It was touch and go for much of the cave-in exploration, literally. I would stand on a patch of ground, then "touch" out as far as I could go, stretching my ability to its edge. I'd then go forward about a foot and repeat. It was exhausting. In fact, I don't remember much about the day, or the actual rescue. It's a blur of 'seeing', drawing, and fitful sleep. But, at last, they were able to dig out the cave-in without it collapsing and rescue the remaining cavers.

I'd become a hero and somewhat of a celebrity that week. I lost track of how many interviews I gave and how many times I demonstrated my skill. News of my ability spread and soon, I had offers from every major geological academic program in the country. I chose Texas A&M for undergrad and Masters, then Stanford in California for my Doctorate.

It was while I was at Stanford that I met Jeff Donovan, an up-and-coming business school graduate who was looking for an opportunity just like me. The fact that he'd grown up with an autistic brother made us the perfect fit. We drew up a contract and renewed it every year.

I looked over to the man with whom I'd been contracted for almost fifteen years. I counted him as one of my few real friends. I'd seen him through marriage, divorce, kids, a late marriage and now, late kids. He was a good man, and I felt honored to know him.

We were still roaming around the dig and I was still taking pictures, when Mr. Sheridan found us.

"The University team arrives tomorrow afternoon. I'd like for them to see you at work," he said to me, maintaining a respectable distance of three Graham Strides.

"Okay. I can do that. I thought that I'd start near the center, but not on it, and see if I could find a way in."

Mr. Sheridan nodded. "That seems reasonable. But you don't have to wait for the University group to get here before you begin, correct?"

I sighed. "Yes, you are right. I will start with the workers in the morning."

Mr. Sheridan brightened. "Very good!" He turned to leave, but I called after him.

"Mr. Sheridan? I just want to say again that I think this is a Very Bad Idea," I told him, "with capital letters."

He cocked his head; I was reminded of a dog and how it does that when it's trying to figure out what you're saying, but isn't quite getting it. "Yes, you've made yourself clear, Dr. Graham. Please don't mention it again."

His statement angered me and I was about to retort, when Jeff stepped in front of me to grab my attention. He shook his head and I knew he meant for me to keep my mouth shut.

I did, but it was difficult.

Instead, we continued our walk, circling around until we were once again at the tent. I knew that I wouldn't be able to post any of the drawings I made at the dig until well after it ended, else I would risk the government getting involved. I knew that once they did, I'd have even less influence over how to approach the problem. So, I resolved to work on some of the beach scenes I'd captured while on vacation.

Jeff went back to reading his book after he spent about an hour chatting to his wife and kids through video conferencing. We passed the afternoon and evening pleasantly, but, finally, I couldn't put it off any longer. I had to go to bed.

I dreamt about searching eyes, which came as no surprise to me. I woke up several times in the night, jerking awake just before the eyes could settle on me. I really didn't want to find out what would happen when they finally did. A part of me knew that scenario was likely.

At least I was going to be able to keep them from just trying to dig into the space all together. I didn't think they'd be able to do it anyway. The rock seemed too solid, not at all like the surrounding sandstone.

At dawn, I heard Jeff's alarm in the next tent go off and I resigned myself to start the routine for the day.

All too soon, I was reluctantly stepping into the string grid once more. I was glad that I didn't have to go too close to the center. I really didn't want to start the day off with a headache. I chose the grid where I'd found the incoming passageway to meet a wall and began to study the ground there in detail.

The wall and the sides of the passageway were smooth. The amount of craftsmanship that had to go into creating them was mind boggling given the tools available at the time. The amount of effort required to smooth the interior of the passageway alone would have taken a significant portion of time; years of rubbing the granite with abrasive sands would have passed.

It took me some time to identify the rock lining the passageway. I nearly ran to Jeff when I figured it out.

"Concrete!" I exclaimed when I found him. I paced. "The rock lining the passageway? It's concrete, Jeff. Concrete with a cement facing! This is huge!"

"I don't understand. Can you calm down a little and explain it to me?"

"No. Yes. Wait. No, I can't calm down and yes, I can explain it to you!" I exclaimed.

He smiled and put his book down, ready to pay attention. He was good at that; I really needed to feel like I was being heard when I was excited as I was.

"We've known for a while that Egyptians used cement as a building material. It was used as a mortar, something that bound two stones together like how brick houses are built today. But, finding a structure with poured concrete? This is a big deal! There's speculation that the pyramids are actually made of limestone concrete rather than blocks of solid limestone, but they won't let me go climbing on them to figure it out." I must have looked like a raving lunatic the way I waved my hands about as I talked.

"Ok, so this structure is made with the same technique as the pyramids?"

"I think so, yes. That dates it, gives us something to study, and is just..." I struggled to find a word that contained enough emotion, "flabber-fucking-gasting to think about. The question we must ask is, 'Why was this structure built with the same care and precision as the pyramids themselves?'"

"Something special must be inside."

I nodded furiously. "Something special, indeed."

I could hardly wait for the University team to arrive. Jeff sensed this as well.

"Hey, Tony," he said.

"Yeah?" I stopped pacing around long enough to pay attention.

"Give the University team two hours to settle in before going around to talk to them."

"Two? Really? I mean, if I was coming onto a special dig, I'd want to get started right away," I said, not quite believing his suggestion was valid.

He nodded. "I get that. But not everyone's you."

I grinned, "I should hope not! The world can only handle one of me!"

He laughed, of course, as I knew he would. "How about this. We send word over there to let them know you're waiting for them to come and check in whenever they want. That way, if they show up fifteen minutes after being here, it's all good."

"And if they don't?"

"Well, then you haven't bothered people who didn't want to be bothered right away and probably kept the idea of friendship open."

"Oh. Yeah, I see what you mean," I said, finally understanding what he was getting at. This was one of the many reasons I contracted with him. No matter how long I had been around, it would have never dawned on me to wait.

"Cool. Now, how about you share one of your Ice Pops with me? It's getting pretty hot."

"Sure, as long as you have a green one. You know I don't like those."

"Wouldn't ask for any other color," he smirked. He was a good sport when it came to my quirks.

We walked around to the kitchen area and retrieved two Ice Pops. We arranged for word to be sent to the University folks when they arrived.

I needed something to do, so I began to draw again. I was suitably distracted until one of the University team 'knocked' on my tent.

"Dr. Graham? You sent word to come see you when we were ready?"

I looked up and smiled at a very attractive woman.

Now, some might think a small, petite, slender woman to be the ideal. And, I wouldn't disagree with them; there are many women of that stature that were attractive. However, it wasn't what I found to be. Instead, I liked larger women. Give me a woman with curvy hips, a little bit of a belly, and somewhat larger breasts? Well, she was a goddess in my book. In fact, the woman before me resembled the Venus of Willendorf statuette that I always admired.

I couldn't help but grin like an idiot and I was thrilled that she smiled back. I was rather dumbstruck, but Jeff saved me, as usual.

"Hi! You must be from the University team." He stuck out a hand for a handshake, which she took.

"Yes, I'm Dr. Zenowich... Cally."

"I'm Jeff Donovan, Dr. Graham's personal assistant," he said, then turned to indicate me. "This is Dr. Graham."

I'd recovered enough to know my name. "Hi," I said, followed by a phrase I didn't utter very often and almost never at a first meeting, "I'm Tony."

She held out her hand as a greeting. I looked at it, like a moron.

"Tony doesn't particularly care for handshakes, Cally. I've managed to train him to at least do a fist bump."

"Oh! I can totally do that!" She said, smiling at me again, changing her hand.

I didn't think that I could grin wider, but I was wrong. I returned the gesture. I then did another thing that I rarely did. I made small talk. "How was your flight?"

"Ugh," she said rolling her eyes, "don't get me started. And, between you and me, that intern that drove us out here?"

"She hit every rock, didn't she?" I said with a chuckle.

"Yes! It sounds like you've had the pleasure of riding with her, too."

"Yep. I'll make Jeff drive from now on."

We lapsed into momentary silence until she said, "I hope you don't mind if I just delve right in. I'm really excited to hear about what you've learned so far!"

She wanted to talk about the important things right away? Yes, I found her to be very attractive, in more ways than one.

"Well, there are two main things to talk about. One is what I found, or rather what I experienced, when I 'sensed' the chamber. The other that I found this morning is the more concrete of the two." I chuckled at my joke.

"I think maybe we should start with the latter. Not that I don't want to know about the other, but it sounds like this morning's discovery might be something we can work with."

"Yes. I 'saw' that the passageway is made of concrete blocks!"

"Concrete? Oh, wow! Wait... concrete!" she laughed. "I get it!"

Dear lord, she gets my joke. I started to fall for her right then.

"Yes, as far as I can tell, it's limestone concrete, just like they speculate that the pyramids are made of," I explained.

"You know, ever since I first heard of your ability, I've never understood why they haven't let you go and check the pyramids out. It's dumb, really," she said.

"I agree," I nodded. "Here," I said, pulling the desk chair around, "why don't you sit and let me tell you all about the dig. This isn't the first time I've been here..."

I saw Jeff smiling behind Cally near the door of the tent. He waved at me, then left. I guess he thought I was okay on my own.