Cave Dwellers (24 page)

   Wasting no time, he punched a hole in the next wall and ripped it apart.

   The next room was completely filled with smoke. Lying on the floor were a baby boy about two years old and a teenage girl. They were both unconscious.

   Zaac grabbed the girl and tossed her over his shoulder while Ramira grabbed the little boy. They rushed back through the openings Zaac had made and climbed out the window. Scrambling down the wall, they were soon on the ground and rushing to the corner of the building.

   Neither one of them wanted to be asked any questions about the rescue. They had too much contact with the news media as it was.

   When they reached the corner, they placed the teenager and the baby on the ground. They ran to the front and told a rescue worker there were two people, seemingly unconscious, at the corner of the building.

   The rescue workers did their jobs and within minutes had the victims on oxygen and loaded into an ambulance.

   Zaac and Ramira disappeared. As far as they knew, they hadn’t been seen and had performed a good deed utilizing their new found abilities.

   They were wrong. They had indeed performed a good service in the rescue. They were not so lucky as to be unobserved.

   Someone who had heard the sirens went to the window to see what was happening. He could see
the back of the apartment building that was on fire. He did not see Zaac and Ramira as they went up the side of the building. He did see them when they came out of the window carrying the bodies.

   He was able to capture the rescue on his cell phone, getting pictures of them climbing down the wall of the apartment building. Since the recording was at a distance, only figures could be seen and the act they were accomplishing. Zaac and Ramira were not recognized.

   The next day, though, the man’s video was released and flashed across news networks. Questions were asked: “Who are these unknown heroes? How were they able to climb down buildings without any ropes?”

   No one seemed to know who they were. Curiosity was aroused. It was the talk around many lunch room tables and discussed in many family homes.

   After the incident, when they were around Frank, he looked at them with renewed curiosity. He remembered them saying they had some unusual abilities. He did not believe in coincidences.

   Zaac and Ramira said not a word.

   When he got the opportunity to be alone with them, he asked, “What were you up to the night of the fire?”

  
“The night of the fire?” Ramira responded, trying to act like she knew nothing of the event.

   “Yes. One of the apartment buildings caught fire downtown. You were unaware of the fire?” Frank gave them an intense stare.

   “We did hear someone mention something about a fire but we didn’t ask where it was or anything about it.” Ramira acted a little too innocent. “Which building was it?”

   He told her the location of the building.

   “Was anyone hurt?”

   “Most of the people got out safely. A few suffered from smoke inhalation. The reason I asked, there was a heroic rescue where a couple of people displayed some unusual talents. I don’t guess you two know anything about that, do you?” 

   Frank wasn’t buying their innocence or their ignorance of the event.

   “How could we know anything? You just told us about it. If a couple of people performed a heroic deed, then I guess they should get a commendation or something, if they’re ever found. Though from the looks of it, they didn’t want any recognition for what they did.” She added a sweet smile.

   “No, I don’t guess they did.” He did not press the matter any further.

   The second Tuesday in December, the garage with the apartment was finally completed. At this point, the construction workers were instructed to stop work by Friday afternoon at two p.m. and do no work on weekends. That would allow Zaac and Ramira to use the weekends to get Rogue and Siri out of the cavern and spend time with them. Until the lake got stocked with bigger fish, they planned to buy fish for them from the market and feed them.

   Zaac and Ramira spent Tuesday and Wednesday evenings shopping for the appliances and furniture they wanted. Deliveries were made that Thursday while Zaac was still in school. Ramira directed the proceedings when the trucks arrived.

   There was a lot of hustle and bustle between the construction crew starting work on the chalet and the deliveries. The mountaintop was a scene of confusion and disarray.

   Zaac arrived after school in the midst of the disorder. He was not sure if Ramira was helping the situation or creating more confusion. He chose the wise path and watched quietly, trying to stay out of the way.

   Their plans were to spend the weekend in their apartment. They wanted to get Rogue and Siri out of the cavern and let them experience the outdoors for the first time.

   They went grocery shopping that evening to stock up their kitchen and to get fish for the megapetomeinon. They mainly purchased frozen
foods and items that they could use to make sandwiches. Neither one of them wanted to waste time cooking when they could be spending time with Rogue and Siri.

   Ramira was waiting for Zaac on Friday when he got out of school. They hastened down the mountain to the cave and opened it up.

   When they got to the rock slide, it took Zaac about an hour to make a passageway big enough for not only them but the megapetomeinon to come through. After making a passage that he thought would be sufficient, they went to the pit and climbed across. It did not take them long to reach the cavern.

   “Rogue,” Zaac hollered out.

   “Siri,” Ramira called as they entered the cavern.

   The younger megapetomeinon flew off of their ledge and landed on the upper ledge where Zaac and Ramira emerged. It was quite a reunion with the birds laying their heads across their friends’ shoulders as they hugged one another affectionately.

   “We have a surprise for you,” Ramira said to Siri as she rubbed her neck.

   Both Zaac and Ramira glanced across the cavern recalling their time spent down here.

   Each one must have had the same idea because Zaac climbed onto Rogue’s back while Ramira jumped up on Siri’s. They flew across the cavern making several passes before landing at the top of the incline near their cave.

   They got off the birds and walked by the rock pot and the flat stone that they had used to cook their meals so often the last couple of months. They went to the moss and looked at the places they slept every night.

  Going down the incline to their vegetables, they pulled up a couple of carrots and washed them off before eating them. The place held so many memories for them.

   Ramira glanced up at the boulder where they had kissed for the first time, prompted by her of course. The memory stirred a longing inside of her. She went up to Zaac with an irresistible smile on her face and wrapped her arms around his neck. He bent down placing his arms around her as they kissed tenderly yet with passion.

   Their kiss was abruptly interrupted by Rogue poking Zaac in the back with his beak while Siri stuck her beak between them. They were having none of this. They wanted Zaac and Ramira to spend time with them.

   “Okay you two. It’s time for your surprise. Let’s go,” Ramira said.

   They climbed onto the bird’s backs and flew to the ledge that led out. The tunnel was large enough to allow the birds to walk through it although they did have to keep their heads bend over. When they reached the pit, Zaac and Ramira climbed across the ceiling while the birds flew across. They went over the rock pile and headed to the opening of the cave.

   When they reached the opening, the birds looked out then withdrew almost in fright, blinking in the glare. They had never seen a world outside their cavern.

   “It’s alright. We won’t let anything happen to you.” Ramira spoke to them soothingly.

   She rubbed Siri’s neck as Zaac rubbed Rogue’s, trying to keep them calm as they led them to the opening again. They stopped at the opening letting each bird look out and adjust to the new surroundings. It was a lot to absorb.

   As they looked into the birds’ eyes, it seemed like there was fear in them. They could not imagine what was going through their minds as they had their first glimpse of the big world. Their life in the cavern had always been pretty simple.

   Since Zaac and Ramira owned the mountains and all of the land on this side of them, they were not afraid of anyone seeing them when they flew from the cave up to the garage. They now owned the small dirt road that led from their driveway to the larger dirt road. They had enlarged it so it could accommodate cars.

   ‘No Trespassing’ signs were now posted at the entrance. They did not want people snooping around when they were flying with Rogue and Siri. They did not want them to be seen when the fish got big enough and the megapetomeinon were catching their food either.

   After allowing the
birds time to adjust, Zaac climbed onto Rogue and Ramira climbed onto Siri. They flew down the mountain across the valley and back up to the garage.

   Rogue and Siri were in for a treat. Each one was handed a fish. They knelt on the cement floor and gulped them down.

   “It’ll be dark soon. When it is, we’ll really have some fun,” Zaac said as he rubbed Rogue.

27

   The Great Smoky Mountains, usually shortened to Smoky Mountains, get their name from the cloud cover that often surrounds the peaks. From a distance, it looks like smoke.

   This natural fog comes from warm humid air that rises from the Gulf of Mexico and rapidly cools when it hits the higher elevations in the Southern Appalachia. The Smoky Mountains is a sub-range of the Appalachian Mountains.

   The fog is mostly seen in the mornings or after a rainfall. Morning fog turned out to provide a perfect cover for Zaac and Ramira to ride Rogue and Siri.

   They would bring them out on the weekends and take them back on Sunday night before starting the week. Once the younger birds got use to the big outside world, they loved it.

   Ramira thought of a game that everyone would love. She surprised them one morning with a red ribbon that was about ten feet long.

   The person holding the ribbon had to let it flap in the wind behind them as they flew around. The other team had to take the ribbon from them. She called it ‘Catch the Ribbon’.

   Rogue had a hard time learning the rules. Instead of letting Zaac grab the ribbon, he would often snatch it with his feet.

   Regardless of who grabbed the ribbon, they all seemed to have immense fun with it. They spent hours on end playing the game.

   Christmas came and went. Zaac and Ramira were able to add a couple of additional days onto their time together. But they also wanted to spend as much time with their families as they could. Being without them in the tunnels gave them a renewed appreciation of the wonderful families they had.

   After the first of the year, Ramira started at Lumney University, majoring in Sociology as she had planned. She drove back every weekend to spend time with her family, and with Zaac, Rogue and Siri.

   Occasionally they let the younger megapetomeinon fly around on their own but those times were few. They did not want to take a chance of them flying out too far and being seen.

   It was on one of these rare occasions that someone did see Rogue. Rogue and Siri flew around the mountain and were circling back to the garage. A seven-year-old boy was playing in his parent’s backyard. He happened to look up and see Rogue in the midst of his circle. The boy’s mouth flew open in disbelief. He had never seen a bird so huge.

   Rogue was now about fully grown. His wingspan was forty feet across from tip to tip. To anyone who saw him with his wings completely outstretched he would look enormous.

   The boy rushed back into the house to his mother. “Mom, Mom! I saw a monster bird flying in the sky.”

   “You saw what?” She looked down at her son with a smile.

   “A monster bird. A huge monster bird. He was this big.” He tried to hold his arms out as far as they would extend. The extension was a little short of forty feet.

   “Would you like to show me?” She let him lead her out the door.

   When they went outside, they looked up at the sky. No monster bird. Rogue had already disappeared back across the mountain.

   The boy’s mother knelt beside him. “Are you sure it wasn’t one of those hang gliders? You know they like to fly off of the mountains and up through the valleys.”

   “I have seen plenty of those hang gliders. This was not one of those. It was a huge monster bird.”

   She did not want to stunt his imagination. “If you see it again, come and get me right away. I have never seen a monster bird before. Now, are you about ready for some lunch? We have chicken nuggets with macaroni and cheese.”

   The distraction helped for the moment but not entirely. For the next little while, the boy tried over and over to draw the sky with a big bird flying around in it.

   It was the end of the week when Ramira arrived back home on Friday and heard the news from her dad about a young girl that was missing.

   The family of the girl lived in the mountainous part of the area. She was playing with her dog in the backyard the day before and went missing.

   Their dog was prone to chase rabbits and they suspected that he saw a rabbit and ran after it. The young girl, Tabitha, likely tried to catch the dog and got lost. Foul play was not suspected. A full scale search was underway.

   The temperature was dropping and they were calling for ten to twelve inches of snow to come in the early hours of the morning. If she was not found before then, she could die from exposure.

   Ramira called Zaac and told him to get his warmest clothes. They might get cold with what they were about to do.

   She met him at the garage and they went to the cave first thing and got Rogue and Siri. Arriving back at the garage, Ramira made a quick dinner while Zaac fed Rogue and Siri. They ate their meal and made preparations for the night. It could be a long one.

   Ramira made hot chocolate and filled a thermos with it. Zaac got a couple of backpacks to hold a few supplies. He put a blanket in one, a coat and a rope in the other. Putting the thermos in one of the packs, they got a couple of pairs of goggles, a couple of ski hoods, gloves and some nuts for a snack.

   This was going to give Ramira an opportunity to use her echolocation in a real-life situation. She had been practising and felt that her ability was at its full potential. She could now tell the size and shape of an object at a distance of more than a hundred yards. Her hearing had improved immensely too.
She considered that an added bonus to the echolocation.

   At dusk they were ready to begin their mission.

   They both put ski overalls over their clothes to protect against the cold. Ramira put on her coat with the tiny flashlights they had sown into her pockets facing backward. She had cut a hole in the back of each pocket to allow the head of the flashlight to stick through. This enabled her to lead and Zaac to follow her at night. She did this for Zaac’s benefit, the megapetomeinon could see very well in the dark. Putting new batteries in each flashlight, they were now ready to go.

   As soon as they took to flight, the cold wind hit them. The wind-chill factor must have been in the single digits. It was frigid.

   Zaac and Ramira donned their gloves and their ski hoods. If Ramira was planning on using her echolocation, she was going to have to lower the hood away from her mouth.

   They flew immediately to the address her father had given her. They figured the girl’s home would be a good place to start their search. It was easy to recognize because police and other vehicles were lining the road.

   Zaac and Ramira set out from that point. The back of the home was to the northwest.

   Ramira started doing half a mile sweeps in a back and forth motion until she covered a distance of roughly half a mile. She then did a perpendicular sweep that overlapped the same area.

   After finishing this grid, she went to the left of the home and repeated the process in three more grids. Completing the fourth grid, she felt like she had covered two miles from her starting point.

   Ramira went up another half a mile and performed this same series of motions with four grids until she was back at her starting line. She searched sixteen grids with Zaac following her. There was no sign of the girl or her dog. These sixteen grids covered an area of four square miles.

   At this point, they went to the right of their starting point and repeated the process, going four grids up. The search of these grids produced no results. Going over another half of a mile, Ramira began to search these new grids. She was going over the far corner of the third grid when she located the girl at the base of a small cliff. Her echolocation showed that she was down at the base curled up with her dog.

   Her distance from her house was one point seven miles on a straight course.

   Ramira shouted over to Zaac, “I’ve found her.”

   Sending out her signals showed that there was no place to land near the girl. The only possible
landing spot was on top of the cliff, unless they landed on its side, but that would create difficulties when they wanted to remount the birds after the rescue.

   Landing on the top, they jumped off the birds and removed their gloves and ski overalls. They had found that they could not climb in anything but permeable clothes such as blue jeans.

   Zaac started down the cliff first. As soon as he touched the rock, he told Ramira, “The rock’s very cold. Be careful.”

   The cliff was no more than twenty-five feet high so it didn’t take long to reach the bottom.

   Ramira spoke to the girl first. “Hi Tabitha. We’re here to take you home, back to your family.”

   They heard a feeble reply from the girl but could not make out the words. The dog gave a small whine. When they got closer, they noticed the girl was snuggled up as close to the dog as possible trying to stay warm.

   Ramira knelt beside her as Zaac got the blanket out of the backpack. “Can you hear me? We are here to take you home.” She repeated her words to the girl, not sure if she heard her correctly the first time.

   “Yes. I’m so cold. I can’t move my right leg. It hurts,” Tabitha responded weakly.

   When she felt the girl’s arm, Ramira could tell that she was freezing. The girl was definitely hypothermic. Zaac unfolded the blanket and they wrapped it around her. Ramira removed her coat so she could use the flashlight to see the condition of the girl’s leg. It was indeed broken.

   “Did you fall off of the cliff?” she asked.

   “Yes.” The girl gave a loud moan when Ramira touched her leg.

   “Here. We have something warm for you to drink. Do you like hot chocolate?” Ramira got out the thermos.

   She opened it and poured the top full. She lifted the girl into an upright position so she could take a small swallow.

   “Is that good?” Ramira asked.

   Tabitha nodded.

   “Have another swallow.” Ramira held the cup to her mouth again.

   The dog stood up at this point and licked Ramira’s hand. When the light hit him, they could see that he was a chocolate brown Labrador retriever. Zaac knelt beside the dog and petted it while Ramira let the girl finish the cup of hot chocolate.

   “Are you ready to go?” Ramira asked.

   Tabitha nodded again.

   “We are going to wrap you up completely in the blanket.” Ramira explained as she unfolded it. “You stay inside so you can get warm. We’re going to carry you and your dog up the cliff and take you back to your parents. Is that okay with you?”

   The little girl replied weakly, “Yes.”

   Ramira wrapped the blanket snuggly around her. When she looked back at Zaac, he had already removed the rope and was tying it around the dog’s body.

   “What do you think would be the best way to do this?” she asked Zaac.

   Zaac checked the knots that he had tied, ensuring that they would hold. “I’ll sit down and let you tie the dog snuggly against my back. After he’s tied, I’ll lift the girl and place her over my shoulder. I don’t think I’ll have any problem carrying both of them up the cliff.”

   He sat on the ground enabling Ramira to tie the dog tightly against his back. When she was finished, he knelt and gently lifted the girl and placed her over his shoulder.

   “Let’s go,” Zaac said as he stepped toward the cliff.

   The dog was not too pleased with his situation but kept quiet, being content to have the girl close to him.

   It only took them a few minutes and they were standing on top of the cliff next to the birds.

   Ramira climbed up on Siri and Zaac handed the girl up to her. She laid the girl in front of her across the body of Siri.

   Opening the blanket, she peeked in at the girl and told her, “Just a few more minutes and you’ll be home. I’m sure your parents will be so glad to see you.”

   Zaac climbed up on Rogue with the dog still tied to his back. As soon as he was seated, the birds stepped off of the cliff and took off in flight.

   It took only a few minutes to reach the girl’s home. The birds had no more than ascended in the air before they were gliding back down.

   The driveway and road was still strewn with cars and emergency vehicles, probably a mixture of searchers, relatives, friends, law enforcement and of course the media.

   Zaac and Ramira knew that they could not land in the yard. Wouldn’t that be a front page news story? They could see it now, “Rescuers turn up with lost girl on prehistoric birds.”

   They decided to land on the road out of sight of any vehicles. Zaac jumped down and took the girl from Ramira. He squatted down allowing Ramira to untie the dog so she could lead him while Zaac carried the girl. They were just about to the house when they met a car. It was a sheriff deputy’s car.

   He brought his window down as he pulled up beside of them seeing the bundle in the blanket they were carrying.