Wayne-
It was well past moonrise when the trio, two women and a man, at last struggled through the low brush and over the final rock ledge. With just enough light from the new moon they could see the mine opening, a blacker than black hole in the rock wall. Jill let out a little gasp then fell silent, only to then utter a stifled squeak as a lantern in the mine came suddenly to life and the clear sounds of pursuit came from below them, Jeff's hand clamped on her shoulder with urgency and............
Dan-
turned her toward a side shaft that led deep into the bowels of the mine and away from the pursuers behind them and the lighter of the lamp who was somewhere in the main shaft in front of them.As the trio rounded a bend in the side shaft they were met with pitch black darkness-so dark that it seemed to thicken the very air.Jeff produced a small flashlight that weakly illuminated the way ahead-the long unused shaft slanted downward and was littered with broken tools,long left manmade trash,and the remnants of small cave ins that had happened decades earlier.Jeff knew at this point they had no choice but to continue down the shaft-to turn around and face their pursuers would mean certain death.Going forward might mean the same,or it might give them a chance at the freedom they craved-freedom to live in luxury with new found riches in the form of century old gold coins-hundreds of thousands of dollars worth-that each carried evenly distributed among them - and for which the pursuers would not hesitate to kill them for. Grabbing a long discarded but still solid pick handle they headed deeper into the shaft.....
Royal
They ran as fast as they dared but could hear the pursuers behind them. Jeff looked back and could see the beam of a flashlight bobbing against the far wall. He could hear his heart a thumping and was gasping for air. He looked at The girls and had to make a decision. One of them had to stay behind and try to delay the pursuit.
Sunny he says. You are the oldest and seem to be slowing us down. What do you think of taking this here pick handle and hiding in behind that column and covering for Jill and I. We promise to come back for you.
Well Sunny might be a bit long in the tooth but she ain't now dummy. She and Jill took off and left Jeff a standing there like a man in his right mind. In Sunny's mind he weren't.
They suddenly came to a solid wall. They felt along to the right and there was no opening and also checked to the left. Nothing but solid wall. Jill whispered, "They are still coming! Jeff! Why in the world did you do that to the Sheriff's dog! You know he loved that dang dog and you went and did that to it!
Jeff said, "I am sorry girls but the dang fool dog was gonna attack old Granny Tompson and ....
It was well past moonrise when the trio, two women and a man, at last struggled through the low brush and over the final rock ledge. With just enough light from the new moon they could see the mine opening, a blacker than black hole in the rock wall. Jill let out a little gasp then fell silent, only to then utter a stifled squeak as a lantern in the mine came suddenly to life and the clear sounds of pursuit came from below them, Jeff's hand clamped on her shoulder with urgency and............
Dan-
turned her toward a side shaft that led deep into the bowels of the mine and away from the pursuers behind them and the lighter of the lamp who was somewhere in the main shaft in front of them.As the trio rounded a bend in the side shaft they were met with pitch black darkness-so dark that it seemed to thicken the very air.Jeff produced a small flashlight that weakly illuminated the way ahead-the long unused shaft slanted downward and was littered with broken tools,long left manmade trash,and the remnants of small cave ins that had happened decades earlier.Jeff knew at this point they had no choice but to continue down the shaft-to turn around and face their pursuers would mean certain death.Going forward might mean the same,or it might give them a chance at the freedom they craved-freedom to live in luxury with new found riches in the form of century old gold coins-hundreds of thousands of dollars worth-that each carried evenly distributed among them - and for which the pursuers would not hesitate to kill them for. Grabbing a long discarded but still solid pick handle they headed deeper into the shaft.....
Royal
They ran as fast as they dared but could hear the pursuers behind them. Jeff looked back and could see the beam of a flashlight bobbing against the far wall. He could hear his heart a thumping and was gasping for air. He looked at The girls and had to make a decision. One of them had to stay behind and try to delay the pursuit.
Sunny he says. You are the oldest and seem to be slowing us down. What do you think of taking this here pick handle and hiding in behind that column and covering for Jill and I. We promise to come back for you.
Well Sunny might be a bit long in the tooth but she ain't now dummy. She and Jill took off and left Jeff a standing there like a man in his right mind. In Sunny's mind he weren't.
They suddenly came to a solid wall. They felt along to the right and there was no opening and also checked to the left. Nothing but solid wall. Jill whispered, "They are still coming! Jeff! Why in the world did you do that to the Sheriff's dog! You know he loved that dang dog and you went and did that to it!
Jeff said, "I am sorry girls but the dang fool dog was gonna attack old Granny Tompson and ....
