Dark Tidings

Chapter 32 - A Place Far Away

After checking out of the Ritz, a short walk took them to the nearest underground train station. Michael bought tickets and led the way to the stairs which descended to the platform.

Madrick seemed to take each fresh experience in his stride, although his first attempt to ride an escalator didn't go well.

"Let's take this set of stairs," Madrick said as he stepped onto the up escalator. "They're less crowded than those other ones."

Michael watched in amusement as he stepped faster and faster but was getting nowhere. When he stopped stepping a look of fear spread across his face as 'an invisible force' propelled him in reverse. Before he could adjust, his heels hit the top of the stairs and he toppled backwards. Michael had seen the problem coming and managed to catch him before any real damage was done.

"Escalator," he said, trying to be helpful.

"Excalibur?"

"Follow me," said Michael sidestepping any discussion about King Arthur.

He led the way onto the down side and, after a bit of wobbling, the others managed to get on safely behind him. As usual, Tung struggled with new adventures and became quite agitated as they descended farther and farther into the bowels of the earth. They'd beaten the rush hour by ninety minutes or so, so at least he'd missed the added scariness of packed trains and thousands of bustling bodies.

They stood on a relatively empty platform and waited.

EEERGH. WHOOOSH. EEERGH.

A violent rush of air, a putrid sulphurous smell and ear-splitting screechy shrieks buffeted their senses, heralding the approach of the train. Michael readied himself to board whereas Tung and Madrick squealed and flung themselves against the wall, clutching their heads and covering their ears.

"Here be dragons," yelled Tung, "AND THE DRAGONS ARE COMING!"

"God save us from these demons from hell," screamed Madrick.

"Calm down, guys, you don't need to be scared," said Michael. "It's just the train coming. I swear it's not going to hurt you. Trust me."

The tube drew into the station and its doors slid open. A lot of reassurance and the fact that the 'dragon' was now stationery,  silent and notbreathing fire , seemed to calm the pair enough for him to beable to coax them to follow him into the guts of the monster. He tried to imagine how they were feeling. Terrified, no doubt, when the beast's orifices closed behind them as soon as they'd passed through. A sense of overwhelming fear must have engulfed them when the mammoth wormy-beast shuddered, rocked and crawled away into the total darkness of a pitch black tunnel.

He watched their anxiety build as the speed increased and the noise became overpowering, this was bound to be beyond anything they'd ever experienced before.

"At least it's not as noisy as the Noise Spell," said Madrick, proving him wrong.

Every so often, the train careered through brightly lit stations, blinding them but before their eyes could adjust, they were plunged back into the darkness of hell's tunnels. They both held on for grim death to their seats; seats they wouldn't have had if it'd been rush hour. They mightn't have survived the shaking and jolting if they'd had to stand.

In less than thirty minutes they arrived at the station nearest the apartment. The doors slid open and both Madrick and Tung rushed out onto the platform... free at last. They weren't taking any chances; the monster might change its mind about releasing them. They gulped in great lungfuls of air before collapsing onto their knees, as if in prayer.