Fiona had had enough. ‘I don’t believe I’m listening to this crap. I mean, at least Loch Ness has got a monster. You’ve only got a zonking Worm.’
‘I think a Worm’s scarier, Fiona,’ Angie said. Her face was pinched with fear.
‘Och, you’re a Girl Guide, Angie. You’ll probably get an extra badge for fighting it off.’
‘We don’t have to worry,’ Axel sniggered. ‘If we meet up with this Worm, we’ll throw Angie at it. If she doesn’t flatten it, it’ll take it a couple of weeks to eat her.’
‘If we threw you at it, we could probably poison it,’ Fiona snapped back at him. ‘Two worms with one stone.’
She was always too quick for him. Before he could think of an answer the moment had passed. But he’d get her for it someday. She could almost see that written all over his face.
‘Laugh all you want now,’ Mrs Soames said, ‘but tomorrow, when you’re deep down in those dark caves, and you hear strange noises and smell strange smells, you’ll remember about the Legend of the Great Worm, and you’ll be afraid then all right.’ And she left them, chuckling to herself.
‘Is she allowed to do that? Trying to frighten us like that? I’m putting her down on my list.’ Fiona was ready to fly after the cook.
‘She’s only telling us a story,’ Zesh said. ‘I bet if our school trip was at Loch Ness, we’d be taken out on a boat and someone would try to scare us with stories about Nessie. You’re not scared, are you, Fiona?’
That got Fiona’s back up. ‘No. I am not. But look at poor wee Angie, she’s nearly wetting herself.’
Angie almost snapped at her in embarrassment. ‘No, I’m not! I think she made it all up. Why have we never heard of this Worm? I mean, at Loch Ness you can buy floppy hats of the Monster. It’s a worldwide industry.’
Liam fell back on the floor laughing. ‘You want a floppy hat of this Worm?’
The idea seemed to appeal to him.
It appealed to Zesh too. ‘Or you could get Worm rock.’
Soon they were all laughing, even Angie.
All except Axel. Fiona noticed that he couldn’t even raise a smile. And she wondered if he was afraid.
* * *
I thought I was going to die that day. I am still amazed I am alive. Alive when all my comrades perished, all except me. And Captain Goldner. We lie at the mouth of the cave, almost dead with exhaustion. I want to cry. My friends are gone. Our submarine destroyed, and we are here on our enemy’s shore. I think of my home in Munich, my mother and my little brothers. She did not want me to leave, but what choice did I have? What choice did any of us have?
For a moment I think the Captain is dead too. No luck there. He turns his face to the sky and breathes in deeply. My mother says the devil looks after his own, and the devil has looked after the Captain. All my comrades, good decent men, are dead, and he who hates the world, is alive.
He turns to me. His eyes are as cold as the sea. ‘We seem to be the only survivors, Lothar.’
‘Yes, sir,’ I say, and I almost salute. The habit of a lifetime dies hard.
He watches me for a while, as the waves surge into the cave. I wonder if the tide is coming in and if, after all this, we are still going to drown.
‘We go in the cave,’ he says, nodding to the gloomy interior. ‘We’ll be safe there.’
Chapter 11
‘Have we got to do this, sir?’ Liam wasn’t happy. ‘I feel stupid.’
They were all kitted out in authentic caving gear. Mr Marks had insisted on it. Wellies, helmets with headlamps, waterproof suits and first-aid kits. They had ropes attached to their belts, and whistles round their necks. Underneath they were wearing old warm clothes too.
‘It’s not just for safety reasons,’ the teacher explained, ‘but I want you to experience the real excitement of caving.’
‘The excitement! Wow, about as exciting as trainspotting.’ Axel felt stupid too. He was angry he had to wear a helmet, with a lamp attached to it. ‘And by the way, I feel stupid as well.’
‘You feel stupid! At least you started off looking stupid,’ Fiona said. ‘But I’m just a young girl – and look at me! I’m like something out of a horror picture.’ She did a turn like a model on a catwalk, and plucked at the chin strap on her helmet. ‘If my mother could only see me now!’
Mr Marks let out an exasperated sigh. ‘You’re supposed to look on this as an adventure.’
‘I’m looking forward to it, sir.’ Zesh, of course, standing straight, actually looking good in the ridiculous gear.
‘Me too, sir. I think it’s dead exciting.’ This was Angie, looking as if she was going to ooze out of the waterproof gear she was wearing.
What was it with that girl? Fiona thought. She was always bouncing like the rubber ball she resembled. She seemed to have gained in confidence too since they came here. Was that because she felt Fiona was her best friend? Actually, Fiona couldn’t stand her cheerfulness. They could all see that. Why couldn’t Angie?
‘Sure it’s not that big Worm you’re scared of, Liam?’
Liam spun round and faced Axel.
‘What’s all this about the Worm?’ Mr Marks asked.
‘Mrs Soames tried to scare us with it last night,’ Liam told him.
Mr Marks shook his head. ‘It’s just a legend. A stupid legend.’
That shocked Liam. He had wanted the teacher to say it was all made up, just to frighten them. That there was no legend of the Worm.
‘You mean … it’s true, sir?’
‘No. It’s not true. It’s a story. Like the Loch Ness Monster. You don’t believe in that, do you?’
Axel answered for him. ‘No. But I wouldn’t go swimming in Loch Ness, just in case.’
Mr Marks smiled at him. ‘Well, Axel. Please don’t force yourself to come. I’ll get someone to take you back. I believe there’s an embroidery class going on this afternoon.’
If only he hadn’t said that about the embroidery class. Axel wouldn’t have come, Liam could see that. He had been looking for a way out. He had even made a movement to pull off his helmet – until the mention of the embroidery class. There was no way he would go back now.
‘We’re wasting time!’ Axel said, with a glare at the teacher.
Mr Marks held him back. ‘Before we go down here, I want to say one thing. In here, we have to work as a team. That’s what caving is all about. We’re not going in far, just down deep enough to give you a taste of it. But I want you to imagine how it would be.’ His voice took on the enthusiasm of a fanatic. ‘The thrill of the unknown. The excitement of being somewhere very few people have been before. Of knowing that you might just discover a passage, a chamber never yet found.’
‘The thrill of bumping into the Great Worm.’ Fiona was laughing. She made them all laugh as they followed the teacher inside the gaping mouth of the caves. Liam laughed too. But he wished with all his heart that he had the courage to say that right now he’d much prefer the embroidery class.
* * *
I am so cold. Why am I following this man I loathe, following him into a blackness that seems to be swallowing us up?
‘Do you know where you are going, sir?’ I ask.
He does not turn to answer me.
‘Before the war, I lived on this island. I know it well.’
He stops and shines his torch through the cave. There is nothing to see but rock. Black rock. We are in a coffin of rock.
He says again, ‘I know it well.’
‘Should we be going in so far, sir? No one will find us.’
At the mouth of the cave we would soon be picked up by the British. We would be fed and given warm, dry clothes. My friend, Dieter, had told me the British do not take prisoners. They would shoot us. I do not believe that. It is propaganda. And now, I am so cold I don’t care.
And Dieter is dead and cold now. Cold for ever, under the sea.
‘Are you questioning an officer!’ He shines his light on my face. I cannot see his. He is only a v
oice, a voice full of hate.
‘No, sir,’ I say.
‘We go in deeper,’ he says, and he turns from me again.
I will not be lost in these caves. I will make sure I find the way out. For I am afraid as I follow after him. There is something sinister about the dark in these caves – as if something is in here, waiting for us.
* * *
Funny how silent it was when you were inside, Zesh thought. Not as dark as he’d expected, but this cave was well used not just by cavers, but by tourists too, so the entrance and the railinged stairway leading down to the main chamber were well lit by lamps hanging from the roof. ‘Not many tourists here today, sir.’ He caught up with the teacher.
Mr Marks nodded. ‘We’re not in the main tourist season, Zesh. And we haven’t had good weather. But you wait till summer. It’s busy then.’
Axel called out to him, ‘You mean people actually come here for their holidays?’
The teacher ignored that. He was too pleased with Zesh’s enthusiasm.
‘It’s bigger than I thought, sir,’ Zesh said.
‘Yes, isn’t it? You know, Zesh, sometimes you push through the tiniest space and it takes your breath away to find you’re in an underground cavern as big as a football field.’
Zesh was astounded. ‘Honest? It really is an exciting world, isn’t it?’
Zesh could see the excitement in Mr Marks’s face. He was in his element here, wanted to share with them that excitement.
‘Now, when we get down, I can show you the passages which lead off from the main chamber. If you keep going down, you’ll reach the sea. As I’ve told you, a lot of the inland caves lead out to the Doon.’
The Doon, Zesh remembered, was the breathtaking cliff on the far side of the island.
Mr Marks went on, ‘The other tunnels are roped off for the experienced cavers. So no going off on your own.’
‘Could you get lost, sir?’ Liam asked him.
‘You could always get lost, Liam. That’s why you have whistles, so in case you get separated you can find your way back to each other. But head down, towards the sea and the chances are you’ll come out. And you leave signs to follow in case you have to come back. Not that we’re going very far. This is supposed to be an adventure, not a tragedy.’ He turned to Angie as she stumbled on a step. ‘Be careful, Angie. Don’t want you to fall.’
Axel’s laugh rang out through the cave. ‘Don’t worry about her. She’d bounce.’
Mr Marks swung round at him. ‘Did you hear anything I said, boy! You treat every member of your team with respect. Your life might depend on them.’
Axel still couldn’t keep his mouth shut. ‘Don’t think my life’ll ever depend on her. And anyway, I don’t want to be part of a team.’ He punched his chest with pride. ‘I’m a loner.’
Fiona chipped in. ‘Just got one letter wrong, Axel son. You’re a loser, not a loner.’
Axel almost jumped at her, but Fiona stood her ground. ‘One day that mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble,’ he said.
Mr Marks pulled Axel round and pushed him in front of him. Fiona waited until the teacher was between them before she spoke again. ‘I’m shaking in my wellies.’
Angie sidled up to Zesh. ‘She’s wonderful, isn’t she Zesh?’ She beamed him a smile. He hadn’t realised she was this close to him. ‘She always sticks up for me. Just like you. With you two here, I’ll be scared of nothing. Even the Great Worm.’
‘Shut up about the Worm!’ Liam snapped as he brushed past her.
He’s afraid, Zesh thought. Doesn’t want to admit it but that legend has given him the jitters.
Fiona brushed past them too, smirking. ‘On you go, Angie. You and your boyfriend Zesh can take up the rear.’
Angie giggled and Zesh fumed. For once he agreed with Axel. One day, Fiona’s mouth was going to get her into trouble.
When they reached the floor of the main chamber the tunnels spread out like tentacles, or – Liam shivered as he realised what they reminded him of – worm holes. Giant worm holes. He could imagine this Great Worm burrowing its way through its own underground kingdom. He looked at his watch: how long would they have to stay in here? His watch had stopped. Was that something about being underground, or had the battery just worn out? He gazed up the railinged stairway to the entrance. He couldn’t see it any more. Couldn’t see daylight. And he wanted to see daylight very badly.
It seemed to him that they’d been down here too long. Mr Marks had lectured them on teamwork, on the joys of tunnelling and potholing. But he had also warned them of the dangers, of how quickly caves can flood. He had told them about survival. What cavers do in case of an emergency. How they all work together. Zesh was totally caught up in it. No surprise there. Teacher’s favourite, old Zesh. Rick had been forgotten very quickly. He wondered if Zesh and Rick would ever really be friends again. Axel looked bored, sitting on a rock, seeing how far he could spit.
Fiona sat on a rock too, studying her nails and chewing gum furiously. She looked bored stiff too. Angie couldn’t decide whether to sit beside her, or stay with Zesh. She couldn’t see that neither or them wanted her there. She was fat, and stupid.
‘Are we going for something to eat, sir?’ Fiona yelled. ‘I’m starving. My belly thinks my throat’s been cut.’
Her voice echoed through the tunnels and a low rumble could be heard in the distance. She was on her feet in an instant. ‘What was that?’
‘You shouted too loud, idiot!’ Axel yelled back at her, his voice ten times as loud. ‘You could cause an avalanche.’
Zesh sniggered. ‘I think you’ll find that’s snow, not rocks.’
Axel just glared at him, then his eyes flashed as another low rumble, closer this time, took them by surprise.
‘Time we were heading for the surface,’ Mr Marks said calmly. ‘And don’t worry about the noises. There are always noises in caves. Rock falls in the distance. No danger to us.’
And that’s when it happened. It was like an explosion, rocking the ground beneath them. Even Mr Marks looked alarmed. Though his voice was even calmer as he spoke. ‘Right, up the path now. Quickly.’
Axel was the first one up there, taking the steps two at a time.
‘What was that, sir?’ Liam wanted the teacher to say again, distant rock falls, no danger to us. Instead, he shook his head.
‘I don’t know, Liam. We have had a lot of wet weather, could be that. But these are very safe caves. Well used, we’ll find out when we –’
Fiona screamed as the whole cave shook with the next explosion. It was the only way to describe the noise. An explosion. What was happening!
‘It’s terrorists! They’re bombing!’ Axel ran up even faster, but the others were only steps behind him. Even Mr Marks was running, pushing the girls ahead of him.
‘What’s happening, sir?’ Zesh’s eyes were wide with alarm.
Mr Marks didn’t have time to answer him. The next explosion was deafening and so close it only took Liam a moment to realise what it was. Seconds later Axel reached the surface and yelled, ‘The opening’s blocked!’
Chapter 12
Fiona pushed past Axel. ‘What do you mean, it’s blocked?’ She hoped he was lying, trying to scare them. But the entrance had gone, blocked by an avalanche of rocks and boulders.
Mr Marks put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. ‘People know we’re here. We’ll just wait and they’ll come and dig us out.’
‘When?’ Liam asked breathlessly.
‘Soon, Liam. I’ve told them we’ll be back no later than six o’clock. If we haven’t returned by then they’ll know something is wrong.’
‘This is your fault!’ Axel shouted. He had a vicious look on his face. ‘You should never have taken us down here. I’ll make sure you get sued.’
‘Shut up, Axel.’ Zesh came and stood beside the teacher, like his ally. ‘You couldn’t have foreseen this, could you, sir?’
Mr Marks managed a smile. ‘No, Zesh. It should
never have happened. This is a tourist cave, that’s why there’s handrails and a path leading to the lower chamber. I can only imagine the wet weather has caused some kind of landslide.’
A tourist cave? Well used? Fiona wondered. Except this wasn’t the tourist season, was it? They hadn’t seen a soul on the way up here. The place was deserted. They could be stuck in here for hours yet.
Axel whisked out his mobile phone. ‘I’m calling the cops.’
He was bashing the buttons even before Mr Marks told him it wouldn’t work underground. ‘Especially now that we’re cut off.’
Cut off? What was he using those depressing words for? Fiona stepped forward. ‘Couldn’t we start digging ourselves out sir?’
‘Yes, but you have to be very careful. There might be another rockfall.’
Axel sneered at him. ‘Good job we’ve got you here. We might be in trouble if we didn’t.’
The situation, the feeling of being cut off, had already made him stop calling the teacher ‘sir’.
‘It would do you better to come up with some productive ideas, O’Rourke.’
Axel wagged a finger at him. ‘You’re going to be sorry.’
Mr Marks turned away from him. ‘You make a list too then, Axel, just like Fiona’s. I don’t really care.’
Suddenly, Axel yelled, ‘I’ll get us out of here.’ And to Fiona’s horror he jumped on to a pile of boulders blocking the entrance. He climbed, stumbling to the top and began throwing boulders and rocks wildly in all directions.
‘Axel! Come off there!’
Axel wouldn’t listen to the teacher. He was panicking, that’s what he was doing. Fiona was sure of it. ‘Axel, you could cause another landslide,’ she shouted.
Zesh started throwing rocks and stones aside as quickly as Axel. ‘Or maybe he’ll just get us out of here, sir.’
Liam joined him, but still the teacher shouted out to Axel to come down. Axel wouldn’t listen.
‘Watch where you’re chucking your zonking boulders, O’Rourke.’ Fiona leaped aside as one of them just missed her. Axel still didn’t stop – he didn’t care about the rest of them, she knew that. Axel was simply digging himself out. No one else mattered.
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