EXTRACT FOR
Carnal Caverns
(Emily Sinclaire)

Thirty feet into the natural, rough stone cave system and I ran right because there was no other way for me to go and almost immediately ran into a closed metal gate which had no discernable means of opening. Movement off to my left caught my eye and a looked to see a burly older man with bald head and long salt and pepper beard staring back at me with raised brow.

"Where you off to in such a hurry doll?"

"Open the gate and let me in right now!" I demanded. His unchanging expression only added fuel to the fire. "Did you hear me? I said open this god damn gate and let me in right now or so help me I'll..." Leaning forward, he placed two tree trunk arms on what passed for a stone counter and his face shifted from curiosity to amusement. The gate, however, remained closed. "My great-grandfather owns these caves to you'll open the gate and let me on or else!"

"Honey..."

"I'm not your fucking honey!"

"Listen, lady, if you want through that gate you're going to have to show me an ID proving you're at least eighteen years old and then you can read and sign the forms like everyone else. Otherwise, you can't really get lost on the way out."

"Fine! I'll just go call the cops and tell them you're holding women here against their will."

"Then they'll show us, interview everyone, learn that we're all consenting adults and you still won't be permitted inside."

"He's right," Colton said as he finally rounded the corner. "Now for the last time will you please just drop it?"

"I'm not dropping anything until I find out what beyond that fucking gate!"

"Jesus, you're stubborn."

"Friend of yours?" the man behind the counter, or more appropriately, locked in a small stone room behind a polished stone counter asked.

"Henry's great-granddaughter Sophia."

"The one you've been talking about breaking in for the last few months?"

"Um, yeah, about that..."

If by break in you mean sneak up on and rape then, yeah, he broke me in good," I replied.

"Come on, let's go before you get yourself into something you'll regret."

"The only place I'm going is in those damn caves!"

"Fine. I tried helping you avoid the humiliation but if you're so dead set on going in then enjoy being a sex slave."

"Still not getting in without proper identification and signing the paperwork," the man behind the counter said.

He was right. I was as stubborn as a mule and came by it honestly. Once my mind was made up there was very little that could change it and I have been waiting years to get in the cave so nothing short of God himself coming down from heaven and telling me to back off would ever persuade me otherwise. And even then there would be a high chance of probability that I would ignore him and do it anyways. Which is exactly why I ran back out of the caves, grabbed my purse from the back deck and ran back. "There!" I panted as I slapped my driver's license on the counter.