Notch pulled out Sparky’s dad’s note and laid it on his pack. “Okay if I write on it?”
“Go for it.”
Notch wrote across the top of the note, Are you still in the cave?
He stuffed the note back into the envelope, closed the flap and handed it to Sparky. “Do the honors?”
“How...I mean, what’s the best way?”
“Go up slowly. Throw in,” said Snowy.
Sparky tiptoed toward the wormwhirl. It began to spin faster, changing from light to dark green. When Sparky was a few feet away, he threw the envelope. It floated in, flipped over twice, spun counterclockwise, and vanished.
He stepped back.
“We wait,” said Sandy.
“Fingers crossed,” said Notch.
The Snoflians stood behind the youths, eyeing the smoking cone. Suddenly, the male mulgny jumped into the female Snoflian’s arms. The airbot buzzed excitedly. Another rumble shook the ground.
A spray of sparks and molten rocks pelted the slope. Sandy elbowed Notch, pointing. A thin red stream of lava had begun to pour from a hole behind him, setting the foliage ablaze .
A Snoflian coughed and spoke.
“They say we must go,” said Snowy, “Now.”
“Wait,” shouted Notch, watching the wormhole. “Just give them time to answer. I didn’t come all this way not to get....”
“It’s wobbling,” said Sparky.
“Is it getting ready to go?” asked Sandy, her heart in her mouth.
Sparky put his hand on Notch’s shoulder. “Notch, maybe we should....”
“The envelope!” shouted Notch.
It was spinning in the swirl. It flew out, flipped past Notch and fell at Sandy’s feet. She picked it up quickly, Did it even go anywhere? She pulled out the note. Someone had written above Notch’s note.
Sandy read it aloud. “We are here! In the cave. Where are you?”
“Yes,” shouted Notch.
Abruptly, the wormhole reversed its spin. It’s spin-switching. Notch edged toward it, his heart pounding. It sidled away, as if teasing him. “Got to go through,” he yelled. “Our only chance!” He leapt toward the whirl, dove in headfirst and spun away.
“Go!” screamed Sandy. She sprinted past Sparky and leapt in. She whirled away.
“Come on,” said Sparky. He grabbed Neff’s hand and sprinted after the wormhole, Neff stumbling behind. He jumped in feet first. His feet and legs disappeared, his hand pulled away from Neff’s.
Neff stumbled and glanced back. “Thank you, Snowy,” she yelled. She reached forward and was sucked up like a piece of spaghetti.
The last thing Snowy heard was her shouting, “Take us to the cave….”
The Jagged Peak patroller, Sarah, had read Notch’s note, radioed Sparky’s father, written her reply and sent the note back through.
A minute later, though, she had to radio Sparky’s dad again.
He answered from a Trail Tryant, as he sped up to the cave. “Hey, Sarah.”
“It’s gone,” she said
“Okay, good,” he said.
“I don’t mean the envelope. I mean the swirly thing. I wrote what you said and threw it back in. It went. But so did the swirly thing. It’s gone.”
“The swirl is gone? It’s not there? You’re sure?”
“Yes. I wrote another note just in case,” she said. “I put it in an envelope and threw it in. It fell on the floor. Didn’t go anywhere. I tried again. Nothing.”
CHAPTER 58
The Dark
“OOOF!” Notch burst from the wormhole and landed facedown. It was pitch black. He could see nothing.
He heard a thump!
“Oww,” said Sandy, “My butt! Where am I?”
“I can’t tell.”
“Notch? Where are you? I can’t see.”
“Me neither,” he said. She’s close. He dug into his backpack for his flashlight.
“Unnhh!”
“Sparky, that you?” asked Notch, reaching for his flashlight.
“Yeah. Can’t see. Where are we?”
“Looks like a cave,” said Notch, flicking the light on. He shined it on Sandy and Sparky. “Neff, you here?” he asked. He swung the beam in a circle, lighting up stalactites, walls and holes leading in all directions. He came to a broad, yellow stalagmite and followed it upward. Colossal. Eons of dripping water. It disappeared into a small cloud.
“Amazing,” he muttered. “It’s like the monster cave system I read about, so big it has its own ecosystem.” He pointed the light on the ground. A gray lizard sniffed his foot then scuttled away. It didn’t have eyes.
He shined the light on himself. Gray mud. Sandy and Sparky were making their way toward him, wiping mud from their clothes.
“Where could Neff be?” asked Sandy. “Neff?” she shouted. “Can you hear me?” Silence. “Nefff!”
“Your flashlights work?” asked Notch.
“I hope,” replied Sparky. He pulled out his light and flashed it around. “Definitely not our cave. We have to find a way out. Maybe we should save our lights. Use one at a time. Might need the juice.” He switched it off.
“Check mine,” said Sandy, snapping her light on, the beam far brighter. “Police light. Four batteries. I put in new ones before we left.”
“Good thinking. Save it,” said Notch.
Sandy clicked it off.
Notch searched the space again, slowly.
Neff landed on her hands and knees. Everything was black. She wiped her palms on her thighs, took off her backpack and reached in.
Mollie licked her hand. Okay. “Hello. Anyone there? Sandy? Sparky? Notch? Hey, guys? Are you there? Guys?” No one.
Fighting to control her panic, she extended her right hand. She felt nothing. She extended her left. Nothing. She swung her arms slowly. Nothing. She stood, one hand over her head. Nothing. She circled both arms above her. Nothing.
“My flashlight! Excuse me, Mollie.” She dug to the bottom of the pack, found her light and turned it on. It flickered yellow. I should have changed the batteries. She put her pack over one shoulder, aimed the beam into the dark and turned in a circle. There was a rock wall, the tip of a stalactite, an archway leading into the dark, then a stalagmite rising from the floor. She leaned against it, backpack between her legs.
Mollie stuck her head out.
Neff petted her. The light flickered. Save the battery. Neff snapped it off.
“Excuse me, Mollie. I have to shout.” Neff held her pack to the side and yelled, “Sandyy. Sparkyy. Notch.” She listened. Desperate, she yelled again. Nothing. “No, no, noooo!”
Mollie whimpered, sniffing the air.
“You know we’re lost, don’t you?”
“We have to find Neff,” said Sandy.
“Yeah,” said Sparky, “But how?”
“We go in one direction for a little way, call, then come back, go another,” said Sandy. “She must have been dropped here, somewhere. Or didn’t she get pulled in?”
“We both went in,” said Sparky. “I was pulling her. When I jumped in, she let go. She said something to Snowy, then followed me in. I heard her shout, ‘Take us to the cave!”
“Take us to the cave?” said Notch. “She got her wish...or at least we got her wish.”
“She has to be here,” said Sandy. “We need to look.”
“We can leave a trail of stones to find our way back.” He shined his light on the cave floor. “Stones everywhere. Get some now. Get more as we go.” They filled their pockets. “Notch, you got here first. Wanna lead?” Sparky asked.
“Sure, okay.” Notch pointed his light and set off into the largest of the dark openings.
Sandy, and Sparky left a trail of stones on the ground. The three took turns calling out. The cave floor began to
slope downward. It got steeper and steeper, then stopped abruptly at a wall, with a hole at its base, just big enough to crawl through.
“Looks like water went through there once,” said Notch. He shined his light in. Another cavern lay beyond.
Sandy and Sparky peered over his shoulder.
“Shall we?” Notch asked.
They nodded.
Notch crawled through, stood, aimed his light ahead and lit up another wall. He scanned in both directions. Nothing. He dropped the beam to the cave floor and followed it back toward his feet. Partway across, the floor disappeared. A void. He shined his light right and left. The void split the cave in two. He held his beam there, as Sandy and Sparky crawled through. “Careful.” He shined his light up the cliff wall behind them. Nothing. He pointed the beam at the void. “I wonder how deep that is.”
“Let’s see,” replied Sparky, tossing a rock. They listened for it to hit the bottom. No sound. “Deep,” said Sparky.
“Looks like that’s it for this route,” said Notch.
“Wait. Let’s call first,” said Sandy.
“Worth a try,” said Notch.
“Neff!” shouted Sandy. “Neffff”
Mollie whined.
“What?” asked Neff, “Did you hear something?” She turned on her light. “What did you hear?”
Mollie stuck her head from the backpack and cocked her ears.
Neff called, “Sandyy. Sparkyy. Notch.” She listened.
“I heard something,” said Sparky. He shouted, as loud as he could, “Neff? Can you hear me? Nefff?”
“She’s over there,” said Sparky, eyeing the opposite wall.
“Yeah, but where?” asked Notch, moving the beam slowly along the wall.
“Wait. Go back,” said Sandy. “There. Isn’t that a hole?” She pulled out her police light and clicked it on.
“It is,” replied Sparky. He cupped his hands around his mouth, aimed his voice at the hole and shouted, “Neff. Answer me!”
She barely heard it. “I’m here!” she cried. Where is he? Her light flickered. That way? “Mollie, can you tell?”
Mollie squirmed from the backpack, took a few steps into the dark and looked back at Neff.
“I’ll follow you Mollie. Sparkyy,” she called. “Sparkyy.”
Mollie scampered ahead.
Neff stumbled after, her fading beam barely lighting the path for Mollie. “Stay lit...please,” she pleaded. She followed Mollie into a small cavern.
Mollie paused at the far end.
“Sparky, can you hear me?” shouted Neff, catching up.
“We’re here,” she heard.
“Me too,” she shouted back.
Mollie ducked into a tunnel. Neff followed. Mollie crouched beneath a hole in the cave wall, chest high to Neff. Mollie leapt upward, but couldn’t reach it. She fell back and looked at Neff.
Neff peered through and shouted, “Sparky!”
“Over here,” he said.
Neff pulled back for a moment. Sparky’s voice was loud. “I’m almost there,” she shouted. She lifted Mollie to the hole and aimed her light into it.
Mollie scampered through and dropped out of sight.
Sandy aimed her police beam at the hole. “There’s Mollie!” Sandy lowered her beam to the void.
Mollie crept forward, sniffed the edge and scurried back.
Neff rammed her backpack into the hole and crawled through, pushing the pack ahead. She saw Sandy’s light beyond the pack. With renewed energy, she shoved it out the other end.
“Neff,” called Sandy.
“Sandy!” cried Neff. She fell out of the hole, hands first. She rolled to her side, flashlight still in hand, grabbed her backpack, and started toward Sandy.
“Stop. Stop!” screamed Sandy, pointing her beam at the void.
What! Neff looked down, her toes in space.
Mollie grabbed the back of her pant-cuff with her mouth and tugged. Neff pulled her backpack to her chest. Her flashlight slipped from her hand. The beam spun into the void and faded out of sight, forever. “Bye,” she said, shuffling backwards.
“Stay there, Neff,” said Notch, as if I needed to say it.
“How do I...?” Neff stared across the void.
“I don’t think you can. We can’t get over there, either,” said Sparky.
“What’ll we do?” cried Neff.
The cave floor began to vibrate.
“Go to the wall,” Sparky shouted. He, Sandy and Notch pressed their backs into the wall. Rocks fell from above. More tumbled from the opening they had just come through. The rumbling slowly dwindled.
Neff, flat against the far wall and cradling Mollie, called through a cloud of dust, “Are you guys alright?”
“Yeah,” replied Sparky, frowning, peering into the hole he had come through, “but I think we’ve got trouble.” Sandy placed her light on the cave floor, its beam pointing at the hole. Sparky crawled in and began pulling out rocks. Sandy and Notch pushed them into space. The rocks stopped coming. “Boulder!” came Sparky’s muted voice. “Blocking...it,” he grunted.
Notch squeezed in beside Sparky. The two pushed with everything they had. the boulder wouldn’t budge. They rested and tried again. “Not an inch,” muttered Sparky. “Stone against stone. Can’t dig around it.”
He and Notch wriggled back out. Sandy sat against the wall, knees to her chest, light in hand. “This can’t be it,” she said. “There must be something.” She pointed the beam at Neff, took a deep breath and said, “Neff, you can get out. I’ll toss my light over. You and Mollie have to get help. It’s our only chance.”
“I didn’t see a way out,” called Neff, “but I can look.” For days...then die. “Wait,” she said, suddenly angry. “Keep your light, Sandy. Turn it off. Keep it off,” she shouted. “I don’t need it for this...for what I’m going to say.”
“Okay,” Sandy said, tentatively. What is she talking about?
“For what she’s going to say?” asked Notch. “What can saying anything…?”
“No!” screeched Neff.
Notch jumped.
“This is not acceptable,” she screamed. “You do not get to do this. No way. If you cannot play fair, I’m going to tell your mother. You get back here right now. And do the right thing.”
“She’s losing it,” whispered Notch. “We’re in a cave, maybe somewhere in China. She’s our only hope of getting out of here. And she’s over there screaming at something in the dark?”
“Neff? Are you okay?” called Sandy, squeezing Notch’s wrist.
“Ow!” he muttered.
“Of course I’m okay.” spat Neff, “I’m just royally angry at this wormy, wormwhirl...hole.”
Sandy turned on the light. Neff stood with her hands on her hips, staring into the dark above. “Are you, uh...like, talking to it?” asked Sandy.
“No. I’m yelling at it, Sandy. It’s in here. I can feel it,” said Neff. “Now turn off your light. Please.”
Notch raised his eyebrows, looked at Sparky, and circled his forefinger around his ear. Sandy gave Notch a dirty look.
“Cut it out, Notch,” yelled Neff. “Don’t be stupid.” She flipped her hand at Sandy. “Off. Please!”
Sandy cut the light and stared into the dark.
Notch winced. Neff saw me? He was thankful it was dark again. “So, she thinks this thing is going to...?”
“Quiet!” burst Sandy.
“Yes. Be quiet. You must be quiet. Just wait. Listen,” said Neff.
The four stood still. Notch coughed. Sparky moved from foot to foot. Sandy cleared her throat.
“Wait,” said Neff. “Listen.”
Soon, Sparky heard a low hiss. Then Notch heard it.
“Snowsnake?” choked Sandy.
“No,” responded N
eff.
The hiss got louder, faded, and got louder again.
“Should I turn on...?”
“Not yet, Sandy,” said Neff, softly.
The hissing was now directly between Neff and Sandy.
“Okay, Sandy,” whispered Neff, “shine your light at the void.”
Sandy flicked it on. A blue and white spiral of translucent light was spinning clockwise in the middle.
Sandy stared at Neff through the swirl.
Notch bit his lip, squinted at it, and inched closer to Sandy who moved a step closer to Sparky whose mouth hung open.
“So,” said Neff quietly, firmly, frowning, a maternal expression of discipline on her face, “When I said take us to the cave, I meant the cave you took us from. Not this one. Not this place. Do you understand?”
The swirl rose up and down twice, then swung to and fro, as if in a slow dance.
“Thank you. Will you take us all home now?”
The swirl edged closer to Neff. It rose up and down twice, still spinning clockwise.
“Please pick up my friends first, then me.”
The swirl rose up and down twice again. It moved toward Sandy, Notch and Sparky, but stopped at the edge of the void.
“What’s the matter?” asked Neff.
The swirl bounced off the edge. It tried again, bounced off, then backed away.
“You can’t get closer?” asked Neff.
The swirl rose up and down.
“Is it because of the wall?”
The swirl rose up and down.
“Thank you for trying anyway. Do we have to step off the edge, so you can get hold of us?”
The swirl rose up and down, twice.
“Then I’d better go first. You have to show me you can be trusted. If I step off, will you go back over and get my friends, if they step off?”
The swirl rose up and down twice.
“Promise?”
The swirl rose up and down twice again. Neff eyed it. “Will you keep your promise?”
The swirl bobbed up and down impatiently.
“Okay, okay. Calm down. Just making sure,” said Neff. “I’m ready. Please come and get me.”
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