Chapter Five
The rock was certainly much cooler than Jason had imagined. Everything else in the Dead Place was scorching except it seemed for this round boulder which had apparently absorbed the run’s rays throughout the day.
“How could that be?” queried Jason. “It should be blazing hot. I don’t understand it.”
“It’s not the only one,” said Danielle. “This one here is cool too. And this one.”
“Here also,” joined in Porky.
The group realized the cluster of boulders, seven of them, were all cool. Everything else was hot, even with the sun now setting, but this single group of rocks which had somehow rejected the heat.
“First we have a tree that is here and then it’s not. Now we have cold rocks in a desert where everything else is red hot.” It was Josh who spoke but there was no trace of humour in his voice. Instead, there was a note of seriousness, of concern and apprehension. “What’s going on?”
The children were confused. For some time they stood in a circle without saying anything. There was noting they could say really. No answers were forthcoming and they were in the position of merely raising more doubts and introducing additional mysteries.
The sun was nearing the distant horizon and there was a golden glow stretching across the land adding a glint to the hills and boulders that under different circumstances would have been inspiring. The stark reality of the Dead Place was rapidly giving way to an unreal beauty. Shadows were cast by the hills that reached out and formed patterns on the cracked earth breaking it into a light and dark patchwork of mottled colours. The peaks themselves took on grander proportions and intruded on the reddening sky like daggers stabbing at the very heart of the heavens.
The jungle to the east was no longer a lush green set against a bright blue sky. The blue had darkened and the green had become a black wall.
By the minute the temperature in the open was dropping and whereas it had been still and quiet a short time before a breeze was not noticeable and this seemed to bring with it faint noises from afar.
“It’s too late to go back now,” Nikko was saying. “We’ve been caught here. The sun has gone down a lot quicker than we expected. I don’t think we should even try for the trees. We might not be able to find this place again in the morning and we do have to try to find Fallon.”
There was a groan from Porky and Jordon gave a little whimper. “I don’t want to stay out here all night,” he said. “Let’s go home please.”
“We can’t,” said Jason, “Nikko’s right. We forgot the time. Bad as it sounds I reckon it is safer to stay where we are. The light will be gone completely in a moment.”
“Well, we’d better decided quickly what we are going to do,” said Simon. “We’ve got no food and if you are all the same as me we have very little water left.”
A check proved him correct. Each of them had only a few mouthfuls or so of water in their bottles.
“I think we should stay here,” said Simon again. “There is no point trying to go anywhere else. If we crawl in between these rocks and huddle together we should be alright.”
“Providing nothing comes creeping around,” said Josh with a quick glance at the hills and landscape around them. He couldn’t distinguish much as the sun had now disappeared and night had fallen. Fortunately the moon was rising and this provided a slight glimmer of light, sufficient for the party to see what they were doing and some meters distant, but not much further.
They were worried. And the half hour immediately after darkness fell was an anxious thirty minutes. It was a foreign land for the seven and they did not know what to expect. But one thing was certain: They intended to be prepared for the worst if they could.
The children decided they would bed down in the small area surrounded by the seven boulders. Two would keep watch while the others tried to get some sleep, though they all realized this would be difficult.
The Leaf Children had never spent a night out of the reassuring forest and the Dead Place was a most inhospitable initiation. Nikko too had never been anywhere like it. Indeed, he had been nowhere without his parents and he would think of this a number of times during the night.
During the long hours before morning the children took turns to stand guard in pairs while the others dozed on and off. In snatches they did sleep but it was only for a few minutes at a time before they were awakened by strange sounds, real and imagined. At least six times they were woken by the wind which strengthened, blowing dust through the narrow entrance of the hideaway and raising a howl like a distant crying of a wolf.
Young Jordon again insisted he saw the blazing eyes of huge dogs lurking behind and above boulders but in spite of waking the others with his frightened screams he was the only one. He was roundly chastised by the tired group and excused from further watch duty after only fifteen minutes. He crept into the most sheltered corner next to Danielle and Nikko and promptly fell asleep not waking until the following day had begun.
Jason, the most impatient of Jordon’s unsubstantiated claims, and therefore his most vocal critic, coined yet another term for the youngster: Rip Van Brat.
Nevertheless the night did pass without incident.
Exhausted, hungry, stiff and thirsty the children faced the day with the dawn. As the sun shed its veil and the dazzling rays again beat down on the earth the landscape bared its starkness and the children knew they must return to the jungle before continuing their search. It was unanimously and rapidly decided they would walk to the trees, fill their bottles with any water they could find, repair their makeshift sandals and then spend half the day searching for Gabrysia and Fallon.
“No more,” said Nikko. “We were trapped yesterday. We must not get caught again.”
So off they went towards the jungle again green and unusually enticing. There was a spring in their step despite their uncomfortable sleep and Porky, Josh and Jordon actually sprinted the last hundred meters, collapsing in the moist grass under a tree panting. The others also sat on the grass, slowly allowing their bodies to unknot and soak up the cool shade. But at the urging of Nikko they searched for, and finally located a rock pool of clear fresh water from which they replenished their bottles.
Simon found a berry bush like the ones that grew so plentifully in the forest and they managed a reasonably satisfying breakfast before Nikko again spoke.” Alright then,” he said. “Let’s find Gabrysia and Fallon.” And he strode from the jungle heading straight for the area they had left an hour before.
Along the way Danielle came to his side and quietly said: “Nikko, I don’t know what your plan is but I would like to have another look at those rocks where we spent the night. I think they might tell us something.”
“That is the only plan I have at the moment,” answered Nikko. “I really have no idea what else to do. We can’t cover the whole of the Dead Place.”
Danielle almost reluctantly it seemed started to say something but stopped herself.
“What is it?” Nikko said. “You wanted to say something.”
“Oh it’s nothing,” said Danielle. “Forget it.”
“Come on Danielle. If you have any ideas I’d like to hear the.” He went on: “The others, and you too, have put me in charge so if you think anything might help I’d like to know about it. We’re searching for two needles in a very big haystack so if you have any thoughts please share them.”
Danielle cleared her throat, already parched again, and began tentatively. “Well, don’t think I’m silly and laugh but I have been thinking of those rocks. When I was walking back to the jungle this morning I was thirsty and kept reaching for my water bottle. But of course I didn’t have any water left. It was empty. It was just reflex I guess but I kept putting my hand on the bottle. I noticed that even though I was hot and my clothes were hot the bottle seemed cool. And I started thinking. The bottle was empty but it was not hot. Nikko, what if those boulders are also empty? I mean what if they are hollow?”
Nikko slowed his pace and looked at Danielle.
“How do you mean hollow?” he asked. “Rocks can’t be hollow. They looked very solid to me. And anyway even if they were why should they be cool?”
Danielle went on more quickly this time. “I figured my bottle was cooler because it had had cold water in it. After I drank it all I put the stopper in my tunic pocket so I wouldn’t lose it and breeze was getting in through the top. That’s why it stayed cooler. So I thought what if there is a wind somehow getting under the rock? I didn’t remember seeing any opening so I wondered if there might be another opening somewhere else. Nikko, what if there is a case somewhere and the rocks are markers for an air hole? What if they cover secret openings? It could explain maybe how Fallon could have been captured so quickly and quietly.”
Nikko stopped walking. When he spoke he did so slowly and thoughtfully. “They were smooth. So smooth they were like large ping pong balls. No rocks are that smooth unless they have been made like that.”
He lifted his head and peered into the distance, in the direction they were heading. He could make out the hills where they had spent the night before and he could also discern the outlines of a number of the larger boulders.
“Let’s take a good look at them,” he said finally. “I don’t know if they are hollow or not, but I think we should examine them very carefully.”
When they arrived nothing had changed. It was exactly as it was the day before with the seven boulders nestled to one side of a high hill. Nikko again noted how smooth and unmarked they were. Everything else he could see had suffered at the hands of the elements. The hills had been worn away by the wind and had crumbled over time. The ground was cracked and dry. Other boulders and smaller rocks were rough and jagged. The seven boulders it struck him all of a sudden looked like marbles.
Slowly he walked around one of the boulders scrutinizing every facet of it and from timer to time fingering it as if to reassure himself it was really there. He then did the same thing with the others, rubbing his hand over the surface and tapping them with his knuckles.
The children stood back watching intently. They had not overheard the conversation between Danielle and Nikko, not had they been told if it. However the realized Nikko was suspicious of the strange rocks.
Finally Nikko stopped and then returning to the first smooth boulder he said: “I don’t know. They all seem the same. There’s not a mark on any of them but they feel and sound solid.”
“Of course they are,” said Jason. “What did you expect?”
Nikko told Jason and the others he was curious about the rocks and was testing them to see if there was anything about them that would explain their unusual condition. In deference to Danielle he did not tell them what was remotely suspected.
Danielle bent down and began scratching at the earth surrounding the base of the boulder. Unexpectedly she found it to be not as hard as she imagined. While it was not sand or altogether loose soil it was nevertheless quite easy to scrape away.
Seeing what was happening Nikko joined in and they soon had cleared a break half way around the circumference. They stood up puzzled. The boulder did not sink further into the ground as it should have. Instead it appeared to rest on a level platform that looked like aged wood.
“What is it?” asked Danielle.
“I’m not sure,” Nikko replied.
All of them hunched down and together they cleared a break around the entire boulder. As they very last handful of gravelly earth was brushed aside Porky exclaimed: “What’s this?”
There in front of them was a circular hole in the wooden platform that seemed to be supporting the rock. In the middle of kit was a plunger-like device with a ring handle attached to it.
“It’s a secret key,” said Jordon excitedly. “We’ve found a secret hiding place. Maybe we’ll find Gabrysia and Fallon, maybe even treasure.” With that he reached for the handle on the plunger.
“Don’t,” shouted Simon and pushed the youngster’s hand away before he had grasped the ring.
“Get out of the way Jordon,” Jason added sternly. “We have no way of knowing what would happen if we pulled that plug. Just stay back there and don’t interfere.”
Jordon retreated to the rear of the group and sat quietly sulking as the others crowded around the mysterious object.
Nikko fingered it cautiously. He lifted the ring but did not pull it. He flicked some small stones out of the way and then bent lower and blew away the residue dust until the contraption was clearly visible. There was no doubt it was a plunger of some sort.
“I can see what it is, but I don’t know what could happen if we pulled it,” he said. He looked enquiringly at the rest.
“Maybe it’s a trick. Maybe we’re meant to pull it alright, but the result might not be for our benefit,” Josh added.
Jason didn’t offer an opinion. He shrugged and stared at the device. Simon too made no comment.
“Danielle?”
Danielle did not answer straight away. When she did she was confident. “I don’t think we are supposed to find it. That’s why it was covered up. So I don’t think it’s a trap. If you ask me it’s a trigger. Pull it Nikko and let’s see what happens.”
“She could be right,” said Simon. “The thing was hidden.” Then he added: “What made you look here Nikko?”
With a glance at Danielle who nodded Nikko explained their suspicions and conjectures. “I think there may be something to what Danielle says,” he added. “To my mind this whole setup suggests a hidden passage or something. I don’t believe it’s a trick.”
Jason who had remained silent throughout got up and walked to another of the boulders nearby and began raking the dirt around the base with his hands.
Jordon crawled over to him and joined in. “Come on,” he called. “Maybe there are other secrets.”
It was obvious what Jason was doing. He wanted to see if there were any plungers near the other boulders before he decided whether to pull it or not. The other children crowded around and before long another six had been discovered. Each boulder had an accompanying plunger device apparently connected to it.
“Well, I don’t think they’re a trap,” Jason said finally. “I’m sure Danielle is right. There must be something under these rocks and I suggest we see what it is. The only question is which one?”
The decision was made for them by Jordon. He had gone back to the original boulder and with his boyish curiosity getting the better of him he had grabbed the plunger with both hands and tugged. Instantly the large boulder flipped up without a sound revealing a gaping hole in the ground. Jordon fell backwards with a yelp and the others hearing his cry wheeled around and then rushed ton his side. Danielle tried to lift him but was hindered by Jason who cuffed the youngster around the ears.
“Stop it,” hissed Nikko. “Keep quiet.” He carefully approached the hole where the boulder had been and cautiously peered in. The wooden platform they had seen earlier was in fact a collar only acting as a firm base for the rim of the rock to sit on.
“I knew it,” said Danielle as she came to the edge. The hole was about two meters across with a single strut bisecting it. “I just knew it. There has to be a tunnel leading to a cave or something.”
About a meter below the opening was a long plank, wide enough for a number of people to stand on. Dangling from it was a rope ladder.
“It’s pretty dark inside but I can see some light. I think it is coming from deep down, over there on the right.” Porky was leaning right over the opening holding onto the bar that was securely fastened on both sides.
A rapid exchange of views followed with the consensus being that there was probably a tunnel, or series of tunnels, running beneath the earth, linking up with other openings under the other boulders and most likely more outlets elsewhere. It was generally agreed the discovery was a breakthrough in their search for Gabrysia and Fallon.
It was Jason who proposed it was the hideout of the Drongs and that they should exercise great care in what they did next.
“If it is their hideout, or the hideout of anyone or anything else, we had better be alert and mind how we go,” he said. He turned to Jordon and added: “And that means we have to be quiet. Especially you. So don’t touch anything.”
“If it’s their camp they probably have guards nearby. “Simon knotted his brow and frowned. “Why haven’t we seen anyone?”
“Maybe they are so confident their secret door wouldn’t be found they don’t post any lookouts.”
“Or they might be watching us right now.”
“We haven’t seen anyone so far and I reckon if we had been spotted they would have done something about it,” said Josh. “They would not just let us barge in.”
“We are not going to just barge in Josh,” corrected Jason. “If we do decide to explore down there we will do it very quietly. Up to now we look like having surprise on our side. We don’t want to spoil it.”
“I didn’t mean…..” Josh started before Jason again cut him short.
“I know. But I think we should get something clear before we do any further.” He looked around the group. “First of all, there are only seven of us, or six really. Now we have located what appears to be the camp of the Drongs, or perhaps someone else we don’t know about. I don’t know who they could be, but from what we’ve seen somebody lives down here. It’s a pretty elaborate setup. It’s also reasonable to assume there are quite a few of them, so there is the strong possibility we will be outnumbered. Also we are going somewhere we know nothing about. We don’t know if there is only one tunnel or many, and we don’t know where it is going to lead us. There seems to be light coming from somewhere but not that much and it looks pretty dangerous.”
He paused. The others said nothing.
Jason continued: “Let’s assume it is the Drong camp. Also, that this is where they are holding Gabrysia and Fallon. The fact that they haven’t escaped means the security of the place is good. That means it will not be easy for us to sneak up on them. It also means we have to work out what we plan to do and how we do it.”
Jason sat down and crossed his legs in front of him. He reached for his water bottle and took a long drink before hammering the stopper back in. “So, what are we doing to do?”
They had all agreed they would go down into the opening, but their plans do far had not extended any deeper that the plank immediately below the entrance. The first step was the easy one. Subsequent ones were not so simple.
The sun continued its relentless assault on their shoulders. It was high in the sky without a single cloud to obstruct the rays and the Dead Place was once more shimmering. The breeze of the previous night had left with the darkness and all was still and quiet.
Droplets of perspiration formed on their foreheads and trickled down their cheeks. Their tunics clung to them and their breeches grew uncomfortable as they seemed to tighten and shrink in the heat as the waistbands soaked up the moisture from their backs and chests.
Porky particularly was suffering from the heat and continually wiped his face with his hands and arms. “Let’s decide quickly eh,” he said. “This heat is killing me.”
“OK,” said Nikko. “We agree we are going in. I think all we can do at this stage is get down onto that plank and see how far it goes in either direction. But let’s not all go in through this opening. Let’s open up another one and see if they do join.”
The plunger next to the nearest boulder was pulled and again the smooth rock sprang up. The entrance was exactly the same and there was another ladder dangling from a plank. Clearly the plank too was the same one.
It was decided they would go in through only the two holes and then descend in groups down the ladders. In one group would be Nikko, Danielle and Simon. Porky, Josh, Jason and Jordon would make up the other.
Getting in was simple enough. Each held on to the cross bar and swung down onto the plank. Their eyes took some time to adjust to the gloom after the glare of the outside, but when they did they could see the cavern below was very large indeed.
The standing plank extended around in a wide circle and there were seven descending ladders, suggesting they corresponded to the boulders above.
Danielle asked if they should close the openings. Nikko’s first response was not to as it would block out the light and seriously hamper their progress. But Simon thought that if they didn’t it could give them away if there were any Drongs outside. Nikko accepted the advice and instructed they be shut.
There was a similar plunger on the inside linked at right angles to a rod which in turn was connected to the plunger that protruded outside. When pulled down it would push the exterior plunger out of its socket activating the mechanism that controlled the boulders. At a signal Jason and Danielle simultaneously pulled the two handles. The boulders slammed shut sending a booming echo through the cavern.
“Blast,” whispered Nikko. He feared the noise would be heard in other sections of the underground network, alerting whoever was there that they had intruders. Also, the sunlight from outside disappeared and the cavern was plunged into almost complete darkness.
Jordon gave a startled cry but was instantly shushed by Jason.
“I can’t see a thing,” said Porky. “We’ve got to have some light.”
“Porky’s right Nikko. It’s very dangerous as it is,” Simon said. “We’d better open one of them at least.”
Nikko agreed and pulled the handle over his head. The boulder popped open with a hiss and light poured in.
“Right,” Nikko said. “Let’s hope no-one is outside or comes up here later. If they do we’re goners,” He continued. “Let’s waste no more time. We’ll get down these ladders and take a look around the bottom. From there we can decide our next step.”
The children climbed down the ladders, marveling at the magnitude of the underground cave. It was enormous and every sound they made seemed to rebound off the walls ever louder. Although the ladders were very well made and were in excellent repair they were glad when their feet touched solid earth again.
They all stood in a tight huddle and craned their necks at their surroundings. It was as though they had entered another world. They were struck by the awesome nature of the cave and turned slowly to absorb the heady atmosphere.
Josh whispered, more just moving his lips than actually speaking. “This is creepy. How could such a place exist? And so near the forest? Who could choose to live here?”
“Someone certainly does,” said Simon. “The rocks and the ladders prove that. I’m not sure it is the Drongs any longer. They are rough I know, but this can only be home to someone who is much worse than they are. I don’t like it at all.”
Nikko looked up and could see clearly the entrance where the boulder had opened and let in the light.
“We have to decide what we’re going to do,” he said. “Can anyone see a path or something?” As he spoke there was a thud above and the boulder closed over the opening.
They moved carefully around the floor until Simon came upon a narrow slit in one of the walls that was almost hidden but which had a faint light at the back of it. It was just wide enough for a person to squeeze through and after a brief discussion they decided to explore it a short length to see where it led. If after twenty paces or so they were unsure of its safety they would return and look for another way.
Nikko went first followed by Jason and then the others. They stayed close to one another and Jordon kept hold of Simon’s tunic.
The crevice was narrow for about fifteen meters and was on a sloping angle, so it was difficult to edge their way through it. But it gradually leveled and widened and after a curve to the right it straightened out and the children could see there was light about forty-five meters in the distance.
“We’ll go on as far as that light,” said Nikko. “Stay close and be careful.”
The children had discarded their makeshift sandals in the man cavern. They had finally crumbled into brittle pieces. During the hours in the heat outside they had served their purpose, but there was never any doubt they were only an emergency and temporary protection. At least the children had not suffered blisters on their feet which would have made the going a lot more difficult that it already was. The ground was hard and it seemed reasonably smooth, but with so little light it was hard to see where they stepped. For all they knew there could be sharp rocks and other things in their path. Or worse, deep holes.
As they approached the end it became evident that the narrow crack was to open onto another cave. Cautiously they approached it. Nikko directed with his hand that the others should halt while he went ahead to see what was in front of them.
It was indeed another cave, somewhat smaller than the first but it held another surprise for them.
Nikko walked out into the cave and stood gazing ahead of him for more than a minute before motioning the others to follow.
When they were all standing together again it was Porky who spoke. “What is it?”
In front of them against the far wall was a tree. The trunk was easily eight meters around and it extended from the floor to the very top of the roof. There were branches at various levels but no leaves. It looked like it had been dead a long, long time.
“What the heck is that doing here?” asked Josh.
Simon walked over to the tree and touched it tenderly. Then he rubbed it, and like Nikko did with the boulders earlier, he tapped it with his knuckles. “It’s petrified,” said. “It’s a petrified tree.”
“What on earth are you talking about?” said Porky. “How can a tree he petrified?”
“A petrified tree is one that is so old it has turned to stone,” Simon replied. “It takes hundreds of years after it dies, but finally it becomes like a rock. It’s then called a petrified tree.”
Porky and Josh joined Simon and also rapped their knuckles against it. “It really is stone,” said Josh. “I would never have believed it. I guess you could say it was really scared to death.”
For the first time for quite a while the children laughed.