Storms by May
She looked down the steep slope of the canyon wall until she could pick out the
dark hole that was the cave entrance. The rocks along the slope were jumbled
together awkwardly, and Hillary Thompson thought that it hadn’t looked as bad
the first time. But then, the first time she had been excited by the prospect
of a cave to explore and maybe some new discovery to make.
Hillary Thompson was an archeologist and she loved the work. She got to see
some of the most ancient things first hand, and while she hadn’t made any big
discoveries, she had found some cool things. Hillary was hoping that this would
be the big find.
While exploring the cave during her last visit, Hillary had found some signs
that the cave had been used as a home. At the time, she hadn’t had enough time
to explore thoroughly, but now she had the chance. Today she would be exploring
the cave further and mapping the area out. Later, a team would be brought in.
Hillary glanced at the sky. In a steep canyon like this, flash floods could be
a real problem. A few clouds were gathered on the horizon, but Hillary was sure
they wouldn’t be a problem.
“What do you think, Beth?” she said turning to her partner.
“Looks fine to me. Bit of a steep slope, but I’ll get down it.” Both women
were excited at the prospect of this cave. It held so many possibilities.
“All righty, then,” said Hillary, “down we go!”
With that, the women began to pick their way carefully down the slope. The
going was treacherous, and it took them nearly one and a half hours of
precarious slipping and sliding to reach the cave. At more than one point, one
of the women slipped and fell.
When they finally reached the cave entrance, both Hillary and Beth were covered
in dirt from the long hike, their hands had numerous scrapes from falls but were
not too bloody. Hillary noticed that the clouds were much closer now, and much
denser and darker. They were moving faster than she had thought, but after all
that climbing, she was not going to turn around and go back up! She had come to
look around, and that was what she was going to do. No storm was going to turn
her back! With a glance of defiance at the stormy skies, Hillary entered the
cave after Beth.
But somehow, the stormy clouds and the raging river at the bottom of the canyon
stuck in her mind’s eye. Stories of drowned people popped into her head, people
who had died in flash floods, not able to get back from the water quick enough.
Images of water-washed bodies filled her head in disgusting detail. She forced
them back, but no matter how she tried to defy the elements and her own
imagination, the pictures filled her brain with horror.
Beth turned around, nearly blinding Hillary with her flashlight. “Hey, this
cave is really neat! Where was it that you found the stuff?”
“Over towards the back,” Hillary said vaguely.
Beth peered closely at her. “Is something wrong?”
“I’m worried about those clouds. They could rain on us and cause a flood.”
Hillary saw Beth’s eyes turn toward the cave mouth apprehensively. Her face
was worried, but she put on a brave front. “Are you suggesting we turn around
and climb back up that slope we worked so hard to climb down? You couldn’t be.”
Hillary knew Beth was trying to lighten the mood, but the air pressed around
closely, smothering them. They walked silently to the back of the cave and
began mapping out the area, making sketches.
They both worked as fast as care would permit. Hours passed with occasional
distant rolls of thunder before they decided they needed to move out. Hillary
had barely gone two steps when the storm broke. Thunder rolled as both women
began to run towards the entrance, knowing that the waters from upriver where it
had rained first would soon come rushing down along the canyon to wash them
away, building up and channeled by the narrow canyon walls. They gained the
entrance of the cave and were immediately struck by tearing winds and furious
rain. Below them the water raged and even as they began scrambling upwards they
could see the water begin to build up far away.
Scrambling up the slippery rocks was harder than going down. In their rush
they nearly dislodged a rock that would have sent them both crashing into the
water below. Their progress crept upward, and Hillary knew with a terrible
certainty that she and Beth were going to die. She heard Beth’s scream of
terror next to her and turned with dread to look.
A towering wall of water rushed at them, raging, frothing, bubbling, furious.
In slow motion, Hillary saw it come crashing down, horribly fascinated by the
cresting and foam as it came swirling irrevocably towards them. She was dimly
conscious Beth’s endless, ear-splitting screams above the roar of the water and
knew that similar sounds were ripping from her own throat, but sound was
becoming difficult to perceive in her fear stricken state. Sight prevailed at
the end and the last thing she saw was some red-brown hair, disappearing in a
rush of water.Go Home
Back to May's Writing Page
