by Susan Berran
What was this? It was as if this was the central nervous system, the city central, the . . . nursery!
Eggs, thousands and thousands of eggs, filling the entire cavern and being nurtured and baby-sat by . . .
. . . something.
Man, and I thought the baby-sitting I got stuck with was bad.
It would be impossible to calculate just how many creatures there were, and it seemed there were at least twice as many eggs.
I didn’t move. I was barely breathing as I inspected the entire cavern with the torch. I don’t know exactly what Jared has seen in the tunnels around his place, but he was right about one thing, . . . this was INCREDIBLE.
Then a terrifying thought crossed my mind. Maybe these tunnels joined the ones under his place . . . maybe they were all working together getting ready to invade, right here under our feet. Joining forces to take over the town, take over the country, maybe even the world!
And if no one but Jared and me knows they’re here . . .
Right then, at that very moment something occurred to me, I’m shining a torch in their faces, in their home, in their nursery, how smart is that?
. . . CLICK!!
I switched the torch straight off and gathered my thoughts.
When Jelly Melly shines a torch in my face . . . I smack her . . . Mum smacks me.
When I shine a torch in Yelly Melly’s face . . . she bites me . . . Mum smacks me!
So, I figure that shining the torch in anything’s face, is going to get me injured.
My eyes slowly adjusted to the dark, just enough to notice that the creatures didn’t seem to be too upset. They were carrying on as if I wasn’t there at all.
Were they blind?
ah ha!!!
That’s it, they’re blind!
As long as I remained quiet, and moved as slowly as possible, they wouldn’t know I was here . . . hopefully.
Being quiet was a bit tricky for me. But moving slowly wasn’t a problem; Mum reckons I couldn’t beat a sloth off the couch when I’m watching telly.
Pointing the torch at the floor, I flicked it back on. Very slowly I shone it up along the wall and back into the cavern. Nothing . . . no panic, from them, or me . . . yet.
I half-expected that at any second now one would lunge forward and grip me by the throat going, . . . nah nah, fooled ya!
But I’d get the last laugh as they began to choke, by saying . . . “Ha ha, guess who’s making that deadly smell?”
I know who’d be in more pain, not me! . . .
For the first time I was able to see them clearly, but I almost wish I hadn’t.
Their bodies had evolved, probably over centuries for their purpose, whatever that was. They seemed almost weak, but their arms and legs; I couldn’t yet see how many, but they appeared to be perfect for climbing.
Their heads were a weird shape . . . similar to a watermelon, but quite dark in colour, with two thin wiry attachments protruding at the top. Their body looks like a bigger watermelon, but soft and almost jelly-like.
No wonder they were hiding so well, their bodies are weak and fragile.
But what worried me the most was their mouths . . . yes, mouths.
I could see a mouth inside the mouth! A tiny obscure opening that didn’t seem to have any teeth. But I wasn’t getting that close to it either. With a massive set of ‘TUSKS’ in front of it, like two tree trunks as sharp as shark’s teeth, and ready to use like a guillotine on anything or anyone that might get in the way.
They seemed to be communicating with each other. But I couldn’t work out how or what they were saying.
It was fascinating, watching this mass of movement. But I needed to know more.
I took some tools from my backpack to be able to see everything even more clearly. I was determined to explore every detail in the cavern that I possibly could. But all the time I kept the javelin ready for use in case I needed it.
Just like the tunnels, the entire cavern surface was absolutely smooth with no apparent supports.
The eggs were almost white but semi-transparent, and it looked as if there was movement inside them. There was no way I could get close enough, creatures were crawling all over them!
Moving only one arm, as slowly as I could, I reached out as far as possible to stretch towards an egg. With the very tip of my finger, I touched one . . .
They know I’m here, the whole room seemed to stop. Every creature stood up and angled its body my way.
I pulled my finger straight back and held my breath, hoping I wouldn’t have to use the javelin.
WOW . . . these things didn’t have eyes, but they knew something not quite right was in there with them. They all moved in unison, slowly turning, searching. It seemed to take forever, but finally they must have sensed safety. Suddenly, they all turned and just continued with their work. I waited as long as I could before even taking another breath . . . pheewww!
It was as if they were all somehow connected and using one brain.
They went back to turning and adjusting the eggs, and I think, even talking to them. But there, on the other side of the cavern, almost hidden by eggs, something I hadn’t noticed before, another tunnel leading off.
I thought this was it, all of the inhabitants. But what if it wasn’t? What if the nursery was only a small part of the scheme? I had to know.
I didn’t want to disturb the nursery any further; that just might send them into some sort of attack FRENZY. I didn’t know if I could get out of there faster than they could attack . . . and I definitely didn’t want to find out.
I made sure I didn’t give them any reason at all to become upset.
I began to follow the tunnel leading off from the other side of the ‘nursery’. Straight away, I realised that this was way bigger than Jared or I had ever thought possible. There were tunnels going in every possible direction, and each of those tunnels that I looked down, had even more branching off them.
But one thing they all had in common . . . was a continuous line of creatures marching through them.
This was IMPOSSIBLE! The more tunnels I saw, the more it hit me.
These ‘alieNS’ were obviously building up their armies to take over whole towns all at once. They would be able to strike suddenly and swiftly without warning, causing total DESTRUCTION before returning to the safety of their underground fortress. There, they would be able to continue to move about in complete secrecy from the people above ground. This would leave their victims trying to rebuild . . . meanwhile, the next town, or city, would already be under attack.
I had no way of knowing what their plan was for sure. But one thing was very clear . . . soon, there would be more of them than us. And when that time comes, I don’t know if we’ll be able to stop them.
There were just so many of them.
It didn’t matter which way I went. There was room after room, tunnel after tunnel. I found more nurseries filled to the roof with eggs and carpeted with live creatures.
I felt as if I had stumbled into a network of roads, highways and freeways, and each one was just as busy.
Every creature seemed to have a purpose that they carried out with speed, enthusiasm, and absolute dedication.
Just up ahead, I could see another room opening, but this one was different somehow. The opening was smaller than the others, and even though it was off the main tunnel, there seemed to be no activity around it.
I peered into the room and nearly chucked. There, stretching out in front of me, was row after row of BODIES piled on top of each other. They weren’t wrapped or covered in any way; it was so gross.
I knew this was my opportunity to really study them. And to go back with the proof that they really existed!
There was no way I was going to touch one of these things though, especially a dead one!
I took my javelin and poked around the bodies; eewww, one rolled off the top of the pile and landed right by the door opening. It was shrivelled and yellowy-looking.
&nbs
p; This was harder than I thought it would be.
I lined up the javelin with what appeared to be its ‘gut’, then with squinted eyes, I pushed . . . yuk! The body seemed to crack; and then I heard the squelch of body fluids as it started to ooze its way down the javelin towards my fingers.
The creature was lighter than I thought, but still, I laid it to the side to collect later.
Returning to the main tunnel, I continued on for quite a way, until up ahead, I saw something very interesting.
There had to be at least a dozen tunnels joining into this one at the same spot. And each and every one of them had an absolutely continuous line of creatures coming and going from it. Just beyond them was another room. Every single creature entered that room in a great hurry.
I got into a good position and watched carefully. They didn’t seem to know I was here, or, they were so intent on carrying out orders, that they ignored me.
I didn’t care either way. As long as those MASSIVE mouths kept well away from me, I was happy.
As I studied them, a pattern became obvious; the ones entering the room were empty-handed, but when they emerged they were carrying something . . . an egg!!
Cautiously I began to bring the beam of light into that room;, my jaw dropped in amazement.
I had expected to see a thousand female creatures handing over their young to awaiting males, but no . . .
There, in the centre of the room was an incredible ‘BeiNg’ . It was the most massive creature of all. It wasn’t just in the centre of the room, it was most of the room. I couldn’t believe the size of this thing . . . it was like a whale surrounded by goldfish. But the head seemed even smaller than the other creatures, and even more noticeable was that it only had a tiny little mouth, not the massive TUSK-LIKE JAWS of the others.
It was so huge that it seemed to do nothing but breathe; it certainly wasn’t able to wander off down the tunnels. But it was doing something, . . . something far more important it seems than any other creature there. Its massive body was rhythmically swaying, no . . . more like pumping. A wave was slowly passing down the length of its body . . . and then . . . an egg was produced. Then, very gently and carefully, it was taken by the awaiting creature, away to one of the nurseries.
I watched in total amazement for a while. Fifteen eggs were being produced every minute.
We were in serious trouble, ARMIES were being produced overnight; and then they could . . .
Mel!!
What’s she doing in here? How did Smelly Melly even get into the shed?
Why does she have to follow me everywhere?
She doesn’t realise the danger . . . oh, oh!
There are some creatures heading her way.
I have to stop them!
“Stop poking the walls Mel . . . ” I yelled. “Stand still!!”
They know she’s there, they’re heading straight for her.
How can I make her understand? If she just stood still, they wouldn’t attack. Oh no!! Bits of earth were starting to fall away from the roof of the tunnel. Her stomping about had caused them to start collapsing. I had to get her out of there.
“Go Mel, get out of here . . . now!!” I screamed.
She wouldn’t listen to me. Damn, the whole lot’s going to cave in.
One of the walls somewhere had obviously given way, water was rushing into the tunnels . . . there was no way I could stop it now.
In minutes, the whole system would be flooded!
I threw my backpack across my shoulder to get it up out of the water.
For a split second, I even felt sorry for these creatures. They were in total panic. Their orderly, disciplined lives were literally being washed away around them.
Desperately they were trying to push and shove the reproductive ‘BeiNg’ to safety. But it was no use. There was no way they could get her out of there in time.
They could be so destructive. Yet being blind and in a panic, they could not save themselves. It was as if the head brain had already died.
They weren’t even interested in attacking us any more. It seemed that they were trying to save as many of their young as possible. But it was hopeless, they obviously couldn’t swim.
Mel was still just standing there, frozen to the spot; I yelled at her again . . .
“Get out!”, but she still wouldn’t move.
The walls were falling away in HUGE chunks now, as they soaked up the water and became too heavy to support themselves any longer.
Water continued to flow and rise throughout the labyrinth of tunnels. Bodies quietly floated by. Everywhere I looked, more and more BODIES.
As the roof of the tunnels began to collapse, I knew that there wasn’t long to go now. Within minutes, maybe seconds, total destruction would be complete.
For something so evolved, so determined to invade our homes . . . to be destroyed so easily.
I only hoped that Mum had stayed in the house and hadn’t followed Mel as well. I didn’t want her to see this.
I got Mel to jump on my back as the water continued to rise faster and faster.
If only I could have got My Melly out . . .
If only I could have stopped her from coming here in the first place . . .
Why did she always have to follow me?
BANG!!!!
Mum just about ripped the shed door off its hinges.
She glared at the burns, the broken tools, and the totally destroyed floor. Then down at me, lying in the dirt and mud with Miss Prissy Pants sitting on my back.
“Sam!!”
“What have you done to the shed? It’s ruined!!” Mum paused for just a second and then saw my magnifying glass and the creature that was skewered with my ‘javelin’ pin . . .
“We’ve got termites!” she yelled.
“They’re for my ant farm, but Smelly Melly just tipped a bottle of water on their nest and wrecked the whole thing,” I replied innocently.
I won’t repeat what Mum actually said, but I won’t be watching telly or seeing Jared for a while.
And there’s a pest guy coming tomorrow to fumigate the place.
BUGGA!!
Toe-jam, . . . yum . . .
Damn, I can’t reach it!
Don’t you just hate that?
You’re sitting on the edge of your bed in just your undies, and all you want to do is use your finger to dig between your toes and drag out the fluff, and sweat, and dirt all chunked together like a huge dob of mouldy, smelly mud.
Be careful though; remove it from its home, it might not be too happy about the move . . .
Ohh Crappp!!!
Fluff Butt just pooped right in the middle of the lounge room rug.
And not just some teeny tiny hardly noticeable little minor accident that mum probably won’t notice . . . oooh no!
This was the mother load . . . a week’s worth of tinned food; chunky beef tongue, chicken liver and lamb’s brain in gravy . . . all mooshing together; dissolving, rotting, for at least a week in the gastric juices of the dog’s stomach.
All deposited at once in a huge greeny-browny-yellowish dump!!
. . . crap! Why is it always dark?
You know . . . it’s midnight, there’s no moonlight and your head’s shoved into a toe-jammed, fungus-filled, smelly old gumboot. That dark!
I cautiously took a mirror out of my utility belt. My hands were sweating like a baboon’s butt wrapped in sheep. Gingerly I poked it around the corner (the mirror, not my butt), then, for a split second I saw it; teeth, really, really, really big teeth . . .
Sam and Jared are on holidays . . . in the most dangerous place on the planet.
With the poisonous plants, ferocious animals, tree-swinging hippies and Smelly Melly’s deadliest fungus-growing, chunky chuck-up nappies yet!
This time, adventure is hot on their heels . . . and they just might not be able to keep their stomach contents down.
I spent my childhood living in the majestic Blue Mountains and bushwalking there. In my teens
, the family (three brothers, little sis, Mum and Dad) all piled into the Kingswood and moved to the country town of Albury.
I spent ten years in the Australian Army as an illustrator and photographer.
Now I’m in the ‘sticks’ of Bethanga, with my partner and daughter Mel, puppy, six budgies and five hermit crabs . . . (the two possums, one small eagle, one turtle, three quails, two budgies, one cockatiel, three dogs, three cats and four hermit crabs and Wally the lamb, have all now happily moved on) . . . I’d like to share with you some of ‘Mel’s Imagining Stories’ that I have told to her over the years.
I hope you enjoy them too!
To drop a note to the author - Susan Berran
email: [email protected]
or www.susanberran.com
