The Hidden Beast

  “We can’t let go!” Bryce called back. “It will just close!”

  “It’s closing anyway!” Adam gasped, twenty steps from the top. “Get a rock!”

  But either Sally and Bryce were too afraid to let go or else Bryce was right that it would have closed the moment they released it. In either case they continued to struggle with it, and at the last possible second Adam was able to squeeze through to the outside. He barely made it. The tail of his shirt, in fact, got caught in the hard edge of the door and he had to remove the shirt just to be free of the cliff wall.

  Of course that was the least of his worries.

  His friends were trapped inside.

  And none of them had any idea how to open the door now that Venus was no longer visible in the bright sky. Indeed, they had to wonder if it would be another six months before the door could be opened.

  6

  Adam paced restlessly along the stone ledge. Bryce and Sally sat quietly. Ten minutes had gone by since the door had closed. During that time they had tried as hard as they could to reopen the door. The only problem was that it seemed to have disappeared. On the sheer cliff wall, there wasn’t even an outline of it. Not only could they not get a grip on it, they couldn’t even say exactly where it had been.

  “You should have braced it open with a rock,” Adam muttered.

  “There wasn’t time,” Bryce said.

  “Because you wasted your time trying to hold it open,” Adam shot back.

  “Stop it,” Sally said in a soft voice. “We both did what we could, Adam, and you know that. If we had not pulled back on it as we did, and slowed it down, you wouldn’t have got out.”

  Adam stopped pacing and nodded weakly.

  “You’re right, I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”

  Bryce stood and sighed. “It’s all right. I can’t blame you. I got you guys into this mess.”

  Sally also stood. “No, you didn’t. It’s Leah who’s to blame.”

  Adam surveyed the hills and valleys far below. With the sun up, the view was stunning. But obviously Adam couldn’t enjoy it. Watch and Cindy were trapped in the dark with some beast. That’s all Adam could think about. They might be only a few feet away, waiting for Adam to reopen the door. But Adam could hear no one, and he certainly couldn’t help them.

  There was no sign of Leah.

  “I wonder where she is,” Adam said.

  “She’s probably on her way back to the truck,” Bryce said.

  “Then you finally admit she stabbed us in the back?” Sally said.

  Bryce nodded reluctantly. “I guess so.”

  “If she takes the truck,” Adam said. “It’ll take us forever to get back.”

  Sally was shocked. “You want to go back? You just want to leave Watch and Cindy trapped inside?”

  Adam felt too weary to argue. “Do we have a choice?”

  “Yes,” Sally said. “We stay and search for another way in.”

  Bryce shook his head. “Adam is right. Searching for another way in will be just a waste of time. That cavern was far underground, and the tunnel itself had no other tunnels leading into it.”

  Sally stared at them, amazed. “I can’t believe you guys are just going to give up on them.”

  Adam spoke impatiently. “We’re not giving up on them. Back in town we can find something that can blast through this stone wall. We might even be able to use a jackhammer on it. But staying here makes no sense.”

  “The door could open again,” Sally said. “We don’t know everything that might trigger its lock.”

  “We can sit around and wait for magic to happen that might not even exist,” Adam said.

  Bryce walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down. “If we’re even to stand a chance of getting back to town today, we should leave now.”

  Adam patted Sally on the shoulder. “We’ll get them out of there. Don’t worry.”

  Sally glanced nervously at the spot where the door had been.

  “I just hope that beast doesn’t wake up hungry,” she said.

  Inside in the dark Watch and Cindy rested on the steps and tried to figure out what they should do and what their friends would do. Cindy was reluctant to leave the vicinity of the door, but Watch felt they had no choice but to leave.

  “But they might be forcing the door open right now,” Cindy said. “Why shouldn’t we wait for them?”

  “You forget what the door looked like before we opened it,” Watch said.

  “What did it look like?” Cindy asked.

  “Nothing. There was just rock wall.”

  “But we were looking at it in the dark.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I studied it as soon as we climbed up on the ledge. I suspect that once the door closes, it vanishes. Even if they’re able to find a stick, I doubt that they’d be able to lever it open. I think that they’ll hike back to town. They may even try to reach the truck before Leah does. It’s possible they could, if they hurry.” He paused. “That’s what I’d try to do, and Adam is no fool.”

  “But they should be able to find something in town that can open the door, don’t you think?” Cindy asked hopefully.

  Watch wanted to be encouraging, although he thought they were probably doomed already. The stone door had been three feet thick. He smiled and patted her arm.

  “Sure,” he said. “They know where we are. They’ll get to us eventually.”

  “Then why do you want to leave this place? If they return, we won’t know it.”

  Watch held up his flashlight and water bottle. The former had begun to dim slightly and the latter was completely empty.

  “If we’re going to explore to try to find another way out,” Watch said, “we should do it now, while we have some strength left and our light is still working. Also, we need to go back down and fill up our water bottles.”

  “From the dark pool?” she asked anxiously.

  “Yes.”

  “I didn’t like the look of that water.”

  “We have no choice,” Watch said. “The climb up these steps has left me dehydrated. I’m sure you’re no better off. We’ll need our strength to search for another exit. We have to drink the water and hope it’s OK.”

  “Could there be another way out? Or in? Won’t the others stay and search for another entrance?”

  “Of course there could be another entrance, but it will be easier for us to find it than for the others to search the whole mountain looking for it. They should come to that same conclusion. That’s why I’m sure they’ll head back.”

  Cindy groaned as she glanced at the stone wall. There was no sign that there had ever been a door there.

  “This reminds me of the time we were trapped in the Haunted Cave,” she said.

  “And you escaped from there.”

  Cindy smiled. “Yeah. After almost getting killed a few times.” She paused. “Do you think that beast has been asleep for thousands of years?”

  “It’s hard to imagine that any creature could sleep that long. It’s possible that it wakes up from time to time and stretches and goes for a swim.”

  “And checks on its treasure?” Cindy asked.

  Watch nodded gravely. “I wish Leah hadn’t taken the two crystals. I wish Sally hadn’t even touched the remaining two.” He stood and offered her his hand. “Come on, we can talk ourselves to death. We’ll feel better when we’re doing something.”

  They started back down the steps. But they moved slowly. They were thirsty and tired, and despite Watch’s encouraging words, a blanket of gloom hung over them. At least the tunnel was wide enough so that they could walk together, and give each other physical as well as mental support. Although neither of them said it out loud, both continued to strain with their ears, hoping that the door would suddenly open somehow and free them.

  After a time they reached the dark pool and kneeled beside it with their empty water bottles. In the light of their only flashlight, there was no mistaking Cin
dy’s reluctance.

  “It could be poisoned,” she said.

  “There’s no reason to think it is. If the beast who lives here drinks from this pool, it would need fresh water.” He touched it with his hand and raised his damp fingers to his lips. He licked them. “It seems all right.”

  “Sally said it had a slight smell?”

  Watch sniffed at his hands. “It does but it’s a nice smell. To tell you the truth, this water tastes better than the stuff we have in town.” He paused. “But if it would make you feel better, I’ll drink first and you can wait for a few minutes and see if my face melts off or an alien monster jumps out of my guts.”

  Cindy laughed softly. “I am actually more worried that the water will turn you into an alien monster.”

  Watch smiled. “I suffered that fate long ago, didn’t you know? That’s why my family all moved away. They were afraid I wasn’t human.”

  Cindy heard the pain in his voice even while he was trying to make a joke. She reached out and touched his hand.

  “Why did they all move away?” she asked gently.

  He just smiled again, but looked away.

  “Well, you know Spooksville,” he said. “It’s a dangerous place.”

  “Watch, tell me, if you can.”

  He lowered his head. “I can’t tell you now, Cindy. But maybe another time. Would that be all right?”

  She leaned over and hugged him. “Sure. I just worry about you is all.”

  He looked up. “Really?”

  “Yeah. Why do you sound surprised?”

  He shrugged, although it was clear he was embarrassed.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve just never had anyone who worried about me before.”

  “That’s because you never had friends like us before,” Cindy said seriously. “And I’m sorry if I was prying. I only ask because I worry that you’re sad sometimes, you know, and you might feel that you have no one to talk to about it. What I mean is, you can talk to me whenever you want. About anything.”

  Watch hugged her back and spoke in her ear.

  “I’ll tell you a secret,” he said. “I’m never sad around you guys.”

  “Good,” Cindy said, and she meant it.

  They each drank from the dark pool and refilled their water bottles. Soon they felt refreshed. Watch was right, Cindy thought. The water was better than the stuff they had back in town.

  They started across the flat black cavern.

  “If we’re going to find another way out,” Watch said, “we’re going to have to explore every corner.”

  “How long will our light last?” Cindy asked.

  “It’s dimmed slightly since we entered here, but that’s to be expected. There’s nothing like fresh batteries. But I’d say we have at least another three hours of light.”

  “And after that?” Cindy asked.

  “After that we’d better be back up at the door, or at least to the steps. We couldn’t walk for ten minutes in here without getting hopelessly lost.”

  “Better to be lost than stumble into the beast.”

  “It’s too loud to stumble into,” Watch said.

  The beast got a lot louder a few minutes later.

  7

  They didn’t know what actually woke it up. Maybe it was simply time for it to get up. Maybe it smelled them, or finally heard them. It didn’t matter really. All they knew was that when they were about ten minutes from the dark pool, the breathing of the beast changed. The monster sounded as if it were coughing, and the faint red light that surrounded it suddenly flared. In the ghastly light they saw a massive figure slowly stirring. But they could see no details of its appearance. Cindy gasped and grabbed Watch’s arm.

  “Turn off your light!” she whispered.

  “I just turned it off,” he said calmly.

  “Do you think it saw us?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t want to ask it.”

  “What’s it doing?” she asked.

  “It sounds like it’s getting out of bed.”

  “What should we do?”

  “Nothing,” Watch said.

  “But we have to do something!”

  “No. If we run back the way we came, we’ll make more noise.”

  “Then let’s walk back,” Cindy said.

  “No. I want to see what it’s up to first.”

  “But we’re exposed out here in the middle of nowhere!”

  “We’re assuming it’s dangerous. It might be friendly. Let’s be patient, and listen closely.”

  There were no more flares of light. They had to depend on their ears to monitor the creature’s movements. From what they could tell, it seemed to be moving away from them, moving in the direction of the treasure room.

  “If it is going in there,” Cindy warned, “it’ll freak out when it sees that two of its crystals have been stolen.”

  Watch slowly began to back up. “I agree. Maybe we should get out of here.”

  The roar came a minute later, and there was no mistaking its meaning. The beast had reached its private treasure chamber and found that a thief had slipped in while it slept. The sound of its anger reverberated throughout the black chamber like a volcanic eruption under a deep ocean. Worse, they heard it moving rapidly in their direction.

  “It must know that the thief came in through the tunnel,” Watch said.

  “Who cares?” Cindy screamed. “Let’s just get out of here!”

  So they ran, back toward the steps and the long tunnel that led up to the closed door. But the beast was obviously fifty times their size, and could move much more quickly than they could. And now there was no question as to whether it could hear them. It was obviously coming straight toward them, and the sound of its movements was terrifying. The very air seemed gripped by a deadly whirlwind. Watch and Cindy had to hold on to each other to keep from stumbling.

  They were still a ways from the stairs when Watch realized they were not going to make it. The creature was seconds from reaching them, from crushing them as it clearly intended to do. But the dark pool was only a few feet up ahead and Watch pointed to it as they ran.

  “We have to jump in there!” he yelled over the roar.

  “What?”

  “In there! We have to jump!”

  “No! We’ll die!”

  “We’re going to die before we reach the steps!” Watch tightened his hold on Cindy’s hand. “We’re jumping!”

  “No!” Cindy screamed.

  But they were already in the air, flying toward the water.

  And it was a good thing.

  Because from behind them a red wall of flame flashed forward. It was like the arm of an atomic bomb, and just as deadly. The fireball flew toward them with blinding speed. Just the heat of its approach was scalding. Watch and Cindy actually felt their skin begin to singe the instant before they hit the water. Then they were sinking into the cold blackness.

  Yet that didn’t last.

  The red flame blasted over the surface of the pool, turning it into a nightmarish pot of human stew. Through the glare of the fire they could see each other floating beneath the bubbling surface as they heard the explosion of steam when the top few inches above the pool ruptured into gas. The steam, shot through with the fire, looked like a cloud from hell. The buoyancy of their bodies began to pull them to the surface but Watch reached over and yanked Cindy back down. In the blistering red light, he frantically shook his head no.

  His meaning was clear.

  If we surface we get cooked.

  The wall of flame began to dissipate but then another came and once more the surface exploded with steam. This time the blast from the superheated water began to reach them, and they had to swim deeper to keep from being scalded. But now they were each desperate for a breath. Watch pointed to the side and shook his arm. Once more his meaning was clear. They had to swim away from the boiling water before they could surface. Cindy shook her head frantically.

  She wanted to go up.
r />   Even though it meant she would be burned.

  She just wanted to breathe.

  But Watch wouldn’t let her go up. He knew if they could just get a little ways from the fireball, the water would be a safe temperature. He shook his head firmly and continued to pull on Cindy’s arm. But this struggle cost them both energy—and oxygen—and even Watch began to despair of getting to cooler water. His chest was a furnace in itself. He needed to breathe!

  A third fire ball did not come.

  The red light overhead began to diminish.

  Suddenly they encountered cool water.

  Cindy jerked to go up.

  Watch jerked her back down. He flashed five fingers at her.

  Let’s move over five more feet.

  He knew it could mean the difference between having the skin melted from their limbs and coming up in nice cool water. But he practically had to drag Cindy with him. But then, finally, they did surface, in warm water. As they gasped for air—and it had never felt so good to breathe—he put his hand half over her mouth.

  “Breathe quietly,” he whispered. “She’s still close.”

  Cindy nodded as she tread water. Nearby the clouds of steam continued to glow a gruesome red, but the light was fading fast. If they could elude the beast a few more seconds, they might fool it into thinking they had perished.

  But for all they knew the creature could see in the dark.

  “Do you know where she is?” Cindy whispered when she had caught her breath.

  Watch gestured back the way they had come. “Over there. She seems to be moving away.”

  “She’s growling.”

  “She’s mad,” Watch said. “Her home has been broken into and her things disturbed.”

  Cindy pointed to the steps that ran through the center of the pool.

  “Maybe we should make a run for the tunnel,” she suggested.

  “We’ll take your earlier suggestion. We’ll try walking there quietly.”

  While the beast lumbered about in the vast cavern, growling to itself, they climbed onto the path. They were drenched but far from cold because the water was now hotter than most Jacuzzis. In all the excitement, Watch had managed to hold on to the flashlight. But he couldn’t turn it on to see if it was still working.