End of Women: Part Six

The Colton County Girl-Hunting Coalition

"How much further?" 

Hard earth ground beneath Jay's hiking boots, the ones his father had bought him for his last birthday. It was a shame, he thought, to ruin them so soon, but if Lee wasn't bullshitting him - again - then it might actually be worth it.

Lee held onto a leafy branch and caught his breath, running his bony fingers through his great mane of grey-blonde hair as he did so. Jay had to smirk; those poses Lee pulled always reminded him of some superhero who's all full of himself, saving the day. Perhaps, today, getting the girl too, though not like they used to in movies.

"I swear it was up here somewhere." Lee replied adamantly, placing a hand on his hip and scanning the hillside for signs. At once his eyes sparked up and he pointed out a dark recess in the rocky head of the hill.

"In the cave?" Jay turned his head to Lee, taking an instinctive step backwards.

"Yeah, that a problem?" Lee pushed himself off the branch and further up the hill, heading that way.

"No." Jay bit down on his fear. "No, just didn't think it would be in a cave, is all."

"Makes sense when you think about it. You scared of caves or something?"

Jay said nothing, because the answer was obvious enough, and denying it would only lead to inevitable teasing. Then again, Lee was always the understanding type. 

Upon finding the end of what Lee generously described as a path, Jay looked up and felt a chill. He was looking into the mouth of the cave. Though he knew it was comparatively small, in his eyes it yawned like the jaws of some vengeful starved beast from the depths of the ocean. A few stalagmites here and there along the roof of the cave even vaguely resembled yellowing, rotting teeth. Jay could not suppress a shudder.

"Well, we going in or not?" Lee slapped a hand against the stone face and pushed on into the darkness, leaving Jay to wonder if Lee really was all that brave, or just better at hiding behind bravado than Jay was. Jay kicked himself mentally and forced his legs to move forward.

They had gone only about ten yards before the darkness swallowed them. Jay felt along the walls for support and guidance, hoping Lee was only just ahead of him, knowing probably the few moments Jay had spent outside fighting himself had cost him that. His hands were rapidly cooling right down to his marrow from the condensation on the cave walls. He thought he heard something move.

"Lee?" He whispered, unsure why he felt the need to. 

At that moment he stopped short and slapped himself in the head. Idiot! He pulled out his phone and switched on the flashlight. The moment before the cave came into focus he experienced a moment of sheer terror, imagining the light would fall on some salivating teeth and bright red eyes. In the end, nature was not quite as savage as his imagination; there was nothing but more grey, bulbous stone and hanging points. The rippled brown and yellow ribboning in the stone was actually quite beautiful. 

Then he took a step forward and heard a crunch. He looked down; he had stepped on a candy wrapper. That meant nothing, he told himself. Sure, homelessness wasn't really a thing any more, but there were probably still kids who came up here and dropped litter. 

"Lee?" He called again, a little louder this time, confidence borne of the artificial light he held like a sword in his own defence.

Still no answer. Jay bit his lip, then turned the light to look back. There was no hint of sunlight from either direction. He became very presently aware of the weight of the mountain on top of him, wondering how stable the cave actually was.

Jay pressed on. He couldn't turn back now. Lee would probably never stop talking about it if he did, and despite his logical reasoning, his curiosity was increasing.