One: A New Beginning

The trip to the cave started out like so many before, Jim was giving Zach a hard time about being late. Jim Manlin, Zach’s dad and a widower of less than two years, liked to be on the road early. Their father and son trips started over a year ago as walks through the woods, hikes, and then 5K runs. They spent a lot of time together filling the void since their lady had passed away. They had both discovered caving while on a hike near their home. A fissure in the ground was simply too much to pass up one afternoon. The father and son team, wet, muddy and smelling of decayed leaves, emerged with the remnants of an old civil war era musket. They were hooked from that moment on. Now the spelunking was more and more common. Jim had gathered maps and trails for caves from all over the region. The pair spoke and laughed often that neither of them had ever dreamed of caving. Only a few short years ago, the laughing and carrying-on with each other seemed a very distant place…This trip would change everything.