Atawna

Adventures in the Lost World

Episode 1

Atawna and the Lost World

Chapter 4 Underground Journey

The ledge Atawna and Chara were on soon ran out. Far below them was the bottom of the chasm, still so far down that they could not see the bottom. “We’ll have to climb,” said Atawna. As she spoke she lowered herself over the edge. Using the cracks and projections in the rock face, she moved quickly down the cliff wall. For someone used to swinging from branch to branch in the treetops, descending that chasm wall presented little difficulty. Chara followed just as easily. Soon they were deep into the chasm. Three hours later they were still descending.

“How deep does this thing go?” wondered Atawna. “It can’t go much deeper.” She looked below her. She thought she detected a faint gleam. Was it water? Encouraged, she took a deep breath and continued her descent.

It was water. Another half hour and she could hear it clearly. She and Chara were now so far into the chasm that it was almost dark where they were. She could hear the sound of a rushing river, but could not see it. She stopped her descent, standing on a convenient rock outcropping. A few seconds alter, she sister joined her. “We may be trapped,” said Atawna. “The mountain explodes above us and there is a roaring river below. We have a choice between burning or drowning.”

“Let’s take a chance on the drowning, sister,” said Chara. She was looking up to the distant rim of the chasm. Atawna followed her glance. A bright red glow illuminated the top of the abyss. The lava flow had reached the edge. In a few seconds molten rock would be pouring into the chasm.

“We’ll have to jump,” said Atawna. “There is no time to complete the descent. If the water is not deep enough we will die.”

“If we stay here,” we have only seconds to live,” replied Chara. As if to give emphasis to her words several lava bombs hurtled by, just missing them as they clung to the cliff face.

Atawna, wasted no more time. “I love you, my sister,” she said. And then she dropped off the ledge leaping as far from the chasm wall as she could.

The shock of hitting water almost knocked the breath from her. And then she plunged beneath the surface. However, she did not sink far. The river was a raging torrent, its current moving so quickly that it swept her sideways and then threw her back to the surface. After that she fought to keep from drowning as she was whirled around and around in the churning waters.

Only someone as superbly conditioned as she was could have survived for as long as she did. Even so it was a near thing. Only when the river suddenly widened and slowed was she able to make her way to shallower water near the edge. Exhausted she pulled herself up on a gravel bar and watched for her sister.

She almost missed her. Chara was too far gone to swim any further. The weak current swept her past and only the flash of her blonde head alerted Atawna to her passing. With her last strength she splashed her way to her sister and pulled her from the river. Then she collapsed. Too weak to care about the fact that she was sleeping on a bed of gravel.

She did not know how long she slept. But when she awoke, she was cold and tired. The depths of the chasm were much cooler than what she was used to. A few feet away Chara still slept. Atawna left her alone while she assessed their situation.

The gravel bar she was on seemed to extend a considerable distance along the river. If it went far enough it might be possible to follow it to a place of safety. She no longer had her bow or her arrows. They had been lost somewhere in the river. But she still had her knife. She returned to her sister and gently shook her awake. “Can you walk?” she asked.

Chara clambered wearily to her feet. “I think so,” she answered. “Where are we?”

“I wish I knew,” answered Atawna. “All I know is that we can’t stay here. We have to keep moving.”

“I’m hungry,” said Chara. Then looking at her sister she apologized. “I’m sorry. You must be just as famished as I am.”

Atawna nodded. “This river must have some fish in it. Perhaps we can catch a few if we keep our eyes open. In the meantime, I think we better move on. This is not a good place to stay.”

“Yes,” agreed Chara. “And the walking will help to keep us warm.”

As Atawna had hoped they did find fish. They found a school of them in a deep pool near the shore. By waiting patiently near the edge and striking at the right moment, Atawna managed to spear several of them with her knife. They had no way of making fire, and so they chewed on the raw fish as they walked. It was a far from satisfactory way to eat them, but both girls were too hungry to care.

As they proceeded along the river the chasm gradually began to narrow. This concerned both girls, because as it did so the river became more turbulent and the shallow water they waded through became steadily deeper. It appeared that the downstream direction they were heading would offer no salvation. And then the ground shook. From behind them came an immense crash. It was louder that any of the explosions they had heard before. They turned just in time to see the chasm behind them caving in. A wall of water surged toward them.

There was no way of avoiding it. They had time only to take a deep breath before they were once again caught up in the river and hurled uncontrollably downstream. Already exhausted from their earlier battle with the river, both women were swept under and then suddenly they were whirled into a deep pool of quieter water. It was pitch dark, something that frightened the two girls even more than the fear of drowning.

Darkness was something unknown in their subterranean world. Neither girl had ever experienced it before. The river had carried them into an underground cave system, where none of Pelucidar’s strange light could penetrate. To the two young women it was as if they had been hurled into hell.

Treading water in the inky blackness they could feel the water swirl about them. But what was even stranger was that there was a definite sensation of rising. The water seemed to be surging upward, taking them with it. The force was so great that they could feel it in the pits of their stomachs. Panicky thoughts raced through the minds of both girls. What was happening to them? Where was the rising water taking them?

But a more serious problem presented itself. Chara experienced it first. Chilled by the cold water, and already on the edge of exhaustion from the trials she had already experienced, she could no longer tread water. “My sister,” she whispered. “I am going.” She released her grip.

“No!” Atawna cried. She caught her sister by the hair just as she went under. But she knew that she could not keep both of them afloat for long. She also was on the verge of physical collapse. And then something bumped against her.

At first Atawna feared she was being attacked, but when she threw out her hand, she encountered a solid object. She grabbed hold of the log and drew herself to it. With her remaining strength she pulled Chara across it and then clambered on herself. By sheer good fortune, the log was large enough to hold them both. Then she rode the water elevator as it carried them ever higher.

Light! There was light above! It seemed to Atawna that she had been holding on to the log forever. She was so tired that she could barely keep herself from slipping back into the water. But somehow she managed to hold on, and keep her sister on the log as well. Now perhaps their strange journey was coming to an end.

She saw now, that she was in a deep shaft. The water she was in was rising steadily toward the top taking her with it. She watched as the dot of light above her grew and grew. As it did so the shaft widened, its sides becoming more sloped, like those of an enormous funnel. It was fortunate that it did. If not, the tremendous force of the water would no doubt have hurled her and Chara high into the air as it burst forth from underground. But as the shaft widened the rising waters slowed, eventually spilling them from the top like an overflowing basin.

The force of the water washed Atawna and Chara downslope for about a hundred feet before the older sister was able to pull Chara to one side. Then exhausted beyond anything she had ever experienced, Atawna collapsed, slipping into unconsciousness.

When she awoke it was dark again. But it was a strange form of darkness, different from that of the terrifying journey in the underground shaft. The sky above her was dotted with thousands of points of light. And a great yellow crescent hung amongst them, shedding a dim light on the world. It was strange, frightening, and fascinating all at the same time. Beside her Chara still slept. She could hear the sound of her sister’s gentle breathing. Chilled by the cool air, she shivered and cuddled up to Chara. Then, exhaustion overtaking her once more, she slept.

PREVIOUS CHAPTER WIZARD'S LAIR MAIN PAGE L'ESPION'S STORY PAGE NEXT CHAPTER