Chapter 30—Recuperation

The team had decided to take a day of rest and meet to choose which tunnels to explore first. Nikki had suggested they get together where they'd be less likely to be seen or interrupted. This morning she was incognito in a cowgirl hat, western boots, and a chocolate-colored suede skirt. She loved practicing the art of invisibility and could walk right by people who would not recognize her.

Christina walked into the Java Café wearing her usual flowery skirt and blousy top, looked around, and walked back outside. Jake and Devin pulled up on their bikes.

"Hey!" Jake jumped off his bike and secured it to the iron fence. "Are you the first?"

"I guess so; I didn't see Nikki anywhere."

Devin parked his bike and headed to the door. "Let's go in anyway, get a table—actually two tables. We'll need room to spread out." He grabbed his map cylinder, and the three went into the restaurant.

"Hey," Nikki called from the back. "Over here."

"Huh?" Christina blinked. "You're here? I didn't see you."

"Precisely." Nikki's lips stretched into a rare, crooked smile.

Devin sat next to Nikki and shook his long hair back as he removed the maps he had drawn from memory. He lined them up and set salt and pepper shakers on the corners.

"The maps mirror the crater, see?" Devin touched a spot marked "E." "Here's where we dropped down into the base. I assigned each tunnel a number." He moved his finger from one tunnel to the other, pointing to circles with a number inside. Then he pointed to some red circles with lines drawn through them. "These symbols in red indicate dead ends, so we won't investigate those. I also rated those we want to explore on a scale of one to five." He pointed to the hand-drawn legend at the bottom of the map.

"How did you determine the rating?" Nikki asked. She was impressed, but would never say so.

"As we entered each tunnel I looked for three things. The integrity of the tunnel structure—for safety the size of the tunnel—we need to fit upright; and the temperature.

Jake's eyebrows rose. "You took the temperature of every tunnel? What did you use?"

"Temperature helps determine the length of the tunnel," Devin said. "The colder the temp, then theoretically the deeper the tunnel goes into the mountainside where the sun never shines." He flipped over one of the maps and showed them a neat summary of temperatures with measurements. "I measured each one with the laser sensor app on my cell phone."

"Cool," Jake said. "This'll save time and—"

"Time is important," Nikki interrupted. Everyone looked at her. She took a deep breath and then went on more thoughtfully. "We need to locate these crystals as soon as possible."

"Do we have a deadline?" Devin asked.

"Soon," Nikki said. "It's—" She stopped before blurting out the full moon deadline. They'd think she was a fruitcake. Nikki removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes. Why did lying have to be so complicated? And why wouldn't the angel help? Jesse had tried several times with no luck. It seemed they were on their own.

Seeing that Nikki was distracted again, Jake changed the subject. He was beginning to worry about her sudden silences. "Devin, how many tunnels do we have to investigate?"

"Seven identified," Devin said, still staring at the maps. "But remember, there could be tunnels within tunnels. Meaning once we get into one, it could split off several times, adding more footage to explore. We really have no idea how many there are."

"We'll need a good luck charm to help us choose the one to start with." Jake looked at Christina, who sat rubbing her tourmaline and staring at the maps.

Jake had great hope for Christina's intuitive connection to crystals. And Devin's incredible map brain would stop them from getting hopelessly lost. He liked this team.

"I think we should wait till we're at the base to decide," Jake said. He looked at Nikki.

"I want to go back as soon as possible," she said. "Tomorrow?" No one raised a hand.

Nikki's heart fluttered like a trapped bird. "Then what does work?"

Everyone talked at once about summer commitments. Christina had ballet, Devin was tutoring fourth graders, and Jake and his dad had hiking groups scheduled. Even Nikki was busy with a science project at the community college.

"Quiet," Nikki said. "Let's try this more civilly. How many can hike tomorrow?"

Three out of four hands popped up; everyone's but Devin's. "I'm doing math tutoring tomorrow," he said with a frown.

"What about Tuesday?" No one's hand went up.

Nikki's thumbs twiddled rapidly. "Wednesday anyone?" All hands popped up.

"Thursday?" No hands. "Friday?" No hands. Only nervous thumbs.

"Saturday?" All hands went up. "Sunday?" Hands.

"Okay," Nikki was relieved. "We hike Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. Is that right?"

"Right," everyone replied.

"Don't schedule anything on those days until we find the crystals."

Devin lifted his chin. "Say please." He hated being commanded, especially by someone younger than him.

"Huh?" The look on Nikki's face turned into a question mark. She didn't always comprehend the nuances of social behavior. To her they were a waste of time.

"Never mind that," Jake said, giving Devin a look that meant cut out the small stuff. "Wednesday we start, and then we dedicate all of Saturday and Sunday. Maybe we'll find them by Sunday." Feeling optimistic, Jake shot a sideways glance at Christina, who stared at the maps as if she were looking directly into the tunnels.

Jake had great hope for Christina. And so did Nikki, though she didn't believe in things like a sixth sense. But she hadn't believed in angels either until she'd seen one.