by Lexi Post
When she didn’t come outside at the loud bang, his senses when into high alert. Something wasn’t right. He had the same feeling when a fire was acting strangely. Sometimes it meant they were gaining control, but sometimes…
Striding to the house, he ran up the three steps to the porch, yanked open the screen door and banged on the closed front door. He focused on listening, waiting to hear footsteps inside, a yell, anything that indicated she was okay. When all remained silent, he tried the door. It was unlocked, which just made him more uneasy.
Entering the white hallway with wainscoting running its length, he quickly ducked his head in the two front rooms, but there was no sign of her. In fact, the house felt eerily empty. Visions of her lying on the floor unconscious filled his head. “Riley! You in here?”
Not waiting for an answer, he strode down the hall, checking the kitchen, family room, master bedroom, sun porch on the back, even the half bath. Heading back for the stairs at the front, he yelled again. “Riley O’Hare! Where are you?”
Bounding up the steps to the second floor, he made a quick inspection of each of the three bedrooms and bathroom. Now that he’d ascertained she wasn’t in trouble, he exited the house more calmly. Walking outside, he took stock of the area.
Her truck was here as was the ATV. So unless she’d taken off with someone, which was possible, though unlikely as she knew he’d be here with more horses, that meant she had to be on the ranch somewhere.
Movement in the south corral caught his attention. It was Lucky and Phoenix running between their mothers. Maybe Riley had gone for a ride. Stepping off the porch, he once more headed for the barn.
The only time he’d seen Riley soften was when she’d hugged her black and white paint. The horse wasn’t outside, so was she in the barn? After a quick inspection, he had his answer. She had to be out for a ride.
Still, it didn’t set well that she would ride out knowing he’d be arriving. Maybe she was at Cole’s. It couldn’t hurt to head out and check…but on which horse? Though the horses he’d just brought had no particular issues, his gut told him Wyatt would be pissed if he showed up and one horse was missing.
He had no doubt Wyatt would arrive within the hour if not sooner. He really needed to talk to Riley about the man before he arrived. Decision made, he grabbed a saddle and bridle and walked out to Black Jack. “What do you say, boy. Ready to stretch your legs?”
The fine horse’s ears pricked up as he opened the stall and saddled him. In short order, they were galloping down the road to Cole’s. When they arrived, he tied Black Jack to the small corral and looked around. He called out a few more times. The silence seemed to laugh at him. It had to be about noon and the desert was as silent as the dead.
Stepping just inside the smaller barn, he found Cole’s two horses but no paint. Once again, the feeling that something wasn’t right gnawed at him. Stepping back outside, he stared at the ground. He was better at tracking a fire than a person, but it couldn’t hurt to try.
There were horse prints over tire tracks and they led toward the desert. Untying Black Jack, he followed the tracks. As he spotted a narrow trail, he noticed dog tracks as well. Had a rabid coyote been out here? As far as he knew, Cole had no dogs on his ranch, but he couldn’t be sure.
He continued down the path. The tracks could have been made days ago, but he had nothing else to go on, except the feeling in his gut that it was important he find Riley, preferably before Wyatt arrived.
When the tracks veered from the path where fainter tracks could be seen continuing, he mounted Black Jack. “Let’s take a walk.” From on top of the horse, he could see the tracks clearly in the dust that coated the ground. He was lucky the wind hadn’t wiped the tracks away.
The image of the dust devil he’d seen when he arrived bowled through his mind. What if that hadn’t been a dust devil?
Riley forced herself to walk the fifteen feet that separated Domino from the entrance to the mine. It was like a black hole to hell. She stood before the opening no more than ten feet wide and seven feet tall. Miniscule compared to the cave she’d run into outside Chora in Afghanistan.
“Nope, not going there.” She shook her head. She wasn’t going into the mine either. She needed something to lure Dog out. Something more exciting than the damned rabbit. Food would be—she reached her hand into her back pocket and pulled out the baggy with lunchmeat. Score!
“Come here, Dog!” She opened the bag. “You want some more meat?”
No sound emerged from inside.
She tried again. “Come on, Dog. Aren’t you hungry?” She tried to make her voice sound enticing, but being so close to the entrance had her throat too tight. Come on, puppy. Don’t make me go in there.
Maybe she should go back to the ranch and see if Garrett would help. He should still be unloading horses.
At the sound of a yelp, she started, her heart moving into her throat. That didn’t sound good. A rabbit couldn’t hurt a dog. Did he misstep and even now was standing in the dark with one paw lifted? Or had a piece of the old shaft hit him and pinned him and that’s why he wasn’t coming out?
Even as the image of Dog lying unable to get up materialized in her mind, her decision was made.
Walking back to Domino, she grabbed the water bottle she’d dropped in the saddle bags and the towel she always brought with her. Then she checked her pockets as usual, stuffing the baggy back in her back pocket. “Wait for me, Domino. I’ll be right back.”
Returning to the mine entrance, she tried one more time. “Dog. Come here, Dog.” Her voice barely made it past her lips.
Embrace your fear. Let it make you stronger, more in tune with your surroundings.
Her father’s voice as he coached her while rock climbing when she was still a teen reverberated through her mind. If it could keep her alive in Afghanistan, it could keep her alive retrieving a mutt from an old copper mine.
Throwing the towel around her neck, she turned on the flashlight of her cell phone and stepped inside.
Just moving out of the sun had the air feeling cooler. As she stared at the blackness beyond the light, her throat completely closed, making it hard to breathe. She was Army dammit. As her father always said, act like it.
The ground was littered with both manmade and natural debris. Stepping over two of the old beams that used to support the opening, she moved her light over the wall and up. The header beam was missing, too. Nothing held the ceiling in place anymore. A chill ran through her, causing the sweat beneath her breasts and arms to feel downright cold.
The walls and ceiling were brown just like the dirt on the desert floor. Dirt that could be whisked away by a breeze. She swallowed hard, trying to free her throat to speak. She called out again. “Dog, where are you?”
A skittering sounded on her right, and she swung the light to the wall in time to see dirt settling on the ground. Great. Just great.
She remained where she was, listening, still close enough to the entrance to escape if the walls crumbled. But staying there wouldn’t find Dog. “Come on Dog. Don’t make me come after you.” She kept her words quiet, pleased to hear no crumbling dirt.
Focusing the light ahead of her, she peered down the tunnel. The steel rails were still intact, though the wood supports were barely discernable, either covered in dirt or disintegrated. Based on how the Arizona heat dry-rotted the sturdiest items, she’d lay her money on disintegrated.
Standing where she was certainly wasn’t going to solve anything, except to make it harder to move. Every one of her muscles felt tight enough to snap. Taking a deep breath, she counted to ten. On her exhale, she moved forward, staying between the rails, not willing to move anything.
Find Dog.
Dog needed help.
Dog couldn’t find his way out.
She kept her focus on her mission, ignoring herself. That had always worked well. Retrieve dog and return to camp. Just the two of them. There was no one else. No one left. All shot. She had to make
it back.
The brown earth without supports changed to brown earth with squared-off supports and then to a more narrow passage of hard rock in a mixture of grays that that curved to a peak not far above her head. She continued forward stepping carefully, listening intently.
Ahead the tunnel split, halting her forward movement. This wasn’t right. There were supposed to be three. She blinked, not comprehending.
A bark came from the left tunnel. She shook her head as her brain cleared itself of old memories. Dog. She was here in Arizona looking for the dog. Grasping onto that thought with her mind, she moved closer to the entrance of the left tunnel. It felt wrong. She wanted to go right. Right was where the hole to the cavern was that only she could fit through.
No! This was not Afghanistan. Dog was in the left tunnel. “Come on O’Hare, hold it together.” The sound of her voice helped her stay focused. “Dog, are you down there?”
A small woof floated up the tunnel followed by scratching and a whine. Was he hurt? “I’m coming. Don’t move from there. Wait for me.”
She started forward again keeping the light on the ground. Staying between the rails was easier now as less rot had occurred and the wood cross-ties made a fairly clear walkway. “I’m coming. Where are you?”
She lifted the light to peer down the infinite darkness, movement at the very end of her beam catching her attention. She hurried forward, focused on the rump and tail of Dog. As she drew closer, she moved faster.
“Shit.” Two fallen beams had left a small hole big enough for a rabbit to burrow through, but too small for Dog’s hip bones, or she hoped it was too small. Dirt littered the ground around Dog as he wiggled to get through.
Dropping to her knees, she grabbed him with one arm, but as she pulled him back, he tried to get away, causing the beams to shift. Dropping her phone, she wrapped her other arm around him and pulled him back. The top beam slammed down on the one below it, closing off the hole.
Dog squirmed in her arms, but she held on until he licked at her face.
“Ugh, stop that. Gross.” She let go one arm and wiped her face with the towel.
Dog barked.
“Ow, I’m right here.” Grabbing her phone, she turned the light toward dog. He was dirty, but didn’t appear to have any scratches. “The rabbit’s gone home. You ready to get the hell out of here?”
Dog wiggled in her grasp, and she released him. He immediately turned back to the beams and sniffed.
“See, I told you. It’s gone. Now let’s go home.”
Dog pawed at the wood.
“Oh, no. You are not digging under there. Come on.” Bending over, she scooped him up again and headed for the exit. Even with her phone light on, she couldn’t see it. Her heart thudded as her memories threatened to play with her head.
She grasped dog tighter. “We’re in this together.” Last time she was alone. Now, she had Dog and an open exit. She just needed to get back to it. “Okay, you weren’t that far down here. It’s probably only a quarter mile at best. Stay with me here.”
She was only talking to keep her own sanity. “There are plenty of other rabbits out in the desert for you to chase, and I’m sure when Whisper comes home, she’ll introduce you to all of them. Though I doubt she’d be happy if you decided to bring one home less than alive. She’s very particular about her wildlife. No, you don’t qualify as wildlife.”
Part of her was glad no one else could hear her. “I may be insane talking to you, but it’s better than going bat-shit-crazy in this crappy mine. As soon as we get back, I’m making it a priority to board this hellhole up.”
As they exited the rabbit tunnel where it connected to the main one, she halted. Now it looked like two tunnels, one to the right and one to the left. She turned the light back toward the ground to see if she could see her footsteps. She wasn’t sure, but it looked like a possible print to her right. Removing the towel from her neck, she walked back the way she came, searching for an outcropping in the rock. Finally finding one, she hung the towel on it. “There. Now if I choose the wrong direction, I’ll know this was the tunnel where you went down the rabbit hole.”
Moving back to the intersection, she turned the light beam to the ground. The last thing she needed was to twist an ankle on her way out. She was almost there. She had to be.
“Riley, you in there?” The loud voice sent dirt skittering down the walls.
Her heart jumped in her chest. “Shhhhh.” Great. Now she had to deal with Garrett, too. How had he found her, and why wasn’t he at the ranch with Wyatt?
“Riley?” More dirt hit the ground.
She snapped. “Will you be quiet! Can’t you see this mine is unstable.” At her words, a fallen timber ahead of her shifted from where it leaned against the wall and fell, slamming onto the rails, the force vibrating the ground beneath her feet.
Fuck! She started to run, no longer caring about being Army. She wanted out!
Footsteps coming toward her made her stop. They found her! She spun to run back the way she came.
“Riley.” Garrett’s quiet voice, stopped her.
She turned back to see a light like her own. What was she doing? This was Arizona. Grasping Dog close, she started toward the exit again. Light meant escape.
It took her a few moments to understand the light was from Garrett’s phone, but it didn’t matter. He’d come from outside. She had to get outside.
The light came up and shone in her eyes. “Riley?” He was only a few feet away now.
She stopped, turning her head. “Mind not blinding me?” She blinked as white spots danced against the darkness.
“What the hell are you doing in here? It’s not safe.”
She wanted to laugh and lash out at the same time. Instead, she did neither. She headed for his voice even as she watched the ground beneath her feet. When she came abreast of him, she continued to walk past, but he grabbed her arm.
She yanked away from him, losing her balance and hitting the side wall. Her phone dropped, but she still had Dog. Panic crept up her throat as she slid to the ground, dirt trickling beside her, and she closed her eyes as memories of being hit with pounds of earth flooded her psyche. Her breath caught, and she shivered with fear.
“Hey, you okay?” His deep voice above her pulled her from the brink of terror.
She nodded, but didn’t open her eyes.
“We’re not that far from the exit. You ready to get out of here?”
More than ready, but she couldn’t seem to open her eyes. “Minute.” The word rasped from her dry throat.
“No rush.” He didn’t touch her, but she could sense him close.
Now all she had to do was open her eyes and walk out. She wouldn’t have to crawl out, just stroll outside into the Arizona heat. Just open her eyes and…and stroll. She could do that. She was Army. Act like it! Despite her pep talk, she couldn’t make it happen.
Would he think it weird if she asked him to guide her out? But let him know her weakness? She’d never let her men or women know she was afraid, and that was when she had reason to be afraid. This was all in her head. All she had to do was open her eyes and walk.
Dog came to her rescue, sort of. At that moment, he decided her face being that close to his was entirely irresistible, and he licked her cheek.
Her eyelids rose as she turned her head. “Will you stop that?” Her gaze landed on her phone on the ground, its clear case reflecting the light from Garrett’s. She snatched it up.
“Need help?” He kept the light out of her eyes, but she could see his outstretched hand beneath it.
“No, I’m good.” That would rank right up there as one of the most bald-faced lies she’d ever told. She wasn’t good. She was a mess.
Grasping Dog tighter, she rose and looked toward what she thought was the way out. There was no light, just darkness. Had she mixed up again and lost her bearings? Her heartbeat raced as dread slithered up her spine. “Where’s the exit?” Her voice squeaked, her hysteria just below
the surface, but she didn’t care. She had to get out.
“It’s right up there. No need to worry. Here, let me turn off my light.”
Her breath stopped as they were enveloped in darkness, but as her eyes adjusted, she could see the reflection of light off the cave walls up head. She breathed in. There must be a bend in the cave she hadn’t noticed. Without thought, she moved forward and promptly tripped.
The hand on her upper arm kept her from going down. “Hold on, let me give us some light.”
She didn’t need light, she needed to get out. She took another step just as light speared the ground in front of her. At the sight of the bulge in the dirt, she shifted her footstep to avoid the IED and bumped into her escort. God, the bombs were everywhere! How could she have missed them on the way in?
“Riley, stop.”
At the commanding tone, she regained her balance, but she couldn’t obey. She didn’t care if she was dishonorably discharged. “I can’t. I have to get out.”
“Okay, okay. Here.”
The ground beneath her feet lit up again, and she started forward, careful to avoid the bumps in the earth, staying between the lines of the path. Had she seen those when she ran in? As she came to the bend in the cave, the heat and light from outside streamed in. The opening was bigger than she remembered digging, but she didn’t care. She was getting out. She was free!
She hugged herself tightly and a loud yelp issued out. She stopped, confused at the animal in her arms, her mind trying to grasp her reality.
She had no time to contemplate where it came from as a loud creak filled the cave followed by a deep rumbling. Rocks rolled down the walls as two large beams crashed across her path. Dirt showered from the ceiling like a waterfall, the light from outside disappearing.
“No!” She lunged forward.
Like a slingshot, she felt herself pulled backward and she lost her balance, falling.
“Oof.”
She didn’t think twice about the body beneath her. Just another dead enemy, but the exit! Scrambling up, she stared at the blackness in front of her. Blocked.