The Haunted Cave

  1

  Adam Freeman was having ice cream with his friends when the subject of the Haunted Cave came up. The ice-cream parlor was called the Frozen Cow, and it supposedly offered a choice of fifty flavors. They were listed on a large colorful bulletin board that hung behind the counter where the grumpy old man who owned the place stood. But the owner—even when asked politely—refused to give any customer anything but vanilla. Even chocolate and strawberry weren’t available. Sally explained that the owner—whom she called Mr. Freeze—was a purist and believed that vanilla was the only ice cream worth serving. Adam had managed to persuade the man to make him a vanilla milkshake. Of course, since this was Spooksville, Adam had to pay Mr. Freeze double not to use spoiled milk.

  “Did you know that monkeys and apes love ice cream?” Watch said, working on a banana split that was made of bananas, vanilla ice cream, and nothing else. “Gorillas like it as well, although I’ve heard they’ll only eat chocolate ice cream.”

  “They wouldn’t like this place,” Sally Wilcox muttered, frantically licking a melting ice-cream cone as if it would explode if she lost a drop.

  “I thought monkeys and apes were vegetarians,” Cindy Makey remarked.

  Sally chuckled. “A vegetarian can eat ice cream. You don’t kill the cow to get the milk out, you know. You just tug on the udders.”

  Cindy gave an exaggerated sigh. “I know that. I mean I thought that monkeys and apes preferred fruit to dairy products.”

  Watch shook his head. “That’s not so. They’re like kids—they’ll take ice cream over bananas any day. And as far as I’m concerned, that proves Darwin’s theory of natural selection. Man—and woman—evolved from monkeys. We’re nothing but talking apes.”

  “But that’s only a theory,” Adam protested. “I don’t believe it.”

  “You’re reacting to the idea emotionally,” Watch said. “It upsets you to think your ancestors used to need a shave twenty-four hours a day. In scientific matters you have to be cold and dispassionate.”

  “Look who’s having the bananas,” Sally muttered.

  “I’m not reacting emotionally,” Adam replied, insulted. “Science has never proven that we evolved from apes. You’re forgetting the missing link.”

  “What about it?” Watch asked.

  “It’s still missing,” Adam said, having a sip of his shake.

  “What’s the missing link?” Cindy asked.

  “A non-vegetarian monkey,” Sally said.

  “It’s a creature that would be half ape, half human,” Watch explained. “Adam has a point. Science has never positively found a creature that is directly between us and apes on the evolutionary scale.” Watch paused and glanced at Sally. “Of course not many scientists have been to Spooksville.”

  Sally shook her head vigorously. “Don’t start talking about that. We’re not going there, no way.”

  “Going where?” Adam wanted to know, certain he’d missed part of the conversation.

  Watch leaned closer and lowered his voice. “The Haunted Cave.”

  Sally cringed. “Don’t say it. To even speak the name will curse us.”

  “He already said it,” Cindy said. “And there’s no such thing as a curse.”

  Sally snorted. “Listen to the girl whose brother was kidnapped by a ghost last week. This whole town is cursed. I know, I was born here.”

  Cindy smiled. “Yeah, now that you mention it, I guess I can see the damage.”

  Adam chuckled. “Sally was cursed in the womb.”

  Sally fumed. “For your information I was born on Friday the thirteenth, which is practically a religious holiday in this town.”

  “So?” Adam said, puzzled.

  “She’s saying she wasn’t cursed until she was born,” Watch explained. “Anyway, this cave is fascinating. There are plenty of stories about creatures inside the cave that could be the missing link.”

  “Have you ever seen these creatures?” Adam asked skeptically.

  “No, but I think a friend of mine did,” Watch said. “His name was Bill Bailey. He was a camera nut. He went in to photograph them and that was the last we heard of him.”

  “They found his camera though,” Sally said. “It was smeared with blood.”

  “I think it was peanut butter and jelly,” Watch said. “There was film in the camera. I helped develop it. The negatives were in lousy shape but one shot showed a blurry image of a hairy manlike creature.”

  “How big was the creature?” Adam asked.

  “Hard to say,” Watch said. “I couldn’t tell how far away it had been taken, and there were no reference objects.”

  “It was big enough to eat Bill,” Sally said.

  “But I’d guess a missing link should be small,” Adam said. “If it’s half man, half ape.”

  “Bill probably thought the same thing,” Sally retorted.

  “I don’t believe any of this,” Cindy said.

  Sally got mad. “You just moved here a month ago. You don’t know anything about this town; therefore, your opinion is totally worthless.”

  Cindy turned to Adam. “Why don’t we go have a look at this cave and prove to these guys there are no missing links running around this town?”

  “I believe they run under the town,” Watch said.

  Adam considered. “We could do that, but I don’t think we want to go inside the cave.”

  “Why not?” Cindy asked.

  “Because one of these creatures might eat you alive,” Sally said. “Adam knows that, but he’s too much under your spell to say it out loud.”

  “I’m not under nobody’s spell,” Adam said angrily.

  Sally snorted. “You’re not under anyone’s spell. You get so dizzy when you sit next to Cindy you can’t even speak right.”

  “Why are you always yelling at Adam?” Cindy demanded.

  “Because I believe he can be helped,” Sally explained patiently. “Unlike some people I know.”

  Cindy stood. “Where is this cave? I want to go there right now. I want to see these creatures—if they really exist.”

  Watch checked one of his four watches. “It’s getting late. You might want to explore the cave tomorrow.”

  “Bill disappeared later in the day,” Sally added.

  “It makes no difference what time of day we go in the cave,” Cindy said. “As long as we have flashlights. Isn’t that right, Adam?”

  “Right,” Adam agreed reluctantly. But even though he had lived in Spooksville for only two weeks, he had seen enough to know there might be something behind Watch’s strange story. He didn’t want Cindy thinking he was a coward, but he wished they could bring a hunting rifle as well as flashlights. Something powerful enough to stop a large hairy creature.

  2

  The Haunted Cave was located near the town reservoir. Up in the hills behind Spooksville. The path to the cave was rugged, so they weren’t able to take their bikes. As a result they didn’t reach the cave until nearly seven. It was summer and the days were long, but the sun was already close to the horizon.

  The opening of the cave didn’t look scary. It was just a narrow crack in the rocky hillside that faced the reservoir. The entrance wasn’t high—a grown man would have to stoop to get inside. Adam poked his head in and peered around with one of the flashlights they’d picked up at Watch’s. All he saw were dirt walls, nothing spectacular.

  “I don’t see any creatures,” he said as he pulled his head back out.

  “That’s what I call a thorough search,” Sally said sarcastically. She pointed to the ground at Adam’s feet. “That’s where they found Bill’s camera. I think they found some of his skin as well.”

  “That wasn’t skin—it was his lunch bag,” Watch said. He also peered in th
e cave, using the other flashlight they had brought. “It goes way back. In fact, I’ve heard it goes down deep and its tunnels wind around under most of the city.”

  “Is there another entrance?” Adam asked.

  “Not that I know of,” Watch said, straightening up.

  Cindy appeared anxious to get going. “Well, are we going inside or what?”

  Watch shook his head. “I think I’ll wait out here for you guys.”

  “Why?” Adam asked. “You always like a good adventure.”

  “I think one of us should be here in case you don’t come back,” Watch said. “I can tell your families not to set places for you at dinner. Stuff like that.”

  “I can stay,” Sally offered quickly. “I don’t like caves much anyway.”

  “Coward,” Cindy said.

  Sally was instantly furious. “How dare you call me a coward? Why, when you were playing with Barbie and Ken, I was out fighting witches and warlocks.”

  Cindy was not impressed. “Then why are you afraid to explore the cave with Adam and me?”

  Sally wore a mocking smile as she turned to Adam. “Is brave and resourceful Adam ready to explore the cave with dear, spunky Cindy?”

  Adam hesitated. Standing near the entrance, he could feel a faint warm breeze coming from inside. He wondered where it came from. The air in most caves was cooler than the outside air. There was also a faint smell to this air. He was reminded of a barbecue, of the odor of dying coals.

  “I think we could go in a little way and look around,” Adam said finally.

  “The creatures are supposed to live way in the back,” Watch said. “You won’t see anything if you just go in a few feet.”

  Cindy grabbed Watch’s flashlight. “I say we go in all the way. But stay here if you want, Sally. We’ll understand if you’re too chicken. Adam and I don’t need your help.”

  Sally smoldered. “I dislike being called chicken. Especially by a girl who couldn’t rescue her own baby brother from a senile ghost.”

  Cindy held up a finger to Sally’s face. “And who fought hand to hand with the ghost? It was Adam and me.”

  “And who figured out who the ghost really was?” Sally shot back.

  “I did,” Watch said.

  “Really?” Adam asked. That was news to him.

  “Listen,” Sally interrupted. “I’m not afraid to explore this cave. I just don’t want to get my hair dirty because I washed it this morning.”

  Cindy snorted. “You’re just afraid of having your hair ripped out of your head.”

  “That is never pleasant,” Watch said. “Sally, if you don’t want to go inside, that’s all right with me. We can sit here and shout words of encouragement if they start screaming.”

  “That’s very noble of you,” Adam said.

  Sally stood, undecided. “If we do go in, and do see anything that might eat us—anything at all—we get out quick.”

  Adam nodded. “That sounds reasonable.” He checked the flashlight he was carrying. They had picked them up at Watch’s house. “Are the batteries fresh?”

  “They should last a few hours,” Watch said.

  Adam nodded. “I’m sure we won’t be gone that long.”

  He ducked inside the cave, Cindy and Sally following at his heels. Adam didn’t know it at the time, but he was going to be in the cave much longer than any flashlight would last.

  3

  The interior of the cave was definitely warmer. Adam noticed the change in temperature the moment he stepped in. The warmth continued to puzzle him. The air currents were definitely blowing out of the cave, not into it. He wondered if there wasn’t another entrance nearby.

  The size of the cave seemed to expand the moment they were inside. The ceiling was higher than his bedroom ceiling by at least two feet. The walls—six feet apart—were not the simple dirt he had imagined from the outside. Touching them, Adam saw that they were only coated with dust. Actually, the walls were made of hard black rock, which felt smooth beneath Adam’s fingers.

  Cindy studied the section of wall beside him. “It’s like the volcanic rock in Hawaii,” she said, carrying the other flashlight.

  “You’ve been to Hawaii?” Sally asked with a huff. “Must be nice.”

  “We used to go regularly before my father died,” Cindy said quietly.

  “Are there any geysers around Spooksville?” Adam asked Sally.

  “Besides your temper,” Cindy added.

  “The fountain at the city hall explodes in steam every now and then,” Sally said, throwing Cindy a nasty look. “No one knows why.”

  Adam gestured with his light to a tunnel that ran deeper into the cave. It definitely sloped down, in the direction of the city. “Do you guys notice that faint burning smell?” he asked. “I think there might be hot lava down there.”

  “That’s one good reason to turn back now,” Sally muttered.

  “I don’t know,” Cindy said. “The smell and the heat might just be from a hot spring. I want to go deeper.”

  “Why are you so excited to meet an ape man?” Sally asked.

  Cindy shrugged. “If there really are such creatures in here, it would be the discovery of a lifetime.”

  “If there really are such creatures in here,” Sally countered, “your lifetime might be very short.”

  They moved farther down into the cave. The tunnel became steep, and they had to crouch down to keep from slipping. Soon they were practically on their butts, and their pants were getting dirty. Adam worried that if it got any steeper they’d need a rope to climb out. He was about to suggest they turn back when they heard a faint sound coming from deeper inside the cave. It echoed for several seconds, like an otherworldly lullaby, haunting and hypnotic. It didn’t sound like a monster, but it didn’t sound human either. The three of them froze.

  “What was that?” Cindy whispered.

  “It doesn’t sound like Bill,” Sally whispered back.

  “Shh.” Adam held up his hand. The sound did not repeat itself, but it sure had their hearts pounding. Adam wiped sweat from his forehead. He had to strain to keep his voice calm. “I think there’s something alive down there.”

  “Like we haven’t been saying that all along,” Sally said, hissing.

  Adam glanced at Cindy, who appeared to be having second thoughts about making important scientific discoveries. “We could come back another time,” he suggested. “When we have more time.”

  “When we’re feeling suicidal,” Sally added.

  Cindy hesitated. “Did we really hear something? Or did we just imagine it?”

  “You don’t need an imagination in this town,” Sally said. “Reality is nightmarish enough. I say let’s get out of here before it eats us.”

  “I honestly do think there’s something down there,” Adam said to Cindy. He added, “And it doesn’t sound like it’s in a good mood.”

  Cindy thought for a moment more, then shrugged. “We can always come back later.”

  “That’s my brave girl,” Sally said.

  They turned and started back up the slippery floor of the cave. Pushing and pulling on each other, they were able to make it back up to where the floor was relatively flat. By then they were sweating heavily and were anxious to get outside and draw in deep breaths of fresh air.

  Adam could see the cave opening thirty feet in front of him. He could even see Watch through the entrance crack—no doubt watching the sun set. Adam was about to call out to him when the girls started fighting again for what seemed the millionth time.

  “I never said it sounded like a scary creature,” Cindy said. “I would have gone on.”

  “She says that now that she’s running away,” Sally said.

  “Listen,” Cindy snapped. “If anyone’s running, it’s you. We had to drag you in here in the first place.”

  Sally stopped and turned on Cindy. “I admit that I don’t enjoy being in this cave. You’d have to be a caveman with a low caveman IQ to like it. But you—Ms. Arc
haeological Overachiever Herself—are bugging the heck out of me pretending to be brave. You’re more scared than the rest of us. You’re a hypocrite, in other words, and I can’t stand hypocrites. They remind me of myself before I overcame my major psychological hangups.” She added, “I don’t see what Adam sees in you.”

  “Oh, brother,” Adam said.

  Cindy got up on her toes. “I bug you? You know that’s like a rattlesnake saying to a well-mannered rabbit that the rabbit is annoying it. Just when the snake is about to bite the rabbit.”

  “I don’t have a rattle,” Sally snapped.

  “Yeah, but you’ve got a poison tongue,” Cindy said. “I wish for just once you would shut up. That you would close your mouth, shut it tight, and forget English and any other language you know for a twenty-four-hour period. Then maybe the rest of us—”

  “Stop!” Adam shouted suddenly. He paused to stare at the opening of the cave. The light from the outside had just flickered slightly.

  “What is it?” Sally asked quickly.

  Adam pointed to the opening. “Did any of you notice something move over there?”

  “No,” Cindy said.

  “What do you mean?” Sally asked.

  Adam frowned. “The entrance looks narrower.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Sally said. Then she froze. “It is narrower!”

  Cindy jumped in place. “The opening is closing! Let’s get out of here!”

  Cindy was right, the entrance was actually closing up. The smooth black rock could have turned molten. It seemed to flow together as they ran toward Watch and the outside. Watch had also noticed the change in the entrance size. But he wasn’t foolish enough—or brave enough—to jump inside and try to rescue them. He waved to them, however, to hurry. Unfortunately, the second they reached the entrance, the edges pushed in closer, and the space looked too tight to squeeze through. Adam and Cindy and Sally looked at one another desperately. They were each thinking the same thing. If they tried to squeeze through and got stuck, would they be crushed to death?

  “What should we do?” Cindy asked anxiously.

  “We have to get out,” Sally said. “Go first, Cindy. You’re the skinniest.”