And now, without further ado, Jay Leigh Q and the Cliff Cavern.
Jay looked straight ahead of her. It was pitch black, and the darkness was near-impenetrable. Behind her, she could hear Chester getting out of the bPod.
But wait! What was that? She saw a very dim, almost invisible light, far off into the blackness, as if there was something out there, inaccessible, waiting for them.
Chester came up behind Jay. “Jay,” she asked, “what’s out there? That light I saw—what is it?” Jay paused. So it wasn’t a mirage! “I—that’s what I’d like to know,” Jay replied, squinting to see the tiny, dim light better. She heard the stealthy whoosh of the bPod as it moved away, and she slowly moved forward. Then she remembered her flashlight. She dug it out of her pocket and switched it on. FLASH! Suddenly a brilliant LED light illuminated the entire area around the two of them. Ahead, about 10 paces, was a wide yellow Caution Line with black diagonal stripes across it. Then…there was nothing. Jay stepped forward a few paces. Still nothing. “A cliff,” she murmured, and she found herself wondering how a person would get over to the dim light at the other end of the cavern. She shone her flashlight in that direction, but all that was to be seen was a wide stretch of empty blackness. The light faded, and still she could not penetrate the darkness of the cavern.
“Let me see that!” Chester exclaimed as she rushed forward eagerly. Jay grabbed her in the nick of time. “Chester,” she said gravely. “Do you know how close we are to the edge of the cliff?” Chester looked at her, mystified. “Cliff? What cliff?” Jay leaned back. Hadn’t Chester seen the cliff? Jay walked forward a few more paces. She was now standing right in front of the Caution Line. Leaning forward slightly, she looked down. Below her seemed to be miles and miles of open space. The flashlight barely revealed anything, save some sharp rocks at the faraway bottom of the cavern. Jay stepped forward another step, onto the Caution Line, and leaned back. What if—
Suddenly there was a zzzz-click sound. Jay, startled, grabbed at her flashlight and shone it all over the cavern. She looked straight ahead of her. Right there, where nothing had been, was a row of perfectly square steel plates. They didn’t seem to be supported by anything, and for all she knew, they could be a mirage. She stared at them for a full minute, before there was another zzzz-click and another row of steel plates appeared, directly in front of the first row.
Jay looked at them uncertainly. Then a thought occurred to her. If these plates keep going, she thought, they could make a bridge to the other side! But were they stable? If they weren’t, she would be killed on the rocks below. If they were, then perhaps this was a way to reach the light…
Chester, who had just seen the plates, came forward. “Jay,” she said excitedly, “What are those?” “I don’t know, Chaz,” Jay replied warily. Chester contemplated something for a minute. Then, suddenly, she took 5 steps forward, directly onto the plates. “Chaz! No!” gasped Jay, but Chaz was on the second row. There were 2 more clicking sounds, and two more rows of plates appeared. Chester started walking across the plates, and with each step she made, another row of plates appeared. Jay, panicking, decided impulsively to follow her, and rushed forward, flashlight in hand.
They had made it to the 7th row when all of a sudden there was a faint whoosh behind them. Chester stopped. “What was that?” she hissed, as Jay turned around and looked. Whoosh. Suddenly Jay saw what was happening. “Chaz, run!” Chester looked at her uncertainly. “Run!” Chester suddenly comprehended and ran forward. The plates obediently appeared in time for her feet to touch them. Jay ran after her, not looking back, not wanting to see the only way back disappearing right before her eyes. They ran, and ran, and ran, for what seemed like forever…and suddenly, their feet touched rock and not steel. Jay looked up. The dim light was now right in front of them. It was attached to a small building.<>
