“I’ll go down first,” Günter said. “I did my share of mountain climbing when I was younger. I can do it.”
“I don’t have enough equipment to make a harness for you,” Emerson said. “I only packed one descender and one headlamp.”
“No problem,” Günter said. “I’ll be fine.”
“At least take the second pair of gloves,” Emerson said. “Go down as slowly as possible.”
Emerson eased Günter over the side of the hole. Günter wrapped a leg around the rope and swung off into space.
“Eeeeeeeee,” Günter screamed. WUMP!
Emerson and Riley looked into the hole.
“Günter?” Emerson stage whispered.
“Unh,” Günter said.
“Are you okay?”
“No. The rope is too short.”
“I was certain I calculated correctly,” Emerson said. “Perhaps I underestimated the time it took for the stone to hit bottom.”
“I think I broke my leg,” Günter said.
“I’m going next,” Emerson said, hooking the duffel bag over his shoulder. “I need to assess the situation.”
“Sure,” Riley said. “Bon voyage. Happy landings.”
Emerson slipped over the side, and even in the almost total blackness Riley could see that he was controlling his descent. Emerson was toned muscle on a lean frame. And he was skilled on the rope. She heard him drop to the cavern floor, heard a murmured conversation between him and Günter.
“Riley, you’re next,” Emerson called from below. “Pull the rope up and attach it the way I showed you. Remember to switch your headlamp on when you go over the edge and begin to drop.”
Riley looked into the hole. “Over the edge” had new meaning. “Over the edge” was freaking scary. She pulled the rope up and worked it into the descender. She inched closer to the hole and sat with her legs dangling.
“Anytime now,” Emerson called up to her.
“You can do this,” Riley said to herself. “The rope is secure. Emerson is on the bottom. You have a job to do. You need to help Emerson find the gold and see that justice is done. This is what you’ve always wanted to do. This is your chance to make a difference. This is your opportunity to be brave.”
“Riley,” Emerson called, “who are you talking to?”
“Myself.”
“Could you hurry it up?”
“I’m going to be brave,” she said.
“Just jump in and get it over with,” Günter yelled up at her. “I’m not getting any younger.”
Riley sucked in some air, held her breath, closed her eyes, and pitched herself forward into a free fall. She squeezed the descender, the ropes caught, and she hung, swinging in the vast blackness of the hollow earth.
She switched the headlamp on and saw bats clinging to the side of the cave inches from her face. Someone whimpered. She supposed it was her. She switched the lamp off and played out the rope, dropping more slowly, trying to control the whimpering.
“What happened to the light?” Emerson asked her.
“I shut it off. I don’t want to see where I’m going. You didn’t tell me there’d be bats.”
“Well, of course there are bats. It’s a cave.”