The Abra River had many different channels at the mouth, and the evening before they had followed a returning fishing boat around several islands until they came to a channel that was lined with fish traps. They could see a dock and a road ashore, so they dropped the hook. Greg hailed a passing fisherman and they’d learned the town of Vigan was several miles inland.
Theo said, “Fortunately, the storm has been downgraded to a tropical storm, so I’m not worried that the boat will drag while you’re gone, but it’s not going to be fun climbing those mountains in thirty- to forty-knot winds.”
“For a while last night, it looked like it was calming down,” Greg said.
“Tropical storm weather comes in bands,” Theo said. “It will rain like the gods opened all taps, then it will go calm and dry for a spell before the next band hits. A calm spell doesn’t necessarily mean it’s through.”
“So,” Cole said. “Are we ready? Let’s go over it all one more time.”
“Again?” Peewee said. “At my age my memory’s like a sieve, but even I can remember last night.”
“I printed up some topographical maps I found online,” Theo said.
“Talk about the blind leading the blind.”
“Shut up, Irv. I had Greg help me to make sure I wasn’t printing up ads for Viagra—which was possible, since you’d just been using the computer.”
“Children, please,” Riley said. “Let’s take a look at these maps.”
Greg handed her several sheets of paper and together they spread them out on the dinette table. Greg said, “From comparing these maps to the nautical charts, we’ve been able to narrow down the location. There’s really only a small area along the coast here where the water is deep enough for ships to go right up to the shore. If there was a cave along this coast, Theo concluded it had to be here.” She pointed to the chart. “Peewee said the cave was big enough for a freighter like the Teiyō Maru. That must mean the ceiling is quite high, so the underground river that formed the cave must have cut under a fairly high hill or mountain that reaches all the way to the coast. So, we know that the cave wouldn’t have been under the valleys, and we’re thinking it’s under this mountain here.” She drew a dark line on the map. “As the cave goes inland it climbs, and the other entrance would likely be on the side of the hill here.” She drew a circle.
Cole said, “And that’s not that far from the Gabriela Silang Memorial Park, at the entrance to the Northern Luzon Heroes Hill National Park.”
Peewee said, “Yeah, the mountains where the guerrillas were fighting is now a national park.”
Greg patted his arm. “We honor our heroes who fought for our independence. Thank you for helping them.”
“You make me feel like an old man.”
Greg kissed him on the cheek. “You are an old man.”
“Right,” Cole said. “We figure we can leave the van along the road here, where there’s a parking lot for the parks.”
The night before, Cole had sent Greg ashore to rent a car, and she’d returned with a van. It was the only vehicle she’d been able to secure at that hour. It belonged to the owner of a local gas station. While she’d been getting the car, Cole had packed their gear and Riley and Peewee had worked with Theo at scanning the image off the silk and transposing it onto maps and charts in the computer to determine the location.
“Okay,” Cole said. “We know we aren’t going to be alone out there. Nils got away with the camera and we should expect company.”
Riley said, “You mentioned that you thought he was stealing the sat phone last night? I’ll bet he used it to call someone to tell them what we were doing. Hawkes and Benny were probably already here when we arrived yesterday. They’ve had as much time to prepare as we have.”
“I doubt they have access to the computer help we have”—Cole nodded toward Theo—“but they won’t be far behind us.”
“If I were them, I’d hide and wait to follow us,” Riley said.
“Let’s hope they aren’t that smart. Without the analysis Theo did, we’d be looking at about two to three miles of coastline and thinking it could be anywhere along there. They probably don’t know the park is there.”
“Fingers crossed,” Riley said.
“So, I’ve packed four bags for us. Theo is staying with the boat as our tech support and backup. We’ll take the sat phone in case we don’t have cell reception up there. He can call in the cavalry if we need it.”
Greg said, “Referring to the Vigan police as the cavalry might be an exaggeration.”
“If we need help, I’m certain Theo can be very persuasive. In your bags, you’ll find some food and water, underwater lights, headlamps, rope, et cetera. We don’t have much in the way of weapons, but I do have two spearguns. They’re pneumatic and small enough to fit into a backpack. I’ve put one in my bag and the other in Riley’s. We’ll buddy up—me and Greg, and Irv and Riley. Every bag has a knife.”
“I’ve got my own, as well,” Greg said.
Cole smiled. “I’d be surprised if you didn’t. I’ve also brought masks and mini-fins in case we find this cave and it’s flooded. It must have been formed by an underground river, which probably got dammed up when the Japanese buried the entrance.”
“You guys need to eat fast and go,” Theo said, putting plates of food on the table. “You want to start hiking while it’s still dark.”
The drive through Vigan and across the Abra River took longer than they thought due to the rain and wind. There were other cars on the road, people driving to work and big buses full of travelers. When the rain closed down visibility, the traffic slowed to a crawl. By the time they reached the turnoff for the Gabriela Silang Memorial Park, the dawn had turned their world a drizzly gray.
Before climbing out of the van, they pulled on their raingear. Cole had brought his foul-weather pants as well as the jacket, but he could tell already that he would be too hot under all that gear with his jeans on. Riley and Greg both wore their full foul-weather suits with shorts underneath while Peewee wore one of Theo’s rain jackets. It came nearly to his knees. Cole had the topo map in a Ziploc bag, while Riley had dropped a pin in her phone’s Google Maps app at the center of the area Theo predicted would be the probable location.
The going was easy at first. Though not as well traveled as an American park might be, still, there was a well-worn path up the mountain. The farther they went, though, the more difficult it became to find the trail. Soon they were forging their own path. In places the forest grew thick and some of the trees were huge, but at other times the growth on the ground had died off from lack of light, and the tree canopy gave them some measure of relief from the constant downpour.
Cole was glad he’d brought a machete. In places where the growth was thick, they would have had to walk much farther if they weren’t able to cut through. Because he was cutting the trail, he was on point. Greg followed him, then the old man. Riley took up the rear.
The ground they covered in the first half hour was fairly flat, too, but when they started climbing, Cole knew Peewee was going to be a problem. No doubt about it, he was in great shape for a guy his age. But he was ninety-three years old. Most people his age were in wheelchairs, not climbing mountains in the rain. On the other hand, the old guy claimed that he had seen the location of the so-called back door to the cave. While things had changed in sixty years, no doubt, he would be invaluable if he recognized something.
Cole stopped and turned around. “Water break,” he said.
“All you gotta do is stick out your tongue,” Peewee said.
Cole ignored him. He’d been able to hear how hard the old guy was breathing. He didn’t want him having a heart attack out in the middle of nowhere. “How’s everybody doing?”
“What you really want to know is”—Irv paused to catch his breath—“is the old guy gonna croak on you.”
“Well, you got me there, Irv. You aren’t, are you? Gonna croak, I mean?”
“Not if I can hel
p it. But you know what they say, False confidence often leads into danger.”
Cole cocked his head at the old man. “If you’re trying to tell me something, just come out and say it.”
The old man just opened his water bottle and took a long drink, and Riley stepped in. “That’s just an endearing habit of his, Cole. Ignore him.”
After another half hour, they came to a flat stretch, but the brush was thick and the rain came down in sideways-driven torrents. Cole’s machete was losing its edge. The brush just bent under his blows. The rain was seeping in around his hood and he was drenched through and through. Water had filled his hiking boots, and even with thick socks his feet were sliding around and he knew he’d have blisters soon.
He stopped hacking at the bushes. He’d heard something odd, even with all the noise of the rain. Maybe they should wait for this rain band to pass. He should ask Riley to check on her phone how much farther they had to go. He turned around.
There was no one behind him.
How long had it been since the last time he’d turned around? He’d been so focused on trying to cut their way through the undergrowth.
“Riley?” he shouted. He saw the bushes dancing farther back. He started to step toward them when Greg came hurtling at him from around a large tree. She almost ran into him, but managed to pull back just in time. Bent over, hands on knees, she was panting. Water streamed off her yellow hood.
Cole reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. “Where are the others?” he shouted.
Greg stood up and put her hands on her hips. Her face looked pained. “I don’t know,” she said. “I turned around and they were gone.”
Mountains of Ilocos Sur
The Philippines
December 7, 2012
Riley peered out of the thick bushes. She still couldn’t see anybody, but she was certain she’d heard a voice. Irv started to move, but she touched his shoulder with one hand and with the other held her finger to her lips. She knew he was hurting, but if he made a noise now, they might end up dead.
It had started when Irv slipped and fell. They had already fallen a bit behind the others. Poor Peewee just couldn’t keep up, but he was too stubborn to ask them to slow down. The rain was coming down so hard that Riley was walking with her red foul-weather jacket hood cinched up tight around her face. She walked with her head bent forward so she could watch the ground, and so the water didn’t run into her eyes.
She saw the odd movement in her peripheral vision and looked up in time to see his left foot had slid off a root and his ankle twisted. The old man toppled forward and hit the ground hard. Riley feared he might have broken a hip. She rushed forward and knelt beside him.
When she looked ahead, she couldn’t see either Greg or Cole. Some instinct prevented her from calling out to them. She helped Peewee into a sitting position and she saw the way his face tightened when he moved. She pointed to his ankle and he nodded.
That was when she was certain she heard a voice. She’d probably heard something earlier, but it hadn’t registered on her consciousness the way it did this time. The voice came from behind them and it wasn’t that far away.
Riley turned her head and looked up the trail in the direction Cole and Greg had gone. With his machete, Cole was leaving a trail like a mini-bulldozer. Peewee had been slow before, but now with the twisted ankle they would never be able to stay ahead of their pursuers. She looked around, trying to decide what her alternatives might be.
There was the speargun in her pack. She could try to shoot at them. The problem was there would be more than one and she had only one spear. She was expecting all three: Benny, Nils, and Hawkes.
Then she noticed, about six feet ahead, a small animal trail that took off to the right. That direction eventually would lead to the very steep side of the mountain, but maybe it would get them far enough off this main trail to avoid detection by the men behind them.
With her thumb she motioned that they were going to stand. Peewee grimaced, but nodded. Riley stood first, then she squatted and got his arm over her shoulder while she put her arm under his waist.
He weighed so little. She wondered how he had managed to make it this far. She pulled him to his feet. He was shorter than she was, so she walked hunched over and practically carried him.
When she came to the spot where the trail branched, she stopped and pointed to show him what she planned to do. Then she took a very large step.
“Lift both feet,” she whispered, and he bent his knees. He was surprisingly light. She swung her foot forward in another large step. “Now put your good foot down.” Lifting his arm off her shoulder, she placed his hand on a tree for support. She picked up some wet leaves and scattered them over the two footprints. The rain pounded the leaves flat. Riley resumed her position supporting Peewee and they traveled another fifteen feet before they heard a loud crash in the bushes no more than fifty feet away.
She pulled Peewee down into a crouch. They crawled into a thicket of vines that grew over some waist-high bushes. They both wore bright red jackets, so they needed as much cover as they could find.
So now they lay there listening and watching, afraid to move.
Then she heard a voice again, but this time it came from the opposite direction and it was calling her name.
Peewee’s head whipped around and looked at her. His lips mouthed the name, “Greg.”
Riley nodded.
Then they heard a man yell, “Stop!” And there were footsteps. Running. Away from them.
Riley crawled out and pulled Peewee with her. She had to get the old man to a safe place. Then she could leave him and go help the others. She got him to his feet and hurried farther back away from the trail.
She was walking fast toward what looked like an open circle at the center of a patch of bushes, with Peewee’s good foot hitting the ground on about one of every three of her strides. His arm across her shoulder was setting her old wound on fire. She gritted her teeth and pushed forward as fast as she could. She had to get back to help Cole and Greg, and she was almost there.
Her left foot must have caught on a vine. The next thing she knew her body twisted and her leg brought her to a fast stop and she fell to the ground in the patch of vines and bushes. Peewee kept right on going. She saw his arms fly up, then disappear. She heard his voice calling out for several long seconds. It sounded like he was falling. Then all she heard was the rain.
She unhooked her foot and crawled forward and then she heard the crack of green branches breaking, and she too was falling out of the gray rain, through the bushes into the dark. Her hands clawed at the vegetation and her right hand found a mat of vines, which she dug her fingers into. Her arm yanked straight, her shoulder screaming against the weight of her body, but she was hanging, not falling, about six feet down into a hole.
Riley looked down and tried to make out what was beneath her. The two bodies falling through the shrubbery had created a hole and allowed a shaft of weak light into it. She blinked, trying to get her eyes to adjust, and then saw the red jacket on the floor below her. The body looked very small. He was a long way down.
She reached up with her left arm to try to get another handhold on the matted clump of vines. Her shift of weight caused some of the roots above to let go and she was showered with rocks and soil. Her body dropped another three or four feet, but then the vines held.
“Irv?” she called out.
He didn’t move. It was still a very long way down. Her fist and shoulder ached. She couldn’t stay there forever. Should she try to go up or down?
The decision was made for her. She tried to grab the vines again with her left hand and this time some more roots let go and dropped her down another six or eight feet. Then she felt the roots breaking and she was calculating how far she was going to fall when the whole thing let go and she dropped the remaining twenty feet to the floor of the cave.
Riley bent her knees when her sneakers hit the floor and she rolled onto her side, doin
g her best to protect her head with her arms. She brought with her a mass of vegetation, which landed on top of her a second after she hit the floor. She pushed the plants off her, brushed off some of the dirt, and went to Irv. He was on his back and his eyes were closed.
She put two fingers on his neck and felt for a pulse. It was weak, but he was alive. She pulled his backpack out from under him, opened it, and got out a bottle of water. She put the pack under his head to raise it and poured a little water on his face.
His eyes fluttered, then opened. He tried to smile. “Maggie,” he said. He’d never called her that.
“Irv, look,” she said. She waved her arm in a half circle. “You found the cave.” The cool, damp air smelled like wet clay, and droplets of rain continued to fall on them from the skylight at the top of the chamber above them.
“Guess I did, sweetheart.”
Riley’s eyes were gradually adjusting to the dim light. The chamber they were in was quite large and somewhat oval in shape. There were both stalactites and stalagmites, she wasn’t even sure which was which, but the spiky spires that reached down from the ceiling were the longest.
“Come on. Let’s get you up.” She lifted his arm, but it was totally limp. He didn’t move anything other than his face.
“That’s not gonna happen. I’m all broke up inside. This is it for me.”
Riley lifted the limp hand to her lips and kissed it. “No, Cole will be here soon with the satellite phone and we’ll call for help. We’ll get a medevac chopper and take you to Manila. They’ll fix you up.”
“Listen, there’s nobody wants that more than me. The man upstairs must have a sense of humor to take me today.”
“What do you mean?”
“Today’s date?”
“Oh,” she said when she realized what he was talking about. “December 7. Pearl Harbor Day.”
“From then till now, I’ve been determined to cheat death. But now that it’s here, I’m not afraid of it anymore. I did better than most.”
Dragon's Triangle (The Shipwreck Adventures Book 2) Page 38
