Disclaimer: Don't own it, never have cause it belongs to someone else. I'm merely borrowing a few characters.

Caverns

Chapter three

Carl stared at the entrance, or the lack of one for the longest time. He had read of such things happening to people in books and films. Before, he had laughed and joked about it, but it felt different now.

"We need to move those rocks," Carl murmured, feeling perhaps it had been their voices that had caused the cave-in, "come on," there was no answer, "Gripling! We need to move the-" he spun around to see Blake in up against the wall of the cave, he was breathing heavily and there was a look of a trapped animal in his stance.

Carl groaned, only just managing to stop himself from hitting his head on the wall. A concussion did not seem to be the way to go at the moment. He did though, for a fleeting moment consider doing it to Blake.

He bent down at the entrance and grasping one of the smaller rocks firmly, pulled with all his strength. The rock did not budge. He tried again with another rock, groping around the gritty surface to grip it better. Still nothing.

"We're going to die here," Carl spun round angrily as Blake made his statement.

"We are not going to die, don't be so stupid Gripling. We just need to get rid of these rocks, which we could if you bothered to help. But, no, you have to be all "we're going to die here!"

"We can't move those rocks. Anyway, what if moving those rocks causes another cave in...right on to our heads." Carl stared at Blake, than groaned audibly and sank on to the floor. He looked at his spluttering torch, watching it flicker shadows on the floor.

"They'll find us," they meaning the other students, "you're just wound-up cause of your claustrophobia. We'll be found. Hey, maybe we'll be on the news, we'll be famous. We've just got to wait it out for a bit, okay."

Blake nodded, although it was clear he did not believe a word of what the older boy had told him. A mantra was running through his head, of not panicking, not letting his fear overcome him, of not letting Carl see him as he had been in Sully caverns. The mere thought of the place made his heart beat like a drum. He had remembered his screams, how he had pushed the walls in an effort to try to push them back, to try to stop them moving, crushing him. He then remembered crying on Winston's shoulder, as he had been carried away.

No, Carl would not see that. He would not allow Foutley to see a Gripling like that. It was the only way in which he could keep calm, keep the fear away.

Steven Bellen, looked furiously at the two children in front of him. After the missing children had vanished, the rescue team that dealt with accidents in these caverns had been called. Steven Bellen, a thirty-two year old man, had done more than thirty rescues of ambitious archaeologists and other people, but never children.

He then watched as Bill, his flashlight on his helmet flashing brightly. His canary-yellow hair covered in dust and who-knows what and his face looked muddy.

"There isn't a soul there, it stops after a while. Them kids are lying, Stevey," Bill cocked his head at the girl with glasses and the blonde, podgy boy. Both opened their mouths in shock.

"They went in to that tunnel," Hoodsey protested. They had eventually told them where the other two had gone. Steven Bellen seemed to have a persona that did not take messing around.

"We are not lying, Carl and Blake went inside," Noelle spoke up, half worried for Carl; half angry with the guy she thought was called Bill.

Steven Bellen gave her a scornful look; "We'll get a full team down here, those kids probably made a turning. Hopefully they won't have gone far. Let's not have to make any awkward phone calls today." He got out a walkie-talkie and started to give instructions for his men to go into the tunnel, that Carl and Blake did not go in.

TBC