Chapter 5

Into The Darkness

The electric torch revealed a drab concrete tunnel leading away from the city. It ran straight and nearly level until it vanished in shadow beyond the reach of the small light. Behind them, the steel grating cut them off from everything they knew. Genuine adventure lay before them, and trepidation tempered Weskar’s excitement. It was easy to imagine journeys to fantastic worlds from the comfort of his favourite armchair, but now they were fugitives, and the guards would be hunting them throughout the city within a few hours. There could be no going back.

The grating shrank to a faint spot of light as they left it behind, and the background burble of the city faded until the only sounds were the drip and trickle of water down the slimy walls and the splash and shuffle of their paws. The grey concrete seemed to draw the colour from everything else, and the smell which seeped into Weskar's nose spoke of nothing but damp, cold and mildew. He tried to picture something existing out here – some kind of mystical outside world – but he could not.

“I hope we are are following some kind of lead,” he asked after a few minutes.

“I hope so too.” Alenna’s voice echoed in the dark tunnel. “Ever heard of the Blue Pool?”

The others had not. “It’s a natural spring which the early Outsiders discovered, somewhere outside the city. This drainage tunnel is the only possible route I could find.”

Sam nodded. “I’ve never seen any other grate or door big enough for a fully grown canine to get through.”

They trudged on for some time, and save for the changing patterns of mould on the tunnel walls, they might as well not have been moving. Weskar felt like he was trapped in a bad dream. Had they fallen victim to a cruel joke by the prefect, or was this perhaps a punishment from the Protectors for their lack of faith? Perhaps nothing lay outside the city apart from this endless tunnel, and they were doomed to walk it forever.

Fortunately a waft of fresher air tickled Weskar’s nose at that point, shaking him out of his irrational reverie. He sniffed more deeply. “There’s something ahead. I can smell running water.”

Sure enough, they could soon hear the distant murmur of a stream which grew steadily louder until the walls to either side vanished and they found themselves on a high ledge. The drain emerged in the side of a cliff, and the canines looked out over a large underground cavern.

The stream foamed over rocks somewhere in the darkness below, and the smell of moss and water hung in the cool air. Where the tunnel had been cramped and stagnant, the air was now fresh, and Weskar sensed that he was in a large open space. He inched to the edge, and shone the torch around. The light penetrated the gloom far enough to reveal the roof high above, while the far side was lost in shadows.

Sam peered at a tiny glint of light on the slimy rock beside the tunnel. “Wesk – turn off the torch!” he exclaimed.

Weskar thumbed the switch, plunging the party into darkness. As his eyes adjusted, he noticed more of the tiny blue lights – on the walls near them, down amongst the boulders, and scattered across the chamber roof.

“Glow worms!” whispered Sam, and Weskar's spirits rose. It was a sight worth seeing, and it lay entirely outside the city. It was hardly the wondrous world of the old myths, but it was a start.

A rusty steel ladder led down from the ledge, and Weskar tried not to look down as he shuffled across to it. Wet moss coated the rungs, but the metal felt solid enough underneath. “I’ll go first!” he suggested with more bravado than he felt. He slipped his paw through the wrist band of the torch, and stepped out on to the ladder before he could lose his nerve. Tail poised for balance, he clambered down, paws gripped tight on the slick rungs. Drops of mist settled on his fur from the foaming stream as he reached the bottom.

Alenna made slimy-underground-ladder-climbing look as easy as filing paperwork, and Weskar admired her fine physique as he watched her descend. Sam was not quite so elegant, and the ladder creaked alarmingly under his weight. They all breathed a sigh of relief once he stood beside them.

To their left, the stream vanished into a mass of tumbled boulders. Scouting in the other direction, they found a rough path leading upstream. Alenna and Sam followed Weskar as he picked his way through the rubble of ancient rock falls, clambering and slipping on the slimy boulders. It was difficult going, and they were soon tired, damp and bruised. But traces of the path remained, giving Weskar some hope that other canines had used the same route, and they would not end up wandering aimlessly in the dark. He still harboured doubts about the existence of “Outside”, although he wasn't brave enough to voice them in front of the others. But the air in the caves seemed fresher than the stale atmosphere of the city, seeped as it was in centuries of tradition and Kibble dust. The ancient stone beneath his paws made a welcome change from concrete, and the tiny glow worms scattered across the rocks filled him with wonder. The quest might be futile, but the journey was invigorating.

As they climbed, the cave narrowed until they were forced to wade in the stream. Weskar and Sam both loved water, but Alenna wasn’t so enthusiastic. Weskar saw the look in her dark eyes harden as she steeled herself and plunged in after him. There was no way she would show weakness or lack of resolve in front of the two males.

The roaring of a waterfall somewhere ahead grew louder until the narrow gut opened out into a cavern. Here the stream thundered down from high above, and fine spray made rainbows in the torchlight. They stopped to rest for a few minutes and contemplate the glittering cascade.

Weskar’s heart pounded, and it was more than just the walk. A tingling sensation ran through his body and out to the tips of his paws. The sparkling water droplets looked especially bright in the torch light, and other things he had never noticed caught his attention – the muscular curve of Sam’s strong shoulders and the graceful set of Alenna’s tail. A desire to stroke the Ridgeback’s soft cheek gripped him, but he resisted the urge, for her dominant demeanour still intimidated him.

They could find no path up the vertical cave walls, and Weskar thought they had arrived at a dead end until Sam located a cleft in the rock to one side. When they squeezed through, they found a side-passage. Ancient tectonic forces had split the rock apart, and layers of broken strata made a crude staircase. The rumble of the water dwindled as they left the river behind.

The cleft levelled out at a long gallery. Sam’s head brushed the flat rock of the roof, but the space was thirty paces wide and many times that long. Weskar jumped when he caught sight of a grotesque face at the fringe of the torch beam, but when he shone the light that way, it became a globular rock formation – one of many strewn haphazardly across the floor. The Shepherd shuddered and tried to relax. The weird perspective made the chamber feel like a giant press about to crush them.

They threaded their way around more formations as they moved down the hall, searching all the while for signs of the path. Even glow worms shunned the silent cave. Vague colours and patterns flitted at the edges of Weskar’s vision, so that he imagined hordes of imps dancing just beyond the torchlight. But when he moved the beam, it illuminated only more of the bulbous rock formations and the weirdly flat roof, frozen and unchanging.

A suggestion of movement drew his torch beam to the shadows, but there was nothing there. Your eyes are playing tricks on you, he told himself. But then he caught another movement, this time on the very edge of the light. He stopped abruptly, and Alenna bumped into him. “Did you see that?” he whispered, but once again the torch revealed nothing other than rock.

Alenna made a ‘Humph’ sound. “Don’t let the dark get to you, Weskar!” she chided.

The chamber grew narrower, blank walls closing in on either side. Once more something seemed to move in the shadows. He expected another ephemeral phantom caused by a trick of the light, but this time he glimpsed a figure flitting between two pillars. “There it is again!” Even as he spoke, it vanished behind the rocks. It had appeared in the gloom at the limit of the torch beam, but he was quite sure of what he had seen.

Weskar felt a large paw on his shoulder. “We didn’t see anything, Weskar.” Sam's strength was reassuring.

“I’m sure there was something there. It looked like a person.”

Alenna shrugged. “It seems unlikely!” she said. In any case, there was nothing to do but continue. The cavern closed in until they walked along a narrow passage, while the floor began to slope downwards. Just as the gradient was getting dangerous, they found the beginning of a rough stairway chiselled into the rock - clear evidence that they were on the right path.

Weskar stopped to sniff the air. “There’s a smell of sulphur coming from ahead!”

“A thermal spring, perhaps?” There was a note of excitement in Alenna’s voice. The smell grew stronger as they reached the bottom of the steps and heard once more the burble of water. Sure enough, it was not long before they emerged in a new cavern.

The stream flowed down through the chamber in a series of gurgling rapids and quiet pools. A terrace of smooth white sinter stood above the stream, and here steam wafted up from a turquoise pool. At one end, hot water gushed up in a little basin and flowed down into the pool in a shining cascade. Bright green moss covered the cave walls around the pool, thriving in the warm, moist air.

The canines could see the glint of many glow worms even while their torches were on. In unspoken agreement, they flicked the lights off, and watched in awe as their eyes adjusted to the darkness. All over the roof and walls of the cave, the myriad tiny insects made vast constellations of lights. The sheer number of them was enough to bath the cavern in a soft blue glow by which they could see their way. Leaving the torches off, they walked carefully, almost reverently, into the cave.

“The blue pool!” whispered Sam, for there could be no doubt they had found it.

They dropped their packs on the smooth white sinter by the shore and inspected the water. “Canines used to bathe in this pool,” said Alenna. “It was supposed to be therapeutic.”

Sam dipped his paw in the water, and the others followed suit. It was a lovely temperature, and looked clean, with a bluish tinge. “I’m going to try it!” he said, and slipped off his clothes.

The trek through the caves had left the big Saint Bernard’s fur dishevelled. Golden-brown patches across his broad shoulders and back gave way to soft white fur on his chest. Floppy ears framed his wide, friendly face which usually wore an expression of relaxed curiosity. A thick ruff of fur began around his neck and ran down his belly to his large sheath. Feathers of soft hair decorated the back of each muscular leg, and his huge rear paws looked like they meant business. His long fluffy tail swished gently as he waded into the steaming water.

The New Hope residents never experienced physical lust, for the Protectors had helped them evolve beyond such basic instincts (or so the Structions taught). They were proud to be gestated in the controlled environment of the Cloning Machine. Exuberance was discouraged, while protocol demanded a reasonable standard of dress at all times. Sam and Weskar never paid more than passing homage to city tradition anyway, but now that they were out of the city he felt a surge of unaccustomed rebellion that urged him to shed the restraints of the city. He took great pleasure in stripping off his clammy shirt and shaking the dust from his coat. He hesitated a moment when it came to his trousers, but the water enticed him and Alenna had already seen him naked anyway.

The Shepherd’s thick tan fur disguised his lithe build, for he was a lot lighter and smaller than Sam. Thoughtful brown eyes hinted at a depth of sensitivity in the small dog, while the prowess of his keen nose was well established. Large upright ears emphasised his expressions as well as enhancing his hearing.

Weskar had never seen Alenna without her usual attire of casual clothes. Her shapely frame was tall, elegant and slender. Her rich fur caught the light with a delicate rust-red sheen. Darker fur around her eyes highlighted the intensity of her expression. Her arms were strong but nicely proportioned. The smooth fur from either side of her torso met in a neat, dark line which drew Weskar’s gaze down the centre of her chest and belly, to.... Weskar blushed a little as she caught him looking at her. She gave him a wink. “Are you coming in, or would you rather stand there and look at the view?” she asked mischievously.

For a long time after that, the only sounds to be heard were the murmur of the stream and the blissful sighs of three relaxed canines as they lay back in the warm water.

---

Water cascaded off Sam's shoulders as he waded out. He turned, and Weskar caught a glimpse of his shapely sheath and rather large balls as the water plastered his unruly fluff to his skin. The sight mesmerised him for a moment, then was lost in a white blur as the Saint gave a mighty shake and sent sheets of spray across the cavern.

The Shepherd stretched and yawned. He was getting pretty warm, and hunger gnawed at his stomach. He followed Sam out of the pool, and by the time he had shaken himself dry, the Saint had already taken their Kibble supplies from the packs, and was staring dolefully at the small pile of paper parcels. Alenna seemed reluctant to leave the warm water – possibly because she felt the cold more through her thin coat – but she eventually dragged herself back to dry land, and pulled on her clothes as Weskar divided out a small ration of Kibble for each of them. The meagre meal proved far from satisfying, but they all understood the need to be frugal.

Weskar took a drink from the water bottle, then passed it to Alenna. “So we have found the blue pool,” he mused. “What now?”

Alenna contemplated the steaming lake. “We know the Outsiders used to come here a lot before the Schism,” she said, “and we know the Prefect banished some of them, and they disappeared. There’s a good chance that they DID find a way out. We just need to figure out where to go from here.” She thought for a while. “Perhaps they left a sign or a message of some sort.”

Weskar lay back with his head on his pack, still marvelling at the constellations of glow worms spread across the cave roof. Suddenly he jumped up in excitement. “Look!” he cried, pointing across the cave. “Could that be a sign?”

The others followed his gaze. Sure enough, the glow worms on the roof formed the pattern of an arrow.

“How could anyone make a shape with glow worms?” exclaimed Alenna, “and how have they stayed in the same place for hundreds of years?”

Weskar got out his torch, and the three canines crossed the cavern to investigate, skirting around the bright white sinter of the pool. The roof sloped down, so they were soon able to reach out and touch the stone, and the tiny lights were all around them.

A closer inspection solved the mystery. Somebody had chiselled the arrow into the rock of the roof. It was shallow, covered in moss, and almost impossible to see. But over the long passage of years, the slight depression had provided a favourable home for glow worms, and now they delineated the shape like fairy lights around a shop window.

The sign pointed towards a dark corner of the cave. It appeared to be nothing more than a blind nook until they explored it, and discovered a narrow slit in the deepest recess where the floor met the roof. It looked just big enough for Sam to squeeze into, and a faint breeze stirred the air through the gap.

Alenna’s tail indicated her interest by rising slightly as she inspected the passage. “It’s not much, but it’s our best lead!”

“Actually, it’s our only lead,” Sam remarked with the hint of a smile. “We might as well get started!”

Weskar’s pack felt no lighter despite the removal of two Kibble rations. He took a last look across the delicate landscape of the Blue Pool cave before he switched on his torch and led the others into the dark crack. Claustrophobia threatened to overcome him as the rock closed in. He shut his eyes and forced himself to breath slowly and deeply. There’s a way through, he told himself. We’ll find it.

In fact the narrow passage was relatively easy for the small Shepherd. It must have been a good deal tighter for Sam, but the Saint didn’t seem bothered. At times they were able to stoop, while other pitches demanded that they crawl on their bellies over the cold stone. After a few twists and turns they had lost all sense of direction, but the passage led them onwards.

The cave finally opened out into a larger chamber, much to everyone’s relief. Weskar’s back and neck were aching and mud plastered his fur again. He sniffed and then wrinkled his nose in disgust, for the heavy scent of mould filled the air. A handful of sultry glow worms decorated the roof, but dreary silt-coated walls and a muddy floor made a stark contrast with the wonder of the Blue Pool.

Weskar’s paw brushed something cold and slick, making him jump. He had inadvertently touched a misshapen black fungus sprouting from a crevice in the rock. Sickly white gills made a small splash of colour under a mushy crown. Slimy tendrils dangled from its sides as if to trap unwary insects. A mesh of fine mould spread out across the rock from its base.

More of the unsavoury mushroomoids sprouted here and there from the walls and floor of the cave. Weskar’s paw tingled. He frowned and wiped it on the mud of the cave wall, then on his trousers. He imagined his mother berating him for that – and smiled, because his pants were already caked with grime.

The fungus infestation increased as the canines picked their way down a winding path between muddy walls, and the smell of decay grew stronger. At last they rounded a bend, and saw before them the massive specimen from which the others had seeded. It stood taller than Weskar on a thick trunk, and a dense curtain of slime hung from its broad crown.

Sam and Alenna took a few steps towards the giant shape, and stopped to admire it. Sam’s tail swished with appreciation. “Blue pools... Giant mushrooms... what will we see next?”

Weskar frowned in irritation. The last of the euphoria engendered by the Blue Pool had evaporated, banished by the mud and stench of decay. In its place, Weskar felt tired and disheartened. He was in a hurry to get out of the caves – one way or another – and sightseeing took a low priority.

The huge mushroom-tree filled most of the cave, blocking the path. Weskar had no desire to touch any part of it, and its presence forced him to climb around the rocks to one side of the cave. He turned back to see Alenna following him. But as she climbed, he could see her gaze returning to study the curious fungal shape. “Careful...” he started to say, but he was too late.

Alenna’s paw slipped on a muddy patch, and she tumbled down into the notch from which the giant mush shape arose. Her leg thudded against its rubbery trunk, and blobs of slime dropped off onto her shirt and arms with sticky splot sounds.

“Ew!” she made a face as she scrambled out of the hole, shaking tendrils disdainfully off her fur. Sam scooped a paw-full of the black mush off her shoulder and peered at it. He tossed it back towards the fungus-tree with a grimace. “Lovely! You’re going to smell great!”

“No worse than you already smell!” she chided.

“Come on!” said Weskar, looking from one to the other. “Stop mucking about and let’s try to make some progress!”

“Alright, alright!” Alenna seemed bemused. “Keep your tail on!”

Weskar saw her ear twitch, then her shoulder. Then she shook herself, sending the last fragments of slime flying into the dark. “Ick. Remind me not to fall into any more giant fungi.”

She needn’t have worried, for the concentration of the strange shapes decreased again as they followed the cave. They made good progress for a while, but Weskar couldn’t shake the tension which had beset him. Their entire enterprise seemed foolish and destined to fail. Apart from the Blue Pool, what had they found? Only damp caves, disgusting fungi and eternal darkness. The existence of ‘Outside’ seemed less and less likely.

His mood may have affected the others, for Alenna maintained a brooding silence, and Sam’s enthusiasm had disappeared as he trudged quietly at the rear. Well, it doesn’t matter, Weskar thought. There was nothing to say anyway.

So they walked single file and silent in the darkness for a while, until the torch showed a fork in the cave ahead.

“Which way?” mused the Shepherd, looking first to the left then the right. Both ways appeared equally desolate and unpromising.

Alenna frowned. “How should I know?” she snapped. “I don’t have a map!”. Sam only shrugged.

“I think the left passage looks better.” Weskar tried to sound positive, but doubts crowded into his mind even as he said the words. What if he was wrong? They could become hopelessly lost!

Still, no clue presented itself to help him decide. He took a few steps down the left tunnel. “That’s probably the wrong way.” came Sam’s voice, apathy replacing his usual good humour. Weskar stopped again.

“You think we should go the other way?”

“No,” mumbled the Saint. “I don’t much care. I’m just saying that whichever path you choose, it’s most likely the wrong one.”

Weskar wished Sam’s enthusiasm would return to buoy their morale. He wished Alenna would take the lead, but she just glared at him. He felt sure they would both blame him if he made the wrong decision. Most of all, he wished he was home.

“Come on then,” he muttered as he set off down the left tunnel. “We’re going this way.”

At first the going was easy, and Weskar thought that he had chosen the correct way after all. However, before long it narrowed and began to twist and turn, and they had to clamber over boulders. After ten minutes, it petered out altogether in a dead end.

“Nice going, Weskar!” The sarcasm in Alenna’s voice was hardly fair.

Sam sat on a rock, a look of gloomy resignation on his face. “Much as I thought. We will have to backtrack and try again.”

Nobody said anything more as they retraced their steps, but Weskar could feel Alenna's reproachful stare. Sam’s pace was getting slower, and Weskar wished he would hurry up. He wanted more than anything to be out of the cold darkness, and the others were slowing him down.

Back at the junction, they sat down to rest and pass around the water bottle. Doubts were still crowding into Weskar’s mind.

“Do you really think there’s anything out here to find?” he asked, speaking to nobody in particular.

“Probably not.” Sam sighed, and his tail drooped. “That prison cell doesn’t seem so bad now. They had food there.”

Alenna made a Humph sound. “You can go back any time you like. I’m not going to give the Prefect the satisfaction.” Weskar sensed her disdain for the New Hope Leader, and it seemed to run even deeper than recent events would explain. This small observation penetrated the inexplicable fog of gloom which had clouded his mind ever since their encounter with the mushroom.

They set off down the other branch of the cave, once more stumbling along in silence. Weskar’s tired legs felt like they were turning to stone, and he had to focus on the path and keep himself moving one step at a time. Why is my head so foggy? he wondered_._ Sam struggled to lift his paws for each step, and they were forced to wait for him several times.

Weskar was so tired that he hardly noticed when they passed another fork in the tunnel, then another. He simply followed his instincts, which proved to be no more reliable when they arrived at another dead end.

Sam sat down heavily on a rock, and Alenna sat beside him and put her head in her paws. After a while, she sniffed and sat up again. Weskar could see that her defiant mood had vanished, and her voice sounded uncharacteristically dull.

“Sam’s right. We have to turn back. There’s nothing out here. No Outside. Just endless caves. At least the city is warm.”

It was an admission of defeat, and Weskar thought fleetingly that he ought to argue. But he was too cold and tired. It was a relief to follow behind Alenna and Sam as they started the weary journey back down the tunnel. He didn’t want to think any more. The rocks of the cave wall blurred, and his head swam. Was that concrete beneath his paws? He shambled along the alley outside his apartment. Not far now. He opened the door, and the warmth of his cosy bed called to him. Home at last – time to lie down and sleep.

But a stalactite dangling from the roof blocked his path, and he banged his head. No, he was still in the caves, far from home. Can’t sleep yet, he thought. Got to keep going.

Something caught his attention, but it took a moment for his befuddled mind to realise what he was seeing. A single glow worm clung to the cave roof, one solitary blue light shining bravely where no others dared. All his life, Weskar had searched for something that he could not explain. He didn’t know where it was, but it was not back in the city. He knew that he must keep searching for it.

He stopped when they reached an unexplored branch of the cave. He was so tired that he swayed on his feet, and had to lean against the wall. The warmth of home called to him, and in his dazed state it seemed that only a few minutes walk behind Alenna would take him there. But he knew that he must go on, into the darkness.

The others stopped and looked back quizzically. “We should explore one more passage...” he said, shaking his head to clear the fog.

“It’s too late...” Alenna began, but Weskar knew he had to go on; there was no other choice. He gritted his teeth and started down the tunnel without waiting to see if the others would follow.

He blinked and tried to focus on the path ahead, for the shadows made it hard to see. Why wouldn’t the torch illuminate the rock in front of him? Too late, he realised there was no rock. His paw stepped into empty air and he tumbled forward. He landed hard on a steep slope, and began to slide. The torch smashed into an outcrop and darkness enveloped him. Down and down he slid, falling, rolling, until at last he thudded to a halt against a boulder and lay still.

All was silent. Weskar’s head swam. He felt no pain, and the cold no longer bothered him either. Was that a bad thing? Or had he miraculously escaped injury? A glimmer of light far above showed where he had fallen from.

“Weskar?” came a faint cry – it sounded like Alenna.

“Forget it.” Sam’s voice, lifeless and empty, replied. “There’s no way down. We’ll have to leave him.”

No! Weskar tried to call out, but he could make no sound.

“Yeah, he’ll have to find his own way back.”

The light vanished as Sam and Alenna turned away.

Suddenly Weskar wanted only to be with his friends again. Don’t leave me! He tried to shout, but his throat seemed to be frozen. Sam’s voice floated faintly down again. “I guess there’s nothing for it but to go back and ask the Prefect for forgiveness. Maybe if we tell everyone that there is no Outside, he will let us off.”

“Agreed.” He heard Alenna reply before their voices were lost in the dark.

Then there was only silence. Weskar knew he should try to get up, carry on, maybe feel his way back. But he was so tired. He couldn’t move. Maybe he would just rest a while longer.