"Those are wolverbats," Anna whispered to them frantically as they gathered closer together. She pointed up at the ceiling.
Oliver spied the whites of Rogan and Quinn's eyes as they gazed upwards then clapped their hands over their mouths, looking fearful.
"What are they?" Oliver whispered as quietly as he could.
"They hunt by sound. If they hear us they'll rip us to shreds," Anna whispered in a panic.
Oliver looked at May, wide-eyed. He nodded, not wanting to make any more noise than he had to. He pointed to the swing and tiptoed over to it, cringing at every slight noise he and the others made.
It hung, just out of reach, over the chasm. Oliver knelt on the edge and leant out as far as he could. His fingertips brushed the wood but he couldn't grasp it. He gestured for Rogan to come over, considering he had the longest arms of the group.
Rogan knelt down next to him and leant forward. He pushed the swing with his fingertips so it swung away and then swung back towards him. He grabbed it and pulled it over to the platform.
Rogan stood up and pointed at himself and then the swing. Oliver understood and gripped the bottom of the wood so Rogan could step onto it. Rogan gave Oliver a thumbs up and he pushed him out into the abyss.
He wondered how on earth Rogan would dismount the swing without making any noise but apparently he managed it because the swing came hurtling back towards him a moment later. He grabbed it and peered out towards the platform where he could just make out Rogan's figure.
They crossed, one by one, until just Oliver and May were left. Oliver helped May up onto it and she gripped the rope tightly. "I'm scared," she whispered.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine," he whispered back, squeezing her arm.
She nodded and shut her eyes as he pushed her out across the gap. He clenched his fists anxiously as she went. She let out a small squeak and Oliver threw his head back to look up at the bats. Their faces were obscured as they slept in groups, huddled under each other's wings. They shuffled about at the noise, becoming more restless, but they didn't wake.
Oliver almost missed the swing as it flew up at his face. He grabbed it then struggled to stand on the wood without the help of someone holding it steady.
He shuffled towards the edge, held the rope tightly, and swung himself as hard as he could, bending his legs to propel himself further. He almost cried out as he sailed through the air but clamped his mouth shut. It might have been fun if he hadn't been swinging beneath a swarm of flesh-eating bats.
Rogan's outstretched arms came into view and they clasped hands. Rogan held onto him tightly and Anna gripped the bottom of the swing so Oliver could step down quietly. Anna gently dropped the swing back over the edge so it moved silently back into the gap.
"What's next?" Oliver whispered.
"A bridge," Rogan whispered back, looking grim.
"I'm guessing there's more to it than that?" Oliver said.
"Take a look," he moved aside and Oliver tiptoed towards the edge.
There were six stepping stones held in place by criss-crossing cables with about a metre's gap separating each one. They formed a bridge between their platform and the next but, Oliver realised with a jolt, there was nothing to hold on to.
"After you," Anna whispered in his ear and he could sense the smile in her voice.
Oliver took a deep breath then stepped off the ledge, reaching with his leg until he found his footing and hopped out onto the first stepping stone. The wires trembled with his weight so that the whole bridge wobbled and creaked.
He crouched down and gripped the sides of the panel until the shaking stopped, feeling sweat gather in his palms. He slowly stood back up, his legs quivering with the tension in his muscles. He gazed across the gap to the next stepping stone, judging the distance.
He sucked in another breath as he moved onto it, repeating the crouch, then returning to his feet.
Every time the bridge shook a sickening, fluttering sensation arose in his chest.
He repeated the steps four more times until he reached the end and waited for the others to cross behind him with a slow exhale of breath.
A short set of monkey bars connected the platform they were on with the last. A small, metal ladder led up to the bars which ran along just a foot beneath the ceiling where the creatures were sleeping. Oliver cursed internally.
"Oh Vale," he heard Anna whisper nearby as she noticed the bars.
"May, are you gonna be okay?" Oliver whispered to her with a pang of concern.
"If you can do it, I can," she nudged him and he relaxed marginally.
"I'll go first if you like?" Quinn said quietly.
Oliver was surprised by her willingness but said nothing to contradict it.
"Go for it," Rogan whispered.
She climbed the ladder like a pro and swung out over the bars. She crossed them in a few seconds. Oliver gaped at her as she landed softly on the other side like a gymnast then moved towards the exit.
Rogan shook his head. "Show off. You alright to go, Anna?" he asked in a whisper.
She nodded and took her time getting up to the bars. She hesitated for a second before swinging out onto them then worked her way across as fast as she could, dropping to the platform on the other side on her tiptoes. Oliver realised he had been holding his breath as he watched her go and released it.
"You go. Then I'll follow May," Oliver whispered to Rogan.
Rogan nodded and swung over the bars two at a time, like an expert. He stayed on the ladder on the other side, ready to help if May needed it. She shook her head at the boys and climbed up the ladder.
Oliver followed and swung out onto the first bar behind her. His shoulders yanked as he swung from one bar to the next. May was moving slowly but he had a good enough grip that it didn't matter.
An overwhelming urge to look down came upon him so he forced his head upwards instead and came face to face with the most frightening animal he had ever seen. Its extremely long snout ended in a large, piggy nose. Running down its snout were long, serrated teeth jutting out in all directions.
His hands became slippery as they began to sweat. In a heart-stopping moment, he lost his grip on the bar with one hand.
He frantically grabbed for the one ahead but misjudged it and his watch slammed against the metal, making a loud CLANG which echoed around the room.
The bat's eyes flickered open at the sound and the other wolverbats around it uncurled their necks so that a hundred red eyes were staring at him.
His breath came in strained pants as his free hand clamped down on the bar at last.
"Go, May," he hissed.
She swung as fast she could towards Rogan who was leaning out to pull her in. A few of the bats took flight with a whoosh of wings as they soared under the bars. They snapped at Oliver's ankles and he kicked out at them, his grip loosening once more.
The screeching of the animals and the fluttering of a thousand wings filled the air as the rest of the creatures took flight. The noise was deafening. Oliver swung out again and finally reached the ladder.
He jumped onto the platform with a clunk as his feet hit the metal and a bat collided with his arm, taking a chunk of skin with it. He shouted out in pain and more bats swarmed towards him, attracted by the noise.
Quinn held the door open as Anna and May ducked under her arm. Oliver was almost to the exit when Quinn started running towards him.
He turned and spotted Rogan on the ground being mauled by two bats. Oliver gasped and followed Quinn back toward him. He kicked out at the beasts, connecting with one of their jaws. It flew away with a loud squawk but the noise drew the other's attention.
Oliver and Quinn hauled Rogan to his feet and they ran as hard as they could towards the exit. With every footstep Oliver could hear the creatures grow closer, just inches behind them.
They slid out into the corridor as the swarm of bats dived at their heads. Anna slammed the door shut and Oliver heard the sickening cracks of the creatures c
olliding with it on the other side.
He collapsed into a heap with relief, his chest rapidly rising and falling.
"You idiot," Quinn snapped at Oliver, her voice filled with venom.
"I'm so sorry," Oliver breathed, furious at how clumsy he had been.
"It's okay. Any of us could have done it," Rogan said, panting.
Oliver eyed his friend's bloodied arms and guilt racked at him.
Quinn pulled bandages out of her bag and wrapped them tightly around Rogan's wounds. Anna quickly followed suit and bandaged Oliver's arm. He barely noticed the pain from the adrenalin pumping through his veins.
They pulled their boots back on and got to their feet. Oliver took a deep breath to calm his racing heart. "I'm so sorry, Rogan," he said again.
Rogan clapped him on the shoulder. "Seriously, man. It's fine. All part of the fun."
Quinn glared at Oliver unforgivingly.
24
Cascade
Quinn stormed off down the corridor as a team rushed past them, covered in mud and blood.
"We better get moving," Anna said.
They nodded and hurried after Quinn.
Oliver looked at his watch and his heart fluttered. "Oh, no. We've only got forty five minutes left."
They began to jog as fast as they could and found Quinn waiting for them in a large cavern. At one side, the cave opened out onto a ledge overlooking a lake and an vast crowd of people.
"Down there. That's the exit," Quinn said and they followed her out to the ledge. Their faces were projected on survision screens far below and they could hear Truvian Gold's voice echoing around the valley that ran down to a long beach. Oliver looked at where she was pointing and saw a track leading up from a smaller beach further along the lake.
"The Pandalins have made their appearance up on the balcony. With just forty minutes left to go, will they make it to the finish line in time?" Truvian Gold said dramatically.
The crowd roared with cheers. Oliver could see survision screens flicking between teams undergoing various challenges. The Visikins were squeezing through a narrow tunnel on their bellies, the Ninagoons were swimming through a dark pool of water, and the Thrakes were sliding down a muddy descent.
Oliver didn't linger to see any more. They retreated from the ledge and searched the cavern for an exit.
The only way out of the cave was through a narrow hole in the floor. They dropped down, one by one, and crawled along the descending tunnel as fast as they could. Oliver realised this must have been where the Visikins were being filmed. They weren't much further ahead than them, which gave him hope.
They rounded a corner and the floor became soft and slippery so they had to continue more slowly. He was at the back of the group with Quinn's heels kicking mud up at him as he followed her.
The material at his heel snagged on something sharp as he crawled along, and he was tugged backwards. He stopped and awkwardly tried to reach his hand back to untangle himself but the tunnel was too narrow. He reversed a few paces so the material was released and continued forwards.
The tunnel veered out of sight and he could no longer see Quinn. He continued in the darkness and turned the corner. The passage dropped down again and he slid forward on his knees several feet. He dug his palms into the mud to slow himself down and continued at a snail's pace.
He could hear shouts up ahead and tried to speed up towards them.Quinn's barked something loudly back to him but it was too muffled to make out.
"What? I can't hear you!" Oliver shouted.
The tunnel opened up a bit and he picked up the pace again. The shouts grew louder and he heard Quinn's voice above them all but still couldn't make out any words. He grew frustrated as he continued on. The dark tunnel was making him feel claustrophobic and he longed to stand up.
The floor disappeared.
He was falling.
His heart jumped into his mouth. He was plummeting head-first into the abyss. A hand clasped his collar and he was yanked upwards giving him half a second to grab the ledge above his head and pull himself up to face his saviour. Quinn.
"I said. There's a great big hole in the floor, you moron." She helped guide him across the gap and he scrambled into the space next to her, his heart pounding.
"Thank you. You saved my life," Oliver said, astonished.
"Don't get soppy on me. I can't finish this race without you." She turned away and kicked mud up in his face as she continued through the tunnel.
Oliver didn't mind. His hands were still shaking as he followed her and the tunnel began descending rapidly. He was barely able to keep his grip in the soft mud. Quinn slid forward in front of him and she screamed as she plummeted downwards. Oliver clawed the walls to slow himself down as he followed.
They fell, with a splat, into a huge pile of mud out of a hole in the bottom of the tunnel. The others were already getting up, their jumpsuits now filthy.
"Ergh, disgusting," May said, wiping a great blob of mud off of her leg.
"You didn't fall down that hole then?" Rogan asked Oliver, grinning.
"No. Thanks to-" Quinn was throwing him a look of death so he finished, "-you guys. I heard you guys shouting." She clearly didn't want any credit for saving his neck though he considered whether the moment had been broadcast to the world or not. With fifty teams to survey he wondered how much of their progress was being shown on the survision anyway.
"Good," Rogan said. "Let's keep going."
The room led to another corridor of doors and they chose the only vacant one. Oliver shut the door behind them and the sound of rushing water filled his ears.
The chamber contained an enormous, dark pool with a high waterfall cascading into it at one side.
"Where's the exit?" May asked, gazing around.
"I don't know. Where's the clue?" Anna asked.
"Here," Rogan said, pointing to the ground.
Embedded in the floor was a glass bubble filled with words that floated inside it reading:
Pull me and you'll see.
"Pull what?" Oliver asked, glancing around the room.
"Look, the exit's up there," May said, pointing skywards.
Oliver looked up and saw the door high up on a ledge at the top of the waterfall. "How are we supposed to reach it?"
"There's a rope. Look," Rogan said, pointing to the centre of the room.
Its colour blended with the back wall at first but, when Oliver focused, he could just make it out, dangling above the water.
"Let's go pull it then," Quinn said, waiting for a nod of approval from Rogan before wading out into the water.
The others followed her. Oliver felt the icy water seep into his clothes and, after only a few feet, the floor disappeared beneath him. They swam to the centre of the room and all gripped the rope with one hand. Oliver shivered as he tread water to keep afloat.
"Pull?" Rogan suggested and they nodded.
They tugged hard and several things happened at once. First, the water began to swirl around them in a whirlpool and they clung tighter to the rope to keep from being swept away. Then the waterfall became a powerful torrent, pouring gallons of water into the pool. The water level began to rise and the rope ascended too, keeping them above the surface.
Oliver looked up and saw another rope a few feet away. The water poured in until the other rope was within grabbing distance then stopped.
They all released the rope and the water level instantly dropped with a gurgling noise as if it were being sucked down a giant plughole. Oliver splashed his way back toward the rope and took hold of it but the water didn't rise.
"Everyone get back to the rope!" he shouted and watched as his friends swam back towards him and reached for it.
As they grabbed hold, the water level rose once more and the whirlpool sped up, dragging at Oliver's body. He dug his fingernails into the course fibres to stop himself from losing grip.
The water level finally stopped rising so they were high enough to grab the second rope
.
"I reckon just one of us needs to grab the next one!" Quinn shouted over the rush of water.
"I'll go," Anna said, and launched herself into the whirlpool. She swam hard against the current, gripped the rope firmly and tugged hard.
The waterfall exploded again so a froth of white foamy bubbles appeared where it met the pool. The whirlpool began to speed up around them as they rose and the next rope came into sight, further out than the last.
"The current's only gonna get stronger. We need to leave the best swimmers 'til last," Oliver said as the water stopped rising once more.
"Someone will have to remain holding onto this rope the whole time," May said.
"I can do that, I'm not much of a swimmer," Quinn admitted.
"May, you should go," Oliver suggested.
"I'm a good swimmer," she insisted, her wet hair plastered to her face.
"What are you like?" Oliver looked at Rogan.
"Pretty good. You?" Rogan asked, squinting as water splashed up in his face.
"I guess I'm alright." He looked at May anxiously but knew she had always been a better swimmer than him. "I'll go."
The rope was much further out this time and the whirlpool swirled around the three of them, making them twist in circles.
Oliver let go and forced his way towards the rope. The pressure of the water pushing against him was exhausting and his muscles burned as he battled against the whirlpool. He slipped backwards several times but eventually the rope came into view just above his head.
Oliver waved his hand up and his fingers brushed the end of it. He dunked under the water and kicked out hard. He desperately reached his arm up as he breached, felt it bash against his palm and gripped it with all his strength.
"WOO!" he shouted, his voice echoing around the cave as the others laughed.
Oliver tugged the rope and the water rushed in again. He looked up as the rope yanked him upwards to see that they were closing in on the exit.
Oliver could just make out Rogan, May and Quinn over the swirl of water splashing around them as they stopped rising once more. The three of them were spinning erratically at the centre of the whirlpool.
Creeping Shadow (The Rise of Isaac, Book One) Page 24
