The Special People

Chapter 2

James looked up at the sky and said, "We really should be getting back for the day before it gets too dark."

"We're close.We are, I am aware.“I can feel it,” Leo declared.

Nevertheless, it is unsafe.We can continue tomorrow morning, Lucas insisted.

"Come on, we've been looking for more than a week.We won't be hurt for one more day, Jeff said.

Jeff is with me.James declared, "The day is over."

"I still maintain that this cave is not real.This mountain is very familiar to me.It has already been searched many times by us.For your sake, I'm telling you that there is no cave.Lucas stated, "You are wasting your time."

According to the writings, his cave is close to his temple.We have looked in every place.Leo stated, "It has to be here somewhere."

Additionally, they claimed that Isaac can turn his arms into snakes.Do you also hold that belief?”James asked.

Leo responded, "The stories always exaggerate, but there is also some reality to them."

“So, what about the part that says this cave is guarded by a huge serpent, and no one ever comes out of it?” you might ask.James asked.

"An additional exaggerationDo you really believe that there would be a great serpent guarding the cave for more than five hundred years?Leo responded.

Lucas responded, "Look, you hired me as your guide, and I must insist that we continue the search tomorrow."

Leo said defeatingly, "Fine, but remember this rock," pointing to a minivan-sized boulder next to the path.From here, we will continue our search in the morning.

Hold on a second, I need to take a break first.James stated, "My throat feels like sandpaper."

James made the announcement, "All right, everyone, take five."

"James, another water break?Leo jokingly commented, "You must have had a camel somewhere in your family history."

Steve moaned, "Yeah, yeah."

After taking a sip and unscrewing the lid of his canteen, he sat down on a flat rock near the boulder.To stretch his neck for a moment, he set the canteen next to him, but it tipped over on the slick surface and began to slide, spilling his water all over the rock.As he rushed to catch it, he lost his balance and fell over.

As Steve fell, Leo broke out in raucous laughter.He ended up lying face down, just inches from the ground, and his nose was covered in muddy dust.

Leo mocked, "Clearly not a very graceful camel."

As he tried to get back up, Steve moaned.His attention was drawn to the faint sound of liquid moving through a hollow passage.When he looked, he saw water running down the boulder's side and into a small, gloomy crevice beneath it.

"Stop that!You guys need to check this out!”Steve exclaimed excitedly.

They went over to find out what he was saying.He took out his empty canteen and poured it onto the boulder's backside.

Wow, that's incredible!I had no idea that wet rocks had that appearance.Leo said in a sarcastic tone, "You must be proud."

“No, look, there’s something there underneath the rock,” Steve pointed after giving Leo a cold stare.

Leo sat down to examine the crack beneath the boulder.When he realized what it must be, his eyes widened.

"Bring out the shovels!"

They all laboriously dug until a man could fit through the opening in the crevice.Leo took out a flashlight from his pack and pointed it down into the hole.He could only make out the five-foot-wide rocky walls of a cave shaft.He scanned the bottom's light without finding anything, feeling nervously excited.

A glow stick was pulled out of his pack when he reached back into it.Before dropping it down the shaft, he cracked it and shook the liquid inside until it turned neon orange.Before it reached the bottom, it fell about fifty feet.

"Obtain the harnesses and ropes.He exclaimed excitedly, "We're heading down."

James declared, "It's getting too dark," as he observed the last traces of sunlight disappearing from the horizon.This should be done tomorrow.

Leo replied, beginning to fasten his harness, "Oh, there is not a chance that I am waiting on this another day."Besides, it's a cave, so it doesn't matter if the sun is out or not.

They followed Leo's lead and fastened their harnesses, realizing that he was determined to proceed either way.After hooking himself to the rope and anchoring it to the boulder, Leo took out the rope.He first carefully slipped through the opening.Once inside, he carefully lowered himself down the shaft before slowly sinking his weight into the harness and dangling there for a moment to take in the quiet darkness.He finally touched the ground as the glow stick's light got closer and closer.

Wondering how long it had been since anyone had been down here, he first glanced around the cave.He felt an excited shiver run down his spine at the thought of being the first person in over 500 years.He hesitated to reveal this discovery to anyone else despite the others calling to him.He enjoyed the solitude of taking in everything on his own.He then called back to them to descend shortly thereafter.

Lucas and Jeff were the next to descend.Steve resisted at first.When Leo looked up, he saw him looking nervously down at the shaft's entrance, giving the impression that he'd rather be doing something else.

"Why are you holding out?Take a seat here!Leo yelled.

I am merely an archaeologist!Caves are not what I study in ancient ruins!I believe we should hire more skilled cave divers for this!Steve responded.

“Nonsense!For this, we don't need to be cave divers!According to the legend, Isaac first explored this cave when he was just a small child.We can do it, too, if he could!"Leo retorted with,Please, I am on belay.

Steve reluctantly fastened the rope to his harness.He slid down the shaft in a less-than-stellar fashion, crashing into the wall and throwing some rocks off.He stopped short of the ground and extended his toes, but he was unable to reach them, so he ended up dangling there and swinging back and forth until he lost control and fell flat on his buttocks.As the others helped a groaning Steve to his feet, Leo laughed.

In the dim light, they could see a tunnel at the bottom of the shaft with layers of sandstone forming a rainbow of reds, browns, purples, and whites that flowed and curved smoothly along the walls to show the natural artwork that had been created over centuries of erosion.As they advanced through the tunnel, which wound around and down into the mountain, the men looked around in awe.By the time they got to the bottom of the tunnel, the walls were so close together that they had to pass through sideways, forcing them to slide down rather than climb a steep slope.They started to see a faint, pale green glow coming from somewhere in the distance as they fought their way through, and as they got closer, it got steadily brighter;Clearly, it wasn't sunlight.They all instinctively stopped and stared fearfully at the eerie light.Steve broke the silence, eliciting a slight jolt from everyone.

"What is it?"

Leo muttered, unable to ignore the strange light, "I don't know."Keep going, but be cautious.

After a slight turn, the tunnel opened up into a massive cavern, which they proceeded cautiously.The walls had thousands of small cracks that let out the green glow.The ground was covered in a mist that reflected the light, lighting everything strangely from the bottom up.The plant life that emerged from the mist, on the other hand, was the most amazing aspect.The cavern was lined with a wide variety of trees and bushes, resembling a forest.Except for a few, the majority of these appeared to be plants from the outside world;They also had a faint glow emanating from the bark's cracks.Additionally, their leaves were nearly black in color.A few of the shorter trees had branches that twisted around themselves and then burrowed into the ground like large leafy spiders, and some of the plants had very strange shapes.Strange shrubs with two long branches sprouted from the rest and wound themselves into the branches of the trees above them under some of the trees.

James said as he stared in awe, "I think this may be outside of my area of expertise."

"I dislike it.James stated, "It doesn't feel right."

"When do you feel right about anything?"Leo retorted as he cautiously entered the forest.

"Some biologists need to come in here.James exclaimed as he and Jeff hesitantly followed, "These plants are amazing."

"How do you suppose they'll get by without sunlight?"inquired Jeff.

Lucas stated, "I have no idea in the least."

Steve said with nervousness, "Look, this forest is a little out of the ordinary, and I am inclined to think that maybe there might also be some other things out of the ordinary."He was standing at the tunnel's entrance because he had not followed the group.

What exactly?Leo yelled, "A giant snake?"

"I think it is evident that the temple might have been telling the truth" when it mentioned strange things in this cave.

“Hello?Is there an enormous snake here?”Leo yelled at the top of his voice.

Steve hid from the noise.

"Would you be so quiet?"He hissed, but Jeff and James were both trying to keep from laughing at James's fury.