Behind the Limestone

Left behind

Authors notes:
This might sound corny, but someone asked me as we were sitting around a campfire, does anyone know of any ghost stories? Well, we had visited a tourist cave that day, the events of that day inspired me to tell this story. I'll call it
'Behind the Limestone'.

Chapter one Seabed

It was a beautiful day for a drive; it was the time of the seasons where the oceans were too far for a swim, and the mountains too high for a camp. So an adventure had to be met somewhere out in the country. A family of four decided to venture out into a remote town of Wee Jasper in New South Wales. The drive would take them down Mountain Creek road through the limestone region situated between the Murrumbidgee River, to the east, and the Brindabellas ranges, to the west. There is a stretch of limestone created by an ancient seabed. The sea is no longer, and what was left is rock formations that laid over 50 kilometres. The corrugated rocks have an interesting phenomenon; most boulders have sharp peak edges, which seem to be positioning as though somebody has ploughed the gravel on a field. The sea corral manoeuvred the limestone and created an opening and closed caves.
They had heard of a famous cave in the heart of the region. The drive was long and the family decided to stop for a break on the side of the road. Out towards the hills, you could see the exposed boulders peaking out of the ground. With curiosity, the two boys burst out of the back seats and ran towards the limestone fields. The mother yelled out to the oldest boy to watch out, with a reply of, 

"Yeah Ma, no worries", 

The boys decided to play a jumping game across the rocks. The parents were happy for the boys to go off and play, it had been a long trip. The oldest boy ran ahead as fast as he could towards the strange-looking fields. The youngest, Jeremy, was trying to catch up and yelled out to his brother,

"Joey! Wait up." 

As Joey stopped, the youngest yelled " Joey! You are always leaving me behind, why don't you wait up for me? To which Joey replied, 

"Too bad! If you can't keep up, you will be left behind". 

The boys made up a game, pretending to be in this swamp covered in lava, where they had to jump from rock to rock. The long grass was spitting lava. The top of the rocks were very sharp, and it was hard for them to keep their balance. At times, they would slip and fall onto the grass in which a minus point was scored.
After 15 minutes, the parents had decided to pack up their afternoon tea and start their journey again. The mother yelled,

"Boys! Time's up"

Joey immediately jumps off his rock and sprinted back to the car without looking back. Jeremy yelled 

"Hey, wait up"

He had been negotiating this jump and decided to go for it. He over-jumped the 2-metre distance and landed on his bum sliding down the rock. Instead of stopping at the base of the rock, he seemed to be falling further through the grass and into a hole. The void was hidden and the entry was the size of a basketball. He tried to grab the grass as he fell, but with no footholds, he fell through a tunnel, and into a very deep, dark chamber. He slid down and stopped somewhere very dark and slimy. The darkness was complete, as though somebody had turned out the lights. He tried to stand up but felt excruciating pain in his legs. In a panic, he tried to brace himself by putting his hands on the slimy sidewalls of the limestone cave. Everything he touched was wet. It was too dark, he couldn't even see his hands in front of his eyes. He called out to Joey from where he stood. The sound in the chamber was softening by the nature of the cabin. The darkness, the cold, the emptiness and the pain caused the boy to break down a cry. The sound of his crying could barely be heard from the surface above.
When Joey got back to the car, his mother asked him, 

"Where Jeremy?"

He turned around to see no sign of him. They all went to search for Jeremy. They called JEREMY! JEREMY, but there was no answer. Little did they know what the next twenty-four hours would bring.