The next day, Hannah leads Trevor and Sean through the volcanic landscape as they hiked up a mountain side.
"Come on, boys." Hannah said. "I want to be home by sundown.
She continues on as Trevor and Sean were a little behind.
"Hey, you think you could slow down a little bit, please?!" Trevor called out.
Hannah continues on and got to the top as Sean looked rather amazed by her.
"Dibs." He said.
"What?" Trevor asked catching his breath.
"I got dibs on the mountain guide." Sean said.
Trevor turns to Hannah as she heads off, and back to his nephew.
"You're 13." Trevor said
"Sorry. Called it." Sean said.
"13 year olds don't get dibs." Trevor argued.
"Get over it." Sean said walking off.
He steps on a rock as it tips over as he stumbled.
Later, they continued heading up the hill as Trevor held a device to detect the sensor.
"We're getting closer." Trevor said.
"All right, just watch your step there." Hannah advised. "Mount Snaefells is deceptively treacherous."
"What's Snaefells?" Sean asked.
"Well, why don't you tell him, Professor?" Hannah said to Trevor.
"Snaefells is the name of the mountain where this character - Lidenbrock - apparently found a portal to the center of the Earth." Trevor explained in book terms.
"Let's just find that sensor of yours, Professor." Hannah said.
Elsewhere, the Wild Kratts have recently arrived and hiking through the terrain.
"Ah, fresh air in the land of Fire and Ice." Chris sighed.
"Fire and ice?" Jimmy frowned.
"Yeah, Iceland has both volcanoes and glaciers." Martin said. "This island stands at the top of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge."
"He's right." Koki said looking at a map on her tablet. "It runs from here to the Southern Ocean, 9,900 miles long."
"Remind me again what we're looking for?" Aviva asked.
"Well, we're hiking towards Mount Snaefells." Chris explained. "Also called Snaefellsjökull.
"Uh... it's not a volcano, is it?" Jimmy asked somewhat nervous.
"Don't worry, it hasn't erupted in 1,800 years." Chris reassured.
"Hmm... or maybe we don't need to descend done an extinct volcano." Koki said looking through her tablet.
"What do you mean?" Martin asked.
"Map's showing a cave not far from here." Koki said. "Could be our way in."
"Okay, let's try it." Chris said as they pressed on.
"So, how did find this path to the center of the Earth?" Jimmy asked.
"It was when Lidenbrock found a message from Arne Saknussemm." Martin explained looking through the book. "And his note, "'Descend into the crater of Yocul of Sneffels, which the shade of Scartaris caresses, before the kalends of July, audacious traveller, and you will reach the center of the Earth. I did it. Arne Saknussemm.'"
"I actually seen something like in the 1959 film of Journey to the Center of the Earth." Aviva said.
"Yeah, good classic." Chris said.
Later, Trevor's team soon located the sensor.
"There it is! Yes!" Trevor said as they got to it.
"Yeah? Well, what do you need to do with it?" Hannah asked.
"I gotta unlock it." Trevor said kneeling down reaching for a key in his jacket. "It's got a, like a black box that has recorded all of the seismic activity that's transpired in the last ten years." He begins to try to unlock it. "It could tell me a lot about Max..."
Trevor grunts trying to open the sensor, and Hannah looks up at the sky as dark clouds gathered as thunder was with distant rumbling.
"...what he was doing when he went missing." Trevor said.
Nearby, the Wild Kratts were in the area as they were still looking for the cave.
"Cave should be somewhere close by." Chris said.
"Wait, there!" Aviva said seeing it.
"And just in time." Koki said noticing the gray sky. "Because I'm not liking this weather."
"Good point." Martin said as thunder rumbled.
They begin to head to the cave entrance.
"Trevor, I'm really sorry, we're gonna have to go now." Hannah said not liking the weather condition.
Trevor looked at the clouds and turns back to the sensor. "Must be corroded." He then tries to pull it out of the ground.
"Trevor, we-we need to..." Hannah said.
Then thunder crashes with a lightning flash and was rather close.
"Whoa!" Sean exclaimed.
Trevor continues pulling on the sensor as it creaks, and Hannah looks at the clouds over them.
"Okay, we need to take cover." Hannah said. "Come on, come on, come on... Come on, Sean. Right now." They then hurried off.
"Be right - I'll be right there." Trevor said.
"Trevor, just leave it for now." Hannah said.
"I've almost got it." Trevor said.
He continues pulling on the sensor.
"We need to take cover now." Hannah said.
The Wild Kratts had just got to the cave when they finally notice them.
"Hey, in here!" Martin yelled out.
Hannah and Sean ran to find cover, and got to the mouth of the cave joining them. And Trevor was still pulling on the sensor as it's almost free.
"Come on! Trevor!" Hannah yelled.
"Uncle Trevor!" Sean yelled.
"Get in here!" Hannah yelled.
"Will you get in here?!" Chris yelled.
Then Trevor finally pulls it out with grunt. "Yes!" He held it out in triumph.
Then suddenly a bolt of lightning struck the ground just behind him.
"Whoa! AH!" Trevor screamed and takes off running to the cave.
"Watch out!" Hannah yelled.
Another lightning bolt struck near Trevor as he ran.
"Trevor, hurry up!" Hannah yelled. "Come on!"
Another lightning bolt struck near him.
"Trevor, the sensor's attracting the lightning!" Hannah yelled as Trevor with flashing lightning striking near him. "Drop it! Drop the sensor!"
"What!? I'm not going to drop it!" Trevor yelled as he ran as another lightning bolt struck next to him.
"Hurry!" Sean yelled.
"It's attracting the lightning!" Hannah yelled.
"Metal attracts lightning!" Aviva yelled. "Just drop it!"
Trevor yells as he was finally forced to toss the sensor behind him as he ran, and a lightning bolt struck the sensor destroying it. And Trevor made a beeline to the cave opening as lightning struck the rock wall as Trevor dives into the cave as another lightning struck cause the face of the cave entrance to break apart as many tons of boulders came crashing down with thunderous rumbling and everything was dark.
A light soon shines as Hannah pants with a flashlight in her hand and coughs from the dust settling as she looks around.
"Trevor?" Hannah called looking around. "Trevor?"
Trevor groans as he got up.
"You okay?" Chris asked.
"I'm all right." He then rolls on his back.
"Sean?" Hannah called looking around and spots him. "Sean? You all right?"
"I'm good." Sean reassured.
"We're good too." Aviva assured.
Trevor got up with a flashlight in his hands and saw the rock pile blocking the entrance.
"We're trapped." Martin said.
"Okay, everybody just stay calm." Hannah said.
"Guys!" Sean said panicking. "C'mon... You've got to help me dig!"
He begins grunting as he tries to dig. "Come on!"
Trevor and Hannah got to the rocks and start digging, the Wild Kratts join in as well but Hannah soon saw it was too thick.
"Forget it." She said turning to Trevor. "It's no use."
"Forget it?!" Sean exclaimed.
"She's right." Trevor said helping Hannah down from the pile. "There must be about 60 or 70 tons of boulders on top of us. Take us about a month to dig out of here."
"It would serious digging power to get through." Chris said.
Hannah then brought out her backpack.
"We're gonna have to find another way." Trevor said.
"What if there is no other way?" Sean cried.
"There's always another way, Sean." Hannah assured.
She then brought out some headlamps.
"What else have you got in there?" Trevor asked.
"Signal flares, first aid, some rope, blankets, and a couple of protein bars." Hannah said handing them each a headlamp. "But they're on a ration now. We don't know how long we'll be trapped for."
"Trapped?" Sean said taking the headlamp and placing it on. "Is that what we are?"
Hannah placed her headlamp on as she turns to Trevor.
She... No, she didn't mean that." Trevor said trying to reassure him placing his headlamp on and turns to the Wild Kratts with headlamps on. "What about you guys?"
"Some water, sandwiches, extra headlamps, rope and blankets." Martin said.
Sean then brought his phone out.
"Sean, hey, what are you doing?" Trevor asked.
"I'm not getting any service!" Sean said.
"Sean, you not going to get any signal down here. Okay?" Trevor said closing the phone. "Put this away. Okay? Don't worry about it. We'll find another way out, all right?"
"Okay. One of these might snake back to the surface." Hannah said seeing two tunnels in front of them.
"How-How do we know which one to take?" Sean asked.
"My gut says we go right." Trevor said seeing the tunnel on the right. "Come on."
They then begin to wander their way through the passageway.
"Looks... promising." Trevor said. "Just put one foot in front of the other. We'll be out of here in no time. Looking good."
They continued on through the tunnel.
"Just watch your step, guys." Martin said.
"Don't worry." Trevor said. "Direction is my sixth sense. Pay attention, Sean. It's just like doing field work. I used to love doing field work." His right foot lift up to take another step.
Then Hannah gasped rushing forward. "Watch out!" She catches him.
"Whoa!" Trevor yelled as Martin caught him as well.
He and Hannah had just barely saved Trevor from falling over a ledge leading down to a sheer drop below.
And she soon pulls him back away from the edge as Sean pants catching his breath.
"Yikes." Jimmy said.
"You're not studying rocks in a lab, Professor." Hannah said. "This is life or death here."
"Yeah, thanks." Trevor said nodding.
Hannah then pats him on the chest. "You owe me one."
"I did say watch your step." Martin said.
They then looked down at the deep pit, and Trevor noticed an old piece of metal and grabs it.
"What does this say?" Trevor asked handing it to Hannah.
Hannah took and readings the Icelandic writing on it. "Adgangur bannadur. That means, uh, "keep out.'"
"Maybe that's decent advice." Sean said wanting to turn back.
"I'd say we go back." Jimmy said nervously.
"No, no, this... This is great news." Hannah said removing her jacket. "'Cause this might lead us down to an old mine shaft, and that could be our way out of here."
"How deep do you think it is?" Sean wondered.
"I can't tell." Chris said. "It gets dark after a distance."
"Can you give me one of those flares?" Trevor asked.
Hannah hands him a flare.
"Thank you." Trevor said taking it. "Sean, look at your watch." He removes the top of the flare. "I'm gonna light this and drop it over the edge, and I want you to tell me how many seconds pass before it stops."
"Okay." Sean said bringing his watch out.
"What are we doing?" Jimmy asked.
"It's a calculating measurement, science of physics." Aviva explained. "It'll help us figure out how deep it is."
Trevor then lights the flare up.
"Here we go." Trevor said standing up. "Three, two..." He raise the flare up.
As he raises the flare up, he nears it at the rock ceiling, and then it suddenly the rock face lets out an explosion with bright flashes as frantic yelling from them fills the tunnel as they ducked as the explosions soon stopped as they looked and one more explosion occurred.
"What - What was that?" Hannah said.
"W-W-W-W-What just happened?!" Jimmy said frantically.
A rumbling sound echoes through the tunnel as Trevor got up and looks around the rock ceiling, and feels the spot of rock where the flare touched the rock and tasted it having a bitter taste.
"Yep. Magnesium." Trevor said. "Must run in veins all through these walls."
"Magnesium is kind of flammable, isn't it, Professor?" Hannah said.
"Yeah." Trevor said realizing his mistake.
Hannah uneasily laughs.
"Used in flares, used in gunpowder, matchsticks..." Trevor said.
"Right. Well, maybe gunpowders and flares aren't such a good idea down here." Hannah said bringing out a glowstick and bends it as it glows orange and held it out to him.
Trevor then takes it. "Thank you."
Hannah nodded.
"It's the same principle." Trevor said.
"Okay, let's try that again." Koki said.
Sean brought his watch out, and Trevor hold the glowstick over the edge.
"You ready, Sean?" Trevor asked.
"Yeah, go ahead." Sean said.
"Three, two..." Trevor counted down.
He drops the glowstick as it falls pass the edge and Sean begins counting. "One. Two." They watched fall further down and heard it hit the bottom. "Al-Almost three."
"32 squared by... that's 200 feet." Trevor calculated the drop.
Hannah then brought out some rope. "That's no problem."
"It's about your basic 20-story high-rise." Trevor said as Sean turns to him. "You got enough rope?"
"I always have enough rope." Hannah said.
"Well, n-no problem for what?" Sean asked.
"Rappelling down in there." Hannah said.
"We're gonna rappel down into that deep, dark hole?" Sean said.
"What, you got a problem with that?" Trevor asked.
Sean scoffs seeming scared.
"What's the matter?" Trevor asked.
"There's no way we should be rappelling down into that hole." Sean said.
"What are you talking about?" Trevor asked. "What, you're man enough to call dibs on the mountain guide, but you're not man enough to climb down a little piece of rope?" Hannah perked up frowning from overhearing him.
"Huh?" Chris frowned.
"Calling dibs on the mountain guide..." Sean said.
"Guys, guys, no one gets dibs on the mountain guide." Hannah stated.
Trevor and Sean turn to her.
"We're going down there." Hannah said.
Trevor and Sean turn to each other.
"Not the best private conversation I've ever heard." Aviva said.
Soon, Trevor was tied up and secured to a rope as he begins to scale over the edge. Martin and Chris and were already several yards down on the wall.
"Steady, steady." Hannah said. "Remember, we're all connected."
Trevor soon walks pass the edge.
"It's okay." Hannah assured.
"Looking good." Trevor said scaling down the rock wall. "It's all good down here. Way down here. You guys are coming down, right?"
"All right, Sean, I'm gonna start lowering you down really, really slowly." Hannah said as Sean was clinging to the edge. "So just lean back and keep your feet up high."
Sean slowly climbs down over the edge, and fearfully shudders as he held onto the rope.
"You're okay, Sean." Hannah reassured. "We're tethered together so nothing bad is gonna happen."
"It's okay, Sean, it's just like rock-climbing." Aviva said.
"Yeah, sure." Sean said.
He slowly starts stepping down.
"Good." Hannah said.
Sean held onto the rope as he lowers a bit.
"Sean, just keep walking... you have to keep walking." Hannah said.
Sean then starts walking down the wall fearfully.
"Good." Hannah said.
Sean continues descending as Trevor turns to him.
"Hey, lookin' pretty good there, Sean." Trevor said. "Sure you haven't done this before?"
"Shut up!" Sean snapped.
Sean continues descending, but then slips a bit as pieces of rocks fell.
"Hey! You mind?" Trevor said shielding the rocks from his face. "Watch your step, will ya?"
"I'm hanging on for my life here." Sean said.
Hannah then descends down next to him.
"Seam, just make conversation with me." Hannah said.
"So, Hannah, do you... do you come here often?" Sean asked.
"Oh, give me a break!" Trevor said dismissively as Hannah laughed a bit. "That can't be the best line you can come up with."
"I'm making conversation with her!" Sean said.
Aviva and Koki soon caught up to them. "She did say to make conversation, didn't say how though." Aviva said.
"No, Sean, I do not come here very often." Hannah said. "Ready?"
"Jimmy, come on." Koki said.
"Don't rush me!" Jimmy cried.
Moments later, they were descending down the wall, and Trevor looks around at the rock face.
"Hey!" Trevor said. "Look at all this schist."
Sean frowned thinking he said a different word. "What?"
"It's a metamorphic rock." Trevor explained. "Green schist, garnet schist, micagarnet schist."
"Oh. Schist." Sean said.
"It's everywhere." Trevor said. "Look at it. I guess..."
Then suddenly his foot slips, and Trevor screams as he fell as they watched. And Martin saw he was falling towards him.
"Oh, schist." Martin's eyes widen.
Trevor ran into Martin as they both fell and screamed.
"Trevor!" Sean cried.
"Martin!" Chris yelled.
Trevor continues falling until his rope gets caught, and then Hannah shrieks as she was suddenly pulled upward several above Sean. And Trevor struggles as he and Martin were hanging in mid-air.
"Get to the wall, Trevor!" Hannah yelled.
"I can't!" Trevor said struggling to move. "I can't! The walls widen out here!"
"I can't free!" Martin cried.
"Trevor, Martin, your rope is caught on mine." Hannah said. "You're gonna take us all down. I'm gonna have to cut you loose."
"WHAT?!" Trevor and Martin yelled.
"Hannah, no!" Sean cried.
"Wait a minute!" Trevor said as Hannah brought out a knife and starts cutting. "Wait! Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!"
"No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Martin yelled frantically trying to get free from Trevor.
"Don't!" Sean cried.
"Hannah, wait a minute!" Chris yelled.
Hannah then cuts the rope.
"Uncle Trevor!" Sean yelled.
"Brother!" Chris yelled.
Trevor screams as well as Martin as they both fell, but then suddenly hits the rock floor after a few feet with a grunt. Trevor fixed his headlamp as the rope drops on them. And they both took a moment catching their breath.
Martin groaned as his head fell back almost fainting.
"A heads up would've been nice." Martin said.
"Hey, guys... Found it- the bottom's right here." Trevor said as Hannah descends down. "Hey, Hannah... you kne... you knew that, right?" He asked as Hannah turns to him as Sean lowers down. "Right?" Hannah turns away getting the rope loose. "Hannah?"
Sean looks around and noticed what looks like an old mine tunnel.
"Guys, what's this?" Sean asked.
They soon got to the tunnel entrance.
"Uh, looks like an abandoned mine tunnel to me." Trevor said.
"That's Old Bla'gils Mine." Hannah said. "It was shut down 60 years ago after the big disaster."
"Disaster?" Sean said. "How big?"
"81 dead." Hannah informed.
"That's pretty big." Trevor said.
"Yep." Chris said.
Hannah begins to head down into the tunnel.
"Come on." Trevor said. "Cowboy up."
They begin to follow Hannah through the tunnel.
"Hey, Trevor, was there a mine like this in the book?" Sean asked.
"Uh, no. Don't think so." Trevor said.
"But it did mentioned of a coal mine in Chapter 17." Martin said recalled. "When they entered this cavern, a coal deposit of some kind."
Sean's light shines over some dripping water.
"Hannah?" Trevor said.
"Yeah?" Hannah said.
"Can I ask you something?" Trevor asked.
Hannah turns to him.
"Do you ever wonder if your father and my brother... weren't wrong?" Trevor asked.
"Let me make something very clear to you." Hannah said making herself clear. "I am not my father... and the world that he belonged to has nothing to do with me."
"I understand." Trevor nodded as she walks off. "Of course. I didn't mean to say that it was, or that, you know that..."
"You know I'm still on the clock, right?" Hannah reminded turning back to him.
"You're still billing me?" Trevor asked.
Hannah then shines her light at Trevor's face. "I bill you until I'm safe in my house."
She turns to walk off.
"Huh?" Trevor scoffed.
Shortly later, they caught up to Hannah.
"Hannah?" Sean said.
They found Hannah looking at an old generator.
"What's that?" Sean asked.
"This is the old generator for the mine." Hannah said.
"Hey, you don't want to touch that." Trevor said.
Hannah then pushed a button as the generator starts up with a rumbling whoosh.
"What are you doing?" Trevor asked. "There might be some volatile compounds there, you know?"
Hannah then turns a lever as the generator shook.
"Serious generator." Sean muttered.
"Hannah, that thing could blow up." Trevor said as Hannah reaches for a handle. "Could you please stop throwing switches? Don't-Don't do that." He said as she was about to push it up. "No, wait. Get away from that thing."
"Hannah, that thing hasn't been on in years, it could blow." Aviva said stepping back.
Hannah pushed the lever up as zapping occurred as they cringed a bit and lights turned on and a mechanical hum followed as the lights brighten. And saw the entire mine cavern.
And Trevor was then chuckling. "Okay, I take it back."
He and Sean removed their headlamps as they looked around.
"This is it, right?" Sean said. "I mean... the miners, they had to get their stuff out somewhere."
"Yeah." Trevor said.
"These tracks could lead us out." Sean said.
"Just gotta find the right one." Chris said.
"Hey, Hannah, how many miners got out?" Trevor asked.
"Uh, one." Hannah answered.
Trevor was silent as she walks off.
"That's a start." Sean said. "I call front."
He then heads to two mine carts.
"What? No, no, no." Trevor said at they got to them. "Come on, Sean, don't get in there. We don't even know if these things work. They're not safe. The tracks might not..."
Sean climbs into the lead cart as Hannah appeared on a handcar and removes her headlamp. The Wild Kratts joined them as well as the Brothers were in a cart, and Aviva, Koki, and Jimmy on a handcar.
"Track ahead looks good." Hannah said. "Get in."
Trevor was soon in the car behind Sean as Hannah starts pushing the cart as they head down the track, and the Wild Kratts followed behind them. And Sean then stood up a little.
"Hey, Sean!" Trevor said. "Doesn't look safe! I wouldn't do that!"
"I think I see something!" Sean seeing something ahead of them. "It's..."
He was then silent.
"Please tell me it's daylight, otherwise I don't want to know." Trevor said.
Sean then saw the track leading somewhere.
"Uh, no, it's, uh, it's... it's not daylight." Sean said growing nervous. "Uh... Oh, we're in deep schist!"
They soon reach the end of the tunnel, and then rolled down a steep track downhill as they all yelled as they rode down the track.
"I wish there were seat belts on this thing!" Sean yelled.
"You're worried about seat belts?!" Trevor yelled.
They continued riding down the track at high speed as Trevor yelled as they speed across the track. And then a wooden arch structure was seen ahead and coming fast that low, and Sean quickly ducks down.
"Whoa!" Trevor exclaim ducking down.
Hannah gasped ducking down as well as the Wild Kratts.
"Watch it!" Trevor yelled.
They continued riding the track as they made a sharp right turn by a deep canyon. And then they down as Sean then noticed a curved section of track going right and one section with a broken gap.
"Hannah." Sean said and looked back.
"I know." Hannah said seeing it.
"Pull the brake!" Trevor yelled. "Pull the brake!"
"No, don't!" Hannah quickly said. "We won't make it!"
"Oh, hang on, guys!" Aviva yelled.
They were fast approaching the gap as Hannah works the handcar pushing them and gaining speed as Trevor grunts uneasily as they closed in on the gap. And then they flew over the track with an echoing yell as they flew through the air.
And then they landed on the other side.
"Yeah!" Sean cheered and laughs.
"Hey, great job!" Trevor yelled to Hannah. "Thanks!"
They then approached a three-way junction as they then split up; Sean taking the track on the right, Trevor continues straight ahead, and Hannah on the left track. And the Wild Kratts soon followed behind Sean.
"Guys!" Sean yelled.
"Stay put, Sean!" Trevor yelled.
A sign by the junction showed that Hannah and Trevor's track ends up ahead.
They continued rolling through each track.
On Sean's track, he and the Wild Kratts continued rolling as then they approached a three-way junction as Sean continued ahead, and Aviva, Koki, and Jimmy rolled onto the right track, and the Kratt Brothers taking the left track.
Sean continues rolling down the track and looks left seeing Chris and Martin rolling by him, and he looks to the right seeing Aviva, Koki, and Jimmy in their handcar keeping pace with them. Then suddenly, his cart flew up a risen track, and went airborne as his pack flew out. But Chris and Martin on the same track caught it.
"Got it!" Chris yelled.
Sean's cart leads back on the track as well as the Brothers' as the rolled off.
Aviva, Koki, and Jimmy in the handcar flew up a risen track as Sean and the Kratt Brothers rolled by. And then they rolled down a steep track and towards a broken section curving upward.
They then flew off the track and into the air as the three screamed as Sean and the Brothers watched them fall towards them. The handcar lands hard on the track behind them.
Meanwhile, Trevor and Hannah were still rolling their tracks.
"Whoa! Wh... Oh!" Trevor exclaimed as he rode down through the track. "Ohh..."
"Trevor! You okay?" Hannah asked.
"Hannah, your track ends!" Trevor said.
And up ahead of them on Hannah's track was a flashing red light as she saw it.
"Jump in my car!" Trevor said as they were just feet apart from each other.
"What?!" Hannah said.
Trevor dodges a rock as they rolled by.
"Quick! You have to do it!" Trevor said as Hannah got to the side of the handcar. "J-Just jump!"
Hannah as they were running out of time and track as Trevor got ready to catch her.
"Ready?" Hannah said.
She then screams jumping off the handcar narrowly missing a rock as she lands in Trevor's cart.
And the handcar rolls hitting through the buffers, and rolls off the broken section of track and falls down into a deep dark canyon. And Trevor and Hannah continued rolling across the track.
"Trevor, your track ends too." Hannah said.
He then said a sign with a track and an "X" over and 900 meters and closing.
"Okay." Hannah said moving around Trevor.
She then digs into his backpack.
"What are you doing?" Trevor asked.
"I'm showing you the proper way to save someone's life." Hannah said. "Come on."
"Can I help?" Trevor asked.
Hannah grabs the hook of a pickaxe, and ties it to a rope.
"Okay." Hannah said looking ahead as they were fast approaching a wall 290 meters away. She quickly finishes tying the hook, and hooks herself to Trevor in a harness.
"Ready?" Hannah said.
She then tossed the hook out with a grunt, and the hook bounced a few times before finally getting caught on the wooden boards of the track. And Trevor and Hannah were pulled out of the cart yelling and hit the ground as the cart crashed into the wall.
Trevor coughed as the dust cloud gathers around the cart as Hannah coughed as well.
"Are you all right?" Trevor asked all wheezed.
"Yeah." Hannah replied. "Luckily, I had a soft landing."
She then rolls off Trevor and onto her back with a groan.
"That's two you owe me now." Hannah said.
"Who's keeping count?" Trevor asked.
"I am." Hannah said.
Then Sean, and the Wild Kratts rolled up in their carts as they slows to a stop as they turn to them.
"That... was... awesome!" Sean said hopping out of the cart.
Trevor and Hannah groan as they slump flat on the ground.
"Uh... Are you okay?" Chris asked.
"What happened to you guys?" Sean asked.
"Don't ask." Trevor said.
Pattering was heard as Sean looks over to where the cart was as something was seen through the wall it crashed into.
"What's that?" Sean wondered.
He heads over as Trevor and Hannah sat up as Trevor groans.
"Where you going?" Trevor asked. "Don't go in there."
"What are you guys talking about?" Sean said placing his headlamp back on. "This could be our way out."
Trevor got up as Sean squeezes through a gap in the wall.
"There's a hole in the wall." Trevor said.
"Oh." Hannah groaned.
"Guys, check it out." Sean said.
Chris and Martin removed the wooden board and pushed the cart out of the way as Hannah and Trevor squeezed through the gap as they entered some kind of hidden chamber, and saw a number of crystals.
"Rubies." Sean said seeing red crystals.
"Emeralds." Hannah said seeing green crystals.
"Sapphire." Martin said seeing blue crystals.
"Purple sapphire." Aviva said purple crystals.
Trevor noticed another mineral on the rock wall. "Feldspar."
Hannah turns to him.
"Uh, guys... there's more." Sean said seeing another kind of crystal.
Trevor and Hannah looked at them as Sean got to a section of wall.
"Diamonds." Trevor said.
"Bling." Sean beamed holding one.
He sets his backpack down and starts collecting some as Trevor looks around the chamber.
"It's like a crystal jackpot in here." Koki said.
"Crystals are frequently formed and found... in..." Trevor then looks up. "...volcanic tubes."
Hannah looks up seeing the volcanic tube leading straight up.
"This tube could take us back up, right?" Hannah said.
"Uh-huh." Trevor nodded.
"We're not far from the surface." Hannah said.
"Uh-uh." Trevor shook his head.
"Yeah, but it goes so high up, I can't see the top." Martin said.
"When we get out, I'm getting a Maserati." Sean said.
"You know, money is not the only thing that matters, Sean." Trevor said looking up at the tube. "People matter, too, you know? Something like that?"
"Not if you have a Maserati." Sean said grabbing another diamond.
He sets it in his backpack as then a loud pattering crack like ice was heard as they looked around.
"What was that?" Martin asked.
"You guys hear that?" Sean asked.
"Nobody move." Trevor said.
"Uh, what are we standing on?" Aviva asked getting nervous.
Their lights shined on the floor of the tube as the loud patter continues, and Hannah kneels down carefully and brushes away some dust on the floor. But realizes that the floor may not be solid ground.
"Tell me that's not what I think it is." Hannah said.
Trevor remained nervously silent ad Hannah turns to him.
"Muscovite." Hannah said softly.
"Muscovite." Trevor said softly in the same tone.
"What's muscovite?" Sean asked.
"Muscovite is a very thin type of rock formation." Hannah explained.
"How thin?" Sean asked.
"Well, so thin that, uh... the slightest change in weight and pressure can cause it to shatter... and we're standing on a lot of it." Trevor explained uneasily.
"And the worse part is there's no telling how deep this tube truly is." Martin said.
The cracking continues as Sean moved a little.
"Just... stop." Hannah said.
Sean freezes as the cracking subsides, and Hannah turns back to Trevor.
"Okay, they're stopped." Trevor said.
Sean was silently relieved.
"Okay, Sean, I need you to walk back exactly the way we came from - very, very calmly, okay?" Hannah instructed.
"Tread lightly." Trevor said as Sean slowly walks across the floor of muscovite. "Heel, toe. Doin' good."
"Doing great." Hannah said. "Very slowly. Good. Come on."
Sean then takes another step, and a loud crack causes them to cringed as Sean froze.
"That's it." Hannah said. "That's great."
"Really careful." Trevor said as Sean begins to lift his backpack.
"Keep going." Hannah said.
Sean begins to slide the backpack on his shoulder, but one diamond wasn't completely in the pocket and fell off.
"No!" Sean let out an echoing yell as it fell.
The diamond land on the muscovite sticking half out as everyone was fearfully gasping as there was a loud crack, but the cracking stops suddenly as they froze as they were panting keeping dead still. And after a few moments, nothing happened.
"Whew." Trevor sighed in relief.
Hannah then made a relieved chuckle as well as Trevor.
"I think we're good." Chris said.
"It's actually thicker than I thought." Trevor said.
Then suddenly he drops down as well as Hannah, and Sean followed.
"Oh, no." Chris said and fell.
As the the muscovite floor broke apart and they fell through screaming as a flashlight was tossed up. And the flashlight falls by them as they fell through the volcanic tube as the echoing screaming continues as they fell.
They then stopped as they were silent turning to one another and back to Trevor.
"WE'RE STILL FALLING!" Trevor shouted.
The screaming continues as they fell as they managed to grab each other's hands keeping close as they fell further down through the chute as it just keeps going.
"Trevor, what's at the bottom?" Sean asked.
"Well, if what Verne wrote was right, these tunnels could go for hundreds, if not thousands, of miles!" Trevor said.
"Verne was not right!" Hannah protested.
"HE SAID "IF"!" Jimmy shouted.
"Trevor, finish!" Sean yelled. "What's at the bottom?!"
"The most likely theory is that it probably just ends!" Trevor said.
"Ends?!" Sean said. "Got any other theories?!"
"Well, the walls of this tunnel could have gently eroded by water which still runs throughs it, providing a gradual break to our fall!" Trevor theorized. "Kind of like a water slide!"
"If we're lucky, there could be a pool of water deep enough to break our fall." Martin said.
"Water slide!" Sean said taking it. "Okay, that's theory!"
"But, Trevor, wouldn't the water have formed stalagmites pointing straight up at us?" Hannah asked.
"Huh?" Sean stared.
"We'll be skewered!" Hannah said.
"What?!" Jimmy exclaimed.
"That is also possible!" Trevor said fearing a worse-case scenario of a theory.
They then all screamed again as they continued falling down through the volcanic tube.
Author's Note:
And so it begins.
I watched the 1959 version of Journey to the Center of the Earth last Friday, and it was sure a good classic. One of my favorite moments was when some of their items flew out of their hands while sailing across the underground ocean.
And those who are familiar with Oscar's Oasis, you may noticed a reference in the roller coaster mine track section.
And I happen to be now in Chapter 25 of my book.