opening large enough for a full-grown adult to walk through without difficulty.
Howard dusted off the soil and dirt from his hands and took out the flashlight that he had kept in the duffel bag. He had not used it at all since they arrived in the crystal cave as the entire place was more than well illuminated. Walking around in that weird subterranean cavern was no different from strolling under a cloudless sky during a sunny day when the sun was directly above our heads. The brightness that was caused by the colorful lights bouncing all over the cave made one craves for a pair of sun glasses.
Howard thumbed the switch on the flashlight to ensure that it was functioning. He then gathered the group and said, “Okay, Wong and I will go in first. All of you will stay put. I have no idea how deep this tunnel is and how much time we will be away.”
There was silence for a while. Howard could sense the uneasiness of the tourists. Perhaps some of them had caught the wrong impression that if he had the chance, he might just run away with Wong and abandoned them. Howard walked over to Pauline and Pete and lowered himself to their eye level. He noticed that the children could not take their eyes off the remains of the Japanese soldier for a second.
With the tone of a police officer or some authoritative figure, he clapped Pete’s shoulder and said calmly, “Pete, we do not know why this man died and there may be danger on the other side. That’s why I have to go in first without risking the lives of everyone here”
“Yes sir. I am sure you can help us find the way out.” Pete said respectfully.
Howard smiled and turned his attention to Pauline who was shuddering, noticeably shaken by the sight of the corpse. “I promised that I will be back, Pauline, how about a pinky swear?” Howard stuck out his little finger and Pauline responded by curling her little finger onto Howard’s.
Howard got up and spoke softly to Pauline’s parents. “Let them have some rest and if possible, draw their attention away from the skeleton. I will be back in a jiffy. You have my word.” Mr. and Mrs. Chan nodded their heads in appreciation.
Howard took a last look around the circle of tourists, then walked to the entrance of the tunnel with Wong.
“You sure you’re up for this?” Howard asked.
“Yeah.” Wong answered.
“Okay then, let’s go.” Howard muttered.
Armed with only hatchets in their hands, Howard and Wong skirted past the mangled skeleton of the dead Japanese soldier and crept slowly into the dark tunnel. Their flashlight beams played over the floor, which was twisted and heaved into scores of crazy hills and valleys.
Howard and Wong emerged from the other end of the tunneling cave in less than three minutes as the ‘deep tunnel’ that was perceived by Howard was apparently a fairly shallow one, only about fifty feet end to end. However, it was not a straight through channel but one that twist and bend like a slithering python on a desert ground. There was nothing peculiar about the tunnel except for the sharp bends at some points. No foreseeable dangers at all for everyone, including the children and Gupta to pass through it safely. In fact, after merely six to seven steps, both Howard and Wong were able to tell that they were actually inside a man-made tunnel, not one that was formed by nature.
As Howard and Wong stepped out of the darkness that engulfed the curvy tunnel, they were immediately overwhelmed by a familiar scene before them, a scene that was familiar because it had appeared in many Hollywood movies. But seeing the real thing here with their own eyes was definitely something unimaginable.
A few feet away on Howard’s right lay a pile of sandbags that was stacked and arranged in a U-shaped pattern and a submachine gun was planted on it. The gun was pointing directly at the opening of the tunnel where both of them were standing. However, there was nobody behind the machine gun. In fact, the
Howard dusted off the soil and dirt from his hands and took out the flashlight that he had kept in the duffel bag. He had not used it at all since they arrived in the crystal cave as the entire place was more than well illuminated. Walking around in that weird subterranean cavern was no different from strolling under a cloudless sky during a sunny day when the sun was directly above our heads. The brightness that was caused by the colorful lights bouncing all over the cave made one craves for a pair of sun glasses.
Howard thumbed the switch on the flashlight to ensure that it was functioning. He then gathered the group and said, “Okay, Wong and I will go in first. All of you will stay put. I have no idea how deep this tunnel is and how much time we will be away.”
There was silence for a while. Howard could sense the uneasiness of the tourists. Perhaps some of them had caught the wrong impression that if he had the chance, he might just run away with Wong and abandoned them. Howard walked over to Pauline and Pete and lowered himself to their eye level. He noticed that the children could not take their eyes off the remains of the Japanese soldier for a second.
With the tone of a police officer or some authoritative figure, he clapped Pete’s shoulder and said calmly, “Pete, we do not know why this man died and there may be danger on the other side. That’s why I have to go in first without risking the lives of everyone here”
“Yes sir. I am sure you can help us find the way out.” Pete said respectfully.
Howard smiled and turned his attention to Pauline who was shuddering, noticeably shaken by the sight of the corpse. “I promised that I will be back, Pauline, how about a pinky swear?” Howard stuck out his little finger and Pauline responded by curling her little finger onto Howard’s.
Howard got up and spoke softly to Pauline’s parents. “Let them have some rest and if possible, draw their attention away from the skeleton. I will be back in a jiffy. You have my word.” Mr. and Mrs. Chan nodded their heads in appreciation.
Howard took a last look around the circle of tourists, then walked to the entrance of the tunnel with Wong.
“You sure you’re up for this?” Howard asked.
“Yeah.” Wong answered.
“Okay then, let’s go.” Howard muttered.
Armed with only hatchets in their hands, Howard and Wong skirted past the mangled skeleton of the dead Japanese soldier and crept slowly into the dark tunnel. Their flashlight beams played over the floor, which was twisted and heaved into scores of crazy hills and valleys.
Howard and Wong emerged from the other end of the tunneling cave in less than three minutes as the ‘deep tunnel’ that was perceived by Howard was apparently a fairly shallow one, only about fifty feet end to end. However, it was not a straight through channel but one that twist and bend like a slithering python on a desert ground. There was nothing peculiar about the tunnel except for the sharp bends at some points. No foreseeable dangers at all for everyone, including the children and Gupta to pass through it safely. In fact, after merely six to seven steps, both Howard and Wong were able to tell that they were actually inside a man-made tunnel, not one that was formed by nature.
As Howard and Wong stepped out of the darkness that engulfed the curvy tunnel, they were immediately overwhelmed by a familiar scene before them, a scene that was familiar because it had appeared in many Hollywood movies. But seeing the real thing here with their own eyes was definitely something unimaginable.
A few feet away on Howard’s right lay a pile of sandbags that was stacked and arranged in a U-shaped pattern and a submachine gun was planted on it. The gun was pointing directly at the opening of the tunnel where both of them were standing. However, there was nobody behind the machine gun. In fact, the
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