THE LIVING DEAD GIRL [3]

The interior of the cave was dank, cold, and dark, the ground uneven. Indeed, immediately upon entering, there was a series of natural steps that all but cut off the spill of daylight from outside and resulted in the floor level quickly dropping by several meters. Purna took a flashlight from her backpack and shone it around. The passage ahead was narrow and winding, the walls rising up from it in a curve. It made Sam think of that old story about Jonah in the belly of the whale.

'How far?' he asked the witch doctor, but the old man simply waved him on, the jangle of the bone bracelets on his wrist echoing eerily. They ventured forward, wary of stumbling and turning an ankle or worse on the slippery floor. In fact, it wasn't long before the passage widened out into a huge cavern, the ceiling high above their heads and the walls lined with row upon row of alcoves hacked from the rock. In each of the alcoves had been laid a body, virtually all of which were now nothing more than exposed gray bones and mummified flesh, the bindings they had been lovingly wrapped in having perished to gray scraps as insubstantial as cobwebs.

Looking around, Sam said glumly, 'A couple of years, West said. But these guys look as if they've been dead for centuries.'

Koritoia-Ope, however, was already pushing past them, taking the lead, gesturing towards a black opening on the far side of the cavern. He spoke urgently, nodding all the while.

'This is obviously the oldest cavern,' Purna said. 'I guess once this one was full, the Kuruni had to go deeper. That's where the fresher meat will be.'

'Nice,' said Sam.

They moved on, passing through the valve-like opening on the far side of the cavern into another narrow tunnel. Purna's flashlight beam slithered around the walls, highlighting the gleam of dampness and the black ridged shadows in a startling and somehow primal chiaroscuro. After another fifty meters or so, the tunnel widened into a second vast cavern, the walls of this one too resembling a vast hive for the dead. As Purna had guessed, the bodies were fresher here, as evidenced not only by the sight of them but also the smell.

Sam felt his gorge rise and swallowed it down with an effort. Taking shallow breaths, he muttered, 'Let's get this done quick. It ain't nice in here.'

'Shh,' Purna said.

'What's up?'

She raised a hand. 'Just be quiet a minute.'

Sam stood still and listened, holding his breath. He could hear the steady drip of water, and something else too. A scratching sound.

'What's that? Rats?'

Purna's flashlight beam danced across to her left. 'It's coming from over there.' As soon as she began to head in the direction she had indicated, Koritoia-Ope ran across and stepped angrily in front of her, blocking out her flashlight beam, shaking his head and waving his hands.

'What's with him?' said Sam.

Purna halted, looking at the agitated witch doctor thoughtfully, but she didn't retreat. 'There's obviously something he doesn't want us to see.'

'Something alive, from the sound of it,' said Sam.

'Or someone,' she replied.

Koritoia-Ope stepped even closer to her, put his hands on her arms to steer her away. Purna shrugged him off. 'Get off me. What are you hiding?'

The witch doctor jabbered at her, his eyes flashing, his lips curling back to reveal teeth sharpened to points.