Free Inhabited by Ike Hamill

edges had been chinked with smaller rocks, and the resulting gaps had been filled with sand. Everything fell away as the rock really began to move.
    “One more,” Justin said, grunting. He was wrong, it took two more pushes.  
    A crack opened in the improvised mortar. Travis heard air escape from the cave beyond. It seemed to exhale a giant sigh. For a second, it seemed like a yellow light was coming from behind the rock. Travis realized that it was just the glow of someone else’s headlamp reflecting off the damp rocks.
    When the rock finally went, it didn’t stop. The edge they rolled it on was round, and the ledge sloped away. The rock kept moving and picked up speed.  
    They stood and watched it roll back to its flat side, but by then it was too late. The rock had already reached the edge of the ledge. It tumbled down to the path below, filling the cave with a terrible sound. The rock bounced and broke apart. The halves rolled opposite directions until they came to a stop.
    “So much for footprints,” Kristin said.
    “Sorry, Dad,” Joy said.
    They turned their lights back to the hole that they had uncovered.
    “What?” Miguel asked.
    Travis was closest, kneeling where the rock had recently sat. He reached out to the place on the wall that the rock had uncovered.
    “Don’t touch it!” Justin yelled.
    Travis looked back at him and rolled his eyes. “It’s just chalk or something.”
    The rock had revealed a nearly round hole that was easily big enough to crawl through. At least it would have been, but the hole had almost been sealed from the other side. In contrast to the red rock, the circular hole was filled in with white powder, packed until it was rigid. Only through the very center could Travis peer through to the other side. The porthole was maybe the size of a grapefruit.
    Before anyone else could object, Travis poked at the chalk accumulation, right near the center of the hole. It crumbled away easily from his finger.  
    He jerked his hand and hauled his finger back close to his body. He whipped around to the group and screamed. “It burns! My fucking finger is burning off! It’s burning.”
    Joy fumbled for her bottle of water. She spun the cap off and rushed forward to pour it on Travis’s hand. When she dropped to her knees next to him, Travis showed his hand and broke into a smile.
    “Just kidding,” he said.
    “Jerk,” Joy said. She splashed water at his face.

    -o-o-o-o-o-

    Travis laughed and wiped water from his brow. He frowned.  
    “Ow! Shit!” Travis ducked down and wiped furiously at his head with his hands. “Fuck, guys! What the fuck?”
    “Very funny,” Carlos said. “Quit screwing around.”
    “I’m serious,” Travis said. He rose back up and Joy emitted a surprised shout. There was white smoke coming from Travis’s forehead, just underneath the brow of his helmet.
    “Shit,” Joy said. She pulled a rag from her bag and lunged for Travis. He saw her coming and scrambled back.
    “Get away from me what that shit. Damn it!” Travis flopped backwards and pulled himself away from her. He was flailing on the ground, kicking blindly to try to escape.  
    “Grab him before he falls,” Joy shouted. “Hold him!”
    Justin and Carlos rushed to obey. They pinned down Travis’s arms, but he still kicked and thrashed. Kristin and Miguel moved to secure his legs. Joy went for his head.
    “Hold still. Shit, this is pretty bad. Hold him still,” Joy said. She dug in her bag and pulled out a different bottle. This one had a brown liquid. When she poured it on Travis’s forehead, he screamed and bucked. The four of them barely managed to keep him down.
    Joy blotted at his skin with her rag and moved his helmet to the side. Travis settled down and moaned.
    “Are you okay? Does it still hurt?” Joy asked.
    Kristin and Miguel let up their death-grip on his legs. Carlos and Justin hauled him up to a sitting position. When they let go, Travis took the rag from Joy and pressed