Calcium

20

Ca

[Ar]4s²

Calcium

“Oh, this is so cool.” Amber studied the stalactites in Mammoth Cave. Rubbing her arms with her hands, she tried to ward off the chill from the cooler cave climate.

“Haven’t you been here before?” Tom asked.

“Yeah, when I was a kid visiting my grandmother in Magnolia, Kentucky. I thought it was cool then, too.”

“These stalactites and stalagmites are formed from water leaving calcium deposits over thousands of years.” The cave tour guide pointed to the large, smooth formations which either hung from the ceiling or protruded from the ground.

“I can’t wait to see the Frozen Niagara again. You’re going to love it.” Amber slipped her hand into Tom’s fleece pocket.

“What’s the Frozen Niagara?”

“It’s a giant formation. It’s hard to describe, you’ll just have to see it for yourself.”

“I’d love to explore these caves on our own. Wouldn’t that be cool to wander around in here by ourselves.” Tom playfully slapped her bottom.

“Are you crazy? There are hundreds of miles of caverns on five different levels. I hear that people get lost in here all the time. And besides, there is a tour guide in the front and the back of the convoy to prevent wayward tourists from wandering off.”

“I still think it would be cool to explore the cave on our own.”

“Next time we can do one of the longer tours, like the Violet Lantern Tour. Then you’ll get to see more of the cave.”

Amber walked through the tunnel following the other tourists. The tunnel ended in a giant cavern with benches.

“Everyone, please take a seat. This cavern was once used as a church in the 1800s. The acoustics are amazing in this room.” The tour guide’s words echoed throughout the cavern.

Tom led them to a bench in the back of the cavern. Turning his head back, he said. “Maybe we can sneak back there?”

“Are you crazy? They’ll see us. I don’t want to get into trouble.” Amber shook her head incredulously.

“Fraidy cat,” Tom teased.

“To demonstrate how dark the cave gets, we’re going to turn off our lanterns for a few minutes. I’d like everyone to remain silent while the lights are off,” the tour guide said.

Nodding his head to the tunnel behind them, Tom winked at Amber.

He can’t be serious? We’ll get caught, or worse, we’ll get lost and die down here.

The tour guide turned the lantern off, and the cave grew pitch black.

Holding her hand right in front of her face, Amber couldn’t even see it.

Tom tugged on her arm and led her off the bench.

Crap! Are we really doing this?

Holding his hand, she let him lead her to the tunnel behind the benches. She wondered how he could see in the dark. But he somehow navigated them through the pitch-black tunnel without bumping into anything.

She faintly heard the tour guide’s voice echoing through the tunnel. “Wasn’t that dark? You wouldn’t want to get lost in here in the dark. Let’s continue the tour towards the Frozen Niagara.”

“We’re going to miss the tour,” she whispered.

“Just think of this as a private tour.” Tom turned to her. “Here put these on.” He handed her something that felt like some sort of head gear.

She fitted the contraption over her head and saw Tom standing in front of her wearing an identical contraption on his head.

“Night vision goggles,” he said.

“You brought night vision goggles? You planned this all along, didn’t you?” She playfully slapped him.

“I also packed plenty of food and water.” He nodded towards his backpack. “Be prepared,” he recited the Boy Scout motto, followed by the Boy Scout salute with three fingers pointing towards his temple.

“That’s right, you’re an Eagle Scout. I’m in good hands.” She followed him through the tunnel.

“I downloaded a cave map from the internet so we won’t get lost.”

“I can’t believe we’re really doing this,” Amber giggled like a giddy school girl.

“What would you like to see, my dear?”

“The river. It’s on the lowest level. They used to give boat tours down there. But the lowest level sometimes floods, and the insurance company made them discontinue the boat rides.”

Tom studied the map. “We’re in luck, there should be stairs nearby that will take us down to the river.

They traversed the tunnels and various caverns until they found the staircase going down. The rickety staircase creaked with each step. It obviously hadn’t been used in years.

Arriving at the bottom of the staircase, blue-green water flowed before them.

“Here it is, we did it. We found the river. It’s not flooded now. There’s several feet between the water and the top of the tunnel.” Excitement filled Amber.

“Look, there’s a canoe.” Tom pointed.

“Let’s go on a boat ride.” Amber walked towards the canoe.

Tom followed her, and they climbed into the canoe. The river’s current floated them down the tunnel.

“We don’t even need to paddle. This is awesome. Aren’t you glad I suggested we break away from the tour,” Amber teased.

A large form swam through the water. “What the hell is that?” Fear arose in her chest.

“I don’t know. But it’s pretty big, bigger than the canoe.”

“Should we go back?”

“I don’t think we can, the current is too strong.”

The river’s current grew faster and faster. Their little canoe floated briskly through the water which now flowed like white water rapids.

“There’s that creature again.”

The creature rose from the depths of the river and showed himself. It resembled the Lock Ness Monster. The beautiful creature stared at them curiously. It was bigger than they’d imagined. It’s neck alone was at least ten feet long. And who knew how big its body was which swam in the water next to the canoe.

Amber stared back in awe at the magnificent, prehistoric creature. What would they call him? The Mammoth Cave Monster?