It's been four days since the successful search for Carl. Jason's hand is still a little stiff, but the stitches came out yesterday and it's serviceable, if ugly.
Everyone else is back to normal.
It's 6pm. Not ideal, but nobody wants to wait around and most of the group had to get home from work. The path out to the swimming hole is easy, the path to the cave a little bit harder, since John's GPS failed to record the location, instead claiming that they somehow teleported to Scotland. This time, all of the electronics work fine all the way up to the cave.
Some of you have requested this hunt. I'm fine with it. Anyone who doesn't post to this thread didn't come along. Easy enough.
Last edited by Bitom on Fri Sep 07, 2012 4:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Vincent decides that with the insanity of the other night forming some tighter bonds with his neighbors might be a good idea. If something comes for his wife he might need these guys. So Vincent sets off with the group flash light in hand and a small aluminum bat in the other. "Let's stay together this time...just in case some of these "badgers" are still out here." Vincent makes a quotation mark symbol with his hands.
Bitom I am assuming a flashlight and baseball bat is standard house hold stuff? If not let me know and I will edit my post.
"Okay" begins Murphy, trying to sort out the people at his disposal, and the roles they best might perform.
Clicking the igniter on the propane lantern, John raises the even light up to get a look at everyone's faces. He sets his large flashlight on the ground at his feet.
"My intention is not to beat the tar out of a bunch of woodland animals, but we've seen that they're not friendly. So long as nobody is a member of the Sierra Club, or GreenPeace, I think we're okay defending ourselves.
I plan to go down to the spot where we found Carl, take some pictures that are better lit, and look around on the walls for anything that seems unnatural or out of the ordinary.
Anyone care to volunteer to go all the way back down there with me?
Also, I'll need someone to stay here at the mouth of the cave, and someone to be our mid point man in the cave, in case the radios cut out."
Shrugging off his pack gently (as not to jostle his camera), John produces a set of 4 short range radios, clicks them on, selects the same channel on all of them, and blips the handle on each to make sure they're all transmitting and receiving.
"I'll go with you dad. I'd like a closer look in these tunnels anyway."
Whipping his pack around to his front, Jason paws through his gear mentally checking things off. Ibuprofen, check. Basic first aid kit, check. Water bottle, check. Snacks, check.
Seeing that everything is in order, Jason afixes a headlamp and returns his pack. Trusty stick in his right hand, that he has spent the last few days sanding and varnishing and making a grip for.
Fred volunteers to stay in the tight passage, and everyone remembers that when someone is there, the sound travels well enough that it's not necessary to have someone in the corkscrew section. With that decided, the rest of the group can all go down to the large cave.
Not idleness my friend. A drunk wracked his car around the telephone pole at the end of my driveway. They haven't fixed the pole itself yet but they redid the connections to it. My internet was getting timed out every time a breeze moved the wires...
Fred grumbles but decides to watch for more of the critters in the narrow passageway. He turns of his flashlight and goes silent. Ready with his thumb on the switch of the device should something catch his attention...
...And the stone of the earth and the wind in the sky bowed before the wisdom of the Ancient One...
"Here you go, Fred" says Murphy, handing one of the radios to Fred.
"We probably won't need these, but, y'know... better safe than sorry".
Placing the third and fourth radios near the lit propane lantern at the mouth of the cave, John says "One of you please stay up here, the other can come with us" to Tom and Vincent. Eyeing the two, John can't decide whether Vincent would risk another frightening experience in the cave, or if Tom would risk another loss of mobile device usage, and which of the pair are more likely to follow him.
Clipping a radio on his belt for himself, and nodding at his son, John takes his large flashlight in one hand, and his trench shovel in another, and starts into the cave slowly, with his backpack stuffed full of useful geegaws. His light rakes the walls and floors for signs of... something.
"C'mon if you're coming, Jay... look around, go slow, and if you see anything strange, don't keep it a secret."
Going to let the rest of the players sort out their positions. Heading down into the cave with spade and flashlight equipped... camera and metal detector (handheld) and other listed gear in pack. Note that I left the propane light (that probably casts a much more even light) up at the top, and am using a large battery powered directional flashlight for lighting while in the cave.
The small group heads down into the cave, this time with sufficient lighting. Things down here are different than last time. For one, there's no terrified small child, but for another the cave floor is clean.
Not 'It rained and water came down here' clean, either. This place is 'Someone with a bucket and a rag was down here cleaning up all the writing' clean. In fact, the bucket and rag are still here. The bucket is one John recognizes, part of a pile of beach toys that his sons are now all too old for and now resides in the unlocked shed in the back yard. The rag could be from anywhere, but Sam is pretty sure it's one of his shirts that vanished when his wife decided that the clothesline was better than the dryer a month or so ago.
