by Liza Fox
Toka came and looked up.
“It certainly looks like it could be the exit we are searching for. I shall climb in and see if it leads anywhere,” he said, with relief in his voice. He reached up and grabbed the side of the rock that surrounded the hole and lifted himself up, climbing into the blackness. Ben watched intently as Toka and the light disappeared into the dark, leaving only a faint glow. He stood watching the light fade, his heart beating wildly, until the light totally vanished and he was left in absolute blackness. He held out his hand; but there was nothing. Just deep, intense blackness!
He held his breath and tried to listen; but there was absolute silence and stillness. He couldn’t see or hear anything. Nothing. Sweat oozed from his brow. He strained to hear something. Anything! Then out of the emptiness came a shrill laugh, piercing his ears and sending streams of shivers through him. He fell backwards with the shock of the sound and landed on his back on the floor of the cave, while the high pitched laugh turned into a dismal wail, totally filling the cavern. Ben sat up and covered his ears with his hands.
‘Where is Toka?’ he kept thinking, hiding his head in his jacket to try to shut out the sound.
He was just about to start panicking when the awful sound stopped. Looking up from his jacket he saw a slither of light, gradually getting brighter. Toka appeared at the entrance of the hole.
“We have success, Ben,” he heard him say and then saw his face appear out of the dark.
“Hold my hand and I shall help you up.”
Ben grabbed his hand and was hoisted into the chasm, leaving behind the sad place where Atanga had gazed upon her past life; and those dreadful wailings!
“We must make haste now, for we have lost time,” said Toka. He turned and lit up what looked like a high but narrow tunnel. They raced along as fast as they could and after about ten minutes came out into a long, high cave. Large rocks filled the cave and Ben could see black cavities in the floor that appeared to be deep holes.
The crystal glowed with more intensity now. Peering into one of the holes Ben saw a shallow pit, the bottom of which was covered with ancient bones. Animal skulls, back bones, leg bones, rib bones. All piled up in a gruesome heap. The smell was totally nauseating and Ben could feel his stomach rejecting the stench. He turned away, feeling sick, and quickly rejoined Toka, who was now standing gazing upward to the high ceiling of the cave.
“I’m sure this is where the 6th circle is situated,” Toka said, pointing to a large space clear of rock. They were both staring intently at the high ceiling when a loud, cracking sound reverberated through the cave and rocks above began to fall around them.
“Quickly, move away!” Toka grabbed Ben’s arm and they both ran to the outer edge of the cave as more rocks began tumbling down, crashing to the floor. As the rocks fell they could hear a high pitched wailing, which seemed to come from the tunnel they had just left. They stood still, backs tight up against a huge rock at the side of the cave, while they were showered with dust and grit from the falling rocks that hit the floor. Rocks hit other rocks as they crashed down, breaking up and sending large and small pieces flying through the air.
The wailing intensified and a strong, icy cold wind began blowing in from the tunnel. It whirled around the cave, sending more dust and stones into the air, hitting Ben and Toka as they tried to shelter from it.
The wailing turned into a harsh scream as the icy wind gained strength, pushing them both hard against the rock wall. Ben could feel sharp needle like shards hitting his face and turned around, his back to the wind and his face to the wall for protection. The screaming was deafening and he tried to cover his ears to deaden the sound. The whole cave vibrated and shook, rocks and debris fell heavily around them.
The noise and the falling rocks seemed to go on indefinitely, pinning them both against the wall, unable to move. Here they stayed, trapped in a prison of crashing rocks and deafening noise. They huddled together, coats pulled over their heads, trying desperately to protect themselves, when everything went deathly quiet. The rocks stopped falling. The screams and wails faded away. The wind softened to a cool breeze, then to stillness.
They waited, breathless, fully expecting it to all start again; but all was still. The cave stopped vibrating and gradually the dust began to settle. A few belated small stones fell from the ceiling, as if in defiance, then all was still again. They surfaced gingerly from under their coats, turned, and faced the carnage that lay before them.
“Oh my!” exclaimed Ben. “That was terrible.”
“Taniwha is using all the powers that he has left to try to stop us going any further; but his power is weak.” said Toka, as they began to climb over the fallen rocks that now covered the floor of the cave. “If we can get past the 6th circle we should be able to completely overcome him. Let us hope that Sam and Sally are able to fulfill their part of our quest.”
Clambering over rocks they both made it to the center of the cave again and looked up to the ceiling. It was very different than when they seen it before. Huge gashes had appeared, dark and ominous. A soft rain of dust floated down, settling gently on them.
“We shall wait here,” said Toka. “For this is the base of the 6th circle, the indigo circle. If Sam and Sally have managed their part we should soon see the staffs light.” So they waited, while the earth settled around them. Waiting; in the glow of Toka’s crystal. Waiting; for their friends above.
CHAPTER 25: ABOVE TO THE 6TH CIRCLE - INDIGO
“Gosh! I do hope Toka and Ben are ok,” said Sally, with a worried look on her face. “With the ground shaking the way it has been, I’m afraid for them. They could be buried underground and not be able to get out. How would we know?” She looked at Sam. He looked as concerned as she felt.
“Well,” he said, “it’s no good worrying about them. We just have to battle on, do what we are supposed to do and hope for the best.”
He yanked the staff from the ground and walked to the edge of the 5th circle.
“We must be totally on the alert, because Taniwha probably has some pretty awful things ahead for us. We have taken a lot of his power away and I’m sure he will be gathering as much strength as he can muster, to stop us from reaching the next two circles. Just remember that we now have more power than him. If it is used correctly we shall be able to overcome anything he has to throw at us. Let’s just concentrate on getting to the 6th circle. It represents Taniwha’s consciousness, so I expect his next barrage will be to do with our minds. It’s time to get there now,” said Sam. “Hold my hand and the staff Sall, and we’ll see what happens.”
They both grasped the staff, Sam holding it tightly with one hand and Sally’s hand with his other. They concentrated on the next circle, trying hard to visualize it glowing deep, dark blue. However, as soon as they started Sally heard a voice in her head calling her name. She gasped in surprise, breaking their concentration.
“What’s the matter?” asked Sam, concerned that something seemed to be going amiss already.
“I heard a voice,” Sally told him.
“What voice?” Sam asked. “I didn’t hear anything.”
“No, it wasn’t a voice outside. It was a voice in my head,” she said.
“How can you hear a voice in your head. You’re just thinking too loud,” Sam told her. “Let’s try again.”
They started once more to concentrate on the indigo circle; but again a voice began calling Sally’s name.
“It’s happening again,” she cried. “I think it’s one of Taniwha’s tricks, to stop us from getting to the circle.”
“What does it sound like?” asked Sam.
“It’s loud and harsh and it’s calling my name. It’s saying Sally, Sally; but it’s saying it all sort of harsh and drawn out. It sounds horrible. I’m sure its Taniwha getting into my head.”
“That’s possible,” said Sam. “Can you try to not listen and just replace it with thoughts of the circle. Focus! Sall, focus!”
“I’ll try,�
� said Sally, “but the voice is real loud and I don’t think I’ll be able to just block it out.”
They tried again, to no avail.
“It’s no good,” Sally cried. “This voice is getting louder and louder. It’s awful Sam. It won’t leave my head. It keeps saying “Saaaallllyyyyy,” “Saaaallllyyyy,” over and over again, in this awful, awful grating voice. I can’t think of the circle at all, I just can’t.” She covered her ears with her hands, shaking her head as if to shake the voice out of it.
“It’s ok, Sall,” said Sam, reassuringly. “The 6th circle isn’t that far away from here. We’ll go by foot. I think I can work out the way over land. With the moon as full as it is we’ll be able to see where we’re going easily, and it’s not rough ground that we’ll have to go over. Just relax for a minute, then we’ll get going. You sit here for a while. I’ll go to that hill,” he said, pointing to one of the surrounding hills. “I should be able to see the dark blue glow of the 6th circle from there and get our bearings.”
Sally sat down on a rock and Sam ran as fast as he could to the crest of the hill. Once there he had a good view of the surrounding area. He began searching for the 6th circle, looking for the glow which he knew must be spread over quite a large area by now. He was in luck. Off in the distance he could see a deep, blue glow spreading over the ground, about 500 meters to the left of the 5th circle.
‘Great,’ he thought. ‘We should be able to make it easily enough.’
The ground seemed reasonably clear of anything that could hamper them, so he ran down to Sally to tell her the good news; but when he arrived where he had left her, she wasn’t there. Panic set in.
“Sally, where are you?” he called loudly. There was no answer. He ran around the area of the circle, calling her name; but she was nowhere to be seen. Even in the bright moonlight he could see nothing that looked anything like Sally.
By now he was really panicking, wondering where on earth his sister could be. Had Taniwha managed to take her? Maybe she’d walked somewhere and fallen, or something else horrible had happened? He kept running around, calling her name; but Sally had gone.
He couldn‘t’ believe what had happened. How could she just disappear like that? He hadn’t been gone for more than a couple of minutes.
Why did he leave her? What an idiot he was.
‘The hill! I’ll climb the hill again. Maybe I’ll be able to see her from there,’ he thought frantically. He began running as fast as he could up the hill, to where he could get a good view of the surrounding landscape. Puffing and panting he reached the top and searched the area around as far as he could see.
CHAPTER 26: SALLY’S DREAM
Sally sat on the rock, waiting for Sam. The voice in her head was getting louder and louder. Every time it spoke it felt like something grating and grinding in her brain, trying to burst out of her skull.
“Saaallllyyyy Ssssaaaallllyyyy,” it kept saying. Long, drawn out and totally horrible! She tried to empty her mind; but there it was again. “SSSSaaaallllyyyy, Sssssssaaaalllyyyyyy.”
“Go away! Go away!” she kept saying to herself; but the voice just got stronger and she could hear more words beginning to form. “Ccccoooommmme tooo meeeeee Sssssaaaalllyyyy. Ccccccooommme!”
She couldn’t think for herself anymore. There wasn’t any room left in her mind. It was completely full of the terrible voice that was taking her over. She was in a trance, only hearing the words that the voice was saying.
“Ccccoooommmme Ssssaaalllyyyy, ccccoooommmme toooo meeeee.” She slowly rose from the rock and began walking away from the circle, toward the hills. She had no control over herself now. She was being directed by the voice. Oblivious of anything around her she was completely at the mercy of the voice, as it directed her away from Sam and the circle. She kept walking, tripping over clumps of grass and rocks as she went; but she felt nothing.
All she could hear was the voice, mesmerizing her and leading her away from her brother.
The moon shone high in the sky, lighting the landscape like early morning sun; but all Sally could see was dark shadows, as she stumbled along, led by the continuous drone of the voice in her head. Suddenly her foot hit something hard and she went tumbling down, head first into a black pit, hitting her head hard on the ground as she fell. The fall knocked her out. All was blackness. Nothingness! She lay there, comatose, hidden in the shrubs and rocks.
CHAPTER 27: SAM’S SEARCH
Sam stood at the brim of the hill, frantically searching for any sign of movement below. His thoughts were racing. Where was his sister? Was she ok? Sweat stung his forehead and his hands felt clammy and wet. His nerves were at a knife-edge. Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn Taniwha and his evilness! He called Sally’s name as loud as he could, hoping against hope that he would hear her answer; but all he heard was the soft rustle of wind blowing through the long grass and over the rocks. He jumped in fright as a bird suddenly called, screeching and high pitched like the call of a plover. It seemed to echo through the hills, making everything seem even more eerie. Sam felt a rush of tingling sensations go through him, making him shiver all over. Just at that point he saw a movement below and off to the left. He strained to see what had caused it; but again all went still. He kept staring, unblinking, at the area he had seen the movement. Could it be Sally? Maybe just a rabbit, or some other creature on its nightly hunt for food? Then, a little bit further on, another movement. He began running down the hill towards it, his heart racing and his lungs feeling as though they were about to burst.
“Please let it be Sally. Please, please!” he said to himself over and over as he raced down the hill.
Out of breath, he finally arrived at the vicinity that he had seen the movement and began searching and calling for his sister.
To his surprise, as he started searching, the staff in his hand began to emit a soft, blue glow. Sam held it in front of him, not quite knowing what to expect. How come it was glowing? He wasn’t near the 5th circle anymore, and he wasn’t near the 6th circle. Maybe this was a sign that Sally was near by. The voice she kept hearing must be Taniwha, getting into her mind. If it was Taniwha then the staff might be picking up the energy vibration, causing it to glow. If this was so, then she must be near. Maybe if he held out the staff it would get brighter the nearer he got to her.
He held the staff, pointing it ahead of him, turning and aiming its tip all around. As he did so it began to glow brightly.
“She’s here somewhere,” he said to himself. “I know she is.” Using the staff like a metal detector he moved forward, watching intently for the glow to increase in strength. He was engrossed in this when he suddenly tripped and found himself hurtling through the air, crash landing on something soft. He lay where he had landed for a few long seconds before he realized that the softness under him was Sally. Relief was quickly taken over by fear, as he strained to get up and off his sister’s prostrate form. He put down the staff and knelt beside his sister.
“Sall, it’s me, Sam. Are you ok?” He shook her still body, trying to wake her.
“Oh! No. I think she’s knocked herself out,” he said, as he tried to raise her out of the hole that they had both fallen into. He managed to sit her up and cradled her in his arms, rocking her back and forth as tears fell down his cheeks.
“Oh! Sally, please wake up. Please wake up,” he sobbed.
Here they stayed for what seemed like an eternity. Sam sat, hugging Sally closely, hoping and praying for her to wake. He was so intent on his misery at the state of his sister, he didn’t notice her eyes open. When they did open Sally saw her brother, sobbing, tears streaming down his face and falling onto her hair.
“Sam, what’s the matter? You’re soaking me.”
Sam opened his bloodshot, tear filled eyes and saw Sally looking up at him.
“Oh! Sall! I thought you were dead,” he cried, and began sobbing again, this time with relief.
“Well, I’m sure not dead but my head aches like hell,” she said, trying to
stand up.
They both slowly extricated themselves from the hole.
“What happened to you?” Sam asked. “I couldn’t find you and then I tripped up and fell on you. If it hadn’t been for the staff beginning to glow I don’t think I would have found you at all.” He stooped and picked up the staff, which had lost its glow and was now its normal brown.
“I really don’t know,” replied Sally. ‘The last thing I remember is sitting on a rock with that awful voice pounding in my head. The next thing I knew was waking up and seeing you blubbing over me. Look, my hairs all wet.” She burst out laughing, holding out her wet hair. Sam started laughing with her, breaking the cycle of worry and fear.
“I know you’ve got a bad headache but we have to get to the 6th circle as soon as possible. Taniwha is trying to trick us, to stop us from reaching it; but it’s not far away. I think we should go there on foot. It’s just over that hill there,” he said, pointing to a hill off to their left. “Has that voice in your head gone?”
Sally looked toward the hill. “It seems to have gone but I don’t think I could concentrate enough to get there any other way, so we’d better get going now.”
They both set off over the rocky and turf covered terrain towards the hill that would take them to the 6th circle. They soon reached the top of the hill and could at last see the indigo glow from the 6th circle covering the ground. There it was ahead of them, glowing and humming in the moonlight.
“Even though it represents Taniwha and his evil intent, it’s still quite beautiful,” said Sally.
“Always the romantic,” replied Sam, smiling.
They raced down the hill to the circle and Sam immediately began to drip Toka’s tincture on each of the glowing, deep blue rocks. Like the other circles the rocks began to send spits and needle like shafts of crackling light upwards and outwards. At the same time they felt the earth starting to move. Muffled sounds, like the crashing and tumbling of rocks came from deep below.
