Cave Dwellers (23 page)

   They contacted an architect who drew up the designs. While he was working on that, they had a switchback road built and paved to go up the mountain. They wanted the garage built first.

   The road was completed, plans were drawn up, and construction started on the garage.

25

   Zaac’s school days were no longer the same. The experiences he had faced and now, with the popularity he had acquired from the vast treasure he and Ramira had found, made him the talk of the school.

   Everywhere he went, he noticed students staring at him and talking in whispers. He could only imagine what was being said.

   Zaac was constantly being asked by teachers to speak about the ordeal, what it was like, how he coped. The science and biology teachers were at the foremost of this list.

   Matt joined him one day at lunch. “I feel like I’m with a celebrity now,” he said, sitting down across from Zaac in the cafeteria.

   “Some celebrity! Why is it that I feel that I’m the talk of the whole school?”

   “It’s not just the school. It’s the whole area. You and Ramira are the biggest thing that has happened around here in years. And that gold find. Wow! I’m having a hard time getting use to the fact that my best friend is a millionaire.”

   “Millionaire or not, I’m still just me,” Zaac said, blushing as he looked down at his plate.

   “Is it true that you bought a couple of mountains?” Matt asked.

   “Yes, a couple of mountains with the surrounding land. We had a dam and lake built. Now they’re working on a garage. We plan to build a chalet up on one of the mountains,” Zaac responded.

   “That’s so cool. Do any of them offer a good chance for us to practice our mountain climbing skills?”

   “There are two or three spots that offer some pretty good challenges for climbing. You want to try one of them this Saturday?” Zaac figured it would be interesting. Matt had no idea of his new climbing ability and he didn’t think it was a good idea for him to know about it.

   “I would love for us to do some climbing. Plus, I’m off work Saturday.”

   “Great. I’ll be by to pick you up around eight in the morning. How does that sound?”

   “Awesome. I’m looking forward to it. It’s been awhile since we’ve done anything together.”

   “I know. Since we’ve gotten out of the caves, life has been pretty hectic.”

   “I’ll see you Saturday morning, bright and early.” The two friends finished their lunch and headed off to class.

   Saturday arrived and Zaac showed up at Matt’s house a few minutes before eight. Matt was ready and came rushing out of the house to greet him.

   “Morning bro,” Matt said as he climbed jubilantly into the SUV and buckled his seatbelt.

  
“Morning. You seem awful chipper,” Zaac said, looking at him with curiosity.

   “I guess I am pretty excited. I think this is so neat, climbing a mountain that you own. Go figure.”

   Zaac didn’t have a response for that; he hadn’t thought about it in the way that Matt obviously did. He and Ramira hadn’t owned the property very long, not to mention all of the ramifications that went with it. He pulled out of the driveway and headed toward their mountains.

   Before long, Zaac and Matt arrived at the road where the two farm houses were located, one of which was the house where Zaac and Ramira had called their parents when they emerged from the caves. Zaac pointed out the houses and said, “Our property line starts here. Those mountains you see are ours. We own several acres on the other side of them as well as all of the land on this side.”

   He turned into the dirt road that led to his driveway and pointed to the mountain that would not be the site of the chalet. “That’s the mountain we will be climbing today.”

   Matt looked up at it with excitement. Glancing over at the other mountain, he could see the construction that was taking place. “I see you’re building your chalet up there.”

   “After we’re through climbing, I’ll take you up there and show you what we’re doing.”

   They got their backpacks out of the SUV. The packs had all of the necessary supplies for climbing—harnesses, ropes, cams, carabiners, and belay devices along with bottles of water, Gatorade and energy bars.

   It took them ninety minutes to hike to the start of the climb.

   When they arrived, Matt looked up to see a rugged rock wall that ascended for more than 250 feet, “This ought to provide a nice challenge.”

   Zaac, following his line of sight, saw a rocky face that would defy most climbers, but with his newly acquired talents, it would be like taking a stroll in the park. The only thing was he couldn’t let Matt know about his newfound ability. The biggest challenge for him was to try and climb it normally. Then again, he could have some fun with it too.

   They got the harnesses out of the packs and fastened them on.

   “You want to go first or would you like me to?” Matt asked.

   “I’ll give it a try,” Zaac said, stepping up to the base and looking at the rock face as if he were studying which parts would be the best for handholds and ascent.

   He kept a close eye on Matt out of the corner of his eye waiting for him to be distracted. When Matt turned facing the opposite direction for a few seconds, Zaac quickly climbed up sixty feet to a small ledge. Hearing a noise overhead, Matt looked up to see Zaac placing a cam in the rock wall.

   “How did you get up there so fast?” Matt asked, astonished, with his mouth gaped. “One second you were on the ground and the next you’re over fifty feet up the wall.”

   Zaac pulled on the cam making sure it was secure. Looking back down at Matt, he said, “I don’t know. After choosing the route, I just shot up it. Let me go up to the next point for the cam and you can climb up to this little ledge.”

   Zaac secured the rope in the carabiner and started up the face of the wall. He acted like he was looking for the proper hand and foot holds but it was really just for show. With his supernatural strength and climbing capability, he could probably climb this wall with his eyes closed.

   With the proper show of exertion ostentatiously displayed, Zaac soon was placing the second cam into the wall, a carabiner in the end, and securing the rope in it.

   He shouted back down to Matt, “You can come on up now.”

   As Matt started up the side of the mountain, all of his attention was focused on his climb, as it should be. While Matt’s concentration was centered on the rock wall, Zaac hastily climbed up the cliff, placed another cam in the wall, secured the rope, and climbed up to the top before Matt reached the first ledge with the cam. He tied the rope around a rock, cinching it tightly.

   When Matt reached the first cam, he looked up to see Zaac’s progress. Not being able to locate him, he shouted, “Where are you?”

   Zaac peered over the edge, barely able to see the top of Matt’s head, “I’m at the top. The rope is anchored firmly with a rock.”

  
“No way! I’ve just now reached the first ledge where you placed the cam. What did you do, jump and hop up there like a mountain goat?”

   Not exactly
a mountain goat, Zaac thought to himself, but close. “I just climbed it the best way that I could and before I knew it, I was at the top. I’ll just enjoy the scenery while you climb the rest of the way up. Take your time and be careful.”

   Zaac did indeed enjoy the view while Matt struggled up the side of the mountain. When his head finally popped over the top, he was sweating profusely.

   “You definitely look like you had a workout. Are you out of shape or something?” Zaac asked, looking at him with amusement.

  
“Very funny. And no, I’m not out of shape.” Matt gasped for breath. “That was one more climb.”

   “I thought it was fairly easy. Since you had such a hard time, come over and rest and see this panoramic view of the Smokies.”

   Matt walked over taking off his pack. He took out a bottle of Gatorade and a couple of energy bars and sat down next to Zaac. It was past peak season for the change of the leaves but the view was still beautiful.

   After resting for an hour, they rappeled back down to the base of the mountain, gathered their supplies and hiked back to the vehicle.

   Zaac drove up the driveway to the place where the garage was under construction. He showed him the spot where they were planning to build the chalet and tried to describe the layout of it.

   They each drank another bottle of water while they walked around among the construction talking about life in general. Progress seemed to be coming along smoothly as far as Zaac could tell.

   Finishing their water, Zaac drove Matt back to his house and dropped him off.

   “Later bro,” Matt said as he got out of the vehicle.

   “I’ll be seeing you Monday.” Zaac pulled out of the driveway and headed home.

26

   Since Zaac and Ramira found their way out in early October, Ramira was not able to enter college at the beginning of the fall semester. She was planning to start college the next semester at the beginning of the year. Her plans were to major in Sociology at a university in northeastern Tennessee a couple of hours from where they lived. With the university being so close, she was hoping to spend weekends at home with her family and of course, Zaac.

   Zaac and Ramira were now officially dating. They had just celebrated Thanksgiving with their families and were eating at a Greek restaurant in the city.
The restaurant was known for its gyros which they both loved.

   They were at the cash register paying for their meals when they heard the first sirens. When they went out on the sidewalk, they could see smoke rising from the top of an apartment building down the street.

   Ramira looked at Zaac with an unspoken question on her face. Zaac responded without saying a word and they started walking toward the scene.

   When they arrived, two fire trucks were there and firemen were scrambling to get the hoses attached to the fire hydrants. Before they could get that done, however, an upper floor window burst and flames poured out. Soon others exploded and the flames seemed to be shooting everywhere. The fire was building.

   All of a sudden a woman let out a scream: “My baby and the babysitter are still trapped in the building.” It turned out her apartment was located on the sixth floor, at the far back corner. The apartment building was seven stories high.

   Zaac and Ramira looked at each other knowing that this would be the perfect opportunity to use their new abilities. Why did they have them if they could not serve a good purpose?

   They rushed around to the back of building. It seemed to be deserted; all of the commotion was on the street in front. Zaac and Ramira went to the far side and counted up six floors, where there was a window on the far corner.

   Without hesitation, they clambered up the wall, busted in the window and entered one of the bedrooms. The door to the rest of the apartment was closed so they wanted to feel it before opening it.

   Ramira remembered that in a fire situation, you should always make sure a door was not hot. If it was hot to the touch, it meant that there were flames on the other side.

   When she touched the door, she jerked her hand back quickly. It was definitely hot to the touch.

   Looking at Zaac she asked, “What do we do now?”

   He walked to the wall that joined the room next door. “Maybe we can knock a hole through this wall to the next room. If they aren’t in it, we go through to the next room.”

   He punched a hole through the wall and quickly enlarged the hole enabling them to walk to the next room. The next room was the bathroom and no one was in it. The bathroom door was close. He lifted his hand to feel of it. It also was scorching hot to the touch. Smoke was filling the room from under the door.