Quest

Chapter 20

Dane was the first into the tunnel. The initial drop was so steep that he was forced to slide down, using his Recon 1 knife as a brake to control his descent. About fifty feet down, the way became less steep, and he was able to stand, though he kept a steadying hand on the ceiling, which was no more than six feet high.

“Come on down!” he called to the others. “Bones and Willis, the ceiling’s low, so don’t bump your heads when you stand up!”

Kaylin came down, springing gracefully to her feet at the end of her slide. Her eyes widened as she played her light down the tunnel. “Awesome!”

“You sound like Bones.” Dane had to grin. Though Kaylin looked like she belonged behind a news desk or reporting from the sideline of a college football game, she was a Navy brat through and through, and wouldn’t let something like a dark tunnel bother her.

“Oh well. You’re the one who keeps him around. If he rubs off on me, it’s not my fault.” The rest of the group joined them in short order and they proceeded down the passageway.

The floor was made of stone, but the walls and ceiling were lined with wood, much of it succumbing to various stages of decay. Roots peeked out in various places and Dane wondered if they were strengthening or weakening the structure. He hoped it was the former.

“This whole place looks like it could come down at any moment,” Kaylin observed, shining her light on the ceiling. So engrossed was she in the construction of the passageway that she almost didn’t see the pit in front of them.

Dane grabbed her by the arm and snatched her back just as her foot came down on… nothing. He shone his light down on a deep pit. Twenty feet below them, a body lay impaled on a wooden stake. Other stakes lay shattered on the floor, confirmation of Dane’s assessment of the weakened condition of the wood due to years of dry rot. One of the stakes, though, had held together, to the detriment of the man who had fallen. He was lying on his stomach, the stake jutting out of the small of his back. His face was turned to the side, and Dane could make out his native features.

“One of the guides,” Bones observed. They’re down to seven. Sweet!”

“Hey! Anybody got a notepad or an index card?” Willis looked around at the others, grinning.

“What for?” Kaylin cocked her head to the side.

“I want to make a scorecard, like baseball. I know I’ll kill more of them than y’all.” He elbowed Matt.

“Want to put some money on that? A hundred bucks?” Matt offered his hand to shake on it.

“Hell, Army boy, you don’t even get to be on the scorecard. You’re gonna’ carry my backpack and let the SEALs do the killing.” Laughter drowned Matt’s profane response.

Beyond the pit, the tunnel sloped down and they were again forced to descend in a controlled slide. Dane kept a sharp eye out for more pits or other hazards, all the while thinking that the condition of the tunnel made the whole place a potential booby trap.

Faint light glimmered in the distance and they reached the bottom of the tunnel without incident. Weapons at the ready, they followed the winding passageway toward the glow that grew brighter the farther they progressed.

They emerged in a deep canyon, walled in by sheer cliffs that ran out of sight to the north and south as far as the eye could see.

“No wonder they had to build the tunnel.” Dane looked behind them at the wall of stone. “There’s no way you could climb down that.”

“Speak for yourself,” Bones said. “I am Spider-Man on rock walls.”

Dane rolled his eyes. “And,” he turned back around, “no telling how far this canyon runs. This might be the only way across for miles or more.”

“This place has a weird vibe to it.” Willis stepped forward, looking all around, his eyes narrowed and his jaw set. “It feels like we don’t belong here.”

He was right. The canyon was very different from the jungle through which they had trekked thus far. The trees here were smaller and grew farther apart than they had up above. It was as if the valley had once been cleared, but later left to lie fallow. On the opposite side of the valley, a waterfall poured over the canyon rim.

“It’s like a lost world,” Kaylin whispered.

“Let’s hope it’s not as dangerous as the one from the book.” Dane’s eyes scanned the valley, all his senses alive, seeking out any potential threat, but the silence was complete.

“Looks safe to me,” Bones said. “Should we keep following ScanoGen’s tracks?” He didn’t wait for Dane to say yes, but moved ahead.

They had walked only five minutes or so when they came upon an abandoned campsite. Four tents had been slashed and trampled, and camping gear lay strewn everywhere. Dane noticed a spatter of something dark on a tree trunk, and took a closer look.

“Looks like blood,” he said to Kaylin, who was peering over his shoulder. “Can you tell anything from the tracks?” He called to Bones.

“Only that everyone scattered in a big hurry.” He looked at Dane. “There are about five paths we could follow, and I assume you want to stay together?” Dane nodded. “Good call, I think. So, the question is, which path do you want to follow first?”

Dane pondered the question. They had come to the end of Fawcett’s imperfect map. They did not know the final landmark, which left following ScanoGen, or wandering until they found something as their only choices. The first option was out for the moment and the second was unappealing.

A shot rang out in the distance, breaking the silence, and then another.

“That way,” he said, pointing toward the waterfall on the opposite side of the canyon. He wasn’t sure why he chose it as their destination, except that it would be an easy landmark for everyone to find should they get split up. That, and it just felt like the right way to go. “Everyone stay concealed as much as you can, and be careful.”