Shadow Cave (15 page)

There was no
time to get up as a large man in a mask loomed over me in the dark
.
Without stopping
to look at him
,
I pointed
my gun and fired three times.
The shot he got off before he fell on me dug deep into the rock next to my head, sending sharp splinters of rock flying into the side of my face.
The heat and the sting barely registered.

It took a long minute that felt like an eternity to shove the dead
—
literally
—
weight off me.
I got to my feet, unsteady
,
and looked down at my clothing in horror.
There was so much blood
...it
was all over me.
I pressed my hands to my midsection and felt the red sticky mess in disgust.
Not
mine, thank
God.
I felt weak and could hear the blood rushing through my head, then shouting and several curses
joined the fray
.

“
Craig! You got her?
”

“
Screw you!
”
I yelled back.
Not a smart move, I know.
“
Shit! Shit! Shit!
”
I moaned.
There were more of them and they were coming quick. I dug through the pack and
grabbed
the key like it was a lifeline
, which
I suppose it was by then.
The men were getting closer and the threats were getting louder.

I held my breath and stuck the key into the hol
e, swearing when I missed the narrow slot.

“
Come here!
”

I shoved it in one more time, not daring to look behind me.
There was a faint click as it slid home.
A trap
door in the rock slid open with a loud groan.
I eyed the scene with surprise.
“
Well, that was anticlimactic….
”

“
There she is!
”
One of the men yelled from the entrance of the rock.
I shrieked and took off into
the
doorway, turning around to shove at the stone door with everything I had.
I need not have bothered.
Luck was with me once again as the door shut on its own, leaving me shrouded in darkness once again.

Leaning
against the wall
with
my eyes
closed I willed
my heart to stop pounding.
That was
close, too
close.
One hand ran
through my hair and felt the wetness against my skin
, reminding me that
I was still covered in blood.
My lip caught between my teeth I
struggled for control
while
search
ing
for the flashlight.
Five minutes later I gave up, remembering that
it had been
dropped on the other side of the door.

I took a step forward,
then
another, praying that I wasn
’
t near stairs and wondering what was going on.
If this was another dimension it left a lot to be desired.
A
loud swooshing noise in front of me
caused
me
to stop in my tracks
and
the
last thing I remember
was
seeing a blinding flash of light.

A Journey of a Thousand Miles

I woke to a large ball of fur licking my face.
Eyes popping open, I sat up and frantically shoved at the animal before I
realized
it was just an overly friendly dog.

“
Hi there fella
,
”
I crooned to the animal, reaching out to pet its thick mop of brown fur.
It barked and jumped around excitedly
,
showing off.
I laughed at its antics and looked around.
The last thing I remembered was a bright light and a sensation of falling…and then nothing.

I was in a forest, from the looks of it
, but
even a cursory glance told me that this was no ordinary forest
, and
was certainly not one that I had ever been in before.
Even from my kneeling position on the damp mossy ground I could see how large the trees were.
The thick stumps were as big as cars and heavily rooted into the ground
, and I marvelled at the number of them
.
The trees blocked out most of the light, so it was impossible to discern what time of day it might have been.

I
stood
up and brushed off the seat of my pants, stretching
before walking
in a slow circle.
My clothing
was still dirty and
my muscles still
sore, but
at least most of
the blood had dried.
There was no way to know how long I
’
d
slept there on the forest floor
,
but the case of nerves seemed to have gone
.
That combined with my semi dry state suggested I
’
d been out for quite some time.
Di
d
I cross over
?
I wondered while I took everything in and ran a finger down a fat leaf that hung from the nearest tree.

“
Impossible…
.
”
Was that…gold?
But it couldn
’
t be
...c
ould it?
I pulled the leaf from the tree and took it to a spot several feet away where a swatch of bright sunlight had managed to find its way through the thick canopy of foliage overhead.
Holding the leaf in the light, I inspected it closely.

“
By damn, I think that is gold!
”
It roped its way delicately through the entire leaf.
Where a normal leaf would have only dark green snaking veins, this one had thin rough gold weaving a linear network.
This was it then
—
I was here.
I was in the
‘
other
’
place
,
the place where Mike had
vanished.

I crouched down and grabbed my bag, then impulsively threw my arms around the dog
’
s neck.
“
I made it!
I can
’
t believe this!
What else am I going to find?
”
I asked my newfound companion. But he just continued to lean his head to one side and stare at me as if I had gone over the deep end.

“
That
’
s ok
ay,
I
’
ll figure it all out.
Come on, boy, let
’
s go exploring!
”
I leaped to my feet and turned in circles once again, throwing my arms out and letting the gentle breeze catch them.

“
Ok
ay
,
”
I addressed the dog again.
“
Which way do we go?
”

When he turned around and barked loudly, I stopped and stared down at him in earnest.
Finally, I shook my head.
No way
, I laughed.

“
Ok
ay
, I
’
ll humor you buddy.
That way it is.
”
He led and I followed for the next hour
or so until we
stopped by a large tree to rest a minute.
I noticed that my watch did not work here.

“
How do you feel about the name Wilson?
”

The dog continued to stare at me as though I had lost my mind.
A second glance at the gold etched leaves above us told me that it was entirely possible for my sanity to be in question.
I smiled at my new pal anyway.

“
Ah, never mind.
”
I tossed the last of my sandwich to him and dusted off my jeans.

“
Ok
ay
,
”
I announced as I did a quick stretch.
“
Now where are we going?
”

It felt like hours before we finally reached the edge of the forest.
A
clearing swept far and wide on a sloping hill
and nestled
at the base of the hill was a small house.
Actually, it looked more like a cottage.
Small flower beds framed the front of the house and smoke streamed steadily from a large brick chimney.
I watched it billow softly into the night sky.
Sometime in the last hours of our trek, the sun had set.
The only light now came from the bright half-moon that hung high above the cottage.
The tiny windows bathed the
flowerbeds
in soft golden light.
Long flower boxes framed the bottoms of both front
windowsills
.
Overall, it made for a very quaint and appealing picture.

“
Is this where you live, buddy?
”
I crouched and whispered to the dog.
His answering bark and reassuring lick on my cheek seemed to infer that this was indeed his home.

A woman opened the wide front door and stood on the tiny porch, wiping her hands on what appeared to be a
dishcloth
.
In this light and at this distance, it was impossible to see much detail about
her, but the
fact that it was a female was
discernible
from the long skirt.
I had some serious reservations about imposing myself on this stranger in the dark.
But Wilson (it seemed as good a name as any) was already bounding excitedly across the clearing toward the woman and the house.

I stopped several feet from Wilson and the woman who was obviously his owner.
I could see that the woman was young
...
I guessed her to be close to my age
,
if not a few years younger.
Of course, it was still difficult to see in the dim light.
She smiled easily until she noticed my clothing.
Call me crazy, but I
’
m pretty sure it was the dried blood smeared across my jeans that did it.
Her eyes widened and she started to back away from me
, which came as no surprise to me—
I knew what I must have looked like to her.

“
Bill…
,
”
she
called out through the open door behind her.
Her voice sounded shaky with fear and confusion
,
and I cringed.

“
I know how this must look to you.
But I
’
m not here to cause any trouble, I assure you.
”

Her eyes swept down and back up to my face.
She did not look reassured.

I must not have looked reassured either when the large man stepped onto the porch.
He nudged the woman aside and spoke quietly to her without ever taking his wary eyes off me.

“
It
’
s ok
ay
.
Go back inside
,
Faith.
”

She peeked at me over his broad shoulder one last time before quickly disappearing into the cottage.

“
Hello
,
”
I said lamely.

He did not approach me or move away from the door
, at
least not until Wilson ran out of the house and jumped playfully between the two of us.

“
Is this a friend of yours?
”
he
asked the dog absently.
“
Are you alright lady?
”
He took a step away from the door.

“
Ah…yes.
I know this looks bad, but Wilson
—
ah
,
your dog
—
found me in the woods back there.
He led me here.
We have been walking for a long time
—
”