“We’re not on an island?” asked Mike, stumbling barefoot around jagged volcanic rocks.
Stopping abruptly, Orthon shook his head. “How can you be so misguided?”
I folded my arms across my chest. Why wouldn’t Orthon just hurry up and tell us the truth? It wasn’t like we had all the time in the world. If the end was really near, he should have been in a hurry to just spill it. I let out an exasperated sigh. “In case you haven’t noticed yet, we’ve no clue where we are. You said you’d fill us in, so now’s the time.”
“You are not on the surface of Earth.” Orthon nodded, then resumed his pace. “But I have already said more than I should have. General Ashtar will fill in the missing details.”
Mike glanced at me and mouthed, “What the heck?”
As far as I was aware, unless we were dead or little red devils, we all lived on the surface of the planet.
“Who’s this general?” I whispered.
Mike shook his head. “This guy’s off his rocker.”
“We can’t be underground,” I said, my heart racing. “We hiked miles through a thick rainforest. We saw mountains, meadows, flowers, and even a lake. And there’s sunlight. I—”
“Come. We must enter here,” interrupted Orthon.
I wanted to say more, but something told me we wouldn’t get another word of explanation from Orthon. Biting my tongue, I followed him for another few feet, until we stopped at a carved doorway in the rock. I pulled Mike aside and whispered, “Are you sure you want to follow an alien to his alien city that’s being attacked by other aliens? I won’t be mad if you bail out on this one.”
Mike seemed to consider it for a moment. “If you’re not comfortable, then I won’t do it. It’s all about how you feel.”
Orthon regarded them and let out a long sigh. “I do not care if you trust me. In fact, at this point, you do not have much choice. My people are friendly and will try their best to help you and your missing friend.”
“Listen, we can’t survive out here alone.” Mike gently grasped both of my arms. “As much as I hate to admit it, we need them.”
I encircled my arms around his waist and glanced up into his piercing eyes. “Is this decision based on dinner? Not in the mood for berries again?”
“Honestly, call it a sixth sense, but I feel like they can help us…and get Jack back too.”
I let out a sigh. “That’s probably because Orthon told you so. How could they possibly help us when they’re being attacked this very minute? It’s like going into a hornet’s nest that’s being sprayed by a fumigator.”
Orthon shifted his stance. “We have a plan to defeat them. It is not as hopeless as it seems.”
I wished my parents were with me because they would know what to do, but since they weren’t, I had to rely on Orthon. I didn’t trust him or his people, but I also didn’t trust me and Mike’s abilities to survive the night with raptors who could possibly dislodge the rock loose and squeeze through the hole in the wall; and then fight an alien invasion bare-handed to save Jack’s butt. “All right then. Let’s go.”
Green moss and ferns, dripping with moisture, draped the entrance like a big wet curtain. Orthon detached two long, thin objects from his belt and handed one to me and the other to Mike.
“What’s this?” I asked.
Orthon placed his thumb on its side, and a powerful beam of light issued from the end. “This shall help you see.”
“Thanks.” I pushed the moss out of the way and walked through. A strong earthy smell invaded my nose. I wiped the dew back and forth on my shorts.
“Hold my hand so we don’t lose each other,” said Mike.
I clung to his hand; his grip was warm and strong. The cool air felt soothing on my hot skin. I gazed around the giant room decorated with rippling flowstone, huge columns, and magnificent rock structures.
Mike gave my hand a squeeze. “So…this is kind of like our first date. I know you’ve never had one quite like this.”
Mud squished under my shoes, and water sloshed around my toes. “Yeah, the T-rex was a nice touch. Really got the adrenaline pumping, ya know?”
“It was definitely my idea of a perfect first date, minus Jack getting taken, but don’t worry…we’ll get him back.”
I had no doubt about it; I’d get Jack back or die trying.
“Please follow me,” Orthon instructed.
“Where’s he taking us?” I whispered. I glanced at Mike, who just shrugged, eager to let someone else take the lead. With a sigh, I followed behind, feeling more like a lamb being led to the slaughter.
We walked to the far end of the underground chamber and turned the narrow passage to the left, continuing on the path until it ended abruptly.
Drops of water trickled down the dark walls and through cracks in the cave roof. “Dead end?” There was nothing but a giant tree trunk that grew straight up into the ceiling and a three-foot sinkhole in front of us, which was probably home to some underground animal that I didn’t want to bump into. I shone my flashlight down around the hole. There was no badger hair, rabbit fur, freshly dug dirt, or footprints. I sighed. In my mind, I could hear my GPS announcing in a computerized voice, “Arriving at destination.” Not! Maybe Orthon should call the Missus for some directions, because he’s obviously lost.
* * *
Drops of water steadily dripped down from the limestone walls and the chilly air made me shiver, goosebumps erupting across my skin. Obviously, we had reached a dead end in this little cave adventure. From my perspective, there was nothing but a tree trunk with a sinkhole big enough for a few foxes to squeeze through. I wondered why Orthon couldn’t just admit his mistake, turn around, and go back. What’s with men and their inability to stop driving when the GPS literally screams that they’re in Ohio instead of California? Rubbing my temples, I said, “Being lost isn’t really my thing.”
Mike’s brows rose. “What now?”
“Follow me into the sinkhole.” Orthon hooked his flashlight onto his belt, grabbed a long, white, rope-like vine, and shimmied down, descending into the darkness. “Our people have used the roots from this great tree as a ladder for hundreds of years.”
Staring down, Mike whistled. “Man, that’s so cool.”
“You’re kidding! The only things that should be climbing into dark holes are groundhogs, badgers, and sewer maintenance workers—bless their souls.” I dropped to my hands and knees, pointed my flashlight downward, and peeked in. Masses of thick green leaves and roots stretched from ceiling to floor. It was like someone threw us smack-dab in the middle of Jack and the Beanstalk, hopefully without the grumpy giant. Only I would find myself walking around in some kind of fairytale.
Mike leaned forward, peering intently into the hole, obviously more excited about this little phase of our adventure than I was. “C’mon! Don’t be a drama queen, babe. Just suck it up and do it.”
I laughed. “Whoa! Did the guy who had a panic attack last Saturday ’cause he ran out of wax for his surfboard just call me a drama queen?”
“Without wax, I’d slip right off,” Mike spat. “Besides, I had a date with that surfer chick Jacquelyn Gilmore. She was going to ride the waves using my board, and I didn’t want her to wipe out or anything. You’ve got to admit she’s hot and—”
I couldn’t care less about “Happy Gilmore”, the perfect five-eleven blonde, a gorgeous six-time world champion surfer. I raised my head to interrupt Mike’s sickening confessions. “Please, spare me. I don’t really need to know your dating history. That would be far too long of a story. I’ve got my own history, you know. You don’t know everything about me.”
Flashing me a smile, he chuckled. “Of course I do. You told me.”
“A girl will always keep a secret or two.”
He crossed his arms. “Hmm. Like what?”
I knew he’d called my bluff, and I had to come up with something witty, but as usual in his magical numbing presence, my mind went blank, and my heart thumped harder.
“I’ve had a few dates I didn’t tell you about.”
He raised his brow at me and took a step closer. “Really? With who?”
I was glad I finally had his attention. “You know…just guys.” I waved my hand about.
“You’re bluffing.”
I peered at him from the corner of my eye, noticing his set jaw. “Ask Jack. He knows.”
“Are you two coming?” yelled Orthon from below.
“We’re right behind ya.” I closed my eyes and let out a long breath, mentally preparing myself for our spelunking trip, and then dared another glance down. No problem. I can handle this...or at least I hope so.
Mike ruffled his fingers through my hair. “Scared?”
I playfully slapped his arm. “Not a chance!” Clipping my flashlight onto my shirt, I followed Mike into the hole and hung on as tightly as I could to the cluster of wet, tangled leaves. The scent of moss and damp earth hung in the thick air all around me.
Daring another glance down, I gulped. One slip, and I could easily fall hundreds of feet. But Mike hated scaredy-cat, little sissy girls. He liked his women strong, independent, and adventurous. It would be easy enough to show off my fake courage. After all, it wasn’t like I was really scared—just a tad nervous.
“Show us what you got then,” dared Mike.
“I will when I pass you up.” Throwing him a last glance, I started to gingerly ease my left foot down, followed by my right. By the time I had moved twenty feet, my breath was coming in ragged gasps, and my hands were trembling something awful. Just keep going, Casey, I told myself. My foot slipped off the wet, leafy vine, and I tumbled to the next stalk a foot below. Droplets of water sprayed across my face and arms. Blinking, I gripped the stalk with both hands and shifted my weight as my heart pounded. It’s more slippery than I thought. It was too close a call, and I decided I’d better quit showing off and slow down a tad.
“C’mon, Casey! By the time you’re down here, I’ll be fifty,” Mike called out.
My back ached, and my arms and hands felt like they were on fire. Taking another breath, I continued my descent, finally catching up with Mike.
“So you think Orthon’s really an alien?” he whispered, maneuvering his feet through the stalk.
I reached for another leafy vine and looked around. Orthon was thirty feet below them, so I figured it was safe to talk. “Think? Nope. I know.”
“Look how far ahead he is. Talk about faster than a speeding bullet. That guy’d give Superman or Spiderman a run for their money.” His voice came low and labored. “Anyway, it’ll be kind of cool to see an alien civilization.”
“Yeah, if they’ll only let us live to tell the tale,” I said, but I thought it best not to let my mind wander to such things or I might not be able to go on. I shot him a smile as I descended further. “Now who’s the slow poke?”
“I’m barefoot, remember?” he snapped.
“C’mon!” I laughed and climbed down faster, leaving him behind.
Orthon hung less than ten feet below me when he called up, “Stop there! We must wait for Mike.”
I shrugged as I watched him adjust his grip and wrap his legs around the stalk. Mike definitely had a point with his Spiderman remark. Unless Orthon had some suction cups attached to the palms of his hands and feet, his speed was just unnatural—like so many other things about him. Of course, it might have been perfectly natural for aliens.
I bit my lip and looked down. The roots didn’t reach the bottom, and the jump down had to be at least twenty feet. Climbing down was one thing; jumping into the depths of some dark underground cavern was quite another. Orthon might have been keen on testing the brittleness of his bones (if he even had any) but I hoped the vitamins I’d been taking held up to their claims of “stronger bones”. I dared another peek down, my stomach turning. “Uh…where’s the rest of the ladder?”
Orthon’s jaw set. “The roots were destroyed by a cave-in last month.”
I gawked at him, my mouth agape. Cave-in? Is this place even safe for us to be in? It didn’t seem any better to die by being buried alive than it had to be eaten by dinosaurs.
“I will jump first so you can see how it is done,” said Orthon.
“Wait!” I said, stopping him. “I’m not some superhero like you. I have only normal human legs to land on.” Orthon shot me a questioning look, and I let out another sigh. Not only was he extraordinarily agile, but he was also clueless about my sense of humor. “Sure, it might be fun having everyone sign my cast, but I’m not into breaking my leg. Mike and I, we aren’t like you.”
“We all land in the soft mud the same way. I assure you that no harm will come to you.” As calm and reassuring as he was trying to be with that angelic voice of his, it didn’t seem to help my nerves about the jump one little bit.
Mike finally reached them, puffing like a couch potato after moving any further than the distance between the sofa and the fridge. “Did someone say “jump”? Are you for real?” Mike’s eyes glimmered with excitement in the semi-dark space.
“Indeed,” said Orthon.
I nodded. “See? Sadly, that’s what excitement looks like. As for me, not so much. He can jump down there for all I care, but you’ll have to find another way for me to go. I’m not into extreme sports…or spending the next six months on crutches.”
Mike’s eyes widened. “Luckily, I’m always extreme. Move aside and I’ll gladly go first. Then I can catch you.”
I softly laid a hand on his shoulder, refusing to be outdone or to be treated like some helpless princess stuck in a tower. “Listen, you know I’m kidding. I’ll jump if I have to, but let’s have Orthon show us—”
Before I could stop him, he let go. “GER…ON…IM…OOOH!” he yelled on the way down. He landed with a mighty splash, followed by a brief groan. “Woo hoo! That was awesome!”
Did he really just jump twenty feet without batting an eyelash? I blew out a sigh. Yep. Sure did. Darn adrenaline junkie. He was always on the prowl for the next rush. I was no stranger to adventure myself, but I was nowhere near as extreme as he was—completely into swimming, climbing, jumping, running, and everything all the freaking time. I wondered if he needed a different kind of girl in his life. Of course, it wasn’t like Mike and I were officially dating yet. It was all some grand experiment, and I wasn’t sure if we’d make anything near the perfect couple.
“It’s a piece of cake,” yelled up Mike. “Now get down here. You can do it!”
I blinked as he started shamelessly humming the Indiana Jones theme song, completely and utterly proud of himself. “Catchy tune, Mike, but I’m not exactly finding it inspiring.”
Before Mike could answer, Orthon jumped and landed somewhere near him. Mud splattered as if he’d done a powerful cannonball. “Casey, it is your turn now,” instructed the big man—or whatever he was.
Loud, rustling noises carried from above. I jerked my head back, straining to listen as I whispered, “What was that?” I held in my breath, hoping it was nothing worse than a few stray bats, fed up with me for disturbing their sleep. Something shuffled. Was that…feet? Gravel crunched, and several stones rained down on me, missing my head by inches. Great. As if it isn’t enough to worry about breaking my legs, now something’s aiming for my head. I’m literally being threatened from head to toe.
Whatever kind of mutants were around me, they seemed too huge to be bats, clearly over one hundred pounds, and I didn’t want to think about it. Orthon raised his flashlight. The golden beam slid upward, illuminating hundreds of feet of roots. Shadowy figures darted around in the darkness above me, and I wondered if they were just coming along for a fun spelunking trip. Clearly, someone was following us, but I didn’t know who—or what—the heck it was.
Alarm filled Mike’s voice. “Friends of yours, Orthon?”
I let out another startled scream as a bright beam whistled past my ear. Okay, just taking a wild guess here, but it doesn’t exactly look like Orthon and these guys are BFFs.
> “Greys!” Orthon reached for a silver pistol from a holster strapped to his ankle under his pant leg.
My jaw dropped. I could swear the ray gun came straight out of a science fiction movie. And what was he doing with a weapon in his possession anyway? He definitely had to be a soldier for the city.
Orthon began shooting blasts of red energy, all the while keeping his poker face. “They must’ve sent a team to follow us.”
Either he was treating it as nothing unusual because it was sort of a routine thing, or he didn’t care much whether he lived or died. Either way, I wasn’t thrilled about it, especially since I was hanging on a stalk in midair between them. I peered up toward the Greys and then down again, and my stomach churned some more. What’s with these Grey characters? Are they really that hard-up for brunette DNA? It didn’t seem like they would ever give up, but neither would I. I had to maintain hope that we’d make it out alive—all three of us. I fumbled for my flashlight, but it seemed to be too tightly clipped to my shirt. I wondered how close we were and if they would climb down after me. If they were anywhere near as fast as Orthon, I didn’t stand a chance.
Even though my flashlight was clipped on my collar, I managed to hold on to the vine with one hand and aim the light beam upward to get a look. A group of short, green humanoids peeked over the edge—real-live aliens. Suddenly, our little Jurassic Jones adventure had turned into Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I gasped as big black eyes stared back at me. My hands flew to my face, and I screamed as I fell into a mud pit with a loud splat. Stars danced in my vision and I scrambled up. It felt as if the wind had been knocked out of me, and the mud was so deep…up to my waist. I wiped the darn stuff out of my eyes, slicked back my muddy hair, and spit out a mouthful of grime. Glancing around in the darkness, I searched for the aliens but couldn’t see a thing. Maybe they left.
“Casey!” yelled Mike. “Are you okay? You should’ve warned me you were gonna jump. I swear I woulda caught you!”
“Don’t worry, I’m fine.” I rubbed my head, wet clumps of dirt slid off my face and clothes. Brushing my palm against my body to check for any wounds, I noticed that my bandana was gone. Oh great! With her frizzy hair flying everywhere, they’ll notice me from miles away. Before I had a chance to worry about that, too, a series of laser beams whizzed past me, and I ducked, my heart pounding hard in my ears.
Trapped in the Hollow Earth Novelette Series Omnibus Edition (Books 1 - 4) Page 29