Chapter 43—A Night in the Cave

Devin awoke to Christina staring down at him, her eyes wide and fearful. He sat up as best he could. Then, as darkness descended, they heard a chorus of creature sounds—wolves howling, owls calling, insects buzzing—and watched bats diving at them. Terrified, Christina waved her arms around to keep them away.

"It's the blood," Devin said.

"What do you mean the blood?" she said, jumping at every night sound.

"Animals have a strong propensity for smelling blood. It's how they know a critter has died—and they come to it for nourishment."

"That's awful." She tried not to picture Devin's leg being devoured by some animal.

"Help me sit up," Devin said, and started to lift his head and chest. Christina pushed him down.

"We have to leave this spot, Christina. We're sitting ducks for some carnivore. Well, I am anyway."

She saw the primal fear in his eyes. "You're too weak. And where would we go? You shouldn't hike. And besides, it's too dark." Her eyes filled with tears.

Devin put a hand on top of hers and patted it. "Let's stay calm. There's a cave not far from here. I mapped it in my head on the way in this morning. We'll walk there together. I have the pole for one side," he said, reaching for it, "and you for the other." He gave her a meek smile, an unusual expression for Devin.

Christina looked at him with a sweet silence that melted something inside Devin. Realizing they had no choice, she stood up straight, helped Devin up, and set off with him on the hike to the cave. A reassuring pulse from the crystal under her shirt warmed her heart.

A half hour later, they limped into the hideaway, hoping they'd be safe for the night.

"Am I still bleeding?" Devin grimaced as he lowered his long body onto the hard ground. Bones of long-dead critters were scattered around. Devin needed to rest but was reluctant to fall asleep.

"Let me catch my breath and then I'll check you," Christina said. They were still breathing hard after the arduous hike—much of it uphill and in the dark. Christina had supported Devin most of the way. Spending the night inside a cave in the mountains was as far from what she had expected doing on this hike as landing on the moon. Mom must be sick with worry, she thought, as she removed her pack and took out a ground cover for them to sit on.

Christina sat and looked out the cave opening at the black sky full of tiny stars waking up. She smiled as they reminded her of the crystals and the importance of the quest. The sight boosted her courage, and she lifted Devin's injured leg to check it. The blood on some of the superficial scrapes had clotted, but a few deeper abrasions were still seeping.

"You've seeped more blood. I'll give you new dressings and we'll try to slow the flow again. You shouldn't move at all for a while and..."

"Before you do that, Christina, I want you to cover the cave opening."

"What?" she stared up at his pale, drawn face.

"We're mostly safe here, but not fully. Go outside and gather fallen branches, rocks, whatever you can find, to close off the cave opening. And please do it now, before you tend to my leg."

Christina touched her warm chest and steeled herself for another difficult task. "If you say so," she said, and pulled on her wool cap and gloves. "I guess it makes sense to keep out the lions, tigers, and bears." Then she grinned and disappeared into the darkness.

Devin lay back until his head met the cold stone wall. Then he adjusted the fleece Christina had put under his shoulders. There's no sense in worrying, he thought. At least he had Christina, a good nurse and true friend, there with him, and he smiled as he pictured her concerned looks. Closing his eyes, he began to doze off, and soon fell into a deep sleep filled with dreams of helicopters.

* * *

"What do we do now, Dad?" Jake looked like he had lost his best friend. In a way, he had. Hikers bonded tightly, especially during traumatic experiences.

Joe touched his watch and it lit up. "It's too late for more searching tonight. They could be anywhere, but my guess is they headed to one of the animal caves." He looked around as if he might find one in the dark. "If Devin was bleeding, it would be dangerous to hang out here in the open."

"But we can't just leave them, Dad," Jake blurted out, angry at his father's decision. "They don't have any food and their water's gone by now."

"I know how you feel, Son. But we can't endanger all these people by asking them to search with no visibility and with wild animals out prowling after the scent of blood." He reached toward his son, but Jake pushed him away.

He's exhausted, Joe thought. No good judgment comes from a tired hiker. "Devin's a smart hiker. My bet is he led them to the nearest cave. They'll probably stay there for the night to get some rest. We'll leave again at daybreak. We'll find them a lot faster during the day." Jake shifted his pack and nodded.

Joe looked up at the pilot of the chopper and made hand signals to indicate they were ending the search. The chopper turned into a sharp bank and headed out, the loud rotor sounds fading away. Joe called to the other men and Nikki, who had started to investigate the road to the edge of the crater.

"Everyone, come on back—we're calling it off for the night. We'll start again at five a.m. sharp."

The team made their way back to the base of the mountain in silence, all deep in thought. Joe considered how best to pass on the news to the parents, including James, who had waited so long at the base.