Your Worst Nightmare (5 page)

“Uh, hardly,” Tim muttered under his breath, making Bobby snort with laughter.

Mrs. Hallett glared at him. “According to the diary of Captain Miles Larsen, a suspected thief took refuge in the caverns rather than face justice for his crimes, but he certainly wasn't
imprisoned
here. Most likely, he escaped through an alternate tunnel out of the caverns . . . or else he met with an accidental death. The Ravensburg Caverns have always been a treacherous place—but if you respect them, they will respect you.”

Olivia gave Kristi a subtle nudge. “She's kind of nuts, huh?” Olivia whispered.

“Seriously. Maybe she spends too much time underground,” Kristi whispered back.

“Now, you'll learn all about the
real
history of this astonishing natural wonder,” Mrs. Hallett promised, “but I like to start at the beginning. We're standing at the uppermost part of the Ravensburg Caverns, a
series of tunnels and rock chambers that continue for thousands of feet underground. Scientists think that the caverns were first formed when—”

Once again Bobby raised his hand. “Are you going to tell us about Circus Atrocitas?” he said. “Because what I heard was that they used to practice their top secret routines here so that nobody would know . . . but something went really wrong during one of their shows and, like, seventeen people in the audience
died
! And everyone in town was so mad they chased all the performers into the caverns . . . and they were never seen again!”

Mrs. Hallett wasn't smiling anymore. “The Circus Atrocitas accident was a long time ago and it had nothing to do with the Ravensburg Caverns,” she said. “Now, if I could please continue, scientists think that the caverns were formed over many thousands of years. And do you know what created them?”

“Monsters?” Evan cracked, making everyone giggle.

“Rain!”
Mrs. Hallett said loudly.

Ms. Pierce nodded. “Do you remember learning about this in class?” she asked the seventh graders. “Since rain is slightly acidic, it can dissolve minerals in
limestone, forming an extensive network of caverns over time.”

Mrs. Hallett cleared her throat; she looked annoyed by the interruption, even if it was from a teacher. “Today, you'll find that the caverns are home to a unique ecosystem of cave-dwelling creatures—” she tried to continue.

“From the toxic waste buried right under us!” Bobby practically yelled. “And now everything that lives here is a radioactive mutant! Have you seen them, huh? The mutants? Do they really glow in the dark?”

A bunch of kids started to laugh.

“Bobby,” Mr. Tanaka said with a warning in his voice.

“There are no mutants here,” Mrs. Hallett snapped. “I think you've been reading too many comic books, young man.”

A dark cloud crossed Bobby's face. “Well, all those kids who disappeared weren't in any comic books,” he muttered—just loudly enough to be overheard.

“That's it, Bobby,” Mr. Tanaka said. “Enough. One more interruption out of you, and I'll be on the phone with your mother, and you'll miss out on the tour. Do you understand me?”

Bobby clamped his mouth shut as he nodded his head. Out of the corner of her eye, Kristi could see his ears turning bright red.
He always does this,
she thought, shifting on her feet so that she was standing a little farther away from him.
He totally brings it on himself. I don't know why, but he does.

“Is it just me, or is Bobby even
more
annoying than usual?” Olivia whispered to Kristi. “What is going on with him?”

Kristi shrugged. “I don't know,” she whispered back. “Maybe he's just excited about going into the caves.”

Mrs. Hallett smiled again—smug and satisfied. “If there won't be any further
interruptions
,” she said, staring directly at Bobby, “let's go over the safety rules. As you can see, we've installed modern electrical lighting along the tour path. Not only will this help you see all the wonders of the caverns, it will help you stay safe: Any area
without
lights is strictly off-limits. No running or reckless behavior. You must stay
behind
the guardrails at all times. Some of the chasms we'll encounter are hundreds of feet deep, and a fall into one would be fatal. We might see some of the caverns' full-time occupants—the animals I mentioned before. If we do, you must not
startle them. Please try not to make too much noise; we haven't had a rockslide in here for nearly thirty years and I'd rather not have one today.”

Mrs. Hallett paused as she glanced around the group to make sure everyone was listening. The students were hanging on to her every word, completely mesmerized by her warnings about the dangers of the cavern.

“Finally, touch nothing and take nothing. There is a
lovely
gift shop in the Ravensburg Motel where you can buy
beautiful
geodes and
real
fossils if you'd like a souvenir from your visit today.” Mrs. Hallett paused. “And now, if everyone is ready, let's begin the tour.”

Mrs. Hallett led the seventh graders down a sloping ramp that was bordered on both sides by metal guardrails. Kristi peeked over one: the drop was about ten feet, a steep fall but not enough to kill anybody . . . she hoped. As if they were influenced by the subterranean stillness of the cave, the kids started speaking in hushed whispers that were hardly louder than their footsteps.

“Ravensburg Caverns is a series of underground chambers constructed out of ancient rock formations,” Mrs. Hallett said as she walked. “Some of these chambers are enormous, with fifty-foot-high ceilings. Others are smaller than a broom closet. There are dozens of twisting tunnels that link these chambers; a
few serve as exits out of the caverns.”

“Mrs. Hallett,” Mr. Tanaka said. “Sorry to interrupt, but can you tell us how many chambers there are?”

“I'm afraid not,” Mrs. Hallett said, “because we simply don't know. There are at least sixty that have been explored, but some of the caverns we've found are made of unstable rock formations. They are simply too dangerous to enter, and there's no way to know what lies on the other side of them.”

Suddenly Mrs. Hallett held up both hands to stop the group from walking further. “I have to ask you to be very, very quiet as we enter the next chamber,” she said in a soft voice. “The Ravensburg Caverns are home to many creatures, including troglophiles, trogloxenes, and troglobites. Who can guess what those are?”

For a moment Bobby looked like he wanted to say something—but one look at Mrs. Hallett's face convinced him to keep his mouth shut.

“No, they aren't dinosaurs,” Mrs. Hallett said, wagging her finger at Bobby—even though he hadn't said a word. She was the only one who laughed at her joke. “A
troglophile
is an animal that usually lives in a cave, but can leave the cave from time to time if it wants.
Troglophiles can include beetles, millipedes, centipedes, and other creepy-crawly creatures. They prefer dimly lit areas and will rarely venture into bright light. Then, of course, there are trogloxenes—animals who live in the cave, but have to leave it to find food. And a
troglobite
—”

A thin smile snaked across Mrs. Hallett's face. “Well, we'll talk about those a little later. The next room of the caverns is home to hundreds of trogloxenes. Or, as they're more commonly known in this case—
bats.
”

Some of the girls squealed, but Mrs. Hallett silenced them with a stern look and a finger to her lips. “They're sleeping right now . . . or, at least, they
should
be. So if you're quiet as we pass through their chamber, they shouldn't bother us. I hope!”

Kristi turned to Olivia and rolled her eyes—but to her surprise, Olivia seemed pale. “You okay?” Kristi whispered.

“Ask her something for me?” Olivia said in a rush.

But it was too late. Mrs. Hallett was already walking into the next chamber and the seventh graders were following. The lights seemed even dimmer here, or perhaps the impossibly high cave ceilings somehow sucked
up most of their brightness. There was still enough light, however, for Kristi to see them: bats, hundreds of them,
thousands
of them, hanging above their heads, from every ledge and rocky outcropping in the chamber. Wrapped in their wings, the bats' bodies swayed as they slept, rocked by an invisible current of air.

Why?
wondered Kristi.
How? How is there a breeze in here, underground? Where could it be coming from?

Every so often one of the bats stretched in its sleep, unfurling those leathery wings before wrapping itself up again and falling back into a fitful doze. Kristi had the sense that they slept lightly, very lightly, and that it wouldn't take much commotion to wake them. To imagine it was awful—the rushing wings beating over their heads as panicked, angry bats fled the cave, flying low with fangs bared and talons tangled in the kids' hair and hoodies.

Luckily, her classmates seemed to sense that too, and everyone was silent as they moved—faster than usual—through the bats' chamber.

On the other side, Kristi breathed a sigh of relief. Then she turned to Olivia. “What did you want me to do?”

“Can you ask her about moths?” said Olivia.

“Huh? Ask her
what
about moths?” Kristi replied.

“You know. If there are
moths
in the cave,” Olivia said impatiently. “Those troglo-whatevers she wouldn't tell us about. Maybe they're a kind of horrible moth like that thing that was in my grab bag.”

“Ohhhh,” Kristi said, nodding. No wonder Olivia looked so pale. Kristi had never really understood her best friend's phobia of moths, but she knew what it was like to be so terrified of something that it was hard to even talk about it. So she didn't hesitate to raise her hand.

“Yes, girl in the red sweater?” Mrs. Hallett said.

“I was wondering if any moths live in the Ravensburg Caverns,” Kristi said.

“Moths?” Mrs. Hallett said. “Oh, probably. Near the entrance of the caves, like the bats. Moths are less adapted for deep cave life than other creatures.”

Kristi glanced at Olivia to give her a reassuring smile, but her friend still looked worried. So Kristi pressed on.

“But what about the, um, troglobites,” Kristi continued. “Are some of them moths?”

“Let me say it again,” Mrs. Hallett replied. “I simply don't think that moths could evolve that way, which is
why they would be found at the
entrance
of the cavern. But if you'll all follow me, I can show you a
real
troglobite. And I'd ask that we have no more questions about them until we reach that part of the tour. Thank you, girl in the red sweater.”

Prickles of embarrassment tingled on Kristi's face. Even though she hadn't done anything wrong, she slowed down so that she was near the back of the group . . . walking next to Bobby. He gave her a knowing smile. “Hiding out back here?”

“Yeah, I guess Mrs. Hallett hates me now too,” Kristi said with a short laugh.

“Then you're in great company,” Bobby joked. “Seriously, you have to wonder why she gives tours to big groups of kids when she doesn't like kids
,
know what I mean?”

Kristi smiled. Maybe some part of her had known that Bobby would make her feel better.

Olivia hung back so that she could join them too.

“Why are you way back here?” she asked as she grabbed Kristi's wrist. “Come on—I don't want to face a troglo-whatever all by myself.”

The kids pushed through a narrow tunnel to a wide
chamber that was brighter than the bats' cave. To her surprise, Kristi soon realized that they were standing around a massive underground lake. Its smooth, glassy waters reflected the lights on the cave walls.

“This is Crystal Lake,” Mrs. Hallett announced. “It's the largest underground lake in North America, so large, in fact, that we're not even sure
how
big it really is. We have sent divers underwater and they have confirmed that there is yet
another
series of chambers within the lake, each one entirely flooded with water. It is impossible to even estimate how far down these underwater chambers go.”

There was a sudden splash far across the lake; Kristi grabbed on to Olivia's arm as several of her classmates gasped. Mrs. Hallett laughed at their surprise.

“Now, now, nothing to be afraid of,” she said. “The Crystal Lake is home to several varieties of freshwater fish, including a large school of rainbow trout. Of course, fishing is prohibited here. We also know that the darker areas of the lake, where there is no light, are home to several troglobites. You have heard me use that word often today. Does anyone know what it means?”