Dedication: For Destiny, because she told me to.
Make Him Proud
Andrew Hartford recognized the signs of collapse right away. The cave floor had been shaking from time to time for hours now, and every so often little showers of dirt chipped away from the ceiling onto he and his son Mack's shoulders. "We need to get out of here," he told Mack. "Turn around and start going the way we came. Be very careful, Mack. This cave is about to fall in, and if we're not quick it's going to fall on us."
Mack did exactly as his father had instructed, performing a perfect about-face and following the path that led back to camp. He walked quickly but cautiously so as not to speed up the cave's disintegration. He could hear his father's footsteps close behind him and relaxed slightly. They could take showers and eat dinner and laugh about the close call they'd had, and maybe he'd have time to send Rose a quick e-mail before bed.
"Mack, get out of here. No matter what, you have to keep going. You have to promise me that if there's not enough time for us both to get out safely then you'll keep going." Andrew's voice was frantic.
"No way, Dad," Mack said without turning to look at his father. "Look, the cave mouth is only ten yards away. We're gonna be fine. Just think-"
There was a sudden rumble from about them. The dirt showers were stronger and more frequent now, and Andrew noticed a growing crack in the roof of the cave. It split wider and wider, and then a huge stream of dirt and huge rocks fell…Mack…he was too young…
Andrew thought quickly and gave Mack a huge, powerful shove towards the cave mouth. Mack went flying and managed to turn just in time to see the boulders fall onto his father. "Dad!" Mack screamed, running back to his father's crushed body. "Dad…" Mack used his super strength to shift several hundred-pound boulders off of Andrew right as the older man's eyes slid shut for the last time.
