Down the Throat of the Mountain

by Jennifer Erickson

  She clamped down hard on the stupid ache in her chest, turned and trudged up the hill toward Roxy's place.

  Slumped on the front steps of the Victorian house Roxy shared with two roommates, Roxy's boyfriend Charlie raised his head and just managed to twitch his lips in greeting. That little twitch was enough to make Janie swoon.

  "I hear you fixed my baby," she said. His head bobbed, but he stayed put.

  Janie glanced over at the Taurus, parked in the gravel driveway in front of Charlie's rusty Tercel. The fender was wrinkled like used tinfoil and the front bumper was gone, but she hadn't expected miracles. Tired from her walk and unsure what else to do, Janie plopped down on the opposite end of the stoop.

  "I guess I owe you some money."

  He scowled.

  She really should have stayed in bed that morning.

  "Is Roxy here?"

  "She's sleeping, finally. I put Xanax in her Juice Plus shake. Don't look at me like that. You don't know what it was like."

  "That wasn't a look. I was just looking at you."

  He picked at his toenail. "What happened with the two of you in the cavern?"

  "She didn't tell you?"

  "She said it was a beautiful spiritual experience. She said she saw how all of creation was tied together and she was changed forever."

  "Oh."

  "I take it there's more to it."

  "She, ah, took her clothes off and she was dancing and crying. She passed out in, like, a puddle."

  "Shit." He rubbed his stubbly jaw. "I should have known better."

  "I would never go back. Ever."

  "I shouldn't have showed her how to get in. What was I thinking? I guess I thought maybe she could handle it. She's so..."

  "Confident."

  "Yeah."

  They both stared at their feet.

  "The funny thing is, I never told Roxy about when Jay and I found it, because the minute I climbed in, I started freaking out. I was, like, drowning in air, and I-- we were like, screw this, and we just turned and ran. And we agreed not to talk about it afterward." Charlie focused on his feet. "But then, a few months later, after you guys went out for margaritas, she starts going on and on about it, and I tried to, you know, talk her out of it. But she called me a pussy. So here we are."

  The storm door flew open and Roxy barged between them wearing nothing but an oversized T-shirt. Barefoot, wild-eyed. Hair like Medusa. Her usual bubbly energy was transformed into something feverish, edgy.

  "Oh, good, you're here," she said, and snuggled up to Janie on the step.

  Charlie winced at the sky.

  "I'm sorry, I must have fallen asleep," Roxy said. "Where's everybody else?" She grabbed Janie's hand so she couldn't pull away, then turned to direct the question at Charlie.

  "I'm sure they'll be here soon," he soothed.

  "Did you explain to Janie?"

  "Maybe you should do that, Roxy."

  Roxy turned back to Janie. "He doesn't really understand, but you were there with me, weren't you?" She jiggled Janie's hand so Janie would meet her eye. "Or maybe that was the other time?"

  Janie nodded politely, although she really wanted to rip her hand out of Roxy's grip and run.

  "They can't keep us out! The time for diplomacy has ended!"

  "I'm not sure where you're going with this, but okay." Janie glanced toward Charlie for help.

  "Here's the thing." Roxy rocked forward. "We have to seize the cave!"

  "Who?"

  "Everybody!"

  "Of course," Charlie cut in. "Janie knows that. That's why she's here to help us. Why don't you go put on some pants?"

  "You won't leave without me?"

  "I promise," he said.

  Janie nodded vigorously.

  "Because I have to lead," Roxy warned, as she leapt up.

  "Holy crap," Janie murmured as the storm door slammed.

  "She's been hyper since she got the new job. But then last night the doorbell rings. I look out the window and see this blond woman roar off in a Subaru. I go down there and Roxy is sprawled across the doormat with her skirt hiked up, sort of humping the sky."

  Janie really didn't want to hear about stuff like that and she didn't know why he would tell her.

  "You should get her out of Long Shot," she said. Then, "I've got a check for you, but don't deposit it until Thursday."

  Charlie moved his Tercel and Janie drove away before she had to deal with Roxy again.

  The engine sounded like it was in pain, but it didn't quit on her as she drove back to Pete's place. He was still out. She heaped her stuff into the back seat and put Lacey up front. She thought about leaving a note, but really, what would she say? Surely she'd get it wrong, so she took one last look under the bed for dirty underwear and headed down the canyon to home.

  She attacked the yard with her dad's old mower, picked up the worst of the dog turds. She left the door ajar to air out the house and squirted Scrubbing Bubbles into the toilet. The next day was rainy. She found a sodden DVD player in her neighbor's garbage. It seemed to work fine.

  A check arrived: Dad's life insurance. Enough to buffer her against disaster. Would it be sensible to give up the job at Long Shot, Inc.? She certainly didn't want to go back. Assuming they reopened, that is.

  Pete called, left a message: "I guess you must be back home now and maybe you don't want to talk to me...If you ever need advice or anything, just remember to do the opposite of what I would do! Ha! Ah...I quit drinking. So far. You don't have to call back. Well, you can't, because I'm calling from a pay phone."

  She loved her home, but it seemed so empty without someone else in it. Lacey paced between the front and back doors, looking for Dad, or Pete, perhaps. Had she abandoned Pete? Roxy? Or had they abandoned her?

  The days were cooler, the wind had an arctic bite. Winter was coming.

  Her phone rang again the next day. Janie answered, thinking maybe it was Pete again.

  "I'm glad you've settled back into your home," said Aunt M. "It must be a relief."

  Wet snowflakes splattered on the window pane. Lacey sulked in the shadows by the front door. She'd given up hoping for a walk.

  Was it relief? Was this what relief felt like? Janie wondered. She had the bathroom to herself and it didn't smell. She had her childhood home, her own bed. She had all the time in the world to do what she wanted, and her money worries were solved for awhile, yet it felt like a step backward.

  Aunt M was saying, "I’d like to have a chat with you this afternoon in Ron's office."

  Janie's forehead broke out in a sweat. Was it the deliberately casual word, "chat", which probably meant interrogation? Was Aunt M angry that she'd failed to predict the surge? Janie wanted to beg for forgiveness. She wanted to throw things at her.

  Chapter 36

  Andrea was as predictable as her father, and just as easy to manage. She'd asked her father about the walled-off passage. He'd balked, increasing her curiosity. Then, two days ago, to Margaret’s delight, Andrea had lugged several oversized McGuckin's bags up to her office. The outline of the Bosch hammer drill carton was clearly visible through the plastic.

  Margaret had been keeping an eye on Andrea's progress, and figured that any minute the wall should topple. Margaret fancied she could smell it happening, the same way you could smell when cookies finished baking.

  She sent for Janie, to give her final instructions. Margaret would have to get rid of Ron for an hour so he wouldn't cramp her style. He was always watching her. It was just like when they were young, only this time he'd made her sign a contract promising not to enter the cavern without his explicit permission. He was so naive.

  She called Gary, her artist admirer, and cancelled their date for later in the week. It was the courteous thing to do. He sensed something was wrong, and she wasted precious time evading his questions.

  Joe's death had changed everything.

  Yes, there was still the Golden Bear, but not for her. Margaret had no need for t
reasure any more. Janie would find it some day.

  And Janie would have, as well, Margaret's Online Metaphysical Superstore, her house and stocks, but most importantly the old Long Shot Hotel and the cave. An empire that would justify the suffering of Margaret's great-grandfather, the searching, the years of waiting, the work.

  Margaret almost wanted to live to see it.

  The Chamber of Wonders was opening again. All of the indicators pointed that way. Joe was dead, his soul no longer trapped. Margaret would join him, and they would leap into the great beyond together.

  Chapter 37

  Crystal perched on a boulder in the lotus position, picking dead grass off her alpaca sweater. "When you said we were going into the cave, I thought you meant through the basement, the way you go every day."

  Roxy lay on the ground, arms draped through the bars. She felt around, craning her neck to avoid the sharp metal flower that had sprung from the grate.

  "I know the combo to the inner door. Ron's the only one who has the key to the outer vault door, though. Andrea doesn't even have one."

  "Are you sure this grate opens?" asked Crystal. "Because it seems like he'd keep it secure, right?"

  "It opened when I was here before. But this thing is new." She shoved the metal flower. It snapped back and almost took out her eye.

  Chapter 38

  A uniformed guard Janie didn't recognize unlocked the lobby door and escorted her through the silent building to Ron Essing's office. A web of duct tape outlined the cracks in the office window and adhered a hunk of cardboard to the upper right hand corner. It fluttered in the wind.

  This time, Aunt M commanded the leather executive chair. Essing huddled in a client chair in a blue wool overcoat.

  "I'm sorry I let you down," said Janie, as she sat and bent to set her purse on the floor. "But you have to remember that you originally hired me to do marketing, not--" Whatever it was. Surge prediction? "Furthermore--" That word gave her confidence. It sounded so organized. "Furthermore, I tried to contact you both to warn you that a surge was coming, but nobody was around. Crystal will back me up on that."

  Janie snugged down her ski hat and crossed her arms.

  "Don't worry about it, Sweetheart," said Aunt M. "We forgive you."

  Essing forced a distracted smile.

  They all sat in silence for an uncomfortable couple of beats. A gust through the window started a pen rolling on the desk top. Aunt M trapped it with her hand.

  "What about the OSHA inspection? Did they shut you down?"

  Aunt M was annoyingly calm. "The inspection results came back and we did receive a citation--"

  "I knew--"

  "Yes, a citation. We need to update the elevator and we’ve had to unlock the emergency exit between the kitchen and the basement, but the air samples tested clean."

  "We reopen on Monday," Ron added.

  Janie was speechless. Who had they bribed?

  Aunt M looked her straight in the eye, and Janie couldn't read anything there, but she felt like Aunt M was paging through her brain. Essing kept glancing from Janie to Margaret.

  "Ron, go take a walk around. I want to speak to my niece privately."

  He cast her an incredulous look.

  "Don't pout, Sweetie."

  After he left, Aunt M inspected Janie for a moment before coming out from behind the desk to close the office door. She dragged Essing's chair closer to Janie and sat knee-to-knee with her. Janie's sense of dread increased.

  "You may have noticed that Pete is no longer a member of our team."

  "You can't fire someone for filing a safety complaint, Aunt M. I looked it up."

  "We don't use the term 'fired' around here. We say that it was time for him to explore other opportunities. After he abandoned his post during the surge the other day, it became clear that his commitment to our mission had waned."

  "I abandoned my post, too, and I'm glad. What the hell happened to Roxy? She's--"

  "That will pass," said Aunt M.

  Janie hugged herself. "Whatever you want from me, Aunt M, I'm not sure I want to do it."

  "You've got it wrong, Janie. It's not what you're going to do for me. It's what I'm doing for you."

  That silenced Janie. Sure, it sounded good, but...

  "Ron's financial issues are worse than he realized." (Did Aunt M sound gleeful?) "As of yesterday, I'm no longer just the Vice President. I've taken control of the business. Of course, he'll stay on as an advisor. He’ll be paid generously, and he prefers it that way. This is something I've worked toward for a long time."

  Janie nodded, tried to imagine where this was headed.

  Aunt M swept her arms wide. "The Long Shot Hotel is in your blood, Janie. You were always meant to come here."

  Janie snickered, then recovered.

  Aunt M gave her a stern look. "Very soon, I am going to leave my physical body. You are going to inherit the cave and the building from me."

  "No!"

  "Yes!"

  Why did people always mistake Janie's horror for enthusiasm?

  "I want you to be prepared. You know how much I care about you, right? I know you're capable of much more than you've given so far. In fact, there is a reason your life has led you to just this point. It's the same reason you aren't living up to your potential: you were meant for greatness, not the mundane."

  "That would be a really good excuse if it weren't so wacky."

  "Wacky?"

  "Well, I think you're a bit--I mean, Aunt M, you believe in extra-terrestrials."

  Aunt M placed a mottled hand on Janie's knee, hypnotized her with her eyes and said, "No. This is not wacky. This is revolutionary. Only a mediocre mind could confuse the two. You will bring the infinite web of possibility to the masses. You've heard of the Oracle of Delphi? That will be nothing compared to here."

  "I'm having a hard time picturing--"

  "I'm proud of you, Janie. You did a pretty decent job of predicting the surge."

  “Really?” Janie was momentarily speechless. "But I couldn't do anything about it! If you and Ron had been around, maybe--"

  Aunt M continued, "I want you to keep working on it. Keep going to Ron with your questions. There's a lot he can teach you."

  "But I got it right, didn't I?"

  "You were close," said Aunt M.

  Janie raked her temple with her fingernails. It was so itchy she wanted to tear her skin off.

  Aunt M smiled and held her eye.

  Uh-oh.

  "Actually," said Aunt M. "The big surge will be today."

  A gust of wind sucked the air out of Janie's lungs.

  As Aunt M trapped Janie with her eyes, the phone on the desk rang. Aunt M gave it a look that should have silenced it. The ringing paused, then started again.

  Pushing back her chair, she rose and reached over the desk for it.

  "Yes?" The warmth in her voice was at odds with the rest of her. "Ron is out of his office at the moment, Dan, but bring them up. I'll talk to them."

  Aunt Margaret set down the receiver and turned her full attention back to Janie. "Before I go today, I want to bring you down to the cavern and acquaint you with the source of the cave's power."

  "Aunt M, if there's going to be a big surge, shouldn't we stay out of there? I mean, isn't ethylene explosive or whatever?"

  "I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  "I still don't want to go."

  "It's not a matter of wanting. Just let me take care of Roxy and Crystal, whatever their issue is, and we'll get underway."

  "I'm serious, Aunt M. I'm really not interested."

  "Poo. Don't give me that."

  The new guard, Dan, escorted Roxy and Crystal into the office, then stood to the side, smiling politely, like it was a cocktail party. He wore an official looking tan outfit with a gun holster. Embroidered patches on his sleeves announced that he was "Security".

  "Hello, Crystal." Aunt Margaret used that friendly voice that didn't fool anyone. "And Roxy, right?"<
br />
  Roxy strode past Janie and Aunt Margaret to the big walnut desk. Leaned on it. "We want to speak to Ron." A yellow leaf dangled from her hair.

  "If that's okay," Crystal added.

  "Whatever you would have discussed with Mr. Essing you may discuss with me, as I now own the company. Janie, stay where you are. You should hear this as well."

  Janie sank guiltily back into her seat.

  "Ron is gone?" Crystal sounded concerned.

  "No. He'll stay on to handle the day-to-day management of the business. Janie will be taking a leading role as well."

  "I--" Janie's protest died on her lips as Aunt M gave her The Look.

  "Oh. Well, that could be good," said Crystal doubtfully.

  "If you'll let us into the Portal," Roxy added.

  "I don't know what you're talking about."

  "The Portal to the infinite. Don't play dumb. Maps, deeds, old letters. I've got it all. All the stuff Mel was working on."

  "Which maps?"

  "Ah! See, now you're coming around!"

  "Mel ran away, Roxy."

  "No. She found the portal and she went through."

  Aunt M tilted her head, seemed to consider Roxy. "Ah. You mean the Chamber of Wonders."

  Janie looked from one to the other. They seemed to be serious. Janie snuck a glance at Crystal. No, Crystal was following right along. Only Dan the guard looked weirded out, fidgeting and anxious.

  "Would you consider changing the policy on cavern access?" Crystal asked. "Because we think that it should be open to the public."

  Roxy cut in, "And if you don't allow it, people aren't going to just sit there and take it. People will--They'll go crazy! Somebody could get hurt! Janie agrees with us, don't you Janie?"

  "No! I only agreed with you so you'd shut up."

  "You said we should organize and take over the cavern because it should be open to anyone who wants to experience the beauty of the infinite."

  "I said no--"

  "As a matter of fact," Aunt M interrupted, "I think that you're right. But Janie will be the one to make that decision."

  A wicked grin spread across Roxy's face.

  "You know what, Aunt Margaret? Why don't you take Roxy down and show her whatever you wanted to show me? I can stay up here in the real world and keep my mind."

  "This time, it will have to be just you and me, Janie."

  Margaret stood and grasped Roxy by the shoulders, maneuvered her out of the way and stepped behind the desk. "Dan, you may escort Roxy and Crystal out."

  "I'm going, too," said Janie.