Tunnels 01, Tunnels

team to drop into Highfield for a quick investigation into the background.
    I look forward to hearing from you.
    With kindest regards,
    Tom
    Professor Thomas Dee

    Will put the letter on the table and met Rebecca's stare. He examined the sphere for a moment, then went over to the light switch and, shutting the door to the kitchen, flicked off the lights. They both watched as the sphere grew in brightness from a dim greenish luminescence to something that indeed approached daylight, all in a matter of seconds.
    "Wow," he said in wonder. "And they're right, it doesn't even feel hot."
    "You knew about this, didn't you? I can read you as easily as a comic book," Rebecca said, staring fixedly at Will's face, which was lit by the strange glow.
    Will didn't respond as he turned on the lights but left the door shut. They watched as the sphere dulled again. "You know how you said no one was doing anything about finding Dad?" he said eventually.
    "So?"
    Chester and I came across something of his and we've been... making our own inquiries."
    "I knew it!" she said loudly. "What have you found out?"
    "Shh," Will hissed, glancing at the closed door. "Keep it down. I'm certainly not going to bother Mum with any of this. Last thing I want to do is get her hopes up. Agreed?"
    "Agreed," Rebecca said.
    "We found a book Dad was keeping notes in -- a sort of journal," Will said slowly.
    "Yes, and...?"
    As they sat at the kitchen table, Will recounted what he had read in the journal and also their encounter with the strange pallid men outside the Clarke's shop.
    He stopped short of telling her about the tunnel under the house. To him, that was just a little secret.

    17

    It was a week later when Will and Chester finally made the breakthrough. Dehydrated from the heat at the work face, and with muscles that were cramped and fatigued by the relentless cycle of digging and tipping, they were on the verge of wrapping up for the day when Will's pickax struck a large block of stone and it tipped backward. A pitch-black opening yawned before them.
    Their eyes locked onto the hole, which exhaled a damp and musty breeze into their tired and dirty faces. Chester's instincts screamed at him to back away, as if he were about to be sucked into the opening. Neither of them said a word; there were no great cheers or exultations as they gazed into the impenetrable darkness, with the dead calm of the earth all around them. It was Chester who broke the spell.
    "I suppose I'd better be getting home, then."
    Will turned and looked at him with incredulity, then spotted the flicker of a smirk on Chester's face. Filled with an immense sense of relief and accomplishment, Will couldn't help but erupt into a peal of hysterical laughter. He picked up a clod of dirt and hurled it at his grinning friend, who ducked, a low chuckle coming from beneath his yellow hard hat.
    "You... you..." Will said, searching for an appropriate word.
    "Yeah, what?" Chester beamed. "Come on, then, let's have a look-see," he said, leaning into the gap next to Will.
    Will shone his flashlight through the opening. "It's a cavern... Can't make out much in there... Must be pretty big, I think I can see some stalactites and stalagmites." Then he stopped. "Listen!"
    "What is it?" whispered Chester.
    "Water, I think. I can hear water dripping." He turned to Chester.
    "You're kidding," Chester said, his face clouding with concern.
    "No, I'm not. Could be a Neolithic stream..."
    "Here, let me see," said Chester, taking the flashlight from Will.
    Tantalizing as it was, they decided against any further excavation there and then. They would resume the following day when they were fresh and better prepared. Chester went home; he was tired but quietly elated that their work had borne fruit. It was true that they were both badly in need of sleep, and Will was even, unusually, considering taking a bath as he swung the shelves back into position. He did the usual sweep-up and made his way lethargically upstairs to his room.
    As he passed Rebecca's door, she called out to him. Will grimaced and held as still as a statue.
    "Will, I know you're out there."
    Will sighed and pushed open her door. Rebecca was lying on her bed, where she'd been reading a book.
    "What's up? asked Will, glancing around her room. He never ceased to be amazed at how infuriatingly clean and tidy she kept it.
    "Mum said she needs to discuss something with us."
    "When?"
    "As soon as you came in, she said."
    "Great, what now?"
    Mrs.