Smith's Monthly #17 Read online

  And that had ended that conversation.

  “Let’s go,” Duster said, closing the wire gate on the crystals and then setting the timer on the box.

  Then he connected the two wires to the box wearing thick leather gloves.

  Bonnie and Belle both moved up close to the box. Both were carrying large packs over the shoulders full of modern caving gear. Usually nothing modern was allowed back into the past, but Bonnie and Duster had made an exception for this trip.

  Zane made sure his heavy pack was on his back and another pack was in his left hand and joined them.

  Duster too off the gloves, shouldered a pack and picked up a large bag, then said, “On the count of three.”

  On three, Zane touched the wooden box at the same moment Belle did.

  Nothing at all seemed to happen, which was normal.

  They all stepped back and headed into the big supply room.

  The year was 1900. And in a few days Zane was going to be headed into the cave of his life, from everything that had been described to him. And he felt the same excitement and nerves he felt before every big exploration.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  July 10th, 1900

  Boise, Idaho

  BEING A WOMAN of means in 1900 was no easy task to pull off, Belle finally decided, as she managed to not fall off her horse anywhere along the wagon trail that was Warm Springs Avenue going into Boise.

  The clothes of this time alone were draconian in nature, and lucky Bonnie had said it was all right for Belle to keep on her modern underwear and a sports bra. Belle had packed a couple of the 1900 corsets, but had no intention of ever wearing one.

  She had also never ridden a horse before. Ever. Growing up in suburban Phoenix had just not prepared her for riding horses, and she had never been one of the little girls who had wanted a pony. In fact, until this trip, she hadn’t given horses even a single thought.

  More than likely in 2020, she should have mentioned to someone she couldn’t ride. But Bonnie and Duster and Zane had seemed to take her lack of knowledge and skill in stride, with only a few really bad jokes.

  As Bonnie had said, “You’ll be fine after a few days.”

  Bonnie was leading two pack-horses covered in supplies, so was Duster, and so was Zane. She was the only one riding alone in clothes far too tight and too heavy for the weather.

  Ten minutes after climbing on her horse, the idea of a few days of riding seemed like an eternity she didn’t want to live.

  Belle’s main annoyance at not being able to ride, besides the constant terror of falling off, was that she had to stay focused on the horse and not spend time looking around at the historical buildings and such they were passing.

  So what she had noticed was that the day was going to be warm, that the trails were full of ruts and dusty, and that most places smelled like horse shit. And her horse seemed to have no problem in just plowing right through piles of other horse’s shit, which kept the smell around her for the entire first hour of their ride.

  She had barely made it through the streets of old Boise and out on the trail going west along the Boise River without falling off. And her legs were already starting to hurt.

  Zane, on the other hand, looked as if he had been born on a horse. He rode high, looking handsome in his suit and vest and cowboy hat. He seemed to never pay much attention to the horse at all, but instead he looked at the sights, trying to get Belle to look up at times. Duster had said that he was impressed at Zane’s horse skills at one point.

  So was she. And very envious.

  “A lot of entrances to caves needed to be packed into, even in 2120,” Zane said in response to Duster. “Riding horses and leading pack horses is part of the caver skill set.”

  Belle had just shaken her head at that. There was so much about the man she was falling for that she didn’t know. And from what Zane had said, they were going to have the time to get to know each other better in the long cave adventure.

  And she was actually looking forward to that.

  If she ever got off this damn horse and into the cave.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  July 11th, 1900

  Above Silver City, Idaho

  STANDING ON THE flat top of the mine tailings looking down at the mining town of Silver City was amazing. Zane couldn’t believe he was actually here.

  Beside him, holding his hand, Belle stared down the thousand feet at the old mining town as well. In 1900, Silver City was already on the decline, past its second boom cycle. But a good ten thousand people still lived in the valley below them. The sounds of digging and chopping filled the air along with the distant sound of a piano playing from one of the saloons.

  The trip from Boise had taken two days. The first day they had rode and then walked and then rode a little and then walked, finally camping near a hot springs on the banks of the Snake River.

  At that point, after almost twelve hours of travel, Belle was in bad shape from the ride, the long walk, and the dry heat of the warm summer day. Bonnie and Duster looked right at home and not fazed in the slightest. Zane felt like he had gone through a tough workout, but he would be all right. It had been a while since he had spent that much time on a horse and he was feeling that in his legs.

  Duster said he would take care of the horses while Bonnie started dinner and Zane helped Belle.

  Zane had gotten some extra salt tablets in Belle and water and then had taken her down to the hot springs where he had enjoyed watching her get naked and moan as she crawled into the hot water.

  He had joined her in the rock-lined hot-springs pool perched above the slowly moving Snake River below. It was a beautiful sight but Zane had a hunch Belle wasn’t enjoying it that much. They had helped each other get clean and then get on fresh clothes and get back to camp.

  Belle had managed to get some food and more water in her before crawling into their tent and passing out.

  Zane must have looked worried, but Bonnie just laughed. “She’ll be much better tomorrow.”

  And it turned out that she was.

  Now, at three in the afternoon, after climbing almost a thousand feet up a hillside dotted with mine tailings, Zane and Belle were at the old mine, standing on the mine’s tailings, looking down at the old town below.

  Behind them, a small wooden shack sat in front of a boarded-up mine entrance. Small rail tracks for ore cars ran from the mine out through the old shed and then to the front edge of the tailings.

  From what Zane could tell, the area behind the boarded-up entrance had caved in, and he could see no way into the mine. He hoped that cave-in wasn’t something new, but Bonnie and Duster hadn’t seemed to notice it.

  Zane had been in his share of old mines in his time. They were a thousand times more dangerous than any natural cave and he hadn’t much liked them. Taking calculated risks in caves was one thing, going into old mines wasn’t a calculated risk. It was just stupid.

  Duster and Bonnie set up a fake camp quickly, with two tents and what looked like the remains of a firepit near the old shack.

  All four of them had taken the packs and all the supplies from the pack horses, piling it near the entrance to the mine, then Duster had made sure the horses had enough feed and water for a day or so and had tied them off a short distance up the hill.

  If anyone came by, it would look like a normal camp with the prospector out and away from the camp for the moment. It was a great cover, Zane had to admit.

  Then Duster and Bonnie both took out binoculars and scanned the area in front of the mine and then the hillsides across the way. The hill slanted up steeply above the mine, but it turned to the right and ran out to another ridgeline across from the mine. The hills were all void of trees, leaving mostly only dried brush and other old mines.

  From what Zane could see, none of the other mines in sight were active.

  Out over the old town and a good two miles across the valley was another mountainside spotted with mines, but Zane doubted anyone could s
ee them from that far.

  “What are you looking for?” Belle had asked.

  “Anyone looking this direction, or in sight of this mine,” Duster had said.

  After a moment Bonnie said, “Clear.”

  “You and Belle take as many packs and saddlebags as you can carry and get inside,” Duster said, continuing to scan the mountains around them.

  Belle suddenly looked worried and Zane only shrugged. They were not going through that old boarded up entrance, so he had no idea where inside was.

  Bonnie indicated that Belle should get what she could carry from the pile as Duster kept scanning the hills around them.

  Zane didn’t exactly know what to do, so he helped Belle get a pack on her shoulder.

  “Clear,” Duster said after Bonnie told him they were ready.

  Duster just kept scanning the hillsides above them for any movement at all.

  Bonnie held up an old skeleton key and twisted the head on it, then tucked it away as a large rock beside them seemed to silently crack open and slide aside.

  A big metal door on the inside of the rock opened and Bonnie started in.

  Belle was surprised, but after a moment’s hesitation, quickly followed, glancing back at Zane with a wide-eyed look.

  The door closed silently and the big rock slid back into place.

  “Wow,” Zane said, shocked, as he just stared at where Belle had disappeared. “Would have never guessed that was there.”

  “And no one has,” Duster said. “In over four hundred years into the future.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  July 11th, 1900

  Above Silver City, Idaho

  BELLE WAITED UNTIL the lights came up and then followed Bonnie into what looked to be an old mine tunnel. It had big wooden beams holding up the ceiling and ore car rails running down the middle. An old line of electrical lights were hanging along one wall, giving the place a gold tint which felt appropriate for a gold mine.

  About thirty steps down the mine into the mountain, Belle could see where the tunnel curved to the right.

  She didn’t feel safe in here at all, but Bonnie seemed to think nothing of it, so she went in five paces, carrying all the bags and saddlebags and waited for Duster and Zane to join them.

  After less than a minute, Zane came out of the metal door chamber behind the big rock, looking around. He was an expert at anything underground and Belle suddenly felt much better just seeing him and the fact that with a glance he broke out into a big smile.

  Zane glanced back at Duster. “Great job reinforcing the old mine and making it look original.”

  “Thanks,” Duster said. “Not many can spot that.”

  “I wouldn’t want to be in here if you hadn’t done it,” Zane said, smiling at Belle.

  And that smile made her feel much better.

  Bonnie turned and headed into the mine. Belle was following, watching her step more than anything else for fear of tripping on the old mine ore car rails and dropping everything she was carrying.

  Then, in front of her, Bonnie vanished.

  “Now that’s weird,” Zane said from behind Belle.

  “Wall there at the corner is a hologram,” Duster said from behind Zane.

  At that moment Bonnie came back about halfway through the wall and offered a hand to Belle, who took it.

  “Close your eyes for a step and you’ll be fine.”

  Belle did for three steps as Bonnie led her straight forward where it looked like the tunnel had turned.

  Then Belle looked back at the surprised look and smile on Zane’s face. Belle couldn’t see the hologram from this side, but she knew where it was as Zane came forward and then closed his eyes for two steps right at a certain point.

  Now the floor of the old mine was smooth since the rail car tracks had turned to the right.

  “Nifty security feature,” Zane said.

  “Only one of many,” Duster said. “I’ll show them all to you a little later.”

  Belle loved the fact that Zane was smiling like a little kid in a candy store. Clearly being underground was his world and she actually wasn’t feeling that uncomfortable either, which surprised her.

  And having Zane smiling and enjoying himself made her feel better as well.

  They went through another hologram that made the mine look like it dead-ended, and then into a big natural cavern about the same size as the living room cavern under the institute. Lights on the ceiling came on and lit the place with a bright white feel.

  This was clearly their supply area, but nowhere near as large as the supply areas in the institute. Most of the wooden tables in here were empty. But there were still enough supplies to last for a very long time, of that Belle had no doubt.

  There was one table along the right wall with a large gun rack over it, and racks and racks of men’s suits and women’s dresses from this period of time.

  “Kitchen and bathroom areas back off to the left,” Duster said, putting his saddlebags and packs onto one empty table.

  Bonnie did the same, and Belle put what she was carrying on the table beside Bonnie’s stuff. They would repack everything for the first excursion underground.

  Zane put his stuff beside Belle’s and then leaned over and kissed her.

  “You two ready to see the crystal cavern before we go any farther?” Duster asked.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be,” Belle said, smiling at Zane and winking.

  Zane laughed and took her hand and the two of them turned to follow Duster toward another tunnel cut through the rock on the far side of the supply cavern.

  At the end of that, Duster unlocked a big metal door and stepped through into what looked like bright pink light.

  Belle and Zane followed and it took her about four steps into the huge cavern before she just stopped, unable to move.

  “Holy shit!” Zane said softly beside her.

  The cavern they had stepped into was so immense, she couldn’t even begin to get a sense of how big it was. The floor was flat and brown dirt, but the walls towered far over their heads and every inch seemed to be covered with glowing pink quartz crystals.

  Billions and billions of them of all sizes.

  “Any of the largest football stadiums in the country in 2020 could fit inside of here and not touch the sides or ceiling,” Duster said.

  Belle just couldn’t make her mind accept what she was seeing. It had a beauty to it that seemed to take all breath away.

  She let go of Zane’s hand and slowly turned around, trying to take it all in, but finding that impossible. The tiny door they had just come through seemed like nothing more than a dot on the massive wall of crystals that towered over her, arching upward to form the ceiling an impossible distance overhead.

  Across the vast space she could see the cavern was attached to another massive cavern and then beyond that more and more until the massive caverns vanished into a pinpoint in the distance as if she were looking into a mirror reflected in another mirror.

  She forced herself to take a deep breath and look down at the dirt floor and the footprints in the dirt to get her balance and bearing. Then she looked over to the right at a wooden table near one wall with a wooden box sitting on it and two wires lying on the ground.

  “Mind if I sit down for a moment?” Belle asked, not waiting for an answer as she lowered herself to the floor of the cavern. She needed to feel some strength from the solidness of the floor. The vastness of the cavern was going to take some time for her mind to even pretend to grasp.

  “Good idea,” Zane said, sitting beside her.

  Bonnie laughed. “Everyone sits down when they first see this place. Some, like you two, are just a little more dignified than others.”

  Belle was glad she was one of the dignified ones, but she had to admit, she didn’t feel dignified in the slightest. She felt tiny and small and very, very much in awe of one of the great sights in the universe.

  Stretching out in front of her and over her was the cavern
where all energy and matter and time converged into a place of spectacular beauty and power.

  Dignified in the face of all that just wasn’t much of an option.

  PART FOUR

  Time Passes

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  July 11th, 1900

  Above Silver City, Idaho

  ZANE TOOK A deep breath and shouldered his backpack. Then he turned to make sure Belle was all right with her pack as well. She seemed to be fine.

  Then he turned to Duster and Bonnie. Duster had on thick gloves and had connected the two wires to a crystal on the wall, then connected one end to the wooden box on the table. He had not connected the other wire just yet.

  Over the last two hours, after first seeing the cavern, they had gone over the plan one more time while having a lunch in the modern kitchen area of the cavern.

  All four of them were going to go back ten years to 1890, all carrying a vast amount of supplies and water to be left in the cavern near the table. They wanted to do that even with the supplies in the supply cavern just feet away, just in case. They were trying to cover all bases as much as they could.

  Then Bonnie and Duster were going to stay in the packing area for one exact day, then Duster was to pull the wire from the machine.

  Zane and Belle were going to set out walking into the caverns, trying to get in as far as they could in that same time before Duster pulled the wire.

  In theory, pulling that wire would bring all four of them back to the wooden box in 1900.

  In theory.

  At one point in the planning process back in Boise, Zane had asked Duster, “You are afraid the time crystals won’t work to pull us back because of dimensional distortions in the caverns, aren’t you?”

  Both Duster and Bonnie had nodded.

  “So what do we do if that happens?” Zane had asked. “Where do we end up?”

  Duster had looked at Bonnie and both of them had shrugged. “We honestly don’t know. Our math can’t account for all the dimensional distortions inside the cavern.”