 |
|
McLean stopped in front of the only mound that had yet to budge. “Jordan. Oh, Jordie. This little caravan ain’t waitin’ for some two-bit punk of a heartthrob. So get your bubble butt out of bed.” The guide grinned as he got his response--a middle finger peeking out of a ragged blanket. “Ten minutes, boy. No less, no more.” J. snapped, yanking away the torn covering, and laughing when the blonde scowled angrily at him.
Eventually, the group managed to get themselves together. Upon seeing that all were up and ready to go, A.J. turned to once again open the door. He found it easily and without incident. Once the rock had successfully moved aside, McLean entered without the slightest hesitation. The others followed, with a little less enthusiasm then their guide.
Stagnates and stalagmites covered the ceilings and floors, with only a narrow walkway leading through the dank and dark tunnel. A stream could be heard nearby. Jarred smelled something vaguely familiar, and licked his lips, tasting the air. “Sulfur.” he whispered into the darkness.
“Hold on to each other. It’s getting dark and we don’t want to lose anyone.” Sean called back, reaching back to grab the hand of his friend.
“Oh Sean, I didn’t know you felt that way about me.” A raspy voice purred.
“Shut up, Zach. We need your scrawny ass.” Sean snapped, jumping slightly as the figure in front of him snatched up his hand.
“Will you relax, baby? It’s just a cave. I promise you, you already know all the big scary monsters behind you.” Kristen drawled softly, smiling at the cries of protest behind her.
“Very funny, Kristen. But I’m more worried about that nut case of a guide whose paw you happen to be holding.” Jordan called up.
“Depends on who you’re talking about, A.J. or Sean. Both are pretty wacky.” Kris yelled back to him.
“Ha ha. Yeah, yeah. Let’s all get a good laugh making fun of poor old Sean.” he pouted.
“What the hell are you talking about ‘old’? Leighanne’s older than you are, and do you see her complaining?” she pointed out.
“Nobody’s making fun of her.” Kristen just laughed.
“Less chat, more walk, people.” A.J. interrupted impatiently.
“Yes, sir.” Kristen just laughed all the harder.
* * * * *
It was quiet for a time, the members trying to make their way along the narrow and winding path in total darkness without killing themselves. Sean looked blindly around him. They’d been walking in the cave for several hours now, and he still couldn’t see a thing. Sean turned his head around sharply, stopping dead in his tracks to be sure of what he had seen. Zach, not prepared for the sudden stop, ran smack into him. Sean probably would have been able to regain his balance, had he not been concentrating quite so hard on a flash of light he had seen that looked to be very close. That, plus Kristen pulling on him from up front, was enough to send him toppling off the trail.
“Sean? Sean??!! Where are you?” Kristen called, trying not to panic. Her only reply was a string of colorful swear words. “Zach? Do you have ahold of him?”
“No, but he’s close. Here, grab ahold of me, so at least we don’t lose each other.” Zach said, moving up to hold Kristen’s hand.
“Hey! What’s the hold up?” Jordan yelled from the back.
“We lost Sean. Cool your jets, Junior, we’ve got to find him.” Roughouse’s own bad boy responded, finally reaching Kristen.
“You didn’t lose me. I’m right here.” Sean said weakly, lying just a few feet from the path.
Jarred, who stood just behind Amanda and Zach, jumped in, “Hey, Train, you all right, man?” Jarred tried to move forward more, but Claudia had no intention of letting go of her husband’s hand, nor did he of her’s, and the path was too narrow for two to stand side by side. Frustrated, the peacemaker moved back to his original spot.
“Um, not really. Think I did something to my ankle, hurts pretty bad. I don’t know if I can stand up too well.” came the response.
A.J. swore in several different languages before turning to Kristen. “There’s only about a quarter of a mile left of this path, then about a mile or two of open cave. If we can get him out of this part, then we’ll be able to help him the last mile or two. The last leg is easy, there’s a lot more light, and a lot more room. Since I know these caves better than any of you, I’ll go down, get your fearless leader, and bring up the rear with him. All you have to do is walk the last stretch and wait for me at the mouth of the cave. Just go straight, there are no turns, so it should be fairly easy. Do you understand?”
I can’t, I’m scared, a voice whispered in Kristen’s head. She pushed it aside, she had to do this. “Yes, I understand.”
A.J. peered at her through the darkness, taking her hand and stroking it gently. “You can do this. The Roughouse wives weren’t brought here just so the guys got some. Dargonna wouldn’t have brought you here unless she thought you could handle it.” he said softly, sounding so much like Zach it was scary.
“I thought Sogno picked us.” Kristen said, teasing the older man lightly.
A.J. chuckled slightly, ending in a cough. “Nothing gets by you, huh? Sogno choose the guys. It was Dargonna’s decision to bring the ladies here.” A.J. paused for a moment to raise his voice so that all could hear him. “Kristen will be leading you from here until we reach Kinsod. Jordan and I will follow you with Sean. Jordan, when you reach this spot, I’ll pull you out. You guys need to rearrange a bit. Jordan, you stay in the back so I know where you are. Mandee, move up between Claudia and LeighAnne, so that Bret brings up the rear. Got it?”
“Why does Jordan have to go? Can’t somebody else go?” Mandee yelled up. A.J. rolled his eyes. Apparently time didn’t change much.
“Jordan’s the tallest of this bunch. Sean’s a big guy, and I’m going to need help hauling his ass out of this cave. Jarred and Bret are too short, and Zach’s the same height as me, so that’s not much of an improvement. Jordan’s the only one remotely close to Sean’s height. Or, in terms that you can understand: Jordie big, Seanie big, me small. Me need help carry Seanie. Jordie big, Jordie help me carry Seanie. Any questions?” When he was met by silence, A.J. gave Kristen the signal to move out. He smiled when he heard Zach muttering, “’Bout time somebody stood up to that bitch.”
Once the whole caravan had passed, A.J. turned to Jordan. “So, how much weight can you carry?”
* * * * *
“Where are they?” Kristen muttered to no one in particular. They had reached the mouth of the cavern about two hours ago, finishing the last leg in less than thirty minutes. True to his word, the last bit had indeed been just as easy as A.J. had described it. The group once again had moved in relative silence, it being the second time in a week that their leader was down. Zach smiled slightly, thinking on it. Had it only been a week since he had slept in his own bed? Seemed like more than that.
“Hey, Rok, what day is it?” Zach called after a minute, eyeing the older man, who had collapsed near the entrance and hadn’t moved since.
“Um, May 23? Something like that?” he replied, staring blankly at his watch.
“ ‘Something like that?’? What the hell’s that suppose to mean? Your watch run out of batteries or something?” Zach said urgently, panicked that their last tie to normal life might be gone.
“I don’t know. It’s still working, I think. It’s just all screwy. It almost looks like the little hands decided to switch roles or something: the hour hand’s the second hand, the second hand’s the minute hand, and the minute hand’s the hour hand.” LeighAnne threw a nervous glance at her husband, had he lost it? He hadn’t been looking so hot the entire trip, none of them had, but had the thing with Sean made him lose his marbles completely?
Claudia, who was closest to Bret, reached for the time piece. “Let me see that.” He willingly handed it over. The Asian woman collected the watch and moved nearer to the entrance to see the face of the piece better. She had been studying the watch during the short walk to the opening, so that when she looked up to see where she was going, she wasn’t prepared in the slightest for what she was about to see. She dropped the watch in pure shock.
“Claudia!” Jarred reprimanded, watching the expensive Rolex fall in pieces, but she didn’t hear a word.
“Sweet mother of mercy...............what is this place?”