“That’s a good idea, James,” M1 said, “but you all should really look outside.”
We did and it was quite a sight. The blue tube was taking us through the equivalent of a shallow tropical reef, thick with coral and some sort of seaweed. The place was, as expected, teeming with a dazzling variety of fish and other strange creatures.
“Harry,” Alice called back, “have you put a dollar value on this vacation package yet?”
“So far,” he replied, “the meter reads about ten grand per tourist. We’ll have to wait and see what develops, but so far this is very cool.”
This part of the trip was smooth, quiet and picturesque. We began to relax and enjoy the ride, which continued on for about one mile before the reef ended and the blue tube began to descend into the gloomy depths. Soon the bottom dropped away and everything below us was solid black, but Blue and Jesus didn’t seem to mind. As we went deeper the light faded and soon our trolley turned on its floodlights. At first there wasn’t much to see. Small bits of debris and the occasional fish swam into view, but they took no notice of us and went on their way.
“We’re rather deep are we not?” Amy asked the crew.
“That we arrrrr lassie,” Harry replied which lightened the mood considerably.
“I just hope this five thousand year old trolley is still water tight,” she said.
Bebe turned to her. “This thing in which we are riding is five thousand years old?”
Amy nodded yes and said it would be a long story.
“No matter,” Bebe replied, “I must hear every word when we have the time.”
Our trolley was still going along at a good clip and soon the ocean floor came into view. The blue tube wound its way through the ruins of an ancient, sunken city. Our lights penetrated down the streets and avenues of that forlorn, but beautiful place. We sat spellbound until we reached the cities edge where the ocean floor began a steep ascent. I felt a great sense of relief when the floodlights turned off and the daylight above began to penetrate the gloom. We broke the surface and as soon as we cleared the sandy beach our speed resumed.
Shan, who was in the front seat, turned back to say something to Alice, but she looked past her and pointed to the rear. “Look back!” she said. “The ocean is no longer there. All I see is a small dip in the ground.”
She was right. Behind the trolley I saw that the blue tube had actually followed the land as it went down a short incline. It leveled for about two hundred yards then went back up. I asked Joe, out loud, if he had an explanation.
“Very strange.” he said. “We were only in that depression for about forty seconds and our speed was constant. Somehow the illusion also stretches our perception of time. I have no information on how that materialized, but I see no other explanation.”
Having heard nothing from him, I turned to Carl and asked how he was holding up.
He spoke without moving his eyes from the passing scenery. “During my time back in the Hollow Mountain, I would often try to imagine what strange and wonderful adventures you all were having. I based most of what I envisaged on the space movies and television shows I have seen. I confess my experiences up to this point are an absolute surprise and an absolute delight. I study these things as much as possible. I want to remember everything.”
“Good idea Carl,” Alice said, to him, “but I suggest you turn your attention to the view ahead. Joe,” she shouted, “please tell me what I see is an illusion.”
“I regret to inform you,” he said, “the waterfall is real and the blue tube does indeed follow it over the edge.”
“Hang onto something!” M1 said, in his best drill sergeant’s voice.
The blue tube swung out and just above the rapidly moving water, but we couldn’t yet see over the edge. When we got there our trolley dipped and followed the curve of the water over the rim of what proved to be a tall waterfall. Great clouds of mist, kicked up by invisible boulders, obscured the bottom. Our craft accelerated along with the water and in a few breathless seconds we dove, full speed, into that dense cloud. Moments later we experienced G forces as we pulled out of the dive and rocketed clear of the tumult. Our craft decelerated and soon we were back in our tourist mode, cruising away from the now calm river, but no one spoke for a while. I did hear some heavy breathing and some of it was mine.
“Bad,” Shan said, but when we looked we saw it was Blue.
“Poor Blue,” Shan said. She took his head in her lap to comfort him. Never one to miss an opportunity to capitalize on sympathy, I heard him mutter, “Spam?”
“You must admit old Blue there is consistent,” Alice commented.
“That last ride was a doozie,” M2 said. “I hope it’s the most spectacular event.”
“Me too,” Alice said, reaching for her canteen. “I got quite a twinge in my tum tum. Oops, lookie here on my lap.”
It was my, until now, faithful cat. Apparently he abandoned me as we went over the falls and had her upper left leg in a tight embrace.
“Well, my dear,” I said, “Jesus just dumped his provider for you. I guess Lonesome was right. Cats know things beyond our ken.”
“I’m not sure that I want the responsibility,” She said. “Is this all right with you?”
“Frankly, I welcome the switch. Besides, he still stays with the group.”
“Animals don’t lie,” Bebe said to Alice. “You should feel honored that he turned to you as his protector and James, if Jesus were a dog you should feel slighted, but a cat is very different. His emotions reside deep within. He is the true alien among us.”
“Good looking and smart too,” Harry muttered. “I think she just said something important.”
“Eyes front, kids,” M1 said. “Methinks we have arrived.”
Straight ahead was the end of the world.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maurice Barkley lives with his wife Marie in a suburb of Rochester, New York. Retired from a career as a commercial artist and builder of tree houses, he is writing and busy reinforcing the stereotype of a pesky househusband.
Available from Amazon.com, CreateSpace.com, and other retail outlets.
BUILD YOUR OWN TREEHOUSE. Published by Sterling Publishing. It is now out of print.
THE BEST TREEHOUSE EVER. Published by Skyhorse Publishing. Published in 2013.
LOST AND FORGOTTEN. (Book 1 - Discovery) Available now.
LOST AND FORGOTTEN (Book 2 - The Secret Path) Available now
LOST AND FORGOTTEN (Book 3 – Enigma) Availablein 2017.
LOST AND FORGOTTEN: Book 2 The Secret Path Page 36