The B Girls (19 page)

Mae smiled. "Maybe it's worse when it's happy,
sad and mad crying all at once."

Lucy swiped the back of her hand across her eyes.
"That's just what it was. My feelings just got completely jumbled 'til I
didn't know if I was happy Gary left me and sad Belle had been kidnapped or mad
about the kidnapping and guiltily pleased about the adventure of finding the
Declaration or maybe none of the above." Lucy blinked back new tears.
"And I still don't have it all sorted out."

"And you probably won't for a while," Mae
said.

"But we promise not to have you committed so
we can get control of your money," Jane said.

Lucy laughed with humor this time. "That's
good to hear since I don't have any money."

"Now that's settled let's study that map and
see if we can get some idea what we're up against," Jane said.

The study session was short. The map was more of a
diagram than a detailed map. It gave directions, presumably at decision points
showing the tunnel going up or down or straight, connecting larger rooms, but
no distances were marked and there weren't any notations about how difficult
the climbs were or how long it would take to reach their goal. Lucy pictured
something like a mine with large smooth tunnels between room-sized openings.
Who knew what the reality would be?

###

Lucy spent the rest of the night gathering up more
obscure information about caving than any human could possibly need. Especially
a human who had no intention of ever going back into a cave after today's
adventure.

Still, some of the information was helpful. They
should be careful not to disturb natural rock formations any more than
absolutely necessary since clumsy humans can snap off decades of nature's work
with a single heavy-handed gesture. It was bad form to leave anything behind in
a cave including marks to show direction. And if one came across marks left by
cavers in an earlier time they would point the way out of the cave not further
in.

###

"This GPS is the greatest invention since
sliced bread," Lucy said. She double-checked the coordinates of the cave
and let the arrow do its work. "We should make good time since we know
exactly where we're going this time."

"Unless we run into another bear. Or a wild
pig," Jane said.

"Pessimist."

"What if we really need more supplies? Like
those carbide lamps?" Mae said.

"If we get in there and find we need more
equipment or preparation we'll leave." Lucy tied her last boot knowing
damn well they couldn't turn back. Belle's life was at stake. "Everyone
ready?"

Mae and Jane chorused an affirmative and they were
off.

The hike back to the creek went without a hitch.
It's amazing what a pair of hiking boots and appropriate clothes could do to
for a girl's comfort level.

The downside was the weight of the extra equipment.

For Lucy, the result was a slight net positive.

"You sure you don't want to wait here?"
Lucy asked Mae as they stood looking up at the rock formation.

"I'm sure."

"Just remember not to look down," Jane
said. She started up first.

Lucy waved Mae to the hill. "You next. Just
follow Jane. I'll be right behind you."

"Piece of cake," Mae said. She started up
the hill.

Lucy ignored the fact that Mae's voice was a little
shaky and watched while she got started. Lucy was impressed. Mae wasn't going
to break any speed-climbing records, but once she started up she kept moving at
a steady, careful pace.

"You're a champ," Lucy said as she
started to climb after Mae.

Jane, on the other hand, slowed then stopped
altogether near the top. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what? The only thing I hear is Mae
muttering under her breath and you sounding a little paranoid."

"I heard something and it sounded bigger than
a squirrel."

"Well, I didn't hear it. Maybe it's a deer.
There are supposed to be lots of them up here. Whatever it is, it can't be all
that close. Not enough cover for anything too large to hide in."

"Fine, I just hope you're right."

"Mae? Are you okay?"

Mae's nose was even with the heels of Jane's hiking
boots. She wasn't moving and she hadn't contributed anything to the
conversation.

She didn't respond to Lucy's question.

"Mae?" Lucy said it a little louder
hoping to snap her out of her trance.

"Wh-what?"

Lucy breathed a sigh of relief when Mae answered.
Her voice was soft and hesitant, almost a whisper but at least she was
speaking.

"Are you okay?"

Lucy saw Mae's shoulders rise and fall as she took
a deep breath.

"Can we just keep moving? If there is another
bear around here I'd rather not meet it while my butt's hanging over eternity.
I'd rather face a bear than stay on the side of this hill with my ass in the
breeze one second longer than necessary."

Jane snickered from above. "Glad your cheerful
button still works."

"She has a point, Jane. You're holding up the
works. Move it," Lucy said.

First Jane and then Mae stepped up onto the ledge
that formed the lover's forearm.

Lucy heard a rustling in the underbrush downhill
and to her right just as she climbed up after them. She ignored it. There'd
already been enough bear discussion. Plus, she found Mae hugging the rock wall
and looking anywhere but down so she figured the last thing Mae needed was to
hear any more worrisome news.

Hell, the last thing
she
needed was more bad news. Unfortunately she was afraid the
worst was waiting for her in the dark.

She gave her head a shake and focused on the
moment--the dark would come soon enough.

"We're going in now right?" Mae asked as
soon as she saw Lucy.

Lucy figured Mae's fear of heights trumped her tiny
touch of claustrophobia. At least she supposed it was claustrophobia. It wasn't
so much the small space in the cave as the thought of all the weight of the
rock and earth just hovering over her head in a cave that gave her a little
twinge.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad in this cave. Not like
the feeling she'd had at Ruby Falls where they went down in an elevator--deep
down.

"Yes, we're going in now. You'll have to take
off your pack to squeeze through the opening," Lucy said.

"Suits me. Anything to get off this
ledge," Mae said.

"I still don't know how you think you're going
to maneuver in the dark," Jane said.

Mae shrugged. "We'll see. I promise not to
hold you up."

"We're not going to be in any hurry. We're
going to be very careful," Lucy said. "We won't be helping Belle
unless we come out in one piece--with the Declaration."

"Careful is fine as long as it doesn't
paralyze us," Jane said.

Mae was shrugging out of her pack. "Let's just
get inside. I'll go first." She handed Lucy her pack. "Hold this and
pass me all three when I get inside."

She squeezed into the opening. "Boy, you
weren't kidding about the tight fit." She grimaced, sucked in a deep
breath and wriggled inside. "Wow. It is dark in here."

Instead of replying, Lucy shoved Mae's pack into
the crack. Mae took it. Lucy handed hers in and moved back for Jane to do the
same.

"After you," Jane said as she stepped
aside with a sweeping gesture.

"Gee thanks. If I didn't know better I'd say
Mae wasn't the only one with a little phobia." Wouldn't it just suck if
they
all
had some fear to deal with
inside? Who would be the cheerleader?

"I'm fine. You want me to go next?" Jane
said.

"No. I'll go." The sooner she went in the
sooner she could come back out. Lucy sucked in a deep breath and squished her
way into the cave.

Jane followed close behind.

Mae had already put on her helmet and headlamp.

She blinded Lucy with the lamp. Lucy threw a hand
up in front of her eyes. "Look down. I'll have spots dancing in front of
me for hours."

The beam shifted to the floor. "Oh, sorry. I
wasn't thinking."

Jane squeezed into the cave and winced when the
light on Lucy's helmet zapped her in the eye. "Damn, that could be a real
pain in the ass," she said.

"We'll just have to make an effort not to look
each other in the eye." Lucy pulled the map out of her pack and looked it
over yet again. There wasn't anything new to see and the lack of detail made
her nervous. She had a feeling things weren't quite as simple as the map made
them look.

"Well? Are we ready?" Jane asked.

Lucy pointed to the opening at the left side of the
small entrance room. "The first hole is right through there. We should
probably put on our climbing gear here and have the rope and pitons
handy."

The next five minutes were comic relief as they
struggled to get into their harnesses. The damn things seemed to defy attempts
to untwist and refused to go on smoothly. The small space didn't help either,
but after a lot of cussing--from Jane, nervous laughter--from Lucy, and
muttering--from Mae, they were as prepared as they were going to be.

They'd divvied up as much of the heavy stuff as
possible but Jane was still the main beast of burden. Since she was the only
one with any experience handling the ropes and gear, she'd been designated the
lead so she had to carry the most hardware.

It only took them a few seconds to reach the hole
in the first passage.

The map indicated they had to go down the hole to
the next level of the cave. Lucy was afraid this was going to be the end of
Mae's journey to the Declaration. As much as she wanted to believe Mae would
overcome her fear, it just seemed too big.

They stopped a few feet from the hole.

"I need to get a look at what we're dealing
with," Jane said. She stepped up to the hole and looked down.

"Don't say anything about how deep it
is," Mae said.

Lucy seconded that. The less she had to think about
tons of rock above her head, the better she'd like it.

"Okay, I won't. I will say the first part
looks easy. Enough room for a comfortable rappel without worrying about getting
stuck or hitting anything." She looked in Mae's general direction.
"You could do it with your eyes closed."

Mae's laugh was more nerves than humor. "Now
what's the bad news?"

"The last part looks like a free rappel."
Meaning they would be dangling in space with nothing to brace against.

"You still want to try?" Lucy asked Mae.

"Yes. By the time I get to that part it'll be
too late to change my mind."

"So, how do we want to do this?" Lucy
asked. She figured Mae had probably spent a lot of time thinking this through.

"Well, obviously Jane has to go first. When
she gets to the bottom all she has to do is turn off her lamp and steady the
rope for me," Mae said.

"You want me to stand down there in the pitch
black all alone while you rappel down?" Jane said in mock horror.

Mae looked crushed and put a hand to her mouth. She
backed away from Lucy and Jane. "You're right. I don't know what I was
thinking. I can't ask you to do that. I'll just wait here."

Jane made an exasperated sound. "For God's
sake, I was joking. Have some balls and ask for what you want. It won't kill me
to be in the dark for a few minutes."

"Don't be mean," Lucy said.

"I wasn't being mean, I was being honest. I
thought she was past letting herself get bullied," Jane said.

"Hey," Mae said. "I'm right here.
Don't talk about me like I'm an idiot."

"Better!" Jane said.

"So, what do you want to do?" Lucy asked.

"I want to rappel down that hole in the
dark," Mae said.

"Then that's exactly what we'll do," Jane
said. "Lucy do you want to bring up the rear?"

"Sure." Lucy wasn't in any hurry to drop
into that hole. Mae might be worried about the journey. Lucy was worried about
the destination.

Jane didn't have to resort to using pitons or cams
to secure the rope. There were plenty of places to tie off the rope at the side
of the passage near the hole.

She chose her anchor, tied off the rope and hooked
on. "Double check this for me," she said to Lucy as she tossed the
end of the rope into the hole.

Lucy checked the hardware, the harness and the
rope. "You're good."

Jane backed to the edge and started lowering
herself into the hole. "See you at the bottom."