Page 119 of Tiger's Quest
He agreed and traded the flashlight for the backpack. Kishan boosted me up, and I wiggled into the hole and crawled through on my hands and knees until the passage started to narrow and become taller. At that point, the only way to proceed was to stand, turn to the side, and shimmy forward. Then the passageway lowered, and again I sunk to my knees.
The passageway felt like petrified rock. A big chunk hung down, blocking the top half of the passage. I squirmed on my stomach, wiggled under it, and found that the passage opened into a large cavern. It felt like I’d traveled a hundred feet, but it was probably more like twenty-five. I thought Kishan would fit but just barely.
I hollered back, “Give it a try.”
As I waited for him, I noticed that the floor felt spongy.Probably rotting wood.The walls were coated with something that resembled crusty, brown deli mustard. I heard a bird flapping overhead and a softscreeing.Huh, must be a nest up there.The sounds bounced around the inside of the tree, getting progressively louder and more violent.
“Uh, Kishan? Hurry up!”
I raised my flashlight fearfully. I couldn’t see anything, but the air was definitely moving. It seemed as if flocks of birds were slapping against each other in the darkness. Something brushed past my arm and flapped away suddenly. If it was a bird, it was a big one.
“Kishan!”
“Almost there.”
I could hear him sliding along on his stomach. He was almost through.
Something or a few somethings flapped toward me again.Maybe they’re giant moths.I shut off my light to deter the flapping creatures and listened as Kishan approached.
First the backpack and then his head emerged. Over my head, something large startled me with frenzied flapping. Pinching, hooked claws curled around my shoulders and took hold. I screamed. They tightened, and with a violent beating of wings and a loudSCREEEEEE, I was lifted into the air.
Kishan quickly wormed his way out of the hole and grabbed for my leg, but the creature was strong and yanked me away. I heard him shout, “Kelsey!”
I shouted back, my voice echoing off the walls. I was high up, much higher than Kishan, but I could still faintly make him out below. The creature was soon surrounded by others of its kind, and I was enfolded in a screeching, fluttering, quivering mass of warm bodies. Sometimes, I felt fur brush against my skin, sometimes a leathery membrane, and, once in a while, scratching talons.
The creature slowed, hovered, and then let go. Before I could scream, I landed with a thud on my backside. I turned on the flashlight that I had somehow managed to hang onto during the sudden ride. Scared to see where I was but determined to find out, I flipped the switch and looked up.
At first, I couldn’t figure out what I was looking at. All I could see were masses of brown and black bodies. Then, I realized they werebats.Giantbats. I was standing on a ledge with a drop-off of hundreds of feet. Quickly, I scooted back against the wall.
Kishan yelled my name and tried to move in my direction.
“I’m okay!” I shouted. “They haven’t hurt me! I’m up here on a ledge!”
“Hang on, Kells! I’m coming!”
The bats were hanging upside down and watching Kishan’s progress with blinking black eyes. The mass of bodies was constantly in motion. Some were spider-walking over their peers to a better hanging position. Some flapped their wings before tightly folding them around their bodies. Others rocked back and forth. Some slept.
They were noisy. They chattered withclicks, pops, andsmacksas they hung and watched us.
Kishan progressed for a while but got stuck and had to backtrack. He tried several times to climb up to where I was, but he was always thwarted. After the sixth try, he stood near the hole and shouted up to me, “It’s impossible, Kells. I can’t get up there!”
I’d just opened my mouth to answer him when a giant bat spoke.
“Iiiiiiimpossiiiible heeeee thiiiinks,” it clicked and flapped. “Iiiitt’s possiiiible, Tiiigerrr.”
I spoke to the bat, “You know that he’s a tiger?”
“Weeeeee seeeee hiiiiim. Heeaar hiiiiim. Heeeees speeerit eees spliittt.”
“His spirit is split? What do you mean?”
“Meeean heee eeeendure grieeeeef. Heeee heeeeal hiiiis stiiiing . . . heeee reeescue youu.”
“If he heals his sting, he rescues me? How can he do that?”
“Heee iiiis like weee. Heee is halfff maaan and halfff tiiigerr. Weee aree halfff bird and halfff mammalll. Halfffs neeeeeed beeeee togeeether. Heee musstt eeembracee tiiiigerrr.”
“How can his two halves be together?”
