by Des Hunt
‘Yes. I found it that morning. Hopi showed me. I saw him heading down to the sea and followed his tracks back here.’
‘And you never told us.’
‘I wanted it to be my secret,’ he said quietly.
Hine looked around the cave. ‘Where’s the other guest you promised? The skeleton?’
Without speaking he moved to the ledge. Hine followed. When he shone the torch over the skeleton she gasped, taking a step backwards. After a while Tyler said, ‘That’s Ata. I think he’s about four hundred years old. He was a moa hunter. See…’ He pointed to the mound of stones. ‘He had a bag of gizzard stones and this big moa bone. That coating of dust is the remains of his clothes, probably a seal skin.’ He was surprised to find how much he enjoyed talking to Hine about Ata.
‘You haven’t touched the bones, have you?’
Tyler looked at her. Her eyes were wide with fear. ‘No. I know not to disturb things. That’s for the experts.’
‘Nobody should do it. Not until he’s ready.’ She leaned forward a little and pointed to the clear spot by the neck. ‘What was in there?’
Tyler tried to think of a suitable lie, yet something about Hine’s fear made him put his hand in his pocket. ‘This,’ he said, presenting the pendant in his open hand.
Hine peered at it but wouldn’t touch it. ‘You shouldn’t have taken it. It belongs to him.’
‘But he gave it to me.’ He then told how the pendant had been revealed. ‘He wanted me to have it.’
Hine was not so sure. ‘We’ll find out soon enough. He’ll let us know if you should keep it or not.’
‘These are yummy,’ said Tyler. ‘Can I have another?’
Hine handed over another chocolate cookie. ‘Auntie always says, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.’
‘Your Auntie sounds like a nice person.’
‘Yes, she is.’
‘Does she let you do things you want to do?’
‘Mostly. She can be very strict at times.’
‘What would she think about what we’re doing now?’
‘I think she would be very concerned if she knew. What about your parents?’
‘I dunno. They probably wouldn’t like it. But I don’t think they’d get upset.’
‘They would, you know,’ said Hine. ‘What we’re doing is a big no-no with adults. If anybody finds out about this, we’ll be in big trouble. Boys and girls are not meant to sleep together. They might do things.’
Tyler felt his face go red. ‘We’re not doing anything.’
‘No, we’re not.’ Then she saw his red face. ‘And you just make sure it stays that way, Tyler Matthews,’ she teased. ‘Your bed is going way over there.’
‘That’s where it smells most,’ he complained.
‘I know,’ she grinned. ‘That’ll keep your passions under control.’ Tyler couldn’t help but smile—having Hine there wasn’t so bad after all.
They prepared for bed. Tyler smoothed a place in the sand for his sleeping bag, then set out the things he might need during the night: Game Boy, camera, alarm clock, invisible ink pen, chippies, drink, spare batteries, small radio, Swiss army knife.
Hine looked over at his corner and asked, ‘You sure you’ve got everything you need there, Tyler?’
‘Yeah, I like to be prepared. Anyway, what’s that you’ve got?’
‘My cellphone.’
‘You won’t get a signal in here.’
She turned it on and looked at the screen. ‘No, you’re right. But I can still text messages and send them later.’ She pointed at his radio. ‘Can you get anything on that?’
Tyler turned it on. Even though he scanned both FM and AM there was nothing except hisses.
For a while Tyler played a game and Hine pushed buttons on her phone. When he looked at his clock it was after midnight.
‘What time do you think we should get up?’ he asked.
‘We have to get back before anyone wakes or we’ll be in trouble.’
‘I’ll set it for six. Nobody’s been up at that time.’
After setting his alarm, he fitted the camera into the Game Boy and pointed it at Hine.
‘Hey! Why are you taking photos of me in bed?’
‘Evidence,’ he said smugly. ‘Mandy won’t believe us unless I’ve got a photo. You can take one of me in the morning.’ He snuggled down in his bed. ‘I’m going to turn the torch off now.’
‘Good night, Tyler,’ said Hine, and then added, ‘And Teddy says good night too.’ She held up a small, ear-chewed, fur teddy bear. ‘He hopes you have a good night’s sleep.’
‘Good night, Hine. Good night, Teddy,’ he chuckled. As he turned off the light, he added in a whisper, ‘And good night, Ata. Look after us both, won’t you?’
Tyler woke several times during the night. He was surprised by the absolute darkness: it was just as dark with his eyes open as shut. At first there were plenty of sounds from the storm raging outside. Then later it was silent except for the gentle sound of Hine breathing; there was nothing from the penguins.
The raucous alarm woke him from a deep dream that was slow to fade. It took some time to find the clock and return the cave to peaceful silence.
‘That was enough to wake the dead,’ said Hine rolling towards him.
Tyler shone the torch up onto Ata’s ledge. ‘No,’ he said. ‘It doesn’t seem to have.’
She giggled. ‘What about the penguins?’
They were both still there, though Hopi was standing as if getting ready to leave.
‘Did you hear the storm?’ asked Tyler.
‘Yes. At one stage there was water lapping at the opening. I think the stream must have flooded.’
Tyler swung the torch to the opening, thinking that the water may have made the entrance bigger and maybe easier to get in and out. But there was no entrance. In its place was wet, brown sand with dampness spreading over the floor. There was a tide mark where the water must have peaked about half a metre from Hine’s feet.
A horrible feeling crept into Tyler’s gut. He moved for a closer look. The tunnel was completely blocked. The sand seemed to be in layers as if it had been forced in. Now he knew why everything went so quiet during the night. The storm might still be out there; it was just that they could no longer hear it. Then he had a terrible thought: if the sound couldn’t come in, then neither could the air. They were trapped and sooner or later would run out of air.
He turned to the ledge where Ata was resting. Now he knew how the boy died: he’d run out of air and died of asphyxiation.
Hine must have read his thoughts. ‘Do you think he got trapped too?’ She looked calm but there was a hint of fear in her voice.
Tyler nodded. ‘This place isn’t all that hard to find but Bill doesn’t know about it. That’s because it’s mostly blocked. It probably got opened by a bad storm and now it’s back to normal. Maybe it hasn’t been open since Ata came in.’
They were silent for a while, each taking in the situation. It was bad, really bad. If they didn’t find a way out then…Tyler shook his head. He didn’t want to think about that.
He handed Hine the torch. ‘You hold this. I’m going to dig our way out.’
‘Be careful.’
Tyler looked at her sharply. For a moment she sounded just like his mum.
‘I’ve dug tunnels in sand before. It’s all right as long as you don’t get too much sand above you.’
He started at the top where the sand met the rock. His idea was to keep rock above him for as long as possible. The damp sand was easy to dig. The hardest part was shunting the sand back out of the way. He was soon deep enough to move his hands into the passage.
It was hard to remember how long the passageway was. When he thought he was halfway he took a rest. Hine continued for a while shifting sand away from the tunnel so that it would be easier when he started again.
Breakfast was chocolate and Auntie’s cookies. Hopi came and looked at them for a moment befor
e waddling into the tunnel looking for a way out. A moment later he reappeared and returned to Mopsie, talking to her in his funny way. Tyler looked at the clock: it was after seven, well past Hopi’s normal departure time.
‘Bill and Molly will be up by now,’ he said.
‘Yeah, but unless they go into the dorms they won’t know we’re missing. There’s still time.’
He stood. ‘There’s still a lot of sand to shift.’
They made quicker progress in the second half of the tunnel. Hine emptied the cookie tin and gave Tyler the lid. That made digging much easier. Hine used the base of the tin to carry the sand back into the cave. Soon he was out of the passage and there was only sand above him. Now all he had to do was go up and they would be free.
Even though he was tired, Tyler decided to finish the job. The sooner they got back the better. He began digging upwards. The sand was wet enough for droplets to form as he dug. Chunks of soaking sand kept falling on top of him.
Then came the awkward bit, where he had to turn over so that he could reach higher. He turned okay and was taking a small rest when suddenly water started pouring from above. He had to get out but was round the wrong way to move backwards easily. He could feel the water rising up his body as it filled the space where he sat. By squirming and twisting he got himself so that his lower body was back under the rock. He knew he had to get his head back or the sand would collapse onto his face. Yet he was too weak and everything took so much energy. With his last bit of strength he managed to turn sideways just as it all fell around him in one final rush.
He was trapped. The damp sand pushed with ever increasing force. It was impossible to breathe. His heart pumped so hard it felt like it would burst. He tried to move an arm down to his trousers. He wanted to hold the pendant. If only he could reach the pendant, things would be all right. He had to touch it one last time. But it was impossible. He was too weak. Too weak to do anything…too tired…oh so tired…Then came the blackness and it didn’t matter any more.
Chapter 13
It was light when Mandy woke for the last time. She’d had a rotten night’s sleep. She hated storms, especially thunder and lightning, and there had been enough of that to last a lifetime. Hine and Alice had been no help. She’d called out to Hine at one stage, only to be ignored. And Alice had been making those funny noises all night as if she couldn’t breathe properly.
She peeped out through the gap in the curtains. It sure had rained. Yet now the sun was shining through a thin layer of cloud. It looked like it could be a nice day later on. That would be good. Then she remembered they had to go home today and the unhappiness she’d felt in the night returned.
Home was not fun during the holidays. In fact home wasn’t even home. She had to spend the day at the shop. Sometimes she was given something to do, but most of the time she was told to stay in the storeroom and keep out of the way. It soon got depressing sitting in a room full of old things.
She would have preferred to stay here with her two friends. They were just starting to get to know each other. She was beginning to like Tyler even though he was a little strange. When he’d been nice to her yesterday, she’d even found him attractive. Now it was too late to see if anything could have developed.
Hine was a bit bossy, but nice in a motherly sort of way. Mandy felt they probably had more in common than they had discovered. That was because of the game. They should never have played it. Whenever they were getting close to each other the game would get in the way. Well, today that would finish too. After Tyler’s turn it would be hers again. It wouldn’t be too hard to trick the others so that she won. Not that she cared any more.
She glanced at Hine’s bed, wondering if she should wake her. But Hine wasn’t there. She must have got up earlier. Then she saw the sleeping bag was missing, and her pack. The bed was covered with unpacked clothes.
Mandy stood thinking for a while: something strange was going on here. Then, with a feeling of annoyance, she walked through to the boys’ dorm. Tyler wasn’t there either; nor was his sleeping bag or pack. The bare mattress was a dump of dirty clothes.
She sat on the bed going over the events of the previous day. Slowly it dawned on her: Tyler’s talk of spending the night in a cave was a dare. He had tricked her. She had been so impressed by his sympathy that she’d missed it. But Hine hadn’t, and somewhere they’d spent the night together in a cave. She felt a surge of jealousy and then anger. How dare they trick her? It was her game; she was the one who made it up. It was so unfair.
Then she calmed and started thinking of revenge. The easiest thing was to tell the adults. That would cause all sorts of trouble. Yet, Tyler and Hine hadn’t told about the night when she got ‘lost’. So how would she feel if she told on them? Probably lousy.
Plan B was to make out she didn’t know they’d been missing and ask for proof. They might have forgotten that.
Plan C was to declare the dare cancelled because they’d already had a cave dare. She’d make up a new rule. That would do it. Tyler would get angry and run away, then Hine would get all narky and support Tyler. All she had to do was get everybody mad. She might even be able to take away their final life and win the game. However, the first thing was to find them—catch them in the act of returning, or, even better, find the cave and surprise them when they came out. That would be the last thing they would expect.
While the storm had gone, the power was still in the sea. The waves were bigger than any Mandy had seen. They broke as a wall of water before roaring towards the shore. It was brown with silt from the flooded stream, and large rafts of yellow foam drifted around in the chilly wind.
Mandy removed her shoes and crossed the stream. It was still muddy and swollen and took a different course than she remembered. Her destination was the base of the cliffs at the end of the beach. That was the only place where she could imagine caves.
Unfortunately any telltale footprints had been removed by the rain or the waves. The most likely spot looked like a small cove with a few flax bushes. Something about the way the rocks jutted out suggested there was a cave.
There wasn’t. Yet behind the flax she found a spot that looked flattened as if someone had been lying there. She knelt for a closer look. Yes, it definitely was squashed down. Then she saw something metallic buried under the dead plants. It was Tyler’s magnifying glass. She was right: he had been here. But whether it was the night just past or sometime earlier was hard to tell. Still, the magnifier could be useful, if only as something to tease him with.
She walked around the base of the cliff, planning to climb the goat track. There was a possibility of some sort of rock shelter up there. Tyler could have found it when he was searching for her.
It all seemed different to the last time. Sand was now piled up against the cliff and the stream flowed much closer. It was all squishy and she thought it might be quicksand. She stopped when she saw some sand had collapsed into a hole at one place. It would be stupid to go any further. As she watched, a crack formed and more sand slumped into the hole. It was definitely dangerous to go on. She went back to where she could safely cross the stream. Looking for a cave without having any idea was futile. She might as well sit by a warm fire and wait for them to sneak back. It would be better if she was there when they arrived. After all, they had to come back sometime.
Chapter 14
If only Mandy had known that for a moment she had been just a few metres from where Tyler lay in the sand…
Hine was beside him, sobbing gently. Their situation was now plain: they were trapped in a cave with only one way out, and that was blocked. Sooner or later the air would run out and then they would be in real trouble.
Tyler opened his eyes and looked around for the first time. Hine had her head in her hands. She looked so miserable that his heart reached out for her. ‘Thanks, Hine,’ he said.
In the soft light he watched her head rise. Tears were streaming from her cheeks.
‘There’s no need to cry no
w.’ He added, ‘I’m all right.’ He knew that was an overstatement: his chest and head ached and his body was cold and weak. ‘How long has it been?’
Hine glanced at the clock. ‘It’s just after ten. About three hours I think. Oh Tyler, I thought you were dead.’
‘I would have been if you hadn’t pulled me out.’
‘That was the hardest part. The sand seemed to be sucking you in. Once I got your head clear it was easier.’
‘Was I breathing?’
She shook her head. ‘I had to resuscitate you.’
‘I’m glad you knew how.’
Her face lightened. ‘Auntie made me learn. She wouldn’t let me go on the boat unless I did. She said it’s not right to expect people to save you if you can’t save them in return.’
‘I must thank your Auntie sometime.’
Hine nodded slowly. There was a long pause before she asked, ‘What was it like? Do you remember anything?’
Tyler closed his eyes, trying to recover the images and thoughts of the cave-in. ‘There was no tunnel with a bright light at the end, if that’s what you’re asking. I remember the sand and water falling. I wanted to reach down to my pocket to get the pendant, but my arms wouldn’t move. I don’t remember anything after that.’
‘You got the pendant. You were holding it when I pulled you out. That helped me think you were still alive; you were holding it so tightly.’
Tyler pulled his hand out from under the sleeping bag. Yes, he could feel it now. He opened his palm to see the white fossil glowing in the dim light.
‘Do you think we should give it back?’ he asked.
‘I was thinking about that when you woke. I don’t think taking the pendant caused the entrance to be blocked. But it may have helped keep you alive.’ She thought for a moment. ‘If we get out of here then I’m sure you can keep it.’
If not, thought Tyler, it will stay here with him anyway.
A long time later Hine asked, ‘Why did you call him Ata?’
‘I don’t know. I just liked the sound of it.’
