THE LONDONERS: The Secret Underground City

Chapter 3. THE POINT OF NO RETURN

"Bloomin' Ada!" exclaimed a stunned Sean.

"The writing's in English!" said an equally stunned Kevin.

"It turned into English before my very eyes!" said Libby.

"Call me a plonker," said Sean, "but there's no technology that can do that where we come from."

"There isn't any technology anywhere that we know of that can do anything anywhere near like that!" insisted Catherine.

"Is it magic?" asked Libby.

"Not like in Harry Potter books," said Catherine. "Someone once said that Magic's just hiding a technology or a science we've yet to understand."

"Yeah," agreed Sean. "There's bound to be an explanation."

"Yes, Sean," said Catherine, looking thoughtful, "but whatever explains this 'magic', it isn't anything to do with Humanity as we have been brought up to believe in."

"Call me-" started to say Sean, when he was interrupted by Catherine:

"Make it original this time!" insisted Catherine. She and the others knew he was going to say, "Call me a plonker, but..." He was always saying it.

Sean stroked his chin deep in thought, then gave a little victorious smile and said, "Call me Ishmael, but that strange writing-I'll bet it was alien writing. I bet the technology that transformed it into English was alien technology."

"I think as ridiculous as it sounds, you might be right," said Catherine. "I can't think of another explanation. By the way, I liked your Moby Dick reference. The more I think about it, the cleverer it sounds."

"I don't get it?" said a confused Libby.

"It's silly," said Kevin. "Just forget about it, Libby. I'm sure he'll never use such a daft joke again."

Just then, the ground above them shook, even though the tunnel remained perfectly still. A few loose chunks of concrete from the edge of the fissure fell down, some of them bouncing off the ladder's rungs.

"Quick!" shouted Catherine. "Move down the tunnel, I think the fissure is closing up!"

Sure enough, they moved, and the fissure did close up. There was a small pile of concrete pieces on the tunnel floor beneath where the fissure had been; however, the tunnel remained undamaged.

"That's torn it!" said Kevin. "We've got no choice now, but to explore the tunnel."

"Don't worry, Libby," assured Catherine, "we'll find our way out. I mean the tunnel doesn't seem as if it can be damaged, and it must lead somewhere."

"Perhaps we should start off our exploration by actually reading the writing," suggested Kevin.

The children walked back to the writing and started to read:

Main Exit To Planet Surface!

Please remember on return to use the decontamination brick. All specimen bags and flasks must be sealed! Do not forget your key or you will have to undergo testing from the Vertos-an unpleasant experience, even for Farlan scientists! The city awaits your successful return.

"Hmm..." murmured Catherine, deep in thought. "I have a feeling aliens might well be involved. I think I know a bit about what's happened. I think the tunnel is near enough indestructible. This is obviously one end of the tunnel. That's why the fissure occurred here and how we were able to enter. The fissure occurred at the weakest point. The other end of the tunnel must exit to a waiting city."

"But we'd know if there was a city under London, surely," said Kevin.

"I doubt we'd know about a city that probably has the means to hide itself with incredible technology," replied Catherine. "But I have a feeling this tunnel is very ancient. Not just thousands of years old, but maybe even millions of years old. I think the city might still be there, or it might have been intentionally destroyed. I have a feeling this tunnel was abandoned many years ago."