Surveyor Cave

Episode 10

The explosions and resulting breakdown that blocked their retreat was too much for Roger, not from a claustrophobic perspective, but due to his obsession for meticulous record keeping. He lamented, "All my work, for nothing. The data, the maps…the integrity is lost. This is an insult. I quit… as soon as we find our way to an entrance… that's it!" He hurled his PDA toward a wall, but Tobias caught it in mid-air and turned to Roger, calmly stating "the information you have in this thing may help us find our way out. Simmer down a bit, my friend, and we'll work together & get out of here." He turned to the rest, and said, "Let's just sit still for a few moments and each of us can get a grip. Then we'll all work as one team and survey our way out of here.

Maria sat down and leaned back against a wall, and the rest sat in a circle near the tomb, pawing at the dusty floor. She closed her eyes, and daydreamed about a creek that ran by the house where she grew up. The thoughts were so vivid that she imagined herself sitting on a gravel bar, the water trickling by and wicking its way into her clothes. She raised her hand to scratch her nose, and some mud stuck to her cheek. "Strange," she thought to herself, "this room was all dry and dusty; where did this mud come from?" Then with some alarm, she realized that her clothes actually were wet, and that the babbling stream in her thoughts was a real sound, echoing its way along the wall against which she was leaning.

"Hey," she shouted, "where's this water coming from?" The group looked over, initially rather unconcerned. Roger noted that a muddy area was growing from the crevice where Anthony had disappeared. In a few moments, the mud turned into a trickling rivulet of water, then in a few more seconds, into a stream. "I don't like the looks of that," he warned, and the others watched as the water quickly covered the floor of the room and started rising. They quickly ascertained that they had better move…and that there was no way to go but up.

The now terrified contestants climbed the canyon walls. They reached the level they had traversed before dropping into the tomb room, but continued since the passage was blocked and since the water was rising rapidly. Up, up they climbed, squeezing through narrow sections with razor-sharp ledges. They made incredible progress, since they now had practiced skill and were spurred on by adrenalin. They climbed to the very top of the canyon, emerging into a larger, round shaped passage. In their panic they did not realize it, but the cross-section of the canyon passage was like the shape of a key hole for an old skeleton key, the round top portion formed by an ancient river that had long since been pirated. That fortunate geological feature saved them, for the water rose to that level and started moving horizontally, moving them faster and faster along the ancient river passage. They floated along, using arms and legs to deflect themselves from protruding rocks, wondering how long they would be able to move like this before the passage sumped.

The passage did not sump. Rather, the river spit them out into a large dome pit, so they floated in a slowly swirling pool of unknown depth. As they circled around, they realized with some relief that the water level was staying the same. The reason became apparent as they spied two body-sized cracks in the walls, across from each other in the pit. The cracks were from an old cross-cutting stream, and the water was flowing out of one while the other lead upward! One by one they caught hold of some fluted protrusions near the upper crack and squirmed their way into a narrow, but dry side passage.

The canyon passage sloped gradually upward, leading them away from the terrifying flood. After about 10 minutes of frantic crawling, they entered a cozy room, big enough for all of them to collapse and sprawl out on the floor. They slowly regained their wits, and each gave thanks for having their lives spared by quick thinking, skill, and a lot of luck.

Sally then let out a blood curdling scream, jarring everyone back into their frazzled state.

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*Episode 10*

The explosions and resulting breakdown that blocked their retreat was too much for Roger, not from a claustrophobic perspective, but due to his obsession for meticulous record keeping. He lamented, "All my work, for nothing. The data, the maps…the integrity is lost. This is an insult. I quit… as soon as we find our way to an entrance… that's it!" He hurled his PDA toward a wall, but Tobias caught it in mid-air and turned to Roger, calmly stating "the information you have in this thing may help us find our way out. Simmer down a bit, my friend, and we'll work together & get out of here." He turned to the rest, and said, "Let's just sit still for a few moments and each of us can get a grip. Then we'll all work as one team and survey our way out of here. Maria sat down and leaned back against a wall, and the rest sat in a circle near the tomb, pawing at the dusty floor. She closed her eyes, and daydreamed about a creek that ran by the house where she grew up. The thoughts were so vivid that she imagined herself sitting on a gravel bar, the water trickling by and wicking its way into her clothes. She raised her hand to scratch her nose, and some mud stuck to her cheek. "Strange," she thought to herself, "this room was all dry and dusty; where did this mud come from?" Then with some alarm, she realized that her clothes actually were wet, and that the babbling stream in her thoughts was a real sound, echoing its way along the wall against which she was leaning. "Hey," she shouted, "where's this water coming from?" The group looked over, initially rather unconcerned. Roger noted that a muddy area was growing from the crevice where Anthony had disappeared. In a few moments, the mud turned into a trickling rivulet of water, then in a few more seconds, into a stream. "I don't like the looks of that," he warned, and the others watched as the water quickly covered the floor of the room and started rising. They quickly ascertained that they had better move…and that there was no way to go but up. The now terrified contestants climbed the canyon walls. They reached the level they had traversed before dropping into the tomb room, but continued since the passage was blocked and since the water was rising rapidly. Up, up they climbed, squeezing through narrow sections with razor-sharp ledges. They made incredible progress, since they now had practiced skill and were spurred on by adrenalin. They climbed to the very top of the canyon, emerging into a larger, round shaped passage. In their panic they did not realize it, but the cross-section of the canyon passage was like the shape of a key hole for an old skeleton key, the round top portion formed by an ancient river that had long since been pirated. That fortunate geological feature saved them, for the water rose to that level and started moving horizontally, moving them faster and faster along the ancient river passage. They floated along, using arms and legs to deflect themselves from protruding rocks, wondering how long they would be able to move like this before the passage sumped. The passage did not sump. Rather, the river spit them out into a large dome pit, so they floated in a slowly swirling pool of unknown depth. As they circled around, they realized with some relief that the water level was staying the same. The reason became apparent as they spied two body-sized cracks in the walls, across from each other in the pit. The cracks were from an old cross-cutting stream, and the water was flowing out of one while the other lead upward! One by one they caught hold of some fluted protrusions near the upper crack and squirmed their way into a narrow, but dry side passage. The canyon passage sloped gradually upward, leading them away from the terrifying flood. After about 10 minutes of frantic crawling, they entered a cozy room, big enough for all of them to collapse and sprawl out on the floor. They slowly regained their wits, and each gave thanks for having their lives spared by quick thinking, skill, and a lot of luck. Sally then let out a blood curdling scream, jarring everyone back into their frazzled state.