LOST IN TIME BY RICHARD LOWE

THE BOOK

It all started a long time ago. At that time, there were four of us.

First of all, I had seen this that told a story about these Caverns at the North Pole.  And a Special Race of beings that lived there, and their secret technology was far beyond your dreams. I had visited our Professor to ask about our study and which Book's would we need for the research. The Professor had told me to wait in his office as he went into the other room where his private collection was kept. He did not let anyone in there. That's when I noticed this Ancient Book. I could see it was very old. I gently turned a few pages over and started to read them. This strange feeling comes over me. I could feel myself getting pulled into the book. I only had time to read a few pages. I had to quickly close it up because I could hear the Professor coming back to the room, but what I had read so far had left me with this overwhelming need to read more. The Professor gave me five books to help with our research. The Professor reminded me to make sure I returned them before the summer break next week. So Richard, is there anything else you need. I was about to ask him about the book but decided not to as I could see he was busy.

I took the books back to our room at the dorm as I knew the guys, Luke, Sam, and John, would be there. We had plans to do some studying today seems we did not have any classes to attend. I had noticed most of the other students were mucking around as we only had about a week left before the Summer break up.

John had just made some fresh coffee and asked me if I wanted any," yes, mate, thanks. Sam asked me what was up because I looked like I wanted to say something Important? Well, yes and no, I replied. Luke butted in, come on, mate, sit down and tell us all about it. Ok, when I was at the Professors, there was a very old book on his desk which I managed to read a few pages before he came back into the room. Luke remarked, “ he always has old books” Yes, I know, but this one was different because as I was reading it, I got the feeling of being pulled into it and the feeling I needed to keep reading. It was like it was calling me. John commented, “whatever you have been smoking, I'll have some”. You always have an inquisitive mind, Richard, yes I do. I'll let it go and get into this study that will put my mind onto something else. We spent most of the day and night studying and joking around. There were a few times my mind went blank, and I found myself thinking of the book, but I kept pushing it out of my mind. The day had almost gone, so it was time to have something to eat and relax for a while, then off to bed. This was ok for us as we all shared the same room. This was how we become such close friends.

The morning came fast for me as I spent most of the night tossing and turning. The rest of the guys were already up as I crawled out of bed, saying that coffee I can smell. Sam replied, 'Yes mate, you need some, by the looks of it. Did you go out drinking last night after we all went to bed? No guys just had a bad night, kept dreaming of that book and some people calling out help us. But right now, I need that coffee and to get my head together. Take your time, mate, and more of your dream might come back to you.

After two mugs of coffee, I started to tell the guys about my dream. It was weird and all mixed up, but as far as I can recall there were people living under the ice and had been there a very long time, they looked Human but not quite the same as us, their eyes looked different and their hair and I felt they did not come from here, oh yeah they seemed to know me, then it looked like we were all there. And something to do with time, but what I don't know. That's one crazy dream, mate. Yes, I know it is. Maybe later, some more might come back to me and a bit clearer, I hope. We all better get cleaned up and ready for our classes, yes your right John, we can't miss these ones, as this week we have a few tests to do and hope we get good marks.

A few times, I almost fell asleep in class but lucky for me, Sam kept on nudging me. The best thing was Sam, and I only had a half-day, so I planned to get some sleep before John and Luke gets back from their classes. Sam said he would do some studying while I sleep. It did not take me long to drift off to sleep. Then the dreams started again. Apparently, I had slept for two hours but was tossing and turning all the time. John and luke came in, which woke me up. John and luke looked at me and remarked, you looked like hell, mate, you should try and get some sleep. I explained I just did but went back into dreaming about the same things as last night. Ok mate, just give us a few minutes, and you can explain it all to us, but first I'll make us all some coffee, then you can explain whats rely going on inside that head of yours.

They all sat there while I explained as much as I could about my dreams. The strange thing was I felt the book was calling me, and I was a part of that book. It's hard to explain, but I feel the book belongs to me, or I have to have the book. They just sat there with their mouths open. Look, guys, it only started when I read those few pages of that book. I am not going crazy. We know you are not crazy, Richard, we could ask The Professor for the book, No I remarked he would think I have been snooping around his desk and that could get me expelled, oh ya your right, John butted in then the only thing left, we will have to get our hands on the book. Now we have to plan a way of getting the book because I don't think the Professor will give it to us.

After a lot of talking, we decided the only way was to break in and take it, we did not want to steal it, but it was the best way to get the Book. Because if we just asked him for it, there would be lots of questions, and most of them, we would not be able to answer at that time, and even if we could, he still might not give us the Book. Now to plan the Big break-in ( well, it was to us ) as we have not done anything like this before.

We had planned to do it on a Friday, as we knew he would be teaching that day. Now we were ready for the break-in.

Well, the day had come, yep, we were all nervous as hell, we did not want to get caught doing this, but we had to do it and fast because he would be gone only for a short time. So off we go. We found the back door still open, which was lucky because we had been worried about making too much noise breaking in.  To be on the safe side, I will call out just in case the Professor has not left. ( hello anyone there, Professor, are you home? It's Richard; I wish to ask you something about the research) It sounds like no one is home. Let's go but take our time just in case. John asked which way to the Professor's private room. It's upstairs, but we will call out again only in case the Professor is up there. Good Idea, Sam commented,( are you there, Professor), still no answer. Okay, Guy's up we go. We need to find it fast as we don't want to stay there too long. We got to the room only to find the Book was not where it was before. We will need to split up and search, but don't make a mess. We don't want the Professor to know someone has been in his home. We had been looking for the Book for almost thirty minutes now. Oh well, it's not here anymore, Luke commented and just as he said that, John cry's out, got it. Let have a look; yes, that's it, okay, we have to get out fast. The Professor will be back soon before we leave; check that's it all neat and tidy. All done. Good, let's get out of here. We will need to check and make sure no one sees us leave. When we get outside, we split up, and all meet back at the House. Good Idea Luke, be careful everyone, it's all clear; let's go and fast. As Sam and I were heading back home, we felt that someone was following us. We kept looking over our shoulders. Still, we could not see anyone behind us. My nerves are on edge, mate, how's yours, mine too, Sam replied, and I am sure someone is following us, but I can't see anyone, can you, no I replied.

Well, we are back at the House; at last, five minutes later, John and Luke came in. They started to tell us; they had to keep hiding. As there were two other persons in front of them, they kept turning around as if they were looking for someone, and no matter where we went, I could still see them. I thought we were going to be spotted soon. Which way did you go Because we had two people following us? John explained the direction they went; Sam commented, hold on, that's the same way we went. We just looked at each other and started laughing, all saying at the same time, you mean that was you, and you thought we were, yes we did. Glad it was you, then someone else, ok now; let's settle down and have a look at the Book. We will take some note's as well. Sam made us all some Coffee first, then into it. We will need to take a lot of notes, as we don't want to keep opening the book up, as we don't want to damage it. That sounds good. Luke replied I'll get the pads and pens. It was getting exciting now. We have a lot of working out to do and planning the trip. Hang on, guys, Sam looked over what's up, Richard, well do you realise we are now planning to go on a trip to find these Cavens and people that are in this book. John commented, ya, why not? We were planning a trip anyway, so why not do this instead and it might stop your dreams. Sam and Luke just remarked wherein on this adventure if you want us to come. I looked at them. I would love you all to come, so it's settled we are going on an adventure of a lifetime, the mighty four.

We still had to be careful. We would need somewhere else to stay as it would be too dangerous for us to stay in the dorms on the school's grounds. I mentioned to them that we should be safe for at least two days, then we will have to leave, or we could get found out, and we don't want that do we. John agreed with what I said. Luke asked if I  had done this before? No mate, just being careful.

We all stayed up very late that night, trying to understand what we could from the Book, some of it I wished I could have asked the Professor, but we can't.  Suddenly, Sam yelled out; I've got it. We all looked at him, thinking what the hell is he talking about. Well, go on, I said, what have you got, and I hope it's not catching. No guys, not that, but my dad has an old Farm House in the Country, we could all stay there, as it's empty and no one goes there anymore, and it's got everything we need. We thought that sounded good; how far away is it mate? It's about twenty miles out, well that sounds good; any shops on the way as we will need to pick up some supplies, yep, just down the road, there's a store it's only two miles from the Farmhouse. Perfect, so that's it, we have a place.

At last, the day was here, and it was time to go, guys. Make sure we have everything we need to take, as we can't come back again for it. Last quick look around, and yep, we are ready. We will have to be careful and make sure no one sees us leaving. Quickly load everything in the car, and let's get out of here before someone sees us. Okay, baby startup for us, now come on, ok good girl, let go. Hope you know the way, Sam, I do mate, keep going down this road, then I'll let you know when to turn, okay mate, we're on our way now.

It was getting dark when we left, so that means we will be driving in the Country at night, so I hope Sam knows his way, Okay better fill the car up with fuel, we don't want to run out Luke, okay Richard will do and better get a drink, sounds good mate. Sam was doing well remembering the way there, seems he has not been there for about three years, it was starting to get a little colder out in the Country, and our heater did not work, Luke needed a cloth to keep whipping the windscreen, he asked us to stop all the heavy breathing, then laughs. Well, the Farmhouse is just down that track, Luke, okay mate, better slow down as there are potholes everywhere will do. At one time, my head almost went through the roof; ouch, that was a deep one; mate sure was hope you did not dent the roof, hahaha. Look, there's the Farmhouse pull up over there. Ok, that will do, mate.  Just as we pulled up, it started to rain, just our luck; John said, now I'll get wet, don't complain, mate, we will all get wet; the faster we get in there, the better it will be. Take what we need now and get the rest later, a quick dash to the House. Where are the Keys? They should be over here; yes, got it, good it's getting colder now, and we are wet, let get inside and warm up, look there's the fireplace and some dry wood; I'll make it up now as it was getting very cold. John did a quick clean of the kitchen, then got some of the food out and cooked us all a meal. Fortunately for us, he was an excellent cook, then it was time to get some sleep, we all knew it would be hard to sleep, but we had to as there's was No turning back now, so goodnight, all each of us called out.

The Morning came very quickly, but we managed to get some sleep, which was good as we needed clear heads to study the Book. Lucky for us, Sam had his Laptop because we needed to check up on a few things to help us understand some of the old words in the writing.

Fortunate for us, we had been saving up for a trip, so we had quite a bit of Money behind us because we would need more Equipment and hopefully when we get there, we will be able to hire some. It took us about two weeks to understand most of the Ancient Book. There was a lot we need to understand. It was getting closer to the time to pack up and start the journey of a lifetime. We still had a few days to go, so we relaxed a bit and cleaned the place up. Now it was time to head off to the Airport, so we packed up only what we would need, making sure we have all our note's and the Book with us.

THE AIRPORT

At last, we are at the Airport. I mentioned to the others that I hope all goes well, and the Professor has not worked it out that it was us that stole his book. If he has, they will be waiting for us inside. Luke suggested we split into pairs. We won't be noticed as much that way because they will be looking for four of us. Good thinking, I replied. We will still need to be careful. Right then, let's go in, and we see you on the plane; all going well.

John and I slowly walked in and went up to the check-in point, looking over our shoulders all the way. We had paid online for the tickets, so that was good, and hopefully, it will help us get through quicker. John and I got through easily, and down the passageway, we go still looking over our shoulders, trying to see if Sam and Luke had got through as well. John looks around. Yes, they made it. They're about twenty people behind us on the left side. That's good. I was a little bit worried about them.

Well, we are all on the plane now. What a relief. It won't be long now, guys, and we will be up in the air. Nothing can stop us now.

The waiting was agonising. Then we heard the engines starting to roar. We all had a big smile on our faces. Our nerves can settle down now as we were moving along the runway. Then up and away we go, guys. It was not long, and we were told we could remove our seat belts.

We spent most of the time talking about the adventure and getting all the things we would need once we get there. I think this was the hardest part, really, because none of us had been there before. We did not know what to expect, but that was all a part of the adventure of going into the unknown in search of the lost Ancient caverns.

The more we spoke about it, the more excited we became. Our minds were racing with all crazy ideas of what would be down there. We had to stop the imagination from working overtime. Ok, guys, let's stick with the thing we do know about it, but mainly the things we have to do, like where we are going next. Time had passed by quickly. Over the speaker, we heard, please finish what you are doing and return to your seats and do your seat belts up, please, as we will be landing soon. We all smiled, but then the smiles diapered as we started to think, what if the cops are there waiting for us inside. The nerves started all over again. Ok, the best thing is we do what we did last time, split up, and all meet up outside the airport.

When we got inside the Airport, we almost lost it as security guards were running around everywhere, and we thought it was for us. We did not know what to do. The person at the check-in point called out, are you checking in or not? Which startled us, yes, mate," we are, I called out as we walked over. Sorry mate, we got confused with all the security guards running around, Oh they're looking for a person that escaped custody. Apparently, he got away from the two police officers that were escorting him to the plane. Oh right, hope they catch him,

We handed over our passports, and after a few questions, we were ok to go, so off we go outside and wait for the others. It did not take long, and the guys were with us again.

We grabbed a cab to take us into town. I mentioned to the driver we needed somewhere to stay for two days until our plane leaves. We did it this way as it was a cheaper flight and we needed to save as much money as we could. We were lucky as he knew a woman that had a room to rent. Lucky us, I replied, so he took us straight there. He helped us with our luggage and said he would wait just in case we needed to go somewhere else. We rang the bell, and a lovely older woman came to the door. And yes, we were in luck. She still had the room to rent. We thank him for the help, and off he went.

She said her name was Jan, and we told her ours come in, and I'll make you all a hot drink. We smiled and said yes, please, and thank you, well come this way and drop your stuff over there. After the drink, I'll show you the room. She kept smiling at Sam which made him feel uncomfortable. Then she told us Sam looks just like her Son that had moved overseas not long ago. Sam smiled and said he must have been good looking then. She smiled, and yes, he was. Jan showed us to our room, and it was very nice and big. It only had three single beds and a fold-out lounge chair that could be used as a bed, so it was ok for us. Sam said he would take the Foldout bed seems he was the smallest of us, and it was only for two days. It was great being there and have someone look after us, and the meals were great. Jan really knew how to look after her quests. But sometimes, we needed to talk privately, which was hard to do as Jan was always around us, talking and bringing us food or drinks. We did not want to sound ungrateful. We could see she was lonely and missing her son, so we just said thank you with a smile. The guys and I had to go out to the coffee shop to talk in private, but that was ok. The fresh air did us good anyway. We had picked up some maps of where we were going and hoped they would help us find our way there as the direction in the book only guided us once we are on the ice planes, so we needed as much help as possible to find our way out there because we could easily get lost.

The two days had gone fast, and it was time to pack up and say our good buys. Right guys, we have a plane to catch. John had called for a Taxi, so we just had enough time to say our goodbyes to Jan. As we were saying thank you, I could see a tear in her eye, which made it hard for us saying goodby as she had been good to us. I turned and asked her if the room is vacant; when we come back, can we have it, please? She smiled and replied, yes, you can, now off you go and look after yourself just as she said that the Taxi pulled up. The lady stood at the door and waved goodby to us as we took off in the taxi.

Well, guys, off we go again. Let's hope the check-in point does not take long this time. I looked over to Sam, saying I did not know you liked flying that much? Well, I don't just want to get there without any issues, you know what I mean. It's ok, Sam, we do.

Getting through the check-in took its time, but we were off again into the blue sky's. We will be there soon guys, how are you all feeling now? Excited, I hope. I could see there were by there smiles on their faces. We spent some of the time going over things we still needed to do. And about the trip so far. We laughed a little about how we reacted at the airport and the security running around and thinking they were looking for us.

I must have dozed off to sleep for a while, as I had not been sleeping much, just too much going on inside my head. Luke woke me up after a while, as he needed to talk about some other things. His girlfriend was killed in an accident a few years back, and he still has not got over it. She was pregnant as well, which made it even harder to come to terms with. He was really in love with her and blamed himself for her death because he was not there to drive her to the hospital for a check-up. A few times he tried to take his own life to be with her again, even after all this time he feels like doing it but something keeps stopping him. he thinks of her a lot, some nights he does not want to go to sleep because he knows he will dream of being with her again and that hurts him too much. Most times, I would just let him talk, but this time I stopped him. Luke, she is with you no matter where you go, and now you are taking her on a journey that others would only dream about, and you know she would love to do it with you. Luke went quiet for a while, then said your right, Richard, you are a good mate; thanks for putting me back on track with things.

The Airport we were heading to was in Canada, and that is where we will pick up some of our Equipment and hopefully get a bit of help from the locals there. We are all starting to get excited now but a little bit nervous at the same time, Well guys, there's just enough time to go over a few more things before we land. The main thing I need to do is find an old Sextant so we can read the stars, just like they did back then. That was all they had to find their way to the ancient caverns. John, you will find out about the Transport and other equipment we will need. Sam and Luke will need to get us all some warm clothing and camping equipment. Then find somewhere for us to stay for a few days. I started to think the Sextant could be very hard to find as it is not used much nowadays.

The plane will be landing soon, so we put our paperwork away and seat belts on. It would be early morning when we land. I hope it's not too cold there. It's nice and warm inside the plane. The plane is having a lousy time trying to land as there seems to be a lot of crosswinds—Guys, time to close your eyes and cross your fingers. I'm not too fond of this landing so far. It feels like we are sliding along sideways. At last, we have stopped, and my heart is still pounding. The others are just smiling at me as if they knew I almost wet my pants.

Off the plane and to the check-in point as quickly as we could go. It was freezing outside. I commented to the Guys that we should change our minds and find somewhere to stay first and then get some warmer clothes. And after that, we can do the rest of what we need to do. What do you all think? They only nodded back because their teeth were chattering too much. We knew we would have to get used to the cold, but that can wait until later.

The Customs took their time with us. Checking everything and asking lots of questions. We had to be careful with what we told them, as we did not want them to know the real reason we were there. So we just said a holiday and doing some sightseeing. Well, at last, we are all clear to go. Just as we turned to walk away, the customs officer calls out. If you are looking for a good place to stay, check this place out, their prices are good, and it's homely as well; I think you would like it there. We thanked him, and off we went as fast as we could, as it was freezing outside and the icy wind felt like it was cutting through us. Lucky for us, there was a cab outside. We threw our gear into the boot and told him the address of the place, and off we went.

As we entered the place, there was a big open fireplace crackling away. Just seeing it warmed us up. We went over to the fire and stood there for about ten minutes warming ourselves up. Once we were warm, we went over to see if that had any rooms, and we were in luck. We had to get two rooms, that was ok as they were next to each other. After unpacking, We found some warmer clothes to put on. Luke said it was time to have something to eat and a chat with some of the others staying there. They seemed quite friendly and helpful to us. We could tell they wanted to know why we came there at this time of the year because it's the coldest time of the year.

Time to check the place out and see if we can find any of the things we need. We split up, and off we went. I check out a couple of second-hand shops for the sextant, but no luck. I did find out where their library was, as we will need that later. Time was tracking by, so I headed back to the place we were staying at and that open fire. Oh, that's good. I was thinking, then Luke and Sam came in. I called out, come over here, guys and get warmed up. You look frozen. Just as sam and Luke started to tell us about their day, John walks in and straight over to us. As John was warming himself up, I suggested we go up to our room and talk there.

Sam and Luke had found most of the things on their list but needed to know our size before buying them. John found out many different ways of getting transport but with all the information decided to talk to us all before obtaining any of it. Well, I had no luke guys. There's still one other place, an antique shop just on the edge of town to check out. And there's an old sea captain that lives about ten miles out of town. Sam and Luke went off to buy the gear, and John came with me to check out the antique shop and hope to find out how to get to the sea captains place. One thing we found out was when the locals say just down the road, It means a long way down the road. We had no luck there but did find out where the sea captain lived. Ok, John, let's head back now. Walking back was nice even though it was cold. It had an old-world charm about it, and everyone says hi or stay warm.

Back at the house at last John and I was freezing, as we got to our room Sam and Luke were there already, we could see they had a good time shopping as there was bag everywhere. Luke suggested we all get something to eat first. Then we can look at everything. Yep, that sounds a good idea, Luke.

As we were having something to eat, Sam and Luke told us about the gear and hoped it fitted, and if not, they can take them back. The only thing left is trying them on. After our meal and a little chat, we headed off to our room, Sam passed them around, and some were a bit bright, so I said, well, we wouldn't lose sight of each other we will be able to see each other from a mile away hahaha. But you both did well; they seem to fit well. Did you get any food rations? That's when John commented that it would depend on how we are going to get there. You see, if we take a Helicopter trip, we won't need as much gear or food, and it will be quicker. The Helicopter will take us half the way, plus it will be warmer.

Hold on, I said, how much money do you think we have? We can't waste it on being comfortable. Yes, I know it will be quicker, but we need to do it the same way as the book says, or we could miss read it and get lost out there. And I don't want to freeze to death out there just with you guys. We all need to get back alive. Things went quiet for a while. Sam broke the silence by saying, let's check it out on the laptop. That way we can see how much it will cost. And if we agree, then we do it that way, and if we don't, then we go by using the dogs. We all nodded. Ok, Sam, let's check it out. Sam found it quick. When he told us how much it would cost us, our mouths just dropped. And even John said. No way are we paying that much. I felt relieved, as I knew things would go wrong if we did it that way. So the dogs it is. Well, guys, things are going good so far. How about we pack our things away and relax with a couple of drinks tonight, plus it will help us have a good sleep. Then tomorrow back into it sounds good Richard they all replied.

The next day John And Sam went out to book the date and time we would need the dogs and sledges. Luke and I went out to find the sextant at the antique shop. If we were going back home, I would have bought some things from there.

By now, the day had almost gone. Back to the house for a good meal. We got there first, so we washed up and talked about things until the others go back. John and Sam came in with big smiles on their faces. Ok, I said, what's going on with you two? Sam remarked he would let John tell you. Ok John, are you going to tell us all what's going on? Well, the Helicopter ride we talked about. We bumped into the pilot. He said he could drop us all off about fifty miles out of town for free as he will be going that way. And the Dogman will be there waiting for us, all ready to go. So what do you think? I just smiled. John was pleased to see that because he had said yes to it.

SEA CAPTAIN

The next day we hired a car, and all went to see the Old Sea Captain. Well, we got there. It was hard to find because of all the winding tracks. We were lucky as the Captain was home. We knew he did not like people coming out to him. He must have heard us coming up the dirt track. As we pulled up to his house, he was standing there with a shotgun in his hands, pointing right at us. He yelled out,  get off my property. I called out to him, "it's ok, the man in the second-hand shop told us to come and see you". Well, you have seen me, now go. So what did you want with me?" Can we get out of the car and talk to you please? "ok, you can, but stay by the car." we all got out and could feel his beady eye's on us" we walked slowly to the front of the Car. We told him our names, well that's good, he replied, so you have names good for you. But what do you want with me? I asked if we could come over to him instead of shouting at each other? Ok, he said only on the porch, but do it slowly. I got a shotgun with your names on each shell.

Slowly we went and stepped on the porch. I said thank you and introduced ourselves to him. What did you say your name was? I asked? he looked at me and said I didn't, ok then, but I saw a smile on his face, OH come on in, you guys, just having some fun with you all. We were glad to hear that, so inside we went. His name was Ben, and his home was like a big Second-hand shop. I don't know how he could find anything in there. After a while, he relaxed. We told him we wanted to follow the route of an old explore and do it just like he did, but we needed a Sextant and wanted to know if he had one that was for sale? He smiled and said, yes, I have two, and it was nice to see four young men wanting to do that as most don't care anymore. So he showed them both to us, they both worked; Ben explained how to use them and how it was their only way of riding the seas past all the rocks out there. Okay, we said how much you want for one. When are you leaving, he asked? In two days, I replied. And then Ben said good luck and wished he was coming with us. And with a smile, we could have it for free as long as we took a picture of us all on the trip, As I would love to be doing it with you, but I am a little bit too old now. Yes, we will, Ben, so everyone says cheese.

It was time to head back now, so we said goodbye and thanked him again.

The way back was a lot harder as nighttime was coming in fast. Things started to look different at night, so we slowed down, trying not to take the wrong turns, but we did a few times. Sometimes we just went in circles. After a while, my patience was wearing thin, and the others could see it, so they started to talk about the trip to help settle me down, and it worked. We managed to get on the main road; at last, we knew the way from there. Getting a bit lost put us behind time. By now, our stomachs were hungry, so I put my foot down to get back faster, or we might miss out on Dinner.

When we got back, we found out, Dinner had long gone, and all was cleaned up. What now, Sam asked? Can John whip something up for us? I have to ask first as it’s not our Kitchen. As we went to find the owner to ask if we could, she called out to us. I put your meals in the oven to keep warm, thank you we replied and rushed into the kitchen for our meals, well I have to say that meal hit the spot, we think she had put more on our plates, as we could hardly move after eating the Dinner. Now we have to wash the dishes. Then to our rooms, we talked for a while before calling it a night. The day had been long, so we need to get some sleep. We have an early start in the morning because we need to find the Library and do some more research. There was still some part we still did not understand in the Book. This research could take hours to work out; lucky, we are used to doing it.

The Morning had come, and the smell of cooked eggs and bacon was overpowering. A quick shower, then breakfasts, then the Library, have to take a flask of coffee with us.

We were the first to arrive at the Library, and we go straight to the section we needed. We got a few strange looks from some of the other people as we were piling up the books we needed to study. The four of us all sat around one of the tables. Trying to talk quite, and busy taking notes, then cross-referencing. As we had to make sure we had understood them right, by now, the day was passing fast. Luke got up to find out if it was alright to eat in their Library, and if so, he would go and get some food for us all. It was not long before Luke returned with some food for us, which was good as our energies were getting low. John had found some exciting information in some of the books he was studying, so we listened to what he was saying, and it made sense, and it could cut about two days of the Journey, and we would still be doing it as the Ancient Book says. We were getting more excited about the Journey as time went on. By now, the day had almost gone. I asked the Librarian if we could take a few books back to the place we are staying? She said yes, we could, but you have to bring them back; you don't want my husband, the sheriff, to come and see you? We will, I replied, so we took a few books with us. I felt we were missing something.

We got back in time to get cleaned up before dinner—what a meal. I think we will miss these meals, guys. We should all have time to do some more study before going to bed, as I would like to check some of the notes we have made to be sure we have it right. Good Idea, they all said. The night went fast, and yes, I was right in some of our notes; we had made a mistake, and this could have cost us a lot of time or our lives.

We had been working everything out by the Magnetic North Pole, and that could have put us out by thirty to forty miles in any direction. That's because the Magnetic North Pole is always moving. We should have been working it out with the Geo-Magnetic North Pole, which is called A Dipole, and that is why we needed the Sextant. So now we have to work it all out again. I hope we can do it in time to catch the Helicopter ride.

We stayed at the House and spent our time studying and taking notes, only going out if we had to. I took the books back to the Library and got more out. We need to get as much information as we could. Once we are out there, we will be on our own. By the second day, our eyes were hanging out of our heads—ok time to have some fun for a change. So a shower, then we hit the town for some fun guys. Hang on, Guy's. I'll drop the books off at the Library first, ok Richard Luke replyed. Then we can hit the town for some fun. It did not take long to drop the books off and get back to the guys, so that done. Where do you want to go first? How about a few drinks, then a fancy restaurant for a slap-up meal. Sounds good, Luke replied. Okay, let's go, the Pub is down there. The locals are easygoing and don't mind strangers drinking in their Pub, As some places do. I'll Buy this time, two scotches and coke and two beers, please, mate. After a few drinks, got to have a pee guy's, I'll come too, SAM says alright where is it over there one of the locals says, thanks, mate. As we came out of the Toilets, I saw the notice board, so I had a quick look at it. Ha, Sam, look, there is a dance on tonight, how about we all go, never know our luck. When we got back to the other Guy's, Sam mentioned the Dance tonight; why not was the replies, ok then we will. It will be great to finish the day like that. Remember not too much to drink as we will be leaving early in the morning, so no hangovers, we will do our best not to. They played some good dancing music, and some of the girls really know how to move their bodies. The night was Fantastic, and it looked like John did ok, lucky him.

THE LEARNING BEGINS

We are ready for the Big Adventure, just waiting for the Helicopter Pilot, then we can load the Equipment on, then we are off. The Pilot just arrived and yelled out, you guys been here all night? We laughed no mate, did not want to miss you. Oh, that's okay. I'll be with you in a few minutes. You can throw your gear in the back compartment; it's open, Will do, thanks mate.

Are you guys ready? By the way, my name is Dart well, that's what most call me as I am always darting here and there. We told dart our names. Well, that part is over. I'll start her up, then up we go. Any of you have been up in a copper before. We all looked at each other with a blank looks on our faces. Dart remarked no by the looks on your faces, well, the first time for everything. It won't take long to get there, alright up and away. We spent most of the time looking out the windows. Look over there, are they wolves mate, oh yeah, you'll see lots around where you are going. And over on your left, there's some Deer.

Alright, Guys, over there is where we will put her down, then I'll introduce you all to the Dog Man as we call him. Thanks, mate.

There is a bit of crosswind, so putting her down might be a little rough, but we will be ok, hang on, men, we are going down, come on, we can do it. That's a good girl. Now that was not too bad. John commented, if you say so. Alright, take your gear out and put it over there. The others will pick it up later. Jack called out, are these the fresh meat for my Dogs? We looked at each other, then smiled as we knew he was joking well, hoping he was. Hi there, I am Jack, and you must be the ones for the dogs and sledges? Yep, that's us, Jack. Ok, come over and get warm, and I'll explain how it all works. Dart shook our hands and wished us luck, then off he went, I looked at the Guys, well we are here now, and we can't change our minds now.

Jack showed us where we would be staying for the next few days, now come and get some hot food into you. Even though it was only a stew, it was not too bad. I asked what meat is this? It's Deer meat, not bad, I replied. Now Jack explained, most time, I hire the Dogs and Sledges out on a day rate, and that includes a Guild. Now let's see if I have got this right. You want me to teach you how to operate the Dog sledges and supply a guild for one day only. Now is that right? That sounds right. Alright then, but only if I feel you can use and control the dogs, and if you can't, then the deals off, you happy with that? We looked at each other and nodded. Ok, it's a deal, Good Jack replied. First thing in the morning, we will show you how we handle them, and then each one of you will give it a go, sounds good to us. We learn quickly with most things. Then Jack looked up with a grin on his face as if saying, we will see. Luke suggested we all head back to where we are staying and relax a bit, then have an early night, okay boss, I said. On the way back, I remarked, guys, this is real now. We have to do everything Jack says and learn to control those dogs and sledges. Don't worry; it can't be that hard, don't look at it too lightly, John. These are not your ordinary house dogs where you say sit or up. We have to control them as they are pulling our Equipment, and if we lose that, we are dead. We know, Richard, chill out; it will be all good; you will see. It did not take long before we were laughing and joking around. Which was good for a change as we had been doing lots of studying, but it was time to call it a night and get some sleep.

Waking up was easy, as the morning sun was shining straight through the window onto us. Are we ready guys, let's learn about these dogs and become Dog Masters.

Off we went to find Jack. He was coming out of his place, it looked like he just got up, hair all over the place, and by the looks of him, he hit the Bottle last night heavy. We all called out loud. Good morning Jack. He just looked at us, be with you soon. You all go and get yourselves some breakfast, and I'll meet you there. When Jack came in, he yelled out loud, scaring the crap out of us, did you all sleep well, guys? Yes, we did like a rock. That's good because we have a lot of work to get through today. We will start by showing you how to clip the dogs on then how to load the sledges. Once you know how to do that, we will show you how to ride them. So good luck with that, guys. That sounds good. Oh, Jack added, you would have to let the dogs know you are the boss. Especially the lead Dogs, you have to be able to control him, and the others will follow. By the way, have you guys been camping in the snow before? I thought I would ask because out there, it's about twenty-time whores. I have Luke said, so the rest I would say No then, your all in for some fun.

I would suggest you camp out overnight with the Dogs so you can get a feel for it and get to know the dogs. That sounds like the best thing, guys, because we will be out there for a long time once we get going. Ok, let's start with you, John. I'll show you how we clip the dogs on and pack the sledge.  Richard and Luke can go with Dan. He will get you to ride with him so you can see how he operates the sledge and talks to the lead dog. And Sam will pitch the tents and start cooking your meals for tonight. It's okay. Our Sam will help and show you how to do it all.

  Sam starts thinking, why should I be doing the cooking when they are having all the fun? Who do they think I am a servant? It's not right; John's a better cook than me.

Ha, Sam, the other Sam yells out. Let's get these Tents pitched before the snow gets thick and the wind picks up. That way, we can keep warm while the others are in the cold, Okay mate, that sounds good to me. You will notice we have two types of tens, these spring out themselves, where the others we need the poles and stakes, both are good, you see these spring out ones are quick, good for Emergency. The pole tents are excellent for the Base tents, but that depends on what you are all doing. We are just going to follow one of the old tracks. The explorers used. Okay, sounds good, but between us two, this time of the year is a little Dangerous because of the freak storms that come out of nowhere. You will have to make sure. You get an emergency point map off Jack before you head off. There will be supplies, and an Emergency signal locator there, just in case you all need help out there, Thanks mate, I'll tell the others about that. Luke and I were having a ride of our life on the sledge. Everything was going good until Luke turned too fast with the Dogs, and over it went. The Dogs stopped and just looked at us as if they were saying, stupid Humans. Dan runs over to check if we were alright; we brushed ourselves off as we stood up, laughing at the same time. Dan shook his head, saying, well, Don't just stand there, get back on and let's get going. We both smiled and jumped on. Here we go again, Dan called out, try and stay on this time. John was doing great with his Dogs. Almost as if he had put a spell on them, they were doing everything John said. Jack was impressed with him and commented, you are a Natural at this, John. Well, the daylight was fading, so back to the base house and get cleaned up for a hot meal and some relaxation time.

As we were all sitting around the fire pit outside, Jake asked do you guys drink, we looked and smiled; yes, mate, well he said if one of you want to go over to that big Crate over there and grab some out for yourselves, grab me two of them as well. We could see by the way he sculled that first Bottle down he was a big drinker, I whispered in John's ear, we won't stay too long. Otherwise, we won't get up in the Morning; John nodded. After a few drinks, we said we would hit the sack. The rest of them looked up; ok, Guys, see you all in the morning. We will have a few more, then call it a night as well.

As we were walking back to our room, I mentioned to the guys that tomorrow we would sleep out with the dogs, but tonight back to our warm room, we sat and talked about what we all did today. Well, how was it for you? John replied, perfect, the dogs were great, and packing the sledge was easy. Sam commented, have you heard about the Emergency points out where we are going? No mate, what do you know about them? Well, Sam mentioned to me that Jack has Maps of where they all are. And we should ask him for some, just in case something goes wrong. They have emergency food rations and a signal beacon, only in case people need help out there. I wonder why Jack did not tell us about that? Luke remarked that he feels Jack held that back to make us work harder at learning how to survive out there.  He most probably thought if he told us about them, we would not bother as much with learning everything he is teaching us. Yeah, you could be right. I think Jack will swap us around Tomorrow, so we all get a turn to learn the different things. You are most probably right; we need to be multi-skilled out there.

John, I hope you catch on fast, with the way you need to cook out there. No fancy stoves, just a fire or primes, Sam said when he did it; the other Sam would not eat it, just spat it out on the ground and said, if you are doing the cooking, I feel sorry for the other guys. Well, Luke, I'll do my best with that, I like cooking, but someone else needs to do some of the cooking out there, as I don't intend to do it all the time. Richard butted in, don't worry; I'll do some. I am a reasonable cook, usually, so I should be able to cook that way as well.

Time to get some sleep, Guys, as we have another big day tomorrow. Yea, good idea, goodnight all.

Well, the morning came quick. We all seem to have a few aching muscles, rubbing our lower back as we walked. We did not have to say anything to each other; let's put a brave face on and get some breakfast. Luke was the first out the door, almost pushing himself in front. What wrong, Luke, you Hungary today, sure am, I could eat a horse. We laughed at what he said. I replied your always hungry, mate. We were the first in the meals room. That gave us a bit more time to talk about the Adventure; while we eat our food, we just went over a few things, but the other blokes were starting to come in now, so we changed the conversation. We heard Jack yelled out.

We have a wounded person coming in soon. He has severe frostbite, get the gear ready to help treat it, and call for a chopper to pick him up now. We rushed outside to help if we could. We could see them coming in on sledges. The dogs were flying; it was all happening so fast. As they slid in, everyone had a job to do as they slid inEveryone, so all we could do was watch. I started to think this was real, and it could happen to us. We better listen carefully and watch everything they were doing, just in case we need to do it for ourselves. The Copper arrived, and off to the hospital he went. Jack looked at us and said, you see what can happen if you are not careful out there. He could lose his legs, all it takes is one lousy mistake, and it could cost you your legs or more. You still want to go, guys, because if you do, you better learn everything, so you stay alive. He smiled then said I would like to see you all back safe and sound, and with my dogs, of course.

Yes, Jack, I replied, we do, so are you ready to teach us, or are you too tired to now? Then I smiled at him. I'll be with you in ten minutes. Get your mind on this now, not what happened to the other guys. Will do, mate; see you over there.  Alright, we all need to do our best today, so he can see that we know what to do and can do it, okay guys. Alright, we got it mate, we listen, look, and learn and do it. Here comes Jack lets start doing something without him. It will show that we can think for ourselves. Jack remarked, it's good to see you guys doing something by yourselves, but come over here for a minute. Just thought you should know. I like how you all pitch in around here, and I can see you all have a brain and can use it where most can't. All of you have caught on fast, so I feel you still need some more practice, you will do it today by yourselves, just like yesterday, but swap around a bit, so you all get ago of the same things; I'll be over at the base if you need me,  alright then get to it's not a Holiday camp hahaha. Have a good day; Guys will do, mate. We won't let you down. As he was walking away, I heard him say, we'll see, but it's not me you would be letting down; it's your selves.

Right guys, let's do this as if he was standing behind us. And each one will have a go at everything. Whoever gets it wrong keeps doing it until they get it right, fair enough. Good, let's get into it. It must have been around two o'clock in the afternoon when Jack walkover. And stood there watching us, you lot did not come over for Lunch he yells. So I thought I'd better go and check on you. I hope you haven't worked my dogs too hard. We turned and looked at him. Jack yells out, come on, you lot over here, let's walk back to camp and warm up. You look like you are almost frozen. You must have fallen off that sledge a lot before you got it right. You got that right, Jack.

Hahaha, let get over to the fire pit and warm up a bit, and we will have a little talk about things. That sounds good, Jack. Well, come on and sit down. I'll get one of the Blokes to get us all a hot Coffee, make it all Large mugs, mate. Ok, you all worked hard today, and it seems you were on a mission, and from what I could see, you all did well. Tomorrow we will give you all a test, to see how good you all are, don't worry. Guys, you'll do Good, going by what I saw today. Well, are you all going to stay out here or come and get your meals, be with you in a few minutes, mate. Well, Guys, Jack seems happy with us today. Well done to all of us, now let's get a hot meal. John, where are you going? It's cold out here, so where do you think? Oh, yea got it; see you inside then. Let's get inside the fires going; that's good; now I can feel my legs again me too. Well, Guys, let's get some hot food into us and then a few drinks sounds good. Over here, mate. John warms himself up first, then grabs something to eat, ha Sam, do you think your Laptop will work out here? It should. I have a Satellite booster on it, so yes, it should. Ok, when we get back to our room, I like to check something out.

That meal was excellent. Luke could hardly move; no wonder you did have seconds, I know, but I still have room for a drink or two, you would mate. Let's get back to your room and do a little more study. Sam, can you get the Laptop going and bring up the notes on the Sextant. I want to check it out tonight here. We'll all have a go of working it out; one thing Jack has taught me is we all need to know how to do the same thing, just in case something happens to one of us, not saying it will.

Once again, the morning came around fast. Are you guys ready? It's the big day? We all have to impress Jack this time. If we don't, it's off, and I don't want that to happen. Not, after all, we have gone through. Jack yells out, come on, you guys, let's get this going. I don't have all day. You lot have to decide who does what, so get to it. I yell out; ok mate, keep your shirt on. Everything was going good until Sam did not clip the dogs onto the sledge right, and John was left standing on the sledge without the dogs. Jack just shook his head, but I could see him smile as well. For about four hours, we were all showing jack that we knew what we were doing. All of a sudden, Jack turns around and walks away without saying anything to us. We looked at each other with blank faces. Did we do something wrong? Richard, I don't know, I answered. But we kept on with it as we needed to know that we could do it without him being there. As a few more hours went by, Luke said, how about we call it a day. Then we can find out why Jack walked away, there was a part of us that did not want to know, but we had to find out why we slowly walk back, all feeling a bit nervous about what he was going to say. When we got there, one of the other blokes was outside waiting for us.  Took your time getting back. And Jack wants to see you all inside right away ok, thanks, mate, I replied. Right guys, this is it. As we opened the door, there was a loud cry, come on in Dog-men. We looked up, and all the other blokes were there, all with big smiles on their faces. Jack walked over and shook all our hands. What took you all so long to get here? We have been waiting for you. I have to say I did not think you guys would make it with all the things you had to do. But you did with flying colours, well done to all of you. We felt relieved about that. We turned to each other and smiled. We did it, guys; we did it.

The next morning came fast, time to pack our Equipment up and load the sledges. Jack helped us and gave us the Satellite phones and emergency maps, don't lose these; they could save your lives. He shook our hands, look after yourselves, guys and sees you all back here when you have had enough of being out there. We thanked him for everything he had done for us. And then it was time to leave, we jumped on the Sledges, and off we went, side by side with the dog yapping away. We got to the top of the hill and stopped. We turned around to have one last look. Well, guys, we won't see this for a long time. We are on our own now, So let's go, Guys, and good luck to all of us. We stopped a few times to give our backs a rest, as we are not used to standing on the sledge for long periods like that. Some of the scenery was amazing. The woods were just a mile away from us now, so we agreed we would camp on the edge of the woods for the first night. Our guide said he would turn back now and wished us safe travel, thanks mate, we all said at the same time, then we watched him disappear. Luke was eager to get the Gun out to go shooting for our meal. Alright, we told him to be careful. We will set the tents up and get things ready for the meal. It did not take long before we heard some shots. Luke came back with a smile; we have fresh Rabbit, tonight guys. He put the gun away and started to skin them and get them ready to cook. Sam said he would feed the dogs and check their ropes.

John cooked our first meal out in the wild. Well, that was a good meal, John. I think we have done well today. How about we clean up and call it a night? Good idea, they replied. We all did our part, then into the tent. It was warmer in there. We went to turn on the light, but it was flat, so we have to use the tilly lamp, but that was alright because it will help warm the tent up a little. Tomorrow we will have to recharge the other lights up. We were not that tired, so we decided to work out the next part of our journey. After going over a few things, it was time for sleep, as we needed to get up early in the morning. So lights out and goodnight all. We found it hard to sleep as we were not us to all the noises. But we managed to get some sleep, then all of a sudden, we all heard something moving around outside the tent, and our dogs were going crazy out there. We did not know what it was, keep quiet and don't try to go outside. After a while, it went quiet outside, so we slowly crept out and looked around. There's nothing there, well whatever it was, it's gone, so let's get some sleep while we still can, guys. Well, the morning came quick.

We stumbled out of the tent; let's get our heads together first with a coffee. I'll get the fire going and boil a brew up for us all. Ok, that sounds good; I had to go for a call of Nature. That's when I noticed footprints in the snow. Look over here, I called out; everyone came over; they look like Wolf footprints. As I looked more, I could see Blood marks on the snow. Then I realised what it was. I turned and looked at Luke. You cleaned those Rabbits out just there and left the remains there. That's why the wolves came in. Sorry, I did not think about that, we were lucky this time, but we will have to make sure this never happens again. Because next time, it could be a Bear, anyway we are all ok that's the main thing. There will be a lot of things we will learn as we go. Luke walks away and starts talking to himself, " well, sally, I made a mistake last night; I have to do better than that. You use to be beside me picking things up I left behind or telling me not to forget that. I  miss you so much are you there, sally I need you to help me through this " you ok John calls out, yes John, I'm ok, thinking out loud, that's all, ok come and get some breakfast and a good cup of coffee, ok be there in a minute. Have to go for a pee first, ok mate, alright, we can't stay all day, so we will need to start packing up as well before we go; we have to check nothing is left behind. Sam comments on how the morning sun looks out here. You are so right, mate; it's beautiful, and everything looks so crisp and clean. Look over there at the deer just playing around; that's good to see. Ok, guys, let's head off, I'll lead for a while through the woods, but everyone keep a lookout for any Bears or packs of wolves, as we don't want to run into any of them, will do Richard, ok away we go not too fast as we don't want to smash into any of these trees. We had been travelling for about two hours, that's when I heard a noise behind me, so I stopped to have a look and make sure the guys were alright. A big branch had just fallen across the track, and one of the sledges had swerved to miss it and turned on its side. I called out, ' Are you all ok? Yes, mate, all good. They lifted the sledge back up and checked it out. John yelled out, it's ok, no damage.

We will go around and meet up with you a bit further down the track. Ok, I yelled out and be careful. I took my time going down the track I was on. It would give the dogs a little rest anyway. I started to think to myself." we have only been on this part of the journey for just over a day, and already we have had two issues. Now let me see, oh yes, the rabbit blood and scapes that brought the wolves around our camp. Then the big branch that tipped the sledge over, now we have to split up. That's too many things in that short amount of time. How can we change that? Well, I don't know, but we will have to be more careful? Come on, Richard, stop thinking like that; it's not that bad, now come on, snap out of it." back to reality. I don't know where they Intend to meet up with me. I don't want to miss them. I'll have to keep an eye out for them. John and the others were going well; they found a way around and were heading in the right direction now.  John yell's out. We will catch up with Richard soon. Guys, he won't go too fast, so keep your eyes open for him, ok they shouted out. Ha, Luke, is that Richard over there on your left? I think I can see him. Yea, John, I think it is, ok let's move faster to catch up with him. Ha, it looks like the track joins up further down, ok.

Richard sees them and gives them a wave to let them know, Ok, he has seen us, won't be long now, and we will all be back together again. There he is, about time, pull up over there, ok John, Hi Richard, we made it, okay, I was wondering when I would see you all again, there's a little clearing up there, so we will have a break there and check things out, ok sounds good. When we got there, Luke made a fire and got a brew going, and Sam checked the Dogs and sledges. 

John, I called out to him overhear as I was walking over to some Rocks, Yes Richard, what is it, well John, you and I seem to be the ones that have our heads working right. Don't get me wrong, the other guys are doing well, but we are the ones that can work things out quicker. If we have to split up, we will pair off, you take one of them, and I'll have the other one; that way, things should be safer if you know what I mean. Yes, I know what you mean, that's ok with me. Luke calls out, Coffee ready, Guys, about time, mate. Luke lifts his head"if you can do it faster, then make it yourself" It's ok, Luke, I was only Joking. Oh, sorry," I was, it doesn't matter," as we came over, I asked Luke if he was ok. Yes, mate, It's just when we had to split up, and you went on by yourself. I started to think, what if something happens to you? I would not be there to help you, just like Sally. I should have been there for her, but I wasn't; thanks for caring, mate, but I am ok. There is still time left in the day to get moving, so back on the sledges again and away we go. We still have four hours of light left, so we should be able to make up some lost time. The wind was picking up a bit and blowing the powdery snow around a lot, making it hard to see. I yelled out to John. Let's find a place to make camp soon, Ok he yelled back; we had to slow down a lot because of the wind, over there John calls out, we all looked, yes it seems like the right place, just near some Big Rocks, they will act as a windbreak for us. When we got there, the wind was really starting to pick up. It made it hard to put the tents up, so we decided only to set one up this time. John put the dogs and sledges out of the wind as well. We got into the tent, that's better out of the wind, Sam, how about some hot coffee and it will warm the tent up as well? Sounds good, everyone commented. The wind had picked up and was blowing the canvas around a lot. I hope this all holds together.

Thanks, mate, that coffee hit the spot. I was hoping to get a bit further today, but that's life out here. We will make it up tomorrow. Luke, can you pass over that book, yes mate, thanks. Can you imagine how it was for them out here without all this modern gear we have?  I'm glad we have it, me too, Sam. so who is cooking the meal tonight? We will have to use what's in the pack. Somehow I don't think Luke wants to go out there shooting tonight. Do you mate, "no, I'll give it a miss tonight." don't worry, I'll cook tonight, you all can have a rest. And I will just go over some of the notes we have." John, did you feed the dogs"yes", good, I hope their ok tonight. Look, if anyone needs to go for a pee, don't go too far away. It was hard to sleep that night with the wind blowing the tent around the place.

The morning had come, so it was time to step outside and hope the dogs were still there. John goes to check on them, and they are all there. Good boy’s want some food; ok, there you are. Sam made some breakfast and coffee, and the other packed the gear up. Well, we should be out of the woods tomorrow if we can make it to the next stop point by tonight; sounds good, Richard they replied, well let's get out of here. The wind has settled down, and if it stays like that, we will make it easy; I hope so, mate. Don't push the dogs too hard. There got a long way to take us, and over some very tough areas. We noticed some wolves seemed to be following us. John called out. We need to keep an eye on them; I don't want them to spook the dogs. If they get too close, we have to fire a couple of shots off to scare them away. Luke called out I have the gun close if we need it. Ok, guys, we need to be careful. There are some wolves on the other side of us as well; let's move a bit faster now and see if we can lose them but be careful. How're things looking back there, Sam? They are breaking off Richard. Good hope it stays like that. Slow down now to give the dog a little rest. We will stopover there for a rest, and Luke, can you see if there is anything you can kill for some fresh meat because when we get out of the woods, there won't be as much around, so we will need to stock up with it. We all pulled up and started to check the area out first, no wolves that we could see. It should be safe here for a while. Luke grabbed the gun and went out Hunting. We heard a few shots. We did not know if he was shooting at the wolves or our food. Luke was out there for about one hour. Then we could hear him coming back. I hope he was lucky. Luke yells out, you guys going to give me a hand or not. We turned; he was pulling two big deer behind him. Ok, guys, let's give him a hand with them. We decided to cut them up away from where we were, not like last time. You did well, mate, thanks, he replied. We had to cut them up into small pieces, some for the dogs and us. John throws sum over to the dogs; you could tell they were hungry by the way they got stuck into it. You must be a good shot Luke; we only heard a few shots. I am not too bad at it. My dad used to take us shooting. You guys ready to put things away and get going again. If we can make it to the edge of the woods just before the plains, we will set camp up there; that way, we still have some shelter sounds good mate, well, let's get going.

SOMEONE GETS HURT

We made it, guys. Let's get the camp set up before it gets too dark. Just check around as well. We don't want those wolves to close. We can't see any mate, ok, that's good. John was already looking after the dogs. I am starting to think he likes them. Camp is all set up now.

The fire is going; let's make it a bigger one tonight, just in case? Wolves don't like fire, sounds good to me; how about we make it a huge one then? Hang on, Guys. We don't want to set the place on fire, a medium-size one is enough, and if we keep it going, we will be alright. Now let's cook some of this Deer up, Ha John, would you like to cook tonight as you are the better cook? "yes, I will as I don't want it burnt to death. We were all looking forward to the meal, and we weren't disappointed. John cooked it perfect. Now, all we needed to do was clean up, and then we called it a night. We had eaten a lot of the meat and found out it was a bit rich, as we need to open the tent up and get a bit of fresh air in. But through the night, some of us needed to go out for the call of Nature. But poor Sam seemed it necessary to go out more; I think it upset him the most.

We were woken up by the dogs going crazy; what are they going on about, we all said? We rushed outside. Luke grabbed the Gun as he was asking, where is Sam? then we all heard some screaming sounds, "that's Sam", Luke yells out. "Where are you, Sam." John yelled," over there, I think the sound is coming from, "we all run over there to find three Wolves attacking Sam. Luke fires the gun a few times and the Wolfe's runoff. What a sight Sam on the ground with his Dacks half down and bite marks all over his legs. We quickly helped him up and headed back to the tent. Once we got him inside, we started to clean him up. Grab the first aid kit John, any disinfectant and some bandages. Your ok mate, it's not bad, you'll be ok, Sam. Luke goes outside to check on the dogs, making sure they were still pegged as we don't want to lose them. They're all ok guys. Sam is shaking a lot. You are safe now, mate. Luke comes over, hear Sam have a drink of this; it will help calm you down. I looked over to them all. We will check the wounds in the morning and see how bad they are; for now, I think we should try and get some more sleep. The morning came quite quick. Well, let's get a fire going and some hot Coffee. I'll check Sam out. "You awake, Sam", I called out, yes mate, Bloody sour, though. You were lucky, Sam; our dogs woke us all up. It must have just been happening to you as we were coming over. Luke scared them off. Now let's have a look at the wounds; I'll try not to hurt you, mate. Don't worry, Richard; I can take it. I hope they did not get any of my; you know what, No mate there intact, that's good. It does not look too Serious, Sam, but I think we will keep an eye on them and change the dressings a few times. I'll help you up and then outside to the other guys. Well," Sam, you want a hot coffee." you scared us last night, mate. But at least you did not crap your pants, yes I was lucky I had them down, and I had just finished. So that’s what the smell was, ok no need to rub it in. It was that meat last night that went right through me, and it was a bit rich but beautiful to eat. Next time I don't think we will eat as much. We will get used to eating it anyway. So how are you feeling now Sam, do you think you will be alright to operate the Sledge and control the dogs. I should be, mate; I can only give it a go. Tell you what, how about we all have a rest today and set off in the morning. We need to build our energies back up. We are not used to this anyway, so that that extra rest will do us all good. OK, sounds good, they replied. Sam remarked, don't do this just for me, it's ok, mate, we're not, but you helped us make our minds up.

Ok, that's settled; we have a day off to relax or whatever you want to do; sound good, Guys. We all sat around the fire for a while, then Luke gets up  and walks away, "where are you going, mate, not far?" Luke stops and starts playing in the snow. We laugh, look at him, just a big kid, then he stops and starts to build a snowman. We all walk over. What are you doing? "well, I am putting us right here. Yep building four snowmen, one for each one of us; John joins in and tries to make a sledge out of the snow, then all of a sudden, we are all doing it. We lost track of time as we were having some fun for a change. When we had finished, we stood there looking at them with smiles on our faces. Then we turned and walked back to the fire to warm ourselves up again, that was a good idea, Luke, and it was a lot of fun too, just what we needed to get our minds off things.

How are you feeling Sam, give me a look at those wounds? I'll put some clean dressings on for you, mate? Well, they're looking a lot better. You should be good to go tomorrow, "yes, I hope so as they are feeling a bit better." Right, let's start cooking something up and have a couple of drinks with it. Then we can relax for the rest of the day, sounds good, I might have a look at that transmitter and see if it works out here," Ok says Sam I'll cook the meal for us all."  that's good we will just put our feet up and wait to get served hahahah. It did not take long before Richard had got the transmitter working. He was good with things like that, as it was one of the things he did at Uni. The best thing was that he managed to pick up a radio station, so we had a little music for a short time. But it keeps fading in and out, but it was better than nothing, so it was good while it lasted. Richard had altered it so we could charge it up by solar, and we can charge some of the other things up as well.

The day was going fast; after a few drinks, we relaxed and joked around and tried not to think about the journey too much. We kept the fire burning well, much more, and we would have melted the snow all around us. With the fire burning like that, we could see a reasonable distance from us, so no surprise visits from the wolves. Luke had the Gun handy in case we needed it fast. As all good things do, the night comes to an end, and it's time to call it a night. We cleaned up. Then it was time for sleep, you alright Sam "yes mate" time for bed guys, goodnight all and light out. We had built a fire up, so we should be safe tonight.

THE SNOW PLAINS

We woke to the sun was filtering through the trees; what a sight to see. As we all went outside, the air was fresh and clean. It's good to be alive on days like this. Our heads were a bit heavy from the few drinks, but that's ok. The fire was smouldering. Sam put a few small pieces of wood on the fire, hoping it would burn so we could make some coffee and cook breakfast. The rest of us started to pack some of the gear up. We did not want to leave too late in the day. Sam calls out, "come and get your coffee while it's hot, Guys, and breakfast will be ready soon". OH, that coffee was good, mate. I hope you made up a pot full. Sam cooking the breakfast was starting to make our stomach rubble; it smells great, mate. Thanks, Guys. I am feeling good today; thanks for looking after my wounds the way you did. That's what mates do, Sam', John comments. After the meal, we all finished cleaning up and packing the sledges. Then we all checked around to make sure we had everything and that all rubbish was gone. You guys, are we all ready for the Snow plains? We looked at each other and nodded. Then why are we still here? Let's go. It did not take long to get out of the woods. We stopped and turned to look at the woods because this would be the last time we see it for a long time.

The snow plains and beyond this point are the most dangerous part of our journey. We hope all goes well and our training will be enough to keep us alive and in one piece. Going through the woods helped us understand more about the dangers and the cold. Now we go, guys; let's make tracks in the snow. Things were going really well for us, and the weather was being kind. But we had to put on our snow goggles to stop the glare, so we would not get snow blindness. Well, time to rest the dog's Guys, don't want to drive them too hard. And that will give us time to check the Sextant out to get our bearings. The more we check, the better it will be for us. As we started to look around, it all looked the same. No wonder it's easy to get lost out here. The snow seems to go on forever. Sometimes you can't tell the difference between the sky and the snow; it's amazing out here. Ok, guys, let's get going again. I'll lead say's Richard we all need to stay in the tracks. So don't wander off them, as we don't know what's under there, "Ok", they all called out. In one way, it was fun with the dogs yelping away, and the speed these dogs could get to, well, to us, it was very fast. I kept turning around to check on the others. All was ok with them. I could not see their faces because we were wearing balaclavas, which protected our faces from the cold. I was hoping they were having as much fun as I am. No matter how far we were travelling it, all looked the same. Then the winds started to pick up out of nowhere. I turned to Indicate to tighten up the gap between us, as I did not want any of us to drift away from each other. They all tightened up the distance between us, which made me feel safer, knowing we can all see each other. Luke and Sam were behind me, and I had asked John to stay at the rear so he could keep an eye on both of them. I raised my hand to show I was about to stop as it was getting very hard to see. When we all pulled up, I suggested we find a place to tent down and hope the winds die down a bit. Because I was finding it hard to see where we were going, as I did not want to get us lost, Sam butted in, saying, "I hope you're not just doing this for me because of my injuries? I can still keep up with you guys". I replied," know, mate. I know you can keep up with us. It's because it's too hard to see where we are going".

Ok, can any of you see a Safer place to camp down, we all look around, but everything looks the same out here. Look over there, Sam says, is that a small snow hill? We could camp on the other side. It might break some of the wind. Let's do it "good spotting, Sam," we all moved over there, and yes, it would be an excellent place to camp. Make sure the dogs are pegged downright. We'll just put one tent up. That way, our body heat will help keep us warmer; we all crawled in. The tent was still rattling around, but it was better there because of the snow hill. It was hard, but we managed to cook a hot meal and make some coffee. As we were eating, I said, "no one walks out too far tonight for a call of nature, right guys." they just looked as if they were saying, I'll be hanging on until the wind drops then go, the way the wind is blowing it would blow me away.

Even though the wind was noisy, there was a silence out there that made the night creepy, which made it hard to sleep. "Most of the time, my mind was drifting around from one thing to another. I could not keep it still. I turned and looked at the others to see if any of them were doing the same thing. I could not tell maybe they were. I don't know." But I have to get some sleep. As the night went on, there were a few strange noises out there that sounded like ice cracking or branches breaking off. But the woods were too far away. I know sound travels. I could not make out what the sounds were. Then all of a sudden, there was a loud cracking sound. It woke the others up. They almost jumped out of the tent. What was that? They yelled out, Don't know, guys, but it sounded close. I popped my head outside the tent, the wind had died down, and the snow had stopped. We decided to have a look, we grabbed the torches to see, but everything looked alright. So back inside, we went, talked about what it could be for a while, and then settled down to try and get some sleep. We fell back to sleep for a while. Then the light woke us up, as it is quite bright out there, and when the sun is rising, it is beautiful. We all went outside, and John checks the dogs; they're all good, so he feeds them while the others get a small fire going to cook up breakfast and coffee. We had another look around but could not see what that cracking noise was. Well, as Luke said, it was probably miles away. Sound travels a long distance out here. Once again, we loaded the sledges, then clipped the dogs on. It was time to get moving again. With just a nod, we were off. Even though we were moving along, we were still looking around to see if we could see what that cracking sound was. The dogs were running well for us. I started to think" about the Professor, hoping he was ok and that he has not worked out it was us that stole his book. Better still, he has not realised it's not there. The Professor had always been good to us and helped with our studies after hours." come on, snap out of it.

I have to keep my thoughts on what we are doing. Out here, your mind can get away from you as everything seems the same. After a few hours, we decided to stop and check the directions to make sure we are going the right way. And all things are looking good for us. If this keeps up, we will get to the way station tomorrow. Sam yells, "that would be right, mate. I am glad you stopped, as my leg is starting to hurt a bit. It must be standing on the sledge." How about we have a look at that leg, mate. Now Sam, keep still, and I will change the dressings for you.

Ok, all done, Sam, and looking good. As I walked over to my Sledge, I told John that Sams wounds have opened up again, so we better keep an eye on him. We took off, but a little slower, hoping it would make it easier for Sam, not as much bouncing around. It felt like hours had passed, but it hadn't when I looked at my watch, only two hours, but it felt like six.

The day was clear. We could see for a long distance away, it was good, but there was nothing out there, just snow. "I started to think we are like a black dot on a white page." It's weird what thoughts go through your head when you are out there. It would be easy to go crazy if you were alone. I have to stop talking inside my head like that. If I keep it up, I'll be saying it allowed now stop it". Time to have a rest and some coffee that will warm our insides up, and we can recheck the maps. John goes and checks on Sam while Luke is making coffee. While they are doing that, I'll read the charts over here, must be the lack of sleep that's making my head be like this. "well guys, how's that coffee going" I called out" I don't know about you lot, but I need that coffee to keep me awake." John replies me to, mate, I am feeling pretty tired as well. We did not get much sleep last night. How about calling it a day and set camp up? It won't put us far behind schedule, and it is safer if we are fully awake out here.

Once again, we set up camp; we all sat around the fire and started to talk. I think we all need the rest, as we are not use to doing this type of thing out in the wild. We seem to forget that a lot. It's not like being at the campus, just the classes and breaks at set times then home. We had lots of time to do other things. But out here, it's all about staying alive. And the harsh conditions are taking it out of us. I would say maybe we need to slow down a bit. It might take us a bit longer, but so what? We have all the time we need to do it, it's not going away, and it would be safer. We agreed without realising we had been pushing ourselves to get there. We had forgotten it's not all about the destination; it's the journey as well. So we all agreed to take it easy and enjoy the sites on the way there as well. I got the binoculars out and had a good look around, well not much to see out there. There's a couple of dots over there, that's all. We spent the rest of the day talking about back home and the professor. And the old book. Which we did not take out much because we didn't want to damage it. That was why we made all those notes. As we were going through them, Luke ask why we needed the Sextant? It's just the North Pole. Not really, because there are four North Poles. We want the real North Pole, and that's why we need to use the Sextant. Sam commented: "that's why Santa keeps missing me out; he's not getting my letters." we all looked over to him, shook our heads and Laugh. That night we spent some time outside just looking at the sky. It's beautiful out there at night. It's like being in a different world; the lights in the sky are amazing and so clear. We had taken lots of photos so far. The night air was getting colder, so we called it a night and went back to the tent. The wind was starting to pick up again, so it would be warmer inside anyway. We stayed up talking for a while longer, then time for sleep.

The morning was with us again. As we stepped outside, the air was crisp, and still, there were no sounds. It was strange and creepy. We usually hear some sounds. As we started to look around, we noticed all the dogs were standing up. It seemed they were looking around as well as if they knew something was wrong. It was that quiet; we could hear each other breathing. I told everyone to start packing up and load the sledges and get the Dogs ready. Luke says, "how about breakfast and coffee?" If something is wrong, we need to be prepared to move out fast. Once we have done that, we will make the coffee and have some breakfast, but be ready to get going if we need to. The Dogs were still uneasy, and so was I. I could feel a soft Vibration under my feet, but I still could not work it out. We all had breakfast and a couple of cups of coffee. A check of the area and all our gear is loaded on the sledges. I looked at the guys and said, "I still feel uneasy. There is something not right, so keep your eyes alert for anything that does not look right" they all nodded, so off we went. We were going at a reasonable pace but not too fast.

I could hear a loud cracking sound, so I turned to check behind me to see if the other guys had heard it as well. They could and were looking around to see if they could see where it was coming from as well. Then John yelled out loud," get moving faster; the ground behind us is cracking up". The Dogs were now going flat out. I decided to change the direction we were going and hope that would get us out of the way of the ground cracking up. We hit soft snow. It almost turned my sledge over, I had turned too sharply, but it stayed upright. We had got ourselves away from the ground, cracking up. That was close, guys, with a sound of relief. We were now on higher ground and could see the crack was still going. If we had stayed on the same path, it would have cracked underneath us. We were lucky that time guys, our hearts were still beating away fast; we just stood there for a little while longer to settle ourselves down. Well, all is ok now, so off we go again. We have to get ourselves back on the root. Keep looking around, Guys. We don't want to fall into any of those cracks. I could still feel some vibrations under my feet, but I was hoping it was now in front of us and not behind. That way, at least we have more of a chance of seeing the Danger. If everything goes well, we will reach the way station later today. We are back on track now, and the Dogs are moving well.

No signs of any Danger, so things are looking good. I called out to check if everyone was ok, but mainly for Sam, as I know his injuries might be hurting him by now. All ok back here, I heard. We did not stop for a rest as we needed to reach the way station today.

Far in the distance, I could see the station. Look, Guys, I yelled out," almost there." It did not take us long to reach the place. As we all pulled up, I said, at last, we are here. There were no fresh tracks around. It looks like no one has been here for a while. Well, let's have a look inside. We will secure the dogs first. Sam hobbled inside, I could see his wounds were hurting him, but he said nothing about them. We all went in. Luke got a fire going to warm the place up, and John brought some of our gear inside while I checked on Sam. You ok mate, I see you are limping on that leg, mate; it must be hurting you a lot, " no mate, it's ok", he replied. Let me check it out. As I removed the bandages, I could see the wound had opened up again.  I'll see if there's a Medical Kit around. It might have some better stuff in it for your injuries. After a quick search, I found it, and yes, it was full of things. As a joke, I said to Sam, remember the movie Rambo where he stiched his wound up without anything to stop the pain? Can you do that as I have found a needle?. Sam just looked at me then said, give me two bottles of Rum to drink, then I am yours. It's ok, mate only joking, but I found some antiseptic cream and fresh bandages, just what we need. Ok, Sam, lift that leg up, and I'll see what I can do, mate. I'll try not to hurt you too much. As I was doing that, the others started to cook up a meal and brew some coffee. It was much better in here than outside in the cold. The place had lots of Emergency items in there and was well stocked with food and medical supplies. We sat down at the table on chairs for a change. We felt like Kings as we have not sat on a chair or at a table for a long time. There were some beds over the other side of the room," luxury", John called out; yes, it is, mate, we all replied. Once we had finished our meals and cleaned up, and the dogs were fed and secure.

We decided to look at the charts and notes to work out the direction we will need to take. But I was still worried about Sam's wounds. If they don't start healing up, we might need to get the Chopper out or someone to take him back to the Dog-man's place. I asked the others what there thought about Sam's legs. After talking about it for a while, we decided to stay here for two days, which should help Sam's wounds heal up, and if they don't, we will have to send him back to the Dog-man's place; that way, he will get proper treatment. Sam had fallen asleep, so we decided not to wake him. We went over our notes and chart trying to be quiet. We did not want to wake Sam up as he needed the extra sleep. The place was nice and warm by now, so we could take our heavy clothes off to be more comfortable. It was good to be just sitting down in the warmth again, without the snow blowing in your face. We all needed some good rest, and we have decided to stay for two days. We had some Rum left, so we had a few drinks to help us unwind. We sat there sipping Rum with a warm fire crackling away as we watched the snow come down outside the window. It was the best thing for a long time.

The next day came early. We could have stayed rugged up in bed for a while longer. But no, we decided to get up and get Breakfast going and hot coffee. We built a fire up again before it went out. As we sat down for breakfast, we heard the Dogs making a noise, so I went outside to check on them. I called out, "Ha guys, we have guests coming, that will be good, someone new to talk to instead of just you lot, Joking guys". We stood outside and waved to them, and they did the same back. As they pulled up in front of us, we could see these were Inuit people.

Hi there, come inside and warm up,  nodding their head as we all walk inside. Straight to the fire, and started to rub their hands together to get the warmth inside them. We tried speaking to them, but their English was not good, but we could still make out most of what they were saying. The main one said, we see your smoke, so we come. We have been hunting. You need meat. We have plenty if you need, we cook it for all of us now, yes Hungary rubbing his tummy, we said yes nodding our heads, the best thing was to let them do it; that way, we can't get confused. Whatever they were cooking smelled different from what we have been used to eating. I started to wonder what they were cooking, as I don't know too much about the Inuit people.

I began to imagine what it was. I got a picture in my mind of the other guys in a big cooking pot and me as well. Then I looked over to the guys and smiled. I think they might have been thinking the same thing. Soon the meal will be ready; the main man called out, sit, eat, good food keeps you healthy, as he is rubbing his tummy. We all sat down for the meal, not knowing what meat they used or what it would taste like. We all slowly started to eat the meal with our eyes closed, well it was different, alright, it had some taste. But I can't explain the feeling, as it was slowly going down. Not like anything I have had before, it was like a slimy, oily thing working its way down to my stomach. It was hard keeping it there, but we all smiled and said it was good and hot. That was the only thing that was good about it, being hot. We thanked them for the meal. I asked what the meat was. He said it was a seal, oh it was beautiful, was my reply. But they had to leave to head back to their home with their kills for the families. We thanked them again and wished them safe travel, we all shook hands, and they were gone. We all rushed back inside, as we did not know if the meal was going to stay down or not. But it did; I said to john, "I hope you watched them cook that meal as we might have to eat some seal meat when we get back out there". Please cook it better, mate. John commented, "I can't do any worse than what there did". Luke calls out, "I hope not to mate."

It was good to have some different company for a change, nothing against the guys, even though they did not speak much English, but we understood each other that was the main thing. But right now, it's just my best mates and me, so back to the Adventure plans. We had gone over these charts and notes many times, and each time we seem to be finding something new. I don't know how that is, but we do. In the book, it says many times he almost got lost. But it was like something was guiding him there, almost like a voice inside his head was calling him and walking beside him all the way. But he could not see anyone there. At one time, he thought he was going crazy hearing voices in his head. And every so often, he would see a bright light shooting into space but did not know what it was. When you are alone out here, it is easy to go crazy or to think you are. Sometimes you see things, and you don't know if they're real or not. You have to be very careful as your mind will play tricks on you. There was a time when he saw some form of being walking in front of him, saying, come on, don't give up now. You only have a short distance to go. You have to push yourself to make it there.

I decided to write in my book about the journey so we would have a record of what we went through to get there. Back to it, I said to myself. I went over to Sam to see if he was alright and to check his wounds for him. He was doing good, and the injuries seemed to be healing well. So the rest was working for him, as I did not want to send him back to the Dog-man. We left as a team, and  I wanted us to make it all the way there, the four of us. Tomorrow, we head off again out into the cold, so we will make most of the time left here in the warmth, making sure we have everything we need. We will send a message to jack and let him know we are at the Way station and will be heading back out tomorrow. We will take a few pictures of the Northern light tonight, and of the way-station, we had taken a few photos of the Inuit people that came to see us. I think we will clean up the place tonight to make it easy for the morning. That way, we only have to load the sledges up and go. Sam wants to do the cooking tonight. That will be good, hoping he can cook as we have not eaten any of his food yet. As this is the last night, we agreed to chill out and relax while Sam is cooking. I sat there reading the book and keeping an eye on Sam just in case he needed some help. The more I read the book. I could feel myself getting pulled into it, a strange feeling. Before we knew it, Sam is calling us for dinner. We all went over and sat down, waiting for Sam to serve the meal, which felt good, and to our surprise, the meal was delicious. So we let him know, you are a good cook, mate. Why did you not tell us before that you can cook? Well, I like to keep some things to myself.

HEADING BACK OUT

The Morning has come, and our Travelling begins again. All is packed, and the place is clean, so time to go back out in the cold to the journey of our Dreams. Well, guys, are we ready to go. Ok, let's move it, and off we go. The day is beautiful but still cold. This time we did not turn to look back. In front was the next part of our journey, and that would be the best part. It did not take long before the winds picked up again, then the powdery Snow Making it hard to see where we were going. The weather had changed very quickly. I turned to indicate to come closer, but I could hardly see them; that's how powdery the Snow was. Sam was behind me, so he turned to let the others know to pull in closer. We were all close now, which was good as I did not want to lose anyone. We pushed on but taking it slow. I felt sorry for the dogs, but they were doing well, and it seemed not to bother them. We kept wiping our goggles so we could see. It was like brushing powder off them. We could not stand upright on the sledges, or the wind would blow us off, so we had to bend over the sledge to stay on them. We all decided to pull up somewhere and cover ourselves from the wind and snow, we tried to find the right spot, but we could not see anything, so we decided to stop.

We brought the dogs in close to us and pulled a big canvas over everything with the dogs inside with us. This way, all our body heat together would keep us warmer. As we did not know how long we would be like this. But we were safer doing it this way, as we could not see where we were going, and it was too dangerous to keep going. The wind was deafening as it howled around us. Luke commented, "not quite like the way station is it, guys, we all said at once ", no mate, it is not". We had to check a few times to make sure the canvas was still secured down, as we did not want it to blow away. All was ok. It seemed like hours had gone by before it quietened down, we crawled out to have a look, and it appears to be slowing down. We could stand up straight now and stretch our legs and rehook the dogs back on, patting them while doing it, our way of saying thanks for helping to keep us warm. All we had to do now was to shake the canvas off and pack it back up, then we will be off again, which did not take long. Well, guys, you ready ok, let's go again? It was easier this time. We could now see where we are going. The Snow was soft and fluffy, making it a bit harder for the dogs, but they are doing a good job. We will need to check and make sure we have not gone off our direction with that snowstorm. I let the guys know we will be pulling up soon. As I turned around, I must have hit a hard patch in the Snow, and it had knocked me off. I was hanging on to the sledge just by my fingertips. I had lost the reins, and I was being dragged along as I was hanging on. Sam saw what had happened. So he got his dogs to go faster to catch up with me, and once alongside, he managed to grab the reins and stopped my sledge. Thanks, mate, that was close. Sam asked why I did not let go, Well Sam "if I had, you might have run over me or tried to miss me and turned your sledge over, and you're injured enough. But all is ok with me mate, thanks to you, as I was brushing the Snow off myself, I felt a bit sore, but I was ok and jumped back on to my sledge, the others were looking at me as if to say you, Idiot, you could have hurt yourself. Well, come on, guys, let’s get moving, and off we went again. We were making good time now. The weather had settled down, and the sky looked clear, so hopefully, it will stay like that all day and give us a rest from the winds. Even though it's cold out here, the wind feels like it burning you.

The day was tracking by now. I still had an uneasy feeling about something, but I did not know why or what for something is going on out here that I can't see only feel. I kept looking around for something to give me a clue but nothing. I suggested we pull over and wait for a while. The others could not work out why as everything seemed to be going okay, Sam said: "maybe you are just shaken up about your mishap, and that's making you feel uneasy."I tried to explain what I felt, but It did not make sense." Ok," John said the best thing is we stay here and wait for a while, and if nothing happens, we get going again, we all agreed. An hour had passed, and nothing happened, so we all got back on the sledges and moved out, still taking our time just in case. The weather was still being kind to us by staying fine, so everything was looking good.

Out of nowhere, the ice just started to lift around us, and the ground started shaking.

The dogs went crazy, running faster than ever. It was hard to control the sledges as the dogs were weaving in and out, trying to miss the large blocks of ice pushing up through the Snow. We were all hanging on like grim death to the sledges. Then to make things even worse, the wind picked up, blowing the powdery Snow around everywhere. I started to say to myself," I knew something was wrong; I should have waited longer before going again", the other guys were having as much trouble as me controlling the Dogs. Now we can hardly see where we are going. Then all of a sudden, we heard a loud cracking sound. It was almost deafening. We all were looking around to see if we could see what it was and where. Then it happened just up in front of us. The ice cracked open. I was in front, my dogs turned fast, and my sledge went over the edge, and I came off and down I went. I landed on a ledge just before the bottom. I could see the dogs had broken away from the sledge, and it was just balancing there. Then Sam had pulled up before the large Crack and was looking over; then he fell as well, the other Dog sledge had knocked into him. So now there was two of us down there. John and Luke were still up there. We hoped they could get us out soon.

John called to us, "you Guys ok down there? We yelled out, we are, mate. As I said that, I started to think, " that's amazing, we are both ok, no Injuries, that was a long drop straight onto the Ice ledge without hurting ourselves. The Ice was still shaking, and the wind was still blowing up there as I could hardly see them. John yelled out, "we will get some ropes and throw them down, and you will need to make a loop, and we will try to pull you up one at a time." It seemed like hours had gone by before they threw down the ropes. I told Sam to go first. As Sam was being pulled up. My Sledge, which was still balancing on the edge of the crack, fell down and almost hit me. Lucky I managed to get out of the way, "they yelled out; you ok still? 'yes,' I replied. I could see Sam was almost at the top. But then the Ice started to shake again, they lost grip of the rope and down came Sam, hitting the ground hard this time. Then within a minute or two, the sidewall of ice broke away. And John and Luke came screaming down as well. I had moved Sam out of the way just before it happened. They both landed on soft snow, so they weren't hurt too much. But poor Sam was, it looked like he has broken his leg this time, and it's the same leg. As I was checking on Sam, the others had got up, bushing themselves down while looking around at the same time. Luke yells out, how are we going to get out of here now. I looked around; well, I don't know this time, Guys. Can you come over here and help me with Sams' leg? It seems like it could be Broken, mate. That's all we need, John remarks; it, not his fault John, Sam says someone's Sledge pushed him over the edge as they swerved out of the way. That's how he got down the first time. Then you know the rest. 

OK, let's check what we have with us, the sledge looks ok still, and we still have some food and water, and a big tarp and some rope, look two torches.

Let's have a good look around to see if there's a way up. There was nothing that we could see, but if we move further along, we might find something there. Luke stayed with  Sam while John and I went looking. We came back shaking our heads as we said nothing out there. We can't find a way out yet. Ok, guys, we can't just stay here. We will have to walk and hopefully find a way out along the way. Now Sam's leg, I'll try and make a brace up, then he can sit on the sledge, and we will pull it along,  Is that ok with you, guy? They nodded, ok, let's make it happen. It did not take long, and Sam's leg was in a brace and ropes on the sledge, now two starts pulling, then later, one will change over, and we will keep doing that until we get out. John and Luke decided to go first; ok, let's get going, and I'll lead and keep looking out for a way out of this place.

This ledge seems to be stable. John commented: I hope it stays that way. The further we go along, and still, everything looks the same. It's been about one hour now, and nothing has changed. We decided to rest and check on Sam's leg "well,l Sam how's that leg going", it looked ok to what I could see. The strange thing about being down here is it's not that cold, I started to think to myself, and we seem to be going downwards slowly. I won't say anything to the others as I don't want them to start to panic.

UNDER THE ICE

Ok, guys,  let's get moving again, I'll pull this time, and one of you can lead and keep an eye on things. John decided to lead the way, so it was Luke and myself pulling the sledge this time. As we were going along, I kept getting a feeling someone was watching us. I kept turning around to see if I could see anyone, but no, there wasn't. I started to think it's just my mind playing tricks again. I called out to John, did you hear that? he turned around. "Hear what? that sound I said. He had a puzzled look on his face as he was looking at me. It was like he was saying, you are going, crazy mate. We continued, but that feeling was still with me.

We were going good, but no way out so far. It seemed as if we were going up then down. It was hard to say which way we were going, but I had this feeling we were going down more than upwards. Only time will tell. As long as this ledge stays safe, we will be ok. By now, the light was fading, so we needed to find a spot somewhere soon to camp down. I called out to John to look for a good spot. Not long had gone by, and he found a place where the ledge is a little bit wider, which would make things safer for us to move around. We started a small fire to make a hot drink and only had cold food to eat. We could not keep the fire going for too long as we did not want to use too much of the charcoal blocks up. Even as the light was fading down there, we could still see quite well. We asked Sam if he was ok? "yes, guy, don't worry about me," he replied. Just sitting there felt strange to us as we usually would be doing lots of other things like cooking the meal, checking the Dogs, and reading the notes, but down here, it was different. I asked the guys what they think the Dogs will do? John commented, "they're all still Hooked together, and two teams are still hooked on to the Sledges. So I hope they will be safe. But I feel they will head back to Jack as they know the way home unless someone else comes along or sees them. And seeing two empty sledges, they will know something is wrong. And if that happens, the Dogs will lead them back to us. With luck, we will be out of here before that happens." that what I think, I replied". Luke was sitting there and looked deep in thought. I know Sam was in pain and doing his best to hide it from us. We helped Sam up and walked him around for a while to get the circulation moving around. And moving around would help keep him warm. We had to put the tarp down on the ice to help stop the cold coming up to us and had left enough to cover ourselves. It was hard to keep talking; it was as if we just wanted to sit in silence and think to ourselves about what had happened. We were all together, but It felt we were alone. It was a strange feeling to have. The weird thing was, I could still feel someone else was watching us from somewhere, but where are they. I can't see anyone around and have not seen anyone else down here. I have to stop thinking there is someone else down here before it sends me crazy. We all Rugged up and decided to try and get some sleep while we could. As the night went by, we were startled by a sound that woke us all up, but we could not see anything around. We stayed awake for a while, just with one eye open and the other trying to sleep. We still managed to get some good sleep. When we all woke up and got our heads together, we had a good look around to see if we could see anything or any signs, what was around us last night. Nothing, but we all heard something. We can't all have imagined it at the same time. Well, guys, I suggest we keep our eyes open a lot more because we all know there was something there with us last night. And you, Sam, seems you are just laying around; you can keep your eyes fully open, mate, as you will have more of a chance of seeing something than us. Will do, mate was the reply. On we go again," there has to be a way out of here John commented, we will find it if there is, mate. As we moved along, I noticed the crack above us was getting narrower, but the ledge we were on stayed the same. Once again, I decided not to say anything about it, not wanting to frighten the others. After a while, John called out to me," pull up over here for a rest." come over here, mate and look at this", when I got there, he remarked, "when we started, that lower level was a lot lower down. And it seems we are travelling downwards and not upwards". I looked at him and agreed with what he had said. I mentioned the crack above us was getting narrower. He had noticed it as well. All we can do is keep going and hope we can find a way out of here or someone else finds us" John nodded,  with a still look on his face, keep it to ourselves, for now, mate. Back over to guys and check on Sam. How about we get moving again? Everyone nodded as if to say yes, so off we went again. I was pulling the sledge with John this time while Luke was in front of us leading the way. he kept calling out, all clear, keep moving guys, as if we couldn't see that. We just smiled, thinking he must need to do that as it's very quiet down here. Luke calls out," something is changing down here", we looked at each other, saying, what do you mean, mate? He came back to us, saying, you need to take a look at this. Stay there, Sam, "ok guys, but let me know what's happening." As we got where Luke was, he pointed over there ", look", The area was starting to look more like a tunnel by the way the Ice was starting to shape itself. Yes, you are right, Luke; we will need to be care full and keep an eye on this. On our way back to Sam, I started to think, was it Naturally doing this or was it something else, like the other beings like in the Book? It was hard to say at the moment what is down here. We kept going, walking and pulling the sledge. Sam called out, "let me walk a bit; if one of you can help me walk, it will make the sledge easier to pull, at least for a while. Luke came over and said he would walk with Sam, so John and myself pulled the sledge, and it was easier. I did not think Sam was that heavy. We had gone quite a distance before Luke suggested we have a break and have some coffee. We all settled down to have a rest and a drink. A lot of the atheism had gone by now. It was more like, will we ever get out of here alive? You could see it on all our faces even though we did not say it. Another night was getting closer, as I could still see some of the sky. for some reason, it was fairly light down there. as if the light is coming from inside the Ice somehow. We had heard some noises as well. We did not know if it was the wind above. That was making the noises that we could hear, or the sounds were coming from something else that was down here with us. I blurted out. We need to talk guys," what do you mean" John commented? About us down here.we have not found a way out yet, and we seem to be going deeper, not higher. The others agreed. Luke said," he had noticed that but did not say anything". That is why we need to talk about the way we are going. We don't know where we will end up. Luke replied," Ok, what do you think we should do", It's hard to say, A part of me says we should keep going the way we are, and the other part says turn back. You see, if we turn back to where we started from and the Dogs might bring someone back, then they will find us. But if we are not there, they won't know where we are.And if we keep going along this ledge, it might bring us out some were to safety, or this is what the Book was talking about. So we don't know which way to do it, that's why we need to talk and make a group decision. John Commented, "you are right with all you have said. Going forward would be a part of the Adventure, and going back would give us more chances of rescue. As we don't have much food left, I feel going back would be better for us". the others agreed with John, so I nodded with Ok, that's what we will do in the morning we head back. 

The Morning had come, and there was some form of excitement with the other guys that we might get rescued now. But for me, I was disappointed as I felt we should have gone on. It was just that feeling I was having. I was being pulled to go further down the Tunnel, but the guys wanted to go back then, so will I.  So guys, are we all ready to turn back now? They all looked up and nodded. So we started to return the way we had come, we had only been walking for about twenty minutes. We could feel the walls and ledge starting to Vibrate, but we kept going moving forward. It was only mild Vibrations, so no worries. Pulling the sledge seemed a little harder this time. Maybe it was because we were going upwards, but it was most probably my mind playing tricks. We stopped a few times to change over, and at one time, the three of us pulled the sledge to make it easier. We were making good time as far as I could work it out. I was still worried about Sam's leg.

I felt the others had forgotten about that because I had to keep reminding them to stop and check on Sam. It was time to call it a day and camp down. I asked John to find out what food we had left and how many charcoal blocks we still had. And we were running low on it all; alright, guys, let's have some coffee, I yelled out. If we put the dry meat next to the fire as we boil the water, we will have warm Deer meat for a change; sounds good, they replied. It made it taste a lot better, and it was a lot easier to eat. We could still feel the Ledge Vibrating under us. I found it hard to sleep that night, feeling we should have continued going down, not back up. It was like a calling coming from inside me. I did not know why I was feeling it. My mind kept going back to the book, and every time I started to think of the Book. The Vibrations would get worse. What was it trying to tell me? I took the Book out and opened it up like I was expecting it to tell me something but nothing. I was going Crazy. I started to think to myself, pull yourself together, mate, I said.

Before I know it, the morning was with us again. I felt like I had just got to sleep. It took a while before my head had got it together right. I went over to Sam to see if he was alright, but he was ok. "you look like you have been up all night, mate Sam commented," no mate, just a lousy night's sleep. A cup of coffee would be good right now, I thought. Then John yelled out Coffee's ready, good, I thought. After Coffee, we packed the gear up and started to move forward again.

Then the shaking had begun again. I started thinking inside my head; you see, it does not want us to go. But we all pushed forward. After a while, the shaking was getting stronger.  I yelled out, "we should stop until this stops" John yelled back, "no, keep going; we will be alright". And just as he had said that the ledge cracked open right in front of him, we yelled out, you ok mate? It went silent for a while, then John called out, "help, I am hanging onto the edge". When we got to him, he was hanging on like grim death to the edge, "we got you mate." as we slowly pulled him up out of there, we only lost our grip a few times as his hands and clothes were very slippery. We got him out of there to safety. John looked at me then said, "you were right, we should have stopped" I looked at him and smiled", that's ok, mate, don't worry about who's right or wrong", "as long as we are all safe". When everything had settled down, we had a good look around to see exactly how much damage had happened to the ledge; well, not good news. The ledge had broken away that much we would not be able to get across.

Now the only way is back to where we came from. The strangest thing was when we turned around and headed back. The Shaking had stopped as if it was saying, now keep going. Well, it was faster going down this time as we wanted to get away from that part of the ledge, just in case it decided to give away some more, and that is what it did. As soon as we were moving away, it collapsed some more. It was like they were making sure we did not go back that way again. So down we go. John was looking a bit sorry for himself, "come on John", I called out. John looked up and smiled back at me like he was saying thanks, mate. He came over, and we started to talk again about the journey ahead of us. John said, "you know, the Ice walls looked like they were turning into a tunnel. You might be right. I am sure I read something in the book about that". Well, I replied, "we will check the book out again when we stop". We were now about a good six hours away from where we were before, so we decided to stop and rest as it was no good pushing ourselves to get back there.

As we rested, we could hear a sound like a soft humming. It was calming. It started to send us to sleep. Hours later, we woke up wondering what happened. We looked around at each other like we were saying, do you know what happened. I got up to stretch my legs and almost tripped over a small bundle on the ground. I asked how did this get here? Once again, we all looked at each other. I opened the package, and to our surprise, it was full of food. We could not work that out, who, why, from where, and so many other things going through our minds. We all sat down and started to eat the food for we were famished. Then we asked, did anyone see who put this here. And this means we are not alone down here. We all shook our heads. Ok, we will have to keep our eyes open as we go. Just because they gave us food does not mean they're friendly.

We decided to get moving again and keep looking around only in case we can see something. We were going well, but we did not see anything unusual. We were getting closer to where we were before. Come on, guys. We have to keep going. The ledge was getting wider as we were going along, which made us feel safer, then all of a sudden, there was tree tunnels in front of us. I yelled out, guys stop, we all looked at these tunnels. It was like someone or something had cut them out of the Ice; they were so precise. We decided to camp there until we can work out what to do next.

About four hours had passed, we had talked about many things. But the main one was what we do now. And there were only two things we come up with that was sensible. We pick one, then go down it, or we check each one out separately. And the safest way would be to leave a trail behind us. Sam mentioned we could leave him behind as he would only slow us down, and if we find the best way to go, then that's when we come back for him. Ok, " I said we have the two choices. I feel we should check each one out before picking one", they all agreed, then that's what we will do. The way I see it is Two go down the first one, and Sam and one other say here. Then when the two come back, one will swap over, then off they go again. I don't want to leave Sam by himself, and if anything goes wrong, then there is one up here that can help, Ok that sounds like a plane. Well, let's get some things together and start moving. I'll go first, so who's with me. Luke puts his hand up. Ok, mate, let's go. We will do around one hour each way, that should do, what you think mate, Luke replies," Sounds reasonable". As we were walking, I started to say to Luke, "you know we need to take note of everything and keep our ears open as well, just in case there are any different sounds down here. As we looked around, I noticed the walls were slightly rough, but the floor was smooth. Luke look at this, he stopped "at what, mate? the ground Luke, I remarked," I can't see anything there. "I know, mate. I meant the texture of the floor is different from the walls. You see, Luke, if this were all cut out at the same time or made by a Natural event, it would all be the same. But the ground is a lot smoother than the walls, which mean something or some others have been walking or moving across it, and that's why it's not rough like the walls. Now that means there is someone else down here or there use to be. The time was almost up to turn around and go back. Luke, wait, do you hear that "what, mate? It's a very soft sound, can't you hear it? listen? It's like a buzzing sound, no he could not, but if you can, then it's there. Ok, let's walk back to the others and let them know what we have found out. As we were almost out of the Tunnel, Luke spotted a flat part on the wall just near the entrance. I came over to have a look, your right, mate. Hang on as I wiped it down with my glove look. There are some markings on it, like symbols. I'll draw them, and if we find any more, it could be a language of whoever is down here or was down here. When we got back to the others, they were glad to see us. We all sat down for a while, talking about what we had found. It was like a little bit of pick up for us all, which we all needed. John and Luke decided to go together next, so I stayed with Sam. You guys, be careful, won't you, and remember eyes and ears open and take notes. John and Luke started walking into their Tunnel. I yelled out, "one hour down, only then back," John raised his hand as if saying, I know. Well, Sam, how is that leg going, "not too bad, but it does hurt. I am glad for this rest time though, all the moving around does make it hurt more. Let's have a look, mate. Everything seems secure. There's not much more I can do for you, mate, sorry to say. We don't have any painkillers with us. Sam replied, "that all right mate, I know you are doing the best you can". Thanks, mate. We will all get out of here, Sam, and your leg will be alright. I checked my watch. They should be back soon. Not long after saying that, we heard them coming. They looked excited. Ok, what're the smiles on your faces about Guys. John started to tell us, Well," we found what looked like Drag marks on the ground. It could be from a sledge or something like one. But the best thing was we saw a footprint in the soft snowy part of the floor, and it looks Human well a shoe shape anyway". Did it look like a recent one? Luke replied, we could not tell, and we also found the same type of flat piece at the front of the Tunnel with different markings, look we draw them". Yes, they are different from the others.

Well, there's only one left to check out now. It's John and me this time, 'we will have a little rest first,' John commented, ok mate, that's all good with me. After a while, John jumped up, "ok, let's get this one over with", so we headed down the last Tunnel. We looked at the Tunnel entrance first, and yes, there was a  flat spot with markings on it. I draw them, and off we went to check the rest of it out. As we were looking around, we came across some other footprints, and what I could make out from them they were heading out of the Tunnel. We could hear a soft humming sound, and it was coming from further down the tunnel. Taking our time, we went searching, hoping to find where it was coming from. The Buzzing sound was getting closer, then we stopped. Look, the light is getting brighter further down the Tunnel.

Was that a shadow I saw, and I think it moved. Ok, let's go back to the guys and let them know what we found." It sounds good," John replied, so off we went, eager to get back to the others to tell them what we had found out. We picked up our pace a bit more, and out we came. Sam yelled out," you were quicker this time guys, what's wrong". Nothing, mate, I yelled out. When we got over to them, we sat down. Ok, guys, we found some other footprints, and they looked like they were coming out of the Tunnel. Then further in, we could hear that buzzing sound again. But the main thing we saw was a shadow, and it moved, which means there is someone else or something down here, and maybe they know how we can get out of here. We all were getting a bit excited now, just like when we first started, but we will stay here now and have something to eat and drink, then try and get some sleep. We all agreed. My mind was racing with all the possibilities of what could happen and be down there, and at the same time thinking, I hope they're friendly. We did not have too much food left, but it was enough to stop the hunger, and the Coffee was excellent and warm. I took my time drinking my coffee to make it last longer as I was enjoying it. After chatting about all that had happened to us, it was time to try and get some sleep.

TUNNEL THREE

The Morning was here again, but this time we were excited about the day. We got up and went to make some coffee, and there was a small bundle right next to the fire. We looked around, but no one was there, I opened it up, and it was food again. I looked around, and still no one there. We looked at each other, shrugging our shoulders. They must be friendly. Luke commented, "or there trying to fatten us up to eat, hahaha. We just looked at him shaking our heads. Well, let's not waste it, so we warmed it up as we made Coffee. Whatever it was, it tasted good. You could say it made our day down here.

As we got ready, I made sure Sam was ok, and his leg had something soft under it. This is it; guys, let's go. We all pulled the sledge down the Tunnel, just taking our time but still looking around to be on the safe side. As we were going, we started to hear that Buzzing sound again. We are getting closer, guys. Then the light began to get brighter. Once again, looking carefully around but seeing nothing, that part is scary because you know there is someone else down there.

Then just up in front of us on the right-hand side, we could see another Tunnel, and that was where the light was coming out of. As we got closer, we got a little nervous about what's in there. We could hear other noises. As we turned to go into it, we stopped and just stuck our heads in first all clear, so on we go, about ten feet in, it opened up into a large area like a big Cave, our eyes opened wide as we did not expect that. Looking around, we could hear the water lapping, and then it sounds like someone was talking. It took a few minutes for our eyes to adjust to the light. Then our mouths dropped open with surprise. About 20 feet away from us was about fifteen people looking right at us. And all we could do was say, Hi there. How are you going? Three of them walked over to us with their hands out to shake our hands. I think we were all speechless for a while. They beckoned for us to come and sit with them. So we walked with them and sat down. One of them handed us some food and something to drink. At that time, all we did was smile and nodded our heads. After something to eat, I decided to see if they could speak. Where are you from, I asked? One of them tilted their head as if he was trying to work out what I had said. He turned to the others and nodded to them, then looked back at me. He made sounds like he was talking but very broken up words, but I managed to make some of it out.

One of the smaller ones came over to Sam and looked at him moving their head around from side to side as if they were trying to see what was wrong with him. Then turned to the others, and two of them came over. I told Sam to relax; they won't hurt him. They picked him up carefully and took him over to the others, then laid him down on some soft fur skins. Being very care full, they removed his Brace then his pants. I could see he was nervous about what they were about to do. They cleaned his wounds down, then looked at them, then holding their hand just above the injuries and making a circular motion with the hands over them. I could see him clinch a few times, but somehow the injuries had vanished. But his broken leg was still there. They dressed him and placed a different brace on the leg. Then they walked away. The main one came back to him and gave Sam something to drink. About ten minutes later, he sat up and hobbled over to us, with that person helping him. Sam told us that the pain had gone, and the wounds have completely healed and disappeared with no marks left there. Sam sat down with the person that had helped him stood beside him and us. I could hear other noises well sounded like some voices, somewhere a little bit softer In sound, I felt they might be the female ones, as we could not see which was which because of the fur clothing they were wearing. The one that met us stood up and beckoned us to come with them, so we followed them. We understood they were showing us around. The area was massive, there was a big water hole, and I could see they had been fishing there, then we went over to another part where there was another water hole, but steam was coming from it, I put my fingers into it, and yes it was quite warm just like a hot spring. As we all walked around, I could hear John and Luke talking about the other beings, how they looked like us but were taller and slimmer, and their eyes were more almond-shaped and dark. We all kept trying to talk to them. We were hoping the more we did; it might help them to understand us more. The only thing that made us feel uncomfortable was the way they kept looking at us. But then again, we kept looking at them. They left us alone while they went off doing whatever they do every day. About six of them started fishing. Well, it did not take them long to get some good size fish. As soon as they caught one or two, the others came over, took it away, and cleaned it. They seemed well organised. We all had a good look around as we were walking. There appeared to be other tunnels that joined into this vast area. We did not go down any of them as we did not want to take liberty as we were gest there. John had noticed some of them had walked out of this area, the same way we came into it and did not come back for quite some time. When they did return, they went straight over to some of the others and seemed to be talking to them, and they kept turning and looking at us, which made us feel very uncomfortable. The one that had been looking after Sam walked alongside him everywhere he went. It was like he had a shadow, as they say. They seemed to know what each other was wanting to do. The others came over to us and kind of started to talk, so we had to listen very carefully as we could not understand them much. We used hand movements to help understand each other, so that helped a lot. They indicated for us to come with them, so we did. They wanted to show us a place in one of the Tunnels where there was another water hole. It seemed it was where we could wash or have a bath there as it was warm water. We nodded and said thank you. Then they walk away, leaving us there. Luke says the other one must be for their females, which might help us to work out which is which.

After we had a good wash, which felt good as we had not had one for a long time, we talked for a while and decided to try and teach the other people how to speak English. And we might be able to understand them more as we will learn some of their languish. We sat down with the others in the central area and tried to explain what we wanted to do. They all nodded and smiled, so we took that as a yes. We used items so they could see what we were saying. The hardest thing was to get them to say the words. We spent hours doing this, and the more we did it, some of the others came over to join us. It was fun in some ways doing this, we laughed a few times, and they found that funny, the noise we made when we laughed. We were all starting to feel more comfortable with each other, laughing and smiling, just having some fun. We almost forgot where we were for a while. Hours must have passed. We could smell food was being prepared and was cooking, ok we said enough for today; we do more tomorrow, they smiled and nodded, so we did the same. John had been walking around while Luke and Sam and I had been teaching them. When John came over, he mentioned that there were many markings on the walls all the way around this place, and they looked like Egyptian symbols or very similar to them. We said that we would have a look later and try to ask them what they meant and how they got there. Well, it was mealtime. They waved us over to them and pointed to the food then to us. We nodded and smiled. We could see the others were helping themselves, so we did the same thing. It was fish and some other stuff that looked like vegetables. But where did that come from as I have not seen anything here that was growing like Vegetables? So this was a mystery to us, but then I remembered some of them went out for a while. Maybe there is another area down here we have not seen yet. Anyway, let's eat this meal while it's hot, it was all tasty, and whatever those Vegetables were, they tasted great. They brought over some hot drinks for all of us. I don't know what type of drink it was. It tasted sweet. Sam was being looked after well by the other person; he or she cut his food up for him and got everything he wanted.

I could see Sam was enjoying himself, and he seemed to have no pain, so whatever they had been giving him was working well. After our meal, one of the other people beckoned us to come with him. So we walked over, he took us over to a small area where there were fur skins on the ground, he indicated to us by his hands this is where we sleep, we answered thank you and nodded at the same time. Well, guys, it looks like this is our sleeping area. They are surely making us feel welcome. We walked around for a while, nodding as we passed some of the others. John showed us some of the markings on the walls, and yes, they did look Egyptian. We could not work out what they meant if we still had the laptop. We would be able to find out, but it's with the Dogs somewhere.

A few days have gone by now, and we have been able to improve our communication with these people. It has made things a lot easier to ask them something, but for some reason, they seem to avoid some of the questions for some reason. That has made us a bit suspicious of them, but they are still friendly, and that's a good thing.  Sam seems to be getting on with the one that is helping him. And I think it's a female by the way she is walking, and she is a little bit shorter than some of the others. We keep teaching them our language, and we have picked up a few of their words. Sooner or later, we will need to try and get out of here and find our way back up to the surface. I managed to get the guys together without Sams shadow, as we call her. Well, guys, we have been here for quite a few days. And yes, I know it has been excellent here, and we feel a lot better than we did. But what are we planning to do now? You all know we can't just stay here with them, can we? John looked over, saying, "no, we can't, we were on a journey, and we are not at the end of it yet, are we".

We all looked at each other and agreed. We will need to find out some more information first and then work out how to get out of here. The next day we asked a few things trying not to make things look too suspicious for us. A couple of the others wanted to show us something, so we followed them. And they took us out of the central area and into another Tunnel. This leads us to a big open area, and to our surprise, it was full of many different types of Vegetables. Must have been over one hundred different types there, this was amazing to see all this way underground. We asked them how they managed to do this down here, it took a while but, apparently it like hydroponics, and they use lighting instead of the Sun. We asked them why so much of it, you can't eat all that.

There's only about fifteen of you. One started to say no; there's, then one of the others stopped him from finishing the sentence. We looked at him, only to see the look of disapproval to the other one. We did not comment anymore about it and walked off with the others. I said to the guys, there's more going on here than they're saying, I don't know what, but I feel down those other Tunnels we will find out more, "why you think that" John asked. Because when we went down them, we thought we heard sounds, but now I know they were voices, Because we are here with them, and the other sounds are just like their voices. So there must be others down here. The only thing I can't work out is why haven't we met them yet. There must be a reason they don't want us to meet them.

The four of us went over to where we would be alone. Poor Sam had to explain to his shadow that he will be alright and be back soon. We all looked at Sam and smiled. We all think that one, like you a lot mate, hope it's a female hahaha. Then Sam replied, "it is, guys. "How you know that, mate," we said, "well, I just do we will leave it at that" ok, mate. Let's get down to it. We have to work out if there are any others down here, and if there is, why have we not met them yet. And the other Tunnels, where do they lead to. And why was there drag marks on the ground in the Tunnels? "Your right, mate", John commented back, "and how about those markings on the wall at each entrance to the Tunnels" "? Have any of us worked them out yet." Luke looked over and commented back," and don't forget the markings on the walls in the central area as well". Your right Guys, there seem to be a few things that don't add up right down here. I have checked some of the Book out, and there does seem to be some little parts in it that could be referring to these people here. The other day we made some planes to move on, but now I feel we need to work these things out first. What do you lot think? We all went silent for a while, then looking up, we agree, we need to check things out more down here first. Ok, that settled; we stay longer.

I looked over to Sam, and he had a look of relief on his face, ok I thought (what's going on with him). We all walked back to the others. As we went inside, they all just looked up at us and nodded. We smiled and nodded back. .we went over to where they were fishing and asked if they could show us how they do it. One of them spoke and said yes, they would. I told him," you are talking a lot better. He smiled and nodded at us. "Ok, Guys, let's catch some fish for us all and everyone else," the others looked over at me with a funny expression on their faces.

I whispered to the Guys. I think they know. We know something more than just what they have been letting us know. Four of the others got up and walked out, we tried to do some fishing like they were doing it, but no luck for us, the others kept smiling at us, so we decided to fish our way, and within minutes we were catching fish, some came over to see how we were doing it, so we showed them. We had been fishing for about three hours before the others came back, they went over to the rest, and I could hear them talking but could not make it out, and every so often, they would look over to us. Guys, something going on over there. Wonder what it's about. We'll find out soon. I hope it's good news for us. It was not long before three of them came over to us, in their way of talking, asked how the fishing was going. We sold them. It's been perfect for all of us. The others have caught lots, we are running behind them, but hopefully, we will catch more fish. I think they understood only some of it, as there was a vacant look on their face's. So we smiled at them. They nodded and told us they were having a party tomorrow night, as it was their Birthdays days. I think I had a confused look on my face. Yes, we were all born at the same time, he commented back. Now that made my mind start to think. He said, you are coming, as we want you there with us, we are a family now, and then he smiled. I said yes, we would like that and thank you.

THE PARTY

The Day of the Party had come. After a good night sleep, we were ready for this party. There was a lot of happy faces around today. Even though they were busy doing the usual things, you could feel it in the air. There was a lot of them going out and later coming back in. I started to think, where are all of them going. Maybe they're setting up big tables somewhere else as they are not doing it here. We went over to them and asked if we could help them set things up for the Party. They smiled then said no, they are doing it, and it will be a real big surprise. I said to John and Luke, "this must be some party their putting together ", have you guys seen Sam," no", John said, and Luke just shuddered his shoulders, we have not seen him for a while, Luke remarked he is most probably with his shadow and laughed, you could be right but let's see if we can find him. We called out for him as we could not see him anywhere. Then he came out from a small alcove with a big smile on his face. You guys looking for me, yes we are, you ok, "yes we are guys" I looked at Sam then out came his shadow all red in the face. Oh, ok, mate, we will leave you to it. We had noticed most of the others were looking clean, and their clothing was a bit different. Well, It's almost time one of them called out, and you four need to clean up to it's a special occasion for everyone today, so we went and cleaned ourselves up, as we did smell a bit.

About four of them came over, and in their way, said, "it's time for us all to go, follow us", we nodded and said yes. The four walked in front, then John and Luke and myself with Sam and his shadow, then all the others behind us. They lead us out of the central area and down the Tunnel, out to where we first saw the Tunnels. We looked at each other as if saying, where are they taking us now. The other four turned and said, "you wanted to know, didn't you, so now you will come with us, and it's ok." we took a deep breath and walked with them. We all headed to the first Tunnel, the one I had gone down and heard a noise, and there was a footprint. There seemed a sort of excitement with everyone the further we went down the Tunnel. I started to get a bit nervous, not knowing what to expect when we get there. I looked at the others, and they seemed to be the same. We were just about to ask how much further, then we all spotted a large type of boulder at the end of the Tunnel. I started to think ( he has taken the wrong turn somewhere), as we got closer, the four that were leading us raised their hands and touched the wall together as they did that, the boulder started to disappear, well that what it looked like to us. The four turned and nodded to us all and carried on walking up the Tunnel. As we passed the so-called doorway, we had a look to see if the boulder was behind it somewhere. It was nowhere to be seen "it can't just vanish, can it, I thought". We had been walking for a while now. Then we came across another Boulder just like the last one. The four in front did the same as before, but this time the Boulder started to change colours as it moved out of the way. We blinked our eye's a few time’s as if we were saying am I seeing this right. The guys looked at me as if they were saying. Did You see that? We had only gone twenty feet more, and there was another Boulder. The four did the same again, but this time it lifted. But we could not see anything, as it was pitch black behind it. The four indicated to us all to walk on, so we all did.

As we were walking, lights started to turn on, but only to the point, we were standing. John commented, "this is weird, mate. "Luke and I replied at the same time", it's a bit creepy". We could hear some sounds coming from further down the Tunnel. I turned to the guys and remarked that the sound is like the ones we heard before. The light was starting to get brighter as we were going along; we seemed to be walking slightly uphill. Then all of a sudden, the four in front stepped aside and waved us on. We turn to see if the others were behind us and coming with us, but they also had stepped to the side, it was only John and Luke Sam and his shadow and myself, we looked at the others, and they nodded then smiled. Ok, guys, we are on our own now, deep breath and let's keep walking and I presume we will stop somewhere, as we were walking we could see another shape coming towards us, it looked a little taller than the others we had been with, I whispered to the others I told you there were more of them.

We got ten feet away when Sams shadow stopped us and told us to wait there; she walked over to the other person. I noticed she seemed to tilt her head down and then started to talk to him. She came back and held Sams' hand. Then lead us to the person. We were now standing right in front of him. We did not know what to do next. Then he held his hand out to shake ours. I thought he knows the right way to greet someone, so we all shook his hand. And as we did that, all the light came on at the same time. It was almost blinding,  as our eyes adjusted, our jaws dropped, and eye bulged out with surprise and shock at the same time. We were standing in front of about two hundred people or more. But as we looked around, the wall wasn't made of Ice. It looked like a Metal of some kind. We did not know what to say or do at that time. He asked us to come with him to meet someone else. We walked over to a big seating area. There was a person on a large chair waiting for us. As we got closer, he waved us on to come closer. He looked quite old, a lot older than the others anyway. Then he indicated to us to sit next to him, so we did. He looked at Sams shadow and waved at her, then she got up and walked away.  The person spoke to us. "I am the main leader, all that come and go must see me first. But you are not from here. I have seen you before and know about you. We have spoken many times, but you don't remember, as you were different then. You are welcome to stay with us again if you wish. So while you are here, make yourself comfortable. We thanked him and told him his English was excellent. He smiled, then got up and walked away. Sams shadow came back over to Sam and held his hand. We did not know what to think at that time, so we stood up. By that time, all the others had come back into the room and walked over to us and touched our shoulders and then stepped away to give room for the others. They all kind of lead us to another big room where all the others were waiting. It was like an arena. In the middle was a long table and chairs. All the ones we meet before sat down at the table and asked us to join them. All the others sat on the other seating that was around the room. I started to think, "Is this the last supper for us". When everyone was seated. one of them from around the room called out, "It is the day of celebrating your beginning. Let us welcome you, share our food and become one with us". Then they made a noise of some kind then stood up and bowed. And then just sat there while we eat the food, I could not work out what type of food it was, but it was delicious after we had finished the meal, some others came over with some drinks for everyone, and placed an item that looked like a jug on the table. I don't know what was in those Jugs, but it had a bite behind it, then they cleared the tables and chairs away, some music started playing. Sam's shadow pulls him into the open area and starts to dance with him. It did not take long for others to join in with the dancing. John and Luke, and I slowly walked over to the side and was just about to sit down when three others came over, grabbed our hands and pulled us onto the dance floor. So now we are dancing. I must admit it was fun, stopping every so often for a drink or two, then pulled back into the dance floor. By this time, we had started to work out the male from the females. It was easy this time as most had their heavy clothing off and only had light clothes on as it was much warmer inside there. I had noticed their skin was ashen and looked very soft, but their eyes are very dark. Also, they are a lot slimmer than us, and most of them have light coloured hair. There seems to be a mixture of the age's as far as we could work out, but we did not know how old anyone was or how they got here in the first place, or why they live here in this place away from the other people. Luke came over. Hi guys, what are you and John talking about so? We told him, yeh" I know what you mean; it is funny when you look at it". "But we are having a good time anyway, and that's the main thing, for now, guys, right". We remarked, 'Luke, you are right, so let's get back and have some more fun. Everything else can wait for later now. Where's that drink".

Time is going by fast, well, it seemed to be. We had noticed a few had left a bit earlier, but we are having fun, so we stayed longer. We noticed some had fallen asleep on the seats, and now most were going, so I called out, "guys, it almost time to call it a night.".we stayed a little longer then looked at each other, saying," well, how do we get back out" we laughed, I think that drink has gone to our heads, guys. The females we had danced with were still with us and indicated to come with them, so what the heck, so we did, and we went to their place, wherever that was.

In the morning, when we woke up, our heads felt like a jackhammer was going off inside them. As I went to get up, I realised I had no clothes on, where are they? I can't remember taking them off. And then I saw that female I was dancing with was in the same bed as I was. My mind was trying to think about what happened, but it hurt too much to think right now. Now, where are my clothes? I see them, don't make me bend too much to pick them up, now come on clothes nice and easy got ya, ok now I am decent I can find the other guys. I started to call out, but it hurt my head, so I stopped. Luke and John walked over. There you are, mate," how was your night," John asked. Well, I replied, " I had a good night sleep, I don't know what was in that drink, but my head is killing me." John and Luke just looked at me and Said, "what you mean had a good night sleep, didn't you, you know, with her"  I replied," I don't remember".How about you guys, they both replied we had a great night, and the food and drink made the whole night perfect. And yes, mate, our heads are killing us as well. It was not long after that, Sam and his shadow came over, "Hi Guys, I want you to meet Jill." Hi, nice to know your name at last".

TALKING TO THE ELDERS

Guys, come over here. Last night I was looking through the Book, and some of it talks about these people, I think, well similar to them anyway. Let see if we can find out some more information from the others. We will have to be careful, as we don't want them to know what we are doing. Sounds ok with us, they remarked. We should go for a walk and see if we can work out where we are and what this place is.

John, did you hear what that older one said to me? The first time we talked to him? John commented, "I was going to ask you later about that. Because it confused me when he said, he's known you from before and has spoken to you as well. I know mate, me too, But the strangest thing is I feel I know him from somewhere as well. But I don't know where from, and some of the others as well. It's a strange feeling, Guys — that why we have to find more out about this place. So you guys ready to have a good snoop around? We are prepared when you are, mate.  As we were walking around, a lot of the others seemed to be Bizzy working on things. It looked like computer screens, but not like the one I know of, and the information. On them did not seem to be in English, more like drawings of some kind. And every time I got close to see, they would wave their hand in front of it, and it turned off. I started to think to myself, "you see, they are hiding something from us all. Luke came over, "what up, mate? You look like you could kill someone," So I told him. Partially the same thing has been happening to them. We need to try and ask the girls and see if we can get some information out of them.

Well, we are close to them, and they could have planned it, for them to be with each one of us for a reason, it could be to keep our minds off things. You see, guys, what I have seen so far, this place seems to be very big, and many different sounds are coming from some of the areas. I don't know what they are. Have you noticed some areas we can't go in to, but they can, just by waving their hands in front of the door? John remarked he would like to know where they got their power from and the air down here? Many things don't add upright. Luke Commented, "ok guys, we have been talking about this a lot but let's do something about it. We need to make a plan and take a few notes just like when we were making the notes for the book " we all looked at him, well Luke John remarked," you have your brain working good today, that's the best plane so far". Ok, that's settled, we start now, ok back to the Room and where is Sam anyone know? "with Jill last time I saw him, I think she was showing him around", Luke commented. We will catch up with him later. As they were walking back to their room, Sam and Jill come over. Hi guys, what are you doing? We told him about some of the issues we had been discussing. Right he said, well, Jill could help us, cant you, love, we turned and looked at him, as we had never heard him call her lover before. Jill looked over. Yes, I will, but you all need to be careful because the leader doesn't want you to know too much about this place. Back in the Room, we started to plan how we would get the information about things, Jill did not talk much, but I could see she was taking it all in. Jill whispered something in Sam's ear. He nodded, then looked over to all of us. Ok, guys, this did not come from Jill, right. There are some elders here that love telling stories of a long time back of their ancestors. And how things began here, and if you made friends with them, you could learn a lot from them, without making it look obvious, you are snooping around. That sounds good. How do we find the elders? Jill remarked, "I'll tell some of them, you would like to meet them, then you wait, and they will find you. "Well, guys, that sounds the right way of doing it and without creating any other issues. Well, guys, I don't know about you, but I am Hungry. I'll ask the girls about some food for us, Sam came over and started talking, "Richard, Jill, and I are getting very close, in case you have not noticed", "we have, mate when did you start calling her love" "about two days ago", " good for you mate".

A few days had passed before we introduced ourselves to some of the Elders. And they were Elders alright. I could not guess their age if you asked me to. We walk around a lot with them, as they showed us some other parts of the place. They seemed to be very peaceful and well-spoken, explaining they have many different types of people living here and a school where the young learn, and they have a Medical centre. John asked them, "where did they learn how to speak good English the way they do when the others don't, they just looked and smiled at us. One of them said, come over to our place later, and we will tell you all some storeys of a long time past. Then one of them looked at me and said, that means you to zack, and as he said that, a Chill went through my body. I looked at him and said, sorry, but my name is Richard. He just looked and smiled. As we walked away, the guys asked me why did he call you Zack? I don't know, guys, but when he did, a cold chill went through me. He must have got mixed up. He is somewhat ancient. You could be right. Did any of you notice the way all the rooms seem to built around the big centre area? And when we were in one of the places, I could hear other noises above us, which means there is another level. I wonder what is up there. When did the Elders say meet them, they just said later, Sam remarked, "the best way is to ask Jill what their later would mean to them, ok can you ask her please mate? Yes, I will mate, She has gone down to see the others, but Jill will be back soon.

The guys and I went to find our girls to see what they were doing, and hopefully, we can find out some other information from them when we saw the girls. They were just about to walk down the passageway, so we called out to wait for us. When we caught up with them, we asked them where are you Ladies heading off to, don't mind if we come along with you? So with our arms around them, off we went letting them take the lead. They told us to be very quiet now, as we will visit the nursery, right we will not make a sound, as we walked through a doorway, we felt a light spray of moisture over us. One of the girls said, it's ok. It is only a sterilisation spray. We looked at each other. I hope that does not mean I am sterilised. The girls looked over and giggled. Then we all walked through another doorway, and we were looking at lot's of beds with children in them and somewhere in  Humaquibs.

I said softly, where did all these children come from; they turned and looked at me. But before they could answer (my mind started to think, they wont to keep us as sex slaves). Then she said they are all our children from mothers of this place and some are from the outer areas. We nodded back. We asked her what that Humming sound was? Ho, that helps the children to relax and sleep. The girl's said we must go now. So we all quietly left. As we all were walking down the passageway, I asked them how long they have lived here? "all our lives," they replied, so you were born here then, "yes we all were", right I said. so you have never been outside of this place, "no, we have not." If someone said we would see you later today, what would that mean? You have been talking to the Old ones, to them, it means as you would say in the evening, ok thanks. Well, girls, we have to go now, we will see you later. Guys, we need to go back and clean ourselves up and go to the Elders as we were walking back. I said to them have you noticed most speak reasonably good English in here. But the others out there don't? "Yes, we have, mate", John commented back. We will ask the Elders later why.

Well, guys, it's Time to go and talk with them now. When we arrived, it looked like they were happy to see us." Come in and sit down, you like a drink or something to eat first", well, both thank you. Ok, right, we will eat first and then have a drink, then we will go into the other room and talk as there will be something we want to show you all. After the meal and a few drinks, we went to a separate room. It was like an old  Temple with many old items around the Room. Please sit down anywhere you like, and we will talk and tell you things that you might find hard to believe but you will by the end. By the time we have finished all your other questions, would have been answered, so relax and have another drink.

It all started way back. I think it was around late 1947, just near New Mexico. There were reports of a crashed weather balloon. Well, that was what your Military said, but it was a UFO, as you call them, but to us, it was a survey craft. You see, we did not come from here at the beginning. We came from far away. All we were doing was looking around and watching you all and seeing how much you had developed. But something went wrong, and we crashed landed. Some of us were injured. We tried to help them, but we could not, so some of us got out and ran away to safety.

We left one behind to look after the others and said we would return with help. But as we got out of sight, we saw your Military coming, so we hid. There were lots of your people there, all running around and screaming out to each other. As your night came, we had to leave them there and find somewhere safe to hid until we could contact our people. We were on the run in a place we did not know.  At that time, we did not look like we do now. It has taken years for us to look like this. You see, we were a lot slimmer, and we did not have hair. Our skin was a lot darker. Our eyes were more prominent, and we found it hard to see in your light. So things were hard for us then, we had tried to rescue the one we left behind, but they had taken him to an underground area, we almost got in once, but had to go, but we were able to send him a message, telling him to hold out for a while and we would try again to rescue him. A lot of time had gone by before we could try again. That time we got a little closer to him. That close, we could see what they were doing to the others; it was a sad time for us all. We told him to talk to them and make some agreement with them, but he must stay alive. We went to him many times to speak to him and tell him what he could talk about to them. We had found an old deserted place a distance away from there, so we had to be care full going in and out to see him. We had passed a few places that were celebrating the landing of UFOs. They were very strangely dressed. Some looked like us a little. But it was unsafe for us there, but we were able to get some food and water from around that place. By now, the Time had gone by fast, and the Elders said if we wanted to come back tomorrow, they would talk more to us, so it was time to leave, so we thanked them and said we would love to hear more about them. On the way back to our rooms, we spoke about what they had told us so far. It all had sounded like a movie, but it was real. Back in our room, we talked some more. But it was getting late, so we decided to call it a night and talk more about it in the morning.

We all woke up feeling good after speaking with the Elders and was looking forward to talking with them again—time for something to eat and drink. And then we are going to try and help some of the others if they will let us. Later today, we will be seeing the ones that helped us in the Tunnels, which will be nice. I know Sam and Jill are looking forward to it, as Jill has been here with Sam all the time and misses them a lot. So our day is going to Busy. We all met up in the central area, as this is where they prepare all the meals and where we eat. The meals are cooked by a group that only does the cooking and preparation of the food. Everyone seems to have a job to do. It is organised well. We have not heard a bad word said about anyone or any complaining about things. They seem to be very happy and content.

Luke spotted some of the others pushing some trolleys, so we went over to help them with the heavy work, John was hoping they would let us help them, and they were going into some areas that we have not been in yet. They let us help, and yes, we went down some areas we had not seen. The guys noticed some other control boards and screens. We asked what they were? It was the water purification area. They melt the Ice for their water and also recycle the used water. They thanked us for the help, and we left but had a good look at everything as we were going out. We caught up with Sam and Jill. They were on their way to meet some of the others from outside. Jill called out," there they are ", and ran over to them. I said to Sam, "she must miss them a lot by the looks of it, mate."  "yes ", he replied, "she does", we all hugged each other and talked about what we had been doing and how we miss them. After a few hours, we said our goodbyes, as we needed to clean ourselves up and get ready to see the Elders.

We still had some time spare, so the guys and myself sat down and talked about the things we had found out so far. We know now that those drag marks in the tunnels were the out-sliders taking the fresh food into the main place. Well, I have been reading the Book, and it seems these are the ones that it mentions. So it seems we have reached our destination, but not the way we were meant to take. According to the Book, it should have taken us another four days to reach there. Somehow we stumbled onto them a lot sooner, lucky us. I hope they explain more about Roswell's. I mean, the way I see it, they are saying they are the aliens. I can't see that as being true, can you guys, well, John commented," "It might be right if we put everything together, Luke remarked, "what you mean, John?

Well, Luke" the computer screens, how they all look, and the way they grow their food, they don't go out anywhere, and that big Room with all the Children. Seems you have put it that way. You could be right. Well, let's hope the Elders can explain more to us. They said they would answer all our questions.

Sam, "how is that leg going, mate, as you don't seem to be limping anymore?. Oh yes, didn't I tell you Jill took me to their Medical Center where they fixed it? "John remarked we didn't see it in plaster. "Oh no, they don't need to do that here". we all looked over ", well, how did they fix it, mate? Well, Sam remarked. They waved a thing over my leg, and it was all healed and no pain. 'That's great, mate', we all said. How come you didn't tell us before? I must have forgotten about it, but you guys have been busy anyway. Your right; we have. Are you coming tonight with us to see the Elders? I'll ask Jill if that's ok with her. We just looked at him, ok mate, let us know later. When he had gone, Luke remarked, "did you hear that? I'll ask to see if it's ok. Those two are an item. He has fallen for her.

Sam came back a bit later. Yes, I will be coming tonight, ok, good, see you in about one hour then. "Ok guys, you lot ready? Sam yells out, "be five minutes, mate." then we will all head off. As we approached the Elders rooms, we could see they had been waiting for us. They looked over and said, "We knew you were coming as you told us in your mind,", which kinda stunned us a bit, so we just smiled. Well, all come in and sit down. Would you all like something to eat or drink? Just something small to eat would be good, thanks, and yes, something to drink would be good as well, thank you. After a few drinks, we went into the other room. Where did we finish last time? Yes, I remember now, we could not find a way of rescuing the one we left behind, but we were able to keep in contact with him. We had moved around a few times to avoid being seen by your people. We walked around at night as it was safer, and we found it easier to breathe. After a while, we managed to send a message to our home ship, which you call a Mother-ship but to us, it's the home ship, letting them know what had happened and where we are, our signal was weak, so it was hard to tell if they received it or not. It took a few days before we received a message back from them. That they were going to land, but it would be a long way from us, but we need to go back and get our friend out of there once we have done that.

We can contact them, and by then, they will have the Location for us. They will tell us where to go and that we might meet up with some of the others. As there were a few that were forced to land.

We went back to the Military base. Carefully trying not to get caught. We told our friend to talk to them and give them some Technology for his release, and we would be back in two days to see how things were going. When we were going back to him, we found him walking. They had released him, but he was frail. So we helped him and gave him water and food. When we got back to where we were hiding out, that's when the message got sent to the home ship. We got to the Location, .and it took a long time to get here. We had met up with some of the others on the way. So you see you are talking to people, from out of space, I remarked: "but you don't look like you are, why is that". That's because some of the things you all heard about us were true, but not all of it. You see, we did capture some of your females, and we tried to bread with them, some we place back with you well your people, some stayed with us, and that's how we managed to get this form we have now. As you know, many years have passed now. We have developed a way of life here and have grown a lot. You see, many of us died, and what you see now is the new race of us. We are half Human and half Alien. In this place, we have things. You would not believe it if someone told you. That's why later we will show you some of it. And as time goes on, we hope to show you more. That is if you are going to stay with us longer. We all stood up and replied, 'Yes, we all are and look forward to learning more from you all. And thank you for trusting us." The Elders reached over and placed a hand on our heads, then said, 'your hearts are good, that is why. " As we were getting ready to leave, one of them turns and says, Zack, I hope you finished your Book." We turned and had a surprised look on our face then he said, "yes you by the name of Richard this time but you are always Zack to us".

THE TOUR OF THE SHIP

The day had arrived, we had been waiting to see more of this place. The Elders walked over to meet us. The first thing they said to us was, Sam, you can bring Jill with you, and if the others want to bring their lady friend's you can. We thanked them and asked the girl's if they would like to come with us on a tour of the place. With smiles on their faces, they all said yes. The girls explained it was an honour to be asked by the Elders to walk with them, as we all hold them very high as nothing can happen without their permission. Even the leader must consult them before doing any critical things. So are we ready? Walk with us. The ladies have already shown you the children's area. Our first stop will be the teen room. This is where they learn the importance of being who we are and how we can help each other to live as one? You see, most of the time, we don't need to talk, we think about what we want to say to someone, and they pick that thought up in their mind. You people call it telepathy. But we also teach them how to speak many different languages, because we hope later, we will be able to mix more with your people. Some develop faster than others. The ones that do will then go to the next part of learning as we all need to contribute to living here. As we all have some vital position to do, no matter what it is. We are all equal to each other, and no one looks down on anyone. That's because we all need each other. No matter how big or small a task it is, it's just as important as the other. You see, we don't judge anyone; we accept them as they are, and by doing that, we live in peace with each other. And all are eager to help each other if needed. And yes you are right, we do have lots of computer screens. Those are monitoring everything that is going on. Remember, we pick up your thought, which means when you think something we know. All of us can do that, and you humans have lots of views of thing you don't say out loud. And your lady's understand what is going on in your minds to guys. Let's move on and go to the next level, as we know you have not seen any of that. You can walk or take the lift, we will follow you. Then the elevator, as we are getting a bit too old to keep walking around too much, we asked them how many levels does this place have, we have five primary levels, and some are split levels. Now over here, we have some rooms where we would keep the ones that are dying, and their loved ones can stay with them, they are looked after well, and whatever they need is given to them. When they get close to their time to leave, we sing over them to help with their next journey. You see, we know there are many different levels in the universe and ones far beyond yours.

Now over here we have the birthing rooms, it is not like your Hospitals, as we don't need all the things your people use. And the next area is where we did testing or research of the Human Form. As we said earlier, we did do some of the things your Government said but not all. If you can remember, we talked about the one we left behind. He gave them some technology they needed. And they gave him his freedom and permission to take some Humans to do tests on, which we did, but not all Human that went missing was us, your Military took some to do there own experiments on and then said we were doing it.

Back in that time, we tried to mix our DNA with your’s, but most times we failed, so we decided to impregnate them, just like your IVF you do, and that is where your people learnt how to do that, it was from us. Over the years, we have shared a lot of our research with your people, but they say it was their discovery. So who would like something to eat and drink now, because the next Room is the eating area, well we are a bit hungry, well let's get something there. As we went into the room, it was a different set up to the other meal area down on the other level. There was no kitchen. The Elders smiled, your right it is. He went over to a hole in the wall and asked for what he wanted, and then it just appeared out of thin air.

How did that do that? We asked, and why don't you use that down on the other level? It's called a replicator, and the reason we don't use it everywhere else is we are trying to live the way your people live. So we have to do things your way. After we had eaten, we continued the tour. Now we are going to show you some of the older areas of this place which we don't use much, it like a Museum, a part of our past. Zack might remember some of it. We looked over. I asked, "why do you keep calling me Zack". The main one looked straight into my eyes and replied, "you need to look into yourself, for you already know the answer to that.'' as we were walking, the girl I was with put her arm around me and whispered, "you are a good person, and I like you a lot, hope you stay with us". I stopped and looked at her and said I don't know your name. We have been together for a while now?" she put her arms around me a kissed me. It's crystal, and It means a lot to me that you asked".I smiled as we walked on to catch up to the rest of them. One of the Elders turned and smiled at us.

I started to think to myself, it's funny when you look at it, how we have travelled all this way to find this place, but now I feel I am at home and at peace, and there is a part of me which will find it hard to leave. We arrived at the old area, one of the Elders waved his hand, and the light came on, well it was a big area and a little dusty, you could see hardly anyone comes here anymore. We all walked in, and it looked more like a storage room. Thing stacked on top of each other or just piled up. We had a bit of a look around, and yes, it was old, alright. I asked why is this not being used anymore. Some things looked good. The Elders replied, "some things we don't know how they work, and some need fixing, but we don't understand what they were used for, but Zack did and had used some of it before. I looked over to them" and was thinking who was this Zack they keep talking about? I know one thing, I could get lost in her with this gear working it all out", we would like your help if you want to do that. I looked over to the other guys, and they nodded to me. Well, I said we would love to help you with this. That's good; now we think we have done enough for today. Are you coming to the dance tomorrow night? It will be fun. We know the girls would like you too? We did not know there was one, but yes, we will if the girls want to. Well, let's all get back, and in a few days, we will catch up and talk about what you think about our home.

Everyone was busy getting things ready for the Dance tonight. We noticed some were setting up a stage, so I went over to give them a hand. I asked them, "do you have a band" "only a small one, we are not that good. But it's fun", they replied, "what instruments do you use," I asked, so they showed me what they use. I called the guys over. Well guys, what you think about these. Not bad, just like the ones we use back home, that's what I was thinking. I asked them if we could have a go, as we played things like this back where we come from, yes, please. We wondered if it would be alright to play them now just for some practice. Yes, please do; we would like to hear you play, Ok guys, you heard them. Let's fire these babies up and get rocking. Just a little re-tune was needed, and then we started to play. It did not take long before we had a few standing around listening to us. After a while, we stopped and thanked them. You play well. Can you play tonight for us all?

We looked at each other and nodded, ok, but not all night. It is your night. So how about you play first, then later we will play some, "That will be good", they replied. We thanked them, then went to meet up with the girls for a meal. We found the girl's helping some of the others set up the tables and chairs. "Hi all, you need a hand", John called out, "yes, we do need a few strong males to help" John puffed his chest up, "well, we are here to help you lovely young lady's" he replied. Luke remarked, "very smooth John", "well, they are only ladies, and we males should do the heavy work, not them". "A real gentleman", I commented with a laugh. "You sound a bit keen on your lady mate," Luke remarked, "Well, she is kinda nice in all ways if you know what I mean", alright that's done, how about we go and have a meal now as we were walking over to the meal area,( I could see, Luke was looking a bit out of place. He did not have a closeness to his lady friend, where we all did, I know he was still in love with his girlfriend that passed away, and this would be making it hard for him and the girl he was with now. It was sad to see that, as she was a really nice young lady, I hoped she was not feeling hurt because of that).  "The girls commented about the way we played the Music, and they really like that style we played. As they have not heard it before", we explained it was Rock and roll, and it was perfect Music for dancing too. Crystal asked, "will you teach me to dance to that Music" "yes, I will if the guys teach the others as well". So we agreed to teach them to Dance. "Why don't we start now? We could do it without the Music. We only need to show them the moves, that would make it easier for later when we have the Music going". "ok, come on ladies, let's start to have some fun". Well, it was a real laugh, getting twisted up. Falling over in each other's arms and rolling around the floor, some of the others came over to see what all the laughing was about. Most of them started to giggle as they watched us dance. After a while, we decided to stop. And save the rest for later, the girls were still laughing about it as we were walking back to our rooms. Well, that was fun. We have not laughed like that for a long time, the guys remarked. When Crystal and Myself were alone in our room, I heard her singing to herself, I had never heard her do that before, but she had a beautiful voice. I asked her where did she learn how to sing like that? Crystal answered:" I only sing when I am very happy, and you make me very happy". I could feel she had a lot of feelings for me. And I had them for her as well. But I know myself and the others would be leaving sometime. And this would make it very hard.

The dance was almost here, so time to get ready to have some fun. The girls got dressed up, and they looked good. I could hardly keep my eyes of Crystal. She looked so sexy in that dress, and the other girls looked good as well, but Crystal, woo. I used to dream of someone like that, and now I have her on my arm.

At the Dance where we were sitting, I noticed the Elders were seated not far from us, and they could see us very clearly ( I started to think they were watching us for some reason ). I felt them look over and then nod to me as if they were saying yes, we are. The night was going well, and the band was good, the Music was a little bit slow but good, there was some up dancing, but not many. The group caught our attention as if saying, you play now. Ok, Guys, it's our turn to play. As we walked over to the group and they announced us, then everyone started to clap. We thanked them and the group for their music playing. We explained what type of Music we were going to play, and it was called Rock and Roll. Well, we were a little nervous to start, but as soon as we did, we let loose, and everyone was tapping their feet. Then the dance floor was full. Everyone seemed to like us playing. We felt like Rock stars. As the night went by, we got some of the other guys to play some of our Music, and they caught on fast. Which meant we could have a dance with our girls. The girls were great at dancing. As the night was coming to an end, we thanked the other guys for letting us play and told them that they were excellent and learnt quick.

"well, that was a good night for all of us," I commented. But I don't know what you guys are going to do? But Crystal and I are going back to our Room and unwind for a while, so goodnight, guys, and see you all in the morning. When we got to our room, I looked at her and said, you are an amazing lady, and you look like a Goddess tonight in that dress. She smiled and threw her arms around me, and whispered, thank you, my Love, and it's alright. I know the day will come, and you will leave. But I want to make the best of the time we are together now. And if you leave something within me, that's ok as I would love that, as I love you. I looked at her with a little tear in my eye as I could feel all of her emotions as she was saying it. I told her that I loved her too. Then we just held each other before going to bed.

THE MUSEUM ROOM,

We had spent a few days going through a lot of old things. We had found a lot of things that could be repaired or use as parts. I also found a lot of old books and drawings and lots of notes on old paper. I was very interested in them because there was something about them that kept pulling me to them, so I gathered them together to take them back with me to our room to read through them later. There were some very unusual things which we had never seen before, but most of the gear was in good condition, and most were Electrical things. Ok, guys, how about we call it a day and get back and clean up. Then we can spend some time with the girls. John and Sam agreed straight away; Luke just said, ok then. I had been aware Luke had been feeling a bit flat. Lately, we had tried a few times to get him to talk about what was bothering him. When we got back to the girls, they were happy to see us, and Jill whispered something to Sam, ok he said. I tell them later, we all went to clean ourselves up and get something to eat. After eating, all I wanted to do was read those books and notes and be with Crystal, cuddled into her. But that was not going to happen. As soon as I got the books out, Sam comes over. We need to talk, mate. Ok, what's up? Jill had told me about a story that she was told a long time ago about a Transporter machine. That the early ones used with the help of a stranger, and some of the things I had told her we had found sounded just like how it was said to her in the story. I know that sounds crazy, but it could be true as their technology is more advanced than what we know. And the stranger that helped them to build it came out of nowhere. Well, I have all these books to read maybe I'll find something in them about it, and who the stranger was mate, Sam replied: "Ok mate, I'll leave you to it and have a good night, and I think Crystal wants to talk to you as well". I started to wonder what Crustal wanted to say to me, but it would have to wait until she gets back from the other girls. I got stuck into reading the Books, they were full of very interesting things and some I did not understand, but that was ok for now. I started to think, where is Crystal, and then she walked in. I could feel you thinking of me, she commented. I looked up and smiled, come and sit. Love. Then I realised what I had just said I had called her Love. She looked at me and came over and cuddled into me. It was nice being like that. She softly held my hand and whispered in my ear. She was having my Baby. My mouth dropped, whoo I replied; Crystal asked if that was alright, that she can keep it. Yes, it is Love, and we are going to be good parents. I looked at her and said, "are you ok with having my child". She replied: "that is what I have wanted from the first day we were together". We just cuddled into each other, and I did not want to let her go. As the night went on, I left the books and carried her into the bedroom and laid her down and spent the rest of the night with my arms around her, not wanting to let her go.

The Morning came, and Crystal was still in my arms. She looked over and kissed me. Then said, "I have to tell the other girls that you want me to keep the Baby that's if you still do" I looked at her and said," yes, I do".  But we won't tell the other guys yet. I want to tell them later as Luke is feeling down right now. We had a drink. Then off she went to see the other girls with the good news, which left me to finish reading the Books and notes. Hours had passed when John walks in, saying, "good news, mate, you must be thrilled" I looked at him "what are you talking about, mate" John looked at me. "You know what, the Baby" how did you know who told you? "Sam told us last night," how did he now, "Jill told him," well, so much for keeping it quiet. "So what are you up to today", just reading these books. Jill was saying she was told a story way back that they had a Transporter. And I think some of the information in these books are the plans for it, as far as I can work out. I'll know when we go back to the room and check it out more. I know more about what I am looking for. Later, I want to get all the guys together and explain what we will be looking for Tomorrow.

About one hour later, the guys came over, all shaking my hand and saying, well-done mate, Thanks, Guys. Now about that story, you said Jill was told when she was a young girl about a Transporter, I have been looking through these books, and I think I have worked out what to look for, as there are some drawings. Now, if we can find this Equipment, we might be able to work it out. And if any of it still works, we might get it going again. But we have to find it first, so I was thinking Tomorrow we go back to the old Room and take our time going through all the gear and be careful we don't damage anything while doing it. Because if this does work, it could be our way of getting out of here. The guys looked at me, "well, yes, it could be, mate, but what about your Baby". I looked up, well I have told her she could have it, and I know she will look after it well, and yes I know it will be hard to leave, but this is not our home, Sam commented, well maybe for some, it's not, we just looked at him, we understand mate.

Crystal came back with a smile from ear to ear on her face. You look, happy Love, She looked deep into my eyes and said: "I am, and the others are so pleased for me, for our Baby is the first real conception for about fifty years or so". I asked what she meant by that. "well, Crystal replied, you are fully Human, and I am only three-quarters Human, and the Baby was by you and me making Love together, so it was conceived naturally, not in a test tube". I replied, it's more fun doing that way "yes", she replied with a smile on her face. We spent most of the day together, just walking around and talking to some of the others. I could tell most already knew Crystal was having a Baby of mine by the looks on their faces. It was like we were special. We meet some of the Elders as we were walking, we stopped to talk for a while, and they wished us luck. After walking around, we went back to our room to relax, just sitting there cuddling into each other and talking. I told her about the Transport and the Books I had been reading, and the Guys and I were going to see if we could find any of it. Tomorrow in the Old Rooms. She wished us luck in finding it, but I felt she knew if we found the Transporter, it could mean we will be able to leave. And I know that would really hurt Crystal's feelings because she is in Love with me as I was with her, and Every so often, I could feel what she was thinking. I put it down to the strong link we have together more now because she was having my Baby.

Time to go and see if we can find this Transporter. When we all got there, we had a look and decided to clear a space. That way, we could check each thing out and then place it in the cleared area we had made. That way, we won't get mixed up. Some of the things we thought might be part of the Transporter we placed over on one side and all the other stuff on the other area. We had to keep checking as a lot of it looked the same. There was a lot of gear there. We found some old photos, so we kept them as we thought the Elders might like them. The piles were getting bigger, but we were making Room by doing it this way. As time was going by very fast and it was dusty. This part of the place had no cooling as it did not need, so we were getting hot in there. We heard some other noises and turned around only to see all the Girls standing there with a tray each of food and drink for us all. We thanked them for thinking about us. And we all sat down outside the room to eat and have something to drink. It was like having a picnic. We all talked for a while. Then we had to get back into it, so we thanked them for doing that for us. But we had to get back and finish checking everything out.

We moved a lot of gear before we came across a box of old drawings. This was a good find, so we put them next to the door to take back with us. We had moved almost everything around and had a pile of rubbish and two piles of what might be useful to use. We plan to come back Tomorrow and sweep up and make a work area. That way, we can keep it all in order, and if we need anything, it's at hand. Now it was time to call it a day and head back to the Girls and clean ourselves up.

THE TRANSPORTER

Time to sweep the floors and make ourselves a work area if we make our work area over there will give us more room to move around. What you think, Guys? Sounds good, mate, they all replied, then let's do it. As we were sweeping, Sam called out, "look at this, Guys? We all turned around. What is it mate? "The floor guys", Luke commented", you have seen one floor, so you have seen them all", "No guys, It has some type of drawing on it". We all went over to check it out, and it did. There is a drawing on the floor. We need to get some water and wash the floor so we can see it all. Right now, we should keep working on setting things up. We can use these as workbenches.

I have borrowed some tools to make a start, and over on this wall, we can use it for notes, and poster and plans.

Some of the other technical workers have lent us a few testers to use. And we have some additional wiring, fuses, chips, memory cards, bulbs, a power supply unit, and a few other items, so if we place all this on one bench and use the others to work on. That way we have some order — that's a good idea, Richard, a well organised and clean working area.

If the girls come over, we will ask them about the best way to clean the floor without losing the drawings. The Elders might know the picture if we ask the girls to see the Elders and find out if we can talk to them later. We would be able to give them the photo's and ask them about the drawing at the same time. John remarked, "that's a good idea, mate, but they most probably know already, as they can pick up what we think before we know ourselves, "you could be right, mate.

We had started to place some of the notes and drawings on the wall and was talking about them. Then the Girls walk in and ask if the Elders could come in as well? We just looked at each other and said, "we were just talking about you all. They stepped in and said, we know you were, and you needed us to come over. So we came to see you. I hope you don't mind us coming in to see what you have done so far. No, it's an honour to have you here. Crystal looked at me and smiled as if to say you said that well. The Elders walked over and looked around. You have cleaned the place up and have Organised it very well. We see you have some repair equipment, but you will need more, we will authorise all the things you need, from our maintenance department and any help you might need, is supplied to you all. I thanked him for his support—we passed over the photo's we had found. We thought you might like to see these? You might know some of them. They thanked us, then walked over to the floor area and looked at it for a while. Yes, we know what it is. But you all will need to come over later and bring your lady's with you, we will eat then have a few drinks, and we will tell you all a story about it. We thanked them and said yes, we all would love to come over later. After the Elders had left, John asked: "what other things will we need to fix this gear and make it work". Well, let's work it out. We know what we have already, Sam commented: "the best way would be to open some of them up, and do some testing on them, and find out what parts we might need, and how many of these are the same thing". Well, mate, your brain is working today, hahaha. The Girl's asked us if there was anything they could help us with. Yes, if you would like to clean these panels down and clean that floor over there. We will show you how to test some of the parts once we have opened them up if that's ok with you, Girls. With your help, we will get a lot done today. We have to keep an eye on the time, as we need to get cleaned up. Because we all are going to the Elders place for a meal and to hear their stories about the Transporter. It was going good with the Girls helping us, not only because they were working, it was lovely to have them there with us, sharing the same interest in what we were doing. Well, we have done a lot today thanks to you, Lady's, for helping us.  But it is time to go and clean ourselves up now.

It did not take long to get ready. Crystal and I waited for the others out in the central area. Sam and Jill were the first to meet us, then Luke and John with their Girls came together. Are we all ready for a good night? The Girls seemed Excited about it, Crystal mentioned it was the first time that the Elders had invited them to their place, and they feel very honoured to be asked. Then we better get going as we don't want to be late. As we reached their door, it opened up for us. We heard a voice call out, "come inside, we will be with you in a minute", as we walked into the room, it was dimly lit, and there was a smell of Musk in the air. Well, that's what it smelled like to me. There was a stillness in the room as if it was waiting for something to happen. The Elders walked into the Room. Sorry for keeping you waiting. We were talking to the others, and it seems they're very interested in you all, but we will talk about that some other time, now we eat and have a few drinks and relax. Then we will tell you all about the drawing you have found. The meal was good, not like the other meals we have been eating. The Girl's were very quiet, so I asked Crystal if she was alright. Crystal answered: " yes, I am alright. It just means so much to me being here with you and the Elders". The Elders brought us some Drink over and asked if we would like to go into the other room now and they will tell us the story of long ago, we all said yes we would like that, make yourselves comfortable. 

The Elders sat down just across from us. They bowed their head three times and then began to talk. The markings you found are the layout of what you know as the Transporter. A long time ago, we had built that machine to take ourselves to the Big Home-ship out in Space. It was our way of coming and going, as you would say. In your book, it mentions Zack had seen bright light's shooting into the Sky. Well, that was when we used the Transporter. We did that for a long time, but it was only to mix with our kind. As time went by, we needed to use it for this planet, so we started to make changes to it. We were trying to make it Transport us from one part of the earth to the other. That would mean we would be able to move our people around, mixing with the people of this planet more accessible for us. But things went very wrong, and some had died trying it out. We found out the cause of it was the Energies in your Planet, which was interfering with the transmission signal. We had lost a few trying to make it work. So for the people's safety, we were told to Dismantle it, and there will be some others that will come and use it. So you see, you are the ones they talked about that would come to us. And the reason I call you Zack is, it was you that came before. And was in too much of a rush to get it working and tried it out yourself, and you disappeared. So we pulled it apart and put it away for you next time, and now you are back. But a much calmer person and your friends are here to help you. That is why we have been testing you and observing you, as we don't want you to hurt yourself again. And in this life now, you have learnt a lot. And we know you are in love with Crystal, and this time you will be more careful this time.

The Guys sat there looking at me as if they were saying, what is he talking about now. The Elders looked at Crystal and me. You need to build your link between you more. It's all in the mind, you know, learn how to feel each other before hearing each other. We all talked a little more than it was time to leave. We thanked them for an enjoyable night and the meal. As we all walked away back to our rooms, the Guys asked if I understood what he was talking about when they spoke about Zack?. I looked at them and said, I think I do now. We will talk about it later. As I just wanted to get back to our room and spend some time with Crystal tonight if you don't mind, Guys. That's ok, mate, we are all a bit tired anyway. So we said our good-nights and went to our Rooms. Crystal looked at me and said, "are you alright, Richard', I turned to her and put my arms around her as if I did not want to let go, and said, Yes, I am now. I just wanted to spend time with you.

SOMETHING GOES VERY WRONG

The Morning was here, and Crystal was still in my arms. We must have been like that all night. I tried to get up without waking her, as soon as I moved, she knew and woke up saying, where are you going without me? I looked at her nowhere now, love. She jumped out of bed saying I'll organise some breakfast for us both, ok, thanks. After we got dressed, we went out to get Breakfast. As we were eating our breakfast, John and his lady came over and joined us. A little bit later, the others joined us as well, so how was everyone's night? I asked. They all tried to answer at the same time. Well, I said you all must of had a good night by the sounds of it, Guys.

When we have finished breakfast, we will go to the old room and do some work on that Transporter thing. And see if we can at least set it out the way the drawing shows us. 'Sounds good to us', Luke replied. As we started to get up, the Girl's blurted out, "wait for us ", we turned and said we hoped you would say that. We all walked off with an arm around our Girl.

As we reached the Room, we found a pile of Box's there, with more tools and parts. Well, let's start, Guys and ladies. We stood looking at the drawing on the floor for a while, then over to the benches of parts, trying to build the picture in our mind of what goes where. The girls just looked at us as if they were saying, (well, do something). Right, let's make a start. Crystal mentioned they would finish cleaning the screen panels and testing those parts I wanted them to do, 'sounds good,' I replied. The guys and I started to move some of the pieces over to the drawing on the floor and placing them into position. We had to make sure we only had the ones that have been tested already. Jill said she would go and get some snacks and drinks ready for later. We all answered at the same time, "that will be good, Jill". John was working on control panels. And I could hear him mumbling under his breath. I asked if "everything was alright"? "ya mate, just some Stubborn connections that don't want to come off". Ok then, "just call if you need a hand, mate".

Luke was over the other side, doing some soldering on some circuit boards. We all were like Busy little bees working away. John called out to Sam, "you ok over there; you are very quiet today. Is everything alright with you and Jill". Sam answered, "everything is alright mate, I am concentrating, that's all. Some of the screens are not working. And I am trying to find out why not". Crystal asked, "if we need one of the other Technicians to help us with them as they work on them all the time" .what do you think, Sam do you need some help "yes, I could do with some help as I am not that good at this type of thing. Crystal offered to go and get one of the Technicians and find out where Jill was and if she needs a hand, 'ok, thanks, ' Sam replied.

There's that sound again. I have been hearing it all day. Does anyone know what it is? I don't know, mate, but it sounds like they have some big Rat's crawling around in the Roof. Yes, it does sound like that. Then we heard a voice its ok guys, it's only me up here, just fixing the airflow for you Guys. We looked around where are you, "up here in the ventilation Tube, oh right, it just we could not see you. "I'll have it all working very soon", ok" thanks, mate."

Crystal was back with Jill with two large trays of food and drinks, "food at last," Luke called out. Where should we put it, guys? Luke rushed over. I'll take it for you. The Technician should be here soon, thanks. Love you did well. We all stopped to have something to eat and drink. John remarked on some of the control panels still seem to have a little power running through them. That's strange. They should not be like that after all this time. Are you sure, mate, yes there is, and I can't find where it is coming from as there is nothing connected to them to give them power? Well, be careful you don't get a boot from them. As soon as I have finished what I am doing, I'll come over and have a look. I might be able to work it out.

The day was tracking by. We will have to call it a day soon. Sounds good to us, mate. Whenever you want to stop, say it. Ok, we will finish what we are doing now, then we go,  well Sam was the first to finish and came over to help Luke, ok, right, let go, Guys. As we were walking back, there seemed to be a little bit of faster movement going on around the place. Crystal looked over to me and said, "it's ok, love, they're just getting ready. There is a storm coming, so they need to make sure everything is done. And when there's a storm, the others from outside have to come in as well; thanks, Love, for telling me that. It's just I have not seen them like this before. There must be a big storm around some were, when we got to our rooms, I thanked the guys for what they did today, and we would see them a bit later, but right now we are going to clean ourselves up and relax tonight, the others commented that sounds good we might do the same thing. Crystal and I are all cleaned up now and are going to have a quiet meal together and relax for the rest of the night. As the night was going by, Crystal placed my hand on her stomach and said: "can you feel that our Baby is moving around." I jumped as I could feel it move. I think my face lit up as Crystal looked at me; it's our baby love. He is saying Hi to you. It was a feeling that I can't explain, just a rush of love going right through you and amazement at the same time. We just sat there waiting for the next movement. As I looked at her, I could see a tear in her eyes, but I know it was Tears of Joy.

We could hear a lot of noise and movement going on outside, so we got up to have a look and see what was happening as we went to the central area to ask someone what was happening. Jill came running over, saying, "there is a massive storm coming, and all the outsiders have to come in now. And according to our readings, some areas of Ice have cracked up, but it's still far away from us, but the storm is heading our way. The Elders have re-insured us that we are all safe and we don't need to be worried about the big storm". Well, love, let's go back in and relax a bit before bed. She smiled as we went in, cuddling up on the seat again and feeling safe in each other's arms was the best thing.

The Morning was with us again, and nothing had changed. We met the other's out in the meal area having their Breakfast, so we joined them; we talked a little about the storm as we were eating but not too much. The girl's said they would be helping us today as well if that's alright with us. Of course, you can. We love having you there helping. We hoped to get it all set out today, well, all the main parts anyway. Then we can see what else we need. If we have time, we might be able to start some of it up to see if all the parts are working. All we will need to do is to connect the power supply up to each section at a time to be able to check to see if it is working. Well, the plan sounded good, so let's get going and make it happen. We met one of the Elders on the way. He stopped us and said, "be careful today as there is a big storm coming our way", we thanked him for reminding us, and we would be careful. When we got to the Room, there was a stillness in there. Crystal picked it up first And said we need to be cautious today as there is a strange Energy in this Room. It feels like an old Energy, and it comes with stillness. I could see she was uneasy with it, so I said we would love, don't worry. Well, let's get to it. We all started to finish off what we were doing yesterday. As I looked at the Drawing, there were some things I could not make out what they were. I asked the others, and they could not work them out. They must mean something, I remarked. We will ask the Elders later as we don't need to know right now as we are a long way off finishing.

We still did not know why or understand why some of the control panels still had some Energy in them after all this time. It was not enough energy to cause any problems that we could see. We had most control panels in place according to the Drawing on the floor. So we all decided to stop and have a drink and something to eat, which the Girls had brought with them. It was good to sit back and look at what we had done so far. It was all taking shape, at last. We could almost feel the energy from those that had used it in the past.

The girls seemed to be very clingy today. I put it down to the big storm that was coming. But it was nice to have Crystal with me over the last few days. I have been aware of how much she feels for me. I have never had that before from anyone. But it's my feeling to her; it's like I am under a spell, and I can't get her out of my mind, but at the same time, I don't want to anyway. Well, back to it, Guys, so up we get and start working on the Transporter again. The Girl's cleaned up around the place as they like to keep things clean and tidy. It was all looking good; every control panel was working good. So we disconnected the power pack and put it away. We waited for one hour before we re-run a test on them, well times up, let's retest them as the Guys and I moved into the centre of the drawing and the control panels. We all heard a loud crackling sound. We all looked around, but nothing was there, but then for some unknown reason, all the control panels lit up for some unknown reason. The girl's called out, "get out of there. But it was too late an electrical charge was shooting out from one Control panel to the other we could not get out. The next thing we know, we could not see the Girl's, but all we could hear was them screaming and crying out loud; where are you. But their voices were getting softer as if we were moving away from them. How was that possible, we called out to them, but they could not hear us, and eventually, we could not hear them anymore. I started to think, am I dead. Where are the Guys? Are they alright? I did not know as I could not see any of them. It was going around in my head, now; let's see there was an Electric discharge to the Control panels that could have activated the Transporter, and if that happened, it means we could be Lost in time somehow.

.