The Tunnels Below

by Nadine Wild-Palmer

  “Thanks!” said Kuffi, who was beaming now.

  “The name’s Bear, by the way,” he said, extending a shaggy hand.

  “Bear? That’s it? Just Bear…” said Cecilia.

  Kuffi nudged her.

  “This is Cecilia and I am Kuffi. Lovely to meet you, Bear, but we’d best be off.”

  With that Cecilia and Kuffi stepped out of the shop, flavours hanging in the air behind them.

  “Not so fast,” a voice came from behind them. “ID papers, please, Mr Kuffi.”

  Kuffi’s face dropped and Cecilia grabbed his furry hand.

  8

  Finders Keepers

  “I hope you’ve had your licence renewed since we last had the pleasure of bumping into you.” It was Julius; Cecilia knew by his sarcastic tone of voice. Marvin followed closely behind him.

  Kuffi remained very still and said slowly, “We are just on our way to the office now, as a matter of fact. Don’t worry, Cecilia, we still have plenty of time before the office closes.”

  “Do you know, Kuffi? I think Marv and I just had to close the ID Office down. Some sort of leak apparently. Couldn’t be helped.” Julius brought the sharp end of his beak up to Cecilia’s nose. “And who, pray tell, is your little friend here? And even more importantly, does it have ID papers?”

  “My name is Cecilia,” she said boldly.

  Julius picked at her clothes with his beak, giving her a once over. Kuffi pulled her behind him out of harm’s way, and Julius pulled her back as he continued speaking. “Funny looking thing, isn’t it, Marv?” he said. “Where did you find that scruffy little creature?”

  Out of the dark beyond the shop came a loud grunt. Julius and Marvin turned abruptly. “Who’s there?” shouted Marvin.

  Kuffi shoved Cecilia into the shadows and whispered, “Run. Go on, run back to the juice station!”

  Cecilia turned on her heels and ran back towards the orange line. She didn’t dare look behind her, she just kept running. She travelled quite some way before she got back to the juice station and when she did, it was closed. She leant against the pump, panting, trying to steady herself. She hoped Rosie might come out but she didn’t, so Cecilia slumped down behind the pump, out of sight. The lights from the juice station were very low; Rosie must’ve shut up shop.

  As she caught her breath she could hear the scuffling of feet on the other side of the pump. She turned and propped herself up, one hand on her knee and the other resting on the pump for support.

  “You lost something?” the voice asked.

  It sounded familiar, and unexpectedly a furry hand was offered. Cecilia took it warily, straightening up to find herself looking into the face of the young stag-face boy, Luke.

  “Thank you,” she said, wiping the dampness from her forehead with the sleeve of her coat.

  “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” he jested, whipping the hood of her jacket up over her head. “It’s probably good to stay covered. You stick out like a sore snout!”

  “You won’t get away that easily!” A voice came shouting from the direction that Cecilia had come.

  “Looks like someone’s been up to mischief,” said Luke. “Wait, where’s Koof?”

  “Those bird-faces, the Corvus…”

  Luke grabbed Cecilia’s arm and ducked back down behind the pump, taking her with him. He threw something over his shoulder into the clearing in front of their hiding spot.

  “Shhh,” he gestured. “It’s a decoy. Just watch, it usually works a charm.”

  They waited while Marvin’s eyes caught up with where the decoy had landed. He spotted it and rushed over to it, instantly distracted by its shininess. Marvin kicked it about a bit, the object glinting in the dim light. It was just a bit of tinfoil but Marvin gazed upon it as though it was treasure.

  “That’s it, Marv, take the bait,” whispered Luke.

  Marvin played with the tinfoil for a bit then flew off back off down the orange line. He’d obviously forgotten what he was there for.

  “Yes!” exclaimed Luke. “Thank me later! Lucky for us, Marv is a tad forgetful when it comes to shiny things but I guess you’d know something about that, being a wanderer and all.”

  “I’m NOT a wanderer!” said Cecilia firmly.

  “Yes, you are,” responded Luke.

  “I am not!”

  “OK, were you found?”

  “Yes.”

  “Were you lost and wandering around searching for ‘the light’?” he said, making rabbit fingers in the air.

  “Sort of… I guess so.”

  “Well then, if you’ve been off wandering around in the dark for a while and you’re finding it a teeny-weeny bit difficult to remember your tail from your whiskers, you are a wanderer. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, you know!”

  “Oh, were you a wanderer too then?” said Cecilia hopefully.

  “No, not me! Jasper,” said Luke.

  “Oh, Jasper, yes. Kuffi mentioned him once or twice.”

  She smiled into Luke’s silvery eyes “This is all a bit confusing for me at the moment.”

  “I’ll say, but I’m sure you’ll catch on. Jasper did in the end,” said Luke, tailing off with a disturbed look in his eyes. He was listening out. And almost as if he had summoned it, a shrieking caw came from the Corvus Community, the sound hurtling towards them along the tunnels. Cackling, crackling. “Warning caws,” said Luke, standing poised for a second. Then he shouted for her to “get down!”, covering her over with his hoody, which opened out into some sort of cloak. He held them down, flat against the ground. A howl began sweeping up the dirt as a bat-face man flew out of the darkness and pressed himself flat against the wall like a piece of windswept paper. A few dwellers who were making their way down towards them from Market Square scuttled along the tunnel, clinging to the pockmarks in the walls and pressing themselves hard up against it. A huge gust swept over Luke and Cecilia; she felt it pressing her chest into the ground as though a heavy ball of air was rolling over her. As it passed she could see it was some sort of air bubble, toppling and ruffling everything in its path—and then it was gone, as quick as it came. Luke burst into fits of excitement, jumping up.

  “Woweeeeee, did you feel that!” he said, gesticulating wildly. He punched the air and spinning around he jabbed Cecilia in the ribs. “It’s almost competition time! Unreal, isn’t it?”

  Cecilia was flustered. “What was that exactly?”

  “It was Zephira: the wind of sighs. When she passes over she signals the start of the Ride or Sigh competition!” he said, tidying the mess of red hair under his hood. “Gee, Cecilia, wasn’t it wicked? I’ve never actually felt it before!”

  Cecilia took a moment to take it all in. She felt overcome with emotion. Happiness and sadness lingered around her like a cloud. It was quite a delicate sensation, like watching a film that makes you laugh one moment and brings you to tears the next.

  “Where does it come from?” she asked.

  “No one knows really, it just sort of rolls around. Could be ages before we feel it again.”

  People were just beginning to pick themselves up and peel themselves off the walls, dusting each other off, smiling and talking excitedly.

  “What happens now?” asked Cecilia.

  “Well, we wait until the sighs start to get colourful!”

  Cecilia wasn’t sure what that meant.

  “You’ll see,” he said, picking up on her ignorance. “Guess you’re back to square one without Koof. What will you do now?”

  “I’m not sure. I haven’t had a chance to think about it yet,” she replied.

  “Well, you could come with me. You’d be able to meet Jasper! We both dwell in the same cubby; he might even help you sort out what you’re going to do, now you’re all alone.”

  “Really?” she said.

  “Yes, but it’ll cost you!” he said slowly, as though he were calculating something.

  “I’ve got buttons; how many do you want?” said Cecilia, searching
her pockets.

  “No. Buttons won’t be enough. I want the other thing. The big round thing you had in your pocket, back at the market earlier,” he said very seriously.

  Cecilia winced. “The marble that you tried to steal, you mean? No way, it was a gift!”

  “Fine.” Luke began to stroll away, seemingly carefree. “Good luck out there, I’m sure you’ll be OK. Let me know if you want to grab some grub sometime.”

  Cecilia stood defiant as she watched him begin to walk away. It dawned on her that she was lost and alone in a strange place. Without Kuffi she couldn’t even get back to where she started. She felt helpless and before she even knew what she was doing she had relented. What use was a marble to her anyway? She caught up with him.

  “OK. You win. But you have to help me get Kuffi back as well, or at least help me find him.”

  “You have got to be kidding me. Are you actually crazy?” laughed Luke.

  “I owe him,” pleaded Cecilia.

  “Yeah, YOU owe him. I’ve got nothing to do with it.”

  Cecilia held up the marble in the light, grasping it tightly before his eyes. Luke stood entranced, his eyes sort of glowing. It was as if the mist inside the marble started to move. Then she snatched it away, this time hiding it in the pocket of her jeans.

  “All right, all right. I’ll get you as far as the Corvus Community’s HQ—the Nest—then you’re on your own, kiddo,” he said, jabbing his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels.

  “Corvus Community. Right.” She nodded. “And that’s when you can have the marble.”

  “Cool. Deal. Pray on it,” said Luke.

  “Huh?” Cecilia held her two hands together in prayer like she had seen on Sunday morning TV from time to time—if she was up early enough, that is.

  “Not like that. Hold your hand up to mine.”

  She did as she was told and Luke held his up and pressed his palm to hers, folding his fingers into the gaps between hers.

  “Now that’s a promise,” he said after a moment or two.

  “OK. Promise,” agreed Cecilia.

  “Right then, let’s get a move on. I’m tired and I’ve got things I need to do. I should get home,” said Luke. He looked at Cecilia long and hard, then cracked a smile and sighed, a colourful humour gathering about him. “What am I getting myself into?” he chuckled.

  9

  Layer upon Layer

  Cecilia and Luke walked side by side chatting to one another. They stopped to let a group of excited young dwellers pass—they couldn’t have been much older than Cecilia, or Luke for that matter. They were audibly excited about the forthcoming Ride or Sigh competition and a young badger-face kept slowing the rest of the party down to show them his moves. Cecilia spotted a goat-faced guy wearing a leather jacket. He looked a quite a bit bigger than the rest of them; he didn’t really fit in, and just as Cecilia was about to point him out, he disappeared. Cecilia looked back to Luke once the crowd had faded into the distance. Luke was tall and broad. He looked quite big and strong but she could tell they were around the same age.

  “How old are you?” she asked.

  “I’m old enough,” he said. His smile was warm and comely; his eyes sparkled even in the faintest of light. Cecilia felt herself blush.

  “How old are you?” he said, turning his face away.

  “I just turned twelve. It’s my birthday, well it was when I woke up this morning. If it even is still today,” she said.

  “OK, but are you sure? Because I can’t tell. Who knows what you look like under all that dirt! You could be, like, seventy or something for all I know!” he replied, holding his back as if in pain and leaning on an imaginary walking stick.

  “Hey!” said Cecilia, swatting the air, “I’m twelve. That’s something I know for sure. All right?” She laughed.

  Luke stopped and held the outside edges of Cecilia’s arms, looking into her face and scanning it. “Yeah, I’d say you look about twelve… times fifty!” And with that he began snorting with laughter.

  “Funny,” she said in the same tone she would usually use to annoy Hester. This thought distracted her for a moment.

  “Are you OK?” Luke asked.

  “Yeah, I just… I miss my sister, Hester. That’s all.”

  Luke patted her on the shoulder. He wasn’t sure what else to do. Cecilia trailed slightly behind Luke for a short while once they began walking along again. She thought about Hester and home and inhaling deeply she reassured herself: “I am twelve. I do know where I come from and that I have a family and a cat and a life above ground. I’m not crazy. I’m just lost. I will get out of this place, I will. I know I will!”

  Luke waited a moment as she caught up. He could see she was a bit blue; it seemed to hang in the air about her.

  “Come on, slow coach!” he called.

  Cecilia caught up with him and he put his arm around her shoulder and sort of hung off her the way teenagers do.

  “So there’s a few things you should know about Jasper,” Luke said, matter of fact. “First of all, he’s blind. He lost his eyesight in a freak accident, but he’s not likely to talk to you about that so don’t bother asking. And to add insult to injury, as they say, his hearing isn’t crash-hot, but don’t worry because he’s got this really dorky contraption called an ear horn. It’s like the bell of a mini trumpet-crumpet that he wedges in his ear so he can hear you better. I don’t think it makes a difference but he swears by it. Fortunately he doesn’t go out much anyway. Mainly I look out for him and he listens out for me. We’re a team. Oh, and if he’s a bit grouchy, don’t take it personally. That’s just his way. It wears off!”

  “Thanks for the information,” said Cecilia.

  “Don’t mention it. Right, now walk on, straight ahead.”

  “But that’s a wall,” said Cecilia.

  “You always take things at face value. Don’t you see that everything has layers?”

  And with that Luke ducked down low and slipped away beyond the orange light into a pocket of darkness beyond. A few moments later Cecilia heard an invisible voice calling her name playfully through the wall, sounding like a ghost. She approached the wall with her hands slightly outstretched. Just underneath the glaring light attached to the tunnel wall was a small opening; she could feel the gap with her foot.

  “Hurry up! Or someone might see you. Just duck under the light. It’s fine, trust me.”

  She crouched under the light running along the wall; it was bright and marked the insides of her eyelids when she blinked. She moved under it like one might in a game of limbo and shuffled into a cool dark spot behind it. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust, but when they did she could see another deeper layer of darkness further ahead. Beyond that she could just about make out an entrance not far from her spot in the cool, cavernous space. She walked very slowly towards it and found that it led to a cave within a cave, where Luke stood waiting for her. He ushered her towards an old wooden door, tapping on a lamp lit by several tiny moving lights. He shook it vigorously from side to side and it became brighter and brighter. Cecilia examined it closely while Luke fumbled around looking for a key, and saw that the light came from a collection of small creatures crawling around the inside of the lamp. Cecilia recognised the creatures: they were fireflies.

  “Welcome to my palace,” Luke said, bowing and gesturing for Cecilia to enter as he flung the door open. She passed through the doorway and curtseyed back. Cecilia let her eyes roam the room. It was quite beautiful, with a black and white checkerboard floor and rusty brass trimmings about the place and panels of mirror lining the interior walls that reflected light everywhere. It was much bigger and brighter than Kuffi’s cabin. Cecilia examined the ceiling, which appeared quite low at first. However, when she stood in the middle and looked directly skywards, she could see it travelled quite some way up.

  “Who’s with you, Luke? I can hear two sets of feet,” said an old crumpled voice in the corner. Cecilia hadn’t seen him
propping himself up by the fireplace; the figure was sort of camouflaged by all the stuff hanging on the walls.

  “It’s OK, Jasper, she’s a friend,” said Luke.

  “What is she doing in here, Luke? Have you lost your marbles?”

  “Actually, I have found them, you’ll be pleased to know. Well, one, but quite literally!” Luke said, pleased as punch.

  Jasper searched the air for Luke’s voice and approached them slowly, adjusting his hearing by using the ear horn hanging around his neck on a silver chain. It was a silver trumpet-shaped pipe—it was much prettier than Luke had suggested when he’d mentioned it earlier.

  “Meet Cecilia. She’s lost and we have entered into a bargain. I’m going to help her find Kuffi—she’s a friend of his—and she is going to pay me with her marble. Quite simple really if you think about it, Jasper.”

  “Why are you going to help her find Kuffi?” said Jasper, looking rather worried. “Is he lost?”

  “Oh right. Yeah, about that… I think you’d better sit down,” said Luke.

  10

  Breaking News

  Jasper made his way over to a door that led from the main cavern into another room.

  “Come on in, Cecilia,” said Luke.

  “Are you sure I should? I don’t think he likes me very much.”

  “It’s fine. He’s just a bit grumpy because he doesn’t like surprises, or visitors!” Luke chuckled. “But he’ll be fine in a bit.”

  “I can hear you, you know!” said Jasper.