ABANDON

Chapter 29 -- Life

Fire was the most random thing in John's life, and the most comforting. When troubled he would stare at it and see the movement, billowing and colour changing, always different. Different and changing, yet the fire was always there, burning hot and full. The heat felt good, a welcome reprieve from the cool of the cave. When he wasn't focused on the movement and heat of the fire, John thought about Jane. And that made him laugh: at life, at his people, at himself. He liked it.

He came back to the main cave with a smile on his face.

"John." Soon was calling from across the main cave. She looked like she was bursting with news. "You just missed the best fight."

John looked around the room for debris, or bodies.

"Not that kind of fight. Michael had it out with Jane."

John showed mild surprise.

"They were shouting so loud we could all hear it. I wish I understood what they were saying. They were speaking in—Wait! Where are you going?" Soon stopped John from going to Jane's room. "They're not there. Jane ran out." Soon pointed to the tunnel that Jane took."Michael's gone to find her. They've been gone for over thirty minutes."

John headed in the direction Soon pointed.

Soon called to him. "If anyone asks for you, I'll tell them where you've gone."

"Thanks." John called back. He passed a pile of equipment as he went and picked up a portable light. He noticed two other lights were missing.

It was easy to track where Jane and Michael had gone, in this area of the cave the floor was covered in a layer of gray sand. There were prints in the sand from people coming and going, but down a branch to the right there were only two sets of prints. And one of them was made by bare feet.

The passage went on for a long time before John stopped. He could hear Michael calling Jane's name. He went in the direction of the voice, calling out Michael's name as he approached. The big man stepped out from the darkness, his face covered with concern.

"I don't need to tell you what happened because I'm sure you heard." Michael admitted.

"I didn't hear much, but... enough. Soon told me you had a talk with Jane."

"Yeah, we talked all right. I gave her a piece of my mind, and she gave me a piece of her fist."

John smiled.

"I don't know where she's gone." Michael said, he pointed his light at the ground. "The sand is gone."

"There is no way out of here. Either we find her or she'll eventually go back."

"I hurt her this time. I should have kept my big mouth shut."

"What's done is done. Tell me where you have searched."

"Down there." Michael pointed to the east passage. "The tunnels go deep, it will take forever to find her." Michael shone his light down the west passage. "Honestly I'm surprised she even made it this far. Sometimes I don't know where she gets her strength. I guess I don't know her as well as I thought."

"Who really knows anyone else? Most of us don't even really know ourselves. What matters is that you keep trying."

"I keep trying all right, and this is not the first mess I've gotten myself into." Michael shook his head in regret.

"You will fix things up. I've come to help, and don't worry, we'll find her. You can finish searching this cave system, and I'll go back to the north passage. There is no other way to go, so one of us will find her."