Petronella & the Trogot by Cheryl Bentley Page A

 The Human Wolves
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    It was time for Petronella and Percy to restart their journey through Trogot Caves .
    â€œYou will now enter a narrow winding pitch black tunnel. Through that door over there,” said The Greyhound Man , pointing to a third door in the cave. “ I will give you a lantern each to light the way. The path is uneven, paved with wood chippings under which beetles breed. I am afraid that the light of the lanterns will make them creep out of the chippings. Wind is pumped into this tunnel from both ends. The wind will be behind you in the first half of the tunnel, and against you in the second half. You will see that the shadows living in there are blown in all directions. At times, they are slammed against the walls and ceiling.”
    â€œWhat have they done to deserve this?” said Petronella.
    â€œThey were the liars, the false people of the world. They spun and wove stories, and now they themselves will be spun and woven for ever,” said The Greyhound Man .
    â€œOh, what terrible punishment that be. How can anyone putteth up with that?” said Percy.
    The Greyhound Man did not answer.
    The tunnel was exactly as the man had described it. Petronella and Percy wound their way through the darkness. The rays of light from the lantern shone on some shadows. These were white, unlike the diggers and the servants who were black. But the beetles crawling around busily were certainly black. As black as can be.
    Suddenly, one of the shadows wrapped itself around Percy’s legs, pinning him to the spot where he stood. Other shadows were whizzing round him. This made Percy drop his lantern and all the oil spilled out. The burning oil made the wood chippings catch fire. The whole tunnel was alight and, as the flames got higher, Percy couldn’t see Petronella anymore through the blaze and thick smoke. Petronella could hear him coughing, spluttering and trying to draw in air. Sparks were flying everywhere. The scorching heat was more than the boy could stand. By now, Percy was surrounded by hot smoke. A shadow gripped his throat.
    â€œHold on, Percy!” she shouted, “Don’t give up.”
    Petronella got out The Black Box and, as it opened up, the fire died down, the smoke cleared up, and the shadows backed off. They were safe. She hugged Percy saying “Don’t worry, my dear. We’ll be out of here soon.” This was the second time she had used The Black Box.  
    They still had a lantern and trudged on until they came to an open space. Another cave. This time there were metal bars running from the ground up to the ceiling, all the way round the sides of the cave. They could just about see two figures coming towards them - a woman and a man. Then, all of a sudden, lights came on. It was an amazing sight. It was as clear as daylight. The shock made Petronella drop the lantern, while Percy stood there with eyes and mouth wide open. Petronella fainted.
    Percy knelt down beside Petronella. He stroked her face, then looked up at one of the beasts and said: “Quick, be quick, please goeth getteth some water!”
    The other beast came back with a small bowl and Percy rubbed Petronella ’ s face with the cool water. She slowly came to.
    The man and woman she saw in front of her were not exactly humans. They stood up straight on two legs like humans. But instead of hands, they had claws. Instead of human legs, they had two horses hind legs. Instead of human heads they had heads of wolves. Beasts like this did not exist on Earth.
    The She-Wolf spoke first: “You have arrived in the cellars. Behind those bars you can see beasts you have never seen before. They were all human once. But now they are shadows with heads of animals. And, I needn’t tell you, how fierce and dangerous they all are. Dreadful creatures. They can’t get out. If they did, they would kill you, for sure. Each beast has its own separate cage, otherwise they would kill each