Laura and Seth left the campsite walking hand in hand. As always, they did not walk directly to the cave, but took a meandering route through the forest, past a small stream that was glittering with ice along the edges, before cutting back toward the face of the mountain and the crevice that was hidden beneath a rocky outcropping. They stood silently beneath the ledge, listening to the sound of winter creeping through the woods. Only the creak of frozen branches, the call of chicadees in the bushes below and the far of gurgle of the brook could be heard. When they were confident that they were alone on the side of the mountain, they slipped inside the crevice.
Seth had put on some weight and muscle since the last time he was inside, and he felt the cave squeezing his ribs as he pushed
