by Ace Collins
Gasping for air, they rolled together between a series of smaller boulders and were tossed under the surface. Lije continued to push and kick toward the riverbank. The current slowed and Lije slipped his arm under the woman’s neck.
McGee waded out to meet him. “Lije, you all right?”
“Yeah, I think so, but don’t know about her. Grab her.”
Freed from having to pull two people to safety, he stood up, waded slowly to the bank, and sat down in the grass. He looked back at the river that had fought his every move. It no longer looked peaceful and inviting.
SHE WAS SMALL, MAYBE ONLY FIVE FEET TALL. SHE had blonde hair and light blue eyes. Judging from her pale skin, Lije guessed she didn’t get outside much. Her fingers were thin. Her arms, exposed in her sleeveless shirt, were well defined. Her shorts revealed muscular legs, like those of a runner. Her hair was cut in what appeared to be a stylish shoulder-length but no-nonsense manner, easy to care for or fix. She looked to be in her early thirties. She was surprisingly calm, considering she had almost drowned.
“Are you okay? ” Lije asked.
She sat up, resting her arms on her knees, and coughed a few more times before answering, “Yes. I’m a little wet though.”
Curtis took a seat on the bank beside their drop-in guest. “What happened?”
Looking straight ahead, staring at the river, still shivering from the cold, she said, “There was a group of us going down the river. We had rented three canoes and were putting in a little ways upstream. I was in the first canoe, already sitting down, when someone else showed up. I think there were two men, but I don’t know, it could have been more. They ordered everyone back on shore, and as I stood up, I fell back in the canoe and it started to float off the bank. By the time I got my balance and got seated, I was already a ways downstream. I had no paddle, so I couldn’t control anything, just had to ride it out, and I was going backwards. I somehow made it through the first rapids, but I was dumped out on the second one. I floated in the current for a while, then someone tried to drown me.”
“I believe the operative word would be ‘save,’” Lije said.
Even as he approached, the woman’s gaze remained fixed on the river. “It felt more like a mugging.”
“Sorry, but it was hard to get to you. For a few moments I thought we were both going to die.” She still didn’t look his way. It was as if the liquid monster that had come so close to stealing her life still had her under its spell. She simply couldn’t take her eyes off the water.
“I’m Lije. The distinguished gentleman on your left is Dr. Cathcart, the pretty woman is Diana, and the man behind you is Kent.”
She nodded. “I’m Janie Davies. Like the group I was with, I’m from Little Rock.”
“Miss Davies,” Curtis said, “why did the men order you back to the riverbank?”
“They seemed to want the canoes,” Davies said. “I don’t know why, but they were gruff and rude. I doubt if they were Boy Scouts.”
McGee chimed in, “Did you get a look at them?”
“No. I hope you don’t think this is rude, but you all sound like policemen.”
“Actually,” Curtis said, “I’m an agent from the Arkansas Bureau of Investigation. So you’re right, I’m a cop, and these two are lawyers.”
Davies laughed. “At least I had the good sense to be rescued by the authorities and will have representation when I figure out who to sue.”
Lije stretched and looked around in an attempt to get his bearings. The river had taken them about a hundred yards beyond where the tracks ended at the ridge. And then something else caught his eye. “Diana, I need for you to come over here.”
The agent left Janie and walked over to Lije’s side. There were two canoes coming toward them with only one man in each. “Could those be the men who hijacked Janie’s group?”
“Lije,” Curtis spoke quietly, “let’s get her on her feet and see if she can ID them.”
“She won’t be able to,” Lije replied.
“Why not?”
“She’s blind.”
“How did I miss that?”
Lije’s own eyes never left the canoes, now about a hundred yards upstream. “She never made any eye contact with us or focused on anything else. When we asked her a question, she tilted her head in the direction of our voices, to hear us, not see us. If she’d seen me, she probably wouldn’t have fought me off. She probably thought I was one of the men.”
“If you’re so good at observation, what do you make of those guys?”
“We’ve got trouble in River City.”
Curtis started handing out orders. “Lije, you and McGee get Cathcart and the woman and work your way back up the bank to where the kits are. Secure what you can, then find someplace to hide. These guys haven’t spotted us yet, but my gut tells me they’re not the kind who want to swap fish stories.”
Now close enough to make out some of their features, Lije said, “Looks like the sketches of Smith and his partner.”
“My gun’s with my kit.”
“Go get it. I’ll get the others out of sight.”
As the agent set off in a careful jog up the bank, keeping as close to the ground as possible, Lije returned to where Cathcart, McGee, and Janie were standing.
“Miss Davies, I think the two men who hijacked your canoes are about a hundred yards upstream. We need to get away from this open bottomland and work our way to some cover. Are you rested enough to run?”
“I can keep up.”
Nodding, he grabbed her right hand with his left. “Hang on, try to keep your head down, and I’ll warn you if you need to duck or hit the ground. You two guys ready?”
Cathcart answered, “I’m right with you, son.”
McGee nodded.
Crouching, the four of them moved at a slow pace across the grass-covered flatland, up the gradually sloping hill, and toward the ridge. Ahead, about fifty yards beyond the crest, Curtis had grabbed the kit and the backpack filled with food. For a second, as all the parties closed in on their meeting point, it seemed they had escaped detection. Then, from somewhere near the bank, a shot rang out, followed by two more. The first flew just over Lije’s shoulder, ricocheting off one of the boulders that lined the bottom of the ridge. The next two whizzed just in front of and just behind his head. Tucking his shoulder and rolling forward, he dragged the woman to the ground, partially covering her body with his.
“Hey, I thought you were going to warn me before you did something radical,” Janie said in a hoarse whisper.
LIJE SPOTTED SOME ROCKS THAT COULD SERVE AS cover. “We need to move about twenty-five feet. Crawl forward and try to keep your heads down.”
At they began the slow trek up the slope, another round of gunfire broke out. This time it was answered by shots from Curtis, firing as she retreated toward them.
“Y’all okay? ” she asked as she took up a position behind two rocks that were at least seven feet tall and six feet wide.
“We’re fine … for the moment,” Lije said.
Curtis peered around the boulder and looked upstream. “They’re now off the river. One is positioned pretty close to the river. The other’s moving around us. I think he’s headed for higher ground. It’ll take him only a few minutes to get to a position where we’ll be sitting ducks.”
Curtis scanned the area, looking for other shelter. She had more bad news. “I have only one clip and have already fired about half of those rounds. So I’ll have to save the rest for when they get above us and start shooting again. Odds are I’m not going to see anyone to shoot at.”
“Well,” Cathcart said, grinning, “it could be worse.”
“How’s that? ” McGee asked.
“It could be raining.”
Just then bullets smashed against the hillside above the rocks, causing dust to sprinkle down on them.
“It is raining,” McGee said. “It’s raining lead.”
Curtis answered the volley, firing two rounds toward
the river. The agent’s reply didn’t discourage the shooter. He peppered the boulders with another half dozen bursts.
“An automatic,” Curtis noted.
A shot bounced off the top of the boulder. Curtis stood, turned to her left, and fired two quick replies in the direction of the hill. Sinking back to her knees, she said, “He’s getting close to where he can really see us. Anyone got any ideas?”
As if trying to push his way into the grassy soil, Lije fell back against the ground. The professor instinctively did the same. Janie was stretched out face down. She tilted her head and held her left hand slightly aloft, letting it hover just inches off the ground. She began to crawl along the side of the grass-covered hill. Every foot or so she stopped for a moment, tilting her head and again lifting her hand. What was she doing? Did she have a death wish? She was almost out in the open. Lije was about to reach up to yank her back to safety when a smile crossed her face.
“Hey, you,” she whispered.
Crawling up to a point beside her, he said, “What is it?”
“Can you feel a cool dry breeze right here?”
He concentrated, but sensed only heat and humidity.
“Give me your hand,” she said. After he slipped his hand into hers, she pulled it forward a few feet. “Now do you feel it?”
He felt something, like a faint breeze. “Yes.”
“There’s a cave here,” she whispered. “Find it!”
He looked ahead but saw nothing. He held his hand up, felt the cooler air, and inched forward. Then it was there, just behind some shrubs, a small opening in the ridge. It was about five feet away from where he was lying, almost completely hidden by a berry bush. Judging from the soil and small rocks that were piled beneath the opening, the recent floods had washed away enough of the hillside to expose the hollow spot.
“I see it,” he whispered, “but the opening’s not very big. It might just be a washout. Doesn’t look like there’s a cave.”
“No,” Janie said, “the cave’s good sized. I can tell by the smell and the way the air feels. If we get in there, the odds change in our favor.”
Lije quickly pushed his way through the brush to the one-footwide hole in the side of the ridge. Rolling over onto his back, he hit the soft soil above the opening with his feet. Large chunks of still moist clay began to give way. He scrambled back down to the troop, staying as well hidden as he could.
“I think there’s a cave up there. I need a flashlight.”
Curtis opened her kit and pulled a small maglight from the case. Lije grabbed it and crawled back up the hill. Sticking his arm and then his head into the opening, he shined the light into the cave. Janie was right; the cave was huge. The only problem: an eight-foot drop to the floor. Without a rope, the only choice would be to crawl in feet first and let go. It wasn’t going to be easy on the ankles, but it beat waiting behind the rocks to get shot.
Pulling his head from the cavity, Lije again scrambled back down the incline. “There’s a cave just up the side of the ridge. It’s big, but there’s a drop to the floor of about eight feet, maybe more.”
Five more shots, these hitting much farther down on the boulders, interrupted his explanation.
“I’m going back up there and jumping in. I’ll yell when the next person should follow. I’ll try to catch you. Professor, you bring Janie first. Janie, slide your feet and legs into the hole, then just drop. I’ll catch you. Professor, as soon as Janie’s clear, you drop too. Kent, you’re next. Diana, toss the kit and backpack in before making the leap.”
Not waiting for a reply or questions, Lije snaked his way back up the hillside. Sliding his legs through the opening, he turned over onto his stomach and pushed off. The fall seemed to take forever and the hard surface that met him was anything but friendly. Crumpling to his knees, he winced, then, realizing he was relatively unhurt, sprang to his feet. Pulling the light from his pocket, he quickly flashed it to his left and right. The chamber was at least a hundred feet wide and more than forty feet high. The hole he had dug out was about ten feet from the left wall. The cave might have been dark, cold, and foreboding, but at the moment, it seemed like the most wonderful place on earth.
“Now,” he said, his voice echoing off the walls as he glanced back toward the sunlight filtering through the opening. He heard a few more muffled shots before Janie’s legs blocked out the sunlight. “Okay, push off and let go.” Acting on faith alone, the woman dropped. Lije caught her around the waist and lowered her to the ground. The little bit of light from the hole above shined on her smile.
“Move to the right, Janie.” After she had taken a few steps, Lije got into position for the professor. Cathcart fell into Lije, knocking both of them to the ground. Thankfully, McGee needed no help with his landing. Curtis tossed her kit in and then dropped into McGee’s waiting grasp. Turning, she laid the backpack on the floor of the cave and reached into her pocket for her flashlight. Shining it on the quartet surrounding her, she grinned and asked, “Is everyone all right?”
“Fine,” Lije replied. Carthcart and McGee nodded and Janie smiled.
“I’m pretty good too,” Curtis noted.
But Lije’s flashlight’s beam revealed something else. “You’re bleeding.”
“Yep, he got me just before I got to the cave. It’s clean. We can treat it with stuff in the kit.”
Picking up the kit, Cathcart walked toward her. Shining a light on the wound, he shook his head. “You’re lucky. Just grazed your arm.” He pulled sterile wipes and bandages from the box.
“Professor, just wrap some gauze around it for now. We need to move away from the entrance. They are going to come after us. Our best bet is to find a hiding place.”
Not waiting for the others, Lije had already begun to explore their temporary home, shining his light down to an area that must have been an inner wall. From where he stood, it looked as though they were in a side chamber. A much larger cavern appeared to angle to the right and run almost parallel to the river. Grabbing Janie’s hand, he led the way toward the larger room. After reaching the base of the wall, he turned left into what could be the main cave under the ridge.
He shined his light both ways. It looked like they were in a long, high tunnel. And in the middle of the cavern, stretching as far as he could see both ways, was a set of rails. They walked along the shining ribbon of track and saw the rear of an antique wooden caboose. His light caught several more cars beyond it.
Coming up beside him, Dr. Cathcart’s eyes followed the beam.
“It’s Ole 74.”
DR. CATHCART AND LIJE WERE ALL BUT PARALYZED by the reality caught in the flashlight beam. Ole 74 was here. In the cave. That’s why the tracks had been laid. It was all about the train. Suddenly they forgot the men with guns; they forgot everything. There was no fear, no pain, no fatigue. Everything took a back seat as they stared at the answer to a mystery more than a century old. It called out to them, demanded their attention, begged them to come closer, pleaded with them to drop everything and study the train closely, to step forward and uncover the secrets it had hidden for so long.
Curtis merely glanced at the missing relic. If she was interested, she didn’t show it. “Okay, we have killers on our tails,” she announced. “Now, Lije, you keep your eye on that opening we crawled through. If you see anyone trying to come in, let me know. I’ve got enough rounds left to discourage them.”
After taking another look at Ole 74, Lije gave his maglight to McGee, who shined it onto Curtis’s arm. After gently cleaning the wound with alcohol, Cathcart wrapped it with gauze and applied an elastic bandage.
Satisfied, he said, “Diana, how’s it feel?”
“It’s not bad, but I think I’ll try to stay away from getting shot in the future.”
“Probably a good idea.”
When Curtis tested her arm, she winced a bit, but she still seemed in pretty good shape. “We’re safe for the moment, but there are at least two ill-humored folks out there right now wh
o’d love to play target practice with all of us. Keep an eye on that entrance. See anything, Lije?”
“Nothing yet.” Her orders proved his earlier assessment. She was tough. Winged or not, she felt well enough to think she was in charge. And for the moment, she was.
From out of the darkness, Janie spoke. “They’re up there.”
McGee shined his light over to her. She was leaning up against a wall, her head cocked toward the opening. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she replied, “they’re just above the entrance. I can’t make out their words, but I can faintly hear their voices. Or at least I could until a few minutes ago.”
Curtis grimly studied the place where sunlight filtered into the cavern. “Does anyone else hear anything?”
No one spoke. Curtis cut her light, rested her arm on a boulder, and fixed her gun barrel on the small, lighted hole. Lije killed his light.
For the next forty minutes, four sets of eyes and one pair of very sharp ears remained glued to the only ray of sunshine to be found in this mysterious subterranean world. In silence they waited. When would the men make their move? The waiting was maddening. As the clock ticked, they felt more trapped than safe.
As they waited, Lije realized he was praying. It hadn’t been a decision. It was almost a reflex. A small grin etched his upper lip. He had seen Kaitlyn react this way every time she had been confronted with a monumental challenge or when she had been presented with a moment of joy. Often she didn’t know she was praying. For her it was like breathing. And now he was doing it. Even though she was gone, he still felt her influence. A part of her was with him. Maybe a part of her had always been there. Too bad he had to fall into a cavern to figure that out.