Digging For Gold
by Ronnie McMullen©

            Digging for Gold. What an interesting title! How many of us are trying to contemplate what this story is going to say, or where it is going to lead? We automatically think of its monetary value. Gold is one of the highest-valued precious metals, and many people hold their identity in this commodity. But what if gold did not exactly mean a precious metal in this instance? What if it was still held in high esteem but had no monetary value?

 As we travel down our personal highway called, The Journey, things are not as you see. Maybe left is not right, and right is not left. Maybe up is not down, and down is not up. Maybe inside is not outside, and outside is not inside. And through this thought process, your consciousness will open up to view much more than you ever thought you could see. The Journey is about seeing things that cannot be seen. The Journey is about changing a belief system and understanding there is no such thing as the expected answer. We must think beyond the horizon. And the horizon is looking up into the heavens.

Once again this story will take a turn, and leave us thinking and expanding our understanding outside of the “norm”. With that, the question arises: Is that what we truly want? Is there truly a definition for normal? Or is normal just some kind of perception that lies beneath the skin and muscles of our human existence? Is there something deep within us that cries from within to come out of its human bondage? Is this a spiritual existence that drives our nature to do or not to do?

This story is about a man who changes the existence of his co-workers around him. This story is about selflessness and a deeper understanding of what cannot be seen with the naked eye.

            “Bret! Wait up!”

            “Willy, I’m always waiting for you.”

            “No, you’re not. You’re just saying that, and you really don’t mean it.”

            “No, Willy. I really do mean it.”

Both men giggled, as they were best of friends. Bret was the foreman and Willy was Bret’s right hand. They worked at a coal mine in southwest Virginia. There were others that worked with them, but Bret and Willy were close. They had worked together for over seven years and had bailed each other out of extreme circumstances. It was like they had telepathy. They knew what the other was thinking, which made a great positive power to help them do their job and do it safely.

            “Excuse me. Excuse me! Pardon me! I’m the new guy. Am I supposed to go with you? Are you Willy? And there’s a guy, I’m supposed to talk to named…uh…Bret?”

 Bret kept walking forward and just smiled. Willy turned around.

            “Yeah. Yeah. That’s us.”

            “Oh. Okay. I got the right guys. Cool! I was just wondering if you could just stop for a second for me to catch up with you, so I don’t have to yell!”

 Bret immediately uttered, “We never stop. Never. When we work, we work. When we play, we play. When we sleep, we snore. It’s a good day to go in the mine. And it’s a great day to come out.”

            “Oh. One of those hard core guys, huh?”

 Bret turned around while he was walking. “Where you from, Sam?”

            “Phoenix.”

            “Maybe you should’ve stayed there. Our job is long, hard, dirty, and did I say long? And there’s not a lot of money in it. There’s a lot of other things you could do in the world that are safer than what we do, and you can still make a hundred and fifty dollars a day.”

            “Did I tell you it’s hard to find a job in southwest Virginia? I had to go through so much to get here.”

            “Well, let me just tell you this, I understand you’ve had a little experience in demolition.”

            “Yes, Sir. I love to work with explosives.”

            “Well, pay attention, because when you’re underground with explosives, you might say your world rocks. We’ve got men down here with families. And there’s a couple of us that are single and stupid, but most of us have families. Our motto down here is to think of the other guy. That may not be how it is upstairs, but underground, that’s how it is. Where’s Glen?”

            “Oh, he was getting coffee in his thermos. He’s…he’s right behind me.”

            “I see Rudy ahead of me. It’s time to go in the hole. We are now cave bound. Don’t forget Arturo.”

All the men gathered at the entrance to the rock. They all took their hard hats off and bowed their heads. “Dear God, we go in, in trust, and we come out trustworthy. It is You that guides our day, and it is You that is the light in the rock. Let us trust in You for our safety. Amen.” All the men Amen’d at the same time. The men went to work, and their day was long and dark.

As Sam went into the cave, Bret and Willy could hear him talking.             “Dang! It’s dark in here. Does the company know that we’re in here?”

 Bret smiled. “No. They just open their gates and let anybody wander anywhere. No security checks, no air checks, just wander around. Something like Disneyland. Of course, they know where we are. There’s company guide lines, safety guide lines, and even government guidelines.”

            “Well, that’s good to know, Bret, because I figure if I’m going to go into the hole of a rock, I want somebody to know I’m inside it. There’s something kind of eerie about being in a dark hole. Know what I mean?”

            “Sam, you were in demolition. That’s pretty dangerous work.”

            “Well, sort of. You set the explosives and then when you set the charge, you make sure you’re a long ways away when it blows. Get my drift? In the case down here, I think it’s a little different.”

            “Yeah, it’s different all right. But explosives are explosives. They do damage and they destroy. Even rocks. So be careful. Remember--”

            “I know, I know--Think of the next guy.”

 The men traveled very deep into the mountain. Bret turned back and spoke to Rudy, “You okay? You’re kind of quiet today.”

            “Oh, you know I don’t feel so good. I’ve had a nagging cold for a week now and going down into this cold moist cave doesn’t help me at all.”

            “Rudy, you’ve got some sick time comin’. Why don’t you go get well?”

            “I’m trying to save my sick time and keep working, cause the bills are getting bigger not smaller.”

            “Well, I understand,” said Bret. “Arturo, you ready?”

            “Absolutely, Boss. I’m always ready.”

The men began their work. It was dark, it was hard, but this was what they did. Willy and Bret stayed in great contact mentally, always looking around and being aware of the circumstances that surrounded them. Bret walked up to Sammy and began to give orders.

            “Alright Sammy, Tunnel 6 needs some charges, so we can drop some of that coal right below the seam. We’ll drill some holes, and you can set the charges…but be careful.”

            “Dynamite is dynamite,” said Sammy.

As Willy and Bret turned the corner from Tunnel 6 and went into the main shaft, Willy reached over and kind mumbled something under his breath to Bret.

            “How you feeling today?”

            “I’m good, why? I mean for goodness sake, it’s Monday. How good can you feel on a Monday?”

 Willy agreed. “Yeah, it is Monday. Maybe that’s what’s going on.”

Bret then questioned him. “What do you mean, what’s going on?”

            “Well, I just got like a stomachache or something.”

            “Stomachache? You got the flu or what?”

            “No. No. No. I got like a gut ache. Like...I don’t know, I can’t put my finger on it.”

 Then Arturo walked by with the drill. “I’m on it, Boss.”

 Bret leaned over and spoke candidly with Willy. “That guy’s an animal. He’s one of our best workers.”

 Willy agreed.             “I remember when I ran the drill. That sucks. Arturo never complains. He just drills until his arms don’t work anymore.”

            “Yeah, but his arms are like steel. So anyway, what about your stomachache, Willy?”

            “Ah, it’ll go away. Lunch is in a while and it’ll be fine.”

An hour later the men stopped to have lunch. Lunch consisted of what you brought and no sun beating down on your head. It took a certain kind of man to work underground. Much like the fog, darkness would bring depression.

While the men sat eating, Sam piped up, “I guess you don’t need sunglasses down here.” A couple of the men snickered. “The guy thinks he’s Bill Cosby. A regular comedian.” Most of the men stayed quiet and ate their lunch. A couple of men brought hot soup inside of their thermos. That was always nice for the other guys because they could smell something besides the coal and dirt that rested beneath them.

            “Arturo how’s those biceps?”

            “As hard as the rock, Willy, as hard as the rock.”

            “You’re an animal.”

Arturo just nodded and smiled. “I’m an animal for you boss.” The men were tight.

Sam piped up,             “So who, besides myself, has been here the least amount of time?”  

            “That would be Glen.”

            “So how long you been here?”

Glen was kind of a shaky guy and never said too much. He was one of the ones who did not have a family, kind of a fearful guy, but very hard working.

Glen spoke up. “Four years. I’ve been doing it four years. Seems like forty. Feels like eighty. But reality is four.”

            “How about you, Bret?” Sammy spoke.

            “Seven, Sam. Seven. And since you’re probably going to completely annoy us with all these questions, Willy is close to seven, Rudy is five, and Arturo is six and a half.”

            “Is anybody in this company longer than seven?”

            “In the company…yes. On this team…no. There was a team before us, seven years ago, which was wiped out. We were the new guys. Most of these tunnels, in this area, are all ours. We’ve been working on them for years. Tunnel 3 is Old Lady Gray, Tunnel 2 is Widow Maker.”

Sam then spoke up. “What’s the nickname for Tunnel 6?”

            “Baby.”

            “That’s a pretty sad name. You’re telling me I’m going to set charges to a baby? That’s a sick thought! Why did you name Tunnel 6 Baby?”

            “Cause…she just got birthed. We’re working on her, and we think there’s a huge haul inside of her. We’re going to dig her out, and she could be supplying more coal than any of these other tunnels and veins that we’ve been in.”

            “Do we get extra pay?”

            “Nope. They don’t even give you a pat on the back or a thank you. You just gain self accomplishment and a hundred and fifty dollars a day.”

Bret spoke up, “Enough chatter, let’s get back to work boys!”

The guys went back to their areas and began to work.

            “So how you feeling, Willy? How’s that stomachache?”

            “Ah, it’s nothing.”

            “No, seriously. How is it? Is it still there?”

            “Yeah Bret, it is.”

 Bret became concerned. “You want to get out of here? Did you catch a bug? Maybe you caught the I’ve been under too long blues.”

            “Don’t worry about me bro, I’m right with you.”

            “Alright.”

The men began to work. Hours went by and Willy tapped Bret on the shoulder. “Damn! You scared me, Willy!”

            “Oh I’m sorry, I just…I gotta talk to you, Bret.”

            “You don’t look good, Willy.”

            “Well, I didn’t want to tell you, but I got a feeling man.”

            “Yeah? What?”

            “My gut ache is like a feeling deep down. It’s like a knowing.”

            “What kind of knowing?”

            “Like something’s very wrong.”

            “Very wrong with what? You mean like we’re all going to get sick?”

            “No, like my sickness is connected to something terribly wrong.”

  Bret’s worry was heightened. “You keep saying terribly wrong. I really don’t like the terribly part. Wrong I can deal with. Terribly doesn’t work.”

            “I understand.”

            “Willy, if you had to put this into words, how would you describe it?”

            “I’m trying to describe it you, doofus-brain.”

            “No, seriously, what would you say?”

Willy’s eyes looked around at the cave and then became focused on Bret’s eyes. “It’s like we need to get out of here.”

            “What are you talking about, Willy?”  

            “I didn’t want to tell you, but I’m just telling you…I feel like we’ve got to get out of here.”

            “In almost seven years of time working with you, I’ve never seen you do this. Are you sure that Sam guy’s not wearing off on you? I’ve seen Glen have a few bad days, but never you.”

            “Listen Bret, you asked me, I told you, and that’s it. I’ll work, I don’t need to get out of here, but I just wanted you to know, something’s up.”
            “Has Sam set those charges yet?”

            “No, he’s about ready to.”

            “Well, tell him to get ready, but we’ll slam and bam tomorrow. With your feelings like this, I don’t know, I trust it. We’ll blow tomorrow and just prepare more today. What do you think?”

Willy looked around and then stared back at Bret. “Yeah…yeah that’s fine.”

            “You better?”           

            “I think so.”

            “Alright, let’s get back to work.”

            “You got it.”

They both went back to work. Sometimes Bret and Willy would yell or play to make the time go by faster and to change the surroundings, but most of the men were quiet. Maybe they were feeling the same things.

 A half hour went by, and Bret began to feel something in his gut. He thought he would wrap up his work and call it a day, just a tad earlier than normal. Maybe earlier wasn’t soon enough. . .

            “Ah! You scared me!”

Bret looked at Willy. “Now we’re even.”

            “Did you do that on purpose?”

            “No. Well, maybe.” Bret laughed. “Hey we’re going to call it an early day, okay? Let’s get the guys.”

            “How come?”

            “Because I’m just getting a bad feeling and I don’t like it. I think you gave me the heebie-jeebies. So…just so we do everything right, safety comes first.”

            “We can’t come out too early. You know how the company feels about early days.”

            “Well, let them find out what’s going wrong. But as for me, I’m calling it, and we’re pulling out of here. Besides, it’s a ways to the entrance anyways, and I’ll just feel much better when we get closer to it. Go get the animal.”

            “You got it.”

Suddenly, rocks started to fall from the ceiling. They could hear a small rumble as if there was an earthquake. Willy turned around and looked at Bret. “What the heck is that?”

            “I’m not sure.”

 Both of the men stood still and the rocks stopped falling. “Maybe it was some kind of tremor or something.”

            “We don’t have earthquakes in Virginia.”

Immediately, Sam came running out of Tunnel 6. “Hey! You’re not going to believe what I found! I mean this is freaking me out! Freaking me out!”

            “Where’s Arturo?”
            “Oh, he’s probably staring at our finding.”

  By this time, Rudy and Glen had caught up with the rest of the guys. “We heard you want to call it quits, Boss?”

            “Yeah, we’re going to pull out of here early today.”

            “Something wrong, Boss?”

            “Yeah, just call it a sense. It’s like there’s something negative going on, and we’re going to get out of here and start over again tomorrow.”

            “Okay, Boss. You’re the boss.”

            “Let’s go see what’s going on in the Baby.”

            “Oh, you’re going to love this,” spoke up Sam. “I thought it was kind of weird, but then again, I’m not a true miner like the rest of you. But Arturo’s freaking out.”

 The men went down shaft six where the light at the end of Baby was perched. There, Arturo had sat his drill down and was shining a light up toward the ceiling wall.

            “Look at this, Boss.”

Bret said as he looked up into to the hole they were drilling. “Yeah. There’s a hole. So what?” And then his eyes focused on what they were looking at. “Oh my God! What the...what...uh...Oh my God!” Bret was just staring up at the ceiling, at a crack that went seven feet across the top of the ceiling and was almost two feet wide. “I’ve never seen anything like this.” As Bret shined his light into the crack, he could see gold.

All the men shined their lights up into the crack to see the gold. It was like nothing they had ever seen before. They all smiled and the wheels in their brains began turning. “So, we come in here to mine for coal, and we end up with gold.”

 Immediately Sam spoke up, “How do we get it out without being detected?”

Bret looked at Sam with disappointment. “This is not our gold. This is the company’s gold. We’re miners.”

 Sam interrupted, “We’re coal miners. Not gold miners.”

Bret interrupted back,    “This isn’t our cave. This is not our property.”

            “Finders keepers,” retorted Sam.

 Willy turned around.             “Bret’s right.”

All the guys nodded. “Yeah, Bret’s right.”

 Sam spoke up viciously, “We make a hundred and fifty damn dollars a day! We risk our lives for a bunch of black coal! And then, when the heavens open up and share some wealth with us, you don’t even want to take a pocketful to ease your financial woes in such a time as this with the great recession! No one’s going to know. And there’s a ton up there! Look at it with the light! What’s a couple pocketfuls?”

            “I don’t know about you, Sam, but I like to sleep at night,” spoke Bret. “Integrity is a part of a man’s character. If he lowers himself just for an increase of wealth, then the wealth of knowledge he retains is lowered as well. I will not lower my integrity level or my character so that I can drive a new car.”

            “Fine! You guys keep your integrity and character, and I’ll fill my pockets and drive a new car.”

Bret looked up at the huge crack and the shiny glitter of gold that was nestled at the top of the crack. “When did this happen?”

            “Well, did you feel that tremor a little bit ago? That’s when.”

            “Yeah, the weird thing is,” Bret said with concern, “This area doesn’t get this kind of earth movement.”

            “Well, then it’s the gods above, wanting to give us what’s rightfully ours.”

 Immediately, the earth started to tremble again. As it did, the crack widened another foot. Five or six little chunks of gold fell to the ground. Everyone’s eyes grew wide as the earth moved, as if it was a small earthquake.

            “Look at this! Nuggets from Heaven! Gold nuggets from Heaven, I’m telling you!” exclaimed Sam. “We don’t even have to go get it. These nuggets right here on the ground have got to weigh somewhere around two or three pounds. You’re talking about thirty or forty thousand dollars for this little bit of rock!”

            “Look Sam, I’m the crew leader, and you ain’t taking no rocks. And we’re all together on this.”

 The rest of the men spoke up. “We’re with you, Bret.”

 Sam moved right underneath the crack. He shined his light into the crack and said, “Oh my God, there’s even more! I’m telling you this is meant to be.”

 And then life changed for all of the crewmembers. What happened next was very unexpected. Another tremor began, except this tremor did not scale down, but intensified. Rocks started falling from the cracks, gold nuggets were falling everywhere. Hundreds of pounds. And as if without warning, Sam was pummeled by the gold. Dirt, rocks and gold just poured down. The earth kept shaking. The rest of the men ran for cover. Sam had taken his hard hat off to look up into the crack. The rocks and the gold completely covered his body until they couldn’t even see him. It piled so high that it trapped Glen, Willy, and Bret.

On the other side, Rudy and Arturo stood helpless. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the earth stopped moving. So much rock had fallen that they could barely hear faint voices in the distance.

            “Damn, Rudy have you ever seen anything like that!” Arturo spoke.

            “Never in all my life underground. We’ve got to get them help.”

  A huge chunk of rock had fallen and it was the size of a boulder. It was part of the ceiling wall that had fallen down that created a barrier between Bret, Willy, and Glen, and Rudy and Arturo.

Rudy began to scream and yell to see if he could make contact with Bret. “Can you hear me, Bret? Can you hear me?”  There was too much rock. All they could hear was the sound of dust settling and rocks spilling over one another.

On the inside of Tunnel 6, Bret turned around. “Glen, you okay?” Glen was shaking and his hand was bleeding badly. “Wrap it. Stop the blood supply and wrap it. Willy, you okay?”

 Willy began coughing. “Yeah, I’m okay. What the hell was that?”

They just stared at the huge pile of gold that reached all the way to the ceiling wall where Sam once stood. “Sam, can you hear us? Sam!” No voice answered back through the rock. “Arturo! Rudy! Can you hear us?” Nothing could be heard.

 Then Willy said, “Well, maybe Arturo will drill us out of here.” There was no drill. It had been covered with all of the rock that had fallen from the ceiling plate.

Glen started breathing funny.             “What’s wrong, Glen? Talk to me.”

            “Nothing. I’ve just got a mild case of asthma.”

On the other side, Arturo spoke with Rudy. “There’s not enough time to dig them out. There’s no air. We have to assume there are no vents. That means they will run out of air. We’ve got to get help.”

They yelled once more, but no answer. Then Rudy spoke up. “We might be blocked in, too, Arturo. We don’t know what the opening looks like. In any case, we need to go for help.” They both agreed and began to run for the front entrance.

Meanwhile, inside of Tunnel 6:

            “You going to be alright, Glen? You breathing better?”

            “Yeah I’m fine.”

Bret had taken many classes and knew that their air was limited. “Listen guys, we’re short on air in here, I don’t know exactly how long we’ve got, and I don’t know how fast they’ll get us out of here. I’m not trying to scare you guys, but we need to conserve our air. So, we should talk less and conserve as much as we can by breathing slowly and waiting patiently.”

 Glen was breathing harder than the other two because his asthma was hitting him hard. All three nodded in agreement and they tried to scale down their breathing.

Meanwhile, Rudy and Arturo reached the front wall and found that it, too, was blocked. “Great! That’s just great, Arturo! Our buddies are caught in who knows how many feet of gold and rock, blocked in with no air, and now we’re blocked in!”

Arturo looked back at Rudy. “Well, we’ve got a lot of air.”

            “Arturo, I wasn’t thinking about our air, I was thinking about theirs.”

            “Well, they have sensors, and we know they’ll be coming after us. Rudy. The key is-- will they make it in time for Bret, Willy, and Glen?”

            As hours went by, Bret, Willy, and Glen said little to nothing. Bret kept his eyes shut most of the time.

Willy then finally spoke, “Why are your eyes shut? Are you sleeping? Are you awake?”

            “I’m awake,” said Bret. “I’m just a little claustrophobic.”

 Willy began to giggle. “You’re a bit claustrophobic? I’ve known you almost seven years, and you’ve never told me that you’re claustrophobic. You’re a coal miner and you’re claustrophobic?” Willy began to laugh.

Bret began to laugh, too. “It’s true. I’ve been working on overcoming my fear. I didn’t want it to control me, so it never has. But now, it’s kind of showing its ugly face. You know what I mean?”

Glen then spoke up. “I know what you mean. I have fear of a lot of things. I’m not claustrophobic by any means, but I’ve always feared losing air.” As Glen was speaking, he began to breathe harder. “It’s like a phobia.”

Bret interrupted, “Slow down, Glen. You’re getting worked up.”
            “Yeah. Yeah. You’re right.”

Bret’s facial expression didn’t look good. Willy then spoke up, “So what else are you holding out on me?”

            “Well, I never told anybody,” said Bret, “But I’ve got a weak heart. I take heart medicine every day and sometimes it helps me, but right now it’s not doing so good.”

 Willy then began to speak with authority. “We’re acting like a bunch of old ladies in here. I think we need to shut our mouths to conserve air.” They all three nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Arturo and Rudy could hear their co-workers on the other side of the wall. Equipment was being used and they knew how quick the wall would come down by how loud the equipment was. They were not worried about their lives as much as they were about their buddies on the other side.

Rudy then asked Arturo, “Don’t you think it’s weird, Arturo, how Sam wanted the money so bad. I mean…he really wanted that gold.”

Arturo’s eyes widened. “Well he got what he asked for didn’t he?”

            “I don’t think he wanted that kind of payment. He wasn’t one of us though, Rudy. I knew that off the get. It’s funny how nature takes care of things. Isn’t it?”

            “Yeah, but what about our buddies? Glen’s not the most stable guy, and truth, we don’t know if any of them are alive.”

Arturo spoke up, “They’re alive. I just know Bret enough to know they’re alive. Bret’s tough as nails. If somebody’s hurting in there, he’ll slap them around till they’re not.” They both laughed but were still doubtful.

 A couple of hours later, the wall came down to the front entrance. Some guys came running in. They hugged Rudy and Arturo and asked where the other four were. Rudy began to share, “It’s a long story, but I think Sam’s gone. No, I know he’s gone, but we think the other guys are okay.”

Immediately the supervisor asked, “Did you hear them?”

            “No, we didn’t hear them but we just have a feeling they’re okay.”

 Without hesitation the crew got their machinery, but Tunnel 6 had not been fully exposed so it was hard to get equipment down the hole. They had to use a lot of handheld equipment. They were working as fast as they could as emergency vehicles arrived on the scene.

Meanwhile inside Tunnel 6, Glen kept breathing harder and harder. Bret knew he had to calm him down or their air supply would be exhausted. “Glen, did I ever show you my family?” asked Bret. He pulled his wallet out and showed Glen pictures of his two little girls. One was six and one was nine. He showed him a picture of his beautiful wife. Glen’s breathing slowed down a little.

Glen then reached into his wallet and showed Bret a picture. It was a picture of an older lady. Glen then spoke up, “It’s my mom. I help out my mom. I never got married. I was always afraid of women. I was always afraid of love. That’s my mom.”

 Both of the men looked over at Willy. “I’ve got a wife. We fight a lot, but I love her. We don’t have kids yet. I want kids and she doesn’t and that’s what leads to more fights. I don’t have a picture of her, because I took it out of my wallet when I was mad one time.” A tear rolled down his face. “Damn it! I wish I had that picture now.”

Bret walked up and hugged Willy. “We’re going to be okay, Buddy.” All three nodded.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the wall:

            “We’re going to get through, but this is going to take some time. We calculated the depth of the tunnel by the height and the width, estimating the downfall of the rock. We’ve also estimated the time that it’s taken to get in here. Providing all three men are breathing normally and they’re not hurt, they have approximately four hours left of air. This, of course, could increase if one of them has passed away. But the fact of the matter is, that still won’t buy them that much more time. John, how long till we get through the wall?”

            “Well, with our capabilities right now, four and a half or maybe five hours.”

            “Damn it! We’re going to lose them, aren’t we?”

            “Well, we need a miracle to be quite honest. Have you ever seen so much damn gold in your life?”

            “This company is very wealthy now. Maybe we ought to turn it into a gold mining company instead of a coal mining company.”

            “Well, I’ll tell you this, said John, “These boys are going to get bonuses like they’ve never seen in their lives. It’ll be enough for them to retire on if they want to.”

            “What a noble gesture! Unfortunately, none of that matters unless we can get them out. That’s the stretch.”

 As the men on the outside were digging forcefully, ideas were forming on the inside of the mountain:

            “What if we start to move some of these rocks ourselves, Bret? What do you think?”

            “I think we’ll exhaust our air quickly and be gone. As it is, I can feel the air thinning out.”

            “Well, it’s a good thing we prayed today. God’ll get us out of here.”

Bret then spoke up. “Quite honestly, miracles are not delivered the way we see them. When we ask for a miracle, it is always in our own interest, but a true miracle is always in the interest of the Creator.”

Willy spoke up, “What’s His best interest, Bret?”

            “I don’t know.”

 By this time Glen was breathing very hard. “I can’t take it anymore! I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!”

            “Calm down, Glen. Calm down.”

Glen began to go into a panic. “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” Glen was beginning to lose it.

Immediately, Bret cocked his hand back and said, “Forgive me, Glen.” He hit him across the jaw hard and knocked him out. Glen began to breathe normally.

            “Boy, I hated to do that.”

Willy spoke up, “Apologize later when he has his life. Smart move, Bret.” Just then, Bret grabbed his chest.

            “Are you okay?”

Bret sat down and held his chest as sweat poured down the sides of his face. “Are you hot?” At that moment, Bret rolled over and threw up. “What the hell’s wrong with you, Bro?”

            “Something’s wrong with my heart. Always has been bothering me. Quite honestly, I’m not sure if I’m going to--”

Willy interrupted, “Shut the flip up! Or I’m going to knock you out, too! In fact, I’ll grab one of these gold nuggets and knock you out cold for the rest of your life!”

 Bret smiled, “That’s not a bad idea. If I’m gone, there’ll be more air for both of you, and I’m not sure if I’m going to make it anyway. So, in all honesty, that might be a good plan.”

            “What the hell are you talking about?  You’ve got two little girls, and I just have a wife, and Glen just has his mother. So if anybody needs to live, it’s you. Those girls need their daddy.”

All of a sudden, Bret rolled over and vomited again. He started turning green. “Listen brother, it’s not looking good. I think we need to get a hold of the reality here. All three of us aren’t going to make it out of this hole. I’ve taught my girls and my wife things that I’ve never spoken of to you.”

            “Now what the hell are you talking about? It’s like seven years have gone by, and I don’t even know you.” But truth be known, Willy did know Bret.

            “You see Willy, I can die here tonight and my wife knows I love her, and my kids know that I love them. They know that truth every single day. They see me go to work, and they know there could be a day that I may not return. But this world is very small, compared to the reality outside of it. This world is the hundred-year illusion and it is a speck in the midst of eternity. Our souls learn and grow, so that we can spend time with like-minded, like-hearted souls in eternity. This life is schooling for what is to come. If we take our schooling seriously, we know that giving of self is the key to eternity. Look at Sam. He got exactly what he desired. In fact, he got an abundance of what he desired. His pockets were filled with gold. He was smothered in his desire. Snuffed out of this life and deleted from the next. Willy, my friend, this is the time for you to understand that there’s much more beyond the coalmines. My family will be grieving if I don’t return, but we have all made an oath to understand one another. They know that this life is truly an illusion and that we have been sold so many lies. The reality behind truth is what is not seen. Here’s the choice, Willy, I believe the Creator knows that we’re not all going to make it out of here. But truth, if one of us is taken, the other two can survive. Maybe Glen’s mom needs him, and I know my friend, you have work left to do here on this illusionary planet. You need to understand the reality that I’ve discovered, and so does your wife because when she understands that, you will have your baby. So let this happen. Don’t stop the ball rolling.”

 Tears began to pour down Willy’s face. “I think this isn’t true.”

            “Search your soul, Willy. One dies, two live. You can’t play it any other way.”

            “But...but you’re not making any sense.”

            “I can do this, Willy. It’s going to happen anyway. Reach within the depth of your soul and grab what I’m telling you. “I need to tell you something, Willy.” Bret grabbed his heart again and started to breath harder. “Willy, I’ve got to tell you something.” As he grabbed his heart, Willy could see an excruciating pain on Bret’s face. He stopped breathing.

“Oh damn it, Bret! No! No…not now! Wait! Please wait!” Willy put his hand on Bret’s heart and there was no heartbeat. “Oh come on, please! Come on! This can’t be happening!” Willy’s tears just fell upon Bret’s hand. “Oh, come on!” Willy started to pump Bret’s heart in a CPR move.

Bret lay there with his eyes closed and no movement. Willy bowed his head and began to sob. “You didn’t hear me, my friend. You didn’t hear--that you’re the best damn friend I ever had. And truthfully, I don’t really see you as a friend. I see you as my brother. And truthfully…I forgot to tell you how much you meant to me, because you’re always so stubborn and hard-shelled. And truly…I forgot to tell you…and am fearful to tell you…that the reason I love this job is because I loved being with you. I need to tell you that I’m going to miss you.”

Willy continued to sob. He sat back, leaned against the wall, and just stared at his friend who lay lifelessly in front of him.

 Glen came to after about an hour. “Dang, my jaw hurts!”

            “Yeah, he hit you pretty good didn’t he?”

            “Well, I owe him for that one.” Glen looked over at Bret. “Is he resting?”

 Willy started to choke up, “Yeah, he’s resting alright. He’s resting forever.”

            “What happened?”

            “He had to leave us. I think he had a heart attack. He had a weak ticker, you know? And I somehow think that…uh…because of that guy, we’re gonna pull out of here, Glen.”

            “Why did he hit me? What did I do to him?”           

            “Well, he hit you because he loves you. You were freaking out, using all the air, and he knew if he hit you, you’d use a lot less. It was for your safety and mine. We need to just shut up and get out of here, Buddy. Know what I mean?” Glen nodded in agreement.

An hour later, the air became very thin. The two were struggling to breathe. They said nothing and stared at each other as if to prepare for the next life. They just looked at each other and smiled in peace.

Just at that exact moment, the cave lit up as if it were a bright light on the football field. They looked around the cave in awe, but all they could see was light. So much light, they couldn’t see one another. Then the light left and they saw Bret with the most peaceful look on his face, as if he had eaten the best sandwich, worked the hardest day, or cracked the biggest joke. His face was a face that they couldn’t put into words. They just smiled at each other and back at Bret. When suddenly, a hole in the wall broke through. The air was replenished and they began to scream with joy.

Half an hour later, the wall was opened up enough for them to crawl through and the people from the local news channel and the crew members cheered loudly as the two men hobbled out of the cave. Behind them lay a lifeless body covered in a white sheet.

Glen and Willy held each other as they walked out. Glen looked over at Willy and spoke, “I hope you’re not offended, my friend. It’s been a great joy to work with you and your friend. I have learned the most valuable lessons that will build my character for the rest of my life. But I candidly say to you today, I’m retiring. I’m not doing this anymore. I don’t need to be a hero and I’m tired of running out of air.”

 Willy smiled over at Glen, “That doesn’t offend me. I was going to suggest it to you.” Glen then looked back, “And you?”

            “Someone has to do what Bret did. Hell, they can find another crew leader. I’m not talking about just being a crew leader. I’m talking about teaching people integrity and character. And I’m talking about teaching people the deeper things that Bret knew and withheld till the last minute. When one life passes, there has to be someone to carry the torch. I don’t even believe it’s about being elected. I think it’s about volunteering. So, I think that’s my destiny, Glen.” Glen nodded in agreement as the two walked up the hill out of the cave.

            We must ask ourselves what would we have done under these circumstances? Is our love of money deeper than our love for integrity? Are we willing to give up our life to save another? Are we willing to give up our family to cross over to the unseen? What kind of gold are you digging for? These questions and many more are ones we should be asking ourselves.

Spiritual growth relies on peering into one’s reflection in the mirror. It is very odd and interesting how many in this world do not want to look at themselves. If we don’t reflect upon ourselves, we will not grow. We will not mature. We will not learn from our mistakes.

It is interesting that we are seventy percent water, yet most cannot see the reflection of ourselves within the water. Have many of us become so soulless that we cannot even see ourselves within the water’s reflection?

The desire to go beyond is what gives us our depth. Yes, we may face darkness, but we will also overcome our fears. When we overcome our fears, this is when we begin to stand. As we stand, this is the beginning.