"Hmmmm," the mumble came from Frank.

"Frank, can you hear me?" Nancy asked quietly leaning down toward his head.

"Nancy?" he mumbled.

"That’s right. How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts," Frank said quietly. "I can’t see anything."

"It’s night, Frank."

"You should go for help."

"I’m not leaving you here. You have a head injury and need to stay awake."

"No, I don’t."

"Don’t argue with me, Frank, just talk to me. That’s one way for you to stay awake."

"Talk about what?"

"Anything as long as you stay awake."

"Have you and Ned made any wedding plans yet?"

"No," Nancy said. "We’ll start planning once camp is over."

"Frank?" Jamie asked sleepily from Nancy’s side.

"He’s awake," Nancy said.

"What time is it?" Jamie asked sitting up.

"Late," Nancy said. "We’ll stay here until morning, then head back to camp."

"Get some sleep, Jamie," Frank said.

"All right," Jamie said. "Good-night."

"Night," Frank and Nancy chorused as Jamie laid back down.

"Ned’s going to be worried," Nancy commented.

"You should’ve gone back earlier," Frank scolded.

"I wasn’t about to leave you out here," Nancy said. "Besides, I’m sure they’ll find up in the morning."

Nancy waited for Frank’s response, but soon realized he’d gone to sleep. She stretched out on the ground next to him to get some rest. As she closed her eyes, she though about Ned and could picture him pacing through his office until morning. Slowly she drifted off wishing Ned was there holding her tight.

*****

We need to get to the cave, Joe thought to himself as he waited for Ned the following morning. It was just before sunrise but he had been up all night worrying about Frank.

"We’re coming," Ned called out to Joe. Moments later, he walked out of the administration cabin with Steve. Ned had already told Steve what happened when he returned from town.

Steve volunteered to go search with Ned and Joe first thing the following morning. He met them in full gear prepared for any situation. Steve even had a thick coil of rope hanging off his backpack.

Steve said, "Let’s go. We’ll need the rope to get to the cave."

"We need to hurry," Joe said. "For some reason I have a bad feeling." He kicked a stone. "We should have gone after them last night."

"We would’ve been risking our lives," Ned said. "But I do know that feeling. I also think something is wrong."

They started walking. Steve said, "It would have been suicide if you tried climbing those rocks in the dark. It was better that you waited."

"We need to hurry," Joe repeated.

"We’ll be there soon," Steve said.

*****

Nancy awoke to the sound of birds chirping. She sleepily opened her eyes and saw cobwebs hanging from the ceiling. She sat up and was facing the dimly lit back of the cave. Turning around, she could see the sun coming up slowly over the horizon. She looked to her side and saw Jamie was still asleep. He was covered with dirt, but seemed to be all right.

She looked over at Frank. He appeared to also be asleep and could see his chest rising and falling steadily. She let out a sigh of relief, but she was still concerned about his head injury. Although his wound had stopped bleeding, he lost a lot of blood. Nancy could see how pale his face was in the morning sun and knew Frank needed medical help and soon.

Jamie began to stir. He groggily opened one and lifted his head. "Is it morning?"

"Yes," Nancy answered.

"How’s Frank?" Jamie asked as he sat up rubbing his eyes.

"He’s sleeping," Nancy said glancing at Frank. "We’re going to need help to get him out of here."

"Should I go for help?" Jamie offered bravely.

"There’s no need," a voice said from the mouth of the cave.

Nancy recognized Ned’s voice immediately. She spun around quickly. He face broke into a wide grin when she saw him standing at the mouth of the cave. She jumped to her feet and ran into his waiting arms.

Ned held her close and spun her around up off the ground. "Are you all right?" he questioned with concern in his voice.

"I’m fine," Nancy said reassuringly. "How did you find me?"

"Frank’s kids told me about the dare," another voice answered.

Looking over Ned’s shoulder, Nancy saw Joe standing at the edge of the ledge with a rope hanging off his shoulder.

"Good," Nancy said. "Come on."

They moved into the cave and Nancy got down beside Frank. She gently shook his shoulder as she said, "Frank. Frank, you need to wake up."

Frank’s head moved slightly and his eyes fluttered. Frank mumbled, "What is it?"

"Wake up, Frank," Nancy said. "Help has arrived."

"We’ll leave in a little while," Frank said weakly.

"Come on, Frank," Joe said kneeling down beside him. "You have classes to teach."

"What happened?" Ned asked.

"He got hit in the head by a boulder during a rockslide. He has a head injury and should be in the hospital," Nancy said.

"I could probably lower him to the bottom," Joe said. "The rope is long enough."

"I could make it down and be ready for Frank," Nancy said.

"Good idea," Ned said. "Steve could probably use the help."

"Steve?" Jamie asked, and they all realized this was the first time he spoke since Ned and Joe arrived.

"We told him you three were missing and he wanted to help," Ned said.

"We’ll start down," Nancy said looking at Jamie. "Come on."

Nancy and Jamie made their way down the rocks to where Steve was waiting. Steve helped the two of them off the rocks. He asked, "Jamie, are you all right?"

"I’m fine," Jamie replied.

"How about you, Nancy?"

"I’m fine," Nancy said glancing back up to the cave. "Joe and Ned will be lowering Frank down."

"What happened?" Steve asked as they waited.

Nancy told Steve how they found Jamie. She told him how Frank was injured. A few minutes later, they saw Frank being lowered from above. Frank had a rope harness wrapped around him. It appeared he was holding onto the rope to keep from falling out of the harness. Steve and Nancy grabbed Frank when he reached the bottom. They moved him away from the rocks and set him on the ground as they waited for Ned and Joe to make the descent.

Steve, who was a registered EMT, checked Frank’s injuries while they waited for Joe and Ned to come down. Once down, they hurried over to where Frank was sitting. Steve got to his feet and said, "We need to get him to a hospital. he definitely has a concussion and has lost a lot of blood."

"Then let’s go," Joe said. He picked Frank up and lifted him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry and they headed back to camp.