7. Chapter 7
“So let me get this straight. You believe that you’ve found the greatest energy deposits Chthonic Power Solutions has ever seen? And that it’s buried beneath a deserted town?”
“That pretty much sums it up.” Zoe watched as the mote of light fluttered within its new makeshift home, an old fish tank she’d salvaged from Spooks’ supplies. “Although these energy deposits aren’t like anything I’ve seen before...”
She held her tracker to the strange light, until Mr. Gravesend yelped in excitement as he received the readings.
“Hmm, this could be quite promising indeed. I haven’t seen readings like this in a very long time indeed.” Mr. Gravesend paused thoughtfully, before he spoke once more. “I’ll dispatch a team to your location this afternoon. If your findings are anything to go by, this could be quite the discovery…”
“Actually, I think this requires a delicate touch. There are some… unusual locals…“ Zoe peered through the window, to where the Phantom Fiestadores serenaded Misty in the light of the sunset. “And I’d rather not arouse their suspicions yet. I may have been a little economical with the truth…”
“I see you’re finally playing by the company book!” Mr. Gravesend let loose a wheezing cackle of delight. “Which one of Swindleton’s fables have you used this time? Are you looking for land to set up your organic farm? A cat rescue center? An alpaca petting zoo?”
Zoe’s heart sank in her chest. “Actually, they think I’m a travel blogger…”
“Hah! I can’t say I’ve heard that one before, but I’ll give you points for originality.” Mr. Gravesend chuckled coldly as he took a sip of his pomegranate juice. “And you’ve located the source of the energy deposits?”
“Well, kinda…” Zoe thought back to the locked gates within the maze of thorns. “I’m fairly certain I’ve located it. Although getting access to it could prove tricky. But still, these readings should be more than enough to show the board that I’m the perfect candidate for a promotion…”
Mr. Gravesend let out a long sigh, like an exasperated teacher to a student.
“Zoe, it will take more than one energy reading to convince the board of anything. That’s like promising a reservoir of water when you’ve only found a raindrop. It could be a fluke, an anomaly, a…”
“Mr. Gravesend, I know there’s something powerful here. Something that could change the entire future of Chthonic Power Solutions! I just need more time…”
“Time is something you don’t have, my dear. The board will appoint my successor in a matter of days. And unless you find the source of the energy deposits, then they’ll have no choice but to give the position to Swindleton.”
“But, Mr. Gravesend…”
Zoe cursed as her signal dropped and the video call went dead. So much for proving she had what it takes. If she didn’t find the source of those energy deposits, all of this would be for nought. She watched the light as it fluttered within its tank, and landed on a branch that she’d placed inside, bathing it in its soft golden glow.
“What are you, I wonder? Are you some kind of bug?” A low buzz told her that wasn’t the case. “Are you even alive?”
She glanced at the food tray she’d hastily assembled, containing vegetables, leaves, and even a slice of Misty’s cakes, in case the mote of light had an appetite. But after hours of studying the strange entity, Zoe still wasn’t even sure if it was sentient. She sighed, knowing that if she wanted answers, she would have to look elsewhere.
As the setting sun glistened on the snow-covered landscape, Zoe peered through the window to the gardens beyond. Thorny vines and a thick freezing fog obscured the center of the maze, while small golden lights flickered within. She chewed her lip in frustration as she gazed at the sight, knowing that to secure her promotion, she had to find a way inside. But in a town where the residents could appear out of thin air, finding a moment’s peace had proven challenging. Particularly when it came to her self-appointed tour guide…
“Hiya, fleshie!” As if on cue, Spooks appeared on her windowsill in a puff of smoke. “What are you up to?”
“I’m trying to concentrate. This report won’t write itself.”
“Oh, right, your travel blog about our town.” Spooks cartwheeled across the floor of her bed chambers. “Oh, I can’t wait to have visitors again!”
Zoe’s stomach churned at her lie. She looked at her report for Mr. Gravesend, and couldn’t help thinking this wasn’t quite the thing Spooks had in mind. She pushed the feeling aside, and forced herself to concentrate, before she returned to her laptop once more.
An abandoned motel occupies the current site, a dilapidated dump where no one living or dead would want to be seen…
Zoe glanced at the run-down motel, its weather-beaten structure creaking in the Arctic winds. She watched as Shadow swept through the motel like a storm cloud, his dark mood tainting the joyful song of the Phantom Fiestadores, until their music died in the winds.
The present occupant tends to stick to the shadows, but is as frosty as the barren landscape in which he calls his home…
She followed Shadow’s gaze to the maze in the distance, where golden lights twinkled within the darkness, before she typed once again.
Sometimes to find a location’s true potential, one must dig deep - quite literally. A prime location for drilling; certainly no one living would mourn its loss.
With her report complete, Zoe’s finger hovered on the send button. A pang of guilt washed through her as she glanced at the specters gathered below. But she steeled herself, knowing that Swindleton was right. If she wanted the promotion, she had to follow her head, and not her heart.
“Oh, the Phantom Fiestadores have started their performance!” Spooks’ grinning face appeared through her laptop screen with a chuckle. “Care for a dance?”
Zoe watched as the ghosts merrily resumed their music-making, while Misty twirled across the makeshift dance floor in the light of the sunset. Despite her reluctance, Zoe couldn’t help but admit that it did look a little fun. But one glance at her overflowing work emails brought her back down to earth with a thud.
“Perhaps another time.” Zoe tried to concentrate as the mariachi’s trumpeting reached fever pitch. “And would you mind keeping it down? I still have so much work to do…”
“Keep it down? But the Phantom Fiestadores need to get their practice in. The Spectral Soirée is in just a few days, and we need to ensure they’re in tip-top shape. Besides, this might be a ghost town, but it comes alive in the night time.” Spooks perched on the windowsill and swung his legs merrily from beneath him. “Once the boys have finished their sunset performance, then the real celebrations will begin! There’ll be trick or treating, hide and shriek, pin the tailbone on the skeleton, and the main event of course…”
“The real celebrations? You mean this will last all night?“ Zoe groaned in despair. “How am I supposed to get any work done?”
“But you’ve been working all day long. You should join us and live a little!”
“Spooks, we’ve been over this. I don’t have time for trick or treating, I don’t have time for pin the tailbone on the skeleton and I don’t have time for…” But Zoe drew a breath as she realized this was the perfect opportunity to free herself from the gaze of her ever-present tour guide. “Actually, perhaps a game of hide and shriek is exactly what I need.”
“I knew you’d come around eventually! Oh boy, this will be a night to remember!” Spooks somersaulted through the air, until his bells jingled in delight. “Just don’t hide in the master’s underwear drawer. He sure does get grumpy about that…”
“I’ll, err, be sure not to.” Zoe shook her head to rid herself of the idea, before she glanced at Spooks once more. “Okay, now close your eyes and count to a hundred. No peeking, okay?”
“Me? Cheat? Whatever would give you that impression?“ Spooks cackled, before he covered his eyes and peeked through the cracks in his fingers. “Very well, fleshie. One, two, three…”
Zoe grabbed her satchel and raced to the doorway. She might have brought herself some time, but something told her the town poltergeist wouldn’t play fair. Despite the wave of guilt that rushed through her, she sped from the bedchambers and down the stairs.
“Eleven, seventeen, twenty-two…”
Zoe picked up her pace, knowing that Spooks’ desire for bending the rules, and his inability to count, gave her no time to waste. She raced towards the maze, using her tracker to guide her through the twists and turns of the thorns.
“Ready or not, here we come!”
Zoe glanced over her shoulder, to see Spooks soar through the air like a firework, while barks of excitement told her Cerberus had joined the hunt, too. So much for the poltergeist playing fairly. She ducked behind a corner as Spooks’ head burst through a nearby wall of vines, the bells on his hat jingling with abandon as he searched for her.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are!”
Spooks cackled in delight as he whizzed through the maze, while Cerberus barked as he followed her trail. Zoe rummaged in her satchel, retrieving half a granola bar from the bottom of her bag. Well, she supposed it was better than nothing. She threw the bar deeper in the maze, before she took off in the opposite direction, retracing her steps from the day before, until she reached the gate.
“Hopefully Cerberus’ appetite will buy me some time.” Zoe tried the gate once more, to no avail, before she peered through the keyhole. “Hmm, I wonder…”
Zoe reached into the bottom of her satchel, and retrieved her old camera. She blew a layer of dust off the long-forgotten item, and smiled as she relived the memories that it conjured. Of the countless hours she had spent capturing the magic of the world around her. Of a time she had sought to preserve the beauty of nature, rather than aid its destruction. Of when she’d been free to pursue her dreams, rather than sell her soul to a company. But as she peered through the camera, her heart sank as she spied deep cracks within the lens.
“Dammit. It must have broken in the crash…” Still, Zoe angled the camera towards the keyhole, hoping to discover what lay within the center of the maze. “Let’s see if the zoom on this is as good as I remember…”
She adjusted the camera lens, its cracks turning her vision into a distorted kaleidoscope of blurred lights. A blanket of freezing fog swirled before her, shimmering with a strange golden aura, while great snow-covered roots emerged from the buckled and uneven ground. Zoe zoomed in further, hoping to catch a glimpse of what lurked within. But all she could spy was a vast silhouette that reached towards the heavens, and a crimson-hued sparkle that gleamed in the sunset…
“No Cerberus, that’s not the fleshie! That’s food! Quickly boy!”
Zoe cursed as the jingle of Spooks’ bells grew closer. If she wanted to discover the treasure of the Underworld, then she needed to buy herself more time, free from the prying eyes of the poltergeist. She ventured deeper into the maze, searching for a hiding place, until the sounds of her pursuers grew more distant.
“That was close.” Zoe peered through the vines to check the coast was clear, before she retraced her steps to the gate. “Huh, that’s odd.”
Zoe looked in surprise as she turned a corner, to be greeted by a dead end. She spun around, convinced she must be mistaken, only to shake her head in confusion.
“The gate should be right around here.” Zoe retraced her steps once more, trying to navigate her way in the rapidly approaching darkness. “What the…”
Zoe drew a startled breath as a wall of vines stood where a path had been just seconds ago. She looked at the thorny tendrils in shock, while a flicker of fear raced through her. So much for being dead. These things had a mind of their own.
“Well, I guess returning the way I came is out of the question.” Zoe peered at the one path that remained, before she sighed in frustration. “As if a town of ghosts wasn’t enough to contend with. Now I have to deal with magical weeds, too…”
Zoe paced along the path, warily watching the vast tendrils for any sign of movement. She shivered as inky swathes of night seeped through the sky, while a thick blanket of freezing fog drifted along the narrow path. Her unease grew with every creak of the vines, until she couldn’t shake the feeling that the maze was leading her somewhere. But where?
A cold gust of wind parted the fog, until Zoe drew a startled breath at the view before her. The path led her to the edge of a cliff, where a vast canyon loomed far, far, below. Zoe gulped as a narrow rope bridge swung precariously above the steep drop, connecting the footpath to a mountain ridge in the distance, where the lights of the Underworld Motel gleamed beyond.
“Those weeds might have given me quite the detour, but there’s no way I’m walking across that deathtrap…” Zoe staggered backwards, only to yelp as something sharp dug into her back. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding!”
Zoe looked in horror as an impenetrable wall of vines blocked the path she had taken. She searched for a way through, until she turned to the rope bridge in horror, realizing it was the only path that remained. As if on cue, it swung precariously in the breeze, each fraying fiber creaking like a set of rusty hinges. Zoe shook her head at the mere prospect of crossing the chasm, before she let out a cry for help.
“Spooks? Cerberus? I’m done hiding now!” Zoe called out across the void, hoping her voice would carry as far as possible. “Spooks? Hello?”
Zoe’s heart sank as the merry jingle of the poltergeist’s bells grew more distant. She shivered as a cold wind swept through the canyon, carrying a fine scattering of snow.
“That’s just typical. The one time I want a meddling poltergeist to turn up, and he’s nowhere to be found.”
Zoe wrapped her arms around herself as her teeth chattered from the cold. Reluctantly, she approached the swaying bridge, and peered over the edge into the gloomy abyss below. Pools of darkness rippled in the canyon beneath, churning like the surface of a witch’s cauldron. She glanced at a weathered signpost, and sighed in despair.
“Tartarus Valley. Well, I can see why Spooks left this place off the sightseeing tour. It gives me the creeps.” A cold breeze drifted from the darkness below, carrying strange and mournful whispers. “I guess it’s either a case of freezing to death out here, or taking this rope bridge back to the motel…”
Zoe tentatively placed a toe on the first plank of wood, testing its strength, while she gripped both sides of the swaying bridge. But despite her fear, the bridge remained stable as she slowly eased her weight onto it.
“That’s the first step taken.” Zoe drew a shaky breath as she forced herself to continue. “Just another few hundred to go…”
An eternity seemed to pass as Zoe slowly stepped across the wooden planks. Her heart pounded with every creak of the bridge, while her hands gripped the ropes so tightly, she could feel the fibers burn into her skin. She clenched her teeth as a gust of wind swept across the canyon, carrying mournful cries that seemed to stem from the abyss below.
“Please tell me that’s not what I think it is?” Zoe glanced into the darkness beneath her, where ghostly hands stretched from the shadows. “Of course. What better place to put a rope bridge than over a canyon of the dead? Jeez, the tourist brochure just writes itself…”
Zoe pressed onwards, bracing herself against the howling winds. She sighed with relief as she reached the halfway point, before she ascended towards the mountain ridge, where the bright lights of the motel awaited beyond.
“Just a few more steps to go…” Zoe let loose a laugh of giddy relief as she neared the solid ground of the cliff. “Well, I guess I had nothing to fear after all–”
Zoe gasped as a wooden plank snapped beneath her foot, until a yawning hole opened to the abyss below. Her blood turned to ice as the ropes strained and bulged, until a single strand burst free. Time slowed as one by one, hundreds of fibers followed suit, tearing free from their restraints until a final and terrible snap filled the air.
“No, no, no…”
Zoe gasped as the bridge writhed like a wounded beast, ropes snapping and wooden boards popping through the air like shrapnel. She ran across the bucking bridge, desperate to reach the canyon edge before it was too late. But with a final snap, the rope bridge tore in two, until it collapsed with a weary groan.
Zoe cried out as the bridge fell from beneath her feet, and into the abyss below. She leaped through the air, her hands outstretched as she tried to reach what remained of the bridge. But she gasped in horror as her hands clutched nothing but empty air, until the dreadful truth dawned on her. Shadow had warned her that the Underworld was a dangerous place for mortals. And she was about to discover why. With a blood-curdling scream, she tumbled towards the darkness below, where the wails of the dead greeted her.