by JC Ryan
With the arrival of the second construction crew and more material, work doubled for JR. He was no longer taking sixteen hours off, feeling the need to supervise both shifts. The eight when everyone was off at the same time became the normal ‘night’, so that everyone was on the same page with regard to the date. By the end of the day when the cook arrived, the mess building was in business and the camp construction crew began on the science building. When everyone had a place to work, they’d start on the dormitories so they could abandon the tents for sturdier housing.
Meanwhile, the mining engineer and Robert went into the cave to explore both routes that the previous expedition had discovered. They had a difference of opinion on the better way to go with the road. The route that Robert had pioneered, complete with a six-foot squeeze that would defeat anyone whose build was larger than Robert’s, was actually the shorter, once the twists and turns were straightened out with tunneling. The mining engineer favored shorter, mostly because the sooner they finished, the sooner he could get out of this place. He’d been all for the adventure when he was recruited, but the strangeness of the surroundings made him nervous. All that white, punctuated only by the red of the tents and environmental suits. Okay, the buildings were a sort of gray-blue color, but still. He didn’t like it.
Robert, on the other hand, felt that less damage to the cave ecology would be done if they simply enlarged the tunnel through which he and the others had crawled to freedom before. It was clearly in stable rock, since there were no supports in it. And, it opened on both ends to a very large space where they could stage the construction materials. The fact that it was so open also made it possible to have the crews working from both ends at the same time. Doing that in the other route left the potential for the two ends not to meet up. There wasn’t a clear line of command for this decision, so the two of them took it to JR.
“I think you should follow Robert’s lead,” he said, once he understood what was being argued. “He’s been through both routes into the valley, and he understands the caves as well as anyone does.”
The engineer, in a huff, said that in that case his services weren’t needed and he’d take the next helicopter back to civilization. JR wasn’t accustomed to out and out mutiny in the ranks, and took offense to the man’s attitude.
“Fine. You’re relieved of duty. You can pack your stuff--the next helicopter will be here in about two hours
“Thanks for backing me up, mate,” Robert said, when the other man had left.
“No problem, dude. That’s what friends are for. And I do think you have the better grasp of the situation, anyway.”
Aside from that issue, which remained small because JR took command of it without hesitation, the next couple of days went well, and all was in readiness when the next wave, the scientists and their assistants, touched down on the helipad exactly seven days after JR and his first crew arrived. Summers looked around and was astounded at the progress. Rebecca, on the other hand, ran straight into JR’s arms to be immediately swept off her feet, dangling a foot off the ground.
The camp was laid out, some in red lines still as construction on the prefabs continued, in an efficient way; the tents nearest the cave entrance would give way to the dormitories as they went up. An environmentally sealed pathway between the operations buildings and the dorms was as wide as a city street, leveled and packed by the bulldozers, as was the helipad, which was furthest from the cave. On the other side, nearest the closed end of the canyon, were the operations buildings. The mess and science buildings were complete, while the admin building had only a few more hours of finishing before it would also be ready.
For now, everyone would continue to sleep in tents, but the dormitories would start going up next. JR explained to the scientists that he’d promised the construction crews the first building, as they’d been in tents the longest. El-Amin, with a bit of remaining entitlement issue, started to raise an objection, but was quelled by a look from Summers and Rebecca. He was still on probation and could easily be sent home, so he closed his mouth and said nothing.
The following day, the science team would go in through the existing tunnel under Robert’s leadership, and begin assessing the work ahead of them.
Chapter 8 – Three passions at Paradise Valley
In JR’s tent after a long first day, the two lovers clung together in their double sleeping bag, glad to be in each other’s arms again even if the accommodations weren’t all that comfortable. The cots on which the two halves of the sleeping bag were supported each dipped in the center, leaving a ridge in the middle that dug into JR’s side as he snuggled close to Rebecca. The unacceptable situation was remedied by throwing the joined sleeping bags on the floor of the tent instead, with gratitude for their thickness and insulating ability.
Snuggled warmly inside the cocoon of their sleeping bag, JR took Rebecca tenderly into his arms, holding her tightly without speaking for long moments. Only when she stirred against him did he murmur against her hair.
“I missed you, sweetheart. I don’t ever want to be without you for that long again.”
Rebecca raised her face for a kiss, which stopped all talking for a while. JR’s hands were stroking her back, her side, leaving heated flesh in their wake.
“Never, my love, I agree,” she whispered. Her own hands busy, Rebecca sighed into his neck as JR nuzzled behind her ear. Giving herself to this man had completed her in a way she didn’t know was possible. Their reunion was sweet and passionate, sealing their vows to be together more certainly than any words could.
“I should have come with you from the beginning,” Rebecca said, later.
“It was cold, and the food was terrible. I’m glad you waited, even though I missed you,” JR said.
“Silly, it’s still cold. What if one of the construction workers had been hurt? I should have been here.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. No one got hurt, and if they had, I’m a pretty decent medic in a tight spot. We had a first aid kit on steroids. I could use the box for a house,” he joked.
“I’m just saying. Next time I’m coming with you.”
“So, you think there’ll be a next time?” he asked.
“Don’t you? I don’t see you settling down to a desk job at the Foundation, or a teaching position once you finish your graduate work. You strike me as the action type,” she said.
“You’re right, there. I just don’t know how many more discoveries we can make on this world, Becca.”
“You might be surprised,” she said, prophetically as it turned out.
JR gathered her into the crook of his arm, relishing the weight of her head on his chest and her leg thrown over his as they both fell asleep.
The lovers couldn’t have known, but wouldn’t have been surprised, that after they disappeared into their tent, two other couples were snuggling together in the privacy of their own tents, as well. Cyndi had waited until she could catch Robert alone before launching herself at him for a passionate kiss. Never one to waste such an opportunity, Robert responded enthusiastically. Discovering the same difficulty with the cots, they made use of the same solution. In their case, it was a first time. Cyndi and Robert had been attracted to each other during the previous expedition, but no opportunity had presented itself. Now they made up for lost time, Robert thanking his lucky stars that he had it right about Cyndi.
The American girl was a beauty, no doubt about it. On the last expedition, Robert hadn’t taken much notice of her before their ordeal in the cave and finding the way out of the valley. He’d been desperate to crack onto the doctor. It had become manifest, though, even before they reached safety, that Rebecca had eyes only for JR. Odd pairing, that, but evidently it worked. The two were engaged, and Robert had to look elsewhere. Cyndi had shown an interest, and they’d stayed in touch. Neither had let on that they felt more than friendship, afraid to be embarrassed, especially when the ill-fated Carmen had practically thrown herself at Robert’s feet on the first expedition.
Tucked inside the zipped-together sleeping bags now, Robert peeled Cyndi out of her sleeping clothes and skinned out of his own, pushing all of them out of the bedding before exploring her curves with his big hands. She was definitely a goer, this girl. He’d enjoy getting to know her in other ways, too. After all, Mum had been making noises about grandchildren. Maybe it was time to settle down and fall in love. Or fall in love and settle down. However that worked. Cyndi stilled his thoughts with a deep kiss, and then it was all soft moans and feeling his hands on her and hers on him. Oh, yes, she’d do.
In Angela’s tent, Summers was preparing to take his leave. The pair had enjoyed a burgeoning friendship since the previous expedition. Ange had been loyal to Summers, even when JR took over the leadership of the escape plan, and Charles appreciated it more than he could say. He’d come face to face with the knowledge that he was a physical coward, humiliating beyond belief, and yet this quiet and gentle woman still looked up to him. A lifelong bachelor, Charles Summers had never had a serious relationship. Most women weren’t interested in studious types, it seemed. They wanted derring-do and dashing looks, neither of which Charles could provide.
Angela was different. Not particularly a beauty, her face was nevertheless pleasant, a little round and serious, her fine gray eyes hidden behind wire-framed glasses and the whole topped with short-cropped curly brown hair. In his undergraduate days, an anthropology class had taught Charles that most couples were drawn together based on many factors, among them an equality in the level of beauty each possessed. You could see it if you people-watched for a while. You hardly ever saw a really beautiful woman with an ordinary-looking man, and if you did the explanation probably lay in other factors, like wealth. But in the masses of ordinary people, you’d find plain with plain, average with average, and beautiful with beautiful. That’s why Charles was happy that Angela wasn’t beautiful; because he wasn’t, either.
It was true that Ange was ten years his junior. That didn’t seem to matter to her, though. Her eyes shone when he talked about his love for archaeological discovery. She didn’t seem to notice that his hairline was receding, or that his eyes were rather small or his nose rather large. She saw his intellect, and valued it, and that made Charles like her very much. He hadn’t made any move to kiss her, yet, plenty of time for that. But he thought of her as his girlfriend and assumed she felt the same way about him.
Therefore, it was rather a surprise when she stopped him as he turned to leave.
“Charles, don’t go yet, please.”
“Why, Ange, what do you need?”
“To be quite frank with you, Charles, I need to know whether you like me at all.”
Taken aback, Charles stuttered. “O-of course I d-do. What would make you ask me such a thing?”
“You’ve never tried to kiss me, Charles. Do you only like me as a friend? Because I’d very much like to kiss you.”
Charles was thunderstruck. Feelings he’d long suppressed rose within him, doing embarrassing things to his clothing if the truth were known.
“I, I’d very much like to kiss you, too, Ange.”
“Then why don’t you come over here and do it?” she said, a shy smile playing around her lips.
And thus it was that Charles didn’t return to his own tent that night after all, thinking that perhaps he’d better trade roommates with someone so that Ange could stay with him in his. A grin that he would have been horrified to see was pasted on his face. Who would have thought that an old confirmed bachelor like himself could acquit himself with such finesse in a single sleeping bag with a young woman?
Chapter 9 – The stele in the city
To make the most of their time, when the scientific crew went in through the ancient tunnel the next day, they took with them sleeping bags, food, clothing and paraphernalia for collecting scientific specimens, carrying out field tests and so on. Angela and her assistant were on deck for one of the important first steps, that of accurately mapping the valley. The other scientists were forced to wait for their entry until she was finished with the first few yards of her grid.
Robert and Cyndi would be missing from this foray for a couple of days while he accompanied her in climbing the peak on the outside to set up one of the communications links, an Iridium Pilot land station that would provide both data and voice communications for the site. Each of the little devices that resembled a three-legged stool would support broadband data speeds as well as up to three simultaneous voice calls. After much debate, the expedition was equipped with two of them. Because they were in a narrow canyon at the base camp, one would be set up at the rim of the caldera for communications within the valley, and the other in camp. Because it weighed nearly thirty pounds and because it was standard operating procedure that no one went out on the ice alone, especially in more hazardous conditions than were common in the canyon, Cyndi needed a companion for the task. Because he was an experienced climber and big enough that an extra thirty pounds in his gear wouldn’t faze him, Robert was the choice.
By the end of the first week after the scientists arrived, much of the central valley had been mapped, though Summers and Angela had words regarding how to go about it despite their new-found romantic relationship. He wanted to proceed directly to the center square where the thickly-growing trees and vines had turned them back before, and penetrate the barrier immediately. He was convinced that whatever signs of humanity remained would be found inside. Angela agreed, but said that it would be more efficient to map as they went. Since he couldn’t very well pick her up and bodily force her to proceed at speed to the center, Summers conceded with ill grace and barely contained his impatience for a couple of days while Angela went about it in her own way.
That consisted of bouncing a laser off the distant cliffs with the help of a transit theodolite, not an easy task when the distances were up to eight miles and there was a jungle in between. In some cases, it required JR’s help to climb a tree and precisely calibrate the theodolite while it was precariously balanced on a high limb. However, with the aid of these modern technological marvels, she was able to enter the details on her electronic tablet, which began to display an accurate map within hours. Angela had sent her assistant and Cyndi’s, borrowed for the purpose, to the opposite side of the valley by the quickest route to map the other side. When they met up and synched their programs, the central strip, including the mysterious square, would be complete. After that, she would accompany Summers inside the square for a more detailed map of the smaller area, while her assistant and JR completed the side strips of the map in the same manner.
The group was still stymied by the light in the valley, something they’d noted during their previous sojourn. Nothing in anyone’s store of knowledge accounted for the even, bright white light that shone all the time. They knew that the sun was still barely above the horizon outside. By all rights, it should have been pitch dark in the valley. Yet, the white ceiling of mist emitted or reflected, they weren’t sure which, the strange light. As soon as they saw it, el-Amin and Nyree Dasgupta fell into argument over whether the source was vegetable or biological in nature. Both were convinced it was one or the other of those choices, but they each assumed it was something to do with their own specialty. Summers was satisfied that their bickering would soon lead to the solution, since each wanted to be the first to explain one of the natural phenomena in this impossible place.
~~~
Finally, as they rose for the third time after sleeping in the valley, it was time to approach the square. Summers was more anxious than ever, as the schedule called for them to leave and report their data before going back in for another three days. Because work to enlarge it was now well underway in the large exit tunnel, someone would have to crawl through the more restricted passage with the squeeze area to halt the work so they could exit. Otherwise, they might be in the tunnel when blasts brought down debris on their heads, or even blew up right above or beside them. Angela, as the smallest, had volunteered. S
ummers thought it was fitting punishment for holding him up. Angela, unaware that he considered it any such thing, continued to glow in the newfound pleasure of their physical relationship.
Meanwhile, they had eight or so hours to work before their trek to the outside. The two had camped just outside the barrier in order to get an early start in the morning…if you could call it that when the light declared it noon all day every day. As soon as they began to push into the heavy growth, they realized that barrier wasn’t just a word they’d been using to describe it. There was actually a plan to the way the vines had been planted and woven together between the tall, straight tree trunks. Summers couldn’t believe it; now they would have to search all the way around the perimeter for the way in, or cut the vines, which would no doubt infuriate el-Amin.
Fortunately, they didn’t have long to search. Though it slowed them down in getting around the perimeter, they elected to stay together rather than going in opposite directions. Since they had already walked around half of the square to the right last year, they decided this time to go left. That paid off when, in the middle of the next side, they found the entrance, a deceptive break in the barrier that led through a maze-like path until it let them out on the inside. Angela felt as if they’d fallen through the rabbit hole when they looked around. Before them, remarkably free of the ubiquitous vines, stood a miniature village, filled with domes and spires that were so fantastic in shape that both stood open-mouthed for an eternity before turning to each other in wonder.
