A World BelowBy Wesley King
Eric, Silvia and the rest of Mr. Baker’s eighth grade class are less than excited about their field trip to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. The students think that geology and cave exploration is rather boring. Mr. Baker, however, is thrilled about their trip inside this natural phenomenon; he’s studied the caves so much, he doesn’t even bother booking a tour guide.
But while deep inside the caves, the unthinkable occurs – an earthquake. Rocks rain down on the class, Mr. Baker disappears, and the students are washed down an underground river that takes them far beyond the known parameters of the caverns.
Eric manages to climb out of the river, but is separated from the rest of the group. Now he is lost, alone in the dark, and has only a tiny amount of food and water. At least his cell phone has a light, but the battery will only last for so long. Eric, who has always kept to himself, is now completely and truly alone.
Meanwhile, Silvia, who has anxiety issues of her own, becomes the leader of the student group and begins guiding her classmates through the caves.
All the kids are scared and quickly begin rationing their food and water. But it soon becomes apparent that they will need more than standard survival skills. The students discover that they are not alone in the caves. There are other humans in the underground world. None of the students know who they are or how they got there, and their motives are entirely mysterious.
Join Eric, Silvia and the rest of the class on a suspenseful thrill-ride through a world inhabited by man-eating insects and other creatures of the night, underground forests and glowing mushrooms, and where weapons-clad humans lurk in the darkness.