Trapped In Time - Chapter 29

After speaking to Luke, Zia got up and said she would lie down for a bit. She then went to her sleeping bag in order to ponder over what had been discussed between Luke and her.

Luke was not such a bad person thought Zia again. He joked about everything. She had underestimated him, misjudged him as a person as well as a colleague. He was highly educated and working in a college, whereas she was still struggling to get an appointment as a lecturer in a college. Luke was a Ph. D. in Thermodynamics and as per the information he had provided to them about himself, while they had stopped for lunch yesterday, he was very knowledgeable. He was also elder to her by 3 years.

Because of his intelligence and the ease of doing work, he had clout with the high ups. Even she knew that it was not an ordinary thing to get hold of a satellite phone, that to a prototype, for testing at this remote area. The government did not let an ordinary person use a satellite phone. There were restriction of its use for defense services like the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. The merchant ships also used them for communications with their offices as well as the families of the merchant navy. These days even terrorists were using satellite phones and hence, the restriction on its use was a necessity.

Meanwhile, Luke was still seated near the cave entrance beside the embers of the dying fire. He went over the discussions he had had with Zia. Yes, there was something fishy about the dried grass placed conveniently inside the cave and the twigs outside as well as the fact that the cave looked unused.

He had thought he would get to talk about himself and how he felt about her, but in such situations ‘matters of the heart’ take a back seat. He still had to build a proper rapport with her. He loved her but he was aware that she had now started acknowledging him as a person but love in her heart needed time to bloom. Two days back he was just a joker in her eyes.

Yes, they needed to inspect the tunnel. He could go to inspect it alone leaving Sherpa to protect the group. He could inspect it and come back but what if he was caught by some scrupulous persons? Sherpa and Zia could manage to get the rest rescued with the help of the satellite phone as he could leave it behind for the group to use.

But there was another unpleasant angle. If these persons inside the tunnel or on the other side of the tunnel were dangerous, then they could come around the hill and capture the group outside the cave even if he left his gun behind. The situation could still be dangerous. These guys could be carrying guns too.

These persons could be scientists working for the government or against the government. They could be spies too from another country doing some experiments or espionage work here. Anything is possible.

The best thing to do was to slowly sneak into the tunnel and see if anyone was there. Maybe it was just Zia’s and his imagination working overtime that they had imagined the worst scenario.

Maybe the person or persons who put the dried grass and the twigs were just being kind thinking they had lost their way. If so, they should be thanked and who knows they could give them better guidance. Maybe this person or persons were on the other side of the tunnel awaiting their next move.

It was 5.30 a.m. and Luke got up from his watch position. He went over to wake up Sherpa and the boys. He gently called Zia to wake up the girls. It was already past daybreak. The sun could be seen rising from behind the gaps in the mountains.

“Good morning!” the students bid each other and in groups of twos and threes started heading out of the cave towards the lower side of the stream to brush their teeth and visit the temporary WC.

Sherpa and Luke rekindled the fire from the embers therein. They also kept the kettle filled with water on the fire to boil in order to make tea/coffee. Soon everyone was ready to take a cup of bed tea with a biscuit or two. It is not good to drink tea alone unless it is herbal tea.

After they had had their tea, the packets of ready-made oatmeal porridge were taken out. These just needed to be put in a container and boiled water was to be poured over the contents placed in the containers. More water was drawn from the stream to be placed in the kettle for boiling on the fire. Some of the ready-made packets of oatmeal were flavored with fruits and had pieces of fruits in them, these were sweet. Others had vegetable flavor and had pieces of many vegetables added in them and these were salted.

As per the demand of the campers, the requisite packets were handed over along with the containers having hot boiled water. Tea and coffee ware again made.

“I want to talk to you all after you finish your breakfast and we are packed,” Luke informed all.

By 7.30 a.m. breakfast was finished and utensils washed. Everything was packed. Last minute visit to the temporary WC was made, thereafter it was dismantled. The pit was covered up with soil and the cloth was folded. The fire was also covered with sand.

“This is very important so please listen.” Luke beckoned everyone. “We need to inspect the tunnel.”

“All of you are not dumb and can easily infer that the dried grass inside the cave and the twigs outside the cave did not come naturally. They were placed here by someone who perhaps wanted to help us as we were lost.”

“I think most of you are of the same view. We may reach somewhere beyond and get more information about what is going on.”

“The element of danger cannot be ruled out. These persons know about us. If we split up, a few going into the tunnel and the rest wait outside, then both the groups can be captured.”

“There is always ‘safety in numbers’. Staying together, we will be in a better position. This is the scenario of them being bad people.”

“But, we feel these persons are good guys as they have helped us. So we may perhaps encounter them in the tunnel or on the other side. They can help us further. This is the scenario of them being good people.”

“Ok! Single file please, pick up your stuff and let us be off. All the boys follow me, thereafter it would be Zia ma’am then the girls and at the end would be Sherpa” After saying this Luke entered the narrow tunnel and turned on his torch which he had extracted from his backpack.

After some time he had to turn the torch off as the tunnel was well lit. Light from the carpeted green hill was infiltrating through various vents on the sides of the tunnels. Thus the passageway was well lit and everyone could easily see where they were going. The tunnel seemed to have been cut out from the inside of the cave inwards. The walls were smooth and so was the floor area. There were no pebbles or stones which could make them trip and fall. The vents seemed to have been made from the outside downwards by means of drilling and fixing poles of a good diameter. To hide the top of the poles the parrot green carpeted grass was grown on this unique hill.

Everyone moved quietly so as not to disturb anyone who might be further ahead. There was no one ahead. Soon the tunnel went down by means of about ten steps and then straight ahead. After going about 500 meters straight from the steps, they spied a bigger cave. A humming sound of machines could be heard.