by Suzie Taylor
“They probably won’t understand English.”
“Leave chocolate,” said Nadia. “Everyone understands chocolate!”
Emily wrote the note in the tiniest handwriting she could manage.
Hi, we came to visit but you were out. We’d like to meet you some day. We hope you like chocolate.
Love Emily, Nadia, Ben and Alf.
Having broken off a piece of chocolate that equated to the size of the wheelbarrow, they turned their attention to seeking out more houses. Two more were discovered, but both were clearly long abandoned with empty windows and areas where the roof had caved in.
“What was in the cave Em?” asked Ben.
“Nothing. It was just a cave.”
“Let’s check it out properly. There’s bound to be something down there.”
He sat on the edge then carefully lowered himself down to the bottom. Emily went next and stopped halfway while Nadia passed down the bags.
Alf had disappeared.
“Coming Alf?” Ben called as they stood waiting at the bottom.
“Claustrophobic,” came the faint reply from up above.
“Get over it!” shouted Nadia.
Ben shook his head and shushed her. “Just give him time,” he said.
Alf was standing a little way back from the hole muttering to himself. He made as if to walk away then changed his mind and began turning around in circles on the spot.
Nadia turned on her phone torch and shone it around the walls of the cave, revealing a series of paintings and carvings in the stone. “Alf,” she called “You gotta see this! There’s cave paintings and stuff...”
Alf stopped circling.
“Don’t worry Alf,” Ben called. “We’ll work out what this is all about. You can wait up the top if you like…”
Alf clenched his fists and pushed them into his forehead. After a little while he peered back into the hole.
“Coming?” asked Ben.
Alf’s face disappeared for a short while and then returned.
“This is red five, I’m going in,” he said.
Ben, Nadia and Emily stood at the far end of the cavern using the light from Nadia’s phone to examine the artwork on the wall. Alf joined them and found himself looking at a detailed painting of the city before it was ruined. Extraordinary buildings like plants and trees rose from the water which appeared to be divided into distinct floating layers. Many of the trees had unusual projections like seed pods or Christmas baubles hanging from their branches or sticking out like warts from their trunks. The projections had windows and even doors that opened out into the air, suggesting that at least some of the inhabitants were creatures that could fly.
“Do you think these buildings grow?” wondered Emily. “Imagine growing a house! Mum would love this!”
“Yeah I reckon so,” Nadia agreed. “They’re all different shapes.”
“I wonder what a house seed looks like?”
Ben grinned. “Home improvements would be easy. Just add fertiliser!”
“Maybe they grow from runners,” Nadia suggested. “Then the people could prune or constrict them to grow how they wanted.”
Alf folded his arms and scratched his chin thoughtfully. “They remind me of the fig trees that grow around something else then go hollow in the middle when the something else dies.”
“That could be it!” Nadia exclaimed. “You make a like a balloon, let the house grow around it, then pop the balloon and it’s hollow inside! The shapes are really interesting though – maybe you can manipulate or even program the seed to grow a certain way.” She dusted the surface of the wall and revealed more of the painting. “It’s the water that looks odd to me,” she continued. “Is this bit under or over it? If it’s under then the people who lived below this level would have to be fish.”
Ben blew hard on the rocky surface and worked his way along the wall until he revealed the central point of the painting. A tall structure rather like a lighthouse rose above the height of the other buildings and was topped with a lantern that shone its rays over the entire city.
“It’s the pillar on the island,” said Emily. “Except that it has a lantern thing. I wonder what happened to that?”
Ben was not convinced. The lighthouse in the painting was not on an island and the pillar they had seen was not that big – quite apart from the fact that there was no sign of a lantern anymore.
“Might have fallen in the water,” argued Emily. “Look at its shape and the writing all over it. It has to be the pillar.”
“Well it must have shrunk then. Whatever this is, it’s clearly the main structure in the town.” Ben recalled one of the photos in their calendar at home depicting an old cathedral dominating the centre of a village. “Do you think it’s a temple of some kind?”
“Palace?” suggested Nadia.
“I think it’s an energy source,” said Alf. “It channels energy from the sun down into the roots of the buildings.”
“Guys, there’s a bit of a gap in the rocks down here,” said Nadia. “It seems to be a natural passage of some kind. Worth exploring don’t you think?”
They shone the torch down the hole and agreed that it did seem to go somewhere. “Not very big though,” said Ben. “Might be a bit of a tight squeeze.”
“Does anyone have any string?” asked Alf.
“Why do you want string?” asked Emily.
Alf sighed impatiently. Emily knew nothing. Hadn’t she read the story of Theseus and the Minotaur?
“What’s a minotaur?” asked Emily.
“Guys, we have company,” said Ben.
Scamp, Wiley and Imp were watching them quietly from a perch above their heads.
“Bug Dragons!” exclaimed Nadia, wide eyed.
Scamp flew down to the horizontal crevice and clearly wanted the children to follow.
“Now I’m not so sure,” said Alf. “Following him would not be sagacious.” Emily looked at him blankly. “Wise,” Alf explained. “Scamp is not trustworthy.”
“He’s certainly keen for us to go down there,” said Nadia.
“It doesn’t look so hard,” said Emily. “I reckon we can trust them.”
“They trashed our house and stole our stuff...” said Ben pointedly. “I’m not sure that any of them are trustworthy - but in the end isn’t this what we came for? To find their home base? I think it’s worth the risk. Helmets on everybody, we may as well give it a go.”
He got down on his hands and knees and peered into the hole. If he could fit in there the rest of them could. Scamp was waiting patiently up ahead of him. “Don’t you dare make me regret this,” he warned.
It was hard going and involved a good deal of commando crawling and wriggling downhill. Ben tried to carry his bag on his back but there wasn’t enough space so he ended up dragging it next to him. Being in front meant that he had the benefit of following the bug dragons, their bright bodies illuminating the rocks up ahead. The other three, with less visibility, were forced to feel their way along and were not enjoying it. Alf, stressed at the thought of several tons of rock over his head, had to stop several times, breathe deeply, and reason with himself to remain calm. Emily complained that the rocks were too cold and hard and Alf’s dirty shoes were always in her face.
Eventually the passage widened and they were able to wriggle into a seated position for a break, a drink and an opportunity to view the surroundings.
The cave formations had become a little more interesting. Instead of ordinary rocks, there was a large limestone pillar and a few short knobbly stalactites coming down from the roof. Emily thought she could hear the faint sound of running water.
“We can’t keep using the phone torches or the batteries will run out,” said Ben. “We’ll just have to rely on the bug dragons and keep our own lights for emergencies.”
The next stage was a smooth gentle slope that angled upwards, but it was not horizontal and it was difficult to get a grip on anything. Again there was very little head ro
om so they were obliged to continue shuffling along on their tummies.
“This is ridiculous,” Ben huffed as he inched his way up the slope, using his feet to propel himself forward. Turning round would be impossible and trying to commando crawl backwards would definitely be a challenge. The bug dragons led them a long way up the slope until it divided in two and then divided once again until the slope levelled out and the tunnel became more rounded.
“How much longer for goodness sake,” Ben panted.
Emily wisely resisted saying “Are we there yet?” but Alf’s muffled voice said it for her.
“Well there is something up ahead,” said Ben. “Looks like a hole in the wall.” The three bug dragons were clearly eager for them to hurry up. The sound of moving water had become noticeably louder. Ben put his head in the hole then felt with his hands for the floor. He couldn’t feel it. The bug dragons zoomed past but their lights only indicated that the space ahead was a large cavern.
“Torch someone,” he called back.
Nadia passed him her phone and having got himself into a more comfortable position he turned it on and surveyed the scene in front of him.
“You’ve got to be joking!” He backed out of the hole and handed the torch to Nadia. “You have a look.”
She did so and silently raised an eyebrow. It was like looking down a well that curved gently to one side. A narrow ledge circled around it a short way down and the bottom of the well was full of water that constantly rushed in then gurgled out. The three bug dragons were perched a little way below that and pointed excitedly down a side passage that opened into the well. “It’s all very well for you lot,” she told them tartly. Then quite suddenly the bug dragons turned their lights off. When they did, there was a definite glow emanating from the passage in which they were standing. It must lead to somewhere.
Nadia considered the challenge then decided. It was doable. She shuffled out of the hole and reversed so that she could lower herself gingerly down to the ledge feet first. When she could feel the stone firmly beneath her feet she carefully transferred her weight onto them.
The ledge was not wide but it was enough to turn around so that her back was pressed against the wall. “It’s ok!” she called back to the others. “We can do this! Come down feet first and I’ll help you.”
Ben’s feet appeared and she was able to guide him down to the ledge.
Ben took a few deep breaths and mopped his brow. Alf stuck his head out of the hole and regarded the scene in front of him in horror.
“What’s the hold up?” called Emily from behind him.
Alf backed out and Emily’s face appeared instead. “It looks like a giant toilet!” she grinned. Bending herself around easily in the hole, she quickly lowered herself onto the ledge. Ben rolled his eyes. Typical dancer.
“You’ll be right Alf,” she called “Honestly, It’s not that hard.”
Alf shook his head.
“Come backwards,” said Ben, “We can guide your feet. Here, pass the bags down first.”
With Emily and Ben on either side they were able to ease him down to the ledge. His face was white and his eyes wide.
“Don’t look down,” Ben advised.
Emily was the first to take on the next challenge of chimneying down to the open passage below them. She squatted like a frog then extended first one leg and then the other across the well.
“Hurts my foot,” she said as she braced her legs against the other side. She began to shuffle her way down, slowly and carefully. “Easier as it gets narrow,” she said reassuringly. Once level with the passage she began to rotate, until her bottom reached the opening at which point she was able to push herself in.
“See?” she said with more bravado than she actually felt. “We can do this.” The bug dragons were jumping around her with great enthusiasm.
Ben regarded the dark gurgling water. Although the tunnel seemed to curve at the bottom it could still be very deep.
“Easy was it?” asked Ben sarcastically.
“If my foot was ok it would’ve been. Chuck me the bags.”
“Will you catch them?”
“‘Course I will” she sighed, extending her arms out into the open space. He tossed the first one down and she only just caught it with one hand.
Ben shook his head. “I’ll go now,” he decided. “Nadia can toss the other bags down.”
He squatted then pushed himself hard against the walls and slowly began shuffling down. It wasn’t so bad once he got started. The rough walls dug into his back and the sound of the water beneath him was only disconcerting if he allowed himself to think about it. ‘Don’t do anything stupid’ he heard his mother’s voice saying. With his hands flat to the wall he pushed himself around until he reached the passage, and Emily helped to pull him through.
Nadia was next and managed with very little help.
“Alf, your turn,” called Ben.
But Alf was living a nightmare. He shook his head dumbly.
“Come on, you can do it,” said Ben. “It’s not that hard! Don’t think about how deep it is, just think about its width and brace yourself against it.”
“Can’t swim,” said Alf.
“You don’t have to!”
“It’s all in your mind Alfy,” said Emily. “Just think about Dr Who or Star Trek or something.”
Alf began to lower himself to a seated position, nearly lost his balance and his yell reverberated loudly up and down the tunnel. He stopped, his arms pressed to the wall and his hands spread wide.
“The Doctor didn’t climb down flushing toilets!” he gasped.
“He would if he had to,” said Nadia. “Stretch your legs out. See? It’s hard rock. It can hold you – it’s not very far. Spread your arms a little more. That’s the way.”
Alf was breathing hard. His heart was pounding and sweat was beading on his forehead. He inched his way down a short distance then froze.
“You’re doing really well!” he heard Emily’s voice echoing from somewhere. “Just shuffle Alfy – it’s not far and then you can have a break.” He slipped a little and caught himself just in time.
“Breathe easy,” her voice was saying. “Move your right leg across a bit – yep like that! Now the left leg…” She began talking about Dr Who and was getting it all wrong. There were no Cyberwomen and that was a different episode to the scarecrows anyway. Why were there were no baby Daleks? They must have babies. Did he see the one when the moon hatched because it was pregnant with spiders? Alf grimaced. His eyes were tightly shut and he was struggling to focus on which way he had to go.
“Almost here!” Emily crowed enthusiastically. “You’ve nearly done it. Just think about the TARDIS! Think about the space time continue-ums! Think about holes with worms in them!”
His hand had reached the entrance to the passage and he was hyperventilating. Somebody grabbed his arm. He shuffled across then looked down. Everything went black. There was a scream from somewhere and he felt his forehead bang against the rock, his feet scrabbling for a hold. Somebody tried to grab his other arm but he was swinging outwards, his legs flailing in empty space. The water rushed in, sucking him down… and he disappeared into the darkness.
“Where’s he gone?” screamed Emily leaning out as far as she could go. “Alfy!”
But there was no sign of him, just the water continuing with its perpetual splashing and gurgling. He was gone.
Ben was staring over the edge his face white with horror. “I couldn’t hold him... He was too heavy, I just...”
“He can’t be dead. Can’t!” Emily cried.
“We need to get down there somehow...” Nadia began.
“Don’t be crazy,” said Ben holding her back.
The bug dragons were unsympathetic. Scamp flew out over the water and looked down before returning to sit in front of them. He shrugged nonchalantly then buzzed up the passage ahead, indicating that the children should follow.
Ben shook his head in disbelief. “They’r
e gonna kill us off one by one,” he whispered.
Wiley came back and tugged at his shirt and Ben tried to swat him.
At that point Mouse came zooming down the passage. He stared at them in disbelief then turned on Scamp in unexpected fury.
“What the..?” Ben took a step back as the two tiny dragons, growling fiercely, wrestled and scuffled on the floor of the cave. There was no mistaking Mouse’s anger but Scamp was clearly superior in strength and the fight ended with Mouse being held to the ground. The argument continued for a while in loud squeals and squeaks but eventually Scamp sat back and laughed. Mouse struggled grumpily to his feet once again and watched as Scamp headed back up the passage towards the light. He then turned apologetically to the children and indicated for them to follow.
“What do you reckon?” asked Ben.
Nadia rose shakily to her feet. “We may as well go with them,” she said resignedly. “Sitting here won’t help, and there’s light over that way.”
They didn’t have to go very far. Having rounded a corner they found themselves in a wider cavern filled with limestone formations. The light was coming from a large hole in the wall above them – a welcoming brightness after the oppressive dark they had left behind.
Ben began to climb, but before he quite made it, a wet tousled head poked out of the hole and grinned at him.
“Alf!” exclaimed Ben in amazement. “Are you ok? What happ…”
“You gotta see this!” gloated Alf. “Check it out!”
The children stared in amazement.
A vast cavern stretched before them, brightly lit in the centre by a huge limestone formation that cascaded down from the ceiling high above. Every colour of the rainbow radiated out in an architectural wonder of limestone formations; curtains, pillars, columns, stalactites and stalagmites, cauliflower shapes and ‘popcorn’. All around it, like a huge protective moat, lay a smooth lake that mirrored the light and colour to perfection. Curious metallic looking trees clung to the damp rocks around the lake, their twisted trunks branching out to a snowfall of crystal leaves. A further variety of plants grew close to the water, some tall with delicate mesh-like leaves and others with a more rubbery rounded look about them. Bug dragons hovered and flew in and out like tiny bees around an enormous hive, their own bright colours almost lost in the splendour of their surroundings. The walls of the cavern reflected the brightness in its own shades of brown but the furthest wall was lost in deep, dark shadow.