Zap and Troy: The Legendary Journeys

I slept for an hour or so on our way to the mine, then we switched and I drove for a bit while Rowsdower slept. It was the only sleep either of us had had for a couple of days (aside from when Rowsdower had slept on Aunt Betty‘s davenport, and that almost didn‘t count) and we were both glad for it. Rowsdower didn’t look much better--the bruises were only going to get worse for a couple of days--but when he was asleep he looked…relaxed. I could tell that whatever he was dreaming about, it had nothing to do with artifacts, or cults, or even that strange brand on his arm.

I was in love with Rowsdower. It was still strange to admit that, but it was kind of thrilling, too. And looking at him asleep, I knew I wanted him to love me, too.

It would have to wait, though. We needed to get to the mine, find somewhere to hide the artifact, wire the explosives, blow it up, and get back to the city to help Mike and the college students if we could. This was all bad enough, but we had to worry about if the cult was following us.

It took us longer than it really should have to get to the entrance of the mine, but it seemed safer to not take a direct route. We got to the mine around midafternoon, parking my car near the equipment shed I now believe my father had placed there. After the last few emotionally charged hours, the quiet and solitude were refreshing. I felt a chill that was solely related to being here alone with Rowsdower.

“Well kid, which way?”

“The entrance to the mine should be over here. Why don’t we scout it out first, then come back once we see what equipment we need.”

Rowsdower took a pair of flashlights out of his pack, and I got my father‘s map of the mine out of my own. He handed me one of the lights, saying, “Lead the way.”

My father’s map was excellent. We were able to avoid dead ends, and in less than half an hour we had made our way to one of the deepest parts of the mine. There was only one tunnel in from the entrance, but a ventilation shaft led from the ceiling all the way up to the hillside, a few hundred meters above. I shined my light up the shaft; it looked big enough for one of us to climb up.

Without saying anything, we went back to the mine entrance, to start setting up the explosives. We’d left the artifact in the chamber so nothing would happen to it while we were working. Based on my father’s inventory, Rowsdower estimated that there were enough explosives to cave in all of the side chambers, the main shaft, and even that deepest chamber, with some even left over. Rowsdower wanted to wire the explosives himself, so he gave me another job. He gave me a long rope, then set to pulled a grappling hook from somewhere down in the bottom of his pack. As he pulled it out, I thought I heard it clink on something else made of metal.

“We’re going to have to make sure that this mine is completely sealed when we’re done. That ventilation shaft is the only possible way in other than the main entrance. I want you to find where that shaft comes out, use the grappling hook to secure this rope, and toss the other end down so I can try to climb up and put some explosives in the shaft.”

“Rowsdower, do you always carry a grappling hook around?”

“One of those saved my life once, not that long ago. Don’t knock it, eh?”

He gave me one of his rare grins, then surprised me my pulling me into a hug. It was something that didn’t happen often, and I always was happy when it did.

“Be careful, kid. Don’t let me down.”

“I won’t Rowsdower. I…” I cut myself off, horrified at what I’d almost said.

Rowsdower only looked at me. I couldn’t read his face through the bruises and cuts, but there was a gleam of something in his eyes.

I left, looking for the opening of the ventilation shaft. My father’s map wasn’t much help this time, as it was more focused on the interior of the mine, but I was more or less able to follow along with the mine shafts as I climbed the hill.

I finally found the ventilation shaft in the middle of a stand of trees. There was a grate over the opening, but it was merely set on top of the shaft, not bolted or welded down. I was able to push the grating out of the way, then used the grappling hook to securely attach the rope to one of the trees. I still had my flashlight, and nothing better to do, so I decided to make sure the rope was long enough to reach all the way down into the chamber. Even though it was much longer than any rope I‘d climbed in school, I thought that I could climb it all right, if it turned out to be too short.

It was long enough. I slid into the chamber, surprised to see Rowsdower already setting charges. I didn’t realize how long it had taken me to find the top of the shaft.

“Glad to see the rope’s long enough,” Rowsdower told me. “This is going faster than I thought…it looks like your father was close to putting this plan into action, because the holes for the explosives have already been drilled. I’ve rigged it so that the tunnel will be blown up first, then this chamber Just a few more minutes down here, then I can climb up and see about plugging that hole over our heads. I‘ll rig that to blow last, to make sure this chamber‘s already full.”

“Rowsdower, how do we set off the explosion? Light a match and run away?”

“No, there’s a radio frequency detonator. It’s powerful enough to reach through all that rock above us. Check it out.” He tossed me a small yellow and red box. “There’s only one, so I brought it along to make sure nothing happened to it. It’s safe, because you have to turn a key to arm it, then push the button to set it off, and I have the key in my other pocket. No chance of it going off early.” I handed the box back to him, and he put it in the pocket of his denim jacket.

He’d finished placing the explosives around the chamber while he told me this. He approached the rope, carrying the last of the charges.

“Are you sure I can’t do that for you?” I asked.

“No way kid. Hanging from a rope, sticking explosives to a wall, and then wiring them so that they blow up at the right time and nothing goes wrong…too dangerous. If anything should happen to you….” He gave me that look again, the unreadable one with the glint in his eye. “I mean, if this doesn’t blow up just right, it’ll all be for nothing.”

He grabbed the rope, but before he could start climbing, I spoke again. “Be careful, Rowsdower. Don’t let me down.”

He winked at me. “I won’t kid.”