The missing mortals, p.18
The Missing Mortals, page 18
Sebastian and Martha looked just as confused as Emma but followed along nonetheless, bypassing Alice as they skirted around her on their way to the storage room. Alice gave them a strange look but was too busy checking out another customer to stop them or question them further. Emma had no doubt that she would interrogate her husband thoroughly at the first opportunity.
Once they were all in the storage room and the door had been closed, Doug filled them in.
“I told Mr. Munsen the whole story, and he said he’d help us. He’s going to take us to the two locations on our list that are on the river today.”
“If he’s going to help us, why did he leave just now?” Martha asked.
This time, it was Sebastian who answered, “He’s going to pull off on a side road to pick us up. That way we won’t be seen leaving town by any of our classmates. Last year when Mr. Munsen helped us, we went out the store’s back door and ran down the alley to meet him. I’m guessing we’re supposed to do the same thing now.” As this last was said, Sebastian looked over at Doug for confirmation.
Doug nodded. “That’s exactly right. You two girls are supposed to ride in the truck with Mr. Munsen. Sebastian, he wants the two of us to climb into the bed of the pickup since there’s not room for all four of us in the truck. We’ll need to make sure we stay out of sight until we get out of town.”
Emma was dying to know all that had transpired between Doug and Mr. Munsen, but now was not the time to ask. If they were going to visit both locations today, there was no time to waste. Besides, if they stayed in the storage room any longer, Alice Munsen might come in and start questioning them once more. This last thought prompted Emma to say in urgent tones, “We need to get going before Mrs. Munsen comes in here and asks what we’re doing.”
“Yeah,” Sebastian and Martha agreed in unison.
Doug needed no further prompting. He was anxious to get started too, so without further comment, he went over to the door leading into the alley and opened it. After a quick peek to make sure the coast was clear, he stepped out into the alleyway and beckoned for the others to follow. As they headed to the east end of the alley, they saw Mr. Munsen pull up in his pickup truck. When they got to the truck, the girls quickly opened the passenger-side door, climbed inside, and crouched down. The boys jumped into the bed of the truck and ducked down so they couldn’t be seen.
As soon as the kids were all loaded and hidden, Mr. Munsen put the truck in gear and headed out of town toward the river access road. As he drove, he mulled over everything Doug had told him. At first, he’d had a hard time believing that someone would threaten Lord Dinswood and Doug’s dad, but if the sculptures the kids had found were really the Mortals, they would be worth a fortune in today’s market. People had been killed for a lot less.
Mr. Munsen liked Doug a lot. It was clear the boy was carrying an awful burden—a burden no one should have to carry, especially a fourteen-year-old boy. When Doug had asked for his help, he couldn’t refuse. In fact, he’d felt honored that Doug trusted him enough to ask for his help. His first impulse had been to inform the police, but when Doug had explained that the lives of his dad and Lord Dinswood were at risk, he’d had to rethink things. For now, he’d take the kids to the places along the river. Then later, he’d have time to figure out a way to nail the monster who was using kids to do his dirty work. There had to be a way to catch this guy, and he wouldn’t rest until he found it.
As soon as they were out of town, Emma and Martha got up from their crouched positions and sat on the truck’s bench seat. Curious to see how the boys were faring, they turned and looked out the back window. Doug and Sebastian were sitting comfortably in the bed of the truck, enjoying the breeze as the truck sped along the paved road they were currently on. Soon they turned off onto a gravel road and traveled a mile or so before turning left onto an intersecting road. This road paralleled the river.
The water was so clear that in most places you could see the rocky bottom. It reminded Emma of glass, and when she mentioned this, Mr. Munsen explained that that was how the river had gotten its name. Hyaline means transparent as glass. Where the water was deep, it appeared to be an emerald green. Emma could see a bridge up ahead that would take them to the river access ramp on the opposite side. The Hyaline River wasn’t large as rivers go, only approximately one hundred and fifty feet across at its widest point, but it was large enough to offer all the diversions people were fond of such as fishing and boating.
Mr. Munsen instructed them to get out of the truck before backing the boat and trailer down the boat ramp. Emma watched as Mr. Munsen carefully maneuvered the trailer into the water until the motor was in water deep enough that he could start it. Then he got out of the truck and climbed into the boat, starting the motor with one pull. Carefully, Mr. Munsen backed the boat off the trailer and brought it alongside the dock so that Doug could grab the rope he offered. Doug kept the boat from floating away while Mr. Munsen parked the truck and trailer in one of the spots in the parking lot provided for that purpose.
When Mr. Munsen returned, he was carrying two large flashlights. “You’ll need ’em for the cave. I keep ’em in the truck in case of emergencies,” he said by way of explanation.
After stowing the flashlights in the bow of the boat and climbing into the back so he could operate the motor and steer the boat, he told the boys to get in and sit on the seat toward the bow. The girls were told to sit on the seat in the middle. Mr. Munsen’s fishing boat had a flat bottom with square ends. Emma learned later from Doug that it was a johnboat. All she cared about at the time was that the boat was plenty big enough for the five of them to ride comfortably.
With apparent ease, Mr. Munsen pulled the boat away from the ramp, and in no time, they were cruising down the river at a good clip. They only had to slow down in places where the water was relatively shallow. Mr. Munsen wanted to make sure the motor’s propellers didn’t hit the rocky bottom.
Emma noticed that the water flowed faster in the shallow spots and seemed to move at a lazy pace in the deep areas. Mr. Munsen told them that the deep areas were called eddies and the shallow areas were called shoals. He also explained that normally they would have had to drag the boat over the shoals, but due to recent rains, the water level was high enough that the shoals could be motored through if one was careful.
Emma sat back and enjoyed the ride. The air felt good as it hit her face, and the scenery was amazing. Trees lined the riverbank on their right, and bluffs towered above them on the left. Every now and then Emma could see openings in the rocky bluffs and wondered briefly what mysteries those caves might possess. The caves looked impossible to get to, and Emma found herself hoping that the cave they would be searching would be easier to access.
“I’ll take you to Sylar Springs first,” Mr. Munsen shouted over the sound of the motor.
Sylar Springs was one of the places on their list. Doug had found out that it was a natural spring along the river. The water from the spring flowed into the river from an opening in the bluff just below the water line. The water was said to be clear and extremely cold. Swimmers were warned to stay out of it because the sudden drop in temperature as one went from the relatively warm river water into the water of the spring could cause muscles to cramp and eventually hypothermia. Emma was hoping that if one of the sculptures was hidden there, it would be somewhere around the spring and not in the water itself.
Suddenly, Mr. Munsen cut the motor and guided them to a spot close to the bluff.
“Here we are,” he said as he dropped the boat’s anchor into the water. “Stick your hands in the water and see how cold it is.”
Mr. Munsen chuckled at their gasps of surprise as they complied. The water was downright icy. Emma couldn’t imagine anyone swimming in water that cold.
“Doug, you said the other sculptures were marked by some kind of symbols, right?” Mr. Munsen asked.
“Yes, sir. We should look for carvings of a raven and a rose.” Then Doug went on to explain the significance of the symbols.
“Well, I’ve never noticed any carvings before, but I wasn’t really looking for any,” Mr. Munsen replied with a shrug.
The next several minutes were spent carefully examining the rocky surface of the bluff for any symbols. Climbing vines covered the rock in places so when the visible sections revealed nothing, Mr. Munsen used an oar to bring the boat closer to the bluff so that Doug and Sebastian could pull the vines aside. This wasn’t as easy as it sounded, and several times both Doug and Sebastian almost ended up in the water. While the boys worked on removing the vines, the girls examined the portions of the bluff just beneath the waterline. After nearly an hour of looking, they were forced to conclude that Darius had not chosen Sylar Springs as a resting site for one of Marnatti’s sculptures.
Seeing the look of disappointment on Doug’s face, Mr. Munsen said, “Don’t worry, Doug. I’ve got a feelin’ in my bones that you’ll find something in the cave.”
Without waiting for a reply, Mr. Munsen pulled up the anchor and, after starting the motor, headed further down river. A few minutes later, Mr. Munsen began to slow the boat again. He let the motor idle for a moment. “There’s a lot of caves along this river, but from your description, Cathedral Cave is the one ya want. It’s called Cathedral Cave because it has a rock formation that looks like a giant pipe organ. Ya know, the kind of thing you’d see in a big cathedral. There’s a larger cave further downstream that you can pull a boat into, but I’m pretty sure this is the one ya want. If ya don’t find anything here, we can try the other one if there’s time.”
That was the problem. They were running out of time. They’d already used up an hour at Sylar Springs, and it had taken them at least a half hour to get to the river and get the boat in. They had to be back in Windland to board the buses by four o’clock. This cave would probably be the only other spot they’d have time to search today. Emma prayed that this time they’d find something.
Mr. Munsen motored the boat over to the bank and onto a gravel bar a little downstream of the cave. The entrance to the cave was just a short uphill climb from their current position.
“The cave goes back quite a ways. You’ll come to a real narrow passage before ya get to the big room the cave is named for,” Mr. Munsen informed them. “There are branches off the main passage every now and then, but they don’t go very far, and they all come to a dead end. Ya shouldn’t have any trouble finding the cathedral, as folks round here call it.”
“Have a lot of people explored the cave?” Doug asked as he climbed out of the boat. He was having a hard time imagining how one of the Mortals could have remained hidden in a cave all these years, especially if that cave had seen a lot of foot traffic.
“Couldn’t really say. We used to go in it some when we was kids, but not too many young folks are into spelunking these days. All most kids wanna do nowadays is play video games—present company excepted of course,” Mr. Munsen added with a look at the four youngsters.
“They don’t let us play video games at the academy,” Sebastian pointed out with a note of pride.
Mr. Munsen looked at Sebastian through narrowed eyes for a moment. “That’s a good thing,” he said after a moment and then, on a sigh, added, “Well, I think I’ll do a little fishin’ while you guys search the cave. Just give me a whistle when you’re ready to go.” Before pulling the boat away, Mr. Munsen handed Doug and Sebastian the flashlights he’d had the foresight to bring along. They wouldn’t have been able to get very far in the cave without light.
“Thanks, Mr. Munsen,” Doug said as he accepted one of the flashlights. “We really appreciate your help.”
Frank Munsen heard the sincerity in Doug’s voice and felt a swift tide of rising emotion. Anger was among the many emotions he was experiencing. Once again, he vowed to find a way to catch the maniac that was blackmailing Doug. Doug had told him they called the guy the “Reaper.” Mr. Munsen felt that that was too grand a name for a man who was a criminal and a coward. In an effort to regain his composure, he cleared his throat and said quickly, “Remember, just whistle.”
Then he started the motor, and Doug and Sebastian pushed the boat off the gravel bar. They watched as Mr. Munsen headed the boat a little way up river before stopping and dropping anchor. He would remain there fishing until they needed him. Emma found the knowledge that Mr. Munsen was close by very comforting.
“Well, we’d better get going,” Doug said, breaking the sudden silence that had fallen. Without waiting for a reply, he set off briskly toward the cave entrance.
With a last look at Mr. Munsen, the others followed.
It was clear from Doug’s expression that he didn’t expect to find anything in the cave. Emma would have liked to reassure him, but she didn’t hold out much hope either. Too many people had been in the cave since the time of Darius and Rebecca. Anything Darius might have hidden in the cave would surely have been found a long time ago. Nevertheless, the cave was one of the places Rebecca had mentioned more than once in her journals, and it needed to be searched on the off chance that Darius had somehow managed to find a perfect hiding place for one of the sculptures. At least then they could mark it off their list.
The entrance to the cave was a large open area, but it quickly narrowed to a passage that required them to go single file. The rocky walls of the cave were uneven and pitted. Doug led the way with his flashlight, followed by Emma, then Martha, and lastly Sebastian. The cave had the smell of damp earth and was several degrees cooler than the air outside. At times, the passage opened up a bit. Emma used these sections to breathe deeply and attempt to get over the closed-in feeling she was experiencing. She knew they would soon come to a much narrower passage, and she wasn’t looking forward to it. At least they didn’t have to worry about getting lost. If they made a wrong turn, it would quickly come to a dead end, and they could just retrace their steps back to the main passage.
The cave was quiet except for the sounds of their shoes on the rocky floor. Other than the four of them, there didn’t appear to be another living thing in the cave. Emma knew that there were probably spiders, lizards, bats, and other undesirable critters in the cave hiding just outside the beam of light cast by Doug’s flashlight. She was glad she couldn’t see them because then she could pretend they weren’t scurrying about in the darkness as the four of them passed by.
“Do you think there are any bats in here?” Martha whispered.
“Probably,” Sebastian replied before Emma could say anything to reassure Martha.
“Sebastian!” Emma scolded.
“What? I’m not gonna lie to her.”
“Feel free to lie to me from now on,” Martha said as she worriedly scanned the ceiling of the cave, “but only about bats.”
Although the passage they were currently in was narrow, the ceiling was at least thirty feet above their heads. Martha could only see blackness as she looked up. Doug was keeping the beam of his flashlight trained on the cave floor in front of him so that he could see where he was going. Up until now, Sebastian had been doing the same. At Martha’s comment, he turned his flashlight upward. Much to Martha’s dismay, it revealed hundreds of bats hanging from the roof of the cave. Fortunately, Sebastian’s brief illumination hadn’t disturbed the bats.
His illumination of the ceiling had been brief, because with a speed approaching that of light, Martha had turned around and punched him. He had instinctively lifted both of his arms in self-defense and had nearly dropped his flashlight.
“Ouch!” Sebastian said, rubbing his arm.
“Are you crazy? What do you think you’re doing? Are you trying to get them all stirred up?”
“Don’t get all excited. They’re nocturnal, remember?”
“I swear if a single bat starts flapping around, I’m out of here, and I’ll spend the next eight months plotting how to get even. You got it?”
“Calm down, Martha. I promise I won’t let them get you,” Sebastian said, laughing.
“And just how do you plan to stop them?”
“If a bat comes your way, I’ll knock you down and cover you with my body.”
“That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard, and you’d better not knock me down for any reason.”
“You’re awfully hard to please,” Sebastian said, and although Emma couldn’t see it, she was certain he was grinning from ear to ear.
Martha didn’t have time to reply because Doug had come to a fork in the passage, which prompted him to ask, “Well, which way? Right or left?”
“The left passage looks bigger,” Sebastian pointed out.
“Left it is then.”
This turned out to be the correct choice because it did not immediately come to a dead end. Emma was glad. She didn’t want to have to spend any more time in the cave than necessary. They continued on until they came to another fork, but this time they took the wrong tunnel and had to retrace their steps.
“Does this passage ever end?” Martha complained when they came to yet another fork.
“We’re bound to be close,” Emma said more to convince herself than Martha.
Her words turned out to be prophetic because, a few seconds later, the passage opened up into a huge room. Doug swept his flashlight around the room, as did Sebastian. The girls simply looked on in awe. Emma had never seen anything like it.
The stalagmites on the right side of the room stood in a pool of water that shimmered each time the beam of one of the flashlights swept over it. Above each stalagmite was the icicle-shaped stalactite that had produced it. Emma knew that both types of formations were made by dripping water, and that the different colors were due to the presence of different minerals. The white ones were composed primarily of calcite; the red ones were mostly iron. The formations that Emma thought the most beautiful were a combination of both. The ceiling on the right side of the room was quite a bit lower than that on the left side, and in some places, the stalactites and stalagmites had grown together to produce columns and pillars. Most of the formations, particularly the ones made of calcite, reminded Emma of foam insulation because of their wavy appearance. However, when Emma reached out to touch one of them, there was no doubt that it was rock.
