Revenge (7) (The Underground Kingdom)

by Steve Elliott

  "Of all the deluded, moronic, ridiculous statements I've ever heard," Thorn snorted, "that has to be the worst. Move in with you? Only if it meant throwing you out!"

  Quina was giggling at this stage, the first time I'd ever heard her do that. I looked at her, mildly astonished. She had never given the appearance of being prone to giggling. She’d always seemed so hard-headed and practical. Well, there you go. You can never judge a book by its cover. Well, sometimes you can. Those girly magazines, for example. Absolutely no doubt existed as to what those pages contained. At least Thorn was right about one thing. Quina really did become quite attractive when her face lost its stern exterior.

  After that little word byplay, the atmosphere grew more open, and we chattered away to pass the time. Quina led us further and further into the wilderness until we finally arrived at a cliff face. It reared above us, impossibly immense, with no way around it.

  "I don't understand," Quina remarked, looking around in confusion. "This is where we should be, I was sure of it."

  "I can't see any habitation whatsoever," Nix commented. "Are you quite positive this is the right place?"

  "I thought so," Quina confessed, "but it looks as if I was mistaken. I don't know what's happened."

  "So, what we do now?" Trix questioned. "We certainly can't go forward any further and this cliff seems to spread out in all directions."

  "I can't believe I got it so wrong," Quina admitted, abashed. She pointed ahead of us, beyond the cliff. "We had to go in there. I felt so sure!"

  "I don't know what to suggest," I shrugged. "Perhaps we should just go home again and try again later."

  "I suppose so," Quina agreed, defeated and dispirited. "I'm sorry to have let you all down."

  "Don't take it so hard," I consoled, putting an encouraging hand on her shoulder. "I imagine that in the spiritual realm things can be a little confusing. It may be a case of a simple mix-up."

  "Perhaps," Quina said, in a low voice.

  Chapter 21

  We turned our backs on the cliff and made ready to retrace our steps.

  "Where’s Zen?" Trix asked. We looked back and found him still at the cliff face, looking at us expectantly.

  "Come on, Zen!" Trix shouted. Zen barked at her and refused to move.

  "What on earth has gotten into Wonder Wolf Junior?" Nix demanded.

  "I don't know," I replied, thoughtfully. "Let's go and see what he wants."

  We turned around once again and returned to the cliff face. Trix dropped to her knees beside Zen and put her arms around his neck.

  "What's up, sweetheart?" she asked. "Don't you want to come home with me?" In reply, Zen licked her face and turned his head to stare at the cliff.

  "What's he trying to tell us?" Trix demanded in a baffled tone. In answer, Zen pulled out of her embrace and trotted towards the stony wall.

  "What are you doing, you silly thing?" Trix called after him. "You can't go through there!" Zen barked a denial, and kept walking.

  "He's off his head," Nix commented.

  "No, he isn't!" Trix firmly denied.

  "Maybe he's sick?" Thorn commented. "He's always chasing things. Maybe he ate something that didn't agree with him."

  "And perhaps he can see something that we can't," I said. "Let's give him the benefit of the doubt and see where he wants to go."

  "Very well," Nix agreed. "But if he thinks he can walk through a solid stone wall, then he has another think coming."

  We rotated en masse to follow Zen’s progress, only to be met with the distinct absence of a Zen- type presence.

  "He's disappeared!" Trix gasped, looking around wildly.

  "What the hell!" Nix swore. "It's impossible! He was right here!"

  "Well, he isn't anymore," Thorn decreed, glancing up and down the surrounding countryside. "Did he fall down a hole?"

  "There aren’t any holes," I disagreed, as we rushed over to where we’d last seen Zen. "At least, none that we saw."

  "Zen!" Trix yelled. "Where are you?" Thankfully, there came an answering bark, apparently from right ahead of us.

  "He's become invisible!" Nix commented, halting his forward dash. "Don't trip over him!"

  "Don't be ridiculous!" Thorn grunted. "Things don't suddenly become invisible."

  "Oh yeah, Miss Know-It-All," Nix criticised. "And I suppose you understand all the mysteries of the universe now, do you? What's your explanation, then? Where is he, eh? Come on, I'm waiting."

  "He’s simply temporarily not ……. um, able to be seen," Thorn explained, lamely. "I'm sure there's a logical explanation somewhere. We just have to find it, that's all."

  "Call him again," I told Trix. "We'll see if we can pinpoint his whereabouts from his bark." Trix called again, and again Zen barked.

  "If I didn't say it was impossible," Quina mused, "I'd almost believe that he's behind the cliff."

  "How could he be there?" Trix agonised. "There’s no cave or openings anywhere!"

  "And yet, there he is," Quina remarked, going over the stone wall and banging on it. "I don't understand this at all. It appears to be solid rock."

  "Maybe there's a secret trapdoor or something," Nix speculated.

  "If that's the case, then how did Zen open it?" I demanded. "He doesn't have any hands."

  "Quiet, everyone, and let me think for a moment," Quina commanded. "Hmmm, no obvious entrance, but still a way inside. Zen gets in but we can't. What does he have that we don't? Or ….. maybe it’s the reverse ……. What do we have that he doesn't?" She thought for a moment or two and then snapped her fingers. "I think I may have it!" she exalted.

  "What is it?" Thorn demanded. "What have you got?"

  "Imagination!" Quina cried.

  "You’ve got imagination?" Nix remarked. "Well, congratulations, but so have I. It’s nothing to boast about."

  "No, no, Zen!" Quina corrected.

  "Zen has imagination?" Trix queried, frowning.

  "Grant me patience!" Quina fumed. "Listen! The cliff is an illusion. Well, some of it, anyway. To us it’s real because we think it is. Zen, on the other hand, doesn't even see it, because he can’t imagine it being there, so he walks through as if nothing is in front of him because, for him, there isn’t."

  "I'm not sure I'm following this," Nix declared. "Are you saying that the cliff isn't really there? But I can see it! And I felt it! It's solid rock!"

  "You think it's solid rock," Quina told him.

  "I know it's solid rock," Nix stubbornly disagreed.

  "Even if you're right, Quina," I said, "how do we get through it? We're not Zen."

  "I'm finding it hard to believe your explanation as well," Thorn announced. "I mean, I’d break every bone in my body if I tried to run through that wall. I'm sorry, Quina, but I'll need a lot more convincing."

  "And why hasn't Zen come back to me?" Trix asked plaintively. "Why is he still behind the cliff?"

  "He's probably waiting for us," Quina explained, "and wondering why we’re taking so long."

  "You know, Stephen," Thorn reflected, "isn’t this something like your hypnosis thingy? Didn’t you tell me once that you can make people see things that aren't there? This is similar, perhaps?"

  "I guess so," I reluctantly agreed, "in a roundabout way. But this is in a totally different category by itself. If it is an illusion, then it's an amazingly strong one."

  "Yes, isn't it just," Quina acquiesced, rubbing her chin in thought. "Now, how do we block off our imagination? We see the wall, therefore we convince our minds that it's there. In fact, we’re so sure there's an actual wall that we’d simulate pain if we hit it."

  "Hypnosis can do that as well," I instructed. "Okay, I'm beginning to see what you're getting at, Quina. If it's true what you're saying, then this illusion is incredible! What's keeping it there? Could you do it?"

  "No," she confessed. "This is staggeringly powerful. Whoever is behind this must have extraordinary psychic powers."

  "Enough talk!" Thorn declared. "What are w
e going to do?"

  "We have to block off the image of the cliff," Quina declared, "and the only way I know how to do that is to close your eyes."

  "But the cliff will still be there!" Nix proclaimed.

  "If you can't see it," Quina corrected, "then your mind will lose belief in its existence."

  "I'm not sure about this at all," Nix stated doubtfully. "Even if I can't see it, I'll still know it's there because I have seen it."

  "Not if you don't know where it is," Quina announced. "If one of us guides you backwards and forwards with your eyes closed until you lose track of exactly where you are, then you can simply walk forward because you don't know where the cliff is anymore. That way we can fool the brain into thinking that the wall is further away than it really is. Of course, once everybody sees the first person walk through it, that’ll remove a lot of the surety about the image. Now, who wants to go first?"

  Chapter 22

  Of course, everyone immediately looked at me and I sighed in resignation.

  "I thought this was supposed to be a democratic group," I grumbled. "Why don’t we ever draw straws or something?"

  "You're our democratically elected leader," Nix smirked, "and leadership comes with certain responsibilities. Therefore, you get to experience all the weird stuff first. That's what leaders do."

  "Leaders are supposed to sit back and delegate others to do the weird stuff," I protested. "That's how it works in the human world."

  "Tough," Nix announced, unsympathetically. "This here is a different world altogether, so, close your eyes like a good leader, and let's get on with it."

  "You're terrible at this stuff, you realise that, don't you?" I told Nix. "You'd never make it as a morale support coach."

  "I'm all broken up," he replied, sarcastically. "Now, close those leadership eyes of yours, okay?"

  I sighed again and did as I was instructed. I felt Quina’s hands gently twirl me around, then she walked me forwards for about twenty paces or so. After that, I was twirled again and walked somewhere else until I became totally lost.

  "Now, do you know where you are?" Quina asked.

  "I haven't the faintest idea," I truthfully replied.

  "That's what I wanted to hear," she replied. "Now, keep your eyes closed. Don't open them under any circumstances. It might come as a bit of a shock if you did when you are halfway through the cliff wall or something."

  "I could just imagine," I shuddered. "Lead on, Mac Duff!"

  "What's this now?" I heard her puzzled voice say.

  "I'll tell you later," I told her, slowly shuffling my feet forward. "It's from a play by a famous human dramatist. Don't let me bump into anything."

  "I won't," she assured me. "Everything’s under control."

  Quina guided me forwards and the next thing I heard was her voice coming from somewhere behind me saying, "You can open your eyes now."

  I did so and beheld the welcome sight of Zen, sitting patiently on his haunches and waiting, as Quina had prophesied. He gave me a woof of salutation and I went over and patted him on the head. Then I glanced around to see where I’d ended up and found myself in a narrow canyon, with steep rocky walls on either side. I went back to the cliff face from where, presumably, I had recently walked through, and put my hand on the stone. It still felt incredibly solid to me and I marvelled at the tenacity of my mind to reinforce images.

  Right then I heard Thorn’s anxious voice calling, "Stephen, are you all right?"

  "I'm fine!" I yelled back. "Zen is here with me. This illusion is unbelievable!"

  "Okay, stand back," Quina said. "Here comes the next one."

  I waited a few minutes and suddenly Trix appeared through the rock, eyes firmly shut and hobbling along like a sleepwalker. I grabbed her as she went by and said, "You can open your eyes now, sweetie. You're through." She did so and gave a joyful squeal when she saw Zen. He bounded over to her and gave her a systematic licking reunion. The three of us waited and were soon joined by Thorn and then Nix. Quina, naturally enough, was the last one to join our group.

  "Well, that was interesting, wasn't it?" she said.

  "More bizarre than interesting, I think," Nix grunted. "When I saw Stephen walk through that solid wall of stone, I almost fell over."

  "Yes, it’s certainly an illusion and a half," Quina remarked, "and we have Zen to thank for showing us the way through it. We would have turned back if not for him."

  "He did show us the way, didn't he?" Trix agreed, pleased. She threw her hands around Zen’s neck and rubbed her face against his fur. "Who’s the cleverest wolf in all the world?" she burbled. "You are, my darling boy! I'm so proud of you!"

  "Time to move on," Quina declared. "But be careful. Who knows what else is up ahead. If the one we’re looking for created the cliff illusion, then he’s capable of anything."

  "We'll let Zen go out ahead," I decreed. "He’s not bothered by illusions."

  "Lucky him," Nix averred. "I could do with a little less average imagination myself."

  "You're halfway there," Thorn remarked maliciously, with the widest of grins. "You have less brains than average."

  "It takes one to know one," Nix calmly replied.

  "What's that supposed to mean?" Thorn spluttered.

  "I'm not too sure," Nix answered, pulling at his ear. "It's one of Stephen's."

  "I should have guessed," Thorn groaned. "That's all we need – another nonsensical human saying to add to the list."

  Chapter 23

  With Zen walking in point position, we progressed along the canyon until we were greeted by something blocking our path. It had obviously been waiting for us because it moved around impatiently as we approached. Of course, we stopped approaching as soon as we saw it because the very sight of it froze us with terror. I've never seen anything so horrendous in all my life. It was a spider. An immense, gigantic, slavering spider – exactly the sort of thing that makes you wake up in the middle of the night, screaming. I couldn't believe such a monstrosity existed.

  "It can't be real, can it?" Thorn questioned, clutching my arm in fear. "I mean, look at the size of it! No spider could possibly grow that big."

  "I think this may be another illusion," Quina told us.

  "Are you absolutely sure about that?" Nix asked. "It looks awfully real to me."

  "So did the cliff face," Quina reminded him.

  "Yeah, but that illusion couldn't bite you," Nix counteracted. "This one looks like it can. Those teeth appear to be dribbling with poison."

  "I agree with Nix," Trix offered, taking a few steps backwards. "It very well might be an illusion, but my mind is telling me to get away as fast as possible. I'm never seen anything so ghastly."

  "I'm with Quina on this one," I told everyone. "Have a look at Zen. He doesn't seem concerned." And it was true. Zen still ambled along, looking around with interest at everything, but not taking the slightest notice of the looming horror above him.

  "He doesn't even see it," Thorn proclaimed in wonder.

  "Which means it isn't really there," Quina confirmed.

  "How can he not see it?" Nix exclaimed in exasperation. "It's enormous!"

  Quina shrugged. "You can't persuade an animal to see what isn't physical," she explained. "The illusions are obviously geared to our sensibilities and not to a wolf's mindset, which is rather fortunate for us."

  "Still …..." Trix muttered, stopping her retreat. "I really don't want to walk past that ….. thing. It's going to give me bad dreams for weeks."

  "It won't be easy," Quina agreed. "It is remarkably lifelike and spiders seem to tap into our primeval fears for some reason. Nevertheless, it has to be done. If you like, you can close your eyes like before and I’ll lead you."

  "No, I'll do it," Trix proclaimed, drawing herself up and taking a deep breath. "It's just that spiders …….ugh! I hate them!"

  "You're not alone," Thorn shuddered, gripping my arm even more tightly. "They've always scared me."

  "Let's go," Nix sug
gested, "otherwise we’ll be standing here for the rest of our lives."

  And so, in fear and trepidation, and looking away from the multi-legged visual outrage as much as possible, we managed to make our way to Zen, who was waiting for us once again.

  "You're a lucky thing," Thorn told him, rubbing her hand down his back. "You can't see these things. I wish I was like you."

  "You mean, with a large bushy tail?" Nix asked facetiously. "Why? What's wrong with the tail you already have? I think I've already noted on previous occasions that, as tails go, yours is fairly sexy. I'd probably give it a seven out of ten."

  "Only a seven?" Thorn yelped. "It's worth more than that!"

  Nix made a show of critically examining the aforementioned body part, shook his head and declared, "Upon a careful and detailed assessment, I believe that I'll have to revise my estimate."

  "I should jolly well think so!" Thorn huffed.

  "I'm afraid I’ll have to downgrade it to a five," he declared, grinning sardonically.

  "Five!" Thorn squealed in outrage. "How dare you! I'm insulted! Stephen, tell this …… this dinglebat – the repulsive, smelly version, that is – what it's really worth!"

  "An undisputed eleven," I fervently declared. "Remember, Nix, I've seen it in its unveiled glory and it dazzles the eye."

  "Some people have all the luck," Nix replied, sourly. "But are you sure it's not just an illusion? We've been seeing a lot of them recently, you realise, and Thorn’s bottom might simply be hiding under one more of them. Perhaps it’s just concealing a puffy, wrinkly, wobbly blob of fat."

  "You ratbag!" Thorn raged. "I ought to feed you to the spider for all these ridiculous and unwarranted slurs!"

  "It's no illusion, believe me," I told Nix. "And even if it was, I wouldn't care!"

  "That's enough of that!" Thorn interrupted. "My body parts are not to be bandied about, especially by ugly and licentious members of the borgulessa clan. Our group has some aesthetic values, after all."

  "Then what are you doing here?" Nix retaliated. "Didn't you just say this group had certain standards?"