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He put an arm around her and turned toward the others. “Okay, so here we go. The tubes circle around, and we’ll come back out here, but don’t wander off. I’d hate for you to take a wrong turn and your flashlight go out. It’sdark in here.”
“I hate the dark,” Sam complained as she gripped her flashlight tighter. “Maybe I should go back tothe entrance.”
“No way. This is the one and only time I’m doing this, and you’re coming with me. Someday we’ll tell the story to my kids, and they’ll want to know that Aunt Sam wasn’t a scaredy cat.” Marcus grinned at his sister. He was back to his fun, over-the-top personality. The one Rarity had seen that night at the party.
Sam took a step forward, but Archer held up his hand. “Hold on a second. Shirley? Jonathon? Are you two ready for this?”
“I just talked to a group of kids yesterday. Don’t play with me. I can do anything. I’m Sedona’s grandmother.” Shirley grinned.
Jonathon nodded toward Shirley.“I’m with her.”
“Okay, then. We’re putting the past behind us at this point.” Archer met Rarity’s gaze. “We’re putting our fears, our insecurities, and our negative words on a shelf here on the wall. Then when we come back, they will all be gone. They will have sunk into the stone. We’ll walk out of here as positive, optimistic people who care for our environment.”
“And social issues,” Malia added.
Archer smiled. “Yes,those as well.”
“We should say something about trusting each other,” Marcus said, looking straight at Sam.
“And something about understanding when others are in a tough spot,” Sam shot back to him.
“Okay, so with that, I think we’ve finished the ritual. Just think positive thoughts, and this should work. If something happens, just call out to the next person in line. Then we’ll all stop and make the next decision together.” He glanced around the crowd. “Now,are we ready?”
“Onward and forward and all that,” Rarity said as she stepped into the tube with Archer. She didn’t know what was going to happen tomorrow or when they stepped out of the cave, but that was the fun of life, right? Not knowing where they were going?
