The Wonderground

10 - Scenic Route

They struggled up the steep, twisting metal stairs, slowing with each turn. Elliot was out of breath by the twentieth step. Isla stopped counting after two hundred. They finally reached the top and stepped up into a yawning cave. A single narrow shaft of light pooled at their feet from an opening way above them in the rock. The air was thick and stale. A rickety wooden rope bridge stretched out before them into the darkness. They looked in all directions but could see no signs or alternate routes. They could hear water gushing and bubbling below them. Jack shouted out a couple of swear words into the darkness and heard them echo back chillingly.

"This Emporium had better be worth it," grumbled Elliot. Jack tiptoed onto the bridge and tentatively began making his way across.

"Is it safe?" Amelia called out as the rest followed him.

Jack grabbed the wet rope handrails and began swinging the bridge from side to side. "It's fine," he yelled, jumping up and down, causing the bridge to ripple and sway under everyone's feet.

"Stop it!" shrieked Isla, wrapping her arms around the ropes as she wobbled and lost her footing.

The cave was filled with a loud, echoing crack as one of the wooden boards splintered and snapped under Jack's left foot. He lost his balance and slipped down through the gap. Charlie reached out and grabbed for Jack's arm, feeling a tearing burn in his shoulder as he was dragged from his feet by Jack's weight. Amelia dived for Charlie and managed to rugby tackle his legs, grabbing at his belt. She fell on top of him and, with her added weight, managed to stop his slide towards the gaping hole in the bridge. Jack was dangling freely through the hole and was wriggling in panic.

"Stop squirming!" urged Charlie as he strained to manage Jack's bulk.

"Don't let go, Wood!" screamed Jack.

The others scrambled to help and, between the five of them, were able to haul Jack back onto the bridge. They collapsed in a heap on the damp wooden beams, breathing heavily and sweating. Isla beat her fists on Jack's back. "You selfish idiot," she cried as she pounded in between his shoulder blades.

Jack apologised sheepishly. "I nearly lost my shoe," he said distractedly.

"You nearly lost your life, you clown," snapped Rose. She removed her cap and smacked him on the back of the head with it.

They pulled each other to their feet and stepped warily over the broken part of the bridge. Treading carefully and patiently, they made it safely to the far side. The cave narrowed to a dark crack in the rock. There was enough room to squeeze through the gap sideways if they took off their rucksacks. Jack turned on his phone torch, but it did little to brighten the inky blackness. They stumbled blindly together in the dark, feeling their way along the freezing walls and bumping into each other. Elliot shrieked as his fingers ran over something soft and warm that squeaked and scuffled away down the wall and between his legs. Rose stood on something that squelched and cracked under the heel of her floral Converse. "Eeuugh," she grunted. "These are custom Chuck Taylors!"

After an eternity of huffing and puffing, the space began to widen but, frustratingly, the ceiling began sloping downwards with each step until they were stooping as they shuffled. Jack was forced to crawl on his hands and knees at the front of the line. He dragged his rucksack along with his teeth. Charlie was starting to feel claustrophobic as the world closed in around him. Rose caught Amelia in the face with a flailing trainer and Isla scraped her head on a stalactite with a painful smack, leaving a clump of hair stuck to the pointed rock.

"This Emporium had better be worth it," complained Elliot again from the rear. His elbows were grazed and his trousers were soaking wet at the knees.

At the front of the line, without warning the ground disappeared from beneath Jack's hands, and he fell forwards as the floor dropped sharply in a long, winding slide downwards. He shrieked with surprise and lost grip of his backpack which tumbled ahead of him in the darkness. He scrabbled at the walls of the tunnel, but they were worn smooth. He felt his breakfast rising up from his stomach and swallowed hard just as he was spat out onto a soggy, cold circle of mossy earth. He was dizzy and struggled to stand just as Charlie burst into the space behind him, tumbling head over heels and knocking Jack over like a bowling pin. They helped each other to their feet just as Isla and Rose followed, narrowly missing the boys, looking battered and bruised from the journey. Isla's ponytail had fallen out and her face was covered in a mass of tangled hair. Rose had lost her hat.