Exploring Magic and Solace Beneath the Underground City

I don’t know much, but I know we shouldn’t be down here. Brandon and Kelly have been worried about me. I overheard them talking in the kitchen about how far I was from home and wondering how long humans could survive outside their natural habitat. It wasn’t a question I’d considered. Everywhere is human habitat. Right?

They determined I needed to get on with the work I came here to do and debated for the better part of the morning what exactly that would entail. Kelly thinks fresh air cures just about everything. Brandon waxed on about the air down here being recirculated and that it only appears fresh due to filtration. He then continued on about the greenspaces and how they are maintained despite being underground. I have to admit, my mind started to wander almost immediately.

“I know,” Kelly said, interrupting Brandon’s lecture about water recirculation and its impact on underground weather. “Let’s take a trip to the caverns.”

Brandon paused and looked at me critically. I tried to sit up straighter and look sturdier than I actually felt. Maybe they were right. Maybe there was a limit to how long I could be down here before I started going properly crazy. If so, I better stop wasting time.

“It’s not a bad idea,” Brandon said, much to Kelly’s delight.

“Is it safe?” I asked, trying to sound casual.

I wanted to go, part of me did. But another big part of me was petrified of getting caught out in the open. What would they do to an unauthorized human? I had done some network searches on humans in Denhaven and found nothing, which was odd. Surely it had come up?

“It’s safe,” Kelly smiled. “I’ve been on the cavern team investigating the anomaly. It’s all gated up right now, but I have the passcodes.”

Kelly hopped from foot to foot and looked around the kitchen, already calculating what we’d need to take with us. Brandon must have seen the anxiety in my face because he put one paw on my shoulder.

“That means there won’t be anyone down there,” he said, nodding. “I’ve been dying to get a look at the anomaly myself. Plenty of day left. Let’s go.”

So here we are. We already passed several do-not-enter signs, and Kelly keyed us through a gate with P.O.D. graffitied over the sign. Brandon explained that this is one of the many Oasis Trails woven throughout the city. When the animals built Denhaven, they knew how important it would be to have green spaces accessible to the city dwellers. So, these retreats were part of the original design.

“Who knows how old some of the Oasis Trails are,” Brandon said as we stepped from paved alley to dirt trail, the buildings giving way to towering trees crowding the path.

“Why is this one closed?” I looked over my shoulder.

Kelly had been careful to shut the gate behind us, and the sound of electronic locks whirred as the bolts slid into place.

“The anomaly,” Kelly said, skipping with barely repressed excitement. “You’ll see.”

The path ended abruptly at the mouth of a cave.  A boulder that had been dragged there somewhat recently nearly blocked the entrance. On its face, a red circle was spray painted with the silhouette of a cat and a dog in the middle. Wings sprouted from either side, and underneath, in dripping paint, three letters had been stenciled: P.O.D.

“What’s P.O.D.?” I asked.

Brandon doubled back, looking at the painted symbols and stroking his chin.

“Protective Order of Denhaven,” he said and chuckled. “It’s a pretty good likeness, don’t you think, Kelly?”

But Kelly had already disappeared behind the boulder, and Brandon gestured for me to follow. I took one last look at the painting. Vacant white eyes stared out of the cat’s black silhouette, following me as I slipped around the rock and into the cave beyond.

The way was lit with string lights, glowing like tiny welcomes against the rough walls of the tunnel.

“This was a Healing Oasis,” Kelly said, smiling at me. “It’s still a Healing Oasis, I suppose.”

Brandon nodded, and I wondered how much that played into their decision to bring me here. I was about to ask when the cave opened into a much larger cavern, and my questions dissolved into wonder at what was in front of me.

The water was so clear it shimmered. I had the sudden urge to touch it, just to make sure it was real. The cavern was carved into an underground spa with mosaic stone pathways and different levels of pools accessible from different angles. The smell of wet stone and running water was intoxicating. I didn’t have to ask if this was a magical place. Every sense sparkled with it.

Kelly led us through the cavern and under an archway on the far side. This tunnel was smooth stone, expertly carved. Ensconced lighting along the walls held what looked like candles but, on closer inspection, were actually globes of flickering electric light.  We emerged from the tunnel into another cavern, even larger than the last. The space was dominated by a single pool of water so clear and vibrant that I had to stop and look closer.

“Go ahead,” Kelly said, almost in a whisper. “You can touch it. It won’t hurt you.”

I looked at Brandon, who shrugged and nodded.

“That’s okay,” I said, longing to dip both hands into the cool, clear water. “Maybe on the way back?”

Kelly nodded, and we kept going down more passages, weaving around pools of the most crystal-clear water I’d ever seen. Each pool looked more and more inviting. I was about to ask how far we were going when we stopped at the base of a winding staircase covered in moss.

“Be careful,” Kelly said. “The moss can be slippery, especially once we get close to the top.”

I nodded and stepped gingerly, not wanting to crush the delicate mosses with my clumsy boots. It grew warmer as we climbed, and the light changed from candle glow to sunlight. I reminded myself there isn’t really sunlight down here, not anywhere. I stepped through an archway at the top of the stairs and walked into an expansive cavern with part of the ceiling missing. Warm light filtered through the gaping hole, and I stopped, closed my eyes, and let it warm my face. Real or not, it felt delicious. The smell of green things filled my head, and the sounds of water trickled into my ears like a welcome visitor. I opened my eyes.

“Is that a portal?” I asked, gaping at the huge circle of swirling light across the pool from us.

“It sure is,” Kelly smiled, leaning over the stone guardrail. “And it’s more active than last time I was down here.”

Kelly hopped in the air with delight and scrambled along the side of the pool to get closer to the portal. It was built into the far wall of the cavern with amazing attention to detail. A staircase led out of the water to an engraved door seated at the bottom of a huge stone circle sitting on its side like a staring eye. Runes traveled around the arc, overgrown with draping greenery where the light touched the inscriptions at the top. In the middle of the circle, that same blue energy that I’d seen in Kelly’s make-shift portal swirled like a living whirlpool. It called to me with tiny voices, and I had to put a hand on the cool stone to steady myself.

“So, this is why the caverns are closed,” I gasped, stepping back and wilting onto a moss-covered bench.

Kelly had pulled a notebook out of the picnic basket and was scribbling notes and measuring the portal with something that looked like a kaleidoscope.

“This portal had been been dormant for ages,” Brandon said, settling on the bench beside me. “The P.O.D. closed it when it started putting off magical readings again.”

We sat and watched Kelly rush back and forth, making muted exclamations and writing in the notebook. My stomach growled, and I instinctively covered it with one hand, as if I could keep its complaints contained. Brandon snorted and stood up.

“How about that picnic, Kelly?”

Kelly rushed over.

“Of course, so sorry,” Kelly said, picking up the basket. “I’ve never seen it so active. It’s easily four times the size it was last time I took readings.”

Brandon put a hand on the basket just as Kelly started to open it.

“I think we should find another place to set up,” he said, gesturing to me with his eyes.

I tried to smile, but the portal’s current was weaving a continuous conversation through my head, and I was pretty sure Brandon was right to be concerned. Kelly looked at me, then back at the portal.

“Yes,” Kelly said, slipping the notebook into the basket, smiling, and nodding a little too emphatically. “There are lots of nice places to eat.”

We ended up almost back at the entrance before unpacking the lunch Kelly had meticulously prepared. I didn’t know how all that food fit in the basket, and I was sure I could never fit everything back inside. Luckily, we would be carrying most of it out in our bellies. I still felt a little jittery, but my hunger surpassed my unsteadiness. Brandon pulled me poolside while Kelly set our little makeshift table.

“Go on,” he said, gesturing to the water.

“It’s fine,” I said. “I don’t need to…” I made some flapping motions with my hands to indicate that I was good.

Brandon smiled, peeled off his coat and vest, and jumped in.

“Come on,” he said, resurfacing. “You’ll feel better. I promise.”

I looked at Kelly, who smiled and nibbled a strawberry.

Why not? I slipped off my boots and dipped a toe in. It was pleasantly cool and caressed my foot, beckoning me. Before I could test the water further, Brandon popped up next to me and grabbed my ankle, pulling me in with a splash. The quiet drone of water encased me, and I hovered in its depths for a moment, everything around me still and insulated. The roof of the cavern wavered above me. The clear light danced with the water, weaving sparkling eddies that swirled past my face and disappeared into nothing.

Brandon was right. The water felt amazing.

We swam, and Kelly watched, shooing away my gestures to join us. Finally, exhausted but feeling sturdier than I had in weeks, I pulled myself out of the water and plopped down next to the lovely spread of delectables Kelly had prepared for us.

“You look much better,” Kelly said and smiled. “The Healing Oasis was just right for you today.”

I smiled around a huge mouthful of sandwich loaded with slices of fresh mozzarella, sweet basil, and plump juicy tomatoes. It tasted like heaven.

-JPS