other quizzically.
‘What on earth is it?’ asked Josh, sounding spooked.
The mist radiated a calm benevolence, but inexplicably he wanted to run. This strange mist wasn’t acting like anything he’d ever seen before. It was contained, but there were no obvious barriers. It was like a glass wall was preventing it from penetrating down the rest of the passageway.
‘I don’t like this. It isn’t normal,’ Josh said, and swallowed. ‘My legs…’ is all he could manage to say before his voice died in his throat. He stared at his legs, willing them to move, but it was as though his muscles had dissolved into jelly, and he dropped heavily onto the ground.
Josh looked up at Edmund, but it was clear he hadn’t noticed him lying there, his eyes remaining transfixed, staring into the mist.
‘We should turn back, Ed! Help me up. Now!’ called Josh, shouting the last word. With his last scrap of strength he reached up and yanked on Edmund’s sleeve, desperately seeking his help.
But Edmund couldn’t help him even if he wanted to; his feet were rooted to the spot, his body powerless to do anything except let his eyes be drawn into the depths of this strange mist. But at the same time it was beautiful, like playful spirits in a game of tag. He smiled to himself, watching, not feeling any threat to his safety, convinced there was something more solid in the mist itself.
Shapes bent and weaved, indistinct of form like a distorted mirror; a mass of grey was slowly moving away from him. He stared unblinking, trying to fathom out what they were.