The Cave-In
Charles was not used to being alone. He was always in the company of those that he loved and loved him. That is why when the cave collapsed and his group was on the other side of the cave in; and he was alone for the first time.
It was to be an adventurous day. He and his family and a group of his friends were going hiking up in Wesley preserve. They were going to go beyond the forest and take an unused path up the mountainside. They weren’t expecting to find the cave. But it was definitely one that they all agreed to explore.
Charles was the first to enter. He had brought a flashlight. He was followed closely by the others in small groups. Obviously not closely enough. When he heard the rumble he was too far ahead of those behind him. When the roof caved in he was separated. His only hope was that they were not trapped as he was.
Shivers ran down his spine as he checked his surroundings. The path behind was clearly blocked. The path ahead had narrowed but was still passable. With the exception of his flashlight, there was no source of light.
He reached for his phone to see if he had a signal to notify the others. It wasn’t there. He must have dropped it when the roof caved in. If they were tracking his phone, they wouldn’t know where he was.
Should he stay and hope that they would dig him out or attempt to move forward and find another route to safety?
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The cave-in was unexpected. The group behind Charles heard the rumble and without a second thought screamed out that everyone should run back towards the opening, which they did. They assumed that Charles had heard. When he didn’t show up at the opening of the tunnel, They all began to worry.
“We must go back and find him!” his parents screamed.
“It’s not safe!” yelled another adult.
Someone checked their phone and using their find your friends app, located exactly where Charles was. “He’s exactly where the cave-in is. And he’s not moving.”
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Charles decided to move forward. It was getting colder in the cave. He couldn’t figure out whether he was shivering from fear or the air. It was like jumping into ice-cold water. As he moved further on, though, he did hear the sound of rushing water. The closer he got to the sound the louder it got.
He finally reached an opening into an underground cavern. Below him, he could see rushing water, from what seemed to be an underground river. If water was flowing that meant that it had to have an entranceway and an exit way. Which way to follow?
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Outside rescue workers were called in. No one from Charles’s party had left the scene. Workers were inside trying to dig through the rubble. It was an arduous task. The only positive sign, by happenstance, was that Charles’s phone was found and he was not with it.
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Charles decided to follow the flow of the river. Based on the speed of its flow, he assumed that the opening in which it entered was small. That was a good choice, for, in fact, the river flowed towards a light. That light was the opening in the mountain where the river exited. At that point, the flow had slowed down. The water was cold but it was easy for him to escape the clutches of the cave. He had no idea where he was.
It wasn’t until an hour later when he was found by those rescuers who were searching for other exits of the cave and he was reunited with his family and friends.
It was an experience he hoped he would never have to encounter again.
