Ethan and Alan were pretty close. The two young men, high school graduates now, had been inseparable since first grade. They shared a lot of interests, including a love of the outdoors.
Ethan Masters was tall and muscular. In addition to regular hiking and camping, he participated in several of the high school sports teams -- he might not have been a star, but he was respected. He had an open, friendly face, slightly weathered from the amount of time spent outdoors; blue eyed and blond, his wavy hair was generally somewhat mussed.
Alan Nicholson was more average in height and musculature. He was over-all more sedentary in his hobbies, but his love of hiking and pickiness about diet kept him fit. He had very dark brown hair and rather dark hazel eyes. Kind of non-descript, really, just neat and somewhat tanned.
Joining them on their expedition was Richard "Ricky" Maitland, also tall but chunky rather than muscular. He was also blond, but more of a strawberry shade than Ethan's golden hue, and his eyes were green. He spent a lot of time playing video and computer games, which was how he had befriended the equally nerdy Alan. Alan in turn had invited him along in hopes of getting him some much-needed exercise.
The trail to the cave was not all that difficult, though it was disused. Nonetheless Ricky was puffing by the time they reached the wide, rough arch of the entrance.
"Heh, dude," Ethan ribbed him. "We've barely left town and you're already tired?"
"Yeah, well..." Ricky blushed, and took a gulp from his water bottle to cover his embarrassment. Alan put a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, that's why we're here, to help toughen him up."
"Are you guys sure this is a good idea?" Ricky asked, changing the subject. He gestured to the dark gash in the hillside in front of them. "They say nobody's ever come out of there."
"That's the point!" Alan answered playfully. "To boldly go where no man has gone before! Of course I'm sure plenty of people actually have poked around in there and come out safely, it's just silly urban legends. I just have to see it for myself."
In fact this particular destination was his idea. He lived nearby -- his house actually visible through the screen of trees that separated the hillside from the last street of the town below. He'd always burned with curiosity to explore the "Mystery Cave."
"Spelunking can be dangerous," acknowledged Ethan. "But we're prepared. If it gets too rough, or too maze-like, we'll just turn back." He actually was a bit disappointed that Alan had gotten Ricky to tag along; he was prepared for some serious caving, but with the couch potato in tow they weren't going to be able to do anything too demanding.
"We're here, we may as well see what's inside, right?" Alan began shepherding his big friend towards the entrance, unholstering his large flashlight as he did so. Ricky made no more arguments, and switched on his helmet light -- he'd been very careful to get all the proper equipment, something else Ethan had teased him over.
But he had been right about them having plenty of equipment -- climbing gear, walking sticks, multiple flashlights, water, trail rations, and marker flags and chalk to keep track of their route.
At first the cave didn't seem out of the ordinary -- just a wide, rocky passage that had an almost imperceptible downward slope. Deposits of limestone were marked by stalactites and stalagmites, half-fused to the walls. But then the cave started splitting, and winding back on itself. They slowed down, carefully mapping their route. They passed through a large cavern, noting glittering crystal formations and cracks above that let in a bit of daylight.
They noted that several passages converged, and it seemed like a good landmark -- and a good place for a break. However, soon after they pushed on, the way down became steeper -- not uncomfortably so, but they were definitely headed down now. And then they came to another split -- this one into three passages.
The left one actually went up, and it looked like it might lead back outside, but it was narrow, rough and steep. Ethan was intrigued, but he knew he could never get Ricky to go in there. The centre tunnel was fairly broad and flat, similar to the passages they'd been exploring; if they had to continue, this would be Ricky's choice. The right tunnel was also narrow, and it continued down; but they could see something glittering deep in the darkness that Alan was very curious about, because he didn't think it was reflecting from their flashlights or Ricky's headlamp.