and nodded, trying to think of something humorous
to say but not finding the words. She reached over and gave him the picture of
his son that had fallen from his grasp while he slept. “You will see him again
Travis. You have to believe that.”
He gazed at the photograph and then raised his eyes over
towards Becka who was curled up against the rock wall asleep. Helluva world
for a kid to grow up in. Helluva world. He tucked the photo in his pack and
glanced at his watch. It had been close to six hours since they had stopped to
sleep. Cool air was floating over the ground, while the rest of the group lay
silent.
He patted Katy’s hand and then rose slowly working
the kinks out of his legs and walked over to where Pete was resting. “Let’s go
scope out those other passages,” Travis said. They moved over to the opposite
end of the cavern to examine the two routes. The one to the left was narrow
with a low ceiling and a flow of warm air moving through it. The right passage
was much wider and had a slight decline. Both had ceilings that were riddled
with the same type of stalactites and rock knobs they had just passed through.
“Better A or B?” Travis said. “Any thoughts my
friend?”
Pete ran his forearm across his head wiping off some
dust. “Well, if you subscribe to the principle of diurnal winds, which indicate
that warm air flows down canyon during the day, then we should probably take
tunnel A,” he said, pointing to the left entrance.
“Nicely put, professor. I just hope this passage
doesn’t get any tighter,” said Travis.
“A vending machine at the end with some cold beer
would be nice, too,” Pete chimed. “I just finished the last of my water and
everyone else is probably running on empty about now.
“Let’s get everyone moving,” said Travis. “You take
the lead again. Keep Jim close- that nail-biter is the one most likely to
panic.”
The group gathered up their belongings and shuffled
over to the narrow entrance. Evelyn’s headlamp was flickering from low
batteries creating a strobe effect on the cavern walls. “Give yourself some
space from the person in front of you,” Travis said. “Unless you’re the lead
dog, the view’s all the same. One by one, they filed past him and insinuated
themselves into the wiry tunnel.
During the next two hours, their spirits rose a
little with the prospect that the inflow of air meant the mouth to the outside
world was nearing. The mounting curves and shallow ceiling in the tunnel
required them to go from a squat to a low-crawl. The serpentine passage twisted
one last time before ascending, revealing a glimmer of light ahead, as it
opened into a small cavern about twenty feet in diameter with a ten foot
ceiling. In the vaulted ceiling were tiny fissures that filtered in slivers of
sunlight. The cavern floor was damp and gave off the smell from recent
precipitation. Besides the insect tracks weaving through the wet soil, their boot
prints were the only ones present. On the opposite side of the tunnel, they
could see a three foot archway with a row of tightly stacked rocks held in
place with weathered cement. Strewn about the ground next to the archway was a
rusty shovel with a broken handle.
“Is this a prehistoric burial chamber?” asked Evelyn.
“No, it’s an old mine shaft,” said Pete. “Probably
sealed up long ago to protect someone’s claim, or to keep out the local kids.”
Travis studied the entrance. Could be a single
wall or a forty foot thick tunnel of boulders. He glanced up at the ceiling
and visually probed the small quarter-sized cracks. Looks to be about two
feet thick.
The shafts of sunlight flickered in the cavern and
he saw dark clouds parading overhead. The monsoon season had ended a week ago
but the region still saw the intermittent storm roll in from the west coast.
Eighty percent of flash floods happen between noon and eight p.m. His watch
indicated it was four p.m. This weather could dance around the area all
to say but not finding the words. She reached over and gave him the picture of
his son that had fallen from his grasp while he slept. “You will see him again
Travis. You have to believe that.”
He gazed at the photograph and then raised his eyes over
towards Becka who was curled up against the rock wall asleep. Helluva world
for a kid to grow up in. Helluva world. He tucked the photo in his pack and
glanced at his watch. It had been close to six hours since they had stopped to
sleep. Cool air was floating over the ground, while the rest of the group lay
silent.
He patted Katy’s hand and then rose slowly working
the kinks out of his legs and walked over to where Pete was resting. “Let’s go
scope out those other passages,” Travis said. They moved over to the opposite
end of the cavern to examine the two routes. The one to the left was narrow
with a low ceiling and a flow of warm air moving through it. The right passage
was much wider and had a slight decline. Both had ceilings that were riddled
with the same type of stalactites and rock knobs they had just passed through.
“Better A or B?” Travis said. “Any thoughts my
friend?”
Pete ran his forearm across his head wiping off some
dust. “Well, if you subscribe to the principle of diurnal winds, which indicate
that warm air flows down canyon during the day, then we should probably take
tunnel A,” he said, pointing to the left entrance.
“Nicely put, professor. I just hope this passage
doesn’t get any tighter,” said Travis.
“A vending machine at the end with some cold beer
would be nice, too,” Pete chimed. “I just finished the last of my water and
everyone else is probably running on empty about now.
“Let’s get everyone moving,” said Travis. “You take
the lead again. Keep Jim close- that nail-biter is the one most likely to
panic.”
The group gathered up their belongings and shuffled
over to the narrow entrance. Evelyn’s headlamp was flickering from low
batteries creating a strobe effect on the cavern walls. “Give yourself some
space from the person in front of you,” Travis said. “Unless you’re the lead
dog, the view’s all the same. One by one, they filed past him and insinuated
themselves into the wiry tunnel.
During the next two hours, their spirits rose a
little with the prospect that the inflow of air meant the mouth to the outside
world was nearing. The mounting curves and shallow ceiling in the tunnel
required them to go from a squat to a low-crawl. The serpentine passage twisted
one last time before ascending, revealing a glimmer of light ahead, as it
opened into a small cavern about twenty feet in diameter with a ten foot
ceiling. In the vaulted ceiling were tiny fissures that filtered in slivers of
sunlight. The cavern floor was damp and gave off the smell from recent
precipitation. Besides the insect tracks weaving through the wet soil, their boot
prints were the only ones present. On the opposite side of the tunnel, they
could see a three foot archway with a row of tightly stacked rocks held in
place with weathered cement. Strewn about the ground next to the archway was a
rusty shovel with a broken handle.
“Is this a prehistoric burial chamber?” asked Evelyn.
“No, it’s an old mine shaft,” said Pete. “Probably
sealed up long ago to protect someone’s claim, or to keep out the local kids.”
Travis studied the entrance. Could be a single
wall or a forty foot thick tunnel of boulders. He glanced up at the ceiling
and visually probed the small quarter-sized cracks. Looks to be about two
feet thick.
The shafts of sunlight flickered in the cavern and
he saw dark clouds parading overhead. The monsoon season had ended a week ago
but the region still saw the intermittent storm roll in from the west coast.
Eighty percent of flash floods happen between noon and eight p.m. His watch
indicated it was four p.m. This weather could dance around the area all
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