Secrets 2: Looking Through Different Eyes

The next morning, we prepared to go to the cave, but then Gramps pointed out that we’d have to get some supplies out of the trailer first.  After he unlocked it, he started handing out the various items we’d need to take with us. 

“I’m confused,” I said.  “Didn’t you tell us last year when we were here that you’d have to get some ATVs so we could bring the tools to the cave to see if there was any treasure there?”

“I did, and that was still my plan when I came here to get things ready for us to do this, while you two were on vacation with your parents.  However, when I discovered there was a place that I could park an RV that was closer to the cave than where I’d parked the SUV last year, I reorganized my thoughts and came up with a new plan.”

After he finished telling us this, he handed Pops two white 5-gallon buckets, each one containing an assortment of hand tools and other supplies we’d need, and then he reached back into the trailer.  This time he started pulling out a half-dozen boards, two at a time, that he laid on the ground next to the trailer.  

“What are those for?” Devin asked.

“They’re part of a backup plan I devised in case we need them.”

“So, you don’t know whether or not you’re going to use the boards?”

“Not yet, because like I said, they’re part of a backup plan.  Finding out if we need them will depend on what I encounter as look for a way through the mound of rubble.  The three of us will each carry two boards, and I also want you boys to carry one additional item.”

He then reached back into the trailer and pulled out two long-handled garden tools.  One was a four-prong cultivator and the other a hoe.

“How do you expect us to carry those, if we also have to carry two boards?”

“I believe we’ll each be able to carry the two boards using one hand and holding them against our bodies, and then you can use your other hand to carry the additional item.” 

“But the boards appear to be white oak, so they’ll probably be heavy,” Devin stated.  He understood about different types of wood, since he lived in a cabin in the middle of a forest, and each of these boards was a foot wide, four feet long, and three-quarters of an inch thick (30.5 x 122 x 23 cm).

“They might be a little heavy, but that shouldn’t be a problem, since you boys know how to increase the strength in your arms.”

“Yeah, ok,” Devin relented.  “We’ll do that.”

“Good!  I knew it wouldn’t be a problem for you,” Gramps replied. 

“What else are you going to carry then?” Devin followed. 

“I’ll be carrying two additional items, and each one is heavier than the garden tools you boys will be holding.  I brought along a 36-inch (91.5 cm) crowbar and a 72-inch (183 cm) wrecking bar.” 

“What do you need those for?” I asked after he pulled those items out of the trailer.

“I may have to pry some of the rocks loose in order to open the hole up so it’s wide enough for us to get through, and I’ll use the crowbar to start with.  I’ll use the wrecking bar when I start clearing the area that’s farther into the pile, because I’ll have to do it while I’m still using the ladder to give me access to that area.  I also don’t want to get too close to what I’m working on, just in case it suddenly collapses.” 

As soon as Devin and I picked up our two boards, Gramps handed me the cultivator and Devin the hoe, and then he lifted the two boards he was going to carry, along with the two metal bars.  Pops was already holding the two buckets he was going to carry, so we were ready to go. 

“Just follow me, but make sure you don’t walk into the back of the wrecking bar, since about three feet (91 cm) of it will be extending behind me,” Gramps warned. 

The hike to the cave wasn’t too bad, although halfway there Devin talked Gramps into stopping briefly so Devin and I could switch the boards over to the other arm.  Gramps agreed it was a good idea and that he’d do the same thing, so we briefly set the items we were carrying on the ground to aid in doing this.  Once the boards were on our other side, we picked up the other items again and were ready to get moving again.  Pops had also set the buckets on the ground while we were doing this, and now that we were all set, he picked up the buckets again and we walked the rest of the way to the cave. 

When we arrived there, we leaned the garden tools and metal bars against the wall of the cave first, and then we stacked the boards on top of each other next to them.   Pops merely set the buckets down on the other side of those items.

“What do we do now?” Devin asked. 

“I’m going to climb to the top of the ladder so I can start removing some of the rocks and other debris from the hole that I used last year when I attempted to get to the other side as a mouse.  As I widen the opening, I’ll be dumping everything I’m removing into one of the buckets that my dad was carrying, after he’s taken out the other items first.  Then, as soon as I fill that bucket with the rocks and dirt I’ve removed from the hole, I want you boys to take turns carrying the buckets out of the cave.”   

“Where do you want us to dump that stuff?” Devin asked.

“I want you to scatter the material around on the slopes and do it so it’s as inconspicuous as possible.  That means I don’t want you to dump it in piles, but to spread it around so it isn’t obvious to anyone else that happens to come around here, like hunters.  I don’t want them to be able to figure out that we may be digging somewhere close by.  If they do, then they might assume that we’re doing it to locate something valuable, like a vein of gold or silver, or a treasure hoard.”

 “Ok, we’ll take care of doing what you want,” I agreed. 

“It will be a slow process,” Gramps continued, “since I’ll have to be careful so the opening doesn’t totally collapse as I’m trying to widen it.  That means the rest of you will probably be standing around waiting on me while I do this.” 

Gramps then retrieved a pair of goggles that had been in one of the buckets that Pops had been carrying, and then we watched as he climbed up the ladder.  When he reached the top, Pops handed him the crowbar so he could start pulling some of the rocks free as be began to tunnel a way for us to cross over to the other side.  Once in a while it would take Gramps a little longer, because rather than just removing the smaller rocks, he would have to use the crowbar to pry loose or break up a larger rock that was in the way. 

After he loosened enough of the debris, he asked Pops to give him the trowel and cultivator hand tool, which was a smaller version of the one that I’d carried to the cave.  He would then use the smaller cultivator to pull the rocks into the bucket, and then he’d use the trowel to drag the dirt and smaller material into the bucket as well.  Once the bucket was close to full, I carried it outside as Pops was handing Gramps the other bucket.

As soon as Gramps had loaded up the other bucket, Devin took it out of the cave so he could empty it, and I handed Gramps the first bucket again.  We continued this process for the rest of the day, and sometimes the sides of the tunnel would collapse into the area that Gramps had just cleared.  Whenever that happened, Gramps would have to remove those items first, before he was able to continue. 

As soon as he’d cleared as much as he could using the crowbar and hand tools, he asked Pops to give him the wrecking bar, so he could dig out an area farther down the small tunnel.  Once he had pried loose as much as he could, he would ask Pops to give him the long-handled cultivator so he could continue.  After he’d removed all of the larger items with the cultivator, he asked Pops to give him the hoe next, so he could remove the smaller material and smooth the path that we’d eventually use to cross over.  

As Gramps continued working, Devin and I would carry the buckets out of the cave and spread the contents around on the slopes.  We did that until the daylight outside of the cave began to fade, and then we all called it a day and walked back to the van to get something to eat. 

We let Gramps and Pops shower inside the van, while we took our showers outside.  After Gramps and Pops had cleaned up, they took care of fixing our meal, and once we had eaten, Devin and I would wash all of the items that had been used and cleaned up the kitchen area.  Once all of that had been taken care of, we decided to relax for a while before we turned in. 

“Mac, may I use your laptop to look something up?” Gramps asked.

“Of course.  I just have to move the table first, so I can get it out of the storage compartment.”

“What are you looking up?” Devin wondered. 

“Just some things that are related to what I’m doing in the cave.”

“How much longer do you think it will take until there’s a way to get to the other side?” I asked.

“I was only able to clear about two feet (61 cm) worth of material today, because the sides kept collapsing.”     

“And how far is it until you reach the other side?”

“From what I calculated when I attempted to cross to the other side last summer, I’d estimate the blockage is about eight to ten feet (244-305 cm) across.”

“Does that mean it will take three or four more days just to get to the other side?”  Devin asked.

“If we’re lucky and nothing worse happens than the sides keep collapsing into the area that I’ve just cleared, then I’d agree that we should be able to complete this in three to four days, or maybe less.”

Things went fairly well for the next couple of days and we made quite a bit of progress.  Fortunately, Gramps was able to increase the length of his arms, as well as their strength, so he could use the various tools to continue to clear more of the debris pile.  Then, at the end of the third day he made one final thrust with the wrecking bar and punched a hole in the far end of the tunnel. 

“I’m through,” Gramps announced excitedly. 

“Does that mean we can go across now?” Devin asked.

“Not yet.  I’ve only punched a small hole through so far and I have to make it wider first.”

“Then how do you know you’re all the way through.”

“When I thrust the wrecking bar into the pile the last time, it went through much farther than I expected and I almost lost my grip and dropped it.  I’ll have to knock a larger hole into the other side and scrape out all of the debris that’s left lying in the tunnel, and then I’ll have to check it out to make sure it’s safe before we can all go across.” 

After using the cultivator and hoe to pull all of the material that had to be removed into the buckets, Gramps climbed down the ladder again.  He then walked over and retrieved a cloth bag that had been in one of the buckets and tugged at the drawstring that kept the top closed and reached inside.  As soon as he pulled out a flashlight, he climbed back up the ladder and shined the beam along the ceiling and both sides of the opening.  When he finished, he climbed back down the ladder and spoke. 

“It appears that it will be necessary for us to take additional precautions before we try to cross over to the other side.”

“What do you have in mind?” I asked.

“While I was examining the area above the tunnel, I noticed there are cracks in the ceiling and it looks as if it might crumble and collapse at any time.”

“What do you have to do then and how long will it take?” Devin demanded. 

“We’re going to use my backup plan and it may take an additional day to get everything in place,” he responded, and then he pointed something out.  “It will soon be getting dark, so we’ll have to wait and do it tomorrow.  Let’s head back to the van and clean up a bit before we have supper.”

Devin and I weren’t happy about this, but we didn’t have much of a choice, so we agreed to do as he asked.  When we got back to the van, we followed what had become our nightly routine. 

After we sat down to eat, Devin and I asked Gramps a few questions, starting with this one.  “Do you think you’ll be able to finish your backup plan tomorrow?” I asked. 

“Yes, as long as we don’t run into any other problems.” 

“Like what?” Devin followed. 

“Like the ceiling collapsing before we complete the backup plan, or we find out that we need to make part of the tunnel wider in order to make this work.”

“Do you really think that will happen?”

“I hope not, because I tried to make sure if was wide enough, but I wasn’t actually able to measure it as I went along.  I was only able to visually estimate that I was making it wide enough.”

This wasn’t what we wanted to hear, since there was still the chance of something going wrong and delaying us reaching the other side, but hopefully that won’t happen. 

When we reached the cave the following morning, Gramps began to instruct us about what we’d have to do next. 

“I want each of you to carry a board over here while I collect a few other items that I’ll need.”   

When we returned with the boards, Gramps was setting down some of the other supplies that he’d retrieved.  As soon as he was ready, he explained what we were going to do next. 

“Devin, I want you to hold one of the boards upright while its laying on its side, and then I want Mac and my dad to hold a second board so one side of it is setting on top of the board that Devin is holding.”  

“Why are we doing this?” I asked. 

“It will afford us the additional protection that I believe we’ll need in order to cross over to the other part of the cave safely.”

“Do you really think we have to do this?”

“Yes, I do.  Not only am I concerned that one of us might brush against the side of the tunnel as we’re crossing over and cause it to start collapsing on us, but I’m also worried about the cracks in the area over the tunnel.  I’m concerned about the ceiling falling on us as well, so this will keep those types of things from injuring us while we’re in the tunnel.”  

Gramps then began fastening the two boards together using a cordless drill.  He started by placing a steel shelf bracket at one end of the two boards and then he fastened it into place using #4 screws.  Once he finished doing that, he did the same thing at the other end, and then he fastened a third steel shelf bracket at the midpoint of the two boards.  As soon as those were in place, he inserted longer #12 screws at three-inch intervals for addition support to keep the boards in place. 

After those two boards had been completely fastened together, Gramps and I placed the third board under the other edge of the top board to complete the inverted U-shaped structure.  After that was in place, Gramps used the steel shelf brackets and screws to attach that side together, the same as he’d done on the other side. 

As soon as the structure was completed, Gramps climbed up the ladder again, and then Pops, Devin, and I lifted the inverted U-shape structure up to him.  After he guided it into position, Devin and I helped him push it along until it was as far down the tunnel as we could reach.  When we couldn’t push it any farther, the three of us came down the ladder again, and then we all began to connect the final three boards together. 

Once we had another inverted u-shaped structure, we thought we’d have to lift that one into place as well, but Gramps told us he had to do something else first.  “We’re going to have to lift this structure up behind the other one so we can move them farther down the tunnel, but we won’t be able to do it by just pushing them.  I’m going to have to enter the tunnel so I can help lift and pull the front end of the first one, so it doesn’t get wedged into the dirt.  While I’m doing that, you three are going to have to push this one against the first structure to help move them along the tunnel.”

“But how are you going to do that?  Won’t you need to use your arms to lift and pull the front of the first one?”

“Yes, that’s very true.”

“But you won’t be able to do that if you’re a mouse, a weasel, or another animal like that and you’re too big to fit into the tunnel.  I don’t think you’ll be able to make yourself small enough to fit in the tunnel, so how are you going to do it.”

“Just watch and you’ll see what I plan to do.”

We were all curious about how he planned to do this and watched as he started to undress.  As soon as he was naked, he transitioned into a spider monkey, which caused Devin and me to laugh.  Hearing our reaction, he did a little dance for us first, and then he transitioned back into himself. 

“Spider monkeys are stronger than they look.  They have to be in order to swing their bodies across the treetops, so I’ll be able to lift the front of the structure enough so it isn’t digging into the dirt and getting stuck.”

“But won’t you be taking a chance that the tunnel or ceiling will collapse on you?” Devin asked. 

“Yes, that is true, but if that begins to happen, then I can duck under the structure where I’m safe, and then we’ll just have to clear the debris before we can continue.  As soon as I’m in place, I’ll chatter loudly, and that will be your signal to lift the other structure into place and begin pushing it against the other one.  Eventually, we should be able to move them both into place.”

Gramps then transitioned into a spider monkey again and then scampered up the ladder, ducked under the inverted U-shaped structure, and disappeared.  When we heard him chatter, Pops, Devin, and I lifted the second structure into place and started pushing. 

It took all the strength we could muster in order to gradually move those structures down the tunnel, until eventually we couldn’t push them any farther.  Our arms just weren’t long enough to do that and we weren’t able to enter the tunnel, so that would have to do.  We waited for Gramps to return and explain what would happen next.

When he emerged from the tunnel, he made his way down the ladder and transitioned into himself again.  As soon as that had happened, Devin asked a question. 

“Are we going to cross over to the other side now?”

“Not yet,” Gramps responded.  “There’s still more debris at the other end of the tunnel that is still there from when I broke through to the other side.  I couldn’t reach it with the long-handled tools before, so I’m going to go to the other end and use the hand tools to pull that material to a spot where I can reach them easily with the long-handled tools.  And then, I’ll pull it all into the buckets so you boys can dispose of it.”

As soon as he finished talking, he transitioned into a spider monkey again and scurried up the ladder.  This time he was holding the hand-held cultivator in one hand and the trowel in the other, and when he reached the opening, he ducked under the wooden structure one more time and disappeared from sight. 

We didn’t see him again for over twenty minutes, and when he returned, he scurried down the ladder and transitioned into himself.  He then climbed up the ladder again and asked Pops to hand him the long-handled cultivator, and he used that to pull the rock the rest of the way and into the bucket.  He then asked Pops to hand him the hoe and swapped it for the cultivator, and then he dragged the rest of the material into the other bucket. 

When he finished, Devin and I grabbed the two buckets and took them outside to empty them, and when we returned, Devin asked a question.  “Are we ready to cross over yet?”

“Not yet.  I want to take the flashlight with me now so I can check something out first.  It shouldn’t take long, so please be patient.” 

He then transitioned into the monkey again, picked up the flashlight using both hands, and scampered up the ladder so he could head down the tunnel one more time.   When he returned about thirty minutes later, he scurried down the ladder and transitioned into himself. 

“What did you do this time?” Devin asked. 

“I checked out the other side to determine if it might start collapsing under our weight as we try to climb down into the chamber.”

“Is it going to hold up?”

“It should, as long as we do it as monkeys.” he replied. 

“That means I’m not going to be able to go with you, am I?”

“I might have a way you’ll be able to join us, but I have to ask you a question first.  Are you familiar with a Whippet?”  

“Yeah, it’s a dog.”

“Yes, but how familiar with it are you?  Do you know exactly what it looks like?”

“I think so.  I know it’s a medium-size dog and it’s related to the greyhound, so it looks a lot like one too.”   

“Yes, but it’s a little smaller than a greyhound, so do you think you’ll be able to rearrange the hardware in your shoulder so you can transition into one, since it isn’t as large as bear.”

“Yeah, I think I’ll be able to do that, but do you think I’ll be able to get through the tunnel like that?”

“Yes, the opening is approximately a 14-inch (35.5 (cm) square and a whippet should be small enough to be able to crawl along on all fours until it reaches the other end.  It will be tight fit, but I believe you’ll be able to do it.”

“Great, then let me see if I can transition into one,” he stated eagerly.

Devin started getting undressed faster than I’d ever seen him do it before, even when he was in a hurry to have sex.  As soon as he was naked, he immediately began to transition.  As I was watching him, I was also gyrating my body at the same time, as if I was attempting to help him do this.  When he finally completed the process, he barked to let us know he was ready, and I could tell he was grinning when he looked up at me. 

Now that Devin was ready, Gramps gave us a final set of instructions before we were able to cross over to the other side.  “As soon as I’m a monkey again, I want my dad to place the flashlight I used earlier back into the bag with the other items and pull the drawstring tight, and then I want him to place the bag behind me on the ledge.  Once that is taken care of, I want my dad and Mac to transition into spider monkeys as well and get behind the bag so they can push it while I’m pulling on the drawstring.  I’m going to need your help, because the bag is quite heavy and I don’t think I’ll be able to drag it by myself while I’m a monkey.”

“Gotcha,” I replied, and then Devin barked. 

“Devin, you’ll have to do the best you can to use the rungs of the ladder to help you climb up to the tunnel with us.  I have faith that you’ll be able to do it, and then I’ll see all of you when we get to the other side.”

Devin barked again to let us know he understood, and then Gramps transitioned into a monkey again and scampered back up the ladder.  Now that Gramps was ready, Pops carried the drawstring cloth bag up the ladder and placed it on the ledge behind Gramps.  After he climbed down the ladder again, he and I undressed and transitioned into spider monkeys. 

As soon as we were both set, we climbed up the ladder and got behind the bag.  Once we saw it begin to move, we began to push it with all the strength we had in order to help Gramps move it to the other end.  It was a long and slow process, since there’s only so much any of us could do to help us bulk up as spider monkeys. 

When we reached the other end, Pops and I were a little surprised when the bag suddenly fell away from us, and then we heard a loud thump and then the sounds of rocks sliding down the pile.  It seems that the weight of the bag dropping down onto the loose rubble must have caused it to start cascading downward to the floor of the cave.  I just hoped Gramps was out of the way when that happened and he didn’t get crushed or buried. 

Eventually, Pops and I attempted to peer down from the edge of the tunnel to see if Gramps was all right, as Devin was breathing down our backs while this was happening.  The problem was, it was just too damn dark to see anything, so we tried to listen to see if we could hear anything.  Unfortunately, the only sound we could hear was our breathing – at least until we heard a click and the beam from the flashlight lit up the darkness and we could see Gramps, who was now himself again. 

“The three of you are going to have to be very careful as you climb down from there, because the bag caused some of the pile to collapse and made it even more unstable.  You’ll have to join me one at a time.”

We heeded his advice as he pointed the beam in front of us so we could see what we were doing, and the footing was not only very unstable, but it was extremely treacherous as well.  Slowly, we began making our way to the bottom and the footing was nearly as bad as the first time any of us had attempted to ice skate.  Even though we all slipped and nearly fell at one point or another, we eventually made it safely to the bottom of the pile.  Now that we were all together again, I asked a question. 

“Do you think we’re going to be able to climb back up to the tunnel again, once we’re ready to leave?”

“Yes, but I suggest that we do it as mice, because they are small and light and won’t disturb the rubble as much as a spider monkey.”

“But I won’t be able to do that!” Devin protested, since he’d already transitioned back into himself. 

“Don’t worry.  We’ll figure something out for you as well. 

“Thank you for looking out for me, but how are we going to be able to take the treasure with us when we leave?  What if it’s too big to fit in the tunnel?”

“First of all, we’ll have to look around and see if there is any treasure.  And before we can do that, I’ll have to get something out of the bag that will light up this area better than this flashlight is doing.”

He then handed Pops the flashlight he’d been using and reached into the bag and pulled out another item. 

“What’s that?” I asked, since I didn’t recognize what Gramps was holding.  The object was round, maybe four inches (10.2 cm) in diameter and a little over an inch (2.6 cm) thick.

“It’s a rechargeable LED flare and it will last a lot longer and be less dangerous than using a roadside flare.”  

He then pressed a button, which caused it to light up, and then he set it down on the floor of the cave.  There were a series of small lights that went all the way around the circular object and they lit up a large area so we were now able to inspect this part of the cave.  As I was looking around, the light appeared to be reflecting off of a couple of areas along the right front corner of the cave. 

“Is that treasure?” I asked as I pointed toward the location that I was referring to.  I wasn’t sure what I was seeing, since it was difficult to tell from my vantage point. 

Gramps moved closer to the area to look at what I’d spotted. 

“What is it?” I asked. 

Pops slowly turned in my direction, but he didn’t immediately respond to my question.  After a brief hesitation, he finally spoke.  “What you’re seeing is the light reflecting off of two large belt buckles.”

“Belt buckles?  Are they on something?”

“Yes, they are being worn by two mummified bodies.”

“Mummified bodies?” I repeated.  “Unless I missed something in my history classes, I don’t believe Spanish conquistadors, Mayan warriors, or any other Native American tribes from that time period wore belt buckles.”

“You’re not mistaken, and judging from the large “CS” on the belt buckles, as well as the style of clothing they’re wearing, they appear to be two Confederate Civil War soldiers.”

“Fuck!  That mean someone else found this cave first and already took the treasure,” Devin stated.

“Think for a minute.  How would they have gotten in here, considering the rubble pile hadn’t been disturbed.”

“That’s right!  I didn’t think about that.”

“But what it might mean is that, if there is treasure hidden in here, it’s just not the treasure we were expecting.  I don’t believe anyone would have collapsed part of the cave just to hide those two bodies, so there might be something else in here that they wanted to keep hidden, at least for a while.”

“What do you think it is?”

“I don’t know, so I suggest that we start looking around to see if we can find something.”

Gramps then grabbed another LED flare out of the bag and turned it on.  This time he placed it on the other side of the cavern and we started looking around.  Almost immediately, we heard Devin call out to the rest of us.

“Hey, there are some sacks over here that I think we should check out.”  

When we joined him to see what he was talking about, he simply pointed at three cloth bags that were leaning against the wall in a dark corner of the cavern.  Gramps used his flashlight as he studied them.

“The bags are tied shut and they’re stamped with a large “CSA” on them.”

“Does that mean the same thing as the “CS” on the belt buckles?” Devin asked.

“Yes, so apparently these bags once belonged to the Confederate States of America.”

“Can you tell what’s in the bags?” I followed. 

“After doing a quick visual inspection of the bags, I can see that they are tied shut with a thick gauge metal wire that appears to have been clamped together with some sort of metal seal.” 

“Apparently, it’s going to require a pair of wire cutters to remove the wire bindings from around the top of the bags,” Pops advised us.

“Can’t you just slit the bags to see what’s inside?” Devin wondered. 

“First of all, I’m naked, so I’m obviously not carrying a knife and I don’t believe my son put one in the bag with the LED flares and flashlights either.  Besides, we’re going to need those bags to haul whatever is inside them out of here, if it turns out to be something worthwhile.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“But after I felt the bags, I can tell there’s something very solid inside them, possibly coins

“And we’ll need some rope to tie them shut again after we see what they contain, since my guess is that it must be something valuable or they wouldn’t have sealed off this section of the cave.”

“Dad’s correct, but before we head back to the van, let’s check the rest of the cave first.  Grab a flashlight out of the beg and start walking around the area looking for anything that seems out of place, as well as any other openings off of this section.”

“Do you think there are other sections to this cave then?’ I asked. 

“Who knows, but there might be, so it’s best we check it out before we leave.”

We then did as Gramps suggested, but we found no other treasure or openings into other areas, so we put the flashlights back in the bag.

“I don’t know what time it is,” Gramps stated as we were preparing to leave, “but if it’s not too late, then we might be able to return here after we get the items we need.”

“Ok, but how am I supposed to get out of here, if the rest of you are going to transition into mice before you climb up to the tunnel?” Devin asked.  

“As I’m making my way up there, Dad will transition into a much taller version of himself, say eight or nine feet tall, so he can lift you up and place you at the entrance to the tunnel.  I’ll have transition into a spider monkey again so I can make sure you don’t fall and get safely into the tunnel with me.”

“Ok, I hope this works, because I don’t want to be stranded here.”

“Don’t worry.  We won’t leave you behind.”

“Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better.”

“What about the bag with the flares and flashlights in it?” I asked. 

“We can leave that here, because we’ll need those items when we return,” Gramps replied.

Since that had all been settled, we watched as Pops increased his size until he was over eight feet tall.  Then Pops reached down and picked Devin up after he’d transitioned into a whippet.

“Ok, here you go,” Pops said in a voice that was deeper than any I’d ever heard before, and then he reached out and guided Devin into the tunnel.  While Pops was doing that, he made another suggestion.  “Jacob and Mac, you might as well transition into spider monkeys and climb up my body, rather than transitioning into mice.”

We did as he suggested and Pops leaned forward so we could climb up his body until we reached his shoulder, and then we walked the rest of the way along his outstretched arm.  Once we were safely in the tunnel, Pops transitioned into a mouse and climbed up to join us.