just looking down. By the time we emerged back into what was left of the daylight, it was impossible to trudge at our normal pace. Soon we were literally hurtling downhill, skidding and scattering stones in a mad rush.
Bare seconds before we reached the bottom, Reuben said, “Oh, what!” and we slithered to a standstill in a shower of gravel.
Below us was an old riverbed that must have dried up years ago. The ground was littered with rubble that had been washed here in the days when there was still a fast-flowing river. If I squinted against the evening light, I could just make out a faint sheen glistening on the bottom of the riverbed like a thin layer of evil lime jelly, Marching across pebbles, and possibly old skulls and bits of human elbow, the Demon Road disappeared into the mouth of a huge dark underground cavern.
“I didn’t realise that first bit was the scenic part,” Reuben said gloomily.
“Guess he must be a really dark lord,” I said, attempting humour.
Some kind of animal moved down in the riverbed, catching my eye. I watched it vaguely. There seemed to be quite a few down there. Suddenly I realised what I was seeing.
” Reuben! Those aren’t animals, they’re children!”
The sun was so low in the sky, we were half blinded by this time, so it took us a while to figure out what the little kids were doing.
“Some of those rocks are bigger than they are,” Reuben muttered. “What kind of game involves lugging big boulders?”
“Someone should tell them to go home before it gets dark. It’s way too late for kids to be out. “
We slithered the rest of the way down the mountain.
Close-to, the scene was even more surreal. Hordes of little children, some hardly more than babies, were frantically building a tower on the riverbank. They rushed about, feverishly collecting stones and piling them on their visibly unstable construction. From the children’s constant scared glances at the cavern, it seemed likely that the thing they were frightened of lived in there.
“Hi,” Reuben said in a sympathetic voice. “You’re working very hard.”
But the kids went on desperately piling on boulders as if he hadn’t spoken.
Normally, different sized rocks would make different kinds of sounds when you set them down. But in this dimension, every single stone landed with the same identical clack .
“It’s probably time to go home now,” I hinted. “It’s getting dark and you must be getting hungry.”
Some of the little ones started whispering among themselves. With their matted hair and mud-coloured clothes, they looked like they’d been formed out of the dried mud of the riverbed.
There was something seriously off about these kids, I thought. Their skin was crusted with dirt from the riverbed, so it was hard to tell for sure, but it totally didn’t seem like a healthy colour.
“Is it just this light, or do they look sort of blue to you?” I murmured to Reubs.
“Pick up the pace, you lot!” yelled one of the older boys. “We’ve got to finish this before it gets dark.”
One little girl burst into tears. “You always say that” she wailed. “But we never do!”
The boy can’t have been more than ten, but he tried to control his panic, and bent down to comfort her. “It’ll be different this time!” he promised. “You’ve all worked really well today. This is the best tower we’ve ever built. The gods have got to be pleased with this one.”
The small girl wiped her nose on her mud-coloured sleeve. Her eyes filled with a kind of hungry longing. “And they’ll really let us through the gate this time?”
He darted an anguished glance at the cave. “Yes, if you work fast.”
“Will we see gates crusted with precious pearls?” she persisted.
“Yes, and the gates will swing open, ” the boy gabbled, “and they’ll let us into the Pure Land, and we’ll live happily ever after. Now MOVE!”
“The Pure Land,” Reuben whispered. “Isn’t that one of the names
Bare seconds before we reached the bottom, Reuben said, “Oh, what!” and we slithered to a standstill in a shower of gravel.
Below us was an old riverbed that must have dried up years ago. The ground was littered with rubble that had been washed here in the days when there was still a fast-flowing river. If I squinted against the evening light, I could just make out a faint sheen glistening on the bottom of the riverbed like a thin layer of evil lime jelly, Marching across pebbles, and possibly old skulls and bits of human elbow, the Demon Road disappeared into the mouth of a huge dark underground cavern.
“I didn’t realise that first bit was the scenic part,” Reuben said gloomily.
“Guess he must be a really dark lord,” I said, attempting humour.
Some kind of animal moved down in the riverbed, catching my eye. I watched it vaguely. There seemed to be quite a few down there. Suddenly I realised what I was seeing.
” Reuben! Those aren’t animals, they’re children!”
The sun was so low in the sky, we were half blinded by this time, so it took us a while to figure out what the little kids were doing.
“Some of those rocks are bigger than they are,” Reuben muttered. “What kind of game involves lugging big boulders?”
“Someone should tell them to go home before it gets dark. It’s way too late for kids to be out. “
We slithered the rest of the way down the mountain.
Close-to, the scene was even more surreal. Hordes of little children, some hardly more than babies, were frantically building a tower on the riverbank. They rushed about, feverishly collecting stones and piling them on their visibly unstable construction. From the children’s constant scared glances at the cavern, it seemed likely that the thing they were frightened of lived in there.
“Hi,” Reuben said in a sympathetic voice. “You’re working very hard.”
But the kids went on desperately piling on boulders as if he hadn’t spoken.
Normally, different sized rocks would make different kinds of sounds when you set them down. But in this dimension, every single stone landed with the same identical clack .
“It’s probably time to go home now,” I hinted. “It’s getting dark and you must be getting hungry.”
Some of the little ones started whispering among themselves. With their matted hair and mud-coloured clothes, they looked like they’d been formed out of the dried mud of the riverbed.
There was something seriously off about these kids, I thought. Their skin was crusted with dirt from the riverbed, so it was hard to tell for sure, but it totally didn’t seem like a healthy colour.
“Is it just this light, or do they look sort of blue to you?” I murmured to Reubs.
“Pick up the pace, you lot!” yelled one of the older boys. “We’ve got to finish this before it gets dark.”
One little girl burst into tears. “You always say that” she wailed. “But we never do!”
The boy can’t have been more than ten, but he tried to control his panic, and bent down to comfort her. “It’ll be different this time!” he promised. “You’ve all worked really well today. This is the best tower we’ve ever built. The gods have got to be pleased with this one.”
The small girl wiped her nose on her mud-coloured sleeve. Her eyes filled with a kind of hungry longing. “And they’ll really let us through the gate this time?”
He darted an anguished glance at the cave. “Yes, if you work fast.”
“Will we see gates crusted with precious pearls?” she persisted.
“Yes, and the gates will swing open, ” the boy gabbled, “and they’ll let us into the Pure Land, and we’ll live happily ever after. Now MOVE!”
“The Pure Land,” Reuben whispered. “Isn’t that one of the names
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