The Cavern Page 11

  “Stop changing the topic. This is the last time we feed the beast, or I’m out.”

  “And just how do you suppose we achieve that? It’ll need to feed again sometime in the future. It might be years, but we know it’ll happen.”

  “Simple. We collapse the cave entrance and cap each of the mines. In fact, we should do it before the cavers even go down there. If we save them like Jack wanted, he’ll forgive us tying him up, and the whole thing could be forgotten.”

  Kaz knew the Miner’s Mother wasn’t Archie, but the two had become welded together in her consciousness. By refusing the monster prey, she’d be starving her little brother.

  “No. We’ve come this far. The only way to get it back into hibernation is to feed it until its hunger’s sated. We know it’s not stupid. While it’s awake and hungry, it would realise what we were doing, and attack anyone attempting to seal the mine entrances.”

  “So, you’ll help me after it’s had the cavers?” There was a glint of victory in her brother’s eye. “Let it eat, and while it sleeps off the feast, we seal the bitch in.”

  Kaz pursed her lips in irritation, knowing her brother had her cornered. There was no way to refuse without starting to sound unhinged. “Fine. But I’d love to know how you plan on collapsing the cave entrance. That shaft is twenty feet across.”

  Trevor got up and left the room without a word. She heard him open a cupboard in the hallway, and then he was back again. He thumped two rectangular packages down on the table next to the .303 rifle Kaz had retrieved from the gun safe earlier.

  “Plastic explosive. Used to be a common method of wiping out rabbit warrens or to uproot a tree stump. But with the latest wave of terrorist related legislation, a bunch of the local farmers failed to renew their licences. We’ve been collecting old stock during an amnesty over the past few weeks, and I managed to nab a few before the last federal pick up.”

  Kaz eyed the explosive for a moment before meeting her brother’s gaze. She knew he meant it. He was done. Trevor had always bent to her will, but had clearly reached a point where he was liable to snap. Kaz refused to lose a second brother.

  “Okay. After they’re in, we collapse the main shaft and start capping the mines.” But not all of them. Surely she could keep one entrance open to visit Archie on the odd occasion?

  Trevor’s mobile phone began to ring. He answered it, a frown deepening as he listened.

  “Bullshit, Brown. Those fucking idiots are playing a prank. Ignore them and stay put, I’m not wasting police resources on some city slicker’s sick j…” He paused for a second. “Don’t bloody argue with me, Constable. I’m the senior officer, and you’ll do as I fucking say. Stay put until I get back to the station, and then we’ll consider our options.” He hung up the call and stared at his sister.

  “We’ve got problems. One of the cavers has found equipment underground from the first couple and made a report.”

  Kaz swore. “You idiot. If we’d been out there already like I wanted, they wouldn’t have been able to make the call.”

  Trevor said nothing, waiting for her to make a decision on what to do. Just like usual. Kaz wanted to slap him in the face, scream rage and frustration at him. Instead, she forced restraint. “Well, what are you waiting for? You said you were heading back to the station to get things under control, so bloody do it.”

  She picked the rifle off the table, slung it over one shoulder, then grabbed the plastic explosive and detonator, and shoved them in a bag. “I’ll go and deal with the cavers.”

  ***

  Mia scanned the bar of the Pintalba Hotel for the owner. She’d wanted to pick Sam’s brain about a clinical question, but had received no answer on knocking at his door. Not wanting to call and disturb him if they’d already started the caving expedition, she’d come to check with Jack first. Now she couldn’t find the old publican either.

  Something was odd, it wasn’t like him to leave the bar unattended for any length of time. She walked to a doorway with an ‘Employees Only’ sign stuck to the lintel, and poked her head around the corner.

  “Hey, Jack, are you here?”

  Nothing.

  She was about to give up and go back to the station, when a noise caught her attention. “Jack?”

  A garbled moan came from one of the back rooms. She darted down the hallway, expecting to find him collapsed on the ground. Mia skidded to a halt in the study doorway, mouth open in surprise at finding the old man zip tied to an office chair.

  What the fuck?

  She glanced behind herself, wondering if whoever had tied up Jack was still on the premises. The barman moaned again, eyes bulging, unable to form words due to a strip of grey duct tape over his mouth.

  Mia gently peeled the tape off his face and Jack gulped a deep breath, chest heaving now that he could finally breathe properly.

  “Who did this to you? Did someone rob the hotel?”

  “No, not a robbery. It was Kaz and her brother, Trevor.”

  Mia fumbled through the desk drawers, looking for something to cut the zip ties. Her head jerked up at the names. “You expect me to believe a council worker and a police sergeant tied you up? That’s crazy.” Finding a pair of scissors, she snipped the cable ties about his wrists and ankles.

  Jack rubbed at the pink marks left on his skin, eyes narrowed in pain. “Believe what you want, but we need to get out to Anastas’ property before Sam and his friends go into the cave. They’re in real danger.”

  He opened a closet door in the corner of the room, and pushed aside some hanging jackets to reveal a rifle and box of ammunition. Jack ran through a quick safety check of the weapon, before shoving a few packed magazines into his pocket.

  “Can you drive me out there? If the shit’s already hit the fan, they might need your paramedic skills.”

  Mia was about to ask another question when she caught the expression on his face. He was deadly serious. “Okay, but whatever’s going on, you’re starting to scare me a little.”

  The old man glanced sideways at her, a harsh gleam in his eyes. This wasn’t the bartender she’d come to know tramping out of the pub with rifle in hand. No, this was the soldier. Although the years may have added wrinkles and turned his hair to steel, the expression of grim determination in his black and white photos from Vietnam was unchanged.

  “Stick with me and you’ll be fine. I’ve beaten the old bitch before, and I’ll do it again.”

  Something made Mia think he wasn’t talking about Kaz, and it scared her all the more. A tremor shook her hands as she followed him out to the street.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Lying flat on his belly in the squeeze, Sam shoved an air tank and backpack ahead of himself. The sound of his own breath was harsh in his ears, bouncing back at him off the sides of the tunnel. Although the word ‘tunnel’ was a little grand, for what he crawled through was no more than a crack in the earth. One hundred metres below ground, he was wedged in a fissure no wider than his chest. Ignoring the voice of anxiety in the back of his mind, he used the toes of his boots to lever, and grabbed onto a crack in the rock to drag himself forward.

  It was becoming tighter the further he went. Rock scraping painfully against his spine and ribs. His fingers slipped off the next grip. Sam drew his knee to the side, dug his toes in and kicked back. He moved ahead another five centimetres, then wedged. The rock carved a crimson rent in the skin of his chest despite the coveralls, a burning line that was soon followed by the warmth of blood. Sam took a breath and shoved forward again, uncaring of any damage he might cause himself.

  Nothing. Not a centimetre. His heart surged, a racing drumbeat loud in his ears. He needed a deep breath, and yet could barely draw air into his chest in the narrow gap.

  “I… I think I’m stuck.” Sam tried to sound matter of fact, but there was an edge to his voice. The whisper of anxiety had gained a megaphone, was screaming at him that he would never get free. He’d be entombed in pitch black until he starved.

/>   “No you’re not. If I made it through, so can you, mate.”

  It took a moment before Sam registered Max’s voice above his own screaming thoughts. He angled his head to the side, looking forward. Ten metres ahead, Max stared back at him.

  “You’re nearly there. As soon as you move past that point, the whole thing begins to widen again. Plenty of room ahead.”

  “But I can’t move.”

  “Yes, you can. I want you to take a few slow breaths. Calm yourself. Then breathe out fully before trying to move again. With empty lungs, the diameter of your chest will be less and you’ll get through.”

  Sam gave himself a mental slap. Focus on reality, not fear. He clamped down on the anxious thoughts, blocking them out to concentrate on his surrounds.

  Earth and rock beneath his fingers.

  Air to breathe.

  There was time, he just had to work his way out of the puzzle, nothing more. He pictured himself high on a cliff face, hanging by one hand. What did he do when he came to a difficult section during a rock climb? Did he focus on the probability of falling? No, that was wasted mental effort. He didn’t need to worry about falling, because he trusted his ropes and climbing partner to keep him safe. This wasn’t any different, just another problem to overcome.

  Sam took some slow, shallow breaths. Within a few moments, his heart slowed and he began to feel under control of his body and mind. He scrabbled around with his toes until they found purchase, found a hand grip, then exhaled fully.

  He shoved forward. For a split second, the jag of rock held, then it slid free and he was moving again. He paused for a moment now that his chest could finally expand to catch his breath, then moved again, systematically pushing ahead his gear as he wriggled on. Now there was space to leopard crawl, then get to his knees. And finally he was free, dropping over a rock lip into a shoulder height section of tunnel.

  The adrenaline aftermath left his head buzzing and muscles jittery, but more importantly, there was an overwhelming euphoria. He found himself laughing, a smile stretched across his face at making it through.

  “Good work, mate. Told you it was only a bit further.” Max slapped a hand onto his shoulder, teeth shining bright white as he grinned. “Feels good, eh?”

  He nodded in agreement, the near panic of minutes earlier seemed a mile away. And although the thought of the coming dive was no more pleasant than before, he felt a little less daunted by the prospect.

  “Hey, slack arse. A little help here.”

  Sam glanced over his shoulder then threw up a hand just in time to catch the end of Frida’s air tank. He got to his knees, and helped her lift her tank and backpack down to the tunnel floor. Soon after, Ellie emerged to bring up the rear.

  The group rested for a few minutes, taking the time to drink a little water and eat a muesli bar. Sam reached a hand gingerly down the front of his coveralls and winced as his touched the wound. His fingertips emerged slick with blood.

  “You okay?” asked Ellie.

  He shrugged, unconcerned. “Yeah, only a scratch.” It didn’t feel too deep, nothing that would require stitches anyway. “Looks like I’m the next bit of bait for Frida’s worms.”

  “Fuck that, man,” said Max, wincing. “You saw what it did to Aaron, let those nasty bastards starve.”

  As Sam recalled the slug hissing through fanged teeth at Frida, an involuntary shiver of revulsion worked up his spine. Changing the topic, he turned to Ellie. “How much further to the lake?”

  “Not far.” His girlfriend’s eyes smiled as she spoke, her expression brightening for a moment. “It’s only a hundred or so metres down this passage. Clean sailing from here.”

  Max shoved his water bottle back into his backpack and stood, evidently keen to get moving. “Do you think Aaron’s called the police yet?”

  Ellie shrugged noncommittedly. “Probably.”

  “Let’s get this show on the road then,” said Max, moving from one foot to the other like an impatient kid.

  Not waiting, he turned and paced ahead with shoulders bent, head skimming just below the passage roof. The light from his helmet was a solid beam as it cut through the pitch black, soon joined by others as the rest of the group followed.

  A few minutes later, they emerged from the tunnel into a wide space. Sam deposited his air tank on the ground and slipped the pack off his shoulders. The aching muscles at the base of his neck and shoulders were soon forgotten as he turned on the spot, taking in his new surroundings.

  The cavern’s ceiling arced above, soaring so high his powerful torch beam was lost in the darkness. Huge stalactites hung like giant fangs, tapering gradually until they finished in a narrow point. Twenty metres into the cavern, the dirt floor changed to water. It was perfectly clear, revealing a silt bottom that shelved steeply off shore.

  “This is the lake we’re to dive?”

  Ellie nodded. “Pretty awesome, eh?”

  Sam wandered over to where she had taken a seat, staring out over the water. He eased himself down beside her, and was soon joined by Max and Frida. No one spoke, each sitting quietly with their own thoughts, torch beams drawing slow arcs about the cavern as they took in the ancient grandeur.

  “Makes you feel pretty small and insignificant, being in a place like this,” said Frida.

  Sam found himself nodding in agreement. There was something undeniably humbling in the experience. At that moment, it was worth every discomfort and anxious moment to be there.

  “Hey, before we get moving again, can I try something?” asked Ellie. “I want to know what this place would be like before we dragged our torches and gear in here. Just for a few minutes, can we turn off our lights and chill out for a sec.”

  Max smirked. “Odd place for a meditation session, sis.”

  Ellie was undeterred. “No, this is the best place. No cars or manufactured noise. Not even rustling leaves in a breeze. Just perfect silence.” She turned to Sam. “Come on, give it a try, just for me.”

  Sam shrugged, and turned off his head lamp. One by one, the others switched off their light sources, until with a simple click, Frida plunged the space into darkness.

  Pitch black.

  Sam raised one hand before his face and moved it back and forth. He knew it was only a few centimetres from his eyes and yet he couldn’t see a thing. Not even a suggestion of light or movement. The darkness was absolute, complete. Having such an important sense carved away in an instant left him feeling mildly disorientated. He rested his hands by his side. Without any other sensory input to distract his brain, the feedback from his fingertips seemed amazingly sensitive. Each tiny bump and imperfection in the stone surface registering.

  Touch wasn’t the only sense supercharged by the deletion of sight, with hearing also becoming enhanced. His pulse provided a steady beat in both ears, and with little concentration, he could differentiate the breathing patterns of his three mates. Sam leant back on the wall and let his face muscles go lax and thoughts wander.

  Drips sounded on the other side of the cavern. Four wet plops, likely from the tip of a hanging stalactite onto the surface of the lake. Then a slight movement of water. His brow creased as he tried to make sense of the last sound. Maybe a flowing current?

  Three sharp clicks.

  Goosebumps puckered along his forearms. Sam sat forward, head cocked to the side as he listened intently.

  Light flared, painfully bright as Ellie switched on her head lamp.

  “That was awesome. Total sensory deprivation,” she said with a smile.

  Sam winced at the unexpected brightness, shielding his eyes with a hand.

  “Did you hear that?” he asked.

  “Hear what?”

  Now that his eyes had adjusted somewhat, he turned on his own torch and pointed it in the direction of the earlier water movement. Nothing but empty shoreline. He scanned across the lake’s surface, catching a drop of water like a diamond in the beam of light as it fell from the roof.

  “Ah, nothin
g.” Sam let it go, deciding it was just his mind playing tricks on him by filling in the silence with imagination. There was a reason solitary confinement sent prisoners mad.

  “So, you still up for the dive?” asked Ellie. “If you want to back out, now’s the time to say. No pressure.”

  Sam stared out over the water again to where the cavern wall met the surface of the water. From there, diving was the only option to proceed.

  “I’m coming.” He’d come this far, it would be ridiculous to pull out now.

  Sam, Max and Ellie stripped out of their coveralls, and began to pull on wet suits and fins. Their fins were short and stiff, the smaller size helping to minimise disturbance of silt from the bottom while swimming. Frida helped Sam shrug on his tank and adjust his straps. Finally happy with his rig, he entered the water with careful steps to join Max and Ellie. Plumes of silt rose from the floor, turning the once crystal waters into a muddy soup.

  Ellie looked like a different person. With her entire scalp and neck covered by a dive hood, only her face was open to the air. Her expression was closed. Sam knew that she took safety seriously, and as the most senior diver now Aaron was out of action, she’d be doing a mental check of all safety issues to ensure they came out the other side without issue.

  She ducked her goggles in the water, then spat on the inside, smearing the saliva over the surface before putting them on to prevent the glass from fogging. Evidently happy the strap was of the right tightness, she moved the goggles up to her forehead.

  “Max will be taking lead, you’ll be in the middle, Sam, and I’ll bring up the tail with the guideline to find our way back.” She lifted a length of yellowish cord from her waist above the water line to show. Sam glanced back to shore, noting where Frida had secured the near end of the cord around a heavy rock. The only time he’d been cave diving in the past, the guidelines had been pre-fixed along the wall. This time, they’d be laying their own.