Chapter Sixteen

Upon returning to the village, Atohmma and Nucamma were stopped by Venomma. She saw them coming, and ran up to them quickly, informing Atohmma, that the Diamond-Back oracle Cobra was there a while ago, and he left them a message. It was just as Atohmma suspected. After hearing the message Venomma related, Atohmma was convinced that her suspicion about the monsoon was accurate. She also mentioned to Venomma that the lake was affected also. The villagers had to be informed that the lake was showing signs of current and if the water level continued rising, they will need to be prepared for a flood. Although they've experienced flooding before, they knew this time, they had to take extra precautions, because of the monsoon. It was not about normal rainfall, but the water bodies that were a part of their world, being affected by a monsoon, happening above their world. That was another story. It was not to be taken lightly. Going to higher land was not an option because of the location of their world. The rumblings and possible underground movement was a risk they would have to take, as the only option would be remaining low. Atohmma advised that their best preparation was to use the underground tunnels as shelter, should they notice a consistent rise in the water levels and the heat. "What about the spiders?" asked Venomma. "They will not be affected by the heat, but they are accustomed to the rain, and being on the mountainous hilly area, the water will run down and not cause flooding." They have caves also, which she believed they will utilize to keep dry. Her main priority now was informing the natives and the villagers in surrounding villages about the monsoon above. Nucamma had to inform his village and Venomma spread the word in theirs. A few of the guards spread the word to the others.

Now that everyone was made aware, the only thing left to do was to wait. The natives had to begin packing lightly for the temporary cover shelter in the tunnels. It would be even darker in there, so they knew they had to have their lanterns ready. In the village, the atmosphere grew darker suddenly.

The heat increased and the village was a burst of activity. Noticing the darkness, they all knew they had to evacuate, for safety. No one panicked, there was constant movement at a pace. Into the tunnels, they entered one family at a time. This prevented having too much movement within the tunnels, in search of misplaced family members.

The tunnels were a bit dry and dusty but it was better than being wet and foggy. The guards guided them in with their fires and the natives followed. When everyone was in, the lanterns were lit and they made themselves as comfortable as they could. Outside, Atohmma and Venomma were monitoring the situation as they did not need to enter the tunnels right away. As the atmosphere changed and the fog returned the heat lessened and it was getting colder. This sudden coldness could have only indicated one thing; the waters. The earth beneath them began to rumble. There was much rumbling caused by their surrounding water bodies. They both could see the water slowly entering the village. As the water slowly made its way down, there was much coolness on the earth beneath them. The heat no longer existed. They could see the water level rising and filling in the lower part of the village. The flood was happening and this time, it was not coming down from the mountains. Atohmma's world was being flooded, from below. She noticed this as a crack in the tunnel, near to where they were standing, started spewing water and creating a puddle on the ground behind them. Venomma and Atohmma both looked at each other in panic and concern. They had another possible problem now. If there were more cracks in the tunnel, it would mean that, the water level will rise within the tunnels and cause floods and problems for the natives inside. They had to think fast. While they were observing the water rising on the outside, their concern grew, for what was happening on the inside of the tunnel. "There may not be many cracks within but if there are, it will take a while for it to fill, so we have some time," Atohmma reassured Venomma. " We can't risk the panic, but eventually the others will notice this, and then they will surely panic" added Venomma. "I know," said Atohmma as she checked the time. She noticed it was nowhere close to the time for them to have access to their wings. "If only we can transform to have use of our wings, we will be able to remain above the water levels, outside the tunnels," Atohmma thought to herself. Knowing this hasn't happened to them in the past, she considered it an option. Venomma, noticing Atohmma in deep thought, asked "what are you thinking, please." Atohmma, snapping out of the fleeting thought, said to her, "do not worry Venomma, we will come up with something. Let's just continue monitoring and send word for the others to monitor the cracks around them. This way, they will be prepared and not surprised into panic chaos." Venomma agreed and sent word to one of the guards.

Meanwhile, over at the mountain, the spiders were safe in the caves. The rains began to fall and the water level of the lake had already risen and was flowing inland. Atohmma considered the other lowland areas and the streams. She knew the streams were almost on every part of their world and because of that, it was possible, that the lowlands would have already been covered with water.

One of the little ones came out running, calling to Atohmma. "What is it?" she asked him. He turned around and said, "look, do you see? It's my wings!" "What!" said Venomma. As Atohmma checked, she confirmed ..." he is right Venomma, come see" and as they both saw his wings they observed theirs and others also were coming forward with their discovery of theirs. Although Atohmma was surprised, she was relieved because she knew this was helpful for the situation they were facing.

Now that the girls managed to allay everyone's concerns with their wings coming out in the daytime, they were curious about it but had no time to analyze the reason for it. They just accepted it as an answer to their problems, and informed the others to maintain being inside the tunnels, until everyone's wings were out.