Free The Battle for Duncragglin by Andrew H. Vanderwal Page A

dim watery reflection of his light shone back at them, as if from far away. They were trapped, perched on a ledge high up the side of a large circular shaft.
    “This must be where the aliens launch their spaceships,” Craig said quietly.
    Alex had to admit, it did look as if they were inside the barrel of a cannon big enough to blast a spaceship into outer space.
    Climbing back up the ramp, they found it came to a dead end above what they knew was the head. They jumped up and down and stomped on it, but could not get it to go back down.
    “Annie!” Alex shouted into a narrow crack where the block met the rock wall. “Annie, can you hear me?” He listened carefully, shouting her name again and again, but there was no reply.
    “I hope she's okay.” Craig's voice quavered.
    “I'm sure she is.” Alex was about to add that it was him and Craig who were not okay, but he bit his tongue. “She can't hear us – that's all. The rock is too thick.”
    “How will we get out of here?” Craig sounded close to tears.
    Alex did not know. He tried to stay calm, but his heart was thumping and there was a ringing in his ears. He knew that if the ramp did not lower back down, they were in a bad situation. Their packs were on the other side with Annie, and they could last only so long without food and water.
    A thought struck him. “The ramp started moving after we shifted some of the carvings on the wall,” he said. “Let's try that on this side.”
    To their dismay, they found that the wall of the shaft had no carvings. Craig attempted to climb it, but its surface was too smooth.
    Alex shone his light along the ledge. At one end was an abrupt drop-off. At the other, it narrowed until it was no more than a ridge on the side of the shaft.
    They were stuck.
    Dismayed, Alex pressed his head against the wall. All the climbing gear was with Annie. It was impossible to scale the wall without it. One slip and they would plunge into the blackness below, falling, falling for who knows how long before … Alex did not want to think about it. This could be where so many missing people met their end. Down below might be his parents' bones. Would he become a grinning skeleton, perched here on the ledge, or be reunited with his parents in a splintered pile of bones below?
    “Let's see where this leads,” Craig called.
    Craig's light was below the drop-off at the end of the ledge. Alex was incredulous that he would be climbing down the wall. He was about to shout for Craig to climb back up when he noticed that the end of the ledge was not an abrupt drop after all. Below were a series of narrow stone slabs that stuck out from the wall, forming steep steps.
    From far below, Craig waved for him to follow.
    Alex inched his way down the steps, hardly daring to breathe for fear of losing his balance. At one awful point, the steps came to the tiniest of landings before doubling back in the other direction. By the time he reached Craig, Alex's legs were trembling uncontrollably.
    Craig sat with his back to the wall. Before him was a narrow arch that crossed the center of the shaft. At its top was a small circular platform.
    “Isn't an arch always stronger than it looks?” Craig asked hopefully.
    “Forget it – I'm not crossing that thing.”
    Alex pulled a piece of chalk from his pocket and flung it over the edge. They leaned forward, listening. Alex held his breath, counting silently. At fifteen, he stopped, having heard nothing.
    Craig pulled back. “It can't be bottomless … can it?”
    Alex held up his hand. “Listen.”
    From far below, they faintly heard what sounded like moaning. Alex felt his neck hairs rising. It was similar to what he had heard when he'd gone searching for Vanessa.
    “It's them,” Craig said, frightened. He drew up his knees.
    “Do you think I hit a ghoulie with my chalk?”
    Alex's attempt at humor fell flat. Wide-eyed, Craig suddenly leapt up. Arms outstretched, he scampered up the narrow arch.
    “Wait!” Alex