Free Underworld by Cathy MacPhail Page B

them of the dangers, of how quickly caves can flood. He had told them about survival. What cavers do in case of an emergency. How they all work together. Zesh was totally caught up in it. No surprise there. Teacher’s favourite, old Zesh. Rick had been forgotten very quickly. He wondered if Zesh and Rick would ever really be friends again. Axel looked bored, sitting on a rock, seeing how far he could spit.
    Fiona sat on a rock too, studying her nails and chewing gum furiously. She looked bored stiff too. Angie couldn’t decide whether to sit beside her, or stay with Zesh. She couldn’t see that neither or them wanted her there. She was fat, and stupid.
    â€˜Are we going for something to eat, sir?’ Fiona yelled. ‘I’m starving. My belly thinks my throat’s been cut.’
    Her voice echoed through the tunnels and a low rumble could be heard in the distance. She was on her feet in an instant. ‘What was that?’
    â€˜You shouted too loud, idiot!’ Axel yelled back at her, his voice ten times as loud. ‘You could cause an avalanche.’
    Zesh sniggered. ‘I think you’ll find that’s snow, not rocks.’
    Axel just glared at him, then his eyes flashed as another low rumble, closer this time, took them by surprise.
    â€˜Time we were heading for the surface,’ Mr Marks said calmly. ‘And don’t worry about the noises. There are always noises in caves. Rock falls in the distance. No danger to us.’
    And that’s when it happened. It was like an explosion, rocking the ground beneath them. Even Mr Marks looked alarmed. Though his voice was even calmer as he spoke. ‘Right, up the path now. Quickly.’
    Axel was the first one up there, taking the steps two at a time.
    â€˜What was that, sir?’ Liam wanted the teacher to say again, distant rock falls, no danger to us. Instead, he shook his head.
    â€˜I don’t know, Liam. We have had a lot of wet weather, could be that. But these are very safe caves. Well used, we’ll find out when we –’
    Fiona screamed as the whole cave shook with the next explosion. It was the only way to describe the noise. An explosion. What was happening!
    â€˜It’s terrorists! They’re bombing!’ Axel ran up even faster, but the others were only steps behind him. Even Mr Marks was running, pushing the girls ahead of him.
    â€˜What’s happening, sir?’ Zesh’s eyes were wide with alarm.
    Mr Marks didn’t have time to answer him. The next explosion was deafening and so close it only took Liam a moment to realise what it was. Seconds later Axel reached the surface and yelled, ‘The opening’s blocked!’

Chapter 12
    Fiona pushed past Axel. ‘What do you mean, it’s blocked?’ She hoped he was lying, trying to scare them. But the entrance had gone, blocked by an avalanche of rocks and boulders.
    Mr Marks put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. ‘People know we’re here. We’ll just wait and they’ll come and dig us out.’
    â€˜When?’ Liam asked breathlessly.
    â€˜Soon, Liam. I’ve told them we’ll be back no later than six o’clock. If we haven’t returned by then they’ll know something is wrong.’
    â€˜This is your fault!’ Axel shouted. He had a vicious look on his face. ‘You should never have taken us down here. I’ll make sure you get sued.’
    â€˜Shut up, Axel.’ Zesh came and stood beside the teacher, like his ally. ‘You couldn’t have foreseen this, could you, sir?’
    Mr Marks managed a smile. ‘No, Zesh. It should never have happened. This is a tourist cave, that’s why there’s handrails and a path leading to the lower chamber. I can only imagine the wet weather has caused some kind of landslide.’
    A tourist cave? Well used? Fiona wondered. Except this wasn’t the tourist season, was it? They hadn’t seen a soul on the way