Chapter 16-The yalton Realm
‘How do they steer the thing.’ I said.
Deria said they probably have a machine which guides it from the surface. ‘Go left Dan, I don’t know how long it will take, or how far we will have to go, said Deria, all I know is I am getting a signal from the left which is stronger.’
We all knew that the security forces couldn’t follow us as the waste from the front of the machine was being thrown to the back. ‘What about air I said?’
Reeas said, ‘There is a notice here, it say`s we can go for two-hours without oxygen then we have to surface, it also says the top speed is twenty-miles an hour!’
‘I said, these people might be are low in consciousness but they can make a machine like this which is way ahead of Earth`s technology?’ Reeas said,
‘They haven’t always been like that, this world was once highly technological, but was invaded by numerous aliens, so over time it became what it is now.’
After two hours I knew we would have to surface for air, but before we could do that, there was a big jolt and we came to a stop.
‘What`s wrong?’ I said.
Deria said, ‘It feels as though we are in the open.’
‘We can’t be the depth-meter says fifty-foot.’
‘Well, we will just have to look outside’ Reeas said.
‘Get the blaster’ I said, as I pushed on the door and opened it. I was amazed to find we were in a massive cave system!
‘It looks as though we are stuck,’ Reeas said. ‘We can’t go back as the corkscrew is sticking out at the front, and we can’t go forward as we are over a chasm.’
‘How did they get around a problem like this? I said.
‘Reeas said, maybe they had maps in the office or something.’
Deria said, ‘The signal is very strong now, we may be able to reach Black-Wall through the cave system.’ Deria then started to cling to my arm.
‘What’s wrong,’ I said.
‘There are other beings approaching.’
‘Step back from the door,’ I said, ‘we don`t know who these people are.’
The front of the tunneling machine was over a drop of about fifty feet, with the door just behind the corkscrew. We were safe enough, but we were trapped. I was trying to figure out how we could get out of this mess when a tiny voice shouted from below. ‘Are you Dan Sherman?’ I was astounded; all I could think of to say was ‘Yes.’ A crowd of small human like creatures were standing and looking up at us! They all started to shout in unison; ‘Please help us, please help us.’
‘Who are you?’ I shouted.
A person came forward and said, ‘We knew you would be coming this way, we have been waiting for you!’
‘How did you know about us?’
He said Sionn had contacted them through mind power!
I was shocked again; how could Sionn get himself trapped by Kallo with the immense knowledge and power he had. I was starting to worry that Kallo was stronger and more powerful than us, and that he was beyond our capabilities to detain, if he could take Sionn with such ease, what could we do?
‘Do you know where Sionn is?’ I said.
‘Yes, he is at Black wall.’
‘OK,’ I said, ‘let’s get down there and figure out a way to get to Black Wall from here.’
We scrambled down the rock face. The leader of the crowd said, ‘I am Fagil, I am the elder of my people here, we are called the Yalton.’
I asked him if there was any way to get to Black Wall from here. He said, ‘Yes, but we want you to help us first!’
I told him that time was of the essence and the whole balance of the Universe was at stake. ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘but the way to Black Wall was guarded by an Underground Devil!’
I thought this is going from bad to worse, what do they want of me? I am only one person!
Fagil replied, ‘I know you are feeling down at the moment, it is the consciousness of the planet that does that!’
‘What do you mean, I said?’
‘This used to be a highly evolved and spiritual place. We were on the verge of total mastery of the mind when we were invaded. Now we are nothing more than vermin to those on the surface. If you will help us get rid of the Underground Devil, we will help you to find Sionn, and then he will also help us to rid ourselves of the surface people once and for all.’
Wow, a pretty tall order, I thought.
‘OK,’ I said, ‘we will help.’
By now the group of people had grown, and I noticed the light in the cavern was getting brighter!
Fagil said, ‘I see you notice our light?’
‘Yes, it’s extraordinary.’
‘No. It is something that evolved many hundreds of years ago. We only need one thing to survive here on our planet, and that is food, which we dig out of the planet itself.’
‘That reminds me,’ I said, ‘I am hungry.’
One of the Yalton came over with a small bag; he reached in and pulled out a small lump of rock. ‘Eat this,’ he said.
I looked at it. I thought, is this for real? I took it, thanked him, and bit a piece off, it melted in my mouth, and I suddenly felt full!
‘This is our sustenance, Fagil said. Please, Reeas, take some, and Deria.
‘Our people are massing at the border of junction 50. This is the time of the Yalton.’
I said, ‘What do you mean?’
‘If we can get through the border and meet with our tribesmen we may be able to overthrow the evil forces on our planet.’
‘How are you going to do that?’ I said.
‘We will prevail with the help of our God-man.’
‘Oh, I said, and who is that?’
‘Sionn,’ he said!
Now it was starting to make sense. This was all part of Sionn’s plan to overthrow Kallo! He let himself be caught! But why didn`t he tell me? Was this all some sort of test for me? My mind was in a whirl, but my attention was on the Yalton, they all looked alike, but now as I studied them, I could faintly see their bones and inner organs through their skin! They had on garments that seemed to glow in the dark, but as I observed them I could see that the light was coming from within them. They also had large eyes. They reminded me of the classic alien type creatures that we had become accustom to on TV, and in UFO stories back on Earth.
Fagil said, ‘We have been waiting a long time for this moment, if we can reunite with enough of our brothers we would be able to raise the consciousness of other beings at Far-Station, or rather, ‘Yalton,’ this is the original name of our planet.’
‘How come the surface people never tried to exterminate you from above? I said.’
Fagil said, ‘They are low in consciousness and are afraid of coming down here; they look on us as ghosts, and they know they can’t use any sort of explosive device as it would ruin the planet.’
Deria said, ‘There are others of my kind on this planet, which will also respond to higher consciousness.’
I couldn`t help thinking how a relatively small number of weak creatures would be able to overcome the powerful forces at Far-Station!
‘Please let us be on our way,’ said Fagil.
‘Well,’ I said, ‘we shouldn`t have too much trouble from the Bourin, as we have the blaster!
‘No!’ Shouted Fagil! ‘You cannot use the blaster it would cause untold damage to the rocks!’
‘How do you mean?’ I said.
‘The slightest contamination from a blaster would do untold damage to the planet!’
‘Surely it must have been done before, with the different alien races which tried to dominate the planet.’
‘Yes, but that was on the surface where the light doesn`t affect the rocks. You will have to kill the Devil with your strength!’
‘Well, I did kill the Bourin executioner at the start of our troubles, didn`t I?’
‘This won`t be an ordinary Bourin, it is twice as strong, and cannot be killed with a blaster anyway.’
‘OK, but I can use the knife’ can`t I?’
‘Yes, but it probably won`t help.’
‘What’s he made of, Rock?
‘No, but something nearly as tough, its bones are very strong, and the inner organs are protected by more bone. You will have to smash it with whatever you can lift!’
Great, I thought, the future of the Universe depends on two big beasts smashing the hell out of each other.
‘How are we going to get there? We only have about half a day to reach Sionn, I said.’
‘You have only ten hours!’ He said.
‘How far is it?’ I said.
‘Thirty miles, please follow me.’
When we got into the other shaft I was amazed to see well-constructed roadways with lamps set in the walls.
‘The lights are for your convenience, will you be able to keep up when we start to move?’
I thought, is he joking, but I soon realized he wasn`t. They set off and I could see that they were not touching the ground, but floating above it; they didn`t even need to move their legs. I said to Reeas, ‘Are you OK?’
‘Yes, I’m just wondering what fate has in store for us, Dan. ’
‘As long as you are here, Reeas, I am OK.’ She smiled again.
I estimated we were doing about ten miles per hour, so it would take us three hours to get to where we needed to be. After about two hours we came to a stop next to a big doorway off to the right. Fagil said, ‘Please follow us in. I was amazed to see a giant cavern with ornate carvings and statues; it looked like a spiritual place. Fagil said, ‘It was one of the centers of higher consciousness on the planet.’
I noticed that the walls were glowing slightly, and there was a faint humming noise coming from somewhere within the planet. The Yalton people were holding hands and standing in a large circle. I, Reeas and Deria were in the center. Fagil started to chant some words which I wasn`t familiar with. I noticed that the walls were starting to glow! After five minutes the light was quite bright, and the noise was quite loud. The bodies of the Yalton people were also glowing, and I could see their hearts beating through their chests! The experience to me was of deep spirituality. I also felt confident and totally rested.
‘We have given you what extra strength you will need to defeat the Bourin.’ Fagil said.
‘Thank you, I may need it!’
Fagil then went to a large stone door; he opened it with a little help from his brothers. He said, ‘Please take out these weapons.’ I went over and saw a collection of weapons which looked very old, one was a sword, and there was also a battle-axe and other things. I asked Reeas to hold the sword, while I took the axe. It felt strong, and I felt strong, I just hope we were strong enough! I asked Reeas if she still had the knife in her rucksack, she said yes, I knew this knife to be extra strong as if made for someone my size, maybe it was. I then asked Fagil if he had any string, he went to another room and came back with a length of twine which I tied around the handle of the knife and then I slung it over my neck so that it hung down behind my back. ‘OK,’ I said, ‘I’m ready!’
Now for you Students: yes, I can hardly believe I got this far myself! All I can say is I know I can get back to base even if I died so that in itself was a plus, the other thing is, I have very good help. Please don’t forget to upload your thoughts to central database. We always appreciate your efforts. Onward!’