She couldn't stop herself from leaning into his arms, shaking just a little from the adrenaline surge of the altercation. He squeezed her tighter then guided her a few steps away from the others. In a quiet voice, he said, "You did good. But you didn't make a friend."
She nodded, then softly broke his embrace. "I have enough friends. But thanks, Ben."
"Anytime, Ash."
She looked away, resisting the urge to fall back into his embrace just for the momentary comfort. They just sat in silence, knees touching.
After a lengthy wait, Linda finally called, "Look, it's Major Michaelson."
Ashley glanced toward the wormhole and saw the major climbing to his feet by the entrance of the wormhole. From his dour expression, it was evident he was disappointed. "Michaelson," she said, "I thought we all agreed to congregate here for a rest break."
"I know, but I had to find out if the other team had come this way."
"If you hadn't been in such a flaming hurry to race ahead, and instead, like Ben, had searched this cavern more thoroughly, you would have found what you were looking for."
"What do you mean?" There was a hint of hope in his voice. "Did you find something?"
Ben stepped up. "Only this." He held up the dented cup. Not much of a trophy, but from Major Michaelson's response-his eyes lit up like Christmas tree bulbs, his slumped shoulders straightened-it could have been the Holy Grail.
As usual, though, he tempered his emotions. "Are you sure it's not one of ours?" he asked soberly.
Ben nodded.
"Good." He turned to settle his pack on a rock. "Then we're on the right path. After this rest break, we should push forward. It's still early."
"Whoa!" Ashley said. "It's been a long day. And with this discovery, perhaps we should start fresh in the morning."
Michaelson grimaced. "I hate to disagree. But my reconnaissance into the next cavern did reveal an obstacle we may want to cross today rather than tomorrow."
"And what's that?" Ashley asked, wondering if he was just trying to egg the team forward to keep them all racing after his brother.
"A river, about ten yards wide, fairly swift, cuts across the next cavern. We're going to have to cross it. I figured it would be better today. Get it over with. Rather than getting wet first thing tomorrow and being soaked all day."
Linda groaned, sliding past Khalid to join them. "Not today. I'd rather tackle that in the morning. Heck, we're wet all day anyway. What's a morning dip going to change?"
Khalid, of course, agreed. "It's late. I say we camp here too."
Ashley watched the lines on Michaelson's forehead deepen. Apparently the dented cup had made him even more anxious to search for his brother. She could tell he needed to push forward. "You're right. After the crossing, we can dry out our clothes overnight. Good plan, Major."
With much grumbling, they put their gear together and pulled out their skateboards. Ashley called across to Michaelson, "Is Halloway waiting down below?"
"Halloway?" Michaelson raised an eyebrow and glanced around.
Ashley's heart pounded. "I sent him down after you. I thought he was the one who sent you back up here."
Michaelson's features went cold. "I didn't see anyone."
THIRTEEN
AS ASHLEY SCOOTED THROUGH THE EXIT OF THE WORMHOLE, she pushed quickly to her feet and stepped aside to allow Villanueva room to slide out. Good. He was the last team member. The rest scanned the new chamber with their flashlights. Ben bellowed Halloway's name. She stepped up to Michaelson. "Any sign?"
The Major shook his head. "No, and with all these damned obstacles it's going to be a long search."
Ashley grimaced. Time was precious. If Halloway was injured, any delay could mean his death. She waved her flashlight ahead and groaned at what she saw. This could take hours.
Huge spherical rocks, a yellowish ocher in color, dotted the floor, some as big as elephants, others the size of cottages. Several were clustered into nests like huge fossilized eggs. Others sat by themselves, brooding solitary behemoths. The boulders towered over the team.
She shook her head. The large rocks chopped up the view of the room, making a search with flashlights difficult. An injured Halloway could be sprawled behind any of those boulders.
"We'll split up into three teams," Ashley said, struggling to be heard above the echoing babble of the river that coursed in a deep trough through the middle of the cavern. She waved ahead. "We'll have to search behind each of these boulders."
Ben dragged a fingernail across the surface of one of the rocks. "Bloody hell! They're cave pearls!" He stepped back and scratched his head. "Never seen them anywhere near this big. Usually they're no bigger than grapefruits."
"Ben, we don't have time for that," Ashley said. "There are more important concerns. We need to-"
He held up a palm. "No, this is important."
"Why?" She sighed, praying he would be brief.
"You see, cave pearls are buildups of dissolved limestone layered around a pebble or piece of sand. They only form in eddies of flowing water, suggesting, at one time, this cavern had been flooded to the roof."
"Great," she said. "So what are you saying? Do you think this cavern might flood again? Cut off our return?"
He shook his head. "No. These pearls have been dry for aeons. The waterways must have shifted."
She sighed. "Ben, I appreciate your cavern lore, but right now we need to concentrate on finding Halloway."
"I know. That's just it. Even if he was behind one of these boulders, we'd know it." Ben clicked on his flashlight and placed it on the surface of the boulder. Suddenly the boulder lit up like a huge lamp, glowing a clear yellow color. "They're translucent. Even though they look opaque, light shines through the bloody things. If Halloway's here, he's without his lights."
Ashley sighed. Any chance of quickly finding Halloway was fading fast. "So he's either hurt or purposefully hiding."
Ben nodded.
Linda, who had walked over to the boulder, suddenly exclaimed, "My god! Look in the center of the rock!"
Ben was the next to spot it. He let out a long low whistle.
Ashley peered within the stone. "That's no pebble at the center of your pearl."
Ben pressed a palm flat on the rock. "Anything can seed a cave pearl." He waved Ashley over to his side. "We need more light to be certain."
Ashley crouched next to him and clicked on her flashlight, focusing into the heart of the stone. The stone glowed now with a clear white light. Even through the distortion of the crystalline layers, there was no mistaking the object at the core. "It's a skull. A human skull."
Linda spoke from a yard away, her voice wavering. "This one has a skull too. You don't think this could be the missing team, do you?"
Ashley shook her head, removing her flashlight from the stone. "No. From the extraordinary size of these rocks, they must have started forming a million years ago. I'd say these are our cave dwellers." She stepped away from the stone. God, she'd love to spend hours just studying this discovery, but this mystery would have to wait. Damn! After three bone-cracking days, they finally find a clue about the lost civilization, but have to ignore it, at least temporarily. Halloway's safety depended on an expedient search. She raised her voice. "Everybody regroup! We need to head out."
The other team members returned from their cursory check of the neighboring pearls. Michaelson arrived first. "I think we should proceed with a systematic search of this side of the river. Halloway may be injured or have fallen down a crevice."
Ashley nodded as Khalid and Villanueva stepped up to join them.
"Maybe he already crossed the river," Linda said doubtfully, glancing toward the remaining SEAL.
Villanueva shook his head, shifting his stubby-barreled CAR-1 assault rifle from one hand to the other. "He would not have abandoned the team," he said fiercely.
Ashley turned to face the group. "Then we search here. Linda and Khalid will stay by the wormhole in case Halloway comes back while we're out. Ben and Villanueva will head north, and Michaelson and I will curve south. That should allow us to canvass the entire area."
Ben interjected, "I think I should go with you."
"No. I want one armed personnel with each search team. We'll need to leave a weapon here with Khalid too." She turned away from Ben.
Since there were no further objections, the teams set out. Ashley called as she and Michaelson headed away. "Let's be careful out there. Keep your eyes open-and I want all lights on. Now's not the time to spare batteries."
She watched as other lights blossomed in the darkness. Good. She didn't want anyone else disappearing into the dark.
Michaelson helped her hop over a wide hole, yet another obstacle. So far their progress was impeded by the need to dodge around boulders, backtrack out of dead ends, and sidetrack dangerous crevices. It was no wonder Halloway was lost.
"This would've been a hell of a lot easier," Ashley said as she edged around a crevice, "if the team had been outfitted with walkie-talkies. We could have just radioed Halloway."
Michaelson grunted. "Too much rock. Wasn't feasible."
Ashley sighed and continued in silence for several yards, then asked for the third time, "So you saw and heard nothing while you were down here?"
"Wait until we reach the river. Its roar is deafening. A herd of buffalo could have stampeded through here and I wouldn't have heard it." He sounded exasperated. "I hate these delays. We should be over that river and on our way by now. Damn that Halloway!"
Ashley jumped slightly at the vehemence of his outburst. "It's not his fault."
"What do you mean?"
"You had orders. To stay by the wormhole. You took it upon yourself to venture ahead on your own. Because of that, I had to send someone after you. Now Halloway's lost."