‘Take it easy, boy. We won’t be here long,’ Rebus,’ said through the gloom. ‘We’ll find a way out further up I expect, and we’ll soon be back in the sun. Now get a grip.’
‘Stick with us and don’t wander off,’ Caleb uttered in a hushed tone.
‘As if I’m going to wander off in here,’ Red retorted with a tremble in his voice.
‘This doesn’t feel right,’ Rhidian added to the conversation. ‘I’m inclined to agree with Red.’
‘I know what you mean,’ Alba gushed. ‘The dead should be left to sleep.’
‘What was that?’ Red was flinching at every shadow. His mouth was dry and he anxiously took a gulp from the bottle he carried in his bag.
‘It’s nothing, Red, you’re just jumpy,’ Caleb said, and reached out and touched his shoulder for comfort. Red gave a jerk. ‘Wow, Red, it’s only me, take it easy.’ Caleb snatched back his hand and held it up in surrender.
‘S-sorry Caleb,’ he stammered. ‘I-I’m scared,’ he whispered, and didn’t mind telling Caleb, who he knew wouldn’t mock him.
‘It’s all right, Red. I totally understand. Stick by me,’ Caleb advised and smiled. Red trembled; the damp clothes made his skin prickle. He took a few short breaths and walked closer to the wizard. They continued on, but picked up the pace. They were all in a hurry to get out of there.
There was clear sound and everyone heard it. It was a clinking noise, like wine glasses being toasted but not quite so sharp.
‘What’s that?’ Rhidian spoke through the mist.
‘Everyone stop,’ Rebus commanded. All five stood, each one breathing heavily. The grey swirls weaved between the plots – images sharpened and faded as the scene played with their eyes.
‘If I didn’t know any better, I would say this place is alive not dead!’ Rhidian gasped. Another weird sound caught their attention.
‘Anyone hear that?’ Rebus hissed. No one answered – they just strained their ears; eyes peered into the fog. There it was again, but this time there was a dull thudding sound added to it, like bamboo wind chimes clicking in the breeze. Rebus said something under his breath. Soon all five of them realised they were holding swords! They’d just appeared in their hands.
‘What is going on?’ Rhidian rasped and peered at the blade he was now carrying. It had a long, slim blade and a ribbed handle, which made it easy to grip. Again, no one answered. Soon, darkened figures grinned through the grainy façade and made themselves known.
‘It’s the dead,’ Rebus called out. ‘They’ve come back! Defend yourselves,’ he cried, booming through the quiet. Red had never held a sword before, never mind used one. Neither had Rhidian. He was holding his awkwardly as if it was a wrench.
The mist began to peel away and, in its place, revealed what could only be described as an army of the deceased. There were hundreds of figures of all shapes, mostly male, still dressed in their mining clothes. Long lost souls, maybe killed doing their jobs and dragged out here and buried!
For the first few seconds there was a standoff. These skeletal beings, stood silent. The small band of travellers were surrounded and the only way through was to fight. Caleb let out a battle roar.
‘ATTACK!’ he bellowed, moved forward with purpose and slashed at the enemy, and took two of the skeletons’ heads clean off; their bodies collapsed to the ground in a pile of bones.
Red felt a cold, bony grip around his throat and froze. He was face-to-face with a skull – empty eye sockets and a toothless jaw. The creature gripped with both skeletal hands and squeezed. Red was taken completely by surprise and began to choke and gasped for breath. The stench of rotten bones filled his nostrils and his eyes bulged from their sockets. He was feeling sleepy and dropped his sword. His body felt light, as if he could float away and nothing else mattered. Suddenly, there was a sharp snap and the strangling grip released and fell away. Red fell to the ground, coughing and gulping for breath.
‘Red fight back!’ Caleb bellowed. ‘Don’t just sit there or they will kill you,’ Caleb raged. When Red came to, he could hear the sounds of battle. He saw the others – they were all fighting for their lives, and charging their way through the swarm of skeletons. Another zombie miner approached and when the boy looked up it seemed to be grinning at him. It had the remains of a cloth garment hanging from its shoulder to its waist and it was carrying a dagger.
Red suddenly felt that if he didn’t fight back his life would be over. Without thinking, he picked up his sword and sliced at the attacker. It was like fighting a hat stand. As soon as his sword impacted, the skeleton crumpled into a pile of bones… but there were more and he had to help the others keep the hordes away. He began slashing like a demented windmill. The dead attacked from everywhere, but Red, Rhidian and the rest had the upper hand. They were alive!
‘I can see a building ahead,’ Rebus cried. ‘Let’s make for that. Maybe we can hold them off in there.’
The mist had almost lifted completely and the morbid reality showed itself. There were hundreds of dead souls rising from the graves, far too many for them to defend against. The small band of travellers looked on in utter disbelief.
‘Follow Rebus!’ Caleb shouted. ‘Don’t let him out of your sight.’
The five of them moved faster and forced their way forward, chopping and crunching bones. The more they appeared to kill, the more appeared in their place. It was hopeless.
The building ahead was a huge monument built into the mountain. Its entrance was boarded with old timbers.
‘There’s no other way around. We’ll have to get inside and block the entrance!’ Rhidian shouted breathlessly. The only problem now was the fact that some of the zombie horde had realised where the wizards and mortals were headed.
‘We’re almost there. Come on, fight,’ Caleb ranted. He was right; only a few more metres and they would be at the entrance.
‘Break through the timber!’ Rebus screamed, as he fought off two attackers at the same time. Rhidian and Red used their swords to smash open the barricade. The rotten wood gave in easily and left a cloud of brown dust in its wake.
‘Come on, we’re in!’ Rhidian screamed. The engineer and the boy slipped inside first and the wizards backed their way in behind them.
‘What’s happening to them?’ Alba said, and looked really confused.
‘They’ve stopped attacking,’ Caleb realised. He was right; every single soul in the graveyard had ceased their fight and were slowly returning back to whence they came. The mist had mysteriously reappeared and each body turned and slowly walked back into the grey depths, until they’d all dissolved into the ground. The five friends stood at the opening and looked on in breathless bewilderment.
‘What just happened?’ Red questioned.
‘They won’t enter here for some reason,’ Rebus surmised.
‘If they fear entering here, then what do you think awaits us inside?’ Caleb asked.
‘I-I’m not sure I want to go any further,’ Red admitted.
‘Red, please think about this for one moment. You can either come along with us, and we’ll go in there together. We’ll look after you, you know that,’ the engineer said, as he pointed into the gloom that awaited them. ‘Or, you can go back out there… and you know what is waiting for us there, don’t you? For me, there really isn’t a choice. We’ve only just about made it in here.’ Red didn’t answer and only nodded. Rhidian grinned back at him and ruffled his shaggy hair. He smiled and sucked in a mouthful of air. ‘We are ready? Rhidian grinned at Red and nodded to Rebus.
‘Okay. We all set? Then off we go,’ Rebus said with conviction.
Now, with the battle over, the swords disappeared and they were all left in darkness. None of them knew if it was a better bet going forward, but it was much better than going back into the graveyard. So, they reluctantly moved further in.
Chapter 22
Deep underground
The light from outside was soon swallowed up by the dense darkness from withi
n.
‘Don’t move, anyone.’ Rebus’ voice cut through the pitched black. There was a flicker of white and then a blue flame appeared out of nowhere. The fire was dancing in the palm of Rebus’ hand. Red looked on in awe, his eyes squinting at the brightness.
‘Doesn’t that hurt?’ he asked, and winced at the thought.
‘Not for a wizard,’ Rebus replied, pleased with the fact that his magic came quite easily now. ‘This is the norm.’ There was a grin on his face, the smugness of someone who knew he’d impressed the boy.
‘There’s a lantern hanging just there.’ Alba indicated to a small oil lamp that hung on a nail. Rebus tentatively walked over to it and lifted it off the bracket. He shook it vigorously and was happy to hear the slopping of liquid inside. He raised the glass dome and blew light from his hand onto the wick – it lit instantly. A vibrant flame soon flowered inside the glass and the immediate area was suddenly bathed in yellow.
‘Hey, look.’ Red sounded excited. The boy wasn’t standing, but kneeling on the ground. There was a pile of timber on the ground too. He’d pulled all the loose boards to one side. Once he’d done that, he realised that they’d concealed the beginning of a tram track. He peered back through the gloom and could see that the roadway was buried. The years of neglect and falling dust had covered the iron. Red got up and stepped over the remaining jagged boards. He stood at the mouth of the mine.
‘Well done, lad,’ Rhidian said. ‘I think Red has revealed our path.’
‘Well, my instincts tell me that what we’re looking for may be in there somewhere.’ Rebus stabbed at the darkness.
‘I’ve also got the same feeling,’ Caleb spoke with certainty.
‘Me, too,’ Alba added.
‘Red, are you ready to go?’ Rhidian asked, and put his hand on the boy’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.
‘Not really, but I know there’s no other way,’ he relented.
Rebus lifted the lamp and began the journey along the tracks. The rest followed in single file. The track dropped down into the belly of the mineshaft. Everyone kept pace with Rebus – none wanted to be left scurrying in the dark.
‘Hold on, Rebus,’ Caleb called out, and the group stopped. ‘Give me a hand with this, boys,’ he said, and moved over to one side of the tunnel.
‘What have you found?’ Red rasped from the shadows, his voice dry.
‘Look, a tram,’ Caleb said, and sounded happy. The tram was on its side and obviously hadn’t been used in years. It was covered in dust and spiders.
‘That’s what they used to get the gold out,’ Rebus informed them.
‘Yeah, well now it can transport us into the mine instead of us walking. It’s got a brake that still seems to work by the look of it.’ Caleb’s voice echoed as he inspected the vehicle and wrenched the handle backwards and forwards. So Caleb, Red, Rhidian and Rebus groaned, heaved and wrestled, until it flipped over onto its wheels. Alba wanted to help, but Red wouldn’t let him. He was still too weak and so held the lamp. They managed to fix it into place on the rail track. There was an upright bar on the front with a hook and Alba placed the lamp on it. But when they tried to get the car moving, it wouldn’t budge.
‘The wheels are seized up,’ Caleb complained. ‘All that work for nothing.’
‘Hold on,’ Rhidian said, and disappeared for a moment. When he came back, he was carrying a small oil can. He had a huge grin on his face.
‘Where did you get… oh, I forgot we have an engineer in our midst,’ Caleb joked. Rhidian ignored him and set about oiling the wheels. He pumped the trigger and the oil spurted through the nozzle. He greased all four until they were spinning freely.
‘I assumed that where there’s a tram, there had to be something close by to repair and oil it. We’ll have to give it a bit of a push to get the thing working,’ Rhidian explained.
‘Okay, what if we get in and one of us push? I mean, that way the weight in the tram should force the wheels to move,’ Alba said sensibly.
‘Sounds like a good idea, Alba,’ Rebus praised.
‘Who wants to push?’ Rebus asked, and looked at the others. He didn’t really add himself to the equation.
‘I’ll do it,’ Red said.
‘Well done, lad,’ Rebus gushed.
‘Yeah, well you old gits would be out of puff and wouldn’t be able to climb back in,’ he said with a chuckle.
‘You cheeky young scamp,’ Rebus scolded, but smiled.
‘No, I’ll do it,’ Rhidian piped up. ‘No offence, Red, but we need a bit of weight behind it.’ Red looked miffed and reluctantly jumped into the car.
‘Hah,’ Rebus chuckled.
‘Right, now that’s settled, let’s all get in.’ Rebus was in no mood to hang around any longer. The four of them climbed in and that left just enough room for one more, and a little bit spare for elbowroom. But, even with the combined weight of the four people, the tram still didn’t move.
‘Right, hold on in there and try and put all your weight to the front,’ Rhidian instructed. He leaned his right shoulder into the tram and pushed as hard as he could. The engineer grunted and groaned but nothing moved. ‘Put some more oil on the wheels,’ he asked with a grunt. So, Caleb poured more oil onto the axle.
‘Try again,’ Caleb prompted. Once again, Rhidian put all his weight behind the metal carriage and, with more grunting, there was suddenly a crack that echoed down the mine.
‘It’s beginning to move!’ Rebus shouted. Everyone leaned over the front and, with the weight transference, it started to move.
‘Red, jump out and push with me,’ Rhidian insisted. Red leapt out of the car and joined him at the back. The vehicle juddered and slowly screeched as if in agony; all the while Caleb was applying the oil. The car edged forward until it began to gain momentum and then, whoosh, it was free. Rhidian and Red fell over onto the track.
‘Apply the brake, for God’s sake!’ Rhidian screamed from the ground. Caleb dropped the oil can and dived for the lever. He pulled back and the car slowed down and eventually stopped.
‘Come on, you two,’ Rebus complained. ‘We haven’t got all day.’ Rhidian looked hard at Rebus as he got to his feet. Red followed him to the waiting car. The engineer positioned himself next to the brake and Caleb let him take over. The others slotted into their places.
‘Let’s go,’ Rhidian uttered, and released the brake. The tram began rolling down the track again.
‘Keep it steady!’ Rebus shouted over the sound of the click-click-click of the wheels. ‘If there’s any debris on the track, which is very likely, then we can stop in time.’
‘Will do,’ Rhidian responded.
It was mostly dark as they swished through the tunnel. The only source of light was the lantern, which didn’t make a lot of difference in the grand scheme of things. Red closed his eyes and let the rush of the wind caress his face. It felt kind of exciting to him as the tram picked up speed. Rebus stood peering as far into the darkness as he could.
‘Everyone, keep your eyes peeled!’ he shouted, as the rush of air whooshed past his ears. Soon the tram was running freely – the oil by now had worked its way into the axle. The rails seemed in good repair. Rhidian relaxed on the brake, but kept his wits about him in case he had to stop abruptly. Soon the channel they travelled along opened out into a wide cavern. The lamp’s rays dimmed in the humongous expanse.
‘Slow it down, Rhidian.’ Rebus sounded agitated.
‘What’s the problem?’ Rhidian shouted, as he tried to lift his voice above the noise of the wheels and rushing air.
‘I think I see a bridge ahead,’ Rebus shouted, his tone echoed. He was right; soon everyone could hear the hollow sound of the track beneath. They could only assume how high up they were, as the depth was just a mass of black tar. They could feel the tram pick up speed.
‘We’re going too fast. Slow us down!’ Rebus bellowed. Rhidian did as asked and pulled hard on the brake. Clouds of blue smoke rose from the wooden block which
ground against the metal rim of the wheel. The car wasn’t slowing fast enough.
‘Slow us down, Rhidian. There’s…’ Rebus’ voice trailed off.
‘What’s the matter?’ Caleb peered over Alba’s shoulder and his mouth dropped open. He quickly turned to Rhidian.
‘There’s a break in the track, there’s a break in the track,’ he repeated, his face contorted, eyes wide. He quickly gripped the lever with Rhidian and pulled.
‘No, Caleb, don’t!’ Rhidian pleaded, but it was too late. The wooden handle broke off under the heavy pressure – now the tram ran free. Caleb fell backwards and landed on top of Red.
‘Stop, stop it now!’ Rebus screamed. But it was even too late to use his magic to help them. The gap in the track was on them before anyone could really react.
‘Hold on everyone!’ Caleb screeched. The carriage zoomed off the rails – it sailed through the blackness for a moment or so in slow motion, or so it appeared. The timbers had collapsed into the depths, leaving a four-metre gap. There was nothing they could do, only hold on and wait for the inevitable. The excessive speed carried the tram through the space in between. It came crashing down the other side, almost landing directly on the waiting track but not quite. It impacted, twisted, flipped over and threw everyone out. The sound of crashing metal and the smell of scorched wood filled the air. And then silence… the darkness engulfed the lamp when it smashed and the flame diminished…
Chapter 23
A Split Decision
The air was dense with the dust from the crash. Rhidian came to and could barely breathe. He began to cough and he tried to clear his throat. He pushed himself into a sitting position and found that everything ached. But he suspected that he hadn’t broken any bones. He coughed some more and peered into the tunnel. It took him a couple of seconds to realise that he wasn’t in complete darkness any longer. He could actually see his companions and, as it happened, the state of the tram. It was completely smashed beyond repair.
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