Free Seeds of Time by K. C. Dyer Page A

sand. It appeared to be lit from within, and it cast a dim light on the walls of the deep inner cave.
    Forgetting her headache, Darrell slowly stood up. She wanted to take a closer look. The symbol on thewall appeared to be illuminated through the rock. It took the shape of a deciduous tree and was about six inches high. As Darrell watched, the light gradually faded away, as if withdrawing back into the rock itself. In a matter of moments, Darrell once again found herself in total darkness.
    The pain that had shot through her arm was gone, but her fingers felt numb and limp. She rubbed her hands together and sank back down to the ground.
    â€œI must have cracked my elbow against the rock, eh Delaney?” Darrell began, and then realized that she could not hear Delaney panting, or feel him anywhere beside her. Panic slid back into her stomach, and she spent several frantic minutes feeling around in the sand of the cave floor, trying to find the dog.
    After smacking her face twice into the rocks, the second time bashing her lower lip into her teeth and cutting it, Darrell managed to get hold of herself. She sat back down on the sandy floor and took several deep breaths.
    â€œDelaney,” she called softly, “Delaney, come.”
    No answer.
    Darrell called again several times, but she realized with despair that the dog was missing. With her thoughts still fuzzy and Delaney gone, it made it hard to decide what to do next.
    â€œOne thing is certain,” she whispered to herself. “If I don’t find Delaney before Conrad does, he’ll knowI’m here. I’ve got to find that dog.” She licked the sore spot on her lip and got to her hands and knees.
    Scared to touch the wall of the cave that had given her such a shock, she decided to crawl, using the sand and the rising level of the ground to help find her way out. It was slower than walking, but she made steady progress as the sandy surface slanted upwards. Her prosthetic leg felt heavy and she still felt quite tired and not herself. As she crawled, her nausea lessened and she found herself more able to think.
    â€œIt must have been some kind of electric shock,” she thought. “A charge or something that came through the rock. I don’t think the rock was wet ... if it was, it probably would have been much worse.” She paused, panting from the effort of dragging her leg up the sandy slope in the dark, and without thinking leaned back against the cave wall.
    As she felt the rock at her back, Darrell started, but nothing happened. No shock, no flash of light, no glowing symbols ... just the solid rock of the cave wall. Darrell reached her hand up to touch the rock when she realized that she could see. Gradually, the level of light had been growing as she made her way closer to the mouth of the cave. In spite of her fear of running into Conrad, she almost laughed with relief.
    Darrell decided that the light had increased enough to walk. It was still very dim in the cave, but she could seeenough to make her way slowly upwards. As she reached the place where the ground began to flatten out, in the distance ahead she could just make out the entrance.
    She paused to make sure that no one had entered since she had fled into the cave earlier. There were no footprints or signs of anything different, but she walked cautiously, no longer talking to herself but instead listening carefully for sounds of Conrad and his father. Creeping forward, she noticed a large brownish rock by the very entrance of the cave. Looking closely in the dim light, she realized that it wasn’t a rock.
    â€œDelaney!” she cried aloud, caution forgotten. She ran over to the dog and dropped down on her knees beside him. For one quick moment her heart leapt into her throat, as he was curled up so peacefully she thought he must be dead. At her touch he raised his head and, sleepy-eyed, thumped his tail on the ground in greeting.
    She plunged her face into the