The Probable Phil Chronicles

Part 13

I know we have to go to the caverns. Instantly, we drive up the mountain. Don't ask how we got a car. The parking lot is empty and the visitor center is closed. We completely bypass the visitor center and make our way to the natural entrance. We make it to the bat auditorium right above the entrance. Nervousness fills my body as memories invade my mind. I stop suddenly at the bottom of the stone steps.

"What's wrong?" Mary asks me. "You love this place don't you?"

"I did. It was my favorite national park, but a series of bad events have prevented me from coming back," I reply.

"Well we have a long way to go in this cave. We have time to tell stories," Mary says, walking through the gate at the start of the switchbacks.

"Okay," I sigh and follow her lead as I begin. "It was a long time ago. Before I met you....."

*****

I walked into my office. As I expected, a vanilla folder with my next mission was on my desk.

"Probably another bigfoot," I mumbled to myself as I sat down. But when I opened it, I wasn't greeted by the big ape but by the Mothman. I froze in shock. These cases were extremely rare. Only three have ever been captured. Many more have been seen, but they would always disappear. I read through the documents describing the Mothman. They talked about the visions people would experience while hunting the creature. And how every single one came true. None of the visions were pleasant. They always predicted tragedies.

"I'm going to need help," I murmured under my breath and reached for my walkie talkie.

"Hayden, can you come to my office?" I spoke into the brick of plastic and wires.

A crackle came from the speaker and Hayden's voice said, "Sure. I will be there soon."

Hayden and I had been partners for many missions in the past. I normally did my missions alone, but sometimes I knew I needed help. I always called on Hayden for help.

A knock came from my door after only a minute. "Come in," I announced and in stepped Hayden.

"What do you have for me?" she asked.

I handed her the folder and said, "A doozy."

She quickly read through the mission description. "We are going to catch a Mothman?" she asked. I simply nodded. "Well let's make our way to New Mexico," she proclaimed.

A quick plane ride and a not-so-quick drive later, we find ourselves in Carlsbad, New Mexico. We stayed the night at some hotel we found in town. The whole night I had an uneasy feeling. Weird images popped into my dreams, but I couldn't remember any of them. When I woke up in the morning, fear had already set up shop in my mind. I shook it off, think I was letting the stories get to me. I still had a job to do.

Hayden and I drove down to the entrance of Carlsbad Caverns National Park and started up the hill towards the visitor center. I had visited the caverns several times back when I was young. Even though I was nervous, part of me was still excited to be back at the caves.

We made it to the visitor center. Unlike all the other times I've been here, the parking lot was completely empty. The park was technically closed because of this Mothman. We skipped the visitor center and just made our way to the natural entrance. Once we got to the bat auditorium, a park ranger greeted us.

"You two must be the FBI agents," he stated as we walked down the steps.

"That is correct. I'm Lauren and this is my partner, Hayden," I introduced us.

"Well the caverns are all yours. We will have the lights on and the elevator working for your return," he explained.

We said thank you and began to make our way down the switchbacks. I happened to notice that the tens of cave swallows that normally flew about the entrance were missing. The chirping sound that normally filled the walk into the cave was noticeably absent. Only the whistling of the wind was heard.