"Shall we get going?" Rogan said, his eyes lingering on May. "Quinn and I are gonna have to disguise ourselves or we'll be mobbed."
"I don't see why we can't just get a private tour. Why do we have to go in disguise? It's so degrading," Quinn said, rolling her eyes.
"Oh don't be so boring. It'll be more fun this way," Rogan said.
"If I get recognised and have to start pandering to people, I'm blaming you," she snapped.
"This is gonna be fun," Oliver said, looking at Quinn with a smile.
She huffed but didn't say anything.
As they passed through the revolving door, Rogan's bushy beard reappeared and Quinn's hair became a short, blonde bob. She put on a large pair of sunglasses and Rogan retrieved a peaked hat from his pocket and put it on.
"It'll still be pretty obvious if we stand too close together," Rogan said. "People might recognise us as a couple."
"Haven't you gone out in public like this before?" Anna asked.
"Not often. And not in such a large crowd. This is kind of an experiment," Rogan said with a mischievous grin.
They took a pod out of the city into an underground system that passed partially through the mountain. The tunnel was narrow and cut roughly through the damp-looking stone, lit by dim lights every few hundred meters.
May discovered a tourist setting in the taxi pod and switched it on; the hologram of the grey-haired man began talking.
"You are passing through Thorn mountain, home to the Hogtrout Caves which became famous for their use in the Aleva to Glacio Gateway challenge: the Great Race of Aleva. The race was first held approximately nine hundred and fifty years ago after the construction of the Gateways by Dorian Ganderfield.
"The race involves contestants making their way through the caves to find their way out to Glacio Lake. This tradition has been upheld but the caves have since been modified to make the race more difficult so as to slow down the volume of people allowed to pass between the worlds.
"This season's race marks the tenth anniversary of an act of terrorism on the caves carried out by anti-Gateway rebels. The attack destroyed several of the cave rooms that had been designed for the race. This season, the final three of those rooms will reopen with never-before-seen obstacles."
"Why are people against the Gateways?" Oliver asked the pod.
Quinn sighed in exasperation and Rogan elbowed her in the ribs.
"Those against the Gateways believe the worlds could live as one united empire. This idea was condemned by the Council of Heptus and their role in enforcing the Gateways have kept the worlds living peacefully alongside one another for almost a thousand years."
"Ha, what about Theald and Arideen?" Anna asked.
The hologram didn't respond but continued to talk about the history of the race.
"What about them?" Oliver asked.
"They went to war a few years after Dorian Ganderfield created the Gateways," Anna explained. "The government in Theald managed to find a loophole in the challenge on their Gateway that meant anyone from Theald could get a key to Arideen."
Quinn looked pointedly out of the window, ignoring their discussion.
"What happened?" May asked Rogan, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"A massive army stormed through into Arideen and completely obliterated them. The people of Arideen were much less advanced. Theald has trained mercenaries and highly advanced weapons that completely altered the landscape in Arideen and, even now, hardly anything can grow there," Rogan said with a grimace.
"Are there people there today?" Oliver asked.
"They have one major city near the Theald Gateway," Anna said.
"The Council of Heptus took away Theald's right to have a say in the challenge and altered it to remove the loophole," Rogan chipped in.
"We have arrived at your destination: The Hogtrout Caves," the hologram announced and they jumped out, emerging in a large cave.
Water dripped down the brownish walls in slow trickles, gathering at the bottom in small pools. They ascended a steep set of stairs that had been carved into the floor. It climbed up towards the cave mouth where daylight poured down towards them.
Several people were milling at the top but none seemed to recognise Rogan or Quinn as they passed by. Rogan retrieved the sunglasses hanging from his shirt and put them on.
"This is great," Rogan said with a grin.
"I don't like it," Quinn hissed.
"That's 'cause you love the attention." Rogan rushed forward and tickled her sides.
She squealed. "Rogan."
"Shh," he said, suppressing his laughter.
A group of girls looked around curiously at the mention of his name. Rogan and Quinn rushed forward before the girls could work out who they were. Oliver glanced back at the others with amusement as they hurried after them.
They reached the top of the stairs and headed along a track that was a mixture of gravel and sand, catching up with Rogan and Quinn. They rounded to the left and Oliver gazed at the incredible sight unfolding in front of him.
The ground beneath them sloped down dramatically towards an enormous cave mouth that was pitch black and ominous. Large stalactites and stalagmites joined the cave from the top to the bottom with gaps in between, giving it the appearance of an enormous mouth.
Surrounding the cave were a colossal amount of grey stone seats sloping high up above it like an arena. There were smaller caves around the edges where families were having photos taken.
"Wow. Can we go inside?" May asked, shielding her eyes from the glaring sun as she gazed down into the valley.
"Yep. This is where the race starts. The crowd sit in those seats and watch the teams enter through the cave mouth," Anna said, excitement lighting her eyes.
"We can't go in that far though. They have the chambers blocked off before the race," Rogan said.
Oliver felt nervous as they walked down the slope. He imagined thousands of people watching him descend into the cave mouth as if he were about to be eaten alive by it for their entertainment.
The cave was even bigger than it had appeared from the top of the hill. Oliver craned his neck to look up at the ceiling as he passed through two of the cave's teeth. The ceiling was so high that it disappeared into darkness.
In front of him was a sudden drop which they had to walk around to descend further inside. Railings had been put up to stop people from falling.
Burning torches were set around the cavern so that they weren't in complete darkness and the sound of scratching and squeaking filled Oliver's ears from somewhere high above.
"What's that noise?" he asked.
"It's the firebats. Look, see?" Anna said, pointing upwards as they turned a corner, entering a large chamber lit by fire. It flickered on the ceiling and around the walls, moving and swaying like an animal.
Oliver darted to the side as a fireball whizzed past his ear.
Rogan and Anna laughed as May ducked one with a squeal. Quinn folded her arms and tutted at them.
"Don't worry. Just one on its own can't do you any harm," Anna said.
"But there's a million of them in here," May said, staring up in horror at the firebats and gathering her long hair into her hands to keep it safe.
"They won't be leaving the cave until nightfall. They wouldn't let people in here if it was dangerous," Rogan said reassuringly.
May didn't seem to relax.
"Come here," Rogan said.
May's eyes flicked to his then quickly dropped to her feet as she stepped toward him. Rogan subtly ran a wave of light over her hair so a faint, amber glow emitted around her for a second then disappeared.
"Now you're fireproof," he whispered with a grin.
May nodded, her cheeks flushing. "Thanks," she muttered.
Quinn narrowed her eyes at Rogan and pulled him over to her, looping an arm around his waist protectively.
"We shouldn't draw attention to ourselves," Rogan said, detaching himself.
"Oh, but you
can cast magic in front of everyone?" she snapped.
"Shh," he said firmly.
Oliver looked around, making sure no one had noticed. Everyone was too busy looking up at the firebats, swaying as they slept on the high ceiling. Now he was over the shock of seeing them, Oliver realised how captivating they were as their bodies blurred into one great fireball high above him.
Oliver overheard a male tour guide talking to a group nearby. "This is the largest firebat colony in the whole of Aleva. Years ago, masses of them were exterminated because of the damage they caused after a particularly dry summer. The firebats set hundreds of fields ablaze all over Lorence fraction. They're now a protected species and this colony is one of the biggest attractions of the Hogtrout Caves, after the race that is."
Oliver felt the heat coming off them as they warmed the entire cave and a sleepy feeling washed over him.
"How are they alive? They're on fire," a young boy asked the guide.
"They have a thick layer of oil on their fur which allows an almost constant fire to burn. The oil runs out when they reach an old age and the fire consumes them," the guide answered.
The boy gasped, looking sympathetically up at the creatures.
"It's just how they've evolved. The fire protects them from predators and keeps them warm throughout the cold winters. When they're born, they're lit by their mother's fire and don't stop burning until they die," the guide said.
"This is as far as we can go. When we start the race we go through the exit over there." Rogan pointed.
Oliver followed the direction of his finger towards a cavern that led out to a narrow passageway. It was cordoned off with a guard stationed there.
"At the end of that corridor is the entrance to several rooms. We have to choose one at random and hope it works out," Anna explained excitedly.
Oliver couldn't help but feel a little excited despite the circumstances they would be racing under. The inflated feeling dispelled as he remembered that they didn't have a full team together yet.
"And what if it doesn't work out?" May asked.
"You can go back and try another room but you might end up wasting time. If you can't get through the caves in the allotted time, you'll be disqualified," Rogan answered, looking grim.
"How much time do we get?" May enquired.
"Two hours," Anna said excitedly.
"That's all?" Oliver asked in horror.
"Yep, it's gonna be tough," Rogan said, bouncing a little with anticipation. "I can't wait."
"I wish we were racing with you guys," May said thoughtfully.
"I don't blame you," Quinn muttered, placing a hand on her hip.
"Quinn, you're such a cow sometimes," Rogan said, nudging her. "I'd rather be racing with them. Larkin was such an idiot last night."
"I'm sure he was just joking," Quinn said. "Argh, I have to take these off. I can hardly see." She pushed the sunglasses up onto her head.
"Yeah, it's probably more suspicious to be walking around with sunglasses on in a dark room," Rogan agreed, laughing and pulling his own off.
A couple of teenage girls appeared behind them and Anna took the opportunity to talk to them. "Excuse me, are you competing in the race?"
"Yes, why?" one of them asked.
"We're just looking for team members," she said, cocking an eyebrow.
"Well you've left it rather late haven't you?" the girl said loftily and walked further inside the cave with her friend.
Anna made a face at them as they went.
"Okay, strike one," Oliver said, nudging her and she smiled.
"Let's split up, we'll cover more ground that way," May suggested.
They spent the next couple of hours approaching people. Oliver soon realised that anyone who was competing already had a team and those who didn't, didn't want to compete anyway. He spent fifteen minutes atrociously attempting to flirt with a girl before she bluntly rejected his request. After a few more failed attempts, he decided to take a break.
He found Anna and May looking equally disheartened.
"This is going to be more difficult than I thought." Oliver sighed, feeling the afternoon slipping away.
"I told one girl where I was from and she said she didn't want an Earthy on her team even if she did have a place for me. What's that supposed to mean?" May asked, indignantly.
"Don't take any notice. Some stupid people still have stereotypes about people from Earth," Anna said, throwing a knowing look at Oliver.
May pouted and glared across the room at a girl.
"Where's Rogan and Quinn?" Oliver asked, looking around for them. He spotted them a little way away talking to a group of teenagers.
They walked over and joined them.
"I swear I know you from somewhere," a buck-toothed boy was saying to Quinn.
"I don't think so, bunny boy," Quinn replied coolly.
Rogan frowned at her. "Don't be rude. Sorry about her," he said to the boy.
"I know you too," the boy said, narrowing his eyes at Rogan.
"You're mistaken," Rogan said, stating it as a fact.
The boy's friend, a pretty girl with black hair, looked closer at Rogan. She gasped suddenly, clapping her hands to her mouth.
"Time to go," Rogan said, attempting to pull Quinn away into the crowd. The girl gripped his arm.
"Rogan Ganderfield," she whispered. Then she screamed so loud it echoed around the entire cavern. "ROGAN GANDERFIELD'S HERE!"
17
Fragmented
The girl pointed and bounced up and down as if she was on a pogo stick. The rest of her friends shouted out and started pointing too.
One of them looked straight at Quinn. "And Quinn Thorn! Quinn Thorn's here too! Ahh!"
The crowd in the room swung around to face them. Within a second they were mobbed. Oliver reached for Anna nearby and gripped her arm so he didn't lose her. May was forced aside by a boy who stepped on Oliver's feet then tried shoving him.
"Get out of my way!" Oliver snapped, losing his patience.
The boy frowned but stopped standing on him. Oliver couldn't see May anywhere amongst the swarming crowd. He forced his way through to Rogan and Quinn, still gripping Anna's arm tightly. He elbowed a boy in the ribs who tried to actively rip Anna's arm out of his hand to get through.
A group of girls were practically climbing Rogan. Quinn signed pieces of paper that were being waved in her direction, looking delighted at seeing her fans. Oliver used the space around Quinn to get to Rogan.
"You alright?" he asked Quinn as he passed.
"Just peachy," she said with a glare that gave away her real feelings on the situation. "Help Rogan will you." She rolled her eyes at the girls climbing him.
"I can't exactly stop them," Oliver said, frowning at them.
"No, but we can," May said, appearing at Anna's side.
Anna agreed readily and the two of them forced their way over to Rogan, shoving the girls aside. They managed to create a space around him next to Quinn.
A girl lunged forward and Anna stopped her with a look. "Take one more step and I'll stop you myself," she said threateningly.
The girl frowned at her but didn't step any closer.
"CAVE'S CLOSING! Please make your way towards the exit unless you want your hair set on fire by the bats!" a guard shouted as he waved people towards the exit.
Oliver sighed with relief. The guard helped usher the crowd out of the cave. Their group held back so they could get some distance between them and the fans.
"You guys go ahead," Rogan said. "I'll see if we can persuade the guard to let me and Quinn out a different exit."
"Okay, see you back at the hotel?" Oliver said.
"Yeah, see you later," Rogan said, walking over to the guard with Quinn.
The firebats were getting restless on the ceiling and the bright fireball was growing as more of the creatures gathered in the centre. Oliver, May and Anna hurried towards the exit and up the hill. A group of guards cordoned off the entrance
as the first of the firebats flitted out of it, up towards the sky.
They reached the top of the hill and turned to look back at the cave, the sky had dimmed to a pale pink as the sun began to set.
"How are people gonna watch us in the race if we're down in that cave?" May asked.
"With Survision cameras. They film the race so the crowd outside and people at home can watch the action. It'll be broadcast all over the world," Anna explained.
"It's kind of exciting," May said.
Oliver smiled at her. His mind was taken off the race completely as he looked back and saw the hot, red glow of fire growing brighter from inside the cave. The glow was accompanied by the screeching of bats that sounded like air rushing through burning wood.
The fireball of bats burst from the cave, warming Oliver's face with the heat of the swarm. The noise was deafening. They came in a stream of fire and, as they rose, the mass of bats swirled and cartwheeled in the sky, leaving sweeping trails of light behind them.
The stream began to thin until the final bats left the cave and joined the flowing river of red and orange in the sky until they disappeared into the distance.
Oliver exhaled slowly.
"Wow," May said, her eyes wide.
"I forgot how incredible it was to watch. I came here to see it with my mum and dad when I was little," Anna said, leading the way towards the pod station.
* * *
Night had completely fallen by the time they arrived at the Ganderfield Hotel. The yellowy light of Aleva's dusty-looking moons shone down over Crome and the stars glittered in the navy sky.
They walked through the revolving doors and the noise of arguing filled Oliver's ears as he emerged in the empty lobby. He looked over to see Rogan and Quinn bickering in the lounge, their hair now returned to normal.
"I can't believe you've done this," Quinn was saying to Rogan. "What are we going to do now?"
"Why can't you just talk to him. He's just doing it to make a point," Rogan reasoned.
"He's not. I already tried talking to him," Quinn snapped.
"Do you know what? I don't even care. I'm sick of that idiot," Rogan said angrily.
"He's our friend," Quinn said, sounding offended.
"He's your friend. I never liked the guy much," Rogan said.
Creeping Shadow (The Rise of Isaac, Book One) Page 18
