The following excerpt is from Sunshine and Shadow: Exodus, or The Second Transit, which was released on July 12, 2022.
CHAPTER ONE
Candice was in trouble.
A lot of trouble.
Perhaps because she was the oldest at eleven and theoretically the most responsible, she would get an earful when they returned to the settlement. The others would get in trouble, too, but not as much as her. No, she was going to get it, stick and all. And for what? Because she couldn’t walk away from a dare? Mama would have none of this. It was the only thing outside of venturing into the forests that her parents warned her not to do, the one thing all parents warned all children not to do.
Don’t go in the holes.
How could they obey that silly little rule, however? They were kids, and curious kids will do what curious kids do: the opposite of what parents tell them. Candice knew for certain that her parents had ventured into the holes that peppered the dry lakebed when they were kids. Grandpa even told stories about all the treasures he found hidden out there, just below the dirt, inside the holes. The riches were guarded by dragons, apparently. Maybe the stories were made up, like her brother Micah claimed. After all, if Grandpa found so much treasure, why was he still a farmer?
And so, on a dare, Candice was in a hole and deep in trouble. Naturally, Micah opted out of going with her—claimed he had classes to attend, or something—so she had to find a few other willing kids to do the thing parents said not to do.
Candice adjusted her braided black hair and pushed forward. Ryan, her cousin, was ahead of her, the bouncing light from his lantern barely visible. He was about four years younger and the skinniest, so he was chosen to lead the others deep into the only hole they could all fit into, one of many on the opposite side of the ship buried in the dirt. Candice’s friend Trisha, also younger but older than Ryan, was in the best position to watch her little brother, Killian. Both struggled to find footing on the loose dirt and rocks behind Ryan. In the rear, and a little overweight, Candice held her own lantern. It was good to be in the back. She had no desire to lead the group, even if she was the oldest. If something happened, she could get out fast, but she would still have bragging rights to shove in her brother’s face.
The light ahead stopped bouncing and Ryan’s voice echoed in the tight space of the cavern. “Right or left?” he asked. “Got another tunnel here.”
“How should I know?” Trisha stopped on what looked like a large rock. She lowered her head a little to keep from knocking it on another rock sticking out from above. “Pick one and get moving.”
“Go right! Go right!” Killian’s voice echoed. He was too excitable for this adventure, too bouncy and full of energy. Candice was surprised he’d made it this far. It seemed the little kids were always bored fast, ready to bounce from one toy to another, then to the streets to play or the storerooms to look for a snack. All of six, however, this kid was a born adventurer and would not stop until he found treasure. “Go right,” he said again.
“Aye, aye, Captain.” Ryan’s light slowly moved to the right and bounced again. Candice couldn’t see much past Trisha and Killian still on the rock. Candice raised her lantern so she could see Trisha’s face better. “You going?” Candice asked.
Trisha looked nervous, her freckled cheeks grimier than normal. She gripped Killian’s hand tighter. “I don’t know. Maybe we should head back.”
“No!” Killian’s screech echoed. “Go, Tish.”
Candice was on Trisha’s side. “We can turn around.”
“No, Tish.” Killian jumped up and down. “Go, go, go.”
“Maybe a little more,” Trisha said. She didn’t look confident in her decision, however.
Maybe they should turn around. They were already in so much trouble. No, that wasn’t true. Candice was in so much trouble. The others would get a scolding, but she would get the stick. Not that any sort of punishment like that had been used before, but she could imagine her being the first. It would be worse if anything happened to them while they were down here. The aldermen would tie her to a stake during the next Council meeting and let everyone else have at her, make her an example of what bad children get when they do the thing their parents said not to do.
“I’m okay with going back,” Candice said.
“No!” Killian screamed. Apparently, he was also not a child who accepted defeat.
Candice knelt to meet Killian’s gaze. “We can come back another day. We made it this far.”
“Ryan up there.” Killian brushed a curl of red hair away from his eyes and pointed to the receding light ahead. “Ryan will be rich.”
“There’s no treasure.”
The little boy’s head bobbed up and down. “Yes, there is.”
A scream ahead caught their attention. Candice stood and tried to see around Trisha. “What was that?”
“Ryan?” Trisha cupped her mouth with her hands and called again. “Ryan?”
His light was still visible, but faint and now unmoving.
“Come on,” Trisha said to Candice. “We need your lantern.” She pulled on Killian’s hand and headed toward Ryan.
Candice felt nervous, unsure of whether to follow or run back to the settlement and get help. Since she was already in so much trouble, why not push ahead?
“Ryan!” Trisha called again.
Killian echoed his sister. “Ryan!”
The screech of the boy made Candice’s heart race faster. She looked at the lantern in her hand, then up toward Trisha and Killian. They really did need her.
She had no choice. She had to be the light in the dark. She abandoned her idea of running for help and followed the others. What could happen? She had heard stories of other children falling in sudden drops in the holes and twisting their ankles. One adult, Brother Moran, broke his arm according to legend. That had never been verified, however, and eventually the dangers of the holes made way for the excitement of adventure, of doing the thing parents said not to do, of beating a dare.
What bad could possibly happen in a hole?
—
Ryan lay on his back, the lantern next to him. He had fallen into a pit about ten feet deep. From what Candice could see, he was still alive.
“Ryan,” Candice called down. “Can you hear me?”
Her cousin’s eyes fluttered open. The lantern cast an ominous glow over his face which was covered in dirt. “I’m…okay.” He sat up. “The ground gave in.”
Candice looked at the edge of the pit where she crouched, just under the roof of the tunnel. She carefully eased back. “Are you hurt?”
Ryan looked at his hands. “Just some scrapes. My ankle is a little sore.”
“Can you get out?”
Ryan looked up and around, then stood. He brushed dirt off his pants and shirt and picked up his lantern. The pit was about six feet wide, the sides a crumbling mess of dried mud and pebbles. Dust hung in the air. “I don’t think so,” he said. He looked up. “Did you bring a rope?”
Candice swallowed. “No, I didn’t. But there’s one by the ship.”
“Those ropes are old. Broke one a few days ago.”
Trisha lay on the ground at the edge and reached into the pit. “Can you grab my hand?”
Ryan stretched up. “Not unless I can find something to stand on.”
“Let me get the rope,” Candice said. “It won’t take long.”
“No. I just need a rock or something.” He swung the light left and right, then stopped. “Hold on.”
Near the back edge of the pit, Candice saw what looked like a large rock, about two feet across and maybe just as high. If he stood on that, he might be able to reach Trisha’s hand and they could pull him out. The quicker the better. If they could get Ryan out and make it back to the settlement, they could explain the boy’s dirty clothes and scrapes away by calling it rough play.
Why had she agreed to go into the holes again?
Right. On a dare.
Ryan stood on the rock, his body against the side of the pit. He reached up and across, but it was still not enough. “I’m going to try to move this thing,” he said. He put the lantern on the ground and pulled at the rock.
“Be careful,” Candice said. Of all the things to happen down here, a cave-in would be one of the worst.
The rock moved a little. With another grunt, Ryan pulled it away from the wall. He slipped and fell backward onto his bottom. In place of the rock, Candice thought she saw another hole.
Ryan picked up his lantern and brought it up. “What is that?” The hole was no wider than the rock, but its darkness was ominous.
“Is it treasure?” Killian asked.
“Get the rock and climb out, Ryan.” Candice believed her voice might sound more mature than she was, and if she had to play the scolding adult, so be it. “We can look at that later.”
Ryan looked up at Candice, then Trisha. “Dare me to peek inside?”
Not another dare. What was it with boys? Was this how people got themselves in trouble or, worse, buried in the ground at Cemetery Hill?
“No,” Candice said. “You get that rock and climb out.”
“Just a peek, Candy.” Ryan smiled. She hated that name, and Ryan knew it.
“Ryan Page. If you don’t climb out of there right now, I will tell your mother. Or worse, your father.”
“There might be treasure,” Killian said, his voice climbing even higher
“There is no treasure,” Candice said.
Ryan put the lantern by the hole and lay on his stomach. He peered inside. “Ground is a little wet here,” he said, his voice muffled by the dirt in front of his face. “Smells horrible.” He scooted a little closer. “I think I see—”
Something that looked to Candice like a red branch reached out of the hole. As Ryan tried to back away, it rose above his back, then plunged into the boy’s flesh.
Ryan screamed. In one second, flesh peeled away and bones cracked as his body was pulled forward into the hole, face first.
Trisha screamed as well, and Killian backed up. Candice watched in muted horror as the hole forcefully consumed her cousin’s body. His scream stopped. Where there was once a boy with a lantern who agreed to go with her on a dare, there was now nothing but a lantern and a trail of blood.
The light of the lantern illuminated water as it seeped up from the ground. In seconds, it covered the floor of the pit and flowed more forcefully out of the hole into which Ryan had been pulled. The blood on the dirt mixed with the water and disappeared as the level rose. In seconds, the lantern was dowsed, and the pit was dark.
Trisha was panicked, her breath coming in ragged, short bursts. Killian, of all people, was quiet. He looked at his sister, then into the pit as the water continued to rise.
“We have to get out of here,” Candice said. She stood and pulled on Trisha’s shirt. “Now.”
“He’s—he’s gone,” Trisha quietly said between breaths. She looked at Candice. “We have to get him.”
“We can’t, Trish.” Candice did not want to believe it either, but there was no other option. With Ryan gone, there was nothing any of them could do but run back to the settlement and tell some grown up. Forget being scolded.
“We can’t leave him,” Trisha said. Her voice was louder, exposing her true panic. “He’s hurt!”
The ground at the edge of the pit crumbled under Trisha’s weight. She backed up, then pushed Killian. “Get back, Killian.” Trisha looked into the pit at the now swirling water, faintly visible in the light of Candice’s lantern. “Candice. Get him out of here.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I can swim if I have to,” she said. “I have to do something.”
“No!” Before Candice could react, Trisha swung around and pushed herself into the pit. She landed with a splash, the water up to her ankles.
“Tish!” Killian screamed. He leaned over the edge of the pit and looked down. “Get out of there!”
Candice froze. What could she do? Now Trisha was in the pit and whatever grabbed Ryan was sure to grab her as well. What was that thing? There were few animals around the settlement, and none that ever showed up on the lakebed. All the furry critters and things to eat hid out in the forbidden forests, but nothing that had creepy long red fingers that spiked people.
Not that Candice knew of, anyway.
“Trisha!” Candice called as she lay on the ground at the edge and reached into the pit with her hand. “Grab my hand!”
Trisha jumped, but she couldn’t reach. The water splashed again as she fell back.
“The rock! Grab the rock!”
Trisha stood in the water and looked around. The rock was to her left, illuminated slightly by Candice’s lantern and still next to the hole where Ryan disappeared. She reached to grab it when another red branch-looking thing shot out of the water and wrapped around her arm. Trisha screamed and pulled away. She pushed herself against the far wall.
“Jump again!” Candice screamed. “You can make it.”
Trisha tried again, but her foot slipped. “The water is turning the floor to mush.”
“Push off from the rock!”
“Tish!” Killian cried from behind Candice.
“Get back!” Candice glanced to her right as Killian approached the edge of the pit, his body quivering in the glow of her lantern. He was crying.
“Tish! Get out! Get out! Get out!”
Trisha jumped again, but still missed. The branch reached for her leg and whipped around. Trisha saw it. She frantically clawed at the side of the pit.
“Tish!” Killian reached down with his own hand, the edge of the pit crumbling under his weight.
Trisha looked up. “Get back! Candice! Get him out of here.”
Candice reached toward Killian as the edge gave way. Killian screamed and tumbled face first into the pit, his head striking the rock. He rolled over into the water, silent.
Trisha reached for Killian as the branch found her arm and wrapped around it. She screamed and tried to pull back. Another branch reached out of the hole and wrapped around Killian’s lifeless body.
Candice pushed away from the edge of the pit as Trisha’s scream intensified—then stopped.
They were gone.
All of them.
She reflexively picked up the lantern and ran back toward the entrance to the hole.
Read more Short Stories, Excerpts and Poems
All text copyright 2022, Benjamin X. Wretlind
