The Underworld

The light was dim, as it always was. They heard a grinding, awful noise coming from above. The Dagdols ran. Parts of the Roof fell. They crumbled and landed in Mattie Dagdol's grey hair. She did not panic. Things like this had happened before, although not very often. Once, when she was a child, it had happened. She had panicked, as the others were now. The second time she saw something like this was when she was a bit older, newly married, and had just given birth to her first child. Even if she had wanted to panic then, she would have been much too tired.

Janina Dagdol cried, reaching for her grandmother. Mattie picked her up gently and rocked her, murmuring forgettable words of comfort all the while. The Roof continued to crumble. Children continued to cry. Most of the people in the Tunnel had never seen anything like this before. Mattie was of a rare group. She was the oldest in her Tunnel, but word had spread from other communities within the World that there was a man in Rogadoff that was twixt her age.

Jorga held her children close to her. They were very unnerved by the bizarre happenings around them. Her husband, Harve, had left to ask Mattie Dagdol, the Tunnel's oldest and wisest inhabitant, what was going on. Shortly, he returned, with a small grain of comfort for his wife and children.

"Mrs. Dagdol says that she has seen things of this kind two times past. She says that both those times, the Crumbling did not last as long as this, but that it was just as frightening. She said not to worry, as long as it stops shortly, but that if it keeps up doing this, then we should get a hold of the Overworlder Patrol immediately to find out what is happening Above." Harve was out of breath from his report. Jorga looked at him frightenedly.

"Harve, what exactly does the Overworlder Patrol do? No one ever speaks of it."

Harve gave it some thought. "I don't rightly know, love. Would you like me to go ask Miss Mattie?"

"No. We need to find something for the kids to do, though, to get their minds off of this for at least a while."

Jorga and Harve took their children inside, where they could hear the sounds of the Roof falling on the roof of their dwelling. Jorga prepared a meagre supper for Harve and the kids, while he entertained them with a story about a troll.

Mattie was still holding her orphaned granddaughter, sitting on the porch of her dwelling when a huge stone fell from the Roof. Janina whimpered.

"Shh... It'll be alright Janina. It will stop soon and everything will be okay."
Janina looked up at her and a tear escaped her eye; her look of sadness was quickly replaced with one of innocent inquisitiveness which seemingly only children, the extremely old, and the dumb can so perfectly display.

"Gramma, what did Mister Harve Griswell want? What did you mean when you were talking about the Overworld Patrol and the Crumbling and all?"

"Janina,please don't worry about all that now."

"Please just tell me. I won't ever ask you about adult matters again until five years hence."

Mattie chuckled softly. "Why five years hence?"

"That's when Wellie Griswell told me I would be a grown-up. He says that that is when his daddy was a grown-up."

"I'm sure his daddy was indeed a grown-up when he was only fifteen, but times have changed and now you, my dear, have about seven years before you are a grown-up. Wellie is a silly boy, now isn't he?"

"Yeah. He is.Once, at the gymnasium, he ate a worm. Then, he threw one into his sister Jellie's hair. Jellie is such a good name for her. She is fat and everyone calls her Jellie Belly." Janina laughed.

"That isn't very nice, now. I hope you weren't one of the kids that called her that. She can't help it that she is a bit heavy. She has a condition. She will hopefully lose the weight as she gets older."

"I know what you are trying to do. I am not a stupid child. You are trying to change the subject, so that I quit asking about the Overworld and the Crumbling. Please explain about that now, Gram. If you don't mind."

"Janina, I do mind. You needn't ask about things like that just yet. It is none of your concern." Mattie wished for a split second that her granddaughter wouldn't be so perceptive of adults' evasiveness and their ways.

Jorga lay awake. Harve was sleeping soundly next to her, and the kids were doing the same in their room. She wondered how they could sleep with something so strange going on just above their heads. Harve had tired himself out worrying, though, and the kids had all cried themselves to sleep, while Jorga ran round the room trying to give them all a bit of comfort, and succeeding minimally. She was half-tempted to wake Harve to talk to him. She needed to talk to someone. Or to just be held for a while, perhaps. She snuggled closer to him and tried to sleep.




Mattie awoke to knocking at her door. She rolled over and looked at the clock on her nightstand. Only 4:38. Who could be visiting at this hour? It must be an emergency, she thought, climbing out of bed and slipping into her robe and slippers.

Opening the door, she said, "Good morning, what is going on at this early hour?"
A hand, cold as ice, slipped around her arm, in a vise-like grip, jerking her outside onto the porch. Suddenly something was slipped over her face and she was pushed forward.

"Now what is this all about?" Mattie demanded, angrily, as her wrists were bound behind her. There was no answer, and all she could hear were the sounds of the Crumbling and Janina's loud snoring from her open bedroom window. She was forced into some kind of compartment.

"I need to see my granddaughter! I can't just leave her alone!"

A screaming whisper of a voice, not quite human, and not quite animal replied, "Would you like us to take her with you?"

"I would like for you to let me go, or at least tell me why this is happening."

"You do not need to know just yet. Now be quiet, or I shall make you quiet."

"Make me, then!!" Mattie hollered, and then she knew no more.





Jorga woke up, and saw that Harve was no longer at her side. She panicked. She went into the kitchen and called his name. No answer. She went into the children's room and saw that they were all still sound asleep. She went outside and called for Harve again. No answer. She walked all round the house and still saw no sign of him.

"Maybe he went back to Miss Mattie's," she said to herself, rather doubtfully. She hurriedly ran down the road and round the corner to Mattie's and saw Harve holding Janina Dagdol, who was crying.

"Miss Mattie is gone. Janina said that she woke up at about six this morning and there was no sign of Miss Mattie. She said that the front door was ajar and that there was just this laying on the porch steps," Harve said, holding up a strange emblem. Jorga examined it.

"OWP.... Overworld Patrol?" Jorga said.

"I assume so," Harve replied. "Janina, it will be fine. She will come back. Maybe the OWP just came to ask her a few questions and took her to their headquarters for more information. She'll be okay." He looked at Jorga, and she saw and immense mixture of doubt and dread in his eyes. Everyone knew that when the OWP took someone, they were rarely seen again.

"Janina, come on. You can come to our house and play with Jellie and Wellie for a while," Jorga said, taking Janina's small hand in her own. She smiled down at the sad child.

"Miss Jorga, what is the Overworld Patrol?" Janina inquired.

"I honestly don't know, honey. That is a good question to ask your grandma when she comes back."

"I already asked her and she said that it was none of my concern."

"Well, your grandma knows best. I do not even know about the Patrol. Maybe it is only the wisest of the village that can have knowledge of such things. Best not to worry yourself with it now."





Mattie still was blindfolded. She arrived at whatever destination the people had taken her to. Finally, one spoke, giving a reason for her being captured.

"We have heard that you have been disclosing information about us to a Mister Harve Griswell about our operations. This is unacceptable. Anyone who has too much knowledge of what we do must be properly disposed of." A chill ran down Mattie's spine. What was to become of Janina?

"Is there any way that I can contact my granddaughter? She was alone and asleep when we left."

"No. You will never be contacting anyone in your village again." She was then pulled from the compartment, which she now knew was a waggon, and a sharp, cold instrument was thrust into the crook of her elbow. She winced, and before she could speak, a darkness deeper than that caused by the blindfold descended upon her.




The Crumbling continued. Jorga, Harve, Jellie, Wellie, and Janina continued to worry about it. They all stayed inside, looking out the windows. Others came to their home to ask if they knew what was going on. They did not, so everyone just tried to comfort one another. They fell asleep after a while, some in chairs, some in the floor, and some even standing up.

Jorga woke up, surrounded by neighbours and friends. She woke Harve up and they went outside. The Crumbling had stopped. They looked up, and they saw stars. They saw the moon, and they saw trees. They did not know the names for these things at that time, but this did not take away from their amazement whatsoever. A face, a person, appeared at the edge of the crevice through which they could see these things.

"What are you doing down there?" The person looked down at them curiously. "Come on up here where you belong. Hang on and I'll give you a hand!"