Friday — just one hour into their weekend . . .

Andie shook her friend’s arm, snapping Aiyana out of her dark thoughts.

“Hey, Aiya, want to grab your usual?” Andie asked, leaning on a boulder with the green belt of the city’s forest at her back.

“Uh, what?”

“Mango smoothie, ya goof,” Andie said, gesturing toward a store front nearby, along one of the city’s radial roads. Aiyana noticed a mime standing near the store, going about his strange silent business.

“Uh, sure,” Aiyana replied. “But then I really need to—” but Andie cut her off.

“Wait, did you see that?” Andie blurted out, pointing down the perimeter path toward the tree line.

“See what? It’s just an old rockslide.”

“No, I saw something. Looked like an animal . . . zipped across the path. There.” Andie pointed, standing up and limping forward as she tightened both backpack straps.

“I . . . don’t see anything,” Aiyana replied. They walked on together. As they got closer, a flash of black fur darted from one rock to the next, away from the trail. A moment later, it bounded up a side gully, strewn with huge boulders and a dense cluster of tall, full pine trees.

“Oh,” Aiyana said. “It’s just a cat. I mean, right?”

“I think so . . . maybe he needs help?” Andie said brightly.

“Uh huh. Okay, crazy cat lady, let’s just go see if some rando feral cat needs help.”

“Glad we agree,” Andie replied. Still limping a little, she rounded a few boulders, heading up the gully. Aiyana rolled her eyes but followed. The two left the paved trail behind.

“I think he must have gone into those trees?” Aiyana said. Andie agreed, nodding. They walked on a few more minutes. As they walked up a gentle slope, Andie glanced back to get her bearings. The path was still visible between trees and boulders, but just barely. Aiyana occasionally rested a hand on a tree trunk, looking around for movement. Birds twittered from the branches above.

“I don’t see anything,” Aiyana said.

“Yeah, I don’t think anyone has been up here in a while,” Andie responded. This side ravine was wide enough for a rover to drive up into it, but rockslides and clusters of trees had mostly filled the gap ahead.

“Do you think this was the original perimeter path? Look there, see? It’s like the edge of the original route, under the dirt,” Andie said.

“Mm, that’s great. And what exactly is your deal with this furball?”

“Just making new friends.” She looked ahead at a partial rockslide and dense cluster of trees.

Now more than a hundred meters from the paved pathway, they entered the tree line. Sprawling branches dimmed the light from above—the area here stayed in deep shadow. Close ahead, the walls of the cavern climbed straight up to the cavern ceiling, far above.

“Whoa, look at this,” Andie said, walking around the back of a much taller boulder that leaned sideways against the cavern walls. “There’s a gap, like a cave—it keeps going.” The walls of the entrance fell into shadow. The girls carefully circled the tall boulder and stood in the cave opening.

Andie grabbed the tablet from her pack and pulled out the stylus. She flipped it around backward and clicked on the penlight at the end. Aiyana did the same. They shined their lights inside.

There was no sign of the cat, no footsteps, no meow. Just . . . stillness. They peered in, but their feeble lights showed nothing inside.

“This cave is perfectly hidden,” Andie said. “I wonder if anyone even knows it’s here?”

Hesitating, the two reached their lights further in. The walls were smooth-carved, and the floor was flat, wide enough for several people to walk abreast. And still, not a sound.

On impulse, Andie bent and picked up a round rock. She hurled it inside, like skipping a stone across Silver Lake. The rock echoed back in clacks and clunks until it hit something metallic. The ringing sound echoed briefly before the tunnel fell silent.

“Ooo did you hear that? Let’s go in, check it out,” Andie said, eyebrows raised and looking hopeful.

“No way, I’ve seen this movie—it’s the one where two girls go into a creepy cave and they’re never seen again.”

“Let’s go in,” Andie repeated.

“Let’s come back with floodlights . . . and a tank,” Aiyana said.

Andie turned and looked at Aiyana. “What the heck are you gonna do with a tank?”

Then without waiting for an answer, Andie glanced up. “Whoa, check this.” Andie shined her light across the tunnel’s ceiling. A spray-painted message in blue letters proclaimed:

GHOSTS OF LAKE MICHIGAN

TRESPASSERS BEWARE

“What’s a ‘Lake Mitch-igan’?” Aiyana asked.

“Let’s find out later,” Andie said. “C’mon.”

“But . . . booby traps.”

“Boo—what? You’ve seen too many movies.”

“Yeah, but . . . doesn’t this give off a ‘Raiders of the Lost City’ vibe?” Aiyana asked, still panning the pen light around.

“That movie is like ten years old.”

“And it’s my favorite Harrison Holo,” Aiyana said, tipping an imaginary fedora, “Trust me . . .”

“Exactly, just a holo. Now pull up your big girl pants, and let’s see where this thing goes.”

“Rude.”

Andie stepped inside.

———————————————————————-

MARS HIGH SCHOOL Book 1: The Olympians goes on sale at Amazon (and here at marshighschool.com) starting 6 PM MST, Thursday, June 20th, 2024.

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