By Ellen Lindow and Paula Austin
Something woke Alex up. At first he wasn't sure where he was. Richie lay curled beside him on the pallet on the floor. Emma was on the other side of him. She sat up and looked around. They were at the beach! Alex remembered now. Uncle Alan had promised to take them exploring in the morning. Was it morning already? He could hear his parents' voices in the other room. It must be breakfast time. Usually they didn't get up until it was light when they were on Loki.
Alex stood up and Emma was right behind him. They reached the door at the same time and pushed it open. He found it strange to watch the door swing to one side instead of disappearing into the wall. Emma had taken one of the doors apart yesterday to find out how the hinge worked. Mama had not been happy about that, but Uncle Alan had laughed and showed them how the pin fit into the round holes of the hinge so it would swing just right. Emma had asked millions of questions.
The living room was fully lighted and Daddy was pouring three cups of coffee.
"Is it breakfast time?" Emma asked as she climbed into a chair at the table.
"What are you two doing up?" Mama asked in surprise.
"We woke up," Alex said and climbed into Mama's lap. "Is it time to go exploring, Uncle Alan?" He reached for Mama's cup. She usually let him have a sip or two of the warm bitter liquid. It still smelled better to him than it tasted.
"It's still hot, Alex," Mama warned, moving the cup away from his reaching hand. "Just wait, you can have a sip when it cools."
"You two should still be in bed." Daddy put his arm around Emma's waist and lifted her up. He sat down and settled Emma on his lap.
"When are we leaving, Uncle Alan?" Emma asked.
It was Daddy who answered. "There's been a change of plans, kids. Your Uncle Alan has to take Mama up to the farming community. They need her up there."
"Awww!" Alex and Emma both moaned.
"We just got here!" Emma exclaimed.
"We have to go already?" Alex asked sadly. Uncle Alan had told them all about the beach and the cliffs and had promised to show them a cave, just like out of the book Treasure Island that Miss Laurie had read to them.
Mama kissed the top of his head and said, "I have to go. You're staying here with Daddy."
Alex glanced quickly at Daddy. Emma was doing the same thing.
"I have to meet with Mr. Hayes in the morning about the construction here, then we'll spend the rest of the day on the beach," Daddy said.
Alex nodded. He loved Daddy, and didn't want to hurt his feelings, but Daddy didn't really know how to play well.
"We need to get moving," Uncle Alan said, draining his cup of coffee.
Mama nodded and took another swallow then handed the last to Alex and slipped out from under him. She kissed him, then leaned over and kissed Emma and Daddy. "Be good for your Daddy," she said. He and Emma both nodded.
Uncle Alan knelt by his chair and pulled his ear. "I'll be back in a couple of days. I'll take you guys exploring then."
Emma asked, "Promise?"
Uncle Alan winked at her. "Promise, Princess."
Daddy let them stay with him until Mama and Uncle Alan left, then he insisted they go back to bed. He tucked them both in and turned out the lights. The house was quiet and dark. They heard Daddy settle down in his bed across the hall and soon could hear him snoring softly.
Emma turned toward him and sighed. "I wanted to find the cave and play pirates."
"Me too. Hey, if we found the cave, maybe Daddy would play pirates with us!"
"We could find it while he's talking to Mr. Hayes," Emma suggested.
"Yeah, then we could show it to him when he's ready to play with us!" Alex whispered back. He reached out and grasped Emma's hand in the dark. She gripped it hard. Josh said sisters were yuck, but he didn't have any. Emma could be a lot of fun sometimes. He fell back asleep without even noticing.
The rising sun seemed to give the blue sand an iridescent glow as John finished his run near the construction site. He savored his morning runs in the fresh air of Loki versus the uninteresting treadmills on Alpha. As he cooled down on his way to the site he caught a glimpse of Simon Hayes, the construction foreman and engineer. The lean muscular black man was issuing orders in all directions with speed and competence. When Simon turned and saw John he smiled broadly and turned to meet him. John remembered that Simon had a reputation as a recluse and would rather be in his quarters reading technical journals and drawing designs than at a social function. Only when John started looking for someone with building and design experience was he even aware of Simon's presence on the base.
John returned Simon's smile and offered his hand as they met. Even in the early morning air the builder's face glistened with sweat. "It's coming along pretty well, Simon."
"Thank you, sir." Simon said as he glanced back toward the site and the bustling workers. Satisfied all was well, he turned back to John. "I think you'll be happy with this design. It will take advantage of cool ocean breezes to keep the interior comfortable, yet will be durable enough to withstand the harsh elements of winter."
"How is you schedule coming?"
"We ran a little behind when the electricians showed up late, but we'll be back on track by tomorrow."
Simon looked off into the distance. When John followed his gaze he noticed a small encampment some distance away.
"Some of your men?" John asked.
"No, sir. They showed up last night. I haven't seen anyone moving around since they erected that tower over there."
John saw the tower. It had a small radio-like antenna at the top. He couldn't imagine why it was out here. Tony hadn't mentioned any special project out here. Deciding to investigate, he beckoned Simon to follow him. "Let's see what's going on."
Suddenly Alex opened his eyes and it was light. He sat up and leaned over, shaking Emma, then Richie. He got up and dressed quickly and headed for the living room. There were three bowls on the table with cereal in them and three cups of juice. Alex's slate sat next to one bowl and when he looked at it he found a note on the screen from Daddy.
Alex,
Breakfast is on the table. I've gone running and will meet with Mr. Hayes before returning. Keep your sister and brother in line and play together. I'll be there as soon as I can.
Daddy
Alex gave a slow smile as he read the note and took a fistful of the crunchy cereal flakes.
"Hey, come on you guys. We're supposed to play until Daddy gets back."
Emma was tugging on a shirt as she left the bedroom. Richie followed her, rubbing his eyes. "Where's Mama?" he asked.
Emma answered. "She had to go to the farming community in the middle of the night. Uncle Alan took her."
Richie climbed up to the table. "He was going to take us exploring."
"It's ok," Alex said with authority. "Daddy told us we could go play. We'll find the cave and play pirates until Daddy's ready to take us to the beach."
"When is he going to do that?" Richie asked.
"After he talks to Mr. Hayes this morning. We can't go in the water until Daddy is with us," Alex warned Richie then he gulped down his juice.
Emma nodded. "So we can play pirates who never learned to swim and we'll drown if we get wet."
"Or melt. Maybe a sea witch put a spell on us, so we're sailors who can't get in the water," Alex grinned, warming to the topic.
"And she has flying monkeys like in the Wizard of Oz?" Emma asked hopefully.
"Yeah. And we're looking for a cave to hide from the flying monkeys."
Richie downed his glass of juice in one gulp. "We'd better hurry before they attack us," he said seriously.
Alex nodded. "Let's get our survival gear." He headed back to the bedroom and pulled out his backpack. It included a small first aid kit, a flashlight and his pocketknife. It also had a special zipping pocket for his slate. Emma and Richie followed him, stuffing their slates into similar zipping pockets. Alex returned to the front room and pulled a coil of rope from a cabinet that Mama used to hang up clothes to dry.
Emma pulled three small bottles of water from the cooler in the kitchen area. Richie grabbed a bag of carrot and celery sticks. Mama always kept plenty ready for them to snack on and they were allowed to eat them any time. Alex looked at the bowl of apples, but hesitated. Apples were special. There weren't a lot of apple trees on Alpha and there weren't any on Loki. He decided they better wait until Mama said they could eat them. Emma handed him a bag of crackers and he stuffed those in his backpack instead of the apples.
They burst out into the sunshine, three pirates in search of adventure. Uncle Alan said the caves were to the south, so they bounded down the blue sand beach, heading south.
John noticed immediately that the small tent was hastily constructed and not meant to remain for long. Several wires were strung leading from the tent to the tower structure.
He opened the door cautiously and peered inside. It was dark, but John could make out a computer console with multiple output devices. In the glow of the screen he made out a face. A familiar face. As he was about to speak the woman at the terminal looked up, surprised to see an equally familiar face at the door.
"Good morning, Commander" Sandra Benes said as she recovered from her surprise.
"Sandra? What are you doing out here? I didn't think you made many trips down here." It was obvious the John was just as surprised to see her if not more so. Sandra preferred to remain on Alpha rather than spend time on Loki "What is all this?"
Sandra smiled slightly as she pointed to the terminal and started to explain. "Tony called me and said that there were some complaints that the slates were encountering dead zones. We ran several diagnostics and couldn't find anything so I decided to come down and experiment myself. I came out here because it seems to be the area with the least interference." She punched several buttons and was rewarded by several columns of numbers on her screen. "I am tracking every slate in this area. Each slate has a tracking code. From here I can tell you the location and log if they go offline. So far nothing though." She peered into the darkness of the tent only just noticing the dark figure at John's side.
"Hello, Sandra" Simon said as he stepped away from John into the glow from the screen
"Simon?" Sandra was shocked to see her old friend on Loki. She and Simon had been close prior to Breakaway and she knew it was not his nature to crave fresh air and sunshine. If she was a loner he was undoubtedly a recluse. "I can not believe you came to Loki. I did not think you would ever."
Simon looked at her and smiled broadly. "I didn't think I would either, but the commander asked me to come down for this project. I didn't imagine it would be so beautiful."
"Well, I am glad you came. Perhaps while we are her we can have a picnic or something." Sandra returned his smile.
Koenig had been standing to the side silently observing the exchange. " I see you two know each other, then."
"Yes, sir." Simon replied. "I met Sandra while I was working with my father's firm in college. We found we were both the type that would rather spend a quiet night reading than go to a party. We got on quite well."
"So well you left me at the altar." Sandra piped in. Her smile indicated she held no malice for her former lover.
"Cold feet, Commander. The thought of the big church and all those people. I just bolted."
"Well, I'm sure you two will want to talk. I promised to take the kids to the beach today, so I'll leave you to it. Keep me up-to-date, Simon. Let me know if you need anything. Sandra let me know if you find anything. Try to get over to see us before you leave. Alan and Helena will be glad to see you in natural lighting." John gave them a smile and left the small dimly lit tent.
The sun rose higher in the sky and the day grew warm. They scanned the skies for flying monkeys but there were no confirmed sightings. The coastline became rockier and the cliffs became higher. Emma and Alex kept a lookout for caves but didn't spot any. Richie got tired, so Alex handed Emma his pack and let Richie ride on his back for a while. His little brother was beginning to get heavy when Emma grabbed his arm and pointed up into the rocks. There was a dark spot, not a round hole, but a long slit between two rocks.
"Do you think that's it?" she asked.
Richie slid off his back and peered up with him.
"Could be," Alex replied.
"It's a long ways up," Richie said.
"Not that far," Alex assured him. "I'll go up first and make sure it's the right place."
Emma handed him his pack and he adjusted it carefully then turned his attention to the rocks. He carefully worked his way up among the boulders. He tried out each hand and foothold as he went, just like Uncle Alan had said to do. The opening was about five meters above the beach. He had to jump from a tall boulder over to the ledge but it was only thirty centimeters or so. Emma and Richie watched from below. Alex waved at them and slipped into the crack between the rocks.
The floor was made up of small pebbles that crunched under his feet. He pulled the tiny flashlight from his pack. Two steps took him underneath the rock and it was black as the sky on Alpha. The passage narrowed, twisted, then suddenly widened and he was standing in a room wider than the bedroom he and Richie shared at home. "Wow!" he said softly. The sound echoed around the rocks, a spooky whisper. He turned and dashed out.
"Hey, pirates!" He called as he came to the edge of the cave. "You've got to see this!"
Emma was already halfway up the rocks and Richie right behind her. He held out his hand and she took it as she jumped across from the boulder. She stood behind him as Richie scrambled up onto the last boulder. Richie held tightly to him as he jumped across. Richie was still pretty small so it was a bigger jump to him.
"It is good to see you, Simon." she said as she embraced him.
"Thanks. You look well."
"I'm not bad. Listen, about the pic----" Sandra stopped. A soft buzz had gone off indicating a loss of signal from one of the slates. She sat down at the console and began pulling up all the data she could get. "Hello" she said as the information was displayed. It was not one slate but three. Three Koenig slates. She punched John's slate code on her own and waited impatiently for him to answer. "He must not have it with him." She turned to Simon. "We have to get to the Commander. The three slates we just lost were his children's and they are somewhere near the cliffs by the beach."
"Come on." Simon pulled her toward the door.
As Koenig neared the entrance to the house he decided they would pack a light lunch before heading to the beach. That way there wouldn't be the delay of eating and cleaning up and they would be home at a reasonable hour. As he walked through the door he was stunned by the silence. Children, especially his, were never silent, even when they were still. He looked into the kitchen and saw by the dishes by the sink that they were up and had eaten their breakfast. A cursory look in the bedroom indicated he was alone in the house. He knew he hadn't given them permission to go out, but they were not to be found inside. That could only mean trouble, particularly for them. He was about to call them on his slate when he heard the roar of one of the construction trucks pull up in front of the house. As he went out to investigate he saw Simon and Sandra get out.
"Commander!" Simon called, a little out of breath.
"What's the trouble?" John asked as the met him just outside the door.
"Are the children here?" Sandra asked immediately.
"No, I can't seem to find them. I was just about to call Alex on his slate." Koenig indicated his own slate.
"Try it, please." Sandra said looking over John's shoulder.
Koenig punched in the code for Alex' slate but came up with nothing. He then tried Emma's and Richie's. Still nothing. "I don't understand. They all seem to be malfunctioning."
" I was talking to Simon at the tent when I saw them all go off line." Sandra said.
"Do you think this could be one of our 'dead zones'?" Koenig asked.
"I do not think so. They have a very strong signal just before going out and there is nothing to cause interference where they were." Sandra replied. "As for a malfunction, the odds are almost astronomical that they would all go out at precisely the same moment."
Koenig growled "Can you give me a fix on their last location?"
Sandra pulled her slate from her belt and consulted it. "I can tell you it was south of here. Let me get back to my equipment and I can triangulate a more precise location."
Koenig turned and looked to the south. The remnants of three sets of tiny footprints could barely be made out. "Okay. Can you manage to get back in that?" He indicated the construction vehicle.
Sandra nodded her reply.
All right then, Simon you come with me. Let me know as soon as you have some thing, Sandra."
When John and Simon had followed the three sets of footprints for nearly a kilometer they became two. They assumed that since the larger of the pair were now more defined that Alex was carrying Richie. A few meters later the ground became more rocky and they lost the trail. They searched the ground in every direction but found nothing. They were about to split up when John's slate went off. Quickly answering it he found Sandra's welcome face on the screen. "What have you got for us, Sahn?"
"I can only give you a location plus or minus twenty meters, John. I am sending them to your slate and Simon's now."
"Anything will give us a starting point. Thanks, Sahn." Koenig closed his slate. John looked up to see a stricken look on Simon's face. "What is it?" He asked.
"Kenneth Runningbear and I were out scouting a few days ago. We share an interest in speleology. We saw some interesting caves and thought we might find time to come back to them. It was near those coordinates. Sir, those are very dangerous caves."
"Get a crew to meet us there." John took off for the point defined by Sandra's transmission.
Simon quickly removed his slate and called up the necessary men to initiate a search and rescue party. At the head of the list was Kenneth Runningbear. Growing up near the Black Hills in South Dakota on a Sioux reservation, he had honed his tracking and climbing skills as a youth. He was also the best spelunker Simon knew. Finally, he put in a message to Sandra. It might be necessary to hook up an alternate means of communication at the site. Messages sent, he started off at a run to catch up with his commander.
Alex pointed with his flashlight. "This way." He squeezed past Emma and led the way. Just as they all stepped into the dark he turned quickly and shone the flashlight up into his own face. "Boo!" he shouted quickly, his short word bouncing around the cavern.
Both Emma and Richie screamed; their own screams adding to the echoes. Then they grinned and began to bounce around the cavern screeching and screaming to hear the effect. Richie could manage some really high-pitched squeaks that made them all giggle they were so funny.
They made a pretend fire with their flashlights and pretended there were flying monkeys to fight off. They took turns digging for treasure in the gravel floor of the cave and keeping lookout for pirates at the entrance. They liked the way the echoes sounded when they picked up a handful of gravel and sifted it through their fingers.
Richie had been leaning out the entrance to the cave shooting imaginary flying monkeys. Alex was following a vein of white quartz flecked with mica toward the entrance and just happened to see Richie lean too far out and lose his grip. Alex dived forward and grabbed him by the back of the shirt. Both rolled onto the floor of the cave as Alex tugged his brother to safety. Richie's foot kicked at the small stone, moving it out of place. Before either could take a breath there came a low moan from above. Alex still had a grip on Richie's shirt and tugged him back just as the ceiling above them collapsed in a shower of dust and a crash of noise that echoed around the small chamber that now had no opening.
Breathless, they reached the coordinates given by Sandra. John looked at the forbidding rocks and cliffs and sighed. It was dangerous territory and one false move could mean instant death. They split up searching the base of the massive formation searching for any clues to the children's trail. John hoped desperately the Sandra had the wrong coordinates and that he would soon get a call on his slate from the children wanting to know when he would be home. Within a few minutes another vehicle arrived on site. It was loaded with men and equipment. The first out of the vehicle was Sandra who immediately began supervising the unloading and set up of her delicate communication equipment.
Another man got out of the vehicle and approached Simon shaking his head. John recognized him as Kenneth Runningbear. Runningbear was one of the few Native Americans assigned to Moonbase Alpha. At breakaway he had been a Nuclear Waste Disposal Technician. In the late seventies and early eighties the American government contracted many tribes to store nuclear waste on their reservations. In return they were paid well. The tribal elders would then divide the money among the population of the reservation, allowing families to improve their way of living and pay for college education for the children. Many of the tribe were also hired by the companies running the facilities. Runningbear was the product of such and arrangement. He was working at a site near Ruidoso, New Mexico when he was called by the ISO. Now, spending the majority of his time at the disposal sites on the far side, his presence on Alpha was little known to most of the population and he preferred it that way. A loner by nature his personality meshed with Simon's.
"Are they in that?" Runningbear indicated the rocks.
"That's what we think. We lost the signal somewhere near here." Koenig replied.
Immediately Runningbear began searching for tell-tale signs of the children's passing. It wasn't long before he waved them over. When they were beside him he indicate a spot on one of the rocks that was slightly scuffed. He pointed to a couple of spots further up the grade where rocks were over turned showing, to the trained eye at least, which way they had taken.
"Where could they be?" Koenig asked.
Runningbear replied without turning. "It looks like there has been a disturbance just under that pinnacle, sir. Simon and I will have a look." Returning to the truck the men removed and donned the necessary climbing gear. Each man inspected the other's rigging intricately. John began to pace nervously.
Feeling helpless, he began to pace around trying to lose some of the nervous energy he had pent up inside him. Out of the corner of his eye a movement caught his eye. He turned his head to get a better look but saw nothing. Walking around the base of the rock formation they were beginning to scrutinize he hoped to catch the movement again. Was he imagining things, he asked himself.
Looking over and over again he saw nothing that could have caught his attention, then suddenly he saw it again. A tiny hand shot out from a crack in the rocks. The tiny fist, index finger and thumb extended to give it the shape of a gun, shot out again. This time he made out Richie's head and shoulders leaning out of the crack at a precarious angle. He was about to yell at Richie to watch his balance when another pair of hands reached out from behind and pulled him back to safety. Suddenly, there was a loud rumbling and before John could react the tiny crevice was filled with rocks and earth. John felt sick to his stomach. If Richie was under those rocks....
As the echoes died around them Richie clutched tightly to Alex. Emma's flashlight filtered through the dust making the air appear golden.
"Alex? Richie?" she called. "Are you all right?"
Richie coughed from the dust surrounding him. He appeared to be drawing in a breath to cry, but Alex squeezed him tightly. "We're okay, Emma."
Alex sat up, still holding Richie.
"How are we going to get out?" Richie asked.
"We'll call Daddy," Alex said with confidence. "He'll come get us out."
That seemed to calm him some. "Daddy can find us?"
"Of course."
Emma pulled her slate from her belt. She powered it on and touched the communications section. She quickly touched her father's name on the list. The screen blinked letters at her saying "NOT AVAILABLE". She frowned and touched Mama's name with the same results. Uncle Alan was next on the list and she was certain he would answer, but "NOT AVAILABLE" blinked at her again.
Alex noticed her expression and stood, pulling Richie to his feet too. They peered over her shoulder. Emma tried each name again with the same results. Alex pulled out his slate and did the same thing. So did Richie.
"It's not working," Emma said, puzzled.
"Then we'll just have to wait for Daddy to find us." Alex said, sitting down next to Emma.
"Simon! Over here." He called as he started scrambling up the incline. As his hands and feet dug into the rocks trying to find to find purchase he prayed he would find his children alive. Though it was only about five meters he found the terrain too loose to make much headway. He realized that Runningbear was to his right waging his own battle against the terrain, but winning. The younger man quickly passed John reaching the site of the earthfall in only seconds and began removing rocks. After a few more seconds John made it up beside him and started to reach for a rock.
"No! Not that one Commander!" Cried Runningbear "Pull the wrong rock from this pile and we'll really have a mess."
"Well, do something!" Koenig snapped back irritated by his inablility to act.
"Sorry, sir. I know you're worried but we have to be careful. We might bury them in there." He looked back down toward the base. "Simon. See if you can scale the other side and get a block and tackle set up!" He yelled back down. "Reg, see if we can get a front-loader over from the site." He looked back at Koenig. "Sir, since you're up here, I'll show you what we can move."
John worked diligently removing only the rocks that were indicated safe. He heard a scraping from above and looked up to see Simon several meters up securing a sturdy rope to a rock formation. When he was satisfied with his handiwork he signaled Runningbear and lowered another length of rope to him.
"Sir, I think you had better head on back down now. Once the rocks start moving there may be another slide."
John didn't want to leave his children, but knowing that their lives were in capable hands he turned to make him way back down. Before he could take his first step he heard a loud 'crack' from above him and looked up just in time to see Simon tumbling toward him rapidly. With no place to go he could only brace himself for the impact. Simon hit him with enough force to throw him clear of the base and free of any loose boulders. Runningbear reached out to keep him from falling, but was pulled down as well. All three landed on the ground with a loud 'SNAP'. Battered and bruised, but not seriously injured John looked over to see Runningbear jump up and run to Simons side. Rolling on his elbow John could see Simon's face smeared with dirt, was a mask of pain.
"My leg!" he said between his clenched teeth. Bone was protruding from beneath the coverall at a sickening angle.
Sandra raced to his side. "Medical is on the way." She took his hand in her own. "Hold on"
Simon tried to sit up, but John was at his side in an instant restraining him. "Stay still Simon. The medics will be here soon."
"Got to get to the kids." Simon said between waves of pain.
"Don't worry, we will. Stay still, that's an order." Koenig said. He felt a hand on his arm pulling him away. Runningbear was pointing toward the rocks.
The three children sat on the gravel to wait for their father, confident that he would be able to find them soon. Alex had the other two turn off their flashlights to conserve power. The tried turning off all the flashlights, but that made it very, very dark and Richie got scared, so Alex turned his light back on.
They sat together for what seemed like ages, just waiting. Emma finally sighed and stood up. "What's taking him so long?"
"Maybe he won't ever find us." Richie whispered.
"He'll find us," Alex said confidently.
Emma moved around the walls of the little chamber again, inspecting every bend and crack. When she came to the bend in the cave where the rocks had fallen she looked carefully at the rocks at her feet, then up into what had once been the entrance.
"What do you see?" Alex asked.
"Rocks," she replied.
"That's helpful," Alex replied, his voice full of scorn.
She turned back to glare at him. "Bring that light over hear," she ordered. "But don't touch anything."
"Why, Emma?" Richie asked, standing to join her.
She squatted down and stared at the rocks some more. "It's like a great big game of pick-up sticks, Richie."
Richie knelt next to her and nodded, watching the rocks with her. They sometimes played the game in the daycare playroom on Alpha. You tossed the plastic sticks in a pile, then tried to remove them one at a time without moving the other sticks in the pile. Emma was very good at it.
Alex moved up behind her. "Some of them are too big to move."
"But if we move all the little ones we can, we might make a little hole we could crawl out of."
"What if we make it worse?"
Emma stood and leaned next to Alex. She pulled on his shoulder and he leaned down so she could whisper in his ear. Alex was nearly a head taller than her. "It can't get worse. If our slates don't work, Daddy won't know where to look."
Alex had thought of that, and wasn't surprised that Emma had figured it out too. He nodded, and put his hand on her shoulder. "You're the best chooser. Tell us what to move."
Just the way she did in the game, she pointed out obvious ones first, taking rocks that weren't touching others scattered around the floor. As she pointed them out, Richie and Alex moved them to the other side of the chamber. They stacked the rocks up neatly, as if they were building a wall. Emma continued to study the rocks blocking the entrance. Sometimes she would touch a rock gently, with just one finger, or trace around it carefully. She pointed out two fist size rocks that looked harmless enough, but she told her brothers not to touch them for any reason. Finally, she said, "That one, there," pointing out a rock at eye level with Alex. It was a large slab and Alex had to get Richie to stand beneath him and reach up to push the rock from below while Alex tugged. It took both of them to pull the rock carefully away, but when they did, a narrow beam of sunlight shone overpowering the fading light from Alex's flashlight.
"Oh!" Richie said, hands still over his head, supporting the rock.
There was now a small wedge of blue sky to be seen. Alex and Richie added that rock to the pile
"The rest of these rocks are too big, or have to stay," Emma said with a frown, when they returned.
"Take off your shirt, Richie." Alex said, returning to the chamber and his backpack.
"Why?" Richie asked.
"We're going to use it as a flag," Alex explained as Richie complied. The shirt Richie was wearing was a hand-me down from Alex. Alex had taken a plain pull-over shirt and painted it with bright streaks of color when he was four. It had been his favorite shirt, different from all the plain blue shirts they wore. He wore it until it was too small for him to squeeze into. Now it was Richie's. Alex knew Daddy would recognize it right away.
Following the spot where Runningbear was pointing, John saw a piece of cloth waving where the crevice had been. The cloth, he then realized, was one of Richie's favorite t-shirts. It had been a hand-me-down from Alex and he cherished it. John climbed the rocky grade again and leaned near to the hole, speaking to the occupants. After a couple of seconds he raised his head and smiled giving all the thumbs-up to indicate they were unhurt.
Sandra leaned close to Simon, gripping his hand tightly as Juan Enrique examined him. Fortunately Juan had been assigned to the construction site as a Paramedic and was on his way to the scene when Simon fell. After a quick injection of painkiller Juan immobilized the leg and picked up his slate. A couple of seconds later Helena Koenig's face appeared on the tiny screen. He explained the situation to her and awaited further direction.
"I'm already on my way, Juan. We had already been called about some children involved in a caving accident. ETA 3 hours. See if you can move Mr. Hayes to my house. It isn't too far away. I'll call and tell John you're coming."
"OK, Doctor. But I'll tell the Commander, he's right here."
"Oh? Put him on please."
Juan squirmed. "Uh well, Doctor, I can't. He's talking to the kids in the cave." To his relief, the screen went blank.
Seconds later John Koenig's slate went off.
"Koenig." John grabbed his slate and responded without looking to see who was calling. He froze unable to move as he heard the caller's voice.
"John, everything okay down there?"
John's heart nearly stopped as he peered down into the face of his wife. His mind raced to find a way to tell her that the children were in trouble. He paced down the beach away from the rescue effort.
"John?" She called again confused by the unfamilar expression on his face.
"Helena." He finally managed to say with difficulty.
"John, I heard that there are some children in trouble... "
'Helena..." He interrupted. He had to tell her that the children were hers.
But Helena was in doctor mode and she didn't hear him and continued with her statement. "I"m on my way down there now. Simon is in bad shape. I've given instructions for him to be taken to our house."
He tried again without success, "Helena..."
"John, I should be there in about 3 hours and..."
"HELENA!" He shouted. This time he garnered her full attention. His volume caused several of the workers to look in his direction.
"John?" Her voice held a tone of anger as she looked at his reflection.
"Helena, the kids...the ones in trouble...they're ours." He said the last two words slowly as he watched her expression change to one of terror.
"Oh God, No." She moaned tears immediately welling in her eyes. "All of them?"
"All of them. Helena, I have talked to them and they are all right." He quickly reassured her.
Slowly Helena regained control of her emotions. She studied John's face for a long minute. She could tell that he wasn't telling her the entire truth. "John, how did this all happen?"
John braced himself for what he knew would come next. She wasn't going to be happy with him and he knew it. John carefully chose his words. "I went running after you left this morning. Apparently, the kids were bored and decided to take a walk..." Those were the only words he managed to say before she cut him off.
"You went running? And left my children alone! How could you? You know how they were looking forward to going out with Alan! And you know they hate sitting in the house when they could be playing outside! Oh John, this is all your fault. How could you leave them alone? You aren't a rookie father, YOU KNOW THIS STUFF! You can command a staff of over 300 people, yet you can't keep up with your own children!" Her temper, usually given tight rein, was out of control. Although in nearly all situations she maintained a high level of calm, she had a soft spot where her children were concerned. He watched the skin around her neck turn a deep crimson color and shuddered as the color moved from her neck up her face. Like most men, he tried to stay on his wife's good side but there had been times like this when he was simply at the mercy of her anger.
John took at deep breath and stared intensely into his slate. He was already feeling guilty for their present situation and he certainly didn't need his wife to remind him. Nor did he need her to do it in front of the others. "Helena, can we talk about this later after the children are freed?" His voice held a tone of embarrassment and annoyance.
"No, We'll talk about it now!" She managed not to scream, but her voice was tense and insistent. Her children were in danger and he could tell that she was feeling the same overwhelming helplessness that he had felt before they found them.
"Helena! Let me rephrase that. We will talk about this later!"
Helena read his tone immediately. She looked away quickly. Her voice softened slightly and she spoke with a measured tone, "They're really okay?"
John exhaled deeply, "I've talked to them, they're okay for now. Look, I need to help with the rescue effort."
"Okay, I'll be there soon." She said, her voice devoid of any emotion. "But I'm not through discussing this matter."
"Helena." He looked at her pained expression. "They'll be alright. I promise. And if you're still mad when it's over, we'll talk about my loss of command of our children."
She shook her head in agreement and closed the connection.
John's ears were still ringing as he watched them move Simon to the construction truck and start back to his house. As soon as they were out of sight he heard the approach of the front loader. Runningbear jumped down from his perch in the rocks and directed it to the appropriate location. They were very careful not to come in too fast for fear of starting another slide. When it was positioned correctly, John and Runningbear, again secured by safety harnesses, started their careful excavation. The children had been instructed to get as far back as possible so they wouldn't be injured by falling debris and rocks.
An hour later they had a hole large enough for the children to climb out. John grabbed them hugging them tightly. He and Runningbear then transferred them safely to the ground. Runningbear took care of packing the equipment back up while John carefully inspected all three children for damage. The rescuers paused and waited to give their commander and the children a lift but John waved them off. All would be chaos at their cabin while Simon was attended to, and John wanted some privacy with his offspring.
Alex and Emma were watching the truck drive away. Both appeared to be more subdued than normal. Richie seemed completely unaffected. He climbed onto a rock and held out his arms to his father. John stepped closer and lifted the boy into his arms, giving him a hug and feeling so thankful that the three children were unharmed.
"We had fun, Daddy! We found the cave and played we were pirates. Then when the rocks fell we played like they were pick-up-sticks and moved them around. We knew you would find us and get us out."
John saw Alex flinch at the last statement. The utter faith in the child's voice almost overwhelmed him. What if he'd lost them? Helena couldn't possibly make him feel any worse than he already did. He hugged Richie hard. "You guys behaved really well during the crisis. I was proud of the way you took care of each other and helped each other.
He placed a hand on Alex's shoulder. The boy looked up and gave him a tenative smile. John returned his son's smile with a genuine smile of his own. It was obvious that this eldest child had protected his younger brother as much as possible from the ordeal.
John swung Richie down and leaned over to whisper in Emma's ear. "I need to talk to Alex."
Emma took the hint and took Richie's hand. "Come on Richie, let's run." The pair ran ahead and John followed at a slow walk.
"I'm in big trouble, aren't I?" Alex asked.
"Want to tell me why?"
"We could have gotten hurt."
"You could have all been killed. And then what would your mother and I do?" The question was asked bleakly and he knew it would be years before Alex was old enough to understand what kind of terror it would be to lose a child.
Alex put his hand in his father's. John looked down at the tow-headed boy with the deep blue eyes. He knelt and hugged the boy. "You and your brother and sister are so precious to us," he said into the blond hair. "Alex, some of this is my fault. I shouldn't have left you alone." John looked the boy in the eye as he said that. "But some of it was your fault too. Did you read the message I left you?"
"Yes, sir." Alex said faintly. The boy was scared. That was a good thing.
"What did I want you to do?"
"Play with Emma and Richie until you came back."
"Where were you supposed to play?"
"You didn't say-" Alex stopped at a look from John.
"Alex, if we were at home and I told you to go out and play, would you go to the Eagle Hangar to play?"
Alex shook his head. "We're not supposed to."
"Do I tell you that every time?"
Alex shook his head.
"Did you know I didn't want you to wander so far away?"
This time Alex nodded. He glanced toward his sister and brother who were on their knees by the water's edge looking at something in the sand.
"Alex, you're the oldest. If you tell them it's all right, they'll believe you. If you tell them to stop, they'll stop. I know it's not fair, but it's the way things are. You'll always be their older brother, and always have an obligation to watch out for them."
"I'm sorry, Daddy."
"I am too son, but that won't fix Mr. Hayes' leg."
"What can I do?" Alex was close to tears.
"Next time you're in a similar situation, think before you do something that might put yourselves or others in danger. Then make careful choices."
Alex stood next to him, lost in thought. Finally he nodded. "It's like chess."
Alex loved the game. John had taught him to play about a year ago. Watching the child grasp not only the way the pieces moved, but learning to see more and more moves ahead had been sheer delight for John. "Exactly. You have to look at all the possibilities and make the best choices. I should have seen that the three of you would be anxious to go out and play as soon as you got up, and I should have chosen to stay with you instead of going to run."
"You always run in the morning."
"That's right, I do. But your mother is always with you then. Or your Uncle Alan is watching you. I had never left you guys alone before, and I didn't handle this well."
"I should have played with Emma and Richie on the porch at the cabin. Then we wouldn't have gotten trapped in the cave and Mr. Hayes wouldn't have gotten hurt."
"Exactly. Next time you have choices to make, you have to think several moves ahead to what might happen. Sometimes you have to take risks, just like in chess, but make sure the risks are taken when you need to, not needlessly."
Alex nodded.
Richie looked up from down the beach. "Daddy! Alex! Come look at this."
Alex looked up at his father who nodded. The boy ran down the beach, one more step on the road to growing up had been accomplished. John knew it was a lesson with a high price, but hopefully one Alex would remember for a long time.
Paula Austin
Ellen Lindow
March, 2000