Chapter 8
Eight
In and out, no injuries.
They’d done it before. They could do it again.
Noah slipped on his headlamp and pulled on his gloves. He stood at the mouth of the cave, its narrow crevice cutting into the canyon’s red rock wall.
The storm had stopped, the rain finally letting up. For now.
But the mud-slicked trails would make climbing back out of the canyon difficult. If they took the path Liam had mentioned that led west to avoid crossing the wash a second time, it should go more smoothly.
He glanced at Meg, his gaze drawn to her automatically.
She sat on a rock, body hunched, her medic bag still strapped to her back. Her face had gone pale, her blue eyes too wide as she stared at the cave’s dark entrance.
Her breathing had quickened and become shallow. He could see it in the rise and fall of her shoulders. In the way her fingers gripped the straps of her bag like they were the only things keeping her grounded.
Everything in him wanted to step closer. To ease the worry that pinched her brow.
But he held his ground.
He waited.
Liam’s words echoed in his mind. Trust Meg…She knows her own mind. And she’s a good medic—a great medic.
Meg slid off her pack with shaking hands. She stared at the cave entrance for a long moment, her chest rising and falling with deliberate breaths—the kind you took when you were trying to stave off panic.
“I just can’t.” Her voice came out tight. Barely above a whisper. She met Noah’s gaze.
He saw it all there. The shame burning in her cheeks. The fear darkening her eyes. The crushing weight of failure she was placing on herself.
“I’m sorry. I thought I could, but I can’t go back in there.”
Relief flooded through Noah so quickly it nearly knocked the breath from his lungs. He stepped toward her, closing the distance between them. “Don’t apologize. You’re making the right call.”
“But if someone’s hurt—”
“There are no reported injuries. Probably just more kids looking around for the gold.” He kept his voice firm. “If someone is injured, we can call you in. But, Meg—” He waited until she looked up at him. “You staying out here is the smart decision. Not the coward’s way out. The smart decision.”
Some of the tension eased from her posture. She nodded, swallowed hard.
Liam stepped up beside them. His expression was understanding. “I’ll stay out here with Meg, keep the radio clear in case you need to relay anything to Eden.”
Teague pulled the transverter from his pack and handed it to Liam. “In case you can’t reach us on VHF frequency.”
Noah nodded. “Good thinking.” Where was his head? With Meg, that’s where.
Noah met Liam’s eyes and held the gaze, grateful that he’d be with her. Then he turned back to Meg and lowered his voice. “You’ve got this.”
She managed a small nod. Her grip on her bag loosened slightly.
Noah adjusted his headlamp and clicked through the brightness settings. Its beam cut through the dampness that seeped from the cave entrance. He turned to Teague, who stood waiting near the mouth of the cave.
“All right. Teague, take point. I’ll follow. Hopefully they’re not far in. Once we get them out, we’ll rope off the area with anchors this time.”
They hadn’t brought anything permanent to seal the cave properly—no concrete, no steel gates. A roped-off area and a sign warning of large fines would have to do for now. It wasn’t perfect. But hopefully enough of a deterrent until they could get approval for more.
Teague stepped into the darkness first. His headlamp beam was swallowed by the narrow crevice.
Noah followed, taking a breath of outside air before entering. The temperature dropped immediately. The cave’s cool air enveloped him, pressing against his exposed skin. Behind him, daylight faded to a dim glow. Then it disappeared entirely as the passage curved.
The rocky floor crunched under their boots. Water dripped somewhere ahead. The sound echoed off unseen walls.
Noah kept his breathing steady. His focus sharp.
The passage was tight here. It forced them to move single file, Teague’s back just ahead. Their shoulders occasionally brushed the wet stone walls.
“Watch your head,” Teague called back. He ducked under a low-hanging section of rock.
Noah followed suit and bent at the waist. The beam of his headlamp caught the glisten of moisture on the limestone. Rain ran down the new cracks left by the quake and spiderwebbed across stone.
The air grew thicker as they made their way in. Heavy with the mineral smell of ancient stone. After several minutes of careful navigation—slow going, testing each foothold—the passage opened into the main cavern.
Noah’s headlamp swept the space. Its beam caught jagged rock walls and dark openings that led deeper into the cave system.
In the center, the natural spring still bubbled. Its surface rippled and spilled over, more active than before. No doubt swollen by the rain.
Noah scanned the cavern carefully, and methodically checked each section. No falling rocks. No crumbling walls. No fresh debris. The structure held firm.
He’d take the win for what it was.
His beam passed over the left side of the cavern. The spot where Lydia had died. Dark stains still marked the rocks.
He forced himself to look away and focused on the task at hand.
Teague moved carefully around the spring, his flashlight sweeping the chamber in wide arcs. He crouched near the far wall where his beam illuminated a pile of packs scattered among the rocks.
“Found some of their stuff.” Teague’s voice echoed slightly. “Packs, some wrappers, empty water bottles.”
Noah crossed the uneven floor and joined him. He picked up one of the packs and tested the weight. Cheap nylon, already fraying at the seams.
“Doesn’t look like they’re serious cavers. Probably people who wandered in off the trail looking for adventure. They’re likely not much deeper.”
Teague nodded and straightened. Then he gestured toward a tunnel branching off the main cavern. “That way?”
“Let’s try it.”
The tunnel entrance was narrow but passable, if they hunched, the walls wet in places where rain had found a path. The sound of the spring faded behind them as they moved forward. The floor sloped downward at a steep angle, forcing Noah to duck to avoid scraping his head on the low ceiling.
His thoughts drifted to Meg despite his attempts to focus.
She was outside with Liam. She was safe. That’s what mattered.
And she’d made the call herself. Not because he’d ordered her to, but because she’d known her limits. And knowing your limits and admitting to them took courage.
After a few minutes of descent—the tunnel getting tighter—the passage opened into another cavern.
It was smaller than the first but still vast. Its ceiling was dotted with new fissures from the earthquake.
A sizable waterfall—probably more rain runoff—roared from the left wall.
The water pooled in shallow depressions before disappearing between cracks in the floor.
Noah’s headlamp swept the space. He searched for movement, for light.
He was about to suggest they try another passage when the flicker of a light bounced off a wall in one of the side tunnels.
There.
Noah stepped toward the small opening. He raised his voice to carry over the sound of the waterfall. “Park rangers! This area’s off-limits. You need to come with us, now.”
No response. Only the sound of running water to their left.
Then more light beams angled around just before raised voices that seemed to be arguing with each other.
Finally, five wide-eyed faces emerged from the tunnel, blinking in the bright LED beams. They were young. Probably barely out of their teens. Their clothes were streaked with mud and dust.
One of them—a lanky kid in a baseball cap worn backward—stepped forward, his hands raised. “We didn’t know it was restricted! Some guy at the trailhead said there’s gold in here. We were just looking.”
Noah’s jaw tightened. “Doesn’t matter what he said. This cave’s dangerous and off-limits. How many are there of you?”
“Just us five.” One of the guys spoke up, then turned to the others. “I told you this was a bad idea.”
“Bad idea is right.” Noah motioned to a water bottle on the floor. “Pack up your gear. We’re leaving. Now.”
The kids exchanged glances but moved quickly. They gathered their things under Noah’s firm gaze.
He counted them as they lined up. One, two, three, four, five. All accounted for.
“Stay together,” Noah ordered. “We’re heading out the way we came in. Teague, take the lead.”
The group shuffled forward, single file. Their flashlights cast uneven beams as they followed Teague back through the tunnel.
Noah brought up the rear. His eyes swept over each kid, checking faces. He made sure no one lagged behind or tried to slip away.
The waterfall’s roar faded as they climbed back toward the main cavern. Their boots splashed through the spring’s overflow. The kids muttered among themselves about the guy who’d told them about the gold.
Noah tuned it out. He focused on getting everyone out safely as he counted heads.
The main cavern opened around them again. The spring glinted under their lights. As they crossed the chamber and navigated around the spring’s edge, Noah looked at the far side of the water. He scanned the area once more for the chest Meg thought she saw.
Still nothing. Just rock and shadow.
Noah breathed easier as they emerged into the gray afternoon light.
The storm was picking back up. Light rain started to fall again.
Liam’s radio crackled as he spoke to Eden.
Meg stood from the rock. She seemed to be scanning him for injuries.
He stepped toward her. “We’re all good.”
Relief washed over her face just before she sat back down. Her legs gave out.
He turned to the group, rain beginning to dot his jacket. “All right. You’re out, and not too soon with the way this storm’s picking back up. What path did you come in on?”
The kids pointed toward the trail that had been washed out.
Of course they did.
“That’s no good.” Noah shook his head. “We’ll lead you out on the western trail—”