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direction or time. All I knew was
that I was exhausted from my ordeal, and famished, and needed to rest soon
before I collapsed. So, when the crevice eventually ended at the mouth of a
narrow cavern, I felt a mix of gratitude and apprehension.
    I approached the opening with caution. It was a narrow sliver
about eight feet high and four feet wide, and it sloped steeply down into the
hill. I couldn’t see very far into the darkness, but a cool breeze drifted out
of the cave, and the air smelled okay. Sticks, rocks, dead leaves, and other
detritus lined the floor. I stood there listening, but heard nothing inside
save the faint sound of dripping water.
    Slowly, I stepped through the opening and followed the slope
downward. While the cavern mouth had been narrow, it opened up considerably
once I was inside. The walls stretched a good fifteen feet across, and the corners
and space ahead of me were shrouded in darkness. The air grew noticeably cold
after only a few feet inside. The floor was damp and muddy in some places, and
I had to choose my steps carefully to avoid slipping. The cave leveled off
after about forty feet, and I was able to stand without sliding. I waited for a
bit, letting my eyes adjust to the gloom, but even then, I couldn’t see very
far. I wished I had the means to start a fire, but I had no matches or a
lighter, no flint or steel, and had never been able to master the friction
technique even though I’d spent several camping sessions attempting it by
rubbing sticks together when I was a kid. I considered returning to the Jeep
and trying the battery again. If I could get a spark off of the terminals, I
might be able to catch the spark in something combustible, and then fashion a
torch and carry it back here. But after considering the items I had in
inventory, I didn’t think that would be possible, especially given the fact
that I doubted the battery had a spark left in it. And I wasn’t sure I’d be
able to make the climb while clutching a flaming torch in one hand.
    When I decided my vision wasn’t going to adjust any more than it
already had, I explored the cave. Arms outstretched, I slowly walked into the
shadows on one side and felt my way around. There was a sheer drop off near the
back, nearly hidden in the darkness, which made my asshole pucker and my
testicles tighten and shrink as I stood at the edge. Had I not waited until my
eyes adjusted before I’d gone exploring, I would have certainly fallen in it. I
had no way of telling how wide or deep the chasm was, but it
felt
immense. Draughts of cold, dank air drifted up from it, and the sound of
dripping water was more prominent. I knelt, selected a stone, and dropped it
into the darkness. Although I crouched there listening for a very long time, I
did not hear it strike anything. I tossed another stone beyond the hole, trying
to determine how far across it stretched. Again, I heard nothing.
    Taking a deep breath, I backed away from the edge of the pit and
continued my explorations. I’d almost reached the far side of the cavern when
my foot struck something on the floor. Whatever it was, it made a dry, rattling
sound, followed by a metallic clank. Panicked, I stumbled over something that
felt like a stick and heard more objects scattering under my feet. I knelt
again and felt around. It wasn’t until I found the skull that I realized what
it was I’d tripped over—a skeleton. It was human, judging by the feel, and must
have been there for quite some time given how easily it fell apart when my foot
struck it. There were a few scraps of musty fabric attached to some of the
bones and some moldering splinters of moss–covered wood lying amidst the bones.
I wasn’t sure what the wood had originally been part of, but it was useless for
my purposes now. My fingers sank into it and came away damp and musty.
Remembering the metallic sound, I felt around some more until my fingers fell
across a cold length of steel. I ran them down the shaft until I