by Earl, Collin
“You know Taris,” he said jokingly. “If you’re planning on assassinating me there are easier ways to do it. You don’t have to take me all the way out here.”
“I want to make sure no one finds the body,” Taris shot back without missing a beat.
“I guess I can’t argue with that.” Monson chuckled. “Just make it quick.”
“You won’t have to wait long,” she assured him. “We’re almost there.”
They continued walking. Monson did not know for how long, as he’d left his phone back in his room and the moon was not visible here. He hoped that their journey was close to complete.
Monson let out a whistle once he and Taris entered a bowl-shaped clearing bordered with unbelievably massive trees. The space was about fifty yards across and just as deep as the ravine. However, unlike the ravine with its narrow spaces, sharp rocks, and awkward terrain, this enclosure was covered in a short, soft grass that seemed to melt into the mountainside, at the base of which they were now standing. In the backdrop, Monson spied the top of the southern peak of Coren’s Four Lords, Lion, climbing into the sky like a sentinel to the world outside Coren. On the opposite side of the clearing, a jumble of trees and undergrowth blanketed the crest of the bowl, marking the end of their path. In the beam of their flashlight, Monson saw a small opening, almost like a foxhole, at the base of the mass.
“Wow.” He stepped into the very center of the clearing. The stars littered the sky in such abundance that it was difficult to recognize the night. The occasional meteor and other heavenly firework danced along the horizon, creating theatrics performed just for them. A gentle breeze cradled the two in the warmth of nature’s comforting arms. Monson felt any fear or apprehension drain away as he surveyed the area. Spinning on the spot, he searched for Taris, who was watching him.
“Thank you, this is beautiful. I’m really glad I came.”
“I’m glad you like it.” She moved a bit closer to him. “But this isn’t what I wanted to show you.”
“What?” Monson immediately realized he wasn’t completely surprised. He probably should have known. As beautiful as this was, it was a little mundane for Taris.
“Can you do me a favor?” She pointed, not bothering to explain what she had intended to show him, and started to walk. “It’s a little heavy for me to lift.”
Taris was near the back of the enclosure, standing close to the mass of underbrush. The moonlight threw the somber expression on her face into perfect relief. It was like she was trying to hype herself up to do something. She fiddled with what looked like a rod of some sort. It was five or six feet long and about two inches around. Once Monson realized what she was doing, he hurried over to help her.
“Thanks,” she said in her breathy voice as he slid in next to her. His head bobbed in her direction as he picked up the pole. It was heavier than he had thought.
“Bring it over here.” Taris gestured to the mass of vegetation. She knelt down in front of the small hole, ignoring the dirt caking her pants as she scooted across the grass. Monson knelt down next to her, still holding the rod despite his growing sense of confusion. He set it down, waiting for additional instructions.
“Thanks.” She beamed as he helped her slide the pole into the opening at the base of the foliage. Monson was not what people would call a woodsman, but he knew enough about animals to know that sliding a pole towards a potentially unsuspecting animal was not a good idea. If there was anything living in this place, they were going to have a very rude awakening; he doubted they were going to be happy about it.
“Umm...Taris, I don’t know if this is a good idea.”
“Don’t worry,” she answered in a soft voice. “I’m just flipping the switch.”“What….”
There was a resounding click. Monson was about to ask what they were waiting for when he heard the sound of rocks grating against each other as well as a slight humming. Monson, without thinking, grabbed Taris and pulled her back, tossing her over his shoulder. He did not like the sound of what was happening. To his surprise, Taris was laughing heartily.
“Hold on,” she giggled. “This is supposed to happen.”
“Oh.” Monson felt his face go warm. “Sorry I grabbed you...”
“Never mind that.” She slipped off his shoulder. “Look.”
The two of them watched as the grinding noise grew louder and louder and light broke through rock, cutting a distinct shape in the side of the mountain. Monson shot Taris an inquisitive look. She was not paying him the slightest bit of attention, however, but was watching the outline of light with excitement.
“Hold tight,” she whispered, finally looking his way. His eyes caught hers, the beams of moonlight highlighting the emotion in her bright green emeralds. Oh, did he wish he could peak inside her mind and see what lay behind the facade of independence and invulnerability. What secrets might he learn? Wonderful ones, he was willing to bet.
The rumbling started again, preventing Monson from asking what it was that had her so emotional. The noise was a bit different now; it seemed much closer, and something was moving in front of them.
“Taris...” said Monson, unsure of himself, “what did you do?”
There was a pop as light flooded the area, leaving Monson speechless. The greenery! The greenery that sat dormant mere moments ago moved, opening right down the middle like the mountain was not a mountain at all but some massive mansion. Monson considered that thought. Actually, he would not have been surprised if something like that happened…he did attend Coren, after all.
“Come on,” Taris directed him excitedly. “We’re going to miss it if we don’t move!”
Monson did not bother to ask what they would miss; he was not really sure he wanted to know the answer. He laughed, drinking in the irony. As if this day could be any weirder.
They entered the opening, moving quickly. The area just inside was large, very large as far as caves went. Large enough that there was plenty of room for five or six people to stand shoulder to shoulder. But Monson didn’t have much time for observation, as Taris was moving them faster and faster into the recesses of the cave. Despite this, the layout of the cave struck him, as the surfaces were just a little too straight to be totally natural and yet a bit too rough to be artificial. It felt like the answer lay somewhere in between, whatever that meant.
“Almost there,” muttered Taris, tightening her grip on his upper arm. They advanced another twenty yards or so, then slowed as the tunnel started to widen. She stopped in front of a massive cavern.
“Yes!” she exclaimed, her voice a little shrill as she hunched over panting. “We made it.”
“I think it’s about time you did some explaining.” Monson also tried to catch his breath. “Like where the heck are we and why were we trying so hard to get here?”
Though Monson had been expecting it, he was still annoyed when Taris did not answer. Composure regained, she was holding her flashlight loosely, and the beam to splashed light across her face. Her rosy cheeks gleamed slightly. Were those tears?
Monson turned, slightly embarrassed. He just did not know what to do in these situations. He hated it when girls cried. It should be illegal. Trying to pretend that he had not noticed, Monson peered into the darkness and for the first time, tried to take in his surroundings. High and deep enough that the beam from their light was eventually swallowed by the darkness, the space, whatever it was, was quite large.
The seconds rolled by, one after another, and their setting altered ever so slightly. Maybe his eyes were growing accustomed to the inky blackness, but he could have sworn that their surroundings were becoming more visible by the second. Suddenly and without comment, Taris stepped in front of Monson, squaring up to him. She donned sunglasses, hiding her eyes, and placed a second pair on Monson, pushing back his hair as she did. Then, after unfolding the quilt, she smiled and threw it over both their heads. As she held him close to her, Monson was overcome by an insatiable awareness of Taris. She was so close that he
could see the glistening tracks from her unexplained tears. He felt her breath, which was calmer than before. He smelled her perfume, which floated, soft and warm, in the space between them. He inhaled deeply, trying to find the words to describe Taris’ scent. Not surprisingly, any description he mustered left him wanting.
“Sorry for being so mysterious.” She inched into him. “I know that you’re probably confused, but what you are about to see is kind of hard to explain unless you actually witness it.”
Monson found he was unable to answer. Answer? He could barely think. Taris was way too close to him. Lucky for him, the need to think became but a passing concern as a burst of auroral color washed over them.
“Lean against me and close your eyes.” Taris buried his cheek into her upper chest, forcing him to bend down. How strange, it felt like she was trembling slightly. They waited for whatever unknown danger that was present to pass. Stupidly, his mind centered on Dawn and his various warnings. Monson turned inward.
“Dawn,” he thought. “Are you there?”
No answer came.
“Dawn,” he repeated, with a little more urgency.
Again there was no response. Odd—he could not even feel Dawn’s presence. Something was wrong. His thinking shifted in an instant as he became strangely aware of the girl who was holding him very close while the reality of his current situation became clear to him. He was standing in the middle of a dark cave with a girl he barely knew after finding out that there was much more to him and his past than he had originally thought. Could Taris have something to do with all the craziness? The bridge? H.U.M.A.N.E? The Being of Seven Bloods? Could she have lured him here tonight for some unholy reason? It was a terrible thought and one that he did not like. Granted, it would explain Taris’ interest in him. Why did he not think of it sooner? Maybe he did not want to face the fact that a girl like Taris could have just about anyone she wanted, so why would she be with him? Then again, what could she possibly gain from dating him instead of just being friendly? This line of thought made him sick to his stomach and he wondered if he was in real danger. Before he could ponder the problem any further, Taris pulled away the blanket.
“Oh my….”
***
A conflagration of different colors burst forth in beams from the cavern walls, ceilings, floors and pillars like lasers at a concert. The colors crossed and melded, reflecting off the cavern’s surfaces and combining in a new and intriguing fusion of light. The display changed the entire space into an abstract piece of art; art that only Mother Nature could create.
“This is what I wanted to show you.” Taris’ awed voice slapped him into coherence. “This is a very special place to me. It was where I found my first love. It’s where I had my first kiss. It was a very special place that only we knew.”
Monson’s heart fell ever so slightly as he spoke his mind. “But why…” he strained to choose the right words, “why show me somewhere so special to you and your love? I have no right to be here.”
Her love? Seriously? Who talked like that? Dumb! Dumb! Dumb…that’s it, no more fantasy novels before bed.
“You have every right,” said Taris with a bit of an edge. “He is...gone, and it was about time someone else enjoyed this.”
Gone? What did that mean? Did he die?
“It really is amazing,” said Monson. “How did you find it?”
“That,” Taris grabbed his hand with a bit of a shiver, “will have to wait for another day. You have to earn it. A girl has to have some secrets.”
The trembling in her hand accompanied a quiver in her voice.
Fearing that he had pushed her too far, Monson let his questions remain unanswered. They climbed deeper into the cavern, the multitude of colors waving about.
“Taris,” asked Monson, finally unable to control himself. “How is this done? Where are all the colors coming from? I don’t see any bulbs or electrical equipment.”
“I really don’t know,” said Taris without turning around. “To be honest, I’ve never even tried to find out. I just loved the mystery. That was good enough for me.”
“There is no way this could be natural.” He had to ask himself, could this be magic? Monson struggled. He struggled as he contemplated the true depths of what this undiscovered world could hold. Anything was possible. It was a little scary.
Taris interrupted his thoughts. “Again, I don’t have any answers, but what I do know is that no matter the mood I’m in, this place always cheers me up.”
Monson attempted to read into her words and mood, feeling his frustration grow with every passing breath. Why was she so difficult to understand?
They again lapsed into silence as they moved into the center of the cave. As Monson continued to look around him, he noticed that this center chamber stretched deep into the mountain. Actually, it reminded him of the central hall where the Tower was located.
Monson killed that thought. He did not want to think about that. Not right now.
The lights continued their fevered dance around them. Several large openings in addition to the one they had entered were lit up, clearly marking the entrances to additional passages.
He was about to ask Taris about the other passages when a sudden change in the seemingly random display of colors caught him. Up until that moment, the performance of colors and images was random and unpredictable. It felt like a warm-up, as if the lights were getting ready for something greater, bigger and more important. But now, they were pulsing evenly focusing on different points of the room and highlighting different colors.
How was it possible that only Taris knew about this place? Certainly it would have been the topic of many a conversation if others were aware of it. There was no way it was natural—the entrance alone screamed of something man-made.
Monson’s mind again turned to magic. This had to be magical…but how could he find out for sure?
Faced with myriad questions, he saw no answers or even a possible source of those answers. He sighed. Well, if that was not the story of his life…
The lights reclaimed his attention. Apparently they were preparing for their finale. Each light froze in place. Then, as if directed by a conductor’s baton, every beam of color shifted and directed itself towards a spot in the very center of the cavern’s space. The lights felt upon a sunken area maybe fifty feet across and about half as deep. The lights, all of them, came to rest on a natural-looking ringed formation about ten feet across, unseen and unnoticed until now. Around the ring at the bottom of the sunken floor sat eight pillar-like stalagmites. Their placement and uniformity of size and attributes would command the attention of any who beheld them. The beams remained settled on the formation for only a few moments before the ring started to glow, resembling the smolder of a charcoal grill.
The glowing ring let off a light grayish haze.
“Wow,” breathed Monson, unable to take his eyes off the glowing ring. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” The beams of light and hazy ring also enraptured Taris. “Don’t get too excited—the best is yet to come.”
On cue, the lights and colors faded, leaving only the grayish hue of the ring. Monson wanted to move but was reluctant. He did not want to miss anything.
He was glad he remained still.
The pillars, all eight of them, started to glow; started to glow like massive nightlights, the outer rock lit up from within. Monson’s eyes grew wide at another unexpected turn as the glow of each pillar took on a distinct color. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet; all the colors of the rainbow spectrum. The eighth and final pillar was a silvery gray, just like the ring the pillars bordered. The color of each pillar intensified until their radiance shone to the upper reaches of the cavern. Monson placed a hand over his sunglass-covered eyes. When he opened them again, the light was gone.
Monson and Taris stood at the edge of the sunken space groping for words that would not come. Before long, Taris removed her sung
lasses.
“A couple of friends and I were hiking around the peak. Exploring, spelunking and treasure-hunting used to be very popular activities with the students.” She laughed ironically. “That feels like it was so long ago, but it was only two years. Man, how time flies. Anyway, you don’t see much of that now. Coren became a different place once they made it against the rules.”
“What happened?”
“What always happens?” said Taris with a weary sadness. “A girl went missing along the western border of the school. Everything changed after, but not long ago we had a lot more freedom to move about. It was great.”
Monson considered the information. “I’ve heard something about this. A girl went missing and they never found her body. Big scandal supposedly. ”
Monson thought back to a Gossip Guy post…now what did that say… for some reason he couldn’t remember. So he asked:
“So what sort of treasure were they looking for?”
Taris chuckled. “The mysteries of the unknown, Mr. Grey. There are many legends surrounding those who once lived here. This area was settled three different times. Once was by a Native American tribe that settled in the northern part of the valley. If you go up there you can still see where they lived and some of their ruins. Their dams are one of the reasons that the valley is so lush. Then, the whole society vanished. They were gone—just like that.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
“But how?” asked Monson. “They couldn’t have just disappeared. Were they killed? Did they move?”
“Wait.” Taris gave another one of her little laughs. “I’ll get there. After that, no one came to this valley for at least a couple hundred years, maybe longer. In the late 1800s a miner from California found a gemstone deposit within a fairly developed labyrinth of caves.”