Dwellers of the New World Chapter Fourteen ( Pt 5 ) Working Together

Varden was absorbed in his thoughts, of how far he'd come and also how much he'd grown up in such a short space of time. As the little party continued further and further down the sloping tunnel, he couldn't describe how he felt at that moment, it was a mixture of elation – fear and excitement with a tinge of apprehension as to whether it was really Dawson down in the catacombs.

All was quiet but for the sound of the Glubles that crawled the walls of the passageway's leaving a sticky white trail behind them, they weren't dangerous to the living, but preferred the darkness, surviving off other insects or even eating there own kind. They looked like a cross between a slug and a spider, their many suction legs clinging to the walls as they moved. Varden remembered how as children, they would have competitions to see who could catch the most, then they would have very slow races with the creatures, seeing who's was the fastest.

The sound of the wind whistling down the passageways was no longer audible as they advanced cautiously into the darkness, they were also unsure if any guards might still be loitering, knowing their torches could give them away at any time.

Getting closer to their destination, they each heard the sound of moaning as the smell became even more unbearable. Varden was unsure how any living person could survive the stench. “How this place has changed,” he uttered to the others. “I don't remember it being this bad, but cannot believe I actually played down here.”

They finally reached some wooden crates and called out. “Is anybody alive down here?” The moans came again, this time much stronger. Quickly they moved towards the sound, until they came to a deep pit.

“This is the place!” Whispered Kalina, as she moved closer with Varden creeping along behind her. The woman shone the torch down into the pit as the boy approached and stared down, his eyes straining to see who was there. A figure sat hunched against the far wall, his face concealed by a beard and long dark hair. He wore rags that seemed to be falling to pieces.

Varden called out, “Is that you Dawson?”

The prisoner raised his head seeing the torchlight, he spoke in a garbled voice that was barely audible. “Who...who's there?” His stony expression concealed, showing a mixture of fear and anger at his imprisonment.

The boy spoke in a calm voice, not wishing to alarm the man. “It's Varden...do you remember me?”

The man in the pit suddenly straightened up coming to his senses, remembering when his world collided with the child. “Is...is that really you boy?” It seemed very strange to hear Varden's voice after so long.

The boy's expression turned to a smile, at the realisation that it was Dawson and that he was still alive, it set his heart pounding as he responded. “Of course it's Varden. Did you think I wouldn't come for you?”

“Oh! My Saviour, you don't know how good it is to hear your voice again.” He struggled to come to standing and struggled to walk over to the pit wall, gazing up and embracing the sight that beheld him.

“We need to get you out of this pit before the guards come back.” Varden glanced about for some supplies, or any other item that could be used to save Dawson.

“Over here!” Announced Tariq seizing some rope from a wooden box. There was a moment of silence as the group decided on the strength of the rope and if it would reach down into the pit.

“I thought I was going to die here.” Dawson declared shakily. “I've only got two pills left. The guards took my bag, but I managed to retrieve the tablets and hid them in my boot.” Dawson had no idea how long he'd been down there, his energy drained as he fell to his knees, unable to stand properly.

Tariq threw one end of the rope down into the pit, but it didn't quite reach Dawson. “Quick...look for some more rope,” he declared, “we don't have much time.”

Ben and Varden searched around, opening box after box but only finding dead bodies. Then Kalina placed the torch down between two rocks, she had noticed some strong ships hawser rope, just what they needed. “Over here Tariq.”

Ben, Tariq and Varden came over to investigate. “The rope's strong enough...but it's going to be very heavy, I don't know if we can carry it, leave alone pull Dawson out, but we can only try.” Remarked Tariq.

With determination and using all their strength, they managed to drag the rope of to the edge of the pit. Dawson was eager to be of assistance as he got to his feet once again, but collapsed in a heap and passed out. There was nothing else for it but for Varden to climb down, as they carefully lowered the rope in. Because the boy was so light and agile, he had no problem clambering down the rope.

Reaching the bottom, he approached the body of his friend, his face still concealed beneath the long hair and beard Dawson looked unrecognisable. “Wake up! Wake up,” whispered Varden into the man's ear.”

Dawson's head moved slightly as his eyes opened and concentrated on Varden, he was aware of the sheer determination in the boy's eyes and slowly raised himself up grabbing at the boy's arms.

Varden paused, not quite sure of what to do next, but knew he would have to ask the question. Pointing he enquired. “Do you think you can climb that rope?”

His body battered and worn down, Dawson knew he would need all his strength and owed it to Varden to at least give it a try. “Help me to my feet boy,” he insisted. With each hesitant step, Dawson made his way towards the hanging rope, an inner strength coming from somewhere deep inside.

Varden came to a halt in front of the man. Pointing up he declared. “See that rope hanging down?”

Dawson looked up his eyes focused on the dangling rope. “Yeah! I see it.”

“You need to climb up as far as you can, so I can tie the rope around your waist, then the others will pull you out, do you think you can do that?”

Dawson nodded, determination springing him into action, even though he was exhausted.

“We've got to go now!” Shouted Tariq from above.

Without waiting any longer, Dawson grabbed the rope and struggled to pull himself up, his arms weak, hands stiff, but the sacrifice Varden had made, spurred him on to keep going.

Pain shot through his gaunt body, his face screwed up wrinkling his forehead, scrutinizing each desperate move with loathing. The ringing in his ears reverberated louder than ever. He could feel the rhythm of his heartbeat becoming faster and thought at that moment he just might die. Then he looked up, the light of Kalina's torchlight shining down as he reached for the hanging rope.

Quickly Varden scrambled up, taking no time at all to reach the man he called his friend. Tying the rope around Dawson's waist, Varden called out, “Okay! You can pull him out now.”

The boy watched as the three figures proceeded to tug with all their might, heaving the clearly shaken Dawson up to safety. Kalina untied him, brushing the hair back from his bruised face. Tariq and Ben decided to use one of the coffins to carry him out, knowing he wasn't able to walk any further.

Varden then climbed out himself and soon they were ready to leave with Kalina leading. Winding their way along the passageway, they cautiously listened out for any sounds of people, they knew the guards could come back at any moment, but they heard nothing.

Resolute they approached the entrance to Grasshopper Valley where Kalina and Tariq lived. The Sun was now high, it was late morning and time was getting on, they needed to get Dawson settled in their lodge where they could look after him.

Kalina remembering the other two children, told the others to go on ahead, “I'll go back for Cinnamon and her friend, they're probably still waiting down at the jetty entrance.”

Varden had been so wrapped up in helping Dawson to escape that he'd completely forgotten about Cinnamon. Suddenly all he'd been through no longer mattered, holding Dawson's hand, a smile crossed the boy's face. He felt the strong grasp of a man who was glad to be alive.

Entering the lodge Cinnamon was surprised to see Varden smiling. As soon as she saw the coffin, Cinnamon thought that Dawson was dead. Rushing over quickly, she looked in shock disbelief. “No...no! He can't be dead...why are you grinning Varden? Please say it's not true.”

The boy walked over to Cinnamon and held her hand. “It's okay...he's just sleeping, we didn't want to move him till he woke up.”

Cinnamon clung to Varden smiling, then glanced at the coffin. “That's such a relief...but we still have so much to do.” She hesitated before speaking again. “There's still the matter of the children and getting back to the mainland.”

For now all they could do was wait for Dawson to wake. “Tomorrow is another day.” Whispered Varden into Cinnamon's ear. “There is much more adventure ahead.”

Hungry and thirsty, they ate and drank and talked of how far they'd come and their own personal experiences up until that moment.

Dwellers of the New World Chapter Fourteen ( Pt 6 ) Trust in the Light! | ABCtales