I could not tell the exact time, but later I calculated that it must have been around ten o’clock at night.
I fell into a strange half-conscious sleep.
My mind was filled with unbelievable visions. Monsters of the deep appeared beside the giant elephant-like creatures we had seen before. Huge fish and strange animals seemed to exist together in impossible combinations.
Suddenly, the raft changed direction.
It spun around and entered another tunnel.
This time, the tunnel was strangely beautiful. The ceiling was made of porous stalactites, and a strange silver mist seemed to flow through them like moonlight. The glowing vapor poured down on our exhausted faces.
The light grew brighter as we moved forward.
The ceiling slowly rose higher.
At last, we found ourselves inside another enormous water cavern, where the great dome above disappeared into a shining cloud.
A small, rough cave appeared ahead.
It looked like a place where our tired bodies could finally rest.
My uncle and Hans moved like sleepwalkers.
I was afraid to wake them suddenly, because a sudden shock might be dangerous.
I sat beside them and kept watch.
Then I noticed something moving far away.
My eyes were immediately drawn to it.
Something was floating on the water.
At first, I thought it moved with paddles.
But as it came closer, I realized I was looking at something terrible.
“What is that?” I whispered.
One look was enough to fill me with fear.
It was the legendary shark-crocodile described by ancient geologists.
It was as large as an ordinary whale.
Its jaws were terrifying, and two enormous eyes stared directly at me.
A terrible feeling told me that the creature had chosen me as its prey.
I tried to stand and run.
But my legs refused to obey me.
My knees shook violently, and my whole body trembled.
My mind almost stopped working.
The monster continued coming closer.
My uncle and Hans did nothing. They were still completely unaware of the danger.
The creature made a horrible sound unlike anything I had ever heard.
Its jaws opened more than seven feet wide.
Its mouth was large enough to swallow a boat full of people.
When it came within ten feet of me, I finally understood its strange appearance.
Its body looked like a crocodile.
But its mouth belonged to a shark.
Its terrible design became clear.
To swallow us in one bite, it had to turn onto its back, causing its legs to wave uselessly in the air.
Strangely, I laughed.
Even while facing death, I could not stop myself.
But the next moment, I screamed and ran deeper into the cave.
I left my companions behind.
The cave stretched into darkness.
After running about a hundred yards, I stopped and looked around.
The ground was covered with sand and pieces of malachite.
Bones were scattered everywhere.
There were freshly broken bones of reptiles, fish, and even larger animals.
My heart sank.
I had escaped one danger only to enter an even worse one.
The shark-crocodile was not the greatest monster here.
Something even more powerful lived inside this cave.
“What can I do?” I thought.
The entrance was guarded by a deadly creature.
The inside of the cave belonged to something even more horrible.
There was nowhere to escape.
The only hope was to find a small hiding place where the monsters could not reach me.
I searched desperately.
At last, I discovered a narrow crack in the rock.
I rushed inside and tried to calm my shaking body.
I crouched there, trembling like someone suffering from a fever.
No person could remain brave in front of an earthquake, an exploding machine, or any sudden disaster.
How could I be expected to feel courage while waiting for such a terrifying death?
An hour passed.
All the while, I heard strange sounds outside the cave.
A deep rumbling continued in the darkness.
I wondered what had happened to my poor companions.
But I could not think about them.
My own survival was all that remained in my mind.
Suddenly, a terrible noise reached my ears.
It sounded like dozens of bears fighting at once.
There were roars, hisses, and strange cries.
Then I saw something.
I knew I would never forget that sight, even if I lived for hundreds of years.
It was the Ape Giant.
The creature stood fourteen feet tall.
Its body was covered with rough black-brown hair.
The hair on its arms grew in strange directions.
Its arms were as long as its body, and its legs were enormous.
Its teeth were thick, long, and sharp, like a giant saw.
As it walked forward, it beat its chest and sniffed the air.
It reminded me of the terrifying giants from childhood stories—the monsters that ate humans.
Suddenly, it stopped.
My heart nearly stopped too.
The monster had discovered my scent.
It looked around with its horrible eyes, searching for me.
My knowledge, which was usually a great advantage, now became a source of terror.
I knew exactly what this creature was.
The Ape Giant.
The ancient ancestor of the gorillas that later lived in Africa.
This terrible animal had survived deep inside the earth, hidden from the outside world.
The creature stared around wildly.
It was looking for me.
I gave up all hope.
There seemed to be no escape.
Just as I felt my eyes closing, a strange sound came from the entrance of the cave.
The Ape Giant turned.
It had found an enemy worthy of its strength.
It was the shark-crocodile.
Perhaps after killing my companions, it had come searching for another meal.
The Ape Giant prepared to fight.
It grabbed a huge bone, nearly eight feet long, using it like a club.
The battle began.
The monster swung the bone with deadly force.
The shark-crocodile rose up and crashed down upon its enemy.
The fight was terrible.
Both creatures attacked with unbelievable violence.
But I did not stay to see the result.
I believed I was the reason they were fighting.
Whoever won would come after me.
I climbed down from my hiding place and moved quietly along the wall toward the cave entrance.
But before I had gone far, the battle suddenly stopped.
A low growling sound followed.
It sounded like the victor was enjoying its triumph.
I looked back.
The Ape Giant was coming toward me.
Its body was covered in blood.
Its eyes burned with fury.
Its nostrils opened wide, releasing hot streams of breath.
I felt its foul breath against my neck.
Then, with a terrifying leap—
I woke up.
It had all been a nightmare.
I was still lying on the raft with my uncle and Hans.
But the relief did not come immediately.
The nightmare had left me frozen with fear.
Slowly, my senses returned.
The first thing I noticed was sound.
I listened carefully.
Everything was silent.
The terrible roar of the underground waters had disappeared.
Only complete peace remained.
After some time, my uncle spoke softly.
“Harry, where are you?”
“I am here,” I answered weakly.
“Do you not realize what has happened?” he asked.
“What do you mean, uncle?”
“We are going upward.”
“Upward? How can that be?”
“Our downward journey has stopped. We are rising quickly.”
I reached out and touched the wall.
My hand immediately became covered with blood.
The sharp surface had torn my skin.
We were rising at an incredible speed.
“The torch!” my uncle shouted.
“The torch must be lit!”
After many attempts, Hans finally managed to light it.
The flame revealed our surroundings.
My uncle studied the walls carefully.
“Exactly as I thought,” he said.
“We are inside a narrow shaft, about four fathoms wide.”
“The water from the underground sea has reached the bottom and is now rushing upward through this enormous passage.”
“As a result, we are being carried upward with it.”
“But where does this shaft end?” I asked.
“What will happen when we reach the top?”
“I do not know,” my uncle admitted.
“All we can do is prepare for anything.”
“We are rising extremely fast.”
“At this speed, our fate will soon be decided.”
I looked at him anxiously.
“The greatest danger is that this shaft may have no opening.”
“It could end against solid rock.”
“If that happens, we may be crushed or suffocated by the pressure.”
“I already feel the air becoming heavy.”
“Breathing is becoming difficult.”
My uncle looked serious.
“Harry, our situation is certainly dangerous.”
“But there are still possibilities.”
“At any moment, we may die.”
“And at any moment, we may be saved.”
“Therefore, we must be ready for whatever happens.”
“But what can we do?” I cried.
“We are completely helpless!”
“No,” my uncle replied.
“While we are alive, there is still hope.”
“At least we can do one thing.”
“We can eat and regain our strength.”
I looked at him with a heavy heart.
I had delayed telling him the truth for as long as possible.
But now I had no choice.
“Eat,” I said quietly.
“Yes, immediately,” he replied.
“I feel like a prisoner who has not eaten for days.”
He turned to Hans and spoke encouraging words in Danish.
Hans shook his head sadly.
My uncle noticed.
“What is it?”
“Do you mean our food is gone?”
I slowly held out my hand.
“Yes.”
“This small piece of dried meat is all that remains for the three of us.”
My uncle stared at me.
He seemed unable to understand my words.
The truth struck him like a heavy blow.
For a long time, he said nothing.
Then I asked:
“What do you think now?”
“Do we still have any chance of escaping this underground world?”
“Are we destined to die here?”
He gave no answer.
Perhaps he did not hear me.
Or perhaps he could not face the truth.
An entire hour passed.
Neither of us spoke.
Soon, hunger began tearing at me.
My companions must have felt the same pain.
Yet neither of them touched the tiny piece of meat.
It remained there—the last result of all our preparations for this impossible journey.
I looked back on everything with regret.
Even with all my uncle’s passion and the mysterious writings of Saknussemm, I knew now that he should never have begun such a dangerous adventure.
Memories of our peaceful past filled my mind.
And terrible thoughts of the future surrounded me.