Chapter 27
Days of uncontrollable falling through layers of raining rock may have passed before Lawrence and Lucy grew solid again, inside an enormous stone room. This place was so big a gigantic dry lake ran round the sides and curiously shaped clouds formed miles above. On bumpy ground just ahead, a shiny pebble sat astride a magnificent throne of finest marble and ancient gold. At their approach the precious stone rose up into a swirl of glistening black dust.
“Ah, friends, you chose the harder path! Thank you. I brought you here to see what has been and to share in that which is to come. First, there is one more challenge that must be completed unguided, for they will surely see us coming and seek to destroy us.” Such a gentle voice wasn’t easily forgotten.
Empheria said their forms were many depending on mood. On this sacred day she’d chosen this one as a mark of respect for lost friends. Bright sights they’d just witnessed happened long ago, before others came. She told of a little more recently, of war, their retreat into the safety of the sacred mountain and the terribly powerful forces that selfishly sought to take their land and children for their own.
When the invading army fled it left a dangerous seed living deep inside the earth, which grew so quickly it affected land above. Because of this evil the entire world was slowly being pulled apart. Even though the great war was long over and the natural, rightful inhabitants had won, victory had eventually fallen to the scheming, spiteful invaders. Empheria’s children had been hopelessly trapped by this terrible life form, and she’d been powerless to save them. Countless centuries later this once wonderful planet was still growing into something that should not be. Lawrence offered to help straight away, promising to try their very best.
“I’m sure you shall!” Empheria agreed brightly.
“So what can we do, where should we start?” Lawrence asked eagerly. Lucy looked particularly keen.
“Ssh, he’ll hear us!” Empheria whispered, vanishing in flashes of light.
Instantly Lawrence and Lucy were transformed to dust clouds again and transported even deeper below the land’s surface, reforming inside another vast, glowing cavern. Hidden tunnels and hollow rocks littered the place like an ancient shoreline. Endless crisscrossed, bright, bendy lines floated above, stretching way into the distance. Just beneath them trails of faint, fading light floated round slowly, telling of complicated towering structures which once were.
Because the friends were made up of thousands of specks of swirling dust, they couldn’t talk with each other. After spinning round uselessly for some time, because of the great energy in the atmosphere, Lucy managed to help communicate using their minds. This temporary fix may not last long, so they’d have to move fast.
Having never attempted mind reading before, Lawrence wasn’t surprised it felt so weird. Circumstances meant they had to learn very quickly which voices to listen and respond to. Lucy explained many of those far off murmurs were actually parts of their bodies sending messages to each other, whilst others were just random thoughts to be ignored.
Sensibly agreeing the only way to find out just what was going on was to explore as much as possible, they set off at once. Long lines of light stood out most, so they followed thicker rays eagerly. These weird, hypnotic shafts shot up and down, twisting through many tight spaces, ending in a towering rock face. Massive boulders had been gouged out from rock there, which rolled around dangerously near the ceiling.
As they thought on the meaning of it all, big red plant spores appeared from nowhere, floating towards them angrily. Lucy managed to warn the attackers off with her golden glow and they bravely flew onwards, following beams playing along the softening wall.
Before long the rocky trail ended again, leaving only a tempting crack. Seconds later they’d squeezed through. Everywhere here looked so similar to before, Lawrence suspected some shameful trickery. Perhaps someone or something enjoyed playing with their minds?
Lucy’s magical powers were growing quickly here. Caspar had said time away from earth could produce such strange effects. Her confidence soared higher as she concentrated on revealing the true nature of this secretive place. Golden smoke joined swirling forms from high above, blurring changing sights all round. All left was a shifting, rolling wall of black, where tiny lights shone through like twinkling stars. Wishing once more cleared it slowly, revealing rather more than Lucy expected.
Along the rocky floor just below them sat tremendously fat tubes of rippling green flesh. Wobbling constantly like slippery ridges of thick jelly, their spiky sides heaved lazily against groaning, rocky walls. Lawrence gasped. Something told the excited boy these sly, dangerous roots had lived there an awfully long time. “Ah, so that’s the secret plant! Thanks Lucy!”
Meanwhile back at home, for the first time ever mum felt uncomfortable in her house. She’d woken very early and couldn’t get back to sleep. Her stomach turned round and round nervously, jumping at weird, unnerving taps on the walls. Their new fridge refused to cool, heating blew hot and cold, and her toaster turned on, despite being unplugged. To ease her mind and get some fresh air, she walked up and down the long rough track outside, keeping the house in view in case Lawrence woke. While she was away religious symbols were piled at the back door and started smouldering, all electronics flickered wildly and stinking green smoke swept up the lawn.
In the far off underground world curious Lawrence and Lucy were drawn inside the weird plant body, where the world flashed red and silver. Lawrence noticed tiny little specks of brown nestled below him, then streams of energy darted them around the tunnels at frightening speed, shaking them apart violently. It was almost as if it were trying to sort each speck into different sections. Gold specks dripped off Lucy as she bravely fought to take control.
“What’s happening?” Lawrence cried.
“Just a little longer!” Lucy said mysteriously, falling terribly quiet. Lawrence tried communicating with her, only hitting a blank dullness. Soon his own mind felt fuzzy and dulled, like being slowly filled with nasty flu. In the confusing, hazy light the two swirls were blown ever onwards in long, shuddery stutters on the dry, floating streams of colour. Passages twisted and turned, seeming to have no end. Often weird, pale spikes pierced the sides, slowing them down, showing glimpses of other, weirder sections thrashing about wildly. Unlucky Lawrence hit a sticky spike, turning his world black.
Lawrence woke as if from a deep, dreamless sleep. Light, rhythmic pitter, patter drummed into his mind like a leaking tap. For a second he thought he’d woken at home, hearing rain fall softly outside. Colours swirling before him told the real truth. Now they’d stopped in the living passage, Lawrence gazed through his own little dust cloud. Just below sat neat rows of white jellied squares, lining the floor as far as he could see. Single specks of dull brown dust sat on top of each one, stuck fast. From time to time ground grew transparent, showing wobbly white matter continuing right through the plants walls, diving deep into the earth, just like spongy wet suckers. Noisy pattering continued, actually turning a little musical. Ah, Lucy was trying to reach him!
“Whoa, that was very weird Lucy, I can hear you clearly now!”
“Listen, I’ve got it friend!” she glowed triumphantly, “My intuition’s growing quickly here, I know what’s happening. This freaky plants just one small section of a massive male winding round the whole planet, feeding on memories of the trapped younger inhabitants. The organism is unique, still very young, and so has none of its own. I needed quiet just then to listen to its thoughts, while he worked out where to put us.”
“Ah, it must think we’re just the same as its normal food like poor Empheria’s children and seeing where we fit in. It sounds like it’s trying to build up a story for itself.”
“That’s right friend. He’s trying to put their memories in order, so as to pretend they’re his, probably to give himself some sort of past. It sounds so weird to us only because his motives are alien. I’ve confused him for a moment, that?
??s why we’ve stopped. We can trick him if we’re quick enough, before he finds our memories are no good and rejects us. Let’s work together, make him release all the young at once, then there’s no way he could draw them in quick enough before they shoot off to safety!”
“Those helpless specks seem stuck fast, how can we do it?”
Lucy explained every part of the creature was tuned in to one another. Her cunning plan was for them to remember parts of the planet they’d seen so far, as if they were their only memories. Things would flow even better if they mixed these bright pictures up too. Then when the plant drew them further in to make them part of him, they should let true memories flood out. Just like an uncontrollable sneeze, his whole body would react instantly, rejecting all tiny grains at once in a natural reaction. Until then, it would be best to let him take them wherever he wanted. Lucy promised to keep watch on the creature till exactly the right time.
“Perfect, let’s go!” Lawrence shouted. Instantly Lucy released them into the plants powerful stream, blew off down the long passage and snaked round a corner. In an instant she’d travelled hundreds of miles, though Lawrence could still hear her clearly. “Wait, think, not yet!” she cried at longer intervals.
Lawrence felt himself shifted backwards slowly, and concentrated harder than ever on forming exciting visions in his mind. Stopping normal thoughts creeping in proved extremely difficult. Lucy must have helped, for very soon he saw tiny bits of his dusty cloud leaving, feeling them drop into empty jellied squares faster and faster. Panicking a little he realised that in no time there’d be none left. How would that feel? Could he still escape then? As his dusty body split up into almost nothing, Lawrence felt so weak he didn’t think he’d be able to make it out. “Now!” Lucy screamed, just in time. Lucy thought of her kittens and Caspar. Lawrence remembered first meeting Brandice months ago and what mum would think if she discovered them missing. The floor rumbled, snaking passages violently. Many coiled round one another uncontrollably, causing trapped young to flutter, shift and hum. “It’s working!” Lucy giggled to herself.
Deafening roars erupted all around, warping the tunnels further, blackening them in towering arcs of dust. The organism’s body squirmed, tightening further, then viciously snapped back into shape like a giant elastic band. Lucy squealed in triumph as millions of tiny creatures were released from all over the planet at the same time, forming a magnificent explosion of glittering dust. Lawrence smiled inside at his brave and clever friend. Urazhon’s two honoured guests were ejected too, to a few metres above ground.
It should have been time for great celebration, yet Lawrence and Lucy were the only ones left, swirling hopelessly over an empty land of lifeless dust and crumbling rock, helplessly watching a speckled, rippling cloud swooping across the skies. Soon it became lost far amongst the stars. It seemed hope went with them, because all grew awfully calm and still.
“Dear me, they’ve vanished!” Lawrence said, crushed with disappointment, “We almost did it as well Lucy.”
“Ah, I didn’t think - children have almost unlimited energy. They’ve been stuck for centuries unable to move, we shouldn’t wonder they shot so far away. I do know they’re never coming back too.” Lawrence and Lucy bowed their heads in sorrow when arriving at Empheria’s throne once more. In her presence they became solid again.
“We’re very sorry Empheria. We tried our best to help, but moved too fast,” Lawrence confessed sadly. Empheria buzzed and clicked, communicating with unknown spirits far away.
“Help? You certainly did friends,” she said, glowing bright, glorious colours. “Perfect!” another spirit echoed behind. Far from being upset, Empheria felt delighted her precious children were free at last. All she needed to do now was search the dimensions to be reunited with them. For ageless spirits like her that was an easy task. Close friends had already started the quest.
No matter how far they roamed her offspring would leave exciting traces, faint voices and tiny pockets of treasured memories. When all reunited they’d choose another home together. Empheria pictured it beautifully. Rivers running up to the sky, joining other worlds in a glittering chain of life. And when a guardian planet aligned with far off suns, a fabulous hidden city would form in a mighty mountain, where shiny dust clouds danced merrily amidst a grand, glittering temple. Mighty Urazhon would live again!
“Quick friends, now I will return that which has been offered in kind. Empheria senses deep darkness drawing near. Home!” she commanded, swirling round them in warm rolling blurs of kindness.