THROUGH THE UNDERWORLD
The police lights faded into the distance as Brownie trotted up the street. Trevor’s hands were coated with sap and his fingers stuck in the cat’s fur.
A full moon hung just above the horizon in a darkening sky. The eclipse would be starting soon. They passed silently from one shadow to another.
Music came from an ice cream truck as it passed. The simple nursery tune was pleasant after the blaring sirens. A jingling noise mixed with the music making it sound slightly off key.
The truck turned the corner, and its music faded. The jingling continued, and now he could hear a click, click, click. Brownie’s steps slowed. Trevor almost lost his seat when the cat spun around. The noise stopped, but chills went down Trevor’s back.
Half a block away Caesar stood watching them. A broken chain hung from his collar and jingled on the sidewalk when he moved his head. His nails clicked on the cement as he paced toward them.
Brownie hissed. Then turned and ran. Trevor leaned forward digging his hands and knees into the fur. The rattling chain bounced on the cement in a faster rhythm. Trevor trembled, expecting to feel hot breath right before he was eaten.
An ambulance rounded the corner. Its red lights threw disorienting splashes of color across the dark pavement. In the flashes of light Trevor could see the dog behind them. First the body, then just the eyes, then the body, then the glowing eyes. Each time it was closer.
Brownie dashed into the street. Trevor’s scream was downed out by the blaring ambulance horn. The smell of diesel made Trevor’s eyes water as they streaked past the huge tires. The brakes squealed and the driver shouted as the ambulance passed between them and the dog.
Trevor looked forward and saw they were heading for the storm drain’s dark opening.
“No!” he shouted.
But Brownie squirmed through the opening. Trevor caught a last glimpse of the dog’s red eyes before they fell. They landed with a thump at the bottom. Brownie panted, his breath coming in noisy gasps. It was damp with the smell of rotting vegetation.
“I’ll get down and walk,” Trevor said. “That will make it easier for you.”
A snuffling noise reverberated through the tunnel and a pointed snout pushed through the opening. Red eyes glared down and the lips pulled back over fangs dripping with saliva.
Brownie hissed and ran a few feet farther into the tunnel. He lay down in the darkness and they watched the opening.
“What do we do now?” Trevor asked.
“Through the underground,” Brownie said. “Bob and I use this passage all the time. It goes all the way to the pumpkin field.”
“All underground? What if...” his voice cracked. “What if I get big again when we’re down here?”
“We don’t have to go all the way. Just far enough to get away from Caesar.”
Growling came from around the opening, and the chain jangled. He had to get to the woods to break the enchantment. They couldn’t get past Caesar without getting eaten.
His voice trembled as he said, “Okay. Through the tunnel.”
Brownie started at a brisk walk with Trevor trotting along beside him. Light came in through periodic overhead grates, but it was dim. Trevor’s eyes adjusted and he could make out side tunnels branching off into darkness. Trash, dirt, and old leaves littered the floor.
A sound like running water was getting louder. Trevor whispered, “Is there any way to get higher? That sounds like water coming this way.” The idea of swimming in dirty, cold water made his stomach queasy.
“It hasn’t rained for days. The tunnels are dry.”
“I’m sure that’s water,” Trevor said. He could feel fear rising.
They rounded a corner. Light from an overhead grate made a checkerboard pattern on the floor. Water poured through the metal grill in a frothy waterfall. It spread out on the floor and ran down a side tunnel.
Brownie sniffed. “Someone washing their car,” he said. “Climb on.”
The cat’s muscles tightened as he leaped into the air. The ceiling rushed toward them and Trevor ducked. The bag on his back scraped on the ceiling sending a dusty powder down the back of his neck. They landed on the other side with a soft thump.
“You almost knocked my head off,” Trevor said as he tried to brush dirt out of his hair.
“Sorry. I’m not used to compensating for the extra height. There’s an opening just ahead. You can check it out.”
Trevor relaxed. They were almost free. Brownie stopped at a narrow slit opening. He placed his front paws on the wall and Trevor scrambled onto the ledge. Lying down he squirmed to the opening and looked out. They were at an intersection. The streetlight blinded him. He blinked and turned the other way. The moon was almost as bright as the light. It was no longer full. There was now a small dark dent in one side. The eclipse had started.
He turned back to call to Brownie when he heard a loud thud and a whoosh. When he looked back the moon was falling toward him. He yelled and covered his head curling up. It hit the ground stirring up dust and echoing the sound through the tunnel. It continued to bounce and the dust made him cough.
It stopped, and there were voices. When he opened his eyes the area was filled with enormous shoes. One foot stepped toward him and he rolled away in terror. His fingers scrabbled at the brick as his legs slid over the edge. Brownie pushed his head underneath him and he grabbed his ears.
“Meow!” Brownie said. “Easy on the ears.”
“Sorry,” he said as he slid down onto the cat’s back.
“We can’t go out there,” Brownie said. “It’s boys with a ball. We’ll have to go to the next opening.”
Trevor wrapped his arms around the cat’s neck. A ball he thought. It wasn’t the moon falling. But why was he still small? It was long past twilight. Was he going to be this way forever?
Brownie’s padded paws were silent as he picked his way through the maze of tunnels. In the distance they could hear scurrying feet. Trevor shivered wondering what creatures might be lurking in the passages.
They came to a crossway with an overhead grate. Tunnels led in every direction. Glowing eyes winked in and out from several openings.
“Are they spiders?” he whispered. The sound seemed to snake around the room.
“Brownie growled, and his answer was worse than spiders. “Rats,” the cat said. “They are blocking the tunnel we want.”
Snarling and scratching came from deep in the tunnel. A blood-curling howl started low and built in volume. Rats poured out of the tunnel into the crossway. Brownie shrank back as several ran past him down the passage where they had just been. The rats were grouping when a brown cat with spots burst from the tunnel. His fur was standing out and he towered over the rats. He let out another of the mournful howls and the rats scattered.
He looked at Brownie and let out a series of short little barks, “Mat, mat mat.”
“Thanks Bob!” Brownie dashed up the tunnel at full speed. Trevor could see another opening ahead and light seeping in. “Head down,” Brownie said as he flattened his body and scooted through the opening. The field lay before them. Brownie bounded through the pumpkins and stopped at the edge of the woods.
“You better stay here, Brownie,” Trevor said as he slid off the cat. “There will be lots of sprites in the woods. They don’t know you and you’ll scare them.”
“Okay. I’ll stay here and chase moths.”
“Uh…that’s not a good idea. They could be pookahs. If you eat Electrum I’ll never get unenchanted.”
“How about fireflies? They’re fun to chase.”
“Sorry. They could be sprites.”
Brownie scratched his ear. “Well, okay. I guess I could take a nap by the pumpkins.”
“Great idea. It could be a couple hours.”
Brownie strolled off and disappeared around one of the large ones. Trevor adjusted the bag higher on his shoulders and headed into the woods. He could hear laughter and singing. Stopping outside the cl
earing he peeked in.
It was filled with sprites. Gold and silver wings flashed and sparkled in the moonlight. They sat on mushrooms and perched in the trees. A striped canopy was thrown over a couple of low hanging branches. Underneath were two chairs. A flag waved in the gentle breeze. Pairs of sprites flew through the upper branches, laughing and weaving streamers through the leaves. Everything was silver and gold.
He caught bits of conversation.
“Not like the pollywog days.”
“Remember how we used to jump ship to come here?”
“How’s the merchant trade?”
“What news in the palace?”
“My son is a pollywog this year.”
He was so intent on watching that two sprites were almost to the edge of the clearing before he noticed them. They were taller than the others were. Both had silver wings, bright metal armor, and grim faces. Trevor ducked down into the weeds as they passed.
“No sign of the prince or the Grand Pookah,” one muttered.
“They have to be here somewhere. Tanner saw them leaving the palace and Gilder was with them.”
“Has he betrayed us?”
“Not if he knows what’s good for him.”
Trevor shivered. He’d wasted too much time. Sticking to the shadows he raced to the footbridge. The grass tugged at his clothes and tangled his feet. He began to wonder if the ground had been enchanted to prevent him from getting through.
Desperate and exhausted, he shoved ahead. The grass ended, and he stumbled free. The ground sloped down in front of him and he slipped on the loose sand. His feet went out from under him. He landed hard on his seat and began skidding down the slope. He came to an abrupt stop at the bottom. When he opened his eyes a ring of sprites leaned over him.
He started to yell, and one sprite clapped a hand over his mouth. “Shhhh,” he said. “We’ve been waiting for you.”
It was Silverthorn.
A Sprinkling of Thought Dust Page 46