ISOF (20 page)

The darkness began to evaporate before anyone chose to speak. Since taking their leave of Leonard, the four had walked as quickly as their legs would carry them, attempting to take advantage of any time that Leonard may have gained for them by delaying the Cutters.

Occasionally, they'd heard a muffled, explosive sound and other times an eerie wailing noise that made them quicken their pace even more.

As the forest faded into the background and the sun became obvious, the four found themselves in a landscape that appeared as empty and barren as their stomachs. Stretching as far as their sun-scorched eyes could see were rocks of all shapes and sizes strewn across the landscape. Occasionally, several of the rocks appeared to have become rather attached to each other, forming a dent in the skyline.

No matter how many times Ben rubbed his eyes, the blistering heat still threatened to burn through to the back of his skull. At one stage, soon after the darkness had left them in the clutches of the sun, Ben had wrapped Telu's scarf around his head. It was only when Trep nearly had a heart attack, seeing the top of Ben's head missing, that he'd reluctantly removed the scarf and restored his head to full visibility.

The four continued their over-heated journey. Occasionally, Noj would shield his eyes and then peer into the distance. It was difficult to see what he was looking for exactly as the landscape hardly seemed to vary, just end an endless exhibition of stones, rocks and grit.

After Noj had made yet another display of apparently looking nowhere in particular, Ben gave a gravely cough.

‘Nearly there?' he enquired.

Noj turned wearily and shook his head.

‘Not much to see,' he replied with a hint of a smile.

‘Really?' asked Ben in mock surprise. ‘The way you keep squinting at the horizon, I was sure you knew where we were supposed to be going.'

‘If you'd bother to look,' replied Noj sucking at his bottom lip. ‘You'd notice a grey cloud on the horizon.' He pointed into the distance. ‘Just to the left of that rocky outcrop.'

Ben, along with Mak and Trep stared in the direction that Noj indicated for as long as they could before the heat became unbearable.

‘Are you sure that's not heat haze?' queried Trep. ‘There again, in this heat, anything in the distance is nothing more than a smudge in the air.'

Shielding his eyes once more, Ben looked intently at the skyline surrounding the rocky outcrop. ‘That can't be what I think it is if it's the same thing that you think it is,' he said, looking towards Noj.

Noj raised an eyebrow while Trep and Mak simply stared at Ben open-mouthed.

‘If,' replied Noj, ‘you're thinking what I'm thinking then we're in trouble.'

Trep and Mak continued to stare open-mouthed as they looked at Ben and Noj. Seeing their lack of understanding, Noj nodded towards the rocky outcrop.

‘If I'm correct,' he said swallowing noisily. ‘That supposed smudge observed by Trep, is none other than our friendly Whispers.'

‘What?' gasped Ben, ‘how did they manage…'

‘How they got there is of no importance,' snapped Noj. ‘What is important is how we are going to avoid detection.'

‘Hardly worth trying to avoid them,' moaned Mak. ‘They seem to know where we are and where we are going.'

Trep scuffed at the ground with his foot. ‘They know a darn sight more than we do then.'

‘Whatever they know and how they know it, isn't important right now,' replied Noj sharply.

‘Well, I for one would like to know how they know what we'd like to know,' said Ben, with a slight grin. ‘That's something I've been wanting to know for ages.'

‘For goodness sake!' growled Mak. ‘Can't you ever talk sense?'

Ben turned angrily to face Mak. ‘I talk more sense in my sleep than you ever do when you're awake,' he snapped.

‘Gibberish by day and gibberish by night,' retorted Trep standing by Mak's side. Mak shoved Trep to one side and took a step towards Ben. As he did so, a thunderous roar erupted somewhere in the distance. Swirling around to see where the noise was coming from, they saw an arc of lightening exploding from the forest behind them. A second thunderclap echoed around the landscape as the lightening splintered the sky. Immediately, dark clouds gathered and large drops of rain began to fall from the sky.

‘Isn't that the wrong way around?' queried Ben pointing to the sky.

‘Who cares?' replied Noj. ‘But what I do know is that the Whispers absolutely detest water and they'll scurry across the sky as fast as they can to avoid being decimated by the rain.'

‘What are we waiting for then,' shouted Ben as he began to run towards the rocky outcrop. ‘Get a move on.'

Pulling their cloaks tightly around them, Noj, Trep and Mak started to run through the rain in the hope that the distant rocks would provide some form of shelter.

A curtain of rain stretched to the rocky outcrop a. All around the ground was becoming decorated with miniature torrents of water, each forming rushing streams transporting pebbles and grit to new destinations.

Running, as best as he could in the rapidly forming mud, Ben felt bemused by the corridor of rain. Even with the rain stinging his eyes, he could see that for a few metres either side of him a sheet of rain descended with enormous force, yet a little beyond he could see that ground was virtually dry and the sky was as a brilliant blue.

The others had noticed this bizarre phenomenon but were more intent on reaching the rocky outcrop and shelter.

Approaching the outcrop, they could hear a series of rumbling noises, reminiscent of rocks tumbling down a scree slope, began to sound. Barely pausing in their rush to find shelter, the foursome ran through a narrow chasm and emerged into a sort of arena where the jumble of grumbling sounds reverberated from each rock face.

The noise was deafening. With fingers in their ears, the four quickly looked around the rocky amphitheatre. The ground, immediately in front of them, was strewn with jagged chunks of rock. Interspersed between the rubble, ragged tufts of grass forced an appearance while the occasional delicate flower added a touch of colour to the stone patchwork. Outside of the rocky outcrop the rain continued to fall in a deluge, while inside the air was dry. Three rock faces towered over the assembled rocks, providing a protective overview of the scene below. Ben, wiping the rain from his eyes, peered intently at the rock faces. He blinked, shook his head a couple of times and blinked again. The more he looked the more he was certain that the rock faces were, in fact, actually rock faces! Before he could ask the others for their comments, a voice echoed thunderously around the natural amphitheatre.

‘Stop fidgeting. Stand still so that we can get a better look at you.'

The four travellers looked at each other and then began a strange ritual, which involved tipping their heads to one side and smacking the uppermost ear with their hand. The performance was then repeated for the other ear.

Trep, with a finger thrust into his left ear, nodded at Noj. ‘I think my ear is full of water. I could have sworn I heard a voice.'

A scattering of small rock debris tumbled down one of the rock faces and landed just in front of Trep who, jumping backwards, yelped with fright. A sound, similar to that of pebbles rattling in a tin can, filled the air.

‘Did you see that?' rattled the pebble-dashed voice.

‘Funny in the extreme, I'm sure,' wheezed a third voice.

Ben strode into the centre of the rocky amphitheatre and stood looking at the rock faces. To his left, almost halfway up the rock face was a wide cavern, above which sat a knobbly outcrop of rock. Across the top of the outcrop rested a large tree with roots that lay exposed on the rock. As the roots curved and looped down the rock face, they seemed to frame two round gouges in the rock, rather like a pair of spectacles. Staring at the rock face, Ben thought he saw the mouth of the cavern appearing to change shape, its sides becoming closer together as the top and bottom moved further apart. The cavern spat a gush of dusty particles directly at Ben.

Taken completely by surprise, Ben didn't have a chance to take evasive action and now stood covered in a fine dusting of dirt. Sneezing violently, he tried to wipe his nose with one hand whilst desperately trying to wipe the dust from his face with the other hand.

‘Did you see that?' laughed the pebble-dashed voice. ‘Classic!'

‘Quite a stunt,' wheezed the third, gravelly voice in agreement.

As Ben still tried vainly to clear the dust from his face, Noj, Trep and Mak scoured the rock faces for the source of voices.

‘Some sort of audible mirage,' commented Trep. ‘There's nothing to see apart from a pile of old rocks.'

‘Old?' thundered a voice. ‘Old you say?'

Trep looked around to identify the source of the voice but the echoes made it impossible to locate where the sound was coming from.

‘You refer to
old
in a disparaging manner,' thundered the voice again. ‘Whereas, you should really use the term with reverence you know,' it continued.

‘Er, where are you exactly?' asked Trep looking directly into the clear sky.

Ben, who was also scouring the amphitheatre for the source of the voices, was almost certain he saw the tree roots twitch above the cavern mouth. He picked up a small stone and was just about to launch it in the direction of the cavern when the voice thundered again.

‘That, young man, is an ill-considered action and one that I cordially suggest you refrain from carrying out.'

Ben smiled. He hadn't intended to throw the stone anywhere but the suggestion that he might have confirmed his suspicion. He pointed at the two bulging pieces of granite above the cavernous mouth.

‘My apologies,' said Ben towards the cavern. ‘I had no intention of throwing the stone but simply wanted to cause a reaction, which it did.'

‘Good grief,' muttered Trep. ‘Ben actually used his initiative for once. Wonders will never cease.'

Ignoring the sarcastic comment, Ben looked directly at the two granite pieces that, if you squinted, might be described as eyes.

‘Are you where I think you are?' enquired Ben in as polite a voice as he could manage.

‘I think,' replied the cavernous mouth. ‘That it is highly unlikely I would be anywhere else considering both the physical and practical constraints on my being anywhere else.'

‘Isn't saying the same thing twice in the same sentence called something like
taught
or some such word?' frowned Ben.

‘If' answered the cavernous voice, ‘by any chance you are referring to
tautology
, technically, you are correct. However, if you are attempting to teach me grammar, you will find I have forgotten far more than you will ever know,' continued the voice haughtily.

‘Nobody bothered to teach me any ‘ologies'' said the gravelly voice.

Ben looked around the rock faces to see where the gravelly voice had come from. Just over his right shoulder, a scattering of small stones tumbled from a tiny ridge that arched over a protruding chunk of rock. As Ben looked more intently at the rock face, he noticed that slightly to the left of the first rocky protrusion a second, lopsided chunk of rock looked out over the amphitheatre. Almost below the eyes sat a large, square piece of granite with several smaller bits haphazardly decorating the surface. Above these stone features sat a row of seedy looking gorse bushes, which overhung one side of the rock face. Without warning two jet-black birds flew out of the gorse causing a torrent of dust to cascade down the face of the rock.

‘Pfffp!' sounded the rock face as a small crevice appeared below piece of square granite.

‘Trouble with your roots again?' asked the cavernous mouth.

‘Excuse me,' interrupted Ben before the voices could continue. ‘Wouldn't it be polite to introduce yourselves rather than ignore our presence?'

Ben heard a noise similar to stones tumbling down a scree slope. Looking to his left he smiled. Staring down at him was an almost identifiable face outlined with what looked like molten lava that had solidified mid-flow. The droopy, lava formed eyebrows appeared to twitch.

‘If,' began the droopy mouth, ‘you are expecting the other two to display any form of cordiality, then you will have a long wait.' The drooping face grimaced. ‘In fact,' the face continued. ‘Those two seem to consider everyone else beneath them.'

‘Well, laughed Ben. ‘Most of us are.'

‘Quite right too,' said the cavernous mouth. ‘It is right and proper that people know their place.'

‘Huh!' wheezed the drooping face, emitting a small cloud of dust.

‘Someone is having a sulk,' rattled the pebble-dashed voice.

‘Huh!' repeated the drooping face as a second cloud of dust hit the air.

‘Definitely a slight downturn in the humour department,' thundered the cavernous mouth with a hint of a chuckle.

The four travellers felt like an uninvited audience in a quarry for unstable rocks.

Ben frowned.

‘Haven't you got some cousins in America?' asked Ben mischievously.

‘Cousins?' replied the cavernous mouth. ‘As far as I am aware, we are rather unique.'

‘You're telling me,' mumbled Ben.

‘Speak up, speak up,' said the pebble-dashed voice. ‘No use mumbling boy, if you want to be heard then say it loud.' The over-large granite nose seemed to wrinkle in disgust. ‘And loud is something that some heads, in particular, rather excel.'

‘Huh!' replied the cavernous mouth.

‘Oh, nothing at all,' sniggered the pebble-dashed voice. ‘Simply making a comment about these soft human forms who have so kindly come to visit us.'

‘You're about as subtle as a house brick,' snapped the cavernous mouth.

‘House brick?' spat the pebble-dashed voice angrily. ‘How dare you insult me by comparing me to a pre-cast form of immature rubble.'

‘Excuse me,' shouted Ben as the cavernous voice belched dust. ‘I mentioned cousins as in Mount Rushmore?'

An eerie silence filled the rocky amphitheatre. Ben looked at each of the faces. ‘You know,' he said hesitantly. ‘Er, Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln?' A polite cough from Noj disturbed the continuing silence.

‘Ben, I'm not so sure that…'

The lava-like lips of the drooping face wobbled as a gust of dusty air passed through them at speed. ‘I'm utterly bored,' rasped the drooping face. ‘Just satisfy big mouth's curiosity as to what you're doing here and where you're heading and then be off with you.'

‘Ahem,' coughed the cavernous mouth. ‘I am quite capable of asking these soft forms a range of pertinent questions, which will enable me to ascertain their precise motive for being here.'

‘Phut!' spat the pebble-dashed voice. ‘Little wonder you need such a big mouth for such big words.'

‘And for keeping his special…' began the droopy face.

‘Quiet!' stormed the cavernous mouth. ‘Just shut your rubble.'

The droopy face drooped even further. ‘There's no need to be quite so rude. And just because I haven't got a…'

‘Shut up,' thundered the cavernous mouth. While his voice still reverberated around the rocks, the cavernous voice looked down and, in a condescending voice, directed his question at Ben. ‘Would you be so kind and enlighten us as to the nature of your visit and where you are bound?'

‘We were directed here by Leonard,' began Ben.

‘He's an interfering old fool,' snapped the pebble-dashed voice angrily. ‘Forever sticking his nose into matters that do not concern him.'

‘Well,' replied Ben. ‘I found him very helpful and full of hospitality, even if his barbeque contraption did explode,' he added, mumbling the last few words. The cavernous voice appeared to tilt his face slightly and then an odd, gurgling sound began to echo around the amphitheatre.

‘That,' gurgled the cavernous mouth, ‘has got to be the funniest thing I've heard for a long while.' Without warning the gurgling noise turned into a gale of laughter. The cavernous mouth opened wide as the laughter roared through the air. Ben clamped his hands over his ears. The other three quickly followed suit as the laughter pounded at their ears. Trep looked at the cavernous mouth saw something glint deep inside the mouth. He quickly nudged Noj. Nodding at the mouth, Trep tried to indicate what he'd seen.

‘What?' mouthed Noj.

Trep leaned over and prised Noj's hand away from his ear. ‘Inside his mouth.' he shouted. ‘Remember what Leonard said.'

Noj, wincing at volume of noise, immediately gestured for Ben and Trep to climb towards the cavern mouth. As they cautiously began their ascent, Noj motioned for Mak to make a diversion by tossing stones into the air close to the other two rock faces.

‘Hey!' exclaimed the pebble-dashed voice. ‘What are you lot up to? Be careful with those stones.'

‘I wondered,' asked Noj politely. ‘Whether you could tell us what lies beyond this rocky outcrop?'

‘In a hurry to go somewhere are we?' enquired the droopy face as its lava eyes watched the stones being tossed in the air.

The eyes of the cavernous mouth looked inquisitively at Noj. ‘What do you want to know for and what is happening on my face?'

‘Two of those soft forms are climbing towards your mouth,' replied the droopy face as it continued to watch the hypnotic rhythm of the stones in the air.

‘What, why, hey, get off,' blustered the cavernous mouth. ‘What's going on?'

Ben and Trep continued slowly climbing towards the cavernous mouth. Fragments of rock fell as they struggled to find a grip on the rock face.

‘I know what they're after,' called the pebble-dashed voice. ‘And you won't like it one little bit,' it continued.

‘What are they after?' rumbled the cavernous mouth. Suddenly the tree roots twitched violently and the deeply gouged eyes narrowed menacingly. ‘Don't even think about it,' roared the voice.

Just as the cavernous mouth roared, Ben made a grab for the gnarled edge of the opening. Aware that one of the soft forms had managed to grasp its rocky lip, the lower edge of the mouth started to move upwards, leaving Ben dangling by his fingertips.

‘Trep,' shouted Ben. ‘Do something.'

‘I am,' squealed Trep. ‘I'm holding on for dear life!'

An avalanche of small rocks began to tumble out of the cavernous mouth, causing Trep to squeal even louder. At the same time, the mouth continued to close with Ben scrabbling to gain some extra purchase with his feet.

‘Anybody?' yelled Ben, his feet thrashing wildly for any sort of grip.

Suddenly, above the deafening noise of grinding and tumbling stone, a flash of bright light scorched the air and the sound of splintering rock made everyone look towards the cavernous mouth.