Ice-Age 14

[Guest guest]

ICE-AGE

By Andy Savage

Previous chapters online at uniquethings/

 

Chapter 14

The three of them covered almost twelve tiring miles that day. They did not talk very much, they did not even eat, they just walked and walked, with Device leading. Dave felt constantly ill at ease, convinced they were being watched, but hard as he tried, he could not detect a single sign of life. Not even so much as a lonely clump of moss on an exposed lump of rock.

The snow seemed to stick heavily to Dave’s boots and he struggled to keep up. He became so worn out that he could barely lift his feet, and he had to grit his teeth to keep moving. Linda, on the other hand, had found a real spring in her step and kept urging him on. In the late afternoon, to Dave’s great relief, Device finally gave the order to stop walking and to set up the tent. Dave again spent the night huddled close to Linda, and was thankful she was there.

They decamped at dawn, and set off in a north easterly direction. The sky was blue and bright and the going was easier than the day before. They made three miles in just a couple of hours, and then Device abruptly brought them to a halt, and announced, " I think we’re here! "

Dave stared blankly at the bare, white wilderness surrounding them, " Eh? " he said.

" We appear to be in the middle of nowhere, Device! " Linda chipped in sarcastically.

" There’s a food hole door, " said Device, pointing ahead, " Just over there. See it? "

Dave squinted, but he could not see what Device was trying to show him. He shook his head, " Are you sure? " he said.

" Of course I’m sure! " said Device indignantly, " Come on, we’ll go over. " He led Dave and Linda fifty metres to a small, inconspicuous mound of snow, " Get us a spade! " he demanded, kicking at the ice.

Dave picked a spade off the sled and handed it to him. Device began to dig aggressively into the mound. Linda watched and tutted, " So is this it then, Device? Your big expedition to absolutely nowhere? " she said with a frown, " This lump in the ground is where you think Simon’s kidnappers are hiding from us, is it? " .

" Yes, " Device replied.

" What? " said Dave, not allowing himself to get too excited, " So you’re saying Simon’s down there? "

Device speedily demolished the mound and revealed underneath it a square sheet of badly corroded, corrugated iron, " I think it could lead to him, " he answered.

" But this hole is obviously abandoned, " said Linda, " Simon’s clearly not going to be in there! Don’t get Dave’s hopes up with this nonsense! "

Device ignored her, " Give us a hand with this, Dave, " he said. Dave was doubtful but he bent down and helped Device lever up the iron cover, exposing a deep, narrow burrow.

Linda got closer and peered down the vent, " It looks terribly dangerous, " she said. " It’s not a main entrance. But it looks wide enough for us to drop in, " said Device, " I bet it’s part of a network. "

" It’s a death trap! " Linda insisted, " No one could possibly go down it! "

Device disagreed, " One of us should drop down and check it out, " he said.

" You must be joking! " exclaimed Linda, " You can see it’s not been used in years, there’s absolutely nothing down there and you’re not getting me dropping down it! "

" I’ll drop down, " said Dave.

" Are you sure? " Device asked, " It’s not an easy one. "

" I’ll be fine, I’d rather go in than stay out here. "

" Don’t be stupid, Dave! " pleaded Linda, " You don’t know what’s down there! It could be extremely dangerous! It’s not worth it! "

" But it’s my son we’re looking for, so it’s up to me to take the risk, " said Dave.

" I like your style! " said Device, " Linda, go get some rope! "

" Dave, please, please don’t go down there! " begged Linda.

Dave winked at her, " I’ll be ok. I’ll shout if I get in trouble. "

" Get the rope, Linda! " repeated Device.

" Not on your life! " replied Linda stubbornly.

So Device got some rope himself from the back of the sled and tied one end around Dave’s waist. The other end he secured to the sled, " It should hold you, " he said, " The sled’s bigger than the hole, so it can’t fall down on you. Take it nice ‘n easy. "

" Dave, don’t be an idiot! " implored Linda.

Dave tested his weight on the rope and then positioned himself over the hole, " I’m dropping in, " he said. Slowly, he lowered himself down, pressing the grip on the bottom of his boots firmly against the slippery sides of the steeply sloping shaft. Dave guessed the hole was about twenty metres deep, and he bumped his way down to the bottom. He removed his sunglasses, though it was still quite light underground. Nervously, he looked around this icy, white, unearthly pit into which he had descended, " It’s tiny! " he called, " I think this one must’ve been dug out by midgets! " He took a few cautious steps forward and noticed a couple of dented tins of beans half buried in the floor, " I think Linda was right. This place was abandoned a long time ago. " He trod forwards a bit more, " There’s an opening in the wall on my right . It looks like it leads to another room. I’m going to take a look at it. "

" Do you want me to come down? " shouted Device.

" No, it’s ok, " said Dave, bending down to look through the opening, which was like a large mouse hole. Red bricks, covered in twisted lichens, were exposed on the walls of a tunnel inside. " It’s like a little tube, " commented Dave, " About five or six metres long. It’s pretty dim, but I can see to the other side. How much slack have I left on the rope? "

" Quite a bit, " answered Device.

" Right, I’m going through it, " Dave announced. He crawled along the tunnel until he reached the similar sized hole at the other end, and cautiously he poked his head through. He was peering into a much larger, darker room, rectangular in shape. The first thing he noticed was that this room was slightly warmer. There was an unpleasant smack of mouldering, stale air and the sporadic plop of dripping water. Then he saw an fantastic forest of huge icicles hanging from the frosted ceiling, some almost fingering the ground, many of them covered in some sort of black, lumpy coating, and necklaced with distorted, petrified cobwebs. Dave next looked down and saw bits of broken wooden furniture scattered all over the frozen floor, almost as if there had once been some big fight here. He decided it was safe to take a closer look.

" Dave? " echoed Linda’s voice like a ghost.

" I’m ok! But it’s pretty weird in here! " Dave replied as he clambered on his hands and knees out of the tunnel and into the room. The ice blanketing the floor was softer and wetter than he was expecting, and in his surprise he slipped and plunged into it face first, feeling something crack under his nose. He thought for a second that he had landed on a box of eggs, but when he lifted up his head, he saw four stiff, purple, swollen, oozing, broken fingers sticking out through the snow. Dave eyes detonated with shock, " Oh Jesus! " he blurted.

" What’s happening? " shouted Device.

" There’s a dead body buried down here! " cried Dave, scrambling to his feet.

" Get out of there now! " yelled Linda.

Dave could not stop himself from throwing up there and then. It was the smell that got to him as much as the sight. As he stood doubled up, he watched in horror and revulsion as a mass of maggots poked out from under the dead fingers and wriggled hungrily straight towards his vomit. Dave straightened up and was about to flee back through the tunnel when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed some movement around the icicles. He turned to look more carefully and saw a curious, swirling, black cloud moving steadily towards him. He could not quite make out what it was at first, and then he saw the fuzzy beating of a million veiny wings, " Flies! " he muttered, " The place is full of bloody flies! "

" What did you say? " shouted Device.

Dave opened his mouth to answer, but before he could speak he felt a sharp prick, like the jab of a pin, above his top lip, and he slapped his face and cried out loud in pain. One of the flies had bitten him! There was soon a battalion of flies hovering round his head, and the remaining multitudinous cloud of them was only a few feet away.

" Dave! " screamed Linda, " I’m coming down! "

" No! " Dave shouted, " I need to get out of here fast! I’m getting stung by flies! "

" Brace yourself! " called Device, " We’ll pull you out of there! "

Dave felt the rope tighten around his waist and he bent down and got into the tunnel. The flies swarmed around him like hailstones, getting into his hair, eyes, ears and mouth. He started coughing and spitting, " Get me out of here! " he screamed frantically.

There was an almighty wrench of the rope and Dave whizzed through the tunnel like a train and landed with a thump on the floor on the other side. He tried to climb to his feet but was again dragged along like a doll, feeling every bump. With a bruising jolt, he was hauled upwards, being bounced dizzily against the sides of the entrance shaft until he felt Linda’s and Device’s hands grab his arms and pluck him clear of the hole. The next thing he knew was that he had been flung face down in the snow, and was being frenziedly beaten by a spade.

" Don’t move! " shrieked Linda.

" It’s all right! " said Device, grabbing the spade off Linda, " The flies haven’t followed him out of the food hole. "

Dave sat up, " My face! " he groaned, cupping it in his hands. His skin felt hot and sensitive. He wiped away some runny, black specks from under his eyes, " It feels ten times its normal size! "

Linda got on her knees and hugged him, " Thank God you’re safe! " she said.

" How’s my face look? " said Dave.

" It’s a bit swollen, love, " said Linda, kissing him carefully on the cheek, " But you’re still a dish! What the hell happened down there? "

Dave took his sunglasses from his coat pocket and delicately put them on, " They just came out of nowhere! " he said, " They looked like midges of some sort, but bigger! They just went for me! I’ve never seen anything like it before! "

Linda scowled at Device, " I told you we should have left that place alone! " she said.

" Well you won’t get me down there again in a hurry! " said Dave.

Device spat on the ground and helped Dave to his feet, " Let’s go, " he said, " We’re being watched. "

" Dave’s just had a terrible experience! He needs to rest! " insisted Linda.

" There’s no time! " answered Device with urgency.

" I’ll be ok, " said Dave, feeling like he might be sick again at any moment, " Let’s get the sled together and get out of here. "

Device’s face was grim, " I think we’re too late, " he said, pointing southward.