The SinkHole Series: Book 1: Travels Under Burma

Sinkhole Series Book I

Travels under Burma

Episode 1:  Chapter 1

The Event

It wasn’t the fall but the sudden stop at the bottom that concerned Jim. 

      And thank god he had finally stopped. Only seconds ago he and his wife Teresa had been enjoying the peace and pleasant cool breezes of a leisurely hike through gnarled pines and bamboo groves on Mt. Kelaw in Burma.

      Now he was caked with mud, and at the bottom of a sinkhole. Jim tested his legs before attempting to stand. They were stiff, heavy. Mud clung to his exercise suit like body armor and almost certainly prevented him from sustaining major injuries.

      “You could have been buried alive Jim-bo.” He felt all over his body. “I’m walkin’ and talkin’…not too bad.”

      Jim was a retired policeman and the word fear was not in his vocabulary. But in spite of that motto and to bolster his spirit he did talk aloud.

      “Good. It’s all good. Hiking suit feels a little heavy, tight. But this is doable.”

      He gave his eyes a moment to adjust to his new midnight surroundings as he worked on eliminating all of the leaves, pebbles and sticks plastered to his body. 

      While he worked his mind began to drift. It conjured up green scaled monsters creeping closer and vampire bats with sharp teeth biting into his unsuspecting neck. Jim let out a yelp and pulled back from these strange fantasies the cave had conjured up in his mind. He quickly returned to wiping the coat of mud from his body.

      Jim, tall with dark hair moved carefully in the cramped space in his expensive tailor made hiking pants and matching jacket of a grey metallic fabric. And as he shifted position took mental notes: “Plenty of room across the back for reaching, fabric held up well during the slid, and seems to be not only mud proof but water proof. The guys back at F & M research and development will appreciate my attention to details,” Jim told himself.

      Right after Jim retired he had been approached by Forever Manly, a clothing company catering to taller men. They asked Jim to be a tester for their new clothing line. The incentives they offered he could not refuse: new clothes every week, he got to keep all the shoes and clothes, and as an added bonus Jim could dine at any of Hell’s Kitchen testing site in the country free of charge.

      Yes, thought Jim that is a sweet deal. He repeated in his mind the positives of the experimental clothes he was wearing. He loved the feel of the soft grey material.

      Suddenly, Jim gasped as if all the oxygen was being squeezed from his lungs. 

      “Wait. No! What’s happening? I can’t breath.”

      Jim tugged and whirled pulling at the fabric of his new suit. His small cave like surroundings had little elbow or head room and suddenly he felt like the bouncing ball inside a pinball machine as he careened off the walls. As the material continued to stiffen and tighten Jim decided if he didn’t want to be squeezed to death he had but one option, shed his gear. 

      “Damn! Now the zipper is stuck.” This material is…what the hell?”

      removing his clothes proved impossible and he quickly found himself flat on the cave floor and as stiff as a board. On the bright side at last the hardened material stopped compressing his body. Stretched out on the cave floor Jim waited as motionless as one of the boulders surrounding him.  Both arms and legs seemed permanently fixed straight out in front of him.