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"What under earth are you screaming about?" they all chimed.
"A skull!" she cried. Indeed, as they looked at the nooks and crannies in the walls, they found several
skulls, each staring into the space of the room, unaware that their eternal darkness had been interrupted.
In one large nook Tobias found a bowl filled with etched stones. "What do you supposed this is?" he asked.
Maria supplied a plausible answer: "It's an ancient register." The rest quietly awaited more explanation.
"Oh, it's just a guess, but look at the symbols. Some of them match the symbols on the foreheads of the skulls.
It looks like a collection of miniature tombstones."
A chill ran down Jennifer's spine. "Y-you don't suppose our bones will join the collection, do you?"
Roger, his compulsive nature returning, said "A register is a register. We must maintain the integrity of
the data. I'm adding my name," and he commenced etching his name into a stone.
The others followed suit, all except Maria, who maintained that in this case, the names might have been added posthumously
as a ritual, not by sporting adventurers wanting to leave a record of their exploits. "Oztotl would not be
pleased," she warned.
Tobias, always calm and collected, said "I agree that this is a burial tomb of some sort. I also think this
is a good sign. Think about it: carrying bodies into this place had to be a lot of work. That all leads me to conclude
that we must not be too far from an entrance."
That bit of logic sparked a burst of hope in everyone, and Jennifer gleefully shouted, "Race you to the top!"
That was a challenge that Sally could not resist, and they bolted for the way on. The rest followed, and even Roger,
hesitating at the thought of surveying their way out, pocketed his PDA and scrambled after the rest.
As hoped, they started to smell the rich outside jungle air, and soon found a short entrance shaft. They quickly
free-climbed out, gulped at sweet air and raised their arms to the dawning light. Then they saw Anthony standing
on a rise, hands on his hips. He said smugly, "See! It worked. I told you they'd come out here."
The producers responded coldly to Anthony, "Yes, smart a$$, we had no choice but to believe you, since we
had nothing else to go on. We don't know if you have a sixth sense for caving or an endless supply of dumb luck.
In any case, now that they're out, your time with us is over. You're fired." They then turned to the remaining
contestants and said, "We are very glad you made it out. If any of you had died, we could have been sued."
"Oh, I'm so glad you were so worried about us," Maria sarcastically snapped; but the host continued without
noticing, "Also, our schedule is in disarray. Our production contract required one elimination per episode.
Well, that'shot. Our line up of immunity challenges is also shot. $h++, we knew we were getting into trouble with
this whole caving thing."
Anthony wedged his way back into the conversation with a proposal. "Hey guys, listen to this deal: we're working
to commercialize a section of the cave. It has a walk-in entrance, complete with evening bat flights. Less than
50 yards into the cave you encounter a raging stream with a perfect launch site for blow-up rafts. I've already
run it, and I'll tell you it'll be a smash hit. I could use some tour guides."
Maria flared up and warned, "The NSS, SCC, Oztotle and all the hodags in the earth will be after you for this.
That means you, Anthony, and you, the producers. Caves were not meant to be destroyed and exploited for profit!
They've been here for millennia, and you're only but a flash in time. You should show some respect for the timeless
beauty of nature and for forces much greater than your own greed!"
"They're no worry to me," Anthony said. "First of all, Oztotle, even if he did exist, is a friendly
god. As for hodags, who has actually seen one? And those tree-hugging, er, I mean rock-hugging political and conservation
organizations have no influence here. We're in Mexico, remember? Even if they cried about their cause all over
TAG-NET and other mail groups, no one would listen. This isn't in their back yard. The only thing that matters
here is the village heffe and the dinero. C'mon, get with the program!
Everyone ignored Anthony with the usual disgust. Roger announced that his maps were now compromised, and would
not participate in any projects, including any further episodes of Surveyor Cave. The host further announced that
they had to make another elimination to stay on schedule to complete the 12-series Survey Cave season. To that
end, the host announced, "Maria, you are disqualified for…uh…not signing the register you found in the room
with the skulls."
That elimination left only three to continue the adventure: the kind, generous Tobias, Sally, and Jennifer, the
argumentative but highly capable twins from Ohio.
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