Catalyst (2 page)

"It's beautiful," she murmured. "I never realized
there were so many glowworms."

"It is," came the reply. "They respond to noise, you
know. Make a loud sound and they switch off. They're one of the few
sources of cold light in our world."

****

When Renee forced her eyes open her headache had gone
and her damaged leg felt numb rather than painful. The sound of
sighing reached her ears. She listened and heard gentle snores and
silence before the noise began again. Lem was a lump in the
darkness a few feet away, while elsewhere only the familiar
glowworms and the faint outline of the cave wall could be seen.

"Oh, damn," muttered a female voice.

Renee forced herself into a sitting position and
strained her eyes. "Courtney?"

The teenager leapt around in fright and two blue eyes
focused on her. She was a blonde girl of average build who wore a
loose-fitting sweater and jeans.

"I need to get to the toilet, but with Lem here?"

"There's a trowel with our gear. Go and dig a hole. A
toilet roll is in my backpack."

"Thanks," the teenager replied with a tone that
sounded anything but thankful. She stood, found the necessary
commodities and disappeared into the darkness.

Renee grinned but her expression changed to a frown
after she glanced at her watch. It was almost midnight. The
accident had happened nine hours before. Why hadn't a rescue team
arrived? She forced herself into a standing position to relieve
cramps and was about to look for something to munch when the girl
returned with a sheepish expression.

"I'm sorry I growled, Renee," she said. "You were
asleep earlier when Lem explained what had happen. God, I was sick
as a dog but he just chatted away." She looked at Renee's ankle.
"Look, relax. I'll help. What do you want?"

"No, it's okay," Renee replied. "I need to restore my
circulation, that's all."

Courtney opened the backpacks and found two apples, a
fruit bar and a couple boxes of raisins. She smiled, handed half
the food to Renee, sat down and bit into the apple. "Damn mess
we're in, isn't it?"

"The rescuers will be here soon."

"You hope. I reckon if they were going to come they'd
be here now."

"They'll come. Even if Sam didn't get to the surface,
our names are registered at the park headquarters."

"Pity," the girl whispered.

Renee stared at the newcomer with concern. "What do
you mean?"

"Oh nothing. It came out wrong. For Lem and your
sakes, I hope they find us." She turned to glance at the sleeping
man. "For someone his age, he's a great guy, isn't he?"

Courtney's cynical remarks did not go unnoticed but
Renee decided not to press for an explanation. "Yes, Lem couldn't
have been more helpful," she replied. "I like him too but tell me,
how are you?"

"Better now, thanks. That's if I don't count the
woozy stomach, sore throat and thumping head." The teenager studied
Renee. "Are you a teacher? You sound like one."

"No." Renee said with a laugh. "A lawyer,
actually."

"Young for that caper, aren't you? The only young
lawyers I know are on TV programs. In real life they're all old
farts."

"Well, I just graduated two years ago and I'm a
junior assistant with a law firm in a town north of Seattle."

"Never been out there," Courtney continued. "This is
as far west as I've ever been."

"So where's your hometown?"

"Nowhere," the girl retorted. "I was in Florida
before I decided to try it here. I was told smaller places are
better for jobs."

"I see," Renee replied. "And have you got one?"

"Yeah, at a local motel." She shrugged. "The pay's
lousy but at least I'm treated like a person here and get a cabin
to live in. When I'm not working I like to get out into the
wilderness." She gave a slight grin. "This is my first time in a
cave."

Renee frowned. Courtney was no more than eighteen and
in spite of her efforts to cover it, had an educated quality to her
voice. Why wasn't she graduating from high school and moving onto
college instead of doing low paid manual labor?

"You disapprove?" Courtney said with a glare.

"No. Curious, that's all. I'm sorry to sound
presumptuous but I wonder why you seem alone and doing a manual
job. All your mannerisms point to a well-educated young lady."

"That obvious, is it?"

Renee nodded

"And what do you damn know about life?" The girl's
voice rose an octave.

Renee sighed. "As I said, I'm sorry Courtney. What
you're doing is none of my business."

"Yeah," Courtney turned away. "That's the trouble in
this country."

"What's that?"

"Nobody cares about anything. If I'd been killed
today, I'd rank half an inch on page thirty-two of the local paper.
However, if I shot a couple tourists in the process, I'd be a
headline across the world. Only the nuts are noticed today."

"Possibly but does it matter what others think? It's
what you are that's important."

"To whom?"

"Yourself, your friends and family."

"They don't care," the girl whispered.

"So you had trouble at home?" Renee replied.

"Yeah, you could say that." She turned and walked off
into the gloom.

Renee stared into the darkness and cursed the broken
leg.

'Don't worry." Lem's voice interrupted her thoughts.
"She sounds like a typical strung out teenager."

Renee swung around. "Hi Lem. I thought you were
asleep. Did you hear our conversation?"

"Bits. I'll go after her. Be back in a moment."

****

Lem stood, brushed himself off and followed the
teenager. His flashlight showed a glimpse of her disappearing
silhouette and he had to increase his pace to catch up.

"Hold it, Courtney," he said softly. "You can easily
get lost in here. Everything looks the same." He laid a hand on her
shoulder.

The girl's reaction was unexpected. "Don't you touch
me!" she screamed and slung her shoulder sideways away from his
hand. "Don't you ever touch me." She stopped and turned to show a
tear-strained face with wide apprehensive eyes. Tight lips and a
quivering chin portrayed fear rather than anger.

"I'm sorry," Lem muttered. "I had no
intention..."

"No, of course not." The girl's voice reeked sarcasm.
"Damn males are all the same."

Lem flushed. "That was not my intention. Renee was
concerned and I offered to come after you, that's all." He
hesitated. "It seems you've had a bad time with men but I assure
you we aren't all like that."

Courtney's eyes held his for a second before glancing
away. "I'm sorry," she muttered. "You were so kind earlier. It's
nothing to do with you. It's just..." She stopped again and gave a
glimpse of a smile. "Oh hell, I've just had a hard time, that's
all."

"Well, come back. We need to stick together. Stalking
off and getting lost won't help."

"I know," Courtney said. "Come on. It's Renee with
her broken ankle who needs our company. At least we can walk out,
if necessary."

She headed back to where Renee's flashlight could be
seen in the distance. Lem watched for a moment, shrugged and
followed.

****

Chapter 2

Renee jerked awake and tried to orientate herself.
Pain, like a white-hot poker, burst through her right leg. She
moved to relieve it but only succeeded in bumping her foot. More
excruciating pain made her gasp and squint tears of agony. Her eyes
opened, saw one flashlight beam glowing and she remembered what had
happened.

"Here, have a sip. I put an aspirin in it," the girl
said. She felt cold plastic pressed to her lips. "I'm sorry but
there's nothing more I can do." What was her name? Courtney, that
was it.

Renee struggled into a sitting position, felt a
guiding arm behind her back and grimaced. "Thanks Courtney. What
time is it?"

"Twenty past eight in the morning. We slept for quite
a while. Lem's gone off to inspect the hole we fell through. He
never said anything but I think he's worried." The girl pouted in
the dull light. "I am, too."

Renee realized her stomach rumbled and she could
smell food.

"We have a small gas cooker and I've boiled that high
energy stuff we had in our supplies. It looks worse than boarding
school porridge but it's hot and should fill a hole," Courtney said
as if she'd read Renee's mind.

Renee grinned. "You're an angel." She maneuvered
herself up further so she could see the surroundings. Everything
beyond the flashlight beam was darkness punctuated by light gray
stalagmites and the million glowworms overhead. The air was warm
with a slight dusty smell.

Courtney laughed. "I've been called a few things in
the last few months but never an angel. Get this into you."

Renee took the food and the pair sat in silence while
they ate before she broke the solitude. "So you know all about
boarding school meals?"

"Yeah. I was at Miss Shelton's Academy. Heard of
it?"

Renee shook her head.

"It's a private girls' school in New Hampshire, grand
and filled with girls whose parents have money but don't want kids
hindering their social lives. I boarded there three long years."
She shrugged and slurped her broth. "Well, almost, I left in the
last term of my senior year."

"And were your parents like that?"

"Like what?" Courtney retorted with a defensive ring
in her voice.

"Lots of money but don't want children hindering
their social lives."

"Yeah, I guess. I didn't think they were until that
last day of the winter term when it all came out."

"If you want to talk about it, I'd like to
listen."

"Why not? We aren't going anywhere. It's no great
story but something that always happens to somebody else. When it
hits you it becomes quite a shock."

"I know the feeling but go on, Courtney."

The youngster glanced up from her bowl, gave a shrug
and began her story.

****

The afternoon of the last day of the winter term was
an anticlimax. Easter and two weeks of glorious vacation lay ahead
but Courtney was bored. Almost everyone had left after classes were
over at noon and it was almost two-thirty with only a handful of
students around.

"Why didn't you take the bus to Manchester,
Courtney?" Sada Manoharan asked.

"Mom and Daddy always arrive and pick me up,"
Courtney replied. "They're usually early. Last year Daddy wandered
into our final assembly just after ten as if he owned the place. I
could have shriveled up."

"Perhaps their car broke down." Sada suggested.

"Could be. Anyhow, what are you doing over the next
two weeks?" She continued talking as the pair walked towards the
junior students' common room.

A modern automobile drove in the long curving drive.
Courtney glanced back. No, it wasn't her parents' metallic green
BMW. She followed Sada when a horn tooted and a familiar voice
called out. "Courtney, honey. Sorry we're late but we're here,
now."

It was her mother but why the different car? The girl
frowned. Daddy always drove BMWs. She said a brief goodbye to Sada
and stepped towards the vehicle that stopped a few yards away.

Something else was different. Mom was the same but it
wasn't Daddy driving the car.

Her mother, Lizzie Howlett stepped out and rushed to
her daughter. "Selwyn knew a shortcut," she said, "but we became
lost on one of those little back roads. Silly man." Her face
clouded. "You know about Selwyn, honey. I wrote you about him.
Remember?"

"Where's Daddy?" Courtney retorted. It was true. Her
mother had written about problems with Daddy. They were always
fighting but why was her mother with this other man? She remembered
she had refused to finish reading the letter.

"You never answered my letter," Lizzie said. "I
explained everything."

"But never damn contacted me, Mom," Courtney
whispered. "You could have texted, called to even dropped in to see
me. Hell, the school isn't that far from home."

"I was in England until a week back, Honey and this
last week..." Lizzie sighed and stared into Courtney's eyes. "Your
father left us, Courtney. I told you. He's still in England and is
not coming back."

Courtney glared at the immaculately dressed woman,
still not forty, with slim figure and short-cropped brown hair, the
businesswoman who had balanced a career and family life, her mom.
"Daddy always comes back," she said.

"No, not this time, Honey. We're finished but come
and meet Selwyn Benson. I know you'll like him."

"Yeah, sure," Courtney muttered and swung away. Daddy
was gone without contacting her and her mother had a fancy man.

"Hello Courtney," interrupted a husky voice. "I've
heard so much about you. Your mother hardly stops speaking of all
the fine things you've been doing."

Selwyn looked a typical businessman, slightly
overweight, clean- shaven with gray receding hair. If anything,
he'd be older than Daddy and certainly wasn't as fit.

"She doesn't know," Courtney retorted. "She hasn't
been near me since Christmas. She never came to parent interviews
and I bet she never read my report. Too damn busy in England, no
doubt." Her eyes touched the man's for the first time. "Perhaps it
was the south of France in the sunshine."

"Courtney," her mother said in the voice she used
when suppressed anger was about to bounce out. "You can at least be
civil to Selwyn. He didn't have to come but offered to drive me
here. He wanted to meet you."

"Where's the BMW, Mom?" Courtney turned away from the
man.

"Your father sold it," Lizzie sighed.

"And what else did he do, Mom?"

"Very little. Everything is the same at home."

"I see and where's home?"

"I haven't moved, Courtney. Selwyn joined me, that's
all."