A few days later, Glenn and his family arrived in the Gorges du Verdon, a beautiful place in the south of France, or at least not far from a town called Moustier. They landed in a rented house not far from this main town, of very low quality, of course, but anyway, they all didn't care; their objectives were the caves and nothing else.

  "Well, that's not bad, is it?"

  The irony in his mother's voice made Glenn chuckle. Indeed, the house was on the whole rather clean but was still covered with a thin layer of dust; the walls were yellowed with age; and almost no furniture was in perfect condition. However, they couldn't rent better, considering the price of this house.

  "Yeah, it's beautiful."

  Despite its deplorable state, the small rented house allowed them to live normally, which was, at least for Glenn, enough. After having made the tour of the house and put down all the stuff, it was time for them to leave—not yet for the caves, but to visit the place a bit.

  The caves were located in a gorge that was inaccessible except by boat. There were a few roads that some people tried to walk, often portrayed as beautiful, but which did not reach the caves, so few people took them, except for fans of hiking and walking or beautiful landscapes.

  Getting back in the car, since no travel was possible without a car, each town was separated by many kilometers, all surrounding the Lake of the Sainte-Croix, a lake that struck Glenn with its beauty as he glimpsed it through the trees on the road; it was a turquoise blue, bursting white in the sun.

  The wooded mountains and the steep limestone cliffs around it that reflected in the water were also magnificent, especially since the sun, at its zenith, covered it with its magnificent colors, orange-yellow with even a hint of pink. The scenery was idyllic and paradisiac, but the most beautiful was yet to come.

  The shores of Sainte-Croix Lake are a mixture of cliffs and Mediterranean vegetation. The umbrella pines stand proudly, offering welcome shade to visitors seeking refuge from the summer sun, which Glenn sometimes saw himself.

  The path along the shoreline invites a stroll, offering breathtaking views, called belvederes, of the sparkling waters and towering rock faces.

  The twilight sets the sky ablaze with warm golden hues, offering a spectacular sight. The sun's rays illuminate the rock walls, creating a striking play of light and shadow.

  In short, it was quite beautiful.

  After going around the lake, they stopped at a bridge. There were many people on the bridge, on both sides. On one side, you could see the lake in all its splendor, in a way that made it even more beautiful. On the other side of the bridge, one could see the gorge, and on the sides were two steep and deadly cliffs.

  Below was a waterway, the river; this one was crowded, with people on all kinds of boats everywhere, from kayaks or pedal boats to electric boats for the wealthy, creating a carpet of colors over the water.

  Each of these people was certainly coming for the caves; he could see each of the people on the boats with equipment for climbing, rappelling, digging, cleaning the pitches, or just walking comfortably.

  That was where they were going earlier.

  After spending a few more minutes taking in the scenery from all sides of the bridge, Glenn and his family headed back to a parking lot near the sandy area surrounding the lake. The reason? To take a boat themselves and go into the gorge to the caves.

  When they arrived in the parking lot, without wasting a second, they took the necessary equipment for the passage in the caves and gathered it all near the car.

  "Listen up, all of you!"

  Glenn's father, Gerald, shouted loud enough for everyone to hear, even those who were just passing by and not part of the family, which made Glenn blush a little with embarrassment.

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  'Humph! What shame? I will never be ashamed of my family!'

  Coming to his senses, he strained his ears and listened to what his father had to say.

  "Today is our first day in the caves! We will, as you know, be staying here for two months, so there are a few rules we need to establish to get through these two months in peace and without us parents worrying."

  Glenn's father had always been a stickler for rules, always wanting them to be respected and understood, perhaps remnants of his own parents' upbringing. Nonetheless, Glenn listened carefully to his father's next words: it was indeed necessary to establish safety rules so that future expeditions would be perfectly safe, though perfect safety does not exist.

  "First of all! We have to stay together; nobody loses sight of each other, or at least stays within tolerable proximity, especially you, Cassia. If someone discovers something, he or she should talk about it right away so that we learn as much as possible; that's the purpose of our coming, and above all! Let's make sure that in addition to the pleasure of the discovery, we come out with money in the wallet !."

  After the appearance of the caves, the scientists of the whole world put themselves ahead to discover all about them. To do so, they spent months passing the zone to the sieves; however, they were too big and too vast, and thus they ended up welcoming the public for two reasons.

  The first one is that they will be able to earn quite a lot of money with the help of these tourists, not only for the research but also as income, so the researchers who worked there received a bigger salary than other researchers. The state also has control over this research and receives money from these tourists from all over the world.

  The second reason is that the research was going much faster because of all these people. So many people came that the research was doing a lot of good, but they did not make the findings public, so everyone had bits of information and personal findings, but no one knew the truth.

  For some time now, many forums have sprung up to share discoveries and create theories.

  'Well! At least they know how to keep busy!'

  After discussing equipment, rules, conduct, and so on, he and his family took a small boat to the gorge and then to the caves.

  After leaving for a few minutes, they sailed on the lake in the direction of the gorge; around them were dozens of other boats. Each member of the family felt a different emotion about the situation: joy, apprehension, and stress, but the emotion that predominated everything was undoubtedly excitement.

  A few minutes later, they passed under the bridge from where they were earlier. On it, there were dozens of people watching the boats come and go. A little boy's eyes passed over Glenn's boat and he waved his hand, which Glenn returned.

  'Wow...'

  The sun shone high in the summer sky, illuminating the turquoise waters that stretched in a straight line. The Gorge opened majestically before him, a natural wonder carved by the hands of time. The boat sailed gracefully through the calm waters, cutting through the clear water with hypnotic ease.

  On board, the family could not help but marvel at the grandeur of the rock walls that loomed on either side. Vertiginous cliffs, carved with precision by the whims of nature, rose like imposing guardians of this hidden paradise.

  Their steep faces were streaked with veins of limestone, revealing a palette of hues ranging from pristine white to pale gray, testifying to centuries of erosion.

  The boat progressed slowly, accompanied by the soothing murmur of the water caressing the rocky walls. Each bend in the river revealed new breathtaking panoramas.

  Majestic overhangs stretched above them, giving the impression of being enveloped in a stone cathedral, where the whispering of the wind seemed to be prayers whispered in the ears of the amazed family.

  Glenn let his gaze wander along the walls, taking in the roughness of the rock and the cracks and cavities that dotted its surface. Brave bushes and shrubs found refuge in the smallest corners, offering a touch of greenery to this mineral symphony.

  The feeling of minuteness in front of the grandeur of this natural spectacle was undeniable. The rocky walls seemed to bear witness to the immensity of the universe and the fragility of human existence. Words seemed to be lacking to fully describe this scene—this perfect balance between the raw force of nature and the delicate beauty that emanated from it.

  The boat continued its progress, sailing through this labyrinth of rocks with infinite grace. Glenn let himself be lulled by the magic of the place, immersing himself in this visual symphony that made him feel part of this majestic nature. The gorges were much more than a simple landscape; they were a hymn to the grandeur and beauty of this planet.

  One or two hours later, they could see a kind of small dock where were moored dozens of small boats. People of all kinds, young, old, small, and big, entered and left the dock in a fluid and abundant way, and at the same time, everyone seemed to be in a hurry, excited by the adventure to come or the discoveries already made.

  'Finally...'

  Shifting his gaze over the dock, Glenn could see his goal—the thing he had heard about on the news on July 4, 2032, and which had not left his memory since then. The excitement soared, along with a bit of relief that the caves he had so hoped to see were not an illusion.

  There it was, in front of him, five giant gaping holes resembling an even larger four-petaled flower—the majestic place he wanted to see every aspect of. In short, the caves were there, and he was going to search them, for better or for worse.