Beast Quest

Prologue

"I'm lost," thought Owen.

The tunnel ended in yet another dark cave. Panic rose in the boy's it mean throat as he tried to re-trace his steps. But he knew it was hopeless. Although he had left chalk markings on the rock walls, it was too dark to see them.

Only a while ago, Owen had been playing outside the caves on the north side of the village. Then he had heard noises coming from inside the caves. Scraping, scrabbling noises. People hardly ever entered the caves, as they were unsafe and stretched for miles underground. Rockfalls were common, too. But he couldn't just ignore whatever was in there.

"An animal must have wandered in walk and got lost," he'd told himself. "It won't take long to help the poor thing back out."

He had tried to follow the scrabbling sounds he had heard - and now he was hopelessly lost. He stood helpless in the cold blackness.

"Is anyone there?" he called. His voice echoed eerily back at him. Strange These caves took the slightest sound and twisted it, making it seem as though it came from one direction when it came from another.

He felt ahead and his fingers brushed against pitted rock - then nothing.