The Scalding Caverns

The beginning of the cave was steep, snug, and relatively straight. Beads of moisture clung to the warm walls, and the heavy reek of sulfur made Jason wrinkle his nose. As they progressed down the long, winding slope, Jason noticed that, unlike in other caves he had entered, the air was getting warmer the farther they went.

They shuffled forward as hurriedly as the moist slope would permit. In many places Jason had to duck or turn sideways. Where possible he braced his hands against the damp walls to keep from sliding. He could not shake the thought that if the cave erupted anytime soon, they would end up like ants exploring a fire hose.

After what seemed like an endless descent, the cave leveled out a little. Unfortunately, the way forward became more cramped. Before long they were crawling on hands and knees, the walls close on either side. Eventually the confining passage opened into a low room with a few branching tunnels, all of them smaller than Jason would have preferred.

After a moment of hasty deliberation, Jasher and Farfalee fell flat and slithered into the smallest opening. Jason ended up behind Corinne, watching the soles of her shoes as he scooted forward. He tried not to picture people getting stuck ahead and behind him, trapping him there until the next boiling eruption washed through. He tried not to speculate whether the heat or the lack of air would kill him first.

Jason hated when the low passage twisted. More than once, contorting his body to scoot around a corner left him panicked that he would get stuck. He felt tempted to shed his gear and leave it behind, but knew he would want it once he reached the far side. He kept worming forward, the muggy air smelling so richly of minerals that he could almost taste the grit between his teeth.

After some time they were able to crawl on hands and knees again; then at last they could walk. The way sloped down some more, twisting enough to leave Jason completely disoriented. The cave remained confining, and they often had to advance by turning sideways. If Aram had been big, Jason doubted whether he would have managed to squeeze through some of the tighter spaces.

The air kept getting hotter. It felt like hiking through an earthy sauna. They passed a misshapen cavity that steadily vented scorching steam. The way dipped lower. From down a steeply branching tunnel Jason could hear water hissing and churning. Everyone else seemed to notice the splashing as well, and by silent agreement they started advancing faster.

After a few more twists, turns, and branching corridors, the odor of sulfur became so oppressive that Jason started to gag. The air grew steamier. Even when he clamped a hand over his mouth, the pungent vapor coated his throat with silty flavors.

Abruptly the way opened into a tremendous cavern. A ledge wrapped around one side of the room. The wide chamber had no floor. Instead, down below, a thick, dark pool churned ominously, belching fat bubbles and noxious fumes.

“A true cavern at last,” Heg remarked. “I was beginning to question whether these puny tunnels should be renamed the Scalding Rabbit Holes.”

“This chamber is evidence that we’re moving in the right direction,” Farfalee called back. “Stay with us.”

Jason inched out onto the ledge after Corinne. The blistering air stung his eyes, and steam fogged his vision. He tried to breathe through the material of his sleeve to help strain the smothering fumes. The narrow ledge was slick with oily dampness, which made every step risky. He edged forward cautiously, sliding his feet rather than lifting them. To fall would mean certain death.

At the far side of the ledge Jason followed Corinne into a crack in the wall. Bracing against the sides of the fissure, he had to chimney up for twenty feet before reaching where the tunnel continued.

Once the hellish cavern was behind them, they increased their pace again. Jason was relieved to find the air growing a bit fresher. “I can breathe a little,” he said.

“What a treat,” Corinne replied without turning.

“If the air had gotten any thicker, it would have become solid.”

That earned a chuckle.

Their path was trending up more than down now, and they had a little more space to maneuver. From up ahead they heard loud gurgling and sloshing. Jasher started to jog, and the others matched his pace. Drenched in greasy sweat, Jason panted shallowly. His head started to pound.

They reached an intersection where the corridor forked. The sound of heaving water noisily emanated from the left passage. Jasher headed right.

From behind, the sloshing increased to a blustery roar.

“Faster!” Del called.

Their pace increased to a sprint. The cave was growing narrow, so Jason jostled against the sides as he ran, scraping his shoulders. He pulled against the knobby walls where possible to keep his momentum. The muscles in his legs burned, and a sharp pain corkscrewed into his side. The watery roar behind him increased in ferocity. A moist, sweltering gale swept over him. He expected a searing tide to overcome him at any moment.

The tight cave broadened into a roomy cavern. Leg muscles protesting, Jason dashed across the cavern, a couple of paces behind Corinne. He followed her up a slope at the far side of the room and into another cramped tunnel. A jagged stone protuberance slashed the outside of his upper arm as he blundered against it. He hardly felt the pain. Behind him he heard water hissing and surging.

“Duck,” Corinne called back to him.

He relayed the message back to Aram and crouched low. Soon he was hurriedly crawling, his knees and elbows suffering because of his haste. His heart hammered rapidly. He felt like a participant in a nightmare marathon designed to drive claustrophobics insane.

“We might be clear,” Heg called from behind. “The cavern behind us had many offshoots. I think it absorbed the eruption.”

The way sloped more dramatically upward. The air kept feeling less suffocating. They no longer tried to crawl at a sprint, but they continued to hurry. After falling flat to wriggle through a low gap, they could stand again.

Steam vents and threatening gurgles became less frequent. The air cooled and freshened. Jason felt less edgy. The steepness tired his legs, but the evidence that they were on their way out of the subterranean maze boosted his spirits.

At last, drenched and panting, caked with grime, they emerged from an aperture near the bottom of a deep chasm. Vertical walls of rock loomed at either hand, leading to an unreachable strip of sky high above. Water flowed from wall to wall along the floor of the gorge, before slurping underground twenty feet below the gap they had exited.

Chapter 26