The B Girls - By Cari Cole Page 0,35

rather than drop like a rock tossed off a cliff. Not great odds, but then again this whole hunt was a long shot.

The bottom of the rock formation was about thirty or forty feet up. Not an impressive distance when you're standing at your front door looking down your driveway. When you're standing and looking up, that same distance is a lesson in perspective. Thirty feet is very high. Bone breaking high.

Lucy started to climb--carefully using hands and feet to push and pull herself up one small step at a time, testing hand and footholds as she went.

"Looking good!" Jane called when Lucy was about halfway up. "I'm starting up now."

"Be careful. See if you can work your way up a little to one side or the other in case I slip," Lucy said. As if to prove her point, the laurel she grabbed with her right hand pulled free. She wobbled, looking for her balance, trying to tip in favor of the hill and not the empty air behind her.

She groped around with her left hand and let out a big whoosh of relief when she found a root to grip and pulled herself back tight to the hill.

"Point made," Jane said. She took two big steps to the right before starting her own climb.

Just before Lucy came within reach of the rock formation, she wondered if they were going to have to cling to the hillside like monkeys on a tree while they looked for the cave entrance.

She scrambled up to the level of the rocks and saw that the answer was no. The reason the rock was exposed was the hill had receded around it making a ledge with secure footing. They'd be able to explore the formation without worrying about falling--if they were careful.

Lucy looked back down the hill. Jane was making good progress although she wasn't looking exactly thrilled.

"Just a few more feet and you can take a break."

"It's not a break unless it involves air conditioning," Jane said as she crawled up beside Lucy.

Lucy leaned out to see where Mae was and realized she hadn't started to climb yet. "What're you waiting for?"

Mae looked up with a too-big smile on her face. "I think one of us should stay down here. In case of emergency."

Lucy wasn't buying Mae's excuse for a single second. "Are you scared?"

Mae hesitated before shaking her head. "I just think we need to be smart."

"She's scared," Jane said under her breath.

Lucy agreed, but there wasn't any point in pushing. "Okay, we'll let you know if we need you to come up."

Mae nodded. "Be careful."

"We will." Lucy turned her attention back to the hill.

The rock formation extended above their heads nearly the same distance they'd climbed from the bank of the creek.

"You see anything obvious?" Jane asked.

Lucy shook her head, searching for anything resembling an opening into the hillside.

"This isn't going to be easy is it?"

"Probably not. But we can hope."

They inched around the formation, looking for anything promising.

"I think we should concentrate on the underbrush. I mean what are the chances there's some sort of secret passage hidden by a rock door?" Jane said.

After fifteen minutes of pushing aside laurel and briars they'd checked all the likely spots on the periphery of the formation without having any luck. Nothing even vaguely resembling a cave entrance.

They sat down on the ledge at the base of the formation to sip water, snack on protein bars and consider their next move.

"You sure you want to stay down there and miss out on all the fun?" Jane asked Mae.

Mae lifted her own water bottle in salute. "I'm looking smarter by the minute."

"You're gonna be jealous when we find the cave," Jane said.

"Or she's going to have a great time with the I-told-you-so," Lucy remarked.

"I'm having a good feeling about this for some reason," Jane said.

Lucy snorted her disbelief.

"I know. I know. Optimism isn't my style. In fact it feels a little creepy."

"Only you would find optimism creepy." Lucy put her water and the empty Power Bar wrapper back in her day pack. "Let's get back to work and see if you're right. I'll take this half."

"You got it."

Standing on the forearm of one of the lovers after checking out the lower areas of the formation, Lucy looked up to see what waited for her. The view wasn't encouraging. Exploring the upper part of the formation was going to require some sort of climbing or safety equipment.

She was pretty sure Jane had dated a guy