Darkness and Light

The parking chamber has collapsed and the generator has exploded. The morning had defiantly not gone as Joshua had hoped.

Chapter 4

-Darkness and Light-

Joshua opened his eyes and stared up at the cavern's high ceiling. He pointedly did not look at the small woman who lay snuggled as close against him as possible. At no more than five feet tall the diminutive woman's head barely reached his chest. She was a fiercely self confident woman despite her size, and surprisingly strong. The celebration from Bill and Sally's marriage was still in full swing and she had dragged him to Jim and demanded, demanded, that they be married right then and there. He had to admit, however, that he liked being known as Joshua Green, it just sounded right somehow. Joshua sighed deeply and was shocked to find that she could wiggle closer to him. “Stay!” she muttered, giving him a squeeze that brought an involuntary grunt from the large man.

As Joshua eyed the blankets that he had hung around their combined pallets he decided the best word to describe his new wife was 'shocking'. She was shockingly fierce, shockingly strong, shockingly smart, shockingly beautiful and possibly most shocking of all, she was married to him.

A high pitched shriek rang through the cavern accompanied by a distant pattering sound of water and Kelly sat upright so quickly the blanket was whipped off Joshua's bare chest exposing him to the cool cavern air. Despite the chill he smiled at the sight of the small woman in her plaid pajamas. She was breathing hard, as if she had just run a mile and her beautiful green eyes looked ready to pop out of her head, “What was that?” she asked breathlessly.

“From the sound of it I would say Bill is taking a shower,” Joshua said laughing quietly to himself.

“How can you tell who it is?” Kelly asked as she adjusted the blankets and lay her head on her husband's chest.

“If you listen carefully you can hear Sally laughing in the background,” Joshua replied as he put an arm around his wife. A second, higher pitched shriek made the pair cringe as the tone wavered at the lower end of the audible range.

“I guess she is not laughing now,” Kelly said with a laugh.

“Nope,” Joshua said with a laugh of his own, “I told them the water was cold.”

“That you did,” Kelly said, a soft beeping came from above her pillow. She retrieved her watch and sighed as she looked at it, “Time to go check on my favorite patient,” she smiled and patted his cheek before throwing back the blanket.

“He is your only patient,” Joshua said as she stood and started toward her trunk were her clothes where already laid out and waiting for her. Before she could open it, however, there was a hollow boom and the cavern was bathed in darkness.

Joshua heard his wife bump into her large chest with a muted yelp, “It seems you have a patient to see to as well my husband,” she said darkly.

“Yes dear,” he replied rolling over and groping for the flashlight he kept in the front pocket of his bag. Joshua could just imagine the disapproving look on the small woman's face. He had seen that look before, though from a distance. Lord help him but she was even beautiful when scowling. He felt his face grow warm at the thought. He tried not to think about the faint rustling noises behind him. As his fingers closed around the flashlight a dim light filled the enclosure. Joshua turned to see his wife fully dressed and sitting on her trunk as if waiting patiently for something.

“Hand me your light husband,” she said crossing her ankles.

“Um, OK, Why?” Joshua asked taking note of the amused light in Kelly's eyes.

“I will hold it for you as you dress,” she said one corner of her lips raising in a impish grin.

“Lord help me,” he thought to himself as he pulled off his pajamas and reached for his pants. He dressed as quickly as possible feeling his wife's eyes on him as he did. The heat in his cheeks did not subside until he and Bill were halfway up the passageway leading to the surface, flashlight in one hand and tool bag in the other.

“Do you think it is him again?” Bill asked as they made their way toward the surface.

“I don't know,” Joshua answered with a shrug, “It could be, or the old generator could have finally broken down on it's own. We can't be sure until we see for ourselves.”

They found proof at the top of the passageway. The generator itself lay at the mouth of the passageway. It lay on its side broken and smoking in the orange light cast from the fire in the chamber where it had once belonged. Joshua dropped his tools and motioned for Bill to stay put before sprinting to the cab of his semi, covering the distance as only someone with his ground eating stride could. He uncoupled the wire from the refrigeration unit reattaching it to the ones that would allow the truck's engine to provide the power necessary to keep their precious food supply frozen. Joshua climbed behind the wheel of the truck and backed it as far from the burning chamber as possible.

“So much for the generator,” Bill said as Joshua ducked inside the passageway once more choking from the smoke and gasping for breath.

“The engine took the worst of it,” Joshua said, examining the remains of their only source of power. He tossed the flashlight to Bill and reached for his tools, “Hold the flashlight here, I will try and salvage what I can. I think we got lucky, the dynamo seems fine and the power regulator and transformer look to be intact.”

“OK, Great!” Bill said with an ingratiating smile, “So, what does that mean anyway?”

Joshua cocked an eyebrow in his direction.

“What?” Bill said defensively, “I'm a cook not a mechanic. I can cook omelets for thirty on a camp stove, but I know nothing about this sort of thing.”

“Well,” Joshua said with a grin, “generating electricity is fairly easy. All you have to do is move a coil of wire through a magnetic field. The magnetic field induces an electric current in the wire and there you have it. That is what the dynamo does It has a magnetic field and passes magnetic coils through it to generate electricity. The power regulator and transformer makes sure the output is one hundred and ten volts at sixty hertz. All you have to do is spin the wheel, so to speak.”

“How are we going to do that?” Bill asked, “the engine is toast and the last of our fuel was in that chamber.”

“Jim still has a full tank. I think I can figure out a way to attach the dynamo to his engine while I work on a more permanent solution. I have an idea, I just need the welder and a few extra hands.”

“I can call down and have your assistants bring it,” Bill said taking John's portable CB handset from his belt.

“No,” Joshua said picking up the parts he had salvaged and tucked them away under the walkway, “We can't risk going in the parking chamber while that fire is still going,” the ominous sound of stressed metal came from the chamber as one of the half full barrels expanded in the heat, “whoever set it packed plenty of wood in there. It looks like enough to burn for at least another two hours, and we should probably wait for the smoke to clear.”

Halfway down the passageway another, much larger explosion marked the end of the last fuel barrel as it burst and it's vaporized contents mixed with the little air left in the parking chamber. The shock-wave knocked the two men from their feet and was followed by the rumble of stone as the chamber above collapsed.

“You alright?” Joshua asked Bill as he got to his feet.

“I'm fine,” Bill said accepting an offered hand from his large friend, “What happened?”

“I think the upper chamber collapsed,” Joshua said. His head was throbbing and he felt a little disoriented. He could feel a trickle of blood inching its way down his right temple.

“The Food!” Bill shouted and rushed back up the passageway.

“Bill! No!” Joshua yelled as he stumbled after the man, “Wait, it could be dangerous.”

He caught up to Bill in the mouth of the passageway. He stood staring with his mouth agape. The parking chamber had been transformed by the explosion. Half of the chamber had collapsed. Bill could see the boiling clouds where the chamber's roof had been illuminated by the lightnings they produced as they swirled and danced. Jim's van lay on it's side against a large stone not far from were the bed of John's truck stuck out of the rubble at an odd angle. What was left of the bus was completely buried except for the seats which where still stacked on the other side of the passageway. Luckily the side of the cavern that Joshua had parked the semi in was relatively untouched. The truck's cab was half berried in rubble but it was still running, keeping its precious supply of food frozen.

John's CB crackled to life and sally's voice could barely be heard demanding, “What happened? Are you alright?”

“We're fine,” Bill said, “There was a fire. The fuel barrels exploded and most of the parking chamber collapsed. The food is fine, and Joshua says he has a plan to get the power back. But we will need some help. Can you send Mark and Greg up with the welder?”

“No problem,” Sally said, “Be careful.”

“Will do,” Bill replied with a smile.

The CB crackled to life again and Kelly's voice crackled angrily, “Tell my husband that if he gets himself killed I will resuscitate him just so I can break his neck.”

“Yes Dr. Green,” Bill said incredulously, “I'll tell him.”

“Do me a favor,” Joshua said with a wince, “If I do get killed, hide the body.”

“Heh,” Bill laughed nervously.

Jim set to work stripping the rear axle and front drive axles from the wreck of Jim's van. Mark and Greg arrived with the welder just in time to help flip the remains of the van upright once more.

“Alright,” Joshua said as he brushed his hands on his pants, “You two start down with that axle. Put it near the passageway to the water supply and get some of those farm boys to begin carrying those bus seats down. Bring the torch back with you if you would please.”

“Yes sir,” the two boys said in unison. Each took an end of the axle and were gone.

“I wish they would stop calling me that,” Joshua sighed as he pried the hood open.

“Calling you what?” Bill asked.

“Sir. I'm not that old am I?” The hood groaned as it was forced open then gave a loud pop as it finally gave way.

“They respect you,” Bill said, “They look up to you for guidance. You are a role model.”

“Just hold the flashlight would you?” Joshua said with a smile.

By the time Greg made it back pushing the dolly that held the oxygen and acetylene tanks the air conditioning unit in the van had been replaced by the dynamo. It only took a few tries to get the battered engine running again. It had a pronounced miss and produced a loud, throbbing whine, but run it did. Joshua connected the arc welder and began his work by the light of the van's one remaining headlight. Bill had never seen Joshua work before. It was like watching a master artist at work. Twisted steel and scavenged parts salvaged from the wreck of the van and the remains of Johns truck soon became a mounting bracket of some sort. One of the wheels from what had once been John's truck was stripped of it's rubber tire. Onto this was welded paddles cut from the top of the van. The axle that the wheel had been attached to was removed and stripped of its brakes before being attached to the odd mount. With the help of a pair of come-alongs and three of the five farm boys Mark and Greg had recruited John's truck was pulled from the rubble and Joshua set to work salvaging the remaining parts he needed. When he was finished the dynamo was removed from the van and mounted on the odd contraption. It took four people to carry the thing down the long passageway to the chamber they now called home. The thing was wrestled into place straddling the underground river and was secured in place with steel spikes driven into holes drilled into the stone. Some of the wiring from the upper chamber was used to connect the cavern's lights to the contraption completing the job.

“That should do it,” Joshua said knuckling his back, “There are a few things I need to do to improve it but hopefully this will provide enough power for the lights at least.”

A lever made from part of the twisted guardrail lowered the wheel into the rapidly flowing water. The lights in the cavern began glowing dimly as the wheel was lowered and began to spin. When it was in place with the steel paddles in the icy current the lights glowed slightly brighter and far steadier than they had with the ailing generator. A relieved murmur came from within the main cavern. Everyone had gathered in the center of the cavern near the raised stone platform. They had been relieved when the lights came on, but now they seemed to be uneasy about something. Sally and Dr. Green could be seen moving about the seated group taking a headcount, and Jim wore a worried expression.

“I had better get washed up,” Bill said looking at his hands, grubby from his mornings work, “It is nearly lunch time and this lot hasn't eaten yet.”

“Alright,” Joshua said clapping a big hand on Bill's back making him stumble, “I am going to see what has them so upset.”

“OK, see you later Mr. Green,” Bill said patting the big man on the shoulder.

“Same to you Mr. James ,” Joshua replied with a deep chuckle.

“Oh, great,” Bill laughed, “I have two first names. Could you send Jeremy and Cathy over?”

“No problem,” the big man answered with his amused grin before walking away.

Bill washed and busied himself with the preparations for the midday meal. He gave the makeshift counters a rigorous scrubbing and laid out the knife set he allowed his assistants to use next to the cutting board before disappearing into the cool chamber used as a pantry. When he emerged again carrying a basket he used to bring ingredients from the cave Joshua and Dr. Green were helping Sally console a notably upset Cathy.

“Hey, whats wrong Cathy?” Bill asked, placing the basket on the counter. The girl opened her mouth as if to reply then buried her head in Sally's shoulder once more.

“Jeremy is missing,” Joshua said as sally whispered comforting words into the crying girls hair, “he and Jason weren't with the group when the lights came back on. Cathy said Jeremy wasn't in his pallet last night and sally last saw Jason heading to the toilet before her shower this morning.”

“Do you think Jason could be our mystery attacker?” Bill asked running a hand through his hair.

“Could be,” Joshua frowned, “its hard to say. He could be the attacker or he could just be missing.”

“Either way,” Dr. Green said dryly, “they need to be found. I understand you have experience in caving?”

“Climbing actually,” Bill replied just as dryly, “You know, above ground?”

“I see,” Dr. Greens tone made the finely ground dust of a country road seem like mud by comparison, “that still makes you the most qualified to help search for them.”

“I didn't say I wouldn't,” Bill said defensibly, “I just thought it important to make a distinction. I just don't think it wise to search alone.”

“Of course not,” the small woman said dismissively, “I just didn't want to send my husband with someone who didn't know what he was about.”

“Um...” Joshua rumbled, eyes widening in shock, “I'm not really that good in tight places.”

“You and Bill seem to work well together dear, you will be fine,” Bill was surprised how quickly Joshua's wife could go from dry and severe to sweet and reassuring. He was even more surprised how fast she could go back to dry and severe, “Someone has to protect Bill if you do run into our mystery guest.”

“OK...” Joshua said slowly, “You are right though. I guess that leaves Jim and Sally to watch the lower passageway while we search?”

“Yes,” Sally said. Cathy looked calmer then she had but her eyes still held unshed tears and a pleading expression whenever she looked in ether Bill or Joshua's direction, “and Kelly will be watching the upper passageway with Jaime. Don't worry, we will be fine.”

“If you say so dear,” Bill said with a smile for his wife, “If you could help Cathy with lunch we will get started. Just make some sandwiches. You don't need to make anything fancy, everyone is too hungry to wait long.”

“No problem, we can handle it. Isn't that right Cathy?” Sally's smile was warm and comforting and seemed to have a revitalizing effect on the sorrowful younger woman.

“Yes,” Cathy said wiping her eyes, “we can handle it, Just please find my brother for me. He may be annoying but he is all I have.”

“Don't worry Cathy,” Joshua rumbled, clapping Bill on the back, “Bill and I will find him.”

“Well,” Bill said, “I stored the climbing equipment with the kitchen equipment. Come on Joshua, lets see if we can get a harness around you.”

The two men walked to where the kitchen's equipment was lined up neatly near the cavern's wall near the cold storage chamber. Bill managed to get the larger of the four climbing harnesses around Joshua. It had to be let out as loose as it could safely go, and still looked uncomfortably tight. He fit a harness around himself as well and started carefully arranging his equipment on the belt before helping Joshua organize his. He went to retrieve his carefully coiled rope and froze. One of the coils was missing.

“What's wrong?” Joshua asked noticing Bill's discomfort.

“Some of the rope is missing,” Bill said rummaging in some of the other equipment to see if it had just been misplaced, it had not.

“Do we have enough?” Joshua asked.

“Yes,” Bill said simply, handing Joshua one of the remaining three coils and hanging the other two on his belt. From another of the boxes he produced two lights with straps around them. He strapped one to his head so the light was centered on his forehead and handed the other to Josh before retrieving two more meant to be worn on the wrist and another pair that clipped to their belts. Once the two were fully equipped with climbing gear and light packs containing meal bars and emergency supplies Bill clipped the portable CB radio to one of the chest straps of the climbing harness before carefully checking the gear once more for good measure. Both men were nervous about setting out to search the caves, neither man had experience in exploring caves.

“I guess we are as ready as we ever will be,” Joshua said nervously.

“Ah crap,” Bill said suddenly.

“What?” Joshua asked.

“Went to all the trouble of putting this harness on and now I have to pee,” Bill said and stomped of in the direction of the bathroom, jangling the whole way.

His business done, Bill managed to get his harness refastened with little trouble. He flushed and took one last look around the chamber that was used as a restroom. The pool of light cast by the forehead mounted flashlight fell on scrape marks on the floor near the far wall. Closer examination showed that what, in the dim light that normally filled the chamber, looked like a natural stone formation was a flat stone leaning against the wall. The flat stone concealed a small opening just large enough for him to wiggle through. He dared not do more than look within the small crawlspace without Joshua there to pull him out Just in case something happened, but it looked like it let out into another chamber after three feet. He poked his head back into the main chamber to gesture Joshua over. “I need some help,” he said as the big man drew near.

“I think my wife has some laxative in her supplies,” Joshua said, “let me ask.”

“No,” Bill laughed, “Not that. There was a passageway in here hidden by a stone slab.”

“OK,” Joshua said, “But if you say the butler did it I am out of here.”

“I'm serious, it looks like something was dragged through it.” Bill said, reentering the restroom and leading the larger man to the crawlspace. He uncoiled one of the ropes and attached one end to the clip on his harness before going to his knees and poking his head into the opening, “If I get stuck I may need you to pull me out.”

“Will do,” Joshua said.

Bill started crawling into the small space and stopped, seeing something that reflected wetly when his light fell on it. The sight of it made him sick to his stomach, “There's blood in here, I don't think Jason came this way willingly.”

He continued wiggling until he could carefully poke his head into the chamber. It turned out to be a low passageway filled with the sound of rushing water and a steady squeak, squeak squeaking. Darkness swallowed the passageway to the left but in the distance to the right there was a slim section bathed in a dim light casting a shadow against the cavern wall. The shadow appeared to be moving. After a few moments Bill realized the regular movement came from the paddles on Joshua's generator. He looked at the floor of the passageway and saw drag marks and a smear of blood leading off into the darkness, “OK, pull me out,” Bill said and felt Joshua's massive hands close around his ankles. He was shocked at the ease with which Joshua pulled him out. He wasn't yanked, or jerked. He was just steadily, smoothly, inexorably pulled.

“Are you alright?” The big man asked as Bill got to his feet.

“Yea, Why?” Bill asked.

“There is blood on your shirt...”

“It's not mine, It was in the crawlspace,” Bill said feeling sick once more. He pointedly did NOT look down at his shirt, “There is a passageway at the other end of the crawlspace. It looks like it leads from the lower passageway with your generator. I couldn't see were it went in the other direction but it looks like Jason was dragged that way.”

“I didn't think the passageway came this direction, but I guess these tunnels can be tricky,” Joshua said, “I never spent much time underground.”

“Understandable,” Bill said leading the man out of the chamber and down to the lower passageway were Jim and Sally were going over Sally's carefully compiled lists.

“We thought you had left already,” Sally said as they approached, then she noticed the blood and dirt staining his clothing, “Oh sweaty, are you alright?”

“It's not mine,” Bill sighed, “We found a crawlspace in the bathroom. I'm not sure but I think Jason was dragged through it.”

“Wow, were does it lead?” Jim asked as Sally poked and prodded her husband.

“We aren't sure,” Joshua answered as Bill attempted to fend her off bringing an amused grin from his wife, “it looks like it starts in this passageway though. I wouldn't be able to squeeze through the crawlspace so we are going to look for the entrance.”

“Good luck, I pray you find them safe,” Jim said, “Just be careful, we need both of you back in one piece.”

“We will,” Joshua said as Bill managed to escape from Sally's playful probings. The two men entered the lower passageway and began searching for the entrance to the side passageway. They found the entrance hidden behind a stalagmite cluster. It was a thin slit in the cavern wall barely waist high and two feet wide at its widest point. He had to push his pack through ahead of him and squeeze his massive shoulders first and drag his body through behind him. The passageway gradually widened enough for the two men to crawl through on hands and knees. After about one hundred yards they came to the drag marks under where the crawlspace intersected the passageway. As they followed the drag marks the tunnel sloped steadily downwards, and the stone floor gave way gradually to sandy grit and silt as if the passageway had been underwater at one point. The tunnel curved around steadily to the left and before long the passageway branched off to the right. The tunnel that continued left held a strong oder of human waste.

On closer examination the left hand tunnel quickly shrank to barely a foot in height and only a few inches in width. Thankfully the drag marks went to the right. The two men continued following the drag marks in silence, feeling the weighty feeling of thousands of tons of earth and stone between them and the world above. The roof of the tunnel slowly drew down on them as they went and widened out to the sides. It felt as if they were being pressed thin and the two men were forced to crawl on their stomachs, pushing their packs ahead of them.

They were forced to dig in the sandy dirt to allow Joshua's bulk to pass. They crawled this way for what seemed like hours in the cramped bowels of the earth. Bill's muscles burned and his joints ached. The muggy, humid air made Bill's clothes stick to his skin and added an air of weighty oppression to the heavy feel of the stone above. Bill felt like he was suffocating, the air felt heavy and hot. He could not imagine what this felt like for the larger man behind him.

The cavern opened into a huge chamber so suddenly that it left the two men breathless. As the two men lay on their backs staring upward they were shocked at what they saw. The cavern was three hundred yards in diameter and easily twice as tall as it was wide and brightly lit by lamps set in the walls. The top of the chamber looked as if a giant spider had been at work on it, spinning a shining web to cap the chamber. There was a flash behind the web and the two men realized the web was a frame supporting a glass dome over the chamber. Even more surprising was the large oak tree growing in the center of the chamber.

Joshua started laughing, “Its the visitor center,” he said breathlessly, “I remember seeing this chamber when I came here a few years ago. I didn't know it was a part of the main cave system. I guess I was wrong.”

“I guess so,” Bill said. The two men were too busy staring at the glass dome to notice the approach of a massive dog until it stood over them, sniffing them nervously. It was easily three feet at the shoulder with a large head, sleek brown fur and, as Joshua found out with a shock as the dog began sniffing at him, a cold, wet nose. On the dog's neck was a thick leather collar. Joshua yelped in surprise as the wet nose brushed his cheek just moments before a large, wet tongue licked his ear. The two men got to their feet and backed against the cavern wall, eying the massive dog warily. The dog just stood there looking at them, tongue lolling over huge, yellow teeth.

“I have never seen a dog this big,” Joshua said in a hoarse whisper, “What kind of dog gets this big?”

“Great Dane I think,” Bill whispered nervously, “ Heh, nice doggy.”

The massive dog gave a loud, deep bark and stared at them expectantly. The two men could do nothing, fear rooted them to the spot. The dog simply walked forward and grabbed the rope the two men had clipped to their belts for safety, turned and started walking. Bill and Joshua looked at each other in shock as they were left with but two choices. Either they could walk, or they could be dragged along behind the beast. Even Joshua's massive frame could not resist the dog's brutal strength. The dog walked them toward a small side passage on the other side of the chamber.

It dropped the rope and entered the chamber ahead of them, beckoning them onward with a mournful whimper. The smell of human waste and unwashed flesh coming from the mouth of the passageway was nearly overpowering. The two men entered the passageway and the dog looked up at them with sad, sorrowful eyes as it rested its head on Jason's lap. The dog gave another sad cry and closed its eyes. Jason lay flat on the floor breathing raggedly. Not far from where they stood, Jeremy lay curled in a ball near the wall of the passageway. He was moaning softly and muttering incoherently. Both boys were bound at the wrists and ankles with what looked to be some of the missing climbing rope. Jeremy's face was pale and his hair was crusted with dried blood. The young man's eyes shot open as Bill bent to touch his forehead, and he let out a blood curdling shriek before collapsing in a heap once more. Bill felt Jeremy's forehead and drew his hand away as if burned.

“He is burning up,” Bill said concerned, “we have to get him back, but I don't think he would survive going the way we came”

“Well, the visitor center is is only a quarter of a mile from the mouth of our cavern,” Joshua said bending to examine Jason, “We would stand a better chance of making it through the ash then dragging these two through that tight passageway. Neither of them would survive that,” The large man took the first aid kit from his pack and tossed some powdered aspirin to Bill, “Mix this with some water and try to get him to swallow it. It should help with the fever.”

“OK,” Bill said, “I'm going to let the others know we found them,” he mixed the aspirin with water in the cap of his water bottle and slowly trickled it into Jeremy's mouth before depressing the button on the CB and saying into the handset, “Jaime, you there?”

Bill was answered by silence, he repeated the call with the same response, “I guess there is too much rock between us.”

“I guess so,” Joshua replied as he carefully wrapped Jason's head, “I guess we have get them out and try again when we are within range.”

“It looks like Jeremy will have to be carried out,” Bill said wetting a rag and wiping the crusted blood from his forehead, “how is Jason?”

“He has a nasty bump on his head,” Joshua said as he tried to make Jason as comfortable as possible. Jason's breathing still came in ragged gasps, “I think he has a few broken ribs. We will have to be careful when we move them,” Joshua carefully cut the cords binding the young man's wrists and unbuttoned his shirt. Jason's chest was a mass of deep, purple bruises. As Joshua had guessed several of his ribs were cracked and at least two were broken. Joshua pulled the elastic bandages from his kit and dug into Bill's pack adding them to his own. He turned back to Bill, who was untying Jeremy and trying to make him comfortable, “Could you give me a hand please, I need you to hold him while I bind his chest.”

“Alright,” Bill said.

The two men carefully lifted Jason into a sitting position, bringing another pained groan from the stricken youth. Bill held him steady as possible as Joshua wrapped his chest tightly. When they gently eased him back on the hard ground his breath still came in labored gasps, but they were far less ragged than before.

“Stay with them,” Joshua said getting to his feet, “I'll be right back. I'm going to try to find something to carry them on.”

“Sure,” Bill said with a worried expression. He turned back to Jeremy who still babbled incoherently.

Joshua walked out of the passageway and to the stairway that led into the only other passageway out of the main chamber that didn't require crawling on his stomach. About ten yards in the passageway split, the left hand passage was barred with an iron gate and strong looking padlock, so he went to the right. The right hand passageway took a sharp turn, then the boarded walkway ended abruptly. Stone and rubble blocked the passageway where the tunnel had collapsed. The broken wood had not had time to turn brown, marking the collapse as a recent event. Joshua had the feeling that it had been caused by the morning's explosion. Joshua stomped back the way he came. When he came once more to the fork in the tunnel his frustration got the better of him.

“Screw this,” he rumbled and gave the lock a massive kick that sent dust flying from the iron gate and shaking it in its fastenings. Joshua watched amazed as the whole thing slowly, almost comically fell backwards to clatter loudly against the stone floor. The large man shrugged his massive shoulders and stepped inside. The left passageway turned out to be a side chamber used to store left over building materials, some gardening supples for tending the plants in the chamber, and some safety equipment. A couple eight foot lengths of steel pipe apparently left over from the walkways some utility rope and a silver emergency blanket was all Joshua needed to make a stretcher strong enough to carry the two sick youths. He laced the rope between the two poles, securing them in place with simple knots then wrapped it in the blanket. He grabbed two more blankets and carried the whole thing to where Bill waited with Jeremy and Jason. The massive dog began wagging his tail, producing a loud thump thumping noise as it slapped against the passage's floor and echoed down it's dark depths. Joshua laid the stretcher between Jason and Jeremy and, with the help of Bill, carefully rolled Jason onto his right side, tucking rolled edge of one of the emergency blankets under him. He then rolled him on his other side unrolling the blanket under him. He wrapped the edge of the blanket over the young man and tucked it under his right side before tucking the remaining edge under his left. When he was done the young man looked like a burrito wrapped in aluminum foil with his head poking out the top. The two men carefully transferred the young man to the stretcher and repeated the process for a still babbling Jeremy.

“She said she needed to talk to me,” Jeremy muttered suddenly as he was transferred to the stretcher, “Said it was important, we needed to talk somewhere private,” the young man groaned, “She was a messenger, she said, had a message for me, she said...” the young man trailed off into incoherent babble once more.

“What was that about?” Bill asked.

“I have no idea,” Joshua said as he knuckled his back, he really was not built for all this stooping and bending, “It could be a dream I guess. Or...” Joshua ran a hand over his bald head in thought for a moment, “or our mystery attacker is a she. Someone who is surprisingly strong for her size.”

“OK,” Bill said, “No offense or anything but as scary as your wife is it couldn't be her. Her whereabouts are accounted for during both attacks.”

“None taken,” Joshua said, “But I didn't mean her, if Kelly can be stronger then she looks then any of the others can be too.”

“True,” Bill acquiesced, “But it won't do anyone any good if we stay here all day.”

“Well,” Joshua said, rubbing his head once more, “The other passage is collapsed, we can't get out that way. I guess we have no choice but to see where this way leads.”

“OK,” Bill said standing, “I will take the front. That way we can both see where we are going.”

“Good idea,” Joshua said scratching the dog behind a large ear. As he did he got a better look at its leather collar, “Well this explains a lot. It says his name is Rembrandt, and owned by a Jason Phillips. No wonder he is acting this way.”

Joshua uttered a silent prayer for their safe return as they made their way down the passageway, followed closely by Rembrandt. The passageway wound its way through the recesses of the earth and eventually began sloping upward. The two men had no way of knowing where it would lead, but both men prayed it would let out somewhere near the entrance to their home. They trudged on for what seemed like hours, their way winding ever closer to the surface. Their legs were burning, and their backs ached by the time they came to a fork in the tunnel. They carefully sat the makeshift stretcher on the ground and took a much needed rest. They shared what little remained of the water with their passengers, trickling small amounts into their mouths. Joshua's stomach chose to remind them that they had not eaten yet this day. Bill dug in his pack for the meal bars, passing one to Joshua and offering one to Rembrandt, who gulped it down hungrily before laying next to his injured master. Bill tried his luck again with the radio, and was answered once again with silence.

“So much for that,” Bill said after a few tries.

“Well, the things weren't meant to work underground,” Joshua said, “All this stone blocks the signal.”

“So why did we bring it,” Bill asked with a yawn.

“Because our wives told us to,” Joshua said answering Bills yawn with one of his own.

“So which way do we take?” Bill asked.

“The right passageway,” Joshua said with a smile.

“Yes,” Bill said with laugh, “But which one is the right passageway?”

Joshua barked a laugh, “The one that is not wrong of course. But seriously the one to the right.”

“How do you know?” Bill asked.

“Because from it a foul wind doth blow my friend,” Joshua smiled waving a hand in front of his nose.

“No crap?” Bill asked sniffing the air. There was, indeed, a faint smell of human waste in the breeze from the right hand passageway.

“That is were you are wrong, Bill,” Joshua said happily, “From the smell of things that way leads to were our toilet empties out. There may be a way into one of the surrounding tunnels from there.”

“Good lord I hope so,” Bill said with a frown, “lets just hope no one decides to flush when we are under the thing.”

“That would be a mess,” Joshua said as he took up his end of the stretcher, “But look on the bright side, we could get a signal from in there.”

“Very true,” Bill said as they started down the tunnel.

The stench grew as they made their way along the tunnel but they only stopped once when they had to replace the batteries on their forehead mounted lights. The passageway ended in a small chamber about fifty yards across who's roof vaulted high overhead and a narrow ledge skirted a deep, dark, and above all stinking pit. As they approached the ledge a gurgling noise could be heard followed by the sound of water falling and a sickening plop.

“Oh man,” Bill said wrinkling his nose in disgust, “I think we found the privy.”

“Yea, I think we should try the radio now,” Joshua said and the two men backed into the passageway before laying the stretcher down.

“Anyone there?” Bill asked into the handset.

The radio crackled to life and Sally's voice came sweet and clear, “Thank God you are alright, we have been trying to call you all day. You are alright aren't you? Did you find Jeremy and Jason?”

“Yes we are fine,” Bill said, “Jason and Jeremy are not in good shape though. Could you make sure no one flushes the toilet please?”

“OK,” Sally crackled, “Why?”

“We're right under it,” Bill said.

“Eew,” Sally said, “No problem.”

After a few moments Sally's muffled voice could be heard from far above saying, “Whatever you do, don't flush!”

“OK,” came the startled reply.

Bill and Joshua carefully carried the two young men along the ledge and into another passageway, followed reluctantly by Rembrandt who sneezed at the stench. About half an hour after they left the chamber where the toilet dropped it's foul contents, Bill spotted something shiny on the floor ahead.

“What is it?” Joshua asked as they drew near.

“Its a wrench,” Bill said setting down the stretcher and picking the tool up and handing it to Joshua.

“I have been looking for this,” Joshua said after examining it. one of my assistants must have dropped this while we were working, but how did it get down here?”

Bill, who had been examining the floor and wall, looked further along the passageway and said, “It looks like he was taking a leak.” The wall did have the dust washed away and scuff marks lead away down the tunnel.

“Has to be Greg,” Joshua said with a laugh, “he scuffs his heals when he walks.”

The tunnel intersected another not far from where they found the wrench. They both were relieved to hear the familiar sound of rushing water and the steady squeak, squeak of the wheel as it turned.

“I really need to do something about that squeak,” Joshua said as the two men headed towards home followed by their new four-legged friend.