Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 255

Chapter 255: The cave
“If it blows, it goes.”

Ford said the words softly to himself. In the mining world, whenever wind came through the rocks, it meant there was a tunnel on the other side.

A cave.

Remaining calm, the man methodically moved the next rock out of the way. The blockage could still go on for a long way; this just meant it was no longer airtight. There were enough gaps to let the wind from within the cavern and the pressure of it come through this exit.

How far? A few steps? A stone’s throw? More?

He made no comment to Gary when the man came to the slightly wider part of the tunnel to collect the moved debris.

Why Ford didn’t share the information immediately, he really couldn’t say. Working steadily onward, he removed stone by stone at a pace that would have exhausted anyone not used to this life.

However, his muscles had been shaped by years of chipping away at stone and moving it. Though they protested at first after the atrophy of injury and rest, eventually they remembered their jobs and cooperated with his efforts.

Much better than the complaining Gary’s did, it seemed.

The man groaned with effort, and seemed oddly wimpy despite having worked at this for so long. Yet, Ford didn’t believe the man was lazy; no one lazy would have chipped away at this seemingly insurmountable task without reward.

Hours passed, and Ford moved deeper into the tunnel. The flickering lamp he had was almost blown out several times by the breeze coming from deeper in the cave. Each time, Ford held his breath, knowing that utter darkness, while not dangerous by itself, was not a pleasant thing to endure. Gary came and went over and over, hauling out barrows of rock each time

Heaving a heavy sigh, he reached for the next rock. When he pulled it, he heard the shifting before he saw it.

Backpedaling as swiftly as he was able, he snatched the lamp up from the floor and fled.

The sifting of dirt and sand could quickly become the roar of a cave in. Ford thought that was unlikely, but he’d seen unlikely things happen before, and he wasn’t in the mood to endure the unthinkable now.

Especially since Gary did not possess the skill to execute a rescue of any kind, and Mia would be too frozen with fear to go into the place she was already so scared of.

The tunnel fell silent, and Ford paused his retreat. Perfectly still, he listened. The sifting had ceased, and he waited another three minutes before feeling assured that nothing further would happen immediately.

Making his way back deeper in the tunnel, he knew the time was drawing close for Gary to make another trip inside to retrieve the stone Ford loosened from the blockage.

The hauling was, in some ways, the more difficult task, but Ford had the more dangerous position, and it required more knowledge of rock and mining. He also suspected that Gary liked checking on Mia often, either because she was pretty or because the man still harbored suspicions that the pair were going to steal from him in some way.

Quickly, Ford pulled the loosened rock into a place where Gary would find it and take it. He could already hear the older man venturing back into the tunnel for another load in the wheelbarrow. There would be plenty for him to take.

Looking deeper, Ford realized the shifting had opened up a good portion of the wall he’d been working on.

Did it go all the way through?

He wasn’t sure, and didn’t want to reveal just yet how much progress he’d made. So, Ford busied himself with the sounds of excavation, continuing to move stone and rock and chip as if things were exactly the same as before.

Gary filled the wheelbarrow with the pile of rock further up the tunnel and departed, and Ford picked up his lamp. His crutch was against the wall, discarded, and he did not take it now. The way was too narrow to make much use of it anyway.

Climbing, and ducking, Ford picked his way over the rough stone floor, until he passed the place he’d been working on before by quite a way, and realized the ground had become smoother, the ceiling higher, and the way… warmer?

Unusual for a cave, he thought. The wind blew through it with some strength, which made him wonder where the other openings might be. There could not come such strong breeze from mere cracks in the surface somewhere, could there?

He didn’t know. What he did know was that he couldn’t keep this secret for long. Gary would come and find it, and want to explore deeper before Ford could let Mia know. He had to get ahead of that prospect… didn’t he?

Or should he explore now, on his own, leaving the others behind?

He could make the case that he was checking the deeper parts of the tunnel for safety. Mia would probably accept that explanation; she was so trusting. But Gary wasn’t. And Ford wasn’t sure how the man would react if he thought he was betrayed.

Suspicious men were ones to be wary of, and Ford wasn’t sure he could afford to anger the stranger. So he turned back. The three of them would go in together, or no one would.

If Mia refused, if she was still too afraid, Ford would deal with that when the time came, but, decision made, he turned back to the cooler air of the tunnel he’d created. Up to the surface, to sunlight.

Apparently the exhausting work of excavating had inspired Gary to take a rest leaning against a boulder as he talked to Mia, who was a few steps away, brushing the horses.

“I’m interested to know more about your family,” He was telling her, wiping his brow and smiling charmingly, “Particularly your aunt. She made such an impression, though I met her only briefly…”

Mia looked up to respond and saw Ford standing here at the mouth of the entrance. Her eyes widened as she stepped towards him.

“Is everything all right?” She asked breathlessly.

Just as she did so, the ground shook beneath them.