Samyaza taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, Armaros the resolving of enchantments, Baraqiel taught astrology, Kokabiel the constellations, Chazaquiel the knowledge of the clouds, Araqiel the signs of the earth, Shamsiel the signs of the sun, and Sariel the course of the moon.
- The Book of Enoch Vol. 1
Great spirits of all who lived before,
Take our hands and lead us.
Fill our hearts and souls with all you know.
- Great Spirits, Phil Collins
XxXxXxXxX
I finally managed to dig the mp3 player out of my bag and turn it on, feeling my way to the switch. The dim light from the screen illuminated a bleak sight. Smooth, damp walls stretched away into the darkness, going down at a shallow angle. I turned the light upwards, gritting my teeth against the pain of my leg, which felt as though someone had driven a hundred rusty nails into the bone.
A glossy shaft curved up and out of sight, the walls marked with who-knows-how-long's worth of water stains. It looked almost like a rocky waterslide slide. The crack in my glasses bisected it.
I wasn't going to be climbing back up there.
I cursed myself for hanging back from the tour group. Having the Trio picking at me would be better than being stuck down a cave.
"Can anyone hear me?" I yelled up the tunnel.
"Hear me, hear me," echoed back, but there was no reply. They must have moved on.
Damn them, and damn me for not being careful enough.
What to do, though? Should I stay here and keep yelling? Should I try and move? It was just so dark. It seemed as though the walls were pressing in on me, the shadows moving them forward inch by inch.
My breath was getting rough in my throat. I closed my eyes and breathed in and out heavily. Mustn't panic. What have I got?
I pulled my backpack open and shone the mp3 screen in. A pencil case, two notebooks, a pair of headphones, a copy of White Fang and a whole bunch of worksheets that Mr. Geddes had handed out when we left on the geography trip. Not exactly caving supplies. There was an empty bottle of water, too, which was less than useful.
I tried to get up, but stopped quickly. The pain in my leg grew to a searing-hot agony the moment I put weight on it. I tried again, this time being careful not to do so and hanging onto a protrusion on the wall with my free hand, then sank back down. The floor was too steep and slippery, I was sure that I would fall if I was forced to just go on one foot. I'd have to slide along on my butt if I wanted to move.
This was not looking good. There was no way I'd be able to climb up there with my leg like this. I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to with a healthy leg.
"HEY! I'm down here!" I yelled again, trying to ignore the choky feeling of panic growing in my throat at the thought of being stuck down here. I sat still, just listening. Nothing.
Fuck. Fuckfuckfuck.
My breathing was speeding up again. It took a conscious effort to bring it under control.
Alright, Taylor, what are our options? I thought to myself. Can't climb. If I stay here and keep yelling, they might hear me.
I looked down at the mp3 player. I had managed to get to sleep on the bus ride up past Boston, so it still had an almost-full battery. Still, I didn't want to waste it, seeing as it was my only source of light. On the other hand….
I peered out into the dark, sitting like a wall of cloying tar at the borders of my little ring of light. I really didn't like that, some childish part of me conjuring up monsters and crawling things to hide in it.
I'd keep the light on for a bit.
An hour later according to my watch, and I'd got nothing back at all. The tour was only meant to be half an hour, and we were almost halfway through when I fell.
I had rolled up the left leg of my pants to get a look at the part which was hurting so much. It took a while because I had to be careful not to press on the purple-blue discoloured bruise that had spread like ink in water over my shin and thigh. It was puffy and swollen, and I was very glad indeed that I had worn baggy pants. It was at least partly a self-distraction.
I was in trouble. BIG trouble. Geddes was a good teacher (by the low, low standards of Winslow) but he was the textbook definition of 'forgetful'. I couldn't even remember the last time he took roll. Certainly not before we went into the cave and probably not when they left. The only people who would likely note my absence were the Trio, and they'd probably just have a laugh over me getting lost. Dad would notice when I didn't get back, of course, but that wouldn't be until… this evening, probably. If I had a phone he might have been tipped off earlier by my not calling, but I didn't.
I tried to work out what would probably happen from there. Dad would probably call the police. I'd told him that I'd be going on a trip with the school, but I realized with trepidation that I couldn't remember ever telling him where the trip was going. So… he'd call the police, they'd probably call the school and they'd probably come here eventually. How long would that take, though? I would have to manage down here for a while, in any case.
I checked the mp3 player. It still had two of three bars, and experience said that the battery would probably last another three hours or so. I didn't need the light if I was just going to stay there where any search party would be more likely to find me. Plus, if something happens and I need to move, I'm going to want the light.
I switched it off and blinked at the sudden inky blackness. I held up a hand in front of where I thought my face was. I couldn't see it at all, not even the vague shape. I shivered a little, then closed my eyes and tried to think about something other than my situation, leaning back and propping up my head on my bag.
Before long, I had drifted off to sleep, lulled by the warmth and silence.
XxXxXxXxX
I awoke to the sound of a grumbling stomach and aching back. The pain in my leg had subsided to a dull throb, but the moment I moved it it flared up again. A yelp of pain escaped me, then I gritted my
teeth. It took a moment for the pain to subside, then I checked my watch.
7:32 PM, it read. I had been down here for more than five hours. Would there be search parties yet?
"I'm here! Down the chute!" I yelled, hoping that there would be someone to hear. Still, nothing came back. Just the same low burble of water. Looking down the passage, faint as gossamer, I could see where it curved around to the left.
Wait. How can I see that?
The light was dim, very dim, but it was there. I must not have noticed earlier because my eyes hadn't adjusted properly to the dark after turning off the mp3 player. If there was light, there had to be a source. Maybe a way out, or a shaft up to the surface? Maybe there was something else down here, a tinker's lab or something. The thought reminded me of a 90s comic Dad had given me when I was younger, all about a teenager who fell into a tinker's lab and ended up as a sidekick.
Even if there wasn't a way out, though, there was light, and that would make this much more bearable.
Now, how to get to it?
Another grumble from my stomach reminded me of why I had woken up. It wasn't too bad, but I didn't have anything to help with it. No food, and no water either. I tried to ignore the hunger, testing my less-injured leg. I could probably slide along down there on my back, or on my good leg and arms. Getting back up might be a problem, but I could do it this way. Armed with determination I threw my things back into the bag, put it on my stomach and started off towards the light.
It was slow going, but I managed to squirm and slide my way down to where the passageway turned off. From here, the light was much more obvious, golden-yellow the intensity of starlight. I could make out the shapes of rocks worn smooth, the faintest traces of honey-brown colour and tiny stalactite-fingers reaching down from the ceiling. The glow grew brighter as I went on until the passage turned a corner and widened out, revealing a sight that turned my eyes to saucers.
The chamber was large and irregular, stretching away from me about twice as far as it was across. The floor of the passageway sloped upwards on the left to merge into the wall and down on the right to form the shore of a deep, still pool that stretched to the other side of the cavern. The limpid water reflected the innumerable flecks of golden light that danced like fireflies in the air, scribing glowing zig-zags in orbits around the pillars and stalactites that stretched down from the arched ceiling.
It was beautiful, with the same timeless quality that the Grand Canyon had, or Niagara Falls that one time Mom and Dad had taken me.
What was it, though? What was the glowy stuff? Why was it here? It didn't look like any tinkertech I'd seen on TV or even in comics. Could something like this actually be natural?
I shook my head. Not the point right now. I had light, so I didn't need to worry so much about the mp3 player running out of battery. There was water, too, although I wasn't sure about actually drinking it. Who knew what kinds of stuff could be in cave-water? On the other hand….
I swallowed, feeling the bite of thirst. No. Not yet. I can manage for the moment. I don't need to risk it.
Mind (regretfully) made up I slithered all the way into the chamber and put my bag down on the side away from the water. I regretted not refilling the bottle at the ranger station at the edge of the woods. That water, at least, I could trust.
After that, I was left to twiddle my thumbs. I watched the lights for a bit, making a game with myself of watching the play of light on the water and through the air. It was almost hypnotic. I couldn't make out any single lights, really. Larger and smaller groups that gathered and broke up from moment to moment, but I just couldn't seem to follow one mote with my eyes. Eventually, I got bored with that and tore my eyes away with an effort. According to my watch, it was past 10, but I still wasn't tired at all.
I dug out White Fang and read for a while. Every now and then I yelled up the passage, but there was never any answer. I tried not to listen to the sinking feeling in my get which grew a little with every fading echo.
Finally, a yawn clawed its way out of my mouth at gone 12. I pulled my bag over and curled up in the least uncomfortable place I could find. Not long after, I had drifted off to sleep.
My dreams were a panorama of light and shadow; of suns and seas and dancing golden stars.
XxXxXxXxX
Waking up was just as unpleasant as I expected it to be. My body was a tapestry of aches and pains and my throat was parched. Worst of all was my leg, which had swollen up and turned the colour of a rotten eggplant. It throbbed painfully, even more so when I experimentally put some weight on it.
I yelled up the passage again, but there was still no answer. I tried to stifle the terror which welled up in me at the thought of just being stuck down here forever, forgotten, with a bite of food and a swig of my water - distressingly little, now - but it didn't help much.
I winced as a movement shot a red-hot stab of pain up my leg. Dammit. I growled in frustration; if it wasn't for falling wrong, I might have been able to climb out myself. Instead, all I had was a leg that insisted on flaring up randomly, no food or trustworthy water and a really pretty cave.
My eyes alighted on the pool. Actually… I thought to myself as an idea struck me.
I didn't think that the water would help with my actual problem of being stuck who-knows-how-far underground, but if it was cool it might help to soothe my leg. If there was anything in the water I doubted it would do anything to me by just dangling my feet in it.
Holding my injured leg up off the ground, I manoeuvred my way over the pool and tested it with a finger. It was just this side of cold, but not cold enough to be uncomfortable. Perfect. I rolled up my pant legs, pulled off my socks and swivelled around so that my feet could trail in the water. Almost immediately, the throbbing seemed to lessen a little, as did the aching from the bruises on my other leg.
Time passed slowly when nothing changed but the firefly patterns of the lights. After a little while I tried sketching the cave in my notebooks to pass the time, before finding that no, my drawing skills still hadn't improved much beyond 'cartoon' level. Giving up on that, I went onto drawing whatever came to mind. Armsmaster, Legend, Eidolon, Alexandria and a dozen other heroes soon posed dramatically on the pages. I meandered out into more random stuff, costumes, laser guns, even a spaceship or two. That lasted through to almost three o'clock, and still every time I shouted nothing came back but echoes.
I wondered how deep I was. I didn't think that the chute had been too long, but everything had happened so quickly. Maybe the authorities just hadn't bothered to send out search parties. Maybe the school had said I'd not turned up for the trip. I wouldn't put it past them to do something like that.
I gazed down into the water, trying to catch a glimpse of the bottom through the angry snarl of my reflection. Deep down I saw a glimmer of something; a flicker of faint light. My vision swam and the next thing I knew I was toppling forwards into the water.
The cold was a shock to the senses. I thrashed, trying to get back to the surface, but the water seemed heavy, as if it was trying to hold me down. A storm of golden light swirled up around me-
A deafening cacophony of light and a blaze of sound in colours and tones I didn't and couldn't recognise.
{ERROR - INTERFERENCE}
A whisper burned through me like a lightning strike, then another and another, until I felt as though I was a vessel for the terrible sound and fury of an infinity of ghosts
{ENacTiNg cOunTr-r-r mSRRrrrsSs}
I saw galaxies ignite and spiral and die, candles lit at both ends. Birth and growth and age and death - blood to flesh and flesh to bone and bone to dust. Coral grew through my mind, cruel and crystalline.
Designation - UNKNOWN
I saw my dad, but his eyes were empty and bled. He held two pearls in his hands, one of silver and one of gold. I reached out and placed them in the sockets. He blinked and grinned a grin of ice and diamond.
Purpose - UNKNOWN
I was bodiless and suspended in a sea of yellow and black. A weight of awareness fell upon me, like the eye of a god. It ate at me like acid.
Contacts - UNRESPONSIVE
I was underwater and I was dissolving. Golden scarabs gnawed at my flesh and took it apart, swimming off into the blind deep. I couldn't remember my name.
Structure - UNDAMAGED
Who? What? Where? How? Why?
I know nothing.
Capabilities - KNOWN
I am flayed to bones now. I have nowhere to hide, exposed to the sound and fury.
Enacting link procedures.
Something else enveloped me, wrapping around my exposed bones like a blanket, like warmth, like Mom's hug.
I remember her. I remember Dad. I remember myself.
I am I.
I am I.