The sun traveled its long journey west and now sat on the edge of the top of the mountains, ready to descend down behind them. It spread a pink glow across the sky to enlighten the few clouds resting high above the rounded peeks. With night approaching, they had to find cover somewhere safe. The flow of the cold river had them making their way along the banks hoping to find another clearing. Beth held tight to her jacket, pulling it close to her face while Carl led the way. With the light diminishing, they had to hurry.
“Look, there’s a clearing just ahead. Let’s look for cover,” Carl urged.
They moved to a large boulder to rest. The clearing was flat without many trees.
There they ate one of the granola bars Carl had packed away, washing it down with water from the bottles they brought with them.
Time had slipped by over the long day. There was no way to tell how long they’d been searching, traveling. They had used the sun as a guide of time. It had cooled so much, their breath was visible steam on the air. Carl nudged her along as they started out again after a short rest. Beth complained of being tired, but Carl pushed her to press on.
“We need to find shelter for the night before it gets too dark,” he told her as he hurried her along. “I remember some old caves around here. I think they are up to the left. In fact, I’m sure of it.” He took her hand. “Come on, let’s go.”
While moving along through the thick maze of trees, the hazardous bushes—some with thick thorns—he had to make sure they didn’t come across anything to hinder their progress. He needed to move many branches out from the path they were on so neither of them would take an injurious fall. The light of the day grew dim. They had to move along at a much faster pace with hope to find shelter soon.
He thought they would find one of the caves he knew of. He had visited them a few times on past trips to the park. It was one of the interesting things there. He only prayed there would be no occupants to prevent them from using the earthy shelter for the night.
After seeing that bear wandering around, he had cause to wonder if any of the caves would be unoccupied. Extreme caution remained a necessity and he knew it, but he kept that possibility to himself so as not to frighten Beth. He didn’t need for her to resist going further. There would be no way he would let them spend the night out in the open.
Searching for a cave he knew as being open to view from a distance but which now might be covered with all kinds of growth could present a problem. Yet he knew it was there, it had to be, so he worked his way in the direction to the right with his nervous wife right up close behind him. Any little sound had her clutching at the back of his jacket, her eyes darting all around in anticipation of something jumping out at them at any moment.
The glow of the sun kissed the tops of the mountains as it descended down away from view. The sky grew darker to let the sign of a few stars overhead come alive to shine over the earth. Just ahead, it looked like an opening of some kind. Carl hurried Beth along, thinking this could be what they were searching for. When they got closer, he stopped with his hand on her arm to hold her back.
“It’s a cave. Wait here while I check it out.”
“No, I’m coming with you. I’m not going to be left here alone.”
“All right, but stay behind me and don’t talk; don’t make a sound.”
The opening had vines hanging down over it, but they could see a few feet inside. They approached with caution. A branch cracked under his feet… He stood still for a moment to make sure it didn’t rouse some creature. Then he motioned for her to get down as he lowered himself to squat to his heels and reached behind to hold Beth at bay. Slowly he lowered the backpack to the ground and opened it to retrieve a flashlight. The night closed in on them—they had to get to a safe place. He aimed the beam into the large rounded arch to the cave. The opening had to be at least five feet tall, close to the same in width.
“I knew this cave had to be here. Looks like a large place inside.” The beam of light from the bright silver cylinder in his hand struck the inside of the cave. “It’s good this flashlight works. I was a little worried about it since our watches stopped. Strange. I’m going closer to take a better look.” Then he admitted, “I need to make sure there’s nothing in there.” He stood. “You stay down and don’t move from here.”
“Be careful,” she said in a soft voice. “Hurry back.”
He glanced back once as he made his way toward the darkened cave with the flashlight aiming a beam of light several feet in front of him. Crawling along his path could be anything that would jump up and bite him or plain scare the crap out of him. The weeds were high and anything might be unseen under all of them. Surely the light would scare off anything in his way…he hoped.
When he came to the opening, it suddenly looked much larger than it did from a distance. Anything could live in there, he thought as he slowly approached. He bent down a little to hold the light so it would enter the cavity. Solid rock walls went deep while the floor or base consisted of nothing but dry dirt. He swung the light around the inside walls, the base and as far back as he could see. It appeared to be empty, but there was some burnt wood on the one side close to the entrance. Someone had been there earlier, much earlier by how it looked. Next to it a hole had been dug out and filled with water. This would be a good place to stay for the night, he thought as he turned the light around to make his way back to Beth. Carl found her the way he’d left her, crouched down waiting nervously for him. He reached for her hand to help her up. “It’s okay; let’s go.”
Dark and damp, the interior of the cave enveloped them as they entered—a cold deep hole in the side of a hill—nature’s shelter. How far back it went, they didn’t know for sure. It was too dark to see even with the flashlight. Beth shivered as she walked around inside, looking at the dark grey walls.
She only circled the area close to the entrance, afraid to go deeper into what appeared to be more of the same, only with a lower ceiling. She stepped outside for a moment to gain courage. It was one of those cold fall nights when you could taste the scent of the withering leaves and smell the hint of winter. She took a deep breath then went back inside.
“Are you sure there are no creepy crawly things in here?” she asked as her eyes scanned the floor. “No slithering nasty varmints of any kind?”
“I didn’t see anything, but as soon as I can, I’ll get a fire going. That’ll keep any—what did you call them?—away. I have to get some branches, wood, so sit here.” He pointed to the place where there had been fire some time before. “I’ll be right back.” He waved a hand in a motion for her to sit and then hurried out of the cave.
She could see the light of the flashlight outside as it disappeared in the growing darkness. Her arms wrapped around her shoulders to hug herself as she once again checked the inside of the cave. It was quiet—the kind of quiet that went deep, scary—making her wonder if she could stay in this awful place all night.
Her mind searched for something to think of other than her surroundings, but the only thing that took its place was the cottage and Tabitha. What happened to the cottage? What about Tabitha? Is she all right? Where is the park, the other people who came this weekend?
A sudden noise outside caught her attention. She stood up with her back close to the wall behind her. A beam of light focused on the entrance. It must be Carl, she thought as she took a deep breath and held it. Out of habit she crossed her fingers in the hope it was him.
He came with an armload of branches. He dropped them down in front of her. “I think this will hold us for the night. I’ll get a fire started right away.”
It didn’t take much to get the fire started, only one match. Beth held both hands high above it to warm them as Carl took one of the bottles of water out of the pack. He turned the flashlight off to save the batteries but set it close at his side while the two of them huddled by the fire.
“I don’t understand why we can’t find our cottage—or any of them, for that matter—and what about our car? A whole good-sized framed structure doesn’t just disappear in thin air.” He took another swallow of water and set the bottle down. “Hand me one of those Snickers bars.”
He took the candy from her and ripped the paper off angrily, bit off a large hunk and stuffed it in his mouth. He set back on his elbows while he chewed and then took another bite and another until the bar was gone. As he crumbled the wrapper in his fist, he sat forward to throw it into the fire.
“Are you okay?” he asked as he turned to her.
“Not really. I’m cold, hungry, and scared half out of my wits. What are we going to do?”
“We are going to rest here until daylight, and then we’ll move on. I want to check for the cottage again.” He reached in the backpack for a granola bar. “Here, eat this, and drink water.”
“Huh! You think it will just show up out of nowhere?” She moved closer to the fire as she hugged her arms up around her shoulders. “Abracadabra, here I am.”
“No, I just want to make sure we didn’t miss it; that’s all. Now stop being a smart aleck and lie down. We need to get some sleep. I’ll keep an eye out for awhile so you can sleep without worry—so take it easy…relax.”
“It’s hardly time for bed. We never go to sleep any earlier than eleven. Here we are in a cold, dark cave early in the evening on a cold fall night, and you want me to go to sleep.” She held up her hands. “Oh yes, I forgot—in the middle of some forsaken wilderness forest.” Her last remark was nearly loud enough to call it shouting. Tears spilled from her eyes as she stared into the fire.
He moved closer to her so he could gently put his arm around her. “Calm down; we will be all right. I’ll make sure of it. This is some kind of time warp, some kind of time lapse, or maybe a kind of fluke to another dimension. We have both heard about—read about—these things. Maybe they really do happen.” His voice was soft, calming. He pulled her up tight to him to kiss her on the cheek. She settled against him and tried to stop shaking.
The silence of the night, only broken by the distant hooting of an owl, presented an eerie feeling that made both of them shudder. Beth laid her head on his lap and closed her eyes as she tried to shut it all out. The fire crackled and sparked as Carl put another few branches on to keep it going. Just as he put his head back on the stone wall behind him the sound of drums off in a distance penetrated the night as it joined in with the owl and the sounds outside the cave.
She looked up at him—his face looked drawn with worry. “Indians?”
“I think so,” he said in an almost whisper. “Or someone is auditioning for a western play or round-up show.”
The sound of the drums echoed through the cave, making it almost impossible to ignore. Beth sat back and stretched her arms out to the fire. “If there are really Indians, I think we may be in deep trouble if they’re not friendly.” She shook all over holding her arms once again around her. “We have to find our cottage and get inside where it’s safe.”
“Not until morning, my love. Right now, I’m going to take a look outside—stay here.” He stood up then reluctantly walked to the opening, leaving her with her legs folded sitting by the fire.
The open area over the entrance of the cave let him peer up at a star-filled sky with a half-moon shining silvery bright in the east. The pounding of the drums stopped suddenly while the night sounds continued to surround him.
Soft wind blowing through the trees made a rushing sound as it moved the almost bare branches to one side. It seemed peaceful but, at the same time, frightening. He stepped over to the side of the entrance with a need to relieve himself. Many thoughts scrambled through his mind of what to do…what to expect…how to get back. What about Beth—would she hold up? There could be miles of forest to cover before they found help. And then there were those drums. “Indians,” he whispered as he came back into the cave. “I don’t know how far back in time we are, but those drums could very well be Indians out there.”
“What will we do if it is?” she questioned.
“I don’t know.”
After he put the last of the branches on the fire, he sat next to Beth with his arm around her. They soon became very tired, laid back and fell asleep. The fire burned brightly, throwing off the heat they needed to combat the cool fall air.
Something outside, a noise, gave rise to their sudden awakening with the dawn. The fire had gone out, leaving only a few glowing embers on the ground in front of them. A stream of smoke circled above the heap of burnt wood and ashes. Slowly Carl got to his feet and motioned for her to stay down as he started forward. Taking his time, he came to the opening to listen.
He stepped on a dry twig. It cracked and frightened the deer just to the right of the cave which took off running, white tail high in the air. Carl took a deep breath and let it out. His heart still pounding fast against his chest when he returned to let Beth know what it was that awakened them with a scare. “It’s okay, just a deer. Come on, get up.” He held out his hand to help her. “I have a feeling we will be doing a lot of traveling today. At least it’s not raining.”
Beth had no choice but to go along with what he suggested. They first needed to double check once again for the cottage. Not finding it meant they would be on a hunt for help. Or better yet, a way out of this place, dimension, or whatever, and back to where they belonged: home. Beth longed for her warm condo in the city, her comfy bed, a nice hot shower, and a large cup of freshly-brewed coffee. Her shattered nerves dug deep into the gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach.
The last spark of red glow drew her to warm her hands, but the warmth from the dying fire was gone…only a small smoldering piece of wood left.
He took his gloves from his jacket pocket and handed them to her. “Here, these are much warmer than yours; put them on.” He handed her his gloves, and she took them willingly.
“Before we go back out there, I want to know, just what you think—what will you do now?” she asked him as she put the gloves on.
“I told you. We are going back to where the cottage was. I wanna check further around the area just in case we missed the spot.” He opened the backpack and took out two granola bars. “If it’s not there, we will go on from there to find someone—something…” He handed her a bar. “Here, we need to eat this for the energy. I don’t know how long this is going to take.”
“You seem awfully sure we will find someone. I hope you’re right.”
The sound of the birds outside beckoned, but so did the vast wild forest of nothing but trouble and fear waiting to grab them up and swallow them. Was it possible to find someone out there who would help them? Neither one of them could be sure. They had their doubts.