The skip loader sat just outside the bay door as well as one of the bulldozers. Large parts of the right wing had been gathered and parts of the cranes had been pulled out of the bay and strapped to the improvised sleds.
Two lookouts had been posted atop the 777 with whistles used to signal miners where one another was in case of a dusty mine collapse. The two women and two man with sprained ankles stayed behind and were to play out a spool of small gauge electrical wire so the party could be alerted by tugging, in case the whistles couldn’t be heard. But due to the distance that plan was scrapped...
“If you see something...just blow really hard on the whistle...ok?” Jim grinned at the luscious blonde named Marti. Jim had put her in charge of organizing their equipment. Marcy was to see what could be scrapped from the aircraft.
The guys that were headed to the cliff shot nervous glances at one another. Nineteen had survived. Now the thought occurred in their minds, of the fifteen that were going, how many would return?
Chapter 3.
With a huge sigh, Jim gave Marti and Marcy a wink and stepped on the ramp to the ground. A quick check with the men on the roof, Jim nodded and the two machines moved out as they were followed by the fifteen men that carried whatever tools that might be needed. Miners used a lot of rope and cable of various sizes and Jim was thankful for that. The homemade skids were loaded and the three machines moved out.
The strange looking wheels on the loader seemed to glide effortlessly over the large rocks, while the slightly larger bulldozer crunched the rocks under its treads. Slowly the large dozer drove in behind the men and lowered its blade. With a roar of its engine rocks were pushed out of the way and the temporary road was started.
Jim had figured making some sort of a narrow road might make bringing things to the cliff easier if things worked out. Then there was the fact that if Rex made an appearance, it would be a lot easier fleeing back to the aircraft along a rock free road, even the areas where water flowed in rivulets along the creek bed.
They had surmised this entire area was at times a flood plain and that, in itself was reason enough to seek higher ground. Thirty feet from the aircraft the river rocks stopped and a two-foot sandy embankment turned to grass for the last thirty yards. There were boulders the size of cars and trucks scattered about, but thankfully not in their way to the cliff. They were huge and tall enough to hide behind, but not enough for all.
Onward they pressed keeping a nervous eye out for anything that might come from the jungle just on the off chance they couldn’t hear the lookouts.
“If you’re right.” Will asked, “What about those flying dinosaurs?”
Jim grinned, “Well, I sure hope there aren’t any. I’d hate to be dangling from a cliff face when one came along. But personally... I doubt it. This valley seems to be at least fifty miles square, maybe bigger. It has all this steamy heat trapped in...” Jim pointed toward the direction they had flown in from about a mile away, and the edge of the valley that led to the outside world.
“That gap in the mountains where we flew through is almost perfectly flat from side to side and about three quarters of a mile wide. Beyond that is the cold air of the Andes and much thinner air as well. Away from this steam, this heat... Once a cold-blooded flying dinosaur flew into that, it would most likely be a death sentence.”
“I guess you have a point there Captain.” Will laughed, “Figure all the time this valley that is lost in time has existed, I imagine they probably have slowly flown off and joined the rest of their ilk.” Will pointed to the ledge they were headed for.
“You know the shadows on that ledge sure look funny. More so as we get closer... Can’t put my finger on it.”
Bill walked up next to the two and panted.
“Christ...” he panted, “...this heat. Hey, you know that ledge shadow looks funny to me.”
Will and Jim looked at each other and grinned as they neared the cliff face and the convoy of humans and machinery stopped.
Jim watched as the miners began to unpack pieces of the larger crane and marveled at the teamwork. It was obvious they had worked together for years as a team. The plan was to assemble the big crane that would get them up nearly seventy five feet and then figure out some way to get up the rest of the sheer cliff face to the ledge. Once up, they would haul up the two smaller winch cranes, disassemble the big crane, and pull it up in pieces. A lot of work, but with the big crane, the two smaller ones, they would be able to pull up the smaller of the dozers, if they needed to work on their new base.
As the first two sections were being raised there was a shout! The guys all turned to see the two women running toward them. As they neared, it appeared the girls were carrying a long piece of pipe. Several of the guys ran out and carried the pipe to the group.
The men gathered around the panting women.
“Guys, Marti came up with this idea...What?” Marcy looked at the men that surrounded them. Then saw where they were staring as Jim and Bill kept stumbling over words that couldn’t come out of their mouths.
Marti looked up from her soaked, nearly transparent blouse.
“Oh Christ... Guys... get a good look and get over it!”
Marcy shook her head slowly and thrust her chest outward.
“Is this better?” she watched the men look back up to their faces. “Guys, look, it’s really hot and humid. Bras made it really uncomfortable...we get that you can see through our tops when they’re wet.”
Jesus smiled, “I’m sorry Senorita Marcy.” Marcy giggled as Jesus struggled to keep his eyes north of the women’s necks.
“Look guys, not to change the subject...the pole... Marti you explain it to them.” Marcy stepped back as Marti pointed to the pole that was now mid-circle of the men.
“I took my flame defense a bit farther guys. I took some of this three-inch pole we had onboard for drilling a well at the new mining camp. I capped it and drilled a small hole above the cap. I had Marcy cut a piece of the Kevlar netting we use over the temporary mine entrances in case something falls from above as we start shoring the mine entrance.
The netting is tough and should entangle any jagged edge or whatever it drags across. On the back of the net I put one of our smaller single pulleys and some of this heavy nylon cord through it.”
Marti stooped and the guys all looked away as her blouse fell open at the neckline. As she pulled out the coils of cord she looked up and saw no one was watching what she was trying to show them. She looked down to her chest, and the two dark reddish-brown nipples that were now exposed.
“REALLY!” she shouted as all eyes snapped down to her eyes.
“Guys, look I know I...we... are showing a lot, but we’re trying to survive here.”
Marcy snapped, “Will you all get over it! We realize we’re gals and you’re guys. Let’s focus on our plan...not our tits! Ok?” she nodded to her new friend to continue explaining to the pack of red faced men.
Marti had finished pulling out a long doubled line and was carefully coiling it on the grass at the cliff face.
“Look, I put a small amount of plastic explosive into this pipe after we aim this cannon toward the ledge, then I detonate it electronically and boom...the netting and the small weight go flying. If we’re lucky, it’ll reach the ledge and snag on something. We tug on the line and if it seems ok, then we pull the rope you brought along, through the pulley using the smaller cord I have attached to the pulley.”
Will nodded, “Then we can pull someone up.”
Marti stepped forward. “You pull me up.”
All the guys knew this was going to be risky and murmurs began to go through the group of men. Marti looked at the guys and slowly shook her head in disbelief. She placed her hands on her hips and frowned, and then broke into a smile as she thrust her chest out once again as she cupped her well formed breasts.
“Even with these two fellas... One hundred and twenty one pounds tops! What’s the lightest of you he-men weigh?” she looked ar
ound the group.
“Hmmm... maybe you...” Marti pointed at one of the smaller miners. “... What, one sixty, seventy?”
The man nodded slowly as Marcy picked up where her friend left off.
“Don’t you see guys, this gives us a chance. If Marti can get up there, she can take a small length of rope with her and tie the pulley off to something a bit more substantial.”
Marti grinned as she fluttered her eyelashes, “Then you all big strong men can haul your asses up and join me.” She giggled, “Well some of you can, if I find the ledge is large enough to support us. Remember I’m also a geologist and the best candidate to go up there and check it out.”
Jim shrugged his shoulders and nodded in agreement. “Damned if she isn’t right fellas. Let’s get that... uh, cannon picked up and let her charge it.”
The men had begun to raise the pipe before Jim finished and soon it was braced with several steel crane parts. Marti pulled out a small detonator from the backpack the girls had brought with them. She hooked the wires to the cannon and handed Jim the small detonator.
She fluttered her eyelashes playfully and in a sexy tone replied, “Why you don’t think little old me is stupid enough to fire that...” her eyes dropped to the business end of the pipe. “...fucking death trap.”
Jim looked at Marti and frowned, “Thanks, I guess.” He stooped down and extended his arm as far out as he could...he turned his face away from the cannon’s base. Everyone stepped back...quite a ways back and ducked behind anything they could find.
He glanced at the pert engineer... “You could have brought a little more wire you know.”
Jim squinted his eyes and pressed the button.
“BOOOOMMM!”
The pipe jumped backward as the payload flew upward and then everyone remembered their Captain. They turned from the soaring net as it flew over the ledge area and looked at Jim.
He was sitting on the ground with his arms folded about his raised knees watching the net vanish. The cannon laid next to him, still smoking from the blast.
After several smirks and giggles, Jim arose and looked up to the ledge where the piece of netting had vanished, the doubled cord still dangled in the hot breeze a scant three feet off the ground. Jim turned to Marti and gave her a wink.
“Good job Marti. Looks like we have a plan.”
One of the miners stepped to the cord and gave it a gentle tug, then another. After several more tugs the cord slipped, then the netting above grabbed onto something. The miner looked at Jim who now had obviously become their unelected leader and Jim nodded.
The miner pulled just hard enough so the nylon cord wouldn’t break. Slowly he released it and smiled... The cord held! Quickly he began to pull the cord so one end was chest high while another miner taped the climbing rope to the end of the cord and the rope was slowly lifted toward the lip of the ledge.
Upward it was pulled and then the rope’s end vanished over the high ledge. A few more pulls and the cord jammed. The two miners now pulling on the long cord stopped and looked to Jim as if to ask if they should continue.
Jim chuckled, “I was about to tell them ‘go ahead, what’s the worst that could happen?’, but then decided to just go ahead.” There were a few nervous laughs as Jim nodded and the two began to pull harder... The cord gave a jerk and the men jumped back expecting to see it falling, but instead, there high above was the other end of the rope...it had slipped through the pulley and now was hanging over the edge of the ledge.
Every one of the men gave Marti a pat on the back as they moved toward the lowering rope. Within seconds it was back to the ground and the tape and cord removed.
One of the miners fashioned a rope harness from a piece of the ropes end. Marti slipped the rope harness around her legs and tied it off at the waist. Jim slid the climbing rope’s end through the harness and tied it in a tight knot as he looked at her and smiled.
“We wouldn’t want this to come untied half way up.”
Marti laid her hand on his as he tugged the rope knot once more.
“We? ...I don’t for sure.”
Jim nodded and four men began to slowly pull Marti upward. He chuckled and gave her a wink. “Hey! If the rope breaks and I don’t catch ya...”
Marti winked back, “Yeah, I know...the ground will.” She gave the group a little wave as she looked upward to her destination still over one hundred and fifteen feet above her. She gave a little sigh.
“Fast guys, I want to get out of this rig as fast as possible.”
The men pulled faster and after several small jerks as if the netting was slipping or stretching, the relieved Marti slowly scampered over the crest of the ledge. Once her feet vanished over the crest, they stopped pulling and the minutes passed. Suddenly they could see Marti kneeling and waving for them to wait. Both sides of the rope began moving and after a minute or two, she reappeared over the ledge’s edge and waved for the next person to come up as she dropped the harness to the ground.
Jim picked up the harness and grinned at the crowd.
“I know this is going to sound funny coming from a pilot...but guys, I hate heights.” There were several laughs. “Flying inside of a aircraft, I’m fine. I just hate heights when there isn’t a really big ass plane surrounding me.”
With that being said the men pulled Jim upward. This was the first time Jim actually got a chance to take a good look around. For some strange reason he was no longer bothered by the fact that he was dangling almost one-hundred feet from the ground. Jim was so intent upon looking around he was startled when Marti’s soft hand grasped his shoulder and snapped him from his visual awe. He finally clambered over the crest to join her, untied himself, and tossed the harness back down to those waiting below as Marti lowered the rope. Jim stood upon the ledge and looked over the panorama before them.
“Amazing isn’t it? Too bad the steam obscures seeing too far in the distance...but I can barely make out the mountains to the west and some sort of gap between them... Seems to be more to the south. We know to the east is where we came in...Can’t see north because this mountain curves that way.”
Marti’s soft hands grasped both of Jim’s cheeks and slowly began to move his head to look at the cliff behind them. As his head was gently guided around Jim could see the ledge, where they were standing was nearly forty feet wide and tapered down to a ledge ten feet wide as it vanished westward around a slow bend in the mountain face as it arced north slightly. As his head turned, he moved his eyes upward to see nearly eight hundred feet of cliff face extending over their heads and the cliff moved outward to form a slight overhang...and as she stopped moving his head...there before him was a cave entrance!
“So that’s why the shadow looked funny to us. It wasn’t the ledge’s shadow it was a fuckin’ cave!” Jim muttered aloud. “Oops, sorry Marti...I didn’t...”
Marti placed her finger on his lips and smiled sweetly.
“Christ Jim, I’ve been working around miners most of my adult life. I can swear...” she chuckled, “...and drink with the best of them.” Marti noticed the rope moving and began to walk toward the ledge’s edge. As she did so, she began to sway her rear seductively.
“But don’t let that fool ya... I still like being a girly-girl.” She tossed her head teasingly as Jim let out a playful whistle. She bent down to help Will over the ledge with a grin.
Half way to the cave Jim stood looking into the dark maw.
“Think anything is in there?” Will asked as he caught up to Jim.
Jim nearly jumped out of his skin, he grabbed his chest.
“God all mighty Will. Tryin’ to give someone a heart attack?”
Will chuckled, “Sorry, Jim...think it’s safe?”
“Damned if I know Will. Guess that would depend upon how far back it goes. We haven’t seen any flying dinos yet. Unless there is a way up from ground level we don’t know about, I don’t see how anything could get up here. Probably too hot and steamy for Condors... Christ, I wish w
e’d brought flashlights, I guess we can always shout down and...”
Marti’s hand shot past Jim’s face and as she uncurled her slender fingers, in it laid a flashlight. There was a soft feminine giggle from behind.
“Now which one of you strong brave men would like to go in first...and maybe get eaten?”
Chapter 4.
Jim sighed as he grasped the flashlight, checked it was still on, and stepped toward the cave entrance. The entrance was about twelve feet high and about as wide. As they got to the entrance and looked back, Jim noticed the ledge lip was slightly lower than the cave entrance’s floor. In his mind this explained the strange shadow they had witnessed. It then hit him; he had turned his back to a dark, unexplored cave. He snapped his head back, expecting something to come rushing out at him and was relieved to see nothing. He shined his light on the wall next to the entrance as another light flicked on, Jim looked behind him, and there stood Marti.
“What? I am the geologist around here...the only one, remember?” she smiled sweetly at him. “Relax a bit. This is the kind of cave that is formed by water coming through it...probably from the above mountains...” she pointed to the rivulet running along the west cave floor and disappearing into another chamber. “...see it comes from above somewhere toward the rear of the cave.”
Jim nodded as they carefully stepped into the cave and noticed light from somewhere to the left rear area of the main chamber as well as one high up on the cave wall the entrance was in. Less than the ten feet they had walked, the entrance opened up with a vaulted chamber that went back nearly a hundred feet. Toward the rear and the right side of the cave were multi-leveled ledges of varied sizes with the larger ledges to the rear. The series of ledges rose to meet the lowering ceiling and sadly, the end of the cave...as well as any chance of a way down.
Marti explained the side opening to the left was most likely a crack in the roof... back somewhere near the ledge’s bend they had seen outside. The outside ledge wrapped around and out of sight and Jim decided it might be a good idea to check it out once this cave was explored.
Valley of Lost Time. Page 3