Greg and Susan arrived back at their house following lunch out with the Goodmans to discover two cars they didn't recognize inside their gate, parked in front of the house.

"Who could that be?" Susan wondered aloud.

"I don't know. Does Ashley have a car?" Greg asked.

"She got one recently. I don't know what kind she has though," Susan said.

"Perhaps one of those is hers," Greg said.

"That could be. Who does the other one belong to?" Susan asked.

"There is only one way to find out," Greg said.

He parked their car in its usual place in the garage and they walked through the cave to the house. Along the way they discovered all the lights in the cave were already on. That wasn't so unusual, except Greg was certain he'd turned them off before leaving to join the rest of the family and the Goodmans for lunch. The mystery was solved as soon as they walked through the bookcase door. Matt was there with Ashley, but so were John and Karen Wilson, and Wilbury and Joan Pierce. All were dressed in rugged jeans and sturdy shoes, suggesting an expedition into the cave.

"Hello," Greg said to their unexpected company in surprise.

"Hi Greg," John said. "I hope you don't mind. We got to talking about our excursion into your cave last Sunday, and Matt invited me, Wilbury, and the girls to come see it again today."

"I'm so sorry we invited ourselves," Karen said, looking at Susan. "I told John we are probably intruding, but Matt insisted it's okay."

"It is, isn't it Mom?" Matt asked.

Susan studied her son's expression then glanced at Greg.

"Given we have also invited people home with us for an impromptu excursion, I think that's fine," Susan told him.

"Who did you invite?" Matt asked.

"The Goodmans ... all of them. Kevin is coming too. Shelly and the kids want to show him our cave," Susan explained.

"Yeah, that's sort of what Mr. Wilson said," Matt said.

"I did," John told her. "Guilty as charged ... but you have to admit, it is an incredible feature to have on your property."

"It is," Greg agreed. "And you are welcome, John. You too, Pastor Wilbury."

"Thank you," Wilbury said.

"Are we going down together?" John asked.

"We could, if you want to wait. Susan, the children and I aren't quite ready," Greg said.

"We went out to lunch with the Goodman's to celebrate Bert and Kelly's baptism today," Susan explained.

"That is definitely something to celebrate," Wilbury said.

"If you will excuse us," Greg said.

"Should we start lighting the candles in the shaft?" Matt asked.

"You could. You know that always takes time to do," Susan told him.

"Okay. Come this way," Matt said to his guests, and he led them into the cave while the rest of his family went to change their clothes.

c

The Goodmans arrived about the same time Greg, Susan, Zack and Jessie were dressed appropriately to go down into the cave.

"Am I missing something?" Mr. Simms asked when he met them at the top of the elevator in the cave, on his way to the house. "Were we expecting company today?"

"We weren't, but we do have guests," Susan told him.

"Bert and Kelly want to show their dad our cave," Zack explained.

"Then who are all those other people?" he asked.

"The Wilsons and their friends, Wilbury and Joan Pierce," Greg explained.

"Joan is Karen's sister," Susan added.

"Would you like to come with us?" Greg asked.

"Into your cave?" Mr. Simms asked. "No thanks. If you're just showing it off, I can stay here."

"What are you going to do, Grandpa?" Jessie asked.

"I plan to read my book," he told her. "Are you going too? Or do you want to stay with me?"

"Can I?" Jessie asked Susan.

"Don't you want to come down into the cave with us? Bert is coming," Susan reminded her.

"Should I, Grandpa?" Jessie asked.

Mr. Simms studied his great-granddaughter, a person who was an odd mix of being so young, and yet far more ancient of spirit than himself. She was so much like Greg in that way ... he could see it now. She really did belong to Greg and Susan more than she did to the Simms.

"What does your papa tell you, Jessie?" Mr. Simms asked.

"I haven't asked him," Jessie said.

"I would. My grandfather was a very wise man when I was your age. My feeling is he's only become more so in recent years," Mr. Simms said.

"What do you say, Papa?" Jessie asked Greg.

"It's up to you, Jessie. When it comes to this particular cave, you should do what you need to do," Greg said.

"Pray, listen, hear," Melody said from within Susan's arms.

"That is very good advice," Mr. Simms told her and Melody grinned. "What are you doing with Melody while you're down there?" he asked Susan.

"I'm not sure. Part of me would like to find a way to take her with us. I think she might enjoy it, but on the other hand she's almost too big for her backpack carrier, and she's not able to walk or climb down the ladders, even if she wasn't too little to try," Susan said.

"Do you think it's important?" Greg asked.

Susan considered that. "Not yet. Melody, maybe you can stay with Grandpa Bobby? Would you mind?" she asked the old man.

"I suppose not. I can read by the window in your living room. Melody seems to be able to entertain herself cruising around in there," Mr. Simms said.

"Thank you, Bobby," Greg said.

"I'll catch up," Susan said and she reversed direction, walking with Mr. Simms and carrying Melody back into the house.

When Susan rejoined her family, she had a daypack slung over one shoulder and a bag of Voltaire candles in her arms.

"More candles?" Greg asked. "Do we need them?"

"That depends on how far we are going," Susan told him. "How far do you want to go?" she asked the Goodmans.

"Can we see the water cave Bert told me about?" Kevin asked.

"We can," Greg said.

"I was hoping you'd say that," John said.

"In that case, we definitely need the candles," Matt said. "Come on everybody, this way."

"We'll follow you, Matt," John said. "And Susan? We brought a couple of lighters. We can help you with the candles down there."

"Thank you," Susan said.

Ashley climbed down the ladder behind Matt, immediately followed by the two pastors and their wives. The Goodmans were next ... all of them ... followed by Greg, Susan, Jessie and Zack.

"You decided to come?" Greg asked.

"Yes Papa. I'm trying to listen this time," Jessie said.

"Do you need to do that?" Greg asked.

"I prayed in church today and at Temple on Friday. I want to hear what God says to me," Jessie said.

"Can you actually hear him?" Bert asked curiously.

"Maybe," Jessie told him.

The group going down into the cave this time felt smaller, although it probably wasn't, Greg reflected. Perhaps it was only because Neil wasn't with them, serving as their guide or because they weren't actually trying to remember this time. Also, this crowd was decidedly Christian and Greg couldn't help wondering if that made a difference too.

The candle lighting went surprisingly quickly, giving those who were new to the cave enough time to look around as they went down, but not so much as to cause a delay. They reached the bottom of the vertical shaft, the Hall of Memories, relatively quickly.

"This is where the excitement truly begins," John told is wife, her sister, and his life-long friend.

"Is it?" Wilbury asked Greg.

"Why are you asking me?" Greg asked feeling puzzled.

"You seem to have your feet more firmly on the ground than my good friend John does these days," Wilbury told him.

"Why is that?" Shelly asked in spite of herself. She'd never met Wilbury Pierce or his wife before. From what she'd been told, he served as a youth pastor for a church in the San Fernando Valley nearby. But from what she could see and hear, he and John Wilson had a very long history together. Apparently the men were friends while growing up in Australia.

"Are you going to tell on me, Will?" John asked his friend.

"Not me, John. You know better than that," Wilbury said.

"Then believe me when I say, this next part is the wilder section of the cave," John said.

"If by wild you mean that the lava tube we will be entering next is relatively unimproved, then you are correct," Greg said. "Aside from adding a few lights, there have been no improvements made."

"Which is what makes it a wild cave," Karen said.

"Yes, it is," Susan said. "Ladies, shall we lead the way?"

"Why not," Shelly said.

Susan smiled. "Joan, Karen, come this way. Watch your step at the bottom of the ladders. The ledges these next four are resting on are relatively narrow. I'll try to light some more candles along the way," Susan said, and to Greg's surprise, she immediately began her climb down.

Karen and Joan were quick to follow Susan, followed by Shelly. As promised, Susan lit candles on each of the ledges so they could see where they were going. Meanwhile up above them, Greg started the generator. The spotlights attached it down below the women went on; making the place they were going not quite as black as it was before.

"That's better," Karen remarked.

"Much," her sister Joan agreed.

Ashley, Matt, the rest of the kids, and the men weren't far behind. Soon the cave explorers were standing in the semi-darkness of the lava tube, which stretched out before them. Susan immediately started putting out more candles. The other women helped her, and the group began the long walk through the darkness to the water cave. The string of lights behind them was more plentiful this time, making the space along the way less forbidding. Eventually they reached the section of the lava tube past the reach of the extension cords and the spotlights. Here too, Susan began to arrange more candles on the wall.

"How are you doing?" Susan asked Jessie part way along their walk, not far from the water cave. There were enough candles present now, to determine the lava tube they were following curved slightly to the north, which was also the reason it was so much harder to make out the spotlights behind them from here.

"Better, Mama," Jessie told her.

"How are you doing, John?" Greg asked.

"Who, me?" John asked in surprise.

"Yes. I believe our last visit to this part of the cave was stressful for you," Greg remarked.

"It was a stressful visit for everyone," John told him. "How are you doing, Matt?"

"I'm good," Matt said. "How are you, Ash?"

"I'm okay too. It's better down here with more candles on the wall," Ashley remarked.

She'd no sooner said that when a gust of wind howled through the cave, extinguishing the candles closest to them and for several hundred feet behind them.

"Whoa, where did that come from?" Zack wanted to know.

"The sea, just like before," Kelly said.

"Don't panic, everyone. I have the lighter. We can relight them," Susan said.

And to everyone's surprise, she calmly went about doing exactly that.

"Caves are drafty places ... even this one," Susan remarked. "It's just the way it is."

"How could it be, Mom? Isn't this cave sealed by water at the end?" Matt asked.

"That is the way it appeared the first time we visited there, Matt," Susan said. "But a five minute exploration in the dark probably isn't the best way to make that sort of determination."

"Let me help you, Susan," Greg said.

He took one of the new candles from her bag, lit it and proceeded to use it to re-light some of the candles closest them that were already set out.

"Should we keep going?" Kevin asked.

"Would you like to?" Susan asked him.

"I don't know," Kevin said. He was studying his wife's face in concern.

"I'm okay, Kevin," Shelly assured him. "Are you?" she asked John.

John arched a brow at her.

"What happened to you the last time you came down here?" Karen asked her husband.

"I heard an incredible tale, witnessed a painful confession, and visited a place I have found myself thinking about repeatedly since," John told her truthfully.

"Really?" Karen asked.

"Really," her husband told her.

"It sounds like that is what happened, from what John has told me, Karen," Wilbury said.

"Is that what keeps waking you up at night?" Karen asked John.

"It will pass, Karen," John tried to assure her. "I just have some things to work out."

"If you say so," Karen said doubtfully.

"How much farther to the end of your cave, Greg?" Wilbury asked.

"Not far, I don't think," Greg said. He shone his flashlight in the direction they were going. The diameter of the lava tube seemed a bit wider at the far reaches of his beam. "I believe it is just up ahead."

"Let's go see it, John," Wilbury suggested. "Maybe that will help."

"Maybe," John agreed. "Are we ready?" He looked to the rest of those assembled.

"I am when you are, Pastor," Matt said.

"Me too," Ashley told them.

"I'm okay to go on," Joan said. "Are you, Karen?"

"If it will help John's nightmares, I think we should," Karen said.

"It helped mine," Shelly told them. "That and knowing Kevin was willing to come down here with me and the kids."

"Mine are better," Kelly offered.

"That's good, Kell," Zack told her seriously.

"Mine are too," Bert said. "I think we should take a better look at where that gust of wind came from."

Greg and Susan looked at one another, then at their guests. Even with this very Christian group, there were things going on. This was turning out not to be a simple visit to an interesting cave the way they initially thought it would be.

"This way," Greg said and he led the way, continuing to help with the candles for another 100 feet, until they came to the opening to the water cave.

c

The cave looked different this time than it did during their first visit.

"The tide must be out," Susan said.

"The water is lower," Greg agreed.

He shone his flashlight into the cavern, illuminating the water line. There was much more rock and much less water here than there had been during their previous visit. Most of the walls of the cave looked merely damp instead of wet, and there was a deposit of sand exposed closer to the water's edge.

"A beach," Matt remarked.

"Can you call it a beach if it's on the inside of a cave?" Ashley questioned.

"I have no idea," Matt told her. "But looks like a beach to me."

"It does to me too," Zack said.

While the boys were discussing the sandy shoreline revealed by the lower water level, Greg was using his flashlight to inspect where the water touched the rocks farther away.

"Susan, do you see an anomaly in the shape of the cave wall opposite us?" Greg asked as he shone his light over a particular section.

"What kind of anomaly?" Susan asked.

"I think it might be a crack or a fold in the rock. I'm wondering there might also be a small hole there, just at or below the waterline. If it is, it might occasionally be open to the outside," Greg said.

"Where exactly?" Susan asked, as she used her own light to help illuminate the section of rock he was looking at, across the water.

"There, I see it," Shelly remarked. "There's a little notch in the wall emitting faint, filtered light, right at the edge of the water. I see it intermittently when there is a dip in the waves."

"Where?" Susan asked, directing the beam of her flashlight in the direction Shelly was pointing.

"It's under water most of the time," John observed. "The air current we felt must have come from there, perhaps as Shelly says, due to a momentary dip in the water level from a wave."

"That could be," Wilbury said as they all studied the place Greg and Shelly discovered. "It is rather windy today."

"That is so weird," Zack said. "I thought Neil said this cave opened up really far under the water."

"That hole is too small for the creatures we saw here before to have come through it," Susan said doubtfully. "Maybe there's a bigger hole that opens to the ocean farther down?"

"That sounds reasonable," Kevin remarked. "Is this what you dream about, Shelly?"

"Not exactly. Seeing things like this really does make it clear, this is a different cave," Shelly said.

"It does, doesn't it?" John said absently.

"What cave are you talking about, John?" his friend Wilbury asked.

"That's just it ... I can never remember. I assumed it must have been one of the ones you and I crawled through as boys ... but on the other hand, it couldn't have been, could it?" John asked rhetorically.

"Doubtful. The caves we visited were nothing like this," Wilbury told him.

"They were limestone caves rather than a lava tube," John agreed. "There were stalactites, stalagmites, and drape formations rather than being like this ... but wasn't there a time when the wind blew the lights out, just like it did here?"

Wilbury looked at him in confusion, but it was Joan, who answered him.

"Weren't you and Will using electric torches during that trip?" Joan asked.

"Of course we were," John told her.

"Electric torches?" Zack asked in confusion.

"They mean flashlights," Susan explained.

"Well, a draft wouldn't put those out," Zack said reasonably.

"No, it wouldn't," Greg agreed. "John, do you remember being underground in a cave system of some type when the lights did go out?"

"Yes, and Susan or someone very much like her relit them for us, just like she did here," John said. "That didn't happen when we went to visit the aboriginal artwork, did it?"

"No, it didn't," Greg said.

"That's what I thought," John said absently, obviously thinking.

Greg nodded. Matt frowned. Ashley patted his arm, trying to distract him by looking more carefully into the water.

"Mr. Abernathy, could we try putting out our lights again?" Ashley suggested. "I want to see if the walls will glow like they did before."

"Yes, I want to see that," Wilbury said.

"Is everyone in agreement?" Greg asked.

"Yes, Papa," Jessie said.

Everyone seemed to be in favor of the idea, and for a few minutes, everyone put out their light, leaving just one or two candles lit on the wall.

"I don't see it," John remarked.

"Maybe if I put the candles out too?" Susan suggested.

She stepped closer to the wall and blew them out.

As their eyes adjusted to the darkness, gradually they were able to make out the subtle blue glow of the walls. The glow didn't extend up into the cave nearly as far as they remembered seeing it before. Nor did the water glow quite so brightly. But as they looked out over the water's surface, the did see one place where the water wasn't quite as dark as it was everywhere else. A very narrow band of filtered light dimly lit a few feet of water below the water line, coming from somewhere outside. It didn't extend very far, but it was clear there was a razor-thin, short crack in the wall of the cave beneath the water in this chamber, supporting the idea that, this was the source of the gust of air they felt before.

"Look away from the light," Susan suggested. "Then maybe we can see the creatures swimming beneath the surface."

They did as she suggested, and although they did see the blue glow similar to what they saw on the walls, it was much more difficult to make out anything that might be below the surface.

"Perhaps the creatures we saw before have taken refuge in the deeper water, further away from the crack to the outside," Greg suggested.

"That could be," John said. "If they are things that flourish in darkness, it makes sense they would avoid the light."

"How much deeper could they be?" Karen asked.

"It is difficult to say," Susan said. "However based on the shape we can see now, at low tide, I can't help wondering if this is the top of another vertical shaft."

"It may be," Greg agreed. "If that's the case, the true opening to the ocean may be another 200 to 300 feet down. We'll have to tell Neil about this when we see him over Chanukah. He'll be fascinated."

They watched the water in the dark for a few minutes more. Then Kevin asked,

"Is there anything more to see down here?"

"No, this is it," Susan told him.

"Shelly?" Kevin said to his wife.

"There is nothing more I can show you, honey," Shelly told him. "Thank you for coming with me."

"You are welcome. This is a fascinating place," Kevin said.

"It is, but it might be time to go back," Karen said. "I don't want to leave Peter with Joan's neighbors for too long."

"Yes, of course," Greg said.

"Kids, are you ready?" Susan asked.

Kelly, Bert, Jessie, and Zack were all very quiet and she couldn't help wondering what they were thinking, given the memories being in this chamber triggered in them the first time.

"I'm good, Mrs. Abernathy," Bert said.

"Me too," Kelly agreed.

"I'm okay, Mama," Jessie said.

Matt and Zack exchanged a look.

"We are too, Mom," Matt said for them both.

Everyone else seemed to be in agreement; and so the Abernathys and their guests turned their flashlights back on, turned away from the water cave and began the walk back towards the Hall of Memories, at the bottom of the Abernathy's cave. With everyone walking together, the lack of candles during much of their walk didn't seem to matter so much. Instead, they stayed close together, taking care to light each other's way.

Back in the bottom of the vertical shaft, they discovered the candles there were unaffected by the draft that extinguished the candles closer to the water cave.

"It's probably too far away," Greg theorized.

"I think the arrangement of the transition between this chamber and the lava tube also helps," John remarked.

"It may," Greg said mildly.

Aside from that remark, nobody had much to say about caves or torches or candles or dreams all the way to the top. Instead, they talked about the crack, what it might mean that it was there, and where along the Malibu coast, it might come out. It wasn't until they reached the top of the vertical shaft that John pulled Greg to the side for a word.

c

"Aren't you coming?" Karen asked when she realized John wasn't behind her.

"I'll catch up," John promised.

He smiled reassuringly at his wife, but he didn't say anything more until she and the others were out of earshot and completely out of sight.

Greg cocked his head at his friend in a questioning manner, but otherwise didn't say anything.

John looked at him sheepishly.

"Yes?" Greg asked.

"I don't know how to say this exactly ... I mean it's embarrassing, if I'm honest with you," John said.

"Oh?" Greg asked.

"I've been dreaming about caves and dark places ever since my visit with you and your family after our first trip down into your water cave. I know I said I was open to the idea of this experience of yours ..." he trailed away.

"But you never expected to experience it for yourself," Greg guessed.

"Yes. I don't know what to say, Greg. I'm a man of the cloth. I counsel others struggling with such things. Now I find, I am struggling," John said.

"How can I help you, John?" Greg asked.

"When we initially talked about this last weekend, you said there are steps one can take to discover whether a dream an individual experiences is of the same type you and Susan have," John said.

"That is true," Greg said.

"Tell me again. What do I look for?" John asked.

"Does the dream repeat? If it does, when it reoccurs, is it malleable? That is, can the outcome of the events be changed by wishing it were so, or do they always stay the same?" Greg asked.

John thought about that and nodded. "Then what do I do?"

"Pray," Greg said simply. "Search through the events of the dream, their circumstances, for any detail that might parallel events happening in your current life. For myself, that is where I typically find the message lies."

John looked at him oddly. "Does that help you figure out what happened?"

"Sometimes. Sometimes I never do figure out the details ... but there generally is something I can learn from the pieces of the dream I can remember," Greg said. "Something the Lord is trying to communicate to me, if only I will listen."

"You make it sound like your efforts are focused not on the dream but on the message they contain," John said.

"That is true," Greg said.

"Even with this?" John asked in surprise. "The sort of dream which affects so many other people?"

"Do you remember other people being present in your dream?" Greg asked curiously.

"Yes and no. There are a few people I remember distinctly. David, Shelly, and one of the guests you had here last weekend ... a man, I don't remember his name," John said.

"Reuben?" Greg suggested. "Ruth's husband?"

"Is he Ruth's husband?" John said in surprise.

"He is in this life. He wasn't always," Greg said.

John nodded. "So what does this mean, Greg?"

"I wish I knew, John. I can tell you, I was surprised to discover you might be involved," Greg told him.

"Then you recognize me? From that same period in your dream?" John asked.

"Not specifically, no. I do remember a bishop being present at the events the six of us who were here with David have been trying to remember. There was a rabbi there too, and I have wondered for a while if he could have been David, or if he only represents the religious authority present at the time," Greg said.

"Does Rabbi Sloane dream?" John asked.

"Not that I am aware of. If he does, he has never confided in me," Greg said.

John nodded. "I will pray ... look for the message, but the images are so fleeting, I'm not sure I know what I'm praying about."

"Then that is your beginning ... your place to start. This is never easy, my friend. Generally dreams of this sort are very personal and private," Greg said.

"Do you think Susan would tell me the same thing ... if I were to ask her?" John said.

"She might be able to phrase our advice in such a way as to be more acceptable to you, but I believe her underlying guidance would be the same: talk over what you remember with the Lord and go from there," Greg said.

"In other words, put faith first," John said.

"Exactly. Shall we rejoin our wives?" Greg suggested.

"Probably," John said and together the two men climbed the steps taking them to the improved section of the cave, on their way to the house. "Maybe I'll call David this week and have a word with him."

"I'm certain he would welcome such a call," Greg said.

"If he's not too busy. I know Chanukah begins on Wednesday. I'm aware he may not have time to see me," John remarked.

"I suspect he will find the time," Greg said.

John nodded, but no more was said. They reached the backside of the bookcase door, Greg triggered the latch and the two men went in.

c