Chapter 7: Tragedy in the Caverns
The deafening sound of the gunshot resounded through the caverns, its echo reverberating throughout the underground cave system. Within the storage chamber, the older of the two men stared incredulously at his companion.
"What the hell are you doing, Mark!" he berated his younger brother, so startled by the unexpected shot, he'd nearly dropped the Anasazi pot he was holding.
"Did you see him? Did you see him?" Mark cried. Wide eyed and highly agitated, he shook violently as he pointed his gun, his head whipping back and forth in a panic between his brother, Brandon, and where he had fired his weapon.
"See who?" Brandon asked. Immediately on the alert, he drew his own handgun and went over to Mark. Staring into the darkness, he could see nothing. "I don't see anyone."
"He was right there!" Mark excitedly replied, waving the gun erratically as he indicated the opening.
"Who was right there?" Brandon demanded.
"Some Indian guy with long hair! I shot him! I think he was one of the Anasazi! I think." Mark cried, then rubbed his face with his free hand. "Aw geez. Aw geez. They're gonna be pissed off with us now!"
Cautiously moving to the opening, Brandon switched on his headlamp and looked around. "Yeah, well there's no one there now. Jesus, Mark. Get your shit together! You're getting more freaked out each time we come here. And put that gun away before it goes off again and the bullets ricochet off these rocks and hit one of us!"
"But I shot him! Dead center! I killed him! I know I did! He's gotta be laying out there!" Mark insisted.
"There's nobody there, Mark!" Brandon stated. "Think about it! You can't shoot a ghost. They're already dead, you idiot. Now calm down. We got work to do. The sooner we finish, the sooner we get out of here tonight. Now come on, let's do this."
Shaking his head as Mark sat on the floor and took a long pull from a flask he kept in his pocket, Brandon took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes to settle his own nerves. Picking up the box of artifacts his brother dropped when he saw whatever it was he saw, Brandon began unwrapping each item to make sure nothing had been damaged when the box hit the stone floor. This incident had put them behind schedule, and all he wanted was to get this shipment loaded up, and get home. Something didn't feel right in the caverns tonight, and he didn't like it.
Sitting on either side of Wolf, Alice and Cora listened to the stillness of the main cavern, each a bundle of nerves as they waited for Uncas to return to them. Seated on Wolf's left side, Cora held the flashlight with both hands, ready to turn it on if someone entered their chamber unannounced. Likewise Alice was also alert and ready, with a firm hold on her handgun and with the rifle by her side. As she waited, she was glad she had let Uncas talk her into getting the weapon and her permit, and was grateful for all the shooting lessons he'd given her. She hoped she wouldn't have to use the gun. But if she did she would be ready, and she didn't plan to miss.
Suddenly, the sound of a gunshot shattered the silence within the caverns, causing both Alice and Cora to jump. At that same moment, Wolf let out a soft grunt, further startling the women. Muting the flashlight beam, Cora shined the light on her husband, while a terrified Alice looked through the darkness to the chamber opening.
"Uncas?" a trembling Alice softly cried. "Oh god, Cora, he's been shot. Those men shot him!"
"I didn't hear him cry out." an anxious Cora tried to reason. "He would have cried out if they had."
"But Wolf did. That's why he groaned right when we heard the shot. Because he felt Uncas' pain!" Alice argued back. "We just didn't hear Uncas because he's too far away."
"They don't just share pain at the same time, Alice. They share injuries too. And Wolf hasn't been shot." Cora reminded her. "If anything had happened to Uncas, something similar would have happened to Wolf, and nothing has."
"I don't know. I don't know." Alice tearfully mumbled.
"Alice. We can't fall apart. Not now. We have to remain calm. If something has happened, we're all that Uncas and Wolf have." Cora pleaded, trying to fight back her own growing fear.
Just then, Wolf groaned again and began moving his head from side to side. Muting the flashlight beam with her fingers since Uncas had taken the bandana, Cora shined the light on her husband. Gently slapping his face, she tried to bring him around. Trying her best to stay focused on the opening to their chamber, Alice could not help but steal glances at Wolf to see how he was doing.
"Wolf! Wake up! Wake up baby, please." Cora whispered into Wolf's ear as she continued to slap his face and shake his shoulder.
"Wolf please, wake up!" Alice also whispered.
After a minute or two of drifting in and out, Wolf finally opened his eyes, focusing his blurry vision on his wife's face. "Cora?" he mumbled weakly, blinking against the trickle of light coming from the flashlight. "Wha happen….why am I on the groun….?"
Before he could finish his question, Wolf's words were cut off when Cora clamped her free hand over his mouth, simultaneously shutting off the flashlight as Alice raised her handgun. From within the cavern, the voice of one of the two men could be heard speaking to the other, growing louder the nearer they came. As the man said something about securing the load, then coming back down to close up shop before heading home, his voice grew fainter, indicating he and the other man were heading up the stairs to leave the caverns. When she could no longer hear their voices, Cora removed her hand from Wolf's mouth and turned the flashlight back on.
"It's alright, baby. You're going to be ok. Just relax, everything's fine." Cora assured a confused Wolf, while gently caressing his cheek.
Still shaking off the effects of the tranquilizer, Wolf struggled to sit up, his efforts made all the more difficult by Cora trying to push him back down. Still somewhat groggy and unclear about what was going on, he was surprised to see Alice. Once again, he asked what had happened. While Alice kept watch, Cora briefly filled him in on how the men had drugged their water bottles with the intention of killing them, and how Uncas and Alice found them in the cavern after discovering they were missing. Alice then told Wolf that Uncas had followed the men to another area in the caverns to get evidence of what they were doing, and that a shot had been fired.
"I've got to go find him." Wolf said as he struggled to a sitting position. Supporting himself with one arm, he had just started to turn with the intention of getting onto his knees, when suddenly his arm gave out from under him and he fell onto his back, his head landing on the blanket pillow. "Shit." he cursed under his breath.
"Wolf don't. You're still too weak." Cora cautioned, placing her hands on his shoulders to prevent him from trying to rise again. "You need to rest."
"Apparently that's what I've been doing most of the night!" he muttered with grim sarcasm, giving in to the fact that he was indeed too weak to get up. "Look, I'm ok. I just need a few more minutes to shake this off." Desperate to know his brother was alright, Wolf telepathically 'called out' to Uncas. Fox! Fox, can you hear me? What's going on out there?
Hey sleeping beauty! It's about time you woke up! Uncas replied.
Are you alright? The girls said they heard a gunshot. Wolf asked, still lying on the floor.
I'm fine. How are you doing?
I'm ok. Still a little groggy. "I just talked to Fox. He's ok." Wolf informed Alice and Cora, who each sighed deeply in relief. Wolf then resumed his conversation with Uncas. What's happening? And where are you?
I'm on the other side of the main cavern. Uncas replied. Those two guys with the black pickup are using a big chamber over here as a storage room. I'm in a tiny one next to it. I was right. They're digging up artifacts from the ruins and storing them down here until they arrange a sale. They got loads of stuff here, and some of it's not that old. I'll bet they're stealing pots and jewelry from other places as well."
What was the shooting about? Wolf asked.
One of the guys thought he saw somebody standing just outside the storage room and he took a shot at him. He said it looked like an Anasazi ghost. He's pretty shook up. The other guy had a hard time calming him down.
I'm coming over there. How do I find you?
You don't! Uncas firmly insisted. Those guys are gonna come back any time now to turn the lights off and close this place up for the night. If they see you out there, we're all dead. Stay there with the girls. The only opening into this little room I'm in is through a crack in the wall in the storage room. I don't want to risk getting caught sneaking out of here, so I'll wait until those guys are finally gone. Then I'll come back to where you are.
After receiving a promise from Wolf that he would remain with their wives, Uncas spotted a deep recess in the corner to the right of the fissure. As he moved over to the recess intending to hide in it, he felt a draft coming from somewhere up above. Not knowing how much time he had before the men returned, Uncas wasted no time in searching for the source of the draft, thinking it might be another way out. At the same time, Wolf decided he felt steady enough to make a second attempt at getting up. Moving in stages, Wolf began by slowly sitting up, then waited a few moments to see how he felt before attempting to stand. Uncas, meanwhile, shined his flashlight beam up the wall where he felt the draft coming from. Spotting an opening about twenty feet up, he thought it might lead to another chamber. Because no water had ever leached in, the surface of the wall was rough and irregular, providing plenty of foot and handholds, which Uncas decided use to climb up to the opening.
Back in the other chamber, Wolf rose to his feet and stood for a moment to ensure he had his balance before taking a step. Feeling confident, he took his handgun back from Cora and walked over to the chamber's opening. Looking out into the darkness, he could just make out a faint glow of light coming from the storage room across the cavern. Suddenly, the sound of voices could be heard, and two beams of light bounced on the wall just inside the room with the staircase. With the two men returning, Wolf quickly moved back inside before they could see him, just as Cora turned off the flashlight and plunged them all into darkness. Miscalculating where the sisters were sitting, he tripped over Alice's leg, turning his ankle as he went down.
In the process of climbing up to the opening, Uncas put all of his weight on one ankle and placed his other foot on a piece of rock jutting out of the wall. As he reached his hand up to pull himself up further, a sharp pain shot through the ankle he had his weight on, and he fell to the floor just as the two men approached the storage room. Biting his lip against the pain, he used his hands and good leg to scurry on his backside into the recess in the corner just as the men entered the next room. Fortunately, any sound that he and Wolf made when they fell went unnoticed by the men.
Damn it Wolf! What the hell did you do? Uncas 'called out' as he held the ankle he also turned when he hit the ground.
Sorry, Fox. Wolf guiltily apologized. I was standing just outside the opening to our hiding place when I heard those men returning. I jumped back inside and fell over Alice in the dark. Are you ok?
Yeah, I'm fine. But you won't be when I get my hands on you. Uncas silently replied. I just fell on my ass over here. Good thing they didn't hear me. Let me know when they leave and it's safe to come out.
Will do. Wolf silently replied
"I swear you two are going to be the death of me and Cora." Alice chided Wolf after he gave an update on Uncas.
As soon as Uncas informed him the men had turned off the lanterns and had left the storage room, Wolf positioned himself next to his chamber's opening to discreetly watch for them. When he could no longer see any light from the men's headlamps coming from the room with the staircase, he quietly slipped out into the main cavern to listen for sounds from above ground. Hearing the sound of a truck starting up and driving away, he 'called out' to Uncas.
Ok, they're gone. The coast is clear!
Having also been told the men had left, Alice and Cora joined Wolf just inside the main chamber to wait for Uncas. Watching the beam of his brother's flashlight weaving around the various rock formations and stalagmites, Wolf decided have Uncas show him the storage room. Taking the time to do so would ensure it was safe to leave the caverns and return home. Informing the women to wait near their hiding place until he and Uncas returned to them, Wolf headed over to his brother. Following the illuminated trail Uncas made for him with the flashlight, he joined his twin.
Standing near the room with the staircase, Alice and Cora shot horrified looks to each other when they suddenly heard heavy footsteps coming down the stairs, and the voices of the two men who had left in the truck. Unable to shout an alert to Uncas and Wolf without giving them all away, the sisters darted back inside their hiding place, hoping their husbands would hear the men in time to take cover as the beams of two headlamps began to shine into the main chamber from the staircase room.
"…believe we had to turn around and come back because you forgot to pack that fucking bowl! That's one of the main pieces of this shipment! All because you thought you saw a ghost." Brandon complained.
"Hey! At least I remembered before we got too far. And I did see a ghost." Mark said in defense.
Standing in an open area in the middle of the main cavern, Uncas and Wolf didn't hear the two men until they were just about to enter the area. Scrambling for cover, they had just started to run toward a large rock formation across the cavern as the beam from a high powered flashlight illuminated them.
"Get those two bastards!" Brandon shouted, as he and Mark opened fire on the twins.
Weaving their way through the stalagmites and other formations in the cavern, Uncas and Wolf did their best to run in a zig zag pattern while bullets ricocheted off the rocks around them.
From just inside their hiding place, Cora and Alice stood paralyzed with fear as they watched their husbands ducking and weaving through a hail of bullets as they ran to find cover. Just as Uncas and Wolf reached the rock formation, the women gasped in fright as the twins cried out in pain and started to fall before disappearing from sight behind the rock.
An eerie silence then fell over the cavern as the gunmen ceased fire. While Brandon remained behind to cover his brother, Mark went over to the formation the twins had disappeared behind. Standing on the front side of the large formation, he held his gun ready and ran around to the back side of it.
As they watched the man, who was now only visible from the shoulders up, Alice and Cora saw him staring down at the floor. Suddenly, he fired several more rounds, and the sisters each stifled a scream as they watched his body move as though he were kicking or pushing something several times with his foot. He then turned back and faced the other man.
"They're dead!" he announced.