The Land of Miu (3rd edition), Page 2

  Kate looked around the room. What was she going to do? How could she get Emma back to bed? Then she had an idea.

  “Why don’t you climb into my bed,” she announced. “We can pretend we’re having a slumber party. You will enjoy that.”

  The tears stopped. “What about the kitties?”

  “After breakfast I’ll help you find them,” said Kate. “We’ll bring them home and make sure they eat well, and then we’ll play with them so they know we still love them. How does that sound?”

  “Okay.”

  The girls climbed into bed, and Kate turned out the light. It was still warm between the sheets and her eyes began to close.

  Yowwwwl.

  A moment later there was another screech and something crashed to the ground.

  “Sophie!” Emma jumped out of the bed and ran to the window. “Sophie is out there, Kate. We have to help her. Please help her. That black cat must be Min. He’s going to get her.”

  Kate rushed to the window in time to see the black cat pounce on a small tabby kitten. It was Sophie. Jasper shot out from a hidden place, his claws slashing the air, a growl deep in his throat. The black cat released Sophie and rolled away. Jasper jumped at the other cat’s throat, but was swiped to one side with a clawed paw.

  Kate grabbed the window latch and threw the window open. Pressing her face to the flyscreen, she hissed. “Psss.”

  The cats rolled to their feet, their bellies close to the ground, neither’s eyes leaving the other.

  “Psss. Get out of here,” yelled Kate. “Psss.”

  The black cat looked from Sophie to Kate, and then scooted away, leaving the kittens cowering in the dimness.

  Emma left the window and ran to the bedroom door. “Come on, Kate. We have to let them in before that mean cat comes back.”

  Kate listened to her sister run down the hallway, and then turned to look out the open window. Sophie and Jasper stared at her. Sophie gave her a haunting look before she turned and ran away. Jasper followed.

  In the distance, Kate saw the first rays of the sun turning the horizon a brilliant shade of crimson. She closed the window and returned to bed.

  Within fifteen minutes, the sun would be up, but it was still early and Kate wanted to go back to sleep. The warmth of the sheets did nothing to help her relax. Her eyes refused to close.

  She turned her back to the window, and forced her eyes shut, but it didn’t make any difference. She kept hearing Emma’s frightened voice and seeing the kittens in a replay of the fight she had witnessed.

  Finally, she sat up and strained to hear what Emma was doing. Had she let the kittens in and returned to her bedroom? Was she sitting with them in the enclosed back veranda, where their beds were kept, giving them cuddles? Then other thoughts pushed the earlier ones out and Kate’s stomach did a somersault. What if the kittens didn’t come in? Would Emma wander off looking for them?

  “Oh, she’s such a pain,” said Kate. She threw the blankets off her and put on her slippers again. Grabbing the dressing gown from the end of the bed, she pulled it on and left the room.

  Emma’s bedroom door was wide open, but the room was empty. Kate walked past her mum’s room. The door was closed and it was quiet inside. Her mum and Joe would still be asleep. The lounge room was cold, and the kitchen had lots of shadowy nooks which made it spooky. Then she stepped out onto the enclosed veranda.

  It was empty. There was no Emma and no kittens, and the screen door swung back and forth in the early morning breeze.

  Kate groaned. Emma had left the house in order to find the kittens. Kate went cold, her stomach tightened, her palms went clammy.

  Standing on the top step, Kate peered out into the garden. “Emma?”

  Beyond the row of shrubs, a blinding blue light appeared in the shape of an upside down triangle.

  “What—”

  “Sophie, Jasper, come back.” It was Emma’s voice.

  “Emma!” Kate ran down the steps and along the garden path. She ran around the bushes that blocked the bench and the well from view of the house, and stopped in her tracks.

  The bright blue light came from the well. It shimmered, casting a blue haze over the entire area. The bench looked different, as did the trees and flowers, but it was the well that caught Kate’s attention. Gone was the small wooden well her mother had brought home from a market. In its place was a huge, brick well, covered in moss and ivy. A thick, coarse rope held a bucket high above the circular opening. White flowers cascaded from the wooden roof, yet the shimmering blue light streamed bright around the edge of the roof into the sky.

  Kate stood mesmerised for a second. Then she saw Emma.

  The little girl climbed over the side of the well.

  “Emma?” called Kate. “What are you doing? Get away from there!”

  Emma ignored her. She lowered herself into the well and disappeared.

  “Emma.” Kate ran across the grass, the early morning dew soaking into her slippers. “Emma!”

  The bright light receded, not reaching so high into the sky. Kate hesitated. The light became dimmer and dimmer, lower and lower.

  “Emma!” Kate screamed. Where was her mother? Where was Joe? She needed their help. She screamed again then ran the short distance and peered over the side of the well.

  A rope ladder dangled into the dimming light, but she could see nothing below.

  She looked up. The light no longer touched the wooden roof. It looked much smaller, the beautiful flowers gone.

  Kate climbed onto the brick wall and looked at the ladder. There was almost no blue in the light now. It reached only a foot above Kate’s head.

  Decision made, Kate lowered herself onto the rope ladder. Down a step, and then another step. The light quickly followed her. Down two more steps.

  The light snapped off.

  Kate held the rope tightly, fear washing over her entire body.

  It was completely dark.

  Chapter Three

  No light.

  Kate waited for her eyes to adjust, but nothing happened. She looked up, but the circular entrance had disappeared. The early morning light had gone. She held the rope ladder until her fingers tingled and her legs wobbled.

  “What’s going on?” She looked up again, then down into the darkness below. She climbed the ladder and reached up with an outstretched hand. Solid rock.

  Kate groaned. Down was her only option.

  Laughter.

  “Emma?”

  The laughter echoed off the walls, filtering up the well from far below, filling Kate with hope. Shaking, she gingerly lowered one foot until she felt support under her soft slipper. She lowered the other foot and moved down another rung. Moving slowly and carefully, she continued down, down, down.

  ***

  Unaware of the passing of time, not knowing how far she had gone, Kate’s focus remained on the rope. She tried to ignore her sore hands and aching feet. Emma managed to move down the ladder and so would she.

  How long had it been since she heard the laughter? There were no more sounds to guide her, to comfort her. Often Kate paused and looked up, but she couldn’t face the long climb back the way she had come. Besides, retracing her steps would only lead her back to a dead end. She needed to rest and, most of all, she needed to find Emma.

  Her concentration lapsed and she slipped.

  One hand left the rope, and her fingers scraped the stone wall. The unseen graze throbbed. Snatching her hand back, a light sticky substance covered her palm. Blood? No, it was something else. A cobweb. How big was the spider that made the web? Was it deadly? Kate pictured giant spiders as big as the tunnel she was in, with long hairy legs and a multitude of ugly black eyes. Her scream bounced off the walls and faded away. The rope shook violently.

  “Don’t be silly. They don’t exist. Stay calm.” Kate cursed her vivid imagination. She had to remain rational.

  “Kate?” called Emma from a distance. “Is that you?”

  Relieved, Kate
forced herself not to cry. She pushed the thought of man-eating spiders out of her mind. “Emma? I’m on the rope ladder. Stay where you are. I’m coming to get you.”

  No reply.

  With renewed energy, Kate continued her long descent, one rung at a time. Then, a dim light edged its way in. Her eyes finally picked out the shape of the rock walls and the ladder. Finally, her foot found solid ground. Terrified to let go of the life line to the world above, Kate held onto the rope firmly with one hand and turned around. Trembling, her legs weak, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw solid light in the distance.

  “Emma?”

  The light flickered as someone moved about, then another light bounced towards her, growing bigger and bigger by the second. With it came the echo of running feet, and finally Emma’s smiling face as she came to a stop in front of Kate. One hand held a flaming torch above her head.

  Horrified, Kate took the wooden torch from Emma’s grasp and looked at it for a second. “You could have burned yourself. Where’d you get this?”

  Emma pointed to the distant light. “Over there,” she said, her breathe came in short gasps. “You took forever coming down here. Sophie said you would because you came the long way, but I didn’t believe her.”

  “Emma, don’t start ...” Kate let the reprimand fade away as she looked down at Emma’s face.

  Kate looked in the direction of the light, and then at the flaming torch in her hand. “Oh, I see. We must be in a mine shaft.” The tension in her aching joints dispersed. “The workers will get us out of here. We’ll be home in time for breakfast.”

  She dropped to her knees, threw her free arm around Emma and pulled the little girl against her. “I’m so glad you’re all right. I was worried.”

  “Why wouldn’t I be?” asked Emma, wiggling away from her.

  Kate looked at Emma. The little girl’s eyes were big and round with excitement. Her pink pyjamas were dirty and she wore nothing on her feet. The white band holding her long, blond hair up in a pony tail had loosened, allowing stray strands of hair to fall into her face and around her shoulders.

  “I don’t know,” Kate whispered, not feeling as confident as she should. “I don’t know what’s going on, but we’ll be home soon.”

  Emma grinned and grabbed Kate’s hand. “Come on then. Sophie and Jasper will tell you lots of stuff.”

  “The kittens?”

  “Yes,” said Emma.

  Kate held the torch above their heads. The light lit up the path ahead of them. She allowed Emma to take her towards the light. The miners would be shocked to see them. As they drew nearer, Kate’s stomach twisted with nerves. Would the miners be friendly? What was waiting for them? What was happening? She looked over her shoulder once, but the darkness behind them forced her forward.

  A moment before they saw the source of the light, which was hidden behind a large boulder of stone, Kate stopped walking. She considered turning back, returning to the ladder and climbing up into the darkness. She wanted so desperately to hear her mother’s voice calling out to her, even Joe’s voice, because she knew she’d be safe with either of them. She reminded herself that the ladder lead nowhere. She squeezed Emma’s hand and stepped around the boulder.

  “This doesn’t look like a mine shaft to me,” said Kate. She placed the torch on a rock beside her, straightened and looked around.

  In the centre of a small, rock clearing was a stone dais. The raised platform looked out of place. The tall flames of a fire, set in the stone at the edge of the platform, licked the air. Flickering shadows of light danced upon the rugged walls and ceiling. Beside the dais was a stone slab with half a dozen wooden torches, like the one she had been holding, lying on it. Except these ones were not lit.

  Sophie sat on the slab. With her back arched, and her long tail curled around to cover her paws, Sophie’s eyes regarded Kate with interest.

  Kate swallowed and looked away.

  Jasper, darker in colour and slightly larger in build, sat on top of a large boulder behind Sophie. Jasper’s green eyes darted from Kate to the opening behind her and back again. His ears twitched from side to side as if he was listening for something in the distance.

  “You were right, Sophie. She must have come the longest way,” said Emma. “But here she is. What do we do now?”

  The kittens didn’t move.

  Nerves were making Kate’s hands sweat, her dressing gown felt heavy and hot. She stared at the kittens for a moment, and then tried to speak. Her throat had gone dry and croaky. She coughed and tried again.

  “Emma, this is silly,” said Kate. “Cats don’t talk. I can’t believe we’re down here. We have to go home. Mum and Joe will be worried.”

  Kate stepped away from the kittens and the dais, and pulled gently on Emma’s hand. The little girl refused to budge.

  “We can’t go back that way,” said Emma, her voice calm.

  “Why not? We have to find a way out of here.”

  “Because—” began Emma.

  “There is no exit that way,” a male’s voice interrupted. “And, it is dangerous. You must come with us.”

  Kate jumped back, her heel scraping on the boulder behind her. Her eyes locked with Jasper’s. She stared at him in disbelief, and fascination. The voice, which was deeper than she imagined for such a small cat, had come from him.

  “We are being purr-pursued,” said Jasper.

  Kate watched his tiny mouth form the words.

  “If you do not come with us, you will be captured by Min,” continued Jasper.

  “Min will not leave witnesses,” finished Sophie.

  Kate was speechless.

  “See, Kate, I told you the kitties could talk,” said Emma.

  Kate looked down at Emma and found a huge smile covering the little girl’s face. Kate tried to smile too, but found it difficult.

  She stared at the kittens. “What’s going on? Who are you? Why did you come to live with us? Why would Min care about us? What are you talking about?” The questions tumbled from Kate.

  Jasper jumped from the boulder and darted past Kate. He disappeared down the tunnel she had come down with Emma.

  Sophie looked briefly in Jasper’s direction, and then turned her gaze back to Kate. “You ask too many questions. We have no time now, but the tunnels are long and confusing. You will get lost if you go off on your own. You must come with us.”

  Meow.

  The sound came from the tunnel. For a fleeting moment, Kate thought she was daydreaming. She thought she had imagined all the events from the time she had left her bedroom until now. Sophie’s mysterious eyes put an end to that notion. When she looked into those cat’s eyes, she knew what was happening was real and things were only going to get worse.

  And they did.

  Jasper bounded into the clearing and pounced back up onto the boulder. He sniffed the air and crouched with his belly low to the rock, but he didn’t settle himself into a sitting position. He was ready for flight. “We must leave ... now!”

  Sophie turned, jumped from the slab onto the stone floor and ran across the small clearing. Jasper waited on the boulder. His ears and whiskers twitched.

  “Move!” said Jasper. “Min approaches. There is not much time.”

  Kate peered at Jasper for a second, and then her eyes found Sophie waiting in the opening of a tunnel.

  “Come on, Kate,” said Emma, pulling her in Sophie’s direction.

  Kate snatched up the lit torch. As they passed Jasper, he leapt to the ground behind them and followed.

  Chapter Four

  Slippers were not suitable footwear for a person rushing down cramped tunnels. Especially fluffy slippers with open backs and thin soles. They refused to stay where they belonged—on the feet—and caused the wearer an endless amount of pain and frustration.

  In fact, Kate found herself cursing them every time she slipped over and fell to her knees. Why hadn’t she put on her joggers? They would have been ideal for this situation, but
how was she to know that she would end up in an underground cave, on the run? If she had known, she would have thought to get dressed too.

  Finally, with her knees scraped and bruised, she kicked the soft slippers off in disgust.

  “I’ll end up breaking a leg wearing those things,” she said to Emma, who was bare footed and coping quite well.

  “You must not leave them behind,” said Sophie. “Min will know you are with us if you do.”

  “And we do not want that,” added Jasper.

  Kate snatched the slippers up and pushed them into her dressing gown pocket. “There. I’m ready to keep going. Where are we going anyway? And who is Min?”

  “This way,” said Sophie, and she darted down another dark tunnel.

  Kate groaned. That was one way to answer a question without really giving a reply.

  They continued on. She tried to remember the route they had taken so far, but it was no good. The tunnels twisted and turned in every direction. She was lost. She and Emma were at the mercy of the kittens, and Kate wasn’t happy about that one bit.

  “Ow!”

  Kate looked up in time to see Emma drop to the ground.

  “Emma?” Kate rushed to her sister. “What’s wrong?”

  “I hit my toe on a rock. It hurts bad. I want m-mummy.” Emma started to cry.

  Kate pulled her little sister against her and gave her a hug. “Don’t cry. Mum and Joe will come for us.”

  “How will they know where to look?”

  I wish I knew, Emma.

  The two girls stared at each other. More tears spilled down Emma’s dirty face.

  “Show me your foot,” said Kate, moving the torch in front of them.

  Emma, her chin on her knee and both hands wrapped around her sore foot, pulled her hands away and wiggled her toes.

  “It’s not bleeding,” said Kate. “Can you walk?”

  “Hurry,” said Jasper. “Min is not far behind us.”

  “She’s hurt,” said Kate, her eyes narrowing. “She needs—”

  A loud explosion caused the ground to shake and loose dirt to shower on them from above.

  Emma screamed.

  “She needs to be moving,” said Jasper. His green eyes searched Kate’s face, and then he looked at Emma. “I know she hurts, but if Min catches either of you—”

  “Come quickly,” interrupted Sophie. “The next cavern is just around the next bend in the tunnel. We can rest there. It will be safe.”