by J. L. Salter
“Could be.” Roger scrutinized the three marks even more closely. “But the least likely is a zero. If you were marking zero-one-six, you wouldn’t put so much space between the zero and the one.”
“So it’s a capital D or a capital O, and my money’s on D.” Kelly frowned briefly and then resumed her scrutiny. “But if this is D, space, one, six — what could it mean, besides a date?” She paused and something caught her eye. “What’s this?” She pointed to a grouping of scratches immediately below. “Is it a shape?”
Roger moved in closer. “Umm, not sure. Could be.”
Annie came back over. “Horse.” She answered like it was a Rorschach test.
“Horse?” Kelly squinted.
“Yeah.” Annie pointed above. “If that’s a bunch of bananas, then this is a horse. Like a cloud horse.”
“I think she’s right! You’ve got a very perceptive granddaughter.” Kelly patted Annie’s back, but her eyes remained glued to the letter, numerals, and shape beneath. “Sure wish I had some paper and a pencil, so I could rub this.”
“I’ve got a color.” Annie reached into her pocket.
“Anybody got paper?”
Roger fished through his own pockets. “Would a utility bill be any good?”
“If it’s all we got, I’ll take it. Is it blank on the back?”
He studied it. “Bottom half of the back is empty.”
“It’ll have to do.” Kelly positioned the paper several different ways, trying to fit both the numerals and the shape into the blank part of the bill. Too small. She decided to focus on the horse shape for the rubbing, since they were both pretty certain of the numerals. “Help me hold the paper still.” Annie provided fingertips from two small hands. Roger leaned in with two fingers from one hand, the other holding a flashlight. Kelly rubbed vigorously back and forth with Annie’s orange crayon. The wall was so rough, the relatively stiff paper threatened to tear in places. “Hope this comes out. I think we’ll get the very bottoms of the numbers along with the horse, or whatever it is.”
Roger’s eyes continued to inspect the area surrounding the horse and numerals. “When you’re finished, look up and right a bit. Are those natural scratches? Or do they line up too neatly?”
It took Kelly a bit to orient her focus. “Here?” She pointed with a stub of orange. She scooted over slightly on her knees, leaving the paper in place under the fingers of the others. Annie released her fingers, and Roger carefully removed the page from the cool wall. “Well, they’re awfully faint. But they’re too straight to be natural.”
“How many?”
Kelly counted by touching each scratch. Some were slightly deeper than others. A few were so faint she could barely see them except where she expected one between its two neighbors. “Uh, I’d say nine. Depends on whether this one is a space, or its own scratch.” She pointed to number seven.
“From here, it looks like a scratch. So nine.” Roger squinted again at the numerals. “Of course, we don’t have any reason to suspect those scratches go with the numbers and the drawing of whatever.”
“Horse,” insisted Annie.
“Well, not court proof.” Kelly finally turned from the wall. “But on the other hand, we could make a good circumstantial case. These are the only manmade markings we’ve seen and they’re very close together on the same section of wall, right near the banana formation. I’m willing to bet this is our Confederate.”
“So why did your soldier scratch all this stuff? D one six… horse… plus nine marks.” Roger handed the paper to Kelly.
“Dunno. Maybe it’s…”
“What’s that noise, Grandpa?” Annie was clearly startled at heavy rumbling from above.
“Train.” Roger’s reply was almost a hiss. “Lots of vibration. Let’s head out of here.”
Kelly refocused on the cave wall. “Let me copy down these scratches first.”
“Hurry.” Roger placed a hand in the small of Annie’s back and they began sloshing toward the very distant entrance. He was doubled over and resting his other hand on Buddy’s shoulders for balance.
Annie was visibly frightened but still remembered to take Roger’s stick. She held the light in her other hand.
Kelly used the crayon to try to duplicate the spacing of the nine slashes, then used her forearm to measure the approximate distance from the other markings — about seven inches away. Then she quickly folded the page, stuffed it in her pocket, and grabbed her light. “Right behind you!”
A weighty shudder rolled throughout the cave, as if the overhead train caused a subterranean ripple. As the sound of the long, mega-ton train finally faded, it was briefly silent. Then a massive, anguished seismic groan — and something incalculably heavy cracked in the distance.
Something huge and dark loudly crashed up ahead, then a rush of stale air hit their faces. Doubled over, Kelly practically ran the forty feet which separated her from the others. Annie was shaking and sobbing.
“What was it?” Kelly asked everybody and nobody.
Annie clung to her grandfather’s trousers with both hands; Buddy whimpered and whined.
“Nice and slow. Move steady and keep moving.” Roger took charge. “Kelly, douse your light.”
“What was it, Grandpa?”
“I think the train caused something to fall, Annie.” He spoke as calmly as he could.
Kelly already had a picture in her mind, but didn’t share it. She picked up Roger’s abandoned stick.
They emerged from the fourth low section into the third chamber. “Take a real quick stretch and let’s go.” Roger searched each face.
Neither Kelly nor Roger bothered to stretch. Doubled over, with one hand holding Annie and the other touching Buddy, Roger forged ahead into the third low section.
Annie’s light, though unsteady, was their only beacon at present. Kelly was behind, close enough to share part of their lantern beam, but not really needing any light. She made no effort to stay out of the stream, which was the lowest part of the cave and relatively smooth on the bottom. Somehow, the splashing sound felt slightly reassuring.
A bit ahead, they spotted a light, diffused and in motion. Mitch’s voice called out, “You guys okay? The ceiling caved in back here! Just off the second big chamber.”
It was the place where seven huge slabs of limestone had splayed out like partly shuffled playing cards. Ice formed in Kelly’s intestines and radiated out like severe cramps.
Roger grabbed Annie’s lantern and aimed its light way out ahead of them. It seemed to tentatively illuminate what seemed like another wall. Too early to make any pronouncements, but it appeared pretty solid.
The pace of all three seemed to quicken without anyone suggesting it. Soon they neared the section which had fallen, and the air was heavy with disturbed algae. Slowly Kelly realized she also smelled the rich, pungent stink of feces and guessed right away Buddy had relieved himself. It seemed to fill the cave, or at least the part on their side of the new barricade.
“Stay back a bit.” Mitch cautioned from the other side. “There’s still a giant rock up there that looks ready to fall.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kelly added her light to the mix of beams which played over the remaining slab to their left, angled at perhaps sixty degrees; apparently it was somehow still attached to the ceiling.
“What’s that nasty smell?” asked Mitch. “Are y’all all right?”
“Buddy pooped.” Annie coughed slightly as she answered, then whimpered softly. Kelly came up and hugged the little girl, while Roger surveyed the new thick cluster of limestone boulders blocking their exit.
“It’s not solid, which is a good sign.” If Roger tried to inject some enthusiasm into his voice, it wasn’t terribly effective. “It means we’ve got holes, just have to pick the biggest one.”
“Maybe not the biggest,” Mitch added. “Pick the hole farthest from the other rock.”
Roger grunted. “Tell me what you see on your side.”
>
“To my far right is the hanging rock, which looks pretty loose. There’s a hole almost right beneath it, just at floor level. Maybe your dog could squeeze through. The middle of the barricade is pretty densely packed, and I don’t think anything could slide under it, because this little stream is too shallow. Um, over on my left, there’s another empty spot, pretty high up, almost to the ceiling. It’s not as big as the hole on the lower right side.”
Roger followed Mitch’s description with his light beam. “Yeah.” He knelt down near the first, low hole, taking care not to get directly beneath the dangling slab. “Yeah, Buddy can fit through there. But we can’t move anything to make it any bigger.” Roger frowned toward Kelly and Annie.
Kelly could read his mind. “We girls are gonna go over there and sit on the ledge.”
When they were out of Annie’s earshot or focus, Roger called over in a loud whisper which Kelly’s ears received. “Mitch, can you hear me?”
“Yeah.” He sounded hoarse, as though he needed a drink.
“If Buddy gets through, we run Annie through there also. Okay?”
“But what about…?”
“Take Annie out, quick.”
Not waiting for a reply, Roger called Buddy over. Pointing to the hole, he gave a command, “Buddy, crawl.” The dog studied him like he didn’t believe what he’d heard. Buddy would certainly be familiar with the scent of his owner’s excitement or other emotions, but he probably had never before smelled Roger’s fear. The canine gazed intently, without panting.
Kneeling and patting Buddy’s shoulders, Roger pointed again, then said sternly, “Crawl!”
Whimpering slightly, Buddy assumed the position a few feet from the rough opening, edged toward it, then looked back at his master. Roger pointed again. The dog turned his head and continued his crawl, pausing briefly to sniff the opening. Buddy yelped once as something bit into his side, but he made it through the opening.
Mitch grabbed his collar and pulled slightly, mainly to be sure he didn’t change his mind. “Okay. He’s clear!”
As Roger turned, Kelly was already bringing Annie toward the hole. He eyed the hanging rock and then knelt by his granddaughter. She shuddered slightly, more from crying than the cave’s temperature. “Remember when we used to hang a blanket over the back of the couch and you’d crawl along in the little tunnel?” His voice was gentle.
She nodded, tears still leaking.
“Well, this is kind of the same. Only this time, you’ve got to go through as fast as you can. Okay?”
“I wanna stay with you!” She was crying again.
“You need to slip through this little tunnel, so you can tell your Grandma about the adventure we’ve had today. Can you remember everything to tell her?”
Annie nodded.
“Buddy got through just fine, so there’s plenty of room, but you might have to scrunch up a little. Maybe let the air out of your chest for a second. Okay?”
Kelly’s eyes were also moist as she went over and hugged Annie silently. “Will you save me a cookie, for when we get to the other side?” Kelly tried to keep her voice steady.
Annie nodded, with more tears.
Roger shoved Annie’s pack through the hole and called out. “Ready, Bill?”
“Ready.”
“Annie, get on through as quick as you can. Even if it’s a little tight, don’t stop. Okay?”
Eyes large, she nodded.
“Okay, now scoot!”
He held his hands alongside her hips, though not actually touching. Like one might do with a precious vase someone else is holding.
Annie took a deep breath, then expelled it, and crawled pretty much as Buddy had done.
She paused to cough briefly. Then she breathed again, exhaled, and continued crawling.
Mitch called out encouragement. “Okay, looking good. Head is clear. Shoulder’s clear. Keep crawling.”
Then Annie stopped and whimpered, “I’m stuck!”
“No you’re not.” Roger reached out to her calves and pushed gently. “You’re not stuck. Just breathe out again and twist your body a bit. Twist like you’re trying to see something over your shoulder. That’s it.”
“Looks good, you’re moving. Little more. Waist is clear. Keep coming. Hips are out. Good.” Mitch grabbed her by the armpits and pretty nearly yanked her out the rest of the way. They both collapsed on the other side of the barricade. Buddy came back to the hole and sniffed and whined.
“Buddy, stay! Keep him back, Bill!” Roger instructed Buddy and Mitch.
****
“Annie’s okay.” Mitch was a little breathless, trying also to grapple with the big dog’s collar.
“You hurt my leg when you pulled me,” Annie complained between sobs.
“I’m sorry, Annie. My bad.” It was Mitch’s first direct conversation with her. “I’ve got some bandages in my pack. We’ll fix it up when we get to the other chamber.”
“Okay.” Hearing about the bandages made things slightly better somehow. Annie sniffled a bit. “You want a cookie?”
“Not right now, Annie. Keep mine ‘til later.” He knelt next to her.
Annie took one out of the bag and handed it to Mitch. “This one’s for Miss Kelly. Will you hold it for her?”
“Sure.” Mitch put it in his shirt pocket.
Annie touched his shoulder and said softly, “She’s coming through in a minute.”
He just nodded.
“Bill, take Annie back to the opening. Get her out of the cave.”
“Sorry, Roger. I’m stayin’ here. Your Annie’s loose, but my Kelly’s still in there. I’m getting her out.”
“Bill…” Roger’s voice reflected his agony.
From somewhere in the darkness behind him was a loud noise like a minor car wreck. Mitch recognized Pop’s distinctive throat-clearing but instinctively turned anyway.
“Where’d you come from?”
“Back there.” Pop pointed with his thumb.
No point in remonstrating the old man for descending the rope and crab-walking all the way past those two long low stretches to get here. Just as the old man had — many months before, on a dangerous, moonless night in the woods — Pop showed up, right when he was needed.
“C’mon Annie.” Pop spoke firmly, but gently. “Let’s us get outta here. We’ll wait outside while they finish up.”
Annie always obeyed Great-Great-Uncle Chet’s orders. She took his hand, and they led each other down the long, dark expanse of low ceiling toward the first chamber.
Pop walked slowly and painfully on regular ground, Mitch thought, as he watched the old man. How on earth could he navigate the rocky, wet, dark, expanse with its forty-inch-high ceiling? But Mitch had other things to think about. “Kelly, did you bring your phone?”
****
Kelly patted her pockets before she remembered. “Left it in the Jeep.”
Roger pulled his from his belt pouch and pressed some buttons. “No signal.”
“This thick limestone totally blocks phone reception,” said Kelly. “Any luck with yours, Mitch?”
“It’s in my SUV, back at your cabin.”
“Okay, it’s up to us.” Kelly played her light over the wall.
“The hole up over here has some small rocks in it.” Roger began his examination. “Maybe we can move some of them out of the way.”
“You think moving these will unsettle the one still hanging?”
“Even if it does, it shouldn’t matter over here. That’s a good ten feet away.”
“What if it comes down at an angle?” Mitch probably wished he hadn’t said it.
“These others fell straight enough. So will the big one.” Kelly settled things for everyone. All three began peering through and around the hole up near the ceiling on the far side from the hanging rock. “This one seems loose.” Kelly patted a rock which was small compared to the others.
“It’s probably close to a hundred pounds.” Roger’s slap caused a faint,
dull echo.
“Then it’s good we’ve got three people,” said Mitch from the other side. “Give me your belts.”
“I’m not wearing a belt, Mitch.”
Roger removed his and tossed it into the hole. “What’ve you got in mind?”
“I figure with you two pushing, I can pull if I can get the belts around the back of it. But I can’t get any purchase on it otherwise.”
“Good idea,” said Roger.
Mitch fastened his belt to Roger’s and tossed one end back through. “See if you can work it around this smaller rock.”
Kelly climbed up on a ledge and found a place to start threading the belt. “Mitch, you better check again. This little rock’s holding up a much bigger one. We’ve got to prop up that big sucker before we move this one.” She pulled the belts out of the way.
Roger examined it closely. “Can you reach the boulder above it?”
“Barely. Let me see if I can roll this one over on the floor.” Mitch groaned. “I can stand on it and I think… I… can… reach… it.” The words stretched out as much as his body.
“We need something to prop it with, if we can raise it up any.” Roger peered around the side of it. “Seems like double the weight of the other one.”
Kelly held up a piece about the size of a football. “This might do, if you guys can lift it high enough.”
“Wait a minute.” Roger sounded irritated. “Don’t let’s start lifting a two hundred pound rock until we figure out what we’re going to do with it next.”
“I’ve already figured.” Kelly used her teacher voice from years ago. “You lift the big stone. I wedge this small piece between it and the one over there. With the big stone out of the way, we can push and pull the smaller one through the hole to the other side. Mitch, you’ll have to move quick to get out of the way.”
“Then what? I can’t see what you’re seeing.”
“Then we knock out the smallest piece.” Roger pointed to the football shape. “And the big stone crashes down.”