Part two Chapter ten

PART TWO

Chapter Ten

            Maxwell woke up in complete darkness.  He was lying face down on what appeared to be cold earth.  He sat up, confused, and felt around in an attempt to gain his bearings. 

            'Where the hell am !?,' he wondered.  He could tell he was mostly naked, although he did have boxers on, but where were the rest of his clothes?  He could hear off in the distance what seemed to be a dull humming sound.  Maxwell crawled around as he felt several large rocks strewn about.  The ground was very uneven.  He must be inside some sort of underground cavern.

            'Not only where the hell am I, but how in God's holy name did I come to be here in the first place?'  Out of all the strange things that had been happening to him lately, surely this one had taken the cake.  After feeling around for a couple of minutes, he bumped into a wall of solid rock.  Underneath his feet lay a fine layer of dust covering what appeared to be a floor made of firm clay.  The clay itself was slightly damp.  He must definitely be somewhere underground.              All around him was complete darkness.  Even at night in his bedroom when his light was off his eyes would still be able to adjust so he'd be able to make out the faint outline of his desk and bookshelf.  This was in no way the case right now.  This place, wherever it was, was “darker than a car full of assholes.”  Maxwell chuckled to himself as this was something straight out of Jimmy’s lexicon, but humor ultimately couldn't penetrate through the infinite darkness in which he was now found.  Panic began to wash over him. 

            There was a very good chance that he wasn't going to be able to ever find his way out of this mess.  His heart was beating like a tympany as adrenaline rushed through his every sinew. 

            He sat down and tried to think. 

            At this point, all he could do was try to find his way out of this darkness. It was either that or he'd end up rotting alive in this monumental death pit. 

            For the first time in Maxwell’s brief existence, he was facing his own mortality.  His stomach had all but sunken into his bowels.   He was sure he'd die in this cave, never to be found or heard from again.  His eyes began playing tricks on him as he crawled around, up over inclines and down into valleys.  Huge boulders were strewn about everywhere in what seemed to be a vast indoor cavern.  He could've sworn that he saw movement up ahead, but that would've been impossible in such complete darkness.  There was absolutely no light whatsoever, so obviously he couldn't see jack.

            “That isn’t entirely true,” Maxwell thought.  Even quote unquote dark bodies emit some photons (particles of light).”  But this did him no good.  His eyes were not sensitive enough to detect said photons.  If only he had night vision goggles.

            Maxwell did notice, however, that the dull hum in the background was slowly getting louder.  He kept pace, crawling and twisting his way through this underground chamber.  Yes, the noise really was getting louder, it sounded like rushing water.  'A creek must be running through this place,' he thought.  He decided to keep in the same direction as the noise.  One way or another, the water was going to lead him out of this cave, of this he was sure.  If only he could make it out without any serious bodily harm.  The ground could literally open up beneath him and he wouldn't even be able to see it coming.   

 

            Back in room 217, Jimmy was working on a paper airplane.  The entire afternoon was devoted to the final project.  Team E, all four members, looked like a footnote next to the massive gathering that was making an argument for creation.

            “Can you please focus on the project?”  Frank Workman was getting annoyed by Jimmy and his less than serious approach to the cause.

            “I will have you know I am focusing on the project,” Jimmy responded flippantly.  “I just have a different project for the time being.”

            “I hope Maxwell is doing research right now,” Frank said anxiously. 

            “Just calm down for a second, dude.  I am sure my boy is hard at work right now.”  Jimmy obviously couldn’t care less about the outcome of the final project, as he threw his paper creation across the room.  It coasted gently to the ground right next to Phil, who picked up the plane and unfolded it.  He looked at the piece of paper for a second and then scowled as he wadded it up, giving Jimmy the death stare.

            “Alright, what did you put on the paper plane?” Jenna inquired.

            “It was an action shot, capturing Phil and Morgan in their favorite activity.”

            “Which would be?”

            “I am not sure you really want to know.”

            “Oh,  but I do.”

            “Really?”

            Jenna nodded.

            “I am not at liberty to say, but I promise, it is obscene.  It involves petroleum jelly, some PVC pipe, and several unfortunate rodents.”

            Everyone in Team E started laughing as they put these ingredients all together mentally.  Even serious old Frank had to put his book down for a second to wipe tears away from his eyes he was laughing so hard.

            Maxwell continued fumbling through the oppressive darkness.  It could literally be days before he found his way out, leaving not a second to spare.

            The fact that just about anything could be lurking around the corner absolutely terrified him.  He tried to push this fear aside, knowing full well that panic could ultimately spell out his demise.   Fear is a good thing in moderation.  Panic on the other hand will wear me out sooner.        The sound of rushing water slowly grew into that of a roar, and soon enough, Maxwell felt himself shin deep in an icy cold spring.  In front of him, he found he was left with a choice to make; follow the flow of the stream, or go against the current.  He closed his eyes (not that it made any noticeable difference), and took what amounted to a few very slow and deep breaths, In through the nose, out through the mouth.  

            Gradually, his mind became completely still.  In this state of momentary clarity, he knew exactly which direction he must go. 

            Initially he thought he'd go with the current, yet ultimately it turned out that he would go against it.  There was no logical explanation for this other than the fact that he knew the water absolutely had to come from somewhere outside.  

            And so Maxwell charged ahead, against the current of the stream.  His feet were so cold he could barely feel them anymore.  He clutched his left arm and felt goose bumps bristling all over his flesh.  The further he went, the colder he got.  His body began to convulse.  He hugged himself in a tight clutch, desperately trying to hold on to any body heat he could find.  Every once in a while, the water would get a bit deeper, and he'd occasionally find himself stumbling and falling entirely into the icy black stream.  He had to pull himself up to keep his momentum moving forward.  His feet, shoeless and sockless, were cut to pieces by the tiny shards of rock below. 

            All the while Maxwell was thrashing and splashing through the darkness, he slipped into a trance like state of consciousness.  His brain became like a tuning fork, vibrating at a very specific frequency. 

            'Survival' 

            His brain was programmed by the situation to dissolve barriers and to find solutions.  He didn't have any more time to be afraid.  He didn't have the time or the energy to waste on anything but getting out of the mess he now found himself in.

            Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes into hours.  His body was beginning to shut down from exhaustion.  He was so cold and worn down from struggling against the universe.  His mind was telling him now that he was probably stuck in this hellish cavern forever, and would probably even end up dying in the god forsaken place.  Maxwell was even growing more and more comfortable with this morbid possibility.

            And then, when he felt like he couldn't push forward any longer, a ray of hope began to emerge.  Perhaps it was his mind playing tricks on him (he was getting used to that), but just maybe, ...  

            He quickened his steps and elation slowly began to fill his body.  His heart began pounding faster and faster.  Yes, it must be the entrance!  The dim glimmer of light in front of him slowly grew larger and larger, ... until,

            FFWWWOOOSSSSHHHHH!!!!!!

            The roar of the raging stream was almost deafening, along with the sounds of birds, insects, and of nature itself. 

            Never before had he seen such radiant hues of every possible shade.  Never in his life had he seen the outdoors in the way that he saw it in this very moment.  It was so much more than what could be considered awe inspiring, almost as if he'd been blind his entire life, and sight had taken to his eyes for the very first time.  The trees appeared almost to be breathing with each other, in unison.  Inhaling and exhaling. 

            Maxwell was most definitely alive! 

            After making it out of this monstrosity of a cave, never had he ever felt better to find himself partially naked in the middle of a wooded forest in all his life.  The spring air was crisp and clean while his senses were hightened with the signs of nature that surrounded him.  It appeared to Maxwell that everything had a certain glow to it.  It was very much in the same way that Premi and Father Wimbly glowed.  Perhaps there was a significance to the aura.  Who cares if there is or isn’t.  It is miraculous either way you slice it.

            And in that very moment, Maxwell was completely and utterly 'one' with everything that was around him.  The worst series of events of his life was followed by the best feeling he had ever experienced.  

            He started walking through the woods along the side of the creek until he found what appeared to be a path that had been traced into the thicket.  Sure enough he caught glimpse of a trail of discarded clothing scattered up ahead. 

            At first he saw his shirt, then his pants, then his socks and both his shoes.  Maxwell hurriedly dressed himself and he continued along this path.  He was beginning to warm up a bit at this point.  His body had been completely saturated, although by now he was mostly dry.  His knees and his feet told a bloody tale of stumbling and crashing onto sharp rocks in total darkness.  He was covered in clay, grit, and mud in a way that made him look very much the part of an actual prehistoric cave man.  He continued following this trail as the sound of the rushing creek slowly faded into the background.

            Before he knew it, he'd made it back to his own backyard.  As he reached the entrance of his house, he exhaled a tremendous sigh of relief.  He looked at the clock as he entered and saw that it read 3:37.  It had almost been seven hours since he'd translated his eyelids’ message!   This, of course, begged the question, how in the world did I get so far into that cave without getting wet or hurt when I'd been totally unconsious?  It was, indeed, truly a mystery.

           

            Naturally Maxwell was absolutely famished.  The shower would have to wait, so he threw his grimy clothes in the laundry and raided the refrigerator.  He hadn't remembered being this hungry in all his life, and even the most simple food seemed to taste so much better than it ever had before.  Maxwell couldn't even think of any time in his life that could remotely compare to the elation he felt on this particular afternoon.  Everything was slowed down. The world was truly magical, if only for at least those few very special hours.

            He put his dirty dishes into the sink, went to the bathroom and turned on the hot water in the shower.  The water felt incredible, even though his feet and knees stung as flaps of loose flesh flopped back and forth in the stream.  He remained in the shower for a very long time.  There was no rush, for wherever did he have to be?  Time, as he now knew it, was simply a luxury.  Nothing quite seemed to matter at all in this euphoric state, even time itself.  He felt this was quite a departure for a boy who'd spent most of his life in anxious anticipation. All that mattered  now was this moment, full of peace and tranquility. 

 

            Maxwell dressed himself and laid in his bed completely exhausted and relaxed.  Gradually, his usual thoughts began creeping back into his head.  As afternoon turned into evening, the calm gave way to anxiety.  He'd not done any homework at all that day.  He'd not done anything really, besides sleepwalk himself into the heart of a gargantuan cave.  His mother would definitely wonder if he'd studied for any of his classes.  He'd have to tell her that he had studied, if for no other reason than simply to reassure her.

            As the elation wore off, he found himself growing rather depressed.  It was very difficult for him to concentrate on the task at hand-taking notes for his upcoming project, for his mind was racing from one unrelated thing to the next.  It gave him that certain feeling of anxiety he'd actually grown quite accustomed to.

            And then sometime later around seven o'clock that evening, his mother pulled into the drive.  She opened the door, sat down, and looked thoroughly worn out.  She worked long and hard hours to support the family.  It all began to make sense to Maxwell how she had to pick up the slack for a husband and a father they no longer had.  Their well-being rested soley on her wage earning shoulders.  Maxwell could almost 'feel' how much pressure was on top of his mother.

            After a brief supper, he tried again to no avail to do some research for his project.  A couple of hours later, his mother came into his room to check on him.  She found her son completely passed out in his chair with his head in the text book on his desk.  She helped her son into bed and then kissed him on the forehead as she turned out the light.