“Alright Karak,” Vita began after an hour of traversing the passages. “we are getting farther from the chamber of stones. Just where are we going.” Karak paused and raised his head as though listening.
“Do you hear it? We are getting close.”
Lister quieted his breathing and tried to slow his heartbeat which had quickened at the ominous words. Straining to make his ears superhuman he listened. Then he heard it, a soft scuttling sound which reminded him of a mouse scratching in a wall.
“I hear something.” Lister exclaimed more loudly than he had intended. The sound of his voice echoed and came back. He suddenly felt foolish and out of his depth as Vita looked at him as though he were a stupid child but did not admonish him. She whispered:
“Yes, I hear it too.”
They continued on through the caverns. Lister strained for the sound again but it was no longer in the making. They came to a large part of the cave which opened into a rough hewn space. Lister’s eyes had become so accustomed to the darkness the meager light of the dagger was far more powerful than he had first thought. The ceilings here were high and supported by columns coming from the ceiling then meeting with the ground. Shadows could be seen skittering around as they entered and the sight knotted his stomach.
“Hello?” someone whispered anxiously from within. Vita paused for a moment gathering all of her wits.
“Follow Karak.” Vita whispered to him as Karak continued with more speed. Before Lister could release the slight whimper he had caught in his throat she was gone and the light was gone with her. He was blind in the absolute black. Lister paused for a moment and took his backpack off. He rummaged through the interior feeling for… there it was. He lifted the Ever-Bright flashlight and turned the top, a harsh white light burst forth in a powerful beam blinding him for a moment.
The places where the light did not reach contrasted in the darkest of shadows. It took Lister’s eyes a moment to adjust but once they did he had wished they had not. Karak was sprinting forward toward two men who were bound in mounds wider at the base then tapering to their chins which left their heads protruding from the top. They must have been crouched at an odd angle for them to be so low to the ground. Lister was following but at a far more cautious pace than Karak had taken up.
When he looked around he realized those were not the only mounds this room contained. Others supported heads in various states of decomposition. In some cases grinning lip-less and flesh-less, just bone. Others seemed to be screaming at the ceiling with lifeless eyes. Lister had never seen anything of the like and panic began to rise within him. What could do this to people? He wondered, quickly jumping the flashlight beam around the cavern and seeing more of the same. How many people had met a gruesome end here? His breath was coming in ragged gasps and he felt as though his skin was going to crawl off of his body and flee for the nearest exit as he wanted to. The sound of his breathing was overtaken by the sound of Karak bashing at a mound holding one of his men.
Lister heard the scuttling sounds directly behind him and his heart felt as though it dropped straight out of his chest and through the stone floor. They were right behind him. The thought made him go cold. He did not want to turn. He did not want to see his demise coming. Whenever he had thought of death he had pictured himself dying in his sleep far in the future his Nobel Prize dangling from his neck. Why would he want to see such horrors? But turn he did and the light splashed across the creatures, glinting off of black carapace containing their soft innards. They were innumerable and large, each of them the size of a big dog, a Saint Bernard perhaps. The clicking skittering sound was maddening and Lister began to back pedal a blood curdling scream issuing from him.
Wherever the light hit the creatures they recoiled from it. The slash of the flashlight causing the giant bugs discomfort made Lister feel better at the power but only for a moment as he kept sweeping the light at the horrid tide. How long till the gruesome wave became accustomed to the light? He then knew it was only a matter of time till they were able to come for him in full force.
Suddenly he felt something grab him and he was being dragged by his collar deeper into the cavern. He thrashed and screamed at the thought of the hideous fate awaiting him. Having to sit and await his demise as the giant bugs went about their business, whatever bugs did in their spare time. Lister began to struggle more fiercely his fear causing his screams to become ragged and panic filled.
“Stop thrashing. You are going to get us both killed.” Lister looked at the creature which was dragging him but it was not one of the monstrosities, it was Vita. His heart skipped a beat and he was able to breathe once again. She was obviously very strong though her small frame and young look suggested otherwise.
“Keep the light focused on them.” she ordered and Lister did as he was told. He kept the bugs away as Vita dragged his uselessness through the cavern.
As they approached the place where Karak had freed the prisoners the bugs were getting more bold. Vita heard hurried footsteps fleeing the area.
“Stop! Where are you going!” betrayal made its presence known in her voice.
At the panicked sound of Vita’s question Lister made his feet and shone the flashlight to where she was directing her ire. Lister saw the forms of the three men fleeing down a passage, their shadows cast harshly on the wall. Quickly Lister turned the light back on the swarm as the giant bugs approached even closer.
“Great! This is just greaaaat!” Vita hollered at the walls, the bugs and at Lister. Then Lister remembered he had brought one of his other inventions.
“Hold this.” Vita took the flashlight as Lister began to root around in his bag.
“Please be here.” Lister prayed as he dug. “Aha!” he had retrieved a small metal box with a speaker on the top. He fumbled for a moment to switch it on. He tapped the touch screen on the face of it, waited for a response then did it again. All at once the tide turned and the bugs dropped back as though a torch had been passed through their midst. Lister looked at Vita with triumph written all over his face. She looked back at him amazement and confusion lighting her features.
“I built this to find frequency and vibration. I really never thought it was of much use.” Lister held the resonator in front of him. A passageway was directly behind them and they backpedaled into it. The bugs, though kept at bay by the sound emanating from the resonator, were not far enough away for either Lister nor Vita’s comfort.
“One moment.” Vita said as she bid Lister to pause. She retrieved a block from her backpack and jammed it into a crack in the wall of the passage they found themselves in. “Go, hurry!”
Lister did not need anymore impetus than the command. The two of them fled down the passage as the ceiling began to give way. The stone began cracking and tumbling, crushing the more daring bugs still pursuing them. At last the ceiling came crashing down, cutting off their pursuers and effectively cutting them off from the exit.
Lister was sitting on the rocky ground wondering just what in the hell had happened. He was wishing he had been more urgent about his mistrust of Karak. He wanted to clear the air and tell her exactly what he thought of her trusting nature. He had spoken his mind cruelly many times before and for less reason. Lister was ready to open his mouth and flay her with some well spoken truth but he stopped when he looked at her.
She was not looking defeated or beaten as he had expected but she was smiling at him. Her young looking face and her pixie style haircut was a mess but she looked like she were having a great time. He stood dumbfounded, his mouth agape. For once… Lister Crowe was without words.
“That was great!” Vita said, her excitement plain in her wide eyes.
Lister could feel his thrill rising as he looked at her. Now the fear was subsiding he realized he had not felt such exhilaration before and the feeling of barely escaping with his life fell upon him then. He smiled and a laugh escaped him much to his confusion.
“You are quite the wizard Lister Crowe.” they both stoo
d brushing dust and debris from their pants. Her flippant reaction to the events had disarmed him and he was glad for it. He no longer felt like he needed to tell her what he thought of her trusting nature. He was happy to be alive.
The caves played havoc with their sense of direction as they walked along. They could scarcely tell if they were going up or down and Lister began to worry they would never find a way out. When he brought the point up to Vita she shrugged it off:
“Of course we are getting out of here.” she did not look at him when she said it and though Lister was no expert on behavior, human or otherwise, he could tell when someone was lying.
They walked through winding tunnels, the light of the dagger illuminating their way. Vita wanted to use the flashlight but Lister had to explain to her the concept of batteries and why it was important to conserve them. If the horrid bugs showed up again they would need the bright beam to keep them at bay if his resonator failed or ran out of juice.
If his inventions had the Singing Stones as their power source than he would not have to worry about batteries or them going dead. The power they produced was nearly limitless and though Lister did not yet know where the power came from he desperately wanted to.
They found themselves walking along a path seemingly different from the others. The smell was more earthy and the cavern seemed warmer. Lister looked down to notice green moss underfoot. The thought was the opposite of what the darkness bespoke. How could there be photosynthesis here in the black? He was not sure how this world worked but he was sure the plant life had to follow the same biological rules he had know for the entirety of his years. Sure, he thought… this place had shown him stranger things than he could possibly have imagined and surely odder things went unnoticed yet but some rules were sacrosanct and unbreakable.
Up ahead was a glow he thought was a reflection of the light cast from Vita’s weapon but as they approached he realized it was not the case. Then he saw them in their natural environment, the Singing Stones before them, clumped together and glowing reassuringly.
“Finally! There’s some.” Vita sounded very relieved but not surprised. “See?” Vita said pointing to the stones.
“Yeah, I see.” what good would they do if they were not able to get out of the caves?
Lister approached and leaned down to inspect them. The moss was long and thick here and he realized the truth of it. Not only were these stones a power source for the devices of this planet, what they called magic, they were also a power source for life. This was a very uplifting revelation for Lister.
“Let’s harvest them and get out of here.” Vita sounded ready to be on their way. The word harvest suddenly seemed very apt.
“Yeah.” Lister replied not voicing his concern over the last. Vita knelt beside him and began to pry them from their resting places using her dagger. Soon Lister had fifteen stones of various sizes which could power many things, his mind swam with the ramifications of what he was now in possession of.
“Right, use your magic and get us out of here.” Vita was looking at Lister expectantly.
“Ummm…” was all that Lister could come up with. In the short time he had known her Vita had confounded him on multiple occasions. Something he was not used to.
“You can get us out of here right?”
“I thought you could.” Lister replied with a weak look. The expression on Vita’s face showed she was not amused. The fires which always burned within her eyes began to build and Lister knew he had better get to work.
“Ok, ok. Just give me a bit.” Lister sat upon the moss carpeting the passageway. He pulled out his resonator and started to work things out in his mind.
An hour had passed and Vita sat watching Lister work. Lister’s stomach growled but he did not stop except for the occasional pull off of the canteen. It was a good thing he and Merrill had spoken at some length about the practical uses of the Singing Stones. He was able to use his resonator to prime a stone then incorporate the stone into the device. Of course he was not successful on the first try or even the fifth but after burning some stones he was able to get one to take.
“Well, let’s see if this is it?” Lister stood and pointed the speaker down the corridor in the direction they had been traveling. He pressed the key on the side of the device and moments later a high ping came from it. He turned the way they had come and did the same thing. A low ping reverberated for a moment which was was the reply Lister was looking for.
“This way.” Lister slung his pack over his shoulder and started down the passage. He was not one hundred percent sure he was following the correct tone but if it were hollow then it should lead to an exit. At least such was his reasoning.
From time to time when they reached a crossroads he would ping the resonator and they would follow the tone. After more than a few turns they could begin to smell fresh air and the breeze which had been missing began to find it’s way back to their faces. Lister longed for the stifling heat of the outside and the two began to quicken their pace.
A light appeared in the distance and the two knew they were going to escape with their lives and more importantly to Lister, the stones. When the light at the end of the tunnel had grown to a considerable size the two began jogging. Soon they found themselves under the setting sun. Vita put her arm around Lister’s ribs and gave him a squeeze. Though this would usually have made him uncomfortable, this was a time when it had the opposite effect. Lister hugged her back and breathed in the warm earthy scent, reveling in it for a moment.
“This way, let’s get home.” she started off leaving Lister to look after her smiling. He had not felt such relief in his entire life. He had been a bookworm and though he had read many a book where this sort of thing happened he had never expected to be on an adventure of his own. He felt a sense of accomplishment he had never experience before.
“Get away from that!” Vita barked as they came within sight of the ATV. Karak and his two
companions whirled to see who had come upon them. The look on his face was a mix of amazement, respect and revulsion.
“Wha… ha ha?” he laughed at seeing the two of them again. “How did you make it out?” Karak was all charm and kindness in a moment. The other two were trying to find a way to start the ATV while he had been keeping watch. Karak seemed not one to be taken by surprise and this situation seemed to do just that. Vita strode forward with no fear, her eyes fixed upon him, blade in hand.
“That is the only warning you get.” she said as she strode forward. Though she was a hand shorter than Karak she seemed huge in her gait and anger. The three of them quickly stepped back from the ATV staring in disbelief at Vita and Lister.
“I have a very powerful wizard with me.” Vita’s tone was threatening. “Did you really think we could not find a way out?” she stopped and regarded the three. Lister was sure her eyes were bubbling cauldrons of fury and he was a bit disappointed he could not see them.
“Lister, I thought you two were right behind us.” Karak began, holding up his hands as a shameful look came over his face. He began to explain:
“When we were far enough away I noticed you were not there. I wanted to go back for you but we had a couple of those things after us, we couldn’t. Right boys?” Karak looked to his companions and they were nodding their agreement most vigorously. Lister was sure the look Vita was giving them was terrifying but he could tell by the glances he received from the three the threat of a wizard was no small thing.
“You have two choices.” Vita’s tone held contempt and a hint of rage. “You can leave now or I can have my wizard turn you into a trio of those vile bugs and you can go scuttling away.” Lister knew this to be a lie but it was obvious they did not. Karak’s two companions began stepping back slowly with their hands raised but Karak, being more brave, made his egress more slowly.
“Well, I am sorry we couldn’t be friends Vita.” he held up his hands again in a show of surrender. “See you.” he turned slowly and walked off. Vita and Lister wa
tched until he had disappeared over a hill.
“What was that all about?” Lister asked when they had gone. Vita made a shushing gesture as they got in the ATV. Once they were in the vehicle and away from the entrance to the mountain pass Vita spoke:
“They were waiting for us back there. They were listening.” Vita seemed very sure of herself on the supposition.
“How do you know that?”
“I just know.” Vita pulled a necklace from her vest pocket. “One of the bandits on the road had this on him.” Lister took the proffered medallion.
“Yeah, I saw you pick it up.”
“One of Karak’s boys was wearing one. They were going to wait for us to drop our guard then attack and slit our throats.” Vita left the danger of what they had just been through hanging in the air. The implication was not lost on Lister nor was the close call they had just escaped. This world was quite dangerous and he found himself longing for his easy life back in his apartment, back on his world.
Then he thought of those who lived in the village. It was no wonder Goran had seen him as a potential threat. It seemed everything and everyone on this planet was out to get you in some way. Sure they knew all of the dangers but knowing did not make their lives any easier or lessen it. Then he thought of Tamra’s son, the one who reminded him of himself, hiding in his mothers skirt.
Sure he could just take these crystals and go back through the portal to his own world and become rich from their uses and the devices he would be able to make with them. The idea of it was what he had always dreamed of but what dreams did Tamra’s children have… or Goran’s? They deserved to be able to live out their futures in peace, without fear of some bandit attack or some giant bug sucking the blood from their soft flesh.
He looked at Vita on the drive back and saw the village and it’s inhabitants in her face though they were not demons like her but more human. More like himself. He wanted to protect her as well but he was sure she did not need his help in that regard. She looked at him as she drove and smiled a non judgmental and truly meaningful expression. He would help them to protect what they had and provide whatever he could to make sure Tamra and her children could grow in peace. It was the least he could do for what this world had shown him and now gifted him.
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