The Cave – Part Three

To quickly recap: Two friends, Eve and Sara, were rock climbing and stumbled across a fissure in the rocks. Upon further exploration, they discover a cave with primitive drawings in it. As they venture further into the cave to see if there’s anything else of interest, there’s an earth tremor – they race back the way they came and reach the fissure just in time to see it fill with rocks.

They decide their best bet is to explore further into the cave and hope there’s another way out. Hours pass before they discover another chamber, this one with sparkly walls, and decide to take a break

Eve had a few empty zip lock bags with her and divided the granola into two of them, handing one to Sara. The bags were handy, and in fact all her food was kept in them to keep it fresh.

Sara took her bag with her to check out the wall that sparkled. As she munched her granola, she ran her hand along the wall. Surprisingly, it was smooth to the touch, not rough like she expected. It almost felt like a mosaic.

“Hey, Eve,” she called. “Bring the light over here.”

“What is it?” Eve asked, getting to her feet.

“It’s amazing, is what it is,” Sara said as Eve held up the light.

It was indeed a mosaic, embedded in the wall. The crystals, she refused to believe they were gemstones, formed beautiful patterns in the grey rock.

“What is it?” Eve asked again.

“It’s a mosaic, but it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I’ve never even heard of something like this being imbedded in a cave, have you?”

Eve shook her head. “No, but then my memory is pretty dim when it comes to the one class I took in archeology. I was there mostly for the cute guys.”

“I wonder who did this,” Sara mused. “And how. And why so deep inside the hillside.”

“I can see actual shapes,” Eve said. “There’s a tree,” she pointed. “And is this a sun?”

“I wish the light was better in here,” Sara said. “I think if we could see the whole thing at once we might understand its message.”

“You think it has a message?” Eve asked.

“I don’t know, why else would it be in here? It’s such a unique find – I wish we could find some way to let the world know about this.

“Maybe that’s why its creator made it in this place. So no one would ever find it.”

“That’s crazy. Why created something this beautiful if you didn’t want to share it?”

“For the joy of creation maybe?”

“Look, there’s more of it over here.” Sara directed Eve to the opposite wall of the chamber.

“What do you make of this one?” Eve asked, looking at the colors swirling in an abstract pattern. She held the light up and traced the pattern of color.

Sara shuddered as she glanced at it. “I don’t know what to make of that. It’s beautiful, in a twisted kind of way, but hypnotic.”

“I think it’s beautiful,” Eve said.

They both stared at it for a moment, then Eve gave herself a shake. “C’mon, let’s find a place to lie down. We need to get some rest.”

“Rest sounds good,” Sara agreed. “Maybe if we fall asleep we’ll wake up to find it’s all been a dream.

“I’m going to turn out the light while we sleep,” Eve said. “No sense in wasting the battery.”

“Just keep it close by,” Sara said. “I don’t fancy having to look for it by touch.”

“Me either,” Eve agreed. “Okay, here goes.” She switched the light off.

They were plunged into darkness. But after a moment, Sara spoke up.

“Am I crazy or . . .”

“No, you’re not crazy. The stones in the wall are glowing.”

“But not both walls,” Sara pointed out. “Just the abstract one.” She glanced over at Eve, who was staring in fascination at the glowing shapes. “Eve? Eve!” she said sharply, giving her a shove.

“What?”

“We have to get out of here!”

Sara gathered up their packs and pulled Eve towards the back of the chamber, away from the mosaics. Eve kept glancing back, making a half-hearted attempt to return to the abstract, but Sara’s grip was like steel.

At the back of the chamber there were two openings. Without hesitation, Sara dragged Eve through the one on the left, although Eve kept trying to go right.

Finally, after they’d gone several hundred yards, Eve stopped fighting her.

“What was that?” she asked in a shaky voice.

“I don’t know. It was like you were being hypnotized. It felt . . . wrong somehow.”

Eve shuddered. “I think you just saved my life.”

“So much for our rest,” Sara said with a sigh.

“We could just sack out right here if you’re tired,” Eve suggested. “It’s not like we’re blocking anyone’s way.”

“Nah, I’m good. The granola break did wonders for me.” But she couldn’t help wonder what was going to happen when they ran out of food and water. So far they’d seen no trace of either.

“I wonder why only one of the walls glowed and not the other,” Eve mused.

“Maybe it had more exposure to your light?”

“I don’t think so.”

Sara thought for a moment. “It was almost like a trap. Or a test.”

“A test of what? Our ability to resist it?”

“Maybe. Or maybe—” Sara broke off suddenly. “Do you hear that?”