Chapter Eight
Gabrysia and Fallon were lying on their sides alone one wall in their dungeon. They had spent an uncomfortable night talking for a long time but eventually succumbing to weariness and mental exhaustion.
They had stretched out on the cold ground at right angles and despite the constant light which Gabrysia now knew came from the illuminations they had dropped off to sleep. But as the hours passed it became much colder and they crept closer until they were side by side drawing warmth from one another’s bodies. Like this they slept fitfully for about four hours until they were jolted awake by the laughter of the guards standing outside the entrance. The children sat up rubbing their eyes and blinking in the ever present brightness.
“Like two love birds,” snickered one of the guards. The other three joined him and laughed as they watched the two children yawn and slowly start another day as captives deep underground beneath the Dead Place.
They were not sure how long they had spent in their subterranean prison as the illuminations which remained on all the time made it hard to keep track of the time. They had in fact been in the odd environment only two days but already were disoriented. They estimated two twenty-four hour periods had elapsed but had to admit it could quite easily have been less, or more. Past logic told them that a period of sleep naturally separated one day from the next. But that was under normal circumstances and these were far from normal. It could well be that their experiences had been so traumatic, such a mental upheaval, that sleep had overcome them ahead of the usual schedule. Instead of a whole day having passed it could conceivably have been only twelve or eighteen hours.
In their present predicament however, while it may have been galling not to know whether they were awake in the middle of the night or the middle of the day, it mattered little in real terms. Their situation remained unchanged. They were still being held prisoner by a band of Drong children, led by an irrational boy who seemed likely to move in any direction depending on how the whim took him.
It was not an enviable position to be in especially as they had no way of knowing where their would-be rescuers were, or indeed if there were any searchers still out looking for them. Certainly they hoped to be rescued and returned to their familiar life in the trees but it was far from certain whether this would be soon. It was also a matter for deep conjecture whether such a release would be accomplished without a great deal of fighting and injury.
Gabrysia and Fallon had no experience to rely on in trying to guess what might happen. Neither had ever before been involved in an incident where a rescue had been attempted. Since their arrival on the island long ago, so long ago all memory of it had been erased, they had had no cause to become involved in a similar action.
There had been one or two occasions when Leaf Children had wandered away from the safety of the forest and were never found by search parties that went looking for them. But it had always been believed they had been carried off by Torpah to the distant land they talked of sometimes around the warm fires in the winter time. As the missing children were never found the others made up stories which they would prefer to be true. After a time these tales became accepted, particularly when the Leaf Children sat around the fires as the nights fell early.
Fallon had been one member of a search party but they had found nothing. There was no reason for the others to think he too had not simply disappeared. The Dead Place was mysterious enough with trees that were visible one minute and gone the next. He knew he had been kidnapped but Nikko and the others didn’t. It was possible they searchers had given up thinking he also had been carried off. What other explanation could there be? If they searched everywhere and no trace was found the most likely conclusion would be that he had met the same fate. His disappearance had been under high suspicious circumstances. Fallon could just imagine Simon telling the others how one second he had been sitting against a rock and when he looked again he had vanished. Nikko might be the only one to question the conclusion though he would no doubt be swayed in time.
Their only hope lay in the fact that Gabrysia had been kidnapped by the Drongs. That had been witnessed. So the Leaf Children would be searching for the Drong camp as distinct from two missing children, and hopefully they would go on looking until they located it. Fallon had to smile when a thought struck him.
“What are you thinking Fallon?” Gabrysia asked. “You seem happy for some reason or other.”
“I was just thinking how ironic it is,” replied Fallon. “You know the saying about leaving no stone unturned when you are looking for something. In our case let’s hope Nikko and the others don’t overlook the stones. That is literally the first answer to the riddle.”
“What do you mean?” asked Gabrysia.
“Well, I was dozing against the big stones when I was grabbed. So was Venki. So the Drongs must have been hiding near them. As we are underground now my bet is they have burrowed under the rocks to get down here. If Nikko and the party search carefully enough around those rocks they might find the burrows.” Fallon stopped for a moment and then added: “That’s if I’m right of course.”
“Let’s hope whatever is necessary to happen does,” Gabrysia said. “We have to get out of here and we have to make sure Venki comes with us. That’s another problem we have to take into account Fallon. We can’t leave him here.”
“No. If he stays cooped up like that it will harm his health. From what I’ve seen of him he doesn’t strike me as a person who gives in easily. He’ll go on being a thorn in their side. And that Drong is such a maniac he could so something stupid.”
Gabrysia nodded and almost to herself said: “We really must do something. But what?”
For a long time the two of them sat without saying a word. The guards had apparently gone after the snide laughing remark, content to leave the prisoners unwatched and free to discuss their predicament without fear of being overheard.
Gabrysia suddenly smiled to herself and faced Fallon. Her eyes were bright and in a cheerful tone she said: “They also say there is a silver lining to every cloud. And there had been some good to come out of this episode.”
“What on earth is it?” asked Fallon. “Here we are trapped in some underground dungeon with the possibility of never being found and you say there is a bright side to it. You’ll have to explain that to me.”
Gabrysia’s smile broadened. “You,” she said. “You are the positive side. Do you realize you have been talking non-stop for hours yesterday and again today. Fallon, you have become a conversationalist.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. I….”
“It’s true. Really. You have done more talking down here in the last day or so than you have ever done before. And it’s wonderful.”
“I guess I have. Maybe it’s because of everything that’s happened. I didn’t realize. I hope it hasn’t annoyed you. I don’t want to….”
“Fallon, don’t be silly. It’s good to hear you talk. You have ideas and you express them. You must not revert to your protective shell again. When we get out of here keep talking. Talk and talk and talk.”
There was a noise at entrance behind them. Turning Gabrysia and Fallon saw the Drong leader standing casually in the centre of the opening with his arms crossed and the now expected lopsided grin on his face. “Yes Leafy,” he drawled. “You go on talking. But don’t waste your breath talking about when you get back to the forest. You won’t be going back there until I say.” He went on: “Also it is not good for morale down here if you go around talking about getting out. Escaping or anything. Remember your friend Venki and what happened to him. The same could happen to you if you start causing trouble.”
The Leader had not moved as he spoke. He kept his arms folded against his chest and his eyes bore into Fallon with obvious dislike. Fallon returned the gaze unblinking.
“What makes you think we will not be rescued?” he asked. “There are others out there looking for us and sooner or later they will discover the burrows under the rocks. When they do we and Venki will certainly be freed.”
The Drong’s arms dropped to his side and the grin vanished from his grubby face. “How do you know about the entrance?” he demanded. “Who told you?”
It was Fallon’s turn to smile. He was surprised but inwardly pleased at the Drong’s reaction and he was determined to get as much mileage out of the slip as possible. The Leader’s confirmation of the burrows was the first chink in his armour and Fallon now concentrated on searching out others.
“Don’t be stupid,” he said calmly. “It was pretty obvious you know. We figured it out long ago. And the others will have done the same by now.” He turned to Gabrysia and with a wink that could not be seen by the boy in the entrance added: “The next thing he’ll want to know is how we know about the tree.”
Gabrysia took up the line easily. “A tree is a tree and we know all about them. The forest is our home. But out here? That’s a different story and was easy right from the start.”
They turned to face the Leader and Gabrysia said: “Really, it won’t be long now Kerry.”
The Drong leader stared hard at the Leaf Children. At first his expression was one of alarm and uncertainty. It then changed to anger. “You’re lying,” he said. “I don’t believe you.” Then he called to his guards who were standing just in view around the corner and pointing to one said: “You. Go and check the tree opening outside. Make sure it’s covered and out of sight. Quickly.”
As the soldier turned to go the Leader added sternly: “Be very careful. Keep a good watch out. There might be other Leafies around.”
A very slight smile crossed Fallon’s lips. A second chink had been discovered.
“Kerry, what do you intend doing with us?” Gabrysia wanted to shift the point of the confrontation, to keep the Drong leader off guard. She didn’t want to give him time think carefully on their comments.
Walking away from Fallon’s side so that he could not concentrate on them both at the same time, Gabrysia continued: “Surely you don’t expect to keep us prisoner here forever.”
The Leader’s eyes followed her across the room and then darted back to Fallon for a few seconds before settling on Gabrysia once again.
“I don’t think you’ll be going anywhere for some time,” he said. “Certainly not as soon as you seem to imagine.”
“What are you going to do?” Fallon asked from the other side of the room where he had moved to. “Have your guards there stay with us every minute of the day? They’ll soon get tired of that. And anyway what do you hope to achieve by all this? All we would be are trophies. You’d have to feed us, watch us, and worry about what we are going to do next. That doesn’t sound particularly clever to me.”
“Listen Leafy,” the Drong said. “You’ve seen for yourself already we don’t have to mount watch around the clock to make sure you behave yourself.”
“You mean lock us away in some cave where we’re no use to anybody? Very clever. Oh yes, we are obviously no match for you. What do you say Gabrysia? Should we give and submit now?”
“Don’t be unkind Fallon,” Gabrysia said in a mock serious tone. “Kerry here has a problem and he’s doing his best to solve it. Go ahead Kerry. Tell us what you plan to do with us. I’m sure you have a very intelligent plan.”
The Drong leader was livid. He was visibly shaking with rage and it was almost possible to imagine his face would explode it as so puffed and red.
“Come on Kerry boy,” baited Fallon. “Let’s hear your brilliant idea. Tell us what you have in store for us. Is it the rack? Boiling oil? Are you going to put us away in one of those secret tunnels you wouldn’t show us? What is it going to be then?”
The Leader exploded. He lost all control and began shouting at the top of his voice and at the same time waving his arms frantically in the air and changing from one leg to the other.
“You’ll pay,” he screamed. “Pay! Pay! Pay! You can’t make fun of me like that and get away with it. You’ll be sorry. Both of you. I’m going to make you regret what you’ve said.” He went on mumbling threats of punishment and pain and promised never to let them out of the underground world, his kingdom as he called it.
“You think you’re smart because you line in the trees and have all those toys and things. You make fun of us and look down on us like we are dirt. Why don’t you clean yourself up Kerry? Why don’t you be a good boy Kerry? Why don’t you do what we tell you Kerry? Well, no more. I’ve beaten you this time and you are both my prisoners and you’re going to stay that way. And you’ll pay for every rotten word. You’ll pay alright.”
Finally he stopped for breath, his arms limp by his side with his hands opening and closing. Spittle had gathered at the corners of his mouth and his eyes were damp. His face was no longer red, the blood apparently drained leaving it ashen.
Gabrysia and Fallon were stunned by the outburst, sudden as it had come and the intensity of the anger and hatred. They had expected a reaction, had provoked it, but its severity and depth when it came had taken them by surprise.
“You’ll pay,” said the Drong again. “Oh, you’ll pay. I’ll make sure of it.” He was now quickly recovering and regaining his composure. Soon he would be once again in charge and on guard more so than before.
Fallon did not want this to happen. He did not want to let the opportunity slip by without a further probe for information or a weakness.
“So,” he said. “It’s the dark mysterious tunnels is it? You’re going to feed us to the hyenas are you? That’s par for the course for you I suppose.”
“The tunnels are the Keepers’,” the Leader retorted. He stopped immediately. The cave was quiet. There was not a sound as the Leader stared at Fallon for a long time with an expression of disbelief and loathing. When he spoke it was in a hoarse rasp. “Damn you. Damn you to hell.” Then he turned on his heels and walked quickly away without another word, leaving the remaining soldiers open mouthed outside the entrance.
“We’re in for it now,” said Gabrysia after a time. “He’s as mad as a bull. Was it worth it? Was it really worth it do you think?”
Fallon did not answer straight away. Then he asked: “What, or who, are the Keepers I wonder?”
The Drong leader was furious with himself. He had been tricked into revealing far more than he had intended or wished to the two Lead Children. The boy had taunted him into spontaneous reactions and he had as a result given away too much.
The burrows had been kept hidden for a long time and until now they were known only to those who lived underground. He was annoyed that now some outsiders also knew of them. But the knowledge could be managed. The captives could simply be held where they were. As for the Leaf Children outside, finding the openings that too could be managed by locking the spring mechanisms for a time until the danger passed.
The business with the tree was of greater concern. If the Leaf Children were to be taken at their word the whole underground network was at risk of being discovered. And that could be disastrous. The whole section would have to be blocked off. As soon as his soldier returned from checking the opening he would give the order or see to it himself.
But most worrying of all was his mention of the Keepers. That was very dangerous indeed. He was the only one to know of them. Up to now. His loss of control for one brief moment had placed everything in a highly dangerous situation. It must go no further or all would be lost. If necessary the two captives would have to be sealed off, even more isolated that that troublesome Venki.
As he hastened along the passage away from the dungeon the Drong leader slapped his thigh and again cursed aloud. He must put the emergency security plans into operation immediately. “Where is that solider?” he said, and quickened his step.
Back in the dungeon Gabrysia and Fallon sat closed together in the farthest corner out of the hearing of the guards standing at the entrance watching closely and clearly trying to overhear the conversation. They spoke in whispers so low they had to repeat many of the sentences they directed to each other.
“What do you think they are?” asked Gabrysia.
“I don’t know for sure,” Fallon replied. “But Kerry was visibly shaken as soon as he had mentioned it. Did you see his expression change? I think he could have happily strangled me.”
“You must be careful Fallon. Don’t take any more chances like that for a while. We got quite a bit out of him, more than we could have expected rally, but we have made him hopping mad in the process. We don’t want to push him too far.”
“I agree. He’s in a dangerous mood now. But at least we now know two things for sure. Those rocks outside do hide entrances to this place so we are definitely somewhere underground in the Dead Place. Second, the tree is another opening. God knows how it works but it is an opening. And that increases the chances of Nikko and the others finding their way in here.”
“I hope you’re right. But I also hope that if they do locate the openings they move carefully.”
“They will,” said Fallon. “Nikko is very cautious. He weighs things up very carefully. In a way it’s good that he’s new to the place. It means he is wary of things we might take for granted. He thinks things through very thoroughly and is not afraid to sit back and ask questions and discuss points before venturing on. In this case better than Jason I feel.”
“Good,” said Gabrysia. “What we need now more than anything else is a cool, steady head. They must not be impulsive.”
There was a pause and the children looked back at the guards to make sure they could not be overheard. The three of them were standing together at the entrance still watching them carefully, but apparently not trying to listen any more. They seemed reconciled to not being able to hear the conversation.
“Coming back to that other remark by Kerry,” said Gabrysia. “Any ideas?”
Fallon lowered his voice even further. “Not really. But I don’t reckon Keepers are animals. If they were why would be get so upset? We know there is at least one beast locked up down here. Others would not be that unusual. And there is no reason why he would try to keep them such a secret. To the contrary he was very disturbed at having let it slip. It has to be something very secret and very important. What do you think?”
“I don’t know either.” Gabrysia’s eyes narrowed. “Fallon, do you think there might be other people in this place? I mean not Drongs, but someone we’ve never heard of?”
“I don’t see how. Who could there be? There’s only us and the Drongs.”
“Well, we haven’t seen everything on the island. Maybe we and the Drongs are not the only ones who live here. I know it sounds unlikely but what if there were others? If they lived underground all the time no-one would know they existed.”
“Nobody could stay down here forever. Even the Drongs have to go outside sometimes. After only two days I can understand why. And anyway, why would they choose to live here and avoid all contact? It’s not logical.”
“I guess you’re right,” said Gabrysia pensively. “It doesn’t make sense. So what are they if they are not animals and if they are not people?”
Fallon shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. Finally he said: “I just don’t know.”
He was concerned over how the situation had developed. He did not want to worry Gabrysia unduly but the point was he was growing anxious that there had been no sign of the others in the search party. He did not really expect them to come bursting in and carry them away to safety, giving Kerry a black eye into the bargain. But he thought there could have been some sign or news of them. Even if it meant the Drongs being alerted that something unusual was going on elsewhere in the underground world.
But so far there had been nothing. Many hours had passed since his capture but the Drongs had seemed unconcerned that he and his friends would be found and rescued. In fact, all seemed under control. No doubt they had sentries posted or had other means of detecting intruders. It was reasonable to assume that sooner or later unwelcome visitors would be noticed. He hoped it would not be too long before Nikko and the rest would penetrate far into the network. He was growing edgy and wanted to be out of this unnatural environment. He was missing the fresh air and sunshine and the green trees with their musical leaves. This was no place for a person who lived with living nature all around. Down here in this subterranean wilderness all was cold and lifeless.
“Fallon. Fallon, where have you been? What were you thinking?” Gabrysia was talking to him, bringing him out of his daydream.
“Oh I was just wishing we were out of this place and back in the forest.” Fallon smiled and added: “It won’t be long I know, but I just hate sitting here so helplessly.”
“I hate it too,” said Gabrysia. “I feel so useless. If we could do anything that might get us out of here I would. But for the moment I guess we are stuck.”
“We could try to overpower the guards,” Fallon said. “There are only three of them and the two of us. Maybe we could distract them and then tackle them. We might be able to do it.”
Gabrysia did not agree. If they failed they would be an even worse jam. The Drong leader would certainly vent his anger on them and they could end up in very serious straits. There were problems also if they succeeded. What would they do after they were out of the dungeon? Where would they go? The only way out that they knew about would lead them straight to the Drongs in the main chamber. And they could hardly take on the entire base.
“No Fallon,” she concluded. “For the moment at least we had better try nothing like that. We’ll have to wait for a more opportune time. When it comes we’ll know. Anyhow who knows, maybe we’ll be rescued and away from here before we have to do anything on our own.”
“You’re right of course,” said Fallon. “It’s just that I want to do something. Anything but sit around waiting for that crazy fool to go off his head. He bothers me. The whole setup here bothers me.”
“It’s uncanny really,” said Gabrysia. “Weird. I still can’t understand why the Drongs have chosen to live underground. Out in the middle of the Dead Place. It’s dirty, claustrophobic, cold. My goodness it must be freezing in winter. It’s utterly unreal. They could easily live outside. If they genuinely don’t want to share the forest why not the jungle? It’s not ideal by any means but it’s better than this horrible warren. It’s almost as if they set out to find the most isolated, desolate, uncomfortable place to settle.”
“They found it,” said Fallon.
“But why?”
“Who knows. They all seem a bit strange to me. That Kerry is around the bend. We know that. The rest are all out of the same mould. They look a bit crackers. Dirty, filthy, grubs.”
“Some people are different from what you might call the normal. Maybe it’s because of a physical disability or an attitude to everyday life that sets them apart. And quite often they band together or at least gravitate to the same area. There they make their own life, governed by their own rules and everyone is happy. They don’t bother others and they don’t allow outsiders to interfere with them. The differences are accepted. Tolerated at least. But how often do you find such a large group of people suffering the same abnormality? In this case a particularly odd behaviour which goes beyond the usual antisocial. Who have turned their back on everything that is right and good.”
“You’ve put your finger on it Gabrysia. The Drongs are determined to be antisocial. They weren’t forced into it. They sat down and elected to be wretched. They then went out and did all they could to add to that wretchedness. This base is one of the trappings. It suits them admirably. They could not have chosen better.”
Gabrysia without being aware of it had been running her fingers through her hair, combing out the knots, shaking out the tangles. Her tresses hung over her shoulders and down her back ending in tight little curls. She continued the motion. Then she stopped and looked at Fallon who was sitting quietly watching her.
“Listen to us,” she said. “Two old philosophers. Anyone listening would have to wonder what we were on about. Sitting here pretending to understand the whole world. In reality we can’t even look after ourselves. Look where our philosophising landed us. In a pretty position.”
“I know what you mean,” answered Fallon, “but I still wouldn’t use the word pretty. This place is far from attractive. It’s awful.”
Gabrysia nodded her agreement. She thought it the worst place she had ever been in. There was no green and no other bright colours she was used to outside. The entire base, or that much of it they had seen, was bland earthy brown. No flowers, no trees or shrubs, not even moss. In fact, there was no life at all. If the barren land above was the Dead Place this dreadful prison was it equally inanimate basement.
As any girl would Gabrysia was imagining how it would look if plants were brought in and if there was water and natural light. It would still not be anything like outside but it would be livable for short periods. She looked around turning her head in quick broad arcs and caught Fallon examining her intently.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. “What are you looking at e like that for?”
Fallon didn’t reply straight away. He kept looking at her for a while and then said: “It’s something I meant to ask you about yesterday. But in the middle of everything I forgot. I just remembered.”
“What? Is it important?”
“Maybe not. It just struck me as a little strange at the time, that’s all.”
“Well, what is it? I’ll answer it if I can.”
Fallon kept his eyes on Gabrysia. “It was soon after I was brought here. Yesterday. You asked me about the search party.”
Yes, I remember. What of it?”
“Well, when I told you Jason was not in chare and that Nikko was you said ‘good’. In fact, you made a point of saying it was good a few times. It struck me as odd that’s all.”
“That I should prefer Nikko to Jason as leader?”
“Yes.”
“He’s got a calmer, cooler head on his shoulders Fallon. We both agreed on that not long ago. We need a steady hand in charge now.”
“I know all that. But you see that’s the point. I know it. I spent time with him in the forest, in the jungle, and then in the Dead Place. I had time to see him operate.”
Gabrysia remained silent and Fallon kept his eyes on her. “But you,” he said. “only had a very brief time with him in the forest. Minutes really. Hardly sufficient to accurately judge his character. You were kidnapped almost straight away. Yet in a critical situation like the one we’re in at present you immediately welcome him as leader of the party that will either rescue us or fail in the attempt, perhaps condemning us to a long, long time down here.”
Still Gabrysia said nothing. She stared back unblinking. Ultimately Fallon dropped his gaze to the floor and began fidgeting with a small pebble. “I just wondered why you prefer Nikko to Jason. You’ve known Jason a long time and he is smart and fearless. I thought he’d be the obvious choice to get command when you were not there.”
“Jason is all those things,” said Gabrysia at last.
“So why Nikko?” Fallon persisted.
“Fallon. He is better. He is the right person to be in charge. I can’t explain it to you now. You’ll have to trust me. Soon maybe you’ll learn why.”
“What do you mean? Why can’t you….”
“Later,” she said. “Later. Trust me now. Please.”
Fallon wanted to pursue the matter but decided for the moment to let it rest. Perhaps in time he would raise it again. But for now he realized Gabrysia would be drawn no further. He was still curious though and determined to ask more questions and to find out the reasons for Gabrysia’s faith in the unknown Nikko.
However, even if Gabrysia had been willing to discuss it further they were not given the chance. They suddenly became aware that one of the guards had entered the dungeon and was standing quite close by.
Fallon turned to face him squarely and asked sternly: “What do you want?”
It was the soldier who had shown them the hidden tunnel in the other cave, and for his troubles had been severely rebuked by the Drong leader. He stood stock still a few paces away expressionless and his club held at his side like he would a walking stick.
“Well, what do you want?” repeated Fallon.
The Drong looked back at his two comrades and then to Gabrysia. Another glance over his shoulder and he faced Fallon. When he spoke it was disjoined, frightened and hasty. “You want to get out. He’s going to make it very hard for you if you stay. We’ve been here a long time. Your other friend can’t last much longer where he is. You can’t be rescued. The beasts prowl the routes.”
Fallon was impatient. He disliked the Drongs and he was not about to stand around chatting with one of those whose job it was to keep him penned up like a criminal in a cave that was fit for animals only.
“What the hell are you talking about you blithering idiot?” he railed. “Can’t you talk sensibly? Are you all backward or something? Maybe you’ve been down here too long. Live with a fool long enough and you begin to act like one.”
Gabrysia stepped forward and put a hand on his elbow. “Wait Fa