For being in a cave under the searing heat of the desert, I hadn't expected to feel a cold chill creep along my flesh. Was the sudden change in temperature due to the cold shoulder my friends had just given me and less to do with an actual drop in degrees?
Still draped in wet clothes, I stood on the edge of the landing and watched Cecil and Arturo swim back across the lake to join Samuel. For all the years working at Crystals and Things alongside Cecil, that time seemed to mean nothing to her. However, maybe that's exactly what it was . . . nothing. Only a means of earning an income. For so long, that was how I had viewed my time there. So why did it cut so deep to watch Cecil turn her back on me, especially when I saw it coming?
I looked back on my memories to when Cecil had asked me to be her mentor and help her develop her psychic abilities. I remember my thoughts at that time when I refused:
Friends of all kinds, even the male variety were overrated. They all eventually turned into enemies. Liars, backstabbers, cheaters ... I know, I have experience and foresight. If Cecil had developed her latent clairvoyance—or clear seeing ability—she would have known it too.
When the lights disappeared further down the tunnel across the lake, I turned to see Blamore making his way to the unexplored passageway near us. Its blackness swallowed up the beam of his flashlight as if purposely refusing to show what it concealed.
"How deep do you think it goes?" I asked, staring at Blamore's back.
His damp hair swept his shoulders as he shook his head. "Deeper than we think." He glanced back, fixing his penetrating blue eyes on me. "This is the way. It's the only way."
I nodded. Going back would lead us nowhere. Still, Samuel preferred to retrace his path than continue on in this direction. Why? "Samuel said I knew what happened to his face, the blood, the swelling. What do you think he meant?"
Blamore shook his head. "A vision?"
No. Not a vision. None of the visions I shared would make him say such a thing and convince Cecil and Arturo to abandon me with Blamore. I couldn't put my finger on it.
"Either way, let's find the way out." I stepped over the threshold of the tunnel, moving into darkness. "We'll send help as soon as we get out of here."
We slowly and cautiously made our way through the large opening, with no end in sight. The curved walls of the passageway caught our light, but what resided at the end was still unknown.
I did my best to avoid the jagged walls as I readjusted my heavy pack on my back. Images of Samuel and Blamore's physical encounter replayed in my mind. The sound of Samuel's rage-filled blows connecting with Blamore ribs made me cringe. "Sorry about what happened between you and Samuel."
"Don't worry." Blamore crouched slightly as he remained a step ahead of me. "I'll be ok. I'm a big boy." He shot a bashful grin at me and I couldn't hold in my snort. "You'll be fine too, Max."
And as if on cue, my helmet light flickered. "Oh no. What now?"
When Blamore raised his flashlight, my breath caught when it also flickered before going out completely. "Not good."
"It's okay." I swung the pack from him shoulders. "I have extra batteries."
"Must've been the water."
The water could be the blame for a lot of these strange experiences, but not the flashlights. "No, the batteries are waterproof." I quickly rummaged through my bag to retrieve the batteries. As soon as I had them in hand, my helmet light flickered out, leaving us in pitch blackness. Sudden cold enveloped me. "Give me your flashlight," I ordered.
In the darkness, I managed to replace the batteries, throwing the old ones to the side to keep from mixing them with the good ones. However, the light still wouldn't switch on. Repeatedly, I clicked the switch, but we were still surrounded by utter blackness.
"What's the matter?" Blamore's voice was soothing and calm, but my heartbeat ignored the gesture and tripled.
"It's not working." Frustrated, I hit the handle on my knee to force the light to shine with no luck. "I don't understand. These are new batteries. It should work."
"Let's just keep moving." Blamore's voice was close, his gentle hand on my shoulder startled me and I flinched away from his touch.
"How are we going to keep moving if we can't see where the hell we're going?" I knew my tone was harsh, but I couldn't help but allow it to flow out that way. His hand rested on my shoulder again and I quickly moved away, feeling vulnerable in the pitch blackness. "Don't touch me, Blamore. I mean it." Anger bubbled in me, threatening to consume me, to erupt from me uncontrollably. The darkness and the awareness of being at its mercy amplified my emotions tenfold.
"Max?" Blamore's voice was composed yet did little to console me.
"What?" I demanded, tense and on edge.
"I ... I didn't touch you."
I gasped. The sudden adrenaline surge heightened my senses. "Who's there?"
"Just me," Blamore said.
"No there's someone here." My voice trembled as I forced the words out. "Someone else."
The low growl of a feral canine produced goosebumps on my exposed skin. The snarl tore through me and rattled in my head, enhanced by my blindness. "No more!" I screamed. "I can't take anymore. Stop."
"Max?" Blamore's voice echoed off the walls, blending with the angry snarls and howls. "Maxine!"
I gripped the handle of the flashlight tighter and chose not to answer, trying desperately to distinguish between what was real, what was imagined, and what was possibly a psychic attack. Immediately, I was swooped up into big, burly arms.
"You're ok," Blamore assured me. "I've got you now."
Instantly, the fear melted from me as he carefully carried me through the darkness. My helmet dropped to the ground with a thud as I lay my head against his chest. His distinct scent overtook me and provided me with a calmness. A part of me wanted to demand he put me down as I was no damsel in distress, however it battled with the other part of me that insisted his assistance was the best for me at the time. That part of me won as I snaked my arms around his neck and held on tight.
It wasn't until a glimmer of light broke through the darkness that I realized we had left my pack behind. I didn't care as he carried me closer to the round room where a glimmer of light shined through a crack in the roof.
Once comfortable with my ability to see again and satisfied that I was no longer under some sort of supernatural attack, I tapped his chest. "Put me down please."
He complied and together we stood under the bright beam of sunlight, feeling its warmth and taking in a sliver of a sense of freedom. Freedom from the darkness, the cold, and the eerie bizarre occurrence in the tunnel.
The light seemed symbolic while in its presence. It shined like a gift from Fate for successfully breaking through the barrier of darkness.
Looking around the room, several dark tunnels caught my eye. They surrounded us in a circle, all leading to more unknown blackness. Although one wall had another large carving of the three interconnected spirals we've seen throughout our exploration. One oddly shaped stone jutted from the wall, demanding my attention.
"What is this?" I peered at the three individual spirals that connected with the rest in the middle. "Look, they're all leading to the center."
Blamore examined the carving. "Or coming from it."
We looked at each other with a sudden realization.
But my eyes dropped to his tattoo near his collarbone, or lack thereof. I stifled a gasp. "Your Standing Stone tattoo? What happened to it?"
He looked down, pulling at the slacked collar of his T-shirt. "I—It's gone!" He rubbed his smooth, pale skin in confusion. "I don't understand. Almost like the lake water washed it away."
"That doesn't make sense." I glared, scrutinizing the spot. "It was a real tattoo, right?"
He nodded. "I woke up with it the morning my wife returned. I was never able to get it off. I tried. It never should've been there, but it was. You asked if it was real. None of that was real. Not my wife, that house, none of it. I don't even know if what we're going through right now is real."
My brain hurt trying to keep up with his cryptic beliefs, but I tried to stay focused. "Your tattoo was the same as my tarot card." I searched my memory for the image. "It was a monolithic standing stone with a carving of the Celtic maze on it." He nodded, confirming. "But it wasn't a maze." I pointed to the spirals on the wall. "It was a labyrinth."
Perplexed, he narrowed his eyes. "They're the same, right?"
"No." I sighed, gathering my thoughts. "A maze may have multiple entrances, exits, and dead ends. A labyrinth has only a single, non-branching path, which leads to the center then back out the same way."
"So, you're saying—?"
"We're in the center of a labyrinth." I rubbed my temples for a brief sense of relief. "The only way out is the way we came in."
"But what about these tunnels?" Blamore pointed. "They must lead to somewhere."
I shook my head, feeling defeated and confused. "I need a minute." Did Samuel somehow know we needed to turn back? Had they all made the right decision to retrace their steps?
"What about those circle drawings?" he asked, staring at the wall.
"The spirals?" I shook my head. "Single paths? A labyrinth? Karma?" I paused, putting it all together. "Karma. Every action has a reaction. What you put out comes right back."
Blamore huffed. "What does that mean for us?"
"When learning big life lessons like forgiveness, acceptance, tolerance, we're presented with experiences over and over again until we finally learn the lesson and break the cycle."
"So, we have to break the cycle. How?"
"That's the only part I don't understand." At that moment I yearned for my tarot cards to help me tune in for some sort of insight, too bad they were wet, ruined and in the pocket of my backpack we left behind.
"You rest. I'll check the tunnels for a way out." Blamore took the flashlight from my hand and attempted to fix it, however, no matter what he did the light wouldn't work.
I kneeled, trying to think of a solution, when a voice echoed from the other side of the wall.
"Blamore?"
I gasped, pressing my hand to my throat due to the sudden sting. "Did you hear that?" I turned to him. "Someone's calling your name."
"I heard it too." His rapid breathing matched mine as we listened, clearly on edge.
"Blamore? Answer me, damn it!" the voice demanded.
Blamore stared at me wide-eyed and unblinking. "That's your voice."
I went back through my memory. "I remember saying that," I whispered. "We had just entered the cave. You went in alone and we were calling you to bring you out. That voice ... That's us!"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you serious?" Hadn't he recognized my voice? "We have to stop them from entering the cave or the cycle would continue." I looked to the wall with the oddly shaped stone and took a deep breath, with all my might I yelled back a warning, "Leave. Go now! You don't belong here."
I had to do something to prevent them from entering the cave and becoming trapped in a repeating cycle.
"Who's there?" the eerily familiar voice called back.
I looked to Blamore. "Should I answer?"
He shook his head. "No, they'd just get more curious. They would think we are people from my home."
I sighed. "You're right."
"Hello? Who are you?" the voice asked, sounding more distant.
"Leave ..." I said, taking my cue from Blamore. "This is not your home!"