Once the laughter died down, Lewis pointed back to the red bag still in Samantha’s hands. “I’m afraid that probably won’t be terribly exciting to you but believe me, it will come in handy.”
Samantha started to hand the bag over to Lewis but he waved her off. “No, you did the work, you should enjoy the opening. Even if you aren’t excited, you’re still a hero in my book.”
Samantha brought her hands to her hips and straightened up, doing some sort of Superman pose before opening the bag. She scrunched her eyes at the odd contents inside: a roll of duct tape, a small bundle of wire, a few feet of parachute cord, and a Leatherman multi-tool. “Hmm,” she said, unable to hide her disappointment. “Well, you were right: not too exciting.”
“Nothing flashy, but those items have saved my life on multiple occasions. Simple, but effective,” Lewis said solemnly, a faraway look in his eyes. He hated to go anywhere without a similar kit; it was the first thing he had scrounged together after dinner the night before.
Stonewood was standing up now. He still looked a little woozy and he spoke softly, saying, “Thanks for helping me get this far. I feel like I have the worst hangover ever.” He looked towards Craig, giving him a little nod before continuing in a more forceful tone. “I’m assuming this is the chamber with my treasure, so let’s stop this chatting and find it. I want to be back on the river tonight.”
Samantha’s anger towards Stonewood immediately returned. She screamed, “We’re stuck in here, thanks to you! They sealed us in!” Her eyes filled with tears as her rage boiled over further. “I don’t care about your stupid treasure; all the gold in the world is worthless to us if we die in here!” Samantha’s entire body was shaking.
“Listen here you-” Stonewood began before Lewis stood up, placing a hand on the shorter man’s chest.
“Calm down.” Lewis spoke calmly but forcefully. “Everyone calm down.”
Stonewood was infuriated. “Don’t you dare tell me to calm down!” His entire head had turned beet red with anger as he went on. “I’m in charge of this enterprise, and I will not tolerate this insubordination, especially from you!” Stonewood pushed Lewis’s hand aside and tried to shove the bigger man back, finding that Lewis was far too firmly planted to budge. “Craig! Teach this man some respect,” Stonewood boomed.
Craig spoke from Stonewood’s side. “They’re right, Mr. Stonewood. You need to calm down before you get hurt.”
“What do you think you’re doing?” Stonewood yelled as he spun on Craig.
Lewis had had enough. Grabbing Stonewood from behind in a firm bear hug, he pinned the much weaker man’s arms to his side then spoke directly into Stonewood’s ear. “This stops now! We are in this together. If you jeopardize our lives further, I will drown you.” His voice almost returned to a normal level as he added, “We will look for the treasure on our way but you need to understand: this is about survival now.”
Lewis released his grip and Stonewood stumbled away, spinning around so he could see everyone. Hatred filled his eyes but he showed restraint. “Fair enough,” he spat. “Just don’t forget who’s in charge here.”
“Of course, Mr. Stonewood,” Lewis said, a little more mockingly than he probably should have. “May I suggest getting our gear organized into some sort of base camp before proceeding with the exploration?”
“Okay,” Stonewood responded, trying to ignore Lewis’s tone. “I want to be moving in five minutes.” Stonewood then motioned Craig away from the others for a private conversation.
Gonzalez moved in closer to Lewis. “I liked that guy a lot more when he was knocked out,” she whispered.
“Agreed. He needs to understand our situation so he doesn’t get us all killed.” Lewis looked to where Stonewood and Craig now stood. “Do you suppose Craig is in time-out for the rest of the trip?”
Pierre turned towards the private conversation, watching the interaction for a moment before speaking up. “I think the big guy is fed up with his boss. Stonewood better tread lightly.”
Craig and Stonewood rejoined the group as the others finished laying out the supplies. Stonewood had calmed down, seeming almost human as he spoke. “I apologize for the outburst. You’re all correct, this is now about survival, and we need to work together to get home safely.”
Lewis had not expected such a turn of character and was at a loss for words for a moment. Finally, he managed to reply, “We’re all under a lot of stress here.” He extended his hand for a handshake, adding, “How’s your head?”
Stonewood gingerly moved his finger down the left side of his head from his temple to his chin. “This whole side of my head feels like it was hit by a train.”
Lewis opened the first-aid kit and handed Stonewood a small bottle. “Here’s some ibuprofen. Take two and call me in the morning.” After grimacing at his own joke, Lewis spoke to everyone. “Let’s leave everything here for now, and do a quick exploration of this passageway before weighing our options. How does that sound?”
Everyone, including Stonewood, agreed to the plan. Lewis transferred his survival kit items to the pockets of his cargo pants, smashing the roll of duct tape to get it to fit. Each member put on a headlamp before starting off, following the lava tube for a few hundred feet to where it made a gradual turn, eventually opening into a large chamber.
They all stopped, staring in awe as they looked around the chamber that lay before them. About the size of a football field, the floor was formed like a shallow bowl with an evident water mark extending around the chamber, at approximately waist height. The walls were made of smooth black rock that seemed to absorb every drop of light, giving the chamber an otherworldly feel.
Stonewood’s shoulders slumped after he finished scanning the room. No treasure here. Gonzalez broke the silence. “It looks like this becomes a small lake when the water’s up. If the water can get out, maybe we can too.”
“I like your optimism,” Lewis commented. “How about if we work our way clockwise around the room and see if we can find the drain?”
“Please let us find a way home,” Miller whispered before stepping forward, leading the way around the giant cavern.
Gonzalez shrugged and smiled, locking eyes with Lewis before they both turned to follow Miller. They all moved slowly, looking high and low for any break or gap in the smooth walls. Pierre paused a couple times to examine irregularities high on the domed ceiling but moved on each time, deciding the abnormalities were merely areas of different shaded rock.
The group was fairly spread out as they worked their way around the corner at the far end of the room. Samantha called excitedly from a ways back, nearer to the center of the room. “There might be something here!”
When Lewis reached her side, he found Samantha staring into a narrow crack running across the flattened part of the floor. It was probably 20 feet long, starting out less than an inch wide but expanding to nearly two feet at its widest. Sticks and other debris were piled in the deeper area at the widest part of the crack. “It looks like you found where the water gets out,” Lewis said with a warm smile. “Doc, could you help Samantha and I clean the junk out of here while the others finish searching the rest of the room?”
“I think I can handle that.” Miller agreed with enthusiasm, obviously excited by the chance for an escape.
Gonzalez could see that Lewis was working to elevate the morale of the team’s weakest members. She admired the effort, knowing that keeping everyone involved as much as possible would improve their ultimate chances for survival. “We’ll see what else we can find,” she said before adding, “Good work, Samantha, and good luck everyone.” Stonewood, Craig, and Pierre followed as Gonzalez led off towards the far end of the chamber.