by Lexi Post
“Riley!”
“What?” She pulled back lifting her spike in the air, ready to strike.
“Who are you talking to?”
She blinked. That was Garrett. What the hell? She’d been talking to her mother. Shit, it was just like in Afghanistan, but that was after days of being alone in the dark. She’d only been in here a couple hours and not alone. She needed to get out.
She ignored Garrett’s question and went back to digging. Stab, wiggle, tug, and shove. Stab, wiggle, tug and shove. She repeated the words in her head with each motion. Though the silence continued, she wouldn’t ask him to talk. She just needed to get out.
Stab, wiggle, tug and shove. Pat it all down. Is that where patty cake came from? What was a patty cake? Any cake would taste good right about now. She was low on supplies and if she didn’t see daylight soon, she’d starve to death. Even if it was nighttime, she’d know. She’d feel air movement, maybe even see the stars. The stars were so clear here. It had surprised her when she first arrived to see such beauty in such a war-torn country.
Pull back, pat down. Ignore the numb fingertips. Progress was paramount. Escape was necessary for survival. Whatever it took to survive. The beetles, the snake, the poor bird stuck in with her. She had to survive. Had to tell her superiors of the ambush, of her men shot down for no reason. No, there was a reason. They were Americans. They had a vehicle and that was reason enough.
What the hell were they doing over here. They all should go home. Not in body bags. She had to stay alive to tell their tale. She had to dig. Dig faster. Survive long enough to get out. Pat it down. Pull it out. Move forward. Get out. Get—No!
The swooshing sound of the collapse was not enough warning.
She spit out dirt, trying to breathe, the weight on her back pinning her down. The dirt suffocating her, covering her body. She couldn’t move. Survive! Survive!
Chapter Seven
The sound of falling gravel had Garrett lunging forward in the dark, the phone forgotten in his rush. “Fuck! Riley!” He scrambled up the pile and latched onto her ankles. Throwing his body weight back, he yanked hard. She came out of the collapse coughing as they both lay on the slope of fresh earth.
“Are you okay?” He rolled onto his knees and feeling for her shoulders pulled her up so her face wasn’t in the dirt.
She didn’t respond immediately as she hacked.
He rubbed her back, patting it in between, keeping her torso upright despite the slant they sat on. His own heart was pounding a path out of his chest, and he focused on taking deep breaths even as he held her steady.
“I’m alive.” A cough followed her pronouncement.
Unable to stifle his relief, he hugged her to him. “Thank God.”
She pushed away, but held onto him. “What? Are you afraid to be alone in this mine by yourself? Worried about ghosts?”
He shook his head despite the fact she couldn’t see him. “Yeah, that must be it.”
“I thought so.” Another cough followed her statement.
“Let me help you down.”
“We’re not down?” The softness of her voice said far more than her words.
He didn’t blame her for fearing another collapse. “Only half way.” He turned her forward to get her bearings and they half-slid, half-walked the last few feet of the slope. “Stay right here.”
He moved to where he hoped the phone would be and instead found Dog. “Hey buddy, were you worried. She’s okay.”
“Dog?” At Riley’s voice, the mutt moved, most likely to go to her.
He felt around until he finally found the phone and switched on the light. Damn, he’d blinded himself again. He quickly turned it toward the depths of the mine and looked back at Riley.
She fought off Dog’s anxious licks. “I’m okay, you silly dog.” She finally grabbed him and set him on her lap.
Her red hair was brown with dirt, her face filthy, and her jeans covered, but it was her left arm that concerned him. A six-inch scratch was deep enough to ooze significant blood. More than he was comfortable with. She had all the ingredients for an infection. “Where’s that water you said you had?”
“We should wait. It’s too soon yet.”
Ignoring the fact that she sounded like there was a particular timetable they had to follow to survive, he pointed at her arm. “Not to drink. I need to clean that or infection will set in.” And the last thing he needed was for her to become delirious.
She looked at her arm. “I didn’t even feel that.” She pointed with that hand, her other arm holding Dog at bay. “It’s about ten yards down this tunnel on your side. There’s a gray rock with an edge just wide enough for it and my phone.”
He smiled at her before heading in the direction she’d pointed. “Gray, huh?” All the rocks were gray.
She shook her head at him, obviously not finding his question humorous.
He focused the light on the wall until it glinted off the plastic water bottle. Gabbing it up, he turned and headed back. “Don’t let him lick that scratch. Dogs’ mouths are filled with germs.”
She frowned. “I wasn’t planning to let him near it. I’m not stupid.”
He slowed. “I’d never think you were stupid. It’s just my firefighter training coming into play. It keeps the fear at bay.”
“Fear? Of what?”
He sighed as he dropped down to his knees next to her. “Fear that you almost died. Fear that this might become infected and you get seriously sick. I always fear for those I save. It’s why I jumped at the chance to fight wildfires, to avoid structure fires as much as possible. Structure fires could mean trapped people. Fear. Now keep Dog away while I clean this.”
Pulling his handkerchief from his back pocket, he dribbled water on it and carefully cleansed the scratch. “I’d like to clean your whole arm, but that would take too much water. We should cover this to keep it clean. There’s far too much loose dirt in here.”
“You can use my bandana.”
“Is that hidden somewhere, too.” He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes scanning the wall.
“No, it’s in my back pocket.”
She rose and pulled out her bandana amid a spray of gravel. She held it out and shrugged. “Maybe not.”
“We can leave the wound open, but only if you’re careful not to lean it against anything.”
“The only way I can guarantee that is to stand in the middle of this mine tunnel, and even then, dirt could fall from the ceiling.”
She had a good point. He needed something clean. The outside of their clothes were filthy, but the inside might have possibilities. Unfortunately, all she had on was a tank top. He unbuttoned the end of his left sleeve, which was dark with dirt. “I’m going to need your help.”
She buried the bandana in her back pocket. “Sure, what do you want me to do?”
“We need to rip this sleeve along the seam and at the shoulder. Then we cut off the ends, and—”
“The inside is a clean bandage. Got it.” Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out a multi-purpose knife. “Now, hold still.”
He raised one eyebrow at her as he held the light so she could see the seam.
Slipping the sharp edge under the cuff so it faced out, she tore the stitching. Once started, she closed the knife and ripped the sleeve to the shoulder. “You know, it would be easier if you just took the shirt off.”
That wasn’t going to happen. At least not while the light was on. “We’re almost done. If you’re nervous about cutting me, you can hold the material while I do it.”
She snorted, making it clear what she thought of that idea. Usually, a woman snorting to him sounded funny or vulgar, but Riley’s snorts were done with such authority, it seemed like just another expression like a grunt or a whistle.
“There. Got it.” The sleeve was pulled from his shirt in a final yank. “Nice guns. Didn’t realize how much was under those sleeves.”
He was glad she couldn’t see his flush. “Good,
now I can cut the ends.”
She stepped back. “I can do it.”
He had no doubt she could, so he let her finish the project.
“There. All ready for wrapping.” She turned her left arm over to inspect it. Her movement had caused the blood to flow again. “Let me have your handkerchief.”
Curious, he handed it over, holding the wet side in his hand. “This area is still clean.”
Carefully, she used it to wipe up the blood, then she took the damp part and used it to clean more dirt from around her wound. When she finished, she looked at him. His surprise must have shown on his face. “What? Blood is moist and worthless at this point. Might as well save our water for staying alive.” She held out the sleeve. “Your turn.”
He stepped forward and took the material. “You better hold the light.”
Now that he had a better view of the wound, he could see the jagged edges. Whatever rock had dug into her skin, it hadn’t been sharp. Just sharp enough to do damage and possibly leave pieces of itself behind. He didn’t like that idea at all. “Now that I see this more clearly, I should check for residual rock in the wound.” He looked her in the eye. “It won’t be pleasant.”
Her strange laugh was back. “I’m sure compared to having all my fingernails ripped off, it will be a cake walk.”
Assuming she wasn’t serious, he ignored his own curiosity at the comment for expeditious treatment. By probing the wound and squeezing, additional blood with four small pieces of glittery rock fragments were extracted. Not once did she flinch or make a sound.
He held out his hand for his handkerchief, giving her a moment before touching her arm again. She handed it over without a word, her face stoic. Cleaning the wound once more with the small section of the material that was still useable, he stuck it in his front pocket and wrapped his sleeve material around her arm. Ripping the end in two, he tied it so it fit, but not too tight. Her arm needed stitches, but that wasn’t going to happen before it started to heal unless they were miraculously rescued in the next five minutes.
“There, that’s as good as we’re going to get in here. We make a good team.” He grinned, intending it as a compliment.
She didn’t see him, too intent on her arm. “Looks good. So obviously that plan was a failure. I thought with packing down this earth, we could get farther, but it just delayed the inevitable. Any ideas?”
He stared unbelievingly as she took the water bottle he’d set on the ground and returned it to its place, Dog following her. She’d almost suffocated under pounds of rock and cut her arm badly but acted as if it was a minor setback. She was more than an enigma, she was as complicated as an unsolved arson investigation!
She sat down on the ground below her little rock-shelf and leaned her back against the wall of the tunnel. “Are you coming over here. I need to turn off the light. We’ve already used too much of it taking care of my arm.”
“Sure.” He strode over and plunked down next to her, still stymied by her reaction to what most would consider a brush with death and a painful aftermath.
His ass had barely hit the ground before the place went black again. The way she handled everything about their predicament screamed that she’d been in a similar situation before. He had to know. If it sent her back in time, he’d be right here to pull her back. “You sound like you’ve done this before.”
“Done what?”
Good question. “Been trapped in a mine.”
The silence was as absolute as the darkness. He’d count to a hundred and if she still didn’t respond, he’d nudge her. He was on seventy-two before she finally spoke.
“If you mean, have I been stuck in a cave before, you’re correct.”
Damn. He let out a low whistle. “Obviously, you were rescued.”
“Not exactly. No calvary came to my aid. They were all dead.”
Her words had been spoken as a matter of fact, but the lack of emotion in her tone gave him a clue. Could it be the more monotone her voice, the more deeply she felt? When had she last spoken like that?
“This gravel is different. We’re going to have to figure something out.”
He shrugged out of habit. “Or we could just wait to be rescued. I don’t know what time it is, but I’m guessing in about forty-eight hours at the most, someone will notice we’re missing and start to search. With the right equipment, they could probably get us out of here in a couple hours.”
“So, your plan is to just sit here and wait?” The shock in her voice was impossible to miss.
“It would keep any further injuries from occurring. We’ll probably be hungry, but if we don’t move much, we won’t use energy. The temperature in here is comfortable, thanks to it being summer, so we could simply sit and wait.”
In the deep darkness, he could hear her breathing increase. Did it scare her to simply wait? It grated on his nerves to be the one rescued instead of the one doing the extraction, but it did make a lot of sense in this case to simply remain still.
“No.” The single word came out on a controlled breath.
He waited, expecting an explanation, but none was forthcoming. Fine. He wasn’t excited about waiting either. For all they knew, if they moved three more feet of gravel, they could be free. “Good, that’s not my style.”
“Mine either. Then what are our options for digging out of here? We could look for another exit. That rabbit might have an escape route.”
He shook his head. “I’m sure he does, but I doubt we’d fit through a rabbit tunnel.”
“Well, it was a big rabbit.”
Huh? She couldn’t really be contemplating—
A chuckle sounded in the darkness.
More humor? It seemed odd coming from her, yet he had no idea why. “You mean like Alice in Wonderland? If so, I hope you have some of that special mushroom or we’re going to get stuck.”
“Not likely. Too bad Dog here couldn’t sniff us a way out.”
Something about her name for what looked like a Jack Russel Terrier bothered him. It was impersonal as if she wanted to keep it at a distance. Maybe she did, knowing Whisper would be coming back for it, but the chances of the animal being happy about that now were slim. “Don’t you think you should come up with a real name for your dog?”
“Why? He’s not mine.”
“Maybe not, but even foster parents don’t call the children ‘boy’ and ‘girl’ just because they won’t be keeping them.”
Silence greeted his statement.
Was she thinking of a name? “I’ve been thinking about getting a dog myself.”
“Why?”
Her question surprised him. “For company. The great thing about a dog is its loyalty and unflinching desire to be in your presence.”
“But you have to feed it and play with it and take it to the vet. That’s a lot of responsibility.”
Obviously, she’d never thought about being a mother. He’d always wanted to be a father, but that wasn’t about to happen now. Not since his last wildfire. “A dog is a lot less work than a horse and you own a horse.”
“And because I do, I’m frustrated because I know she’s standing outside this mine in the heat of the Sonoran Desert with no water.”
For the first time he heard real fondness in her voice. “If your horse is as smart as you say, she will find shade and water when she needs it.”
“I hope so. But if we can figure out how to get out of here, I can be sure she’s okay.”
“True. Then based on the gravel and your own experience, which is far more than mine in this situation, what do you think?”
“I think the gravel is too loose to hold up. We would need supports like were originally there. We’d have to dig enough to set up beams before the dirt caves in again.”
He actually hadn’t thought about reconstructing the tunnel, but if it was done on a small scale that might work. “That could work if we can find more timbers.”
“There were a few in the side room we found earlier.”
/> “True, but not enough. We’d have to explore farther and see if there were any more and do so before our phone lights give out.” He didn’t like the thought of being stuck in pitch black with no light available.
Her boots scraped the ground as she repositioned herself, at least he assumed that’s what she did.
“And what if we can’t find enough wood?” Her voice now faced him, validating his assumption at her movement. He liked that she faced him and turned to face her as well. “The only other option I can think of is to pull the fallen dirt into this space until enough has cleared for us to crawl out.” He held up his hand as if to keep her from interrupting before he remembered she couldn’t see it. Hell, even he couldn’t see it and he knew it was there. He grinned at his own habits. “That is, of course, if the whole side of the mountain isn’t in that pile.”
“What we have going for us is that it’s very close to the entrance, so even if it is the side of the mountain, it would only be up to a certain point. That’s a lot more doable than a hundred yards into a complex cave system.”
He wanted to ask, but right now was not the time. “Then our plan is to search for timbers and tools. Unless the Take a Chance mine ran along a short vein, my guess is there are a lot of tunnels to explore.”
“I have no idea. Cole said it was originally a gold mine, but that was short lived and copper was discovered. I guess gold, silver, and copper hang out together.”
That was one way of putting it. He was no expert, but if what she said was true, the split they found when they first searched could indicate an old gold tunnel on one side and the copper on the other. “If we can find the end of a tunnel, another room, or a major transfer spot, we might find tools and timbers.”
Again, her boots scraped against the dirt. “Then we should get started.”
Her voice came from above him, so he rose as well. “Let me get my light turned on.”
Her hand on his chest halted him. “No. We know we have at least a hundred and sixty yards before coming close to the split. If we run our hand along the side wall, we can get there in the dark.”