Vic: Never Give Up

By Jerry Gill

Vic: Never Give Up, is the 3rd   book in the series The Incredible Adventures of Vic Challenger
Vic and her friend Lin Li plan a two or three night camp out at the Grand Canyon before they head for Britain.  They didn’t plan on the Dine’ who want to hang them, the madman, the mysterious cavern, and the slavers (now mo

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ann Darrow Co
• Release date: Jul 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9781889823676

Book preview

The Incredible Adventures of Vic Challenger The Reincarnated Cave Girl

Vic Never Give Up

By Jerry Gill

Edited by Keeley Monroy

Ann Darrow Co

Kaneohe, Hawaii

Prologue

100,000 years ago when life was stupendously savage and every day was a test of your will to live, an epic love was born. Two cave dwellers, Nat-ul, daughter of Tha, and Nu, son of Onu, each a stupendously mighty hunter and warrior to match that time, vowed to love each other as long as the moon would rise in the night sky, which, in their primitive fashion, meant forever. They both died in geologic cataclysms on the very day following their sacred oath. Buried by mountains, one would think their story ended. Yet, since that time the wise of every generation and every culture have proclaimed that true love never dies. There is a reason they say this. In 1896 the moon still rose in the night sky when Nat-ul was reborn as Victoria Custer and as a young woman, the educated Nebraska farm girl vividly recalled her former primeval life and eternal vow. One thousand generations did not cool her love and the recall restored her savage, stone-age instincts and defiant boldness. Now, under the pen name Vic Challenger, she writes adventure travel articles and her work allows her to literally comb the globe in search of present-day Nu. She realizes her quest may take a lifetime and mortal peril may become her incessant companion, but she is determined to do whatever it takes to reunite with her eternal love and time doesn’t matter!

In 1919, Vic remembered her primitive past, and swore to find Nu. In early 1920, she began her search in Mexico and learned of Stu, a nomadic artist who painted primitive people and landscapes so might be present-day Nu. Later in 1920 she visited Mongolia with her friend Lin Li and the trip turned out to be much more physical than expected. It is now early 1921 and Vic and Lin are going to Scotland, after a quick visit to the Grand Canyon. They expect this trip to be a breeze, but it quickly intensifies to gale force and then becomes a hurricane. Figuratively speaking, of course.

Part One Chapter 1 The Plan

Vic was usually out of the office before dark. That evening, she was in the Beatrice Sun’s morgue at sunset, about to leave, when a headline caught her eye:

EXPLORATIONS IN GRAND CANYON Mysteries of Immense High Cavern Being Brought to Light.

The article was in the April 5th 1909 edition of the Arizona Gazette. After Vic read the article, she read it again. Then she began a search for a follow-up story. She browsed page by page through years of the Gazette, but after two hours found no follow-up article.

Vic read the article again and the same statement grabbed her attention. The entrance is 1,486 feet down the sheer canyon wall. It is located on government land and no visitor will be allowed there under penalty of trespass.

It seemed the government didn’t want people to nose around the place and Vic wondered why. At nine, Vic bid goodnight to the printers at work on the morning edition and headed home.

Vic awoke at 4 a.m. with an idea. She arrived at the train station an hour early for the 6 a.m. to Lincoln. A few hours, a few dollars and some fast talk later, Vic stood with her heels just off the rear edge of a JN4 biplane wing as it cruised at 80 miles per hour a thousand feet over a Nebraska prairie.

A man stood with her and held a strut with one hand and with his other hand held Vic’s parachute harness. He watched forward and when the plane was over the flattest area in sight, the man yelled over the roar of the wind. Here we are! See ya! He gave Vic a slight push and let go of her harness!

The jump was exhilarating and reminded Vic of a particular day 100,000 years earlier. She had lunch plans for the next day and couldn’t wait!

When Vic arrived for lunch at Mortimer’s Drug Store the next day, she jumped off her bicycle while it yet rolled and then leaned it against the building. Lin Li was working at Mortimer’s in her part time position as a pharmacist and finished at noon so Vic and their friend Emma were meeting her for lunch and to catch up on things.

Six men sat on a long bench outside the drug store and Vic knew them all. As she headed for the door she said hi and noticed a couple of brown paper bags under the bench and stopped.

Are those bottles of hooch? Are you guys drinking hooch? I don’t want to see any of you in jail.

Under the eighteenth amendment to the constitution, it had been illegal to manufacture, transport or sell alcohol in the United States since January of 1920.

We won’t go to jail, Victoria. All the officers turn the other way as long as you don’t cause trouble or get public, one of the men said. Besides, we’re not making it, just drinking it.

But hooch will make you cause trouble. Just look at Mr. Dugan and Mr. Jackson. They’ve made a mess of their lives and their families.

They just drank too much.

And Dooby just drank too much, damaged his liver, turned yellow and died. I bet none of them got up one morning and decided to ruin their life or turn yellow and die. Some of my best memories are when I turned ten and dad started to let me come with him on Saturdays and I got to listen to all of you tell stories. It would be the bees knees ten times someday to bring my own kids down here to listen to you. The men all smiled at that, but no one moved to dump the hooch so Vic said, Listen, do me a favor. Make me a promise. If any of you starts drinking too much or gets sick from it, you other guys tell him, stop him and if you’re the one it’s happening to, please listen to your friends. OK? I don’t want to be on my way to church some Sunday morning and see one of you passed out in a ditch, either!

Done, Victoria, one of the men said and they all smiled and nodded.

You down to see Lin? Y’all gonna go adventuring again? Where you going this time?

It’s a secret, Vic said. You can read about it when we write it up. Vic started in, but turned back. On second thought, I’ll come down on a Saturday after we’re back and tell you all about it.

They were happy at that and Vic again started inside when Emma drove up and parked her green and black Lizzie. All Lizzies came from the factory solid black, but Emma liked green and had an abundance of paint left over after painting her house so with Vic’s help made herself a black and green Lizzie.

Vic loved pink and decided to paint her Lizzie pink - when she bought one. She had been waiting for this year. Rumor had it that Lizzies were going to have electric starters this year so you didn’t need to crank it. Maybe when she and Lin came back would be a good time to check if she could get one with an electric starter.

All the guys said hi to Emma and she stopped to talk a minute and Vic was forgotten. It was always like that. Vic and Lin were both considered ‘lookers’. Yet, whenever the three were together, Vic and Lin often became invisible. Emma was about the size of Lin with possibly a smaller waist and was a real live Alice in Wonderland. Dainty, feminine, always bedecked in frilly dresses and usually a bonnet, Emma was the belle of the ball. Her long curly blonde hair was always in place and she was always smiling. It seemed inevitable that Emma would draw all the attention.

The three were quite different, but the differences had always mixed well. During their college years, getting together was rare, yet after graduation they were back together as though it had been the weekend apart and that would seem a good sign that their friendships were special.

Lin was near the door and greeted them. Giving your prohibition speech, Vic?

How did you guess?

Because you always give them some variation of it. They won’t stop. They have always sat out there and drank. Even when you were ten, you just didn’t notice back then.

I know, but I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t mention it and maybe if I remind them from time to time, it will keep them from overdoing it.

Vic and Emma sat at a booth and Lin detoured behind the counter and brought sandwiches. Chicken salad, she announced then returned behind the counter. In a minute she was back with three tall frosted glasses. And root beer floats.

Yum! Emma said. Our all time favorites!

Lin said Lunch is on the house. I told Mr. Mortimer you two were coming by when I got off and he offered us lunch.

The three only talked a few minutes when Mr. Mortimer came out to say hi. They thanked him for lunch and he said Nice to see the three of you here just like when you were in high school! You, Victoria, I hear you’re taking my best employee away again.

I’m afraid so Mr. Mortimer. Maybe sooner than we planned. I hope you don’t mind.

Well, I want you to know that when Lin gets the adventure bug worked out of her system, I’ve told her I will build another store across town and we will call it Li and Mortimer Drug and she will be in charge, general manager.

Vic and Emma couldn’t stop congratulating Lin. It was almost inevitable though. Since she was fifteen Lin came in often to talk to Mr. Mortimer about medicine and herbs. The Mortimers had no children and Mrs Mortimer treated Lin pretty much as a daughter, too.

The only down side might come of it, Mr. Mortimer told them, is I could lose customers from this store. Plenty of folks got to where they won’t buy medicine unless they talk to Lin first.

When Mr. Mortimer left, Vic asked Emma how things were going for her. Emma was near the end of her second year as a third grade teacher, her life’s dream since she was in the third grade. She would still often talk fondly of her third grade teacher Mrs. Wiggam. Emma assured her friends she loved the work then teased them that she had a secret but wouldn’t tell them until they came back from their trip. She said it was scary and big and she wanted to wait and be sure before she told them.

Then Lin turned attention to Vic. So what did you mean we may leave early?

Oh yes! Would you like to go on another little outing before we leave for Britain?

There’s no time to go anywhere, Vic. We leave in just over two weeks.

There’s time for this. Just a quick trip to Arizona, to the Grand Canyon.

Well, that would be neat, said Lin, but it’s a three day drive at best.

Sounds exciting, said Emma. I’d love to see the Grand Canyon some day.

This summer while school’s out why don’t we all go somewhere together? We can go back to Grand Canyon or wherever you want. That would be great fun! Vic suggested. Lin agreed then asked Vic why she wanted to go and was she sure there was time. We only have 15 days. Is there some special reason for this trip?

Vic told them about the article in the Arizona Gazette. Nothing else was written as far as I can tell. It is probably nothing, but if we do find something like an ancient civilization, it would be a wonderful story. I would really like to know why the government doesn’t want people in the area. Of course, it may have been a hoax. I want to know and if nothing else we can write about the canyon.

Lin summarized, Let’s see. We will trespass on government land in Arizona, uncover an ancient civilization, get to New York and board in less than two weeks? No doubt we will arrive dockside nonchalantly, appropriately spiffed up for well-heeled world travelers. You’ve been out in the sun haven’t you? Lin and Emma laughed and Emma said, I hope you two aren’t going to get shot at and stuff this time.

Not on your life, said Lin. We’re going to camp out, enjoy nature and write about it. Embellish as needed. No fighting.

Vic assured Emma, This trip will be a walk in the park. Britain doesn’t have warlords or jaguars. Then she told them she didn’t expect to find a lost civilization. She just wanted to talk to local people, see if the cavern really existed, and whether it might be worth a longer trip later.

I was able to arrange special transportation to get there. It will make an exciting adventure story itself. Vic explained that she talked with the local postmaster about how they were experimenting with aeroplanes to carry mail and their conversation diverged in several directions.

Main thing is, he got me thinking and I found some barnstormers working out of Lincoln. They will fly us to the Grand Canyon!

Lin said, Yeah, I hear they can land those aeroplanes just about anywhere. That might be fun. I don’t think I know anyone who has been in an aeroplane.

Well, they won’t be landing. They will just drop us off, Vic drank the last of her float and wiped away the foam mustache.

Lin shifted her weight and felt a bit uneasy. What do you mean they won’t land, just drop us off?

Oh, we’ll get dropped off a mile or so from the canyon. Vic could no longer contain herself. With a great deal of exuberance, she said, We get to jump out of aeroplanes, Lin! Like the barnstormers do in their shows! It’s fun. I did it yesterday!

What? Lin almost screamed and everyone in the drug store looked over to see what was going on. Vic. You need to rest! You’re sick!

No Lin, I’m serious. We get to parachute from the planes. I have the parachutes and one of the barnstormers, Jack Frank, was an artillery spotter in the Great War and was forced to jump plenty times when aircraft fired at his dirigible and of course they also jump as part of their shows. I’m doing a story about their barnstorming and paying for the fuel and Mr. Frank will show you how to jump!

Oh I shouldn’t think there would be much to learn, Emma said seriously and looked at Lin. You just jump out and fall. And fall. And fall. Emma slapped her palm on the table and said, Until you stop.

Ha, ha! said Lin and she leaned back and slurped the last of her float through the straw, then said, Well, I’m gonna save this Mr. Frank some time ‘cause he doesn’t need to tell me anything, Vic. I’m not jumping out of an aeroplane unless it is still on the ground and I can do that already! You know I don’t like high places. Even swinging high at the pond scares me. I might make myself ride in an aeroplane, but jump out? No way!

We won’t be in a high place, Lin. We’ll be in the air. It’s different.

Lin cringed and said rather loudly, What do you mean different?

Emma laughed and patted Lin on the shoulder. It’s OK Lin, you won’t be forgotten. Would you prefer carnations or roses?

Lin looked puzzled for a second. What do you…wait a minute! She pushed Emma’s hand from her shoulder. Get away. You’re both nuts. You’re out to get me! No way! I dropped an egg once. It was all over the kitchen floor. I don’t care if a high place and in the air are different, if you fall from either you’re gonna splatter like that egg and I’m not doing it. She looked at Emma, So I won’t need carnations or roses either!

After Emma left, Vic talked for an hour and persuaded Lin to go to the Sun and read the article.

Wow! Lin kept saying. They think an idol looks Tibetan but there are Egyptian hieroglyphs! There is a 700-foot-long room! As many as 50 thousand people may have lived inside! That’s five times more than in Beatrice! If, notice that word if. If I agree to jump are you sure we have time?

"Two days there. We should be able to get back in two days by train. But even if it takes three days to get back, it will leave us eight days. I only want to use three or four days. Just check it out, talk to some old timers. If it seems like a real story, we can go back later and will know where to begin. If it seems like nothing, we’ll have a story about the Grand Canyon and one about parachuting. That will bring us back to Beatrice five or six days before we need to