Tales of the Blood Moon

The Hole Truth

"So, straight upthis road?" Grace, holding the map and pointing up the road, asksthe security guard.

"Yes, ma'am,"the guard replies, doing his best not to leer at the beautiful blondeleaning out the window of the green SUV. "This road will take youstraight up the mountain to Winds Falls Caverns."

"Thanks for allthe help," Grace replies, smiling as she slides back into thepassenger seat.

Tyler drives awayfrom the guard shack and smiles slyly at Grace. Grace glancessideways at Tyler and playfully rolls her eyes.

"Okay," Tylersays sheepishly, "you were right and I was wrong."

"Damn straight,"Grace says, smiling broadly as she folds the map and returns it tothe glove compartment. "You've gotta learn to trust me a littlebit."

"It's not you,"Tyler says. "It's CaveDigger101 that I'm worried about. I mean,what do you even know about this guy? For all you know, he's waitingup there to ravish gorgeous women like you."

"So," Gracesays, in a playfully seductive tone, "you think I'm gorgeous?"

Laughing, Tylerreplies, "You know what I mean." He glances sideways at Grace. "And, yes, I do."

"Okay," Gracesays, blushing a bit and turning to face him, "let's just geteverything straight. First, I hardly think CaveDigger101 is lurkingup there, waiting to 'ravish' anyone. He posted an interesting cavesystem on a website dedicated to people who like to explore cavesystems. Not exactly what I'd consider to be suspicious behavior. Second, I met you on that website, and when I told you aboutit, this is where you offered to take me on our first date, so I'dimagine that if anybody is thinking of ravishing me..." She trailsoff, arching an eyebrow at Tyler in an act of fake suspicion.

"Absolutelynot," Tyler states emphatically, raising his right hand from thesteering wheel as if to swear an oath. "I promise I will benothing but a perfect gentleman."

"Well," Gracewhispers softly, but loud enough to ensure she's heard, "no need tobe a perfect gentleman."

The conversationlapses for awhile but, as the pair nears Winds Falls Caverns, Tyleris the first to speak.

"What the hell?"Tyler asks, gesturing toward the Winds Falls Caverns parking lot. "CaveDigger101's cave system is a tourist trap?"

"Can't believeeverything you read on the Internet, I guess," Grace sighs, leaningagainst the car door.

"Wanna just headout?" Tyler asks as he turns the SUV into the parking lot. "Ican just make a U-turn and..."

"Nah," Gracereplies, waving a hand, "we've already come this far. Let's justpoke around."

The SUV stops at aspace near the entrance, between the only two other cars in theparking lot. Exiting the SUV, the cool, autumn air gusts againstthem and the pair quickly head inside. A man inside a glass booth istalking on a phone. Clearly agitated by the conversation withwhomever it is he is speaking, he takes the pair's admission fee andpushes a map of the cave at them while asking the person on the otherend of the line about whether he (or she?) has taken medication. Seeking to quickly remove themselves from that situation, Tyler andGrace walk deeper into the cave, passing an elderly couple sitting ona bench.

Five minutes intothe cave, Tyler turns to Grace.

"Sorry this hasturned into such a bust," he says. "Ready to leave? We couldalways just..."

"Wait, hold on,"Grace says, inching forward with her head tilted to the side. "What's that?"

Before he canrespond, Grace takes a few quick steps and then falls to her knees.

"Are you okay?"Tyler asks, rushing to Grace's side.

"Yeah," shereplies, pointing at a small hole in the wall of the cave. "Checkthis out."

"You're notthinking of trying to squeeze through there, are you?" Tyler asks.

Smiling up at him,Grace tuns and clambers through the tiny opening, barely fittingthrough.

"Hey, wait,"Tyler says, dropping down and forcing himself through the hole afterher.

The hole opensinto a large, dark tunnel. Suddenly, with a click, a beam of lightappears as Grace removes a small flashlight from her purse and turnsit on. She helps Tyler to his feet and the pair begin walking.

"Nowwe're getting off the beaten path," Tyler laughs. "MaybeCaveDigger101 was on to something after all?"

"Looks like,"Grace says, but there is no joy in her voice.

"Hey, are youalri..?" Tyler begins to ask, before stopping mid-question.

The floor of thecave comes to an abrupt end. Before them is a large hole, roughlytwenty feet across, but so deep the beam from the flashlight cannotreach the bottom. There appears to be no way around the hole and theonly way out would be the way they entered.

"Hell of athing, huh?" Tyler asks.

"Sure is,"Grace says, before taking a half-step back and shoving Tyler towardthe hole.

"Holy shit!"Tyler shouts, throwing out a hand to cling to the tunnel wall andpreventing himself from falling headlong into the hole.

Spinning around,he can barely make out Grace's features in the dimly lit tunnel. Hecan, however, see she is now holding a gun.

"Grace...?"

"Sorry, Tyler,"she says casually, "but it kinda has to be this way. CaveDigger101told me to come up here alone the first time. When I finally foundthis hole, I could hear something whispering to me. I'm not surewhat it is, but it tells me if I send someone to it that it will makeme very wealthy. Since then, I've lured a couple guys in here and,let me tell you that except for you, it's been a pain in the ass. Getting them up here, and then convincing them to crawl through thehole in the cave wall and then pushing them into the hole right hereis just frustrating. The payoff makes it all worthwhile, though. Awinning lottery ticket here, and a cash-prize contest there..." shesay, trailing off. "Well, let's just say it's really starting toadd up. I don't know what I'll get for pushing you in there, but alady has expenses, you know?"

A moment ofcomplete silence passes. The pair stares at one another. Suddenly,Tyler explodes into laughter.

"You've gotta beshitting me," he says, gasping for breath. "I was going to pushyou into the hole."

"Wait...what?" Grace asks, lowering the gun slightly.

"I've been backhere before," Tyler says, trying to regain his composure. "I gotthe same deal from the thing in the hole, except it pays me at thetrack. Hell, I don't even know that much about horse racing. I justget a gut feeling and it pays off."

Another moment ofsilence passes before both erupt into laughter.

"Okay," Graceasks as their laughter subsides, "so what are we going to do now?"

"Well," Tylersays slyly, "there was that elderly couple on the bench. One forme and one for you?"

"I do love a manwith a plan," Grace says, returning her gun to her purse.

"I don't think awoman has ever been sexier to me than you are now," Tyler sayshungrily.

"Oh, really?"Grace asks, stepping up to him and kissing him deeply.

Tyler twists andhurls Grace into the hole. Dropping the flashlight, but clingingonto the edge in desperation, Grace shouts out at him.

"What the hellare you doing?"

"You bitches getdumber every time," Tyler sighs. "I am CaveDigger101. Ialways trick stupid cunts like you into coming up here, then I wait acouple weeks, post as someone else and get you to 'invite' me to joinyou. It's like you said, just getting people to this spot isa pain in the ass. It's a hell of a lot easier when they're the onedoing the inviting."

Tyler stampsforcefully on Grace's fingers, sending her screaming into the hole. Reaching down, he picks up the flashlight and makes his way out andto the track.