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Day seven started at five without breakfast. It was too early for Sadie to eat anyway, having stuffed herself last night. Everyone returned their phones and wallets while being outfitted with microphones. She’d gotten so used to the wires sticking to her body she no longer even thought about them while racing.
Truman arrived and his spirits were high, but his eyes had circles around them.
“You don’t look like you got any sleep?” Sadie whispered to him as they waited for the race to start.
“I didn’t,” he answered just as softly.
She raised her brows and mouthed, “Rhianna?”
He sleepily yawned and gestured for her to cover her microphone. She doubted they were recording yet, but did as he asked.
“I took your advice and called her,” he murmured. “We talked all night. That phone conversation was better than any date I’ve been on.”
She smiled. “She’s special.”
“That, she is,” he said, a faraway look in his eyes.
Jessie handed out a map that directed them on a short drive north to Natural Bridge Caverns. Billboards on the highway leading to the caves showed the inside was normally lit, yet they were given head lights when they arrived. Backpacks, containing breakfast, were handed to each team as they entered the dark cave. Everyone arrived about the same time since very little traffic cluttered the roads this early. The only light came from contestants’ headlamps, and most pointed down at the path. Camera operators wore them as well. A musty earthly odor filled the air. A recorded message played. She listened, knowing something in the recording would probably be questions they had to answer later.
She and Zack passed a couple of teams going slow, but Lowell and Uri sped by them like they were standing still. She’d seen pictures of caves, yet never been inside one. After a while, she stepped off the narrow path into a wide expansive area.
Zack followed her. “You okay?”
She couldn’t lift her face to his without shining her light in his eyes. “Would you mind if we took a second to look around?”
“I’d love to. I’ve never been in a cave.”
“Me either.”
Many of the camera workers were in this part of the cave using their headlights to illuminate the darkness as they filmed, making it bright enough to see everything. Sadie marveled at the massive inside extending high and wide in this section. She pointed to what appeared to be icicles hanging from the ceiling. “Have you ever seen anything like it?”
“Those must be the soda straw stalagmites the recording talked about. I can’t believe we’ve never gone spelunking.”
“Yeah. This is nature’s majesty at its finest.” She took one last glance around. “We better get back to it.”
“I’m hungry.” Zack lifted the backpack from his shoulder.
“Me too.”
They resumed their journey while eating trail mix and a peach. The path varied from narrow to vast. They trekked for hours, encountering water here and there. Some places became so narrow she could touch both sides of the cave while going through.
“Damn it.”
Sadie lifted her head to peer down the path to see who’d spoken. This part of the cave looked like a big tunnel. Lowell sat on the ground holding his ankle.
Uri hunched over him. “How bad is it?”
“Bad enough I’m on the ground!”
Uri lifted him. Lowell put his injured ankle down and hobbled forward.
When Zack and Sadie caught up to them, Uri waved. “You guys go ahead.”
“Need help?” Zack asked.
“I rolled my ankle.” Lowell staggered another step holding on to the cave wall.
Zack motioned to Uri. “Take his other side.”
The two men raised Lowell’s arms over their shoulders and wrapped their arms around his back. Sadie went ahead of them, pointing out potential problems on the path. They rounded a corner, and she saw a faint light. She quickened their pace, assuming the exit was not far. A short distance later, they stepped into the bright sunshine to find two signs. RAPPELLER pointed left to another cave and MINER to the right. Advertisement billboards on the highway for the cave had included panning for gems, fossils, and other treasures.
Uri and Zack helped Lowell onto a bench, and Uri said, “You’re the adventure seeker, you rappel.”
His quip made Sadie laugh. Lowell could barely walk, much less rappel. She bit her lip when she saw Lowell’s angry reaction.
“This is why I walked out, Uri. You never take anything seriously.”
“And you need to lighten up. To you, everything is gloom and doom.”
“Bicker later,” Sadie interrupted. “Others will catch up soon.”
“She’s right,” Uri agreed. “Will you be able to get yourself to the mining area? I can’t help you once we start our individual tasks.”
“I’ll be fine,” Lowell answered through clenched teeth.
“You want to wait for the paramedics or do you want me to wrap your ankle?” Sadie offered.
“With what?” Lowell tried to stand without help, then crumpled back to the bench.
Uri and Zack checked their backpacks but found nothing to use.
She grinned. “What about your shirt? You show your chest every chance you get.”
“He does, doesn’t he?” There was no heat in Uri’s sarcastic words. “It’s odd he’s so tight-assed, you’d think he was easygoing.”
“Is that so?” Lowell crossed his arms. “Then let us use yours.”
Uri didn’t hesitate as he tore his t-shirt down the front and off his body.
Clearly surprised, Lowell smiled. “I didn’t know you had that in you.”
“You’re frustrating as hell. Your attitude gives me un-tapped strength.”
“We want it in long strips,” Sadie instructed.
Uri lifted the shirt to his mouth and tore a piece with his teeth before ripping it the rest of the way. He handed the scrap to Sadie and started another strip.
Moments later, Lowell’s ankle wrapped and back in the shoe, the men got him to his feet as two couples came along.
Sadie reached out and squeezed Zack’s arm. “Be careful.”
~
Zack froze when Sadie touched him. He wanted to ditch the race, take her hand, and wander back inside. When they’d stopped and studied the cave earlier, her wonderment as she marveled over the inside made him want to explore it with her.
He placed his hand over hers. “You too.”
“Give me the backpack. It will be in your way as you rappel.
He handed it over, and the next instant she ran to the right.
Zack followed Uri to another cave, light still on his head. Upon entering, he realized they didn’t need the headlamps. Lights in this cave were on and bright. Signs led them to steps. He went through the motions, Sadie occupying his mind.
When he emerged from the cave, he was given a torn sheet of paper that read 29.711621. He went inside the air-conditioned gift shop/restaurant and sat with the other contestants who were waiting for their partners to finish their tasks. Everyone was looking at their papers and discussing what they meant.
“It’s a GPS coordinate,” Jude said.
Zack was thinking the same thing.
“They can be written in either DMS, DMM, or like this,” Jude waved his paper, “DD. Our partners must have the longitude degree.”
Distracted, listening to Jude and the other contestants, Zack didn’t see Sadie until she helped a limping Lowell inside. Sweaty, dirt smeared on her face and hands, she assisted Lowell to a bench.
Zack met her and held out an ice-cold water bottle.
She handed him a piece of paper and took the bottle. He pulled the paper he’d received after rappelling from his pocket and matched it to hers.
Together they read 29.711621, -98.125665.
Leaning close, she softly asked, “Do you know what it means?”
“Latitude and longitude coordinates.”
Sadie cleaned up in the gift shop restroom while Zack put the coordinates into the Audi GPS. They followed the car map until they found markers that led them to a parking lot on the Comal River. A man in a Chasing Sunsets t-shirt met Zack when he opened the car door. “I need your keys. Your vehicle will be waiting where you finish this task.”
Zack passed him the keys and hurried behind Sadie toward a female umpire and male crew member heading their way. The umpire gestured toward the river. “You’ll find an inner tube on the dock. Your derriere must be in the hole of the tube and your arms and legs outside of it as you float. You aren’t allowed to put your feet down to walk along the bottom. The stretch of river you’ll be going down doesn’t have any low spots, so your arms and legs must stay on the tube at all times until the finish line.”
He and Sadie had floated this same river a few times on their weekend trips to San Antonio.
“You’ll find food, drinks, and sunscreen in the backpacks,” The crew member led them to the dock. “We’ll remove your microphones before you start.”
Sadie unhooked her microphone and handed it over before she grabbed a backpack and rummaged through. She found a tube of sunscreen and handed it to Zack as she tugged her shirt over her head to reveal her bathing suit.
He squeezed some lotion on his hands, excited to get the opportunity to touch her bare skin. Turning her back to him, she lifted her ponytail out of his way. He relished the softness of her warm shoulders and back while quickly applying the sunscreen.
Much too soon, she hastily spun around and grabbed the tube. He whisked his shirt off and enjoyed the feel of her hands caressing his neck, arms, and back. They each lathered up their own face and legs, knowing they were likely to get a lot of sun.
They entered the water with two other couples. Some tried to use their hands and feet to move faster but found it futile. They both complained about not being able to control their speed.
The forced leisure was fine with Zack. He relaxed and kept ahold of the handle on Sadie’s inner tube to stay close to her since they wouldn’t be able to get out and steer their tubes if they were separated. They enjoyed the pears, nutritional bars and energy drinks in the backpack as they drifted.
Camera crews filmed from tubes, from the shoreline, and from walking in the water.
The competition would end in three days, and he had no idea what would happen. He liked to think they’d made progress even though they hadn’t spoken about their future. He was a hopeful kind of guy, yet didn’t want to raise his hopes too much. Sadie had been too unpredictable in recent months.
When the sun is setting, leave whatever you are doing and watch it. ~ Mehmet Murat Ildan