by Bill Myers
Together, the boys plunged deeper and deeper into the cave — until suddenly they ran out of steps.
Without warning, the path fell out from under their feet, and the boys tumbled down into darkness. But this fall wasn’t like before, when they had all fallen into the elevator. No, this fall seemed to go on …
“Aughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
… forever.
Chapter Ten
The Sword
Zach’s cry echoed through the cave so loudly that Piper stopped her prayer. Which was too bad, because the more she prayed, the less selfish she felt and the braver Cody seemed to become. But, even now, when she looked up at him, she saw that same cold fear starting to return to his face.
“What, what do we do?” he stammered.
Of course she was also fighting her own emotions. After all, she wasn’t the one who got them into this mess. Wasn’t it better just to turn and run away, to save her skin, to look out for herself ?
But even as these thoughts filled her mind, she knew they were wrong, and she quickly resumed praying. “Dear God, help me, help us …” As she continued, Cody rose to his feet. He swallowed nervously and spoke.
“We’ve got to … we’ve got to go down there and help them.”
The words surprised her almost as much as they did him.
“Come on.” He reached out his hand. She took it, and they started forward. But they’d only taken a few steps before he started to shake.
“Is it getting bad again?” she asked.
He nodded. “The deeper we go … the worse I feel.”
“Me too.”
“It’s like something is trying to control my emotions.”
Piper nodded. “And if it’s doing that to us up here …” she looked down the tunnel, “imagine what it’s doing to Willard and Zach.”
Cody gave another shudder.
Piper gripped his hand tighter. “Let’s keep praying. Don’t pay attention to what you’re feeling and just keep walking and praying.”
Cody nodded, and they continued.
Elijah wasn’t sure how long Shadow Man had been gone. They’d been parked along the side of the road for quite a while when the Hummer’s door opened and the dark presence slipped into the seat beside him.
“I brought you sssomething,” he hissed.
From the sleeves of his cloak, he produced a small cage. Inside was a shiny blue butterfly that flitted back and forth.
Elijah’s eyes lit up as he watched.
“You like butterfliesss?” Shadow Man asked.
Elijah gave a shy nod.
Shadow Man lowered his voice. “Do you want to sssset it free?”
Elijah nodded more enthusiastically.
Shadow Man held the cage before Elijah. At its front was a small door. “Go ahead,” he whispered gently. “Open it.”
Elijah reached out and unlatched the little door. Carefully, he slipped his hand inside the cage and held out his finger. The butterfly darted back and forth and then, as if knowing Elijah was there to help, it landed softly on his finger.
Elijah smiled as he gently pulled his hand from the cage.
The bright blue wings almost glowed while the butterfly opened and closed them, as if to share its beauty, as if to thank Elijah.
A tiny giggle of joy escaped from the little boy, until Shadow Man’s hand appeared and, in one quick movement, crushed the insect.
Elijah’s smile turned to horror as Shadow Man tossed the dead butterfly to Elijah’s feet. It twitched its wings once, twice, and then stopped moving altogether.
Elijah’s big brown eyes welled with tears.
“You loved that little butterfly, didn’t you?” Shadow Man hissed.
Elijah nodded. Tears spilled onto his cheeks.
“Remember, I have the power to crusssh everything you love — jussst like that. Do you underssstand?”
Elijah stared at him.
Shadow Man leaned closer. “Do you undersssstand?”
Ever so slowly, Elijah began to nod.
“Yesss. Good. Very good. He reached to the Hummer’s door and opened it. “I ssshall return in a few minutesss.” He stepped outside and leaned back into the truck. “Think about what I have sssaid, Elijah Dawkinsss. Think very hard.” With that he closed the door and disappeared into the dark forest.
Elijah stared down at the butterfly on the floor. Cautiously, he reached down and scooped up the dead creature. He held it in his hands and closed his eyes, silently moving his lips in prayer.
Several moments passed before he looked back into his hands with hopeful expectation.
The butterfly remained dead.
Biting his bottom lip, Elijah placed the creature on the seat beside him. He pulled himself into a little ball, closed his eyes, and began to quietly cry.
He did not see the butterfly begin moving its wing.
“Look!” Mom said. “Footprints.”
Dad kneeled down to examine the cave’s floor. He was already breathing faster in excitement. But only for a moment.
Mom saw his shoulders droop. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “They’re tracks. Fresh foot tracks.”
“Yes,” Dad said, slowly rising. “But they’re ours. We’ve been traveling in circles.”
It was Mom’s turn to wilt. “Oh, Mike …”
He took her in his arms as she fought back the sobs. “It’s okay,” he said. “We can’t give up. God will do his part. Our part is to believe and keep going.”
She nodded and wiped her eyes, doing her best to be brave.
They turned and looked ahead. Directly in front of them were the openings to three tunnels. Without saying a word, they both knew what the other was thinking.
Yes, it was their job to believe and keep going … but keep going which way?
As Piper and Cody continued deeper into the cave, Piper began whispering the verses her father had mentioned in the car.
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood …”
As she whispered them, her thoughts of selfishness again started to fade.
“But against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world …”
“What are you doing?” Cody asked.
“Bible verses,” Piper said.
“Bible verses?”
“Yeah.” Remembering more of her parents’ conversation, she added, “It’s one of our weapons. In fact, the Bible says it’s our sword.”
“Sword?”
She nodded. “The sword of the Spirit.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Me neither,” Piper admitted. “But remember the devil took Jesus to the mountain to tempt him?”
“Sort of.”
“They didn’t use guns or bombs or any of that. Their only weapon was the Bible.”
“What’s that got to do with us?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know, but if it’s good enough for Jesus …”
Cody finished her thought, “ … then it’s good enough for us. What other verses do you know?”
Piper thought a moment, then recited another:
“I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy.”
“I like that one. Say it again.”
“I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome the power of the enemy.”
“Again.”
She did. And each time she said it, she felt a little better. And by the strength returning to Cody’s eyes, she could tell he was feeling better too.
Until the darkness passed over them. Not a shadow. But a darkness.
Cody shuddered. “Did you see that?”
Piper nodded. “I wish I hadn’t.”
It passed again.
She pointed her flashlight to the ceiling, to the walls.
Nothing.
At least nothing she could see. It was more of a sensation. A presence.
“There!” Cody pointed
behind her.
She spun around. Again, there was nothing — nothing she could see. But her pounding heart told her something entirely different.
So did the scream she heard in the distance.
Dad turned to the left tunnel. “Did you hear that?”
Mom pointed toward it. “It came from that one, there!”
Dad nodded and took her hand. “Let’s go!”
Together, they raced into it.
The ground was uneven, and both of them tripped more than once. But every time Mom started to fall, Dad was there to pull her back up. And whenever Dad slipped and lost his balance, Mom was there to help. Together, they went deeper and deeper into the tunnel.
But after several minutes it seemed like they were getting nowhere fast.
“Wait a minute,” Dad said, “wait a minute.”
They slowed to a stop and caught their breath. They paused to listen but heard nothing. There were no more sounds.
“Are you feeling what I’m feeling?” Dad asked.
Mom hesitated, then nodded. “All creepy and cold?”
“Yeah.”
“Like when they kept us prisoners in that cell or dungeon or wherever that awful man was holding us?”
Again Dad nodded. “Exactly.”
“What do you think it is?”
Dad shook his head. “I’m not sure. But when we were in the cell, do you remember what we did? It not only made us feel better, but it helped us get out.”
Mom looked at him. “Do you think that will work?”
He gave no answer.
“Here,” Mom repeated, “do you think that would work here?”
“I think whatever we were battling there is the same evil we’re dealing with here.”
Mom started to nod. “All right, then, let’s give it a shot.”
Dad agreed and once again they took each other’s hand and continued down the tunnel. Only this time they did more than run. This time they tried something else as well.
Chapter Eleven
The Pit
The scream belonged to Zach — that much she knew. Piper raced through the cave, shouting his name until she ran out of cave … well, at least cave floor. Suddenly, it dropped before her, revealing a giant cavern stretching far below.
Fortunately, she dug in and was able to stop.
Unfortunately, Cody didn’t, which explains why he slammed into her from behind.
“Cody!” She started to fall, but he reached out and grabbed her, pulling her in and holding her close.
Once they’d caught their balance and realized they were hugging, they immediately let go.
“Uh, sorry,” he coughed.
“That’s uh, that’s okay,” she stammered.
They looked back to the cavern and inched their way over to the edge. They were standing atop a giant, fifty-foot cliff. Piper shined her flashlight back and forth until she discovered … down at the bottom …
“Zach!”
But her brother didn’t hear. He was too busy swinging his arms and covering his head — all the time shouting, “No, no! Get away! No!”
She tried again. “Zachary!”
He continued waving his arms like he was fighting off an unseen attacker. But what was it? And where was Willard?
Then she saw it. A misty smoke. It was pouring out of a cave at the far end of the cavern. It blew out of the opening toward Zach and encircled him, swirling slowly around his body. But it wasn’t mist. Not entirely. Because the longer she stared, the more she caught glimpses of something else. Wings. Tiny black wings.
“Zach!” she yelled. “Zach, can you hear me?”
At last he looked up and saw his sister. Relief flooded his face as he cried her name. “Piper!”
“What is that stuff?”
“I don’t know!” He continued slapping and batting the air. “It’s all around! They’re everywhere!”
Whatever they were, they weren’t good. Piper could tell by the cold chill wrapping around her shoulders and the giant knot in her stomach.
“Zach, something’s not right!”
“You think?” Zach replied, still swatting at the shadows.
“We’ve got to pray!” she shouted. “You’ve got to join me and Cody in prayer!”
Zach didn’t answer. In the shadows, Piper could just make out the frown clouding his handsome feature.
“Zach?”
“Prayer didn’t work for Elijah,” he said, just barely loud enough for her to hear.
Piper was silent, not knowing how to answer.
“If all that God stuff works, why is he still missing?” Zach continued. “And Mom and Dad — why did they get kidnapped in the first place?”
It was Piper’s turn to frown. This didn’t sound like Zach at all.
“Why are we here? Why are we lost? Why are — ”
“I don’t know!” Piper interrupted. “But I know you’re being attacked, and I know we’ve got to pray.”
“Pray?” Zach shouted. “To whom?”
“What do you mean, to whom? To God!”
“Yeah, right,” he scorned. “We don’t even know he exists.”
Piper couldn’t believe her ears … or her eyes.
For even as he spoke, the shadows surrounding him grew darker and thicker. More and more solid.
More and more powerful.
Deep in the caves, Monica slowed and held up her hand for everyone to stop — which, of course, meant Silas banged into her, which, of course, meant Bruno banged into both of them.
After completing her mandatory glare at them, she whispered, “Do you hear that?”
Everyone grew quiet and strained to listen. It was faint, but there was no missing the quiet sound:
knock-knock-knock
knock-knock-knock
“It sounds like a code,” Silas said.
“Maybe someone’s trapped,” Monica exclaimed.
“Maybe it’s a monster!” Bruno cried.
knock-knock-knock
knock-knock-knock
“It’s louder,” Monica said.
“Or closer,” Silas whispered.
“We’re all gonna die!” Bruno cried.
Monica turned to him and let out a weary sigh. “Bruno …”
“We’re all gonna die and get eaten!”
“Bruno!”
“Or get eaten, then die! Or get eaten, then die, then — ”
“Bruno, put a sock in it.”
He stopped and looked at her with hurt in his eyes.
Seething in disgust, she shook her head and pointed at his legs.
“What?” he asked.
“It’s your knees.”
The big fellow looked down to see his knees banging together spastically.
knock-knock-knock
knock-knock-knock
“Oh.” Monica blinked in disbelief and turned to continue down the tunnel. Honestly, five more minutes of this and she was really going to lose it.
Elijah woke as the Hummer’s door opened.
Shadow Man entered. “Ssso, have you given thought to what I have sssaid?”
Elijah simply looked at him.
The dark form moved closer. “Do you not grow weary of people thinking you are a misssfit, sssome sssort of freak?”
Elijah was surprised at how easily his thoughts had been read. Truth be told, there were days when he wished he were, well, normal.
A flicker of a smile crossed Shadow Man’s face. He scooted closer and lowered his voice. “You have powersss that no one around you underssstandsss. Not your friendsss, not your family. How lonely you mussst feel.”