Cheesman Chronicles

Down, down, down the hole the two children fell. Penelope quickly lost track of time as the different bits of root and dirt flickered over her skin like waves at the beach. She screamed out in fear the further they fell, her mind racing as she worreid what would happen once they reached the bottom. She made sure not to loose hold of Alice and the supplies they brought in their duffel bag, her grip tightening on both as they tumbled further into the Earth.

Alice, mean while, appeared to be having the time of her life. She had gone on plenty adventures through forests before, and had knack for keeping her head on while in strange situations. As the oldest of the group, she had a responsibility to be calm and collected when playing in dangerous waters. Right now, she had managed to convince herself that she was simply sliding down a pool slide, waiting to crash into the cool waters below.

She pointed out end as it came into sight.

“See?” she said, trying to call over Penelope’s screams. “We’re nearly there! Just a bit further and it’ll all be over.”

“Can’t it be over now?” Penelope yelled back.

Finally, the two were thrown from the slide and onto the dirt ground. Alice jumped up quickly and began to take in the surroundings, astounded at how strangely beautiful it all was.

Despite there not being any sun or specific light source, the entire cavern appeared bright as day. The dirt roof above them surrounded everything within sight, the girls experiencing agoraphobia like they had never done before. Alice didn’t know what that word meant, but she knew what it would feel like.

Around them a few strange plants and fungi grew. Most were about the size as any regular flower or bush, but some stretched as high as the trees from the forests edge, scaling up into the domed roof like support beams of a parking lot. No leaves appeared from them, though branches sprung from them like the multiple arms of an octopus. Around them were things Alice vaguely recognised as nests. Whatever bird or similar creature created them though was out of sight.

Alice turned back to Penelope, helping her to her feet. She looked around in amazement and fear, the size of it all overwhelming her eleven year-old mind.

“Where are we?”

“I don’t know,” Alice said. “It’s your house, right? I mean, this is from your forest. Didn’t your parents ever tell you about this?”

“No…” Penelope said, taking a tentative step forward. She felt the side of a large tree which stuck into the roof like a support beam. The cool wood felt strong in her hands, like her fathers did when he played catch with her. She took a deep breath and held closely. “They never said anything about this.”

“Maybe we’re the first to find it,” Alice said, barely contained excitement hidden beneath her words. “Maybe we’re real explorers like Harry wanted!”

At the mention of their friends name, they turned back to each other. With their long fall down the hole, they had forgotten why they had come here in the first place. Penelope took hold of their rope and started dangling it out, leading both a trail back to where they came from and a clear marker for where they had been.

The cavern was noiseless. A small leaf may fall from somewhere they couldn’t see, or a bush would shake as if some creature were inhabiting its rusling foliage, yet nothing would appear. The sheer absense of anything in here was as frightening to the children as if it were filled with dangerous animals. At least then there would be a clear threat or enemy to avoid. Yet right now, all they had to play with was their imagination, which was as active as they had been moments ago.

The two of them clung to each other as they walked through the path in front of them. They talked in hushed whispers, not daring to raise their voices now they were in deep within this strange space. In any case, Harry had probably tried exploring this way before, so there was no reason not to think following the flat ground ahead of them wouldn’t be the wrong way.

Nor did they know if it was the right way.

Penelope clung closer to Alice than she did to her. Her parents had always warned her about exploring these forests. Was this the reason why? Because she would get lost with no way to get out? She may have had the rope, but it remained the smallest lifeline back to the surface. She wasn’t even sure if it would go all the way. They were already halfway through it’s length, and the cave only stretched out further.

Alice clearly was the one in charge here. Not only was the bigger, but her eyes were up straight like a soldiers, her march strong and confident as the explored this strange underworld in her friends back yard.

“He can’t have gone far,” she reassured Penelope in a whisper. “He had only left us for a couple minutes.”

“But he is also faster than us,” Penelope said. “He could have fun further away. Or…”

A terrible thought crossed through her mind.

“Or what?” Alice asked.

“Or something got him.”

“Nothing would have ‘gotten him’, Penelope,” Alice said, doing her best to comfort her friend. “Look around us. There’s nothing here except some weird trees and bushes, and this whole roof over our head. Have you seen anything around here?”

“No…” Penelope said quietly. “But we can’t be sure, right?”

“I guess not.”

After what felt like hours of walking to the girls – which could have easily been just a few minutes in real time – they appeared at a rivers edge. It flowed calmly down from one end of the cave to the other, it’s bright blue waters contrasting heavily with the dull browns around them. Alice left Penelope for a moment to check it out, both in amazement and puzzlement.

She turned back to her, calling out above their agreed upon loudness.

“Do you think Harry would have crossed this?”

“No,” Penelope said. “But maybe this river is new. It doesn’t look like anything I’ve seen so far.”

“Maybe,” Alice said quietly. “Do you think we should cross over it?”

“Cross over it? Are you cray-zy? We will get hurt! I don’t even have good shoes for water.”

“Neither did Harry, but do you see a way around this?”

Before Penelope could respond, they heard the cry of their friend in the distance. A loud “Help!” reverberated around the trees, masking exactly where it had come from but clearly beyond the river.

Alice leapt into action. Just as Penelope was about to call out to him to let them know they were coming, she jumped into the river and trudged through the flowing waters as fast as her little legs could carry her. She may not have been as fast as Harry, but she was certainly as strong. In just a few seconds, she had already crossed over the river.

She turned back to her friend.

“What are you waiting for? Come on!”

“I can’t! I’m scared!”

“Well then throw the rope over! I’ll catch it and you can use it to tug yourself along.”

Penelope looked to the reassuring string in her hands. The line was getting a lot shorter now, maybe just enough to get beyond the river, but not much further. If she threw this into the water, it could be taken away from her, and then they would have no way of knowing which way was home. She gripped it, holding onto it as if it were the calming and soft arms of her parents.

“Come on Penelope, we don’t have time!”

“What if I miss? What then?”

“You won’t miss. Trust me,” Alice pleaded. “Come on!”

Penelope took in a deep breath. Her friend was right. Either she could throw the rope across the river, or she would have to trek back home. One could help save her friend, the other would make her abandon both of them. The choice was obvious. Though it did little to calm her racing heart.

She rolled up the rope into a small bundle and started to spin it around her head. She had seen movies of cowboys doing this, so why couldn’t see try the same thing? Surely it wouldn’t be that hard. Just wind it up and let go. Easy peasy.

Penelope looked out to her friend, mentally mapping where the rope would land. In Alice’s hands, or just by her feet. Anywhere close and she would have got it. All it took was a bit of strength, and it would be safe crossing of this now much faster river.

She let go, the rope flying towards Alice as high as it would go. It got a bit wet from the random flecks of water it hit, weighing it down further than she would have liked. She watched as it flew across the narrow yet quickly running channel, her eyes tracking it like a hawk. Just as the very tip of it ended up on the other side, Alice caught it in her hands.

“I’ve got it!” she screamed excitedly.

Penelope let out a sigh of relief. She watched with eager patience as Alice wrapped the rope around a tree on her end, securing it in place more than she could have done so by holding it. The large mangrove held strong as she taught it around its trunk, providing an almost bridge-like structure for her friend to navigate across.

She grabbed hold of the rope and tugged herself across. The water pulled her harder than she expected, it’s currents weighing her clothes and dragging at her feet, slipping up the wet stones beneath her. Alice yelled out words of encouragement, but Penelope could only hear the vague word here or there as the water washed away most of the sounds.

The trip itself wasn’t long. While the water rushed past at blinding speeds, it was a narrow river. Only about five Penelope’s across. But that was five too many for Penelope. She closed her eyes and continued to haul herself through the waves, focusing on the feel of the rope, the sounds of her friends voice, and the need to help Harry.

Part of her wondered if it was her fault he got lost. She was the one who should have been sure he didn’t run off into her backyard. If she was faster or more transparent with him, maybe he would still be here and they would be playing adventure instead of going on an actual one.

She felt her strength loosen. Her grip separated ever so slightly from the rope, her hand darting out to hold back onto it. Penelope wrapped her arm around it’s length, taking in deep breaths as she felt the water rush underneath her. Her feet were already off the ground, her legs outstretched as water pulled at them. Its splashes hid her growing tears.

“I can’t do this,” she wept.

“Yes you can,” Alice called out. “You’re nearly here. Just a little more and I can reach out to you. Come on, Penelope! Do it for Harry!”

Penelope tugged at her rope, pulling in all the strength she had left in her. She shimmied her way along the rope, moving as fast as a snail. Her eyes remained closed as she moved, not daring to see how much further the end of her small journey would be. Just focus on moving, she told herself. Just focus on moving and this will be all over sooner than you will realise. You will get across this river, you will save Harry, and you will leave this terrifying place.

She felt something grab her arm. Penelope flinched, opening her eyes to look upon the thing which held onto her. She could only see Alice, pulling her friend out of the water and onto the shore. Penelope scurried over to the far tree, breathing in heavily as the final specks of adrenaline ran through her system and flushed away like an unwanted meal. She opened her eyes and looked up to Alice.

“Not so tough, was it?” Alice said, smirking.

Penelope didn’t respond, looking back to the river. It had started to calm down once more. Whatever caused it to speed up had run it’s course now. If they needed to cross it, it would be a much easier journey. She found herself more annoyed than relieved. If she waited it would have been fine? Had her sacrifice been for nothing?

Yet another part of herself reminded her of what had happened. Perhaps it had always been that way, but her imagination played tricks on her. Her mum had always said she was quite the exaggerator, claiming great things had happened when in reality it was a small thing that wasn’t a big deal.

She shook her head and stood up, Alice helping her stand. They both took the rope down from the tree and continued advancing into the forest. Wet, tired, and determined to find their friend.

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Read Previous Part: Garden Grove – Part One

To be continued…

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