by Perrin Briar
It was a good ten minutes before they rolled onto their backs, muscles aching and sore. Bryan began to laugh, a deep throaty infectious thing. It made Zoe chuckle, and then roar loudly. The kids followed suit. They were looking up into the thick mists above them. It was over. They made it home.
“Now what do we do?” Cassie said.
“We need to get to the mainland and find an embassy,” Bryan said. “Once we’ve proven our identity we’ll be on the first plane back home.”
They laughed again, relief washing over them.
A stiff breeze blew a window through the cloud, the mist beginning to clear.
Their laughter slowed, and then died on their lips. Cassie looked like she was about to cry.
“No,” she said. “No. It can’t be.”
“But it is,” Zoe said.
“But… we came through the Passage,” Aaron said. “Where are we?”
“As Cawing Crow said,” Bryan said. “The next world.”
Another stiff breeze blew a hole in the mist. A murder of ravens took flight, spiraling up and cawing into the steep sky, a sky shaped like a dome.
Epilogue
THE DIGGING EQUIPMENT had been packed away and the diggers had returned to their homes. Bryan and Cassie Angelo, and Zoe and Aaron Tate were lost. There was still the hope they might turn up somewhere, the items they found buried here red herrings, but Rosetta didn’t think so.
Bryan wasn’t just a boss, he was her friend. She had failed him. Now she was all alone in the world.
She took her phone out of her pocket. The number of hours she had spent using it for work, chatting to Bryan, carrying out his orders, were beyond counting. Now it was just a lump with no purpose. Like her. She sighed and let her robot arm fall to her side.
She felt a longing to make one final phone call, to leave a message on Bryan’s answering machine, to give him a final farewell and apologize for not being able to do for him what he had done for her. She could not rescue him. Bryan would never hear it, but it would at least put her mind to rest.
She dialed his number – she always made it a point to remember numbers – and listened to the ringtone.
And then something strange happened.
She heard a phone ringing, from somewhere in the sinkhole.
It was Bryan’s ringtone.
She followed the sound. It appeared to be coming from the center of the pit. She descended the ramps they’d had installed and found a square of bright light buzzing from beneath a pile of dirt. She bent down to pick it up. It was Bryan’s phone all right. She saw her own number calling. But what was it doing here? Had he dropped it? Surely he would have sent her an email from his laptop letting her know?
She hung up. Tears sprung in her eyes and she felt weak to her knees. Was this the last place he was before disappearing? Right here? Her nose was blocked with mucous and she let herself cry. Bryan was gone. She would never see him again. She felt like the earth was falling beneath her feet.
When she looked down, she saw her feet had fallen into the Earth. Just an inch, but it was noticeable. She picked up her feet, and stepped aside. The earth sank again, this time to her knees. Suddenly the earth felt fragile.
The tingling sensation ran up and down her robot arm, almost painful in its intensity. And she realized for the first time that the prickling she’d felt had nothing to do with Bryan or his situation, but her own. It was a warning, and she had once again failed to heed it.
“Oh no,” she said.
The ground fell away, and she sank.
THE EARTH SPAT HER OUT onto a clear flat grass glade. The sun was shining. Except it wasn’t the sun. Its rays didn’t warm her skin.
There was a large jungle with a wall around it, stretching as far as the eye could see. The wall behind her had a series of holes. Shadows emerged out of them, looking at Rosetta with fear.
The figures stepped out of their caves. They were not human. They were short and squat, covered head to foot in thick black hair, more apelike than man. She got to her feet and prepared to fight, knowing it would be the last fight she would ever have. These creatures were stocky and strong. No way she was going to be able to overpower them, even with her robot arm. But the creatures didn’t show any outward aggression. In fact, they only seemed interested in her, curious.
Their eyes were wide at the sight of her robotic arm. The fake flesh that had been painstakingly grown and applied had been torn off by the dirt, mud and rocks she slid past on the way down to this place.
The apemen dropped to their knees. Others touched the metal of her arm with something approaching awe, transfixed. More of the figures emerged from the jungle, surrounding her on every side. An army of small furry creatures. Some of them were wounded. She felt like C3PO from Star Wars, elevated to God-like status by the Ewoks.
“Uh, hello,” Rosetta said. “Have any of you heard of Bryan Angelo, by any chance?”
What Lies Beneath
1
THE TRANSFORMATION was unlike anything Bryan had ever seen.
On the surface, he’d traveled almost every inch of the world. He’d witnessed the dewey frost of English autumn on acres of rolling hill landscape, had seen the approaching heat waves of baked earth in the Middle East, and the incessant calm at Everest base camp while he was refilling his water bottle before the rest of the team—and seemingly the whole world—was even up.
But he had never seen anything quite so dramatic as this.
As the sun set it took its warm rays of light with it, leaving nothing to dissipate the thick fog that rolled in like thunder. It descended fast, faster than Bryan could believe, cold and chill, the air suddenly attaining weight and substance. Every exhalation produced pulsing wisps in front of his mouth and nostrils, like braying cattle on a chill morning.
Then the fog became dense, so thick it was difficult to see much farther than a couple of yards from the end of his nose, thicker than pea soup. The seafront was behind the shroud, but was impossible to make out. Even the gentle probing undulations were silenced.
Bryan took Zoe and Cassie’s hands and backed away from the waterfront. On the surface, the tide would have risen toward them, and to stay where they were was foolish. But there weren’t on the surface. It was difficult sometimes to remember that. There was no telling how the sea might act here.
The family rose up the beachfront and stood on the apex of a short hill. They cast around, but saw only walls of white. They moved farther back, waving their free hands to feel their surroundings.
“Ow!” Cassie said.
She put her finger in her mouth and sucked.
“Pine needles,” she said.
“Broad leaves on this side,” Zoe said.
“Any sign of a Hilton, by any chance?” Bryan said.
“Only a Best Western,” Zoe said.
“I’ll pass,” Bryan said. “We’ve got to find somewhere to get dry and warm. If we can get dry, we’ll be in better shape come morning.”
“There are lots of dry reeds on the floor,” Zoe said.
“Scoop them up,” Bryan said. “I’ve got a lighter we might still be able to use.”
“A lighter?” Cassie said. “I thought you gave up smoking?”
“I did,” Bryan said.
“Then why do you have a lighter?” Cassie said.
“Do you think this is really the place to be having this discussion?” Bryan said.
“Don’t worry, Cassie,” Zoe said. “I’ll put a pin in it.”
Bryan sighed.
“We should start the fire on the beach,” Aaron said. “We don’t want to destroy whatever trees and plants are here. There might be food.”
“Not to mention indigenous tribes,” Zoe said.
“We should be so lucky,” Cassie said. “They’ll probably turn out to be cannibals.”
Zoe snorted with laughter. The others turned to look at her.
“Sorry,” she said. “Knowing our luck, she’s probably right. But we’re ali
ve and well. Well, alive anyway. After everything we’ve been through that’s as much as we can expect.”
They scooped up the dry reeds and leaves and returned to the bluff overlooking the beach.
“The sea doesn’t seem to be rising,” Bryan said. “At least that’s some good news.”
The sea gently lapped against the sand. It was a calm night. Bryan didn’t know if this place got storms or not, what with the lack of any real atmosphere, but he wasn’t about to get any closer to the seafront than he had to. They were still damp head to foot from their forced swim. The moisture in the air clung to them, making their clothes feel heavy.
Bryan sat his kindling down and dug an inverted dome in the sand. It was rough and gravelly with stones, twigs and other detritus. He put his kindling in the middle of the sand bowl. Zoe, Cassie and Aaron deposited their own dry reeds to one side.
“Cassie, Aaron, go get more kindling,” Bryan said.
Aaron and Cassie moved up the beach, Cassie grumbling that Bryan could have said ‘Please’. Zoe waited until the kids had moved out of earshot before whispering to Bryan.
“Do you think we’ll be all right?” she said.
It was what Bryan had on his mind ever since they’d arrived in this new world of theirs.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” Bryan said. “We’re castaway on a desert island with no signs of anything in the way of civilisation. On the plus side, we’re surrounded by sea. If there have been sinkholes anywhere on the surface, the majority will have occurred in an ocean, meaning there will be plenty of fish down here. We’ll figure out a way to survive and then, hopefully, a way out of here.”
“Do you think there will be a Passage like in the last world?” Zoe said. “A way out of here?”
“‘World’?” Bryan said, arching an eyebrow.
“I don’t know what else to call these places,” Zoe said.
“World works for me,” Bryan said. “Sort of like Super Mario Brothers.”
“Nerd,” Zoe said.
“But without the pipes to take us home,” Bryan said.
“You’re forgetting the Passages,” Zoe said.
“If they exist in every world,” Bryan said. “Anyway, why would they?”
Zoe shrugged.
“Why wouldn’t they?” she said. “There was one in the last world. Stands to reason there might be another one here too somewhere.”
“We can hope, at least,” Bryan said.
“Why do these worlds even exist?” Zoe said.
“To torment us,” Bryan said. “That’s why they exist. The same reason for everything else in life.”
“Listen to Mr. Positive over here,” Zoe said.
“Quiet,” Bryan said. “I’m about to perform my manly duties.”
Bryan ran his thumb over the striker of his lighter. Nothing happened. He did it again. Again, nothing.
“What’s wrong?” Zoe said.
“Nothing,” Bryan said. “I think it’s a little damp from the sea. Let me try again.”
He shook it, for no other reason than he thought it might help. He pulled on the striker again, and this time a spark issued forth, and though the reeds did not set aflame, they did kindle the hope in Bryan’s heart. He pulled again and again on the striker, and finally, after a dozen attempts, a spark kissed the reeds and a tongue of flame rose, spreading to the other reeds.
“Hahahahahaaa!” Bryan said, his laugh rising maniacally. “Yes!”
Aaron and Cassie arrived armed with their dry charges.
“Add them to the fire,” Bryan said.
Aaron deposited his burden, and the fire leapt higher. They could all feel the gorgeous warmth, and even the mist began to diffuse, the fog dispelled around them. The fog seemed to keep the fire in check too, holding it down, suppressing it, but unable to stifle it.
Bryan stood up, took Zoe by the hands, and performed a dance around the flames. Zoe laughed, covering her mouth. Bryan linked arms with Cassie and spun her around in a circle.
“Let go!” Cassie said. “Let go! I don’t dance! Let go!”
But he didn’t. And Zoe took Aaron by the hands, and they danced too. It looked reminiscent of the native American Indian rain dance, only this performance was in thanks for the warmth of the fire before them.
It was about time they felt some positive emotions from this whole experience, Bryan thought. And the worries and concerns of their situation melted away.
SCREEEEAAAAHHH!
The sound cut through the silent night, akin to nails on the unflinching iron of a corrugated roof. The family came to an immediate stop, looking out toward the water’s edge, where the sound had emanated from. Their breaths caught in their throats.
“What was that?” Cassie said, her voice raspy and coarse with fear.
“I don’t know,” Bryan said. “But it sounded big.”
“And angry,” Zoe said.
“And hungry,” Aaron said.
SCREEEEAAAAHHH!
It was the pained death of a beast in the throes of having its soul torn from its body. Then there was a gurgle, and a blasting hiss from a blowhole. The fog was too thick for the family to make out anything. It was just as well. They didn’t really want to see what was out there anyway.
But something was certainly out there.
Their triumphant jubilations had come to an abrupt end, their horror returning in full. The scream of the creature had cleansed them of any positive emotions.
They sat on the opposite side of the fire, facing toward the sea, listening as it gently lapped against the sand. The fire flickered shadow puppets across the thick fog, like a movie screen, only these shades were projected from their own minds, their own demons and fears, coming to life in three dimensions.
It took a long time to find sleep, and when it finally arrived, the family were welcomed by their own personal monster, each different in size, shape and color. But they all spoke in the same twisted tongue:
SCREEEEAAAAHHH!
2
THE FEW HOURS of sleep Bryan managed to pry from his consciousness were brimming with roving beasts and untamed monsters. Each time he fell to the depth of REM sleep, he shot up into a sitting position and stared in the direction of the sea.
Every ninety minutes—the time it takes to sink to the depths of REM—he witnessed a slice of night develop into day. When he finally awoke, the sun was high in the sky and the fog had dissipated. The sea gently scrubbed the beach and showed no sign of the horror it had exhibited the night before.
Bryan pushed himself up onto his elbows. Sand was embedded in his forehead. The fire had died in the night, its grey ash a pimple on the beach’s surface. Bryan got to his feet and pulled up his pants. They had become twisted in the night. He staggered toward the seafront.
Despite his grogginess, he was alert enough to recall what lurked in the sea. And so he approached it slowly, cautiously. The water was beautiful and clear, the seabed visible beneath the ripples and gentle waves. Nothing could get the jump on him. He fell to his knees, cupped his hands, and splashed the water over his face, scrubbing the sleep and exhaustion out of his eyes and body.
He was still tired to his bones, but at least he could feign alertness. He breathed in the salty sea air, turned, and headed back up the seafront.
Cassie jerked awake and held a broken stick above her head in one hand, eyes wide and ready for an attack. She was too late to defend herself, if defense was even possible.
“Is it gone?” Cassie said, her voice whisper-thin.
There wasn’t any need to specify what the ‘it’ was.
“Yes, it’s gone,” Bryan said. “Go back to sleep.”
Cassie let out the breath she’d been holding. The arm held over her head dropped, striking the gritty sand. Her eyes closed and she fell back to sleep.
Aaron was asleep next to her, unmoving. Bryan would let them sleep. It’d been a long night and they needed all the rest they could get. Zoe was nowhere to be seen, but he could make o
ut the indentations her feet had made as she ascended the beachfront to the thick foliage at their backs. He followed them like breadcrumbs.
The canopy was thicker than Bryan had expected. There were many trees, but little in the way of food, so far as he could tell. There were the catcalls and tweets of birds. They flittered overhead, landing heavily on the branches to peer down at him. They turned their heads to the side in a clear expression of curiosity.
Perhaps they had never seen a man before. It hurt Bryan’s head to wonder how the birds had gotten there in the first place. They would soon learn to fear the creature who walked upright on two legs. After all, they were meat.
“Zoe?” Bryan said, calling out.
There was no answer.
“Zoe?” Bryan said again.
“I’m over here,” Zoe’s voice said.
“Care to be more specific?” Bryan said.
There was a rustle, and then a flash of skin from behind a bush. The dry reeds and twigs snapped under his boots as he crossed to Zoe, who was crouched down, plucking berries from a hedge and placing them in a bowl she’d fashioned from a pair of broad leaves.
“I’m not sure we should be eating anything we’re unsure of,” Bryan said.
“They’re blackberries,” Zoe said. “Here, try one.”
Bryan’s stomach growled. He tossed the berry in his mouth and licked his fingers. The taste exploded across his taste buds. It was so sweet it could have been sugar. His stomach growled for more, and suddenly he was a great deal more hungry than he had been a moment earlier. He wanted nothing more than to shove all the berries in his face.
“We’ll eat, then explore the island,” Zoe said. “If we’re lucky, we’ll find we’re part of a larger landmass and able to walk farther inland.”
Bryan wasn’t listening. His senses were fixated on the berries. Zoe had a whole bowlful at her feet. Bryan helped pluck more, depositing them in the bowl. His fingertips were stained black by the time they were finished.
They returned to the beachfront and shook Cassie and Aaron awake. Cassie shot up into a sitting position, arms rising above her head, armed once more with her stick. She took a half-hearted swipe at Bryan, who let the strike smack his shin.
