Chapter 23
xDD
Mola: Hey guys, whats up--- OH SWEET JEZUZ!! Shield your eyes, children! :O!!
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"Do you know where your goin?" Bo Bedagger asked, scratching his head. He walked next to Willie, who was calmly surveying the wetland stretched out beside them. Behind them trailed four dozen outlaws, member's of Willie's gang. WIllie had successfully taken his father's place as boss, and was showing signs of being twice as harsh as Buckner had been.
"Of course I do," Willie muttered. He stood on the bank of the wetland, looking out into the water. He remained there patiently, twirling his cigars. Bo yawned.
"I dun see anything," he muttered dully. The water rippled slightly, Willie chuckled, and a huge head supported by broad, muscular sholders emerged from the water, its jaws snapping shut as it caught sight of the group.
"Chuggler!" Bo shrieked, jumping back and falling into the gravel. The chuggler eyed Bo, looking annoyed.
"Will-ee." A grumble sounded from its barrel chest, its small milky eyes shifting over to the outlaw leader. Willie nodded.
"Tha's me." Willie said. The chuggler grunted loudly as it ducked to inhale a fresh lungful of water. It reamerged and waddled akwardly onto land, causing the outlaws on the shore to back up in suprise.
"Wee will folloh," the chuggler gurgled, spewing water from its mouth. Willie blinked.
"Good," He said. "Attack when we attack... and be careful with the steef heads."
The chuggler coughed in reply and jumped backwards into the water with a huge splash, swiftly vanishing into the depths. Bo picked himself up off the ground. Looking startled.
"That thing... is with us?" he asked shakily.
"Those things," Willie corrected, "are with us. I heard one of their younger members whus killed by a couple o' people matchin' our target's description. They want revenge, we want steef heads. Its a win-win situation. For us, at least."
He motioned for his gang to follow.
"Come on! We gotsum steef ta hunt!"
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For a few brief moments Charlotte hung blind in the void, her green eyes shifting worriedly and her hands tightly around the rope lowering her down. A faint glow appeared overhead as Stranger was lowered down as well, holding the rope the same way. Ophelia poked her head inside, her large eyes glowing in the lantern light.
"Okay, so, just tell us when you hit the bottom."
"And tell us if you find any bodies!" Mola suggested. Stranger snorted loudly, muttering something about turning Mola into a body.
"This isn't so bad," Charlotte said to reassure herself. She stared down into the blackness below, where a faint dripping sound could be heard. They were steadily lowered down the pit, and soon the light from the hole above vanished.
Charlotte thought she saw something moving in the darkness. Startled, she reached at her hip for her rifle, but was relieved to see that she wasn't in danger. All around her, wooden planks holding the walls together began to materialize from the darkness, groaning sickly as water dripped from its sides. As she looked down she realised that the wood had been placed in a specific order, forming an eight-sided star. It was creepy and wet, but all the more admirable; it truly was an amazing piece of architecture.
They lost track of time; seconds turned to minutes, minutes piled up. After about a half-hour, Charlotte squinted in the darkness; something was rapidly approaching them. She stiffened visibly, her nostrils flared.
"D'you see that?" She asked, looking up at Stranger. Stranger stared down at it, an eyebrow raised.
"That would be the floor." He growled. Charlotte looked down. The lantern light reflected the water-washed floor below, causing it to glitter. Embarassed, she looked the other way.
"Of course it is." She snapped. Stranger chuckled dryly.
Charlotte's feet gently hit the bottom, and she looked relieved to be out of the air. The water was up to her calves and as cold as ice, causing her to flinch.
"My boots are soaked," she grumbled, lifting a leg (or legs) into the air. Stranger un-looped the lantern from his belt and looked around. Suprised, he said,
"Look at this."
Charlotte looked over and gasped.
Huge, stonehenge-like pillars made of bleached-white marble surrounded them, holding up a layer of support beams. Carved into the stones were ancient petroglyphs that glinted black in the light. Half of them depicted grubbs fishing and doing daily activities, the other half depicted both grubbs and steef in huge armies fighting off vicious-looking beasts, including a spyider, which was having its head torn off. Charlotte ran her fingers down the steef carvings, and felt a sick pit form at the bottom of her stomach.
There are so many steef... she thought. How long ago were these made? Will there ever be as many steef again?
"Best' get searching," Stranger muttered, turning away. Charlotte wondered if he was thinking the same thing she was.
They searched the large white rocks and piles of wood scattered all around, speaking rarely. The ghostly-white stone shimmered silently, basking in the dim light. The only sounds in the darkness was the trickling water and the beating of their own hearts.
Charlotte curiously lifted her head and glanced into the darkness; there were no walls holding them in. The cavern seemed to stretch on forever. She briefly wondered if anything could live down here undetected, but she quickly banished it. There was nothing to eat down here. Satisfied, she hopped over a large rock and caught sight of something up ahead.
"Hey!" Charlotte said, lifting a large object perched on a slab of stone. "I think I found it!"
Stranger trudged over and examined it.
"Must be," he said, tugging on the corner of his hat. The book was dark brown and had red lettering that she couldin't identify. It was as thick as three phonebooks and as large as her torso.
"This things' huge," she said bitterly. The thought of having to hold it all the way back to the cellar made her head pound.
She grabbed the rope at her side and tugged it a few times. Stranger did the same. After a long pause she felt somebody tug back, and they were both lifted back up through the void. The book gave Charlotte unwanted weight, and the rope strained around her waist, digging into her skin. She bit her lip angrily and tried to adjust the rope, but it didn't work.
Light filtered down from above. Even though it was dim, it was bright in comparison to the lantern, and it hurt her eyes. She closed her eyes and held the book tight against her body, staring up at the glow, until they finally emerged.
"You found it!" Ophelia cheered. Around them were twenty grubbs, including Mola, who had helped pull them back up. They clapped happily.
"What was it like down there?" Mola asked exitedly. "Was the rumor about the ghost that lived down there true?"
"I didn't see any ghosts," Charlotte said, heavily dropping the book. It landed with a loud thump, causing dust to fall from its pages. Five grubbs lifted it, but they looked as though they were about to topple over. Mola wilted sadly.
"No ghosts? What about banchees?"
"Oh yeah, there was a banchee." Charlotte said, as though it were painfully obvious. Mola jumped in suprise.
"Really! What did it do?"
"It gave me a piggy-back ride," Stranger growled, untying the rope from his waist.
"Oh," Mola said, wilting again. "No banchees, huh? What about-"
"Come on!" Ophelia said, cutting him off. "Lets take this up to the archives!"
She skipped happily ahead of a group of grubbs struggling to carry it. Stranger, Cyren and Charlotte followed, leaving the ancient catacombs behind.
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