"The Sun Goes Down, Peik"

The curious five met at Tilda's and Runa's mailbox, and went over the stuff they had acquired for their dangerous journey: Canned food and hotdogs, matches, warm clothes, sleeping gear, first aid kits, flash lights, torches, logs to make fire, bottles with fresh water. Peik's dad was an engineer who had created a pocket-sized device that made salt water into fresh water, which probably could come in very handy. Ilai carried the largest backpack, and he took the stuff that was too heavy for the others.

They had all made up a common alibi, which none of the respective parents had questioned: They were going camping up in the forest for a night, and the amount of food was because each of them had said they were the responsible one for bringing food - so now, they had enough food for four or five days, a week if they could ration it out.

They went down to the beach, and marched over sand, rocks, up a hill and down from it again. Then they got to the boulders that looked to be guarding the tunnel - and there it was. Their secret that intrigued them and had been lying in the back of each of their minds, and it truly was something that looked like the entrance to some hidden abyss. They tied a rope around the closest boulder there, and waited for the ebbing of the sea. They had figured that was when the mysterious gas was gone. So they waited, while gazing into the sun and at the horizon, and snacked on some sandwiches with gourmet gouda and smoked ham, a treat from Peik's mother. Peik and Runa skipped some flat, rounded stones, and the other three were at it with building a sturdy sand castle.

"This could be really dangerous, you know", Ilai whispered to Tilda. "We are the oldest ones. What if the gas fills up the whole tunnel? And if there are spots that are 'gas free', how do we know when the sea is ebbing?", he asked her, concerned, and realizing the responsibility resting on the two of them, as Emma was working on a stick flag that was meant to be on the top tower of the sand castle.

"I know, I had trouble falling asleep thinking about it. What if we chip some footsteps into the walls of the tunnel, and make it easier to get out of there?", she suggested, while flattening a new tower for the castle. "Or we could leave someone on top for safety, as we did when you fell down before?"

They thought about it a bit, when they saw the kelp and stones were now almost covered by the ever-rising sea. They were just waiting for one of the kids to realize it, and yet, they were not totally sure of whether this was a sure science. The gas could still be there now, for all they knew.

"Look! We can go in now!", Peik pointed out, as a cloud covered the sun. "Let's get our backpacks!"

They all, at once, stopped what they were doing, and went over to the hole. One by one, they climbed down, one handkerchief in hand, each, which would make a mask. They had not tested them to see if they were effective, and Ilai felt like they should have gone to get proper masks, but they had no money for it, and they did not know where to get them. So, down they went.

They all got down, and no one reported any whiffs of weird smells. They decided they were safe for now, and Tilda and Runa turned on each their headlamps, and they began exploring the cave. "This tunnel goes on for miles and miles!", Peik erupted. "Shouldn't we get a grown-up down here with us?", he asked the others. Most of them knew they would never be allowed to go down there if they did, so that was a dead subject. They wanted the adventure.

"It looks like the walls are sanded down, or, like... I don't know, they look manmade. Right, Il?", Tilda asked her boyfriend. He nodded, but was silent, in awe of this tunnel.

"Do we just... Start walking? How long could it be, right?", Emma asked. "We should probably find a better place if we are going to sleep somewhere", she said. They agreed, and began walking. Ilai got up a torch, as they decided they needed all the light they could get. Emma also had a flashlight with an emergency electric little engine they could crank up with a rotating handle. They began walking - Ilai at the back, Tilda up front.

The circular tunnel just went on, a claustrophobic nightmare - then the walls suddenly lighted up, similar to the way fireflies glow, but all in stripes and patterns along the walls. They all gasped, and Runa got so scared she jumped up in Ilai's arms.

"What... What is this?", Emma asked, baffled and amazed. She touched a part of the luminescent pattern, and it warmed her at the touch. "It's warm, Tilly! Try touching the lights!", she squealed in all her amazement. They all did the same, Peik laid the entire flat palms of his hands on them, and yes, they could all confirm the warming to their touch. They kept walking, while hypnotized by the glowing of these peculiar patterns. The tunnel went on, no light was visible in the distance.

...

They had been walking for a little while, when they got to a part that was partially flooded, and a slight stream of water was running through the tunnel. "What if this stream floods at some point and fills the entire tunnel?", Runa asked, concerned. They skipped over it - Emma did not have waterproof shoes, so Ilai had to lift her over it. They got weary, and a bit anxious about how long into this place they had been wandering. They did not know what was waiting in the end of this tunnel, or even if there was anything there, or even an end at all to it.

"We need to camp somewhere soon. I had been hoping for an obvious place to lay out our sleeping bags at this point", he mumbled, tired, checking his watch. "... and we have been walking for like two hours already. Maybe we should think about turning and going back?", Ilai said, and laid bare his inner, responsible adult side. They decided to keep walking for a bit more.

After a few minutes of walking, they heard echoes of themselves talking and walking. "Guys, I think there is an open cave here!", Ilai shouted. They began half-running - and quite right, there was a huge, open cave up ahead. They entered the opening, and found a cave with a sand floor, huge boulders scattered around in the middle of it. They had probably fallen down there through the gigantic hole way up, as they got a small bit of daylight from it. They could also estimate the cave must have been some hundred meters tall, which meant they had been walking downhill almost continuously.

"Wow!", they all gasped, looking up at the shimmering light. They then heard a grunting, something rolling, moving in the sand. In there, with them. The youngest girls were so frightened they screamed. It came from behind one of the boulders. Ilai flicked up his pocket knife.

"Who's there?", he shouted, his voice breaking at the end. No answer. "Who's there?", he yelled, louder this time. The grunting continued, and they moved in on it. To their immense surprise, they found a man, soaking wet, barely conscious. "Who are you?", Ilai asked him from a safe distance. He did not answer, and they soon discovered he was bruised, and tied at the hands and feet. Then he opened his eyes, and his face seemed to attempt a scream - but he made no sound, and was bleeding profusely from the mouth.