Creeping Shadow (The Rise of Isaac, Book One) (25 page)

23

Silence is Key

T
hey got to their feet and panted for a moment before exiting through the door at the back of the room. They emerged in a corridor and teams of people rushed past them.

"How much time have we got left?" Oliver asked, too exhausted to look at his own watch.

"Just over an hour," Anna said, glancing at her own.

"Not bad. Let's get moving," Rogan said and jogged down the passage after the other teams.

The floor climbed up at an angle, becoming steeper and steeper. The ceiling got increasingly closer to the ground until Rogan, Oliver and Quinn had to duck as they slowed to a walk.

"You're lucky you're so short," Quinn said, looking at Anna and May, her neck craned to the side.

Oliver and Rogan were bent over even more awkwardly than she was and a shooting pain had started running up and down Oliver's spine.

Anna and May grinned at each other.

The corridor ended in a spiral staircase carved from the stone of the cave. They emerged out on a cliff ledge ending in a sheer drop that overlooked a valley filled with trees. Oliver poked his head out to see people shuffling along a tiny ledge towards an entrance back into the caves.

"Great. Come on. Let's get it over with." Quinn took the lead, pressing her back against the cliff and shuffling to the right.

Oliver was surprised by how high they had climbed as he looked out over the valley below. The Ninagoon team appeared behind them and one of the girls screamed in panic as she realised what they had to do. Oliver's hands shook but he clenched them and forced himself out onto the ledge after May, at the back of the line.

The ledge was so thin that the tips of his toes hung over it. He pressed his palms harder to the smooth, cold stone behind him and continued moving. He kept his eyes on the back of May's head as he progressed, focusing on her golden hair and nothing else. A cold wind swept around them and Oliver tried to ignore the way it seemed to tug at his body.

When he reached the end he let out a breath that he hadn't realised he'd been holding and headed back inside a cave.

They were in another corridor full of doors, more spread out than in the last one. Quinn found a vacant room that they followed her into, emerging in a cavern that was incredibly dark.

A glowing plaque on the wall read
Silence is Key
. The light from it just about illuminated the other's faces. Rogan pressed a finger to his lips and the rest of them nodded in understanding.

Oliver looked out into the gloom. They walked across the room slowly but, when they reached the other side, they couldn't find an exit. They split into two groups and walked around the cavern, one to the left and the other to the right, meeting back where they had started near the glowing plaque.

"Anything?" Anna whispered.

"Nothing," Rogan said quietly and looked at his watch which glowed in the dark. "We've wasted ten minutes in here already."

"Why do we have to be quiet? There's nothing in here," May whispered.

"It's probably best if we don't find out," Oliver said, and leant back against the wall.

Dong
.

His head had hit something metal and the sound reverberated throughout the room. A rustling and squawking could be heard from somewhere high up above their heads.

"What was that?" Quinn hissed in a panic.

They all looked up into the gloom but it was impossible to see anything. Oliver turned and felt the thing he had hit his head on. He could just make out a metal step, then another, and another, raising high up towards the ceiling.

"There's a ladder here," Oliver whispered. "I think we have to go up it."

"After you," Quinn dared him.

Oliver gripped the ladder and stepped up.

Dong.
His boot on the metal made too much noise. He stepped back off it, hearing the rustling coming from the ceiling again. The noise made his skin prickle uncomfortably.

"Shh,"
Anna said.

"We have to take our boots off. They make too much noise," Oliver whispered.

He could just distinguish the others removing their boots as he took off his own.

"Put them in your packs," Rogan whispered.

"Good idea," Anna said as they tucked their shoes away and returned the bags to their backs.

Oliver stepped up on to the ladder again, his socks making for a silent ascent. He could feel, more than hear, the presence of the others following him up the ladder. It seemed to go on forever and his arms were beginning to ache.

He looked down to try and see how far they had climbed and saw the tiny glow of the plaque far below them. His stomach flipped but he kept climbing and, finally, pulled himself up onto a metal platform.

He helped the others up next to him as they appeared then turned around and felt a rush of excitement. An exit on the far side of the room was illuminated by a faint, glowing rim. The glow from the door threw just enough light into the room to see what they had to traverse to reach it.

The platform they were on was supported by thick cables that attached it to the roof. About ten feet across from the first platform was another and then another further on from that. The gaps between them each had its own obstacle that would allow them to cross.

A swing hung in the middle of the first and second platforms, wide enough for one person to stand on. The light slightly illuminated the cavern ceiling and Oliver squinted up at it. It appeared to be moving.

"Those are wolverbats," Anna whispered to them frantically as they gathered closer together. She pointed up at the ceiling.

Oliver spied the whites of Rogan and Quinn's eyes as they gazed upwards then clapped their hands over their mouths, looking fearful.

"What are they?" Oliver whispered as quietly as he could.

"They hunt by sound. If they hear us they'll rip us to shreds," Anna whispered in a panic.

Oliver looked at May, wide-eyed. He nodded, not wanting to make any more noise than he had to. He pointed to the swing and tiptoed over to it, cringing at every slight noise he and the others made.

It hung, just out of reach, over the chasm. Oliver knelt on the edge and leant out as far as he could. His fingertips brushed the wood but he couldn't grasp it. He gestured for Rogan to come over, considering he had the longest arms of the group.

Rogan knelt down next to him and leant forward. He pushed the swing with his fingertips so it swung away and then swung back towards him. He grabbed it and pulled it over to the platform.

Rogan stood up and pointed at himself and then the swing. Oliver understood and gripped the bottom of the wood so Rogan could step onto it. Rogan gave Oliver a thumbs up and he pushed him out into the abyss.

He wondered how on earth Rogan would dismount the swing without making any noise but apparently he managed it because the swing came hurtling back towards him a moment later. He grabbed it and peered out towards the platform where he could just make out Rogan's figure.

They crossed, one by one, until just Oliver and May were left. Oliver helped May up onto it and she gripped the rope tightly. "I'm scared," she whispered.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," he whispered back, squeezing her arm.

She nodded and shut her eyes as he pushed her out across the gap. He clenched his fists anxiously as she went. She let out a small squeak and Oliver threw his head back to look up at the bats. Their faces were obscured as they slept in groups, huddled under each other's wings. They shuffled about at the noise, becoming more restless, but they didn't wake.

Oliver almost missed the swing as it flew up at his face. He grabbed it then struggled to stand on the wood without the help of someone holding it steady.

He shuffled towards the edge, held the rope tightly, and swung himself as hard as he could, bending his legs to propel himself further. He almost cried out as he sailed through the air but clamped his mouth shut. It might have been fun if he hadn't been swinging beneath a swarm of flesh-eating bats.

Rogan's outstretched arms came into view and they clasped hands. Rogan held onto him tightly and Anna gripped the bottom of the swing so Oliver could step down quietly. Anna gently dropped the swing back over the edge so it moved silently back into the gap.

"What's next?" Oliver whispered.

"A bridge," Rogan whispered back, looking grim.

"I'm guessing there's more to it than that?" Oliver said.

"Take a look," he moved aside and Oliver tiptoed towards the edge.

There were six stepping stones held in place by criss-crossing cables with about a metre's gap separating each one. They formed a bridge between their platform and the next but, Oliver realised with a jolt, there was nothing to hold on to.

"After you," Anna whispered in his ear and he could sense the smile in her voice.

Oliver took a deep breath then stepped off the ledge, reaching with his leg until he found his footing and hopped out onto the first stepping stone. The wires trembled with his weight so that the whole bridge wobbled and creaked.

He crouched down and gripped the sides of the panel until the shaking stopped, feeling sweat gather in his palms. He slowly stood back up, his legs quivering with the tension in his muscles. He gazed across the gap to the next stepping stone, judging the distance.

He sucked in another breath as he moved onto it, repeating the crouch, then returning to his feet.

Every time the bridge shook a sickening, fluttering sensation arose in his chest.

He repeated the steps four more times until he reached the end and waited for the others to cross behind him with a slow exhale of breath.

A short set of monkey bars connected the platform they were on with the last. A small, metal ladder led up to the bars which ran along just a foot beneath the ceiling where the creatures were sleeping. Oliver cursed internally.

"Oh Vale," he heard Anna whisper nearby as she noticed the bars.

"May, are you gonna be okay?" Oliver whispered to her with a pang of concern.

"If you can do it, I can," she nudged him and he relaxed marginally.

"I'll go first if you like?" Quinn said quietly.

Oliver was surprised by her willingness but said nothing to contradict it.

"Go for it," Rogan whispered.

She climbed the ladder like a pro and swung out over the bars. She crossed them in a few seconds. Oliver gaped at her as she landed softly on the other side like a gymnast then moved towards the exit.

Rogan shook his head. "Show off. You alright to go, Anna?" he asked in a whisper.

She nodded and took her time getting up to the bars. She hesitated for a second before swinging out onto them then worked her way across as fast as she could, dropping to the platform on the other side on her tiptoes. Oliver realised he had been holding his breath as he watched her go and released it.

"You go. Then I'll follow May," Oliver whispered to Rogan.

Rogan nodded and swung over the bars two at a time, like an expert. He stayed on the ladder on the other side, ready to help if May needed it. She shook her head at the boys and climbed up the ladder.

Oliver followed and swung out onto the first bar behind her. His shoulders yanked as he swung from one bar to the next. May was moving slowly but he had a good enough grip that it didn't matter.

An overwhelming urge to look down came upon him so he forced his head upwards instead and came face to face with the most frightening animal he had ever seen. Its extremely long snout ended in a large, piggy nose. Running down its snout were long, serrated teeth jutting out in all directions.

His hands became slippery as they began to sweat. In a heart-stopping moment, he lost his grip on the bar with one hand.

He frantically grabbed for the one ahead but misjudged it and his watch slammed against the metal, making a loud
CLANG
which echoed around the room.

The bat's eyes flickered open at the sound and the other wolverbats around it uncurled their necks so that a hundred red eyes were staring at him.

His breath came in strained pants as his free hand clamped down on the bar at last.

"Go, May," he hissed.

She swung as fast she could towards Rogan who was leaning out to pull her in. A few of the bats took flight with a
whoosh
of wings as they soared under the bars. They snapped at Oliver's ankles and he kicked out at them, his grip loosening once more.

The screeching of the animals and the fluttering of a thousand wings filled the air as the rest of the creatures took flight. The noise was deafening. Oliver swung out again and finally reached the ladder.

He jumped onto the platform with a
clunk
as his feet hit the metal and a bat collided with his arm, taking a chunk of skin with it. He shouted out in pain and more bats swarmed towards him, attracted by the noise.

Quinn held the door open as Anna and May ducked under her arm. Oliver was almost to the exit when Quinn started running towards him.