Chapter 38—The Trip Back

The team trudged along through the long, dark tunnel, ready to greet the light of day. It was late and weariness had crept in, even for Jake, who was used to tunnel hiking. He felt himself slowing down and worried about Devin.

Earlier, the kids had all elected where to store their newly found crystals. Nikki and Jake had pushed theirs inside their extra gloves, which they then stowed deep inside their backpacks. Devin had cocooned his inside a dry sock and stuffed the sock into the map cylinder hanging over his chest. Christina stored her crystals inside the chest pocket of a sweater made by her grandmother. They pulsed slow and steady against her heart, and she wondered if they were communicating in some way. If so, what were they saying? She thought the idea of a benevolent entity hovering over the earth was a miracle. And for her to be able to participate was too wonderful to believe.

As the team crept homeward through the musty gloom, Nikki thought about the New Zealand team and tried to envision what they might be doing right now. She couldn't wait to call Jesse and Chaz as soon as she got back. If they had found the remaining eight crystals, the activation could take place on Friday's full moon, and the quest would be complete. But as Nikki approached the giant hole, her mind was abuzz with concerns. She worried about someone falling into the pit and about Devin's injury—would he make it up the crater cliff? She worried about how late it was—they were in trouble. And she worried about where to hide her crystals at home. Every time she thought about the crystals right there in her pack—in everyone's packs—her lips started to tremble. Then she took on the frown that often inhabited her freckled face.

Nikki's daydreaming was halted by Jake's yelling. "What is it?" she asked.

"It's the hole! We're back at the hole."

"Already?" Her heart hammered against her chest.

"Look at the ledge; it's covered in ice. We'll never make it across now. Why didn't we look for another way out?"

"Maybe the crystals will help us." Christina was still behind and her voice was faint.

"I hope so," Jake said. He looked back toward Devin, still gripping a pole, and then to Christina. "They do seem to have a kind of magic."

"You're not serious." Nikki looked back at Christina with a skeptical scowl.

"Yes, I am. Very serious," Christina said. "And I think we should ask them."

Devin glared at Christina. "Did you say ask the crystals? Let me get this straight. You think this crystal," and he tapped his map cylinder, "will tell us how to get around the pit?" He pointed to the dark opening as if no one knew it was there. "How would you go about doing that, Christina? They're rocks, not people." To Devin, the world was a solid place that did not easily change.

"If you don't agree, I can appreciate that, but I want to try." Christina's confidence was buoyed by the pulsations against her heart. Then she shivered and her teeth chattered.

Everyone was shivering. After nearly eight hours inside the tunnels, the damp cold had penetrated their skin, piercing the bones beneath. Every minute they stood still, they lost body heat. Devin's limp was getting worse, and blood seeped onto his hiking pants. Standing still too long was bad for everyone, and especially for someone who was injured.

Coming to a decision, Nikki spoke up. "Go ahead and try, Christina. But do it now before we're all too frozen to move."

Christina reached into her pocket and pulled out the dimly lit crystals, which illuminated their surroundings as the light field grew. She held her crystals with both hands close to her face and gazed into their luminescence, feeling the warmth. She smiled and then blinked as a fuzzy vision appeared inside the light field. She watched herself cross the wooden bridge.

Then she snapped out of the trance. "Guys, wait!"

"What?" Jake said.

"That bridge, we can cross it."

Jake moved to the edge. Huddled together, they peered into the dark abyss. The bridge was ten feet down. Wooden slats were spaced two feet apart like railroad ties. The crossing was held in place by ropes connected to steel links sunk into the tunnel floor. A frayed rope rail ran along the bridge.

Devin read everyone's mind. "Does it look solid enough to cross?" He rubbed his leg and then looked at his hand. Seeing blood, he wiped it on his jacket.

"We have to try," Jake said, staring at Devin's leg. "Look," he said, shining his light over their original path. "Our passageway is getting icier by the minute."

Christina's crystals gave a stronger pulse. "I've got an idea," she said. "I'm the smallest so let me cross first. We shouldn't wait. We're turning into popsicles standing here."

Christina stepped closer to the edge. "Keep the lights strong. I'm going down." Driven by a force she couldn't understand, she turned around, squatted, and grabbed the rings that held the ropes.

"Wait." Jake grabbed Christina's arm. "We're tying a rope around you—in case the bridge collapses."

"Then what? How would we get out?"

"We'd have to find another way." Jake looked at Devin. "What do your maps say?"

"It's possible," Devin said, "but the other route would take more than a day. And it would take us farther away from where we came in this morning. We'd have to stay overnight, we'd run out of food and water, and our parents would freak and get the rangers to search for us."

Everyone knew that if they weren't home by nightfall, their parents would think they were lost. And they would be lost, until Devin found a way out, which could take days.