“But I don’t get it. Why do you need to fill the lake at all?” Cecilia spoke tentatively now.
“Well, it’s something to do with having enough tears to keep the lights that line the tunnels going. It’s all connected to the generator. I don’t know, water, salt, a combination of the two is what’s needed to keep it going,” replied Luke.
“Mr Sparks?”
“That’s the one. Well, all I know is it’s something to do with how Mr Sparks and the way the light we live by is produced. We have to cry to keep us going and sadly…” He chuckled to himself. “It’s just one of those things that you have to do whether you like it or not. Otherwise the normal things that happen all the time like that,” he said, pointing at Polaris, “wouldn’t happen any more and we’d all be scratching through the dirt in the dark. You get me? Everything comes at some cost.”
While Cecilia had been listening to what Luke had been saying, she’d begun to feel something warm in her pocket. She felt very flushed and hot all of a sudden.
“Cecilia, are you OK? You’re sweating.”
“I think it’s Polaris, it’s making me really hot.” However, the warmth she felt was coming from her jeans pocket and it was becoming too much to bear, so she pulled out the marble to transfer it to her coat.
“Whoa, what’s happening to it?” Luke said, almost shouting.
The marble caught some of the light from Polaris and its markings and patterns, mists and spots began to move.
Luke turned to look at Polaris.
“Cecilia! Can you see that? All the markings on Polaris, they’re moving too.” He looked back at the marble. “Hang on,” he said, holding up her hand. “They match!”
They both looked back at the marble and saw that it was beginning to glow.
“What’s going on, Luke?”
Luke shook his head.
“I don’t know but Polaris has never done that before.”
A passer-by, a snake-faced skinny man who looked like an adder hissed the word “Misssss-chief!” and pointed up the hill to where they were standing and started to make his way over to a Corvus Community perch above the entrance to the hollow. The marble began to glow brighter, a gentle light pulsing as the etchings began to move; the mists and sparkled flecks whirled round its interior and a force began to pull it towards Polaris. The marble was reacting to the light of Polaris, and Polaris was responding.
“Whoa!” Luke made to touch the marble but Cecilia quickly stuffed it back in her pocket, a cautious look spreading across her face.
“Yeah, you’re probably right. We’d better get going!” Luke said. “Looks like we’ve started to attract attention.” He flipped his hood up and turned and tossed the hood of Cecilia’s coat over her head too. The snake-face was looking around for a member of the Corvus Community now and it wasn’t safe to stick around.
“I wonder what it means,” said Cecilia. “It’s like they’re communicating with one another.”
“Cecilia, I’ll be honest. Jasper said he thought it sounded like your marble was ‘more than the sum of its parts’. I just thought it would make a good bargaining tool to exchange in order to get me out of the lamentations, or to use as a decoy if I found myself in a tight spot. You know, to throw it to the birds like I did with Marvin. But I’m not so sure that what you have is something the Corvus Community should ever get their beaks on!”
“Well, whatever it is, you can have it when Kuffi is free and back where he belongs. I promised,” said Cecilia.
The light from Polaris flickered and the light on the edge of the surrounding tunnels dimmed in response. Birdsong like the break of dawn broke out all around them, beautiful swirls of music, coming from the arched windows as the dwellers twittered to one another. The other dwellers had felt it too, as though something was happening, something was changing. Cecilia and Luke hurried past a smooching couple of lovebirds and a family of sparrow-faces who were packing up the remains of what looked like a rather measly picnic.
“I can’t imagine you in a dress! I bet you look dread… I mean, delightful!” Luke joked as they speed-walked away.
“Hey!” Cecilia let out an awkward laugh and poked him in the ribs.
Luke curtsied and started to run ahead, goading her, in between blowing kisses and sashaying down a pretend catwalk.
“Hurry up!” he said. He seemed to be enjoying himself.
“Anyway,” Cecilia called picking up the pace, “you can talk! You’ll look a right dork in a tux!” Luke sped off and Cecilia chased after him.
15
Hitching a Ride
Luke and Cecilia ran down a tunnel where the ground was lit on either side with two blue strips of light embedded into the ground. The blue light filled the tunnel and bounced off the walls. The tunnel itself was high and almost a complete circle apart from the flat ground, and the air felt refreshingly cool compared to the warmth of Polaris. After quite some distance they slowed down until they stopped completely. Luke leant up against the wall of the tunnel a few paces ahead, trying to catch his breath, while Cecilia brushed herself off, trying to tidy the massive curly dreadlock that was beginning to form on top of her head. The truth was, although Cecilia might have come across as a bit of a tomboy (a phrase that, for the record, she hated), she loved dresses and dressing up. She and Hester could get lost for hours in their mum’s wardrobe, parading up and down the corridor, taking it in turns to pose for the paparazzi, but Luke didn’t need to know that, or that a little excitement bubbled up when she thought about getting dolled up and going to a fancy place. And boy-oh-boy, would she like a wash.
Luke waved her over to him, dancing in the blue light. “Welcome to the blue line. This will take us all the way to Mrs Hoots and El Porto Fino, where we can scrub up and hear some real blues!” But as he gestured grandly towards Cecilia in a silly voice, a shadow crept up behind him.
Cecilia gasped and pointed for Luke to turn around but he was too busy being silly. A hand reached out from around the corner and Luke turned abruptly as Cecilia caught him up.
The hand belonged to Aubrey and he stood gallantly before them with his rolled-up carpet propped next to him. Aubrey was still wearing his bib from the competition and pinned to it was his brand-new shiny first-place medal. Luke pointed but no sound left his lips.
“Well played,” said Cecilia with an air of sincerity and she offered him her hand to shake. Aubrey slightly raised his wings and flicked his hair away from his eyes, revealing one bright icy blue eye and the other black as night. He settled when he realised that the two of them posed no real danger; nevertheless he did not extend his hand.
“Aubrey,” he gestured with a nod.
“I’m Cecilia and this is Luke,” she said politely.
“What are you lot doing hanging about around here? This is not the best place to be right now. I heard down the line that a blackout might be coming.”
“I hope not,” remarked Luke, who suddenly returned to his senses. “We are quite far from home. But thanks for the warning, man!” Luke tried to play it cool, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“Yeah, well, apparently Polaris is showing warning signs or something.”
Cecilia and Luke fell silent and an awkwardness grew between them and Aubrey.
“So,” said Aubrey, “there’s still a patch of sigh heading down the blue line. I’m waiting for it now so if you guys want a ride to the end, you can hitch one with me. I’ve discovered if I add a bit of wing power after the competition, I can often ride the last of the sighs right out beyond the doldrums.”
“Outside the doldrums?” Luke was impressed “Right, yeah, the doldrums. I go and hang there sometimes, you know, just to chill and think, that sort of thing.”
“Oh, right. I go there to practise every day. I can use the gas pockets. I’ve never seen you there and it’d be quite a walk. How do you—”
“Anyway, we’re headed to Mrs Hoots’ Haberdashery. A lift would be unreal, dude.” Luke interrupted—he was
clearly fibbing; Cecilia noticed that he seemed to have had a personality transplant in Aubrey’s presence.
“Cool.” Aubrey turned and started to walk away. Cecilia was excited to get to ride on a famous sigh rider’s carpet. She looked at Luke and saw he’d already forgotten his cooldude act; he couldn’t contain himself either. They followed behind Aubrey, throwing silent grins to each other. Aubrey flicked out his carpet and it hovered a few centimetres off the ground.
“When I say ‘jump’, you jump on, OK, guys?” Cecilia and Luke nodded obediently.
“And when I say so, you sigh, right?” They nodded again.
“‘Out of sigh, out of time’, that’s my motto, and these sighs are on their last legs. So we need to be ready, any moment now.” The skin around Aubrey’s beak curled slightly at the edges and Cecilia realised that for this particular creature that was the extent of his smile.
A bubble of blue mist came hurtling towards them and Aubrey screeched, “Jump… NOW!”
All three of them leapt onto the carpet and Aubrey knelt at the front and vigorously began flapping his wings, stirring up what was left of the cloud of blue sighs below them. “OK, here we go, big sigh everyone—breathe out NOW!”
Luke and Cecilia let out a big blue puff and the three of them were away.
It was a marvellous feeling. Cecilia felt so light and free, the air felt cooler and cleaner somehow and the two watched as Aubrey swayed his body, steering them along the tunnels, his attention completely focused. The people they passed clapped and cheered and the three of them whooped with pleasure as they passed by. All Cecilia’s fears disappeared in an instant; she was literally lost in the clouds. She didn’t want it to end but when it did, she was shocked and pleased all at once to discover that she and Luke were holding hands.
“All right, you two lovebirds, off you hop. This is your stop. Mrs Hoots’ Haberdashery isn’t far from here and I can’t wait around. This sigh is almost out.” The two of them jumped off, landing on their feet.
“One last sigh for the road?” Aubrey called, and it became obvious that Cecilia and Luke shared the same feeling as they both exhaled a mist of pink. Their new friend faded off into the dimly lit tunnel, whooping and howling with joy.
“That was pretty special. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that as long as I live,” said Luke quietly.
“Me neither,” said Cecilia. “What a stroke of luck!”
Luke let out a sigh. It had lost its colour already and only the feeling of nostalgia remained. Cecilia could feel it too but it soon passed.
“Right then… Let’s get ourselves to Mrs Hoots’ for our night on the town awaits and El Porto Fino won’t let us in looking like this!” Luke said cheerily.
“Never know, they might have a dress in your size!” she said jostling him and skipping off ahead a little.
Luke looked up. “Where are you going, you nutter? It’s this way!” He pointed down a tricolour tunnel that looked like a small rainbow. Rays of blue, lime and pink neon lights converged above the bustling noise of happy shoppers.
16
Mrs Hoots’ Haberdashery
Luke and Cecilia walked though streets lined with colourful fluorescent tubes hanging overhead forming dazzling canopies that hung like drapes. There was a lamp tapper up a ladder, waking the fireflies in lanterns that hung from posts. The dwellers around this part of the tunnel seemed idler than those she’d seen before, strolling along, taking their time about things, relaxed and easy.
All around them light bounced off the mirrored windows and doors. It looked magical and quite posh with people perusing the shop windows.
Luke smoothed out the front of his hoody and tucked it into his trousers, licked his hands and tried to smooth down his tufty fur.
“Here we are,” he said nervously.
The shop door swung open. “Pfffft,” came an exaggerated hoot. “My grubby little angels! I’ve been waiting for you. Jasper told me you’d be coming but you’re late!” The voice came from a puff of white feathers, two huge black eyes and a pointy pale beak that ushered them into the shop and closed the door. She flipped the closed sign around and turned a key in the lock before hitting the lights. A most glorious chandelier twinkled from the ceiling like a cluster of stars, a small cut-glass orb a bit like Cecilia’s marble projecting light all about the room.
“That’s pretty,” said Cecilia.
“Isn’t it just?” winked Mrs Hoots, stretching a small soft, powdery wing across her back.
“Now, you’ll need to get out of those filthy clothes; Cecilia, you can follow me around to the back in just a tick. First, you need to know the rules. As you can guess, it’s taken me a lifetime to source all the materials to make these clothes and I will NOT have some dirty little toe-rags soiling my finery! So hands off! Right then, chop CHOP!” She startled the two of them as she screeched, “What a hoot!”, cackling madly.
“Now, you’re quite tall, aren’t you, Luke? Put this on while I have a think.” She threw him a silken robe made of tiny pieces of material delicately sewn together.
“And now come on, Miss Cecilia, follow me.”
Mrs Hoots called out to Luke as she and Cecilia walked through to the room next door; her voice was very loud for such a small bird. “Luke, the suit I had in mind for you might need a bit of adjusting. So just get washed up for now and I’ll start with Cecilia. I won’t be long!”
Mrs Hoots led Cecilia into a small cave of what could only be described as treasure: wall to ceiling trinkets, gowns, dresses, bags and slippers. Cecilia’s jaw almost hit the floor as she marvelled at the collection.
“My babies!” Mrs Hoots sang, gesturing to her bounty as she danced along the rails, flicking at the petticoats, skirts and dresses.
Cecilia was in a trance as Mrs Hoots smiled proudly, wafting to and fro, but her prancing came to an abrupt end when she caught Cecilia with her hand outstretched.
“Argh!” she screeched, batting it away, “Don’t you dare touch anything with that grubby little hand! There’s a wash-basin and soap on the side and towels and washcloths above it… Do not ask where I get the water; I have my sources as do most and it’s better left undiscussed. Now, hustle or you won’t make it in time for the music!”
Mrs Hoots babbled away, singing and sewing, telling stories of all the famous dwellers she had dressed and styled. She was full of beans and her spirit lit up the room even when she wasn’t physically present. She got the two of them ready separately but you could hear her hooting about wherever she was. She gave them each a hot drink that tasted like chocolatey mushrooms, but Cecilia was starting to get used to the weird combinations of flavours in this world so she didn’t mind it much. By the end of the twitching and stitching, Luke and Cecilia were quite merry and laughter filled the shop.
“Arms up, Cecilia!” said Mrs Hoots, helping her into her dress. Cecilia extended her arms above her head, looked towards the ceiling and screamed. Above them the cave narrowed into a funnel and it was covered in scores of webs that housed a knot of translucent palm-sized spiders, each weaving away at various intricate patterns.
“Ah, yes, I see you’ve noticed my lacemakers. There are seventeen of them in total. My darlings,” she whispered. Cecilia blinked and stared in wonder as the creatures continued with their work, undisturbed by her outburst. “We share what we catch, don’t we, darlings?” She hooted up to the ceiling and the spiders responded in unison with a clicking sound rather like an orchestra of crickets.
Mrs Hoots made some final adjustments to Cecilia’s dress and the marble in the chandelier caught Cecilia’s eye once more. Cecilia was a little closer now and took a moment to remark how similar the cut-glass orb at the centre of chandelier was to her marble. It was hard to see from where she was standing if it had any of the markings on its surface but the size was similar. Though nothing seemed to be happening to it, not like when they stood in front of Polaris. Maybe just being in the same room wasn’t enough; maybe they needed to interact in
some way. Perhaps they were part of some puzzle, she mused.
“You’re done,” Mrs Hoots sang. “Fix your mane then you’ll be ready for your big reveal!” she said, clapping wildly and drifting next door to put the final touches on Luke.
Cecilia stood in front of the mirror. Her dress was stunning and she was as fresh as the day she was born—but her hair was a terrible mess. She didn’t really know where to begin. First, she tried to find the hair bobble that was lost in the massive knot. Once she had located it in the labyrinth of untidy curls, she began to yank. “Ouuuuuuch,” she said as it popped free, and her hair jerked out in all directions like she had just been given an electric shock.
“Are you OK in there?” called Mrs Hoots. “I didn’t leave a pin in the dress, did I?”
“No, no, I’m fine,” Cecilia answered, smiling at her wild hairstyle.
She stood there pulling the mass apart from the roots and finally managed to part it down the middle, untangling each side as much as she could. Then she grabbed the hair bobble and cut it in two using Mrs Hoots’ makeshift scissors. She took the left side in her hand and twisted it round into a bun and tied half of the hair bobble round it. When she was done on the left, she did the same on the right so she had a tidy bun on either side. As she smoothed each side over with water, she thought about how some coconut oil would sure come in handy now.
Mrs Hoots popped her head round the door. “Perfect,” she said with delight. “Come on then!”
Cecilia walked back through the partition; it reminded her of one of those makeover programs her mum and Hester liked to watch so much. And boy-oh-boy, did the two of them scrub up nicely. Cecilia stood before her friend in a dress of patchwork lace; Mrs Hoots must’ve been collecting the scraps and stitching patterns for decades. Tiny pieces of tinfoil and sequins, the odd pearl and diamanté; there were remnants of chocolate-bar wrappers and, well, anything that sparkled in what little light there was had been sewn into each section like faded stars; the dress looked like a morning just before daybreak. Luke wore a midnight-blue suit jacket and a pair of patchwork trousers in different shades of dark green. He had a T-shirt with the collar of an old shirt sewn onto it, and his tufty hair was arranged neatly over the antlers on his head. “You look wicked, Luke. You could be, like, twenty years old or something! I definitely wouldn’t ask you for ID!” Cecilia said with mountains of excitement.
The Tunnels Below Page 9
