They had been following the
long and dark tunnel for many miles when they came to an intersection and
everyone stopped to catch their breath.
“I hope they know which
way they’re going,” said Angelo. “I don’t want to be traipsing around these
tunnels for the rest of my life.”
The Ahram seemed
unperturbed and rested on their haunches. Sweet Mary woke up and Righteous set
her on her feet.
“I think you should
carry Rose for a while. If you’re up to it, I mean. Cause I can walk for a
while. My feet are much better since they put that paste on.”
One of the Ahram had
also torn the empty Manna skin in half and wrapped the pieces round Sweet
Mary’s feet. It was a little awkward to walk on, but it afforded her some much
needed protection.
“I’m okay,” said Rose.
“This is pretty easy going. And I’m losing a lot of weight,” she said with a rueful
smile. “All that good living is falling off me by the minute. I feel absolutely
youthful.”
The creature came out of
nowhere, moving so fast that it was on top of them before anyone could react,
ripping at one of the Ahram with its hind claws and screaming a most terrible
sound. Another creature dashed in and tried to grab Sweet Mary but its grip
failed and it dashed away again empty handed. In an instant everyone was on
their feet, the Ahram moving to intercept the assailants who were already scuttling
away at a phenomenal pace, almost sailing through the air as they ran, like
those lizards one sometimes sees running upright through the desert.
There was hooting and
rushing around and general chaos as the Ahram dragged their wounded colleague
out of the way and formed a protective circle around the humans. Everyone was
shaken to the core by the speed and ferocity of the attack.
“That was an Ahram,”
said Dutch, her fighting instincts finally kicking in. “Why are they attacking
us?” she asked the Ahram for clarification.
“That was a woman,” said
Rose. “A female.”
They had all seen it.
She had been as naked as the men and there was no mistaking the fact. They
tried to absorb this new information. What could it mean? Why did they want to
grab Sweet Mary? That these females were capable of such ferocity made everyone
feel strangely disconcerted. One expected that kind of thing from a man. From a
woman it was a bit scary.
Without further ado the
Ahram herded them into the next tunnel and they all set off at a brisk pace
keeping a sharp ear out for any sounds of pursuit. After an hour or so a new
worry arose. The tunnel began to twist and turn, slanting sharply downwards and
the air began to get uncomfortably warm. Soon their breathing became laboured
and their nostrils began to burn. There was a strong scent of sulphur in the
air. Down and down they went, seemingly forever.
“Oh God,” said Rose. “I
hope they know where they’re going. This doesn’t look good.”
Strange cracking and
rumbling sounds could also now be heard; sounds that were unlike anything
they’d ever heard before, strangely amplified by the tunnel ahead. The rock
beneath their feet suddenly didn’t seem so solid. Another few hundred metres
and then they were out on a narrow ledge, high up against the wall of a huge
cavern. Many miles straight down beneath them bubbled and boiled the red hot
lava of a magma pool. The heat was stupendous.
“Welcome to the bowels
of hell. Don’t look down. Keep your eyes on the ceiling. Everyone link hands
and don’t let go,” said Dutch, thankfully once more in charge.
The ledge was quite
small, only just big enough to accommodate them all. Ahead, a vast empty hall
loomed around them, and a thin wooden bridge ran from their ledge, dipping
dangerously down into the chamber, and up again to a ledge on the far side.
There were no hand rails on the bridge, just some slats tied together with what
looked like leather thongs, swaying dangerously in the cross draughts. How it
would cope with a bunch of people walking on it didn’t bear thinking about.
Sweet Mary tried to
protest but the air scorched her lungs and she began coughing. Flames from the lava
would ignite now and then, reaching up a mile or more to lick at their feet.
The humans gleamed wetly in the red reflections, steam already rising from
their skins. The Ahram produced a long leather rope and began tying everyone
together in preparation for the crossing. Sweet Mary went into total meltdown.
“I am not going to walk
across that,” she protested. This was the one time that Righteous couldn’t
carry her; they would all need their hands for holding on.
“You can just leave me
here,” she said emphatically refusing to have the rope tied around her waist.
Dutch went and stood by
her side, gently taking her hand.
“It’s okay. I’ll stay
with you,” she said simply. “I’m not going to leave you.”
Of course the idea was
unthinkable. They would die if they stayed, and Sweet Mary knew that. She was
just very scared and very close to her Null-wave limit. Dutch gave her a gentle
hug.
Suddenly a creature came
screaming out of the tunnel behind them and in a flurry of talons and teeth,
ripped into the nearest Ahram. Rose and Sweet Mary screamed and Dutch had her
hands full trying to stop them all from falling over the edge. Sweet Mary was
desperately trying to swallow her fear down in large gulps, trying to stop
herself from turning into a pumpkin. Behind them in the tunnel they saw more
Ahram women piling out to join in the fight. Noot helped steady the little band
of humans while his friends confronted the attacking Ahram.
“Hoot!” shouted the lead
Ahram and Noot started dragging the humans onto the bridge.
“Noot,” he said to the
humans and pointed to the other side.
“We gotta go,” said Angelo,
catching his drift. The battle was practically driving them onto the bridge
anyway. “Come on.”
Anything seemed better
than facing that terrible screaming. Sweet Mary closed her eyes and let Dutch
drag her along blindly. She couldn’t work out whether she was more scared of
the bridge or the Ahram attack, but either way her divided attention seemed to
cause her to bypass her implant.
Next came Rose and
Angelo, with Righteous bringing up the rear. Once onto the bridge of course it
began to sway alarmingly, never having been built to take so many people at one
time.
“Keep moving,” said Angelo.
A great blob of molten
magma, weighing a ton or more, catapulted into the air, narrowly missing the
travellers, and then plummeted down into the fiery depths again. The heat was
excruciating; sweat ran off them in rivers, their red ruddy faces glowing like
demons in the light from the lava down below casting their giant black shadows
across the ceiling of the cavern. The defending Ahram pushed on close behind
them as they tried to cross the dangerously swaying bridge. The humans found it
impossible to walk with their sweaty feet slipping and sliding on the wooden
slats, so soon they were all on their hands and knees, grappling along on all
fours. The Ahram fared much better, being able to grasp the wooden slats with
their immensely powerful claws.
Behind them the sounds
of battle were diminishing. Now that they were on the bridge the attackers saw
no point in following, for it was impossible to fight on it without both
parties plunging to their death. But their progress was slow, the humans only
able to inch along. Sweet Mary had been hearing this high keening noise in her
ears for quite a while before she realized it was herself screaming. The
knowledge that she was out of control escalated her anxiety and her Null-wave
transmitter finally went over its limit, rendering her passive and lumpen.
Dutch bumped into her from behind and, realizing what had happened, threw an
arm around her waist and with renewed energy clawed herself the rest of the way
across the bridge.
Like every traumatic
experience, it lasted a lifetime, and was over in an instant. The next thing
they were collapsing safely on the other side. The humans lay on their backs
gasping for breath, not quite believing they had made it across. But the Ahram
wouldn’t let them rest and began urging them up onto their shaky legs, getting
them to move away from any further attack from the creatures. Soon they were
sitting upright against the wall of a little side room, away from the heat and
the horror of that cavern.
“Those were all females!” was the first thing
Rose managed to say, obsessed by the idea. “Why are the women attacking the
men?”
FIND OUT IN THE NEXT EXCITING EPISODE.
