Spelunking, as it is so named, is a pastime that is available to all, old, young, fat or thin. Even those with minor disabilities could push through the easier routes. Where the challenge lies rather, is the choice of route. Some routes tout crevices that require bending your body to strange angles, going up to go down and so forth. There is an irresistible sensation when one has spent the best part of an hour squeezing through damn cracks and crevices and then for your headlamp to pick out a grotto or larger cave deep beneath the surface. Joe could say he had some considerable experience with this type of lark, considering he had almost met his death in a cave beneath London, yet now, kitted out in headlamp, harnesses and actual shoes, he was much more confident.
Mary and Joe spent the day getting used to their new gear, purchased at great expense from the local outdoorsy shop. Joe had even managed a meagre hej and tack to the shopkeeper, who responded in kind with perfect english. He always felt a little ashamed of the fact that when an English speaker would travel abroad, they would invariably be met with good English whilst on the English speaker’s side, barely a word could be uttered on the native’s tongue. Still, he was grateful to Hollywood and the Empire as it allowed him to shop and travel in another country sans issue. Maybe when he visited France he could wow the locals with his GCSE level French, he mused inwardly.
They had secured a map of the caves from the tourist office whilst procuring other possible necessities for the descent. Water, matches, extra batteries, spare socks and that kind of junk. After a hearty Swedish breakfast of porridge, which Joe hated, they took off to the main entrance to the caves which lay adjacent to some impressive falls. “Not exactly Victoria Falls” Mary had said, showing off her experience with travel. Joe nodded sagely, pretending he even knew where Victoria falls was. He assumed somewhere in Canada.
Headlamps switched on, map checked and rechecked, they headed within, the daylight becoming but a memory as they traversed windy, damp corridors and climbed over dusty ledges. Joe was grateful for his current slight form, as if he was back in his rugby day prime, he surely would have struggled with the tighter gaps. As they delved deeper into the cave, the air became mustier and cooler. “Now, if my sources are to be believed, just ahead there should be a metal barrier that separates the work site with the rest of the cave. Our goal is to make it past the barrier if we can and then use the elevator to descend. If the elevator is out of commission, we can abseil down using the ropes that should already be prepared in the event of an emergency.” Mary took a breath, turning to Joe blinding him with her headlamp, “Oops sorry” she said turning back “what should we do if there are humans there?”
“There shouldn’t be” Mary replied, wiping the sweat that had gathered at her forehead “due to the recent deaths, the Swedish government has restricted the companies access to the caves. In fact, the company is holed up in court fighting the action with some big time lawyers as we speak. So, fingers crossed, we should be alone down here”,
“Famous last words” Joe mumbled. Mary shifted the pack on her back causing her cleavage to jiggle alluringly, and Joe felt a disturbance in the force, as it were, quickly shifting his own vision back to the route ahead.
Soon the metal barrier lay before them, and the pair laughed. The barrier, which it truly was, couldn’t have stopped even the least dedicated man as it literally was just a chain across the entrance with the words ‘No Entry / Inget inträde” stamped upon it. Needless to say, the pair quickly swept past this mighty hindrance and came to a hole in the ground surrounded by a metal fence. To the right of the hole was a metal cage that descended into the darkness, roughly a metre by two metres. It looked like the elevator with the cage was sufficiently roomy for two people. “That’s lucky” Joe said out loud, as he spotted a generator with its key in the ignition not too far from the cage.
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Turning the key on the Jenny and then pressing the ignition button the machine spluttered on. Lights flickered on above them which daisy chained down the shaft’s walls in the darkness. “Better check if there’s enough fuel for our descent” Mary said peering down the hole. Joe looked at the gauge and saw that the indicator was flicking right in the middle between F and E so held his thumbs up to Mary. “Good to go. Looking at the setup, I reckon there’s a transmitter down below to turn this back on too. If it were me setting this thing up, I bet there’s a spare Jenny down there too, so we should be good returning.” Mary nodded her head, opening the cage door which squeaked angrily. “All aboard”
As the cage descended into the darkness, Joe felt a deep sense of excitement. The lights that were sprung up intermittently down the shaft, coupled with the echoes of the machine's mechanisms bouncing off the glistening stone walls lent itself to the eerie atmosphere. Mary looked equally enthralled as she watched the hole from whence they had come disappear into the gloom. “Once more unto the breach, my friends” she quoted, looking pleased with herself. “Really, Shakespeare right now? The king of tragicomedies himself?” Joe complained in mock annoyance, smiling a toothy grin at Mary. All of a sudden the lights in the shaft flickered out along with the arrestation of the cage. Suspended in the darkness, with only their headlamps to illuminate the walls, Joe looked at Mary shaking his head. “You had to say something didn’t you?”
“Hey, there is no way in hell you can blame this on me. I thought you said there was plenty of fuel?”
“There was. So what now? I reckon we’ve descended at least 500 ft or more. Do we have 500 ft of rope on us?” Mary shook her head. “Not even close, we should have considered this, maybe even dropping the rope from up above. However, it’s quite likely that there are intermediary points for not even they would use 1000 ft of rope for the whole shaft.” Joe peered up and down the shaft, looking for any cubby holes and was left disappointed. “Nothing”. All of a sudden the lights flickered on again, and the cage rebegan its descent. “What the actual fuck?” Mary whispered. “Back up Jenny maybe?” Joe shrugged. “Solves our problems for now anyway so I ain’t complaining”.
The cage continued to trundle down into the darkness, as Mary and Joe stood side by side watching the passing walls that glistened with moisture. “Feels like a lot more than 1000 ft to me” Joe said tapping his chin. “Mmm” Mary replied, taking out her notebook to jot a few notes. “To be fair, your Dad’s journal was from quite a few years ago. They having deepened the shaft is not beyond my expectations”. Joe remained silent as he watched Mary write page after page of notes, and wondered whether being an investigative journalist was a path he could consider too. ‘Hmm the adventure is good, but the writing part’ he shuddered ‘yeah better if I stick to science or something, much more reliable’.
Before long, they felt the cage stop as they hit the bottom of the shaft. Beyond the cage, lay a tunnel lit with strung industrial lights that veered downwards. “Do you hear that?” Joe asked. A slight whirring could be heard echoing off the walls. “Must be the pumps to keep the water out. Another jenny powering them maybe? Why would they still be on if there’s noone down here though? Not like they can run forever.” Mary frowned as she considered the implications. “Well, it is what it is. It’s good for us that we’re not swimming right now, maybe we’ll actually get to see what they’ve found down here, if anything.”