The Ferlands

Chapter Four

"Maybe I should walk in front, so I can break your fall next time." Harper suggested.

"Ha! Then we'd both go down!"

The girls continued on the path as it curved slightly, then started increasing in difficulty. The incline up the hill toward the cave left them both panting. After stopping for water and to snap a few landscape shots, they continued to make their way to the cave.

The land around them was covered in green, lush grasses and occasional wild flowers. Montana had plenty of rain and water so the hills remained full of growth during summer months. Even summer time brought weekly showers, sometimes moving through quickly and other times lingering for hours. The blue skies from earlier in the morning were already becoming dotted with darker clouds.

"It might be raining when we get out of that cave." Eliana said.

"That would suck." Harper replied. "Sheesh, it's getting cold too. I should have worn warmer clothes."

"Yeah, same. I think I'm already going to put on the hoodie I packed for inside the cave." Even with the strenuous hike up the hill, Eliana felt the temperature dropping.

"Right! I forgot about mine!" Harper cheered, stopping immediately to put her sweatshirt on. Mountain peaks in Montana were known to have a light dusting of snow, even in June. The drop in temperature wasn't unusual.

Once again, they continued up the hill, pointing out the flowers that seemed more concentrated the closer to the cave they got. After a thirty-minute hike, the cave entrance came into view. A small placard at the opening reminded explorers of cave safety: explore with a partner, carry water and supplies in with you. Wear headlamps for light, mark your path as you go.

The cave they were exploring wasn't one of those typical tourist caves with lights installed and tour guides. This one had been kept mostly authentic, meant for serious spelunking. Which Eliana had learned was a fancy word for cave exploration. The girls donned their headlamps, undeterred by any warnings considering they had all their bases covered.

"Ready for this?" Harper asked.

"As I'll ever be." Eliana replied, silently admitting to herself that she actually was excited to be trying something new. She kept that quiet, however, not wanting Harper to get any ideas about future adventures.

"Okay, let's get in there!" Harper led the way into the cave, headlamp already on.

The cave started out as an easy walk. The entrance led to a wide path moving without twists or turns into the mouth of the cave. The ceiling was high, so both girls could stand up straight. When reading the brochure, they learned that the deeper they went, the smaller the spaces were likely to be, especially caves that hadn't been turned into tourist attractions. Of course those wouldn't support that type of visits.

A few minutes later, the entrance and it's light still visible, Harper came upon their first decision. The path split into two directions, and neither girl were sure which to take.

"Sheesh, I feel like Katniss right now. What did they do in that movie again?" Harper said back to Eliana.

"If you're talking about Mocking Jay, they sent one person a few feet in to see if it went anywhere." Eliana replied.

"Kay, looks like I'll take a peek." Harper said, then took a few steps into the left tunnel shining a light further into the darkness. "This looks like it might keep going. But let's check the other one." She said as she emerged from the left side.

"I'll take a look on the right." Eliana told her, stepping just a few feet into the opening. It seemed to become very tight, very quickly. Not a good spot to continue into, Eliana thought. "Nope, this is no good. To the left it is. Let's leave a glow stick here so we remember which way we came."