In the Panther's Wake

Chapter 16

Garth storms off down the dark passage again, from where he brought us the goat leg. This time Markus and I follow, leaving our bags behind. We chase his laughter down the tunnel which opens up in a smaller cavern. The remainder of the goat whose leg we've just eaten is bleeding out on the ground in front of us. Further on there are two more goats, still alive and roaming in the caves.

"Are they his goats?" Markus asks.

"Maybe they just live here in the hills. That would explain the lions being here."

"How do you think they survived everything?"

Garth calls from down the tunnel, "They may look silly, like small horned horses, but they are strong, need little to live and they defy all forces! Ha!"

Markus and I are both stunned.

"How the hell did he hear us?"

Markus shrugs, "I have no idea but I'm not surprised. I think I've lost the ability to be surprised by anything."

We carry on down the passage, crumpled into darkness among the lowering and narrowing rock. We move slowly now, calling in the dark, "Garth? Where are you?"

I leap backwards and crash into Markus, stunned by Garth's face suddenly popping up out of the dark, inches from mine.

"We're here," he says.

His grin has returned, and he swiftly darts off round the corner. I run after him, Markus by my side, and we come to a tunnel that drops straight down. Garth is dancing, bouncing left and right, clapping with excitement.

He glares at us, the smile wiped clean off his face, "The way down does not always lead to hell and fire."

For a few seconds all three of us stand there, Markus and I gazing down into the hole in front of us, the only way onwards. Then Garth leaps, straight down into the dark. I grab Markus and stagger back, and the moment of total silence seems long. But then there's a splash, somewhere far below.

Markus and I glance at each other, then back down into the hole. Garth calls up, his voice far away, echoing off the stone, "Come young brothers, the pool is cool, and drink it we can, swim in it we may!"

I take one more look at Markus, shrug, then leap forward. He shouts after me but I'm already falling, screaming, feet first into the black. If we survive this, Markus will have a punch in the gut waiting for me; for being such a maverick, he'll say. But it's all this stuff with the panther; with Garth. I guess I feel kind of invincible, protected. There's magic in our lives right now.

After a few seconds a light appears below me, a turquoise blue glimmer that grows. A second later I hit the water.

It washes over my skin and coats my body. I feel it spread through my fingers and my hair, the dust, sand and lion filth washed away. I kick hard and burst onto the surface. I'm in another large cavern with a high ceiling, the opening I fell through is above me. Garth is floating on his back with his eyes closed, the water sparkling in the dim light, falling through tiny shafts in the cavern roof. The holes are small, the size of fists, but big enough so that light from above illuminates the entire cavern. There's a small beach by the pool with two tunnels leading away, one upwards and the other down into further darkness.

I try rolling onto my back by kicking my feet and splashing my hands. But I start to sink. I've never swam before. Desperately I push at the water with open palms but I barely move. I start to panic and swallow water, cough. I try to cry out for help but can only splutter as I begin to drop again, down into the deep.