Chapter 51------Valley of Snakes

Mai was about to reach for his shoulder when she recalled something, '"Somehow I find that hard to do…"'. She decided to use her leg, "Hey, wake up." She nudged him again.

The boy didn't move. For fun, Mai wanted to kick the guy but she thought that would only make him even grouchier. She could never have fun with him like she did with the rest, she was afraid of making him angry and she didn't like Kai when he was angry.

She tugged at his scarf, "Get up, or I'm leaving without you." She pulled again but the clothing slipped out of her hand. "You're awake?"

Kai sat up and fixed his scarf while Mai went to wake Rei.

"Hurry up; they said we can only see it during sunrise."

"Huh? See what?" Rei rubbed his eyes.

"The Valley of Snakes." Mai replied while hurrying the two boys off the mat so she could put it away. "There's a stream outside the cave, you can freshen up there. I'll go get you guys something to eat so I'llmeet you there, okay?" She ran out of the room.

-Outside the cave-

A half moon was out tonight, but there was enough light to see. The air was warm, the rustle of the wind and the cry of a chayote in the night, the two boys sat listening to the calls of nature. It was things like these that made one cherish the beauty of nature.

"Here." Mai gave them some flat bread to munch on. "Ahuli's waiting for us." She motioned for them to follow her. Just a few metres from her destination, Mai knew what she would be facing, the neighing gave it away.

'Horses!' Under the moonlight, stood three majestic mustangs; one dark-brown, one white and one caramel-coloured. The white one was beautiful; it stood out among the rest, probably because its coat reflected the moon beams well, giving it a glowing effect.

"We're riding there?" Mai felt excitement build up inside.

"Quickest way is by horse." Ahuli replied as he stroked his brown mustang. "Mohali and Chewett come along. Mai, you ride with me."

Kai looked at him, and then turned to Mai who so happily got on the horse with Mohali's help. He decided to let it go…

"Rei, you ride with Mohali. Kai can go with Chewett." Mai told them as she sat behind Ahuli; they were all set to go.

The two boys got on their horses with little effort.

"Ready?" Ahuli waited for them to nod. "Tsk tsk."

The first gallop made Mai clutch the handle on the saddle even tighter but she couldn't deny that it felt nice to be riding on a horse, especially one that was galloping. 'This is so cool!' The wind in her hair, the sound of hooves crushing the dry leaves below, it was a whole new experience for her.

Once they were out of the forest, the group slowed down to a more brisk pace as the horses prepared to go uphill.

"We must reach top before sunrise. Only then we can see Valley of Snakes." Ahuli informed as he walked side by side with the horse up the dirt path. Mai rocked alone on the saddle. 'Maybe one day I can ride on my own,' she thought as her fingers combed through the horse's mane. It felt dry, but soft. She turned to check on the rest, they were doing fine.

Ahuli seemed to know this route well, even in the dark he knew exactly where he was going. All Mai could see were shadows and dark areas, the only things she was sure she could make out were in a 5 metre radius around her.

On the way, they made a few stops to let the horses rest and drink before moving on again. The last phase of the trek seemed a little rushed but they managed to make it to the top in time to watch the sunrise. Ahuli tied the three horses to a nearby tree and placed a few fruit on the ground for them to eat before joining the rest.

"So what's the Valley of Snakes?" Rei asked.

"Sacred place we protect for many centuries." Ahuli answered.

"Why? Is there something there?" Mai probed deeper into the mystery of this Valley of Snakes.

"You see when we get there."

"Ahuli!" Mohali pointed to the horizon. A thin orange glow appeared, slowly followed by the curvature of something round.

"The sun's rising!"

Everyone ran to the edge of the cliff. Why the sun's rising was so important Mai did not know, but she soon found out.

"Look there! Near the waterfall!"

Her eyes focused on the waterfall, "What're we looking at?"

"Follow the rainbow. It show you entrance to valley."

The end of the rainbow disappeared under the water. "B-But it ends in the water." She looked again to double-check. Yup, it ended underwater.

"That is entrance."

"You mean to tell us it's underwater?" Rei had a sceptical look on his face.

"Come, now we go to waterfall." Ahuli went to where the horses were.

"Are you sure about this? Who's ever heard of an underwater entrance?" The boy questioned Mai.

"We won't know until we get there. Besides, they've been good to us up till now."

"That doesn't mean you can trust them." Kai chipped in as he stood by Rei, clearly defining his side on the issue.

"If anything happens…I'll take full responsibility."

"What responsibility can you take if you're already DEAD?" Kai retorted in a cold but calm tone. "Stop being so reckless."

Mai glared at him. "You don't get it do you? If I don't do something then Riya will free Eden! I warned you that being with me was dangerous and you guys accepted it!" Her eyes narrowed in anger, "Just because you care a lot about me doesn't mean that I'll be the fragile girl who always needs your protection!" She stormed off.

Kai was taken aback. No one had ever shouted at him like that before, not even accuse him of doing something wrong which he thought was right. He was always right! He did it for the benefit of others so of course it was right! "Fine…FINE! I WON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR STUPID LIFE ANYMORE!"

"FINE!" Mai shouted back from where she sat on Ahuli's horse.

"Is something wrong?" Ahuli turned his head to question her.

"No," she mumbled. "Let's go."

-Back at Hovenweep National Monument-

"Did you check every single building?"

"Yes ma'am. No sign of them." The officer replied the blonde lady.

"Keep looking. Tyson! How's the signal over there?"

"They're still plugging the satellite!" He shouted back.

Judy went over to where the two boys were. The technician had fixed up a small satellite dish to a box which was joined to Tyson's hand phone by a thin cable. "Okay, try again."

Tyson dialled Rei's number…

-Back to Mai and the rest…-

A techno beat broke the silence, "Stop," Mai tapped Ahuli's shoulder. She turned around to see Rei holding his phone and quickly got off the horse.

"Hello? Tyson?"

Mai came up next to him, "Don't tell them where we are!" she whispered.

"Uh yeah, we're fine. No, nobody's hurt. She's here with us. Hold on," Rei handed the phone to Mai, "Mrs Tate wants to speak to you."

'Crap…' Mai reluctantly took the phone, she knew what was coming. "Hi, Mrs Tate. I'm fine." She held the phone at a distance, "Sorry Mrs Tate. I know. I promise we'll come back. Sorry. Sorry."

The boys watched as Mai's face cringed with every 'sorry'; they knew she was getting an earful from Max's mom.

"There's no need. We'll definitely come back after I've found what I'm looking for. Soon. I can't. I'm really sorry Mrs Tate but I need to go. We'll come back tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. We'll call you. Okay bye!" Mai hurriedly pressed the disconnect button.

"She's not happy, is she?" Rei took back his phone.

"She's livid. I'm definitely gonna get a bad scolding when we get back…"

-Back to Tyson and rest-

"Mai? MAI!" Judy ended the call in a fury.

"It's okay, Mrs Tate. At least we know they're safe." Tyson tried to calm her down.

"How do you expect a parent to calm down knowing that their child is out there in the wilderness with a bunch of strangers? I'm responsible for your safety and I lose three of you!"

"Mom, they said they'll come back. Just let Mai find what she's looking for," Max said.

"But what is she looking for? You boys keep telling me it's something important but what is it? And to travel all the way out here just to look for it? WHAT IS SO IMPORTANT?"

"She's looking for a jewel, okay? A jewel!" Max couldn't keep it in any longer. If he didn't tell her, she was going to snap. He lowered his tone, "Sorry... Mai, she isn't like us, she's different."

"What do you mean? Mai's abnormal?"

"She…I know you're not gonna believe me when I say this but…And you can't tell this to anyone! But Mai is –"

-Back to Mai-

"The spot where the rainbow ended was uh……over there, I think." Mai pointed to the surface of the water near the plunge pool. She looked at the raging water, 'We have to swim there? But the current…'

Mohali dipped himself into the water, "Ahuli! I go check!" With that, he took a deep breath and dived under the water.

"Impossible…Even if there is an entrance, we won't be able to hold our breath long enough." Rei stared worriedly at the spot where Mohali had dived under; everyone was waiting for him to resurface.

3 minutes…

6 minutes…

8 minutes…

"Gaah!" A head popped up from the water and took a deep breath of air. Mohali swam towards shore, Chewett and Ahuli helped him out of the water. The man lay on the ground trying to catch his breath. Once he had had calmed down, he was ready to talk.

"There is entrance under rock to Valley of Snakes, but water is strong."

"Is there anything on the other side?" Mai asked.

"Mm!" He nodded. "Big lake inside cave!"

'A cave…How did the jewel end up in a cave?' Mai wondered.

"We go?" Ahuli looked at her and received a determined nod.

"C-Chotto! Maji ka yo? (Are you serious) We're really going swim?" Rei stopped Mai before she entered the water.

"If the jewel's there then I'm going. You coming?"

Rei looked at the water nervously and then turned back to Mai, "What if you can't hold your breath long enough?"

Mai looked at him and finally understood. "Rei, you don't have to come if you don't want to." She dug into her pocket, "Here, you can look after this for me; I might lose it in the water." She dropped the jewel into his palm.

"Kiotsukete ne. (Be careful)"

"Thanks." She smiled and slipped into the water.

"Chewett, stay with the boy." Ahuli told his sister who objected. He said some words in his own language; she frowned but agreed to stay behind.

"Tie this around hand." Ahuli had used the reins from the horses to form a long rope. He tied a knot around his hand, leaving a metres length before tying it around Mai's hand. "So we don't lose each other in water."

"Oh…" Mai pulled a bit at the rope around her wrist, it was too tight.

The four of them swam towards the waterfall, "Take deep breath. One, two, three!" All of them dove under.

Mai couldn't keep her eyes fully open; she had to squint because the tiny particles in the water were hurting her eyes. She could see tiny bubbles swarming towards her but the tugging at her hand kept her swimming forward. She swam under the rock but there was still a long way more to swim. She felt her lungs squeezing, 'How long more is this tunnel?' She swam upstream against the current, she felt herself swimming upwards. 'We're reaching! We're reaching!' She kicked her legs forward, the water was getting clearer.

"Uaghhh!" She sucked in as much as much air as she could. She wiped away the water from her eyes and took in her surroundings. She was swimming in a lake, a very big lake in a dark place. 'Where have I seen this before? ... Oh that's right, when I found Levian…'

"You okay?" Ahuli asked while paddling in the water to stay afloat.

"Yeah."

The two of them swam to shore where Mohali and Kai were waiting. Mai crawled on all fours, as the waves pushed her forward. She pulled at her shirt and pants as she stood up, she didn't like the feeling of them clinging to her body, it made her very uncomfortable.

Mai turned back to look at the lake, it was a pale misty blue but the shore was as grey as the cave they were in. If it weren't for the sparkling rocks, everything would've looked very dull.

"This way."

Ahuli led them through a short tunnel. Strangely enough, there was light at the end of it. 'This…is the Valley of Snakes?' Mai had walked into a huge cavern, patches of light blotched the floor below. She looked up, the light was seeping through the small holes in the ceiling. 'There's nothing impressive about this place. Made me all worked up for nothing…'

She saw something out of the ordinary in front of her. "Sugoi!" She ran to the stone carving, "Nani kore?" She placed her hand on the stone; the shape of a snake was carved into it.

"That is Naga. He is guardian of this place." Ahuli informed.

Mai scanned the carving from head to –"That's the jewel!"

Kai looked up, a small gleaming thing shone in the snake's right eye. He looked around, 'Nanka…warui no kimochi (I have a bad feeling about this).' It was too easy.

Mai reached for the jewel.

'This sound!' "Abunai! (Watch out)" Kai pulled her hand away.

"What're you—SNAKE!" She drew back in fright.

The rattling grew louder and from the hole in the stone snake's mouth, Mai saw a thin black tongue flicking in and out with two beady eyes shining through the darkness. A snout followed by the snake's head emerged slowly out of the hole.

"Ahas! (Snake)" Mohali alerted Ahuli.

Mai stepped back a few metres as the snake slithered out of its hiding place, winding side to side, slowly revealing its full length.

"It's a rattlesnake." She heard Kai mutter. She forgot that he was still holding her hand, and they were standing so close…She quickly pulled away.

"Stay back!" Ahuli made a pushing gesture. He quickly looked around for something he could use to fight off the snake.

"Ahuli!"

Mohali tossed him the reins. He caught it and used it as a whip, striking the ground so that the snake would stay back.

"Kai…" Mai reached for Kai's shoulder, she sounded worried.

"What?" There was urgency in his voice.

"Motto kitta. (There are more coming)" She squeezed his shoulder even tighter.

From the left, a snake slithered on the ground. There was another coming from the right. They were everywhere!

'No wonder they call this place the Valley of snakes.' Kai looked around, there were so many of them! Furthermore, they were unarmed!

"Hssssaah!" One of the snakes barred it fangs.

They were done for…

Heyllooos! I've decided to shorten my chapters, they're getting too long and people don't really like long chapters so...yeah, it's for mass appeal to more readers! ahaha! Thanks for reading! Please review!