by Mark Goodwin
Everett stared at the stubborn pieces of stone pressed up against each other to form a more impenetrable wall than they had before. “Then we’ve still got six weeks to dig out before we’re completely in the dark. We’ve got, air, food, and water.”
Kevin’s forehead creased. “I’m not trying to be a killjoy, but most of our food has to be cooked. We only have a month’s worth of wood.”
“We’ve got nearly two years of food that doesn’t require cooking. If we’re not out by then, I’ll be ready to die.”
Kevin nodded. “We should start mentally preparing to get by with no light. It’s going to be a lot to handle mentally.”
“What are you suggesting? We start learning to eat and get by in the dark? Like blind people?”
“It will be easier if we start training now. We can get everything we’ll need down from the storage area and begin counting our steps to this, that, and the other thing. We’ll have to memorize where we keep everything, and yes, live just like blind people.”
Everett shook his head. He wasn’t ready to accept that outcome. “No. God has a mission for Elijah. Somehow, some way, he’s going to get him out of here.”
Kevin put his hand on Everett’s shoulder. “Keep in mind; God could whisk Elijah away in a whirlwind, supernaturally. We wouldn’t necessarily have to be rescued.”
“Let’s give it another week before we bring this up to the rest of the group. It sounds too much like giving up. We need hope to keep going, to keep digging and to keep trying to come up with a plan to get us out of here.”
Kevin nodded. “Okay. One week, but promise me that if we’re no closer to getting out by this time next week, you’ll let me take charge of prepping everyone to live in the dark.”
Everett reluctantly agreed. “One week.”
The days passed and the team tried various strategies, including trying to bust up the large slab of stone which was blocking the exit. Nothing worked. They simply did not have the tools they needed to break it up. The slab was too large and would have required a series of wedges and feathers to bust it up. The morale among everyone trapped in the cave sank lower and lower as they slowly began to accept the inevitable.
Exactly one week from the day Everett had agreed to follow Kevin’s plan, the two of them sat alone, with their backs up against the slab.
Kevin sighed. “It’s been a week.”
Everett nodded softly. “I know.”
“I think everyone understands the reality of the situation at this point. I’m going to lay out the plan to begin our transition after dinner tonight.”
Everett’s heart sank. The spirit of despair and defeat set upon him like a shadow of death. The impending darkness was a tragedy he did not want to accept. “Can we wait until tomorrow?”
“Everett, you act like I’m doing this to try to torture everyone. That’s not it. It’s reality and the sooner we face it, the sooner we can begin to prepare for the inevitable. I’m trying to help.”
Everett looked at him with pleading eyes. “Just one more day. Please.”
Kevin exhaled deeply and shook his head. “You’re not making this any easier for me. And you’re not helping the group, Everett.”
“I know. But it’s going to sound like a death sentence. Give us one more day to be happy.”
Kevin glared at him. “Tomorrow morning. First thing. Don’t ask me to delay anymore.” Kevin’s voice was harsh, borderline angry.
“Okay.” Everett didn’t care. He’d been granted a stay of execution for a few more hours. He sat silently beside Kevin.
Everett heard Kevin scratching against the slab. He turned and looked at him curiously, but said nothing. The sound continued. Everett’s hopelessness and distress were interrupted by Kevin’s bizarre behavior. What is he doing? Everett wondered silently. Is he scratching his back against the slab? Still, he said nothing.
Finally, Kevin stood up. “Bro, that sound you’re making is kind of weirding me out. I’m going to go hang out with everyone else. I’ll see you in a while.” Kevin left the work area.
Everett felt insulted. Why would Kevin be making strange scratching sounds and then blaming it on him? Everett held his tongue. Everyone in the cave was on edge, and nothing good would come of inciting additional conflict. He said nothing as Kevin walked away.
“There’s that sound!” Everett listened closely. It was faint. The noise he’d assumed Kevin was making resembled a soft composition of scraping, rubbing, and scratching. “It wasn’t Kevin, and it sure wasn’t me.” Everett laid his ear against the rock. “It’s coming from the other side!”
A rush of hope, thrill, and excitement began in Everett’s chest and erupted outward from there. Euphoria flared up to his head, making him feel twenty pounds lighter, then to his extremities, causing him to spring up from his seated position.
Everett’s hands shook with exhilaration. He dashed toward the cathedral, being conscious of his elated state so he wouldn’t slip and fall on the smooth surface of the cavern floor.
The group looked at Everett with concern. Kevin stood up as if he was worried that Everett may be experiencing a mental breakdown.
Everett gasped for breath. “Someone or something is digging us out!”
“What?” Sarah stood up. Her face betrayed her disbelief. “Who?”
Everett was giddy. “I don’t know. Maybe Tommy.”
“We never told Tommy where the cave is. And it’s impossible to get a call out on the ham. We can’t get a signal, Everett.” Kevin’s eyes were filled with consternation. He looked as if he was sure Everett was losing touch with reality.
“No, Kevin, listen. The noise you thought I was making, it wasn’t me. I thought you were making the racket, but it was coming from the other side.”
Kevin walked passed Everett without a word.
Everett and the others followed him to the cave entrance.
Courtney seemed to believe Everett right away. Her eyes lit up as she skipped to the work area. “We’re getting out!”
Kevin held his hand up as he placed his ear against the rock. “Everyone, be quiet!”
All of them became hushed.
Kevin looked at Everett. “I’m sorry, Everett. I don’t hear anything. Maybe you just wanted to hear something. We’re under a lot of stress. Our minds play tricks on us.”
“What?” Everett’s mouth hung open. Was Kevin accusing him of making this up? “No! I heard it. Someone is digging us out!”
“Okay, well, if they are, we’ll get out. If not, then we’re still stuck.” Kevin waved his hands in the air and retreated back to the cathedral.
Sarah put her ear against the rock. Seconds later she gave Everett a look of pity. “Sorry, I don’t hear anything either.” She walked after Kevin.
“You, believe me, right Elijah?”
The old prophet closed his eyes peacefully. “I know God has a plan.”
Everett turned to Courtney. “And you?”
She smiled, big and bright. “I believe you, Everett. You’re the most sober one of the group.” She glanced over to Elijah. “Well, second most, anyway. If you’re going nuts, then the rest of us have probably already been insane for some time now.”
He hugged her. “We’re getting out!”
Courtney laid her ear against the rock and listened. She remained there for several minutes.
“Do you hear it?”
“They could be taking a break.” She held her finger to her lips to signal for Everett to be quiet.
Her facial expression changed suddenly. “There it is! I hear it!”
“Praise God!” Elijah lifted his hands to heaven. “Glory to the Almighty in heaven.”
Everett grinned from ear to ear. Kevin and Sarah had almost convinced him that the sound was indeed a figment of his imagination. He looked up. “Thank you, Jesus!”
Courtney went to the cathedral and retrieved Kevin and Sarah. The two of them each had a listen and confirmed that they too could hear the noise.
/> “It does sound like someone digging.” Kevin beamed with hope. “I’m sorry that I insinuated you were crazy.”
Everett embraced his friend in a hug. “No problem.”
Sarah hugged him also. “Me too, Everett. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”
Everett stared at the stone, expecting it to fall away at any moment.
“They could have quite a lot of digging to do.” Courtney stood beside him with her arm around him.
“We should let them know we’re in here, so they don’t give up.” Sarah looked around at the others.
Kevin’s eyes narrowed. “You know, we left tracks from the creek up the trail to the cave. We’ve also made enough trips back and forth from Elijah’s barn on the ATV to leave a trail. It could be that crew from Woodstock digging us out. They may assume we’re dead in here with a boat load of supplies, free for the taking.”
Everett considered what Kevin was saying. “So if we let them know we’re still alive, they could potentially walk away and come back after they think we’ve had enough time to die.”
“Or worse, they might come in hot.” Kevin stroked his beard.
Courtney looked at Elijah. “What do you think?”
Elijah held his hands out, palms facing upward. “I think they are digging us out. That is a blessing from the Lord.”
“Yeah, but if they’re hostiles, we need to be prepared for it.” Sarah crossed her arms.
Everett’s brows drew together. “I’m going to get my HK, just in case. They might have five days or five minutes of digging left.”
“Good idea.” Kevin followed Everett to the corner of the cave where they kept their weapons.
Elijah and the girls followed them to the cathedral. Courtney said, “We need to have a plan for when the entrance is breached. I mean, I don’t want to point a gun in the face of someone who is just trying to help, but we have to consider the fact that they may not be rescuing us with the best of intentions.”
Everett checked the chamber of his rifle and hit the light attached to the handguard to make sure it worked. “Kevin, that’s your department.”
Kevin handed a rifle to Sarah. “Courtney, how’s that ankle doing?”
“I can walk. I don’t know if I can run.”
Kevin pointed toward the supplies. “Then we’ll set up a fallback position over there. We’ll stack up food buckets as a barrier, and you’ll hold it down.”
Courtney looked at the buckets. “You think they’ll stop a bullet?”
“Rice and beans aren’t much less dense than sand. The buckets are essentially sand bags. They’ll stop handgun and shotgun ammo. We’ll double them up. Everett, why don’t you crawl up to the storage area and start lowering more buckets.
“I’ll stand watch by the entrance for the time being. Elijah, you and Courtney take up a position along the back wall. Everett, you and Sarah get as many supplies as you can to construct a barricade. Once that’s finished, the two of you can take up a position near the cathedral entrance.”
Everett slung his HK across his back and immediately began climbing the ladder. He lowered the buckets down to Sarah who ferried them to the wall where Elijah and Courtney were positioned with their weapons.
The barricade was completed in thirty minutes then they waited. Hours passed, and nothing happened. Everett walked up to where Kevin was standing. “Do you still hear digging?”
Kevin nodded. “Yep. It’s getting louder which probably means they’re closer.”
“But it could still be hours before they break through.”
“It could be days,” Kevin replied.
“Maybe we should set up shifts.”
Kevin looked back toward the cathedral. “Two person shifts. Six hours each. Sarah and I will take first shift. You and Courtney take second. We’ll work Elijah in after that.”
Everett nodded. “We’ve got a whistle. I’ll bring it to you so you can blow it as soon as you see the entrance is about to be breached.”
“Sounds good.” Kevin nodded.
“Whatever happens, we won’t be trapped. And like Elijah said, that is a blessing.” Everett patted Kevin on the shoulder and walked away. He found the others and informed them of the watch schedule. Everett brought the whistle to Kevin. Then, he and Courtney placed their sleeping bags behind the barricade and relaxed for a while. Everett tried to sleep, but his body was tense, waiting to jump up at any moment, in response to the whistle. Nothing happened.
Hours later, Everett checked his watch. “Courtney, we’re up for guard duty.”
She opened her eyes. “I think I slept for about fifteen minutes.”
“Elijah will make us a cup of coffee.”
“I’m going to need it.” Courtney stretched, grabbed her rifle, and followed Everett to their post.
“You stay here. I’ll stand watch by the entrance. If I have to fall back, cover me until I get back here.” Everett left Courtney behind the cover of the cathedral wall.
“Be safe!” she called to him as he walked away.
Everett took Kevin’s position. “Go get some rest. I’ll call you if I need you.”
Kevin removed the string from around his neck which held the whistle. “I haven’t heard anything for a while. I think they’re on break.” He handed the whistle to Everett.
“I hope they haven’t given up.” Everett situated a bucket near the slab.
“Me too.” Kevin stretched and headed toward the cathedral. “Whoever they are.”
Everett sat on the bucket. Knowing the digging had paused allowed him to unwind more than when he’d laid down. He sat silently, waiting for the work to resume. Hours passed, and his eyes grew heavy. His head lowered, and the sudden jerk from his body about to fall off the bucket woke him up. Everett shook his head, took a deep breath, and stood up so he wouldn’t fall asleep again.
An hour later, he heard the sound resume. “They haven’t given up.” He sighed a breath of relief then the apprehension returned. Immediately after the threat of being trapped had passed, the danger of being attacked quickly stepped forward and filled the gap.
Everett could hear the sound growing louder. He motioned for Courtney.
She walked up to his position. “What is it?”
“Go wake everyone up. I can hear the shovel hitting the back side of the slab. Tell Kevin to come up here and everyone else to be ready. The breach is imminent.”
Courtney hustled back as quickly as she could, sprinting on her good foot and slowing for the steps with her other.
Kevin joined Everett in less than a minute. “They’re coming through?”
Everett nodded. Just then, the slab lurched away from the cave. Rock and rubble fell from the gap between the ceiling and the slab.
Everett put his arm out and pushed Kevin back. “Watch out. That boulder we split is going to fall.”
More dirt and gravel preceded the fall of the two halves of the large boulder. The individual pieces of the giant stone crashed down to the floor.
Kevin passed a pair of sunglasses to Everett. “You haven’t seen sunlight in over a week. You better put these on.”
Everett quickly put the sunglasses on and held his rifle at a low ready position. The sound of digging grew louder, and the slab edged away from the cave even more. A sliver of daylight followed the next slide of dirt and rock into the cave.
Everett’s heart pounded, both from the joy of seeing daylight and the anxiety of a possible assault. “Breathe,” he told himself.
Kevin leveled the barrel of his rifle at the opening.
A voice called out from the other side. “Hello! Is anyone there?”
“State your business!” Kevin held his AR-15 steady.
“I’m looking for Elijah.” The man had a thick Jewish accent.
Everett turned to see Elijah walking toward the entrance. “Do you recognize that voice?”
Elijah walked steadily toward the beam of daylight. “Yes, I’m here. Is that you, old friend?”
&nb
sp; “Indeed, it is I. It seems like it’s been eons since I’ve heard your voice.”
Elijah became jubilant. “Step back, step away from the slab. We’ll push it from the inside.”
“Yes, I’m clear. Go ahead, then.” The voice grew more distant.
Elijah motioned for everyone to join him. “Come. Everyone. Push against the stone!”
Kevin stepped back cautiously still holding his rifle. “Go ahead team. I’ll cover you.”
Everett placed his rifle on the ground and climbed on the stone which was slowly pitching more and more outward. Courtney and Sarah joined him. Everett pushed the rock with all of his might, and it moved enough to create a three-foot gap between the ceiling and the top of the slab. Everett scaled to the top.
“Stay in the cave. The arsenic dust is still falling from the sky. It isn’t good to get it in your lungs.” The man peeked inside. His face was wrapped in a Middle Eastern shemagh, with only his eyes visible.
Everett glanced up at the dark sky. The tiny amount of sunlight which was filtering through seemed bright at first, but he soon realized that it was his mole-like existence over the past eight days that had made his eyes sensitive to even the smallest amount of daylight.
Elijah helped the man inside the cave. “Thank you, thank you, my friend.”
The man began to unwrap the shemagh from his face, revealing a long gray beard, bushy eyebrows, and shoulder-length gray hair. “Have you any water, Elijah?”
“Yes, of course. Wait here.” Elijah scurried off, leaving the man with the others who simply stared at him.
Everett quickly realized how rude they must all seem. He pulled up a bucket. “Please have a seat. You must be tired. You dug us out by yourself?”
“Thank you.” The man sat down. “Yes, just me.”
“I’m Everett; this is my wife, Courtney. And this is Kevin and his wife, Sarah. Thank you for rescuing us.”
“If you have food, water, and shelter from the dust, it will actually be you rescuing me. It’s all a matter of perspective I guess.” The man turned to Kevin and eyeballed his rifle. “Dangerous in this cave, is it?”