You could straggle a little Gabe muttered The beam of the flashlight lit the uneven cave floor ahead but it was growing dimmer So far Tyler hadn’t noticed but Gabe could see the darkness gobbling up more and more of their small light Gabe cleared his throat Do you have any batteries in your backpack No I have a water bottle two comic books five granola bars and an umbrella Gabe stopped in his tracks and turned to look at his friend An umbrella We’re in a cave I always carry an umbrella Tyler said Remember when we were almost eaten by a bear We were saved by an umbrella I don’t leave the van without one I really don’t think we’re going to be attacked by a bear in here Hey something was growling Tyler said 6
his gaze darting toward the darkness around them It felt like hours since they heard the last growl That growl had sent Tyler running away from the group Gabe ran after him but when Tyler was scared he was fast Gabe didn’t catch up to him until Tyler tripped over a rock The fall broke his flashlight Now they had one flashlight and a whole lot of empty cave passages between them and their friends On top of that they couldn’t find the broken flashlight Gabe wished they’d looked harder They could have used the batteries He knew his brother Ben and their friend Sean must be looking for them but the cave was a maze That’s why Ben had insisted they stick together in the first place With a sigh Gabe admitted The flashlight is getting dimmer My batteries are running down You mean we’re going to be in the dark 7
Tyler’s eyes widened and he began yelling Help Someone help His screams echoed off the walls of the cave Gabe put his hand over Tyler’s mouth We already tried yelling I’m turning off the light Gabe said I don’t think we’re getting anywhere If we were going in the right direction we would have come to the entrance by now Both boys fell silent for a moment In the total stillness they heard a scuffling sound Tyler’s face lit up They found us Hey we’re over here Something about the odd rustling made the hair on the back of Gabe’s neck stand up He caught Tyler’s arm Hold on he whispered I don’t think that’s Ben Of course it is Tyler said pulling away Ben Sean Listen Gabe hissed Tyler fell silent They heard odd breathy 8
snorts That isn’t Ben Gabe whispered He pulled Tyler backward away from the sounds A low deep growl replaced the snorts Behind them the snorting and growls grew louder The boys ran then as fast as they dared to in the shadowy cave Then Gabe saw that the ground ahead of them looked dark too dark Wait he said pulling Tyler who would have run ahead I think that’s a hole They crept close It was a deep chasm that stretched across the whole passage There was no way around it Maybe we can jump over it Tyler suggested Gabe shone his feeble flash beam but it didn’t reach the other side I can’t tell how wide it is Behind them the snorting and growling sounded closer We have to do something Tyler said Gabe looked around flashing the weak beam into a deep crack in the wall of the 9
