The Cavern Read online

  Kaz pushed through the doors onto the street, dry heat enveloping her like an oven. It was early, yet the temperature foretold the day would be furnace hot by noon. Her gut squirmed uneasily as she took a seat in Trevor’s police car. Jack’s story had struck a nerve, raising a memory of a teenage nightmare.

  In the dream, her father had entrusted her with the care of her two little brothers. After settling the boys on the living room floor to do a jigsaw puzzle, Archie had said he wanted to go to the toilet. Not thinking twice about it, she’d allowed the boy to run to the outside dunny. Eventually she’d realised Archie was gone and turned the house over searching for him, distraught that her little brother had gone missing while under her care.

  She raised a hand to her mouth as realisation hit home. It hadn’t been a nightmare. If she’d kept a better eye on him, he never would have followed the men into the mine.

  Archie’s death was my fault.

  She’d gone half mad with guilt and grief after the funerals, unable to eat or function until her mother had finally convinced her that her version of events were nothing more than a nightmare, and that she’d never been left in charge of her brothers that day.

  ‘A lie your mother spun to spare you the truth.’

  Kaz wanted to scream. The barman was right. In an attempt to save her daughter from a lifetime of guilt, her mother had fabricated a new family history, painting Dean as a saint while absolving Kaz of fault.

  “You all right?” asked her brother as he slammed his own door shut. “Kind of look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  She took a slow breath, dropped her hand and forced her face to relax. “No, I’m fine. Just didn’t get much sleep last night.”

  From the corner of her eye, she saw Trevor studying her face while chewing his bottom lip.

  “If you’ve got something to say, Trev, just spit it out.”

  “You’re not the only one losing sleep over what we’re doing. Maybe we should reconsider and think on what Jack said.” He paused for a moment. “I’d rather copy the old man. Head into the tunnels and shoot the beast.”

  Kaz’s heart stuttered at the thought of the Miner’s Mother being killed. It was now the only link to her little brother, a boy who had died because of her own mistake. She knew the camouflage rendition of Archie was nothing more than a mirage, but it was the only time she could pretend he was still alive. If she lost that, then he would be truly gone forever.

  “No, it’s not worth the risk to you. We stick to the plan and make sure her hunger is sated. All we have to do is hold our nerve, and she’ll be back hibernating by week’s end.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Ellie squatted at the base of the cave’s main shaft and opened the mapping equipment’s protective case. The Zebedee laser scanner sat in a fist-sized box at the end of a spring, which was in turn attached to the end of a joystick. To power the scanner and store the data collected, Ellie had to carry a laptop and separate battery pack at the same time. She slipped both of these into a slim backpack and shrugged it over her shoulders, considering it a small price to pay. Besides the massive time gains in mapping, the device increased their safety. It was hard to get lost in an underground labyrinth when you created a key to the maze with every step.

  Max, Aaron and Frida were in the tunnel with her. Like a trio of dogs teased with the prospect of a walk, their excitement was palpable as they waited for her to get the scanner up and running. Ellie grinned as she pressed a button and started the laser.

  “All I have to do is hold the scanner in front of me as I walk. The laser will move and bob around on the spring, generating a three-dimensional image of the tunnel as we go.”

  Her brother snorted a laugh as she set the scanner in motion, head bobbing back and forth in random directions on its spring. “It looks like one of my students’ toys.”

  Ellie blew a raspberry at him. “Well, it’s not. This is serious science shit, Max.”

  “Serious science shit?” laughed Frida. “To think I used to look up to you.”

  Ellie rolled her eyes at the comment, but bit off a retort. She set the GoPro on her helmet to record, tested the radio link to Sam at the surface one last time, then looked down the tunnel.

  “Let’s get this show on the road!”

  “Yep, I hear you loud and clear. Enjoy.”

  Sitting on a cap chair in the base-camp tent, Sam put the radio receiver down, and propped his feet up on the card table next to the laptop to watch. Aaron had managed to link the footage from Ellie’s GoPro into a live feed to his computer at base camp. The signal would be blocked as soon as direct contact with the receiver at the shaft base was obscured by rock, but Sam was happy to spectate for the moment.

  From the safety of his chair, he watched their progress. Muted tones of brown, grey and black from the tunnel walls, interspersed by extreme closeups of rock as Ellie climbed over an obstacle in her path.

  Sam was just starting to wish he was with the rest of the group when they hit the first squeeze. There was always a risk that a caver could become stuck in one, unable to move forward or back. A shiver ran up Sam’s spine at the thought of being trapped in such a way, knowing there were thousands of tonnes of rock above, pinning you in place. At times like that, even the most level headed person could panic. Often, getting through was more mental feat than physical achievement.

  He watched as Aaron’s narrow frame disappeared head first into the tight space, wriggling forward on his elbows and belly. After five minutes, his head appeared again, a large grin plastered across his face as he gave a thumbs up.

  Sam let out a breath he didn’t realise he’d been holding. Shaking his head, he got to his feet and walked outside. He needed some air.

  ***

  It got hotter as the morning wore on. Stripped down to t-shirt and shorts, Sam felt like he was being slow-cooked, and the sun hadn’t yet reached the peak of its arc. The only shade close to the cave entrance was provided by the base-camp tent, but sitting within its confines was even worse than being outside. At least in the open air he gained the occasional wisp of breeze.

  Contact with the crew below ground had failed after they’d passed the squeeze, and he’d been left to twiddle his thumbs and hope that nothing untoward was happening. No news was good news at a time like this. A rivulet of sweat rolled down the middle of his back, soaking into the waistband of his shorts as he absently kicked a toe at the dust.

  “Sam?”

  His head jerked up at his name. It was Ellie’s voice through the radio. He jogged back to the tent and grabbed the receiver.

  “Everything alright? You guys have been out of reach for a while now.”

  “We need your help. Something’s bitten Aaron.”

  Shit.

  Sam glanced over at his first aid pack, trying to remember in which pocket he had stored the compression bandages. The last thing he needed to deal with was a snake bite underground.

  “What bit him? Was it venomous?”

  “I… I don’t know. Can you just meet us at the bottom of the main shaft? We’re heading back now.”

  “Okay, I’ll be there.” Sam hung the receiver back on the radio set, an uneasy sensation at the bottom of his gut.

  How could she not know if it was venomous?

  He snatched his coveralls off the back of a camp chair and began to hurriedly dress, his mind already sorting through what he’d need to take.

  ***

  Sam switched on the camp lantern at the base of the shaft, banishing shadows with yellow light. He opened his first aid pack, grabbing out a dressing pack and bandage ready for use. He had only reached the bottom a few minutes earlier, and yet already the sweat on the back of his neck had cooled at the temperature change. He took a slow breath and parked his arse on a rock to wait. His concern of earlier had tempered somewhat. There were plenty reasons why they might not know if it was a venomous bite or not – a tunnel within the depths of the earth didn’t tend to provide great lighting. If it h
ad been a snake, the chances were that it would have been just a python of some sort.

  He heard the group’s approach long before their torches cut through the gloom of the northern tunnel. Starting off as no more than a candle’s glow, it steadily grew in brightness, until three figures appeared around the furthermost corner into view. Sam jogged down to meet them, keeping his head ducked to avoid smacking his helmet on the low roof. Aaron hopped on one foot, his arms wrapped around the shoulders of Max and Ellie to either side of him for support. Frida brought up the rear of the party, carrying Aaron’s pack in addition to her own.

  Ellie gave a weak smile as Sam took over her spot in assisting Aaron. “I was kind of hoping we wouldn’t need health back-up quite so early.”

  “I hardly fucking wanted this to happen, did I?” snapped Aaron.

  “It’ll be alright,” said Sam. “Let’s get you back and I’ll check it out.” He glanced out the corner of his eye at Aaron. The guy looked like shit. Sweat beaded his forehead, skin pale to the point of being almost grey. He leaned heavily on Sam’s shoulder, grunting with each hop until they reached the bottom of the main shaft.

  Aaron took a seat on a rock, grimacing as he unlaced the boot on the affected limb. Sam pulled on some plastic gloves, then helped him slide the boot off. The sock and boot’s inner lining were blood soaked. Aaron hissed between his teeth in pain as he rolled off the sock.

  A circular chunk of flesh was missing from the back of his Achilles tendon. The wound oozed blood, and there was a white sheen of tendon at the base.

  “How did it happen?” asked Sam as he opened a dressing pack and poured some sterile water onto it.

  “It was one of those weird leech things that Frida found the other day. Slithered up my pant leg and latched on. Fucking hurt like hell when it sunk its teeth into me,” said Aaron.

  “Yeah, it was gross,” said Ellie. “Long as your index finger, and you could see it chewing and sucking.”

  Aaron’s face dropped a shade paler. “I didn’t know what to do, so, just grabbed the end of it and yanked as hard as I could. Unfortunately, it ripped off with a mouthful of me in its jaws.” He turned and looked over his shoulder at Frida. “Have you still got it?”

  She nodded.

  “Good, because I want the job of dicing it for your examination,” muttered Aaron. “See how it likes having chunks cut out of its body.”

  Sam’s interest was spiked. “Can I have a look?”

  Frida nodded, extracted a clear plastic jar with a yellow screw lid from her backpack and tossed it across to Sam. He caught it in one hand, then shined his torch through the side.

  “Ah, I don’t see anything, Frida. It must be in a different container.”

  “No that’s the only one like it I brought down here.” Taking the jar back off him, she held it up before her eyes. “How the fuck did it get out of there?” Eyes drawn together in consternation, Frida unscrewed the jar.

  Sam’s eyes skirted the jar and lid, privately thinking that she’d misplaced the correct container somehow, but then something snagged his eye. An irregularity was present on the inner surface of the yellow lid, like the plastic had melted in one spot. That same bulge of melted plastic moved, a peristaltic motion rippling down its length.

  “Shit. Put the lid back on!” said Sam.

  Frida glanced up at him. “Huh?”

  “I was wrong, it’s still in there. Quick, close it!”

  Before she could clamp the lid on again, a yellow slug-like mass detached from the lid and slithered over the edge, dropping to the ground with a wet splat. On hitting the rocks, its skin colour changed to iron-grey, matching the underlying surface.

  “Bloody hell, the thing can camouflage itself,” muttered Sam.

  Frida leant down, ready to scoop it back into the container when it reared up like a small eyeless snake. In the torch light, a needle-rimmed mouth opened and emitted a high-pitched hissing sound. She jerked her hand back automatically, and the creature took the opportunity to slither into a crack.

  Frida swore. “Damn it, that was a different species to the one I found the other day. Now I have to find another one.”

  “Don’t go looking at me, I’ve done my bit for biology this trip,” said Aaron. “You can use something else as bait.”

  “Ha, Ha,” muttered Frida, stuffing the container back into her pack.

  Sam drew local anaesthetic into a syringe and injected the solution around the margin of Aaron’s wound. After giving it a few moments to take effect, he used a wad of gauze soaked with sterile water to scrub the raw flesh. After removing the majority of sock lint and clot from the wound bed, he filled a twenty millilitre syringe with sterile water and hosed the wound multiple times.

  Now that the wound bed was clean, he leant in for a closer inspection. “That was one hell of a bite. Looks like it managed to snip out part of the tendon.”

  “Yeah, felt like it was going to snap any time I put weight on it.”

  “You did the right thing. In its current shape, it’ll probably heal without too much intervention.” Sam stuck a dressing over the wound, then wound a bandage tightly around the ankle to hold it in place.

  Aaron swore. “So, that’s me out of action for the dive.”

  “Just a sec,” said Sam, rocking back on his heels. “Did you guys find water worth diving?”

  Ellie chewed her bottom lip as she nodded. “Yeah, but that’s not all we found. There was caving equipment down there, along with a tripod and camera.”

  “Bullshit,” muttered Sam under his breath. He looked up, locking gaze with Ellie. “It’s that couple you guys talked about, eh?”

  “Only explanation that fits, but there was no sign of bodies.”

  “Maybe they came back out and left?” offered Max.

  “And abandoned expensive equipment like that for no reason? I don’t think so.”

  Sam glanced up at the circle of light marking the entrance to the cave system, an uneasy sensation invading his gut as he remembered that there hadn’t been any ropes or equipment found near the sink hole. “If the cavers never made it out, then someone else removed their gear topside.”

  “Shit, you’re right,” said Ellie, a frown darkening her features. “Who do you think would have done it? They’d be risking a manslaughter charge.”

  “Anastas is the only guy who profits by the cave remaining open,” said Max. “Surely he’d be the number one suspect.”

  Sam nodded, having come to the same conclusion himself. “We have to notify the police. It’s a pity you guys won’t get to explore the cave further.”

  “Whoa, wait up there,” said Ellie. “Who said anything about giving up the expedition? I agree we need to call the police, but this might be our one and only chance. I say we haul the dive gear down there before anyone tries to stop us, because once this place is declared a crime scene, we’ll never get near it again. For all we know, the others dived on their own – we might actually find them further in and solve the mystery of what happened.”

  Ellie grabbed her brother by the shoulder. “Max, you agree, right?”

  He grinned at his sister. “Fuck, yeah. That initial chamber where the lake starts… I’ve never seen anything like it. There’s no caver in the country who’d pass up a chance to explore it.”

  Ellie turned to Sam and he felt his heart drop, knowing exactly what was coming next.

  “Will you join us? It’d be safer in a three person team. Frida hasn’t dived before, and Aaron can’t.”

  Sam’s heart rate increased, his chest tightening at the thought of diving into pitch black, one hundred metres beneath the Earth’s surface.

  “Don’t tell me your rock climbing boyfriend is too scared to go for a little swim?”

  “Shut up, Max,” said Ellie, smacking her brother over the back of his head. “He’ll go if he wants, not because you’re being a dick about it.”

  Sam glared at her brother. Although Max’s tone had been teasing, his eyes had tol
d a different story. He bit back the refusal that had been on the tip of his tongue. No one had ever called him a coward before, and he’d be damned if it would start today. He closed his eyes, took a slow breath, and imagined his anxiety leaving his body on the exhale. On opening them again, he found Ellie watching him intently, biting one corner of her lip as she waited for his answer.

  “Look, I know we have to call the police or we’ll all end up in the shit. How about we get Aaron to give us enough of a head start to commence the dive before making a report?” she suggested.

  “Okay. Count me in,” said Sam.

  Ellie’s eyes glinted with excitement as she leant forward and planted a kiss on his lips. “Thanks, babe.”

  Sam felt his gut drop, the reality of what he’d committed to sinking in the moment their lips parted.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Are you coming or what?”

  Kaz glared at her brother where he sat at the kitchen table. After leaving the hotel, they’d returned to her house for weapons in case the cavers proved difficult, but now Trevor was having a fit of conscience and refusing to budge.

  “No, I’m not having anything more to do with it unless you agree this is the last time. As far as I’m concerned, we’ve let it go too far.”

  Kaz wanted to scream. Her brother had always been the perpetual child, never able to face up to what needed to be done. “There’s no time for this. If any of them come in contact with the Mother and escape, what do you think’s going to happen?”

  “I don’t know. They piss off back to Sydney?”

  “No, you idiot. They’ll tell the media, police or whoever will listen about what happened underground.”

  “So, what? Nobody will believe them.”

  “No shit, they’ll probably get thrown in a psych ward for their efforts. But it doesn’t matter if no one believes them, because they’ll come all the same, just to find out what ‘really happened’. Do you want detectives asking questions, or police divers searching local dams for evidence? They’d find the car within a week.”