The sound aroused Zaac from sleep. Opening his eyes, he too was confronted with total darkness.
“Ramira, are you alright?” he asked. He located the flashlight and turned it on.
Taking a moment to readjust in the light, Ramira responded. “Yes. I was just startled. I’d forgotten where I was.”
“I can imagine. Hold on and I’ll get another fire started.”
He tore a couple of pages from her trig book and ripped them into little shreds. Using another cotton ball, he soon had a fire going. He added a few pages to the fire and turned off the flashlight.
“How are you feeling?”
“My body is a little sore. It also seems to be feeling kind of strange. Like something unusual is going on with it.” She wasn’t sure how to describe what she was experiencing.
“Is it the same feeling you had yesterday when I came back?”
“Yes, only now it seems to be worse.”
“You remember yesterday when I first found you. You had some lacerations. I asked whether they were from the fall or whether bats had bitten you. I wonder if it has something to do with that.”
He turned on his flashlight. “Let me take a look.”
He first checked her neck then each of her wrists. There appeared to be a little redness around the marks but they weren’t overly inflamed.
“What do you think?” She held up her wrists to look at them.
“I can’t say for sure. There’s not much redness. It would be nice to have something to put on them but I don’t have a first aid kit.”
Zaac wished he had more medical training.
“Let’s eat something. The most important thing is to keep your strength up.”
Adding another page to the fire, he turned the flashlight off. “Want an energy bar?”
“Sure. I have a Mountain Dew. Would you like to split it?”
“Yes. Mountain Dew is probably my favourite soft drink.”
“Mine too. We have something in common.” She said it with a smile that lit up her face.
“Yes. Another thing is we are . . .” he stopped in mid-sentence.
“Another thing is we are . . . what?” she asked, looking at him.
“Nothing.” Zaac held his head down.
“Well you were getting ready to say something. You might as well finish it.” She wasn’t letting him off the hook.
“Well I thought another thing was that we were stuck down here together.” He glanced at her. “I got ready to say it without thinking. Then I thought the better of it so I didn’t finish it.”
“Well, you’re not wrong. That’s definitely something we have in common. It’s okay. We can’t change what is.”
They ate their energy bars in silence for a few minutes. Ramira took a couple of swallows of Mountain Dew and handed the bottle to Zaac.
Sensing the awkward moment was past, he took a swig and said, “This is good.”
“I know. I shouldn’t, but I often drink it for breakfast instead of juice.” She giggled.
After finishing the Mountain Dew, Zaac threw one last page on the fire. Standing up, he asked, “You ready to go? Let’s see if we can find a way out of here.”
“I guess I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” She stood up. “Which way?”
He could see their footprints coming out of the cave tunnel into the cavern. “We came in over there. That leaves the branch going to the left and the one straight ahead. We went straight last time. Want to try going left or stick with going straight?”
“We can try left this time and see where it leads.” Walking over she picked up a loose piece of limestone. “I have an idea. Would you mind putting one more page on the fire?”
Zaac did as she asked and she walked over to the cave wall. Taking the rock, she scratched it against the wall. It left a mark.
“That is a brilliant idea,” Zaac said. “We can mark the passages that we travel and the ones that we enter just in case we get turned around.”
Ramira was glad that she’d had an idea that had won his approval. “With all of these different passages, it would be easy to get lost.”
As the trig page settled into ash, Zaac turned on the flashlight.
“Let’s go.” The branch on the left was so narrow at the beginning that they could walk only in single file. After sixty feet, it widened, and they walked side by side. Another couple of hundred feet brought them to another set of options.
“This can get confusing. Which way should we go?” Ramira asked.
“Let’s try left again,” Zaac said, pointing to the left. “See where it takes us.”
“Okay. Let me mark these first.”
It wasn’t long before they came to another cavern that had even more branches. This one had formations like the one where they’d spent the night. It also had some new types that appeared to be growing sideways, with thorny spines on them that formed strange shapes.
“These are different. Look at this one. It looks like a snake.” Ramira walked over to one. It did, indeed, resemble a snake.
“That one is like an octopus.” Zaac pointed to another configuration.
“These are so cool. It would be nice if people were able to tour down here. This is definitely worth seeing.”
Wanting to linger, but knowing they needed to continue, Zaac said, “Let’s see which branch we ought to take. Let’s mark the one we came from.”
Ramira walked over and scratched the wall of the one they emerged from. That left a choice between the branch going straight and the one going left.
“What do you think?” she asked, looking toward Zaac as if he would know.
“Want to try the one to the left again?” Zaac asked without much confidence.
“Sure. Let’s give it a try.” Ramira figured one was probably as good as the other.
Ramira stopped long enough to place a mark on the cave wall. The tunnel required them to walk single file again. It had a small bend to the right, which they went around. Soon they came to another crossing of branches.
“I’m beginning to think we’re walking in circles.” Zaac said.
Pointing to the floor of the branch that led to the left, Ramira said, “Unless there are two other people walking around down here, we are walking around in circles. Aren’t those our footprints from the crossing we encountered yesterday?”
Looking down, Zaac began to laugh. “I’ve been leading us in circles.” He handed her the flashlight, “Maybe you should lead for a while. You can’t do worse than me.”
Before long, they reached the cavern where they spent the night.
“I think here would be a good spot to take a break.” She sat down at the spot they slept last night. “You want to build another fire while we rest?”
Soon Zaac had a fire going. “Building all of these fires, it won’t be long before we go through your trig book.”
“No worries,” Ramira said. “The year’s about done. I can borrow one or study with my friends for finals. After that I won’t need it anymore.”
Zaac sat beside her, rummaged through his pack and brought out a bottle of Gatorade. They passed it back and forth. Then he brought out the last apple and cut it in half. He handed her one half and started eating the other. With every bite, he tossed another page on the fire.
They both took a couple more swallows of Gatorade. Zaac put the rest of the bottle back in his pack.
“Are you ready to try again?” Ramira asked.
“Lead off.”
She was losing her nerve. “What do you think? The branch straight ahead where we haven’t gone or back down the same cave and take another branch?”
“It’s totally up to you this time. You lead and I will follow.”
Looking first to the branch on the left then the one straight ahead, it was almost like she was doing ‘eeny, meeny, miny, moe’. She chose the cave they had traveled before, and they soon reached the crossing where they had gone to the left.
“This time let’s try going strai
ght.” As she started into the cave, she placed two marks on the wall signifying they were going down it on their second attempt.
Soon an opening appeared on the left, a crevice that went only a couple of feet into the wall. The next cave had several turns alternating to either side. At some points they had to bend or squeeze sideways to get through.
Finally, they came to a junction with only one possible way to go, but they had to do the bear crawl again to get through it.
Ramira sat down and turned to Zaac. “Do you mind if I use the headlamp? It will make it easier to crawl.”
“Sure. Hold on a sec.” Zaac located the lamp and handed it to her. He slipped the flashlight into his pocket.
Ramira started crawling with Zaac close behind her. The progress was slow and tedious.
The cave bent to the right, and fifty feet further on, it opened up. They could stand. Another twenty minutes’ walk brought them to the entrance of a huge cavern.
Unfortunately, however, they had exited onto a ledge that rimmed the cavern. The bottom appeared to be about thirty feet below them with one ledge approximately twenty feet down. There wasn’t any way to scale to the bottom or even the ledge without ropes or a ladder.
There were two ledges between them and the roof of the cavern. It was hard to judge but they appeared to be two to three feet wide. Each ledge had tunnels going off it. The ledge at their level was about three feet wide. It had two tunnels opening onto it. One was on their right side and the other was just about directly across from them across the cavern.
“Do you think one of these will give us access to the tunnels higher up?” Ramira asked.
“It’s worth a try. Let me have the headlamp and I’ll lead the way,” Zaac offered.
Ramira took off the headlamp and passed it to him. He started carefully along the ledge. One obstacle stood in their path: a boulder that was higher than Zaac’s waist. There was no way to walk around it. They had to crawl over it. He handed his backpack to Ramira.
“I’ll go first. You can pass me both backpacks. Then I’ll help you across.”
It took only a few seconds for Zaac to get to the other side. Ramira passed the packs to him and climbed up onto the boulder with some difficulty. She was adjusting her body to scoot to the other side when her foot slipped and she began to slide toward the thirty-foot drop. Zaac grabbed her arm and reached for her nearest leg. Leaning back, he pulled until she was over the rock and was able to scramble onto the ledge.
“That would have been a nasty fall,” Zaac said, peering over the edge.
Ramira looked over the ledge with him. “Yup,” she said. “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it. I told you that I wasn’t going to let anything happen to you.”
They started along the ledge. The first tunnel didn’t look good. Instead, they entered a tunnel on the far side, but by the time they had traveled forty feet, they met a dead end. There was just a narrow crawl space on the left side.
“Let me take a peek in there, see if it offers any possibilities,” Zaac said. He crawled into the opening. Entering a space the length of his body, he managed to turn until he was on his back.
Flipping back over and pushing his body back out of the hole, he said, “I think I might have found a way up to the next level. There’s a chimney with an opening at the top. We’ll have to hold our packs ahead of us and find a way to crawl up.”
Ramira shook her head. “I’m not sure I can do that.”
Zaac paused for a moment. What would make this possible for Ramira? He took off the headlamp and gave it to her. “You go first. I’ll be underneath. I can give you a push if you need one. Just take your time.”
She put on the headlamp and took off her pack. “I’m not too sure about this, but here goes.”
Slowly crawling into the opening, she stretched out the length of her body. Pushing her pack as far as it would go, she managed to turn over on her back. Sticking one arm then the other up into the chimney, she squirmed till she was able to at least sit up. Catching her breath, she wriggled to a standing position. She picked up the pack and held it.
“I’m standing in the chimney now.” She concentrated on catching her breath.
Zaac made his way to Ramira and together they examined the next section of chimney.
“Try crawling on up and I will twist around and stand under you,” Zaac said.
Ramira took a breath and looked up. Soon she spotted a handhold and felt around till she found a place to step. Pulling her body up, she located another foothold and moved higher. As she climbed, Zaac turned his body over and squirmed till he was standing under her.
“You’re doing great,” Zaac said. “Just a little higher and I’ll be able to crawl up under you.”
As Ramira progressed, Zaac advanced behind her. Only once did her foot slip and Zaac was there to support her weight until she found a solid foothold.
Suddenly she vanished and the light in the chimney diminished. “I’m at the next level.” She looked back at Zaac.
“Hand me your pack.” Zaac handed it up to her.
Soon he was sitting beside her. “I’m about ready for a break. Let’s see if this tunnel goes back to the cavern. It should be very close if it does. We can take a break there.”
Ramira led the way. They rounded a curve and the cave opened into the cavern. They sat down and Zaac put his pack on the floor of the ledge. “Can I have your trig book?”
Ramira passed it to him. After the fire was going, Zaac took out the partial bottle of Gatorade and passed it to her. She took a couple of swallows and passed it back, letting him finish off the bottle.
“Do you want something to eat?” Zaac asked. “I’m starving.”
Ramira felt her mouth water at the thought of food. “I am too.”
Zaac pulled out the Energy Bar and broke it in half. He added a couple of pieces of beef jerky. Taking another bottle of water, they started to eat.
It did not take long to consume their meager rations. They both sat watching the fire, each afraid to voice their thoughts.
“Are you rested enough to try one of the tunnels?” Zaac asked.
“Ready if you are,” Ramira said. What she really wanted was to sit and rest but she also knew she couldn’t let Zaac down.
“Do you want me to lead or would you like to?” he asked.
“You lead. Don’t go too fast though.” The change occurring within her body was taking a toll on her. “I’m starting to get a little tired.”
“How tired?”
Ramira was unsure of how she felt. “It’s just that funny feeling like something is going on inside of me. It feels really weird.”
Zaac wished that he could do something about it, but their only hope now was to keep going. “I’ll go slow and if you want me to stop at any point, just let me know.”
“Okay.”
Zaac headed for the tunnel on the right. They both had to tread cautiously; the ledge was narrow. Once there, Zaac stopped to check it out. It looked worth a try.
He set off with Ramira close behind. Respectful of her request, he walked slowly. After about a hundred yards, Zaac heard a strange noise. It sounded like a chattering.
“Do you hear that?” He stopped abruptly.
“Yes.” She halted in her tracks, not wanting to ram into him. “What is it?”
Zaac peered into the darkness, past what the light illuminated. “I’m not sure. It’s coming from up ahead.”
Traveling slowly up the cave, they rounded a bend to the left and had to turn sideways to squeeze through, startling a little creature. It jumped past Zaac, and Zaac jumped, too.
Another one jumped off the wall and then another. Shining his light upon them, he saw his first cave crickets.
“Is that a little cricket?” he asked as the light lit up one of the creatures.
“It looks like one,” Ramira said. She walked closer.
“I think this is a good sign.” Zaac turned toward her. “This makes the third
living thing I have seen down here. I ran into some bugs of some type before I met you. Then we both had an encounter with the bats.”
“Don’t remind me.” Ramira shivered. “I’m trying to forget that.”
The chattering was getting louder. It sounded as though it was coming from just ahead.
Zaac headed toward the noise.
After twenty feet, they came on a chimney that went down. The hole was three feet across and encompassed just about the width of the cave. The chattering sound seemed to emanate up from the chimney.
Ramira looked down the hole. It was all very curious.
“I don’t think we want to crawl down there.” Zaac looked at her questioningly. “Do we?”
“Nope.” Ramira shook her head. “I am curious, but not that curious.”
Jumping over the chimney, they advanced further up the cave. They had not traveled far when they met a solid obstacle. A collapse had completely blocked the cave passage.
Ramira’s face was the picture of despair. “What do we do now?”
“We could try to dig these rocks out, but there’s no telling how far the collapse goes.” Zaac knew that she wouldn’t care for the only other solution. “I think it would be best to turn around and try another tunnel off of the ledge.”
“I hate all of this backtracking. It’s so frustrating.”
“I know. But like you said, what choice do we have.”
Grudgingly turning around, they reversed course, jumped the chimney and headed back to the cavern. Walking around the ledge, they entered the next tunnel, which had a slight upward slant for fifty yards before leveling off. A little farther, the cave widened out, then, as always, they hit another snag.
The cave opened into a room with a small underground river running through it. Zaac tested the water.
“It’s cold but at least it isn’t freezing.”
“Do we have to cross this?” Ramira asked, fearing the answer.
“I don’t want to get wet either,” Zaac said. “But the chances of this cave leading somewhere are pretty good. We can see that it goes further. The other might be a dead end.”
“How would we do it? I don’t want my clothes to get wet.”
It was clear to Zaac what they had to do, but he pretended to think about it for a while, hoping it would sink in with Ramira as well.
Cave Dwellers Page 4