Extreme Difference

by D. B. Reynolds-Moreton

  Everyone promptly leapt for solid rock, dropping several items in the rush for safety. They had barely turned around to see what had happened to it, when it came flying out with a flurry of sand to land at their feet.

  It was a badly shaken little band of men, which after very carefully retrieving their goods, continued along the edge of the sands towards Nan’s cave complex, reaching it just before the full blast of the naked sun hit the area.

  Nan was none too pleased when he realized that the eight strangers, only one of whom spoke their language, would have to stay until the evening, as the sun was now bathing the crater with its full brilliance, and travel across it would mean certain death to anyone who tried.

  Two other things were cause for concern, they would have to feed the strangers at midday, and the motley band were several grades up the rancid scale of smells, compared to the home team, and that didn’t go down too well with anyone.

  The four growing bins for the exchange were moved to a cave close to the opening, so that when the temperature had dropped sufficiently, they could send their malodorous visitors on their way as soon as possible.

  When Mop heard she would have to provide extra food, she threw the expected tantrum, which was great entertainment for all, except the deliverer of the news.

  The exchanged goods were taken down to Ben’s store, Nan, more from habit than necessity, querying every item as to why it had been chosen, especially the metallic cylinder with the attached pump. Sandy tried to explain, without going into details, that he wanted it for a future experiment, hiding the fact that he was none too sure himself why he had chosen it, except it seemed a good idea at the time. He was a man who often relied on hunches in life.

  ‘Why do you want that bale of cloth?’ asked Ben, when they were out of earshot of the others, ‘I thought the visitors said it was useless.’

  ‘To them it might be,’ Sandy replied, ‘ but I thought a new set of clothes for us would perk the place up a bit, and if we can include a hair cut and a wash down, we’ll be the smartest lot in the crater.’

  ‘Crater? What do you mean by that?’ asked Ben, a puzzled look on his face. The word’s familiar, but I can’t define what it means.’

  ‘A crater is the top of a volcano, a point on the earth’s crust where molten rock is forced up and spills out, building up into a cone shape. The middle often remains hollow, like a bowl, and that’s what we’re in. Why it’s filled with sand, I don’t know, I’ve never come across that before, and it’s the biggest crater I’ve ever seen, or heard of.’

  Sandy put the idea of new clothes to Nan later that morning, and was surprised by his keenness to go ahead with the project. The idea of hair cutting and a good wash, while not rejected out of hand, failed to receive the degree of enthusiasm Sandy had hoped for, and he did not understand why.

  The time for the midday meal arrived, and the whole group assembled in the main cavern to sample Mop’s offering for the day, minus the visitors.

  ‘Where are the others?’ asked Nan, concerned that their hospitality might be open to question.

  ‘Mop said she would give them some food in the cave with their growing bins, even she can’t stand the smell.’ someone volunteered, a muffled chorus of agreement rippled around the cavern, and then someone made a very unkind comment about Mop’s general ambience, and Sandy heard the first really loud communal laugh since arriving.

  The placid acceptance of the group’s situation worried Sandy, and taking Nan to one side after their meal, asked him again why no one had ever tried to climb to the top of the peaks, and see what was on the other side.

  ‘It was tried, once, long ago so I’m told, but the climbers never returned, I think they must have been caught by the night freeze up, unable to get back to the caves before nightfall. Why are you so interested in what’s on the other side of the peaks?’

  ‘I think there may be another world out there, something a little better than what we have here, and I think it’s worth trying to find out.’ Sandy replied, firmly.

  ‘I’d rather you didn’t try, because I don’t think you’ll come back. Surely there’s enough to interest you here, the new clothes for instance?’ Nan had adopted his sad look to back up his feelings at the thought of loosing their new acquisition.

  ‘Has anyone checked to see if there are any tunnels which lead upwards? We might be able to go up inside the rim and find an opening near the top which looks out on the other side, and then we would be protected from the cold and heat, and could take our time about it.’

  ‘There are many tunnels we don’t use, because you die if you go into them, especially the ones which lead downwards, or so I’ve heard, so don’t try those.’ Nan was now looking worried, and wondered how he could side-track the persistent Sandy.

  ‘Perhaps Ben and I could have a little look around, just to see if there are any passages leading up. We won’t go up, until we’ve cleared it with you. I don’t see any harm in that.’

  Nan knew when he was beaten, and gave in as graciously as possible, little knowing what the outcome of such an expedition would bring about.

  Ben grinned broadly when Sandy told him of his intentions, and set off down the passage towards his store room.

  ‘There’s a small hole in one corner which has an up draft, I’ve noticed dust being sucked up into it when I disturb some of the materials down there. It might be a way up, but we’ll have to enlarge the hole somewhat to get in.’

  The store room was quite well lit compared to some of the other caves, and it only took a few moments to clear the corner fully to expose the hole.

  ‘There you are, see the dust going up?’ Tiny dust motes in the air drifted towards the hole, and then sped up to disappear into the darkness beyond the reach of the lamps.

  Sandy put his arm in the hole, and could feel the steady cool flow of air agitating the hairs on the back of his hand.

  ‘That air is going somewhere. If we could make some smoke down here, we could then go outside to see if it comes out higher up. If it doesn't, then that means it’s coming out on the other side of the rim.’

  ‘Or so high up we can’t see it,’ Ben added, ‘but it’s worth a try.’

  A rummage through several caves produced a collection of very dirty and smelly rags, Sandy assuring Ben that no one would miss them. Using a bar of metal and the lump of stone they had previously used as a hammer, the hole was enlarged enough for Sandy to get his head and shoulders in. Ben passed him the rags, and he piled them up in a heap as far back into the cavity as he could reach.

  ‘We’ll tell Nan what we are about,’ said Sandy, feeling pleased that they had made a start on the project, ‘and then we can light the rags when the sun drops below the rim, it should be safe to go out then to see where the smoke comes out, if it does.’

  ‘There’s something we’ve not thought of,’ said Ben respectfully, as they made their way back up to the main cavern, ‘and that’s how will we be able to see where we’re going in this new tunnel?’

  ‘I had thought of that,’ replied Sandy, ‘but so far haven’t solved the problem. What we need is a burnable oil, but so far I haven’t seen any oil-like substance here. Do you know of any?’

  Ben, after querying what oil was, thought long and hard, but could not recall having seen anything like it. It was decided to ask Nan, and if that failed, they would approach the groups on either side of their complex.

  ‘Although many things you mention are familiar words to me, I don't know what they mean,' said Ben, ‘but you seem to know, like the oil, how do you explain that?'

  ‘Can’t really, I just seem to know. It might seem unbelievable to you, but I think we have been sent here for some reason, and our memories have been tampered with so that we can’t find out about it.’ Sandy paused for a moment, wondering if he should continue with his theory. Although Ben was more accepting of new ideas than Nan, there might be a limit past which he would lose Ben’s co-operation.

  ‘What you say ma
kes sense, sort of, and certainly answers a few questions, but why would anyone want to do that to us?’ Ben’s interest was aroused.

  ‘That’s one thing I want to find out,’ Sandy replied. ‘I think the method of our arrival here might be something to do with it. Have you ever seen the so called Great Lights?’

  ‘No, only Nan goes out to collect the new people, and anything left for us. He’s very secretive about it, and never tells us when he’s going. Do you think they’re people like us, and not the Creator as Nan says?’

  ‘Damn sure of it, but proving it will be another matter.’

  At that moment, Mop appeared out of nowhere, accompanied by her own personal aroma, and grabbed Sandy’s arm.

  ‘What’s this about new clothes for us?’ she asked, giving him her best smile, ‘I could help you make them.’

  ‘Ah, there’s a condition attached to that,’ said Sandy quickly, ‘to qualify for new clothes, that person has to have a haircut and a wash, otherwise the new clothes will wind up looking like the present ones, and that would just be a waste of time and effort.’

  ‘Oh, will you be supervising that?’ she replied cheekily, the smile getting even wider, and exposing several teeth badly in need of repair.

  ‘I might have to, just to make sure it’s done properly.’ he said brightly, desperately hoping it would not come to that.

  By the time they had found Nan and explained what they intended to do, the sun had lowered towards the top of the peaks, and the visitors began moving their growing boxes up to the entrance of the cave system.

  A sudden commotion brought everyone running to find an indignant Karry standing with her arms folded across her chest, glaring into the cave where the boxes had been stored.

  Apparently, one of the visitors, encouraged by his friend, had made a grab at Karry’s ample bosom during the box shifting. Karry had responded to this affront on her person by grabbing them both, and banging their heads together.

  They now lay in a crumpled heap against the cave wall, while the rest of the group were remonstrating at Karry from what they considered to be a safe distance.

  It took Nan and the interpreter several minutes to calm the situation down to boiling point, and many more to restore some semblance of order among the visitors.

  Eventually, an equable state of affairs was reached, the visiting party departing with what they thought to be the better side of the bargain, and a very huffy Karry explaining why she did what she did, to a disinterested Nan.

  ‘Touchy bunch.’ said Sandy, as they retreated into the comparative warmth of the tunnel system. ‘What are the lot on the other side of us like?’

  ‘Can’t say I know much about ’em,’ Ben replied. ‘Nan’s the only one who has any dealing with ’em, and he doesn’t say much, but I’ll try and find out.’ he added enthusiastically, sensing another adventure in the offing.

  They made their way down to Ben’s store cave to light the rags they had pushed into the tunnel with the up draft, hoping not to see any smoke coming out on their side of the towering peaks.

  Ben carefully lit a piece of rag from the gas lamp, and placed it at the bottom of the pile in the tunnel, fanning it with his hand until copious amounts of smoke were sucked up the chimney-like hole.

  ‘Right, let’s get outside and see what’s happening.’ Sandy called over his shoulder, as he left the cave and sped up the tunnel to the open crater. On the way, they nearly knocked a surprised Mop over as she was making her way down to them. They failed to notice the hurt look on her face as they raced by, causing the flickering gas lamps to dance even more vigorously in their passing draft.

  The top of the peaks were bathed in fiery light from the fast sinking sun as the pair burst out into the open.

  ‘God, it’s cold already.’ Sandy exclaimed, shivering. ‘It should be safe enough to go out a short way, I suppose?’

  Ben, a little out of breath, just nodded as they hesitantly walked onto the sands, looking for any sign of movement.

  At only ten metres out from the edge of the chilling sands, they could feel the cold seeping through their footwear, another five metres and Ben began to complain vociferously.

  ‘Hope this won’t take long, my feet are aching already,’ he moaned, ‘and there’s always a chance something will try and grab us from below.’

  ‘Oh shut up, and look for the smoke.’ Sandy exclaimed impatiently. ‘If we can’t see any, then it means it’s coming out on the other side of the peaks, which will at least prove there is another side.’

  They stood there for some time, gazing up at the peaks and stamping their feet to keep the circulation going, and not caring if it attracted the attention of the dwellers beneath.

  As the sun finally dipped so low that only the very top of the highest peaks reflected its lurid red light, Sandy decided that they had been out long enough to have seen any smoke which was likely to exit within the crater’s bowl, much to Ben's relief, and they returned to the cave system to inform Nan of their findings, such as they were.

  The caverns seemed positively hot to the shivering pair as they sought out the elusive Nan, eventually tracking him down in Mop’s kitchen, sitting in a corner, chewing. He immediately tried to swallow Mop’s illicit gift, going red in the face from embarrassment at being caught, and trying to swallow and breathe at the same time.

  ‘What have you two been up to?’ he asked, when he got his breath back. ‘Oh yes, the smoke test, what happened?’

  ‘We didn’t see any smoke, and we were out there quite a long time, therefore the smoke must have come out on the other side of the peaks,’ Sandy announced triumphantly, ‘so there must be something on the other side, and it might be better than this place.’ he added firmly.

  ‘I don’t understand why you’re so keen to find somewhere else, this place has supported us well for a long time now, and we have enough to eat.’ Nan came back with, not happy that the status quo was about to be challenged yet again.

  ‘Well, you do.’ Ben added quickly, a sharp edge to his voice, and Nan went a deeper red at the instantaneous gibe.

  Mop promptly produced a small handful of the berries she had given Nan, and equilibrium was restored as they all chewed on in silence for a few moments.

  ‘I’m not criticizing this place,’ said Sandy, after hurriedly swallowing the sweet tasting pulp, ‘I just think there might be somewhere a bit better, and if we don’t look, we’ll never know.’

  ‘I don’t suppose I can stop you, just be careful, and don’t take any unnecessary risks.’ Nan seemed resigned to his slowly diminishing authority over the newcomer, and as Ben had seemingly aligned himself with Sandy, there was little he could do about the matter.

  Sandy explained that he wanted to open the hole in Ben’s store sufficiently for them to crawl in, and if they could make a light giving device, explore the new tunnel, looking for an exit on the other side of the surrounding peaks.

  Nan suddenly seemed relieved as he realized that light was the key to the whole project, and the fixed gas lamps were the only source of light in their tiny kingdom.

  Unfortunately, he had not reckoned with Sandy’s determination or ingenuity, so his relief was somewhat short lived.

  They chatted on for a while, and then Mop sent them off to the main cavern, as it was time for their evening meal.

  As the meal was finishing, a bundle of rags staggered into the cavern and fell to the ground with a whimper, and then lay still. Everyone froze.

  No one had ever visited them once night had fallen, as it was far too cold to be out and about. Nan was the first to make a move, going over to the heap of rags and gingerly giving it a poke with his foot. It remained motionless.

  ‘Someone help me get some of these coverings off.’ Sandy called out, as he began to unravel the bundled up figure lying on the floor of the cavern. ‘Not much of a welcome for the poor sod. He must have been in real trouble to have ventured out in the dark.’

  As the man’s face was reveal
ed, a large red bump stood out prominently on his forehead, with a trickle of blood seeping from a very bent nose.

  ‘Looks like someone whacked him one,’ Ben commented as he helped unwind the still unconscious creature, ‘you don’t get that much damage from a fall, surely.’

  ‘Mop, see if you can rustle up some hot soup, or something, he’s nearly frozen stiff.’ Nan called out as the figure inside the bundle of wrappings took on a more human form.

  She nodded, and hurried away, to return with a steaming bowl of gruel just as the last pieces of extra wrappings came off the spindle like figure of an elderly man, who was slowly gaining consciousness.

  ‘It’s the elder from the other group next to us!’ Nan exclaimed. ‘Prop him up and get some of that hot liquid into him, he must be chilled to the bone.’

  Mop enthusiastically administered a ladle full of the hot gruel, most of which was returned at high velocity as the poor creature was trying to breathe at the same time.

  Two more ladles of Mop’s dubious concoction, which this time was swallowed as she had got the timing right, and the man came to life with a force which surprised them all.

  ‘We’ve been attacked.’ he croaked, slumping down again.

  A sharp slap in the face from Nan, followed by another ladle of gruel, and he returned to the land of the living.

  ‘What happened?’ asked Nan, putting a comforting arm around the man’s shoulders. ‘You said you’ve been attacked.’

  ‘They hi-hit us just after su-sundown,’ the man stuttered. ‘They came pouring into our ca-caves, striking everyone with long ro-rods. I think most of us are de-dead.’

  ‘Who were they?’ asked Nan, a frightened look momentarily crossing his face, ‘have you seen them before?’

  ‘No, they were dressed is sm-smooth shiny clothes, nothing like the sort of thing we all wear. I’ve never seen anything like it before.’

  Another few portions of the hot gruel, and the man had recovered enough to sit up unaided, and his dazed look was replaced with one of fury.