Chapter 38No Outlet. Blasting the Rock

Ever since our trip started, I’ve had so many surprises, so many letdowns. I really thought I was over it - nothing could shock me anymore, nothing could amaze me.

I felt like someone who’s traveled everywhere and is totally unimpressed, immune to anything cool.

But when I saw those two letters, carved into the rock three hundred years ago, I just froze.

Not only was there the signature of the smart, ambitious alchemist there, but I was holding the exact tool he used to carve them. Seriously.

It was impossible to deny that the traveler existed, that his journey was real - something I’d always thought was a total myth, just a wild story someone made up.

While I was thinking all that, my uncle, the Professor, got super hyped, like totally poetic about it.

"Amazing and brilliant Saknussemm," he shouted, "you didn't leave a single thing undone, no resource untouched, to show everyone else how to get inside our planet! People can follow the trail you left three hundred years ago, way down in these hidden underground places."

You made sure everyone could see these incredible wonders of creation. Your name's carved at every important spot along your awesome journey, leading anyone who’s hoping to find it straight to the big discovery you put so much energy and courage into.

The brave traveler who follows your steps all the way will definitely find your initials carved by your own hand at the center of the earth. I’m going to be that brave traveler - I’ll sign my name on the very same spot, on that central granite stone of this amazing creation.

"But to show how dedicated you were, how brave you were, and how you were the first to show the way, let this cape, which you saw on the shore of this sea you discovered, forever be called Cape Saknussemm."

That's what I heard, and I started to get seriously hyped. I was fired up! I forgot everything. The dangers of the trip and the risks of getting back home? They were nothing now!

What someone else did ages ago could be done again, I knew it. I was determined to do it myself, and nothing seemed impossible anymore.

"Let's go - let’s go!" I yelled, totally excited.

I had already started toward the dark and creepy hallway when the Professor stopped me. He, the guy who was so quick and eager, he, the guy who got so easily fired up, told me to be patient and chill out.

"Let's head back to Hans," he said; "we’re gonna bring the raft down here."

I gotta say, even though I immediately agreed with my uncle, I wasn’t thrilled, and I hurried along the rocks of that amazing coast.

"You know, Uncle," I said as we walked, "we’ve been seriously lucky, like, a whole string of good things, right up to this point."

"So you’re starting to see it, huh, Harry?"

the Professor said with a smile.

"Totally," I replied. " And it's wild, even the storm helped put us on the right path. Seriously, thank you, storm! It brought us back safe to the exact spot where good weather would’ve sent us off course forever. If we’d made it to those southern shores of this crazy sea, what would’ve happened?"

"We never would’ve found Saknussemm, and right now we'd be stranded on some deserted coast, probably with no way out."

"Yeah, Harry, my boy, there's definitely something amazing about drifting south at the whim of the wind and waves: we ended up right back north! And even better, we stumble upon this huge discovery of Cape Saknussemm."

"Seriously, it’s beyond surprising; there’s something about it that’s way beyond my understanding. The whole thing is unheard of, it’s amazing!"

"Who cares about explaining it! It's not our job to explain facts, it’s about making the most of them."

"Totally, my boy; but if you don’t mind me saying - " the really excited Professor said.

"Hey, sir, I totally get it now; we’re going north. We’ll pass under Sweden, Russia, Siberia - who knows where - instead of getting stuck in the scorching deserts of Africa or lost under the ocean. That’s all I need to know for now. Let’s go! Heaven will show us the way!"

"Yeah, Harry, you’re spot on, seriously. Everything’s gonna be alright. Let’s ditch this horizontal sea; it wasn’t going anywhere good. We’re going down, down, forever down. You know, my boy, we only have five thousand miles left to reach the center of the earth!"

"Seriously?!" I blurted out, super hyped, "That distance is nothing! The important thing is to get moving."

My wild, crazy, and rambling speeches went on until we caught back up with our chill, patient guide. Everything was ready for takeoff. Every bag was in its place.

We all hopped on the raft, the sail went up, and Hans got his instructions, steering the little boat toward Cape Saknussemm, which we'd officially named.

The wind wasn't really working with us; the raft wasn't built to sail against it. We ended up pushing ourselves forward with poles. Sometimes the rocks jutted way out into deep water, so we had to take these long detours.

Finally, after three hours of tough sailing - around six in the evening - we found a place to land.

I jumped ashore first. I always did when I was hyped. My uncle and the Icelander followed. The trip from the port to here hadn’t calmed me down at all. It actually did the opposite. I even wanted to torch our boat - basically, blow up our raft - to make sure we couldn’t go back.

But my uncle shut that idea down, saying it was wild. I started thinking he was kinda lame and not into it.

"Seriously, Uncle," I said, "let’s get moving!"

"Yeah, kid, I’m just as ready as you are. But first, let’s check out this weird gallery to see if we need to fix our ladders."

My uncle started messing with our Ruhmkorff coil - we’d need it soon. The raft was tied to a rock and left alone. The opening to the gallery wasn’t even twenty steps away. Our little crew, with me leading, moved forward.

The hole was almost round, about five feet across. The dark tunnel was carved into the rock and coated with stuff that had melted and flowed through it. The bottom was level with the water, so we could get inside without a problem.

We went almost straight, but after about twelve steps, a huge block of granite stopped us.

"Ugh, seriously?!" I yelled, frustrated that we were blocked by what seemed like an impossible barrier.

We looked right, we looked left - nothing. We checked above and below, too. No way, no sign of another tunnel. I was seriously bummed, totally deflated. I was so mad, I didn't want to believe there was even a problem. I got down on my knees and peered under the huge pile of stone. Nothing.

Not a hole, not even a crack. Then I looked up. Same deal - just solid granite! Hans, with the lamp, checked the tunnel walls every which way.

But it was a total dead end! We had to ditch any hope of getting through.

I plopped down on the ground. My uncle was pacing back and forth, super frustrated. He was clearly losing it.

"But," I blurted out after a minute, "what about Arne Saknussemm?"

"You’re right," my uncle said, "he couldn’t have just been stopped by a rock."

"No - seriously, no," I shouted, totally fired up.

"This massive chunk of rock, because of some weird shake-up or process, like one of those magnetic things that messes with the earth, has just sealed off the passage. Years - like, tons of years - have gone by since Saknussemm came back, and this huge granite block fell."

Doesn't it make sense that this gallery used to be the way lava escaped from deep inside the earth, and that it flowed freely? Check out these new cracks in the granite roof! It's obviously made of giant stones, stacked together like a mega-arch.

One day, after a seriously big jolt, this huge rock blocking our way - probably the key to that arch - just crashed down to ground level and stopped us dead in our tracks. We’re right to think this is a surprise, something Saknussemm didn’t deal with.

"If we don’t move it, we're basically failing to follow in the footsteps of the legendary explorer and won’t ever find our way to the center of the earth!"

I said all that to my uncle, totally going off. The Professor’s passion, his drive to succeed, it was all part of me now. I totally forgot everything that had happened before; I didn’t even care about what would happen next.

Nothing on the surface of this planet mattered - no cities, no countries, no Hamburg, no Koenigstrasse, not even my poor Gretchen, who by now probably thought I was completely lost somewhere deep inside the earth!

"Alright!" my uncle yelled, getting pumped by what I said.

"Let’s get to work - pickaxes, crowbars, whatever we can find - let’s tear down these walls!"

"It’s way too solid and massive to take down with a pickaxe or crowbar," I replied. "So, what now?"

"Like, I'm telling you, trying to deal with this with regular stuff isn't gonna cut it." "So, what now?"

"What else? Gunpowder, a mine, you know? Let’s blow up whatever’s blocking us." "Gunpowder?!"

"Yeah, seriously. We just gotta ditch this tiny roadblock."

"Let's get to work, Hans, let’s get to work!"

the Professor shouted. The Icelander headed back to the raft, and soon returned with a massive crowbar, which he used to dig a hole in the rock - it was gonna be our mine. It wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. We needed a cavity big enough to hold fifty pounds of fulminating gun cotton.

That stuff’s got four times the power of regular gunpowder, FYI. I was totally wired, like, almost unreal. While Hans was digging, I helped my uncle make a super-long wick out of damp gunpowder, which we finally stuffed into a linen bag.

"We’re getting through this, no doubt!" I yelled.

"We’re getting through this," the Professor replied, patting me on the back.

Midnight hit, and we were done mining; the charge of fulminating cotton was in the hole, and the match - which we'd made really long - was ready to go. Just one spark would set off this crazy engine and turn the rock into dust!

"Let’s chill until tomorrow." I had to just accept it and agree to wait for the explosion for six long hours!