Za'esha watched the invader of her mistress's domain hatefully and waited. She had nothing but time.
I saw them up ahead and I ran to catch up. They were stopped in front of a stone slab that blocked off the hall. I saw Flint turn his lead and when he saw me running toward him I saw such a look of relief come over his face that I felt warm and gooey all over again. I rushed up to him, checking his face
"Are you ok? I saw blood, are you still bleeding?"
"I'll be okay Lisa, but let's get out of here."
I glanced nervously from one to the other. "Neither of you are going to like this next part. I don't much care for it myself. This necklace will protect you, but you have to be touching me."
Flint and Marshawn glanced at each other and then in unison asked, "Protect, from what?"
I turned back to the stone slab, "Put one of your hands on my shoulders and whatever you do, do not let go!"
After a moment of hesitation both men put a free hand on my bare shoulders and I pushed the stone pads of the slab before me and it slid to the side.
"Oh hell!" Flint exclaimed.
Marshawn echoed pretty much the same only it was in French.
"Don't let go!" I reiterated.
Both hands gripped down on my shoulders painfully, but I didn't blame them, as we stepped out into the cave. It was a snake cave.
Snakes came down here to get away from the heat of the day. There were all kinds and lots of them were poisonous, but they slithered out of the way and after about a hundred feet we stepped out into the daylight.
I turned around and saw sweat rolling off both men and I couldn't help but tease them slightly, in repayment for the bruises that were already beginning to form on my shoulders, from their death grips on me, "Now that wasn't too scary was it?"
They looked back at the nondescript hole in the ground we had just crawled out of and both of them shuddered and I laughed, before starting out into the scrub brush.
We rounded a clump of shrubs and there sat the chopper. Flint shook his head grinning and awkwardly attempted to give me a half bow, as he leaned against Marshawn.
"Might I ask why we didn't just take the shortcut earlier today?"
I tapped the necklace, "Wouldn't have gotten far in that cave without this."
"Hey I could have brought along a flame thrower, if I had known the job called for one."