CHAPTER 9:

CROSSING PATHS

The adventurers decided to move on. Rapp later found his knife in the field, after the enormous animals left to browse elsewhere.

They continued on their adventure through the valley. Soon, it started to rain, and our heroes were once again wet. This continent had a tropical climate, so showers were quite frequent here. Looking for shelter, they found a small cave in the side of a cliff.

"I guess this will have to do," Justin said, looking into the cave.

It was cool inside the cave, but warm enough once a fire was started. Outside, the rain gradually grew harder and harder. The group sat and waited for the rain to stop. And waited. And waited. Soon, nearly half an hour had passed and the rain kept pouring, not growing any softer.

"Is this rain ever gonna stop?" Rapp asked irritably. "My butt's falling asleep!"

Suddenly, a loud rumbling broke the silence.

"Hey, those big animals went the other direction," Justin said.

"This rumbling isn't coming from them!" Feena screamed. "The rain is loosening the soil! The cave's collapsing! Everyone out!!"

Before they could get out, however, a large amount of rock fell from the ceiling. In seconds, a wall of rock blocked the mouth of the cave, and everything grew silent once again.

"Well, this really isn't good!" Sue exclaimed.

"Sshh!" Justin ordered, holding his hand up. "I heard something." He heard it again. It sounded like whispering, and it was coming from another chamber on the other side of the cave.

The all stood up slowly, and moved close together, each readying his or her weapon. They knew they shouldn't have come into the cave. Monsters loved caves. And they loved caves even better when dinner foolishly wondered into them, completely defenseless. However, Justin and his friends were hardly defenseless.

"Stay close," Justin whispered to them. They continued cautiously through the darkness towards the chamber. As they approached, they could hear the whispering getting louder. They now stood against the wall, right beside the chamber's entrance. They all tensed up, preparing for combat as they slowly peaked into the chamber.

"On three," Justin commanded. They started to pump with adrenaline as Justin slowly counted. "One...two...THREE!!!"

They all charged into through the chamber entrance, and came face to face with....

"Leen?!" Feena exclaimed.

"F-Feena!" Leen replied, clutching her chest. Mullen and the three sergeants were with her. "Y-you scared us to death!"

"What are you doing here?" Feena asked, putting her whip away.

"Long story. Did the rain stop?"

"Don't bother," Justin replied. "You won't be able to get out anyway. There's been a cave-in, and the entrance is blocked."

They went back to the fire. Leen and Mullen sat down to join them. Nana, Saki, and Mio sat at the other end of the cave with their backs turned towards the others. They didn't know why, but they still felt some animosity for those kids, though not as extreme as it had been before.

"So, tell us," Feena urged. "What are you doing here?"

"Well," Leen began. "It all started when we received your SOS. I only heard you for a minute, and then the radio went static. So, we boarded the Lyonlot to come for help. By the time we got there, we saw your boat sinking in the distance. But, just as we were about to drop down, we saw the ship explode."

"I knew that no one could survive an explosion like that," Mullen added in. "But, Leen kept insisting on searching for you. We must have flown over that area a hundred times. Finally, we called the mainland and pronounced you dead."

"Just as we turned around to head back, we ran out of fuel. Someone forgot to refill the tanks." She eyed the sergeants behind her. "So, we made an emergency landing in the ocean, inflated a life raft, and the storm carried us to this new continent. That's pretty much it."

"Great," Sue sighed. "The whole world thinks we're dead."

"But, we aren't, Sue," Justin reminded her. "That's good, isn't it?"

"That's not the point, Justin. Now, we can never go back home! If the whole world believes that we're dead, then no one will come to rescue us!"

Justin had to admit that she had a point. They may never see their homes again.

TO BE CONTINUED