Not wanting to waste any more time or air, Gonzalez immediately turned and continued down the tunnel. After approximately 100 feet, the cave began to angle upward for a short distance before emerging into an air-filled section. There was nowhere else to go underwater. Lewis raised his head above the surface, spitting out his regulator as he breathed in the cool cave air. He could see at least a hundred yards ahead before the passageway made a gentle turn to the left and disappeared out of site.
Everyone slowly crawled out of the water while Craig drug Stonewood’s limp body up the rocky bank, laying him in a level area. They exchanged hugs and subdued high-fives, all thankful to be alive. Their celebration was cut short by a massive explosion reverberating from behind them. The rumbling of rocks told them they wouldn’t be going back the way they came.
Chapter 5 — HOME SWEET HOME
“We’re going to die down here!” It was a thought shared by many, but first spoken out loud by Craig. Silence followed.
Finally, Lewis spoke. “There’s sure to be another way out of here. Let’s get out of this gear and see what we’ve got for supplies, and then we’ll make a plan. We should probably use one flashlight at a time to conserve batteries. Samantha, let’s use yours for starters.” Samantha didn’t look like she was doing too well, and Lewis hoped having control of the light would help.
As Samantha held the light, the group moved from bag to bag, each person opening the bag they brought. The simple task of opening the dry bags and sorting the gear worked wonders for morale. It is amazing what the mind can cope with when it’s distracted.
Gonzalez’s bag contained four sleeping mats and a small camp stove. While the items weren’t useless, they weren’t the silver bullet Lewis was hoping for either. It was clear that the others had hoped for more as well. Lewis rubbed his hands together as he said, “Comfort can go a long ways down here and, if we end up being stuck here for a while, that stove will allow us to purify our drinking water.” There were a few nodding heads but it certainly wasn’t the best pep talk.
Gonzalez also had a small mesh bag strapped diagonally over her shoulders. She unclipped it, laying it next to her harness as she explained. “These are some tools and special valves for servicing the dive gear. Most are fairly specific, but I suppose some could come in handy for other jobs.”
Pierre opened the top of his bag a little sheepishly. “I already know mine is full of climbing gear because it’s one of the bags I packed myself. May not seem important now, but it may be essential if this cave goes vertical.” Samantha’s light revealed a variety of gear, including two large bundles of rope.
Lewis gave the climber a firm pat on the back. “Nicely done, Pierre.” He noticed a glimmer of hope on some of the other faces as they eyed the equipment, which Pierre left in the bag. “Even if we don’t have to climb out of here, that rope certainly may come in handy.”
Miller was next to lift his bag, saying in an apologetic tone, “I only grabbed one of the little ones.”
Craig, who was standing directly behind the professor, immediately squashed any hard feelings as he said, “Don’t feel bad, Doc, I lost mine and ended up with nothing.”
That seemed to buoy the elder man’s spirits a bit as he quickly opened his bag, revealing a pair of LED lanterns along with four extra lithium-ion batteries. A separate pocket on the inside of the bag contained 8 LED headlamps. Lewis breathed a sigh of relief. The most immediate enemy in the cave was darkness, and the team now had a weapon to keep the darkness at bay for much longer.
A soft cheer went up as Craig turned the first lantern on and set it on a small rock, bathing the entire chamber in a gentle glow. “Each of these should last 18 hours,” Craig said as he picked up one of the battery packs from Miller’s bag. “That gives us over four days of constant light if we use one lantern at a time. I’d say at least a week with the headlamps and our underwater lights figured in.”
Pierre gave Miller a slightly awkward high-five. Samantha turned off her dive light and embraced the professor in a long hug, quietly saying, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
The first bag Lewis opened was one of the bags Stonewood’s men had packed with general provisions. Lewis was happy to find an assortment of MREs and dehydrated meals; as well as a 4-quart pot for cooking. There was also a nicely-stocked first-aid kit and eight brand new water bottles, each with a built in straw that was supposed to make it possible to drink from any position. Lewis closed his eyes and breathed a second sigh of relief, knowing they now had the necessities to buy them time, and time was a solution engineer’s greatest weapon.
Stonewood was becoming alert again, groaning as he rubbed his head. Craig was immediately at his side. “Take it easy, sir. You bumped your head pretty good back there before you blacked out.” Craig looked to Lewis, who responded with a wink as Gonzalez nodded slowly behind him. Craig helped Stonewood sit up, filling his boss in on their situation. “We’ve reached an open chamber and we’re going through our supplies to see what we’ve got.” Stonewood only nodded and groaned again — he wasn’t fully awake just yet.
Lewis moved on to his second bag, which contained Samantha’s survey equipment and explosives. As his parents and childhood neighbors learned, Quinn Lewis liked a nice explosion! “Ms. Sinclair, I believe these are yours,” Lewis said as he turned towards Samantha.
Obviously relieved to have some tools to help the group, Samantha’s eyes twinkled and her beautiful smile beamed as she stared into Lewis’s bag. As she reached for the bag, she calmly stated, “If we can find a thin enough wall, I can blast us a doorway out of here."
A devilish grin crossed Lewis’s face as he said, “A word of warning: One of those duct-taped to a telephone pole will not impress the utility company, or the police.” He laughed, thinking back to the Fourth of July when his crazy uncle gave him some weird putty and told him to be careful because, “You could blow a telephone pole in half with this stuff.” Uncle Dennis had hit the nail on the head with that prediction.
“Let’s see what you’ve got in your bag Samantha.” Gonzalez spoke up over Lewis’s laughter.
Samantha looked to Miller, then down to the red bag lying near the water, still clipped to her harness where she’d taken it off. Her dry bag was about the size of a typical grocery bag, definitely the smallest of the group. She knelt down to unclip the bag, speaking softly. “I’m afraid I grabbed the smallest bag of all. I was just so scared.” As she moved the bag into the lantern’s light, she added, “It doesn’t feel like much.”
Lewis let out a loud cheer when he saw the bag. “Yes! I had forgotten all about my little red goodie bag. That’s got to be it though!”
The others looked at him as if he were insane, shocked by the outburst. Samantha summed it up nicely. “Quinn, you are crazy. I still like you, but you’re crazy.”
“Believe me, this isn’t the first time I’ve heard that. Well, maybe not the likable part, but I have been accused of being off my rocker more times than I can count. I think it’s the hair.” Lewis pretended to straighten imaginary strands of hair on his shaved head.
Gonzalez rubbed his bald head, laughing as she replied, “I think there may be a little more to it than that.” Then, drumming on his head like a bongo drum, she added, “I’d say this one sounds ripe though!” Everyone howled at the joke! Well, Stonewood’s was more of a polite chuckle, but at least he was coming around.