The Grotto Under the Tree
Page 2
"We hit a pot of gold!" Sebastian yelled. "There's a ton of stairs. Who would have ever built something like this under a tree?"
"I don't know, and I'm not so sure I want to find out," Sara said.
"Why, are you scared?"
"No, but I think—"
"That we should dig this hole out some more," Sebastian cut in, "and see where it goes."
"Be careful. I'm not sure we should even be here."
"Will you trust me for once?" He wiped dirt off his shoulder. "This will be no fun exploring alone."
Sara nodded. "Fine, but be careful."
Within a half-hour, they had dug the hole wide enough to crawl through. Sebastian went first with his backpack and flashlight. Sara followed with the second flashlight. They crawled on their stomachs until they reached a spot where they could stand up.
"This is amazing!" Sebastian shouted. "Who knows where this could lead?"
Sara started to say something but instead quietly slipped her hand into his. Sebastian held on without saying a word and started down the spiraling stairs. Tree roots interlaced through the earthen walls like veins. After they had taken a dozen or so steps, the walls changed from dirt to a rough, dark stone with tiny specks of a silver mineral.
The substance bent the beams of their flashlights into S-shaped patterns. Both Sara and Sebastian jumped back as the darkness in front of them seemed to turn into daylight. The silver in the rock wall had absorbed the small amount of light from the flashlights, reflecting it back and forth and down the stairwell like mirrors echoing the sun's rays.
"Sebastian, what's happening?"
"I'm not sure. I've never seen anything like this before." A smile stretched across his face.
They shut their flashlights off and let the soft light from the walls guide their way. The illumination flickered like torchlight reflecting off water.
She thought back to the last time Sebastian had that same look on his face. He had been obsessed with building a tree fort in his yard. Of course he'd fallen and broken his ankle. She hoped they wouldn't have the same result from this adventure — a broken bone…or worse.
"Do you smell that?" Sebastian asked.
"Yeah, it smells like the ocean, but the harbor is at least two miles away."
"More like two and a half," he corrected her. "It's definitely the ocean I smell."
They walked a bit further, rounded a bend, and found themselves facing a smooth wall of shiny, dark rock with a murky pool of water in front of it. Above, near the ceiling, the salty breeze came in through a small opening.
Sebastian's shoulders wilted. "Well this stinks."
"I don't understand," Sara said. "The stairs led us to a dead end?"
"Maybe I can reach up and look in that hole to see what's there," Sebastian said, his voice regaining hope.
"Sebastian, wait…"
It was too late. Sebastian started to walk through the seemingly shallow puddle, but found himself plunged into a deep, warm pool of seawater. He sank for a few seconds before hitting the sandy bottom. Fighting the urge to breathe in, Sebastian pushed off the bottom and shot toward the surface, but something held him. He turned and found a net wrapped around his backpack.
The harder Sebastian struggled, the more entangled he became. The burning sensation in his lungs expanded into pain. He needed air. He turned around frantically, trying to undo either the net or backpack. Suddenly, he spotted two small lights shining in the murky water. They blinked off, then back on. Each time they lit, they'd moved closer. It took him a split second to realize they weren't lights, but glowing eyes moving toward him. The next instant the pain in his lungs stopped, and then darkness overtook him.
Chapter Three
Nia and the Merpeople
Sebastian coughed up water as he slowly regained consciousness. His clothes were soaked, and he was lying on a cold, hard surface. Darkness faded slowly, replaced by the outline of Sara's tear-streaked face above him. "Sebastian!" Sara repeated. "I knew we shouldn't have come down here."
"What happened?" he grumbled.
"You fell in the water and almost drowned, you dummy. You would have died if…" Sara stopped speaking and started to cry.
Sebastian sat up and held Sara's shaking hands. She sat down next to him and wept. "I won't do anything stupid like that again," he said. "There's something weird about that pool, though. It looks like it's only a few inches deep, but it has to be at least ten feet to the bottom. Thanks for pulling me out of the water. I would have been…" Sebastian stopped, realizing Sara's clothes were still dry. He remembered the blinking lights.
Sara wiped her eyes and pointed toward the far side of the pool. "Someone is in there. She pushed you to the surface."
Sebastian turned and saw the forehead, eyes, and nose of a woman rising out of the water. Her skin was pale, almost as white as a sheet. As soon as Sebastian met her gaze she sank below the surface and her eyes lit up like two emerald candles. She resurfaced next to him by the edge of the pool—a beautiful woman with long, blonde hair. She looked young, except for the lines around her green eyes, which no longer glowed. A long necklace of dark, scale-like seashells wrapped from her neck down around her torso. Sebastian moved closer to the woman, and she pushed off from the edge, swimming back out to the middle of the pool with her back arched like a dolphin.
"Who are you?" he shouted. She didn't respond.
"I've already tried asking what she was doing here," Sara whispered, "but she won't answer."
The woman dove forward under the water. A dark green tail fin came up and then followed her under, barely stirring the water's surface. Sara gasped while Sebastian's jaw fell open. "Sara, please tell me you saw what I saw."
"I did," she said as she picked up their bags. "We better get out of here. Don't argue with me."
"You lead the way," he mumbled, glancing one last time at the water. The rock walls still retained some luminosity, but it had started to fade. Sebastian pulled out his flashlight and shined it on the wall. Within seconds, the dim glow increased like a recharged battery.
In the distance, he heard what sounded like footsteps approaching. Sebastian swung his flashlight back down toward the pool of water. No one was there. The sound grew into a light rumble. The entire tunnel started to shake.
Sebastian and Sara started to run. The light in the walls flickered. Stones fell from the ceiling around them. They crouched down in an attempt to protect one another from the falling debris, but a thunderous tremor threw Sebastian from Sara.
They crawled through a cloud of dust back toward one another. Sebastian reached Sara and hugged her. A moment later she pulled away and dragged Sebastian with her across the dirt and gravel.
"What are you doing?" he shouted.
Sara seemed to ignore him and grunted as she dragged him a few more feet before stopping. A second later the enormous stone crashed to the ground exactly where Sebastian had been.
Sara exhaled and slowly rose holding her arms above her head as piles of loose dirt continued to crash down around them. A bunch of smaller rocks knocked Sara to her knees. Sebastian tried to scream a warning, but clouds of dust made breathing nearly impossible.
Sebastian grabbed Sara and helped her to stand up. "C'mon, just walk with me a little." He coughed. The rumbling grew louder, washing out Sara's groans. Sebastian finally recognized the sound of diesel engines.
"The town must have sent bulldozers!" he shouted, half carrying Sara. "They must be trying to remove the tree, and the weight of the machines is causing the tunnel to cave in. We have to head back down toward the pool. It's our only chance!"
"Sebastian, no one even knows we're down here!" Sara wept. "We'll be trapped."
"We'll be safe if we can make it to the pool," he said, trying to sound convincing.
Suddenly Sebastian saw a wave of dirt rush toward them from the direction of the stairway and tree. They only had seconds before they would both be buried. "Don't look back," he shouted. "Just run!"
Sebastian turned his flashlight on, but the silver mineral in the rocks did not respond this time. Whatever power they'd possessed seemed to have left them. He sat Sara down next to the pool of water and gave her his backpack to use as a pillow. She had a couple of bruises on her face, and a trickle of blood ran from a cut above her right eye.
Sebastian started to breathe in quick bursts. "Sara, I know you always think I have the answers, but this is more than some math problem. We're trapped, and I don't know what to do."
Sara moaned and held her head. "Sebastian, I'm scared," she whispered.
Something splashed in the water next to them. Sebastian swung his light toward the pool. Nothing remained but a few ripples on the water's surface. "Hello?" he shouted. "If you can hear me, we need help."
The same woman he'd seen earlier lifted her head out of the water and rested her chin on the ground beside Sara. "You did not have to run off, little one," she said with a voice that sounded like gurgling water. "I was just being cautious. I did not mean to scare you."
Sebastian jumped back. "Who are you?
"I am Nia, and you ruined my net when you fell into my pool." Reading Sebastian's confusion she continued, "I am a Mer."
"You mean a... a mermaid?"
"Whichever you prefer is fine."
Sebastian stepped closer and reached out a trembling hand. The mermaid closed her eyes and smiled as he lightly touched her head. "Yes, child, I am quite real."
Sara moaned, and he pleaded, "Please, my friend needs help."
"What happened to her?"
"I think a rock fell and hit her when the tunnel collapsed.”
"I knew something had happened," the mermaid said. "I had just reached the open water when I sensed the rhythm of the ocean changing and rushed back." Nia put her ear to the water. "Odd."
"What?"
"For the first time, I hear nothing," she said. "We must see to your friend and then leave this place forthwith. Follow me." She dove under the water, only to resurface a moment later when Sebastian did not follow.
"My friend can't go in the water like this," he pleaded. "She'll drown."
The mermaid said, "You will not have to." She swam up to the wall and knocked three times before calling, "Miramar, open the gate."
The rock wall behind the pool creaked and slowly lifted into the ceiling of the cavern. The cave was immediately bathed in light. When Sebastian's eyes adjusted to the brightness, he could see that the small pool was actually part of a lagoon inside a larger cavern.
No movie he had seen nor any book he read had prepared him for what lay before him. The walls were the same shiny dark rock, but instead of the familiar silver substance, enormous crystals of every color were embedded in the walls. The crystals lit the cavern like a cloudless summer afternoon. The same gems extended down under the water to give it a green-blue glow. Sebastian could almost taste the salt, which hung in the moist air.
A small waterfall on the far side of the cavern fed water into the lagoon with a rhythmic splash. Merpeople—men, woman, and children—swam above and below the surface. A few powerful mermen sat on a distant rock repairing a net. Some had dark, sea-green skin while others had pale skin like Nia's. They all stopped when they saw Sebastian standing before them. He felt as if he was standing in front of his entire school in his underwear.
"This young one needs help," Nia yelled to them. "Miramar, bring the raft over."
A dark-haired male broke the surface. He pushed a flat raft made of reeds and bamboo toward them. He entered into the alcove.
"What happened to the tunnel?" he said in a raspy, yet watery, voice.
"I don't know," Nia responded. "Let's take care of this young one first."
"If the humans are here, then they pose the smaller threat compared to—"
"I know Miramar," Nia cut in, "but you know our ancient law. We have to help those in need first." She turned to Sebastian. "Place your friend gently on the raft."
Sebastian was hesitant, but knew he had no other options. He helped Sara to her feet and slowly brought her onto the raft. She rested her head on his backpack again. "Sebastian," Sara whispered, "I want to go home."
"Soon," he promised, knowing it was a lie.
Miramar disappeared under the water, and a seaweed rope tied to the end of the raft tightened. The raft started to move down into the cavern. Nia stayed on the surface, pushing from behind to guide the raft.
Sebastian's stomach tightened. He wondered if these merpeople were another strain of humans or simply intelligent monsters. The rock wall closed behind them with a splash that echoed throughout the cavern.
"How are you doing, Sebastian?" Nia asked.
Sebastian turned back to her. "How did you know my name?"
"Sound travels faster and farther underwater. I could hear you two coming down the tunnel long before you reached us."
They approached a rock bank next to the waterfall. The water collected in a small pool and then drained down into a dark tunnel on the eastern side of the cavern. Miramar lifted the raft with both children still on board above his head and onto a rock ledge next to the waterfall. He swam off without a word.
"Sebastian, I cannot come out of the water," Nia said, "so you will have to listen to me carefully. Remove the blue and red crystals that are in the wall next to the waterfall and place them in the shallow pool of water to your left. Once you have done that, take the conch shell next to the pool and fill it with the water, and give Sara a drink from it."
Sebastian paused and looked at Sara. Her eyes were closed and her breathing had quickened. He jumped off the raft onto the rock ledge and rushed over to the two crystals. Each one sparked as he eased them out of the wall. He placed the red crystal in the pool. The water turned a crimson color as the crystal dissolved with tiny, fizzing bubbles and then faded back to dark blue-green. When he dropped in the blue crystal, the water changed to dark cobalt before it converted back to normal-looking seawater.
He filled the shell with the liquid and rushed back over to Sara. "Nia, humans don't drink salt water. Can this hurt her?"
"It's not salt water any longer. You must trust me, Sebastian. This will help her."
Sebastian looked to the mermaid, then back to Sara. He could see the pain lines on Sara's forehead. He lifted the shell to her lips. "Sara, you have to drink this."
Slowly, she took a sip of the water. She moved one of her hands up to hold the shell. Within moments, the bruises and cut on her forehead swelled up and then faded back down and disappeared.
Sebastian held her hand and rocked back and forth, hoping his closed eyes would somehow stop the tears. A few moments passed, and Sebastian felt Sara's hand wipe a tear from his cheek. "What happened? Where are we?"
Sebastian introduced her to Nia and explained where they were. After a few minutes of shaking her head in disbelief, Sara finally calmed down.
"Please tell me what happened to Meridian?" Nia interrupted.
"Who is Meridian?" Sebastian asked.
"Why, Meridian was the name of our tree," she said. "Humans are not the only beings who warrant names, young one."
Sebastian paused, considering what Nia told him. "A storm blew the tree — I mean, Meridian — down this past week."
"That's impossible," Nia exclaimed. "Meridian is a special oak. Unlike other trees, her roots extended far underground to receive sustenance from the life-giving sea. No earthly storm should have been able to hurt her." Nia swam away toward the middle of the lagoon. "I must speak with my people. I will return momentarily." She dove underwater and was gone.
Sebastian still could not believe what had happened or whom they had met. He looked around at the grotto. The roof
of the cavern rose about thirty feet above the water, with the same pale crystals embedded in the hanging stalactites. The far wall near the cave entrance showed carvings and murals of merpeople swimming with whales, sharks, and what appeared to be strange, giant dinosaurs with flippers.
Under the surface, he could see dark shapes of mermen, mermaids, and merchildren swimming around. Once in a while, a young child would pop his or her head above the surface to look at Sebastian and Sara and smile. Sara waved to a young brunette girl, who pointed at Sara's feet and giggled before an adult rushed her away below the surface.
"I wonder how long these creatures have been down here?" Sebastian asked aloud.
A voice responded. "My people have been here since Meridian was a seedling."
Both turned to see Miramar swimming in small circles a few feet away. He had a grave look upon his face. "Under the tree and within this cavern we have found refuge from the Kylo," he continued.
"The Kylo?" Sara asked.
"They are sinful creatures who feed off our power. Some believe they were sent here to purge the oceans of any remaining enchanted creatures. Some say the reason was to make room for humans."
The children fell silent.
Miramar smiled, which revealed bright white teeth with two sharp canine teeth on either end of his mouth. "Do not worry, children. Only some of us believe this tale."
"Where did your people come from?" Sebastian asked.
Miramar dipped his jaw and took a sip of water before continuing. "I do not have an answer. I was born in a sunken galleon nigh the Green Isle. Ere that, my ancestors lived in the warm underwater remains of an ancient sunken city. The Kylo drove us out of both of these homes. Nia is a great leader, but I fear that in her effort to keep us safe, we have grown weak. If what you say is true about the tree, then it reaffirms my belief that the Kylo have grown in power. Nia believes we have time, but I fear we must get you away from here as soon as possible."
The crystals in the cavern walls pulsed like a heartbeat but faded a little more each time, the weakening light like a candle at the end of its wick. Miramar scanned the cavern frantically. "I must find Nia." He turned to them before diving underwater. "Be safe."