by Sophia Sharp
“You have a flashlight?” I exclaimed. “Why didn’t you use it before?”
“I didn’t want to waste it before I had to,” came Ashley’s response. “Plus, I didn’t want to risk short-circuiting it in the rain.”
I realized the tunnel also meant reprieve from the rain, so I scrambled toward it. It looked like Madison and Eve also had the same thought, for they got there just as quickly.
“I’ve never been here before,” Madison gaped. “How did you find this place?”
“I go exploring sometimes,” Ashley replied simply. She nodded toward me. “Tracy, you take the rear. I’ll lead the way.”
“Sure,” I said.
“Here.” She extended her hand toward me. “It’s another flashlight. I brought two, just in case.” I took it gladly.
“Now where?” Madison asked. She was looking deeper into the tunnel, where I was shining my light. There were two paths there, each leading in a distinctly different direction.
“To the left,” Ashley answered.
“Are you sure?” Eve asked. When she spoke, it sounded like her teeth were chattering. I realized we were all in the same predicament. I was shivering from the cold, too. Even though it wasn’t yet autumn, the rain and wind transformed the warm island into a freezing nightmare. “Why don’t we split up, instead? Two of us go one way; the other two go the other way.”
Ashley shook her head vigorously. “No way. If you don’t know where you’re going, you can end up wandering the underground tunnels for days without getting out.”
“And you do know where you’re going?” Eve asked incredulously. “How?”
“Liz and I explored some of the tunnel before,” Ashley explained. I thought I could hear a hint of sadness in her voice. “when we were looking for other reserves of crystals. Before you guys even knew about them.”
I raised my eyebrows in surprise, but didn’t say anything. Ashley had been the first one to learn the secret? It was a wonder how Liz’s loyalty had manifested afterwards. Then again, maybe there were undercurrents that I just wasn’t privy to between the girls.
“That still doesn’t mean you know how to get to the crystal cave,” Eve said. “Tracy was the only one to know where it was, remember?”
“Yes, but after she showed it to us, I remembered an old tunnel down here that ended in a dead-end. I always thought it looked strange, because the rock at the end was almost like it had been piled on by somebody. Like rubble. But now that I think of where it was, and where the cave Tracy showed us is, I think they may be connected.”
“But you don’t actually know?” Eve said heatedly. “You led us all this way without being absolutely sure? What if we can’t get there? What if we’re too late? Liz’s life could be at stake!” “We should have just let Tracy go down the cliff! At least that way, there’d be no uncertainty.”
“And what if she fell?” Ashley demanded. “You saw how narrow the ledge was! Even if she climbed down it a hundred times before, I still wouldn’t have let her go in the dark! Nobody can make that climb without seeing where they’re going – not in this weather!”
“Ashley’s right,” Madison said gently to Eve. “This was our only choice.”
Eve glared at both the girls, then at me, and stalked away from the group.
“Thanks for defending me,” I whispered as I walked by Ashley
“I’m only looking out for myself and Liz,” Ashley said in a voice that everyone else could hear. Then she lowered it just for my ears. “But, no problem. Losing Liz like this has got Eve stressed out beyond belief. Liz has been the leader of our group since Eve and Madison got involved. If something happened to her, I don’t think either of those girls could live with themselves.”
“Well, then we’d better make sure nothing does,” I said with more conviction than I felt.
Ashley glanced ahead, where Madison was consoling Eve. “Thanks for coming, by the way,” she said. “I know you didn’t have to, especially feeling the way you do. The fact that you did shows who you really are.”
“Of course,” I said. “I can’t help but feel that this is all my fault. I couldn’t live with myself if I just sat idly by.”
“I understand,” Ashley said. “Thanks.” She squeezed me for a brief hug. “As for me, even if Liz did lie about getting the crystal sensitivity back, that doesn’t mean I don’t remember the friendship we had. That we still do.”
“She must mean a lot to you then.”
“She does. To all of us. Sometimes, she goes about things the wrong way, but I know she always has the best intentions—even if that’s not initially evident to us.”
“I hope so,” I said. Then I nodded toward Eve and Madison. “We should get going.”
“You’re right. I’ll take the lead. You stay back and make sure nobody gets left behind.” She waltzed out toward the two other girls, said something to them I couldn’t hear, and then called out, “This way!” to all of us. Eve and Madison filed in after her, and I hurried behind them.
Ashley led the way into the tunnels, guided by the small glow from her flashlight. The one she had given me was weaker, and sometimes the beam flickered like it was running out of batteries. I gulped. The last thing I wanted was to get stuck down here with no source of light.
As we walked deeper, we came across many different openings and intersections with other tunnels. Ashley never wavered for a moment. She seemed to know exactly where to go at each fork in the road. How she could distinguish them all, I had no idea. Every opening looked the same to me. But I could now see what she meant when she told me the whole underground of the island was connected by a series of tunnels and caves. Any direction you wanted to go, you could get there through one of these tunnels. It was a wonder more people didn’t know about them, or that there weren’t more entrances above ground.
As we turned a corner, I heard a deep, low groan from all around. Everyone else must have heard it too, for they all froze.
“What was that?” Madison asked slowly.
“It sounded like the earth shifting,” I answered. “These tunnels are stable. Right?”
“I don’t know,” Ashley admitted. “They’ve been here for a very long time.”
“With the heavy rain, maybe there’s too much weight overhead,” Madison suggested. “You don’t think it will collapse, do you?”
“No, of course no—” Ashley started to say, but was cut off by another groan. This one was long, and, as it sounded, I thought I could feel the tiniest of vibrations under my feet.
“It’s coming from behind us,” I said once it was over.
“Are you certain?” Madison asked.
“I think so.”
“Well, then we’d better keep going,” Eve said. I heard her voice waver just a little. That was when I realized what was causing her current nasty disposition. She was nervous, and did not like being underground more than the rest of us. “The sooner we get to Liz, the sooner we can get out of here.”
“Right,” Ashley said. “Come on! I don’t think we’ve much farther to go.”
We started after her again. I could feel the tension in the air. The threat of a collapse hadn’t been something any of us had considered when we first came in here. Now, it was on all our minds. I walked forward gingerly, careful to make sure that no step I took upset the delicate balance holding the roof over our heads.
I took a step forward – and nearly tripped. My foot caught on something, and when I looked down I realized one of my laces had come loose. I bent down to tie it again. When I straightened, the girls ahead were nearly out of sight.
I was about to call out for them to wait. Just then I heard another groan. I froze in place. This time, it was coming from up ahead. The ground started to tremble under my feet, just a little at first, but it got stronger by the second. In a single moment, the whole cave was shaking, sending small bits of debris and dirt down from the ceiling. I leaped toward one of the walls, holding it tightly for balance. The groaning s
ubsided, and the shaking stopped.
“Is everyone al—”
A deafening roar exploded in front of me. A shower of rock and rubble came crashing through the ceiling. I threw myself back, landing awkwardly on the hard ground. The torrent in front of me continued, sending earth and mud down in an avalanche of pure devastation. The debris thundered as it fell, filling the entire cavern with an earsplitting roar.
Just as quickly as it had started, it was over. The silence that followed was deafening. My ears rang. My heart felt like it was jumping out of my chest. If I had taken just another step forward, I would have been caught under that pile. If I hadn’t bent down to tie my shoe…
“Hello?” I yelled out, fearing the worst. “Can anybody hear me?”
I held my breath. I didn’t know how far ahead the collapse extended. Had it landed on any of the others? I wondered.
“Tracy!”
The voice was muted, and difficult to hear, but as soon as the sound reached my ears relief flooded over me. It was Ashley.
“I’m alright!” I screamed back. I had to scream, for the sound to penetrate the barrier. “Is everybody safe?”
It took a long time for the reply to come. “Madison fell and twisted her ankle quite badly. She’ll be alright, but she won’t be walking by herself anytime soon.” Another pause. “Eve and I have been better, but we’ll manage.”
“Are you guys trapped? Can you get out?”
There was another long pause. “I think so! But this might not be the only collapse. We have to be careful not to go under another faulty zone. What about you? Can you see the way back?”
I shone the light behind me, and to my relief that the way was clear. “It’s fine! I can go back!” I yelled. “Do you want me to find help?”
“We need to get to Liz first,” Ashley called. “We have to make sure she’s safe!”
“Is there another way for me to get there?”
There was no answer for about a minute. “There might be,” came her voice, but she sounded uncertain. “If you go back, and take the third tunnel to the left. I think its path curls wide, but it follows the same direction as ours. The two tunnels meet farther on.”
“All right,” I said, “that’s where I’ll go.” I wasn’t looking forward to traversing the dark caves by myself. But, at least I had the flashlight with me—no matter how little light it actually gave off. “Are you going to meet me there?” I shouted to be heard through the wall of debris.
“No.” This time it was Eve who answered. “We have to find Liz. You’ll need to catch up with us farther ahead.”
“Yeah, I can do that.”
“And Tracy?” Ashley called again. “Be careful down there.”
“I will! You too.”
I waited a few seconds for a reply, but none came. They were probably already on their way, and I had to do the same. I turned back. What did Ashley say? The third tunnel to my left? I hurried back, hastened by fear of another collapse.
It didn’t take long to find the opening Ashley had told me about. I came to the entrance – and instantly drew away. A dank, rotting smell was wafting from that direction. I hesitated. Was there another way? I looked back down either side of the main tunnel. With the way the tunnels all crisscrossed, I doubted I could pick my way back out, much less find another route to meet up with Ashley and the others. This was the only way to go.
I inhaled a deep breath of clean air, and went into the tunnel. I must have lasted a good thirty seconds with my breath held, but when I finally had to gasp for air, the rotting stench overpowered my senses until I was dizzy. What else could be down here? The flashlight I had gave precious little light. My imagination started working overtime about all the things that could be hidden in the dark: goblins and trolls, cannibals and murderers. I shook my head. I couldn’t let my fantasies get a hold of me.
I kept going. The rock was wet here, which didn’t do anything to ease my nerves. Water dripped down from jagged cracks running along the ceiling, making the entire structure seem very precarious. If the rock was already cracking, I didn’t want to think about how little it might take for it to suffer another collapse. I picked my way forward carefully, desperately hoping that my presence wouldn’t upset the delicate balance that held everything up. If another part of the roof fell here – even if it missed me – it meant my way would be blocked, and I would be lost underground.
I ventured deeper, spurred on by a feeling of responsibility for Liz and a dread of being down here alone. The pathetically weak beam of light from the flashlight barely made it to the rocks in front of me. The rotting smell seemed to get worse as I went farther down.
I heard a scuttle up ahead and froze. I fumbled for the light, hiding it in my jacket before managing to turn it off. I didn’t want to alert anybody, or anything, to my presence. What was that noise? My heart was beating like a jackhammer. I forced my breathing to remain calm. Whatever made the sound couldn’t see me anymore, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t hear me.
I waited a long, anxious minute, consciously counting to sixty. Nothing happened. Just to be safe, I waited another minute. I didn’t hear anything else. I took a step forward slowly, shifting my weight so as not to make any noise, and strained my ears for the slightest hint of other movement. There was nothing. I took a breath, and surprised myself when I smelled clean air. The rotting smell was gone – or at least, it had dissipated. I took another feeling step in the dark, careful not to trip over anything. The smell had returned. It seemed like it was wafting back and forth, carried by the thin streams of air that moved through the tunnels.
I dared to turn my flashlight on. I couldn’t move forward without it. I shone it ahead. It landed on the largest rat I had ever seen.
I let out a terrified shriek and fell to the ground. The rat was a monster. It had a thick black body with dirty, matted fur, and stood taller than my knees. Its entire face and snout was blistered. Clumps of fur had fallen away, revealing bloody, blotchy skin. It stared at me with black, beady eyes. I realized with horror that the smell was coming from it. The thing was so diseased and enormous that the entire cavern was filled with its stench.
It wiggled its nose and started toward me. I let out another screech, grabbed a rock from the ground, and threw it. I prayed that my aim was good. The rock flew through the air but missed hitting the rat’s head. Instead, it hit one side of its enormous body. The rat made a shrill noise and scuttled the other way.
I pushed myself to my feet shakily. For a second, I contemplated going back. That encounter had sapped the nerve right out of me. But I knew that what lay behind me held just as much danger as what was ahead. I couldn’t just abandon the other girls. Gritting my teeth, I pressed onward.
With the rat now gone, the tunnel’s air became fresher, and I moved faster. I was still cognizant of the potential frailty of the roof. But, I wanted to be reunited with the others as quickly as possible. Being down here alone was not a pleasant experience.
I walked forward, placing my steps carefully. The light from the flashlight was getting weaker by the minute. I didn’t want to be by myself when the batteries finally gave out. After a few minutes, I thought I heard voices up ahead.
I ran forward. The voices were definitely there, and they sounded like Ashley and the others.
“Hello?” I cried out. The tunnel ended in a T. The voices were coming from around the corner. “Are you guys there?”
I heard footsteps, and then a shadow peeked out. A light shone on me.
“Tracy!” Ashley exclaimed gladly. She aimed her flashlight away so I could see her and ran up to me. “I’m so glad you found us! Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine. How’s Madison?”
“I’ll live,” came the sardonic reply from around the corner. I saw Madison hobbling toward us, with Eve holding her up. I ran up to them, and gave Madison a quick hug. After a brief pause, I did the same for Eve.
“Watch it,” Eve said, pushing me off, but I tho
ught I could hear the slightest bit of relief in her voice.
“Are we close?” I asked them.
“We’re almost there.”
“Let’s hurry,” I said. I was conscious of how late it must be getting, and remembered what Chris said to me. Be there at midnight, if you value your friends.
“Of course,” Ashley replied. “Come on. It’s right here.”
I was led around the corner. There, at one end of the tunnel, was an enormous heap of rubble blocking the way. However, that was not the natural end of the cave. The rocks there looked distinctly out of place, especially when contrasted to the surrounding walls. And there was a certain kind of order to the pile. It was like they had been placed there by hand to look haphazard.
I frowned at Ashley. “This is a dead end.”
“If I have my bearings right, the other side should open up right into your tunnel, where we can find Liz.”
“But how are we going to get through?”
“The wall’s not as thick as it seems,” said Madison. “If we know what to do, we can carve out a hole big enough to climb through.”
“To the other side?” I asked doubtfully.
“Right,” answered Ashley. “But it could be a bit risky. You have to trust us.”
I took a deep breath. I’d gone this far with them already. “I do.”
“Good. Eve?”
As soon as Eve reached for her pocket, I knew what she was doing. She pulled out a small silver bundle of cloth, and picked it open carefully. There was only one crystal in the middle. Eve picked it up delicately between two fingers and held it out in front of her. I could see her focusing on it. After a second, the now-familiar blue light burst forth from the crystal, freezing everybody and everything. The crystal coated our surroundings with its shine, and cut off all the sounds of the world. I couldn’t move, of course, but I watched Eve curiously. Her eyes were focused on the rock in front of us, darting from side to side as she examined the pile. After a long moment, she nodded almost imperceptibly, and the light from the crystal went out.
“What was that all about?”
