They all grunted as they slowly worked their way forward. Flashlight beams were spearing the wall at varying angles, and occasionally glancing off of the squirming mass of small, furry, winged bodies overhead.
The bedraggled group trudged along, feeling winded by the effort, winding around the occasional stalactites spearing down sharply from the ceiling.
A short way ahead, Javier put up his hand and called out to the group, “Beyond this point, the passageway narrows for a good thirty feet. It’s tight, but passable.”
Rick inwardly groaned. He’d been in these situations before and it wasn’t something he looked forward to.
They all turned sideways to fit through. They slid their rucksacks off, holding them in their hands as they squeezed through the narrow passageway, now less than three feet wide.
The ceiling height was quite high at this point. Rick couldn’t even tell how high it went, it had to have been over 100 feet, but it allowed a little extra air to breathe and helped the sense of claustrophobia that was pressing in on him.
At least there are no more bats beyond this point, he thought, noticing they’d cleared the colony. Much to his relief, the strong odor of guano began to dissipate.
He pressed his back against the rocky wall, keeping as much space in front of his face as possible.
This narrowed section of the tunnel was also rapidly accumulating water. It started only a couple of inches deep, but as they went on, the water level rose to above their knees. The water was cool and the passageway smelled musty and earthy.
Rick was also grateful that at least the water would wash the guano off their boots, but he tried not to think of what else might be in the muddy water. He planned on burning all of his clothes when they got out of this mess.
To his immense relief, a few minutes later, he felt the space widen.
“We’re almost there,” Javier called out.
Almost where, Rick wondered. But anywhere would be better than this.
The passageway continued to widen and they were all able to turn and walk forward, slushing through the still knee-high water.
“You can take your balaclavas off now,” Juan called out to the group.
With immense relief, they all did, stuffing them back into their rucksacks, and then carried on, following Javier.
Several minutes on, the water level steadily receded as the passage opened still wider.
Rick noticed the air smelled a little fresher in this section and he again felt a slight breeze. He couldn’t wait to exit the cramped, soggy tunnel. He was feeling a bit fatigued from the constant flood of adrenaline rushing through his system and he was sure they could all use a bit of rest, especially Diego.
Carlos noticed their pace was slowing. He called out from behind the group to give them some encouragement, “You’re all doing well. Keep going just a little farther.”
They did.
Finally, the passageway opened up into a large space composed of sandstone and carbonate layers, a good forty feet across and almost as high. Boulders of all sizes were strewn about.
“That’s better,” Rick said, immediately relieved to have more room to move around. The ground was wet, but at least they were no longer slogging through murky water.
Sofia and Luis put their arms around Diego’s waist to support him. They could tell the older man was tiring.
Sofia, speaking in Spanish, asked him if he could continue.
He nodded yes.
They were all still dripping wet. They took a moment to breathe.
Out of the corner of Rick’s eye, he spotted movement. Two huge brown tarantulas crawled between the rocks, only ten feet away. He shuddered. He wasn’t going to admit it, but he’d always had arachnophobia, ever since he was a little kid. He had a healthy respect for arachnids, he just preferred them at a distance and out of sight. He looked around. He spotted several large three-inch long beetles crawling across the tops and down the sides of some of the boulders. In the far corner of the cavern, a brown and orange rainbow boa quickly slithered into a crevice and out of view.
Quite the ecosystem down here, he thought. He wondered what else creeped and crawled in the shadows.
Juan and Carlos walked up beside him.
“Let’s keep going,” Carlos said to the group.
“You mean this isn’t where we stop?” Luis asked, clearly disappointed and ready for a break.
“No,” he replied.
“Come,” Javier said. “Soon we will rest.”
They walked on, careful to avoid the creepy-crawlies that were appearing all over the cavern.
A few minutes later, Rick suddenly stopped. “Did you hear that?” he asked.
“Qué?” Sofia replied, frowning.
Javier turned around.
Rick stood still for a moment and placed a finger to his lips.
They all fell silent.
Javier looked to Juan and Carlos, who shook their heads.
The sound was gone.
“Maybe it was nothing,” Rick said, shrugging his shoulders.
He wasn’t sure what he’d heard. He looked up overhead to see if there were any more bats, but he didn’t see any. He figured it was probably some other unseen cave denizens he’d heard, scurrying away from the human intruders.
“Lead on,” he said.
Javier nodded and continued another fifteen minutes ahead, on a pathway sloping gently downwards and curving to the right.
They turned a corner, and then, one by one, they all stopped in their tracks.
Before them was a spectacular sight.
CHAPTER 14
“We’re here,” Javier said, holding his arms out.
“Whoa,” Rick said, taking it all in. He was completely stunned.
Sofia inhaled sharply. “Increíble.”
“Dios mío,” Diego whispered under his breath.
They all aimed their flashlights upwards.
The sight left them breathless. They walked forward into a massive cavern, soaring over 900 feet
