Finding David out here was the Formless Ones equivalent of winning the lottery, but as far as the Squalvolvans were concerned, he was just another human, a casualty of the desert and finding one human was a good omen, it meant the others weren’t far away.
His disappearance from Earth had left the Formless Ones floundering and they would certainly not have reckoned on the Harmonic Ones chancing his fate to Shalasing’s inhospitable north.
David finally came round and he was back in the cart staring up at the night sky and his head hurt like hell. What in god’s name had hit him, a freight train? He lost consciousness again and the night sky was replaced by a familiar face and David realised it was the guy he’d met when he stepped back in time.
“David, listen to me, you have to wake up. Your life depends on it.”
“Qwamma,” escaped David’s parched lips.
David opened his eyes and the rapidly fading stars told him that a new day was dawning, but his circumstances hadn’t changed. The daylight only highlighted the horrors around him and it took a great deal of effort not to throw up. He closed his eyes in an attempt to block out the pain in his head, but it wasn’t working.
Having worked his way out of the detritus last night, he’d been deposited on top of it, so he had a lot more freedom. Feeling like shit, but knowing he had to help himself, he forced his eyes open again, then craned his neck to get a better look at the beast that was pulling him along. It was pretty hideous all right, with a yoke across its shoulders that creaked with the weight of the cart and it was this thing he could thank for his pounding headache.
There was no doubt in his mind that he was on an alien world and that the natives here had some work to do on their hospitality. Appearances weren’t too important either and David looked beyond this rather ugly creature and could see they were heading for a large mound of boulders. At the base of the mound was a dark opening and it was possible that they were going to take shelter here.
Qwamma had told him to wake up, so he was awake, but if he made a move now, he would probably end up with more than a concussion.
Without warning, the cart stopped and this abrupt motion sent shooting pains through his head. David was dazed and disorientated and a sudden downdraft of air caused the cart to be engulfed in a cloud of sand, forcing him lower into its gory contents. After the initial shock, David tried to shield himself as best he could from what he imagined was the beginning of a sandstorm, only this was no sandstorm.
The cart started moving again, but this time it was slipping sideways and before David had a chance to react, the cart tipped up and deposited him and its load onto the sand. There were bits of dead bodies everywhere and David felt his stomach churn again. He was just glad that he was still in one piece and despite the stench, he remained with the overturned cart in the hope that it would help conceal him
In the confusion, a number of the other carts had also been upended, but David still hadn't established the root cause for all the chaos and then an ear-splitting sound drew his attention.
Directly above him, a huge flying object was falling out of the sky and it was hard to believe that something that big could actually take to the air. The huge wings of this creature created another downdraft, sending sand skyward again and making it nearly impossible to see anything.
David cowered in close to cart and peered through its ill-fitting planks and was able to make out the shape of this thing as it gained height. The beast was not only huge, but it was also agile and to his horror, it was joined by another. They looked like giant rays, which would normally be more at home in the ocean and David watched them circling overhead and imagined they were planning another attack.
Playing dead seemed to be working for him, but a thud on the sand grabbed his attention and David quickly realised it was a hairy limb. Maybe an arm or a leg and it twitched a kind of death dance in front of him.
David looked up at the mound, still some distance away and thought maybe he could make it, so without further delay, he left what little cover the cart was providing and ran.
He stayed low, which was probably a little pointless and made his way towards the mound. It was even further than it looked, but he was ready to hit the sand if necessary. In reality, he wouldn’t have stood a dog’s chance, but he was getting away with it and he wasn’t complaining.
He charged up the last dune, where a surprise awaited him. A line of hairy beasts were standing just inside the mound, looking at him and possibly thinking, here comes breakfast.
The voice was back in his head, telling him to get down and he stumbled and fell, just as a dark shadow swept over him. Another ray, but it had its sights on something else and without slowing down; it flew into the entrance of the mound.
David’s heart was racing and his mouth was gritty. He’d just watched the line of beasts fall like tenpins.
He was exposed out here and yet stepping into the mound could be the death of him. He was alive and wanted to stay that way, but if he didn’t get out of the sun, he would be dead soon enough. The rising heat was affecting his judgment and he finally gave in and made a mad dash across the sand.
The sprint left him gasping for breath and he steadied himself against one of hundreds of boulders that had gone into the mound's construction. He felt instantly better for having got this far, although he still had reservations about entering this place.
Cautiously, David inched his way towards the entrance and from what he had already witnessed, if death was around the corner, it would at least be quick.
He held his nerve and slipped inside and there was instant relief from the heat.
When his eyes adjusted it was clear that this was more than just a mound of boulders. It was the entrance to something far bigger and more complex. The ground slipped away sharply, disappearing into the darkness and for the moment there was nothing life-threatening to worry about.
He felt himself relax, but a sound like a dog barking focused his attention. He turned and against the glare of the rising sun, he saw more of those hairy monstrosities heading his way, carts and all. David froze, his mind racing nineteen to the dozen. He couldn’t risk going any further into the structure because bumping around in the dark was a good way to end up dead.
There were some large boulders scattered around, left over from the construction of the mound and out of options, he headed over to the largest of these and dropped down behind it.
David waited and eventually heard more barks and a series of whistles, accompanied by the rasping breath of these unknown creatures. He pressed himself hard up against the boulder as if this might help conceal him and it felt like an eternity before the last cart creaked by and disappeared down into the depths.
He wondered why these things would risk entering this place, knowing that the flying rays were about and he guessed the only way to find out was to follow them. He couldn’t believe he was even contemplating this and yet what else was he going to do, go back out into the desert and die of thirst.
Without thinking too hard about the risks, David pulled himself out from behind the boulder and started after them and despite the danger; he knew there was safety in numbers.
After a few paces, the darkness enveloped him and he couldn’t see a thing and relied on his ears to guide him. There was no way of knowing for sure, but he guessed he was about twenty feet behind the last cart and that was close enough, probably too close, but if he lost his way down here, he would be doomed.
This tunnel could be leading them anywhere and the one thing he was missing was a torch. Without light, David’s eyes began to play tricks him and this might have explained why he thought he could see a dim blueish glow up ahead.
The cart he’d been following creaked loudly and then stopped and he thought he’d been rumbled. David stood very still and if he hadn’t been so focused on staying alive, he would have recalled how similar this all felt to a game he used to play in his youth, called statues. Well, this was no game and the cart started
moving again.
Until now, David had been doing quite well, but the brief stop had disorientated him and he head-butted the side of the tunnel. He badly wanted to holler, to let the pain out, but he gritted his teeth and with his head in his hands, he continued following the cart.
He kept asking himself, had he done the right thing by coming down here. If nothing else, it was good to be out of the heat and since he had been prompted to enter this place, there was a chance he might happen upon the Hidden Ones while he was down here. Then he could deliver the message and get the hell back to civilisation.
Something was happening up ahead, he could hear the excitement in the noises these things were making and after doubting himself, he could say with certainty that there was definitely light welling up from below. As they went deeper the light grew steadily brighter, to the point where David could just make out the animal in front of him and fearful that this light would blow his cover, he held back. Being able to see where he was going was a bonus and he lightly touched the sizeable bump that had resulted from him head-butting the wall.
There was a noticeable change in the acoustics down here, suggesting there was a large chamber ahead and it wasn’t long before David got his first glimpse of what they’d travelled so far underground to find. They had arrived on the shore of an underground lake, a vast body of water with a bluish fluorescent mist covering its surface.
David watched the Squalvolvans organising themselves, from what he hoped was a safe distance and they began with the important task of collecting water. Some of the carts had been set aside for the transport of large barrels and it was these barrels that these things were filling with water. No wonder they were willing to risk their lives to come in here. Water was the equivalent of gold, out here in the desert.
These creatures were probably nocturnal, only travelling at night because of the heat and hunting or scavenging what they could find along the way. The desert no doubt saw its fair share of casualties; he had very nearly been one.
The desert was no place for an animal covered in thick fur, so retreating to one of these underground reservoirs, made perfect sense.
Had they dug these places out themselves or were they simply cashing in on someone else’s hard work? And what were those flying things? And how could you explain what happened at the entrance? Had he witnessed some sort of offering, where the sacrifice of a few, allowed the remainder, safe passage? The thought sent a chill through him. This behaviour showed what lengths they would go to survive and it demonstrated just how organised and resourceful they were.
What chance did David have of surviving in this environment? He had only been here five minutes and had got himself captured and was now on the verge of giving himself up, just so he could share their water. He banished the thought and told himself that he had to be strong and wait his turn at the waterhole.
Taking his own advice, he eased back a little further into the shadows.
David hadn’t expected anything to be behind him except the hard rock walls of the tunnel, so it came as quite a shock to feel a warm body. He panicked and a pair of meaty hands grabbed him and held him firm. David looked up in horror, at a mass of grey fur and white teeth bearing down on him and he was lifted into the air. His yells of pain echoed off the cavern walls and all eyes were upon him. The beast roared triumphantly, making claim to its prize and David realised his luck had finally run out.
Excited barks rang out in support of David’s capture, but these beasts were quickly silenced, as another roar sounded from deep within the cavern.
From his inverted position, he observed something moving quickly, skirting the edge of the lake and now there wasn’t a mummer, as if they knew what was coming. Another roar, a lot closer this time and there was a disturbance amongst the group, as something barged its way through.
Heading towards them was a Squalvolvan, only this one looked different, it looked a real animal. It came in so fast that David didn’t think it was going to stop and the Squalvolvan holding him must have thought the same because he felt it flinch. Stones and earth flew up as the approaching Squalvolvan applied the brakes and now the two of them were almost touching.
Unlike the other Squalvolvans, the aggressor here was on all fours and from its crouched position it bared its teeth and looked ready to attack. From David’s lofty vantage point, he could see yet another Squalvolvan coming over and he wondered how many of these things would eventually join in. Would they end up sharing him or fighting over him? Either way, he wouldn’t be in one piece by the end of it and the thought of this made him want to throw up.
All of the Squalvolvans were pretty big and the one that was approaching looked particularly huge. It had three distinctive lighter grey lines of fur running across its face and up over its head. David would call this one, Scar and it stopped beside the wilder one. There was a brief pause and something passed between them. It wasn’t a wink or a nod, it was more subtle than that, but they clearly knew each other well.
There followed a strange dialect of clicks and whistles and some teeth bearing, thrown in for good measure. The brief standoff resulted in David’s release and he was lowered to the ground and handed over to the victor’s pet, which from now on, David would call, Animal.
His fate was in the hands of this beast and he was grabbed by the arm and half pulled, half dragged to one of the carts. This time they weren’t taking any chances and he was tied to the frame and as rickety as it looked, David knew that escape would be near impossible.
The Squalvolvan that had caught him initially was pacing nearby, watching, but Animal stayed on guard and no one was coming near this cart while that thing was around.
Something was different, he hadn’t been knocked unconscious and it almost felt like they had a purpose for him now. David also noticed intelligence, a rational mind, despite an appearance that would suggest otherwise. He continued to observe these creatures and it was clear that not all of them had the same level of intelligence. Take the one that was guarding him, now that was one crazy animal, like the runt of the litter. Its spine was deformed, which forced it to walk on all fours, rather than upright like all the others and if it hadn’t been so beastly, David would have felt sorry for it.
It was possible that Animal and Scar were companions and if so, did every thinking animal have a deranged pet? David looked around the cavern and concluded that these two appeared to be a unique partnership, the odd couple.
David resigned himself to his role of captive and watched these things going about their business and if it hadn’t been for the fact that he was actually here in person, then this could have easily been footage from one of those wildlife programmes. A species once thought to have been extinct, the missing link perhaps.
Animal gave him a sideways glance as if it knew what David was thinking and then raised its upper lip to display a set of crooked white teeth.
Down at the water’s edge, they were still busy filling their barrels and the quantity of water being collected, suggested an extended stay out in the desert. Did this extended stay have anything to do with his mission and could these things have been sent to stop him reaching the Hidden Ones? No, there had to be another reason.
To his surprise, he was brought a bowl of water and the ropes that bound him allowed just enough freedom for him to take a drink. The water was cool and in the back of his mind, he still wondered why they were keeping him alive, not that he was complaining. Maybe he was worth more alive and at some point, they would trade him for harder to come by commodities.
With their barrels filled, they began to move out, heading back up the slope towards the entrance. David discreetly tested the ropes, but he was going nowhere and looking around the cart, there was nothing obvious that might assist him. He did manage to find the plastic bag with his stuff in it, which he hadn’t expected to see again.
They made it back to the entrance and the light spilling in from outside, suggested it was still flaming hot out there. David was reli
eved that they weren’t suicidal, because they settled back down, making themselves comfortable around the mouth of the entrance and drank from the barrels of collected water. Suicide was not beyond them, they had already demonstrated that by coming in here.
David’s bowl was refilled and he attempted to make eye contact with the beast, hoping to learn something about his captors, but their fur hid almost all expression. He even thought about trying to strike up a conversation with one of these things, but thought better of it and resumed his observations.
He watched them for a while, how they moved, the general order of things and the Squalvolvan that had taken control of the situation in the cavern was quite clearly the leader of the group. Scar wasn’t content to sit and wait out the day, for him the night couldn’t come soon enough and perhaps by looking out over the desert, he believed he could influence time.
Communication between these hairy bipeds was never more than a bark or whistle and occasionally these sounds were punctuated by a rapid clicking sound. As interesting as this all was, David rather hoped he wouldn’t be a captive long enough to actually understand what they were saying.
He must have fallen asleep because when he opened his eyes they were moving again. The sun had only just left the sky and the temperature was dropping rapidly.
He tested the ropes again. His joints ached and his arms were sluggish from having been tied up, but what could he do? Despite his discomfort, he closed his eyes and began to dream. In the dream, he was being pulled from the cart and he awoke to find that it was actually happening.
It was dark and David couldn’t see very much, which only added to the confusion. He tried to stand, but his legs weren’t cooperating and with a shortage of patience, two Squalvolvans grabbed a leg each and began dragging him. David’s protests were ignored and the soft sand was replaced by rock and at this point, he was lifted into the air.
Still bound and at the mercy of his captors, David could see they were heading towards a huge fire, lit on top of a hill, which was actually another mound of boulders.
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