by Jus Accardo
He dove at Gerald as he raised the gun again, ramming the older man with his left shoulder. I was dragged by default, the three of us going down hard in the mud. I stumbled, slipping when I tried to stand. I almost made it, but Shaun inadvertently dragged me sideways, then down again.
He punched Gerald in the gut as the older man got to his feet, then kicked him as he bent to retrieve the gun. They were both yelling, their lips moving furiously, but I still couldn’t hear anything other than a horrific ringing in my ears.
“Shaun,” I screamed. I had no idea if he could hear me.
His head whipped around, and his eyes widened like he’d forgotten I was there. Gerald used the distraction to his advantage. Grabbing the gun, he squeezed off another round. Unfortunately this one didn’t miss.
Shaun’s mouth opened in a silent scream. He grabbed his arm and went down hard on one knee. Gerald, pleased with himself, let the gun fall slack and laughed. I saw his shoulders shaking, but there was no sound.
I took a chance. One good kick and the thing went flying from his hand. I didn’t wait around to see what he did next. I helped Shaun off the ground and we raced for the fence.
Past the barn and around an old rusted tractor, we ran across the open grass behind the house. My lungs were ready to burst, but I didn’t slow down. I couldn’t. Jaffe’s men had a head start on us. If Gerald had called them when he first left to find the saw, they could easily be here any minute.
I slid to a stop in the dirt in front of a wire fence and glanced over my shoulder. No sign of Gerald or anyone else. Pulling up on the middle wire, I slipped my right leg through, then followed with the left, taking care not to get my hair caught in the barbs. Once on the other side, I stepped on the bottom wire and pulled the middle section higher to make room for Shaun. He ducked through with care, favoring his left arm, and I tried not to worry. God. There was so much blood.
We kept going, deep into the woods that bordered Gerald’s property. When we’d put enough distance between us that I could look back and hardly see the house, I slowed a little to assess the damage. Shaun’s movements were becoming sluggish and I didn’t know how much longer he could stay upright. Since there was no way I could carry him, we needed to know how bad it actually was.
“That’s a lot of blood,” I said, catching my breath.
Shaun leaned against the nearest pine tree, then slid down the trunk to the ground. I went with him.
He hadn’t said anything and it was making me nervous. “Shaun,” I said. “Talk to me. How bad is it?”
He raised his arm and winced. “It looks worse than it is, I think. Bullet went straight through.”
I wasn’t convinced, but there wasn’t much I could do right here. I grabbed the hoodie and hooked the edge of my nail into the thread at the seam. Picking at it. Once I got it started, with a little effort, I was able to rip off the sleeve. “Let’s tie it off and get moving. Can’t stay still too long.”
He helped me wrap the material around his upper arm, cringing only a little when I knotted it tight.
I pulled him up and we took two steps, before he stopped, cursing softly under his breath. “This isn’t happening. You’ll never get away—I’m too slow. I need to—”
I slapped him hard across the cheek. Drastic, but the situation required focus. I couldn’t have him giving up. That was against the rules, and the rules were all I had now. “Shut up and move. Now!”
We continued through the woods, dodging gopher holes and rocks, and moving steadily toward the faint sound of gurgling water. Shaun was right, though. He was slowing us down. We needed to find shelter, because we weren’t going to outrun them. Not like this.
Through another wire fence at the edge of the property, and across a small wooden bridge, as we came to the water’s edge, Shaun tripped and went down hard, jarring my left arm backward and dragging me down with him into the mud. Water splashed in every direction as he struggled unsteadily back to his feet, trying to pull me upright as well.
“Go! Keep going,” he huffed. There were other people in the woods behind us. Every few minutes I’d hear faint noises. Voices. The sound of brush crunching beneath someone’s feet.
Numb from the cold, I hesitated only a moment before I steered him to the left and crossed the stream, icy water seeping through my sneakers and socks, and bolted into the dense forest. Under the added cover of trees, the midday sun was blotted out, and for a few moments it was like we’d stepped into a refrigerator.
After another quick look over my shoulder, I slowed to a walk and turned to Shaun. He was so damn pale. I’d practically been dragging him for the last few minutes. He was much bigger—therefore heavier—and my wrist felt like it was about to fall off. “How ya doing?”
He slumped against the nearest tree, rested his head, and took a deep breath. “Bleeding isn’t stopping. We need to find someplace to hide.” Shivering, he pushed off the tree and took several small steps to the right as he stuffed a hand into his back pocket. There was a building in the distance, but I didn’t think we’d make it in time. “We need to get these—”
He wobbled, and because I was sure he was about to go down, I took a step closer. Just one. A single step. And then we were falling.
Everything was gone. Shaun. The trees. The ground beneath my feet… There were several moments of nothingness. No air, no sound, no sky. Then, the total absence of light and a heavy weight pressed down on me, as well as a dull ache all over. The plaguing cold that had previously gnawed away at my insides and sent persistent chills up and down my arms didn’t matter anymore.
I tried to sit up, but couldn’t. I couldn’t move anything, actually. We’d fallen. That much I knew. But into what? And why couldn’t I move? Had I broken a bone? Several, maybe? The thought stole my breath away. Being physically hindered in any way made me numb. And what about Shaun? I sucked in as much air as I could manage. “Shaun?”
There was no answer.
The only thing I heard was the pounding of my own heart and the blood rushing furiously between my ears. I couldn’t see anything, either. It was pitch black and I had no idea where I was. Maybe Shaun wasn’t even with me. Maybe the shackles had broken and we’d been separated. That actually scared me worse than him being hurt. If he hadn’t fallen, then he was still out there. Hurt and helpless.
No.
I’d spent a significant amount of time with him now. Even wounded, he wasn’t helpless.
“Shaun?” I tried again, voice weaker. Weaker, but more panicked. Still, there was no answer.
For a long time I simply stayed there. Silent and still and terrified by the scenarios rampaging through my mind. I didn’t know exactly how I felt about Shaun, but I knew I didn’t want to see him hurt. More than that, though, I didn’t want to be alone again. If we had, in fact, been separated, would he leave me?
I’d been watching my own back ever since Mom died. I was lonely and I was scared, and I just didn’t want to do it anymore. Tired. I was tired. What I’d told Shaun was the truth. I was done running. When I’d gone back to that cabin, I was looking for more than whatever Mom left for me. I was looking for a path to normal. Being chained to Shaun and running for our lives might not be exactly what I had in mind, but it was closer than I’d ever come. I didn’t want to lose it. Not yet.
So I lay there, frozen by my fears. It was a direct disregard for one of Mom’s rules. Several of them, actually. And in the end, that’s what finally motivated me. Knowing she’d be disappointed helped me gain focus. It gave me the incentive to work my free hand out from whatever had me pinned, and feel around to get my bearings, even though I was terrified of what I might find.
The ground was loose dirt—dry—and the thing preventing me from moving—from almost breathing—was covered in rough material. My hand roamed along its surface, from side to side and then down the length of it until I came upon a warm, soft surface. Skin.
My heart fluttered. “Jesus… Shaun?”
There was n
o response.
Taking care, I pushed up with my free hand and at the same time, lifted my knees. After several tries, I managed to ease him to the side. The relief was instant. Oxygen came rushing back and the smothered sensation vanished as I greedily refilled my lungs with musty air.
“Shaun?” I tried again. Panic set in. With my arm now free, I tugged lightly on the chain to test the restraints. The shackles were still securely in place. Pressing down with the palm of my left hand, I ran it along his body, searching for his neck. An involuntary giggle slipped past my lips. If he were awake, he’d accuse me of trying to grope him.
Cold, wet material gave way to smooth warmth. I found his neck and fumbled until I felt a pulse. It was there—and it was strong. The relief that washed over me was intense. It left me shaking—but not from the cold.
…
There was no real sense of passing time, but it felt like a while. Forever, in fact. I recited the alphabet twice—once normally and then once backward—and sang the national anthem four times. None of it helped. The silence threatened to drive away the last of my sanity.
“I wish you’d wake up.” I said out loud. My throat hurt and my voice was getting raspy. I would have given just about anything for a cherry soda. “I sort of have a thing about silence…”
No answer.
“Why?” I responded to myself in a deep, Shaun-like voice.
“Well, you’re the enemy, right?” I answered myself. “All annoying and cocky and hot in that ‘I’m the man’ kinda way… Why should I tell you?”
“You can trust me,” I said in my Shaun voice. I even bobbed my head for increased effect—even though no one could see it. “And I am the man.”
I sighed and stretched out my legs, index finger running along the edge of the chain. “I have this weird memory from when I was a kid. Like, this watery thing that’s always in the background. I asked Mom about it once and she blew it off. That’s how I knew it was real. Not just some weird random nightmare…”
I stopped and held my breath, listening for signs that he was waking up. There was nothing, so I continued. “It’s more than a memory, too, ya know? It’s a feeling. A heavy, nearly paralyzing feeling. Any time things get too quiet, it’s there. Just creeping up to smother me.”
An involuntary shiver rocketed up my spine. I’d never said this to another living person—not even Mom. Sure, Shaun was out cold—and that’s probably the only reason I was able to do this—but it was weird. Like admitting weakness. And that wasn’t allowed. It was one of the rules. Always stay strong and show no fear.
“We were hiding somewhere,” I said, voice softening a little. “I don’t know where, but it was dark. And small. We were really squished in… Mom had her hand over my mouth—and not just resting there. No, it was clamped down tight. I almost couldn’t breathe…”
More listening. Still nothing.
“She whispered in my ear. Told me whatever I saw, to stay absolutely still and don’t make a sound. She sounded so scared—I’d never heard fear in her voice like that. It scared me, so I whimpered. Just once. So quietly…”
The memory took over and I was swept back to one of the most terrifying moments in my life. A moment that made so much more sense to me now that I knew our running hadn’t been only about her criminal past.
“She panicked, I think. Covered my mouth even more. Even tighter. I was so small and her hand was so big—it covered my nose, too. I couldn’t breathe so I tried to struggle, but she held me down. Everything got dark, but before I passed out, I saw it. The thing we were hiding from. Him… Or his shoes, anyway.” I laughed. “Lame, right? To be afraid of shoes?”
“I understand,” Shaun whispered.
Every muscle in my body locked up, and I could have sworn my heart stopped. He was awake? He’d heard the entire thing? I couldn’t respond. I couldn’t even breathe.
But I didn’t need to. Shaun spoke instead. “I don’t like the silence, either. It always brought—bad things.”
I wanted to ask him what he meant, but he didn’t give me an opening.
“You’re really brave, you know? All the things you’ve had to do just to live.”
My heart jumped a little. Sad but true, it was the biggest compliment anyone had ever given me. “If something as simple as silence turns my blood to ice and transforms me into a useless blob of goo, how is that brave?”
Warmth covered my hand. “How did you turn into goo? You were down here in the dark—in the silence—and you dealt with it.”
Then I remembered the early part of my conversation. My Shaun imitation. Oh. My. God. I wanted to die. I’d called him hot. Had he actually heard that part? “Yeah, by having a two-way conversation with myself…”
“So? You took a paralyzing fear and owned it instead of letting it own you. Doesn’t matter how you did it—that’s huge. There aren’t many people who could do that.”
“Really, it’s a lame way to deal…” I wanted to change the subject. Badly. For the first time since we’d gotten stuck here, I was thankful for the darkness. I’d bet all ten of my toes that my face was bright red.
Thankfully, he took the hint. “So…what happened? Where are we?”
“I’m not entirely sure. The ground caved in, I think. We fell.”
Material rustled, and the chain rattled and clinked. “Fell? Fell into what?”
“Some kind of hole.” I glanced up toward where the opening was—or should have been. Whatever it was had sealed behind us, closing out any light and essentially locking us in. “Maybe it’s a well or something?”
“Can you stand?” Shaun asked. I felt the cuff tug to the left, then up, and did my best not to whimper. I was going to look like an abuse victim by the time we got these things off. My wrist was swollen and sore and probably a pretty awesome shade of blue and purple by now. It was a surprise I could even still move my fingers.
“Yeah.” I climbed to my feet, using the wall as a guide. It was smooth—too smooth to be the inside of a well. Definitely not dirt. Wherever we were was man-made, and that meant there might be a light. Right arm extended, I started in front of me, then slowly began to work toward the right, hand running up and down the wall. “First things first. We need to see. Try to find a light. Then we can figure out how to get out of here.”
“Good plan,” Shaun said.
We worked our way around the room in silence. I felt like I should say something. I’d just spilled my guts to the enemy. That wasn’t a thing you could just brush under the rug, right? I took a deep breath. I needed to do damage control. “So—”
“Bingo!” Shaun shouted, jerking me to the left. A second later, a small faux flame flared to life. He’d found a camping lantern sitting on top of an old rickety table. It wasn’t much, but there was enough light to finally see where we were.
“I guess we didn’t hit the border of Gerald’s property after all. This must be his panic room,” I said, scanning the small space.
Several shelves full of canned food sat along the far wall, while large bags of what looked like clothing were lined in a row beneath them. To our right, a small stack of papers sat under a small metal box. I got closer in order to get a better look. Several passports, licenses, and four checkbooks—all with different names and from different banks. Picking up a passport, I flipped through it. Mark Landry of Ohio. They were quality fakes. I couldn’t help wondering where Gerald had gotten them done. Our guy was good, but these were nearly flawless.
I set them down and tilted my head up. A crude wooden ceiling, about six feet high, fanned out overhead. Directly above me was the faint outline of a trap door. There were two hinges on the right side, and what looked like a rope that could be used to pull it open from the inside. Unfortunately, the rope had long since decayed, leaving only a few inches well out of reach. The door must have closed automatically once we’d fallen through. “Look around. There has to be a way out.”
Shaun glanced to our left, then right. “There’s nothing
here. No doors.”
“No,” I insisted. “It has to be here.”
“Kayla,” Shaun said. “I think we’re trapped.”
“Look around. This is his haven—like my mom’s tunnel. There’s a way out. I know there is.”
I hoped it sounded more convincing than it felt. We’d been over the small space and there were no doors—trap or otherwise. I scanned the area again, refusing to admit defeat, when something in the corner by the shelves caught my attention. The floor was dirt and you could see two distinct lines from where someone had moved the shelves at one point. “There,” I exclaimed, dragging him forward. “That has to be it. Help me move the shelves.”
With Shaun’s help, I nudged aside the bags of clothing and pulled the shelves several inches away from the wall. At the bottom, previously covered by the bags, was a small dark hole.
“Huh,” Shaun said beside me. “I’m starting to wonder…”
“Wonder? About what?”
“You.” He bent down to examine the hole. It was tight, but he would fit. “You keep trying to get me alone in tight spaces.” He reached back and grabbed the camping lantern, then got down on all fours and looked back over his shoulder. “I am hot—you know, in a cocky, annoying kind of way, right?”
Oh my God. He’d heard it all. I was never going to hear the end of that…
Chapter Twelve
The tunnel leading from Gerald’s panic room dumped us out in the basement of a feed store. It must have been the building I’d seen in the distance right before we fell through the trap door. Thankfully, due to the time we’d spent stuck in the pit, it was late and the store was closed. We were alone.
I gathered some paper towels and soaked them with warm water from the sink in the bathroom, then grabbed an archaic first aid kit I’d found beneath the sink. Coming back out to the main room, I said, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but take off your shirt.”