me.”
“How can you know that for sure?” asked Jem.
“Well, many of them are girl voices and they talk to each other about things that I don’t understand or care about.”
Kelvin started laughing. “That is profound. The voices in your head are girls! That’s really funny.”
Thist was in a higher spirit, the slap to the face and the good laughter had infused him with energy and the mood changed from desperate-flight to jovial-in-a-hurry.
“What about that strange thing that you found?” asked Thist.
“I didn’t say that it was strange.” said Jem. “We are coming up on it in a moment.”
“What in this place isn’t strange?” asked Thist.
“Fair enough,” answered Jem, “it’s around the next corner.”
The three slowed down as they approached the curve in the cave wall. The three torch lights throwing eerie shadows that danced from side to side and lighting up the subject in question.
“A door!” exclaimed Thist. His eyes growing wide with wonder. “Did you guys open it?”
“No.” said Kelvin. “We were too busy looking for a lost friend, remember? We should shackle you when you sleep, we lost nearly a day and you could have died.”
“Yes.” mumbled Thist as he stared at the stone door. “I’m sorry about that.”
The door was carved from granite and it was unclear how it would open. It looked more like an ornate door shaped carving, as tall as any normal door but three times as wide and round on the top. The stone was engraved and looked like something official and precious should belong behind the door. Thist ran his hands over the door causing a cascade of dust to fall out of the engravings. The picture on the stone door became clearer as some of the dust and cobwebs were removed. In the centre of the door was a large carving of a gemstone, the size of a man’s head, but only half of it, as if the gem was divided. Many lines were drawn from the centre piece and flowed to the edges of the door like strings and each string was held by a person kneeling. Thist put his hands to his temples and then in a stern voice Thist said “Shut up you voices just shut up.”
“Gee Kelvin!” exclaimed Jem. “How hard did you slap him?”
“The voices.” said Thist. “They are making a noise about this cave and about this door. And I have a feeling that the further we get from this door the happier they will be.”
“The three of us both.” mumbled Kelvin as he glanced back the way they had come. The sound of a beast trying to break free from its cage was becoming urgent “Let’s get on out of here.”
The three boys, who were distracted by the strangeness of the door in the cave, picked up their pace and made for the exit. The exit was still a brisk climb from their vantage point but for the first time Thist could see light emanating from far ahead. A light breeze graced them and they knew that as long as no other incidents happened that they would be out of the cave system in several minutes.
Thist scrambled to the head of the group and laid his feet firmly, one in front of the next and increased his stride. None of the three friends said anything as they made their way to the exit.
The trio had to crawl the last few yards out of the cave mouth as it seemed to have collapsed somewhat and ivy had overgrown the entrance a little. As Jem burst forth from the caves, he let out a joyous shout causing some birds nearby to startle and scatter from the trees. The air was fresh like the hours following hard rain. The sun was hot on their faces as they stood in the fresh open air. Thist raised his arms to the sun to catch as much of it as they could in one go. It seemed brighter than before as he was accustomed to the gloom in the cave, and he squinted in the glare while smiling broadly.
“Another promise.” said Thist. “I will never take fresh air or sunshine for granted. Three days in that forsaken cave system was torture.”
The voices were quiet.
17
Jem
“How can you know that for sure?” asked Jem.
“Well, many of them are girl voices and they talk to each other about things that I don’t understand or care about.”
Kelvin started laughing. “That is profound. The voices in your head are girls! That’s really funny.”
Thist was in a higher spirit, the slap to the face and the good laughter had infused him with energy and the mood changed from desperate-flight to jovial-in-a-hurry.
“What about that strange thing that you found?” asked Thist.
“I didn’t say that it was strange.” said Jem. “We are coming up on it in a moment.”
“What in this place isn’t strange?” asked Thist.
“Fair enough,” answered Jem, “it’s around the next corner.”
The three slowed down as they approached the curve in the cave wall. The three torch lights throwing eerie shadows that danced from side to side and lighting up the subject in question.
“A door!” exclaimed Thist. His eyes growing wide with wonder. “Did you guys open it?”
“No.” said Kelvin. “We were too busy looking for a lost friend, remember? We should shackle you when you sleep, we lost nearly a day and you could have died.”
“Yes.” mumbled Thist as he stared at the stone door. “I’m sorry about that.”
The door was carved from granite and it was unclear how it would open. It looked more like an ornate door shaped carving, as tall as any normal door but three times as wide and round on the top. The stone was engraved and looked like something official and precious should belong behind the door. Thist ran his hands over the door causing a cascade of dust to fall out of the engravings. The picture on the stone door became clearer as some of the dust and cobwebs were removed. In the centre of the door was a large carving of a gemstone, the size of a man’s head, but only half of it, as if the gem was divided. Many lines were drawn from the centre piece and flowed to the edges of the door like strings and each string was held by a person kneeling. Thist put his hands to his temples and then in a stern voice Thist said “Shut up you voices just shut up.”
“Gee Kelvin!” exclaimed Jem. “How hard did you slap him?”
“The voices.” said Thist. “They are making a noise about this cave and about this door. And I have a feeling that the further we get from this door the happier they will be.”
“The three of us both.” mumbled Kelvin as he glanced back the way they had come. The sound of a beast trying to break free from its cage was becoming urgent “Let’s get on out of here.”
The three boys, who were distracted by the strangeness of the door in the cave, picked up their pace and made for the exit. The exit was still a brisk climb from their vantage point but for the first time Thist could see light emanating from far ahead. A light breeze graced them and they knew that as long as no other incidents happened that they would be out of the cave system in several minutes.
Thist scrambled to the head of the group and laid his feet firmly, one in front of the next and increased his stride. None of the three friends said anything as they made their way to the exit.
The trio had to crawl the last few yards out of the cave mouth as it seemed to have collapsed somewhat and ivy had overgrown the entrance a little. As Jem burst forth from the caves, he let out a joyous shout causing some birds nearby to startle and scatter from the trees. The air was fresh like the hours following hard rain. The sun was hot on their faces as they stood in the fresh open air. Thist raised his arms to the sun to catch as much of it as they could in one go. It seemed brighter than before as he was accustomed to the gloom in the cave, and he squinted in the glare while smiling broadly.
“Another promise.” said Thist. “I will never take fresh air or sunshine for granted. Three days in that forsaken cave system was torture.”
The voices were quiet.
17
Jem
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