Caveship (Novel)

Copyright © 2010 by Ricardo Pomalaza

All rights reserved.

This novel is purely the work of Ricardo Pomalaza

who is to be identified as the author.

This is a work of fiction, any similarity or likeness to

any events or persons living or dead is purely

coincidental.

Chapter One Field Trip

The scene opens with a view from space above the

glowing blue atmosphere of planet Earth, home to more

than 7 billion people. We begin our descent into the planet,

diving past the atmosphere, and zooming somewhere into

the United States.

And so our story begins…

(Fade in)

A large yellow school bus made its way past an

old and withered wooden sign somewhere inside a lush

green forest. The long and narrow dirt road that had

originated from the city led it towards two cement

pillars which held a metal archway as tall as a tree.

As the vehicle neared a field of roses, it came to a

halt and its doors finally opened. A woman stepped out

and looked around, examining her surroundings and

scoping for any potentially dangerous wild-life. Several

high-school students followed her outside carrying

backpacks and other school items.

“Alright,” the woman said as the students

promptly exited the bus, “Listen up, I want everyone to

form groups of three.”

The students began to look around, some finding

someone they were familiar with. A young man with

brown, messy hair stepped out and stood alone,

listening to music through white earphones.

A teenage boy approached him and tapped his

shoulder, “Hey” he said, nudging him. “You ready?

Come on."

Matthew turned around and realized that it had

been Arnold, one of his best friends. Arnold had

promised to introduce him to his classmates once they

had arrived. Nervous, he followed him to a group of

students by some bushes.

“This is Matt,” Arnold told them, “He’s a friend

of mine from California.”

Matthew took off his earphones and secured

them in his jacket’s bottom-right pocket. He nodded

slightly at them and turned to Arnold with a slight grin.

He and Arnold had been friends since second grade, but

had lost contact with each other throughout middle

school. When Arnold heard that he was coming to town

and would enroll in the same high school as he was, he

almost went berserk with joy.

Matthew felt nervous, however, since he had left

so many good friends and memories back in California,

and wasn't sure he'd have the same kind of relationship

with the students here. Arnold had assured him that

with his help, he would make new ones.

“Hi, I’m Christie,” said a blonde girl wearing a

purple babydoll dress. An African-American boy

standing next to her crossed his arms and nodded. “I’m

Terrell,” he said.

"Nice to meet you," Matthew said, smiling back

at both them. Arnold grinned, "Don't be shy bro, these

are my friends."

"And any friend of Arnold's is a friend of us"

Terrell said proudly. Christie nodded.

"We know how you feel. First day of school…you

don't know anyone, we've been there. Especially since

this is your first field trip with the school and all."

Matthew nodded slowly, "Thanks guys."

Meanwhile, in another group separated from the

others, a young brunette girl passionately caressed with a

teenage boy under the shade of an oak tree.

“Come on, Sarah,” said a girl sitting next to

them, “You’re gonna get caught...”

Sarah unclipped her hair, ignoring her friend’s

complaints, and stared at her boyfriend who lay beneath

her on the grass. Sebastian grinned, staring at Sarah. He

was a muscular fellow, one of the school’s star football

players, and he was charming. Their relationship had

lasted for more than a year which was strangely new for

both of them.

For most of middle school, however, Sarah had

avoided talking to him, since his only noticeable quality

at the time had been to bully his other classmates. In

time, though, Sebastian had begun to change and

enemies became friends and friends eventually became

lovers.

“Baby,” he whispered to her, “When school's

over, let’s go on a trip, just the two of us.”

He put his fingers through her hair and stared at

her, "No one else…just you and me.”

Sarah stared at his large blue eyes, thinking about

his words, pondering a life with him and no

interferences. The life she knew back home was all but

happiness, but it felt good to dream.

She smiled, letting out a half-giggle, “You know

my stepdad would kill me...but I'd go anywhere with

you” she whispered back.

They continued to stare at each other for a while

and then continued kissing, their shapes entwining

together under the shade of the oak tree.

The girl next to them whispered furiously,

“Guys...”

Sarah sighed in frustration and pulled away from

Sebastian.

“Kate, no one’s going to see us…” She said,

clipping her hair again and touching her lips. “Besides,

what is Mrs. Sheffield going to do? Suspend me?" she

continued, letting out a devilish laugh. "How many

times has it been?"

Kate sighed and looked up at her, “As long as I

don’t get caught" She said. "I’ve never been in trouble in

her class…”

“Oh god,” Sarah said, annoyed, “You are such a

teacher’s pet, Kate, you know that? Stop worrying so

much! You know what? If you care so much about your

reputation, then maybe you shouldn't be hanging out

with us.”

She looked at Sebastian. “Come on…let’s go see

what everyone else is doing.”

Sarah got up and dusted her shirt off. With

Sebastian holding her hand, she walked toward the

crowd of students gathered near the bus. Mrs. Sheffield

was giving an important announcement.

“Alright, everyone! Listen up,” Mrs. Sheffield

shouted, “We’re only going to be here for two hours

because a bus will be coming shortly from another

school. When they get here, we must already be packed

and ready to go, understood?"

She paused, examining the crowd, "I don't want

any delays. Now, I’ve told all of you to form groups of

three…” she said, quickly surveying everyone in sight

and noticing Matthew standing out from the crowd,

“Mr. Reed?” she asked.

Matthew turned to Arnold, “Oh right,” he

whispered, looking at Christie and Terrell, “I forgot”.

Arnold nodded, “Yeah, no problem, just stay

here, I’ll go somewhere else.”

“No,” Matthew said, shaking his head, “you were

here first. I’ll just go look for another group. It’s okay,

man.”

Arnold stared at him, “You sure?”

Matthew nodded, knowing that Arnold wanted

to be with them. They had known each other longer and

it just wouldn’t be right; him being the new guy and all.

“Mr. Reed?” Mrs. Sheffield repeated, getting

impatient.

Matthew turned to her, “Yeah, I’m looking.”

Kate looked at Sarah, a strange thoughtful

expression crossing her face, and headed toward Mrs.

Sheffield. Sarah watched as her friend walked away from

her mysteriously. Kate went behind the teacher and

whispered something in her ear, glancing over to Sarah

and Sebastian every now and then. Mrs. Sheffield

frowned at whatever Kate was telling her. A few minutes

later, she turned back to Matthew.

“Actually, Mr. Reed, you can join that group.” she

said, pointing at Sarah and Sebastian. Kate smiled from

a distance, content with her accomplishment, as Sarah

boiled in anger.

“What the hell…” Sarah whispered, “What does

she think she’s doing?”

“Okay, everyone, follow me please,” said Mrs.

Sheffield, making her way past the crowd. Kate smirked

at Sarah as she passed her by.

Sarah frowned, furious at her, and turned to

Sebastian.

Sebastian crossed his arms, “Oh great, here comes

the new kid...” he said, staring at Matthew as he came

their way.

“Hey…” Matthew said as he approached them.

Sarah sighed and walked away. Sebastian grinned,

staring at Matt for a bit before turning around and

following Sarah. Matthew frowned, confused at their

reaction and his obvious rejection; but he followed them

anyway.

A large wooden sign with the words “Cave Alma»

rose awareness to a large gaping cave entrance at the end

of a field. The sign was nailed to a wooden stake that

was driven into the ground several feet away from the

actual opening.

The sign itself looked worn out and weathered, as

if no one had ever cared to replace it. There were also

numerous objects strewn along the ground making it

look unclean. Candy wrappers, soda cans and other

garbage were scattered everywhere leading up to this

point.

Mrs. Sheffield led the students near the entrance

and smiled, “Alright,” she said, unfolding a picture

catalog as she looked into the mouth of the cave. “This

is it, we're here."

She turned around and walked through the

crowd, gesturing for the students to follow her. "Follow

me, everyone! We’ll wait for the guide to come,” she said

and continued walking, headed toward another dusty

trail in the distance. Denied to enter the cave, the

students moaned but followed her nonetheless.

Sarah watched as the students followed her like

mindless zombies. A slight smirk widened across her

cheek.

“Sebastian,” she whispered as she grabbed his

arm, “Come on, you don’t want to see what’s inside?”

Sebastian's eyes followed the students as they

moved away with Mrs. Sheffield. Unsure, he looked

back at Sarah, an uneasy expression hidden behind his

seemingly confident visage,

“Um..." he said, "Alright.”

Matthew had just arrived at the entrance when he

heard laughter inside the cave. Curious, he stopped to

look inside.

Sarah and Sebastian had entered the cave in order

to continue where they had left off under the oak tree.

They were held captive by the revels of their own

personal moment.

Matthew sighed, shook his head and turned to

exit the cave. All of a sudden, the entire cave began to

shake with a strange seismic force. The rocks began to

crumble and suddenly, the cavern felt much smaller. It

was as if an earthquake was ravaging the still silence of

the forest. Parts of the cavernous walls collapsed around

them as they stood in the cave. Sarah and Sebastian

stopped caressing and looked around frightened.

Finally, they got up and began to stumble their

way to the exit as it began to feel a lot farther away.

“What the hell is going on?!” shouted Sarah,

dodging falling rocks as they headed out. A crack

expanding on the ceiling caught Sarah's attention. She

stopped and stared at it. By the time she realized

Sebastian had gone on without her, it was too late.

Sebastian made it out and looked back. Sarah

looked at him, satisfied that he had gotten out, but she

was still fearing for her life.

Then, as she began to walk, she tripped and fell

to the ground. A massive section of the cavern's wall

began to collapse and when it did, it fell on her legs.

Now, she could hardly move, let alone stand up.

“Sebastian!” she shouted again, but he was

paralyzed with fear.

Matthew looked at him, bewildered by his non-

responsiveness, “She needs help!” he shouted, but

Sebastian remained paralyzed, his face wrought with fear

and mortification.

Unable to get a response from him, Matthew did

the only thing he could think of doing: he ran back in.

He ignored the thick dust falling on him as he made his

way inside to reach Sarah. And while he was busy trying

to get her legs free, Sebastian was still frozen in a state of

shock.

Finally, Matthew managed to remove the pile of

rocks and debris from Sarah’s legs, examining the area

on which the rocks fell. As he helped her up, the cavern

entrance began to crumble. He allowed her to lean on

him for support and together, they limped toward the

exit as it began to get smaller and smaller with the

onslaught of falling cavernous matter.

Matthew frowned at Sebastian, still perplexed at

his expression.

“Don't just stand there!” he shouted, “Help us,

dammit!”

Sebastian's uneasiness suddenly began to

disappear and some resolve began to take shape through

the change of expression on his face. He had finally

made up his mind. Whatever had been holding him

back before became less of a problem as he was faced

with this dire decision.

He began to run toward Sarah and Matthew who

were about to be sealed in, but he was already too late; a

more powerful tremor stopped him before he could

reach them. Sarah and Matthew fell to the ground as the

soil itself began to crack and the entrance completely

collapsed. All light was shut out of the cave as darkness

consumed every crevice, corner and passageway. A thick

cloud of dust, confirming their hopelessness as it

engulfed them, settled to the ground, ending the

tremors and reviving the forest's silence.

There was no more light inside the cave. There

was no more noise. There was only darkness.

Meanwhile, outside the cave…

Sebastian coughed as he slowly crawled away

from the rubble. He turned around and stared at the

massive pile of dirt that had sealed the entrance. A cloud

of dust had also emerged from the collapse and it slowly

began to settle on the floor, hiding any evidence of the

natural disaster.

Mrs. Sheffield and the other students had heard

and felt the rumbling and had already arrived by the

time Sebastian crawled out. She and other students

helped him up, some raking the small rocks and dust off

of his shoulders as he stood.

“What happened?” she demanded, frightened.

Sebastian continued coughing, “Sarah… and that

new guy,” he said, “They’re still inside.” He pointed at

the sealed entrance. Mrs. Sheffield and the other

students stared at the lump of rock and dirt that had

trapped the two teenagers inside.

Were they still alive?

Chapter Two The Cave

The scene opens in darkness with distant rumbling

noises in the background. The bodies of two teenagers lie on

the ground covered in dirt. There is so much on them that

their clothes are barely recognizable.

(Fade in)

Sarah woke up from unconsciousness, trying to

remember where she was and how she had gotten there.

She looked around, memories of the collapse coming

back to her. She slowly tried to get on her feet but her

ankle gave her a stinging pain making her fall to her

knees. Tears came out of her eyes as she cursed out loud.

Why was this happening to her?

“Hello?” she shouted, looking around. The whole

place was engulfed in darkness. She began to cough, the

result of so much inhalation of dust in the air.

“Is anyone here?” she continued to shout, hoping

for whoever was inside to still be alive. She didn’t want

to be trapped alone. Sarah gave up on trying to fully

stand and in the end only crawled toward the entrance,

shouting for help. It was sealed by a great amount of

cavernous matter rendering her shouts useless.

She leaned against the rocks and fell to the ground out

of weakness. Had Sebastian gotten out alive? Had the

others realized what had happened? Her thoughts were

filled with so many questions. Maybe this was her fate,

to die here alone.

Suddenly a light shone at her from a distance. She

turned and stared at the light, a silhouette figure

walking toward her from a few feet away. It was the

young man with brown, messy hair. He put the

flashlight down and helped her up.

“You okay?” he said.

Sarah leaned on his shoulder and limped to the

nearest wall. Matthew grabbed his flashlight again and

looked at her. She nodded, “I’ll be fine,” she said.

Matthew went to his maroon backpack lying on

the ground and knelt down, “You have a flashlight?” he

asked, knowing that all students were required to take

one on the trip.

Sarah nodded, “yeah,” she said as she coughed

again.

Matthew took out a piece of cloth and handed it

to her, “Cover your face with this,” he said as he began

to rip a piece of his shirt.

“We’re breathing in too much dust,” he said, “not

a good idea”.

Sarah did what he told her and slowly began to

cough less. Matthew wrapped the piece of shirt around

his mouth and nose and observed her,

“What’s your name?” he asked.

Sarah hesitated a bit, "Sarah", she finally said.

"You?"

Matthew stared at her, "Matt", he responded and

rolled his sleeves up, also securing his backpack behind

him, "Well, I figure it'll take them a while to get to us

from out there," he said, "I'd say our best chance is to

find another way out of here."

Sarah frowned, "What? And go where?", she

asked, hesitant again.

Matthew turned toward the deep cavernous

passageways that faced them, "This is one of the oldest

caves in North America, right? It has to have another

hole leading out somewhere."

He turned to her again, "You want to stay here?

This place is a death trap" he said.

Sarah sighed, "But how do you know you won't

get lost in there or something? Are you crazy?"

"Look," Matthew said, "If you want to stay here,

go ahead. But there isn't enough air for us to hold out

that long. We'll suffocate before they get to us. We need

to find a way out."

Matthew turned and walked away into the

darkness of the passageways.

Sarah looked around, her ankle still giving her

immense pain, and then grabbed her backpack with

anger. Matthew made it all the way to a large opening at

the end of the passageway and then stopped at the

thought of leaving behind a wounded person.

He sighed and turned to look at the darkness

behind him, wondering if whether he had made the

right decision or not. He heard Sarah's voice calling out

to him and soon enough saw her limping toward him.

The flashlights were beginning to dim by now. Their

batteries were becoming depleted. She stared and limped

past him, without saying a word, and going into the

darkness that followed.

Matthew watched her go by and shook his head

slowly. The silence said it all; they had to trust each

other, even if they didn't want to.

They walked for several minutes until they

reached an opening that connected to numerous smaller

passageways. Matthew followed her close by and looked

at them, "Well," he said, "I guess we'll just have to pick

one..."

Sarah limped her way toward the middle

passageway, ignoring him. He grunted, knowing that he

had no choice but to follow her now. Sarah could barely

hold herself steady as her backpack had become too

heavy and burdensome for her and her leg wasn't as

strong as before.

"Maybe you should let me carry it," Matthew

said from behind.

"Maybe you should stop talking," Sarah replied,

limping faster. She was aggravated enough with the

thought of Sebastian betraying her and now she was

stuck with some stranger inside a cave.

There was another rumbling noise in the

distance. Dust fell from the cavernous ceiling and the

ground cracked as if the rumbling was coming from

within the cave itself. Sarah was ranting about the

school's decision on the field trip when suddenly

another tremor occurred and the walls began to shrink

again. Matthew crouched and so did Sarah, both

paralyzed with fear. They didn't know what to expect by

now; the fear of death beginning to grow familiar to

them. Matthew got up, grabbing her hand firmly, "We

have to hurry", he said.

They began to walk faster toward wherever the

passageway ended. Their hopes were crushed, however,

when the end of the passageway was nothing more than

a chamber full of old, rusty, mining equipment against

another cavern wall. A dead end.

"No..." Matthew whispered, as the rumbling

grew in strength.

"Fuck!" Sarah yelled, letting go of Matthew's

hand. "I can't die here!”

Matthew looked at her, "Shut up!" he shouted,

"no one's going to die..." he said, trying to believe his

own words. "We'll check another passageway," he said.

By now, they could barely see, and their

respiration had become an ongoing problem. To make

matters worse, the rumbling did not appear to stop.

"Look," said Sarah, "This is not your fault...okay?

It's no one's fault, let’s just...lay down, rest, and wait for

a rescue..." she said as she grew tired. Matthew smacked

his flashlight because it was starting to flicker on and

off. He continued to scout the area for any sign of an

exit. Memories of Arnold asking him if he was sure on

changing groups came back to his mind, regretting now

on the choice he had made. Sarah tried to keep up.

Soon, the source of the flashing lights became

evident; a section of an enormous alien spacecraft was

trapped inside the cave and was silently projecting some

kind of beam in circles like a fan.

They both stared in shock, no idea to what they

were seeing. "What in the world?" Sarah said in awe.

Matthew stared at the craft and frowned.

There was a sound like that of a jet engine and

soon the rocks around them began to fall in massive

chunks. The large amounts of energy that the engine

was producing had probably contributed to the collapse

of the cave entrance. Matthew frowned and looked at

Sarah,

"Wait a minute, I have an idea. Maybe we can use

this thing to get out", he said, his face expression

changing to one refilled with hope.

Sarah frowned, "What?" she said, "How do we

even know that thing won't kill us?"

Matthew let her down and began to walk toward

the ship, "We're going to die here anyway if we stay any

longer. Do you always have to question everything?" he

asked.

Sarah stood up and watched him approach the

craft, "Well, do you always have crazy ideas that could

get you killed?"

The ship began to hum louder as the circle of

light began to spin faster. Matthew knocked on a part of

the ship that looked square enough to be a door and

waited for an answer.

Sarah flinched, hoping the thing didn't explode

or anything. She sighed and followed Matthew who

approached the alien ship cautiously.

"Hello?" he shouted, "Anyone home?"

"What are you expecting?" Sarah snorted, "Little

green men?"

Suddenly, Matthew was surrounded by a green

spotlight that began to scan his entire body. A few

seconds later, it disappeared, but so did Matthew. When

Sarah saw this, she stepped back, uncertain. She looked

at her surroundings knowing that the only alternative

was to go back into the darkness, alone. She waited for

the light, but nothing happened. Disappointed, she let

go, and then a brilliant flash occurred that nearly

blinded her. When she opened her eyes again, she was

on board the ship in some kind of cockpit room.

Matthew was there next to her but neither of them

could move nor speak.

They both stared at each other, literally paralyzed,

hoping that the aliens did not dissect them or anything.

It began to wear off. Matthew collapsed to the ground

and so did Sarah. Matthew looked around the room,

curiously.

"We're inside..." He said.

Sarah coughed, getting up as well, "You say that

like it's a good thing" she said. The fan-like engine on

the outside let out a brilliant flash of light and created a

shield of transparent glowing ooze all around the ship.

The ship began to rise, shaking dust off, and the

humming got louder. Matthew and Sarah grabbed on to

the edges of the walls as the ship shook violently.

Matthew stared out the cockpit window; the ship

was actually floating,

"...I think we're launching" he said.

Another flash occurred and a bluish portal

appeared within the cavern chamber. With great

velocity, the ship was sucked into it and dragged across a

tunnel of orbs of light that flew past them at an

incredible speed. Matthew and Sarah held on for their

lives as they felt the ship increase in speed exponentially.

Another tremendous flash of light occurred and

the ship came to a stop. It was ejected out of the

wormhole and floated towards outer space, leaving a

trail of purple “fog” behind.

Matthew looked over the cockpit window,

catching his breath, "Holy shit" he said, trying to get

back up, "We're in space". The loud humming had been

replaced by a quiet, continuous sound coming from the

engines. The ship was still surrounded by the

transparent shield but one could see a clear view from

the center window.

"We can’t be," Sarah said, getting up, looking at

herself, "We're not...floating...you know? Like

astronauts..."

Matthew stared in disbelief at what he was seeing

through the diamond-shaped window in the center. He

walked near it and stared at the orbiting blue planet

below them.

"We're on orbit above Earth" He continued,

amazed.

Sarah limped to the window and stared at their

home planet, "Okay...how do we get back down there?"

she asked, immediately frightened.

Matthew looked around the room again. The

“controls” on the cockpit were different than anything

he or anyone else had ever seen.

There were no monitors, no keyboards, no

buttons of any kind, only chairs made of some kind of

strange organic material. He sat on one of them and a

holographic image was projected in front of him. Sarah

turned around and looked at it, "What did you do?" she

asked.

Matthew frowned and looked at the hologram,

"Nothing...I just sat down".

Sarah walked behind the chair and stared at the

hologram. She didn't understand what she was looking

at. "Maybe you have to, like, command it with your

voice?" she said. Matthew examined it to see if there was

some other way to control it. Unable to find anything,

he looked at the image again and said, "Computer. Take

us down to the planet."

Sarah looked at him strangely. Matthew

shrugged, "I don't know. You said command it with my

voice."

Matthew sighed in frustration and leaned his

head back.

Suddenly, another three-dimensional image was

projected into the air and the ship began to turn. "What

did you do this time?" Sarah asked. Matthew looked at

the new image and frowned, "I-I don't know."

The spacecraft tilted the opposite direction away

from Earth and faced the deep blackness that was seeded

with millions of stars.

The engine came back on and the beams of light

outside the ship began to spin again. Sarah walked

towards the cockpit window and stared at the abyss.

“No, no, no!” shouted Matthew as he realized

what the ship was about to do.

Sarah turned to him, “Can't you stop it?”

Matthew shook his head, “I don't know!”

Almost prophetically, the ship entered another

wormhole, leaving a trail of purple “fog” behind.

Somewhere else in the universe...

A speck of light flickered in some part of space.

Then, with a quick flash, a bluish portal formed and the

ship was ejected from it. It began to drift into the sea of

blackness.

Matthew got off the chair and walked toward the

large diamond-shaped window. He turned to Sarah and

they both remained quiet for a few seconds.

"Why is this happening to us?" Sarah said, almost

to the point of tears. She sat down and put her knees to

her head. She was tired of this. They were both tired,

both physically and mentally. They remained quiet. The

silence was overwhelming.

Matthew sat down next to her. "Well," he said,

trying to think of something comforting to say, "At

least, we're not in the cave."

Sarah didn't say anything, her head still resting

on her knees. She was hoping this was all a bad dream.

Matthew laid his head back against the wall and stared

at the window from where he sat. They were lost. They

had traded the limited amount of air in the cave for this.

At least in the cave, on Earth, there were people who

were looking for them. A rescue.

But out here, who would find them?

Silently, the ship drifted towards a cold and

barren planet somewhere in the distance...

...their journey had only just begun.