How did we get ourselves in such a terrible fix? The Grand Keeper, or Grandma Chrys told us our trainin' might be dangerous. She warn't jokin'. Here we was Freck, Uncle Ren (Oh, did I say that Ren is my Uncle?) and me, all with unknown painful injuries. It seemed like we was deep inside the biggest cave in the world. What if they never found us? Our mission was to discover a missin' civilization believed migrated from Topside (Earth) ta a place called Hollow Earth. Was this worth it? Freck and I were only thirteen years old. Thirteen and not pro'bly not gonna see fourteen.

The Keepers, which includes Grandma Chris and Uncle Ren, exist for the one and only purpose—preserve knowledge. They were entrusted with this responsibility by the Gardener. The Gardener is their name for God. Keepers are not exactly human. 'Cept for bein' a little taller than most earthlin's you couldn't pick 'em out in a crowd. They have special ways of goin' about their business without bein' caught. Some can change shapes and become birds, bugs, or any common ol' thing. My momma is a reducer which means she can shrink herself down very small. At her smallest she can strap herself into a flutter-by suit, which looks just like an actual real-life butterfly. If you saw her flyin' around in the air, you wouldn't know the difference between a flutter-by and a real butterfly. 'Cept in the dark. Real butta'flies don't fly aft'a sundown. When the temperature drops they light on sumpin' ta wait until the air's warmer. They don't sleep like people 'cuz they ain't got no eyelids ta close.

My daddy is human. He told me when I was little that my momma was a butta'fly. I just thought he made it up like in a fairy tale or sumpin'. Daddy raised me Topside while Momma stayed b'hind in the Kingdom of the Keepers. She had very important stuff to do. That didn't mean she didn't keep tabs on me. She and other keepers were always watchin'. It was all very hush, hush. I didn't even suspect it. Humans were not, except in very special cases, allowed to become aware of Keepers and what they was doin'. People just wouldn't understand. Even at thirteen I knew how destructive people get when frightened by sumpin' that's different. I cain't imagine what would happen if they found out I was half-human and half-keeper. Prob'ly kill me, I guess. They ain't very understandin'. It's always shoot first, ask questions later.

The Kingdom of the Keepers is actually on another planet. We share an almost identical space in the cosmos. Scientists have long known that the shell of an atom is made up of tiny particles (electrons) zingin' 'round a hub called the nucleus. It's made up of protons and neutrons. If ya shrunk down to particle size you'd see that between the nucleus of the atom and the shell is an enormous amount of empty space. The Gardner uses those spaces and fills them with what the Keepers call in-worlds. Under our same sun, with the same moon at night, and blue skies in the daytime exist an unknown number of in-worlds. You could stick out your arm and it would literally pass through hundreds of planets that cain't be found with any telescope.

It's a little like all of the microscopic creatures that exist unseen on Earth. They cain't be seen 'cept through a high power microscope. Everywhere, totally invisible to us, are billions of strange life forms just goin' about their business of existin'. Maybe those critters don't know about us neither. They could live and die on a flake o' skin. I sure would't wanna see 'em, though. Could you just imagine havin' microscope eyes and seein' all those weird critters scurryin' here and there all the time? It would give you a permanent case of the hebbie-geebies. But the Kingdom of the Keepers ain't microscopic. It's the same size as Earth. It's so near to us that we could touch it and not even know.

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Freck was short for freckles. And boy did she have freckles. They were all over. Right now the red dirt covered them all up, except where her tears made streaks. A Freck without freckles just warn't right. The dirt even disguised her brown hair. It was almost like she and the crud were the same. I'll bet a buck my nearly white hair is the same color as hers. She's my best friend. It pained me ta see her like this. I had to get her outta here. I went to work pullin' heavy rocks off her.

Since both of us are smallish for our age, and pretty skinny, we ain't what ya'd call strong. Freck's grown a bit taller than me, but that didn't add nothin' to her strength. What we do have, accordin' to my daddy, is pig headed determination—in spades.

"Careful!" Freck grimaced.  I could see her agony. Her teeth was clampin' down real hard hard. Any movement, any at all, sent rivers of pain right through her . "My leg vexes me so bad I feel I might puke."

"Freck, I'm bein' careful as I can. Once you're free of these here rocks, I can get a good look at what's up with your leg."

"All right Wishes. Do what you have to. I cain't just lay here, or I'll die in this god forsaken place."

I was removing' the last big rock when I heard Ren moanin' again. "Freck did you hear Ren?" I wasn't sure if'n she did 'cuz of her jolts 'o pain and the ragged breathin' she was doin'.

"Yeah," she whispered through clinched teeth.

"You ain't got no more large rocks on you, so if it's okay, I think I should scoot down and check on him." She didn't answer. I took it to mean she was all right with my leavin'. She grabbed my hand and gave it a little squeeze of thanks. She knew I'd be back.

I tried ta stand, but the rocks here were so loose I had to crawl crab-like over ta the place where Ren was half buried. Only one side of his face was free of debris. I sat down near his head and began clearin' away everythin' from around his nose and mouth, ta give him breathin' space. His eyes fluttered. He was hangin' on, but I couldn't tell by how much. "Wishes?" It was a low, groan of a whisper. "Are you okay?"

"I'm hurt too, but cigam (the keeper word for magic) is stoppin'
the pain and givin' me some light so's I can help ya."

Ren closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he croaked, "Wishes, is that you?" He already asked that. He must've been delirious.

"Yes, it's me, Ren. I'm tryin' ta help. You're sunk beneath a truckload of rocks. I'm gonna do my best to get ya out. Let me know if it hurts too much, okay?" He mumbled somethin' that sounded like okay, so I proceeded to move the  rocks off.

"Ren, how are you doin'?" I asked. He didn't respond. He was still breathin' so I knew he was alive, but was slippin' in-and-out of consciousness.

Clearin' them rocks was hard work. I got hot even though the cave was pretty danged cold. There musta been a ton of stones on him. I was workin' up a real sweat movin' 'em. When I freed his chest his breathin' eased some. That was good. I was afraid that his lungs was crushed. I guessed not, but I wouldn't have been surprised if he didn't have broken ribs. I didn't know a lot about first aid 'cept the little I learned in scouts. He should'a been wrapped real tight 'round the chest with cloth, or tape. We had some stuff in our packs, but where they was now, was anybody's guess. Maybe I could get lucky and discover Ren's pack beneath him in the rubble.

"Wishes?", Freck mind spoke to me, "is he all right?"

"It's hard ta say. He's breathin' pretty good since I cleared his chest and pushed the dirt and rocks off his face."

"Can you hear water dripping?"she moaned. At first it was kinda soft, but I swear it's gettin' louder."

Holy crap! What now?

I turned my lighted palms toward the cave wall so's could see what was happenin'. It was startlin'. There was a few small cracks. Drippin' out of those cracks was tiny trickles of water. Maybe it was just an underground spring--I hoped. If that was all it was, it would be good after all, because we lost our canteens with our packs. We would need water 'specially if'n we was goin' ta be stuck down here for...who knew how long?

Freck was speakin' inside my head, "Tell me what you see Wishes."

I responded, "Freck, we may have a problem. There are cracks in the cave wall and water is seeping through. If it doesn't get any worse we will be okay, but if..."

"Lordy, Wishes!," she jumped in. "Don't tell me the walls could break open like a hole in the dam. We could all drown."

"Hold on Freck, there ain't no reason to get all worked up about about it yet. It could be a good thing. "

"What?" she shrieked inside my head.

"I'm watchin' them cracks and they ain't getting any bigger. We need water to help us survive until we can get rescued. "

I got up, and carefully scrabbled my way over ta the wall. It was reddish orange like all the rocks in this cavern. I reached out and tapped on it some. It seemed solid enough. I'm not a geologist, but if it was about to burst wouldn't it bulge where it was weak? I listened. Did the raps sound solid or hollow? More solid than hollow I hoped.

I wondered, was the water fit to drink? I cupped my hand under a leak ta collect some of the drips. First, I smelled it. It didn't stink. It smelled like good water. I stuck my tongue out ta give it a quick taste. Was I worried that it might be poisonous? Sure, but I didn't think tryin' just a little bit would kill me. Even if it did, it might not matter much if we couldn't get outta this place. We all was hurt. Uncle Ren seemed to be the worst off, but with Freck's broken leg she warn't goin' nowheres soon. I was glad that Freck hadn't yet learned how to read mind. Telepathic communication, speakin' mind-to-mind, is a different skill than bein' able ta look inta someone's thoughts. It wouldn't be a good idea ta let her know that I had doubts 'bout our survival.

So far, so good. The water tasted okay. I waited a minute for the sip I took ta get down inside me. If'n it was poison I would soon find out, wouldn't I? Poisoned people in movies always choked, turned blue, stumbled around, and fell down with foam bubblin' out of their mouths, right?

Freck contacted me again. "Wishes whatcha doin'?"

"Well," I told her, "I checked the wall. It don't sound hollow and there ain't no bulges. Now I'm checkin' the water ta see if I can figure out if it's okay ta drink."

"How are you doin' that?"

"The only way I can Freck. I got some in my hand so's I can sniff it, and give it a little taste."

"Oh my . . . is it okay Wishes?" I could tell that she was worried. It would be stupid if she wasn't. She was smart enough to know that she would have done the same thing in my shoes. Desperate events lead to desperate actions.

Freck telegraphed, "I'm dyin' of thirst. My mouth is full of rock dust. Can you bring some o' that water ta me?"

"I don't think so. I need ta use my hands ta help me scrabble over all these loose rocks. How could I carry it?"

Just then another mind-to-mind voice broke in, "Wishes you can carry it in your mouth." It was Gee, the Whistlin' Salamander.

Then he asked,"Freck, can you hear me too?"

"Yes," Freck said.

Gee mentally spoke, "If Wishes brought you a mouthful of water, would you think it was too disgusting to drink?"

"No, right now I'd lap out of dirty ditch if I had ta."

I pressed my cheek inta the cold rough rock and found a trickle that was sufficient. You know what? The second taste was better than the first. It reminded me of the natural spring on the Foster's farm. It was deliciously sweet. I used that swallow to rinse out my own mouth to make sure that what I took her was better than what was in her dust filled mouth. While doin' this I mentally asked Gee, "Where've you been? You told me that now that our mental communication channel was open we would be able to speak to each other all the time and at any place. I called out to you, but you didn't answer."

"I am sorry Wishes." he replied, "There is great danger in one of the in-worlds. The entire Keeper's High Council was called into mind-mesh. I am a part of the council. When linked we are unable to hear, see, or feel anything beyond our circle. That's one reason for the keeper acolytes. When immersed in the energy we are totally unaware of our physical needs. They attend to us and call us back from time to time to make sure we eat, drink, and get some sleep. They only interfere when it is absolutely necessary. The link was temporarily opened to allow a break. When the circle was dissolved, that is when I heard you."

"Gee," I said ta him, " We're in real trouble here. Freck has a broken leg and maybe a hip too. I was in a lot of pain until I initiated cigam. I don't know if it fixed me or only stopped the hurtin' temporarily. And Ren ain't conscious. He had a ton of rocks piled right on top of him. I'm tryin' ta dig him out, but still have a ways ta go."

"Hold on Wishes and Freck," he mentally spoke. "We have an emergency plan already in motion. We will get you out. I promise it will not be long. Hang in there."