Among the Oil Derricks: Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

The next morning before the sun awoke, Drake was slipping out of the hotel room and out into the parking lot. There was no one around. He had some money with him that Derek had given him at the gift shop to buy anything he wanted. There was a bus that left at 5:15am for Carlsbad Caverns. He hoped he had enough money to buy a ticket. He waited impatiently for it to come. It was a chilly morning and Drake only now just realized he had left his heavy coat in the hotel. It was too late to get it now.

Finally the bus came. Drake climbed aboard, paid the fair, and sat down. It wasn’t a long drive, but it felt much longer. Even the bus was cold. Drake shivered under his light jacket. The sun was just rising when they reached the caverns. With a deep breath, Drake stepped off the bus. He didn’t have enough money to pay for a pass. He didn’t even have a guardian. But no problem! He knew how to slip buy them, especially in the dim light. They didn’t so much as see him. Once passed the gate, Drake trotted along the road to the store. Maybe it would be warm in there so he could think. There was also a gift shop so no one would think twice about him hanging around there and not buying anything. Kids alway hung around the gift shop even when they’re broke.

Now the trick was to not appear like he was unsupervised. He loitered outside until he saw a group of people, kids and adults, head toward the store. He passed them and walked in a little ahead looking like an eager member of their group. Without hesitation, he went into the gift shop part. While he wanted to be associated very briefly as a member of their group entering, he did want to be with them long enough to be recognized as part of their group or else if they left the employees might see he was still there and get suspicious. Now, no one knew to whom he belonged. That was his plan.

He spent at least an hour in the shop, looking at knives, magnets, rocks, pocket watches, and even stuffed animals. His stomach growled. Great, he had forgotten to eat, too. Well, he thought, at least the sun is up and warming everything so I won’t be cold anymore. How much money do I have left? He felt his pockets. A few dollars. Drake grabbed several energy bars and stood in line. He wouldn’t eat them until he got really hungry to the point of not thinking straight or not having enough energy. Until then, he could go hungry for awhile.

The thought of stealing never entered his head. He didn’t like stealing especially when there was another way even if it did require some uncomfortable sacrifices. Stealing was like cussing, done by people with no imagination or determination at that. He was determined to get along fine without resorting to weak actions or not get along at all. If he couldn’t, in his mind, he deserved to be back in the foster system. So that was it. He was decided. He didn’t know quite how he would do it, but some sort of resolve he never knew existed took ahold of him inside chose what he could and couldn’t do and made it final. Drake had no intention of ignoring it, because to him it was himself, the one he could never access, but now finally had. He would see what he was made of.

With a map in hand, Drake hurried off toward the caves. He tried not to let himself get distracted by questions that weakened his plans. What were his plans? He didn’t rightly know, but he had a rough idea what he was going to do. He was going to look for that guy, whoever he was. Horas, he would call him, after an agent of an even more evil royalty in his story that he made up on the spot. Nobody stopped him, Drake was careful not to look like a loitering kid who might be lost or alone. As long as he seemed sure of himself, people would assume he was with someone, and as long as he didn’t stay in one place too long, nobody would take too much notice of him.

Drake practically haunted as much as he dared the main building of Carlsbad. That would be where Horas would be, right? He wanted to access to the caves, right? At a moment of doubt, Drake’s heart jumped with a mini-heart attack as he saw Derek’s corvette drive up. Without a moment to spare, he hurried around the corner as casually as he could. Something between curiosity and cautiousness kept him watching as carefully as he could. Derek sat in the car for a little before Emilie pulled up in her rental car.

She always seemed to have unique trinkets of jewelry, Drake couldn’t help but note. Today she wore a swing necklace, with a silhouette of a little girl swinging, holding tightly to the chains of the necklace as though it were the chains of the swing, because in the miniature it was. Her ring was one that wrapped around her finger and carved like a branch, not the circular type. There was a little diamond stone that was between the two ends and around the stone two metal leaves.

Derek climbed out. “Good morning,” Drake heard him say in an even voice.

“Good morning, something wrong?”

Derek shrugged, “I couldn’t find Drake this morning.”

“He was at your place again?” Emilie asked.

Derek nodded ignoring the fact that he knew she thought he ought to have at least informed the police. “I got him mad last night on accident. I thought I had fixed things up, but this morning he was gone. I asked some the hotel people and they checked their cameras. He snuck out early this morning.”

Cameras! Drake thought in in horror. Cameras! He had forgotten about them. Wait, cameras. What if… he couldn’t… why not? How hard could it be to sneak into the security and review some of the recordings? How hard was it? Drake nearly shouted to himself. Are you crazy?! He bit his tongue to stop his thoughts. He’d think about it later.

“Why would he do that?” Emilie sounded genuinely concerned about him, taking Drake off guard.

“I just told you, I got him mad,” Derek answered. Come to think of it, thought Drake, Derek is awfully downcast. Why? He had only met him for a little, how could he care so much already? Forget about it and hang out with your girlfriend, mused Drake angrily. He felt a little guilty.

“How?”

“I didn’t keep calm when he told me something about his past,” replied Derek.

“I’m sorry, Derek, sometimes kids who have gone through a lot of hurt can be more sensitive to some things and less sensitive to others.” Emilie paused. She had only an elementary knowledge of broken children. She certainly hadn’t gone to school for it, but she had worked with many foster children and many of her cousins were from broken homes. “Have you reported it to the police? There is nothing we can do now and it would be best to make sure he’s safe.”

“The hotel said they would do that.” Derek nodded, “I just wish things could have worked out better.”

“I’m sorry, Derek,” Emilie placed her hand on his shoulder, “I really am. But like you said, Drake needs his time and he’ll figure things out soon. We will pray for him, okay? That’s all we can do now.” Drake peeked out from around the corner. Derek nodded. “Let’s pray right now.” Derek nodded again. They stood in front of the car and Emilie led a little prayer for Drake, who sat by doing his best to read her lips. He smiled a little. Was Derek a believer? If not, how awkward. There was a small bite of skeptical bitterness in his heart which kept him amused. After a moment or two, Emilie smiled bravely and said, “What do you want to do?” Derek shrugged. “You can have the day, I have some things to do anyway.” Derek nodded. Drake’s brows furrowed with confusion and frustration as he tried to understand what was going on. Why was he so upset?

“I’m sorry, Emilie,” said Derek, “I don’t think I can enjoy right now.”

“I understand,” assured Emilie, “I wouldn’t ask anything less. You can look for him if you want. He might be around here. It’s a pretty big park, but it might make you feel better. I’ll keep my eye out, too.”

“I’ll do that,” Derek climbed back into his car and began to reverse.

Emilie skipped the curb and reach his open window, “And, Derek, I’m sorry. I really am. I just want you to know I am more upset than I show, this is just a bit much for me to react to right now. Drake must be going through a lot right now.”

“Thanks, anyway, see you tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“See you then.” Derek drove away and Emilie stepped inside.

Drake would have gazed on in frustration for several minutes if not that instant a car drove up with a driver Drake recognized immediately as a Missing Persons Investigator. After seeing so many official persons, it was not a challenge for him to recognize them when they came around. Perhaps it was the sort of air they carried or just how they looked and acted. Suddenly Drake realized he had been seen. It was too late to slip away.

“Hey, kid,” the investigator called, “enjoying your day at the caves?” Drake nodded. “Don’t lose your folks, now, or I’ll be lookin’ for you.”

“You some sort of missing persons officer?” Drake played dumb.

“That’s right.”

“Who are you looking for? Maybe I’ve seen them.”

“Maybe. I’m looking for a little girl named Rosie Ann Carroll.”

Drake breathed in relief, “Red haired eight year old with her dad?”

“Hey, that’s right, can you tell me anything else about her?”

“She had green eyes and was - I dunno - fragile looking. Her dad was a big red-head but looked like anyone else I s’pose. Whatcha looking for her for? She’s with her dad?” Custody issues, Drake supposed, between, hmm… let me guess… the mother?

“Custody issues with the mother.” Drake smirked inwardly. “Say -”

Predicting what was next, Drake jumped in, “They were around here, but that was earlier this morning. Ope - I gotta go,” he nodded down the hill like he was signifying who he was with.

“What’s your name?” the investigator asked as he turned to scurry down the hill.

“Byran!” Drake called back, blurring his name to sound like ‘Brian.’ As he disappeared down the hill, he breathed in relief. That was close! He didn’t even have to lie to keep the man from becoming suspicious. He knew that if the investigator became at all suspecting that he was hiding his identity, the first thing he would do back at the office was look up any red-blonde haired, blue eyes, fair-skinned twelve-year olds missing and his name and picture would surely turn up. As far as lying. He had always known that it was best to stay as close to the truth as possible. It significantly brought down the chances of a slip-up and made it easier to explain yourself out of it by letting and blaming misunderstandings at work.

As he was thinking this, Drake’s attention was drawn to a man staring at him. It was the man from the day before! Seeing he was noticed, the stranger rushed away. Drake followed. After a few minutes he lost sight of him and began to wander around only to find that the man was again following him. He turned around and followed the stranger, who in turn whirled around in the other direction. After several minutes, the man stopped and turned. Drake noticed they were in a rather isolated area, so he turned away and hurried back up the concrete path to the information building. The man followed at a distance.

Drake’s heart beat with each step. He became more and more aware of how alone they were. It was to his great relief when a young dark-haired woman came down the path. She smiled at him as her eyes roved across the path. She would do for now. Her presence would give him enough time to reach the information building.

The man was closer now. The door was just a few steps away. Drake skipped those few steps, pulled open the door, and stepped inside. The fact that there had been people outside did not comfort him.

“Oh!” a young woman exclaimed for he had run into her. “Drake!” It was Emilie. Drake faced her. She was speechless for a moment. “Well,” she said at last in a very different tone Lexie used to use the word with, “I guess - we, Derek and myself that is, we were going to go on a tour today and wanted you to come but… well, obviously we weren’t able to tell you. It is at - what was it again - oh, right, it’s at eleven!”

Drake couldn’t help but admire her attempt to keep things natural, but he was irritated because the stranger he was following now passed him and was disappearing out another door. “I’ll see, I am a bit - busy.”

“Alright - okay,” poor Emilie was so flustered, “Well, I’ll let Derek know. You can meet us in the big room if you want. And don’t worry about your ticket.”

“Okay! Okay!” Drake edged away.

“Hopefully see you later,” Emilie waved as he went, “Oh, and Drake… don’t worry!” He knew what she was saying but gave no sign as he hurried after his prey. It was ten now. Thirty minutes were spent in the same awkward game of chase with the “it” changing back and forth. They weren’t covering any ground. The were simply circling the same areas over and over again. Drake would decide they had gone too far away from other people and turn around. THe man would follow him back. They might loiter at a distance for a minute or two before one would try to slip away with the other following, before one or the other turned back. They always ended up back at the information building. He had an uncomfortable feeling they were drawing the attention of the security and rangers, even tourist gave them odd looks.

Finally Drake had had enough and stopped. Apparently the man had the same idea, because he came to a halt, too. A minute passed with them glaring at each other until they finally took a first step toward each other, then another, and another, and another until they met in the middle. Drake felt safe enough, they were not alone. There was that one girl he had seen before and a few other families walking about. Enough to bare witness if anything bad happened, but not enough to interfere with their confrontation.

“So, it appears we are of the same mind in many ways,” remarked the gaunt fellow.

“How do you mean?” asked Drake evenly.

“We see each other the other day, recognize each other as being a ‘person of interest’, as the doctor would put it, come to the caves the next morning with the intent to follow, and act on that intent, participating in the most embarrassing game of cat and mouse changing characters flippantly and finally at the same moment deciding we’d had it. I am sure you are already aware, though.” The man spoke as one with excellent education.

“Who’s the doctor?” asked Drake curtly. He did not want to banty with words.

“The main character in the British television show Dr. Who. Have you not seen it?” the man replied coily. Drake knew he was being played with and simply scowled. “Right,” the man continued after a pause, “Neither have I. But I suppose you mean the doctor I was referring to.”

“Who else?” Drake growled.

“Sorry that is private knowledge.” Was the short answer, “and now that we have put an end to our tag game, I shall be going. You are welcome to say nothing of this meeting to anyone else or I may have to force my hospitality on your before it is time. Of course, if you wish, you may accept it now freely. We won’t tell tales to Missing Persons.”

Drake didn’t move. The man shrugged and walked away. The boy looked around. There was nobody near anymore except the young woman on a bench reading. Drake stared hard at her. She seemed to be around a lot. Suddenly she shut her book, slid it under her arm, and walked away untucking her hair.

Had he seen an ear piece in her ear? And not the sort meant for hard of hearing people. And was that a tiny camera in the book? He hadn’t seen it, but the way she held the book, it was always turned slightly towards them. And what was she doing reading Sherlock Holmes out in the hot sun anyway? It was a good series, Drake had read it, but not at a National Park on a path. The fact she had left ruled out the option that she was waiting for someone.

With an uncomfortable feeling, Drake hurried off to once again pursue the stranger man. It was not long before he caught up. He did not bother hiding himself. He followed right at his heels. THe man couldn’t no know he was there. A blind man couldn’t not know. But he ignored him. Drake remained silent.

Drake thought about what he was doing. He had his doubts, but whatever they were, he followed his adversary closely until they reached the parking lot. Drake abruptly stopped. The man continued to his car. On opposite sides of Drake were two men who had looked suspiciously like they were waiting for something. Now they casually walked towards him.

The runaway felt danger in his chest as he did a 180 and went back into the building. For the first time he longed to see someone he knew and for them to see him. Emilie and Derek! The tour! What time was it? Ten fifty-eight. Maybe if he hurried.

One of the two men were nearly behind him now. The man’s hand was in his pocket on, Drake correctly assumed, his gun. A pleasant means of inviting Drake to be their guest, he was sure. With quick step, Drake walked towards the elevator room just as Derek was stepping out.

“Drake!” he exclaimed, “We were worried you wouldn’t make it. Come on. Let’s go!”

Drake could have blessed Derek right then. Not only was he a life saver, but he wasn’t making anything awkward.

The two men who had been pursuing him scowled but left him alone. Derek glanced at them. He could tell they were up to no good and gave them a dark look as though daring them to try anything before leading Drake into the elevator room. The exchange of looks did not escape Drake’s observation making him admire Derek even more for the safety he felt. It was a nice first to have someone outside himself to run to. What a strange feeling. What a wonderful feeling! He wished he could have it all the time.

The tour went well. Drake enjoyed the caves as usual. Emilie gave him a lot of attention and he felt Derek’s watchful eye at all times. Rather than feeling irritated, he felt cared for. He believed Emilie’s promise that he didn’t have to worry. Something inside him clicked.

“There are some really nice walks around here that we can spend our afternoon doing and then we can watch the bats,” suggested Emilie.

“Let’s!” Drake exclaimed.

“That sounds interesting,” agreed Derek.

Emilie told them about several of the hikes and some educational points as they came out of the tour area. Drake listened to every word. “You’ll do great as a ranger,” remarked Derek at last, “I would listen to you!”

Emilie laughed, “Thanks! Do you guys want to see the bats tonight?”

Drake nodded eagerly. “Alright, let’s do it.”

Abraham Lincoln

"You cannot escape responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today."

Among the Oil Derricks: Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” Emilie made one last attempt to convince Derek to come up the natural entrance.

“Nope, elevator is good for me,” Derek’s hands were in his pockets and he was very sure.

“Okay, let’s go,” Emilie shrugged and followed by Drake went to the entrance of the hike.

“She is wonderful, isn’t she?” he thought, “One of a kind… maybe I should’ve-”

“Derek Walker?” a voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Yes?” he turned to face three teen girls.

“Can we have your autograph, please! Here’s a pen and our notebooks!”

“Sure, what’s your names?” Derek took the pen and began to sign as if undisturbed, but truly it was beginning to become irritating to be recognized and stopped everywhere even if it did buy him favors.

When he went up the elevator he was amused by another ranger tale. This one was a rhyming on that the ranger who operated the elevator memorized in a dramatic tone. He told of a bat the flew into his house and how the children screamed with fright and the aunt tried to cause the bat to take flight by waving a broom but only succeeding in upsetting the food. Finally he stepped in and let the bat out with a shout of blessing for a peaceful flight into the night begging him not to cause a anyone else such a fright and finding itself in such a plight again.

When he reached the first floor he began to browse the exhibits again. “You know there are at least 118 limestone caves in the Guadalupe Mountains?” a ranger asked him.

“Sorry, no,” Derek laughed awkwardly.

“Not many do, they just think about the main cave, but there are many more that have not even been found yet,” the ranger told him good naturedly before walking on.

“The Guadalupe Mountains used to be an ancient reef at the edge of an inland sea?” Derek read out loud to himself, “Hmm… an uplifted reef during the Permiam time. Now it’s a dessert, who knew?”

“Funny how everything was once under water, but it couldn’t have possibly been a worldwide flood,” the voice of Emilie mentioned behind him, “Oh no, just a bunch of local floods repetitive over a thousand years to explain the effect.” Derek turned to see here grinning. “Oh well, we can’t win them all, can we? We’ll just have to owe up that coincidence seems to be the ruling factor in science these days. And I thought believe in God was crazy.” Her light voice was lightly sarcastic, but not at all hurtful.

“It does seem a bit extreme, doesn’t it?” Derek admitted, referring to the evolutionary belief.

“Oh don’t mind me,” Emilie waved her hand, “I just get annoyed with some of the science suppositions out there. But, seriously, it’s true. A bit far fetched some of what they say.”

Derek chuckled, “What tour are we doing next?”

“I thought we could do a hike instead. I’ve never done Juniper Ridge. Do you want to do that?”

“Sure.”

“Drake, you want to come with? Would the Carlyle’s be alright with that?”

“I’m here on my own,” Drake replied, “I’m old enough.”

“Really?” Emilie asked, “Well then, that’s great!” Her voice tinged with doubt, but it was obvious that if she were going to pursue the matter, she intended to do it at a different time.

Drake spent an exhilarating day with Derek and Emilie hiking and exploring. For the first time in a long while, he felt happy. He was doing what he had always wished he could. But the day had to end and it did, grey and rainy. Derek and Emilie kept their spirits up as they hiked down the path back to the car, but Drake was concerned about where he would sleep that night. He gazed around him. The clouds didn’t show any sign of going away and looked to have a plethora of water. When they reached the parking lot he wasn’t any closer to knowing what to do. Emilie still had the rental car and had decided to keep it for a couple days before returning it.

“Drake, do you need a place to stay tonight?” Derek asked after she had driven away.

“Umm…” could he trust him? He didn’t really want to sleep outside that night. “Yes.”

“Why don’t you come over to my hotel room?” Derek offered, “You can sleep on the couch.”

“Sure,” Drake shrugged.

“I’m headed out right now, my car is right over here,” Derek walked over to his care, “Coming?”

“Oh, yeah,” Drake climbed in on the passenger side. He didn’t say much as they drove to the hotel.

“So, I heard -” Derek began, but deciding that was not a good subject to bring up went in another direction, “So, what brings you to the caves?” He didn’t feel very confident about that subject either, but he had to say something.

Drake shrugged, “I just wanted to see them.”

“So,” Derek brought up slowly, “you came and you don’t have a place to stay.” Drake nodded. Derek cringed to bring up the topic he felt was sure to not be wanted, but he had to know. It was his dreaded responsibility as an adult to ask.  “Does… did Mrs. Carlyle let you come.”

Drake was quiet for awhile. Now was his turn to struggle with his words and how to express what he wanted to. “I’m taking a break from foster care for a little.” He could have hit himself. That was a stupid thing to say.

“Oh really?” Derek asked.

“I’m almost thirteen, maybe I am already, I think I can take care of myself for awhile,” Drake said defensively.

“Oh yes, of course,” Derek did not say it mockingly, but it was obvious he did not agree. “You know,” he continued, “I think I know what you’re going through. We all go through it when we are coming of age, so to speak. You just need some time, that’s all.”

Drake stared at Derek. He didn’t seem to intend to say anything more. That was all? Nothing more about what he should do or why he shouldn’t do what he was doing? Even though Drake was glad, it just didn’t sit right in his stomach. Was it wise of an adult to just let a kid rely on his own wisdom? Or do his own thing?

Derek himself was having some second thoughts, but even though he was not the child expert like Emilie nor had he really worked with broken kids, he could tell Drake was in a fragile time and he didn’t want to make a move until he was sure of it. He was not confident of his authority and wanted to gain it rather than assume it, even if it was his. At the moment, he knew all of Drake’s authorities other than perhaps the Carlyles had just assume control over his life without proving their willingness to acknowledge him as an individual with individual needs.

A few minutes later they reached the The Trinity Hotel & Restaurant. “Do you want to go to the room or the restaurant first?” Derek asked. Drake shrugged. “Okay, room first, we’ll drop off your backpack and then get a table at the restaurant,” Derek decided. Drake felt very uncomfortable. The hotel was a very expensive hotel and the restaurant menu was very posh. Even though Derek told him to order anything, Drake felt a tinge of guilt at ordering anything over ten dollars. He was more at ease when the actor bought himself a twenty dollar meal not including the drink. Still, he felt very self-conscious. After they had had dinner they went back up to the room.

“The couch is actually very comfortable,” remarked Derek unlocking the hotel door. “I would’ve rented rooms for two if I knew I’d have a guest, but oh well.”

“It’s fine,” Drake sat down with a plop. It was comfortable.

“Drake!” called Derek . Drake turned and Derek tossed some blankets at him. They landed on his head. Derek laughed. Drake pulled them off. He was smiling. “There we go, that’s a nice smile,” Derek nodded, “It looks good on you.” Rather than being offended, Drake actually felt his heart warm. He liked Derek. “You know, if you want, I’ll take you back to the caverns again tomorrow. We are going on some more cave explorations, Emilie and I. I’ll pay for you if you care to come along and I’m sure Emilie won’t mind. She likes you. Sometimes I think she likes you more than me.” Derek smiled ruefully, “What do you say?”

“Sure!” Drake replied eagerly. For a moment he forgot about his purpose of coming in the excitement of a chance to do what he had always wanted to. Besides, he could keep his eye out and do just as well, he told himself. He might have slept peacefully that night if he had trusted Derek, but he was too worried and afraid that they seeped into his dreams, and his night was again restless.

“Drake! Drake!” a hushed voice whispered, shaking him. Drake tossed and aimlessly through his arm at the voice. “Fine, I’ll leave you here.” The voice registered as Derek’s in Drake’s mind and he recalled last night.

“Wait!” he cried sitting up rubbing his eyes and running his fingers through his hair, “Wait! I’m awake!”

“Were you awake that whole time?” asked Derek , putting on his coat. Drake shook his head. “Okay, well, I’m ready, so get dressed and brush your hair. I’m supposed to meet Emilie there at eight. It’s seven thirty. I figured you could get ready within fifteen minutes, right?” Drake nodded and dragged himself out of bed. Half of him wanted to climb back onto the couch and throw the covers over his head but the other half was grateful to be awake and aways from those spiteful dreams.

“There you are!” Emilie greeted them when they came into the building.

“Sorry we’re late,” apologized Derek .

“Oh, no, I was just early,” Emilie waved her hand, “it’s only five after. That’s not bad at all, not as bad as I used to be until running late actually started to have consequences.” Drake noticed as her book trilogy bracelet slid up and down her arm.

“I need to go the restroom before we go,” he mentioned, “I forgot to at the hotel.”

“Sure, we’ll wait here,” said Derek.

“So, what’s up with him?” inquired Emilie when he was gone.

“He’s going through a rough time and is taking a break from it all,” replied Derek, “he had no place last night so I let him stay in my hotel room and invited him to come with us. I didn’t think you’d mind.”

“I don’t!” insisted Emilie, “Just surprised to see him, that’s all. He’s running away?” Derek shrugged. “Okay.”

“Emilie, don’t worry,” Derek smiled encouragingly. He resisted the urge to take her hand knowing she’d reject it, “It is only for a little. I’m sure he’ll get over it soon and then we’ll take him back and if not, it’s not my fault.”

“What do you mean?” she asked cautiously.

“I mean I am not going to force him to do anything,” replied Derek, “he’s not ready for that.”

“I agree,” Emilie nodded, “but eventually you might have to, if he doesn’t come around soon. Sometimes things in the real world get complicated and we have to sacrifice feels for facts, intuition for principles.”

“I don’t know about that,” Derek hesitated. His hands sought for his pockets.

“Derek, ‘I don’t think we’re in “Hollywood” anymore,’” Emilie smiled good naturedly, but he could see what she was saying. He put his hands in his pockets uncomfortably. “We live in a flawed world, if we all followed what we felt like was right, we might not be right. It is safer to follow principles. Principles are not laws!” Derek still looked hesitant. Emilie pressed a little farther, “If the truth gets hard to swallow, what are you going to do?” Now Derek looked very uncomfortable. “Okay, let’s put it this way,” Emilie tried a new approach, “Derek, why are you here?”

“I’m wanting to find a new and better way of life than before, one that is more real and meaningful,” Derek answered easily.

“And how will you do that when trials and temptations come?” she asked, “If you don’t have a foundation, a moral belief and relationship with God, if you aren’t willing to accept the absolute truth even when it doesn’t yet sit right with you, how can you sort out the right path?” Derek had no answer. “The Bible is like a roadmap so we won’t be confused by our close-up view, thestreet names or area looks. His word won’t lose it’s way and is like a lighthouse in a storm to guide us when we don’t know and to correct us when we think we do.”

“Okay,” Derek was willing to work with that.

“Do you still have bridges back to Hollywood?”

“You know I do, so do you.”

Emilie nodded looking at him searchingly, “This isn’t your fault, but I’ll throw it out. Often times God can’t move us forward if we don’t fully trust Him. If we keep a back way or plan B doors open, that means we don’t trust Him enough. Honestly, now, I’m talking more to myself than to you. Oh, there is so much to work on and so little life to work on it with. Oh well… we do what we can. I wonder when Drake will be back.”

Derek tried to follow her attempt to brighten the subject, but in truth he was discouraged. He knew that in the back of his mind, if his plan didn’t work out, he could always go back to acting. He still referred to himself as an actor. Would he turn back at the first sign of real trouble or would he hang on to see it through and reach the end of the tunnel? He had come so far already, he couldn’t turn back, could he?

Meanwhile, Drake had hurried off to the bathroom. After washing his hands, he stepped out again. There was not many people around so when he heard an oddly familiar voice he was able to listen. “Hello? Yes… I’m here… I’m in a safe place, yes… No, there is no way we could pull an operation this big secretly, not in this place… one catch… our operation may throw off the delicate balance of the caves, permanently scarring them… not a problem, sir… I will take care of… yes, I will locate him, I saw him earlier… bye.”

Drake froze. What was he saying? Staying in the shadows, he watched as the man emerged. Drake took in a sharp breath. Where had he seen him before, where? He searched his memory but could not remember.

The man was a tall man in a suit causing him to stand out amidst the tourists there to hike. He had a scowl that didn’t seem to go away even when he smiled or pretended to be polite. His dark hair was of medium length. His voice was deep and unsettling. There was nothing of warmth or good in his air, only a cold, off-distance sort of essence. He was one of the men he had seen at the house.

The man’s eyes roved across the people passively until fixing his eyes on Drake. Their eyes met. He gave him a grim smile and nod to which Drake was unresponsive and walked away as though satisfied. Drake debated following him, but when he saw him go out into the parking lot, decided against it and instead went to find Emilie and Derek. The thought to tell them never even entered his mind.

“The tour we are going on today is the Left Hand Tunnel,” told Emilie when he returned, “It is one of the more advanced hikes and we carry lanterns!”

“Sounds difficult, climbing through caves carrying our own lights,” remarked Derek.

“It is,” Drake confirmed with animation, “but not very. It can get difficult taking pictures because you only have one available hand, but it is very enjoyable and you get to be closer to the caves.”

“You know a lot.”

“I like caves.”

“So do I,” Emilie grinned, her white teeth shining, “but let’s hurry, we’ll be late!”

Drake tried to forget about what he had heard so he could enjoy the tour, but it was not possible. He could not stop thinking about it. Emilie and Derek were not too engaged in the tour to notice, but they said nothing.

“So, Drake, how did you enjoy the tour?” Derek asked, dropping his backpack onto the floor of the hotel room that evening.

“Which one?”

“Any of them, or all,” replied Derek .

“I liked it very much - wish I hadn’t been so distracted.” This last part Drake thought.

“Did you have a favorite?” Drake shook his head.

“Why haven’t you been to caves before, any caves?” Drake asked, suddenly curious about why Derek seemed to have a particular lack of knowledge in that area.

Derek laughed awkwardly, “Can you keep a secret?” Drake nodded. “I have always had a phobia of caves.”

“Really?”

“Yes, but when I found out about how much Emilie liked the caves, I couldn’t say no when she invited me to see them. I can’t tell you how much my heart was beating when we climbed down the natural entrance, but once I was down there it was no problem. How long have you been interested in caves?”

“Since I came to the Carlyles,” Drake replied, “I’ve always found them interesting, but not as much as I was when I came.”

“You’re twelve, right?”

“I think I’m thirteen,” Drake answered.

“Really? Why?” Drake’s surliness didn’t ruffle Derek, to his own surprise.

Drake paused and looked at Derek searchingly then as if deciding he was clear answered with, “When I was very young, my mom once came home with some oreos, ice cream, and a box of cake. She put them on the table and told me she supposed it was my birthday. She didn’t seem sure, but then she did the math in her head and checked a calendar and nodded. ‘Yep, today's your birthday, Drake,’ she said to me, ‘Today you are seven years old, my, you are getting so old. Well, here are the things for your birthday. I’m no cook, so you’ll have to bake your own cake. Ice cream goes in the fridge. I’ll be back in an hour. Don’t burn the house down.’”

“You were seven and she let you bake your birthday cake on your own?” inquired Derek incredulously. A moment later he could have bit his tongue.

Drake appeared coolly offended and even betrayed because of Derek’s open surprise. “Yes and I made it, too. It was good, even my dad liked it.”

“Your dad?” Derek tried to return to a calm manner and make Drake forget his past reaction. Drake nodded. “I was not - I didn’t realize you knew him.”

“There is a lot you don’t know about me.” mentioned Drake edgily.

“I never thought that wasn’t true,” interjected Derek quickly. Drake didn’t say anything. “What’s your birthdate, then?”

“January 3rd.”

Derek couldn’t conduce a conversation after that, but he didn’t give up talking to his guest even if he would get no reply. Drake couldn’t help but appreciate it as well as feel annoyance. Derek’s persistence was making him feel bad for being so stubborn. An hour later the actor retired to bed and Drake sat dully on the couch. He was now in a down mood.

What if Derek was just being nice long enough to tell the police? Surely he frustrated him when he wasn’t responding. But if that were the case, why didn’t he just call. No, he seemed trustworthy. Now that that’s that, what about that strange man he’ll call Horace for now. Who was he really? What did he want? Why did he seem so satisfied when he saw Drake? He had to know! Excitement prevented Drake from sleeping as did dread of fitful dreams. Finally he decided that he would wake up before dawn and slip away before Derek woke. He would find a ride back to the caverns and just be careful to avoid the actor and actress. How hard could that be? In a more of a feigned peace than actual peace, Drake managed to fall asleep. It was the first restful sleep he had had in awhile and mostly because he forced himself to rest.

Anonymous

"Some people are so poor money all they have is money."