by Nye, Laine
“Steve, we don’t know how many people would witness us jumping off.” Charlene told him.
There were several people up top that were milling around, looking at the sights. Their tour group were among the others on the top of the column. The conversation they were having had to be quiet, so no one would hear.
“It’s okay mom. We’ll never see these people again anyway.”
“No Steve.” Brad told him sternly. You know that people could undermine our whole-world by knowing what we can do. We will not risk that happening to our family. I’ve already been down that road.”
People that were riding the zip line were screaming as they descended. Guys and girls rode down, but many seemed terrified.
“We never get to have any fun with this gift of ours.” Steve countered.
“Who told you it was a gift. This thing has caused me a lot of grief in my life because I wasn’t
careful. I wasn’t discreet. I lost friends, family and the opportunity to continue to live at home with your grandparents because I was reckless. I know how to protect us. That is by keeping ourselves restrained.”
“Steve. We have been down this road many times before.” Charlene told her son. “Our answers
don’t change just because you ask again.”
Steve stopped talking. He knew when he lost the debate. Someone else let out a loud yell as they started down the zip line. The family got in line to take their turn to the bottom along with the others who were in their tour group. Steve found that it was fun going down the zip line in contrast to others who seemed terrified. Not easy to be afraid of heights when you can control the fall from ever happening. It’s just that he didn’t feel the real sense of adventure he should have because of his control over the gravity that was pulling him from the column down to the little wood shack that was there to receive the zip line travelers. They reached the bottom and met up with the tour group to continue.
Steve was a couple inches taller than his father at six foot-one-inch tall. He was slim, yet his shoulders were broad. It wasn’t his strength that was a major factor for his defense if he ever needed to defend himself, it was his gravity control, unknown to all. His hair was a dark-brown color, a combination of his mom’s blond hair and his dad’s black hair. He was considered-to be handsome with his bright blue eyes and noble appearance. His father was marginally handsome. Steve had got the best part of both mom and dad.
They had the enjoyment of going into an underground river on that same tour. The means to get there was on a boat that went into the South China Sea and around a bend of the island. This boat had outriggers on one side to give it balance as the actual boat was narrow. The outriggers floated on the water, so the boat couldn’t tip over to their left side. Nor would they tip to the right side because of the weight of the outrigger on the left.
Landing in a shallow place, on a narrow spit of land. They walked across the land strip to the other side where a different boat waited for them.
The mouth of the river cavern was in a beautiful emerald green lagoon with calm waters. The entrance to the underground river was almost completely hidden by overhanging rock until one was close enough to actually see the entrance. They took a tour on the boat inside the cave using a spotlight to view the formations. There was no lighting in the cave. No electricity. Just the spotlight. After about an hour they emerged from the cave back to the lagoon having traveled about three-hundred yards into an eight-mile long river. Brad could feel the pull of the hole he was so interested in when they emerged. He knew it was within a mile of their location. They had a choice to hike back to the staging area for the tour van or they could take the boat back. Brad talked his wife and son into going with him on the hike. His heart was pounding in anticipation. He didn’t know why. Yet, he sensed that the hole would be near the trail.
As they started onto the trail a man and woman who were native to The Philippines stopped them and said. “Beware of the devil’s hole on this trail. It has sucked many people in. They are never heard from again. Sometimes goats and chickens and cows disappear in the area as well. Be careful.”
Brad looked up into the trees contemplating what they had just said. He could see three small monkeys jumping from branch to branch. The Filipina looked at the monkeys drawn by Brad’s stare.
“These monkeys. They do not go near devil’s hole. They know not to.”
Charlene thanked them for being helpful. Brad looked down at the ground. There was a monitor walking by about six feet away, unafraid of the people.
Brad nodded to the couple in acknowledgement, thanked them, and started on the path again.
“Do you think we will be safe Brad?” Charlene asked.
“Yes. I think so. It’s just another hole like the one that Albert took me to twenty-five years ago, I want to see it.”
“That’s what you told me. But they are calling it devil’s hole. Animals and people lost inside the hole? That can’t be good. It might not be safe.” Charlene told him.
“I have to go Charlene. You guys can stay back from the hole. You’ll be safe. Besides, it’s not dusk yet. That’s when the hole starts blowing out the energy.”
“Or sucking in like you told me.” Charlene countered.
“I want to see this hole.” Steve said. “I’ve always been interested in seeing it since dad talked about it.”
“You will see it, but you may have to stay back a bit. Don’t want anything to happen to you.” Brad told him.
“What about you?” Charlene asked Brad. “Do we know you’ll be safe?”
“I have experience with this type of thing. I have gravity control. I have lightning reflexes. I can handle this thing.” Brad told her as they came into a wider part of the trail. Brad fell back and put a comforting arm around his wife. “We’ll be okay hon.” He said soothingly.
He had no idea how this hole was going to change his life.
It was at about the midway point that they ran into a couple of old women who looked at them and immediately started speaking in Tagalog; The main language in The Philippines. “Mag ingat kayo kung pupunta kayo sa malaking butas. Tinatawag namin yan na butas ng demonyo dahil ang mga tao at hayop ay nawawala doon.” The two women nodded and walked away. Not understanding Tagalog, the three Collins did not know what was said, which was; “Be careful if you go near the big hole. We call it devil’s hole because people and animals disappear there.”
‘Brad?” His wife questioned more earnestly than before. “I don’t like this.”
But at that moment, Brad spotted the hole through the trees. It was not fifty feet away. He quickly stepped out of the trees. With Charlene’s warning voice in his mind, he remembered the night he had been sucked into the hole. He had fallen so very far before the energy finally began emitting through the narrow tube and brought his fall to a slow stop just before he would have hit a rock at the base of the room he had fallen into. He remembered. He felt caution. But it was not dusk. The lure of the hole now that he was this close was strong. He ignored his subconscious. He ignored his wife’s concern as he stepped into the clearing. His son was following right behind him.
“Stay back Steve.” He warned his son. “You can come closer after I check it out.”
The forest around them was lush. Almost a jungle. But the area around the hole was barren. Bereft of even one bush or tree. Nothing grew. The area stretched outward from the hole about forty feet in every direction.
Brad moved up closer. At about fifteen feet away he slowed down. The hole was huge. Not like the small one in Utah that was barely wider than a man’s shoulders. This hole was at least sixteen feet across. Perfectly round as the one in Utah had been. He stared in awe. If this hole emitted energy so strong as to need that large of a hole for its emission, then it was a real monster. The one in Utah was always strong enough to lift a person off the ground. So, if this hole would have that same capacity with that large of a shaft, then it had to be very powerful. He shook his head in amazement. No
wonder the hole had long drawn his attention.
He edged a couple steps closer, turned to tell Steve he could come over when there was a loud roaring noise that rumbled up from the depths of the hole. It became even louder. The hole was forcefully sucking in just like the one in Utah had done that night long ago. This one however, was much stronger, deadlier. Brad turned to walk away from it to wait for it to stop when much to his shock, he found himself being pulled back toward the hole.
He staggered backwards toward the hole sharply, so he threw himself on the ground to stop being pulled. It did not help. He was being dragged toward the hole feet first. He saw a root trying to grow in the barren dirt. The soil was rich but without growth. The root might have been the only lifeform trying to take hold there. Brad grabbed the root stopping his slide toward the monstrous hole. The root broke off. The sliding began again. He spun onto his back preparing to use his g-force to propel himself above the ground, high in the air. He started to rise rapidly when he pulled the gravity out from under himself then repelled himself upward. The hole continued to pull him closer just the same. No change.
He was now about thirty feet above the hole and was being pulled over to its center. Now almost directly over it, He was being drawn slowly down. He pulled gravity out from under two more spots creating a tripod of sorts that straddled the hole. With three “legs” holding him up he felt he was winning the war. He could hear his wife yelling in protest to what was happening to him. He looked over to her. She had wrapped her arms around a tree and was holding on as tight she could. He noticed now that all the trees around the perimeter were bent toward the hole. Steve was also wrapped around a tree. He looked pale.
Then the energy began to pull him into the hole even with all his concentration of the g-force that he had ever mustered. He had never used any form of gesture while utilizing the g-force. But now he did. He put his arms out away from his sides, fingers spread wide, palms aimed toward the sides of the hole and concentrated harder. Forced non-gravity emanated from him strongly. But the energy draw was stronger. He was descending slower than he would without his ability but was still losing the battle just the same. He wondered briefly, even while he was in severe peril, why the energy was working in the middle of the day. The hole in Huntsville only worked at dusk. Brad had assumed this one did too. He thought that notion could be a fatal mistake.
Brad spread the anti-gravity field around the entire perimeter of the hole hoping that would help. He could feel his strength waning. Either the hole was stealing his abilities, or he was weakening. Now he was only ten feet above the circular abyss. It wouldn’t be much longer before he went in.
Then Steve added his great strength to Brad’s. Brad began to rise again as Steve multiplied the null gravity field. They were winning the battle. They just needed to hold out until the energy stopped pulling everything downward. They held on for a long time.
Then they began to lose again. Brad was descending and was then just five feet above the lip of the hole. Still holding on. Still fighting but losing again. Charlene screaming until she couldn’t. Then he was in the hole. Going down, down. Forced non-gravity lost all its ability to help him at that point. He fell rapidly, faster than gravity. Darkness was all around him. Very little light leaked this far into the ground. He was already so deep and was still being pulled further downward. Still faster than gravity, he fell. His energy was depleted. He could not see in the dark. He could not feel his gravity control within himself. It had stolen his abilities from him just like before. No more lightning reflexes. Couldn’t see in the dark.
Steve collapsed on the ground because of all the energy he had used up trying to help his dad, but he still hung on to the tree, so he wouldn’t be drawn in next. He had used everything he had to save his dad and still lost the battle. When he saw his father disappear down the hole he gave up trying. He was thoroughly depleted. The struggle had gone on for almost ten minutes while he used up every bit of his gravity control. He was stronger than his father was but still it was not enough.
Charlene was crying as she continued to hold on to the tree which was bent towards the hole. She was feeling weak and didn’t know how much longer she would last. She had propped herself behind the tree, so she didn’t have to rely only on her grip. She felt the pressure pulling her against the tree so hard the she was getting bruised by the tree. She saw Steve drop to the ground after trying to help his dad. She knew what it meant. He was used up and so that meant Brad was too. Not even the two of them together were strong enough to resist this calamity.
Mercifully, the pressure that was pulling her finally abated. She waited a bit just to make sure it didn’t start again. She let go of the tree. Went to see if her son was okay. He also let go of the tree he was holding. She knelt over him and cried with him.
Since the anti-gravity forces had failed both he and his son, Brad had been free falling. Unable to stay straight up after the collapse of the gravity field he had been tumbling slowly end over end on his way down. Every time he saw the opening at the top it was smaller. Now it was just a pin point of light that he yearned for the same way he had yearned for the safety of the condo where he lived when he had been pulled off the balcony by the tornado so many years ago. This time however, he could not will his way back to safety. The condo had been infinitely closer. The tornado had felt weaker than this energy did.
There was a slight bend in the cavernous tube. Rather than bouncing off the wall he was kept in the center of the tube as he went around the bend. Now he could see no light above him at all. The roaring noise stopped. There was silence except for the rushing of air passing his ears. He continued to tumble without control.
The thing that he had been hoping for with all his heart started occurring. Just as he had wished. Just like happened the last time he had been pulled into one of these terrible places. A different kind of sound welled up from far beneath him. The roar sounded more-high pitched, but it was rising toward him very quickly. Then something soft and fleshy slammed into him knocking his breath out for a few seconds. Then there was another something that slammed into him with much greater force nearly knocking him unconscious. But now he was rising. The energy was gushing up from the deep bottom as he had dearly hoped.
His fall had been faster than gravity while the energy was active which had been a sickening feeling to endure as he rushed down toward his death. But now. This was almost worse. He was being driven upwards at incredible speed. A sense of panic began to invade. He was helpless. His gravity force was missing. When he shot out of the top of the hole he would be infinitely higher up than when he was hovering over the hole resisting the down pull. After the apex of his climb, he would fall back into the hole when the energy stopped its feed.
Brad thought of his son and got ready to yell to his son to use his gravity control to help Brad. He would have to yell the second he cleared the top. He was traveling so fast that he feared his son would not hear his words. His speed felt to be increasing and he was still tumbling end over end on his way up which could affect the reach of his voice. As he drew nearer the surface, it grew lighter. He saw a large cow just above him that was hurling upward with him. Then he saw the body of a man. A Filipino. They were both dead. Now he knew what had struck him twice. These two victims would have been drawn into the hole sometime before Brad. If they were ever pushed back to the top by the energy after being sucked in they would simply have fallen back into the depths of the hole. That was what Brad needed to avoid.
He cleared the top of the hole and immediately yelled for his son to help him. He saw Charlene on the ground holding Steve. They had been crying. They thought he was lost to them. When he yelled to Steve they both looked up, startled. Brad was still alive?
“Steve. Use your force to stop me from falling back in.” He told his son.
His son nodded slowly trying to process everything that was happening. Brad hoped he was cognizant enough to react. But it wasn’t his awareness that was suffering. It w
as his exhaustion. He reached down deep within himself to find some hidden pool of strength so that he could try to rescue his dad before it was too late. He had been given a second chance to help his father. Then he found the reserve of energy that he needed through sheer will power. He got ready to project the null-gravity field under his father. He could do this for just a few more seconds.
Brad soared upward a hundred feet. Then began to ascend more slowly to about two hundred feet. Instead of sustaining him, keeping him hovering, the energy stopped its upward flow abruptly. He started to fall almost immediately. The dead cow and man were falling with him. He saw Steve running towards the hole. Brad was no longer tumbling. He felt the gravity waves hitting him from his son but could not feel any coming from himself. Slowly, very slowly his descent was decelerated until it stopped. He was twenty feet above the hole. The dead victims were there next to him. “Pull us over Steve.” He told his son.
Carefully Steve brought his dad to the ground near the hole. Brad collapsed there in exhaustion, He still could not feel the restoration of his abilities. The dead cow was too close to the edge. It slowly tipped back into the hole. The dead man laid inert just two feet from the chasm.
“I guess someone will want to claim this man’s body for burial.” Brad said weakly. “Doesn’t look like he was in there very long.”
“Long enough to die.” Steve said quietly.
Charlene walked over hesitantly. She wanted to be with her husband but had a strong fear of the catastrophic opening. “Are you okay Brad?” she asked as she knelt next to him and put a hand on his shoulder gingerly as if she was afraid her touch could hurt him. “We really thought you were dead.”
“Not dead. Just weak. Charlene, I have lost my abilities.”
“What?” She asked in a worried tone. “Your gravity control is gone?”
