by Dave Bartell
He lunged and pinned her arms against the wall. She breathed his sweat and felt his arms tremble.
“You looked at them. What were you doing?” he accused.
“Someone killed them? That’s what makes you angry?”
His hot breath washed over her face.
“Is that it?” she taunted.
“I could take you right now,” he let go of her arm and grabbed her crotch. “No one would hear.”
“Is that what you want? Would it make you feel better?” she said trying to appear calm. She moved her knee up and felt for the knife in her boot. He sat up and turned his head at a sound. A fist blurred at her face and she was out.
84
Zac sat against the wall watching Darwin and Eyrún work their way across the rocks. He watched for any sign of Karl and practiced focusing the laser. The idea was to blind Karl if he showed up. Darwin and Eyrún reached the halfway-around point where the rocks turned up. Eyrún set the anchors they would need to bring Pétur up.
Something moved in the cave. Zac brought his knees up to steady his elbows. He aimed the laser at the cave, finger resting on the power button. He saw Eyrún attach an anchor to the ledge sticking out from the cave mouth. Darwin belayed her precariously as she stretched to set another.
Zac looked back to where he had seen movement inside the cave, just as Karl’s form burst forth, only a few feet from where Eyrún hung. “Eyrún!” he yelled. She glanced up and ducked just in time to miss a kick aimed at her head. Karl knelt down to grab at her. She let go of the ledge and dropped a meter until the rope caught her. Darwin leaned his full weight into the belay and was jerked back to the wall as the rope snapped taut.
Zac moved onto the rocks and blasted the laser into Karl’s face. Karl shaded his eyes with one hand while slicing at the rope with a knife in his other hand. “Get on the wall, Eyrún,” Zac yelled. She swung herself at the wall grabbing for any handhold. Karl had half his body over the ledge reaching with the knife. Zac threw a rock that just missed his head. Karl finally got his knife under the rope and sliced viciously upward. The rope parted like a broken rubber band.
Darwin flew backward as the rope separated. He grabbed Eyrún’s legs, and the increased weight yanked her fingers off their small hold. They dropped together almost a meter before springing back upward as the Y-harness engaged. She screamed as Darwin’s weight seemed to pull her leg out of its socket. Zac’s second throw hit Karl in the neck causing him to retreat.
“Darwin. Grab both my legs,” Eyrún yelled. She screamed again as her leg twisted when he moved to grasp her other leg. Darwin now locked both arms around her ankles and pressed his face into her calves. Karl walked back to the front of the ledge, one hand shielding his eyes from Zac.
“Stop it, Zac!” he commanded. “Unless you all want to die right now.” He held up his other hand wrapped around something, thumb bent ready to press down. Zac dropped his arm holding the laser and watched Darwin get the toe of one boot onto a small ledge. Eyrún held the harness with both hands, her face twisted as she struggled with Darwin’s movements. Neither of them was able to see Karl.
“Go back if you want to live. This cave is rigged to explode and seal itself off,” said Karl. He flicked his thumb up and pressed it down. Zac winced.
“It’s a Deadman switch,” Karl laughed cruelly holding the device under his headlamp to show his thumb on the switch. “Kill me and we all die.”
“What’re you doing?” asked Pétur.
“What I should have done earlier,” said Ian cutting the zip ties with a knife pulled from his boot. Zac, Eyrún and Darwin had agreed earlier to keep Ian restrained, as they still did not know whether he was still working with Karl.
“You can’t do this,” said Pétur.
“Sorry Pétur, but I have to,” said Ian putting a cloth over Pétur’s mouth and taping it in place. Pétur yelled into the gag. His eyes wide with fear as Ian tied his hands and feet. “Listen,” he grabbed Pétur’s jaw. “You’re badly hurt. Don’t follow me.”
Pétur’s eyes filled with tears. “You’ll be okay,” said Ian and started for the waterfall.
A short bit later, he heard Eyrún scream and broke in to a run. As he got closer, the lights in the shaft made it easier to avoid rocks. He slowed and moved to the left wall. The tube expanded, and he saw Eyrún and Darwin hanging by a rope about seven meters up. He used the mist and dim light to hide his movement and, in another three steps, looked at Karl standing above them talking to someone to Ian’s left.
“Where’s Stevie?” came Zac’s voice. Good, there’s Zac, thought Ian pressing deeper in the shadows.
“Safe,” yelled Karl.
“Where?” insisted Zac.
Ian caught Karl’s eyes and nodded. From this angle, no one could see him except Karl. He crept forward until Zac was in view and carefully changed the grip on his knife, taking the blade between his thumb and forefinger ready to throw.
85
Stevie opened her eyes and winced at the pain in her cheek. Both hands came up when she reached for her face. They were zipped again. She rolled on her back and pulled her feet in close to get both hands down to her boot. She pushed her right fingers into her boot and pulled at the knife. It was wedged in by the zip-ties on her ankles.
Damn! She crunched down again, pulled it free and cut the ties. She then uncurled a moment to rest her aching arms. Eyrún screamed. Stevie ran down the cave and doused her headlamp when Karl’s silhouette emerged. She dropped and yanked off her boots. The knife clattered on the floor as she cast off her socks. She picked it up tossing the sheath and moved barefoot into the stream. The cold felt like an electric current. The shock heightened her senses, and she spotted a red light blinking on the opposite wall. A quick glance from it to Karl’s curled fist told her the light meant a bomb.
Her heart jumped in her throat as she diverted toward the device stuffed in a crack. Wires from the light coiled into some kind of clay material. Which one? Fuck! No time! She winced and pulled the wires. Nothing. She exhaled and moved at Karl. The pool below came into view. Ian was standing down in the mouth of the tube, looking across at Zac. Shit! That son-of-a-bitch will kill him to protect Karl! As if she shouted it out loud, Zac looked up at her. She watched Ian draw back his throwing knife. “Zac!” she yelled pointing at Ian and charged Karl with her blade. A sharp rock pierced her foot a couple steps from him. She stumbled on reflex and Karl turned to meet her attack. She lunged at his chest with all the force she could muster. He grabbed her wrist to parry the thrust.
Zac watched Ian pivot right in one smooth motion and throw from his left foot like an American baseball pitcher. “No!” yelled Zac putting up his hands. He took a split second to realize the knife was not moving at him. He watched it spin through the mist and hit Karl mid-back.
Stevie twisted her arm to get through Karl’s grip. Abruptly he went rigid, then crumpled backwards pulling her with him. She felt a warmth on her hands as her blade drove into Karl’s shoulder. They were weightless. Flying. Then her breath exploded from her lungs as she slammed into the water.
“Stevie!” yelled Zac jumping down the rocks. The wave from their impact hit him full in the face as he leapt.
86
Darwin heard the yells and twisted his head as Zac hit the pool.
“Darwin!” Eyrún screamed. “Clip onto the sling on my harness.”
His head was buried in the backs of her legs and he strained to look up. He would have to hold on with only one arm. He glanced down at the water splattering on the sharp rocks. Merde! His heart lurched. A fall from this angle would be fatal.
“Do it! We’re going to fall!” yelled Eyrún.
He wrapped his left arm tight on her legs and felt for the carabiner on his right hip. He wedged the clip open and pulled it free. He snapped it to the sling on his waist and reached up to the sling dangling from Eyrún. C’mon, c’mon! He strained to reach. C’mon! He thrust his shoulder up just as his other arm slipped off
her legs. Fuck! He tried to get his free arm back on her legs, but he dropped until the sling caught their weight. She screamed.
“Ahhhhhh… Darwin. Get the ledge. Hurry!” The rope was not attached to her harness but coiled around one of her arms, biting into the muscle. Her hand barely held the cut end of the rope. Her face contorted in pain. He strained to reach the ledge, still a couple centimeters too far. He stretched harder.
“Do it!” Eyrún screeched.
He lunged at the wall and caught the outcropping just as the rope slipped from Eyrún’s hand. No! His brain registered that they were linked at the hip when the strain of her weight disappeared. He swung hard to get his other hand on the rock, grasping for dear life.
Eyrún’s freefall ended in a violent jerk and the rock tore into his palms, shooting pain down his arms. The bones in his wrists felt stretched beyond any reasonable point. She slammed sideways into him. “Arrghh,” Darwin growled and fought against blacking out.
“Darwin!” yelled Eyrún from his lower left. He sucked in deep breaths, and his vision came back into focus. She had somehow found purchase on the wall with her left hand and foot and pressed upward. Her right side hung in space just behind Darwin. “Get your feet on the wall. Here.” She moved his left calf “There’s a ledge.”
He wriggled his boot onto the rock until it felt solid enough. He pressed down and brought his right foot onto the ledge. After a moment, Eyrún unclipped herself from his waist and shuffled left. They both now clung to the vertical rock.
“I thought we would die,” said Darwin, still panting. She squirmed closer and leaned in until their foreheads touched. The glare of their headlamps and closeness of their faces made it hard to focus, but Darwin could see a warmth gather in her eyes.
“Hey! Are you two done playing Spider-Man up there, because it’s goddamn cold down here!” yelled Zac. They looked down. Zac and Stevie were standing knee deep in water on the rocks at the edge of the pool. Karl’s body floated facedown in the water. They were safe.
87
Carn Eige
Olivier, Carmen, and Emelio returned to the mountain cave the next day with a pile of gear and more help. Evan had recruited two local cavers for the search and rescue: Ryan, who was Evan’s age, and James, who was about seven years their senior and an elder member of the regional cavers group. They figured Darwin was due in this location anytime between today and three days from now.
Olivier told the cavers about the potential danger, even though his information was vague. It turned out James had been a lieutenant in the Royal Marines and saw action in Afghanistan rooting out insurgents from caves. Both Evan and Ryan had served in the Royal Navy as specialists in underwater operations. The threat seemed to galvanize the young men and James alerted the local emergency services of their plans. He called a helicopter pilot who served with him and said they might need help with a “dangerous situation.”
The young men went down the cave in late morning with a plan to set up a way point. Coira Kinnaird’s original estimate of eight hours to the bottom meant an overnight stop. Olivier worked as a supply runner for the first hour, then took his place in the cave to wait with Carmen and Emelio. A portable propane heater eased the chill as they sat and played cards.
“What do you think?” asked Carmen.
“Best to just play,” said Olivier. The soft whisper of the heater became the only sound and a few hours later, they heard movement from within the cave.
“We have a problem,” said James from below them as they moved over the opening. “There’s a blockage about a couple hundred yards after the junction.”
88
The Lava Tube
They passed around cups of steaming tea made from the last two bags and the heat stilled their shivering. After dragging Karl’s body onto the rocks, they had ferried supplies up to the waterfall cave. Based on Agrippa’s writing, Darwin surmised that the cave should take them outside. There are just no other logical options. “How’s Pétur?” he asked.
“Unchanged,” said Eyrún. “He needs medical attention. There’s nothing else I can do for him.”
Pétur moved with difficulty. They had belayed him as almost a dead weight and he had now fallen asleep despite Eyrún’s attempts to keep him awake. Zac and Stevie sat together. His arm over her shoulders. Zac had helped wash her off in the pool below, but it was not enough. She had ripped off the blood-soaked shirt and now wore one of Eyrún’s. Ian had gone up the tunnel while they rested. He was the only one who did not exhaust himself in the fight, and they were too tired to contain him.
“Can we trust him now?” asked Darwin.
“Are you fucking kidding? Just because he hit Karl, how do we know he wasn’t throwing the knife at Stevie?” said Zac.
“I dunno,” said Darwin.
“Shut up, Darwin!” said Stevie.
“I only meant—”
“Just shut the fuck up. All we’ve fucking heard is ‘dunno this’ and ‘dunno that’. Can’t you see these assholes wanted to kill us all along? All you wanted was your goddamn tube. Well, you got it and the secret is going die with us for some other fucking idiot to figure out.”
“Hey,” said Zac.
She shoved his hand away. “Leave me alone!”
They went quiet, each wallowing in a universe of private misery, Darwin imagined. He leaned back on the wall and closed his eyes while Stevie’s accusations echoed in his mind. One by one his failures scrolled through his memory like a box of postcards. A hard lump pressed up in his throat as he flashed on his grandfather, parents, and sister. Where are they right now? Will I ever see them again?
He breathed and listened as the sounds separated themselves. The water. Stevie crying. A small clack of rocks. Eyrún’s gentle voice talking to Pétur. This was my idea. I led them here. Somehow I convinced them that lava tubes connected the ancient world. True, some want it for financial gain, but they want it as much as I do. As much as Agrippa did.
His eyelids popped open. And Agrippa lived! He pulled in a large breath and stretched his fingers and toes. Unless the scrolls were made up, Agrippa was in this cave—and he got out! He stood up and walked to the middle of the cave.
“I’m sorry. It wasn’t my intention to harm anyone,” he said. “Stevie, I’m sorry. You are right. I don’t know a lot about this lava tube and this cave. Eyrún, I’m sorry I rushed us into this with Ian and Karl against your better advice. Pétur, I’m sorry for risking your life. Zac, I’m sorry for, uh—” He paused. “—for talking you into flying here. I was following my blind ambition and didn’t think enough about the dangers. I hope each of you will forgive me.”
Eyrún stopped whispering and Zac looked up. Stevie remained curled into the wall.
“But I didn’t make you come here. You followed. You didn’t have to come. What? Walk a thousand kilometers under the sea because some old scroll said so. It’s ludicrous. What idiots would do that?
“Eyrún, to bring new energy sources to people who need them. Zac, to understand how deep Earth plate tectonics work to save lives. Pétur, to uncover old ways of living so we can all live better. And Stevie, to find unknown creatures and ways to preserve ancient beauty.
“We’re all idiots who believe there are crazy important discoveries to still be made in the world. We’ve all seen evidence that there is more beneath the Earth’s surface than modern science can explain. And here we are.
“You’re right. I say ‘dunno’ a lot. Maybe it’s a bad habit. But I DO KNOW that some guy named Agrippa wrote that there is a way out of here. He was right here, where I’m standing. And he got out that way,” he said, pointing to the upward side of the cave. “I dunno about you, but I refuse to die here!”
He was just about to speak again when a clear voice rang out. “Let’s go, then, because if we don’t get out of here, Assa will kill me,” said Pétur.
Ian returned to find the group making preparations to leave. He had listened just outside the cave before kicking a rock t
o announce his presence.
“Where were you and what were you doing?” asked Eyrún.
“I followed the cave. It doubles back on itself after twenty meters. We can go at a crouch, but it will be slow. There’s another larger chamber in a few hundred meters. I turned around there, but it looked open on the far side,” said Ian.
“Any markings?” asked Darwin.
“I wasn’t looking, but there are no other branches past here,” he waved behind him.
Eyrún walked over to Ian and stopped inside an arm’s length from him and stared up into his face. “I promised my best friend I wouldn’t let anything happen to Pétur,” she said and poked him in the chest. “You’re going to help carry him out. And if you do something else to hurt him, I’ll kill you myself.”
“I know how to wrap him. We had to do this in the mines,” said Ian when they pushed him away from helping secure Pétur for the trip out. “Stabilize his head and neck,” he said curling a small backpack around his neck. Ian and Zac worked a tarp and sleeping bags into a makeshift stretcher, but without materials for a rigid frame, carrying him would be awkward.
“A day, you think,” said Eyrún.
“That’s what the scroll says,” said Darwin.
“Good news, Pétur. You’re losing the weight you’ve been talking about,” said Eyrún.
Walking the last three weeks had burned a lot of body fat, and with no junk food, they were lean. Darwin had tightened his belt an extra notch about a week back. He had never been fat, but now his lazy middle had melted away.
“Zac, you start up with Stevie,” said Darwin. “I’ll take Pétur’s head. Ian, you take his feet. Eyrún, you bring up the rear. We work the plan. Call out when you are tired and we’ll rotate positions.”
