Opener Draft

A black hole, the huge gaping mouth of a monster, or so I believed as I looked down into the cave I was about to be dropped into alone. I was eleven at the time. A young age but I was more mature than many kids at that age. I was spelunking in Belgium. So called cave exploring, it sounds like fun till you get there and the reality of what you are doing kicks in. The weeks of work during the rest of the camp all led up to this. I had practiced rappelling and rock climbing. Into a cave though? I wasn’t sure I had it in me. Tight, enclosed, dark spaces filled with sounds, smells and tons of moving things to make your skin crawl. I was getting cold feet, and bad. I wasn’t alone. Many of the other camp members were going through the same motions. I looked at the rope that would be my lifeline and my stomach dropped to my feet. It was smaller in width than my finger. I looked to the man who was going to be supporting me down into the cave. He saw the look in my eyes. He gave me a comforting nod and said, “You got this. All it takes is getting over the edge. I have you, you’re not going nowhere,” as he patted the rope and harness he was wearing. I looked over my shoulder into that thick darkness, and I went for it.