15 Chapter 15

“There,” Rob said, stabbing with a blunt finger at the text. “It says he’s found the caves again and he wants to go back and explore them. That he can feel the pull.” Matty could hear him italicising the words. And here...” he turned the page, “...here there’s a sketch-map.”

It was difficult to make out the tiny labels on the map itself. It did look as if it could be a tunnel system. Matty peered at them. “Give me your glasses,” he said, absently, and Rob placed them in his outstretched hand.

“I couldn’t make it out,” he said. “Maybe take it over to the window?” The lettering was faded to a pale brown, but in the better light by the south-facing windows, Matty could decipher a bit more.

“It some more detail about the map,” he said. “Rough, steep, up, down, that sort of thing. And here...” He traced with his finger and realised Rob was looking over his shoulder, “...here it says border weak, pull strong. Where it opens out into this bulb-shape, look.”