The Unnaturally Cold Place is an endless labyrinth of underground tunnels, or it is if you get lost. Fortunately we had a guide. Unfortunately, we had lost our compass and the torches. We had to make do with the candle lantern Christmas had brought for emergencies. Most of it wasn't too cold, except in a cavern we passed through, where it was snowing.
Apparently there used to be a volcano there which died and became the home of an ice fairy. She must have vanished or gone on holiday and forgot (or couldn't be bothered) to remove the spell she had cast.
We walked for some time in almost absolute darkness, led by Star, who would bark every now and then to let us know where she was.
Some of the tunnels we traveled down were naturally formed, from what I could see of the walls. Others appeared to have been carved out by pickaxes. Still others had what looked like old murals painted on the walls, roof and floor.
It's hard going hours without any light but candlelight, not strong candlelight either. We took turns carrying it.
Anything we said echoed eerily back at us. We didn't talk much down there.
With no end in sight and no way to determine our progress, I began to question Star’s guiding abilities. However, when eventually we saw a speck of light ahead, my misgivings vanished. How could I ever have doubted her? I would never feel uncertain on this point again, no never. I would- wait, Star was leading us away from the light. That couldn't be right. We had come so far. That speck of light was obviously the way out, wasn't it?
“Star, it's that way.” I said, as I walked toward the light. Star looked at me and barked.
“Maybe we should follow her, Robert,” said Christmas, “she was right about the stuff in the flower.”
“But there's light over there, and warm air,” I stopped and shouted back, (I'm not actually sure there was warm air, but I wanted to believe there was). “And that tunnel,” I added, pointing, “is as dark and cold as all the others.” It all made perfect sense to me, why didn't Christmas believe me?
Star dragged at my trouser leg.
“Robert,” Christmas sighed and put her hands on her hips. “I think we should follow Star.” She sounded tired, not in the mood to argue. To make things worse, the candle lantern burned out. I shouldn't have kept objecting, but I wanted to be right for once. Jamal was always right at home, now the fox was always right. I was sick of it. I took it out on Christmas.
”Okay, you can follow the fox if you like, and never get out of here, I'm going this way and you don't have to come if you don't want to.” I walked resolutely toward the light. The others followed reluctantly.
It was so dark we couldn't see anything except the tiny dot of light in the distance. If we had still had the light of the lantern, we would have seen that it was not, in fact, the end of the tunnel.
As we continued to walk, Star began again to pull on our trouser legs, but to no avail.
We walked straight into a wall of tiny spikes. Tiny spikes which began moving as soon as we touched them. They felt like sea urchins. The light we had been walking towards went out. Long tentacle-like things wrapped around my ankles. More spikes pierced my wrist. Christmas let out a long, shrill scream. It was cut off abruptly. I leapt back. The tentacles let go. One of the spiky things was still crawling on me. I tried to brush it off. It bit me. Everything went fuzzy. I felt my legs running without me telling them. The ground and the air felt like cotton wool, suffocating me. My eyes closed. I felt myself falling a long way down.
“Robert!” I was lying on the grass outside my house.
“Robert!” I got up. There was no one in sight, but someone had called my name, twice.
“Robert!” It was Christmas!
“Where are you?” I shouted.
“In the swimming pool!” I don't have a swimming pool, and neither does Christmas, but I did not consider that.
“I'm coming!” I called, and ran, or flew, I'm not sure which, around the house.
There was the swimming pool. It was enormous. There was Christmas, swimming in it, fully clothed.
“Come in,” she said, waving. I was about to, when I discovered, to my embarrassment, that I was wearing my pajamas. I turned to go into the house. Blocking my way was an antlered fiery tailed tiger. It opened its mouth to blow ice at me, but I dodged behind a convenient tree. I crouched down, trying to be as small as possible. The swimming pool had disappeared. Evil laughter came from the road. It came nearer, and nearer. A tall man in black and green came into view. He had a bow and arrows. I sat still and hoped he wouldn't see me. He turned to look straight at me, continuing to laugh. He drew a long arrow from his quiver and shot it toward the tree. It only just missed me, but exploded on contact with the ground at my feet. I leapt up and ran for the house. When I got inside the door was too small for the door frame. I tried to get it to fit, but it wouldn't. I gave up and started looking for a place to hide. I ran through the house and found myself in Jamal’s room. Jamal was lying on the floor.
“Robert!” he said, as I entered, “Help me!” A rushing sound came from above. Water began dripping from the light fitting. The whole ceiling burst open, flooding the room. The water was over my head. I saw hundreds of sharks below me in the water as the room disappeared. I was swept down, down, down into the jaws of-
I awoke to darkness. Icy cold water splashed onto me. I sat up, painfully. My feet, hands and eyes ached. The bite on my arm throbbed dully. I could see nothing. I coughed water from my throat and moved away from the tiny waterfall I was under. The sounds echoed strangely. I tried to work out where I was. A hard thing to do in the dark, where the only sound is water.
“Christmas?” I croaked. No answer but the echoes.
“Christmas!” Something to my left moved. A cold thrill ran over me. I didn't dare move. Was I in some animal's lair? Was I going to die? The something forced itself under my arm. I almost screamed. But a whine told me it was Star. Relief swept over me. I wasn't completely alone. I picked Star up and hugged her for a long time. Finally she wriggled from my grasp and pulled on my trouser leg. I stood up carefully, feeling for the roof and walls. In the blackness I had to strain to see my hand as I felt in front of me. It seemed safe to move forward.
Star led me carefully around a few corners and out into blinding sunlight. Squinting against the glare, I saw the hill we had just emerged from. It was green and devoid of trees except a small grove at the base. It was so hot we hurried to shelter under them to acclimatize and think. Christmas was gone. Perhaps she was dead… no. That thought was too horrible. She couldn't be. I was alive, why shouldn't she be? She would be fine, right? She was capable of looking after herself, wasn't she? I tried to think of something else.
That dream had seemed so real, as if it had actually happened. Compared to other dreams I had had, that is. Maybe it actually had happened. Maybe if I didn't keep going Jamal would die. That reminded me of Christmas; where was she? Would I ever see her again? How would I carry on without her? It was my fault we were separated. If I hadn't been so stubborn about that light… if I had followed Star, we would still be together. I would go back and get her, that's what I would do.
I walked resolutely back into the tunnel. However, when I searched for a way into the labyrinth, all I found was a wall of rock. But there had to be other ways in, right? I hunted for an entrance everywhere around the hill, but to no avail. All I found were dead ends. I searched until the sun set. I still found nothing. I returned to the trees where Star was waiting for me.
“Robert!” I got up. There was no one in sight, but someone had called my name, twice.
“Robert!” It was Christmas!
“Where are you?” I shouted.
“In the swimming pool!” I don't have a swimming pool, and neither does Christmas, but I did not consider that.
“I'm coming!” I called, and ran, or flew, I'm not sure which, around the house.
There was the swimming pool. It was enormous. There was Christmas, swimming in it, fully clothed.
“Come in,” she said, waving. I was about to, when I discovered, to my embarrassment, that I was wearing my pajamas. I turned to go into the house. Blocking my way was an antlered fiery tailed tiger. It opened its mouth to blow ice at me, but I dodged behind a convenient tree. I crouched down, trying to be as small as possible. The swimming pool had disappeared. Evil laughter came from the road. It came nearer, and nearer. A tall man in black and green came into view. He had a bow and arrows. I sat still and hoped he wouldn't see me. He turned to look straight at me, continuing to laugh. He drew a long arrow from his quiver and shot it toward the tree. It only just missed me, but exploded on contact with the ground at my feet. I leapt up and ran for the house. When I got inside the door was too small for the door frame. I tried to get it to fit, but it wouldn't. I gave up and started looking for a place to hide. I ran through the house and found myself in Jamal’s room. Jamal was lying on the floor.
“Robert!” he said, as I entered, “Help me!” A rushing sound came from above. Water began dripping from the light fitting. The whole ceiling burst open, flooding the room. The water was over my head. I saw hundreds of sharks below me in the water as the room disappeared. I was swept down, down, down into the jaws of-
I awoke to darkness. Icy cold water splashed onto me. I sat up, painfully. My feet, hands and eyes ached. The bite on my arm throbbed dully. I could see nothing. I coughed water from my throat and moved away from the tiny waterfall I was under. The sounds echoed strangely. I tried to work out where I was. A hard thing to do in the dark, where the only sound is water.
“Christmas?” I croaked. No answer but the echoes.
“Christmas!” Something to my left moved. A cold thrill ran over me. I didn't dare move. Was I in some animal's lair? Was I going to die? The something forced itself under my arm. I almost screamed. But a whine told me it was Star. Relief swept over me. I wasn't completely alone. I picked Star up and hugged her for a long time. Finally she wriggled from my grasp and pulled on my trouser leg. I stood up carefully, feeling for the roof and walls. In the blackness I had to strain to see my hand as I felt in front of me. It seemed safe to move forward.
Star led me carefully around a few corners and out into blinding sunlight. Squinting against the glare, I saw the hill we had just emerged from. It was green and devoid of trees except a small grove at the base. It was so hot we hurried to shelter under them to acclimatize and think. Christmas was gone. Perhaps she was dead… no. That thought was too horrible. She couldn't be. I was alive, why shouldn't she be? She would be fine, right? She was capable of looking after herself, wasn't she? I tried to think of something else.
That dream had seemed so real, as if it had actually happened. Compared to other dreams I had had, that is. Maybe it actually had happened. Maybe if I didn't keep going Jamal would die. That reminded me of Christmas; where was she? Would I ever see her again? How would I carry on without her? It was my fault we were separated. If I hadn't been so stubborn about that light… if I had followed Star, we would still be together. I would go back and get her, that's what I would do.
I walked resolutely back into the tunnel. However, when I searched for a way into the labyrinth, all I found was a wall of rock. But there had to be other ways in, right? I hunted for an entrance everywhere around the hill, but to no avail. All I found were dead ends. I searched until the sun set. I still found nothing. I returned to the trees where Star was waiting for me.
I couldn't go back to look for her now, it was too dark.
I had to get the fairy queen’s bedroom slipper, at least then I could save my friend. But life without Christmas, even if Jamal was there, would be extremely lonely.
“Star,” I said to Star, my voice trembling slightly, “I don't know what to do.” Her gaze was completely unsympathetic.
“Well, what do you think I should do?” I said, angrily. To answer my question, she pulled on my trouser leg and barked impatiently. I got up. There really wasn't much else I could do under the circumstances.
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“Star,” I said to Star, my voice trembling slightly, “I don't know what to do.” Her gaze was completely unsympathetic.
“Well, what do you think I should do?” I said, angrily. To answer my question, she pulled on my trouser leg and barked impatiently. I got up. There really wasn't much else I could do under the circumstances.
Comment if you liked it,
I am currently setting up a Google Plus account. I will post updates for projects I am working on, pictures of my rabbit, pretty flowers, my sketches etc.
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