The Problem with Dreams

Chapter 3 - New Developments

Greg and Zackary followed the well-lit tunnel in the direction of the natural bridge, noting that the fork that led to the ledge and the climbing ropes was still dark. No preparation to install lighting had been made there, leaving that particular area relatively natural. Once they reached the bridge however, they saw a change there too. The wooden box which housed the utility lines was now covered with a thin veneer of material which made it look like rock. The lighting was dimmer here and much less obvious than it had been in the tunnel, but still there was enough light to see as they crossed the bridge. The grate-covered notch returned on the other side of the bridge and they followed it across the wide open ledge, through the two smaller chambers which the previous week had led to a dead end. The dead end was now gone, but rather than looking on the house from the outside as they'd expected, they were instead looking at a plywood covered floor and framed ceiling and walls, which had been covered by some sort of material they couldn't immediately identify on the outside. The framed structure formed an extremely short passageway to the mezzanine level of the house. It was so short, it didn't properly qualify as a hallway, giving the illusion that the house and the cave were actually connected, which Greg supposed at this point, they were.

"What do you think?" Mr. Van Kirk asked as he watched the pair's reaction.

"This is cool," Zackary said. "This makes the garage really close to the house, and all on one level with no steps."

"Yes, it does," Greg agreed. "I am very pleased with the beginnings of this, though I am anxious to see it in its finished state."

"That will come," Mr. Van Kirk assured him.

"Have you managed to make any progress with the stairwell?" Greg asked.

"Some. We've cleared the loose rock away from the top and the bottom, which has made it far more accessible to work on. Mr. Sato was glad to get those rocks by the way. I think he's planning to use them in your landscaping," Mr. Van Kirk told him.

"No doubt," Greg agreed.

"Your future stairwell is right this way ... oh, did you bring your flashlights with you? You'll still need them in there," he cautioned.

"We did," Greg assured him as he pulled a couple mini-mag lights from his pocket, handing one to Zackary.

They examined the vertical shaft they'd identified during their visit there a week ago and discovered that the natural size of the opening at the top was very nearly big enough to use as it was. Apparently the bottom needed work though, so apart from clearing the opening and moving the old tent and other artifacts completely away from the area, not much else had been done.

Zackary looked with interest down on the new niche now holding the things Greg had originally found inside the cave. It was in one of the pockets formed by the ancient gas bubbles that formed this entire cave, but off to one side, away from the areas they'd started to use. It was several feet off the floor, but still will below the level of the bridge, as he looked down on the area from above.

"Greg, did you ever look at those letters we found in the box?" Zack asked curiously as his eyes scanned the old canvas and cooking utensils piled up there. His eyes were looking for the box but he couldn't actually see it.

"I did," Greg told him. "I discovered that the man who once owned these things was called 'Max'. The letters we found were written to him."

"What was he doing here?" Zack wondered.

"Other than using the cave to get out of the rain, so far, that I haven't learned," Greg answered. "I expect I will as I read through his notebook, however some of his handwriting is very difficult to make out and some of the pages towards the back of the book look like they were wet at one time."