Perhaps sheltering in a cave the previous night hadn’t been the smartest move, not in a zone with an active volcano. As a scientist, Willaway at least should probably have known there might be earthquakes. He wasn’t a volcanologist though, and anyway, it had already been dark, they hadn’t wanted the volcano showering them with ash or worse while they slept, and the cave had offered convenient protection.

Waking to an earthquake had been less than fun; rocks crashing down around them from the roof of the cave had sent them scurrying for the opening, only to watch in horror as boulders piled up, blocking their way out. They were trapped, in a cave, and although the ground had stopped shaking by now, they couldn’t be sure that was the end of the earthquake. There might be aftershocks, or worse tremors… They needed to find a way out.

The worst part was realising that Varian wasn’t with them. Fred had done his best to reassure Scott, saying their friend must be outside, but if Varian had sensed the earthquake, why wouldn’t he have woken the rest of them and told then? And if he hadn’t, if he’d simply woken and gone outside to scout around… What if the rockfall had caught him?

There was nothing any of them could do for the moment; the important thing was to see if they could find some other way out. There was no shortage of tunnels; the problem was figuring out which ones would get them out and which would just lead them further under the mountain.

Gathering their gear, and Varian’s too, the band of travellers made their way through the dark tunnels by the light of their single lamp. Would this be where their journey home ended, buried beneath a mountain?


The End