The Dark: The Beast Of Blackcrow Cavern

CHAPTER TWO : INSPECTION

'That's not possible,' Andrew said as he unfolded a cave map, placing it down on the table. 'Where did you say it was?'
'Next to Simone's Chamber.'
He placed his finger at the mouth of the cave. 'Hmm.' He dragged it down through to the lower system and across to Simone's Chamber. 'No, that can't be right.'
'I swear to you, there was another chamber.' Daisy said, picking up a pen. 'Right here.' She drew a circle. 'Right behind Simone's.'
He stroked his beard, pondering the map. 'I just... I don't understand how no one's found it before.'
Daisy shrugged, going back to drawing on the map. 'And from what I could see, it looked like there was another cave beyond it too!'
'Really?'
She nodded. 'I would've gone in but-'
'I hope you didn't,' Andrew interrupted. 'Did you go in at all?'
'I stuck my head in, but I-'
'Don't tell anyone you did that, okay?'
Daisy went silent. She fiddled with the zipper on her coat awkwardly, not quite understanding why Andrew seemed so upset all of a sudden. 'Why can't I go-'
'Do you remember when they discovered Tony's Way a few years back?'
'I think so,' she said quietly.
'Did you ever meet Tony?' he asked, leaning forward onto the table.
Daisy shook her head. 'I saw him about a few times, but he usually went down alone.'
'And have you seen him since?'
Silence. The playful Andrew Daisy knew well was suddenly very serious. He neatly folded the map back up and slid it into the desk drawer, the resounding silence giving him exactly the answer he wanted.
No, she had not seen him since.
So what happened to Tony?

The silence lingered for a while longer, only broken by the sound of Andrew typing a number into the landline from a sticky note.
'Stay away from Simone's Chamber until we've had it checked out.'
"Checked out?'
He sighed. 'Ever since Tony disappeared, we have to send a team of professionals down to inspect and map any new caves before we let the public in.'
'It'll be fine though, won't it? Most of the caves have been there for millions-'
'Daisy!' he shouted. 'Listen, I know you want to explore it. Trust me, I do too. But in order for us to use these caves, we have to comply with the landowner's requests.' He finished typing in the number. 'I'll call it in now, but I'm sorry, you're gonna have to wait until we get the all-clear.'
'And how long will that take?'
'I dunno,' he said, holding the phone to his ear. 'A few months maybe.'
'A few months!' Daisy replied angrily, grabbing the phone and placing it back down. 'What about the name? Please tell me it'll at least get named after me?'
He paused. 'Listen, I can't make any promises-'
'This is so unfair,' she snapped back.

Daisy and Andrew had never argued before, Andrew being one of the first people she ever caved with, but this time was the only exception. Daisy stormed out of the reception cabin and into the Blackcrow Cavern car park, tears of frustration welling in her eyes. In fairness, Andrew was right. The new cave might have been dangerous for all they knew, but Daisy was desperate to explore. In fact, Daisy had been dreaming about a moment like this for years now, yearning to be the lucky soul to discover a new, untouched, unmarked cave system. She wanted her name on the maps. She wanted to be held up high amongst her peers. She wanted to be Daisy, the Blackcrow caver who discovered a brand new cave. And even though Andrew was just doing his job, it felt like an attack to Daisy. To her, the moment she'd been dreaming of for years was being destroyed right in front of her, and Andrew was the one responsible.
There was absolutely no way they could've seen eye to eye.
'Screw you, Andrew,' Daisy whispered to herself as she climbed into her car. 'You don't tell me what to do.'

But what happened to Tony, Daisy? What happened to Tony?