In the distance, she could see Travis making his way closer towards her. She was sure he hadn’t seen her, so she moved further towards the left, putting distance between them. To her surprise, she still hadn’t reached the sea, and it felt as if she was climbing to higher grounds. She stopped to look how far back Travis was, who could be seen carefully stepping over the larger rocks at a slower pace than she. Sally was pleased with herself being the faster person of them. She stopped for a bit, trying to get her bearings right, and see exactly where she was heading. She needed somewhere to hide.
She was now walking over loose gravel, when she came to a ledge with a thirty foot drop down to where large boulders were, with the sea gushing in around them. She had come to the end of the small island. The only way she could hide from Travis was if she made her way down to where the large stones were. She carefully walked near the edge, checking for a way down. She wanted to make it as difficult as she could for Travis and the others. Sally wasn’t about to give up that easily. Finally, she noticed small ledges protruding out from the small cliff. Lowering herself onto the first ledge, she began to make her way down, foot by foot until it was safe for her to jump the remaining few feet. As soon as she landed, she could hear movement from above and loose gravel falling around her. Travis had just missed her and was scanning below trying to spot any sign of her. She moved to her left with her back pressed against the cliff wall, cautious not to be seen from above. Step by step Sally moved silently as a cat, careful not to disturb any loose rocks underfoot. She felt her way with her hands, feeling the wall inch by inch, when her hand entered an empty space. She stopped and bent down to find a small opening in the cliff wall. It was large enough for her to crawl into and hide. She entered a small cave and waited for a few minutes. Suddenly she heard sounds coming from above her. It was Travis, had he seen her enter the small cave?
“Sally! Come on, where are you? There’s nowhere to go, give in will you!”
Sally held her breath, not daring to breathe. She then realized she was in danger of being trapped inside the cave if the tide suddenly came in. Travis moved further on, shouting out her name until he finally took off further along the ledge. Sally moved deeper inside the cave, letting her eyes adjust to the dark. She reached out with her arms and could no longer feel the rocky walls. As she crawled further inside, she couldn’t feel the rocky ceiling either, meaning the cave was larger than she expected. How she wished she had a flashlight with her. Then she suddenly remembered her lighter. It was in her jeans pocket. She took it out from her rear pocket, flipped it open and with the first strike it lit up.
“I thank the person who invented the Zippo,” she said with a smile.
Holding the lighter up in front of her, she could easily make out the walls surrounding her. Something seemed surprisingly odd to her, as the room she was standing in was squarish in shape.
“This cave is man made!” Said Sally to herself.
Had she found some hidden hideaway? Carefully checking each wall, she saw chisel marks proving her right that it was carved out by tools. The room was not very large, just measuring six feet by six feet with a headroom of about seven feet. The floor was covered with sand washed in by the sea. This place would be entirely submerged when the tide came in. Sally knelt down on her hands and knees to brush the sand away from beneath her. To her amazement the floor was as smooth as marble. Was it actually marble or brushed smooth to the touch by the sand and waves? She was sure to come back and check it out if she survives this ordeal.
Moving further inside with the flame in front of her, she saw another carved out hole in the wall. Praying for her lighter to keep alight, she knelt in front of the gap to see if it was just an odd hole. As she placed her hand inside she felt the sand beneath her sinking under her own weight. The hole was actually bigger than it seemed, and large enough for her to enter. She scooped the sand away until she was able to enter with ease. Holding the lighter in one hand and crawling as low as she could, Sally entered yet another room, but much narrower, more like a corridor. The flames from the zippo flickered as she walked deeper into the bedrock. She felt both sides of the walls, which were rough to the touch, but still carved out by man. After ten yards, she noticed a slight incline with each step she took, just like walking up a small hill. The air inside also seemed much cooler and had a salty taste to it. Sally stopped to think. Should she go back the way she came and wait to be caught, or take her chances and continue into the unknown. Being an adventurous person, she decided to continue forward, with her lighter held out in front of her. The flames started to dance as a light breeze was felt. Moving even slower than before, not wanting to fall into a crevice or suddenly finding herself at a cliffs edge, she knew the breeze meant another opening up ahead. Squinting her eyes, she could make out a small archway three feet in height, leading to a tunnel entrance. Plucking up courage, she crawled through it inch by inch for about five minutes, when suddenly she came out into a vast circular cave having a dome type ceiling. The place was incredible. Over fifty feet in diameter, and reaching thirty feet in height. The walls and ceiling seemed to shine, letting off enough light to see to the other side. Sally stepped out, walking towards the center of the cave, when she nearly lost her footing with the next step. In the middle of the cave was a deep pool of water about ten feet in diameter. She held the lighter above her head. The water level was rising and falling from the movement of the waves, meaning the pool had access to the outside. Sally thought this could be her escape passage from Travis and the others, but it was dark and dangerous to enter the pitch black water. She had no idea how far underwater she would have to swim before resurfacing. Sally preferred to be captured again, then risk drowning in some dark underwater cave.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
The helicopter search lights were directed by the pilot as they flew above the waves in search of the boat. The chopper zigzagged, covering more area with precision. Danny covered the right side wearing night vision goggles while Jason scanned the left seeing into the night as if it were day.
They were now half an hour out to sea, and still saw no sign of a boat. The waves had died down, giving relief to Jason, fearing the boat might have capsized.
Another half hour passed and still no luck. Jason was under immense stress, and things got worse when the pilot announced their fuel was past the half way mark, and had to turn back.
Jason exploded. “I don’t care if you have to fly on fumes! Just keep going until we see that damn boat!”
The pilot thought otherwise. “I’m sorry sir! But we have to turn back, or we’ll end up in the ocean!”
With lighting speed, Jason was at the pilot’s throat. “You keep going or it’s you who’s going to end up in the ocean!”
Danny intervened, placing his hand on Jason’s shoulder in an attempt to calm him down.
“Jason! It’s alright. We’re gonna find her I swear!”
Not more than five minutes had passed when they saw some small islands up ahead in the distance. The pilot again announced their fuel was way passed the safety mark.
Danny said, “Jason we have to turn around!”
“There! I see a light up ahead!” Shouted out Jason.
Danny and the pilot could see nothing.
The pilot said, “I can’t see anything, I believe you’re mistaken!”
Jason again went for the pilot who was about to turn the helicopter around.
“Fly lower god damn it! Take us as low as you can!” Instructed Jason.