Excerpt: Chapter 16

I cautiously ducked through the cave opening to avoid hitting my head. “It’s a tight squeeze, but you can make it,” I called over my shoulder.  But as I turned, and held out the lantern, I gasped as the illumination bounced off the wall ahead.

Before us was a room that looked about the size of our school gymnasium…with the far end being completely engulfed by a monstrous, multicolored, petrified waterfall stretching from floor to ceiling. The stalactites had to be over fifteen feet long. In places, they almost met their stalagmite counterparts rising up from the floor. It was the most beautiful place I’d ever seen…at least below ground.

“Now I know why my dad’s eyes would light up whenever he talked about the days he spent as a guide.” I tried to imagine his wonderment as I viewed the amazing sight before me.

“Listen, Gus.” Cynthia broke the spell. “Do you hear that roar?”

I’d have to be deaf not to hear the crash of rushing water just beyond us. “It sounds like it’s coming from that passage over there.” I pointed to a small opening to the left of the gigantic room.

“C’mon, let’s go see where it leads,” Cynthia motioned.

We carefully crawled through a three-foot hole and found ourselves perched precariously on a tiny ledge overlooking an underground canyon. Rushing water was just inches from our toes as we stood there paralyzed. I knew I couldn’t move without the risk of falling into this fast-moving underground river.

“We’ve…gotta go back,” I said nervously. “I can’t move forward.”

“Gus, I can’t move at all,” Cynthia cried softly. “ I just know I’ll fall in.”

I tried to stay calm because I knew yelling at that moment wouldn’t help, but we couldn’t just stand there!

“I know you’re scared,” I said as calmly as possible, “but I’m getting dizzy looking at all this water running by. I’m afraid I’m going to…falllll!”

I went tumbling into the water the split second Cynthia reached out trying to grab me. I couldn’t see what happened to her, but the scream I heard and the following splash said it all.

The current seemed to be moving faster and faster. I tried unsuccessfully to grab onto the rough ledge, but instead I was swept deeper and deeper into the cave.

I helplessly tumbled over and over in the blackness and thought about the irony of the swimming trophies and scout badges I’d collected over the past three summers. Hmmmphh. A lot of good that did me!

I was swallowing more and more water, as a feeling swept over me that I probably wasn’t going to get out of this alive, and at the same time wondering if Cynthia was faring any better. For some reason it was comforting to know that she was probably going to drown with me. Oh, that’s a generous thought, Gus! Here you are feeling good about the fact that your best friend is probably drowning too! I knew I didn’t really feel that way. I wanted her to make it out because…well just because. Also so she’d be able to tell someone where to find my lifeless, broken body.

Yep, I’m dying all right…there’s the bright light that I’ve heard about. I was being pulled straight toward a small glow in the distance as a feeling of peace began to take over. That peace didn’t last long though as my ears picked up the deafening roar of a huge waterfall…a real one this time! I started paddling backwards as fast as possible but couldn’t fight the current and started falling, and falling and falling. Moments after I heard screams telling me that Cynthia was falling too, I landed face down in the water.

Gathering the strength to look up, I couldn’t believe my eyes. We were in a river outside the cave. If I could only swim to that bank, but my arms were like dead weights.

“Grab onto the rope!”

I turned in the direction of the voice and saw a splash in the water just in front of me. I reached out and held onto the rope with all the energy I had left, and was relieved to feel myself being pulled toward dry ground. As I crawled to the bank, I heard the command repeated.

“Grab onto the rope!”

Soon an equally exhausted Cynthia lay beside me. “Are we dead?” I gasped.

“I…don’t know,” she said weakly. “I think we’re alive because every inch of my body hurts. I don’t think you hurt when you’re dead.”

“No, you’re not dead…but you are lucky to be alive,” a voice lectured. As I painfully rolled over on my back, I saw a figure in green khaki pants standing beside me, but the glare of the sun hid his face.

“How in the world did you two get to the waterfall? There’s no way to reach it through the main entrance since it was blocked off years ago, and I know you didn’t sneak into the cave the back way…and what in the world are you doing exploring caves in those old granny outfits?” He laughed.

“Who are you to criticize our spelunking attire?” I was indignant.

“We just didn’t have time to change, and certainly didn’t think we were going swimming today!”

“Whoa there, Nellie. I don’t care what you thought you were going to be doing…you look silly.”

That did it! I jumped up in spite of my exhaustion, hands on hips, and spit out a withering comeback…”Oh yeah?”