by Beth Martin
However, Leona was tucked away on the side of the cavern, which was all he really needed. Now that he could see Python, he knew the woman wouldn’t be hard to take out. “This is what you wanted, Python. Just think, once Tina’s free, she can repay Leona for everything she did.” The color drained from Python’s face. No doubt Tina would probably torture her accuser, slowly tormenting her before eventually finishing her off, and Python knew it. “It’s not like you were ever going to be able to just keep Leona around,” he added, gesturing at her.
“I… You… I mean…” Python stuttered. “You were supposed to stay tied up! I can handle her on my own. She already took a sedative. What kind of monster ties up a sleeping woman?”
Roemell clenched his fists as he stared down his captor. “Really, what kind of monster would tie up any person?” He launched himself forward, tackling Python and slamming her back into the ground. In the process, both of them lost a hold of their flashlights, both of which rolled away. In the almost total darkness, he could barely make out anything going on around him. He pinned down Python and started punching her in the face. All he really needed to do was incapacitate her, but he was in a blind rage over what she had put both of them through.
Python shielded her face using her arms and pleaded, “Get off me! Stop!” She twisted his torso, trying to roll him off. He ceased his assault, but kept her pinned down. With no way to free herself from her pinned position, she said, “I’ll let you go, okay? You can walk right out of here, no hard feelings. Just don’t hurt me anymore.”
“I’m taking Leona with me,” Roemell said between pants.
“No! She has to stay!”
Roemell was sick of the woman and slammed one more punch into her face, except his aim was off, and he hit a fleshy part. Python gasped, a wheezing sound escaping her throat, then no other sound came at all. Roemell jumped up and grasped handfuls of his hair in his hands. In his mind, he could see the man who had tried to kill Jovelyn, the man Roemell had choked the life out of. He had done it again. He shuffled back, not wanting to get close to the body.
He needed to push his welling emotions aside. He could process them later, but right now, he needed to untie Leona and get them out of there. One of the flashlights was still on, facing the cave wall opposite Leona. He went over and grabbed it, then made his way to her. As he removed the locks and unwrapped the ropes, he heard something from behind him.
He looked back and shone the light toward the middle of the cavern. Python was still lying on her back, eyes open. However, her chest was now rhythmically rising and falling. “You’re too late,” she said, her voice hoarse.
Roemell focused back on Leona, holding her torso up as he loosened the last of the ropes. He hoped Python wouldn’t have the strength to get back up as pulled Leona off the chair and started inching away. “I said,” Python added, coughing again, “you’re too late. You’ve been down here for days. The trial ended yesterday. You’ve already missed it.”
Roemell looped his arms under Leona and dragged her as quickly as he could away from the cavern toward the office. His injured ribs ached, but he would have to ignore the pain until they got to safety. “I don’t believe you,” he called back.
He could hear Python make shuffling noises behind him, but it didn’t sound like she was able to get up. “How do you think Tina was able to infiltrate each estate so easily?”
Roemell paused. He had thought it was odd when the doors giving access to the computer system had automatically opened for Tina, but assumed it was because she had once been a member of the wealthy society she had chosen to target. But maybe there had been something else at play. He looked back, his light illuminating the cavern to show Python was still lying flat on her back.
“And the security footage that got corrupted?” Python added.
If Python had been involved in the loss of the video showing the attacks, then she was also the reason he and Leona had been called on to testify. Which meant… “You took down our plane!” Roemell shouted, his voice echoing through the cave.
“I didn’t expect you two to survive that. You’ve been annoyingly resilient. That’s why I had to put a bounty out for your capture. Everyone within a hundred miles of the capital were on high alert for a couple of drifters. Those lovely Shenandoah people were incredibly helpful and used their forbidden technology to call me when you arrived in the little farm vehicle. They even drugged you both before I got there.”
Roemell recalled the shadowy figure that had held a smelly rag over Leona’s face. Had that been Python? Was the bounty the reason those kids had cut the fuel line to their tractor? For a moment, he wished he had killed her. But now it wasn’t worth the effort. He turned away, leaving the woman in darkness, and continued walking.
“You can’t get out!” Python yelled. “My fingerprints are required to pass through the door.”
“Watch me!” Roemell was already dragging Leona, so there was no way he’d be able to pull Python along, too. If he had the tools on hand, he would have cut off one of Python’s fingers and taken it with him. Eventually, Python would have to get out. He knew he could overpower her again, so all he needed to do was get to the office and wait for her to catch up.
Roemell hoisted up Leona, throwing her onto his shoulder again, then walked away. But after only a couple of strides, he could hear footsteps sprinting up from behind him. He tried to step aside and out of the way, but Python collided into him. The flashlight clattered to the ground one again as Roemell tried to twist to the side so he wouldn’t fall on top of Leona. Instead, he landed hard on his side, doing his best to shield the back of her head so she wouldn’t smash it into the solid rock. A sharp pain radiated through his hip and shoulder.
As Python sprinted away, Roemell searched frantically for the light, ignoring the throbbing in his side. The flashlight wasn’t immediately next to him, but before he looked any further, he wanted to make sure Leona was all right. He held his ear up to her mouth, listening for sounds of her breathing. He could feel the warm air blow from her lips to the side of his face. However, in order to do a more thorough check, he’d need the light.
Carefully moving his hands around, he searched the wet ground methodically, feeling for the small metal cylinder. He wasn’t sure whether or not she had gotten injured when he had fallen, and by all means, she could be bleeding out while he was still looking for the damned light. Ignoring the pain, he picked up the pace, hoping the flashlight was just ahead.
Another few minutes passed before his fingers touched the cool, smooth exterior, and he snatched it up and clicked the button. A weak light flickered. It wasn’t as bright as it had been before, but it would still do. He rushed back to Leona and carefully examined her. None of her limbs were bent out of shape, and she wasn’t bleeding. Her head looked fine. He breathed a sigh of relief, then scooped her back up.
His body felt heavy, and a state of exhaustion settled into his muscles. Although he desperately wanted to escape as quickly as possible, he simply couldn’t in his current condition. He could imagine Python sitting in her office, intently watching his every more through infrared security cameras. Their previous plan to find how the bats came in and out seemed like the best option.
He found a place slightly out of the way. If Python looked intently, she would easily find them, but Roemell doubted that would happen. He gently lowered Leona down to the ground, then laid down next to her. Not sure what position would be comfortable for her, he simply hugged her close, making sure her head rested on his chest.
Although all of his bones and muscles hurt, he was finally able to relax knowing that Leona was alive as he felt the warmth of her body. Ultimately, that was all that really mattered.
20
LEONA WOKE UP to complete darkness. She was woozy, like a cloud had settled over her brain, and her head felt heavy. She couldn’t remember how she had gotten here.
The ground below her was hard and cold, and she was wedged up against someone who smelled abs
olutely wretched. Her body tensed when she realized the person next to her might be Python.
“I was wondering when you’d finally wake up,” Roemell whispered. Her hazy memory of the night before pieced together, and tears leaked from her eyes. She squeezed him close, ignoring his odor, and intertwined her legs with his.
“What happened?” she asked.
He gently kissed her cheek, then said, “You fell asleep. Python came searching for you, but I was able to knock her out long enough for us to get away from her.”
She sat up quickly. “We need to hurry up and get out of here if we’re going to make it to the trial.” The flashlight lit up with a click, and she was finally able to see what was around her, which included Roemell’s serious expression. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s too late.”
“What?” The word echoed endlessly as she waited for his response. “We’ve only been here a day. The trial is scheduled to take an entire week. We can still make it before it’s over.”
He raised an eyebrow. “We were held captive for three days.”
“That’s not…” She paused. Her dinner had made her sleepy. The only way she would have not noticed three days passing was if she had been sleeping the entire time. When she first got to Python’s house, she had eaten a smoothie. It had probably been drugged just like her dinner. What she thought had been an ‘afternoon nap’ could have lasted for days.
“Shit.” Leona bit her lip as she tried to come up with some sort of solution. “Well, the trial could have been extended since they need our testimony and expected us to be there. There’s a chance we could still get to the capital before it’s done. We’d still be able to—”
“Leona, it’s over.” Although his voice was firm, his eyes were filled with concern. “The trial is over. This journey to get to the capital is over. There’s nothing left we can do.”
Tears sprung to her eyes and her face felt hot. “No! That’s not true!”
He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Tina and Python were working together. Python did the background stuff, fiddling with the security systems. She hacked into the each estate’s computers to unlock all the emergency shelter doors, wiped the footage from the VanStraten Estate, and powered down the robots in the airplane.”
She had come to the same conclusions, but it all seemed much more real hearing Roemell say it out loud. She sat quietly as the gravity of her situation settled in her mind. “They killed my dad.”
“I know you want justice,” Roemell continued in a softer tone, “but is this quest to lock up Tina the best way to honor him?”
Her tears accelerated into a flood as she began to sob. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close while she broke down. She desperately wished she could somehow bring her father back, but even if she exacted revenge, he’d still be gone. And hunting down and punishing the pair responsible would make her just as despicable as they were. She had all but forgotten the plan she had originally made—to set up a commune and help people. That’s what she needed to focus on.
Even though Tina was probably free, news of the trial would spread, and landowners would hopefully be able to take extra precautions to defend themselves from her attacks. It wasn’t Leona’s job to protect them. It was time she focused on something else.
She wiped the last of the tears off her cheeks, then looked up at Roemell’s face. “I’ll let it go,” she said.
He gave her a quick squeeze, and kissed her forehead. “Thank you,” he whispered.
They sat there for a while, glad to be in each other’s company before Leona broke the silence. “So now what?”
“First, we need to get out of this cave.” He stood, then grasped her hand and helped her up as well. “Python said that the door only opens after verifying her fingerprints. Now, she could be bluffing.”
“Even so, that office is directly under the house. The exit probably leads up into her bedroom.”
“We could take the chance and go through the house,” he suggested.
She shook her head. “There’s no way to get out of that house without Python knowing. Believe me, I tried.”
“You got down here somehow.”
“Yeah, I had to climb through the toilet.”
He let out a chuckle. “That would explain the smell.”
“Hey!” she said, unable to hold in a smile. “You don’t smell so great either.”
He sniffed his shoulder and made a disgusted face. “As soon as we get out, our first order of business will be to bathe.”
She smiled, then laced her fingers with his. “Should we start looking for the opening the bats use?”
“Sure.” They walked through the cave and soon found the cavern which held all the tiny sleeping bats. There must have been hundreds, if not thousands of them. She had gotten them to fly around earlier, but wasn’t sure disturbing them now would be the best course of action.
“Should we try to wake them all up?”
She squeezed his hand. “No. They’ll just swarm and we won’t be able to see anything.” She had no idea how the bats could see in the total darkness, and wondered how there was no light coming into the cavern even though there was an opening for the animals to use. She wished there was something else they could follow that also passed in and out of the cave. “The air!” she exclaimed in a whisper.
“What about the air?”
“There has to be air circulating in and out of here, or else we wouldn’t be able to breathe. Maybe if we feel for a draft or something, that will give us a clue.”
Roemell gave her a kiss on the cheek. “You’re so smart.” After swishing his hand in one of the puddles on the ground, he lifted it up and spread out his fingers. “I’m not sure I feel any sort of air circulation.
Copying his lead, Leona held up a damp hand as well. “Just be still for a moment.” Although it didn’t feel completely stagnant, she couldn’t tell which direction the air was flowing. She closed her eyes and held her breath, trying to block out all other sensations and focus on the slightest bit of pressure on her hand.
A faint draft brushed the back of her hand. “That way!” she said, pointing behind her. They turned to face the other wall of the long corridor-like cavern.
Roemell searched the area with his flashlight. “I don’t see anything.”
“Bats can fly,” she pointed out. “Check and see if there’s anything up high.” He continued his search, and when his beam reached the top he got to the top of the cavern, she saw it. “Right there!” There was a large opening about twenty feet above them leading to another dark path. “That must be it!” Her initial excitement quickly wore off. “How do we get up there?”
“We climb. See all the divots and ledges in the rock? Those will make great handholds. Actually, it doesn’t look like it’ll be too bad.”
She gave him a skeptical look, but climbing to the hole was currently their only option. They had been able to get out of a burning basement which didn’t have any stairs, so scaling a rocky cave wall should be no problem.
“Why don’t you go first?” he asked. “I’ll give you a boost if you’d like.”
She swallowed hard. “Sure.”
Holding the flashlight with his teeth, he laced his fingers together to give her a foothold. She carefully placed her boot in his hands, and as she leaped upwards, he gave her a solid push. There were all sorts of crevices, but they flashed by so fast, she couldn’t grab a hold of any of them. Instead, she came crashing back down to the ground.
“Ow,” she said as Roemell laughed. Although her fall had been ungraceful, her ego hurt more than anything else. “Stop laughing, that really hurt!” She stood and rubbed her hand on the spot of her butt which had taken most of the impact.
“Sorry, you just looked so…” She gave him a glare, which was enough to keep him from finishing his thought. “Hey, when you were conked out and I was trying to get both of us to safety, I fell and got hurt too.” He lowered the waistband of his pants and underwe
ar on his left side to reveal an angry purple bruise covering most of his hip. It wasn’t as bad as the one on his ribs, but at least the older injury looked like it was starting to heal.
“Oh no. Roemell, I’m so sorry.” She reached out her hand, wanting to feel the deep purple spot, but was afraid even a gentle touch would be painful. “Does it hurt?”
“It definitely smarts. Now come on, let’s hurry up and get out of here.” He held his hands out for another boost, and this time she examined the wall, picking a ledge to grab onto before flinging herself up.
Focusing on the handhold, she was just able to grasp it at the peak of her leap. “I got it!” she said, smiling at her accomplishment.
“Now climb the rest of the way up.” He shone the light upwards along the cave wall, the steep angle helping emphasize each handhold. Maybe this wouldn’t be too hard. She reached up to a slightly higher spot, then brought a foot to another divot. The rock was slick and hard to hold onto with her hands, so she made sure she could grip each new ledge before moving on. “You can do it!” Roemell called from the ground. “Just a little farther.”
She took in a deep breath, climbed the last couple feet, then heaved herself through the opening. Water splashed underneath her as she tumbled down into a shallow pool. She yelped in surprise.
“Is everything all right up there?”
“It’s wet and cold.” She shivered as she tried to shuffle out of the water, but without any light, she didn’t know which direction to go to find dry ground.
“Can you see anything?” he asked.
“No.”
“All right, I’m coming up!” The light danced back and forth as he scaled the wall. Although he made good time, she was shivering uncontrollably by the time he climbed through the hole and got into the tunnel with her.