Ripples In Our Time Line

Adam was looking up, moving around trying to see where the smoke from his torch was going when he kicked something that moved easily. He stopped and brought his torch down toward the floor. A mummified body lay few inches from his foot; He had kicked the head hard enough that it had turned part way over. There was a large hole in the back of the skull.

            “Oh,” he muttered as he quickly stepped backward.

            The others stared in disbelief at the body, no one saying a word for a while. Adam recovered first, using his torch to look around the area.

            “Doesn’t seem to be another body here, the second person must have made it on ahead,” Adam said. “There’s a ledge up there, there has to be a tunnel.”

            “And why did he kill this one?” Jeff asked.

            “I don’t think anyone was murdered.” Jenneta said quickly. “If you roll the skull back you will see the hole fits that sharp rock. I think this one fell as he was climbing up a vine or was being helped up. He hit his head on the rock and it killed him instantly.”

            Adam backed off a few feet and studied the body and the ledge.

            “From where the body is laying below the ledge, it could have happened that way,” he finally said. “I don’t see any reason he would be killed, they would need each others help.”

            After searching the floor area for a few more minutes, Adam brought his torch back up high again, watching how the flames seemed to want to climb up the dark walls.

            “It’s got to be the way he went,” Adam said holding his torch as high as he could. “It’s a good eight feet to the ledge.”

            “Lift me up and I’ll take a look,” Jenneta said. “One of you cup your hands together and boost me high enough to see over the ledge, maybe I can tell if anyone has been there.”

            “Here,” Adam said as he handed his torch to Red. “Hold this.”

            Adam let Jenneta put her foot in his hands and lifted her until her head was above the ledge. She reached over and took the torch Jeff held out for her and looked into the darkness of a small hole at the back of the ledge.

            “Can you lift me higher?” she asked.

            “Can you step on my shoulders?” Adam replied.

            “Stand as still as you can,” she told Adam as she stepped up on his right shoulder. “I can pull myself on up and see how far the hole goes.”

            She pulled herself up easily and they waited as she disappeared into the hole. As the light faded the stillness of the cave seemed to creep over them as they all stood trying to hear any sounds from Jenneta. Lucky was upset Jenneta was gone, but with the boys standing with him, he didn’t whine at all. As her light started to become brighter again, he started wagging his tail. He tried to jump up on the ledge as her head appeared over the edge.