– CHAPTER THREE –
“Thirty paces to the north Mr. Shama said and then ten paces this way.” Keegan walked along the sand with the map held out in front of him and counted his steps. “Twenty seven...twenty eight...and left at the old pier stump. One, two, three...”
He shrugged out of his backpack and placed it on an old log. The wind had begun to stiffen and the map fluttered in his hand. He studied the map briefly and then rolled it up and placed it carefully back in his backpack. Using a piece of driftwood, he marked an X in the sand and then pulled a folding shovel from his backpack and started digging.
“Well, here goes nothing.” he muttered as sand flew from his shovel.
From the top of the cliff, Reywal peered down through the bushes at Keegan below. “Splendid!! We'll let the little cycling maniac do the digging, and then we'lldo the snatching! Hand me my spy glasses, Datslob.”
Datslob lifted his T-shirt, pressed a button on his chest and two small doors swung apart, revealing a well stacked miniature tool chest. Datslob pressed another button and a pair of hi-tech looking binoculars sprung out. He handed them to Reywal. Reywal held them up to his eyes and pressed a button. A tiny parabolic dish popped up and began to turn accompanied by a low electronic whirr. Reywal pressed another button and a digital read-out flashed on the perimeter of the image. It read: SEARCH PROXIMITY INDICATOR. A grid pattern appeared over the image and lines began to glow and converge as the binoculars zoomed in on the hole Keegan was digging. Reywal nudged Datslob in the ribs.
“Soon, I, Reywal…...” Reywal gloated. “…… will be not just the greatestcriminal mind in the entire world, but the richestcrim...well you know the rest.” Datslob rolled his eyes as Reywal tracked Keegan through his electronic glasses. “All Riight!!” he muttered under his breath. He lowered the glasses. Then with a look of irritation peered into the large end with a puzzled look on his face. “Criminy buckets. What now?”
He opened up a lid on his glasses and took out a battery. A label on the battery stated “Discount Battery.”
Reywal turned to Datslob “Dangady dang! Remind me not to buy those cut rate batteries again Datslob.”
He paused, peering down at the beach. “Now do you realize what this technical malfeas…..malfas…… uh messup means?”
Datslob grimaced. “No, but I have a feeling you're going to tell me.” “It means, my little scrap heap, that I, Reywal, the greatest criminal mind in the universe am going to have to go down there and possibly - get we. Dingaty dangaty blast!!!”
On the beach, Keegan had dug himself waist-deep into the soft beach. Sand sprayed upward and over the edge of the hole as he dug. Throwing the shovel out of the hole, he fell to his knees as he exposed a glassy black knob of stone. He brushed the sand from it with his hand and examined it closely. “Hhhmmmmm, this looks kinda promising!”
He gripped the stone and tried to lift it up.
“Unnnhhh!! Whatever it is, it's heavy.” he said out loud.
As Keegan strained from his effort, a growl of thunder echoed in the distance. He glanced up and noticed the darkening sky. The wind had increased and the clouds were now black and fast moving. Keegan grasped the shiny black rock and heaved and strained. To his annoyance, the rock refused to move. “One more try then I’ve gotta go.” he muttered as he studied the vaguely crystalline knob of rock. “Hey, wait up.”
On closer examination he noticed that it was in the form of a handprint. He studied the rock more closely and brushed away some loose sand. “Hmmm, maybe if I turn it.”
He wrapped his fingers around the stone and twisted it with both hands. The rock slowly yielded to his effort. As it began to turn, an ominous throb filled the air. The stone began to glow faintly with a dark luminescence. Suddenly, thunder clashed overhead and there was a flash of lightning. Keegan studied the sky for a minute with a grimace on his face. He hesitated momentarily and then bent down and grasped the rock with both hands and twisted with all his might. “Just...a...little...more…………” He grunted, his face red from the exertion. Unexpectedly, the rock twisted in Keegan’s hand and he lost his grip. Keegan jerked up out of the hole and landed flat on his back in the sand. A loud grinding sound was heard. Keegan looked at the cliff face in front of him and watched stunned as a large hole slowly opened. He raised himself up on his elbows and gaped.
“Oh, coo. Mr. Shama, must be related to………” Keegan thought for a second. “Yeah, that Star Wars guy. … Obiwan Knobe or something.”
He picked himself up and watched as the hole in the cliff parted to reveal a cave entrance. A faint green radiance shimmered from the tunnel's entrance. Behind Keegan, a large wave swept up the beach and as the water broke around his ankles, he cautiously approached the mouth of the cave with a look on his face a mixture of curiosity and anxiety. A long passageway sloped downward. Dim light could be seen coming from a bend in the cave tunnel. Keegan stood uncertainly on the threshold, his urge to explore being challenged by the howling of the wind as it seemed to wail and scream directly into the cavernous depths below. He said out loud.
“In the movies, this is the part where the audience screams – Don't go down there! It's gonna getcha!! - Then the dumb guy goes in anywayand gets eaten by some kind of slime beast with...”
At that moment, a huge wave came crashing up the beach, picked Keegan up and sent him flying into the cave.
“Aaaahhhh!!!”
Keegan’s yell echoed from the cave mouth only to be lost in the increasing sound of the wind.