Chapter 50: The Prince Disappears
Luther's fire had been accumulating since he entered the cave and encountered the salamander-like monster, but it did not break out because of the danger. At this moment, he was like a lion breaking free from the cage, his mouth open, tiptoeing, one hand propped up on his waist, the other hand waving in the air, and cursing angrily, as if he was angry when he killed these two boys now.
"You two, you almost missed a big deal! If we all die here, I tell you, no one can afford it!" Luthor foamed and spewed expletives.
Jack and Turks were still expressionless, quietly letting Luthor freely vent the resentment in their hearts, so that all that could be heard in the valley was the thunderous roar.
The two actually realized their mistake, and because of curiosity, they almost killed everyone. So he also willingly accepts criticism and does not make a statement. But Luthor saw that they did not reply for a long time, and gradually lost interest in scolding. People are like this, the more others fight with you, the more angry you are, and the more silent others are, you forget the reason why you were angry at that time, which leads to incoherent speech and slowly deviates from the topic.
"Look at you, your shoes are gone, your feet are broken, you're like this, how can we keep going!" Luther roared.
Jack lowered his head, raised his feet, scratched his head and said with a smile: "It's okay, anyway, my shoes are made of cloth, aren't they shoes when you pull two cloths off your body?"
Luthor looked at Jack in surprise and asked incredulously, "Is this okay?"
"Well, of course! The Garlands often lost their shoes at sea, so they invented these improvised cloth shoes. With that, Jack tore off two pieces of cloth from his jacket and circled the soles of his feet a few times, and he really made a pair of shoe-like foot wraps.
Both Turks and Luthor were stunned.
Back to the point. Luthor asked about the giant salamander and if Turks had ever seen such a sea beast, and Turks shook his head and said no. This caused Luther to think deeply.
"It stands to reason that the sea beasts here were all driven by your father twenty years ago, so why shouldn't you not have seen them?" said Luther, curiously.
Jack stomped his foot, and after making sure that the new "shoe" was still in place, he interrupted and said, "There are so many kinds of sea beasts, how can Tex have seen them." ”
In fact, it is also said that there are many kinds of sea beasts after all, although Tex has experienced a hundred battles, it is impossible to pass every one, there will always be misses. But Turks stared at the ground and mused, "No, I really haven't seen this one!"
Having said this, Jack also believed it, after all, Tex would not lie to him, but he wondered why he was so sure.
Turks continued, "The sea beasts I know, no matter what kind or form, they all have the same characteristics. "What character?" asked Luthor and Jack in unison. Tex, looking down into the dark ravine, said, "This monster, it doesn't need water. ”
"Don't need water?" asked Jack, surprised.
"Well, yes, the cave we just came to has no vents, no exits, no corners and no water. And the real sea beast cannot live long without water. My father drove those sea beasts to the swamp in the past twenty years, why were those sea beasts attracted to this place? When Turks finished speaking, his eyes lit up, and his expression was a little nervous and a little excited.
"Attracted by the water?" said ...... Jack, pointing to the cliff behind him.
Tex nodded, and Jack sighed and said, "Alas, I still can't escape my life." ”
Suddenly, the roar of a wild beast rose from the bottom of the valley, echoing across the walls of the valley for a long time!
"What's going on?" Luthor reflexively reflexively wanted to look down, but could certainly only see darkness.
The three of them listened to the incessant roar lingering in their ears, as if there was a creature wrestling below, with rage, screams, and crashing sounds!
After a while, as if the winner had been decided, the roar changed from a roar to a miserable whimper on one side, and there was the sound of a heavy fall. Then, a thick "thump" sound of feet on the ground faded away, and finally everything was calm.
Jack suspects that there are indeed creatures fighting below, and one of them is most likely the unnamed salamander-like monster that has just fallen. Listening to the distant voice, it didn't look like the hapless salamander's, presumably it lost the battle and lost its life.
The three of them didn't speak for a long time, and there was a faint sense of fear in their hearts. People are terrified in the face of darkness, not to mention the insecurity at the bottom of the valley that has now been determined. What is worse now is the bravery of one of them.
Turks clenched the last torch and thought for a long time, then let out a long breath and said, "You wait for me here, I'll go into the cave and take out the torch that Jack dropped, without which we won't stay long in the dark." ”
Jack looked at Tex with a smile, feeling that he really did not disappoint him, he was a strong man who dared to challenge the unknown. So he nodded at Tex and said, "Go, we'll wait for you here, you go and come back quickly." We'll find out if there's a way to the bottom later. ”
Turks stared intently at the excited Jack and took a heavy step into the cave. He had actually made up his mind at the moment, no matter how dangerous the place he was going to in the future, he couldn't back down, and he would be the first to rush forward to face the danger. Soon, Turks took the torches, and the three of them walked along the platform of the cliff to the right, hoping to find a way down, after all, they had no rope to climb anymore.
God awe! After a quick circle along the cliff wall, the three of them spotted a passage in another wall directly opposite the cave.
Turks plunged the torch into the small, circular natural hole about the diameter of a man, and after a brief look, he saw that it was all the way downward, most likely leading to the valley floor below. To be on the safe side, they continued on their way, but unfortunately, the front was over, and the platform was unexpectedly disconnected ten meters in front of the passage, and there was a deep valley below.
After a moment's hesitation, Luthor suggested, "I think we have no choice but to go down or climb the rope to go back." ”
Of course, as soon as he finished speaking, Turks gritted his teeth and said, "Next!"
So, Turks took the torch in front of him, Luthor followed, and Jack broke back, with the desire for the goal, and the three of them entered the small hole like a slide in turn, waiting for fate.
The long slide winds just long enough for an adult to pass through, and Tex holds out his torch to warn the two behind him to be careful not to slip and fall, as there is moss underfoot.
As he spoke, Tex at the front suddenly slipped on his feet, threw his head back and fell! Luthor tried to reach out to grab him, but because the distance was too far, he reached out and grabbed the air, and Tex just lay down and slid down!
"Tex!" Luthor and Jack watched as Tex slid down and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
"Tex!" the two shouted, but Tex didn't respond.
Luthor urges Jack to hurry up, and Jack decides in a panic - the two of them will follow suit!
So Luthor and Jack lay down, put themselves down, and rushed down with a stingy dash. Jack only felt himself walking through the darkness in a surprisingly fast position, and his fingers were not visible. The light of Tex's torches was long gone, and the others seemed to fall into the abyss without a sound.
After a long time, Jack felt himself spin and turn in the darkness, and finally with a "boom", Luthor fell, and then he fell after him. It turned out to be a pool of water down here.
"Luther!"
"Jack!Where are you!?"
In the dark, the two greeted each other, but although they could hear each other's voices, they couldn't feel where they were.
"The water is flowing, and there is a loud sound ahead, like a waterfall!" called Luther.
Jack was swimming in the water, and he could clearly feel his body being hit by a current, and he could hear a huge rumbling sound in front of him, as if it was really a waterfall!
After a while, Jack didn't seem to hear Luther's voice, "Luther!" he shouted, but received no response.
However, no matter where Jack swam against the current, he was still carried by the strong current to the edge of the waterfall, and struggled to be slapped down by the oncoming waves, and fell straight to the bottom of the waterfall!
A huge whirlpool was generated at the bottom of the waterfall, taking Jack to spin rapidly under the water, trying to devour him, Jack desperately swam out of the water, broke free from the whirlpool, and finally was really powerless, because he didn't know the situation on the water, so he could only let himself be pushed deeper into the darkness by the current.
"Luther! Tex!" said Jack, crouching on the water, treading the water, following the current. He didn't know whether the other two were alive or dead, so he could only shout loudly, but still no one responded. Thinking about it, it may be more than lucky. Guessing from the time when the waterfall just fell, this valley bottom waterfall is at least ten meters, thanks to the fact that he is a person who lives on the ocean, has seen countless submarine whirlpools, and escaped death countless times, so he can barely escape. And he wasn't sure if Luthor would survive the catastrophe.
The speed of the water gradually slowed down, and it should have reached a flat place, but there was still no light to be seen.
In the end, the water lost its impact, as if it had flowed into a pond, and the water was calm and there were no undercurrents.
"Tex! Luthor!" Jack shouted, but there was only an echo around him.
He could only tentatively choose to swim to the side, hoping to get ashore.
It stands to reason that the water should have been flowing eastward, but the stream he saw in the cave flowed from north to south, and if that was the case, then the place where he had just come should have been south, and the place where he was now staying was north. Very strange direction!
After speculating in a direction, Jack swam to the west of his impression. The underground lake seemed to be very large, and he swam for a long time before he felt a stone under his feet, so he quickly quickened and groped his way up to a rocky bank.
Finally breaking free from the water, Jack felt like he had never hated water so much.
"Luther!"
"Turks!"
Although there was no answer, Jack still shouted over and over again, the sound of the waterfall in the distance was still clear to his ears, and Luthor and Tex might have been killed, if they both survived and lay somewhere, they would not be able to do anything in the dark, even with their own water nature.
On second thought, Jack shook his head, not wanting to have such a pessimistic thought, but nothing else could explain this except death.
Dark, Jack was very sad, he didn't expect that the three of them had already gone their separate ways before they saw the beasts, and even saw God, which was really sad and disappointing.
Suddenly, there was a coughing sound from Jack's left.
Jack leaned his ears together in surprise to determine the other party's position: "Luther? is that you?"
A response followed: "Ahem, ahem, Jack, it's my ......," and the reply was fragile.
The voice ...... "Luther, you're still alive!" Jack jumped into the water again, and hurriedly groped his way to the source of the sound, Luthor should still be on the shore!
In the dark, the two bumped into each other.
Luthor grabbed Jack's hand tightly and lay on the shore, coughing vigorously at the water choking in his lungs. Jack jumped ashore, grabbed Luthor and dragged him ashore, he could feel the weakness of Luthor's hands, and the weakness of his body, but fortunately, he was still alive!
After a long time, Luthor relented and said to himself, "I thought I was dying, washed down by the waves, swept into the whirlpool, and thought I was hopeless." It wasn't until I hit my head on a rock that I woke up. What about Tex, did you spot him?"
Jack said "no" regretfully.
In the darkness, although the two could not see each other's expressions, they could feel their sadness because they had not found Tex.
Luthor coughed incessantly, and the two of them discussed that they would wait for a little rest to find out if there was any news of Tex. But the lack of light is a big problem, and the only possible place is the end of the water.
It stands to reason that the groundwater must have an outlet to somewhere else, either the sea or something. But the direction of the water was so surprising to the Turks that it flowed from south to north, and when it came to the place where they were now, it suddenly slowed down, almost stopped, could it be that this was the end of the groundwater?
Jack grabbed Luthor by the arm and helped him up, and the two came up with a solution that had no choice, which was to go into the water again and continue to float down the current. If Turks hadn't died, then he should have been drifting by the current by now, and he should have been found along the water's whereabouts.
So, the two of them waded into the calm water again.