Your Life or Mine

by Vicki Bradley

  Lena had thought that Kowalski had feelings for her. Loxton felt a pang of shame that she’d ever doubted him. She wanted to reach out to him, but it felt like there was an impenetrable wall between them now. Kowalski was in a place she didn’t know, his face wracked with grief and horror at Lena’s revenge against him.

  She tried to stand but her head felt light and her vision blurred. She blinked rapidly to try to focus.

  Kowalski moved over to her. ‘Let me see.’

  She gingerly lifted her shirt so that he could see the damage that had been done. She turned her head away. She didn’t want to see. He pulled off his shirt and twisted it into a bandage. He wrapped it around her waist and tied it tight. She grunted at the sharp pain as he finished the knot. Kowalski watched the bandage for a moment and then his frown increased. She looked down and saw dark red beginning to seep through the material.

  ‘We’ve got to get you out of here. Do you think you can walk?’

  ‘I can try,’ she said.

  He unbuttoned her shirt, gently taking it off and twisting it into a second bandage to put around her midriff. He wrapped that on top of the first and tied it even tighter. She winced in pain, taking in a sharp breath. The pain radiated through her abdomen and lights swam in front of her eyes.

  ‘Ready?’ he asked.

  ‘Just give me a moment,’ she managed. She wasn’t sure if she could even stand. She didn’t think she would be getting out of here alive.

  Kowalski looked down at Lena’s dead body in disbelief, as if his mind were unable to process it all. ‘She was a good person once,’ Kowalski said. ‘This was Szyman´ski. It was him.’

  Loxton saw all the good memories of Lena etched on his face. And in the end, it had come to this.

  ‘Szyman´ski’s dead, Dominik. Lena did this all on her own and I’m glad she’s gone.’ It was all Loxton could do to stop herself from screaming with rage at the woman who was broken and dead in the water. Loxton would be joining her if she didn’t get out of this place soon. Her shoulder throbbed, her sides were swollen and sore, and she was dizzy and growing weaker.

  She had come so close to suffering the fate that Emma, Sarah and Gabriella had. She thought of the fear they’d felt, the fear that she’d now experienced. She couldn’t pretend anymore. The terror and the pain they’d undergone with Lena’s cold eyes watching them, full of hate. Had Jane died down here too, or was she tied up nearby, scared and alone?

  ‘Jane could still be alive,’ Loxton said. ‘We need to find her.’

  ‘We need to get you out of here,’ Kowalski said. ‘You’ve lost a lot of blood. And I’ve been searching these tunnels for hours. I haven’t found her. We need to get you out. They’ll get search dogs down here.’

  ‘Please, let’s just check the area where Lena planned to kill me. There was another chamber behind where I woke up. I know the way from here. And the entrance I came in can’t be far from here.’ She tried to stand, but her arms shook as she tried to push herself up.

  ‘Let me help you.’ Kowalski crouched next to her. He put his hands under her arms and pulled her upwards. The pain was extraordinary and she gasped involuntarily.

  ‘I know, I know,’ he said gently.

  She was standing, but only just. He wrapped his arm around her back, and she slung her arm over his shoulders, using him to keep herself standing up.

  They made their way painfully back towards the chamber Loxton had woken up in. Her ragged breath and the splashing of their feet were the only sounds. Could Jane have been so close to her? And was there any chance she was still alive? Loxton couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her alone down here.

  They reached the chamber and Loxton recognized it immediately. It was larger than the others, with a curved tiled ceiling above her. On the floor was a discarded black sports bag and inside she caught a glimpse of surgical wipes, ropes, a glass dildo, plastic gloves and a forensic suit. She felt the bile rise as she thought about how close she had come to being violated and killed.

  ‘Christ,’ Kowalski said, his voice echoing around the chamber.

  ‘She went back there.’ Loxton pointed towards the narrow tunnel Lena had gone down and they made their way through the water. It felt colder here, darker.

  Kowalski spun the torch around the cramped side chamber they found themselves in. There were no other exits; it was a dead end. A tiny square was chiselled into the rock and she wondered what purpose this room had once served. She saw some bloodied torn ropes floating on the surface of the water.

  Kowalski leaned her against the wall and then he crouched down to examine the ropes. ‘They look roughly cut, not by anything sharp. Are they yours?’

  Loxton shook her head and stared around the small space. Is this where Jane had been hidden until it was her turn to be moved into the killing chamber?

  Kowalski frowned at Loxton, shining the light into her face. She blinked into the blinding white, putting her hand up to shield her eyes.

  ‘You don’t look so good,’ he said. ‘Come on, that’s it. Let’s find the entry you came through. It can’t be far.’ He put his arm around her back and she used him to prop herself up as they headed back out into the large cold chamber. She shivered with blood loss and the horror of what had happened here. She was glad to be leaving.

  It felt like they had been stumbling through the tunnels in silence for hours, but the truth was it had probably only been minutes. Kowalski kept stopping at numbers scrawled on the walls and to check the map, but she couldn’t focus, everything was dancing in front of her eyes.

  She felt her energy waning and the darkness seemed to grow with every step they took. Despair began to take hold. If they couldn’t find their way out of this maze soon, she would bleed to death. She knew Lena hadn’t called for backup or told Winter where they were. She’d been an idiot to trust Lena when she’d climbed down that ladder. And now no one was coming to save them – to save her.

  She staggered forward, nearly losing her footing as her feet went numb and her hands tingled. She struggled onwards, one hand in front of her, but there was nothing to hold on to but blackness. She felt her legs going underneath her. Kowalski pulled her closer, keeping her upright.

  ‘Dominik…’ She felt the world tip and everything rotate.

  ‘I’ve got you,’ he said. ‘Don’t worry, I’ve got you.’ He lifted her up into his arms. She was being rocked gently backwards and forwards and she felt so tired. It was so hard to stay awake. She couldn’t tell if her eyes were closed or open. She could hear his voice, but she couldn’t make out the words. Everything felt so hard, too hard, and she didn’t want to fight anymore. She let herself go. It was time. All she wanted to do was sleep.

  Shaking. The earth was shaking. She thought of an earthquake and tried to look around, but the world was pitch black. Perhaps she was dreaming?

  ‘Alana, wake up!’ Kowalski sounded panicked. The shaking grew more violent and she moaned. She just wanted to sleep.

  ‘Alana, you’ve got to stay awake. It’s important.’

  She mumbled, ‘Dominik.’

  ‘Please. I can’t lose you too.’ His voice was urgent.

  ‘I’m right here.’ She couldn’t understand why he was so worried or why it was so dark. She tried to stay awake for him, but it was so hard. It felt impossible.

  Chapter 49

  Saturday 5 February, 14:15

  Loud, rasping sobs echoed in her head. Desperate. She forced her eyes open and she saw Kowalski’s face near her, the torchlight exaggerating his forehead, nose and jaw, making his face look skull-like.

  He had balanced the torch against a cold, ancient wall, so that it cast its light upwards. It was like they were gathered around a campfire about to tell ghost stories. There was someone with him – someone crying.

  ‘Who… who is it?’ Her voice croaked and she felt the coarseness in it. She was so thirsty; it was painful to talk.

  ‘Alana.’ Kowalski rushed to her side, crouching down next to
her. ‘It’s Jane. We’ve found Jane.’

  Loxton peered into the darkness and the figure moved towards her and into the light. Jane’s crying rose when she saw Loxton, the pain and panic turning into horror. ‘Oh my God, is that Alana?’

  Loxton wasn’t sure who else Jane thought it could be, but she didn’t question her friend. She didn’t have the energy to ask what she meant.

  ‘I saw Alana in the chamber with a woman, Alana had a knife in her neck. And then that woman came after me, so I had to run. She had a knife. I thought Alana was already dead.’

  Loxton wanted to say thank you. That Jane had actually saved her life, drawing Lena away from her so she could escape. But she couldn’t form the words.

  ‘We’ve got to get her out of here.’ Kowalski had lowered his voice, but Loxton couldn’t tell who he was trying to stop from hearing. ‘She’s in a really bad way.’

  ‘Is that woman close?’ Jane’s eyes were wild. ‘We need to turn that fucking torchlight off.’

  ‘It’s okay.’ Kowalski put his hands on Jane’s shoulders. ‘Alana took care of her. She’s dead.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ Jane whispered. ‘We need to be sure.’

  Kowalski nodded. ‘I saw for myself. She’s dead.’

  Jane broke down again, tears wracking her body. She tried to steady her breathing. She seemed to gather herself. She looked dreadful. ‘I’ve been trying to find a way out.’ Her voice sounded funny. ‘But it all just leads in circles.’

  ‘How did you get away?’ Kowalski asked.

  ‘She’d tied my ankles and feet together. Left me in a small chamber. Said she’d be back. I managed to crawl to a wall and rub at the ropes. It felt like hours. Once my hands were free of my ankles I could crawl, and I just started going. I couldn’t be there when she came back. I crawled for as far as I could and then stopped to free my ankles. Then I could run. I’ve been running ever since.’

  ‘How did you hide from her?’

  ‘The tunnels are long, and when I heard her coming, I moved quietly, always keeping ahead of her. There’s not too many cul-de-sacs around here; it all seems to go on forever, but then I keep ending up near the chamber. It’s like a nightmare I can’t wake up from. I thought I’d learnt all the routes but then I can’t have, unless it all goes in a circle. There were a few close calls when I saw the light from her torch, but I knew where the crossroads were. How long have I been down here for?’

  ‘Forty hours, give or take.’ Kowalski shook his head. ‘Maybe a little longer.’

  She nodded in the gloom. ‘I thought I’d been here for days. I’ve not slept. I kept thinking she’d done something to my boys. They are all right, aren’t they, Dominik? You said they were okay.’

  ‘They’re okay, I promise,’ Kowalski said. ‘What about water? Alana needs some.’

  ‘There are places where water’s trickling down the walls. I’ll show you. I’ve been drinking that, from as high up as I can. I didn’t want to risk the water below.’

  ‘Can you show me? We can bring some back for her.’

  Jane looked at Loxton and she nodded, not saying any more. Loxton wanted to go with them, but she couldn’t lift her head up. Minutes later they were back, and a strip of wet cloth was put against her mouth. She sucked at the water greedily.

  ‘I’ve been struggling to find the way out of here in the dark, but if you give me the torch, I’ll be able to find the tunnel I’ve been missing.’ Jane put her hand out.

  Kowalski hesitated. ‘I’m stronger than you are. You’ve not eaten anything or slept.’

  ‘But I know the paths, Dominik. I’ll be quicker.’

  ‘We should go together,’ Kowalski said. ‘I can carry her.’

  ‘You’ll slow me down, and should you really move her?’

  Kowalski’s eyes met Loxton’s.

  ‘You should both go,’ Loxton said. Her throat felt like sandpaper. ‘It’s our best chance. My best chance.’ She knew that when they left, she’d probably never see them again. She didn’t have long left, maybe an hour, maybe just minutes. But the thought that they would be getting out, back into the light, eased the realization that she was going to die down here. For a moment she let herself imagine Jane’s children seeing their mother again. Ben’s face when he saw her.

  ‘I don’t want to leave you,’ Kowalski said.

  ‘And I don’t want to die. This is my best chance. If Jane goes but can’t make it out, then you won’t be sat here waiting for us to be rescued; you’ll be sat here watching me die. You know it, Dominik.’

  Kowalski stared at her hard, frowning. His face cracked. ‘All right. What blood type are you?’

  ‘A rhesus-positive.’

  ‘We’ll be back. Just hold on.’

  She tried to nod but the effort was too much. She watched the light receding. Watched Kowalski and Jane moving away. Jane was safe. Kowalski was safe. It was over. She felt tears well in her eyes. Nothing mattered but that Kowalski was safe. He would go on. She hadn’t made a terrible mistake in these dark tunnels.

  Chapter 50

  Saturday 5 February, 15:01

  Loxton shivered as she lay on the damp floor. The tiny patter of paws grew closer and she felt something brush against her arm. She managed a strangled moan and the animal skittered away. It wouldn’t be long before her moans stopped working. The blood on her arm was too tempting and she was growing weaker. Tiny eyes watched her. They could sense their time was coming.

  She didn’t know how long she’d been laid there on her own in the dark. She’d been dreaming of her mother in the garden, hanging washing out while Loxton played at her feet. Her mother had been singing, but Loxton couldn’t remember the tune now. Then storm clouds had covered the blue sky above them, her mother oblivious, and the heavens had opened. A torrent of rain, the water hammering her head, soaking her as the temperature dropped. She shivered as she sat on the grass, her toys abandoned. The rain splashing against her head and bare legs, the noise deafening. All the while her mother didn’t seem to realize that they were getting soaked. That she was freezing.

  Splashing. And voices shouting. She shivered in the cold. She wanted to call out to them, but she couldn’t. The darkness was so complete around her. But then she saw it. The light dancing wildly in the black.

  ‘Alana!’ Kowalski’s voice called to her. ‘Alana, we’re coming!’

  She saw dark figures rushing towards her, growing bigger and bigger until they were nearly on top of her.

  ‘Thank God,’ Kowalski whispered.

  Paramedics knelt in the dirty water next to her. A bright white light burnt into her eyes. ‘Alana, can you hear me?’

  She couldn’t even nod her head, but she kept her eyes open, even though the light sent a searing pain sharp into her brain.

  ‘She’s lost a lot of blood.’ The paramedic lifted a bag of it off the stretcher. ‘A rhesus-positive, correct?’

  ‘That’s right,’ Kowalski said.

  The other paramedic took her arm and she felt a sharp pain, which was then dulled by the throbbing in her shoulder. One paramedic handed the bag to Kowalski. ‘Hold it a little higher and gently squeeze it. That’s it. Keep that up while we try to stop the bleeding.’

  They untied the bandage around her shoulder and a new wave of pain hit her, making her head dizzier.

  ‘Still bleeding. Try the cold compress and let’s bandage her up again and get her on the stretcher.’

  Loxton felt the cold on her skin and for a moment there was relief, but that was soon replaced with searing pain. The paramedic’s rough hands wrapped a bandage tight around her shoulder and she gasped. Then they lifted her onto a stretcher. She moaned in agony and the paramedic looked relieved. ‘She’s picking up. Come on, let’s get her out of here.’

  Kowalski handed the bag to the smaller paramedic and took hold of the stretcher. ‘You hold on, Alana. You’re going to be okay.’

  She didn’t think she’d ever be okay again, but before she could tell him, the dar
kness folded in around her.

  Chapter 51

  Sunday 6 February, 13:02

  ‘Alana, how are you feeling?’ Winter smiled at her.

  It was strange seeing him in a jumper and jeans. She wasn’t sure it suited him. She coughed as she tried to answer.

  ‘Not great,’ she admitted, her voice hoarse. ‘My throat’s killing me.’ Her shoulder ached and her arm too. She grimaced as the pain radiated down her sides. Her head was banging as if something was digging inside it and the sockets of her eyes throbbed worse than any migraine, the hospital lights too bright.

  Winter poured her a glass of water out of the plastic jug and held it out to her. She took it gingerly and sipped.

  ‘How’s Jane?’ she asked.

  ‘Recovering well. Her husband and children were thrilled to have her home. She didn’t need to stay in long, just dehydrated, sprained wrists and ankles, but it’ll all heal. Nothing serious. How are you doing?’

  ‘They say no major ligaments or nerves were damaged so I should make a full recovery.’ She thought of Emma, Sarah and Gabriella. There was no recovery for them. ‘Is Dominik all right? He hasn’t come to see me.’ It bothered her more than she wanted to admit. She’d expected him at her bedside when she woke up, but instead he’d been absent the whole time she’d been in here.

  ‘He’s suspended. We’ve told him he’s not allowed to see you. I’m sorry, but you understand what a mess this is. He didn’t disclose the relationships with the victims. And there are real question marks about his involvement with Lena Trawinska. He brought her on to the case.’

  Loxton sat up straighter, wincing as she did so.

  ‘I know, I know.’ Winter put his hand up as if to placate her. ‘I’m sorry, at the very least he’s made some serious errors of judgement, and at the worst… Well, the investigation is ongoing.’

  Loxton shook her head in frustration. ‘You’re wrong about him, sir. He didn’t know what Lena was. She admitted she was avenging Szyman´ski’s death; she blamed Dominik for catching him and sending him to prison. We can’t let her win. Without Dominik I’d be dead. Jane would be dead too.’