Mystery Noir

Down Below Part 11

The sounds of the Caddaja multiplied as we moved down the tunnel, to the point that we paused, with Bonnie covering Penny's headlamp with her hand before murmuring almost inaudibly. "I don't know how you made it through that cavern during the day. They only leave it at night, when they can hunt in the dark outside. We have to wait."

Had the creatures been watching us? Or had they been distracted by something else? Bonnie and her daughter, something outside? If what the woman said was true, all those creatures making those noises should have been above and around us during our dark trek. It was nearly impossible to judge how many there were. The clicks and scuffling rock sounds echoed through the large underground cave and tunnels, distorting a good count.

"We can't. We wait, and we're here all night." Penny murmured back, shaking her head slowly. "Mo is bleeding."

"We can wait in the first cavern, the tunnels are too small for the Caddaja. I'll be fine." Mo responded, shaking her head. "We can wait till dark, then move there, then wait till morning."

"I've been trying to find that entrance again every night." Bonnie nodded, though I could enough of her expression to tell that she was bolstering herself for another night underground.

I turned and gave Mo a considering look, seeing the bandages already soaked with blood. "Penny, they can dig, can't they? And smell human blood like a shark."

"They're supposedly incredibly attracted to it. They obviously can't dig through stone, but the cave we're talking about, it had a dirt floor." Penny offered after a few moments of consideration, her eyes on Mo's bloody bandages as well.

"We didn't mark the tunnel when we left it." I whispered softly to her, ignoring the glares of the two other women. I turned my eyes to Carmen, though I was barely able to make out the small form in Bonnie's arms. I didn't know if the child could understand what we were saying, though she looked tired, almost numb.

And I could only imagine what Matt was thinking out there, waiting for us to return. Would he risk his life to wait for us? Would he force the issue with the others and risk their lives as well?

"I remember where it is." Penny offered, breaking my revere, her expression stubborn, as if she knew what I was getting at.

"Alright. Give me your phone." I pulled my phone out, knowing that it was wet and possibly irreparably damaged.

Luckily, Penny just handed her phone over and mutely took mine. Working in my favour to prevent an argument about what I was about to do, was the fact that we had to stay far too quiet for protracted conversation.

"Bonnie, is there another tunnel that you've found?" I asked softly, drawing the woman to look at me.

She stilled, her mouth forming a thin, hard line. She shook her head, glaring at me until she glanced at Mo and Carmen. It seemed everyone realized what I was about to propose. Silence stretched as we all glared at one another in the dark.

Then Bonnie nodded and motioned in the direction opposite of where they needed to go. "About fifty meters that way , but it's big enough for two to follow you at a time. It circles down, leads you through some sludge that smells absolutely awful, then back up and out, only about five hundred meters past that."

"Ok. If I can distract them, can you guys make the other tunnel?" I looked back and forth between them, before settling on Penny.

I had only been around her for a handful of days, but already I could tell that she was not happy. All she said was. "It's about a mile for us to run, there's a small fissure about half-way along."

"I can make a mile." Mo nodded, followed by an agreement from Bonnie.

"Ok. See you in the morning." I stood then and moved past their crouched forms. I walked calmly forward, dragging one hand on the wall without looking back.