by Sonya Bates
Jake spun around. The boat was several meters away, moving slowly toward the back of the cave. He groaned.
“What are we going to do now?” asked Tommy.
“I—I don’t know,” said Jake, glancing down at his brother.
Tommy’s eyes were big and round. His bottom lip trembled.
Jake put a hand on Tommy’s shoulder, just like Dad did to calm them down. “It’s all right,” Jake said. “Lexie will go and get help. We’ll just wait here until someone—”
A scream tore through the air, echoing around the cave.
Jake jumped. Lexie’s boat shot through the entrance of the cave, riding in on a wave like a surfboard.
“Jake! Tommy! Where are you?” called Lexie.
“Over here!” Jake said.
Lexie spotted them and rowed toward the ledge.
“What are you doing here?” said Jake when she reached them.
“Rescuing you, of course,” said Lexie. “Hop in.”
“Hurray!” said Tommy.
Jake wasn’t so sure. The tide looked like it was rising. He remembered what Lexie had said about the tide. If they hurried, they might make it out in time. But if they didn’t…No one knew where they were. No one would ever think to look for them in Smuggler’s Cave.
The boys scrambled into the boat, and Lexie turned the bow toward the cave’s mouth. It was slow going. Lexie was small, and the boat was heavy with the three of them in it. She rowed hard, a determined look on her face. As they got closer to the entrance of the cave, each surge of water pushed them back. It was as if the sea was trying to prevent them from escaping.
Jake glanced toward the entrance. It wasn’t getting any closer. And the opening looked smaller than before. The tide was definitely rising.
“Here, let me row,” said Jake, reaching for the oars.
“I can do it,” said Lexie through gritted teeth.
“Don’t be stupid. I’m stronger than you,” said Jake. “I’ll get us out faster.”
“No!” said Lexie.
Tommy looked scared. “Come on, Lexie. Let Jake help. We have to get out,” he said.
Lexie paused in her rowing. “All right,” she said. “Take one of the oars. It’ll be faster if we both row.”
Jake scooted over next to her. His heart was beating as fast as a fighter jet. They had to get out. And soon.
Together they leaned forward, dipped the oars and pulled. Dip and pull, dip and pull.
I am a slave on an ancient warship, thought Jake. I row with my fellow slaves. Day after day we row. We don’t know where we’re going. We don’t know when we will reach land. We just row.
“You’re doing it!” cried Tommy. “We’re getting closer.”
The sea is strong. The master calls for more power, Jake thought. He didn’t dare look back. He kept his eyes down and rowed with all his might. The tide pulled them forward and then threw them back again. Water splashed over the sides of the boat. It sprayed in Jake’s face. His lips tasted salty.
“Almost there!” said Tommy. “Over to the right a bit. You’re getting too close to the wall.”
Jake was pulling too hard. Lexie wasn’t as strong as him. He was making them go off-course.
Suddenly there was a loud CRACK. Lexie cried out and dropped her oar. As Jake pulled, the boat turned sideways and hit the wall. A wave crashed through the opening, and they were swept back into the cave. With only one oar, they watched helplessly as the waves pushed them past the ledge where they had been sitting and into the darkness beyond.
Chapter Four
SMUGGLER’S CAVE
Everything was dark. Jake heard a strange moaning sound. It sounded like a ghost or a zombie or something. “Tommy, quit making that noise,” Jake said.
The noise stopped. Tommy sniffed and hiccupped. “Jake, I’m scared,” he said.
“I know,” said Jake. “Now be quiet so I can think.”
Lexie dug in her pocket. She snapped on a small flashlight. “Think about what?” she said. “How you can get us into more trouble?”
“Me!” said Jake. “It’s not my fault. You’re the one who dropped your oar.”
“Only because we ran into the wall. You couldn’t even steer straight,” she said.
“Well, if you’d just gone to get help instead of trying to be a hero, we wouldn’t be in this mess,” said Jake.
Lexie glared at him. “And you and Tommy would still be sitting on that ledge.”
“Shut up!” cried Tommy, covering his ears.
Jake and Lexie both turned to look at him. Tommy’s face was white in the pale light. He was shivering.
“Sorry,” Jake said. “You’re right. We should be trying to figure out how to get out of here.”
“How are we gonna get out with only one oar?” Lexie whispered so Tommy couldn’t hear. “Besides, I told you, once the tide comes in we’ll be trapped.”
“Well, we’ve gotta try,” said Jake.
He seized the flashlight from Lexie and shone it into the darkness. The cave seemed to go on forever. Jake heard water lapping at the cave walls. The air smelled damp and salty.
“What’s that up there?” said Lexie.
Up ahead, something strange gleamed in the darkness. They drifted to the back of the cave. A small sandy beach sloped up toward a rocky platform about the size of Jake and Tommy’s backyard.
The boat bumped against the sand with a gritty scraping sound. Jake and Tommy’s boat was already there, stuck in the sand.
“This must be where the smugglers stored their loot,” said Lexie. She chucked her life jacket on the bottom of the boat and climbed out.
Tommy grabbed Jake’s arm as Jake dragged his own life jacket over his head. “Don’t leave me here by myself,” Tommy said.
“Come on then,” said Jake.
Tommy tossed his jacket on the floor with the others and scrambled out of the boat after Jake.
Jake moved toward the back of the cave. Tommy clung to his sleeve. A line of shells and seaweed about a meter up from the water’s edge marked the high-tide line. Farther back the rocky platform sloped up into the darkness.
“Jake, over here,” called Lexie.
Jake flashed the light in her direction. She was standing on a ledge. There were rock ledges and crevices all over the back of the cave. He climbed up next to her and shone the flashlight on a small mound of white sticks.
The sticks were all sorts of shapes. Some were long and thick, some were small and straight, some curved, some knobby. As Lexie reached down to touch one, Jake’s scalp started to prickle. “Don’t touch them!” he said.
Lexie jumped back.
“Those are bones,” he said.
Tommy peered out from behind him. “Human bones?”
“Could be,” said Jake, eyeing them warily.
“Maybe it’s one of the smugglers.” How long have these been here? thought Jake. A hundred years? Two hundred?
Lexie glared at Jake but didn’t touch them. “As if,” she said. “They’re probably just animal bones.”
The bones made Jake’s stomach queasy. He didn’t like being near them. He moved away and Tommy and Lexie followed close behind.
Jake walked along the ledge, deeper into the cave. He couldn’t tell how far it went. He shone the flashlight on the floor, the walls and up on the ceiling. He had a strange feeling. Like there was something in the cave with them. Were those really the bones of a smuggler? he wondered. Maybe one who was trapped in the cave and never got out?
“Let’s go back to the boats,” said Tommy. “This place is creepy.”
“Not yet,” said Jake. “I want to have a look around.” He didn’t tell Tommy the boats couldn’t help them anymore. The mouth of the cave was already underwater.
Lexie pointed at the ceiling. “What was that?” she whispered. “I thought I saw something.”
Jake saw a shadow move. Suddenly there was an ear-splitting screech. He dropped the flashlight, and they all covered their ear
s with their hands. The air was alive.
Chapter Five
TRAPPED
Hundreds of tiny furry bodies flew past them, brushed against their faces and careened into their heads and shoulders. The air was filled with a high-pitched squealing. Bats!
Jake flailed his arms, trying to hit the creatures away. His heart was banging against his ribs.
“Ahh! Ahh!” cried Tommy. “Get away from me!” He spun around, stumbling to get away from the bats.
“There’s one in my hair!” screeched Lexie. She whipped her head around to get rid of it.
“Stand still!” Jake said. “Hold still and they won’t fly into you.”
“I can’t! Get them away!” said Tommy. Jake could hear the fear in his voice. He was feeling panicked too.
Tommy’s voice rose to a shriek. Jake heard a THUMP.
“Tommy!” Jake said. He reached out to grab him, but he wasn’t there.
The bats streamed toward the back of the cave. They flew up toward the ceiling and disappeared. All was quiet. The flashlight lay on the ground where Jake had dropped it. Heart still pounding, he picked it up.
“Tommy?” Jake said. “Tommy! Where are you?”
“Down here.” Tommy’s voice was small and scared.
Jake and Lexie knelt on the rock and shone the flashlight over the edge. Tommy sat at the bottom, clutching his ankle.
“Are you all right?” Jake called down.
“No,” said Tommy. Jake could tell he was trying not to cry. “My foot hurts really bad.”
Jake and Lexie climbed down to where Tommy lay on the beach. Jake had a bad feeling in his stomach again. Tommy had fallen off the ledge. He was hurt. And no one knew where they were.
“Just stay still. I’m going to get help,” said Jake.
“Don’t leave me here!” cried Tommy.
Lexie rolled her eyes. “How are you gonna get help? Swim? Underwater?”
“Listen,” said Jake. “Those bats went somewhere. There must be another way out.”
“That’s crazy,” Lexie said, but Jake could tell she was thinking about it.
“It’s worth a try,” he said.
Tommy struggled to his feet, balancing on one foot. “I’m coming too.”
“Don’t be silly, Tommy. You’re hurt,” said Jake.
Tommy’s lip trembled. “I’m not staying here in the dark.”
“He’s right,” said Lexie. “We should stick together. If you go, we all go.”
Jake glanced at Tommy. “All right. Let’s go then,” Jake said. “But no whining.”
Jake led the way, clambering up the rocks and along the ledges toward the back of the cave to where he had seen the bats disappear. It was slow going. Tommy couldn’t put much weight on his foot, so they had to help him.
I am the leader of an expedition, Jake thought. I am fearless and brave. I search for an escape.
The ground sloped steeply up toward the ceiling. The walls were covered in white paste from water that seeped from the rocks. Jake looked back. It was like they were climbing to the top of a cliff. He flashed the light around, looking for where the bats had gone. Up ahead, the cave seemed to come to an end. There had to be a way out.
“What’s that up there?” said Lexie.
Jake shone the light in the direction she was pointing. He didn’t see anything at first. Then he spotted it. A crevice in the rock.
“That’s it!” said Jake.
They scrambled across the rocks. The crack in the wall was perfect for bats and just big enough for a person to squeeze through. Jake shone the light inside. All he saw was darkness.
“I don’t think we should go in there,” said Tommy. “Let’s go back.”
“No way, Tommy. We’re not going back,” said Jake. “The bats got out this way, and so can we.”
He ducked his head and slipped through the hole. Inside was a smaller cave. It smelled rank and musky, a bit like an outhouse. Water dripped down the walls. A few small stalactites hung from the ceiling like icicles. There was something squishy under his feet. He wrinkled his nose.
Lexie and Tommy came through the crack.
“What’s that smell?” said Tommy.
“Bat pooh,” said Jake.
“Ewww.” Tommy covered his nose.
Did the smugglers come this way? Jake wondered. Did they search for an escape route too?
Looking closer, he saw there was something on the wall. A figure of a man. A man with a spear and a large animal with sharp horns. Cave drawings!
“Look at this,” he said.
“That is so cool,” said Lexie.
There were other drawings as well: all sorts of animals, more men hunting, men at war. They showed life as it was thousands of years ago. Life before there were cars and telephones and computers, and even things like shops and money. Life when the only rule was hunt or be hunted.
A cold draft blew across Jake’s face. He looked up. A sliver of light shone through a hole above them.
“Look,” he said triumphantly. “That’s our way out.”
The hole was up high, at the top of a small narrow shaft. It looked like a chimney. Bats could easily escape through it, and small creatures like rats and rabbits, or even raccoons. But not smugglers. They could never have escaped this way.
Are we small enough to fit through? thought Jake. There’s only one way to find out. He clambered up onto a ledge. He put one foot on a rock, reached as high as he could and found a handhold on the wall. Gripping tight with his fingers, he pulled himself up.
It’s like the rock-climbing wall at the park at home, he told himself. But the wall at home wasn’t this big. It wasn’t wet and slippery. And there was nice soft grass at the bottom, not solid rock. Jake felt his fingers slipping. He dug his toes into the wall, just like his dad had taught him. He wished Dad were here now. He tried to get a better grip with his fingers, but he couldn’t hold on and dropped back onto the ledge.
“It’s too high. The wall’s too slippery,” he said.
“Let me try,” said Lexie, climbing up next to him.
“You won’t be able to reach,” said Jake. “You’re even smaller than me.”
“I will if you give me a boost,” she said.
Jake had to admit it was a good idea. He cupped his hand under Lexie’s foot and lifted her up.
She reached for the gap at the top. “I’m almost there. Just a little bit higher,” she said.
Jake boosted her up as high as he could.
“Got it!” she said. She pulled herself up.
Jake watched her legs kicking about as she heaved herself through the hole. Then her legs and feet disappeared. “I’m out,” she said.
“Hurray!” said Tommy.
Lexie popped her head back through the hole. “Now it’s your turn, Tommy.”
Jake gave Tommy a boost. Lexie reached down and grabbed his hands. She hauled him up, and Tommy scrambled out.
Jake looked up. Lexie was reaching toward him. She looked so small and the opening was so high. Would she be able to pull him through?
“Come on, Jake,” said Lexie. “Don’t be a wuss.”
Jake glared at her. He wasn’t a wuss.
He reached up and wedged his fingers over the rock. He dug his toes into the wall and grabbed for Lexie’s hand. He felt her fingers clamp down on his. Her other hand went around his wrist. She was stronger than he’d thought. He pushed with his legs and got one hand over the edge of the hole. It was a tight fit. He moved his foot up and pushed again, turning sideways to get his shoulder through. Lexie gave a final tug, and he tumbled out onto the grassy bank of a hill.
Chapter Six
ESCAPING MARSH ISLAND
Jake sucked in the fresh air. It felt good to be out of the cave. Out of the dark. And away from the horrible smell of the bats.
“What do we do now?” said Tommy, looking around as if he expected someone to come out of the trees and take them home.
“We head for the beach,”
said Lexie.
“Yeah,” Jake agreed. “There might be someone camping down there.” Or there might not, he thought to himself. It was autumn. Camping season was almost over. It was possible there was no one on the island but them.
Jake and Lexie put their arms under Tommy’s, helping him down the hill to the woods. It was dark and cool in the woods. The ground squelched under their wet shoes. Jake knew the beach and the campsite were on the opposite side of the island. It was a long way. They had to go through bushes and groves of trees and around rock faces too steep to climb over.
For once, Lexie didn’t have anything useful in her pockets to help them. A compass would have been good. Jake kept an eye on the position of the sun, crossed his fingers and hoped they were going in the right direction.
They hobbled up rises and down slopes, across a small ridge and through dense forest. The trees all looked the same.
Jake was beginning to think they were lost when he spotted a shimmer of light up ahead.
“I told you we were going the right way,” he said, pointing. “There’s the stream.”
Finding the creek renewed their energy. They hurried downstream, half dragging, half carrying Tommy. At last they neared the campsite.
“Hello!” Jake called.
“Is anyone there?” said Lexie.
Breaking through the bushes, they stumbled into the campsite. It was empty.
Tommy slumped onto a tree stump. “No one’s here,” he said. “We’re stuck here forever. No one’s ever gonna find us.”
“Of course someone will find us,” said Jake. “Let’s go check the beach.” He heard a rumble in the distance. His head jerked up. “Do you hear that? It’s a boat,” he said.
“There’s someone at the beach!” Lexie said.
Jake raced down the path toward the ocean. It wasn’t far, but it seemed to take forever. As his feet hit the sand, he saw a small motorboat pulling away from shore.
“Hey! Wait! Wait for us!” Jake said, racing toward the water’s edge.
The man had his back to Jake. He didn’t see him. And he couldn’t hear him over the noise of the outboard motor.
