CHAPTER THIRTY ONE: PASSAGE THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN

Calin approached the overhang, but Tyas surprised him as he grabbed the rope and climb it at a blistering pace. The man used the almost imperceptible slope of the rock to push his feet against the wall and move up, half walking half pulling himself upwards.

Tyas reached the hole within a short span and disappeared. Minutes passed and just silence met them. Concern was shallow as it crept its way into Calin. He was about to call up, but a face popped out from the pocket in the rock.

“It’s clear up here! Tie your rucksacks two at a time on the rope and I’ll pull them up.”

Next to him, a grumble from Jerry mirrored his own feelings. But he shook it off and fixed the first two rucksacks to the rope and tugged on the line three times. They lifted off the ground and were hoisted up to the hidden tunnel. Calin repeated it until all the gear was up top with Tyas. The rope plopped down next to him and he stared at it with apprehension. In school he had never been all too good with climbing the rope in gym.

Now the rope in front of him was going up twice the height as the one at the school. With a slow breath, he mustered all his courage and took hold of the life line. He pressed his feet to the stone and leaned a little back like Tyas had done.

The first few metres were fine. But more than two thirds of the way up, a gust swept past him, and his one foot slipped on a loose stone.

In distress he righted himself, but looked down. The deep-seated fear of falling flared up inside him, making him shake as he gripped the cord with all his might; his knuckles turning pale because of it.

His eyes squeezed shut and his breath came in pants. I’m going to fall, I’m going to...

“CALIN! Relax,” Kara’s voice cut through the air. “It’s going to be okay. Listen to me. You are almost there. Take a deep breath and open your eyes slowly. Then look up.”

Somehow the words settled in his mind and he tried to calm his erratic breathing. He listened to the sounds of the forest around him, the gentle rustle of leaves in the wind, and bit by bit he matched his intake of air to it.

When his heart had calmed a little, he opened his eyes and looked up. There was an outstretched hand. Calin reached up and grabbed the hand. And as if he weighed almost nothing, he was hauled up into the mouth of the tunnel.

Flopping back onto the flat surface of the passage, Calin gulped in air as the adrenalin was still running rampant through his body.

“You okay?” Tyas asked.

Holding his breath, he sat up and rubbed a hand over his sweat covered forehead. With it, he let the air out slowly and said,

“Yes. But man, that was scary... So, thanks for the help.”

“No worries. Want to help me pull up the others? It would go a lot easier that way.”

Calin looked at him intently and just shook his head in wonderment as he said, “Tyas, with that strength of yours, I can’t imagine why you’d need my help.”

The man shrugged and said, “I appreciate the compliment. Though, I have to admit thirty metres is pushing it.”

A smile tugged at Calin’s lips.

“Fair enough,” He said.

A moment later, a call sounded from beneath and he looked over the edge and Kara’s face appeared all of a sudden in front of him. He gasped and fell back on his butt. As he glanced back up, Kara clambered into the passage, and dusted her sleeveless hoodie off.

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“Whoa,” Calin said in awe. “I knew you were a good climber, but that was something!”

She tilted her head slightly, and smiled. But then she walked to him and punched him.

“What was that for?” He asked, rubbing his arm.

“You know why,” She said, but when he glanced at her, she winked at him and a slight smile tugged at the edge of her mouth.

Her reactions were as alien to him as the events the last few days. Though before he could read into her attitude, Tyas tapped him and motioned to the rope. Calin just shook his head and pulled at the rope as Evany had started the climb up. The rope pulling upwards caused her to look up with wide eyes, but Calin just motioned for her that everything was okay.

With Tyas tugging at the rope, it wasn’t that difficult to get the light weighing girl up the rock wall. Next was Jerry, but the boy raced up the wall as if he had done it a hundred times. A sigh escaped Calin’s lips. It was like he was the only one who had trouble with the climb. He almost wanted to demand how the others didn’t feel fear from it. ‘Am I the only one with a fear of falling?’

“Nope, I was scared too.” A girl’s voice broke the silence. It was Evany.

Calin grimaced and dragged his hand through his brown hair. “I said that aloud, didn’t I?”

“Yep.”

“Pretty much.”

“Yeah, you do that sometimes.”

The others replied in unison. And He slapped his palm to his forehead.

“So embarrassing...” He said and then to change the subject he shouldered his rucksack and pointed down the passage through the rock. “BUT that aside, I think we should continue on.”

His cheeks were warm as he briskly walked down the tunnel. Before he could have gone more than ten metres, a gasp sounded behind him. He turned around and Kara was dragging her hand over some grooves in the rock. Dust fell in droves as she swiped as much of it off as she could. Intrigued, Calin approached her.

As he came close she softly said, “I’ll be,” Then her voice picked up in volume as she glanced at him. “Look here, Calin. These are entirely different glyphs than what we found in Mesa Versee. I can’t believe I didn’t see it when I came through here with my Father and the oth—“

She froze, and turned her face away from him, but he didn’t miss the tear that rolled down her cheek. Calin gently placed his hand on her shoulder. But then she straightened up.

“I’m okay,” She said with a firm voice, still looking away. Before he could say anything, Evany wrapped her arms around her friend from the other side. Her eyes locked with his gaze and with her small smile and her body language, he could tell that she got this. Calin smiled back at her and ruffled both of the girls’ hair to some protest, but he winked at them and then motioned for Tyas and Jerry to follow him. He casually walked down the passage, albeit cautious.

The tunnel became dark. The last of the natural light disappeared after only a few metres. The course rock under his hands the only direction. But Tyas spoke up behind him.

“I don’t think it’s wise for us to go without light. We don’t have any idea of what lies ahead.”

Without speaking, Calin got out his head light and shone it into the tunnel, briefly blinding him. Okay, here goes nothing...

***

Apart from a few natural cracks in the sides of the passage, there was no indication of it stopping anytime soon. Half an hour had already passed, and the confined space of the pathway was becoming more and more pressing.

But Calin held onto the information that Kara had given him a while back. She had insisted that it would open up soon. Though, that was fifteen minutes ago. Agh, I don’t like this at all... His muscles were sore from being tense so long, and the stiffness of the previous day’s battle wasn’t helping any.

Just as he was about to turn back and pepper Kara with more questions, the tunnel turned and the side gave way on the right to the dark, cloud-covered sky. At last! Calin bounded happily forward and looked out over the space below. There were some of the big trees further out.

But what caught him off guard, was not the hulking shapes of those trees, but the great twin gates that was built into the granite. As the light flashed over them, it was clear the gates looked like massive eagles with their wings forming the twenty metre high doors. From them, two huge walkways journeyed out. They were at least ten metres off of the ground, supported by black buttresses that straddled over a small river that disappeared under the mountain to the right.

Where the solid stone walk-ways dipped to the ground, there were crystal like trees with another two eagles guarding them. Calin remembered something from the day at the ruins and what Kara had done. Without pause, he shined his light on one of the crystal trees. And sure enough a faint light spread into its branches. The roots that bordered on the eagles started to light up and its eyes flared up with a soft green colour.

Like guardians, the eagles stood keeping watch over the gates of what probably was Mesa Versee.