By the time Sam and Flat had made it to the mouth of the Cheyenne Crossing Caves the sun was beating down on them.

“Jeez,” moaned Sam, “it’s not even noon and it’s already this hot? What a miserable day it's shaping up to be.”

“At least it’ll be cooler in the caves,” offered Flat, though as their eyes fell on the cave mouth opening both men paused. As expected, the cave looked the opposite of inviting. Jagged stalactites and stalagmites stuck out every which way with no discernable rhyme or reason. Even with the bright sunlight around them, the cave itself was pitch black. Somewhere from within it an unearthly moan seemed to emanate through the air.

“I mean, do we really need what is in there?” asked Flat to his partner. “Best case scenario it’s money we find, but we don’t even know how much there really is there. Worst case…it’s a prairie witch and her undead built brother who has an arm that can rip doors off the wall. I’m not sure either option is worth-“

“-There’s NOT a prairie witch in there,” snapped Sam back, “and with how long it took to hike up here we are going in there.”

The moaning seems to grow louder.

“We don’t have to in,” Flat said, “you said it yourself that the sheriff is probably just setting us up. Why waste the time? If we’re going to flee anyway, let’s start fleeing.”

Sam ignored Flat. Sure, it was all a story in his head that he had only just made up as they started up the mountain, but being left to ponder his theory as he had completed the last leg of the ascent that Sheriff Reynold and the mysterious bank robber were actually in cahoots and their spoils hidden in the cave system, he had actually managed to convince himself it had to be true. The thought of so much possible money hidden so close now was not an opportunity he could pass on. With how treacherous and dark the Cheyenne Crossing Caves were, no doubt anything hidden would be hidden close to the entrance anyway, he reasoned; they certainly could manage going into a the mouth of a cave if it wasn’t that deep.

“Aw, come on,” he motioned for Flat to follow as he took his first couple steps in. The moaning sound still shook him a little but he explained it away- it must have been the wind, blowing in one cave opening and out another. Nothing to be afraid of, and certainly nothing supernatural.

Flat cautiously took a step in behind his companion. He looked left and right but all he could see were rocks.

“You’re right,” Sam remarked as he too scoured what little they could see from the outside light, “it is much cooler in here. Feels kind of nice, really.”

“I’m not seeing anything of note,” said Flat, crouching down to examine an unknown shape. Nope, it was just more rocks.

“Well, no, that robber probably didn’t hide the loot right at the front entrance,” retorted Sam, taking a few more steps inside. Visibility quickly dropped at that point, but his eyes were slowly adjusting to the surroundings. “I don’t imagine it’s gonna be too deep in, though. After all, remember the sheriff’s story? He supposedly wasn’t taken too deep into the cave. So I doubt we’re gonna have to go too deep in either.”

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“What do you supposed the loot is being stored in?” inquired Flat, following after and likewise struggling to see.

“What?”

“Will it be stored in a chest? Wrapped in cloth? Just out in the open? I’m trying to figure out what I should be looking for since it’s…kind of hard to look.”

“How should I know? I assume it’s gonna be stored in something that makes sense.” But as far as both men could see, there was nothing of note where they stood.

“Hmm, must be a little further in,” Sam finally remarked. He could not see anything but he trusted his feet as he walked further into the darkness.

“Sam, I don’t think it’s a good idea to keep going without lighting a torch or something.”

“You got anything to make a torch with, Flat?” he answered sarcastically, “besides, give it a couple of moments and our eyes will be more accustomed to-“

Suddenly, from beside the pair, a strange sound of movement echoed in the cavern. Both men froze.

“What was that?” hiss Flat with a whisper.

“I don’t know! Shut up!” Sam hissed back.

There was another sound of movement, this time for a bit longer. It seemed like it was growing closer.

“Sam, we gotta go back,” Flat whispered, though admittedly with the darkness now around them he was unsure what way was back.

“I said shut up!” his companion once more reprimanded him.

At once the noise started up again, this time with snorting and all manners of exhaling sounds. It sounded like it was something running- and quickly- in their direction.

With the breathing sounds now clear both men knew exactly what it was and it was not a good thing: it was a cave buffalo. A charging cave buffalo at that. Cave buffalo were notoriously territorial creatures and nasty when disturbed, as this one incidentally had been.

“Run!” cried Sam, rapidly taking off further into the cave even though he could see nothing and had no idea where he was going.

“Wait, where are you?!” cried Flat, trying his best to keep up but likewise completely disoriented.

As the men raced through the caves, the sound of the cave buffalo’s hooves echoed close behind them. They could feel the pricks of the rocky stones of the walls scratch against them as the raced through the dark cavity of the cave system, neither having the slightest clue where the other one was or where they were going.

All of a sudden, Flat took a step forward, only to find no ground beneath him.

“Yip-!” was all he could utter before he found himself falling down an unseen hole.

“Flat?!” Sam called behind him with concern, though just where Flat had been was unclear. The buffalo certainly was still there based on its footsteps so he couldn’t stop running himself to do much investigating. With trepidation and concern for his friend but an even stronger desire to save himself, Sam ran on, further into the cave.

Flat, meanwhile, fell for what felt like a long time when in reality it was but a few seconds. He landed on the hard ground below with a thud that definitely was going to leave a mark but did not seem like it had broken any bones.

“SAM?” He called out to his companion, hoping to get an answer and gauge their distance apart. But he heard nothing back from his friend. The darkness around him seemed to be dancing almost; it gave him chills to see as he thought about how lost and in trouble he now was.

This is it for me, he shivered, I’m never going to get out of these caves! I can’t hardly see and who knows what hungry creature’s waiting five feet away to eat me…

However, as he sat there in worry and distress, something suddenly occurred to him. It wasn’t that the darkness was dancing around him- it was that there was a light source coming from ahead. A long ways ahead, granted, but enough that the light provided a little guidance of just where he lay.

Granted, it didn’t provide any surprising information. It was clear to Flat he was still in a cave and everything around him was rock.

But he could see the outlines of the rocks much clearer than before, and could make out what seemed to be a viable path in the direction where the light seemed to be originating.

Getting back onto his feet and accepting his butt was going to be sore for awhile after such a fall, Flat cautiously began to walk towards the light, holding it was a positive sign to see and he was not quite as lost as he had feared.