The Secrets of Castile Caves

In the late spring of 1998, when I was a little more than eleven years old, I got myself into the worst trouble you could ever imagine: I fell down in abandoned cave. Well, no one could ever say I was the most graceful student there was (in fact, many people frequently went out of their way to tell me just the opposite). I was also never the most dedicated student either. I goofed off a lot, I slacked on my studies, I drove my teachers up-the-wall crazy with my antics (usually it was deliberate, but sometimes it was accidental).

And on the day of our long anticipated spring field trip to the Castile National Caves, in southeastern Kentucky, I somehow managed to get myself stuck ten feet down in a cold damp cave. If it hadn’t been for the heroics of Conner Lesting, the newest nerd in my class, I surely would’ve been a goner.

The trouble really started right after our lunch break that afternoon at the caves. Me and three of my friends, Mason, Chloe, and Newt (that was a nickname, by the way), sat around a wooden picnic table where we had just finished eating. We had been talking about all the cool things we had seen in the caves so far – mainly the rock formations – and a few of the things we wished we hadn’t seen in there – mainly the little brown bats, sleeping upside down from the ceilings.

“They were so gross!” Chloe squealed with a shiver as she thought about the bats. “Just think if it were night time they would be flying around like crazy around here! their little teeth and toes clawing at your hair! Yuck!”

“They’re not that gross,” Newt defended casually, “And it’s not like they’re actually going to hurt you or anything, Chloe.”

“No – they just want to suck your blood, blah-blah-blah!” said Mason, imitating Count Dracula and eying Chloe wickedly. Chloe made a disgusted face and pushed Mason away slightly. He, meanwhile, burst out laughing, amused by the fact that he had rattled her cage so easily. For Mason, teasing Chloe was one of his favorite past-times, one that Chloe, meanwhile, always insisted that she hated (though, secretly, we all knew she didn’t).

“I didn’t even think of that,” Newt said thoughtfully. “Do you think Vampire Bats live around the caves? They would be the perfect environment, wouldn’t they?”

“No, not really,” I muttered in reply, vaguely remembering a book I had read (or rather tried to read) only a year or so before. “I don’t think the climate is right for Vampire Bats. That’s why they live in South American. Or was it India?”

“Maybe they could,” Mason interjected with a shrug. “A bat is bat no matter what, right?”

“Actually, Caitlyn’s right,” a voice murmured quietly. We all glanced around and saw that the new kid in class, Conner Lesting, had crept up behind us and was standing off to the side of our table.

Now, before I go on any further, there’s something you need to know about Conner Lesting. He wasn’t just the new kid in town back then he was also kind of weird – at least in the sense that he made the rest of us a little uncomfortable. No one really knew why – he’d barely said more than two words to anybody since he transferred to our school. The word rumor was that he moved to Kentucky with his mother and grandmother to escape some “horrible family tragedy.” But what exactly that tragedy was, however, no one really knew for sure, because Conner kept mostly to himself. The only thing that anyone knew about him for certain was that he was super smart. His recent string of straight A’s on every test assigned to the class was proof enough of that. But this, coupled with his round glasses and slightly chubby build, only added fuel to the growing rumors that he was a complete and helpless nerd.

“Oh yeah?” Mason questioned coolly as he sized up the boy. Conner’s face warmed to a light pink, but he stuck to his guns and, staying as cool as possible, replied,

“Yeah, she is. Vampire Bats have to live in warm, humid environments. And Kentucky’s climate, because of the changing seasons, would only cause them to die out.” Mason and Newt shared a quiet glance, and Chloe made a face as she replied,

“Yikes – that’s kind of morbid, don’t you think?” Conner’s faced turned an even brighter shade of pink and he dropped his gazed embarrassedly to the ground.

“It’s the truth,” he muttered dejectedly, “they can’t live in these caves. It’s too cold.”

“You know what I want to know?” I interrupted quickly, trying to change the subject. Everyone turned to gazes toward me including Conner, who still stood sheepishly off to the side of the table.

“I want to know if there’s any truth to the story of Zeke Jepson.”

“Zeke Jepson?” Conner questioned quietly. I motioned for him to join us at the table. Mason and Newt warily made room for him at the very end, and once he sat down on the bench I relayed the old, local tale of Zeke Jepson’s missing treasure:

“Long, long ago, there was a ruffian in town by the name of Elias Elliot Jepson, but everyone called him ‘Zeke’ for reasons long since forgotten. He was a drifter and conman, who one day, out of desperation to save his ailing lover, robbed the state treasury in broad daylight. After holding up the bank staff and making off with at least $500,000, he led police on frantic chase all around the state of Kentucky before finally giving them the slip in Fayette County. He managed to sneak all the way down here, to what would one day be known as the Castile National Park. He hide out in the forest for three days and three nights, surviving off of rain water and squirrels and rabbits – whatever he could catch for sustenance – before finally stumbling upon these caves.

“Naturally, Zeke thought this would be the perfect place to hide his cache of stolen loot and ventured deep into the caves to find the perfect location to stash it. He did and felt certain that no one would ever find the stolen money. This way, he would finally be able to afford the best doctors and medicine to save his dying lover! But Zeke’s triumph was short lived, for when he ventured out of the cave, he was quickly apprehended by authorities who’d managed to track him to the lonely little caves.

“Zeke struck up a deal with them, in order to save his young fiancée, who was slowly getting worse and worse – he would lead them to the location of the stolen money if only the make sure his darling girlfriend was tended to and ASAP. But the dummy hide his loot too well! He must have taken police into the caves at least a dozen times, but every time their search turned up nothing. Zeke simply couldn’t remember where exactly had hidden his loot! Tragically, because he couldn’t make good on his end of the bargain, his lover was never given the emergency treatment she so desperately required. She died shortly after Zeke’s arrest, and he in turned died of a broken heart when he finally heard the news.

“To this day, no one knows the location of Zeke Jepson’s buried treasure, and not from lack of trying! Everyone from professional cave divers, to world renowned detectives, to powerful psychics, have looked and looked all over the caves, but no one has ever been able to find the missing money. And it is believed that no one ever will… for, I think, it’s the restless, heart-broken spirit of Zeke Jepson that keeps people from discovering it. To this day, he still searches for the money, hiding it from anyone who tries to rescue it from the cave.”

When I finished telling the story, no one said anything at first. Newt, Mason, and Chloe, all glanced around at each other, grinning ear to ear, excited by the idea of there really being buried treasure somewhere in the cave. Conner Lesting, however, the new-kid that he was, wasn’t so convinced.

“That’s it?” he questioned almost disappointedly. “That’s the whole story?”

“Pretty much,” I replied. “You don’t believe it?”

“No, not really,” said Conner, “it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Mason challenged.

“Well, for one thing, how could one guy rob the state treasury and not get caught for several weeks?”

“Maybe it was way back in the older times,” Chloe offered irritably. “You know, like back in the 1800’s or something.”

“Even then they would’ve had security. Enough to make sure that one person couldn’t steal from them in a single day.”

“And another thing,” Conner added quickly, “How could his girlfriend have lasted that long if she was already so sick to begin with? Wouldn’t she have died way before he got caught?”

“The power of love can make anything happen,” I replied jokingly, though deep down I felt embarrassed because I knew he had a point.

“Then why didn’t the police just arrest her before, to draw him out?”

“Like they would ever arrest a sick woman,” Mason snorted haughtily. Conner’s cheeks bloomed into another bright shade of pink and he looked sheepishly down at the picnic table.

“I mean – I liked the story, really. It just doesn’t make any sense, that’s all.”

An uncomfortable silence settled over us, with me, Chloe, Newt, and Mason looking to each other awkwardly. This was the first time Conner had actually made an effort to really talk to anyone in our class – and it wasn’t turning out very good. He kept his gaze on the picnic table, his cheeks still as pink as ever, and reached up to fiddle uncomfortably with his glasses.

“Well,” I sighed, searching for a way to break the growing tension, “We should probably get back with the others.” Everyone, except Conner, nodded in agreement and rose in unison from the table. As we turned to leave I took a fleeting glance back at Conner who still sat sadly at the picnic table. He didn’t look at any of us as we left, and I opened my mouth to say something. What it was going to be, I honestly don’t remember, because at that moment Chloe let out a little sharp gasp and said, “My necklace is gone!”

We all whirled around to face her and saw her frantically searching through her blue sweater pockets. “Oh no, no, no, no!” she mumbled helplessly, practically on the verge of tears.

“What’s wrong?!” I said urgently.

“The necklace that my father gave me, it’s gone!” Chloe whimpered as she slipped out of her sweater and began searching the hood. She shook the garment furiously as if the necklace would suddenly go flying to the ground.

“Are you sure you put it on this morning?” Mason asked as he and Newt began searching the ground. The forest floor was overgrown with soft, green grass, making it difficult to spot, if it was even there. Even Conner, still at the table but alerted to the trouble, started searching the picnic table’s surface and underneath the benches. But it was no use. The necklace was nowhere to be found.

“Maybe you left it on the bus when we got here?” Newt suggested half-heartedly.

“No, I swear I was still wearing it when we got off the bus,” Chloe replied tears brimming in the corners of her eyes. “I brought it because I wanted to try to find some earrings to match it if we got to go to the gift shop later. But it must’ve fallen off during the cave tour.” Mason, Newt and I looked to each other hopelessly. I racked my brain for an idea, any idea of what I could do to help. And suddenly, it came to me.

“Well, come on,” I said encouragingly, “Let’s go back and look for it right now.”

“What, in the caves?” Newt asked, completely perplexed.

“Yeah why not? We’ll just retrace our steps the way we came out. Chloe’s necklace is bound to be somewhere along the path. And then when we find it, we’ll just retrace our steps out again, or wait for another tour and follow them out.”

“I don’t know, Caitlyn,” Mason sighed worriedly. “That’s sounds a little risky. We could get into serious trouble if we’re caught.”

“If we know the way we’re going it’ll only take a few minutes tops,” I insisted earnestly. “We’ll be in and out before anyone even knows it.”

“Okay,” Mason finally agreed, “I’m in.”

“Me too,” said Newt. They reached in and fished out the flashlights our teacher had told us to bring beforehand. I yanked mine out, a red, pocket-sized LED tube that my mother bought for me just for the trip.

“Okay,” I said turning back to Chloe, “Chloe, you stay here and wait for us okay?”

“No, I’m coming too,” she insisted as she pulled her green flashlight from her back pocket. “I won’t be able to relax until I find my necklace.”

“Okay, then,” I said. I looked around and suddenly realized that Conner was still standing off to the side, watching us nervously.

“Are you coming?” I asked.

“Guys, this seems really dangerous,” he muttered meekly. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“Lucky then that no one asked you,” Mason snapped irritably.

“This is Chloe’s special necklace, the one her dad gave her,” Newt agreed sternly. “If we don’t find it now then it’ll be lost forever.”

“What’s so special about this necklace? Can’t you just get another one?”

“It was the last thing my dad ever gave me,” Chloe snapped angrily. “So no, I can’t just replace it!”

“If you don’t want to come along, Conner, you don’t have to,” I said firmly. “Just wait out here or catch up with the rest of the class. But whatever you do, just don’t get in our way, okay?”

To this Conner said nothing and sadly dropped his gaze again. With nothing else to say, I turned and lead the group back into the cave’s exit.

Now, if you’ve ever toured a cave before, then you probably know just how spooky it can look inside. It’s not so bad when you’re part of a school trip, though; not with the tour guides, your teachers, and at least a dozen of your fellow classmates around. But when you venture into a cave alone, with nothing but your flashlight for company, it becomes a whole other world. The cold, slimy cave walls around you seem to grow even larger, and the darkness becomes so intense and hungry you feel like you’re walking right into the belly of a sleeping beast. But we had a mission to complete, the four of us in those caves, and we were all dead-set on seeing it through. Besides, Chloe’s necklace wasn’t too far away. Surely it would turn up any second now. At least, that was what we kept telling ourselves, as we ventured deeper and deeper into the caves.

“Guys, I don’t like this,” Newt finally admitted after what seemed like an eternity of walking. “We’ve been gone for too long now, and none of this looks familiar.”

“Newt’s got a point,” I agreed worriedly as I turned around to face my friends. “I don’t think we came down this way before, when we first started the tour. That may be why we haven’t found it yet.”

“We should go back,” Mason sighed. He reached up and somberly rubbed the back of his neck (a habit, we all knew, that meant he was about to break bad news). “Mrs. Olson and Ms. Paige probably know we’ve left the group by now.” Then, addressing Chloe directly, he added, “If we don’t get back soon we’re going to get in so much trouble.” Chloe made no reply at first, and really she didn’t have to. Even in the dull light of our four little flashlights, the look of grief and loss was absolutely heartbreaking. Tears dotted the corners of her eyes, even though she tried to hide it, and she slowly nodded in agreement before replying,

“Yeah, we should get back.” I locked eyes with Newt and nodded as he and Mason turned to face the opposite direction, and carefully led us back the way we came. I reached over and wrapped my arm around Chloe’s shoulder, pulling her into a warm embrace.

“I’m sure it’s nearby somewhere,” I reassured her. “Just because we didn’t find it doesn’t mean someone else won’t. I bet if we tell the tour guides about it, they’ll be able to return it to you.” Chloe only nodded despondently. I gave her another little squeeze before releasing her and taking up the rear. I think I was going for a last ditch effort to find her necklace, because I remember shining my flashlight slowly around the cave floor. I only vaguely heard Mason mention the slipperiness of one spot as we shuffled those dark and hungry tunnels.

“What?” I muttered absently as I stepped down. Suddenly I felt my foot slide right off of the surface of the rock and plunge into the darkness. I gasped as I felt gravity’s sharp pull suddenly yank me backwards. I swung my arms wildly, attempting to regain my balance, but in the next instance I felt myself go plummeting backwards, my other leg sliding sharply, painfully, behind me! “Caitlyn!” my friends cried in unison as I tumbled down and down into a cold, damp crevice. Soon I found myself rolling, my body thumping harshly against the icy stone as startled grunts escaped my lips. At last I came to stop at the very bottom of a steep incline and groaned loudly in the darkness.

“Caitlyn!? Caitlyn!!” Mason yelled from above.

“Mace, don’t!” Newt suddenly shouted, “You might fall, too!”

“Caitlyn?! Caitlyn are you alright?” Chloe called tearfully. When at first I didn’t answer her she repeated her question, the panic in her voice clearly and steadily swelling.

“I’m okay,” I finally answered shakily. I had rolled over and hoisted myself up onto my butt to spread my legs out in front of me. My pants were soaked through with dew in several places, and for a single moment I remember cursing myself because they were my favorite pair of jeans. The thought was interrupted, however, by the sharp stinging pain that shot up my leg. I stuffed my knuckles into my mouth and bit down hard, trying to keep myself from crying.

“B-but my ankle…” I added while fresh tears blurred my vision. “I – I think I hurt my ankle.”

“Oh no! Can you move it?! Can you wiggle your toes?” Newt shouted down. I tried and found that I still could.

“Y-yeah,”

“Good,” Newt sighed, “That’s a good sign I think.”

“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!” Chloe groaned fearfully. “Guys, what are we going to do?!”

“Should we go back and get Mrs. Olson?” Newt suggested.

“No, we shouldn’t leave her alone down there,” Mason snapped. “What if there are wild animals down there?”

“But we can’t just stay here, Mace,” Newt replied heatedly. “She still could’ve broken something and needs to get to a hospital!”

“We’re just four kids with no rope – how are we supposed to get her out?!” Mason argued.

“Don’t worry about that right now,” I called down from my hole. I remember forcing away tears and trying to sound as brave as possible. But on the inside, I was absolutely terrified. “I’ll be fine right now, just go on and get Mrs. Olson!”

“Are you sure?” Newt called down. “One of us can stay with you until help comes.”

“No, it’ll be fine,” I answered. “Besides, I don’t want anyone else falling down here with me… it wasn’t very roomy to begin with,” I tried to joke.

“Okay, if you’re sure,” Newt said nervously.

“Wait! Hang on a second,” Chloe suddenly blurted out. Their voices dulled to low muffles and from the sound of their shoes squeaking loudly on the damp stone I could tell that they were shuffling around. Suddenly, Chloe raised her voice and called down to me, “Here, Katy, catch the light!” The next instant, a dull, white light came bobbing down the incline, echoing brightly as if singing as the metal edges pinged against the cave floor. The flashlight rolled to stop about five feet to my left and I slid carefully for it, making sure not to bang or jerk my right foot.

In spite of the pain that bit into my leg I smiled to myself when I grabbed hold of the flashlight, suddenly relieved to have a small ray of light illuminating my dark and tiny hole.

“I got it!” I hollered back. I pointed it straight up and jostled it slightly causing its warm white glow to bounce excitedly off the cave walls.

“Okay, just keep the light turned on, alright?” Chloe called down. “That way we’ll be able to find you again.”

“Right, I got it.”

“Just hold on a little while longer Katy,” said Newt, his voice now slightly muffled as he started to turn away. “We’ll be back in no time with some help.”

“I’m fine,” I lied, craning my neck upward. “Just try to hurry, okay? It’s really slimy down here.” Mason, Newt and Chloe all promised they would hurry and with that their footsteps echoed hurriedly through the caves. Soon their trotting died away and soon after that the echoes of their trots faded as well, I was left alone in a horribly oppressive silence.

A cold chill ran down my spine as a single, horrifying thought suddenly burst to life in my mind: what if they can’t find me again? Fresh tears burst to life in my eyes and I tried to force them and that terrifying prospect far, far away. To keep my mind preoccupied, I started half-singing, half-humming the chorus of “As long as you love me” by the Backstreet Boys (I did mention this was the 90’s right?).

“’I don’t care… huuum, hum are… where you’re from… hum you did… as long as you looove me, hum…’” My own voice echoed hauntingly throughout the caves, though muffled as it was, and resulted in a sound that was both fascinating and unsettling. Ultimately I stopped singing, too uneasy by the sound my own, now alien voice, and started reviewing the tale of Zeke Jepson. And Conner Lesting’s complete dismissal of my favorite ghost-story.

‘I think it could’ve happened,’ I thought bitterly to myself. ‘I mean it was over a hundred years ago –anything could’ve happened back then. Just because he doesn’t get it, doesn’t mean it isn’t true…’ A puddle splashed softly from somewhere in the caves, and I sat stock-still, trying to make out where the noise had come from. A few seconds passed and nothing else happened. I was starting to believe it was only my imagination, when the faintest set of footsteps started echoing through the caves.

“Hello?!” I called up, shinning my flashlight in the direction of the noise. “Is someone up there?!” The footsteps paused for a moment, and in that instant of stillness I suddenly came to regret calling out to that person. What if was a wild animal that wandered inside? Or a creepy cave-dwelling hobo?? Or simply a cave-monster, that never came out when all the tourists were visiting?! I clamped down on my mouth with one hand, resulting in a sharp little “smack!” that resonated softly through the caves. A beat of silence passed. And then the footsteps started up again.

Slowly, steadily they made their way closer and closer to my little hole, and I felt my heart begin to race as they inched nearer and nearer. All at once I felt horribly trapped and alone and helpless, and so badly just wanted to out of those stupid, slimy caves and back with my friends at our school, in our own home town and…! It was then I realized that my flashlight was still on, pointed straight up at the cave ceiling, and in a panic I instantly switched it off, hoping that it wasn’t too late.

But then another white burst to life into my little crevice, shining directly into my face and blinding me for just a minute….

“Caitlyn? Is that you?”

“Conner?” I replied, tilting my head away from the light. I blinked away the blindness as quickly as I could and craned my neck to face him. Flicking on my own flashlight, I shined it up and observed Conner peering down with one hand holding the flashlight just to the left of his ear. With his one free hand he pinched the frames of his glasses almost delicately, to keep them from falling into the crevice with me.

“Conner!” I suddenly blurted out, my face growing hot with embarrassment. “Conner Lesting, why in the world would you scare me like that?!”

“I wasn’t trying to scare you!” Conner defended nervously. “I swear I wasn’t! I didn’t even know you were down there. How did you get down there, anyway?”

“I decided to take the scenic-route but took a wrong turn,” I replied the hot-headed smart-aleck I was slowly growing into. “I stepped the wrong way and slipped all the way down that incline, that’s how I got down here.”

“Sorry,” Conner muttered, his voice carrying clearly through the caves, “I didn’t mean to make you mad.” I sighed and then slowly replied,

“I’m not mad, I’m… annoyed! And scared,” I added softly, “my leg hurts something bad. I think I twisted it on the way down.”

“Are you okay?” he asked foolishly, “Do you want me to go and get Mrs. Olson?”

“No, it’s okay. Mason and the others already went to go get her.”

“How long ago was that?”

“I don’t know. I don’t have my watch with me.”

“Just take a guess. How long do you think it was?”

“Umm… I guess, maybe five or ten minutes ago?”

“Okay then,” Conner muttered with a nod, “Then they should all be back any minute now.” I was about to ask him what made him so sure, when another jolt of pain shot through my leg. I bit back a grunt and Conner must’ve seen because the next thing I know he is saying, “Hang on – I want to take a look at that.”

“Conner, no!” I protested, “Don’t come down here. You liable to…” But to my surprise he was already a quarter of the way down. Having slid his legs carefully over the edge of the incline, he easily shimmied his way down feet-first, his hands working carefully and expertly. All I could do was watch him, completely perplexed, as he gripped the flashlight in his teeth and swiftly made his way to the bottom.

When his toes touched the ground again, he released his grip on the wall completely, and touched down on the cave-floor with a light and graceful clap. He spun around, dropping the flashlight into his open palm before dropping to his knees and scooting his way over to me. He smiled at me meekly and pushed his glasses further up onto the bridge of his nose.

“What?” he uttered sheepishly.

“I’m just impressed,” I admitted softly, “I didn’t think you’d be able to climb down that wall.”

“It’s not so much climbing as it is sliding,” he responded with a shrug. “It’s a pretty steep incline – maybe 60 degrees at the max – but, as long as you watch your grip it’s all a matter of just sliding and letting gravity do the rest.”

“Wow,” I uttered disbelievingly. He smiled again, this time more earnestly, and replied,

“Yeah. Now, um, is it okay if I check out your leg?” He pointed shyly to the wounded ankle. I shrugged and muttered,

“Sure, go for it. But – just don’t touch it. It still really hurts.”

“I’m afraid I might have to,” Conner answered apologetically. Then, without waiting for me to reply, he gingerly lifted my leg (a horrible, stinging ache rang through my shin), and pushed back the hem of my ruined jeans. As he shined his light on my leg, he motioned it toward my own flashlight.

“Shine your light on it, too, okay?” I nodded and did what I was told, merging the beam of light with his to reveal an ankle that was swollen and unusually red. Naturally (as any sane eleven-year old would be) I was petrified at the sight. But Conner, observing it carefully, and with an expert eye, simply let out a little sigh and said,

“That’s a relief. It doesn’t look too bad.”

“Not too bad? Are you serious?” I blustered very comically. He shrugged and explained,

“It looks more like a pretty simple sprang to me. I may not be a doctor or anything, but it doesn’t look like you’ll lose your foot or anything.” He then slipped out of his own jacket and, in a quick and skilled series of movements, began wrapping it around my ankle.

“It’s not the best thing to use, I know,” he admitted almost shyly, “But it’ll do for now. At least until some help gets here.”

“And what makes you so sure?” I asked him suspiciously.

“My dad taught me,” he said with a shrug. “He taught me all about this kind of stuff.”

“Why?”

“Because we went camping a lot together – and hiking… and sometimes kayaking…” Conner then finished off his poor-man’s first-aid, and carefully examined my ankle, suddenly (and hilariously) entombed in a bulging swaddle of pale blue rayon. Then, seemingly satisfied with his work, he nodded once and slid closer to my legs.

“Here,” he said as he stretched out his legs and propped my ankle on top of them, “It would be best to keep it elevated for a while.”

“Oh – okay,” I muttered in response. Since I had goofed off a lot during health and P.E. class, I knew that I really couldn’t question such expertise like his. Then, unable to take the silence any more (I was the kind of kid that liked to talk), I looked to him and asked,

“So, um, why’d your dad make you learn all that stuff?” Eric shrugged and pressed his lips together.

“Like I said, we used to do a lot of stuff outdoors together,” he finally said. “He made me learn all that stuff just in case one of us got hurt. He was a little paranoid like that.”

“Oh.” Silence again – an uncomfortable silence. I glanced around above me, praying that someone would come along soon. No one did. So, I opened my mouth again.

“So, um, did your parents split up or something?”

“No – not exactly,” Conner said very quietly. He looked away to the cave floor and folded his arms tightly across his chest. And me, being the dummy that I was, just kept talking.

“Then where is he? I heard that you and your mom just moved here, but no one seems to know your dad. I’d think he would’ve wanted to know about a trip like this.” Conner said nothing at first. He only kept his eyes glued tightly to the floor. Then, very slowly, he muttered, very quietly, something I wasn’t expecting.

“Um… my father is no longer alive.” POW! I felt an invisible fist punch me in the gut.

“Oh… I’m- I’m sorry,” I murmured as my cheeks burned bright red.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what – what happened?”

“My dad, he… um… just didn’t want to live anymore.” Double POW!

“Oh my God,” I muttered frantically, my face a flaming shade of scarlet by now. “I am so sorry!”

“It’s okay,” Conner muttered half-heartedly, “Most people don’t know about it yet. My mom… she still doesn’t like to talk about it just yet.”

“I’m sorry,” I muttered again. “I’m just… going to shut up now.”

“Really, it’s fine,” he insisted. He shrugged again and mustered up a little half-smile. “I actually like talking about my dad. At least the good parts of him, you know?”

“Is… is that why you’ve been so quiet in class since you got here?”

“Well, yeah, I mean – how do you tell your new classmates that your father just died. In that way. I know what people already think of me,” he added quickly, “I know you and your friends think I’m a freak or something. But I try not to let it bother me because… well, I know either way I’d be a freak in your school.”

“That’s not true,” I replied earnestly. “Something like that is a pretty big deal in our school. You’d be surprised at how many people would understand your situation.”

“Yeah right,” Conner scoffed.

“Yeah, right,” I asserted. “In our school and our town, we’ve got some of those problems, too. I think if you just gave people a chance to get to know you, you’d see that you can make a few good friends here.”

“You’re one to talk,” Conner answered, almost irritably. “I’ve seen those pranks you pull in class, and how you always goof off for people. You try way too hard to make people like you. If you didn’t care about what they thought, then maybe you’d do better in school.”

“That’s not true at all!” I defended. “See, you don’t know anything about me. You only know what you assumed.”

“Just like you and your friends when it came to me,” he argued.

Suddenly, like a light-bulb going off in my head, I realized that he was completely and undeniably right. My friends and I really had been that shallow. Here was Conner Lesting, a sad, lonely boy who was just grieving for his father in his own private way. But all of us at school, me included, hadn’t taken the time to really get to know him when he first came. Hadn’t done anything really to make him feel part of the group. And then, when he couldn’t bring himself to take the first step, we’d all written him off as just being a weirdo. It was at that moment in time, my friend, when I really just how crappy I had been to another human being. And that made me feel like a crappy human being. I knew, in that moment, how I could make things right, even just a little bit.

“The- the words don’t look right,” I admitted very sheepishly. Conner turned and looked at me like I had just gone crazy.

“What?”

“The words in the books – in any book for that matter – they don’t look right to me,” I tried to elaborate, as my embarrassment burned hotter and hotter. “I know my letters and everything, I’m not stupid. But – but when I try to read, they jump around on the page and twist in funny ways, so the words – they don’t look right.”

Conner said nothing at first and simply stared at me curiously.

“How long have you had this?” he finally asked.

“For almost as long as I can remember – maybe all my life, I guess.”

“Don’t your parents know about it?”

“No, I never told them. I didn’t want them to think I was stupid.”

“But you’re not stupid. You just have a learning disability. That’s all.”

“But if that’s true then they’ll put me in all the remedial classes, with all the special needs children,” I argued.

“So?”

“So..! I don’t want anyone to know about that. It’s private!”

“But those classes could make it easier for you to learn.”

“I get by okay,” I said with a shrug.

“But things will get a lot harder down the road,” Conner said pointedly. “If you don’t learn how to really deal with it now, then it’ll make things even worse later.”

“Who told you that?”

“My therapist.”

“Oh…”

“I’m just kidding,” he added quickly with a grin. I scoffed and rolled my eyes (while trying to hide the smile that crept along my cheeks). Then I shoved him a little with my free hand and replied,

“Don’t be such a butt.”

Suddenly, a series of worried, frantic voices echoed faintly throughout the caves. We turned to face the noise and I felt my heart leap with joy when I realized we were saved! Conner jumped to his feet and pointed his flashlight straight up. We waved it around all while calling out,

“We’re over here! Over here!” The voices swelled and footsteps echoed sharply as they hurried to where we waited. Conner, while still waving his light around, looked down at me with a big grin and said,

“Well, it looks like the cavalry’s here!”

“Thank God!” I sighed. Then, I timidly added, “Um, Conner…” I paused, unsure of how to say what I was really feeling. So I spit it out (and very, very awkwardly).

“I just… well… thank you - for coming back for me.” He watched me curiously for a few seconds. Then, his grin slightly broadened and he pushed his glasses higher up his nose.

“Don’t mention it. And, um…” he added nervously, “I won’t say anything. About your… your reading problem.”

“You mean it?”

“Yeah. As long as you don’t say anything about my dad. I still… I still don’t know how to talk about it just yet.”

“Sure. It’s a deal,” I answered with a smile. But then my smile faded as a thought suddenly struck me from clear out of the blue.

“Hold on a sec, I totally forgot!”

“What?”

“Just what were you doing in here in the first place?”

“Well,” Conner answered sheepishly, “About that…”

“My necklace!” Chloe exclaimed, as she practically lunged for the locket that glinted in his hands. They sat around me in my hospital room. It was the day following our exciting little adventure, and I had called them all to come visit before I was sent back home – and to the indefinite grounding I knew awaited me there.

“Oh my God! Where did you find it!?” Chloe inquired as tears of joy dotted the corners of her wide eyes.

“In the caves,” he replied sheepishly. We all glanced at him perplexedly, causing his cheeks to burn bright pink.

“That’s what I was doing in there in the first place,” he explained. “I – I sort of followed you in there right after you left.”

“Hang on, then why didn’t we see you if you were in there the whole time?” Mason asked suspiciously.

“Mace, don’t you get it?” I said while rubbing the new thick brace that enveloped my ankle. “We went the wrong way, remember? That’s how we ended up lost to begin with. But Conner, he took the right path back to the main entrance and that’s where he found Chloe’s necklace.”

“Really?” Chloe uttered, turning to Conner, “Honest and for true?”

“Honest,” Conner asserted confidently. “I – I felt really bad that you’d lost your dad’s memento. I just – I just wanted to help.”

“Why? What makes you so caring about Chloe’s dad?” asked Mason, still hopelessly suspicious. Conner’s ears went red and he looked away embarrassedly. He opened his mouth to answer, when I suddenly interrupted.

“Come on, Mason, why can’t he be concerned about Chloe’s dad? Maybe he’s just a good person.”

“But Katy,” Mason implored.

“If anything, we owe you a big thank you, Conner,” I said, turning back to him. “For the necklace and for what you did for me back there. The doctor was really impressed with the work you did on my ankle, you know.”

“Oh, it was nothing, really,” Conner said his cheeks blushing harder than ever.

“I know I can’t thank you enough,” Chloe smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you! Thank you, thank you so much!”

“Don’t- don’t worry about it,” Conner muttered with a shy little smile.

At that moment, Mason decided he needed a little air – and gently took Chloe’s hand and led her out the door. Chloe, of course, went willingly, rolling her eyes as she left the room. She turned and gave us all a final little wave before disappearing around the corner.

“Well, I’d better go to and see what kind of trouble I’m in now,” Newt announced as he stood up from the bed and stretched his back. “My dad told me he would think of my punishment by today at the latest, so I’d better not stay out too long or he might decide to make it worse.”

“Got it,” I replied, “Good luck, Newt.”

“Thanks. I think I’m going to need it,” he then turned and took a final, calculating glace at Conner Lesting. He reached out and gave the timid little kid a gentle punch on the arm.

“You’re an okay dude,” he muttered softly. Then he too sauntered out of the room and disappeared around the corner.

“I think you’ve got Newt’s seal of approval,” I quipped with a chuckle.

“Too bad I can’t say the same about Mason,” Conner replied woefully.

“Oh don’t worry about him,” I grunted as I rose slowly to my feet, my brand new crutches at the ready. “He’s just worried you’ll steal his sweet Chloe away.”

“So, they really are…?” he asked nervously.

“Oh no, not at all. But they should be,” I added with a shrug. I still wasn’t totally used to walking with crutches, so I asked if Conner would escort me down the hall to my parents.

“He’ll come around, though. He always does. In the meantime, though,” I added very slyly. “I was thinking about what you said yesterday. You know, while we were waiting.”

“Yeah?” he muttered uneasily.

“Well, I was thinking you may have a small point about my school work if I don’t get some help. And, since I’m sure I’ll be grounded until the end of eternity, I was wondering if… if you, maybe, wouldn’t mind helping me out with my reading?”

“Do you mean tutoring you?”

“Yeah, kind of,” I mumbled slightly embarrassed. Our eyes locked as we paused outside the door, and I remember this look of complete surprise plastered across Conner’s face. It was my turn to blush then and I looked away shyly.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I just thought…”

“No, yeah, I’d love to help you out,” Conner smiled. He reached out and held the door open for me. “That’s what friends are for – right?”

“Definitely,” I asserted with a wink.

Eventually everything returned to normal; Mason warmed up to Conner just like I said he would, and he and Chloe officially became a couple by following year (just like we all knew they would). Newt went on just being Newt (better known to his parents as Mitchell Cox, in case you were wondering), and eventually Conner became an official member of our little clique (which only spelled out more trouble to come, much to the annoyance of our teachers).

The Castile Caves, though they enjoyed a few minutes of publicity from our little excursion that spring, were eventually shut down permanently, taking with it only memories of mine and Conner’s very first adventure together. As well as the secrets that helped formed a wonderful and lasting friendship. I should know – after all, I did agree to marry him only a few months ago.

THE END