Chapter 23Alone

Okay, seriously, things had been going pretty well so far, and I would've been totally rude to complain. It wasn't like our problems were getting worse, so maybe, just maybe, we’d actually finish this trip. Imagine the bragging rights!

I started getting all fired up and started talking a mile a minute to the Professor. Was I even being serious? The whole vibe of where we were was a total mystery - and I honestly couldn't tell if I was for real.

For a few days after that crazy stop, the slopes got way steeper - some were even terrifying - almost straight down into the solid rock. We actually went down a mile and a half, even two miles, closer to the center of the earth.

Those descents were seriously risky, and that's when we really started to appreciate how chill our guide, Hans, was. Without him, we’d have been totally lost.

That stoic Icelander was super calm and effortless; and thanks to him, we got through a bunch of dangerous spots where we would've been stuck otherwise.

He was getting quieter every day. I think we started to feel it too. It’s a fact - the stuff around you messes with your brain. A guy locked up in four walls has to lose the ability to connect ideas and words.

How many people driven mad in solitary confinement - just because their minds went to sleep?

Nothing much happened in the two weeks after our last chat worth mentioning.

I’ve been racking my brain trying to remember any travel incidents from that time, but I'm drawing a blank.

Seriously, the next thing that happened was rough. Just thinking about it still gives me the chills, makes my blood run cold.

It was August seventh. We’d been going deeper and deeper, like, thirty leagues into the earth. That’s a ton - thirty leagues above us, almost a hundred miles of rocks, oceans, and continents, not to mention people living up there. We were heading southeast, about two hundred leagues from Iceland.

That day, the tunnel started to go pretty much straight.

I was out front this time. My uncle was handling one of the Ruhmkorff coils, and I had the other. I was checking out the different layers of granite using its light, totally focused on my work.

Suddenly, I stopped and turned around - I was all alone!

"Okay," I thought, "I must have been walking too fast - or maybe Hans and my uncle just stopped to chill. Best thing to do is head back and find them. Luckily, it’s not a crazy steep climb."

So, I turned around and walked back for a good fifteen minutes. Getting kinda freaked out, I stopped and looked around. Not a single person. I yelled out. Nothing. My voice just got lost in all the echoes!

I started to seriously freak out. A cold shiver went through me, and I was drenched in icy sweat.

"Gotta stay calm," I said out loud, like how guys whistle to shake off the jitters.

"There’s no way I won’t find my friends. There’s only one way to go. I was way ahead, so all I gotta do is backtrack."

Having come to that decision, I climbed the tunnel for at least half an hour, totally unsure if I'd seen these spots before. I’d stop now and then to see if anyone was yelling for me - knowing I’d hear them from way off in this thick, intense place. But nothing.

An unreal quiet hung over this huge gallery. Just the echoes of my own footsteps.

Finally, I stopped. I could barely believe how alone I was. I was happy to think I'd just made a wrong turn, but not that I was lost. If it was a mistake, I could find my way back; if I was lost - the thought sent a shiver down my spine.

"Come on, come on," I told myself.

"There's only one road, and they have to come this way, so we’ll meet up eventually. All I have to do is keep going up. Maybe they didn’t see me, or forgot I was ahead, and went back looking for me. Still, if I hurry, I’ll catch up. There’s no doubt about it."

But as I said those last words out loud, anyone listening - if there had been anyone - would have known I wasn't really convinced. Plus, piecing all these simple thoughts together and turning them into a logical plan took time. My brain just wasn't firing on all cylinders yet.

Then another scary thought hit me. Was I even ahead? Of course I was. Hans was definitely behind me, followed by my uncle. I remembered him stopping for a sec to strap his gear on his shoulder. I now recalled that little detail. I think it was right when I decided to keep going.

"Again," I thought, trying to stay calm, "there’s another way to not get lost, a guide to lead me through this crazy underground place - one I’d forgotten - my trusty river."

That line of thinking totally lifted my mood, and I decided to get back on the road, like, ASAP. No time to waste.

And that’s when I realized how lucky I was that my uncle didn't let that eider hunter seal up the hot spring - that tiny crack in the huge granite rock. That awesome spring, which had saved us from dying of thirst for so many days, was now gonna help me find my way again.

So, I made a plan: before heading up, I was definitely gonna take a quick wash.

I stopped to splash some of the Hansbach stream’s nice, cool water on my hands and face, feeling super grateful it was there.

Seriously, you won't believe what happened! - I was walking on a hard, dusty, gravelly granite road. The stream I was counting on? Completely gone!