Giygas's Spawn
The Cavern
Part 5
Everyone had a fitful sleep that night. Ness didn't get any sleep at all; he was too busy thinking. Then, amongst all the other thoughts filling his head, one stood out prominently: "The Devil's Machine". Ness realized that it was what Pokey had referred to during their battle. It must have been some kind of shape-changing device used on Giygas. Ness also remembered that Jeff had been thinking of that earlier, when he unwillingly read his thoughts. He wondered why Jeff hadn't brought it up. If Jeff was thinking about something as important as the return of Giygas, then he surely wouldn't have simply forgotten to mention what he was thinking about 'The Devil's Machine'. Perhaps he wasn't sure if his theory about the machine even made any sense, so he was afraid to mention it.
Ness finally got to sleep.
****
When they woke up the next morning, the sky was blue and the sun was shining beautifully. Ness could hardly believe that the day before, he had been attacked by some unknown, deadly creature. Ness hopped out of bed and put his backpack on. He was glad he had remembered to bring it to the police station with him when he left late yesterday. After he had woken everyone up, they talked around a breakfast of boiled eggs and ham (Jeff's favorite). Ness, with his mouth full, mumbled something about heading to the Dusty Dunes Desert.
"Dusty Dunes Desert? Why would we go there?" asked Paula. She was still tired and would rather go back to bed than take off for some arid, deserted wasteland.
Ness swallowed his food and then started talking again. "Well, if this spawn of Giygas is coming after us, we might as well be as far away from civilization as possible. Have you guys seen how big the hole was that he left behind? You could fit a small house in that thing."
"Ness is right. If this monster is after us, then we cannot risk the lives of civilians who accidentally get caught up in a battle. There are virtually no people in the desert. " Poo said. His accent was heavier now, since he had been around his own people for a long time. After a few days with Ness, Paula, and Jeff, he had begun to sound more like a city kid.
"OK, but I suggest we leave as soon as possible. Now would be a good time," Jeff said. Ness realized that he didn't have his glasses on. He looked so different without them. If he didn't wear that suit, then he would almost look like an average kid. But Jeff's differences from everyone else were what formed his personality. He didn't care what other people thought of him, just what they thought of his ideas.
Everyone gathered what they needed and stepped outside. Poo used Teleport ß to get them all to the Dusty Dunes Desert. Once they got there, they noticed the hole in the ground that Ness and Jeff had found so long ago. Jeff remembered that Talah Rama and the monkeys hoped to see them again, and he wanted to talk to Talah Rama for a while anyway. Everyone climbed down into the hole, and what they saw was devastating: The whole underground network of tunnels built by the monkeys and Talah Rama had been destroyed. Where the entrance to the tunnels used to be was a gaping hole. Jeff pulled out his flashlight and shined it into the hole. The light illuminated, but they couldn't see any walls. Jeff picked up a rock and heaved it into the cavern. He stood, counting the seconds. 15 seconds passed before they heard a distant thud.
"15, divided by..." Jeff trailed off, mumbling mathematical equations to himself.
"Oh my gosh...Ness! What happened? Talah Rama and the monkeys..." Paula said, with a hint of fear in her voice.
"I don't kn-"
"Man...five eighths of a mile deep! Do you guys have any idea how long it would take to dig a cavern like this? It would take a construction crew over two months!" Jeff interrupted, obviously intrigued.
"What happened to Talah Rama and the monkeys though? They didn't just leave!" Paula exclaimed, almost hysterically. She was scared that something bad had happened to them. Paula hated it when anything bad happened to anyone she knew. She had cried when she heard that one of the Tendas had passed away from old age. She didn't even know which one it was.
Out of the cavern came a deafening sound. It was like a mix between a roar and a shriek. Everyone fell to the ground, covering their ears. After the sudden pain dissipated, Ness felt the ground begin to shake. He looked over at the hole in the wall, and from what little light came from Jeff's flashlight that was lying on the ground, he saw the silhouette of a huge creature. Fear shot through his body like the venom from a snake - this was Giygas's spawn.