As they climbed upward in the ravine, Hunter said, “What’s the beginning age of Geezer-ness? I know you’ve been there for a long time already, so you’d know.”
Raymond chuckled, and Hunter immediately felt better. He said, “Somewhere around five decades, Miss Smartypants, but it can vary a lot. I’ve know geezers who didn’t reach it until their eighties, and others who acted old in their twenties…like your age.”
Hunter grinned, “Oh, you are so witty.” They were good with each other again, and Hunter felt like it was back to the way it used to be between them. Part of the climb steepened, and they used hands as well as feet to go up the steep incline. It was hot and still, with no breeze and no clouds, only a sky turning the color of brass as the afternoon heat intensified, so that touching a boulder burned her hand.
Twenty minutes passed before Raymond said, “Hey.” Hunter turned to face him and Raymond pointed, “That side draw just ahead, it angles to the left enough so we should be able to see behind the wall of boulders, see the cave, maybe even inside it.”
She nodded and took the left draw, still making steady time. They found a good location further up that hid them while affording a good look behind the wall of boulders and talus to the cave mouth. As they studied it using the new, powerful binoculars, Hunter noticed a very smooth pathway running from the cave mouth and staying behind the boulders as it descended for sixty yards, providing a path as good as a paved road. “What do you think of that?”
“Looks like a ramp or something.”
“To launch a drone? I thought those things went up like a helicopter.”
“Some of ‘em do. Others launch on either a runway or on some type of rail, those are usually the bigger ones.”
“When did you become so knowledgeable?”
“Talked to some people in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, you know, DARPA. We’re all good friends now.”
“Okay then, Professor, let’s get a little closer and see what we can find out.”
They left the draw and angled up the slope to the wall of boulders, where they stopped and took a breather. Hunter said, “We can squeeze through right here and be standing in front of the cave mouth on that ramp, or whatever it is.”
Raymond’s shirt touched his back and he almost yelped. He moved his shoulders to make the shirt hang off his back and not touch the skin. Hunter said, “It’ll be cooler in the cave.”
“I’m ready for that. Being on the side of this mountain’s like being under a broiler.” They moved through the narrow gap between the boulders and saw the cave mouth up close for the first time. Hunter and Raymond looked at each other as Raymond said, “How about that.” It wasn’t a cave; it was a mine.
“Is this an old one?” Hunter asked.
“I think so, but it’s been dug out some recently, too. Look at the width of the opening, that exposed rock doesn’t have desert varnish on it.”
They listened for several minutes but heard no sounds coming from the mine entrance. A cold, gentle wind came out of the mine and caused goosebumps on Hunter’s forearms. “Brrr, That’s almost like ice coming out of there.”
“That breeze means there’s another opening somewhere, so we need to keep that in mind.”
Hunter pulled out a hoodie from her small rucksack and slipped it on, leaving the hood over her head. She’d learned that trick years ago, after the first night working in the high desert. Raymond did the same and they entered the cave, turning on their small flashlights. The first thirty feet of the interior belled into a wide room. There were wheel marks and footprints all over the dusty mine floor, almost as if people had performed crazy races with wheelbarrows. Along the walls lay shovels, pickaxes, ropes, barrels, chains, and a come-along with quarter-inch steel cable on the reel.
Hunter said, “Let’s see where this baby leads.” She stepped forward, keeping her light mostly on the floor so she wouldn’t trip on loose rocks or step in a hole, but also sweeping the beam left and right to keep the walls in perspective. Raymond did the same, and also flicked his light at the ceiling occasionally to check the mineshaft’s height. The small flashlights were so powerful, Hunter and Raymond had to twist the adjustable rings around the lens to weaken the beam.
The first hundred yards showed no surprises, but when the shaft went in a shallow bend, staying level rather than descending, Hunter noticed much more foot traffic. At the end of the bend, the shaft began a gradual descent again, and thirty yards down, they saw where the mineshaft split into two.
They stood at the juncture, looking at the shafts, then at each other. “I wasn’t looking forward to that,” Raymond said. “I was enjoying our carefree date.”
“What do you want to do?” Hunter said.
“Only one thing to do. Split up and follow ‘em. We’ve come too far now to quit on this.”
“Want to meet back here in, say, a couple hours?”
Raymond set his watch, “In two hours. We’ll go to plan B after we discuss what we find.”
Hunter nodded, and they fist-bumped. “See you in a couple.”
“Stay frosty,” Raymond said, already moving down the left-hand shaft.
Hunter continued down the main shaft, and now that Raymond’s additional light was gone, the gloom seemed ominous, more pressing. She also felt a slight sense of vertigo when the light played on a portion of the floor that had more rocks and pebbles, with the play of their shadows on the bedrock and her motion through them. Ten minutes later, Hunter thought she heard something so she turned off the flashlight.
Darkness was immediate and complete, enveloping every sense like a cold, cloying blanket. Hunter put her hand in front of her face and couldn’t see it. Her heartbeat increased and breathing became more rapid. She heard nothing in the black silence, and turned on the flashlight, sending a huge sense of relief through her. After a few minutes to allow her heartbeat to slow, Hunter continued.