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.
Amelia was next. She skidded out of the hole with a "whoop whoop", performed a forward roll and stood expertly before stumbling giddily into Charlie's arms. "Again!" she giggled. Elliot then shot through the hole backwards, clutching his satchel close to his chest. He came to a stop at Charlie and Amelia's feet. His eyes were squeezed tightly shut and he was screaming over and over for 'Mr. Snugglebunny'.
"Pet rabbit?" smirked Jack.
Elliot gingerly opened one eye and sighed with relief. He was still in one piece. "Teddy bear," he confessed with embarrassment. As Elliot stood to join the others, he discovered he was sitting on Rose's crumpled hat. He tried his best to smooth it out before handing it back.
A shiny, metal pole was fixed to the stone ceiling and disappeared down through a wide oval-shaped hole in the dirt in front of them. They dropped to their hands and knees and peered cautiously over the edge. Charlie thought he could see a blue circular cushion surrounding the base of the pole, at least fifty metres below them.
"Ladies first," indicated Jack, gesturing for Amelia to take the lead.
"No problem," she said determinedly, tying her hair up with a bobble from her wrist. She reached out and grabbed the pole. It was freezing cold to the touch, highly polished and slippery with condensation. She took a small jump, wrapped her arms and legs around the pole and disappeared. She roared with delight as she sped downwards. As she landed, they heard an almighty splash! The blue 'cushion' was a pool!
Amelia's head broke the surface of the water. She gave a short spluttering cough and shouted up to them. "The water is really warm!" She floated on her back and swam to the edge of the pool and drew herself up skilfully from the water. She was in an immense underwater grotto. The water shimmered bright azure blue, lit by sunlight that entered through an opening at the cave's mouth. The waves cast dancing silvery reflections on her skin. A large rowing boat was bobbing silently at the water's edge to her left. It was painted navy blue and the paint was peeling in places. The boat's name was mounted on a small golden plaque screwed beneath the rowlocks towards the bow: Star Frost.
Amelia treaded gently along the rocky edge and stepped carefully into the boat. She chose a seat in the middle in the hope it would minimise any chance of capsizing. As she sat down softly, Rose slid into the water with a satisfying plop. Her baseball cap came off again and floated towards Amelia. She leaned over the edge and fished the red hat out of the water as Rose's beaming face broke the surface.
"Can we do that again?" laughed Rose giddily as Amelia held out a hand to help her up into the boat.
Rose was followed by Isla and Jack into the water, each exhilarated from the ride.
Back at the top of the pole, Elliot had edged himself away from the hole and was trying his best to press himself into the rockface.
"You're next, Elliot," said Charlie.
"You know I can't swim!" moaned Elliot.
"Yeah, I do," replied Charlie. "Guess what? Amelia's down there and if anything goes wrong you get to be saved by her again."
"There is that, I suppose," conceded Elliot. He reluctantly removed his glasses and tucked them in the inside pocket of his blazer. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the pole firmly.
"Push me," Elliot whispered.
"What?" asked Charlie.
"You're going to have to push me," repeated Elliot.
Charlie smiled. "Okay," he said, placing his hands on Elliot's shoulders. "On three?"
"On three," nodded Elliot.
Charlie could feel Elliot's body quivering with fear. "One...Two..."
He pushed!
"You...said...on...three!" Elliot wailed as he shot downwards like a bullet and cannonballed into the pool below. He waved his arms helplessly until Jack hauled him into the boat by his lapels. He collapsed in a trembling heap at Amelia's feet.
"I don't suppose anyone has a towel?" objected Elliot, fumbling for his glasses. "Or a hand dryer?"
"I'm not sure there's much point in trying to dry off," said Isla as Charlie splashed satisfyingly into the water. "Didn't Eeleye mention going through a waterfall?"
Charlie clambered into the boat and leaned over the side to wring out his school tie. "Thanks for waiting," he grinned.
A low rumbling sound was originating from the far side of the cave. Jack noticed a thick, frayed rope threaded through a heavy-looking metal ring riveted to the prow of the rowing boat. He followed the rope along the bottom of the boat and discovered it ended with a complicated knot around a mooring ring that was sunk into the rock behind the boat. The rope dangled and disappeared into the water in front of them. Jack hefted the length of rope up from between his feet and onto his lap.
"Take the strain?" he suggested. The rest of them grabbed at the rope and they all pulled together. The metal ring shuddered and rattled as it scraped against the rope and the boat slowly moved away from the rock wall and drifted into open water a few feet. Jack shouted "Pull!" every few seconds and they slowly, but surely, propelled the boat forwards. After several minutes of pulling and grunting, the boat nudged against the rock at the opposite side of the cavern.
Charlie leapt from the front of the boat and steadied it against the lapping waves, allowing the others to alight onto the smooth stone. The rumbling noise was louder. They were still soaking wet and they slopped their way in the direction of the noise. They scrambled over slimy rocks and squeezed between jagged boulders until they found themselves faced with a towering wall of plummeting water. The water was a pale shade of candy floss pink, lit from the other side. The noise was deafening, and the cavern was filled with a fine mist. They felt a strong, fresh breeze in their faces from the force of the falling water.
"This Emporium had better be worth it!" shouted Elliot, staring at the waterfall with apprehension.
They stepped forward timidly in a line and agreed to attack the powerful sheet of water together. They linked hands, squeezing tightly and shuffled towards the waterfall until their noses were almost touching the cascading water.
"On three?" suggested Charlie.
"Three!" shouted Jack and stepped forwards, dragging the others with him.
It was wonderful. The water was warm and soft and tickled their bodies as they passed through. It smelled fruity. Isla stuck out her tongue. The water tasted like a banana and strawberry smoothie! Charlie stepped out of the waterfall first and onto a long, arched stone terrace. He was bone dry!
The rest joined him and patted themselves down in disbelief. Rose wandered to the edge of an ivy-covered sculpted stone balustrade and looked out from the lofty position over an enormous hall that reminded her of Grand Central station in New York. Floating above the hall was a confusing maze of train tracks that criss-crossed at different levels. A train bulleted through the space high over their heads at a thunderous pace. Its whistle echoed through the hall long after it had disappeared. A second train trundled to a stop, belching steam. It was suspended precariously on the topmost set of tracks and looked like it could topple over at any moment.
The main hall was adorned with an ornate bronze clock with a white face that displayed 'EMPORIUM STATION' in bold black lettering. The clock was suspended beneath a vast semi-circular window that mimicked a peacock spreading its feathers. Light streamed through the panes and cast a twinkling mosaic of purple, green and blue shapes across the floor. Stone staircases twisted their way upwards and sideways towards the tracks from the wide polished floor space below them. There were different coloured tubes and slides snaking their way amongst the staircases and arches.
Smartly dressed people were dashing here and there, running up and down the stairs, ducking through the arches, slipping down the slides and lumbering along the suspended walkways. It looked like a scene from an Escher drawing. People were scurrying and hurrying, bumping and grumbling their way across the floor, desperate to make their trains and giving little regard to anyone that got in their way. One lady was struggling to carry a purple fruit that was the size of Elliot. She eventually gave up and decided to roll it along the floor. A teenage boy lifted a heavy-looking, stringed musical instrument onto his back before diving headfirst down a lemon-yellow slide. An elderly man with a dove-grey beard trailing between his legs was muttering as he passed below them. "Another cursed closure on the Quadranscentennial Line. Two hours late for my leeching appointment!" They could still hear his cane clacking on the tile long after he rounded a corner out of sight.
Each staircase and slide had a sign displaying a weird and wonderful title. To their left, a large queue was forming under the lamplit sign for the Hated Line which glowed a sky-blue colour. According to a notice written in chalk on a sliver of slate suspended over the bottom step, the southbound service to Scalphunters Land was delayed. To their right was a red slide that disappeared into the darkness down a circular opening. The words Twopenny Line were painted in ornate white letters along the length of the slide. A rectangular notice board hung over the opening to the slide describing a 'Good service eastbound to The Pigpen via The Red Castle.' People were clutching their belongings tightly to their chests before flinging themselves into the hole.
On the far wall was a huge chalkboard with row after row of handwritten station information. Two men, in blue uniforms and hats identical to Eeleye, were scampering backwards and forwards along a floating walkway below the chalkboard. They periodically pushed wheeled wooden ladders along a horizontal rail that was fastened to the top of the chalkboard. The rail allowed them to slide left and right along the length of the information board. One of the men jumped and clambered from one ladder to the next. As he slid from one end of the board to the other, he frantically scrubbed out information as he trundled sideways. His colleague then climbed up another ladder and wrote replacement text. Information for each Wonderground train line was written in a different coloured chalk:
The Streetwater Line
Northbound to Waterhole & Onwards – Good service. Please note that passengers cannot travel onwards from Onwards.
Southbound to Elephants & Castles – Services delayed due to dung on the line.
***
The Twopenny Line
Northbound to The High Road – Average service (no cakes).
Westbound to Gone Bad Railway – Services as far as Snow City where trains will terminate due to a polar bear strike (pay dispute).
Eastbound to The Pigpen via The Snake's Nest – Passengers are reminded to carry antivenom at all times.
***
The Loop
Clockwise to The Fear – Service suspended due to the driver suffering from phobophobia.
Anti-clockwise to The Forge – Passengers caught with counterfeit tickets will be prosecuted.
***
The Bridge Line
Westbound to The Quadrant – Divided service. This is a polite reminder not to feed The Queen's Beasts.
Eastbound to The White Windmill – Station alert: The Scrub Road station is closed for cleaning.
***
The Unoriginal Line
Eastbound to Canis Major – stamped and validated licences must be shown to the conductor.
Westbound to Land of the Silver Eagles – services only as far as The Buried River due to flooding.
***
The First Line
Westbound to The Honey Croft – Busy service. Try to avoid The Void.
Eastbound to The Plague Pit – Troubled service. The Market is open fortnightly every second week.
***
The Naughty Line
Northbound to Hill of the 10,000 via The Nether – Abysmal service. I would not bother if I were you.
Southbound to The Great Fort via Cannibal Central – This is a polite reminder not to feed the cannibals.
***
The Frilly Line
Westbound to Western Deep – Station alert: The Library station is inaccessible due to leaves on the track.
Northbound to The Terminus – Delayed service due to a broken-down leaf cleaning train on the track.
***
The Hated Line
Southbound to Scalphunters Land – The North Circus is in town. Tickets on sale now.
Eastbound to Tall Man's Watchtower – Requiring service. All lifts out of order at The Staircase.
***
The Drain
Westbound to Lion's Mound – Tame service.
Westbound to The Reserve – Please note this is a back-up service only.
***
Mounted above the chalkboard was the sculpted stone head of a fire-breathing beast.
"Under the wyvern's head," confirmed Isla, pointing at the carving.
"Isn't that a dragon?" doubted Jack.
"A wyvern is a two-legged dragon," commented Isla.
They looked at her with mild surprise.
"Is Elliot the only one that's allowed to read books?" she said with an offended look. Charlie smiled and she blushed. She headed for the nearest staircase and the others followed her down into the busy hall.
Charlie bumped into an elderly woman who was reading a newspaper. "Those ungrateful polar bears should be thankful for six seals a month," she muttered as she read. She shook her head at Charlie and shoved the broadsheet in his face, jabbing a finger at one of the paragraphs. "They are demanding eight. Scandalous!"
Two men hurried by dressed in oil-smeared denim overalls that said 'Wonderground Maintenance' across their shoulder blades. Each carried a large woven tool bag as they skipped amongst the crowd. "I said to them. They are the wrong kind of leaves," grumbled the older man, shaking his head as they passed.
As they approached the station building exit, Charlie felt a warm glow spread through his entire body that made his fingertips and toes tingle. He felt immediately invigorated as they stepped outside and onto a sweeping balcony that offered a view of the Emporium from an elevated position. He felt slightly overawed by the magnitude of the space that stretched out before him.
Elliot stepped alongside him and held his breath. "Ok, I admit it," he accepted excitedly, surveying the scene. "The Emporium is worth it."