by Adrien Leduc
Chapter Fourteen
FRIEND OR FOE?
“Mika! Ludwig! What are you guys doing here?”
I glance at Josh whose expression surely mirrors my own. “You guys were on the plane with us...”
“Yes!” Mika giggles and claps her hands together in delight. “Yay, you remember us!”
They both wear backpacks and matching black cargo pants and blue jackets. Ludwig carries a long, police-grade flashlight.
“What are you guys doing here?” I repeat.
“Vell...” her eyes shine and she smiles, flashing a mouth full of pearly whites, “vee ver just out for an evening stroll and saw a flashlight zown here and so vee figured vee vould come and see who it vas.” She smiles and looks at me through her almond-shaped brown eyes and long eyelashes. “And look who it is! How is your uncle? Are you guys enjoying Bretagne?”
I nod, still not sure how to feel about this new development. “Um...sort of. Uncle Marty’s been kind of strict lately...”
Mika laughs, her familiar throaty, feline laugh. “Uncles are alvays strict. My uncle, Igor, he was a very strict man.” Her expression darkens and she stops herself as though she’s revealed something she didn’t want to.
“What did he do?”
Mika ignores me, her eyes now fixed on the heavy rock and the hole in the ground.
“Vat is happening zhere?” she asks, pointing.
“Oh, this is...” I look at Josh, unsure of how to share our discovery without actually sharing it.
“It’s a cave, like an underground cave,” Josh blurts. “At least that’s what we think it is. And it leads down to the Dumnonian Hoard probably.”
Josh!
A curious expression moves across Mika’s face. “The...doom - no - ee - an hoard?”
Josh shakes his head. “The Dumnonian Hoard.”
“Josh,” I say, mustering a friendly laugh, “I hardly think Mika wants you to bore her with Uncle Marty’s tales.”
He looks at me as though I’ve said something offensive. “It’s not a tale, Sair. There’s treasure down here, I’ll bet you any money.”
I glance nervously at Mika and I can tell by the expression on her face that things aren’t going to go so well for Josh and I.
“Vell...” Mika turns and looks adoringly at Ludwig who stands silently in the corner. “You vere right. Kids do know best.”
I stare at her, my eyes demanding an explanation. “What do you mean?”
She smiles, revealing her perfect teeth. “I mean, kids know best. Kids are adventurous. Kids like to explore. Unlike old men who follow the rules and go by what is in zee book...kids go out of zee bounds. Kids have...” she turns to Ludwig and rattles off something in German.
He looks at me (I can’t read his expression) and then looks at her. He spits out a sentence in German and finishes with the word “imagination”.
Mika nods and smiles. “Imagination. Kids have imagination.”
“I don’t get what you’re saying...”
“Vell,” says Mika, sliding her backpack off her back and not even looking at me, “it means zat kids don’t have old fashioned ideas like adults...they don’t follow all the rules. The result of zis is zat they discover things.” Now she looks at me. “Like zis hole in zee ground that you say leads to treasure.”
I conjure a laugh. “Oh, ha ha, that...I don’t know...” I throw my brother a wary glance. “Josh is a bit too gullible. Uncle Marty made up this whole elaborate story about their being some kind of long lost treasure around here and I thought it would be fun to trick my brother into thinking there was treasure down this hole.”
“Well that’s not very nice!” Mika’s eyes shine and I’m not sure she believes me.
“No...” I fake another laugh, “but that’s what sisters are for...right?”
Mika’s expression grows serious. “No. Zat is not vat sisters are for...is it, Ludwig?” She turns to her brother.
“No,” he says quietly, mildly, hips lips forming a tight smile.
“Ah ha!” Mika claps her hands. “You see! Sisters are supposed to help zheir brothers. Sisters are supposed to help zheir brothers and brothers are supposed to help zheir sisters.”
“Okay...”
Mika looks at me and nods. “Okay. Okay...okay...that’s all you Americans ever say.”
“Ameri...what? We’re not American, we’re Canadian.”
“No difference. You are both fat and greedy pigs.”
“Whoa! What!?”
“You heard vat I said.” Mika’s smile isn’t so friendly now.
“Okay...I totally don’t get why you just said that...”
Mika sniffs, removes something from her backpack, and stands up once more. “Because. It’s true.”
“I’m so lost right now...”
Mika shrugs and I now see what’s in her hands.
“Uh, what the hell!? Are you going to shoot us!?”
Mika laughs and waves the gun from side to side. “Not if you do as we ask.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “You’re crazy. Cuckoo.” I twirl a finger round my temple.
She laughs and says something in German to Ludwig. Ludwig manages a tight smile.
“Why do you have a gun?” asks Josh, his tone hostile.
“For little boys like you who ask too many questions.”
“Little - little boys like me!? I’m fifteen, bitch!”
Go Josh!
I want to smile, but Mika and her gun are making this hard to do.
“I see you are also a little boy with a rude mouth.”
I glance at Ludwig. His expression’s changed and he looks more serious. Serious and scary.
“You’re the one with the gun!” Josh cries.
Mika’s eyes flicker. “Yes. I am zee vun vith zee gun. So you should respect me.”
Josh looks less sure of himself now, so I step in.
“Respect a crazy lady like you? You pretended you were our friend on the plane. And now...what is this anyway? Do you even know what it is we’re looking for here?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know and I don’t care. My boss told me to come and get it, so I come and get it.”
“Your boss? Who’s your boss?”
Mika clicks her tongue and waves the gun once more from side to side. “I can’t tell you zose zings.”
“So you’re going to shoot us?”
Mika makes a face. “I don’t want to. But,” she pulls back the slide and aims the gun at me, “if you don’t do as I ask, zen I vill have to.”
I swallow the knot in my throat. She means business.
“Alright. Just tell us what you want us to do.”
Mika smiles. “You are going to cooperate?”
I glare at her. “I’m going to try and cooperate.”
“Oh, wunderbar!” She claps her hands together. “You can now go in zee hole and get zee treasure.”
“Wait...we don’t even know if it’s down there!” I glance fearfully at the hole in the cavern floor.
Mika shrugs. “Vell, vee are going to find out.”
I look at her. She’s actually crazy.
“I’m not going down there.”
Mika smiles and raises the gun once more. “I zink you are going zown zair. I tell you vat. I count to zhree. If you not down in zhree seconds, I shoot.”
I can’t help but laugh. “You’ll count to three?”
Mika nods, her expression stoic. “I vill count to zhree.”
“Wow, learn how to speak English, lady. It’s three not zhree.”
She smiles and takes a step toward me. “I see you are going to make trouble for us. Should I shoot your brother?” She points the gun at Josh and now I’m really scared.
“No. No, I’m done. It won’t happen again. Promise.”
Mika’s eyes narrow. “You had better keep zat promise...I didn’t tell you about my Uncle Igor and our childhood in Russia.”
I shake my head.
“It vas not like you
r childhood in Canada. I am sure about zat.”
I swallow the latest knot in my throat and remain silent.
“My uncle Igor,” she turns to Ludwig and says something in German.
Ludwig gives a grim nod.
“My uncle Igor,” she continues, “vas a general in zee Soviet army. Do you know zee Soviets?”
I nod. “The Soviet Union was what Russia used to be called.”
Mika smiles, but doesn’t lower the gun. “Very good. They teach you something in Canada I see.”
I say nothing.
“Our uncle Igor...he vas a man who once killed a puppy in front of me. He said it vas to make me strong.”
“That’s...terrible.”
Mika manages a small, sad smile. “It was normal for us. One time, he put a cup on my head and he shoot it.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Vat do you zink? He was Soviet army general. Zis is vat zey do for fun. Russian Roulette? Have you heard of it?”
I nod. “Yeah...it’s like a game...where they take turns pulling the trigger. There’s one bullet inside the gun and six chances for it to go off.”
Mika nods. “Where did you hear about it?”
“From a movie.”
Mika smiles. “Uncle Igor make us play. My friend Natalia got the bullet. I watched her die.”
My feel my hand fly to my mouth. “Oh my god...”
Mika shrugs. “Uncle Igor vas not a good man...” Her gaze returns to the hole in the cavern floor. “Anyway...vee have vaisted enough time.” She looks at me and waves toward the hole with her gun. “Go. Now.”
“But...but...we don’t even know if the Dumnonian Hoard is down there!”
Mika looks mad. “You are going down to see.”
Josh must sense my hesitation because he suddenly blurts: “I’ll go. I’ll go down. Let her be. I’m going.”
“Josh! No! It’s too dangerous!”
“Ah, he is a brave boy, your brother,” Mika remarks, taking another step toward us.
I round on her. “You can’t send him down there! It’s murder!”
Mika’s expression is unflinching. “One of you is going down zat hole.”
I’m more afraid than pissed off now and I can feel tears spring to my eyes. “You can’t send my brother down there!”
This time it’s Ludwig who speaks. “Your brother is going down that hole!” In four strides he’s beside us and he grabs Josh roughly by his shirt collar and pushes him to the ground. “Now, you can go down with the assistance of a rope or you can go down as you are. Which will it be?”
“Leave him alone!” I shriek, lunging at him and clawing at his face.
He swats me aside with a powerful hand.
“You’d be wise not to do that again,” he says thickly, massaging the scratch marks on his face with his thumb.
I’m too scared to do anything now. I’ve never been hit by a man before.
“Don’t touch my sister!” Josh roars, taking a swing at Ludwig.
Moving with the agility of a cat, Ludwig sidesteps my Josh’s fist and deals him a blow to the stomach.
“Ohhhhh.”
I scream as Josh falls to the ground, clutching his stomach. “Leave him alone!”
Not caring anymore, I jump to my feet and throw myself into him. He catches my head however and spins me aside.
“That’s enough!” Red in the face and practically frothing at the mouth, Mika’s got the gun pointed at me and looks like she might just pull the trigger. “That’s enough. Any more of this and I shoot you both.” She moves the gun to my brother who’s slowly getting to his feet.
“You need us though.”
Mika laughs. “I need you like a dog needs fleas. I shoot you both, throw your bodies into zee sea, and come back next month vith a small, skinny Russian. For a thousand rubles he will go down zee hole.”
I look hesitantly at her now. Maybe she really is capable of shooting us...
“Let’s go,” says Ludwig gruffly, nudging my brother toward the hole.
“Alright, I’m going!”
“Use the rope,” I say.
I take up the rope and hold it open, like a belt, for Josh. He steps forward as Mika and Ludwig look on, their expressions cold and calculating.
“Go around twice,” I say as Josh does a turn and the rope winds around his waist.
“That’s really going to hurt,” he says.
“It’ll hurt less than falling.”
“Yeah, but it’ll squeeze the air out of me.”
“We’ll give you lots of slack,” I say, hoping Ludwig and Mika intend to help me lower Josh into the hole.
Josh looks reluctant, but takes one more turn with the rope. “Okay...”
I look at him. “I’m scared.”
“So am I.”
“Be careful, okay?” I look from him to Mika who seems to be watching our sibling exchange with impatient expectation.
“I will.”
“And I hope you find the treasure.”
Josh offers up a grim smile. “Me too.”
“Alright, that’s enough,” Ludwig snaps, striking Josh in the back with his flashlight. “Get a move on.”
“I’m going, I’m going,” says Josh, getting down on hands and knees and lowering himself into the hole.
I take hold of the rope and turn away, unable to watch. “Be careful,” I say once more, this time through gritted teeth.
“I will,” he replies, giving me one last look before disappearing into the hole.
“Excellent,” says Mika, her eyes shining.
“I hope you’re happy,” I say thickly, hating everything about the woman standing before me.
She smiles. “I vill be happy if your brother comes up with zee treasure.”
I shake my head in disgust and move closer to the hole to watch Josh’s progress.
He’s got the flashlight with him and the light from it forms a sort of halo around him, a halo that descends with him as he climbs down the hole.
“How are you climbing down?” I call down, watching the slack from the rope follow him inch by inch into the hole.
“With great difficulty,” comes his reply, echoing as it rises out of the hole. “The sides are pretty smooth...there aren’t a lot of spots to hold onto...I’m not sure how I’ll get back up.”
“We’ll pull you up,” I look at Mika for confirmation, but she’s staring into the hole after Josh and I can’t read her expression.
“Okay,” comes his faint reply, as the light from his flashlight descends lower and lower into the hole.
Several awkward and uncomfortable moments pass whereby I watch Mika and Ludwig for signs that this is all just some big practical joke Uncle Marty put them up to.
But it’s not. It can’t be. Not with the Russian Roulette store Mika told me.
“Why do you speak German if you’re from Russia?” I ask without a second thought.
It’s something that’s been perplexing me for awhile.
Mika looks at me with contemptuous eyes. “Vee lived in East Germany and when zee Soviet Union went kaput, vee moved to West Germany. My brother and I, vee are German.”
“What about your uncle Igor? That’s a Russian name.”
Mika sniffs. “He was my aunt’s husband.”
“And why was he mistreating you then? Like, where were your parents?”
Mika’s eyes flash scarlet. “Our parents died in a Stalin work camp so we had to go to our aunt and uncle’s.”
“Oh...”
I have no idea what to say now. Their parents died when they were just kids...
“You ask too many questions,” she snaps.
“I’m sorry,” I say quickly, not wanting to anger her while my brother is down in the hole.
She says nothing, and neither does Ludwig, and it’s quiet for several minutes, except for the sound of the sea and the occasional drip-drip of some water near the front of the cave.
It’s Josh who breaks the silence.
“There’s a lot of water down here!”
“So?” Mika calls down.
“It’s sea water...the sea gets in here somehow...and I think it’s getting higher...”
“The tide’s coming in,” I say to Mika.
Mika looks at me. “And?”
“And...” I say, trying hard to maintain my composure, “it’s dangerous to be down there with the tide coming in.”
“Then he had better be fast.”
Oh my god...you are a bitch.
“Hey!”
Josh again.
“What?” I call down.
“I...holy crap! Sarah! You are not going to believe this!”
I have to move closer to the hole to hear him better.
“What? What am I not going to believe?”
“You are not going to believe what I just found?”
I look at Mika. She’s definitely interested.
“What did you find?” I call down, keenly aware of both Mika and Ludwig’s eyes on me.
“I found...holy crap!”
The suspense is killing me now.
“What!? What did you find?”
“Gold! Treasure!”
I feel my heart leap into my throat. “You’re kidding!”
“No! There’s like...six boxes here...or chests or whatever...wait...no! There’s ten! There’s ten chests down here!”
I look at Mika and Ludwig, my mouth hanging open. Even though I have a strong dislike for both of them, they’re the only people in my vicinity.
“Send it up!” Mika commands.
“How?” Josh and I ask simultaneously.
“Tie zee rope to zee chest and ve vill pull it up!” Mika snaps her fingers and motions for Ludwig to take the rope.
“No!” I pull away from the both of them and clench the rope tight to my chest. “You’re not leaving my brother down there without a rope!”
“Vatch us,” says Mika darkly, slapping me in the face so hard I feel like I’ve been stung by a jellyfish.
She yanks the rope from my hands and passes it to Ludwig.
“You bitch!” I lunge at her but she lands a kick to my ribs which sends me flying backwards.
Owwww.
My ribs feel like they’ve been broken and as I inhale, I feel a stabbing, searing pain. This pain makes me writhe uncontrollably on the rocky floor and I moan loud enough to hear it echo throughout the cave.
“Sarah?”
Faint as it is, Josh’s voice rises up and out of the hole.
“I’m...okay...” I gasp at the pain and grip my side more tightly.
“What did you do to my sister!?”
“She’s fine. She tried to attack me and got vat she deserved.”
“You touch my sister again and I’ll kill you! You hear me!?”
Mika looks at me and smiles. “Your brother loves you as much as mine loves me.”
I glare at her through my pained expression.
“Now,” says Mika, stooping and leaning over the hole, “you vill send up one of zeese treasure chests vith the rope.”
“What if I don’t want to?”
Josh...just do it!
Mika laughs. A sharp, cackling laugh. “Then your sister vill join you at zee bottom of zis hole...and vee von’t give her zee rope to use eizer!”
There’s silence now. I suspect Josh is mulling over the “offer” (if you can call it that).
Finally, after what feels like an eternity, Josh’s voice rises once more up and out of the hole.
“Alright. I’ll tie the rope to some treasure...I don’t know if I can get one of these chests...there’s so much water down here now...and it’s still coming in...”
“Then you had better hurry,” Ludwig calls down.
I clutch at my side as I pull myself up to a sitting position.
Uncle Marty...what were we thinking? Come and find us...please...
There’s a jiggling of the rope as Josh unties himself.
I glance at Mika. She’s still got the gun in her hand and she’s staring down into the hole, her cat-like eyes predatory and attentive.
I try to get to my feet, but fall back down because of the pain.
Owwwwwww.
“You broke my rib!” I yell.
Mika hardly looks at me.
I glare at her. “Did you hear me!?”
This time she looks at me. “I heard you, you silly girl. Now shut up or I’ll shoot you.”
“You broke my rib.”
Mika shrugs. “And? Vut vud you like me to do? I can break zee ozher one for you...”
“You’re a terrible person.”
Mika laughs and says something to Ludwig in German. With a patronizing glance in my direction, Ludwig conjures a small smile and returns his attention to the hole.
“Hurry up, boy!” he calls down.
“I’m going as fast as I can!” comes Josh’s faint reply.
Ludwig makes a tsk-tsk sound with his mouth and exchanges an annoyed look with Mika.
“...”
They’re speaking German to each other again and I can’t understand a word, except Ludwig’s checking his watch and Mika seems to be insisting on something.
“...”
More German talk.
Argh. Uncle Marty, come save us...
I never should have even suggested Josh and I try and find the Dumnonian Hoard by ourselves...
This was such a stupid idea! Stupid, stupid, stupid!
“Okay!”
Mika’s and Ludwig’s heads seem to snap to attention at the sound of my brother’s voice.
“Okay...what?” Ludwig hovers over the hole. “Did you tie the rope to a chest?”
“Yeah! Now hurry up because I need to get out of here too! The water’s up to my knees!”
I feel completely helpless as I stare at the brother-sister pair, wondering how this is all going to end.
Mika barks in German to Ludwig and Ludwig hands her the flashlight. She says something else and Ludwig rolls up his sleeves, plants one foot on either side of the hole, and takes hold of the rope with both hands.
Cursing all the while, he begins to pull the rope upwards, toward his chest, inch by inch.
It’s a painfully slow process - painfully slow - and I watch in awe as his face turns scarlet, the veins in his head expand to the point where I fear they may burst, and his forehead becomes damp with perspiration.
After several minutes Mika curses, sets down the gun (unfortunately in my present condition I can do nothing to take advantage of this situation), and moves to assist her brother with the business of pulling up the rope.
Uncle Marty...would he notice they’d gone? Surely not until the morning. And by then it would be too late...what did Mika and Ludwig plan to do with us once they’ve got their treasure?
My eyes strain against the darkness, scanning the cave floor for some kind of weapon - a stick, a rock - anything that might be of use. It’s near pitch black where I’m seated as Ludwig’s flashlight lies at Ludwig’s feet and only casts its light so far.
I run my hands behind me, beside me, and all around me and only after a minute of searching in vain do my fingers encounter a long, dagger-shaped stone.
This is what I will use to maim my enemies. This is what I will use to ensure Josh and I leave this cave together, in one piece.
Mika’s barking draws my attention once more to the brother-sister pair. They seem to be getting near the end of the rope now, their pulling become more harried and excited and Mika’s eyes alight with great expectation.
“Yes...yes...”
Ludwig’s practically salivating and I feel my heart sink as a long and narrow chest (of what material it is, I cannot tell) appears from out of the hole.
The Dumnonian Hoard...Troy and Uncle Marty’s Dumnonian Hoard...and they’ve got it...
Mika are Ludwig chattering away excitedly in German now and as they set the box on the ground, I can’t help but drag myself toward them for a better l
ook.
Ludwig hastily unties the rope from the chest and casts it aside. Mika stands over him, watching and waiting, the gun once more in her hand.
“Hey! Can you throw the rope back down?”
Josh’s voice is barely audible now, I notice, over the sound of rushing water rising up and out of the hole and of the brother-sister’s excited chatter.
I yell at them: “Guys!”
Ludwig looks at me but momentarily as he opens the chest. Mika’s hands move to her face as she gasps.
“Guys! My brother! He needs to get out of there!”
Neither look at me as Mika leans over the chest, exclaiming and remarking in German, and though I can’t understand what she’s saying, it’s obvious that she’s elated with what’s inside.
“Guys! My brother! You have your treasure! Now help my brother out of there!”
This time Mika looks at me. “You should be grateful ver not going to zrow you down zair.”
Her tone oozes with disdain.
“Why would you throw me down there? What did I ever do to you? You got your treasure - ”
“Yes, we have got our treasure,” she says, a smiling forming on her face, “and now we are leaving.”
Ludwig snaps the chest shut and hoists it onto his shoulder.
“You’re...leaving!? But...my brother. You have to help him!” I stare helplessly at the coil of rope lying by the hole. “Just help him out and then you can leave. We won’t say anything about this. I promise.”
Mika laughs. “You must think vee are stupid!”
“No, I swear! We won’t say anything! Please. Just help my brother get out of the hole and then leave.”
Ludwig looks at me, snaps the chest straps of his backpack shut, and marches for the door. Mika follows.
“I don’t take orders from you, you stupid girl,” she says as she passes, aiming a kick at my head.
I duck and the toe of her boot strikes my shoulder instead.
“Ahhh.”
I fall backward and the searing pain from my broken rib shoots through my body once more.
“Ahhhhhh!”
I force my eyes open and stare after the Mika and Ludwig as they slip through the ivy curtain that covers the mouth of the cave.
“Please! Please! Help my brother!”
The ivy strands rustle noisily as the pair disappear into the night, the hazy, fading orb of light from Ludwig’s flashlight bobbing in the dark.
I’m panicking now. It’s dark. It’s cold. I’m still sat on the ground, unable to stand, my ribs aching.
All I can hear now are the sounds of my rapid breathing and the steady drip drip from the trickle of water near the front of the cave.
Just relax, Sarah. Just relax. Take a deep breath.
In. Out. Inhale. Exhale. One. Two. Three...
“Sarah?”
My brother’s voice rises up out of the hole, faint and fearful.
“Josh!”
“Sarah! Get me out of here!”
“Josh!”
I’m panicking again now as I drag myself toward the hole.
“Hang on! I’m coming!”
My ribs feel like they’re on fire now. I ignore the pain and continue to pull myself along the cave floor, through the pitch black, with the palms of my hands.
“Sarah?”
“I’m coming! Just hang on! Shine your light up here! I can’t see a thing!”
It’s dark and I can’t see a thing, but then a beam of light appears out of the hole.
“Perfect. Just keep your light like that.”
The rope lies in a knotted, looping coil a few feet from the hole. I take hold of it and drop one end down the hole.
“The rope’s coming down!” I holler.
I hear a bit of cursing from Josh.
“Thanks for the warning!”
“This isn’t the time to be sarcastic!”
“Sarah, this water is really getting deep! It’s up to my waist now!”
“Well, hurry up and get out of there!”
There’s a pause and the rope jiggles and vibrates as Josh readies himself.
“Okay! Pull me up!”
I freeze.
Pull him up?
“I can’t pull you up,” I mutter, taking the rope and wrapping it around my arms for better control.
“Pull me up, Sarah!”
“I’m...trying!” I strain and pull the rope with all my might, but it doesn’t seem to move an inch. And now my ribs feel like they’re about to burst and I have to stop.
“Josh...I can’t. I can’t do it.”
There’s no answer.
“Josh!”
“Sarah! I’m about to drown here! It’s up to my neck!”
“Josh!” I begin to cry, hot tears sliding down my cheeks. I pull and yank on the rope and try to retreat from the hole, pulling the rope with me so as to take Josh up, but it’s no use. I can’t move an inch and the pain from my ribs has gotten so bad I feel as though I might pass out.
“Sarah!”
“Josh!”
“Sarah!”
I’m sobbing now. Uncontrollably so, as I take hold of the rope once more and give it another go.
“Sarah!”
“Josh!” I scream as the light goes out.
There’s no answer.
“Josh! Josh! Hold on!”
My screams echo throughout the cave, but still there’s no answer.
“Josh!”
I feel my arms go limp and I lie back, screaming and sobbing and clutching my ribcage.
This can’t be happening. This is a horrible dream. Any minute now I’m going to wake up and it’s going to be a nice, sunny morning...
I open my eyes. They’re wet with tears and I can barely see through them and what I can see is just pitch black.
This is real.
A cold shudder ripples down my spine. The hairs on my arms and back of my neck stand up. I’m suddenly cold. Colder than I’ve ever been. I remember Miss Moen and our First Aid class from two years ago. How when a person has experience a traumatic event, they risk going into shock.
Is that what this is...am I going into shock?
I snap my head around at the sound of the ivy curtain rustling once more.
“Mika?”
Nothing.
“Ludwig?”
A flashlight clicks on, blinding me and I hear the scuff of feet on the cave floor.
A new chill runs through me. “Who...who’s there?”
There’s the sound of brisk, heavy footsteps as the light comes toward me.
I’m angry now. “Who’s there!?”
A face appears before me and I scream.
It’s the man with the scar!
He clamps a hand over my mouth, drowning my scream.
“Please! Relax! I’m not going to hurt you!”
His eyes - as blue as I remember - are not cold as before, but warm and sincere.
I cease my screaming and he removes my hand.
“Who...who are you?”
“Who I am isn’t important right now. What is important is that we get you out of here. Where’s your brother?”
The mention of Josh brings fresh tears to my eyes. “He’s...” I point to the hole, “down there.”
“Down there? You mean...?”
I nod, my tears sliding down my cheeks. I wipe them away. “The water...the sea water was coming in...at the bottom...and...and...it was getting so deep...and Mika and Ludwig wouldn’t help him climb out again...”
I begin to sob once more with the idea that my brother could be dead, my brother, Joshua Noah Rosenberg.
“Don’t worry...he might...”
I watch as he slides over to the hole and shines his flashlight down inside.
“Jesus...”
“What? What do you see?”
“Well, for the moment, just water.”
“And my brother?”
He looks at me and shakes his head, his expression grim.
<
br /> “No!” I shake my head, refusing to believe that my brother might have drowned at the bottom of that stinking hole. “No, no, no!” I begin to pound the cave floor with my fists, not caring in the slightest about the pain this causes my hands.
“Stop! Stop that!” The man returns to me side, takes hold of me, and forces me back into a sitting position. “We need to get you out of here.”
“No! No!” I begin to fight him, scratching at his face and punching him wherever I can.
“Please! Stop! This isn’t helping anyone!”
His grip around me grows tighter and he pulls me to my feet.
“No! No!” I scream as he begins to drag me from the cave. “No!”
“Please, just calm down. You’re alright.”
I don’t know what bothers me more. That he’s trying to be reassuring when my brother’s lying drowned at the bottom of that hole or that he keeps saying I’m alright.
“Josh!!!!! JOSH!!!!!!”
I’m screaming at the top of my lungs now, as he pulls me through the ivy curtain that covers the entrance to the cave.
“No!!!!! NOOOOO! JOSH!!!!!!”
“Damn it, Agent Langley, what are you doing to that poor girl?”
I see a woman coming toward us, her face scrunched up in concern. She’s dressed like some kind of police officer - though not like any I’ve ever seen - and on her chest is the word “INTERPOL”.
“I’m...trying...to...get control...of her,” the man struggles to reply as I continue to scratch and strike out at him with all my strength.
“Let her go.”
I feel the man release me and I collapse at their feet. My ribs ache. My throat is throbbing from all the screaming I’ve been doing. My face is warm and itchy from my tears. My hands hurt from beating on the cave floor.
“Are you alright?”
The woman’s voice is gentle, yet firm, as she leans down in front of me. I feel her fingers on my chin as she lifts my head up.
“Can you tell me what happened?”
I shake my head slowly, bitterly, completely and thoroughly exhausted. “My brother...” I stare back at the ivy curtain through which we’d just come. “He’s...” I point at the ivy curtain, “please...help him...”
And these are the last words that leave my lips as I feel everything go black.