Don't go There by Fear359 (f/m, qs) * Note: This takes place one month after Nicole disappears, at the end of "No (Wo)man's Land." Another day goes by and still no word from Nicole. Steve wonders if she ever made it to Dead Man's Plateau, and even a better question: Will she be coming home? Yes, Steve is a little overprotective and would gladly give up his life to keep Nicole out of danger. She just did not see things the way that Steve did. Nicole saw him as a man who kept tring to hold her down, and the more he tried to show her things she didn't see, the madder she got. And now Steve is alone. He has been away on business. The life of a game warden was hard on both of them, and he couldn't blame her if she left him. He was hardly ever home anymore, because of all these damn poachers in the local area. Steve had a job to do, and Nicole had just the house. But that wasn't enough, and now she's gone, and Steve has no idea where to start looking; if he should start at all. "Okay, Nicole. Let's see, if I can find out where you might be. And if I have to beg you to come back home, then that's what I will do!" Steve picks up the phone and tells the operator, "Get me the Untied States, the number 907-769-4532. Thank you, operator!" Ring, ring, ring, ring ... "Hello?" "Holly?" "Yes this is Holly!" "Hey! It's Steve Hill! I have to talk to you!" "My God, Steve! How long has it been? 2, 3 years? What's up?" "Holly, have you seen Nicole in the last 28 days?" "Hell, Steve! I haven't heard from Nicole in about 6 or 7 months. Why? What's wrong?" "Well, Holly, we had this big fight, and Nicole took off about 28 days ago, for this mountain here, called 'Dead Man's Plateau', and I haven't heard from her since I got back." "Well, where were you Steve, anyway?" "I was out trying to catch these damn poachers down here, Holly. That's, where I was. But Nicole just had to venture out to D.M.P. alone, and now I'm afraid that she will never be found, just like my parents!" "Tell you what Steve: I'm coming down there on the next plane, and we'll ge look for her together. I have about 2 months vacation time, and I could use the heat to work on my tan. You're still in the jungles of Mexico, right?" "Well, yeah." "Good then I'll be on the next flight down ther. Call me back in about an hour, and I'll let you know when I'm taking off from Anchorage International Airport. Alright. Bye!" As soon as Holly gets off the phone, she calls the airport to make her travel arrangements, and after getting that taken care of she runs upstairs and starts packing for her trip. After about 35 minutes the phone rings, and it's Steve, and she tells him, that she leaves Alaska in the morning at 1030, but she won't get to Mexico until Thursday afternoon, which is two days. It seems that she can't get a connecting flight until late Weds. and that is the hold up. Steve says that he will be at the airport first thing Thursday morning and wait for Holly, until her plane gets in around noon. They hang up and Holly tries to finish packing. It looks like she's gonna have to go get a few things, so she grabs her keys and heads out the door. Next stop: the mall. Holly has never been in the jungle and has only been hiking a few times in the woods, so she has no idea what she needs. So she decides that she will get herself some rugged boots and a lot of blue jeans and some heavy shirts for her trip. The time she spent at the mall was record time for her; less than an hour, even though she has plenty of time. But she wants to get home and get this packing done, so she won't be running around in the morning, trying to find everything that she may or may not need. Back at her house Holly begins to wonder why Nicole would just run off like this. This is not like her at all, but Holly and Nicole have not spoken to one another in quite some time and people change, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worst. Holly is really mad at Steve for letting Nicole run off by herself, but then thinks, 'God, he does have a job and can't watch her for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.' But still, if he knew that she wanted to go to this place, he should have had someone watch Nicole, or even take her there. Holly eats dinner and watches a few hours of TV, and then goes to bed early, because she is going to have a very busy day, and all this flying is going to get the better of her. Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. 7:00 am. "Oh well! Let me get up, and get ready, this is going to be a day like no other." (Holly, goes down the hall and jumps in the shower to start getting ready for her trip. After a long and hot 25 minute shower she gets out, dries off and heads back for the bedroom, where she starts getting dressed in a pair of loose fitting gray cotton pant, a short sleeve shirt and a pair of black flats. After a quick breakfast she calls for a cab and is out the door at 8:45 am. "Where to, Miss?" "Anchorage International. I have to go help a friend in Mexico!" And with that the cab driver puts Holly's two suitcases in the trunk and he heads for the airport. "Excuse me, Miss. What airline are you taking? Miss? Are you alright?" "HuH? Oh, I'm sorry, I need to go to the United." "You seem to be lost in your own Little world." "I am. A couple of friends of mine are down in Mexico. Steve and Nicole. Well, Steve is a game warden down there and ... well, Nicole is missing. She has been missing for about a month now, and so Steve thought that she might have come up to see me, but she didn't. And so I'm heading down there to help him look for her!" "Game warden huh? That has got to be a rough job; trying to track down, poachers and all. Well, I think that your friend Steve is more of a man than I am. Can't be out there when I know that there are men - and women, for that matter - willing to kill me to get to some animal, just so they can have it stuffed or put on their wall!" "Well, Steve has always been that way. I guess that he got it from his Mom and Dad. They loved animals and so does he!" "Okay, here we are! United Airlines, and the total is 15.50, Miss." "Thank you. Here's a 20.00. You can keep the change. And thank you again." "No, thank YOU, Miss, and I hope that you find your friend!" "You and me both!" Holly gets her luggage and heads into the airport and to the ticket counter, drops off her bags and heads down to the boarding area. "Attention, Attention! United Flight 359 for Los Angeles now boarding at gate 6. Holly gets up and walks over to gate 6 and hands her ticket to the flight attendent, who stamps it, and Holly is on her way. The flight to L.A. was smooth, even though she slept most of the way. And now she has a day to blow in L.A, so Holly gets a hotel room, and then goes to do some sight seeing. It's been about 10 years since she had been to a baseball game, and since the dodgers were home playing the Giants, she told herself that she would go. 17 innings later, the Dodgers won the game 8 to 7, and Holly is so hoarse that she can barely talk. She takes a cab back to the hotel and gets dinner and goes to bed, about 8:30. "Man, why can't time be the same all over the world? This time up, and back is for the birds!" Holly is asleep right after her head hits the pillow, and she hopes that this trip she is making to Mexico won't end on a bad note. She remembers the last time she and Nicole talked, and how Nicole said, that she didn't really want to go to Mexico, and that she didn't know, if she really loved Steve. But he was the only fish biting right now. But if a bigger fish came along, she would hook into him in a heartbeat. Just the thought of that made Holly sick. Buzzzzzzzzzzz. "Ohh, it can't be time to get up. It just can't be! Well then, maybe it is. Alright, round two! And then I can get a good night sleep after I get to Steve's." Holly gets in the shower and starts to get ready for the last leg of her trip to Mexico. After getting dressed she calls for a cab and is at the airport within 25 minutes. Within an hour after that Holly is airborne again, and it only takes 30 minutes in the air and she is fast asleep, and is sleeping well, until she hears, "Attention, Attention! We will be landing in Mexico in about 20 minutes. Please fasten all seat belts and place all seats in their upright position. And thank you for flying United Airlines. Holly sits there, and wonders if she should tell Steve what she knows, or if she should just keep quiet. After all, Nicole could have changed her mind about Steve. Holly would just have to wait and see. The landing was perfect, un fact Holly didn't even feel the wheels touch the ground, and the only reason she knew that they were on the ground was when she looked out the window. Once off the plane and going through customs, she saw Steve waiting for her, and after a hug from one another they were off to get her bags. "Holly! It's good to see you again. I just wish it were under better circumstances." "I know what you mean, Steve. It's really great seeing you and all. I just can't believe Nicole would run off like this!" Holly was lying through her teeth, but she had to make it sound good. "Holly, thanks for coming down on such short notice, and after we get your bags - if you brought some shorts - you might want to change. It's about 120 outside, and once we hit the jungle it's gonna get even hotter." "It's 100 and what? Man, oh man! What have I gotten myself into? Yeah, I have some shorts in my bag, and I'll go change right now. Both of my bags are black, with gold trim. Alright, I'll be right back!" After Holly changes into her shorts, she comes out of the bathroom, and sees that Steve has her bags, and they are on their way. "Steve! You said it was 120, well, it feels more like 200. I feel like I'm gonna melt!" "Hell, Holly! We haven't even hit the hot spot yet. Once we get in the jungle it's gonna feel like you fell into hell itself!" "You gotta be kidding, Steve! It can't get any hotter than this, can it?" "Just wait, and see Holly. That's why after we get to my place, I want you to take it easy for a few days until you get your jungle legs so to speak. I want you to drink nothing but water, no coffee, no tea, no soda, just water, and I want you to drink it even if you're not thirsty!" "What are you talking about, Steve? I have to have my coffee, and what's wrong with my legs, anyway?" "Nothing is wrong with your legs Holly, they look great as always, but I mean it about the coffee. If you don't watch yourself you will get dehydration, and that hurts like hell, so I want you to drink nothing but water, alright?" "Well, you are the expert in this stuff. But don't blame me if I bite your head off in the morning when I don't get my morning dose of coffee. Deal?" "It's a deal Holly!" The rest of the trip was pretty much one sided. Steve was showing Holly all the sights from the jeep, while she took pictures, and once they hit the jungle it got really hot, just as Steve said it would, and Holly thought that she would pass out. Two hours late, they were in Steve's driveway to his small but very nice house. "Well, this is it Holly. I know it ain't much to look at, but it's really nice inside." "No Steve, it looks great. To tell you the truth, I thought, that I would be staying in some little hut or something!" "Ah, I can see you have been watching way to many jungle movies." "Well maybe so, but I figured that if I imagined the worst, then anything else would be a cake walk, and this is like a castle in the middle of the jungle." "Alright, let's get you in the house, so you can cool off, and we can get some water into your body. You look like you're about to pass out right here, and now." "Come to mention it, I do feel a little light headed, and I could use a few hours of sleep." Steve grabs Holly's bags, and she follows him into the house, and he shows her the bedroom that she will be using while she is here. And after showing her the rest of the house, Holly goes to take a few hours to try and catch up on her sleep. Four hours later she wakes up and feels a lot better and comes staggering out of the bedroom to find Steve in the kitchen, making dinner. "Smells good. What are we having Steve?" "Well, I thought that since you aren't used to eating the food down here yet, that I would cook some fish, if that's alright with you, Holly." "Steve, if that fish tastes anything like it smells, I am gonna get fat, really, really fast! Steve, tell me about this place called Dead Man's ... uhhh ..." "Dead Man' Plateau. It's a mountain, about 20 miles from here, and a lot of people have tried to climb it, but no one came back. The locals say that the Plateau is cursed, and all that go there die." "Steve, what do you think? I mean, do you believe that this place is really cursed or what?" "Holly, I will tell you what I know, and it's not much. But there is something about that plateau. It kills people. And as to a so-called curse, I think there is something. But no one in their right mind will go there, and at last count there were 120 people lost, thanks to D.M.P. And that includes my parents and Nicole." "Woo, wait a minute! Your parents went there? Didn't they know the danger, Steve?" "Yeah, they knew, but they went anyway, and they were never heard from again." "So, when do we start looking for Nicole, Steve?" "As soon as you can take the heat here, we'll get started. Alright, dinner's ready, so let's eat, alright Holly?" "Great! I'm starving!" After dinner, Steve starts on the dishes, and Holly helps him, and after they are done, they sit down in the living room and talk about old times and what they both have been doing for the past year. Holly can't believe that Nicole could leave Steve. He was smart, handsome, funny, and cared very much for her. Then Holly thinks back to when she had the hots for Steve, but he liked Nicole. So Holly put her feelings on the back burner, because Nicole was her best friend. And Holly was moving up in the business world, and Steve was (and is) the outdoor's type, and their two world's didn't match up. About 9:00 pm Steve tells Holly that they should be going to bed, because he has to get up early, and go make his rounds and check out a few things. And with that he heads off to his bedroom. Holly goes to her room and picks up a book and starts reading, until she falls asleep. Knock, knock, knock ... "Holly, it's Steve! I have to go out right now, and I should be back in about an hour or so. I just wanted to let you know that." "What time is it anyway, Steve?" "It's about 7:30 in the morning. I'll see you in an hour or so, alright. And remember what I said about the no coffee thing!" "Yes, I remember. How could I forget?" As Steve heads out the door and jumps in the jeep he takes off down the road. Looking at his watch, he smiles at himself, and says, "Any minute now. Holly should be getting up and should be in a good mood by the time I get back." At 7:40 am Holly is sleeping like a rock, and then her nose smells something, and she thinks she's dreaming, until the smell gets stronger, and her eyes pop wide open. "What the hell! That can't be what I think it is. I must be dreaming. I have to be dreaming!" Holly gets up and opens the bedroom door, and the smell of coffee is overwhelming. And like a magnet it draws Holly into the kitchen, where she finds a note from Steve, and it says, "Good morning, sleepy head! I know that I told you 'no coffee', but after thinking about it, I had a change of heart. After thinking about it last night, I remembered what you do for a living, and that breakfast for you is sometimes out of the question. You are always on the go, and coffee is the only thing that you can have to keep up with the pace that you keep! Enjoy! Love, Steve!" Holly just smiles and grabs the cup he left by the coffee maker, and poures herself a cup of coffee, and then heads for the shower. After taking a shower and feeling like a new person, Holly puts on a tank top and some shorts and a pair of sandals, and heads out the front door, and even though it is only 8:20 in the morning she can already feel the heat, and she wonders if she will ever be able to get used to this. Holly pulls up a lawn chair and sits down on the porch and wonders, where in the hell Nicole could be, and why she would be so damn stupid to go running around some place that has a curse on it. When all of a sudden she hears the sound of a engine coming down the road, and when she looks up, she sees Steve's jeep coming down the road. So she gets up and waves at him, as he comes to a stop in the makeshift driveway. "Well, I see that you got your coffee this morning. And how are you feeling this morning Holly?" "I feel great, but this heat is for the birds. How in the heck can you stand it out here, Steve?" "It's not that bad once you get enough water in you. But don't let all those jungle movies scare you, Holly. The jungle is beautiful. The trees, animals, rivers, and swamps, there is no other place like the jungle." "If you say so, Steve. All I know is what I have seen on TV, and you know how that can be. Danger everywhere, so don't go." "Yeah, I used to watch those movies, and in a way there is danger out there, but only the danger we bring on ourselves, that's all." "Where did you go this morning so early, anyway?" "Every morning I have to go check in and see, what's going on, and see if there are any poachers out and about." "So what do you do with Poachers after you catch them anyway, Steve?" "We turn them over to the government, and they are either sent to prison or they are killed, depending on how bad their crimes are. And most of them a pretty bad." As Steve and Holly sit outside and talk, the phone rings inside the house, and Steve gets up to answer it. "Hello? Yeah, this is Steve. What? You found Nicole's jeep where? Alright, I'll be right there. Thank-you!" "Holly, I have to go! They just found Nicole's jeep a few miles from D.M.P!" "Steve, can I go with you, please?" "Alright, but go get changed. We will be geting into the jungle, and you are not dressed for running around out there like that. Put on some pants and some shoes you can walk in. And I'll pack up the jeep." As Holly runs in the house to get ready she throws on a pair of blue jeans and her brand new boots. It only takes her about 5 minutes to get ready, and when she comes outside Steve is finishing loading up the jeep. "Steve, I'm ready, I think." "Well you look ready. I put a bunch of water in the jeep. You better start drinking it right away. I don't know how long we will be gone, and I don't need you passing out on me while we're out in the jungle." "Steve, I promise you, I will drink enough water to fill up, an elephant. Don't worry about me. Let's just get going, alright?" "Holly can you shoot a gun?" "Well, yes, I can. But why Steve?" "Well, just in case we run into some damn poachers, or some wild animals, I don't want to have to worry about leaving you if I have to, that's why!" "I can shoot anything you have, as long as it's not a cannon!" As they both jump into the jeep, Steve takes off like a bat out of hell, down the road, and Holly sees that the deeper they get into the jungle, the hotter it becomes, and how the jungle is truly beautiful. But under all this beauty, there is danger, and that is something that Holly has to remember. Steve begins to slow down, and they approach the local village. "Where are we now, Steve?" "Holly, this is the last village before we hit the deepest part of the jungle where D.M.P. is. And this is the only way in and out. And they found Nicole's jeep not far from here." Steve brings the jeep to a stop, as he and Holly get out and look for the Chief, but the Chief is already walking up to them both. "Greetings, Steve! How are you doing today?" "Very well, thank you, Chief. This is a friend of mine from the United States. Holly Gramm." "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Gramm." "It is a pleasue to meet you, Chief. And please, call me Holly!" "Very well, Holly. Steve, we found a jeep and knew that it belonged to Nicole, and it looks like it has been in the jungle for quite some time." "Chief, who found it, and can I talk to them?" "Two young boys found it when they were out playing out in the jungle, where they were not supposed to be. But I guess in this case it is a good thing that they were where they weren't supposed to be!" As the chief leads Steve and Holly to where the boys live, Holly looks around and sees, that - besides being a little behind the times - this village is a very happy and beautiful place. Steve talks to the boys, and they tell him, how they found the jeep down the road, and how Nicole's things were still in the back of it. So they ran home to get help, although no one would go past the markers of D.M.P. Steve thanked the boys and turned and told Holly, that they were leaving. "Steve, and where are we going?" "We are headed for D.M.P., that's where." "But, Steve! I-" "Holly, no buts! We are going, now!" The chief looks at Steve and says, "Steve, do you think that is a wise idea? You know, how many people have been lost there. Do you want to take that chance?" "Chief! For a long time now I have been scared to go in there because of what happened to my parents, but I can't be scared any longer. I have to find out what happened to them and Nicole. And if the same fate falls on me, then at least I will know once and for all what this curse is!" "Steve, please be careful. You have become a very good friend, and I do not want to lose you too. Maybe Holly should stay here, until you come back." "No way, Chief! Wherever Steve goes, I go. He might need my help in there!" "Holly, maybe the Chief is right. Maybe you should stay here. You don't know the jungle, and I don't know what's in there, and ..." "Steve, no buts! I'm going, and you are not gonna stop me. Now let's go! We're wasting time!" As they both jump into the jeep and head down the road, Holly begins to see Steve in a new light. One that she thought was gone, and now she was glad that she came down here to help him look for Nicole. The road begins to get rough because of all the rain. 'The road washes out easy here,' she thought. And then Steve begins to slow down and is just staring at something, and when Holly looks up, she sees what eveyone has been trying to climb. "Steve, is that ... that ..." "Holly, that is Dead Man's Plateau." "Steve! My God! That thing is huge! Why would anyone one to try and climb that beast?" "I guess the same reason why every year people try and climb Mount McKinley!" "Good point, Steve. Where do we start?" "Well, it's gonna be at least a two hour hike though the jungle, but since you are with me it might take a little longer, so we'll go nice and slow, until you need to rest." "Would you stop worrying about me Steve? If I get tired I'll let you know, I don't feel like passing out in this jungle, so stop worrying. God, if I didn't know any better, I could swear that you like me or something." Holly knew that she should have not said that, but it slipped out of her mouth before she knew she had said it. She hopped out of the jeep and went to start getting ready, but she could feel Steve's eyes on her the whole time. "Holly, what the hell was that supposed to mean, anyway? Of course I like you. You are a good friend, and it is my responsibility out here." "I know, Steve, and I don't know why I said that. I'm sorry." Steve walks to the back of the jeep, and starts loading up what they might need: Guns, food, water, and he tells Holly, that the minute she feels herself getting tired, she needs to tell him right away. Holly just shakes her head at Steve, and they are on their way. At first the trail was easy, and Holly was right in step with Steve, but as they walked on and on, the trail got rougher, and within an hour Holly was telling Steve that she had to stop. This went on for about an hour and a half, until they came to a small stream, and Steve came to a stop. "Great! Water! I really could use a bath right now!" "Holly, I don't think you want to go in there just yet. Let me check a few things out first, alright?" "Sure Steve, no problem. I can wait. What's the problem?" "I just want to make sure that there is nothing in that water, that might want to make a meal out of you." "Excuse me? What did you say?" "Holly you heard me. I'll be right back." Steve is gone for about 5 minutes, and when he returns, he tells Holly the good and bad news. "Holly, you can't get in this stream and ..." "Why the hell not? I'm hot, sweaty, and I stink, and ..." "Holly! You can't go into that stream, because of the Piranhas in there, that's why!" "Did you say Piranhas? Aren't they those little nasty fish that are all teeth?" "Well at least you have heard of them, and you my dear wouldn't even be a meal for them! Now for the good news: There is a small stream a little way down this way, and you can take your bath." Holly looks, at the steam that she wanted to take a bath in, and she got chills up and down her back. If Steve wouldn't have checked things out she could have been fish food. Holly picks up her small back pack and follows Steve down this small trail by the stream, and in about 3 minutes they come around a corner, where the main stream is cut off, and the water is clear, and Holly can take her bath, and Steve can make them something to eat. Steve tells Holly not to get too far away from shore, just in case something is there that he didn't see, and make the bath quick, no more than 5 minutes. Holly heard this and started to say something, but thought better, and went to go get her quick bath. After taking off her clothes she slowly walked into the water and found that it was quite cold, and she thought to herself, 'I won't be in here 5 minutes. This water is freezing.' Within 3 minutes Holly is climbing out of the stream and grabs her towels and dries herself off and walks back to camp and se's that Steve has lunch already. "Well, I hope that you feel better now, Holly!" "Oh boy, do I! I could go another 5 miles through this jungle. How close are we Steve?" "Well, best guess Holly, I would say that we are about 20 minutes away from D.M.P. I figured that we would eat, and I'll go ahead and see, what is the best way to approach the Plateau!" "And what about me? What am I supposed to do while you're out looking?" "You would wait here until I come back and get you. But I take it that you don't like that idea." "As a matter of fact, no, I don't like that idea at all. Why can't I go with you? I've come this far!" "Well Holly, maybe you're right. I have got to get over this being overprotective thing. You can come, until I tell you to stop. Deal?" "You got a deal Steve, now let's eat." Holly and Steve have a good lunch, and Holly wanted to ask him what they had for lunch, but she didn't know if her stomach could handle the truth, so she didn't ask, and he wasn't telling. After about 45 minutes after they ate, Steve told Holly that it was time to go. And for the first time since she got down to Mexico, Holly got scared, not because she was afraid of the danger, but because she was getting close to Steve. And if Nicole was still alive, she was only bound to get herself hurt again. And so somehow, someway, she was going to have to bury her emotions, like she did so long ago. As Steve puts out the fire, and then double checks to make sure that it's out, he and Holly start walking for the one place and thing in this world that scares him to death. But one way or another he has to find out what the curse of Dead Man's Plateau is, even if it kills him in the process! Steve is impressed at the way Holly is keeping up. He remembers how Nicole hated to follow him. She always wanted to lead, and that's why Steve is out here looking for her now. And he doesn't even know, if he really loves her, or if he feels, that it's his duty to try and find her. "Holly, this is where you stay put. We are about 5 minutes from the Plateau, and I want to check things out first, before you come with me, alright?" "Ahh, hell, Steve! I ... I ... Yeah, alright. You go ahead, and I'll wait here until you get back." "Alright. I'll be back in about 10 minutes. Stay here, alright Holly?" "Hey, no problem, Steve. I'll be right here. But ... Nothing." "Holly, what were you gonna say? You can tell me. I won't bite your head off ya know!" "I was just gonna say: Please be careful. That's all." "Come on, Holly. I'll be alright. It's you, I'm worried about, so I won't be gone long." And with that Steve is gone, and Holly is left alone on the trail, and she begins to hear things that she never heard when she was with Steve. Animals, and from the sounds of them, very big animals. But Holly had a gun and would bust a cap in some crazy animal that had the slightest idea that she was gonna be their lunch. Holly kept looking at her watch every single minute. And when 10 minutes was up she told herself that she would see Steve any moment. But when Steve didn't show up, Holly begain to worry that he might be in trouble. There were poachers in the area and he was alone, and they could have gotten the jump on him. So she told herself that she would wait another 2 minutes, and then she would go and look for Steve. Two minutes came, and Holly took off looking for Steve. But as she got in the jungle it seemed to close in on her. And now she was really scared, but held it in and tried to find some sign of Steve. Holly couldn't make head or tails which way Steve went, so she decided to head straight for the Plateau itself. That is the most direct route, and that seemed like the best plan. When Holly broke through the jungle wall, standing in front of her was Dead Man's Plateau. And standing there looking at it Holly now knew why people wanted to climb this monster. In all it's glory, the mountain was creepy, and she guessed that this was what brought people from all over to try and climb it. Holly wanted to take a closer look at it. Not to climb it, but just go up, and touch it. And there didn't seem to be any danger, so she started walking towards the plateau. Holly noticed that the ground was muddy and soft, but when she thought about how the road was getting here she figured it was due to the rains. About 25 yards into the clearing, Holly's right foot went into some deep mud, and as she stumbled forward her left foot went into the mud, with a sickening sound. The drop into the mud was so quick that her gun went flying out of her hand. "Great, Holly! Just great! Steve tells you to stay, you take off, and you walk into some gooey mud. Well I better go get the gun and get ... Hey! What is this? Jesus! This stuff is like glue; some kind of jungle fly trap. Christ, Steve is gonna be pissed! Ahh, wait a minute!" Holly feels the mud pull on her legs, and now she knows, that she is in trouble. The more she tries to move her legs, the deeper the quicksand pulls her in. And once the quicksand clamps down on her knees, the bottom seems to fall out and in 3 seconds the quicksand has pulled Holly in up to her waist. "Steve! Help! Quicksand! I'm sinking! Help me!" "Holly! Where are you? Can you hear me? I can't find you! Where are you? Damnit, Holly! Answer me!" "Steve! Come towards to the Plateau, and you should be able to see me. Hurry! This stuff is sucking me in quick!" As Steve heads for the clearing, he can't help but think about all the people that have been lost, because of this Plateau. And when he comes to the clearing in front of the Plateau, he see's Holly. The quicksand has clamped down on her just below her breasts, and the more she struggles, the deeper she is sinking. "Holly! For God's sake, stop struggling! You'll only sink faster!" "Steve, please hurry! Get me out of this stuff! There is no bottom under my feet, and it's getting softer!" "That's because you keep thrashing around making it softer! Now stop moving, and I'll get you out of there!" As Steve makes his way towards Holly he can see where she walked into the quicksand. And with her facing the Plateau it is gonna be hard to get her the rope. Steve yells at Holly, and throws the rope to her, but her arms can't reach it, Holly starts crying, because she knows, she is going to die, because she was stupid, and Steve cannot reach her in time. Steve knows that he only has time for one thing, and he runs back to the closest tree, ties the rope off, and then, making sure it is tight, he turns around to see that Holly has sunk up to her neck. With no time to lose Steve runs as fast as he can to where Holly is sinking. And the quicksand, being all churned up because of Holly's thrashing around, quickly claims Steve up to his waist. The more he struggles to reach Holly the more he sinks. Less than two feet from Holly, all the movements from the two of them have made it impossible for Holly to stay afloat, and to Steve's Horror Holly's face disappears beneath the quicksand. "No! No! NO! Not her, too!" And with the rest of his strength Steve goes forwand and grabs Holly's hand and pulls with everything he has. And Holly's face comes back to the surface, and she starts coughing like crazy. "Holly, can you hear me? Holly, answer me please! Please, Holly!" "*Cough* *cough* I hear you, Steve! Thank you!" "Hell, Holly! We ain't out of this yet. Can you hold on to me, while I try and pull us out of here?" "I won't let go of you, just get us out of this, please!" "Alright then. Hang on!" As Steve begins to pull the quicksand pulls back, and they are slowly losing ground. Steve tells Holly to start moving her legs like she was swiming. Holly starts trashing around again, and the more she moves her legs, the softer the quicksand becomes, and the easier it is for Steve to get them out it. After what seemed like years - a 10 minute battle - Steve and Holly come to dry ground, and both of them are panting. "Holly, I'm not even gonna ask you why you left, and I'm not gonna ask how you got into that quicksand, but you can let me go now!" "I told you, if we got out I'm never gonna let you go, because, well because ..." "You are in love with me, aren't you, Holly?" "Awww, how do you find out? Did I give myself away that much?" "I'll tell you later. Right now we have to check a few things out. Can you walk?" "Hell, Steve! I could run. All you have to do is tell me how far, and I'm gone!" "Ha ha! Now you don't have to run, but I do want to see how far this quicksand goes around the plateau, so can you help me." "Yes, I'll help you, Steve. In fact, I'll stay, and help you forever, if you want me to!" Steve, and Holly start at one end of the clearing and very slowly make their way to the far end of the clearing, and it seems that there is a water run off from the plateau, that has saturated the ground and turned it into quicksand. And now the curse is finally found out. After the trip, back to the village and hot bath, Steve goes back. And with the villagers help they put up signs all over the front of Dead Man's Plateau to let people know the danger. After all this time Steve thought it was a curse, but it turned out to be quicksand that surrounded to entire front of the Plateau. So maybe that was the curse. As he heads back to the village, he can't help but think of his parents and Nicole. At least his parents had each other in the end. Nicole had no one. As he comes back to the present, he is pulling into the village, and he see's Holly standing there waiting for him, and he stops the jeep right in front of her, gets out and walks right up to her and asks, "Holly, what is this that you'll stay forever if I want you to?" "Oh, nothing much, big boy. Just this." Holly walks right up to Steve, and wraps her arms around his neck, and pulls his face to her. And there in front of everyone in the village, they embrace in a warm kiss. Holly thinks, as she kisses Steve, that giving up her job, and coming down here, won't be so bad after all.