“No,” said Richard. “The ultrasonic test is complete.”
“Is it a boy or a girl?” asked Lindsay. “I didn't even know I was pregnant.”
“You'd better sit down,” said Richard. “I'll be right back.”
…............................
Richard hurried back up the stairs to give Lindsay the good news. He found her slumped over the table fast asleep. “I'd better get you to bed,” he thought. “The news can wait till morning.” He carried her into the bedroom, and without turning on the light, he undressed her and placed her under the covers.
….............................
As he tried to go to sleep, his last trip to Costa Rica kept running through his mind. He would have to go back there and look for more rocks to replace this one. With Lindsay's machine he might even be able to find more Di-lithium. He hoped that she would be willing to come along on the expedition. She was exciting to have around. He was beginning to have feelings for her that he would need time to explore. They had so much in common. She was beautiful and smart and available. He wished he knew how she felt about him. Did he have a chance? He couldn't just come out and ask her.
…........................
“I wonder how she's doing this morning,” he thought. “I'd better check on her.”
After knocking lightly on the door, he looked inside. She was still asleep. Richard had an idea. Slipping down to his boxers, he slid quietly under the covers and pretended to be asleep. After a few minutes, she began to wake up. “Good morning, Darling,” he said. “You were wonderful last night.”
“Oh my God,” said Lindsay. “What have I done? Richard, I'm so sorry. Did I get you drunk?”
“It's over between Ingrid and me,” said Richard. “We're both adults. There's nothing to be sorry about.”
“I knew it was bound to happen if I hung around you for long,” said Lindsay. “The bad thing is that I don't remember a thing.”
“Hang around longer,” he said. “Go to Costa Rica with me.”
“The stone?” she asked. “The machine was right, wasn't it?”
“It certainly looks that way,” said Richard. “You were right all along.”
“That wonderful news,” she said as she threw her arms around him and kissed him, not realizing it was for the first time. “I'm so happy for you.”
“And I'm happy for you,” said Richard. “That's quite a machine you've developed. I'd like to purchase the exclusive rights to it.”
“Did you say Costa Rica?” asked Lindsay. “Are we talking about an expedition?”
“Absolutely,” said Richard. “There's probably more where that one came from.”
“I've always wanted to go on an expedition,” said Lindsay. “When do we leave?”
“How soon can you pack?” asked Richard. “The jet can be ready in an hour. We can get all the supplies in San Juan and be in the jungle before nightfall.”
“This is so exciting,” said Lindsay. “I haven't camped out since I was a teenager.”
“Last year?” asked Richard.
“You're so sweet,” said Lindsay. “But I turned twenty-nine in April.”
“Really,” said Richard. “I was afraid I was robbing the cradle.”
“I know you're thirty-nine,” said Lindsay. “But you don't look a day over thirty-eight and a half.”
“Gee, thanks,” said Richard. “That makes me feel so much better.”
“I'm only kidding,” said Lindsay. “You look great for an old man.”
“Flattery will get you everything,” said Richard.
…............................
“This is as far as we can go with the jeep,” said Richard. “We're on foot from here on.”
“Luckily my machine isn't very heavy,” said Lindsay. “Why are we bringing your laptop?”
“Maps and GPS,” said Richard. “The extra batteries are what's going to weigh us down. Including the ones for the flashlights. And the sad thing is, we can't discard the dead ones. We've got to carry them back out of here.”
“It looks like we have an hour of light left before dusk,” said Lindsay. “How long will it take to set up camp and pitch the tent?”
“We should probably start now,” said Richard. “As soon as we can find a clearing.”
“I hope those Howler monkeys don't keep us up all night,” said Lindsay.
“I brought some earplugs,” said Richard. “I've been here before.”
“How far to where you found the rock?” asked Lindsay.
“We should arrive about noon tomorrow,” said Richard.
“It looks farther than that,” said Lindsay.
“We're not going all the way to the main volcano,” said Richard. “But there was a lava tube nearby.”
“Do you think the rock was ejected from the main volcano?” asked Lindsay.
“Actually, it looked like it may have come from the lava tube,” said Richard. “We'll have to take some readings in the tube to see if it's worth investigating further.”
“This looks like a good place to make camp,” said Lindsay. “We can set up under that large tree, in case it rains.”
….............................
“Those earplugs really worked,” said Lindsay. “I slept like a log.”
“My mattress must have sprung a leak during the night,” said Richard. “My back is killing me.”
“Crawl over here on mine and I'll give you a massage,” said Lindsay.
“That feels great,” said Richard. “You're just full of surprises.”
“And you're full of knots,” said Lindsay. “Try to relax.”
“Alone with a beautiful half naked girl and she expects me to relax,” he thought. “That's not going to happen.”
“We'd better get dressed and hit the trail,” said Richard. “I'm better now.”
“I'll be the judge of that,” said Lindsay as she pulled down his boxers and slapped him on the butt. “Roll over.”
…............................
“This is the lava tube I told you about,” said Richard. “I found the rock right over there. It looks like it was part of the lava flow.”
“Are we going to look for more rocks or do you want to examine the lava tube first?” asked Lindsay.
“I scoured the area pretty well the first time I was here,” said Richard. “Let's examine the lava tube. Help me pull some of this brush aside.”
“There's a cool breeze coming out of the opening,” said Lindsay. “I'll used the gas chromatograph to analyze the air.”
“What's it telling you?” asked Richard.
“There are trace amounts of Argon,” said Lindsay. “Hundreds of times the normals levels. No cause for concern but still very unusual. I can't even guess what would cause this.”
“Check the mineral content in the walls,” said Richard. “I'll chip off a piece.”
“There are minute amounts of Di-lithium,” said Lindsay. “Very unusual. We should go in deeper and take more readings. I think you're right about the rock coming from in here.”
“I'm going to leave my laptop here,” said Richard, ”and anything else we won't need. We may have to do some climbing or crawling.”
“It a little cool in here,” said Lindsay. “Will we need our jackets?”
“Not while we're moving,” said Richard. “But if we spend the night in here, they'll probably come in handy. Better leave them in the backpack, along with a blanket or two.”
“Should we take our food and water?” asked Lindsay.
“Yeah,”said Richard. “This tube could go on for miles.”
…...............................
“Let's take another reading,” said Lindsay. “How far do you think we've come?”
“We've been walking at a steady pace for a several hours,” said Richard. “It's hard to tell though. I wish the GPS worked down here.”
“The readings are only slightly higher,” said Lindsay. “I guess that sh
ould be expected.”
“The walls are getting damp and there's water droplets on the ceiling,” said Richard. “The floor may get slippery up ahead. Watch your footing. It already like walking on glass.”
“And it seems to be getting steeper,” said Lindsay. “I think I hear running water.”
Suddenly the floor gave way beneath their feet and the found themselves sitting in knee deep water. “My flashlight!” shouted Lindsay. “It doesn't work.”
“You've gotten it wet,” said Richard. “Turn it off and we'll try it again later. I brought a few spare bulbs and we have plenty of batteries.”
“Where are we?” asked Lindsay. “What happened?”
“The floor collapsed,” said Richard as he shined the flashlight around slowly. “It looks like we're in a cavern of some sort. The lava tube is up there above our heads. That's where we fell through.”
“How are we going to get back up there?” asked Lindsay. “That's got to be sixteen feet.”
“I have no idea,” said Richard. “We may have to find another way out. Let's see if we can find some higher ground.”
“What was that?” asked Lindsay as Jack continued to shine the flashlight around the cavern. “Back up with the flashlight. I saw something sparkle. There! What is that?”
“Let's get a closer look,” said Richard. “Watch your step till we get out of the water.”
“I don't see it anymore,” said Lindsay.
“It's just behind that rise up ahead,” said Richard. “We're almost there. Give me your hand. I'll help you up.”
“What in the world!” said Lindsay. “A crystal cavern. That can't be Di-lithium, can it? I've never seen crystals that big.”
“You tell me,” said Richard. “Get out the machine and take some readings.”
…..............................
“I'll run an atmospheric analysis while you collect a sample of one of those crystals,” said Lindsay. “The air smells funny.”
“This can't be right,” said Lindsay. “There's virtually no nitrogen here. It's been replaced by argon. All the other gases are in their normal proportions.”
“Here's a small crystal,” said Richard. “I found it on the floor. I couldn't break a piece off of the large crystals. They're extremely hard. Maybe as hard as diamond.”
“You're right,” said Lindsay. “They are almost as hard as diamond, and they are definitely Di-lithium. There isn't enough money in the world to buy this much Di-lithium. We're rich beyond our wildest dreams.”
“If it got out that there was this much Di-lithium on the market, it wouldn't be worth carrying it back to the surface.” said Richard. “But if we sell it in small amounts and keep this cavern secret, we'd have more money than we could possibly spend.”
“Our main problem now is how do we get back to the surface?” said Lindsay. “We've only got enough food for a few days.”
“Do you suppose that the argon is what made it possible for the crystals to form naturally?” asked Richard.
“Either that or the lack of nitrogen,” said Lindsay. “But how did the argon get here and what happened to the nitrogen.”
“Maybe a bacteria or something like that,” said Richard.
“That could do it I suppose,” said Lindsay. “And once the nitrogen was gone, the bacteria would have died out.”
“Sure,” said Richard. “That has to be it.”
“Turn off your flashlight for a minute,” said Lindsay. “Is it off?”
“Where is that light coming from?” asked Richard. “The flashlight is off.”
“The crystals are glowing in the dark,” said Lindsay. “The light from the flashlight has excited the crystals. They'll probably glow for hours, maybe days.”
“Well, let's go this way. The lighting is better,” said Richard, “and it's dry.”
“There's a dark area over there,” said Lindsay. “Maybe it's another exit to this chamber.”
“Let's go.” said Richard. “We'll rest when we get there.”
“What are you going to do with your money?” asked Lindsay.
“Hire a good tax lawyer,” laughed Richard. “No, I probably won't change my lifestyle all that much. I'm happy with my life just the way it is.”
“I could certainly think of a few changes I'd make in my life,” said Lindsay.
“But your machine is going to make you rich and famous,” said Richard. “This sort of money would just make you a target for every gigolo and con artist in the free world. You'd never have a halfway normal life.”
“So why are we here?” asked Lindsay.
“The thrill of the hunt,” said Richard. “Sometimes hunting is more fun than finding.”
“It has been exciting,” said Lindsay. “But I could have done without the life or death part.”
“I'm getting a little hungry,” said Richard. “But I suppose we should hold off as long as we can.”
…........................
“See if you can fix my flashlight while we're resting,” said Lindsay. “That tunnel looks pretty dark.”
“I'm sorry I got you into this,” said Richard. “It wasn't supposed to be this dangerous.”
“I'll never be sorry we met,” said Lindsay, “and it was my choice to come on this expedition.”
“Here's your flashlight,” said Richard. “Good as new.”
“We should get going,” said Lindsay. “before I get too sleepy.”
“I'm feeling sleepy myself,” said Richard, “but it can't be much past midday.”
“A little nap won't hurt,” said Lindsay. “I can hardly keep my eyes open.”
…..........................
“We found them in the Crystal Room,” said Gena. “What should we do? They know about the Di-lithium. The aliens will never let them leave with that knowledge.”
“How did they get there?” asked Kohl. “It's supposed to be sealed from the outside.”
“There was a cave-in in the north tunnel,” said Gena. “We're already sealing the opening.”
“Give them an injection for the argon poisoning and teleport them back to the surface,” said Kohl. “Hopefully the hallucinogenic effect of the medicine will make them forget about the crystals.”
“You're taking an awful chance,” said Gena. “You know how important these crystals are to this entire quadrant of space. The aliens would destroy the whole human race before they would allow them to jeopardize this project.”
“Have you forgotten that we were once human,” said Kohl. “We're not murderers and they can't stay here. We'll have to take our chances.”
…...........................
As Lindsay awoke she was lying on the soft grass beneath a large shady tree. For a moment she lay there watching a small ant as he carried a bit of food almost ten times its size. She imagined she could hear its footsteps as it moved across the hard ground.
Richard lay on his back and watched as a small plane flew overhead. Rays of sunlight shone through the limbs of the tree. Brilliant colors danced in his mind as sounds of birds singing echoed in his ears.
“Where are we?” asked Lindsay as she tried to sit up. “I think I've got a hangover. Did I get drunk again?”
“I'll let you know as soon as everything stops spinning,” said Richard.
“How did we escape from the giant ant hole?” asked Lindsay. “I thought we were lost for sure.”
“You must be thinking of the lava tube,” said Richard. “I had this weird dream. For a moment I was sure I knew why UFO's visit the earth, but it's gone now. I can't even remember the dream.”
“There were giant ants in the lava tube?” asked Lindsay. “Why didn't they dig their own tunnels?”
“I don't remember any giant ants,” said Richard. “You must have dreamed it.”
“Did I dream the diamonds too?” asked Lindsay. “It was such a beautiful dream.”
“I remember something about diamonds,” said Richard. “Maybe we should check out t
he lava tube while we're here. There could be diamonds in there.”
“But no giant ants, right?” said Lindsay.
“No giant ants,” said Richard. “You didn't bring any pot, did you?”
“I don't do drugs,” said Lindsay. “Why do you need pot?”
SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORIES VOLUME IX Page 2