Beckon Read Online Free PDF Page B

and bobbed against the side.
    Ben looked at Jack. “Glowsticks.”
    Jack dug further in his pack and produced a couple of the chemlights. He snapped them and shook them up until they gave off a pale green glow.
    Ben grabbed them, sucked in a few deep breaths, and ducked under the surface. Jack was shivering at just the thought of being fully submerged again in the bone-chilling water.
    A moment later Ben came back up, shaking. “L-looks like some kind of sh-shaft down there,” he said. “But I can’t see how far it goes.”
    Jack was heartened by the news. “How wide is it? Can we fit through?”
    â€œI dunno. A couple feet.” Ben set about uncoiling another length of rope and tied it onto his belt.
    Rudy was shivering worse now. “Wh-what are you d-doing?”
    Ben slipped off his pack and handed it to him. “I’m gonna see how far it goes.”
    â€œThrough there?” Rudy’s eyes widened. “Y-you’re c-c-crazy.”
    Ben handed the other end of the rope to Jack and took a handful of glowsticks. “Keep it tight. If I tug twice, pull me back through.”
    He sucked in a few more deep breaths and disappeared under the surface again. Jack felt the rope slip through his hand as he fed it into the tunnel. He soon lost track of how much length had gone in. Maybe twenty feet. Maybe thirty. Finally the rope stopped pulling, and Jack stood with his flashlight tucked under his chin, holding the coil in his numb hands above the surface.
    â€œWhat happened?” Rudy asked, his face drained of all color.
    Jack shrugged and pulled back gently on the rope to keep the tension. Then he gave it one short tug. A moment later he felt a single tug in reply and breathed a relieved sigh. “I think he’s okay.”
    Nearly a full minute later, Ben emerged again, gasping for breath, his teeth chattering. “It c-comes out into an-nother chamber. The tunnel’s about twenty-five feet long, and it gets a little narrow in the middle.”
    â€œHow narrow?” Rudy said.
    â€œIt was t-tight for me, but you g-guys should make it no problem.”
    Rudy turned to Jack, shaking his head. “Jack . . . I’m telling you, I will freak out down there.”
    â€œWell, we don’t have any choice,” Jack said, trying to sound firm but supportive. The last thing he needed was Rudy getting hysterical.
    â€œI’m gonna get stuck!”
    â€œIf Ben can make it, you can too.”
    â€œBut I can’t—”
    â€œRudy.” Jack grabbed the collar of his sweatshirt and jerked him close, shining the light in his face. “It’s real simple. You either stay here and die for sure from hypothermia or take your chances down there. Now man up and let’s do this.”
    Ben was already uncoiling several lengths of rope. “I’ll go first. Then you send the packs through, and you two come last.” He turned to Rudy. “All you gotta do is follow the rope. Hand over hand. Got it?”
    Rudy was shivering too badly for Jack to tell if he was nodding or not. He slapped him on the shoulder. “You’ll do fine. You’ll be through before you know it.”
    â€œI’ll tug three times for you to send the packs,” Ben said. “Then I’ll give three more tugs when you’re clear to come through.”
    Jack and Rudy nodded.
    They tied their packs to the rope, and Ben started sucking in deep breaths. Jack could see he was fighting off the effects of the cold, and Jack himself was starting to go numb. He could feel his mind shutting down as the blue beams of their flashlights began to flutter in his eyes.
    Ben ducked under again, trailing the rope behind him. A minute later Jack felt three tugs and began feeding the rope through the tunnel. He could tell by the feel of the rope that one of the packs snagged a bit somewhere in the darkness, but after a sharp yank, it continued pulling