The Demon Conspiracy (11 page)

Several turns and rises later we heard the
trickling of water. Then Travis’ headlamp went out. When he smacked
the hardhat it came back on, but kept flickering and got very
dim.

Originally, we had crawled through the
stream because it was the only way to get past the rock arch. But
the earthquake had caused the arch to collapse. Now all we had to
do was climb over a short wall instead. It was way better than
getting wet again.

“That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” said
Travis.

In another tunnel we came to a familiar
sharp turn. Travis knew exactly where we were. “We’ll be out in
twenty minutes!” He’d barely said the words when his headlamp went
out again. This time it stayed out.

“We can still make it,” he said, inching
forward. “I remember the way.” Travis crept along very slowly.
Sure, he knew the way, but at this pace, we’d never get a rescue
team in time.

“Wait!” I said. “We’ve got matches and
candles!” I threw off my backpack and fumbled around in the dark. I
opened a plastic bag and groped about inside it. Then I lit a
match. The tiny light flared up and seemed to illuminate that whole
part of the cave. I lit two candles and gave one to Travis. There’s
a lot of beauty in the world, but I can say without a doubt that
nothing is quite as gorgeous as a candle’s glow when you’ve been
standing in a dark cave for several long minutes.

“Mr. Edwards had us prepared, even if we
didn’t know it,” I said. “I never thought a candle could be so
bright.”

“Yeah,” said Travis. “It’s kinda hard to
see, though, light’s in my eyes.” We experimented, trying to find
the best way to hold a candle and walk.

“Hold it high. That works.”

We traveled the next ten minutes in silence.
Since Travis knew the way out, our biggest concern seemed to be
keeping the melting wax out of our face. Some of it ran over our
bare hands. It burned a little, but it wasn’t that bad. As we
rounded a long turn, a strong breeze blew past us. The candles
fluttered and went out. Once again we were in total darkness.

“Hold on,” I said, reaching into my pocket.
I lit another match. I was about to re-light my candle, when I
looked up. Just then something moved behind Travis. A large, cold
hand clamped over his mouth. Another breeze blew out the match. We
were caught in the dark.

8

CAPTURE

JON

Jon heard the flapping and looked up just as
the flying demon entered the tunnel. The other demon dropped from
the ceiling and glided off in a wide arc around the cavern,
scanning the area for more humans. Jon crawled over to Chris.

Chris had seen them, too. His eyes were wide
with fear. “You guys weren’t kidding about monsters! One of them
went after the kids! What can we do?”

Chris had always seemed a little high-strung
and there was no need to upset him. Jon kept calm, but he never
took his gaze off the ledge above them. “The wings on that thing
are huge. It can’t go far into the tunnel. As long as Kelly and
Trav see it in time, they’ll get away.”

“But it knows they’re there! It’ll call the
others.”

“They’re all in the bottom of the cavern.
Without some serious shortcuts, they’ll never catch up to
them.”

Even as Jon spoke, dust and rock chips
rained over them. They covered their heads and looked up. The
winged demon was perched at the edge of the tunnel, searching the
cavern.

Jon whispered, “Don’t move.” He gripped the
hilts of his knives, but left them in the sheaths under his
shirt.

The demon jumped. It dove straight at them.
Then it glided away, following the same flight path the other one
had taken. Jon and Chris both let out a sigh of relief.

“Do you think it saw them?” said Chris.

“It was empty-handed. I’m
hoping it didn’t see
us
.”

They sat silently for a while, listening for
more demons flying about. The area appeared clear. Chris spoke.

“I’m not trying to replace your father, you
know. Even if you let me, I wouldn’t allow it. Nothing is more
special than your parents and you need to remember them your whole
life.”

Jon was embarrassed. He liked Chris. He
didn’t want to hurt him. “Sorry. I keep forgetting Trav hardly knew
our parents. He hasn’t got all the memories I do, no matter how
many stories I tell him. I overreacted. It’s not personal.”

“I don’t have a problem with that,” said
Chris. “I just want us to be friends.”

“Friends? Let’s get
something straight, Chris. You and Angie are the best thing that’s
happened to us since mom and dad died. I don’t
ever
want to lose it. Kelly and Trav
feel even stronger. We’re way more than friends.”

Chris’ eyes got a little bleary. “Thank you.
I hope we can make it work.”

“We already have.”

Chris grabbed Jon by the scar on his
forearm. “Jon, I really want you to go before it’s too late. Don’t
worry about me. Just please tell Angie I love her.”

Jon chuckled. “I’m not going anywhere unless
it’s to get you up that wall.”

“No, Jon, listen to me. Kelly and Travis
need you. It’s crazy for you to stay here with me. If those things
come back….”

“If those things come back we’ll kick their
butts right off the ledge.”

Chris looked incredibly relieved. “I’m glad
you’re here.” He glanced up. “Anton!” Jon turned. Sure enough,
Anton was up there looking down at them. He waved.

“You got away!” said Jon in a whisper.
“Yes!”

“I got rescue equipment!” said Anton in a
harsh whisper. “But I can’t bring it in by myself. Can you
help?”

Jon looked to Chris for the answer. Chris
nodded fervently.

“Yes! Yes! Go, Jon! I’ll be fine.”

Jon’s gaze went back to Anton. “I wonder how
he got away?” He shook it off. “We’ll be right back. Do you want
one of my knives?”

Chris shook his head. “I’d probably cut off
my own arm. Go!”

Jon climbed the rope in a hurry. He met
Anton at the top of the cliff and shook hands vigorously. “It’s
great to see you!” he said. “We thought those things were gonna
kill you!”

“So did I when they started arguing about
who would eat my legs. A couple of them got into a fight, so I ran
and they never even noticed. Come on, it’s this way. We need to
hurry. I have much work to do. I must work hard and fast.”

“We’ll both work. Lead the way!”

Anton led them past a bend in the tunnel.
Jon spotted one of the chalk marks near the floor. He caught Anton
by the arm.

“Isn’t that the way out?” He pointed in the
other direction.

“I know a shortcut,” said Anton.

“Oh, yeah, you said that on the way in. Go
ahead.”

Anton led them downward on a slick,
irregular path. He glanced over his shoulder and nodded confidently
at Jon.

“This way is much shorter,” he said. “Much
shorter. It will take us right where we want to go.”

CHRIS

Chris lay on the broken
ledge and tried to ignore the throbbing in his leg and head. He had
far more pressing issues to worry about than a little pain. Okay,
it was a
lot
of
pain. But his greatest problem, as he saw it, was staying out of
sight until Jon and Anton got back. If those flying demons found
him first…well, there wouldn’t be enough of him left to put on a
stretcher. He got an idea.

Wincing in agony, he dragged himself close
to the cave wall. Along the way he gathered all the loose rocks he
could carry or push ahead of him. Then he piled the rocks in a line
beside him from his head to his feet. When he was done, he nestled
in between the line of rocks and the wall. There, now he was
hidden, except from above. He nodded approvingly and checked his
watch.

“Ten after ten,” he muttered to himself.

Chris tried to feel brave, but it didn’t
seem to be working. He was sweating more than usual and his hands
shook. His breathing was labored and he kept thinking he heard
scratching sounds from below the ledge. He sat up fearfully and
looked around. Either the noises stopped or his imagination was
working overtime.

This was ridiculous. Nobody could climb up
that way.

He thought about nine-year-old Travis
putting the splint on his leg. It’s a good thing he’d been
unconscious. He probably would have screamed like a baby. Those
kids were really amazing. Each one had some incredible talent, or
skill. They were great kids and after only a few weeks his love for
them had grown. And that’s what it was, he suddenly realized. Love.
He’d hardly known them for any time at all. He hoped they got out
okay.

He thought about Angie and became sad. He
realized he might never see her again. “I love you, Angie,” he
muttered softly. “Whatever happens to me, I’ll always love
you.”

He gazed up the steep wall beside him. How
in the world were they going to get him up there? Were they going
to carry him all the way out of the cave? That would be so hard. He
felt guilty just thinking about it.

If he ever got out of this place he’d have
quite a story to tell in school. But who’d believe all the demon
stuff? Then he remembered. The kids videotaped it. He nodded,
satisfied. Somebody might believe him after all. And that videotape
could be worth plenty of money! Maybe it could pay for Jon’s
college tuition in a few years.

A tall shadow rose on the wall beside him.
At first Chris thought it might be Jon, but the shadow wasn’t being
cast from above. It came from behind him on the ledge. His heart
nearly stopped beating. Another shadow appeared. And another.
Chris’ blood ran cold in his veins. He swallowed hard. How could
anyone—or anything—climb up that way? Please be Jon or Anton! He
turned slowly.

Through a tiny gap between some of the rocks
in his hiding place, he saw three horrid looking demons standing a
few feet away. They stared up the cliff with more hate than he
could imagine in his worst nightmare. A gold demon with seven eyes
let out a low, sinister chuckle.

“They went that way,” it said, blinking all
of its eyes. “The Boss says we need twelve more. At this rate we’ll
meet our quota by the end of the week!”

Six more demons reached the ledge, but none
of them saw Chris. They climbed up the wall toward the tunnel.
Chris watched them, amazed. They were as skilled and nimble as
houseflies. Then he realized where they were going. His mouth
became dry, like sandpaper. The demons were going after Kelly and
Travis.

No! The kids had to be kept safe, no matter
what happened to him. At that moment Chris did the bravest thing
he’d ever done in his life. Though Kelly and Travis were most
likely too far away to hear, he yelled as loud as he could.

“RUN, KELLY! RUN, TRAVIS! DON’T COME BACK!
RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!”

The demons jumped back and gawked at him.
They couldn’t believe a human had been right in their grasp and
they hadn’t even noticed him. The Gold demon dropped down from the
wall. It clamped a slimy hand over Chris’ mouth. Chris struggled
against the powerful grip. A shorter Green Demon came up and
cracked him over the head with a long club. For Chris, it was
lights out.

9

BATTLE TO THE
DEATH

JON

Anton led the way on a narrow path that
spiraled downward along the cavern wall. Jon followed, but he kept
a wary eye on the floor below. Each step took them closer to the
stage area where the demons had met. If any demons were in the
area, he didn’t see them, but an uneasy feeling in his gut told him
they were still around. So where was Anton’s shortcut to the
outside? Where was his rescue equipment?

Jon periodically glanced up at the ledge to
check on Chris. But this far down he couldn’t see much. Anton
picked up the pace, practically jogging down the path. Jon
reluctantly stayed with him, step for step. Every so often he
touched one of the knives under his shirt for reassurance.

“RUN, KELLY! RUN, TRAVIS! DON’T COME BACK!
RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!”

The words echoed through the cavern loud
enough for every demon in town to hear. Jon stopped in his tracks.
He looked up at the ledge again.

Anton turned, his eyes gleaming. “What’s
wrong?”

“Chris is in trouble!” Jon started running
back up the path.

“I heard. There’s nothing you can do. Not a
thing.”

Something about the tone
in Anton’s voice made Jon hesitate. He stopped running. That didn’t
sound like the Anton Edwards he’d known
before
the quake.

Anton gestured for him to follow. “It’ll be
easier if you come voluntarily.”

“
What’ll
be easier?”

Anton smiled. “Your execution, of
course.”

Jon’s eyes narrowed. “Forget that.” He
sprinted up the path. Suddenly, the dark places in front of him
came to life. Four large demons stepped out of shadows that had
clearly been too small to conceal them. Each demon was a different
color and type. But they all had something in common—long claws and
sharp teeth!

Jon slid to a halt. He looked back. Four
more demons appeared behind him. It was a trap. Had Anton been
compromised? No, it must have been something else.

Jon turned. “You’re not Mr. Edwards.”

Anton grinned. “It doesn’t really matter
now, does it?” He started laughing.

Jon remained unruffled.
The look in his eyes was cold and deadly. “
Nothing
matters now.”