I took her out to the dig to show her around, teaching her what a Graham Stride was and the fact that I liked at least two of them between us. She had no problem accepting the explanation at face value or maintaining the distance. What she did ask were a lot of questions about my ability, which I didn't mind.

"So... if a body was freshly buried and you tried to sense it, do you see the outside or do you see the bones?"

"The outside. I'm like ground radar, only way, way better. Regular GPR can, for example, give you the outline of a body. I can make a sketch of the person."

"Wow!" She paused for a moment, taking in what I'd told her. "So, tell me how you came to realize you had such a gift?"

I regaled her with a story of how, when I was young, I used to pretend to be an archaeologist hunting for dinosaurs, naturally.

"There I was, in my backyard, digging things up when I started to 'see' in my mind's eye what it was that I'd dig up before I did. It seemed the most natural thing in the world. In fact, I didn't think anything of it," I explained.

"When did you learn that it wasn't something that everyone else could do?" she asked.

I huffed out a breath. "Luckily, it was with my parents. If I had said something at school at that point, my life would have been so much worse, I think."

"Yeah? Bullied in school?"

I shrugged. "I didn't have as many coping mechanisms back then, so being autistic, even high functioning, really stuck out."

She nodded and I knew that she understood, in a very real way. "I bet we could share school experiences and find that we have a lot in common."

"Yes, that's likely," she said, "but I'd rather focus on the more positive things we have in common. Such as a love for geology and archaeology."

I smiled. "You have a completely valid point!"

We'd chatted enough to have gotten around to the grid where I was working that morning when I made my discovery. "So, under here is where the chamber and the passageway leading up to it are located."

"Now that we're out here, I find I want to know about what was in the chamber. But, I don't want to ask and make you uncomfortable."

I scuffed my red Chuck Taylors on the ground, kicking up a tiny cloud of dust. "Thank you for that. I'll be happy to tell you, but perhaps not when we're standing so close to it. It gives me the creeps."

"Okay, thanks for your honesty. How about showing me where the passageway starts at the surface then?"

I smiled. "I haven't actually mapped out that far yet. I started at the chamber door and have been working outward. I'll be mapping more of it tomorrow."

She looked disappointed.

"But... maybe I can do a quick scan and find it that way." I went to the spot where I had left off and 'touched' the ground. Using my touch continually, I picked my way through rock and boulder above ground to follow the passageway. It passed under a rise and, after a few moments, we saw a cave-in that was disguising the entryway on the far side of the rise.

"Wow! That was fascinating to see you work."

I blushed again. "Thanks."

"Maybe tomorrow, you could map the beginning of the passageway for us so we could get started?

"Yes! Of course. I'd be happy to."

"Excellent! Now," she said, sniffing the air, "I smell something delicious for dinner and I'm starving. Where do we eat around here?"

"Honestly? I can't stand to be around a crowd of people too long, so I usually eat in my tent." I had an idea, "Would you like to join me?"

"That would be lovely, yes! But, I don't want to impose. Are you sure it's okay? I understand the need for privacy."

"It's not about privacy, but about comfort. The two of us get along well enough that I don't mind sharing space with you."

"Okay, then, I accept."

We made our way back to the tent where Jeff and another person were waiting for us. I was introduced to one of Cally's PhD students. She apparently had three working under her, which was damned impressive.

"Dr. Graham, it's nice to meet you. I'm Haseem," said the young man, holding out a fist. Jeff had apparently told him of my quirk. Life was always so much easier with Jeff around to run interference.

I fist bumped him and he smiled. 'It's nice to meet you, too,"

He turned to Cally and explained, "We're pretty much settled in to our tents. We put your things in with Jody. Mike and I are sharing a tent."

"Sounds good. I'll be around after dinner to put my things away. Let's take the evening off. We'll get started early before it gets too hot."

"Okay. Maybe we can get a tour."

"I'd be happy to arrange something for you," Jeff said to him before turning to me. "What color do you want for dinner? Yellow, red, or white?"

"Is the yellow a curry?" I asked. "And I assume white is rice?"

"You've got a good nose, as always," he said with a smile.

"Okay, I'll do yellow and white."

"Two colors! You're getting daring!" he teased.

"Hey, everything goes with rice!"

Jeff chuckled before explaining to Haseem and Cally what we were talking about.

"Oh! Clever!" Cally said, "A way to have sameness but still have variety."

Yep. I liked her a lot.

Cally noticed one of my drawings on my desk. "Is this your art? I'd heard you were an artist, but this is amazing!" I noticed that she leaned over it to inspect it, but didn't touch the drawing. It was very respectful of her. We talked about art, which led to travel, which led to other topics all through dinner and into sunset.

It wasn't until Jeff came back around that I realized how late it was.

"Hey, Tony, you're supposed to get up early. So, you might want to think about heading to bed soon."

I nodded. "Can we find someone to take Cally to her tent? I'm not sure she's even been there yet."

"Of course." Arrangements were made and Cally and I planned on meeting at the passageway entrance after breakfast.

Jeff had a silly grin on his face after Cally left. I was pretty sure it matched my own.

"She seems nice," he understated.

I laughed and agreed.

~~~

The morning was routine, and soon, Cally, her students, a handful of workers, and I were gathered at the passageway's entrance. I immediately began to scan the opening, seeing if it seemed safe to start removing debris. By lunchtime, we had cleared enough that we could crawl into the passageway, which we did, of course.

"Wow. This is amazing!" Cally exclaimed, shining her light down the long, smooth tunnel.

"I know, right? A lot of care was put into this tunnel, as much as one might see for a great Pharaoh. It really makes me wonder what's at the end."

"What is at the end, Tony?" Cally asked.

"Nothing and everything," I answered. "I can't describe it much better than that. To me, it seemed like a vast Void, but logic says it has to be a room of some sort. Jeff has suggested there's something in the room that generated, or projected, what I felt and saw."

"What do you think?" she asked.

"I think that's a plausible idea. Certainly, it makes more sense than a Void."

We slowly made our way down the tunnel until we came upon another pile of rubble. I put my arm out to block Cally from approaching it. "I haven't mapped this yet, be careful."

She nodded and allowed the workers to come forward and begin to remove the rubble. Eventually, another hole was created and we were able to crawl through again. I felt a little uncomfortable going forward without mapping, but I didn't want to leave Cally and the party in the passageway; I was as curious as they were, even though I was apprehensive about what lay at the end.

We all knew that moving forward was a mistake when we heard a loud, Crack! I instinctively covered Cally with my own body as a tumble of new rock slid down behind us. One of the workers began to scream, then was cut off unexpectedly, crushed beneath a large boulder that now blocked out way out.

"We should have waited until I mapped the area," I said before checking on Cally. "You okay?"

She started coughing, the dust beginning to settle, but nodded. "Yeah," she managed to croak.

"Dr. Graham," one of the remaining workers said, "getting out isn't likely to happen quickly. And, from the looks of things, we're going to have to wait on rescue; we can't move that boulder by ourselves."

I looked at the pile. I noticed blood seeping around the boulder through the dust. It was apparent that our colleague wasn't going home.

"Is that blood?" Cally asked with a shaky voice.

I stepped into her line of sight so she had to look at me instead. "Yeah, it is. Maybe you shouldn't look?"

She nodded emphatically and turned away.

"Jeff will eventually wonder where I am and they will come looking," I reassured them.

"But does anyone know where we are? You hadn't mapped the area, so they don't know where the entrance is."

"True..." I had to admit. "But, Mr. Sheridan will move heaven and hell to find me, even if he has to bring in experienced trackers. Which he won't; we didn't exactly hide our trail."

"Okay, so, what do we do?" Cally asked.

"We wait. I mean, I think it's too dangerous to go forward and we can't go back," I explained.

Cally fidgeted.

"You want to keep going, don't you?"

"Umm. Yeah, kinda," she said sheepishly. "Is that bad? I mean, a man just died..."

"Emotions aren't good or bad, Cally. They just are. The question is, will we stay or will we continue forward?"

She glanced nervously behind me. "To tell the truth, I don't want to stay near... him."

"So, the only choice is forward," I said.

"I will stay here, Dr. Graham," the remaining worker said. "I can attempt to clear some of the smaller debris from the top, even if just enough to pass through supplies when they find us."

"We would be most appreciative of that," I said before turning to Cally. "Well, shall we?"

She swallowed and I could tell that she was on the verge of getting sick, but I didn't know why. Was she frightened of going forward, or frightened of staying?

I grabbed her hand, "Come on, let's go forward around that turn up ahead," I said, shining my flashlight down the tunnel.

She nodded and we carefully moved forward, turning left. Once we were around the corner, I had my answer when she let out a shaky breath.

"I thought I was going to be sick there for a minute. I just couldn't look away, you know?"

"Yeah," I said.

"You don't seem too upset," she said.

"No, I guess not. Sometimes, when I'm under stress, I get real objective. At least, that's what my therapist says. She says it's a survival skill I learned as a kid." I looked at her and saw her shaking.

"You look like you're pretty upset, though," I pointed out.

"I am. I'll be all right eventually, but I'm a bit shaken up, yes."

"I wish there was something that I could do for you." We both knew what any other man might do in my place; he would take her into his arms and hold her. Only, that wasn't me and I couldn't manage to offer.

"I know," she said softly.

"You seem very accepting of me," I stated.

"Yeah, my younger brother is autistic. Pretty severely. So, I recognized some of the signs early on, especially the fist bump thing. He does that, too... can't stand to be touched."

"I see."

"You know," she said, cocking her head to the side, "you have a reputation for being an ass."