The nameless cave (standard:mystery, 2931 words)
Author: Lev821	Added: Nov 06 2015	Views/Reads: 4189/2075	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Is the myth of the cave, where those who enter do not come out, real?

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story


"Ok," said Dhanjay, "I'll light a fire", "I'll collect some samples
before I set up my tent" said Gregory, setting down his rucksack and 
retrieving several test-tubes. Yan and Misha did not hesitate to start 
setting up camp. Dhanjay had prepared for an occasion such as this by 
coating cotton balls and paraffin-waxed lint in vaseline and forming 
them into kindling, and with a box of dry matches, he struck one and a 
small fire created a warm glow. 

It wasn't long before the four of them were sitting around the fire,
each of them with thier own camping gas stoves, heating thier high 
energy foods, their chilli con carne with rice, and porridge with 
blueberries. 

After around five minutes, it was Dhanjay that broke the ambience. "So,"
he said to Misha and Yan. "Where did you both meet?" It was clear by 
the look on Yan's face that he didn't quite understand what he'd said. 
"Where. Did you both. Meet?" he asked again. "Fairground," put in 
Misha, "We met at fairground. He was on rollercoaster, and came off 
terrified. I gave him hug and that was that". The others smiled, and 
Yan just sipped his juice. "Terrified," said Dhanjay, "I remember being 
scared a couple of years ago when I was studying the effects of melting 
ice up in the Arctic and whether it could have been man-made. I was in 
a little world of my own, sat on the edge of a large ice floe, trying 
to type my notes on the laptop I had at the time. Primative thing 
really. Battery kept falling out, but then a shadow fell over me. I 
knew it couldn't have been the others I was there with. They were about 
three miles away. I was out there alone, so I looked around, and it was 
two, yes two, polar bears sniffing around and pacing back and forth 
knowing fully well they could eat me if they wished. I was trapped. 
Behind me was freezing water so even if I jumped in they could have 
came in after me. I froze. There was absolutely nothing I could do, and 
if there was, then I didn't know what it was. They paced around for a 
few minutes, looking at me, then one of them decided to turn and just 
slink away, and the other followed. I guessed they must have recently 
eaten or I wouldn't be here telling you. I've never fell fear like it". 


Silence descended for a few moments, then he looked at Gregory and
asked: "What about you? Have you ever been scared?" Gregory said 
nothing for a few seconds, just sipped his tea, then said: "Yes. 
Fifteen years ago in the Phillipines. I remember it clearly. I was two 
years into my job as a mental health specialist. I, and several others 
were being driven up through the Cagayan valley to a place called 
Aparri, where I was to meet with a volunteer medical team who I was to 
work with for a few months. It was a long journey on no actual proper 
roads, just tracks and pathways, but it was a well worn route, and we 
got within a few miles of where we were heading, a track cutting 
through valleys and hills when ahead of us there was a checkpoint. Not 
an official checkpoint as I later learned. It happens quite a lot. 
Members of a local milita group would have a barrier to stop vehicles 
and they would make a show of things by asking to see papers, 
passports, whatever, make us drop our guards and then rob the truck. I 
saw a mini-bus further up off the track, riddled with bullet-holes. I 
dread to think what was inside. Anyway, our driver got out and spoke to 
the leader of this group, about twelve of them, with their black berets 
on, their bullet-proof vests, and their rifles which I could tell they 
were itching to use. The exchange got heated though. The driver handed 
the leader something, probably a bribe to allow us through, but the 
leader wasn't satisfied, and they argued for several minutes, shouting, 
waving their arms around, and while this was going on, some of the 
others circled around our truck, one of them looking at me, pointing 
his gun. Even if it hadn't have been loaded, having a gun pointed at 
you is terrifying, but he just continued circling, waiting for the 
order. The driver eventually got back in the truck and the leader 
gesticualted to the soldier by the barrier who raised it and we drove 
through. For the rest of the journey, the driver, red faced with anger 
just continued to talk, or complain to his colleague in the seat beside 
him in their language. After that, it was fine". 

There was silence for a few seconds, and Yan simply said, rather
sheepishly: "There's me scared of rollercoasters,". 

Outside the cave, snow, pushed on a light breeze fell over the other
camp. The two tibetan guides kept themselves to themselves, conversing 
quietly in their language. E.J also wasn't the talking type, and spent 
most of the night on his laptop, leaving Andrew to go for a wander in 
what little daylight was left. He didn't go far, always within sight of 
the camp. He came to the crest of a small slope, looking at the vista 
before him, what he was allowed to see through the fading light and 
drifting snow. He was tempted to go further, but decided against it and 
headed back to camp. 

E.J was still outside his tent on his laptop, eating an oatmeal raisin
energy bar and tapping on the keyboard. Andrew noticed that he was 
playing a game. A game that looked like it involved bubbles. "Having 
fun?" Andrew asked. E.J looked up. "This game," he said. "It's 
addictive. I can't get past level 53". "Oh, right, well don't let me 
stop you," Andrew said, smiling and crossing back to his tent to make 
up a cup of instant vegetable soup. 

The sky gradually darkened as night-time crept slowly upon them, and
soon there were only minimal ambient sounds. Flakes of snow drifted 
lazily, unseen in the blackness, and everybody slept, cocooned in their 
sleeping bags from the icyness outside, the below zero temperatures and 
the mountains which greeted no-one, a place, much like the surface of 
planets where mankind had no environment to stake a claim, or below the 
oceans and seas, and polar ice caps where nature did not allow people 
to live. They were effectively told that they could visit, but they 
could not stay. Humans had no place there. They were tenants on the 
parts of the Earth where nature allowed them to be. 

When dawn broke, the darkness gradually faded across the Himalayas, and
birds and goats and insects were already awake and active as though 
they had not slept at all. 

Inside the cave it was still as black as pitch, and it was Yan who was
first up. There was silence from the other tents and as he waited for 
water to boil he slowly walked around the cave with his powerful torch. 
It was fairly circular but not very big. Probably around forty metres 
in circumference. The walls were wet from the snow outside soaking 
through the rocks and soil, and above, there were stalagtites of 
varying lengths. 

After a few minutes, he was sat back in front of his tent, soon to be
joined by the others. 

Andrew's watch read 07.10am. That was enough time for them to have
breakfast and get ready for 8am when the others came out of the cave 
and they could continue their expedition, although there was no real 
rush, they didn't have to set off at eight, but Andrew liked to keep 
things to a timetable. He liked order, and felt sure that by at least 
08.15, they would all be heading unto the unknown. 

At 7.30am, everybody in both camps was up and having breakfast. There
was no fire in the cave, but everyone had angled their torches inwards 
so they had plenty of light. 

"So we're expected at eight sharp," said Yan. "Yes," said Gregory, "We
need to head towards Jaonli peak, then to the east from there it's on 
into uncharted territory". "Let's leave it a few minutes after eight, 
so they may think the myth of the cave is real. 'They never emerged'. 
Let's see if one of them comes in to see where we are". Gregory drank 
the last of his juice and shook his head. "No, we stick to the 
schedule". Yan nodded reluctantly, and carried on munching his energy 
bar. "Five minutes," he added, "We all need to be ready to go". 

In the camp outside, Sonam and Kalsang were slower in gathering their
belongings together. Andrew and E.J were stood twenty metres outside of 
the cave, ready. Andrew looked at his watch: 07.59am. The guides 
trudged across to join them, and they all stood looking into the cave, 
into it's darkness, into its welcoming maw. 

Andrew's digital watch struck 08:00am. 

The group inside the cave had gathered their belongings, and were ready
to leave. With their torches still on, Gregory led the way out, along 
the tunnel. It wasn't long before the light from outside meant that 
they could switch the torches off. "So here we are then," said Dhanjay, 
"About to leave the cave where nobody has left. Maybe we are the first. 
Well maybe nobody's really known about it. We might have been the first 
ones to enter it". They all put their torches away and continued to 
trudge to the entrance, and before they left it's cover, it was Misha 
who noticed it first. So much so, she halted. 

The others emerged from the cave, noticing it also. Misha slowly joined
them, and they all stood there in the snow, outside the cave. "Where is 
everyone?" asked Misha. "Where are the others?". The others were 
nowhere to be seen. There was no disturbances in the snow, no 
footprints, no evidence of them having ever been there. 

08:02am, said Andrew's watch as he still stood outside the cave,
waiting. "Few more minutes then I'll go in" said E.J. Andrew nodded. 

A few more minutes came, and a few more minutes went, and Kalsang said,
with a fearful look at Andrew. "See, it's true". "A bit more time" said 
E.J. 

Fifteen minutes passed and the guides were muttering to each other, and
Andrew could tell they were scared. It was clear E.J had changed his 
mind about going in. He paced around, looking at his watch. "Where are 
they?" he asked Andrew as if he knew. Another five minutes passed, and 
Andrew took out his mobile phone. "Let's all use our phones to ring all 
of them," he said, and they set about doing so, but none of them could 
get through, as if the phone signal couldn't find the other phone to 
ring. "Nothing, not a thing" Andrew said, looking at the phone as if 
he'd never seen it before. The others tried and tried, but got through 
to no-one. They put the phones away. 

"They're not coming out," said Sonam, and Andrew could see the fear on
his face and he realised, he may be right, that the myth was real. E.J 
had his gloved hands on his face, looking at the cave through his 
fingers. He slowly shook his head. "Yes, they're not coming out. 
They're not coming out". The scared mutterings of the guides grew more 
frantic, and Andrew nodded. "Ok", he said "This expedition is over. 
Let's get back to base-camp". He turned and walked quickly away, 
followed by the guides, followed by E.J, and none of them looked back 
before they rounded a corner, out of sight of the nameless cave. 

Andrew, Misha, Dhanjay and Yan, slowly walked in the snow, looking at
the Himalayan mountains around them, searching for the others. They had 
tried their mobile phones and had got through to nothing. 

Everything looked the same as it did before they went in. The mountains
still looked formidable and welcoming. "I think we should head back", 
said Gregory, "Back to base camp, maybe they are there". They all 
agreed and headed away in that direction, but noticing a rocky pathway 
that wound back out of the valley, curving around a mountainside. "Was 
that there before?" said Dhanjay. "Could we have come from that way?" 
"I didn't notice it," said Gregory. "It goes the way we would have been 
going anyway. Let's try it". 

The sky was a clear blue and a few birds circled above. The temperature
was slightly higher than the previous day, and there was barely a 
breeze. No snowflakes drifted by, and there was quiet save for the 
crunching stones beneath their feet as they walked along the path, and 
before they walked out of sight of the cave, it was Misha who looked 
back at it, back at the gateway, the door, the portal to a parallel 
Earth.


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